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Sac County, IA Genealogy TrailsThe pages of this volume abound with biographies of men who were pioneers in the true sense of the word. To have been a real pioneer in the development of such an important part of the great commonwealth of Iowa is a distinction of merit and a matter of pride for the one who is classed among the interesting group of men whose lives and deeds are recorded herein. In Sac county we have two classes of pioneers-those who were actually among the very first settlers and those who came later in the greater period of development. Not many of those who bore the brunt of the first battle of redeeming the land from a wilderness remain for the present generation to honor. They were of a high type of manhood, and descended from a race of people who have been ever in the forefront of pushing onward the path of empire. Among the few "old settlers" remaining who occupy a high place in the esteem of their fellow men is Samuel L. Watt, a record of whose career since boyhood reads like romance rather than fact. He comes of the good old Buckeye stock, which in turn traces its forbears to Kentucky, and thence across the ocean to the North of Ireland and across the intervening waters to Scotland.
Samuel L. Watt, former secretary of the Sac County Fair Association, was born December 5, 1849, m Kenton, Hardin county, Ohio. He is the son of Samuel L. and Lydia Margaret (Leach) Watt, natives of Kentucky and Pennsylvania respectively. Samuel L., Sr., was reared in Kentucky and on attaining his majority removed to Hardin county, Ohio, and was one of the pioneers in the settlement and development of this division of the state of Ohio. However, he was not satisfied to remain' and spend his life in Ohio, and accordingly, in the prime of manhood, he migrated to Sac county in October, 1855. He was accompanied by his wife and several children on the journey to the new West. His family consisted of seven children by a first marriage as follows: James, Thomas, Deborah, Robert, Harriet, Nancy, and Christina (Leach), wife of Andrew Leach. By a second marriage there were five children: Olive G., wife of William Conley (married in Sac county); John J.; Samuel L.; Lydia M., wife of John Stocker; Sydney, the wife of G. L. Dobson; a daughter, Sarah Frances (Swan), who was born in Sac county.
The family set out from the old Hardin county home with a wagon or "prairie schooner," hauled by an ox-team, one horse and buggy, and a few milch cows and liousehold effects. The trip was a source of continuous wonder to the several small children included in the happy family party. They traveled by easy stages across Ohio, northern Indiana and Illinois, by way of the regular traveled route taken by the pioneers who were coming in an ever-increasing stream to the great new lands of the Hawkeye country. Game was plentiful after they left the thickly settled and older regions and the members of the Watt family feasted royally from the results of hunting forays into the prairie lands and timber. Arriving at their destination in Sac county, the men folks immediately set about the erection of a log cabin which served for their habitation for several years. The timber for this cabin was cut and hewn from the great forest trees of oak and walnut which were plentiful along the banks of the Raccoon river. Kind neighbors willingly lent their assistance in the erection of the cabin. This log house served as a habitation for the Watts for several years and was later supplanted by a more pretentious frame dwelling.
The first winter was a very fine, open season and the immigrants from the East fared comfortably. The larder was always full of game and fish which could be obtained in abundance. The following winter of 1856-1857 was a terrible one for the settlers, however, and much suffering ensued on account of the extreme cold and the great depth of the snow which lay upon the ground from early fall until late in the spring. Mr. Watt states that they never experienced any trouble with the Indians who frequently camped in the neighborhood and that their greatest difficulty was in getting to market with produce and obtaining the necessary supplies of food and clothing. They hauled their first crop of wheat to the Cedar Falls market, one hundred miles away. The family actually" subsisted on one dollar's worth of sugar during one whole year. The elder Watt was a cripple, and was dependent to a great extent upon his children for help about the farm. The oldest son, James, accompanied by his sister Harriet, journeyed to California in 1859, and thus deprived the family of a mainstay, which made it necessary for the younger children to assume the burden and assist the father in every way possible. Christina followed in 1862. For several years it was a hard pull for them to make ends meet, but they bore their troubles with true pioneer fortitude and things eventually righted themselves and prosperity smiled upon them. Samuel L., Sr., moved to Sac City after a number of years, but, after two years' residence in town, he returned to the farm and later removed to Ohio. He died at the residence of his daughter Sydney in 1875. Mrs. Watt died in 1873.It is recorded that the elder Watt took a subcontract for carrying the mail from Fort Dodge to Sioux City for a term of years, but caving to the father's crippled condition it was necessary for the children to perform the task. Samuel L., the son, began at this task when but thirteen vta:s of age. It was considerable responsibility to thrust upon a young lad, but he successfully performed the work for a term of three years during the summer months, and attended the primitive district school in the vicinity during the winter months. Judge D. Carr Early was Mr. Watt's first teacher. Owing to the necessity of devoting the greater part of his time to the farm work, his school training was necessarily irregular and intermittent and was confined to the three R's.
