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History of Sac County
by William H. Hart -
1914
TAYLOR, GEORGE A.
-----Conspicuous among the representative men and
public-spirited citizens of Sac county is George A.
Taylor, a man who has made his influence felt for good
in his community and whose life has been closely
interwoven with the history of the community in which he
resides and whose efforts have always been for the
material advancement of the same, as well as for the
social and moral welfare of his
fellowmen.
George A. Taylor,
enterprising real estate dealer of Sac City, Iowa, is a
native of LaPorte county, Indiana, born in the year
1849, the son of William and Mary Taylor, the former a
native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. William Taylor
was a pioneer merchant of LaPorte county, Indiana. He was in
business there in the thirties, and had a log store
building about ten miles west of LaPorte. He was an
extensive shipper of hogs and cattle. He came to
Indianola, Warren county, Iowa, in 1863, and had a store
and a nicely improved farm there. In his earlier years
he had been a traveling salesman, and in his later years
he felt the lure of the road and again traveled for some
years, having headquarters in New York City. He died in
1873.
George A. Taylor was fourteen
years old when he came to Iowa. He was reared on the
farm, lint took up railroading when a young man, which
he followed for some time. He first came to Sac county
in 1871 on a visit but remained awhile. In 1882 he
located permanently in the county, settling on a farm of
forty acres four and one-half miles southeast of Sac
City. He later disposed of this land and removed to Sac
City in October, 1901. In 1900 he had been elected
auditor of Sac county, and he served two terms of two
years each in this responsible position, his
administration of the office being such as to reflect
credit upon himself and his constituents. Mr. Taylor is
now actively engaged in the real estate business in Sac
City, in which he has been uniformly successful,
handling many important properties. He makes a specialty
of Iowa and Minnesota lands, and at present is dealing
extensively in southern Minnesota land. His transfers
amount to several hundred acres annually. He also deals
in local real estate, including town realty. He has
well-equipped offices in the Platte building. Mr. Taylor owns one
hundred and sixty acres of land in South Dakota.
In 1880 occurred the marriage of
Mr. Taylor and Nannie Rothwell, daughter of James
Rothwell, formerly of Indianola, Iowa. They are the
parents of three children, as follows: Flora E. is a
deaconess in the Methodist mission at Sioux City, Iowa;
Mrs. Tena M. Marple, of Buena Vista county, Iowa, and
Thomas M., who is at home. Mr. Taylor is a
man of high moral character, unimpeachable integrity
.and excellent business judgment, and throughout the
locality where he is known he occupies an enviable
position among his fellowmen, among whom he is
universally esteemed.
TEAQUIST, COL. ALBERT S. -----It is
within the province of man himself to become proficient
along one particular line and so develop his ability in
a useful profession or vocation so that he can rise to
an eminence as an expert which shall be unshakable.
We are living in a day of specialists; the old
fashioned "jack-of-all-trades," who formerly was evident
and even plentiful in most communities. is fast
disappearing. The man who specializes in one particular
thing and so familiarizes himself with the intricacies
of his vocation that the people of necessity must employ
his services is now in great demand. His remuneration is
gauged to fit his capabilities and it is generally
without limit except as to the extent of his power and
ability. In other words, at present, there are many
openings in which the earning power of the individual is
no longer limited and his financial success or fame
depends entirely upon his own industry and intelligence.
This is as it should be, and it makes for better service
on behalf of both the employer and the skilled
professional.
One
of the most eminent and successful specialists in his
particular line in Sac county and even western Iowa is
Col. A. S. Teaquist, auctioneer and farmer at Odebolt,
Iowa. He ranks as the oldest auctioneer in point of
years of service and is one of the best known men in the
profession within Sac county. Mr.
Teaquist has been crying sales in Sac county and
throughout the West and Northwest for nearly thirty
years and has developed a proficiency in the profession
and achieved a reputation throughout the country that is
truly remarkable. One must consider this
fact, also, that Mr. Teaquist is foreign born and is a
native of Sweden. This has proven to be no handicap,
however, as it is conceded that of all foreign-born
Americans, the Swedes are the quickest to adapt
themselves to American ways and the most apt in learning
our language of all the non-English-speaking races. The
community in which Mr. Teaquist resides furnishes the
best evidence of the progressiveness and general
intelligence of the Swedish-Americans in all walks of
life.
