Crawford County >> 1911 IndexHistory of Crawford County, Iowa C Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton. A. H.Cook
was a lad of but twelve years when he first crossed the threshold of the
business world, and since that time he has been dependent upon his own
resources, the success which has come to him being the direct result of his own
unaided efforts.
One of Iowa's native sons, he was born in Jackson county, near Green
Island, May 5, 1872, a son of Henry and Mary Cook, both natives of Germany.
In the fatherland the parents resided until 1872 when, crossing the
Atlantic to America, they made their way direct to Iowa and located first in
Jackson county.
They resided in various parts of that county for about eight years and in
1880 the family started for Crawford county, the father, accompanied by one son,
coming with the stock.
He was last heard of in Cedar Rapids, where he was seen talking with
three men, and it is supposed that he met with foul play.
In the meantime the mother with the rest of the family, traveling by
rail, had arrived in Crawford county, and she established her home in Hanover
township, where she remained for a time, later removing to Paradise township and
subsequently to Charter oak, where her last days were spent.
She passed away in 1902. She was the second wife of Henry Cook, and by
her marriage became the mother of four children:
A. H., of this review;
Mary, deceased;
Anna, who has also passed away; and Louisa, the wife of John Thielman, of
Charter Oak, Iowa.
By the former marriage of Mr. Cook there were three sons:
Fred, of Wyoming, Iowa;
Henry, of Mapleton, Iowa;
and William, likewise of Wyoming. A.
H. Cook spent the first eight years of his life in Jackson county, after which
he came with his mother to Crawford county and was a pupil in the public schools
near his home until twelve years of age.
It then became necessary for him to seek employment, whereby he might
earn his own livelihood, and thus early in life he put aside his text-books and
entered the business world as a farm hand, being engaged in this capacity until
twenty-one years of age.
Upon attaining his majority he took up farming on his own account in
Paradise township and has since been a resident of that township with the
exception of three years spent in Denison township.
He is now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of rich farm land,
upon which he has placed many modern improvements, and the well kept appearance
of the property denotes a life characterized by thrift, industry and
perseverance.
Progress has also been a forceful element in his career and has been a
potent factor in the acquirement of a goodly prosperity which has come to him
with the passing years. On
the 8th of November, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Cook and Miss
Ellen A. Green, a daughter of Ezra and Emily (Clarke) Green, who came to
Crawford county from Wisconsin about 1870 or 1871.
The father passed away in this county on the 20th of August, 1880, but
the mother still survives and makes her home at Rolfe, Iowa.
They were the parents of ten children, as follows:
Frank, of Dow City, Iowa;
Fred, deceased;
Elsworth, residing near Plover, Iowa;
Ellen A., who became the wife of our subject;
Charles, of Rolfe, Iowa;
Bessie, Arthur and Jessie, all now deceased;
Earl, a resident of Rockwell City, Iowa; and Raymond, also living in
Rolfe.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cook have been born one son, Oliver Arthur, who was
born July 19, 1899, and is now attending school. Before
her marriage Mrs. Cook was an educator of much ability and taught school for
twenty-five terms in Crawford county.
She and her husband are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church
and Mr. Cook is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Dow City.
Interested as all American citizens should be in the political situation
of the country, he has thoroughly informed himself concerning the questions and
issues of the day and gives stalwart support to the republican party.
He was school director and is a strong advocate of progress along
educational lines as well as in other phases of community life.
He early learned the lesson that success must be purchased at the price
of earnest, well defined labor, and with the passing of the years perseverance,
diligence and integrity have constituted the guiding posts of his career,
bringing him to the honorable position which he now occupies in the opinion of
his fellow citizens, among whom he has long lived and labored. Coming
of good English parentage on both sides of the house, John Cook, formerly a
member of the board of supervisors of Crawford county, has shown in his life
something of the characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon race, also being closely
identified with successful and progressive citizenship.
He is a native of Jackson county, Iowa, born March 8, 1854, and is a son
of William and Elizabeth (Cox) Cook, both of whom were natives of Somersetshire,
England.
The father was reared in the old country but came to America and was one
of the early settlers of Jackson county, Iowa.
He worked on the steamboats on the Mississippi river and also chopped
cord wood, at one time having fifteen hundred cords chopped.
