HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY, IOWA
FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO l909
BY Samuel Gillespie and James E. Steele
BIOGRAPHICAL
Picture of Charles McAllister
CHARLES MCALLISTER, M. D
The name of Dr. Charles McAllister has come to be regarded as synonymous with business development and progress in Clay county, for he is not only a most able and successful physician and surgeon, but is also president of the First National Bank of Spencer, president of the Exchange Bank at Dickens and president of the Everly Bank. He thus figures prominently in financial circles and throughout his entire life has directed his efforts where mature judgment and sound discrimination have led the way. Among those who have achieved prominence as men of marked ability and substantial worth in this section of the state Dr. McAllister occupies a prominent position.
A native of New England, he was born at South Lee, Massachusetts, on the 1st of February, 1840, and is of Scotch lineage. His grandfather, Alexander McAllister, was born in the land of hills and heather, of crag and plain, of lowland heath and highland. He was of the Presbyterian faith and both he and his wife lived to a ripe old age, the latter being more than ninety years when called to her final rest. Their children were Daniel, Archibald, Alexander, Charles, Mary and John McAllister.
The last named became the father of Dr. McAllister. He was born in Columbia. New York, and gave his attention to general farming in South Lee, Berkshire county, Massachusetts. He wedded Cynthia Heath, a daughter of George Heath and a representative of one of the old Puritan families of the Bay state. Her father was a native of Massachusetts and was a farmer by occupation. He died at the age of sixty-five years, while his wife passed away when about seventy years of age. Their family numbered one son and eleven daughters. The home of Mr. and Mrs. John McAllister was blessed with three sons and one daughter: George, deceased, who was a surgeon of the Civil war; Mary, who died when about sixteen years of age; Charles, of this review; and Henry, deceased. The parents have also passed away, the father's death occurring, in 1874 when he was seventy-four years of age, while his wife died in 1875 at the age of seventy-four. The former was of the Scotch Presbyterian faith, while the mother was a member of the Methodist church.
Dr. Charles McAllister, now the only living representative of the family, was reared upon the home farm in Massachusetts and supplemented his preliminary education by a course in Williams College, which he completed as a member of the class of 1863. He had engaged in teaching for two winter seasons prior to that time and after finishing his literary course he took up the study of medicine and was graduated from the Berkshire Medical College in 1865. He then located for practice in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he was accorded an enviable patronage. In 1870 and 1871 he resided at Dixon, Illinois, after which he traveled through the northwest and in 1872 took up his abode in Spencer, where he has since remained as an active representative of the profession. He did not regard his professional education completed when he finished his course in medical college but has always remained a student of the principles of the medical science and through his perusal of the latest medical literature has kept in touch with what the world is doing in the line of his profession. He is quick to adopt any new idea or method which he believes will have real value, in professional service and yet he does not hastily discard old and time-tried methods of practice, the worth of which has been proven in years of experience. He is very careful in the diagnosis of his cases and his ability is demonstrated in a large practice. His brethren of the medical fraternity have accorded him prominence in electing him for several terms to the office of president of the Clay County Medical Society. He is also a member of the Upper Dcs Moines Medical Association, the State Medical Association, the American Medical Association and the Association of American Railway Surgeons. At the present writing he is president of the pension board of examiners and he has been surgeon for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for thirty years.
Aside from his professional interests Dr. McAllister has figured prominently in the public life of Spencer and Clay county. He is the owner of a valuable farm of six hundred and forty acres in Riverton township and has other desirable real estate. In 1887 he built the McAllister block in Spencer and has always taken an active interest in encouraging the development of various business industries and the general improvement of Spencer. Since 1897 he has been president of the First National Bank and has gained a notable place in banking circles in this part of the state, being also president of the Exchange Bank at Dickens and of the Everly Bank. His knowledge of the banking business is comprehensive and exact and to the solution of difficult financial problems he has brought keen discernment and penetrating sagacity.
On the 1st of January, 1869, Dr. McAllister was married to Miss Laura McAllister, the adopted daughter of his uncle, Charles McAllister. Three sons were born unto them: Charles, who died in 1878 at the age of two years; Charles, the second of the name, who passed away at the age of fifteen years; and Alexander, who is a graduate of Williams College of the class of 1906 and is now living in Los Angeles, California. The wife and mother passed away in April, 1892, at the age of forty years. She was a member of the Congregational church and her many excellent traits of character endeared her to those with whom she came in contact. On the 28th of December, 1898, Dr. McAllister was married to Miss Fannie E. Spencer, a graduate of Grinnell College and a daugh-
ter of T. A. Spencer, of Alden, Iowa. Both Dr. and Mrs. McAllister hold membership in the Congregational church and are greatly interested in its work and the extension of its influence. He is now serving as church trustee and has been chairman of the board for many years.
In fraternal lines Dr. McAllister is connected with Evening Shade Lodge, No. 312, A. F. & A. M., Clay Chapter, R. A. M., Esdraelon Commandery, K. T., and the Mystic Shrine. His name is also on the membership rolls of the Spencer lodge of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Encampment and Estherville Lodge, No. 528, B. P. O. E. Recognized as one of the leaders in republican circles, he has ever given stalwart allegiance to the principles in which he believes and represented his district in the seventeenth general assembly in 1877-8. His is a well rounded character, not so abnormally developed in any direction as to become a genius and yet with that strength of purpose and ability that has enabled him to accomplish what he has undertaken. Broad-minded and liberal in his views, he has wrought along the lines of the greatest good to the greatest number and Clay county has profited by his efforts in various fields of endeavor. His unbending integrity of character, his fearlessness in the discharge of duty in every relation in which he has been found and his appreciation of the responsibilities that have rested upon him have made him a citizen whose worth is widely acknowledged.
ARCHIE HILLIARD.
The home of Archie Hilliard is just outside the city limits of Spencer in Section 1, Riverton township, and the opportunities and advantages of the city are therefore easily obtainable while the comforts of country life are also to be enjoyed. The life of Mr. Hilliard has been a most busy and useful one and various commercial interests have been promoted and successfully conducted by him. He is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of tile, brick and cement blocks, his factory being near Spencer. He is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having occurred in Webster City, July 17, 1863. His father, Ira Hilliard, was a native of New Hampshire, born at Colebrook, where he remained until twenty-five vears of age. He then removed to Pennsylvania and in the meantime had become familiar with the business of manufacturing brick. At Wilkesbarre Pennsylvania, he was married to Emily Carr, a native of that city. While residing in Pennsylvania he engaged in the manufacture of brick, but believing that still better opportunities might be enjoyed in the new but rapidly growing west, he made his way to Iowa and became one of the pioneer residents of Webster City. There he established a brick yard and engaged in the manufacture of brick for a quarter of a century. He was very successful in his undertaking, for he placed before the public a very marketable commodity, the excellence of his out- put and his fair dealing securing to him an extensive and lucrative patronage. In 1882 he removed to Clay county and established a brick yard here. He also carried on business in this county for twenty-five years and made brick for all the public buildings and for many of the private residences of Spencer and this
part of the state. His enterprise and business activity constituted forces in the commercial development here of different locations in which he lived, while his energy and industry brought to him merited success. He died here in 1906 and is still survived by his wnfe. While in Webster City he owned and operated a machine shop and also invested extensively in land near that place. In Clay county he owned two hundred and forty acres and upon his farm erected a good brick residence and substantial outbuildings.
Archie Hilliard, whose name introduces this review, was reared in Iowa and pursued his education in the schools of Webster City, passing through consecutive grades until he became a high school student. After completing his studies he joined his father in Clay county, and for two years was his assistant in the operation of the brick yard. Later he went to South Dakota and established a brick yard at Mitchell, where he carried on a successful business for four years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Iowa and was here married, in 1887, to Miss Lelia S. J. Horner, a native of Oswego county, New York, where her girlhood was largely passed. The young couple began their domestic life at Mitchell, South Dakota, where they remained until about 1889, after which Mr. Hilliard disposed of his place there and removed his machinery to Spencer. Here he joined his father as a partner but assumed the entire management of the business, which he carefully conducted. For a number of years he was here engaged in brick-making and in 1894 removed to Michigan, where he pursued a course in a school for training nurses at Battle Creek. For about two years he followed the profession and was then obliged to give it up on account of ill health. At that time he removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he established a bakery business which he conducted for two or three years, and then sold out and returned to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he engaged in the manufacture of cereal coffee. He devoted three years to that business, at the end of which time he disposed of his interest in Michigan and again came to Spencer in 1900. Here he bought out his father's business and for about three or four years engaged in the manufacture of brick. He then extended the scope of his undertaking by beginning the manufacture of tile. He has been manufacturing and shipping on an average of from two to three carloads of tile per day. He has erected a large four-story brick building for the conduct of the business, has four large kilns and his factory is thoroughly modern and up-to-date in every particular. He has installed the latest improved machinery and in addition to the manufacture of brick and tile his output also includes building blocks. His industrial interests are of an important nature and constitute one of the chief features among the productive industries of Spencer. Mr. Hilliard also conducts farming interests, owning and operating eighty acres of rich and productive land that constitute one of the well improved farms of the neighborhood. It is situated on section 1, Riverton township, and upon the farm are found all modern accessories while the home is a commodious and attractive brick residence.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hilliard have ben born eight children: William I. and Harry E., who are students in Union College, at College View, Nebraska; Isabelle, who is a student in a private school in Spencer; Blanche; Edith; Calleen; Leona; and Corliss. The parents are members of the Seventh Day Adventist church of Spencer. Mr. Hilliard is acting on the official board and both he and
his wife take a helpful interest in the church and sabbath school work, he having served for several years as sabbath school superintendent. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is active in advancing the interests of the county along many lines of development and upbuilding, gives his hearty cooperation to many movements for the good of Spencer and is now at the head of one of its leading productive industries, while his enterprise, indefatigable energy and business probity are the salient features of his career.
ALBERT GRUCHOW.
When pioneers make their way into a new and hitherto undeveloped region, necessarily the first step which they take is the development of farms, for the production of those crops which are useful as foods. Gradually, as the country becomes more thickly settled, so that markets supply almost everything, demanded by the people, the farmer's work becomes somewhat more diversified and today those who are occupying homes on the best farms of Clay county are busily, extensively and successfully engaged in raising stock. It is to this work that Albert Gruchow gives much of his attention, being well known as a dealer in Aberdeen Angus cattle. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land adjoining the corporation limits of Spencer, and this constitutes a neat and well- improved farm, upon which he has resided since 1881. Germany numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred on the 15th of August, 1864. When a little lad of five summers he was brought by his parents to the new world, the family home being established in La Salle county, Illinois. His father, John Gruchow, was also a native of Germany, where he was reared and educated. In that country he married Hannah Westfall, who was likewise born in the fatherland, and they became parents of four children ere they came to the United States. On reaching La Salle county, Illinois, the father secured a farm, which he cultivated and improved for twenty-two years. In 1881 he removed from that state to Iowa and purchased land in Riverton township, becoming the owner of two hundred acres, on which he resided until his death in 1903. His wife still survives him and is a resident of Clay county. Their family numbered nine children, five sons and four daughters, all of whom have reached mature years and married with the exception of the two youngest. The others are all residents of this county.
Albert Gruchow was reared in La Salle county, Illinois, upon the old home farm and, after attaining his majority, started out in life on his own account, choosing as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared. The year 1881 witnessed his arrival in Iowa and, selecting Clay county as the place of his residence, he here engaged in farming, on a tract of rented land. For some years he continued to rent the place and then purchased it and it remains his present place of residence. He has since erected a new dwelling, has built two barns and has also erected very substantial outbuildings, while a grove of forest trees and an orchard of fruit trees have been set out by him, adding to the value and attractive appearance of the place. He employs the most modern methods in car-
rying on his farm work, uses the latest improved machinery, practices the rotation of crops and makes a close stndy of the properties of the soil and the food demands of the different crops he raises. He is also raising and feeding stock and is today the owner of some fine Aberdeen Angus cattle and high-grade hogs. He breeds and deals in Aberdeen Angus cattle and has a herd of fifty-two head of pure-blooded and high-grade stock.
On Thanksgiving Day, in 1888, Mr. Gruchow was married in this county to Miss Anna Reamer, who was born in Germany but spent her girlhood days in La Salle county, Illinois. This union has been blessed wdth four children, George, Wester and Harry, all yet at home, and Mabel, who died at the age of five years. The parents are members of the German Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Gruchow is serving on the official board. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party, but while he is public- spirited in citizenship, he does not seek office as a reward for party fealty. He is interested in everything pertaining to the town's progress in the material, intellectual and moral lines and movements for the public good never seek his aid in vain. Moreover, in his business career, he has demonstrated the value and worth of unflagging perseverance, unfaltering determination and unsullied business integrity, and he enjoys in full measure the trust and confidence of those with whom he has been associated through business or social relations.
JAMES PETER HENDRICKSEN.
James Peter Hendricksen. a well-to-do and progressive agriculturist of Royal, this county, was born in Zeeland, Denmark, March 4, 1853, a son of Hans and Mary Hendricksen. His father, also a native of Denmark, came to Waushara county, Wisconsin, in 1863, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits, clearing the timber on eighty acres of land, upon which he constructed a small log cabin, and here resided until the spring of 1870, when he located in Clay county, Iowa. He took up a claim of eighty acres on section 24 in Clay township, later selling his claim and removing to Lincoln township, where he remained until eighteen vears ago, when he removed to Spencer, where he still resides. His career has been one of remarkable success and he is known throughout the community on account of his financial worth and is in every sense a substantial and representative citizen. The mother, who was also a native of Zeeland, Denmark, was married there but departed this life in Lincoln township in June, 1889, and her remains were interred in the Spencer cemetery. She was the mother of five children, namely: James Peter, our subject; Mary, wife of Martin Johnson, of Royal; Stina, who became the wife of Peter Christensen, an agriculturist of Clay township; Hans, deceased; and Lars, farmer of Lincoln township.
James Peter Hendricksen attended the common schools of his native country until he was ten years of age, when he was brought to the United States and, his parents having located in Wisconsin, he worked there with his father clearing off land and making it ready for cultivation. He remained in Wisconsin until he was seventeen years of age, when his parents removed to Clay countv, Iowa.
and he continued to work for his father until he was united in marriage, when he rented a farm, but the first year met with the misfortune of having his crops eaten by grasshoppers. He has since resided in this county and part of the time has worked out to secure means to pay for his small farm, but he finally succeeded in clearing the land of debt and built a comfortable dwelling, after which he gradually met with success sufficient to enable him to supplant the old dwelling with his present beautiful residence. His farm consists of two hundred and forty acres which at the time of his purchase was in a wild state without a tree and with the ground all untilled, but by his untiring efforts he soon transformed the raw soil into fertile fields from which he has since been reaping lucrative harvests. His land is highly improved, being not only provided with an excellent residence but also with barns, outbuildings, machinery and all conveniences which are used in farming by modern methods. He engages in general agricultural pursuits and stock raising, and before the railroad passed through the county did teaming in connection with his other interests. His farm lies in Lincoln and Clay townships and the attention which Mr. Hendricksen has devoted to it has made it one of the finest and most desirable in the county.
In 1876 Mr. Hendricksen was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Elleston, a native of Jutland, Denmark, and to this union have been born four children, namely: W. H., a lumber dealer of Royal; Cena, who became the wife of Hans Hagadorn, an agriculturist of Lincoln township; Mary, and Louie Albert. Mr. Hendricksen gives his political support to the republican party, to which he has always been loyal, and he has served the township efficiently as school director and road supervisor. He takes a deep interest in religious affairs and is a member of the Danish Lutheran church, in which he is an ardent worker and a large contributor and of which his wife is also a member. He is well known throughout the county and his straightforwardness and enterprising spirit have gained him the respect of the entire community.
JULIUS LAMMERS.
Land is constantly rising in value as the country becomes more thickly settled and there is greater demand for property in this part of the state. Moreover, the advancement in price is also largely due to the substantial improvements which are being made by the farmers. The agriculturists of Clay county largely constitute a class of progressive business men, who see and utilize the opportunities for advancement, and are thus contributing to general prosperity as well as to individual success. Julius Lammers is a worthy representative of the type of men who are not content to accept things as they are but realize that from every vantage point a forward step can be made. He is now the owner of four hundred and forty acres, constituting a valuable farm on section 23, Lone Tree township. A native of Iowa, he was born in Scott county on the 15th of June, 1869, a son of Hans Lammers, who was a native of Germany, where he spent his youthful days. As a young man he came to the new world and established his home in Scott county, Iowa. There he married Christina Hansen, also a native of Ger-
many, who had been brought to the United States when thirteen years of age. Their son, Julius Lammers, was reared in Scott and in Tama counties, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that usually fall to the lot of the agriculturist. The district schools afforded him his early educational privileges and later he attended the Vinton high school. On the 27th of February, 1895, he made preparations for having a home of his own through his marriage in Tama county to Miss Ella Ruge, who was born in Muscatine, Iowa, but obtained her education in Tama county.
Soon after their marriage the young couple took up their abode upon the farm on section 23, Lone Tree township, where they still reside. Mr. Lammers has added to and remodeled the house and has put up a number of buildings upon the place. A good barn, sheds, a corn-crib, granary, wind-pump and waterworks are among the modern features of the place, which indicate his progressive spirit and practical, effective methods. He began here with two hundred and forty acres of land, but subsequently purchased more property from his father, and his place now comprises four hundred and forty acres. With farming he raises and feeds stock, shipping from two to three carloads of fat cattle each year and one hundred and twenty-five head of fat hogs. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Everly and also owns stock in the Farmers' Elevator at Moneta, of which he is one of the directors.
Mr. and Mrs. Lammers have one son, Elmer, who is now under the parental roof. The parents belong to the German Lutheran church and Mr. Lammers holds membership in Everly Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He is a worthy exemplar of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness. His political support is given to the democracy and he desires its success, although he never seeks office for himself. Indefatigable energy is perhaps his strongest characteristic and it has led him forward in his business relations to a prominent place among the successful farmers of the township.
CHANDLER AUGUSTUS DUNWELL.
Chandler Augustus Dunwell, at the age of eighty-five years, is still an active factor in the world's work. He makes his home in Spencer, where he is engaged in making chattel mortgage loans, and furthermore, has personal supervision over his extended landed interests. He is one of the largest landholders of the county, his farm property comprising eleven hundred acres, while realty in Spencer also returns him a substantial annual income. His record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement, showing what may be accomplished by individual effort when intelligently directed, for it has been through his own labors that Mr. Dunwell has gained the prominent position which he now occupies as a busines man in Clay county. He was born in the town of Arcadia, Wayne county. New York, February 11, 1824, and comes of New England ancestry, traced in a more remote generation to England. His grandfather, Stephen Dunwell, was born in England and became a sailor. Arriv-
Picture of Charles A. Dunwell
ing in America in colonial days, he espoused the cause of the colonies at the out-
break of the Revolutionary war and did active military duty under General Washington.
His wife was Deborah Dunwell, and both lived to a good old age, rearing a large family.
William Schuyler Dunwell, father of C. A. Dunwell, was born in Massachusetts
and was a carpenter by trade. Early in the nineteenth century he
removed to New York and was engaged on the construction of the Erie canal.
He first located at Arcadia, where he lived for a number of years and in 1831
removed to Solon, Ohio, where he made his home for twenty years. In 1855 he
became a resident of Illinois and settled in Cherry Valley, Winnebago county,
where his remaining days were passed. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Sophronia Catlin, was also a native of Massachusetts, as was her father. The
death of the father occurred in Winnebago county, Illinois, when he was seventy-
eight years of age, and his wife, surviving him for some years, died at the age
of eighty-five. Both were loyal to the teachings of the Methodist church, in which
they held membership. Unto Mr. and Mrs. William S. Dunwell were born
twelve children, but only four are now living, namely: Chandler A., of this
review; Sophia, the widow of James White, and now residing at Champaign,
Illinois; Frances, the widow of James Sutherland, of Fairdale, Illinois; and
Emma, the wife of Thomas Norman, also of that state.
Chandler A. Dunwell was a young lad at the time of the removal from New
York to Ohio and in the latter state he was reared, aiding his father in clearing
several farms there. His youth was passed in a pioneer district where there were
few advantages, but he made the most of his opportunities in the district schools,
and when nineteen years of age began teaching, which profession he followed for
a number of terms. He was one of three of that locality who voted for the old
Liberty party in the spring of 1845 at a time when such a course was unpopular.
In the spring of 1851 he became a resident of Cherry Valley, Illinois, and continued
to follow general agricultural pursuits through the summer seasons, while
in the winter months he engaged in teaching. His fellow townsmen called him
to the office of justice of the peace and he acted in that capacity for twelve years,
his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. He was next called to the position
of supervisor and continued in that office by reelection for twelve years. He
was likewise proprietor of a hotel and owner of a livery stable, and was thus
actively connected with the business interests of the community. During the
twelve years in which he presided over the justice court he read law, was admitted
to the bar and engaged in practice for a long, period. In 1878 he came to Spencer
and was admitted to practice in the Iowa courts. However, he did not follow the
profession but turned his attention to farming and the chattel mortgage loan business.
These interests have since claimed his attention and through the improvement
of opportunity for judicious investment he has become the owner of eleven
hundred acres of rich and valuable land in Clay county and also a number of
houses and lots in Spencer. His realty holdings are very extensive and constitute
him one of the prosperous residents of Clay county.
In 1847 Mr. Dunwell was married to Miss Cordelia Richmond, a daughter
of Edmund Richmond. Unto them was born a daughter, Emily Ann, who became
the wife of Rufus Ingalls, of Spencer, by whom she has two daughters, Clara and
Gertrude. Mrs. Ingalls is somewhat prominent in community affairs and was
president of the board of library trustees. The death of Mrs. Cordelia Dunwell
occurred in the spring of 1852, and in 1853 Mr. Dunwell wedded Miss Eliza
Hannaford, a daughter of Reuben Hannaford. She passed away in i860, and in
1863 Mr. Dunwell married Mrs. Elizabeth Hanson, nee Pike. She was a widow
and was a representative of an old family of Maine. By this marriage there
were born two sons, James and Augustus, both now deceased, and a daughter,
Lizzie M., who is the wife of Robert Koch, and has two children, Gladys Olive
and Marguerite. Mrs. Koch is also well known in the social circles of the city
and is leader of the choir in the Congregational church.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Dunwell are Baptists in religious faith. Politically he
has always been a republican, unfaltering in support of the principles of the party
since its organization, and in addition to the offices which he filled in Illinois he
has served as justice of the peace in Spencer for two terms. He has ever been
a busy man and his active, useful life has gained him notable and enviable success,
while at the same time he has won the confidence and good will of his fellow-
men by reason of the honorable, straightforward policy he has ever followed.
Edwin F. Marker has been a resident of Clay county since 1887. and after
acceptably filling the position of county auditor, retired therefrom in January,
1909. He has also been the incumbent in other offices and at all times has been
faithful, prompt and efficient in the discharge of his duties. His birth occurred
in Grundy county, Iowa, May 28. 1870, so that he is a western man by birth as
well as training and preference. His parents are Peter F. and Charlotte (Scott)
Marker, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of England. The paternal
grandfather of our subject was born in Pennsylvania. The maternal grandfather.
Darius Scott, was a native of England and engaged in merchandising in that
country. Coming to America he located in Ohio and his death occurred in 1906,
when he reached the very venerable age of ninety-two years. He was married
three times.
Peter F. Marker, father of Edwin F. Marker, devoted his entire life to the
occupation of farming. On leaving Ohio he removed westward to Grundy
county, Iowa, becoming one of its early settlers. Here he purchased a farm of
one hundred and sixty acres, making his home thereon until March, 1887, when
he came to Clay county and secured a farm in Herdland township. With characteristic
energy he began its cultivation and development, making it his home until
1894. when he was called to his final rest at the age of fifty-seven years and six
months. His wife still survives him and lives in Spencer. She is a member of
the Methodist church and a most estimable lady, having many warm friends in
this city. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Marker responded to the country's call
for aid and enlisted as a member of Company F, Sixteenth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served for six months as a private. Unto him and his
wife were born ten children, seven sons and three daughters: Emery H., who is
now living in Seattle, Washington; Clara M., the deceased wife of C. S. Forrest,
of Enid, Oklahoma; Alvin D., also living in Seattle, Washington; Cora B., the
wife of G. S. Streeter, of Sioux Rapids, Iowa; Edwin F., whose name introduces
this record; Leland L., who is living in Duel county, South Dakota; Joseph M.,
also a resident of that county; Charles F., who is located in Spencer; Lillie B., the
wife of William Ruby, of Duel, South Dakota; and Dell S., who is also living in
Spencer.
Edwin F. Marker was reared in Grundy county, Iowa, to the age of seventeen years,
spending his boyhood and youth on the home farm, where he early
became familiar with the task of tilling the soil. He also attended the district
schools and supplemented his early educational privileges studying, in the Nora
Springs Seminary. At the age of seventeen years he came to Clay county, where
he carried on farming until 1901. He was then appointed deputy sheriff and
filled that position for three years, on the expiration of which period he was
elected county auditor in November, 1904, and entered upon the duties of the
position in January, 1905. He was reelected in 1906 but in 1908 failed of renomination
at the primaries. As a public officer he made an excellent record, characterized
by the utmost loyalty to duty, while the work of the office was discharged
in a systematic, methodical manner.
On the 30th of November, 1892, Mr. Marker was married to Miss Jennie E.
Allebaugh, a daughter of Daniel and Amanda (Bender) Allebaugh. Mrs. Marker
was born six miles south of Spencer, her parents having been early settlers
of Clay county. They are now residents of Delta county, Colorado. Unto Mr.
and Mrs. Marker have been born two sons, Rush L. and Darrel A. In addition
to his home in Spencer Mr. Marker owns one hundred and sixty acres of rich
and productive land on section 10, Herdland township, while his mother owns
the other three-quarters of that section. Socially he is connected with Harmony
Lodge, No. 188, K. of P., and his wife is a member of the Methodist church. His
political views are in accord with the principles of the republican party and he
served for two terms as assessor of Herdland township and one term as trustee.
Over the record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong or suspicion
of evil, for he has always been most loyal to the interests of the county in
discharging public duties.
William Thomas Ney, who is identified with the hardware business in Webb,
Clay county, Iowa, was born in Wellington. Ontario, July 1, 1871, a son of
Mathew and Elizabeth (Lytic) Ney, natives of Canada and Ireland, respectively.
The father was born in Simcoe county, Ontario, in 1847, a son of Robert and
Margaret (Armstrong) Ney, natives of the Emerald isle, who located in Canada
in 1809. Robert Ney was a soldier in the British army who participated in the
battle of Waterloo, in which he was wounded, carrying throughout his life the
marks of seven bullet wounds and a sword thrust received in that conflict. He
had formerly served in the French army, but left it to enter the British service
under General Wellington, in which he later became a commander, being
subsequently sent to Ireland to assist in quelling a rebellion, from whence he went
to Canada. He descended from a distinguished military family, the Neys being
direct in line from Marshal Ney, who was a prominent figure in French Military
circles. In the family of Robert and Margaret Ney were the following children:
Ann Jane, widow of J. C. Robinson, who resides in Irene, South Dakota; Margaret,
the wife of S. Lytle, a resident of Tralee, Canada; Mathew, the father of
our subject; Thomas, who wedded Sarah Ross and resides in Fairview, Washington;
William, who lives in Pueblo, Colorado; John, who is married and lives
in Vancouver, British Columbia; George, married, and practicing medicine in
Port Huron, Michigan; Mary, whose husband is Henry Bird, and lives in Brambridge,
Canada; and Sarah, the wife of John Plewes, residing in Monroe, Michigan.
Robert Ney departed this life in 1887, when seventy-seven years of age, and
his wife died in 1856 in her thirty-eighth year.
Mathew Ney, father of the subject of this review, came to this state in 1886
and purchased a tract of land containing one hundred and six acres in Buena Vista
county, for which he paid eleven dollars an acre, the farm lying a short distance
northeast of Sioux Rapids. On his first visit to this place he did not bring his
family but waited until he had built a house and made everything comfortable for
their reception, this work requiring about one year, and consequently his family
did not arrive on the scene until the spring of 1888. He developed the land to a
high state of cultivation and remained upon it for sixteen years, at the termination
of which period, in 1904, he rented the farm and removed to Webb, where he has
since resided, engaged in the hardware business. He owns two hundred and forty
acres of land in Buena Vista county, Iowa, and three hundred and twenty acres
in Alberta, Canada, both of which tracts constitute excellent farms. He, with his
son, W. T., compose the Webb Hardware Company and, being a shrewd business man,
an economical and excellent manager, he has gradually increased his
volume of trade until at present the enterprise is one of the most prosperous in
the city. He is a democrat in politics, always loyal to the candidates of his party,
and a faithful adherent of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is of an unassuming
and retiring nature, happy and generous, and possesses a clean, honest, upright character.
