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Sac County, IA Genealogy TrailsTo the mind of the historian and biographer the term "pioneer" appeals with an irresistible force and entices investigation which latter-day annals do not require.. Such investigation is productive of a wealth of historical material which appeals to the general reader as no other inscribed records present. To his mind, to have been a pioneer and one of the great and noble army of men who have created a wealthy and prosperous neighborhood out of a raw prairie wilderness is the height of successful attainment. The aged pioneer belongs in a class of his own. Around him and his clusters the memory of halcyon days when the country was a wilderness awaiting the magic touch of the empire builders from the East, whose optimism and mighty endeavors have transformed the rich and fertile lands into a smiling landscape of productive farms and beautiful towns and villages. Asa' Platt, of whom these words are transcribed, is a pioneer of Sac county who enjoys the universal respect and friendship of his neighbors and fellow citizens. In many ways he is tenderly regarded as the oracle and final authority on the happenings which have taken place during his long' residence in the county. Should a discussion come up regarding the date of some occurrence which has an intimate bearing upon local history, Mr. Platt's store of knowledge and his wonderful memory forms the court of last resort to decide the question at issue. Our historian is indebted to him for much valuable information which is written in the preceding pages of this Sac county history. However, Mr. Pratt's prestige is not based entirely upon his pioneer experience, and it is well to record the fact that he ranks as one of the wealthiest. as well as one of the kindliest and most useful citizens of the city.
Asa Platt, president of the Sac County State Bank, is a New Englander by virtue of his birth and ancestry. He was born June 20, 1830, in the beautiful old city of Saybrook, Connecticut. His father was Richard Platt and his mother was Maria Turner, both descendants from old colonial families. Richard was the son of Thomas Platt, who was one of five sons from whom the various branches of the family have descended in America. Two brothers located in the state of New York. Senator Thomas Platt was a member of the New York branch of the Platts. Asa's maternal parent, Maria Turner, was the daughter of William Turner, who served with bravery and distinction in the Revolutionary War.
Richard Platt reared a family of nine children: Asa, the eldest, of whom we take pleasure in writing; Catharine (Tritchem), of New York; Eliza (Seeley), deceased; J. O. Platt, of Sac City; Caroline (Baldwin), deceased; J. C. Platt, who resides in Denver, Colorado; Emeline (Trout), deceased. Richard was a farmer, as were many of his relatives and descendants.
Asa Platt, with whom this record is more intimately concerned because of his long connection with the history of Sac county, was reared to early manhood on the ancestral farm in Connecticut and western New York. It was in this practically new neighborhood that his father removed from Connecticut on attaining his majority, and hewed a home from the wilderness. Asa attended school in a small log school house, a fitting place for the training of one who was destined to become a pioneer in the great West. The family resided in western New York from 1840 to 1850, and then took up a residence on a farm in Erie county, Pennsylvania.
In the year 1855 Asa journeyed overland to Iowa with the intention of locating in Sac county. The country justified the young man's conception of the richness of the land and in 1856 he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of government land about one-half mile from Sac City, in. Jackson township. This land was unbroken prairie and neighbors were few and far between. The only settlements were along the river in the timber lands. While pre-empting and proving up on his land he lived in Sac City, then an embryo village on the edge of the wilderness of woods and prairie. He built a small house and thus became one of the first citizens of the future city, and now ranks as one of its oldest citizens. Later, Mr. Platt purchased three hundred and twenty acres of fine land adjoining the corporation line which he farmed for a period of thirty years. Practically the greater part of the city is built upon Mr. Platt's original farm of three hundred and twenty acres. He disposed of his farming interests in 1893 and practically retired from active farming operations. However, during a long period of forty years he was an extensive live stock raiser and was interested in the mercantile business in Sac City. Mr. Platt built the first frame house in Sac City at a time when there were but two log cabins in the village. From this small beginning he has had the pleasure of seeing the development and growth of one of the most attractive and enterprising small cities of a state noted for its progressive municipalities. He became interested in banking very early in his career and for the past twenty-six years has been president of the Sac County State Bank, one of the solid financial concerns of western Iowa. During the Civil War he was one of a large number of men who voluntarily enrolled for the purpose of keeping watch of the Indians in order to provide against threatened outbreaks on the part of the red men in this section of Iowa. PI is activities in the building up of his beloved home city have been extensive and such as commend him favorably to his fellow citizens. He has a nice attractive home, situated upon the brow of the high land which forms the major portion of the site of Sac City and is the owner of several pieces of valuable real estate, consisting of business and residence property, much of which has been erected under his personal supervision in a substantial manner. The Platt building, on Main street of the city, is known as one of the most modern and best built buildings in the city.
Mr. Platt was originally a Whig in politics, and was the son of an old-fashioned Democrat of the Andrew Jackson type. when the Republican party was formed under the banner of John C. Fremont in 1856, he aligned himself with the party, voting four years later for Abraham Lincoln, and enjoys the distinction of having voted the Republican ticket continuously for nearly sixty years. In fact, he is the only living resident of Sac City who cast his vote for Fremont for President. He has served the people of the county in the important capacity of county supervisor. During the greater " part of his life he has been identified with the Presbyterian church and is a liberal supporter of this and kindred denominations.
He of whom this chronicle reads was united in marriage with Adelaide Gray in the year 1851. This lady, who has been his faithful companion and loving wife for over sixty years, was born in the state of Maine, March 5, 1832. To. this union have been born four children: Elma (Criss), deceased: Virginia (Irwin), a resident of Long Beach, California: Milton, who was born in the year 1857 and died in 1885; Rosalie (Hayge), of Sac City. The son Milton was the father of two children, one of whom is a contractor in Forrest, Illinois. Mr. Platt has three great-grandchildren, one of whom is twenty years of age. (History of Sac County Iowa, by William H. Hart, 1914, Pages 371-374 )