George Draft Luce
Of the many successful farmers and stockmen of Plymouth county, may well be
mentioned in this work George Draft Luce, of Perry township, who was born at
Sixth and Water streets, Sioux City, Iowa, on October 15, 1864, and is the son
of Bartlett and Louisa (Menzemer) Luce, natives of Farmington, Maine, and Galena
Illinois, respectively.
Bartlett Luce received his education in the schools of Maine, and as a lad
learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed during his residence in that
state. When yet a young man he came to Galena, where he engaged in his trade for
some years. Here he was united in marriage to Louisa Menzemer, and here their
child was born. He and his wife decided later to locate in Iowa, and with their
child, two yoke of oxen and two prairie schooners, they started for Sioux City,
where Mr. Luce landed with two cents in money. He at once traded his oxen for an
old log blacksmith shop, and established himself in business. Here he engaged in
his work for a number years, but later came to Plymouth county. He purchased two
hundred and forty acres of land of the railroad company in Hungerford township,
and took a tree claim of eighty acres and a pre-emption of eighty. He traded a
pair of ponies to Owen Creighton, for his right in the tree claim. On the tract
of two hundred and forty acres he built a good one and one-half-story frame
house and erected other substantial buildings. Here he engaged in general
farming and stock raising for twenty years, when he retired to Leeds, where he
died in 1913, at the age of eighty-three years. The widow is still living at the
home in Leeds, at an advanced age.
Bartlett and Louisa Luce were the parents of eight children, Fred, Harry,
George Draft, Jennie, William, Bartlett, Louisa and Clara. Bartlett and Louisa
were twins and were named for their parents; Fred lives in Chicago; Harry is a
detective in Sioux City; Jennie is the widow of George Rodemaker, and lives in
South Dakota,. William, Bartlett and Louisa are now deceased, the latter having
died in infancy; William died at the age of thirty-two and Bartlett at the age
of thirty; Clara is the wife of Peter Hanson, and lives at Bolta, Montana.
George Draft Luce received his education in the schools of Sioux City and in
Hungerford township. and assisted his father with the work on the farm, until he
was twenty-one years of age, at which time he worked as a farm hand for others
for a time. In 1892 he engaged in farming for himself on a rented farm in
Hungerford township, where he remained for two years, after which he rented a
farm in Woodbury county for a year. He then purchased one hundred and sixty
acres in Perry township, where he now lives. The place at that time was partly
developed, but the only improvements were a "shack" house and a small
barn. Mr. Luce had but three hundred dollars with which to pay for the place
when he made the purchase, and for the first five years he had a most difficult
time to meet the interest on the balance. He and his wife worked hard to meet
the incumbrance on the farm, and put up no new building until the place was paid
for. In 1905 they built a modern house, with every convenience, and in 1910 the
new bank barn, thirty-four by fifty feet, with a full eight-foot basement, was
built. In the barn, Mr. Luce is able to house eighteen horses and thirteen cows,
and there is a hay capacity of seventy-five tons. The horse part of the barn is
floored with plank and the cow part with concrete, with individual stanchions.
The barn is nicely arranged for feeding, and is lighted with acetylene, the same
as the house. The hog house, sixteen by sixty-four-feet, is built with a bank,
and mostly constructed with concrete, with a storage room above for feed. He
cultivates from seventy to one acres of corn each year, the balance of the place
being in alfalfa and pasture. In addition to the grain that he raises, he is
required each year to buy a large amount.
In 1891 George Draft Luce was united in marriage to Kate M. Woolworth, the
daughter of Harvey and Dorothy Woolworth, and to this union three children have
been born, Rosie, who died at the age of one and one-half years; Ernest and
Nora, both of whom are at home. Mrs. Luce is an active member of the united
Evangelical Lutheran church. They are prominent in the community in which they
live and are held in the highest regard and esteem by all who know them. Their
lives have been active ones and they have met with much success. They are
devoted to the interests of their children, and their home is one of the most
substantial in the township. The home farm, for which Mr. Luce paid twenty-two
dollars and sixty cents per acre, is now valued at two hundred dollars per acre,
it being one of the most highly-developed and well-improved farms in the county.
Politically, Mr. Luce is identified with the Democratic party, and has always
taken an active interest in local affairs. For six years, he served as trustee
of his township, and for eight years he served as assessor and was for one term
director of his school district. He is a member of the Reliance Lodge No. 533,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Leeds. He has served his lodge in various
offices and is now a past noble grand.
Daniel
Luchsinger submitted by Jsousa420@aol.com
Daniel Luchsinger, one of Plymouth
county's substantial pioneer farmers and the proprietor of an excellent farm in
Hancock township, is a native son of Iowa and has lived in this state most of
his life. He was born in Dubuque county on February 15, 1852, son of Casper and
Margaret Luchsinger, natives of Switzerland, who were married there and who came
to this cuntry in 1844, settling in Dubuque county, this state, where they spent
the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of six children,
Casper, Daniel, Ellen, Adam. Jacob and Margaret, the latter of whom died when
she was fourteen years of age. Adam and Jacob Luchsinger, both of whom
were veterans of the Civil War, also are dead. Daniel Luchsinger also had
a half-brother, Fred Luchsinger, now deceased who also was a veteran of the
Civil War.
