1886 Biographical and Historical Record of Wayne and Appanoose Counties, Iowa

Chicago: Inter-State Pub. Co.,

Thanks to the courtesy and hard work of Polly Eckles

J-P


SAMUEL JENNINGS, Sheriff of Appanoose County, Iowa, was born in Carmichael 's, Greene County, Pennsylvania, February 28, 1839, a son of Jacob P. and Lydia A. (Casey) Jennings, the former of English and the latter of German and Irish extraction.   His father was a carpenter but he was reared by an uncle by the name of James Cree, who was a farmer, and he was reared to that calling, following it in his native State till he came to Iowa.   He lived in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, from 1858 to 1869, and in the latter year came West and located in Taylor Township, Appanoose County, on a farm, where he lived till 1872, when he moved to Moulton, where he dealt in livestock and engaged in butchering until 1883.   He then clerked in the general store of J. S. Barnhart, and his successor, A. M. Lind, until January, 1886, when, having been elected sheriff of Appanoose County the previous November, he moved to Centerville and assumed the duties of his office.

Mr. Jennings was married January 23, 1865, to Miss Tirzah Virginia Bower, of Heistersburg, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, who died in Moravia, Appanoose County, September 27, 1872, leaving three children: Fannie Virginia, William F. and Myra E.   Fannie died October 29, 1872, and William, November 30, 1872.   August 27, 1875, Mr. Jennings married Anna C. Berry, of Moulton.   They have had two children: Alberta P. and James P.   Mr. Jennings is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Sincerity Lodge, No. 317, at Moulton, which he has served two terms as junior warden.



WALTER S. JOHNSON, Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa.   Tracing the records of the Johnson family as far back as Mr. Johnson has any account, we find that Nicholas Johnson, his great-grandfather on his father's side, was born near Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1756 and died about 1844 or 1845.   Garland Johnson, his son, was born near Lynchburg in 1782, and married Miss Elizabeth Henslee and to them was born a large family of children.   Garland Johnson moved with his family first to Cincinnati, Ohio, and shortly after to Union County, and settled about a mile and a half from Liberty, the county seat of said county.   His son, Samuel H., was the father of Walter S.   On the mother's side the records are more complete, running back five generations, as follows: First, James Butler was born in the year 1690, on Nantucket Island, as is supposed, and died in Virginia, in 1778, aged eight-eight years.   Second, Stephen Butler, son of James Butler, was born in Virginia, near Lynchburg, March 16, 1749, and died December 2, 1815, aged sixty-six years.   His second wife was Mary Stanton.   Third, Stephen Butler, son of the above and Mary, his wife, was born January 20, 1786.   He married Matilda Johnson, daughter of Benjamin Johnson, a brother of Nicholas, great-grandfather of Walter S.   Fourth. Mary E. Butler, daughter of Stephen and Matilda Butler, was born May 28, 1815, and was married to Samuel H. Johnson, May 15, 1834.   Her parents also moved from Virginia to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence to Union County, when she was about ten years of age.

Thus the families of Nicholas and Garland Johnson and Stephen Butler, with one or two other families of Friends or Quakers, commenced a settlement a mile and a half south of Liberty, Union County, Indiana, and erected a meeting-house, where they might worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences.   They also erected and maintained a seminary of learning, known in that part of the country as Beach Grove Seminary, but perhaps better known in history as “Horton's” Academy, so called from the fact that William Houghton, an uncle of Walter S. Johnson, superintended it for twenty years.   This school became famous on account of its thoroughness and also on account of the splendid moral influences in the community, so that many from abroad came to its inviting shelter and enjoyed the quiet seclusion and healthy moral atmosphere.   Here Samuel H. Johnson and Mary E. Butler were reared and educated under such pure and healthful influences, and here the former fitted himself in a pre-eminent degree for the practice of medicine, a profession he adorned for the brief period he was permitted to practice.

Here, amid such surroundings and influences, they learned to love each other with a pure and undying affection, and were married on the 15 th day of May, 1834, and by this marriage the two families were again united.   To this most happy marriage three children were born: Walter S., born May 24, 1835 ; Matilda, December 30, 1836, and Pleasant W., November 7, 1838.   Unfortunately for the wife and children the rapidly increasing practice of the father and his continued exposure in traveling over a rough country, at the call of distress, on horseback through rain and storm finally undermined an excellent constitution and a fine manly physique, and he succumbed to the fell destroyer of all mankind.   He died in the full assurance of the Christian faith and hope, July 23, 1842, having, like his Master, been constantly going about doing good and helping the needy.   His early death, when he was just commencing to lay the foundation for a competency, left the wife and three helpless children to battle, unaided, the stern conflicts of life.   But the mother with the strong, invincible, undying courage and love of a true, faithful Christian and firm unshaken faith in the Christian's helper, was able to sing, even when gaunt poverty stared her in face:

“Peace, troubled soul, thou needst not fear,
Thy great provider still is near,
Who fed thee last will feed thee still,
Be calm and sink into his will.”

She bent all her energies to surmount her troubles and by industry and rigid economy was enabled to provide a home and maintenance for herself and family.   In the meantime Walter S., being the eldest, felt that a responsibility also rested upon him and began to look about for something to do, and was soon engaged in cutting stovewood at 25 cents a cord, and attending to Judge Burnsides's horse.   Judge Burnside was the father of Ambrose E. Burnside, late Major General in the Union army, and lived in the same town.   The first incident in Walter's life that he remembers with real pleasure was the time he earned the money and bought his mother a dress pattern, with great large leaves like the leaves of a grape-vine, and carried it home in triumph and presented it to her, to her great surprise and astonishment, especially when she saw the large, bright, flaming figures of the pattern.   The mother, dear, good, considerate mother, looked upon it with pride and joy, and with tear-dimmed eyes embraced her boy with all the ardor of a mother's love, not for the value of the gift, but for the evidence that her son took more pleasure in using his hard-earned money for her than for himself.   Thus encouraged he continued on, trying to earn and save as best he could for the benefit of the family.

When he was nine years of age he was converted and united with the Methodist Episcopal church, his parents having united with the same church several years before.   In the year 1849, when he was fourteen years of age, his mother, after living a widow for seven years, married S. B. Stanton, who was a widower with a family of eight children, the eldest, Thaddeus H., now Colonel Stanton, being the same age as Walter and the youngest but a mere babe.   Thus his mother, prompted by her loving Christian heart, undertook the Herculean task of supplying a mother's place to that large family, a task that she so faithfully performed with the help of Him who has said, “I will never leave nor forsake thee,” that to this day it has been a wonder how she could do it so faithfully and successfully.   On account of this influx into the family, the home became crowded and Walter and his sister and brother soon left to find homes for themselves.   The eldest and second sons of Mr. Stanton, Thaddeus and Albert, with generous impulses, also left the home roof to seek their fortunes elsewhere.

In May, 1851, his mother and step-father moved to Iowa.   From this time Walter's life was somewhat uneventful, as most lives are in a new country.   He worked with an ox-team, breaking prairie in the summer and hauling rails in the winter until the winter of 1853-‘4, when on a trip to mill at what was then known as Will's Mill, fourteen miles east of his home at Cincinnati, he was exposed to a severe storm and almost perished with the cold and did not recover from its effects for more than a year.   Thinking that his lungs were permanently diseased, and that he would never again be able to perform manual labor, yet not wishing to be idle, he bought a small stock of goods, built a storehouse in Cincinnati, Iowa, the first house in the village, and commenced the mercantile business, being at that time a little past eighteen years of age.   He was also appointed post master and held other offices in the township and church at that time.   About this time James X. Gibson moved from near Greencastle, Indiana, to the vicinity of Cincinnati, Iowa, with his family of eight children: Jane, Sarah B., William, George, Armelda, Amanda, James M. and John W.; and after his removal to Iowa a son, Columbus, was born.   Walter made Mr. Gibson's house his home as long as he continued in the mercantile business, and the acquaintance with this family has always been regarded by him as one of the most fortunate events of his life, next in importance to his having, as he thinks, the best and most devoted Christian mother that ever lived.

