The above
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A life of intense and well directed activity
has made Reuben Dunkle one of the representative
farmers of Hazel Dell township. He resides on
section 30, where he owns two hundred acres of
valuable and productive land and he also has one
hundred and forty acres on the river bottom in
Crescent township. He was born in Fayette county,
Ohio, March 31, 1840, his parents being William
and Mary (McMullen) Dunkle. The father, a farmer
by occupation, brought his family to Pottawattamie
county in 1852 and his last days were spent at
Crescent, where he passed away at the very advanced
age of ninety-two years, having long survived
his wife, who died in Lawrence county, Missouri,
at the age of forty-seven. Reuben Dunkle was the
youngest of their family of three children. His
brother David was born in Fayette county, Ohio,
lived for many years at Crescent and died at Omaha
a few years ago. The sister, Ellen, now deceased,
was the wife of Solomon McMullen, of Hazel Dell
township.
During the summer following the birth of Reuben
Dunkle, his parents removed to Greene county,
Missouri and later to Dade county, where
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they resided until 1848, when the father settled
in Buchanan county, Missouri. His wife had died
in April, 1844. In 1852 the father brought his
family to Iowa, locating on a farm a mile east
of the city of Crescent, then called Pigeon City.
He bought one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie
land on section 30, Hazel Dell township, and began
life in true pioneer style, living in a sod house
for many years. The family shared in the hardships
and privations incident to life on the frontier.
Reuben Dunkle acquired but six months' schooling
before coming to this county, where he arrived
when a. lad of twelve years. At that age he had
to go to work and received no more education but
in the practical school of experience he has learned
many valuable lessons and that he is a good business
man in the field of his chosen endeavor is indicated
by the fact that he now has valuable agricultural
interests in this county. He remained on the old
home farm with his father and eventually came
into possession of the place. He now owns two
hundred acres of rich land on section 30, which
has been brought under a high state of cultivation,
the fields being made to return rich crops. He
also has a hundred and forty acres on the bottom
in Crescent township. He has always been a hard
worker, industrious and energetic, and is yet
living a life of strenuous activity.
In early manhood Mr. Dunkle married Miss Elizabeth
Strang, who was born in Scotland, and came to
this county in 1853 with her father, William Strang.
She has been an invalid for nearly forty years.
Mr. and Mrs. Dunkle became the parents of eight
children but only three are now living: Jennie,
the wife of Dr. J. H. Swanson, of Weston, Iowa;
Maggie E., the wife of J. H. Bryan, of Storm Lake,
Iowa; and Annie L., the wife of J. H. Barclay,
of Council Bluffs. The parents also reared two
grandchildren from childhood to manhood and one
is still with them, while the other is employed
in a drug store at Avoca. Realizing the need of
an education, because of his own deprivations
in that direction, Mr. Dunkle gave to his children
and grandchildren every advantage which he could
for the acquirement of education as a preparation
for life's practical duties.
The family are members of the Reorganized Church
of the Latter Day Saints. Mr. Dunkle's political
allegiance is given to the democracy and he has
held the offices of township trustee and road
supervisor. He is truly a pioneer, familiar with
all the old landmarks in his part of the county.
Upon his place is an oak tree which was here when
he arrived in Pottawattamie county fifty-five
years ago. He has spared it from the woodman's
ax many a time and for many years it was the home
of a swarm of bees but it is now showing signs
of decay. Mr. Dunkle can tell of the many changes
which have occurred in this part of the county,
the people who have lived here and the work that
has been wrought. He can remember the days when
much of the farm labor was done by hand as there
were no steam threshers, self-binders or riding
plows. The farmer had to walk back and forth across
the fields, following the plow that turned the
furrow, dropping the seed by hand. Many changes
have occurred in the methods of farming
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and Mr. Dunkle has kept in touch with the advancement
that has been made: Deprived in youth of many
advantages which boys enjoy at the present time
he has nevertheless made good use of his opportunities
and deserves much credit for what he has accomplished.
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William J. Trede, who follows farming on section
3, Keg Creek township, was born in Germany, June
19, 1864, his parents being John and Antje Trede.
