CO O X 3 o o o o < I- I- < 5 < I- H O / ^\« -OIF- ^10Wi\. Containing Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States, with accompanying- Biographies of each; a Condensed History of Iowa, with Portraits and Biographies of the Governors of the State-, and Engravings of Prominent Citizens of Pottawattamie County, with Personal Histories of many of the Parly Settlers and Leading Pamilies. Biograpliy is tlie only true history." — Emerson. THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1891. i^0 HISTORV OF IOWA. Aboriginal 133 Caucasian 134 Pioneer Li fe 133 Louisiana Territory 137 Iowa Territory 139 State Organization and Subse- (|uent History 141 Patriotism 140 Iowa Since the War 151 State luslitutious 151 Educational 134 Statistical 157 Physical Features 15is Geology 158 Climate 103 Census of Iowa 164 Territorial officers 10 1 State Officers 105 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. ,-Roberl Lucas 171 John Chambers 173 -James Clarke 175 Ansel Briffgs 179 Stephen Hempstead 183 James W. Grimes 187 Ralph P. Lowe ISJl Samuel J. Kirkwood 195 William M. Stone 1ll (_:ollard, Frank 313 Collins, N. S 570 Comer, S. K 028 Confarr, \V. N 544 Cn, A A 005 Contents. iDgrsim, Robert C73 Irwin, H. T 393 Jack, 11. B GOG Jamesou Bros 387 Jameson, W. J 507 Jerterson.T. II '235 Johns, T.J GGl Johannsen, J. B 698 Johnson, AW 33!) Johnson, F. T. 708 Jones, J. G 33.") Jones, L. G 330 Jones, O. W 349 .Tones, U. F 359 Jones, T.J 440 Jndil, 0. B 334 Kaven, August Gil Keast, Thonias 704 Keller, A. H 332 Kenedy, Alex 349 Kerney, Lawrence 395 Kerney, Peiry 491 Kiel Stables G51 Killion, r. C G40 Killion, J. A 49G Killpaok, James 304 Kimball, Caleb 3G8 Kimball, J. F 410 Kinraid, A. E 560 Kinnehan, L 474 Kirl)y, Josejih 515 Kirk wood, llobert 473 Kleppina;er, W. 49G Knepher, W. II G30 Knol ts, Joseph 493 Knotis, L. G .' 494 Kuhn, W. H G85 Lacey, T. B 434 Lacy, Patrick 412 Lainson, A. T .530 Laage, J. C 474 Larson, 0. A 389 Lathan, Edmond 675 Lebeck, A 699 Leland.II. C 593 Leland, L. S 594 Leonard, Thomas 288 Leretle N 511 Leslie, F. N 558 Levin, P. K 044 Lewis, F. M 318 Lewis, Jackson 510 Lewis, Nelson 253 Lewis, Wm 513 Lewis, Wm 681 Livingston. James 579 Lodge, O. F 535 London Bros 370 Long, Wm. C 239 Loudenheck, J. A 483 Lowe, H. G 350 MacConnell, S. P 381 MacKay, T. J 533 MacUla'nd, Elizabeth, 283 Macrae, Donald 271 Manhattan, The 493 Martin, Andrew 330 Martin, I. L 403 Martin, Martha - .5.J1 Martin, W. J 641 Maxfield, Wm. H 380 Maxwell, W. E 595 Mayne, W. S 385 McOonald, J. II ,501 McDonald, Wm 590 McFall, S. T 041 McGee, 11. G 480 McGee, J. E. F 407 McGinnis, Joseph 540 McKenzie, K 577 McKeowu, Wm 350 McMaster, D. B 33G McMenomy, B. P 247 McMilleu, W. A . .483 McAlullen, C, E 234 McPherron, F. T 428 Mf.Reynolds, L 357 Merriam, P 237 Meneray, P. W 454 MetcalC, George 453 Mickelwait & Young 340 Mikesill, J. W 030 Miller, J. W 400 Miller, Robert 499 Minahan, M 373 Milchell, A. 1 340 Montgomery, II 308 Montgomery, P. J 373 Morrts, F .- 274 Slorrison, S 480 Jlnlholland, J. P 396 Muller, Julius 428 Murchison, J. K 553 Murphy, J. A .503 Murray, James 034 •Mynsler, CO 319 Mynster, W. A 687 Nellis, L. D 393 Nicholas, A. B ,378 Nixon, Wm 289 Nordyke, Albert 324 Nusum, J. W 444 O'Brien, N 493 O nicer, Thomas . .495 Olds, James 413 Olney, J. J 243 Orr, William 075 Oshorn, G. H 684 Osier, Alex 320 Owens, F. M 684 Packard, W. S ,5.57 Painter, Lewis 490 Palmer, M 695 Parish, E 293 Parker, D. K 441 Parker, Henry 464 Parker, Joseph 488 Passmore, 8. B 251 Pearce, A. W 283 Peck. G. W 060 Perkins, A. B 074 Peters, Wm 290 Peterson, E. W 457 ] Peterson, H. H 558 Peterson, M. P 3i:i Phillips, John M !...34G Pieper, Henry 540 Pierce, O. W 254 Pilling, T. A .AbQ Pinuey, C. H 272 Plank, M. V ,575 Pleak, D. S 329 Plumb, George 246 PI unier, H. P 05 1 Phnnmer, A 608 Plunket, W. F 678 Poland, G. W 600 Potter, L. F 200 Powell, Isaac 700 Pratt, C. F 1)70 Prentice, A. K 463 Price, C. S 577 Pusey, W. II. M 487 Pulnam, A. D 277 Quick, Wm 640 Quick, VV. S 077 Rainbow, James ,596 Randall, A. A 5.50 Rankin, S. L 298 Read, S. R ,372 Reed, J. I .597 Reed, J. R floo Reel.C. D aOl Reicbart, E 062 Reimer. Max 515 Reynolds, C 291 Reynolds, Simon 341 Reynolds, S. W 526 Rishton, Heniy 302 Riss, P. X 275 Rilter, Adam 451 Robbins, T. M 313 Robertson, J. 365 Robinson, ('. S 572 Robiu'ion, James 323 Rock, Wm. V 517 Rodenbough, J. ,J 278 Rodwell, .John 281 Rohrer, M. P 255 Rollins, J. Q 248 Roop, M. S 342 Roosa, Isaiah 079 Ross, L. W 351 Rush, J. W 452 Rust, S. S.- 260 Saint, James 643 Sanderson, Charles 480 Sapp. W. F 423 Sarr, II. M 401 Schlicht, John .480 Schmoock, A. C 302 SchuUz, J. H 263 Scott, G. W 269 Seward, L. D 350 Seybert, P. T 711 Sheldon, L 470 Sherraden, C. II 706 Shinn, Frank 603 Sidener, Wm 659 Sides, John 614 Siedentopf, Wm 567 CONTENTS. Sims, Jacob 2G3 Sivers, J.H :'.96 Smart, G. F. C HGO Smith, K. C 20:) Smitli,J. F 605 Smith, Peter 421 Smith, W. I 249 Snyder, C. W 323 Snyder, Wesley C33 Spetman, F. W 421 Spetman, II. H 528 Steele, Wm 521 Stephens, S. L 004 Stephenson, A. J 445 Stevenson, Henry 0:^1 Stevenson, Wm 525 St. Francis Xavier Church 247 Slidham, Wm (i47 Stillings, Origan 553 Stolver, Margaret 385 Stone, Albert 354 Stone, C. E 400 Strong, S. C 571 Straub, Cliristian 701 Stuhr, J. H. C 4:!8 Stuhr, J. P 435 Sullivan & Virtue 008 Sylvester, J. A 420 Taylor, J. A 503 Taylor, W. H 524 Templeton, J. L 049 Terry, H. A 472 Tliayer, .lohn 48;! Thomas, F. S 309 Thomas, ZepU 040 Thomp.son, Joseph 31)8 Throp, W. L 673 Tilton, Preston 705 Timberman, Isaiah 607 Tinley, Emmet 31)2 Tipton, J. G 331 Tittsworlh, W. G 584 Tompkin, Wm 607 Tostevin, Thomas 400 Tieynor, I. M 303 Underwood, S. G 619 Utterback, W. C 384 Vallier, Alex 2G4 Van, S. F 510 Van, W. H 488 Van Brunt, II. H 383 Vandrutr, C. H 014 Voorhis, Cornelius 711 Wadsworlh, S. B 287 Waldo, Mary A 709 Walker, R. F 555 Ware, Mrs. E 397 Ware, W. II 307 Waterman, E. T 403 Way, W.J 027 Weak, A. L 484 Weaver, J. P. F 343 Weeks, F. U 387 Wells, Lucius 551 Wells, Wm. S 410 West, H. S 416 Westcolt, J. H 411 Western Lumber i.V Sujiply Co. .049 Wheeler, Wm. J 358 White, U. M 548 Whitney, Wm 208 Wickham, James 048 Wickham, O. P 642 Wicks, N. B 47!) Wilding, David 6:1!) Williams, J. E 300 Williams, N. VV 538 Williams, W.S 367 Wilson, n. M 018 Wilson, James 505 Winaus, J. H 001 Winchester, B 542 Wind, P. H 359 Winterstein, Wm 497 Wolf, J. A 552 Wood, Ale.x 539 Wood, E. A 545 Woodbury, E. 1 406 Wright, Fred 317 Wright, George 314 Wright, G. F 2!)5 Wyland, J. M 509 Wyman, A. W 021 Young, J. F., Jr. Young, J. N. . . . Young, T. J.... Young, W.O... ,..651 ..097 , . . 340 . . , 529 Zahner, Jacob 271 ILLUSTRATIONS. Baldwin, Caleb 981 Baldwin, J. N 279 Barstow, J. M 583 Bloomer, Amelia 241 Bleomer, D. C 241 Bowman, Thomas 335 Burke, Finley 447 Casady, J, P 431 Casady, T. E 439 fClark, D, B 311i k^lark, Eleanor 31P Clark, J.H, E 391 Devol, P. C 3-7 Evans, T.J 471 Everett, Horace 519 Everett, Leonard 015 -Grand Hotel 477 Haines, David 399 Hewitt, George W 415 Holmes, G. A 375 Lodge, O. F 535 Jlacrae, Donald 271 McGee.J. E. F 407 McMenomy, B. P 247 Murphy,J. A ; 503 Slynster, C. O. and Mrs. M 319 Officer, Thomas 495 Pusey, W. H. M 487 Kohrer, M. F 2.55 Ross, L, W 351 Sapp, W. F 423 Smith, EC 263 Treynor, I. M 303 Van Brunt, H. H 383 Wadsworlh, S. B 287 Ware, W. H 367 Weaver, J. P. F 343 Wells, Lucius .551 Wind, P. II 359 Wright, G. F 295 I GEORGE WASHINGTON. fiiiijmr-'^ -i-rf^ -!._ <^ .i._f' EORGE WASHING- > TON, the " Father of his Country" and its first President, 1789- i"i 97' ^V'ls born Febru- ^" ary 22, 1732, in Wash- ington Parish, West- moreland County, Virginia. His father, Augustine Wash- ington, first married Jane But- ler, who bore him four chil- dren, and March 6, 1730, he married Mary Ball. Of six children by his second mar- riage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Samuel, John, Au- gustine, Charles and Mildred, of whom the youngest died in infancy. Little is known of the early 3'ears of Washington, beyond the fact that the house in which he was born was burned during his early child- hood, and that his father thereupon moved to another farm, inherited from his paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford Count}', on the north bank of the Rappahannock, where he acted as agent of the Principio Iron Works in the immediate vicinity, and died there in 1743. From earliest childhood George devel- oped a noble character. He had a vigorous constitution, a fine form, and great bodily strength. His education was somewhat de- fective, being confined to the elementary branches taught him by his mother and at a neighboring school. He developed, how- ever, a fondness for mathematics, and en- joyed in that branch the instructions of a private teacher. On leaving school he re- sided for some time at Mount Vernon with his half brother, Lawrence, who acted as his guardian, and who had married a daugh- ter of his neighbor at Belvoir on the Poto- mac, the wealthy William Fairfax, for some time president of the executive council of the colony. Both Fairfax and his son-in-law, Lawrence Washington, had served with dis- tinction in 1740 as officers of an American battalion at the siege of Carthagena, and were friends and correspondents of Admiral Vernon, for whom the latter's residence on the Potomac has been named. George's inclinations were for a similar career, and a midshipman's warrant was procured for him, probably through the influence of the Admiral ; but through the opposition of his mother the project was abandoned. The family connection with the Fairfaxes, how- ever, opened another career for the 3'oung man, who, at the age of sixteen, was ap- pointed surveyor to the immense estates of the eccentric Lord Fairfax, who was then on a visit at Belvoir, and who shortly after- ward established his baronial residence at Green way Court, in the Shenandoah Valley. PRESIDENTS OF THE UN/TED STATES. Three years were passed by young Wash- ington in a rough frontier life, gaining ex- perience which afterward proved very es- sential to him. In 1 75 1, when the Virginia militia were put under training wiih a view to active service against France, Washington, though only nineteen years of age, was appointed Adjutant with the rank of Major. In Sep- tember of that year the failing health of Lawrence Washington rendered it neces- sary for him to seek a warmer climate, and Ge irge accompanied him in a voyage to Bariadoes. They returned earl^^ in 1752, and Lawrence shortly' afterward died, leav- ing hi 5 large property to an infant daughter. In his will George was named one of the executors and as eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the death of the infant niece soon succeeded to that estate. On the arrival of Robert Dinwiddle as Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia in 1752 the militia was reorganized, and the prov- ince divided into four districts. Washing- ton was commissioned by Dinwiddle Adju- tant-General of the Northern District in 1753, and in November of that year a most important as well as hazardous mission was assigned him. This was to proceed to the Canadian posts recently established on French Creek, near Lake Erie, to demand in the name of the King of England the withdrawal of the French from a territor}- claimed by Virginia. This enterprise had been declined by more than one officer, since it involved a journey through an ex- tensive and almost unexplored wilderness in the occupancy of savage Indian tribes, either hostile to the English, or of doubtful attachment. Major Washington, however, accepted the commission with alacrit}- ; and, accompanied by Captain Gist, he reached Fort Le Boeuf on French Creek, delivered his dispatches and received reply, which, of course, was a polite refusal to surrender the posts. This reply was of such a character as to induce the Assembly of Virginia to authorize the executive to raise a regiment of 300 men for the purpose of maintaining the asserted rights of the British crown over the territory claimed. As Washing- ton declined to be a candidate for that post, the command of this regiment was given to Colonel Joshua Fry, and Major Washing- ton, at his own request, was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel. On the march to Ohio, news was received that a party previously sent to build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela with the Ohio had been driven back bv a considerable French force, which had completed the work there be- gun, and named it Fort Duquesne, in honor of the Marquis Duquesne, then Governor of Canada. This was the beginning of the great " French and Indian war," which con- tinued seven jears. On the death of Colonel Fry, Washington succeeded to the com- mand of the regiment, and so well did he fulfill his trust that the Virginia Assemblv commissioned him as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces raised in the colony. A cessation of all Indian hostility on the frontier having followed the expulsion of the French from the Ohio, the object of Washington was accomplished and he re- signed his commission as Commander-in- Chief of the Virginia forces. He then pro- ceeded to Williamsburg to take his seat in the General Assembly, of which he had been elected a member. January 17, 1759, Washington married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, a young and beautiful widow of great wealth, and de- voted himself for the ensuing fifteen years to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter- rupted only by his annual attendance in winter upon the Colonial Legislature at Williamsburg, luitil summoned by his countrv to enter upon that other arena in which his fame was to become world wide. It is unnecessary here to trace the details of the struggle upon the question of local CiEOHGB WASHINGTON. \\ self-government, which, after ten years, cul- minated by act of Parliament of the port of Boston. It was at the instance of Virginia that a congress of all the colonies was called to meet at Philadelphia Septembers, 1774, to secure their common liberties — if possible by peaceful means. To this Congress Colonel Washington was sent as a dele- gate. On dissolving in October, it recom- mended the colonies to send deputies to another Congress the following spring. In the meantime several of the colonies felt impelled to raise local forces to repel in- sults and aggressions on the part of British troops, so that on the assembling of the next Congress, May 10, 1775, the war prepara- tions of the mother country were unmis- takable. The battles of Concord and Lex- ington had been fought. Among the earliest acts, therefore, of the Congress was the selection of a commander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This office was unani- mously conferred upon Washington, still a member of the Congress. He accepted it on June 19, but on the express condition he should receive no salar}'. He immediately repaired to the vicinity of Boston, against which point the British ministry had concentrated their forces. As early as April General Gage had 3,000 troops in and around this proscribed city. During the fall and winter the British policy clearly indicated a purpose to divide pub- lic sentiment and to build up a British party in the colonies. Those who sided with the ministr}' were stigmatized by the patriots as " Tories," while the patriots took to them- selves the name of " Whigs." As early as 1776 the leading men had come to the conclusion that there was no hope except in separation and indepen- dence. In May of that year Washington wrote from the head of the army in New York : " A reconciliation with Great Brit- ain is impossible When I took command of the army, I abhorred the idea of independence ; but I am now fully satis- fied that nothing else will save us." It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of the patriot hero, to whose hands the fortunes and liberties of the United States were confided during the seven years' bloody struggle that ensued until the treaty of 1783, in which England acknowledged the independence of each of the thirteen States, and negotiated with them, jointly, as separate sovereignties. The merits of Washington as a military chief- tain have been considerably discussed, espe- cially by writers in his own country. Dur- ing the war he was most bitterly assailed for incompetency, and great efforts were made to displace him ; but he never for a moment lost the confidence of either the Congress or the people. December 4, 1783, the great commander took leave of his offi- cers in most affectionate and patriotic terms, and went to Annapolis, Maryland, where th6 Congress of the States was in session, and to that body, when peace and order prevailed ever)' where, resigned his com- mission and retired to Mount Vernon. It was in 1788 that Washington was called to the chief magistracy of the nation. He received every electoral vote cast in all the colleges of the States voting for the office of President. The 4th of March, 1789, was the time appointed for the Government of the United States to begin its operations, but several weeks elapsed before quorums of both the newly constituted houses of the Congress were assembled. The city of New York was the place where the Congrees then met. April 16 Washington left his home to enter upon the discharge of his new duties. He set out with a purpose ot traveling privately, and without attracting any oublic attention ; but this was impossi- ble. Everywhere on his way he was met with thronging crowds, eager to see the man whom they regarded as the chief de- fender of their liberties, and everywhere PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. he was hailed with those public manifesta- tions of joy, regard and love which spring spontaneously from the hearts of an affec- tionate and grateful people. His reception in New York was marked by a grandeur and an enthusiasm never before witnessed in that metropolis. The inauguration took place April 30,in the presence of an immense multitude which had assembled to witness the new and imposing ceremony. The oath of office was administered by Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State. When this sacred pledge was given, he retired with the other officials into the Senate chamber, where he delivered his inaugural address to both houses of the newly con- stituted Congress in joint assembly. In the manifold details of his civil ad- ministration, Washington proved himself equal to the requirements of his position. The greater portion of the first session of the first Congress was occupied in passing the necessary statutes for putting the new organization into complete operation. In the discussions brouglit up in the course of this legislation the nature and character of the new system came under general review. On no one of them did any decided antago- nism of opinion arise. All held it to be a limited government, clothed only with spe- cific powers conferred by delegation from the States. There was no change in the name of the legislative department; it still remained " the Congress of the United States of America." There was no chano-e in the original ffag of the country, and none in the seal, which still remains with the Grecian escutcheon borne by the eagle, with other emblems, under the great and expressive motto, " E Phirihus Uniim." The first division of parties arose upon the manner of construing the powers dele- gated, and they were first styled "strict constructionists" and " latitudinarian con- structionists." The former were for con- fining the action of the Government strictl)- within its specific and limited sphere, while the others were for enlarging its powers by inference and implication. Hamilton and Jefferson, both members of the first cabinef. were regarded as the chief leaders, respect ively, of these rising antagonistic parties. which have existed, under different names from that day to this. Washington 'vaS re- garded as holding a neutral position between them, though, by mature deliberation, he vetoed the first apportionment bill, in 1790, passed by the party headed by Hamilton, which was based upon a principle construct- ively leading to centralization or consoli- dation. This was the first exercise of the veto power under the present Constitution. It created considerable excitement at the time. Another bill was soon passed in pur- suance of Mr. Jefferson's views, which has been adhered to in principle in every ap portionment act passed since. At the second session of the new Con. gress, Washington announced the gratify^ ing fact of " the accession of North Caro- lina" to the Constitution of 1787, and June I of the same year he announced by special message the like " accession of the State of ' Rhode Island," with his congratulations on the happy event which " united under the general Government" all the States which were originall}- confederated. In 1792, at the second Presidential elec- tion, Washington was desirous to retire ; but he yielded to the general wish of the country, and was again chosen President by the unanimous vote of every electoral college. At the third election, 1796, he was again most urgently entreated to consent to remain in the executive chair. Tiiis he positively refused. In September, before the election, he gave to his countrymen his memorable Farewell Address, which in lan- guage, sentiment and patriotism was a fit and crowning glory of his illustrious life. After March 4, 1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon for peace, quiet and repose. GEORGE WASHlNGrON. '? His administration for the two terms had been successful beyond the expectation and hopes of even the most sanguine of his friends. The finances of the country were no longer in an embarrassed condition, the public credit was fully restored, life was given to every department of industry, the workings of the new system in allowing Congress to raise revenue from duties on imports proved to be not only harmonious in its federal action, but astonishing in its results upon the commerce and trade of all the States. The exports from the Union increased from $19,000,000 to over $56,000,- 000 per annum, while the imports increased in about the same proportion. Three new members had been added to the Union. The lorogress of the States in their new career under their new organization thus far was exceedingly encouraging, not only to the friends of libertv within their own limits, but to their sympathizing allies in all climes iind countries. l 01 the call again made on this illustrious chief to quit his repose at Mount Vernon and take command of all the United States forces, with the rank of Lieutenant-General, when war was threatened with France in 1798, nothing need here be stated, except to note the fact ac an unmistakable testimo- nial of the higli regard in which he was still held by his countrymen, of all shades of po- litical opinion. He patriotically accepted this trust, but a treaty of peace put a stop to all action under it. He again retired to Mount Vernon, where, after a short and severe illness, he died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The whole country was filled with gloom by this sad intelligence. Men of all parties in poli- tics and creeds in religion, in every State in the Union, united with Congress in " pay- ing honor to the man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- men " His remains were deposited in a family vault on the banks of the Potomac at Mount Vernon, where they still lie entombed. 14 PjiESIDENTS OP THE UNITED STATES. '^^^ OHN ADAMS, the second President of the United States, 1797 to 1801, was born in the present town of Oiiincy, then a portion of Braintree, Massachu- setts, October 30, 1735. His father was a farmer of mod- erate means, a worthy and - industrious man. He was a deacon in the church, and was very desirous of giving his son a collegiate educa- tion, hoping that he would become a minister of the gospel. But, as up to this time, the age of fourteen, he had been only a play-boy in the fields and forests, he had no taste for books, he chose farming. On being set to work, however, by his father out in the field, the very first day con- verted the boy into a lover of books. Accordingly, at the age of sixteen he entered Harvard College, and graduated in 1755, at the age of twenty, highly esteemed for integrity, energy and ability. Thus, having no capital but his education, he started out into the stormy world at a time of great political excitement, as France and England were then engaged in their great seven-years struggle for the mastery over the New World. The fire of patriotism seized young Adams, and for a tinir he studied over the question whether he should take to the law, to politics or ihe army. He wrote a remarkable letter to a friend, making prophecies concerning the future greatness of this country which have since beeu more than fulfilled. For two 3'ears he taught school and studied law, wasting no odd moments, and at the early age of twenty-two years he opened a law office in his native town. His inherited powers of mind and untiring devotion to his profession caused him to rise rapidly in public esteem. In October, 1764, Mr. Adams married Miss Abigail Smith, daughter of a clergy- man at Weymouth and a lad}- of rare per- sonal and intellectual endowments, who afterward contributed much to her hus- band's celebrity. Soon the oppression of the British in America reached its climax. The Boston merchants employed an attorney by the name of James Otis to argue the legality of oppressive tax law before the Superior Court. Adams heard the argument, and afterward wrote to a friend concerning the abilit}' displayed, as follows : " Otis was a flame of fire. With a promptitude of classical allusion, a depth of research, a rapid summary of historical events and dates, a profusion of legal authorities and a f^t^f^ VJ 5^ JOHN AOAMS. 17 prophetic glance into futurity, he hurried away all before him. American indepetidence was then and there born. Every man of an immensely crowded audience appeared to me to go away, as Idid, ready to take up arms." Soon Mr. Adams wrote an essay to be read before the literary club of his town, upon the state of affairs, which was so able as to attract public attention. It was pub- lished in American journals, republished in England, and was pronounced by the friends of the colonists there as " one of the very best productions ever seen from North America." The memorable Stamp Act was now issued, and Adams entered with all the ardor of his soul into political life in order to resist it. He drew up a series of reso- lutions remonstrating against the act, which were adopted at a public meeting of the citizens of Braintree, and which were sub- sequently adcjpted, word for word, by more than forty towns in the State. Popular commotion prevented the landing of the Stamp Act papers, and the English author- ities then closed the courts. The town of Boston therefore appointed Jeremy Grid- ley, James Otis and John Adams to argue a petition before the Governor and council for the re-opening of the courts; and while the two first mentioned attorneys based their argument upon the distress caused to the people by the measure, Adams boldly claimed that the Stamp Act was a violation both of the English Constitution and the charter of the Provinces. It is said that this was the first direct denial of the un- limited right of Parliament over the colo- nies. Soon after this the Stamp Act was repealed. Directly Mr. .^^dams was employed to defend Ansell Nickerson, who had killed an Englishman in the act of impressing him (Nickerson) into the King's service, and his client was acquitted, the court thus estab- lishing the principle that the infamous royal prerogative of impressment could have no existence in the colonial code. But in 1770 Messrs. Adams and Josiah Quincy defended a party of British soldiers who had been arrested for murder when they had been only obeying Governmental orders ; and when reproached for thus ap- parently deserting the cause of popular liberty, Mr. Adams replied that he would a thousandfold rather live under the domina- tion of the worst ol Ensfland's kings than under that of a lawless mob. Next, after serving a term as a member of the Colonial Legislature from Boston, Mr. Adams, find- ing his health affected by too great labor, retired to his native home at Braintree. The year 1774 soon arrived, with its fa- mous Boston '• Tea Party," the first open act of rebellion. Adams was sent to the Congress at Philadelphia ; and when the Attorney-General announced that Great Britain had " determined on her system, and that her power to execute it was irre- sistible," Adams replied : " I know that Great Britain has determined on her sys- tem, and that very determinati(jn deter- mines me on mine. You know that I have been constant in my opposition to her measures. The die is now cast. I have passed the Rubicon. Sink or swim, live or die, with my country, is my unalterable determination." The rumor bea:innine: to prevail at Philadelphia that the Congress had independence in view, Adams foresaw that it was too soon to declare it openly. \\i advised every one to remain quiet in that respect; and as soon as it became ap- parent that he himself was for independ- ence, he was advised to hide himself, which he did. The next year the great Revolutionary war opened in earnest, and Mrs. Adams, residing near Boston, kept her husband ad- vised by letter of all the events transpiring in her vicinity. The battle of Bunker Hil! IS I'RBSIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. came on. Congress had to do something immediately. The first thing was to choose a commander-in-chief for the — we can't say " army " — the fighting men of the colonies. The New England delegation was almost unanimous in favor of appoint- mg General Ward, then at the head of the Massachusetts forces, but Mr. Adams urged the appointment of George Washington, then almost unknown outside of his own State. He was appointed without oppo- sition. Mr. Adams offered the resolution, which was adopted, annulling all the royal authority in the colonies. Having thus prepared the way, a few weeks later, viz., June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee, of Vir- ginia, who a few months before had declared that the British Government would aban- don its oppressive measures, now offered the memorable resolution, seconded by Adams, " that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and independent." Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Sherman and Livingston were then appointed a commit- tee to draught a declaration of independ- ence. Mr. Jefferson desired Mr. Adams to draw up I he bold document, but the latter persuaded Mr. Jefferson to perform that responsible task. The Declaration drawn up, Mr. Adams became its foremost defender on the floor of Congress. It was signed by all the fifty-five members present, and the next day Mr. Adams wrote to his wife how great a deed was done, and how proud he was of it. Mr. Adams continued to be the leading man of Congress, and the leading advocate of American inde- pendence. Above all other Americans, he was considered by every one the prin- cipal shining mark for British vengeance. Thus circumstanced, he was appointed to the most dangerous task of crossing the ocean in winter, exposed to capture by the British, who knew of his mission, which was to visit Paris and solicit the co-opera- tion of the French. Besides, to take him- self away from the country of which he was the most prominent defender, at that critical time, was an act of the greatest self- sacrifice. Sure enough, while crossing the sea, he had two very narrow escapes from capture ; and the transit was otherwise a stormy and eventful one. During thf summer of 1779 he returned home, but was immediately dispatched back to France, to be in readiness there to negotiate terms of peace and commerce with Great Britain as soon as the latter power was ready for such business. But as Dr. Franklin was more popular than heat the court of France, Mr. Adams repaired to Holland, where he was far more successful as a diplomatist. The treaty of peace between the United States and England was finally signed at Paris, January 21, 1783; and the re-action from so great excitement as Mr. Adams had so long been experiencing threw him into a dangerous fever. Before he fully re- covered he was in London, whence he was dispatched again to Amsterdam to negoti- ate another loan. Compliance with this order undermined his physical constitution for life. In 1785 Mr. Adams was appointed envoy to the court of St. James, to meet face to face the very king who had regarded him as an arch traitor! Accordingly he re- paired thither, where he did actually meet and converse with George III.! After a residence there for about three years, he obtained permission to return to America. While in London he wrote and published an able work, in three volumes, entitled : " A Defense of the American Constitution." The Articles of Confederation proving inefficient, as Adams had prophesied, a carefully draughted Constitution was adopted in 1789, when George Washington was elected President of the new nation, and Adams Vice-President. Congress met for a time in New York, but was removed to Philadelphia for ten years, until suitable JOHN ADAMS. 19 buildings should be erected at the new capital in the District of Columbia. Mr. Adams then moved his family to Phila- delphia. Toward the close of his term of office the French Revolution culminated, when Adams and Washington rather sympathized with England, and Jefferson with France. The Presidential election of 1796 resulted in giving Mr. Adams the first place by a small majority, and Mr. Jeffer- son the second place. Mr. Adams's administration was consci- entious, patriotic and able. The period was a turbulent one, and even an archangel could nut have reconciled the hostile par- ties. Partisanism with reference to Eng- land and France was bitter, and for four years Mr. Adams struggled through almost a constant tempest of assaults. In fact, he was not truly a popular man, and his cha- grin at not receiving a re-election was so great that he did not even remain at Phila- delphia to witness the inauguration of Mr. Jefferson, his successor. The friendly intimacy between these two men was interrupted for about thirteen years of their life. Adams finally made the first advances toward a restoration of their.mutual friend- ship, which were gratefully accepted by Jefferson. Mr. Adams was glad of his opportunity to retire to private life, where he could rest his mind and enjoy the comforts of home. By a thousand bitter experiences he found the path of public duty a thorny one. For twenty-six years his service of the public was as arduous, self-sacrificing and devoted as ever fell to the lot of man. In one im- portant sense he was as much the " Father of his Country " as was Washington in another sense. During these long 3?ears of anxiety and toil, in which he was laying. broad and deep, the foundations of the greatest nation the sun ever shone upon, he received from his impoverished country a meager support. The only privilege he carried with him into his retirement was that of franking his letters. Although taking no active part in public affairs, both himself and his son, John Quincy, nobly supported the policy of Mr. Jefferson in resisting the encroachments of England, who persisted in searching American ships on the high seas and dragging from them any sailors that might be designated by any pert lieutenant as British subjects. Even for this noble sup- port Mr. Adams was maligned by thou- sands of bitter enemies ! On this occasion, for the first time since his retirement, he broke silence and drew up a very able paper, exposing the atrocity of the British pretensions. Mr. Adams outlived nearly all his family. Though his physical frame began to give way many years before his death, his mental powers retained their strength and vigor to the last. In his ninetieth year he was gladdened by the popular elevation of his son to the Presidential office, the highest in the gift of the people. A few months more passed away and the 4th of July, 1826. arrived. The people, unaware of the near approach of the end of two great lives — that of Adams and Jefferson — -were making unusual preparations for a national holiday. Mr. Adams lay upon his couch, listening to the ringing of bells, the waftures of martial music and the roar of cannon, with silent emotion. Only four days before, he had given for a public toast, " Independence forever." About two o'clock in the after- noon he said, "And Jefferson still survives." But he was mistaken by an hour or so; and in a few minutes he had breathed his last. PRESIDENTS OF THE UN/TED STATES. M PHr:':r:'?fP' HH ?7^?7^aH P :HH?ml^_ BHHHHHHEHHHEHHHEaaHHHH •■«^*<^-» HH2 ^:'^'^.::^.^:m,::m,^M0^^^^M^xMxMx^^^^ il^glj^ ;'"S"HOMAS JEFFER- son, the third Presi- dent of the United States, 1801-9, ^v^s born April 2, 1743, the eldest child of his parents, Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jef- ferson, near Charlottes- ville, Albemarle County, Virginia, upon the slopes of the Blue Ridge. When he -was fourteen years of age, his father died, leav- ^ widow and eight children. She was a beau- tiful and acc(jmplished lady, a good letter-writer, with a fund of humor, and an admirable housekeeper. His parents belonged to the Church of England, and are said to be of Welch origin. But little is known of them, however. Thomas was naturally of a serious turn of mind, apt to learn, and a favorite at school, his choice studies being mathemat- ics and the classics. At the age of seven- teen he entered William and Mary College, in an advanced class, and lived in rather an expensive style, consequently being much caressed by gay society. That he was not ruined, is proof of his stamina of character. But during his second year he discarded society, his horses and even his favorite violin, and devoted thenceforward fifteen hours a day to hard stud}', becoming ex- traordinarily proficient in Latin and Greek authors. On leaving college, before he was twenty- one, he commenced the study of law, and pursued it diligently until he was well qualified for practice, upon which he entered in 1767. By this time he was also versed in French, Spanish, Italian and An- glo-Saxon, and in the criticism of the fine arts. Being very polite and polished in his manners, he won the friendship of all whom he met. Though able with his pen, he was not fluent in public speech. In 1769 he was chosen a member of the Virginia Legislature, and was the largest slave-holding member of that body. He introduced a bill empowering slave-holders to manumit their slaves, but it was rejected by an overwhelming vote. In 1770 Mr. Jefferson met with a great loss; his house at Shadwell was burned, and his valuable library of 2,000 volumes was consumed. But he was wealthy enough to replace the most of it, as from his 5,000 acres tilled by slaves and his practice at the bar his income amounted to about $5,000 a year. In 1772 ho married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a beautiful, wealthy and accomplished ,J,^i«te^^ y-pTZ-, THOMAS JEFFERSON. 23 young widow, who owned 40,000 acres of land and 130 slaves; yet he labored assidu- ously for the abolition of slavery. For his new home he selected a majestic rise of land upon his large estate at Shadwell, called Monticello, whereon he erected a mansion of modest yet elegant architecture. Here he lived in luxury, indulging his taste in magnificent, high-blooded horses. At this period the British Government gradually became more insolent and op- pressive toward the American colonies, and Mr. Jefferson was ever one of the most foremost to resist its encroachments. From time to time he drew up resolutions of re- monstrance, which were finally adopted, thus proving his ability as a statesman and as a leader. By the vear 1774 he became quite busy, both with voice and pen, in de- fending the right of the colonies to defend themselves. His pamphlet entitled : " A Summary View of the Rights of British America," attracted much attention in Eng- land. The following year he, in company with George Washington, served as an ex- ecutive committee in measures to defend by arms the State of Virginia. As a Mem- ber of the Congress, he was not a speech- maker, yet in conversation and upon committees he was so frank and decisive that he always made a favorable impression. But as late as the autumn of 1775 he re- mained in h(jpes of reconciliation with the parent country. At length, however, the hour arrived for draughting the " Declaration of Indepen- dence," and this responsible task was de- volved upon Jefferson. Franklin, and Adams suggested a few verbal corrections before it was submitted to Congress, which was June 28, 1776, only six days before it was adopted. During the three days of the fier}' ordeal of criticism through which it passed in Congress, Mr. Jefferson opened not his lips. John Adams was the main champion of the Declaration on the floor of Congress. The signing of this document was one of the most solemn and momentous occasions ever attended to by man. Prayer and silence reigned throughout the hall, and each signer realized that if American independence was not finally sustained by arms he was doomed to the scaffold. After the colonies became independent States, Jefferson resigned for a time his seat in Congress in order to aid in organizing the government of Virginia, of which State he was chosen Governor in 1779, when he was thirty-six years of age. At this time the British had possession of Georgia and were invading South Carolina, and at one time a British otificer, Farleton, sent a secret expedition to Monticello to capture the Governor. Five minutes after Mr. Jefferson escaped with his family, his man- sion was in possession of the enemy ! The British troops also destroyed his valuable plantation on the James River. " Had they carried off the slaves," said Jefferson, with characteristic magnanimity, " to give them freedom, they would have done right." The year 1781 was a gloomy one for the Virginia Governor. While confined to his secluded home in the forest by a sick and dying wife, a party arose against him throughout the State, severely criticising his course as Governor. Being very sensi- tive to reproach, this touched him to the quick, and the heap of troubles then sur- rounding him nearly crushed him. He re- solved, in despair, to retire from public life for the rest of his days. For weeks Mr. Jefferson sat lovingly, but with a crushed heart, at the bedside of his sick wife, during which time unfeeling letters were sent to him, accusing him of weakness and unfaith- fulness to duty. All this, after he had lost so much property and at the same time done so much for his country! After her death he actually fainted away, and re- mained so long insensible that it was feared he never would recover 1 Several weeks 24 PRBSfDEIVTS OF THE UNITED STATES. passed before he could fully recover his equilibrium. He was never married a second time. In the spring of 1782 the people of Eng- land compelled their king to make to the Americans overtures of peace, and in No- vember following, Mr. Jefferson was reap- pointed by Congress, unanimously and without a single adverse remark, minister plenipotentiary to negotiate a treaty. In March, 17S4, Mr. Jefferson was ap- pointed on a committee to draught a plan for the government of the Northwestern Territory. His slavery-prohibition clause in that plan was stricken out by the pro- slavery majority of the committee; but amid all the controversies and wrangles of poli- ticians, he made it a rule never to contra- dict anybody or engage in any discussion as a debater. In company with Mr. Adams and Dr. Franklin, Mr. Jefferson was appointed in May, 1784, to act as minister plenipotentiary in the negotiation of treaties of commerce with foreign nations. Accordingly, he went to Paris and satisfactorily accomplished his mission. The suavity and high bearing of his manner made all the French his friends; and even Mrs. Adams at one time wrote to her sister that he was " the chosen of the earth." But all the honors that he received, both at home and abroad, seemed to make no change in the simplicity of his republican tastes. On his return to America, he found two parties respecting the foreign commercial policy, Mr. Adams sympathizing with that in favor of England and himself favoring France. On the inauguration of General Wash- ington as President, Mr. Jefferson was chosen by him for the office of Secretary of State. At this time the rising storm of the French Revolution became visible, and Washington watched it with great anxiety. His cabinet was divided in their views of constitutional government as well as re- garding the issues in France. General Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, was the leader of the so-called Federal party, while Mr. Jefferson was the leader of the Republican party. At the same time there was a strong monarchical party in this country, with which Mr. Adams sympa- thized. Some important financial measures, which were proposed by Hamilton and finally adopted by the cabinet and approved by Washington, were opposed by Mr. Jefferson ; and his enemies then began to reproach him with holding office under an administration whose views he opposed. The President poured oil on the troubled waters. On his re-election to the Presi- dency he desired Mr. Jefferson to remain in the cabinet, but the latter sent in his resignation at two different times, probably because he was dissatisfied with some of the measures of the Government. His final one was not received until January i, 1794, when General Washington parted from him with great regret. Jefferson then retired to his quiet home at Monticello, to enjoy a good rest, not even reading the newspapers lest the political gossip should disquiet him. On the Presi- dent's again calling him back to tiie office of Secretary of State, he replied that no circumstances would ever again tempt him to engage in an3'thing public ! But, while all Europe was ablaze with war, and France in the throes of a bloody revolution and the principal theater of the conflict, a new Presidential election in this country came on. John Adams was the Federal candi- date and Mr. Jefferson became the Republi- can candidate. The result of the election was the promotion of the latter to the Vice- Presidency, while the former was chosen President. In this contest Mr. Jefferson really did not desire to have either office, he was " so weary " of party strife. He loved the retirement of home more than any other place on the earth. THOMAS yEFFEkSON. 25 But for four long years his Vice-Presi- dency passed joylessly away, while the partisan strife between Federalist and Re- publican was ever growing hotter. The former party split and the result of the fourth general election was the elevation of Mr. Jefferson to the Presidency ! with Aaron Burr as Vice-President. These men being at the head of a growing party, their election was hailed everywhere with joy. On the other hand, many of the Federalists turned pale, as they believed what a portion of the pulpit and the press had been preach- ing — -that Jefferson was a " scoffing atheist," a "Jacobin," the "incarnation of all evil," "breathing threatening and slaughter! " Mr. Jefferson's inaugural address con- tained nothing but the noblest sentiments, expressed in fine language, and his personal behavior afterward exhibited the extreme of American, democratic simplicit}'. His disgust of European court etiquette grew upon him with age. He believed that General Washington was somewhat dis- trustful of the ultimate success of a popular Government, and that, imbued with a little admiration of the forms of a monarchical Government, he had instituted levees, birth- day's, pompous meetings with Congress, etc. Jefferson was always polite, even to slaves everywhere he met them, and carried in his countenance the indications of an ac- commodating disposition. The political principles of the Jeffersoni- an party now swept the country, and Mr. Jefferson himself swayed an influence which was never exceeded even by Washington. Under his administration, in 1803, the Lou- isiana purchase was made, for $15,000,000, the " Louisiana Territor}- " purchased com- prising all the land west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. The 3-ear 1804 witnessed another severe loss in his family. His highly accomplished and most beloved daughter Maria sickened and died, causing as great grief in the stricken parent as it was possible for him to survive with any degree of sanit}'. The same year he was re-elected to the Presidenc}', with George Clinton as Vice- President. During his second term our relations with England became more com- plicated, and on June 22, 1807, near Hamp- ton Roads, the United States frigate Chesapeake was fired upon by the Brit- ish man-of-war Leopard, and was made to surrender. Three men were killed and ten wounded. Jefferson demanded repara- tion. England grew insolent. It became evident that war was determined upon by the latter power. More than 1,200 Ameri- cans were forced into the British service upon the high seas. Before any satisfactory solution was reached, Mr. Jefferson's Presidential term closed. Amid all these public excitements he thought constantly of the welfare of his family, and longed for the time when he could return home to remain. There, at Monticello, his sub- sequent life was verv similar to that of Washington at Mt. Vernon. His hospi- tality toward his numerous friends, indul- gence of his slaves, and misfortunes to his property, etc., finally involved him in debt. For years his home resembled a fashion- able watering-place. During the summer, thirty -seven house servants were required ! It was presided over by his daughter, Mrs. Randolph. Mr. Jefferson did much for the establish- ment of the University at Charlottesville, making it unsectarian, in keeping with the spirit of American institutions, but poverty and the feebleness of old age prevented him from doing what he would. He even went so far as to petition the Legislature for permission to dispose of some of his possessions by lottery, in order to raise the necessary funds for home expenses. It was granted ; but before the plan was carried out, Mr. Jefferson died, July 4, 1826, at 12:50 r. M. 26 PHES/DBNTS OF THE UNITED STATES. ^'^r '-' •'• t*>" -I- -r- * -K-^'^ui^ii li' AMES MADISON, t h e fourth President of the United States, iSoci-'ij, was born at Port Con- way, Prince George Count)', Virginia, March i6, 1751. His father, Colonel James Madison, was a wealthy planter, residing upon a very fine estate called " Montpelier," only twenty-five miles from the home of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political at- taciuTient existed between these illustrious men from their early youth until death. James was the eldest of a family of seven children, four sons and three daughters, all of whom attained maturity. His early edu- cation was conducted mostly at home, under a private tutor. Being naturally in- tellectual in his tastes, he consecrated him- self with unusual vigor to study. At a very earl}' age he made considerable proficiency in the Greek, Latin, French and Spanish languages. In 1769 he entered Princeton College, New Jersey, of which the illus- trious Dr. Weatherspoon was then Presi- dent. He graduated in 1771, with a char- I acter of the utmost purity, and a mind highly disciplined and stored with all the learning which embellished and gave effi- ciency to his subsequent career. After graduating he pursued a course of reading for several months, under the guidance of President Weatherspoon, and in 1772 re- turned to Virginia, where he continued in incessant study for two years, nominally directed to the law, but really including extended researches in theology, philoso- phy and general literature. The Church of England was the estab- lished church in Virginia, invested with all the prerogatives and immunities which it enjo3'ed in the fatherland, and other de- nominations labored under serious disabili- ties, the enforcement of which was rightly or wrongly characterized by them as per- secution. Madison took a prominent stand in behalf of the removal of all disabilities, repeatedly appeared in the court of his own county to defend the Baptist nonconform- ists, and was elected from Orange County to the Virginia Convention in the spring of 1766, when he signalized the beginning of his public career by procuring the passage of an amendment to the Declaration of Rights as prepared by George Mason, sub- stituting for "toleration" a more emphatic assertion of religious liberty. -^ \. y^ ,i2,^i-c^<^^ ^A^{ Oo^^^^^-t^ jr\~^ yAMBS map/son: n in 1776 he was elected a member of the Virgmia Convention to frame the Constitu- tion of the State. Like Jefferson, he took but little part in the public debates. His main strength lay in his conversational in- fluence and in his pen. In November, 1777, he was chosen a member of the Council of State, and in March, 1780, took his seat in the Continental Congress, where he first gained prominence through his energetic opposition to the issue of paper money by the States. He continued in Congress three years, one of its most active and influential members. In 1784 Mr. Madison was elected a mem- ber of tlie Virginia Legislature. He ren- dered important service by promoting and participating in that revision of the statutes which effectually abolished the remnants of the feuflal system subsistent up to that time in the form of entails, primogeniture, and State support given the Anglican Church ; and his " Memorial and Remon- strance" against a general assessment for the support of religion is one of the ablest papers which emanated from his pen. It settled the question of the entire separation of church and State in Virginia. Mr. Jefferson says of him, in allusion to the stud}' and experience through which he had already passed : " Trained in these successive schools, he acquired a habit of self-possession which placed at ready command the rich resources of his luminous and discriminating mind and of his extensive information, and rendered him tlic first of every assembly of which he afterward became a member. Never wan- dering from his subject into vain declama- tion, but pursuing it closely in language pure, classical and copious, soothing al- ways the feelings of his adversaries by civili- ties and softness of expression, he rose to the eminent station which he held in the great National Convention of 1787 ; and in that of Virginia, which followed, he sustained the new Constitution in all its parts, bearing oS the palm against the logic of George Mason and the fervid declamation of Patrick Henry. With these consummate powers were united a pure and spotless virtue which no calumny has ever attempted to sully. Of the power and polish of his pen, and of the wisdom of his administration in the highest office of the nation, I need say nothing. They have spoken, and will for- ever speak, for themselves." In January, 1786, Mr. Madison took the initiative in proposing a meeting of State Commissioners to devise measures for more satisfactory commercial relations between the States. A meeting was held at An- napolis to discuss this subject, and but five States were represented. The convention issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madi- son, urging all the States to send their dele- gates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draught a Constitution for the United States. The delegates met at the time ap- pointed, every State except Rhode Island being represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention, and the present Constitution of the United States was then and there formed. There was no mind and no pen more active in fi-aming this immortal document than the mind and pen of James Madison. He was, perhaps, its ablest advocate in the pages of the Federalist- Mr. Madison was a member of the first four Congresses, i789-'97, in which he main- tained a moderate opposition to Hamilton's financial policy. He declined the mission to France and the Secretaryship of State, and, gradually identifying himself with the Republican party, became from 1792 its avowed leader. In 1796 he was its choice for the Presidency as successor to Wash- ington. Mr. Jefferson wrote : " There is not another person in the United States with whom, being placed at the helm of our affairs, my mind would be so completely at 30 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. rest for the fortune of our political bark." But Mr. Madison declined to be a candi- date. His term in Congress had expired, and he returned from New York to his beautiful retreat at Montpelier. In 1794 Mr. Madison married a young widow of remarkable powers of fascination — Mrs. Todd. Her maiden name was Doro- thy Paine. She was born in 1767, in Vir- ginia, of Quaker parents, and had been educated in the strictest rules of that sect. When but eighteen years of age she married a young lawyer and moved to Philadelphia, where she was introduced to brilliant scenes of fashionable life. She speedily laid aside the dress and address of the Quakeress, and became one of the most fascinating ladies of the republican court. In New York, after the death of her husband, she was the belle of the season and was surrounded with admirers. Mr. Madison won the prize. She proved an invaluable helpmate. In Washington she was the life of society. If there was any diffident, timid young girl just making her appearance, she found in Mrs. Madison an encouraging friend. During the stormy administration of John Adams Madison remained in private life, but was the author of the celebrated " Reso- lutions of 1798," adopted by the Virginia Legislature, in condemnation of the Alien and Sedition laws, as well as of the " report" in which he defended those resolutions, which is, by many, considered his ablest State paper. The storm passed away ; the Alien and Sedition laws were repealed, John Adams lost his re-election, and in 1801 Thomas Jef- ferson was chosen President. The great re- action in public sentiment which seated Jefferson in the presidential chair was large- ly owing to the writings of Madison, who was consequently well entitled to the post of Secretary of State. With great ability he discharged the duties of this responsibly office during the eight years of Mr. Jeffer son's administration. As Mr. Jefferson was a widower, and neither of his daughters could be often with him, Mrs. Madison usually presided over the festivities of the White House; and as her husband succeeded Mr. Jefferson, hold- ing his office for two terms, this remarkable woman was the mistress of the presidential mansion for sixteen years. Mr. Madison being entirely engrossed by the cares of his office, all the duties of so- cial life devolved upon his accomplished wife. Never were such responsibilities more ably discharged. The most bitter foes of her husband and of the administra- tion were received with the frankly prof- fered hand and the cordial smile of wel- come; and the influence of this gentle woman in allaying the bitterness of party rancor became a great and salutary power in the nation. As the term of Mr. Jefferson's Presidency drew near its close, party strife was roused to the utmost to elect his successor. It was a death-grapple between the two great parties, the Federal and Republican. Mr. Madison was chosen President by an elec. toral vote of 122 to 53, and was inaugurated March 4, 1809, at a critical period, when the relations of the United States with Great Britain were becoming embittered, and his first term was passed in diplomatic quarrels, aggravated by the act of non-intercourse of May, 1810, and finally resulting in a decla- ration of war. On the iSth of June, 1812, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Brit- ain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country in general approved ; and in the autumn Madison was re-elected to the Presidency by 128 electoral votes to 89 in favor of George Clinton. March 4, 1817, Madison yielded the Presi- yAMES MADISON. 31 dency to his Secretary of State and inti- mate friend, James Monroe, and retired to his ancestral estate at Montpelier, where he passed the evening of his days surrounded by attached friends and enjoying the merited respect of the whole nation. He took pleasure in promoting agriculture, as president of the county society, and in watching the development of the University of Virginia, of which he was long rector and visitor. In extreme old age he sat in 1829 as a member of the convention called to re- form the Virginia Constitution, where his appearance was hailed with the most gen- uine interest and satisfaction, though he was too infirm to participate in the active work of revision. Small in stature, slender and delicate in form, with a countenance full of intelligence, and expressive alike of mildness and dignity, he attracted the atten- tion of all who attended the convention, and was treated with the utmost deference. He seldom addressed the assembly, though he always appeared self-possessed, ,and watched with unflagging interest the prog- ress of every measure. Though the con- vention sat sixteen weeks, he spoke only twice; but when he did speak, the whole house paused to listen. His voice was feeble though his enunciation was very dis- tinct. One of the reporters, Mr. Stansbury, relates the following anecdote of Mr. Madi- son's last speech: " The next day, as there was a great call for it, and the report had not been returned for publication, I sent my son with a re- spectful note, requesting the manuscript. My son was a lad of sixteen, whom I had taken with me to act as amanuensis. On delivering my note, he was received with the utmost politeness, and requested to come up into Mr. Madison's room and wait while his eye ran over the paper, as com- pany had prevented his attending to it. He did so, and Mr. Madison sat down to correct the report. The lad stood near him so that his eye fell on the paper. Coming to a certain "sentence in the speech, Mr. Madison erased a word and substituted another ; but hesitated, and not feeling satisfied with the second word, drew his pen through it also. My son was young, ignorant of the world, and unconscious of the solecism of which he was about to be guilty, when, in all simplic- ity, he suggested a word. Probably no other person then living would have taken such a liberty. But the sage, instead of regarding such an intrusion with a frown, raised his eyes to the boy's face with a pleased surprise, and said, ' Thank you, sir ; it is the very word,' and immediately in- serted it. I saw him the next day, and he mentioned the circumstance, with a compli- ment on the )^oung critic." Mr. Madison died at Montpelier, June 28, 1836, at the advanced age of eighty-five. While not possessing the highest order of talent, and deficient in oratorical powers, he was pre-eminently a statesman, of a well- balanced mind. His attainments were solid, his knowledge copious, his judgment gener- ally sound, his powers of analysis and logi- cal statement rarely surpassed, his language and literary style correct and polished, his conversation witty, his temperament san- guine and trustful, his integrity unques- tioned, his manners simple, courteous and winning. By these rare qualities he con- ciliated the esteem not only of friends, but of political opponents, in a greater degree than any American statesman in the present century. Mrs. Madison survived her husband thir- teen years, and died July 12, 1849, in the eighty -second year of her age. She was one of the most remarkable women our coun- try has produced. Even now she is ad- miringly remembered in Washington as " Dolly Madison," and it is fitting that her memory should descend to posterity in company with thatof the companion of h(»r life. V PRBSlDEiVTS OF THE VNlTb.D STATES. i^^'^^'^^ ' ' ^ (*^ 1^^ (*V^ (*T^ (*T^ r*T'^ f*^ ^ ^^\ glV3>jlL^jgjiV^ t^jjM^ '^^"^-'»'fc--VJ'rV^"^^ga rm^Ma Wi aaa^^tT^jaa^^T^raaa^ t(^^i (g3'(g^(^i^(ai>(^r!5J'S>(.ji fT)?r?a!i3'>^ »^<&l«^«Sei*i!g)'^«^«^<^l' %[^ '^^^1 "^'AMES MONROE, the fifth President of the United States, 1817-25, was born in Westmoreland County Virginia, April 28, 1758. He was a son of Spence Monroe, and a descendant of a Scottish cavalier fam- ily. Like all his predeces- sors thus far in the Presi- dential chair, he enjoyed all the advantages of educa- tion which the country could then afford. He was early sent to a fine classical school, and at the age of six- teen entered William and Mary College.. In 1776, when he had been in college but two years, the Declaration of Independence was adopted, and our feeble militia, with- out arms, amunition or clothing, were strug- gling against the trained armies of England. James Monroe left college, hastened to General Washington's headquarters at New York and enrolled himself as a cadet in the army. At Trenton Lieutenant Monroe so dis- tinguished himself, receiving a wound in his shoulder, that he was promoted to a Cap- taincy. Upon recovering from his wound, he was invited to act as aide to Lord Ster- ling, and in that capacity he took an active part in the battles of Brandywine, Ger- aiantown and Monmouth. At Germantown he stood by the side of Lafayette when the French Marquis received his wound. Gen- eral Washington, who had formed a high idea of young Monroe's ability, sent him to Virginia to raise a new regiment, of which he was to be Colonel; but so exhausted was Virginia at that time that the effort proved unsuccessful. He, however, received his commission. Finding no opportunity to enter the army as a commissioned officer, he returned to his original plan of studying law, and entered the ofifice of Thomas Jefferson, who was then Governor of Virginia. He developed a very noble character, frank, manly and sincere. Mr. Jefferson said of him: "James Monroe is so perfectly honest that if his soul were turned inside out there would not be found a spot on it." In 1782 he was elected to the Assembly of Virginia, and was also appointed a mem- ber of the Executive Council. The next year he was chosen delegate to the Conti- nental Congress for a term of three years. He was present at Annapolis when Wash- ington surrendered his commission of Com- mander-in-chief. With Washington, Jefferson and Madison he felt deeply the inefficiency of the old Articles of Confederation, and urged the formation of a new Constitution, which should invest the Central Government with something like national power. Influenced by these views, he introduced a resolution ^^^.-^^^-^z >;7 /^f-^Z^c^. yAMES MONROE. 35 that Congress should be empowered to regulate trade, and to lay an impost dut)^ of five per cent. The resolution was refer- red to a committee of which he was chair- man. The report and the discussion which rose upon it led to the convention of five States at Annapolis, and the consequent general convention at Philadelphia, which, in 1787, drafted the Constitution of the United States. At this time there was a controversy be- tween New York and Massachusetts in reference to their boundaries. The high esteem in which Colonel Monroe was held is indicated by the fact that he was ap- pointed one of the judges to decide the controversy. While in New York attend- ing Congress, he married Miss Kortright, a young lady distinguished alike for her beauty and accomplishments. For nearl}' fifty years this happ}' union ixmained un- broken. In London and in Paris, as in her own country, Mrs. Monroe won admiration and affection by the loveliness of her per- son, the brilliancy of her intellect, and the amiability of her character. Returning to Virginia, Colonel Monroe commenced the practice of law at Freder- icksburg. He was very soon elected to a seat in the State Legislature, and the next year he was chosen a member of the Vir- ginia convention which was assembled to decide upon the acceptance or rejection of the Constitution which had been drawn up at Philadelphia, and was now submitted to the several States. Deeply as he felt the imperfections of the old Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, thinking, with many others of the Republi- can party, that it gave too much power to the Central Government, and not enough to the individual States. In 1789 he became a member of the United States Senate, which office he held acceptably to his constituents, and with honor to himself for four years. Having opposed the Constitution as not leaving enough power with the States, he, of course, became more and more identi- fied with the Republican party. Thus he found himself in cordial co-operation with Jefferson and Madison. The great Repub- lican party became the dominant power which ruled the land. George Washington was then President. England had espoused the cause of the Bourbons against the principles of the French Revolution. President Washing- ton issued a proclamation of neutralit}' be- tween these contending powers. France had helped us in the struggle for our lib- erties. All the desf>otisms of Europe were now combined to prevent the French from escaping from tyranny a thousandfold worse than that which we had endured. Colonel Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that we should help our old allies in their extremit3^ He vio- lently opposed the President's procla- mation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness by appointing that very James Monroe, who was denouncing the polic)' of the Government, as the Minis- ter of that Government to the republic of France. He was directed by Washington to express to the French people our warm- est sympathy, communicating to them cor- responding resolves approved by the Pres- ident, and adopted by both houses of Congress. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the Na- tional Convention in France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of respect and affection. He was publicly introduced to that body, and received the embrace of the President, Merlin de Douay, after having been addressed in a speech glowing with congratulations, and with expressions of desire that harmony might ever exist be 36 PRESIDEI^TS OF THE UNITED STATES. tween the two nations. The flags of the two repiibHcs were intertwined in the hall of the convention. Mr. Monroe presented the American colors, and received those of France in return. The course which he pursued in Paris was so annoying to Eng- land and to the friends of England in tiiis country that, near the close of Wash- iiigton's administration, Mr. Monroe, was recalled. After his return Colonel Monroe wrote a book of 400 pages, entitled " A View of the Conduct of the Executive in Foreign Af- fairs." In this work he verj' ably advo- cated his side of the question; but, with the magnanimity of the man, he recorded a warm tribute to the patriotism, ability and spotless integrity of John Jay, between whom and himself there was intense antag- onism ; and in subsequent years he ex- pressed in warmest terms his perfect veneration for the character of George Washington. Shortly after his return to this country Colonel Monroe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held that office for three years, the period limited b}' the Constitu- tion. In 1802 he was an Envoy to France, and to Spain in 1805, and was Minister to England in 1803. In 1806 he returned to his quiet home in Virginia, and with his wife and children and an ample competence from his paternal estate, enjoyed a few years of domestic repose. In 1809 Mr. Jeflerson's second term of office expired, and many of the Republican party were anxious to nominate James Monroe as his successor. The majority were in favor of Mr. Madison. Mr. Mon- roe withdrew his name and was soon after chosen a second time Governor of Virginia. He soon resigned that office to accept the position of Secretary of State, offered him by President Madison. The correspond- ence which he then carried on with the British Government demonstrated that there was no hope of any peaceful adjust- ment of our difficulties with the cabinet of St. James. War was consequently declared in June, 181 2. Immediately after the sack of Washington the Secretary of War re- signed, and Mr. Monroe, at the earnest request of Mr. Madison, assumed the ad- ditional duties of the War Department, without resigning his po.sition as Secretary of State. It has been confidently stated, that, had Mr. Monroe's energies been in the War Department a few months earlier, the disaster at Washington would not have occurred. The duties now devolving upon Mr. Mon- roe were extremel)' arduous. Ten thou- sand men, picked from the veteran armies of England, were sent with a powerful fleet to New Orleans to acquire possession of the mouths of the Mississippi. Our finan- ces were in the most deplorable condition. The treasury was exhausted and our credit gone. And yet it was necessary to make the most rigorous preparations to meet the foe. In this crisis James Monroe, the Sec- retary of War, with virtue unsurpassed in Greek or Roman story, stepped forward and pledged his own individual credit as subsidiary to that of the nation, and thus succeeded in placing the city of New Or- leans in such a posture of defense, that it was enabled successfull}' to repel the in- vader. Mr. Monroe was truly the armor-bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cabinet. His energy in the double capacity of Secretary, both of State and War, pervaded all the depart- ments of the country. He proposed to increase the army to 100,000 men, a meas- ure which he deemed absolutely necessary to save us from ignominious defeat, but which, at the same time, he knew would render his name so unpopular as to preclude the possibility of his being a successful can- didate for the Presidency. JAMES MONROE. .->7 The happy result of the conference at Ghent in securing peace rendered the in- crease of the army unnecessary; but it is not too much to say that James Monroe placed in the hands of Andrew Jackson the weapon with which to beat off the foe at New Orleans. Upon the return of peace Mr. Monroe resigned the department of war, devoting himself entirely to the duties of Secretary of State. These he continued to discharge until the close of President Madison's administration, with zeal which was never abated, and with an ardor of self-devotion which made him almost for- getful of the claims of fortune, health or life. Mr. Madison's second term expired in March, 1817, and Mr. Monroe succeeded to the Presidency. He was a candidate of the Republican party, now taking the name of the Democratic Republican. In 1821 he was re-elected, with scarcely any opposition. Out cf 232 electoral votes, he received 231. The slavery question, which subsequently assumed such formidable dimensions, now began to make its appearance. The State of Missouri, which had been carved out of that immense territory which we had pur- chased of France, applied for admission to the Union, with a slavery Constitution. There were not a few who foresaw the evils impending. After the debate of a week it was decided that Missouri could not be admitted into the Union with slav- ery. This important question was at length settled by a compromise proposed by Henry Clay. The famous "Monroe Doctrine," of which so much has been said, originated in this way: In 1823 it was rumored that the Holy Alliance was about to interfere to prevent the establishment of Republican liberty in the European colonies of South America. President Monroe wrote to his old friend Thomas Jefferson for advice in the emergency. In his reply under date of October 24, Mr. Jeflerson writes upon the supposition that our attempt to resist this European movement might lead to war: " Its object is to introduce and establish the American system of keeping out of our land all foreign powers; of never permitting those of Europe to intermeddle with the affairs of our nation. It is to maintain our own priaciple, not to depart from it." December 2, 1823, President Monroe sent a message to Congress, declaring it to be the policy of this Government not to entangle ourselves with the broils of Eu- rope, and not to allow Europe to interfere with the affairs of nations on the American continent; and the doctrine was announced, that any attempt on the part of the Euro- pean powers " to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere would be regarded by the United States as danger- ous to our peace and safety." March 4, 1825, Mr. Monroe surrendered the presidential chair to his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, and retired, with the universal respect of the nation, to his private residence at Oak Hill, Lou- doun County, Virginia. His time had been so entirely consecrated to his country, that he had neglected his pecuniary interests, and was deeply involved in debt. The welfare of his country had ever been up- permost in his mind. For man)^ years Mrs. Monroe was in such feeble health that she rarely appeared in public. In 1830 Mr. Monroe took up his residence with his son-in-law in New York, where he died on the 4th of July, 1831. The citizens of New York conducted his obsequies with pageants more imposing than had ever been witnessed there before. Our country will ever cherish his mem- ory with pride, gratefully enrolling his name in the list of its benefactors, pronounc- ing him the worthy successor of the illus- trious men who had preceded him in the presidential chair. 38 PRESIDENTS OF THE UN /TED STATES. gHgHgF Hs ?PT???FHaprisHHHHa=^;r^:id,r^pFHF^F?HHFmr^rfe^'i= OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President of the United States, i825-'9, was born in the rural home of his honored father, John Adams, in Q u i n c y , Massachusetts, July II, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant absence of his father. He commenced his education at the village school, giving at an early period indica- tions of superior mental en- dowments. When eleven years of age he sailed with his father for Europe, where the latter was associated with Franklin and Lee as Minister Plenipotentiary. The intelligence of John Quincy attracted the attention of these men and received from them flattering marks of attention. Mr. Adams had scarcely returned to this country in 1779 ere he was again sent abroad, and John Quincy again accom- panied him. On this voyage he commenced a diary, which practice he continued, with but few interruptions, until his death He journeyed with his father from Ferrol, in Spain, to Paris. Here he applied himself t(jr six months to study; then accompanied his father to Holland, where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, and then the University of Leyden. In 1781, when only fourteen years of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our Minister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. In this school of incessant labor he spent fourteen months, and then returned alone to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen. Again he resumed his studies under a private tutor, at The Hague. In the spring of 1782 he accompanied his father to Paris, forming acquaintance with the most distinguished men on the Conti- nent. After a short visit to England, he re- turned to Paris and studied until May, 1785, when he returned to America, leav- ing his father an embassador at the court of St. James. In 1786 he entered the jun- ior class in Harvard University, and grad- uated with the second honor of his class. The oration he delivered on this occasion, the " Importance of Public Faith to the Well-being of a Community," was pub- lished — an event very rare in this or any other land. Upon leaving college at the age of twenty he studied law three years with the Hon. Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport. In 1790 he opened a law office in Boston. The profession was crowded with able men, and the fees were small. The first vear he had 1 2. M O/Hvi JOHN ^UINCr ADAMS. no clients, but not a moment was lost. The second year passed away, still no clients, and still he was dependent upon his parents for support. Anxiously he awaited the third year. The reward now came. Cli- ents began to enter his office, and before the end of the year he was so crowded with business that all solicitude respecting a support was at an end. When Great Britain commenced war against France, in 1793, Mr. Adams wrote some articles, urging entire neutrality on the part of the United States. The view was not a popular one. Many felt that as France had helped us, we were bound to ht'p France. But President Washington coincided with Mr. Adams, and issued his proclamation of neutrality. His writings at this time in the Boston journals gave him so high a reputation, that in June, 1794, he was appointed by Washington resident Minister at the Netherlands. In July, 1797, he left The Hague to go to Port- ugal as Minister Plenipotentiary. Wash- ington at this time wrote to his father, John Adams: " Without intending to compliment the father or the mother, or to censure any others, I give it as my decided opinion, that Mr. Adams is the most valuable char- acter we have abroad; and there remains no doubt in my mind that he will prove the ablest of our diplomatic corps." On his way to Portugal, upon his arrival in London, he met with dispatches direct- ing him to the court of Berlin, but request- ing him to remain in London until he should receive instructions. While waiting he was married to Miss Louisa Catherine John- son, to whom he had been previously en- gaged. Miss Johnson was a daughter of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American Consul in London, and was a lady endowed with that beauty and those accomplishments which fitted her to move in the elevated sphere for which she was destined. In July, 1799, having fulfilled all the pur- poses of his mission, Mr. Adams returned. In 1802 he was chosen to the Senate of Massachusetts from Boston, and then was elected Senator of the United States for si.\ years from March 4, 1804. His reputation, his ability and his experience, placed him immediately among the most prominent and influential members of that body. He sustained the Government in its measures of resistance to the encroachments of Eng- land, destroying our commerce and insult- ing our flag. There was no man in America more familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon these points, and no one more resolved to present a firm resist- ance. This course, so truly patriotic, and which scarcely a voice will now be found to condemn, alienated him from the Fed- eral party dominant in Boston, and sub- jected him to censure. In 1805 Mr. Adams was chosen professor of rhetoric in Harvard College. His lect- ures at this place were subsequently pub- lished. In 1809 he was sent as Minister to Russia. He was one of the commissioners that negotiated the treaty of peace with Great Britain, signed December 24, 18 14, and he was appointed Minister to the court of St. James in 1815. In 1817 he became Secretary of State in Mr. Monroe's cabinet in which position he remained eight years. Few will now contradict the assertion that the duties of that office were never more ably discharged. Probably the most im- portant measure which Mr. Adams con- ducted was the purchase of Florida from Spain for $5,000,000. The campaign of 1824 was an exciting one. Four candidates were in the field. Of the 260 electoral votes that were cast, Andrew Jackson received ninety-nine; John Ouincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Crawford, fortv-one, and Henry Cla}-, thirty-seven. As there was no choice by the people, the question went to the House 42 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. of Representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and he v/as elected. The friends of all disappointed candidates now combined in a venomous assault upon Mr. Adams. There is nothing more dis- graceful in the past history of our country than the abuse which was poured in one uninterrupted stream upon this high- minded, upright, patriotic man. There was never an administration more pure in prin- ciples, more conscientiously devoted to the best interests of the country, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, perhaps, was there an administration more unscru- pulously assailed. Mr. Adams took his seat in the presidential chair resolved not to know any partisanship, but only to con- sult for the interests of the whole Republic, He refused to dismiss any man from of- fice for his political views. If he was a faith- ful officer that was enough. Bitter must have been his disappointment to find that the Nation could not appreciate such conduct. Mr. Adams, in his public manners, was cold and repulsive; though with his per- sonal friends he was at times very genial. This chilling address very seriously de- tracted from his popularity. No one can read an impartial record of his administra- tion without admitting that a more noble example of uncompromising dignity can scarcely be found. It was stated publicly that Mr. Adams' administration was to be put down, " though it be as pure as the an- gels which stand at the right hand of the throne of God." Many of the active par- ticipants in these scenes lived to regret the course they pursued. Some years after, Warren R. Davis, of South Carolina, turn- ing to Mr. Adams, then a member of the House of Representatives, said: " Well do I remember the enthusiastic zeal with which we reproached the admin- istration of that gentleman, and the ardor and vehemence with which we labored to bring in another. For the share I had in these transactions, and it was not a small one, I Iiopc God ivtll forgive me, for I shall never forgive myself." March 4, 1829, Mr. Adams retired from the Presidency and was succeeded by An- drew Jackson, the latter receiving 168 out of 261 electoral votes. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice-President. The slavery question now began to assume pretentious magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy, and pursued his studies with una- bated zeal. But he was not long permitted to remain in retirement. In November, 1830, he was elected to Congress. In this he recognized the principle that it is honor- able for the General of 3'esterda3' to act as Corporal to-day, if by so doing he can ren- der service to his country. Deep as are our obligations to John Quincy Adams for his services as embassador, as Secretary of State and as President; in his capacity as legislator in the House of Representa- tives, he conferred benefits upon our land which eclipsed all the rest, and which can never be over-estimated. For seventeen years, until his death, he occupied the post of Representative, tow- ering above all his peers, ever ready to do brave battle for freedom, and winning the title of " the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in the House he announced that he should hold himself bound to no partv. He was usually the first in his place in the morning, and the last to leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could escape his scrutiny. The battle which he fought, almost singly, against the pro-slavery party in the Government, was sublime in its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he was threatened with indictment by the Grand Jury, with expulsion from the House, with assassina- tion; but no threats could intimidate him, and his final triumph was complete. JOHN ^UINCr ADAMS. 43 On one occasion Mr. Adams presented a petition, signed by several women, against the annexation of Texas for the purpose of cutting it up into slave States. Mr. How- ard, of Maryland, said that these women discredited not only themselves, but their section of the country, by turning from their domestic duties to the conflicts of po- litical life. "Are women," exclaimed Mr. Adams, " to have no opinions or actions on subjects relating to the general welfare ? Where did the gentleman get his principle? Did he find it in sacred histor3% — in the language of Miriam, the prophetess, in one of the noblest and sublime songs of triumph that ever met the human eye or ear? Did the gentleman never hear of Deborah, to whom the children of Israel came up for judg- ment ? Has he forgotten the deed of Jael, virho slew the dreaded enemy of her coun- try ? Has he forgotten Esther, who, by her petition saved her people and her coun- try? " To go from sacred history to profane, does the gentleman there find it ' discredita- ble ' for women to take an interest in politi- cal affairs? Has he forgotten the Spartan mother, who said to her son when going out to battle, ' My son, come back to me with thy shield, or upon thy shield ? ' Does he remember Cloelia and her hundred com- panions, who swam across the river uni^er a shower of darts, escaping from Porsena ? Has he forgotten Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi? Does he not remember Por- tia, the wife of Brutus and the daughter of Cato? " To come to later periods, what says the history of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors ? To say nothing of Boadicea, the British heroine in the time of the Ceesars, what name is more illustrious than that of Eliza- beth ? Or, if he will go to the continent, will he not find the names of Maria Theresa of Hungary, of the two Catherines of Prussia, and of Isabella of Castile, the pa- troness of Columbus ? Did she bring ' dis- credit ' on her sex by mingling in politics ? " In this glowing strain Mr. Adams si- lenced and overwhelmed his antagonists. In January, 1842, Mr. Adams presented a petition from forty-five citizens of Haver- hill, Massachusetts, praying for a peaceable dissolution of the Union. The pro-slavery party in Congress, who were then plotting the destruction of the Government, were aroused to a pretense of commotion such as even our stormy hall of legislation has rarely witnessed. They met in caucus, and, finding that they probably would not be able to expel Mr. Adams from the House drew up a series of resolutions, which, if adopted, would inflict upon him disgrace, equivalent to expulsion. Mr. Adams had presented the petition, which was most re- spectfully worded, and had moved that it be referred to a committee instructed to re- port an answer, showing the reason whj the prayer ought not to be granted. It was the 25th of January. The whole body of the pro-slavery party came crowd- ing together in the House, prepared to crush Mr. Adams forever. One of the num- ber, Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, was appointed to read the resolutions, which accused Mr. Adams of high treason, of having insulted the Government, and 01 meriting expulsion; but for which deserved punishment, the House, in its great mercy, would substitute its severest censure. With the assumption of a very solemn and mag- isterial air, there being breathless silence in the audience, Mr. Marshall hurled the care- fully prepared anathemas at his victim. Mr. Adams stood alone, the whole pro-slav- ery party against him. As soon as the resolutions were read, every eye being fixed upon him, that bold old man, whose scattered locks were whit- ened by seventy-five years, casting a wither- ing glance in the direction of his assailantS; 44 PRESIDENTS OF THE UN/TED STATES. in a clear, shrill tone, tremulous with sup- pressed emotion, said: "In reply to this audacious, atrocious charge of high treason, I call for the read- ing oi the first paragraph of the Declaration of Independence. Read it ! Read it! and see what that says of the rights of a people to reform, to change, and to dissolve their Government.' The attitude, the manner, the tone, the words; the venerable old man, with flash- ing eye and flushed cheek, and whose very form seemed to expand under the inspiration of the occasion — all presented a scene over- flowing in its sublimity. There was breath- less silence as that paragraph was read, in defense of whose principles our fathers had pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. It was a proud hour to Mr. Adams as they were all compelled to listen to the words: " That, to secure these rights, govern- ments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; and that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of those ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." That one sentence routed and baffled the foe. The heroic old man looked around upon the audience, and thundered out, " Read that again ! " It was again read. Then in a few fiery, logical words he stated his defense in terms which even prejudiced minds could not resist. His discomfited assailants made several attempts to rally. After a conflict of eleven days they gave up vanquished and their resolution was ig- nominiously laid upon the table. In January, 1846, when seventy-eight years of age, he took part in the great de- bate on the Oregon question, displaying intellectual vigor, and an extent and accu- racy of acquaintance with the subject that excited great admiration. On the 2 1 St of February, 1848, he rose on the floor of Congress with a paper in his hand to address the Speaker. Suddenly he fell, stricken by paralysis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless and was conveyed to a sofa in the rotunda. With reviving consciousness he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said, " This is the end of earth." Then after a moment's pause, he added, " / am content." These were his last words, and he soon breathed his last, in the apartment beneath the dome of the capitol — the theater of his labors and his triumphs. In the language of h)nnnology, he " died at his post;" he " ceased at once to work and live." .7 y -C;^^^r-^.^^ c:::=:^GLje.^4::j--^ri, ANDREW JACKSON. 47 Sill NDREW JACKSON, the seventh President of the United States, i829-'37, was born at the Waxhaw Settle, ment, Union Coun- ty, North Carolina, March i6, 1767. His parents ;ere Scotch-Irish, natives of !^arrickfergus, who came to imerica in 1765, and settled on Twelve-Mile Creek, a trib- itary of the Catawba. His father, who was a poor farm laborer, died shortly before An- drew's birth, when his mother removed to Waxhaw, where some relatives resided. Few particulars of the childhood of Jack- son have been preserved. His education was of the most limited kind, and he showed no fondness for books. He grew up to be a tall, lank boy, with coarse hair and freck- led cheeks, with bare feet dangling from trousers too short for him, very fond of ath- letic sports, running, boxing and wrestling. He was generous to the younger and weaker bo3's, but very irascible and over- bearing with his equals and superiors. He was profane — ^a vice in which he surpassed all other men. The character of his mother he revered; and it was not until after her death that his predominant vices gained full strength. In 1780, at the age of thirteen, Andrew, or Andy, as he was called, with his brother Robert, volunteered to serve in the Revo- lutionary forces under General Sumter, and was a witness of the latter's defeat at Hang- ing Rock. In the following year the brothers were made prisoners, and confined in Camden, experiencing brutal treatment from their captors, and being spectators of General Green's defeat at Hobkirk Hill. Through their mother's exertions the boys were exchanged while suffering from small- pox. In two daj's Robert was dead, and Andy apparently dying. The strength of his constitution triumphed, and he regained health and vigor. As he was getting better, his mother heard the cry of anguish from the prison- ers whom the British held in Charleston, among whom were the sons of her sisters. She hastened to their relief, was attacked by fever, died and was buried where her grave could never be found. Thus Andrew Jackson, when fourteen years of age, was left alone in the world, without father, mother, sister or brother, and without one dollar which he could call his own. He PHBSIDBNTS OF Tfiti UNITED STATES. soon entered a saddler's shop, and labored diligently for six months. But gradually, as health returned, he became more and more a wild, reckless, lawless boy. He gambled, drank and was regarded as about the worst character that could be found. He now turned schoolmaster. He could teach the alphabet, perhaps the multiplica- tion table; and as he was a very bold boy, it is possible he might have ventured to teach a little writing. But he soon began to think of a profession and decided to study law. With a very slender purse, and on the back of a very fine horse, he set out for Salisbury, North Carolina, where he entered the law office of Mr. McCay. Here he remained two years, professedly studying law. He is still remembered in traditions of Salisbury, which say: " Andrew Jackson was the most roaring, rollicking, horse-racing, card-playing, mis- chievous fellow that ever lived in Salisbur}-. He did not trouble the law-books much." Andrew was now, at the age of twenty, a tall young man, being over six feet in height. He was slender, remarkably grace- ful and dignified in his manners, an exquis- ite horseman, and developed, amidst his loathesome profanity and multiform vices, a vein of rare magnanimity. His temper was fiery in the extreme; but it was said of him that no man knew better than Andrew Jackson when to get angry and when not. In 1786 he was admitted to the bar, and two years later removed to Nashville, in what was then the western district of North Carolina, with the appointment of so- licitor, or public prosecutor. It was an of- fice of little honor, small emolument and great peril. Few men could be found to accept it. And now Andrew Jackson commenced vigorously to practice law. It was an im- portant part of his business to collect debts. It required nerve. During the first seven years of his residence in those wilds he traversed the almost pathless forest between Nashville and Jonesborough, a distance of 200 miles, twenty-two times. Hostile In- dians were constantl}' on the watch, and a man was liable at any moment to be shot down in his own field. Andrew Jackson was just the man for this service — a wild, daring, rough backwoodsman. Daily he made hair-breadth escapes. He seemed to bear a charmed life. Boldly, alone or with few companions, he traversed the forests, encountering all perils and triumphing over all. In 1790 Tennessee became a Territory, and Jackson was appointed, by President Washington, United States Attorney for the new district. In 1791 he married Mrs. Rachel Robards (daughter of Colonel John Donelson), whom he supposed to have been divorced in that year by an act of the Leg- islature of Virginia. Two years after this Mr. and Mrs. Jackson learned, to their great surprise, that Mr. Robards had just obtained a divorce in one of the courts of Kentucky, and that the act of the Virginia Legislature was not final, but conditional. To remedy the irregularity as much as pos- sible, a new license was obtained and the marriage ceremony was again performed. It proved to be a marriage of rare felic- ity. Probably there never was a more affectionate union. However rough Mr. Jackson might have been abroad, he was always gentle and tender at home; and through all the vicissitudes of their lives, he treated Mrs. Jackson with the most chival- ric attention. Under the circumstances it was not un- natural that the facts in the case of this marriage were so misrepresented b}- oppo- nents in the political campaigns a quarter or a century later as to become the basis of serious charges against Jackson's moral- ity which, however, have been satisfactorily attested by abundant evidence. Jackson was untiring in his duties as AX DREW yACKSO!^. 49 United States Attorney, which demanded frequent journeys through the wilderness and exposed him to Indian hostilities. He acquired considerable property in land, and obtained such influence as to be chosen a member of the convention which framed the Constitution for the new State of Ten- nessee, in 1796, and in that year was elected its first Representative in Congress. Albert Gallatin thus describes the first appearance of the Hon. Andrew Jackson in the House: " A tall, lank, uncouth-'.ooking personage, with locks of hair hanging over his face and a cue down his back, tied with an eel skin; his dress singular, his manners and deport- ment those of a rough backwoodsman." Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Democratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. Jackson took his seat. General Washington, whose second term of office was just expiring, delivered his last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson did not approve the ad- dress and was one of twelve who voted against it. Tennessee had fitted out an expedition against the Indians, contrary to the policy of the Government. A resolution was intro- duced that the National Government should pay the expenses. Jackson advo- cated it and it was carried. This rendered him very popular in Tennessee. A va- cancy chanced soon after to occur in the Senate, and Andrew Jackson was chosen United States Senator by the State of Ten- nessee. John Adams was then President and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President. In 1798 Mr. Jackson returned to Tennes- see, and resigned his seat in the Senate. Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Su- preme Court of that State, with a salary of $600. This office he held six years. It is said that his decisions, though sometimes ungrammatical, were generally right. He did not enjoy his seat upon the bench, and renounced the dignity in 1804. About this time he was chosen Major-General of militia, and lost the title of judge in that of General. When he retired from the Senate Cham- ber, he decided to try his fortune through trade. He purchased a stock of goods in Philadelphia and sent them to Nashville, where he opened a store. He lived about thirteen miles from Nashville, on a tract of land of several thousand acres, mostly un- cultivated. He used a small block-house for a store, from a narrow window of which he sold goods to the Indians. As he had an assistant his office as judge did not materially interfere with his business. As to slavery, born in the midst of it, the idea never seemed to enter his mind that it could be wrong. He eventually became an extensive slave owner, but he was one of the most humane and gentle of masters. In 1804 Mr. Jackson withdrew from pol- itics and settled on a plantation which he called the Hermitage, near Nashville. He set up a cotton-gin, formed a partnership and traded in New Orleans, making the voyage on flatboats. Through his hot tem- per he became involved in several quarrels and " affairs of honor," during this period, in one of which he was severely wounded, but had the misfortune to kill his opponent, Charles Dickinson. For a time this affair greatly injured General Jackson's popular- ity. The verdict then was, and continues to be, that General Jackson was outra- geously wrong. If he subsequently felt any remorse he never revealed it to anyone. In 1805 Aaron Burr had visited Nash- ville and been a guest of Jackson, with whom he corresponded on the subject of a war with Spain, which was anticipated and desired by them, as well as by the people of the Southwest generally. Burr repeated his visit in September, 1806, when he engaged in the celeorated 5° PREJ/DENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. combinations which led to his trial for trea- son. He was warmly received by Jackson, at whose instance a public ball was given in his honor at Nashville, and contracted with the latter for boats and provisions. Early in 1807, when Burr had been pro- claimed a traitor by President Jefferson, volunteer forces for the Federal service were organized at Nashville under Jack- son's command; but his energy and activ- ity did not shield him from suspicions of connivance in the supposed treason. He was summoned to Richmond as a witness in Burr's trial, but was not called to the stand, probably because he was out-spoken in his partisanship. On the outbreak of the war with Great Britain in 1812, Jackson tendered his serv- ices, and in January, 181 3, embarked for New Orleans at the head of the Tennessee contingent. In March he received an or- der to disband his forces; but in Septem- ber he again took the field, in the Creek war, and in conjunction with his former partner. Colonel Coffee, inflicted upon the Indians the memorable defeat at Talladega, Emuckfaw and Tallapoosa. In May, 18 14, Jackson, who had now ac- quired a national leputation, was appointed a Major-General of the United States army, and commenced a campaign against the British in Florida. He conducted the de- fense at Mobile, September 15, seized upon Pensacola, November 6, and immediately transported the bulk of his troops to New Orleans, then threatened by a powerful naval force. Martial law was declared in Louisiana, the State militia was called to arms, engagements with the British were fought December 23 and 28, and after re-en- forcements had been received on both sides the famous victory of January 8, 18 15, ::rowned Jackson's fame as a soldier, and made him the typical American hero of the first half of the nineteenth century. In i8i7-'i8 Jackson conducted the war against the Seminoles of Florida, during which he seized upon Pensacola and exe- cuted by courtmartial two British subjects, Arbuthnot and Ambrister acts which might easily have involved the United States in war both with Spain and Great Britain. Fortunately the peril was averted by the cession of Florida to the United States; and Jackson, who had escaped a trial for the irregularity of his conduct only through a division of opinion in Mon- roe's cabinet, was appointed in 1821 Gov- ernor of the new Territory. Soon after he declined the appointment of minister to Mexico. In 1823 Jackson was elected to the United States Senate, and nominated by the Ten- nessee Legislature for the Presidency. This candidacy, though a matter of surprise, and even merryment, speedily became popular, and in 1824, when the storm}' electoral can- vas resulted in the choice of John Quincy Adams by the House of Representatives, General Jackson received the largest popu- lar vote among the four candidates. In 1828 Jackson was triumphanth' elected President over Adams after a campaign of unparalleled bitterness. He was inaugu- rated March 4, 1829, and at once removed from office all the incumbents belonging to the opposite party — a procedure new to American politics, but which naturally be- came a precedent. His first term was characterized by quar- rels between the Vice-President, Calhoun, and the Secretary of State, Van Buren, at- tended by a calainet crisis originating in scandals connected with the name of Mrs. General Eaton, wife of the Secretary of War; by the beginning of his war upon the United States Bank, and by his vigorous action against the partisans of Calhoun, who, in Soutli Carolina, threatened to nullify the acts of Congress, establishing a protective tariff. In the Presidential campaign of 1832 AhTDkBlV yACKSON. S' Jackson received 219 out of 288 electoral votes, his competitor being Mr. Clay, while Mr. Wirt, on an Anti-Masonic platform, received the vote of Vermont alone. In 1833 President Jackson removed the Gov- ernment deposits from the United States bank, thereby incurring a vote of censure from the Senate, which was, however, ex- punged four years later. During this second terra of office the Cherokees, Choctaws and Creeks were removed, not without diffi- culty, from Georgia, Alabama and Missis- sippi, to the Indian Territory; the National debt was extinguished; Arkansas and Michigan were admitted as States to the Union; the Seminole war was renewed; the anti-slavery agitation first acquired impor- tance; the Mormon delusion, which had organized in 1829, attained considerable proportions in Ohio and Missouri, and the country experienced its greatest pecuniary panic. Railroads with locomotive propulsion were ir^.rodured into America during Jack- son's first term, and had become an impor- tant element of national life before the close of his second term. For many rea- sons, therefore, the administration of Presi- dent Jackson formed an era in American history, political, social and industrial. He succeeded in effecting the election of his friend Van Buren as his successor, re- tired from the Presidency March 4, 1837; and led a tranquil life at the Hermitage until his death, which occurred June 8, 1845- During his closing years he was a pro- fessed Christian and a member of the Pres- byterian church. No American of this century has been the subject of such oppo- site judgments. He was loved and hated with equal vehemence during his life, but at the present distance of time from his career, while opinions still vary as to the merits of his public acts, few of his country- men will question that he was a warm- hearted, brave, patriotic, honest and sincere man. If his distinguishing qualities were not such as constitute statesmanship, in the highest sense, he at least never pretended to other merits than such as were written to his credit on the page of American his- tory—not attempting to disguise the de. merits which were equally legible. The majority of his countrymen accepted and honored him, in spite of all that calumny as well as truth could allege against him. His faults may therefore be truly said to have been those of his time; his magnifi- cent virtues may also, with the same jus- tice, be considered as typical of a state of society which has nearly passed away. 52 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. r^*n^*ir^^ir*\^K^^iT^^^\*sp\^^ ''T^^>F^?lfr^^ -C^t'iV .'i'.;,'<'j;»'i'.;^(a,';^(.j! BM^M^Mi^g \ w mi .w "artin van bu REN, the eighth M- President of the United States, 1837- '41, was born at Kin- derhook, New York, December 5, 1782. His ancestors were of Dutch 01 igin, and were among the Cell liest emigrants from Hol- land to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a ta\ ern-keeper, as well as a fat mer, and a very decided Democrat. Martin commenced the study of fourteen, and took an active part in politics before he had reached the age of twenty. In 1803 he commenced the practice of law in his native village. In 1809 he removed to Hudson, the shire town of his county, where he spent seven years, gaining strength by contending in the courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned the bar of his State. The heroic example of John Quincy Adams in retaining in office every faithful man, without regard to his political preferences, had been thoroughly repudiated by Gen- eral Jackson. The unfortunate principle was now fully established, that " to the victor belong the spoils." Still, this prin- ciple, to which Mr. Van Buren gave his ad- of law at the age herence, was not devoid of inconveniences. When, subsequently, he attained power which placed vast patronage in his hands, he was heard to say : " I prefer an office that has no patronage. When I give a man an office I offend his disappointed competi- tors and their friends. Nor am I certain oi gaining a friend in the man I appoint, for, in all probability, he expected something better." In 1812 Mr. Van Buren was elected to the State Senate. In 181 5 he was appointed Attorney-General, and in 1816 to the Senate a second time. In 1818 there was a great split in the Democratic party in New York, and Mr. Van Buren took the lead in or- ganizing that portion of the part}' called the Albany Regency, which is said to have swayed the destinies of the State for a quarter of a century. In 1821 he was chosen a member of the convention for revising the State Constitu- tion, in which he advocated an extension of tiie franchise, but opposed universal suf- frage, and also favored the proposal that colored persons, in order to vote, should have freehold property to the amount of $250. In this year he was also elected to the United States Senate, and at the con- clusion of his term, in 1827, was re-elected, but resigned the following year, having been chosen Governor of the State. In March, 1829, he was appointed .Secretary of O 7 Tyi^^ ^^^^^^^..^^^^ MARTIN VAN BUR EN. 55 State by President Jackson, but resigned in April, 1831, and during the recess of Congress was appointed minister to Eng- land, whither he proceeded in September, but the Senate, when convened in Decem- ber, refused to ratify the appointment. In May, 1832, Mr. Van Buren was nomi- nated as the Democratic candidate for Vice- President, and elected in the following November. May 26, 1836, he received the nomination to succeed General Jackson as President, and received 1 70 electoral votes, out of 283. Scarcely had he taken his seat in the Presidential chair when a financial panic swept over the land. Many attributed this to the war which General Jackson had waged on the banks, and to his endeavor to secure an almost exclusive specie currency. Nearly every bank in the country was com- pelled to suspend specie payment, and ruin pervaded all our great cities. Not less than 254 houses failed in New York in one week. All public works were brought to a stand, and there was a general state of dismay. President Van Buren urged the adoption of the independent treasury system, which was twice passed in the Senate and defeated in the House, but finally became a law near the close of his administration. Another important measure was the pass- age of a pre-emption law, giving actual set- tlers the preference in the purchase of public lands. The question of slavery, also, now began to assume great prominence in national politics, and after an elaborate anti-slavery speech by Mr. Slade, of Ver- mont, in the House of Representatives, the Southern members withdrew for a separate consultation, at which Mr. Rhett, of South Carolina, proposed to declare it expedient that the Union should be dissolved ; but the matter was tided over by the passage of a resolution that no petitions or papers relating to slavery should be in any way considered or acted upon. In the Presidential election of 1840 Mr. Van Buren was nominated, without opposi- tion, as the Democratic candidate, William H. Harrison being the candidate of the Whig party. The Democrats carried only seven States, and out of 294 electoral votes only sixty were for Mr. Van Buren, the re- maining 234 being for his opponent. The Whig popular majority, however, was not large, the elections in many of the States being very close. March 4, 1841, Mr. Van Buren retired from the Presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. In 1844 he was again proposed as the Democratic candidate for the Presidency, and a majority of the delegates of the nominating convention were in his favor ; but, owing to his opposition to the pro- posed annexation of Texas, he could not secure the requisite two-thirds vote. His name was at length withdrawn by his friends, and Mr. Polk received the nomina- tion, and was elected. In 1848 Mr. Cass was the regular Demo- cratic candidate. A schism, however, sprang up in the party, upon the question of the permission of slavery in the newly- acquired territory, and a portion of the party, taking the name of " Free-Soilers," nominated Mr. Van Buren. They drew away sufficient votes to secure the election of General Taylor, the Whig candidate. After this Mr. Van Buren retired to his es- tate at Kinderhook, where the remainder of his life was passed, with the exception of a Eui^opean tour in 1853. He died at Kinderhook, July 24, 1862, at the age of eighty years. Martin Van Buren was a great and good man, and no one will question his right to a high position among those who have been the successors of Washington in the faithful occupancy of the Presidential chair. Presidents of the united states. ^1 WILLIflffl HENRY HMHISDN. |fepi L I A M HENRY HARRISON, the ninth President of the United States, I 84 I, was born February 9, 1773, in Charles Count}', Virginia, at Berkeley, the resi- dence of his father, Governor Benjamin Harrison. He studied at Hampden, Sidney College, with a view of entering the med- ical profession. After graduation he went to Philadelphia to study medicine under the instruction of Dr. Rush. George Washington was then President 3f the United States. The Indians were committing fearful ravages on our North- western frontier. Young Harrison, either lured by the love of adventure, or moved by the sufferings of families exposed to the most horrible outrages, abandoned his med- ical studies and entered the army, having obtained a commission of ensign from Pres- ident Washington. The first duty assigned him was to take a train of pack-horses bound to Fort Hamilton, on the Miami River, about forty miles from Fort Wash- ington. He was soon promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, and joined the army which Washington had placed under the command of General Wayne to prosecute more vigorously the war with the In- dians. Lieutenant Harrison received great commendation from his commanding offi- cer, and was promoted to the rank of Captain, and placed in command at Fort Washington, now Cincmnati, Ohio. About this time he married a daughter of John Cleves Symmes, one of the fron- tiersmen who had established a thriving settlement on the bank of the Maumce. In 1797 Captain Harrison resigned his commission in the army and was appointed Secretary of the Northwest Territory, and ex-officio Lieutenant-Governor, General St. Clair being then Governor of the Territory. At that time the law in reference to the disposal of the public lands was such that no one could purchase in tracts less than 4,000 acres. Captain Harrison, in the face of violent opposition, succeeded in obtaining so much of a modification of this unjust law that the land was sold in alternate tracts of 640 and 320 acres. The Northwest Territory 'vas then entitled to one delegate in Congress, and Cap- tain Harrison was chosen to fill that of- fice. In 1800 he was appointed Governor ^>/f. WILLIAM HENny HAlililSON. S9 of Indiana Territory and soon after of Upper Louisiana. He was also Superin- tendent of Indian Affairs, and so well did he fulfill these duties that he was four times appointed to this office. During his admin- istration he effected thirteen treaties with the Indians, by which the United States acquired 60,000,000 acres of land. In 1804 he obtained a cession from the Indians of all the land between the Illinois River and the Mississippi. In 18 1 2 he was made Major-General of Kentucky militia and Brigadier-General in the army, with the command of the Northwest frontier. In 1813 he was made Major-General, and as such won much re- nown by the defense of Fort Meigs, and the battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813. In 1 8 14 he left the army and was employed in Indian affairs by the Government. In 1816 General Harrison was chosen a member of the National House of Repre- sentatives to represent the district of Ohio. In the contest which preceded his election he was accused of corruption in respect to the commissariat of the army. Immedi- ately upon taking his seat, he called for an investigation of the charge. A committee was appointed, and his vindication was triumphant. A high compliment was paid to his patriotism, disinterestedness and devotion to the public service. For these services a gold medal was presented to him with the thanks of Congress. In 1 8 19 he was elected to the Senate of Ohio, and in 1824, as one of the Presiden- tial electors of that State, he gave his vote to Henry Clay. In the same year he was elected to the Senate of the United States. In 1828 he was appointed by President Adams minister plenipotentiary to Colom- bia, but was recalled by General Jackson immediately after the inauguration of the latter. Upon his return to the United States, General Harrison retired to his farm at North Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio, six- teen miles below Cincinnati, where for twelve years he was clerk of the County Court. He once owned a distillery, but perceiving the sad effects of whisky upon the surrounding population, he promptly abandoned his business at great pecuniary sacrifice. In 1836 General Hairison was brought forward as a candidate for the Presidency. Van Buren was the administration candi- date; the opposite party could not unite, and four candidates were brought forward. General Harrison received seventy-three electoral votes without any general concert among his friends. The Democratic party triumphed and Mr. Van Buren was chosen President. In 1839 General Harrison was again nominated for the Presidency by the Whigs, at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Van Buren being the Democratic candi- date. General Harrison received 234 elec- toral votes against sixty for his opponent. This election is memorable chiefly for the then extraordinary means employed during the canvass for popular votes- Mass meet- ings and processions were introduced, and the watchwords " log cabin " and " hard cider " were effectually used b}' the Whigs, and aroused a popular enthusiasm. A vast concourse of people attended his inauguration. His address on that occasion was in accordance with his antecedents, and gave great satisfaction. A short time after he took his seat, he was seized by a pleurisy- fever, and after a few days of violent sick- ness, died April 4, just one short month after his inauguration. His death was universally regarded as one of the greatest of National calamities. Never, since the death of Washington, were there, throughout one land, such demonstrations of sorrow. Not one single spot can be found to sully his fame; and through all ages Americans wili pronounce with love and reverence the name of William Henry Harrison. 6o PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. EHHHHH3 i T i li f ni m i fi[g iii j M ^HSHHHH^HHSi: ^i H\ ^^^^^..;^f^..^cr^:^^.if^^.^^^'^^^,;^^:.^^.;1^f^} t4%^«fe "OHN TYLER, the tenth President of the United States, was born in Charles City County, Virginia, March 29, 1790. His father, Judge John Tyler, possessed large landed estates in Virginia, and was one of the most distinguished men of his day, filling the offices of Speaker of the House of Delegates, Judge of the Su- preme Court and Governor of the State. At the early age of twelve young John entered William and Mary College, and oriaduated with honor when but seventeen years old. He then closely applied himself to the stud}' of law, and at nineteen years of age commenced the prac- tice of his profession. When only twenty- one he was elected to a seat in the State Legislature. He acted with the Demo- cratic party and advocated the measures of Jefferson and Madison. For five years he was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the unanimous vote of his county. When but twenty-six years of age he was elected a member of Congress. He advo- cated a strict construction of the Constitu- tion and the most careful vigilance over State rights. He was soon compelled to resign his seat in Congress, owing to ill health, but afterward took his seat in the State Legislature, where he exerted a powerful influence in promoting public works of great utility. In 1825 Mr. Tyler was chosen Governor of his State — a high honor, for Virginia had many able men as competitors for the prize. His administration was signally a successful one. He urged forward inter- nal improvements and strove to remove sectional jealousies. His popularity secured his re-election. In 1827 he was elected United States Senator, and upon taking his seat )omed the ranks of the opposition. He opposed the tariff, voted against the bank as unconstitutional, opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resisted all projects of inter- nal improvements by the General Govern- ment, avowed his sympathy with Mr. Cal- houn's views of nullification, and declared that General Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had abandoned the principles of the Democratic party. Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress. This hostility to Jackson caused Mr. Tyler's retirement from the Senate, after his election to a second term. He soon after removed to Williamsburg for the better education of his children, and again took his seat in the Legislature. ^«gSi xJCn^'iyrc JOHN TVLER. 63 In 1839 he was sent to the National Con- vention at Harrisburg to nominate a Presi- dent. General Harrison received a majority of votes, much to the disappointment of the South, who had wished for Henry Clay. In order to conciliate the Southern Whigs, John Tyler was nominated for Vice-Presi- dent. Harrison and Tyler were inaugu- rated March 4, 1841. In one short month from that time President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler, to his own surprise as well as that of the nation, found himself an occupant of the Presidential chair. His position was an exceedingly difficult one, as he was opposed to the main principles of the party which had brought him into power. General Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet Should he retain tliem, and thus surround himself with councilors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or should he turn against the party that had elected him, and select a cabinet in harmony with himself? This was his fear- ful dilemma. President Tyler deserves more charity than he has received. He issued an address to the people, which gave general satisfac- tion. He retained the cabinet General Harrison had selected. His veto of a bill chartering a new national bank led to an open quarrel with the party which elected him, and to a resignation of the entire cabinet, except Daniel Webster, Secretary of State. President Tyler attempted to conciliate. He appointed a new cabinet, leaving out all strong party men, but the Whig members of Congress were not satisfied, and they published a manifesto September 13, break- ing off all political relations. The Demo- crats had a majoritv in the House ; the Whigs in the Senate. Mr. Webster soon found it necessar}' to resign, being forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. April 12, i8z^4. President Tyler concluded, t.hrough Mr. Calhoun, a treaty for the an- nexation ol Texas, which was rejected by the Senate ; but he effected his object in the closing days of his administration by the passage of the joint resolution of March i 1845- He was nominated for the Presidency by an informal Democratic Convention, held at Baltimore in May, 1844, but soon with- drew from the canvass, perceiving that he liad nc^t gained the confidence of the Demo- crats at large. Mr. Tyler's administration was particu- larly unfortunate. No one was satisfied. WhiofS and Democrats alike assailed him. Situated as he was, it is more than can be expected of human nature that he should, in all cases, have acted in the wisest manner ; but it will probably be the verdict of all candid men, in a careful review of his career, that John Tyler was placed in a position of such difficult}' that he could not pursue an)- course which would not expose him to severe censure and denunciation. In 1813 Mr. Tyler married Letitia Chris- tian, who bore him three sons and three daughters, and died in Washington in 1842. June 26, 1844, he contracted a second mar- riage with Miss Julia Gardner, of New York. He lived in almost complete retire- ment from politics until February, 1861, when he was a member of the abortive " peace convention," held at Washington, and was chosen its President. Soon after he renounced his allegiance to tiie United States and was elected to the Confederate Congress. He died at Richmond, January 17, 1862, after a short illness. Unfortunately for his memory the name of John Tyler must forever be associated with all the misery of that terrible Re- bellion, whose cause he openly espoused. It is with sorrow that history records that a President of the United States died while defending the flag of rebellion, which was arrayed against the national banner in deadly warfare. (•^ PUBS/DENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. '?||?^' ■ "■■■■■■"■■■■■■" '"^'••^••••"- •■ ---v— ill^ Ws^'^^i — — — — - (?.-^a-f. .T..Tr..^;n;:r„.. .>^"^:^S gj rHKIllKI «■■■■■ *""" """ "'*"'""'"""*"" "^ HHmHHH MMMMI I • ■ IIIM^^ ^Ul gt 'V' AMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh President of r^^«* the United States, 1845- '49, was born in Meck- lenburg County, North Carolina, November 2, 1795. He was the eldest son of a family of six sons and four daughters, and was a grand-nephew of Colonel Thomas Polk, celebrated in connection with the Meck- lenburg Declaration of In- dependence. In 1806 his father, Samuel Polk, emigrated with his fam- ily' two or three hundred miles west to the valley of the Duck River. He was a sur- veyor as well as farmer, and gradually in- creased in wealth until he became one of the leading men of the region. In the common schools James rapidly be- came proficient in all the common branches of an English education. In 1813 he was sent to Murfreesboro Academy, and in the autumn of 181 5 entered the sophomore class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, graduating in 181 8. iifter a short season of recreation he went to Nasn- ville and entered the law office of Felix Grundy. As soon a? he had his finished legal studies and been admitted to the bar, he returned to Columbia, the shire town of Maury County, and opened an office. James K. Polk ever adhered to the polit- ical faith of his father, which was that of a Jeffersonian Republican. In 1823 he was elected to the Legislature of Tennessee. As a " strict constructionist," he did not think that the Constitution empowered the Gen- eral Government to carrv on a system of internal improvements in the States, but deemed it important that it should have that power, and wished the Constitution amended that it might be conferred. Sub- sequently, however, he became alarmed lest the General Government become so strong as to undertake to interfere with slavery. He therefore gave all his influence to strengthen the State governments, and to check the growth of the central power. In Januar}', 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Mary Childress, of Rutherford County, Ten- nessee. Had some one then whispered to him that he was destined to become Presi- dent of the United States, and that he must select for his companion one who would adorn that distinguished station, he could not have made a more fitting choice. She was truly a lady of rare beauty and culture. In the fall of 1825 Mr. Polk was chosen a member of Congress, and was continu- ^^ -^ OCL^ S^^- yA UfiS K. POLK. 67 ously re-elected until 1839. He then with- drew, only that he might accept the srubernatorial chair of his native State. He was a warm friend of General Jackson, who had been defeated in the electoral contest by John Quincy Adams. This latter gentleman had just taken his seat in the Presidential chair when Mr. Polk took his seat in the House of Representatives. He immediately united himself with the opponents of Mr. Adams, and was soon regarded as the leader of the Jackson party in the House. The four years of Mr. Adams' adminis- tration passed away, and General Jackson took ttie Presidential chair. Mr. Polk had now become a man of great influence in Congress, ana was chairman of its most important committee — that of Ways and Means. Eloquently he sustained General Jackson in all his measures — in his hostility to internal improvements, to the banks, and to the tariff. Eight years of General Jack- son's administration passed away, and the powers he had wielded passed into the hands of !\fartin Van Buren ; and still Mr. Polk remained in the House, the advocate of that type of Democracy which those distinguished men upheld. During five sessions of Congress Mr. Polk was speaker of the House. He per- formed his arduous duties to general satis- faction, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was passed by the House as he with- drew, March 4, 1839. He was elected Governor by a large majority, and took the oath of office at Nashville, October 14, 1839. He was a candidate for re-election in 1 84 1, but was defeated. In the mean- time a wonderful revolution had swept over the country. W. H. Harrison,the Whig candidate, had been called to the Presiden- tial chair, and in Tennessee the Whig ticket had been carried by over 12,000 majority. Under these circumstances Mr. Polk's suc- cess was hopeless. Still he canvassed the State with his Whig competitor, Mr. Jones, traveling in the most friendly manner to- gether, often in the same carriage, and at one time sleeping in the same bed. Mr. Jones was elected by 3,000 majority. And now the question of the annexation of Texas to our countr}' agitated the whole land. When this question became national Mr. Polk, as the avowed champion of an- nexation, became the Presidential candidate of the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic party, and George M. Dallas their candi- date for the Vice-Presidency. They were elected by a large majority, and were in- augurated March 4, 1845. President Polk formed an able cabinet, consisting of James Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, William L. Marcy, George Ban croft, Cave Johnson and John Y. Mason. The Oregon boundary question was settled, the Department of the Interior was created, the low tariff ol 1846 was carried, the financial system of the Government was reorganized, the Mexican war was con- ducted, which resulted in the acquisition of California and New Mexico, and had far- reaching consequences upon the later fort- unes of the republic. Peace was made. We had wrested from Mexico territory equal to four times the empire of France, and five times that of Spain. In the prose- cution of this war we expended 20,000 lives and more than $100,000,000. Of this money $15,000,000 were paid to Mexico. Declining to seek a renomination, Mr. Polk retired from the Presidency March 4, 1849, when he was succeeded by General Zachary Taylor. He retired to Nashville, and died there June 19, 1849, i" the fifty- fourth year of his age. His funeral was at- tended the following day, in Nashville, with every demonstration of respect. He left no children. Without being possessed of extraordinary talent, Mr. Polk was a capable administrator of public affairs, and irre- proachable in private life. S8 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. gl',;',i,;-|t ;',i;;<)t;;i,t;_>tir>f^<^gpf^y^,^? f^<^ Jjft JT^g j-ESSS:EEGEiAL^!ijE£S3£S3g3'3SStES5FSrVS\AjV^-V:iifaa^5 SES -^v VA ?X ^ a^j^^^mdm^ "Mix^ijmm^ f e iaaa:;i^3aiias:jaaaa3^fc:a t(^^«^«^«^>^«^«^«^^(^ la^iM^ffll^il P)€>iSit^"^«^>^t§atJ§ii '"^1 ACHARY TAY- LOR, the twelfth President of the United States, i849-'50, was born in Orange County, Virginia, Septem- ber 24, 1784. His father, Richard Taylor, was Colo- nel of a Virginia regiment in the Revolutionary war, and removed to Kentucky in 1785 ; purchased a large plantation near Loiiisville and became an influential cit- izen ; was a member of the convention that framed the Constitution of Kentucky; served in both branches of the Legislature; was Collector of the port of Louisville under President Washington ; as a Presidential elector, voted for Jefferson, Madison, Mon- roe and Clay; died January 19,1829. Zachary remained on his father's planta- tion until 1808, in which year (May 3) he was appointed First Lieutenant in the Seventh Infantry, to fill a vacancy oc- casioned by the death of his elder brother, Hancock. Up to this point he had received but a limited education. Joining his regiment at New Orleans, he was attacked with yellow fever, with nearly fatal termination. In November, 18 10, he was promoted to Captain, and in the sum- mer of 181 2 he was in command of Fort Harrison, on the left bank of the Wabash River, near the present site of Terre Haute, his successful defense of which with but a handful of men agfainst a large force of Indians which had attacked him was one of the first marked military achievements of the war. He was then brevetted Major, and in 1814 promoted to the full rank. During the remainder of the war Taylor was actively employed on the Western frontier. In the peace organization of 181 5 he was retained as Captain, but soon after resigned and settled near Louisville. In May, 1816, however, he re-entered the army as Major of the Third Infantrv ; became Lieutenant-Colonel of the Eighth Infantry in 1819, and in 1832 attained the Colonelcy of the First Infantry, of which he had been Lieutenant-Colonel since 1 82 1 . On different occasions he had been called to Washington as member of a military board for organiz- ing the militia of the Union, and to aid the Government with his knowledge in the organization of the Indian Bureau, having for many years discharged the duties of Indian agent over large tracts of Western "Z^ '^^ ZA CHA RT TATL OR. 7i country. He served through the Black Hawk war in 1832, and in 1837 was ordered to take command in Florida, then the scene of war with the Indians. In 1846 he was transferred to the com- mand of the Army of the Southwest, from which he was relieved the same year at his own request. Subsequently he was sta- tioned on the Arkansas frontier at Forts Gibbon, Smith and Jesup, which latter work had been built under his direction in 1822. May 28, 1845, he received a dispatch from the Secretary of War informing him of the receipt of information by the President " that Texas would shortly accede to the terms of annexation," in which event he was instructed to defend ami protect her from "foreign invasion and Indian incur- sions." He proceeded, upon the annexation of Texas, with about 1,500 men to Corpus Christi, where his force was increased to some 4,000. Taylor was brevetted Major-General May 28, and a month later, June 29, 1S46, his full commission to that grade was issued. After needed rest and reinforcement, he advanced in September on Monterey, which city ca- pitulated after three-days stubborn resist- ance. Here he took up his winter quarters. The plan for the invasion of Mexico, by way of Vera Cruz, with General Scott in command, was now determined upon by the Govenrment, and at the moment Taylor was about to resume active operations, he received orders to send the larger part of his force X.o reinforce the army of General Scott at Vera Cruz. Though subsequently reinforced b} raw recruits, yet after pro- viding a garrison for Monterey and Saltillo he had but about 5,300 effective troops, of which but 500 or 600 were regulars. In this weakened condition, however, he was destined to achieve his greatest victory. Confidently relying upon his strength at Vera Cruz to resist the enemy for a long time, Santa Anna directed his entire army against Taylor to overwhelm him, and then to return to oppose the advance of Scott's more formidable invasion. The battle of Buena Vista was fought February 22 and 23, 1847. Taylor received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal, and " Old Rough and Ready," the sobriquet given him in the army, became a household word. He remained in quiet possession of the Rio Grande Valley until November, when he returned to the United States. In the Whig convention which met at Philadelphia, June 7, 1848, Taylor was nomi- nated on the fourth ballot as candidate :;{ the Whig party for President, over Henry Clay, General Scott and Daniel Webster. In November Taylor received a majority of electoral votes, and a popular vote of 1,360,752, against 1,219,962 for Cass and Butler, and 291,342 for Van Buren and Adams. General Taylor was inaugurated March 4, 1849. The free and slave States being then equal in number, the struggle for supremacy on the part of the leaders in Congress was violent and bitter. In the summer of 1849 California adopted in convention a Consti- tution prohibiting slavery within its borders. Taylor advocated the immediate admission of California with her Constitution, and the postponement of the question as to the other Territories until they could hold conven- tions and decide for themselves whether slavery should exist within their borders. This policy ultimately prevailed through the celebrated " Compromise Measures" of Henry Clay; but not during the life of the brave soldier and patriot statesman. July 5 he was taken suddenly ill with a bilious fever, which proved fatal, his death occur- ring July 9, 1850. One of his daughters married Colonel W.'W. S. Bliss, his Adju- tant-General and Chief of Staff in Florida and Mexico, and Private Secretary during his Presidency. Another daughter was married to Jefferson Davis. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 10^ ^ ^» / Ml?' I r^ ni riiVlrl'l'n'iiTliTHTtWi. iii,M* I i'l'ii iffi'il ilTttTiVlTiVi'iVl t I'ttii'ii'l i I'lTii'tYnTTTti tvi rniiHri i (i linl'iiifrtTTtSC \ '^s,' ^r^ II I ti.; M ^' 1,1 ' f,V^ ^ J - ~ i"^ ILLARD FILL- MORE, the thir- J* teenth President of the United States, i85o-'3, was ■''^'^-■^MtC born in Summer Hill, Cayuga County, New York, Janu- ary' 7, i8oo. He was of New England ancestry, and his educational advantages were limited. He earl}' learned the clothiers' trade, but spent ail his leisure time in study. At nineteen years of age he was induced b}' Judge Walter Wood to abandon his trade and commence the study of law. Upon learning that the young man was entirely destitute of means, he took him into his own office and loaned him such money as he needed. That he might not be heavil}' burdened with debt, young Fillm.ore taught school during the winter months, and in various other ways helped himself along. At the age of twenty-three he was ad- mitted to the Court of Common Pleas, and commenced the practice of his profession in the village of Aurora, situated on the eastern bank of the Cayuga Lake. In 1825 he married Miss Abigail Powers, daughter of Rev. Lemuel Powers, a lady of great moral worth. In 1S25 he took his scat in the House of Assembly of his native State, as Representative from Erie County, whither he had recently moved. Though he iiad never taken a very active part in politics his vote and his sym- pathies were with the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, but his cour- tesy, ability and integrity won the respect of his associates. In 1832 he was elected to a seat in the United States Congress. *\.t the close of his term he returned to his law practice, and in two years more he was again elected to Congress. He now began to have a national reputa- tion. His labors were very arduous. To draft resolutions in the committee room, and then to defend them against the most skillful opponents on the floor of the House requires readiness of mind, mental resources and skill in debate such as few possess. Weary with these exhausting labors, and pressed by the claims of his private affairs, Mr. Fillmore wrote a letter to his constitu- ents and declined to be a candidate foi re- election. Notwithstanding this ccmmuni- u. V^^yL-C^ Xj i^ C^^^-i^U.'i^^c^cru) MILLARD FILLMORE. 75 cation his friends met in convention and renominated him by acclamation. Though gratified by this proof of their appreciation of his labors he adhered to his resolve and returned to his home. In 1847 Mr. Fillmore was elected to the important office of comptroller of the State. In entering upon the very responsible duties which this situation demanded, it was nec- essary for him to abandon his profession, and he removed to the cit}' of Albany. In this year, also, the Whigs were looking around to find suitable candidates for the President and Vice-President at the ap- proaching election, and the names of Zach- ary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became the rallying cry of the Whigs. On the 4th of March, 1849, General Taylor was inaug- urated President and Millard Fillmore Vice-President of the United States. The great question of slavery had as- sumed enormous proportions, and perme- ated every subject that was brought before Congress. It was evident that the strength of our institutions was to be severely tried. July 9, 1850, President Taylor died, and, by the Constitution, Vice-President Fillmore became President of the United States. The agitated condition of the country brought questions of great delicacy before him. He was bound by his oath of office to execute the laws of the United States. One of these laws was understood to be, that if a slave, escaping from bondage, should reach a free State, the United States was bound to do its utmost to capture him and return him to his master. Most Chris- tian men loathed this law. President Fill- more felt bound by his oath rigidly to see it enforced. Slavery was organizing armies to invade Cuba as it had invaded Texas, and annex it to the United States. Presi- dent Fillmore gave all the influence of his exalted station against the atrocious enter- prise. Mr. Fillmore had serious difficulties to contend with, since the opposition had a majority in both Houses. He did every- thing in his power to conciliate the South, but the pro-slavery party in that section felt the inadequency of all measures of tran- sient conciliation. The population of the free States was so rapidly increasing over that of the slave States, that it was inevita- ble that the power of the Government should soon pass into the hands of the free States. The famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. Fillmore's admin- istration, and the Japan expedition was sent out. March 4, 1853, having served one term. President Fillmore retired from office. He then took a long tour through the South, where he met with quite an enthusiastic reception. In a speech at Vicksburg, al- luding to the rapid growth of the country, he said: " Canada is knocking for admission, and Mexico would be glad to come in, and without saying whether it would be right or wrong, we stand with open arms to re- ceive them; for it is the manifest destiny of this Government to embrace the whole North American Continent." In 1855 Mr. Fillmore went to Europe where he was received with those marked attentions which his position and character merited. Returning to this country in 1856 he was nominated for the Presidency by the "Know-Nothing" party. Mr. Bu- chanan, the Democratic candidate was the successful competitor. Mr. Fillmore ever afterward lived in retirement. Dur- ing the conflict of civil war he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed, how- ever, that his sympathy was with the South- ern Confederacy. He kept aloof from the conflict without any words of cheer to the one party or the other. For this reason he was forgotten by both. He died of paralysis, in Buffalo, New York, March 8, 1874. 76 PHES/DENTS OF THE UN /TED STATES. KP^ ■n?<'^g-*<^>< ^.'!.'.\vnvJ.Nt^^TJ^«SPjVs^J>,\»v.B-s;c^^c:v-!^E E'tA^MiEP='V^Va;5E5 \(^^' J.t'l'ii'l^vi ..'>". ,'l*:yt>(t ^"j^ :-t,; :j>.; •)", ; 'i>. ; .i. ; ■ I"-; 'i'. ."i -,7^:7; 'AMES BUCHANAN, the fifteentli President of the United States, 1857-61, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1791. The place where his father's cabin stood was called Stony Batter, and it was situated in a wild, romantic spot, in a gorge of mount- ains, with towering sum- mits rising all around. He was of Irish ancestry, his father having emigrated in- 1783, with very little prop- erty, save his own strong arms. James remained in his secluded home for eight yeai-s enjoying very few social or intellectual advantages. His parents were industrious, frugal, prosperous and intelli- gent. In 1799 his father removed to Mer- cersburg, where James was placed in school and commenced a course in English, Greek and Latin. His progress was rapid and in 1801 he entered Dickinson College at Carlisle. Here he took his stand among the first scholars in the institution, and was able to master the most abstruse subjects with facilit}'. In 1809 he graduated with the highest honors in his class. He was then eighteen years of age, tall, graceful and in vigorous health, fond oi athletic sports, an unerring shot and en- livened with an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, and was admitted to the bar in 1812. He rose very rapidly in his profession and at once took undisputed stand with the ablest law- yers of the State. When but twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- cessfully defended before the State Senate one of the Judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of impeachment At the age of thirty it was generally admitted that he stood at the head of the bar, and there was no lawyer in the State who had a more extensive or lucrative practice. In 18 1 2, just after Mr. Buchanan had entered upon the practice of the law, our second war with England occurred. With all his powers he sustained the Govern- ment, eloquently urging the rigorous pros- ecution of the war; and even enlisHng as a private soldier to assist in repelling the British, who had sacked Washington and were threatening Baltimore. He was at that time a Federalist, but when the Con- stitution was adopted by both parties, Jefferson truly said, " We are all Federal- ists; we are all Republicans." The opposition of the Federalists to the war with England, and the alien and sedi- a^??ze^ &^^C>^^, 91^^^.^^ ■HSHaaaHSEHHr '^^^^^^^^^S':^ NDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth Presi- !^ dent of the United '"^ States, i865-'9, was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, De- c e m b e r 29, 1808. His father died when was four years old, and in eleventh year he was ap- ?nticed to a tailor. He nev- attended school, and did learn to read until late in apprenticeship, when he lenly acquired a passion for obtaining knowledge, and devoted all his spare time to reading. After working two years as a journey- man tailor at Lauren's Court-House, South Carolina, he removed, in 1826, to Green- ville, Tennessee, where he worked at his trade and married. Under his wife's in- structions he made rapid progress in his education, and manifested such an intelli- gent interest in local politics as to be elected as " workingmen's candidate " al- derman, in 1828, and mayor in 1830, being twice re-elected to each office. During this period he cultivated his tal- ents as a public speaker b}- taking part in a debating society, consisting largely of stu- dents of Greenville College. In 1835, and again in 1839, '^^ ^^''is chosen to the lower house of the Legislature, as a Democrat. In 1 841 he was elected State Senator, and in 1843, Representative in Congress, being re-elected four successive periods, until 1853, when he was chosen Governor of Tennessee. In Congress he supported the administrations of Tyler and Polk in their chief measures, especially the annexation of Texas, the adjustment of the Oregon boundary, the Mexican war, and the tariff of 1846. In 1855 Mr. Johnson was re elected Gov- ernor, and in 1857 entered the United States Senate, where he was conspicuous as an advocate of retrenchment and of the Homestead bill, and as an opponent of the Pacific Railroad. He was supported by the Tennessee delegation to the Democratic convention in i860 for the Presidential nomination, and lent his influence to the Breckenridge wing of that party. When the election of Lincoln had brought about the first attempt at secession in December, i860, Johnson took in the Senate a firm attitude for the Union, and in May, 1861, on returning to Tennessee, he was in imminent peril of suffering from 9+ PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. popular violence for his loyalty to the " old flag." He was the leader of the Loyalists' convention of East Tennessee, and during the following winter was very active in or- ganizing relief for the destitute loyal refu- gees from that region, his own family being among those compelled to leave. By his course in this crisis Johnson came prominently before the Northern public, and when in March, 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln military Governor of Tennessee, with the rank of Brigadier-Gen- eral, he increased in popularity by the vig- orous and successful manner in which he labored to restore order, protect Union men and punish marauders. On the ap- proach of the Presidential campaign of 1864, the termination of the war being plainly foreseen, and several Southern States being partially reconstructed, it was felt that the Vice-Presidency should be given to a South- ern man of conspicuous loyalty, and Gov- ernor Johnson was elected on the same platform and ticket as President Lincoln; and on the assassination of the latter suc- ceeded to the Presidency, April 15, 1865. In a public speech two days later he said: '• The American people must be taught, if they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and must be punished; that the Gov- ernment will not always bear with its ene- mies; that it is strong, not onl}' to protect, but to punish. In our peaceful history treason has been almost unknown. The people must understand that it is the black- est of crimes, and will be punished." He then added the ominous sentence: " In re- gard to my future course, I make no prom- ises, no pledges." President Johnson re- tained the cabinet of Lincoln, and exhibited considerable severity toward traitors in his earlier acts and speeches, but he soon inaug- urated a policy of reconstruction, proclaim- ing a general amnesty to the late Confeder- ates, and successively establishing provi.s- ionai Governments in the Southern States. These States accordingly claimed i"epresen- tation in Congress in the following Decem- ber, and the momentous question of what should be the policy of the victorious Union toward its late armed opponents was forced upon that body. Two considerations impelled the Repub- lican majority to reject the policy of Presi. dent Johnson: First, an apprehension that the chief magistrate intended to undo the re- sults of the war in regard to slavery; and,sec- ond, the sullen attitude of the South, which seemed to be plotting to regain the policy which arms had lost. The credentials of the Southern members elect were laid on the table, a civil rights bill and a bill extending the sphere of the Freedmen's Bureau were passed over the executive veto, and the two highest branches of the Government were soon in open antagonism. The action of Congress was characterized by the Presi- dent as a " new rebellion." In July the cabinet was reconstructed, Messrs. Randall, Stanbury and Browning taking the places of Messrs. Denison, Speed and Harlan, and an unsuccessful attempt was made by means of a general convention in Philadel- phia to form a new party on the basisof the administration policy. In an excursion to Chicago for the pur- pose of laying a corner-stone of the monu- ment to Stephen A. Douglas, President Johnson, accompanied by several members of the cabinet, passed through Philadelphia, New York and Albany, in each of which cities, and in other places along the route, he made speeches justifying and explaining his own polic3% and violently denouncing the action of Congress. August 12, 1867, President Johnson re- moved the Secretary of War, replacing him by General Grant. Secretary Stanton retired under protest, based upon the ten- ure-of-ofifice act which had been passed the preceding March. The President then is- sued a proclamation declaring the insurrec- A NDRE W JOHNSON. 95 tion at an end, and that " peace, order, tran- quility and civil authority existed in and throughout the United States." Another proclamation enjoined obedience to the Constitution and the laws, and an amnesty was published September 7, relieving nearly all the participants in the late Rebellion from the disabilities thereby incurred, on condition of taking the oath to support the Constitution and the laws. In December Congress refused to confirm the removal of Secretary Stanton, who thereupon resumed the exercise of his of- fice; but February 21, 1868, President Johnson again attempted to remove him, appointing General Lorenzo Thomas in his place. Stanton refused to vacate his post, and was sustained by the Senate. February 24 the House of Representa- tives voted to impeach the President for " high crime and misdemeanors," and March 5 presented eleven articles of impeachment on the ground of his resistance to the exe- cution of the acts of Congress, alleging, in addition to the offense lately committed, his public expressions of contempt for Con- gress, in " certain intemperate, inflamma- tory and scandalous harangues" pronounced in August and September, 1866, and there- after declaring that the Thirty-ninth Con- gress of the United States was not a competent legislative body, and denying its power to propose Constitutional amend- ments. March 23 the impeachment trial began, the President appearing b}- counsel, and resulted in acquittal, the vote lacking one of the two-thirds vote required for conviction. The remainder of President Johnson's term of office was passed without any such conflicts as might have been anticipated. He failed to obtain a nomination for re- election by the Democratic party, though receiving sixty-five votes on the first ballot. July 4 and December 25 new proclamations of pardon to the participants in the late Rebellion were issuec", but were of little effect. On the accession of General Grant to the Presidency, March 4, 1869, Johnson returned to Greenville, Tennessee. Unsuc- cessful in 1870 and 1872 as a candidate re- spectively for United States Senator and Representative, he was finally elected to the Senate in 1875, and took his seat in the extra session of March, in which his speeches were comparatively temperate. He died July 31, 1875, and was buried at Green- ville. President Johnson's administration was a peculiarly unfortunate one. That he should so soon become involved in bitter feud with the Republican majority in Congress was certainly a surprising and deplorable inci- dent; yet, in reviewing the circumstances after a lapse of so many years, it is easy to find ample room for a charitable judgment of both the parties in the heated contro- versy, since it cannot be doubted that any President, even Lincoln himself, had he lived, must have sacrificed a large portion of his popularity in carrying out any pos- sible scheme of reconstruction. 96 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. ♦hJtJ liiliflSiiii^^Bliiei ^^ C ■ i t ii TTii ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ 1 1 II 11 1 1 ■■ 1 1 I I ■! fl I I II— rr ntj^-r -^^LYSSES SIMPSON GRANT, the eight- eenth President of the United States, i%6g-7y, ,„ wasborn April 27, 1822, ^^-^^^-^^'-fej/ at Point Pleasant, 'r<-^^^^^" ^^f: Clermont County, ''% Ohio. His father was of Scotch descent, and a dealer in leather. At the age of seventeen he en- tered the Military Acadeni)' at West Point, and four }• ears later graduated twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine, receiving the commission of Brevet Second Lieutenant. He was assigned to the Fourth Infantry and re- mained in the army eleven j^ears. He was engaged in every battle of the Mexican war except that of Buena Vista, and received two brevets for gallantrv. In 1848 Mr. Grant married Julia, daughter of Frederick Dent, a prominent merchant of St. Louis, and in 1854, having reached the grade of Captain, he resigned his commis- sion in the army. For several years he fol- lowed farming near St. Louis, but unsuc- cessfully ; and in i860 he entered the leather trade with his father at Galena, Illinois. When the civil war broke out in 1861, Grant was thirty-nine years of age, but en- tirely unknown to public men and without any personal acquaintance with great affairs. President Lincoln's first call for troops was made on the 15th of April, and on the 19th Grant was drilling a company of volunteers at Galena. He also offered his services to the Adjutant-General of the army, but re- ceived no reply. The Governor of Illinois, however, employed him in the organization of volunteer troops, and at the end of live weeks he was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-tirst Infantry. He took command of his regiment in June, and reported first to General Pope in Missouri. His superior knowledge of military life rather surprised his superior officers, who had never before even heard of him, and they were thus led to place him on the road to rapid advance- ment. August 7 he was commissioned a Brigadier-General of volunteers, the ap- pointment having been made without his knowledge. He had been unanimously recommended by the Congressmen from Illinois, not one of whom had been his personal acquaintance. For a few weeks he was occupied in watching the move- ments of partisan forces in Missouri. September i he was placed in command of the District of Southeast Missouri, with headquarters at Cairo, and on the 6th, with- out orders, he seized Paducah, at the mouth of the Tennessee River, and commanding the navigation both of that stream and of i^- J^^ l/LrSSES S. GRANT. 99 the Ohio. This stroke secured Kentucky to the Union ; for the State Legislature, which had until then affected to be neutral, at once declared in favor of the Govern- ment. In November following, according to orders, he made a demonstration about eighteen miles below Cairo, preventing the crossing of hostile troops into Missouri ; but in order to accomplish this purpose he had to do some fighting, and that, too, with only 3,000 raw recruits, against 7,000 Con- federates. Grant carried off two pieces of artillery and 200 prisoners. After repeated applications to General Halleck, his immediate superior, he was allowed, in February, 1862, to move up the Tennessee River against Fort Henry, in conjunction with a naval force. The gun- boats silenced the fort, and Grant immedi- ately made preparations to attack Fort Donelson, about twelve miles distant, on the Cumberland River. Without waiting for orders he moved his troops there, and with 15,000 men began the siege. The fort, garrisoned with 21,000 men, was a strong one, but after hard fighting on three successive days Grant forced an " Uncon- ditional Surrender " (an alliteration upon the initials of his name). The prize he capt- ured consisted of sixty-five cannon, 17,600 small arms and 14,623 soldiers. About 4,- 000 of the garrison had escaped in the night, and 2,500 were killed or wounded. Grant's entire loss was less than 2,000. This was the first important success won by the national troops during the war, and its strategic re- sults were marked, as the entire States of Kentucky and Tennessee at once fell into the National hands. Our hero was made a Major-General of Volunteers and placed in command of the District of West Ten- nessee. In March, 1862, he was ordered to move up the Tennessee River toward Corinth, where the Confederates were concentrat- ing a large army ; but he was directed not to attack. His forces, now numbering 38.- 000, were accordingly encamped near Shi- loh, or Pittsburg Landing, to await the arrival of General Buell with 40,000 more; but April 6 the Confederates came out from Corinth 50,000 strong and attacked Grant violently, hoping to overwhelm him before Buell could arrive ; 5,000 of his troops were beyond supporting distance, so that he was largely outnumbered and forced back to the river, where, however, he held out until dark, when the head of Buell's column came upon the field. The next day the Confederates were driven back to Corinth, nineteen miles. The loss was heavy on both sides ; Grant, being senior in rank to Buell, commanded on both days. Two days afterward Halleck arrived at the front and assumed command of the army, Grant remaining at the head of the right wing and the reserve. On May 30 Corinth was evacuated by the Confederates. In July Halleck was made General-in-Chief, and Grant succeeded him in command of the Department of the Tennessee. September 19 the battle of luka was fought, where, owing to Rosecrans's fault, only an incom- plete victory was obtained. Next, Grant, with 30,000 men, moved down into Mississippi and threatened Vicks- burg, while Sherman, with 40,000 men, was sent by way of the river to attack that place in front ; but, owing to Colonel Murphy's surrendering Holly Springs to the Con- federates, Grant was so weakened that he had to retire to Corinth, and then Sherman failed to sustain his intended attack. In January, 1863, General Grant took command in person of all the troops in the Mississippi Valley, and spent several months in fruitless attempts to compel the surrender or evacuation of Vicksburg; but July 4, following, the place surrendered, with 31,- 600 men and 172 cannon, and the Mississippi River thus fell permanently into the hands of the Government. Grant was made a PRES/DENTH OF THE UNITED ^TATEH. Major-General in the regular army, and in October following he was placed in com- mand of the Division of the Mississippi. The same month he went to Chattanooga and saved the Army of the Cumberland from starvation, and drove Bragg from that part of the country. This victory over- threw the last important hostile force west of the Alleghanies and opened the way for the National armies into Georgia and Sher- man's march to the sea. The remarkable series of successes which Grant had now achieved pointed him out as the appropriate leader of the National armies, and accordingly, in February, 1864, the rank of Lieutenant-General was created for him by Congress, and on March 17 he assumed command of the armies of the United States. Planning the grand final campaign, he sent Sherman into Georgia, Sigel into the valley of Virginia, and Butler to capture Richmond, while he fought his own way from the Rapidan to the James. The costly but victorious battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna and Cold Harbor were fought, more for the purpose of annihilating Lee than to capture any particular point. In June, 1S64, the siege of Richmond was begun. Sherman, meanwhile, was marching and fighting daily in Georgia and steadily advancing toward Atlanta ; but Sigel had been defeated in the valley of Virginia, and was superseded by Hunter. Lee sent Earl}' to threaten the Na- tional capital ; whereupon Grant gathered up a force which he placed under Sheridan, and that commander rapidly drove Early, in a succession of battles, through the valley of Virginia and destroyed his army as an organized force. The siege of Richmond went on, and Grant made numerous attacks, but was only partially successful. The people of the North grew impatient, and even the Government advised him to abandon the attempt to take Richmond or crush the Confederacy in that way ; but he fight it never wavered. He resolved to out on that line, if it took all summer." By September Sherman had made his way to Atlanta, and Grant then sent him on his famous " march to the sea," a route which the chief had designed six months before. He made Sherman's success possi- ble, not only by holding Lee in front of Richmond, but also by sending reinforce- ments to Thomas, who then drew off and defeated the only army which could have confronted Sherman. Thus the latter was left unopposed, and, with Thomas and Sheri- dan, was used in the furtherance of Grant's plans. Each executed his part in the great design and contributed his share to the re- sult at which Grant was aiming. Sherman finally reached Savannah, Schofield beat the enemy at Franklin, Thomas at Nash- ville, and Sheridan wherever he met him ; and all this while General Grant was hold- ing Lee, with the principal Confederate army, near Richmond, as it were chained and helpless. Then Schofield was brought from the West, and Fort Fisher and Wil- mington were captured on the sea-coast, so as to afford him a foothold ; from here he was sent into the interior of North Caro- lina, and Sherman was ordered to move northward to j(jin him. When all this was effected, and Sheridan could find no one else to fight in the Shenandoah Valley, Grant brought the cavalry leader to the front of Richmond, and, making a last effort, drove Lee from his entrenchments and captured Richmond. At the beginning of the final campaign Lee had collected 73,000 fighting men in the lines at Richmond, besides the local militia and the gunboat crews, amounting to 5,000 more. Including Sheridan's force Grant had 1 10,000 men in the works before Petersburg and Richmond. Petersburg fell on the 2d of April, and Richmond on tl:e 3d, and Lee fled in the direction of Lynch- burg. Grant pursued with remorseless l/LrSSES 6'. GRANT. energy, only stopping to strike fresh blows, and Lee at last found himself not only out- fought but also out-marched and out-gen- eraled. Being completely surrounded, he surrendered on the glh of April, 1865, at Appomattox Court-House, in the open field, with 27,000 men, all that remained of his army. This act virtually ended the war. Thus, in ten days Grant had captured Petersburg and Richmond, fought, by his subordinates, the battles of Five Forks and Sailor's Creek, besides numerous smaller ones, captured 20,000 men in actual battle, and received the surrender of 27,000 more at Appomattox, absolutely annihilating an army of 70,000 soldiers. General Grant returned at once to Wash- ington to superintend the disbandment of the armies, but this pleasurable work was scarcely begun when President Lincoln was assassinated. It had doubtless been in- tended to inflict the same fate upon Grant ; but he, fortunately, on account of leaving Washington early in the evening, declined an invitation to accompany the President to the theater where the murder was com- mitted. This event made Andrew Johnson President, but left Grant by far the most conspicuous figure in the public life of the country. He became the object of an en- thusiasm greater than had ever been known in America. Every possible honor was heaped upon him ; the grade of General was created for him b}' Congress; houses were presented to him by citizens; towns were illuminated on his entrance into them ; and, to cap the climax, when he made his tour around the world, "all nations did him honor" as they had never before honored a foreigner. The General, as Commander-in-Chief, was placed in an embarrassing position by the opposition of President Johnson to the measures of Congress ; but he directly man- ifested his characteristic lo^-alty by obeying Congress rather than the disaffected Presi- dent, although for a short time he had served in his cabinet as Secretary of War. Of course, everybody thought of General Grant as the next President of the United States, and he was accordingl}' elected as such in 1868 "by a large majority," and four years later re-elected by a much larger majorit}' — the most overwhelming ever given by the people of this country. His first administration was distinguished by a ces- sation of the strifes which sprang from the war, by a large reduction of the National debt, and by a settlement of the difficulties with England which had grown out of the depredations committed by privateers fit- ted out in England during the war. This last settlement was made by the famous " Geneva arbitration," which saved to this Government $1 5,000,000, but, more than all, prevented a war with England. " Let us have peace," was Grant's motto. And this is the most appropriate place to remark that above all Presidents whom this Gov- ernment has ever had. General Grant was the most non-partisan. He regarded the Executive office as purely and exclusively executive of the laws of Congress, irrespect- ive of "politics." But every great man has jealous, bitter enemies, a fact Grant was well aware of. After the close of his Presidency, our General made his famous tour around the world, already referred to, and soon after- ward, in company with Ferdinand Ward, of New York City, he engaged in banking and stock brokerage, which business was made disastrous to Grant, as well as to him- self, by his rascality. By this time an in- curable cancer of the tongue developed itself in the person of the afflicted ex- President, which ended his unrequited life July 23, 1885. Thus passed away from earth's turmoils the man, the General, who was as truly the " father of this regenerated country" as was Washington the father of the infant nation. PJiESIDBNTS OF THE UNITED STATES. UTHERFORD BIRCH- ARD HAYES, the nine- teenth President of the United States, i877-'8i, was born in • J^ Delaware, Ohio, Oc- ^O:^^;^^ tober 4, 1822. His ancestry can be traced as far back as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two Scottish chieftains figliting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both fami- lies belonged to the nobility, owned extensive estates and had a large following. The Hayes family had, for a coat of-arms, a shield, barred and surmounted by a flying eagle. There was a circle of stars about the eagle and above the shield, while on a scroll underneath the shield was inscribed the motto, " Recte." Misfortune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scotland in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Connecticut. He was an industrious worker in wood and iron, having a mechanical genius and a cul- tivated mind. His son George was born in Windsor and remained there during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, married Sarah Lee, and lived in Simsbury, Con- necticut. Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford, Connecticut. Rutherford Hayes, son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a famous black- smith and tavern-keeper. He immigrated to Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro where he established a hotel. Here his son Rutherford, father of Presi- dent Hayes, was born. In September, 1S13, he married Sophia Birchard, of Wilming- ton, Vermont, whose ancestry on the male side is traced back to 1635, to John Birch- ard, one of the principal founders of Nor- wich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. The father of President Hayes was of a mechanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stocking, or do almost anything that he might undertake. He was prosperous in business, a member of the church and active in all the benevolent enterprises of thetown. After the close of the war of 1812 he immigrated to Ohio, and purchased a farm near the present town of Delaware. His family then consisted of his wife and two children, and an orphan girl whom he had adopted. It was in 18 17 that the family arrived at Delaware. Instead of settling upon his s u/Wi .;. nvTHnnFono' s. uaybs. '"i farm, Mr. Hayes concluded to enter into business in the village. He purchased an interest in a distillery, a business then as re- spectable as it was profitable. His capital and recognized ability assured him the highest social position in the community. He died July 22, 1822, less than three months before the birth of the son that was destined to fill the office of President of the United States. Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he was not e.vpected to live beyond a month or two at most. As the months went by he grew weaker and weaker so that the neighbors were in the habit of inquiring from time to time "if Mrs. Hayes's baby died last night." On one oc- casion a neighbor, who was on friendly terms with the family, after alluding to the boy's big head and the mother's assiduous care of him, said to her, in a bantering way, "That's right! Stick to him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't won- der if he would really come to something yet." " You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes, " you wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him President of the United States yet." The boy lived, in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy death; and when, in 1825, his elder brother was drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his mother. He was seven years old before he was placed in school. His education, however, was not neglected. His sports were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being his sister and her associates. These circum- stances tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of disposition and that delicate consideration for the feelings of others which are marked traits of his character. At school he was ardently devoted to his studies, obedient to the teacher, and care- ful to avoid the quarrels in which many of his schoolmates were involved. He was always waiting at the school-house door when it opened in the morning, and never late in returning to his seat at recess. His sister Fannie was his constant companion, and their affection for each other excited the admiration of their friends. In 1838 young Hayes entered Kenyon College and graduated in 1842. He then began the study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Columbus. His health was now well established, his figure robust, his mind vigorous and alert. In a short time he determined to enter the law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where for two years he pursued his studies with great diligence. In 1845 he was admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly afterward went into pi'actice as an attorney-at-law with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he remained three years, acquiring but limited practice, and apparently unambitious of distinction in his profession. His bachelor uncle, Sardis Birchard, who had always manifested great interest in his nephew and rendered him assistance in boyhood, was now a wealthy banker, and it was under- stood that the young man would be his heir. It is possible that this expectation may have made Mr. Ha\es more indifferent to the attainment of wealth than he would otherwise have been, but he was led into no extravagance or vices on this account. In 1849 ^^ removed to Cincinnati where his ambition found new stimulus. Two events occurring at this period had a pow- erful influence upon his subsequent life. One of them was his marriage to Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Cincinnati; the other was his introduction to the Cincinnati Literary Club, a bodv embracing such men as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, General John Pope and Governor Edward F. Noyes. The marriage was a fortunate one as every- body knows. Not one of all the wives (j1 lo6 PRESIDENTS OF THE UXITED STATES. our Presidents was more universally ad- mired, reverenced and beloved than is Mrs. Hayes, and no one has done more than she to reflect honor upon American woman- hood. In 1856 Mr. Hayes was nominated to the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but decHned to accept the nomina- tion. Two years later he was chosen to the office of City Solicitor. In 1861, when the Rebellion broke out, he was eager to take up arms in the defense of his country. His military life was bright and illustrious. June 7, 1861, he was appointed Major of the Twenty-third Ohio Infantry. In July the regiment was sent to Virginia. October 15, 1861, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, and in August, 1862, was promoted Colonel of the Seventy-ninth Ohio Regiment, but refused to leave his old comrades. He was wounded at the battle of South Mountain, and suffered severely, being unable to enter upon active duty for several weeks. No- vember 30, 1862, he rejoined his regiment as its Colonel, having been promoted Octo- ber 15. December 25, 1862, he was placed in com- mand of the Kanawha division, and for meritorious service in several battles was promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted Major-General for distinguished services in 1864. He was wounded lour times, and five horses were shot from under him. Mr. Hayes was first a Whig in politics, and was among the first to unite with the Free-Soil and Republican parties. In 1864 he was elected to Congress from che Sec- ond Ohio District, which had always been Democratic, receiving a majority of 3,098. In 1 866 he was renominated for Congress and was a second time elected. In 1867 he was elected Governor over Allen G. Thur- man, the Democratic candidate, and re- elected in 1869. In 1874 Sardis Birchard died, leaving his large estate to General Hayes. In 1876 he was nominated for the Presi- dency. His letter of acceptance excited the admiration of the whole country. He resigned the office of Governor and retired to his home in Fremont to await the result of the canvass. After a hard, long contest he was inaugurated March 5, 1877. His Presidency was characterized by compro- mises with all parties, in order to please as many as possible. The close of his Presi- dential term in 1881 was the close of his public life, and since then he has remained at his home in Fremont, Ohio, in Jefferso- nian retirement from public notice, in strik- ing contrast with most others of the world's notables. •■V, yAMES A. GARFIELD. ICX) i^^i i'^t^'^t^tggi<^t^^tg ^'J<^i^<^(^i^f^i^t^^ 3^^ C! fI.AAViL\^taea^a3S3ai2E!-^''^^"^'''''^iSS^S'^^"^<''^-'^'''^''l c^r^^7^iSS5^jS^^^v^^^^'^^i3G5iA^ 1^ .|^J4Miii 4. (JA:R.F|E;Ll,^f.^ aBBaaaaias^^aMBB:%t..a3:jBHaiBa^iB!ga!BEia .V. v<,.'>"..v..v;,'«i^..'-i>(. ■mr- >J«?.'»l"{v"|t.Slti-)''.* itfii^^fT^i^ AMES A. GARFIELD, twentieth President of the United States, i88i, was born November 19, 183 1, in the wild woods o f Cuyahoga County, Ohio. His parents were Abram and Eliza (Ballou) Garfield, who were of New • England ancestry. The senior Garfield was an in- "" dustrious farmer, as the rapid improvements which appeared on his place at- tested. The residence was the familiar pioneer log cabin, and the household comprised the parents and their children — Mehetable, Thomas, Mar)' and James A. In May, 1833, the father died, and the care of the house- hold consequently devolved upon young Thomas, to whom James was greatly in- debted for the educational and other ad- vantages he enjoyed. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sisters live in Solon, Ohio, near their birthplace. As the subject of our sketch grew up, he, too, was industrious, both in mental and physical labor. He worked upon the farm, or at carpentering, or chopped wood, or at any other odd job that would aid in support of the family, and in the meantime made the most of his books. Ever afterward he was never ashamed of his humble origin, nor for- got the friends of his youth. The poorest laborer was sure of his sympathy, and he always exhibited the character of a modest gentleman. Until he was about sixteen jears of age, James's highest ambition was to be a lake captain. To this his mother was strongly opposed, but she finally' consented to his going to Cleveland to carry out his long- cherished design, with the understanding, however, that he should try to obtain some other kind of employment. He walked all the way to Cleveland, and this was his first visit to the city. After making many ap- plications for work, including labor on board a lake vessel, but all in vain, he finally engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsyl- vania Canal. In a short time, however, he quit this and returned home. He then at- tended the seminary at Chester for about three years, and next he entered Hiram In- stitute, a school started in 1850 by the Disciples of Christ, of which church he was a member. In order to pa}' his way he assumed the duties of janitor, and at times taught school. He soon completed the cur- riculum there, and then entered Williams College, at which he graduated in 1S56, taking one of the highest honors of his class. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. Afterward he returned to Hiram as Presi- dent. In his youthful and therefore zealous piety, he exercised his talents occasionally as a preacher of the Gospel. He was a man of strong moral and religious convic- tions, and as soon as he began to look into politics, he saw innumerable points that could be improved. He also studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858, Mr. Garfield married Miss Lucretia Rudolph, who ever after- ward proved a worthy consort in all the stages of her husband's career. They had seven children, five of whom are still living. It was in 1859 that Garfield made his first political speeches, in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three years later he began to speak at county mass-meetings, being received ever3'where with popular favor. He was elected to the State Senate this year, taking his seat in January, i860. On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion in 1861, Mr. Garfield resolved to fight as he had talked, and accordingly he enlisted to defend the old flag, receiving his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-second Regiment of the Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, August 14, that year. He was immediately thrown into active service, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action he was placed in command of four regiments of infantry and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the work of driv- ing the Confederates, headed by Humphrey Marshall, from his native State, Kentucky. This task was speedily accomplished, al- though against great odds. On account of his success. President Lincoln commissioned him Brigadier-General, January 11, 1862; and, as he had been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years before, so now he was the youngest General in the army. He was with General Buell's army at Shi- loh, also in its operations around Corinth and its march through Alabama. Next, he was detailed as a member of the general court-martial for the trial of General Fitz- John Porter, and then ordered to report to General Rosecrans, when he was assigned to the position of Chief of Staff. His mili- tary history closed with his brilliant ser- vices at Chickamauga, where he won the stars of Major-General. In the fall of 1862, without any effort on his part, he was elected as a Representative to Congress, from that section of Ohio which had been represented for sixty years mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua R. Giddings. Again, he was the youngest member of that body, and con- tinued there by successive re-elections, as Representative or Senator, until he was elected President in 1880. During his life in Congress he compiled and published by his speeches, there and elsewhere, more information on the issues of the day, espe- cially on one side, than any other member. June 8, 1880, at the National Republican Convention held in Chicago, General Gar- field was nominated for the Presidency, in preference to the old war-horses, Blaine and Grant ; and although many of the Re- publican party felt sore over the failure of their respective heroes to obtain the nomi- nation, General Garfield was elected by a fair popular majority. He was duly in- augurated, but on July 2 following, before he had fairly got started in his administra- tion, he was fatally shot by a half-demented assassin. After very painful and protracted suffering, he died September 19, 1881, la- mented by all the American people. Never before in the history of this country had anything occurred which so nearly froze the blood of the Nation, for the moment, as the awful act of Guiteau, the murderer. He was duly tried, convicted and put to death on the gallows. The lamented Garfield was succeeded by the Vice-President, General Arthur, who seemed to endeavor to carry out the policy inaugurated by his predecessoi". CHESTER A. ARTHUR. "3 ^^sn' ^ 'T- ij) •'I' ^ ■^ ^""'T^(§)a(r»*a:vs«--5a@)" V- #1 "^^^ I- ^ ^- HESTER ALLEN ARTHUR, the twen- t3'-first Chief Execu- tive of this growing republic, i88i-'5, was born in FrankHn County, Vermont, October 5, 1830, the eldest of a family of two sons and five P'^Ml''^ daughters. His father, Rev. tH™^ Dr. William Arthur, a Baptist clergyman, immigrated to this country from Count}' Antrim, Ireland, in his eighteenth year, and died in 1875, in Newton- ville, near Albany, New York, many years as a successful minister. Chester A. was educated at that old, conservative institution. Union Col- lege, at Schenectady, New York, where he excelled in all his studies. He graduated there, with honor, and then struck out in life for himself by teaching school for about two years in his native State. At the expiration of that time young Arthur, with $500 in his purse, went to the city of New York and entered the law office of ex-Judge E. D. Culver as a student. In due time he was admitted to the bar, when he formed a partnership with his intimate after serving friend and old room-mate, Henry D. Gar. diner, with the intention of practicing law at some point in the West; but after spend- ing about three months in the Wester. States, in search of an eligible place, they returned to New York City, leased a room, exhibited a sign of their business and al- most immediately enjoyed a paying patron- age. At this stage of his career Mr. Arthur's business prospects were so encouraging that he concluded to take a wife, and ac- cordingly he married the daughter of Lieu- tenant Herndon, of the United States Navy, who had been lost at sea. To the widow of the latter Congress voted a gold medal, in recognition of the Lieutenant's bravery during the occasion in which he lost his life. Mrs. Artnur died shortl}' before her husband's nomination to the Vice-Presi- dency, leaving two children. Mr. Arthur obtained considerable celeb- rity as an attorney in the famous Lemmon suit, which was brought to recover posses- sion of eight slaves, who had been declared free by the Superior Court of New York City. The noted Charles O'Conor, who was nominated by the " Straight Demo- crats" in 1872 for the United States Presi- dency, was retained by Jonathan G. Lem- 114 PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. mon, of Virginia, to recover the negroes, but he lost the suit. In this case, however, Mr. Arthur was assisted b}' William M. Evarts, now United States Senator. Soon afterward, in 1856, a respectable colored woman was ejected from a street car in New York City. Mr. Arthur sued the car company in her behalf and recovered $500 damages. Immediately afterward all the car companies in the city issued orders to their employes to admit colored persons upon their cars. Mr. Arthur's political doctrines, as well as his practice as a lawyer, raised him to prominence in the part}' of freedom ; and accordingly he was sent as a delegate to the first National Republican Convention. Soon afterward he was appointed Judge Advocate for the Second Brigade of the State of New York, and then Engineer-in- Chief on Governor Morgan's staff. In 1S61, the first year of the war, he was made In- spector-General, and next, Quartermaster- (leneral, in both which offices he rendered great service to the Government. Alter the close of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the practice of law, forming first a partnership with Mr. Ransom, and subse- quently adding Mr. Phelps to the firm. Each of these gentlemen were able lawyers. November 21, 1872, General Arthur was appointed Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant, and he held the office until July 20, 1878. The next event of prominence in General Arthur's career was his nomination to the Vice-Presidency of the United States, under the influence of Roscoe Conkling, at the National Republican Convention held at Chicago in June, 1S80, when James A. Gar- field was placed at the head of the ticket. Both the convention and the campaign that followed were noisy and exciting. The iriends of Grant, constituting nearl}' half the convention, were exceedingly persist- ent, and were sorely disappomted over their defeat. At the head of the Demo- cratic ticket was placed a very strong and popular man ; yet Garfield and Arthur were elected by a respectable plurality of the popular vote. The 4th of March following, these gentlemen were accordingly inaugu- rated ; but within four months the assassin's bullet made a fatal wound in the person of General Garfield, whose life terminated September 19, 1881, when General Arthur, ex officio, was obliged to take the chief reins of government. Some misgivings were entertained by many in this event, as Mr. Arthur was thought to represent espe cially the Grant and Conkling wing of the Republican part}' ; but President Arthur had both the ability and the good sense to allay all fears, and he gave the restless, critical American people as good an ad- ministration as they had ever been blessed with. Neither selfishness nor low parti- sanism ever characterized any feature of his public service. He ever maintained a high sense of every individual right as well as of the Nation's honor. Indeed, he stood so high that his successor. President Cleve- land, though of opposing politics, expressed a wish in his inaugural address that he could only satisfy the people with as good an administration. But the day of civil service reform had come in so far, and the corresponding re- action against "third-termism" had en- croached so far even upon "second-term" service, that the Republican party saw fit in 1884 to nominate another man for Presi- dent. Only by this means was General Arthur's tenure of office closed at Wash- ini?t(>n. On his retirement from the Presi- dcncy, March, 1885, he engaged in the practice of law at New York City, where he died Novemlier 18, 188G. .• »■ ^ — »-- G HOVER CLEVELAND. 117 ^^^^^ ^^^ ROVER CLEVE- LAND, the twenty- second President of the United States, 1885—, was born in Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, March 18, The house in which he was born, a small two-story wooden building, is still stand- ing-. It was the parsonage of the Presbyterian church, of w h i c h his father, Richard Cleveland, at the time was pastor. The family is of New England origin, and for two centuries has contributed to the professions and to busi- ness, men who have reflected honor on the name. Aaron Cleveland, Grover Cleve- land's great-great-grandfather, was born in Massachusetts, but subsequently moved to Philadelphia, where he became an intimate friend of Benjamin Franklin, at whose house he died. He left a large family of children, who in time married and settled in different parts of New England. A grandson was one of the small American force that fought the British at Bunker Hill. He served with gallantry through- out the Revolution and was honorably discharged at its close as a Lieutenant in the Continental army. Another grandson, William Cleveland (a son of a second Aaron Cleveland, who was distinguished as a writer and member of the Connecticut Legislature) was Grover Cleveland's grand- father. William Cleveland became a silver- smith in Norwich, Connecticut. He ac- quired by industry some property and sent his son, Richard Cleveland, the father of Grover Cleveland, to Yale College, where he graduated in 1824. During a year spent in teaching at Baltimore, Maryland, after graduation, he met and fell in love with a Miss Annie Neale, daughter of a wealthy Baltimore book publisher, of Irish birth. He was earning his own way in the world at the time and was unable to marry; but ill three years he completed a course of preparation for the ministry, secured a church in Windham, Connecticut, and married Annie Neale. Subsequently he moved to Portsmouth, Virginia, where he preached for nearly two years, when he was summoned to Caldwell, New Jersey, where was born Grover Cleveland. When he was three years old the family moved to Fayetteville, Onondaga County, New York. Here Grover Cleveland lived until he was fourteen years old, the rugged, healthful life of a country boy. His frank, generous manner made him a favorite among his companions, and their respect was won by the good qualities in the germ which his manhood developed. He at- tended the district school of the village and ii8 PUBS/DENTS OF THE UN/TED STATES. was for a short time at the academy. His lather, however, believed that boys should be taught to labor at an early age, and be- fore he had completed the course of study at the academy he began to work in the village store at $50 for the first year, and the promise of $100 for the second year. His work was well done and the promised in- crease of pay was granted the second year. Meanwhile his father and family had moved to Clinton, the seat of Hamilton College, where his father acted as agent to the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, preaching in the churches of the vicinity. Hither Grover came at his father's request shortly after the beginning of his second year at the Fayetteville store, and resumed his studies at the Clinton Academy. After three years spent in this town, the Rev. Richard Cleveland was called to the vil- lage church of Holland Patent. He had preached here only a month when he was suddenly stricken down and died without an hour's warning. The death of the father left the family in straitened circumstances, as Richard Cleveland had spent all his salary of $1,000 per year, which was not required for the necessary expenses of liv- ing, upon the education of his children, of whom there were nine, Grover being the fifth. Grover was hoping to enter Hamil- ton College, but the death of his father made it necessary for him to earn his own livelihood. For the first year (i853-'4) he acted as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in the Institution for the Blind in New York City, of which the late Augustus Schell was for many years the patron. In the winter of 1854 he returned to Holland Patent where the generous people of that place, Fayetteville and Clinton, had purchased a home for his mother, and in the following spring, borrowing $25, he set out for the West to earn his living. Reaching Buffalo he paid a hasty visit to an uncle, Lewis F. Allen, a well-known stock farmer, living at Black Rock, a few miles distant. He communicated his plans to Mr. Allen, who discouraged the idea of the West, and finally induced the enthusi- astic boy of seventeen to remain with him and help him prepare a catalogue of blooded short-horn cattle, known as " Allen's Amer- ican Herd Book," a publication familiar to all breeders of cattle. In August, 1855, he entered the law office of Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, at Buffalo, and after serving a few months without pay, was paid $4 a week — an amount barely sufficient to meet the necessary expenses of his board in the family of a fellow-student in Buffalo, with whom he took lodgings. Life at this time with Grover Cleveland was a stern battle with the world. He took his breakfast by candle-light with the drovers, and went at once to the office where the whole day was spent in work and study. Usuall}' he re- turned again at night to resume reading which had been interrupted by the duties of the day. Gradually his employers came to recognize the abilit}', trustworthiness and capacity for hard work in their young employe, and by the time he was admitted to the bar (1859) he stood high in their con- fidence. A year later he was made confi- dential and managing clerk, and in the course of three years more his salary had been raised to $1,000. In 1863 he was ap- pointed assistant district attorney of Erie County by the district attorney, the Hon. C. C. Torrance. Since his first vote had been cast in 1858 he had been a staunch Democrat, and until he was chosen Governor he always made it his duty, rain or shine, to stand at the polls and give out ballots to Democratic voters. During the first year of his term as assistant district attorney, the Democrats desired especially to carry the Board of Su- pervisors. The old Second Ward in which he lived was Republican- ordinarily by 250 majority, but at the urgent request of the GRO VER CL E VELA ND. 119 party Grover Cleveland consented to be the Democratic candidate for Supervisor, and came within thirteen votes of an elec- tion. The three years spent in the district attorney's office were devoted to assiduous iabor and the extension of his professional attainments. He then formed a law part- nership with the late Isaac V. Vanderpoel, ex-State Treasurer, under the firm name of Vanderpoel & Cleveland. Here the bulk of the work devolved on Cleveland's shoul- ders, and he soon won a good standing at the bar of Erie County. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland formed a partnership with ex- Senator A. P. Laning and e.x-Assistant United States District Attorney Oscar Fol- som, under the firm name of Laning, Cleve- land & Folsom. During these years he began to earn a moderate professional in- come; but the larger portion of it was sent to his mother and sisters at Holland Patent to whose support he had contributed ever since i860. He served as sheriff of Erie County, i870-'4, and then resumed the practice of law, associating himself with the Hon. Lyman K. Bass and Wilson S. Bissell. The firm was strong and popular, and soon commanded a large and lucrative practice. Ill health forced the retirement of Mr. Bass in 1879, and the firm became Cleveland & Bissell. In 1881 Mr. George J. Sicard was added to the firm. In the autumn election of 1881 he was elected mayor of Buffalo by a majority of over 3,500 — the largest majority ever given a candidate for mayor^and the Democratic city ticket was successful, although the Republicans carried Buffalo by over 1,000 majority for their State ticket. Grover Cleveland's administration as mayor fully justified the confidence reposed in him by the people of Buffalo, evidenced by the great vote he received. The Democratic State Convention met at Syracuse, September 22, 1882, and nomi- nated Grover Cleveland for Governor on the third ballot and Cleveland was elected by 192,000 majoritv. In the fall of 1 884 he was elected President of the United States by about 1,000 popular majority, in New York State, and he was accordingly inaugurated the 4th of March following. PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. '1 ENJAMIN HAERISON, the twenty-third Presi- dent of the United States, 1889, was born at North Bend, Hamilton County, Ohio, in the house of his grandfather, William Hen- ry Harrison (who was the ninth President of this country), August 20th, 1833. He is a descendant of one of the historical families of this country, as also of England. The head of the family was a Major-General Harrison who was devoted to the canse of Oliver Cromwell. It became the duty of this Har- rison to participate in the trial of Charles 1. and afterward to sign the death M'arrant of the king, which subsequently cost him his life. His enemies succeeding to power, he was condemned and executed October 13th, 1660. His descendants came to America, and the first mention made in history of the Harrison family as representative in public affairs, is that of Benjamin Harrison, great- grandfather of our present President, who was a member of the Continental Congress, 1774-5-6, and one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, and three times Governor of Virginia. His son, Will- iam Henry Harrison, made a brilliant mili- tary record, was CTOvernor of the Northwest Territory, and the ninth President of the United States. The subject of this sketch at an early age became a student at Farmers College, where he remained two years, at the end of which time he entered Miami University, at Ox- ford, Ohio. Upon graduation from said seat of learning he entered, as a student, the of- fice of Stover & Gwyne, a notable law firm at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he applied himself closely to the study of his chosen profession, and here laid the foundation for the honora- ble and famous career before him. He spent two years with the firm in Cincinnati, at the expiration of which time he received the only inheritance of his life, which was a lot left him by an aunt, which he sold for 8S00. This sura he deemed snfiicient to justify him in marrying the lady of his choice, and to whom he was then engaged, a daughter of Dr. Scott, then Principal of a female school at Oxford, Ohio. After marriage he located at Indianapolis, Indiana, where he began the practice of law. Meeting with slight encouragement he made but little the first year, but applied himself . cJ?^ £:t^'^-^^?\yL>^^iS>-'-t^ BENJAMIM HARRISON. 123 closely to his business, and by perseverance, honorable dealing and an upright life, suc- ceeded in building up ah extensive practice and took a leading position in the legal profession. In 1S60 he was nominated for the position of Supreme Conrt Reporter for the State of Indiana, and then began his experience as a stump speaker. He canvassed the State thoroughly and was elected. In 18,62 his patriotism caused him to abandon a civil office and to offer his country his services in a military capacity. He or- ganized the Seventieth Indiana Infantry and was chosen its Colonel. Altliough his regi- ment was composed of raw materia], and he practically void of military schooling, he at once mastered military tactics and drilled his men, so that when he with his regiment was assigned to Gen. SherinaTi's command it was known as one of the best drilled organ- izations of the army. He was especially distinguished for bravery at the battles of Ilesacca and Peach Tree Creek. For his bravery and efficiency at the last named bat- tle he was made a Brigadier-General, Gen- eral Hooker speaking of him in the most complimentary terms. While General Harrison was actively en- gaged in the iield the Supreme Court declared the office of Supreme Court lieporter vacant, and another person was elected to fill the position. From the time of leaving Indiana with his regiment for the front, until the fall of ISO-i, General Harrison had taken no leave of absence. But having been nominated that year for the same office that he vacated in order to serve liis country where he could do the greatest good, he got a thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time canvassed the State and was elected for another term as Supreme Court Reporter. He then started to rejoin his command, then with General Sherman in the South, but was stricken down with fever and after a very trying siege, made his way to the front, and participated in the closing scenes and incidents of tlie war. In 1868 General Harrison declined a re- election as Reporter, and applied himself to the practice of his profession. He was a candidate for Governor of Indiana on the Republican ticket in 1876. Although de- feated, the brilliant campaign brought him to public notice and gave him a National reputation as an able and formidable debater and lie was much sought in the Eastern States as a public speaker. He took an act- ive part in the Presidential campaign of 1880, and was elected to the United States Senate, where he served six years, and was known as one of the strongest debaters, as well as one of the ablest men and l)est law- yers. When his term expired in the Senate he resumed his law practice at Indianapolis, becoming the head of one of the stroufirest law firms in the State of Indiana. Sometime prior to the opening of the Presidential campaign of 1888, the two great political parties (Republican and Democratic) drew the line of political battle on the ques- tion of tarift', which became the leading issue and the rallyirg watchword during the mem- orable camrv.l^'n. The Republicans appealed to the people for their voice as to a tariff to protect home industries, while the Democrats wanted a tariff for revenue only. The Re- publican convention assembled in Chicago in June and selected Mr. Harrison as their standard bearer on a platform of ] rinciples, among other important clauses being that of protection, which he cordially indorsed in accepting the nomination. November 6, 1888, after a heated canvass. General Harri- son was elected, defeating Grover Cleveland, who was again the nominee of the Demo- cratic party. He was inaugurated and as- sumed the duties of his office March 4, 1889, ^^^^^\- — ' •-■ ■■ ■ ■'■■ ■■■_',' '/■^'^/■.rtrf-'-- . _ . ^•7*"' »;.^^-'"" IOWA STATE HOUSE AT DES MOINES. ^^3. •^{ :i^^^i^i^^fi^f^i--'^ HISTORY OF IOWA. -^^'^^^^^^^^^^^iS'^^^^^il^ '^-0 >^g. HEggSHdc!H E£HP FFirV aZgESBHa^ K TSHZEP'r'? aa!:aaa HgaPFP' ssasEgr W^ irv^^ HJ.nORT OF IOWA. 1^3 j^istory of lou/a. ^p ^1 i v^ __ __"-;^ ^ :^ _ ^ ^,_^, _ /^ M , ^* ^ &SaRE©I£«&I.. ,HE race or races who occupied this beau- tiful prairie country before the advent of the whites from Eu- rope had no litera- ture, and therefore have left us no history of themselves. Not even tra- ditions, to any extent, have been handed down to us. Hence, about all we know of the Indians, previous to explorations by the whites, is derived from mounds and a few simple relics. The mounds were erected by a people generally denominated Mound Builders, but whether they were a distinct race from the Indians is an unsettled ques- tion. Prof. Alex. Winchell,of the Michigan State University, as well as a number of other investigators, is of the opinion that those who built mounds, mined copper and iron, made elaborate implements of war, agriculture and domestic economy, and built houses and substantial villages, etc., were no other than the ancestors of the present Indians, who, like the ancient Greeks and Romans, were more skilled in 10 the arts of life than their successors during the middle ages. Most people have their periods of decline, as well as those of prog- ress. The Persians, Hindoos and Chinese, although so long in existence as distinct nations, have been forages in a state of de- cay. Spain and Italy do not improve, while Germany, Russia and the United States have now their turn in enjoying a rapid rise. Similarly, the Indians have long been on the decline in the practical arts of life. Even since the recent days of Feni- more Cooper, the " noble " red men have degenerated into savages, despite the close contact of the highest order of civilization. Nearly all modern authorities unite in the opinion that the American continent was first peopled from Eastern Asia, either by immigration across Behring's Strait or by shipwrecks of sailors from the Kamt- schatkan and Japanese coast. If mankind originated at the north pole, and subse- quently occupied an Atlantic continent, now submerged, it is possible that the American Indians are relics of polar or Atlantic races. The ancient race which built the towns and cities of Mexico and the Western United States is called the Aztec, and even of them is scarcely anything known save 124 HTSTORT OF IOWA. what can be learned from their buried structures. The few inscriptions that are found seem to be meaningless. Indian mounds are found throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, but are far more abundant in some places than others. In this State they abound near the principal rivers. They vary in size from a few to hundreds of feet in diameter, and from three to fifteen or more feet in height. They are generally round, or nearly so, but in a few notable exceptions they bear a rude resemblance in their outline to the figure of some animal. 