Past and Present of Appanoose County, Iowa. Volume II
Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company. L.L. Taylor, editor. 1913
Transcribed by Renee Rimmert. A complete copy of this book is available on-line at archive.org.
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MARTIN BOUGHNER, The life span of Martin Boughner covered eighty-five years and the record was one which brought him respect and good-will, for while he never sought to figure prominently in public life he was in all of his business dealings reliable and enterprising and the success which he won was gained through honorable, straightforward methods. He was born in Pennsylvania, September 15, 1826, a son of Richard and Mary (Robb) Boughner, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania. In early life the father went to Germantown, Indiana, where he engaged in the hotel business, spending his remaining days there. He was born in 1801 and departed this life in 1888, having for about four years survived his wife, who died in 1884.
Martin Boughner remained a resident of Pennsylvania until seventeen years of age, and during that period acquired a good common-school education. He then went with his parents to Indiana where he learned the carpenter's trade, at which he worked until the spring of 1855, when he removed to the vicinity of Centerville, Appanoose county. A year later he took up his abode in Centerville, where he remained for a year, working at his trade. He afterward purchased eighty acres of land near this city and set about developing and improving it, making his home thereon until 1878, when he and his sons went to Kansas where he entered a claim from the government. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made upon their property but with characteristic energy they began to till the soil and cultivate the fields, Mr. Boughner remaining there until his death, which occurred September 10, 1911, when he had reached the venerable age of eighty-five years.
He was a young man of twenty-five years when on the 12th of January, 1852, he married Catherine Hittle, a daughter of Henry and Catherine (Bohrer) Hittle. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1809 and there he learned the blacksmith trade. In 1844 he removed westward to Germantown, Indiana, where he engaged in blacksmithing, conducting his shop until the death of his wife. He had married Catherine Bohrer who was born in Germany in 1807 and passed away in 1863. Mr. Hittle afterward made his home with his children in different places, thus passing his time until his death, which occurred in 1880. At the time of the Civil war his patriotic spirit was aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union and he enlisted with the regiment known as the Iowa Graybeards, being composed of elderly men whose age would have exempted them from military duty had they so desired.
Mr. and Mrs. Boughner were the parents of three children. Viola, the eldest, became the wife of Samuel Conger on the 23rd of February, 1871. Her husband was for many years engaged in farming in this county but is now living retired in Exline, having acquired a handsome competence that enabled him to put aside other business cares. To Mr. and Mrs. Conger have been born the following children who are yet living, while one, Chloe C, who was born July 28, 1872, died in Livingston county, Missouri, March 5, 1877. The others are Emma R., Roxie C, Elsa B., Martin I., Jacob R., Mary M., Ruth E., Benjamin W. and Clifford R.
William Henry Boughner, the elder son of Martin Boughner, is the owner of a four hundred and forty acre farm near Downs, Kansas, while Jacob W., now retired, owns a farm of fifteen hundred and twenty acres in Kansas.
Martin Boughner at one time served as justice of the peace in this county and his political allegiance was always given to the republican party from the time of its organization until his death. His religious faith was that of the Methodist church to which he was ever loyal, contributing generously to its support and aiding in its work. His widow and her children are also members of that church. Mr. Boughner was respected wherever known and most of all where he was best known. He lived a consistent, earnest Christian life and the many sterling qualities of manhood and citizenship which he displayed gave him firm hold upon the affectionate regard of friends and neighbors as, well as his family.
BENJAMIN F. BRADLEY - Among the respected and valued residents of Numa is numbered Benjamin F. Bradley, who for over fifty years has lived in Iowa. This has covered the period of the state's greatest growth and progress and in the work of general advancement Mr. Bradley has borne his full share as the years have gone by. Of late he has lived retired, although for a long time he gave his attention and energy to his business interests, which were extensive and important. A native of Indiana, he was born in Morgan county, August 18, 1846, a son of John and Sarah Jane (Elliott) Bradley, the former a native of Clark county, Indiana, and the latter of Kentucky. The father was a farmer by occupation and when he came to Appanoose county in 1854 he purchased land in Lincoln township and gave his entire attention to its development and improvement for many years, winning at length honorable retirement. When he abandoned active life he moved into Seymour and there resided until his death, which occurred in 1897. His wife survived him two years, dying in 1899.
Benjamin F. Bradley was eight years of age when he came to Appanoose county with his parents. He was reared and educated in Lincoln township, where he attended district school. During the period of the Civil war, being no longer content to remain at home while the issue of the struggle was doubtful, he enlisted in Company I, Third Iowa Cavalry, joining his regiment in February, 1863, and serving until the close of the war. He participated in many hotly-contested engagements and on the field of battle gave unmistakable proof of his valor and loyalty. He was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, in August, 1865, and afterward returned to Appanoose county and engaged in farming. For ten or fifteen years he gave his attention entirely to agricultural pursuits and then moved into Numa, where for some time he operated a coal mine. After fifteen years he sold out his interests to the Centerville Block Coal Company and was elected a member of the board of county supervisors. He served for three years and when his term of office expired retired from active life and has since lived in Numa, enjoying the rest and comfort which are the reward pf his well directed work in the past. However, he still gives personal supervision to his important business interests, especially those connected with the Numa Mutual Telephone Company, of which he is president.
On the 31st of December, 1867, Mr. Bradley was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Adamson, a daughter of Joseph and Mary A. (Walker) Adamson, natives of Ohio, who came to Appanoose county in 1856. The father purchased land here and operated a profitable general agricultural enterprise until his death. He was born in England, near Leeds, and learned the cabinet-maker's trade in his native country. Coming to America in 1801 he first settled near Cincinnati, Ohio, being there more or less connected with his trade, although most of his time was given to his farming operations later.
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley became the parents of nine children: Gertrude, the wife of J. W. Richardson, of Oregon; Minnie, who married George Humphrey, a farmer in Appanoose county; Sadie, who married William Thompson, of Washington state; Laura, now Mrs. E. W. Porter, of Numa; Lawrence B., who is engaged in farming in Appanoose county; John F., who is a barber in Centerville; Ida, the wife of Perry Cooley, of Centerville; and Allie and Ethel M., both of whom have passed away. Mr. Bradley is a member of the Methodist church and belongs to Centerville Post, G. A. R., delighting to meet his old comrades and recall the events which occurred on the southern battlefields. He was in the last engagement of the Civil war, which took place at Columbus, Georgia, at nine o'clock on the night of the i6th of April, 1865. Three hundred members of his regiment forced their way into the breastworks guarded by thirty-five hundred rebels and after a sharp conflict took possession of the enemy's post. Twenty-five men were killed in the engagement, but Mr. Bradley escaped with his life. However, owing to the hard conditions of living during the days of the war he contracted stomach trouble and his health has been affected by this since that time. Mr. Bradley has always been stanch in his support of the republican party and has served as trustee of Bellair township and is at present justice of the peace. Always a loyal and public-spirited citizen, he is interested in the growth and advancement of his community and has given his cooperation to many movements for the public good. Unflagging industry and determination have constituted the basis of his success, enabling him as the years have passed to so conduct his business interests as to win honorable retirement and a high position among the representative and prominent men of Appanoose county.