Albert S. Teaquist was
born January 11, 1866, in Skorsburjlan, Sweden, and is
the son of Abraham and Jane Teaquist, who emigrated to
America in 1870. During their first year in this country
they resided at Jacksonport, Wisconsin, and then removed
to Delaware county, Iowa. In 1877 they settled in Sac
county in the vicinity of Odebolt. Abraham Teaquist was
a pioneer settler in Wheeler township, but died in
November of his first year of settlement in the county.
He was the father of the following children: John A., a
rancher in Idaho: Christine, who died in November of
1877; Mrs. Anna S. Huldeen, of
Richland township: Albert S.; Matilda, who died in 1880;
Charles L., an auctioneer of Spencer, Nebraska: Nellie
H., wife of C. W. Kistler, a blacksmith living in
Odebolt. The mother of these children resides in Odebolt
and is now over eighty years of age. She is housekeeper
for her son.
The
family resided on the Wheeler township farm until the
year 1899 and then moved to Odebolt. In 1886 Colonel
Teaquist took up the profession of auctioneer and it is
recorded that he cried three successful sales before he
had attained the age of twenty-one years. His work in
his profession requires his activities in Sac, Ida and
Crawford counties and the total number of farm and
livestock sales conducted under his management during a
season will run from fifty to one hundred in
number. Mr. Teaquist is
likewise engaged in farming and for a period of two
years he conducted an implement business in Odebolt. He
is the owner of two hundred and forty acres of rich land
in Richland township which he is at present improving
with a new residence and buildings. His fine home
residence is located on Lincoln avenue in Odebolt.
Colonel Teaquist was married January
7, 1897, to Amanda Bergin.
who died December 13, 1905. Four children have
blessed this union, namely; Charles A., aged sixteen
years and a bright, manly fellow who is a credit to his
parents; George A., aged fourteen years; Lloyd A. C,
aged twelve years; Howard L., aged eight years. Colonel
Teaquist was married June 3, 1914 to Ida M. Hume.
Politically, Mr. Teaquist is allied
with the Republican party but is usually found aligned
with the cause of good government which will benefit the
greater number of people. He is a member of the Swedish
Lutheran church, which is the faith of his Swedish
forbears. He is an intelligent, forceful citizen and is
rated as a valued member of the community in which he
resides. To know him is to
ha\c a sincere liking for him.
THERKELSEN, T. P. -----It is
an axiom in Sac county that a German settler is a
prosperous citizen. History does not
record a single case of a German settler who has come to
this county and not succeeded. This is especially true
of Sac county and among the three thousand citizens who
have made this their home there is not one but who can
be classed among the solid and substantial citizens of
this favored spot of the state.
T. P. Therkelsen. a
prosperous farmer, merchant and banker of Lake View,
Iowa, was born September 16, 1850, in Schleswig,
Germany, and is the son of Thirkel Nelson and Christina
Otto Therkelsen. His parents never came to this country,
but a brother and sister, Jasper and Mrs. Lena Hansen,
are now living in the city of Seattle, Washington.
T. P. Therkelsen moved to
America in 1871 and located immediately in Clinton
county, Iowa. His first employment was in a mercantile
establishment and he remained there a year. Upon the
country-wide call for labor after the Chicago fire of
1871, he went to Chicago to help in the stupendous task
of removing the wreckage and debris from the streets of
that ill-fated city. Later he followed various kinds of
work in Chicago, in fact, doing anything which would
earn him an honest penny. For four years he worked in
Chicago, the last three years being employed in a store.
With a thrift that
characterizes all his people, he saved his money and in
1876 went to Des Moines and started a store of his own.
Four years later he moved to Lake View and opened the
second store in that new town. For the next thirty-one
years he was constantly engaged in the mercantile
business in Lake View and still owns the store, which is
now occupying a large new brick building, erected by Mr.
Therkelsen in 1893. In addition to his mercantile
interests Mr. Therkelsen has invested some of his money
in land and now has four hundred and five acres in two
farms. One hundred and sixty acres is located near Lake
View and this he oversees personally; he also has two
hundred and forty-five acres in Winona county, this
state.
Mr. Therkelsen was married
March 3, 1881, to Anna Knudson, a native of Denmark and
the daughter of Rasmus and Caroline Knudson. Her parents
came to America in 1870 and later settled in Sac county
in May.
1896. Mr. and Mrs. Therkelsen are the parents of
eleven children, all of whom are living in Lake View:
Clarence, who is married and is cashier of Lake View
State Bank; Christina; Helena; Robert; Fred, who is
teller in Lake View State Bank; Frank ; Naomi ; Lynn ;
Jasper ; Eugene, and William, deceased. Christina
married W. F. Brower and lives in Lake View. William died at
the age of two years. All of the remaining children are
still living with their
parents.