Daniel Luchsinger was reard in
Dubuque county and received his schooling there. As a lad lhe lived for
two years with a family of the name of Ball and later, for two or three years,
made his home with the family of Gorge LeBrune, working for his during the
summers and attending school during the winters. When a young man he went
to North Dakota, taking employment with O.C. Treadway, of Sioux City, who had
taken a contract for supplying a great quantity of hay and cordwood for the
United States army post in North Dakota, and remained thus engaged for nine
months. While there he entered a pre-emption claim to a quarter of a
section of land in the vicinity of Sioux Falls, but in about two months
abandoned the same, having come to the conclusion that the land never would
amount to anything. Mr. Luchsinger then returned to Dubuque and in 1872
was married there. The next year, in 1873, he and his wife came out to
Plymouth county and settled! on a homestead tract of eighty-four acres in
section 6 of Perry township. While delevolping (sic) that tract and
incidentally battling with grasshoppers, Mr. Luchsinger spent a portion of his
time for about six years working on railroad construction work in Iowa,
Nebraska, South Dakota an Minnesota, and in 1879 traded his original homestead
in Perry township and took a homestead of eighty acres in section 2 of
Hancock township, where he since has made his home. He has developed that
tract into a fine farm, well and substantially improved, and for years has been
regarded as one of the leading farmers and stockmen in that part of the county.
Mr. Luchsinger has long given much attention to the raising of live stock and
rents, in addition to his own place, about five hundred acres of pasture land in
that locality. Mr Luchsinger is a Republican and has served his
district in the capacity of supervisor of roads. He is a member of the
Woodme! n of the World and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that order.
In 1872 Daniel Luchsinger was united
in marriage to Mary Jane Atkinson, daughter of Joseph and Jane Atkinson of
Dubuque, and to this union eight children have been born, namely: Bert,
who is assisting his father in the management of the home farm: Frank, who
is engaged in the retail meat business at Lincoln, Nebraska: Daniel W.,
who is farming in Mille Lacs county, Minnesota: Clarence, who is
farming in that same county: Fred, who is at home with his parents:
Bertha, who married Fred Perley, of Sioux City; Phyllis, who married A.
Fels, a telephone man in Nebraska, and Florence, who married C. Keck, of
Dubuque. Mr. and Mrs. Luchsinger attend the Congregational church and have
ever given their attention to all movements having to do with the advancement of
the best interests of their home community. They have been residents of
this county since pioneer days and have seen many notable changes in the way of
living since those days.
Cornelius Ludwig, a native of Luxemburg,
Europe, and a well-known farmer and stockman of Remsen township, this county,
was born on October 16, 1873, the son of Theodore and Maggie Ludwig, who also
were born in Luxemburg and there received their education and were married.
Theodore Ludwig was a small farmer and he and his wife continued to live for
some time in their native land after their marriage, before they decided to come
to America, where they might have better opportunities to obtain a home for
themselves and their family. On their arrival in the United States they
came direct to Iowa and located in Dubuque county. There Theodore Ludwig
rented a farm and engaged in farming for a number of years. In 1907 he
came to Plymouth county and had a home of twenty-five acres in Remsen township.
In 1910 he was killed by an Iowa Central Railway train at Remsen. His
widow died eighteen months later. They were the parents of twelve
children, eight of whom are now living in Plymouth county: Cornelius, John,
James, Martin, Frank, Michael, Mrs. William Tentinger and Mrs. May Tentinger.
John lives one mile south of Remsen. James lives in Remsen township and
Martin lives five miles south of Remsen. Frank lives at Oyens and Michael
lives one-half mile south of the town of Remsen. One died and three live
in Dubuque county. Theodore and Maggie Ludwig were members of the Catholic
church and were long prominent in the social and religious life of the
community, where they were held in the highest regard by all who knew them.
Cornelius Ludwig received his schooling in the
public schools of Luxemburg and was eighteen years of age when he came to
America. On his arrival in this country he came direct to Iowa and located
in Dubuque county, where he worked as a farm hand for a time, and then was
engaged as a clerk in a store, later engaging in farming, and was thus engaged
there until 1896, when he came to Plymouth county and rented a farm six miles
east of Remsen. Four years later, in partnership with his
brother-in-law, Frank Beelner, he purchased one hundred and twenty acres in
Marion township, which they developed and improved and later sold, and purchased
thirty-seven acres near Remsen. Mr. Ludwig continued in the business of
buying and selling land until 1912, when he purchased two hundred and twenty
acres in the northwest corner of Remsen township, where he engaged in general
farming and stock raising, paying particular attention to the breeding and the
raising of fine Belgian horses and high-grade Shorthorn cattle. He now has
the greater part of his farm in pasture, where roam some of the best-horses and
cattle in the county.
In February, 1898, Cornelius Ludwig was united
in marriage to Mary Peters, daughter of William Peters and wife, and to this
union eleven children have been born, Maggie, Florence, Virginia, Anna, John,
Matilda, Henry, Clara, Irene, Leona and Hildagard. Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig are
members of the Catholic church, take much interest in church work and are
prominent in the social and the religious life of the community. They
belong to the local organizations of the church and are prominent in the charity
and reform work of their home community.
Cornelius Ludwig is identified with the
Democratic party, has had much to do with the civic and the political life of
the township and is now recognized as one of the substantial and successful
residents of the county. When he came to the state from his home in
Luxemburg, he had but ten cents. By hard work and close application to
business he has risen to his present position as one of the influential men of
the township and his farm home, "East View Stock Farm," is one of the
finest in the community.