When twenty-four years of age, in 1873, Mr. Watt purchased a tract of wilci, unbroken land and embarked upon the occupation of herding and raising cattle for the markets. Previous to this time he had invested his savings in a small tract of land south of Sac City in 1871 and made a trip to the far West. For two years he drove freighting teams in the mining regions of California, Nevada and Colorado. His route reached from the region of Death Valley to Denver and the mountains north of the city. His experience while performing his hazardous tasks in such a wild, unsettled country was very exciting and he met with many thrilling adventures.
Upon his return from the West to Sac county in 1873 he ranged cattle on his land until the fall of 1881. He would buy up large herds of feeders and fatten them for the markets. In the fall of 1881 Mr. Watt sold his live stock, rented out his land and removed to Buena Vista, where he embarked in the livery business for one year. In 1882 he removed to Sac City and has since been engaged in various business enterprises in which he has achieved marked success. At various times he has been the proprietor of a meat market, furniture store, etc., which he usually conducted for a time and sold out with profit to himself. Mr. Watt has been a capitalist in a large way for a number of years and has dealt extensively in Iowa land, having at one time owned over one thousand acres of good Hawkeye soil. His holdings but a few years back embraced one thousand acres of land in Sac county and over four hundred acres of South Dakota land. However, he has recently sold the greater part of his extensive farm holdings and given the proceeds to his children. He still retains a valuable tract of forty acres adjoining the prosperous and growing city cf Sioux Falls, and owns four farms in Sac county totaling seven hundred acres. He has one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the corporation of Sac City on which he has raised live stock in large numbers. Mr. Watt is a lover of horses and an excellent judge of this useful animal, having as high as sixty head of draft and road animals on his nearby farm in one season.
Mr. Watt, since 1905, has been one of the largest stockholders and the efficient secretary of the Sac County Fair Association. He purchased the property of the old, decadent fair association at sheriff's sale and applied business methods to an enterprise which was destined to reflect credit upon himself and his associates. The association was immediately reorganized through his efforts, the grounds overhauled and placed in splendid condition and an era of prosperity soon set in for the fair association which has been continued from year to year. The Sac County Fair, during the past nine years, has been a wonderful success in every way. The live stock displays and the exhibits have been among the best in the state, and the attendance at the annual fair held each year has been constantly on the increase. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Savings Bank of Sac City. In politics, Mr. Watt is a Democrat, and has ever been an active worker in the ranks and a leader of his party. He has served as city councilman and assessor. He values his membership in the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. Watt's wedded life has been in keeping with his highly successful career in other lines. He was united in marriage in December, 1873, vvith Rosa P. Allen, of Sac City, who was born in the year 1853 and died in 1897. She was the daughter of Washington Allen, an early pioneer settler of Sac county.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Watt: Ina Belle (Maker), of Sac City, who is the mother of two children, Catherine Edna and Vivian. The second child born is Willis Walford Watt, a farmer residing northwest of Sac City. Willis served eight years in the United States regular army and spent four years in active warfare in the Philippine islands, having made two trips around the world while in the service. The third child is Edna Pearl (Strohmeier), wife of Gus W. Strohmeier, acting secretary of the Sac County Fair Association, and who is engaged in the automobile business in Sac City. (History of Sac County Iowa, by William H. Hart, 1914, Pages 363-367)