While living in the family he of course became intimately acquainted with all its members, and gradually his acquaintance with the second daughter, Sarah B., who was a year younger than himself, ripened into an affection more lasting than friendship, which was also reciprocated, and February 11, 1855, they were married at her father's home, a mile north of Cincinnati, the place now owned by John Sayers.   Mr. Johnson thinks that whatever of success he has attained in life is attributable to the influence and loving helpfulness of his mother and wife.   James Gibson and his wife were natives of Kentucky, and after their marriage settled at Greencastle, Indiana, where Mrs. Johnson was born in 1836.   Nearly thirty-two years have elapsed since their most happy marriage and every day of all that time has only more fully demonstrated that the union of these hearts was heaven-born and inseparable.   Five children have blessed this happy home: James Allen, born May 10, 1856 ; Willie Edgar, July 8, 1858 ; Pleasant Lee, October 12, 1860 ; Mary Emily, April 14, 1868, and Ida B., September 5, 1870. All are highly esteemed and are members with the parents of the Methodist Episcopal church.   It is also a pleasant duty to add that through all the lives of these children there has never been a single act of any member of the family that has in any way marred or clouded the happiness of any, either a member of the family or otherwise.   The parents have always had faith in the children and the children in the parents, and each has been happy in the consciousness of having the love of the others, and thus a most happy, trusting and confiding family has grown up, the bonds of true Christian devotion growing and strengthening as the years roll on.

Walter S. Johnson always intuitively despised oppression in every form.   The only trouble he ever had with boys was when some big boy would undertake to impose on a little one.   Then his indignation was aroused and he was ready to avenge the younger's wrongs.   He was therefore naturally an Abolitionist, hating oppression with a perfect hatred, and holding that any man who would hold in bondage a man of another color would enslave one of his own if he had the power, claiming that color was only a pretext for the slavery system.   Having imbibed this love of liberty from his parents and the Quaker influences of his relatives during his young life, he naturally cast his first vote for President, in 1856, for John C. Fremont, the great standard-bearer of the Free-Soil party at that time, and in 1860, when the country was shaking from center to circumference, on account of the agitation of the gigantic evil, slavery, Mr. Johnson entered into the campaign with all the ardor of his soul, taking active part in the meetings in which the organization known as the “Wideawakes” were a conspicuous factor.   At this time he was living on a small farm a mile and a half south of Cincinnati, Iowa.

Following the election of Lincoln war was proclaimed, and on the 8 th day of July, 1861, Mr. Johnson enlisted as a private in Company D, Sixth Iowa Infantry, for three years or during the war, and the following fall marched from Jefferson City, Missouri, to Springfield under his venerable leader, General John C. Fremont.   While at Jefferson City, working on the fortifications of the city, he was taken sick with the measles from which he had not fully recovered when the army moved from that place, but being desirous of doing something for his country he started with the army, when yet too weak to carry his accoutrements, and during the entire march to Springfield he kept his position in the ranks; but the fatigue of the hard, toilsome march in his weakened condition so overcame him and broke him down as to disable him for future duty, and he was discharged the 6 th day of January, 1862, at La Mine Crossing, Missouri.   Returning home he remained quiet until the following June and had begun to feel himself again, when, July 3, 1862, rumors and messengers came from Missouri saying that the rebels had burned Unionville and were moving north, intending to invade Iowa and burn Cincinnati.   Under these circumstances the people of that neighborhood hurriedly assembled and soon organized a company and made preparations to defend the town.   Of this company Mr. Johnson was unanimously elected Captain, receiving his commission from Governor Kirkwood.   He immediately determined on reconnoitering to find out if possible the position and strength of the enemy.   Having learned from John Probasco, of Putnam County, Missouri, a truly loyal and very reliable man, that the enemy was encamped and fortified a Shawneetown, Missouri, he selected four trusty men from his company and at 9 p.m. started to find out if possible the facts in the case.   Shawneetown being about seven miles from Cincinnati, with a very rough wooded country between, the scouting party made the journey on foot reaching the outskirts of the village about 11 o'clock without interruption.   They encountered two Union scouts who lived in the neighborhood and, supposing them to be rebel pickets, Captain Johnson captured them.   Upon investigation it was found that they were on the same business as their captors and that they had found no armed body of the rebels anywhere in the vicinity of Shawneetown, but that they were scouring the country in squads, breaking into stores and recruiting volunteers for Price's army.   Captain Johnson being well acquainted with one of the scouts, Mr. Dillon, and knowing him to be loyal, he accepted the information as reliable and returned the same night to Cincinnati and the following morning, July 4, 1862, moved south with his company and invaded the sovereign State of Missouri for the purpose of aiding the loyal people of Putnam County to resist the devastations of the rebels.   About two miles from the Iowa line they came to Gault Mill, on Shaw Creek, where about fifty loyal sons of Missouri were congregated, and they at once joined Captain Johnson's forces, with rifles and shot-guns, eager to meet the enemy.   Thus re-inforced, the company, now 110 strong, marched until within about three miles of Hartford, Missouri, when they met a company of Union State militia, which also fell in the rear, swelling the battalion to nearly 200 men.   At Hartford they encamped for the night, throwing out a strong picket guard as they were now in the center of a rebel community.   The next morning they were joined by Captain Wycoff's State militia cavalry, 100 strong, and Captain Wycoff took command of the entire force, and moved on south, the next night encamping on Brassfield's farm on the Chariton River.   The following day scouting parties were sent out in every direction, and resulted in the capture of about thirty rebels.   Thus ridding the country of the devastators they returned to their homes after being out a week.

At this time the Government was calling for more troops, and there was a company enlisted in the southwestern part of Appanoose County, with headquarters at Bellair.   This company Mr. Johnson joined and August 11, 1862, it organized by electing J. B. Gedney, Captain; G. R. Huston, First Lieutenant, and W. S. Johnson, Second Lieutenant.   The company was at once ordered to rendezvous at Keokuk, and were there assigned to the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry.   In this organization Lieutenant Johnson served over three years, participating in every engagement of the company and marching in every campaign, the history of the regiment being his, whether in camp, battle or prison.   His most important battles were Fort Pemberton, Helena, Little Rock, Camden and Mark's Mill.   At the latter place, April 25, 1864, they were captured and he was also wounded.   They were incarcerated at Tyler, Texas, from which, on the night of August 17, 1864, he with five other escaped, but fourteen days later, after getting 175 miles away, they were recaptured.   February 25, 1865, they were marched to Shrevesport, Louisiana, and from there were taken by transport to the mouth of the Red River, where they were exchanged.   They then went to New Orleans and were there granted a furlough, returning to the field in April.   He was then on detached service at Duvall's Bluff, as aid-de-camp, on the staff of Colonel Graves, and subsequently was on the staff of General F. M. Drake until mustered out, August 23, 1865.

On his return home he resumed farming, contracting and building at Cincinnati.   In the fall of 1870 he was elected clerk of the Circuit and District Courts of Appanoose County and assumed the duties of his office in January, 1871, at that time becoming a resident of Centerville.   He was twice re-elected, serving six years.   In the spring of 1877 he was elected mayor of Centerville, and filled the office one term.    While clerk of the courts he read law to better qualify himself to perform the duties of the office, and at the expiration of his term was admitted to the bar.   In February, 1878, he became associated with J. W. Calvert in the clothing business, and in 1880 Waring bought the interest of Mr. Calvert.   He is a Master, Royal Arch and Knight Templar Mason, a member of the Odd Fellows order and of John L. Bashore Post, No. 122, G.A.R.   It will not be out of place to here add a few lines relative to Mr. Johnson's brother and sister.   He claims for them that they were by nature far more affectionate, confiding and talented than he.   So naturally pure and good in their lives that with the divine spirit, which also filled their hearts and controlled their lives, they were better fitted for the habitation of the saints than to grapple with the selfishness of this life.   Yet they were possessed of the material of which heroes and heroines are made, for when conscious that they were in the right, were invincible in their adherence to their views, but when still in early life the Master said, “It is enough, come up higher.”   Matilda E. was married to Charles R. Crowder November 10, 1853, and died February 7, 1873.   She was so pure, loving and retiring in her nature that the cold blasts of unkindness and lack of sympathy chilled her warm life and trusting nature, as the Northern frosts do the tropical plant, and she was laid to rest in the cemetery at Cincinnati, Iowa.   She left five children, all of whom are living: Rosa, Stephen A., Elza, Emma and Everet.

