History of Sac County 
by William H. Hart - 1914

UMBARGER, J. F.  -----Among the farmers of Sac county who have been prominent in the agricultural profession is J. F. Umbarger, who is now living upon a five hundred acre farm near Ringsted, in Palo Alto county, this state.

He was born May 11, 1872, in Monmouth, Jackson county, Iowa, and is the son of Nathaniel Brown and Mary A. (Brown) Umbarger.  Nathaniel B. Umbarger was born January 4, 1845, in Wythe county, Virginia. He received his early education in a rude log school house, and later attended Wytheville Academy. Nathaniel B. was the son of Stephen and Mary Umbarger. Stephen Umbarger enlisted in the Union army during the Civil War and was captured and made prisoner at Andersonville, dying in Andersonville prison. In 1864 Nathaniel B. was drafted in the Confederate army and assigned to Company B, Thirtieth Regiment of Virginia Regulars. He fought under Gen. Tubal A. Early until his capture at New Market. He was then made a prisoner of war and confined at Elmira, New York, where he remained until the war closed. He then came to Iowa on free government transportation issued to discharged soldiers, where he stayed a few months with an uncle in the eastern part of the state. He then returned to Virginia, where he was married on May 23, 1867, to Mary Agnes Brown, of Wytheville. In March, 1868, he came to Jackson county, Iowa, and settled near Monmouth. In 1873 he moved to Sac county and in 1874 settled on the old homestead farm, where he lived for thirty-two years. Mr.  and Mrs. Nathaniel Brown Umbarger were the parents of a large family of children: Two daughters, who died in infancy; Lemuel Stephen, who died at the age of thirteen; J. Francis, of Odebolt; Clara L.; Willam L.; Mrs.  Florence L. Norris, of Oelwein, and Arthur G., of Moline, Illinois. In 1906 N. B. Umbarger moved to Odebolt, where he lived until his death, October 26, 1911.

J. F. Umbarger was educated in the Odebolt schools and later spent one year in Miami University and one year in Carthage College, at Carthage, Illinois. He was married in 1896 and since then has been farming for himself.  For three years he rented before moving on his farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Richland township. On March 1, 1913, he moved to Palo Alto county and settled on a five-hundred-acre farm, where he is now living. 

Mr. Umbarger was married February 29, 1896, to Winifred D. Ballard, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Ballard, of Odebolt. To this union have been born six children, one of whom died in infancy. The remaining five children who are living are Morris, Max, Percy, Margaret and Frank. 

Mr. Umbarger has always been interested in politics and was the leader in the Republican party until the organization of the Progressive party in the summer of 1912. He then became a member of the Progressive party and took an active part in its organization in this county. He served one term as township clerk and as school director. Religiously, he and his family are loyal members of the Presbyterian church and contribute of their substance to its support. Mr. Umbarger has been prominently identified with the life of his community up to the time when he left the county. He enjoyed, to a marked degree, the esteem of his neighbors and friends, because he was a true type of an enterprising citizen who is interested in the welfare of his community. This county lost an excellent citizen when he moved to Palo Alto county.

UMBARGER, WILLIAM L. -----Among the younger farmers of Sac county who are forging themselves to the front as successful agriculturists is William L. Umbarger, of Richland township, who was born May 23, 1879, on the farm where he now resides, and is the son of Nathaniel Brown and Mary A. (Brown) Umbarger.  Nathaniel Brown Umbarger was born January 4, 1845, in Wythesville, Wythe county Virginia, and died October 26, 1911. He was the second son of Stephen Umbarger, who enlisted in the Union army and was captured and imprisoned at Andersonville, where he died in the spring of 1865. His son, Nathaniel B. the father of the subject of this sketch, was drafted in 1861 by the Southern recruiting officers and compelled to serve in the Confederate army. He was assigned to Company B, Thirtieth Regiment Virginia Infantry, and fought under Gen. Jubal A. Early. He was captured at the battle of Newmarket and imprisoned at Elmira, New York, where he remained until the close of the war. He then took advantage of free government transportation and came westward to Iowa to visit an uncle by the name of Kegley, and, after looking over the territory in the eastern part of Iowa, he decided to invest and accordingly purchased one hundred and sixty acres in Jones county.

