Ida County Iowa Biographies

These Ida County Biographies have been provided by Conley Wolterman, if you would like to request additional information, just click on her name.

Last Updated Wednesday, September 20, 2000 12:00:00 AM

 

John Harrison

     John Harrison, one of the early pioneers of Douglas Township, Ida County, Iowa, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, in December, 1824, a son of James and Elizabeth (Clendening) Harrison, natives also of that county. He moved to Scotland with his parents when a lad and was raised and educated there. In 1845, John was united in marriage to Jeanette Stevenson at Argyleshire, Scotland, near Glasgow. Her father was Peter Stevenson.
     In 1855, he came to the United States, locating in New York, but afterwards he engaged in a sawmill for J. Irvin at Savanna, Carroll Co., Illinois. In 1864, Mr. Harrison enlisted in the Civil War, in Co. C, Eighth Illinois Cavalry. He was wounded in he cheek and honorably discharged at Benton Barracks, Missouri, after the close of the struggle.
     In 1868, he took a pre-emption claim on Section 2, Douglas Township, Ida County, Ia., and at that time Douglas Township only had 6 votes.
He went to Sioux City, Iowa, with ox team to mill; often killed deer where Holstein, Iowa, Ida County, now stands. There was only one family between his home and Ida Grove.
     Mr. Harrison's house was the stopping place for travelers, and was also a stage station. The Sioux river flows through the farm, and Mr. Harrison is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He has a registered shire horse.
Jeanette and John had 6 living children: Elizabeth, Thomas, Mary Jane, David, Addie Geddes (a successful teacher of Washta, Cherokee Co., Iowa), and Mathew M. (an artist and painter by profession). They lost one son, James, at Savanna, Illinois.
He was a member of the G.A.R., William Baker Post No. 298 of Correctionville, Ia.

 

C. C. Zupp

     He was born September 18, 1835 to George Peter Zupp (a native of France), and Elizabeth Zeuder of that country. They came to America and located in Pennsylvania. C. C. Zupp was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and when he was 3 years old they went to Wyandot County, Ohio. Three years later, they moved to Hillsdale County, Michigan. At the opening of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Eighteenth Michigan Infantry. After its close, he returned to Michigan, and moved to Buchanan County, Iowa. In 1869, he moved to Section 3, Douglas Township, Ida County, Iowa.
     At the time of 1869, Ida County cast only 32 votes, and only 3 families resided in Douglas Township. The Judge John H. Moorehead lived at the west edge of where Ida Grove was built later, and there were no homes between Mr. Zupp's farm in Douglas Township and Mr. Moorehead's home. The hardships experienced with pioneer life was common then.
     Mr. Zupp, at the age of 19, first married Jennie Crawfoot, a native of New York, and a daughter of Seth and Ann Eliza Crawfoot. To this union was born two children: A. D. and Ida. In 1867, Mr. Zupp was united in marriage with Julia Crawfoot, a sister of his former wife, and they had the following children: Jennie (wife of M. G. Sherman of Cushing, Ia); Jessie; Will; Blanche (wife of Charles Herrington); Belle (Mrs. Mertell); and Pearl. The wife and mother died in 1883.
George Peter Zupp, the father of C. C. Zupp, was a veterinary surgeon by profession, and was a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte, also in the Mexican War. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had 8 children: C. C. Zupp; George P., W. Z.; Christiana; Margaret; Caroline; Henry; and John.

 

Frank Correll

     Frank Ferris Correll was born at Chenoa, Illinois on February 27, 1859. They lived in North Dakota and taught school in Mandan, North Dakota.
     When they came to Iowa, they came by train to Alta, Iowa. They were met by a bobsled with a pig in the back to keep their feet warm. They were taken to a farm near the Hanover community. They moved to Galva, Iowa, Ida County. He ran a grocery store with the aid of his daughter, Myrtle.
     Frank Correll often play the fiddle for barn dances in the area.
     Frank was a 2nd cousin to Charles Correll, who was better known as "Andy" of "Amos and Andy" show on radio.
     Frank had married Elma J. Correll, and they had one daughter, Myrtle Correll Morris. Myrtle's mother, Elma, was crippled with arthritis. Myrtle took oil painting lessons so she could teach her mother how to paint. Elma painted many oil pictures and also gave lessons.