In his family are the following children: Maggie, the wife of
W. H. Scarborough, residing in Sioux Rapids, Iowa; Lizzie, the wife of R. G.
Merrill, living at Marathon, Iowa; R. J., who still lives in Canada; William
Thomas, our subject; Mary, whose husband is W. H. Phipps, living near Sioux
Rapids, this state; and Sarah, the wife of .C. B. Truesdale, residing in Sac City, Iowa.
William Thomas Ney was reared and received his preliminary education
while on his father's farm in Canada, where he remained until he was fifteen years
of age, when he came to Iowa with the family. He was given the advantage of
several years' schooling in this state and worked with his father on the old home
place until the farm was sold, when the family repaired to this city, and during
the years 1901 to 1905 inclusive he was interested in the drug business, but
subsequently gave up that occupation and associated himself with his father in the
hardware business. He is a shrewd young business man and his business ability
and untiring efforts have added much to the growth of trade. On November 18,
1903, Mr. Ney wedded Josephine M. Phelps, daughter of Lymon E. and Alice
(Ward) Phelps, natives of DeKalb county, Illinois. Mr. Ney belongs to Universal
Lodge, No. 587, A. F. & A. M., of Marathon and also to Sioux Rapids
Chapter, No. 129, and is a member of the Methodist church. In politics he is a
loyal supporter of the principles of the democratic party. He is a man of
exceptional enterprise and keen business insight and his progressive spirit will
undoubtedly build for him an enviable position in the commercial and financial
circles of this community.
After a long and useful career as an agriculturist, J. W. Batcheler, who is
influential in the financial circles of Sutherland, is now living in retirement,
enjoying the comforts earned during his many years of honest and zealous labor.
He was born in Bristol county, Massachusetts, January 27, 1848, a son of T. H.
and Clarissa (Holdbrook) Batcheler. His father came from New Hampshire
to Massachusetts when a young man, and lived there until 1855, when he located
in Clinton county, Iowa, where he spent ten years, then removing to Jones county,
Iowa, where he remained twelve years, and thence to Linn county, where
he departed this life in 1884. He was of English extraction, a minister of
the Free Baptist church, and during his life he preached throughout
many of the counties adjoining his home, where his influence for good will long
remain as an evidence of his useful and zealous Christian character. His mother
was a native of Massachusetts, where she was married, and she died in Linn
county in 1880, preceding her husband into eternity by four years. She was the
mother of: Amy N., residing in Linn county; F. A., a retired farmer of
Independence, Iowa; Harriett, the wife of John French, who lives in retirement on a
farm in Peterson, Iowa; Julia, who became the wife of Alonzo Lynde, also a
retired farmer of Peterson; M. C, deceased; and J. W., our subject.
In the common schools of Massachusetts and of Clinton and Jones counties,
Iowa, J. W. Batcheler acquired his education, engaging in the routine of their
farm life until he was twenty-one years of age, when he removed to Linn county,
renting his father's land, which he cultivated for a period of four years, and then
worked a farm in Clay county for one year. The returns of his harvest were
found sufficient to enable him to purchase one hundred and sixty acres of land on
section 19, at that time in an uncultivated condition, but this was soon cleared
off and made arable and productive of an excellent quality of crops. From year
to year, being successful in his undertakings, he was soon in a position to add to
that farm, and now owns two hundred and eighty acres of highly improved and
fertile farming land, upon which there is a fine residence, ample barn room and
all the necessary conveniences for carrying on agricultural pursuits and stock
raising.
In 1872 Mr. Batcheler wedded Miss Ella Carpenter, a daughter of W. A.
and Clara (Shelden) Carpenter, born in Rhode Island, her father, who died in
1860, being a jeweler of Providence, that state. They had the following chil-
dren: Clara, wife of William Mason, of Providence, Rhode Island; W. M., who
is in the creamery business at Grand Island, Nebraska; Andrew, who is proprietor
of a fruit ranch in California; A. R., deceased; Florence, of Providence. Rhode
Island; Eugene, deceased; and Ella, now Mrs. Batcheler. Mr. and Mrs. Batcheler
are the parents of: Alfred, an agriculturist of Peterson township, Clay
county; M. Gilbert, who is proprietor of a farm near Dickens, Iowa; Julia, wife
of Elmer Lane, also an agriculturist of Peterson township; Lewis, who operates
a farm in that township; Everett, who also has large farming interests in Peterson township;
Clarence, who owns a farm near that of his father; Nathan, who
attends school at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Clara and Cora, twins; Florence; and
Joseph D. and Josie, twins. Mr. Batcheler is a loyal supporter of the republican
party, the principles of which he asserts contain the best policy by which to
preserve the financial integrity of the nation and maintain its permanent prosperity.
Among the services which he has rendered the township is that of school director,
in which ofiice he has officiated for a number of years. He is a member of the
Church of God, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows meeting at Royal, Iowa,
and the Daughters of Rebekah, convening ai the same place. Mr. Batcheler
stands high in the financial circles of the community, and his progressive spirit
and the noble qualities of his character have won him the confidence and respect
of the communitv.
John Hopkins is conducting business in Langdon and his efforts have been
a factor in the commercial development of the town. He is now operating an
elevator here and in addition is well known as a dealer in coal, hides and other
commodities. For seven years he has lived in the village and previously was
identified with agricultural interests in Meadow township for fifteen years.
Iowa numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Scott
county on the 6th of December, 1864. His father, James H. Hopkins, was a
native of Rhode Island but, leaving New England, came to the middle west as a
young man and settled upon a farm in Scott county, Iowa. He found this a
frontier state but the resolute spirit of a New England ancestry prompted him
to put forth determined and indefatigable effort in developing for himself a
productive and valuable farm. He married Miss Elmira Miller, a native of Cincinnati,
Ohio, where her girlhood days were passed, while later she came to Iowa
with her parents, who established their home in Scott county. Following their
marriage Mr. Hopkins removed to Jasper county, where he opened up a farm and
carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1886, when he came to Clay county.
Here he also developed a tract of new land and made it his home for several
years, after which he removed to Colorado and located upon a farm in that
state. He still lives there and is now seventy-four years of age.
John Hopkins of this review was largely reared to manhood in Jasper county,
Iowa, acquiring his early education in the common schools. In 1886 he came to
Clay county and assisted his father in developing a new tract of land. He carried
on that farm until thirty years of age, working diligently and gaining the broad
experience which has proven the foundation for his later success, hee has displayed
sound judgment in all he has undertaken and his energy has been one
of the potent features in his progress.
On the 11th of March, 1895, Mr. Hopkins was married to Miss Pauline
Bernhagen, a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Michael Bernhagen, one of
the early settlers of Clay county, who in pioneer times secured a homestead in
Lake township. Mrs. Hopkins was reared and educated here and before her
marriage engaged in teaching school, thus forwarding the educational interests
of the community in an early day. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins
took up their abode upon a rented farm, where they lived for two years and
then removed to a tract of eighty acres which he had purchased prior to their
marriage. He bought an old homestead and began to develop and further improve
the place, carefully conducting it for ten years. It was situated in Meadow
township and his labors were attended with success. In 1902, however, he
located in Langdon, where he took charge of an elevator and engaged in buying
grain for P. M. Ingo. Subsequently he engaged in business on his own account
as a dealer in coal and has since continued in this line. He likewise buys and
sells poultry and is a dealer in hides. He built up a good business in this
connection and has further extended his efforts to include the grain trade, for in 1904 he
took charge of an elevator, which he still operates. He also bought eight lots
and built two residences and a blacksmith shop. His labors and enterprise have
been important factors in the upbuilding and development of the town, and while
Mr. Hopkins carefully conducts his commercial interests, his wife is carrying on
a hotel and thus accommodates the traveling public. Mr. Hopkins is also secretary
of the Cooperative Creamery Company and in all business matters displays
energy and sound judgment.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins have been born two children, Roy L. and Mary
A. Mr. Hopkins has served as a member of the school board but has never been
an office seeker and is independent in his political relations. Socially he is a
Master Mason, belonging to the blue lodge of Spencer. He is a prominent business
man of Langdon, identified with its growth and development, and is well
known in Clay county as one of its public-spirited citizens.
Summit township contains many beautiful country homes and well developed farms.
A neat and well improved property is that of Walter J. Marr,
who is living in section 15, where he owhs and cultivates a farm of one hundred
and sixty acres. He has lived in the county since 1892 and in the intervening
years has become widely known as an industrious, energetic man, who keeps in
touch with the spirit of progress that has been manifest in agricultural lines as
well as in other departments of business activity. He started upon the journey of
life January 3, 1876, the place of his nativity being Waushara county, Wisconsin.
His father, Lucien Marr, was a native of New York, and on leaving that state in
his childhood days accompanied his parents to Wisconsin, where he was reared
to manhood among the wild scenes and environment of frontier life. Having
reached adult age he was there married to Miss Kate McLaughlan, a native of
Wisconsin, and in order to provide a home he carried on husbandry and developed
a new farm, which he cultivated for seven years. In 1892 he removed to
Iowa, settling, first in Summit township, Clay county, where he devoted his energies
to general agricultural pursuits for two years when, in 1894, he was called
to his final rest at the age of fifty-two years. His wife survived him and resides
on a farm in Summit township. People of the highest respectability, they
enjoyed in large measure the confidence and good will of all who knew them.
Walter J. Marr came to Clay county when a youth of sixteen years. His
early education was acquired in the district schools and later he attended the
Dickens school. He started out in business life on his own account in 1897,
when he began operating his father's place. The same year he purchased an
improved farm, upon which he now resides, and to its further development and
cultivation has since given his energies. The residence which now stands upon
the place was erected by him and he has also put up a substantial barn, has fenced
his fields and added many modern improvements. He has a wind-pump and
feed-mill and owns and operates a corn-sheller, feed-grinder and wood-saw. A
gasoline engine furnishes motive power to shell the corn and grind the feed.
Another element of his success is his stock-raising. He annually feeds a large
number of hogs and in the year 1908 his sales amounted to nearly one thousand
dollars. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator and also in the Telephone
Company at Fostoria. He believes in progress at all times and this is
manifest in his business connections and in the manner in which he conducts his
farming interests.
On the 10th of April, 1907. Mr. Marr was united in marriage to Miss Ella
O'Brien, a daughter of Joseph O'Brien, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this
work. He was one of the pioneer residents of the county, arriving here at a
date early enough to secure a homestead claim. Mrs. Marr was born and reared
and educated in this county. She attended school in Spencer for a time and prior
to her marriage successfully engaged in teaching in the county for two years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Marr has been born a daughter, Marian.
In his political views Mr. Marr has always been a republican, for he believes
firmly in the principles of the party, but the honors and emoluments of office
have no attraction for him. He is well known in his home locality as a man of
good business ability, kind and obliging nature, while his home is a most hospitable one,
in which good cheer and good will are characteristic features.
The real builders and promoters of Clay county have largelv been the men
who came into this region when it was an unimproved tract and utilized its
natural resources, transforming the wild prairie into rich and productive fields,
the products of which constitute the chief source of the county's prosperity.
Iowa is pre-eminently an agricultural state and may well be proud of her emi-
Picture of John Adams
nence in this regard, for in many ways she leads the other states of the Union.
John Adams, now residing in Everly, is one of those who have contributed in
substantial measure to the county's development and advancement, for in Waterford
township he opened up and improved a new farm of four hundred and
forty acres, which prior to his occupancy was largely wild land, undeveloped in
accordance with modern ideas of agricultural progress. Mr. Adams has been a
resident of Iowa for much more than half a century, having arrived in Clinton
county in 1852, while his residence in Clay county dates from 1884. He was
born in New York city, March 25, 1837. His father, William Adams, was a
native of Ireland, where he remained until seventeen years of age, when he
crossed the Atlantic and became a resident of New York city. He learned and
followed the trade of stone and marble cutting, being thus busily
engaged for some years in the eastern metropolis. While there he
married Sarah Maloy, also a native of Ireland, whence she was brought to the
new world, when a maiden of six summers, by her brother, who also settled in
New York city. In 1840 William Adams removed to Tioga county, Pennsylvania,
where he purchased a farm and soon afterward met death by accident.
His wife survived him for many years, married again and reared her family.
John Adams was but four years of age at the time of the removal to the
Keystone state and in Tioga county spent a portion of his minority, acquiring his
preliminary education in the schools there. He was fifteen years of age when in
1852 he came to Iowa with his mother and stepfather, the family home being
established in Clinton county. Here he continued his education as a pupil in the
Dewitt schools and was identified with agricultural interests in the state until the
outbreak of the Civil war, when his patriotic spirit was aroused and, feeling that
his country needed his aid, he enlisted in Jackson county on the 20th of August,
1861, as a member of Company A, Ninth Iowa Volnnteer Infantry, under command of
Captain Grips. As a private he went to the front, the regiment being,
attached to the Western Army and was first under fire at Pea Ridge, Arkansas.
He participated in numerous skirmishes and in the battles of Haynes Bluff,
Raymond, Mississippi, and the siege of Vicksburg. He was there taken prisoner and
was incarcerated in Vicksburg for thirty-eight days previous to the surrender of
the city. He afterward took part in the battle of Black River Bridge, in the
engagements at Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain and later went into Alabama.
His term expired when he was at Woodville but he reenlisted as a veteran and
returned home for a thirty days' furlough with his regiment. In March,
however, he rejoined his command at Davenport, Iowa, and returned with his
comrades to Woodville, Alabama, after which they joined Sherman on the Atlanta
campaign, participating in the battle of Resaca, fighting every day until Atlanta
was reached. Mr. Adams assisted in the capture of the city and subsequently
went with Sherman as he marched from that place to the sea and proved how
weak were the interior defenses of the Confederacy. He also participated in the
capture of Savannah, where the troops remained for about a week and then went
to Hiltonhead. Later they joined another branch of the army and on their way
northward participated in various skirmishes and the battle at Goldsboro, South
Carolina. He also assisted in the taking, of Columbus, South Carolina. Mr.
Adams, although often in the thickest of the fight, meeting the enemy on many
a hotly contested battlefield, was never wounded nor did he lose time from sickness
or other cause. From Goldsboro the troops marched to Petersburg and on
to Richmond, thence to Washington, where he participated in the grand review,
the most celebrated military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. It
was a gala day in the history of the nation. Over Pennsylvania avenue was a
broad banner bearing the words, "The only debt which our country cannot pay is
the debt which she owes to her soldiers." Thousands of people lined the streets
of the city as the victorious army marched in parade down the avenue and passed
the stand on which stood the President reviewing the troops. After three or
four weeks spent in Washington the regiment to which Mr. Adams belonged was
sent to Louisville, Kentucky, and was there mustered out in August, being honorably
discharged at Clinton, Iowa, on the 25th of the same month.
Mr. Adams had participated in the long, hard marches, the arduous campaigns
and the hotly contested battles, and now with a most creditable military
record he returned to his home and resumed the work of the farm. Prior to the
war he had purchased a farm in Clinton county nine miles north of Dewitt, where
he had one hundred and sixty acres of land. He brought as a bride to his home
Miss Kate Varner, whom he wedded in Clinton county on the 19th of November,
1865. She was born in Spencer county, Indiana, but was brought to Iowa when
a little girl of three years by her father, Conrad Varner, who was one of the early
settlers of the state. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Adams continued
to reside for sixteen years on the Clinton county farm, during which time he
transformed the raw prairie into productive fields and developed an excellent
property. In 1881 he came to Clay county and purchased four hundred and
forty acres of land that was still in its primitive condition. Later he sold his
Clinton county property and in 1884 took up his abode upon his purchase in this
county, bending his energies to the development and improvement of the fields.
Later he sold two hundred and forty acres of this and retired to private life. In
the meantime he had cultivated and improved two new farms, had placed thereon
two sets of good farm buildings and with characteristic energy had continued to
till the soil. At length, however, his unremitting diligence brought to him success
that enabled him to put aside further business cares and in 1901 he left the farm
and removed to Everly, where he purchased a home, which is comfortable,
attractively furnished and most hospitable. His farm is rented and he receives
therefrom a substantial annual income.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Adams have been born five children, who are yet living,
two sons and three daughters: Carl, who is engaged in the lumber business at
Steele, North Dakota; John, of Cleveland, North Dakota, who, in partnership
with his brother Carl, is a member of the Winnor & Adams Lumber Company,
owning and operating five lumber yards; May, the wife of H. E. Barto, a druggist
of Fairmont, Minnesota; Pearl, the wife of A. R. Ogilvie, a dentist of
Edmore, North Dakota; and Effie, the wife of George H. Mumm, living at Goodrich,
North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Adams also lost two children ‐ their first
born, William, who died at the age of one year and three months, and Maud, who
became the wife of E. L. Clark. For a niunber of years they resided in this
county and then removed to Wheaton, Minnesota, where Mrs. Clark died in
August, 1905, at the age of thirty-five years, leaving two sons.
Mr. Adams is a member of Everly Lodge, A. F. & A. M., while his wife holds
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. His political views are in harmony
with the principles of the republican party and he cast his first presidential
ballot for Abraham Lincoln in 1860, since which time he has supported all of the
standard bearers of the party. While on the farm he served for six consecutive
years as assessor, was also township trustee for a number of years, township
treasurer for several years and since removing to Everly has been elected and
reelected supervisor until his incumbency will have covered nine years in January,
1910. He has served on all the committees of the board, has also been a
member of the drainage board and was the prime mover in organizing drainage
district No. 2. At all times he has been interested in the welfare of the county
and has given active cooperation to many movements for the public good, while
his efforts in behalf of general improvement have been effective and far-reaching.
Living in Iowa for fifty-seven years and in Clay county for twenty-four years, he
is one of the best known citizens of this locality, being widely recognized as a
man of tried integrity and worth, of business enterprise and of unfaltering diligence.
Now that he has passed the seventieth milestone on life's journey he is
enjoying a well earned rest, for it is fitting that his former business career should
give to him this period of leisure in which to enjoy the fruits of his previous toil.
His fellow townsmen honor and respect him and wherever he is known he has an
extensive circle of friends. Moreover, he deserves mention in this volume as
one of the veterans of the Civil war to whom the country owes a debt of
gratitude that can never be repaid.
Wirt Bronscn. a man of enterprise and marked force of character, who
throughout his business life has made good use of his opportunities, is now
manager of the Spencer City Mills and thus figures prominently in industrial
circles in Clay county. He is one of Iowa's native sons, his birth having
occurred in Manchester on the i6th of January, 1871, his parents being Charles
E. and Jennie (Sheldon) Bronson, natives of New York and Ohio respectively.
The former was a son of Clark M. and Abigail (Cornish) Bronson. The
grandfather, also a native of the Empire state, conducted business as merchant
tailor there and after making and losing one fortune he retrieved his lost
possessions, again becoming financially independent. Both he and his wife lived to
an advanced age, his death occurring when he was more than seventy years of
age, while his wife was in the eighties. They were the parents of two sons and
a daughter who reached years of maturity; Charles E.; Clark Henry, of Chicago;
and Nellie E., the wife of Frank E. Merriam. Comparatively little is
known concerning the maternal grandparents of Wirt Bronson, save that the
grandfather was a farmer and trader and lived to an advanced age, as did his
wife. They reared a large family.
Charles E. Bronson, who died in November, 1908, was well known as a
practitioner of the Iowa bar. He was an early settler of Manchester, Delaware
county, this state, where he was engaged in law practice for more than forty
years. Moreover he gained distinction in democratic circles as a leader of the
party and for one term represented his district in the state senate. Both he
and his wife were of the Universalist faith. Their family numbered five children:
Earl, of Spencer; Wirt, of this review; Lee, who is located at Craik,
Canada; Byron, of Muskogee, Oklahoma; and Henry, a resident of Manchester,
Iowa.
Wirt Bronson remained a resident of his native town until nineteen years
of age and was a pupil in the public and high schools of that place. At the age
of sixteen years he began working in the postoffice there, acting, as assistant
under his father during President Cleveland's first administration and also
continuing for one year under the Harrison administration. Later he took up the
printer's trade and in 1891 came to Spencer, where in partnership with his brother
Earl he established the Spencer Herald. They were associated in its publication
and conduct until 1892, when Wirt Bronson sold his interest to his brother and
purchased an interest in the Spencer City Mills, at which time he assumed the
management and has since been in charge. This is a well equipped plant, thoroughly
supplied with all modern improved machinery, and has a capacity of one
hundred and fifty barrels per day. That the output is of excellent quality is
indicated by the ready sale on the market. The Spencer Milling Company also
owns the mill at White Lake, South Dakota, which has a capacity of sixty barrels
per day and the business interests of the two plants are proving most profitable.
On the 3d of June, 1896, Mr. Bronson was married to Miss Nellie Evans,
a daughter of Joseph P. and Mary M. (Moore) Evans. Mrs. Bronson was
born near Belleville, Illinois, and by her marriage has become the mother of
five children: Kathleen, Carl, Joseph, Virginia and Mary. Mr. Bronson belongs
to the Knights of Pythias lodge and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks.
His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and he is loyal in its
support and devoted to its welfare. As a citizen he is public spirited and whatever tends to promote the best interests of the community receives his endorsement and hearty support.
Joseph O'Brien has been a resident of Clay county since 1870 and has therefore
witnessed almost its entire growth and development, for few settlements had
been made within its borders at the time of his arrival and all of the evidences of
frontier life were to be seen, while the hardships and trials incident to a pioneer
existence were to be met. Mr. O'Brien was born in the year 1837 and has therefore
reached the seventy-second milestone on life's journey. Moreover, he
deserves mention in this volume, from the fact that he is a self-made man, who
owes his prosperity and progress entirely to his own well-directed labors and
unfaltering determination. His farm of one hundred and sixty acres is the
visible evidence of a well-spent life. His birth occurred in Wilkesbarre,
Pennsylvania, on the 19th of March, 1837, and there he was reared to manhood, but
when a lad of only seven years began earning his own livelihood by working on
Picture of Joseph O'Brien
the canal. He was thus employed for about twenty years, being at first a driver
on the tow-path, while later he had charge of a boat. He continued in active
canal service until the 31st of March, 1864, when he offered his services to the
government and was assigned to duty with Company K of the One Hundred
and Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was
assigned to the First Brigade, Fifth Corps, under General Warren, and Mr.
O'Brien participated in the charge at Fort Hell, June 18, 1864, and also in the
fight which resulted in the capture of the Weldon railroad. He served until the
close of the war, making a most creditable military record, for he never faltered
in the performance of any task and thus gave proof of his loyalty to the Union.
He was honorably discharged at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, following the close
of hostilities.
When the war was over Mr. O'Brien returned home and afterward made
two trips on the canal, but he had become convinced that the middle west offered
better business opportunities for those who were ambitious for advancement and
in December, 1865, he arrived in Dane county, Wisconsin. There he worked for
his brother and soon became convinced that the step taken when he removed to
the Mississippi valley was a wise one. While living in Dane county he was
married, on the 30th of September, 1869, the lady of his choice being Miss Emily
B. Ames, a native of Toledo, Ohio, who was reared in Wisconsin and was a
teacher prior to her marriage.
In 1870 Mr. O'Brien brought his young wife to Iowa, establishing his home
in Clay county. It was still a frontier district and much of the land was yet in
possession of the government, so that he secured a homestead claim of one hundred
and sixty acres. All around him stretched the unbroken prairie, the native
grasses growing to great height. There were no buildings or forests to break the
force of the wind, which swept over the treeless tract at times with almost the
force of a tornado. In the winter the ground was covered with one unbroken
sheet of snow, but with returning summer the work of the farm was resolutely
carried on and the rich soil soon responded in bounteous harvests. Mr. O'Brien
not only developed his fields and fenced his place, but also put up substantial
buildings, set out a beautiful grove of elms and maples and also planted an
orchard. In 1896 he erected his present neat and attractive residence and also
built a big barn and other outbuildings for the shelter of corn and other grain and
farm machinery and stock. He has today a well-improved property, indicating
in its neat and attractive appearance the careful supervision of the owner.
In 1894 Mr. O'Brien was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who
died on the 19th of May of that year, leaving three living children. Frank, who
is a graduate of the Spencer high school, owns one hundred and sixty acres of
land adjoining his father's place and is in partnership with his father in their
farming operations. Ellen is the wife of Walter J. Marr, a resident farmer, who
owns a place adjoining the O'Brien home and who is mentioned elsewhere in
this volume. Gertrude is a graduate of the Spencer high school and is now acting
as her father's housekeeper. They also lost one son, Charles, who died in
infancy. Mr. O'Brien looked upon the remains of the martyred Lincoln as they
lay in their casket at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, while on the way to
Springfield, Illinois. His regiment was placed on duty there at the time to pre-
serve order. He is recogjiized as one of the stalwart advocates of the republican
party in his locality and was here elected the first sub-director in Summit township.
Subsequently he was chosen assessor and filled that position for three or
four terms, while for some years he was township treasurer. No trust reposed
in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. He has been a delegate to
various county conventions and his son, Frank, has been township clerk and also
secretary of the school board. He is likewise a stockholder and president of the
Fostoria Creamery Company. Mr. O'Brien gives his support to various churches
and attends their services. His son is a member of the Masonic lodge of Spencer
and is also a Royal Arch Mason. For thirty-nine years Joseph O'Brien has lived
in Clay county and is one of the few who have so long witnessed its growth and
development. Throughout the entire period he has made his home on the farm
which is yet his place of residence, but has not confined his attention and efforts
alone to this property, although he has made it a valuable property. From time to
time he has given hearty cooperation to many movements for the public good and
Clay county owes her development to such men, who dared to face the hardships
of pioneer life and have reclaimed this region for the purposes of civilization.
Among the respected and valued residents of Spencer is numbered David
J. Logan, Sr., who for forty years has been a resident of Iowa. This has covered
the period of the state's greatest growth and progress, and in the work of
general improvement he has borne his full share as the years have gone by. He
has lived in Clay county since 1871 and in recent years has been retired from
business cares, although for a long time he gave his time and energies to general
agricultural pursuits. He was born near Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania,
June 14, 1836, his parents, Thomas and Martha (Phillips) Logan being
also natives of the Keystone state. The Logan family, however, is of Irish
lineage and was founded in America by the grandfather of our subject, who was
born in the north of Ireland. Crossing the briny deep to the new world he
established his home in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, where he followed the
occupation of farming. He not only made a creditable position for himself in
agricultural circles but was also regarded as one of the valued residents of the
community and was called to fill various offices. For fourteen years he served as
justice of the peace and in the War of 1812 served as a soldier. His death
occurred in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, when he had reached the venerable
age of eighty years. In the maternal line David J. Logan came of Welch ancestry,
for his mother's father was a native of the little rock-ribbed country of Wales.
He had located in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, when he sought a home on this
side of the Atlantic, giving his attention there to general agricultural pursuits.
Thomas Logan, after attaining his majority, became a clothier of Crawford
county, Pennsylvania. By trade he was a carder of cloth and throughout his
entire life his business interests were in that line and its kindred enterprises. He
died in Pennsylvania at the age of seventy-seven years in the faith of the Free
Will Baptist church, to which his wife also belonged. She was seventy-four years
of age at the time of her demise. Of their family of three sons and eight daughters
only five are now living: Sarah, the widow of Edwin Brown of Indianola,
Iowa; David J., of this review; Elmira P., the widow of W. W. Harrison, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota; Jennie, wife of W. W. Campbell, of Jamestown, New
York; and Thomas Gaylord, of Linesville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania.
David J. Logan spent his youthful days in his parents' home in Crawford
county, Pennsylvania, and the work of the farm early became familiar to him,
for through the summer months he assisted in the labors of the fields. His early
education was acquired in the district schools, while later he enjoyed the benefit
of instruction in Austinburg Seminary of Ohio. For seven years during his
early manhood he did railroad contracting work. During the period of the Civil
war, no longer content to remain at home while the issue of the struggle was still
a doubtful one, he offered his services to the government in March, 1864, and
joined the boys in blue of Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry, serving with that command until the close of the war.
He participated in the hotly contested battle of the Wilderness, the engagements
of Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg and a number of others,
and on the field of battle gave unmistakable proof of his valor and loyalty.