Politically, Mr. Therkelsen is a
Republican and has always taken an active interest in
politics. The indication of the esteem in which he is
held by his fellow citizens is shown in the fact that he
has served as city councilman, a member of the school
board and mayor of Lake View, and in all of these
various offices he has acquitted himself with credit and
has never failed to identify himself with every
enterprise which he felt would benefit his home town.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Ancient Free and
Accepted Masons, having attained the degree of Knight
Templar, and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine at
Des Moines. Mr. and Mrs. Therkelsen live in a large,
handsome home, and are giving their children the best of
educational advantages with the idea of making them
useful members of society later on. Mr. Therkelsen is a
man of pleasing personality and is one of the most
popular men of Lake View. His life history is marked by
high motives which ranks him as a true American
citizen.
THIELHORN, CHRISS J. -----It is the
pride of the citizens of this country that there is no
limit to which natural ability, industry and honesty may
not aspire. A boy born in ignorance and poverty and
reared amidst the most adverse surroundings, may
nevertheless break from his fetters and rise to the
highest station in the land. Thousands of young men of
German parentage have realized how easy it is for a man
of courage and willing hands to rise in our republic and
have accordingly cast their lots with us, with the
result that they have benefited themselves as well as
the communities in which they have settled. Sac county's
German citizens bear witness to the fact that America is
indeed the land of opportunity.
Among the citizens of German
parentage who are now prosperous farmers in Sac county,
Iowa, there is no one who is more prominently identified
with the agricultural interests of Coon Valley township
than C. J. Thielhorn, whose brief history is here given
to the reader.
Chriss J. Thielhorn, the proprietor of one
hundred and sixty acres of land in Coon Valley township,
was born February 18, 1885, on the home farm in Sac
county, the son of Christ and Fredericka (Wulkow)
Thielhorn, who were both natives of Germany, coming to
Sac county, Iowa, about 1878. Christ Thielhorn was born
in 1844, and upon coming to this country with his
family, he soon became one of the substantial farmers of
this country. Three children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Christ Thielhorn: Mrs. Lottie Reaman, of Calhoun
county, Iowa; C. J., whose history forms the theme of
this narrative, and A. W., who was born in the county
December 6, 1886.
C. J. Thielhorn received his
education in the schools of his home neighborhood, and
early in life decided that he would follow in the
footsteps of his father, and with this end in view, he
helped his father on the home farm until his marriage in
order to become thoroughly familiar with all the details
of farm life. It is said that there are "tricks in all
trades," and this trite expression is peculiarly true of
the farmer. The successful farmer of today must not only
he a man who can handle the plow, but he must also have
some knowledge of a dozen other professions. In a small
way he must be a veterinary surgeon, a blacksmith, a
harness maker, a carpenter, etc., and the most
successful farmer is a man who can do these various
things in the best way.
Mr. Thielhorn was married in 1907
to Matilda Brehm, and to this marriage have been born
three children. Chriss F., Irene Mildred and Fern Evlyn.
Politically, Mr. Thielhorn is a Democrat, but the
affairs of his home and farm have demanded all of his
attention, so that he has had little time to devote to
political questions. In his religious belief he and his
family are loyal members of the German Lutheran church,
giving to it liberally of their time and substance. Mr.
Thielhorn has always lent his aid to the best interests
of his community, and has given his support to all
movements having for their object the welfare of his
fellow citizens. He is not backward in expressing his
honest convictions on any subject affecting the welfare
of the community, and for this reason is deservedly
popular with a large circle of friends and
acquaintances.
TIBERGHIEN,
ELIAS ------The life history of him whose name
heads this biographical sketch has been closely
identified with the history of Sac county, Iowa, which
has long been his home. He came here in the pioneer days
and throughout the years has been closely allied with
its interests and upbuilding.
