The above
image is of my ancestors.
Please do not copy.
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Gustavus J. Haas, a worthy representative of
the farming interests of Pleasant township, his
holdings now embracing three hundred and sixty
acres, was born in Howard county, Iowa, December
17, 1860. He was one of nine children whose parents
were Franz and Margaret (Zanuck) Haas. The father
was born in Switzerland and was there reared and
married, two children having been added to the
family circle ere their emigration to America.
In 1847 he came to the United States, settling
on a farm in Sauk county, Wisconsin. Late in the
'50s he came to Iowa and purchased a farm in Howard
county, where he lived, however, for only six
years, after which he returned to Wisconsin, where
he remained until 1873. He then came again to
Iowa and bought the farm on which his sons Gustavus
and George now reside, becoming owner of three
hundred and one acres. Upon that place he made
his home until his death, his wife surviving him
for about two years. The children of their family
were Frank, now living in Richards, Missouri;
Leonard, of Preston, Minnesota; Jacob, whose home
is in Pleasant township; August and Catherine,
both deceased; Celia, the wife of Eugene Parker,
of Minden township; George, of Pleasant township;
and Florian, also of Minden township. .
The other member of the family is Gustavus J.
Haas of this review. He was reared as a farm boy
in Iowa and is indebted to the public-school system
for the educational privileges he enjoyed. In
his youth he worked in the field, becoming familiar
with the best methods of tilling the soil and
carrying on the work of planting, plowing and
harvesting. On the 20th of February, 1889, he
was married and began farming for himself on his
present place, his father having previously deeded
him a hundred and forty-one acres of land. Later
he purchased two hundred and forty acres in Minden
township, but a small strip of land laying south
of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
he afterward sold to Jorgen Bladt, making his
present holdings three hundred and sixty acres.
His land is valuable and productive and he is
successfully carrying on the work of the farm,
bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation.
The place is well supplied with all modern equipments,
and the crops which he annually harvests bring
to him a good financial return.
Mr. Haas was married February 20, 1889, to Anna
Gertz, of Pleasant township, the daughter of Henry
P. Gertz, a native of Germany, who came
969
to Pottawattamie county from Scott county, Iowa,
and now resides in Minnesota, to which state he
removed about 1900. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Haas have
been born four children: Ella M., Emma, Howard
B. and Elsie, all yet at home.
Mr. Haas votes with the republican party and
is now serving as one of the school directors
but has never been a politician in the sense of
office seeking, as he prefers to give his undivided
time and energies to his business affairs. He
has carefully conducted his farming interests
and his labors are bringing to him gratifying
competence.
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Ira R. Stitt, engaged in the practice of law
at Carson with a good clientage, which indicates
the public recognition of his ability and legal
learning, was born in Frankfort, Montgomery county,
Iowa, March 18, 1869. His parents were David H.
and Charity F. (Horton) Stitt, the former a native
of Hamilton county, Indiana, and the latter of
Highland county, Ohio. They are now residents
of Carson and on the 1st of May, 1907, they celebrated
their fiftieth wedding anniversary. In their family
were six sons: William Walter, now living in Farragut,
Iowa; Frank E., a resident of Sidney, this state;
George O., also of Farragut; Ira R.; A. Luther
and Fred, both of Carson. All of the brothers
of our subject are barbers.
Ira R. Stitt was but three years old when his
parents removed from Montgomery county to a farm
north of Sidney In Fremont county, where they
lived for three years. They afterward spent two
years at Knox, Iowa, and then went to Sidney,
where the father took charge of a mill. Ira R.
Stitt remained in Sidney until 1884 with the exception
of six years spent in Essex, this state, and the
greater part of his education was acquired in
Sidney, where he passed through successive grades
until he had become a high school student.
Mr. Stitt afterward spent six years in Colorado
and Kansas, pre-empting land in the latter state
where he did much toward the development of his
locality by selling land and locating immigrants.
For one year he engaged in the bakery business
at Greenwood, Nebraska, after which he removed
his business to Carson but sold out a year later.