When the war was over Mr. Logan returned to his native state and soon
went to Pithole City, Pennsylvania, where he erected a store building and in it
opened a stock of groceries and provisions. On the 9th of March, 1868, he was
married to Miss Eunice Luke, who was born in Linesville, Crawford county,
Pennsylvania, in 1843, and is a daughter of John and Martha (Reamer) Luke,
who were natives of Albany county, New York. Her father was a son of Henry
and Martha (Phillips) Luke, who were also born in the Empire state. Henry
Luke served his country as a soldier in the War of 1812, and in days of peace
devoted his energies to agricultural interests. John Luke, the father of Mrs.
Logan, passed away in 1865, while his wife died some years later at the age of
eighty-four years. They were the parents of nine daughters and three sons.
The surviving members of the family are: Henry; Mrs. Sarah Van Tassell, a
widow; Phoebe, the wife of Dewey Connick, of Springboro, Pennsylvania;
Solomon; Eunice, the wife of David J. Logan; and Maria, the wife of Newton
Thayer of Crawford county, Pennsylvania.
David J. Logan and his wife began their domestic life at Linesville,
Pennsylvania, but in October, 1869, left the east and removed to Sioux Rapids, Iowa,
where they resided for a year and a half. During that time Mr. Logan took up
a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, which he improved and still
owns. In 1871 they came to Clay county and he purchased two eighty-acre tracts
of land in Riverton township. To this he has since added until the farm now
comprises two hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land, which
annually returns to him a gratifying income. Year after year he tilled the soil,
bringing the fields under a high state of cultivation and adding modern
equipments and accessories to his place. At length, feeling that his financial resources
were sufficient to cover all of his expenses throughout his remaining days, he
removed to Spencer in 1903 and has since made his home in the city, living a
retired life. Mr. and Mrs. Logan reared their family on the farm. They became
the parents of six sons and three daughters: Ralph E., a farmer, who married
Minnie Hein and has one son, Leland; Clara M., the wife of Lafayette Hines, by
whom she has five children, Harry, Archie, Milton, Roy and Doris; Fred W., a
practicing physician of Fenton, Iowa, who married Emma Heis of Algona, Iowa,
and who has one son, Donald; Minnie, who is the wife of W. B. Johnson of
Riverton township and has two daughters, Edna and Lyle; Herbert, who was
killed by a horse when twelve years of age; David J., Jr., who married Josie
Seible and is living on the home farm; Charles, who wedded Maud Jones and
is now a resident of Spencer; Benjamin F., who is at home with his parents;
and Grace, a student in the high school. Mr. and Mrs. Logan are members of
the Methodist church and he belongs to Annett Post, G. A. R., delighting there
to meet his old army comrades and recall the events which occurred upon southern
battlefields. He is always stanch in his support of the republican party and
has served as township clerk, supervisor and school director. He has never been
remiss in the duties of citizenship, but has always been watchful of the interests
pertaining to its progress and has given his cooperation to many movements for
the public good. In his seventy-third year Mr. Logan is still a well preserved
man, his age resting lightly upon him. Unflagging industry and unfaltering
determination have constituted the basis of his success, enabling him, as the
years have passed, to so conduct his farming interests that he is now one of the
prosperous residents of the county. Moreover, he deserves mention among its
pioneer settlers, for Clay county was still regarded as a frontier district when
he located within its borders. It had little railroad connection with the outside
world, there were many uncultivated tracts of land, and the settlers were still
obliged to suffer many of the hardships and difficulties incident to improving the
new locality. Mr. Logan did not hesitate to perform his part of this work, and
now rejoices in what the county has accomplished, as it is today numbered among
the leading counties of this great commonwealth.
Frank P. Riley is an active business man of Fostoria, where for thirteen
years he has been connected with various enterprises that have been factors in
the business development and progress of the town as well as a source of gratifying
individual income. Clay county has numbered him among her citizens
since 1878 and regards him as a valuable addition to the ranks of her progressive
men. He has always lived in the middle west, however, and seems imbued with
the spirit of energy that has been the most forceful feature in the growth and
development of this section of the country. He was born at Turner Junction,
now West Chicago, in Dupage county, Illinois, November 26, 1859. His father,
John Riley, was a native of New York city, where his boyhood was passed and
in the eastern metropolis he wedded Ellen Donlin, a native of Ireland. Removing
westward, they established their home in Dupage county, Illinois, where Mr.
Riley lived until after the outbreak of the Civil war. In 1862 he joined the
Twelfth Illinois Cavalry and served throughout the period of hostilities between
the north and the south. On one occasion he was captured and was taken to
Libby Prison, where he remained for some time. He participated in a number
of battles and was always most loyal to the old flag. When the war was over
Mr. Riley removed westward to Iowa, becoming a resident of Meadow township,
Clay county, where he lived several years. He then sold out and went to Spencer,
and is now living a retired life, the fruits of his former toil being sufficient to
permit him to rest without further recourse to labor.
Frank P. Riley was reared and educated in Dupage county, Illinois, and
as a young man of nineteen years came to Iowa, settling in Clay county in 1878.
Here he became identified with farming interests and so continued for several
years, or until 1895. He was one of the promoters of the Fostoria Creamery and
was its secretary for ten years, during which time he contributed largely to the
success and capable management of the enterprise. He also became one of the
promoters of the Farmers' Elevator at Fostoria and acted as its secretary for a
decade. In 1907 he became actively engaged in the live-stock business, buying
and shipping, and each month sends out from this point about eight or ten
carloads of fat stock. His business interests are very carefully conducted and his
sound judgment and unflagging industry are manifest in the prosperity which
has come to him.
In March, 1883, in Fostoria, Mr. Riley was married to Miss Sarah Hutchinson,
who was born in the state of New York but was reared in Winneshiek
county, Iowa, and engaged in teaching school in Clay county prior to her
marriage. Two children have blessed this union, Wilfred and Nellie.
Mr. Riley is independent politically, casting his ballot for candidates rather
than for party. He has never been an officeseeker nor desired political preferment,
yet he acceded to the request of his fellow townsmen that he should serve
as trustee of Meadow township and filled that position for a few years. He was
for some years the owner of a farm in that township, which he cultivated and
improved, making it a valuable property of one hundred and sixty acres. This
he still owns but rented the place when he removed to Fostoria to engage in
business there. He is a man of determination and force of character, who carries
forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. In manner he is
modest and unostentatious and those who know him speak of him in terms of
praise. Mr. Riley is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
For forty-three years Dr. William Palmer Woodcock remained an active,
successful and honored member of the medical profession, but is now living
retired in Spencer, devoting his time and attention to such interests as afford
him pleasure and promote his progress in lines of intellectual and moral development.
He has now passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey, and a
review of his record shows that at all times his career has been characterized by
honorable, manly principles, as well as successful professional attainment. He
was born in New York city March 6, 1827, and is of English lineage, being
descended from a noted family of that country. His grandfather, John
Higgenbottom Woodcock, was born on the "Merrie Isle," and crossed the Atlantic to
America, making his home for a time in New York, while subsequently he
removed to Nashville, Tennessee. He married a Miss Beck, of Philadelphia,
and they became the parents of two sons, William P. and Thomas Woodcock.
The former, when a boy of twelve years, was thrown upon his own resources,
and not only provided for himself but also supported his mother, following
various pursuits which would yield him an honest living. He was energetic,
diligent and persevering, and his economy enabled him in later years to make
investments in property. Through his speculations in real estate and his capable
conduct of other business interests, he became a wealthy man, being, worth about two
million dollars at the time of his demise. While residing in the city of New
York he served as captain of a company of militia, and did service at the time of
the flour and negro riots of New York city. His history was a notable one from
the fact that he started out empty-handed and gained classification among the
millionaire residents of the county. Nor was his path at any time strewn with
the wreck of other men's fortunes. He wedded Mary Ann Astor Cook, also
a native of New York, and a daughter of Peter Cook. Her father was a native
of Germany, and after coming to the United States established his home in New
York. There he wedded a sister of John Jacob Astor, and both lived to an
advanced age. Their daughter, Mrs. A. A. Cook, was their only child. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock were born seven children, but five of the number have
passed away, the surviving ones being William P. and John, the latter of New
York.
Dr. Woodcock was reared in New York city, and supplemented his literary
education by a course in the medical department of the New York University,
from which he was graduated with the class of 1850. In that year he located for
practice in the eastern metropolis, and remained as an active member of the
profession in the city and vicinity for a number of years. Subsequently he removed
to Bedford, Westchester county, New York, where he followed his profession for
several years, and then went to Ossining, formerly called Sing Sing. His
untiring devotion to his professional duties at length undermined his health, and
in 1879 he came to Spencer, Iowa, for needed rest and recreation. Here he
devoted his attention to hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports and interests
and recovered his health, eventually resuming the active practice of medicine, in
which he continued until the period of his connection with the profession covered
forty-three years, when he retired, giving his supervision at the present time
to his invested interests. By his father's death he came into possession of
considerable property, and is now the owner of about five hundred and fifty-four
acres of valuable and productive land, together with a beautiful home on the
southern edge of Spencer, and twenty-four dwellings in the city, from which
he derives a substantial rental.
In 1854 Dr. Woodcock was married to Miss Mary Wiltse, who died, leaving three daughters.
Flora, the eldest, became the wife of William Casey, and
since his death has married Frank Hunter Potter, a brother of the late Bishop
Potter of New York. Matilda died in early womanhood, after spending two or
three years in Rome, where she became ill with Roman fever, passing away after
HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY 247
her return home. Hattie, the youngest daughter, is now the wife of Hon.
Herbert G. Squires, minister to Panama. He is a West Point graduate, and was
military attache to the Chinese embassy during the Boxer war. They have three
sons, Herbert, Bard and Jack.
On the 22d of May, 1894, Dr. Woodcock was again married, his second
wife being Miss Adelaide Tracy, a daughter of Albert G. and Angeline (Starkey)
Tracy. There are six children of this marriage, Adelaide, William P., Jr.,
Annita, Thursia, Fletcher Howard and Gertrude. The mother was born in
Jessup, Buchanan county, Iowa, while her parents were natives of Ohio. They
had four children, the eldest being Mrs. Woodcock, while the others are George,
Albert and Minnie, the wife of A. J. Cuttell of Spokane, Washington. Mr. and
Mrs. Tracy were early settlers of Buchanan county, Iowa, where the father
engaged as a produce dealer. He was killed by lightning July 21, 1891, when
fifty-eight years of age. His wife survived him for six years, but never recovered
from the effects of the shock of her husband's death. Both Dr. and Mrs.
Woodcock are members of the Episcopal church, in which he is serving as senior
warden, and in the support of which he has been a most liberal contributor.
His political allegiance is given to the democracy. A lover of flowers and plants,
he has a large greenhouse at his home which he established some years ago for
his own pleasure. He has made additions to this from time to time, and now has
many rare and beautiful flowers in which his wife also takes great delight. He
has been an extensive traveler and is a lover of the beautiful, having a collection
of rare pictures, some of which are very valuable. Beauty in any form makes
strong appeal to him, and in later years he has had opportunity to indulge his
taste in this direction and cultivate those graces of character which are developed
through the intellectual and aesthetic. As a resident of Spencer he has been
loyal in his advocacy of everything pertaining to the welfare of the city, and has
made some substantial contributions to its development and progress.
Perhaps no one is better known throughout Clay county as a breeder of a
high grade of draft horses than J. W. McDowell, who operates a large farm
near Greenville and who is a native of the state of Ohio, his birth having occurred
in Pickaway county, September 5, 1845. He is a son of Robert T. and Mary
(Wolf) McDowell, his great-grandfather having, been a native of Scotland. His
father was a native of Fairfield county, that state, where he resided until 1854,
when he located in Livingston county, Illinois, and lived there until he departed
this life in 1885, his remains being interred at Streator, that state. He followed
general agriculture all his days, and was ranked among the substantial and
financial factors of the township. In politics he was a whig, at the dissolution of which
party he naturally allied himself with the republican party to which he was thereafter
loyal. He was known throughout the community as a Christian character
and was throughout his life an earnest worker in the United Brethren church.
His mother, now in her eighty-eighth year, is also a native of Fairfield county,
Ohio. She was united in marriage there and now resides with her son, J. W.
McDowell. In their family were eight children, namely: Noah, a resident of
California; J. W.; Susanna, who became the wife of J. W. Shropshire, a farmer
and stockman of Alvarado, Texas; Louisa, who is wedded to F. P. Giles, now
residing in Streator, Illinois; Lewis, an agriculturist of Forest City, this state;
and Albert, Alice and Mattie, deceased.
In the common schools of Livingston county, Illinois, J. W. McDowell
acquired his education and remained under the parental roof until he was seventeen
years of age, when he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-
fourth Illinois volunteer Infantry, in the one hundred day service, and received
an honorable discharge six months later. Upon returning home he began to
farm in Livingston county and remained there until 1895, during which year
he removed to the place on which he now resides, his farm consisting of five
hundred acres of land located in Lincoln and Meadow townships. His property
is highly improved, being provided with an elegant dwelling house and substantial
barns; is well fenced and drained and one of the most desirable pieces of
property for agricultural purposes in the county. He deals largely in corn and
oats and in addition pays attention to stock-raising, making a specialty of breeding
draft and road horses with particular attention to the Percheron and
Hambletonian breeds. He has the reputation of having the best horses in the county.
He began the breeding of this class of animals when thirty-five years of age
and his long experience together with the profound study he has given to the
business has made him a recognized authority. His horses are all graded and
registered and upon the whole Mr. McDowell is without a peer in the state as a
judge of their points and qualities. He does quite a shipping business in graded
cattle, raising the shorthorn class in particular, and has also gained quite a
reputation as a breeder of Poland China hogs.
In 1866 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Brooker, of Livingston
county, Illinois, by whom he has had three children, namely: Frank, who is
engaged in agriculture north of Spencer, in Meadow township; Harley A.,
deceased; and Alta, wife of C. L. West, a real estate operator of St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Mr. McDowell is a republican in politics but has not found time to actively
engage in public affairs, as his business interests demand his undivided attention.
He attends the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is a member.
He is a man well known throughout the county not only as one of its foremost stockmen,
but also as a straightforward and upright character. He merits
the confidence and respect of all who know him, and is numbered among the
most substantial citizens of the county.
Honored and respected by all. there is no man who occupies a more enviable
position in financial circles than Henry Nyman Smith, not alone by reason of
the success he has achieved but also owing to the fact that his business methods
have been straightforward and honorable. He is a dependable man under all
Picture of H. N. Smith
circumstances and the simple weight of his character and ability have carried
him into important business relations. He has ever utilized his opportunities to
the best advantage and, making steady progress in the business world, has today
reached a position of prominence and influence, being president of the People's
Savings Bank and vice president of the First National Bank of Spencer.
Mr. Smith is a native of Maryland, his birth having occurred in Boonsboro,
on the 2d of September, 1844. He is a son of Samuel H. and Elizabeth (Nyman)
Smith, who were natives of Maryland. The former was a son of John Smith,
who was of German descent, and a shoemaker by trade. Leaving Maryland,
he removed westward with his family and became a resident of Boonsboro,
Maryland, where his death was occasioned by an accident, being thrown from
a horse. His widow survived him and lived to an advanced age. They had a
large family, including David, Jacob, John, William, Samuel and Sarah. The
maternal grandfather of H. N. Smith was Henry Nyman, who was born in
Hanover, Pennsylvania, in 1782, his death occurring in 1876, when he was 94
years old. He, too, was of German lineage and followed the blacksmith's trade
in early manhood but spent the later years of his life retired. He married Miss
Susana Brantner, who was born in Boonsboro in 1788, entering into rest in 1836.
Their family included the following children: Daniel, Henry, George, Lewis,
Joseph, Elizabeth, Sarah, Maria, Susan, Mary, Michael and Rebecca.
Samuel H. Smith, in his youthful days, learned the shoemaker's trade and
later became a shoe merchant of Boonsboro, Maryland, where he carried on
business for a number of years, becoming well known in the commercial circles
of the city. He also served as postmaster for one term. Both he and his wife
were members of the Lutheran church and were loyal to its teachings and their
faith. His death occurred in 1876, when he had reached the age of sixty-five
years, while Mrs. Smith lived until 1896 and passed away at the advanced age
of eighty-three years. They were the parents of ten children but only two are
now living: Henry N., of this review; and J. Harland Smith, who is a resident
of Hagerstown, Maryland.
Henry N. Smith was reared in Boonsboro and acquired his education in
the schools of that city. Later he became a resident of Hagerstown, Maryland,
where he remained for two years and afterward removed to Hancock, Maryland,
where he resided until January, 1883. At that date he came to Spencer, where
he has since made his home. When a boy he learned the jeweler's trade but
gave up work in that line and turned his attention to clerking, being thus
employed until coming west. On arriving at Spencer he entered the Clay County
Bank in the capacity of bookkeeper and since that time has been continuously
connected with financial interests of the county. After three years' service as
bookkeeper he was promoted in January, 1886, to the position of cashier and so
continued until July, 1901, when the Clay County Bank was consolidated with
the First National Bank and the People's Savings Bank. At that date he became
president of the latter and vice president of the former and in those business
relations still continues. The First National Bank is capitalized for one hundred
thousand dollars and has a surplus of twenty thousand dollars, while the People's
Savings Bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and has a surplus
of five thousand dollars, making a combined capital and surplus of one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. These are two of the substantial money concerns of
the county, capably controlled along conservative lines, every means being
employed to protect the depositors and at the same time give them the benefit
of a progressive business policy.
On the 18th of December, 1873, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Lillie
Brosius, a daughter of Daniel and Eleanor (Johnson) Brosius, and a native of
Washington county, Maryland. Two children have been born to them. The
elder, Bessie L., became the wife of G. Ralph Free and died May 19, 1906,
leaving one daughter, Margaret. Sue Meta is the wife of Dr. A. W. Leard, of
Spencer. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are prominent socially and members of the
Episcopal church. His membership relations extend also to Evening Shade
Lodge, No. 312, A. F. & A. M., and Spencer Lodge, No. 247, L O. O. F.
In both of these he is now treasurer and he became one of the charter members
of the Rebekah Lodge of Odd Fellows. Politically he is a democrat, his study
of the questions and issues of the day leading him to the opinion that the
principles of that party are best calculated to conserve the general good. He
has served two terms as school trustee and was mayor of Spencer for one term,
giving to the city a business-like and progressive administration. He is a
dignified, courteous gentleman, of kindly spirit and strongly marked principles,
who through his marked individuality has left the impress for good upon his
community.
Samuel Fisk, carrying on general farming, on section 26, Summit township,
was born in Lee county, Illinois, October 24, 1869. His father, John M. Fisk,
was a native of Canada, but when a young man crossed the border into the
United States, desiring to enjoy the advantages of a country where competition
is greater but where advancement is more quickly secured. Making his way to
Illinois, he took up his abode in Lee county and there met and married Miss
Mary E. Abell, a native of Pennsylvania. He followed farming in Lee county
for a number of years or until after eight children were born unto him and his
wife in that locality. In 1876 he removed with his family to Iowa, settling first
near Ames, in Story county, while subsequently he became a resident of Palo
Alto county and made his home at Curlew. He was a noted inventor and among
the works of his inventive genius was a car-mover, which is now patented. He
also secured patents on other valuable devices, which were the result of his
mechanical skill and ability. His last years were spent at Curlew, where his
widow still resides.
Samuel Fisk was a lad of seven years when he accompanied his parents on
their removal from Illinois to Iowa. He largely acquired his education in the
schools of Story county and when a young man came to Clay county, where he
secured work as a farm hand. Here he was employed for several years in that
capacity, during which time he saved his earnings and was thus enabled to make
a start in business life.
On the i6th of December, 1891, in this county, Mr. Fisk was united in marriage
to Miss Augusta Muetzel, a daughter of Fred Muetzel, who, arriving in
Clay county during the pioneer epoch in its history, was enabled to secure a
homestead claim here. Mrs. Fisk was born in Wisconsin but was reared in this
county. After their marriage Mr. Fisk rented a tract of land and thus carried
on farming for a number of years or until 1899, when his savings justified him
in becoming owner of a farm. He therefore invested in eighty acres in Lincoln
township. This was an improved farm, which he cultivated for two years, while
later he traded that property for his present farm, on which he took up his abode
in 1900. He has here a tract of one hundred and sixty-five acres on section 26,
Summit township. With characteristic energy he began to develop and improve
the property and his labors are today seen in its excellent and attractive appearance.
He erected a new house and barn, two corn cribs, a granary and a hog
house. He has divided his place into fields of convenient size, with woven wire
and barbed wire fence, has put out a grove and has set out much fruit. In fact
he has made the farm what it is today and the work of development is being
carried farther forward year by year. He annually harvests good crops and he
also raises, feeds and fattens hogs and cattle. His live-stock interests constitute
an important source of revenue to him. He is one of the stockholders in the
Farmers' Elevator at Fostoria and also in the Farmers' Elevator at Spencer.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fisk have been born five children, two sons and three
daughters: Merril Leo, Esther Anna, Lester Floyd, Helen Mary and Mabel
Irene. The family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death and all are
still under the parental roof. Politically Mr. Fisk is a stanch republican with
firm faith in the principles of the party. He is now serving as township trustee,
filling the position for two years and he has also acted as a school officer and
by his efforts has promoted the interests of education in this locality. He is
frequently chosen as a delegate to the county conventions of his party and is
known as an earnest local worker in its ranks. His wife is a member of the
Lutheran church and both are highly esteemed socially. Mr. Fisk started out in
life for himself a poor young man and worked by the month as a farm hand for
several years. He then rented for some time until he could save from his earnings
a sum sufficient to enable him to purchase land. Through his own labor,
enterprise and good management, he has become the owner of a valuable property
and is widely and favorably known in this part of the county for his many
sterling traits of character and his business progressiveness.
Ernest Parker Flint, cashier of the Exchange Bank at Dickens, was born at
Stoughton, Dane county, Wisconsin, July 23, 1869, and is a son of Angelo A.
and Emma (Parker) Flint, who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. Mr.
Flint lived in Stoughton, Wisconsin, until ten years of age and began his
education in the public schools there. Later he removed to northern Michigan and
subsequently became a resident of Spencer as his parents established their home
in these different localities. He was graduated from the high school at Florence,
Wisconsin, and later from the Beloit College Academy, where he completed his
course in 1892. He then took a position as assistant cashier in the Exchange
Bank of Dickens and since 1899 has been the cashier. He is now thoroughly
conversant with the banking business in principle and detail and his capable
control of the Exchange Bank is manifested in its growing success. It is one of
the reliable financial institutions of this part of the state and conducts all kinds
of banking business.
On the 15th of November, 1894, Mr. Flint was united in marriage to Miss
Lorena Varney, a daughter of James O. and Jennie (Holt) Varney. Mrs. Flint
was born in this county, near Spencer, and by her marriage has become the
mother of one daughter, Mariam. Mr. Flint exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the republican party and has served as school
treasurer for a number of years. He belongs to Dickens Lodge, No. 583, I. O.
O. F., and both he and his wife are members of the Congregational church. They
are well known in the community and their home is the center of a cultured
society circle. Mr. Flint always gives his influence and aid to progressive public
measures and stands as a stalwart defender of justice, truth and right, in public
as well as private relations.
H. E. Jones needs no introduction to the readers of this vohuue for he is
well known in the western part of the county where his numerous friends call him
Ed. He is one of the active business men and public-spirited citizens of Lone
Tree township, making his home in Everly, where for the past seven years, he has
been engaged in business. He was a little lad of less than four years when
brought to Clay county and has since remained within its borders. His birth
occurred near Stoughton, Wisconsin, on the 18th of December, 1863, his father
being Evan Jones while his brother is A. T. Jones, mentioned elsewhere in this
work. On the old home farm in this county H. E. Jones was reared and in the
common schools pursued his education. He herded cattle on the open prairie
when a lad, for at that time the prairie had not been converted into farms and
was still in possession of the government, and the settlers could turn their cattle
and stock loose upon it that they might graze on the native grasses. With all
of the farm work H. E. Jones early became familiar, as his father believed in
practical training, for his boys, that they might have experience to aid them
when they reached manhood. He continued with his father until twenty-two
years of age when, thinking that other fields would prove more congenial and
profitable than agricultural life, he turned his attention to railroad construction
and for three years was employed on various roads in six different states. In
1888, however, he returned to Clay county with the capital he had saved through
his earnings and purchased land, becoming the owner of two hundred and forty
acres in Waterford township. Here he began the arduous task of cultivating land
that was still in its primitive condition. It is no sinecure to open up a new farm.
Picture of H. E. JONES
Years had made the ground hard and it was therefore difficult to break the sod
and prepare the soil for planting. But with persistent energy Mr. Jones pursued
his task and made a good start in the farm work. Later he bought another tract
of three hundred and twenty acres which was partially improved. He continued
its further development and thus engaged in farming, for twelve years, after
which he rented his land and removed to Everly, where he turned his attention to
the live-stock business, also selling farm machinery. He continued in live-stock
business three or four years and then withdrew from that field of industry but
continued to engage in the implement business until January, 1909. At that date
he purchased the stock of A. W. Sleepers in the First National Bank and
succeeded him as president of this strong financial institution of Everly. He is at
the head of the business and is giving close attention to its control and
management. He is, moreover, a stockholder in the Everly Grain & Lumber Company
and in all of his commercial as well as agricultural relations he has shown himself
to be a man of good business ability, of strong and determined purpose and
undaunted energy. He forms his plans readily and is determined in their
execution. His business judgment is rarely, if ever, at fault.
The home life of Mr. Jones had its beginning in his marriage in Spencer in
March, 1887, to Miss Iva McCabe, who was born in New York. They are now
the parents of three children, Edith, Ella and Ruth. The eldest daughter is now
attending school in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Politically Mr. Jones is independent. He
was elected county supervisor by a large majority in 1908, and is now filling the
office in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents. He
belongs to Everly Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and also to the Odd Fellows Lodge of
this place. There are few citizens of the county more widely and more favorably
known than H. E. Jones, whose business enterprise has carried him into important
commercial and financial relations, while his genial manner, his unfailing courtesy
and his spirit of friendliness have gained him the warm and lasting regard of
those with whom he has been brought in contact.
Deeds of battle have been the theme of story and song since the earliest
ages and will continue to awaken interest and patriotism through all the coming
years. No one is more deserving of representation in the history of a country
than a soldier who went forth to its defense in the hour of peril; no one more
deserves mention in the record of a community than he who risked his life for
the cause of freedom. Julius Augustus Smith, as a veteran of the Civil war, is
entitled to that gratitude which the country owes to those who defended the
Union during the darkest hours in our country's history. Moreover, he comes
of a patriotic family, for his grandfather in the paternal line was a valiant soldier
of the Revolutionary war, and was killed in the battle of Lundy's Lane.
The parents of Mr. Smith were Julius and Elenore (Wendler) Smith,
natives of Kentucky and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, respectively. They were
married, however, in Ohio, and soon afterward removed westward to Indiana,
where they remained for a short time and then went to Stephenson county,
Illinois, setling in the town of Freeport. There the father worked at his trade
of carpentering and was long associated with the building interests of the locality.
He died there in June, 1878, at the age of eighty-five years, while the mother
passed away in 1850, at the age of forty-six years, her death being occasioned
by cholera. There were eleven children in the family, only three of whom are
now living. Nearly all of the others died of the same disease during the terrible
cholera epidemic of that year.
Julius A. Smith was born in Stark county, Ohio, November 24, 1833, and
was but a young child when his parents removed to Illinois. He was only sixteen
years of age at the time of his mother's death and afterward he started out
in life on his own account, for the family was largely broken up, as death had
claimed most of its members. To provide for his own maintenance he began
breaking prairie in the vicinity of Freeport, Illinois, and after being employed in
that way for a time started for California in 1853. Gold had been discovered
about five years before and interesting reports were still received of new "finds"
in the rich mining districts of the Pacific coast. Going by way of the isthmus,
he followed mining in California until 1858 and then returned to Freeport, Illinois,
where he again resided until after the outbreak of the Civil war.
