Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa
New York, Chicago: Lewis publishing Co., S. Thompson Lewis, editor. 1903
Transcribed by Renee Rimmert. A complete copy of this book is available on-line at archive.org.
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O. H. LAW - In America, above all other countries, are true worth, character, perseverance and steady, intelligent effort appreciated and rewarded, and it is our privilege in this short article to sketch the career of a man who has risen to the top under difficulties that would have discouraged anyone with less of the true American grit and energy. The parents of this gentleman were Thomas and Rachel (Booth) Law, who were born, reared and married near Senecaville, Ohio, and after their marriage came west and settled on a farm in Wells township, Appanoose county, Iowa. Thomas Law had learned the tailor's trade and followed it for many years, until failing health compelled him to take up some outdoor work. He accordingly engaged in farming and is now living retired in Moulton, Iowa.
O. H. Law is one of seven children, four sons and three daughters, and his birth occurred on a farm just south of Moulton, on February 1, 1857. His early education was limited to what he could secure in the first eleven years of his life. At that age he was put to the hard and uncongenial work in the woolen mill at Moulton, and he labored there until he was nineteen years old. Finding no profit in such employment and being unable to reconcile it to his higher views of life, he left the mill and for a while did whatever came to his hands, sawing wood and odd jobs. He was determined to gain an education, even at that late date, and with commendable effort graduated from the Moulton high school in 1878. He then taught school for a total of thirty-six months, studying law in the meantime. In 1880 he was admitted to the bar and at once began practice in Centerville, soon building up a good practice.
Mr. Law's political career is also worthy of notice. He has always been a Democrat; although living in a strongly Republican community, he has been chosen to many offices. For two years he served as deputy county auditor; in 1881 he was elected county auditor and was re-elected; for one term, from 1888 to 1890, he was city solicitor of Centerville. In all these offices he has evidenced his business push and blameless integrity. In 1886 Mr. Law branched out into the real estate, loan and abstract business and has developed a large and lucrative business. His brother has been associated with him since 1889, and in 1894 the firm was incorporated as the Law Brothers Company. Mr. Law is known as a hustler and is certain to make a success of any enterprise which he undertakes. He was married in 1880 to Miss Anna Deeds, and they have two children. The family is one of the most respected in the town and has a large circle of friends.
OBADIAH LAWTON - The above named, now living in retirement at Mystic, spent the greater portion of a long life in the arduous and trying work of coal mining. He may be said to have inherited this calling, as his father, James Lawton, was a miner in England many years ago and continued that occupation until the end of his life. He was a religious man and a strict member of the Anglican Wesleyan Methodist church, his life being of such an exemplary character as to prove an example to his fellow miners. He married Ann Cooper and their seven children were Robert, John, Ralph, William, James, Rachel and Obadiah, none of whom are now living except the last mentioned.
Obadiah Lawton, youngest of the family, was born in Staffordshire, England, March 25, 1826, and in October, 1854, lost his father by death. Finding little to encourage him in his native land, Obadiah resolved to emigrate, and when still a lad found himself in the United States searching for a job. Naturally he turned towards the mining regions, and succeeded in getting work in the coal mines of West Virginia, which for many years was continued in the coal-producing sections of Pennsylvania and Illinois. Having wearied of this employment and saved some money, Mr. Lawton came in 1881 to Iowa and settled in Appanoose county near Brazil. Eleven years after his arrival in the county he took up his abode in the town of Mystic and since 1891 has lived a retired life in that place. As the result of industrious habits and much hard work, Mr. Lawton has laid up a sum sufficient to make him comfortable for life and to assist his children, some of his property consisting in farm land in Appanoose county. In 1857 he was married to Agnes Brown, and the children by this union are thus recorded: Mary Ann, deceased; Jennie, Maggie, Lizzie, Lena, Sarah. Robert, James, William, David and Obadiah.
