HENRY SAILOR
 Among
the honored veterans of the Civil war and representative citizen of
Linn county none stand higher in public esteem than Henry Sailor, who
is now successfully engaged in farming on section 35, Franklin
township. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, December 6, 1830, and
is a son of Peter and Margaret (Bitting) Sailor, who spent their entire
lives in Berks county, that state. In their family were nine children,
all of whom are now deceased with the exception of Kate, the sixth in
order of birth, who is now the widow of Solomon Deem and a resident of
Reading; and our subject, who is the next youngest. The others were
Harriet, wife of Alexander McDowell, of Reading; William, whose widow,
Mary Grauel, is a resident of Reading: Elizabeth, who married Jacob
Hall, and both died at that place; Joseph, who married Eliza
Himmelburger, a resident of Reading; Rebecca, who married George
Shenfelter and both died in Reading; Frederick, who married Amelia
Haves, and she is now a resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Ellen who
died in infancy.
In early life Henry Sailor attended the public schools of his
native city until sixteen years of age, and then engaged in brick
making there for four years. At the age of twenty-two he went to
Lewiston, Pennsylvania, where he followed that pursuit for the same
length of time. On the inauguration of the Civil war he responded to
the president’s first call for troops, enlisting, April 24, 1861, for
three months, as a member of Company A, Fourteenth Pennsylvania
Volunteer Infantry. They first went to Harrisburg, and from there to
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and then through the Cumberland valley to
Hagerstown, Maryland, whence they proceeded to Williamsport on the
Potomac. They next went to Bunker Hill and Harpers Ferry, Mr. Sailor
being at the latter place when his term of enlistment expired. From
this time on his war record, which is a very interesting one, may be
best given in his own words:
“After I went home from the three months’ service, I was ill
for a few weeks. Everybody felt patriotic, I along with the rest, and
as soon as I was able I re-enlisted in Independent Battery D,
Pennsylvania Artillery, commanded by George W. Durell, at that time
encamped at Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and attached to the One Hundred
and Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by W.W.H. Davis, of that
place, who was later pension agent at Philadelphia. I was mustered into
the United States service September 24, 1861, and proceeded to
Washington, the regiment going into camp at Kalamarama Heights, where
we stayed for a few days and were then detached from the One Hundred
and Fourth Regiment and marched down East Capitol street into an
artillery camp, where we received our horses, harness and Parrott guns.
From there we moved across the river into Virginia to a place called
Munson’s Hill, where we went into winter quarters and formed a brigade
consisting of Battery D, commanded by Captain Durell; the First Rhode
Island, commanded by Captain Monroe; the Second New Hampshire,
commanded by Captain Garish; and a regular battery, commanded by
Captain Gibbon, afterward General Gibbon. Here we went into regular
drill theoretically and practically. The non-commissioned officers had
to recite twice a week to Colonel Monroe. Our regular drill ground was
at Bailey’s Cross Roads. We remained here until spring, when we were
among the troops that went to Centerville prior to McClellan’s campaign
on the peninsula, and were then ordered to report to Alexandria to
accompany that general to the peninsula, but for some reason we were
not taken along.
“We were then connected with McDowell’s corps. From this on we
marched up and down the country, going as far as Fredericksburg, and
were under McDowell’s command until Burnside came up from South
Carolina, when we joined the Ninth Corps under that general. The first
engagement in which the battery took part was at Kelly’s Ford, and I
fired the first gun that was fired in this engagement. It happened in
this wise: The lieutenant of the section had gone to his supper in
another part of the army, when across the river we could see the enemy
coming out of the timber into any open field. General Reno came up and
asked me what the distance was between us and the enemy, and I answered
four thousand yards. ‘Could you throw a shell that distance?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Then let them have one,’ he said. I fired three
rounds. The next morning we were ordered across the river to make a
reconnaissance, and were briskly engaged with the enemy. The next
engagement of our battery was at Bristoe’s Station under General
Hooker. From there we went to Bull Run, where my piece was dismounted
by a solid shot striking the axle, this happening just before we
commenced to retreat. I first spiked the piece, but during a short lull
I saw that I could throw the piece under the limber and in this way
took it to Washington. The next engagement was at Chantilly. My piece
being disabled I had no gun to command, but my men and myself made
ourselves useful at the other guns. From thence we went to Washington,
where I drew a new gun. Later we were in the engagements at South
Mountain, Antietam and White Sulphur Springs, where we lost Lieutenant
McElvain. We were in the battlefield of Fredericksburg and wintered at
that place, and then went to Fortress Monroe and Newport News on the
James river.
“After staying there for a while our corps were ordered west.
We put our battery on steamboats and went to Baltimore, where we
shipped on cars and went to Pittsburg, and on into Ohio as far as
Cincinnati. Here we crossed the Ohio river and went to Paris, Kentucky.
We visited Mt. Sterling, Lancaster, Richmond, Stamford, Crab Orchard
and Lexington, and then shipped for Louisville on cars. From that place
we went by steamboat to Vicksburg, and unloaded on the Louisiana side,
but soon re-shipped and went up the Yazoo river to Snyder’s Bluffs.
From that time on we were in the rear of Vicksburg, watching Johnston
until the surrender, and then went to Jackson, Mississippi. Our corps
was on the left of the line and my piece was on a small hill near the
asylum. I fired into the city a day and a night at five minute
intervals. After the evacuation of Jackson we went back to the
Mississippi river, near Vicksburg, and from there shipped to Covington,
Kentucky.
“By this time we had lost so many horses and so many men by
sickness that we could hardly move our battery, some one having been
left in nearly every hospital along the Mississippi, while twenty-two
men had died from disease contracted in the swamps of the south. We
went into camp at Covington, while the rest of the corps proceeded to
Knoxville, Tennessee, but our battery being so short of men was left
behind. The government had commenced to re-enlist soldiers as veterans,
and I was one of the first of our battery to enlist as such and was to
have received four hundred dollars. I gave the government my services,
but never received the money. After re-enlisting I went home on a leave
of absence, and on the expiration of that time returned to the company.
Our battery was then transferred to the eastern army and landed at
Annapolis. There I fired a salute for General Grant when he came to
inspect the troops. Thence we went to Washington, where we had the
company filled with new recruits, drew new guns (six three-inch Rodman
guns), new horses, and got ready to take part in the Wilderness
campaign. While in Washington I was promoted to senior second
lieutenant, skipping two duty sergeants, orderly sergeant and
quartermaster sergeant. We were on that march from that on until we
came to Petersburg, June 17. We were in the engagement at Cold Harbor
and then crossed the peninsula. After crossing the James river with our
battery had an artillery duel with the rebel battery, but the distance
was so great that they did no harm and we could not tell whether we did
any or not. We then marched on to Petersburg, and had more or less
firing every day until its evacuation, April 2, 1865. Our battery was
right in front of the explosion of the mines, only fifty yards away.
The two lines were only sixty yards apart and our dead were lying
between. The enemy would not accept a flag of truce so that we could
bury them for a few days. When at last we did so I went over to see
them buried and saw such sights as no one would care to witness.
“From that time on we were in different places on the line to
Petersburg, as far to the left as Poplar Grove Church and Hatchie’s
Run. About this time I was promoted to senior first lieutenant, October
1, 1864. My section was placed in Fort Sedgwick in Battery 21, commonly
called “Fort Hell.” The lines of infantry were about twenty-five yards
apart and the line of forts about four hundred. Here they fired almost
continuously day and night. After the fall of Petersburg we followed
Lee, but at the time of the surrender we were about twenty-five miles
behind. We were then ordered to Alexandria, and after the grand review
at Washington we turned over our horses and guns to the government. On
the day of the review I was in command of a Massachusetts battery.
While at Alexandria I was examined by General Tidball and offered a
position in the regular army as second lieutenant of artillery, but
since the war was over I felt, like so many others, ready to go home.
From Alexandria we went to Philadelphia, and were mustered out of the
service June 13, 1865.”
In February, 1866, Mr. Sailor came to Linn county, Iowa, where
he at first worked as a section hand on the railroad, and then engaged
in the manufacture of brick at Lisbon for six years. At the end of that
time he purchased a farm on section 13, Franklin township, now owned by
Dick Peet, and on selling that place he bought one hundred and sixty
acres on section 1, Cedar township, Johnson county, to which he later
added one hundred and fifty-two acres on section 2, the same township.
He has made many improvements upon this place, including the erection
of three fine large barns, over which float at all times the stars and
stripes. He also has an elegant home upon his farm, and a good
residence on South Washington street, Lisbon, and owns eighty acres of
land on section 35, Franklin township, Linn county, the same amount on
section 36, that township, and ninety-eight acres in Cedar township,
Johnson county.
At Lisbon, August 23, 1866, Mr. Sailor was united in marriage
with Miss Mary E. Meyers, who was born near Dayton, Montgomery county,
Ohio, November 9, 1846, and is a daughter of Henry and Priscilla
(Livingood) Meyers, natives of Pennsylvania, who removed to Ohio in
1845, and after residing in that state for seven years came to Lisbon,
Iowa. They located on a farm near that place, where the father died
April 20, 1892, the mother June 6, 1899, and the remains of both were
interred in the Lisbon cemetery. Unto them were born nine children, all
of whom are living, namely: Simon married Minnie Escher and lives in
Cedar Rapids; Mary E. is the wife of our subject; Henry C. married
Martha Davis and resides in Lisbon; Jacob married Amanda Heller and
also lives in Lisbon; William H. married Becky Short and makes his home
in Cedar Rapids; John married Sarah Heisey and lives in Lisbon; George
married Emma Zeller and resides in the same place; Jennie is the wife
of Frank Barr, of Armstrong, Iowa; and Abe is also a resident of
Lisbon.
Mr. and Mrs. Sailor have a family of seven children. (1) Anna
L., born March 12, 1867, was married, April 20, 1892, to Elsworth
Phelps, a retired farmer and lumber merchant of Sutton, Massachusetts,
and they have three sons, Henry E., Heston and Sailor. (2) George D.,
born February 28, 1869, married Edith Durrell, of Dayton, Iowa, and is
an attorney of Springville, this county. (3) Edwin, born December 6,
1873, was graduated from the medical department of the State University
at Iowa City, April 3, 1901. (4) Carl, born November 9, 1875, is at
home with his father. (5) Maggie Louise, born December 4, 1877, is a
professional nurse in Iowa City. (6) Robert O., born January 30, 1880,
is at home. (7) Ira T., born March 19, 1882, is with the firm of G.
& A. Rinkle at Lisbon. There were two children, one son and one
daughter, who died in infancy.