This took fire and burned up, but he was not a man to yield to
discouragement and he turned his attention to burning lime and farming.
He preempted one hundred and twenty acres of land in Iowa township,
Jackson county, which he improved and later disposed of.
In 1879 he came to Crawford county and located upon a farm in Jackson
township, where he continued until his death, which occurred in 1891, at the age
of seventy years.
He was one of the highly successful farmers of his locality, owning four
hundred acres, and was also one of the successful stock feeders in the township.
His wife still survives him but for six years past has been an invalid.
She is a member of the Methodist church, as was also her husband.
The maternal grandfather of our subject was William Cox, a native of
England, who by trade was a shoemaker.
There were six children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. William Cook,
namely: Elizabeth, who married Thomas Taplin and is now deceased;
Sarah, who became the wife of Thomas Bartlett and is also deceased; John,
the subject of this review;
Mary, the wife of John Nelson, of Dundurn, Canada; Matthew, deceased; and
Ellen, the wife of S. F. Squires, of Kansas City, Missouri. John
Cook was reared on his father's farm and received his early education in the
district schools, which knowledge he has greatly broadened by study and reading.
He began farming on a tract of land owned by his father in Crawford
county and later the father gave him eighty acres, which he cultivated to good
advantage for many years, also acquiring other farms.
In January, 1899, he sold his original homestead and has since been an
extensive buyer of land.
He now owns four hundred and eighty acres in this county and also a
beautiful home in Denison, and his son William owns one hundred and sixty acres
in Milford township, which he has greatly improved. Mr.
Cook is recognized as a man of sound business judgment whose integrity is above
question.
Politically he adheres to the democracy, firmly believing that the
principles of his party are essential to the perpetuity of free institutions.
He has at various times taken an active part in politics and served for
six years as a member of the county board of supervisors, in the course of which
he instituted many measures of great practical value to the county and
demonstrated an ability in the management of large affairs that was highly
gratifying to the people.
Socially he is identified with the Masonic order and belongs to Sylvan
Lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M., and Ark Chapter, No. 89, R. A. M.
His name is widely known in this section of the state, where he has spent
the principal part of his life, and on account of his genial and generous
qualities his friends and well-wishers are numbered by the legion. W. H. Cook, who is engaged in farming upon the old home place in Crawford county
and has attained a favorable reputation as one of the enterprising citizens of
Willow township, is a native of Genoa, De Kalb county, Illinois.
He was born October 10, 1874, and is a son of Archibald and Sarah Perkins
(Shirtcliff) Cook.
The father, who was born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, enlisted at
sixteen years of age in the Union army during the Civil was and served for one
and one-half years.
He was confined to the hospital for about a year as the result of an
injury and after receiving his honorable discharge took up his residence in De
Kalb county, Illinois, where he was married.
In 1879 he came with his family to Crawford county and located on section
28, Willow township.
The land was not surveyed and he assisted in establishing the lines which
have ever since served as a basis for surveys in this part of the county.
There were no roads or bridges, no fences, no ditches, and such
improvements as had been made were of the rudest description.
He broke the land, erected a comfortable residence and built good barns
and sheds, affording ample shelter for grain and stock.
The improvements which he made were of such a substantial character that
many of them are in good condition today.
He continued upon his farm until Thanksgiving day, 1890, when he removed
to Dunlap, Iowa, where he and his wife are now living.
He was the owner of two hundred and sixty acres of land when he retired
from active labor.
His wife is a native of Canada but they were married in Illinois.
there were seven children in their family, namely:
W. H., of this review;
Harry, who is deceased;
George B., who is now a traveling salesman for the International
Harvester Company;
Mary, who is a stenographer at Omaha, Nebraska;
Roy, who lives at home; Jessie, who is engaged in teaching school at
Dunlap; and Leslie, deceased. W.
H. Cook received his early education in the common schools of Willow township
but laid his books aside at fourteen years of age to engage in farming on his
own account in Boyer township.
After two years he returned to the home place and now has charge of one
hundred and sixty acres, which he manages to excellent advantage.
He cultivates the fields successfully and pays special attention to
raising cattle and hogs for the market. In
1897 Mr. Cook was united in marriage to Miss Ola Remde, a daughter of Carl and
Caroline Remde.
The parents were both born in Germany and were married in the old
country.