The mother was married twice, her first union
being with a Mr. Hartz. His death occurred in
Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Trede afterward came to
America, he spending his last days in Treynor,
where he departed this life in 1903 when seventy
years of age. By her first marriage the mother
had one son, Claus, who is now living in Carson,
Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Trede were born eight
children: Joe, who resides in Keg Creek township;
William J.; Mrs. Dora Sucksdorf, of Silver Creek
township; John, Mrs. Margaret Theman and Theodore,
all living in Silver Creek township; Mrs. Mary
Hartje, of Keg Creek township; and Mrs. Bertha
Leick, of Council Bluffs. The mother resides in
Keg Creek township with her daughter, Mrs. Hartje.
William J. Trede was reared on a farm in the
fatherland and is indebted to the public-school
system for the educational privileges which he
enjoyed there. He was a young man of about seventeen
years when he crossed the Atlantic to the new
world, attracted by its broader business opportunities.
He came at once to Council Bluffs and for five
years thereafter worked at farm labor by the month.
In 1886 he returned to Germany and brought his
parents and the family back with him to the new
world, a location being made in Silver Creek township.
Mr. Trede continued to work by the month as a
farm hand until the time of his marriage, when
he rented land of his father-in-law and continued
its cultivation until 1894. He then purchased
his present farm comprising three hundred acres
of land. The farm had been cultivated and Mr.
Trede has added to it many modern equipments,
making it one of the model farms of the twentieth
century. He has recently completed a beautiful
residence, equipped with every modern convenience,
has a system of water works which supplies water
to the house, and is now erecting a commodious
and substantial barn. He uses the latest improved
machinery to carryon the farm work and his place
forms one of the attractive features of the landscape
owing to its fine buildings, its well tilled fields
and the high grades of stock feeding in its pastures.
Annually he feeds from six to eight carloads of
cattle and also ships a great many hogs each year.
Hoe derives, not a little of his income from his
live stock interests and is well known in this
connection in the county. His wife also owns two
hundred and thirty-five acres of land in Silver
Creek township.
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It was on the 3d of October, 1889, that Mr. Trede
was united in marriage to Miss Annie Sucksdorf,
who was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1873, a daughter
of H. N. and Maggie (Voderberg) Sucksdorf. In
the father's family were three children: P. N.,
now living in Silver Creek township; Mrs. Trede;
and Dora, who died in 1901 at the age of twenty-three
years. The parents came to America in 1866, settling
first at Davenport, Iowa, where Mr. Sucksdorf
was salesman for a lumber firm. In 1875 he brought
his family to Pottawattamie county, settling in
Silver Creek township, where he purchased land
and carried on general farming until 1903. He
then retired from active business life and removed
to Treynor, where his death occurred in February,
1904, when sixty-four years of age. His widow
still survives and is yet living in Treynor. The
home of Mr. and Mrs. Trede has been blessed with
nine children: John; Herman; Adolph; Hugo; Elmer;
Lillie; Lester, who died at the age of a year
and a half; Lorene; and Olive.
The family are members of the German Lutheran
church and are prominent socially, occupying an
enviable position in the social circles in which
they move. Mr. Trede exercises the right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the republican
party and fraternally he is connected with Armour
camp, M. W. A., and with the Sons of Herman at
Treynor. Although his advantages in youth were
few and his opportunities limited he has steadily
climbed the ladder of success and has now reached
the plane of affluence.
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In financial circles in Iowa Ernest E. Hart has
won a position of distinctive prominence and is
today numbered among the leading, influential
and honored citizens of Council Bluffs. An enumeration
of the many business interests with which he is
connected and which have felt the stimulus of
his energy and profited by his sound judgment
is indicative in a measure of his fertility of
resource, his keen discrimination and his unabating
diligence. Such respect is held for his opinion
in business circles that his expression concerning
any situation or possibility is largely considered
conclusive by those who know him. From his youth
he has been one of the world's workers and his
success, so great as to seem almost magical, is
attributable entirely to his own labors, but while
he has reached a commanding position as a financier
and promoter of many important industrial and
commercial concerns, he is equally well known
in social and political circles, exerting a widely
felt influence that is always found on the side
of advancement and progress. Moreover, the integrity
of his purpose is never questioned. The word of
Ernest E. Hart is ever a synonym for honest dealing
among, his colleagues in the business world and
wherever he is known -- and his acquaintance is
a wide one throughout the nation -- it is a uniformly
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acceded fact that his position relative to any
question results from an honest belief therein.