 

Sydney Cork

     Sydney Stephan Cork was born in Hartlip County of Kent in England on July 13, 1890. He had 8 brothers and sisters but only one sister came to America. His parents were John Isaac Cork and Mary Anne Rose Cork. After he completed his 8th grade, he went to work on a farm. At the age of 22, he came to America in the spring of 1913, traveled by ship to New York, and then by train to Galva, Iowa, Ida County.
     The trip from England to Iowa cost $80, and he earned $28 per month from spring to fall working on area farms. He received $.04 per bushel of corn he picked by hand. He did chores on the farm in the winter months with his pay just "room and board."
     On Sundays, he would walk to church, or take a horse and buggy, to attend afternoon and evening services at the Silver Creek church southeast of Galva.
     In 1914, Florence Agnes Davison came to America. Her parents were William and Martha Baker Davison. She had received her 8 grades of education and then went to work for families in the area. She was born on February 6, 1892 in Stockbury, County of Kent in England. She was the only family member to come to America. She met Sydney Cork and they were married on February 28, 1917 at the Ida County Courthouse. They went farming. During World War II, the family raised flax for the government. In the late 1930s, Syd purchased his first tractor, a F-12. They got electricity in the Spring of 1942. They had one child, Wilfred Earl, born July 6, 1920.

 

Richard Williams

     He was County Commissioner of Ida County, Iowa, was born in Schuylkill Co., Pa., in 1845. He was the youngest child of Thomas and Margaret (Watters) Williams, natives of Cornwall, England.
     Richard was reared and educated in Jo Daviess Co., Illinois. In October 1864, he enlisted in Battery F, First Illinois Light Artillery, for one year, or during the war. He served principally with Battery I. He took part in the battles of Nashville, followed Hood to Eastport, Ms., where he was on garrison duty. He was honorably discharged at Chicago in August, 1865.
     Richard now resumed farming in Illinois. In 1868, he moved to Boone Co., Iowa, and engaged in farm labor, and assisted in building the Illinois Central railroad from Webster to Sioux City, Iowa.
     In May 1872, Richard married Angeline Ewer, a native of Wisconsin, a daughter of Ruel and Ellen (Wamsley) Ewer, natives of England. Richard and Angeline had eight children: T. F., Ellen, William H., Rosa, Albert Grant, Clara, Omer, and Charley. Mr. Williams was one of the earliest pioneers of Grant Township, there having been only one house between his home and Ida Grove when he located in Ida County.
     In 1875, Mr. Williams purchased 160 acres of raw prairie land in Grant Township, Ida County, and erected a one-story house. In 1890, he built a two-story house. He assisted in organizing Grant Township, also every school district in the township, and in 1891 was elected County Commissioner. He is a member of the Matthew Gray Post, G.A.R., at Ida Grove, Ia.
     In 1839, Richard’s parents left their native land for the United States, locating in Schuylkill Co., Pa., where the father was engaged in mining coal. He left there in 1854 to enter the employ of a London Mining Co. of east Tennessee. Then he worked for the same company in Carroll Co., Virginia. In 1856, he purchased a farm in Jo Daviess Co., Illinois, where he died March 10, 1864. He had lost his wife by death in 1848. Four children had been born to them: Thomas S. (mining in Minnesota) and William H. (married Grace Williams Fletcher) and engaged in mining in Nevada. Their daughter, Patience, married B. F. Aiken of Grant Township; and their son, Richard, is the subject of this biography. He married a second time to Amelia Tonkin. Amelia and Thomas of England had the following children: Zachariah (of Marcus, Iowa); James (of Marcus, Iowa); Susan (wife of John Burns of Dakota); and John (a farmer of Plymouth Co., Iowa).

