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History of Sac County
by William H. Hart - 1914
 BAHL, LOUIS -----The life
history of no man can exceed in interest that of him who
comes to this land of opportunity as a immigrant and
who. in this great land, hampered by lack of knowledge
of language and custom, yet overcomes all obstacles and
reaches a position of influence in his adopted country.
Such has been the history of Louis Bahl, who is now
living a retired life in Sac City, Iowa.
He
was born June 28, 1840, in Prussia, the son of Frank
George and Anna Elizabeth (Bear) Bahl. His parents came
to this country when he was fourteen years of age and
first located in Iowa. They came up the Mississippi
river from New Orleans and had intended to locate in
Arkansas, near Port Smith, but they could not ascend the
Arkansas river on account of the low water, therefore,
they continued on their way up the Mississippi and
landed at Davenport, Iowa, and thence they went to
Muscatine County, where Frank Bahl bought sixty-five
acres of land and built a small house. He had twelve
hundred dollars in cash when he bought his farm and paid
six hundred dollars of it for his land. The first winter
which they spent in this country was very mild and they
experienced none of those discomforts which they
suffered during some of the succeeding winters. The
family continued to live in Muscatine county until the
outbreak of the war. Three of the sons of Frank Bahl,
William, Frank and Henry, enlisted in the Union army and
served throughout the war. They engaged in forty-two
skirmishes and battles and came out unwounded at the end
of the long struggle. William and Frank, it is
interesting to note, were twins.
Louis Bahl received his elementary
education in the public schools of Germany and also
attended school a short time after coming to this
country, in order to better acquaint himself with our
language. He worked on the home farm until he was
married, at the age of twenty-three, and then rented
land from his parents, who had moved to Davenport. He
also rented a farm adjoining his father's farm after the
first year, and when his father sold the farm Louis
teamed for a couple of years in Davenport. He then moved
to a forty-acre farm in Muscatine County and later
rented an eighty-acre farm.
After living four years on this farm he rented a
one-hundred-and-twenty acre farm and lived on it for
four years. In 1874 he moved to Cedar county and lived
for seven years on a two-hundred-acre farm, which he
rented. Then for the next
three years he rented a three-hundred-and-twenty-acre
farm. In 1890 he went to
Scott County where he rented a farm for four years, and
in 1894 came to Sac County and bought three hundred and
twenty acres in Douglas township for thirty-two dollars
an. acre. There was one set of buildings on this farm
and it was already somewhat improved, so that he had an
opportunity to begin getting returns on his investment
at once. He later built another set of buildings. In
1902 he bought one hundred and sixty acres at thirty-six
dollars an acre, and sold this farm four years later for
ten thousand dollars. In the spring of 1908 he moved to
Sac City, where he has a fine residence in the northern
part of the city.
Louis Bahl was married on November
20, 1863, to Augusta Ehrecke, who was born October 18,
1845. To this union were born twelve children, all of
whom are living: Charles, of North Dakota: Mrs. Frances
Evers, of Douglas township: Louis, Jr. of Dickinson
county, Iowa; Mrs. Ida Royalty, of Butler county, Iowa:
Mrs. Hannah Fisher, of Fort Pierce, Iowa; William, of
Douglas township: Mrs. Anna Straub of Clay county, Iowa:
Edward, of Storm Lake, Iowa: Albert of Douglas township:
Mrs. Augusta Spinhirni. of Texas: Frank, of Montgomery,
Iowa, and Harry, of Dickinson county, Iowa.
Mr. and Mr. Bahl have twenty-six grandchildren.
They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on
November 15, 1913.
Mr.
Bahl has always been a Democrat in politics, but has
confined his political activities to the casting of his
vote for his party's candidate. Mr.
Bahl is a man who has worked hard for what he now
possesses and has won a success solely through his
persevering industry and good management. He has
contributed his full share to the material advancement
of his community. He and his wife have
reared a large family of children to live of honor and
usefulness, and a greater thing than this can no
American citizen do.
 BALLARD, CHARLES WESLEY -----He
whose name stands above is a member of a family which
has long been identified with the growth and development
of Sac county, each having contributed in his peculiar
way to the moral, educational and material advancement
of his time.
Charles W. Ballard. proprietor of
the Glendale farm, consisting of one hundred and sixty
acres located in section 25 of Wheeler township, was
born on September 1, 1859, in Colchester, Lamoine
township, McDonough county, Illinois, the son of George
Haven Ballard and Adaline A. Belles, his wife.
George H. Ballard was born on
November 3, 1836, in Perry, Lake county, Ohio, the son
of William L. (born in I786) and Susan (Baldwin)
Ballard, the latter born in 1793. George H. Ballard,
father of the immediate subject of this sketch, was
married in 1856, while a resident of Sycamore, Illinois,
the marriage taking place at Malta, Illinois, the home
of Miss Belles whom was born September 22, 1838.
George H.
Ballard was a man of more than ordinary ability
and great aptitude. He had a natural bent for mechanics
and when quite young mastered the cabinetmaker's trade,
in which his ability amounted to nothing short of
genius. He frequently contracted for building houses
entire, putting many unusual touches into the finishing
of same. He was also more or less familiar with steam
engineering and frequently operated engines of this
class. For a period of eight years he was connected with
the Marsh Harvesting Machine Company in the capacity of
sub-foreman and time-keeper and also was responsible for
the proper working of the various lines of machinery. In
the spring of 1878, desiring to better his financial
condition and possibly secure an excellent location, he
left Illinois with a colony which settled in Stafford
county, Kansas.
However, he did not find conditions
there at all to his liking and two years later, in the
fall of 1880, he came to Odebolt, this county, and took
up his residence on a farm about two and one-half miles
north of that city. Shortly after coming
to this locality, he purchased the Union restaurant and
for a period of nineteen years devoted his time and
attention to the management of that business. He is now
living in comfortable retirement in Odebolt, having
given up connection with the active labors of life. In
spite of his years, he retains a keen interest in
affairs, both local and otherwise, and his mental and
physical activity would do credit to a man several years
his junior. There were originally six children in the
Ballard family, one of whom, William, died in childhood.
Those other than the immediate subject of this sketch
are Frank Seymour, who resides in Duff, Rock county,
Nebraska; Elizabeth M. (Mrs. Bailey) residing in Osmond,
Pierce county, Nebraska, and Etta Emeline (Mrs. Traver),
who lives in Webster City, Hamilton county, Iowa.
In his younger days George H.
Ballard had a reputation as a sportsman and fisherman of
more than usual ability and as he advanced in years he
spent weeks and months at his cottage on the shore of
Wall lake, where he maintained his reputation of earlier
days. He has a great store of reminiscences which he
takes pleasure in recounting to the delight of his
friends.