He was later on a farm for a year and while engaged
in agricultural pursuits took up the study of
law under the direction of the Sprague Correspondence
school. On the 24th of January, 1894, he entered
the law office of Frank Shinn as a student and
after two years, at the May term of the supreme
court in 1896, he was admitted to the bar, He
later became a law partner of Mr. Shinn, this
connection continuing for three or four years,
when Mr. Shinn retired, and Mr. Stitt has since
practiced alone. His devotion to his clients interest
is proverbial, and he has been connected with
many of the important litigated interests of Carson
and the county.
970
On the 6th of December, 1897, Mr. Stitt was married
to Miss Linna A. Shinn, who was born near Red
Oak, Iowa, April 16, 1871, and is the eldest daughter
of Frank Shinn, mention of whom is made elsewhere
in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Stitt are prominent
socially and the hospitality of the best homes
is cordially extended them. Mr. Stitt belongs
to Coral lodge, No. 444, A. F. & A. M., and
he gives his political allegiance to the democratic
party, which he supported since age conferred
upon him the right of franchise. For one year
he was mayor of the village and for three years
was president of the school and is still serving
as a member of the board. He is deeply and actively
interested in those things which are a matter
of civil virtue and civic pride. In his business
life he has made steady advancement, directing
his energies along those lines demanding intellectuality,
close application and native talent, and at the
bar has gained a creditable position.
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For about thirty-five years Clark M. Potter has
resided on the farm which he now owns on section
16, Waveland township. He first opened his eyes
to the light of day in Erie county, New York,
April 14, 1845, being one of the seven children
of Hiram C. and Caroline (Parmelee) Potter. The
father's birth occurred in Erie county, New York,
July 12, 1816. He was a son of William Potter,
a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and a veteran
of the war of 1812. Hiram C. Potter was reared
and married at the place of his nativity, where
he engaged in farming until 1852, when thinking
that Iowa offered a better field of labor he came
to the middle west, spending three or four years
in Jackson county, this state. He next removed
to Olmsted county, Minnesota, where he resided
for eleven years, when in the fall of 1866 he
returned to Jackson county. In the spring of 1870
he came to Pottawattamie county and in connection
with his two sons purchased one-half of section
16, Waveland township. The tract was at that time
wild prairie but he soon broke the sod, turning
the first furrows in the fields, which in due
course of time brought forth rich harvests as
the reward of his care and labor. He continued
upon that place until his death, which occurred
in 1897. He was not only an alert and enterprising
business man but also a citizen of broad nature
and wide interests, who ever discharged with promptness
and fidelity the various offices to which he was
called. He was recognized as an influential factor
in local political circles and was ever a stalwart
advocate of the republican party. An earnest and
conscientious Christian man, he held membership
in the Methodist Episcopal church, was active
in its work and lived in entire harmony with his
professions. He was recognized in his community
as a good neighbor, a faithful friend and an esteemed
citizen. His wife, who was born January 23, 1823,
survived him until 1903, passing away at the age
of eighty years. She was a daughter of Lemuel
Parmelee, who was born in Maine, while her mother's
birth occurred in Vermont, both being representatives
of old New England families. Two sons and a daughter
971
born unto Hiram C. and Caroline Potter still
survive, of whom Clark M. is the eldest. Maria
is the wife of John Book, of Waveland township;
and William is also living in the same township.
Clark M. Potter spent the first Seven years of
his life in the state of his nativity and in 1852
was brought by his parents to Iowa and afterward
went with them to Minnesota. In his youth he attended
the public schools and also assisted largely in
the work of the home farm, receiving practical
training in the best methods of tilling the soil,
the time of planting, the manner of cultivating
and the care of the harvests. In 1867 he started
out upon an independent business career and for
one year was employed as a farm hand in Lucas
county, Iowa. He was afterward engaged on the
construction of the Union Pacific Railroad in
Nevada was present at the driving of the golden
spike, which indicated the completion of the line
as the two sections were joined, making a continuous
trans-continental road. For fifteen months Mr.