1 heir contents are limited, both in quantity and variety, and consist mainly of human bones, stone implements, tobacco pipes, beads, etc. The stone implements are axes, skinning knives, pestles and mortars, arrow points, etc. The human bones are often found in a mass as if a number of corpses had been buried together, and indicate that their possessors were interred in a sitting posture. Judge Samuel Murdock, of Elkader, this State, who has made this subject a special stud}' for many years, is of the opinion that these remams are not of subjects who were inhumed as corpses, but of persons who, under the influence of a savage religion, voluntarily sacrificed themselves by under- going a burial wlien alive. CAUCASIAN. The first member of this race to discover the Mississippi River was Ferdinand De Soto, a Spaniard, who explored the region of the Lower Mississippi in 1541, but came no farther north than the 35th parallel. He founded no settlements, nor was he ever followed by others of his country to make settlements, and hence Spain lost her title to the country which she had earned by discovery through her subject, De Soto. At a subsequent period a Frenchman re- discovered the realm, took possession of it Hi tne name of France, and his fellow countrymen soon followed and effected actual settlements. Accordingly, in 16S2, France claimed the country, and, accord- ing to the usage of European nations, earned a proper title to the same. The re- sult was a collision between those two na- tions, success finally crowning the efforts of France. In a grand council of Indians, on the shore of Lake Superior, they told the Frenchmen glowing stories of the " Father of Waters " and of the adjacent country, and in 1669 Jacques Marquette, a zealous and shrewd Jesuit missionary, became in- spired witli the idea of visiting this re- gion, in the interests of civilization. After studying the language and customs of the Illinois Indians until 1673, he made prep- arations for the journey, in which he was to be accompanied by Louis Joliet, an agent of the French Government. The Indians, who had gathered in large numbers to wit- ness his departure, endeavored to dissuade him from the undertaking, representing that the Indians of the Mississippi Valley were cruel and bloodthirsty. The great river itself, they said, was the abode of terrible monsters which could swallow men, canoes and all. But the shrewd missionary, already aware of Indian extravagance in descrip- tion, set out upon the contemplated jour- ney May 13. With the aid of two Miami guides he proceeded to the Wisconsin River, and down that stream to the Mis- sissippi. Floating down the latter he dis- covered, on the 25th of June, traces of Indians on the west bank, and landed. This was at a point a little above the mouth of the Des Moines River, and tiius a Euro- pean first trod the soil of Iowa. After re- maining a short time and becoming ac- quainted with the red man as he then and there exhibited himself, he proceeded down to the mouth of the Illinois, thence up that river and by Lake Michigan to the French settlements. HISTORY OF IOWA. 12$ Nine years later, in 1682, Rene Robert Cavelier La Salle descended the Missis- sippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and in the name ■ of the King of France took formal posses- sion of all the Mississippi Valley, naming it Louisiana, in honor of his king, Louis XIV. The river itself he named Colbert, in honor of the French minister. Soon afterward the Government of France began to en- courage the establishment of a line of trad- ing posts and missionary stations through- out the West from Canada to Louisiana, and this policy was maintained with par- tial success for about seventy-five years. Christian zeal animated both France and England in missionary enterprise, the former in the interests of Catholicism and thelatter in favor of Protestantism. Hence their haste to pre-occupy the land and prose- lyte the aborigines; but this ugly rivalry dis- gusted the Indians and they refused to be converted to either branch of Christianity. The traders also persisted in importing whisky, which canceled nearly every civ- ilizing influence that could be brought to bear upon the savages. Another character- istic of Indian nature was to listen atten- tively to all that the missionary said, pre- tending to believe all he preached, and then offer in turn his theory of the world, of re- ligion, etc.; and, not being listened to with the same degree of attention and pretense of belief, would depart from the white man's presence in disgust. This was his idea of the golden rule. Comparatively few Indians were perma- nently located within the present bounds of the State of Iowa. Favorite hunting grounds were resorted to by certain bands lor a time, and afterward by others, subject to the varying fortunes of their little wars. The tribes were principally the Illinois, lowas, Dakotas, Sioux, Pottawatomies and finally the Sacs and Foxes. In 1765 the Miami confederacy was com- posed of four tribes, whose total number of warriors was estimated at only 1,050 men. Of these about 250 were Twightwees, or Miamis proper; 300 Weas, or Ouiate- nons; 300 Piankeshaws and 200 Shockeys; but their headquarters were along the Maumee River, in Indiana and Ohio. From 1688 to 1697 the wars in which France and England were engaged re- tarded the growth of their American colo- nies. The efforts made by France to connect Canada and the Gulf of Mexico by a chain of trading posts and colonies nat- urally excited the jealousy of England and gradually laid the foundation for a struggle at arms. The crisis came and the contest obtained the name of the French and Indian war, the French and Indians combining against the English. The war was termi- nated in 1763 by a treaty at Paris, by which France ceded to Great Britain all of North America east of the Mississippi, except the island on which New Orleans is situated. The preceding autumn France ceded to Spain all the country west of that river. In 1765 the total number of French fami- lies within the limits of the Northwest Ter- ritory did not probably exceed 600. These were in settlements about Detroit, along the river Wabash and the neighborhood of Fort Chartres on the Mississippi. The colonial policy of the British Government opposed any measures which might strengthen settlements in the interior of this country, lest they should become self- supporting and consequently independent of the mother country. Hence the settle- ment of the Northwest was still further retarded. That short-sighted policy con- sisted mainly in holding the lands in the possession of the Government, and not allowing it to be subdivided and sold to those who would become settlers. After the establishment of American indepen- dence, and especially under the administra- tion of Thomas Jefferson, both as Governor of Virginia and President of the United > l^fl HISTORY OF row A. States, subdivision of land and giving it to actual settlers rapidly peopled this portion of the Union, so that the Northwest Terri- tory was formed and even subdivided into other Territories and States before the year 1820. For more than 100 years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa and admired its fertile plains, not a single settle- ment was made or attempted ; not even a trading-post was established. During this time the Illmois Indians, once a powerful tribe, gave up the entire possession of this " Beautiful Land," as Iowa was then called, to the Sacs and Foxes. In 1803, when Louisiana was purchased b}' the United States, the Sacs, Foxes and lowas pos- sessed this entire State, and the two for- mer tribes occupied also most of the State of Illinois. The four most important towns of the Sacs were along the Mississippi, two on the east side, one near the mouth of the Upper Iowa and one at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose. Those of the Foxes were — one on the west side of the Mississippi just above Davenport, one about twelve miles from the river back of the Dubuque lead mines and one on Turkey River. The principal village of the lowas was on the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, where lowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the lowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a 3'oung man, commanded the attacking forces. The Sioux had the northern portion of this State and Southern Minnesota. They were a fierce and war-like nation, who often disputed possessions with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare ; but finally a boundary line was established between them by the Government of the United States, in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1825. This, however, became the occa- sion of an increased number of quarrels be- tween the tribes, as each trespassed, or was thought to trespass, upon the other's side of the line. In 1830, therefore, the Govern- ment created a forty-mile neutral strip of land between them, which policy proved to be more successful in the interests of peace. Soon after the acquisition of Louisiana by our Government, the latter adopted meas- ures for the exploration of the new terri- tor}^ having in view the conciliation of the numerous tribes of Indians by wliom it was possessed, and also the selection of proper sites for military posts and trading stations. The Army of the West, General Wilkin- son commanding, had its headquarters at St. Louis. From tiiis post Captains Lewis and Clarke, in 1805, were detailed with a sufficient force to explore the Missouri River to its source, and Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike to ascend to the head of the Missis- sippi. August ;2.o the latter arrived within the present limits of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, where he met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian Agent at this point, a French interpreter, four chiefs and fifteen Sac and Fox war- riors. At the head of the rapids, where Montrose now is, Pike held a council with the Indians, merely for the purpose of stat- ing to them that the President of the United States wished to inquire into the needs ol the red man, with a view of suggesting remedies. On the 23d he reached what is supposed from his description to be the site of Bur- lington, which place he designated for a post; but the station, probabl}' b}' some mistake, was afterward placed at Fort Madi- son. After accidentally separating from his men and losing his way, suffering at one time for six days for want of food, and after many other mishaps Lieutenant Pike over- took the remainder of the party at the point now occupied b}' Dubuque, who had gone on up the river hoping to overtake him. At that point Pike was cordially received by II IS TO FT OF IOWA. t2f Julieii Dubuque, a Frenchman who held a mining claim under a grant from Spain, but was not disposed to publish the wealth of his possessions. Having an old field-piece with him, however, he fired a salute in honor of the first visit of an agent from the United States to that part of the country, and Pike pursued his way up the river. At what was afterward Fort Snelling, Minnesota, Lieutenant Pike held a council with the Sioux September 23, and obtained from them a grant of 100,000 acres of land. January 8 following (1806) he arrived at a trading post on Lake De Sable, belonging to the Northwestern Fur Company, whose field of operations at that time included this State. Pike returned to St. Louis the fol- lowing spring, after making a successful expedition. Before this country could be opened for settlement by the whites, it was necessary that Indian title should be extinguished and the aboriginal owners removed. When the Government assumed control of the country by virtue of the Louisiana purchase, nearly the whole State was in possession of the Sacs and Foxes, at whose head stood the rising Black Hawk. November 3, 1804, a treaty was concluded with these tribes by which they ceded to the United States the Illinois side of the great river, in consider- ation of $2,234 worth of goods then de- Hvered, and an annuity of $1,000 to be paid in goods at cost ; but Black Hawk always maintained that the chiefs who entered into that compact acted without authority, and that therefore the treaty was not binding. The first fort erected on Iowa soil was at Fort Madison. A short time previously a military post was fixed at what is now Warsaw, Illinois, and named Fort Edwards. These enterprises caused mistrust among the Indians. Indeed, Fort Madison was located in violation of the treaty of 1804. The Indians sent delegations to the whites at these forts to learn what they were do- ing, and what they intended. On being " informed " that those structures were merely trading-posts, they were incredu- lous and became more and more suspicious. Black Hawk therefore led a party to the vicinity of Fort Madison and attempted its destruction, but a premature attack by him caused his failure. In 181 2, when war was declared between this country and Great Britain, Black Hawk and his band aUied themselves to the British, partly because thev were dazzled by their specious promises, but mostly, perhaps, be- cause they had been deceived by the Amer- icans. Black Hawk said plainly that the latter fact was the cause. A portion of the Sacs and Foxes, however, headed by Keo- kuk ("watchful fox"), could not be per- suaded into hostilities against the United States, being disposed to abide by the treaty of 1804. The Indians were there- fore divided into the "war" and the " peace " parties. Black Hawk says he was informed, after he had gone to the war, that his people, left on the west side of the river, would be defenseless against the United States forces in case they were at- tacked ; and, having all the old men, the women and the children on their hands to provide for, a council was held, and it was determined to have the latter go to St. Louis and place themselves under the " American" chief stationed there. Ac- cordingly they went down, and were re- ceived as the " friendl}' band " of Sacs and Foxes, and were provided for and sent up the Missouri River. On Black Hawk's return from the British army, he says that Keokuk was introduced to him as the war chief of the braves then in the village. On inquiry as to iiow he became chief, there were given him the particulars of his having killed a Sioux in battle, which fact placed him among the warriors, and of his having headed an ex- pedition in defense of their village at Peoria. I2S HISTORT OF IOWA. In person Keokuk was tall and of portly bearing, and in speech he was an orator. He did not master the English language, however, and his interpreters were never able to do him justice. He was a friend of our Government, and always endeavored to persuade the Indians that it was useless to attack a nation so powerful as that of the United States. The treaty of 1804 was renewed in 1816, which Black Hawk himself signed; but he afterward held that he was deceived, and that that treaty was not even yet binding. But there was no further serious trouble with the Indians until the noted " Black Hawk war" of 1832, all of which took place in Illinois and Wisconsin, with the expected result — the defeat and capture of the great chief, and the final, effectual and permanent repulsion of all hostile Indians to the west of the great Mississippi. Black Hawk died October 3, 1838, at his home in this State, and was buried there ; but his remains were afterward placed in the museum of the His- torical Society, where they were accident- ally destroyed by fire. More or less affecting the territory now included within the State of Iowa, fifteen treaties with the Indians have been made, an outline of which is here given. In 1804, when the whites agreed not to settle west of the Mississippi on Indian lands. In 1815, with the Sioux, ratif3'ing peace with Great Britain and the United States ; with the Sacs, a treaty of a similar nature, and also ratifying that of 1804, the Indians agreeing hot to join their brethren who, under Black Hawk, had aided the British ; with the Foxes, ratifying the treaty of 1804, the In- dians agreeing to deliver up all their prisoners ; and with the lowas, a treaty of friendship. In 1816, with the Sacs of Rock River, ratifying the treaty of 1804. In 1824, with the Sacs and Foxes, the latter relin- quishing all their lands in Missouri ; and that portion of the southeast corner of Iowa known as the " half-breed tract " was set off to the half-breeds. In 1825, placing a boundary line between the Sacs and Foxes on the south and the Sioux on the north. In 1830, when that line was widened to forty miles. Also, in the same year, with several tribes, who ceded a large portion of their possessions in the western part of the State. In 1832, with the Winnebagoes, ex- changing lands with them and providing a school, farm, etc., for them. Also, in the same year, the "Black Hawk purchase" was made, of about 6,000,000 acres, along the west side of the Mississippi from the southern line of the State to the mouth of the Iowa River. In 1836, with the Sacs and Foxes, ceding Keokuk's reserve to the United States. In 1S37, with the same, when another slice of territory, comprising 1,250000 acres, joining west of the forego- ing tract, was obtained. Also, in the same 3'ear, when these Indians gave up all their lands allowed them under former treaties; and finally, in 1842, when they relinquished their title to all their lands west of the Mississippi. Before the whole of Iowa fell into the hands of the United States Government sundry white settlers had, under the Spanish and French Governments, obtained and oc- cupied several important claims within our boundaries, which it may be well to notice in brief. September 22, 1788, Julien Du- buque, before mentioned, obtained a lease of lands from the Fox Indians, at the point now occupied by the city named after iiini. This tract contained valuable lead ore, and Dubuque followed mining. His claims, however, as well as those to whom he after- ward conveyed title, were litigated for many years, with the final result of dis- appointing the purchasers. In 1799 Louis Honori obtained a tract of land about three miles square where Montrose is now sit- uated, and his title, standing through all the treaties and being finally confirmed by His TORT OF WW A. I2g the Supreme Court of the United States, is the oldest legal title held by a white man in the State of Iowa. A tract of 5,860 acres in Clayton County was granted by the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Louisiana in 1795 to Basil Girard, whose title was made valid some time after the preceding case was settled. Other early settlers were : Mr. Johnson, an agent of the American Fur Company, who had a trading-post below Burlington. Le Moliere, a French trader, had, in 1820, a station at what is now Sandusky, in Lee County, si.\ miles above Keokuk. During the same year Dr. Samuel C. Muir, a sur- geon of the United States army, built a cabin where the city of Keokuk now stands. His marriage and subsequent life were so romantic that we give the following briet sketch : While stationed at a military post on the Upper Mississippi, the post was visited by a beautiful Indian maiden — whose native name unfortunately has not been preserved — who, in her dreams, had seen a white brave unmoor his canoe, paddle it across the river and come directly to her lodge. She felt assured,- according to the super- stitious belief of her race, that in her dreams she had seen her future husband, and had come to the fort to find him. Meeting Dr. Muir she instantly recognized him as the hero of her dream, which, with childlike innocence and simplicity, she related to him. Her dream was, indeed, prophetic. Charmed with Sophia's beauty, innocence and devotion, the Doctor honorably mar- ried her, but after a while the sneers and gibes of his brother officers — less honorable than he, perhaps — made him feel ashamed of his dark-skinned wife, and when his regi- ment was ordered down the river to Belle- fontaine, it is said that he embraced the opportunity to rid himself of her, and left her, never expecting to see her again, and little dreaming that she would have the courage to follow him. But, with her in- fant child, this intrepid wife and mother started alone in her canoe, and after many days of weary labor and a lonely journey of 900 miles, she at last reached him. She afterward remarked, when speaking of this toilsome journey down the river in search of her husband, " When I got there I was all perished away — so thin !" The Doctor, touched by such unexampled devotion, took her to his heart, and ever after until his death treated her with marked respect. She always presided at his table with grace and dignity, but never abandoned her na- tive style of dress. In i8i9-'2o he was stationed at Fort Edward, now Warsaw, but the senseless ridicule of some of his brother officers on account of his Indian wife induced him to resign his commission. He then built a cabin as above stated, where Keokuk is now situated, and made a claim to some land. This claim he leased to Otis Reynolds and John Culver, of St. Louis, and went to La Pointe (afterward Galena), where he practiced his profession for ten 3'ears, wiien he returned to Keokuk. His Indian wife bore to him four children — Louise, James, Mary and Sophia. Dr. Muir died suddenly (jf cholera in 1832, but left his property in such a condition that it was soon wasted in vexatious litigation, and his brave and faithful wife, left friendless and penniless, became discouraged, and, with her two younger children, disap- peared. It is said she returned to her peo- ple on the Upper Missouri. The gentleman who had leased Dr. Muir's claim at Keokuk subsequently em- ployed as their agent Moses Stillwell, who arrived with his family in 1828, and took possession. His brothers-in-law, Amos and Valencourt Van Ansdal, came with him and settled near. Mr. Stillwell's daughter Margaret (afterward Mrs. Ford) was born in 183 1, at the foot of the rapids, called by the Indians Puckashetuck. She was prob- i30 histoRY OF /orP'A. ably the first white American child born in Iowa. In 1829 Dr. Isaac Gallaud made a settle- ment on the Lower Rapids, at what is now Nashville. The same year James S. Lang- worth}', who had been engaged in lead- mining at Galena since 1824, commenced lead-mining in the vicinity of Dubuque. A few others afterward came to that point as miners, and they soon found it necessary to hold a council and adopt some regulations for their government and protection. They met in 1830 on the bank of the river, by the side of an old cottonwood drift log, at what is now the Jones Street Levee in Dubuque, and elected a committee, consisting of J. L. Langworthy, H. F. Lander, James Mc- Phetres, Samuel Scales and E. M. Wren, who drafted a set of rules, which were adopted by this, the first " Legislature" of Iowa. They elected Dr. Jarote as their officer to choose arbitrators for the settle- ment of difficulties that might arise. These settlers, however, were intruders upon In- dian territory, and were driven off in 1832 by our Government, Colonel Zachary Tay- lor commanding the troops. The Indians returned and were encouraged to operate the rich mines opened by the late white occupants. But in June of the same year the troops were ordered to the east side of the Missis- sippi to assist in the annihilation of the very Indians whose rights they had been protecting on the west side ! Immediately after the close of the Black Hawk war and the negotiations of the treat}' in September, 1S32, by which the Sacs and Foxes ceded the tract known as the " Black Hawk Purchase," the settlers, supposmg tiiat now they had a right to re-enter the territory, returned and took possession of their claims, built cabins, erected furnaces and prepared large quantities of lead for market. But the prospects of the hardy and enterprising settlers and miners were again ruthlessly interfered with by the Government, on the ground that the treaty with the Indians would not go into force until June i, 1833, although they had with- drawn from the vicinity of the settlement. Colonel Taylor was again ordered by the War Department to remove the miners, and in January, 1833, troops were again sent from Prairie du Chien to Dubuque for that purpose. This was a serious and per- haps unnecessary hardship imposed upon the miners. They were compelled to aban- don their cabins and homes in mid-winter. This, too, was only out of respect for forms; for the purchase had been made, and the Indians had retired. After the lapse of fifty years, no very satisfactory reason for this rigorous action of the Government can be given. But the orders had been given, and there was no alternative but to obey. Many of the settlers re-crossed the river, and did not return ; a few, however, re- moved to an island near the east bank of the river, built rude cabins of poles, in which to store their lead until spring, when they could Hoat the fruits of their labor to St. Louis for sale, and where they could re- main until the treaty went into force, when thev could return. Among these were the Langworthy brothers, who had on hand about 300,000 pounds of lead. No sooner had the miners left than Lieu- tenant Covington, who had been placed in command at Dubuque by Colonel Taylor, ordered some of the cabins of the settlers to be torn down, and wagons and other prop- erty to be destroyed. This wanton and inexcusable action on the part of a subordi- nate, clothed with a little brief authority, was sternly rebuked by Colonel Taylor, and Covington was superseded by Lieutenant George Wilson, who pursued a just and friendly course with the pioneers, that were only waiting for the time when they could repossess their claims. The treaty went formally into effect June, Hist OR i- OF row A. 131 1833, the troops were withdrawn, and the Langworthy brothers and a few others at once returned and resumed possession of their homes and claims. From this time must date the first permanent settlement of this portion of Iowa. John P. Sheldon was appointed superintendent of the mines by the Government, and a system of permits to miners and licenses to smelters was adopted, similar to that which had been in operation at Galena since 1825, under Lieutenant Martin Thomas and Captain Thomas C. Legate. Substantially the primi- tive law enacted by the miners assembled around that old Cottonwood drift log in 1830, was adopted and enforced by the United States Government, except that miners were required to sell their mineral to licensed smelters, and the smelter was required to give bonds for the payment of 6 per cent, of all lead manufactured to the Government About 500 people arrived in the mining district in 1833, after the Indian title was fully extinguished, of whom 150 were from Galena. In the same )'ear Mr. Langworthy assisted in building the first school- house in Iowa, and thus was formed the nucleus of the populous and thriving city of Dubuque. Mr. Langworthy lived to see the naked prairie on which he first settled become the site of a city of 15,000 inhabitants, the small school-house which he aided in construct- ing replaced by three substantial edifices, wherein 2,000 children were being trained, churches erected in every part of the city, and railroads connecting the wilderness which he first explored with all the eastern world. He died suddenly on the 13th of March, 1865, while on a trip over the Du- buque & Southern Railroad, at Monticello, and the evening train brought the news of his death and his remains. Lucius H. Langworthy, his brother, was one of the most worthy, gifted and influ- ential of the old settlers of this section of 11 Iowa. He died greatly lamented by many friends, in June, 1865. The name Dubuque was given to the settlement by the miners, at a meeting held in 1834. Soon after the close of the Black Hawk war in 1832, Zachariah Hawkins, Benjamin Jennings, Aaron White, Augustine Horton, Samuel Gooch, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Fort Madison. In 1833 General John H. Knapp and Colonel Nathaniel Knapp purchased these claims, and in the summer of 1835 they laid out the town of " Fort Madison." Lots were ex- posed for sale early in 1836. The town was subsequently re-surveyed and platted by the United States Government. The popu- lation rapidly increased, and in less than two years the beautiful location was cov- ered by a flourishing town, containing nearly 600 inhabitants, with a large pro- portion of enterprising merchants, mechan- ics and manufacturers. In the fall of 1832 Simpson S. White erected a cabin on the site of Burlington, seventy-nine miles below Rock Island. During the war parties had looked long- ingly upon the " Flint Hills" from the op- posite side of the river, and White was soon followed by others. David Tothers made a claim on the prairie about three miles back from the river, at a place since kntnvn as the farm of Judge Morgan. The following winter the settlers were driven off by the military from Rock Island, as intruders upon the righfs of the Indians. White's cabin was burned by the soldiers. He returned to Illinois, where he remained during the winter, and in the following summer, as soon as the Indian title was ex- tinguished, returned and rebuilt his cabin. White was joined by his brother-in-law, Doolittle, and they laid out the town of Burlington in 1834, on a beautiful area of sloping eminences and gentle declivities, enclosed within a natural amphitheater 132 HISTORY OF IOWA. formed by the surrounding hills, which were crowned with luxuriant forests and presented the most picturesque scenery. The same autumn witnessed the openmg of the first dry -goods stores by Dr. VV. R. Ross and Major Jeremiah Smith, each well sup- plied with Western merchandise. Such was the beginning of Burlington, which in less than four years became the seat of government for the Territory of Wisconsin, and in three years more contained a popu- lation of 1,400 persons. Immediately after the treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, in September, 1832, Colonel George Davenport made the first claim on the site of the present thriving city of Davenport. As early as 1827, Colonel Davenport had established a flat-boat ferry, which ran between the island and the main shore of Iowa, by which he carried on a trade with the Indians west of the Missis- sippi. In 1833 Captain Benjamin W. Clark moved from Illinois, and laid the founda- tion of the town of Buffalo, in Scott County, which was the first actual settlement within the limits of that county. The first settlers of Davenport were An- toine Le Claire, Colonel George Davenport, Major Thomas Smith, Major William Gor- don, Philip Hambough, Alexander W. Mc- Gregor, Levi S. Colton, Captain James May and others. A settlement was made in Clayton Count}' in the spring of 1832, on Turkey River, by Robert Hatfield and William W. Wayman, No further settlement was made in this part of the State until 1836. The first settlers of Muscatine County were Benjamin Nye, John Vanater and G. W. Kasey, all of whom came in 1834. E. E. Fay, William St. John. N. Fullington, H. Reece, Jonas Pettibone, R. P. Lowe, Stephen Whicher, Abijah Whitney, J. E. Fletcher, W. D. Abernethy and Alexis Smith were also earl}' settlers of Musca- tine. As early as 1824 a French trader named Hart had established a trading-post, and built a cabin on the bluffs above the large spring now known as " Mynster Spring," within the limits of the present city of Council Bluffs, and had probably been there some time, as the post was known to the emplo3'es of the American Fur Company as "La Cote de Hart," or " Hart's Bluff." In 1827 an agent of the American Fur Company, Francis Guittar, with others, encamped in the timber at the foot of the bluffs, about on the present location of Broadwa}', and afterward settled there. In 1839 ^ block house was built on the bluff in the east part of the city. The Pottawat- omie Indians occupied this part of the State until i846-'7, when thej' relinquished the territor}- and removed to Kansas. Billy Caldwell was then principal chief. There were no white settlers in that part of the State except Indian traders, until the arri- val of the Mormons under the lead of Brig- ham Young. These people on their way westward halted for the winter of i846-'7, on the west bank of the Missouri River, about five miles above Omaha, at a place now called Florence. Some of them had reached the eastern bank of the river the spring before in season to plant a crop. In the spring of 1847 Brigham Young and a portion of the colony pursued their journey to Salt Lake, but a large portion of them returned to the Iowa side and settled mainly within the present limits of Pottawatomie County. The principal settlement of this strange community was at a place first called " Miller's Hollow," on Indian Creek, and afterward named Kanesville, in honor of Colonel Thomas L. Kane, of Pennsyl- vania, who visited them soon afterward. The Mormon settlement extended over the county and into neighboring counties, wherever timber and water furnished de- sirable locations. Orson Hyde, priest, law- yer and editor, was installed as president HiSToar OF IOWA. 133 of the Quorum of Twelve, and all that part of the State remained under Mormon con- trol for several years. In 1847 the}' raised a battalion numbering 500 men for the Mexican war. In 1848 Hyde started a paper called the Frontier Guardian, at Kanesville. In 1849, after many of the faithful had left to join Brigham Young at Salt Lake, the Mormons in this section of Iowa numbered 6,552, and in 1850,7,828; but they were not all within the limits of Pottawatomie County. This county was organized in 1848, all the first officials be- ing Mormons. In 1852 the order was pro- mulgated that all the true believers should gather together at Salt Lake. Gentiles flocked in, and in a few years nearly all the first settlers were gone. May 9, 1843, Captain James Allen, with a small detachment of troops on board the steamer lone, arrived at the site of the present capital of the State, Des Moines. This was the first steamer to ascend the Des Moines River to this point. The troops and stores were landed at what is now the foot of Court avenue, and the Captain re- turned in the steamer to Fort Sanford to arrange for bringing up more soldiers and supplies. In due time they too arrived, and a fort was built near the mouth of Rac- coon Fork, at its confluence with the Des Moines, and named " Fort Des Moines." Soon after the arrival of the troops, a trad- ing-post was established on the east side of the river by two noted Indian traders named Ewing, from Ohio. Among the first settlers in this part of Iowa were Ben- jamin Bryant, J. B. Scott, James Drake (gunsmith), John Sturtevant, Robert Kin- zie, Alexander Turner, Peter Newcomer and others. PIONEER LIFE. Most of the early settlers of Iowa came from older States, as Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, where their prospects for even a competenc}' were very poor. They found those States good — to emigrate from. Their entire stock of furniture, implements and family necessities were easily stored , in one wagon, and sometimes a cart was their only vehicle. After arriving and selecting a suitable location, the next thing to do was to build a log cabin, a description of which may be interesting to many of our younger readers, as in some sections these old-time struct- ures are no more to be seen. Trees of uniform size were chosen and cut into loss of the desired length, generally twelve to fifteen feet, and hauled to the spot selected for the future dwelling. On an appointed day the few neighbors who were available would assemble and have a " house-raising." I Each end of every log was saddled and notched so that they would lie as close down as possible; the next day the proprietor, would proceed to "chink" and "daub" the cabin, to keep out the rain, wind and cold. The house had to be re-daubed ev- ery fall, as the rains of the intervening time would wash out a great part of the mortar. The usual height of the house was seven or eight feet. The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at each end of the building near the top. The roof was made by laying very straight small logs or stout poles suitable distances apart, and on these were laid the clapboards, somewhat like shingling, generally about two and a half feet to the weather. These clapboards were fastened to their place by " weight- poles " corresponding in place with the joists just described, and these again were held in their place by " runs " or " knees " which were chunks of wood about eighteen or twent)' inches long fitted between them near the ends. Clapboards were made from the nicest oaks in the vicinit}', by chopping or sawing them into four-foot blocks and riving these with a frow, which was a simple blade fi.xed at right angles to >34 HISTORY OF IOWA. its handles. This was driven into the blocks of wood by a mallet. As the frow was wrenched down through the wood, the latter was turned alternately over from side to side, one end being held by a forked piece of timber. The chimney to the Western pioneer's cabin was made by leaving in the original building a large open place in one wall, or by cutting one after the structure was up, and by building on the outside, from the ground up, a stone column, or a column of sticks and mud, the sticks being laid up cob house fashion. The fire-place thus made was often large enough to receive fire-wood six to eight feet long. Sometimes this wood, especially the " back-log," would be nearly as large as a saw-log. The more rapidly the pioneer could burn up the wood in his vicinity the sooner he had his little farm cleared and ready for cultivation. For a window, a piece about two feet long was cut out of one of the wall logs, and the hole closed, sometimes by glass but gener- ally with greased paper. Even greased deer- hide was sometimes used. A doorway was cut through one of the walls if a saw was to be had; otherwise the door would be left by shortened logs in the original building. The door was made by pinning clapboards to two or three wood bars, and was hung upon wooden hinges. A wooden latch, with catch, then finished the door, and the latch was raised by any one on the outside by pulhng a leather string. For security at night this latch-string was drawn in, but for friends and neighbors, and even stran- gers, the " latch-string was always hanging out," as a welcome. In the interior over the fire-place would be a shelf called " the mantel," on which stood a candlestick or lamp, some cooking and table ware, possi- bly an old clock, and other articles; in the fire-place would be the crane, sometimes of iron, sometimes of wood; on it the pots were hung for cooking; over the door, in forked cleats, hung the ever-trustful rifie and pow- der-horu; in one corner stood the larger bed for the " old folks," and under it the trundle-bed for the children; in another stood the old-fashioned spinning-wheel, with a smaller one by its side; in another the heavy table, the only table, of course, there was in the house; in the remaining was a rude cupboard holding the tableware, which consisted of a few cups and saucers, and blue-edged plates, standing singly on their edges against the back, to make the display of table-furniture more conspicu- ous; while around the room were scattered a few splint-bottom or Windsor chairs, and two or three stools. These simple cabins were inhabited by a kind and true-hearted people. They were strangers to mock modesty, and the traveler seeking lodging for the night, or desirous of spending a few days in the community, if willing to accept the rude offering, was always welcome, although how they were disposed of at night the reader might not easily imagine; for, as described, a single room was made to answer for kitchen, dining-room, sitting-room, bed-room and parlor, and man)- families consisted of six or eight members. The bed was very often made by fixing a post in the floor about six feet from one wall and four feet from the adjoining wall, and fastening a stick to this post about two feet above the floor, on each of two sides, so that the other end of each of the two sticks could be fastened in the oppo- site wall; clapboards were laid across these, and thus the bed was made complete. Guests were given this bed, while the fam- ily disposed of themselves in another cor- ner of the room or in the loft. When several guests were on hand at once they were sometimes kept over night in the fol- lowing manner: When bedtime came the men were requested to step out of doors while the women spread out a broad bed HIS/ OR r OF IOWA. 135 upon the mid floor, and put themselves to bed in the center; the signal was given, and the men came in and each husband took his place in bed next his own wife, and single men outside beyond them again. They were generall}' so crowded that they had to lie "spoon" fashion, and whenever anyone wished to turn over he would say " spoon," and the whole company of sleep- ers would turn over at once. This was the only way they could all keep in bed. To witness the various processes of cook- ing in those days would alike surprise and amuse those who have grown up since cooking stoves and ranges came into use. Kettles were hung over the large fire, sus- pended with pot-hooks, iron or wooden, on the crane, or on poles, one end of which would rest upon a chain. The long-hand- led frying pan was used for cooking meat. It was either held over the blaze by hand or set down upon coals drawn out upon the hearth. This pan was also used for baking pancakes, also call flapjacks, batter- cakes, etc. A better article for this, how- ever, was the cast-iron spider, or Dutch skillet. The best thing for baking bread in those days, and possibly even in these latter days, was the flat-bottomed bake kettle, of greater depth, with closely fitting cast-iron cover, and commonly known as the Dutch oven. With coals over and under it, bread and biscuits would be quickly and nicely baked. Turkey and spare-ribs were sometimes roasted before the fire, sus- pended by a string, a dish being placed underneath to catch the drippings. Hominy and samp were very much used. The hominy, however, was generally hulled corn — boiled corn from which the hull or bran had been taken by hot lye, hence sometimes called' lye hominy. True hom- inj and samp were made of pounded corn. A popular method of making this, as well as real meal for bread, was to cut out or burn a large hole in the top of a huge stump, in the shape of a mortar, and pound- ing the corn in this by a maul or beetle suspended by a swing pole like a well- sweep. This and the wellsweep consisted of a pole twenty to thirty feet long fixed in an upright fork so that it could be worked " teeter " fashion. It was a rapid and sim- ple way of drawing water. When the samp was sufficiently pounded it was taken out, the bran floated off, and the delicious grain boiled like rice. The chief articles of diet in an early day were corn bread, hominy or samp, venison, pork, honey, pumpkin (dried pumpkin for more than half the year), turkey, prairie chicken, squirrel and some other game, with a few additional vegetables a portion of the year. Wheat bread, tea, coffee and fruit were luxuries not to be indulged in except on special occasions, as when visit- ors were present. Besides cooking in the manner described, the women had many other arduous duties to perform, one of the chief of which was spinning. The big wheel was used for spinning yarn and the little wheel for spin- ning flax. These stringed instruments fur- nished the principal music for the family, and were operated by our mothers and grandmothers with great skill, attained without pecuniary expense, and with far less practice than is necessary for the girls of our period to acquire a skillful use of their costly and elegant instruments. But those wheels, indispensable a few years ago, are all now superseded by the mighty fac- tories which overspread the country, fur- nishing cloth of all kinds at an expense ten times less than would be incurred now by the old system. The traveler always found a welcome at the pioneer's cabin. It was never full. Although there might be already a guest for every puncheon, there was still " room for one more," and a wider circle would be made for the new-comer at the big fire. If 136 HISTORY OF IOWA. the stranger was in search of land, he was doubly welcome, and his host would vol- unteer to show him all the " first rate claims in this neck of the woods," going with him for da3's, showing the corners and advan- tages of every " Congress tract " within a dozen miles of his own cabin. To his neighbors the pioneer was equally liberal. If a deer was killed, the choicest bits were sent to his nearest neighbor, a half-dozen miles away perhaps. When a pig was butchered, the same custom pre- vailed. If a new-comer came in too late for " cropping," the neighbors would sup- ply his table with just the same luxuries they themselves enjoyed, and in as liberal quantity, until a crop could be raised. When a new-comer had located his claim, the neighbors for miles around would assemble at the site of the proposed cabin and aid himin " gittm " it up. One party with axes would cut down the trees and hew the logs; another with teams would haul the logs to the ground; another party would "raise" the cabin; while several of the old men would rive the clap-boards for the roof. By night the little forest domicile would be up and ready for a " house-warming," which was the dedica- tory occupation of the house, when music and dancing and festivity would be enjoyed at full height. The ne.xt day the new-comer would be as well situated as his neighbors. An instance of primitive hospitable man- ners will be in place here. A traveling Methodist preacher arrived in a distant neighborhood to fill an appointment. The house where services were to be held did not belong to a church member, but no matter for thai. Boards were collected from all quarters with which to make temporary seats, one of the neighbors volunteering to lead off in the work, while the man of the house, with the faithful rifle on his shoulder, sallied fortii in quest of meat, for this truly was a " ground hog " case, the preacher coming and no meat in the house. The host ceased not to chase until he found the meat, in the shape of a deer; returning he sent a boy out after it, with directions on what " pint " to find it. After services, which had been Hstened to with rapt atten- tion by all the audience, mine host said to his wife, " Old woman, I reckon this 'ere preacher is pretty hungry and you must git him a bite to eat." " What shall I get him?" asked the wife, who had not seen the deer, " thar's nuthen in the house to eat." " Why, look thar," returned he, " thar's a deer, and thar's plenty of corn in the field; you git some corn and grate it while I skin the deer, and we'll have a good supper for him." It is needless to add that venison and corn bread made a sup- per fit for any pioneer preacher, and was thankfully eaten. Fires set out by Indians or settlers some- times purposely and sometimes permitted through carelessness, would visit the prai- rie every autumn, and sometimes the for- ests, either m autumn or spring, and settlers could not always succeed in defending themselves against the destroying element. Many interesting incidents are related. Often a fire was started to bewilder game, or to bare a piece of ground for the early grazing of stock the ensuing spring, and it would get away under a wind and soon be beyond control. Violent winds would often arise and drive the flames with such rapidity that riders on the fleetest steeds could scarcely escape. On the approach of a prairie fire the farmer would immedi- ately set about " cutting off supplies" for the devouring enemy by a " back fire." Thus by starting a small fire near the bare ground about his premises, and keeping it under control next his property, he would burn off a strip around him and prevent the attack of the on-coming flames. A few furrows or a ditch around the farm were in some degrees a protection. HISTORV OF IOWA. An original prairie of tall and exuberant grass on fire, especially at night, was a mag- nificent spectacle, enjoyed only by the pioneer. Here is an instance where the frontiersman, proverbially deprived of the sights and pleasures of an old community, is privileged far beyond the people of the present day in this country. One could scarcely tire of beholding the scene, as its awe-inspiring features seemed constantly to increase, and the whole panorama unceas- ingly changed like the dissolving views of a magic lantern, or like the aurora borealis. Language cannot convey, words cannot express, the faintest idea of the splendor and grandeur of such a conflagration at night. It was as if the pale queen of night, disdaining to take her accustomed place in the heavens, had dispatched myriads upon myriads of messengers to light their torches at the altar of the setting sun until all had flashed into one long and continuous blaze. One instance has been described as follows: " Soon the fires began to kindle wider and rise higher from the long grass; the gentle breeze increased to stronger currents, and soon formed the small, flickering blaze into fierce torrent flames, which curled up and leaped along in resistless splendor; and like quickly raising the dark curtain from the luminous stage, the scenes before me were suddenly changed, as if by a magi- cian's wand, into one boundless amphithea- ter, blazing from earth to heaven and sweeping the horizon round, — columns of lurid flames sportively mounting up to the zenith, and dark clouds of crimson smoke curling away and aloft till they nearly ob- scured stars and moon, while the rushing, crashing sounds, like roaring cataracts, mingled with distant thunders, were almost deafening; danger, death, glared all around; it screamed for victims; yet, notwithstand- ing the imminent peril of prairie fires, one is loth, irresolute, almost unable to with- draw or seek refuge. LOUISIANA TERRITORY. As before mentioned, although De Soto, a Spaniard, first took possession of the Mis- sissippi Valley for his Government, Spain did not establish her title to it by following up the proclamation with immediate settle- ments, and the country fell into the hands of France, by whose agent it was named " Louisiana." By the treaty of Utrecht, France ceded to England her possessions in Hudson's Bay, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but retained Canada and Louisiana. In 1711 this province was placed in the hands of a governor-general, with headquarters at Mobile, for the purpose of applying a new policy for the settlement and development of the country. The very next year ano- ther change was made, placing all this ter- ritory in the hands of Anthony Crozat, a wealthy merchant of Paris, but this scheme also failed, as Spain continued to obstruct the efforts of anj^ Frenchman to establish trade, by closing the ports against him. In 1717 John Law appeared on the scene with his famous " Mississippi Company," as the Louisiana branch of the Bank of France : and as his roseate scheme promised to do much in raising crippled France upon a surer footing, extended powers and privi- leges were granted him. He was to be practically a viceroy, and the life of his charter was fixed at twenty -five years. But in 1720, when the " Mississippi bubble " was at the height ot its splendor, it suddenly collapsed, leaving the mother country in a far worse condition than before. Heretofore Louisiana had been a sub- ordinate dependence, under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Canada. Early in 1723 the province of Louisiana was erected into an independent Government, and it was divided into nine districts, for civil and military purposes. Characteristic of human nature, the peo- ple were mo^e excited with prospects 0/ 13* HISTORY OF IOWA. finding enormous wealth ready at hand, if they should continue to scour the country, which they did in places as far west as the Rocky Mountains, to the neglect of their asfricultural and domestic interests. A habit of roaming became fixed. At the same time their exposed condition was a constant temptation to Indian rapine, and the Nat- chez tribe in 1723 made a general assault upon the whites. At first they were re- pulsed, but about five years afterward, aided by the Chickasaws and others, they fell upon the French village of St. Catha- rine and massacred the whole male popu- lation. Two soldiers, who happened to be in the woods, alone escaped to New Or- leans, to bear the news. The colonies on the Yazoo and the Washita suffered the same fate. Maddened by these outrages, the whites turned upon the Natchez and in the course of three years exterminated them. They were probably the most in- telligent tribe of Indians north of Mexico. During the fifteen years from 1717 to 1732 the province increased in population from 700 to 5,000, and in prosperity to a wonderful degree. It remained under royal governors until 1764, the end of the French dominion. Most of this time the Indians were troublesome, and in 1754 began the long "French and Indian war" with Eng- land, which resulted in favor of the latter, tiiat Government obtaining all of New France, Canada, and the eastern half of Louisiana. This province did not suffer by being the scene of battle, but did suffer a erreat deal from a flood of irredeemable paper mone}'. In the meantime the western portion, or residue, of this province was secretly promised to Spain ; but before either of the foreign powers had opportu- nity to rejoice long in their western posses- sions, a new power on earth, the United States, took independent possession of all the country except Louisiana and Florida, wh;ch it has maintained ever since. During the seventy years of French control the province of Louisiana increased in popula- tion from a few destitute fishermen to a flourishing colony of 13,540. St. Louis, Missouri, was started in 1764. Don O'Reilly, the new Governor of Loui- siana in 1764, ruled with a despotic hand, yet for the general advantage of the peo- ple. His successor, Don Antonio Maria Bucarelly, was mild, and he was succeeded January i, 1777, by Don Bernard de GaL vez, who was the last Governor. He sym- pathized with American independence. The British, with 140 troops and 1,400 Indians, invaded Upper Louisiana from the north by way of the Straits of Mackinaw, and in- vested St. Louis, Missouri, in 17S0, but were driven off. Wiien the Indians saw that they were led to tight " Americans" as well as Spaniards, they found that they had been deceived, and withdrew from the British army, and thus General George R. Clark, in behalf of the Americans, easily defended St. Louis, and also all the new settlements in this western country. After the Revolutionary war the country began again to prosper. Governor Galvez, by a census, ascertained that Louisiana had in 1785 a population of about 33,000, exclu- sive of Indians. In the summer of the latter year Don Estavan Miro became Governor /ro tcin.oi the Spanish possessions in this country, and was afterward confirmed as such by the king. During his administration a vain attempt was made by the Catholics to establish the inquisition at New Orleans. He was succeeded in 1792 by Baron de Carondelet, and during his term the Spanish colonies grew so rapidly that their Govern- ment became jealous of the United States and souofht to exclude all interference from them in domestic affairs ; but all efforts in this direction were ended in 1795 by the treaty of Madrid, which, after some delay and trouble, was fully carried out in 1798. HISTORY OF IOWA. 139 Under the leadership of Livingston and Monroe, the United States Government, after various propositions had been dis- cussed by the respective powers, succeeded in effecting, in 1803, a purchase of the whole of Louisiana from France for $11,250,000, and all this country west of the great river consisted of the "Territory of Orleans" (now the State of Louisiana) and the " Dis- trict of Louisiana " (now the States of Ar- kansas, Missouri and Iowa, and westward indefinitely). The latter was annexed to the Territory of Indiana for one year, and in 1805 it was erected into a separate Terri- tory, of the second class, the legislative power being vested in the Governor and judges. Before the close of the year it was made a Territory' of the first class, under the name of the " Territory of Louisiana," the Government being administered by the Governor and judges. The first Governor was James Wilkinson, and he was succeeded near the close of 1806 by Colonel Meri- weather Lewis, the seat of Government be- ing at St. Louis; and during his adminis- tration the Territory was divided into six judicial districts or large counties — St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau, New Madrid and Arkansas. In 18 10 the population of Louisiana Territory was 21,000, five-sevenths of whom were in Arkansas. In 1812 the State of Louisiana was ad- mitted into the Union, and then it was deemed expedient to change the name of the Territory. It was accordingly given the name of " Missouri Territory," which it retained until the admission of the State of Missouri in 1821. IOWA TERRITORY. Although the " Northwestern Territory" — carved out of Virginia and now divided into the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin — never included iowa, this State was in 1834 incorporated IS into the " Territory of Michigan," and thus became subject to the ordinance of 1787; and two years later it was made a part of " Wisconsin Territory," and two years still later, in 1838, the "Territory of Iowa" was formed independently, with sixteen counties and a population of 23,000. In 1833, at Dubuque, a postoffice was established, and some time prior to 1834 one or two justices of the peace had been appointed. In 1834 the Territorial Legis- lature of Michigan created two counties west of the Mississippi — Dubuque and Des Moines — separated by a line drawn west- ward from the foot of Rock Island. These counties were partially organized. John King was appointed " Chief Justice" of Du- buque County, and Isaac Leffler, of Bur- lington, of Des Moines County. Two associate justices in each county were ap- pointed by the Governor. In October, 1835, General George W. Jones, of Du- buque, was elected a delegate to Congress. April 20, 1836, through the efforts of Gen- eral Jones, Congress passed a bill creating the Territory of Wisconsin, which went into operation July 4, that year. Iowa was then included in that Territory, of which General Henry Dodge was appointed Gov- ernor. The census of 1836 showed a popu- lation in Iowa of 10,531, of which 6,257 were in Des Moines County and 4,274 in Dubuque County. Ths first Legislature assembled at Bel- mont, Wisconsin, October 25, 1836; the second at Burlington, Iowa, November 9, 1837 ; and the third, also at the latter place, June I, 1838. As early as 1837 the people of Iowa be- gan to petition Congress for a separate Territorial organization, which was granted June 12 following. Ex-Governor Lucas, of Ohio, was appointed by President Van Bu- ren to be the first Governor of the new Territory. Immediately upon his arrival he issued a proclamation for the election of I40 HISTORY OF IOWA. members of the first Territorial Legislature, to take place September lo. The following were elected : Council. — Jesse B. Brown, J. Keith, E. A. M. Swazey, Arthur Ingram, Robert Ralston, George Hepner, Jesse J. Payne, D. B. Hughes, James M. Clark, Charles Whittlesey, Jonathan W. Parker, Warner Lewis, Stephen Hempstead. House. — Wm. Patterson, Hawkins Tay- lor, Calvin J. Price, James Brierly, James Hall, Gideon S. Bailey, Samuel Parker, James W. Grimes, George Temple, Van B. Delashmutt, Thomas Blair, George W. Beeler, Wm. G. Coop, Wm. H. Wallace, Asbury B. Porter, John Frierson, Wm. L. Toole, Levi Thornton, S. C. Hastings, Robert G. Roberts, Laurel Summers, Jabez A. Burchard, Jr., Chauncey Swan, Andrew Bankson, Thomas Cox and Har- din Nowlin. At the session of the above Legislature Wm. W. Chapman was elected delegate to Congress. As the latter body had given the Governor unlimited veto power, and as Governor Lucas was disposed to exer- cise it arbitrarily, the independent " Hawk- eyes " grew impatient under his administra- tion, and, after having a storm\' session for a time, they had Congress to limit the veto power. Great excitement also prevailed, both in the Legislature and among the people, concerning the question of the loca- tion of the seat of Government for the State. As they knew nothing concerning the great future development and extent of the State, they had no correct idea where the geographical center would or should be. The Black Hawk purchase, which was that strip of land next the Mississippi, in the southeastern part of the State, was the full extent and horizon of their idea of the new commonwealth. Hence they thought first only of Burlington or Mount Pleasant as the capital. Indeed, at that time, the Inaians had possession of the rest of Iowa. But a few of the more shrewd foresaw that a more central location would soon be further to the north at least, if not west, and a point in Johnson County was ulti- matel}- decided upon. Commissioners, appointed by the Gov- ernor, selected the exact site, laid out a sec- tion of land into a town, sokl lots and proceeded to erect the public buildings. The capitol was commenced in 1840 and Iowa City became thenceforward the capi- tal of the State. The fourth Legislative Assembly met at this place December 6, 1S41, but not in the new capitol building, as it was not yet ready. Being somewhat difficult to raise the necessary funds, the building was not completed for several years. The early Territorial Legislatures of Iowa laid the foundation for a very just and liberal Government, far in advance of what had ever been done before by any State. About this time a conflict arose between this Territory and Missouii concerning the boundary line between them. There was a difference of a strip eight or ten miles wide, extending from the Mississippi to the Missouri rivers, which each claimed. Mis- souri officers, attempting to collect taxes within the disputed territcjr}', were arrested and confined in jail by Iowa sheriffs, and the respective Governors called out the militia, preparing for bloodshed. About 1,200 Iowa men enlisted, and 500 were act- ually armed and encamped in Van Buren County, ready to defend their Territory, when three prominent and able men were sent to Missouri as envoys plenipotentiar)', to effect, if possible, a peaceable adjustment of the difficulty. Upon their arrival, they found that the county commissioners of Clark County, Missouri, had rescinded their order for the collection of the taxes, and that Governor Boggs had dispatched messen- gers to the Governor of Iowa proposing to submit an agreed case to the Supreme HISTORY OP low A. I4t Court o( the United States for the settle- ment of the boundary question. This prop- osition was declined; but afterward, upon petition of Iowa and Missouri, Congress authorized a suit to settle the controvers)'. The suit was duly instituted, and resulted in the decision that Iowa had only asserted " the truth of history," and she knew where the rapids of the Des Moines River were located. Thus ended the Missouri war. " There was much good sense," sa3'S Hon. C. C. Nourse, " in the basis upon which peace was secured, to-wit: ' If Missourians did not know where the rapids of the river Des Moines were located, that was no suffi- cient reason for killing them off with powder and lead; and if we did know a little more of history and geography than they did we ought not to be shot for our learning. We commend our mutual forbearance to older and greater people.' " Under an order from the Supreme Court of the United States commissioners surveyed and estab- lished the boundary. The expenses of the war, on the part of Iowa, were never paid, either by the United States or the Territo- rial Government. STATE ORGANIZATION AND SUBSEQUENT HISTORY. . The population having become, by the year 1844, sufficient to justify the formation of a State Government, the Territorial Leg- islature of Iowa passed an act, approved February 12, that year, submitting to the people the question of the formation of a State Constitution and providing for the election of delegates to a convention to be called together for that purpose. The people voted upon this at their township elections in the following April, giving the measure a large majority. The elected delegates assembled in convention at Iowa City, October 7, 1844, and completed their work by November i. Hon. Shepherd Leffler, the President of this convention. was instructed to transact a certified copy of the proposed Constitution to the Dele- gate in Congress, to be submitted by him- to that body at the earliest practicable day. It also provided that it should be submitted, together with any conditions or changes that might be made by Congress, to the people of the Territory, for their approval or rejection, at the township election in April, 1845. The Constitution, as thus prepared, fi.xed the boundaries of the State very differently from what were finally agreed upon. May 4, 1846, a second convention met at Iowa City, and on the i8th of the same month another Constitution, prescribing the boundaries as they now are, was adopted. This was accepted by the people, August 3, by a vote of 9,492 to 9,036. The new Constitution was approved by Congress, and Iowa was admitted as a sovereigfn State in the American Union, December 28, 1846. The people of the State, antici- pating favorable action by Congress, held an election for State officers October 26 which resulted in Ansel Briggs being de- clared Governor; Elisha Cutler, Jr., Secre- tary of State; Joseph T. Fales, Auditor; Morgan Reno, Treasurer; and members of the Senate and House of Representatives. The act of Congress which admitted Iowa gave her the i6th section of every township of land in the State, or its equiv- alent, for the support of schools; also seventy-two sections of land for the pur- pose of a university; also five sections of land for the completion of her public build- ings; also the salt springs within her limits, not exceeding twelve in number, with sec- tions of land adjoining each; also, in con- sideration that her public lands should be exempt from taxation by the State, she gave to the State five per cent, of the net proceeds of the sale of public lands within the State. Thus provided for as a bride with her marriage portion, Iowa com- 142 HISTORY OF IOWA. menced " housekeeping " upon her own account. A majority of the Constitutional Conven- tion of 1846 were of the Democratic party; and the instrument contains some of the peculiar tenets of the party at that day. All banks of issue were prohibited within the State. The State was prohibited from becoming a stockholder in any corporation for pecuniary profit, and the General As- sembly could only provide for private cor porations by general statutes. The Consti tution also limited the State's indebtedness to $100,000. It required the General As- sembl)- to provide public schools through- out the State for at least three months in the year. Six months' previous residence of any white male citizen of the United States constituted him an elector. At the time of organization as a State, Iowa had a population of 1 16,65 1, ^s appears by the census of 1847. There were twenty- seven organized counties in the State, and the settlements were rapidly pushing to- ward the Missouri River. The first General Assembly was com- posed of nineteen Senators and forty Rep- resentatives. It assembled at Iowa City, November 30,1846, about a month before the State was admitted into the Union. The most important business transacted was the passage of a bill authorizing a loan of $50,000 for means to run the State Gov- ernment and pay the expenses of the Con- stitutional conventions. The great excite- ment of the session, however, was the attempt to choose United States Senators. The Whigs had a majority of two in the House, and the Democrats a majority of one in the Senate. After repeated attempts to control these majorities for caucus nom- inees and frequent sessions of a joint con- vention for purposes of an election, the attempt was abandoned. A school law was passed at this session for the organization of public schools in the State. At the first session also arose the ques- tion of the re-location of the capital. The western boundary of the State, as now determined, left Iowa City too far toward the eastern and southern boundary of the State; this was conceded. Congress had appropriated five sections of land for the erection of public buildings, and toward the close of the session a bill was introduced providing for the re-location of the seat of Government, involving to some extent the location of the State University, which had already been discussed. This bill gave rise to much discussion and parliamentary ma- neuvering, almost purely sectional in its character. It provided for the appointment of three commissioners, who were author- ized to make a location as near the geo- graphical center of the State as a healthy and eligible site could be obtained; to select the five sections of land donated by Con- gress; to survey and plat into town lots not exceeding one section of the land so se- lected, etc. Soon after, by " An act to locate and establish a State University," r.pproved February 25, 1847, the unfinished public buildings at Iowa City, together with ten acres of land on which they were situated, were granted for the use of the University, reserving their use, however, by the General Assembly and the State officers, until other provisions were made by law. When the report of the commissioners, showing their financial operations, had been read in the House of Representa- tives, at the next session, and while it was under consideration, an indignant member, afterward known as the eccentric Judge McFarland, moved to refer the report to a select committee of five, with instructions to report " how much of said city of Mon- roe was under water, and how much was burned." The report was referred with- out the instructions, but Monroe City never became the seat of Government. By an HISTORT OF IOWA. 143 act approved January 15, 1849, the law by which the location had been made was re- pealed and the new town was vacated, the money paid by purchasers of lots being re- funded to them. This, of course, retained the seat of Government at Iowa City, and precluded for the time the occupation of the building and grounds by the University. After the adjournment of the first Gen- eral Assembly, the Governor appointed Joseph Williams, Chief Justice, and George Green and John F. Kinney, Judges of the Supreme Court. They were afterward elected by the second General Assembly, and constituted the Supreme Court until 1855, with the exception that KiPiney re- signed in Januar)', 1854, and J. C. Hall, of Burlington, was appointed in his place. At this session Charles Mason, William G. Woodward and Stephen Hempstead were appointed commissioners to prepare a code of laws for the State. Their work was finished in 1850 and was adopted by the General Assembly. This " code " con- tained among other provisions a code of civil practice, superseding the old common- law forms of actions and writs, and it was admirable for its simplicity and method. It remained in force until 1863, when it was superseded by the more complicated and metaphysical system of the revision of that year. The first Representatives in Congress were S. Clinton Hastings, of Muscatine, and Shepherd Leflfler, of Des Moines County. The second General Assembly elected to the United States Senate Au- gustus Ctesar Dodge and George W. Jones. The State government, after the first ses- sion, was under the control of Democratic administrations till 1855. The electoral vote of the State was cast for Lewis Cass in 1848, and for Franklin Pierce in 1852. The popu- lar vote shows that the Free-Soil element of the State during this period very nearly held the balance of power, and that up to 1854 it acted in the State elections to some extent with the Democratic party. In 1858 Lewis Cass received 12,093 votes, Zachary Taylor 11,034, and Martin Van Buren, the Free-Soil candidate, 1,226 votes, being 167 less than a majority for Cass. In 1852 Pierce received 17,762 votes, Scott 15,855, and Hale, Free-Soil, 1,606, being for Pierce 301 votes more than a majority. The question of the permanent location of the seat of government was not settled, and in 185 1 bills were introduced for the removal of the capital to PcUa and to Fort Des Moines. The latter appeared to have the support of the majority, but was finally lost in the House on the question of order- ing it to its third reading. At the next session, in 1853, ■^ bill was introduced in the Senate for the removal of the seat of government to Fort Des Moines, and on first vote was just barely defeated. At the next session, however, the effort was more successful, and January 15, 1855, a bill re-locating the capital within two miles of the Raccoon Fork of the Des Moines, and for the appointment of commissioners, was approved by Governor Grimes. The site was selected in 1856, in accordance with the provisions of this act, the land being donated to the State by citizens and property-holders of Des Moines. An asso- ciation of citizens erected a building for a temporar}- capitol, and leased it to the State at a nominal rent. The passage by Congress of the act or- ganizing the Territories of Kansas and Ne- braska, and the provision it contained abro- gating that portion of the Missouri bill that prohibited slavery and involuntary servi- tude north of 36° 30' was the beginning of a political revolution in the Northern States, and in none was it more marked than in the State of Iowa. Iowa was the " first free child born of the Missouri Compromise," and has always resented the destruction ol her foster parent. 144 tiisioRr OF IOWA. The year 1 856 marked a new era in the his- tory of Iowa. In 1854 the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad had been completed to the cast bank of the Mississippi River, opposite Davenport. In the same year the corner- stone of a railroad bridge that was to be the first to span the " Father of Waters," was laid with appropriate ceremonies at this point. St. Lonis had resolved that the enterprise was unconstitutional, and by writs of injunction made an unsuccessful effort to prevent its completion. Twenty years later in her history, St. Louis re- pented her folly, and made atonement for her sin by imitating Iowa's e.Kample. Jan- uary I, 1856, this railroad was completed to Iowa City. In the meantime, two other railroads had reached the east bank of the Mississippi — one opposite Burlington, and one opposite Dubuque — and these were be- ing extended into the interior of the State. Indeed, four other lines of railroads had been projected across the State from the Mississippi to the Missouri, having eastern connections. May 15, 1856, Congress passed an act granting to the State, to aid in the con- struction of railroads, the public lands in alternate sections, six miles on either side of the proposed lines. ' An extra session of the General Assembly was called in July of this year, that disposed of the grant to the several companies that proposed to com- plete these enterprises. The population of Iowa was now 500,000. Public attention had been called to the necessity of a rail- road across the continent. The position of Iowa, in the very heart and center of the republic, on the route of this great high- way of the continent, began to attract atten- tion. Cities and towns sprang up through the State as if by magic. Capital began to pour into the State, and had it been em- ployed in developing the vast coal measures and establishing manufactories, or if it had been expended in improving the lands, and in building houses and barns, it would have been well. But all were in haste to get rich, and the spirit of speculation ruled the hour. In the meantime, every effort was made to help the speedy completion of the rail- roads. Nearly every county and city on the Mississippi, and man}- in the interior, voted large corporate subscriptions to the stock of the railroad companies, and issued their negotiable bonds for the amount. Thus enormous county and city debts were incurred, the payment of which these mu- nicipalities tried to avoid, upon the plea that they had exceeded the constitutional limitation of their powers. The Supreme Court of the United States held these bonds to be valid, and the courts by mandamus compelled the city and county authorities to levy taxes to pay the judgments re- covered upon them. These debts are not all paid, even to this day ; but the worst is over, and the incubus is in the course of ultimate extinction. The most valuable lessons are those learned in the school of experience, and accordingly the corpora- tions of Iowa have ever since been noted for economy. In 1856 the popular vote was as follows: Fremont, 43,954; Buchanan, 36,170, and Fillmore, 9,180. This was 1,296 less than a majority for Fremont. The following year an election was held, after an exciting cam- paign, for State officers, resulting in a ma- jority of 1,406 for Ralph P. Lowe, the Re- publican nominee. The Legislature was largely Republican in both branches. One of the most injurious results to the State, arising from the spirit of speculation prevalent in 1856, was the purchase and entry of great bodies of Government land within the State by non-residents. This land was held for speculation and placed beyond the reach of actual settlers for many years. From no other one cause has Iowa suffered so much as from the short-sighted HISTORY OF IOWA. M5 policy of the Federal Government in selling lands within her borders. The money thus obtained by the Federal Government has been comparatively inconsiderable. The value of this magnificent public do- main to the United States was not in the few thousands of dollars she might exact from the hardy settlers, or that she might obtain from the speculator who hoped to profit by the settlers' labors in improving the country. Statesmen should have taken a broader and more comprehensive view of national economy, and a view more in har- mony with the divine economy that had piepared these vast fertile plains of the West for the " homes of men and the seats of empire." It was here that new States were to be builded up, that should be the future strength of the nation against foreign invasion or home revolt. A single regi- ment of Iowa soldiers during the dark days of the Rebellion was worth more to the nation than all the money she ever exacted from the toil and sweat of Iowa's early settlers. Could the statesmen of forty years ago have looked forward to this day, when Iowa pays her $1,000,000 annually into the treasury of the nation for the ex- tinction of the national debt, they would have realized that the founding of new States was a greater enterprise than the re- tailing of public lands. In January, 1857, another Constitutional Convention assembled at Iowa City, which framed the present State Constitution. One of the most pressing demands for this con- vention grew out of the prohibition of banks under the old Constitution. The practical result of this prohibition was to flood the State with every species of " wild- cat" currency. The new Constitution made ample pro- visions for home hanks under the super- vision of our own laws. The limitation of the State debt was enlarged to $250,000, and the corporate indebtedness of the cities and counties was also limited to 5 per cent, upon the valuation of their taxable property. The judges of the Supreme Court were to be elected by the popular vote. The per- manent seat of government was fixed at Des Moines, and the State University lo- cated at Iowa City. The qualifications of electors remained the same as under the old Constitution, but the schedule provided for a vote of the people upon a separate propo- sition to strike the word " white" out of the suffrage clause, which, had it prevailed, would have resulted in conferring the right of suffrage without distinction of color. Since the early organization of Iowa there had been upon the statute book a law pro- viding that no negro, mulatto nor Indian should be a competent witness in any suit or proceeding to which a white man was a party. The General Assembly of i856-"7 repealed this law, and the new Constitution contained a clause forbidding such disquali- fication in the future. It also provided for the education of " all youth of the State " through a system of common schools. This Constitution was adopted at the ensuing election by a vote of 40,311 to 38,681. October 19, 1857, Governor Grimes issued a proclamation declaring the city of Des Moines to be the capital of the State of Iowa. The removal of the archives and offices was commenced at once and continued through the fall. It was an undertaking of no small magnitude; there was not a mile of railroad to facilitate the work, and the season was unusually disagreeable. Rain, snow and o^her accompaniments increased the difficulties; and it was not until Decem- ber that the last of the effects, — the safe of the State Treasurer, loaded on two large " bob sleds " drawn by ten yokes of oxen, — was deposited in the new capitol. It is not imprudent now to remark that during this passage over hills and prairies, across rivers, through bottom lands and timber, the safes belonging to the several depart- t46 Ht STORY OF IOWA. merits contained large sums of money, mostly individual funds, however. Thus Iowa City ceased to be the capital of the State, after four Territorial Legislatures, six State Legislatures and three Constitu- tional Conventions had held their sessions there. By the exchange, the old capitol at Iowa City became the seat of the university, and, except the rooms occupied by the United States District Court, passed under the immediate and direct control of the trustees of that institution. Des Moines was now the permanent seat of govern- ment, made so by the fundamental law of the State, and January ii, 1858, the Sev- enth General Assembl}' convened at the new capitol. The citizens' association, which built this temporary building, bor- rowed the money of James D. Eads, Super- intendent of Public Instruction, and leased it to the State. In 1864 the State pur- chased the building. At the session of the General Assembly in 1858, James W. Grimes was elected United States Senator as successor to George W. Jones. During the years i858-'6o, the Sioux Indians became troublesome in the north- western part of the State. They made fre- quent raids for the purpose of plunder, and on several occasions murdered whole fami- lies of settlers. In 1861 several companies of militia were ordered to that portion of the State, to hunt down and expel the thieves. No battles were fought. The Indians fled as soon as they ascertained that systematic measures had been adopted for their punishment. PATRIOTISM. The Presidential campaign of i860 was the most remarkable and exciting of all in the history of Iowa. The fact that civil war might be inaugurated and was threat- ened, in case Mr. Lincoln was elected, was well understood and duly considered. The people of Iowa indulged in no feeling of hatred or ill-will toward the people of any State or section of the Union. There was, however, on the part of the majority, a cool determination to consider and decide upon our national relations to this institu- tion of slavery, uninfluenced by any threat of violence or civil war. The popular vote of Iowa gave Mr. Lincoln 70,409; Stephen A. Douglas, 5 5,011; Breckenridge, 1,048. The General Assembly of the State 01 Iowa, as earl)- as 1851, had by joint resolu- tion declared that the State of Iowa was " bound to maintain the union of these States by all the means in her power." The same year the State furnished a block of marble for the Washington monument at the national capital, and by order of the Gen- eral Assembly there was inscribed upon its enduring surface the following: " Iowa: Her affections, like the rivers of her borders, flow to an inseparable Union." The time was now approaching in her history when these declarations of attachment and fidelity to the nation were to be put to a practical test. The declaration of Mr. Buchanan's last annual message, that the nation possessed no constitutional power to coerce a seced- ing State, was received by a great majority of our citizens with humiliation and dis- trust. Anxiousl}' they awaited the expiring hours of his administration, and looked tc the incoming President as to an expected deliverer that should rescue the nation from the hands of traitors, and the control of those whose non-resistance invited her destruction. The firing upon the national flag at Sumter aroused a burning indigna- tion throughout the loyal States of the re- public, and nowhere was it more intense than in Iowa; and when the proclamation of the President was published, April 15, 1861, calling for 75,000 citizen soldiers to " maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our national Union, and the perpetuity of popular government," MISTORT OF row A. HI the good people of Iowa were more than willing to respond to the call. Party lines gave way, and for a while, at least, party spirit was hushed, and the cause of our common country was supreme in the affections of the people. Peculiarly fort- unate were the citizens of Iowa at this crisis, in having a truly representative man, Samuel J. Kirkwood, as executive of the State. Within thirty days after the date of the President's call for troops, the first Iowa regiment was mustered into the service of the United States, a second regiment was in camp ready for the service, and the General Assembly of the State was con- vened in special session, and had by joint resolution solemnly pledged every resource of men and money to the national cause. The Constitution of Iowa limited the State debt to $250,000, except debts con- tracted to " repel invasion, suppress insur- rection, or defend the State in war." The General Assembly authorized a loan of $800,000 for a war and defense fund, to be expended in organizing, arming, equipping and subsisting the militia of the State to meet the present and future requisitions of the President. Those in power looked to the spirit rather than to the letter of the Constitution, and acted upon the theory that to preserve the nation was to pre- serve the State, and that to prevent in- vasion was the most effectual means of repelling it. A few, however, in both branches of the General Assembly were more careful of the letter of the Constitu- tion. Three votes in the Senate and sev- enteen in the House were cast against the loan bill. These bonds were at 7 per cent, interest. Only $300,000 were ever issued, and they were purchased and held chiefly by our own citizens. At this crisis James W. Grimes and James Harlan were in the United States Senate, and General Samuel R. Curtis and General Vandeverin 13 the House of Representatives. During the first year of the war, Iowa furnished sixteen regiments of infantry, six of cavalry and three batteries, — in all, 22,000 soldiers. Iowa had no refuse population to enlist as " food for powder." Her cities contained none of that element found about the pur- lieus of vice in the great centers of popu- lation. Her contribution to the armies of the republic was a genuine offering of manhood and patriotism. From her fields, her workshops, her counting-houses, her offices, and the halls of her schools and colleges, she contributed the best muscle, sinew and brain of an industrious, enter- prising and educated people. The first regiment of Iowa soldiers fought the bat- tle of Wilson's Creek after their term ot enlistment had expired, and after they were entitled to a discharge. They were citi- zen soldiers, each of whom had a persona.' interest in the struggle. It was to them no question of enlistment, of bount}' or of pay. When the gallant General Lyon placed himself at their head, and told them that the honor of Iowa and of the nation was in their hands, he addressed men who knew what the appeal meant, and to whom such an appeal was never made in vain. At the fall election of 1861, party spirit had revived; and the contest for the control of the State administration was warm and earnest. Dissensions arose in both parties but the election resulted in a majority of 16,600 votes for Kirkwood, who was thus retained as Governor of Iowa. In 1863 the Republicans elected their candidate for Governor, William M. Stone, by a ma- jority of 29,000. Meanwhile the General Assembly had passed a law authorizing the " soldiers' vote," that is, citizens of the State in the volunteer military service of the United States, whether within or without the limits of the State, were authorized to open a poll on the day of the election, and to make re- MS HISTORY OP IOWA. turn of their votes to the proper civil au- thorities. In the Presidental contest of 1864 the popular vote at home was as follows: Lincoln, 72,122; McClellan, 47,- 703. The soldier vote returned was: Lin- coln, 16,844; McClellan, 1,883. The General Assembly did all in its power to encourage enlistment and to pro- tect the soldiers in the field and their fami- lies at home. Statutes were enacted sus- pending all suits against soldiers in the service, and all writs of execution or attach- ment against their property; and county boards of supervisors were authorized to vote bounties for enlistments, and pecuni- ary aid to the families of those in the serv- ice. The spirits of our people rose and fell, according to the success of the Union armies. One day the bells rung out with joy for the surrender of Vicksburg, and again the air seemed full of heaviness be- cause of our defeats on the Peninsula; but through all these dark and trying days, the faith of the great majority never wavered. The Emancipation Proclamation of the President was to them an inspiration of a new hope. In the Adjutant's department at Des Moines are preserved the shot-riddled col- ors and standards of Iowa's regiments. Upon them, by special authority, were inscribed from time to time during the war the names of the battle-fields upon which these regiments gained distinction. These names constitute the geographical nomen- clature of two-thirds of the territory lately in rebellion. From the Des Moines River to the Gulf, from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, in the Mountains of West Virginia and in the valley of the Shenandoah, the Iowa soldier made his presence known and felt, and maintained the honor of the State, and the cause of the nation. They were with Lyon at Wilson's Creek; with Tuttle at Donelson. They fought with Sigcl and with Curtis at Pea Ridge; with Crocker at Champion Hills; with Reid at Shiloh. They were with Grant at the surrender of Vicksburg. They fought above the clouds with Hooker at Lookout Mountain. They were with Sherman in his march to the sea, and were ready for battle when Johnston surrendered. They were with Sheridan in the valley of the Shenandoah, and were in the veteran ranks of the nation's deliverers that stacked their arms in the national cap- itol at the close of the war. The State furnished to the armies of the republic, during the war, over 70,000 men, and 20,000 of these perished in battle or from diseases contracted in the service. We append here a brief notice of each regiment : The First Regiment was organized under the President's first call for three-months volunteers, with John Francis Bates, of Du- buque, as Colonel. It comprised various independent military companies that had been organized before the war, who ten- dered their services even before the break- ing out of hostilities. They were mustered in May 14, and first saw service under General Lyon in Missouri. Second Infantry; Samuel R. Curtis, of Keokuk, Colonel. This was the first three- years regiment, and made a most distin- guished record throughout the South, go- ing with Sherman to the sea, returning through the Carolinas, etc. After the battle at Fort Donelson, the unenthusiastic General Halleck pronounced this regiment " the bravest of the brave." Third Infantry ; Nelson G. Williams, of Dubuque County, Colonel. Veteranized in 1864, but before the new ofificers received their commissions the regiment fought itself out of existence at the battle of Atlanta ! Fourth Infantry ; G. M. Dodge, of Coun- cil Bluffs, Colonel. Engaged in the prin- cipal battles of the South. Fifth Infantry; William H. VVorthington, of Keokuk, Colonel; 180 veteranized in H/SlO/ir OF IOWA. 149 1864 and were transferred to the Fifth Cavalry. Sixth Infantry ; John A. McDowell, of Keokuk, Colonel. Engaged faithfully in many of the prominent battles. Seventh Infantry ; J. G. Lauman, of Bur- lington, Colonel. It lost 227 at the single battle of Belmont. Eighth Infantry ; Frederick Steele, of the regular army, Colonel. Most of this com- mand suffered in rebel prisons for eight months. Was on duty in Alabama nearly a year after the collapse of the Rebellion. Ninth Infantry ; William Vandever, of Dubuque, Colonel. Was in almost every Southern State, traveling altogether 10,000 miles ; marched more than 4,000 miles ! Tenth Infantry ; Nicholas Persczel, of Davenport, Colonel. Fought mainly in Mississippi ; losing half its number at the battle of Champion Hills alone! Eleventh Infantry ; A. M. Hare, of Mus- catine, Colonel. Served mainly in the in- terior of the South, doing as valiant service as any other regiment. Twelfth Infantry ; J. J. Wood, of Maquo- keta, Colonel. In rebel prisons eight months. Veteranized January 4, 1864, a larger proportion of the men re-enlisting than from any other Iowa regiment. Served for several months after the close of the war. Thirteenth Infantry; M. M. Crocker, of Des Moines, Colonel. Fought in the South- ern interior and made the famous round with Sherman to the sea, being the first to enter Columbia, South Carolina, where se- cession had its rise. Fourtee^nth Infantry; William T. Shaw, of Anamosa, Colonel. Nearly all captured at Shiloh, but were released after a few months. Engaged in some of the severest contests. Fifteenth Infantry; Hugh T. Reid, of Keokuk, Colonel. Served three and a half years in the heart of the Rebellion. Sixteenth Infantry ; Alex. Chambers, of the regular army. Colonel. Bravely served throughout the South. Seventeenth Infantry; John W. Rankin, of Keokuk, Colonel. Served in the in- terior of the South. Eighteenth Infantry ; John Edwards, of Chariton, Colonel. Much of its time was spent in garrison duty. Nineteenth Infantry ; Benjamin Crabb, of Washington, Colonel. Served mainly in Mississippi. Were prisoners of war about ten months. Twentieth Infantry, comprismg five com- panies each from Scott and Linn counties, who vied with each other in patriotism; William M. Dye, of Marion, Colonel. En- gaged mainly on the Gulf coast. Twenty-first Infantry ; ex-Governor Sam- uel Merrill, Colonel. Distinguished in val- iant service throughout the South. See Twenty-third Regiment. Twenty-second Infantry ; William M. Stone, of Knoxville, since Governor of the State, was Colonel. Did excellent service, all the way from Mississippi to old Virginia. Twenty-third Infantry ; William Dewey, of Fremont County, Colonel. Its services were mainly in Mississippi. At Black River but a few minutes were required in carry- ing the rebel works, but those few minutes were fought with fearful loss to the troops. The Twenty-first also participated in this daring assault, and immediately after the victory was gained General Lawler passed down the line and joyfully seized every man by the hand, so great was his emotion. Twenty-fourth Infantry ; the " Iowa Temperance Regiment," was raised by Eber C. Byam, of Linn County. Engaged mainly in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Twent3'-fifth Infantry ; George A. Stone, of Mt. Pleasant, Colonel. " To the sea." Twenty-sixth Infantry ; Milo Smith, of Clinton, Colonel. Took part in many great battles. I50 HIS TOR r OF IOWA. Twenty-seventh Infantry ; James I. Gil- bert, of Lansing, Colonel. On duty all the way from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. Twenty-eighth Infantr}' ; William E. Miller, of Iowa City, Colonel. Service, in the region of the Lower Mississippi. Twenty-ninth Infantry ; Thomas H. Ben- ton, Jr., of Council Bluffs, Colonel. Sta- tioned in Arkansas. Thirtieth Infantry; Charles B. Abbott, of Louisa County, Colonel. In the thickest of the war, coming home loaded with honors. Thirt3'-first Infantry ; William Smyth, of Marion, Colonel. Returned from its many hard-fought battles in the interior of the South with only 370 men out of 1,000 en- listed. Thirty-second Infantry; John Scott, of Nevada, Colonel. Engaged in a number of battles. Thirty-third Infantry ; Samuel A. Rice, a popular politician of Central Iowa, Colo- nel. Served from Arkansas to Alabama. Tliirty-fourth Infantr}-; George W.Clark, of Indianola, Colonel. Traveled 15,000 miles in its service ! Thirty-fifth Infantry ; S. G. Hill, of Mus- catine, Colonel. Served bravely in a dozen battles, and traveled 10,000 miles. Thirty-sixth Infantry ; Charles W. Kitt- redge, of Ottumwa, Colonel. Suffered a great deal from sickness— small-pox, measles, malaria, etc. Thirty-seventh Infantry, the " Gray- Beard Regiment," being composed of men over forty-five years of age, and was the only one of its kind in the war. Garrison and post duty. Thirty-eighth Infantry; D. H. Hughes, of Decorah, Colonel. Most unfortunate of all in respect of sickness, 300 dying during the first two years. Thirty-ninth Infantry ; H. J. B. Cum- mings, of Wintcrset, Colonel. One of the most distinguished regiments in the field. Fortieth Infantry ; John A. Garrett, ol Newton, Colonel. Forty-first Infantry was not completed, and the three companies raised for it were attached to the Seventh Cavalry. There were no regiments numbered Forty-second or Forty-third. Forty-fourth Infantry for 100 days; Stephen H. Henderson, Colonel. Garrison duty in Tennessee. Forty-fifth Infantry, lor 100 days; A. H. Bereman, of Mt. Pleasant, Colonel. Garri- son duty in Tennessee. Forty-sixth Infantry, for iooda3's; D. B. Henderson, of Clermont, Colonel. Garri- son duty in Tennessee. Forty-seventh Infantr}^ for 100 days ; James P. Sanford, of Oskaloosa, Colonel. Stationed at the sickly place of Helena, Arkansas. Forty-eighth Infantry (battalion), for 100 days ; O. H. P. Scott, of Farmington, Lieu- tenant-Colonel. Guarded prisoners on Rock Island. First Cavalry ; Fitz Henry Warren, of Burlington, Colonel. Served for three years, mainly along the Lower Mississippi. Second Cavalry ; W. L. Elliott, a Cap- tain in the Third Cavalry of the regular army, Colonel. Fought faithfully in many- important battles in Tennessee and Missis- sippi. Third Cavalry ; Cyrus Bussej', of Broom- field, Colonel. Distinguished in war. Fourth Cavalry ; A. B. Porter, of Mt. Pleasant, Colonel. Participated \\'5th zeal and judgment in the hottest of battles in Tennessee and Mississippi. Fifth Cavalry, only in part an Iowa regi- ment; William W. Lowe, of th'e regular army. Colonel. Distinguished in the hotly contested battles of Tennessee and vicinity. Sixth Cavalry ; D. S. Wilson, of Du- buque, Colonel. Served against the In- dians. Seventh Cavalry ; S. W. Summers, of HISTORr OF IOWA. Ottumwa, Colonel. Served against the Indians. Eighth Cavalry ; Joseph B. Dorr, of Du- buque, Colonel. Served faithfully in guard- ing Sherman's communications, etc. Ninth Cavalry; M. M. Trumbull, of Cedar Falls, Colonel. Scouting, guard and garrison duties in Arkansas. First Battery of Light Artillery; C. H. Fletcher, of Burlington, Captain. Served in Arkansas and Tennessee. Second Battery ; Nelson I. Spoor, of Council Bluffs, Captain. Engaged at Farm- ington, Corinth and other places. Third Battery ; M. M. Hayden, of Du- buque, Captain. Engaged at Pea Ridge, and in other important battles. Fourth Battery ; on duty most of the time in Louisiana. Iowa Regiment of Colored Troops ; John G. Hudson, of Missouri, Colonel. Garrison duty at St. Louis and elsewhere. Northern Border Brigade ; James A. Sawyer, of Sioux City, Colonel. Protected the Northwestern frontier. Southern Border Brigade ; protected the southern border of the State. The following promotions were made by the United States Government from Iowa regiments : To the rank of Major-General — Samuel R.Curtis, Frederick Steele, Frank J. Herron and Grenville INI. Dodge ; to that of Brigadier-General — Jacob G. Lauman, James M. Tuttle, W. L. Elliott, Fitz Henry Warren, Charles L. Matthies, William Van- dever, M. M. Crocker, Hugh T. Reid, Samuel A. Rice, John M. Corse, Cyrus Bussey, Edward Hatch, Elliott W. Rice, William W. Belknap, John Edwards, James A. Williamson, James I. Gilbert and Thomas J. McKean ; Corse, Hatch, Belknap, Elliott and Vandever were brevetted Major- Generals ; brevetted Brigadiei^-Generals — William T. Clark, Edward F. Winslow, S. G. Hill, Thomas H. Benton, S. S. Glasgow, Clark R. Weaver, Francis M. Drake, George A. Stone, Datus E. Coon, George W. Clark, Herman H. Heath, J. M. Hed- rick and W. W. Lowe. IOWA SINCE THE WAR. The two principal events of political in- terest in this State since the war have been the popular contests concerning woman suffrage and the liquor traffic. In the popular elections the people gave a ma- j(5rity against the former measure, but in favor of prohibiting the sale or manufact- ure of intoxicating liquors. A list of State officers to date is given on a subsequent page. The last vote for Governor, October 9, 1883, stood as fol- lows: For Buren R. Sherman, Republican, 164,141 ; L. G. Kinne, Democrat, 140,032, and James B. Weaver, National Green- back, 23,093. STATE INSTITUTIONS. The present capitol building is a beauti- ful specimen of modern architecture. Its dimensions are, in general, 246 x 364 feet, with a dome and spire extending up to a height of 275 feet. In 1870 the General Assembly made an appropriation, and pro- vided for the appointment of a board of com- missioners to commence the work of build- ing. They were duly appointed and pro- ceeded to work, laying the corner-stone with appropriate ceremonies, November 2 3, 1 87 1. The structure is not yet completed. When finished it will have cost about $3,500,000. The State University, at Iowa City, was established therein 1858, immediately after the removal of the capital to Des Moines. As had already been planned, it occupied the old capitol building. As early as Janu- ary, 1849, two branches of tne university were established — one at Fairfield and one at Dubuque. At Fairfield, the board of directors organized and erected a building at a cost of $2,500. This was nearly de- stroyed by a hurricane the following year. 152 HISTORY OF IOWA. but was rebuilt more substantially by the citizens of Fairfield. This branch never received any aid from the State, and Janu- arj' 24, 1853, at the request of the board, the General Assembly terminated its rela- tion to the State. The branch at Dubuque had only a nominal existence By act of Congress, approved July 20, 1840, two entire townships of land were set apart in this State for the support of a university. The Legislature of this State placed the management of this institution in the hands of a board of fifteen trustees, five to be chosen (by the Legislature) every two years, the superintendent of public instruction to be president of the board. This board was also to appoint seven trus- tees for each of the three normal schools, to be simultaneously established — one each at Andrew, Oskaloosa and Mt. Pleasant. One was never started at the last-named place, and after a feeble existence for a short time the other two were discontin- ued. The university itself was closed dur- ing i859-'6o, for want of funds. The law department was established in June, 1868, and soon afterward the Iowa Law School at Des Moines, which had been in successful operation for three years, was transferred to Iowa City and merged in the department. The medical department was established in 1869; and in 1874 a chair of military instruction was added. Since April 11, 1870, the government of the university has been in the hands of a board of regents. The present faculty comprises forty-two professors, and the attendance 560 students. The State Normal School is located at Cedar Falls, and was opened in 1876. It has now a faculty of nine members, with an attendance of 301 pupils. The State Agricultural College is located at Ames, in Story County, being established bv the legislative act of March 23, 1858. in 1862 Congress granted to Iowa 240,000 acres of land for the endowment of schools of agriculture and the mechanic arts. The main building was completed in 1868, and the institution opened the following year. Tuition is free to pupils from the State over sixteen years of age. The college farm comprises 860 acres, of which a major portion is in cultivation. Professors, twen- ty-two; scholars, 319. The Deaf and Dumb Institute was estab- lished in 1855, at Iowa City, but was after- ward removed to Council Bluffs, to a tract of ninety acres of land two miles south of that city. In October, 1870, the main build- ing and one wing were completed and occupied. In February, 1877, ^^'^ destroyed the main building and east wing, and dur- ing the summer following a tornado par- tially demolished the west wing. It is at present (1885) manned with fifteen teachers, and attended by 292 pupils. The College for the Blind has been at Vin- ton since 1862. Prof. Samuel Bacon, himself blind, a fine scholar, who had founded the Institution for the Blind, at Jacksonville, Illinois, commenced as early as 1852 a school of instruction at Keokuk. The next year the institution was adopted by the State and moved to Iowa City, with Prof. Bacon as principal. It was moved thence, in 1862, to Vinton. The building was erected and the college manned at vast expenditure of money. It is said that $282,000 were ex- pended upon the building alone, and that it required an outlay of $5,000 a year to heat it, while it had accommodations for 130 in- mates. At present, however, they have accommodations for more pupils, with an attendance of 132. There are eleven teach- ers. The annual legislative appropriation is $8,000, besides $128 per year for each pupil. The first Iowa Hospital for the Insane was established by an act of the Legislature approved January 24, 1855. Itislocated at Mt. Pleasant, where the building was com- HISTORY OF IOWA. 153 pleted in 1861, at a cost of $258,555. Within the first three months 100 patients were ad- mitted, and before the close of October, 1877, an aggregate of 3,684 had been ad- mitted. In April, 1876, a portion of the building was destroyed by fire. At this in- stitution there are now ninety-four superin- tendents and assistants, in charge of 472 patients. Another Hospital for the Insane, at Inde- pendence, was opened May i, 1873, in a building which cost $88,114. The present number of inmates is 580, in the care of 1 1 1 superintendents and employes. The Soldiers' Orphans' Home is located at Davenport. It was origmated by Mrs. Annie Wittenmeyer, during the late war, who called a convention for the purpose at Mus- catine, September 7, 1863, and uly 13 fol- lowing the institution was opened m a brick building at Lawrence, Van Buren County. It was sustained by voluntary contributions until 1866, when the State took charge of it. The Legislature provided at first for three " homes." The one in Cedar Falls was organized in 1865, an old hotel build- ing being fitted up for it, and by the follow- ing January there were ninety-six inmates. In October, 1869, the Home was removed to a large brick building about two miles west of Cedar Falls, and was ver^^ prosper- ous for several years ; but in 1876 the Leg- islature devoted this building to the State Normal School, and the buildings and grounds of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home at Glenwood, Mills County, to an institution for the support of feeble-minded children, and also provided for the removal of the soldiers' orphans at the Glenwood and Cedar Falls homes to the institution at Davenport. The latter has now in charge 169 orphans. The Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children referred to above, is at Glenwood, estab- lished by the Legislature in March, 1876. The institution was opened September i. following, with a few pupils ; but now the attendance is 215, in the care of four teach- ers. This asylum is managed by three trus- tees, one of whom must be a resident of that county. Mills. The first penitentiary was established in 1 84 1, near Fort Madison, its present loca- tion. The cost of the original building was $55,934, and its "capacity was sufficient for 138 convicts. At present there are at this prison 364 convicts, in charge of forty-three employes. The penitentiary at Anamosa was estab- lished in i872-'3. It now has 239 convicts and thirty-four employes. The boys' reform school waspermanentl_»' located at Eldora, Hardin County, in 1872. For the three years previous it was kept at the building of the Iowa Manual Labor In- stitute at Salem, Henry County. Only boys between seven and sixteen years of age are admitted. Credit of time for good conduct is given, so that occasionally one is discharged before he is of age. There are now (1885) 201 pupils here. The "girls' department" is at Mitchell- ville, similarly managed. Inmates, eighty- three. The State Historical Society is in part supported by the State, the Governor ap- pointing nine of the eighteen curators. This society was provided for in connection with the University, by legislative act of January 28, 1857, ^"d it has published a series of valuable collections, and a large number ,of finely engraved portraits of prominent and early settlers. The State Agricultural Society is con- ducted under the auspices of the State, and is one of the greatest promoters of the welfare of the people among all the State organizations. It holds an annual fair at Des Moines, and its proceedings are also published annually, at the expense of the State. The Fish-Hatching House has been sue- '54 HIS TORT OF IOWA. cessfully carrying on its good work since its establishment in 1874, near Anamosa. Three fish commissioners are appointed, one for each of the three districts into which the State is for the purpose divided. The State Board of Health, established in 1880, has an advisory supervision, and to a limited extent also a police supervision, over the health of the people.