Pleasant W. Johnson attended the Howe School at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and paid his own way, and at the same time learned the trade of a printer, working in the office of the Loyal Citizen, in Centerville, and afterward learned telegraphing, which he made the business of his life.   He was one of the most proficient operators of his time, and was entrusted by President Stebbins, of the Western Union Telegraph Company, with the construction and operation of the overland line from Omaha, Nebraska, west, although he was but twenty-four years of age and had been an operator only four years.   After superintending the construction of the line to Fort Bridger, Wyoming Territory, keeping up communication from the terminal point, he returned home and married Miss Lizzie Cavanaugh, an estimable and brilliant young lady, to whom he had been long attached.   Immediately after their marriage they went to St. Louis, combining a business trip with a pleasant wedding tour, and from there they started to Fort Bridger, where they expected to remain a time.   They went overland as far as Julesburg, now Denver Junction, Colorado, where he was taken sick and after a painful illness of several weeks in that desert place, without proper medical attendance, it being before the railroad was built, he died, September 20, 1863, and was buried by a few comparative strangers, who had, however, in their brief acquaintance learned to love him.   The shock to his wife and the care and anxiety while watching at his bedside and ministering to his wants during these long, dreary weeks, added to the sense of loneliness and wretchedness that came to her after his death, was more than she could endure, and in one short month they laid her to rest beside her husband, near the old site of what was the little military post named Julesburg.   Thus went out a life that, had it been prolonged, must have been one of the most useful, as it was one of the noblest works of God's creation.   He was peculiarly gifted mentally, and was possessed of a soul so pure and cheerful that wherever he went he drew everybody to him, and wherever you may find an old overland freighter, or others who were out on the Great American Desert, and speak of P. W. Johnson, the “telegraph man,” their eyes will sparkle with kind remembrances as they say, “I knew him well, and kinder, truer-hearted man never lived.”   One of them once said to his brother after recounting his many virtues and amiable qualities, “The only fault we ever found against him was, we never could prevail on him to drink with us.”

Before closing this sketch we wish to say a word in regard to Mrs. Johnson's brother, George W. Gibson.   When eighteen years of age, early in the spring of 1864, he enlisted as a recruit in Lieutenant Johnson's company, and the third day after he reached the regiment, April 25, 1864, he fell at the battle of Mark's Mills, Arkansas.   He went out with all the heroic courage of a truly patriotic heart, bared his breast to the storm of leaden hail, in that terrible slaughter, and fell against the Lieutenant, pierced with a minie-ball just above the heart, and died in a few minutes.   When asked if he had any message for loved ones at home, he said, “Tell them I died fighting for my country.”   Thus died another of the brave boys who loved and revered their country's honor.



NATHAN M. JONES, a prominent farmer and early settler of Johns Township, Appanoose County, was born near Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana, June 25, 1831, the sixth child of William and Abigail ( Davis ) Jones, his parents being natives of Kentucky.   They had a family of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, ten of whom still survive, our subject being the fourth son.   The paternal great-grandfather of our subject was a Welshman.   The father was among the early settlers of Indiana, where he followed agricultural pursuits many years.   He left Putnam County, Indiana, in the spring of 1851 and settled with his family in Johns Township, Appanoose County, Iowa, where he made his home till his death, in 1872, his wife having died in this township in 1870.   He was one of the organizers of Johns Township, and in all enterprises for its advancement he was always ready to give his support.

Nathan M. was about twenty years of age when he came with his parents to Appanoose County, and here he was married in 1855, to Eliza Ferren, the second daughter of William and Mary Ferren, of Johns Township.   Three children have been born to this union: William J., John L., and one who died in infancy.   Mr. Jones has lived on his present farm since his marriage, which at the time of his settlement was entirely unimproved.   He has made farming his principal occupation through life, in which he has been uniformly successful, his farm now containing 300 acres of land in a good state of cultivation, and is located on section 9.   He has devoted considerable attention to the raising of cattle, having at present on his farm seventy-seven head.   He has lately turned his attention to raising a high grade of cattle, in which he is meeting with success.   Mr. Jones has served his township one term as trustee and two terms as assessor.   He is a member of the Old School Baptist church, in which he holds the office of clerk.



CYRUS KERR, farmer, section 19, Independence Township, has been identified with Appanoose County since 1867.   He was born in Venango County, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1818, a son of Jonathan and Mary (Bredin) Kerr, also natives of Pennsylvania, of Scotch, English and Irish descent, the former died in Indiana County and the latter in Mercer County, Pennsylvania.   Of their eight children our subject is the youngest.   But three are now living: Jonathan is in Washington County, Iowa, and Mary lives with Mr. Kerr.   He was reared to the life of a farmer, educating himself by his own exertion.   He became qualified to teach, a vocation he followed about eight years.   He studied surveying, and for two years was deputy surveyor of Butler County, in the State of Pennsylvania.   In 1878 he was elected surveyor of Appanoose County, and has held the position six years.   Mr. Kerr was married in December, 1847, to Miss Isabella V. Porter, who was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania, in 1824, a daughter of Joseph Porter.   Four children were born to them: Mary C. died in 1858, aged ten years; Joseph C. lives in Rockwell City, Iowa ; John L., of Wright Township, Wayne County, and Thomas B. died in February, 1885, aged thirty-two years.   Mrs. Kerr died in Pennsylvania in 1858, and Mr. Kerr has never married again, his sister Mary being his housekeeper.   He has a good farm of 160 acres, all well improved, where he has lived since his first settlement in the county.   He and his sister are members of the Presbyterian church.   In politics he is an ardent supporter of the Republican party, and has held many local offices of trust since living in Appanoose County.



JACOB KNAPP, dealer in imported and full-blooded horses, was born near Plain City, Ohio, in the year 1827, son of Elihu Knapp.   His father besides being engaged in agricultural pursuits was a tanner and a shoemaker, and young Knapp was reared to follow those pursuits.   In 1848 he engaged in farming near his birthplace which he followed exclusively until 1855.   Selling his farm in that year he came to Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa, where he began manufacturing and dealing in boots and shoes, forming a partnership with Warren Allen, with whom he was associated in business under the firm name of Knapp & Allen.   In 1858 he retired from the boot and shoe business and engaged in farming in Walnut Township, this county, and there bred and dealt in horses until 1881.   He then rented his farm and has since been a resident of Centerville.   He is now devoting his whole attention to the breeding of full-blooded draft horses, consisting of Clydesdale, English and French draft-horses, and to him is given the credit of greatly improving the stock in Appanoose and adjoining counties.   Mr. Knapp was married in the year 1846 to Miss Frances C. Allen, daughter of John and Anna (Bangs) Allen.   They have had eight children: Albert A., of Walnut Township; Zachary T., deceased; Anna J., wife of D. O. Scott, of Walnut Township; Warren E., on the homestead in Walnut Township; Alvin Filmore, a farmer of Walnut Township; Lillie L., wife of William Bartlett, of Kansas; Lettie E., wife of C. R. Porter, of Missouri, and Lincoln A., of Centerville.   Politically Mr. Knapp casts his suffrage with the Republican party.



JOSEPH L. LAIN, was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, July 26, 1825, a son of Jacob and Polly (Guernsey) Lain, the father a native of New York and the mother of Connecticut.   They were married in the State of New York, and were among the pioneers of Bartholomew County, where they made their home the rest of their lives.   Joseph L. was the fourth of seven children.   He remained with his parents until manhood, making their house his home until 1860.   In 1852 he visited Appanoose County, Iowa, and bought 160 acres on sections 25 and 26, Independence Township.   He returned to Indiana, but spent a part of each year on his Iowa land until 1860, when he located on it, and has since made it his home, and has been prominently identified with the interests of Appanoose County.   He is one of the county's prosperous farmers, and to the 160 acres purchased in 1852 has added until he now has in his homestead 360 acres, and also owns a good farm of 160 acres on sections 21 and 22, Johns Township, near Plano, and a timber tract of fifteen acres.   This is the result of a life of industry and frugality, Mr. Lain being in moderate circumstances when he first came to Iowa.   His property shows the result of care and thrift, and his improvements are noticeably good.   He takes especial interest in the education of his children, counting nothing lost that in any way contributes to that end, feeling that knowledge is power.   In politics he is identified with the Democratic party.   He was married April 11, 1865, to Miss Sarah E. Brunson, a native of Lee County, Iowa, born December 28, 1845, daughter of David and Mary Brunson, pioneers of Lee County, but now residents of Finney County, Kansas.   Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Lain, five of whom are living: Mary, born January 10, 1866, died October 17, 1872; Cora B., born March 5, 1867; Lillie L., born August 22, 1869; Nannie, born December 19, 1871; Flora W., born January 21, 1874, and Orville, born April 3, 1878.