Potter devoted his time to railroad construction
and then returned to Iowa, where in company with
his brother Ray, now deceased, he purchased a
half section of land in Waveland township, Pottawattamie
county, where they settled, our subject taking
as his share the northeast quarter of section
16, whereon he has resided since about 1872. He
also purchased eighty acres on section 9 and likewise
owns a timber tract of fifteen acres in the eastern
part of the township. His landed possessions therefore
aggregate two hundred and fifty-five acres and
his property is the visible evidence of a life
of well directed labor and thrift.
On the 4th of January, 1885, Mr. Potter was married
to Miss Tamar Yearns, a daughter of James B. and
Nancy (Porter) Yearns, who came to Iowa in 1854
from Decatur county, Indiana, where Mrs. Potter
was born. Later the parents removed to Nebraska.
Mr. and Mrs. Potter became the parents of four
children but lost their second daughter, Nellie.
The others are Olive, Leroy and Ernest, all yet
at home.
In politics Mr. Potter is a republican and for
several years has filled different township offices,
being regarded throughout the county as a faithful
official, no trust reposed in him ever being betrayed
in the slightest degree. Both he and his wife
are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, an association which is indicative of
the good qualities which characterize them in
every relation-to the individual and to the public
at large.
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C. W. Marshall of Lincoln township, recognized
in his community as a representative citizen and
enterprising business man, was born in Franklin
county, Ohio, May 6, 1856. His parents, Josiah
and Upma Marshall, came to Iowa in 1856, settling
in Lewis county, where the father entered a tract
of government land. He was a shoemaker by trade
but in this state turned his attention to farming.
The family numbered nine children of whom the
972
following are still living: Virginia, the wife
of R. M. Allen, of Atlantic, Iowa; Anna, the wife
of W. S. Coe, of Wyota, Iowa; Alma, the wife of
G. H. Thorly, of Nebraska; W.O., of Lincoln township,
this county; C. W.; and J. H., of Atlantic, Iowa.
C. W. Marshall was in his first year when brought
by his parents to Iowa and was only seven years
of age at the time of his father's death. During
his boyhood days his time was divided between
the duties of the school room, the pleasures of
the playground and the work of the farm. After
attaining his majority he resolved to continue
in the occupation to which he had been reared
and rented a farm in Henry county, Iowa, upon
which he resided for three years. Later he rented
and cultivated the old homestead property, upon
which he lived until 1886. In that year he came
to Pottawattamie county and bought his present
farm of two hundred acres in Lincoln township.
The soil is naturally rich, and the labor he has
bestowed upon it has made it very productive,
so that he annually harvests good crops. He has
always made a specialty of raising and feeding
stock and keeps high grade cattle and hogs upon
his place.
Mr. Marshall has been married twice. In 1877
he wedded Miss Emma F. Jennings, a native of Lewis
county, Iowa, whose parents are now deceased.
Unto this union were born six children: O. S.,
whose home is in South Dakota; Guy, Henry, Nellie,
Chet and Zoa, all at home. The wife and mother
died in 1890, and her loss was deeply mourned
by many friends as well as her immediate family.
In 1902 Mr. Marshall was again married, his second
union being with Miss Minnie E. Wilson, who was
born in Iowa. They have two children, Charles
and Frank.
The parents are members of the Christian church,
interested and active in its work and generous
contributors to its support. Mr. Marshall owns
a fine residence in Lewis, Iowa, in addition to
his valuable farm property. He still operates
all his land and is leading an active and useful
life. His political allegiance is given to the
republican party and for several years he has
served as school director but is without aspiration
for political office. He belongs to the Odd Fellows
lodge at Lewis and is in hearty sympathy with
its beneficent purposes and teachings.
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LEWIS STARTS.