D. C. BRADLEY, Honored and respected by all, D. C. Bradley occupies a prominent position in commercial and financial circles in Centerville, nor are his efforts and activities limited by the confines of this city. He is connected with banking interests in various sections of the state and the respect entertained for him is not less the result of his success than of the straightforward, honorable business policy that he has ever followed. His business activities never seek nor require disguise, having been based upon the rules which govern strict integrity and unfaltering industry. Mr. Bradley is, furthermore, recognized as a leader in the progressive movements which have for their object the welfare and upbuilding of Centerville. There are many tangible evidences of his public spirit and his practical efforts in behalf of the city and as one of its councilmen he has exercised his official prerogatives in support of projects of reform and improvement. He was born in this city, August 13, 1858, and is a son of William and Amanda T. (Campbell) Bradley, of whom extended mention is made on another page of this volume. His youthful days were passed under the parental roof and his public school education was supplemented by a course in Parson's College at Fairfield, Iowa, and further study in Monmouth College, at Monmouth, Illinois. His more specifically business training was received in Duff's Commercial College at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated with the class of 1876. Upon his return home he made his initial step in the business world in connection with the First National Bank, previously founded and conducted by his father. From that time to the present he has been active in the conduct of the bank, assuming more and more largely the responsibilities of management and control, and at the present time he is vice president and the largest stockholder in the institution. His success in this field has led him to extend his efforts over a wide territory in connection with the banking interests of Iowa and he is now president of the Fairfield National Bank at Fairfield, of the First National Bank at Seymour, the Farmers State Bank at Promise City, Bradley Savings Bank at Exline, and Bradley's Bank at Mystic. He is likewise the vice president and a large stockholder of the Iowa State Savings Bank of Centerville, of the Moravia State Savings Bank of Moravia, the National Bank of Bloomfield and is also interested in six other Iowa banks. Still this does not indicate the extent of his activities nor of his resourcefulness for he owns a controlling interest in the Centerville Light & Traction Company, operating street-car lines in Centerville and an interurban line between this place and Mystic, a distance of six miles. It also furnishes the electric lighting for both Centerville and Mystic and furnishes the electric power for the operation of the gas and heating plants. It was through the efforts and sound judgment of Mr. Bradley that all of these enterprises were made possible and he was likewise the founder and promoter of the Pure Ice Company, becoming associated with S. A. Martin in the erection of an ice plant, the firm being the only ice dealers of the city. Mr. Bradley likewise organized the Centerville Brick Company in which he owns a controlling share of the stock and he is heavily interested in the coal industry in this vicinity, having been identified with the development of coal properties in this section for the past twenty years. One of his mines known as No. 30 has a capacity of five hundred tons daily. As he thus continually extended his industrial and financial interests Mr. Bradley has also made judicious investment in realties and is now one of the largest land owners of the state, having considerable holdings in farm lands in Appanoose county. In all of his business affairs he looks beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities of the future. He seems to have almost intuitive perception as to the possibilities for successful accomplishment in any given connection, recognizing both the difficulties and the chances which his sound judgment weighs to a nicety, foretelling with remarkable accuracy the result.
In December, 1885, Mr. Bradley was married to Miss Cora M. Stubbs, a daughter of D. P. and Carrie H. (Hollingsworth) Stubbs, who are natives of Indiana. The father, a lawyer by profession, removed to Fairfield, Iowa, at an early day and became one of the most noted and successful members of the Iowa bar, practicing continuously in Fairfield until his death, which occurred May 5, 1905. His widow still resides in that city. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have become parents of two children: Bettina, twenty-three years of age, the wife of T. M. Stuart, assistant attorney general of Colorado, their home being in Denver; and William S., fourteen years of age, a student in the Centerville schools. The Bradley residence is a palatial one, having been erected in 1909 at No. 519 Drake Avenue. Its furnishings are all that wealth can secure and refined taste suggest, and its hospitality, cordial and unfeigned, is one of its most attractive features. In the building of this beautiful home Mr. Bradley displayed his faith in Centerville and its future. He has ever been active and earnest in his efforts to promote the welfare of the city, cooperating in every movement which works for its betterment. He has served for a number of years as a member of the city council and through his efforts many public improvements have been introduced. For the past nine years he has been president of the school board and to his efforts may largely be contributed the erection of the present high school building which is a credit and ornament to the city. His political allegiance has ever been given to the democratic party but his interest in good citizenship is above partisanship.
He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church to which he contributes liberally, seeking the moral as well as the material and intellectual progress of the city. He has accomplished much in public affairs as well as in private life. After all there has been nothing spectacular in his business career, his success being founded upon close application, indefatigable energy and keen sagacity. At the outset of his career he realized the eternal truth that industry wins - and industry became the beacon light of his life. He is a typical man of the times, representing the progressive spirit of the age. Starting out in life without any vaulting ambition to accomplish something especially great or famous, he has followed the lead of his opportunities, doing as best he could anything that has come to hand and seizing legitimate advantages as they have arisen. He has never hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open and although content with what he attained as he went along he has always been ready to make an advance. Fortunate in possessing ability and character that have inspired confidence in others, the simple weight of his character and ability have carried him into important relations with large interests.
JOHN R. BRADLEY - Through well-directed activity and enterprise John R. Bradley has gained a high place in the business circles of Centerville, where since 1892 he has been engaged in general contracting and building. He was born in Morgan county, Indiana, August 9, 1850, and is a son of William H. and Martha (Elliott) Bradley, the former born in Clark county, Indiana, January 30, 1826, and the latter in Kentucky, February 20, of the same year. Mr. Bradley's paternal grandfather was Benjamin Bradley, a native of the south. His wife was born in Ireland. The mother of our subject removed from Indiana to Kentucky when she was still a child and there her marriage occurred. Immediately afterward Mr. and Mrs. William H. Bradley came to Iowa, locating in Appanoose county, where they purchased eighty acres of land in Vermillion township, adding to it from time to time until the farm comprised six hundred and eighty acres. Upon this the father engaged in general farming but later gave much attention to buying and shipping stock, carrying on an extensive business along this line for a number of years. His wife passed away in 1881 and six years later the father sold the farm and went to Numa, where he engaged in the mercantile business. He remained there for eight years and then sold his business interests and moved to Centerville, where he made his home with the subject of this review. Later he moved to Mount Pleasant and there his death occurred at the home of his daughter, Melvina Boydston. For many years he was active in the Masonic order, holding membership in Centerville Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M.
John R. Bradley acquired his education in the district schools of Appanoose county and in the Centerville high school. After he laid aside his school books he helped his father with the work of the farm until he was married, after which he moved upon a portion of the homestead, which he developed and improved for some time. In 1884 he learned the carpentering trade and worked at it for wages for eight years, after which he established himself independently as a contractor and builder, in which work he is still active. He has erected some of the finest and most attractive business houses and residences in Centerville and the surrounding district and has handled much valuable property, doing a very extensive and profitable business.