In political sentiment Mr. Sailor is an ardent Republican, and
for twenty years he has most efficiently served as president of the
school board. Fraternally he is a prominent member of Franklin Lodge,
A. F. & A. M., of Lisbon; Lisbon Lodge, No. 162, I. O. O. F.; and
John A. Buck Post, No. 140, G. A. R., at Lisbon; and had the honor of
being chosen the first commander of that post. He is widely and
favorable known throughout his community, and well deserves the high
regard in which he is uniformly held, as he was not only true to his
country in her hour of need, but has always been found a useful and
valuable citizen.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
160-6.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
JOHN B. SCOTT (from 1901 History)
After many years of active labor, first as a contractor
and builder, and later as a farmer, John B. Scott is now living a
retired life in Marion, Iowa, enjoying a well-earned rest. He was born
in Knox county, Ohio, on the 12th of August, 1825, and is a worthy
representative of a prominent pioneer family of that state. His father,
Allen Scott, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1780, of
Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was married, January 21, 1808, to Jane
Newell, who was born in Washington county, Cross Creek village, that
state, November 8, 1784. Soon after their marriage they removed to
Ohio, making the journey on horse back, and settled on a heavily
timbered tract of land in Knox county, where they endured many of the
hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. In those early days
people coming west always settled in the woods, shunning the prairie
land where fever and ague was more prevalent. To clear the land and
convert it into well cultivated fields was a arduous task, but the
spirit of adventure which filled the sails of the Mayflower has ever
been the soul of American pioneer enterprise, and has been the means of
making this nation one of the greatest on earth. Largely by his own
work Allen Scott opened up farms in Knox county, Ohio, where he
continued to make his home until death. He had a fine orchard of thirty
acres of apple and peach trees, and in those early days gave away
thousands of bushels of his best fruit to those who had none. He always
took a great delight in fruit culture, and was never more happy than
when distributing his apples and peaches among the poor. At present in
that part of Ohio peaches cannot be raised, and the apple crop is poor.
Mr. Scott was a very kind-hearted man of generous and noble impulses,
and no one ever had a truer friend or better neighbor than he. For a
number of years he was an elder in the Presbyterian church, but on
account of the slavery question the elders of the church to which he
belonged formed a free church, which was later merged into the
Congregational church which is now the leading church of Mt. Vernon,
Ohio. He was a strong abolitionist, and a soldier of the war of 1812.
His wife was a member of the same church and was a most estimable lady.
She died while on a visit to her son in Marion, Iowa, in 1855, at the
age of seventy-two years, but his death occurred in Mt. Vernon, Knox
county, Ohio, in 1848, when sixty-eight years of age.
In the family of this worthy couple were ten children, of whom only our
subject and his oldest sister, Mary, are now living. She is the widow
of Israel Murphy, and the mother of ten children. Although ninety years
of age she is well preserved both in mind and body, except that her
hearing is somewhat impaired. Recently she came alone from Hastings,
Nebraska, to Chariton, Iowa, and is now spending the winter with her
brother. The names and dates of birth of those of the family now
deceased are Hugh, March 27, 1809; Margaret, February 19, 1813; Eliza
J., married George W. Madden, and died in Plumas county, California, in
1815; Eleanor, 1817; James A., a farmer of Linn county, March 24, 1820;
Thomas S., October 2, 1822; and Harriet, March 15, 1829, died in the
spring of 1900.
John B. Scott’s early educational advantages were somewhat meager, as
it was then believed by most people that study of the “three R’s” was
sufficient for most boys. When nearly grown, however, he attended an
academy for three months. While there he boarded with his uncle, Judge
McGibboney, who kept a station on the famous “underground railroad.”
For nine days nine negroes were concealed under hay in the Judge’s
barn, and our subject carried food to them. They were almost white,
having very little African blood in their veins, and were among the
finest looking men physically that Mr. Scott has ever seen, but their
mother was a slave and consequently they were held in bondage. They had
escaped from their master in Virginia and were on their way to Canada,
when cared for by Judge McGibboney.
At the age of twenty-one Mr. Scott commenced learning the brickmason’s
trade, which he followed in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, for about nine years. He
then, in February, 1853, located in Muscatine, Iowa, where he remained
until July 3, 1854. It was on that date that he came to Marion. Here he
followed his trade for five years, and among the building he erected is
the Hotel Daniels.
In October, 1859, he located on his farm in Marion township, where he
has four hundred and twenty acres of valuable land on sections 8 and
17, well improved with good buildings. In connection with farming he
engaged in stock raising, his specialty being shorthorn cattle, of
which he had a fine herd. He continued active farming until the spring
of 1890, when he removed to Marion and purchased a comfortable home on
the corner of Eleventh street and Fourteenth avenue, where he has since
resided.
On the 14th of April, 1855, in Washington county, Iowa, Mr. Scott
married Miss Mary E. Rissler, who was born twelve miles from
Winchester, in Clark county, Virginia, July 29, 1825. Her father, John
Rissler, was born March 6, 1790, and died November 24, 1878. He was
married December 14, 1814, to Catherine Madden, who died June 28, 1832,
when Mrs. Scott was quite young. The father’s people being mostly of
the Quaker faith. In their family were seven children, namely: Sarah J.
and Harriet C., twins, the former of whom married Harrison Wiggins, and
lived in Pennsylvania, where her death occurred, white the latter died
young; Phebe A., who married Stephen Snider, and both are now deceased;
William L., a resident of Tarkio, Missouri; Mary E., wife of our
subject; John, who died at the age of seventeen years; and Eliza, wife
of Brown Hadden, who lives near Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott have four children: (I) Henry A., residing on the
home farm, married Sarah Wiggins, and they have three children, Bertha,
Harry B. and Donald. (2) Edward, who has been cashier of the Security
Savings Bank of Cedar Rapids since its organization, married Jessie
Loper, and they have one child, Dorothy. (3) Lucy E. married W. W.
Vaughn, a prominent stock dealer of Marion township, and they have four
children, Howard, Edward, Mary and Ruth. (4) John B. is a resident of
Tacoma, Washington.
Mr. Scott and his wife both hold membership in the Congregational
church, and he is also connected with the Masonic fraternity. At one
time he was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and
took and active interest in the same. He was one of the organizers of
the Republican party in this county, and has always been one of its
stanch supporters, but never a politician in the sense of office
seeking. He has served as road master and school director for many
years, but has never cared for political honors. He has also been a
director of the First National Bank of Marion and of the Agricultural
Society. As a citizen he ever stands ready to discharge any duty
devolving upon him, and justly deserves the high regard in which he is
held by all who know him.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
90-92.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
JOHN B. SCOTT (from 1911 History)
 John
B. Scott passed away in Marion on the 27th of February, 1905, in his
eightieth year. Here he had resided as one of the revered patriarchs of
the community, whose tales of the early days compassed the period when
railroad building and telegraph construction were in their infancy.
While he lived to enjoy the benefits of improved and modern
agricultural implements, he could remember the time when most of the
farm labor was done by hand or with very crude machinery. For a number
of years he was identified with agricultural interests in this part of
the state and for some time prior to his demise lived retired in
Marion. He was born in Knox county, Ohio, August 12, 1825, and belonged
to one of the pioneer families of that state. In the paternal line he
came of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
His father, Allen Scott, was born in York county,
Pennsylvania, April 17, 1780, and, having arrived at years of maturity,
was married January 21, 1808, to Miss Jane Newell, whose birth occurred
in the village of Cross Creek, Washington county, on the 8th of
November, 1784. Not long afterward they removed to Ohio, making the
journey on horseback. He settled on a heavily timbered tract of land in
Knox county, where they had to face many hardships and privations
incident to pioneer life. Much difficult labor confronted them. Their
land was covered with timber and it was therefore necessary to clear
away the trees ere they could plow and plant their fields. Allen Scott
was energetic and determined, however, and largely through his own
efforts he opened up and developed several farms in Knox county, Ohio,
where he continued to make his home until his death. He was also among
the first to successfully engage in raising fruit in that part of the
state. He had thirty acres planted to apple and peach trees and in
those early days gave away thousands of bushels of fruit to those who
had none. He was greatly interested in the subject of horticulture and
found the keenest delight in giving the products of his orchard to the
poor. Mr. Scott took an active part in the religious development of the
community, serving for some time as an elder in the Presbyterian
church, but on account of the slavery question the elders of the church
to which he belonged formed a free church, which was later merged into
the Congregational church and became the leading religious organization
of Mount Vernon, Ohio. He served his country as a soldier of the war of
1812 and became a stalwart advocate of the abolition cause. His wife, a
most estimable Christian woman, held membership in the same church. She
passed away in 1855, at the age of seventy-two years, while on a visit
to her son in Marion, Iowa, while the death of Allen Scott occurred in
Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, in 1848, when he was sixty-eight years
of age.
In his family were the following children: Mary, who became
the wife of Israel Murphy, lived to the advanced age of ninety years.
Hugh died March 27, 1809. Margaret passed away February 19, 1813. Eliza
J. became the wife of George W. Madden and died in Plumas county,
California, in 1815. Eleanor passed away in 1817. James A., a farmer of
Linn county, died March 24, 1820. Thomas S. passed away October 2,
1822. Harriet died in the spring of 1900. John B. completes the family.
In his youthful days J. B. Scott attended the public schools
near his father’s home. His educational privileges, however. were
extremely meager, for at that date it was not regarded as necessary
that a boy should be instructed in much beyond the elementary branches
of learning. However, he later had the benefit of three months’
instruction in an academy and during that time there occurred an event
which made an indelible impression upon his mind, he was boarding with
his uncle, Judge McGibboney, who conducted a station on the famous
underground railroad and who for nine days had nine negroes concealed
under the hay in his barn. To these John B. Scott carried food and he
described them as among the finest type of men physically that he had
ever seen. They were almost white, having very little African blood in
their veins, hut their mother was a slave and consequently they were
held in bondage. They had escaped from their master in Virginia and
were on their way to Canada when cared for by Judge McGibboney.
Mr. Scott was about Twenty-one years of age when he began
learning the brickmaker's trade, which he followed in Mount Vernon,
Ohio, for about nine years. In February, 1853, he became a resident of
Muscatine, Iowa, and there remained until July 3, 1854, the latter date
witnessing his arrival in Marion. There he followed his trade for five
years and among the buildings, he erected is the Hotel Daniels. In
October, 1859, however, he put aside building interests and became
identified with agricultural pursuits, owning and cultivating four
hundred and twenty acres of valuable land on sections 8 and 17, well
improved with good buildings. His farm was equipped along at modern
lines and was the exponent of a spirit of progressiveness, as manifest
in his buildings and the farm machinery, as well as in the high grades
of stock, he made a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and was
widely known because of his fine herd. In 1890 he retired from the farm
and removed to Marion, where he erected a comfortable home. Throughout
the remainder of his days he lived retired, enjoying a well earned
rest. His former activity brought him substantial success, supplying
him with all of the comforts of life in his later years.