Lewis Starts has put aside the more active duties
of business life, yet still resides on his farm
of one hundred and sixty acres on section 3, Grove
township, where for many years he was actively
engaged in general agricultural pursuits. Here
he has resided continuously since 1866 save for
short intervals when he lived at Griswold and
in the vicinity of Avoca. He thus has intimate
knowledge of the history of the county and its
development, his residence here antedating that
of the great majority of its citizens. He was
born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, near New Comerstown,
January 24, 1829, and has therefore passed the
seventy-eighth milestone on life's jour-
975
ney. His parents were Elisha and Hester Ann Starts
and through much of his life the father was a
sailor. He afterward left Delaware, which had
been his home for years, and settled in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, where he purchased forty acres of
land and there died about 1838 or 1840. His wife
had passed away some years prior to that time.
Lewis Starts, who was one of a large family of
children, is now the only one living and he is
also the only one that ever resided in Pottawattamie
county. One sister, Eliza, lived in Illinois.
John died on the old homestead farm in Ohio. Lamiga
also passed away there. The others of the family
were George, William, Hugh, Samuel and Mary.
Lewis Starts was left an orphan at an early age
but for some years thereafter the eldest sister
kept up the household and cared for the younger
members of the family. He started out to earn
his own living by working at twenty-five cents
per day. He also engaged in grubbing for fifty
cents per day, in binding wheat and in other labor
that would yield him an honest living. Saving
his money, he went to Illinois, settling in Peoria
county, where he rented land and carried on farming
for twelve years. At the close of the war in 1865
he bought eighty acres of land in Grove township
and upon that place carried on general agricultural
pursuits. Later he resided near Avoca for a time
and subsequently established his home at Griswold,
but returning to the farm he resumed general agricultural
pursuits, having one hundred and sixty acres of
land on section 3, Grove township. For many years
he carefully, systematically and successfully
carried on general agricultural pursuits and as
the years passed by he accumulated a comfortable
competence that now enables him to live retired
in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
Mr. Starts was married in 1854, in Cambridge,
Ohio, to Miss Ruia Marlatt, who was born in Guernsey
county, Ohio, February 23, 1833, a daughter of
Jacob and Eliza Marlatt, who were of Dutch and
Irish parentage respectively. They were reared
and married in Guernsey county, where both passed
away about twenty years ago, the father dying
at the age of eighty-four years, while his wife
died when seventy-four years of age. They had
thirteen children, of whom eight reached years
of maturity, namely: Mrs. Luanza Brown, now residing
in Grove township; Mrs. Ellen Pyle, living in
Nebraska; Mrs. Starts; Mrs. Sarah Miller, of Miami
county, Kansas; Josephus, who is living on the
old home place in Ohio and who was a soldier of
the Civil war; William, who also defended the
Union cause and is now living in Guernsey county,
Ohio; Seth, who is yet a resident of the Buckeye
state; Mrs. Wealthy Ann Howell, residing in Guernsey
county, Ohio; and five who died in childhood.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Starts has also been
blessed with thirteen children: Dora, who became
the wife of Perry Buckner and after his death
married Charles H. Horn, their home being now
in Lincoln, Nebraska; Mrs. Eliza Palmer, who is
operating the home farm in Grove township; Mrs.
Ellen Buckingham, of Grove township; Amanda, the
wife of William A. Bolton, of the same township;
Esther, the wife of Charles E. Bolton, who is
mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Wheeler, who
married Miss
976
Lena Wood and resides in Center township; Marilda,
the wife of Ed Flower, now of Canon City, Colorado;
and Alzetta, the wife of Logan Osler, of Grove
township. Those deceased are Henrietta, Matilda,
Hester Ann and two who died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Starts is an independent republican,
usually supporting the men and measures of the
republican party yet not considering himself bound
by party ties and often casting an independent
local ballot. He has been a member of the Protective
Association and he and his wife are members of
the Methodist Protestant church. His has been
an active and useful career and his carefully
directed labors and his unfaltering diligence
in the years of his business life have made it
possible for him now to enjoy in retirement from
further labor many of the comforts and some of
the luxuries of life. He is, moreover, numbered
among the early settlers of the county, having
for more than four decades resided within its
borders, so that the history of its development
and progress is a story not unknown to him. Many
events which are to others matters of record are
to him matters of personal experience or knowledge.