Elias Tiberghien. retired
farmer of Sac City, Iowa, was born in LaPorte county,
Indiana, July 24, 1851, the son of Elias and Harriet
Melville (Harrison) Tiberghien, the farmer a native of
Ohio and the latter of Kentucky. Elias Tiberghien
was the son of Zacheus Tiberghien, of supposedly French
descent, who moved from Ohio to Indiana, where Elias and
Harriet were married. Elias migrated to Iowa in 1856
with eight children. The long trip was made across
country with ox team. Ten yoke of oxen hauled the
wagons, with five families. They also had one span of
mules, owned by Mr. Rose. It
required the ten yoke of oxen to pull the wagons through
the Iowa sloughs. The Tiberghiens settled near Cory's
Grove, two miles south, in Jackson township, where they
lived until about 1876, when the old people moved on
their son's place, near Sac City. Elias Tiberghien was
born in Miami county, Ohio, September 7, 1810, and died
December 19, 1883. His wife, Harriet Melville Harrison,
was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, August 18, 1813,
and died August 10, 1895. Their children were as
follows: Mrs. Nancy Slavons, deceased; Mrs. Nellie
Staton, of near Sac City: James S., of Sac county;
Jeremiah Shelton, of Sac county; Mrs. Elizabeth Cory,
who died in 1911; Mrs. Julia Cromer, deceased; Mrs.
Ellen Jepson, of North Dakota; Elias, the immediate
subject of this sketch; Clarissa, of Sac county. Eli of Sac
county.
Elias Tiberghien was married
on September 12, 1880, to Thalia Dart, who was born in
Wisconsin on May 24, 1858, the daughter of Charles
J. and
Naomi Jane (Butterfield) Dart, natives of Vermont, of
New England ancestry. Charles J. Dart was the son of
James Dart, whose ancestors fought in the Revolutionary
War. The Dart family left Wisconsin in 1865 and settled
in Sac county, Iowa, near Cory's Grove, on the east side
of the river.
Charles J. Dart was born in 1824 and died in
1907. His wife, Naomi Jane Butterfield, was born in
February, 1826, and died October 13, 1902. They were the
parents of six children, named as follows: Mrs. Thalia
Tiberghien; Erastus Dart, who lives five miles southeast
of Sac City, Iowa; Mrs. Frances Williams, deceased; Mrs.
Emma Ahrens, of Sac City, Iowa; George and Warren both
died in infancy.
When Mr. and Mrs. Elias Tiberghien
were married they settled on a farm of forty acres two
miles south of Sac City, on which they lived two years,
and then, in 1882 sold out and bought eighty acres of
wild prairie land in Coon Valley township. Here they
built a home, improved the land and resided until 1896,
when they sold out and removed to Missouri, where they
bought a farm of one hundred and forty-three acres. In
1900, after a residence of four years in Missouri, they
returned to Sac county and bought forty acres on the
west side of the river, known as the Warner place, where
they lived for five years. In 1908 they again sold out
and this time removed to Sac City. Four children have
been born to Elias Tiberghien and wife, named as
follows: Mark, Mina and Miles are deceased, and Mabel,
who was born in Missouri, is a student at the Sac City
high school.
Mr. Tiberghien is a member of the Methodist
church and. politically, he is a Republican. As one of
the sturdy pioneers and substantial citizens of his
locality, he is well-known throughout the length and
breadth of Sac county and is a man respected and honored
for his daily life. His reputation among men for
integrity and high character has gained for him the good
will and commendation of not only his friends and
neighbors, but of all who have had dealings with
him.
TIBERGHIEN, JAMES
WILLIAM -----Specific mention is made in the
following paragraphs of one of the worthy citizens of
Sac county, Iowa-one who has figured in the growth and
development of this favored locality and whose interests
have been identified with its progress, contributing in
a definite measure in his particular sphere of action to
the well-being of the community in which he resides and
to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth.
Additional interest attaches to his career from the fact
that his life from boyhood until now has been passed
within the borders of this county. Earnest purpose and
tireless energy, combined with mature judgment and
every-day common sense, have been among his most
prominent characteristics and he well merits the respect
and esteem which are accorded him by all who know
him.
J. W. Tiberghien, one of the
well-known farmers of Jackson township, Sac county,
Iowa, was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, March 17,
1838, the son of Elias and Harriet Melville (Harrison)
Tiberghien, the former a native of Ohio and the latter
of Kentucky. Elias Tiberghien was born in Miami county,
Ohio, in 1810, and he was the son of Zacheus Tiberghien,
a native of France, who settled in Ohio in 1822. He
subsequently removed to Jasper county, Iowa, and later
to Sac county, arriving May 19, 1855, making the journey
overland by ox team. Four families and part of another
family, twenty-one people in all, made the trip, which
required nineteen days, a distance of one hundred and
thirty-five miles. He settled in Jackson township and
became one of the substantial citizens of his locality.
His death occurred December 19, 1883. His wife, Harriet
Melville Harrison, was born in Shelby county, Kentucky,
August 18, 1815, and died August 10, 1895. She was the
daughter of Eli Harrison, a cousin of President Benjamin
Harrison and who fought in the War of
1812.