CLARK WHITE LANE, a member of the mercantile firm of Drake & Lane, and secretary and treasurer of the Diamond Coal Mining Company, of Centerville, was born at Independence, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1848.   He received a common-school education, and his father being a merchant and farmer, he was reared to both avocations.   At the age of sixteen years he came to Appanoose County, Iowa, with his parents, and in 1874 he became manager of the mercantile establishment of General F. M. Drake.   In 1875 he formed a partnership with Mr. Drake and R. F. Lyman, and engaged in general merchandising at Centerville under the firm name of Drake, Lane & Lyman.   Mr. Lane subsequently purchased the interest of Mr. Lyman when the firm name was changed to Drake & Lane.   General F. M. Drake was succeeded in business by his son, F. E. Drake, in 1885, but the firm name of Drake & Lane was still retained.   Mr. Lane was united in marriage, June 23, 1874, to Kate Ella Drake, a daughter of John A. and Harriet J. (O'Neil) Drake, both of whom are deceased.   Mr. and Mrs. Lane have three children: John Clyde, George Hamilton, and Clark, Jr.   Politically Mr. Lane is a Democrat.   He is a member of Centerville Lodge, No. 76, I.O.O.F.   He was elected to the office of city alderman in the spring of 1886.



JOHN LANKFORD, undertaker and furniture dealer, Centerville, Iowa, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 27, 1827, a son of Robert and Sarah (Street) Lankford, the former a native of Virginia, and the latter of Kentucky, both of English ancestry.   When eighteen years of age he began working at the carpenter's trade, and served an apprenticeship of three years.   In May, 1850, he came to Iowa and lived at Ottumwa six months, thence removing to Centerville, where he worked at this trade until 1865, when he became established in his present business.   Mr. Lankford is a member of the Masonic fraternity, lodge, chapter and commandery, and also of the lodge and encampment of the Odd Fellows order.   He is in politics a Republican.   He was married in September, 1852, to Nancy J. Henderson, of Centerville.   They have eight children: William, Sarah (wife of W. G. Clark), Heber H., Beatrice, Grace, Carl, Roy and Leona.



JONATHAN LANTZ, deceased, was one of the pioneers of Bellair Township, making his home on section 9 in the autumn of 1851, there being at that time but four families in the township.   He was born in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1807, a son of John Lantz, who was of German descent.   In 1824 our subject accompanied his parents to Montgomery County, Ohio, and was there married in 1827 to Margaret Myers, a native of that county, born May 13, 1810, daughter of Michael Myers.   Mr. Lantz was by trade a cooper, and worked at this trade for several years.   In 1844 he moved to Wayne County, Indiana, where he operated a saw and grist mill seven years, when he came to Iowa and bought 320 acres in Appanoose County.   His capital at that time was sufficient to pay for his land and maintain his family until he could raise a crop.   They made their home in a log cabin until a better house could be built, and all went bravely to work to make a home in the new country.   He was rewarded for his energy and frugality, and lived many years to enjoy the fruits of his years of toil.   He died June 4, 1880, leaving a wife and children and many friends to mourn his departure.   Mr. Lantz was an earnest Christian, and in early life was a member of the German Baptist church, but later united with the Christian denomination.   He was known as one of the most worthy of the pioneers, his honorable life winning for him the respect and confidence of the entire community.   His widow lives at the old home in the enjoyment of a good degree of health.   She is also a member of the Christian church.

Their family consisted of thirteen children: John, who came to Iowa before his parents, settling in Appanoose County in 1849, and in 1852 went to California, where he now lives; Emanuel, now deceased, remained in Indiana; Isaac, now of Tennessee; Levi, in California; Noah, of Bellair Township, was a soldier for his country in the war of the Rebellion, and lost an arm in the service; Phoebe, deceased, was the wife of William Spear; Lavinia, widow of William Thatcher, of Missouri; Henry and Paulina are deceased, the latter was the wife of John Carson; Simeon lives in Kansas; Sophia is the wife of Jefferson Poole, of Unionville, Iowa; Mary Ann is the wife of John Hoover, of Fremont County, Iowa; Elbert M., the youngest, lives on the old homestead, his mother making her home with him.   Elbert M. Lantz was born and has always lived on the farm which is now his home, with the exception of seven months spent in California in 1875, and has now succeeded to the ownership of the pioneer homestead of his father.   He was born January 12, 1855.   December 9, 1880, he was married to Miss Minnie Talbot, a native of Belmont County, Ohio, born March 31, 1853, daughter of Samuel Talbot.   Mr. Lantz is a young man of unswerving integrity, a worth representative of a worthy father, and is one of the popular young men of his township, taking an active interest in all enterprises of a social character, as well as those calculated to increase the material welfare of the township.   In politics he follows in the footsteps of his father and is a staunch Republican.



REV. JOHN M. LOUGHRIDGE, pastor of the Plano Methodist Episcopal church, is a native of the State of Ohio, born in Richland County, near Mansfield, April 14, 1828, the eldest of a family of eight children of Poultney and Maria A. (Mitchell) Loughridge, the former a native of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, born May 25, 1800, and the latter a native of Ohio, born March 15, 1810.   When he was fourteen years of age his parents moved to Mahaska County, Iowa, and he spent his youth in attending the schools of Oskaloosa, and when eighteen years old began teaching, an avocation he followed three or four winters.   He was married March 1, 1853, to Miss Emily Bean, daughter of William and Nancy Bean, her father a native of Missouri, and her mother of Kentucky.   After his marriage he engaged in agricultural pursuits, living near Oskaloosa until 1865, when he moved to Appanoose County and settled on his present farm, on sections 29 and 32, Johns Township.   His farm contains 175 acres of choice land, all under cultivation, and well stocked.   In 1860 Mr. Loughridge was given an exhorter's license in the Methodist Episcopal church, and in 1863 was ordained a preacher by Bishop Ames, at Albia.   His first charge was Jerome Circuit, and was afterward changed to Plano.   He spent two years in Colorado, and while there received his ordination as elder by Bishop R. S. Foster.   Since coming to Appanoose County he has preached at Walnut City, Brazil, Jerome and Plano, in addition to attending to the cultivation of his farm.   Mr. and Mrs. Loughridge have had twelve children; seven are living, six sons and one daughter.



AARON LUSE, deceased, was a prominent farmer and early settler of Taylor Township.   He was born in the State of Ohio, near the city of Cleveland, March 12, 1819, a son of William and Sarah (Burnett) Luse, early settlers of Ohio.   He remained in his native State until nineteen years of age, and in 1838 came West and lived in Missouri about a year.   From there he went to Van Buren County, Iowa, where he married Martha Smith, a daughter of Jesse and Esther (Frier) Smith.   After his marriage he moved to Appanoose County, and settled on section 17, Taylor Township, where his widow now lives.   He had a fine farm of 500 acres, and was an enterprising stock-raiser, a man of excellent judgment, and was well and favorably known in the county.   He died August 5, 1881. Seven of the family of eight children are living: Rosette, wife of John A. Cline; Sarah J., wife of John Skinner; Martha, wife of E. Foster; Laura M., wife of George Andrew; William J.; Jackson; Mary, wife of T. J. Turner, and Douglas; the latter is deceased.   Mr. Luse was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.   He held several local offices of trust, among others justice of the peace and assessor.