His memory goes back to the time when much of
the land was uncultivated, when Council Bluffs
was a small town and when many of the now thriving
villages had not yet sprung into existence. He
saw, too, the unbroken prairie with few houses
upon its surface and as the years have gone by
he has witnessed the changes wrought by time and
man, making this one of the leading counties of
the commonwealth. He located here long before
railroads were built through this region and in
those early days hauled all of his produce to
Council Bluffs, which was the nearest market.
Indians often visited this locality on their way
to their hunting grounds and Mr. Starts has counted
as high as twenty deer in one herd, so numerous
was wild game at that time.
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James M. Kelley, cashier of the Macedonia State
Bank, is pre-eminently a man of affairs and one
who has wielded a wide influence. He has been
prominent in molding the public policy of the
town and his labors have promoted its educational,
political and moral interests. Although the Kelley
family traces its ancestry back to the Isle of
Man, representatives of the name have been found
in America for several generations.
The parents of our subject were Richard Y. and
Sarah E. F. (Ballowe) Kelley, the former a native
of Tennessee, while the latter was born in Virginia
but was reared in Nashville, Tennessee. They were
married in that state and on their removal northward
settled in Johnson county, Illinois. Eventually
they became residents of Iowa and their remaining
days were passed on what became the old homestead
farm in Mills county. The father died in 1860
at the age of forty-seven years, while the mother
passed away in 1873 at the age of fifty-seven
years. They reared a family of eight children,
of whom James M, was the youngest, namely: Benjamin
E. F., who was a
977
farmer of Mills county, now deceased; John S.,
who after four years roughing it in the west also
followed farming in that county and has now passed
away; William H., who is a minister in the Church
of the Latter Day Saints living at Lamoni, Iowa;
Mary J., the widow of John L. Ryerson, also living
at Lamoni; Edmon L., who is a bishop of the Church
of the Latter Day Saints at Independence, Missouri;
George T., the present county judge of Pierce
county, Nebraska; Parley P., deceased, who was
an attorney at Glenwood, Iowa; and James M., of
this review. Of this family William H. has been
engaged in preaching since he was eighteen years
of age. Edmon L. studied law but after some years
of successful practice gave up that profession
for church work and is now presiding bishop of
the church. Of the family William H. and Edmon
L. were among the first in the re-organization
of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and have
been prominent in its work.
James M. Kelley was born in Johnson county, Illinois,
March 18, 1850, and was five years of age when
brought to Mills county, Iowa, by his parents,
who settled in Anderson township. Here he was
reared and educated and when not busy with his
text-books was trained to the work of the home
farm. He continued in Mills county until 1880,
when he came to Macedonia. In his youth his experiences
were those of the farm until his eighteenth year,
when he entered the State University. He was for
five years, a student in that institution, although
his course was not consecutive, having spent three
years as clerk in a store in Glenwood, Iowa. He
was graduated in 1876. He also clerked for one
year after his graduation and for one year was
deputy county treasurer and county recorder. He
studied law in the office of Kelley Brothers,
attorneys, and spent a few months in a law office
in Michigan. In 1880 he came to Macedonia at the
organizing of the Macedonia Bank, of which he
has since been the cashier. Two years later this
institution was incorporated under the name of
the Macedonia State Bank and in its control Mr.
Kelley has since been active, its success being
largely attributable to his efforts, sound judgment
and business sagacity. He has acquired some real
estate, and is the owner of the old homestead
farm in Mills county of two hundred and forty-five
acres.