J. W. Tiberghien was a boy of
seventeen years when the family settled in Sac county,
and he has thus lived to witness the wonderful
transformation that has taken place in western Iowa. He
came here in a primitive day, when the red-skinned
Indians roamed the country and when the opening up of a
new country required the utmost bravery and persistence.
Reared on the farm, he vividly recalls the great sport
of hunting in that early day. He remained at home until
he was twenty-eight years old, helping clear the land
and developing a farm from the
wilderness.
On March 9, 1862, Mr.
Tiberghien enlisted in Company H, Tenth Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, and served three years and twenty-five days.
He was in the battle of Farmington, Mississippi, when
his regiment and four companies of another regiment
under Colonel Purcell were ordered out to move the Union
picket line. The first time he was under fire was at
Vicksburg, Mississippi. He was in the
hospital at the time, but begged his captain to allow
him to fight one day. He was afterward sent to Jefferson
Barracks and then transferred to the invalid corps,
forming the reserve in Company D, and served to this
corps until mustered out in Chicago, April 5, 1865. Mr. Tiberghien
returned to Sac county, Iowa, after the war, and on
January 10, 1867 he was married to Louisa Travis, who
was born in LaPorte county, Indiana. October 15, 1839, a
daughter of Curtis and Mary Ann (Miller) Travis. She
came to Sac county in 1861, on a visit to her sister,
and here met Mr. Tiberghien. Louise Travis Tiberghien
was one of the first school teachers in Sac county and
is the oldest living pioneer teacher at the present time
residing in Sac county. Settling on his own farm of two
hundred acres in Douglas township, Mr. and Mrs.
Tiberghien lived there for some time, but finally rented
their farm and removed to town in order to better
educate his children. He spent three years ranching in
Kansas. In 1899 he sold the farm and in 1900 removed to
his present place in Jackson
township.
Seven children were born to
Mr. and Mrs. Tiberghien, only three of whom are living.
Willie J. died August 12, 1889, at the age of twenty-one
years, five months and fifteen days. Lee Velda and
Emmett R. were twins. Lee Velda was
born July 15, 1868, and died April 9, 1912. Emmett
R. died in
infancy. Dr. Eugene Tiberghien, who was a soldier in the
Spanish-American War is an osteopath at Julesburg,
Colorado, and is the father of three children, Ruth,
Helen and lone. Mrs. Pearl Ellis resides at
Bakersfield.
California, and is the mother of five children,
Ruby, Mary, Opal, James IV and Ernest. James Earl, who
was a twin brother of Pearl, is deceased. Garland Travis
lives at Bakersfield,
California.
Mr. Tiberghien is a
Republican in political faith, and had the honor of
casting a vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has served as
township clerk, justice of the peace and school
director. He has been a Master Mason since 1859, being
the only charter member living of the Sac City Masonic
lodge. He
is also a member of Gen. W. T. Sherman Post, Grand Army
of the Republic, and the Christian
church.
A product of the pioneer
epoch, and he himself a pioneer, Mr. Tiberghien is one
of those estimable citizens whose labors and
self-sacrifice have made possible the advanced state of
civilization and enlightenment for which the great state
of Iowa has long been noted. His life forcibly
illustrates what a life of energy can accomplish when
actions are governed by right principles and high
ideals. He is one of the kind that can be relied on in
the world's affairs, a splendid specimen of the many
that do the real work of the world in places of passing
importance, and do it well. His is a life that does not
attract attention for any picturesque or erratic
qualities, but the kind out of which the warp and woof
of the substance that goes to make up the continuous
achievement of humanity is made. Plain, unassuming,
straightforward, his life has been consistent in motive
and action, and he has earned and holds the high regard
of a large acquaintance. His favorite
recreation, even at his advanced age, is fishing-the
pursuit of Presidents and men of all walks of life. On
bright, sunshiny days this fine old gentleman can be
found along the shaded banks of the beautiful Raccoon
river plying his reel and
net.
A worthy avocation to which he has
dedicated the active part of his declining years, is the
care of Cory's Grove cemetery, the last resting place of
the earliest pioneers of Sac county. Reverently, and
with loving, tender hands, he looks after this beautiful
plot of burial ground which lies within a stone's throw
of his cottage home, and which contains the remains of
those who were dear and near to him in his boyhood days.