Mr. Hart spent his entire life in Iowa, his birth
having occurred at West Union on the 9th of December,
1859. He is a son of Dr. Hart, of whom mention
is made elsewhere in this volume, and a brother
of Mrs. Jennie Edmundson, after whom the Edmundson
Memorial Hospital was named. His early education
was acquired in the public schools of Dubuque
and in 1868 he came with his parents to Council
Bluffs, where he continued his studies, passing
through successive grades in the public schools
until he completed the high-school course by graduation
with the class of 1875. He afterward pursued a
preparatory course in Grinnell College and then
entered the classic walls of old Yale, where he
was graduated in 1881 with high honors.
Mr. Hart began his business career in the real-estate
office of his brother-in-law, J. D. Edmundson,
there remaining until 1884, when he engaged in
the mortgage and loan business at the corner of
Main and First avenue in Council Bluffs. He has
since continued in this line but the intervening
years have watched the broadening out of his sphere
of activity until his efforts touch many lines
contributing to the commercial and financial stability
and progress of Pottawattamie county. In 1891
he established a private bank under the name of
E. E. Hart, which institution he is still conducting.
In 1885 he became a director of the Citizens State
Bank, which in 1899 was merged into the First
National Bank. Purchasing a controlling interest
in this institution, Mr. Hart became its president
in January, 1902; and has since served in that
capacity. He has made the First National one of
the greatest banking institutions in western Iowa,
having doubled its capital out of its earnings.
It is now capitalized for two hundred thousand
dollars and he has increased the surplus to one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, while the
institution pays an annual dividend of twelve
per cent. What he has accomplished in this connection
would alone entitle Mr. Hart to classification
with the prominent men of Council Bluffs and western
Iowa, but it represents but one of the many lines
with which he is associated. He has been a director
of the State Savings Bank from its organization;
is president of the State Banking & Trust
Company of Sioux Falls, South Dakota: a director
of the First National Bank at Imogene, Iowa; president
of the Pottawattamie Abstract Company, of Council
Bluffs; and president of the Council Bluffs Building,
Savings & Loan Association. He is likewise
treasurer of the Eagle Life Insurance Company,
of Council Bluffs, and the extent and importance
of these connections make him one of the most
prominent financiers of Iowa. He has likewise
extended his efforts into other fields, being
president of the Council Bluffs Real Estate &
Improvement Company; president of the Interstate
Improvement Company and vice president of the
York & Hill Realty Company, of Denver, Colorado,
thus operating extensively in property interests
and investment. He is closely connected with the
development of important industrial interests)
being treasurer of the Iowa Lumber & Box Company,
of Council Bluffs, with factory at Medford,
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Oregon, a director of the Kretchmer Manufacturing
Company, of this city, and for thirteen years
was owner and president of the Nonpareil. A man
of sound judgment and excellent executive ability,
he has met with far more than ordinary success
in his business affairs and while wealth has crowned
his efforts, he is also classed with that splendid
type of the American citizen who promotes general
progress and improvement in advancing individual
prosperity. Never hasty in his judgments, he nevertheless
forms his plans readily and is determined in their
execution. He is a man of push and progress, before
whom difficulties vanish as mist before the morning
sun. He is penetrative and practical. He sees
to the center of things and he sees from the center
to the outmost circumference of the possibilities
of accomplishment.
Mr. Hart is a valued member of the Benevolent
& Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen
of America, the Loyal Legion, and the Royal Arcanum,
being in hearty sympathy with the basic principles
of those orders. In earlier life he was not unknown
in military circles, having for five years served
as a member of the Dodge Light Guards. He is an
active member and trustee of the First Congregational
church and has been a generous contributor in
fostering plans and movements for the benefit
of those upon whom fate or some untoward circumstance
has bestowed a hard lot.