^especially with reference to the abatement of those nuisances that are most calculated to pro- mulgate dangerous and contagious diseases. Their publications, which are made at the expense of the State, should be studied by every citizen EDUCATIONAL. The germ of the free public school sys- tem of Iowa, which now ranks second to none in the United States, was planted by the first settlers, and in no other public measure have the people ever since taken so deep an interest. They have expanded and improved their original system until now it is justly considered one of the most complete, comprehensive and liberal in the country. Nor is this to be wondered at when it is remembered that humble log school-houses were built almost as soon as the log cabins of the earliest settlers were occupied, and school teachers were among the first im- migrants to Iowa. Schools, therefore, the people have had everywhere from the start, and the school-houses, in their character and accommodations, have kept fully abreast with the times. The first school-house within the limits of Iowa was a log cabin at Dubuque, built by J. L. Langworthy and a few other miners, in the autumn of 1833. When it was com- pleted George Cabbage was employed as teacher during the winter of i833-'4, thirty- five pupils attending his school. Barrett Whittemore taught the ne.xt school term, v/ith twenty-five pupils in attendance. Mrs. Ctvroline Dexter commenced teaching in Dubuque in March, 1836. She was the first female teacher there, and probably the first in Iowa. In 1839 Thomas H. Benton, Jr., afterward for ten years Superintendent of Public Instruction, opened an English and classical school in Dubuque. The first tax for the support of schools at Dubuque was levied in 1840. At Burlington a commodious log school- house, built in 1834, was among the first buildings erected. A Mr. Johnson taught the first school in the winter of i834-'5. In Muscatine County, the first school was taught by George Bumgardner, in the spring of 1837. In 1839 a log school-house was erected in Muscatine, which served for a long time as school-house, church and public hall. The first school in Davenport was taught in 1838. In Fairfield, Miss Clarissa Sawyer, James F. Chambers and Mrs. Reed taught school in 1839. Johnson County was an entire wilderness when Iowa City was located as the capital of the Territory of Iowa, in ^lay, 1839. The first sale of lots took place August 18, 1839, ^"d before January i, 1840, about twenty families had settled within the limits of the town. During the same year Jesse Berry opened a school in a small frame building he had erected on what is now College street. In Monroe County, thj first settlement was made in 1843, by Mr. John R. Gray, about two miles from the present site of Eddy ville ; and in the summer of 1844 a log school-house was built by Gray, William V. Beedle, C. Renfro, Joseph McMuUen and Willoughby Randolph, and the first school was opened by Miss Urania Adams. The building was occupied for school pur- poses for nearly ten years. About a year after the first cabin was built at Oskaloosa, a log school-house was built, in which school was opened by Sam- uel W. Caldwell, in 1S44. HISTORY OF IOWA. 155 At Fort Des Moines, now the capital of the State, the first school was taught by Lewis Whitten, Clerk of the District Court, in the winter of 1846-*-, in one of the rooms on '• Coon Row," built for barracks. The first school in Pottawattamie County was opened by George Green, a Mormon, at Council Point, prior to 1849 ! 'I'ld until about 1854 nearly all the teachers in that vicinity were Mormons. The first school in Dccorah was taught in 1855, by Cyrus C. Carpenter, since Gov ernor of the State. In Crawford County the first school-house was built in Mason's Grove, in 1856, and Morris McHenry first occupied it as teacher. During the first twenty years of the his- tory of Iowa, the log school-house pre- vailed, and in 1861 there were 893 of these primitive structures in use for school pur- poses in the State. Since that time they have been gradually disappearing. In 1865 there were 796; in 1870, 336; and in 1875, 121. In 1846, the year of Iowa's admission as a State, there were 20,000 scholars out of 100,000 inhabitants. About 400 school dis- tricts had been organized. In 1850 there were 1,200, and in 1857 the number had in- creased to 3,265. In March, 1858, upon the recommenda- tion of Hon. M. L. Fisher, then Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, the seventh General Assembly enacted that "each civil township is declared a school district," and provided that these should be divided into sub-districts. This law went into force March 20, 1858, and reduced the number of school districts from about 3,500 to less than 900. This change of school organization resulted in a very material reduction of the expenditures for the compensation of dis- trict secretaries and treasurers. An effort was made for several years, from 1867 to 1872, to abolish the sub-district system. Mr. Kissell, Superintendent, recommended 14 this in his report of January i, 1872, and Governor Merrill forcibly endorsed his views in his annual message. But the Legislature of that year provided for the formation of independent districts from the sub-districts of district townships. The system of graded schools was in- augurated in 1849, and new schools, in which more than one teacher is employed, are universally giaded. Teachers' institutes were organized early in the history of the State. The first offi- cial mention of them occurs in the annual report of Hon. Thomas H. Benton, Jr., made December 2, 1850, who said: "An institution of this character was organized a few years ago, composed of the teachers of the mineral regions of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. An association of teachers has also been formed in the county of Henry, and an effort was made in October last to organize a regular institute in the county of Jones." No legislation, however, was held until March, 1858, when an act was passed au- thorizing the holding of teachers' institutes for periods not less than six working days, whenever not less than thirty teachers should desire. The superintendent was authorized to expend not exceeding $100 for any one institute, to be paid out by the county superintendent, as the institute may direct, for teachers and lecturers, and $1,- 000 was appropriated to defray the expenses of these institutes. Mr. Fisher at once pushed the matter of holding institutes, and December 6, 1858, he reported to the Board of Education that institutes had been ap- pointed in twenty counties within the pre- ceding six months, and more would have been held but the appropriation had been exhausted. At the first session of the Board of Education, commencing December 6, 1858, a code of school laws was enacted, which retained the existing provisions for teachers' institutes. In March, i860, the 156 HISTORY OF IOWA. General Assembly amended the act of the board by appropriating " a sum not ex- ceeding $50 annually for one such institute, held as provided by law in each county." In 1865 the superintendent, Mr. Faville, re- ported that " the provision made by the State for the benefit of teachers' institutes has never been so fully appreciated, both by the people and the teachers, as during the last two years." Under this law an in- stitute is held annually in each county, under the direction of the county superin- tendent. By an act approved March 19, 1874, nor- mal institutes were established in each county, to be held annually by the county superintendent. This was regarded as a very decided step in advance by Mr. Aber- nethy, and in 1876 the General Assembly established the first permanent State Nor- mal School at Cedar Falls, Black Hawk Count}', appropriating the building and property of the Soldiers' Orphans Home at that place for that purpose. This school is now "in the full tide of successful ex- periment." Funds for the support of the public schools are derived in several ways. The sixteenth section of every congressional township was set apart by the General Government for school purposes, being one thirty-sixth part of all the lands of the State. The minimum price of these lands was fixed at $1.25 \>e\- acre. Congress also made an additional donation to the State of 500,000 acres, and an appropriation of 5 per cent, on all the sales of public lands to the school fund. The State gives to this fund the proceeds (jf the sales of all lands which escheat to it; the proceeds of all fines for the violation of the liquor and criminal laws. The money derived from these sources constitutes the permanent school fund of the State, which cannot be diverted to any other purpose. The pen- alties collected by the courts for fines and forfeitures go to the school fund in v'nc, counties where collected. The proceeds of the sale of lands and the 5 per cent, fund go into the State Treasur)', and the State distributes these proceeds to the several counties according to their request. In 1844 there were in the State 4,339 school districts, containing 11,244 schools, and employing 21,776 teachers. The aver- age monthly pay of male teachers was $32.50, and of female teachers $27.25. There were 594,730 persons of school age, of whom 431,513 were enrolled in the public schools. The average cost of tuition for each pupil per month was $1.62. The expenditures for all school purposes was $5,129,819.49. The permanent school fund is now $3,547,- 123.82, on which the income for 1881 was $234,622.40. Besides the State University, Agricult.- ural College and Normal School, described on preceding pages, ample provision for higher education has been made by the different ix-ligious denominatic^ns, assisted by local and individual beneficence. There are, exclusive of State institutions, twenty- three universities and colleges, and one hundred and eleven academies and other private schools for the higher branches. All these are in active operation, and most of them stand high. Amity College, located at College Springs, Page Count}', has eight instructors and two hundred and forty-five students. Burlington University, eight instructors and forty-three pupils. Callanan College, at Des Moines, has eighteen in the faculty and one hundred and twenty students enrolled. Central University, at Pella, Marion County, is under the auspices of the Baptist church, and has eleven in the faculty and one hundred and two students. Coe College, at Cedar Rapids, has a faculty of ten, and an attendance of one hundred and ninet3'-nine. MiSTORT OP IOWA. isi Cornell College, Methodist Episcopal, at Mt. Vernon, Linn County, has eighteen members of the faculty and four hundred and seventy-nine scholars. This is a strong institution. Drake University, at Des Moines, has thirty instructors and three hundred and twent)'-tive pupils. Griswold College, at Davenport, is under the control of the Episcopal church, and has seven instructors and seventy-five stu- dents. Iowa College, at Grinnell, is permanently- endowed. Has fourteen instructors and three hundred and eighty-four students. Iowa Wesleyan University (Methodist Episcopal), at Mt. Pleasant, has six mem- bers of the faculty and one hundred and seventy-five students. Luther College, at Decorah, Winneshiek County, has a faculty of ten, and one hun- dred and sixty-five pupils. Oskaloosa College has a faculty of five, and one hundred and thirty-five students. Penn College, at Oskaloosa, has a faculty of five members, and one hundred and forty pupils in attendance. Simpson Centenary College, at Indianola, Warren County (Methodist Episcopal), has a faculty of seven and an attendance of two hundi'ed. Tabor College, at Tabor, Fremont County, modeled after the Oberlin (Ohio) College, has twelve members in the facultv and an attendance of two hundred and ten scholars. University of Des Moines has five in- structors and fifty pupils. Upper Iowa University (Msthodist Epis- copal), located at Fayette, in Fayette County, has eleven instructors and three hundred and fifty students. Whittier College, at Salem, Henry County, is under the auspices of the Friends. There are two instructors and sixty pupils. STATISTICAL. When Wisconsin Territory was organ- ized in 1S36, the entire population of that portion of the Territory now embraced in the State of Iowa was 10,531. The Terri- tory then embraced two counties, Dubuque and Des Moines, erected by the Territory of Michigan in 1834. Since then the counties have increased to ninety-nine, and the population in 1880 was 1,624,463. The following table will show the population at different periods since the erection of Iowa Territory : Year. Population 183S 22,589 1840 43. "5 1844 75,i';"-! IS46 97,588 1 847 1 16,65 ' 1849 , 152,988 1850 '9',98 1851 204.774 i8,2 230,713 1854 326,013 1856 519.055 Year Population '859 638,775 i860 674,913 1863 701,732 1 8(15 . 750,699 I S67 gojojo 1869 1040819 1870 ■.i9'.727 ■873 '.-'51.333 1S75 I 366,000 i8Sb 1,624463 The most populous county is Dubuque — - 42,997. Polk County has 42,395, and Scott, 41,270. Not only in population, but in everything contributing to the growth and greatness of a State, has Iowa made rapid progress. In a little more than thirty-five years its wild but beautiful prairies have advanced from the home of the savage to a highly civilized commonwealth. The first railroad across the State was completed to Council Bluffs in January, 1 87 1. The completion of three others scon followed. In 1854 there was not a mile of railroad in Iowa. Within the succeeding twenty years, 3,765 miles were built and put in successful operation. The present value of buildings for our State institutions is as follows : Sta e Capitol $2,500,000 Slate University. 400,000 Agricultural Col. and Farm .... Inst, for the iilind Institution for the Deaf and Dumb 300,000 1 50,000 225,000 Institutions for the Insane $1 Orphans' H me.. Penitentiaries. . .. Normal School. . Reform School . . ,149,000 62,000 408,000 50,000 90,000 isS Hi STORY OF low A. The State has never levied more than two and one-half mills on the dollar for State tax, and this is at present the consti- tutional limit. Iowa has no State debt. Whatever obli- gations have been incurred in the past have been promptly met and fully paid. Man}' of the counties are in debt, but only four of them to an amount exceeding $100,000 each. The bonded debt of the counties amounts in the aggregate to $2,592,222, and the float- ing debt, $153,456; total, $2,745,678. In the language of Judge C. C. Nourse, We feel compelled to say : " The great ulti- mate fact that America would demonstrate is, the existence of a people capable of at- taining and preserving a superior civiliza- tion, with a government self-imposed, self- administered and self-perpetuated. In this age of wonderful progress, America can exhibit nothing to the world of mankind more wonderful or more glorious than her new States — young empires, born of her own enterprise and tutored at her own political hearth-stone. Well may she say to the monarchies of the Old World, who look for evidence of her regal grandeur and state, ' Behold, these are my jewels !' and may she never blush to add, ' This one in the center of the diadem is Iowa!' " PHYSICAL FEATURES. Iowa, in the highly figurative and ex- pressive language of the aborigines, is said to signify " The Beautiful Land," and was applied by them to this magnificent section of the country between the two great rivers. The general shape of the State is that of a rectangle, the northern and southern boundaries being due east and west lines, and its eastern and western boundaries de- termined by southerly flowing rivers— the Mississippi on the east and the Missouri and the Big Sioux on the west. The width of the State from north to south is over 200 miles, being from the parallel of 43° 30' to that of 40° 36', or merely three degrees; but this does not include the small angle at the southeast corner. The length of the State from east to west is about 265 miles. The area is 55,044 square miles, nearl)' all of which is readily tillable and highl}' fer- tile. The State lies wholly within, and com- prises a part of a vast plain, and there is no mountainous or even hilly country within its borders, excepting the bluffs of the large' rivers. The highest point is near Spiri( Lake, and is but 1,200 feet above the lowest, which is in the southeast corner, and is 444 feet above the level of the Gulf of Mexico. The average descent per mile between these two points is four feet, and that from Spirit Lake to the northeast corner of the State, at low-water mark of the Mississippi, is five feet five inches. It has been estimated that about seven- eighths of Iowa was prairie when the white race first settled here. It seems to be a set- tled point in science that the amuial fires of the Indians, prevented this western country from becoifiing heavily timbered. GEOLOGV. Geologists divide the soil of Iowa into three general divisions, which not only possess different physical characters, but also differ in the mode of their origin. These are drift, bluff and alluvial and be- long respectively to the deposits bearing the same names. The drift occupies a much larger part of the surface of the State than both the others. The bluff has the next greatest area of surface. All soil is disintegrated rock. The drift deposit of Iowa was derived to a consider- able extent from the rocks of Minnesota; but the greater part was derived from its own rocks, much of which has been trans- ported but a short distance. In Northern and Northwestern Iowa the drift contains more sand and gravel than elsewhere. In tt I Story op lotvA. t59 Southern Iowa the soil is frequently stiff and clayey. The bluff soil is found only in the western part of the State, and adjacent to Missouri River. Although it contains less than i per cent, of clay in its com- position, it is in no respect inferior to the best drift soil. The alluvial soil is that of the flood plains of the river valleys, or bot- tom lands. That which is periodically flooded b}' the rivers is of little value for agricultural purposes ; but a large part of it is entirel}' above the reach of the highest flood, and is verj' productive. The stratified rocks of Iowa range from the Azoic to the Mesozoic, inclusive ; but the greater portion of the surface of the State is occupied by those of the Paljeozoic age. The table below will show each of these formations in their order : o ■o <: a o "■ 3 MS" — 3 O o D. H 02:3: n - pS 3 n ores ^ - ^ " o 3 C/3 C n o n cf Tj r c/j H o 2 2? 2: - '^ ^ ^-( 3 - - - o O 3 g2 ^ T B crq -.. N 3 3 (/)3 :;• a 5 p ft ft 2; — 3 ■' ■ § = S§ re f-" o re re , ft .^ cfc : 3 c « . '^ ^ '2 ' Pft M- 3 » -h ft c/; 5 '{{ zr n o w ~ 2 « 9 ft X 3 3 W 3^ CI 3: ^ 3 3-Cfq s * K t ." o -!-" -• > ? ir o i C o "1 3 £ ft ft 5;? - B:f» 3 ft "* w ^ s w O O H. 3 K. 1 Q tn 00 O ^^ COV1 0--I\OVO*^ O O O 1 o o o o o c o o (-" ov o ^^ 000 O C O 51 o c £/) en The Sioux quartzite, in the azoic system, is found exposed in natural ledges only upon a few acres in the extreme northwest corner of the State, upon the banks of the Big Sioux River, for which reason the specific name of Sioux quartzite has been given them. It is an intensely hard rock, breaks in splintery fracture, and of a color varying, in different localities, from a light to deep red. The process of metamorphism has been so complete throughout the whole formation that the rock is almost ever}^- where of uniform texture. The dip is four or five degrees to the northward, and the trend of the outcrop is eastward and west- ward. The Potsdam sandstone formation is ex- posed only in a small portion of the north- eastern part of the State. It is only to be seen in the bases of the bluffs and steep valley sides which border the river there. It is nearly valueless for economic purposes. No fossils have been discovered in this for- mation in Iowa. The Lower Magnesian limestone has but little greater geographical extent in Iowa than the Potsdam sandstone. It lacks a uniformity of texture and stratification, ow- ing to which it is not generally valuable for building purposes. The St. Peter's sandstone formation is remarkabl}' uniform in thickness through- out its known geographical extent, and it occupies a large portion of the northern half of Allamakee County; immediately be- neath the drift. With the exception of the Trenton lime- stone, all the limestones of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in Iowa are magnesian limestone. This formation occupies large portions of Winneshiek and Allamakee counties, and a small part of Clayton. The greater part of it is useless for economic purposes ; but there are some compact, even layers that furnish fine material for window caps and sills. t6<3 tilSTORT OF IOWA. The Galena limestone is the upper for- mation of the Trenton Group. It is 150 miles long- and seldom exceeds twelve miles in width. It exhibits its greatest develop- ment in Dubuque County. It is nearly a pure dolomite with a slight admixture of sillcious matter ; good blocks for dressing are sometimes found near the top of the bed, although it is usually unfit for such a purpose. This formation is the source of the lead ore of the Dubuque lead mines. The lead region proper is confined to an area of about fifteen miles square in the vicinity of Dubuque. The ore occurs in vertical fissures, which traverse the rock at regular intervals from east to west ; some is found in those which have a north and south direction. This ore is mostly that known as galena, or sulphuret of lead, very small quantities onl}- of the carbonate being found with it. The surface occupied by the Maquoketa shales is more than 100 miles in length, but issingularly long and narrow, seldom reach- ing more than a mile or two in width. The most northern exposure yet recognized is in the western part of Winneshiek County, while the most southerly is in Jackson County, in the bluffs of the Mississippi. The formation is largely composed of bluish and brownish shales, sometimes slightly arenaceous, sometimes calcareous, which weather into a tenacious clay upon the sur- face, and the soil derived from it is usually stiff and claye3\ The area occupied by the Niagara lime- stone is forty and fifty miles in width and nearly 160 miles long from north to south. This formation is entirely a magnesian lime- stone, with a considerable portion of sili- cious matter, in some places, in the form of chert or coarse flint. A large part of it probably affords the best and greatest amount of quarry rock in the State. The quarries at Anainosa, Le Claire and Farley are all opened in this formation The area of surface occupied b)' the Hamilton limestone and shales, is as great as those by all the formations of both Upper and Lower Silurian age in the State. Its length is nearly 200 miles, and width from forty to fifty. Portions of it are valuable for economic purposes ; and, having a large geographical extent in the State, is a very important formation. Its value for the pro- duction of h3-draulic lime has been demon- strated at Waverly, Bremer Count3^ The heavier and more uniform magnesian beds furnish material for bridge piei-s and other material requiring strength and durability. A coral occurs near Iowa City, known as " Iowa City marble" and " bird's-eye mar- ble." Of the three groups of formations that constitute the carboniferous, viz., the sub- carboniferous, coal measures and Permian, only the first two are found in Iowa. The Subcarboniferous group occupies a very large area of surface. Its eastern border passes from the northeastern part of Winnebago County, with considerable di- rectness in a southeasterly direction to the northern part of Washington Count)'. It then makes a broad and direct bend nearly eastward, striking the Mississippi at Mus- catine. The southern and western bound- aries are to a considerable extent the same as that which separates it from the real field. From the southern part of Poca- hontas County it passes southeast to Fort Dodge, thence to Webster City, thence to a point three or four miles northeast of EI- dora, in Hardin County, thence southward to the middle of the north line of Jasper Count)', thence southeastward to Sigour- ney, in Keokuk County, thence to the north- eastern corner of Jefferson County, thence sweeping a few miles eastward to the south- east corner of Van Buren County. Its arc is about 250 miles long and from twenty to fifty miles wide. The most southerl}- exposure of the Kin- HISTORY OF IOWA. t6i derhook beds is in Des Moines County, near the moutii of Skunk River. The most northerly now known is in the eastern part of Pocahontas County, more than 200 miles distant. The principal exposures of this formation are along the bluffs which border the Mississippi and Skunk rivers, where they form the eastern and northern bound- ary of Des Moines Count}* ; along English River, in Washington Count}- ; along the Iowa River, in Tama, Marshall, Hamlin and Franklin counties, and along the Des Moines River, in Humboldt County. This formation has a considerable econofriic value, particularly in the northern portion of the region it occupies. In Pocahontas and Humboldt counties it is invaluable, as no other stone except a few boulders are found here. At Iowa Falls the lower division is very good for building purposes. In Marshall County all the limestone to be obtained comes from this formation, and the quarries near Le Grand are very valu- able. At this point some of the layers are finely veined with peroxide of iron, and ai'e wrought into both useful and ornamental objects. In Tama County the oolitic mem- ber is well exposed, where it is manufact- ured into lime. Upon exposure to atmos- phere and frost it crumbles to pieces ; consequently it is not valuable for building purposes. The Burlington limestone is carried down by the southerly dip of the Iowa rocks, so that it is seen for the last time in this State in the valley of Skunk River, near the southern boundary of Des Moines Count)' ; it has been recognized in the northern part of Washington County, which is the most northerly point that it has been found ; but it probably exists as far north as Marshall County. Much valuable material is afforded by this formation for economic purposes. The upper division furnishes excellent com- mon quarry rock. Geologists are attracted by the great abundance and variety of its fossils — crinoids — now known to be more than 300. The Keokuk limestone formation is to be seen only in four counties : Lee, Van Buren, Henry and Des Moines. In some localities the upper silicious portion is known as the Geode bed ; it is not recognizable in the northern portion of the formation, nor in connection with it where it is exposed, about eighty miles below Keokuk. The geodes of the Geode bed are more or less masses of silex, usually hollow and lined with crystals of quartz ; the outer crust is rough and unsightly, but the crystals which stud the interior are often very beautiful ; they vaiy in size from the size of a walnut to a foot in diameter. This formation is of great economic value. Large quantities of its stone have been used in the finest structures in the State, among which are the postoffices at Dubuque and Des Moines. The principal quarries are along the banks of the Mississippi, from Keokuk to Nauvoo. The St. Louis limestone is the uppermost of the subcarboniferous group in Iowa. It occupies a small superficial area, consisting of long, narrow strips, yet its extent is very great. It is first seen resting on the Geode division of the Keokuk limestone, near Keo- kuk ; proceeding northward, it forms a narrow border along the edge of the coal fields in Lee, Des Moines, Henry, Jeffer- son, Washington, Keokuk and Mahaska counties ; it is then lost sight of until it appears again in the banks of Boone River, where it again passes out of view under the Coal Measures, until it is next seen in the banks of the Des Moines, near Fort Dodge. As it exists in Iowa, it consists of three tolerably distinct sub-divisions : The mag- nesian, arenaceous and calcareous. The upper division furnishes excellent material for quicklime, and when quarries are well opened, as in the northwestern part of Van Buren County, large blocks are obtained. The sandstone, or middle division, is of 162 HISTORY OF IOWA. little value. The lower, or magnesian di- vision, furnishes a valuable and durable stone, exposures of which are found on Lick Creek, in Van Buren County, and on Long Creek, seven miles west of Burlington. The Coal Measure group is properly divided into three formations, viz.: The Lower, Middle and Upper Coal Measures, each having a vertical thickness of about 200 feet. The Lower Coal Measures exist eastward and northward of the Des Moines River, and also occupy a large area west- ward and southward of that river, but their southerly dip passes them below the Middle Coal Measures at no great distance from the river. This formation possesses greater economic value than any other in the whole State. The clay that underlies almost every bed of coal furnishes a large amount of ma- terial for potter's use. The sandstone of these measures is usually soft and unfit, but in some places, as in Red Rock in Marion County, blocks of large dimensions are ob- tained, which make good building material, samples of which can be seen in the State Arsenal, at Des Moines. The Upper Coal Measures occupy a very large area, comprising thirteen whole counties, in the southwestern part of the State. By its northern and eastern bound- aries it adjoins the area occupied bv the Middle Coal Measures. The next strata in the geological series are of the Cretaceous age. They are found in the western half of the State, and do not dip, as do all the other formations upon which they rest, to the southward and west- ward, but have a general dip of their own to the north of westward, which, however, is very slight. Although the actual e.x- posures of cretaceous rocks are few in Iowa, there is reason to believe thct nearly all the ^vestern half of the State was originally occupied by them ; but they have been removed by denudation, which has taken place at two separate periods. The Nishnabotany sandstone has the most easterly and southerly extent of the cre- taceous deposits of Iowa, reaching the southeastern part of Guthrie County and the southern part of Montgomery County. To the northward, it passes beneath the Woodbury sandstones and shales, the latter passing beneath the chalky beds. This sandstone is, with few exceptions, valueless for economic purposes. The chalky beds rest upon the Wood- bury sandstone and shales. Thev have not been observed in Iowa except in the bluffs which border the Big Sioux River in Wood- bury and Plymouth counties. They are composed almost entirely of calcareous ma- terial, the upper portion of which is exten- sively used for lime. No building material can be obtained from these beds, and the only value they possess, except lime, are the marls, which at some time may be use- ful on the soil of the adjacent region. Extensive beds of peat exist in Northern Middle Iowa, which, it is estimated, contain the following areas: Cerro Gordo County, 1,500 acres; Worth, 2,000; Winnebago, 2,- 000; Hancock, 1,500; Wright, 500; Kos- suth, 700; Dickinson, 80. Several other counties contain peat beds, but the peat is inferior to that in the northern part of the State. The beds are of an average depth of four feet. It is estimated that each acre of these beds will furnish 250 tons of drv fuel for each foot in depth. At present this peat is not utilized ; but owing to its great distance from the coal fields and the absence of timber, the time is coming when its value will be fully realized. The only sulphate of the alkaline earths of any economic value is gypsum, and it may be found in the vicinity of Fort Dodge in Webster County. The deposit occupies a nearly central position in the county, the Des Moines River running nearly centrally through it, along the valley sides of which the gypsum is seen in the form of ordinary History of iowa. 163 rock cliff and ledges, and also occurring abundantly in similar positions along both sides of the valleys of the smaller streams and of the numerous ravines coming into the river valley. The most northerly known limit of the deposit is at a point near the mouth of Lizard Creek, a tributary of the Des Moines River and almost adjoining the town of Fort Dodge. The most southerly point at which it has been exposed is about six miles, by way of the river, from the northerly point mentioned. The width of the area is tmknown, as the gypsum be- comes lost beneath the overlying drift, as one goes up the ravines and minor valleys. On either side of the creeks and ravines which come into the valley of the Des Moines River, the gypsum is seen jutting out from beneath the drift in the lorm of ledges and bold quarry fronts, having al- most the exact appearance of ordinary lime- stone exposures, so horizontal and regular its lines of stratification, and so similar in color is it to some varieties of that rock. The principal quarries now opened are on Two Mile Creek, a couple of miles below Fort Dodge. Epsomite, or native Epsom salts, having been discovered near Burlington, all the sulphates of alkaline earths of natural origin have been recognized in Iowa, all except the sulphate of lime being in very small quantity. Sulphate of lime in the various forms of fibrous gypsum, selenite and small, amor- phous masses, has also been discovered in various formations in different parts of the State, including the Coal Measure shales near Fort Dodge, where it exists in small quantities, quite independently of the great gypsum of deposit there. The quantity of gypsum in these minor deposits is always too small to be of any practical value, usually occurring in shales and shaly clays, associated with strata that contain more or less sulphuret of iron. Gypsum has thus 15 been detected in the Coal Measures, the St. Louis limestone, the Cretaceous strata, and also in the dead caves of Dubuque. Sulphate of strontia is found at Fort Dodge. ^ CLIMATE. The greatest objection to the climate of this State is the prevalence of wind, which is somewhat greater than in the States south and east, but not so great as farther west. The air is purer than either east or south, as indicated by the bluer sky and conse- quent deeper green vegetation, and is therefore more bracing. B3' way of con- trast, Northern Illinois has a whiter sky and a consequent more yellowish green vegetation. The prevailing direction of the wind is from the west. Thunder-storms are somewhat more vio- lent here than east or south, but not so furious as toward the Rocky Mountains. The greatest rainfall is in the southeastern part of the State, and the least in the north- western portion. The increase of timber growth is increasing the amount of rain, as well as distributing it more evenly through- out the year. As elsewhere in the North- western States, easterly winds bring rain and snow, while westerly ones clear the sky. While the highest temperature occurs here in August, the month of July averages the hottest, and January the coldest. The mean temperature of April and October nearly corresponds to the mean temperature of the year, as well as to the seasons of spring and fall, while that of summer and winter is best represented by .A.ugust and Decem- ber. Indian summer is delightful and well prolonged. Untimely frosts sometimes oc- cur, but seldom severely enough to do great injury. The wheat crop being a staple product of this State, and not injured at all by frost, this great resource of the State continues intact. i64 tl/S TORY OF lO WA. CENSUS OF IOWA. COUNTIES. Adair ,. Adams Allamakee.. . Appanoose . . Audubon. . . . Benton Black Havvk. Boone Bremer Buchanan . . . Buena Vista.. Butler Calhoun Carroll Cass Cedar Cerro Gordo. Cherokee. . . . Chickasaw. . . Clarke Clay Clayton Clinton Crawford .. . . Dallas Davis Decatur Delaware Des Moines.. , Dickinson. . . . Dubuque , Emmett Fa\ ette Floyd , Franklin Fremont Greene Grundy Guthiie Hamilton Hancock Hardin Harrison Henry Howard Humboldt. . . . Ida... Iowa Jackson Jasper Jefferson Johnson Jones Keokuk Kossuth Lee Linn . Louisa Lucas Lyon Madison Mahaska Marion Marsliall Mills... . 1S50 i860. 777 3,131 672 735 517 3,94 1 709 3>S73 2,S2, 8.S4 7,264 965 1,759 12,988 10,841 ■"825 1,244 8,70; S22 7,210 1,280 9,904 4,472 3,007 4,822 1 8,86 .5.444 4,939 47' J. 179 5989 5,482 338 984 1,533 12,237 ii,93> 454 8,496 8,244 4,232 4,9 '5 7,906 57 3,724 147 2S1 1,612 12,949 940 58 4.33'i 5,427 5 20,728 18,938 383 5,244 13,764 8,077 11,024 19,61 1 \6o 31,164 loq '2,073 3,744 1,309 5,074 ■',374 793 3,058 1,699 '79 5,440 3.621 18,701 3,168 332 43 8,029 18,493 9,883 15,038 '7,573 13,306 13,27 416 29,232 18,947 '0,370 5,766 7,.3.39 14,816 16 813 6,015 4,481 1870. 3,982 4,614 17,868 16,456 1,212 22,454 2 1 ,706 14,584 12,5 17,034 I, .585 9,95 1 1,602 2,45' 5,464 19.731 4,722 ',967 10, i8cj 8,735 1-5- 27.77 35,35 2,530 12,019 15.565 I2,OlS ■7,432 27,2,56 ■,389 38,969 1,392 '6,973 10,768 4,7-.8 11,174 4,627 6,399 7.06 6,051; 999 ■3.684 8,93' 21,463 6,282 2,596 22b 16,664 22,619 22,116 ■7,839 24,898 '9.73I ■9 434 3,351 37,210 28,852 2,877 10,388 221 ■3,884 22,508 24.436 '7,576 8,718 iSSo! 11,199 11,188 19.791 16,636 7.448 24,888 23913 20,838 14,081 '8,547 7,537 14,293 5 595 12,35' ■6.943 1S937 1 i,4bl 8,240 ■4,534 11,512 4,248 2!:,,S29 36,764 12,4 '3 ■ 8,746 16,468 '5,336 17,952 33,099 1,901 42,997 1,550 22,258 14,677 10,248 17,653 12,725 12,639 14,863 11,252 3.453 17,808 16,649 20,826 10,837 6,34' 4.382 '9,221 23,77^ 25,962 '7.47S 25,429 21,052 21,259 6,179 34,859 37,235 '3.'46 14,,' 30 1,968 17,225 25,201 2i;,iii 23,752 '4,'35 COUNTIES. » 1850. i860. 1870. 1880. Mitchell Monona Monroe "2884 5,73^ 55' 4,513 7,828 615 ' 5,986 8 204 12,270 8,471 961 4.957 340 ■"546 3.409 832 8,612 ■,256 ■6,444 8 4.4^9 132 148 103 11,625 4.968 5,668 2,923 246 25,959 818 10 4,051 5.285 3,590 2,012 17,081 14,5 '8 10,281 14,235 6,409 2,504 1 68 ■3,942 1,119 756 653 9,582 3,654 12,724 ^5.934 '715 9.975 1.336 2,199 1,446 27,857 16,893 '5,58i 5,691 1,411 38,.S09 2,.549 570 1 1 ,65 1 16,131 6,989 5,986 17,672 22,346 '7,980 18,952 11,287 10,484 1,562 23,570 6,172 2,892 2,392 14,361 9,055 i3,7'9 15,895 23,168 4,15s Montgomery Muscatine O'Brien Page 19,667 4,131 8,567 3,7 '3 42..39S 39,846 ■8,936 12,085 8,77-f 41,270 Palo Alto Plymouth Pocahonlas Polk Pottawattamie Poweshiek Sac Scott Shelby ,,. .' 5,426 16,966 2i,,58s 15,635 14,980 1 7,042 25.282 ■9.578 2o,37S 16,127 15,950 4,917 23.937 ■4,997 7.953 5.062 Storv Tam'a Union Van Buren Wapello Warren Washington Wayne Webster Winnebago Winneshiek Woodbury Worth Wright Total 192,214 674,913 1,191,792 1,624,463 TERRITORIAL OFFICERS. Governors. — Robert Lucas, i838-'4i; John Chamber, 1841-45; James Clark, 1S45. Secrcturies. — Wm. B. Conway, 1 838, died 1839; James Clark, 1839-41; O. H. W. Stull, 1841-43; Samuel J. Burr, 1843-45; Jesse Williams, 1845. Atiditors. — Jesse Williams, i840-'43; Will- iam L. Gilbert, 1843-45; Robert M. Secrest, 1845- Treasurers- — Thornton Baylie, i839-'40; Morgan Reno, 1840. Judges — Charles Mason, Chief Justice. 1838; Joseph Williams, 1838; Thomas S. Wilson, 1838. Presidents of Council. — Jesse B. Brown, 1838-49; Stephen Hempstead, 1839-40; M. Bainridge, 1840-41; J. W. Parker, i84i-'42; John D. Elbert, 1842-43; Thomas Cox, HI STOUT OF IOWA. 165 i843-'44; S. Clinton Hasting, 1845; Stephen Hempstead, i845-'46. Speakers of tlic House. — William H. Wal- lace, i838-'39; Edward Johnson, 1839-40; Thomas Cox, i840-'3i ; Warner Lewis, i84i-'42; James M. Morgan, 1842-43; James P. Carleton, 1843-44; James M. Morgan, 1845 ; George W. McLeary, 1845-46. STATE OFFICERS. Governors. — Ansel Briggs, i846-'50 ; Stephen Hempstead, i850-'54; James W. Grimes, i854-'58; Ralph P. Lowe, 1858- '60; Samuel J. Kirkwood, i86o-'64; Will- iam M. Stone, 1864-68; Samuel Morrill, i868-'72; Cyrus C. Carpenter, i872-'76; Samuel J. Kirkwood, i876-'77; J- G. New- bold, 1877-78; John H. Gear, 1878-82; Buren R. Sherman, i882-'86; William Lar- rabee, 1886. Lieutenant-Governors. — Oran Faville, 1858- '60; Nicholas J. Rusch, i86o-'62; John R. Needham, i862-'64; Enoch W. Eastman, i864-'66; Benjamin F. Gue, i866-'68; John Scott, i868-'7o; M. M. Walden, i870-'72 ; H. C. Bulls, 1872-74; Joseph Dysart, i874-'76; Joshua G. Newbold, i876-'78; Frank T. Campbell, i878-'82; Orlando H. Manning, 1882-85 ; John A. T. Hull, 1886. This office was created by the new con- stitution Sept. 3, 1857. Secretaries of State. — Elisha Cutter, Jr., 1846-48; Joseph H. Bonney, i848-'5o; George W. McCleary, i85o-'56; Elijah Sells, i856-'63; James Wright, iS63-'67 ; Ed. Wright, i867-'73 ; Josiah T. Young, i873-'79 ; J- A- T. Hull, 1879-85 ; Franklin D. Jackson, 1885. Auditors of State. — Joseph T. Fales, i846-'50; William Pattee, i850-'54; Andrew J. Stevens, i854-'55 ; John Pattee, i855-'59 ; Jonathan W. Cattell, iS59-'65 ; John A. Elliott, i865-'7i ; John Russell, i87i-'75 ; Buren R. Sherman, 1875-81; Wm. V. Lucas, 1881 ; John L. Brown, i882-'83 ; J. W. Cattell, acting, i885-'86. Treasurers of State. — Morgan Reno, i846-'5o; Israel Kister, i85o-'52 ; Martin L. Morris, i852-'59; John W. Jones, i859-'63 ; William H. Holmes, i863-'67; Samuel E. Rankin, i867-'73; William Christy, 1873- '77; George W. Bemis, i877-'8i ; Edwin H. Conger, i88i-'85 ; Voltaire Twombly, 1885. Attorney-Generals. — David C. Cloud, 1853-56; Samuel A. Rice, i856-'6o; Charles C. Nourse, i86o-'64; Isaac L. Allen, 1865- '66; Frederick E. Bissell, i866-'67; Henry O'Connor, i867-'72 ; Marcena E. Cutts, i872-'76; John F. Mcjunkin, i877-'8i ; Smith McPherson, 1881-85 ; A. J. Baker, 1885. Adjutant-Generals. — Daniel S. Lee, 185 1- '55; George W. McCleary, 1855-57; Eli- jah Sells, 1857; Jesse Bowen, i857-'6i ; Na- thaniel Baker, i86i-'77; John H. Looby, i877-'78; W. L, Alexander, i878-'84. Registers of the State Land-Office. — Anson Hart, i855-'57 ; Theodore S. Parvin, 1857- '59; Amos B. Miller, i859-'62; Edwin Mitchell, 1862-63; Josiah A. Harvey, i863-'67; Cyrus C. Carpenter, i867-'7i ; Aaron Brown, i87i-'75 ; David Secor, i875-'79 ; J. K. Powers, i879-'82.* Superintendents of Public Instruction. — James Harlan, i847-'48; Thos. H. Benton, Jr., 1848-54; James D. Fads, i854-'57, Joseph C. Stone, 1857; Maturin L. Fisher, i857-'58; Oran Faville, iS64-'67 ; D.Frank- lin Wells, i867-'68 ; A. S. Kissell, i868-';2; Alonzo Abernethy, i872-'76; Carl W. Van Coelen, i876-'82; John W. Akers, 1882-84. This office was created in 1S47 and abol- ished in 1858, and the duties then devolved upon the secretary of the Board of Educa- tion; it was re-created March 23, 1864. State Printers. — Garrett D. Palmer and George Paul, i849-'5i ; William H. Merritt, i85i-'53; William A. Hornish, 1853 ; Den- *Offlce abolished January 1, lo;jj, and I'utieB devoUcA on tlie Secretary of State 1 66 HISTORY OF IOWA. nis A. Mahoney and Joseph B. Dorr, 1853- '55 ; Peter Moriarty, i8S5-'57 ; John Tees- dale, i857-'6i ; Francis W. Palmer, 1861- t^; Frank M. Mills, i869-'7i ; G. W. Ed- wards, i87i-'73 ; Rich. P. Clarkson, 1873- '79; Frank T,!. Mills, i879-'8i ; Geo. E. Roberts, 1881. State Binders. — William M. Coles, 1855- •58 ; Frank M. Mills, i858-'67 ; James S. Carter, i867-'7i ; J.J. Smart, i87i-'75 ; H. A. Perkins, 1875-79; Matt. Parrott, 1879- '85; L. S. Merchant, 1885. Secretaries of Board of Education. — T. H. Benton, Jr., i859-'63 : Oran Faville, i863-'64. This office was abolished March 23, 1864. Presidents of the Senate. — -Thomas Baker, i846-'47; Thomas Hughes, i847-'48; John J. Selman, 1848-49; Enos Lowe, i849'5i ; Wm. E. Leffingvvell, i85i-'53; Maturn L. Fisher, i853-'55 ; Wm. W. Hamilton, 855- '57- Under the new Constitution the Lieuten- ant-Governor is President of the Senate. Speakers of the House. — Jesse B. Brown, 1846-48; Smiley H. Bonham, i848-'5o; George Temple, i85o-'52; James Grant, i852-'54; Reuben Noble, 1 854-'56; Samuel McFarland, i856-'57; Stephen B. Sheledy, 1857-59 ; John Edwards, i859-'6i ; Rush Clark, i86i-'63: Jacob Butler, i863-'65; Ed. Wright, i865-'67; John Russell, i867-'69; Aylett R. Cotton, i869-'7i ; James Wilson, 1871-73; John H. Geer, i873-'77; John Y. Stone, 1877-79; Lore Alford, i88o-'8i ; G. R. Struble, 1882-83; Wm. P. Wolf, 1884; Albert Head, 1886. Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. — Charles Mason, 1847; Joseph Williams, 1847-48; S. Clinton Hastings, i848-'49 ; Joseph Williams, i849-'55 ; George G. Wright, 1855-60; Ralph P. Lowe, i86o-'62; Caleb Baldwin, i862-'64; George G. Wright, i864-'66; Ralph P. Lowe, 1866- r>?, lobi? R Dii-'ja J 868 '70; Chester C. Cole, i87o-'7i ; James G. Day, i87i-*72; Joseph M. Beck, 1872-74; W. E Miller, i874-'76; Chester C. Cole, 1876; Wm. H. See vers, 1876-77 ; James G. Day, i877-'78; James H. Rothrock, 1878-83 and '84; Joseph M. Beck, i879-'8o and '85 ; Austin Adams, i88o-'8i and '86; Wm. H. Seevers, 1882. Associate Justices. — Joseph Williams, held over from territorial government until a successor was appointed ; Thomas S. Wil- son, 1847; John F. Kinney, iS47-'54; George Greene, i847-'55; Jonathan C. Hall, 1854- '55 ; William G. Woodward, 1855 ; Norman W. Isbell, 1855-56; Lacon D.Stockton, i856-'6o; Caleb Baldwin, i86o-'64; Ralph P. Lowe, i860; George G. Wright, i860; John F. Dillon, i864-'7o; Chester C. Cole, 1864-77; Joseph M. Beck, 1868; W. E. Miller, 1870; James G. Day, 1870. United States Senators. — Augustus C. Dodge, i848-'55 ; George W. Jones, 1848- '59; James Harlan, 1855-^65; James W. Grimes, i859-'69; Samuel J. Kirk wood, 1866; James Harlan, 1 867-73 ; James B. Howell, 1870; George G. Wright, 1871- 'JT, William B. Allison, 1873-79; Samuel J. Kirkwood, i877-'8i ;. Wm. B. Allison, i879-'85; James W. McDill, 1881 ; James F. Wilson, 1883. Present State Officers (1886). — Governor, William Larrabee ; Secretary of State, Frank D. Jackson ; Auditor of State, J. W. Cattell, acting ; Treasurer, Voltaire Twom- bly ; Superintendent Public Instruction; John W. Akers ; Printer, George E. Rob- erts; Binder, L. S. Merchant; Adjutant- General, W. L. Alexander- Librarian, Mrs. S. B. Maxwell. Supreme Court. — William H. Seevers, Chief Justice, Oskaloosa; James G. Day, Sidney, James H. Rothrock, Tipton, Joseph M. Beck, Fort Madison, Austin Adams, Dubuque, Judges; A. J. Baker, .Attorney- Genera'. *-3y!^>^^^. ^m#T^ •^^«^i«^ ♦^»t>: >^W^ Qoueri^ors o|^ |ou/a. ^■^-;«>'U^ ^^^^^^^i^^^f ^l,.O^Hyi^i>iii^iiia>iii^l^^l^ OBERT LUCAS, the first Governor of Iowa Ter- ritory, was the fourth son and ninth child of WiUiam and Susan- nah Lucas, and was born April i, 1781, in Jefferson Valley, Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, Virginia, a few miles from Harper's Ferry, where his ancestors settled before the Rev- olution. His father, who was descended from William Penn, was born January iS, 1743, and his mother, of Scotch extrac- tion, was born October S, 1745. They were married about the year 1760, and reared a family of six sons and six daughters. His father, who had served as a Captain in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war, and had distinguished himself at the battle of Bloody Run, emigrated with his family to Scioto County, Ohio, early in the present century. At the time of this removal Robert was a young man. He had obtained his educa- tion chiefly in Virginia, from an old Scotch schoolmaster named McMuUen, who taught him mathematics and surveying. The latter afforded him remunerative employment im- mediately upon his entrance into Ohio. He was married at Portsmouth, Ohio, April 3, 1 8 10, to Elizabeth Brown, who died October 18, 1812, leaving an infant daugh- ter, who afterward became Mrs. Minerva E. B. Sumner. March 7, 18 16, he formed a second matrimonial connection ; this time with Friendly A. Sumner, who bore to him four sons and three daughters. The first public office held by Robert Lucas was that of County Surveyor of Sci- oto County, the commission from Governor Edward Tiffin, of Ohio, appointing him such being dated December 26, 1803. Decem- ber 16, 1805, he was commissioned by Governor Tiffin justice of the peace for three years. His first military appointment was that of Lieutenant of militia, by virtue of which he was authorized to raise twenty men to assist in filling Ohio's quota of 500 volunteers called for by the President in view of possible difficulties with the Spanish. He was subsequently promoted through all the military grades to Major Gen- eral of Ohio militia, which latter rank was conferred upon him in 1818. He was a Brigadier-General on the breaking out of the war of 1S12, and had much to do with raising troops. He was appointed a Captain in the regular army, but before his commission reached him he was already in active service, scouting, spying, carrying a musket in the ranks and in other useful capacities. After Hull s surrender he was paroled and returned to Ohio. He was in the course of time made a Lieutenant-Colonel, and then a Colonel, from which position he resigned. He served in numerous civil offices in GOVERNORS OF IOWA. Ohio, and at the time of his second marriage, in 1816, he was and had been for some time a member of the Ohio Legislature, serving successively for nineteen years in one or the other branch, and in the course of his leg- islative career presiding over first one and then the other branch. In 1820 and again in 1828, he was chosen one of the Presidential electors of Ohio. In May, 1832, at Baltimore, Maryland, he presided over the first Democratic National Con- vention — that which nominated Andrew Jackson for his second term as President, and Martin Van Buren for Vice Presi- dent. In 1832 he was elected Governor of Ohio, and re-elected in 1834. He declined a third nomination for the same office. Under the act of Congress to divide tne Territory of Wisconsin and to establish the territorial government of Iowa, approved June 12, 1838, the subject of this sketch was appointed Governor of the new Territory, and he immediatel}' accepted the responsi- bilit}'. A journey from the interior of Ohio to the banks of the Upper Mississippi was then a matter of weeks ; so that, although Governor Lucas set out from his home on the 25th of July, delaying on his route a few days at Cincinnati, to arrange for the selection of the books for a territorial hbrary, it was not till nearly the middle of August that he reached Burlington, then the temporary seat of government. The first official act of Lucas as Gov- ernor of Iowa was to issue a proclamation dated August 13, 1838, dividing the Terri- tory into eight representative districts, ap- portioning the members of the Council and Mouse of Representatives among the nine- teen counties then composing the Terri- tory, and appointing the second Monday in September ensuing for the election of members of the Legislative Assembly and a delegate to Congress. His first message to the Legislature, after its organization, was dated November 12, 1838, and related chiefly to a code of laws for the new com- monwealth. He opposed imprisonment for debt, favored the death penalty for murder (executions to be in the presence of only the Sheriff and a suitable number of wit- nesses), and strenuously urged the organi- zation of a liberal system of common schools. The organization of the militia was also one of his pet measures. There was a broad difference between the views of a majority of this Legislative Assembly and the Governor, on many questions of public policy, as well as points of authority. This resulted in the sending to the Presi- dent of a memorial, dated January 12, 1839, signed by eight of the council and seven of the Representatives, praying the re- moval of Governor Lucas. In addition to this, a memorial for the Governor's re- moval was passed by both Houses, signed in due form by their presiding officers, and transmitted to the President. The charges made were met by a protest signed by eight Representatives, and as a result Gov- ernor Lucas was allowed to remain in office imtil the next change of administration. In 1839 and '40 occurred the well-known boundary dispute with Missouri, which was finally settled in favor of Iowa, by the Supreme Court of the United States. No- vember 5, 1839, Governor Lucas announced that the Territory had advanced in improve- ment, wealth and population (which latter was estimated at 50,000) without a parallel in history, and recommended the necessar}- legislation preparatory to the formation of a State government. This was overruled by the people, however. Among the latest of Governor Lucas's acts was a proclama- tion dated April 30, 1841, calling the Leg- islature to assemble, for the first time, at Iowa Cit}', the new capitol. March 25, 1841, he was succeeded by John Chambers. He lived a private life near Iowa City until his death, February 7, 1853, at the age of seventy-one years. JOHN CHAMBERS. OHN CHAMBERS was the second Governor of Iowa Territory. He was born October 6, 1780, at Bromley Bridge, Somer- set Count)', New Jersey. His father, Rowland Cham- bers, was born in Pennsyl- vania, of Irish parentage. According to a tradition in the famil}', their remote ancestors were Scotch, and belonged to the clan Cam- eron. Having refused to join in the rebellion of 1645, they migrated to Ireland, where, by an act of Parliament, on their own petition, they took the name o: C im- bers. Rowland Chambers espoused with enthusiasm the cause of American inde- pendence, and was commissioned a Colonel of New Jersey militia. At the close of the war, reduced in circumstances, he immi- grated to Kentucky and settled in Wash- mgton, then the seat of Mason County. John, the youngest of seven children, was then fourteen years old. A few days after the family settled m their new home he found employment in a drj'-goods store, and the following spring was sent to Transylvania Seminary, at Lexington. He returned home in less than a year. In 1797 he became deputy under Francis Taylor, Clerk of the District Court. His duties being light, he applied himself to the study of law. In the spring of 1800 he assumed all the duties of the office in which he had been employed, and in November following he was licensed to practice law. In 1803 Mr. Chambers, who had now entered upon a career of uninterrupted professional prosperity, was married to Miss Margaret Taylor, of Hagerstown, Mary- land. She lived but about three years, and in 1807 he married Miss Hannah Taylor, a sister of his first wife. Not long after he engaged in the manufacture of bale rope and bagging for the Southern market. In this he incurred heavy losses. In the campaign of 181 2 he served as aid-de-camp to General Harrison, with the rank of Major. In 181 5 Mr. Chambers was sent to the Legislature, and in 1828 he went to Congress to fill the unexpired term of General Thomas Metcalfe. In 1830 and 183 1 he was again in the State Legislature. In 1832 he lost his wife. She was a lady of cultivated mind and elegant manners, and had made his home a happy and attractive one. The same year he was offered a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, but this he declined. The same office was tendered him in 1835, but before the time for taking his seat, he was obliged GOVERNORS OF IOWA. to resign, out of consideration for his health. From 1835 to 1839 he was in Congress, making for himself a high reputation. Between 1815 and 1828 Mr. Chambers was, for several years, the commonwealth's attorney for the judicial district in which he lived. He was during that period at the zenith of his reputation as a lawyer and ad- vocate. He met the giants of the Ken- tucky bar in important civil and criminal trials. His well-known high sense of honor, and his contempt for professional chicanery, commanded the respect of his legal com- peers. His appearance and manner were dignified, his tone calm and impressive, and his language singularly direct and vigorous. He closed his congressional career in 1839 with the purpose of resuming the practice of law, but his old friend General Harrison was nominated for the Presi- dency and induced him to aid in the personal canvass General Harrison made through the country. He was urged by President Harrison to accept some office requiring his residence in Washington, but this he declined, though he afterward ac- cepted the appointment of Governor of Iowa. He entered upon the duties of this office May 13, 1841. His success in his administration of the affairs of the Territory was well attested by the approbation of the people, and by the hearty commendation of those in authority at Washington, espe- cially for his management of Indian affairs. During his term of office he found it neces- sary on several occasions to suppress the feuds of the red men, which he did with such firmness and decision that quiet was promptly restored where war seemed im- minent. Governor Chambers was repeat- edly called on to treat with the Indian tribes for the purchase of their lands. In Octobet, 1 84 1, he was commissioned jointly with Hon. T. H. Crawford, Commissioner of In- dian Affairs, and Governor Doty, of Wis- consin, to hold a treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, which, however, did not result in a purchase. In September, 1842, being ap- pointed sole Commissioner for the same purpose, he succeeded fully in carrying out the wishes of the Government. In 1843 he held a treaty with the Winnebagoes, but in this instance no resvilt was reached In 1844, his term of office having expired, he was re-appointed by President Tyler, but was removed in 1845 by President Polk. Shortly afterward, v/ith grcz,'-\y in- paired health, he returned to Kentucky, where, with skillful medical treatment and entire relief from official cares, he partially r-jcovered. During the few remaining years of his life Governor Chambers's recollec- tions of Iowa were of the most agreeable character. He spoke gratefully of the re- ception extended to him by her people, and often referred with great kindness to his neighbors in Des Moines Count}^ His infirm health forbade his engaging in any regular employment after his return to Kentucky, but in 1849, at the solicitation ot the Commissioner of Indian Aiiairs, he ne- gotiated jointly with Governor RamseV; of Minnesota, a successful treaty v.'ith the Sioux Indians for the purchase 01 lands. The latter years of Governor Chambers's life were spent mostly wieh his ci"...aren. whose affection and respect were the chief conditions of his happiness. During a visit to his daughter in Paris, Kentucky, he was taken sick at the house of his son-in-iaw. C. S. Brent, and after a iew weeks oreathed his last, September 21. 1852. in his seventv- second year. ^AMES CLArMM. ^■'5 ^' ^ ^■ •^\^^^ ^^ ^_^^^ ^i^nsi m^^ ^-i^>»>^|^ jHE third and last Ter- ritorial Governor was James Clarke. Sometime in the autumn of the year 1837, when the trees were in the " sear and yellow leaf," a printer boy of slender form and gentle appearance might have been seen crossing the laurel hills of his own State. Behind him rolled the waters of the " Blue Juniata," on the banks of which he had spent, in merry glee, his youthful days. He had heard and read of strange countries that lay far off toward the setting sun, through which broad rivers run, and spreading landscapes unfolded to human eyes the most rare and magnificent beauty. With his youthful gaze fixed upon that star which never sets, he set forth into the wilds of Wisconsin, a stranger in a strange land, an adventurer seeking his own fortune, de- pending upon his own exertions, with no recommendation save an honest face and genteel deportment. This young man was James Clarke, who afterward became the able, talented and popular Governor of Iowa. He remained in Wisconsin, working at his trade as a printer, until after the organi- zation of the Territory of Iowa, when he removed to Burlington, where the first Legislature of Iowa assembled. After the death of Mr. Conway he was appointed by President Van Buren, Secretary of the Ter- ritory, which office he filled with great credit to himself and satisfaction to the people. During the time he held this office he contributed by his kind, gentle and amiable manner to soften the feelings of hatred and distrust which at one time ex- isted between leading men of the Territory. Whoever had business at his office found him a kind, gentle, quiet, amiable man, al- ways ready and willing to do whatever was desired of him, regretting, at the same time, that he could do no more. During the time he was Secretary he performed a vast amount of labor, but notwithstanding the large amount of business he transacted, he still found time to write for the press, and contributed many valuable articles touch- ing the future greatness of Iowa. After he retired from the office of Secre- tary he again returned to the printing trade, and became the leading editor of the Bur- lington Gazette. To the columns of this paper he devoted his whole energies, and by so doing made it the leading Democratic paper of the Territory. In the early sum- mer of 1845 President Polk removed Mr. Chambers, and appointed Mr. Clarke to suc- ceed him as Governor of Iowa. Previous to his appointment he had been elected by 176 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. the people of his county a delegate to the first convention which assembled to form a Constitution for the State of Iowa. In this convention he distinguished himself both for his talent and personal demeanor, and contributed to the pages of that Constitu- tion some of the great elementary principles which lie at the foundation of human rights. And although that Constitution was de- feated, he still had the satisfaction of seeing their spirit and meaning transferred to another, and still continued as the funda- mental law of our State. The first Legislature after he received his appointment assembled at Iowa City, on the first Monda)^ of December, 1845. His message to the Legislature after its or- ganization is a model of style and clearness. He set forth the importance of an early ex- tinguishment of the Indian title to all the lands within the limits ot Iowa, and urged the Legislature to memorialize Congress to purchase a tract of land on the Upper Mis- sissippi for a future home for the Winne- bagoes, and thus induce them to part with their title to a large tract of country known as the " neutral ground," a recommendation which tlie General Government soon after acted upon and carried out. January 16, 1846, the Legislature passed once more an act for the purpose of elect- ino: delegates to frame a Constitution for the State of Iowa. This time the friends of a State government took it for granted that the people of the Territory wanted a Constitution, so the Legislature provided that at the April election following the passage of this act, the people of the Ter- ritory should elect delegates to a conven- tion. Accordingly, at the April election delegates were elected, and the convention, agreeable to said act, consisting of tliirt)-- two members instead of seventy as in the previous convention, met at Iowa City, on the first Monday of May, 1846, and after a session of eighteen days produced a Con- stitution which was immediately submitted, adopted, and made the organic law of the State of Iowa. After the result was known the Governor issued his proclamation for a general election to be held in November following, atwhich Ansel Briggs, of Jack- son County, was elected Governor of the State. This proclamation was the last public act of James Clarke, for as soon as the new Governor was qualified, he turned over to him all the archives of his office, and re- turned once more to the printing office. Again he scattered through Iowa his beau- tiful editorials through the columns of the Burlington Gazette, until the name and fame of Iowa became known throughout the length and breadth of the land. He appeared at the capitol at the first session of the State Legislature luider the new Con- stitution, delivered to that body an affecting and interesting farewell address, then stood back quietly during the whole of the ses- sion, and gazed with indignation upon his countenance at the dreadful strife, storms and bitterness which was manifested during the entire session. This was the last time that Mr. Clarke ever appeared at the Legislature. He died soon after, at Burlington, of the cholera. Thus closed the earthly career of a just and noble man, cut off in the prime of life and in the midst of an usefid career. He was married to a sister of General Dodge, and this fact being known at the time of his ap- pointment as Governor, drew upon the Dodges the title of the " royal family." But whatever might be said in this respect, the appointment could not have been bestowed upon a better man, or one more competent to fill it. His history is without a stain or reproach, and throughout his whole life no man ever imputed aught against his char- acter as a man and a citizen. '*^lfj^ Ansel MrIggs. i?f) lEMiSEiigB iiioip-^^i^^ :m.m^-^^-:^,M>^^-^>-^^^^x^^^^-^'^^EM |HE first Governor of Iowa under its State organization, was Ansel Briggs, who, like his two imme- diate successors, was a son of that won- derful nursery of progress, New England. He was the son of Benjamin Ingley Briggs and Electa his wife, and was born in Vermont, February 3, 1806. His boyhood was spent in his native State, where, in the common schools, he re- ceived a fair education, improved by a term spent at the academy of Norwich. In his youth, about the year 1830, with his parents, he removed to Cambridge, Guernsey Count}', Ohio, where he engaged in the work of establishing stage lines, and where, as a Whig, he com- peted with John Ferguson, a Jackson Democrat, for the oflfice of county audi- tor and was defeated. In his twenty- fourth year he married a wife, born the same day and year as himself, of whom he was soon bereft. Before leaving Ohio he married his second wife, Nancy M., daugh- ter of Major Dunlap, an officer of the war of 181 2. In 1836, removing from Ohio, he joined that hardy band, so honored here to-da}-, the pioneers of Iowa, and settled with his famil)' at Andrew, in Jackson County. Here he resumed his former business of opening stage lines, sometimes driving the stage himself, and entering into contracts with the postoffice department for carrying the United States mails weekly between Dubuque and Davenport, Dubuque and Iowa Cit)', and other routes. On coming to Iowa he affiliated with the Democrats, and on their ticket, in 1842, was elected a member of the Territorial House of Representatives from Jackson County, and subsequently sheriff of the same county. On the formation of the State government, he at once became a prominent candidate for Governor. His competitors for the Democratic nomination were Judge Jesse Williams and William Thompson. The question above all others dividing the parties in Iowa in that day was that of banks, favored by the Whigs, and op- posed by the Democrats. A short time be- fore the nominating convention met, Briggs, at a banquet, struck a responsive chord in the popular heart by offering the toast, " No banks but earth, and they well tilled," a sententious appeal to the pride of the pro- ducer and the prejudice of the partisan, which was at once caught up as a party t8o (iOV'EtiNOtiS Ot^ IO\VA. cry, and did more to secure its author the nomination for Governor than all else. The convention was held at Iowa City on Thursday, September 24, 1846, and as- sembled to nominate State officers and two Congressmen. It was called to order by F. D. Mills, of Des Moines County. Will- iam Thompson, of Henry County, presided, and J. T. Fales, of Dubuque, was Secretary. The vote for Governor in the convention stood : Briggs, sixty-two ; Jesse Williams, thirty-two ; and William Thompson, thirty- one. The two latter withdrew, and Brisfsfs was then chosen by acclamation. Elisha Cutler, Jr., of Van Buren County, was nominated for Secretary of State; Joseph T. Fales, of Linn, for Auditor, and Morgan Reno, of Johnson, for Treasurer. S. C. Hastings and Shepherd LefiRer were nomi- nated for Congress. The election was held October 28, 1846, the entire Democratic ticket being successful. Briggs received 7,626 votes, and his competitor, Thomas McKnight, the Whig candidate, 7,379, giv- ing Briggs a majority of 247. The administration of Governor Brieres was generally placid. Although avoiding excitement and desirous of being in har- monious accord with his party, when oc- casion required he exhibited an independent firmness not easily shaken. One perplex- ing controversy bequeathed him by his predecessors was the Missouri boundary question, which had produced much dis- quiet, and even a resort to arms on the part of both Iowa and Missouri. After the expiration of his four-years term, Governor Briggs continued his resi- dence in Jackson County, where he engaged in commercial business, having sold out his mail contracts when he became Governor. By his second marriage he had eight children, all of whom died in infancy save two, and of these latter Ansel, Jr., died May 15, 1867, aged twenty-five years. John S. Briggs, the only survivor of the family, is the editor of the Idaho Herald^ published at Blackfoot, Idaho Territory. Mrs. Briggs died December 30, 1847, dur- ing her husband's term as Governor. She was an ardent Christian woman, adhering to the Presbyterian faith, and very domestic in her tastes. She was well educated and endowed by nature with such womanly tact and grace as to enable her to adorn the high estate her husband had attained. She dispensed (albeit in a log house, a form of architecture in vogue in Iowa in that day, as the mansion of the rich or the cabin of the poor) a bounteous hospitality to the stranger and a generous charity to the poor, in which gracious ministrations she was al- ways seconded by her benevolent husband. In 1870 Governor Briggs removed from Andrew to Council Bluffs. He had visited the western part of the State before rail- roads had penetrated there, and made the trip by carriage. On that occasion he en- rolled himself as one of the founders of the town of Florence, on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River, six miles above Coun- cil Bluffs, and which, for a time, disputed with Omaha the honor of being the chief town of Nebraska. He made a trip ^o Colorado during the mining excitement in i860. After return- ing and spending some time at home, he went to Montana in 1863, v/ith his son John, and a large party, remaining until 1865, when he came back. His last illness, ulceration of the stomach, was only five weeks in duration. He was able to be out three days before his death, which occurred at the residence of his son, John S. Briggs, in Omaha, May 5, 1881, at half past three in the morning. Governor Gear issued a proclamation the next day, reciting his services to the State, ordering half-hour guns to be fired and the national flag on the State capitol to be half-masted, during the da}' of the funeral. He was buried on Sunday si-.cceeding his death. ■ii-r*'- - iT' 111 _, % ^?-«J* -^-e^---^^ , sTEPti£Ar hemphtbad. tSj w -^ife "•^STEPHEN HEfflPSTEfln.^li^- ^^ii^ ^1 ■•X5^- ~?.jAn^. - ;..^T777-:7:;:: i<^-{ilK r^^ji, fiS jHIS gentleman, the second Governor of the State, was born at New London, Connecticut, Octo- ber I, i8i2, and lived in that State until the spring of 1828, wlien his father's family came West and settled on a farm a few miles from St. Louis, Missouri. Here he remained until 1830, when he entered as clerk in a commission house in Galena, Illinois, and dur- ing the Black Hawk war he was an officer in an artillery company or- ganized for the protection of that place. At the close of the war he entered as a student of the Illinois College at Jackson- ville, Illinois, remaining about two years, leaving to commence the study of law which he finished under Charles S. Hemp- stead, Esq., then a prominent lawyer at Galena. In 1836 he was admitted to prac- tice his profession in the courts of the Ter- ritory of Wisconsin, then embracing Iowa, and in the same year located in Dubuque, being the first lawyer who practiced in that place. At the organization of the Territorial Legislature in 1838 he was elected to represent the northern portion of the Territory in the Legislative Council, of which he was chairman of the committee on judiciary, one of the important com- mittees of the Council. At the second session of that body he was elected presi- dent thereof, was again elected a member of the Council in 1845, which was held in Iowa City, and was again president of the same. In 1844 he was elected one of the delegates to the first constitutional conven- tion of the State of Iowa, and was chair- man of the committee on incorporations. In 1848, in connection with Hon. Charles . Mason and W. G. Woodward, he was ap- pointed commissioner by the Legislature to revise the laws of the State of Iowa, and which revision, with a few amendments, was adopted as the code of Iowa in 1851. In 1850 he was elected Governor of the State of Iowa, receiving 13,486 votes, against 11,403 for James L. Thompson, 575 for William P. Clarke, and 1 1 scattering. The vote was canvassed on the 4th of December, and a committee was appointed to inform the Governor elect that the two Houses of the Legislature were ready to re- ceive him in joint convention, in order that he might receive the oath prescribed by the Constitution. After receiving formaf i84 GOVEnNORS OF tOWA. notification, Governor Hempstead, accom- panied by Governor Briggs, the judges of the Supreme Court and the officers of State, entered the hall of the House, and having been duly announced, the Governor elect delivered his inaugural message, after which the oath was administered by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. This session of the Legislature passed a number of important acts which were approved by Governor Hempstead, and formed fifty-two new counties, most of them having the same names and bound- aries to-day. These new counties were : Adair, Union, Adams, Cass, Montgomery, Mills, Pottawattomie, Bremer, Butler, Grundy, Hardin, Franklin, Wrigiit, Risley, Yell, Greene, Guthrie, Carroll, Fox, Sac, Crawford, Shelby, Harrison, Monona, Ida, Waukau, Humboldt, Pocahontas, Buena Vista, Fayette, Cherokee, Plymouth, Alla- makee, Chickasaw, Floyd, Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Clay, O'- Brien, Sioux, Howard, Mitchell, Worth, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Bancroft, Em- mett, Dickinson, Osceola and Buncombe. The last-named county was so called under peculiar circumstances. The Legislature was composed of a large majority favoring stringent corporation laws, and the liability of individual stockholders for corporate debts. This sentiment, on account of the agitation of railroad enterprises then begin- ning, brought a large number of prominent men to the capital. To have an efTect upon the Legislature, they organized a " lobby legislature," in which these questions were ably discussed. They elected as Governor Verplank Van Antwerp, who delivered to this self-constituted body a lengthy mes- sage, in which he sharply criticised the regular general assembly. Some of the members of tlic latter were in the habit of making long and useless speeches, much to the hindrance of business. To these he especially referred, charging them with speaking " for buncombe," and recom- mended that as their lasting memorial, a county should be called by that name. This suggestion was readily seized upon by the Legislature, and the county of " Bun- combe" was created with few dissenting voices. By act of the General Assembly approved September ii, 1862, the name was changed to '' Lyon," in honor of Gen- eral Nathaniel Lyon, who was killed in the civil war. Governor Hempstead's message to the fourth General Assembly, December, 1852, stated, among other things, that the popu- lation of the State was by the federal cen- sus 192,214, and that the State census showed an increase for one year of 37,786. He also stated that the resources of the State for the coming two years would be sufficient to cancel all that part of the funded debt which was payable at its option. By 1854 the State had full}' recovered from the depression produced by the bad season of 1851, and in 1854 and 1855 the immigration from the East was unprece- dented. For miles and miles, day after day, the prairies of Illinois were lined with cattle and wagons, pushing on toward Iowa. At Peoria, one gentleman said that during a single month 1,743 wagons passed through that place, all for Iowa. The Burlington Telegraph said : " Twenty thousand immi- grants have passed through the city within the last thirty days, and they are still cross- ing the Mississippi at the rate of 600 a day." Governor Hempstead's term expired in the latter part of 1854, and he returned to Dubuque, where the following year he was elected county judge. This position he held twelve years, and in 1867 he retired on account of impaired health. He lived, how- ever, till February 16, 1883, when at his home in Dubuque he closed his record on earth. He was a useful and active man, and deserves a prominent place in the esteem of lowans. CX^-^ p yAMES W. GItJMES. i^i |(pt^,t<; VJF:' V \V:l--\-XV-VJEiB^\i£i '???l'??^'^t~^tg!l'g»l'??Sj^^? I|<^,«*3,<*^1^^,«^,«*>1|*«J1,«*51 e^^)j S'V\-A-\iSS-~^-3a.-\-vVjVL-E^-T7X:egB5 ^^Z^^ § ^lM:Mm^ Wc ^P^ R r^on^TS, t| aaB:a!3Sj!agji!S!aa!33i^:ggii3g^^^^^^^33^33a I'l' '. ''iii»V\V»V' .^ »J|' ^^*i^^t'!>t (I ®-' ivic^^«4^->t-6y<-<— ^ SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD. ■■^^f^ ^^■.-;y»J»i-^?t^t«-^!»tg»«-jy^>y^ ^^ V -«CW- >^*<^ S^f^SAMUBL ^. I^II^I^WOOD.il^ r '^^ ^^B-^^5! ^^ AMU EL JORDAN KIRKWOOD, the fifth Governor of the State of Iowa, was born December 20, 1813, in Harford County, Mary- land, on his father's farm. His father was twice married, first to a lady named Coulson, by whom he had two sons, and, after her tleath, to Mary Alexander, by whom he had three children, all sons, the youngest of whom is the subject of these ncjtes. The father of Governor Kirkwood was a native of Maryland, his ancestors having settled there previous to the Revo- lution ; his mother was born in Scotland, and both parents were strict members of the Presbyterian church. When ten years t)ld young Kirkwood was sent to Washington City to attend a school taught by a relative named John McLeod. He remained at school four years, when he entered a drug store at Washington as clerk, in which occupation he continued till after attaining his majority, with the excep- tion of about eighteen months spent in teaching in York County, Pennsylvania. In 1835 Samuel left Washington and set- tied in Richland County, Ohio, where he assisted his father and brother (who had rc- ■p^^^^^^^ /f •^ moved from Maryland there) in clearing a farm. In 1841 he entered, as a student, the law office of Thomas W. Hartley, afterward Governor of Ohio, and in 1S43 was admit- ted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio. He then engaged in the practice of law with his former preceptor, Mr. Bartley, forming an association which con- tinued for eight years. From 1845 to 1849 ^^ served as prose- cuting attorney of his county. In 1849 l^c was elected as a Democrat to represent his county and district in the constitutional convention. In 1851 Mr. Bartley, his part- ner, having been elected to the supreme judiciary of the State, Kirkwood formed a partnership with Barnabas Barns, with whom he continued to practice until the spring of 1855, when he removed to the West. Up to 1854 Mr. Kirkwood had acted with the Democratic party. But the measures proposed and sustained that year by the Democracy in Congress, concentrated in what was known as the Kansas-Nebraska act, drove him with hosts of anti-slavery Democrats out of the party. He was be- sought by the opposition in the " Richland district" to become their candidate for Congress, but declined. In 1855 he came to Iowa and settled two miles northwest of Iowa City, entering into a partnership with his brother-in-law, Ezekiel Clark, in the • 96 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. milling business, and kept aloof from pub- lic affairs. He could not long conceal his record and abilities from his neighbors, however, and in 1856 he was elected to the State Senate from the district composed of the counties of Iowa and Johnson, and served through the last session of the Legislature held at Iowa City and the first one held at Des Moines. In 1859 Mr. Kirkwood was made the standard-bearer of the Republicans of Iowa, and though he had as able and popular a competitor as General A. C. Dodge, he was elected Governor of Iowa by a majority of over 3,000. He was inaugurated January 1 1, i860. Before the expiration of his first term came the great civil war. As Gov- ernor, during the darkest days of the Rebell- ion, he performed an exceedingly impor- tant duty. He secured a prompt response by volunteers to all requisitions by the federal Government on the State for troops, so that during his Governorship no " draft " took place in Iowa, and no regiment, except the first, enlisted for less than three years. At the same time he maintained the State's financial credit. The Legislature, at its ex- tra session in 1861, authorized the sale of $800,000 in bonds, to assist in arming and equipping troops. So frugally was this work done, that but $300,000 of the bonds were sold, and the remaining $500,000 not having been required, the bonds represent- ing this amount were destroyed by order of the succeeding Legislature. In October, 1861, Governor Kirkwood was. with comparatively little opposition, re-elected — an horror accorded for the first time in the history of the State. His ma- jority was about 18,000. During his second term he was appointed by President Lin- coln to be Minister to Denmark; but he declined to enter upon his diplomatic duties until the expiration of his term as Governor. The position was kept open for him until that time, but, when it came, pressing pri- vate business compelled a declination of the office altogether. In January, 1866, he was a prominent candidate before the Legislature for United States Senator. Senator Harlan had re- signed the senatorship upon his appoint- ment to the office of Secretary of the Interior by President Lincoln, just before his death, but had withdrawn from the cabinet soon alter the accession of Mr. Johnson to the Presidency. In this way it happened that the Legislature had two terms of United States Senator to fill, a short term of two years, to fill Harlan's unexpired term, and a long term of six years, to immediately succeed this; and Harlan had now become a candidate for his own successorship, to which Kirkwood also aspired. Ultimately, Kirkwood was elected for the first and Harlan for the second term. During his brief senatorial service, Kirkwood did not hesitate to meas- ure swords with Senator Sumner, whose natural egotism had begotten in him an arrogant and dictatorial manner, borne with humbly until then by his colleagues, in deference to his long experience and emi- nent ability, but unpalatable to an inde- pendent Western Senator like Kirkwood. At the close of his senatorial term, March 4, 1867, he resumed the practice of law, which a few years later he relinquished to accept the presidenc}^ of the Iowa Cit)' Savings Bank. In 1875 he was again elected Governor, and was inaugurated January 13, 1876. He served but little over a year, as early in 1877 he was chosen United States Senator. He filled this position four years, resigning to become Secretary of the In- terior in President Garfield's cabinet. In this ofifice he was succeeded, April 17, 1882, by Henry M. Teller, of Colorado. Governor Kirkwood returned to Iowa City, his home, where he still resides, being now advanced in years. He was married in 1843 to Miss Jane Clark, a native of Ohio, C //t, cU^^^^^Cl WILLIAM M. STONE. 190 ^RttriWm nTWr rrrrFnTiirTTnTTi nTm rPm ^^^^^^^^y^M^ ;vl?# jHE subject of this brief sketch was the ninth to hold the position of Governor of Iowa, and the sixth to fill the office under the State organization. He held the office four years, from 1864 to 1868. William Milo Stone was born October 14, 1827, a son of Truman and La- vina (North) Stone. His great-grandfather on both sides of the family was in the seven years' struggle for independence. His grandfather, Aaron Stone, was in the second war with England. Truman Stone moved to Lewis County, New York, when the son was a year old, and six years later to Co- shocton County, Ohio. Like many other self-made men, William M. had few advantages. He never attended a school of any kind more than twelve months. In boyhood he was for two season.^ a team-driver on the Ohio Canal. At seven- teen he was apprenticed to the chairmaker's trade, and he followed that business until twenty-three years of age, reading law meantime during his spare hours, wher- ever he happened to be. He commenced at Coshocton, with James Mathews, who afterward became his father-in-law ; con- tinued his readings with General Lucius V. Pierce, of Akron, and finished with Ezra B. Taylor, of Ravenna. He was admitted to the bar in August, 1851, by Peter Hitch- cock and Rufus P. Ranney, supreme judges, holding a term of court at Ravenna. After practicing three years at Coshocton with his old preceptor, James Mathews, he, in November, 1854, settled in Kno.wille, which has remained his home since. The year after locating here Mr. Stone pur- chased the Knoxvilleyo?'^ OLONEL SAM- f UEL MERRILL, the seventh Governor of the State of Iowa, the successor of Governor Stone, is among the men of the West who have been called from private Hfe to places of trust on account of their peculiar fitness for office. He was born in the town of Turner, Oxford County, Maine, August 7, 1822. He is of English ancestry, being a descendant on his mother's side of Peter Hill, who came from the West of England and set- tled in Saco, Maine (now known as Bidde- ford), in 1653. From this ancestry have sprung the most of the Hills of America. On his father's side he is a descendant of Nathaniel Merrill, who, with his brother John, came from Salisbury, England, and settled in Newburg, Massachusetts, in 1636. Abel Merrill married Abigail Hill, June 25, 1809, in Buxton, Maine. They soon moved to Turner, where they became the parents of eight children, Samuel, the sub- ject of this sketch, being next the youngest, the fourth and youngest son in the family, and in the eighth generation from his Pil- grim fathers. 18 Samuel was married first to Catherine Thorns, who died m 1847, but fourteen months after their marriage. In January. 1 85 1, he was again married, his second wife being a Miss Hill, of Buxton, Maine. To this union there have been born four chil- dren, three of whom died young, the eldest living to be only two and a half years old. At the age of sixteen he moved with his parents to Buxton, where his time was mostly engaged by turns in teaching and in attending school until he attained his majority. Having determined to make teaching a profession, he set out for that purpose toward the sunny South, but, as he says, he was " born too far north " for his political comfort. Suspicion having been aroused as to his abolitionist pro- clivities, and finding the elements not al- together congenial, he soon abandoned the land of chivalry for the old Granite State, where he engaged for several years in farming. In 1847 he removed to Tamworth, New Hampshire, where he embarked in mer- cantile business in company with a brother. In this, as in all his business enterprises, he was quite successful. Not being satisfied with the limited resources of Nortliern New England, he determined to try his good fortune on the broad prairies of the new and more fertile West. Accordingly, 204 GOVER!VORS OF IOWA. in 1856, he turned his face toward the set- ting sun. He made a final settlement at McGregor, Iowa, where he established a branch house of the old firm. During all these years of business Mr. Merrill took an active but not a noisy part in politics. In 1854 he was elected as an Abolitionist to the New Hampshire Legis- lature, at the same time General N. B. Baker, ex-Adjutant General of Iowa, was Governor of the same State. In 1855 he was returned for a second term to the Leg- islature. In Iowa he was equally fortunate in securing the good will of those who knew him. His neighbors and those who had dealings with him found a man who was honest in his busmess, fair in his deal- ings, social in his relations, and benevolent in his disposition. He took an active in- terest in the prosperity of the town and ever held an open hand to all needed chari- ties. These traits of character had drawn around him, though not realized or intended by himself, a host of personal admirers. This good will resulted in his being nomi- nated for a seat in the State Legislature, and he was the only one on his ticket that was elected. The Legislature met in extra session in 1861 to provide for the exigencies of the Rebellion, and in its deliberations Mr. Merrill rendered effective and unselfish service. He continued in business at McGregor until the summer of 1862, when he was commissioned as Colonel of the Twenty- first Iowa Infantry, proceeding immediately to Missouri, where active service awaited him. Marmaduke was menacing the Union forces in Central Missouri, which called for prompt action on the part of the Union Generals. Colonel Merrill was placed in command of a detachment of the Twenty- first Iowa, a detachment of the Ninety-ninth Illinois, a portion of the Third Iowa Cavalry and two pieces of artillery, with orders to make a forced march to Springfield, he be- ing at Houston, eighty miles distant. On the morning of the nth of January, 1863, they having come across a body of rebels, found them advancing in heavy force. Colonel Merrill immediately made dis- position for battle, and brisk firing was kept up for an hour, when the enemy fell back. Colonel Merrill now moved in the direction of Hartville, where he found the rebels in force under Marmaduke, and from six to eight thousand strong, with six pieces of artillery, while Colonel Merrill had but 800 men and two pieces of artillery. In this engagement the rebels lost several officers and not less than 300 men in killed and wounded. The Union loss was seven killed and sixty-four wounded, five captured and two missing. The regiment performed severe marches and suffered much in sick- ness during the winter. It was assigned to the Thirteenth Corps, General John A. Mc- Clernand ; fought gallantly at the battle of Port Gibson; and while the impetuous charge of Black River bridge was being made Colonel Merrill was severely, and re- ported fatall)', wounded. The battle of Black River bridge, the last of the series of engage- ments during the campaign of Vicksburg in which the rebels fought without tlieir fortifi- cations, was a short but bloody combat. While Colonel Merrill was leading his regi- ment in this deadly charge he was wounded through the hips. This brought his mili- tary career to a close. Suffering from his wounds, he resigned his commission and re- turned to McGregor, but was unable to at- tend to his private affairs for many months. In 1867 he was chosen Governor to suc- ceed William M. Stone. He was inaugu- rated January 16, 1868, and served till January 11, 1872, being re-elected in 1869. After the expiration of his term of office he returned to McGiegor, but as soon as he could adjust his business interests he lo- cated in Des Moines, where he is now President of the Citizens' National Bank. I Cfjfi/S c. (:AiipENfE)i. 26? WROM his numerous offi- V'i cial positions, and the ability with which they have been filled, Cyrus C. Carpenter, the eighth Governor of the State of Iowa, deserves to be remembered as one of Iowa's foremost men. He is a native of Sus- quehanna County, Penns}'!- vania, and was born Novem- ber 24, 1829. His parents were Asahel and Amanda M. (Thayer) Carpenter, both of whom died be- fore he was twelve years old. His grand- father, John Carpenter, was one of nine young men who, in 1789, left Attleborough, Massachusetts, Un- the purpose of finding a home in the " new country." After various vicissitudes they located upon the spot which they called Harford, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the township in which C3'rus was born. This location at that time was far from any other settlement, Wilkesbarre, in Wyoming Valley, near the scene of the celebrated Indian massacre, being among the nearest, though fifty miles away. Cyrus attended a common school three or four months in a year until 1846, then taught winters and worked on a farm sum- mers for three or four years, and with the money thus raised paid his expenses for several months at the academy which had been established in his native town. After leaving this institution, in 1852, he started westward ; halted at Johnstown, Licking Count}', Ohio ; taught there a year and a half, and with his funds thus replenished he came to Iowa, loitering some on the way, and reaching Des Moines in June, 1854. A few days later he started on foot up the Des Moines Valley, and found his way to Fort Dodge, eighty miles northwest of Des Moines, from which place the soldiers had moved the previous spring to Fort Ridgely, Minnesota. He now had but a single half dollar m his pocket. He frankly told the landlord of his straightened circumstances, offering to do any kind of labor until something should " turn up." On the evening of his arrival he heard a Government contractor state that his chief surveyor had left him and that he was going out to find another. Young Carpenter at once offered his ser- vices. To the inquiry whether he was a surveyor, he answered that he understood the theory of surveying, but had had no experience in the field. His services were promptly accepted, with a promise of steady 208 GOVERNORS OF /OtVA. employment if he were found competent. The next morning he met the party and took command. When the first week's work was done he went to Fort Dodge to replenish his wardrobe. As he left, stjme of the men remarked that that was the last that would be seen of him. He was then of a slight build, jaded and torn by hard work, and, when he left the camp, so utterly tired out it is not surprising that the men who were inured to out-door life thought him completely used up. But they did not know their man. With the few dollars which he had earned, he supplied himself with comfortable clothing, went back to his work on Monday morning and con- tinued it till the contract was completed. The next winter he taught the first school opened in Fort Dodge, and from that date his general success was assured. For the first two years he was employed much of the time by persons having contracts for surveying Government lands. He was thus naturally led into the land business, and from the autumn of 1855, when the Land Office was established at Fort Dodge, much of his time was devoted to surveying, select- ing lands for buyers, tax-paying for foreign owners, and in short a general land agency. During this period he devoted such time as he could spare to reading law, with the view of eventually entering the profession. Soon after the civil war commenced he entered the army, and before going into the field was commissioned as Captain in the staff department, and served over three years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel and being mustered out as brevet Colonel. He has served his State in numerous civil capacities. He was elected Surveyor of Webster County in the spring of 1856, and the next year was elected a Represen- tative to the General Assembly, and served in the first session of that bod\- held at Des Moines. He was elected Register ot the State Land Office in 1866, re-elected in 1868, and held the office four years, declin- ing to be a candidate for renomination. He was elected Governor of Iowa in 1 87 1, and was inaugurated January 1 1, 1872. He was re-elected two years later, and served until January 13, 1874. He made an able and popular executive. In his first inaugural address, delivered January 11, 1872, he made a strong plea for the State University, and especially its normal de- partment, for the agricultural college, and for whatever would advance the material progress and prosperity of the people, urg- ing in particular the introduction of more manufactories. At the expiration of his second term as Governor Mr. Carpenter was appointed, without his previous knowledge, Second Comptroller of the United States Treasury, and resigned after holding that office about fifteen months. He was influenced to take this step at that time because another bureau officer was to be dismissed, as the head of the department held that Iowa had more heads of bureaus than she was entitled to, and his resigning an office of a higher grade saved a man who deserved to remain in Government employ. He was in the forty -seventh Congress from 1 88 1 to 1883, and represented Web- ster County in the twentietli General As- sembly. He is now leading the life of a private citizen at Fort Dodge, his chief employment being the carrying on of a farm. He is not rich, whicii is a striking commentary on his long official service. He has led a pure and upright life. He has been a Republican since tiie or- ganization of that party. In religious mat- ters he is orthodox. He was married in March, 1864, to Miss Susan C. Burkholder, of Fort Dodge. They have no children, but have reared from childhood a niece of Mrs. Carpenter, Miss Fannie Burkholder. yOStiUA G. kEWBOLb. 1\K ti?i)t^'j^'??^tyi'?*i^iyi^C' ^''VE^t?Ci t 5."Xr\^;^^.^3.^!F\£E!i'V-v-AA\SjS}V^:Ti^Eg5tA;Ati>j3i'^^^-^^^ |^.|^JiaiHU4 G:^ Ni:WMVL-D,^=4-f| aag:^w?f>^33'^sia^5B?fe''>^T>^:i^3Sfii33^'?r?^'?T^a (§i> 'i:M\^if^H\^h\^t\H",^''i>A^v jiC-'w' jt^' 'i'..' 'i<^"iii«.vi"<;i"«'i-, ^"OSHUA G. NEWBOLD was the tenth Governor of the State, and the thirteenth of Iowa, num- bering from the first Territorial G o v e r nor. He is yet living at Mount Pleasant. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and his an- cestors in this country were among the very early set- tlers in New Jersey. They were Friends, and conse- q u e n 1 1 y none of them figured in the struggle ff)r the independence of the colo- nies. Governor Newbold is the son of Barzilla and Catherine (Houseman) New- bold. He was born in Fayette Count}-, Pennsylvania, May I2, 1830, and reared as a farmer. When he was eight years of age the family moved to Westmoreland County, same State, where he was educated in the common school, and also in a select school or academy, the latter taught b}- Dr. John Lewis, since of Grinnell, Iowa. At sixteen he returned with the family to Fayette County, where he remained eight 3'ears, assisting his father in running a flouring mill, when not teaching. When about nine- teen he began the study of medicine, read- ing a year or more while teaching, and then abandoning the notion of being a physician. In the month of March, 1854, Mr. New- bold removed to Iowa, locating on a farm, now partly in the corporation of Mount Pleasant, Henry County. At the end of one year he removed to Cedar Township, Van Buren County, there merchandising and farming till about i860, when he re- moved to Hillsboro, Henry County- and pursued the same callings. In 1862, when the call was made for 600,- 000 men to finish the work of crushing the Rebellion, Mr. Newbold left his farm in the hands of his family and his store in charge of his partner, and went into the army as Captain of Company C, Twenty-fifth Regi- ment Iowa Infantry. He served nearly three years, resigning just before the war closed, on account of disability. During the last two or three months he served at the South he filled the position of Judge Advocate, with headquarters at Woodville, Alabama. His regiment was one of those that made Iowa troops famous. It arrived at Helena, Arkansas, in November, 1862, and sailed in December following on the expedition against Vicksburg by way of Chickasaw Bayou. At the latter place was its first en- gagement. Its second was at Arkansas Post, and there it suffered severely, losing in killed and wounded more than sixty. Alter Lookout Mountain it joined in the pursuit of Bragg's flying forces to Rmg- 212 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. gold, where it engaged the enemy in their strong works, November 27 losing twenty- nine wounded. The following year it joined Sherman in his Atlanta campaign, then on the famous march to the sea and through the Carolinas. On returning to Iowa he continued in the mercantile trade at Hillsboro for three or four years, and then sold out, giving thereafter his whole attention to agricult- ure, stock-raising and stock-dealing, mak- ing the stock department an important factor in his business for several 3'ears. Mr. Newbold was a member of the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth General Assem- blies, representing Henry County, and was chairman of the school committee in the fourteenth, and of the committee on appro- priations in the fifteenth General Assembly. In the fifteenth (1874) he was temporary Speaker during the deadlock in organizing the House. In 1875 he was elected Lieu- tenant Governor on the Republican ticket with Samuel J. Kirkwood. His Democratic competitor was E. B. Woodward, who received 93,060 votes. Mr. Newbold received 134,166, or a majority of 31,106. Governor Kirkwood being elected United States Senator during that session, Mr. Newbold became Governor, taking the chair February i, 1877, and vacating it for Governor Gear in January, 1878. Governor Newbold's message to the Leg- islature in 1878 shows painstaking care and a clear business-like view of the in- terests of the State. His recommendations were carefully considered and largel}' adopted. The State's finances were then in a less creditable condition tiian ever be- fore or since, as there was an increasing floating debt, then amounting to $340,- 826.56, more than $90,000 in excess of the Constitutional limitation. Said Governor Newbold in his message: " The commori- \Vealth ought not to set an example of dila- toriness in meeting its obligations. Of ah forms of indebtedness, that of a floating character is the most objectionable. The uncertainty as to its amount will invariably enter into any computation made by persons contracting with the State for supplies, ma- terial or labor. To remove the present difficulty, and to avert its recurrence, I look upon as the most important work that will demand your attention." One of the greatest problems before statesmen is that of equal and just taxation. The following recommendation shows that Governor Newbold was abreast with fore- most thinkers, for it proposes a step which yearly finds more favor with the people: " The inequalities of the personal-property valuations of the several counties suggest to my mind the propriety of so adjusting the State's levy as to require the counties to pay into the State treasury only the tax on realty, leaving the corresponding tax on personalty in the county treasury. This would rest with each county the adjust- ment of its personal property valuations, without fear that they might be so high as to work injustice to itself in comparison with other counties." Governor Newbold has always affiliated with the Republican party, and holds to its great cardinal doctrines, having once em- braced them, with the same sincerity and honesty that he cherishes his religious senti- ments. He has been a Christian for some- thing like twenty-five years, his connection being with the Free-Will Baptist church. He found his wife, Rachel Farquhar, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, their union taking place on the 2d of May, 1850. They have had five children, and lost two. The names of the living are — Mary Allene, Emma Irene and George C. The Governor is not yet an old man, and may serve his State or county in other capacities in the coming years. fOtiN H. GEAR. 2iS — ? l ii fai«f i i |»< Iiq;) i ti i t i iir i i i^^^ly^ ; HE eleventh to hold the highest official posi- tion in the State of Iowa was John H. Gear, of Burlington. He is )'et living in that city. He was born in Ithaca, New York, April 7, 1825. His father was Rev. E. G. Gear, a cler- gyman of the Protestant Episcopal church, who was born in New London, Connecticut, in 1792. When he was quite young his family removed to Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts; in 1816, after being or- dained, he emigrated to New York and settled at Onondaga Hill, near which is now the thriving city of Syracuse. Soon after locatino; there he was married to Miranda E. Cook. He was engaged in the ministry in various places in Western New York until 1836, when he removed to Galena, Illinois. There he remained until 1838, when he was appointed Chaplain in the United States Army at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He died in 1874, aged eighty -two years. John H., his only son, in 1843, came to Burlington, where he has since continued to reside. On his arrival he commenced his mercantile career by engaging as clerk with the firm of Bridgeman & Bros. After being with this firm for a little over a year he entered the employ of W. F. Coolbaugh (since president of the Union National Bank, of Chicago), who was even at that early date the leading merchant of Eastern Iowa. He was clerk for Mr. Coolbaugh for about five years, and was then taken into partnership. The firm of W. F. Cool- baugh & Co. continued in business for nearly five years, when Mr. Gear suc- ceeded to the business by purchase, and carried it on until h^ became known as the oldest wholesale grocer in the State. He is now president of a large rolling mill company at Burlington. Mr. Gear has been honored by his fellow- citizens with many positions of trust. In 1852 he was elected alderman ; in 1863 was elected mayor over A. W. Carpenter, be- ing the first Republican up to that time who had been elected in Burlington on a party issue. In 1867 the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad Company was organized, and he was chosen as its president. His efforts highly contributed to the success of the enterprise, which did much for Burlington. He was also active in promoting the Burlington & Southwest- ern Railway, as well as the Burlington & Northwestern narrow-gauge road. 2iG GOVERNORS OP /Oil' A. He has always acted with the Republican party, and in 1871 was nominated and elected a member of the House of Repre- sentatives of the Fourteenth General As- sembly. In 1873 he was elected to the Fifteenth General Assembly. The Repub- lican caucus of the House nominated him for Speaker by acclamation, and after a contest of two weeks he was chosen over his opponent, J. W. Dixon. He filled the position of Speaker very acceptably, and at the close of the session all the members of the House, independent of party affili- ations, joined in signing their names to a resolution of thanks, which was engraved and presented to him. In 1875 he was the third time nominated to the Assembly by the Republican party, and while his county gave a large Democratic vote he was again elected. He was also again nominated for Speaker, by the Republican caucus, and was elected by a handsome majority over his competitor, Hon. John Y. Stone. He is the only man in the State who ever had the honor of being chosen to this high posi- tion a second time. He enjoys the reputa- tion of being an able parliamentarian, his rulings never having been appealed from. At the close of the session he again received the unanimous thanks of the House for his courtesy and impartiality. In 1877 he was nominated for Governor by the Republican convention which met at Des Moines, June 28, and at the election held the following October he received 121,546 votes, against 79,353 for John F. Irish, 10,639 for Elias Jessup, and 38,228 for D. P. Stubbs. His plurality over Irish was 42,193. He was inaugurated January 17, 1878, and served four years, being re-elected in 1879, by the following handsome vote: Gear, 157,571 ; Trimble, 85,056 ; Campbell, 45.439; Dungan, 3,258; Gear's majority over all competitors, 23,828. His second inauguration was in January, 1880. Governor Gear's business habits enabled him to discharge the duties of his office with marked ability. He found the finan- cial condition of the State in a low ebb, but raised Iowa's credit to that of the best of our States. In his last biennial message he was able to report : " The warrants out- standing, but not bearing interest, Septem- ber 30, 1 88 1, amounted to $22,093.74, and there are now in the treasury ample funds to meet the current e.vpenses of the State. The war and defense debt has been paid, except the warrants for $125,000 negotiated by the executive, auditor and treasurer, under the law of the Eighteenth General Assembly, and $2,500 of the original bonds not yet presented for payment. The only other debt owing by the State amounts to $245,435.19, due to the permanent school fund, a portion of which is made irredeem- able by the Constitution. These facts place Iowa practically among the States which have no debt, a consideration which must add much to her reputation. The expenses of the State for the last two years are less than those of any other period since 1869, and this notwithstanding the fact that the State is to-day sustaining several instita tions not then in existence ; namely, the hospital at Independence, the additional penitentiary, the normal school, and the asylum for the feeble-minded children, be- sides the girl's department of the reform school. The State also, at present, makes provision for fish culture, for a useful weather service, for sanitary supervision by a board of health, for encouraging im- migration to the State, for the inspection of coal mines by a State inspector, and liberally for the military arm of the Government." Governor Gear is now in the sixty-first year of his age, and is in the full vigor of both his mental and physical faculties. He was married in 1852 to Harriet S. Foot, formerly of Middlebury, Vermont, by whom he has had four children, two of whom are living. l/rT2^c2y^^ ^, BUR EN li. SHERAtA.V. 2ig ^^^'^€^ ":i«. ^ ^^' ^ # :^«^i«:-n >!^'^. SJ^i^^ ^ -^ ^:i«. ^^^>^^^; IE twelfth Governor of the State was Buren R. Sherman, who held office two terms, from 1882 to 1886. He was born in Phelps, Ontario County, New York, May 28, 1836, and is the third son of Phineas L. and Eve- line (Robinson) Sherman, both of whom were natives of the Empire State. The subject of this sketch received his early educa- tion in the public schools of his native place, and con- cluded his studies at Elmira, New York, acquiring a thorough knowledge of the English branches. At the close of his studies, acting on the advice of his father, who was a mechanic (an ax maker), he ap- prenticed himself to Mr. S. Ayres, of El- mira, to learn the watchmaker's trade. In 1855, with his famil}', he removed to Iowa and settled upon an unbroken prairie, in what is now Geneseo Township, Tama County, where his father had purchased lands from the Government. Thei^e young Sherman labored on his father's farm, em- plo3'ing his leisure hours in the study of law, which he had begun at Elmira. He also engaged as bookkeeper in a neighbor- ly ing town, and with his wages assisted his parents in improving their farm. In the summer of 1859 he was admitted to the bar. and the following spring removed to Yin ton, and began the practice of law with Hon. William Smyth, formerly District Judge, and J. C. Traer, conducting the business under the firm name of Sm3'th. Traer & Sherman. They built up a flourishing practice and were prospering when, upon the opening of the war, in 1861, Mr. Sherman enlisted in Company G, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and immediately went to the front. He entered the service as Second Sergeant, and in February, 1862, was made Second Lieutenant of Company E. On the 6th of April following he was ver}' severely wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and while in the hospital was promoted to the rank of Captain. He returned to his company while yet obliged to use crutches, and remained on duty till the summer of 1863, when, by reason of his wound, he was compelled to resign and return home. Soon after i-eturning from the army he was elected County Judge of Benton County, and re-elected without opposition in 1865. In the autumn of 1866 he resigned his judge- ship and accepted the office of clerk of the District Court, to which he was re-elected in 1868, 1870 and 1872, and in December, 1874, resigned in order to accept the office iio GOVERNORS Olf IOWA. of Auditor of State, to which he had been elected by a majority of 28,425 over J. M. King, the " anti-monopoly" candidate. In 1876 he was re-nominated and received 50,- 272 more votes than W. Growneweg(Demo- crat) and Leonard Brown (Greenback) to- gether. In 1878 he was again chosen to represent the Republican party in that office, and this time received a majorit)' of 7,164 over the combined votes of Colonel Eiboeck (Democrat) and G. V. Swearenger (Green- back). In the six years that he held this office, he was untiring in his faithful appli- cation to routine work and devotion to his especial share of the State's business. He retired with such an enviable record that it was with no surprise the people learned, June 27, i88i,that he was the nominee of the Republican parly for Governor The campaign was an exciting one. The General Assembly had submitted to the people the prohibitory amendment to the Constitution. This, while not a partisan question, became uppermost in the mind of the public. Mr. Sherman received 133,- 330 votes, against 83,244 for Kinne and 28,- 1 12 for D. M. Clark, or a plurality of 50,086 and a majority of 21,974. In 1883 he was re-nominated by the Republicans, as was L. G. Kinne by the Democrats. The National party offered J. B. Weaver. During the campaign these candidates held a number of joint discussions at different points in the State. At the election the vote was: Sher- man, 164,182; Kinne, 139,093 ; Weaver, 23,- 089; Sherman's plurality, 25,089; majority, 2,000. In his second inaugural Governor Sherman said : " In assuming, for the second time, the office of Chief Magistrate of the State, I fully realize my grateful obligations to the people of Iowa, through whose generous confidence I am here. I am aware of the duties and grave responsibilities of this ex- alted position, and as well what is expected of me therein. As in the past I have given my undivided time and serious attention thereto, so in the future I promise the most earnest devotion and imtiring effort in the faithful performance of my official require- ments. I have seen the State grow from infancy to mature manhood, and each year one of substantial betterment of its previous position. " With more railroads than any other State, save two; with a school interest the grandest and strongest, which commands the support and confidence of all the peo- ple, and a population, which in its entirety is superior to any other in the sisterhood, it is not strange the pride which attaches to our people. When we remember that the results of our efforts in the direction of good government have been crowned with such magnificent success, and to-day we have a State in most perfect physical and financial condition, no wonder our hearts swell in honest pride as we contemplate the past and S(3 confidently hope for the future. What we may become depends on our own efforts, and to that future I look with earnest and abiding confidence." Governor Sherman's term of office con- tinued until January 14, 1886, when he was succeeded by William Larrabee, and he is now, temporarily, perhaps, enjoying a well- earned rest. He has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and his services as a campaign speaker have been for many years in great demand. As an officer he has been able to make an enviable record. Himself honorable and thorough, his management of public business has been of the same character, and such as has com- mended him to the hearty approval of the citizens of the State. He was married August 20, 1862, to Miss Lena Kendall, of Vinton, Iowa, a young lady of rare accomplishments and strength of character. The union has been happy in every respect. They have two children — Lena Kendall and Oscar Eugene. ■<*0^)^ C^^No'" t^-I--' WILL/AM LARRABBE. "^i '^WILLIAM LflHHflBEE.^ iii^ ILLIAMLARRABEE is the thirteenth Governor of this State, and the six- teenth Governor of Iowa, counting from the Territo- irganization. His ancestors the name of d'Larrabee, and among the French Hugue- who came to America early e seventeenth century, set- g in Connecticut. Adam ibee was born March 14, nd was one of the early graduates of West Point Military Academy. He served with distinction in the war of 1 81 2, having been made a Second Lieuten- ant March i, 181 1. He was promoted to be Captain February i, 18 14, and was soon after, March 30, of the same year, severely wounded at the battle of Lacole Mills, dur- ing General Wilkinson's campaign on the St. Lawrence. He recovered from this wound, which was in the lung, and was afterward married to Hannah Gallup Lester, who was born June 8, 1798, and died March 15, 1837. Captain Larrabee died in 1869, aged eighty-two. The subject of this sketch was born at Ledyard, Connecticut, January 20, 1833 and was the seventh of nine children. \\p passed his early life on a rugged New Eng- land farm, and received only moderate school advantages. He attended the dis- trict schools winters until nineteen years of age, and then taught school for two winters. He was now of an age when it became necessary to form some plans for the future In this, however, he was embarrassed by a misfortune which befel him at the age of fourteen. In being trained to the use of fire-arms under his father's direction, an ac- cidental discharge resulted in the loss of sight in the right eye. This unfitted him for many employments usually sought by ambitious youths. The family lived two miles from the sea, and in that locality it was the custom for at least one son in each family to become a sailor. William's two eldest brothers chose this occupation, and the third remained in charge of the home farm. Thus made free to choose for himself William decided to emigrate West. In 1853, accordingly, he came to Iowa. His elder sister, Hannah, wife of E. H. Williams, was then living at Garnavillo, Clayton County, and there he went first. In that way he selected Northeast Iowa as l^'s 234 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. future home. After teaching one winter at Hardin, he was for three years employed as a sort of foreman on the Grand Meadow farm of his brother-in-law, Judge Williams. In 1857 he bought a one-third interest in the Clermont Mills, and located at Cler- mont, Fayette County. He soon was able to bu) the other two-thirds, and within a year found himself sole owner. He oper- ated this mill until 1874, when he sold to S. M. Leach. On the breaking out of the war he offered to enlist, but was rejected on ac- count of the loss of his right eye. Being informed he might possibly be admitted as a commissioned officer he raised a company and received a commission as First Lieu- tenant, but was again rejected for the same disability. After selling the mill Mr. Larrabee de- voted himself to farming, and started a private bank at Clermont. He also, ex- perimentally, started a large nursery, but this resulted only in confirming the belief that Northern Iowa has too rigorous a cli- mate for fruit-raising. Mr. Larrabee did not begin his political career until 1867. He was reared as a Whig, and became a Republican on the or- ganization of that party. While interested in politics he generally refused local offices, serving only as treasurer of the School Board prior to 1867. In the autumn of that year, on the Republican ticket, he was elected to represent his county in the State Senate. To this high position he was re- elected from time to time, so that he served as Senator continuously for eighteen years before being promoted to the highest office \\\ the State. He was so popular at home that he was generally re-nominated by ac- clamation, and for some years the Demo- crats did not even make nominations. During the whole eighteen j^ears Senator Larrabee was a member of the principal committee, that on Wa3-s and Means, of which he was generally chairman, and was also a member of other committees. In the pursuit of the duties thus devolving upon him he was indefatigable. It is said that he never missed a committee meeting. Not alone in this, but in private and public business of all kinds his uniform habit is that of close application to work. Many of the important measures passed by t/ie Legislature owe their existence or present form to him. He was a candidate for the gubernatorial nomination in 1881, but entered the contest too late, as Governor Sherman's following had been successfully organized. In 1885 it was generally conceded before the meet- ine of the convention that he would be nominated, which he was, and his election followed as a matter of course. He was inaugurated January 14, 1886, and so far has made an excellent Governor. His position in regard to the liquor question, that on which political fortunes are made and lost in Iowa, is that the majority should rule. He was personally in favor of high license, but having been elected Governor, and sworn to uphold the Constitution and execute the laws, he proposes to do so. A Senator who sat beside him in the Senate declares him to be " a man of the broadest comprehension and informatiou an extraordinarily clear reasoner, fair and conscientious in his conclusions, and of Spartan firmness in his matured judg- ment," and says that " he brings the prac- tical facts and philosophy of human nature, the science and history of law, to aid in his decisions, and adheres with the earnestness of Jefferson and Sumner to the fundamental principles of the people's rights in govern- ment and law." Governor Larrabee was married Sep- tember 12, 1 861, at Clermont, to Anna M. Appelman. daughter of Captain G. A. Appelman. Governor Larrabee has seven children— Charles, Augusta, Julia, Anna, William, Frederic and Helen. M OC\X<..LJl, /$W^ HORACE BOIES. 225 V"'" rAn.-vwA- - ;tggitg<g?it^t^t^t^^^ Pgt^t^t^i^t^t^tgg': i,S^, 'a^mo^ti\^\''i2^tft"t!\'^\mri\i\a'ja^&>ifaa\.N&v.t^m^i\mt^^ rrnig?iiiagia f:rr~iiiifi'l^i!it^i-lt^i^i'^i^^^\:3 4i)€*v.Lti'i^U'd'tAt|'i*Vj<<^'4'tA^I' :)RACEBOIES,Governor of Iowa, is a lawyer by profession, and a resident of the city of Waterloo, jjg^ of wliicli city he has ' ^"^ T" been a resident, engaged in the active practice of his pro- fession, since 1867. Governor Boies is a son of Eber and Hettie (Henshaw) Boies, and was born in Aurora, Erie County, New York, on the 7th day of Decem- ber, 1827. His father was a farmer by occupation, and in moderate circumstances, and Horace was reared under the healthful influence of farm life. He attended the public schools as op- portunity afforded, until sixteen years of age, when, being inspired with an ambition to see more of the world than liad been possible for him within the narrow limits of his native town, with the added variety of an occasional visit to Buffalo, he persuaded his father to consent to his departure for the West. Pass- age was secured on a steamer at Buffalo, which was bound up the lakes, and in due time he landed at the little hamlet of Racine, Wisconsin. This was in the spring of 1843, live years before Wisconsin was admitted into the Union. The total cash assets of the youthful emigrant amounted to but 75 cents. which required on his part strict economy and immediate employment. Not finding a favorable opening at Racine, he struck out on foot in search of work among the farmers, which he secured of a settler near Rochester, and about twenty miles from Racine. His employer proved a hard task-master, and put the boy at the laborious work of ditch-digging, while he gave him the poorest kind of food, and even that to a very limited amount. After a month spent in a half-starved condition, and having been greatly overworked, he received the sum of $10 for his services. Broken in health, he left his employer, and soon for- tunately fell in with a family that had re- cently come from the vicinity of his home in the State of New York. These people proved true friends, and kindly cared for hiui through a long illness that followed, which was the legitimate result of his month of hardship and starvation. On recovering his health, young Boies continued at farm work until a year had elapsed since he left his home; he then returned to his native town, having learned the useful lesson of self- reliance, which in after years enabled him to more easily overcome the difficulties that beset the way of him who has to hew out hie own road through life. On his return to Aurora, Mr. Boies pursued a course of study 226 GOVERNORS OF IOWA. at the academy of that village, and later spent one winter in school-teaching in Boone County, Illinois. Returning to the State of New York, lie was mai'ried in Aurora, on the 18th of April, 1848, to Miss Adela Kins:, a daughter of Darius and Hannah King. Mrs. Boies was a native of Erie County. They had three children, of whom only one is now living, a daughter, Adela, who is now the widow of John Carson. Mrs. Carson resides at Mt. Vernon, Iowa. In 1850 Mr. Boies began the study of law in Aurora, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo at the general term of the Supreme Court in November, 1852. He pursued the practice of his profession in Buffalo and vicinity with marked success, and in the fall of 1857 was elected to represent his district in the New York House of Representatives for the session of 1858. Mrs. Boies died in November, 1855, and he was married the second time in Decem- ber, 1858, in Waterloo, Iowa, to Miss Ver- salia M. Barber, who was born in Boston, Erie County, New York, a daughter of Dr. P. J. Barber. Mrs. Boies had removed to Iowa six months previous to her marriage. She died in April, 1877, leaving three chil- dren, a daughter and two sons. Earl L., the eldest, was graduated at Cornell College, studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar iri 1886, and became the partner of his father. Jessie, the daughter, is lier father's companion and housekeeper. Her- bert B., the youngest, is a law student in his father's office at Waterloo. After pursuing the practice of his pro- fession at Buffalo and vicinity for fifteen years, Mr. Boies removed to Iowa, settling at Waterloo in April, 1867. He at once formed a law partnership with H. B. Allen, and for «, time the firm was Boies & Allen. Then Carolton F. Couch, the present District Judge, was admitted to membership, and the firm name became Boies, Allen & Couch. That connection was continued till 1878, when Mr. Allen, on account of failing health, was obliged to withdraw, the firm becoming Boies & Couch until 1884, when Mr. Couch was elected Judge of the Ninth Judicial Dis- trict. Mr. Boies was then alone in business for a short time, when he was joined by his eldest son. In 1886 Mr. James L. Husted was admitted to membership in the firm, which has since continued under the name of Boies, Husted & Boies, and is widely known as a leading law firm of eastern Iowa. Governor Boies was a Whig in early life, and on the disruption of that party and the formation of the Republican party, he joined the latter. He was never ambitious to serve in official position, and with the exception of his one term in the Legislature of his native State and one term as City Attorney of Waterloo, he held no office of importance till elected Governor of Iowa in the fall of 1889. He maintained his connection with the Re- publican party until 1882, since which time he has affiliated with the Democrats. Gov- ernor Boies enjoys the distinction of being the first Governor of Iowa elected by the Democratic party for thirty-five years, and was the only successful candidate of his party on the State ticket at the late election. Considering the fact that the State was car- ried the year previous, in the Presidential election, by a n:ajority of 35,000 in favor of the Republicans, the success of Governor Boies may be said to have been a compli- ment to him as a man and leader, without disparaging the splendid campaign work of his party managers, or ignoring the effect of the evident change in popular political senti- ment in Iowa. (L^ , /v/^^^^c^^W-^^tvj .^^ POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY ^^S^^^^^ |ALEB BALDWIN was born April 3, 1824, about five miles southeast of the borough of Washington, in the State of Pennsylvania. He enjoyed the advantages of a good primary education, and after com- pleting his preparatory studies he entered Washington College, in iiis native State, and graduated with honor in the c'ass of 1842. As it was the custom in those early days for students to teach for a year or more before beginning the study of law, he went to Paris, Kentucky, and taught school for one year. He then returned to Washington and studied law with the Hon. T. M. T. McKennan, a distinguished jurist and statesman of Penn- sylvania, and at one time Secretary of the Interior under Millard Fillmore, was ad- mitted to tiie bar in the spring of 1846, and soon afterward removed to Fairfield, Iowa, and commenced the practice of law. His manhood more than justified the promise of his youth, for he rose to marked eminence in the State of Iowa. He resided in Fairfield for eleven years, during which period he was three times elected Prosecuting Attorney of Jefferson County, a position he resigned to accept tiie appointment of District Judge tendered him by Governor Grimes. At the e.Ypiration of his term as District 20 Judge he removed to Council Bluffs, in 1857, where he continued to reside the remainder of his life. Two years later, in 1859, he was cliosen by the popular voice as one of the Judges of tlie Supreme Court. Up to that time the judges of the Supreme Court had not been elected directly by the people, and many doubts were entertained whetlier the choice of a tribunal of such power could be safely trusted to tiie voice of the masses. In the canvass of that year it was argued witii par- ticular vigor against Judge Baldwin that he was a new and an untried man, and that the State had no assurance tliat he would be equal to the high position to which he had been nominated. Making no personal appeal to the people, he quietly awaited their choice, and in company with ex-Governor Ralph P. Lowe and Hon. L. D. Stockton was elected by a handsome majority- In the classifica- tion by lot of the members of the court he drew the four-year term, and after the expi- ration of two years became by succession the Chief Justice of the State. He discharo-ed the laborious work of his office with such ability, and by his ceaseless attention to the duties of his position and by his impartiality and unassuming manners had so won the con- fidence of the people, that after the close of 282 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY the four years lie was universally desired by the members of the bar of his own party to accept a renomination, and had he consented would have been chosen by acclamation. He deemed it his duty, however, to decline a re- nomination, and retired for a time from pub- lic life to resume the practice of his profes- sion. Warm-hearted as a friend, energetic and public-spirited as a citizen, and able and impartial as a judge, he carried with him into his retirement the coniidenee and affec- tion of the people of the entire State. At a meeting of the Supreme Court the fol- lowing preamble and resolutions were passed: Whereas, the judicial term of Hon. Caleb Baldwin is about to e.Kpire, and although it was the manifest wish of a large majority of the people of Iowa, the unanimous desire of the Legal Profession of the State tliat he should continue his connection with our Su- preme Bench, yet by his own voluntary de- termination that connection is about to be severed; and Whereas, Under such circumstances it is eminently proper for the Bar of the State to give authoritative expression of their senti- ments of respect for our retiring Chief Jus- tice; therefore, Resolved, That in the Hon. Caleb Baldwin we have found and recognize an able, impar- tial and faithful jurist; that in his compre- hensive, yet accurate view of the whole case under consideration he has evinced a capac- ity for the administration of justice, and at the same time a taithful regard for the prin- ciples of law, which is justly envied by all and possessed by but few; that we refer with much pride and confidence to the opinions de- livered by him during his term as a vindica- tion of this expression of our sentiments, and as an evidence of the high character of our Supreme Bench, which we are glad to know, through his influence and that of his asso- ciates, is being justly recognized and appre- ciated by the best jurists of other States. Resolvd, That the Hon. Caleb Baldwin, by bis uniform dignity, courtesy and kindness on the Bench, has shown how unerringly a true vian may exercise authority without showing power, and by his conduct has now and retains our highest regards. Resolved, That the Hon. Caleb Baldwin carries with him in his retirement our grate- ful esteem and affection, our sincere wish for his good health, long life and continued use- fulness, and our profound regrets that he has felt it to be his duty to dissolve that relation which has for foiir years existed between ns with a pleasure that has been uninterrupted by even the slightest act, word or thought. His name was frequently suggested with the Chief Magistracy of Iowa, but he could not be prevailed upon to become a candidate before a State Convention. He was a favor- ite in the West, and if his ambition had been equal to his ability and to the good will of the people toward him, there would have been no office too high for his possible attainment. In 1864 he was appointed by President Lincoln United States District Attorney for the District of Iowa, which position he held until after the assassination of President Lincoln and the assumption of the Presi- dency by Andrew Johnson, when he resigned. He again resumed the active practice of his profession at Council Bluffs, associating with h,im the Hon. George F. Wright. He re- mained actively in the practice until 1874, when he was appointed by President Grant one of the members of the Alabama Claims Commission, which position he held until his death, which occurred at Council Bluffs, Iowa, December 15, 1876. Judge Baldwin's life was one of unusual activity and usefulness. As a lawyer he stood at the head of his profession and was OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 233 without a peer in the West. He was pos- sessed uf a natural genius for the law, culti- vated and strengthened by careful study and experience. Fortunate in his early legal training, and still more fortunate in being endowed with the strictest integrity and an untiring industry, he infused into his decis- ions and thus into the legal monuments of the State the spirit which he imbued from a life-long intercouse with the highest sources of the law. As a judicial writer Judge Bald- win had clearness, succinctness and force. He always meant what he said and said what he meant in the fewest possible words and most direct manner, and seldom, if ever, failed to illustrate clearly and logically his earnest and honest convections whatever the subject with which he dealt. As a citizen of Council Bluffs Judge Baldwin was active in all public affairs and zealous for the upbuild- ing of the city and its future welfai-e. He was closely identified with its struggles, growth and prosperity. Nor did he limit his work to the city. He helped build his State. He carried to public position what lie had shown in private life, — business habits and a carefully trained legal mind. Nature had endowed Judge Baldwin with a form of manly dignity and a face of impres- sive benevolence. With remarkably pleasing manners, he commanded the admiration of all who met him. In his influence over men and their emotions he had a sublime mastery, and he took pleasure in affording needed re- lief and imparting to others that desii-able inspiration which he himself possessed. As a friend he was generous, kind, true and faithful. He was deliberate in drawing con- elusions and judging faults. His heart was large enough to embrace within its sympa- thies all classes. Ever willine: to lend a helping hand, whether to one in need of en- couragement or in distress, affable and oblig- ing. Judge Baldwin was personally popular with rich and poor, high and low, alike. He was a leader and controller of men and a great organizer, and he was, as has often been said of him, " the Von Moltke of luwa poli- tics;" but the essential element of his success had a surer foundation than this. He was distinguished for his unchallenged honesty; holding some of the most responsible posi- tions in his State and nation, his course was ever marked by unswerving integrity. He was faithful to every public duty and true to his friends. He never betrayed a public trust or a personal friend, in private life he was genial and companionable, in the home he was the dutiful son, an affectionate hiisliand, a kind and indulgent father. In 1848 Judge Baldwin was married ti> Miss Jane Barr, a daughter of the Kev. Thomas Barr, of Kushville, Indiana. She was a woman admirably fitted to be the wife of so noble a husband. She had more than average intellectual force, and her natural powers had been cultivated, enlarged and de- veloped by careful study and training. For this reason she was an acquisition to society, and it enabled her to fulfill the duties de- volving upon her as the wife of a prominent man and the mother of a large family. After the death of her husband she held the office of Postmistress in the city of Council Bluffs during the administration of President Hayes and part of Garfield's. Her administration of that office was marked by the utmost fidel- ity and acceptance, and she left behind her a monument of virtue that the storms of time can never destroy. Her deeds of kindness, love and mercy shown to the many with whom she came in contact year by year, will never be forgotten. Judge Baldwin died December 15, 1876, after a long and painful illness. Calm, re- signed, with an unswerving faith in the fu- •Zi\ BloaiiAPnWAL IIISTOR Y ture, he passed qnietly and peacefully away, jnst as he had reached the zenith of Ins capa- bilities, just as his mind fully disciplined by exercise, matured by experience and enlarged bv observation, was capable of its best and grandest achievements, in the midst of pub- lic employment and arduous duties, sur- rounded by a host of earnest friends, and in the bosom of an interesting family. In the power of example, in the wealth of an earnest, active, true life, he still lives. As a mark of the high respect and esteem in which he was held by the Court of Claims, and also by the Iowa delegation then in Con- gress, resolutions fittingly portraying his character and virtues were \inanimonslj adopted by both these bodies, spread upon the record of the Court and the history of Iowa in Congress. ^*^ E. McMULLEN, a prominent farmer of Washington Township, was born in '^ Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Feb- ruary 22, 1846, the son of William McMul- len, also a native of Pennsylvania. He was the son of Charles McMullen, who was born in Maryland, of Scotch-Irish parentage, and who also served in the war of 1812. Our subject's tnother was Margaret (Herage) Mc- Mullen, a native of Bedford County, Penn- sylvania. William McMullen is still living, in Washington Township, at the age of sev- enty-one years. He has been a farmer all his life; is a Republican in politics, and a mem- ber of the Methodist Church. The subject of this sketch was but seven years of age when his parents moved to Pe- oria County, Illinois, where he remained until he was eighteen, engaged in farm work. Dur- ing the war he enlisted in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry, Company I, under Colonel Dean, and later was a mem- ber of C'ompany B, Twenty-second Regiment United States Infantry, and served on the frontier for three years after the war. He was then engaged in freigliting and teaming in Colorado and Wj'oming for two years. He next went to Missouri, and from there came to Pottawattamie County in 1871, first settling in Silver Creek Township. He then removed to Mills County, where he remained fur a time, and in 1881 bought his present farm of 340 acres in Washington Township. He has improved this place until he now owns one of the finest farms in Pottawatta- mie County. Mr. McMullen was married in Mills Coun- ty, December 21, 1875, to Sarah E. Ellis, who was born in Orange County, Indiana, a daughter of Jesse and Rachel (Frazier) Ellis, both natives of North Carolina. Mrs. Mc- Mullen was eleven years of age when her parents settled near Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa. Her father died in 1856, in Illinois, on the way to Iowa. The mother died in this county at the age of seventy four years. Religiously they were Quakers, or Friends. Mrs. McMullen received a good education at New Sharon, Iowa, and at the age of seventeen years was engaged in teach- ing, which occupation she continued for thir- ty-two terms. In 1871 she went to Kansas and took up a Government homestead, after which she returned to Mahaska County. In 1875 she came to Mills County, where she was married. Mr. and Mrs. McMullen have six children: Byron G., Herman Ray and Normon Fay, twins; Herbert A., Laura, Grace and Blanche. Mr. McMullen is a strong believer in the principles of the Demo- cratic party, and has served as Township Trustee and in other minor offices in his township. He is a member of the Masonic order. No. 400, of Silver City, and also of OF POX I' AW ATT AM IE COUNTY. 335 the G. A. R., Bradford Post, No. 471. Mrs. McMullen was reared a Quaker, and is now a member of the Evangelical Church. ■ - . m » l^ » S l i ; « ^ rriOMAS H. JEFFERSON, a promi- nent farmer of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, is a son of William Jefferson, who was born in 1801, and was married to Elizabeth Hewett, daughter of John Hewett, a native of England. Mr. Jefferson came to America in 1823, and settled in Trumbull County, Ohio, where he was among the early settlers. He was the only member of his family that ever came to this country. He was engaged first in driving a stage for tlie Ohio Stage Company for sixteen years, and next in clearing a farm from heavy timber. The country at that time was covered with giant beech, oaks, walnut, maple, hickory and almost all kinds of timber native to that State, and wild beasts were also plentiful. To Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson were born live children: William, Mary, Thomas, Edward, and one who died when young. The father lived on his farm for many years, where he was a well-known and prominent man, and both he and his wife were members of the Church of England. In 1863 he went to Black Hawk County, Iowa, where he lived the remainder ot his days, dying at the age of seventy-six years. He was a hard-working and upright man. Thomas H. Jefferson, our subject, was born February 23, 1839, and after his mar- riage was engaged in the oil country in Warren and Erie counties, Pennsylvania, for three years. In 1867 he came to Iowa, set- tling in Black Hawk County, where he re- mained two years; he next lived on the Mis- souri line in Polk and Cedar counties, and in 1872 he came to Belknap Township, Pot- tawattamie County, settling on wild land. There was but one house between him and Big Grove, now Oakland, which then con- tained a store, blacksmith shop, a saw- mill and three small cabins. In 1881 he came to his present fine farm of 320 acres, one-lialf of which is in Belknap Township. Politi- cally he is a Democrat, and stands deservedly high as a straightforward and honorable man. Mr. Jefferson was married in 1863, in Pennsylvania, to Rose Stewart, daughter of Simeon and Hannah (Blakesley) Stewart, and they have three children: Stewart, Charles C. and Tommy. Simeon Stewart was born in New York State, and was the father of five children: Tryphenia, Calphurnia, Perry, Rose and Dora. He was a carpenter by trade, but owned a farm in the woods of Erie County, Pennsylvania, where he lived for many years, and wiiere he was a pioneer settler. He went thirty -two miles to Erie on horseback for his ffour. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and lived to the age of eighty-two, dying on his farm. He was a member of the Masonic order, and a man well known and respected in his county. He kept a hotel on the road from Oil City to Corry, Pennsylvania, and during the oil exitement did an immense business, accumu- lating a hmd^omi property. I ' J"! ' ^" ' " fOHN BLAKELY is one of the enter- prising and well-known citizens of Wright Township. He came here in the spring of 1877, and has since made this place his home. He was born in Perry County, Ohio, February 13, 1842, a son of Andrew Blakely. His great-grandfather Blakely was a native of the Emerald Jsle. Andrew Blakely was a stone-cutter by trade, which he followed the most of his life. His political views were those of the Democratic 236 BIOQBAPEJCAL HI STOUT party. He married Catlierine Gilchriest, a native of Pennsylvania and a lady of German ancestry. Tiiey reared a family of six chil- dren, five of whom are living, John being the fifth born. Mrs. Blakelj was born in 1807, and is now eighty-three years of age. She resides in Pennsylvania, near the old Gil- chriest homestead. John was principally brought up in West- moreland County, Pennsylvania, where he learned the carpenter's trade, which he fol- lowed for many years in that State and in Ohio. In 1868 he came West, and worked in different parts of Missouri, and finally in Maryville, Nodaway County. In 1871 he came to Cass County, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land, six miles southeast of Lewis, which he improved. February 5, 1874, he married Miss Lucina Ingraham, a native of New York State and a daughter of Clark and Electa Lucina (Grinnell) Ingra- ham, both natives of the East. When a child she came with her parents to Illinois, and later to Cass County, Iowa. Her father is now a resident of Griswold. In 1877 Mr. Blakely sold his farm in Cass County and bought his present farm of eighty acres, upon which he has since made many improvements. He erected a two-story frame house and surrounded it with shade and ornamental trees; and his barn, other out- buildings and improvements on the premises all show thrift and enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Blakely have five children: Etta Belle, Lenora, Elizabeth Jane, John Sherman and Electa Lucina. In politics Mr. Blakely is a Republican. He has served the public as a member of the School Board. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church of Gris- wold. He is associated with Lewis Lodge, No. 140, I. O. O. F. Mr. Blakely is a man yet in the prime of life; has traveled exten- sively, and is well-informed on all general topics. He takes an active interest in edu- cational and religious matters, and any move- ment that has for its object the upbuilding or advancement of the community where he resides, finds in him an earnest supporter. — |->-^>i— fOSHUA M. CEOGHAN, one of the rep- resentative farmer citizens of Wright Township, is a native of the Buckeye State. He was born in Perry County, Ohio, April 12, 1846, a son of James Croghan,also a native of Ohio. The Croghans are of Irish descent. The mother of our subject was nee Catherine Munson. She was born in Ger- many, a daughter of Thomas Munson. Her education was obtained in her native land, and she came to the United States at the age of fourteen. She was % woman of much in- telligence and refinement, and after coming to this country was engaged in teaching the German language in the schools. Her hus- band, James Croghan, was also a successful teacher for many years. In 1853 they moved to Rochester, Cedar County, Iowa, becoming early pioneei-s of that county. Her death occurred that same year. She was a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Cro- ghan spent the residue of his life in Cedar County, and died September 18, 1870, in his seventieth year. He was a mason by trade, but for many years had followed the profes- sion of teaching. In politics he was a Re- publican. He was a member of the Gray beard Regiment of Iowa, and served in his regiment two years and seven months as Second Lieutenant. While in Ohio he was a member of the " Hardshell" Baptist Church, but after coining to Iowa he united with the Christian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Croghan were the parents of fourteen children. Ben- OF POTT AW ATT Aif IB COUNTY. 337 jamin, their first born, is a resident of Allen County, Kansas. Joshua was reared in Cedar County, Iowa, on a farm, and when he grew up learned the harness-maker's trade at Wilton Junction, Muscatine County, same State. During the great Rebellion he enlisted, in 1864, in Com- pany B, Second Iowa Infantry. The regi- ment was on its noted march to the sea under General Sherman. Mr. Croghan joined them at Atlanta, Georgia, and from there marched with them to Savannah, then up through the Carolinas and to Richmond. After the sur- render of General Lee's army they marched on to Washington, and were present at the grand review. He was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, and at Davenport, Iowa, received his final discharge and was paid off. The war over, Mr. Croghan returned to Cedar County, Iowa, where he resided six years. lie then removed to Clinton County, same State, and after remaining three years returned to Cedar County. Five years later, in 1879, he came to Pottawattamie County. In 1880 he purchased forty acres of wild land, which he has since improved and brought under a high state of cultivation. He has a comfortable home, a good barn, modern wind pump, a grove and orchard of four acres, and other substantial improvements. Everything about the Croghan farm shows thrift and enterprise. At present Mr. Croghan is cul- tivating 240 acres of land, and is feeding twenty-eighty head of cattle and a large number of hogs. February 25, 1868, and Clinton County, Iowa, are the date and place of Mr. Cro- ghan's marriage to Miss Mary Jane Dale, a native of Crawford County, Ohio, daughter of Samuel and Mary Dale. Her father died in 1864, and her mother is a resident of Muscatine, Iowa, where she has three sons. Mr. Croghan and his wife have seven chil- dren: Mary C, the oldest, died in 1870; James F., Phillip, Sina A., Charles, Colbert and Sherwood M. Mr. Croghan is a charter member of Washington Post, G. A. R., No. 9. In politics he is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Protestant Methodist Church. — -" f ' ! ' « ; ' ! >♦-■ — fARWELL MERRIAM, a farmer of Lewis Township, is a native of Wor- cester County, Massachusetts, born Jan- nary 14, 1833, the son of Asa and Sarah (Warren) Merriam, natives of Westminster, Massachusetts, and of French extraction. The parents were both deceased in Massachu- setts, the father dying May 19, 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, ten months and eleven days, and the mother in 1859; she was born about the beginning of the nineteenth century. The father was a farmer, and also owned and operated a mill in Princeton, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Farwell Merriam was the fifth child in a family of ten children, was reared to farm life, and received his education in the district schools. When he was twenty years of age he entered a wood shop, engaged in getting out chair material, and also learned wood- turning for about one year. February 6, 1854, he embarked for California on board the steamship Georgia; ticket, $115; March 13, 1854, arrived at San Francisco. He there took steamboat Pawnee up the river to Marysville, and then walked twenty- eight miles to Swedish Flat, Butte County, where he engaged in gold-mining for over three years, when he returned to his native State, remaining until the spring of 1858. At Worcester, Massachusetts, April 6, 1858, he purchased a ticket for $32 to St. Louis, 238 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Missouri, via Chicago, which was at that time a small place. From St. Louis he came by boat to Council Bluffs, where he re- mained over night, and the next morning started out afoot for Onavva, Iowa, a distance of some sixty miles. Here he engaged at work for Judge Whitney, in Monona Coun- ty, where he remained for two or three weeks. Mr. Merriam then purchased a piece of hind, all of the northwest quarter of sec- tion 5, on the west side of the Sioux River, comprising 114 acres. This was a tract of uncultivated land, which he slightly im- proved, and remained one year. He then re- turned to Onawa, where he erected a home, and resided there until May 6, 1861, when lie started with a wagon and two yoke of cattle for Denver, Colorado, arriving at Den- ver June 15, 1861. From there he went to Golden Gate, and over the divide to Black Hawk Point and Central City, where he took up a claim between Central and Ne- vada City, which he worked for several months. On October 6 he sold out and re- turned overland to Council Bluffs, and thence to Onawa, where he remained until April, 1862. Mr. Merriam then returned to Coun- cil Bluffs, en route for Denver; but when he arrived here he changed his mind, and on May 15, 1862, opened a small grocery, notion and fruit store at No. 187 Broadway. Dur- ing his stay in Council Bluffs he increased his stock, and controlled the whole fruit market. In 1881 he turned his entire atten- tion to his farm, which is located on section 17, Lewis Township, where he has lived since the spring of 1875, having purchased the same in 1874. This farm consists of forty acres, for which he paid $2,000, and which he has turned into a vegetable garden and fruit farm; but for a number of years he fol- lowed stock-raising. Mr. Merriam has made many improvements, and now has one of the best located farms in this part of the county; everything denotes thrift, energy and pros- perity. He is a stanch Republican, and takes an active part in all political issues of the day, and strives to promote the best interests of his party. Mr. Merriam was married September 4, 1867, in Sparta, Wisconsin, to Miss Sarah E. Jones, aged thirty-nine years, the daughter of G. H. and Adaline Jones, of Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Merriam have six children, viz.: George N., of Council Bluffs, aged twenty-two yeara and four months: Grace E., nineteen years and nine months, and the wife of W. W. Biddleston. of Council Bluffs; Charles F., deceased March 15, 1889, aged fifteen years, three montlis and twenty-two days; Walter, deceased in 1882, at the age of three years, eleven months and twenty-five days; Leonard A., at home, aged seven years and six months, and Ilarrold, four years and six months old. Mr. Merriam is a member of the Pioneer Association of Monona Coun- ty, Iowa. TLLIAM GARNER, one of the early pioneers of Pottawattamie County, was born in Davidson County, North Carolina, June 22, 1817, a son of David and Sarah (Stevens) Garner, also natives of North Carolina. The father lived to the age of 104 years, and the mother died at the age of ninety years. Our subject was but seven- teen years of age when his parents moved to Quincy, Illinois, where he remained eleven years. He was married in 1846 to Sarah Workman, and they then joined the Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois, and some years later came with that colony to Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Mr. Garner was one of the first settlers in this county, and Garner Town- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY . 239 ship was named in his honor. He served in the Mexican war, and marched tliroiigh to Mexico, tlience to Lower California, after which he returned home. He now owns 350 acres of fine land in Garner Township, and has also given each of his eleven children a good farm. He has lived to see his children grow to maturity, nnd is a well-to-do and honorable citizen of Pottawattamie Coimtj. He built the woolen mill on Mosquito Creek, and has been an important factor in many other improvements. ^^wf^,_ 3p«jl'?ILLI AM C. LONG, a successful \\ \\' farmer ot Wright Township and an l-=£Jl^ ex -soldier of the late war, came to Pottawattamie Connty, Iowa, in 1876, and has since resided here. He was born in Somerset County, Penn- sylvania, Febriiary 11, 1847. His father and grandfather, Jacob II. and Henry Long, were both natives of Somerset County. His mother was Mary E. Baker, also a native of that county, a daughter of Josiah Baker, a native of Pennsylvania. Both the Longs and Bakers are of German extraction. When William C. was six years old his parents moved to Howard County, Indiana. There he worked on the farm in summer and at- tended school during the winter months. In the fall of 1863 he enlisted in Company E, Eleventh Indiana Cavalry, and took an active part in the war until its close. He partici- pated in the battles of Hnntsvilleand Athens, Alabama; Columbia, Tennessee; was on the march against General Hood's forces, and was at Franklin, Spring Hill and Nashville, Tennessee. The war over, Mr. Long received an honorable discharge at Indianapolis, Indi- ana, and from there went to Lee County, Illinois, whither his father had moved during the war. His mother had died in Howard County, Indiana, in 1863, leaving twelve chil- dren, as follows: Lydia Susana, Lucinda, William C, Kebecca, J. W., Matilda E., Martin Luther, Mary Ellen, Eosyanna: Franklin and a babe unnamed are deceased. Henry, another son, was drowned. He was a member of the same company in which his brother served, was taken prisoner at Colum- bia, Tennessee, and confined at Anderson- ville for four months. At the end of that time he was paroled, put on board the Old Sul- tana, a condemned vessel, which went to the bottom of the river with all on board, near Memphis. Mr. Long resided in Lee County, Illinois, until 1876, when he came to Iowa. He spent ono year in Boone County before com- ing to Pottawattamie County. In Center Township he purchased and improved a farm of eighty acnes, which, in 1883, he sold to Jack Evans. Then he bought his present farm of 120 acres. This place is one of the best farms in the township, everything about the premises indicating industry and prosper- ity. Mr. Long has a story and a half frame house, which is built in modern style and which is surrounded with a grove and orchard. He has a good barn 24x26 feet with sixteen-feet posts, and a corn -crib 24 x 32 X 12 feet, with a capacity of 3,000 bushels. He has a long cattle shed, a cow stable, a wind pump, and everything convenient for carrying on general farming and stock-rais- ing to the best advantage. July 3, 1867, Mr. Long was married, in Howard County, Indiana, to Miss Lavina Darby, a lady of much intelligence and a na- tive of Clinton County, that State. She is a daughter of John and Rachel Darby. Mr. and Mrs. Long have three children: Laura Etta, Lilly Dale and Lucy Ellen. They lost their first-born, an infant son. Mr. Long is 240 BIOGRAPHICAL UISTOBr a Republican, and, like the representative citizens of his county, is well posted on gen- eral topics and current events. lOLOMON ERNEST, one of the enter- prising aud successful citizens of Wasli- ington Township, came to Pottawattamie County in 1873, and to his present farm in 1881, where he has since resided and made his home. He was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, June 15, 1832, the son of William Ernest, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, and was a son of William Er- nest, Sr., who were of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The mother of our subject was Mary (Wagamon) Ernest, also of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Solomon Ernest was seven years of age when, in 1839, his parents re- moved to Eayette County, Illinois, where they resided until their death, the father dy- ing in 1872, at the age of over sixty years; and the mother in 1855. The father was a farmer all his life; politically he was a Dem- ocrat. Both parents were members of the Christian Church. They reared three sous and four daughters. Solomon, the second son and third child, was reared on a farm, and received his edu- cation in the Fayette County public schools. He resided in that county se.ven years, and then removed to Olmsted County, Minne- sota, settling near Rochester. He resided in that State eleven years, and in 1873 came to Pottawattamie County, first settling in Washington Township, and afterward re- moved to Silver Creek Township, where he resided four years. In 1880 he bought wild land where he now resides, and the next year improved it. Mr. Ernest now owns 200 acres in Washington Township and seventy- three acres in Belknap Township, which is just across the highway. He has a com- fortable frame residence, 16 x 24 feet and one and a half stories high, situated on a natural building site, and surrounded by a grove and orchard of two acres. Mr. Ernest was married April 6, 1856, in Fayette County, Illinois, to Miss Isabello E. Lee, a woman of intelligence and education, who was born in that county April 17, 1839, and was a daughter of Harvey Lee, a native of New York State, and a son of Abijah Lee. They were of a patriotic family, several members of the family having fought in the Revolutionary war. The mother of Mrs. Ernest was Elizebeth (Nesbitt) Lee, a native of Dixon County, Tennessee, and a daughter of Joseph and Isabelle (Harper) Nesbitt. The parents were married in Fayette County, near Vandalia, Illinois, where the mother was reared and educated. The father died when Mrs. Ernest was nine years of age, and the mother died in 1878, at the age of sixty- six years. She was a member of the Chris- tian Church. The father was a carpenter by trade, although he was engaged in farming for many years; in politics he was a Whig. They had a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Er- nest have four children, viz.: Henrietta, wife of George Darrymple, of Washington Town- ship, and they are the parents of four chil- dren; Marilla, wife of Simon Finley, of Fillmore County, Minnesota, and they are the parents of live children; Abijah B., at home; Florence, wife of George W. Killion, of Washington Township, and they have two children. They liave lost two by death, — Abner, a young man of twenty-eight years; and Ella, wife of John M. Killion, at the age of nineteen years. Mr. and Mrs. Ernest are members of the Christian Church ; they were reared that way and have not departed from the teachings of their youth. Two of their ^-^^■^'t-e^c*^ /6a^iD^■ 2^Z-^-t_ OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 241 daughters have been workerf? in the Sabbath- school. In politics Mr. Ernest is a Democrat. He was rocked in a Democratic cradle, and has always stood by that party. He is well- known in the community where he resides, is honorable in all his dealings, and is num- bered among the solid men of the township. SEXTER CHAMBERLAm BLOOM- ER, attorney at law and one of the most prominent and respected citizens of Council Bluffs, was born in Scipio, Cayuga County, New York, July 4, 1816, and was reared under the influence of Quakers. His father, John Bloomer, was a native of West- chester County, ISIew York, and of English descent, and his mother, Tamma Chamber- lain, was a native of Massachusetts and also of English ancestry. On receiving his edu- cation, Mr. Bloomer exhibited a decided taste for litei-ary and professional pursuits. In 1837 he began the study of law, and soon afterward political affairs. Later he became editor of the Seneca Cf>unty Courier, a Whig paper, at Seneca Falls, New York, and tilled that position for fifteen years. In 1843 he was admitted to practice in the several courts of New York. During his residence there he held several offices, among them that of Postmaster during the last four years, under the Taylor-Fillmore adminstration. In 1853 he removed to Mount Yernon, Ohio, and became the editor of the Western Home Visitor, Mrs. Bloomer continuing the pub- lication of the Lily at the same place. With the view of still bettering his situation, he visited CottucII Blufts in October, 1854, and decided to make this point his future home, and the next year he moved thither, arriving April 15, and immediately established him- self in the practice of law and in the real- estate business. At that time the county was strongly Democratic, and Mr. Bloomer, in company with John T. Baldwin, C. E. Stone and others, led in the organization of the new Republican party in Western Iowa. The interest which lie manifested in political movements and the able manner in which he performed the duties imposed upon him caused his fellow citizens to bestow upon him many trusts, and he was frequently presented as a candidate for the offices of Judge, Rep- resentative to the Legislature, etc. For eleven years he was a member of the Board of Education, for a time serving as its Presi- dent. Within this period seven fine school- houses were erected, one of the number, the Bloomer School, being named in his honor. He was a member of the State Board of Edu- cation until that office was abolished; was largely influential in procuring the establish- ment of the Council Bluffs Free Public Libra- ry, of whicli he has been an honored trustee from its foundation. For twelve years, and until the office was abolished, he was Receiver of the Public Moneys at this point; was Alderman in 1856, and Mayor of the city two years, 1869-'71. In all these official capacities he was honest and efficient, render- ing satisfaction to the public. During the war he rendered efficient service to the cause of the Union, and was a member of the Union League. In 1872-'73 he was editor of the Council Bluffs Repioblican, and for a time was editor also of the Northwestern Odd Fellow. He also compiled a history of Pot- tawattamie County, under the title of " Notes on the Early History of Pottawattamie Coun- ty," which was published in a magazine called the Annals of Iowa. As an evidence that he has a fine, large brain, it can be said that he has been as efficient in his business relations as in tiie legal and litei-ary. As a politician his record is unblemished. In 242 BIOOR^iPlIICAL HISTORY religious matters he is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Chnrch, of which he has been Senior Warden for thelast thirty years. He was married April 15, 1840, to Miss Amelia Jenks, a lady of culture, and in hearty sympathy with every movement of reform. Her first national notoriety was occasioned by her introduction of what was known as the " Bloomer costume," which called the attention of the public to an urgent reform in dress, and has led to important modifica- tions of the old and unhealtht'ul fashion, and secondly, and more lastingly, as a prominent and efficient advocate of the cause of woman suifrage. (A biographical account of her is given in connection herewith.) She and her husband first arrived in Council Bluffs on the 15th day of April, 1855, and immedi- ately took up their residence in their present pleasant liome. That day was the fifteenth anniversary of their marriage, and April 15, 1890, they celebrated both that event and their marriage by a " Golden Wedding." It was a grand occasion. A large number of magnificent presents were made to them, and letters of congratulation from eminent co- workers in the cause of reform throughout the United States were received,— among them Miss Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. ex- Governor Hale, of Wyoming. A splendid poem was composed for the occasion by Rev. G. W. Crofts, and illustrated on its presenta- tion by Miss S. D. Rhese. — »#♦ ^^ >iy^ .|.'wmRS. AMELIA HLOOMER. — Inas- >iJ;\/..i\i much as the name of this lady has ^^i&^ become prominent over the country, it seems proper that it should appear in this history, more especially as she is now one of the oldest settlers. Mrs. Bloomer was born in Cortland Coun- ty, New York, in the year 1818. Her maiden name was Amelia Jenks. She received a fair education in the common schools of the State, and after arriving at suitable age she engaged in teaching, at first in the public schools and afterward as a private tutor. She was married in 1840 to Dexter C. Bloomer, of Seneca Falls, New York, where she resided with her husband until the fall or winter of 1853. Mr. Bloomer was an attorney, and also, at the time of their mar- riage and for some years after, editor and one of the publishers of a county newspaper. Mrs. Bloomer early began to write for the paper, confining her articles mainly to the advocacy of temperance, of which she has always been an ardent defender. She was one of the editors of the Water Bucket, a temperance paper published during the Washingtonian revival, and she early con- nected herself with the order of Good Tem- plars. In 1849 a temperance paper called the Lily was commenced in Seneca Falls, and it very soon fell entirely into the hands of Mrs. Bloomer, both as editor and publisher. It was continued by her for six years in New York, and one year in Ohio. It was devoted to the " interests of woman," and ardently advocated the cause of temperance and wo- man's enfranchisement, and attained a wide circulation. In 1851 Mrs. Bloomer first ap- peared on the platform as a public speaker, and slie, in company with other advocates of temperance and Woman's Rights, in the winter of that year addressed large and atten- tive audiences in all large cities of the State. Mrs. Bloomer continued, during her residence in New York and Ohio, to speak frequently on the question so near her heart, visiting and speaking in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis; and wherever she went she always was favored with full houses. In 1850 Mrs. Bloomer's attention was called OF rOTTAW ATT AM IB COUNTY. 243 to the short dresses and trowsers which a few ladies about that time be^an to don. She was pleased with it, adopted it in place of the long, heavj skirt that ladies were accus- tomed to wear, and advocated in the Lily its adoption by others. It soon excited great interest, and her name soon became connected with it the world over. Mrs. Bloomer con- tinued to wear it for some six years; and she is still a firm believer that its general use would tend to promote the comfort and health of her sex. She, however, never pub- licly advocated it other than in the columns of her paper, and never in any way alluded to it in her public addresses. Her main theme and the work of her life has been the enfranchisement of woman, alike in industrial employments, in educational privileges, and in political rights; and in all tliese respects she has been spared to witness most wonder- ful progress; but the hour of complete triumph is yet delayed. In 1854 Mrs. Bloomer removed with her husband to Mount Yernon, Ohio, where, dur- ing that year, she continued the publication of her paper, acting also as associate editor of the Western Uovie Visitor. She made many addresses during the year in that State, and organized a number of lodges of Good Templars. In 1855 she became a resident of Council Bluffs, where she has since resided. She has spoken often and written a great deal on her favorite subject of Woman's Rights, as well as upon temperance and otlier prominent questions before the public. She was the first president of the Iowa Woman Suffrage Society, and her residence has always been open to the advocates of her favorite ideas, as they stopped or passed through the city- But advancitig years has limited her activities, and she has been compelled to to leave to others the carrying on the battle for equal justice for her sex. In 1842 she became a member of the Epis- copal Church, and she has continued her connections with it through all the subsequent years, and aided in its work in many ways in the city of her adoption. She has taken a deep interest in whatever tends to ameliorate all suffering and promote the happiness of the poor and the unfortunate, as well as the rich. In the spring of 1890 she celebrated, in connection with her husband, their Golden Wedding, in tiie pleasant cottage in which they have resided for thirty-five years. It was thronged with their friends, who joyfully seized the occasion to express their high regards for tlie venerable pair, and the pres- ents which they received were alike numer- ous, beautiful and spontaneous. — ^-^«f-|— fUSTIN J. OLNEV^, of Belknap Town- ship, was born in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio, February 8, 1838, a son of Oliver and Alice (Johnson) Olney, the former a na- tive of New England, and the latter of the State of Vermont. The father, reared and educated in New England, followed his pro- fession as cloth manufacturer, in the land of his birth, and emigrated to Ohio in an early day, locating first in Portage County, thence removing to Lake County. He emigrated thence to Nauvoo, Illinois, and a few years later removed to the State of Missouri, where his wife died, in 1842. Soon afterward he moved back to Illinois, where he married again, and remained until the date of his death, lie was the father of eleven children, namely: Newton, who died about the year 1841; Milton, now residing in Ohio; Emily, who resides in Oregon, having emigrated thereabout the year 1846 or 1847; Mary, who went to Oregon in 1852, and died in 244 BIOORAPHIOAL BISTORT November, 1855; Rosetta, who died about tlie year 1842; Oliver, who died in Belknap Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1875, at the age of forty-two years; Laura, still living in Kirtland, Ohio; Caroline A., who died in 1858; Cornelia, who died about the year 1841; Justin J., the subject of this sketch; and Albert, who died in infancy, in 1842. Mr. Olney, the siibject of this sketch, and his sister Mary, after the death of their mother, were taken by an uncle, John John- son, living at Hiram, Ohio, who brought them up. Laura was brought up by Mrs. Emily Quiim, an aunt, who lived at Kirtland, Ohio. Caroline was brought up by Mrs. Jason Ry- der, an aunt, of Hiram, Ohio. In the year 1855 Mr. Johnson came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and located on a farm near Council Bluffs, where young Justin J. worked for him by the month for about one year. He then rented a part of Mr. Johnson's farm, and worked for liim until 1862, when he made three trips across the plains to Denver. August 9, 1865, he married Miss Mary E., daughter of Edwin S. and Eveline (Morris) Morrison. Mr. Morrison was reared in his native State, Missouri. December 8, 1836, he mar- ried his wife in Virginia, her native State. His first ancestors in America settled in this country in early times. His father was a Presbyterian minister. After his marriage Mr. Morrison visited Cincinnati, Ohio, re- sided for a time at Madison, Indiana, and then returned to Cincinnati, where his wife died in 1847, leaving five children, namely: Moiiteville, now a resident of Kansas City, Missouri; Sarah E., deceased; Mary E., wife of Mr. Olney; Catherine and Elizabeth, both deceased. Mrs. Olney was born in Indiana, JSJovember 27, 1842. Her mother having died when she was quite young, she was taken care of by her grandmother for one year; then her father married Margaret Den- ton September 14, 1849, and she was taken to his home in Cincinnati, where she was brouglit up. At the age of eighteen years she came to South English, Iowa, to reside with her brother, where she made her home until her marriage. In 1866 Mr. Olney purchased 240 acres of land on the west side of the Nishnabotna River, near his present home. Since that time he purchased forty acres more, all of which he occupied and improved until 1880, when he rented his farm and removed to Oakland, and engaged in the trade in agri- cultural implements; but a year afterward he moved upon a farm in the vicinity of Oak- land. In 1883 he exchanged his farm for an undivided one-half interest in a tract of 560 acres. When the division was made he ob- tained 320 acre3 of fine land in sections 28 and 24, where improvements had been made. His principal business is agriculture. He has 140 acres in cultivation, and the rest in pas- ture and meadow. He also has an orchard of one and a half acres of apples and small fruit. There is a fine spring of water upon his land, furnishing a good supply of pure water for all purposes. Politically Mr. Olney is a Republican, and a zealous advocate of Republican principles. He has been a prominent member of the Board of Education in his township, and has held many of the township offices, which he has filled to the satisfaction of the people. His family are members of the Christian, or Disciples' Church, of Oakland. His two children are: Caroline Alice, the wife of D. S. Pleak, who now resides in Macedonia Township, this county; and Wayne, living at home with his parents. Mrs. Olney's father resides in Springfield, Ohio, and by his second wife has six children, to wit: Marion E., OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 345 Belle, Sarah, Louisa, Margaret and George. Marion E. now resides in Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisa is the wife of a Mr. McConnell, in Illinois; and the others are at home. .■• i .ig . 2 ii ; . |i . « « ^— lAMUEL BARSTOW is a native of Muskingum County, Ohio, born Au- gust 18, 1829, tive miles north of Zanesvilie, the son of Samuel and Alvira (Woodruff) Barstow, natives of Maine and Ohio respectively. The mother died May 5, 1840, and the father died at Farmington, Illinois, in 1867. They had a family of seven children, of whom only tive still sur- vive: Warren H., deceased in Illinois; George W., of Licking County, Ohio; Wil- lis, of Cleveland, Ohio; Samuel, our subject; Anthony H.. deceased; Martha, wife of M. W. Spaulding, residing in TecuiHseh, Ne- braska; Stephen, of Farmington, Illinois; and Sarah A., deceased in infancy. Mr. Bar- stow was again married, this time to Mary L. Jet, of Ohio, who died in 1889, at Farm- ington, Illinois. By this marriage there were seven children, namely: Judson, who died in Andersonville prison after having been wounded at the battle of Chickahominy Swamps. He was first taken to Libby prison, thence to Andersonville, where he died of abuse and neglect; Elvira, deceased, wife of M. W. Spaulding, of Tecumseh, Nebraska; Henry, deceased in Illinois; Eliza, a resi- dent of Farmington, Illinois; Ann, deceased; Milton, deceased; Ross, a resident of Farm- ington. Samuel Barstow, Jr., our subject, was reared in his native county, and remained at home until he had attained his majority. He was brought up to farm life, and received his education in the old log school-house of those days. September 19, 1853, he re- moved to Fulton County, Illinois, where he remained a short time, and then removed to Peoria County, working at whatever pre- sented itself, farming being his principal oc- cupation. He was married November 24, 1853, to Miss Eleanor A. Caulson, daughter of William S. and Hephzibah (Eno) Caulson, natives of England and New York respect- ively. The mother, born in Michigan in 1804, still resides in the State of Washington, near Olympia. The father died in 1844, at the age of forty-three years. They had a family of ten children, of whom seven still survive: Hannah T., wife of Ambrose Clark, of Union County Oregon; Sarah Ann, widow of J. W. Clark, residing in Mills County, Iowa; William P., deceased in Mexico; Mary O., deceased, was the wife of Charles Davis, of Exeter, Nebraska; Eleanor A., the wife of the subject of this sketch; Jakie, a resident of California; Imle E., of Cordelan Mines, Idaho; Emeline, widow of J. S. Sherwood, of the State of Washington; Henry S., also of Washington. Eleanor, the wife of our subject, was born in Peoria County, Illinois, near Peoria city, January 29, 1832, where she was reared and married. In the fall of 1855 they came to Iowa, and located in Mills County, where Mr. Barstow purchased a pre-emption right of raw prairie, with no improvements whatever. Here they made their home for eight years, and im- proved eighty acres. In 1863 they returned to Illinois, where they spent one year, and then returned to Iowa, spending four years in Mills County; returned to Peoria and spent one year, and again returned to Mills County. In April, 1872, they located on their present fartn of forty acres, on the southwest (piarter of section 31, Lewis Townshi)), Pottawat- tamie County. Here they at once com- menced improvements, erected a small resi- 346 BIOGRAPHICAL HI8T0RT dence, 16 x 21, and one and a half stories high. They made their home here for sev- eral years, when they removed to their pres- ent residence. Mr. Barstow lias added to his first purchase until he now has 160 acres of finely improved land, the most of which he has done himself. When they landed in Iowa they had nothing but pluck and energy, but by close application they have secured for themselves a comfortable home. He de- votes himself principally to farming and stock-raising. Politically he is a stanch E.e- ])ublican, taking an active part in all of the political work of the county. He has held the ofiice of Justice of the Peace and Road Supervisor, and while in Mills County he was chosen as Supervisor of the county two terms. Mr. and Mrs. Barstow are members of the Christian Ghurcii, of which he is an ordained elder. They have five children: James M., born September, 1854, a practicing physician of Council Bluffs; Roseltlia, wife of Joseph Stoker, residing in Mills County; Alice J., born January 20, 1858, the wife of Edward P. Mclntyre, of Harrison County, Iowa; Ilepsie E., born September 16, 1865, is a teacher in the public schools of Council Bluffs; Elvira, deceased; Guy E., born July 28, 1873, is at home. [EOUGE PLUMB, a popular citizen of Belknap Township, was born in Lin- colnshire, England, May 20, 1842, a son of William and Sarah (Grey) Plumb, who were also natives of England. The father was born in February, 1811, and died in his native country May 12, 1884; the mother was born February 25, 1821. They reared a family of six children, five sons and one daughter. George Plumb, our subject, was reared on a farm in England, and also for three years worked in the dock-yard at Chatham. In 1871 he sailed from Liverpool to New York, and then went to Mills County, Iowa, where his two brothers, Valentine and Frank, then resided. He remained in that county until 1881, when he came to his present farm in Pottawattamie County. Politically Mr. Plumb is a Republican, and he has also served three years as a member of the School Board. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was mar- ried in Lincolnshire, England, May 14, 1867, to Miss Ann Coy, who was born in that country, and the daughter of Thomas and Ann (Thurby) Coy, both natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. Plumb have four sons: Thomas William, who was born in England, is now farming for himself; Henry Reloy, Arthur Wesley and Walter Howard. ... ' m| « ; i i ; ' ||" «" — fAMES P. ALLENSWORTH is one of the prominent citizens of Silver Creek Township. He came to Pottawattamie County in 1882, and has since made this place his home. Mr. Allensworth was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, November 15, 1835. His father, John Allensworth, a na- tive of Pennsylvania, was a son of Emmanuel Allensworth. John Allensworth was married in Jefferson County, Ohio, to Miss Lydia Bartholomew, who died when James P. was a small child, iu 1841. The family subse- quently removed to Muskingum County, Ohio, where they resided several years. The father came to Mills County, Iowa, and died in 1874. He was by trade a cabinet-maker and wood- turner, and was a good mechanic in his younger days, but in later life turned RECTOR, ST. FRANCIS CHURCH. OP POTTAWATT.UriE COUNrY 317 his attention to agricultural pursuits. Polit- ically he was a Democrat. The su^)jeet of this sketch was reared on his father's farm in Jefferson County, received his education in a log school-house, and, at the age of twenty-one years, went to Mus- kingum County, Ohio. Four years later he moved to Morgan County, same State, where he lived until 1872. In that year he came to Iowa and settled in Mills County. Upon his arrival there he had but little money, but had great faith in Iowa, and with a willinsr hand he went to work. He bought 120 acres of land, which he improved and which he sold in the fall of 1881. He then purchased 240 acres of prairie land where he now resides, to which he afterward added five acres of tim- ber land. The soil had been broken and the land fenced, but no buildings had been erected. Mr. Allensworth has improved thi'' property and it is now considered one of the best farms in the township. He put up a jjood frame house on a natural building site and surrounded it with a grove and orchard of four acres, and built a barn 34 x 48 x 16 feet. He also has a granary, cribs, cattle yards, sheds for stock, and a modern wind- mill. In short, every thing about the farm indicates thrift and prosperity. He is ex- tensively engaged in stock-raising, in which he has met with eminent success. Mr. Allensworth was married in Morgan County, Ohio, February 26, 1860, to Miss Malinda Sowers, a lady of intelligence and refinement, who was reared and educated in that county. Her father, William Sowers, was a native of Maryland, and her mother, nee Mary Ann Thuish, was born in Ohio. They lived in the latter State until their death, the mother dying when Mrs. Allens- worth was fifteen years old. Her father died in September, 1889, at the age of eighty-five years. He was an active member of the 21 Methodist Church, and for many years was a cluss-leader and exhorter. Mr. and Mrs. Allensworth have four children, viz.: Alle- thea, wife of J. P. Boyleau, Belknap Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, Iowa; George C. married Cora Tipton, and resides on a farm adjoining his father's; "William, at home; Edith, a successful and popular teacher. In his political views Mr. Allensworth is independent, casting his vote for whom he considers the best man for the position. He is a worthy member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, a steward and a liberal sup- porter of the same. During the civil war he served 100 days in the National Home Guards of Ohio. He has always been inter- ested in educational matters, and has given his children the benefit of good schooling and fitted them for respectable positions in life. He is ranked among the enterprising, suc- cessful and popular citizens of his community. I^HE ST. FEANCIS XAVIER OATH- OLIC CHURCH, of Council Bluffs, ^- was one of the first societies formed in this part of the country, even so far in the past as when the jndians had full sway here; and the first priest or pastor was Father De Smet, the great missionary. His people erected a small log church on the bluffs, where the first priest in charge was Father James Powers. Father Doxacher sticceeded him. They resided at Omaha, to which dio- cese the congregation at the Bluff's belonaed. The first Iowa res^ident priest at Council Bluff's was liev. Bernard P. McMenomj, who came in November, 1869, from George- town, Monroe County, Iowa, but previously from Missouri. He is a native of County Donegal, Ireland, born in August, 1830; was educated at St. Columb's College, at London- 248 BIOGRAPHICAL IIIbTOJiY derry, Ireland, which institution he entered at the age of tifteen years, continuing there until within a short time before he emigrated to America in 1849. He first settled at St. Louis, and continued his studies there for four years in a seminary under Archbishop Peter K. Kenrick. Then, February 24, 1854, he was ordained and sent to North Santa Fe, in northeast Missouri, where he took charge of a parish. He laid out the town of St. Marysville, and by his own efforts obtained the establishment of a postoffice there, which he named St. Patrick. After an engagement there of four years he was removed to Edina, Knox CJounty, Missouri, where he had charge of a parish for seven and a half years. Then he came to Georgetown, this State, and from there, in 1869, to Council Bluffs, as before stated. While at Georgetown he erected some four or five churches, the principal one being the Georgetown church, a large stone building. The others were at Melrose, Chari- ton (Lucas County), Woodburn (Clark Coun- ty), and one near Leon in Decatur County; and along the line of the Chicago, Burling- ton & Quincy Railroad for some 200 miles he erected many churches. He has been very zealous in church work. Since his residence in Council Bluffs he has erected the St. Francis Xavier Church, at the corner of Sixth street and Fifth avenue, a large and handsome edifice 60x120 feet in dimen- sions, completing it in 1888, at a cost of over $50,000. Also he built the St. Francis Xavier Academy, in the rear of the church, where there are twenty-five Sisters in charge of a large number of pupils, — about sixty-five boarding pupils and 250 day pupils. He also erected the St. Joseph Academy, for boys, a good brick building opposite the church. The St. Bernard's Hospital, con- ducted by the Sisters of Mercy, is a large, substantial brick building, where the sick and infirm are received without distinction of creed or color. The priest's residence is a handsome brick structure erected also by him, between the church and the Sisters' Academy. Under Father McMenomy's ad- ministration here the membership of the par- ish has increased from about 500 to over 2,000. His assistant in parish work is Kev. T. A. Maloy. fQ. ROLLINS, section 21, Center Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, is one of ** the early settlers and well-known citi- zens of the townnhip. He came here in 1865, and has since made this place his home. He was born twenty miles from Augusta, Maine, in Kennebec County, February 10, 1838, a son of Levi Rollins, a native of Maine. His grandfather, Mark Rollins, was born in New Hampshire, July 4, 1776. He was a carpenter by trade, at which he was still able to work when he was eighty years old. He lived to be ninety-nine. The Rol- lins family trace their ancestry to three brothers who came from England to America and settled in the New England States. The mother of our subject was nee Julia Ann Smart. The Smarts were descendants of an old New England family. Levi Rollins and his wife reared a family of eight children, as follows: Sarah, deceased; James, at Grin- nell, a soldier of the Twenty-fourth Iowa In- fantry in the late war; J. Q., our subject; Mary Hussey, a resident of Maine; Calvin, who resides in New Hampshire. He was in the Seventh Maine Infantry, but was transferred to the Thirteenth Maine Infantry. He was in the battle of Cedar Creek, where General Sheridan made his famous ride. Calvin was wounded in that battle. Oscar was also in OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 349 the Seventh Maine Infantry, and died of dis- ease in the army; Harriet, deceased; Edward resides in Maine. Mr. and Mrs. Rollins lived in Maine until their death. The mother was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Chnreh. Her death occurred when J.Q. was twelve years old. The father died at the age of seventy-three years. He was a farmer all his life. Politically he was formerly a Democrat, but later a Kepublican. Mr. Rollins was reared on a farm and re- ceived a common-school education in Maine. In 1860 he came to Iowa and settled in Cedar County, where he lived until he came to Pottawattamie County. He was married in Cedar County, December 2, 1863, to Miss Mary Viena Fuller, daughter of Ezra and Arloa (Turner) Fuller. A sketch of her father appears on another page of this work. She was born in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and lived there until she was thirteen years of age, when she came with her parents to Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Rollins have eight chil- dren living, viz.: Mary Ellen, wife of J. B. Wills, of Butler County, Nebraska, has four children; Edward Elsworth and James Levi, both of Belknap Township, this county; Julia Eva, Herbert Henry, Arthur Garfield, Olive Pearl, Benjamin Harrison — all at home. Jessie Mary died in her seventh year. In 1865 Mr. Rollins came to Pottawatta- mie County and purchased forty acres of land in Center Township. This he afterward sold to A. L. Brown. He then rented land of Mrs. Fuller for one year, after which he bought eighty acres in Valley Township. That farm he exchanged for eighty acres in section 15, Center Township. After im- proving it to some extent he sold it and again rented land. In 1886 he purchased his pres- ent farm of eighty acres. The soil had been broken, but there were no buildings on the place. He has since made many im- provements, has erected a good house and barn, and everything about the premises shows thrift and prosperity. Mr. Rollins is engaged in general farming and some car- pentering, and during a portion of the year he operates a thresher and corn-sheller. He is a Republican; has served as Constable, Justice of the Peace, and as a member of the School Board. "^ "I ' l '^ l ' l" " ALTER I. SMITH, one of the young- est, though most prominent members of the bar of Council Bluffs, is a na- tive of this city, born July 10, 1862. His father, George F. Smith, was an early resi- dent of Council Blutfs. Mr. Smith was educated in the public schools of this city, graduating at the high-school, in the class of 1878. He began the study of law in Auo-ust, 1881, in the office of Colonel D. B. Dailey, and was admitted in December, 1882. After his admission he continued with Colonel Dailey until 1885, since which time he has been alone in practice. Mr. Smith, though one of the youngest members of the bar of Pottawattamie County, has already taken high rank as a lawyer, and is recognized as a young man of marked ability, whose future gives promise of a most successful and useful career. Mr. Smith is a most industrious student of his profession, and a gentleman of extensive and varied reading, and is num- bered among the progressive and enterprising citizens of Council Bluffs, where all his life thus far, has been passed. June 19, 1890, at the age of twenty-seven, he was unanimously nominated for the office of District Judge by the Republican Judicial Convention of the Fifteenth District of Iowa, composed of the counties of Audubon, Shelby, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, Fremont and Pacre, 250 BIOGRAPHICAL IIISTORT and was elected November 4th followinic, rnniiiiig 667 votes ahead of his ticket in Pottawattamie County. — ~*-»^»-^^"* fARREN DEAN, an early settler and proniineiit citizen of Wright Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, was l)(irn in Rhode Island, March 8, 1843. His father, Edward Dean, formerly a worthy citi- zen and pioneer of Wright Township, now resides in Griswold, Cass County, Iowa, both he and his wife being past eighty years old. He was horn at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1810, and his wife, nee Mary Ami West, was born in Massachusetts in 1809. She is a dauu-hter of Amos and Avis (Horton) West, who lived as man and wife for sixty-eiglit years. Her father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and lived to be ninety-six years old. The Deans were of an old Mew England family. Edward Dean married his present wife in Rhode Island, and in 1856 came to Iowa, settling in Wright Township, this county, being the third family to locate in the township. Here they lived until 1884, when they removed to Griswold. Warren Dean was a lad of tliirteen years when his parents came West. His youth was spent on a farm in this frontier district, and his education was obtained in a log school- house. Duritig the civil war he tendered his services to his country, enlisting in August, 1862, in Company I, Twenty-third Iowa In- fantry Volunteers, William Dewey being his first Colonel. Mr. Dean was a brave soldier and participated iu many of the important engagements of the war. He was first under lire at Port Gibson; was at the siege and sur- render of Vicksburg; went with General Banks up the Red River; was at the siege of Mobile; and finally received an honorable discharjie at Harrisburcr, Texas, whither he had been ordered from Mobile. Alter the war he returned to Pottawatta- mie County and engaged in agricultural pur- suits on his father's farm. April 3, 1867, near where Atlantic now stands, Cass County, Iowa, Mr. Dean wedded Miss Georgiana Hardenbergh, who had been a successful teacher of Cass and Pottawattamie counties. She was born in Ulster County, New York, July 6, 1844, and was a young girl when her parents moved to Lee County, Illinois. From there the family moved to Cass County, Iowa, in 1859. Her father and mother, Thomas H. and Fanny (Niver) Hardenbergh, both na- tives of New York State, now reside near Atlantic, where tliey have made their home for many years. After his marriage, Mr. Dean lived on the old farm for four years. In 1871 he moved to a portion of his pre?ent farm. He now owns 380 acres of as good land as there is in this county. His com- fortable home and surroundings indicate the taste and refinement of its occupants and also the prosperity which has attended them. He is engaged in general farming and stock- raising, and has been eminently successful. He and his wile are the parents of four children: Carrie M., who was educated at Simpson College, Indianola, is a popular teacher and an artist of rare ability; Ada L., George W. and Rae L. Mr. Dean's political views are in harmony with Republican prin- ciples. He has served as Township Clerk and as a member of the School Board. He has been identified with the Christian Church, but, as that society has no organization in his vicinity, he worships at the Methodist Epis- copal Church of Wiiipple, and is a lil>eral supporter of the same. His wife is an active and zealous member of that church, and is Superintendent of the Sabbath-school. Mr. Dean is a member of the G. A. R., and is OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 251 associated with Worthitigtoii Post, No. 9, Griswold. lAMUEL B. PASSMORE was born in West Nottingliain Townsliip, Chester County, Pennsylvania, December 13, 1827, son of John W. Passmore, a native of the same county. His grandfather and his great-grand father, Ellis and George Passmore, were also natives of Pennsylvania. The tirst Paseniore who landed in this country was a Friend, eatne here with William Penn and settled in Pennsylvania. All his descendants down to the present generation have belonged to the Society of Friends. The wife of John W. and the inotlier of Samuel B. Passmore was nee Deborah Brown, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania. She is a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Brown) Brown, also natives of the Keystone State. John W. and Deborah Passmore reared four children, as follows: Ellis P., a i-esident of Rising Sun, Cecil County, Maryland; Samuel B., whose name heads this article; Elizaljeth Ruth, widow of Eliphaz Cheyney, Westchester, Pennsylvania, and Colonel John Andrew Moore Passmore, No. 318 South Forty-second street, Philadelphia, a prominent resident of that place. He was an officer in the late war, and is now manager at Philadelphia for D. Appleton & Co. John W. Passmore died in June, 1848, at the age of forty-six years. His relict has been for forty-four years a widow. She is now ninety years of age and resides with her son Ellis in Cecil County, Mary- land. When she made a visit to her son in Iowa, in 1881, she was in good health and quite active. Samuel B. Passmore was reared on his fatlier's farm in Chester County, Pennsyl- vania, and received his education in the pub- lic schools. March 28, 1850, he wedded Miss Hannah M. Jackson, a native of that county. Her parents, Joshua and Sarah (Cook) Jack- son, were also born in Chester County, Penn- sylvania. Mr. Passmore and his wife remained in their native county until May 22, 1855, when they moved to Bureau County, Illinois. There he rented land and lived until 1870, when he came to Wright Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and bought 160 acres of land ; this was all wild prairie land. He also bought ten acres of timber, situated three miles from his farm. He was among the early settlers of this part of the country, and at that time deer were frequently seen on his premises or in view of his dwell- ing. He has since developed his farm and it is now under a good state of cultivation. Maple Grove, as he is pleased to call it, is considered one of the finest farms in Wright Township. Mr. Passmore erected a com- fortable one-and-a-half-story house, which, surrounded with beautiful evergreens and shrubs, makes an attractive home. In 1874 he purchased 160 acres of prairie land which adjoined his farm, making 320 acres in one body. He has an artificial grove of thirteen acres and an orchard comprising three acres. His barn is 44x46 feet, with eighteen feet posts, and a rock foundation. His farm is divided into five fields for pasture, meadow and grain; and among other improvements made by Mr. Passmore are two windmills and 1,600 rods of osage-orange and 200 rods of willow hedge. He has some line specimens of stock, both cattle and hogs. Maple Grove is, indeed, a beautiful home, and one of which the owner should be justly prond. Mr. Passmore and his wife have ten chil- dren, viz.: Amor C, of Aurora, Buchanan (bounty, Iowa; Ella Deborah, wife of A. J. Lipp, Wriffht Township; Orlando C. resides near Linden, Dallas County, Iowa; Ida A., 253 BIOQRAPniCAL UlSTORT wife of J. C. Morris, Guthrie County, Iowa; Ell wood Lovejoy, at home; Anna Mary, wife of H. Nolta, Dexter, Dallas County, Iowa; Ellis P., in the nursery business at Cloverdale, California; Willie T., Dallas County, Iowa; Emma L., wife of N. G. Brown, Cass County, Iowa; and Lincoln G., at home. Like his worthy ancestors, Mr. Passraore is a Quaker. He, however, attends the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of Whipple; has been a trustee for several years and is a liberal supporter of that church. He is one of the leadincr Kepublicans of his township, and is chairman of the Republican Central Com- mittee. He was formerly a Free Soiler, and was one of the three in his township who voted that ticket in 1852, the township cast- inir 200 votes. He has served in most of the township offices, is at present Township Trus- tee, and has always used his influence for the best interests of the community. Mr. Passmore is past sixty, but bears his age lightly. He is frank and cordial in his manner, with a vein of humor in his make- up, and he is highly esteemed by all who know him. His family are refined and cultured, and are ranked with the best society of the community. kELSON LEWIS, of Lewis Township, is P/1 a native of Monroe, Michigan, born December 25, 1838, the son of Silas and Lydia Lewis. He was the ninth in a family of ten children. He was reared to farm life in his native State, and received his education in the public schools. When he was fifteen years of age he commenced work- ing for himself, and in his seventeenth year came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he has since made his home. He was en- gaged in various pursuits during his younger days, and in 1856 he made a trip to Texas, where he remained during the winter. He then returned to Pottawattamie County, and during the years 1861-'62 was engaged in freighting across the plains from Council P)luffs to Denver, and in 1863 he freighted from Council Bluffs to Fort Randall. April 12, 1864, Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Emily Jane Musser, who was born in Knox County, Ohio, August 26, 1846, the daughter of John and Caroline A. (Souls) Musser. The parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio previous to their marriage. From that State they came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and purchased a farm in what is now Garner Township, where they made their home until the death of Mr. Musser, which occurred October 21, 1868. The father was a cabinet-maker and house-joiner by occupation. They had a family of nine children, viz.: William A., of Indianapolis, Indiana; Charles O., of Nebraska* Frances L., wife of Henrv Palmer, residing ia Coun- cil Bluffs; Emily J., wife of the subject of this sketch; Hester A., wife of Samuel Underwood, of Garner Township; Mary E., wife of Charles Green, residing in Neola Township; Martha E., wife of John Flem- ming, of Dakota; Abbie M., wife of George W. Ballinger, of Dawson County, Nebraska; Julia A., wife of William Ballinger, of Omaha. Mrs. Musser is still a resident of Garner Township. Nelson Lew'is, our subject, purchased a farm shortly after his marriage, in Lewis Township, consisting of eighty acres on sec- tion 16, where he commenced makingimprove- ments. He erected a good frame residence, 24x32 feet, and also barns for stock and grain; he has the finest stock barn in this part of the county, which is 56 x 104 feet, and contains a steam mill for grinding meal and feed. He has fine groves and eight OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 253 acres of orchard. Mr. Lewis has added to his first purchase until lie now possesses 280 acres, on sections 16 and 21, Lewis Town- ship, and forty acres in Mills County. His home and surroundings denote thrift and prosperity. In April, 1884, he engaged in the dairy business, and now he has one of the most extensive dairies in the county, keeping 150 cows, and milking daily about 175 gallons. He is a live, energetic man, who has by his honesty and integrity won a large circle of friends. In his political views he is a Trohibitionist, and has represented his township in most of its various offices. He was also instrumental in organizing Lewis Township. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are the parents of twelve children, viz.: Lydia May, Charles W., Edwin J., I>ank N., Jessie A., Eva E., Harry 13. and Walter S. (deceased), Freddie O., Bertie A., Yernon S. and an infant son. .^c» • !? • ! ! l | » T ||. lai t*TT:OOSTER FAY, of Lewis Township, MV|| is a native of Franklin County, Yer- .-^f^ mont, born November 18, 1819, the son of Jonathan and Kuth (Elsworth) Fay. The parents were natives of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and of Scotch and Eng- lish origin. They had three children: Ad- dison, a resident of Bowling Green, Ohio; Wooster, our subject; and Hollia, deceased in 1868. Wooster Fay, our subject, was reared in his native State until he was fifteen years of age, when his family removed to Wood County, Ohio. He was reared to farm life, and re- ceived his education in the common schools. When the family went to Wood County it was a new country, they being among the pioneers. They improved a farm which they entered from the Government, and here he lost his parents. He remained in Wood County twenty-one years, and in 1855 came west to Iowa. In the spring of 1856 he came to Pottawattamie County and purchased a farm of 200 acres of partially improved land, in what is now Keg Creek Township. In the fall of 1856 he removed with his family to Pottawattamie County, where they commenced life again in a new country, and for the second time became a pioneer. He remained in Keg Creek Township until April, 1889, when he removed to his present home, on section 4, Lewis Township. He has a comfortable little home with three acres of land, and here he expects to spend his remaining days. He has labored hard in assisting in the development of Pottawatta- mie County, having improved 176 acres of prairie land, which he disposed of at various times, and has also purchased other land. The home farm is on sections 20, 28 and 29, Keg Creek. This he improved and made his home until he removed to his present place. He dealt in stock principally, in con- nection with his farming, and the last twelve or thirteen years he has taken special pVide in the i-earing of a better grade of stock, in the short-horn class. Politically he is a Re- publican, and has represented his county as a member of the Board of Supervisors for six years, from 1874 to 1880. He represented his township in the State Legislature for three terras and a half, and in all of his politi- cal career he has never asked a trian to vote for him. Mr. Fay was married in Wood County, Ohio, November 9, 1846, to Charlotte M. McMillan, who was born in Seneca County, Ohio, March 10, 1826. She was the daugh- ter of Morrison and Clarissa (Brown) McMil- lan, natives of New York and Canada, and of Scotch origin. Mr. and Mrs. Fay have four children, namely: Emma, born October 15, 25 i BIOOBAPHIGAL lllaTOBY 1847, is the wife of Samuel H. Hopkins, re- siding in Macedonia, Pottawattamie County: Morrison M., a resident of Franklin County, Nebraska, born August 27, 184U; Jane, born July 10, 1851, the wife of Logan Eeynolds; Isoletta, born June 8. 