It was on the 14th of April, 1855, in Washington county, Iowa,
that Mr. Scott wedded Miss Mary E. Rissler, who was born twelve miles
from Winchester, in Clarke county, Virginia, July 29, 1825. Her father,
John Rissler, was born March 6, 1790, and died November 24, 1878. On
the 14th of December, 1814, he married Catherine Madden, who died July
28, 1832, when Mrs. Scott was quite young. In their family were seven
children, while unto Mr. and Mrs. Scott were born four children. Henry
A., who married Sarah Wiggins, resides on the home farm. Edward, who
married Jessie Loper, is mentioned on another page of this work. Lucy
E., is the wife of W. W. Vaughn, a prominent stock dealer of Marion
township. John B. is a resident of Tacoma, Washington.
Mr. Scott for some years was connected with the Agricultural
Society and at one time was a director of the First National Bank of
Marion. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party and
was called to serve in some local offices but never had marked
aspiration along political lines. He belonged to the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and Masonic societies and both he and his wife were for
many years identified with the Congregational church. The entire record
of John B. Scott was characterized by qualities of noble and upright
manhood and citizenship. His residence in Iowa covered fifty-two years
and since the 3d of July, 1854, he had lived in Linn county, so that he
had largely witnessed its development and progress. He related many
interesting incidents of pioneer times and his memory formed a
connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present.
He was nearing the eightieth milestone on life’s journey when called to
his final rest and he passed away honored by all who knew him. The
number of his friends practically equaled the number of his
acquaintances, for his life was ever straightforward in its aims and
its purposes, his deeds were just and kindly and he manifested a keen
appreciation for good qualities in others. These characteristics gained
him a firm hold on the regard of those with whom he came in contact.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, pages 22-26.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
ALBERT MORONI SECRIST
 Albert
Moroni Secrist, who is now living retired in Marion, was for many years
an active and successful factor in the agricultural circles of Linn
county as an extensive farmer and stock buyer. The period of his
residence in this county now covers more than a half century and in
1909 he was honored by election to the presidency of the Old Settlers
Association. His birth occurred in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, on
the 5th of August, 1849, his parents being David W. and Susan (Burkett)
Secrist. Removing to Virginia, the family resided in that state for
about five years. David W. Secrist journeyed westward in 1858 and the
following year brought his wife and children to Linn county, Iowa,
purchasing and locating upon a farm on section 12, Marion township.
Here he continued to reside until called to his final rest on the 12th
of June, 1885, his demise being the occasion of deep and widespread
regret. His wife, who survived him for more than a decade, passed away
on the 18th of April, 1896.
Albert M. Secrist began his education in the Keystone state,
studying under the preceptorship of his father, who was a teacher by
profession. After coming to this county he pursued a course of study in
Cornell College of Mount Vernon and then became identified with
educational interests as a teacher, imparting clearly and readily to
others the knowledge that he had acquired. During all this time he also
assisted his father in the work of the home farm, having early become
familiar with the duties and labors which fall to the lot of the
agriculturist. After completing a commercial course at Dubuque he took
up farming and stock buying in association with his brother and carried
on those lines of activity extensively and successfully until the time
of his retirement. He still owns two farms on Crab Apple creek and is
widely recognized as one of the prosperous and respected citizens of
the community. lie is the vice president and also one of the directors
of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank.
On the 6th of May. 1885, Mr. Secrist was united in marriage to
Miss Georgiana Oxley. by whom he had a son. DeWitt Clinton. who passed
away at the age of three years. They have an adopted daughter. Ruth
Elizabeth, who is attending the high school and is quite proficient in
music.
In fraternal circles Mr. Secrist has attained high rank, being
now a thirty-second degree Mason and belonging to the blue lodge, the
chapter, the command-cry and the shrine. lie and his family are well
known members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which
they arc deeply and helpfully interested. ‘Widely known in the county
where he has resided from boyhood days, he has an extensive
acquaintance here and has won uniform trust and good will by reason of
a life which in all of its phases has been straightforward and
honorable.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, pages 44-47.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
WILLIAM P. SECRIST
Among the progressive and enterprising
agriculturists of Marion township none are more deserving of mention in
this volume than William P. Secrist, who successfully follows his
chosen occupation on section 4. He is a native of the Old Dominion, his
birth having occurred in Augusta county, Virginia, January 28, 1856.
His parents, David W. and Susan B. (Burkett) Secrist, were natives of
Franklin county, Pennsylvania, from which state they removed to
Virginia about 1853, and made their home in Augusta county until 1857,
when they returned to the place of their birth. In early life the
father engaged in business as a merchant, but later followed farming.
In 1859 he came to Linn county, Iowa, and located on section 12, Marion
township, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of prairie
land and forty acres of timber. He removed his family to that place the
same year and at once commenced the improvement of his farm. He
continued its cultivation until called to his final rest on the 12th of
June 1886. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity at
Marion. His wife is still living and continues to reside on the old
homestead in Marion township.
Unto this worthy couple were born eight children, namely: A.
M., a farmer of Marion township [see biography above]; Luther B., who
was also engaged in farming there until his death, which occurred April
7, 1892; Alice, wife of C. M. Plummer, of Marion township; Daniel B.,
who died on his farm in that township August 12, 1882; William P., the
subject of this sketch; John W., a farmer, who died in Cedar county,
Iowa, June 7, 1896; Charles V., a farmer of Marion township, this
county; and Benjamin F., a farmer, who died in Marion township
September 20, 1899. The children were principally educated in the
common schools of this county, while some of the family attended
Cornell College and the Dubuque Business College.
On starting out in life for himself William P. Secrist took up
the occupation of farming, to which he had been reared, having become
thoroughly familiar with that pursuit while aiding his father in the
operation of the home place. He was married, April 16, 1879, the lady
of his choice being Miss Nancy E. Van Fossen, of Linn county, whose
parents were Benjamin and Julia Ann (Matheny) Van Fossen, natives of
Ohio. At an early day her family came to this county, where her father,
who was by occupation a farmer, died January 28, 1882, while her mother
passed away in May, 1862. Mr. and Mrs. Secrist have six children: J.
Earl, Susie Mae, Carl Owen, Bertha Alice, Julia Belle, and Ruby Ellen.
Mr. Secrist engaged in farming on the old homestead until
1879, when he purchased ninety-six acres of his present farm, then
known as the Durham place, eighty acres of which had been cleared,
while ten acres were still covered with timber. In 1880 he bought the
Goudy place, consisting of forty acres on section 9, Marion township;
in 1882 he purchased seventy-six acres of cultivated land and ten acres
of timber, known as the J. S. Torrence farm; in 1894 purchased the
Garry Treat place of forty acres on section 9; in 1898 bought forty
acres of prairie land on section 12. He also purchased five acres of
land in Linn township in 1884. In 1893 he rebuilt his residence on
section 4, Marion township, and the year before erected a good barn. He
has made all of the improvements upon his place, which is today one of
the most valuable and desirable farms of the locality. He carries on
general farming, but has made a specialty of the raising of cattle and
hogs, and in all this undertakings has met with marked success.
In politics Mr. Secrist is an ardent Republican and takes an
active interest in public affairs, especially along educational lines,
having served as president of the school board for several years. He is
also serving his third term as member of the board of trustees of
Marion township. Religiously he is a faithful and earnest member of the
Methodist Episcopal church. His life demonstrates what can be
accomplished through industry, enterprise and fair dealing, his
successful career being due entirely to his own unaided efforts and
good management. As a citizen he is highly respected and esteemed, and
well merits the confidence so freely accorded him.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa.
Illustrated. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. 1901. pages
63-64.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
CHARLES M. SESSIONS
The subject of this biography is serving as
justice of the peace in Mt. Vernon, a position which he has filled for
eighteen years with credit to himself and satisfaction to his
constituents. He is thoroughly impartial in meting out justice, his
opinions being unbiased by either fear or favor, and his fidelity to
the trust reposed in him is above question. He is regarded as one of
the leading and most highly respected citizens of the place, and it is,
therefore, consistent that he be represented in a work whose province
is the portrayal of the lives of the prominent men of this county.
Mr. Sessions was born in Cortland county, New York, September
28, 1827, and is a son of Uriel and Nancy (Price) Sessions, natives of
Connecticut and New York, respectively. When a young man the father
located in Cortland county, New York, where in the midst of the forest
he cleared and improved a farm. The greater part of his life was
devoted to agricultural pursuits, but he also taught school in New York
for some years, and served as justice of the peace in Cortland county.
He died at the age of sixty-seven years upon the farm where he had
located when only twenty-one. His wife survived him some years and also
died in Cortland county. All of their six children married and reared
families, but only two of the number are now living, these being
Charles M., of this sketch; and Sallie A., wife of Rev. O. L. Torry, of
Marathon, Cortland county, New York, by whom she has one son, Jay.
Charles M. Sessions obtained his early education in the common
schools near his boyhood home and at Cortland Academy in Homer, New
York. On completing his education he taught school during the winter
and aided his father in the work of the home farm through the summer
months until twenty-five years of age. On the 14th of January, 1852, he
was married, in Marathon, New York, to Miss Mary J. Armstrong, who was
born in Pennsylvania, but her life was largely spent in the Empire
state prior to her marriage. Her parents, John and Harriet (Hornsbeck)
Armstrong, are both deceased, her father being killed in Jones county
by lightning in 1863. By trade he was a stone mason. Five children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Sessions, as follows: (1) Frank J., a resident of
Waterloo, Iowa, was county superintendent of schools in Linn county for
a number of years, and for eleven years was superintendent of the East
Waterloo schools, but resigned that position in the fall of 1900, and
is now in the employ of Rand, McNally & Company, of Chicago, as
their agent in thirteen counties of northeastern Iowa. He has been
superintendent of the Chautauqua Assembly at Waterloo since its
organization. In the fall of 1900 he began lecturing on Liquid Air and
has since devoted considerable of his time that wonderful discovery. He
married Clara Fisher and they have four children, Alvina M., Thomas,
Charles and Harriet. (2) Ida M., married A. T. Bartholomew and has one
child, Mary. (3) George W., agent for the New York Life Insurance
Company at Los Angeles, California, is married and has two children,
Romaine and Samuel. (4) Harriet married John H. Merritt, now a grocer
of Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and died at the age of thirty-five years. (5)
Charles E., who is with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company
at De Kalb, Illinois, married Huldah A. Richardson and has four
children, Grace, Bertha, Georgiana and Edward.