Mr. Hart has personal acquaintance with many
of the eminent political leaders of the country
and has for many years been accounted one of the
most prominent republicans of Iowa. He regards
it the duty as well as the privilege of every
American citizen to stand for those principles
which he believes contain the best elements of
good government and has been a close student of
those questions which are to the statesman and
the man of affairs of the gravest import. Few
men have so intimate knowledge of the issues that
have been brought forward in successive campaigns.
In 1892 he was the Iowa delegate to the national
convention and for eight years has been the Iowa
member of the republican national committee, filling
the position at the present time. He enjoyed the
personal friendship of President McKinley, who
was his guest in 1892, and is today in close touch
with republican national leaders.
On the 15th of October, 1889, Ernest E. Hart
was united in marriage to Miss Clara Bebbington,
a native of Council Bluffs and a daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. George Bebbington, the former an old-time
lumber dealer of this city. They became the parents
of four children but their first born, Ernest
Edmundson, whose natal day was September 25, 1890,
passed away November 10, 1891. The others are:
Henry Bebbington, born November 20, 1892; Eldred
Schuyler, born August 28, 1894; and Clara, June
24, 1897. The family home is a beautiful residence
at No. 525 South Third street and Mr. and Mrs.
Hart are acknowledged leaders in social circles
in Council Bluffs.
Mr. Hart's recent address to the people, who
have in him the utmost confidence concerning financial
affairs, has done much to avert the present threatened
financial panic in this city. His fellow townsmen,
among whom he has lived from boyhood, know him
well and trust him. They have found
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him in every circumstance and under all conditions
loyal to truth and honor. Although his business
has reached mammoth proportions he has never been
known to take advantage of the necessities of
another in any business transaction but at all
times has been thoroughly just and straightforward.
His success is attributable to his keen sagacity,
his capable management and his unfaltering diligence.
His life has been so varied in its activity, so
honorable in its purposes, so far-reaching and
beneficial in its effects, that it has become
an integral part of the history of Council Bluffs.
While he has not sought to figure in any public
light, he has nevertheless exerted an immeasurable
influence on the city of his residence: in business
life as a financier and promoter of extensive
industrial and commercial enterprises; in social
circles by reason of a charming personality and
unfeigned cordiality; and in politics by reason
of his public spirit and devotion to the general
good, as well as his comprehensive understanding
of the questions affecting state and national
welfare.
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O. E. Osborn, who is engaged in carrying on general
agricultural pursuits in Hazel Dell township,
was born in Virginia on the 4th of March, 1858.
He is a son of J. W. Osborn, of whom further mention
is made in connection with the sketch of G. H.
Osborn on another page of this volume. He pursued
his education in the common schools and remained
at home until twenty-five years of age, during
which time he received ample training in the work
of the farm, becoming familiar with the best methods
of tilling the soil and planting and harvesting
the crops. When twenty-three years of age he bought
eighty acres of unimproved land, whereon he now
resides, and with characteristic energy began
its development and cultivation. He has made all
the modern improvements upon it, including the
erection of a large frame dwelling and barns.
He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land,
one-half of this being received by him as his
share of his father's estate. In tilling the soil
he has brought his fields under a high state of
cultivation and his farm therefore presents a
neat and attractive appearance. For sixteen years
he has been making a specialty of Duroc Jersey
hogs and now has upon his place two hundred head
which are eligible to registry. He holds two stock
sales each year and disposes of about one hundred
head of hogs annually. This branch of his business
is proving profitable to him.
Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Sarah Roosa, a
daughter of Isaiah and Mary L. (Turner) Roosa,
residing in Garner township. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Osborn have been born the following children:
Margaret, the wife of Richard Hough, of Hazel
Dell township; Frank, who is a student in Simpson
College at Indianola, Iowa; Ernest, who attends
the Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa; Grace,
a student in the school at Cedar Falls, Iowa;
Olive, pursuing her education at Council Bluffs;
Mary, at home; and Charles L.