He then returned to Virginia and in March, 1868.  married Mary Agnes Brown. He and his wife immediately came to Iowa and located at Monmouth, Jackson county, and in 1873 they moved to Sac county, where they bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Richland township, where they lived for the next thirty-two years, and became the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land. In 1906 they moved to Odebolt, where Mr. Umbarger died in 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Umbarger were the parents of seven children: A daughter who died in infancy: Samuel Stephen, who died at the age of thirteen; James Francis, who lives at Ringsted, Iowa; William L. whose late history is here presented; Clara L., of Odebolt; Mrs. Florence L. Norris, who resides in Oelwein, Fayette county, this state, and Arthur G.. of Moline, Illinois. Nathaniel B. Umbarger was an elder in the Presbyterian church and a great believer in the work which was accomplished by the church. Fraternally, he Was a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He had been a prominent man in the affairs of his township since its organization, and was one of the leading citizens at the time it was organized. He died in the hospital at Ida Grove, Ida county, on October 26, 1911. His widow is still living in Odebolt. 

William L. Umbarger was educated in the district schools of his township and later graduated from the Odebolt high school. He has lived on his present farm since he was born, and now has one of the most attractive farms in the county. He was married May 23, 1906, to Mabel Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Smith, of Oelwein, Iowa, and to this marriage have been born three children: Helen, deceased; Alice, born June 25, 1911.  and James William, born March 12, 1914.

Politically, Mr. Umbarger is a Republican, but his farming interests have demanded so much of his time and attention that he has not taken an active part in political affairs. He and his wife are zealous members of the Presbyterian church and to this denomination . they contribute liberally of their time and substance.

WADSLEY, GEORGE W. -----In past ages the history of a country was comprised chiefly in the record of its wars and conquests. Today history is largely a record of commercial activity and those whose names are foremost in the annals of the nation are those who have become leaders in business circles. The conquests now made are those of mind over matter, and the victor is he who can most successfully establish, control and operate commercial interests. Mr. Wadsley is one of the men whose lives have been an essential part of the history of Sac county, Iowa. Tireless energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose, genius for devising and executing the right thing in the right place and time are the chief characteristics of the man. These, combined with everyday common sense and guided by strong will power, are concomitants which will insure success in any undertaking.

George W. Wadsley, implement and vehicle dealer of Early, Iowa, was born August 11, 1866 in Delaware county, Iowa, the son of John L. and Ruth (Boutling) Wadsley, who were both natives of England, and were married in Canada. In 1854 John Wadsley and his family moved to a farm in Delaware county Iowa, where they lived until his death, which occurred February 8, 1882. John Wadsley and wife were the parents of five children: C. A., of Early: L. J., of Cherokee, Iowa: Mrs. Louisa Boots, of Delaware township, in this county; George W. with whom this sketch deals, and Joseph B. of Storm Lake, Iowa.

George W. Wadsley came to Sac county with his mother, sister and brother, J. B. Wadsley, in 1885, and settled on a farm in Delaware township.  Mrs. John Wadsley died in Delaware township Sac county February 1, 1909. George Wadsley lived on this farm for eighteen years, or until he removed to Early, in 1903. He had just passed his fifteenth year when his father died, and he had the responsibility of managing the family affairs from that time. Mr. Wadsley now owns three hundred and twenty acres of fine farming land in Delaware township. In 1904 Mr. Wadsley moved to Early and purchased an implement and vehicle business, which had been previously established. It is now located in a large building on Main street.  and comprises a large stock of goods valued at about ten thousand dollars.  He carries a full line of agricultural implements and a good assortment of the vehicles which are most in common use in this neighborhood. He has built up his trade until he now has a fair share of the patronage of Early and vicinity.

Mr. Wadsley was married July 1, 1891, to Mary Gooding, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Gooding, of Dubuque county, Iowa, and to this union there have been born three children, Floyd M., Walter R. and Mildred. The political affiliations of Mr. Wadsley have always been with the Republican party, and although deeply interested in the success of his party, he has never been an active participant in political life. The members of the family are all adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church of Early, and interest themselves in its various activities.

Mr. Wadsley is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  Mr. Wadsley, as a public-spirited citizen, has interested himself in whatever has tended to promote the welfare of Early and vicinity, and the social and moral advancement of his fellowmen. Mr. Wadsley was a member of the town council for seven years. He has served on the school board for three years and has been re-elected for three years more.