In 1862, imbued with the spirit of patriotism, Mr. Smith offered his services
to the government and was placed in Company E, Seventy-fourth Regiment of
Illinois Infantry, which was assigned to the Second Division of the First Brigade,
Fourth Army Corps. He was mustered in at Rockford and was immediately
sent to the front, his first engagement being the battle of Perryville. Bragg was
drawing his army there but, after some fighting, withdrew to Nashville and was
driven thence to Murfreesboro and Stone River. The Union troops followed
Braggs army, fighting all the way to Atlanta. Mr. Smith likewise participated
in the battles of Atlanta and Jonesboro and, in fact, took part in all of the Atlanta
campaign. After the fall of the city of Atlanta the division to which he belonged
was ordered back to Nashville and he participated in the severe engagement at
Franklin, which he regards as one of the most hotly contested battles of all the
Civil war. He was there wounded in the right leg and when the regiment left for
Nashville, an officer tendered him the use of his horse. The distance between the
two points was eighteen miles and this was the only ride Mr. Smith had during
his service while under marching orders. He was in the hospital at Nashville
from the last of November until the 15th of December and then rejoined his
regiment, after which he engaged in the battle of Nashville, which was waged
for two days. This battle practically broke up the rebel army, the Confederates
retreating to Tennessee, followed by the Union troops. Later they were ordered
back to Nashville and there, on the 30th of June, 1865, the war having closed,
Mr. Smith was mustered out. He saw much arduous duty, experiencing all the
hardships of war. In the twenty-seven days fighting in front of Atlanta, his
regiment lost four captains, one lieutenant colonel and sixty-five men. Mr. Smith
was wounded twice, the first time being shot in the elbow joint, at Missionary
Ridge. From these wounds he has suffered greatly and although several operations
have been performed on his leg, the old wound will probably never heal and
will occasion him trouble throughout his entire life. The younger generation
cannot understand what were the hardships experienced by the old soldiers ‐ such
men as Mr. Smith ‐ who really sacrificed the best strength and energies of their
lives for their country's cause. Their suffering extended not only through the
time of their service on southern battlefields but through the years that have
followed, and the country owes to them a debt of gratitude which can never be
paid. But the tale of their bravery will remain a theme of song and story through
all ages, while this country exists as an indivisible Union.
When the war was over Mr. Smith returned to his family in Illinois. He
had been married on the 23d of December, 1858, to Miss Emeline Schonmaker,
a daughter of Henry and Margaret (Lowen) Schonmaker, both of whom were
natives of North Carolina, whence they had removed westward at an early day
and located near Rockford, Illinois. Three children were born unto Mr. and
Mrs. Smith: David, at home; Ella Frances, who married Oscar Hill and resides
at Freeport, Illinois; and Henry, who wedded Luda Cook and is living in Mason
City, Iowa.
Following the war Mr. Smith lived for about fifteen years in Illinois, residing
in Freeport until 1880, when he removed to Little Rock, Lyon county, Iowa.
He retained his residence there for about eight years and then came to Clay
county, where he has since resided. At that time he purchased his present farm
for twenty-three dollars per acre. Today it is a valuable tract of land, worth
more than four-fold the original price which he paid. He brought his fields to a
high state of cultivation, raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and
adding to the farm many modern equipments and improvements. At the present
time, however, he is renting his land, while he is living, in honorable retirement
from labor, his previous success being sufficient to supply him with the comforts
of life. He has voted the republican ticket since the organization of the party,
being a loyal defender of that political organization which stood as the defense
of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. His life record has at all
times been a creditable one and, in matters of citizenship, he has displayed the
same patriotic spirit which he manifested as a soldier on the battlefields of the
south.
E. F. Turner, the oldest railroad station agent in Clay county, now performing
the duties of that office for the North-Western Railroad Company, at Peterson,
was born in Buffalo, New York, November 13, 1842, a son of Orin A. and
Thuda (Frary) Turner, both of whom were natives of Chattanooga county,
that state. The father, who was reared there, went to Illinois in 1852, locating
in Geneseo, Henry county, where he resided until the year 1866. During that
year he repaired to Ottawa, La Salle county, where he took charge of a glassware
establishment, continuing its management five years, at the expiration of
which time he went to Chicago and began to work for the North-Western Railroad,
remaining in the general offices of that company until September 21, 1897,
when he departed this life in his eighty-seventh year, his remains being interred
in that city. The mother, who was born in the year 1816, was united in marriage
at her home in her native state and passed away in Chicago in the year 1889.
In the family were two children, namely: Fanny, wife of Isaac Esmay, who is
living, a retired life in Chicago, Illinois; and E. F.
At the usual age E. F. Turner was enrolled as a pupil in the common
schools of Geneseo, Illinois, and subsequently completed a course of study in the
high school and also pursued a business course in the Eastman Commercial
College, of Chicago, Illinois, from which institution he was graduated in the
year 1861. He then went to Geneseo, that state, where he secured employment
as a clerk in a drug store, which position he held until April of the year 1862,
when he enlisted in Company K, One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry, and served with his regiment until he received his discharge, which
was granted him, after he had served two years and eight months, on account of
injuries received by an explosion while in the ranks. He participated in many
battles and skirmishes and was sent to Cairo, Illinois, on guard duty, thence to
St. Louis and then to Jefferson City, Missouri, where his regiment met General
Price and a hot engagement ensued, and, upon returning to St. Louis, was
confined in a hospital for four months. Joining his regiment again at Paducah,
Kentucky, he took part in a number of skirmishes within the southern lines
and was finally, owing to his disability, detailed as a member of the brigade band,
in which he remained until the close of the war.
Upon leaving the military ranks he returned to Geneseo, Illinois, where he
started in the drug business for himself, conducting the enterprise until the year
1866, when he went to Ottawa, La Salle county, Illinois, as bookkeeper for a
glass manufacturing concern then under the management of his father and, in
this capacity, served for something over four years, when he repaired to Colorado,
locating in Boulder county, and there engaged in general farming until the
year 1875, during, which year he went to Chicago and entered the employ of
the North-Western Railroad as clerk in the freight offices. There he remained
until October of the year 1880, when he went to Hardin county, Illinois, which
was then known as New Providence, but now as Lawn Hill, and was station
agent there until July 25, 1882, when he came to Peterson and was given charge
of the company's interests here, where he has since resided, performing the
duties of his ofifice. He took charge of the station here shortly after the railroad
had extended its line to this place and about three weeks after he had taken
hold of the affairs of the office the company began to extend the road to Sutherland,
but still used Peterson as the terminal until the road had been completed
as far as Paullina. Mr. Turner was the first station agent in this place and the
building he first occupied in which to transact the affairs of his office was a
boxcar, which he occupied about four weeks, when the company erected a suitable
building.
In 1866 Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Cynthia Deem, a resident of
Geneseo, Illinois, and the couple have one child, Lullu, who resides with
her parents. Mr. Turner's political views are with the republican party, to
which he has been loyal since he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln and,
being a man who is thoroughly reliable and who has a marked degree of executive
ability, he has been chosen to fill a number of town offices, among which is
that of treasurer, in which responsible position he is now acting. He belongs to
Peterson Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of which he has been treasurer for eleven terms;
the Knights of Pythias, American Order of United Workmen and the Brotherhood
of American Yeomen. Mr. Turner has always been influentially associated
with the business and financial affairs of this place and is a man whose high
moral character and uprightness have always merited him the respect and
confidence of his fellow citizens.
Through successive stages of business development and progress Albert C.
Perine has worked his way upward to a prominent place in commercial circles
in Spencer, where he now conducts a lumber yard, having an extensive and growing
patronage. His life record began in Racine, Wisconsin, on the 18th of September,
1850, his parents being William M. and Margaret S. (Welch) Perine,
who were natives of the state of New York. The paternal grandfather was also
born in the Empire state and both he and his wife lived to an advanced age and
reared a large family. Their son, William M. Perine, removing westward at a
very early day, settled in Racine, Wisconsin, and became treasurer and general
freight agent for the Racine & Mississippi Railroad Company at that place. He
continued to reside there until his life's labors were ended in death in 1864, when
he was fifty-four years of age. His widow survived him for a long period and
died in 1903 at the advanced age of eighty-three years. They were both
Presbyterians in religious faith and were loyal in their devotion to the church. Their
family numbered six children, of whom three died in infancy. Those still living
are: Josiah W., who is now living in Chicago; Helen, the wife of H. H. Munger,
of the same city; and Albert C.
The last named spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the city of his
nativity and at the usual age was sent to the public schools, where he continued
his studies through successive grades, eventually becoming a high school pupil.
When seventeen years of age he left home and went to Chicago, where he was
employed in the car works of the Wells & French Company, occupying a position
in the office for ten years. In the meantime he carefully saved his earnings and
in 1878 came to Spencer, where he invested his capital in a lumber yard. For
thirty-one years he has now continued in this business, being one of the oldest as
well as one of the most reliable lumber merchants of the county. He has a liberal
patronage and in all of his dealings is strictly fair and reliable, his commercial
probity standing as an unquestioned fact in his career. He is also known in
financial circles as a director of the First National Bank of Spencer.
Mr. Perine was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Wood, a daughter of
Henry B. Wood, and unto them have been born three daughters. Margaret, the
eldest, is now the wife of Crowley E. Cole, a resident of Atlantic, Iowa, and they
have one son, Edward Perine Cole. Mary, the second daughter, is a teacher in
the public schools of Hartley, Iowa, while Helen, the youngest, is attending the
Spencer high school.
Mr. and Mrs. Ferine hold membership in the Congregational church and he
is a prominent Mason, belonging to Evening Shade Lodge, No. 312, A. F. &
A. M.; Clay Chapter, No. 112, R. A. M.; Esdraelon Commandery, No. 52, K. T.,
and Za-Ga-Zig Temple of the nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Des Moines. He is
an exemplary representative of the craft, being in hearty sympathy with its
humanitarian purposes. His political views are in accord with the principles of
the republican party and he has served as school director and as a member of the
city council for several terms, discharging his duties in that position in a manner
to further the welfare and progress of the city. He is widely known in Spencer
and his substantial characteristics have gained him the warm regard and
unqualified trust of his fellow townsmen.
Charles M. Pinneo, a well known resident of Spencer, is numbered among
those who have contributed to the upbuilding of the great west and his experiences
have been of a varied and interesting character. He has always resided on this
side of the Mississippi and in various localities has proved his worth as a loyal
and progressive citizen.
A native of Missouri, he was born in Stewartsville, De Kalb county, on the
21st of August, 1857, and is a son of William W. and Eunice (Eaton) Pinneo,
both of whom were natives of Nova Scotia. The father was a merchant, who,
when a young man, crossed the border into the United States and after living
for a time in Stewartsville, Missouri, removed to Paola, Kansas, where he
engaged in merchandising from a period just prior to the Civil war until his
death, which occurred when he was forty-six years of age. His widow long
survived him and died in 1897 at the age of sixty-five years. Both were consistent
members of the Methodist church and, in every community in which they resided,
enjoyed the warm regard and respect of those who knew them. They were the
parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, namely: Anna, the
wife of Dolph Edwards, of Chicago; Minnie, the wife of William Wharton, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; William, a resident of Chicago; Edward W., who
makes his home in Colorado; Charles M., of this review; Frank, who is deceased;
and May, the wife of David Smythe, of Rooks county, Kansas.
In taking up the personal history of Charles M. Pinneo we present to our
readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in this county.
He resided in Paola, Kansas, between the ages of two and seventeen years, and
there acquired his education in attending the public schools. In 1873 he came to
Spencer and has followed various pursuits during his residence in this county,
covering a period of thirty-six years. During this time the county has been
converted from a pioneer district into one of the thriving and growing districts
of this great commonwealth. In the early days there was no railroad and he drove
stage to Storm Lake, Sibley and Spirit Lake for seven or eight years. He also
had the first express wagon in Spencer and at another time he worked for the
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company for a brief period. During
the past fifteen years he has been engaged in auctioneering and has done a good
business in this regard, being a popular crier of sales. In November, 1906, he
was elected on the democratic ticket to the office of county sheriff and entered
upon the duties of the position in 1907, completing his term of service in December,
1908. He was fearless and impartial in discharging the duties of the office
and has thus won the approval and support of all law-abiding citizens.
In 1882 Mr. Pinneo was united in marriage to Miss Emma Wolf, a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Wolf. There was but one child born of that marriage,
Minnie, who is now the wife of Paul Miller and a resident of Badger, Iowa.
They have two children, Vernon and Donald. Mrs. Emma Pinneo died in 1887
at the age of twenty-nine years and her death was deeply regretted by many
friends, who esteemed her for her genuine personal worth. In 1889 Mr. Pinneo
was again married, his second union being with Miss Nettie McCaulley, a
daughter of Isaac McCaulley. She was born in Rock Grove, Illinois, and by this
marriage has become the mother of three children, Harry, Carroll and Audrey.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Pinneo hold membership in the Friends church and are
earnest Christian people, closely following the teachings of their denomination.
Mr. Pinneo belongs to Spencer Lodge, No. 247, I. O. O. F., and his wife is
connected with the Rebekahs ‐ the auxiliary degree of that order. Mr. Pinneo is
likewise a member of the Maccabees and his political allegiance has always been
given to the democratic party. Something of his personal popularity and the
confidence reposed in him by his fellow townsmen is indicated in the fact that
he was the only democratic county officer during his incumbency and in securing
his election overcame a normal republican majority of seventeen hundred. He
is genial and courteous in manner, wins friends wherever he goes and receives
and merits the trust and good will of his associates.
Malakias Wahlstrom, one of Sweden's industrious sons who settled in this
country with little more than his health and strength, was born January 9, 1855,
a son of Andrew and Anna Wahlstrom, his father and mother both having been
natives of Sweden, where they resided on a farm until their death. In their
family were four children, namely: Christina, who resides in her native land;
Malakias, our subject; Charlie, who is an agriculturist of Lincoln township, this
county; and Matilda, who resides in Spencer, Iowa.
Malakias Wahlstrom was reared on his father's farm in Sweden, where he
learned the various phases of this occupation, and in the village schools he
acquired his education, remaining on the home farm until 1880, when he came
to the United States and located in Lincoln township, Clay county, Iowa. Shortly
after his arrival he bought a tract of land, and meeting with splendid success in
its cultivation, was soon able to increase his holdings to two hundred and forty
acres, his land being located on sections 18 and 20. The land is now highly
improved, Mr. Wahlstrom having himself built all the buildings and fences upon
it, including a fine residence, barns and outbuildings, and the attention which he
has given his property has made his farm one of the finest in the township. He
engages in general agricultural pursuits, raising hay and the various kinds of
grain, and also pays some attention to stock breeding, and the shipping of cattle,
sheep and hogs.
In the year 1880 he was united in marriage to Miss Lottie Goothblad, a
native of Sweden, who came to this country during that year. Mr. and Mrs.
Wahlstrom have been blessed with the following children: Ellen Amelia, who
became the wife of Albert Barglof, an agriculturist of Greenville, Iowa; Carl
Harry, who wedded Hilma Johnson, and is a farmer of this township; Alfred
Rudolph, who wedded Esther Johnson, and also resides in Lincoln township;
Anna Matilda, wife of Peter Mathison, who is engaged in blacksmithing in
Moneta, Iowa; and Ernest Gerald; Gustave Edwin; Walter Edward; Edith
Elizabeth; Olga Sylvia; and Julia Victoria, all at home. In politics Mr.
Wahlstrom is a republican and while he is not an active politician he takes considerable
interest in public afifairs. As to his religious faith, he is a Lutheran and with his
wife attends divine services at the Swedish Lutheran church in Lincoln township.
He is one of the most enterprising men in the vicinity, always ready and willing
to do what he can for the general improvement of the township, and is held in
high respect as a congenial and progressive neighbor.
A history of the medical fraternity of Clay county would be incomplete
and unsatisfactory were there failure to make prominent reference to Dr. F. J.
Coleman, who is engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Everly.
Throughout the years of his connection with the profession he has made steady
progress through his reading and research and has proven his knowledge and
capability in the excellent results which have attended his labors. He came to
Everly in 1897 and has since devoted his attention to the conscientious
performance of the duties that devolve upon him in his professional capacity.
A native of Illinois, his birth occurred in La Salle county, January 1, 1868, and
he resided there until twelve years of age, when in 1880 he became a resident
of Nebraska. His education, which was begun in Illinois, was continued in
Nebraska, and later he completed the work of the junior year in the college at
Vermillion, South Dakota. Determining upon the practice of medicine and
surgery as his life work, he then began reading toward that end and completed
his studies in Sioux City in 1897. The same year he came to Everly, where he
practiced for a year and then in order to still further perfect himself in the
line of his chosen calling he made his way to Buffalo, New York, where he
pursued a course in the medical department of the university in that city, and
was graduated with the class of 1899. Returning to Everly well equipped
for the onerous duties of the profession, he has since built up an extensive
business here. The consensus of public opinion regarding his professional skill
is altogether favorable for it is well known that he is most careful in the
diagnosis of a case and never neglects anything that he believes will prove of
Picture of F. J. COLEMAN
value in checking the ravages of disease and promoting health. He keeps in
touch with the advanced thought of the profession through his membership in
the County, State and National Medical Societies, and his ability is widely
recognized in the profession.
His office is well equipped with all modern apparatus, including the latest
improved surgical instruments, and he has performed critical operations most
successfully.
Dr. Coleman was married in Everly, in June, 1901, to Miss Mary Tyndall,
of Spencer, who was born in Illinois but was reared in the county seat of Clay
county, her education being largely acquired in the schools of Spencer. There
is one child of this marriage, a son, Francis Tyndall Coleman. Dr. Coleman is
a member of Everly Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and Spencer Chapter, R. A. M.
He has filled all of the offices in the former and is now a past Master, while
both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star. Dr.
Coleman also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Everly and
to the Elks' lodge at Estherville. He is a gentleman of genial manner and
hopeful spirit and his presence is like a ray of sunshine in the sick room where
an air of hopefulness and encouragement constitute a valuable factor for health.
He has made an excellent professional record, as is indicated by the lucrative
practice now accorded him, and is, moreover, known as a progressive and
public-spirited citizen.
Calvin Cauvel, carrying on general farming, is one of the self-made men of
Clay county who through his own labors has reached a creditable financial position,
being now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of valuable and
productive farming land. He was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, September
13, 1832, and is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Malory) Cauvel. His father was
also a native of the Keystone state and there spent his entire life, devoting his
time and energies to farming. His father was a native of Germany and the
founder of the family in the new world. The mother of our subject was probably
born in the state of New York but was married in Pennsylvania, where her
remaining days were passed. In the family were twelve children: John, a
carpenter and farmer living in Venango county, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth,
deceased; Calvin, of this review; Harriet, who is the widow of David Ketner
and lives in Saegerstown, Pennsylvania; Russel, who makes his home in Titusville,
Crawford county, Pennsylvania; Wesley, Hamilton, Wilson, Louisa, William
and Jonas, all now deceased; and one child who died in infancy.
To the public-school system of his native state Calvin Cauvel is indebted
for the educational privileges which he enjoyed in his youthful days. He worked
with his father on the farm and remained at home until twenty-two years of age,
when in the hope of bettering, his financial condition he started to Illinois and
established his home in Stephenson county near Freeport. He learned the car-
penter's trade in Pennsylvania, and followed building pursuits as well as farming
for eighteen years. On the expiration of that period he came to Clay county,
Iowa, and here purchased one hundred and sixty acres of raw prairie land. It
was entirely destitute of improvements but with characteristic energy he began
its development and there matured a well improved farm, on which is a good
residence, together with substantial outbuildings and all the equipments of a model
farm property. This model farm has lately been turned over to his son C. W.
Both grain and stock are raised on this place. Mr. Cauvel has also worked to
some extent at the carpenter's trade since coming to Iowa.
It was on the 11th of March, 1859, that Mr. Cauvel was married to Miss
Elizabeth Bordner, of Illinois. Unto them were born eight children: Milton,
now deceased; Clara, the wife of Jacob Croskrey, a farmer at Gould, Minnesota;
Grant, at home; Daniel Lincoln, deceased; Charles Wilson, at home; Adelaide,
who has also passed away; Mary, at home; and Rella, the deceased wife of Walter
Biggs, of Hankinson, North Dakota. The wife and mother passed away
June 3, 1905, a firm believer in the doctrine of the Methodist Episcopal church,
to which denomination both she and her husband belonged.
The farm of Mr. Cauvel lies near Rossie. He has been a very busy man
and though he has had to depend entirely upon his own resources from early
boyhood, he has been quite successful. Year after year he has persistently carried
on his business affairs, save that at the time of the Civil war he enlisted as a
member of Company K, Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and was at the front for
one year, at the end of which time he was honorably discharged. He participated
in the charge of Fort Blakeley and throughout his entire life he has suffered from
diseases brought on by exposure and hardships while at the front. It is said
that the regiment marched farther that year than any other year of the service
and many privations and hardships were to be borne. Mr. Cauvel, however, did
his full duty and in fact has always been loyal and progressive in his citizenship.
In politics he has always been a republican, having served as township trustee
for several vears.
Edward M. Derry is closely associated with the commercial interests of Clay
county as a successful general merchant of Dickens. He first came to the county
in 1877, although he did not permanently take up his abode here at that time.
He was born in Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, February 11, 1869, and is a
representative of an old Pennsylvania family, his paternal grandfather, a native of
that state, dying there when well advanced in years. His father, William Derry,
was a shoemaker by trade and on removing from Pennsylvania to Ohio settled in
Pomeroy, where he still makes his home. He wedded Ellen Mclntyre, who was
born in West Virginia and was a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Williams)
Mclntyre, who were also natives of that state. At an early day they became
residents of Ohio, settling in Pomeroy, where Mr. Mclntyre passed awav at an
advanced age, while his wife reached the ripe old age of ninety-two years. They
reared a large family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. William Derry have been born five
children, four sons and a daughter: William, a resident of Clay county, Iowa;
John, who is deceased; Thomas, of Dickens; Cora, the wife of Arthur Curtis, of
Middleport, Ohio; and Edward M., of this review. The parents hold membership
in the Methodist church and are people of the highest respectability, widely and
favorably known in the county where they reside.
Edward M. Derry lived in Pomeroy until eighteen years of age and was a
pupil in the public schools there. In 1877 he came to Clay county, Iowa, and
worked for his brother John at railroad grading in Nebraska and in this state.
Later he went to Colorado, where he took up a preemption claim one hundred
miles east of Denver. In the fall of that year he returned to Ohio on a visit and
in the following spring started again for Colorado, but while en route stopped at
Dickens to visit his brother John and has remained here continuously since.
Later he entered into partnership with his brother in a mercantile line and they
were together for a short time, after which E. M. Derry sold out and began farming
on a tract of rented land in Freeman and Lake townships. In October, 1907,
with the capital he had saved from his earnings, he purchased a stock of general
merchandise and began business in Dickins, carrying now a fine line of goods and
conducting a business which is constantly growing in volume and importance.
He has now a liberal patronage and his trade is increasing, owing, to his straight-
forward business methods, his reasonable prices and his earnest desire to please
his customers.
The marriage of Mr. Derry was celebrated on the 23d of May, 1894, when
Miss Blanche S. Perkins became his wife. She was born in Salem, Lawrence
county, Ohio, a daughter of George and Eliza (Beasley) Perkins and a grand-
daughter of Eliphaz Perkins, who was a native of Connecticut. In his early
boyhood, however, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Vermont. He
married Zipporah Porter and both lived to an advanced age. Eliphaz Perkins
was a fifer in the war of 1812. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Derry was
John Beasley, who was a native of Ohio and a carpenter by trade. He wedded
Harriet Mathena and died in the Buckeye state when more than seventy years
of age. They were the parents of three children, Moses, Eliza B. and Mary
Albertine, the last named being the widow of Silas P. Austin and now a resident
of Greeley, Nebraska.
The Rev. George Perkins, father of Mrs. Derry, is a minister of the United
Brethren church, who has been connected with that denomination as a preacher
for forty-five years. He was a missionary for four years among the Indians and
early settlers, and can relate many interesting and thrilling reminiscences. He
volunteered for service twice in the cause of the Union, but on account of the
regiments being full was each time refused. He made many enemies among the
people with whom he worked in Kansas on account of his views. Mr. Perkins,
though near his eightieth year, is still bright and pleasant in his conversation.
Unto him and his wife have been born six children: Harriet Z., the wife of A. D.
Evans; Edward H. Perkins; Lelia C, the wife of N. Gorsuch; George E. Perkins;
Blanche S.; and one who died in infancy.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Derry has been blessed with four children, two
sons and two daughters: Bruce Edward, George Perkins, Harriet May and
Cora Ferne.
Aside from his mercantile interests Mr. Derry is a stockholder in the Dickens
Cooperative Creamery Company. He votes with the republican party and is
public-spirited in his citizenship. His wife is a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church and they are well known in social circles, where many excellent
traits of character have won for them the good will and friendship of those with
whom they have come in contact. Mr. Derry is a progressive business man who
seems to recognize the value of every situation and to make the most of his
opportunities. Through the legitimate lines of trade he is now building up a growing
business that is indicative of his spirit of enterprise and determination.
The Sunnyside Stock Farm, situated on section i6, Meadow township, is
one of the valuable properties of Clay county. Within its borders lie four hundred
and eighty acres and the rich alluvial soil, when carefully cultivated, brings
forth abundant crops. As the name of the place indicates, stock raising is one of
its principal features and in both branches of his business Mr. Atwood shows
keen discernment and careful management. Illinois numbers him among, her
native sons, his birth having occurred in Ogle county, that state on the 9th of
July, 1859. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of
farm life for him in his boyhood and youth. He worked in the fields from the
time that he was old enough to handle the plow and to a limited extent attended
the public schools, but is largely self educated, and through reading, observation
and experience he has made himself a well informed man. Thinking that he preferred
an industrial to an agricultural life, he learned the tinner's trade in early
manhood and followed it for several years in different places.
Mr. Atwood was a young man of twenty-three years when in Ogle county,
Illinois, on the 30th of March, 1882, he wedded Miss Winnifred Van Patten, a
native of that county. She spent her girlhood days there, is indebted to its
public school system for her education, and prior to her marriage followed the
profession of teaching in that county. Mr. Atwood subsequent to his marriage
turned his attention to the dairy business, purchasing an enterprise of that
character in Rockford. There he engaged in selling milk and dairy products for four
years, supplying two hundred families with milk. His business there prospered
and after some time he traded it for a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in
Boone county, Illinois, to which he removed, giving his time and attention to its
cultivation for three years. He then sold out in 1895 and came to Clay county,
trading for the property on which he now resides. He at once began its further
development, carrying on his work along the lines of modern agricultural progress.
He has added to and remodeled his residence, has erected a barn, has built
a tenant house and has added to his property many evidences of modern farm life.
He has used woven wire in fencing his place and dividing it into fields of
convenient size and he has greatly augmented the productiveness of his fields by the
expenditure of three thousand dollars in tiling the farm. He has a wind pump
and water works and several elevated tanks in order to supply his stock with
Pictures of Mrs. L. L. Atwood
and L.L. Atwood
water on the different parts of the farm. For several years he has made a
specialty of feeding sheep. For some years he bought sheep by the train load in
the west, shipping thousands of head to the eastern markets. Later he has given
his attention largely to feeding and fattening cattle and hogs and in 1900 he took
up the task of breeding and raising fine cattle, keeping Aberdeen Angus stock.
He has since added to the herd from time to time and now has nearlv one hundred
head of fine registered stock and also some high grade stock. He has sold
some of the finest animals produced in this part of the state, one male in 1907
bringing him twenty-seven hundred dollars. He is now the owner of Evan Lad,
from an imported bull. He has four head from the leading, families of the Aberdeen
cattle and has held two mammoth sales, selling some of his own raising and
some raised by others. He has won both second and first premiums at the state
fairs and is justly classed today among the most prominent stock-raisers of this
portion of the state. Mr. Atwood was also one of the promoters of the Co-oper-
ative Creamery and was president of the company for some time.
Mr. and Mrs. Atwood are the parents of three daughters: Edna, the wife
of Carl Fee, a merchant at Langdon; Grace, a graduate of a business college, now
occupying a position in Spencer; and Rowena, a student in Spencer. They also
lost a son, Ira Lester, who died when about two years of age, and a daughter,
Lois, who died at the age of one. Mr, and Mrs. Atwood are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Fostoria. He belongs to Spencer Lodge, I. O.
O. F., and to the Modern Woodmen, and is in thorough sympathy with the
principles of those organizations, which are based upon mutual helpfulness and
brotherly kindness. Politically a stalwart republican, he has served as justice of the
peace for five years and his decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being based
upon the law and the equity of the case. He has also been notary public for
some years and has frequently served as a delegate to state and county conventions
of his party. He bears an unsullied reputation for business integrity as
well as enterprising spirit. He has been closely identified with Clay county, its
upbuilding and its prosperity for a number of years and is justly accounted one
of its most active and progressive farmers and stock breeders. His labors have
done much to improve the grade of stock raised in this portion of the state and
no finer farm animals can be found than his Duroc Jersey hogs and his Aberdeen
Angus cattle. His business success is well merited, for he is capable in
management and displays untiring industry in carrying forward his interests.
