Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-03-11
OFFSPRING OF PIONEER FRANK
LIN COUNTY sETTLER OWN
FINE FARM.
HARTWIo SETTLEMENT GIVES
EVIDENCE OF PROSPERITY
Head Of Family With His Wife Walked
Many Miles Searching for Work in an
Early Day-Makins Good in Face Of
Advsrsity-WiIson's Rural obssrva.
tions.
Special to Times Republican.

| Alexander, March II. What is
lies about half way between this town
and Thornton. Within a radius of only
about three miles there are living on
| their own farms nearly every one of
the numerous members of the Hartwig
family and their places are among the
best improved and most highly cult
waited farms in this part of Iowa. Four
of the brothers have built entire new
sets of. improvements within the past
| three years at an average cost of at
least $4,000. and their fine houses and
great barns can be seen in that level
country from distance of seven miles
in every direction from where they
stand; and the following few lines
tell the story of the beginning from
which resulted these magnificent and
prosperous country homes:
Nearly fifty years ago the elder
HartWig and his wife, then young
married couple, boarded ship in a
| German port and started for America.
On the way the wife became i'll, died
and was buried at sea. The husband
finally landed in the city of Oshkosh,
Wis, with a little child and debt of
about 500. After time he married
again and leaving the child in other
hands for time they came to Iowa
and started on foot from BOWS across
the country in search of work. They
| walked nearly forty miles looking for
employment, and finally man named
Crapser, living somewhere east of the
| town of Sheffield, offered them IS a
| day to go into his wheat field and bind
the grain as it lay on the ground. Day
after day they worked at the Job until
the crop was all tied in bundles and
the harvest season was over This was
the beginning and thousand acres of
land was the end. Old Mr. Hartwig
| died about two years ago. If the sons
are to live to see the degree of de-
velopment in his possessions that he
did. it will be amid surroundings diff
cult at this time to even imagine.
| Here is another case in brief illus
trative Of possibilities in the face Of
difficulties. A young man and wife
with two or three small children once
came from Illinois and rented a farm in
Wright county, Iowa. On Christmas
eve following their coming they at
tended an entertainment in the near
by town and returned to find their
home in ashes. They had made many
| friends during their short period Of
residence in Iowa, however, and these
promptly donated furniture, bedding,
ETC., and another start was made. After
a few years enough money had been
saved to make payment on farm
in Minnesota and the family moved
away. An entire crop failure in that
section followed and among the
busted ones was the man from
Wright county. The next year the
family was back in the old neighbour
hood on a rented farm working harder
than ever and by no means ready to
give up. the fight for farm ownership.
After the lapse Of another term of
years plans were made to buy another
place but the wife sickened and within
five months a doctor had made 272
calls to the home and that ended for
time all thought of farm purchasing
She got we'll, tho, and three years ago
they bought a quarter section farm at
$S7 per acre and a few weeks ago re-
fused $165 for it. 1T never pays to
give up because things don't go right"
declared the man who has been thru
all this but who now, barring unfore-
seen misfortunes is in position to en-
joy the comforts Of a competence the
rest Of his life.
Mr.. Frank Ostendorf, local farmer,
has a big. corn crib equipped with
what looks like the best grain unload
ing. device in use. The elevating is
done from outside with six horse
power gasolene engine for power. In
side is a double wooden track along
which the conveyor runs. The con-
veyor is about eight feet in length and
has spout at either end. BY means Of
a long iron rod extending downward
and within easy reach the apparatus
can be run in either direction and the
grain emptied at any desired place in
the cribs at each, side.y
The driveways In some of these cribs
often contain property of enough value
to purchase an entire farming outfit
Of say twenty five years ago. In the
one mentioned here, for instance, there
was the big gasolene engine. two good
single buggies, a fine surrey and
five passenger automobile.
s%s
A. S. Root, of Steamboat Rock, hav-
ing lived an active life in that vicinity |
for nearly sixty years, can tell Of in
teresting things that happened there
when you and were young Maggie"
Along in the '70s, according to this old
pioneer. Buffalo BIZ was giving ex-
hibitions Of Indian relics and the like
in school houses and halls in the small
towns. He happened to be in Steam
boat Rock without prearranged design
and offered to give an exhibition on
short notice n the benefit Of the
society = crowd could be
The word was hastily