Mr. Kelley was married in 1884 to Miss Martha
Linville, who was born in Mills county, Iowa,
in 1862, a daughter of George H. and Sarah Linville
and a sister of the present sheriff of Mills county.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelley have two sons, James M., Jr.,
born December 1, 1885, and Forest L., born November
29, 1892. The elder completed a course in liberal
arts at the State University in 1906 and is now
a student in the law department of the same institution.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise
Mr. Kelley has been an advocate of the principles
of the democratic party. He takes great interest
in educational affairs and has been treasurer
or a member of the school board since coming to
Macedonia. He served for four or five years as
mayor of Macedonia and has been continuously a
member of the council save for one year. Whether
in office or out of it his, is a loyal citizen,
deeply concerned in the interests of the town
and giving stalwart support to the measures and
movements which affect the general welfare. He
is a charter member of Ruby
978
lodge, No. 415, A. F. & A. M.; also belongs
to Macedonia lodge, No. 421, I. O. O. F.; is a
demitted member of the Elks lodge of Council Bluffs;
and is a member of the Church of the Latter Day
Saints. He was the first secretary and one of
the organizers of the Old Settlers' Association
of Pottawattamie county, now of Pottawattamie,
Mills and Fremont counties, and subsequently he
served as its president for two terms. He is one
of the best known residents of the county and
southwestern Iowa, the extent of his activities,
his business, integrity and his official service
all combining to make him well known, while his
salient characteristics are such as have secured
to him not only an enviable position in business
circles but also the high regard of those with
whom he has been brought in contact.
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George W. Kauke, who owns and cultivates a farm
on section 14, Silver Creek township, was born
in Bruce township, LaSalle county, Illinois, August
14,1857, and is a son of Christian and Ann (Weeks)
Kauke, the former born near Hamburg, Germany,
and the latter in England. The father came alone
to America and enlisted for service in the Mexican
war. With other troops he was sent by ship to
Mexico and never left the vessel's side, for the
war was over when they arrived. Again making his
way northward to Chicago, Mr. Kauke afterward
located at Ottawa, Illinois, where he took up
a soldier's claim, the title thereto being cheerfully
accorded him by reason of his service in the war.
He then engaged in farming in Illinois until his
removal to Iowa, where he carried on general agricultural
pursuits until about two years prior to his death,
when he removed to Macedonia and lived retired.
He passed away at the age of sixty-six years,
while his wife, who was born in England, July
28, 1823, died at Macedonia when more than eighty-two
years of age, having long survived her husband.
Their family numbered five children: Mary Jane,
the wife of J. R. Martin of Mills county; George
W.; Anna, the wife of John Clark of Silver Creek
township; Celia, the wife of N. Brennaman, of
Macedonia township; and Frank, who is living in
California.
George W. Kauke was about ten years of age when
the family came to the farm upon which he is now
living on section 14, Silver Creek township. This
property has never since passed out of the name.
He continued with his parents until he reached
the age of seventeen years, when he started out
in business life on his own account and has since
been dependent upon his own resources. He worked
by the month until 1880 and then embarked in the
butchering business at Macedonia, where he continued
in the trade for three years as a partner of William
Tompkins under the firm name of Tompkins &
Kauke. On the expiration of that period he removed
to Cherry county, Nebraska, where he engaged in
ranching and in the cattle business with his brother-in-law,
R. H. Woodmancy. He then returned to the old homestead
farm and has since made it his place of residence,
purchasing
979
the interest of the other heirs in the property
after his father's death. The original farm comprised
only eighty acres but the father also had another
tract of eighty acres a mile to the north. Mr.
Kauke of this review owns two hundred acres in
one body on section 14. It is all improved and
its present state of development and cultivation
is due to the energies and labors of Mr. Kauke
and his father. Stock-raising is perhaps the leading
feature of his farm, as he gives considerable
attention to the raising of cattle, hogs and sheep.
He is an excellent judge of farm animals and is
thus enabled to make judicious purchases and profitable
sales.