Mr. Bradley has been thrice married. His first wife was in her maidenhood Miss Mary Crist, a daughter of John and Mary Ann Crist, the former a farmer in Appanoose county. The first Mrs. Bradley died one year later and in 1884 the subject of this review wedded Mrs. Martha C. Brown, a daughter of Addison and Rhoda (Bryant) Veach, the former born in West Virginia and the latter in Galesburg, Illinois. Both came to Appanoose county in the early '50s and there the father learned the blacksmith's trade, later opening a shop in Centerville. Afterward he removed to Numa and engaged in the same business until his death, which occurred in 1895. His widow returned to Centerville and died in that city at the home of the subject of this review. Mrs. Martha Bradley passed away on the 11th of February, 1902, and on the 29th of December, of the following year, Mr. Bradley was again married. His third union was with Miss Ann Spooner, a daughter of James B. and Catherine (Bryant) Spooner, the former a native of Indiana, born in 1828, and the latter of Galesburg, Illinois, where her birth occurred in 1833. The father came to Iowa in 1846 and entered eighty acres of government land in Center township, Appanoose county. A few years later the mother came and in this section their marriage occurred, after which they settled upon the farm, where they passed the remainder of their lives, the mother dying in 1898 and the father on the 29th of April, 1905. Mr. Bradley had one daughter by his second marriage, Martha, who was born May 10, 1890, and who died October 9, 1911. During her life she was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star at Centerville. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley are devout members of the Methodist church.
Mr. Bradley gives his allegiance to the republican party and has held various responsible township offices, for he never seeks to avoid the duties of citizenship. Fraternally he is connected with Centerville Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M. Throughout his business career he has always faithfully discharged any obligation devolving upon him and has thus established a reputation for integrity and reliability, his name being an honored one wherever it is known.
WILLIAM BRADLEY - No history of Centerville would be complete without extended reference to William Bradley who for many years was a controlling factor in business circles not only of this city but of this section of the country, his operations covering southern Iowa and northern Missouri. In fact he became one of the successful business men of the state and his life record illustrates most clearly what can be accomplished when determination and energy lead the way, although one is hampered at the outset by lack of opportunities. He was, indeed, a self-made man, deserving all the praise and honor which that term implies.
A native of Pennsylvania, William Bradley was born near Pittsburg, on the 18th of December, 1825, a son of James and Phoebe Bradley. The father was a carpenter in very moderate circumstances and as his son William was the eldest in a family of seven children it became necessary that he early provide for his own support. As soon as old enough to assist in the work of the farm he took his place in the fields and was occupied with the plowing, planting and harvesting in spring, summer and fall, leaving him only the winter months in which to attend school and acquire such education as the schools of his locality afforded. He was about twelve years of age at the time of his mother's death and for two months thereafter he worked on the Weatherspoon farm near his old home. He afterward went to Frankfort Springs, where he remained two years in humble labor that left him no leisure. He washed dishes, aided in the cooking and performed the work of a hostler. While his services brought him little pay the spirit of industry and diligence was developed in him with a recognition that earnest, persistent effort will eventually win. As a farm hand in the employ of Robert Patterson, near Burgettstown, he earned three dollars per month during the summer season and in the winter worked for his board and the privilege of attending school. There he remained for three years when he received an increase of a dollar per month for his services as a farm hand with a man living near Florence, Pennsylvania. Again he utilized the winter seasons in the attainment of an education. 'After a year and a half there passed he entered the government employ in carrying the mail from Washington to Georgetown, the distance made during the week being two hundred and forty miles, while his compensation was six dollars per month and board. He remained in this service for six months and saved all his earnings, ambitious and eager to avail himself of better opportunities, and when he thought he saw a chance for improving his condition he eagerly embraced it. Leaving the government service, at which time his capital consisted of thirty-six dollars, he began peddling. Going to Pittsburg he invested twenty-five dollars in novelties and started out to dispose of his goods, traveling from house to house. Four years thus passed, during which time he sold his goods at a profit, and he thus made an upward step on the journey of life. After he ceased peddling he spent a year in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, and then turned his attention to the buying and selling of livestock.
Like hundreds of other young men Mr. Bradley was attracted to California by the discovery of gold and the consequent increased business activity along various lines resulting from the great influx of settlers. In the spring of 1849, therefore, he started for the west by the overland route and after a wearisome journey of ninety days reached Sacramento on the 15th of July, 1850. He then sought a favorable business opening and purchased an interest in a fishery, but after a short time sold out and purchased a team and began hauling hay to the mountains. With him, however, as with the great majority of others, the mines proved an irresistible attraction and he made his way to what was known as the Yankee Jim mines. In his search for the precious metal he met with fair success but after twenty-one months disposed of his interests there and returned to New York by way of the isthmus, reaching his old home at Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, on the 5th of December, 1852. There through the following year he engaged in buying and shipping wool and stock but in the spring of 1854 determined to remove to Iowa, having heard favorable reports of the country and its opportunities. At Pittsburg he purchased watches, jewelry and table linen and at Cincinnati added to his stock some oilcloths. Thus equipped he arrived at Keokuk, Iowa, about the first of May and for a month peddled goods in that city. He then sent part of his stock to Eddyville while he started on foot, peddling his goods along the way. He had disposed of the entire amount before he reached Eddyville and then taking the goods that he had shipped to that place upon his back he started for Des Moines, reaching that city with nothing of his stock remaining except one watch. He then traded watches with a hack driver who agreed to take him in his hack to Iowa City. From that point he walked to Muscatine, proceeded by boat to Rock Island and thence by train to his old Pennsylvania home. At Steubenville, Ohio, he had built a peddling wagon according to his own ideas, calling it the Star of the West. By this time his peddling business had reached considerable proportions and he admitted a partner, John Fugate, an old California friend. Purchasing a stock of goods at Philadelphia they shipped them with the Star of the West to Keokuk and after reaching that city purchased a team of horses and started out upon the trip which brought them through southern Iowa, visiting en route Bloomfield, Centerville, Corydon, Leon and Garden Grove. At the last named place Mr. Bradley purchased his partner's interest and continued in the peddling business until he had disposed of all his stock. The next spring he again purchased a stock in Philadelphia and once more went upon the road. Later he traveled for two years with Mabry's Menagerie and Sands & Nathan's Circus, auctioneering goods at the various towns visited. After leaving the show he shipped his stock from place to place where he did an auctioneering business.
It was about that time, or in the fall of 1855, that Mr. Bradley was married to Miss Amanda T. Campbell, who was born in Virginia and in the spring of 1855 accompanied her parents to Iowa, the family settling near Winterset, in Madison county. In the spring following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Bradley arrived in Centerville where he purchased a lot and erected a store building twenty-two by one hundred feet. During the course of its construction he rented a room and sold goods. His business had increased to such an extent that he now employed several salesmen and two men drove ox teams in hauling his building material and goods from the river. With the completion of his store he went to Philadelphia where he purchased a stock of goods valued at thirteen thousand dollars. He then continued merchandising until the fall of 1859, when he traded his store for a tract of land a mile and a quarter east of the city and in the following spring took up his abode upon the farm. After crops had been planted, however, he returned to the east, again purchased a large stock of goods and resumed merchandising in the building which he had previously erected. He was thus identified with commercial activity in Centerville until 1864, when he sold out. In the meantime he had embarked in another field of activity, having in February, 1863, organized the First National Bank. From that time until his death he was closely associated with banking, with farming and with the live-stock business. From the establishment of the bank his success was almost phenomenal and the prosperity which attended that undertaking led him to extend the scope of his activities into other fields. In 1870 he established a bank in Trenton, Missouri, soon afterward one at Princeton, Missouri, and later one at Allerton. None of these four banks failed or suspended during the financial panic of 1873, owing to the conservative business policy which Mr. Bradley instituted and followed. On the contrary, he soon afterward added to his interests by founding the Bradley Bank of Bloomfield; this was followed by the First National Bank of Milan, Missouri; the National Bank at Unionville, Missouri, in 1884; a bank at Eldon, Iowa, in 1888; one at Moulton, in 1891; and the Mystic Bank, in 1892. He afterward disposed of his interests at Trenton and at Milan but remained a factor in the ownership and conduct of the eight other banks, becoming recognized as one of the most prominent financiers of the state. His judgment was sound, his enterprise unfaltering and whatever he undertook he carried forward to successful completion. He also won substantial prosperity along agricultural lines, becoming the owner of ten thousand acres of very valuable land in Iowa, his farms all being well stocked with high-grade cattle and horses.