In May, 1852, Mr. Sessions came to Iowa and located at
Fairview, Jones county, where he engaged in farming for two years,
though the summer of 1852 was spent in Mt. Vernon, where he aided in
the construction of the first building erected by Cornell College, it
being now known as science hall. On leaving Fairview he entered the
Methodist ministry and traveled for seventeen years throughout Iowa and
New York. Later he was engaged in the harness business in Hopkinton,
Delaware county, Iowa, for three years, and in 1872 located in Mt.
Vernon, where he has since made his home. For about ten years he was
engaged in the grocery business at this place, and for the past
eighteen years has filled the office of justice of the peace. He is an
earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and
has led an upright, honorable and useful life, well worthy of
emulation.
Source: Biographical Record of Linn County, Iowa. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, p. 124-126.
Contributed by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
W. F. SEVERA.
A brilliant example of a self made American
citizen and a grand exemplification of the progress that an ambitious
foreigner can make in this country of unbounded opportunities, is shown
in the case of W. F. Severa, a well-known manufacturing pharmacist of
Cedar Rapids. His singular success is due to his own energy and the
high ideal which his lofty and laudable ambition placed before him.
Success in any walk of life is an indication of earnest endeavor and
persevering effort, ---characteristics that he possesses in an eminent
degree.
Mr. Severa was born in Bohemia, September 3, 1853, and is a son of John
and Anna Severa, also natives of that country, where the father devoted
his entire life to farming and died at the age of fifty-three years.
Subsequently the widowed mother came to America and spent her last days
in Cedar Rapids, where she passed away when nearly eighty years of age.
Our subject is the youngest of seven children, all of whom grew to
maturity and came to the new world.
Mr. Severa of this review was educated in the common schools of his
native land and was fifteen years of age when he crossed the broad
Atlantic and settled at Racine, Wisconsin, where he first worked as a
farm hand for his board, but later was given five dollars per month.
After two years spent in this way he learned the trade of trunk
manufacturing in the city of Racine, and devoted his time to that
occupation for seven years.
In 1876 Mr. Severa came to Cedar Rapids, where he engaged in the trunk
business for one year, and for the following four years clerked in a
drug store in Belle Plaine, Benton county, during which time he
thoroughly mastered the business. Having saved a little money, he
embarked in the drug business on his own account at Cedar Rapids, in
1880, with a very limited stock, which he gradually increased as his
means permitted and his trade grew. After a time he commenced
manufacturing proprietary medicines and doing a wholesale business, and
now employs two traveling salesmen, who cover the western and central
states. He also sells to druggists in all of the large cities of the
country, including New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and
Chicago, and his mail order trade is quite extensive. In 1892 he
started the Bohemian State Bank at Cedar Rapids, which was afterward
changed to the Bohemian American Savings Bank, and in 1898 was
consolidated with the City National Bank and the name changed to the
American Trust & Savings Bank, and in 1898 was consolidated with
the City National Bank and the name changed to the American Trust &
Savings Bank. For six years he was president of the Bohemian American
Savings Bank, and is now a stockholder in the American Trust &
Savings Bank, and Citizens National Bank. He was a director of the
Security Savings Bank until 1893, when he resigned to take charge of
his own banking business. He conducts a printing office in connection
with his drug business, publishing his own circulars and small bills,
and issues an almanac of over one-half million copies printed in nine
different languages.
On the 6th of July, 1881, Mr. Severa married Miss Josephine Dusil, a
native of Cedar Rapids, and a daughter of Joseph Dusil, one of the
early settlers of the city, who is represented on another page of this
volume. Prior to her marriage Mrs. Severa taught in the public schools
of Cedar Rapids for some years. Our subject and his wife have two
children: Lumir and Zulina, both now in school.
Politically Mr. Severa is a Democrat, but in 1896 voted for William
McKinley, the Republican candidate for president. As a boy of fifteen
years he came to America alone empty-handed, in fact he had to borrow
the money to pay his railroad fare from New York to Racine, Wisconsin.
He was not only without means but was unable to speak the English
language. While working as a trunk maker in Racine, he managed to save
a little from his meager wages to buy books, and attended a private
night school for a time, it being his ambitious desire to become
conversant with the ways and language of America. From a humble
position he has steadily worked his way upward to a position of
affluence, and his success is due entirely to his own well-directed,
energetic efforts for he is a man of good business ability, sound
judgment and keen discrimination.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
94-5.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
JACOB SHADLE
For more than a half century Jacob Shadle has
made his home in Linn county, so that he well deserves mention among
the pioneer citizens in a history of this character. He was born in
Center county, Pennsylvania, October 18, 1831, the youngest and the
only surviving member in a family of fourteen children born unto
Jonathan and Mary Shadle, who were likewise natives of the Keystone
state, where they lived and died.
Jacob Shadle was thrown upon his own resources at the early
age of seven years and from that time on he has depended upon his own
labor for a livelihood. He managed, however, to acquire a common-school
education and in early life learned the blacksmith’s trade, which he
has followed during the greater part of his life. At the age of
twenty-four years he sought a home in the middle west, journeying as
far as Illinois in 1855, and spending two years in the Prairie state.
In 1857 he made a permanent location in Linn county, Iowa, and
purchased his present farm of one hundred and five acres, situated on
section 12, Marion township. He made all of the improvements on the
place and for many years was actively identified with its cultivation,
while he also followed the blacksmith’s trade. He still makes his home
on his farm and although he has reached the advanced age of
seventy-nine years, he still give supervision to his farm work.
It was after locating in Linn county, that Mr. Shadle was
married, in 1860, to Miss Mary G. Patterson, who was born in Ohio in
1841, a daughter of Joseph and Grace (Beck) Patterson, who were
likewise natives of the Buckeye state, where they lived until called to
their final rest. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Shadle have been born three
daughters, namely: Sarah E., the wife of L. F. Emmons, of Linn county;
Rachel E., the wife of 0. H. Winchel, their home being in the state of
Washington; and Nettie, the wife of L. F. Marshall, a resident of
Springville, Linn county.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Shadle
has voted for the candidates of the republican party but he has never
been active as an office seeker. He was reared in the faith of the
Methodist church, while Mrs. Shadle was reared in the faith of the
Friends Society. Mr. Shadle is well known as a pioneer of the county
and is a most industrious and useful man, whose probity is an
unquestioned element in his career. In daily life he is genial and
affable, intelligence and goodness are his decisions of merit and
neither Love nor power can make him oblivious to principles of right
and duty. He stands today crowned with honors and years, respected by
young and old, and now in the evening of his days lie can look back
over a life well spent, feeling that he has not lived in vain.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, pages 335-6.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
STEPHEN A. SHATTUCK
One of the pioneer business men of Cedar Rapids
is Stephen A. Shattuck, now retired from commercial activities and
enjoying the competence acquired in former years. He has many
interesting reminiscences of early days in this county, Cedar Rapids
being a mere village of about four hundred inhabitants when he located
here in the spring of 1852. With its growth and development he has been
actively identified and takes a just pride in its prosperity as it now
ranks among the leading cities of the state.
A native of Worchester county, Massachusetts, Mr. Shattuck was
born thirty miles west of Boston, on the 12th of June, 1824, his
parents being Captain Stephen and Hannah (Carter) Shattuck, also
natives of the old Bay state. The mother was born in Reading, of which
place her father was an early settler. The original ancestor of the
Shattuck family in America was William, who was born in England in 1620
or 1621, and who came to this country about 1641, locating in
Massachusetts. He died at Watertown, Massachusetts, August 14, 1672.
Our subject’s paternal grandfather, who also bore the name of Stephen
Shattuck, was born in one of New England states, and fought for
American independence as a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Captain
Shattuck, the father of our subject, grew to manhood in Massachusetts,
and as captain of a company of cavalry was one of General LaFayette’s
escorts when he visited the United States in 1824. He was always handy
with tools and for several years worked at the carpenter’s trade,
always making his home in his native state. In his family were four
children, namely: Mrs. Miranda Holt, a widow, who was born in 1818, and
now resides in Fort Scott, Kansas; Elijah, who died in 1899, when
nearly seventy-nine years of age; Hannah, who died in St. Louis,
Missouri, at the age of seventeen years; and Stephen A., of this
review.
The early life of our subject was passed in Massachusetts, and
he had fair educational advantages, attending both the common schools
and an academy. From the age of ten to sixteen years he spent most of
his time upon a farm, and then turned his attention to learning the
carpenter’s trade, serving a three-years’ apprenticeship. During the
following four years he worked as a journeyman in his native state, and
then entered a furniture factory at Dedham, Massachusetts, where he was
employed at cabinet work for three or four years.
In 1851 Mr. Shattuck came west and after visiting a sister in
Iowa City for some time, he located in Cedar Rapids in June, 1852, and
soon afterward embarked in merchandising with his uncle, Henry A.
Carter, under the firm name of Carter & Shattuck. This relation was
continued for about three years, when George Dewey purchased the
interest of Mr. Carter, and the title of the firm was changed to
Shattuck & Dewey. The first place of business occupied by Mr.
Shattuck was on First street, between First and Second avenues, it
being a frame building one story in height. At that time there were not
over four or five brick buildings in the place. They continued on First
street until Mr. Carter sold his interests. In 1856 he built a brick
block, forty feet front and eighty feet deep, three stories in height,
which building is still standing. Mr. Shattuck was subsequently
interested in other enterprises, and continued in active business until
1890, when he laid aside business cares, and has since lived a retired
life. In 1856 he erected the third brick block in the city, it being
located on First avenue, and in 1855 built his present brick residence,
into which he moved in the spring of the following year. It is believed
that no man in the city has so long resided in one house, it having
been his home for the long period of forty-five years.
On the 1st of January, 1856, Mr. Shattuck was married in
Berlin, Massachusetts, to Miss Harriet Rice, who was born in Northboro,
April 2, 1831, that state, which was also the birthplace of her
husband. Her parents, Captain Seth and Persis (Bartlett) Rice, were
also natives of Massachusetts. Soon after his marriage Mr. Shattuck
brought his bride to the new home he had prepared for her reception in
Cedar Rapids. They had two children. William Lemuel, who was well
educated in the Cedar Rapids high school, died in Los Angeles,
California, March 3, 1886, at the age of twenty-six years. Nellie L. is
at home.
In early life Mr. Shattuck voted with the Old Free Soil party,
and he assisted in organizing the Republican party, voting for John C.