WAGNER, JOHN G. -----Some of the best men of broad and stalwart character are those who are self-educated very largely, and in many instances a large part of their best training came to them through the study they gave to the biographies of great men. The study of the lives of enterprising men, especially of good men, are surely instructive, acting as guides and incentive to others. They furnish examples of steady purpose and steadfast integrity which strongly illustrate what is in the power of each of us to accomplish if we will but bend every effort of our will to the attainment of some worthy aim. The instances of success in the face of difficulties would almost seem to justify the conclusion that self-reliance, with a half chance, can accomplish any reasonable object. The man whose life history is herewith outlined is a man who has lived to good purpose and achieved splendid success. By a straightforward and honorable course he has won for himself a competence and takes his place among the enterprising and successful men of Sac county, Iowa, who have met success in the vocation of farming and stock raising. 

John G. Wagner, a farmer of Richland township, this county, where he owns three hundred and seventy-five acres of land, is a native of Germany, born July 23, 1867, the son of George and Elizabeth Wagner. In 1885 the subject and his sister, Martha, now Mrs. Langworth, of Chicago, Illinois left their home in Germany and came to America, believing there were broader opportunities for them in this country than in their native land. The father came to this country and to Sac county in about 1887 and still lives here, the mother having died in Germany. When the subject first came to this country he located in Lee county, Illinois, where for eight years he worked at farm labor.

In 1893 he came to Sac county and for one year worked for C. H. Rinehart. Then he rented the Helsell farm, where he lived for sixteen years. During this time he was prospering in a gratifying manner and purchasing land in various places. In 1909 he sold eighty acres of land which he owned in this county, also one hundred and sixty acres which he had in South Dakota, and purchased his present home comprising three hundred and seventy-five acres in Richland township. This land is all new, in an excellent state of cultivation and all buildings have been erected within the last few years. The dwelling is modern and commodious, convenient in every sense of the word and shelters an interesting family. At the present time. Mr. Wagner has thirty-five head of cattle and raises for the market about sixty head of hogs annually. The raising of stock is a sideline with him, as he devotes most of his attention to his crops, in which he is highly successful.

Mr. Wagner was married on June 18, 1896, to Mary Weitzel and to their union have been born nine children: Elma, Esther, Arthur, Frances, Ralph, Raymond. Alice, Helen and Glenn. These young people are being carefully reared in all that is essential to noble and useful manhood and womanhood. They are members of the Reformed church and in politics Mr. Wagner is a Republican of the old school. He is a man of excellent qualities and his conduct in every relation of life has been above reproach. Such honest and industrious lives are the warp and woof of the stability of a nation and in their increasing numbers its hope for the future lies.

WATT, SAMUEL L. ----The pages of this volume abound with biographies of men who were pioneers in the true sense of the word. To have been a real pioneer in the development of such an important part of the great commonwealth of Iowa is a distinction of merit and a matter of pride for the one who is classed among the interesting group of men whose lives and deeds are recorded herein. In Sac county we have two classes of pioneers-those who were actually among the very first settlers and those who came later in the greater period of development. Not many of those who bore the brunt of the first battle of redeeming the land from a wilderness remain for the present generation to honor. They were of a high type of manhood, and descended from a race of people who have been ever in the forefront of pushing onward the path of empire. Among the few "old settlers" remaining who occupy a high place in the esteem of their fellow men is Samuel L. Watt, a record of whose career since boyhood reads like romance rather than fact. He comes of the good old Buckeye stock, which in turn traces its forbears to Kentucky, and thence across the ocean to the North of Ireland and across the intervening waters to Scotland.

Samuel L. Watt, former secretary of the Sac County Fair Association, was born December 3, 1849 at Kenton, Hardin county, Ohio. He is the son of Samuel L. and Lydia Margaret (Leach) Watt, natives of Kentucky and Pennsylvania respectively. Samuel L. Sr., was reared in Kentucky and on attaining his majority removed to Hardin county, Ohio, and was one of the pioneers in the settlement and development of this division of the state of Ohio. However, he was not satisfied to remain and spend his life in Ohio, and accordingly, in the prime of manhood, he migrated to Sac County in October, 1855. He was accompanied by his wife and several children on the journey to the new West. His family consisted of seven children by his first marriage as follows : James, Thomas, Deborah, Robert, Harriet, Nancy, and Christina (Leach), wife of Andrew Leach. By a second marriage there were five children: Olive G., wife of William Conley (married in Sac county); John J.; Samuel L. ; Lydia M., wife of John Stocker; Sydney, the wife of G. L. Dobson; a daughter, Sarah Frances (Swan), who was born in Sac county.