Mr. Bradley would never brook obstacles that could be overcome by determined, earnest and honorable effort. When one avenue seemed closed to him he would hunt out another path which would lead him to his destination. Moreover, he never regarded any step as final but rather as the starting point for further accomplishment. But it was not alone his success that made Mr. Bradley one of the most prominent and honored residents of southern Iowa. His personal characteristics commended him to the confidence and good-will of all. As a citizen he worked for the continuous upbuilding and development of Centerville, withholding his cooperation from the movement which he believed would contribute to its material growth and improvement or to its intellectual and moral advancement. He held membership with the Presbyterian church and was an earnest, Christian man, unostentatious yet loyal in his professions and exemplifying in his daily walks of life the teachings of his church. He gave freely where aid was needed, was ever ready to speak a word of encouragement or to extend a helping hand. There were indeed in his life record many traits worthy of emulation. He passed away May 15, 1896, and was survived by his wife until the 14th of February, 1904. He had for forty years been a resident of Centerville, honored and esteemed by all, the simple weight of his character and ability having carried him into important relations with large projects. The benefit of his influence, his activity and example is immeasurable but all accord to him prominence as one whose efforts have been of great value and worth in the upbuilding of the county.
 Isaac Brokaw |
ISAAC BROKAW, now seventy-nine years of age, is living retired in Centerville, but for many years he was closely associated with business interests as a manufacturer and farmer. Moreover, as a veteran of the Civil war he is entitled to representation in this volume, for during the dark hours of our country's history he espoused the Union cause and carried arms in its defense. He was born in New Jersey, December 11, 1833, a son of John and Eunice (Whitenack) Brokaw, both of whom were natives of New Jersey and of German descent. The father was a farmer by occupation and at an early day removed from the east to Indiana, purchasing land in Hancock county, that state. For some time he continued the cultivation and development of his farm there, after which he removed to Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life in general agricultural pursuits, his death there occurring in 1852. His wife was accidentally killed by a falling tree ten years before. |
Isaac Brokaw was but four years of age when taken by his parents to Indiana and in the public schools of that state he obtained his education, but his opportunities were somewhat limited owing to circumstances over which he had no control. At the time of his mother's death, which occurred when he was not quite ten years of age, his father put him out to work and from that time forward he depended upon his own labors and resources for a livelihood. In the fall of 1862, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to respond to the country's call for aid and enlisted as a member of Company E, Thirty-fourth Indiana Infantry, with which he served for two years and two months, when he was honorably discharged on account of disability. His health had become greatly impaired during his strenuous military service and for a long time after the war he was unable to do much work. Finally, however, he purchased land in Indiana which he improved and cultivated for a long time. He also engaged in the manufacture of tile there for nine years and through his carefully directed business affairs met with a substantial success. In 1882 he came to Appanoose county and purchased one hundred and fifty-one acres of land in Bellair township. This he at once began to improve and develop, continuing its cultivation for nine years, at the end of which time he rented the place and retired from active business life. Establishing his home in Centerville, he purchased a residence at No. 718 East State street which he entirely remodeled and has since occupied.
On the 16th of August, 1855, Mr. Brokaw was married to Miss Elizabeth Hughes, who was born February 24, 1836, in Ireland, a daughter of William and Maria (Stinson) Hughes, who were natives of the north of Ireland and were Protestants in religious faith. The father was a farmer by occupation and came to the United States in 1838. After a short residence in Ohio he removed to Indiana, where he bought and improved a farm near Anderson, continuing its cultivation throughout the remainder of his days. He died in 1882 and for eight years was survived by his wife, who passed away in 1890.
Mr. and Mrs. Brokaw became the parents of seven children, as follows: William, who is engaged in the real-estate business in Wyoming; Charles, a merchant of Albia, Iowa; Edward F., a resident of Centerville, Iowa; Cyrenes, the proprietor of a restaurant at Centerville; John Emery, who passed away in 1864; one, who died in infancy; and Eunice Maria, whose demise occurred in 1893.
Mr. Brokaw maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in the Grand Army post. He votes with the democratic party but has never sought or desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs while he was still an active factor in commercial and agricultural circles. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and have lived earnest, consistent Christian lives. They are people of the highest respectability and their circle of friends in Appanoose county is an extensive one. They have now traveled far on life's journey and can look back over the past without regret, for they have made good use of their time and opportunities and in their relations with their fellowmen have always attempted to follow the Golden Rule.
 Edward Broshar |
EDWARD BROSHAR - Deeds of valor, as displayed by the soldier on the battlefield, have been the theme of song and story since the world began. No greater bravery has ever been displayed than was manifest by the Union veterans of the Civil war when they marched to the south to defend the stars and stripes - the emblem of an undivided country. Among this number was Edward Broshar, who joined an Iowa cavalry regiment and thus defended the cause which he espoused. He was born in Indiana, August 26, 1838, a son of John Broshar, who was a farmer by occupation and owned and tilled a tract of land in the Hoosier state until 1855, when he disposed of his property there and came to Iowa, settling in Appanoose county, where he purchased a farm which he continued to make his home throughout his remaining days. |
Edward Broshar was largely reared and educated in Indiana, being seventeen years of age when he came to Appanoose county with his parents. He worked on his father's farm for a number of years and then went to Kansas, where he engaged in farming on his own account for three years. He then bought and improved a tract of land in Appanoose county which he cultivated for an extended period, but at length ill health, the result of paralysis, forced his retirement and he removed to Centerville, purchasing a home in the city. He thereafter rested from further labor. His life up to that time had been an extremely busy and useful one and his energy and industry were the basis of the success he achieved, making him the possessor of a comfortable competence. The only interruption to his continued activity in business up to the time of his retirement came when he enlisted for service in the Civil war on the 15th of August, 1861, joining Company M, Third Iowa Cavalry, with which he served until the 9th of August, 1865. He participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and never faltered when facing the foe, so that he returned home with a most creditable military record.