 

Jonas Collin

     Jonas Collin, a farmer and stockraiser of Section 23, Silver Creek Township, Ida Co., Iowa, was born in Sweden on April 12, 1830. As he advanced toward manhood, he conceived the idea of obtaining a fortune in a foreign land. In 1869, he and his family embarked for America. They landed in New York, made their way to Iowa, settled in Benton County, and remained there 18 months. They moved to Marshall County, Iowa, and remained there until the spring of 1880.
     Mr. Collin purchased a farm of 80 acres in Ida County, Silver Creek Township, Iowa. He broke the sod and improved the land. He added land until he owned 440 acres. Fruit trees of different varieties were planted.
Jonas married in Sweden, to Johanna Segolson, who was born September 24, 1836. Nine children were born to them, two of which died in youth: Safrien, born October 14, 1860;
     Anastena, born October 1, 1862 and died May 5, 1866; Gabriel, born March 24, 1865; Joel born October 28, 1867; John Alfred born April 23, 1870; Albertena born February 1, 1873; Samuel born February 14, 1875; Josephine born February 4, 1877 and died July 23, 1882; Albin born April 8, 1879.

 

John A. Brechwald

     J. A. Brechwald was born near Mayence, in the German Rhineland, on June 21, 1858 and he passed away May 22, 1919. He came to Ida County with his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Brechwald in the winter of 1881 and grew to manhood in this locality. He and his brother Ferd established and incorporated the cigar making firm of Brechwald Bros. in Ida Grove. He and his family went to Florida in 1907 and were engaged in the nursery business, doing carpentry work, and selling real estate. He was buried in the Ida Grove Catholic Cemetery.
     Mr. and Mrs. Brechwald had one daughter, Virginia. He was survived by his aged mother, Mrs. Andrew Brechwald, and 7 brothers and sisters: Ferd A. Brechwald, Jacob P. Brechwald, Mrs. Theo. Rohwer, Mrs. Wm. Murphy, Mrs. Robert Mein, Mrs. Agnes Schmidt, and Mrs. Frank Hart.

 

Hans J. Lund

     Mr. Lund was born February 7, 1845 in Denmark and came to America in 1864. He traveled to Chicago. He came to Ida County in 1883 and lived on a farm until 1904 when he moved to Arthur, and came to Ida Grove in 1910.
     He married Mrs. Geo. Heitman November 3, 1883. One son, Max Lund, was born to this marriage. He had four step-children: Andrew Heitman, Frank Heitman, Mrs. Geo. Baker, and Mrs. Martha Weed.
     He died of blood poisoning, which followed as an aftermath of an operation that was performed at Sioux City May 3 at St. Vincent's hospital. He was apparently recovering after the operation, when infection set in a week after his return to Ida Grove. His funeral took place at his old farm home near Ida Grove, and he was buried in the Swedish Lutheran Cemetery at Kiron, Iowa.

 

 Charles G. Kolb

     Charles G. Kolb was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, September 29, 1834. When he was 22 years of age, he came to America, making the journey on a Sailing Vessel that required 40 days for the passage. Altogether in his life, he crossed the Atlantic Ocean 13 times, the second trip being to bring back a bride, Catherine Weiler. The last journey was in 1910 when he visited his fatherland.
     He lived two years in New York State along the Hudson before he went for his bride. Upon their return, they settled on a farm near Harrisburg, Pa. in 1858. In the spring of 1880, they came to Ida County and purchased a farm in Logan Township. At that time, the best lands in that locality could be secured for $10 an acre. When he arrived in Logan Township, he found divine worship being held only at rare intervals. He organized a Sunday school and exerted himself that there should be church services regularly. For many years he continued faithfully as superintendent of the Sabbath school. His influence was always for better schools and served for many years as secretary of the school board in Logan Township.
     In 1892, Mr. Kolb bought his farm on the Maple Valley Road, and it was his home until 1907 when they moved to Ida Grove on Moorehead Ave., next to the Odebolt River. Mrs. Kolb passed away in the spring of 1908, but Charley continued to live in the same place until September 1918. He met with an accident at the railroad crossing, but received no serious injury. From that time on, he made his home with his son William F. Kolb on Quimby Street.
     Charley passed away in April of 1919, and he is buried in the Ida Grove Cemetery. Catherine and Charley Kolb had 6 children: Mrs. Kate Morrison, John C. Kolb of Logan Township, W. F. Kolb of Ida Grove, Charles L. Kolb of Logan Township, Mrs. Sadie E. Hoffman of Logan Township, and Mrs. Anna M. Clifton of Ida Grove.