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Mr. Osborn and his family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which
he is actively interested, while to its support
he contributes generously. He does everything
in his power to advance the growth of the church
and to extend its influence, is now serving as
one of its trustees and for four years has been
superintendent of the Sunday school. His life
accords with its teachings, for he has ever been
an upright, honorable man, well meriting the confidence
and esteem which are so uniformly extended him.
In politics he is a stalwart republican. For four
years he served as justice of the peace and for
four years has been school director, fining this
position at the present time. In all of his farm
work he is practical, following methods that produce
good results, and today has a valuable property
which presents a very attractive appearance, owing
to the care and labor that Mr. Osborn has bestowed
upon it.
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JAMES S. NORTON.
James S. Norton, deceased, was for some years
a resident of Macedonia township -- a man of great
integrity who had no enemies and whose influence
was always exerted on the side of reform, improvement
and righteousness. Only delicate health prevented
him from becoming a leader in the public life
of his community and even as it was his opinions
carried weight with many. He was born near Lincoln,
Illinois, October 30, 1852, his parents being
Alexander and Caroline (Lloyd) Norton, natives
of Winchester, Indiana, and of North Carolina
respectively. They resided in the former state
for a short time after their marriage and established
their home at Lincoln, Illinois, at an early period
in the development of that section of the state.
James S. Norton, the third in a family of five
children, was reared at the place of his nativity
and pursued his education in the public schools.
He was about twenty-nine years of age when he
left Lincoln and came to Iowa in 1881, spending
his remaining days here, his death occurring on
the 10th Of March, 1902. He was reared to farm
life and attended the common schools until twenty
years of age, when he entered the Lincoln University,
spending three years in the pursual of a college
course. His training in the work of the farm was
not meager and in fact be obtained broad practical
experience concerning the best methods of tilling
the soil and producing crops. He was married on
the 22d of March, 1874, and started out in life
on his own account. He removed from Logan county,
Illinois, to Champaign county, where he rented
a farm for seven years and on the expiration of
that period he came to Iowa, purchasing one hundred
and sixty acres of land in Grove township, Pottawattamie
county, about two miles east of Macedonia. With
characteristic energy he began the cultivation
and development of the fields and as the years
went by continued the farm work until about eleven
years ago, when he came to Macedonia and was appointed
postmaster under the administration of President
Mc-
1095
Kinley. His health failed him and he resigned
after about three years' service. He then gave
his time to making collections until his health
was better, this keeping him out in the open air
much of the time. When he had somewhat improved
he became a factor in commercial life of the village
as proprietor of a furniture and hardware store
in partnership with J. B Denton under the firm
name of Norton & Denton. This relation was
continued for about two and a half years, when
on account of his health Mr. Norton was obliged
to sell out. He possessed good ideas concerning
business, was methodical and practical in his
methods, and showed great determination in carrying
forward to successful completion whatever he undertook.
As stated, it was on the 22d of March, 1874,
that Mr. Norton was married, the lady of his choice
being Miss Olive L. Metcalf, who was born in Lincoln,
Illinois, on the 19th of March, 1856, a daughter
of R. W. and Phoebe (Lorey) Metcalf, the former
born near Atlanta, Illinois, and the latter in
Ohio. The mother died when Mrs. Norton was but
eleven years of age, leaving four children. Unto
our subject and his wife was born one daughter,
Grace.
The family life was most pleasant, Mr. Norton
being a man of domestic tastes, who found his
greatest interest in promoting the welfare and
happiness of his wife and daughter. In politics
he was a life-long republican, and that he was
a faithful office holder is indicated by the fact
that he served for nine years as assessor of Grove
township. He belonged to the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, in which he was active, being
in thorough sympathy with the high principles
of that organization. Integrity, activity and
energy were the crowning points of his success
and his connection with various business enterprises
and interests was of decided advantage to the
section in which he lived, promoting its material
welfare in no uncertain manner. In those finer
traits of character which combine to form that
which we term friendship, which endear and attach
man to man in bonds which nothing but the stain
of dishonor can sever and which triumph and shine
brightest in the hour .of adversity--in those
qualities he was richly endowed, and it was his
worth as a citizen and as a man that caused his
death to come with a sense of personal bereavement
to all who knew him.