Charles W. Ballard, the immediate
subject of this sketch, received his education in the
schools of DeKalb county, Illinois, and later at
Sycamore in the same county. He taught one term of
school in Kansas and after coming to this county he
assisted in operating the paternal farm for six years
and during that time and later taught fourteen terms of
school in Richland. Clinton and Wheeler
townships, this county. He proved particularly
proficient in the education of youth and exerted a
wholesome influence over his pupils in the formation of
character. During sixteen years of the time his father
was engaged in the restaurant business, he was
associated with him, having practical charge of the
business, especially at such times as the father would
be absent on some of his famous hunting trips. The
winter of 1903-1904 he spent in California and upon
returning to this locality he retired from active
business and for two years resided in Odebolt. In the
spring of 1907 he took up his residence on his present
farm in Wheeler township which he had purchased in the
spring of 1900 at a cost of forty-seven dollars per
acre. He made this investment after disposing of his
farm in Richland township for five thousand, seven
hundred and fifty dollars for the entire farm.
Mr. Ballard engages in general
farming, in which he is eminently successful and pays
particular attention to livestock. He has from twelve to
fifteen head of high grade Shorthorn cattle and has
seven milk cows. He operates a private dairy, disposing
of his cream to the creamery. He also produces for the
market about one hundred head of hogs annually. He has
an excellent strain of thoroughbred Poland China swine,
all of which are eligible to registration. For the
general work of the farm he keeps two horses and in the
season of 1913 from sixty acres planted to corn he
produced thirty-five hundred bushels. The management of
this farm is such as to constitute another proof, if
proof there need be, of the undoubted business ability
of the owner and proprietor.
On November 17, 1897 in Orangeville,
Stephenson county, Illinois, Mr.
Ballard was united in marriage with Mary Esther
Riem, born in that town on July 27, 1873, a daughter of
George Franklin and Clara Elvira (Cross) Riem, the
former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the
latter born and reared in Illinois. After several years
residence in Illinois, George F.
Riem and wife moved to Los Angeles, California,
where his death occurred on January 28, 1903. He was in
his sixtieth year, having been born on February 26,
1843. The widow, whose birth occurred on June 16, 1851,
still resides in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Ballard have
two interesting daughters, Blanche Eleanor, born
November 20, 1898, still in school, and Myrtle Amanda,
born on March 6, 1905.
In politics, Mr. Ballard is aligned
with the Progressive party and his religious affiliation
is with the Methodist Episcopal church, which the family
attends. Fraternally, he is a member of the order of
Yeoman and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, through
the local organizations at Odebolt.
Mr. Ballard has long been numbered among the
progressive and public-spirited citizens of this county
and is in every way one of the substan tial men of the
community. Endowed by nature with strong" mental powers
and possessing the courage and energy to direct his
faculties in proper channels, he early became a man of
resourceful capacity, as the able management of his
private affairs abundantly testify. He possesses the
happy faculty of not only making friends, but binding
them to him by his good qualities of head and
heart.
BAXTER, HARRY
-----Sunnyside farm in Cedar township is well and aptly
named, for here resides one of the most progressive and
truly hospitable families in Sac county. In every
community which is blessed with the regular allotment of
good things meant for the uplifting of the people are
usually found some wide-awake citizens who are alive to
their opportunities and are happier when they are
mingling with their neighbors and joining them in
matters of general improvement and taking part in the
quest for knowledge. Harry Baxter is one of the leaders
in Sac county in the general wave of better farming
which is sweeping the great state of Iowa. He is firm
believer in making the soil yield better and trigger
crops and in trying to make two blades of grass grow
where but one grew before. No pleasanter home is found
in the land than the Baxter homestead, on Sunnyside
farm.
The
Baxters keep open house for their friends and
acquaintances and Mr. Baxter is one of the leaders in
the agricultural and official life of Sac county. His
farm is a genuine model of its kind and consists of one
hundred and twenty acres of the finest land obtainable
equipped with a modern residence and buildings in
accordance with a well-laid-out plan. His farming
operations cover two hundred acres in all. During 1913
he planted seventy acres in corn and raised an excellent
crop. For years he has been a breeder of Galloway cattle
and has a fine herd of about seventeen thorough breds on
the place.
Harry Baxter was born September 15,
1871, in Leeds, England, and is the son of George H.
Baxter, who was born in 1845 and Emma Baxter who died in
England when Harry was yet a child. In 1882 George H.
Baxter and son Harry came to America from England and
located in Cedar township.
They were not the first of the Baxter family to
emigrate to America, however, for in 1862 Thomas Baxter,
father George H., emigrated to the state of Illinois and
lived there until the spring of 1882 when he came to Sac
county. Father and son made the trip in the month of May
Harry was ten years of age and had been attending the
schools in his native town in England previous to coming
to America. After coming here he attended the district
schools near the home farm. He resided with his father
until twenty-one years of age and then took possession
of his grandfather's farm of forty acres. He improved
the land as he was able and now has one of the finest
and best equipped farms in Sac county. He was at one
time a very extensive breeder of Galloway cattle and
owned a herd of over sixty head of grade stock.
Mr.
Baxter is a Republican in politics. He was elected
auditor of Sac county in the fall of 1906 and entered
office January 1, 1907 and served two years. It is said
of him that he was one of the most reliable and
competent officials who ever served in the Court house.
He has filled the office of township trustee and has
been secretary of the township school board. During his
term as county auditor it was necessary for him to
reside in Sac City, but on the expiration of his term he
and the members of his family were more than pleased to
get back to the farm home. He is a member of the
Presbyterian church and is affiliated with the Ancient
Free and Accepted Masons, having attained to the order
of Knights Templar.
Mr.
Baxter was married on October 12, 1892, to Anna
Wilkinson, daughter of J. W. Wilkinson, of Cedar
township. John William Wilkinson was born November 11,
1843, in Leeds, England, the son of John and Sarah Ann
(Kendall) Wilkinson. The father was a blacksmith. Anna
Kendall was the daughter of John Kendall, a machinist
and inventor who was a mechanic in the Marshall flax
mill at Leeds. John W. Wilkinson learned the trade of
blacksmith and machinist and rose to the foremanship of
a factory in his native city. On August 1, 1887, he
emigrated to America and came to Sac county, purchasing
a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Cedar township
where he now resides. He is an independent in politics
and is a great reader, keeping abreast of the times in
every way possible. In his early life he studied
political economy and became a convert to the teachings
of John Stuart Mill. He is a member of the Presbyterian
church. Mr. Wilkinson was married in 1865 to Sarah Jane
Harrison, of Leeds, who was born September 1, 1843. They
are the parents of five children, four of whom are yet
living Mrs. Harrv Baxter; Walter, who died in Cedar
township at the age of twenty years; Edward, a farmer in
Stickney county, South Dakota : Clara, wife of Albert
Body, who tills the home farm; Mrs. John Chalfant, of
Bayette, Idaho.