JAMES MAHER, proprietor of the Elmore House and postmaster of Calhoun, a postoffice in the Third Ward, Centerville, was born in Newtown Forbis, County Longford, Ireland, in 1825, a son of William and Mary (Whalan) Maher.   When eighteen years of age he accompanied his mother to the United States, and settled in Jamaica, Long Island.   In his youth he worked for his father, who was a wheelwright and blacksmith, and after coming to America obtained employment on the Harlem Railroad as a track-layer.   In the fall of 1853 he came West and located at Warren, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, where he was employed a year as section foreman on the Illinois Central Railroad.   In the winter of 1854 he went to Peoria and was employed in the same capacity on the Rock Island Railroad until 1856, when he removed to Iowa, and settled at Davenport, continuing in the employ of the Rock Island Company until the fall of 1868.   In 1871 he removed to Centerville, and was again employed as section foreman by the Rock Island Company until 1880, when he bought the Elmore House, which he has since conducted.   In December, 1885, he, in addition to superintending the hotel, engaged in the grocery business, and in February, 1886, was appointed postmaster.   March 11, 1856, he was married to Catherine Doyle, a daughter of Michael and Nannie (Carroll) Doyle.   They have nine children: William, Henry, James, Mary (wife of Charles Phillips), Kate, Margaret Jane, Peter, John, Martin and Frank.   Mr. Maher and his family are members of the Catholic church.



LEWIS MAIN, a prominent old settler and active farmer of Chariton Township, Appanoose County, residing on section 12, was born in Monroe County, Ohio, August 14, 1830.   He was reared on a farm and educated in the schools of Ripley County, Indiana, to which county his parents had removed when he was four years of age.   He was married in February, 1851, to Mary E. Broshar, who was born and reared in Ripley County, and they are the parents of four sons and four daughters: Alice J., wife of Isaac McCoy; John E., Zack L., Levi W., Mary E. (wife of Edwin Hoskinson), Reuben F., Flora E. and Stella, living at home.   Mr. Main left Ripley County, Indiana, in the fall of 1855, coming with his family to Appanoose County, Iowa, when he located on his present farm which contains 275 acres of choice land.   He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and is one of the most successful hog-raisers in his neighborhood.   He takes an interest in educational matters, and has served as school director.

In 1862 he enlisted in the Union Army, in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and served faithfully for three years without receiving a wound, although he endured many hardships and privations.   He participated in the battles of Little Rock, Helena, Elkin Ford, Mark's Mill, at which place he was taken prisoner, April 25, 1864.   He was then taken to Texas and imprisoned at Camp Ford, where he was confined ten months, where his principal food consisted of corn bread and water.   He was paroled while in prison, and sent to the mouth of the Red River, where he was exchanged, after which he was sent to New Orleans, where he drew a suit of clothes.   He was then furloughed for thirty days, when he returned to his regiment at St. Charles, Arkansas.   He was mustered out at Duvall's Bluffs, Arkansas, and was discharged at Davenport, Iowa, in 1865.

Our subject's father, Lewis Main, was a native of Wheeling, West Virginia, born October 14, 1800, and was married in 1820, to Elizabeth Fankhouser, mother of our subject.   She was born in Pennsylvania, in 1802.   They were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom only one son is deceased.   This son, Charles B., was killed during the late war, at the battle of Mark's Mill, in 1864.   Lewis Main, the father, came to Appanoose County, Iowa, in the fall of 1861, where his wife died in 1867.   His death occurred in Chariton Township, Appanoose County, January 18, 1885.



JAMES J. MANN, a prominent farmer and early settler of Johns Township, was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, near Cincinnati, June 25, 1823, a son of J. R. and Huldah (Elston) Mann, his father a native of Hamilton County, Ohio, and his mother of New Jersey.   His grandfather, John Mann, was a native of Pennsylvania, and was one of the pioneers of Ohio, locating in Hamilton County when it was the habitation of Indians and wild animals.   When James J. was but eighteen months old his parents moved to Indiana, and settled in Franklin County, where his father died in 1840, and his mother in 1842.   His youth was passed in assisting his father clear and improve a heavily timbered farm, and when he was eighteen yeas old his entire attendance at school had been seven weeks.   After the death of his parents he worked by the month for neighboring farmers until his marriage and then rented a small farm on which he lived until 1854, when he removed to Appanoose County, Iowa, and settled in Johns Township, on section 35, near the present site of Plano, entering a tract of 160 acres from the Government, which he still owns.   Improving this farm he lived on it until 1880, when he moved to his present residence, on section 28, where he owns 171 acres.   When twenty-one years of age he received $100 from his father's estate, and this was his only assistance, his property being the result of many years' hard work and close attention to his pursuits.   Mr. Mann was married in 1846 to Susan Codrick, of Madison County, Indiana.   She shared his trials and assisted him to make a home on the prairie, remaining his companion and helpmeet until 1879, when she died, leaving one son: Peter C.   In 1881 Mr. Mann married Mrs. Rachel Glasgow, of Wayne County, Iowa, a widow with five children.   He has been a member of the Baptist church thirty-one years, of which he has been an active member, and for fifteen years has been deacon.



JOHN B. MARING, of the firm of Johnson & Maring, Centerville, Iowa, was born in Somerton, Belmont County, Ohio, May 17, 1833.   His father, Jacob M. Maring, was a native of New Jersey, of German ancestry, and in 1808, accompanied his father, John Maring, to Belmont County, Ohio, where he married Rebecca Bruce, a native of Ohio, of German descent.   Their family consisted of six children: Sarah J., Eleanor, Mary A., John B. and Thomas B. (twins), and Lucinda.   The latter died in June, 1875.   She was the wife of James Eikleberry, of Exline, Iowa.   In 1858 the family moved to Appanoose County, Iowa, and settled on a farm in Caldwell Township, near Exline, where the mother died in February, 1878, aged over seventy-five years.   The father died in May, 1883, aged eighty-three years, while on a visit to his daughter at South Bethany, Indiana.   In the spring of 1863 Mr. Maring came to Iowa and until 1874 was employed as a clerk in Centerville.   In October, 1873, he was elected auditor of Appanoose County and filled this office three terms, of two years each.   In February, 1880, he became associated with W. S. Johnson in the clothing and furnishing-goods business, under the firm name of Johnson & Maring.   In politics Mr. Maring is a Republican.   He has served two years as a member of the city council and three years as a member of the Board of Supervisors of Appanoose County.   October 23, 1871, he was married at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, to Miss S. E. Martin, a daughter of Rev. Joshua and Hannah (Dilley) Martin, the former a Methodist clergyman and an early settler of Iowa.   Mr. and Mrs. Maring have one child: Lena.   They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.   He is a member of the Odd Fellows order, lodge and encampment.



WILLIAM JEFFERSON MARTIN, constable of Center Township, was born in Buchanan County, Missouri, January 8, 1841, but was principally reared in Sangamon County, Illinois, whither his parents had moved when he was about six years of age.   His father died when he was about sixteen years of age, and he was then thrown on his own resources.   He worked at farming in Nebraska and Sangamon County, Illinois, till the breaking out of the Rebellion, when, in August, 1861, he enlisted in the defense of his country as a private in Company D, Thirty-third Illinois Infantry, known as the Normal Regiment, Colonel Charles E. Hovey, commanding.   He was afterward promoted to Second Duty Sergeant.   He participated in the battles at Fredericksburg town and Cotton Plant, and other skirmishes in Missouri and Mississippi.   He was discharged at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, in December, 1863, on account of ill health.   After his discharge he returned to Sangamon County, Illinois, and worked on a farm until September, 1864, when he came to Iowa and lived in Delaware County till 1865, when he returned to Illinois, and after settling up his business went to Lawrence County, Missouri, and engaged in farming till the fall of 1868, when he moved to Appanoose County, Iowa, and located on a farm in Franklin Township, subsequently living in Pleasant and Caldwell townships.   In 1872 he moved to Centerville, and worked in the coal mines until January, 1878, when he was injured by the falling of the roof of the mine, and was unable to perform manual labor for nearly three years.   In the fall of 1884 he was elected constable of Center Township for a term of two years, and is serving in an efficient and satisfactory manner.   He was married September 3, 1864, to Margaret E. Hall, of Springfield, Illinois.   They have a family of five children: John R., William A., Elbert G., Caroline A. and Eugene.   Mr. Martin is a comrade of John L. Bashore Post, No. 122, G.A.R., of which he is Sergeant-Major.