 William H. Nicodemus |
The first wife of Mr. Broshar was Miss Minerva Funkhauser, who was born in Iowa, December 5, 1839, and reared there. She was a woman of many excellent traits of character and became the mother of ten children. She died in May, 1898. On the 12th of August, 1900, Mr. Broshar was married to Mrs. Mattie E. Smith, a daughter of William H. and Ruby (Cozad) Nicodemus. Her father was born in Maryland, August 23, 1835, and her mother in West Virginia, October 24, 1841. He was a farmer by occupation and in 1854 became a resident of Des Moines county, Iowa, where he lived for five years. In 1859 he went to Henry county, this state, where he was employed as a farm hand until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted as a member of Company G, Eleventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry. With the boys in blue of that regiment he marched to the front and served throughout the period of hostilities, taking part in the long, hard campaigns and in many hotly contested battles. |
He was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, July 15, 1865, and for a year thereafter remained in that city but in the fall of 1866 came to Appanoose county and purchased one hundred acres of land in Independence township. This he at once began to improve and cultivate, operating his farm until 1879, when he sold out and came to Centerville, Iowa. Here he was employed in different ways until the time of his retirement. He is now living with his daughter at No. 315 East Van Buren street, having long survived his wife, who passed away in August, 1889. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. By her former marriage Mrs. Broshar had one son, Fred H. Smith, who is now twenty-three years of age and is a photographer of Denison, Iowa.
The death of Mr. Broshar occurred on the 31st of March, 1909, and he left behind him many friends. While not a member of any particular church, he had a strong leaning toward the Christian church and contributed to its support. His widow is a member of the Methodist church. Politically Mr. Broshar was a republican, supporting the party which was the defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. He held the office of notary while living at Walnut and was a member of the board of supervisors in Appanoose county. He belonged to the Grand Army post and found pleasure in meeting with his old comrades among the boys in blue. He was always as faithful and loyal to duties of citizenship in times of peace as in days of war and was a man in whom many sterling traits of character gained him high regard.
SCHUYLER C. BROWN, proprietor of a livery stable in Centerville, is well known in Appanoose county, of which he is a native. His birth occurred in a log cabin on a farm in Sharon township, August 22, 1855, his parents, Samuel L. and Mary A. (Collins) Brown, having been pioneer residents of this part of the state. The father was born in Virginia and the mother in New York. He was a tailor and worked at his trade for some years in Indiana, to which state he removed when it was a frontier section. Afterward he came to Iowa and took up his abode in Appanoose county, again becoming associated with pioneer life, for this county was then but sparsely settled. He entered from the government one hundred and twenty acres of land five miles east of Centerville, on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made. He at once began to clear and cultivate the place and succeeded in transforming it into rich and productive fields. Upon that farm he continued to make his home until his death, both he and his wife passing away in 1888.
Schuyler C. Brown was reared and educated on the old home place, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In the winter months, when the work of the farm was largely over for the year, he attended the district schools and he remained with his parents until they were called from this life, after which he purchased the interests of the other heirs in the old home property. He then carried on general agricultural pursuits on his own account until December, 1903, when he sold the farm and came to Centerville. For a year thereafter he engaged in teaming and then established a livery barn which he has since conducted. He keeps a number of horses and a fine line of vehicles and in all of his business dealings is enterprising and reliable, so that a liberal patronage has been accorded him.
In April, 1895, occurred the marriage of Mr. Brown and Miss Rachel Shepard, a daughter of Mrs. Sarah Shepard, a native of Missouri, who is now making her home with Mr. and Mrs. Brown, at the age of sixty-six years. Four children were born to our subject and his wife: Ruby, who is sixteen years of age; Doud, aged fourteen; Lucille, whose death occurred in 1905; and Crystal, aged five.
Mr. Brown filled the office of township clerk in Sharon township, while living upon the farm, and has always been an ardent republican in politics but never an active politician. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist church and are interested in its work and the expansion of its interests. They reside at No. 1011 South Eleventh street and are well known here. Mr. Brown has been a resident of the county for fifty-seven years and has therefore witnessed practically its entire growth and development, for in his boyhood there were still tracts of land owned by the government, while the work of cultivation and improvement seemed scarcely begun. He has lived to witness the building of railroads, the introduction of the telegraph and the telephone and the establishment of many modern improvements, which indicates that the county is in every respect abreast with the improvement of the present day.
WILLIAM H. BROWN - One of the well known and highly esteemed residents of Centerville is William H. Brown, who since 1900 has been connected with the store of M. B. Maring. He was born in Ogle county, Illinois, December 12, 1853, and is a son of David and Louisa (Brooks) Brown, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. The father was a carpenter by trade and in the '40s went to Ogle county, where he was connected with building operations until 1859. He then removed with his family to Kansas when it was yet a territory and there worked at his trade in a town called Black Jack, receiving fifty cents per day for his labor. After two years they were driven out by the Indians and the famine, Mr. Brown trading his homestead of one hundred and sixty acres for a team of horses, harness and wagon, with which he traveled to Missouri. That was in the spring of 1860. Soon afterward he offered his services to the government as a soldier of the Civil war, enlisting in Company D, Twenty- second Missouri Cavalry, with which he remained for four and one-half years, or until victory crowned the Union arms. He then returned to Missouri, purchased a home and worked at his trade a part of the time while the remainder of his time was devoted to general agricultural pursuits. He cultivated rented land in addition to his forty acre tract and for a number of years he successfully carried on farming in that state. In 1895, however, he came to Mystic, Appanoose county, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in April, 1899, when he was seven- ty-five years of age, for he was born on the 9th of February, 1824. His wife, who was born January 10, 1823, passed away April 21, 1885.
William H. Brown was reared and educated in Missouri and when seventeen years of age began earning his living as a farm hand, in which capacity he was employed for two years. He was then married and began his domestic life upon a rented farm in Appanoose county, to which he had removed in 1872. He carried on general agricultural pursuits here for twelve years and then removed to Mystic, where he began mining coal, continuing in that business for about five years. Later he served a four years' apprenticeship at the carpenter's trade, at which he afterward worked for about three years, when he returned to the mines, this time as a pit carpenter. He was thus engaged at Rathbun for four years, after which he removed to Centerville in 1900 and entered into his present business connection.
Mr. Brown was married on the 1st of December, 1873, to Miss Louisa J. O'Neil, a daughter of George W. and Corellia Ann (Potteroff) O'Neil. The father, who followed farming in Appanoose county during the greater part of his life, died in 1907, while the mother passed away in 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown have been born seven children: John F., who was born February 19, 1875, and is engaged in farming in South Dakota; Mona A., born November 24, 1876; Lyda A., born March 22, 1878; Laura E., born May 15, 1881; George W., born March 23, 1883; Thomas C, born in September, 1884; and Mary, born August 11, 1887. The wife and mother passed away in 1889 after a two years' illness and on the 14th of January, 1893, Mr. Brown was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary L. Mclntyre, a daughter of Alfred and Elizabeth E. (Gillespie) Mclntyre, natives of Indiana. The father was a farmer by occupation and at an early period in the development of Monroe county, Iowa, cast in his lot with its pioneer settlers and there he cultivated a farm until 1866, when he came to Appanoose county, purchasing forty acres of land which he began to develop and improve, giving his attention to its cultivation since. Most of the time he has also rented other land. He is living on the farm, at the age of eighty years, and his wife is seventy- nine years of age. By the second marriage of Mr. Brown there were two children: Edith I., who was born August 17, 1895; and Ernest C, who was born September 2, 1898, and lived only twelve days. Mrs. Brown is a native of Monroe county, Iowa, born November 3, 1850. The family residence, a comfortable home at No. 904 West State street, is proverbial for its warm-hearted hospitality and good cheer.