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Rev. Henry E. Hoff, a minister of the German
Lutheran church, which is located on section 11,
Keg Creek township, and is known as the German
Lutheran church of St. Paul, has throughout the
years of his manhood devoted his life to the holy
calling which now claims his attention. He was
born in Saxony, Germany, March 13, 1864, his parents
being Henry J. and Meta (Gehring) Hoff, who were
likewise natives of Germany, where the father
died in 1903 when eighty-three years of age, his
wife passing away in
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1898 at the age of fifty-six years. His entire
life was devoted to the work of the ministry and
he left upon the lives of those with whom he came
in contact an indelible impression that time cannot
obliterate.
Rev. Henry E. Hoff is the only surviving member
of a family of six children. His boyhood days
were spent in Germany, where he acquired a common-school
education and then, determining to devote his
life to preaching the gospel, he studied for the
ministry, being graduated from the seminary in
Kropp, Schleswig-Holstein. In 1888, when twenty-four
years of age, he crossed the Atlantic to America
and located in Mendota, Illinois, where he remained
for six months. While there he was married on
the 29th of November, 1889, to Miss Kate Schneller,
who was a native of Mendota and a daughter of
Jacob and Appalonia (Eckstein) Schneller, who
were likewise natives of Germany. The father died
in Mendota in 1906 at the ripe old age of seventy-eight
years, while the mother is still living at that
place. They were residents of Mendota: for a long
period, Mr. Schneller there engaging in business
as a wagonmaker. In their family were five children,
of whom three are yet living: Mrs. Lena Stoltz,
whose home is now in Colorado; Mrs. Mary Chick,
of Hastings, Nebraska; and Mrs. Hoff.
Following his marriage Rev. Hoff was sent to
Iowa in 1889 and had charge of a church in what
is known as the Plummer settlement in Mills county.
He also preached for the people at the church
of which he is now pastor. In 1896 a parsonage
was built here and Rev. Hoff has since made his
home on section 11, Keg Creek township. The German
Lutheran church of St. Paul was organized in 1882
by the Rev. Feistner with a membership of sixteen
families. The first pastor was followed by Rev.
Blasberg, who was succeeded by Rev. Hoff, and
there is now a membership of forty-five families,
constituting an earnest congregation who are devoted
to their church and its purposes.
The home of Rev. and Mrs. Hoff has been blessed
with seven children: Henry; Arthur; Elvira; Winfred
and Alfred, twins; Pearl; and Harold. Rev. and
Mrs. Hoff have won many warm friends during their
residence in Pottawattamie county and their labors
are a strong element in the moral development
of the community. Mr. Hoff has devoted his entire
life to the worthy purpose of uplifting his fellowmen
through the proclamation of the gospel and his
labors have not been denied a good harvest.
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John Sides, who is in the real-estate and fire
insurance business in Carson and is also superintending
his farming interests and investments in Pottawattamie
county, was born in Gibson county, Indiana, February
15, 1840. His parents were James and Elizabeth
(Thomas) Sides, natives of Pennsylvania and Tennessee
respectively. The father was a son of John Sides,
of Pennsylvania German stock. James Sides was
born in 1818 and
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died in April, 1899, at the age of eighty-one
years, passing away in McLean county, Illinois.
His wife died on the old home farm in Logan county,
Illinois, in 1867. Throughout his entire life
Mr. Sides devoted his time and energies to general
agricultural pursuits and thus provided a fair
living for his family. Unto him and his wife were
born six children: Sarah, deceased; John; David,
who served for four years in the Civil war as
a member of Company H, Seventh Illinois Infantry,
veteranizing and continuing with the army of Cumberland,
taking part in a number of important engagements
after which he returned home, spent his last days
in Kansas, where he died in 1891; Mrs. Katharine
Randolph, a widow, living in Dewitt county, Illinois;
Henry Marshall, who died in Dakota in 1900; Andrew
Jackson, of Center township, this county.