John J. Lawler, who is conducting a successful grain business in Dickens as
manager for the Reliance Elevator Company, is a western man by birth and
training and the spirit of progress characteristic of this section of the country
has been manifest throughout his entire connection with business interests.
He was born in Atchison, Kansas, February 18, 1875, and is a son of Timothy
and Celia (Potter) Lawler, who were natives of Canada and Missouri,
respectively. In the paternal line, however, he comes of Irish ancestry. His grand-
father was born on the Emerald Isle and became a foundryman at Dundas,
Canada, where he died at the age of eighty-five years. In the maternal line Mr.
Lawler is of English lineage and his grandfather, Joseph Potter, was born in
Kentucky and followed the occupation of farming as a life work. He served his
country as a soldier of the Mexican war and following his removal to the west
represented his district in the Kansas legislature. He married a Miss Wiley
and they are still residents of Atchison, Kansas.
Timothy Lawler, father of John J. Lawler, devoted his early manhood to
teaching school and subsequently turned his attention to general farming.
Crossing the border into the United States he lived for some time at Whitewater,
Wisconsin, and in fact spent his boyhood days in acquiring his education
there. Later he went to Atchison, Kansas, where he engaged in teaching school
for several years, after which he removed to Webster county, Nebraska, secured
a homestead claim and engaged in farming near Cowles. There he owned two
hundred acres of land, which he still cultivates, having transformed the tract
into rich and productive fields. His people were of the Catholic faith, but he is
not now associated with any church, while his wife belongs to the Christian
church. Their family numbered four children: John J., of Dickens, Iowa;
Albert J., a resident of Los Angeles, California; Emery L., of Cowles, Nebraska;
and one who died in early childhood.
John J. Lawler was but a young lad when his parents removed to Webster
county, Nebraska, and there he was reared on his father's farm, attending the
public schools of Cowles and also the Territorial Normal School in Oklahoma
for one year. He started in business life as a clerk in a general store in Cowles,
where he was employed for three years, and on the 1st of September, 1894, came
to Dickens, where he clerked in the store of his uncle, John Lawler, for two
years. On the expiration of that period he began learning the carpenter's trade,
which he followed for seven years and then accepted the position of manager
for the Reliance Elevator Company at Dickens, and is now in control of an
important and growing grain trade at this point.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Lawler was married December 16,
1896, to Miss Mertie E. Simington, who was born at Corfu, New York, a
daughter of William and Emma (Van Buren) Simington. Mr. and Mrs. Lawler
became the parents of four children: Louise, Gladys, Celia and Mildred.
The parents hold membership in the Congregational church, are loyal to its
teachings and take an active interest in the extension of its influence. Mr.
Lawler votes with the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have
little attraction for him, as his time has always been fully occupied with his
business cares, and through his industry and perseverance is steadily working
his way upward.
It will be interesting in this connection to record something of the history
of Mr. Lawler's uncle, John Lawler, who was one of the old settlers of Dickens
and was held in high esteem by all who knew him. At an early date he secured
a homestead claim in Sioux township, Clay county, where he resided many
years, during which period he converted the tract of wild land into productive
fields, developing an excellent farm. In 1882 he went to Canada after the death
of his sister, Mrs. Cairns, and returned to this county with his mother and his
nephew, James J. Cairns. After working in Spencer at the butcher business
some time he came to Dickens and was employed by Smith, Green & Company,
who built the first store in this place. After working two years in that
establishment he bought out his employers and then conducted a general mercantile
establishment for about five years prior to his death, when he sold out to his
nephew, James J. Cairns. He passed away in the spring of 1907, at the age of
sixty-five years. He enjoyed an unassailable reputation for honesty and integrity
of character, was kindly in spirit, generous in disposition and faithful to
every trust. All who knew him loved him, and his death was the source of
deep and widespread regret throughout the community.
Many theories have been advanced concerning success and the best way to
win it. Centuries ago a Greek philosopher said, "Earn thy reward: the gods give
naught to sloth." In that is found the only real source of success. The man
who would achieve must work persistently and earnestly and give careful heed
to every advantage that comes to him. Such is the life record of George E.
McHugh, who is located on section 30, Meadow township, his time and attention
being, given to the cultivation of cereals and raising stock. His home farm
comprises two hundred and forty acres and he also owns two other tracts of one
hundred and sixty acres each, both well improved. His life record began in
Jefferson county, Ohio, on the 2d of November, 1858. His father, James McHugh,
was a native of West Virginia, where he spent his boyhood and youth. He
afterward went to Jefiferson county, Ohio, and was there married, the lady of his
choice being Miss Sarah Fowler, a native of the Buckeye state. Subsequently
Mr. McHugh removed from Ohio to Illinois and settled in McLean county near
the city of Bloomington. He owned and cultivated a farm near Heyworth,
making a specialty of the production of fruit. His fields, too, were well tilled and in
fact everything about his place was kept in excellent condition and indicated his
practical, progressive methods. There he died in the year 1886. His wife
survives him and resides on the old homestead.
George E. McHugh is one of a family of three sons and a daughter, all of
whom are yet living. The days of his boyhood and youth were largely passed in
McLean county, Illinois, and no event of special importance occurred to vary
the routine of farm life for him during that period. As his years and strength
increased he assisted more and more largely in the work of the fields, aiding
his father until he had attained man's estate. His thorough training in the farm
work well qualified him to engage in farming on his own account after his marriage.
It was on Christmas day of 1889 (?)that he was joined in wedlock to Miss
Georgie C. Brown, who was born in New York city but reared in McLean
county, Illinois. For a year after their marriage thev resided upon the old home
farm in Illinois, but in September, 1890, came to Iowa. Here Mr. McHugh
purchased eighty acres of land in Meadow township. It was raw prairie, upon
which not a furrow had been turned, a rod of fence built or other improvement
made. Mr. IMcHugh, however, at once began to break the sod, fenced the place
and carried on the work of general agriculture until the original tract was
transformed into a productive one. He also bought an adjoining eighty acres and
when his financial resources permitted he replaced his original dwelling with a
more commodious and attractive home. Barns and outbuildings were also added
and for eleven years he farmed there. He later bought eighty acres on section
30, Meadow township, and bent every energy toward developing and improving
that tract. He remodeled the house, put up buildings in which to protect his
grain, farm machinery and stock from the weather, fenced and tiled the place and
later, after purchasing an adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres, also
tiled that and thus added much to its productiveness, for originally it was too wet
to be cultivated profitably. Now the fields respond readily to the care and labor
he bestows upon them and he annually gathers good crops. He also raises and
feeds stock and his annual sales add materially to his income.
Mr. and Mrs. McHugh have three sons and two daughters living: Porter,
Tressie, Leonard, Howard and Edith. They lost their first born, Vere. who died
when eleven months old, while another child, Doris, died when about eight
months old. Mr. and Mrs. McHugh were reared in the Presbvterian faith and
were members of that church when in Illinois. Politically he is independent but
is a temperance man and a prohibitionist in principle. As there is no hope of the
prohibition candidates being elected and as there is often no prohibition candidate
in the local field, he casts his ballot for the men whom he regards as best
qualified for office. He has been a resident of the county for eighteen years, is
regarded as a substantial and progressive business man and in all of his
undertakings displays dauntless energy that has enabled him to overcome many
difficulties and obstacles that have arisen. During his residence here he has helped
to improve and make three farms and is justly accounted one of the progressive
agriculturists of Meadow township. No measure for the general good seeks his
aid in vain. His labors have been a cooperant factor in many movements which
have been of value to the community, bringing Clay county from its position as a
frontier district into a leading place among the counties of this great
commonwealth.
John Sumner Green, now living in Spencer, is one of the pioneer physicians
of Iowa who for more than a half century has engaged in the practice of medicine
in this state, devoting the years of an active and honorable manhood to service
for his fellowmen. In all of his professional duties he has been conscientious,
utilizing every possible means to accomplish the important tasks entrusted to him.
For many years he has figured as the family physician in numerous households,
and although he is not as active in the profession as formerly, he has not
altogether retired for he frequently responds to the call of some one who is loath to
give up his services. Dr. Green was born in Saratoga county. New York, October
30, 1828, his father being Simon Green, also a native of New York. He became
a tanner, and operated a tannery at Luzerne Falls, Warren county, New York.
He and his wife were well advanced in years when they died. Dr. Green when a
boy accompanied his parents upon their removal to Warren county, New York,
where he grew to manhood and was educated, supplementing the common school
course by study in seminaries. He afterward took up the study of medicine, for
he had determined to make its practice his life work, and in preparation for the
profession attended a medical college in Castleton, Vermont, from which he was
graduated. Soon afterward he located for practice in Warren county and became
associated with Dr. McNut, under whose direction he also further continued his
studies and reading. Throughout his professional career he was imbued with the
laudable ambition for advancement, knowing how important is the duty that
devolves upon the physician. Because of this he pursued a post-graduate course
in Bellevue Hospital in 1863-64. In the meantime — in 1855 — he had removed
westward to Iowa, settling in Hardin, where he resumed practice and continued
an active member of the profession until 1902. He was accorded a liberal
patronage and throughout the years he kept in touch with the advanced ideas of the
profession through his wide reading. Experience also brought to him broad and
accurate knowledge, and anything which tended to prove a key to the complex
mystery which we call life was of interest to him.
On the 30th of May, 1852, in Warren county, New York, Dr. Green was
united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Kathan, a widow, and the daughter of Rev.
John H. Cameron, also a native of the Empire state. Rev. Cameron was of
Scotch descent, devoting his life to preaching the gospel as a minister of the
Presbyterian church. He was twice married and by the first union had five
children, while by the second marriage there were born eight children. Mrs. Green
was born and reared in Warren county and there in early womanhood gave her
hand in marriage to Alva Kathan, an architect, who followed his profession in that
locality until his death. By that marriage there was one daughter, Mrs.
Margaret K. Stiles, now living in Saratoga, New York. Dr. and Mrs. Green became
the parents of four children: Mrs. Dr. Coldren, of Milford, Iowa; Dr. H. O.
Green, a prominent practitioner of Spencer who is mentioned elsewhere in this
volume; Dr. J. E. Green, deceased; and Carrie, who died in infancy. The son
who had passed away died in Spencer in 1899. He was a prominent member of
the medical profession in the county for a number of years. He married and
located in Milford, where he practiced for a number of years, and during his
residence there he lost his wife. Subsequently he moved to Spencer, where he
was in active practice until his death. He left one daughter, Ethel Mary, who
is now a young lady and since her mother's death has made her home with her
grandparents. She has been liberally educated and was graduated from the
Woman's College, Baltimore, Maryland, with the class of 1908. She
had previously had the benefit of a high school course and a course in a convent.
Since coming to Spencer Dr. John S. Green has given up active practice
save that he sometimes assists his son, Dr. H. O. Green. He possesses a large
and valuable medical library and his reading has always kept him abreast with
the progress of the profession. For some years he was a member of the examining
board of the Northwestern Medical Association. In 1881 he returned to
New York city with his son, J. E. Green, and the latter there pursued a post-
graduate course in the same school in which his father had taken a post-graduate
course in 1863-64. Dr. Green is well known to many of the older physicians of
the state and at all times has enjoyed the highest regard of his brethren in the
medical fraternity because of his close conformity to high standards of professional
ethics. Moreover he ever displayed the qualities of honorable and upright
manhood and now in the evening of his life his is a useful old age, giving of its
rich store of wisdom and experience for the benefit of others. His name is
honored wherever he is known and most of all where he is best known.
As each year is added to the cycle of the centuries the ranks of the pioneers
are fast becoming thin and Clay county numbers less of those sturdy and substantial
citizens who were the vanguard in making their way into the rich and fertile
region of rolling prairie land comprised within the borders of what is now Clay
county. It is meet, therefore, that the history of the early settlers should be
written down ere they go to their long sleep so that the authentic record shall not
perish. While they came to the west to secure homes and, if possible, win a
substantial little fortune, they built better than they knew for they established here a
commonwealth and a civilization which shall endure for all time.
One of the oldest residents of Clay county is Charles Wesley Belknap, who,
since 1869, has made his home in Iowa. He was born December 3, 1837, in
Renssalaer county, New York, a son of Martin Seymour and Betsey Ann (Bris-
tol) Belknap, who were also natives of Renssalaer county, the former born
February 18, 1807, and the latter November 16, 1814. About 1840 the family
removed to Lewis county, New York, locating near Port Leyden, where they
lived until 1855, when they left the Empire state, having decided to venture into
that section of the country then known as the "far west." They had heard many
glowing descriptions of the section in the region of the "father of waters," of
beautiful rolling prairies covered with rich grasses and beautiful flowers, while
rivers meandered across the wide plains or were bordered by groves of timber.
The story came, too, that the streams abounded in fish and the forests in game,
including deer, elk, wild turkeys, quails and prairie chickens. It is no wonder
that the people of the east were tempted by the charm of the west and in response
to this call the Belknap family set out for the new country.
They located first near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1855, and there remained
for about thirteen years, or until 1868, when they removed to Tama county,
Iowa, where they made their home until about 1872. Later they became residents
of Nobles county, Minnesota, but after a short time returned to Tama
county, where the father owned a farm. A year later he removed to Hardin
county, where he remained for about two years and then again went to Nobles
county, Minnesota. The father died February 11, 1893, at the age of eighty-five
years, ten months and twenty-three days, while the mother passed away April 14,
1899, at the age of eighty-four years, five months and two days. They died near
Bigelow, Minnesota.
Charles Wesley Belknap, spending his boyhood days in his parents' home,
was a youth of seventeen at the time of the removal westward to Wisconsin and
he remained at home until twenty-three years of age, assisting in the work of the
farm. He had previously acquired a considerable knowledge of carpentering
and for a time was engaged in that line of work, but after the Civil war broke
out he put aside all business and personal considerations and responded to the
country's call for aid, enlisting on the 15th of August, 1862, as a member of
Company H, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth New York Regiment of Volunteers
under Colonel Willard, who was afterward killed at Gettysburg. The regiment
was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and on the 1st of September left for
the front. The first engagement in which he participated was at Harper's Ferry
and from that time until the close of the war Mr. Belknap was in active service,
marching and fighting amid the greatest dangers and enduring, all of the hardships
and privations incident to a soldier's life. He participated in the battles of
Gettysburg, Auburn, Morton's Ford, Bristow Station, Mine Run, in front of
Petersburg, Deep Bottom, Ream's Station, South Side Railroad, and all of the
engagements leading up to the battle of the Wilderness. In the battle of
Petersburg which occurred in the last of March, 1864, he was made color sergeant of
the regiment. At the first charge on the South Side Railroad he was wounded
but gave up the color standard just before he fell. After being thus injured he
walked eleven miles before his wounds were cared for. He went back to the
regiment and soon afterward he marched to Washington and in the capital city
participated in the grand review. From there he returned to New York and was
mustered out on the 5th of June, 1865, after which he at once went to his home.
On the 22d of October, 1865, soon after his return from the army, Charles
W. Belknap was married to Miss Ellen R. Warner, a daughter of S. S. and
Bethiah (Schoonover) Warner, both of whom were natives of Tioga county,
New York. In 1868 her family came to Iowa, settling in Tama county. A
brother of Mrs. Belknap, Orange Pemberton Warner, had previously removed
westward and was employed for some years as a mail clerk on the Chicago &
Northwestern railway. He, too, served as a soldier of the Civil war. Eventually
he settled in Cherry county, Nebraska, where he successfully engaged in the
practice of law and was also prominent in county afifairs. Unto Mr. and Mrs.
Belknap were born eight children, of whom four are now living. Ernest E., born
in Wisconsin, September 20, 1866, married Martha A. Norris on the 9th of June,
1889, and now resides in Herdland township. His wife died July 5, 1895, and on
the 1st of July, 1908, he wedded Lovisa May Norris. Addie E., the second of
the family, born September 25, 1870, is now the wife of C. S. Davis, who resides
near Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Ada A,, born June 29, 1879, and Charles Rockwell,
born June 13, 1884, are both at home. Mr. Belknap owns one hundred and sixty
acres of well improved land and also holds other interests and has other
investments outside of the county. He had long been interested in religious matters
and soon after his return from the war he entered the ministry of the United
Brethren church. Mrs. Belknap's people were charter members of the Congregational
church at Sioux Rapids, assisted in building the house of worship and
were prominent in the church history of that place, the father having been a
lifelong, deacon. Mr. Belknap of this review has been a factor in the moral
progress of the community, both through his active labors and his influence, and
his religious teachings have sunk deep into the hearts of many and in time have
brought forth rich fruit. In community affairs he has also been otherwise active,
holding many different offices in his township, including that of town clerk, justice
of the peace and school director. In politics he has ever been a stalwart republican
and at one time was delegate to the county convention. He belongs to the
Grand Army of the Republic and to the Good Templars Lodge, the latter indicating
his position on the temperance question. For many years he has been correspondent
for the press at Spencer, Sioux Rapids and Marathon. Mrs. Belknap
deserves more than passing notice in this connection from the fact that she
successfully engaged in teaching several terms of school after their arrival in Clay
county. She had also taught in Winnebago county, Wisconsin, and proved a most
capable educator, imparting clearly and readily to others the knowledge that she
had acquired. She has also been of great help to her husband in the work of the
ministry. She possesses keen intellectuality with a strong interest in the questions
of the day which are of vital moment, and for many years she was a valued
correspondent for the Sioux Rapids and Marathon papers.
During his long, busy and useful career Mr. Belknap has faithfully performed
his duties of citizenship and met all of his obligations to mankind. He
has been an eye witness to the many changes which have taken place through the
growth and development of the county as it has been transformed from a wild
unsettled region into a district of fertile fields and happy homes. He is esteemed
and honored by all men. His name is not only inscribed upon the list of those
who went valiantly forth at the time of the nation's peril and faced the dangers
of warfare but, as a worthy and upright citizen and Christian gentleman, he will
be remembered throughout the coming years.
There is an old Greek saying, "Earn thy reward; the gods give naught to
sloth." The truth of this has been manifest in all of the ages since the words were
first uttered. It has been a realiziition of this truth that has prompted Mr. Rice
to put forth earnest and indefatigable effort in his business affairs. He is well
known as a farmer, butcher and stockman and also as an auctioneer, and these
various lines of business have contributed to his substantial success. Moreover,
he is now filling the position of sheriff and is proving as faithful in official service,
as he has been in business connections.
Mr. Rice is a native of Hardin county, Iowa, born June 3, 1858. His parents
were James and Mary (Williams) Rice, both natives of Indiana. The former
was a son of Nicholas Rice, who married Delilah Samuels, and after living for
some years in Indiana he came to Iowa, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers
of Hardin county. There he owned and operated a sawmill until his life's labors
were ended in middle age. His wife, however, reached advanced years ere called
to her final rest and reared a large family. The maternal grandfather of Wilburn
R. Rice was John Williams, a native of North Carolina, who was well fitted to
cope with the hardships and difficulties of the frontier, for he became an early
Picture of W. R. RICE
settler of Indiana and removing westward with the advancing civilization, was
also one of the pioneer settlers of Iowa in the vicinity of Oskaloosa. Afterward
he took up his abode in Hardin county, where he made a permanent location and
lived to a ripe old age.
James Rice, although born in Indiana, was reared in Iowa, coming to this
state in 1846 in his boyhood days with his parents, who settled in Hardin county.
Here amid the conditions and environments that always confront the pioneer
settler he spent his youth and was trained to habits of industry, economy and
perseverance by his father, whom he assisted in operating a sawmill and
eventually engaged in the manufacture of lumber on his own account. In early
days here he was a great hunter, becoming noted for his skill with the rifle. He
caught elk calves, which he shipped to Europe and to New York, for elk were
numerous at that time. There was also much smaller game to be had and Mr.
Rice was able to keep the table well supplied with meat. In his later years he
followed farming and the rich soil of Iowa responded generously to his efiforts in
this direction. In 1868 he removed to Cherokee county, where he secured a homestead
claim and with characteristic energy broke the sod and planted the crops.
In due time rich harvests were gathered and he is still cultivating that farm with
good success. In the community he was prominent in local affairs and held a
number of township offices. His religious faith is that of the Universalist church,
while his wife, a lady of earnest Christian spirit, belongs to the Methodist church.
They became the parents of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters:
Wilburn R., of this review; William; Henry; Grant; Rhoda, the wife of Frank
Finch, a resident of Three Rivers, California; Knelon; Edwin; Frank; Charles;
Elva, who has departed this life; and Opal.
Throughout the entire period of his life Wilburn R. Rice has lived in Iowa
save for a brief period which he spent in the neighboring state of Nebraska. He
lived in Hardin county to the age of ten years and then accompanied his parents
on their removal to Cherokee county, where he was reared on the home farm,
doing his share of the work in plowing, planting and harvesting. In the winter
months he pursued his education in the district schools and afterward had the
benefit of one term's instruction in the academy at Given, Nebraska. He then
rented land and farmed in Nebraska until the fall of 1881, when he returned to
Cherokee county, Iowa, where he carried on general farming until 1888. That
year witnessed his arrival in Clay county and he purchased eighty acres of land
on section 16, Freeman township, where he lived for nearly three years. On
selling his property he removed to Dickens, where he conducted a butchering
business for nearly seventeen years and at the same time dealt in live stock, but
in 1907 he disposed of his interests in those connections. He owns some town
property in International Falls, Minnesota, and one hundred and twenty acres of
timber land in the same state. He has also done auctioneering, crying a number
of sales, and becoming popular in that field of labor. In November, 1908,
however, he was elected sherifif of Clay county and in the winter moved to Spencer
in order to enter upon the duties of the office there. Although he has been the
incumbent for only a short period, his well known characteristics are proof that
he will be a faithful and fearless official.
On the 5th of December, 1880, Mr. Rice wedded Miss Amanda King, who
was born in Hancock county, Indiana. Her father, Isaac King, was a native of
Kentucky and having arrived at years of maturity he wedded Miss Charlotte
Moore, who was born in Indiana. They became the parents of eight children, as
follows: Oscar King; Henry; Amanda, now Mrs. Rice; Ella, the wife of W.
Tecumseh Gibbons; Rollin; Claude; and two who died in infancy.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Rice has been blessed with two children, Lulu
and Goldie. The elder is now the wife of J. J. Cairns, and they have one son,
Gerald. Mr. and Mrs. Rice belong to the Congregational church, are loyal to its
teachings and generous in its support. Mr. Rice holds membership in Dickens
Lodge, No. 583, I. O. O. F., and also with the Fraternal Bankers Reserve of
Cedar Rapids. His political endorsement has always been given to the republican
party and he is an active worker in its ranks in Clay county. He has served as
road supervisor, as constable and township assessor, and further well merited
honors came to him in his election to his present office. He is the owner of three
hundred and twenty acres of land in Burleigh county, North Dakota, and
altogether his has been a successful and progressive career marked by the faithful
performance of his daily duties.
William B. Bailey, an agriculturist of note of Clay township, this county,
came here in the early '60s and settled on a raw prairie land. Since that time,
through hard work, he has transformed the crude and primitive ground into fertile
fields, from which he is deriving abundant and lucrative harvests, and now in
his seventy-eighth year he may rest from active labor and enjoy the fruits of his
many years of toil. His birth occurred in Berlin, Washington county, Vermont,
on January 22, 1831, a son of Ebenezer and Sallie (Benjamin) Bailey. His father
was also a native of that place, where he was born May 10, 1796, and where he
spent his life in general farming, passing away in the year 1867. In politics he
was a democrat and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was
well known throughout the community as a substantial citizen and did much
during his life toward improving the place in which he resided. His mother, also a
native of the state of Vermont, spent her entire life there and was laid to rest
with her husband. They reared a family of ten children, namely: Abigail, Ozas,
Alsina, Frederick and Emory, all deceased; William B., whose name introduces
this sketch; Eliza and Sommers, deceased; Eben, an agriculturist of this township;
and Joshua, a retired farmer residing in Williamstown, Vermont.
The early days of William B. Bailey were spent on his father's farm where
he passed through the usual experiences common to the country lad, engaging in
agricultural duties during the summer months and in the winter attending the
district school. Having completed his studies in the common schools he remained
at home for awhile, and was then given the advantages of two terms of study in
the high school. At the age of twenty years he applied himself to farm work,
which he followed for a few years, wheen, upon becoming confident of his own
ability to conduct an agricultural business independently, he repaired to Iowa, in
company with a brother and a nephew. He settled on section 14, the land at that
time being in a crude state, obviously requiring hard work and constant application
before it was put in a condition for the production of crops. But Mr. Bailey
was equal to the task, and being then a young man full of vigor and inspired with
ambition, he was not balked by difficulties nor retarded by discouragements, and
in the course of time had this land in the finest possible shape for raising general
crops. In addition to growing hay and grain crops he also paid some attention
to stock-raising, but in recent years he has given up the active duties of his place,
and, resigning, the management of the farm to his son, he is now living in retirement.
In the year 1852 Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Jane Alexander,
and to them were born the following children: Lizzie, deceased; Henry, who is
an agriculturist residing near Savannah; and Emma, deceased. The mother departed
this life in the year 1858, and later Mr. Bailey wedded Alma Wells, who
departed this life in 1908, and by whom he had five children, namely: Willy and
Gertie, deceased; Charles B., a lumber dealer of Dickens, this state; Edwin H.,
who resides in Spencer, this state; and Wels, at home. Mr. Bailey has always
given his political support to the democratic party and during his years of activity
served a number of terms as school director. His religious convictions are on the
side of that denomination known as the Disciples of Christ, in which he serves in
the capacity of deacon, and is also a liberal supporter. Mr. Bailey's life has been
such as to give him high standing in the eyes of the community and he is generally
recognized as a man whose long years of earnest labor in this township have not
only contributed to his own prosperity but have also been a boon to the community
at large.
Eben Bailey, who for many years has been influentially associated with the
farming and stock-raising, interests of Clay township, this county, and who is a
veteran of the Civil war, was born in Berlin, Vermont, August 23, 1837, a son of
Ebenezer and Sallie (Benjamin) Bailey, both natives of Vermont, where they
spent their entire lives, the mother passing away in 1867. Eben Bailey acquired
his preliminary education at the district schools of his native village and was
subsequently given the added advantage of a course of study in a well known academy
at Berry, Vermont. He remained at home with his parents until he was nineteen
years of age, when he removed to Mount Holly, Vermont, where he was
engaged in business at the breaking out of the Civil war. In 1862 he enlisted in
the Union army, joining Company H, Fourteenth Vermont Volunteer Infantry,
and served until July 13, 1863, during his military career participating in the
battle of Gettysburg. After the war he returned to Mount Holly, Vermont, where
he engaged in business until the year 1869, when he went to Des Moines, Iowa,
remaining there until 1870, when he located in Clay township, taking, up a claim
of eighty acres in section 14, in which section his brother, William B. Bailey, also
took up a claim. The land being in a primitive state when Mr. Bailey settled
upon it, he was required to make all of the necessary improvements in order to
transform it into a fit state for cultivation. This he succeeded in doing and the
property is provided with a comfortable home, commodious barn, outbuildings and
all conveniences necessary to successfully pursue general farming and stock raising.
From the onset Mr. Bailey met with success in his farming venture, his fields
from year to year proving fruitful, which enabled him to add to his tract from
time to time until now he owns one hundred and sixty acres, constituting one of
the finest farms in the township.
On October 17, 1859, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Jackson, a
native of Berlin, Vermont, who became the mother of the following children:
Bertie R., who was born November 17, 1860, and departed this life on February
10, three years later; Percy, born April 23, 1866, and passed away February 7,
1873; and Mnnie B., whose birth occurred April 3, 1874, and who died when
fourteen years of age. The wife and mother passed away on April 1, 1888. On
June 28, 1890, Mr. Bailey wedded Miss Hattie Nichelson, who was born in
Crawford county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1862, and they have had the following
children: Nina E., born June 26, 1891; Marshall H., born February 16, 1893;
Lloyd E., whose birth occurred June 19, 1894; Grace E., who was born November
14, one year later; Ester E., whose birth occurred February 10, 1898; Dwight L,
born November 25, 1899; Morris J., who is in his eighth year; and Mainard W.,
who is three years of age. Mr. Bailey is a member of Royal Lodge, A. F. & A.
M., having affiliated himself with the order at Wallingford, Vermont, in the year
1863, and is also a member of Clay Chapter No. 112. Mr. Bailey is one of the
fmancial supports of the community whose success and prosperity are due to his
own exertion and he entertains the respect of the entire community.