JAMES N. MAY has been a resident of Appanoose County since the spring of 1865, his home being on section 18, Walnut Township.   He is a native of the Sucker State, born in Scott County, November 19, 1838, a son of James W. and Mary Ann (Forrest) May.   His father was born in East Tennessee, August 8, 1805, and his mother in Pike County, Missouri, in August, 1817.   They were married in Scott County, Illinois, in 1835, and in 1845 moved to Wapello County, Iowa, and thence in 1853 to Van Buren County.   The next year they went to Lee County, where on the old plank road, ten miles northwest of Keokuk, they kept tavern until 1856, when they went to Adair County, Missouri, buying a farm nine miles east of Kirksville.   In 1864, to escape the ravages of civil war, they sold out at a great sacrifice and moved across the border into Appanoose County, locating near Walnut City.   In 1868 they moved to Cincinnati, where the father died April 10, 1876.   He was a lineal descendant of General Sevier, an officer in the Revolution, and the first Governor of Tennessee.   The mother died in January, 1882.   The family consisted of fourteen children, three by a former marriage, all of whom are dead.   One daughter, Mrs. Parmelia J. McDowel, died in Jefferson County in 1883.   The children born to the second marriage are: Thomas J., of Cincinnati; James N.; Mrs. Margaret Morrow, of Cincinnati; Frank M., who served through the war a member of the Twenty-seventh Missouri, now lives in Smith County, Kansas; Jasper, a member of the Thirty-ninth Missouri Mounted Infantry, was killed at Centralia, Missouri, September 27, 1864; Mary A., Harriet E., Martha M. and John H. live on the old homestead, Cincinnati, Iowa. Mrs. Elizabeth Gilbert lives in Lyons County, Kansas ; William F. died in 1883.

James N. May enlisted July 15, 1861, in Company D, Twenty-first Missouri Infantry, Colonel David Moore's command, and for many months saw hard service in Northeast Missouri, warring against rebel bands and guarding property.   He participated in over twenty skirmishes, many of them quite sharp, but not historical.   His regiment being sent to the front he was at the battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and was sent with a detachment of his command under General A. J. Smith on the Red River expedition.   He was a faithful, gallant soldier and was honorably discharged at Nashville, Tennessee, in December, 1864.   He joined his parents in Iowa, and June 22, 1869, was married to Miss Mary L. Wentworth, who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, January 9, 1847, daughter of Caleb Wentworth, late of Centerville.   Mr. Wentworth was a judge in the Illinois courts when Lincoln practiced law there, and for many years mayor of Centerville, Iowa.   He died January 30, 1878, aged sixty-four years.   His wife preceded him in January, 1862.   Mr. and Mrs. May were both teachers in the public schools.   They commenced housekeeping on section 18, Walnut Township, where they own a good farm of 120 acres.   Renting the farm in 1873, Mr. May moved to Cincinnati and bought a nursery, and continued in that business six years, when he sold his town property and returned to his farm.   Mr. and Mrs. May have a family of nine children: Lillie Esther, James Wentworth, J. Sevier, Grace W., Frederick N., Emel J., Edna E., Eugenia and William Forrest.   Mr. May and his family are members of the Christian church. He is a member of John L. Bashore Post, No. 122, G.A.R.   In politics he is a Republican.



WILLIAM MILLER MCCREARY, druggist, Centerville, Iowa, was born in Brooke County, Virginia, October 13, 1837, a son of William and Action (Harper) McCreary, both natives of Virginia, of German descent.   His parents having a large family he, at the age of ten years, began to work as a chore-boy on the farms in the vicinity of his birthplace.   In 1856 he came to Iowa, and located at Centerville and was first employed as a teamster or cattle driver.   In October, 1856, he was employed as clerk in the store of William Bradley, with whom he remained until the spring of 1858, when he went to Kansas, returning the following winter, and in the spring of 1859 took a trip to the mining regions of Colorado.   In the fall of 1859 he returned to Centerville and again entered the store of William Bradley, remaining until July, 1862, when he enlisted in Company G, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and on the organization of the company was appointed First Lieutenant.   In March, 1863, he was discharged on account of disability and returned to Centerville.   After recovering sufficiently he visited his old home in Virginia, in the fall of 1863, and on returning to Centerville was again employed by Mr. Bradley.   In September, 1865, he entered the employ of F. M. Drake, and remained until 1867.   In 1868 he engaged in farming near Centerville, and in 1869 was employed as clerk in the drug store of Dr. S. W. Wright, and in 1873 engaged in business for himself.   In December, 1872, he was married to Julia Lane.   They have two children: Harrie and Frank B.



JAMES MERRITT, auditor of Appanoose County, Iowa, was born at Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana, April 17, 1850.   He is a son of Moses and Lucy A. (Nugen) Merritt, early settlers of Center Township, where he was reared, being but five years of age when his parents came to Iowa.   He attended the common schools till fifteen years of age, and then began clerking in the mercantile stores of the city.   He was with William Clark a year, and with General F. M. Drake six years.   In 1871 he and his brothers, George W. and Thomas, formed a partnership, under the firm name of Merritt Brothers, and engaged in the general mercantile business.   In 1883 they, in addition to their other business, began operating in coal.   They sunk the shaft known as the Standard, which they are still working, employing a large number of miners.   In politics Mr. Merritt is a Republican.   In 1881 he was elected treasurer of Centerville, an office he held two years.   In November, 1885, he was elected auditor of Appanoose County.   He is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge, chapter and commandery of Centerville.   He was married February 16, 1875, to Miss Flora Chatterton, of Centerville.   They have had four children, but three are living: Edith, Roy and Lucy.   Their eldest, Edward, died October 16, 1877, aged six months.



MOSES MERRITT is a native of Centerville, Wayne County, Indiana, born July 4, 1823.   He was reared in his native county, remaining there till the spring of 1855, when he removed to Mercer County, Illinois, and engaged in farming near New Boston one season.   The following November he came to Iowa, and settled on a farm in Center Township, Appanoose County, where he lived two years.   In 1857 he removed to Centerville and engaged in general merchandising with Caleb Wentworth, under the firm name of Wentworth & Merritt, until the spring of 1862, when the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Merritt went to Idaho Territory and worked in the mines near Idaho City three years.   In the fall of 1865 he returned to Centerville, where he lived retired from active business several years and then took the management of the mercantile establishment of his sons, the Merritt Brothers.   In January, 1886, he was appointed deputy auditor of Appanoose County, his son, James, having been elected auditor.   October 10, 1844, Mr. Merritt was married in Centerville, Indiana, to Lucy Ann Nugen.   They have had six children, four of whom: George W., James, Thomas and Linna, are living.   The sons are in business together in Centerville, and Linna is the wife of William Ulrich.   A daughter, Terressa, wife of K. Harris, died in August, 1870, aged twenty-two years, and a son, Ephraim, died in 1864, aged three years.   Mr. and Mrs. Merritt are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.   He is a member of Jackson Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M.



HON. JOSHUA MILLER, attorney at Centerville, was born in the year 1822, in Columbiana County, Ohio, a son of Rev. John J. and Elizabeth (Koontz) Miller, who were both natives of Pennsylvania and of German ancestry.   His father was an adherent of the Lutheran faith, his ministerial labors being confined to the western reserve in Ohio.   He died in Stark County, Ohio, about the year 1826.   The mother married again, living till 1847, when she died in Bartholomew County, Indiana.   Our subject left his home at the age of twelve years, going to Louisville, Kentucky, where he began to learn the carpenter's trade, which he followed in that city till seventeen years of age.   He then worked at his trade in Lawrence County, Indiana, about six years, when he went to Ozark Mountains, Missouri.   The following year he went to St. Louis, and in the spring of 1846 he came to Iowa, locating first at Farmington, Van Buren County, where he worked on the Croton Mills for some time.   He came to Appanoose County in the fall of 1850 and began breaking prairie land.   In his youth his educational advantages were very limited, but by reading and private study he acquired a fair business education.   At intervals from 1844 to 1855 he studied law when Hon. H. Tannehill became his preceptor, and in 1856 he was admitted to the bar at Centerville.   He then engaged in the practice of law at Centerville, which he has since followed with the exception of about two years, which he spent in Colorado for his health.   While at Pike's Peak, Colorado, in 1860, he with others was chosen by the Territorial convention to formulate a code of laws.   In politics he was formerly a Whig, and was one of the organizers of the Republican party in Appanoose County, since which he has voted that ticket.   In the spring of 1856 he was elected justice of the peace and served one term of two years.   In 1876 he was elected State Senator of the Fourth Senatorial District of Iowa.   Mr. Miller was married July 8, 1844, at Leesville, Lawrence County, Indiana, to Rhoda A. Swindler of that place, who died at Centerville, March 15, 1883.   Seven children were born to this union: Arthur M., a farmer of this county; Sara E., wife of John F. Stephenson, a farmer near Centerville; Frank, a farmer and coal operator; Charlie A., civil engineer in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway Company; Lee L., of Centerville; Henry R., a law student, and Anna, attending the Centerville schools.   Mr. Miller has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1844, and has always held some position in the church, and at present is a class-leader.   He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Jackson Lodge, No. 42, at Centerville.