To
Harry Baxter and wife have been born children, as
follows: Clara, a graduate of the Sac City high school,
class of 1911 and now a teacher in Sac county: George
W., who graduated from the high school in 1913 took
first honors in his class and won the Ames scholarship;
May, a student in the high school.
This highly esteemed couple are both
well educated and readers of good literature. Their
tallies and bookshelves are filled with high class
monthly periodicals and the classics of literature. The
family they are rearing is a credit to themselves and to
the community. Their home is aptly named and the genial
sociability and innate hospitality given the visitor to
their home breathes the spirit of "Sunnyside". The
reviews in this volume concerning Sac county people of
this character serve to embellish and make more valuable
to future posterity the memoirs of the
county.
BECHLER, ROBERT D. -----There
are individuals in nearly every community who, by reason
of pronounced ability and force of character, rise above
the heads of the mass and command the unbounded esteem
of their fellowmen. Characterized by perseverance and a
directing spirit, two virtues that never fail, such men
always make their presence felt and the vigor of their
strong personality serves as a stimulus and incentive to
the young and rising generation. To this energetic and
enterprising class the subject of this brief review very
properly belongs. Having never been seized with the
roaming desires that have led many of Sac county's young
men to other fields of endeavor and other states, where
they have sought their fortunes, Mr. Bechler has devoted
his life to industries at home and has succeeded
remarkably well, as may be seen by a study of his life
history.
Robert D. Bechler, one of the most
successful farmers of Douglas township. Sac county, was
born on June 15, 1856, in Union county,
Pennsylvania. His parents, George
and Hannah (Yohn) Bechler. were both natives of that
state and moved to Illinois in an early day, settling in
Jo Daviess county in 1866. Wishing to take advantage of
cheaper as well as better land, they went to Iowa and
settled in Douglas township. Sac county, where the
parents both died. George Bechler died in 1905 and his
wife in 1913.
Robert D. Bechler was twenty-four
years of age when he began to farm for himself. First he
rented land for four years, and by thrift and frugality
he saved his money, so that he was able to invest in
land of his own. He first purchased one hundred and
sixty acres adjoining his present farm, in the spring of
1882, for which he paid twelve dollars an acre. In 1885
he bought an additional one hundred and sixty acres,
which cost him thirty dollars an acre. This land he has
improved in such a way as to enhance its value many
fold, as well as to increase its productivity in every
way. Mr. Bechler is recognized as one of the most
successful farmers in Sac county, for the reason that he
is fully abreast of the times in all agricultural lines.
He is quick to make use of the latest machinery to
assist in his farming operations and never fails to take
advantage of the most improved methods for increasing
his crop production. He also raises a large amount of
cattle and hogs annually, which makes a substantial part
of his yearly income. He has invested in a handsome
residence in Sac City, near the center of the town, in
addition to his farm property.
Mr. Bechler was married April 22,
1883, to Emma Heller, the daughter of S. S. and
Catherine (Miller) Heller, who was born in the state of
Pennsylvania, as were her parents, and came to Iowa in
1873, when she was seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs.
Bechler are the parents of eight sons and one daughter:
Guy W., born in 1883; Omer R., born February 16, 1884,
deceased; Wallace R., born January 23, 1887, who lives
in Sac City; Roy D., born June 4, 1889; Catherine R.,
born September 11, 1892; Lloyd M., born January 14,
1899: George S., born February 23, 1902: Julian, born
December 26, 1905, and Marvin M., born December 19,
1907.
Mr. Bechler is a Republican in
politics, but confines his political activity to the
casting of his ballot for his party's candidates on
election day, as his interests have been so man\ and
varied that he has not had time to take an active part
in the political game. The Bechler family are
Presbyterians in faith, and contribute liberally of
their substance to the support of that denomination. Mr.
Bechler has attained to a prominent place as a farmer
and public-spirited citizen of the county, because he
has never neglected an opportunity to identify himself
with ah those influences which make for a better
community. His interest in public affairs and the honest
methods which he has pursued since he has become a
resident of this county have naturally won for him the
esteem of a large circle of friends and
acquaintances.
BERG, CHARLES F. -----One
of the best known farmers in Sac county, Iowa, is
Charles F. Berg, owner of a farm consisting of two
hundred and twenty acres in Wheeler township, section
34. Mr. Berg first came to this county thirty-five years
ago and is, therefore, one of the older pioneers of the
county, having endured many of the hardships, privations
and experiences of those who enter a new country.
Mr. Berg is a native of Sweden,
having been born in that country in 1835. His earlier
life was passed in an orphans' home in Stockholm, but
when five years of age he was taken into the house of a
farmer in the country near that city and was reared as
his own son. He received careful training in the secrets
of successful husbandry and when quite a young boy was
able to do a considerable amount of work about the farm.
This knowledge and early experience stood him in good
stead in later years when trying to win a competence
from Dame Fortune in his adopted country.
In 1864 Mr.
Berg was united in marriage with Katerina
Ekstrom, also a native of Sweden, born in 1839. Five
years after marriage they emigrated to America and for
the first six months lived in Indiana. They did not find
conditions to their liking in the Hoosier state and so
moved westward into Iowa, locating in Boone county. Here
they lived for seven years, meeting with fair success in
their chosen field of agriculture. In 1878 they came to
Sac county and purchased a tract of eighty acres in
Wheeler township, for which they paid six dollars and
sixty cents per acre, buying on time. The various
purchases of land Mr. Berg has made from time to time
very clearly indicate the rise in the price of land in.
this territory from that of the pioneer days to the high
figure which is now demanded. Mr. Berg's second purchase
was forty acres, for which he paid sixteen dollars per
acre. After a few short years he was again able to add
to his holding's, again purchasing a tract of forty
acres, but this time having to give a price of thirty
dollars per acre, and by the time he made his last
purchase of sixty acres he was compelled to pay
forty-five dollars, several times the price of the land
he first bought.
Mr. Berg has practically retired
from the active duties of life and the management of the
homestead is almost wholly in the competent hands of his
son Martin, who divides his attention between grain and
stock raising. The farm is an
excellent producer and figures for the year 1913 will
give a good idea of what is raised annually. In the year
mentioned there were produced four thousand bushels of
corn and two thousand bushels of oats.
Forty tons of hay were harvested and in addition
to the above there were two hundred and fifty bushels of
wheat and the same amount of barley produced.