The family set out from the old Hardin county home with a wagon or "prairie schooner," hauled by an ox-team, one horse and buggy, and a few milk cows and household effects. The trip was a source of continuous wonder to the several small children included in the happy family party. They traveled by easy stages across Ohio. Northern Indiana and Illinois by way of the regular traveled route taken by the pioneers who were coming in an ever-increasing stream to the great new lands of the Hawkeye country. Game was plentiful after they left the thickly settled and older regions and the members of the Watt family feasted royally from the results of hunting forays into the prairie lands and timber. Arriving at their destination in Sac county, the men folks immediately set about the erection of a log cabin which served for their habitation for several years. The timber for this cabin was cut and hewn from the great forest trees of oak and walnut which were plentiful along the banks of the Raccoon river. Kind neighbors willingly lent their assistance in the erection of the cabin. This log house served as a habitation for the Watts for several years and was later supplanted by a more pretentious frame dwelling.

The first winter was a very fine, open season and the immigrants from the East fared comfortably. The larder was always full of game and fish which could be obtained in abundance. The following winter of 1856-1857 was a terrible one for the settlers, however, and much suffering ensued on account of the extreme cold and the great depth of the snow which lay upon the ground from early fall until late in the spring. Mr. Watt states that they never experienced any trouble with the Indians who frequently camped in the neighborhood and that their greatest difficulty was in getting to market with produce and obtaining the necessary supplies of food and clothing.  They hauled their first crop of wheat to the Cedar Falls market, one hundred miles away. The family actually subsisted on one dollar's worth of sugar during one whole year. The elder Watt was a cripple, and was dependent to a great extent upon his children for help about the farm. The oldest son, James, accompanied by his sister Harriet, journeyed to California in 1859, and thus deprived the family of a main straw which made it necessary for the younger children to assume the burden and assist the father in every way possible. Christina followed in 1862. For several years it was a hard pull for them to make ends meet, but they bore their troubles with true pioneer fortitude and things eventually righted themselves and prosperity smiled upon them. Samuel L., Sr., moved to Sac City after a number of years, but, after two years' residence in town, he returned to the farm and later removed to Ohio. He died at the residence of his daughter Sydney in 1875. Mrs. Watt died in 1873. It is recorded that the elder Watt took a sub-contract for carrying the mail from Fort Dodge to Sioux City for a term of vears, but owing to the father's crippled condition it was necessary for the children to perform the task. Samuel L., the son, began at this task at thirteen years of age. It was considerable responsibility to place upon a young lad, but he successfully performed the work for a term of three years during the summer months, and attended the primitive district school in the vicinity during the winter months. Judge D. Carr Early was Mr.  Watt's first teacher. Owing to the necessity of devoting the greater part of his time to the farm work, his school training was necessarily irregular and intermittent and was confined to the three R's.   When twenty-four years of age, in 1873, Mr. Watt purchased a tract of wild, unbroken land and embarked upon the occupation of herding and raising cattle for the markets. Previous to this time he had invested his savings in a small tract of land south of Sac City in 1871 and made a trip to the far West. For two years he drove freighting teams in the mining regions of California, Nevada and Colorado. His route reached from the region of Death Valley to Denver and the mountains north of the city. His experience while performing his hazardous tasks in such a wild, unsettled country was very exciting and he met with many thrilling adventures.  Upon his return from the West to Sac county in 1873 he ranged cattle on his land until the fall of 1881. He would buy up large herds of feeders and fatten them for the markets. In the fall of 1881 Mr. Watt sold his live stock, rented out his land and removed to Buena Vista, where he embarked in the livery business for one year. In 1882 he removed to Sac City and has since been engaged in various business enterprises in which he has achieved marked success. At various times he has been the proprietor of a meat market, furniture store, etc., which he usually conducted for a time and sold out with profit to himself. Mr. Watt has been a capitalist in a large way for a number of years and has dealt extensively in Iowa land, having at one time owned over one thousand acres of good Hawkeye soil. His holdings but a few years back embraced one thousand acres of land in Sac county and over four hundred acres of South Dakota land. However, he has recently sold the greater part of his extensive farm holdings and given the proceeds to his children. He still retains a valuable tract of forty acres adjoining the prosperous and growing city of Sioux Falls, and owns four farms in Sac county totaling seven hundred acres. He has one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the corporation of Sac City on which he has raised livestock in large numbers. Mr. Watt is a lover of horses and an excellent judge of this useful animal, having as high as sixty head of draft and road animals on his nearby farm in one season.

