Harrison County Iowa Genealogy

MCELDERRY - Albert T. MCELDERRY, a prosperous farmer residing on section 21, of LaGrange Township, came to Harrison County in the spring of 1878, and settled on the farm he now occupies. He bought two hundred and eighty acres of land--a quarter section in section 21, and one hundred and twenty in section 22; it was partly improved, all broken and under the protection of a good fence, and had a frame house 26x28 feet. since then he has erected two barns, one 16x20 feet, used for stallions. Our subject has added to his landed estate until he now has four hundred and forty-five acres. He is an extensive breeder of English-Shire horses, and is the owner of "Fairy Prince," No. 1336. He is also a breeder of Holstein cattle; has on hand about sixty-three head of grades and pure bloods.

Mr. MCELDERRY was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in February, 1848, and in April, 1856, accompanied his parents to Jefferson County, Iowa, where he remained until January, 1860, when his father died. In October, 1862, he moved with his mother to Warren County, Iowa, where he remained with her until 1879, and then came to Harrison County. He was married in Warren County, Iowa, October 16, 1872, to Miss Gertrude CLARK, by which marriage union six children were born--Esta M., Edward L., Mabel (deceased), Albert C., Lulu M. and Frank C.

The mother of these children was born near Bloomington, Ind., and came to Warren County, Ill., when she was a girl, and there remained until the date of her marriage. She passed from this life in Harrison County, Iowa, in April, 1885.

Our subject was again married in Harrison County in February, 1889, to Miss Florence E. PETT, by whom one child, Lena F., was born. Florence E. (PETT) MCELDERRY is a native of England, born in 1862, and when five years of age accompanied her parents to America and remained with them until her marriage to Mr. MCELDERRY.

John MCELDERRY, father of our subject, was born in Washington County, Pa., and when a mere youth accompanied his father to Ohio, where he remained until he grew to manhood, and then came to Jefferson County, Iowa, and died there in January, 1860.

Our subject's mother, Margaret (HANNAH) MCELDERRY, was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, remained there until she was married, and died in Warren County, Ill., in December, 1872. She was a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Our subject and his wife are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 551, 552
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ARTHUR - William ARTHUR, one of the representative farmers of Jackson Township, residing on section 27, first came to Harrison County in the autumn of 1857. He bought a sawmill near Magnolia, and operated it six months, and then removed the same to Hoosier Township (now St. John's), where he continued to operate for four years, after which he moved it to Pottawattamie county and sold it, and bought the place he now occupies, consisting of two hundred and twenty-six acres of land, upon which there had been made but little improvements. He commenced housekeeping in a log house 18x26 feet, and lied in the same for nearly thirteen years, and then built a two-story house 30x42 feet, and also a barn 30x40 feet, provided sheds for stock, dug wells, put up a windmill and set out an orchard of one hundred and twenty-five trees. He ornamented and made more valuable his premises by the planting out of a large number of shade trees. His present farm consists of three hundred and twenty acres, seventy acres under the plow, and the balance in pasture and meadow. About forty acres of his farm is timber.  It was our subject's ill fortune to live in the county during the grasshopper years, and lost four crops by grasshoppers and chinch bugs.

Our subject was born in Washington County, Pa., February 14, 1828. He is the son of William and Jane ARTHUR. The father was a native of Scotland, while the mother was born in Pennsylvania. They were the parents of three children--William, Isabel D. and Thomas (deceased). Our subject remained in the old Keystone State until he grew to manhood. At the age of sixteen his father died, after which he went to live with a man named SCOTT, and learned the tanners' trade, continuing in the business until he was twenty-one years old. He then went to Ashland, Ohio, where he engaged in setting up and running machinery for the Newark Machine Works. He remained with them a year and one-half, and the next year worked for the Ft. Wayne Machine Company, after which he drifted to Iowa.

Our subject was unite din marriage February 16, 1859, to Ellen MCWILLIAMS, the daughter of William and Polly A. (MARSH) MCWILLIAMS, natives of Ohio, who were the parents of eight children--John W., Ellen, Thomas B., Leonidas, Mary I., David B. (deceased), William T. (deceased), and Kate K. (deceased).

Our subject and his wife are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living. They were born in the following order: Thomas, July 12, 1860; William T., April 24, 1862; Anna J., December 6, 1863; Fred, July 11, 1866; Mary D., June 22, 1868; Eugene L., January 2, 1872; Edwin C., February 3, 1875; and Leonteen, June 6, 1880.

Our subject is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Little Sioux Lodge, No. 382. Politically he is in sympathy with the Republican party, and has assessed his township several times, and also took the census enumeration in 1880.   His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and no family in the township is more highly respected than they.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 552, 553
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ATHEY - Ned M. ATHEY, a farmer residing on section 23, of Jackson Township came to Harrison County, in the autumn of 1874, and first located at Missouri Valley, and worked out by the month, in St. John's Township. He came to the county a poor man, and was compelled to work for others by the month for four years. At the end of which time he bought him a team, and rented land for two years, and then bought eighty acres of land in St. John's Township. A part of this land was improved, and he paid $25 per acre for it. After residing on this place four years, he sold out and bought the farm he now occupies, consisting of one hundred and twenty acres of partly improved land. He at once set about making substantial improvements and alterations on the premises. He now has eighty acres under cultivation, while the balance is in timber and pasture land, all surrounded by a good fence. He also has an orchard of fifty trees.