In addition to this excellent showing, there were
one hundred hogs marketed and ten head of cattle.
Martin Berg was born on the farm he
now operates on August 1, 1879, and is, therefore, a
native of Sac county. He received his earlier education
in the district schools near the homestead and later
took a course at the Sac City Institute. Politically, he
is a Democrat, and was an ardent advocate of the
policies of Woodrow Wilson in his campaign for
presidential election. His religious
affiliation is with the Swedish Lutheran church, of
which he is an active and consistent member. He carries
insurance in the Bankers Association.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Berg are the
parents of six children, namely: Amanda Sophia, who is
the wife of P. G. Lundell. of Wheeler township, this
county; Matilda Carolina, who is Mrs. Sherman Stolt, and
resides in Sioux City, this state; Charles O. who is
also located in Wheeler township; Anna Charlotte, who is
the wife of S. Salmonson. of South Dakota; Henry, who is
engaged in the practice of law in Idaho, and Martin,
who, as above stated, manages the home farm for the
father. All of the children have been given excellent
educations. receiving elemental training in the district
schools near home, supplemented with later and more
advanced studies at Sac City Institute, and in addition
to that course, Henry took a course in the study of the
law at the University of Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Berg has
been one of the most conscientious of fathers and has
endeavored to prepare both his boys and girls for useful
stations in life. On December 24, 1914, Mr. and Mrs.
Berg will celebrate their fiftieth or golden wedding
anniversary.
While not taking an active interest
in politics, he is a quiet though stanch supporter of
the Republican party, and- his religious affiliation is
with the Swedish Lutheran church, in the faith of which
his family has been reared.
While giving his main attention to the rearing of
his family and the advancement of his material
interests. Mr. Berg has ever borne in mind the
principles of true manhood and stands one of the
stalwart men of brain and character who have done so
much to advance the interests of this comparatively new
section. Conscientious in the discharge of the various
obligations of life, of undoubted integrity, he many
years ago won the trust and confidence of those with
whom he came in contact, and throughout the years this
tribute of respect to genuine worth has only grown as
time passed by.
BERG, CHARLES O. -----In every
community there are individuals who by reason of
pronounced ability and force of character rise above
many others of even greater opportunities and command
the unbounded respect and esteem of their fellow
men. To the man who is both
energetic and enterprising and possessed of honorable
impulses, success is bound to come. To this desirable
class of citizens very properly belongs the subject of
this sketch.
Charles O. Berg was born in Boone
county, Iowa, on January 18, 1871, the son of Charles F.
Berg, a sketch of whose career will be found elsewhere
in this volume. Charles F. Berg and Katerina, his wife,
had been in the country not much over a year when the
subject of this sketch first saw the light of day. Both
were natives of Sweden and the subject therefore belongs
to that class of citizens of Sac county who trace their
origin back to the land of the midnight sun.
The subject has his home on a farm
of something over eighty acres in section 27 of Wheeler
township. The farm residence is beautifully situated on
a hill and is reached by a long lane leading from the
main highway. A large portion of the land is given over
to the cultivation of fruits, there being large orchards
and an excellent vineyard.
The average production of this vineyard is
something like seven thousand pounds of grapes,
representing in amount approximately two hundred
dollars. The orchards also are
quite productive and in this line of horticulture Mr.
Berg is highly successful. He also gives attention to
the raising of grains and livestock and markets about
forty-five or fifty hogs annually.
The season of 1913 he had in forty acres of corn
which averaged better than fifty bushels to the acre.
Mr. Berg is a most careful and painstaking agriculturist
and endeavors to keep pace with the times in his chosen
vocation. The subject was seven
years of age when his parents came to Sac county and
therefore his education was received in the district
schools of this county, supplemented by more advanced
studies at the Sac City Institute. Since 1898 he has
been engaged in farming for himself, for the first three
years managing the Berg homestead in Wheeler township,
which is now in charge of his brother Martin, the father
having practically retired from active labor.
In 1909 Charles O. Berg purchased his present
farm, paying one hundred and fifty dollars per acre, but
he did not bring his family to the farm until in
1911.
Politically, Mr. Berg is a Democrat
and is proud of the fact that he voted for President
Wilson. His religions affiliation is with the Swedish
Lutheran church, in which faith he was reared and in
which he is in turn rearing his family.
On February 24., 1899, Mr. Berg was
united in marriage with Jennie Peterson, daughter of
Peter Peterson, of Odebolt. She was born in Canada, the
child of Swedish parents. To their union have been born
five children, namely: Jennings, born March 8, 1900;
Eveline, deceased; Helen, born November 1, 1905: Frank,
born March 6, 1908, and Edna, born April 30, 1911. These
children are all to receive good educations and will be
carefully trained in all that constitutes perfect
manhood and womanhood. Mr. Berg is a man who takes an
interest in all the leading questions of the day and
gives earnest support to all movements for the
upbuilding of the community socially, morally,
materially and educationally. The result is that in a
large measure he enjoys the sincere regard, confidence
and good will of all who know him.
BETTIN, AUGUST -----The German
immigrants to this country have been distinguished above
all others for their thrift, economy and perseverance,
qualities which have gained for them success almost with
out fail in whatever situation they have been placed and
have made the communities settled by them prosperous
beyond the average. These men have become devoted to
their adopted country and take as active an interest in
the welfare of this nation as they did in their native
land, among the typical German citizens of Sac county,
Iowa, a man widely and favorably known among the people
of Clinton township, and much beloved for his excellent
character is August Bettin, who was born in Germany in
1853.
August Bettin was reared to young
manhood in his native land, his father dying while he
was young, after which his mother. Wilhelmina Bettin,
came to America. When he was eighteen years of age his
mother and her husband and Mrs. Ernestine Kuhn a sister
of August and now a resident of Benton county. Iowa,
came to America, settling in Lee county, Illinois, in
1874, where his mother spent the rest of her life.
August Bettin married in Lee county, Illinois, in
1876 and in 1884 moved to Sac county, Iowa, and rented a
farm for the first three years after his arrival here.