Fremont in 1856, and for all the presidential candidates since that
time. He has never sought political honors, but served as alderman of
the city two years; township assessor one year; and township trustee
three years. He has been a delegate to numerous conventions of his
party, and has always taken a deep and commendable interest in public
affairs. For some years he was a member of Oak Lodge, No. 53, I. O. O.
F. Wherever known he is held in high regard, and as an honored pioneer
and highly respected citizen he is certainly deserving of honorable
mention in the history of his adopted county.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
126-7.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
ISAAC H. SHAVER
For many years this gentleman was one of the
most active and enterprising business man of Cedar Rapids, but he has
now laid aside all business cares and is spending the closing years of
a useful career in ease and quiet at his home, No. 603 Second avenue.
He was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, and belongs to a family of
German origin, which was founded in the new world about 1775 or
earlier, his ancestors being among the pioneers of Sussex county, New
Jersey. His parents, Abraham and Mary (Carroll) Shaver, were also
natives of that county, and the latter was descended from one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence. At an early day the father
removed with his family from New Jersey to St. Catherines, Ontario,
where he purchased a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits
throughout the remainder of his life.
Isaac H. Shaver is the youngest son in a family of seven
children, and was principally reared in Canada, his education being
mainly acquired through his own unaided efforts. On leaving home when a
young man he went to Rockford, Illinois, where he engaged in farming
and also in buying and shipping produce. In 1856 he removed to Iowa and
located in Vinton, where he had previously purchased land, making his
home there for about eight years. During his residence there he
traveled over the state as general agent for the C. H. McCormick Reaper
Manufactory, overseeing the agencies in twenty-two different counties.
In 1863 Mr. Shaver came to Cedar Rapids and embarked in the
cracker business. Later he built a factory and engaged in the
manufacture of crackers here, and subsequently established a similar
enterprise at Des Moines, carrying on that business successfully for
twenty-five. He was associated first with Sampson C. Bever and later
with S. L. Dows in this industry. At the same time Mr. Shaver was also
interested in other business enterprises, and erected several business
houses and dwellings in the city. He is a stockholder and director of
the Merchants National Bank, and also the Farmers Loan & Trust Bank
on the west side. He was one of the organizers of the Merchants
National Bank, and an original stockholder. Mr. Shaver was the first
man engaged in manufacturing crackers west of the Missouri river, and
had a very heavy output. He has a fine home at 603 Second avenue, where
he has lived for twenty years.
In Williamsville, New York, was celebrated the marriage of Mr.
Shaver and Miss Esther C. Witwer, who was reared in that state, and to
them were born five children, namely: John H., now manager of the
cracker factory, is married and has three children; Ella S. is the
widow of George Umpstead, of Cedar Rapids, and has two children; Bessie
S. is the wife of John S. Ely, of Cedar Rapids, and has four children;
Frederick H., a business man of the same city, is married and has two
children; Marie died in Vinton, Iowa, in 1859, at the age of four
years.
Since casting his first presidential ballot for John C.
Fremont in 1856 Mr. Shaver has been an ardent advocate of Republican
principles, but at local elections he votes independent of party lines,
supporting the men whom he believes best qualified for the offices.
Religiously he and his estimable wife are members of the Christian
church. Mr. Shaver’s success in life has been by no means the result of
fortunate circumstances, but has come to him through energy, labor and
perseverance, directed by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable
business principles. He has always made the most of his opportunities,
and well merits the prosperity that has come to him.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
74-5.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
THE SHEARER FAMILY:
John Little Shearer
John Weare Shearer
The Shearer family was founded in America during
colonial days and several of its representatives participated in the
Revolutionary war, while others have been prominently identified with
public affairs and all have occupied honorable positions in life. The
first to come to the new world was James Shearer, who was born in
County Antrim, Ireland, in 1678, and on crossing the Atlantic in 1720
settled in Union, Connecticut, but later removed to Elbow Corners, now
Palmer, Massachusetts, in 1726. He became a prominent man of the
community and had charge of the building of the first church there. He
died on the 21st of June, 1745, at the age of sixty-seven years. In his
family were three sons, of whom John was the eldest. He was born in
1706 and in early manhood married Jane Williams. When the colonists
resolved to throw off the yoke of British oppression he joined the
Continental army as corporal, while his brother served as a lieutenant
and participated in many battles. Other members of the family were also
in the Revolutionary war, including Thomas and Reuben Shearer. John
Shearer took part in the battles of Lexington, Saratoga and Bennington
and was always found to be a brave and loyal soldier. He died in June,
1802, at the extreme old age of ninety-six years. In his family were
eight children, of whom Noah Shearer is the next in direct line. He,
too, was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, participating in the
latter part of that struggle, and was in the battle of Bennington. He
was born September 4, 1764, and at an early day left New England and
removed to Western New York. He married Terzah Merrick, May 8, 1791,
and to them were born seven children that reached maturity. His death
occurred in 1849 when he had reached an advanced age.
John Little Shearer, a son of Noah, was born in Palmer,
Massachusetts, February 12, 1804, and was reared upon a farm, acquiring
his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. Losing his
mother as he approached manhood, he went to New York and later spent
several years in Ohio and Indiana. In 1832 be enlisted for service in
the Black Hawk war and subsequently secured a land warrant, which
entitled him to a certain amount of land in the Mississippi valley.
Subsequently he was engaged in merchandising in Otsego, Michigan, and
while at that place he was married on the 3d of May, 1836, to Miss
Elizabeth Ann Weare, commonly called by her relatives “Betsey,” who was
born in
Derby Line, Vermont, April 11, 1812, and was the eldest child of John
and Cynthia (Ashley) Weare. Later in the year of his marriage Mr.
Shearer removed to Allegan, Michigan, where he continued to engage in
mercantile pursuits for three years.
It was in 1839 that he came to Iowa and first located at what
was then known as Bloomington but is now Muscatine. From there he
removed to Cedar county, but in 1841 located a claim in Linn county
prior to the surveying of this region. His place was located eighteen
miles north of Marion and upon it he settled in the spring of 1841. The
rude dwelling in which the family lived caused much sickness and Mr.
Shearer was at length compelled to seek another location and a better
dwelling. The only vacant dwelling available that would suit the
purpose was a log cabin on the banks of Cedar river, five miles from
the county seat and where a town site was much talked of. At that time
there was only one other dwelling on the east bank of the river and it
was occupied by a family named Shepard. Coming to Cedar Rapids in the
summer of 1842, the Shearer family became the first permanent settlers
of the city. Their first home was a log house built by John Young on
the river between Fourth and Fifth avenues, and since that time they
have been prominently identified with the upbuilding and development of
this region.
Mr. Shearer was a man of more than ordinary ability, was
industrious and persevering and was held in the highest esteem by all
who knew him. He erected one of the first frame houses in Cedar Rapids
on the lot now occupied by the Grand Hotel at First avenue and Third
street. The studding and rafters of this structure were made of poles
or small trees, shaped with a broad axe by his own hands. At that time
lumber was very scarce and it required considerable time to convert the
trees into building material, as most of the work was done by hand, but
he persevered and finally completed the dwelling. For some years he
served the town in the capacity of justice of the peace, being the
first to hold that position in Cedar Rapids, and he and his wife were
among the most active members of the First Presbyterian church, early
becoming identified with its struggle for existence during pioneer
days. For many years Mr. Shearer served as ruling elder, continuing to
occupy that position up to the time of his death, which occurred on the
20th of February, 1859. His wife did not long survive him but passed
away on the 9th of December of the same year. She was a woman of
sterling worth in the community, the possessor of fine intellect and a
tender, sympathizing heart and was always charitable and ready to aid
and counsel the unfortunate or ailing. She was a rare woman, familiar
with all the trials and hardships incident to life in a new country,
and these she bore with heroic courage. She was one of the few who knew
how to adapt herself to her environments and was always mistress of any
situation no matter how trying. She had many warm friends among the
early settlers and was always considered a true friend and a safe
adviser. She was of greater value to the community than wealth and her
death was mourned with sincere regret.
There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Shearer, but
three of the number died in infancy, while Cynthia died at the age of
ten years in Canton, Illinois, and Mary M. died in Paterson, New
Jersey, January 20, 1890. For many years the last named had been a
successful and prominent educator in the Cedar Rapids public schools.
She seemed especially adapted for this vocation, but on account of ill
health was at length compelled to abandon her life work. She was a
women of rare excellence of character and earnest and active piety. The
only remaining daughter is Miss Elizabeth J. Shearer, who was for some
years an active worker in the city missions of the east but now resides
with her aunt, Mrs. Daniels, of Cedar Rapids. John Weare Shearer, the
only son, is now a resident of Algona, Iowa, and is editor of the local
newspaper at that place known as the Upper Des Moines-Republican.
John Weare Shearer, son of John Little Shearer, was born in
1855 in a concrete house which formerly stood on the corner of B avenue
and North Second street, Cedar Rapids, which at that time was the home
of his mother’s brother, John Weare, for many years president of the
First National Bank. In 1880 J. W. Shearer was married to Carrie A.
Walter, eldest daughter of Dr. L. J. and Mrs. D. M. Walter, the latter
of whom is still a resident of Cedar Rapids, her husband passing away m
1892. Four daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Shearer. The eldest,
Harriette Gertrude, was married to R. B. Allard in September, 1904, and
is a resident of West Waterloo, Iowa. Lilah Elizabeth was united in
marriage to James David Keister in June, 1910, and is a resident of
Cedar Rapids. Mr. Keister being the chemist for the Douglas Starch
Works. The other two, Mary Weare and Katharine Daniels Shearer, live
with their parents in Algona, Iowa.
J. W. Shearer was a printer by trade and learned the business
in the old Observer office in Cedar Rapids, which later became the
Cedar Rapids Republican and in which office Mr. Shearer continued to
work the larger part of the time for about twenty-eight years, or until
he started into country newspaper work for himself which continues to
be his life business.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, pages 728-730.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
MR. AND MRS. JOHN L. SHEARER
Mr. and Mrs. John L. Shearer came to Cedar Rapids in
1842. They first lived in the log house built by Mr. John Young, on the
river between fourth and fifth avenues.
Mr. and Mrs. Shearer, with their family, we regarded as
valuable acquisitions to our community. They were the first family who
became permanent settlers of Cedar Rapids, that of Mr. Shepherd, of
course, being regarded as transient and temporary. Mr. Shearer was a
man of intelligence, and he always had a hearty welcome for his friends
wherever he met them, either at his own house or elsewhere. He was very
industrious and persevering in whatever he undertook. One of the first
frame houses in Cedar Rapids was built by him on the lot now occupied
by the Grand Hotel, on First avenue and Third street. The studding and
rafters were made of poles or small trees which he worked out with
chalk line and broad-ax, with his own hands. As lumber was still so
scarce, it was no easy matter to build a house, even of moderate
dimensions; but Mr. Shearer persevered till he had his dwelling
completed and ready for occupancy. For some years he served the town in
the honorable capacity of Justice of the peace, he being the first to
hold that office in Cedar Rapids. He and his wife became highly
esteemed members of the First Presbyterian church, after its formation,
and rendered valuable aid during its early struggles for existence. Mr.