Mr. Watt, since 1905, has been one of the largest stockholders and the efficient secretary of the Sac County Fair Association. He purchased the property of the old, decadent fair association at sheriff's sale and applied business methods to an enterprise which was destined to reflect credit upon himself and his associates. The association was immediately reorganized through his efforts, the grounds overhauled and placed in splendid condition and an era of prosperity soon set in for the fair association which has been continued from year to year. The Sac County Fair, during the past nine years, has been a wonderful success in every way. The livestock displays and the exhibits have been among the best in the state, and the attendance at the annual fair held each year has been constantly on the increase. He is a stockholder in The Farmers Savings Bank of Sac City. In politics, Mr.  Watt is a Democrat, and has ever been an active worker in the ranks and a leader of his party. He has served as city councilman and assessor. He values his membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. 

Mr. Watt's wedded life has been in keeping with his highly successful career in other lines. He was united in marriage in December 1873, with Rosa P. Allen, of Sac City, who was born in the year 1853 and died in 1897.  She was the daughter of Washington Allen, an early pioneer settler of Sac county. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Watt: Ina Belle (Maker), of Sac City, who is the mother of two children, Catherine Edna and Vivian. The second child born is Willis Walford Watt, a farmer residing northwest of Sac City. Willis served eight years in the United States regular army and spent four years in active warfare in the Philippine islands, having made two trips around the world while in the service. The third child is Edna Pearl ( Strohmeier), wife of Gus W. Strohmeier acting secretary of the Sac County Fair Association, and who is engaged in the automobile business in Sac City.

WAYT, LEON R. -----We are living in an age of continuous achievement. It is likewise the era of opportunity in many lines for the young men of the present day who are gifted with natural ability and the desire to progress ahead of their fellows in the race for supremacy. Yet, competition along certain well-defined lines is greater than ever before. Only the most diligent and the most honorable can achieve a substantial measure of success. Honesty of product and a rigid exactitude in conducting trade operations along the most upright paths of procedure will result in suitable and fitting rewards. In Sac City and county the pioneers in many occupations are making way for the younger element of the population; the younger generation are assuming the burdens of trade and business and are forging to the front with a wider scope than that exhibited by their predecessors owing to the fact that present-day pressure of business demands the widening out of their sphere of operations and the boundless ambition frequently possessed by the sons. A striking example of progressive young manhood is Leon R. Wayt, with whom the biographer is pleased to treat in a reminiscent way for insertion in the pages of this history. Mr. Wayt is undoubtedly one of the rising and promising young men of the city whose career is well defined and bids fair to be remarkably successful in future years as it has been in the past. Possessed of a bright mental equipment, ability to grasp the details of a subject under his consideration, keenly alive to his opportunities, and endowed with the happy faculty of making friends and with business ability of a high order, he is making rapid progress in his chosen field as the junior member of the widely and favorably known firm of W. B. Wayt & Son, monument manufacturers and dealers.