Mr. Brown served as road commissioner of Lincoln township and while at Rathbun was for four years a member of the school board. He has always been actively interested in matters relating to the public welfare and gives hearty and helpful aid to many movements for the general good. Politically he is a democrat, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist church. To his profession he is always loyal and his has been an honorable, upright life, commending him to the good-will of all who know him.
BRYANT BROTHERS - THOMAS J. BRYANT & CHARLES W. BRYANT, engaged in the automobile business, are well known, enterprising young men who are proving that energy and industry constitute a substantial foundation on which to build success. They are natives of Davis county, Iowa, Thomas J. Bryant having been born in October, 1880, while Charles W. Bryant was born in March, 1882. They are sons of Alfred and Elizabeth (Peninger) Bryant, also natives of Iowa. The father, who was born in Davis county, owned and operated a farm there until 1891, when he came to Centerville, where he engaged in teaming until 1903. He then turned his attention to the butchering business and is still conducting a meat market on South Eighteenth street, near the Burlington depot.
Thomas J. and Charles W. Bryant attended the public schools of Davis county and of Centerville, and in his youthful days the latter served a four years' apprenticeship to the machinist's trade in the Keokuk & Western Railroad shops here. He afterward spent four years in the employ of the government as a machinist in the Rock Island arsenal. Thomas J. Bryant also turned his attention to industrial pursuits, learning the blacksmith's trade in the same railroad shops as his brother, after which he followed his trade in the shops and in the mines of this locality for about six years. He afterward spent one year at his trade at a power plant in Canon City, Colorado, and in 1907 joined his brother in the automobile business in Centerville. They have since conducted a garage and also are sales agents for some cars. They have secured a gratifying patronage in this connection and their interests are continually increasing. The firm are today the oldest dealers in their line in the town. They operate a garage ninety-five by forty feet and they handle the Studebaker cars exclusively, in which connection they have developed a very large and gratifying business.
Thomas J. Bryant was married May 18, 1902, to Miss Mayme Van Nuter, a daughter of A. D. and Kate (Replogh) Van Nuter, who are natives of Iowa. The father was a carpenter by trade and at an early day came to Centerville, where he followed his trade for some time. He afterward turned his attention to farming, owning and cultivating a tract of land until 1900. He subsequently lived in the town for five years and then went to Clarksville, Iowa, where he and his wife still reside. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Bryant: Hugh R., nine years of age; Robert M., aged seven; and Mary C, aged one.
In May, 1904, Charles W. Bryant married Miss Grace Ryals, a daughter of Mrs. Anna Ryals Barger. The father had died when Mrs. Bryant was but two years of age and the mother had afterward married again. There is one child of this union, Luella, seven years of age.
Thomas J. Bryant owns a nice home at No. 1602 South Twenty-first street and Charles W. Bryant is pleasantly located at No. 310 East Terry street. Their religious faith is that of the Methodist church. Politically they are identified with the progressive party, being warm admirers of Theodore Roosevelt and stanch adherents of the platform formulated by the party, which movement many regard as one of the most hopeful political signs of the times. It shows conclusively that the American citizen is alive to the issues of the day and that many will not blindly follow a party leadership but are thinking out along lines relative to the best welfare of the country at large. The Bryant Brothers are also progressive men in other connections, especially in business life, and what they have accomplished represents the fit utilization of their time and talents. They recognize the fact that success has its root in unfaltering industry and it is through close application and careful management that they are working their way upward to prosperity in their present business connection.
 Hon. Silas W. Bryant |
HON. SILAS W. BRYANT, acceptably filling the office of mayor of Centerville, was formerly closely and prominently identified with business affairs here and at all times has been a progressive citizen, whose labors have been a factor in the upbuilding of this part of the state. He was born in the town of Cincinnati, this state, October 14, 1873, son of William and Hannah E. (Bogart) Bryant, the former a native of Iowa and the latter of Indiana. The father became a resident of Appanoose county at a very early period, settling here prior to the Civil war, in which he enlisted as a member of Company G, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, serving from 1861 until 1865. He was only seventeen years of age when he joined the army but no veteran of twice his age showed greater loyalty or bravery. He participated in a number of hotly-contested battles and with the close of hostilities he returned home. He then began working for his father who operated a flourmill called the Old Shoot mill, located near Exline. |
There Mr. Bryant was employed as a stationary engineer and always followed that business until 1902, when he was appointed city marshal of Centerville, acting in that capacity for two years, at the end of which time he accepted a position with the government in looking after the post office building. He served in that capacity until his death, which occurred in March, 1909, while his wife passed away in July, 1907.
Silas W. Bryant was reared and educated in Centerville and in starting out in the commercial world secured employment in connection with the ice business, which he followed for five years. He and his brother then began to work for the Diamond Mine Company, installing machinery for four years. On the expiration of that period Silas W. Bryant formed a partnership with S. A. Martin and purchased an ice business, which they conducted under the firm style of Bryant & Martin. Mr. Bryant remained a factor in that business for thirteen years and met with a creditable and gratifying degree of success in the undertaking. In 1911, however, he sold out to his partner and a month later or in March he was elected mayor of Centerville, which office he has since filled, discharging his duties with fairness and impartiality. He seeks the welfare of the city and brings to bear in his official capacity the same sterling qualities which gained him success as a business man. Mr. Bryant has also served two terms of three years on the school board and was elected in March, 1912, for another term.
In May, 1896, Mr. Bryant was married to Miss Sarah Bales, a daughter of P. M. and Nancy (Underwood) Bales, who were natives of Tennessee. father was a farmer and followed that occupation until his death, which occurred in his native state in 1882. The mother afterward removed to Princeton, Missouri, where she resided until called to her final rest in 1904. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bryant have been born two children, Harry W. and Irene, aged respectively fourteen and eleven years. In addition to his fine home at No. 614 West Garfield street, Mr. Bryant owns two good residence properties in Kansas City, Missouri. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Court of Honor, and his political allegiance is given to the republican party.
He and his family hold membership in the Baptist church and are people of social prominence here, having an extensive circle of warm friends among Centerville's best residents. Mr. Bryant is at all times an approachable man, genial and courteous in manner, and his unfeigned cordiality and sterling worth have made him one of the popular as well as valued citizens of the community.
WILLIAM R. BRYANT, Among the most progressive and able of the younger business men of Centerville is William R. Bryant, who is engaged in partnership with his father in the conduct of one of the largest meat and grocery concerns in the city. He is a native son of this state, born in Davis county, May 28, 1886, his parents being Alfred M. and Mary Elizabeth (Penninger) Bryant. The grandparents of our subject were Williamson Thompson and Sarah (Duzan) Bryant, the former a native of Kentucky and a farmer by occupation, who came to Indiana and from there to Davis county, Iowa, in early times. In that section he purchased land three quarters of a mile east of the Appanoose county line and carried on general agricultural pursuits with increasing success until his death. He was of Scotch ancestry and was a relative of Abraham Lincoln. His wife was a native of Kentucky, who came in her girlhood to Indiana, where their marriage occurred. She died on a farm in Davis county.