JAMES VALENTINE LESENEY - Among the earnest and enterprising men whose depth of character and strict adherence to principles excite the admiration of their contemporaries, James Valentine Leseney is prominent. Banking interests are the heart of the commercial body, indicating healthfulness of trade, and the bank that follows a safe, conservative business policy does more to establish public confidence in times of wide-spread financial depression than anything else. Such a course has the Farmers and Merchants' Bank of Cincinnati followed under the able management of its officers, one of whom is Mr. Leseney, the popular and well known cashier. For some time he has been one of the most prominent and active business men of this place, and his efforts have been of benefit to the city, while they have also promoted his individual prosperity.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Leseney was born in Miami county, near the town of Fletcher, on the 14th of February, 1858, his parents being Jonathan and Jane (Garbry) Leseney, who were also natives of Miami county. The paternal grandfather, William Leseney, was born in Pennsylvania and spent the greater part of his life in Ohio. John Garbry, the maternal grandfather, was also a resident of the Buckeye state throughout the greater portion of his life. The parents of our subject were married in Miami county and to them were born five children, one of whom died in childhood. Those still living are William L., a resident of Oklahoma: Frances E., the wife of N. A. Robertson, of Promise City, Iowa; James V., of this review: and Justice M., who is a railroad passenger conductor of New Mexico, running on the Santa Fe road. In 1862 the father brought the family to Iowa, settling upon a farm near Cincinnati, where he carried on agricultural pursuits for about a decade. In 1872 he took up his abode in the town and for ten years was proprietor of the Cincinnati hotel. In 1882 he turned his attention to merchandising, conducting a general store in connection with his son James. This was sold out in 1893 and in that year the Farmers and Merchants' Bank was organized by Mr. Leseney, his son and N. A. Robertson, the bank being opened for business on the 3rd of January, 1894. The father was connected with this institution until his death, which occurred December 18, 1900, when he was nearly seventy-five years of age, and since that time his widow has held his interest in the bank. Mr. Leseney was a staunch Republican in politics, and in ante-bellum days was an Abolitionist. He held membership in the Christian church, was an untiring worker in its behalf and was one of the organizers of the church of that denomination in Cincinnati. His life was permeated with his Christian faith and in his relations with his fellow men he largely exemplified the precept known as the golden rule. His widow still survives him and is now living in Cincinnati, at about the age of seventy-five years, her birth having occurred on the 3rd of January, 1828. She, too, is a member of the Christian church and a most estimable lady.
Under the parental roof James V. Leseney was reared. He attended the schools of Cincinnati and from an early age has been an active factor in the business life of this locality. His parents removed to the town when he was fourteen years of age, and he was twenty-four years of age when he became a partner of his father in the establishment and conduct of a general mercantile store, which they successfully carried on for eleven years. In 1893, however, they sold out in order to give their attention to the banking business. In that year they were joined by N. A. Robertson in the establishment of the Farmers and Merchants' Bank, which now enjoys an enviable reputation as one of the leading institutions in this part of Appanoose county. From the organization Mr. Robertson has served as president and Mr. Leseney as its cashier. Since its organization the bank has enjoyed a constantly increasing patronage. It has always followed a safe, conservative policy, which has commended it to the support of the public, and its officers and stockholders are men of well known reliability and unquestioned business honor.
In 1884 occurred the marriage of Mr. Leseney and Miss Adda Armstrong, a daughter of J. H. B. Armstrong, who was formerly a resident of Cincinnati, Iowa, but is now deceased. They have one son, Chester A., who, with their niece, Myrtle O. Mallum, constitutes the household. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and in his political views is a Republican. Mr. Leseney is recognized as a very wide-awake, progressive business man, whose life seems to typify the enterprising spirit that has ever dominated the Mississippi valley and has led to its wonderful development. His success has been the result of honest, persistent purpose and effort in the line of honorable dealing and manly principles. His aims have always been to attain the best and he has carried forward to successful completion whatever he has undertaken. His life has been marked by a steady growth, and now he is in the possession of a comfortable competence, and more than all has that contentment that comes from the conscience of having lived to a good purpose.
 Clarence W. Lewis |
CLARENCE W. LEWIS - It is the universal opinion that success in business is the result of industry and application rather than any special talent, and in fact what obstacle can stand long before these cardinal virtues? In the city of Centerville there grew up a great business, known as the Lewis Lumber Company, which was the result of the hard work and progressive business skill of two men, S. Lewis and his son. And we shall here give in brief detail the main points of the life of Clarence W. Lewis, who did so much for the welfare of his city and at his death left the priceless legacy of a good name. His parents were Seth and Celina (Woodworth) Lewis, the former a native of Connecticut and of Welsh ancestry. They were married in Illinois and about 1865 located in Marengo, that state, where he engaged in the banking business, having previously dealt in lumber. |
Their son, Clarence, was born in the village of Blackberry, Illinois, February 7, 1855, and was educated in the common schools, and at an early age entered his father's bank. In 1880 he was married and then went to Trenton, Missouri, where, in connection with his father, he engaged in the lumber business. But they remained here only two years and in 1882 came to Centerville, where they established an extensive lumber concern. They also had branches in Seymour, Jerome and Mystic, Iowa; the father located in Seymour, where he managed the lumber yard and also conducted a bank; there his heath occurred in 1893, after a long and prosperous career in different lines of commercial activity. In 1894 the Lewis Lumber Company was incorporated with the following officers: C. W. Lewis, president and treasurer; L. W. Lewis, vice president, and C. M. Crego, secretary. From the beginning this company enjoyed a large patronage and it occupies large yards and sheds, covering fully a half a block of ground. By its ability to buy in immense quantities the firm has been able to sell at reduced prices, at the same time offering the very best lumber in the market, and thus the concern has become one of the sources of pride to the citizens of Centerville. Mr. Lewis continued at the head of this enterprise until his death, which took place on April 4, 1901. And thus passed away a man whose influence for good was everywhere felt and whose remarkable success in the business field will long serve as a memorial to his strong, honest, forceful character. In 1880 Mr. Lewis was married to Carrie M. Safford, a native of Marengo, Illinois, and the daughter of Frank and Wealthy (Hanchett) Safford, pioneers of Illinois from New York. There are five living children; Louise, Lawrence, John, Howard and Carrie May.
