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Belgians in the Civil War

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BELGIANS IN AMERICA:    Biographies of Belgian settlers  

Emile LEFEBURE and Sidonie LUCAS

The name of Lefebure is known throughout this country and also in Belgium in connection with the breeding high grade Belgian draft horses, and Henry Lefebure of this review is fully sustaining the reputation which his father etsablished in the importation and breeding of what is now claimed to be the most popular breed of draft horses in America. A native of Fairfax, Iowa, where he was born on the 10th of March, 1866, he is a son of Emil and Sidony (Lucas) Lefebure. The father was born in Neufvilles, Belgium, May 17, 1839. Coming to America in 1860, he made his way to Iowa City, Iowa, where he purchased forty acres of timber land and a few hogs, and during the period of the Civil war sold wood to the soldiers' wives and widows for ten dollars per load, while for his pork he received twelve cents per pound. By the close of the war, in 1865, he had saved enough money to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of land in Linn county, upon which he moved in 1866. From year to year, as he prospered, he added to his original holdings until he eventually became the owner of one thousand acres, constituting him one of the extensive landowners of this section. The year 1875 witnessed his embarkation in the live-stock business as a breeder of shorthorn cattle, while in 1888 he began to import and breed Belgian draft horses, being one of the first and later becoming one of the largest importers of horses in this country. He remained actively connected with this line of business for some years, subsequently retiring about 1902, while in May, 1906, he was called to his final rest.

Source : History of Linn County Iowa from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time: Volume II. Biographical

Henry LEFEBURE

Reared on the home farm, amid the busy environment of country life, Henry Lefebure acquired his early education in the district schools of that locality, remaining a student therein until eighteen years of age. Later he enjoyed the advantage of a six months' course at St. Joseph's College, at Dubuque, Iowa, and upon the retirement of his father in 1902 returned home, where he assisted in the conduct of the farm until the latter's death in 1906, when he came into possession of two hundred and forty-three acres of land, together with the large stock farm owned by his father. The balance of the property was divided between three brothers and two sisters of our subject. Mr. Lefebure has since acquired an additional tract of two hundred and sixty-three acres, so that he is now the owner of more than five hundred acres of land, to which has been given the name of the Sunny Crest Stock Farm, known as the "home of the Belgians." He raises shorthorn cattle and also hogs, but his specialty is Belgian draft horses, which he not only imports but also breeds. In 1909 he made three trips to Belgium to buy horses, while his sales of that year amounted to one hundred and twenty-five horses, the prices ranging from twelve hundred to three thousand dollars per team, and he also sold about sixty head of fine cattle. Sunny Crest Stock Farm, the property of Henry Lefebure, is the home of the champion stud of Belgian draft horses of America as awarded at the St. Louis World's Fair and the birthplace of the champion mare of the St. Louis World's Fair, while it is the present home of one hundred and fifteen high-grade Belgian stallions and mares. The Belgian horse is recognized throughout European countries as the best on the continent, and the efforts of Mr. Lefebure in importing and raising this, the oldest, purest and most energetic breed of draft horse in existence, have been far-reaching in their effects, proving potent forces in raising the grade of stock in this section of the country. He is president of the American Association of Importers and Breeders of Belgian Draft Horses.

Source : History of Linn County Iowa from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time: Volume II.Biographical