He then purchased one hundred and
sixty acres in section 23, Clinton township, for which
he paid thirty-one and a quarter dollars an acre, and to
this original purchase he has added other tracts at
intervals until he is now the owner of four hundred
acres in this township. The dates of his purchases and
the prices paid for the land are here set forth, and are
especially interesting in view of the fact that the land
has increased so rapidly in value. His second purchase
of eighty acres in 1896 cost him forty-two and a half
dollars an acre; the first purchase of one hundred and
sixty acres in 1901 was bought for fifty-six dollars an
acre; the last purchase of forty acres in 1909,
necessitated an outlay of ninety dollars an acre, and
this gives him a total of four hundred and forty acres
of fine farming land, which today is easily worth one
hundred and fifty dollars an acre. He now has three sets
of buildings on his land and every improvement which
makes for better farming. He came to this county a poor
man and is now one of the wealthiest men of his
township, and has only one regret, namely, that he did
not buy more land when it was cheap. When he came here
and bought his first land in 1887, it was a prairie
tract, destitute of trees, buildings or any
improvements. He has erected the buildings, fenced and
drained the land, set out orchards and planted several
groves of trees. He raises large crops of grain and
feeds most of it to his livestock, marketing at least
twenty head of cattle and eighty head of hogs annually.
Mr. Bettin possesses a keen sense of
humor and believes in everybody enjoying themselves. He
has now reached a position where he is able to take life
easy and has turned the management of his farms over to
his sons. He believes in providing well for his
children, so that he can have them near him in his later
days. Mr. Bettin was married
in 1870, in Illinois, to Kate Glein, a native of
Germany, and to this marriage have been born four
daughters and four sons, all of whom are living and are
useful members of society: Charles, a farmer of Boyer
Valley township; Will, a farmer of Clinton township,
this county; Mrs. Mary Ogren of this township; Mrs.
Emmie Lentz, of Clinton Valley township; John E. who
lives in Clinton township; Mrs. Lizzie Blass of Boyer
Valley township and Fred and Caroline, who are still
with their parents.
The Democratic party has claimed Mr.
Bettin's vote from the time that he cast his first
ballot, and he has never seen any reason why he should
vote for the principles of any other party. The members
of his family are all loyal adherents of the Reformed
German church, and give to it their zealous support. Mr.
Bettin is a man who contributes his success solely to
the fact that he has worked early and late and treated
his neighbors as he would have them treat him. In other
words, he has applied the Golden Rule to his life and,
as a result, has earned the warm commendations of his
friends and neighbors.
BLAIR, FRED LEROY
----Devoted to the noble work which his profession
implies, the gentleman whose career we essay to briefly
outline in the following paragraphs has been faithful
and indefatigable in his endeavors and has not only
earned the due rewards of his efforts in a temporal way,
but has also proved himself eminently worthy to exercise
the important functions of his calling, by reason of his
ability, his abiding sympathy and his earnest zeal in
behalf of his fellowmen. His understanding of
the science of medicine is regarded by those who know
him as being broad and comprehensive, and the profession
and the public accord him a distinguished place among
the men of his class in Iowa.
His has been a life of earnest and persistent
endeavor, such as always brings a true appreciation of
the real value of human existence, a condition that must
be prolific of good results in all the relations of
life.
Dr.
Fred Leroy Blair, the son of John B. and Sylvia (Allen)
Blair, was born March 7, 1879, in Elm Grove township,
Calhoun county, Iowa. His father was born in Darlington,
Wisconsin, in 1840 and died in this township August 22,
1912. The mother of Doctor Blair is still living at
Yetter, Iowa. John B. Blair and his wife, with four
children, came from Wisconsin in 1873 to Calhoun county.
They drove through with a team and had all of their
household goods in the wagon. They first settled in Elm
Grove township and homesteaded one hundred and twenty
acres, where John Blair lived and died. John Blair was a
gallant soldier of the Civil War, enlisting in Company
I, Third Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, at
the outbreak of the war and serving throughout. He was
in the battles of Vicksburg, Chattanooga, Lookout
Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta and with Sherman on
his famous march to the sea. After getting the land in
this county, Mr. Blair improved it in every way, fenced,
drained and erected good buildings, making it a very
productive farm. John Blair and wife were the parents of
eleven children, four were born in Wisconsin and the
last seven in Iowa; two died in infancy and the other
nine living are as follows: Mrs.
G. V. Yepson, of Calhoun county Iowa: Mrs. Jasper
Yepson, of Yetter, Iowa; William B. who died of apoplexy
in South Dakota in 1911; L. J., a farmer of Calhoun
county; F. C, a farmer of Calhoun county; Dr. Fred L.;
E. J., of Calhoun county; Ralph, of Yetter, Iowa, and
Harry A., of Calhoun county.
Dr.
Fred L. Blair was educated in the common schools of his
home township and later attended the State Normal School
at Cedar Falls. He took his medical course at the State
University of Iowa, graduating June 16, 1905, from that
institution. The day after he was graduated he located
in Lytton, opened his office and has had a lucrative
practice from the first. One week from the time Doctor
Blair located here, he was married to Marion Reilly, of
Yetter, Calhoun county, Iowa, and to this union have
been born four children: Fred Leroy, Jr., born May 2,
1906; Peter, born January 16, 1908; Harold, born
February 6, 1910, and Bernardine, born June 22,
1913. In politics. Doctor
Blair is a Republican, but the nature of his profession
prevents him from taking a very active part in politics.
He and his wife are regular attendants of the
Presbyterian church, and give to it their earnest
support.
Fraternally, he is a member of the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and has taken all of
the degrees up to and including the thirty-second. He is
a member of the Mystic Shrine of Sioux City, having
taken the degrees December 5, 1913; he is also a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Yeomen and
Modern Woodmen of America. Doctor Blair takes a great
interest in his work, is a member of the various
societies and associations which cater to the medical
profession, among which are the Sac County, Iowa State
and American Medical Associations. Doctor Blair's
success so far indicates that he will have a long and
useful career before him.
BREHM, FRED -----It is
not an easy task to describe adequately a man who has
led an eminently active and busy life and who has
attained a position of relative distinction in the
community with which his interests are allied. But
biography finds its most perfect justification.
nevertheless, in the tracing and recording of such a
life history. It is, then, with a full appreciation of
all that is demanded and of the painstaking scrutiny
that must be accorded each statement, and yet with a
feeling of satisfaction, that the writer essays the task
of touching briefly upon the details of such a record as
has been that of the honored subject of this sketch,
whose eminently successful career is now under
review.
Fred Brehm a prosperous retired
implement dealer of Lytton. Iowa, was born in Germany in
1848, the son of Fred and Mary (Ritter) Brehm.
In 1874 Mr. and Mrs. Fred Brehm Sr., came to the
United States and located first in Burlington, Racine
county Wisconsin, where they engaged in farming for
about three years. They then came to Sac county Iowa,
where they stayed a short time, after which they located
in Calhoun county, this state, but in 1887 moved back to
Sac county, living on a farm near Wall Lake for about
five years.