Shearer held for many years, and up to the time of his death, which
occurred Feb. 20, 1859, the office of ruling elder of the church.
Mrs. Shearer was a woman of sterling worth in our community.
She was possessed of a fine intellect and a tender sympathizing heart.
In time of sickness or trouble of any kind, she could always be relied
upon to give counsel and help such as few women are capable of
rendering. She knew very well from experience what the hardships and
trials of a new country meant, but she bore them with a courage that
was little less than heroic. She was one of the few women who knew how
to adapt herself to her environments, and to be mistress of the
situation however trying it might be. She had many warm friends among
the early settlers, and her society was sought as one who was a safe
adviser and a true friend. She was one of those characters that always
adds to a community something better than wealth, whose coming is
welcomed as a benediction, and whose departure is mourned with sincere
regret. She survived her husband only a few months, and on the 9th of
December, 1859, she ceased from her earthly toils and sorrows, to enter
upon the rest and reward of the redeemed.
Mr. and Mrs. Shearer were the parents of seven children, three
of whom died in infancy. Cynthia died at the age of ten years at
Canton, Ill. Of the three who lived to mature years, Mary M. died Jan.
20, 1890, in Patterson, N.J. For several years she was an honored and
successful teacher in our public schools. For this vocation she seemed
eminently fitted. Even in her childhood her tastes seemed to run in
that direction, and her favorite employment was to gather about her,
her younger companions of the neighborhood and form them into a school
and teach them. Her health, however, was never very firm, and after
some years of active service in the school-room, her bodily strength
gave way, and she was compelled to abandon her work that she loved so
much. She, however, was spared a number of years after this, exhibiting
a character of rare excellence, and of most earnest and active piety.
Elizabeth J., who was for some years actively engaged in the work of
city missions in the East, is now a resident of this city, her home
being with her aunt, Mrs. Daniels.
John W., the youngest of the family, who is a practical printer by trade, is connected with the Daily Republican of this city.
Mr. Shearer was born in Palmer, Mass., February 12, 1804. Mrs. Shearer
was born in Derby Line, Vt., April 11, 1812. They were united in
marriage at Otsego, Mich., May 3, 1836.
Source: Carroll, Rev. George R., Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar
Rapids, Iowa from 1839 to 1849, pages 82-84, Times Printing and Binding
House, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1895.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
Osgood Shepherd – The First Settler in Cedar Rapids
 Our
next neighbor was Mr. Osgood Shepherd, who occupied the only human
habitation on what was afterwards the original plat of Cedar Rapids.
His house was built of logs, after the usual pattern of those days. It
was a somewhat squatty looking structure, about 16 x 20, covered with
clapboards, which were held in place by logs on top, with ends
protruding at the gables, the corners also being somewhat jagged and
unsightly.
Mr. Shepherd brought his family here, consisting of his wife
and two or three children, and his aged father, sometime during the
summer of 1838, he having been here earlier for the purpose of erecting
his house. This being the only house on the east bank of the river, it
became per force of circumstances, the stopping-place of the newcomers,
and the few travelers that came this way. And so, naturally enough, it
became known as “Shepherd’s Tavern.”
Mr. Shepherd was quite a large man, of sandy complexion, and
was said to be good-natured in his disposition, and, as might easily be
surmised, he was an accommodating and agreeable landlord.
Unfortunately, however, his morals were of a low order. While many good
people were temporarily sheltered under his roof, and fed at his table,
everybody believed that he also entertained horse-thieves, and these
latter seemed to be his special favorites, and he showed himself ready
to shield and encourage them in their villainous work.
It was afterwards currently reported here, that he himself,
was finally convicted of horse-stealing in a neighboring state, and
sent to the penitentiary.
After writing the above account of Mr. Shepherd, I am more
than pleased to add that word has come to me from a source that I
regard as trustworthy, that in the latter part of his life he became a
professor of religion and was active in church work. That such a change
is possible I am most willing and ready to believe, and I can but hope
that the good report is true in every particular.
Many years ago, in Wisconsin, Mr. Shepherd was accidentally run over by
the cars and killed. This first house was located at the foot of First
avenue, where now stands the splendid building of the Young Men’s
Christian Association. Around these premises many exciting scenes
transpired. Here the first deaths occurred, and here the first child
was born. Here deeds of darkness were concocted; and honest men and
women made their plans for founding a town that would prove both an
ornament and a blessing to the surrounding country in the years to
come.
Mr. Shepherd’s father and one of his children died in this
little cabin, and from it were borne to their last resting place on the
adjacent hill, not far, as some say, from where the Episcopal church
now stands. Others think the burial place was near the ground now
occupied by the Congregational church. And here, too, a year later,
perhaps, a little Shepherd first opened its tiny eyes upon this strange
world.
Source: Carroll, Rev. George R., Pioneer Life In and Around
Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 1839 to 1849, pages 70-74, Times Printing and
Binding House, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1895.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
N. B. Sherk
Franklin township has no more highly respected or
honored citizen than the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch.
He was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1841, but was
very young when he removed with his parents, Casper and Elizabeth
(Basehore) Sherk, to Dauphin county, that state, and later to Lebanon
county, and was only four years old when his father died in the latter
county, in February, 1845. He had seven children, namely: Eliza, who
died in infancy; Mary M., who died at the age of three years; Abraham,
a resident of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, who first married Anna Light,
second Sally Heisy, and third Maggie Frontz; Malinda, wife of Adam
Runkle, of Lisbon, Iowa; N. B., our subject; and Catherine, wife of
Samuel Hawk, of Franklin township, this county. After the death of the
father the family remained in Dauphin county for some years, and our
subject attended its public schools, but when the mother became the
wife of Rev. A. Steigawalt the children became scattered.
Our subject then went to Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania, where
he worked for a cousin of his father until fifteen years of age, and
the following five years were passed at Mt. Nebo, that state. He next
made his home in the city of Lebanon until the spring of 1863, when he
came to Lisbon, Iowa, where he worked at his trade of blacksmithing and
attended school for a time. In the fall of that year, however, Mr.
Sherk enlisted in Company K, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, and after being
mustered in at Davenport went to Louisville, Kentucky, and from there
to Nashville, Tennessee. The regiment went into winter quarters at
Waverly and did scout and guard duty until spring, when they returned
to Nashville and later went to Cleveland, Tennessee. As a part of
Wilson's cavalry they took part in all the raids and skirmishes in
which that command took part. The second winter was spent at Waterloo,
Alabama. Under command of Generals Croxton and McCook they traversed
that state and later went to Macon, Georgia, where they remained until
honorably discharged from the service in the fall of 1865, being
mustered out at Clinton, Iowa.
Mr. Sherk returned to Lisbon, but in 1866 he went back to
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he marred Miss Lydia Behny, who was born
at that place November 29, 1840, and is of German descent. Her parents,
George and Mary (Walter) Behny, were also natives of that state, and
there the father died in 1870, but the mother is still living and makes
her home in Mt. Nebo, Pennsylvania. In their family were six children,
namely: Matilda, deceased wife of Samuel Wengert, of Lebanon county,
Pennsylvania; George, who married Amanda Mease and lives at Mt. Nebo;
Lydia, wife of our subject; Henry, who married Savilla Peiper and
resides in Steelton Pennsylvania; Lizzie, wife of Thomas Fisher, of
Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania; and Mary, wife of Ephraim Gingerich,
of Lebanon county, Pennsylvania.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sherk were also born six children: (1)
Herman, born April 17, 1868, is engaged in farming at Spirit Lake,
Iowa, He married Lizzie Koch and they have five children, Ruth, Hope,
Dorothy, Gladys and Cecil. (2) Mary E., born November 10, 1871 is the
wife of Rev. Samuel Streyffeler, of Alburnett, Linn county, and they
have four children, Carrie, Earl, Harland and Florence. (3) Anna M.,
born January 19, 1873, died November 21, 1894. (4) Carrie P., born June
16, 1876, was educated at Cornell College and has become very
proficient in music, which art she now teaches. She resides at home
with her parents. (5) Ella R. born March 7, 1878, and (6) Cora L., born
March 2, 1880, are also at home.
After his marriage Mr. Sherk went to Carlisle, Pennsylvania,
where he followed coach making for five years, and then entered
Dickinson College, where he spent two years preparing for the ministry.
He then became connected with the Central Pennsylvania Conference of
the Evangelical church, and took charge of the churches in the Jersey
Shore circuit, where he remained one year. In the fall of 1875 he
returned to Lebanon, and was there until the following spring. He was
then assigned the church at Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, and remained
there until the spring of 1877, when he again came to Lisbon, Iowa, and
was assigned to the Buffalo circuit for one year. He then purchased a
farm of eighty acres on section 16, Franklin township, and since his
retirement from the ministry has devoted his attention to agricultural
pursuits. He has made many improvements upon his farm and has added to
it until he now has one hundred and nineteen acres under a high state
of cultivation. He makes a specialty of his stock raising, and feeds
all his grain to his stock.
Fraternally Mr. Sherk is an honored member of W. C. Dimmick
Post, G. A. R., of Mt. Vernon and religiously is a member of the
Evangelical church, of which he is one of the trustees and stewards. He
still takes quite an active and influential part in church work, and
his upright, honorable life commands the esteem of all who know him. In
politics he is a Republican with prohibition tendencies, and he has
filled the office of school director for a number of years.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
51-53.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
WILLIAM H. SHUEY
 Colonel
William H. Shuey, of Western, Linn County, Iowa, was born in Augusta
county, Virginia, August 11, 1823. His father, Jacob Shuey, was born on
the same farm June 20, 1797, and died at Shueyville, Iowa, in 1867. His
mother’s maiden name was Elizabeth Lowman, daughter of Bernard Lowman,
of Middlebrook, Virginia. She was born June 13, 1804, and resides in
Western, Iowa. The grandfather, Lewis Shuey, was born near Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, in 1754; and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war;
removed to Virginia in 1795, and died in 1839. Lewis Shuey’s father and
grandfather, whose name was Philip Shuey, were born in France – were
Huguenots, and on account of persecutions in that country, came to
America about the year 1699.