JACKSON LUSE , who resides on section 17, Taylor township, Appanoose county, where he owns and operates two hundred and forty acres of good land, besides forty acres in section 25, Chariton township, was born on the old homestead farm in this county, April 8, 1855. His father, Aaron Luse, was one of the pioneer settlers here and was a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, born March 12, 1819. The grand-father was William Luse, a native of Pennsylvania, who removed from the Keystone state to Ohio and there spent his remaining days. Aaron Luse was reared in Ohio, where he remained until nineteen years of age, and then went to Missouri, while later he became a resident of Illinois. At the age of twenty-two he was united in marriage in Van Buren county, Iowa, to Miss Martha Smith, who was born October 26, 1821, near Cleveland, Ohio, and with her parents went to Van Buren county, Iowa, when this state was still a territory. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Luse was celebrated on the 24th of January, 1841, and ten years later they became residents of Appanoose county, Iowa. The father secured a tract of government land which he transformed into one of the best farms of the township. He also successfully engaged in the raising of stock, and he improved his fields with modern equipments, planting an orchard, building a large barn, also a comfortable home and other buildings upon his place. He set out one of the first orchards in the county and took an active interest in the agricultural development of this section of the state. Honorable in all things, his word was as good as his bond, and he left to his family an untarnished name. His death occurred August 25, 1881, when he was sixty-two years of age, and his wife passed away August 3, 1898, at the advanced age of nearly seventy-seven years. Both were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Luse served as steward and also as Sunday school superintendent for a number of years. His wife was an invalid for a quarter of a century. In their family were eight children: Mrs. Rosetta Cline, whose husband died of the measles contracted in the Civil war, and who is living in Moravia; Mrs. Sarah J. Skinner, of Moravia; Mrs. Martha Foster, who is a widow living in Taylor township; Laura E., the wife of Rev. George M. Andrews, of Adams county, Nebraska; William J., of Gordon Grove, Iowa; Jackson, of this review; Mary, the wife of T. J. Turner, of Moravia; and Douglas, who died at the age of eleven months.
Jackson Luse was reared upon the old family homestead, where he was early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity. He attended the public schools to a limited extent, and by reading, study and investigation in later years has become a well informed man. At the age of twenty-one he was united in marriage to Miss Mina Kaster, who was born in Chariton township, Appanoose county, and was reared and educated here. Her father, Robert Kaster, was one of the early and prominent settlers of the county, a native of Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Indiana, and from that state came to Iowa. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary McDaniel, and she, too, was born in Pennsylvania. She is now living in Chariton township, at the age of seventy-eight years, but Mr. Kaster passed away at the age of seventy- four years. He was a farmer by occupation and gave his political support to the Democratic party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mrs. Kaster also belongs. For a number of years he was a class leader in the Fairview church and was one of the active workers and liberal supporters of the church. In this family were ten children: Mrs. Huldah J. Worthington, of Hamilton county, Nebraska; Mrs. Mary E. Boyer, of Chariton township; Robert H., of this county; Mrs. Luse; James M., of Monroe county, Iowa; Mrs. Hannah E. Gladfelder, of Chariton township; William and Benjamin, who have passed away; and Nancy, who was the firstborn and died at the age of nine years, another daughter, Mrs. Australia Worthington, died at York, Nebraska.
Reared upon the home farm Jackson Luse has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and the nursery business, except two years which were spent in the village of Maine, and ranks among the leading farmers of his portion of the state. In 1892 Mr. Luse established a fruit nursery on his home place, which he conducted successfully for almost ten years, closing it out to engage more exclusively in agriculture. For two years he conducted a mercantile business in Maine and served as postmaster during that time. He has upon his property a good house, good barn and a fine orchard of ten acres, around which is a half mile of evergreen trees to serve as a wind-break. The buildings for the shelter of grain and stock are substantial and commodious, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance. The greater part of the farm of two hundred and forty acres is under a high state of cultivation, and the owner is regarded as one of the successful men of his locality.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Luse has been blessed with seven children : Effie V., the wife of J. W. McDaniel, of Chariton township; Elbert A., who is living in the same township; Robert E., Lloyd E., Guss E., Cody Jackson and Coy E., all under the parental roof. Mr. Luse gives his political support to the Republican party and is a recognized leader in this locality. For four years he served as assessor of his township and was re-elected in the fall of 1902; was also justice of the peace and township trustee, and in the discharge of his official duties he has been most prompt and faithful. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, and every movement for the benefit of his community and tending to promote advancement in all material, social, educational and moral lines receives his support and endorsement.