John Sides spent the first fourteen years of
his life in the state of his nativity and then
accompanied his parents on their removal to Logan
county, Illinois. After attending the public schools
he entered LeRoy Seminary, but when six weeks
had passed he returned home and enlisted, in August,
1862, as a member of Company F, One Hundred and
Sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. The regiment
went to Jackson, Tennessee, and Mr. Sides served
much of the time on the detached service. He took
part in the entire siege of Vicksburg, went after
Price at Little Rock and later was on General
Wyes' staff until after the expiration of his
term of service, when he was mustered out at Mound
City, Illinois.
When the war was over, Mr. Sides located again
in Logan county. He made a splendid military record
and was offered the commissions of major and of
colonel but would not accept, being content to
do his duty as a private soldier in defense of
the flag for which he has ever had the most sincere
affection. Resuming the pursuits of civil life,
he entered merchandising at Lincoln, Illinois,
and for two and a half years was manager of a
store but because of ill health he returned to
the farm and found in its outdoor life the remedy
which he needed for the upbuilding of his constitution.
He continued to engage in agricultural pursuits
in that state until 1875, when he removed to Iowa
and settled on section 2, Carson township. In
addition to this property he bought one hundred
arid twenty-eight acres of unimproved land and
he still owns the original farm. He likewise has
a hundred acres on section 26 of the same township
but has resided in the village for the past fifteen
years. Here he is engaged in the real-estate business,
beginning his operations in this line before the
town of Carson was founded. He also conducts a
fire insurance agency and gives personal supervision
to his farming interests. As a real-estate dealer
he has negotiated many important property transfers
and his labors have brought to him a gratifying
measure of success.
In September, 1866, Mr. Sides was married to
Miss Mary Chappell, who was born in Springfield,
Ohio, in July, 1846, a daughter of Charles and
Diana (Lee) Chappell. The home of Mr. and Mrs.
Sides has been blessed with the following named
sons and daughters: William C., who resides upon
the home farm in Carson township; L. Ferman, who
is a railroad man of Missouri; Charles C.; Emma
Luella, the wife of C. F. Miller of Council Bluffs;
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Orlando, also of that city; and John Harry and
Arthur Alvin, both deceased.
In his political views Mr. Sides is a stalwart
republican and has served as a member of the village
council for a number of years, in which oapacity
he has done effective service for the welfare
of the town. He is a popular and valued member
of Robert Povard post, No. 414, G. A. R., of which
he is now serving as commander, and he likewise
belongs to the. Presbyterian church, associations
which indicate much of the character of his life
and the principles which guide his conduct. He
is greatly esteemed by all who know him, but most
of all where he is best known. His residence in
the county has covered a long period and in all
matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal
to his country today as when he followed the stars
and stripes upon the battle-fields of the south.
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Robert Prentice, deceased, who for some years
was actively and closely associated with the agricultural
interests of Hazel Dell township, was numbered
among the county's native sons, his birth having
occurred in Crescent township on the 3d of November,
1864. In both the paternal and maternal lines
he comes of Scotch ancestry, his parents being
Alexander R. and Agnes (Kirkwood) Prentice, both
of whom were natives of Scotland. The father was
born December 21, 1829, and the mother on the
20th of August, 1832. They were married in 1852
and after residing for five years in the land
of hills and heather emigrated to the United States
in 1857. Mr. Prentice settled near Crescent in
that year and during the early period of his residence
here followed the occupation of carpentering but
later turned his attention to farming, purchasing
a tract of land in Crescent township, which he
improved and cultivated until he made it a fine
farm. He was prominent in the early history of
that locality, contributing in substantial measure
to its improvement and giving his influence to
all the movements and measures calculated to aid
the community in any Way. Both he and his wife
were earnest and consistent Christian people,
holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in politics Mr. Prentice was a stalwart
republican. He died January 18, 1901, having for
a year survived his wife, who passed away January
14, 1900.
The boyhood days of Robert Prentice were quietly
passed upon the home farm. He became a common-school
student and while pursuing his education devoted
the periods of vacation to farm work, thus gaining
the practical experience which was of immense
value to him in later years. Be. coming a farmer,
he improved a two hundred-acre farm in Hazel Dell
township, upon which his widow now resides. He
brought the fields under a high state of cultivation
and his work was seen in the abundant harvests
which followed his plowing and cultivating.