When Fred Brehm came from Wisconsin
to Iowa he was accompanied by his step-father, who
engaged in the implement business at Lytton but later
sold out to his sons, in the spring of 1913. In addition
to his implement business he was also largely interested
in land in this county, and is now the owner of one
hundred and eighty-five acres near Lytton, although he
previously had two hundred and ten acres near Sac City,
which he sold in 1910. The success which has
attended Mr. Brehm in his business is decidedly shown
when it is stated that when he came from Wisconsin he
had only fifteen dollars, but by true German thrift and
frugality he used this slender amount as a working
basis, and on it built his present comfortable
fortune.
Mr.
Brehm was married in 1884 to Mary Karges who was born in
Wisconsin, of German parentage. To this marriage there
have been born eleven children: Fred, who is in the
implement business in Lytton: Walter a farmer; Carl, a
farmer; Clarence, a farmer; Hulda deceased: Emma, the
wife of Augustus Buth, of Lytton; Mary, the wife of
Chris Arndt, an implement dealer; Mrs. Matilda
Thielhorn. of this county; Mrs. Elizabeth Thielhorn. of
this county, and Zelma and Clara, who are still at home
with their parents.
Politically Mr. Brehm is a stanch
Democrat, but has never been solicitous as to political
honors. He and all of the members of his family are
loyal attendants of the German Lutheran church and give
freely of their means to its support. Mr. Brehm is a man
who has won success because he has applied those
principles of honesty and integrity in all lines of his
work. He has lived a very useful and busy life, having
divided his interest between his implement store,
farming and the live-stock business. For years he has
been an extensive dealer in livestock, buying and
shipping hogs and cattle by the carload. He is genial in
his manner and is highly respected by everyone with whom
he comes in contact. He is interested in the welfare of
his community and is always ready to lend his hearty
support to all commendable measures which are directed
toward the public good.
 BRILL, JOHN G.
-----Possessing a genius for execution and management,
John G. Brill, of Cedar township, has proven himself to
be one of the ablest agriculturists of Sac county,
having that quality of personality which, accompanied by
unflagging determination, is bound to win. no matter
what the environment of circumstances.
That he is a man of sterling characteristics is
shown by the fact that he came to a strange country, of
strange customs, language and institutions and, starting
with no capital and without the influence of friends,
climbed to a commanding eminence among his fellows,
winning not only material success but also the esteem of
all who have known him.
John G. Brill, one of the most
popular and substantial farmers of Cedar township, Sac
county, Iowa, was born in Germany July 4, 1856 and is
the son of John G. and Fredericka Bertha Brill. The
family came over to America in 1874 and first settled at
Streator, Illinois, but a few years later located on a
farm eight miles south of Streator near Cornell, in
Reading township, Livingston county, where the father
bought a farm, which is now owned by his son, August, a
resident of Streator. John G., Sr. died in 1904, and his
widow is still living. Mr. and Mrs. John G. Brill, Sr.
were the parents of a large family: Caroline, deceased
in October 1890; Augusta died in 1912 in Germany:
William now lives near Streator, Illinois: Mrs. Minnie
Keppleman of South Dakota: John G.: Mrs. Paulina Riss,
who lives near Streator, Illinois; Mrs. Ernestina
Wheeler, of Ancona, Illinois: Bertha, deceased: August,
a farmer of Streator, Illinois: Mrs. Louise Beiddige,
formerly of LaGrange, Illinois, now of Oregon.
John G. Brill was educated in
Germany and lived on a farm in his native land before
coming to this country. After coming to Illinois with
his parents, he began to work on a farm, and since 1883
has been farming on his own account. In 1887 he bought a
farm in Illinois, near Earlville, LaSalle county, which
he sold in 1880 then bought another, sold it, and came
to Sac county and located in Cedar township in March
1901, and purchased his present farm for fifty dollars
an acre, although at that time there was nothing on it
but an old house. Since taking charge of the farm in
this county, he has spent over sixteen thousand dollars
for buildings, drainage and various other improvements.
The barn cost twenty-eight hundred dollars, the house
four thousand, while his drainage alone amounted to over
five thousand dollars. A modern, up-to-date
corn crib which he constructed cost him six hundred
dollars, while his fencing and windmills, of which he
has two, brings the total up to over sixteen thousand
dollars. His farm of three hundred and twenty acres is
all of fine, rich soil. In 1913 he had out one hundred
and ten acres of corn and the rest of his farm in
various other crops with the exception of forty acres,
which he rented out. He had fifteen horses, fifteen
cattle and other livestock in proportion. In 1912 he
lost one hundred and forty head of hogs of cholera.
Mr.
Brill has been twice married, his first marriage in 1883
being to Eliza Klein, who died in 1884. There were no
children by this first marriage.
March l0, 1886, Mr. Brill was married to Lena
Blecher, a native of Germany, born January 6, 1867, but
then residing in Illinois. She was the daughter of
Daniel and Elizabeth Blecher, who first settled in
Chicago and then in Plano, Illinois, where the father
died and the mother resides in Chicago. To this second
marriage of Mr. Brill have been born three children:
Leopold, born September 3, 1888; Paul, born July 19,
1890 and Gertrude, born March 28, 1893.
Mr.
Brill is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. In
politics, he is independent, preferring to cast his
ballot for the best man, irrespective of what his
politics may be. Religiously, he and wife are members of
the German Lutheran church, but since there is no church
of that denomination in their vicinity, they attend the
Methodist Episcopal church at Sac City, oi which the
sons are members. Mr. Brill is an alert, friendly and
obliging gentleman, who makes friends easily, and
although he has been in this county but a comparatively
short time, yet he has identified himself with the
various interests of the community in such way as to
gain a large circle of friends and
acquaintances.
 BROBEIL, CHARLES F. -----To the
enlisting of men of indomitable enterprise, ability and
integrity in the furtherance of her commercial
activities has been due in no small measure the material
prosperity of Sac county. Among the prominent factors
identified with this work of progress is Charles F.
Brobeil, of Lytton, who has long maintained a place of
prominence and influence in the business community and
who exemplifies the highest type of loyal citizenship. A
man of impregnable integrity of purpose, his life has
been one of consecutive endeavor, and he has realized a
large and substantial success. His career as a merchant
has been based upon the assumption that nothing but
industry, perseverance, integrity and fidelity can lead
to worthy success.
Charles F. Brobeil, who has the
largest general store in Lytton, Sac County, Iowa is a
son of John Brobeil, a native of Germany, who came to
America in 1847, settling in Erie, Pennsylvania. In 1852
he left Erie and came by water over the great lakes to
Chicago, coming up the Chicago river and portaged to the
Illinois river and down the Mississippi river to St.
Louis, and thence up the Mississippi and Des Moines
rivers to the city of Des Moines. Here he engaged
himself in farming, carpentering and contracting.