The Eternal Being blesses such noble characters as James
W. Tiberghien.
 TIBERGHIEN,
JEREMIAH
SHELTON -----From the pioneer period through
many decades J. S. Tiberghien has been identified with
the farming interests of Sac county and he has won for
himself an honorable position in his community by his
straightforward course in all phases of life's
activities. He is recognized as a man of strong and
alert mentality, deeply interested in everything
pertaining to the advancement of the locality along
material, civic and moral lines, and is regarded by all
as one of the progressive and representative men of the
county.
J. S. Tiberghien was
born in Indiana in 1841, where he lived until he was
fourteen years of age. He is the son of Elias and
Harriet Melville (Harrison) Tiberghien, the former a
native of Ohio and the latter of Kentucky.
Elias Tiberghien was the son of Zachus
Tiberghien, a native of France, who settled in Ohio in
1822, removing to Indiana and thence to Iowa, settling
first in Jasper county in 1855, but removing one year
later, in 1856 to Jackson township. Sac county, where he
in due time became a prosperous farmer.
Elias Tiberghien was born in 1810 and died in
1893. His wife, Harriet Melville Harrison, was born in
Shelby county, Kentucky, August 18, 1815, and died
August 10, 1895. She was the daughter of Eli Harrison,
who was a cousin of President Benjamin Harrison, and who
fought in the War of 1812.
The children of Elias and Harriet Melville
(Harrison) Tiberghien were as follows: Mrs. Nancy
Slayons, deceased: Mrs. Penelope Staton of Jackson
township Sac county; James W., a prosperous farmer of
Jackson township, Sac county, and mentioned elsewhere in
this volume; J. S., the immediate subject of this
sketch; Mrs. Elizabeth Cory, who died April, 1911; Mrs.
Mary Julia Cromer, deceased; Mrs. Helen Jepson of North
Dakota; Elias, of Sac City; Clarice Angeline, of Sac
county: Eli, of Sac county.
J.
S. Tiberghien was reared on the home farm, which he
helped to clear, enjoying his boyhood days hunting deer,
elk and small game, which was plentiful in that
primitive day. He lived with his father until he was
twenty-six years of age. In 1869 he purchased a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres and prepared it for
cultivation.
December 5, 1871, he was married to
Frances Cory who was born March 10, 1856, being the
first white girl born in Sac county. She was the
daughter of Francis McGuire and Isabelle (Hitchcock)
Cory. As a newly married couple they first lived in an
old log house, but in 1884 built a large and comfortable
home. To them have been born the following children:
Malcolm died in infancy; Cory died at the age of
twenty-eight years; Mrs. Maud (Lehman) Crandall lives on
a farm near Grant City, Iowa and is the mother of four
children, Darwin, Darrell, Charles Ronley, and Francis;
who died at the age of eleven months; Ray is a stockman
in Sac county; Floy died at the age of twenty-one years;
Leo is rural free delivery carrier out of Sac City, and
is the father of one child, Dorothy; Lois is a teacher
in the blind school at Vinton, Iowa Claude is a bridge
builder in South Dakota; Esther is a Vocal music
teacher, having studied four years at Oskaloosa, Iowa,
where she graduated in vocal music, and now resides at
home.
Mr.
Tiberghien was sheriff of Sac county 1869-1871, and
filled the office with credit and entire satisfaction to
all. He is a member of the Methodist church, and
affiliates with the Prohibition party. He has a farm of
eighty-eight acres, fifty-five being in Jackson township
and thirty-three acres in Cedar township. He formerly
owned one hundred and sixty acres, but sold part of it
in 1912.
Mr.
Tiberghien is a fine specimen of that strong, virile
American manhood that is nourished and matured on the
farm. He stands over six feet, and in his youth was
rated one of the finest athletes in the state. Though
now in the evening of life, he is still hale and hearty,
and enjoys life with the zest of a far younger man. His
long residence in Sac county has given him a wide
acquaintance, among whom he is held in the highest
esteem for his many commendable traits of character.
TISCHER, HANS -----The German
citizens and their descendants have been large factors
in the material prosperity of Sac county, Iowa, and no
other nation has furnished as successful farmers and
businessmen as has the German nation for this county.
Among the successful farmers of the German nationality
who have made a pronounced success in the agricultural
field in this county there is no one who is deserving of
more credit than Hans Tischer, retired farmer of Wall
Lake, Iowa. Mr. Tischer was born July 16, 1853, in
Schleswig, Germany, and is the son of John A. and
Margaret (Marquard) Tischer.
The Tischer family came to America in June, 1872,
and located in Benton county, Iowa, where John Tischer
and his wife lived the remainder of their days.
