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Allamakee County >> 1913 Index Past and Present of Allamakee County Iowa J Unless otherwise specified, these biographies are submitted by Dick Barton. The
pioneer history of Allamakee county contains the record of no more
able and deservedly successful man than John Jacobson, who came to Paint
Creek township in 1851 and for many years has been prominently connected
with its agricultural progress.
He has developed here three fine farms
and is today the owner of a valuable and productive property of one
hundred and twenty acres, upon which he has resided for a number of
years.
He
was born in Norway on the 7th of November, 1843, and is a son of Tron
and Hendricka Jacobson, also natives of that country.
The parents
emigrated to the United States in 1850 and after spending the winter in
Rock county, Wisconsin, came in the spring of 1851 to Allamakee county,
Iowa, making the journey in a covered wagon drawn by ox teams.
The
father preempted eighty acres of land in Paint Creek township, but this
was taken away from him by a man from Indiana who proved an earlier
claim.
Mr. Jacobson afterward acquired another eighty acres of land and
turned his attention to its improvement and devolpment, building upon it
a log house, which was his home until his death in 1908, when he was
ninety-five years of age.
He had long survived his wife, her death
having occurred in 1880.
Both were members of the Lutheran church and
the father was a stanch republican in politics.
He took an active
interest in the development of the section to which he came as a
pioneer.
In his family were ten children, two of whom died in
childhood.
The others are: Mrs. A. N. Nelson, of Lansing;
Mrs. I. A.
Johnson, of Lafayette township;
Mrs. Ole Berke, who resides in Paint
Creek township;
Mrs. Ed Erickson, of Lansing;
Martin, who resides upon
the old homestead;
John, of this review;
Nettie, who lives in
Waterville, Iowa;
and Hans, who resided in Lafayette township until his
death, which recently occurred.
John
Jacobson was eight years of age when he came to Allamakee county
with his parents and he was reared in a frontier region, his childhood
being spent amid the hard conditions of pioneer life.
Before he was
twenty-one he was a practical and able farmer, having learned the best
agricultural methods through his experience upon his father's farm, and
at the age of twenty-seven he began his independent career, settling
upon one hundred and twenty acres of land which he purchased from his
father.
Five years later he bought one hundred and eighty acres near
Waterville and upon this he resided until 1901, when he removed to his
present property of one hundred and twenty acres.
This is a well
improved and valuable tract of land, reflecting everywhere the care and
supervision of its owner, who is a progressive an able agriculturist and
a far-sighted and discriminating business man.
Mr.
Jacobson married Miss Wagot Solverson, a native of Norway, and they
became the parents of nine children:
T. S. Buringrud, who lives at
Bucyrus, North Dakota, and who has adopted what is called the farm name
of the family;
Adolph, also of North Dakota;
Sander, of Waterville,
Iowa;
Ingeman, also of Waterville;
Otto and Selma, who live at home;
and Henry, Manuel and Richard, who have passed away.
The surviving
members of the family are devout adherents of the Lutheran church.
Mr.
Jacobson gives his allegiance to the republican party and is
interested in everything pertaining to community growth and welfare.
He
has resided in Paint Creek township since 1851 and is one of the few
remaining citizens who have so long witnessed its growth and
development.
By his able work in the improvement of his three farms he
has made substantial contributions to its progress and by his honorable,
upright and straightforward life has won the confidence and esteem of
the people among whom he has so long lived and labored.
Martin
T. Jacobson, carrying on general farming and stock-raising upon
the old Jacobson homestead, on section 13, Paint Creek township, was
born upon that farm and in the house which he now occupies, on the 25th
of February, 1864.
He is a son of Tron Jacobson, of whom more extended
mention is made elsewhere in this work.
In the acquirement of an
education he attended a district school in Paint Creek township and when
not engaged with his books aided in the operation of the farm, becoming
thus at an early age familiar with the best agricultural methods and
mastering every department of farm operation.
After the death of his
father he inherited the old homestead of one hundred and seventy-three
acres and has continued to develop and improve it ever since, adding to
his holdings from time to time until he now owns a good farm of three
hundred and seventy-six acres well improved and developed.
He carries
on general farming and success has steadily attended his well directed
efforts so that he stands today among the substantial and representative
farmers of his native township.
Mr.
Jacobson married Miss Emma Satring, a native of Paint Creek township
and a daughter of Gilbert and Bertha Satring, deceased.
Mr. and Mrs.
Jacobson have become the parents of eight children,
Albert, Luella,
Bertha, Theodore, Oscar, Ruth, Edna and Carleton.
Albert, the eldest
child, is attending the State Agricultural College at Ames.
The family
are members of the Lutheran church.
Mr.
Jacobson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and
has never sought to evade the obligations of citizenship, serving his
fellow citizens with credit and ability when called upon to do so.
The
cause of education has found in him a loyal supporter and he did much to
elevate standards and improve educational methods in his twenty years'
service as a member of the school board.
He is now in his third term as
township trustee and his influence, always on the side of right, reform
and progress, has for a long time been an important factor in community
affairs.
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