The Waters Families of Allamakee County, Iowa

One of the most able, active and progressive of Allamakee county's native sons is George Waters, who now owns and operates a fine farm of one hundred and forty acres in Post township and who in partnership with his brother has other extensive holdings in this locality. No one is better known as a successful breeder and shipper of registered cattle and high-grade horses and the business affairs which claim his attention are all well managed and systematically conducted, bringing to him a prosperity which places him among the men of worth and affluence in this section of the state.

Mr. Waters was born in Ludlow township, this county, on the 21st of August, 1858, and is a son of George and Sophia (Hill) Waters, natives of County Wicklow, Ireland, the former born October 23, 1824, and the latter July 29, 1832. In early life the father was a member of the police force in County Wicklow but in 1854 crossed the Atlantic to America, settling first in Pennsylvania, where for four years he worked in the coal mines. In 1858 he came west to Iowa and purchased a small farm of thirty acres in Ludlow township, Allamakee county, which he improved and cultivated for a number of years. In the spring of 1870 he disposed of that property and removed one mile north in the same township, engaging in farming there until his death, which occurred January 4, 1887. His wife survived him some time, dying October 3, 1910. In their family were eleven children, of whom the subject of this review is the third in the order of birth.

George Waters acquired his education in the district schools of Ludlow township and from an early age was a practical and able agriculturist, having aided in the operation of the homestead and afterward working at farm labor in the employ of others. When he was about twenty-four years of age he operated a threshing machine throughout his locality and afterward purchased eighty acres of land, which he cultivated and improved for two years. At the end of that time he sold his property and rented his present farm, afterward purchasing this tract of land, upon which he has resided continuously since that time. This comprises one hundred and forty acres and in addition Mr. Waters is a partner with his brother Edward in the ownership of the Willow Lawn Stock Farm, a highly improved property of three hundred and forty-nine acres. The brothers are extensively engaged in the cattle and horse business here, breeding registered Hereford cattle, which they ship to all parts of the United States, their principal markets being the central states. They are also large buyers and shippers of all kinds of horses and both are reliable, enterprising and successful business men, managing capable the important concerns with which they are connected. In addition to his work as a stock-raiser and agriculturist Mr. Waters is also a professional auctioneer and has attained a wide reputation in this field, being frequently called to other states. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Company at Postville and in the Citizens State Bank of that city and his activities, extending to many fields, are important as elements in the general advancement.

On the 13th of December, 1882, Mr. Waters married Miss Eliza Eaton, who was born in Post township on the 13th of December, 1861. She is the daughter of Wells and Mary (Wood) Eaton, natives of Nova Scotia, Canada, the former born March 2, 1822, and the latter April 14, 1825. The father in early life worked at calling vessels in Nova Scotia but in 1845 came to the United States, locating in Walworth county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. He was also a pioneer in Iowa, coming to this state in 1853 and locating upon a farm in Post township, Allamakee county, thereon he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 6th of May, 1881. He was one of the leading promoters and organizers of Bethel church, was elected a member of its first board of trustees and served in that position until his death. His wife afterward removed to Postville, where her death occurred May 14, 1904. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the wife of our subject is the eighth in the order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Waters have two children: Cloy E., who was born April 27, 1894; and Eaton A., born July 29, 1902.

Mr. Waters is a member of the American Hereford Cattle Breeders Association of Kansas City, Missouri, but beyond this has no fraternal or club affiliations. He is a man of exemplary character and genuine personal worth and his long residence in this part of Iowa has brought him success in business and the respect, confidence and regard of all who are associated with him.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

A business turning over a quarter of a million of dollars annually is no small affair and no small man could handle successfully such an enterprise. Therefore, respect is due to John Waters for what he has attained as mana,<jer of the Postville Farmers Cooperative Society, which yearly handles this vast amount of business and of which he is the head. Active and popular, he has become known as one of the foremost business men of Postville and his position is based on just claims, for it rests on natural ability and a thorough experience of conditions in Allamakee county — an experience which he has gathered in the fifty-three years of his life which he has spent here, being born in Ludlow township, August 29, 1860. His parents were George and Sophia (dill) Waters, both of whom have passed away, but are still lovingly remembered by their many old-time friends and neighbors. George Waters was a north of Ireland man and came to America in 1849, living a few years in Pennsylvania, and in May, 1856, came to Allamakee county, where he began his life work on a forty-acre tract which he purchased in Ludlow township. There he spent the remainder of his life on his farm, gradually resting prosperity from the soil and becoming one of the prosperous and substantial men of his locality.

John Waters was born amid the primitive conditions of the frontier. In winter he attended the old log school and in summer worked on the farm, assisting his father in the hard work of converting timber land into an agricultural property. Remaining at home until he had grown to manhood, he then went on a place of his own, and it was not until he was twenty-nine years of age that he left the farm to engage in the hardware business in Postville. He retired from that line in 1901 and in the same year was elected one of the supervisors of Allamakee county. He served the people so faithful and well that three years later he was reelected, serving on the governing board of the county for a total period of six years. In 1907 he returned to his early work and for three years engaged in farming, but on January 1, 1910, was elected manager of the Postville Farmers Cooperative Society. Conscientious, ambitious, alert and industrious, he has been very successful in promoting the growth of the business of this institution and enjoys the entire confidence of the members of the society and of the farmers of the community as a whole, at the same time retaining the good-will of the business men of Postville. Under his able management the business has largely increased, the stockholders receiving good financial returns and every patron being satisfied. While many cooperative societies have failed, or partially failed, in their mission, the one at Postville has thrived and it is but fair that a portion of the credit for this be given to Mr. Waters for the wise direction of its affairs.