On the 17th of May, 1883, Mr. Kauke was married
to Miss Ella Robinson, who was born in Sidney,
Ohio, July 18, 1852, a daughter of Henry and Ann
(Neal) Robinson, who were natives of Shelby county,
Ohio, and spent their entire, married life upon
a farm near Sidney, that state. Both died when
past eighty years of age and there was only four
days difference in the time of their demise. They
had long traveled life's journey together, sharing
with each other its joys and sorrows, its adversity
and prosperity, their mutual love and confidence
increasing as the years passed. Mr. and Mrs. Kauke
have no children of their own but have adopted
a daughter, Alma.
His political views are in accord with the principles
of the republican party and his fraternal relations
are with Ruby lodge, No. 415, A. F. & A. M.
Starting out in life on his own account when in
his teens, his strong purpose and laudable ambition
have been his salient characteristics and the
basis of the success which makes him one of the
substantial agriculturists of the community.
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Thirty-five years have come and gone since Henry
F. Wilson arrived in Pottawattamie county, where
his business interests have been conducted so
successfully that he has won a foremost place
among the substantial residents of Macedonia township.
He now makes his home in the village of Macedonia,
where he is conducting a meat market. He has extensive
real-estate holdings in the west and in former
years was closely associated with farming interests
in this county, owning and operating land and
raising stock.
Mr. Wilson was born in Fulton county, Illinois,
September 12, 1852, his parents being K. H. and
Julia A. (Bartels) Wilson, who in 1854 removed
to Cass county, Iowa. There the father engaged
in farming and raising stock. He bought land in
Macedonia township, Pottawattamie county, in 1871
and the following year brought his family to his
new home. Here he resided up to the time of his
death, which occurred October 7, 1898, when he
was seventy-three years of age. He served as captain
of militia while in Mills county and was a prominent
and influential resident of that community. He
held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church,
to which his wife also belonged, and they were
earnest, Christian people. Mrs. Wilson died October
7, 1900, aged just seventy years. In their family
were fourteen children, six
980
daughters and eight sons, of whom thirteen still
survive, one brother, J. Albert Wilson, having
died July 20, 1888. The others still survive,
one brother and one sister in Boulder, Colorado,
and the others in this state.
When only two years old H. F. Wilson, was brought
by his parents to Iowa and in the public schools
he acquired his education. His early advantages
were rather limited but he has been very successful
in business. He has made his home in this county
since 1872 and here turned his attention to farming,
prospering in that work year after year. He has
also bought and shipped cattle and hogs for twenty
years, but has now largely retired from agricultural
and live-stock interests. He is, however, the
owner of a meat market in Macedonia, which he
is conducting successfully and he has made judicious
and extensive investments in land in Dawson, Perkins
and Red Willow counties, in Nebraska. During the
past few years he has devoted his attention to
the real-estate business in the west, having valuable
property from which he derives a good income.
Mr. Wilson was married to Miss Saloma Carter,
a daughter of the Rev. J. W. Carter, who came
to this county in 1871 and was for twenty-five
years pastor of the Presbyterian church at Macedonia,
his labors proving an influential factor in the
moral development of the community. He was greatly
beloved and by those of other denominations as
well. His daughter, Mrs., Wilson, taught school
for several years in this county and was at one
time tendered the nomination for the office of
county superintendent of schools such was the
public regard for her ability as a teacher. Mr.
and Mrs. Wilson have become the parents of three
sons, all born in Macedonia: True, aged seventeen;
Hugh, fourteen; and Lewis, ten years of age. All
are in school.
Politically Mr. Wilson is a republican and socially
is connected with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. He and his life are faithful members
of the Presbyterian church in Macedonia and they
now occupy an attractive home in the village,
which was erected by Mr. Wilson, whose energy,
enterprise and determination have long ranked
him with the leading residents of this part of
the county.
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The name of Bolton has long figured prominently
in connection with the history of Pottawattamie
county's agricultural development. Thirty years
have come and gone since the family came to this
part of the state and throughout the period of
his manhood Charles E. Bolton has carefully conducted
farming and stock-raising interests, owning today
one hundred and eighty-eight acres of rich and
productive land on section 5, Grove township.