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On the 20th of March, 1889, Mr. Prentice was
united in marriage to Miss Susan M. Osborn, a
daughter of J. W. Osborn, of whom mention is made
elsewhere in this volume in connection with the
sketch of G. H. Osborn. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Prentice
were born seven children: Hazel, Arthur, Robert,
Ruth, Isabelle, James and George, all of whom
are yet under the parental roof.
In his political views Mr. Prentice was a republican,
thoroughly in sympathy with the principles and
policy of the party, and for three years he served
as township trustee. He was connected with the
Modern Woodmen of America at Crescent and enjoyed
the friendship of his brethren of that fraternity.
He belonged, too, to the Methodist Episcopal church
and his life was upright and honorable. To his
family he was a devoted husband and father and
was ever a faithful friend, while in his business
life he was reliable and trustworthy. Those who
knew him entertained for him warm regard and though
he never sought to figure prominently in public
life he belonged to that class of citizens who
are the real strength of a community, upholding
its moral and legal status. Since her husband's
death Mrs. Prentice has built a neat cottage on
the farm, which she occupies, and her land is
now rented, bringing to her a fair income. Like
Mr. Prentice, she has many friends in the community,
the hospitality of the best homes being freely
accorded her.
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Chris Hamann, who was born in Germany, died at
his home on section 11, Keg Creek township, Pottawattamie
county, Iowa, March 13, 1904, at the age of fifty-two
years. He came to the United States alone when
nineteen years of age and at once made his way
into the interior of the country, settling in
Mills county, Iowa, where he worked on a farm.
In 1887 he bought eighty acres of land on section
11, Keg Creek township, Pottawattamie county,
and with characteristic energy began to cultivate
and improve this farm, upon which he continued
to reside until his death. His labors were practical
and good results were therefore achieved. He became
the owner of two hundred and eight acres of valuable
land and always carried on general farming, bringing
his fields under a high state of cultivation by
practical, enterprising methods. He possessed
strong purpose and unfaltering perseverance and
carried forward to successful completion whatever
he undertook.
On the 12th of February, 1879, Mr. Hamann was
united in marriage to Miss Anna Lucker, who was
born in Germany and is a daughter of William and
Anna (Bremer) Lucker. The parents came from the
fatherland to the new world when their daughter,
Mrs. Hamann, was but ten years of age and located
in Cedar county, Iowa. The mother died in 1883,
and the father, long surviving her, passed away
in 1901 at the age of seventy-five years. In their
family were four children, of whom three still
survive: Mrs.
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Caroline Bollmier, of Pottawattamie county; Henry,
who is living in Texas; and Mrs. Hamann. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Hamann were born seven children:
Emil, who married Lena Strebeck and resides upon
and operates a part of the home farm; Otto, who
died at the age of three years; Alma, the wife
of Harry Holtz, a resident farmer of Keg Creek
township; Linda, who died in infancy; Amanda,
Arno and Herbert, all at home.
In his farm work Mr. Hamann was very enterprising,
diligent and industrious. He kept adding improvements
to his place and his labors transformed it into
a valuable, productive and attractive property,
which he left to his family and from which they
now derive a good income. For years Mr. Hamann
was a devoted and faithful member of the German
Lutheran church and his life was at all times
honorable and upright. His political allegiance
was given to the democratic party in early manhood
but in later years he joined the ranks of the
republican party and was one of its stanch advocates
until his demise. He served as road supervisor
and was also postmaster of Treynor for two years.
In all life's relations he was honorable and trustworthy
and he left to his family not only a good property
but also the priceless heritage of an untarnished
name.
Mrs. Hamann still resides upon the home farm,
which is operated by her two sons, Emil and Arno,
who carry on general farming and stockraising.
She has a beautiful residence and the farm is
all finely improved. She belongs to the German
Lutheran church and many good qualities have endeared
her to a large number of friends and acquaintances
throughout this part of the county.
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