The Cooperative Society was founded in July, 1904, with a paid-up capital of one thousand dollars. It was composed entirely of the farmers living near Postville and its chief business was the handling of live stock, which it sold on commission for its members. Today the capital stock is nine thousand, four hundred and fifty-five dollars and it owns its building and deals in flour, feed, coal, salt, cement and similar products in car load lots and its store is well filled with a large stock of groceries and farm necessities. The volume of business last year was two hundred and forty-si.x thousand, six hundred and one dollars and thirty-two cents, this sum including the handling of one hundred and seventy-three cars of live stock, the shipments being nine thousand and thirty-five hogs, one thousand and ninety-seven calves, six hundred and sixty-five head of cattle and eight hundred and thirty-two sheep. The value of these shipments was two hundred and one thousand, seven hundred and one dollars and ten cents. The officers of the corporation are: G. W. Harris, president; R. J. Laughlin, vice president: J. C. Weihe, secretary; W. J. H. Schultz, treasurer; and F. H. Schultz, R. B. Waters, A. F. Marston, F. W. Meyer, W. H. Schroeder, Albert Zieman, Arthur Behrens, John Lydon and Frank Haugartner, directors.

John Waters is a kindly and genial man, popular with his fellows and well liked by people in all walks of life. At the same time he is a thorough business man, aggressive in attaining his ends and conservative in his policy, giving careful attention to all details, even the smallest, that come up in cht course of the business. He was married, February 5, 1885, to Miss Minnie Early, and their is one of the pleasant, hospitable homes of Postville, from which radiates natural, true, warm-hearted hospitality — a hospitality which is cheerfully extended to the many friends which Mr. and Mrs. Waters have in the community.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

A native of Allamakee county, Samuel Waters was born in Ludlow township on June 27, 1873, and has devoted practically all of his active life to agricultural pursuits, now owning a valuable farm of one hundred and twenty acres near Postville. His parents were Samuel and Catherine (Lyons) Waters, the former a native of County Wicklow. Ireland, where he was born on May 26, 1833, and the latter born not far from Dayton, in Montgomery county, Ohio, on August 6, 1845. When sixteen years of age the father came with his parents to the new world, the family making settlement at Pittsburg. Samuel Waters had already worked in the lead mines of Ireland and took up similar work near Pittsburg, continuing so until 1852, when he came west to Iowa and purchased land from the government in Ludlow township. For thirty years he resided thereon, bringing it to a high state of cultivation, and then made removal to Clayton county, having put his old homestead into pasture. There he operated a farm of several hundred acres until 1891, when he returned to the homestead, where he remained for another seventeen years active in its cultivation, when he went to Frankville, Winneshiek county, where he now lives retired. The mother passed away on February 7, 1910. Mr. Waters, Sr., had been previously married to Miss Anna Overholt, by whom he had four children. Of the second marriage eight children were born.

In the acquirement of his education Samuel Waters attended district school for three terms in Ludlow township and subsequently the district schools of Clayton county. He remained at home until about twenty years of age, when he hired out as a farm hand in Frankville, Winneshiek county, for one year. He then rented land in Ludlow township, successfully cultivating it for two years, and then removed to Emmet county, Iowa, where for ten years he rented, returning at the end of that time in order to assist his father for two years with his work on the old homestead. He then bought one hundred and twenty acres of land where he now lives. The farm was but partially improved at that time but he has since brought it to a high state of productivity, has erected a modern and comfortable residence, a substantially built barn and other necessary buildings which greatly increase the value of the property. He engaged in general farming and in addition to his holdings rents eighty acres, which he also operates. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Store at Postville and also in the Cooperative Creamery.

On March 13, 1895, Mr. Waters married Miss Jennie Hughes, who was Ijorn near Red Cloud, Nebraska, on November 21, 1873, her parents being Frank and Emily (Early) Hughes. The father is a native of Indiana and the mother was born in Post township, this county. Mr. Hughes always followed agricultural pursuits, coming from Indiana to this county and later removing to Nebraska. About iScjo he proceeded to Oklahoma, where he took up government land, retaining his Nebraska land, and he now lives at Hartwell, Arkansas, still active in his occupation. The mother passed away in 1884. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Hughes were three children, of whom Mrs. Waters is the oldest. Mr. and Mrs. Waters have one daughter, Clara Catherine, born August 6, 1902. The religious faith of Mr. Waters is that of the L'nited Brethren church and he is helpful in its work and expansion. Politically he is independent, giving his support of the best men available without considering party affiliations. However he inclines toward the prohibition party, taking a firm stand upon matters which concern the liquor question. While he has attained success, he has been a factor for good in his community and has contributed towards the upbuilding of moral and intellectual standards as well as to agricultural development.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.