His birth occurred in Cedar county, Iowa, on
tile 24th of August, 1861, his parents being George
and Anna M. (Pearce) Bolton: The father, who departed
this life October 29, 1903, was born in Cedar
county, Iowa, on the 9th of September, 1840, and
was a son of William and Sarah (Southern) Bolton,
who were early pioneers of the state, establishing
their home in Cedar
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county about 1830 when Iowa was still under territorial
rule, when the Indians were almost as numerous
as the white settlers and when great tracts of
land had not yet been explored by those who wished
to utilize the natural resources of the state
and found here a substantial commonwealth. William
Bolton bore his full part in the work of development
and progress here, aiding in the reclamation of
wild land and since that time the family have
ever been loyal to the interests of the state
and patriotic in their support of whatever has
tended to advance its interests or promote its
welfare. William Bolton died in Cedar county and
his widow, surviving him for some time, passed
away at the home of a daughter in Pottawattamie
county.
George Bolton was one of a family of nine children.
He was reared and educated in Cedar county and
following his marriage he removed to Pottawattamie
county in March, 1877, locating here with his
family upon the farm which is still the home of
his widow. He prospered in his undertakings and
at one time owned four farms which are still a
part of the estate, aggregating over five hundred
acres of rich and productive land. As the years
passed he carefully conducted his agricultural
interests, bringing his fields under a high state
of cultivation and adding many modern equipments
to his place. He was practical and progressive
in his methods and his labors resulted in winning
for him a goodly measure of success.
It was on the 8th of November, 1860, that George
Bolton was united in marriage to Miss Anna Pearce,
who was born in Richland county, Ohio, March 20,
1838, her parents being Dennis and Mary (Pollock)
Pearce, who removed from the Buckeye state to
Illinois and afterward came to Iowa, where the
father died when his daughter, Mrs. Bolton, was
but a young girl. The mother reached a very venerable
age, passing away in 1902, at the age of ninety
years, her birth having occurred in 1811. Mrs.
Bolton was about sixteen years of age when the
family went to Illinois, coming thence to Iowa
a year later. She was one of nine children, of
whom four brothers and a sister are yet living.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bolton were born nine children,
of whom three died in childhood, while those who
still survive are: Charl8s E.; A. W.; Ida, the
wife of David McKee, of Grove township; Albert,
also living in the same township; Nellie, the
wife of Dennis Osler, of Grove township; and James,
who married Olive Barnes, of Carson, Iowa, and
resides upon the old homestead farm.
In taking up the personal history of Charles
E. Bolton we present to our readers the life record
of one who is widely and favorably known in Pottawattamie
county, where he has made his home since the spring
of 1877, coming to this locality with his father's
family when in his sixteenth year. He has since
lived in Grove township and under the parental
roof he remained until he had attained his majority.
No event of special importance occurred to vary
the routine of farm life for him in his boyhood
days. He received practical training in the labor
which he has chosen as a life work and when he
started out on his own account he was well equipped
to take up the duties of the farm.
In 1886 Mr. Bolton was united in marriage to
Miss Esther Starts, a daughter of Lewis and Ruie
Starts, who are old settlers of Grove township,
well known in the community. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Bolton have been born three children: Elmer K.,
Verna B. and Sheldon R., aged respectively twenty,
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eighteen and sixteen years. The family circle
still remains unbroken by the hand of death.
In politics Mr. Bolton has always been a stalwart
republican, unswerving in his advocacy of the
principles of the party. He has served in some
of the local township offices and is interested
in all matters of progressive citizenship. He
belongs to the Methodist Protestant church and
is a well known and worthy representative of a
prominent pioneer family. As stated, the name
of Bolton is well known in Pottawattamie county
and has figured in connection with the history
of the state for more than three-quarters of a
century. The work instituted by the grandfather
and carried on by the father is continued by the
son and the agricultural development of Iowa is
attributable in no small degree to the members
of this family, who at all times have been recognized
as respected residents of the state, loyal to
the interests of the commonwealth, honorable in
business affairs and trustworthy in every relation
of life.
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