For the vast majority the term good citizenship does not mean faithful
performance of official duty, but indicates, rather, industry and reliability in
business, with a spirit more or less active in the measures which are calculated to
promote general prosperity and to uphold the social and political status of the
community. Mr. Alvord is generously endowed with all the qualities which the
term, good citizenship, indicates, and his life is busily passed in the work of the
farm, his landed interests comprising one hundred and seventy acres on section
8, Riverton township. This is a neat and well-improved farm which, in its
attractive appearance, gives every evidence of a life of industry and thrift on the
part of its owner.
Mr. Alvord has lived in Clay county since 1884. He was born in Cortland
county, New York, July 20, 1834, and was reared to manhood there upon a farm.
His father, Martin Alvord, was born in 1800, on the same farm on which his son
was born, and his father was Charles Alvord, who located on the same farm fol-
lowing his removal from Connecticut. This farm was part and parcel of a tract
of military land belonging to General Alvord, the great-grandfather of our sub-
Pictures of Mrs. F. G. Alvord and
F. G. Alvord
ject. Charles Alvord removed to the Empire state with an ox-cart and sled,
making the journey through the wilderness from Connecticut. There, in the
midst of the forest, he cleared a tract of land and opened up a farm, coping with
the hardships and privations of pioneer life in his efforts to transform the land
into productive property. It was upon this farm that Martin Alvord was reared
to manhood and was early trained to the work of the fields, while lessons of
industry and integrity were impressed upon his mind. When he had reached
adult age he married Louise L. Frisbie, a native of the state of New York. He
became a prominent and influential citizen, reared his family on the old homestead
and, after a life of usefulness and activity, passed to his final rest at the age of
eighty-four years.
The boyhood surroundings of F. G. Alvord were the same in which his
father's youth were passed and he, too, was trained to the work of the farm when
not busy with his text books. He had good school advantages, for he acquired
his literary education in the public schools and later attended Homer Academy,
where he completed his course. The call of the west proved to him irresistible
and leaving the Empire state he made his way to the territory of Nebraska,
where he engaged in prospecting for about two years. On the expiration of that
period he returned to Cortland county, New York, and was married on the 23d
of December, 1860, to Miss Elizabeth M. Babcock, who was born, reared and
educated in Cortland county. Following his marriage he began farming there
and was busily occupied with the work of the fields until 1862, when he could no
longer content himself to follow the plow while the stability of the Union was
endangered by the rebellion in the south. Therefore, putting aside all business
and personal considerations, he offered his services to the government and was
enrolled among the boys in blue of Company D, One Hundred and Fifty-seventh
New York Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the
Potomac and he participated in numerous skirmishes. He was also on duty at
Manassas Gap. Later he became ill and was sent to the hospital at Washington,
D. C, where he remained four weeks, from where he was transferred to Bedloe's
Island, New York harbor. He afterward had a relapse and for some time was
down with fever. At length he was honorably discharged, on account of disability,
and as soon as he was able was sent home. It took him from two to three
years to recuperate and at the end of that time he sold his farm and removed to
Homer, New York, where he engaged in buying and dealing in horses, making
shipments to New York city. Later he purchased another farm, which he continued
to cultivate for several years, after which he sold out and removed to Clay
county, Iowa.
The year 1884 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Alvord in this state and in the
intervening period, covering a quarter of a century, he has made substantial
progress, contributing to the general prosperity. He has advanced his individual
interests through his efforts to cultivate and develop his farm. Taking up his
abode on section 8, Riverton township, he has given his undivided attention to
the improvement of his property. He has built a good, substantial residence,
which stands on a natural building site and commands a fine view of the
surrounding country. Barns, sheds and cribs furnish ample shelter to grain and
stock. Many fruit trees have been planted and an orchard is now in good bear-
ing condition. Ornamental trees add to the attractive appearance of the place
and an air of neatness and thrift pervades the entire surroundings. In the
pastures and feed-lots are found good grades of cattle, horses and hogs, and his
stock-raising interests are an important source of revenue. He is, moreover, a
stockholder in the Farmers' Elevator, at Spencer, and also in the telephone
company. He has carefully watched his business interests, noting the opportunities
for success, and the years have brought him gratifying prosperity as the reward
of his earnest, persistent labor.
Mr. and Mrs. Alvord have one son, Fred H., who is married and resides in
Homer, New York, where he is occupying the position of cashier of the Homer
National Bank. While a resident of that place Mr. Alvord filled several local
positions of honor and trust. During his residence here he has served for
seventeen years as township trustee, and no better testimonial of faithfulness and
capability could be given than the fact that he has been so long retained in the
office. Politically, he is a democrat at state and national elections, but at local
elections, where no issue is involved, he casts an independent ballot, considering
only the capability of the candidate. His life has been one of intense and well-
directed activity crowned with success. In 1893 he removed to Spencer, where
he lived retired, but indolence and idleness were utterly foreign to his nature and
he returned to the farm. While his success enables him to leave the active life of
the fields to others, he gives careful supervision to the place. He now rents the
land but carefully watches over the interests of his farm and in all things displays
good business management as well as strict integrity and general personal worth.
While in Homer, New York, he became a member of the Masonic fraternity,
filling all of the chairs and becoming past master. He and his wife are likewise
members of the Eastern Star. For almost a quarter of a century they have lived
in the county and witnessed the vast transformation as it has taken on all of the
evidences of a progressive civilization. Mr. Alvord is now seventy-five years of
age and his life has been one in which fidelity to principle has combined with
business enterprise in making him a valued and worthy citizen.
W. Ernest Barnhart is an attorney at law of Spencer, with a large clientage,
and in his chosen profession he has made that steady advance which results only
from merit in handling important litigated interests. He is still a young man,
with opportunity before him to attain still greater success, and his friends do not
hesitate to predict for him continued progress in the field of his chosen profession.
He was born near Pen Mar, July 16, 1877, his parents being David G. and Margaret
Virginia (Frye) Barnhart, also natives of the Keystone state. The father
was a son of Henry Barnhart, who with two brothers came from Germany, his
native land, to America. Henry Barnhart settled in Pennsylvania, while one of
his brothers became a resident of Ohio and the other of the west. He died in
Pennsylvania in middle life, while his wife passed away in Mount Morris, Illinois,
at an advanced age. They were the patents of three daughters: Susan, the wife
of Joseph Boward; Barbara, the wife of Joseph Kale; and Peggy. David G. was
their only son. In early life David G. Barnhart learned the wagon maker's trade,
which he has followed many years. For some time he has been a resident of
Cavetown, Maryland, and is well known as a representative of industrial interests
in that city. He wedded Margaret Virginia Frye, who was also born in Pennsylvania
and was a daughter of David and Susan (Ridenour) Frye. Her father
was a native of Maryland and was a carpenter by trade. He passed away when
about sixty years of age and his wife was sixty-five years of age at the time of
her demise. They had a large family, numbering seven sons and one daughter.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. David G. Barnhart was blessed with eleven children,
seven sons and four daughters, and their record is exceptional in that all are yet
living, namely: Margaret, the wife of George Claybourne, a resident of Hagerstown,
Maryland; Anne, the wife of Charles Reynolds, whose home is in Cambridge, Iowa;
Edward, a member of the United States navy on the battleship
Minnesota; George O., living in Champaign county, Illinois; W. Ernest, of this
review; Harry C, who is located at Hagerstown, Maryland; Gertrude M., the
wife of Harry Burger, of Baltimore, Maryland; William R., who is a soldier of
the regular army stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Lester H., of Cavetown,
Maryland; and Ura K. and Benjamin Franklin, who are also residents of Cavetown.
W. Ernest Barnhart resided in Funkstown, Maryland, between the ages of
three and nine years and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Cavetown,
where he spent seven years. On the expiration of that period the family
went to Mount Aetna, Maryland, where W. Ernest Barnhart continued to reside
until twenty-one years of age. In the meantime he acquired his education in the
public schools, passing through consecutive grades and supplementing his grammar
school training by the high school course. On the 4th of September, 1898,
he left home and sought the broader business opportunities of the middle west,
first making his way to Ogle county, Illinois, where he worked on a farm until the
fall of 1900. Feeling the necessity of further educational training, if he would
attain success in life, he then became a student in the Northern Indiana Law
College, at Valparaiso, Indiana. While on the farm in Ogle county, Illinois, he
had read law two years and continued his law studies in Valparaiso, being graduated
from the law department of that school with the class of 1902. However,
he practiced for a year before his graduation, having been admitted to the bar in
1901. There he remained until May, 1903, practicing with T. H. Hurd, at one
time prosecuting attorney there. Later he returned to Ogle county, Illinois,
where he remained until August, 1903, when he came to Spencer and entered
into partnership with O. A. Thomas, a relation that was maintained until August
1, 1905. Since that time Mr. Barnhart has been alone and has secured a good
clientage, connecting him with much important litigation tried in the courts of the
district. He also does a collecting and insurance business.
On the 4th of April, 1906, occurred the marriage of Mr. Barnhart and Miss
Berta M. Roybar, a daughter of Frank and Lucretia (Lee) Roybar. They have
two children, Harold Ernest and Margaret Helen. The parents are well known
in the social circles of the city and their home is most attractive by reason of their
warm-hearted hospitality. Mr. Barnhart holds membership in the Christian
church while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. He also belongs
to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Spencer, in which he is serving as chancellor
commander, and is also a member of the Modern Woodmen camp. His political
views are in accord with the principles of the republican party and in 1904 he
was elected on its ticket to the office of city attorney. His first term received
public indorsement in his reelection in 1906 and in 1908 he was elected to the
office of county attorney. He is recognized as a strong and able lawyer, with
thorough understanding of legal principles, while his application of the points of
law is always correct and logical.
Among the residents of Spencer who at one time were closely associated with
the agricultural interests of the county and are now enjoying the fruits of their
former toil, is numbered Benjamin Pitcher. He is in his seventy-third year, his
birth having occurred in Cambridgeshire, England, August 29, 1836. The family
is an old one in that country and the grandfather. John Pitcher, spent his entire
life there, meeting his death through the kick of a horse. He always followed
farming as a source of livelihood. One of his children was Benjamin Pitcher,
who was reared in his native land and became a butcher, following the trade in
early manhood. Subsequently he turned his attention to farming. He was married
in England to Miss Ann Hall, a native of that country and a daughter of
Thomas and Ann Hall, who also remained residents of England, passing their
lives on farms in that country. The death of Mr. Hall occurred when he had
reached the venerable age of eighty-two years. Following their marriage Mr.
and Mrs. Benjamin began their domestic life in England, remaining residents of
Cambridgeshire until September, 1846, when the father with his family sailed
to the new world and took up his abode in Rensselaer county, New York. There
Mr. Pitcher again engaged in farming until 1863, when he removed westward
to Illinois, locating in Winnebago county, about eight miles from Rockford. His
remaining days were given to general agricultural pursuits in that locality, where
he died in 1881 at the age of seventy-nine years. He had long survived his wife,
who died in England in 1844. They were both members of the established church
of England. Of their family of three sons and two daughters only three are now
living; Frances Ellen, the widow of George Warren, of Seattle, Washington;
Benjamin, of this review; and William, of Port Townsend, Washington.
Benjamin Pitcher spent the first ten years of his life in the land of his birth
and then came with his father to the United States, living in New York until
1855. In that year he became a resident of Winnebago county, Illinois, where
he lived for several years and later removed to Green county, Wisconsin, in
which locality he followed farming. A few years later he returned to Winnebago
county and on the 7th of August, 1862, offered his services to the government in
defense of the Union army, becoming a member of Company H, Seventy-fourth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he did active duty until mustered out on
June 10, 1865. He was wounded in the leg at the battle of Missionary Ridge
and had a part of his heel shot, away at Kenesaw Mountain, while at Dallas he
was slightly wounded in the hand. He participated in eighteen hard-fought battles,
including the engagements at Perryville, Stone River, Tallahassee, Dalton,
Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Spring Hill,
Franklin and Nashville. He was first a private but was mustered out with the
rank of sergeant. After the war he returned to Winnebago county. Illinois, where
he had engaged in farming and teaming. He dates his residence in Iowa from
the 5th of September, 1872, on which day he arrived in Spencer and soon afterward
took up a homestead of eighty acres in Dickinson county, while later he
secured eighty acres in Clay county. He still owns the original tract together
with eighty acres in Meadow township, Clay county, where he lived until 1893,
and during that period transformed his land into a rich and productive farm,
supplied with modern equipment and accessories. The place in all of its appointments
is neat and well ordered, and Mr. Pitcher continued his personal supervision
and practical work upon the place until 1893, when he removed to Spencer,
where he has since made his home.
On the 29th of November, 1857, Mr. Pitcher was married to Miss Mary
W. Barnard, who was born in North Beckett, Massachusetts. Her father. John
Barnard, wedded a Miss McClure, and their family included Mrs. Pitcher, who,
by her marriage, has become the mother of six children. John L., the eldest, a
resident of Milford, Iowa, wedded Elizabeth James and has five children, Anna,
John, Olive, Mary and Walter B. Mary A. is a bookkeeper and stenographer in
Spencer. Homer E. conducts an agricultural implement business in Spencer, and
married Tirza Waldo, who has become the mother of two children. Dolly is the
wife of George Walker, of Spencer, and has three children, Lou, Leslie and
Francell. Agnes is the wife of C. A. Claypole, of Fort Dodge. Iowa, and has
two children, Agnes and Keith. Benjamin completes the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Pitcher attend the Congregational church, of which she is a
member. Mr. Pitcher's membership relations are with Evening Shade Lodge,
No. 312, A. F. & A. M., and Waller Post, G. A. R., of Milford. In politics he
is a republican and has always voted for the men and measures of the party.
There is no more loyal American citizen in Clay county than this adopted son
who, though born across the water, has spent almost his entire life in the United
States and has deep attachment for the institutions of this free land. He
certainly proved his loyalty by his service in the Civil, war and in days of peace he
has been as faithful to his country as when he followed the stars and stripes on
the battlefields of the south.
William I. Rood, a photographer of Spencer, whose artistic skill is evidenced
in the excellent work which he turns out, is now accorded a liberal patronage
by reason of the ability which he manifests. New York numbers him among
her native sons, his birth having occurred in Cayuga county, August 8, 1842.
He is a son of Jacob Rood and a grandson of Augustus Rood, both natives of the
Empire state. The latter learned and followed the shoemaker's trade in early
life but afterward gave his energies and attention to farming. He was for a
short time a soldier of the war of 1812. Both he and his wife died when well
advanced in years, after rearing a family of five children: John, Augustus,
Jacob, Eliza and Lorena.
Jacob Rood, reared in his father's home, began learning the harness-maker's
trade when thirteen years of age and was thus connected with industrial interests
for some time. After arriving to years of maturity he wedded Caroline Smith,
who was also born in the Empire state, and they made their home in Cayuga
county, New York, until 1844, when they came westward to the Mississippi
valley. Mr. Rood established his home near Green Lake, Wisconsin, and became
prominently identified with agricultural interests in that locality. He afterward
owned five different farms in Columbia county, near Portage City, Wisconsin,
and improved them. He was in business association with his two brothers and
father while at Green Lake. In 1856 he again started in the harness business,
opening a shop at Marcellon, where he remained for a year. In 1858, however,
he took up his abode on a farm in Monroe county, Wisconsin, where he lived
for about fourteen years, or until 1872, when he came to Clay county, Iowa,
where he practiced veterinary surgery. He lacked but twenty days of being
eighty years of age when he passed away toward the opening of the Twentieth
century. His wife survived him and died at the age of eighty-three years, six
months and eighteen days. Mr. Rood always gave his political allegiance to
the republican party from Lincoln's time until his death and while living in
Wisconsin held the office of clerk of the court, while in Clay county he served
as county coroner. Wherever he was known he was highly esteemed, for he
was loyal and progressive in all matters of citizenship, and in business affairs
showed determination, purpose, careful management and keen sagacity.
William I. Rood was the oldest in a family of three sons and four daughters
and is the only one now living. He was less than two years of age at the time
of his parents' removal to Wisconsin and there he was largely reared to farm
life, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of
the agriculturist. He was nineteen years of age when in August, 1862, he
offered his services to the government and with patriotic ardor went to the
front as a member of Company D, Twenty-fifth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry,
He served as a private until the close of the war and participated in a number
of smaller engagements although he was not in any heavy battle. However, he
went with Sherman on his celebrated march to the sea and met with most of the
experiences and hardships of a rigorous warfare.
When hostilities were over and peace again reigned in the land William I.
Rood returned to the farm in Wisconsin but, as his health was impaired, he
could not stand the hard manual labor and took up photography, to which he
has since given his attention, following the profession for about forty years.
In 1871 he came to Spencer and for thirty-seven years has conducted his gallery
at this place. In all this time he has kept informed concerning the progress made
in the process of photography, has been quick to adopt any new and practical
improvement and with ready appreciation of the value of light, shade and pose,
he has done good work and has enjoyed a liberal patronage.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Rood laid the foundation for his
domestic happiness in his marriage on the 21st of October, 1872, to Miss Belle
Brown, of Vermont. There were seven children born unto them but only two
are now living: Edna and Abbie. The former is the wife of W. F. Conley, of
Easton, Minnesota, and has two children, Kenneth and Beatrice. Abbie is
conducting a kindergarten in Chicago. Mr. Rood is a member of the Christian
Science church, of Boston. Mrs. Rood was a member of the Congregational
church from the age of twelve years until recently, when she, too, became
identified with the Christian Science movement. Politically Mr. Rood is a
republican and served as town clerk in Wisconsin for one term, but has never
been eager for office, preferring to do his public service in other ways. He is
interested in the welfare of Spencer and as the years have gone by he has won
for himself a creditable position as a valued citizen and business man.
George F. Soehren, now living in Everly, was formerly closely associated
with the agricultural interests of Lone Tree township. He possessed a spirit of
perseverance that enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever
he undertook and thus he developed a good farm of one hundred and forty
acres, from which he annually derived a substantial income as the result of his
industry and diligence. A native of Iowa, he was born in Benton county, on the
18th of January, 1871. His father, George D. Soehren, was born in Germany,
where he remained to the age of seventeen years, when he came to the new world,
first locating in Indiana. There he worked for a year or more, after which he
made his way to Davenport, Iowa, and soon took up farm work in Scott county.
It was in that county that he wedded Miss Lena Miller, also a native of Germany,
in which country her girlhood days were passed. They lived for some time in
Benton county and in 1884 came to Clay county, Mr. Soehren purchasing three
hundred and sixty acres of land in Lone Tree township. At that time it was
entirely destitute of improvements and not a furrow had been turned upon the
place, but he broke the sod, fenced the fields and converted the land into an arable
and productive tract. He continued to engage actively in farming until 1898,
when he lost his wife, since which time he has resided in Everly with his son,
George. Unto Mr. and Mrs. George D. Soehren were born four sons and four
daughters: John, a carpenter, who resides at Dayton, Montana; Emma, the wife
of Henry Nagle, of Guthrie Center, Iowa; Minnie, the wife of George Lambin,
of Waubay, South Dakota; George F.; Anna, the wife of Egbert Emmertsen, of
St. Paul. Minnesota; Daniel D., a farmer of Lone Tree township, who owns the
old homestead; Louisa, the wife of A. T. Rohlf, of Bowman, North Dakota; and
F. C, who is engaged in farming with his brother Daniel on the old homestead.
When a lad of fourteen years George F. Soehren came to Clay county and
was here reared to manhood, w'hile the common schools afiforded him his educational
privileges. Through the period of his boyhood and youth he assisted in
the work of the fields and, after attaining his majority, carried on the home farm
for a time. In 1903 he went to South Dakota and purchased land at White Rock,
Roberts county, becoming owner of three hundred and five acres. There he
opened up a new farm, which he cultivated for three years, after which he sold
out and returned to Clay county, here purchasing one hundred and forty acres
from his father. Carefully, systematically and energetically he continued the
work of the farm until the fall of 1908, when he sold the place and bought a neat
home in Everly, where he now resides. He has here eight acres of land and his
place is one of the attractive homes of the town, because of its neat and well kept
appearance. While on the farm he conducted a dairy business in connection
with the tilling of the soil. For some thirty years he has been engaged in raising
fine poultry, making a specialty of Barred Plymouth Rocks. He has always had
a large flock, has bred the finest chickens and has sold perhaps more poultry than
any other man in this part of the county. He is now also engaged in raising
squabs, starting with one hundred and four pairs of mated pigeons. His place is
well equipped for the conduct of the business and he now devotes his time to this
task, being the only man in Clay county engaged in raising squabs. For the birds
he finds a ready market and receives good prices for all he sells.
On the 19th of December, 1907, Mr. Soehren was married to Miss Dorothy
Schoenewe, a native of Germany, who was here reared and educated. Both are
members of the German Lutheran church, in which faith they were reared. Mr.
Soehren gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is a firm believer
in its principles, but has never sought nor desired public office. His life has been
a very busy, active and useful one. He has helped to improve and make two
farms and has been closely associated with the progress and upbuilding of Lone
Tree township. He is now conducting a successful and growing business in
Everly and is one of the representative residents of the town.
William F. Torbert, living on section 24, Riverton township, is one of the
few remaining, residents who secured homestead claims in this township in the
early period of the county's development. He owns one hundred and seventy-
four acres in the place on which he now resides ‐ a well improved and valuable
farm ‐ pleasantly situated about two miles from Spencer. In the spring of 1871
he arrived in Clay county but has always been a resident of the middle west and
is imbued with the spirit of enterprise and progress which has been the dominant
factor in the upbuilding of the Mississippi valley. His birth occurred in Dodge
county, Wisconsin, February 21, 1847. His father, S. S. Torbert, was a native
of Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where he was reared and married, the lady
of his choice being Miss Nancy Long, also a native of Lycoming county. They
began their domestic life in that commonwealth and lived there until after the
birth of two of their children, when they removed westward and established a
home in Dodge county, Wisconsin, in 1846. There Mr. Torbert opened up a
new farm, clearing the land of the timber, turning the first furrows and making
his place an arable tract, on which he reared his family. Later, however, he
Picture of Torbert family
came to Clay county, Iowa, and spent his last years. He had lost his wife in
Wisconsin in 1873, while his death occurred in Clay county, November 15, 1897.
Their family numbered two sons and three daughters: Samuel, who became a
Union soldier in the Civil war and died in the service; Susan, who was married
and died in Chicago; W. F., of this review; Maggie, the wife of W. H. Cook,
living in Dodge county, Wisconsin; and Clementine, who was married and died
in California.
William F. Torbert was reared on the old home farm in Dodge county,
Wisconsin, and as a public-school student gained a knowledge of the elementary
branches of English learning. Observation, study and reading have since greatly
broadened his knowledge and in the school of experience he has also learned
valuable lessons. He remained with his father until he attained his majority and
then became a teacher, following the profession through a number of winter
terms, while the summer seasons were devoted to farm work. In 1871 he came
to Clay county and secured a homestead on section 18, Riverton township,
obtaining eighty acres, on which he turned the first furrows. He also built a
sod house immediately after his arrival and occupied it until he could erect a
good frame dwelling, for which he hauled the lumber from Algona. He used
oxen in turning the first furrows and in cultivating, his farm for a time. He
fenced his land and for four years kept bachelor's hall while putting the first
improvements on his place. He continued to engage in teaching through nineteen
winter seasons and in the summer months continued to till the soil, purchasing
more land as his financial resources increased, until the old home place now
comprises two hundred and eighty acres. For thirty-two years he there engaged
in farming and then purchased his present home. In connection with his
agricultural interests he has been carrying on a dairy business for the past fifteen
years. His stock is pure-blooded shorthorn and this branch of his business is
proving quite profitable.
In November, 1875, in Riverton township, Mr. Torbert wedded Miss Maria
McArdle. who was born in Pennsylvania but was largely reared in Iowa and was
one of her husband's pupils before her marriage. Her father was James McArdle,
also one of the early settlers of the county, who secured a homestead here in
pioneer times. Three children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Torbert.
Nellie is now the wife of O. M. Peterson, a farmer of Russell, Minnesota, and
they have two sons, Ervin and Harold. Samuel A., who has been cultivating the
old home farm, is married and has two children, Mildred and Anna May. Maggie
is the wife of T. C. Hanna, a farmer of Riverton township.
Politically. Mr. Torbert has been a life-long republican, supporting each
presidential nominee of the party since casting his first vote for General U. S.
Grant. He has taken an active interest in local elections and has been called to
fill several township offices, serving for some years as township clerk and later
as trustee. He has also been township treasurer and school treasurer for a
number of years and has been identified with the schools almost continuously since
locating here, and is at the present time acting as president of the school board.
He has always been deeply interested in the cause of education, regarding it as
one of the bulwarks of the nation and he has done much to further the school
system in this part of the state. He likewise capably served as assessor for ten
consecutive years and has been a delegate to almost every county and state
convention. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and
take an active and helpful part in church and Sunday school work, acting as
Sunday school teacher and as church trustee. Great changes have occurred since
Mr. Torbert came to Clay county thirty-seven years ago. He has seen the towns
built up, railroads established and the whole county transformed from a wilderness
and swamp. He has broken several hundred acres of the virgin soil and
has thus borne an active and helpful part in the work of general improvement and
progress. His influence has always been found on the side of material, intellectual
and moral development and his work has been an element in the county's
advancement.
There is no movement formulated in Waterford township for the benefit
of the community along lines of substantial upbuilding that does not receive the
endorsement of George W. Moeller, and his labors have always been a cooperant
factor in the work of general improvement. A quarter of a century has passed
since he came to Clay county and throughout this period he has given proof of
the fact that the term citizenship is to him no mere idle word. He is now busily
engaged in the conduct of his farming interests for he has a good property on
section 21. Born in Iowa, the place of his nativity was in Benton county and his
natal day the 6th of July. 1875. As the name indicates, he comes of German
ancestry. His father, Fritz Moeller, was a native of Germany, where he remained
until early manhood, when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States. After
living for a time in Scott county, Iowa, he removed to Benton county, where he
carried on general farming. He was married in the former county to Miss Dora
Strohbeen, also a native of Germany, and after living for a considerable period
in Benton county they removed to Clay county in 1884, Mr. Moeller becoming
identified with agricultural pursuits here through his investment in a farm of four
hundred acres. The land was largely in its primitive condition when he came into
its possession, but he bent his energies toward transforming the wild prairie into
cultivated fields and continued actively in business up to the time of his death,
which occurred in 1887. His wife still survives and is now a resident of Everly.
George W. Moeller was only eight years of age at the time of the removal
to the farm in Clay county, so that his youthful days were here passed and to the
public school system he is indebted for the educational advantages he enjoyed in
his youth. Later he attended a business college at Davenport, Iowa, and through
the periods of vacation worked on the home farm so that broad practical experience
qualified him to carry on farming when he started out in life on his own
account. Subsequent to attaining his majority he worked as a farm hand by the
month for a year and was also employed in a creamery one summer. He then
returned to the home place and took charge of the farm and in its control has
displayed good business ability and unfaltering energy. He now owns two hundred
acres of the old homestead, which is attractively and appropriately called the
"Cedar Lawn Farm." Since coming into possession he has erected a large barn
and a silo, which was the first in the county. In connection with farming he
has engaged in raising and feeding stock. A good grade of cattle, horses and
hogs are found in his pastures. He believes in progress in all things and therefore
uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate the work of the fields. His
farming he has carried on along modern scientific lines and his labors are bringing
excellent results. He has also extended his efforts into other fields of business
activity, for he is now a member of the board of directors, Clay County
Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company.
On Christmas day of 1901 Mr. Moeller was married to Miss Maggie Zentner,
who was born, reared and educated in this state. They now have one son, Leslie.
The parents are prominent socially and the hospitality of the best homes of the
community is freely accorded them. They were reared in the Lutheran faith and
attend that church. Mr. Moeller is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at
Everly, while his political allegiance is given to the democracy. He was elected
secretary of the school board and after serving eight consecutive years was
reelected in 1908, so that he is the present incumbent. In the same year he was
elected assessor. Young, determined and vigorous, a successful farmer and an
enterprising business man. Waterford township numbers him among her valued
residents, and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have
known him from his boyhood to the present time is an indication that his life
has at all times been honorable and upright ‐ worthy of the high esteem in which
he is uniformlv held
Every man who enters business life does so with the hope of winning success,
but there are many who are not willing to pay the price of it. The price is unfaltering
industry, intelligently directed, and when the individual is not afraid to put
forth continuous and persistent effort he will eventually attain prosperity. This
is proven in the record of John J. Kraemer, now numbered among the leading
farmers of Lone Tree township. His home is on section 33 and he owns four
hundred and eighty acres in two well improved farms. He dates his residence
in the county from the fall of 1879, coming here when a young man of about
twenty-eight years. He was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, October 17, 1851,
and there remained to the age of nineteen years, when he sought the business
opportunities of the new world, arriving, in La Salle county, Illinois, in 1870. As
he had no capital to enable him to start in an independent business venture, he
worked by the month as a farm hand for a few years, until he felt that his capital
and experience justified him in renting land and farming on his own account.