Hans Tischer received his education
in his native land and on coming to this country with
his parents he worked with his father on the farm in
Benton county, this state, until 1881, at which time he
married and went to housekeeping on an eighty-acre farm
which he bought in Sac county, in Wall Lake township.
After living here for a year and a half, he sold the
tract and bought a farm in Bremer county, this state,
where he remained for six years, at which time he sold
this farm and returned to Sac county in 1889, where he
purchased a half section in Clinton township, and six
years later he bought another one hundred and sixty
acres so that he is now the owner of four hundred and
eighty acres of fine farming land in sections 22 and 23.
He continued to reside on this farm until August. 1909,
when he moved to Wall Lake, where he built a handsome
residence of twelve rooms.
His home is one of the most beautiful in the city
and is architecturally one of the handsomest in this
part of the state.
Mr.
Tischer was married January 17, 1881. to Antje Schulte,
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Schulte, and her death
occurred January 8, 1910. To this marriage were born
four children: Mrs. Matilda Lenz who lives in Delaware
township, this county; William, who is now residing on
the old home farm; Mrs. Elma Eaton, of Wall Lake, and
Mrs. Amanda Green, residing in Wheeler township. Mr.
Tischer was married a second time on April 18, 1911, to
Margaret (Godbersen) Schmidt, the widow of Eric Schmidt.
Mrs. Tischer is the mother of three children by her
first marriage; Mrs. Anna Mohr, of Wall Lake; Mrs. John
Zein, who lives in Clinton township, this county and
Eric, of Wall Lake. Mrs. Tischer was born in Schleswig,
Germany, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Godbersen.
Her father died when she was a child and her
mother later married Andrew Hansen. In 1873 Mr. Hansen
and his wife, with his wife's children, came to America
and located in Clinton county, Iowa, and in 1880
permanently settled in Sac county.
Politically, Mr. Tischer is a
Democrat, but, while always upholding the principles of
his party, has never gone out into the open field and
taken an active part in political affairs. He and the
members of his family have been loyal adherents of the
Lutheran church and have interested themselves in its
various activities.
TOURGEE, J. B. -----Among the
younger members of the legal profession in Sac county is
J. B. Tourgee, of the firm of Elwood & Tourgee, of
Sac City. Although he has been in the county only a
short time, yet he has already impressed those with whom
he has come in contact as a man of good legal ability
and one who can take his full share in the life of the
community.
Mr. Tourgee was born October
30, 1875, in Ashtabula county, Ohio, and is the son of
H. H. and
Alice E. (Morse) Tourgee. Both of his parents were born
in Ohio and were descendants of pioneer New England
families. H. H. Tourgee attended school in the old
Chester Seminary and Oberlin College, Ohio. After
finishing his course, H. H. Tourgee went onto a farm in
his native state and in 1877 came with his family to Ida
county, Iowa, and purchased a farm, becoming one of the
successful farmers of the county. Two years before his
death he retired to Ida Grove, where he died in
November, 1905. His wife is still living in Ida Grove.
They were the parents of two children, Carl H.. of Ida Grove,
Iowa, and J. B., with whom this narrative deals. J. B. Tourgee
was reared on his father's farm and educated in the Sac
City Institute, from which institution he graduated in
1900. He then entered the State University of Iowa and
graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Law in 1903. Upon
his graduation he started the practice of his profession
in Armour, South Dakota, but a year later disposed of
his practice and located in Holstein, Iowa, where he
remained until the fall of 1912. On September 1, 1912 he
came to Sac City and became a member of the firm of
Elwood & Tourgee.
Mr. Tourgee was married January 1,
1906, to Dora B. Trumbauer of Lytton, the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Peter B. Trumbauer. To this union have been
born two children Mildred and Alice. Politically. Mr.
Tourgee is a Republican, but has never taken an active
part in politics. However, he is a close observer of the
various political questions of the day and has decided
convictions on the big issues which are now confronting
the American people. Mr. Tourgee is a member of the
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and has taken the
degrees of the chapter. Being well grounded in legal
principles and having a comprehensive view of life
gained from experience, Mr. Tourgee is well
qualified to give to his clients excellent service. As a
speaker he is clear and concise and effective in
presenting the issues of the case. He gives his support
to every movement which promotes the advancement of the
educational, moral or social welfare of his community,
and as a citizen of Sac City he is anxious to do all in
his power to make it a good city in which to
live.
TOWNSEND, WILLIAM H. M. D.