Alfred M. Bryant, the father of the subject of this review, was born on his father's farm in Davis county, January 21, 1855, and acquired his education in the district schools. In 1890 he came to Centerville and engaged in teaming for a number of years, finally abandoning this line of occupation in 1905 in order to establish himself in the retail meat business, with which he has been identified since that time, being now in partnership with his son. He is one of the thoroughly upright, honorable and straight- forward business men of the city and has gained a gratifying measure of success as a result of his well directed work and persevering industry. He married in Davis county, Iowa, Miss Mary E. Penninger, a daughter of Jacob and Annie (Justice) Penninger, the former a native of Richmond, Virginia, of Irish ancestry, and the latter born in Indiana, of German parents. Their marriage occurred in the latter state and later they came to Jefferson county, Iowa, where Jacob Penninger followed farming. He came to Appanoose county in 1854 and located in Sharon township, five miles east of Centerville, removing from there in 1874 to Davis county, where his death occurred. His widow is now living with her daughter, Mrs. William Hurd, on a farm in Appanoose county.
William R. Bryant came with his parents to Centerville when he was still a child and acquired his education in the city schools. When he laid aside his books he learned the butcher's trade under W. S. Games, remaining in his employ for two years and a half, after which he joined his father in the management of the latter's butcher shop. In July, 1910, he took charge of the store located at 1019 South Eighteenth street, where besides all kinds of meats he carries a fine line of staple and fancy groceries and canned goods. Both departments of his enterprise are in a prosperous condition, the meat market being one of the largest and most important in town. Mr. Bryant enjoys a gratifying patronage because he keeps his lines of goods complete and of excellent quality, and, moreover, is always cordial, courteous and considerate in his dealings with his customers.
On the 10th of June, 1906, Mr. Bryant married Miss Jessie Shankster, whose father was a veteran of the Civil war and died when Mrs. Bryant was only seven years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant became the parents of three children: William, born March 5, 1907, who attends the McKinley school in Centerville; Lucile, born January 9, 1909, who lives at home; and Mabel, whose birth occurred on the 6th of April, 1912.
Mr. Bryant's political support is given to the men and measures of the republican party but he has never desired political preferment. He is an energetic and progressive business man and to these qualities and his untiring industry may be attributed his success. He is thoroughly reliable in all transactions and has become widely and favorably known in business circles.
H. E. BUNKER - Among the real promoters and upbuilders of Appanoose county H. E. Bunker deserves special mention, for he has lived here since 1862 and since reaching manhood has given his time and attention to those things which have developed and promoted religious, intellectual and material progress. For a number of years he was closely connected with agricultural interests, but has recently given up active pursuits and lives in Exline in comparative retirement, although he engages to some extent in the insurance business. He was born in Quincy, Adams county, Illinois, March 13, 1849, and is a son of Dr. Samuel Bunker, a native of New Hampshire, who remained in that state until he was eighteen years of age. The father of our subject was a man of excellent education and broad culture. He came west to Illinois, locating in Quincy, and later began the study of medicine, taking a course at the Cincinnati Eclectic Medical College under Dr. Cutler. When he had completed his studies he practiced his profession at Quincy for some time, but then moved to Astoria, Illinois, where he practiced until he came to Iowa in 1862 and located on a farm in Caldwell township, Appanoose county. Here he also engaged in the practice of medicine, but after four years moved to Omah, Missouri, where he purchased the practice of a local physician and became prominent and successful in his chosen field of work. He later located at Central City, Missouri, and still later at Mill Grove. His death occurred while on a visit to Centerville in 1893.
H. E. Bunker was a lad of thirteen when he came with his parents to Appanoose county. Here he was reared and here he received his primary education in the public schools, supplementing this by work at Unionville, Missouri, and later by a course in the Kirksville Normal School. After receiving his certificate he engaged in teaching in the schools of Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, following this profession for a number of years. In 1872 he went to Kansas and homesteaded near Abilene, where he lived for seventeen years, but in 1889 he located on the Meeker place near Exline, a farm belonging to his wife. Upon this he engaged in agricultural pursuits for nineteen years, winning a high place in the ranks of progressive and successful agriculturists. Later, however, he retired from active life and moved into Exline, where he bought a fine residence lot and upon it built an attractive dwelling, in which he has since resided. Mr. Bunker was one of the promoters of the Appanoose County Mutual Insurance Association and was the first president of that body, serving for four years. He has of late years given his attention to soliciting fire, lightning and cyclone insurance and has built up an extensive business along this line. Mr. Bunker was also one of the organizers of the Exline Savings Bank and served as its first president.
Mr. Bunker was married in 1889 to Miss Helen M. Meeker, a native of Vermont, who came to Appanoose county in 1863 and who, like her husband, had been for a number of years engaged in teaching in the public schools of Missouri and Iowa. Mr. Bunker gives his allegiance to the republican party, adhering to the progressive branch of that body, and has always been more or less active in local affairs. He is serving at the present time as councilman on the village board and has been for many years a prominent figure in school matters. For a number of terms he was president of the school board, has been school treasurer and has held many other positions of trust and honor. He has been a resident of Appanoose county for almost half a century and has been closely identified with its growth and development, giving his attention always to beneficial and important enterprises and as a consequence he has gained a high place among the representative and public-spirited men of this part of the state and is held in high esteem and warm regard by many friends.
Mr. Bunker is a man of deep and sincere religious feeling and his beliefs are of the practical kind which influence the work and ideals of his every-day life. He is a member of the Christian church and has for years been a leading figure in the affairs of the Christian Church Missionary Association in this section and has served as its president for twelve or fourteen years. This society holds regular conventions in various parts of the county to discuss conditions and the means of building up and promoting missionary work throughout the state, and Mr. Bunker's services have been of great and lasting usefulness. He and his wife are teachers in the Sunday school, of which he served for a time as superintendent. During the many years of his labors in this vineyard he has accomplished work of inestimable value, giving his services freely to a great cause without hope or desire for remuneration. His religion leavens his life, making him upright in business, loyal in citizenship and in all things a worthy and honorable Christian gentleman.
ADAM BURKHISER, is one of the active, sturdy and enterprising citizens whom Germany has given to America and he stands high in the list of notable pioneers in Iowa, having come to the state in 1855. He is today a successful and prominent farmer of Franklin township, where he owns a tract of two hundred and forty acres on section 7, eighty acres on section 6 and one hundred and sixty-seven acres on section 2 and where his work for over fifty years has been an important factor in agricultural development. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, August 25, 1834, and is a son of Sebastian Burkhiser, also a native of the fatherland, who grew to manhood, married there and there passed away in 1843, when the subject of this review was only nine years of age. Afterward the mother married again and with her family crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in West Virginia in the spring of 1850.