ROBERT H. MILLER, farmer, section 28, Independence Township, was born in Columbia County, New York, July 19, 1824, a son of Simeon and Elizabeth (Bedell) Miller.   In 1827 his parents moved to Cayuga County, New York, and there he grew to manhood.   His mother kept a hotel in Victory and Conquest Center and most of the young life of our subject was spent in the hotel business.   He was married April 19, 1847, to Lucina Taylor, a native of Victory, New York, born September 28, 1825, a daughter of Nicholas and Anna (Shephard) Taylor.   In 1851 Mr. Miller moved with his family to Shabbona Grove, De Kalb County, Illinois, and the following year he went via the overland route to California, where he spent three years in mining and prospecting.   The usual fate of miners was his, a life of adventure, excitement and toil, with its ups and downs, now rich or about to be, and again poor.   In 1856 he returned home, poorer than he left, and the same year came to Iowa, first making his home in Henry County.   In 1857 he moved to Lee County, and thence in 1867, to his present home in Appanoose County.   He owns a fine farm of eighty-five acres and in 1885 built a very convenient and comfortable frame residence.   October, 1864, Mr. Miller enlisted in the war of the Rebellion and was assigned to Company B, Ninth Iowa Infantry, and served until the close of the war, participating in three hard-fought engagements.   Mr. and Mrs. Miller have four children: Robert H., Jr., of Johns Township ; Rosalinda, wife of Marion Sales, of Mitchell County, Kansas; Willard H., of Republic County, Kansas, and Mary L. at home.   Two children are deceased.   Their eldest, also named Rosalinda, died aged six years, and Myron P. died at the age of two years.



REV. RANDOLPH M. MOORE, was born in Hampshire County, Virginia, September 16, 1832.   His father, Josiah Moore, was born in 1777, in Maryland, of English descent, and his mother was a native of Fauquier County, Virginia, of German descent.   They were married in Hampshire County, and our subject was the tenth of their eleven children.   He was early inured to the labor of the farm, his schooling in his youth being limited to a few weeks in the winter season.   Being endowed by nature with a desire for an education he made the best use of his opportunities, and when of a proper age he entered Hillsboro Theological College, where he remained two years, and then entered Randolph-Macon College, in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, intending to pursue a regular course and graduate, but sickness compelled him to leave school at the end of the first year, and after regaining his health he was obliged to teach school to get the money to pay his expenses home.   When twenty-one years old, he united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and while at Hillsboro was licensed to preach.   After returning from college he was given an appointment by his presiding elder, and labored on Highland circuit a year and Glennville circuit the same length of time.   His next charge was on Weston circuit, Lewis County, where he remained until 1860, when he severed his connection with the Methodist Episcopal church and was ordained a minister in the United Brethren denomination.

In 1861, Mr. Moore being loyal to his country, his position became a trying one.   He was visited by an armed band of rebels, who plundered his house of everything of value, including wearing apparel.   The citizens rallied to his relief, the rebels were driven from the neighborhood with some loss in numbers.   November 11, 1861, Mr. Moore enlisted in Company C, Tenth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and spent the first eighteen months in guarding property, scouting, and watching bushwhackers and guerrillas.   He was at one time captured, but was enabled to escape by the co-operation of the rebel officer in command, Lieutenant Mallory, who was an old friend.   In 1863 his regiment was attached to the army operating in the valley of Virginia.   July 2, 1863, he was captured at Beverly and taken to Libby Prison, from which he was paroled and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was exchanged, and rejoined his regiment in April, 1864.   He served under General Mulligan until that officer was killed, near Strasburg.   He participated with the Eighth Corps in the famous battle at Cedar Creek.

After a service of three years and four months he was honorably discharged, and in April, 1865, became a resident of Appanoose County, Iowa, located in Independence Township, on section 16, where he now owns 110 acres of valuable land, his residence, which was erected in 1880, being one of the best in the neighborhood.   When he left his native State he was a member of the Parkersburg Conference of the United Brethren church, but on coming to Iowa labored for a time with the Methodist Protestant church, subsequently, however, returning to the United Brethren.   Much of his time in Appanoose County has been devoted to the work of the Master, holding himself always in readiness to give religious instruction or consolation, and being always glad to proclaim the gospel whenever or wherever the people will listen.   Mr. Moore was married February 24, 1858, to Miss Maria Myers, who was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, November 25, 1831, a daughter of Jonathan and Malinda (Reed) Myers.   Her father died when she was but three years old, and her mother in November, 1883, aged eighty-one years.   Mr. and Mrs. Moore have had eight children: Hannah, wife of George Scott, of Independence Township; John J., of Harper County, Kansas; Sally Ann, wife of William Talkington; Charles W., Mary Jane (died aged thirteen months), Ida May, Jemima E., Benjamin F. and Thomas R.



HON. SAMUEL MILTON MOORE was born near Troy, Ohio, January 15, 1830.   In 1844 his parents moved to the western part of Van Buren County, Iowa, and thence in 1847 to Lee County.   From fourteen till twenty years of age he worked on his father's farm, not attending school a week in the entire time.   In his twenty-first year he entered the preparatory department of Farmers' College, near Cincinnati, attending one year.   He was then variously employed for another year, when in 1852 he entered the Des Moines College, which he attended a school year.   In 1853 he began teaching, an occupation he followed almost continuously in Lee and Appanoose counties eight years, and in the meantime read law under the preceptor-ship of Miller & Fee, of Centerville.   He was admitted to the bar at Centerville in 1862, and at once began the practice of his profession.   In 1861 and 1862 he was county superintendent of schools.   In 1863 he was elected judge of Appanoose County, and held the office by re-election seven years; at the same time for four years he was recorder of the county.   In 1870 the Legislature abolished the office of county judge, and he then became ex-officio county auditor.   December 25, 1852, Judge Moore married Miss Mary J. Pendergast, of Lee County, Iowa.   They have five children: Alice E., wife of S. W. Lane ; James A., William G., Irvin and Charles M.   Judge Moore is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows orders.   He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.



W. F. S. MURDY, M. D., residing at Moulton, Iowa, is a native of Pennsylvania, born near Ryerson's Station, Green County, December 28, 1854, the eldest son in a family of nine children of Andrew J. Murdy.   The father was a native of Pennsylvania, but is now a resident of Appanoose County, Iowa.   His wife, the mother of our subject, was born in West Virginia.   Her death occurred in the year 1871.   W. F. S. Murdy, whose name heads this sketch, passed his youth on his father's farm, receiving a good education in the public schools of his native county.   He came to Appanoose County, Iowa, at the age of seventeen years, and entered the schools of Centerville where he studied three years.   He then taught school for two winters, during which time he studied medicine with Dr. M. V. Howell, of Moulton.   He attended his first course of lectures in 1875-'76, at the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis, Missouri, from which institution he graduated in 1878.   After receiving the degree of M. D. he returned to Moulton, where he entered upon the practice of his chosen profession.   During the eight years of his residence at this place he has built up an unusually extensive practice, having in fact, more than he can do.   His younger brother, W. C. Murdy, who is now reading medicine will, when fully prepared, share Dr. Murdy's labors.   The Doctor is recognized throughout Appanoose and Davis counties, Iowa, and also in the adjacent part of Missouri, as a skillful and reliable physician, and as a surgeon he has gained an enviable reputation.   The Doctor was united in marriage in 1879 to Miss Laura Phelps, the eldest daughter of Alpheus Phelps, of Kirkville, Missouri.   Three children have been born to this union: Serelda S., Lorain A. and Robert B. C.   Dr. Murdy takes an active interest in the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Security Lodge, No. 317, A. F. & A. M.   He is also a member of Moulton Lodge, No. 297, I.O.O.F.



