"Among the citizens of Center township,
Fayette county, Iowa, who have, by a course of right living, governed and
controlled by high ideals, won not only pecuniary independence, but what is of
far more value, the esteem and confidence of the community in which so many
years of his life have been passed, is Herbert E. Odekirk, who was born in Fond
du Lac, Wisconsin, on the 7th day of January 1852, and is a son of William and
Lorinda (HANDCOCK) Odekirk, who are mentioned more fully in
the sketch of Burton E. Odekirk, elsewhere in this work.
Mr.
Odekirk spent his boyhood years under the parental roof and as soon as old
enough he applied himself to the work of the home farm. He received the
advantage of a common school education, and on attaining mature years he
obtained employment at railroad work, which he followed for two years. He then
entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company and was sent to the Dakotas,
where he spent a year. He then came to Center township, Fayette county, Iowa,
where he secured some good farming land, to the operation of which he devoted
his energies. He cultivated from eighty to one hundred and sixty acres from
time to time and uniformly met with gratifying results. However, he has sold a
part of his land and is now holding only twenty acres, comprising his home
property, where he is living in comfort and ease. During his active years as a
farmer he carried on a diversified system of operations and in the community
where he has lived he is considered a man of sound, practical ideas and wise and
discriminating judgment, his business affairs having always been conducted in an
able and careful manner. Mr. Odekirk is a large stockholder in the Randalia
Savings Bank, one of the solid financial institutions of the county, and an
influential factor in local commercial circles.
In 1877, Mr. Odekirk
was united in marriage to Ozzama POTTER, to which union were
born two children, Jessie and Lila.
Fraternally, Mr. Odekirk is a
stanch supporter of the Republican party and has taken a keen interest in the
success of his party. That he holds the confidence and esteem of his fellow
voters is evidenced in the fact that he has served as township trustee and held
practically all the township offices, performing his duties in such a manner as
to win the approval of his constituents. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has taken a number of high
degrees, and he also belongs to the auxiliary order, the Daughters of Rebekah.
He is also affiliated with that great beneficial fraternal order, the Modern
Woodmen of America.
Mr. Odekirk has ever had the welfare of the
community at heart and has always been found willing to devote his time to any
movement looking to the development of the public weal, and as a result of his
genuine worth, his pleasing demeanor, integrity of principle and honesty of
purpose, he is today recognized as one of Center township's foremost citizens."