William H. Shuey, the subject of this sketch, was raised on a
farm, and like most of farmer’s sons in that day, worked through the
Summer, and attended school in Winter. He attended a classical school
one year, and gave special attention to the study of land surveying,
and has been for the last thirty years a practical surveyor. In the
early part of his life he gave some attention to school teaching in his
neighborhood during the winter months.
On the 20th of April, 1847, he was married to Catherine V.
Baker, daughter of Frederick Baker, of Boonsborough, Washington county,
Maryland. By this union there are four children living, Frederick B.,
Ann E., Ella V., and William H.
In the days of Virginia militia, when “Big musters” were the
days for which all others were made, he took his part in home military
duty. At the age of twenty-one he was elected captain of an armed and
uniformed company, called the Middlebrook Rifles, and at the age of
twenty-seven colonel of the 93rd Reg. of Virginia Militia, and still
has the original commission signed by John B. Floyed, then Governor of
Virginia. All able-bodied men from the age of twenty-one to forty-five
in that state were compelled to do military duty, and on the parades
and drills of that time, he was frequently associated with men who
afterwards became noted in the Confederate service, such as Generals
Stonewall Jackson, Imboden, Magruder and Baldwin.
In 1852 he became editor of the North-Western Observer, a Whig
paper at Buchanan, Upsheer County, West Virginia, and in 1854 settled
at Shueyville, Johnson County, Iowa and engaged in farming. In 1861 he
went into the army, and served as Captain of Co. f, 14th Iowa Infantry.
This regiment commenced active duties at Donaldson, then Shiloh, and at
the battles of Corinth, October 3d and 4th, 1862. Captain Shuey was the
senor officer of his regiment. He was with his regiment in the
campaigns in Tennessee and Mississippi, and in Banks’ Red River
expedition in 1864. For a good part of this year he was on General A.
J. Smith’s staff, and won his respect as a brave and efficient officer.
Captain Shuey served his three years in the army, and was honorably
discharged November, 1864.
From 1865 to 1868, he served as a member of the Board of
Supervisors of Johnson county, and one of the years as chairman, and in
the two following years he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of
Linn county. He has been residing in Western since 1868.
Colonel Shuey was connected with the Western College Advocate
and Reporter as one of the editors, the most of the time from 1856 to
1864, and with the Western Gazette from its first number in 1869 till
the time of its discontinuance, with the exception of one year, when it
was edited by A. H. Neidig, now of the Cedar Rapids Republican. In
politics he is a Republican. He has been a member of the U. B. Church
for over thirty-seven years. His father and mother and grandparents on
both sides, were members of that church. He is one of the incorporators
of Western College, and much is due to his exertions and influence for
the present location of the college and he has been ever since one of
its warmest friends.
Having given his attention to the study and practice of law,
he was admitted to practice at Marion in 1874, and has established an
office at Western, where he attends to all business pertaining to his
profession. He is also engaged in mercantile pursuits, full of
business, he is always willing to assist in every enterprise which has
for its object the material, intellectual and moral advancement of the
community. He shares in a large degree the confidence and respect of
his fellow citizens.
Source: A. T. Andreas Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Iowa, 1875. Page 385.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
HENRY B. SIMPSON
For many years the subject of this sketch was one of the
practical and progressive farmers of Rapids township, but is now living
a retired life in his pleasant home, No. 344 Third avenue west, Cedar
Rapids. He was born on Elkhart Prairie, Elkhart county, Indiana,
October 17, 1830, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Riggs)
Simpson, who were born, reared and married in Tennessee, and in 1828
removed to the Hoosier state, becoming early settlers of Elkhart
county, where the father entered land and improved a farm. He was one
of the prominent agriculturists of the community and continued to make
his home there until called to his final rest in 1878, at the age of
seventy-six years. The mother of our subject died about 1836, and the
father later married Miss Elizabeth Longacre.
In his native county Henry B. Simpson grew to manhood on the
home farm, and obtained his education in the district schools of the
neighborhood, which he attended when his services were not needed in
the operation of the farm. On the 19th of February, 1852, he was united
in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Garnant, who was born in Ohio, August
8, 1831, but was reared in Indiana, her father, John Garnant, being one
of the early settlers of Elkhart county. After his marriage Mr. Simpson
followed farming in that county for nine years, and at the end of that
time sold his property there, and in the spring of 1861 came to Linn
county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm in College township. He
operated that place for two years, and on the expiration of that time
he sold it and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Rapids
township, near Cedar Rapids, to the further improvement and cultivation
of which he devoted his time and energies for many years. He erected
thereon a good house and barn, set out shade and fruit trees, and made
many other improvements which added greatly to the value and attractive
appearance of the place. Renting his farm in 1892, he removed to Cedar
Rapids, where he purchased a lot and built a neat residence which has
since been his home. He has also erected two other houses in the city,
and is now enjoying the income derived from his property.
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are the parents of six children, namely:
Sarah Alice, wife of William M. Krebs, of Cedar Rapids; William J., a
farmer of this county; Mrs. Rosa Krebs, a widow residing in Cedar
Rapids; Charles J., a mechanic of that city; Arvilla, wife of George L.
Mentzer, of Cedar Rapids; and Cora, who married H. H. Jacobs, of Cedar
Rapids, and died in 1891, leaving one daughter, Cora R., who makes her
home with her grandparents and is now attending the Cedar Rapids
schools.
In 1863, during the dark days of the Civil war, Mr. Simpson
offered his services to his country, but on going to Iowa City, was
discharged on account of illness. The following year he was drafted and
furnished a substitute. Politically he has been a life-long Democrat,
but at local elections where no issue is involved he votes independent
of party lines, supporting the men whom he believes best qualified to
fill the offices. He never sought political preferment, but served as
road commissioner while engaged in farming, both in Indiana and Iowa.
He and his wife are both members of the Baptist church and are people
of the highest respectability, whose sterling worth has gained for them
many friends.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
208-209.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
THOMAS McELDERRY SINCLAIR
 THOMAS
McELDERRY SINCLAIR, deceased, was born in Belfast, Ireland, May 11,
1842, and departed this life in Cedar Rapids, March 24, 1881. An
early life of rare beauty and consecration closed in the grave of
Thomas M. Sinclair. It was a short life, but it was one so
earnest and so filled with Christ, that its work was accomplished at
noon, and our readers will doubtless welcome a few details of a life so
useful and so honored.
Thomas M. Sinclair
was the second son of John and Eliza (Pirie) Sinclair, natives of
Belfast, Ireland. The parents had a family of ten children, nine
of whom grew to attain the age of man and womanhood. John
Sinclair carried on a pork-packing establishment in Ireland, and by
constant attention to business became well-to-do in the possession of
this world's goods. He departed this life in 1853.
It was the desire of the father of our subject that he should be
educated for a mercantile life, and when Thomas M. reached an age which
enabled him to judge and select a vocation in life for himself, he
chose that of a mercantile career as being the sphere in which he
concluded he would succeed. He accordingly entered the
establishment of his uncle, Thomas Sinclair, and subsequently rose to
considerable eminence in the commercial world. He soon mastered
the details of his business, and in 1862 proceeded to prosecute it in
the United States. After some years of varying fortune, he came
to Cedar Rapids, and in 1871 laid the foundations of what is now one of
the first packing concerns in the United States. On the
corner-stone of his establishment our subject laid the deep
requirements of the fourth Commandment, and he so planned his work that
no labor was ever required to be done in his establishment on Sunday,
and, contrary to the predictions of many, he never lost by so
doing. The name of his firm was a synonym for honor and reliable
dealing in every exchange in America. To his workmen he was
rather a father than a master, he was a benevolent and working
Christian gentleman, having joined the church in 1859, uniting with the
congregation worshipping in the church which was erected in honor of
his father, and known as Sinclair Seaman's Church, Belfast,
Ireland. He was a member of Dr. Morgan's Church, Belfast.
His zeal for missions found admirable scope with the Sunday-school
Auxiliary, organized in 1860 by Mathew Kerr. He subscribed
largely to numerous charitable institutions, and was a respected
citizen of each and every community in which he resided.
On coining to this country in 1862, Mr. Sinclair brought with him his
Christian activity, in its fullest degree. It was in Cedar Rapids
that his capacities found their widest sphere, both as a Christian
gentleman and a man of business. He re-organized the Water Board,
regulated its finances, and secured to the people a bountiful supply of
good water. He took a prominent part in educational matters and
his purse was always open, and his counsel freely given in that
direction. As his means increased, his plans of usefulness
developed and enlarged, and it was a real pleasure to ask him for help,
for his expressions of sympathy were as refreshing as the gift
itself. He gave largely to foreign missions, and it was a retired
missionary from Persia who attended him in his last hours and offered
the first prayer for his widow and orphans beside his deathbed.
No wonder that when such a man died the whole city was moved and the
voice of mourning was heard in every house, and it was nothing more
than a reflection of the overwhelming feeling when the Mayor, by
proclamation, requested a cessation of business during the period of
our subject's interment.
Mr. Sinclair of
this notice was married in Virginia, in 1870, to Miss C. C. Soutter,
daughter of Robert and Philadelphia (Campbell) Soutter, natives of
Virginia and Scotland, respectively. Her father was engaged in
the mercantile business at Philadelphia for many years, removing thence
to
New York City, where he continued in the same vocation until
within a few years prior to his death, which occurred in 1873. He
had a family of twelve children, only four of whom are now living and
all residing in Cedar Rapids: Charles B.; Mrs. Sinclair; Fannie and H.
B. Robert Soutter was a devout Christian gentleman, a member of
the Presbyterian Church, and when twenty-one years of age an Elder in a
congregation of that denomination. He was a liberal giver to all
charitable institutions, and respected and loved in all communities in
which he resided. His father, also Robert, was a native of
Scotland, and married Margaret Taylor. They came to Norfolk, Va.,
where the father was engaged in mercantile pursuits and where they both
died.
Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair
of this notice, six children have been born: J. Falconer; Robert S.;
Elsie C.; Amy; Fannie S. and Agnes M. Mrs. Sinclair resides on an
elevated plateau on the Boulevarde, on a tract of ten acres of
land. It is a beautiful site for a residence, and her home is one
of the attractive features of the city in which she lives. She is
a kind-hearted, Christian woman, belonging to the Presbyterian Church,
and, like her good husband gone before, freely gives of her bountiful
store for all charitable purposes, and also for the calls of her Master.
The portrait of no citizen of this county will be received with greater
favor than that of Mr. Sinclair, which we present on a preceding page.