GEORGE WEST NEEDLES, proprietor of the city livery stable and omnibus line, at Centerville, Iowa, was born near Columbus, Ohio, December 3, 1849.   He lived in his native city till twenty years of age, learning in his youth the carpenter's trade.   From 1870 till 1876 he was employed at bridge building in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.   In 1877 he began traveling for a Columbus firm, which he continued three years.   In July, 1879, he came to Iowa and engaged in the livery business in Centerville, to which, in 1884, he added his omnibus line.   August 23, 1883, he was married to Madge C. Jones.   He is a charter member of Centerville Lodge, No. 64, K. of P.



DANIEL PENCE, one of the old settlers and a representative farmer of Taylor Township, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1818, the third son of Daniel and Catherine (Chase) Pence, both natives of Pennsylvania.   His father died in 1819, leaving the family in limited circumstances and the children were early obliged to work for their own maintenance.   He remained with his mother until eleven years of age, and then began to work on a farm, living with one man about seventeen years, and in the meantime worked in a flour-mill.   This was in Muskingum County, Ohio, where his mother had removed with her family.   He was married when twenty-seven years of age to Jane Fisher, of Muskingum County.   He worked in the mill about three years after his marriage, and then engaged in agricultural pursuits until the fall of 1855, when he moved to Appanoose County, Iowa, locating on the farm where he now lives a mile southeast of Moravia.   He bought 160 acres for which he gave his note for $1,200, and then went to work to pay his indebtedness, and every note was paid before due.   He cut large quantities of prairie grass and sold the hay at $15 a ton.   He has been a successful stock-raiser, keeping only the best grades.   He now has 1,000 acres of choice land, all well stocked, and his improvements are noticeable for their commodiousness and convenience.   His large brick residence is one of the best in the county.   Mr. Pence has a family of six children, five sons and one daughter.



ADDISON PENDERGAST, farmer, Lincoln Township, Appanoose County, was born in Ripley County, Indiana, in 1840, and when eight years of age accompanied his parents to Lee County, Iowa, and ten years later to Lincoln Township, Appanoose County.   He was reared a farmer, remaining with his parents till the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, when, in 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Fifth Kansas Infantry, and the latter part of the year was transferred to the Sixth Kansas Cavalry.   The regiment was on scouting duty the most of the time and when in an engagement in Missouri was captured and sent to Tyler, Texas.   In December he, with three others, John Miller, J. M. Asher and David Stanton, escaped by passing forged passes on the guard.   After seventeen days of traveling at night and hiding in the day they were recaptured and were confined in various prisons, until 1865, when they were exchanged and sent to New Orleans and thence to Leavenworth, Kansas, where they were discharged.   Just previous to his capture he was wounded, and received no medical aid until he reached Paris, Texas.   He is still a sufferer from his wound, having only a partial use of his right arm.   In politics Mr. Pendergast is a Republican.   He is a comrade of John L. Bashore Post, No. 122, G.A.R.   He was married in 1865 to Miss Elmira Snedeker.   They have two children: Frank and Clinton.



DAVID PEUGH was born in Floyd County, Virginia, January 12, 1819, the third of a family of seven children of Levi and Jane (Watkins) Peugh, natives of Loudoun County, Virginia.   When he was about ten years of age his parents moved from Montgomery County, Virginia, to Wayne County, Indiana, and there his father died five years later.   He remained with his mother until manhood, and then went to Washington County, and thence to Bartholomew County, Indiana, where he worked on a farm.   In the spring of 1854 he removed to Iowa and located in Appanoose County, on the farm where he now lives, on section 15, Johns Township, entering 160 acres from the Government.   His land at that time was open prairie, and his first house was a round-log cabin.   He began at once to raise grain and fatten hogs, and in this way got a start toward what is now a successful business.   For several years he was one of the leading sheep-raisers in the county, but of late has devoted his attention to cattle-raising.   From a humble beginning Mr. Peugh has, by hard work and good management, become one of the most prosperous citizens of Johns Township.   He was married in 1842, in Bartholomew County, Indiana to Miss Nancy E. Needham, a native of Jennings County, Indiana, born Mary 4, 1824, the eldest daughter of Enoch and Lucretia (Spaulding) Needham, her father a native of Randolph County, North Carolina, and her mother of Woodford County, Kentucky.   Mr. and Mrs. Peugh have had a family of seven children: Samuel E. enlisted in the war of the Rebellion in Company I, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Mark's Mills, April 25, 1864, and died the 27 th of the same month; Lucretia J. is the wife of John Baird, of Centerville; Nancy A. is the wife of Hugh Baker, of Kansas; David P., of Johns Township; William H., of Jewell County, Kansas; Sarah J. is the wife of Maltimore Needham, and Charles A. is at home.



GEORGE D. PORTER, attorney at law, Centerville, Iowa, was born in Williamstown, Perry County, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1846.   His parents were Rev. George D. and Sarah J. (McCoy) Porter, the former of Irish and the latter of Scotch ancestry.   Both are now deceased.   In 1851 he accompanied his parents to Tipton, Cedar County, Iowa, where his father, who was a Presbyterian clergyman, was pastor of the church, and there he grew to manhood and was educated in the intermediate and high schools.   When eighteen years of age he began teaching school, and taught in Cedar County, Iowa, and Ray County, Missouri, until 1870, when he entered upon the study of law in the office of the Hon. George W. Dunn, at Richmond, Ray County, Missouri, and the same year was admitted to the bar.   He soon after located at Moulton, Appanoose County, Iowa, where he practiced till the fall of 1877, when he removed to Centerville, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice.   In politics he was a Republican until 1877, and since then has voted independent of party.   In the spring of 1870, while living at Richmond, Missouri, he was elected city solicitor for one term.   In March, 1883, he was elected mayor of Centerville and served one term.   June 6, 1871, he was married at Richmond, to Hannah R., daughter of J. H. and Lydia ( Jennings ) Rodman.   They have five children: Claud R., Sadie L., Northa I., George McCoy and Anna M.



WILLIAM D. POWELL, editor and publisher of the Moulton Tribune, was born December 15, 1834, in Greene County, Virginia, the son of Jackson T. and Mandanna (Yowell) Powell.   His parents moved in an early day to Cass County, Illinois, where Mr. Powell, Sr., and a Dr. Hall laid Virginia, which afterward became the county seat.   About 1840 the family removed to Randolph County, Missouri, where Mr. Powell was engaged in farming until his death, in 1862.   Mrs. Powell yet lives in Randolph County, with a son-in-law.   Their son, William D., lived at home until twenty-one years of age.   He then taught, farmed and merchandised in turn.   In 1882 he purchased the Clarence Courier, in Shelby County, Missouri, and this paper he ran until September, 1884, when he removed to Moulton, this county, and took charge of the Tribune.   He was married in 1858 to Matilda F. Dameron, of Randolph County, Missouri.   Their three children are named Anna K., Ida M. and Effie J.   Mr. and Mrs. Powell and one daughter are members of the Christian church.   Mr. Powell is politically a Republican.   In 1878 he was elected a representative in the State Legislature of Missouri, holding that office two years.



JOSIAH J. PRATT is a native of the State of New York, born in Avon, Livingston County, October 4, 1833.   In October, 1854, he left home and went to St. Charles County, Missouri, and engaged in farming with his uncle, Josiah Pratt, until 1856.   He then returned home and a little later went to Ypsilanti, Michigan, and in the fall of 1859 he enlisted in the regular United States army as a private in Company D, Fourth Cavalry, and in 1864 reenlisted and served seven years and six months.   He served on the frontier until the breaking out of the Rebellion, when his regiment was assigned to the Department of Texas.   He participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the war and was a brave and intrepid soldier.   At the close of the war he was ordered with his regiment to San Antonio, Texas, where he remained a year.   He was discharged the first of July, 1867, and soon after came to Iowa and located in Appanoose County, engaging in farming in Bellair Township until 1881, when, on account of ill health, he retired from farm life and removed to Centerville.   October 9, 1864, he was married to Lucy A. Tuttle, and to them have been born five children.   Mrs. Pratt is a member of the Baptist church.   Mr. Pratt is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the John L. Bashore Post, No. 122. G.A.R.