He was thus identified with the agricultural interests of Illinois until 1879, when
he removed to western Iowa, establishing his home in Clay county. During the
year following his arrival he cultivated a rented farm in Riverton township, not
far from the county farm. He then purchased eighty acres of land west of
Spencer, where he carried on farming for six years, when he sold that property
and again rented land for five years in the vicinity of the county seat. In the
meantime he continued to carefully save his earnings and during that period he
invested in three hundred and twenty acres of land, which is the farm on section
33, Lone Tree township, upon which he now resides. He has since made another
purchase of one hundred and sixty acres, so that his landed holdings now embrace
four hundred and eighty acres. He has remained on his present farm since 1893,
in which year he began to further improve it and the excellence and effectiveness
of his labors are indicated in the splendid appearance of his place. The plowing,
planting and harvesting, are carried on year by year and his industry is rewarded
by large crops. He has set out an orchard and some forest trees and in the midst
of a well kept lawn stands a large house which he erected. He has also built a
good barn and he likewise has good buildings upon his other place. He has tiled
most of his home farm, thus greatly enhancing the productiveness of the fields.
In addition to his farming he raises high-grade stock and both branches of his
business are proving sources of gratifying, remuneration.
Mr. Kracmer has been married twice. When in La Salle county, Illinois, he
wedded Fredericka Vonesse, a native of Germany, who died in Clay county in
1900. There were nine children by that marriage: Rev. Wilhelm Paul Kraemer,
who is now minister of the German and American Methodist Episcopal church;
Henry, who is cultivating one of his father's farms; Lena, who is acting as
housekeeper for her brother; Paul, who is with his brother and sister on the farm;
Arthur, who is now doing for himself; Frank, who has also started in life on his
own account; Martha, a student in the Everly high school; and Lydia and Walter,
at home. On the 27th of March, 1901, Mr. Kraemer was again married and the
wedding, which was celebrated in New York city, made Miss Mary Pflugfelter
his wife. There are three children by this marriage: John F., Albert and
Florence.
Mr. Kraemer votes with the republican party, but his business cares make
too extensive demand upon his time and energies to allow him to participate to
any extent in political activity. He is justly accounted one of the good business
men of the community and certainly deserves much credit for what he has
accomplished, as he started out in life with no capital save his natural qualities of
industry and determination. The years have marked his successive progress until he
is today one of the substantial citizens of Clay county. Mr. and Mrs. Kraemer
both are members of the German Methodist Episcopal church of Spencer.
John J. Bicknell, who is now living in retirement after having spent upwards
of three-quarters of a century in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising in Peterson,
this county, was born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, January 24. 1825,
a son of James and Lucy A. (Cady) Bicknell, his father also having been a native
of that state, who came west in 1841, locating, in Ohio, and remained there until
1848. Before the expiration of the year he went to Illinois, where he spent three
years, and then repaired to Waterloo, remaining there until 1856 during which
Picture of Mr. and Mrs. J.J. Bicknell
year he came to Peterson, or rather where the village of Peterson now stands.
Here he pursued agricultural and general stock-raising until he departed this life.
He was united in marriage in his native state, where his wife also was born. The
latter passed away at her home here, and her remains were interred with those of
her husband. In the family were four children, namely: John J,; Lucy, wife of
Charles Oldfield, the couple residing in Michigan; Chester C. deceased; and Mary
Jane, deceased.
The common schools of Massachusetts and Ohio afforded John J. Bicknell
his preliminary education and subsequent!y he pursued a course of study in
Oberlin College, from which he was graduated. He remained with his parents
until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in the world for himself, his
first occupation being that of a timber chopper, which he followed a few years and
then went back to his native state, and remained there some time. Upon his return
to Ohio he purchased his father's farm upon which he lived, actively engaged in
agricultural pursuits for a period of seven years, and then located near Batavia,
Kane county, Illinois, where he spent two years. He then removed to Cedar Falls,
Black Hawk county, this state, and there remained until the year 1856, when he
repaired to this county and took up a claim. He was accompanied by J. A.
Kirchner and his neighbor Meed and his son, and they were the first settlers in Clay
county. Returning to Cedar Falls in the fall of the same year he remained there
but a brief period when, in the year 1857, he returned to this county and remained
here until after the Spirit Lake Massacre, when he went back to the former place
and stayed there three years, for the hostility of the Indians at that time was so
bitter that it was unsafe to take up a residence in Clay county. Later, however,
he returned to this county, where for a number of years he pursued general farming
which he abandoned about three years ago and removed to the village of
Peterson, where he is now living a retired life. He owns a forty-acre farm upon
which he has made all the necessary improvements and to which, during his days
of activity, he had given every attention and the piece of land, although it is
small, is one of the most arable and desirable in the township. In addition to this
he owns a comfortable residence in the village of Peterson, where he resides, and
also some valuable town property.
In 1850 Mr. Bicknell was united in marriage at Pittsfield, Ohio, to Miss
Caroline Chisley, a native of New York state, by whom he has had four children,
namely: Otis Chester, an agriculturist of Livingston county, Missouri; Milo, who
operates a large farm in O'Brien county, this state; Lucy Jane, wife of Charles
McCormick, a farmer of this township; and Minnie C, who became the wife of
Arthur Hulbert, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits and stock-raising
in Missouri. During his life Mr. Bicknell has taken considerable interest in
politics, always voting the republican ticket and served two terms as county
treasurer, and for the same length of time as county recorder. He was county judge
four years and, aside from having served the township as justice of the peace,
has officiated in several other local public offices. He has always been deeply
interested in church work and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal denomination,
with which his wife is also affiliated, and for twenty-two years he has been
superintendent of the Sunday school. Mr. Bicknell is well known throughout the
county in which he is. highly respected and now, in his eighty-fourth year, after
a long career which in every particular has been well spent, he need have no
regrets in looking backward, and noting that his purposes have always been noble
and that his life is such as to contribute toward the moral and spiritual uplift of
all with whom he has come in contact, he can look forward with the consciousness
that inasmuch as he has been dutiful in the vineyard of his Master, whom he has
for so many years endeavored to serve acceptably in leading others into a
knowledge of the faith, there awaits him a glorious immortality.
No farmer in Clay county has achieved greater success in agricultural
pursuits that has Fred Struck, whose attractive homestead lies on section 13,
Garfield township, and comprises one hundred and sixty acres. Through his
own industry and enterprise he has risen to prominence as a farmer. Nothing
aided him in his struggle except the fact that he was born of worthy parents
and inherited the splendid traits which have characterized the men who have
developed our great western country. His birth occurred in Clinton, Clinton
county, Iowa, on the 19th of September, 1871, his parents being Jacob and Sophia
(Kock) Struck, both of whom were natives of Germany. Both came to America
in childhood days but were unacquainted in their native land. They did not
meet until they became residents of Clinton county, Iowa, and their marriage
was celebrated near Davenport. After residing for a few years in Clinton
county they removed to Marshall county and a few years later became residents of
Grundy couny, (sic) Iowa, preceding their removal to Tama county, whence they came
to Clay county in 1882. Their family numbered six children, the eldest being
Fred Struck, of this review. The others are: Henry, who makes his home in
North Dakota; Emma, the wife of John Starr, who resides in Douglas township,
Clay county, by whom she has one child. Orland; Kate, the wife of Steve Crick,
a resident of Clay county; and George and Rosie, both still under the parental
roof.
Spending his boyhood days in his parents' home, Fred Struck was reared
to the work of the home farm and in the district schools pursued his education,
becoming thus qualified for the practical duties of life. He started out for
himself at the age of twenty years, being possessed of a laudable ambition to
one day become the owner of a farm. He, therefore, carefully saved his earnings
and when he was in possession of a small sum of money he arranged for
the purchase of his present place, making a small payment and agreeing to pay
the remainder at stated intervals. The purchase price was two thousand dollars,
or a little more than twelve dollars per acre, and today the farm is valued at
about one hundred dollars per acre, being one of the best in the county. For
several years Mr. Struck had a hard struggle to keep up his payments. Some
years he could not make enough to pay even the taxes, owing to the hard times,
poor crops and low prices for all farm products. Corn in those days sold for
eight cents per bushel and oats brought only eleven cents. It required two big
loads of corn, hauled to market, to buy one pair of boots. The conditions were
so discouraging to the farmers in the northwest at that time that scores of
settlers abandoned their homesteads and gave up the battle; but Mr. Struck
possessed a determination, that would not permit his surrender, and he hoped
and toiled bravely on and in course of time success rewarded his labors. Tireless
energy will always win prosperity and it was through this means that Mr. Struck
gained his place among the substantial agriculturists of the community.
On the 26th of June, 1901, Mr. Struck was united in marriage to Miss Mary
R. Milligan, a daughter of John and Diana (Scott) Milligan, both of whom
were natives of Canada. In the year 1890 they came to the United States,
settling near Independence, Iowa, and are now residents of St. Paul, Minnesota.
Mrs. Struck is the younger of two children, her brother, John Milligan, residing
with his parents in St. Paul. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Struck has been born a
daughter, Ida B. The parents are members of the Lutheran church and are
interested in its work and in all that pertains to the welfare and progress of the
community. Their good qualities of heart and mind have gained for them the
friendship of many and the high regard of all who know them, while the business
record of Mr. Struck commends him to the confidence of his fellowmen, for at
all times he is reliable and straightforward.
Frank L. Zishka, living on section 9, Summit township, has for twenty-eight
years been well known in Clay county. He was but a little lad at the time of his
arrival here and the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have
known him from his boyhood days is an indication that his life has been
honorable and upright. His birth occurred in Illinois, October 25, 1873, and
in his early childhood his parents removed to Iowa, settling in Franklin county,
where he remained until 1882. The family home was then established in Clay
county and here he continued his education as a public-school pupil. His
training at farm labor was not meager for as soon as old enough to handle the
plow he began work in the fields and continued to assist in the cultivation of the
crops from the time of early spring planting until the harvests were gathered in
the late autumn. His thorough training thus well qualified him to carry on
business on his own account when he was married and started out for himself.
It was in 1899, in Spencer, that Mr. Zishka was joined in wedlock to Miss
Ida Doeling, a native of Germany, in which land her girlhood days were passed,
coming to America in early womanhood. Following his marriage Mr. Zishka
took his bride to the farm upon which they have since resided. He has purchased
one hundred and sixty acres here and in addition to that tract he also cultivates
another quarter section, so that his time is now busily occupied with the care and
improvement of three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land.
He gives much of his attention to the cultivation of corn but also raises other
crops, and livestock interests claim a part of his attention. He raises and feeds
hogs and this proves a profitable branch of his business. In all of his work
he is energetic and determined, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by
persistent and honorable effort. Year after year he carefully tills his fields
and raises hogs and there are few leisure moments in his life. Mr. Zishka and
his brother, Carl, have owned and operated a steam thresher and corn sheller
for seventeen years. Their first thresher was operated with horse power but for
fourteen years they have used a steam traction engine and have also employed
steam in the operation of the corn sheller for about nine years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Zishka have been born three children, Alma, Erna and
Louis. The parents are both consistent and faithful members of the German
Lutheran church. Mr. Zishka has been identified with the schools in an official
capacity and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. Well
known in Clay and adjacent counties by reason of his business affairs. Mr.
Zishka is accounted one of the active workers and progressive farmers of Summit
township and has the unqualified confidence and esteem of the entire community.
Martin Johnson, now retired after many years of unwearied efforts as an
agriculturist and carriage maker, a man held in high respect for his industry
and excellent qualities of character, was bom in Denmark, February 13, 1844,
a son of Johannes and Carrie Mary (Tidman) Johnson. His father was a carpenter
and cabinet maker, who spent his entire life in his native land, where he
passed away in 1908. His mother, also a native of Denmark, there departed
this life when Martin Johnson was but thirteen years of age. In the family
were but two children, namely, Martin and Hans Peter, the latter now residing in
Minnesota. The elder Mr. Johnson was twice united in marriage, the second
time to Dorothy Nelson, by whom he reared four children, only two surviving,
namely, James, who is an agriculturist, operating a large farm near Enwood,
this state, and Christ, who is living on a farm east of Spencer.
In the common schools of his native land Martin Johnson acquired his
early education and when fourteen years of age was apprenticed for a period
of four and a half years to a carriage maker. Having learned that trade, he
followed the occupation as a journeyman until he was twenty-one years of age,
and in the year 1867 came to the United States, locating in Waupun, Wisconsin,
where he became employed in a carriage shop. He remained at Waupun four
years, at the expiration of which time he came to this county. Upon his arrival
here he found it very difficult to get a start, as at that time he had but one
horse. But eventually, having raised a colt, he traded same for a cow and one
year later traded his horses for a yoke of oxen, and with this team he at once
began to break the raw prairie and put it into a fit state for cultivation. He
was handicapped in many ways, as there was a great deal of sickness in the
family as well as other reverses, which made it seem almost impossible to attain
any headway. However, he plodded along with perseverance and patience,
applying his energies to hard work, and finally succeeded in overcoming all
difficulties, mounting above discouragements and transforming the raw prairie
country into an excellent state of cultivation, from which he has since reaped
harvests which have grandly repaid him for the labors of his earlier years.
He owns the eastern half of section 18 and also eighty acres of section 17, all
of which is highly improved property, and his farm is provided with an elegant
residence, outbuildings, machinery and all conveniences necessary to make
agriculture a paying business. Aside from engaging in general husbandry, he
also pays some attention to stock raising and does quite a shipping business in
the better breeds of cattle, sheep and hogs. While Mr. Johnson takes a deep
interest in every department of his farm, being careful to always keep his buildings
in excellent condition and his property neatly and substantially fenced, yet
he takes particular pride in his town residence, to which he has given much
thought and attention and which is considered one of the finest and most
comfortable dwelling houses in Royal.
In 1873 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hendrickson, a resident
of this county, by whom he has had two children, namely, Emma, wife of Peter
Sondergarth, who owns a fine farm on section 17 in Lincoln township, and
William, who is an agriculturist, owning section 18 in that place. In politics
Mr. Johnson is a republican and although he is not an active politician, he keeps
abreast of the times regarding the paramount issues before the country and is
always ready with his vote and influence to do what he can to secure the election
of the candidates of his party. He is affiliated with the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows in Wisconsin, and belongs to the Lutheran church, where he regularly
attends divine services. Mr. Johnson is well known throughout the township
as a good and industrious man, enjoying the confidence and respect of his
neighbors, and for the past two years he has been living in retirement in his
elegant residence in the village of Royal, where he is spending his declining
years in the enjoyment of the fruits of his long season of honest and successful
labor.
A valuable farm of four hundred and eighty-four acres is the property of John
Jelden, whose home is on section 9, Lone Tree township. There he raises grain
and stock and is well known as one of the leading stock feeders of this locality.
Germany has furnished a considerable portion of citizens to this part of the county
and the Teutonic element in our civilization has proved an important one. Mr.
Jelden was born in Germany, March 22, 1870, and his early training was that of a
German home, in which lessons of industry, thrift and uprightness were strongly
impressed upon his mind. As a young man of seventeen years he bade adieu to
friends and native land and crossed the Atlantic, after which he traveled westward
from New York to Iowa, joining friends in Grundy county. For a year he
was employed as a farm hand by the month. His financial resources were limited
and rendered immediate employment a necessity. After working in that manner
for a year in Grundy county he came to Clay county in 1888 and was again employed
at farm labor for two years, but he was ambitious that his efforts should
prove more directly beneficial to himself and he therefore rented land and began
farming on his own account. He also fitted out a heavy team and engaged in
breaking prairies for two seasons. Carefully saving his earnings during this
period, he then invested in land becoming owner of one hundred and sixty acres
in Waterford township, upon which he carried on general agricultural pursuits.
For several years his time and energies were devoted to the further improvement
of that property but at length he sold out and for two or three years again rented
land. He next bought eighty acres, constituting a part of his present place, and
as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm from
time to time until he now has a rich and valuable property of four hundred and
eighty-four acres. It is one of the large farms of the county and everything about
it is indicative of his careful supervision, his practical methods and his progressive
spirit. He has built some outbuildings and a cattle shed, stock-scales, feed-mill
and wind-pump are among, the features of his place that indicate his progressive
spirit and practical methods. He has become widely known as one of the most
extensive stock-raisers and feeders of the locality, having now about thirteen
hundred head of sheep, while one year he fed five thousand head. He also feeds
and fattens from one hundred to two hundred head of cattle yearly and from
three to four carloads of hogs. His business interests in this direction exceed the
efforts of almost any other feeder and shipper of this part of the state.
On the 6th of June, 1900, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Jelden and
Miss Sophia Moeller, who was born and reared in Tama county, Iowa. They
have two children, John and Mabel. Mr. Jelden votes independently, nor has he
ever been an aspirant for office. He has always preferred to give his undivided
attention to his business affairs, for he commenced life empty-handed and knew
that he must depend solely upon his labors for advancement. He started out a
poor boy in a strange land and whatever success he has achieved or enjoyed is
attributable entirely to his own perseverance and capable control of business
affairs. In all of his dealings he has been strictly honorable and is today one of
the large landowners of the county, who has accumulated a comfortable and gratifying
fortune. His life record in many respects may well serve to encourage and
inspire others, showing what may be achieved when one has the will to dare
and to do.
John L. Addington, editor of the Webb Record and postmaster of the town,
was born in eastern Indiana, October 8, 1856, a son of John L. and Nancy E.
(Fancher) Addington, who were natives of Indiana and Tennessee, respectivelv.
The father was a Methodist minister, whose labors in behalf of Christianity were
a potent influence in the moral development of the localities in which he lived.
He came to Iowa in 1864 and for a time was located in Davenport but in 1867
removed to Hardin county, where he remained for a number of years or until
his death, which occurred in 1879. His wife died March 15, 1879. The first
representative of the family in America was Henry Addington, whose birth
occurred in England about 1727 and who, on emigrating to the United States, took
up his abode near Philadelphia. He became separated from a younger brother,
from whom he never afterward heard. Henry Addington married EHzabeth
Buson, by whom he had three sons: John, William and James. About the year
1755 the family removed to South Carolina, where the eldest son, John, wedded
a Miss Lamb, by whom he had two children, William and Alsie. After losing his
first wife he married Elizabeth Heaton and unto them were born seven children,
namely: Mary, Joseph, John, Sarah, Thomas, Elizabeth and James. The year
1806 witnessed the arrival of the family in Wayne county, Indiana, near the
present site of Richmond. James, the youngest child, was married in 1809 to Nancy
Llewellyn, by whom he had the following children: John L., William L., Rachel,
Benjamin L., Thomas L., Isaac L. and Mary. John L. Addington, the eldest, was
married on the 8th of November, 1832, to Sallie Stephens and they became the
parents of eight children: James A., Matilda A., Francis S., Nathan, Alice,
Mary, William B. and George. Subsequent to the death of his first wife he was
again married, on the 5th of May, 1848, his second union being with Nancy
Fancher, by whom he had three sons: Samuel; Thomas F.; and John La Salle
Addington, of this review.
John L. Addington was educated in the common schools and in the high
school at Ackley, Iowa. In 1875 he took up the profession of teaching, which he
followed in Grundy county, this state, for three years, and in 1878 he became the
teacher of what was then known as the Park Avenue school at Des Moines, Iowa,
and later was principal of the schools at Alton, Iowa. Later he accepted a like
position at Mitchellville, where he continued for two years and then resigned to
remove to Filley, Nebraska, having been appointed as one of the teachers in the
public schools of that place, where he remained for six years. He next accepted
a position at Narka, Kansas, and when he had taught there for six years his
services as a public-school teacher aggregated a period of over twenty-two years.
For more than fifteen years of that time, covering the period of his residence at
Alton, Iowa, Filley, Nebraska, and Narka, Kansas, he was also engaged in the
newspaper field.
In Septemebr, (sic) 1900, Mr. Addington came to Webb, Iowa, and established the
Webb Record, a weekly newspaper which has an extensive circulation in the
town and county. Not only in journalistic lines is he connected with the
interests of this city but is also serving as postmaster under presidential appointment,
to July 9, 1908.
On the 6th of April, 1881, Mr. Addington was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Crist, a daughter of John and Mary (Sellen) Crist, who were natives of
Wisconsin, in which state they remained until called to their final rest. Unto
Mr. and Mrs. Addington have been born eight children: Marion H., at home;
Grace L., the wife of Albert C. Ringbloom, a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Doris C, a stenographer in Des Moines, Iowa; John L., living in Salt Lake
City where he is attending school; Roy S.; and Charley T., at home; and two
who died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away January 25. 1901.
Aside from his service as postmaster he has been called to every office, having
served as mayor of Webb for four years-from 1902 until 1906-his administration
being characterized by a progressive spirit and by practical reform and
municipal advancement. For seven years he has been justice of the peace and
is still the incumbent in the office, and also a member of the city council. He
was also president of the school board for four years and the cause of education
found in him a stalwart friend. He holds membership relations with the Masonic
fraternity, having become a charter member of Temple Lodge, No. 175. of Filley,
Nebraska.
Through well directed business activity and enterprise J. H. Doty has gained
recognition as one of the prosperous farmers of Clay county. He owns a highly
improved tract of land near Spencer and since 1881 has lived in the county,
during which time his labors have not only contributed to his own prosperity but have
proven effective forces in advancing the general welfare. A native of Michigan,
his birth occurred in St. Joseph county, March 5, 1844. There he was reared to
manhood but had no special advantages in his youthful days. His opportunities
for securing an education were somewhat limited and it has been in the school of
experience that he has learned many valuable lessons, while observation and
reading have also added materially to his knowledge. He was a young man of
but eighteen years when in the spring of 1864 he responded to the country's call
for troops, joining Company C of the Twelfth Michigan Infantry. This command
was assigned to the First Brigade of the Second Division of the Seventh
Army Corps and went to Arkansas, where they participated in the battle of
Duval's Bluff. They were also in a number of skirmishes and Mr. Doty thus
served until the close of the war, being mustered out at Camden, Arkansas, in the
spring of 1866. He was then honorably discharged at Jackson, Michigan, and
with a creditable military record returned to his home. He had always been
faithful to his duty whether on the lonely picket line or the firing line and manifested
loyalty equal to that of many a veteran of twice his years.
Following his return to St. Joseph county Mr. Doty engaged in farming as
foreman on a place there. He afterward took up his abode in Constantine,
Michigan, where he was employed in a foundry and machine shop for two or three
years and later worked in a lumber business.
It was while living in Constantine that Mr. Doty was first married on the 5th
of March, 1868, the lady of his choice being Miss Sarah A. Curtis, a native of
St. Joseph county, Michigan, where her girlhood days were passed. The young
couple lived happily together for about seven years and were then separated by
the death of the wife, who passed away October 8, 1873, leaving three children.
Mr. Doty continued to reside in Constantine and was again married there,
his second union being with Augusta A. Anderson, who came to Iowa with her
husband in 1881. Attracted by the better opportunities of the new but rapidly
growing west Mr. Doty came to this state and located in Riverton township, Clay
county. Here he secured one hundred and sixty acres, on which he built a place
and began the development of his farm. He worked resolutely and diligently to
achieve success and in course of time the capital which he acquired from the sale
of his crops enabled him to purchase more land until he became owner of three
Pictures of Mrs. J. H. Doty and
J.H. Doty
hundred and thirty-four acres. Subsequently he bought forty-two acres in
another tract. Upon the home place he continued to carry on farming until 1902.
He was also superintendent of the county farm, cared for, cultivated it, improved
it and there lived for seven years. In 1903, however, he took up his abode in
Spencer, where he purchased residence property. It was in that year that he lost
his wife. Later he bought and owned several places in the town and eventually
he sold his farm and invested in land in Summit township, securing four hundred
and six acres. The two sons took up their abode there and cultivated and further
improved that place. They erected another dwelling, put up outbuildings and
continued farming there until the spring, of 1908, when Mr. Doty sold the property
and bought the Peso farm near Spencer. This comprises a half section, on which
is a good set of farm buildings and he is now erecting another set and making
fine improvements.
Returning to Michigan about four years after losing his second wife, Mr.
Doty was again married in Constantine, on the 20th of February, 1907. On that
date he wedded Mrs. S. J. Shellenberger, a native of Elkhart county, Indiana,
who was reared and educated in Michigan. She was a daughter of T. I. Jones,
who for some years was a successful farmer of St. Joseph county, Michigan,
where he died in 1907 at the advanced age of ninety years. His wife survives
him and spent the winter of 1907-8 with Mrs. Doty in Spencer. Their daughter
was a young, girl when she went with her parents to Michigan. She was married
there in 1874 to Clark W. Shellenberger, a farmer of St. Joseph county, who later
died there, leaving one son, Howard J. Shellenberger, who is now a resident of
Elkhart county, Indiana.
Following his marriage Mr. Doty returned to Spencer, where he has since
resided. He has been a very busy man, has improved three farms on his own
account and also the county farm and has thus contributed in substantial measure
to the progress and development of this section. As the architect of his own
fortunes he has builded wisely and well. He has depended upon no outside aid or
influence but has wrought out his success along the well defined lines of labor
and has achieved his prosperity by his industry and perseverance.
Mr. Doty now has three sons: Carleton L. is married and resides in Fresno,
California, where he is engaged in the jewelry business. He served three years
in the First United States Cavalry at Fort Grant, New Mexico, being honorably
discharged. Another son, Bertrand W., for thirteen years was engaged in business
in Spencer but is now on the farm. Clyde A. is also living on the farm.
Both are enterprising agriculturists, are also breeding and dealing in Shorthorn
cattle and are well known as stock raisers and feeders. Mr. Doty and his sons
are members of the Masonic fraternity, as is his stepson, and he and his wife are
both members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Doty belongs to the blue
lodge at Spencer but first became a Master Mason in Constantine, Michigan, in
1867. Both he and his wife are members of the Congregational church at Spencer
and he assisted materially in erecting the new house of worship there. In his
political views he is an earnest republican. He cast his first ballot for General
U. S. Grant and has never failed to endorse the presidential nominees of the party
since that time. In Riverton township he is regarded as one of the stanch advocates
of the party and has been elected to several local offices, serving as justice
of the peace, as township trustee and also on the school board. He has been
chairman of the board of township trustees and chairman of the school board
and in the different positions has been most loyal to the pubhc welfare. He has
served as a delegate to county and state conventions and has never faltered in his
allegiance to the party which was the defense of the Union during the dark days
of the Civil war. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains
pleasant relations with his old army comrades. His life has been well spent.
In all of its relations he has been true to high and honorable principles and has
never faltered in a choice between right and wrong but has always endeavored
to follow a course that his judgment and his conscience have sanctioned.
On the roster of county officials in Clay county appears the name of Peter
Monroe Moore, who is now serving as surveyor. Moreover, he is the owner of
valuable farming property, his holdings comprising five hundred acres of rich
and productive land. His record both as a business man and citizen is
commendable and he enjoys in large measure the confidence, good will and
friendship of all with whom he has been brought in contact. He was born near
Concord, Ohio, October 13, 1841, and is a son of William W. and Naomi (Monroe)
Moore, natives of Delaware and Ohio respectively. The latter was a daughter of
Peter Monroe, native of Virginia, who followed the occupation of farming as
a life work. He wedded a Miss Lyons and they reared several children, namely:
Margaret, Ann, Mary, Naomi, Matilda, Elijah and William.
William W. Moore became a house builder. He was a lad of about twelve
years when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio and in Muskingum
county, that state, he was reared to manhood amid the environments and
conditions of frontier life. When a young man he went to Rock Island, Illinois,
with his brother, Amos L., the year of his removal being 1835. He lived there
for five years and during that time was married, after which he returned to his
old home in Ohio. In the fall of 1857 he went with his family to Wisconsin,
taking up his abode at Point Bluff, Adams county, on the Wisconsin river, where
he lived for nine years, being engaged in carpentering and in the lumber business.