Concerning our subject's early life, it may be said he was born in January, 1851, and is the son of James L. and Elizabeth ATHEY, who were natives of Indiana, as was our subject. In his parents' family there were eight children, he being the third child. The children were as follows: Sarah M., deceased; Mary J., deceased; Ned M.; Nancy C.; William, deceased; Rachel L., and Martha E., (twins), and James L.

Our subject remained in the Hoosier State with his parents until twenty-two years of age, at which time he came to Harrison County, Iowa.

He was united in marriage, March 8, 1881, to Nettie COX, daughter of Henry B. and Caroline COX, natives of Indiana, who were the parents of ten children, five of whom grew to maturity, and are now all residents of Harrison County.

Our subject and his wife are the parents of five children, born in the following order: Bruce C., July 1, 1882; Henry L., January 21, 1884; William E. (deceased), born April 16, 1887; Florence, August 9, 1889, and John W., April 10, 1891.

Politically, our subject is identified with the Democratic party.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 553, 554
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STERN - Almor STERN (Portrait), of the firm of STERN & MILLIMAN, at Logan, will form the subject of this notice. He was born in Chester County, Pa., April 21, 1854, and is the son of Jacob T. and Millicent B. STERN, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.

He accompanied his parents from the Keystone State to Harrison County, when he was but three years of age, arriving here in the month of April, 1857, coming from Philadelphia to St. Louis by rail, and from the last-named place they took a boat up the Missouri river to Florence, Neb., and the following week came to Harrison County, where our subject has spent the greater portion of his life. While yet a mere lad, he looked out upon the fertile valleys and broad expanse of prairie-land, little dreaming that, before he was forty years old, this wilderness-like domain would be the garden-spot of the Missouri Slope, with scarcely a tract of wild land to be seen, but on the contrary, a fully developed county, with all that this term implies, including her well-tilled farms, her railways, her towns, cities, schools and churches. His early years were spent in assisting his father, who was one of the most systematic agriculturists the county has ever known, and who lived at Harris Grove, and whose farm is still known as the "Linnwood Farm." Here our subject remained until the October election of 1878, at which time he was elected County Auditor, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of W. H. EATON. Mr. STERN held this office until January 1, 1884, and after retiring he established himself in his present business, which was commenced in December, 1883.

He was married December 15, 1880, to Laura A. MANN, the daughter of Calvin and Silvia MANN, of Blair, Neb. She is a native of Washington County, N. Y., born July 6, 1854. Her father was of English descent and the mother of Welsh extraction.

Mr. and Mrs. STERN have had their home blessed by the birth of three children--Fred W., born November 16, 1881; Cyrus A., born August 2, 1883; Jacob T. Jr., born July 26, 1889.  Politically, our subject is a stanch supporter of the principles as laid down by the Republican party.

He is a member of Chrysolite Lodge, No. 420, of the Masonic order. He joined March 29, 1882, and is now Master of the lodge. He is also a member of Logan Lodge, No. 355, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  Having been "reared in the way that he should go," he, not unlike his parents (who are still residents of the county, living a retired life at Logan), is held in high esteem by every citizen within Harrison County.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 557
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BROWN - Lafayette BROWN, an attorney at law, practicing at Missouri Valley, came to the place in 1875, having graduated the year before, at the law department of the Iowa State University.

He was born February 17, 1845, in Jackson County, Ohio. His parents are Samuel and Charlotte (SMITH) BROWN natives of Carroll County, Ohio. The ancestors on the father's side were very early settlers in Ohio, while on the mother's side they were from Pennsylvania. Great-grandfather William BROWN, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and during one of the fierce struggles of that conflict lost an arm.

Our subject was the fourth child of a family of ten--six sons and four daughters. Of the ten there are five sons and one daughter living. The family came to Iowa by the way of Ohio and Mississippi rivers, landing at Centreville, Appanoose County in 1853, and entered a farm there. In 1875 they traded the farm for a grist mill in Centreville, and after running this fro a few years made a change, by going to Missouri. Our subject's mother died May 1, 1891, in Missouri Valley.

His early education was obtained in Appanoose County, Iowa. He assisted his father on the farm until twenty five years of age and then attended the Normal School at Warrensburg Mo., and from there went to Iowa City, and graduated in law, in July 1874. The following winter he taught school in Appanoose County, coming to Missouri Valley the following year.

Politically he votes the straight Democratic ticket and has held the office of City Attorney for one term and is the present incumbent, and has been a member of the School Board at various times and is one of the present members.