Leon R. Wayt was born December 14, 1878, in the town of Mechanicsville, Iowa, the son of W. B. Wayt, whose biography is herein presented.  He was educated in the public schools of Grand Junction, Jefferson and Sac City. He also studied the classics and science in the Sac City Institute and the Northern Indiana Normal University at Valparaiso, Indiana. He completed his course in the latter institution of learning in 1898. He was then engaged for a period of two years in the grocery business in Sac City in partnership with his brother, W. E. Wayt. However, for some time after leaving school he was employed in the monument works conducted by his father, thus giving him an opportunity to learn the details of manufacture and selling which later stood him in good stead. In the year 1901 he was admitted to partnership with his father and assumed a considerable portion of the burdens of conducting a large and growing business which had attained state-wide reputation for the excellence and honesty of its product.  His push and enterprise are assisting in great measure in extending and widening the scope of the business done by this important and growing concern. His activity is not exactly confined to the business in which he became primarily interested, and he is president of the Sac City Catering Company, a concern recently organized by a number of the young men of the city. Mr. Wayt has been especially active and influential in the civic affairs of Sac City. In every enterprise of community interest that makes for social interdependence and municipal solidarity he is found battling for its cause. He was one of the organizers of the Sac City Commercial Club, and is now chairman of its executive committee. He was chairman of the Commercial Club committee that gave to the city the handsome new Park Hotel, and it is no disparagement to others to say that the burden of promotion and the raising of the eighteen thousand dollars for this building fell upon him. He is now one of the trustees of this valuable hotel property. When the proposal to pave the streets of Sac City was being agitated, Mr. Wayt assumed the initiative in and locating this important public improvement. As chairman of the committee, he circulated the original petitions for street paving and personally secured every signer. Mr. Wayt was also chairman of the committee that raised the funds for the electrolier lighting systems that beautifies the city.

In numerous ways Mr. Wayt has performed a distinct public service in giving of his time and talents to every worthy enterprise that will make for a bigger and better town, and no citizen of Sac City is deserving of greater praise for unselfish work in behalf of civic pride and commercial supremacy.  He takes a keen interest in local affairs and is at present a member of the school board. Politically, he is allied with the Republican party. He and his family are attendants of the Presbyterian Church, and he is a fraternal member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, lodge, chapter and commandery of Sac City, and the Des Moines Consistory, being a Mason of the thirty-second degree.

Mr. Wayt was married November 11, 1901, to Blaine Lamoreux, daughter of D. M. and Alice Lamoreux, of Sac City. They have three children, namely: Margaret Fern, born December 11, 1903; Vivian Louise, born February 5, 1905; Donald Eugene, born October 26, 1907.  We know of no young citizen of Sac county more worthy or more deserving of mention in this volume than he of whom the foregoing is written.  It is with the object in view of presenting a brief review of his life, ambitions and accomplishments that we present this compendium for perusal by his friends and well wishers, who are legion.

WAYT, WOOSTER B. -----The fact is well authenticated by thousands of eminent illustrations that success comes as the result of unflagging energy and perseverance in the pursuit of a well-directed course of action previously determined upon.  It is seldom known to visit the laggards or the drones and is the outcome of diligence and foresight. Only the men who have continuously sought fortune's favor have been amply rewarded. The individual is doubly successful of whom it can be said "He is an honest man and is deserving of the rewards which have come to him directly through his own efforts." In tracing the life history of the influential manufacturer and public spirited citizen whose name forms the caption of this review, it is plainly seen that the prosperity which he enjoys has been won by the exercise of commend able qualities, and the high esteem in which he and his firm are held has been bestowed because of personal worth.

Wooster B. Wayt, senior member of the firm of W. B. Wayt & Son, monument manufacturers and dealers of Sac City, Iowa, was born May l0, 1849, in the city of Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, he is the son of Dr. William C. Wayt, a descendant of the ancestral followers of William Penn, and who emigrated to Pennsylvania from England at the time of the original Quaker settlement of Philadelphia. His mother was Elizabeth McCallister, who was the daughter of Scotch parents, and whose brother was a well-known merchant of Aberdeen, Scotland. William C. Wayt and wife were the parents of eleven children, several of whom came to Iowa, as follows: John, of Springville, Arkansas; Margaret, deceased; Wooster B.; Frank, deceased; Ira, deceased.