Adam Burkhiser was reared in the fatherland and West Virginia and attended the public schools, there working upon a farm when not engaged with his books. He married in West Virginia in 1853 and in 1855 came west to Iowa, locating in Lee county among the very earliest settlers there. He worked by the day and by the month for a short time, but during the Civil war enlisted as a member of the Border Brigade, a cavalry regiment, and was mustered into service in Missouri. He served with loyalty and courage during his period of service and after his discharge went to Van Buren county, where he preempted forty acres of land. In order to enter his claim to the property he was obliged to walk over one hundred miles to the land office, a long, hard journey through a sparsely settled country. The pioneers along the way helped him with friendly hospitality, but even with this aid Mr. Burkhiser spent ten or twelve days upon the journey and the walk is indelibly stamped upon his memory as one of the hardest of his early pioneer experiences. When he had proved his title he settled upon his forty acre tract and carried forward the work of improvement until 1865, when he sold the farm and moved into Appanoose county. In the same year he purchased eighty acres in Washington township, forty acres of which were under cultivation and the whole slightly improved. To this he later added forty adjoining acres and farmed upon his one hundred and twenty acre tract until 1870, repairing the buildings and making other needed changes. When he sold this property he bought one hundred and sixty acres on section 7, Franklin township, upon which he still resides. This was another tract of raw land and Mr. Burkhiser has added its improvement and development to a long list of his substantial contributions to the agricultural advancement of Iowa. He broke the soil, fenced and drained the property, erected the necessary buildings and began the work of development. From time to time he added to his holdings and is now the proprietor of four hundred and eighty-seven acres which is divided into four farms, all well improved. He has built a substantial residence upon the home place, two fine barns and convenient outbuildings and in addition has set out an orchard which has proved a valuable source of income. Mr. Burkhiser is likewise extensively interested in stock-raising, in which he has been engaged for a number of years, and annually ships large herds of steers to Chicago, where they command a high price and a ready sale. He has also bred some high-grade horses and this forms another important source of income to him. Mr. Burkhiser commenced his life in Iowa with a capital of three dollars and by his own labor and industry has accomplished a gratifying degree of success. The struggle for prosperity was a long and hard one and made constant demands upon his patience, industry and courage. These qualities, however, were strong elements in his character and were supplemented by quiet determination, independence and self-reliance which eventually brought their just reward. Mr. Burkhiser stands today among the substantial and influential men of Franklin township and his career may serve as an inspiration to those who follow after him.
Mr. Burkhiser has been three times married. His first union occurred in West Virginia in 1853, in which year he married Miss Catherine Dayton, who passed away in 1873, having met death by an accident. To this union were born seven children: Mrs. May Ann Prophet, a widow with three children; Alice, who became the wife of James Harris, of Mills county, Iowa; Ed, who is married and is engaged in operating one of his fathers' farms; H. G., a railroad agent and telegraph operator at Mystic; Sarah, the wife of Thomas Bales, of Franklin township; and two, who died in childhood. Mr. Burkhiser's second union was with Miss Elvira Hickenbottom, whom he wedded in Appanoose county in 1873. Her death occurred in 1888, and afterward Mr. Burkhiser married his present wife, who was in her maidenhood Miss Rosa Shabley, a native of Germany but reared and educated in Ohio. At the time of her marriage to the subject of this review she was the widow of Ferdinand Graber. Mr. and Mrs. Burkhiser have a son, Charles, who for the past five or six years has operated a portion of the Burkhiser farm. He married on October 17, 1912, at Humeston, Miss Stella Davidson, who was born in that city.
Mr. Burkhiser gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is progressive and active in community affairs, although he never seeks public office. He and his wife are members of the Mount Olive Christian church and are widely known as people of exemplary character. Mr. Burkhiser is affiliated with the Farmers Society of Equity, with head- quarters at Indianapolis, and still retains his membership, although the local lodge is now disbanded. No man in Appanoose county has been more closely identified with its pioneer development or a more powerful force in its later expansion. Mr. Burkhiser enjoys the trust and confidence of people among whom he has lived for so many years and who know the history of the struggle by which he worked his way upward to prosperity.
ANDREW BURKLAND, passed away at his home, 1013 South Main street, on the 5th of April, 1912, after a lingering illness induced by stomach trouble, aged seventy years, ten months and eight days.
Mr. Burkland came to this city more than a third of a century ago, and became one of its prominent and successful contractors as well as mine operators. His record is an excellent illustration of the power of industry and perseverance in the attainment of success, for his early life was one of hardship and privation and the obstacles which he encountered would have utterly discouraged many a man of less resolute spirit.
His birth occurred in Vestergötland, Sweden, on the 29th of May, 1841, his parents being Andrew and Breta Bjölund, who were likewise natives of that country. The father died when our subject was still a child. His parents were very poor, and as soon as old enough to work he was hired out to a farmer for three years, and therefore he had practically no time to attend school and never learned to write, but in spite of this handicap won success in the business world, by reason of his native intelligence, keen discernment and indefatigable energy. As a young man he began working on a railroad section and a short time later was made foreman. In 1868, when twenty-seven years of age, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States with a contingent of men sent here to work on railroad construction in Michigan. Soon afterward, however, he engaged in lumbering in the Michigan woods and subsequently made his way to Chicago, where he again found employment with railroads. Leaving for St. Louis, Missouri, he worked there and became foreman of a steel gang. After the road was completed, the company wanted him to take charge of a construction train but he declined to take the offer on account of his inability to write. The superintendent tried in vain to change his view and accept, saying it would be very easy to find a timekeeper, but difficult to get a man who understood how to run a construction train, paying him the compliment that he was the best man he had ever had in his employ. However, he persisted in his refusal and left for Chicago, where he stayed but a short time, then coming to Ladsdale, Iowa, where he worked as a coal miner, for three years. In 1877 he came to Centerville, Iowa, which has since been his home. His first employment was as a coal miner, but subsequently he took up the stone mason's trade and later engaged in contracting in connection with mine operations, but for the last twenty-five years had been engaged more extensively in the coal busness, being instrumental in organizing several local coal companies. He was one of the organizers of the Scandinavian Coal Company when it was founded and helped start the Anchor Mine, No. 1, and later with a partner, organized the Happy Coal Company. He sunk the White Oak mine, being sole owner for a number of years and then selling out. Subsequently he sank another mine in the south part of the city and he and his son, Alfred, were operating this enterprise at the time of his death, under the firm style of A. Burkland & Son. He had also taken at various times a number of contracts for public improvements, having graded the public square and fair grounds, also the city street car line, and had constructed the water works reservoir, and built the foundation for the stand pipe, also grading the new cemetery. He further executed a number of con- tracts for the railroad, in and around Centerville. His success in all lines was most gratifying and came as the direct result of his enterprising and able management.
In October, 1874, in Chicago, Mr. Burkland was united in marriage to Miss Louise Peterson, also a native of Sweden. To them were born six children: Alfred, Anna, Agnes, Albert, and Carl, who with their mother, are left to mourn his death; and one son, Isaac, who died twelve years ago. The family reside in their comfortable home at 1013 South Main street. The children were all born and reared in Centerville and educated in the Centerville schools. In 1907, Alfred became associated with his father as coal operator, and since the latter's death, he with his two younger brothers, Albert and Carl, are conducting the business interests of the family. Anna is bookkeeper and Agnes is employed as clerk in one of the large department stores of the city.
In politics Mr. Burkland was a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of that party at the polls. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Swedish Lutheran church, of which he was a life-long member, and he was a charter member of the Centerville church, giving it his loyal support. His life was upright and honorable and his large circle of friends and acquaintances who had anxiously concerned themselves about his illness, heard with sincere regret of his passing from the scene of action, as he was a good citizen, temperate in his habits, strong of character and kind of heart. He was influential and interested in matters looking to the improvement of the city and the betterment of the community, and his demise was the occasion of deep and widespread sorrow.