Fannie MANNING became his life companion December 29, 1830. They were married in Wayne County Iowa, her parents being very early pioneers in the Hawkeye State. The father died while she was yet quite small and her mother passed from the scenes of this life, at Missouri Valley in 1883. Our subject and his wife are the parents of one child, Verne S., born November 30, 1883.

Of Mrs. BROWN, it may be said that she is an exemplary Christian lady and a member of the Presbyterian Church at Missouri Valley.

Of Mr. BROWN's brothers, two are in Oregon, one in North Dakota, and one in South Dakota; three are farmers and stock-raisers. A sister lives in South Dakota, the wife of John RANDS; Allen L. one of the brothers living in Oregon is extensively engaged in raising stock, principally horses. He was Sheriff of Baker County at one time.

When our subject came to Missouri Valley, he was a poor man having used all of his early earnings, in gaining an education. But by strict attention to his business in his line, he has built up a lucrative practice, and now owns a good business property on Erie Street, besides a good residence property in another part of Missouri Valley.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 559, 560
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NORDAKER - Gunnar E. NORDAKER, one of the enterprising business men of Dunlap, has been a resident of the city since the spring of 1884. He is a native of Norway, born September 10, 1863. His parents were Erick and Christena NORDAKER, who reared a family of nine children. At the age of fourteen years our subject engaged as a clerk in a general store. He received his education at the High Schools of his native country, and also took a business course, preparatory to entering a business establishment. He followed office work in the mercantile business until he left Norway, in 1884, coming direct to Dunlap, Iowa. Upon his arrival he almost immediately engaged with PATTERSON, DALLY & CO., in their general store, and there remained until the firm was changed to M. C. DALLY & Co., and continued with the firm until October, 1889, when he established his present business. He started in with a small stock of general merchandise, and has increased until he now carries one of the largest in the county. Through good business principles, he has built up a large trade throughout Harrison, Crawford, Monona and Shelby Counties. He has in his employ, five well-trained clerks, besides extra help on special occasions.

Mr. NORDAKER may well be termed a self-made business man, who had nothing to start with in life except energy and perseverance. Politically he is a Republican, yet is not a radical party man, believing in the theory that the best men should hold the local offices. Like so many of the intelligent business men of Harrison County, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias Order, as well as of the Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of America.

He was married July 3, 1888, to Miss Ida M. DUNSTON, who was born in Dunlap April 4, 1870. She is the daughter of William and Jane (KEAST) DUNSTON. The father is deceased, and the mother lives in Dunlap.

The home circle of our subject and his wife has been blessed by the birth of one child, Inger Erik, born February 27, 1890. Mrs. NORDAKER is an acceptable member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 560, 561
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REIHER - Charles REIHER, a furniture dealer at Dunlap, is a native of Prussia, having been born seven miles from Berlin, August 9, 1833. He is the son of John and Dora (GOTSCHALK) REIHER. In the spring of 1848 the family consisting of father, mother, our subject Charles, and his sister Dora, came to America and located near Buffalo, N. Y., at East Hamburg. Here our subject remained until he was fifteen years of age, when he started for himself. He made two trips to New York, on the canal, and then went at the carpenter's and joiner's trade and later on entered the car-shops at Buffalo, where he spent a year and a half, and then went to Marquette, Mich., and took a position as foreman of the car-shops. This was in 1856, and after remaining there eighteen months, he entered the employ of the Government, in the Signal Service Department. He entered into a five-year contract, but was discharged after a service of two years and a half. He was stationed at Ft. Antoinette, Mich.

He next took a claim at Superior City, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which now stands the great City of Duluth. This he sold to NETTLETON & CADWELL, for $300, and returned to work on the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, at Escanaba, Mich., as foreman of their shops, but after about thirteen months was transferred to Janesville, Wis., and was again transferred after eighteen months to Clinton, Iowa, and was there made foreman of the shops. Seven months later the railroad company sent him to Boone, Iowa, to build the railroad shops at that point. Here our subject remained twenty years, about eleven years of the time he was with the railroad company, after which he went into the butcher business for one year and then changed to the furniture business, in which he continued until 1880, and then came to Dunlap, where he has since carried on the furniture business. He also does undertaking in connection with the furniture business, and is associated with his son, at Charter Oak, in a general store.

Politically, like most of his countrymen who come to our shores, he is a stanch Republican, and always takes an active part in the political campaigns. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and also of the Legion of Honor.

He was united in marriage, at Buffalo, N. Y. to Elizabeth VORBECK, a native of New York. They are the parents of three children--Walter, a resident of Boone, Iowa, a time-keeper for the Northwestern Railroad Company; Matilda, wife of Thomas KELLEY, a bookkeeper at Des Moines, Iowa; and Francis, a resident of Boone.

For his second wife Mr. REIHER married Melissa RICHARD. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, although he was reared a Quaker. The parents of our subject died in Boone, Iowa, the mother in 1887, and the father prior to that time. They both lived to advanced age of eighty-seven years.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 562, 563
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