Dr. William C. Wayt was a physician of the eclectic school and was educated for the practice of his profession in the famous Medical College of Philadelphia. Doctor Wayt was a famous and skillful physician, the highest praise of whom can be given inasmuch as he was one of that self-immolating class who cared little for the monetary rewards of his calling and frequently worked himself to the point of physical exhaustion in effecting cures of the ills which beset mankind with whom he came in contact. When Wooster B. was yet a child the family set out for the West, traveling mostly by stage. Doctor Wayt located for a time in the city of Cincinnati, where for a period of two years, from 1850 to 1852 he served as a hospital surgeon.  From 1852 to 1856 he practiced his profession in Brookville, Franklin county, Indiana, which is located some miles northwest of Cincinnati.  He again set his face westward and northward with the path of empire. At this period the city of Galena, Illinois, was the gateway to the great Northwest and it was only natural that the Doctor should travel in that direction.  The long overland journey was made principally by stage. He and his family started for Marion, Iowa, and traveled the distance of forty-four miles from Dubuque to Independence principally on foot: in fact, two-thirds of this distance was traversed afoot. On April 1, 1856, they arrived in Marion, Iowa, where the Doctor practiced for four years. In 1860 he journeyed to Buchanan county and established his office and home in Frienk's Grove.  Here they remained until 1865, enduring the hardships of the pioneer life of those early days. The pioneers of the locality had little money with which to pay for medicine and it was necessary for the Doctor to take farm products for his professional services. These were the days of the log cabin, the tallow dip, the home-made furniture and low prices for farm products. The Doctor's family were denied the commonest of luxuries and even sugar was an unheard-of an expensive luxury which few could afford.  What sugar was used in the household was of the coarsest Orleans kind and was very scarce. Money was scarce and it required a considerable amount of farm produce to even get a few cents in return. They transported chickens a distance of fourteen miles away to Independence and sold them for one dollar per dozen, irrespective of weight or quality. Wheat sold for thirty-eight cents per bushel. Mr. Wayt recalls that kerosene first appeared as an illuminant in 1860 and it was considered exceedingly dangerous to use it at that time in the crude lamps of the period. The Doctor soon moved onward to a newer field and in 1865 removed to Millersburg, Illinois, where he remained for two years. He then returned to Iowa and located in Cedar Rapids in 1865, where his faithful and loving wife died in 1866. Doctor Wayt remained in Cedar Rapids until 1894, when he came to Sac City to make his final home with his son, Wooster B. Here he passed away in the fullness of his long years of usefulness in 1901.

Wooster B. Wayt, with whom this narrative is more intimately concerned, received his education in the public schools and the academy at Wilton Junction. When he was sixteen years of age he became a tinner's apprentice, and worked at his trade at Blairstown, Iowa; later he was employed in Cedar Rapids and Tama, Iowa. For a period of five and one-half years he served as foreman of the tin and copper working department of the Rock Island Railroad at Grand Junction, Iowa. In the year 1887 he engaged in the monument business with his brother Frank at Jefferson, Iowa. He and his brother had previously effected a partnership at Tama, Iowa, in 1876, but Wooster B. was not satisfied with the progress of the business and sold out and returned to his trade of tinner.

In the year 1890 he came to Sac City and laid the foundation for the present extensive and profitable business conducted by the firm. He first established a small shop and the business steadily grew and the products found increasing popularity with the people. The monument works of W.  B. Wayt & Son ranks as one of the most important institutions of its kind in western Iowa. Special notice is devoted to this concern in the pages of the history proper of Sac county. This notice traces the growth of the business from its very inception to the erection of the present handsome and commodious manufacturing and office building located near the Northwestern depot. It has several branch house and connections in Aberdeen, Scotland from which point the finest granite is imported to this country for use in their manufacturing operations. In the year 1901 his son, L. R.  Wayt, was admitted to the firm as junior partner. Father and son make an excellent working combination, which means greater and increasing prestige for the well-known establishment. The history of this highly developed institution spells "Success" in the fullest meaning of the word. The firm gave ample evidence of its progressive spirit by the donation and erection of a beautiful and appropriate soldiers' memorial monument to Gen. W. T.  Sherman Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Sac City, a generous gift which is highly appreciated by the people in general. The tall spire of this tasteful example of the sculptor's art rears its way heavenward in all its pristine simplicity in a commanding spot in the cemetery. Mr. Wayt has large holdings of property in addition to his business and has been interested in lands for several years, being the owner of tracts of land in North Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas. He is known as a shrewd investor and an excellent judge of land values throughout the country.  The marriage of this well-known citizen occurred April 27, 1871, at Cedar Rapids. Here he was joined in wedlock with Emeretta A. Marsh, daughter of Lambertus Walter and Regina (Blunt) Marsh.