-----The medical profession is one of the most ancient
and the noblest of the learned occupations. It numbers
among the fraternity examples of the highest type of
manhood and is composed in general of self-sacrificing
individuals who have dedicated their lives to the
alleviation of human suffering and the amelioration of
the condition of the human family in a sanitary and
physical sense. The family physician is one in whom we
place the highest confidence; we value his skill, which
at times seems to border upon the miraculous; we seek
his advice in intimate family affairs; in him we
frequently confide our troubles and rely upon bis
matured judgment, knowing absolutely that he is
incapable of violating the secrets which are naturally
entrusted to his confidence in the course of his
practice. The biographer is gratified to present herein
a record of one who has not only achieved distinction in
the pursuit of his profession, but has served the people
of Sac county in an official capacity. It can be said of
Dr. W. H. Townsend that he has been worthy on every
occasion of the trusts reposed in him and measured up to
the responsibilities placed upon him at various times in
a manner worthy of the highest commendation.
Intellectually, morally, professionally and officially,
he holds high rank as a citizen of Sac City and his
adopted county.
Doctor Townsend was born on a
farm in Webster county, Iowa, January 19, 1869. His
parents were Isaac and Melissa A. (Bradshaw) Townsend,
natives of Maine and Canada, respectively. He is a
product of a fusion oi the best blood of old New
England. His grandfather, William Townsend, migrated
westward from Maine in a very early day and settled in
the state of Wisconsin. Here his parents were married,
and in the year 1867 they journeyed to Webster county,
Iowa, for the purpose of making a permanent home and
rearing a family in the great and growing state. They
succeeded beyond their expectations in amassing a
competence and bringing up a desirable family, every one
of which has succeeded in becoming a valued member of
the body politic. Isaac Townsend died in 1888, his wife,
Melissa, dying in 1893. The children are as follows:
Charles, a prosperous farmer and stockman in Nebraska:
Samuel, residing in Webster county; Ida. deceased: Leroy
J., of Webster county; Ernest, living in Chicago;
George, of Webster county, Iowa: Ray, of Cherokee
county, and Dr. William H., of Sac
City.
He of whom this chronicle
reads received his education in the public and high
schools of Fort Dodge and in the Collegiate Institute of
the same city. He became ambitious to enter the
profession of medicine and therefore matriculated in the
Medical College of the State University of Iowa,
graduating therefrom in the spring of 1897. Doctor
Townsend practiced at Lehigh, Webster county, for a
period of two years. In 1898 he hearkened to the call of
President McKinley for the enlistment of troops for
service in the Spanish-American war and. on June 26,
1898, enlisted as a private soldier in Company G,
Fifty-second Regiment of United States Infantry. He was
soon appointed an assistant surgeon and served at
Chickamauga Park.
He was released from duty at the close of
hostilities and in the year 1899 located in Odebolt,
where he practiced his profession until 1900, when he
established his office permanently in Sac City. His
practice is unusually large and he has a clientele
numbered among the best and most substantial residents
of the city and county. He is allied fraternally with
the Sac County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical
Society and the American Medical Association.
His political affiliations
have long been with the Republican party. Doctor
Townsend has served one term as mayor of his adopted
city, and four terms as county coroner. In fact, he has
served as coroner of the county since January 1, 1903.
By virtue of his office, he became acting sheriff of the
county on May 30, 1911. upon the death of Sheriff
Alexander Rogers, and served until his successor was
duly appointed. During his incumbency of the coroner's
and sheriff's offices, a serious murder was committed in
the neighborhood, and it devolved upon this versatile
gentleman to actually, perform the duties of three
important offices. He did this ably and to the
satisfaction of the people. The inquest was duly held
and the murderer apprehended without loss of time.
Doctor Townsend is the owner of a fine farm of two
hundred and forty acres in Sac county and two hundred
and eighty acres in Calhoun county, Iowa, both being
stocked with registered Polled Angus cattle. He has an
elegant home on the heights above the downtown
section.
Doctor Townsend and his family are
attendants of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the
Doctor is a liberal supporter of all church
denominations.
He is fraternally connected with the Knights of
Pythias and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Sac
City. In
the year 1900 the Doctor was united in marriage with Eva
Roosa, of Sac City, the daughter of Mrs. E. E. Lewis.
They have one child. Harold Wayne Townsend, who was born
November 30, 1901.
Doctor Townsend is a genial, well-balanced
gentleman, who businesses a highly developed sense of
personal responsibility in the performance of his public
duties and in the practice of his profession. He numbers
his personal friends by hundreds and has little
difficulty in retaining the friendship of men with whom
he is thrown in daily contact during the course of his
ministering career.
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