In the spring, of 1863, in company with his son, Peter M., he made an overland
trip to Montana, where he was engaged in the mines for eighteen months. At the
time of his arrival that district was all known as Idaho and during the period of
his residence there the new territory of Montana was organized, he being a member
of the convention that met for this purpose. The return trip was made over
the divide to the headwaters of the Yellowstone river. He and his son built
boats and floated down the river to Yankton, South Dakota, and were nearly ice-
bound in the vicinity of Fort Sully and saw no white men save the soldiers at
Fort Union, Berthold, Fort Rice, Sully, Riley and Yankton. In September, 1866,
William W. Moore arrived in Clay county, Iowa, and here in connection with his
son, Peter Moore, he purchased a farm of eight hundred acres at Gillett's Grove
and turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits. They afterward divided
the land and continued their farming interests independently. Mr. Moore was
long a witness of the development and progress of the middle west and in the
communities where he lived bore his full share in the work of public advancement.
While residing at Rock Island. Fort Armstrong was garrisoned and
Dred Scott was there acting as a servant to the army surgeon. Mr. Moore was
also present at the time the treaty was made with Black Hawk and saw the whole
assembly of Indians who were there to make peace with the government. He
spent his last days upon the home farm in Clay county, Iowa, where he departed
this life October 2, 1890, when nearly seventy-eight years of age. His wife
survived him for about sixteen years and died on the 18th of April, 1906, lacking but
ten days of being ninety-seven years of age. They were both members of the
Methodist church in early life but later united with the Friends society. They
were always earnest Christian people, never neglectful of their duties to their
fellowmen and in all business relations Mr. Moore was strictly reliable as well as
enterprising. In their family were four children: Peter M.; Matilda H., the wife
of Lewis Kidder, of Pittsburg, Kansas; Emeline, the wife of W. T. Prescott, of
Seattle, Washington; and Wilson H., a resident of Gillett's Grove, Clay county.
Miles C. Moore, a cousin of Peter Monroe Moore, was the last territorial
governor of Washington and now resides in Walla Walla.
Peter Monroe Moore spent the first sixteen years of his life in his native
state and during that period attended the common schools and also spent one year
in Muskingum College. He accompanied his parents on their westward removal
and afterward attended the Bronson Institute at Point Bluff, Wisconsin.
Subsequently he engaged in teaching school for several terms and proved a capable
educator, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge that he had
acquired. In 1866 he came with his parents to Iowa and has since been a resident
of Clay county, witnessing almost its entire growth as it has emerged from
pioneer conditions and taken on all of the evidences of a modern and progressive
civilization. He was continuously connected with farming interests for thirty-
two years, or until 1898, and prospered in his undertakings. To his original
holdings he added from time to time as his financial resources increased until
his property now embraces five hundred acres at Gillett's Grove. He improved
that land, bringing the fields under a high state of cultivation through the use of
modern machinery and the employment of progressive methods in tilling the soil
and caring for the crops. He has ever been known as a diligent, enterprising
man, accomplishing what he has undertaken and his present rest from business
cares is well merited. In 1898 he removed to Spencer, where he purchased a
home and now resides.
On the 19th of August, 1865, Mr. Moore was married to Miss Mary S. Rowe,
a daughter of Dan and Eliza (Noyes) Rowe. They became parents of two children:
Arthur Rowe, a farmer who is now living in Seattle, Washington, and
married Esta M. Daugherty, by whom he has two children, Ralph W. and Fern
M.; and Minnie Lynn Moore, now the wife of Vernon W. Buck, of Seattle,
Washington. They have four children, Mary Verna, Estelle Naomi, Orris Kendall
and Laurice Lucile. Mrs. Mary S. Moore passed away in 1873 and her
death was deeply regretted not only by her immediate family but also by many
friends who esteemed her highly for her good qualities of heart and mind. On
the 28th of November, 1878, Mr. Moore was again married, his second union
being with Mrs. Lizzie F. Adams, the widow of Theodore D. Adams, and a
daughter of W. G. W. and Frances E. (Weaver) Sawyer. Mrs. Moore was born
in Mogadore, Ohio, on the 29th of March, 1844. Her parents were natives of
Pennsylvania and at an early period in the development of the Buckeye state,
removed to Summit county, Ohio, where they resided until 1855. In that year
they became residents of Decorah, Iowa, where her father owned a farm.
However, he was a tanner by trade. He is still living at the venerable age of eighty-
seven years but his wife passed away in 1849, when their daughter Mrs. Moore
was but five years of age. There were only two children in the family, her sister
being Mrs. Anna Riley, the wife of E. J. Riley. After losing his first wife Mr.
Sawyer married again, his second union being with Martha Weaver and they
had three children, who are now living: Hattie E., the wife of J. M.
Peckenpaugh; Allie, the wafe of J. H. Williams; and William H. Sawyer.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Congregational church, in
which he is serving as deacon and in the work of the church they take an active
and helpful part. He was one of the organizers of the first Methodist Episcopal
church in Montana and a charter member of the Congregational church of Spencer.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is always
loyal to its best interests. For one term he served as county auditor and was also
justice of the peace for a number of years. He has likewise been township
trustee, was school treasurer for some time and has been school director. In all
of these positions he discharged his duties ably, capably and conscientiously and
the record which he made as a public official in township offices led to his election
to the office of county surveyor, in which he served for two terms prior to 1872.
In 1893 he was again elected to that office and with the exception of one term
has been continuously the incumbent. Before serving as county auditor he was
county judge, filling that position until the office was abolished by act of the
legislature. He is one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of the
county, where he has long, made his home. His record is indeed a commendable
one and the most malevolent utter no word of reproach against his official service.
In business, too, his course has been characterized by the strictest fidelity to
principle and in social relations he displays an unfailing courtesy and a genial
cordiality that have won for him many friends.
H. W. Hendricksen, although a young man, has alreadv attained an enviable
position in commercial circles, being a member of the Jones-Hendricksen Lumber
Company. He now occupies the position of secretary in that commercial
organization and is active in the management of the business at Royal, giving close
attention to every detail pointing to success. He was born on a farm in Lincoln
township, this county, May 31, 1881, and is a son of J. P. Hendricksen. of whom
mention is made on another page of this work. The district schools afforded
him his early educational privileges and hter he attended the Elkhorn Commer-
Pictures of Mr and Mrs. H.W. Hendricksen
cial College at Elkhorn, Iowa, and also the Capital City Commercial College at
Des Moines, Iowa. He was graduated from the latter in the class of 1901. Prior
to that time he was associated with the Royal Lumber Company for two years
and following his graduation he was with a sash and door firm in Des Moines.
Later he returned to the Royal Lumber Company, with which he was connected
for three years, at the end of which time the Jones-Hendricksen Lumber Company
was organized and incorporated with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand
dollars. This company operates at both Royal and Rossie, owning a hardware
store in the latter place. The officers of the company are: D. S. Jones, president;
Lars Hendricksen, vice president; C. S. Hagedorn, treasurer; and H. W.
Hendricksen, secretary and general manager. Following the organization of the
company they purchased the business of the Superior Lumber Company at Royal
and of the Branden Brothers at Rossie. H. W. Hendricksen has thus been in
charge of the enterprise at Royal since the 1st of November, 1907, and under his
control the enterprise is meeting with good success. The company owns a well
equipped lumberyard and deals in all kinds of building materials and the trade
is constantly growing, their liberal patronage now bringing to them a gratifying
financial return.
On the 11th of November, 1903, Mr. Hendricksen was married to Miss
Johanna Hagedorn, a daughter of Chris Hagedorn, the treasurer of the Jones-
Hendricksen Lumber Company. The marriage has been blessed with two children,
James and Lorene. The family residence is a most hospitable one and is
the center of a cultured society circle.
In his political views Mr. Hendricksen is a stalwart republican, giving earnest
support to the party and is now serving as clerk of the school board in Royal.
He has never been an office seeker, however, preferring to concentrate his energies
upon his business affairs. He holds membership in Sunset Lodge, A. F. & A. M.,
of Royal and is serving as its secretary. He also belongs to Clay Chapter, No.
112, R. A. M., at Spencer and to the Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 7038, at Royal,
of which he is serving as clerk. Both he and his wife are members of the
Lutheran church and are held in high esteem in the community in which they
reside.
James French is now living in retirement in the village of Peterson, this
county, after having for many years been influentially identified with the
agricultural and stock raising interests of the community. He is a native of Licking
county, Ohio, his birth having occurred near Columbus, August 24, 1844, and
a son of Bethuel and Sarah (Sinkey) French, his father having been a native
of the Keystone state, where he was reared, and early in life removed to Ohio,
stopping for a brief period near Columbus, from which place he repaired to
Jones county, Iowa, in the year 1845. where he remained engaged in general
farming pursuits until the year 1872, and then settled on a farm in Clay county,
where he departed this life in 1903. His mother was united in marriage in Ohio,
but entered into her eternal rest in Peterson. In the family were eight children,
namely: James; J. W., who is engaged in farming in this township; Annie,
wife of William Johnston, the couple residing on a farm near Dickens, this
county; the next two children born died in infancy; Sarah, wife of Jesse
Lemaster, an agriculturist of Clay township; Mary, deceased; and Albert C,
who resides four miles north of the village of Peterson.
In an old log schoolhouse which stood near his father's farm in Jones
county, James French acquired his education, in the meantime assisting his
father in the duties of the farm, and after completing his studies remained under
the parental roof until he was twenty-five years of age, when, desirous of
launching out into the world for himself and becoming independent, he engaged
in agricultural pursuits on a rented farm in Jones county for a time, and in
1872 settled in this county, where he took up a claim in Clay township. He
had a difficult time getting a start here, since none of the land was in a fit
condition for cultivation, and it fell upon him to clear it off so that he might
plant seed and derive sufficient crops to enable him to subsist. During the first
three years of his occupancy of the land prosperity did not seem to accompany
him, and among his few possessions was one cow, and, unfortunately, it turned
out to be a poor one, as it did not give milk. Deciding it was of no advantage
to keep the animal, he concluded to dispose of it, and about three o'clock
one morning, long before daybreak, he tied the cow behind his dilapidated wagon
and started on the long journey to Cherokee, where he proposed to put the cow
up for sale. After an all-day's wearisome journey he arrived in that town in
the evening, about five o'clock, and the first thought which struck him was where
he should put up for the night. His decision was not long in forming, since,
as he had no money, he could not stop in a hotel or lodging house, and he finally
decided to do the next best thing and spend the night in his wagon. The next
morning he put the cow up at a public sale and succeeded in getting only one
bidder, who offered him twenty-five dollars for the animal, on condition that
he might have two weeks to make payment. This being granted, the deal was
clinched, and at five o'clock the next morning our subject started back to his
farm behind his old team and finally reached home at twelve o'clock, midnight.
The two weeks which he had given the man to reimburse him for the purchase
of the cow having elapsed, the debt was cleared off, and Mr. French was the
possessor of twenty-five dollars, but this sum was far beneath what would enable
him to meet his outstanding obligations and he did not hold it long until he
was forced to pay ten dollars to the store keeper, and in a short time the
remaining fifteen was paid out, so that Mr. French was not much better off
than before he parted with his cow. After a while, however, prosperity began
to look his way, when he traded a team of horses for a poorer team and in
addition received also a cow and heifer as part of the barter. It was not only
with his stock that he was unfortunate, but also with his log cabin, which was
a poorly constructed shanty, the only redeeming feature about the building being
a first-class floor, while the roof was in bad condition and leaked, but in the
course of time Mr. French succeeded in so cultivating his farm as to derive
bountiful harvests and presently was able to remove the incommodious cabin
and replace it with a comfortable dwelling house. Although his reverses were
many and the difficulties with which he had to contend great and discouraging,
yet he overcame them all and year by year, applying himself diligently to his
tasks, transformed his raw prairie land into as fine fields as there are in the
township, and so improved his farm that it is now one of the most desirable in
the county. He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, all of which is under
a high state of cultivation and upon which during his career he has met with
splendid success in general agriculture and stock raising. Aside from this
excellent tract of land he also possesses a first-class residence in the village of
Peterson, and five years ago retired from active life and is now living there.
November 29, 1869, Mr. French was united in marriage to Miss Cora
Tinker, by whom he has had two children, namely: Alice, wife of M. C.
Remington, an agriculturist of Clay township, this county; and Irwin, who is
engaged in agricultural pursuits in this township. Mr. French in the early
days was affiliated with the democratic party, but later changed his political
views, and now votes with the republican party. He has been prominent in
political circles in the county and has officiated in a number of local offices,
having served as trustee of the township and also for a number of years as
justice of the peace, in which office he acquitted himself with much distinction
and executive ability. He is well known throughout the county for his noble
traits of character, and being a man who has always been in favor of public
improvements, ready at all times to further any movements which might add to
the benefit of the community, and at the same time maintaining an upright walk
among his neighbors, he has always entertained their respect and confidence.
William E. Rose is a retired farmer, who since 1904 has lived in Spencer,
enjoying the fruits of his former toil in a well earned rest. Success-the thing
for which all men strive-is not so difficult of attainment, but means continuous
effort day by day and a neglect of no opportunity. A life of continuous industry
brought to Mr. Rose his present position as a substantial citizen, who depends
upon good investments for the income which now supplies him with all of the
comforts and some of the luxuries of life. He was born in Newcastle county,
Delaware, August 3, 1839, and was a son of Henry L. and Mary A. (Marvel)
Rose, who were likewise natives of Delaware, their birthplace being near Dover.
The father was a sailor in early life, afterward became a ship builder and
subsequently was a carpenter and joiner. As the west was opened up to civilization
and business interests of all character established in the Mississippi valley, he
felt that it might be a wise step for him to take advantage of the opportunities
here offered. Accordingly he made his way to Illinois and established his home
in Belvidere, where he lived for four years. On the expiration of that period
he removed to Iowa and became one of the early residents of Waverly, where
he followed the carpenter's trade. He was thus identified with the substantial
improvement and development of the town and county and continued a factor
in the life of that community until he passed away when about eighty years of
age. His wife died in 1866 at the age of forty-five years. She was a member
of the Methodist church, loyal to its teachings, and Mr. Rose also belonged to
the same denomination and was faithful to its precepts. This worthy couple
were the parents of three sons and four daughters, of whom three are now
living: William E., a resident of Spencer; Angie, wife of Jayman St. John, of
Waverly, Iowa; and Arenna, the wife of Abner Baskins, also of Waverly.
William E. Rose was a youth of sixteen years when the father removed
with his family to Belvidere, Illinois, and a young man of twenty when they
came to Iowa. His education was acquired in the schools of Delaware, and
when fifteen years of age he began learning the carpenter's trade, which he
followed continuously until 1862, when, putting aside all business and personal
considerations, he joined the Union army as a member of Company B, Thirty-
eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war,
or for a little more than three years. He was a non-commissioned officer and
was mustered out at Houston, Texas. In the meantime he participated in the
siege and capture of Vicksburg, in the battle of Mobile and in numerous
skirmishes. After the war he returned home to Waverly, Iowa, and followed
his trade for a year. On the expiration of that period he began farming on
his mother-in-law's place. He had been married in the meantime, having on the
10th of May, 1866, wedded Miss Hannah L. Baskins, a daughter of Abner B.
and Mary (Kerr) Baskins, both of whom were natives of Ohio. Her father
was a farmer and came to Iowa in 1851, settling near Waverly. He spent his
remaining days on the farm upon which he first located, his death there
occurring in 1864, when he was sixty-four years of age. His wife died in
1889, at the age of seventy-two years. Their family numbered six sons and
five daughters, of whom five are still living: William, who makes his home at
Waverly; Abner K., also of that place; Rachel, the wife of Farnum Dudgeon,
of East Grand Forks, Minnesota; Bethsheba, the wife of Ezra Williams; and
Hannah, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, October 3, 1846, and when
twenty years of age became the wife of William E. Rose.
As stated, they soon afterward took up their abode on her mother's farm,
which Mr. Rose cultivated and improved, but, thinking to find still better
business opportunities in Clay county, he removed there in 1870, finding it a
frontier district in which the work of improvement and development had scarcely
been begun. He secured as a homestead claim the northwest quarter of section
18 in Riverton township, and with characteristic energy transformed the raw
prairie into arable fields. He turned the first furrows upon the place, planted
his crops and in due course of time he gathered rich harvests. There he lived
continuously until December, 1904, when he removed to Spencer and purchased
the present home, which he now occupies. He still owns the farm, however,
which lies in Riverton township and is a valuable property, which annually
returns to him a good income.
Upon the farm Mr. and Mrs. Rose reared their two children, Flora and
William Henry. The daughter is now the wife of Frank Babcock, of Spencer,
and they have one child, Bertha. William Henry, who operates the home farm,
wedded Sarah Rino and they have two children, Edna Marie and William
Francis. Mr. Rose votes with the republican party and belongs to Annett Post,
G. A. R. This brings him into close connection with his old army comrades,
and around the campfires they recall many interesting incidents of the tented
fields. Mr. Rose is now in the seventieth year of his age and in the review of
the past it is seen that his life record has been an honorable and useful one,
characterized by thorough and progressive business activity that has resulted in
bringing to him a comfortable and well merited competence. Moreover, he has
borne his full share in the work of general development and improvement here
since he took up his abode in this county, which was then a frontier district,
giving little evidence of what the future had in store for It. It was rich in its
natural resources, but its opportunities had not yet been utilized. Mr. Rose
is numbered among those who believed in the value of the land and its possibilities ‐
the wisdom of this opportunity being evidenced as the years have
gone by.
Iowa derives her wealth largely from her agricultural interests. The great
broad prairies of the state offer excellent opportunities to the farmer and stock
raiser. The soil requires none of that previous laborious preparation necessary in
a district of native forest growth, but responds readily to the care and labor
which is bestowed upon it as the furrows are turned and the fields are cultivated.
To this work of tilling the soil Mr. Black gives his time and energies,
but does not confine his efforts entirely to one line. He raises pure blooded
registered shorthorn cattle and in commercial circles has won for himself a
creditable place, being now the president of the Farmers Elevator of Spencer. His
home is known as the Acadia Stock Farm and comprises two hundred acres,
constituting one of the best improved farms of the county.
Mr. Black is a native of Nova Scotia, his birth having there occurred in
Acadia, September 17, 1867, in a region made famous through Longfellow's
beautiful poem, Evangeline. On the home farm he was reared to manhood,
spending his boyhood days with his father, Rev. A. B. Black, a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church, who for twenty-five years lived in Nova Scotia.
He was of Scotch and English lineage. There Frank H. Black passed his
youthful days, and after mastering the elementary branches of education he
continued his study in Amherst Academy. Arriving at years of maturity, he
took up farming on his own account in the land of his nativity, and also engaged
in raising shorthorn cattle, carrying on the business there for several years.
At Amherst, Nova Scotia, on the 18th of October, 1886, Mr. Black won
his companion and helpmate for the journey of life, for it was on that date that
he wedded Anna E. Lusby, who was there born and reared, a daughter of
George Lusby, also a native of Nova Scotia. In 1893 he sought a home in
Iowa, locating in Humboldt county, where he purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of farm land. To the further development and improvement of the
property he directed his energies and also began breeding and dealing in short-
horn cattle there. For eight years he resided upon that farm, but in 1901 sold
the place and came to Clay county, purchasing the farm upon section 33, Summit
township, on which he now resides. He has called it the Acadia Stock Farm
in honor of his old home in Nova Scotia. It contains two hundred acres of
valuable and productive land, in the midst of which stands a large frame residence,
while in the rear are found good barns and substantial outbuildings. In
fact this is one of the best improved places in the county, on which none of the
accessories and equipments of a model farm of the twentieth century are lacking.
In all of his work he is progressive, employing the latest improved machinery to
facilitate the work of the fields, while his close study has given him progressive
and accurate knowledge concerning the best methods of raising stock. He
has some sixty head of registered shorthorn cattle, including some very fine
animals, with an imported male at the head of the herd. He has bred and sold
some very fine shorthorns in Clay and adjoining counties and his livestock
interests constitute an important and lucrative branch of his business.
Moreover, he is a stockholder and president of the Farmers Elevator of Spencer.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Black has been blessed with three children:
Helen, now a junior in Cornell University of Iowa; Leroy, who assists in the
operation of the home farm; and Margery C, who completes the family. The
parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Spencer and take
an active and helpful part in the work of the church and of the Sunday school,
Mr. Black now serving for the second year as Sunday school superintendent.
He is also a member of the official board and he does all in his power to promote
the growth and extend the influence of the church. His political allegiance is
given to the republican party at state and national elections, but at local elections
where no issue is involved he votes independently of party ties, nor has he ever
consented to become a candidate for office. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen
camp, and in the community is known as a reliable and public-spirited citizen.
He cooperates in many movements for the general good and is particularly
interested in everything piertaining to the agricultural development of the county.
His activity in this direction is shown in the fact that he is president of the
Farmers Institute. He is an active and willing worker for the upbuilding and
advancement of the county in manv lines and stands high in the regard of all
who know him, while his acquaintance covers a wide territory because of the
extent of his business interests.
Adolph Seibel, the owner of a farm of four hundred and twentv-five acres
in Lincoln and Gillett Grove townships, where he is also engaged in raising high
grade stock, is moreover entitled to representation in this volume from the fact
that he is an honored veteran of the Civil war. He was born at Linberg,
Germany, May 15, 1838, a son of Franz Joseph and Frances (Petmeky) Seibel.
His father engaged in the manufacture of buttons, trimmings and official insignia
in Germany. He came to the United States in 1853 as a passenger on a sailing
vessel which was thirty days in completing the voyage to New York city. From
that point he proceeded up the Hudson river to a place where he could
get a train and by rail continued his journey westward to Chicago and to La Salle,
Illinois, which was then the railroad terminus. By boat he went down the
Illinois river and up the Mississippi to Burlington, from which point he proceeded
with ox teams to Keokuk county, Iowa. There he resided from 1853 until his
removal to Burlington in 1865, continuing his residence in the latter city until
his demise. His wife, who was born in Germany, died in Keokuk county. They
were the parents of four children: Sebastian, now deceased; Nannie, the widow
of Carl Mahlinger, who died in Denver, Colorado; Adolph; and Francis, now
dead.
In the schools of Germany, Adolph Seibel pursued his education, his training
being equivalent to a high school education in this country. When fifteen
years of age he came to the United States with his father and remained at home
until 1858, when he went to Kansas, where he secured a claim. Later he gave
up that tract, however, and removed to Nebraska, driving from Winterset to
Weston, about seven miles from Council Bluffs, without seeing a single house.
In the fall of 1859 he returned to his Iowa home and was identified with farming
in this state until the fall of 1861, when he felt that his country
needed his aid and he enlisted as a member of Company F, Eighth Iowa
Infantry, to serve for three years or during the war. When his term had
almost expired he reenlisted and was with the army altogether for four years
and eight months. At the battle of Shiloh he was wounded in the right arm by
a minie ball and lay for nine months in the hospital. He was then discharged
from the hospital, but the arm has never been entirely well. Early in his
military experience he participated in a number of battles in Missouri, and when
he rejoined his regiment after being wounded he took an active part in the
Vicksburg campaign and was for nine months on provost guard duty at
Memphis. There he took part in a hard fight, after which he proceeded
with his command to New Orleans and to Mobile. The troops were just ten
miles from Montgomery, Alabama, when the news reached them that Lee had
surrendered. About this time they lived for three weeks on one pint of corn
meal per day to each soldier and the meal was made by grinding the cob as
well as the kernels. Mr. Seibel participated in all of the hardships that are
meted out to the soldier and was holding the rank of corporal when at the
close of the war he was honorably discharged.
When the country no longer needed his military aid, Mr. Seibel went to
Burlington, Iowa, where he engaged in clerking in a wholesale house for a
short time, but his health was still so poor that he was obliged to give up the
position. Later he was a shipping clerk in a store for a year and then went to
Keokuk county, Iowa, where he began teaming, hauling freight until the building
of the railroad, which drove him out of business. He next bought a sawmill,
which he operated for seven years, and then turned his attention to farming.
In 1882 he removed to Clay county and now owns four hundred and twenty-
five acres of land in Lincoln and Gillett Grove townships. Here, in addition
to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, he is raising high
grade stock, which proves to him a profitable source of income. That he produces
fine crops is shown by the fact that in one year he raised four thousand
bushels of oats, twenty-five hundred bushels of barley, seven hundred bushels of
wheat, six thousand bushels of corn and one hundred and fifty tons of hay, in
addition to smaller crops. He has improved his land and now has a good home
and buildings, the place presenting a neat and attractive appearance.
Mr. Seibel was married in 1867 to Miss Tina Mohme, who was born in
Germany. They have become the parents of ten children: Anna, the wife of
Lewis Boylen, of Almont, North Dakota; Frank, who is proprietor of a hardware
and implement store at Sigourney, Iowa; Nannie, deceased; Josephine, the
wife of David Logan, a farmer of this county; Clara, the wife of William
Maurer, of Spencer; Mary, Henry, Minnie, Carl and Florence, all at home.
In his political views Mr. Seibel is a republican and has been honored with
a number of local offices, serving as township justice of the peace, clerk and
trustee. He has also been treasurer of the school board for twelve years, belongs
to the Catholic church and is a member of Spencer Post, G. A. R., thus
maintaining pleasant relations with his old army comrades. No native born son of
America was more loyal to the interests of the Union during the dark days of
the Civil war, and in times of peace he has been equally faithful to his adopted
country.
Lewis Lahmon is now living retired at Gilletts Grove after many years of
close application in cultivating the soil in Clay county, his industry and enterprise
having remunerated him with such a competence as now enables him to put aside
the active duties of life and enjoy somewhat of its rest and pleasures. He was
born in Knox county, Ohio, September 8, 1854, a son of James and Margaret
(Humphrey) Lahmon, the father a native of Virginia and the mother of Ohio.
They went to Cedar county, this state, in 1868 and in the spring of 1872 removed
to Logan township, Clay county, where they spent their remaining days, the
father, who was born August 20, 1814, having passed away January 6, 1893, while
the mother, who was born November 7, 1822, entered into rest October 8, 1894.
In their family were the following children: Jonathan, born October 6, 1840;
Eliza Ann, born August 15, 1842; James, Jr., who was born January 14, 1845,
and died December 30, 1869; Margaret Elizabeth, born July 4, 1847; Abraham,
born June 26, 1851, who died in infancy; Henry, whose birth occurred September
21, 1852; Lewis, of this review; and Mary Ellen, born March 28, 1860.
Lewis Lahmon acquired his education in the common schools of his native
county, and being fourteen years of age when his father settled upon a farm in
Cedar county he there assisted him in the duties of the fields. In 1872 he removed
with his parents to the farm he now has under cultivation in this county, on which
he worked with his father until the death of the latter, when he assumed the
management of the place on which he engaged in general farming and stock-raising
until the year 1904 when he left the old homestead and removed to Gillett
Grove, where he is now living in the enjoyment of his well earned rest. Mr.
Lahmon has practically grown up with this district, having witnessed its
development through its several stages until it now presents a far different aspect from EDWIN F. MARKER.
WILLIAM THOMAS NEY.
J. W. BATCHELER.
JOHN HOPKINS.
WALTER J. MARR.
JOHN ADAMS.
WIRT BRONSON.
JOSEPH O'BRIEN.
DAVID J. LOGAN, SR.
FRANK P. RILEY
WILLIAM PALMER WOODCOCK, M. D.
J. W. MCDOWELL
HENRY NYMAN SMITH.
SAMUEL FISK.
ERNEST PARKER FLINT.
H. E. JONES.
JULIUS AUGUSTUS SMITH.
E. F. TURNER.
ALBERT C. PERINE.
CHARLES M. PINNEO.
MALARIAS WAHLSTROM.
F. J. COLEMAN. M. D.
CALVIN CAUVEL.
EDWARD M. DERRY.
LESTER L. ATWOOD.
JOHN J. LAWLER.
GEORGE E. McHUGH.
JOHN SUMNER GREEN, M. D.
CHARLES WESLEY BELKNAP.
WILBURN R. RICE.
WILLIAM B. BAILEY.
EBEN BAILEY.
F. G. ALVORD.
W. ERNEST BARNHART.
BEMJAMIN PITCHER.
WILLIAM I. ROOD.
GEORGE F. SOEHREN.
WILLIAM F. TORBERT.
GEORGE W. MOELLER.
JOHN J. KRAEMER.
JOHN J. BICKNELL.
FRED STRUCK.
FRANK L. ZISHKA.
MARTIN JOHNSON.
JOHN JELDEN.
JOHN L. ADDINGTON.
J. H. DOTY.
PETER MONROE MOORE.
H. W. HENDRICKSEN.
JAMES FRENCH.
WILLIAM E. ROSE.
FRANK H. BLACK.
ADOLPH SEIBEL.
LEWIS LAHMON.