 

David Nicoll

     Rev. D. Nicoll, a minister of the United Presbyterian Church & a prominent farmer in Battle Twp., Ida Co., Iowa, was born in Delaware Co., New York, Feb. 22, 1841.  He was the son of Andrew & Margaret (George) Nicoll.  
     Andrew Nicoll was born in Scotland in 1797 and was reared and married there, and in 1839 emigrated to America and located in Delaware County, New York, where the rest of his life was spent, engaged in farming pursuits.  He died in 1870.  Andrew and Margaret’s ten children were:  Elizabeth (wife of John Beckwith, Delaware Co., N. Y.); William (married in Delaware Co., N. Y.); James; Andrew (married, living on a farm in Cedar County, Iowa); Margaret (wife of John G. Russell of Delaware County, N. Y.); Ann (wife of Allen Elijah, Cedar County, Iowa); Christina (widow of John Imroe, Cedar County, Iowa); David; Jane (wife of William Imrie, Napa, Ca.); and Jeanette (wife of L. D. Boyd, of Corwin Twp., Ida County, Iowa).
     Mr. Nicoll was reared on a farm in Delaware County.  In 1861, he entered Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pa., and after finishing his sophomore year, enlisted on August 29, 1862 at Pittsburgh, Pa., in Knapp's Battery for a term of three years, or during the war.  He was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and was in the battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Wahachie.  October 28, 1863, he received a gunshot wound in his right shoulder, after which he was in field hospital near Chattanooga and at Murfreesboro till January, 1864.  January 2, he received a furlough, returned to New York, and remained there until April 1 of the same year.  From that time until May, he was in the hospital at Central Park, New York city, and from May till October, he was bookkeeper in the same hospital.  Then he was transferred to the Veteran Corps, New York City, and was in a provost marshal's office until May 19, 1865, when he was honorably discharged. 
     In September, 1865, he re-entered college at Cannonsburg, Pa., and remained there till January 1866.  He then came West to Illinois, entered Monmouth College at Monmouth, and graduated at that institution in June, 1867.  After that he began a theological course; spent the winter of 1867-'68 at Newburg, N. Y., and the following winter at Monmouth, Illinois, graduating with the class of 1869.  While in New York, in June, 1868, he was licensed to preach in the United Presbyterian Church, and in September, 1869, came to De Witt, Clinton County, Iowa, where he was ordained as pastor in November.  He was pastor of the United Presbyterian Church at that place for a period of 15 years.  He came to Ida County to Battle Township, organized a church, at first holding services in a Jim Brown schoolhouse.  In 1890, he assisted in erecting a nice frame church, 28 x 40 feet, with a seating capacity of 150, in which he preached regularly and conducted Sabbath school work.
     Mr. Nicoll was married in Delaware County, New York, in 1870, January 6, to Miss Isabella F. Brown, a native of that place and a daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann (McNee) Brown.  Her parents were both deceased, her mother having died in 1859, and her father in 1869.  Mr. and Mrs. Nicoll had 3 children living: William A., Thomas Edward, and George David.  They lost one child, Mary, who died at the age of ten months.
     Since 1884, Mr. Nicoll devoted much time and attention to the improvement of his farm, having that year settled on 320 acres of wild land in Battle Township, Ida County, Iowa.  He had erected a nice story and a half frame residence, good barn, and other farm buildings, and had an orchard of 5 acres.  He was engaged in general farming and stock-raising.
     Mr. Nicoll had been Secretary of the School Board for a number of years and served as Township Clerk.  Mr. Nicoll was a member of the Matthew Gray Post, No. 93, G. A. R., Ida Grove. 

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