They came to the United States and took up their home in Springfield,
Illinois, later removing to Harrison county, Iowa.
The mother is now deceased but the father is living in Dunlap retired.
Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Remde, namely: Edward, who now
lives in Boyer township; William, who is deceased; Oscar, of Willow township;
Ola, now Mrs. W. H. Cook; Victor, who is a general merchant at Dunlap; and Otto,
deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook are the parents of six children: Zeta, Galen, Ethel,
Carl, Dorothy and Merlyn, all of whom are living at home. Mr. Cook and his wife have an unusually interesting family and are making every effort to rear their children to habits of thrift and industry so necessary in the accomplishment of any worthy purpose in life. They have many friends in this section who have been attracted by their genial qualities. Mr. Cook is not connected with any religious denomination but attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his mother was a member. Politically he is an earnest supporter of the republican party and fraternally he holds membership in the Modern Woodmen of America. Dr. Louis M. Coon, a practicing physician and surgeon of Denison, has gained an enviable reputation as a successful representative of the medical profession in Crawford county. He is also an extensive landowner, having sixteen hundred acres in this state and in South Dakota. His birth occurred near Madison, Wisconsin, on the 20th of August, 1863, his parents being William W. and Mary E. (McHenry) Coon, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Allegany county, New York. Paul M. Coon, the paternal grandfather, was born in Oberlin, Ohio, and sold the first eighty-acre tract of land on the site chosen for Oberlin College. He was a successful agriculturist and quite an extensive landowner and operated both flour and sawmills. He was likewise a stone mason by trade and engaged in business as a contractor and builder. In the early days he went to Wisconsin, later removed to Minnesota and subsequently took up his abode among the pioneer settlers of Crawford county, Iowa. He passed away at Arion, where he had resided for some years, living to attain the venerable age of eighty-three. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Thirza Cole, survived him for two years, being eighty-two years old when called to her final rest. They were the parents of three children, two sons and a daughter, as follows: William W.; Paul; and Matilda, who gave her hand in marriage to John Oliver, a farmer and stock-raiser of Winfield, Kansas. The maternal grandfather of our subject was a native of New York and followed farming and stock- raising throughout his active business career. William W. Coon, the father of Dr. Louis M. Coon, left Ohio as a boy in company with his parents, the family home being established in Huntington, Indiana, where Paul M. Coon owned large flouring and sawmills. Subsequently the family removed to Albion, Dane county, Wisconsin, where William W. Coon attended Albion College. On leaving that town he went to Topeka, Kansas, and entered the employ of the government, freighting to Fort Hall, Oregon. When a young man of twenty he had crossed the plains four times. At that early period there was only one house on the present site of Denver, Colorado. After returning to Albion, Wisconsin, he wedded Miss Lucinda M. Warren, who died soon afterward of typhoid fever, Mr. Coon also falling a victim to the disease. For his second wife he chose Mary E. McHenry, with whom he removed to Alden, Minnesota, there purchasing a farm on which he made his home for ten years. On the expiration of that period he came to Iowa and bought a farm on the present site of Arion, continuing to reside thereon until called to his final rest in August, 1909, when he had attained the age of seventy-four years. In religious faith he was a Baptist, as was also his wife, who died on the 20th of May, 1910, when seventy-four years of age. William W. Coon enlisted at Madison, Wisconsin, at the time of the Civil war, but was not allowed to serve because of an injury in the shoulder which he had sustained when, as a boy, an Indian pushed him from a high embankment. He held various town offices in Minnesota and in Crawford county, Iowa, acting as school trustee, school director, etc. He was a gentleman of benevolent and charitable disposition and his home was a most hospitable one, always open for the reception of his many friends. Unto him and his wife were born three children, one son and two daughters: Louis M., of this review; Helen, who died at the age of sixteen years; and Jessie, who passed away when twenty-three years old. The last named was the wife of William Schouten and left a little daughter, Helen. Dr. Louis M. Coon, whose name introduces this review, was a small child when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Freeborn, Minnesota, and a youth of twelve when he came with them to Iowa. He remained on his father's farm until eighteen years of age and obtained his early education in the district schools. Subsequently he pursued a course of study in Milton College at Milton, Wisconsin, and later attended the State University of Iowa. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis, Missouri, from which institution he was graduated in 1898. He first located at Arion, but for the past four years has followed his profession in Denison, enjoying a constantly growing and lucrative practice. That he keeps in touch with the fraternity in its advancement, experimentation and experience, is indicated through his membership with the Crawford County Medical Society, the Iowa State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has always been a great speculator and now owns sixteen hundred acres of land in Crawford and Monona counties of Iowa and near Aberdeen, South Dakota, as well as near Sioux City, Iowa. On the 1st of January, 1889, Dr. Coon was united in marriage to Miss Ella Clark, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a daughter of Joseph and Eliza Clark, both of whom were born in New York. The Doctor and his wife have one child, William Louis Coon. Fraternally Dr. Coon is identified with the Masons, belonging to Sylvan Lodge, No. 507, A. F. & A. M., while both he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star. He is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen. In religious faith both he and his wife are Baptists. Dr. Coon is a man of marked individuality, of strong character and stalwart purpose, who in citizenship and professional circles and in private life commands the respect of all with whom he has been brought in contact. He served as mayor of the city while residing in Arion, and in Denison has been a member of the city council for the past three years and chairman of the finance committee. Among
the successful farmers of Willow township is Marion A. Cue, who was born in the
township where he now lives, September 15, 1872, a son of Joseph and Susan (Arrowsmith)
Cue. The father was born in Wiltshire, England, June 16, 1834, the mother being
also of English parentage. The paternal grandfather, William Cue, was a farmer
in England. His son Joseph came to the United States at the age of eighteen and
lived at Woodford county, Illinois, and also at Danville, that state, subsequent
to taking up his residence in Kansas for one year. Returning to Illinois, he
enlisted in 1862 in Company C, Sixty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in which
he continued until the close of the war, serving part of the time as corporal of
his company. He was taken prisoner by the Confederates at harpers Ferry but was
exchanged and participated in the battles of Knoxville, Atlanta and Nashville,
being in the thickest of the fight in the last named battle. During the war he
returned to Illinois on a furlough and was married. After receiving his
honorable discharge he again took up his residence in that state, where he
engaged in farming for five or six years. In 1871 he came with his family to
Crawford county, Iowa, and located upon raw land in Willow township, which he
improved until it became very valuable. He acquired about three hundred and
twenty acres but gave a part of his land to his sons and still retains one
hundred and sixty acres. In 1903 he retired from active labor and is now living
in Wichita, Kansas. In the old country he was a member of the Church of England
but since coming to America he has never affiliated with any religious
denomination. Mrs. Cue, the mother of our subject, was a native of New York
state and a woman of many estimable traits of character. She passed away May 18,
1901. There were nine children in the family: Frank E.,
who is deceased; Alfred M., now living in Nebraska; Eliza, deceased; Marion A.,
of this review; Arthur and Oscar, both of whom are deceased; Augusta, who
married William Nutter, a farmer of Willow township; Bessie; and Ralph, who is
living on the home place. Marion A. Cue was educated in the common schools
of Willow township and as he grew to manhood devoted his attention closely to
agriculture and stock-raising upon the home farm. He continued with his parents
uutil he reached the age of twenty-three years and then began farming on his own
account in the immediate neighborhood of the homestead. He is now located on
sections 29 and 32, Willow township, and owns one hundred and sixty acres, upon
which he has made substantial improvements. He has labored diligently and
persistently to provide a comfortable home for his family and has won
substantial success. On the 12thof February, 1896, Mr. Cue was united
in marriage to Miss Dora McDole, who is also a native of this county, a daughter
of G. H. and Susanna Catherine (Bodenbender) McDole, both of whom were born in
Paulding county, Ohio. Her parents were married in the Buckeye state and took up
their residence in Crawford county, Iowa, in 1869 but later returned to Ohio.
They again came to Crawford county and located in Boyer township. Mrs. McDole
died in September, 1909, but the father is still living and makes his home in
Dunlap. There were four children in their family: John Francis, of Mapleton,
Iowa; G. H., Jr., who is living near Spokane, Washington; Dora, now Mrs. Marion
a. Cue; and Rosa L., who died in infancy. One child, Lester G., has been born to
Mr. And Mrs. Cue. He is now a promising lad of fourteen years and is attending
the public school. |