Source
of portrait and biographical sketch (verbatim transcription):
“Portrait and Biographical Album of Linn County, Iowa”, 1878, pages 165
- 166, portrait on page 164
Contributed by Eric & Marcia Driggs
THOMAS M. SINCLAIR
While Thomas M. Sinclair was early called from this
life, the memory of such a man can never die while living monuments
remain upon which are imprinted the touch of his noble soul. His life
history forms an integral chapter in the annals of Cedar Rapids. The
city benefited materially by his business activity and just as largely
by his influence, which was felt on the side of right, justice and
truth. He was born in Belfast, Ireland, May 14, 1842. His earthly
career covered less than four decades, yet he accomplished in that time
a work that would be a fitting crown to a life of much longer duration.
His parents were John and Eliza (Pirie) Sinclair, who were also natives
of Ireland, and their family numbered ten children, nine of whom
reached adult age. The father was a merchant of Belfast, whose business
interests were both varied and important. He was connected with many
enterprises, his principal outside interests being in the shipping
industry of Belfast, which then, as at present, proved a satisfactory
source of income. However, that which brought him into greatest
prominence in business connections was his establishment and conduct of
the business carried on under the name of James E. Sinclair. This
undertaking gained a world wide reputation, being known in all
civilized countries when the Chicago packing houses were still in their
infancy. It was his ambition not only to extend the trade of the house
but also to make its products favorably known, and that he realized his
ambition is conceded by all who are students of the commercial history
of the world. Such was his reputation in European countries that his
word was good for any obligation he might assume. His commercial
integrity was unassailable and he demanded that in the conduct of every
branch of his business the methods employed should be of a most
irreproachable character. He passed away in 1853, leaving a goodly
competence acquired as result of his foresight, unfaltering diligence
and initiative spirit, enabling him to recognize opportunity and to
co-ordinate forces.
It was his father’s desire, coinciding with his own, that
influenced Thomas M. Sinclair to enter the establishment of J. & T.
Sinclair on the completion of his education, and the old adage, ‘‘like
father, like son,’’ again found verification in the life of Thomas M.
Sinclair, who rapidly acquired not only a general but also a working
knowledge of the business which had made his forebear famous. Such was
the success of the undertaking under the management of Thomas M.
Sinclair that it became necessary to look for new worlds to conquer,
and in 1862, in company with his cousin John, he came to America,
landing in New York where he established a packing house for the curing
of bacon and hams during the winter season, according to the process
that had won fame for the ‘‘Irish cured Sinclair hams and bacon’’ and
had gained an international reputation. This was previous to the
discovery of the process of summer cured and it was the custom of the
Sinclairs to close their plant at the end of the winter season. Later
Thomas and John Sinclair decided to withdraw from the old firm and
establish an independent business for themselves in New York. From its
inception their venture was a success and they were constantly
observant of every opportunity that tended to further their interests
Realizing that it would he much to their advantage to be
nearer the source of supplies, Mr. Sinclair in 1871 arrived in this
city, found conditions favorable and determined to locate here. With
his customary energy he bought property, built a packing house and
established what has since grown to be not only one of the most
important industries of Cedar Rapids, or of Iowa, but of the United
States. The Sinclair motto might well be ‘‘right is might and will
prevail,’’ for the spirit thereof has been the motive force in all the
dealings of the house with its patrons and with its employees. In this
day of trusts and combination of capital, the name of Sinclair stands
out as the representative of one important packing industry that is
independent and alone, unbound by the dictates of a monopoly which
would formulate the entire policy of the trade in this country, without
regard to the rights and privileges of the individual. Linn county and
its citizens may well be proud of a personality such as Thomas M.
Sinclair, and fortunate in that it numbered him among its adopted sons.
In Virginia, in 1870, Mr. Sinclair was married to Miss
Caroline C. Soutter, a daughter of Robert and Philadelphia (Campbell)
Soutter, who were natives of Virginia and Scotland respectively. Her
father was for many years engaged in merchandising in Philadelphia, and
following his removal to New York city continued the conduct of a
similar enterprise at one location within a few years of his death,
which occurred in 1873. By her marriage Mrs. Sinclair became the mother
of six children and she and her sons are still interested in the
packing house, which is a most flourishing enterprise and gives
employment with a good living wage to numerous workmen. Mrs. Sinclair
occupies a beautiful, home at No. 800 Second avenue east, where she is
spending the evening of her days in the ease and comfort that comes as
a reward of a well spent life. She has about her children and
grandchildren who delight in ministering to her welfare and happiness.
Her reminiscences of the early days are most delightful, as she
describes with clearness and vividness those events which mark the
early progress and development of the city along material, intellectual
and moral lines. She tells of the time when in the winter it was
necessary in order sometimes to have water to melt ice which had been
carted from the river and was then thrown over the fence to be picked
up and converted again into liquid form.
It was incidents of this kind that first caused Mr. Sinclair
to bend his energies toward meeting the needs of the community of five
thousand people, who at that time called Cedar Rapids their home. With
others he organized the water department, giving the people a bountiful
supply of pure water in their homes, using not only his time but a
liberal portion of his means in the furtherance of his plans. This was
but the beginning of his endeavors in behalf of the interests of Cedar
Rapids, for there was never a movement proposed for the benefit of
humanity or for the upbuilding of the city that did not find in Mr.
Sinclair an enthusiastic and loyal supporter. His life had its motive
force in a religious belief and sentiment that characterized and
colored all that he did. He recognized his obligations to his fellowmen
as few have done. He gave largely to foreign missions, to many varied
and worthy charities at home, and his financial support did much to
promote the interests of the schools. He was a man of strong and
determined purpose in pursuit of a course which his judgment sanctioned
and he never faltered in carrying to completion his projects whether
for the advancement of his church, his business, or the welfare of his
fellow beings. The feeling of respect uniformly entertained for him
throughout Cedar Rapids was publicly manifest when the mayor by
proclamation requested a cessation of business during the period of his
interment - a request that was most willingly complied with. He died
March 24, 1881, surrounded by the members of his family, and his
passing was a matter of the deepest regret to all with whom he had come
in contact. He had followed closely in the footsteps of Him he
acknowledged as Master, making his life of service and of benefit to
his fellowmen, and while twenty-nine years have passed since his death,
he yet lives in the hearts of those who, knowing him, loved him, his
memory remaining as a blessed benediction to all with whom he came in
contact.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, pages 35-7.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
ABSALOM SINES
Another of the worthy citizens of our town was Mr.
Absalom Sines, who for many years was the miller in the Ely mills. He
was one of those modest, quiet bodies that said but little and thought
a great deal.
Although not a member of any church, nor making any public profession
of religion, he lived an upright life and sustained a character that
was above reproach. He was a man possessed of a kind heart and a most
amiable disposition. If he had a single enemy in the world I am quite
sure that he never made himself known in these parts. Everybody
entertained for Mr. Sines the highest respect as a man and citizen. He
was always gentlemanly in his conduct, and kind and accommodating in
his intercourse with others.
In 1854 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wadsworth, a young lady
of great amiability of character, who lived only about a year after her
marriage.
During the war Mr. Sines enlisted in the service of his country, and
fell at the battle of Champion Hills, August 11, 1862. A truer, nobler
patriot never wore the uniform of a United States soldier.
He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware.
Source: Carroll, Rev. George R., Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar
Rapids, Iowa from 1839 to 1849, pages 165-166, Times Printing and
Binding House, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1895.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
FRANK SINKEY
The subject of this sketch, who is successfully engaged
in farming on section 3, Grant township, Linn county, Iowa, was born on
the 4th of March, 1844, in Williams county, Ohio, a son of Thomas and
Susanna (Phillips) Sinkey, also natives of the Buckeye state. In 1850
the father came to Iowa and took up his residence in Jones county,
where he at first purchased forty acres of land, and later entered one
hundred and sixty acres from the government. This was all unbroken with
exception of ten acres of the forty-acre tract, but acre after acre was
placed under the plow until it was all under cultivation. The mother of
our subject died in 1851, at the age of thirty-one years, and was laid
to rest in Jones county. She had three children, of whom Frank is the
eldest, and two are still living. For his second wife the father
married Emily Hildreth, by whom he had six children. He died in 1895,
at the age of seventy-four years, and was buried in Woodbury county,
Iowa.
Frank Sinkey was a child of six years when he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Jones county, Ohio, and he is indebted to
its public schools for his educational privileges. He remained at home
until after the inauguration of the civil war, but on the 19th of
August, 1862, he enlisted at Wyoming, Iowa, in Company K, Twenty-fourth
Iowa Volunteer Infantry, for three years, and was mustered into the
United States service at Muscatine, Iowa, September 18. He participated
in the engagements at Port Gibson and Champion Hills, the sieges of
Vicksburg and Jackson and the battles of Carrion Crew Bayou, Mansfield,
Pleasant Hill, Cane River, Middle Bayou, Marksville, Winchester,
Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek. At Champion Hills he was wounded and
taken prisoner, but was soon released on parole and returned home for a
short time. He was under the command of General Sheridan in Shenandoah
valley, and at different times also served under Generals Grant and
Banks. His discharge papers were made out at Savannah, Georgia, but his
company was not disbanded until reaching Davenport, Iowa.
Mr. Sinkey then returned home and for two years operated the
farm on the shares. At the end of that time he went to Buchanan county,
Iowa, where he resided until 1876. In the meantime he purchased forty
acres of wild land in Grant township, Linn county, in 1868, and six
years later bought an adjoining tract of the same size, which was
partially improved, but he did not locate upon this place until 1876.
Since then he has extended the boundaries of his farm, and now has one
hundred and sixty acres of well improved and highly cultivated land, on
which he is engaged in both farming and stock raising. When he first
settled in Grant township there was no road past his home, but it was
laid out when the village of Walker was started.
On the 18th of October, 1867, Mr. Sinkey married Miss
Catherine Wilson, a daughter of Benjamin and Margaret (Ferguson)
Wilson, who were natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively, and
came to Jones county, Iowa, in 1851, where the father purchased and
improved a farm of seventy acres. He died in 1898 at the advanced age
of ninety-one years, and his wife departed this life in 1883 at the age
of sixty-six, the remains of both being interred in Buchanan county,
Iowa. They were members of the United Brethren church, and most
estimable people. Of the ten children born to them, five are still
living, and Mrs. Sinkey is the seventh in order of birth. Our subject
and his wife have become the parents of twelve children: Orin,
deceased; William; Sarah, deceased; one who died in infancy; John;
Anna; Margaret, deceased; Alice; Bessie; Edith; Charles, deceased; and
Maude. Those living are all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Sinkey are members of
the Methodist Episcopal church at Walker, and are held in high regard
by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. In politics he is a
Republican, and has filled the office of road supervisor in his
township.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
585-6.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
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