The city was then in its infancy, and he cut
timber and hewed it out for building purposes. He
prospered in Des Moines, and became one of the pioneers
of Polk county. The family homestead in Polk county was
retained in the family until March, 1912. when it was
sold. John Brobeil married Wilhelmina Schull, who died
when Charles F. Brobeil was ten years old. John Brobeil
was born in 1821 and died in 1904. There were ten
children born to the above couple, named as follows :
Germand, who died at the age of fifteen years; John J.,
who lives at Ankney, Iowa; Mrs. Cornelia Miller, of
Crocker, Iowa: William G., a retired farmer of Lytton,
Iowa; Mrs. Louise Matter, of Orient, South Dakota; Mrs.
Dora Kaltenbach, of Denver, Colorado; Mrs.
Mary Jacobs, of Des Moines, Iowa; Adam Brobeil.
of Coon Valley township, Sac county, Iowa; another son
is deceased.
Charles F. Brobeil was the youngest
of this family of children, all of whom were born in
Polk county, Iowa, except the three eldest, who were
born in Erie, Pennsylvania. Charles was educated in the
district schools of his community until he was fourteen
years old, when he became a student at the Des Moines
schools. When old enough he learned carpentering with
his father. In 1882 he attended the Iowa Business
College at Des Moines, paying his tuition by doing
janitor work, and then found employment with a Des
Moines wholesale firm as bookkeeper, shipper and
collector, where he remained for a short time. He then
went to Fort Dodge, Iowa, and found employment, but in
July, 1884. his employer transferred him to Chicago,
where he spent one year, followed by a year's work on a
farm. In 1887 his former employer removed to Davenport,
Iowa, and Mr. Brobeil assisted him in closing out his
stock, and then again went on a farm, where he worked
for the next two years. In the fall of 1889 he sold his
effects at public sale and removed to Crocker, Iowa,
where he engaged in the mercantile business and remained
eleven years, making a substantial success. He was
postmaster there for four years under President
Cleveland. In the fall of 1900, Mr.
Brobeil came to Lytton, Sac county. He purchased
a business lot where his store is now located for three
hundred and twenty-five dollars. He then bought the next
lot adjoining and then the third lot adjoining. The town
was just starting, and he built a combined store and
dwelling house. His enterprise was successful from the
start, showing the wisdom of his judgment in the
selection of a location, and his business ability and
tact in establishing and maintaining a large and
important store. In 1906 Mr. Brobeil bought a fine
residence in Lytton and moved his family into it. The
house is thoroughly modern throughout and the most
attractive in Lytton.
Charles F. Brobeil was married in
1886 to Dora Buth formerly of Polk county,
Iowa, daughter of Franz Buth, of Orient, South Dakota.
They are the parents of three children. Frank J., who
was born in 1889, assists his father in the store. He
was educated in the public schools, where he was a fine
student, earning a free scholarship, given by the county
in 1901, in Tobin College at Fort Dodge, Iowa, and also
a scholarship in the University of Omaha and in Buena
Vista College. He studied in Iowa Business College,
completing the prescribed course and entering his
father's store. Minnie K., the second child, is the wife
of Frank J. Berkler, and is twenty years old.
They were married in December, 1912, and live on
a farm in Calhoun county, Iowa. Russell Roy is ten years
old. Frank J. is a member of the Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, and a member of the Za-Ga-Zig Temple of
Mystic Shriners at Des Moines.
Mr. Brobeil has the largest general
store in Lytton. He carries a stock of groceries, dry
goods, hardware and general merchandise. This stock is
housed in a two-story building twenty-four by sixty feet
for the main store and a one-story room, fifteen by
eighty feet, for hardware stock. The upper floor of the
main building is used for clothing, shoes and rubber
goods. He carries an unusually large and varied stock,
valued at eighteen to twenty thousand dollars. He has
another store building which he rents for an implement
store. He also handles poultry and flour, having a
department for each, and also one for produce and eggs.
His business has grown from a small stock of goods
placed in Lytton in 1900 to the largest and best
assortment in the eastern part of Sac county.
Mr. Brobeil owns a half interest in
a fine half section of land in Cedar township, Sac
county, which is one of his best assets. He is one of
the stockholders and directors of the Sac County Fair
Association. Politically, he is a Democrat, and is a
member of the Lytton city council and a member of the
local school board. He is a member of the Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons and the Mystic Shrine, and attends
the Presbyterian church, of which Mrs. Brobeil is a
member. Mr. Brobeil is a charter member of Lytton Lodge
No. 336, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he
is past noble grand, and has been secretary of the lodge
for the past seven years. In manifold ways Mr.
Brobeil has touched with effectiveness the civic and
business activities of Lytton and Sac county. He
possesses in marked degree the power of initiative, and
his career has shown the wise application of definite
subjective forces and the control of objective agencies
in such a way as to obtain results of a large and
appreciable value. Progressive and energetic in the
management of his business affairs, he is also public
spirited as a citizen and holds an enviable place in
popular esteem.
BROBEIL, WILLIAM G. -----In the
respect that is accorded to men who have fought their
own way to success though unfavorable environment we
find an unconscious recognition of the intrinsic worth
of a character which cannot not only endure so rough a
test, but gain new strength through the discipline. The
gentleman to whom the biographer now calls the reader's
attention was not favored by inherited wealth or the
assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this,
by perseverance, industry and a wise economy, he has
attained a comfortable station in life, making his
influence felt for good in his community in Lytton, Sac
county, Iowa, where he has maintained his home for the
past twenty years.
William G. Brobeil, a retired
farmer of Lytton, Iowa, was born May 13, 1855, in Polk
county, this state. His parents, John and Mary Christina
(Schull) Brobeil, were both born at Wittenberg, Germany,
and they were reared and married in their native
country, coming to the United States in 1850. They first
located in Pennsylvania, but two years later went west
and settled in Des Moines, Iowa, where John Brobeil
worked at his trade as a carpenter. He saved his money
and. with true German thrift, was soon able to purchase
a farm ten miles north of Des Moines. He died at the
home of his son-in-law, George Miller.
William G. Brobeil was educated in
the schools of Polk county, Iowa, and worked on his
father's farm until his marriage. When he was
twenty-seven years of age, he rented his father's place
and operated it for the next seven years, after which he
rented his father-in-law's farm and lived on it for
eight years. In 1894 he moved to Sac county, this state,
although he had been there the previous year and
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land at
thirty-six dollars an acre. Such was his success as a
farmer that within six years he was able to purchase
another quarter section adjoining his first farm, so
that he now has three hundred and twenty acres of land
in Cedar township. In 1908 he retired from the active
labor of the farm and purchased a residence in Lytton,
where he is now living, surrounded by the comforts and
conveniences of life. His two sons, Charles and Fred,
are now operating the home farm.