Lambertus W. Marsh was born March 5, 1827, in Pompey, Onandago county, New York. He was left an orphan when very young and was reared by an uncle in Syracuse, New York. In the year 1845 he migrated to Kenosha, Wisconsin, and thence to Antioch, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. In 1863 he enlisted in Company D, Thirty-Fourth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and served until the close of the Civil War. In 1868 he removed with his family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and thence to his farm in Greene county, Iowa. Later, in 1885, he retired to a residence in Grand Junction, where he died January 23, 1912. He was a member of the Methodist church. Mr.  Marsh was married April 1, 1850, to Regina Blunt, who bore him five daughters, namely: Mrs. W. B. Wayt; Mrs. Hattie Smith, deceased ; Mrs.  E. W. Rogers, of Patterson, New Jersey; Mrs. O. L. Harmon, of Wallowa, Oregon, and Mrs. William Patterson, of Grand Junction, Iowa. The widow of Mr. Marsh now makes her home with Mr. Wayt in Sac City. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wayt have reared the following children: W. E. who married Mary Otis Lee and is the father of four children, Walter Lee, Retta, Lorene and Worth. He removed from Sac City to a large ranch near Mott, North Dakota, in 1909. The second son is Leon R., whose Biography appears herein and who is associated with his father in the monument business.  Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Wayt also have one daughter, Mrs. Velma Grable, of Sac City.

Mr. Wayt is politically allied with the Democratic party and is a stanch member of the Christian church in his home city. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity. He has not only been eminently successful in his business pursuits, but he does his duty as a citizen in ways which are influential and are for lasting and permanent good to the community at large. Recognizing the fact that a town is best known by the quality of its citizenship and the extent of its public improvements, Mr.  Wayt is generally found in the forefront of movements resulting in the installation of municipal betterments. He and his talented son are found in the van of those seeking the advancement of Sac City and have used their influence in furthering the wave of civic betterment and the installation of public improvements which is at present sweeping the city. The friends of this successful manufacturer are legion and he ranks as a familiar and commanding figure throughout the county and western Iowa.

WEBB, ADELBERT E. -----To a great extent the prosperity of the agricultural sections of our country is due to the honest industry, the sturdy persistence, the unswerving perseverance and the wise economy which so prominently characterize the farming element of the state of Iowa. Among this class may be mentioned the subject of this brief review, who, by reason of years of indefatigable labor and honest effort, has not only acquired a well merited material prosperity, but has also richly earned the highest esteem of all with whom he is associated.

Adelbert E. Webb of Douglas township, Sac county, Iowa, was born November 9, 1861 in Lenawee county, Michigan, and was the son J. B and Ellen Webb, who were natives of New York. The Webb family came to Lenawee county, Michigan, early in its history and remained there until 1873. They then moved to Jasper county, Iowa, and eight years later located in Cedar township, this county. J. B. Webb was born in 1830 and died in 1906 in this county. His wife was born in 1836 and died in 1910.  They reared a family of two children, Mrs. Carrie Hamilton, of Lytton, Iowa, and Adelbert E., whose history is here portrayed.

 Adelbert E. Webb was educated in the district schools of his native county in Michigan, and since he was only twelve years of age when his parents moved to Iowa, he attended school for a few years after reaching this state. He assisted his father with the work of the farm until his marriage, at the age of twent3'-eight, although he had bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres some time before his marriage. That land he sold and bought his present farm after marriage, for which he paid thirty-four dollars and thirty-seven and one-half cents an acre, and with the fine home, excellent barns and outbuildings, together with extensive fencing and ditching which he has put upon the place, has increased the value of the tract until it is now worth at least five times what it cost him in the beginning. In addition to his one hundred and sixty acres in Douglas township, he has one hundred and sixty acres in Minnesota. He is a farmer of more than ordinary ability and successfully combines his grain and stock raising with the result that his farm affords a comfortable profit each year. He averages about twenty head of cattle and twelve head of horses each year for the market, besides hogs and other animals.

Mr. Webb was married December 4, 1889, to Barbara A. Carter, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Carter. Mr. and Mrs. Webb have one daughter, Mary Jeannette, who is still with her parents. In his political affiliations, Mr. Webb has always allied himself with the Republican party, but has never aspired to public office. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and takes an interest in the various local activities of that fraternal order. His well directed efforts in the practical affairs of life, his capable management of his agricultural interests and his sound judgment have brought his prosperity, and his life demonstrates what may be accomplished by a man of energy and ambition who is not afraid to work. In all the relations of life he has commanded the confidence and respect of those with whom he has been brought into contact.

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