Mr. Brobeil was married on December
25, 1880, to Barbara Elsa Deitz, of Polk county, this
state, the daughter of Conrad and Susan Deitz, who were
natives of Germany and among the early pioneers of Polk
county. The Deitz family settled in Polk county in 1847,
making the long overland trip from Pennsylvania to Iowa
in emigrant wagons in that year. Mr. and Mrs. Brobeil
are the parents of two children living, their sons,
Charles and Fred, on the home farm. Minnie Blanche died
at the age of eight years.
Mr. Brobeil is one of the
stockholders in the Farmers Elevator Company, of Lytton,
a co-operative enterprise which is rendering the farmers
of this section of the county good service. Politically,
Mr. Brobeil is a Democrat and has served as trustee of
Cedar township for several terms. He and his wife are
regular attendants of the Presbyterian church and are
liberal contributors of their means to its support.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows.
Mr. and Mrs. Brobeil made a trip a
few years ago to the Pacific coast and had an enjoyable
tour, visiting many points of interest on the coast and
having a very pleasant time. Mr. Brobeil belongs to that
class of men who are able to overcome apparently
insurmountable obstacles, and owes his success today to
the fact that he has never known what defeat in business
means. He is truly a self-made man who has gained a
comfortable competency solely through his own efforts,
and in doing this he has never compromised between right
and wrong, but has always steadfastly adhered to the
right principles of honor and integrity. For this reason
he well merits a place in this biographical
volume.
 BROUGHTON,
BEN -----While many essentials contribute in the
making of a successful man there is usually one strong
predominating trait which stands out in relief and
furnishes the foundation for the development of the
faculties with which he has been naturally endowed.
Inborn intelligence, with a broad mentality, when found
to be a well-marked characteristic of a successful man
in whatever sphere of usefulness his lot may be cast, is
responsible for his transformation to the realms of
successful endeavor and his taking a rightful place as a
leader among men. Naturally. Sac county, being an
agricultural county, the greatest successes are found to
be among the agricultural class of this rich and fertile
portion of mother earth. The science of animal husbandry
is one of the most important divisions of agriculture
and many of the followers of this highly productive
vocation are known far beyond the borders of their
neighborhood because of the distribution of the product
of their skill and profound knowledge of the breeding of
livestock. Ben Broughton. livestock breeder of Lake
View, Iowa, is one of the best-known stock men in this
section of Iowa, and is, withal, a citizen of excellent
attainments and education.
Mr. Broughton has a beautiful farm
of two hundred acres within the corporate limits of Lake
View and has a handsome modern home which sits on the
hillside overlooking the town and the lake in the
distance. No more favorable spot for a residence and
farmstead is to be found in the length and breadth of
the state than that of the Broughton farm. The home is
surrounded by great trees which cast their beneficent
and welcome shade over well-kept lawns and grounds.
Three large stock barns, fitted with every modern
convenience and with adjacent silos, are situated at
some distance from the residence. Mr. Broughton has what
is considered to be the finest breed barns in Sac county
without exception. For eighteen years he has been a
breeder of fine livestock and has attained the highest
success in this difficult vocation. He maintains a herd
of one hundred thoroughbred registered Herefords and
disposes of about fifty head annually at an average
price of two hundred dollars each. His famous herd has
been exhibited at various county fairs and livestock
shows throughout the country and the proprietor has an
accumulation of blue ribbons and first premium prizes
that are truly enviable. His herd of Herefords have
taken first premiums at the Sac county fair, the Shelby
county fair, the Lyon county fair, the Iowa state fairs,
and the Sioux City fair, having taken both first and
second prizes on many occasions.
Mr. Broughton is likewise an extensive breeder of
Poland China hogs and at this writing he has over one
hundred head of registered stock, among them being some
prize winning sires. The breeding of Percheron horses is
another specialty of this versatile farmer and at this
vocation he is also making a success.
Ben Broughton was born May 25,
1871, on a farm in DeKalb county, Illinois. His father
was C. W. Broughton, who was born in 181 7 and died in
1893. His mother before her
marriage was Caroline Churchill, a member of the famous
Churchill family of which Winston Churchill is a member.
The Churchill family trace their ancestry back to the
"Mayflower", on which the original founder of the
American family came to America, seeking religious
freedom with the Pilgrim fathers. C. W. Broughton was
the father of nine children, namely: Charles Preston, of
Jackson county, Missouri: Mrs. Ella B. Woods, of DeKalb
county, Illinois: Mrs. May Kingsley, also a
resident of DeKalb county, Illinois: Ben; and two sons
by second marriage, Charles Beers and Chauncey W.,
residing in De-Kalb county, Illinois. The mother of Ben
Broughton died May 29, 1871, and the father
remarried.
In the year 1894 Mr. Broughton came
to Lake View, Iowa, from his home in Illinois and in the
fall of 1894 purchased an interest in a local hardware
store. He was engaged in the hardware business for three
years and then disposed of his interest and purchased
the Sunny Slope Stock Farm. Since purchasing the farm he
has remodeled and practically rebuilt all of the
buildings on the place and greatly improved the farm
until it is one of the most valuable tracts of land in
the county. One hundred and twenty-five acres of this
land cost him seventy dollars an acre and eighty acres
additional, bought in the spring of 1912, cost one
hundred and thirty-three dollars an acre. He laid off a
portion of this land which is now a part of Lake View
proper and is officially known as Broughton's addition
to the town of Lake View.
Mr. Broughton was married in the
fall of 1894 to Alice B. Cleveland, of Dekalb county,
Illinois, who is a distant relative of the late
President Grover Cleveland. They have two children; Lois
Marie, who is attending the Lake View high school, and
Chauncey Preston Broughton.
Politically, Mr. Broughton is a
Republican who has long been identified prominently with
his party in Sac county and has taken an active part in
political affairs. He has served one term as trustee of
Wall Lake township and has filled the office of city
councilman two terms and has served as a member,
secretary and treasurer of the Lake View school board
for over fourteen years. In the fall of 1908 he was
elected a member of the board of county supervisors and
filled the office capable and well for a period of three
years. He is a Mason of blue lodge, chapter, commandery
and Shrine, and a Woodman and is well and favorably
known as a progressive and enterprising citizen who is
always found in the forefront of the advocates of better
citizenship and the advancement of his home city's best
interest. This can be said of
him with truth and conviction, even recognizing the fact
that Lake View is noted far and wide for the hustling,
progressive spirit which pervades the rank and file of
its citizens. He is a live member of the body politic in
a city which has its full quota of live, wideawake men
of affairs.
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