1866, wife of James Pei'shell, residing in Lincoln County, Wash- ington. The family are among the most worthy and respected citizens of the county, and have by their honesty and integrity won a larjijo circle of friends. ILLIAM L. DEAN came to Wrigbt Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1856, and has since made this place his home. He was born in Rhode Island, December 18, 1848, son of Edward and Mary A. (West) Dean, prominent and early citizens of this township. A further account of them will be found on another page of this work, in the sketch of Warren Dean. The subject of this sketch is the youngest of the family and was only seven years of age when iiis parents came West and located in this township, being among the pioneer set- tlers here. He attended the public schools and grew to manhood on the frontier. To the rudiments of an education thus obtained he added a larger knowledge by private study and reading at home. He was married, No- vember 2, 1868, in Cass County, Iowa, to Miss Emily Wright, daughter of Simeon and Emeiine (Arnold) AV right, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of New York. Her father is a prominent pioneer of this township, it having been named in honor of him. For several years he was a member of the County Board of Supervisors. Mr, Dean remained on the home farm for five years after his marriage and then came to his present farm, which he had partly improved before removing to it. He first purchased eighty acres, and from time to time, as for- tune favored him, he bought more land until he is now the owner of 500 acres, one of the best farms in the eastern part of the county. His residence, a modern frame house with bay windows and porches, was built in 1881, at a cost of $2,100. It is surrounded by a l)eautiful lawn, dotted over with evergreens and shrubs, and makes a cosy and attractive home. Mr. Dean has a good barn with a rock foundation, other farm buildings and con- veniences, and a supply of water near the surface of the ground. His farm is divided into ten different fields, separated by good fences. Twenty acres of river bottom are in timber, and he also has a ten-acre grove of thrifty young trees. Mr. and Mrs. Dean have five children, namely: Augusta M., who has been a teacher and is now attending Simpton College at Indianola; Charlotte B., Edward A., Georgia May and Alice Efiie, all at home. Mr. Dean was a member of the Christian Church when that society had an organiza- tion in this vicinity, but more recently he has taken an active interest in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Whipple, of which his wife and two daughters are members. He is a Kepublican, and is the present Trustee of Wright Township. He has also served sev- eral years on the School Board. — "< -; " : -g- W. PIERCE, one of the enterprising and successful citizens of Washington " Township, came to Iowa in 1870, first settling in Mills County. He was born in Windsor County, Vermont, April 22, 1852, a son of Albert A., who was a native of N sw Hampshire, and a son of Alpheus . Pierce, V '^^^ OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 255 who was born in Vermont, The Pierce family is of Puritan ancestry, and oue of the ancestors was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject was Mary (McCollough) Pierce, who was born in New Hampshire, a daughter of John McCollough, a native of sonthwestern Scotland, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Albert A. Pierce and wife made their home in New York until their death, the mother dying in 1873, at the age of about thirty-eight years, and the father in North Carolina, while there on business. He was a tanner and currier by trade, but later in life was engaged ao a traveling solic- itor. Politically he was a Republican, and in religion was a member of the Presbyterian Churcii. The mother was a member of the Episcopal Church. They were the parents of two children: O. W., our subject, and Etta, who died at the age of twenty-six years. O. W. Pierce was reared in Vermont until thirteen years of age, wiien he went to New York city and remained five years. At the acre of eighteen he came West to Iowa. While in New York city he was engaged as clerk in a wholesale house, and his education was received mostly by attending a night school in that city. In 1870 he settled in Mills County, Anderson Township, Iowa, and was engaged in farming there until 1877, when lie purchased 120 acres of wild land in Washington Township, Pottawattamie Coun- ty, where he has since resided. He now owns 280 acres, 200 of which is in one body, and the remainder is located a half mile north of section 12, and ail is under a good state of cultivation. He is engaged in gen- eral farming and stock-raising, and lias some thoroughbred stock of the highest grades. Mr. Pierce was married in Mills County, Iowa, in 1877, to Miss Frances M. Wilson, a native of that county, and daughter of Will- iam B. and Ann (Watson) Wilson. The parents now reside in Mills County, near Hastings. Mrs. Pierce was a successful teacher before her marriage. Tliey have had si.\ children, viz.: Fred Wilson, Edith May, Arthur Winiield, Edna Jenny, Leonard Al- bert, and William C, who died when a babe- Mrs. Pierce died February 15, 1889; she was an affectionate wife and mother, and her death was a great loss to her family and friends. She was reared in, and was for several years connected with, the Methodist Church. Politically Mr. Pierce is a Repub- lican, and has served as Township Clerk and Assessor with credit to himself and the best interests of the township. -5m^ ,1T^,ILLARD F. ROHRER.— Mr. Roh- lit rer has been a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa, since July, 1871, arriv- ing before he had attained the age of twenty- one. He came originally from Rohrersville, Washington County, Maryland, where he was born on the old family farm, August 80, 1850, the family of which they are represent- atives having been natives of Pennsylvania, and of German ancestry. The greatest excitement during his boy- hood days was that created by " Old John Brown," at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, which was only twelve miles distant. He received a common -school education in the private and public sciiools of Boonsboro, and Keedysville, Maryland. During the late war, his home was on the border of the bat- tle-field of Antietam, the battle having been fought September 17, 1862. He was at that time aged twelve years. Even at this age he was pressed into service as a nurse, as his father's house, barn and wood-house were turned into hospitals, and all possible aid rendered Ijy the family to the 1 ^ 356 BIOOBAPHIOAL HISTORY vvoundod soldiers of the " Federal Army." He left his native State and home to begia life for hirasolf in 1870, to accept an engage- ment to travel for a wholesale glove house in Chicacro, and, having closed this ensrao-ern'^nt in the fall, he thea located for the winter near Avaion, Livingston County, Missouri, at which place he engaged in teaching school. In tlie spring of 1870 he selected their present family farm of 280 acres in said county, and immediately wrote for his father and family, and upon their arrival from Maryland he assisted in putting in the spring crops. As stated before, in July, 1871, he made his first appearance in Council Bluffs, to in- troduce a fall wheat brand of flonr manufact- ured by Siiively & Hedges, of Wathena, Kan- sas. At the expiration of three months he was ordered to Texas to introduce the same flour, and on account of being pleased with the business outlook in Council Bluffs he resigned his position and decided to make this city his home. He found immediate employment as clerk of the Briggs House, which was then one of the leading hotels. He was next employed in the Postoffice Bookstore of Brackett & Gouldon as a clerk, which position he held until D. W. Bushnell succeeded J. P. Goul- den, at which time he was appointed Deputy Sheriff by ex-Sheriff George Doughty, de- ceased. In the discharge of his duties as Sheriff it was necessary for him to ride over the entire county: inasmuch as only about one-half of the farm land was occupied and fenced at that time, he rode in every direction over the grand prairies that now constitute many of the most valuable farms. P'ollowing this he was employed by J. M. Palmer to assist in opening the first frame hotel and depot on the identical ground now occupied by the brick and stone Union (Pacific) Passenger Depot. Subsequently he was appointed agent of tlie Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska, and bill clerk of the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad in this city, by J. W. Morse, late general passenger agent of the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Thomas Bowman, the present Congressman elect, in the insurance business, having pur- chased the large lire insurance agency of J. P. & J. N". Casady. About three months after forming this partnership Mr. Bowman was elected County Treasurer, and after Jan- uary 1, 1878, Mr. Rohrer conducted the business alone. In 1881 he became a member of the com- mercial storage and agricultural implement firm composed of Thomas Bowman, George F. Wright and himself, and known as the firm of Bowman, Rohrer & Co. The firm closed out their business on January 1, 1885, to Shephard, Field & Cook. At this time Mr. Rohrer was appointed general agent of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York for the State of Iowa. On December 31, 1887, he was elected Mayor of the city of Council Bluffs by tlie City Council, to succeed ex-Mayor William Groneweg, who resigned theoflSceon account of being elected State Senator. At the fol- lowing city election in March, 1888, he was the Democratic candidate for Mayor, and David J. Rockwell the Republican nominee for the same office. Mr. Rockwell being a popular gentleman polled the full strenth of his party; nevertheless Mr. Rohrer was elected by between 700 and 800 majority, his term expiring March 17, 1890. During his continuous term of twenty-six and one-half months as Mayor of the city, Council Bluffs made more substantial prog- / OF POTTAWATTAMIE GOUNTT. 257 ress as a city than during any previous term, viz.: the paving with cedar blocks of Broadway from Twelfth street to Omaha, a distance of three miles, connecting with the (second) great iron and steel bridge over the Missouri Rive;, uniting the cities of Council Bluffs and Omaha by the first electric street railway introduced in the great West; open- ing up the Lake Manawa steam street rail- way; opening up the Council Bluffs and Omaha Chautauqua grounds, etc., etc. Dur- ing his terra of office eight miles of streets were paved with cedar blocks, and brick and other public and private improvements were made in keeping with the same. In his filial message to the City Council on March 17, 1890, he made the following valualjle recommendations in reference to that portion of tLe city which is now appar- ently (to the eye) in Omaha: '• My attention has but recently been called to some facts to which in this parting mes- sage I deem it my duty to call your attention. I am informed by able lawyers and also by officials who are in a position to know that the long neglected body of land known as " Cut-off Island," and sometimes slightingly referred to as " No Man's Land," is within the corporate limits of the city of Council Bluffs, and it seems that in five or six suits which have been had concerning this land it has been conceded on all hands, by law- yers and judges, that such is the case. " Heretofore this land has been almost of no consequence, but the marvelous growth of our city and its sister across the river has at- tracted the attention of capitalists to this tract of land which is in Iowa, but contigu- ous to Omaha. This point settled, impor- tant consequfcnces ensue therefrom. "The Union Pacific Railway Company has built its tracks on this island, bridges are being built, streets opened up; arrangements are being made to fill up the unoccupied ground with factories, warehouses and busy industries. " I have only recently learned these facts, but should consider myself derelict in duty were I to fail to call your attention to the same upon this particular occasion. "The island in extent embraces nearly 2,000 acres of valuable land; and if I under- stand the matter aright, this is all subject to taxation by the council of the city of Council Bluffs, and the trackage of the railroads as well. This should be looked into and at- tended to. " We, in turn, aiming to give to the public as good government as possible, and watch- ful of the interests of all within our jurisdic- tion, should see to it that the right of fran- chise so dear to the American heart should be accorded to the residents of that district, who are in fact citizens of Council Bluff's. " The children of these parents have a right to attend our public schools. The census- taker must not omit to include this popula- tion in his list. " The importance of the right to tax this large body of land is liable to be underesti- mated, as, in my opinion, but very few years will pass before a large revenue will be de- rived tlierefrom, and steps should be taken, at the next real-estate assessment in the spring of 1891, to get the same property upon the books." His recommendations were acted upon promptly by the present city administration, and at this writing the exact boundary lines between the cities of Council Bluff's and Omaha, in tin vicinity of this valuable tract of ground constitutes a case in the Supreme Court of the Uiiited States. His parents. Judge George C. Rohrer and Sophia E. fDeaner) Rohrer, were born in Washington County, Maryland; however, as J 358 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY before stated, they have resided on their farm near Avalon, Livingston County, Missouri, since 1871, his mother having died on May 19, 1889, at the age of sixty-two. Twelve children were in their family; of these, Win- field Scott, Susan Maria, Emma Alice and Laura Ellen, died wiien quite young — from infancy to age of seven. Harry Crytzman died at home, August 30, 1889, at the age of twenty-seven. Ida Florence is the wife or Irwin F. Rob- inson, and resides at Ciiillicotiie, Missouri. Samuel Deaner resides in Council Bluffs, and is at present a member of the city engineer's force, while Luelia Dinah, Christian Frank- lin, and Julia Elizabeth, reside on the farm, which is now and has been for years farmed in partnership by the subject of this sketch, Millard Fillmore, and his brother C. Frank- lin. Mary Catharine is the wife of Noah W. Cronise, who resides at Rohrersvilie, Maryland, and is a half-sister, being the only child of his father's first wife. On September 11, 1877, Mr. Rohrer was married to Sarah Beach Beers, the only child of John B. Beers and Eliza (Beers) Crawford. Tiiey have had three children: the first burn, John Beach Beers, died February 8, 1880, at the age of thirteen months. Ti>e i-emaining two children: Isaac Beers is ten years old, and Carrie Test is seven years of age. Mrs. Rohrer's parents were among the early settlers of Council Ijlnffs, her father having been engaged in the wholesale gro- cery business, and very extensively in real estate in western Iowa, and in Omaha and Nebraska City in Nebraska. In Council Bluffs Beers' Addition and Beers' Subdivis- ion bear his nanje. Mrs. Rohrer is an act- ive meml)er of the Presbyterian Church, and takes a great interest in the Woman's Chris- tian Association Hospital, having been one of tiie first officers. Mr. Rohrer is engaged in the real estate and tire insurance business. His real inter- ests are very large in Council Bluffs, and likewise at Blue Hill, in Webster County, Nebraska. He is a stockholder in the Coun- cil Bluff's Savings Bank, one of thj {a.-'i--, commercial savings and ijaneral biiikint houses in western Iowa. HRISTIAN H. BECK, a farmer of Lewis Township, Pottawattamie Coun- ty, was born in Ilolstein, Germany, August 22, 1827, and came to America with his parents. His fdther, Asmes Henry Beck, was a native of Holstein, Germany. He was a tailor by trade, and also owned a small farm. He was married to Elsebee Kickbust whose family were great land-holders in Ger- many. In 1853 they came to America and landed in Davenport, Iowa, where they re- mained about four ye irs. Tlien they came to Pottawattamie County, Lewis Township, where they purchased eighty acres of " raw " land in the PIr.mer settlement, which they improved. They afterward rented this land, and lived with their daughter, Mrs. Whitland, of Lewis Township. The mother died on the old home farm in the Plumer settlement, and the father died at Whitland's. They had a family often children, viz. : Christian Henry, our subject; Margaret, deceased, wife of Henry Scliworts; Catharine M., the wife of H. H. Spetman, of Lewis Township; Fred K., residing with his brother, C. H.; Elsie N., wife of John Spetman, residing in Nebraska; Asmes II., deceased; Hans, deceased; Henry, deceased; Christina, wife of Dick Messman, of Lewis Township. The parents were mem- bers of the Lutheran Church. Christian II., our subject, was reared to farm life, and engaged in the war of 1848 OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 259 against Denmark, serving three years. He also engaged in liorse-tradinsr wliile in the old country, and traveled a great deal. He was second sergeant in the war in Germany, served faithfully and was a gallant soldier. After he came to Davenport, he spent some two years, and then came to Lewis Township), Pottawattamie Connty, where he purchased a larm of eighty acres on section 35, which he improved and used for a pasture-farm. He remained on this place about ten years, when he and his brother, Asmes, bought 240 acres of unim])rovt'd land on sections 3 and 10, Lewis Township. They built a small frame house, 16x16, where they lived one summer, and which they now use for a gran- ary. Mr. Beck then built his present home, also a li-aine residence, 32 x 34 feet, and has erected a number of good barns for stock and grain, the main one being 62x40 feet, which is one of the finest barns in this part of the county. He has planted five acres of orchard and groves. He has added to his first pur- chase until he has now 520 acres, on sections 9, 10 and 11, and eighty acres on section 35, making in all 600 acres. He lias made all the improvements the farm contains, and has done a vast amount of labor in this county. He devotes himself to farming and stock- raising; also buys feed and ships a large amount of stock. He is a Democrat, always taking an active part in the political work of his county. He has represented his township as Trustee and School Director. Mr. Beck was married in June, 1859, to Sarah Young, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Seaman) Young, who came from Alsace, Germany, about 1853 or 1854, and located for a time in Ohio, and then came to Potta- wattamie County. The father died in Mills County, Iowa, in 1886, and the mother still resides there. The father was a farmer and also owned a large vineyard and made large quantities of wine, but after coming lo this country he followed farming. They were members of the Lutheran Church, and had a family of eight children: Jacob, deceased in the old country; Hans, also deceased in the old country; Catharine, deceased in Loudon- ville, Ohio; Sarah, wife of the subject of this sketch; Jacob, deceased; George, residing in Pottawattamie County, Iowa; Margaret, wife of Adolph Guise, residing in Potta- wattamie County, Iowa; John, a resident of Mills Coxinty, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Beck have eleven children: Ferdinand, born July 25, 1862, died April 20, 1888; Laura, born June 9, 1864, died April 1, 1868; Margaret, born May 22, 1866, is the wife of Ferdinand Plumer, near Sioux City, Iowa; Rosa, born July 25, 1868, is at home; Freddie, born June 9, 1871; Christina, born September 1, 1872, died in October, 1874; Gotlieb, born December 14, 1874; John, born August 6, 1877; Adolph, born January 18, 1861; Al- vina, born October 8, 1883, died May 29, 1888; and Dickie, born October 11, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Beck are members of the German Lutheran Church. fAMES BOILER.— Among the promi- nent and well-known citizens of Wright Township, Pottawattamie County, we find the name that heads this sketch. Mr. Boiler has been a resident of this place since 1873. He was born in Pike County, Ohio, March 26, 1848, son of William and Caro- line (Kincaid) Boiler, both natives of Ohio. Grandfather David Boiler was born in Ger- many. In 1851 William Boiler and wife moved from Ohio to Iowa and settled in Muscatine County, becoming pioneers of that place. They made their home in Muscatine County 360 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT until 1865, when they moved to Marshall County, same State. After remaining in the latter place three years they returned to Mus- catine County. Then, in 1873, they came to Wright Township. Three years later they moved to Walnut, Iowa, where the father died April 25, 1886, at tlie age of seventy- six years. He was a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Democrat. His widow, now sixty-eight years of age, resides at Walnut. On a frontier farm in Muscatine County James Boiler grew to manliood. He was educated in the pioneer schools, and early in lift! was taught that industry, economy and honesty were necessary elements for the foundation of a successful life. At the age of seventeen he entered upon a three years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, and was afterwards entjaged in contracting and building in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1873 he came to this township and bought 160 acres of wild prairie land, and was one of tiie first settlers in his neighborhood. He has since added to his first purchase until he is now the owner of 320 acres of valuable, well im- proved land. He also owns 160 acres which he uses for pasture, and which is located two miles from his home farm. He has a fine two-story residence, which was enlarged and remodeled in 1884. It is beautifully located and is surrounded with shade trees, makincr o an attractive place and a comfortable home. A grove and orchard of five acres are near the house. He has a large barn, stock scales and other buildings, two modern wind pumps and good fences; in short, this farm is con- sidered one of the best improved ones in the neighborhood. Mr. Boiler keeps annually from fifty to 150 head of cattle, and from 200 to 300 hogs. Mr. Boiler was married in Muscatine County, Iowa, January 25, 1876, to Miss Sarah Jane Nolte, a native of Jefferson County, Indiana, daughter of Herman and Sarah (Padgett) Nolte. She was reared in Indiana, and at the age of sixteen years came with her parents to Muscatine County, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Boiler have three children, namely: Orpha Lola, born November 1, 1876; Glen Ira, born May 22, 1878, and Grover Cleveland, born February 2, 1885. Mr. Boiler is one of the leading Democrats in the eastern part of Pottawattamie County. In 1885 he was elected County Supervisor and served three years. During his term of office the Court House was erected, and other important business was transacted. Mr. Boiler was an efficient and popular officer. He has also served in townsliip offices, and has acted as Chairman of tlie Democratic Central Committee. He is a man well in- formed on all general topics and current literature, and has broad and progressive views. He is honorable in all his business dealings, and is regarded as one of the solid men of Pottawattamie County. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church. In regard to Mr. Boiler's family history, it should be further stated that of the five sons born to his parents, four are living: Joseph is a prominent real-estate dealer at Walnut, Iowa. Benjamin and Cyrus also live at that place, the latter being a contractor and builder. Wesley Boiler, next to the eldest, lives in Muscatine County, Iowa. Besides the above there was one sister. HE CITIZENS' BANK OF OAK- LAND was first organized by S. S. Rust in October, 1883; succeeded by Rust & Potter in March, 1884. The Bank of Oakland, organized in January, 1882, by W. H. and B. F. Freeman, continued until OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 201 February, 1885, when it was consolidated with the Citizens' Rank, and called by the latter name, under the present firm of W. H. Freeman, President; S. S. Rust, Vice-Presi- dent; L. F. Potter, Cashier, B. F. Freeman retiring, and with a capital stock of $30,000. They have increased their stock and real- estate loans, and in 1885 erected a line brick block, 22J X 50 feet, and two stories high, in which they now carry on their business. They have a fine time-lock and automatic bolt-work on their safe, and also all the latest improvements that make a commodious and a thorough banking outfit. They exchange with Council Bluffs, Davenport, Chicago and New York, and have at the present time a cash capital of $36,000, with a surplus of $15,000, making a working capital of $51,- 000. They are live, energetic and self-niade Mien, and by their honesty and integrity have won the higli place in the hearts of their many friends, butli in business and social relations. As a firm they started in their youth, and liave raised their business to the enviable rank and tile of their follow bankers. W. H. Freeman, the president, was born on a farm in the vicinity of Rockford, Illi- nois, October 11, 1844, the son of Daniel and Mary (Waller) Freeman, natives of St. Louis, Missouri, atid Kentucky, and of Eng- lish extraction. The father was a farmer by occupation, and our subject was also reared to that calling. At the age of twenty-one years he left home and came West. He was first engaged in taking contracts on the rail- road until he came to Oakland, where he en- gaged in the lumber and grain business. He was the first Mayor of the town, and was instrumental in all of the leading enterprises. He deals quite extensively in cattle, horses hogs. Mr. Freeman started with nothing but pluck and ambition, which liave won for him success. L. F. Potter, the cashier, was born on a farm near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 27, 1855, the son of L. B. and Hitty (Wenzel) Potter, natives of New Hampshire and Mas- sachusetts, and of Scotch- English extraction. Our subject was educated in the Wauwatosa village schools, and completed his education in the Ripon and Beloit (Wisconsin) colleges. He taught school several terms, and in 1879 came to Oakland, Iowa, and bought a one- half interest in a general store for $488, making the firm of Caldwell & Putter, which later became Potter & De Graff. This ven- ture, though small, proved very successful, and resulted in a rapidly increasing trade. In March, 1884, Mr. Potter sold his interest in the store to his partner, and became a partner and cashier in the Citizens' Bank of Oakland, which position he still occupies- He has been tiie active manager of the busi- ness since his connection with it, and the prosperity of the institution is due to his un- tiring energy. Under his management the bank has never lost a dollar on discounts or in any other way, a record unequaled perhaps by any other bank in Iowa. He has been Mayor of the town, and takes a great interest in her prosperity. S. S. Rust, the vice-president of the Bank, was born in Henderson County, Illinois February 23, 1848, the son of Jacob and Eda (Palmer) Rust, natives of Kentucky and South Carolina. He was reared to the pro- fession of his fatlier, a farmer and merchant. He came to Pottawattamie County witli his parents in 1855, locating in Valley Town- ship. He left home when he was thirteen years old, and was engaged in working by the month for several years. In 1865 he married Mary N. Strong, to whom his success in life in a large measure is due. He pur- chased his first land in 1872, and in 1880 came to Oakland, and engaged in the grain 263 BIOGRAPHTOAL BISTORT and lumber business, in which he was veiy successful. Mr. Rust then started in the banking business, on his own responsibilitj^ and has made the different changes until he now occupies his present place. He also has a fine farm, where he raises stock, and to which lie gives a great deal of attention. He is a live, energetic and self-made man, and is interested in the advancement of tlie county as well as community, and is esteemed and respected by his many friends, both in social and business relations. These men have been residents, the prin- cipal bankers, and identified with the best enterprises and improvements of the town since its bewinninff. The bank went throneli the disastrous fire of May 28, 1887, without loss, and they immediately erected a brick block, sixty-six feet front, for the benefit of those who were burned out, and did not feel able to rebuild. They have also in various other ways aided the people to recover from their losses. --€^-5*^2-1— [ACOB SIMS, attorney at law, of the firm of Sims & Saunders, is one of the rep- resentative members of the bar of Coun- cil Bluffs. The present firm was formed September 1, 1890, but Mr. Sims has been a member of the bar of Pottawattamie County since January 1, 1879. His partner is Mr. C. Gr. Saunders. Mr. Sims is a native of Wisconsin, iiavlne been born in Dodgeville, that State, Novem- ber 30, 1850. His father, Kev. James Sims, a well known pioneer Methodist clergyman of that State, within whose borders he has preached for forty years, was until Septem- ber, 1890, the minister in charge at Prairie dn Chien, but is now a resident of Council Bluffs, having retired from active work in the ministry. He is a native of Cornwall, England, but came to America when a young man. Mr. Sims' mother is also a native of Eiigland. He is the oldest of eight surviv- ing children, and is also the only son. Two brothers died in early life. Mr. Sims entered Lawrence University at Appleton, his native State, at the age of eighteen years. After spending one year in the preparatory department of this institu- tion, he entered upon the regular classical college course, graduating in 1874. He then entered upon the profession of teaching, and was for a year principal of the Oconto High- School. Deciding to enter the newspaper field, he went to Milwaukee, and was for some time on the editorial staff of a pa]ier in that city. Then going to Minneapolis, he was engaged in the newspaper business for two and a half years; he then came to Coun- cil Bluffs and entered the law office of B. F. Montgomery, Esq., a well-known lawyer of that city, and was admitted January 4, 1879. He was for nearly four years associated with Hon. J. Y. Stone, nnder the firm name of Stone & Sims. Mr. Stone is the present At- torney General for the State of Iowa. The firm of Sims & Saunders is one of the promi- nent law firms of Council Bluffs. Mr. Sims is a finely educated gentleman, and was ever an earnest student. He took first honors of his class at college, being hon- ored with the valedictory. He ever mani- fests the same earnest industry in his profes- sional calling that characterized his career at college. On January 11, 1887, Mr. Sims was united in marriage with Miss Anna H. Squire, who before her marriage was a suc- cessful teacher for a number of years. Mrs. Sims is a daughter of the late Daniel Squire, of Ottumwa, Iowa, who died in February, 1890. He was formerly of Rockford, Illinois, where his body lies buried. Mrs. Sims was *^, OF POTFAWATrAMlE COUNTF. :63 born and educated in Rockford. Her mother is still a resident of Ottutiiwa. Mr. and Mrs. Sims have three children, a son and two daughters ^Jarnes Daniel, Mariana and Kath- arine. C. SMITH, Agency Director of the New York Life Insurance Company for Iowa and a portion of Nebraska, has his office at rooms 305 and 306, Sapp Block, Council Bluffs. This branch of the business was established here by him in 1883, since whicli time he has had it under his control, having at the present time over twenty-five men in his employ; and he has in- creased the yearly new business in Iowa from $1,000,000, written in 1883, to over $4,- 600,000, new business written in 1890, largely outstripping all competitors. This, however, is only one of the evidences of his activity and of the amount of work he has done. He has been associated with this company for over sixteen years, commencing in Vermont and operating afterward in New York State before coming here. Mr. Smith was born in St. Lawrence Coun- ty, New York, February 13, 1841, the son of Harrison and Caroline (Kennedy) Smith, natives respectively of New York and Ver- mont. His ancestry has been American for several generations. He was eighteen years of age when he went to Castleton, Vermont, to attend school, graduating at Castleton Seminary about two years later. The five years following he was engaged in the live- stock business in New York State, Vermont and Canada, shipping to Boston and other New England markets. The six years fol- lowing this he was engaged in general mer- chandising at Waterbnry, Vermont. Finding that business too confining and circum- 32 scribed for his natural inclinations, he sold his store and connected himself with the New York Life. Being a live, energetic man, he stands at the head of his profession in the West. He also owns and manages a lari;e stock- farm of about 1,500 acres in Monona County, this State, where he has about fifty head of horses, 700 head of cattle and as many hogs. His start at this farm occurred in this man- ner: In 1878 he came to Iowa in the interest of the company with which he is now con- nected; his family came in 1880, locating near Onawa, where he purchased a tract of land with the proceeds of an endowment policy, which he had taken out fifteen years previously. At different times he added to this tract until it reached its present dimen- sions. He now looks liack, attributing his success in acquiring this farm to that endow- ment policy taken early in life. His success in business is a sufficient guaranty not alone of his integrity and ability, but of the great company he represents. The best evidence, however, of its standing and worth, is its yearly increasing patronage, having issued over $175,000,000 new insurance in the year 1890, which is more than all it had in force at the end of its first thirty years of existence. Politically Mr. Smith is a Eepublican; re- ligiously a member of the Congregational Church; and socially a member of Ivanhoe Commaudery, No. 17, K. T.; also a member of the Scottish-rite order of Masonry. fU. SCHULTZ, a farmer of Lewis Town- ship, is a native of Schleswig, Germany, ® born January 13, 1838, the son of J. F. and A. M. (Rasacker) Schultz. The parents came to this country in 16'66, to Scott County, Iowa. The father, a shoemaker by trade. 264 BIOGRAPHICAL UlaTURY died in Cass County, Iowa, in 1886, and the mother in Chariton County, Missouri, in 1876. They had a family of seven children, piz.: Maggie, wife of Chiis Leckbent, resid- ing in Cass County, Iowa; J. H., our subject; Fred, a resident of Council Bluffs, Rudolpii, of Cass County, Iowa; Nicholas, a fanner of Pottawattamie County; Dora, wife of Henry Koi'h, residing in Nebraska, and Augusta, deceased; also Christ, residing in Pottawat- tamie County. J. II. Schultz, our subject, was reared in hi.-' native county until lie was nineteen years of age. lie received his education in the coininon schools, and learned the trade of car- penter, after which he came to America and located at Davenpurt, Iowa, where he spent about twelve years. He first worked in a machine shop one year, and was then engaged in farming and carj^enter work. He had a farm uf lUO acres about twelve miles from Davenport, which he sold, and in 1870 re- moved to Missouri. Here he purchased a farm of 160 acres in Chariton County, where he made liis home for ten years, but owing to a failui-e of crops lie disposed of his farm and came to Pottawattamie County in 1880. Be rented land for about two years, and then purchased his present farm of 160 acres, on section 15, Lewis Township. When Mr. Schultz took possession of this place it was in a wild condition, but he went to work with a will to make a comfortable home, and to- day has one of the best farms in this part of the county. His home is surrounded with slmde and ornamental trees, and he has erected good barns for stock and grain. He has a double granary for corn, capable of holding 5,000 bushels of corn, and he also has a barn which will shelter 100 hogs, built on the latest improved plan, furnished with a fur- nace and cook-pan for cooking feed. He has, in connection with his farming, done con- siderable carpenter work in the county; he now devotes most of his time to the raising of cattle and liogs. In political matters he is a stanch Democrat. Mr. Schultz was married January 13, 1860, to Mary Hansen, who was born in Schleswig, Germany, December 14, 1830, the daughter of Dudley and Sophia (Nachdigall) Hansen. The father died in Germany about 1863, and the mother died in Scott County, Iowa, in 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Plansen were the par- ents of eight children, of wlnmi six died in the old country, and two came to America, — George, born in 1833, and is a resident of Cass County, Iowa, and Mrs. Schultz, the wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are the parents of eight children, viz: John F., born Octol)er 19, 1859, and is a resident of Council Bluffs; Julius, born July 17, 1861, and is a farmer of Pottawattamie County ; George, born November 15, 1863, and is a farmer of Mills County, Iowa; Anna, born September 15, 1865, and is the wife of Charles Schnor, residing in Pottawattamie County; Edward, born December 17, 1866, residing at home; Margaretta, born November 25. 1869, at iiome; and Henry, born June 28, 1872, also at home. Mr. and Mrs. Schultz are membersof the German Lutheran Church, and are among the worthy and most respected citizens of the county. ►^^S--- LEXANDER VALLIER, of Hazel Dell Township, is a native of Lobor- ough Township, London District, Up- per Canada, and was born June 26, 1807, the son ot Alexander and Mary (Marion) Vallier, natives of France. When young they came to Qpper Canada, wiieie they were married, lived and died. The father was a manufact- urer of potash. They had a family of seven OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNT T. 365 children, of whom onr subject was the eldest He aitd his l)rothei- Lewis are the only ones surviving. Mr. Vallier was reared in his native country until he was seventeen years of age, when he came tu New York, where he spent same five years, and where he received his naturalizitiin papers. fie then visited Canada, where he spent three years, and then came to Ohio, where he spent five years, en- gaged in farming. He afterward removed to Pike County, Dlinois, where he was en- gaged five years in farming. He then moved to Decatur County, Iowa, where he also spent five years. He moved a man from that county to Florence, Nebraska. In 1849 he was on the Nishnabotna, and while there at- tended an Indian war dance, when, not being acquainted with their cu ;toins, he feared every moment that his scalp would be taken. They had just killed seven Omaha Indians. In the spring of 1851 he came to Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, which he has since made his home. When he first came to this county he farmed one year on the Little Mos- quito, in Garner Township, and then removed to Hazel Dell Township, where he also en- gaged in farming one year. Mr. Vallier then removed to his present farm on section 28, Hazel Dell Township, .where he entered forty acres, and erected a log houe*e, 14 x 16 feet, where he lived for several years. He then built a good frame house, 30 x 34 feet, which was afterward destroyed by fire, and he built his present home 18 x 24 feet. He has added to his first purchase of land until he now pos- sesses 300 acres, the most of which is in sec- tions 27 and 28, and nearly all under good cultivation. He has always devoted himself to farming and stock-raising, and in con- structing his buildings he has assisted in the carpenter work. His home and surround- ings denote thrift and prosperity. He strug- gled through the early days of Pottawatta- mie County with the other pioneers, and withstood the storms and hardships and is now reaping his reward. He has always labored hard for the best interests of this county^ and in its social and moral welfare, and has by his honesty and integrity won a large circle of friends. He was instrumental in organizing the first district school in Hazel Dell Township, and has always been a lover of law and order. He is a stanch He- publican, having wheeled into line from the old Whig party. He at one time, with R. Bortan, cast the only Republican vote in the township. He has represented his township as School Director. Mr. Vallier was married in October, 1830, to Mary Draper, who was born in 1810, in Earnestans, Canada, and died in Pjttavvatta- inie County, May 20, 1886. They had a family of eight children, namely: Jane, wife of Virgil Mefford, residing in Harrison County, Iowa. They have a family of five children; Thomas, a resident of Hazel Dell Township, who has a family of five children; Hannah, wife of Alex. Ellioon, residing in Harrison County: they have a family of seven children; Ruth, wife of Gus Fillmore, also residing in Harrison County, and have a family of eight children; Emily, wife of James Robinson, residing in Monona County, Iowa; they have a family of eight children; Rozilla, wife of Amasa Bybee, residing in Rock Township: they have a family of nine children ; Daniel, a resident of Harrison County, and has a family of four children; and Lewis, residing in Pottawattamie County, and they have a family of two children Mr. Vallier again married, for his present wife, March 15, 1887, Mrs. Maggie Wootton, who was born in Sr. Louis, Missouri, May 29, 1848, the daughter of George W. and Mary (Hayes) Martin, natives of England; they are both deceased. The mother died in 1848 266 BIOGRAPHTGAL UiaTORf and the father in 1860. They had a family of four children: Hannah M., Maggie, Isa- bella and Joseph. Maggie was reared in St. Louis, Missouri, and was first married to Henry Roberts. They had one child, Thomas Roberts, a resident of Hazel Dell Township. She was again married to John Wootton, and they have three children, namely: Anna, Emma and Harry. ^ • ■ ^ . 3 . »; ' g" - — ALEXANDER L. FRIZZELL is one of the well-known pioneers of Center Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He came to his present location in 1870, when this country was in its wild estate, and has since continued his residence here. As an early settler and a worthy citizen of this part of the county, a sketch of his life will be found of interest to many. He was born in Vermont, May 6, 1833. Ills father, Michael Frizzell, a native of Essex, Massachusetts, was a son of Elijah Frizzell, a descendant of French ancestors and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our subject was nee Orpha Cree, a native of Vermont. His parents were mar- ried in the Green Mountain State, and when he was eighteen mouths old they removed to Medina County, Ohio, where the mother died in 1837. In 1839 his father wedded Char- lotte Deen. They removed to Bureau County, Illinois, in December, 1845, before there was any railroad there, making the journey in a wagon in the dead of winter, and were among the early settlers of that county. The father's second wife died in 1881. In 1883 he mar- ried Louisa Seely, and lived there until a short time before his death. He died at Firth, Lancaster County, Nebraska, at the age of eitrhty-three years. He had been a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Republican, and in religion a member of the Christian Church Alexander grew to manhood on his father's farm and received his education in the public schools of Bureau County. In 1860 he came to Iowa and for some time was variously em- ployed in Mills County. He operated a threshing machine, ran a saw-mill and, being a natural mechanic, was never at a loss for work. It was in Mills County that he be- came acquainted with Miss Annie McNurlin, whom he married August 20, 1863. She was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsyl- vania, in 1836, the daughter of James and Rachel (Jeffrey) McNurlin, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of Irish extraction and the latter of English. Mrs. Frizzell was an infant when her parents moved to Ohio. From there they went to Indiana and settled in Wabash County, where they lived some years and where Mrs. Frizzell was educated and reared. The family subsequently re- moved to Mills County, Iowa. The parents afterward went to Cass County, Nebraska, where they spent the rest of their lives, both dying at the age of seventy-tivp The father was an active member of the Methodist Church and a class-leader in the same. Polit- ically he was a Democrat. In 1867 Mr. Frizzell moved to Cass County, Nebraska. Three years later, however, he returned to Iowa, and settled in Center Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, on eighty acres of wild land, where he continues to reside. He bought a log house which had been built by Mormons. The logs are oak, the best quality in the county. Mr. FVizzell moved this house to its present location, and here he has a home which for comfort and convenience is not surpassed by many a more pretentious looking structure. Here he and his good wife dispense hospitality in a generous way to friend and stranger, regardless of creed or OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 267 doctriiiL'. Mr. Frizzell lias a line orchard and grove, good stables, cribs, etc., and is engaged in general farming and stock-raisinor. His farm comprises 160 acres, all under a splen- did state of cultivation. Thechildrenborn toMr.and Mrs. Frizzell are as t'oUows: Richard Ellsworth; Caroline, wife of Hugh Brown, of Center^Township, has two children; Minnie, wife of Warren Newton, Mills County, Iowa, has one child; Rachel Charlotte, who makes the old home more pleasant by her presence. Politically Mr. Frizzell is a Democrat. For four years he has serve 1 as Justice of the Peace, dealing out justice in an impartial manner to all who come before his court. He has also served the public as a member of the School Board. He is noted for his in tegrity, his cordiality and his hospitality. —, ... M^^. ; ii ; . ^ .. i -»>. — — L. ALDRIUGE, a prominent farmer of lljl Rockford Township, was born in Put " nam County, Indiana, November 23, 1846, a son of John Sanford and America (Jones) Aldridge, also natives of Indiana and of English and Welsh ancestry. The iirst immigration to this country was in an early day, locating first in North Carolina and then in Indiana; were farmers. In the family of the father of John S. Aldridge were six chil- dren; Ruth, John, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Betty and Josiah. John S., the second child, was born in North Carolina, June 15, 1819, but when young his father died. In the winter of 1846 he moved to Illinois, taking with him his mother, who afterward died, in 1880, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Her husband, John S. Aldridge, had died March 16, 1849, leaving two children: II. L., our subject, and Mary E., now the wife of George Frazier. Mrs. John S. Aldridge, in 1853, after her husband's death, married Josiah Skelton, a native of Tennessee. In 1854 they came to Pottawattamie County, and located upon Honey Creek, where they lived until his death in 1885, and are the parents of eleven children: John, Lewis; Josiah, Jane, Albert, Alice, Allen, Margaret, Jonas and Eddie, the two last deceased. Mr. Aldridge, our present subject, was brought up by his mother to farm life. A little after he was twenty years of age. April 14, 1867, he married Margaret E. Selvy, a daughter of William and Mary (Foster) Selvy, natives of Tennessee and of Irish and German extraction. Her parents came to Missouri, and after some years moved to this county (Pottawattamie), and finally to Har- rison County, this State, where the father died, April 10, 1885, leaving eleven children: Frank M., George W., Martha, Margaret E., Eliza Ann, Susan, Mary, Amanda, William, James Edwin, and one who died in infancy. Margaret, the fourth child, was born in Mis- souri, July 6, 1850, brought upas a farmer's daughter, and was married at the age of seventeen years. After his marriage, Mr. Aldridge purchased forty acres of rough, wild land in the Missouri River bottom, in Harrison County, erected a log house 14x16 feet in dimensions, and began to make the improvements essential to a complete home; but at the end of eight years, in 1875, he sold out and came down to Pottawattamie County and bought 150 acres of wild land, except- ing that there was a small farm house upon it; remained there eight years also, and then purchased forty-four acres of land on section 1, Rockford Township, where he now resides. At that time some improvements had been made here, but they had greatly detei'iorated. He went to work and has made out of the place a fine home. He has now a good frame house, two stories high, 24x38 feet in ground 368 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY area, inclnding porches, verandas, etc., a good orchard containing both large and small fruits; indeed it is one of the iinest orchards in the county. He has dealt also in live stock to a considerahle extent, taking special interest in honses and in Poland-Cliina hogs. He has added to his first purchase of land until he now has 290 acres, all but ten of which is in fine cultivation, 100 acres being in pasture. He has also a quantity of bees, doing well. He first started out in life here with almost nothing, but his ambition and energy has won for him success. Both his mother and his wife's mother are living with him, at an advanced age. Willis A. Selvy, a nephew of theirs, was born August 3, 1868, and left an orphan when young, was brought up by Mr. Aldridge and now resides upon an eighty-acre farm in Harrison County. Also a niece, Annie Jones, born August 26, 1872, was reared by him. Mr. Aldridge is a reli- able gentleman, independent on local issues. He has been Township Trustee twelve years, and is now Road Supervisor. He is an honored member of Missouri Valley Lodge, No. 232. F. & A. M.; also a member of the Mutual Protective Association, of St. John, of which he has been treasurer ever since its organization. ;ILLIAM WHITNEY, one of the representative citizens of Center Township, Pottawattamie County, came to his present location in 1881. He was born in Ontario, March 25, 1836. His father, William E. Whitney, was born near Rochester, New York, the son of Jeremiah Whitney, a native of New P^ngland The mother of our subject, nee Mary Scott, was born in Niagara County, New York, Septem- lier 7. 1815. Her father, William Scott, was born in Connecticut, and her mother, Joanna (Crane) Scott, was a native of Eliza- beth, New Jersey! Mrs. Scott was a daugh- ter of Colonel Jacob Crane, an oflBcer under Washington in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Whitney has in his possession a pewter pan that was owned and used by Colonel Crane during the struggle for independence. It has been handed down to him by his ancestors, and is highly prized. Colonel Crane had a son-in-law, Crowell Wilson, a Captain in the British army, who received a grant of land in Ontario, where he settled and where others of the relatives also located. Colonel Crane also had a son-in-law in the American army. Mr. Whitney lived in Ontario until thir- teen years of age, when the family moved to Jackson County, Michigan, and later to Ingham County, same State. His father and mother had ten children, two of whom died in childhood. The names of those who reached adult age are Lucy A., William, Martha, F. S., Hannah E., Joanna C, D. A. and Sarah G-. The father was a mechanic by trade. He was a minister of the Gospel in the Free-will Baptist Church, and was a zeal- ous and faithful worker in the cause of his Master. He enlisted in the service of his country during the late war, and at the siege of Savannah lost a leg, having been shot through the knee. From the effects of the wound he died, in September, 1873, at the age of seventy-three years. His widow now receives a pension. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of St. Thomas, Ontario, Jackson and Ingham counties, Michigan. When a young man he went to Wliiteside County, Illinois, where, in 1862, he entered the service of his coun- try, enlisting in Company B, Seventy- fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He pai-ticipated OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 269 in the battles of Perryville, Cliickamauga, Lookout Moimtain, Missionary Ridt^e, Re- saca, Marietta, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Georgia, Franklin, and Nashville, Tennessee, and many other battles and skirmishes. After a service of three years lie was honor- ably discharged at Camp Harper, Tennessee, He then returned to Illinois and settled in Bureau County, where he lived nntil 1867. In that year he moved to Franklin County, Iowa. After a i-esidence of six years there he went to Cass County, same State; in 1881, he came to Pottawattamie County. Here he bought eighty acres of wild prairie land, on which he has since made many im- provements. He has a good house and barn and suitable buildings for grain and stock, and a tine orchard and grove. In fact, every- thing about the place indicates the push and enterprise of the owner. Mr. Whitney has a good graded stock of cattle, horses and hogs. In Whiteside County, Illinois, October 3, 1858, Mr. 'Whitney wedded Miss Elizabeth C. Berry, a native of Dne of the best in the United States. He has notonly stood by and witnessed it, Init has put his shoulder to the wheel and assisted largely by his honesty and integrity in its development. He is a self-made man, and was left with a family to care for when he was only nineteen years of age, but he had the pluck and energy to carry him through. Mr. Ford was married October 23, 1861, to Rebecca B. Horn, who was born in Eng- land, and came to this country with her par- ents. She was killed August 10, 1878, by a team running away. They had a family of seven children, viz.: Hester E., deceased; Fannie E., the wife of Frost Nusum, of Boomer Township; John J.; Joseph W., deceased; Amy E., deceased; Beriha H. and George T., at home. Mr. Ford was married the second time in 1879, to Hannah M. Gra- ham, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Hayes. She was born in England, and came to this country when small with her parents. Mr. Ford has always supported the Ile- publican party, and has represented his town- ship as School Director, etc. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. ►^+^^ D. PUTNAM, Commander of Eobert Provard Post, No. 414, G. A. R., of '■" Carson, is one of the early settlers and representative citizens of Center Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Hewas born in New Hampshire, August 19, 1834, a great nepliew of the illustrious Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fairie. His par- ents, George Putnam and nee Elizabeth Per- kins, the former a native of Haverhill, Mass- achusetts, and the latter of New Hamshire, reared nine children, the subject of this sketch being the oldest. When he was eleven years old the family run;oved to Vermont, 278 BIOOBAPniCAL HISTORY where lie lived on a farm and grew to man- hood. He received his education in the pub- lic schools. Later, he engaged in teaching and became a prominent and successful edu- cator. In 1852 he came West and settled in Lee County, Illinois, where he remained until the war broke out. In September, 1861, at the time President Lincoln called for " 300,000 more," he en- listed in Fremont's Rangers, or body guards for General Fremont. But when General Fremont was removed from his command the men were assigned to the Third Missouri Cavalry. This was one of the noted Missouri cavalry regiments, and the record it made was an honorable one. Mr. Putnam partici- pated in the battles of Pea Ridge, Arkansas; Ilartsville, Missouri; Cotton Plant, White Rii^er Junction, Little Rock and Camden, Arkansas; and went up the Red River .with General Banks. He also participated in many minor engagements and skirmishes. He was captured three times, but always, like his noted kinsman, made his escape. He was honorably discharged June 22, 1865, at Little Rock. Arkansas, as Second Lieuten- ant. He then returned to his home in Illinois. Mr. Putnam engaged in farming near Dixon, remaining there until 1871. In that year he came to Cen er Township, Pottawat- tamie County, Iowa, and was with his broth- er, L. R., who for live years made his home in this county. Our subject afterward bought his present farm of George Race. He owns eighty acres of rich land, well located and well adapted for stock and grain purposes. At Amboy, Illinois, in 1872, Mr. Putnam wedded Miss Emlin Stephens, a lady or cult- ure and refinement, who, for thirteen years previous to her marriage, was a successful teacher in Illinois. She was born in England of English parents, John and Peggy (Daw) Stephens, with whom she came to this coun- try at the age of four years. She was edu- cated at Mount Morris, Illinois. By this union three children were born: Arthur L., Katie J. and Emma. The latter died at the age of fifteen months. The great loss of Mr. Putnam's life was when his loving compan- ion was called away by death, March 14, 1879. She was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her loss was deeply felt by her husband, her little ones and her many friends. Mr. Putnam is a Republican. He has served as Assessor of the township. He is a friend of education and religion, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Spring Creek, being trustee of the same. fOHN JACKSON RODENBOUGH, one of the well known pioneers of Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, came here in 1866. A sketch of his life will be found of interest and is as follows: His father was George S. Rodenbough, who married, in New Jersey, Miss Elizabeth Jack- son, and had twelve children, six sons and six daughters. Mr. Rodenbough has always been a great admirer of Mr. Jackson, and when, June 10, 1832, the suljject of this sketch was born he was jriven the name of that hero. He was reared in his native State, receiving a common-school education, and learned the shoemaker's trade from his father. When he was twenty-one years of age the entire family removed to Warren County, Illinois. There the parents spent the rest of their lives, the mother dying at the age of seventy years and the father at eighty four. Mr. Rodenbough served for a time in the State militia, but was not accepted by the JfLA.. /3a£Su \ u. OF POTTAWATTAMIE GOUHTY. 279 United States into regimental service. He was married, September 4, 1859, to Mary Ann Axtell, a native of Warren Cuunty, Illinois, and a daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Robb) Axtell, natives of Pennsylvania. Four children were born to them, three of whom are living, viz.: Willbert E., who resides in Washington; George, of the same State; Flora, wife of Nathan Moore, Grove Town- ship, this county. Mrs. Roden bough died January 29, 1873. Two years later, Decem- ber 25, 1874-, Mr. Rodenbough married his present wife. Miss Eunice Dilly, a native of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of William and Mary (Axtell) Dilly, also of Peimsylvania. She was two years of acre when her parents located in Warren County, Illinois, where she was reared. Her father was a strong Abolitionist, and was a delegate to Springfield, Illinois, at the time Abraham Lincoln was nominated for President. Mr. Dilly now resides at Sterling, Kansas. By his second marriage Mr. Rodenbough has three children: Mary Elizabeth, William Herbert and Nettie May. Mr. Rodenbough came to Pottawattamie County in 1866, as already stated at the be- ginning of this article, and first settled at Silver Creek. He subsequently came to Grove Township, and was employed for a time on the R. R. I. Railroad. Previous to his coming West he had helped to build one of the first railroads in the United States, in New Jersey. After the death of his wife he returned to Illinois and remained a year, when he came back to this county. He is the owner of 140 acres of good land, which is well watered. Politically our subject is a Republican. He voted for General Fremont and all the Republican candidates for President since that time. He and his wife and two of their children are members of the Methodist 23 Church. Mr. Rodenbough is firm in his convictions of right and wrong, plain in his speech and manner, and honest in all his business dealing's. -.l+'w|.->-+'^(^ +.t.^ OHN N. BALDWIN was born in Coun- cil Bluffs, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, ^ on the 9th day of July, 1857. His father was the Hon. Caleb Baldwin, whose biography is the first under head of Potta- wattamie County. His mother was Jane Baldwin, whose maiden name was Jane Barr. Mr. Baldwin attended the public schools of Council Bluffs, and in 1873, when sixteen years of age, went to the State University at Iowa City. He was in the collegiate depart- ment of this institution three years. In the fall of 1875 he entered the Columbia Law School at Washington, District of Columbia, where he had gone to remain with his father, who at that time was a member of the Court of Commissioners of Alabama Claims. Aftor remaining there one year he again returned to Iowa City and entered the law depart, ment there in the fall of 1876, and graduated therefrom with some distinction in June, 1877. He immediately began the practice of law at Council Bluffs, becoming the junior member of the firm of Rising, Wright & Baldwin, the senior menjbei-s of the firm beino- A. J. Rising and the Hon. George F. Wright. Mr. Baldwin soon engaged actively in the practice and in a short time became one of the leading members of the bar of Potta- wattamie County, Iowa. In 1880 Mr. Risino- left the firm and went to Colorado, and the firm of Wright & Baldwin was then oro-an- ized, and continued until 1889, when the two sons of Mr. Wright were taken into the firm. Mr. Baldwin was married in December, 1878, 081 BIOGllAPUWAL UlSTOHT to Miss Lilla G. Holcomb, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They have two children, a girl named Genevieve, and a boj named Jolin N., Jr. O. GAULT was born in Wooster (now Wicomico) Conntj, Maryland, » November 7, 1849. His father, Archibald Ganlt, and his grandfather, Obed Gault, were both natives of Maryland, and the latter was a soldier in the war of 1812. The wife of Archibald and the mother of T. O. was nee Eliza Littleton. She was a native of Maryland, as also was her father, Thomas Littleton. Tiie subject of this sketch was seven years old when his mother died. Three years later his father moved to Ripley Coun- ty, Indiana, where he lived until 1862. In that year he moved back to Maryland, but returned to Ripley County in 1865. He is now a resident of Maryland. T. O. Gault was reared on a farm and edu- cated in the public schools of Maryland and Indiana. At the age of twenty-one he came to Iowa and located in Marshall County, where he was engaged in farm work the most of the time until 1878. In that year he came to Pottawattamie County and bought 160 acres of wild prairie land in Center Township. This is now well improved, is fenced into two fields, and 150 acres are under cultivation. Mr. Gault devotes his attention to general farming and also to stock-raising. His residence was built in 1888, at a cost of $650, and is well fur- nished. It is located on a natural building site and commands an extended view of the surrounding country. He has about three acres in shade trees, orchard and small fruits. Mr. Gault was married March 4, 1888, in Drury, Rock Island County, Illinois, to Miss Melissa Drury, a lady of education and culture and a native of that place. She is a daughter of Eli Drnry, an old settler and a promiiient citizen of Rock Island County. He has been Postmaster for over thirty-five years at Drury, in the above county. Her mother was Margaret Hub- bert before her marriage, a native of Bedford County, Pennsylvania; and her father, Eli Drury, was a native of Wayne County, Indi- ana. Both parents are now residents of Drury, Rock Island County, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Gault have one dauohter, Essie Alice. Politically Mr. Gault is a Republican. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., having been made such in Marshall County, Iowa, at Eden Lodge, No. 316, Gillman. He is a man well informed on all current topics, and is regarded as a representative citizen of his township. — -►€->^,— ^ — ■ fH. GREGG, of Hazel Dell Township, is a native of Belmont County, Ohio, * born December 19, 1831, the son of II. H. and Amy (Hoge) Gregg. They were reared in Loudoun and Fauquier counties, Virginia, and were of Scotch and English origin. They were married in Virginia and came to Ohio in an early day, locating in Belmont County, where they resided until their death. Tiie father was born February 4, 1803, and died June 30, 1861, and the mother was born October 7, 1807, and died January 7, 1874. The father was a farmer and merchant and aho a buyer and packer of tobacco; his father before him was also a merchant. They were the parents of ten children, of whom eight grew to maturity, namely: Mary E., wife of Noah J. Hatcher, of Belmont County, Ohio; Joshua H., the subject of this sketch; Samuel H., who died OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 281 in Warren County, Iowa, February 14, 1890; Hendley H., a resident of Belmont County, on the old homestead; Francis, a resident of Belmont County; Henrietta, also of Belmont County; William S. died February 5, 1890, in Benton County, Iowa; and Victoria, the wife of Thuiuas Rubers, and residing in Barnesville, Belmont County, (^hio; two chil- dren died in infancy. The father was reared in the Friends' or Quaker Church. J. H. Gregg, the subject of this sketch, was reared on a farm in Belmont County, and re- ceived his education in the public schools. He remained at home witli his parents until he was twenty-five years of age. October 22, 1856, he was married, in Grundy County, Illinois, to Amy G. Hoge, daughter of Wil- liam and Rachel (iioles) Hoge, natives of Virginia and of Scotch and German descent. She was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, July 24, 1830, but when a child removed with her parents to Illinois, where she was reared. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Gregg started for Pottawattamie County, Iowa, arriving November 18, 1856, at Coun- cil Bluffs. They immediately went to work to make improvements on his farm of 432 acres, which he had purchased in January previous; 400 acres are on section 33 — the sonth-half — and the south-half of the north- west quarter of section — , Hazel Dell Town- ship and the northwest quarter of the north- east quarter of section 4, Garner Township. This was all uncultivated land when he pur- chased it, excepting about twenty-fiveor thirty acres which had been broken out. Hero he went to work to make a home, and in the fall of 1857 he erected a small frame residence, 18 X 24 feet, and in 1878 they built an ad- dition, and they now have a neat and com- modious dwelling; the addition is 18x30 feet and fourteen feet front, he has also erected barns for stock and grain, a stable for his cows, which is eighty feet long, and a good hay shed ninetv-four feet long. Mr. Gregg has eight acres of orchard on his home place, and three acres on his farm in James Township, where he has 236^ acres, which he has improved. He entered from the Gov- ernment 560 acres and now possesses almost 1,400 acres, all under good cultivation. He has done much toward building up and im- proving Pottawattamie County, and is de- serving of all the honor and esteem which is accorded him by his many friends. He is a self-made man, having made the most of what he now possesses through his own efforts. In his political views he is a stanch Republican, having wheeled into line from the old Whig party. He has been Treasurer of the School Board for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Gregg are the parents of ten children, viz.: Ida A., deceased; Amanda V., residing at home; Mary E., deceased; Georgia A., wife of William T. Harris, of Hazel Dell Township; Amy E., wife of J. D. Harris, of Norwalk Township; Anna, deceased ; William A., deceased; Clara A., at home; Alcinda M., deceased; Henrietta A., also at home. frOHN RODWELL was born in Cam- bridgeshire, England, January 21, 1846, the son of John and Mary (Goodge) Rodwell, both natives of England. He was a babe when his parents emigrated to this country and settled in Bureau County, Illi- nois, near Arlington. There they spent the residue of their lives, the father dying in 1850 and the mother in 1882. Mrs. Rodwell was a worthy member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. They reared a family of three children: Mary, John and Thomas. They were reared on a farm, the father having been a farmer all his life, and early in child- 282 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY hood were taught that industry and honesty were necessary to a useful and successful life. Joiiii received his education in the public schools. Wlien the great war of the Rebel- lion came on he went forth in the defense of his country, enlisting in February, 1864, in Company B, Fifty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He participated in the battles of Resaca, Altoona, Bentonville, and others of le.-s importance. After receiving an honor- able discharge at Louisville, Kentucky, he returned to his home in Bureau County, Illinois, where he remained until 1876. In February of that year he canie to Potta- wattamie County and located on section 22, Center Township. He purchased eighty acres of wild prairie land, which he improved, and as he prospered he added to his landed estate. In 1880 lie bought forty acres in section 21, and four years later, 160 acres in section 15, both having been broken at the time of purchase, and the latter fenced. In 1888 he bought 120 acres in section 8, which had been improved and on which was a house and other buildings. On this property his brother Thomas resides. Mr. Rodwell is the owner of 400 acres of land. On his home farm, which is well improved and under a splendid state of cultivation, he has a tine residence built in modern style at a cost of $2,000. This home, beautifully located and surrounded by ornamental trees and shrubs, forms one of the attractive features of the neighborhood. Mr. Rodwell has a nice grove and orchard, suitable barn and out-buildings and wind-mill; in fact, everything about the place attests the thrift and enterprise of the proprietor. From sixty to seventy-live head of cattle and a large number of hugs and horses are usually kept on the farm. December 29, 1869, Mr. Rodwell married Miss Caroline Frizzell, a native of Bureau County, Illinois, and one of the ten children of Michael and Charlotte (Dean) Frizzell. The father was a native of Massachusetts, and died in Firth, Lancaster County, Nebraska, at the age of eighty-three; tiie mother, a native of Connecticut, died in Bureau County, Illinois, in June, 1880, at the age of sixty- seven. J. O. Frizzell is a brother of Mrs. Rodwell and A. L. Frizzell is her half- brother. Mr. and Mrs. Rodwell have five children: Michael Eugene, Wilbert, Mary, Lnella and Tracy Melvin. Politically our subject is a strong and radi- cal Republican, lie has served with credit as Township Tnistee, as a member of the School Board, and is at present Township Clerk. He is also the present treasurer of the School I'oard. Mr. Rodwell is a charter member of the William Laton Post, No. 358, Ct. a. R., Oakland, and has served as Chaplain of the Post and Officer of the Day. He is a member of the Spring Creek Meth- odist Episcopal Church, and is one of its liberal supporters. His family are members of the Center Union Sabbath school. Mr. Rodwell is a gentleman in the prime of life. In a financial way he has met with eminent success, and his prosperity may all be attributed to his enterprise, integrity and well directed efforts. He is regarded by all who know him as a worthy and upright citizen. -S-^^J-s-- IffiRS. ELIZABETH MACKLAND, of Boomer Township, was born in nm^ Cheshire, England, October 24, 1832, a daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Harrison) Bardsley, parents also natives of the Albion Isle. Her father was a weaver by trade. The family comprised eight children: Thomas, William, Mary, Martha, Josepli, Robert, Margaret and John, all of whom are OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 283 now deceased. Mr. Bardsley, being tlie fifth cliild, was born July 15, 1800, was brought up in the trade of his father, but as soon as convenient he learned the trade of boot and shoe making. His wife, born July 10,1810, was the daughter of John and Martiia Har- rison, natives of England. Mr. Harrison was a mechanic and machinist, and his chil- dren were: Samuel, Hannah, John, Mary, Elizabeth, William and Joseph, besides one deceased. Mrs. M. Bardsley, being the sec- ond child, was married in 1830, and i-emaitied a resident of the old home until she died, March 7, 1844, leaving three children, — Mary and Martha, both deceased, and Eliza- beth, the subject of this sketch. After the death of the mother, the father remained in England until 1850, wlien he sailed from Liverpool for America, landing at New Or- leans, after a voyage of eleven weeks. He proceeded to St. Louis, and to Kanesville (now Council Ijluffs), and finally located in Keg Creek, where he was a I'esident until 1855; but in 1852 he married Mrs. Bettie Hand- bury, and in 1854 bought 200 acres of land in Neola Township, and began to make a home. After making many improvements he died, December 20, 1860, leaving his wife and three children: John is a merchant in Neola Township; Charles is still on the old iiotne place, and a thrifty farmer; and Thomas is practicing law in Walnut. Mrs. Bardsley is still living, near her eldest daugh- ter, and she has accumulated considerable property. March 26, 1852, when twenty years of age, Elizabeth married John Mackland, the son of Thomas and Ann (Union) Mackland, natives of England: father a brick-maker by trade, and in his family were ten children: Maria, John, Eliza, Ellen, Henry, Elizabeth, Phoebe and three others. John Mackland was born in 1829, brought up in his father's trade, which he followed to some extent after his arrival in this country. Purchasing 160 acres of land in Neola Township, he continued to make many valuable improvements as a foundation for a comfortable home; but in 1865 he moved into Boomer Township and bought a tract of land on section 34, which is now the old home place. Here he began atiew, in a wild, unbroken prairie, with only a log cabin and a few acres of sod turned. In a few years he was enabled to put up a giod frame house. He planted shade trees, etc., and made a fine residence. He died October 4, 1876, leaving a wife and eight children. The latter are: Anna, born in 1853, now the wife of John Lay them, and residing in Neola; Joseph, born in 1855, and now residing in Boomer; Emma, born in 1858, is now Mrs. John McGill, of Council Bluffs; Thomas, l)orn in 1860, and residing in Boomer; William Henry, born in 1862, still at home; Mary Ellen, born in 1865, is the wife df Henry Page, and living in Boom- er; Elizabeth, born in 1868, now at home; and Phoebe, l)orn in 1870, is married to Jef- ferson Sigler, a resident of Boomer Township. Mr. Mackland was a decided Democrat, a man who took an interest in benevolent societies, and earned a good reputation by his integrity of character. He was, as Mrs. Mackland still is, a member of the Church of Latter- Day Saints, being zealous in the principles of that denomination. ►»^ A RON W. PEAECE is one of the well known citizens of (rrove Township, having been a resident of Pottawatta- mie County since 1874. He was born in Ricidand County, Ohio, September 22, 1840. His father, Dennis Pearce, also a native of Ohio, was a son of 284 BlOaR^iPHICAL HISTORY Aaron Pearce, who was of Irish extraction. In politics the Pearces have been Whigs and Republicans; in religion they have been as- sociated with the Christian Church. Dennis Pearce wedded Marj Pollock, a native of Richland Connty, Ohio, by whom he had nine children, four sons and five daughters. Three of the daughters are d ;ceased. Mrs. George Bolton and the subject of this sketch are the only ones living in Pottawattamie County. James II.,a twin brother of Aaron, resides in Adair County, Iowa. In 1852 or 1853 the family removed from Ohio to Cedar County, Iowa, and were early settlers in that section of the country. They had been there only a year when the father died, leav- ing his widow and children to battle for life in a new country. The mother afterward married Mr. H. C. Paxson, who died in 1870 Aaron W. Pearce received his education in Richland County, Ohio, and in Cedar Coun- ty, Iowa. During the late war, in answer to Lincoln's call for " 300,000 more," he en- listed, in September, 1861, in Company E, Eleventh Iowa Infantry. He enlisted under Colonel Abraham Hare, of Muscatine, who was some time afterward succeeded by Colonel William Hall, of Davenport. Mr. Pearce was a brave soldier, and with his regiment took an active part in many of the prominent engagements of the war. He was returned home on a veteran furlough, and after it expired he joined his regiment on the Tennessee River. He was afterward with Sherman before Atlanta. July 22, 1864, he was made a prisoner and taken to Anderson- ville, marching a portion of the way and fin- ishing the journey by rail, arriving at the prison early in August. A portion of the time Mr. Pearce was at Andersonville there were 30,000 prisoners there in a field of only thirty acres. About one hundred dead sol- diers were carried out of the stockade daily. Much has been said and written of the hor- rors of that prison, but the half has never been told, nor can it be realized by any save those who passed through the terrible ordeal of prison life. About tlie mid- dle of September Mr. Pearce was moved from Andersonville to (.'harleston. South Carolina, remaining there a short time. He was taken to Florence, South Carolina, where he was held until February, when the near approach of Sherman's army made an- other move necessary, and, being placed on the cars, was started toward Wilmington, North Carolina, and on to Goldsboro, where with other prisoners he was paroled and re- turned toward Wilmington, passing into the Union lines near that place February 26, 1865. Leaving Wilmington by steamer for Annapolis, Mai-yland, they went to Baltimore, where he shed his prison rags and put on the blue again. He soon left for St. Louis, but was unable to travel, and was placed in the hospital at Grafton, West Virginia, remain- ing there one month. Then he again re- turned home on a furlough, and rejoined his regiment the last day of the general review aj Washington. After the war he came back to Cedar County, where he resided for some time. In the spring of 1872 he removed to Polk Coun- ty, Nebraska, and took up a soldier's claim of 160 acres. After remaining there sixteen months he came to this county and located in Grove Township. At that time he settled on section 33, near where he now lives. He afterward traded with Thomas Conner for his present farm. It is in section 28 and con- tains 108 acres, forty of which are in timber. It is well adapted for stock and grain pur- poses, and is well supplied with all necessary farm buildings. A good residence situated on a natural building site, surrounded by OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 285 shade and ornamental trees, makes a comfort- able and attractive home. September 11, 1866, Mr. Pearce married Agnes Bolton, a native of Cedar County, Iowa, and a daughter of William and Sarah (Southern) Bolton, natives of Virginia. Her grandfather, Henry Bolton, was a native of Virginia and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Pearce was reared and educated in Cedar County. They Imve seven chil- dren, namely: Merrill Edson, Myrtie C, Es- tella Kate, Dessie Irene, Ethel Grace, Laura Jane and Mary Ida. Miss Estella is a suc- cessful teacher in the schools of Pottawatta- mie County. Mr. and Mrs. Pearce lost one child by death, Eva L., at the age of three years. In politics our subject is a Republican. For the last ten years he has served as Town- ship Clerk. He has also served as a member of the School Board. He and his wife and three of their daughters are members of the Methodist Protestant Church. Mr. Pearce is a man of integrity, and is highly respected by all who know him. ^INFIELD SCOTT MAYNE. one of the well-known lawyers of Council Bluffs, has been a member of the bar of Pottawattamie County, since 1875. Mr. Mayne is a native of Clark County, Ohio, where he was born October 15, 1833. His grandfather, Adam Mayne, was a pio neer of Clark County where he settled in 1819. He was a native of Maryland, and represented an old family of that State. He was a soldier of the war of 1812. He was a wholesale grocer at Georgetown when that war broke out, and his property was burned by the British troops. As stated he settled in Clark County, Ohio, in 1819, where he continued to live until his death. The father of the subject of this sketch was Emmanuel Mayne, born at Georgetown, Maryland, in 1805, having been about fourteen years of age when his father removed with his family to Ohio. He married Miss McGruder, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. She was born in Lou- doun County; Maryland. Her father, Ninian McGruder, was a native of the north of Ire- land, coming to the United States when a young man and settling in Loudoun County. He married Grace Townsend, born in Eni^- land, who died when her daughter, the mother of our subject, was but eleven years old. The maternal grandfather of Mr. Mayne lived to an advanced ao-e, dyincr in Loudoun County. Emmanuel Mayne obtained a good education in early life, and was for a time engaged in teaching. He settled down to the business of merchandisino-, which he followed for a number of years. He emi- grated with his family to Iowa in 1848, but two years after it became a State, remaining in Ottumwa until the following spring. He settled down on a tract of land in Van Buren County. Here, as a pioneer, he did much toward opening up and developing that new country. He was a prominent and well-known citizen. In 1851 he was elected County Judge, and remained in that capacity six years, doing all the county business as was customary at that time. When the war of the Rebellion came on, though then fifty- seven years of age, he resolved to enter the service in defense of the old flag. He ac- cordingly entered the army as Captain, in the Third Iowa Cavalry, and was killed in a battle with the Rebels at Kirksville, Missouri, August 6, 1862. His wile survived her hus- band until 1870, when she died at the home of her son, the subject of this sketch, who was then residing at Keosauqua, Van Buren County. Emmanuel Mayne and wife were 28e BIOQRAPUICAL HISTORY the parents of five children, three sons and two daughters. The eldest in the family, Virginia, became the wife of B. C. Long, and. resides at London, Madison County, Ohio; she never removed to Iowa. Pliilan- der T. is a resident of Salt Lake, Utah. The subject of this sketch is the next in the order of birth. Leroy was a member of tlie Second Volunteer Infantry early in the war of the Rebellion, and later was transferred to the Third Iowa Cavalry, where his father was serving. In January, 1863, he was trans- ferred to the Mississippi Marine l)rigade, as Adjutant, with the rank of First Lieutenant. In April of the same year, while in com- mand of a dotilla and passing up the river, the boat of which he was aboard ran on an obstruction in the river, and while he was assisting to free the boat, he was thrown into the river, and, falling between two boats, which were nearly in contact, was drowned. His body was never found, or if found was never idetititied. Thus the fatiierand brother of Mr. Mayne lost their lives in the service of their country. The next in the family in order of birth is Carrie, wife of J. E. Pol- lock, a well-known lawyer of Bloomington, Illinois. The subject of this sketch received his early education in the public schools of Van Buren County, and later entered the Iowa Wesleyan University at Mt. Pleasant, where he yraduated in 1856, having been the first graduate of that institution. He began the study of law under Judge C. C. JN'ourse, and later with Judge G. G. Wright, now also of Des Moines. He was admitted to the bar in October, 1858. He began practice at Keo- sauqua, where he continued until 1872, when he located at Red Oak, where he practiced his profession until he came to Council Bluffs. At Red Oak he was associated with Smith McPherson. On coming to Council Bluffs he became associated with George F. Wright, and subsequently was a co-partner of Marshall Key. He was more recently as- sociated with the Hon. L. W. Ross, and when that gentleman was elected Chancellor, he took full charge of the legal business of the firm. Since 1884 he has been associated with F. M. Hunter, but since 1886 the tirm name has been Mayne & Hazelton. Mr. Mayne was married in Van Buren County, to Miss Ruth Ellen Mangum, daugh- ter of A. W. Mangum, who settled in Van Buren County, in 1836, where Mrs. Mayne was born in 1837. Mr. Mangum is still a resident of Van Buren County, but tbe mother of Mrs. Mayne diel when the latter was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Mayne have live children, three sons and two daughters. Joel H. is tbe eldest of the children; George H. was born in September, 1869. He studied law with his father, and grad- uated in the law department of the Iowa State University in 1889. The younger children are Grace, Carl and Ruth. Polit- ically Mr. Mayne is a Republican, and has always affiliated with that great political or- ganization, his tirst presidential vote having been cast for John C. Fremont in 1856. Mr. Mayne was Assistant Revenue Collector fur Van Buren County from 1863 to 1866. He is by all esteemed as an able lawyer and a progressive citizen. While in Keosaiiqua he joined the Masons and attained to the Royal Arch degree. ... . . I .i g . ^ i i t . gi . ■•■ - C. BISBEE is one of the intelligent and enterprising citizens of Grove '* Township, Pottawattamie County. He was born and reared on the farm where he now lives, the date of his birth being February 8, 1867. He is a son of Franklin 14i^VxuWo-i^^i- V OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 287 Elijah and Hannah F. (Winsor) Bisbee. His father came to tliis county in an early day and spent the remainder of his life here, his death occurring J!^ovember 28, 1880, at about the age of fifty-six years. He was a member of the Metliodist Episcopal Ciiurch, had served as steward of the same, and was regarded by all who knew him as a man of integrity and a true Christian. Mr. Bisbee has been twice married, and had five chil- dren: Frank, the only child by his first wife, now resides in the West; Louis H., died at the age of twenty- five years at Mace- donia, Iowa; Fanny Florence, wife of H. T. Thomas, of Red Oak, Iowa; A. C, the sub- ject of this sketch; and Charles A., who lives with his mother at Macedonia, where she has a good home surrounded with all the comi'orts of life, and where she also owns other town property. A. C. Bisbee was reared a farmer. His education was obtained in the public schools of Grove Township and in the graded school at Macedonia. March 14, 1889, he was mar- ried, in Grove Township, to Miss Mary Chilianna Rolfe, a lady of culture and educa- tion and a successful and popular teacher of the county. She was born in Webster County, Iowa, and received her education tliere and at the Western Normal College at Shenaiidoah. Her parents, Aaron and Emily (Beem) Rolfe, are now residents of Lehigh, Iowa. Her father was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was reared in New York. Her mother, a native of Indiana, came with her parents to Webster County, Iowa, when she was eight years old. Mr. and Mrs. Bisbee ha\e a daughter, born August 2, 1890, named Hattie Florence. Mrs. Bisbee is a member of the Christian Clinrch. Our subject is engaged in agricultural pur- suits on the old home farm, which contains 200 acres, and which is well improved. Socially and financially he is regarded as a representa- tive citizen. In politics he is a Republican. AMUEL B. WADSWORTH, a promi- nent business man of Council Bluffs, was born in Grand Detour Township, Ogle County, Illinois, February 22, 1851, and lived with his father, Christopher Wads- worth, on the old homestead until 1868. He then commenced the study of law in Di.xon, Illinois, with the law firm of Eustace, Barge & Dixon, but, after two years' study, in order to earn a little money, he taught school in the country for the next three years. During the years 1873-'75 he attended the Illinois State Normal University, and at the same time acted as night ticket agent for the Illinois Central liailroad at Blooniington, Illi- nois. In this way he paid the expenses of his schooling at the university. After leaving the university he was appointed Superintend- ent of the schools at Heyworth, Illinois, where he taught for one year, and was then elected Superintendent of the city schools of Oregon, Illinois, which position he held twelve Years, and until he was elected Super- intendent of schools in Ogle County, Illinois, having defeated the Republican nominee, who had a political majority in his favor of 2,300 votes. After serving for about one year in this latter capacity he moved to Coun- cil Bluffs, Iowa, where he still resides. Mr. Wadsworth is now acting as the gen- eral manager of the Union Abstract and Trust Company, in which capacity he has won the confidence of the business public. He is also Secretary of the Council Blufls Board of Trade, and one of the Bark Com- missi(mcrs of the city of Council Blufls. During the year 1883 he traveled extensivnly in Europe, and on his return was married to BIOGRAPHICAL HI STOUT Anna, E. Etnyre, at Oregon, Illinois, October 11, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth have two children, viz. : Mary M., born February 17, 1887, and Paul E., born "November 12, 1889. Religiously Mr. Wadsworth is a Unita rian, and in politics is a Democrat; he is the chairman of the Democratic Central Com- mittee. » 2"! ' (HOMAS LEONARD, a farmer of fUm Hazel Dell Township, was born and reared in County Roscommon, Ireland, upon a farm. At the age of seventeen or eighteen years he came to America, landing in Boston, where he resided fourteen or fif- teen years. In 1867 he came to Jackson County, Iowa, where he remained until 1875, when he came to Pottawattamie County. While in Boston he was engaged in the manufacture of brick, and in Jackson County, Iowa, he was a farmer; and he also afterward was engaged in farming at Silver City, Mills County, Iowa. On coming to tiiis county in 1875 he purchased a tract of 240 acres, on section 15, Hazel Dell Township. It was but partially improved, and he has dev^oted las earnest attention to the improvement of the place until he has made it one of the finest in that part of the county. He has a good frame residence 20 x 30 and 18 x 30, also a fine barn 40 x 64, etc. Every feature of his place evinces good taste as well as a great amount of labor. In his political prin- ciples he is a thorough Democrat, casting his first vote for James Buchanan, and ever since then taking an active part in the poli- tical welfare of the county. State and nation. He has been Township Trustee, and is now chairman of the Democratic Township Com- mittee. He has made all he owns by his industry, having had but fifty cents when he first landed on American shores. He was first married to Catherine Hoer, who died in 1864, in Massachusetts. Of their six children two are living: Thomas W., at home, and James, a resident of Neola Township. Mr. Leonard was married, this time, to Mrs. Margaret Turner, the widow of Edward Turner and daughter of Mr. Magee, February 14, 1867 ; by her first marriage slie was the mother of three children: John, de- ceased; Patrick, a resident of Harrison County, Iowa, and Anna, the wife of Thomas M. Leonard, and the mother of one child, Mary E., born December 24, 1889. They are members of the Catholic Church. ««1ILLIAM GUSTIN, one of the in- \:\/\jl tcUigent and progressive citizens l*-sjfeH of Grove Township, Pottawattamie County, came to his present location in Jan- nary, 1881. He was born in Brown County, Ohio, May 1, 1846. His parents are Alpheus and Polly (Edington) Gustin, both natives of Ohio. The Gustins are of Scotch extraction, and grandfather Gustin was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary war. The Edington family trace their lineage back to Ireland, their ancestors having lived near the Rhine. Mr. and Mrs. Gustin reared eight children, five sons and three daughters, William being the fourth. Six of them are residents of Pottawattamie County, namely: Edward and A. B., Wave- land Township; A. J., Isaac, William, and Eveline, wife of Crawford Cary, Grove Town- ship. Two sisters, Sarah and Massie Ann, live in Mills County, Iowa. When William was a lad of nine years his parents moved to Illinois, remaining in that State one year. From there they removed to OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNT F. 389 what was then called the far West, Mills County, Iowa, and settled near where Emer- son is now located. The Gustins were among the early pioneers of that district. There the parents spent the remainder of their lives, the mother dying at the age of fifty-six years and the father at sixty-three. William was ten years old when the family went to Mills County, and in that frontier district he grew up, inured to hard work and received only a meagre education in the common schools. He there engaged in farming until 1881, when he came to this county and settled on 120 acres of wild prairie land. On it he built a comfortable fi-ame house and barn and made other improvements, fencing, etc. He also acquired more land and now has 200 acres in one body. Mr. Gustin was married March 20, 1865, to Miss Phoebe Jane Hatchings. She was born in Delaware County, Indiana, and was ten years old when she came witli her parents to Mills County, Iowa. Her father and mother, William and Nancy (Cicle) Hutch- ings, both natives of Ohio, were among the first settlers of Mills County, where they still live. Mr. and Mrs. Gustin have reared six children, two sons and four daughters: Emma Olive, wife of John L. Bradley, Grove Town- ship; Rose Ann, wife of W. L. HoUiday, of Montgomery County, Iowa; Nancy Eveline, Theudosia Adella, William Otis and Abra- ham Sirvetus. They lost two children by deatli in infancy — -Edward Iven and Artie Clifford. In politics Mr. Gustin is a Democrat. ;ILLIAM NIXON, deceased, late proprietor of the Nixon farm, of Pot- tawattamie County, was born in Fay- ette County, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1802, and died in Pottawattamie County, at the residence of his son David, in Hazel Dell Township, February 3, 1885. He was the son of Moses and Jane (Winn) Nixon, who were among the old families of Pennsylvania. He was reared to the vocation of a miller, which business he followed for a number of years, but previous to leaving Pennsylvania he engaged in farming, which he followed the remainder of his days. He was married March 8, 1824, to Eliza CoUins, who was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, March 2, 1807, and died May 20, 1878. She was the daughter of Joseph ;)nd Margaret (Allen) Collins, the former of Irish and the latter of English extraction; the mother was the daughter of Colonel Ethan Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Nixon were the parents of nine children, viz.: Margaret, who died July 1, 1828; Jo- seph, who died October 2, 1828; Mary, wife of Joseph Meginess, residing in Nebraska; John, who died in prison during the war of the Rebellion: he was in Company A, Twenty- ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and died April 29, 1864; Hannah, widow of Benjamin Me- giness residing in Hazel Dell Township: he was in Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and served two years; Moses, deceased, who served in the same Company, and lost an arm at the battle of Helena, Ar- kansas, he served about one year and died November 25, 1883; Frances, who died August 23, 1883, the wife of Caleb Kimball; Sarah, wife of W. H. Meginess, residing in California; he served in Company A, Twenty- ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry for three years, and was discharged as Orderly Ser- geant; and David, the subject of this sketch and the youngest child. In 1858 William Nixon removed with his family to Pottawattamie County, locating for a few days near Council Bluffs, at what was then known as Kanesvilie. They had started 290 BIOGRAPHICAL niBTORT for California but conclnded to remain in this county. His tirst permanent location in the county was on sections 33 and 34, of what is now Hazel Dell Township, where he secured 120 acres, which was a claim purchased of a Mr. Scott. This land contained a log cabin and a few acres broken, but naturally was an unimproved farm. Here he lived and reared liis family until 1878, when he removed to Ills son DavidV, and where the mother died, and where the father spent his remaining days. He improved some 240 acres of land in the county, and assisted largely in its de- velopment, encountering the many hardships of pioneer life. He was a stanch Repub- lican. David Nixon, the youngest child, was born in Pennsylvania, June 22, 1848, and came to Pottawattamie County with his parents, where he has since made his hom<\ He was reared to the life of a farmer, and received his education in the subscription schools. He remained at home nntil he was eighteen years of ao-e, and was then married June 24, 1866, to Margaret J. Williams, who was born in South Wales, December 25, 1849. She was the daughter of Daniel and Margaret (Evatis) Williams, natives of South Wales, who came to Pennsylvania, where they spent a few years, and then moved to Utah, remaining one winter, and then came to Pottawattamie Coimty, Iowa. Mrs. Nixon was reared in Wales until she was six years of age, and then came to this country with her parents. They are the parents of four children, viz.: John, who was born June 4, 1867, and died August August 8, 1867 ; Eliza J., born June 29, 1869, and was married February 6, 1887, to Alex- ander Vallier, and now resides in Hazel Dell Township; William, born October 8, 1871, is a graduate in book-keeping at the Pottawat- tamie Normal College; Ira, born March 29, 1874, is at home. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Nixon located on their present farm, a tract of eighty acres of raw prairie. He first erected a stable in which they lived until they had completed their home, a neat trarae residence 16 x 28 and 12 x 28 feet. Here they commenced life for themselves, after having spent some two years at the home of Mr. Nixon's parents. They have a beautiful home, surrounded by shade and ornamental trees, and with good barns for stock and grain. He also has tiiree acres of orcliard. He now has in Pottawattamie County 280 acres of well improved land, which he has brought to its present state of perfection through his own efforts mainly. He affiliates with the Republican party, and and takes a great interest in the welfare of his county. State and nation. ILLIAM PETERS, a citizen of Boomer Township, was horn in Prus- sia, March 15, 1818, a son of Nicho- las and Hannah (Barrent) Peters, natives also of that country. Mr. Nicholas Peters was a farmer by occupation; was aid-de-camp for General Blucher in the Napoleon army dur- ing the Prussian war. There were nine sons from one family iu this war, of whom five were killed. A maternal grandfather came to America and fought in the Revolutionary war under General Washington, and lived af- terward to the advanced age of 104 years. He was in the employ of the Government, in connection with farming, and accumulated a large fortune. On his death he left a wife and five children. The children were: Catharine, now Mrs. Frederick, residing in Prussia; Christoph, deceased; William, our subject; and Lewie, residing in Prussia. Frederick and Lewie are officers in the army. Their grandfather served thirty-six years un- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 291 der Frederick the Great, and the generations followins have ranked higii in the esteem of the royal families. Mr. William Peters was reared at home until he was twenty-four years of age, when he also entered the army, as Orderly, and served eight years at Berlin and Potsdam. At the age of forty years he married Marga- ret Armstrong, a native of Scotland and a dauy;hter of William and Catharine Arm- strong, natives of England. Mr. Armstrong was a chemist by profession in England, but on coming to America he located in Utah, where he now lives, at the age of eighty- eight years. His first wife died early after her marriage, and by his second wife there are the following eight cliildren : John, Joseph Wilhelm, James, residing in Utali ; Mary, wife of Lewis Stuei'sbaugh, in Utah; Margaret, the next ill order of birth, is the wife of Mr. Peters; Jane, now Mrs. John Williams, of Utah; and Kate, the wife of Mr. Chadwick, in Utah. Mrs. Peters was born in England, November 3, 1843, received a good educa- tion and came to America with her parents. In November, 1849, Mr. Peters sailed from London, England, to New Orleans, went up the river to St. Louis, but in a short time, finding business dull there on account of Asiatic cholera, he returned to the ocean and was a sailor along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, until he obtained money enough to go to California. He went to the gold fields, followed mining about five years, and then was one of the first to enter Colorado as a miner, and was there three years mining and freighting. Then he spent two years in similar occupations in Montaiui; next he was employed for over two years freightiug with provision wagons under General , of theCalifornia Volunteers. He helped to build Fort Douglas, in Utah. While he was in Salt Lake, President Lincoln was assassin- ated, and while operating iu Utah he suffered many hardships and privations. He came thence to Council Bluffs, and four years afterward, namely, in 1870, he located upon his present farm, buying forty acres of un- broken prairie land. He built a frame house, broke and fenced the land, planted a fine or- chard of one and a half acres, set out shade and ornamental trees, etc., and has made a comfortable residence. His orchard is one of the best in the township, and every feature of the premises gives evidence of good taste as well as of much labor. Mr. Peters deals in a tine grade of cattle and horses, taking special interest in the improvement of live-stock. He has added to his first purchase of land until he now has 240 acres of land of first-rate order. He has also upon his premises three running streams of water. In fact, he has one of the finest farms in the county, and in it takes great pride. Politically Mr. Peters is a well settled Kepublican, taking an active interest in the principles of his party. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and of the M. P. S. He has had fifteen children, namely: William and Louis, farmers in Boomer Township; Fred, N icholas, Bernhart, James and Charles, at home; Maggie, wife of Samuel Bateman, in Nebraska; Mary Ann, who married Burbridge, and resides in Boomer; Jane, wife of La Fayette Hatcher, is a resident of Harrison County; Caroline, Kate and Tilda, at home; Dora May, the next, is deceased, as is also Isaac, the youngest son. COLUMBUS REYNOLDS is another 'JC\ one of the enterjiribing and successful uien of Pottawattamie County. A brief outline of liis life is herewith given. Mr. Reynolds is a native of North Caro- 293 BIOGRAFEIOAL HISTORY lina, born near Sparta, the county-seat of Alleghany County, November 12, 1848. His father, Willson Reynolds, and his grand- father, Thomas Reynolds, were both natives of that State. His mother, nee Nancy Spur- ling, was born in North Carolina, as also was her father, William Spurling. Her grand- father Spurling was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war. "Willson and Nancy Reynolds reared hve children, four sons and onedaiigh- ter: Columbus is the only one in Iowa; the oldest brother resides in Nebraska; two are in North Carolina; and the sister died in that State. Willson Reynolds was a farmer all his life, and his death occurred at the age uf seventy years. His wife was a devoted Christian and a member of the Baptist Church. She died at the age of sixty-eight. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm, and in early life was taught those les- sons of honesty, industry and economy which have been so useful to him in after life. His early educational advantages were limited, but by reading, observation, and by the prac- tical knowledge learned in the school of ex- perience he has amply supplied the deficiency of an early education. At the age of nine- teen he bade adieu to his native State and started out in the world to make a home and a fortune. He located in Whiteside County, Illinois, and after remaining there a year he came to Iowa, and worked on a farm in Har- din County a year. In 1868 he came to Grove Township, Pottawattamie County, and first worked by the month. Then he broke prairie for two seasons, which at that time was profitable business. In 1874 he bought eighty acres of raw prairie land, on which he now resides. He broke it the same season, and has made many improvements on the place. He built a comfcn'table story-and-a- half house, at a cost of $1,200; planted shade and ornamental trees, a grove and an orchard ; built a good barn and fenced his land. From time to time he purchased other lands until at this writing (1890) he is the owner of 240 acres. One hundred and sixty acres are in a body in sections 17 and 18. The other eighty acres, which he uses as a pasture for his stock, are a half mile northwest from his home. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, feeding all the corn he raises to his stock and frequently buying more from his neighbors. Mr. Reynolds was married, September 16, 1872, at Red Oak, Iowa, to Miss Sarah E. Wilson, a lady of culture and refinement and a successful teacher. She was born in Sulli- van County, Indiana, and was reared and educated in Lee County, Iowa. Her parents, William and Anna (Pemberton) Wilson, the former a native of North Carolina and the latter of Ohio, now reside in Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have four children, viz.: Rosalie, Laura Jane, Anna Ethel and Isom Guy. Mr. Reynolds is a Republican and cast his tirst vote for General Grant. He and his wife are worthy members of the Christian Church, and take an active part in religious and educational matters. Mr. Rey- nolds is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 444, Carson, Iowa. Mr. Reynolds lost a b)-other in the Southern army, and Mrs. Reynolds a brother in the Northern army. PARISH, a prominent citizen of Ha- zel Dell Townsliip, was born in Can- .' ada West, October 9, 1841, the sixth child of nine in the family of Hiram and Anna (Bullard) Parish, the former a native of Vermont and the latter of Canada. He was eight years of age when his parents came with him to Lee County, Iowa, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Brought OF POTTAWATTAMIE VOUNTT. 291 up to the arts of agriculture, he was at the early age of thirteen j'ears compelled in a great measure to look out for himself. He was in Knox County, Illinois, from the age of fifteen to twenty, when, during the war, he enlisted, in October, 1861, in Company L, Eighth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, but was soon transferred to Company I. After faith- ful service for thi*ee years, participating in the noted battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donel- son, Siiiloh, Corinth, Holly Springs, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Kenesaw Moun- tain, Russell Heiise, Atlanta, Jonesboro, and a number of shirmishes, he was honorably discharged, at East Point, Georgia. He was married October 30, 1866, to Miss Jane, daughter of Josiah and Margaret Nelson, who was born in Knox County, Illinois, in No- vember, 1848. After a three years' residence in Illinois he came to Pottawattamie County and purchased a tract of >' raw " prairie on section 3, Hazel Dell Township, of forty acres. Here he erected a small frame resi- dence, 14 X 16, in which he made his home for five or six years, while he was subduing his land to cultivation. He now possesses 159 acres, all of which has been improved. He has now a neat frame residence, 26 x 24 and 16 x 20, and barns, etc., in good style. He is particularly interested in improved breeds of stock, making a specialty of Dur- ham cattle. He is a self-made man, having risen by his own efforts to his present high standing, and he has also done much for the public welfare. He is a Republican in his political sympathies; he has served his town- ship as Constable and member of the School Board, Road Supervisor, and is now Town- ship Clerk. He has had twelve children, viz.: John N., at home; Dora B., wife of George Smith, and residing iti Boomer Township; Peter, Minnie, Mary and George, at home; Cyrus, deceased ; Etta, Bertha, Elmer, Cora and Ella Myrtle. HARLES F. HEAGNEY, a retired farmer of Boomer Township, was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Oc- tober 4, 1848, a son of Dominick and Hannah (Scott) Heagney. Mr. Heagneys's paternal grandfather w^as married first to Catherine McBride, a native of Ireland, and had seven children: Margaret, Bridget, Rosanna, Mar- tha, Mary, John and Catherine. Afterward, in 1817, he married Miss Sarah Brookhouser, who was born July 4, 1800, the tirst-born child of Adam and Keziah (Mason) Brook- houser, natives of Pennslyvania and of Ger- man descent. She had five brothers and three sisters: Mary, Adam, Margaret, Will- iam, Esther, Elderson, Hiram and Isaac. The Heagney family remained in Pennsylvania until 1849 and then moved to Dubuque County, Iowa, settling upon a partially im- proved farm, where the father finally died, in 1851, leaving a wife and nine children. The children are: Adam, who resides in Califor- nia; Dominick, the father of Charles F. ; the next one died in infancy; William and Andrew J. reside in California; the next born is also deceased; Sai-ah, residing in Sioux City; George W., living in Missouri Valley, this State; and James K., also de- ceased. In 1858 the remainder of the fam- ily came to Pottawattamie County and located upon a piece of rough, unimproved jirairie, made a fine home and lived there twenty years. In 1878 the widow disposed of the farm and went to Dakota, where she remained until 1888, and, returning, settled in the vicinity of Missouri Valley, with her son George. She is now ninety years of age. Mr. Dominick Heagney was born March 394 BIOORAPIIIGAL HI STOUT 2, 1828, and December 31, 1847, married Miss Hannah, daughter ui Isaac and Catli- erine Scott, natives of New York State, and farmers, who lived in Pennsylvania in 1844- '49. The mother died and the remainder of the family oame to Iowa. In the family were live children: Phoebe, Hannah, Henry, Henrietta and Catherine. After his father died Mr. Heagney remained on the farm about seven years and then came to Potta- wattamie County and purchased eighty acres of rough, unimproved land, and made of it a good home. He built a residence 32 x 44 feet and a story and a half in height. Farm- in'' and stock-raising were his specialties, and he dealt in hogs, horses and cattle, es- pecially the latter. He disposed of that farm and bought pro|)erty in Missouri Val- ley, where he now lives a somewhat retired life. He has been aT industrious and ex- emplary citizen. In his political views lie is a lively Democrat. August 7, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Tiventy ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Captain John T. Williams and General Fiske, in the Department of the Gulf. He partici- pated in the siege uf Vicksburg, was stationed at Helena; was in the campaign from Little Hock to Camden, when he was under con- tinual tire for sixteen days; was also at Jen- kins' Ferry, where there was some hard fighting, and in the siege of Mobile. In 1865 he was stationed at the mouth of the Uio Grande. On the 10th of August that year he was mustered out, at New Orleans. There were four brothers in the war, of whom one was killed and the other three returned home. Mr. Heagney, though not wounded, contracted a disease of tlie eye and rheuma- tism, from which he still suffers. He had seven children, namely: Charles F., our sub- ject; Rose, the wife W. E. Laughery and re- siding in Missouri Valley; Mary, the wife of Fred McCollongh and living also in Missouri Valley; Catherine, now Mr.';. John Fisher; Addie, wife of William E. Baldwin and re- siding in Fremont, Nebraska; two died in infancy. Mr. Charles F. Heagney, reared to farm life, at the age of twenty-one years went to Kansas and entered a tract of land, returned to Pottawattamie County, visited Dakota awhile and returned home again, where he remained until he was married, April 24, 1877, to Miss Maggie, daughter of David and Mary (Phillips) Roberts, parents natives of Wales. Mr. Roberts, a carpenter, was born in March, 1808, and reared to farm life; lie came to the United States in the summer of 1855, resided lour years in Iowa City and then located upon his farm in this county. By his first wife he had one child, Bessie, who is now living in Wales. By liis present wife he had eight children, as follows: Will- iam, at home; David and Emma, dead; Rosa, at home; and Mary, wife of Thomas Frencli and residing in Boomer; Margaret; Samuel, at liome; and Harriet, the wife of Joseph Cusworth and residing in Boomer. Margaret was born August 15, 1853, and completed her school education in the high school of Council Bluffs. Mr. Heagney bought his present place of eighty acres on section 5, Boomer Township, when theie were but few improvements upon it. He has continued to add other improve- ments until he has made of the place an ex- cellent residence. He has also added to his land area until he now has 120 acres of fine land, half of which is devoted to plowed crops. At present he is renting the farm and enjoying the fruits of his labor at ease. He has formerly been a very hard-working man but for the past five years he has not had perfect iiealth. Principally for the sake of recovering his iiealth, he went in 1886 to OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNT T. 29j the Black Hills of Dakota and for four months was engaged in building the Fre- mont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad. He returned with his health considerably improved. He is a well-settled and intelligent Dem- ocrat. He has been Road Supervisor two years. He is a member of St. John Lodge of the Mutual Protection Society. Was reared in the Roman Catholic Church. He has had two children, Mary Emma, born January 19, 1878, and Edna, November 6, 1887. [EORGE FRANKLIN WRIGHT, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in War- ren, Washington County, Vermont, December 5, 1833, and was the eldest son of a family of four children, he alone surviving, of the late Franklin Asher Wright, born in Hanover, New Hampshire, September 17, 1801, died in Council Bluffs, October 5, 1876, — he was of English descent,— and of Caroline Susannah Wright, nee Tillotson, born in Berlin, Vermont, November 8, 1807. She was of Scotch and English parentage. They were married in Berlin. Vermont, Feb- ruary 27, 1833. Franklin A. Wright was the son of Asher Wright, of English descent, and of Irene Wright, 7iee Curtis, of English descent. ('aroline S. Wright was a daugh- ter of Samuel Tillotson, of English descent, and of Betsey Tillotson, nee Wallace, of Scotch descent. George F. Wright was reared and spent hfs boyhood on a farm in his native town, and in early life, when a mere boy, was, by his father, whose large business interests re- q^uired his continued absence from home, held largely responsible for the successful carrying on and working of his farms, the 24 labor of which was performed exclusively by hired help. This training, and the respons- ibility incident thereto, became in after years of great service to him when he became engrossed in the active operation of his own business career. At the age of seventeen he CO nraenced his academic education at West, Randolph, Vermont, under the tutorage of the late Hon. Austin Adams, of Dubuque, Iowa, who was twice Chief Justice of the State. During his academic training, teach- ing district school winters, as was customary with many New England boys, he completed his preparatory studies for, and one year of, his college course. He did not enter col- lege, however; but the spring following his majority, in 1855, he came to Iowa and set- tled in Keosauqua, Van Buren County, when he at once commenced the study of the law with the law firm of Wright, Knajjp & Cald- well, composed of ex-United States Senator George G. Wriglit, of Des Moines, the late Hon. Joseph C. Knapp, of Keosauqua, who was his uncle, and his honor, Judge Henry C. Caldwell, of Little Rock, Arkansas, now Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit of the United State.<. His law studies were pursued under the tutorage of Senator Wright, and as a member of a large class of law students then under his charge his advancement was such that he was admitted to the Van Buren County bar in 1857, Judge H. B. Hender- sholt then presiding judge of the District Court of said county. The same year, Senator Wright going upon the Supreme Bench of Iowa, George F., as he was familiarly known, was admitted to partnership with his uncle, .ludge Kna^jp, and Judge Caldwell, under the firm name of Knapp, Caldwell & Wright, and so continued until Judge Caldwell was called to the bench at Little Rock. His edu- cation, founded in the old-fashioned New England schools, and in the old-fashioned 296 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY New England ways, was rounded nut under the training received from these eminent law- yers and jurists. Aided by their ripe busi- ness experience, by his extensive acquaint- ance with business affairs, and with men of affairs, he became a good lawyer, as well as an active, persevering and successful business man. It was in this practical way that he acquired the educational elements which in- sured his success much more effectually than coTdd have been attained by a university or college course or both combined. Early in 1861 he enlisted in respom^e to President Lineoln's call )or 75,000 volun- teers, and in connection with Captain, after- ward General, J. M. Tuttle, raised a company of volunteers in Van Buren County, of which he was elected the First Lieutenant, receiv- ing his commission from the hands of Gov- ernor Kirkwood at Davenport, Iowa. Ilis company rendezvoused at Keokuk, and after being some time in camp, the first call being full, the company was accepted in the second call for volunteers and became a part of the Second Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. Im- mediately before this occurred. Judge Cald- well having enlisted and having been elected Major of the Third Iowa Cavalry, the busi- ness of their iirm demanded his return to Keosauqua. Immediately ou his return he raised a company of State militia, was elected Cai)tain thereof, and tendered the same to Governor Kirkwood for the protection of the Iowa border in Van Buren County. His company was accepted, was equipped with Surino-field rifles and furnished with the necessary munitions of war. This organis,a- tion was kept intact, being frequently called to the border and into the State of Missonri, until the rebels were driven out of that State, when most of his company enlisted in and became a part of the Fifteenth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers. On October 26, 1863, he was married ,in the city of Chicago, to Ellen E. Wright, nee Brooks, of iVorthfield, Vermont, born in Hancock, Vermont, Sejitember 21, 1830. She was the daughter of the late Josiah Prentice Brooks, born April 5, 1797, in Alstead, New Hampshire, died in Northtield, January 10, 1883, of English descent, and the late Bet- sey Parker Brooks, nfe Robbins, born Au- gust 16, 1797, in Hancock, Vermont, died in Northfield, Vermont, November 4, 1885, and was of Entilish descent. During their residence in Keosauqua there wL've born to them three sons, the oldest dy- ing in infancy, and after their removal there- i'rom, two daughters, all now living, viz.: Frai;klin Prentice Wright, born March 2, 1866; George Spencei- Wright, born Janu- ary 21, 1868; Eliza Caroline Wright, born June 1, 1870, and Ellen Elizabeth Wright, born December 7, 1872. In the spring of 1868 he moved with his family to Council Bluffs and formed a law partnership with the late Jadge Caleb Bald- win, and the law iirm of Baldwin & Wright at once became one of the leading law firms of the State. The firm at once took high rank among the profession as practicing at- torneys, and as the several railway companies representing the trunk lines made their ter- mini in Council Bluffs, this firm became their local attorneys, and has ever since re- tained that relation toward them. This law connection continued up to the time when Judge Baldwin was appointed by President Grant as one of the Judges of the Court of Commissioners of Alabama claims, requiring his res'dence in the city of Washingto'i, when the firm was dissolved. He then associated with himself Hon. Amos J. Risingr, now Judge of the District Court of Arapahoe County, Denver, Colo- rado, and John N. Baldwin, Esq., the second OF POTl'AWATrAMlE COU-NTT. 29! son of the late Judge Caleb Baldwin. After several years of successful practice Judge Rising retired from the firm, removing to Colorado, and the Urm became and has since remained as Wright & Baldwin, they having lately associated with themselves the two sons of Mr. Wright. He early identified himself with the poli- tics of his county, the State and the nation, and has always been a stanch and active Re- publican, and for many years a leading worker in his party. During his residence in Van Buren County he was repeatedly tendered the nomination for member of the Legisla- ture from that county, whicli was then equiv- alent to an election, but invariably declined the honor. In 1875 he was elected Senator from the Ninth Senatorial District of luwa, composed of the counties of Pottawattamie and Mills. After serving as Senator in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth General Assem- blies he was again elected Senator, |in 1879, in the Nineteenth Senatorial District of Iowa, comprising Pottawattamie County, his place of residence. He served as Senator of the Nineteenth District in the Eighteenth and the Nineteenth General Assemblies. During his Senatorial career, his reputation as a law- yer, and his energy and ability won for him substantial influence in that body. He was from the first a member of the Judiciary Committee, and being an earnest, industri- ous worker, he was enabled to prevent fhe enactment uf many bad laws, as well as to aid the passage of good ones. He was ever vig- ilant and faithful to the trust imposed on him, never allowing personal feelings to swerve him from the path of duty and strict justice. He rendered the State and liis con- stituency faithful and competent service, and in such manner as to reflect great credit on himself and honor to his State. Soon after taking up iiis residence in Coun- cil Blufl^s he began to engage in active busi- ness afl>iirs outside of his profession, and in 1870 and immediately following, he, with his associates, organized companies and con- structed and put in successful operation large plants for the manufacture and supply of coal illuminating gas in the cities of Council Bliiifs, Ottumwa, Mt. Pleasant, Cedar Eajjids and Sioux City, in Iowa, and in the cities of Eltrin and Evanston in Illinois. Ue was o elected President of the Council Bluffs com- pany, which position he held for over twenty years. In 1868 he, with Judge Baldwin and associates, constructed and operated the Council Bluffs Street Railway lines, the first street railway in Council Bluffs, and was the President of said company until it [>a8se(l under the conti'ol of the Unioti Pacific Rail- way Company. In 1881 he was elected Sec- retary and Treasurer of the Union Elevator Comjiany, of Council Bluff's, composed of six trunk line railway companies terminating therein, and had the supervision and con- struction of its Union Elevator building in said city, which has the largest capacity of any grain elevator west of the city of Chicago. In 1883, as one of the originators, in connec- tion with his associates, he organized and put in successful operation the Nebraska & Iowa Fire Insurance Company, of Omaha, Ne braska, now known as the Nebraska Fire In- surance Company, of Omaha, and at the same time organized and became president of the Iowa & Nebraska Fire Insurance Com- pany, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, which in 1885 removed to Sioux City, Iowa, and is now known as the Western Home Insurance Com- pany of that place. He is still largely inter- ested in both of said parties. In 1886, in connection with his asso- ciates, he orcranized the Omaha & Council Bluffs Railway A; Bridge Company, procured from Congress a franchise for a combined 298 BIOORAPUICAL II1S2 0RT railway and wagon bridge across the Mis.-ouri Kiver between the cities of Council Bluffs and Oinaiia; and during the next two years the Omaha & Council Bluff's Railway & Bridge Company, of which he was elected Secretary, erected one of tlie finest and most expensive Bteel bridges over said river, and in connec- tiun therewith constructed and put in suc- cessful operation over said bridge between said cities the first Electric Street Railway line ever constructed in the States of Iowa and Nebraska. In 1889, in connection with his associates, he organized a company and constructed and put in operation in the city of Ottawa, Illinois, the first Electric Street Railway ever con- structed in said State. As a lawyer Mr. Wright is prominent, leading and able, never seeking to deceive court or jury, but in an open, manly, earnest contest endeavoring to secure the rights of his clients. Gifted with sound judgment, endowed with great, good common sense, and being a fine analyzer of character and the motives of men, lie is ever ready to meet his adversary on compromise grounds, confident in his resources and ability to secure better results for his clients by negotiation than by prolonged and expensive litigation. As a business man, he is possessed of fine executive ability, is untiring and energetic, continually adding to the cares and burdens of his life new enterprises, which by his con- tinued activity and the vigor of his never faltering energy he pushes to successful pro- portions and satisfactory results. As a citizen, he is active, progressive, pub- lic-spirited and liberal, and since he came to Council Bluffs he has ever been loyal to her best material interests, advocating all meas- ures that the beSt elements therein strove to establish. Of strict and upright manhood, he constantly labors for her welfare and is always found in the line of the best citizen- ship. As a friend, lie is true, honest, faithful and sacrificing to all who show themselves worthy of his friendship, generous in his praises, slow in his criticisms, and happy in contrib- uting to the wanti^ and needs of his fellows. As a man, he is amiable, temperate, hon- orable, benevolent, just and upright, with fine literary tastes and broad culture. L. RANKIN is one of the intelligent, enterprising and successful citizens of " Grove Township. He has been a resident of Pottawattamie County and iden- tified with its best interests for the past sev- enteen years, having come to this place in 1873. He was born in Allegheny County, Penn- sylvania, February 27, 1849. His father, Archibald Rankin, was born in Pennsyl- vania, and grandfather Rankin was a native of Ireland, horn of Irish parents. His mother, nee Jane Brewster, also a native of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was of Irish ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin were the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, all of whom are now (1890) living except two daughters, and all are in Allegheny County except John and S. L., who are in Grove Township, tliis county. The parents passed their lives in Pennsyl- vania and died there, the father at the ase of iifty-two and the mother at the age of sixty- four years. Mr. Rankin was an iionest tiller of the soil all his life, and in politics he was a Democrat. His wife was a member of the United Presbyterian Church and reared her children in the Christian faith. S. L. Rankin worked ^';»; n; . ? i» <« — MRVING M. TREINOR, the present fi Postmaster of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was ^ born in this city, on the 26th day of November, 1857, and is the second son of Thomas F. Treynor, now a prominent and successful farmer of Pottawattamie County. Mr. Treynor's earlier years were spent in the old log cabin where he was born, his father having moved to this county at an early date, in fact, when the now thriving city of Council Bluffs was only a straggling village, known as Kanesville. At the age of four years the subject of this sketch began his educational career in the public schools of this city, and remained until he had attained the age of fourteen, when he entered the Iowa State University, at Iowa City. There lie remained for three years, and, returning liome, assumed the position of assistant to his father, who was postmaster of Council Bluffs, from March, 1869 to May, 1877. Here he remained for two years, when, having received a flat- tering offer from the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, he entered tlic service of that company as freight clerk. His recog- nized ability brought him rapidly to the front, and in a comparatively short space of time he iiad reached the responsible position of cashier and chief clerk at this point. In 1884, desiring to embark in business for himself, he severed his connection with the railroad Company, and with Messrs. Or- cutt and French, organized the Council Bluffs Carpet Company. By common con- sent, he was made the financial manager of the concern, and the successful building up of a large and weU-established business at- tests the wisdom of the choice which the members of the firm made in this direction. Mr. Treyiior has always taken a lively in- terest in musical matters, and the reputation which Council Bluffs now enjoys in this line is in no small measure due to his untirino- o energy and unselfish devotion, as well as to his generous contributions of time and money toward the development of a high order of musical culture. He lias given much of his leisure time to the study of vocal music, and his voice (a robusto tenor), has been heard quite frequently, in church, on the stage, and in various gatherings in this and other places. He has sung the leading tenor roles in a number of lieht operas and oratorios. At the present time, he is a member of the Apollo Club of Omaha, Nebraska; is a trustee of that organization, and holds the responsil)le position of chairman of the musical committee of that society. Mr. Treynor is a pi'ominent member of the Royal Arcanum; one of the founders and a trustee of the Council Bluffs and Omaha Chautauqua; an active member of the Rowing Association, and one of the leaders of the Board of Trade. Religiously he believes in the doctrines of the Episcopal Church, is a member of St. Paul's, and has served in the vestry of that religions organ- ization. Politically lie is a Republican of the stalwart type, and has been a delegate to nearly every Republican State, Congressional and Judicial convention which has been held during the past twelve years 304 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY In Spteinber, 1889, he was appointed Postmaster of Council Bluffs by President Harrison, succeeding lion. Thomas Bowman. Mr. Treynor was married on the 4th day of November, 1880, to Miss Kittle E. Ob- linger, daughter of Captain H. G. P. Oblin- ger, of this city. Albert McKune Treynor, is the only issne ot this union. fAMES KILLPACK, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Neola Township, was born in Leicestershire, England, Sep- tember 6, 1830. His father, John Killpack, was a wheelwright and marble-cutter, and had a brother and sister, Martha and Fannie, who are now deceased. On attaining man- hood Mr. John Killpack established himself in the mercantile business, including drugs, and continued therein ten or twelve years, and then was in the marble trade the remain- der of his days. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Day, died some ten years previously, in 1841, leaving twelve children, as follows: John, born, October 2, 1824,died August 2, 1851; Mary Ann, born August 29, 1826, died October 21, 1847; Elizabeth, born November 6, 1828, resides in England; James, our subject, is the next; William J., born February 6, 1832, resides in Utah; Jonathan, born October 2, 1833, died July 1, 1890, in California: Charles, born February 7, 1835, died March 16, 1836; Rachel, born xVugnst 16, 1836, lives in England; David, born October 25, 1838, resides also in Eng- land; Emma and Edward are deceased. James, the subject of this sketch, was brought up to the profession of his father. At the age of twenty-three years he left home and sailed on the International from Liverpool to New Orleans, being ten weeks on the voyage. Landing soon at Keokuk, he came thence by ox teams to Council Bluffs and went on to Utah, being eleven weeks in crossing the plains to that Territory. In Manti City, Utah, he was engaged in farm- ing, but, the grasshoppers destroying his crops, he entered the Government Survey in 1855-'56. August 15, 1855, he married Miss Salina, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Harcott, natives of England, and Born re- spectively in 1801 and 1806. They had seven children: Mary, Lucy, Rosa, Sarah, Louisa, William and Salina. The last men- tioned was born December 15, 1839. Their father, a fashionable dyer, died at the age of forty-six years. Their mother afterward married Jacob Pochin, a native of England and a carpenter by trade, who came to Amer- ica in 1851, to New Orleans, and thence to St. Louis and to Utah in 1851, and died there in August, 1854. The widow then returned to this county, and remained with her daughter in Hazel Dell Township until her death, March 19, 1870. After his marriage Mr. Killpack returned to Council Bluffs in June, 1857, clerked in a grocery store, then followed the same busi- ness in St. Louis; afterward was engaged in a furniture and wagon establishment; next he moved to Maries County, Missouri, took up eighty acres of land; but the bushwackers were so bad that he returned again to Coun- cil Bluffs, by means of ox teams. Here he was in the employ of a grocery firm. April 7, 1864, he moved upon his farm in Boomer Township. A year afterward he purchased forty acres in the same township, where there were but few improvements. He added by further purchases until he had a total of 220 acres of good land, most of which was in meadow and pasture, and the premises were equijjped with a good outfit of the usual ap- purtenances. Desiring to increase his facili- ties for raising live stock, he sold this place OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 305 and purchased 320 acres of rough, unimproved laud, prairie and hazel brush, and be- gan anew. He put up a fine two-storj frame house 18x36, with kitchen 16x15, porches, etc. In orchard and ornamental trees he has a total of about ten acres. Amono; his cattle the choice breeds are the Jersey and Red Poll. He has now 200 acres of fine land, mostly in Neola Township; eighty acres are in Boomer Township. Mr. Killpack is a thorough-going Repub- lican. Was once elected a Justice of the Peace, but would not serve, lest he might make an enemy. He has been a School Di- rector. His children are: Emma E. born in Salt Lake, December 23, 1856, and now the wife of Moulder Clark, in Boomer Township; Rachel Alice, born in St. Louis, January 5, 1859, died December 2, 1863; Mary Ann, born September 7. 1861, died September 28 following; John James, born in Council Bluffs, May 20, 1863; William Henry, born in Boomer Township, July 9, 1865; Lucy Ann, born November 17, 1867, died April 3, 1874; Charles, born January, 1870, died in infancy; Louisa Alice, born in Boomer Town- ship, May 17, 1871; Grace May, born also in Boomer, May 9, 1873; David Marion, born in Boomer, July 18, 1876, and George Frank- lin, born also in Boomer, January 27, 1880. — | ' 3"; ' ^ '--~ — ^HARLES M. HARL, of the law firm of Harl & McCabe, of Council Bluffs, was admitted to the bar of Pottawatta- mie County in 1876. Hr. Harl was born in Sandusky City. Ohio, November 13, 1856, the son of John W. and Margaret (Smith) Harl. The former was born in Virginia, and the latter was a native of Ohio. The Harl family were early Virginians, having settled in that then British colony prior to the Revolutionary war. The family is of Irish origin. The maternal ancestry of the subject of this sketch removed from the State of New York to Ohio during the early settlement of the latter State, but previous to their residence in New York they had resided in Canada. John W. Harl went to Ohio from his native State when a young man, and after marriage settled at Mt. Vernon, where the family of his wife had lived for many years. Later Mr. Harl removed with his family to Sandusky. In 1858 they went to Council Bluffs, where the father died April 6, 1881. His wife survived until February 6, 1886. The subject of this sketch is the only survivor of five children; three died in childhood, a son and two daush- ters. Edward, the second of the family in order of birth, enlisted early in the war of the Rebellion in an Iowa battery; after serv- ing for a time and becoming broken in health, he was discharged for disability; but recovering his health he again enlisted in the service of his country, becoming a member of Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, and was killed at Helena, Arkansas, July 4, 1863. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools of Council Bluffs, gradu- ating in the high school of this city in the class of 1874. He began studying law im- mediately after leaving school, with Judge Caleb Baldwin, and was admitted February 18, 1876. In June following he formed a partnership with Smith & Carson, which con- tinued until 1886, when Carson was elected District Judge, and the firm became Smith & Harl, which continued for two years, when Mr. Smith retired to become President of the State Board of Railroad Coinmissionei-s, and was succeeded by James McCabe. Mr. Harl was married in Council Bluffs, to Miss Lottie Oblinger, a native of Indiana. 306 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY They have two daughters: Nellie and Ruth. They lost their eldest daughter, Margaret. Mr. Harl is a Republican in politics. lie has a fine practice and is recognized as one of the leading members of the bar of Potta- wattamie County. Mr. Harl was for five years, 1882 to 1887, Secretary of the Board of Education, of Coun- cil Bluffs. In 1888 he was presented to the Republican Congressional Convention of the Ninth Congressional District as a candidate of Pottawattamie County for Congress, de- feating Mr. Lyman, the then Congressman, in the Pottawattamie convention. A number of candidates were presented by other coun- ties, and as a result and compromise Judge J. R. Reed was Tiominated, he being sup- ported by Mr. Harl and friends when the nomination of the latter was found to be im- possible. Mr. Harl is the Past Master of Excelsior Lodge, No. 259, A. F. &. A. M.; First High Priest of Star Chapter, No. 47, P.. A. M.; and the present Eminent Commander of Ivanhoe Cominandery, No. 17, K. T., all of Council Bluffs; also First Vice President of League and delegate to the last National Convention of said clubs at Nashville, of Re- publican clubs of Iowa; and member of the board of trustees of the Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church. •" "I * 3 i ' ! • ! '» ♦" — • fOSEPH P. BOULDEN, a farmer of Hazel Dell Township, was born in Piqua, Miami County, Ohio, August 11, 1819, the son of William L. and Nancy (i'atterson) Boulden, natives of Delaware and of Scotch and Irish extraction. He was the third in order of birth in a family of seven children, only three of whom are still living. The other two are John R., of Rockford Town ship, and Mary J., widow of Levi G. Bran- don, living in Des Moines. On attaining his majority Mr. Boulden married, in November, 1839, Susan Lee, who was born in Licking County, Ohio, in 1822. They had two children: John W., now re- siding in California.'and Mary E., residing in St. Louis, Missouri. Mr. Boulden was mar- ried again in 1848, to Mary Lee, who wat> born in Licking County, Ohio, August 13, 1826, and died February 25, 1887. There were two children by this marriage also, namely: Joseph P., a resident of Hazel Dell Township, and Benjamin F., deceased. Mr. Boulden made his home in Ohio until 1849. The first business in which he was engaged after he arrived at the age of twenty-one years was that of boating on the Miami Canal for some five years. In 1849 he came to Illinois, where he was a miller for three years. May 14, 1853, he arrived here in Pottawatta- mie, locating first at Council Bluffs, where he engaged as a mill-sawyer, manufacturing the first lumber that was ever turned out at this point, as he operated the first saw-mill here. At the end of about two years he went to Omaha and engaged in saw-milling there a year, turning out also tlie first lumber at that point. Returning to this side of the river he operated a mill for the Jeffrej' Brothers, northwest of Council Bluffs, for about half a year, when he located upon his present farm. He first purchased 200 acres of unimproved land on section 32 of what is now Hazel Dell Township; and here he has since resided with the exception of two years in Utah and Nevada. He was one of the first settlers in that part of the county, and suffered the usual privations and hardships of pioneer life. Courage, guided by cool judgment, has guided him on in the improvement of his place until he now has a comfortable home, where he can spend the remainder of OF I'OTTAWATTAMIB COUNTY. 307 his life in contentment. His first dwelling was a structnre 16x22 feet; and his present residence, also a frame, 18 x 24 and 16x20? was erected in the midst of a natural grove. General farming and stock-raising are Mr. Boulden's specialties. He takes pride in the rearing of the better grades of live-stock. He now possesses one of the finest horses in the county, a Morgan. He has also done much for the material interest of his com- munity, and his dealings ever command the? highest respect. He has disposed of his real- estate by a distribution to his children, and he now makes his home with his ton J. P. on the old home place. Politically Mr. Boulden is a decided Re- publican, ever taking a leading part in the political affairs of the county. He was Coroner four years, member of the Board of County Supervisors three years, Justice of the Peace, Township Trustee, member of the School Board, etc. In his manner he is cor- dial and affable, in disposition kind. His son, J. P., was married to Miss Mag- gie Dial, and they had two children : Ida M., deceased, and Benjamin F., a resident of Cali- fornia. He was again married March 10, 1887, to Anna Anderson, who was born in Sweden in 1870, and they have one child, Mary G. ^.. ? . S ,, ; . ? ,.^ IIARCOUPtT is the proprietor of the Harcourt Nursery, which is becoming * well known, reliable and popular. It is located in Grove Township, in the eastern part of Pottawattamie County, and was start- ed in 1885. At present twenty acres are de- voted tu nursery stuck and small fruits. By care, observation, experiments and the ex- penditure of much time and money, Mr. Har- court has been successful in placing before the people of this county hardy and product- ive nursery stock, which is well adapted for the soil and climate of southwestern Iowa. For the earnest efforts put forth in this di- rection he is entitled not only to a large patronage but also to the grateful thanks of all who are interested in fruit culture in this part of the State. Mr. Harcourt has 10,000 trees of the best and most popular varieties ready for spring trade. The fact is an assured one that southwestern Iowa for fruit is not excelled in the West. Mr. Harcourt was born in Green County, Wisconsin, April 2, 1846, the son of Daniel and Margaret (Conner) Harcourt, both na- tives of Indiana. lu 1850, when he was four years old, the family moved to Jasper County, Iowa, and were early settlers there. At that place he was reared on a farm, and received his education in the public schools. In 1871 Mr, Harcourt removed from Jasper County to Pottawattamie County, and set- tled in Grove Township, where he has since resided. He had bought the land on which he resides in 1870. At that time there were but two houses between this point and Wal- nut, and to the north but one house could be seen i^^ LEX. OSLER, a member of the Board of Supervisors of Pottawattamie County, is a popular and esteemed resident of Grove Township and an early settler of the county. He came here in 1864 and has since made this place his home. Mr. Osier was born in Randolph County, Indiana, February 6, 1850, the son of Or- niau and Louisa (Banta) Osier. His father was born iu Maryland, near Baltimore, of German extraction, and his mother was a native of the Buckeye State. They were married in Randolph County, Indiana, and, in 1856, moved to Benton County, Iowa. They made their home in that county until 1864, when they came to this place. Here the father improved a farm and here they both spent the remainder of their days, both dying in the spring of 1872, the father at the age of fifty and the mother forty-five. They left eiglit children, five sons and three daughters. Alex, spent his youth at farm work and obtained his education in the pub- lic schools of Benton and Pottowattamie counties, Iowa. In 1873 he located on the laud which he has since improved and which is now under an excellent state of cultivation. Mr. Osier erected a good frame house on a natural building site, planted a grove and orchard, built a barn, has a modern wind- mill, and his farm is well fenced. He is here engaged in general farming and stock- raising. Mr. Osier was married, April 22, 1872, to Miss Hannah E. Johnson, a native of Ohio. Her father, John R. Johnson, came to this county in 1871, and resided here until his death occurred. OF POTTAWATTAMIE GOUNTY. 331 Mr. and Mrs. Osier liave two children: Benjamin Adrian and Ethel Louisa. Their first born, Orraan, died at the age of six years. Politically the subject of" this sketch is a Republican. He is one of the stanch members of that party in his county. He has served as a Justice of the Peace and in other minor county offices. As a member of the Board of Supervisors he is an efficient and popular officer, filling the position with credit to himself and also to his constituents. Mr. Osier is a gentleman in the prime of life. He is frank and cordial in his manner, is noted for his integrity, and is honored and respected by all who know him. -^^^^-f*-- = fR. HOUGH, a farmer and raiser of live- stock in Hazel Dell Township, was ® born in Oswego County, New York, Angust 7, 1821, the son of Joel and Sally (Stilison) Hough, natives of Connecticut, and of Irish and German ancestry. After their marriage the parents moved from Connecti- cut into the State of New York; in 1841 they came to Lee County, Iowa, where they spent the remainder of their days, the mother dying October 19, 1842, and the father about 1844. J. R., the youngest of their children, and the only one now living, was reared in his native State, and was nineteen years of age when he came to Iowa with his parents. April 5, 1842, he married Miss Cedilla P. Spinnings, who was born in Oneida County, New York, June 30, 1824, the daughter of Edward H. and Eliza (Darling) Spinnings, natives of the Empire State and of German and Irish descent. Mrs. Hough is the eldest of their three children. She has one brother and one sister, the former in Colorado and the latter in California. After his marriage Mr. Hough located in Lee County, just men- tioned, and in 1848 he removed to Pottawat- tamie County, locating in what is now Hazel Dell Township. Two years afterward he moved into Harrison County, and two years after that again he returned to this county, residing near Council Bluffs a year, and finally he purchased a claim of about eighty acres on section 8, Hazel Dell Township. He has since entered 120 acres adjoining and pur- chased more, until he now has a total of 326 acres, on sections 8, 9, 4 and 5. When he first settled there the only improvement was a log cabin and five acres fenced , and he has since thoroughly improved the place and made a home as attractive as any in that part of the county; but he had to undergo many hardships and suffer much and long before he reached the topmost round of the ladder. Besides thus earning his own prosperity he has also done much toward the improvement of the community. His present commodious residence, a frame 28 x 20 with an addition of fourteen feet square, was erected in 1867. Beautiful sliade trees ornament the grounds, and good barns, etc., which he has erected for his stock and grain. Politically he has been an active Demo- crat, taking a zealous and intelligent interest in public afi^airs. He has l)een Township Trustee, member of the School Board, etc. Not only has he witnessed the growth of the county from its primeval state to its present high stage, but he has put his own " shoulder to the wheel " and aided in the processes which have been so effectual, and thus has won for himself a large circle of friends. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. He hag had eight children, namely: Morris A., George R., Frances and Adelbert, all residents of Hazel Dell Township, Frances being the wife of Frederick Wright; Edgar B. and I;aura Ellen, both deceased. The latter was the wife of Henry Cafferty, a resident of this 322 BIOORAPEICAL HISTORY township; Seraph C, also deceased, the wife of Epliraiin Ross, of Harrison County; Ida A., wife of Isaac Goodwin, of Colorado. ►^^^f- H. KELLER is one of the intelligent, enterprising and successful citizens of '* Grove Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He came to this place in the fall of 1880, and has since made it his home. Mr. Keller was born near Newark, Licking County, Ohio, February 4, 1848. His fath- er, H. M. Keller, also a native of Licking County, is a son of Jacob Keller, a Pennsyl- vania Dutchman, who came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1796, and was one of the early settlers of eastern Ohio. The mother of our subject, nee Anna Henton, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio. Her father, John Henton, was a native of Virginia and a de- scendant of an old family of that State. Mr. and Mrs. Keller still reside in Licking Coun- ty, where they have a competence. They reared a family of three sons and three daughters, the subject of this sketch being the third born, and the only one in the State of Iowa. He was reared on a farm and re- ceived his education in the public schools. He learned the trade of plasterer, at which he worked at intervals for a number of years. In 1880 Mr. Keller came to this county and bought his present farm of Henry Eise- man. Since that time he has spent much money in the improvement of his place, hav- ing built a house and done a large amount of fencing. His house is situated on a beauti- ful building site; is 16 x 30 feet, two stories high, and has an addition 20 x 26 feet. It is surrounded by a grove and orchard compris- ing four acres. The whole farm is well cul- tivated and everything about the place shows the thrift and good taste of the owner. Of the 200 acres in his farm, 160 acres are in section 8 and forty acres are in section 20. Mr. Keller feeds to his stouk all the grain he raises, usually keeping about forty head of cattle besides hogs. September 29, 1870, is the date of Mr. Keller's marriage with Miss Emma R. De- bolt, a native of Licking County, Ohio. She is the daughter of William and Barbara (Moore) Debolt, the former a native of Penn- sylvania and the latter of Virgima. To them were born six daughters and four sons. Mrs. Debolt died in Ohio, and Mr. Debolt is still living in that State. Mr. and Mrs. Keller have six children, viz.: Maud, Benjamin, Ina, Viola, Clyde and Oliver. Mr. Keller, his wife and eldest daughter are members of the Christian Church. He is a Republican and has served the public as a member of the School Board. He is a man of the strictest integrity, and is frank and open in his man- ner. He is cor.sidered socially, morally and financially one of the best citizens of Grove Township. fG. GARNER, of section 33, Macedonia Township, was born in Carroll County, * Illinois, near Cherry Grove, March 16, 1859, the son of J. F. and Mary (Curry) Gar- ner; the former was born in Jackson County, Illinois, and was the son of Frank Garner, one of the first settlers of Cherry Grove, Illi- nois; the latter was born in Missouri, but was roared in Grant County, Wisconsin, near White Oak Springs. They reared ten chil- dren, of whom F. G. was the fourth child of six sons and six daughters. Our subject re- sided for twenty two years in the same house, engaged at farm work, receiving his educa- tion in the public schools and at Georgetown, Illinois. He came here in 1882, and pur- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNT T 323 cliased his present farm of 160 acres of his uncle, 1. G. Garner, who had partly improved the land. It is located two and one-fourth miles west of Macedonia. He was married, March 19, 1889, to Miss Nettie A. Wright, who was born in Grant County, Wisconsin, the daughter of David J. and Nettie M. (Park) Wright, the former a native of New York, and the latter of Ches- ter, Randolph County, Illinois. The mother was one year old when her father died, and she was a graduate of theMt. Morris schools. Mrs. Garner was seven years of age when her parents removed to Cliicago, Illinois, where they resided four years, and then removed to Dubuque. The father died there in April, 1890, and the mother still resides at that place. Mr. and Mrs. Garner have one son, Charles W., who was born May 7, 1890. Politically Mr. Garner is a Democrat. Mrs. Garner is a member of the Baptist Church, having been connected with the Second Baptist Church at Dubuque. "♦' "^ ♦ ji * S ' ^ i'"~ fAMES ROBINSON, on section 30, Macedonia Township, is a native of Yorkshire, England, born April 3, 1848, the son of James and Martha (Rainbow) Robinson. He was a boy of four years when his parents first came to America and settled in Wayne County, New York, where they resided four years, and then moved to John- son County, Iowa, in 1856, where they set- tled and resided eight years, and then moved to Iowa County. The father died May 12, 1886, and the mother died June 20, 1886. They raised nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom James was the sixth child. Ill 1875 our subject visited the Paci- fic coast at Oregon, Washington and Califor- nia, and remained until 1876, when he returned home. He bought 120 acres of wild laud in this county, and in 1877 moved on the same. He is one of the pioneer threshers of the county, and was one of the first to use a steam thresher, and is a prac- tical and experienced engineer. Mr. Robinson was married in Jefferson County, Iowa, February 1, 1882, to Emma Summers, who was born and reared in Iowa, and was the daughter of William Summers. They have four chldren: Grace Ethel, James Walter, Benjamin Roy and Inez Beryl. Politically Mr. Robinson is a Republican, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., lodge No. 421, and <<>f the Ruby Lodge, No. 415, F. & A. M., at Macedonia. •^M^ W. SNYDER, business manager of the Council Bluffs Nonpareil, was ® born in Luzerne County, Pennsylva- nia, in 1841, and in 1859 emigrated to Dixon, Illinois. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted in the Thirteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, the first three-years, regiment sworn into service for the war. He had a continu- ous service of five years lacking only twenty- six days. In the first attack on Vicksburg, lasting three days, which was ended by the charge at Chickasaw Bayou, he was wounded and taken prisoner, and was dropped from the rolls of his regiment for four months as •' killed in action." He was made Brevet Major for meritorious service in the field. Returning from the war in March, 1866, he came to Iowa and located in Cedar Falls, where he engaged in journalism, becoming editor of the Cedar Falls Oazette,&\\^ retain- ing that position for thirteen years. He was also Postmaster for over eight years, resign- ine the office in 1883. He then moved to Red Oak, where he was publisher of the Ex- 334 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY press for seven years; and finally, in Decem- ber, 1889, he purciiased au interest in the Conncil Bluffs Nonpareil and became its manager. This paper was established thirty- six years ago. It is the only morning paper in the city, and has the associated morning and evening francliise. It is one of the lead- ing dailies of Iowa, is widely read, and is known as a progressive, enterprising paper. It is edited by Carl Snyder. The snbject of this sketch married Miss Fannie Knott at Waterloo, and they have one sou, named Carl. '■^'•' I ' ^ ' S ' I '-^ [R. C. B. JUDD, of Council Bluffs, is perhaps best known abroad by the great success to which he has attained in the mannfacture of voltaic and galvanic belts, which from their intrinsic value and remark- able curative properties have attained a wide reputation. Dr. Judd is known at home, both for the fact above mentioned and as a successful business man and enterprising citizen. He was born at Loudon, New Hampshire. lie has made his own way in life from early boyhood. He lost his mother wiien a young lad, and left the parental roof when but nine years of age. He was pos- sessed of a somewhat roving disposition, and at the age of fourteen years we find him on the Pacific coast, struggling to secure a liveli- hood and also to obtain some knowledge of buoks, as he even then had an ambition to qualify himself for the medical profession. He succeeded by unceasing effort, and in 1875' graduated at the Pacific Medical College. Soon after entering upon the practice of his profession his health failed, and he therefore resolved to give up his practice and resume travel. Going to old Me.xico, he was so un- fortunate Ai to lose what capital he had accumulated, and also suffered from an attack of yellow fever. It was there he conceived the idea of manufacturing electric belts, for which he has since become so noted. He is quite an inventor, having originated thirteen different devices. He came to Council Bluffs in 1882, and immediately began the manu- facture of electric goods. It is safe to say that his electric belts are second to none manufactured. Their use is not confined to our own country, but he also sends many to Europe. He makes four kinds of belts, as well as trusses, etc. Dr. Judd has also an ofiice in Chicago, the location being at 70 Madison Street. He employs about 200 agents to introduce and sell his goods, all of which is manufactured at his work-rooms in Council Bluff's. Dr. Judd is also one of the leading real-estate dealers of this city. The firm in that branch of business being Judd, Wells & Co., of which Dr. Judd is president; and he is also president of the Real-estate E.\- change, and is engaged in many other enter- prises. Not less than 200 houses were erected by this firm in 1889. The success to which Dr. Judd has attained is due to his inherent energy and enterprise. Dr. Judd was married in Conncil Bluffs, to Miss Anna Bryant, of this city. LBERT NORDYKE is one of the well- known citizens of Grove Township, =#=■ Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He was born near Kokomo, Howard County, Indiana, June 27, 1850, son of John Nordyke, a native of Ohio. His grandfather, Daniel Nordyke, was born in Tennessee, and was of German extraction. Mr. Nordyke's mother, nee Anna Moon, was born and reared in Ohio, the daughter of Jesse Moon, a native of Tennessee. When Albert was five years OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 335 of age his parents removed to Clinton County, Ohio, and wlien he was sixteen years old thev went to Lewis County. Missouri. From that place they removed to Macon County, Missouri ; thence to Caldwell County, same State; and thence to Marshall County, Iowa. The father was a farmer all his life, and died in Marshall County. His widow, a well preserved lady for her years, makes her home with her son, Albert. The subject of this sketch was reared to farm life, and obtained his education in the public schools. In the spring of 1879 he came from Marshall County to his present location. In 1883 he purchased from Rev. Samuel Smith the farm on which he now lives. It consists of seventy-seven and a half acres of rich prairie soil. Fifteen acres are in timber. A school-house is located on the southeast cortier of the farm, which is four miles and a half east of Carson. Mr. Nordyke is here engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and also makes a specialty of the manufacture of sorghum, having suc- cessfully operated a mill for fourteen seasons. His factory is well arranged with all the modern conveniences — brick fire- vault and modern pans for boiling and skimming. He is able to manufacture as good syrup as can be made in western Iowa, and his output is from 1,100 to 2,000 gallons per annum. He finds local sale at good prices for all he can make. Mr. Nordyke was married in Caldwell County, Missouri, December 29, 1875, to Miss Mary E. Moorman, a native of Green County, Ohio, and a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Moorman. Six children have blessed this union, namely: Myrtle, Carrie, Dalton L., Alma, Ada, and babe, Ralph A. Mrs. Nordyke is a member of the Christian Church. Politically Mr. Nurdyke affiliates with the Republican party. He is a man in the prime of life, and is regarded by all who know him as an honorable and upright citizen. fOHN GREEN JONES, a prominent farmer of Rockford Township, was born in Putnam County, Indiana, March 28, 1834. His parents, Hardin and Asenath (Deweese) Jones, were natives of Kentucky, whose ancestry remotely were Dutch, Irish and Welsh. Hardin Jones was born in Kentucky, September 17, 1810, and removed to Indiana, where his father died in 1853, leaving a wife and fourteen children. The children were: Malinda, married Hugh Adams, and afterward died; Hardin was the second; Lucinda, married Hugh Adams, and afterward died; Ewing G., deceased; Sarah, who married Luke Sales, and died in Illinois; Rebecca, now the widow of Thomas Sales, and residing in Appanoose County, Iowa; William M. and Jonathan, both deceased; Leanna, who married Luke Sailes, and is now deceased; Allen, who lives in Mills County, this State; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Skelton, and both are now dead; America, now the widow of Josiah Skelton, and re- siding in Pottawattamie County; James S., a resident of Rockford Township; and Har- riet, who died in infancy. Mr. Hardin Jones in 1882 married Asenath Deweese, a native of Kentucky, who was born January 1, 1810, the daughter of David and Elizabeth Deweese, who were the parents of a large family, and moved to Indiana, where they both died. Mrs. Jones was the youngest of their ciiildren. After marriage he purchased a farm of 160 acres, heavy timber land, and improved it until the fall of 1855, which he sold and moved to Iowa, when he settled in Rockford Township, this 336 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY county, upon 230 acres of prairie and timber land, which he purchased of G. Beebe, which had a cabin on it and twenty-five acres broken, and then proceeded to improve it. He after- ward erected a frame house, 28 x 32, and one and a half stories high, built substantial out- houses, etc., and followed both grain and stock farming until his death. His first wife, already mentioned, died in 1859, and he then married Mary Skelton, in October, that year, and she died March 9, 1881; and he next married, in October, same year, Bru- Tietta Moss, who survived her marriage only about eighteen months. In February, 1883, he married Eliza Mullennix, and she died July 10, 1886; but lie survived her death but a sliort time, dying March 20, 1887. He was Judge of Pottawattamie County, and took an active part in the political aff^airs of the community. Was Justice of the Peace twenty-one years. Deputy Sheriff for several terms, and held other official relations. He was a member of the regular Primitive Bap- tist Church, and the clerk for forty years. In his family were the following children: Malinda Jane, born May 26, 1833, and since died; John G., tlie subject of this sketch; Martha E., born January 11, 1836, married A. L. Jones (since deceased), and now resides in Harrison County, this State; Amanda A E., born April 29, 1837, married John A. Reel, and they reside in Harrison County; Mary J., born November 16, 1838, married Jdseph Moss, and they live in Rockford Township, this county; Ruth A., born Feb- ruary 6, 1841, married John A. Mace, and died, leaving five children; and Silas H., born July 26, 1847, and died in infancy. John G. Jones, with whose name the sketch opens, is the second child in the above family, and the oldest living;' was married at the age of twenty years, December 7, 1854, to Mary Ann Mace, the daughter of Nicholas and Cynthia (Luster) Mace, natives of Ten- nessee. Nicholas Mace was born in Tennes- see, January 25, 1808, of English, Welsh, Irish and German extraction, and at the age of twenty-four married a lady who was born in Tennessee in 1811, and whose parents died when she was very young, when the daughter was brought up by an acquaint- ance. She was married at the age of twenty- one years. After that Mr. and Mrs. Mace moved to Indiana and resided until 1856, and then came to Rockford Township, this county, settling upon a quarter section of wild prairie. Here she died, April 18, 1863, leaving five children, as follows: Mary Ann, John A., who resides in Oklahoma; Millie Jane, wile of Benjamin Spencer, in Boomer Township; David A., a resident of Harrison County; Elias M., now deceased. Mary Ann was born in Tennessee, November 12, 1833, and was married at the age of twenty-one years. Mr. Jones, after his marriage, was deeded by his father ninety acres of land on sections 14 and 15, partially improved; and he set out vigorously to work in completing improvements. He first erected a log house, 18x20 feet, farm building--, built fences, etc., and followed grain and stock farming. He also set out an orchard of large and small fruits, planted shade and ornamental trees, and beautified the premises generally. He prospered and in 1872 he erected a fine two- story frame house, 28x28 feet, including a veranda in front. He has added to his first purchase until he now has 700 acres of fine land, of which 400 are under cultivation and the remainder is in timber, meadow and pasture. He has been a hard-working and energetic fanner. As to political issnes he is a stanch Demo- crat, takincr a zealous interest in national affairs; of course in local matters he votes for the candidates whom he judges pei-sonally ^h1 OF POTTAWATrAMIB COUNT T. to be the best fitted. He lias been Road Supervisor, Township Trustee, a member of the Board of Education, etc. He and liis wife are members of tlie Primitive Baptist Church of Loveland. Mr. Jones' children are ten in number, born and named as follows: Nelson, born February 17, 1856, married Martha A. Mat- tox, and Theodore, September 1, 1859, mar- ried Mary A. West, both residing in this county; Parks D., May 20, 1861, still at home; Elias A., May 8, 1863, married Sarah J. Case; and John G., September 19, 1865, married Martha A. Deal, both in this county; the next two died in infancy; Emery and Anna (twins), born August 20, 1870, — Emery died November 8 following, and Anna F'eb- ruary 27, 1871; and Clarissa Jane, born June 25, 1873. - ■■£0 "t - g ^AVID DEVOL was born in Chatham, New York, November 27, 1805, son of Joshua and Martha (Gifford) Devol, of French extraction, and natives of Massachu- setts. David was the youngest of a family of five children, and is the only one now liv- ing. His father died when he was a small child, and at the age of eleven lie began to learn the trade of carding wool and dyeing and dressing cloth, at which he worked until after he was married. October 20, 1830, in Canaan, New York, he wedded Delia Toby, who was born in that State, January 12, 1812. They located in Chatham, and a year later he engaged in the general mercantile business, which he continued nine years in that town and in West Stockbridge, Massa- chusetts. After that he came West and set- tled at Nauvoo, Illinois, where he made his home five years. In 1846 he continued his way westward, spent the first winter on the il6 Des Moines River, and in 1847 came to Council Bluffs, where he has since continued to reside. The first two years of his resi- dence here he was variously employed, then clerked three years, after which, until 1861, his occupation was diversified. In that year liis son, P. C, opened a stove and tinware store, and he has been associated with him since that time. Mr. Uevol has officiated in various capaci- ties: as Justice of the Peace, Assessor, Dep- uty District Clerk, etc. He was elected Jus- tice of the Peace in 1852. He affiliates with the Republican party. To him and his wife ten children were born, five of whom grew to maturity. Their names are as follows: George, deceased; Harriet wife of William N.Green, of Coun- cil Blufis, diei in 1889; P. C, a sketch of whom appears below; Emily, Martha, David, Cliarles, all deceased; Delia, wife of W. R. Vanghan of Omaha, Nebraska; and William, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Devol have reached an advanced age, but are well preserved con- sidering their many years of pioneer life and the hardships through which they have passed. P. C. Devol, one of the oldest business men of Council Bluffs, is a native of New York State, born January 10, 1836, son of of David and Delia (Toby) Devol. He was five or six years old when the family removed to Illinois. Three or four years later, after a short stay in eastern Iowa, they crossed the State with ox teams and located at Kanes- ville, or what is now Council Bluffs, which has since been the home of our subject. He was educated in the public schools, and has since acquired much valuable information in the school of experience. Until eighteen his time was variously employed. At that time he began to learn the tinner's trade, which he followed until 1861, when, in company BIbOHAPUi CAL III 87VIi }' with Milton Rodgers, he opened a stove and tin store at the stand he now occupies. They continued in business together for two years, at the end of which time Mr. Devol pur- chased his partner's interest and conducted the business alone until 1883. Then he formed a partnership with W. S. Wright. They opened a jobbing house, which they conducted two years, atter which they entered into a stock company under the firm name of Rector, Wilhelmie & Co., at Omaha, Ne- lu-aska, transferring their jobbing department from Council Bluffs to Omaha, and leaving the tin and stove store in this city. Mr. Devol is president of tlie company and Mr. W light is the secretary. They carry a large stock of hardware, tinware and stamped ware, to the value oi some $125,000, and employ a large force of men in the house and on the road, while the business of Mr. Devol, 504 B.roadwayand 10 Main street, Council Bluffs, has grown from a small establishment of $;1,300 or $1,400 to its present magnificent size, some $20,000. He carries a full line of hardware, tinware, stoves, etc. He has a shop connected witli his store, employs eight or nine men all the time, and does an annual business of about $75,000. Mr. Devol is a self-made man, having started at the very bottom. Shortly after coming to Council Bluffs he was ambitious to earn and save something, so he went about it in this way: He secured a space of some six feet in width between two buildings and kept a small stand, selling pies, cider, etc., to the etnigrants who were on their way West, His life for a time was varied, and he saw some of the rough side of pioneer experiences. The subject of our sketch was married in 1868, to Miss Catharine Swobe, who was boru in New York State, daughter of Michael Swobe. They have iiad five chil- dren: Hattie, Mary, Paul C, William Roy and Arthur. The last named is deceased. Politically Mr. Devol is a staunch Republi- can. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 49, Council Bluffs Lodge, having passed all the chairs. The family are associated with the Presbyterian Church. Previous to iier marriage Mrs. Devol M'as engaged in teach- ing school in this county two or thi-ee years. — •—€•!■■; ' S "- — fOHN DOHANY was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 1826, the son of John and Margaret (English) Dohany, natives of Ireland, who came to America about 1820, locating first in Pennsylvania, and afterward removed to JNew Jersey, where the father died in 1833; the mother died in Pennsyl- vania in 1836. Our subject came west to Indiana in 1837, where he made his home until he was seventeen. Then in 1842 he came west to St. Louis. In 1846 he went to Dubuque, Iowa, spending the time until 1851 in Du- buque and Jackson counties. In the spring of 1852 he went to southern and central Missouri. In 1856 he came to Council Bluffs, and he has done as mucli as any other man in the city toward building it up. He was one of the few who were instrumental in having the terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad in Council Bluffs, and in many ways has done much to his credit that will stand as a monument of his true worth long after he is gone. He has always been associated with the Democratic party. He was married December 31, 1849, to Clara Noble, of Bellevue, Iowa, born in Illi- nois in 1828, of Puritan extraction, and died in Council Blutl's in 1885. They had five children: Ada, wife of Martin G. Griffin, of OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 32a Portland, Oregon; Margaret, wife of W. H. Maurer, of Council BluflPs; Adella, at home; Julia, wife of William A. Keelind, of Coun- cil Bluffs; John, a resident of Portland, Ore- gon. They are nienibers of the Catholic Churcl). — « " » i> ' I t^ l ' l "' S. PLEAK, of section 32, Macedonia Township, was born in DecaturCounty, " Indiana, October 14, 1857, and was the third son of Stuban Pleak, who was also born in Decatur County, and was reared and married there. His orandparents were early settlers in that portion of Indiana, and were of German origin, and when they first came to America they spelled their name Blake. The wife of Stuban, and mother of D. S., was Elizabeth (Woolverton) Pleak, who was born in Decatur County, and was a daughter of John Woolverton, of Scotch ancestry. They reared six children. The parents lived until their death in Decatur County. D. S. Pleak resided in Indiana until 1879 when he came to Pottawattamie County, and the same fall bought his farm of Ely Carter, whicii had been improved by his son, Elijah Carter. The farm consists of 160 acres, and contains a grove, orchard, buildings for stock and grain, feed lots, yards and stock scales. It is divided into cultivated fields of pasture and meadow. His horses are of a high grade, and among them are five Dilliard colts which give promise of being valuable horses, lie owns a one-fourth interest in an imported Percheron-Norman horse. Mr. Pleak was married August 29, 1889, to Miss Alice Olney, a daughter of J. J. and Mary (Morrison) Olney. She was educated at the Iowa Normal at Shenandoah, and was a successful and popular teacher prior to her marriage. She was born in this county in 1866. Politically Mr. Pleak is a Republi- can, and is at present Township Supervisor. He is a member of Ruby Lodge, No. 415, F. & A. M., at Macedonia. .. ^ . 3 ,, ^ >g♦^ W. JOHNSON, a farmer and worthy citizen of Hazel Dell Township, was ** born at Hillsboro, Washington County, Pennsylvania, June 25, 1832, the son of William and Mary (McFadden) Johnson, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania re- spectively, and of Puritan and Irish an- cestry. The father belonged to the old Johnson family of Indian war fame, and was a soldier in the war of 1812, in the Commis- sary department. He served through the entire war. At one time he was surrounded by the Indians, and was relieved by his kins- man. Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of his- torical fame. During his younger days Mr. Johnson was engaged in freightitig by wagon train from New York to Baltimore and other points, and after his service in the war of 1812 he was engaged in taking contracts for building and in the construction of pikes, including the national pike. About 1839 or 1840 the family removed to Ohio, spent one winter in Knox County, and then removed to Licking County, same State, where the jmrents finally died. Mr. Johnson, the sub- ject of this sketch, was the ninth of the ten children of the above family. At the age of fifteen years he began the trade of glove- making, and continued in the same for three years, meanwhile devoting a part of his time to the art of tanning, and these trades he followed until 1869, at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. In 1870 he came to Council Bluffs, arrivino; March 23. Renting land in Hazel Dell Township, he followed farming there for oJU BWGRAPUICAL HISTORY three years, and tlieii purchased a tract of eighty acres on sections 29 and 82 of that Township, all unimproved prairie, built a house there and began improvements which he has continued up to date, thus making a beautiful home. On the premises is a good orchard of about 125 trees, and there are also many shade trees. Mr. Johnson is an industrious and judicious fanner and stock - raiser; has also done much in building up the interests of this county; is a decided Re- publican, and has held the otiice of Constable. He is a self-made man, having risen to his present position by his own unaided efforts. lie and his wife are exemplary members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He was married in Ohio, October 4, 1854, to Miss Ellen IJarl, a daughter of Tramel and Elizabeth (Wilson) Harl, natives of Vir- ginia, and of English and Scotch origin. Her mother died in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and her father in 1885 in Pottawattamie. They had a family of eleven children, Mrs. John- sou being tlie fourth. She was born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, October 10, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of six children, namely: Hamilton, deceased; Richard M., who died at the age of nineteen years, March 15, 1874; George W., born December 27, 1858, and is now a resident of this county; William T., born June 17, 1861, and now also a resident of this county; Charles M., born May 15, 1865, and now residing in Custer County. Nebraska; and Mary E., born February 14, 1876, and is at her parental home. jNDREW MARTIN, lumber merchant, and the agent of the Green Bay Lum- ber Company, of Des Moines, Iowa, is one of the reliable business men of Walnut. He was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- many, July 11, 1858. His father, Captain Andrew Martin, is a naval officer of Ger- many, and is now on the retired list. He was the father of two children, Andrew and Almo. Andrew Martin, the subject of this sketch, received a high-school education in Ger- many. At the age of twenty-three, in 1889, he came to America, and having learned the English language in Germany, he soon ac- quired the correct speech. Mr. Martin came directly tt> Davenport, Iowa, and the same year to Walnut, and purchased a farm of 130 acres of land in Monroe Township, Shelby County, and farmed for two years, and then he engaged in his pre?ent business, owning an interest. In 1884 he married Margaretta Kleingarn, a native of Germany, and they are the par- ents of three children: Bertha, Waldmar and Otto. In religions belief Mr. and Mrs. Mar- tin are Lutherans. In political opinion Mr. Martin is a Democrat, and socially a member of the Odd Fellows and United Workmen. He is a man well known as a straightforward business man of integrity and ability, and has the confidence of the business men of the county. §G. JON ES, a farmer of Rockford Town- ship, was born in Rutman County, ** Indiana, August 8, 1841, the son of Nathan and Abigail, Dewese (Jones). The parents were natives of Kentucky and of Dutch, Irish and Welsh extraction. Nathan was brought up in Kentucky as a farmer's son, moved to Indiana and bought a farm of 200 acre*', one-half improved and the re- mainder in heavy timber. There he built a house and made many valuable improvements. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 331 III 1856 he sold oat and moved by emigrant wagon to Appanoose County, this State, driving a herd of cattle, and locating upon a tract of 340 acres of prairie and tiinlier, which lie subsequently divided up among his sons and son-in-law, keeping 120 acres for himself. He resided there nine years, making improvements, and then sold out, and in the fall of 1865 settled where he now resides, upon 150 acres of land. There the next autumn his wife died, leaving seven children, namely: W. L., who now resides in Harrison County; Mary Jane, who married Henley Mnllenix, and is now deceased; David A., of Nebraska; Parks, who died in infancy; L. G., the subject of this sketch; Cenif and Cerina, twins; Cenif is the wife of William Williams, Rockford Township, and Cerina, of Newton Moreland, in the same township. L. G. Jones, the fifth child and youngest son in the above family, was brought up to farm life. At the age of twenty-one years, he married Miss Elizabeth Martin, June 18, 1863. She was tiie daughter of Raleigh and Elizabeth Martin, natives of Indiana, whore- removed to Adair County, Missouri, and died there. They had seven children: French, who resides in Missouri; Nancy, wife of John South, and now residing in Lee Connty, Iowa; Henry, deceased; George, in Missouri; Eliza- betli was the next; Lucinda, wife of James Heinline, of Missouri; and Coleman, a resi- dent of Council Bluffs. Mrs. Elizabeth Jones was born September 5, 1841, and was married at the age of twenty. After his marriage Mr. Jones rented a farm and raised one crop, and then came to Rockford Township, remained one winter, and the next spring purchased a farm of 120 af.res in Harrison County of land entirely unimproved, and remained upon it four years. Selling it, he purchased "a saw-mill, which he successfully ran for six years; next lie rented another farm for one year, and then bought 200 acres of wild, rough prairie, which he now occupies as a highly developed farm, all the itnprovements being his own design and execution. His house is a frame 26 x 28 feet, and a story and a half in height, with verandas. He has also a tine barn and other out-buildings, about two and a half acre-s of orchard, in fruit both large and small, has fine shade and ornamental trees, all of which besjieak thrift, prosperity and energy. He follows both grain and stock-farming. On national questions Mr. Jones is a well settled Democrat, taking an interest in public affairs. He has been Township Trustee for eleven years, excepting an interval of one year, serving the people satisfactorily. His tliree children are: Elizabeth; Abigail, now the wife of O. L. Lucas, in Clay Center, Clay Connty, Nebraska: she was born October 21, 1866; David Walter, born February 29, 1876, died seven weeks afterward; Melvil Curtice, born January 3, 1879. fOHN G. TIPTON, attorney at law Council Bluffs and Omaha, has been a resident of Pottawattamie County since February, 1878. He was born in Fulton County, Illinois, in 1849. He was educated at Abingdon, in his native State, graduating at the college at that place in 1871. He then engaged in teaching and reading law. He also read law with Robert G. Ingersoll, was admitted by the Supreme Court of Illinois at Ottawa, October 20, 1874, and practiced at Bloomington until 1876. In that year he was the Democratic candidate for State Attorney, his opponent being the present Governor of that State, Fifer. He was de- feated by but 386 votes in a district that was largely Republican. In 1877 he went to the 333 BIOORAPHICAL BISTORT Black Hills, and was there when the first court was held in that district, at which court Judge Bennett presided. He located at Coun- cil Bluffs immediately on his return, and has been engaged in law in this city since that time, and is now also practicing in Omaha. The father of the subject of this notice was John Tipton, who was killed by a falling tree March 23, 1869. His mother died while on a visit to her children in Pottawattamie County, July 21, 1879. Samuel S. Tipton, the elder, is a publisher and resides in New York city. Thompson is in the live-stock and commission business in Chicago. He has five sisters, viz.: Mrs. Mary Swigert, the eldest, resides near the old homestead in Illinois; Mrs. Hannah Combs resides at Burlington, Kansas; Mrs. Sarah Swigert and Mrs. Lydia C. Ramsey are residents of Illinois; Mrs. N. H. Meeker lives at Greenwood, Nebraska. Mr. Tipton was married in Council Bluffs, to Miss Annetta Bryant, daughter of Wil- liam Bryant, of Edina, Knox County, Mis- souri, and a niece of Judge A. S. Bryant. Mr. and Mrs. Tipton have two sons: Thomp- son R. and John W. Mr. Tipton has a fine residence at 1027 t'ifth avenue, where he resides. He has done much toward pro- moting the growth and progress of Council Bluffs since he has been a resident of this city, and is esteemed as a worthy and enter- prising citizen. The father of the subject of this sketch was a native of Maryland and of Scotch- Irish an- cestry. When an infant he was taken by his parents to what is now Columbus, Ohio, where he was reared and learned the trade of a carpenter. He assisted in building the first State House in the city of Columbus. There he married his wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Crawford. In 1840 he removed to Fulton County, Illinois, where he took up a homestead, which he improved and on which he lived imtil his death, which occurred as already stated. He was an honest, upright man and a worthy citizen, and, while not a member of any religious body, was ever lib- eral in the support of the church. He was a man of decided views on the chief issues of the day, and was much in public life. He was at one time Treasurer of Fulton County, and was for many years a member of the County Board of Supervisors. Besides the surviving children of John Tipton and wife already mentioned, several are deceased: Thomas, at Columbus, Ohio, before the family removed West, dying at the age of nine years; Eliza Jane and Elizabeth in infancy. Isabel mar- ried John Dyer, and died in Fulton County. Samuel, the eldest son, was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion, as a member of the One Hundred and Third Regiment, Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry. He was Adjutant, and for a time served on the staflf of General Grant. fOHN R. BOULDEN, a farmer of Rock- ford Township, was born in Miami County, Ohio, November 20, 1825, the son of William L. and Nancy (Patterson) Boulden. The parents were natives respect- ively of Maryland and Delaware, and of Scotch and Irish ancestry. The father was born and brought up on a farm. On attain- ing the stature of manhood he drove a stage coach between Baltimore and Philadelphia. In 1811 he was detailed by the Government to take his team to Fort Mcllenry, where be was made wagon-master, and was there dur- ing the bombardment. He served through the war of 1812-'14. In 1817 he came Westward over the mountains by wagon to Wheeling, Virginia, where he placed his family on a flat-boat and floated down to Cincinnati, while he with the horses came OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 333 overland through Ohio to that point. In 1810, in Philadelphia, he had married the daughter of Joseph Patterson, who had served in the Revolutionary war, and was engaged in thirty-two different battles. Out of 700 of the regiment he was one of only thirty-five who came out under command of General De Kalb, who fell at the battle of Camden. He had marched from Delaware to engage in the siege of Boston; he was also at the battle of Brandywine and many other hard-fought battles of the Revolution. Af- terward he was sent South under the com- mand of Gates. After the war was over he returned to his native home in Elktown, Delaware, where he died July 4, 1798; He was intimately acquainted with General Washington. At his death he left his wife and five children, ot whom Abraham, Jemi- ma and Benjamin are dead, and Nancy was the wife of the late Mr. Eouldeii, and Sida- vant was the wife of Jerome Bonaparte. She was known as Lady Bonaparte in Baltimore, where she survived the death of iier husband a short time. Mr. William L. Boulden had but one sister, Rachel, who married Roltert Moody, both of whom are now deceased. When he moved to Miami County he bought a tract of heavy timbered land there and cleared and made many valuable improve- ments; and there he made his home until his death, September 18, 1830, leaving a wife and five children, namely: Lewis, born in 1813, died in March, 1866; William H., born March 16, 1816, and died in October, 1857; Joseph P., born August 11, 1819, residing now in Pottawattamie County; Mary Ann, born September 7, 1822, and died a year afterward; John R., the subject of this sketch; Maria, now the widow of Levi G. Brandon, born November 27, 1828, and now residing in Des Moines. Mr. John R. Boulden, brought up in farm life, at the age of nineteen went to Piquaand learned the shoemaker's trade. At the a^e of twenty-four he married Mary Miller, daughter of Elias and Catherine (Moore) Miller, natives of New Jersey, who came to Ohio in 1803. Mrs. Catherine Miller was a native of Kentucky and came to Ohio at an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Miller were of German and Irish extraction, and were the parents of nine children: Rebecca and Ellis, deceased; Lucretia, residing in Ohio; Han- nah, wife of Solomon Winters, and living in Indiana; Philetha, widow of Adam Schaeffer, in Piqua, Ohio; Philip, in the West; Mary, the wife of Mr. Boulden; John, residing in Ohio, and Elias, in Lafayette, Indiana. Mrs. Boulden was born February 18, 1829, and brought up in farm life, and married at the age of twenty years. Mr. Boulden remained in Miami County on a farm until 1871, when he moved by emigrant wagon to this State, being six weeks on the road. He purchased a quarter section of land in Wayne County, but sold it and bought the present place of 125 acres of heavy timber land on section 36, range 44, and here he began clearing and breaking and starting the many improve- ments essential to a complete home in the country. He has a fine orchard of about six acres, besides a nice vineyard. He raises all the small fruits. The residence is beautiful and the locality healthful. During a period of nineteen years the family has resided here, with no sickness worth mentioning. Fifty acres of the place is cultivated to grain, while the rest remains in pasture and timber. Having learned the trade after he was mar- ried, Mr. Boulden has done a great deal of carpenter work in connection with farming; and also, for some years past, has made about 1,000 bushels of charcoal per year. He is a live, energetic man. Politically he is a zealous Democrat, tak- 334 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY ing an active part in the interests of Democ- racy, and as such he enlisted in the service of his country, in tlie One Hundred and forty-Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at Piqua, being mustered in at Camp Dennison. Being taken to "Washington he was placed in the First Brigade, under General Derusa, in the Twenty-Second Army Corps, and fought in man}' hotly contested battles. He was advanced to the position of Sergeant, and was finally mustered out as such September 4, 1854, at Camp Dennison. He also enlisted in the Mexican war, but was held for orders at Cincinnati, Ohio, in readiness for a call. He has also been connected with the township in its various offices, of which he has been Jus- tice of the Peace for three terms. He is now officiating on the Board of Education, taking a leading part He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, of which he is now presi- dent. He was elected to represent Miami County, Ohio, in 1867, in the Legislature, with the overwhelming majority of 440, over a Republican majority of 1,600, being on the ticket with Allen G. Thurman when he ran for Governor of Ohio; and he was on the stand when Yallandigham made the famous speech for which he was taken captive and banished. Mr. and Mrs. Boulden are the parents of twelve children: Charles W., boi-n October 1, 1850, and now residing in Missouri Valley, John F., born February 19, 1852, at home; George W., born November 15, 1853, and is now living in Seattle, Washington; Martha C, born June 15, 1855, is the wife of James Garrison in Los Angeles, California; Cather- ine A., born February 20, 1862, is the wife of Charles Wiltfoiig, in Council Bluffs; Eva, born June 16, 1865, is now Mrs. Richard Thornton, in Fremi;nt, Nebraska; Benjamin Thurman, horn August 20, 1868; Emma, born November 15, 1870; Maggie M., born June 15, 1877, the last three at home; Al- dezara, born May 10, 1857, died July 8, 1858; Joseph Orra, born September 10, 1859, died June 14, 1860, and Louis E., born September 12, 1863, died March 16, 1865. jDWARD H. CATER, of section 1, Carson Township, was born in Bel- mont County, Ohio, August 7, 1855, the son of James Cater, a native of the same place, whose family were early settlers of that part of Ohio. They were formerly Quakers or Friends. Our subject's mother, nee Susan Perry, was a daughter of Jesse and Malinda (Poole) Perry, the foi'iner a native of Ohio, and a relative of Commodore Perry, and the latter was a native of Virginia, horn in 18 — . The jiarents moved to Bureau County, where they lived until their death. They reared seven children. Edward, the eldest of four sons and three daughters, was about two years of age when his parents moved to Bureau County, in the spring of 1857, settling north- east of Princeton, on the Ciiicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, near Maiden. The father lived there imtil his death, which occurred in 1868, and the mother still lives on the same farm where they first settled in 1857. The subject of this sketch resided in Bureau County until he came to Pottawattamie County, and bought his present farm of eighty acres of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Company, which is located one and a half miles east of Carson. He built a good frame house in 1889, and everything about the place shows the thrift aTid energy of the proprietor. He was married in December, 1877, to Miss Mary L. Belknap, who was born and educated in Bureau County, Illinois, and the ^pl' ^^ /X«-=»«i | « 3 ii i > | i-»~ RTHUR L MITCHELL, a well-known physician and surgeon of Macedonia, Iowa, was born in Decatur County, In- diana, February 13, 1847, the son of Dr. James H. and Nancy (Irmlay) Mitchell; the former is a well-known physician of that place, and the latter is of aprominent family; lier brother was once Sheriff of Decatur County. Tbe father was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, and at the age of four years his parents removed to Decatur County, Indiana. He and his father edited the first paper published at Greensburg, Indiana. He was a personal friend of ex-Governor OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 341 Cnmback and intimately acquainted with Mills & Co., ex-State printers of Des Moines, Iowa. He afterward commenced the study of medicine, and when he was twenty-seven years of age practiced in Decatur County. In the spring of 1853 lie journeyed West with his family to Iowa, where be settled at Twin Groves, Keokuk County, Iowa, where he remained thirteen years. He then removed to Wasliington County, Iowa, and three years after from there to Seward County, Nebraska, where he remained three years, and then came to Pottawattamie County, settling at old Macedonia, and when the new town of Mace- donia was built he moved there, in 1880. He resided there until 1885-'86. When visiting his son, Brutus Mitchell, at Axtell, Kearney County, Nebraska, he died, at about sixty- six years of age. His widow still resides in Macedonia. They had six children, four sons and two daughters: A. 1., our subject; Mary, wife of Henry Davison, of Axtell, Nebraska, who is in the livery and harness business; Brutus I., also in the livery business at Wil- cox, Kearney County; Lewis E. Stryker, in company with Brutus I., at Wilcox; E. Sum- mer, who died at the age of nirieteeen years at old Macedonia; and Delia, the wife of Henry Kennedy, of Macedonia. Tho subject of this sketch enlisted at Keokuk, Iowa, in May, 1864, in the Forty- seventh Iowa Infantry Volunteers, Colonel J. P. Sanford, the well-known Iowa lecturer, and Captain Harrison E. Havens, now editor of the Sigourney News, in command. The regiment was stationed at Helena, Arkansas. In 1872 Mr. Mitchell lived at Crete, Nebraska, where he studied medicine with Dr. A. D. Root, a well-known physician of that place, and after three years of stndy he attended the Rush Medical College, at Chicago, Illi- nois, in the winter of 1876-'77. He then practiced in Wheeler, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, for three years, and then, in 1880, at- tended another year at the Rush Medical College, where he graduated February 22, 1881. He was for a year in company with his father and brother, Brutus, in the drug business at Macedonia. He was a registered pharmacist, the firm being A. I. Mitchell & Co. In 1882 the Doctor removed to Wheeler, where he resided for live years and then located at Macedonia, where he has since resided. His extensive acquaintance in this part of tile county and his success in busi- ness, insures him an extensive and paying practice. He was married April 10, 1869, to Miss Annie Efner, who was born in Brighton, Iowa, the daughter of Dr. William H. and Sarah C. (Johnston) Efner; the mother still resides with Mrs. Mitchell, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell have one son, Sumner, who was born August 2, 1879. They lost one child, Frank, by death, wiien an infant. Politically the Doctor is a Republican. His father was an old Abolitionist, and was a conductor on the "underground railroad." The Doctor is a member of Botna Valley Medical Association, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is a class-leader, and is also licensed to preach; his wife is a member of the order of the Eastern Star, and her father was a Master Mason. Dr. Mitchell is also member of the 1. O. O. F., Macedonia Lodge, No. 421, of which he is secretary. IMON REYNOLDS, one of the best known and early pioneers of Potta- wattamie County, was born in Chau- tauqua County, New York, July 10, 1837, the son of Levvi.s and Alitha (Worster) Rey- nolds, both natives of New Y^ork State. 342 BIOORAPHTCAL HISTORY Simon was but three years of age when his parents moved to LaPorte County, Indiana, where they remained sixteen year.-;. They then moved to Kankakee County, Illinois. Simon was reared and educated in LaPorte County, Indiana. The parents then came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1860, where they lived until their death. The father had been a farmer all his life, and in his political views was a Democrat. Pie died at the age of eighty-four years; the mother was a mem- ber of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and died at the age of seventy-three years. In 1860 Simon Reynolds came to James Township, Pottawattamie County, and im- proved a farm of fifty acres in section 10, but which he afterward sold. In 1878 he bought his present farm of 120 acres, which he has since improved until he now has one of the best farms in the county. He was one of the early settlers here, his nearest neighbor being seven or eight miles distant. Besides his general farming, he is also engaged in stock-raising. Mr. Reynolds came to Iowa in 1854; was married August 21:, 1862, to Miss Amanda Redman, who was born at Dayton, Ohio. She was lour years of age when her parents moved to Elkhart County, Indiana, at which place her father died. She was the daughter of Silas and Catharine (Bunner) Redman, both natives of Virginia. When Mrs. Rey- nolds was ten years of age her mother moved to Polk County, Iowa, where her daughter was reared and educated. The mother is still living in that county, at the age of seventy- four years; religiously she is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds have live children, viz.: Monroe i*\, a graduate of the Iowa Western Normal School, and formerly a successful teacher, now holds a position in Swift's packing house in Omaha; Arthur L., a carpenter of Oregon; Orpha C, wife of William Warnke, of Belknap Town- sbip; Effie L. and Clarence, both at home. Politically Mr. Reynolds is a Republican, and has served in most of his county's offices with credit. He and his wife and eldest son are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Reynolds is still in the prime of life, and takes an active interest in education and re- ligion, in which he is ably encouraged by his faithful wife, who has proved a worthy helj)- mate and partner to her husband. S. ROOP, contractor and builder, No. 520 East Broadway, has been * a resident of Council Bluffs since 1878. He was born in Fulton County, Ohio, May 16, 1851, son of John and Mary (Mills) Roop, natives of Pennsylvania, and descend- ants of the old Dutch settlers of that State. When he was four years old his parents moved to Carson City, Michigan, where he was reared and educated in the public schools. When a mere lad of twelve or thirteen he entered a sash, door and blind factory, in which he worked for a number of years. He was subsequently employed in the lumber, shingles and lath business. In January, 1878, he came to Council Bluffs, and has since been identified with the best interests of this city. His parents have since died, the father at the age of eighty-four years, and the mother at the age of seventy-eight. After coming to this city Mr. Roop has been variously employed. He spent some time in Nebraska in the stock business. In 1884 he engaged in milling, and previous to that time, for two or thrte years, he was in the second-hand merchandise business. In 1887 he turne 1 his attention to contracting and building, which he has since followed. In connection with this business he also OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 343 keeps a quantity of, and is prepared to niaiiu- factiire, all kinds of bee supplies, such as bee veils, comb foundations, hives, honey knives, smokers, etc. Mr. Koop resides at No. 820 Oak avenue. He was" married at Carson City, Michigan, in January, 1874, to Nellie J. Dolson, who was born in Dubuque County, Iowa, in March, 1851. They have four children: Cortez Leo, Francis Ethel, Miles Archie and Raymond Wilber. Mrs. Rcop is a member of the Catholic Church. He is a Republicao. fOHN P F. WEAVER, contractor and builder, brick manufacturer, president of the Globe Publishing Company, and vice-president of the Oorden Iron Works, is one of the most enterprising men of Council Bluffs. Mr. Weaver was born in Adams County, Pennsylvania, September 7, 1846, and was reared near Gettysburg. His parents, J. G. and Maria (Fisher) Weaver, were both na- tives of Pennsylvania. He traces his family history back five generations on both sides, the original ancestors being German and English. Both parents are still living at the old home in Adams County, Pennsylvania. John P. F. was reared on a farm, and by virtue of his father being a plasterer he learned that trade. At the age of seventeen Mr. Weaver en- tered the service of liis country, enlisting in February, 1863, in Company H, Twenty-first Pennsylvania Cavalry, and served till the close of the war. He was mustered out at Lynch- burg, Virginia, and received his discharge at Harrisburg, July 14, 1865. Mr. Weaver was in seventeen engagements, at the siege of Petersburg, and, in fact, all the princi- a7 pal battles from 1863 until the close of the war. The war over, he returned to his old home, and there engaged in agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1866. Then he completed his trade. May 31, 186'J, he started West, landing in Council Bluffs on the fourth of June. He has since made this city his home. In 1870 he entered into a partnership with George A. Jacobs, with whom he was associated uiitil the fall of 1876, when Mr. Jacobs withdrew from the company. Mr. Weaver continued the busi- ness alone, and as time n)oved along he grad- ually enlarged his operations and made many other business ventures, meeting with decided success in all his undertakings. He has been in the brick business since 1880, now manu- facturing from 8,000,000 to 4,000,000 brick annually, employing an average of fifty men and doing a $50,000 business. In December, 1888, he entered into partnership with Thomas Bowman, in the Globe Publishing Company, he being the president. In 1887 he associated himself with the Ogden Iron Works, of which he is vice president. Mr. Weaver was one of the founders of the Coun- cil Bluffs Canning Works, also one of the founders of the Council Bluffs Driving Park, and is a member of the Board of Trade. He is a stanch Democrat, and during the years 1888-'89 was a member of the City Council. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 184, Hawkeye Lodge. Mr. Weaver was married May 1, 1878, to Miss Mary Hilferty, who was born May 6, 1856. Her father, Charles Hilferty, came to Iowa when she was quite young and she was reared in this State. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have four children: Laura, May, Howard and John, all at home. Mr. Weaver is a self made man in every respect: his education was obtained throucrh 344 Bl OORAPHl CAL UlSTOR Y his owu efforts, and liis success is cine to bis honesty, pluck aud perseverance. fOHN OOOL, one of the pioneer settlers of Avoca, was born in Coburg, Province of Ontario, April 2, 1824, the son of Benjamin Cool, who was born in 1795 on the Mohawk Kiver, and was of Holland Dutch descent. His ancestors were among tlie old pioneer settlers of New York State, and were called tlie Mohawk Dutch. Benjamin Cool participated in the war of 1812 on the Amer- ican side, and foufjht at the battle of Sack- ett's Harbor. He was a tanner, currier and shoemaker by trade, and after emigrating to Canada was enj^aged at his trade in Coburg. He was married there to Phoebe, daughter of Adolphus Hiilenboldt, who was from the some locality on the Mohawk. Mr. Hiilen- boldt was a farmer by occupation, and cleared his place from the heavy timber. Mr. and Mrs. Cool were the parents of nine children: Lucinda, John, Richard, William, Ellizabeth, Albert, Charles, Seymour, and one who died in infancy. The parents lived in Coburg about ten years, and then, in 1833 or 183-4, moved to New York State, settling near Buf- falo on the canal at Shelby Basin, where he followed the business of shoemaking for some years. In 1844 he removed to Illinois and settled on a farm in Kane County, Hampshire Township. In 1868 he came to Avoca, Iowa, where he died in 1878, at the age of eiu;hty-three years. Mrs. Cool is still living, at the age of ninety years, with her son Albert in Nebraska. Mr. Cool was an industrious, honorable and upright man. John Cool, a son of the above and subject of this sketch, received a common-school educa- tion, and learned blacksmithing in early life. He was nine years of age when his father re- turned to New York State, and at the age of twenty-one, in 1845, he went to Elgin, lUi nois, where he was engaged at his trade a short time. In 1846 he opened a shop in Hampshire Township, Kane County, Mdiich he conducted until the breaking out of the war. He enlisted in Company J, Eighth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, being mustered in at St. Charles, Illinois, September 18, 1861. He was immediately jiromoted to be Second Lieutenant, was in the Army of the Potomac, and was in the battle of Meclian- icsville, Virginia, the seven days' fight before Richmond, White Oak Swamp, Harrison's Landini", at the Second battle of Bull Run, Antiettiui, and in several skirmishes. He was badly ruptured at Harrison's Landing by the fall of his horse. After the battle of Antietam he returned home, and resided at Hampshire, where he was Collector of the township and Constable, for twelve years, his time expiring while he was in the army. In 1869 he came by wagon to Avoca, in com- pany with his brother-in-law, Isaac Vande- borgart, and his family, and Thomas E. Fowler and family. Mr. Cool is the pioneer blacksmith of this city, having built the first shop and struck the first blow as a black- smith. He also started the first livery busi- ness, using a straw shed foi his stable. He also began carrying the mail and express the same winter to Harlem. Mr. Cool was a charter member of the first Masonic lodge, Mount Nebo, the rooms of which was over his blacksmith shop, which was built tor that purpose, being one of the first buildings of Avoca. He has held all the offices in this lodge. He has served as Deputy Sheriff three times, and is a member of the U. S. Post, of which he has held the offices of Deputy Grand Master and Quaran- tine Master. Mr. Cool has erected seven dwelling-houses, two shops aud a livery OF' POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 34o stable, the latter being destroyed by fire in 1880. He was married in 1847 to Sarah Carleton, daughter of James and Julia Carleton, and by this inarriacre there was one child, Mary, now the wife of Malcolm Howe, of Hamp- shire, Illinois. The mother died in 1865, and in 1867 Mr. Cool married Margaret Fowler,daughterof Dr. Thomas E. and Marilla Fowler, and by this marriage there were two sons — Benton and Daniel. Dr. Thomas Fowler was one of the pioneers of Hamp- shire, niinois, settling there in 1846, where he was engaged in the practice of medicine many years. In 1869 he cauie to Avoca, where he became a well-known physician. He was one of the charter members of the Mount Nebo Lodge, No. 297. He died and was buried with Masonic honors. His wife died in 1889. ►IM^ r^lLLIAM CHARLES has made his home in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. since 1876. He was born in Corn- wall, England, October 15, 1837, son of Kichard Charles, a native of the same county. His grandfather, Philip Charles, was also born in that portion of England. Richard Charles married Mary Otis, a native of Corn- wall, and by her had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, William being tlie youngest save one. Our subject served his time as a miller until he had acquired a thorough knowledge of that business. In 1857 the Charles family came to America and located at Buffalo, New York, where they remained two years. At the end of that time they continued their way west- ward, and took up their abode near Marion, Grant County, Indiana. The father died in that county, at the age of seventy-nine years, and the mother, who has now reached the advanced age of ninety-three years, is a resi- dent of Chicago, Illinois. Jlr. Charles was a miller all his life. He was a men.ber of the Church of England. William Charles worked at milling in Grant County. Indiana, until 1876. In that year he came to Iowa and purchased eighty acres of land in section 13, Wright Town- ship. Pottawattamie County. Since that time he has been identified with the best interests of this community. He has made many im- provements on his farm ; has built a good frame house and oJier outbuildings, and has a grove of three acres and an orchard ol' two acres. Mr. Charles has been twice married. At the age of twenty-six he wedded Miss Mary Woolman, a native of Grant County, Indi- ana, daughter of S. JSl. Woolman. By her he had one daughter, Clara, now the wife of H. L. Bales, of Wright Township, Pottawat- tamie County. Mrs. Charles was a worthy member of the United Brethren Church. Her death occurred in 1864. In 1866 Mr. Charles took for his second wife E. Jane Woolman, a sister of his former companion. Slie was also born and reared in GrantCounty, Indiana, This union has been blessed with four children, three of whom are living — Salmon P., Jessie and Willie. They lost one son. Burr, at the age of nine years. In connection with his general farming, Mr. Charles carries on the manufacture of sorghum, having a local reputation as an ex- pert manufacturer of that article. For teu years he has been a faithful and zealous worker in the cause of his Master; is a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church of Lewis, and is also a local preacher, ex- pounding the word of God every alternate Sabbath. He is an efficient worker in the Sunday-school. Mr. Charles is well posted 3-lii BIOGRAPHICAL HIHTORY on all current topics, and is a great reader of history and the Bible. He is broad and progressive in his views, is earnest in his labors for the advancement of religion, and is regarded by all who know him as an honorable and upright citizen and a true Cliristian. In connection with the family history of his wife, it should be further stated that her father, S. JM. Woolman, was a native of New Jersey, and her mother, Elizabeth (Bond) Woolman. was born in Virginia, a descend- ant of an old family of that State. Both parents were members of the United Brethren Church. fOIIN M. PHILLIPS, born March 15, 18 20, in Rowley, Essex County, Massa- chusetts, died in Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 10, 1888. His early life was spent on a farm, but wiien a young man he eno-aored in the boot and shoe business. First he employed several men manufacturing goods on contract for various large houses in Georngtown, Massachusetts, his shop being on the old homestead farm. Afterward, in 1852, he removed to South Danvers, Massa- chusetts, now Peabody, and engaged with his brother in the manufacture of boots and slioes under the firm name of A. P. Phillips &Co. He was early attracted to the West, and in 1856 they opened a store in Council Bluffs under the firm name of J. M. Phillips & Co., his brother, A. P. Phillips, taking charge of the same until 1858, when he returned East and J. M. Phillips came West to take charge of the interests here; and in 1860 removed Ids family to Council Bluffs, consisting of his wife, Olive N. Phillips, nee Cressey, whom he married in Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1845. Nathan C Phillips, Mary O. Phillips and John M. Phillips, Jr., are his children. Other children born at Council Bluffs are Emma C. Phillips, who married F. W. Vos- winkel, and now lives at Hoi ton, Kansas; Ruth M. Phillips, who married H. L. Shep- herd, and lives at Council Bluffs; Granville D. Phillips, who is unmarried and resides in Seattle, Washington. Of the others, Na- than C. Phillips is married and resides in Council Bluffs; Mary O. Phillips, unmarried and resides with her sister, Mrs. Shepherd, in the family residence, and John M. Phil- lips, now engaged in railroad surveys in Washington. In 1860 the firm of J. M. Phillips & Co. started a boot and shoe store in Omaha and put it in charge of Albert Tucker, an old employe of the firm both in Massachusetts and at Council Bluffs. After- ward he was admitted to partnership in the Omaha house, the firm name being changed to Tucker, Phillips & Co. Some few years later, in 1866 or 1867, there was a general dissolution of partnership between the mem- bers of the firm of A. P. Phillips & Co., of Peabody, Massachusetts, engage 1 in the manufacture of shoes, and J. M. Phillips & Co., of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Tucker, Phillips & Co., of Omaha, Nebraska, also engaged in the wholesale and retail boot and shoe business. The members of the two first firms at that time were A. P. Phillips, J. M. Phillips and Oscar Phillips, a son of A. P. and nephew of J. M., who had been admitted into the firm, and in the Omaha house the three named aud Albert Tucker. In this dissolution J. M. Phillips sold out his inter- ests in the other places and bought the in- terests of the others and became sole owner of the Council Bluffs store, and continued it until his death under the name of J. M. Phillips, except for two years when his sons Nathan C. and John M. were in partnership OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 347 with liirii, afterward retiring from the firm*' He early engaged in the wholesale business, and for years had a very extensive trade, but retired from the wholesale business in 1885, owing to advanced age. He from the first took an active interest in the affairs of the county, uniting with the Republican party in its infancy. He held various positions; was Alderman for two years; member of the Board of County Su- pervisors four years. He with others organ- ized the Fairview Cemetery Association, the first cemetery in the county, and continued a director of the same until his death. He was troubled with deafness, whicli caused him to decline several positions offered him. He was one of the organizers of the Council Bluffs Savings Bank and a director of the same for several years. tAVID DUNKLE, a pioneer farmer near Crescent City, was born in Fayette County, Ohio, March 14, 1834, a son of William and Mary (McMuUen) Dunkle, na- tives of Virginia who emigrated to Ohio and were married there. The senior Mr. Dunkle, a fanner, moved in the summer of 1840 to Greene County, Missouri, and thence to Dade County, that State, and ^n 1848 to Buchanan County. His wife died in Missouri, in April, 1844, and he came to Iowa in the spring of 1852, locating on a farm a mile east of Cres- cent City, — this village being then called Pigeon City, — and on section 30, Hazel Dell Township. Tliis land — 160 acres, just broken — Mr. Dunkle purchased of Solomon Free- man, and here he lived with his son until the end of his life, December 29, 1873, when he was about ninety-two years of age. David, our subject, remained upon the home farm until 1885, when he moved to Crescent City. He bought eighty acres on sections 14 and 22, Crescent Township, which' he afterward sold; and he still owns a por- tion of the original 160 acres, which he has placed under cultivation and substantial im- provements. Being one of the pioneers of the county he had to undergo most of the hardships incident to pioneer life, but he faced them with determination and is now reaping his reward. He brought the first horses to this part of the county that were put to general use; previous to that time oxen had been universally employed. He was elected the first County Supervisor from this district in 1860, and was re-elected twice afterward. In 1860 he was elected Justice of the Peace, in which official relation he has since served continuously with the exception of one year in the service of the late war. He has also he'd the various township offices. He has served his town and county faithfully and well, as is indicated by the persistent de- sire of his fellow-citizens to continue him in oifice. He vras instrumental in bringing about the organization of the first independ- ent school district in this part of the county, it being the second one organized in the county; the one at Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, was the first. He has done a great deal for the cause of education, and this is the best evidence of his patriotism. November ^4, 1864, he enlisted in Com- pany H, Thirteenth lowaYolunteer Infantry, and was discharged at Davenport, Iowa, May 22, 1865, on account of disaljility. He par- ticipated in the battle of Nashville between Hood and Thomas, December 22 and 23, 1864. He is now a member of Abraham Lincoln Post, No. 29, G. A. R., at Council Bluffs. He is a high-minded Democrat on national questions, in which he takes an active interest, and was generally a delegate to county and State conventions. 848 BIOOBAPHIOAL BISTORT He was married December 22, 1852, to Margaret McMnllen, daughter of William and Catharine McMnllen, natives of Vir- ginia. She was born in Fayette County, Ohio, in 1834, and died July 25, 1883, leav- ing four children, as follows: David William, who resides in Florence, Nebraska; Martha A., now the wife of W. H. Cafferty, in Omaha; Sarah A., now Mrs. John Daggett in Florence; and John W., at home. fM. LEWIS, one of tlie prominent citi zens of Washington Township, was ' born in Franklin Coui'ty, Indiana, Sep- tember 23, 1846, the son of Samuel Lewis, who was born in the same county in 1812, and was a son of Daniel Lewis, a native of Pennsylvania, and of English descent. Our subject's mother was Martha (Richardson) Lewis, who was born in Ohio, and the dangh- ter of Nathaniel Ricliardson, a native of Con- necticnt. In 1853, when the subject of this sketch was bnt seven years of age, the family moved to Marion County, Iowa, where the father lived until 1879, and then in Potta- wattamie County till his death, which oc- curred in 1882, at the age of seventy years. He had been a farmer all his life; politically he was a Republican; and religiously a mem- ber of the Methodist Church. The mother now lives in Madison County, Nebraska. They had a family of twelve children, seven sons and five daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. F. M. Lewis remained on the farm in Marion County until 1877, when he settled six miles from Council Bluffs, and later bought eighty acres of land, where he now lives. He was one of the early settlers in his neighborhood, and has been very successful in all his undertakings, being now the owner of 200 acres of well improved land. He was married in Marion County, Iowa, February 1, 1877, to Miss Lizzie Devore, who was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, the daugh- ter of Levi and Rosetta (Osborne) Devore, the former a native of Indiana, and the son of Ben Devore, and the latter was the daughter of Jonathan Osborne, a native of New Eng- land. Mrs. Lewis was but two years of age when her parents moved to Marion County, where she grew to maturity and was edu- cated. Her mother died in 1881, in Potta- wattamie County, and the father now lives six miles north of Council Bluffs, near Crest- cent. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have lour chil- dren: Tonny Benton, Mary Elva, Charles Earl and Irvin. Politically Mr. Lewis is a Republican; and religiously both himself and wife are members of the Evangelical Cliurch. 4 ^' .i ; . ?i .. ^^ffl||lLLIAM BROWN, one of the sub- stantial farmers of James Township, is the son of Nathan Brown, who was born in Pike' County, Ohio, in 1813. He was from an old American family, and was reared to farm life. In 1839, at the age of twenty-six years, became to Bloomington, Iowa, where he settled on a tract of wild land, remaining on the same farm for thirty years. In the spring of 1872 he came to Pottawattamie County, where he bought a farm of 640 acres in James Township, which he improved. From the effects of blood- poisoning occasioned by a wound from a needle of a self-binder running through his hand, he died, in 1879, at the age of sixty-six years. Religiously both Mr. and Mrs. Brown were United Brethren. Mr. Brown was a hard-working and industrious man, and ac- cumulated a handsome fortune. He was of OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY 349 a quiet disposition and tooi^ but little interest in politics, but was a stanch Democrat. He had the respect of his fellow-citizens and liad served as Trustee of his township. He took an active interest as School Director, and built the school-house at District No. 6. He was married to Filinda Odell, daughter of Thomas Odell, and to tliera were born eight children, of whom the two eldest, Johnnie and Sarah, died in infancy; Alvira died at the age of twenty-six years; Hattie is the Wife of Dr. James Welsh, a mining expert of New York city, and they have one child, Bertie; Johnson is still unmarried; Minor married Fannie Parker, of James Township, and they have two children, Eva and one un- named; William, our subject; and Jessie, who married Henry Crommett, deceased, formerly a real-estate dealer in Omaha. William Brown, a son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was born in Mus- catine, August 8, 1858, and was reared to farm life. He was but sixteen years of age when his father came to James Township, Pottawattamie County. In 1882 he married Allie Irwin, daughter of J. D. and Emily (Downs) Irwin, and they have had four cliil- dren: Leslie, Ira, Jessie and William. Since the death of his father Mr. Brown has been managing the farm. He is a practical farmer and stands deservedly high as one of the young and enterprising citizens of Pottawat- tamie County. He owns 240 acres of good farm land. Politically he is a Democrat. jWEN W. JONES, a Crescent Town- ship farmer, was born in Dembershire, North Wales, January 18, 1831, a son of William and Ann Jones, also natives of the same place, occupants of a farm and the parents of six children: Avon. David, John, Owen W., Ann (wife of Mr. Williams and residing in Wales), and William W., deceased. When nine years of age Owen was hired out on a farm by the year, and remained there four years. Then he went to sea on an Eng- lish vessel hailing from Conway, Wales, and followed a seafaring life for six years, suffer- ing many hardships, and being then laid up for nine months with a broken leg. In his twentieth year he sailed for America on the ship Orient, landing at New York some two months later, January 3, 1852. After visit- ing Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Pittsburg, he returned to Cincinnati and was engaged there two years as a machinist in a cabinet factory. Next he went to Illinois, and was soon called to Alton, that State, to viait his sick brother, who shortly afterward died. After working in a coal mine a few years he removed in the spring of 1859 to the Alma (Illinois) mines, and then went to St. Louis, made several changes and finally landed at Council Bluffs, July 4, 1861, after a tedious trip up the Missouri. He visited several points and finally settled at Big Grove on the banks of the river. A flood came and he moved out to higher land in skiffs, going into a house belonging to John Bird. He began trading and got some live-stock together and then moved into Garner Townshij). There he cut wood and hauled it to town with the oxen that he had raised. Subsequently he sold the oxen and purchased a team of horses, and followed fanning and stock-raising on different rented places until in 1866 he bought his present farm of sixty acres on section 26, land entirely unimproved; and here he has made for himself and companion a comfort- able home, with a nice frame house, farm buildings, orchard, shade trees, flowerino- plants, etc. It is indeed a cosy retreat for him and his companion in their old age. Politically he is a true Democrat, taking 350 BIOGRAPHICAL HI8T0RT great interest in the public affairs of the county. Thej are zealous adherents to the I'aith of the Cluirch of Jesus Christ of Latter- day SaiiUs. September 29, 1858, while engaged^in the coal mines in Illinois, he married Mrs. Hannah Jones, widow of Samuel Jones, who came to America in the spring of 1855, settling in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and came thence to Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Jones have had two children, both of whom are deceased. IJ4ORENZO D. SEWARD, one of the m(i well-known citizens of Pottawattamie ^^ County, was born in Adams County, Illinois, in 1841, the son of Pitney Seward, who was a pioneer in that county. When he landed at Quincy there was but one house tliere. Byrum Seward, the grandfather of our subject, was a pioneer of Butler County, Ohio, and a cousin of Secretary Seward, of Lincoln's administration. He served in the war of 1812. Pitney Seward was twice mar- ried, first to Mahala Case, and they had eight children: Byrum, Julia, Harriet, Franklin, Lorenzo, Stephen, Elizabeth and Alice. Mr. Seward's second wife was Harriet Case, a sister of the first, and they had five children, only two of whom grew to maturity, Hattie and Sallie. Mr. Seward moved to Clark County, Missouri, about 1866, where he died at the age of seventy-two years; M'as born in 1811, and died in 1883; was a member of the Cliristian Church, a substantial farmer, and was respected by all who knew him. He and his father were among tlie first pioneers to the Western country. Lorenzo D. was but ten years of age when he went to Oliio to live with his uncle, and but fourteen years of age when he cam'e to Iowa in 1855 with his two brothers, Franklin and Stephen, landing at Keokuk, wiiere he remained until 1858. In that year 'he went to Story County and worked on a farm until 1859, when he went to Colorado, when Den- ver was but a small town, and worked in the mines and also at teaming. He drove a team across the plains from Leaveiiwortli, Kansas, to Denver and other points. In 1863 he returned to Iowa and married Carrie F. Long, of Fremont County, Iowa. The father was an old pioneer of that county, having settled there in 1859. He was from Wiscon- sin, but was a native of Germany. He was the father of eleven children, viz.: Charles, Rosanna, Catharine, Mary, Maggie, Jacob, Carrie, Julia, Rachel, Henry and Clara. The father was a substantial farmer, and died in Fremont County. Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Seward are the parents of four children: Minnie, Henry, Katie and Effie L., who died in infancy. After marriage Mr. Seward set- tled in Mills County, Iowa, where he worked in a saw-mill for two years. He resided in that county until 1878, when he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on a farm. He purchased his present farm in 1880. He is a member of Hancock Valley Lodge, No. 439, I. O. O. F. In his political views he is a Democrat, and is Chairman of the Town- ship Democratic Committee. He stands high in the community as an honorable man, and one who has had a wide experience in Western life. ,ORACE G. LOWE, of section 9, Car- son Township, was born in Decatur County, Indiana, October 3, 1854, the son of Franklin and Julia (Spurling) Lowe; the father is a well-known and prominent citizen of Carson. They reared a family of six J^^.'^^^^-x^ lOr^, o—«- F. JONES, of section .3, Carson Town- ship, was born in Ross County, Ohio, ■<' July 12, 1846, the son of Josepli and Mary Elizabeth (Dickey) Jones, the former a native of Bedford County, Virginia, 300 BIOOIiAPHICAr ni STORY an old Virginian settler, who was the son of Jesse Jones, who served in the war of 1812; the latter was born in Bedford County, and was also the daughter of an old Virginia settler. They had nine children, all of whom are now living. R. F. Jones, the eighth child of seven sons and two daughters, was three years of age when he moved with his parents to Davis County, Iowa, where he grew to manhood, engaged at farm work and attending school. At the age of nineteen he came to Pottawat- tamie County, where he lived for four and a half years. He first bought land in this county, in 1872, in Carj-on Township, section 11, which Consisted of forty acres, which he afterward broke and sold. In 1874 he bought 120 acres of wild land, which he suc- cessfully broke, and built a good frame house. This was part of his present farm, and he now has 310 acres in rich bottom land along the Nishnabotna River, adjoining the town plat of Carson, and is second to none in loca- tion in the eastern part of the county. Shadeland, the home, is a beautiful place, and will compare iavorably with any in western Iowa. Here Mr. Jones raises trotting and rop,d horses of the Hambletonjan breed, and he also has a tine herd of red-polled cattle. He was one of the pioneers in the raising of tine horses and cattle in the county, and his herds are as tine as any that can be found in this part of the State. Mr. Jones was married to Miss Cora Crain, of Macedonia Township, at Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 13, 1870, the daughter of John E. and Talitiia (Thompson) Crain: the former was born in Ohio, and was reared at Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa, and was educated at Philadelphia; the latter was a native of Lancaster, Ohio, and died when Mrs. Jones was eighteen months old. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have six children: Edith, Laura, James Arthur, Robert Franklin, Al- bert Lea, Lulu Way and Rolland Roscoe. Politically Mr. Jones is a Republican, and in 1884 was elected Supervisor of the count}' by a large majority; the court- house was built during his term. He has also been Township Trustee for six years, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., Carson Lodge, No. 444. Mrs. Jones is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Jones has been Trus- tee, and is a supporter. fD. HOOKER, of section 11, Carson Township, was born in Chautauqua * County. New York, July 10, 1837, the son of H. M. and Nancy (Palmeter) Hooker; tile father was a native of fTcnesee County, New York, and a relative of the General, " Fighting Joe Hooker." The fainily were of English ancestry, and descendants of two brothers, who were among tiie early emi- grants to the northeastern States. The parents reared a family of ten children. The father was born in 1810, and came to Iowa, settling in Delaware County in 1854, being one of the first settlers in that county. He lived there until his death, which took place in March, 1874. The mother resides in this county, at the age of seventy-four years. J. D. Hooker first worked in a saw-mill in Pennsylvania, having been brought up in the lumber regions of southern New York, and was well fitted for that situation. He came to Iowa in the spring of 1855, when quite a young man, and his experience in the saw- mill made him quite a desirable man to servo in the capacity of foreman, and he easily ob- tained a situation. He remained here five years and then purchased a farm in Delaware County, Iowa, wiiich he sold in 1869. Here OF POT r AW ATT AM IE GOUJ^TY. 361 he first commenced the study of veterinary surgery, practicing occasionally while he car- ried on his farm. He removed to Webster County, south of Fort Dodge, where he lived for two year;:, and in May, 1871, Urst came to Pottawattamie County, and settled on prairie land, wlien all was new and wild in that county. Mr. Hooker now owns a valu- able farm situated about one mile from Car- son. He has a blacksmith shop run by his sons, and his home, called Pleasant Valley, is a beautiful place. He carries a full line of instruments of all kinds, especially those required in horse dentistry and surgery, having over $200 worth altogether. He is also the inventor of Hooker's Cure for Flatulent ("wind") Colic, one of the most prevalent and fatal diseases of the iiorse, and he contemplates beginning soon to manufacture the medicine. He was married in Delaware County, Iowa, July 10, 1861, to Miss T. J. Wilson, the daughter of John and Jane (Crelling) Wilson; the former was born of Scotch parents, who had settled in Ireland, where he was born; and the latter was born in Northumberland, England; the family came to the United States in 1848, and settled in Iowa County, Wisconsin, and in 1858 came to Delaware County, Iowa. The father died in 1876 in Delaware County, and the mother still lives at Sioux City, Iowa, at the age of seventy- three years. Mr. and Mrs. Hooker have nine children, namely: J. M., a contractor and builder in Chase County, Nebraska; C. M., at home; Edward D., residing in Chase County, Nebraska; James D., residing at the same place; Jenny L., the wife of Frank Perry, of Washington Township; Lewis J., at home; Shockey E., Jennie E., Frederick S. They lost one child, Leander Vern, by death, when two and a half years old. Politically Mr. Hooker is a Democrat, and has served in some of the minor offices of the township. He is a skilled veterinary surgeon, having had about thirty years' e.xperience, and is considered one of the leading authorities in the eastern part of the county. ... .i? . ;i i ; . 9 i . >.w. fOHN A. FRANK, a prominent farmer of Lincoln Township, was born on a farm in the mountains of Switzerland, De- cember 18, 1845, the son of Jacob Joseph Frank, who was a farmer of Tyrol, Switzer- land. He was married to Ursula Platz, and to them were born five children: Marion, Frank, Joseph, John A. and Ursula. The grand- father was in the war with Napoleon. The ancestors of the family were natives of Swit- zerland, where they have resided for gen- erations, and they possess the sterling characteristics of the liberty-loving Swiss people in a marked degree. Mr. Frank was a member of the Catholic Church, and lived to the age of sixty- five years. John A. Frank, a son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was reared to farm life, and in 1866, at the cage of twenty-one years, came to America. He landed in New York, and then went to Washington city, where he worked in a brewery for two years. In 1868 he went to LaFayette County, Wis- consin, where he worked on a farm, and where he remained until 1873. He then came to Pottawattamie County and bought 240 acres of wild land, which he has since improved, and to which he has wisely added until he now owns a magnificent farm of 915 acres. H.e was married in Wisconsin, July 5, 1870, to Elizabeth Hart, who was born in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1 840, the daughter of August and Kate Hart, who were natives of France. The father was a Clarion County farmer in comfortable cir- 362 BIOQHAPHICAL UlSTORT cumstances, and was the father of six chil- dren: Martha, Mary, Elizabeth, Kate, Harry and Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Frank are the parents of two children: Joseph, born April 20, 1872, in Grant County, Wisconsin; and Jessie E., born August 1, 1876, on the home- stead in Pottawattamie County, Lincoln Town- ship. Joseph is attending the Drake Univer- sity at Des Moines, Iowa, and is obtaining a lilieral education. Mr. Frank believes in giving his children a liberal education. He has the respect and the coufidence of the people; has held the office of Township Trustee lor nine years; has also been School Eirector for a number of 3'ears, and has also held the office of lioad Supervisor. In politics he was a Republican for years, but now votes for the party who believes in the greatest good for the gi'eatest number — the Democratic. Mr. Frank can truly be said to be a self- made man, as he began life with nothing, and l)y hard work, economy and wisdom has made his handsome farm. He has set out tine trees, and his grounds and house present a tasteful and attractive appearance. He is yet a young man, of strong constitution, in- herited from an ancestry of good stock, and the children inherit from both mother and father tlieir sterling traits of character. Mrs. Frank is a worthy lady, and has faithfully assisted her husband in every way to make a siiccets in life. Mr. Frank is the founder of a new family in America, and the coming generation should take an honest pride in handing down his name to other generations. PC. SCHMOOCK, architect and super- intendent of building, came to Coun- " cil Bluffs in March, 1889, and opened an office in rooms 3 and 4, Marcus block, and in August following he established an office also in Hunt's block, South Omaha. He has erected some very fine buildings, among which we may mention the double residences of Mrs. S. A. Stillman, and the residences of (). W. Butts, L. Hendricks, C. L. Gillette, M. Callahan, J. Strock, Mrs. E. Wegener's block. Porter Bros.' fruit waiehouses, the residence of C. M. Hunt in South Omaha, the cottages of J. L. Paxtuu, the residence of p. Cockrell, South Omaha, and William Kelly, etc., etc. Mr. Sclnnouck was born in Detroit, Michi- gan, August 3, 18f54, the son of William and Louisa (Otto) Schraoock, natives of Ger- many, who are still residents of Detroit. He was reared in that city. For two years he studied drawiny; under the instruction of Mr. Melchers, the sculptor of Detroit, and while in that city he made the charts for the school statistics and institutions of the State of Michigan, which were exhibited at the New Orleans exposition in 1884, and are now in the State library at Lansing, Michigan. He was only nineteen years of age when he drew these charts. He spent five years in the office of Hess & Racemen, architects and superintendents in Detroit. In July, 1888, he came to Council Bluffs. He is Democratic in his politics, is a member of the I. O. O. F., and is destined to make his mark in the business circles of this city. ^ENRY RISHTOlSr, one of the promi- nent citizens of York Township, was born in Lancashire, England, April 21, 1838, the son of Henry and Mary (Bland) Risliton, l)oth natives of Lancashire, England. The father was born April 4, 1810, and died in Council Bluffs in 1885. He was the son of James Rishton, who died in England at a ripe old age, and was a chemist by occupa- OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 363 tioii. His son learned the block-printer's trade wlien a young man, which he followed until he came to America in 1844, where he, in company with eleven others, was induced to coine to Ithode Island and start a print works. He was one of the very first block- printers to come to America, and in fact he and liis companions were the very first. The family remained a year and a half in Rhode Island, and then went to Fall Eiver, Massa- chusetts. In 1850, witli his family, he came to Council Bluffs, whicli was then known as Kanesville, and which was then a very small hamlet or trading post, made up of a few shanties. He bought a claim on Little Mos- quito Creek, then called Macedonia Camp, five miles east of Council Bluffs. In 1857 he and his family came to where our subject now resides, and enclosed a half section of wild land, which he afterward improved. He was trustee of York Township, and when a young iran in England he was a member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge. He and his wife v.ero members of the church of the Latter- Day Saints, but on coming to Council Bluffs he cljanged his religion on account of po- lygamy. In politics he was a stanch Demo- crat, and since reaching their majority his sons have all voted the Democratic ticket. His wife, Mary (Bland) Rishton, was born May 9, 1815, and is still living in Council Bluffs, and not over a year ago danced with the subject of this sketch at a party given at his house. Her father was Miles Bland, who died in England. He was a dealer in boots and shoes, and died in the same house where he was born, when eighty-one years of age. The family were members of the Bap- tist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Rishton have eight children living, viz.: Edward, a farmer of Riverton, South Jordan, eighteen miles from Salt Lake City; Bland, a merchant of Council Bluffs; Thomas, a merchant of Coun- cil Bluffs; Emma, wife of "William II. Max- field; James, a farmer and stock-raiser of York Township; Eliza Jane, wife of William Alton, a rancher of Denison, Iowa; John, a rancher near the city of Spokane. Henry Rishton, our subject, spent his school days in Massachusetts and a short time in Pottawattamie County. He remained at home until twenty-one years of age, and then rented a farm in this township for a number of years. In 1866 he bought 120 acres of the land where he now lives, to which he has since added the remainder of 280 acres, of as good land as lies in the county. It is improved with a good residence, barns, and surrounded with shade and ornamental trees, fruit and flowers, and all that tends to make a home happy. He has served as Justice of the Peace three years and a half, twelve years as Road Supervisor, one year as Trustee, twenty years as School Director, and in 1884 was elected one of the County Commissioners, during tlie time the court-house was built, whicli is one of the finest in the State. He is now Clerk of this township. His success in life is the result of his energy and business ability. March 1, 1860, he married Miss Adeline Clough, a daughter of Calvin Clough. She was born in Lorain County, Ohio, May 5, 1842, and died September 19, 1884. Her father was one of the first settlers, and came from Cleveland, Ohio, to Council Bluffs, where he kept a grocery store in 1853. He was a native of New Hampshire, and died in this county when sixty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Rishton have seven cliildren, of whom six are still living: Fred, the eldest; Belle, a teacher in York Township; Alpha, Howard H., Lida, and Corinne, at home. Florence May died when sixteen years of age, September 17, 1877. April 8, 1886, Mr. Rishton married Agnes Forsyth, a daughter 364 BJOORAPHICAL UIST0R7 of John and Susan Forsyth. She was bora in Dundee, Scotland, October 17, 1841, and came with her parents to Manchester, Eng- land, and when ten years of age came to the United States, locating in St. Louis one win- ter, and in 1851 came to Council BlutFs. She taught school in Council Bluifs over twenty years, and was principal for fourteen years. She has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for quite a num- ber of years. Mr. Kishton is a Mason in good standing of Neola Lodge, No. 423. He has crossed the Tiocky Mountains si.\ times, and in 1864 had a nximber of hair- breadth escapes from the Indians. — •^♦■ I 'Sk S 'I^-' — fM. AXTELL, a farmer of Boomer Township, was born in Mercer County, ' Pennsylvania, July 4, 1838. (For par- entage and ancestry see sketch of L. S. Ax- tell.) Being the youngest child, he remained at home until his father died. In 1857 he married Miss Sarah Franklin, daughter of Leander and Sarah (Barker) Franklin, natives of New York State who after her birtii moved to Pennsylvania. Mr. J. M. Axtell after iiis marriage moved to Sparland, Mar- shall County, Illinois, where he took charge of a farm for Lewis Burson two years, and tliere his wife died, February 19, 18G6, leav- ing live children, namely: Samuel Albert, who resides in Harrison County, Iowa; Leona, wife of G. W. Howland, residing in Harrison County, also; Charles and Oscar died in infancy. June 6, 1867, Mr. Axtell married Miss Mary, daughter of Daniel and Maria (Erwin) Graham, natives of Pennsylvania, who afterward moved to Illinois and finally to Missouri, where they both now live. The Grahams were the parents of twelve children, viz.: Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Elliott, and resid- ing in Illinois; Mary, the second in order of birth; Luther and Henrietta, deceased; Find- lay, at home; Ann, wife of Dr. Sherman, re- siding at Coffeeville, Kansas; Jesse, living in Harrison County; Ervin, in Shell City, Mis- souri; Laura and Emma, twins, the former at home and the latter in Colorado; Albert and Alice, twins, the latter the wife of Richard Newton and both residing in Colorado. Mrs. Axtell was born October 9, 1845, brought up as a farmer's daughter, and was married at the age of twenty-two years. After his sec- ond marriage Mr. Axtell came to Pottawatta- mie County and purchased sixty acres of un- improved prairie and began to make the necessary improvements thereon, and also, in connection with his farm work, continued at his trade as carpenter, which he had learned in younger days. At the end of five years he sold out, bought forty acres elsewhere, built a house and made valuable improve- ments upon the tract, and remained there ten years, dealing also extensively in live-stock. Selling this jilace, he linally bought his pres- ent farm, of eighty acres of wild land, on sec- tion 10, and this now is the third home he has made. Sixty acres is under cultivation, while the remainder is in meadow and pas- ture. He has a comfortable residence and surroundings, with shade trees, orchard, etc. While his sons manage the farm he is engaged by the Pottawattamie County Mutual Insur- ance Company, for whom he began to operate about three years ago. He is an active and influential Republican. Has held the various offices of his township, especially in school matters, and is now Jus- tice of the Peace. He is also a member of the Mutual Protection Association of Hazel Dell, and of the I. O. O. F'. In Pennsylvania and Illinois he and his wife were members respectively of the Methodist Episcopal and Baptist churchw. They are the parents of OF POTTAWATTAMI E COUNTT. 365 ten children, namely: Miltou, born Septem- ber 8, 1868, resides in Harrison County; John, October 7, 1870; Lutellis, September 20, 1872; Gertrude, October 20, 1874; James, August 25, 1876; Daniel, November 22, 1878; Mary Alma and Maria, twins, born March 28, 1881: Maria died a montli after- ward; George, born September 9, 1883; and Blanch, born January 20, 1886, died March 20, 1886. All those who are living, except the iirst mentioned, are still at their parental home. iR. JAMES CARSON ROBERTSON, M. D., was born in Washington Coun- ty, Iowa, June 6, 18-45, the son of John D. and Eliza (Carson) Robertson. The former was born in the State of Pennsylvania, but the latter is a native of County Tyrone, Ire- land. John D. Robertson is of Scotch de- scent, his lather having been a native of Scotland. The father of our subject went to Stark County, Ohio, with his parents when a child, where he was reared and married. In 1842 he settled in Washington County on a farm, where he still lives. They were the parents of six sons who grew to maturity, four of whom are still living. The eldest brother, William H., was a member of Com- pany H, Seventh Iowa Infantry, in the war of the Rebellion, and served during that war. He then married and settled on a farm in Washington County. He was several years a Justice of the Peace, and was well known throughout the county, taking much interest in politics. He died in June, 1875, leaving a wife and daughter, who still survive him, and both are engaged in the occupation of teaching. The other son was Samuel A., who died in 1879, at the age of about thirty years, leaving a wife. He was a merchant and druggist at the time of his death, and a resident of Bull City, Kansas. The subject of this sketch is the second in order of birth. John D., the fourth, is a farmer of Washing- ton County; George F. resides at the old homestead with his parents; De Witt C, the youngest, also resides in Washington County. Br. Robertson was reared on the old home- stead farm. He received his education at the public schools, and in 1868, at the age of twenty-two years, he entered the State Uni- versity at Iowa City, and remained a student in the literary department of that institution tor three years. He then entered the medi- cal department of that institution, and took his medical degree in March, 1873. He tauglit several terms of school durino- his college course, and also taught a term before entering college. The Doctor at once located at his old home in Washington County, and continued in practice until he came to this city. In 1883 the Doctor went to New York city, where he took a course at the Bellevue Hospital, and where he also received the de- gree of M. D. Dr. Robertson is getting a good practice, and is a member of the Iowa Medical Society and of the American Medi- cal Society. He owns a pleasant home at 1006 Fifth avenue. He was married in Washington County to Miss Helen Houck, who is a native of that county, and they have two sons, — Andrew A. and Ralph D. fOSEPH HEADLEE, the oldest living settler of Valley Township, is descended from an old American family, who came to Pennsylvania from England in an early day. Joshua Ileadlee, the grandfather of Joseph, was a pioneer settler in Greene 366 BIOGRAPHICAL HI8T0RT County, Pennsylvania, and was the father of four children: Elisha, Thomas, Amos and Susan. Tlie father moved to Indiana about 1830, settling in Rushville, where he bought a farm and remained twelve years. In 1840 he settled in Lee Cotinty, Iowa, where he died at the age of eighty years. He was an industrious and honorable man, and was re- spected by the community in which he lived. His son Elisha, the father of our subject, was born in Greene ("ounty, Pennsylvania, and in early life became a farmer, but like most American farmers was accustomed to the use of tools, and could do almost any kind of work. He was married in his native State to Dorothea Johns, daughter of James Johns, ot Greene County, and of Scotch-Irish ances- try. Mr. Johns was a wealthy farmer of Greene County, and was a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Headlee were the parents of eight children: George, Joseph, James, Jackson, William, Sarah J., Nancy A. and Dorothea. The father moved to Indiana with his father and their family, and settled on a farm near Ru'^h- ville, where they remained until 1840, when the}' came to Iowa. Joshua Headlee, the subject of this sketch, was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1826, and was but eight years of ao-e when his father moved to Indiana, and about fifteen years old when they came to Lee County, Iowa, then a wilderness. He became accustomed to all the vicissitudes and hardships of pioneer life, and was brouglit up on a farm. In 1852 he came to Pottawatta- mie County, settling in Valley Township, which was then unnamed, and the whole country was a wilderness. There was one store at Council Bluffs, and Omaha was still in the " State of Nature." Joshua Lewins settled in Knox Township about six months before Mr. Headlee. Joshua Headlee and his son George, and Wash Lewins were the three first settlers in Knox Township; Mr. Headlee preceded Mr. Lewins about two weeks. The Indians frequently visited Mr. Headlee's log cabin, which was built on Jim Creek, Knox County, where lie lived about two years. Deer, elk and smaller game fur- nished these families with plenty of meat during the winters, which were long and cold. The first season after leaving Jim Creek, Mr. Headlee plowed up eighty acres of land on the farm now owned by William Pierce. He settled on his pres- ent farm in 1855, which contains 160 acres, and which is now in a fine state of cultiva- tion. He has lived to see the whole of Pot- tawattamie County thickly settled, with a population of 140,000, in a radius of five miles from Omaha. He is truly an old pio- neer citizen, has brought up a large family of ciiildren, and has the reputation of always being interested in every good work and cause. The first school was established in 1856, at a place called New Town, two miles from the present site of Avoca, in a log school- house, where preaching was also held by John Wilson, a Methodist Episcopal minister. Mr. Headlee always went to Council Bluffs to market, a distance of thirty-five miles. He was married in Lee County, to Esther Lewis, daughter of Hugh and Phoebe (Biiiley) Lewis. The father was a native of Kentucky, of Irish descent, and was an early pioneer of Johnson County, Indiana. He died in that State, and is remembered as an honorable and upright citizen. They were the parents of nitie children: Jacob, George, Levina, John, Esther, Prudence J., the re- mainder dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Headlee have had eleven children: William, deceased in infancy, Saraii, Martha, Mary, who died at the ago of fourteen; Andrew, Maggie, Alice, Frances, Abraham, Joseph LAJ\n, and ere long he enjoyed the success whicli ever comes from honest labor. In 1875 Mr. Holmes was made City Attorney, and con- tinued to occupy that position uninterrupt- edly for fourteen years, or until 1889. He performed the duties of that position with marked ability, as is indicated by the long series of years that he occu|)ied that office. Politically Mr. Holmes affiliates with the Deinoc-ratic party, but was fre(iuently ap- pointed to the office of City Attorney by Republican councils. He was twice a cau- did-ite for Legislative honors, but, the county being largely Republican, he was defeated by a small majority. Mr. Holmes is not only an al)le lawyer, but a progressive and public- spirited citizen, ever taking a commendable interest in whatever tends to promote the best interests of the public. -«f->^— ^^HAKLES ALEXANDER, a prominent farmer of Boomer Township, was born in Philadelphia, April 3, 1837. His father, Alex. A. Alexander, a native of Scot- land, spent his youthful days on a farm in his native country and learned the millwright and carpentry trades. At the age of twenty- seven he was married to Elizabeth Moyes, who was born in the East Indies in 1797, her father being an English officer of war sent to that country, who remained in charge of a post there some fifteen years. He then returned to Scotland in ill health, where he soon died, leaving a wife and five children: Andrew, James, John, Walter and Elizabetii. The latter was married at the age of twenty- five years, and by this union there were the following children: Maron, James, Elizabeth, Ann, Alexander, William, Charles and Mar- garet, and two died young. Their parents came from Scotland to America in 1835, landing at Philadelphia, where they remained wo years, and then came to Dubuque, in 1837. Mr. Alexander buBt the first frame h(nise erected in that city, and died there in September, 1845, leaving a wife and eight children: Marian, James, Elizabeth, Ann, Alexander, William, Charles (our subject) and Margaret. The mother spent her last days with her children on the farm in Jack- son County, which her husband had bought, dying in January, 1877. Mr. Charles Alexander, our present sub- ject, inheriting forty acres of land, married, and three years afterward disposed of that land, and in 1861 came to Pottawattamie County and purchased another forty acres of wild land, in Boomer Township, and com- menced to improve it. August 4, 18G2, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, at Council Blufls, was placed under General Steele in Western Kentuck}-, in the Army of the West. His regiment participated in several fierce battles. At Jenkitis' Ferry on the Saline River he was wounded in two places, one ball passing through his arm below the elbow and then througli his side and left lung. In this condition he was taken pris- oner, while his comrades were on the retreat, and he was held captive eight months at Camp Ford, Tyler, Texas and other places. In the camp where he was placed were eighty cases of yellow fever, of which but two re- covered, he being one of the two. Shortly afterward he was paroled, at Galveston, and he rejoined his regiment at Little Rock, Arkansas. After spending two months at OF POTTAWATTAMIE VOUJSTl 877 home lie again joined liis regiment and was at the capture of Spanish Fort, next at the Rio Grande, and about the last of July the regiment was ordered back to New Orleans, where, August 10, it was mustered out. Keturning to his farm, Mr. Alexander made many improvements and purchased forty acres more land, broke it and made a comfortable home. In 1871 he sold that place and purchased eiglity acres of unim- proved prairie and made another home. Subsequently he sold tliis also, for $2,000, spent a year in California, buying property in San Jose. Keturning to Pottawattamie County, he purcliased the eighty acres where he now lives, on section 8, Boomer Township. Here he has erected a fine frame house, 32 X 44 feet, and the usual farm structures, and has devoted his attention to general farming and stock-raising. Considering the serious wound he received in the service of his country and the abuse while a prisoner in the hands of the enemy, — which was equally in the service of his country, — thus disabling him to a great extent, it is really a source of marvel to witness how much he has accomplished. Mr. Alexander is a thoroughgoing Dem- ocrat. He has held nearly all the township ofBces, been County Supervisor a year and a half, etc., and has always fulfilled his public duties with satisfaction to his fellow-citizens. He has taken an active and efficient part in all the movements that are of public benefit. He is a zealous member of the Mutual Pro- tection Association. Of his five children, there are still four living, namely: Moyes, born January 1, 1860, and died February 5, 1863; Alice, born Feb- ruary 1, 1862, is the wife of Denver Hough in Crescent City; Henry Thomas, born No- vember 28, 1865, died August 22, 1867; Elizabeth A., born March 28, 1868, is now Mrs. Edward Seabold, re.siding in Harrison County; Charles I., born November 28, 1870, and Nellie May, born March 7, 1873, are both at home; and William Edward, born March 19, 1879, died July 9, 1879. Mrs. Alexander's brothers and sisters are: Phoebe, the wife of Adam Heagney, in California; Han- nah, the wife of Dominicklleagney, residing in Missouri Valley, Iowa; Henry, in California; Henrietta, deceased; she herself (Catharine) was the youngest in order of birth. Their parents were Isaac and Catharine (Earl) Scott, natives of New York State. Mr. Scott was born in New York, June 10, 1805, and his wife October 2, 1802. He was a farmer all his life, removing first to Pennsylvania and then to Iowa in an early day. His wife died in New York in 1841, and he was subse- quently married to Catharine Rice, whose parents were natives of England, and then he came to Dubuque and to this county in 1860, locating in Boomer Township, where he died October 27, 1877. His wife survived oidy one week. fACOB DONER is one of the enterpris- ing and successful citizens of Hardin Township. He was born in Wayne C'ounty, Ohio, November 16, 1846, the son of Henry Doner, a native of Pennsylvania, who was the son of Jacob Doner, also a Penn- sylvanian by birth, but of German descent. They trace their anceetors back to the time of the early settlement of Pennsylvania. Our subject's mother, Amanda (Johnson) Doner, was born and reared in Ohio; her father wag of Irish ancestry. Jacob Doner, the eldest child, was about eight years of age when his parents settled in De Kalb County, Indiana, and then moved to Defiance County, Ohio. He was reared to farm life, and, although 378 BIOGRAPHICAL hlSTORY but a lad when the great Rebellion broke out, he enlisted in the Union army, and wa-* assigned to the Third United States Cavalry. His regiment was stationed at Iluntsville, Alabama; from there it was ordered to St. Louis, Missouri, and thence to Little Kock, Arkansas, where they remained two years. After the close of the civil war the regiment was ordered to New Mexico, stationed first at Fort Bascom, thence to Fort Sumner on the Pecos River, now an abandoned fort. Mr. Doner was discharged at Fort Sumner, September 30, 1868. after serving nearly five years. By a special act of Congress they were discharged earlier, so as to have time to reach the States before winter. Returning home he went to Iowa, where his family had moved during his absence, and where he remained only a short time; he then went to the following places; Ohio on a visit, spending the spring and winter of 1869: then to Bureau County, Illinois, five years, until 1875; Lucas County, Iowa, until 1883, and then Pottawattamie County, Hardin Township, ^ection 25. Mr. Doner resided here six years, and then bought his present improved farm of L. J. Kiser. The farm consists of eighty acres of good land, a comfortable frame house, on a natural and pleasant building site, with a large grove and an Moorhead, North Carolina; was there ordered to Augusta, Georgia, and was mustered out at Savannah, Georgia. From there he re- turned to Davenport, Iowa, where he was paid in full and returned home. Mr. Bair was born in the village of Will- wood, Knox County, Ohio, September 21, 1843 the son of David Bair, who was a blacksmith by trade. He was born in Penn- sylvania, and was the son of Christian Bair, who served in the war of 1812, and alfo in several skirmishes. His father, the great- grandfather of our subject, served in the Revolutionary war, and was a native of Ger- many. He emigrated from Pennsylvania to Tuscarawas County, Ohio, in an early day, and built his log cabin in the woods. He was the father of four children: Michael. Jacob, David and Sarah. Christian Bair died in Indiana, at the age of eighty-three years; he was a member of the Dunkard Church, was a prominent farmer, and a man of integrity and honesty. David Bair, the father of our subject, was born on a farm in Pennsylvania, and was but a small boy of between three and four years when his father came to Ohio. He learned his trade in that State, and when a young man of twenty-one years, was married, in Indiana, to Rhoda Bybee, a daughter of John and Luceane (Lane) Bybee. They were the parents of seven children: John, Robert, Byron, Eliza- beth, Lucinda, Rhoda and Ann. The father emigrated to Utah Territory, and was one of the pioneers. He died in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. David Bair were the parents of nine children, viz.: Uriah, Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Isaiah, Byron. David, John Ciiarles, Harvey and Sarah. After marriage Mr. Bair settled in Millwood, Knox County, Ohio, where he worked at his trade until 1854, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 409 when he emigrated with his family to Green Township, Iowa County. He improved a farm in that county, and lived there until 1882, when lie removed to Iowa City, where he is still living, at an advanced age. Relig- iously he is a member of tiie Methodist Church, of which he is a trustee, and socially he is a Mason, being a member of the bine lodge. He has always lived an honorable and upright life, and is respected by all who know him. From such old Revolutionary and pioneer stock, and from men who fought for inde- pendence and again to estaljlisli it, and who assisted in settling up the uiitracked forests and wild prairies, descends our soldier citizen. After his return from the war Mr. Bair set- tled in Johnson Cuniity on a farm until 1877, when he came to Valley Township and settled on his present farm of 120 acres. Politically he is a Republican, socially a Mason, being a member of the Blue Lodge, and religiously a member of the Methodist Church, of which he is a trustee. He has been an Assessor of his county, and stands deservedly high as an honorable citizen, whose word is as good as his bond. He is a self-made man, having accumulated his property by his own industry and energy. He is a commander of the William Layton Post, No. 358, of Oakland, Iowa. He was married in Johnson County, Iowa, to Alminra E. Popham, the daughter of Richard and Lucy (Barnes) Popham, who were of English descent, and first settled in New England. Richard Popham was born in Knox County, Ohio, and was the son of Frank Popham, who was one of the early pioneer merchants and financiers of that State. Richard and Lucy Popham were married in Kosciusko County, Indiana, and had one child, Alminra E. Popham. They lived in that State until 1860, when they came to Iowa, settling on a farm in Johnson County. In 1880 they removed to Hancock, Iowa, where the wife died in 1887. Mr. Popham is now living with his daughter and son-in- law. To Mr. and Mrs. Bair have been born five children, viz.: Louisa, who is the wife of Robert Martin; Charles is attending school at Iowa City; Clinton, Howard and Arza. ^ ' i i' S ' ^ ' *"" RCHIBALD GLYNN, who resides on section 27, Silver Creek Township, is one of the enterprising and prominent citizens of Pottawattamie County. He has made this place his home since 1881. A brief sketch of his life is as follows: Mr. Glynn was born in County Carlow, Ireland, September 20, 1858, son of Walter and Frances (Alger) Glynn. The mother died in 1879 and the father in 1880. Archi- bald was I'eared on a farm and received his education in the Protestant schools and at the National Catholic School. His parents were members of the Church of England. To them were born eleven children, eio-ht sons and three daughters. One of the latter died at the age of two years and one of the sons is also deceased. At this writing the other nine are living. Archibald Glynn remained in the Emerald Isle until 1876, when he sailed from Queens- town to Philadelphia, arriving there at the time of the Centennial Exposition. He came to Mills County, Iowa, where he had an elder brother. He made his home in that county until 1881, when he came to Pottawattamie County and bought his present farm of 160 acres. At the time of purchase it was all wild land. He has since improved it and made a good home. He has a comfortable frame house, one and a half stories, with a veranda on one side. The main part of the 410 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY house is 14 x 26 feet, with an L, 20 x 20 feet. It ia beautifully situated among shade and ornamental trees. Mr. Glynn is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and every thing about his premises — the btables, yards, feed-lots, and modern wind-pumps- all show thrift and prosperity. August 23, 1877, Mr. Glynn was married to Marcia King, daughter of Lewis and Bessie (West) King, both natives of New York State. Tiie mother was born near Lake Erie, and still resides in Mills County, Iowa, to which place she and her husband removed at an early j)eriod in the liistory of that county. The father died there. Mrs. Glynn was reared and educated in Mills County. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Glynn. Their names are : Frances, Bertha Rosa, Lottie May and Alfred Ed. In his political views Mr. Glynn is independent. He is a member of the Church of England, and Mrs. Glynn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Lone Star. Her parents were Congregational ists. — ^iMf-l^..^ . JI^ILLIAM S. WELLS, of Hardin iravil Township, section 29, came to this [*-§^ county in the spring of 1873, where he has since resided. He was born in Brown County, Ohio, April 16, 1837, the son of John Wells, who was born in New Jersey, October 14, 1810. the son of Isaiah Wells, who was born in Wales. Our subject's mother's name before marriage was Phoebe Soper, and she was born in New Jersey, the daughter of one of the first settlers in that State. John Wells lived in New Jersey seven or eight years, and tiien ids parents moved to Ohio, settling in Clermont County, May 28, 1817, being the first settlers in that portion of the State. His father died there at the age of sixty-live or seventy years, and his mother at the age of seventy-five or eighty. He was married in Brown County, when twenty-one years of age, to Miss Rachel B. Long, who was born in Pennsylvania, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Iker) Long, the former a native of New Jersey, and the latter of Pennsylvania, of Dutch ancestry. John Wells reared seven children, liaving lost one by death, viz.: Thomas, who lives in Illinois, near Vandalia; lie .-erved in the Forty -eighth Ohio Infantry; Samuel, who resides in Marion County, Iowa; William S., of Pottawattamie County; Erasmus D., of Madison County, Nebraska, who served in the Third Iowa Infantry; John F., of the same place, who served in the Fifteenth Iowa In- fantry; Francis Lewis, of Madi.-on County, Nebraska, and David, of Sacramento Valley, California. Mrs. Rachel Long Wells died in 1881, having lived with her husband for fifty j^ears and one month. John Wells is a man eighty years of age, and well preserved. Politically he was formerly a Whig, but is now a Republican. He has been a member of the Methodist Cluirch for titty years, and a class-leader in the same for many years. William S. Wells, our subject, was reared in Ohio, and when nineteen years of age his family moved to Marion County, Iowa, in 1855. He afterward returned to Ohio, where he enlisted in the army, in August, 1864, in the Forty-eighth Ohio Volunteers. He served one year, and was in the battle of Fort Blakely. He was honorably discharged and returned to Ohio, and afterward moved to Marion County, Iowa, where he lived until 1873, when he came to Pottawattamie Coun- ty, Kane Township, now Hardin Township. He bought the land where he now lives, con- sisting of 120 acres, which he has since im- proved. He was married May 11, 1864, to Miss Mary L. Thompson, who was born in OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 41t Clerinont County, Ohio, the daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Wood) Thompson, the former was born in Virginia, of German ancestry, and the latter was born in Cler- mont County, Ohio, whose ancestors were from the Carolinas. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have two children: Harry T. and Nannie A. Mr. Wells is a Republican politically, and is a member of G. A. R., of Bradford Post. He is a man yet in the prime ot life, frank and cordial in his manner, and honorable in all his dealings, and is one of Hardin Township's representative citizens. — ^^ ^ ^ > S■ "^^ — fOHN HENRY WESTCOTT, of Council Bluffs, traces his lineage back to the early settlement of Rhode Island, thus: The title to Providence Plantations (Rhode Island) from the Indians, made in 1637, was vested in Roger Williams alone. Roger Williams born in Wales, in 1599, Ian ied in America in 1631, in the sloop " Lyon," and settled at What Cheer Point, Seekout River, Rhode Island, in 1636. His first act was to divide by deeds, of date 1638, to twelve of his " loving neighbors," equal portions of the laud and rights of said plant- ation, reserving to himself only equal rights with tiiem. Among these twelve were Stukely West- cott and Richard Waterman, ancestors on his father's and mother's side of Mr. Westcott, Stukely Westcott being first named in the deed. Stukely Westcott and Roger Williams, while in Salem, Massachusetts, were "separa- tors from the church of England," the former and wife being baptized by the latter July 1, 1639. Both had passed upon them the "grand censure," wiiich alienated them from the Salem Colony. In the line of family succes- sion was Stukely Westcott, Stukely, Jr., Jonah Nathan, Thomas and Samuel, — all of whom were active and influential in public affairs. Thomas Westcott, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a civilian of note in Rhode Island, and was also a distinguished officer in the Revolutionary war. Samuel Arnold, his son, was born in Rhode Island, December 11, 1794, was engaged in a cotton mill until he moved to Wheeling, Virginia, in 1820, and with the Moores, Reesides and Zanes was among the most active in develop- ing that section of the country. January 1, 1821, Samuel A. Westcott married Miss Sarah Loring Edgertou, a de- scendant of Richard Waterman, named above, whose parents, moving from Connecticut, were among the early pioneers of Ohio at Marietta. John Henry, of this writing, their eldest son, was born in Wheeling, Virginia, May 28, 1828, resided there until 1835, then in Brooklyn, New York, in 1835-'36; was at the great tire in 1835; moved to Marietta, Ohio, in 1837; was in the employ of Dudley Woodbridge, formerly a partner of Blenner- hasset, of historic fame, and afterward he en- gaged in the mercantile business. June 16, 1853, he was married in Rochester, New York (at Grove Place, the residence of her grandfather, Levi Ward), to Miss Fannie M. Ward, a lady of fine intellectual culture, of rare accomplishments, lovely in disposition and withal a Christian of high spiritual attainments. In 1854 Mr. Westcott moved to Madison, Indiana, and engaged in the foundry busi- ness until the death of his beloved wife and child changed his plans of life. In July, 1855, he moved overland to Keokuk, Iowa, engaged in the stationery and book-binding business for a time; then was employed as accountant in the banking house of George 412 BIOGRAPBWAL HISTORY C. Anderson & Co., and afterward for four- teen years in the office of R. F. Bower, wholesale grocer. Witliont desire or solicitation, he was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace for three years, and then County Trustee. While Justice of the Peace Hon. John H. Craig, seconded by Hon. Dan F.^'Miller, attorneys, in view of some judicial decisions, moved the Circuit Court, Judge Jeffries presiding, that Mr. Westcott be admitted to the Keokuk bar ex gratia, all the members of the bar present assenting. The Honored Judge witli much cordiallity expressed the pleasure he felt in complimenting Mr. Westcott with this un- usual honor, and ordered it done. July 28, 1859, Mr. Westcott married Miss Adelaide Virginia Holsey, a young lady highly esteemed, of great energy of character and superior judgment, his present wife. In May, 1883, he, and later his family, moved to Council Blnifs, accepting a position in the Council Bluffs Insurance Company, — J. Q. Anderson, Secretary, — and later and among the most pleasant duties of his life, acting as Secretary to the Hon. M. F. Rohrer, during his administration as mayor of this city. The ability, integrity and success of Mayor Rohrer's administration as Mayor of Council Bluffs, is commended by his Secre- tary up to the intimate knowledge he has of the same. Mr. Westcott emphasizes his membership in the church and particularly in his relation to the Presbyterian Church. As early as fourteen years of age he connected him- self with the Congregational Church at Ma- rietta, Ohio. Soon there after he was elected trustee; afterward, upon request of Governor Ralph P. Lowe, he was elected deacon in the First Westminster Presbyterian Church, Keokuk, Iowa, and at present is serving as Elder in the First Presbyterian Church in the city, and recently was elected director in the Omaha Theological Seminary. He has represented the latter chnrch in its higher courts. To promote the interests of thechurch of the Lord Jesus Christ is his highest am bit-ion. j,^,„ATRICK LACY, a leading business man of Council Bluffs, was born in Ireland, in September, 1843. His father died in Ireland, and the family removed to this country and settled in Savannah, Georgia, in 1850, where his mother died of yellow fever about three years later. In 1856 Mr. Lacy came to Council Bluffs with his sisters and brother, and here re- mained until he was about eighteen years of age, when he left home and started out as a teamster in a wagon train to Denver, making several trips to and from the Bluffs. In the spring of 1863 he went to the Colorado mines at Central City and engaged in mininLr, and the following year he went to Idaho. Here, and in Montana, he spent several years, visiting every mining camp of note in those Territories, and spending most of his time in mining. In the fall of 1867 he returned to Council Bluffs, and since that time has been a continuous resident of that city, making several trips at intervals through the West. As a citizen Mr. Lacy has been zealously in- terested in the welfare of his city; was one of the charter members of the first volunteer fire department, being its chief eight years, and a member of it until it was superseded by the paid department, when he resigned. Virtually he is the fatiier of the fireman's movement in Council Bluffs. In 1878, in company with five others, he organized the State Firemen's Association of Iowa, which is now one of the most prosperous organiza- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 413 tions of its kind. He lisis been its president tiiree years, 1885-'87. He has also been a member of the National Association of Fire Engineers since 1878, and is now vice-presi- dent for Iowa. In the political affairs of the city and county Mr. Lacy has also taken an active part. Ill 1887 he was elected by the Dem- ocratic party, a member of the Board of Aldermen, and re-elected in 1889; has been president of the board two years. He has been an extensive dealer in real estate in this city; his residence is at 231 Park avenne. Mr. Lacy is a member of the Catholic Church. He has been twice married, the lirst time in 1868, to Miss Annie Wickham, tlie second time in 1872, to Miss Mary Fee, of Wisconsin. To the two marriages there has been issue eleven children, nine of whom are at present living. — -— *i ^ - i"i ' S" '"" — fAMES OLDS is one of the old soldier tanners of Pottawattamie County, who, after serving his country in the great civil war, has settled down to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. He was born on a tarm at Elgin, Kane County, Illinois, on the site where now stands the court-houae, Jan- uary 24, 1841. He was the son of Ransom Olds, who descended from an old American family. The great-grandfather of our sub- ject was a seaman, and during the reign of King George, of England, captured a cele- brated Scottish pirate, and in an encounter with broad-swords killed and beheaded him, and gained a large reward. He was a man of fearless courage, and this trait of character has descended in the family for generations. He was a native of England, and settled in Vermont. His' son George was a farmer of Rutland County, Vermont,' and his farm was on the site of the now famous marble quar- ries; he was a tailor by trade. He married Mary Ormsby, and they were the parents of thirteen children, viz.: James, who was a captain in the war of 1812, and was killed by the Indians; Daniel, Ezra, Gideon and Ran- som, are all that are known. The lather lived to be ninety-seven years of age. Ransom, the father of our subjact, was born in Rut- land County, Vermont, and learned farming in early life. He went to New York State, and was married at French MiUs village to Florella McMillen, daughter oi' Arthur Mc- Millen, a millwright by trade, and of Scotch descent. He was in the war of 1812 and helped to burn the fleet of vessels at French Mills village to prevent the British from capturing them. He was the father of five children: James, Alexander, Duncan, Mar- garet and Floretta. The father lived to the age of eighty- two years, and was killed by the falling of a tree at Elgin, Illinois. He was one of the pioneer settlers of that State. Ransom Olds was a soldier in the war of 1812, and the father of thirteen children: Ransom, born December 19, 1800; Florilla H., February 29, 1807; George, November 14, 1828; John, August 28, 1830; Mary Florilia, February 2, 1832; Arthur Ransom, October 24, 1834; Duncan M., January 26, 1837; Lucy J., February 14, 1839; James, January 24, 1841; Gideon, September 8, 1842; Daniel, September 14, 1844: Mar- garet, November 12, 1845; and Laverna, October 10, 1848. The father moved in an early day to La Porte County, Indiana, and settled on a farm at Door Village, but after a few years removed to Elgin, and passed through Chicago, which was then a small trading post. Mr. Olds was the first settler of Elgin, and took up Government land, haul- ing his produce to Chicago. He finally moved twelve miles west of Elgiu, where he 414 BIOORAPHICAL EISTOBT remained several years; then moved to s farm in Kankakee County, Illinois, where he died. He was a typical American pioneer, and was one of the men who helped to subdue the wilderness of Illinois. His two brothers, James and Daniel, were soldiers in the war of 1812. James Olds, our subject, enlisted in Com- pany B, Forty-second Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at the age of twenty years, and served three years and ten days. He was in the battle of Stone River, and Chick- amaugua, where he was wounded in the left fore-arm, and he still carries the ball. He was in the hospital, and after recovering did hos- pital duty, part of the time on the United States hospital steamer R. C. Wood, as second steward. He was mustered out and honor- ably discharged September 10, 1864, at Lex- ington. Kentucky. Mr.Olds had one brother, Arthur R., who was in Company I, Sixty- fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served nine months, and was captured at Harper's Ferry, paroled and exchanged, and mustered out. After the war our subject engaged in farm- ing in Kankakee County, Illinois, and in 1871 went to Fillmore County, Nebraska, where he took up wild land and remained three years. In 1874 he came to his present farm in Lincoln Township. He descends from men who fought as soldiers in their struggle for liberty, and as pioneers helped to rebuild the wilderness. Both himself, brother and wife's brother fouo-ht for the preservation of the Union, and the children should take an honest pride in the sterling ancestry from which they sprang. Mr. Olds was married in Momence, Kankakee County, Illinois, to Emily Burns, who was born in the same county, October 17, 1849, the daughter of James H. and Charlotte (Force) Burns. The father was of Scotch descent. and moved from Vermont to Kankakee County in an early day. He was the father of six children, viz.: Regiah, Amaziah, Amasa S., Lovina, Mary A. and Emily. Amaziah and Amasa were soldiers in the civil war; the former was in Company K, One Hundred and Thirteenth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry, and the latter served four years and nine months in Company D, Forty- second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was in all the battles of his regiment. Mr. Burns lived to the age of fifty years. To Mr. and Mrs. Olds have been born six children, four of whom are now living: Amasa, born Sep- tember 17, 1866; Nettie W., December 25, 1868; Willie, May 22, 1871, deceased; Frank, July 19, 1872; Emma, January 24, 1874, de- ceased; and Lovina, February 10, 1877. W. GRAHAM, proprietor of the Gra- ham Planing Mill at the corner of * Second avenue and Thirteenth street, manufactures sash, doors and blinds, does all kinds of scroll-sawing and turns out finished woodwork in general. The mill was estjib- lished in January, 1890, being removed to this point from Washington avenue, and was first conducted by the firm of Graham & Cody. July 8 following Mr. Graham as- sumed full control. The factory, occupying two lots, is one of the largest and best equipped in the city. Mr. Graham has been a resident of Council Blnft's ance March, 1888, removing from his farm in Washing- ton Township, this county, where he had been a resident thirteen years, upon a good farm of 200 acres, which he had improved from its original wild condition. He still owns it and keeps it in good order. He was born August 4, 1850, in Yates County, New Y'ork, and reared to farm life. OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 415 and early learned the carpenter's trade, which he ever afterward followed except when he was upon the farm mentioned. His parents, Lewis B. and Pamelia (Green) Grahain, were also natives of New York State and of Scotch and Welsh origin. His father is still living, vei-y old, at Pen Yan, that State; iiis mother is deceased. After reaching manhood he moved to Clinton, Iowa. Decemher 9, 1874, at Hampton, Rock Island County, Illinois, he married Miss Lottie Wells, daughter of John and Mary (McMurphy) Wells, who were among the early settlers of Hampton. Mr. and Mrs. Graham have two children: Pamelia and Edgar. Mr. Graham is a Republican in his political views and an Odd Fellow. ^EORGE W. HEWITT, attorney, Coun- cil Bluffs, was born in Franklin Grove, Lee County. Illinois, J uly 31, 1859, and is the son of Dr. George W. Hewitt and Caroline (Miller) Hewitt, both deceased. Dr. Hewitt located in Franklin in 1854 and prac- ticed his profession in that place until his death in January, 1881, save the four years, during the late war, he served as surgeon in the Thirty-fourth Regiment Illinois Vol- unteers. Early in his practice the Doctor took a high rank in his profession, which he dearly loved for the opportunities it afforded him to do good to his fellow-men. Shortly after his decease, a Grand Army of the Re- public post was organized in Franklin and it was named George W. Hewitt Post, No. 398, in honor of the Doctor. Mrs. Hewitt died in November, 1863, and left surviving her the Doctor and two boys: Henry M. and our subject. After Mrs. Hewitt's death, one of her sisters. Miss A. T. Miller, remained in the Doctor's home and raised the children. Henry M. Hewitt, M. D., is now married and resides in Franklin. Our subject was educated in the public schools in Franklin until 1874, when he en- tered the Northwestern University at Evans- ton, Illinois, where he remained until June, 1880, when he graduated from the college with the degree of A. B. In the fall of that year he entered the Union College of Law, Chicago, Illinois, and in June, 1882, received the degree of B. L. In the same month, he was admitted to the bar of the State of Illi- nois, and since then, to the bar of Dakota and the Federal Courts of Iowa. In June, 1886, the degree of M. A. was conferred upon him by the Northwestern University. In Jnly, 1888, he located at Ireton, Sioux County, Iowa, and practiced his profession in that place until January 1, 1886, when he entered into partnership relations with Fin- ley Burke, Esq. of Orange City, Iowa, wliich necessitated his moving to the latter town. The firm of Burke & Hewitt continued to practice in that place until February, 1887, when it dissolved, Mr. Burke locating in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Mr. Hewitt con- tinuing in business at Orange City. Here the latter remained until July, 1889, when he again joined Mr. Burke at the Bluffs and became a second time a member of the law firm of Burke & Hewitt. This firm has continued as such until January 1, 1891, when it was joined by Thomas E. Casady, Esq., of Council Bluffs, and the firm is now known as Burke, Hewitt & Casady. August 21, 1889, Mr. Hewitt was married to Viola J. East, of Clinton, Iowa. He was made a Master Mason, at Ireton, in the sum- mer of 1885; became a member of the Oc- cidental Chapter, No. 114, of Royal Arch Masons, at Le Mars, Iowa, on January 13, 1890; and was a charter member of the Sioux I City, Iowa, body of the Ancient and Accepted 416 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Scottish Rite for the United States of Amer- ica, their territories and dependencies.. He is a member of tlie Republican party and has always voted the Republican ticket. «o»-tl > • ? l I T • 7 l* »B' til * * »^ ijOWARD S. WEST is a leading dentist of Council Bluffs, where he has been engaged in the practice of his profession since March, 1882. He was born at West Fairlee, Orange County, Yermont, in Jan- uary, 1854. His father, Leavit West, still lives in that place. He pursued the study of medicine at Chelsea, Vermont; entering upon the practice of his profession he pursued the same for a number of years, when, desiring to qualify himself more thoroughly in his profession, he entered the Dental Depart- ment of the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1880. After his graduation he spent some time in the South, pursuing his profession at New Orleans and also at St. Louis, locating, as already stated, at Council Bluffs, in 1882. Dr. West has a large prac- tice and employs two assistants. He was married in this city to Miss Mi- nerva L. Langdon, who is a capable and valuable assistant to her husband in his pro- fession. She has had much experience, and holds a license from the State Board of Ex- aminers. Dr. West and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter. fOHN FREDERICK KIMBALL, of the banking lirra of Kimball & Champ, was born at Muscatine, Iowa, December 13, 1856, a son of Alvin and Susan A. (Patrick) Kimball, and the youngest of their four children, the others being George A., Emma J. and J. Frank. His father was born in 1813, near Windsor, Vermont. In 1840 he emigrated to Ohio with his family, and en- gaged in the wholesale grocery trade at Cleve- land. In 1853 he moved to Muscatine, Iowa, and engaged in the grain business, erecting an elevator and having a large trade; but tlie financial crisis of 1857 caused him great loss. He persevered in his business, however, and did well, to the time of his death, April 17, 1865. Politically he was a prominent Abo- litionist, devoting both time and money to the relief of oppressed and fugitive slaves. He took an active interest in all that pertained to the moral welfareand material developmentof the community, and was respected by all parties. The mother of the subject of this sketch was born at Brownsville, Jefferson County, JSew York, in 1822. She was a devoted wife and mother, is a useful member of the Bap- tist Church and of good society generally, now living in Minneapolis. Mr. Kimball, our present subject, was but eight years of age when his father died, and lie was trained by his mother, who gave hitn all the advantages at her command, which however, were limited. He completed his school education in Brown's Academy. In 1879, while on a tour through the West looking for a business location, he became acquainted with his present partner, George H. Champ, and in company with him bought out the abstract business of J. P. and J. N. Casady. To this they afterward added the business of money-lending, which, under their equitable, conservative and skill- ful management, at length grew to large pro- portions, and in 1888 they added banking, and in this line too their operations have be- come extensive. Their bank has taken rank among the leading financial institutions of the city, and even of western Iowa, eastern Nebraska, etc. Mr. Kimball is also a mem- ber of the firm of Kimball, Champ & Ryan, OF POTTAWATTAMIE UOUNTT. 417 bond brokers in Omaha, and he owns a half interest in the Bank of Minden, at Minden, Iowa. He also owns considerable land in Council Bluffs and elsewhere in the State. Politically he is a Republican, but has no aspirations for oiEcial position, preferring the seclusion of private life to public honor. He is a gentleman of modest and retiring man- ner, a shrewd business man and financier, be- ing deservedly a favorite among all classes. He is public-spirited and genial in disposition. The people of the city j^oint with pride to tiie elegant structures erected by Messrs. Kimball & Champ. One of these, the Grand Central Hotel, is acknowledged to be the finest building of the kind in the State. November 30, 1884, he married Miss Louise Greene, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a daughter of William and Louisa (Higley) Greene. She was educated at Faribault, Minnesota, in a ladies' seminary under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and also at St. Mary's Seminary, another Episcopal institution. W A. BOREN, a farmer of Crescent Town- fj ship, was born in Hancock County, Illi- w'^ nois, June 6, 1842, the son of J. B. and Nancy (Mcintosh) Boren, whose history will be found on another page. Reared to farm life, the subject of this sketch received a common-school education. He was but four years old when his parents moved to Davis County this State, where they remained one year, and they arrived in Pottawattamie County, June 22, 1847, locating upon a piece of land on which his father still lives. The subject of our sketch was married January 14, 1877, to Miss Mary A. Smith, who was born in Michigan, October 24, 1853, of par- ents who were natives of New York State; her father was a carpenter by trade. Mr. Boren bought his present place of 120 acres when it was entirely wild prairie, on section 11, township 86, range 44; and what is seen on the premises to-day are the work of his own hands, aided by his faithful wife, who died leaving two children: Francis M., who was born October 23, 1877, and is in charge of her grandmother; the second child died in infancy. Mr. Boren devotes his at- tion principally to stock-raising. He has in- creased his land and now has 308 acres in good condition, 100 cultivated with the plow. On national issues he entertains Democratic principles and takes an active interest in civil government. He has often been a del- egate to political conventions and has held various oflices of his township, many of them in Hazel Dell Township. He has been a School Director for a number of years, and at present is Treasurer of the school district. A man of strong convictions, he fixes him- self upon a well defined platform of princi- ples. He is a member of I. O. G. T. and of the Mutual Protection Society, in which he has held various oflices. Has held all the local oflices of the Good Templar Lodge, in- cluding that of delegate to tiie Grand Lodge. |EUBEN BARTON, of Weston, Potta- t wattamie County, is a native of Plain- field, Hampshire County, Massachu- setts, the son of Nathan and Sarah (Bur- roughs) Barton, and was born January 9, 1812. His parents were natives of the same State, where they were married, and reared a family of thirteen children. In 1823 they removed to Phelps, Ontario County, New York. The same year the father died, and 418 BIOGSAPHICAL HISTORY the mother with the unmarried portion of the family, nine in number, returned to Mas- sachusetts, where they remained until 1832, when the subject of this narrative, at the age of twenty years, decided to again go West, and this time to Ohio, where the family, consisting of the mother and four children, arrived November 21, 1832, and settled in the town of Huntsburg, Geauga County. There, in the spring of 1833, Reuben pur- chased fifty acres of wild land, heavy timber, at $2.50 per acre, paying $30 down. Our subject went to work with a will to prepare a home for himself and mother and a young sister, which he did by hard and incessant toil, chopping aud piling the immense growth of timber in heaps, and burning it np! (What a treasure would our Iowa farmers esteem a few acres of such timber!) Here he re- mained, improving and cultivating the soil for about three years, wiien his mother ac- cepted an offer of marriage from Mr. Jacob Warreuer, witii whom she lived until her death, which occuri'ed in 1853. After the marriage of his mother Mr. Bar- ton made his home with a brother-in-law, N. M. Faun, for about two years, when, in Sep- tember, 1837, in company with the brother- in-law, lie removed to Coles County, Illinois, then mostly in a state of nature. Here he entered 120 acres of Government land, con- sisting mostly of prairie, with a good supply of timber, and again erected a log cabin and commenced his favorite occupation of farm- ing, while yet in single blessedness, until February 11, 1888, when he was joined in wedlock to Marcia E. Wilson, who was born in St. Alban's, Vermont, December 25, 1811, and by whom he had three children, two boys and one daughter: Nathan Henry, the eldest, born April 13, 1840, now resides at San Bernardino, California; Reuben Almon, born November 10, 1842, and resides at Meadville, Keya Paha County, Nebraska, (both have families and both served through the war of the Rebellion), and Marcia E., born in Hancock County, Illinois, July 26, 1845, to which county he had removed in the spring of 1844, and where his wife died Sep- tember 8, 1846, and the infant died Septem- ber 25, 1846. He had jjurchased a forty-acre farm, and had begun to accumulate around him the comforts of life, when the destroying angel entered and desolation reigned supreme. This was indeed a day of adversity, and, to add to his afflictions, the horrors of a " Mormon war " seemed impending, mo! s of infuriated men traversing the country threatening devastation and ruin! and to avoid the impending conflict he again re- moved to the adjoining county of Hender- son, to remain until peace and order were restored, which was soon accomplished. He thei) returned to his home in Hancock County, where he remained until he removed to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in June, 1852. In the meantime he took a second wife, by the name of Almera W. Johnson, by whom lie had three daughters. Her family were quite numerous and conspicuous in the Mormon church. In the spring of 1853 he bought a claim oti section 30, town- ship, 76, range 43, and subsequently entered thesouthwestone-fourth thereof, and afterward added eighty acres of the same section. The only improvement on the land was a small log cabin, in which he made his home until 1857, when by dint of hard work and strict economy he succeeded in erecting a comfort- able frame house and other necessary out- buildings; large and spacious barns were added from time to time. About this time and three years sub- sequently a warning proclamation for the scattered remnants of saints to tiee to the OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 419 iriouiitains, to the only place of safety on this continent from the devastations of impend- ing war, was issued by Brigham Young, and there was a general departure of the taithful from this part of the country, and especially of the Johnson family; and to go and leave one behind was not to be thought of. Hence an influence was brought to bear upon Mrs. Barton, which culminated in her going with the rest in the summer of 1861. Thus in the forty-ninth year of his age, and twenty- third of liis married life, he was the second time bereft of wife; and this time, what was dearer tlian wife; three girls died, the eldest eleven years, and the youngest five years and six months; the youngest died Decemljer 20, 1861, and the eldest died March 23, 1870. The mother and only one daughter (feeble- minded) still live at Parowan, Utah. At this time (1861) the war of the Rebel- lion had become notorious, and Mr. Barton's eldest son, being of age, enlisted in Company B, Fourth Iowa Infantry. His other son, not yet twenty, received his permission, and enlisted in Company A, Twonty-nineth Iowa Volunteer Infantry; thus leaving Mr. Barton alone on the farm, a sort of recluse, to " liold the fort," and " ponder upon the vicisitudes of human life." At the close of the war the sons returned without the mark of a Rebel bullet, but impaired in health. In the fall ot 1867 our subject made a visit to Ohio, and October 20, 1867, was married the third time, this time to Maria J. Caro- thers, tha youngest of a large family, her birthplace being Phelps, Ontario County', New York, and born October 19, 1818. Her parents, John and Betsey (8ieklerj Carothers, were born in 1774 and 1778 respectively. The father's death occurred February 17, 1842, and the mother's September 8, 1853, in Burton, Ohio. Mr. Barton is a firm believer in the Spirit ual philosophy, and his wife of the Christian Church. He is a life-long Republican, and was at one time the only one who cast a Re- publican vote in his precinct. Although his party was generally in the minority, he was often elected Justice of the Peace, and served as such for many years, and until he posi- tively refused to accept any longer. Schools received his early attention, and he was mainly instrumental in getting the first school district organized in his precinct, and drew the first public funds, and as member of the board did all he could to promote tlie best interests of the community by establish- ing schools. He was commissoued a Notary Public in 1886, and is serving his second term, which expires in 1892. In June, 1884, having arrived at an age when he could not attend properly to the care and labors of a farm, and on account of the feeble state of his wife's health, he was induced to sell the farm, which was well supplied with choice fruits, containing over 300 bearing trees. This arrangement was carried out, and he removed to Weston, his present residence, where he owns one acre of land and a comfortable dwelling, with the purpose of spending the remnant of his days in retirement. Having commenced life with nothing but good health and a deter- mination to aciiieve a competence for him- self and tamily, he feels that his efforts have not been in vain. He has been a pioneer in three different States, Iowa being the last, where he has lived thirty-eight years and witnessed magnificent improvements. But this brief narrative of a long and eventful life would be incomplete and un- satisfactory without the following biographi- cal sketch, written by himself; althouo-h it necessitates a little repetition, the cause of which occurred subsequent to the writing of 430 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY the foregoing, hikI published in the Council Bluffs Nonpareil, September 24, 1890; Mrs. Maria Jane Barton, consort of Renben Barton, departed this life, September 10, 1890. She was born in Phelps Town, Ontario County, New York, October 19, 1818, and was the youngest of the numerous family of John and Betsy Carothers. Her father re- moved to Burton, Geauga County, Ohio, in 1832, where he died February 17-18, 1842. She being the only unmarried one of the fam- ily, the care of her father during a lingering sickness fell upon her. After his death the care of an invalid mother, who had become blind and lielpless, devolved upon her until her death, September 18, 1853, leaving our subject at the age of thirty-five, with feeble health and quite limited means. By over- work in lifting her mother through a series of years, she had contracted a disease of the spine, from which she was a great suf- ferer. She was under medical treatment by eminent physicians for eleven years, when she was so much improved as to enter the marrias;e relation with Reuben Barton in the fall of 1867, and came with him to this coun- ty, where she resided until her death. She was a great sufferer from sickness. The change of climate improved her, but did not restore her to sound health. In 1884 the re- moval to Weston for a time seemed to be beneficial; but in September, 1887, she had a stroke of paralysis of the left side, from which she never recovered, although able to be about the house until the last fatal attack, which occurred August 9, 1890; she was then forced to bed, from which she never arooe again. She survived, in great agony, a month, ceasing to breathe September 10, when she passed peacefully away, and there passed from earth life one of nature's noble women. Her sympathetic impulses knew no bounds; where duty seemed to call she was always ready, and to a sense of duty she sacrificed her health and life. They laid her tenderly to rest September 11, 1890. ~-^*>^>- fOHN A. SYLVESTER, of section 20, Garner Township, has been a resident of this county ever since 1861. He was born in North Carolina, Pitt County, October 26, 1829, a son of John Sylvester, Sr., who was born in 1802, in Boston, of Pilgrim stock, and is still living. His ancestors participated both in the Revolutionary war and in that of 1812. Mr. Sylvester's mother's name before marriage was Cassandra Slaugli- ter. She too was born in Pitt County, Nortli Carolina. The parents of the subject of this sketch were married in 1828, and then emi- grated to Randolph County, Indiana, where the father was a cooper by trade; earlier in life he was a sailor. Mr. Sylvester of this sketch also learned the cooper trade and worked on the farm. Arriving at age he became a teacher, in his home district. In 1853 he came to Dallas County, Iowa; two years afterward he went to Minnesota, and two years after that again he went to Missouri and taught school near St. Joseph; finally he came to Council Bluffs in 1861. February 20, 1868, he married Mrs. Adelphia McDonald, a lady of high culture, born near Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois, a daughter of John and Adelphia (Harper) Woods, natives of Kentucky. She was twelve years of age when her mother, in 1838, settled in Des Moines County, Iowa, and she was reared there and in Henry and Mahaska counties, this State. On reaching the age of twenty-one years she married Milton McDonald, a resident of Mahaska County at that time. In 1850 they moved OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 421 to Putnam County, Missouri, and in the spring of 1851 they came to Pottawattamie County, settling April 24, on a larra where she now lives, then a Mormon claim, upon which was a small log cabin and a limited portion of the gronnd broken. Here Mr. McDonald died, July 8, 1862, at the age of forty-live years, a sincere member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had four children, three of whom are now living: Amanda Ellen, now the wife of W. H. Mullen, of Council Bluffs; Marshall F., a prominent at- torney of St. Louis, Missouri; and Mary F., now Mrs. M. R. Frank, also of Council Bluffs. They lost one child by death, William F., at the age of seven years. By the present un- ion Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester have three chil- dren, namely: John Milton, a successful teacher; Ada C, and Elmer H., the latter also a teacher. The family occupy a tine brick house, surrounded by evergreen and noble forest trees. Mr. Sylvester is a Republican, and has been Justice of the Peace. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church. ^-^^^- fKED W. SPETMAN, of the firm of F. W. Spetman & Bro., merchants of Coun- cil Bluffs, is a native of Pottawattamie County, born September 18, 1855, the oldest son of H. H. Spetman, whose sketch appears elsewhere. Our subject was reared on a farm and received his education in the public schools of the township and city of Council Bluff's. When seventeen years of age he went to Davenport, and attended the Bryant & Stratton College, where he graduated. He then returned to this city, and engaged as clerk for Smith & Critfenden, in the whole- sale and retail dry-goods business, including both departments. He remained with them two years, after which he purchased a half interest in the store then Jknown as Galleger & Lee, purchasing Galleger's interest. The store was located on B Street, opposite the Ogden House, and was then known as Lee & Spetman. Mr. Spetman continued for two years, and then purciiased his partner's inter- est, and continued the business alone for one year and a half, when he sold out to J. C. Lee. He then, in 1877, removed to his pres- ent location, 509 and 511 Main Street, and in company with his brother, W. C, they carry an extensive line of general merchan- dise, boots, shoes and clothing, and have built up an extensive business. In 1880-'81 he served as a member of the City Council from the Third Ward. In 1886 he was elected City Treasurer, serving two terms, or four years. Mr. Spetman was married September Sep- tember 10, 1879, to Miss Alvena Los Kowski, a native of St. Louis, who came with her parents, Edward Los Kowski, a native of Germany, to this county in 1858. They have four children: Ella M., Lulu K., Dora C, and Verra R. Mr. Spetman is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 49, and of the A. O. U. W. He is also a member of the Lutheran Church. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party. lETER SMITH, Alderman of the Fifth Ward, to which position he was elected in the spring of 1890, is at the head of the tirm of Smith & Co., Union Bakery, which was established in 1883. They do a wholesale and retail trade, principally the former, their annual business amounting to $20,000. They ship to all ot the towns within a radius of seventy-tive to 100 miles by ex- press. Mr. Smith has been a resident of 422 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Council Bluffs since April 7, 1867. He was born in Germany, November 6, 1840, the son of Peter and Anna (Peterson) Smith. The parents died in Gerinanj when our subject was but a child, and when but ten years of age he came to this country with an uncle, locating at St. Louis, Missouri, where, he ^rew to manhood. He remained there until 1865, during which time he was engaged as clerk in a grocery store. He then went to Booneville, Missouri, remaining until 1867, when he came to Council Bluffs, where he has since made his home. He was engaged in various vocations until he connected iiim- self with the Muceller Music Company, of this city, with whom he remained eleven years. After leaving this firm he commenced his presPi.t business, which he has so far conducted successfully. He has always affil- iated with the Republican party, but has held himself aloof from political publicity. In 1890 he was elected City Alderman of the Fifth Ward, and carried his election by ninety-seven votes. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., No. 49, Council Bluffs Lodge, and also of the A. O. U. W., No. 270. He was married, in 1868, to Mary Muel- ler, who was born in Germany October 1, 1843, and they have a family of seven chil- dren: Frances, the oldest child, is the wife of Professor Charles Bactous, a resident of Omaha, Nebraska. — -^ "g'S i' S ' S" -" — RS. SDSANA FORSYTH, of Cres- [fiTOllt cent Township, was born in Alabama, iSillai ^p^Q 27, 1827, a daughter of Jere- miah Fowler, a well-to-do farmer, of German descent. Her parents had four sons and live daughters. Her father married Miss Sarah Johnson, whose parents were residents of Kentucky. Mr. Fowlor removed from Tennessee to Williamson County, Hlinois, and settled upon a farm which he had bought, and lived there until his wife's death, in 1836. Then one of the daughters, Elizabeth, kept house for the next two years. He then sold his farm, married again, and after that his children resided elsewhere. The subject of this sketch then lived with her sister Elizabeth until her death; and then for a year with old acquaintances; and then her youngest sister, Lucinda, married, and she lived with iier two years; in the mean- time they moved to St. Clair County, Illinois, and also Mrs Forsyth worked around among neighbors to some extent. After a residence elsewhere for a time she married J. S. Farris, March 1, 1846, and the first two years of their married life were passed upon the farm of John Griffin, with whom Mrs. Forsytli had been living; then a year near Fayetteville, which locality was so unhealthful that they sold out there and moved to Iowa, landing at Bellevue. Going out into the country about fifteen miles, Mr. Farris bought a farm of 145 acres of unimproved land in Jackson County, and he resided upon it eight years, improving it; selling out again he started to Saratoga, but, stopping in Decatur County, he followed farming there one year, near Garden Grove. In the fall Mr. Farris enlisted for three years, or during the war, in the Union army; and two weeks before he left for the battle-field they lost their infant child. During her husband's absence in the army, the subject of this sketch moved to Franklin, and two years afterward came to Pottawattamie County, on a visit. Returning to her farm, she sold it and then moved to Crescent City, this coun- ty, where, December 26, 1864, she married John Forsyth, a blacksmith by trade. His parents were natives of Scotland. In 1866 they sold their property there and purchased eighty acres of unimproved land on section ,i?r^=S^?s^'^ "■^, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 423 12, same towaship, and beo;an to make all tlie iriiproveraents for a comfortable home. They built a two-story brick liouse, barns, sheds, etc., planted a grove and orchard, erected a blacksmith shop and a iiouse in which to carry on his trade. Mrs. Forsyth is tiie mother of seven cliil- dreii, three of whom are deceased. Mr. Forsyth died in tiie spring of 1874, since which time Mrs. Forsyth has superintended the farm as well as the house. By industry and economy she has managed to keep her family together and support it, although her struggle has been severe and protracted. « n l III * * 1 % * l * v l f *o« lOLONEL WILLIAM FLETCHER SAPP, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born at Danville, Ohio, November 20, 1824. His grandfather, Daniel Sapp, was born and reared in Maryland, near Frostburg, from which State he emigrated to Ohio, set- tling in tiie eastern part of Knox County, adjoining and on the south side of Danville, which takes its name from his, where he lived and reared a large family, having mar- ried, before emigrating from Maryland, Mary Robinson. Daniel Sapp was one of the early pioneers to Knox County, Ohio, passing through all the vicissitudes and trials of a pio- neer life. He was the first County Surveyor of his adopted county, which was the only office held by him excepting that of Justice of the Peace, which latter office he held for many years prior and up to his death. Daniel Sapp, the grandfather, and Carl Sapp, with three other brothers, served in the war of 1812. Jolin Sapp, the father of the subject of this sketch, was Daniel Sapp's oldest child; he was born in Knox County, Ohio, and con- tinued to live there until his death, which occurred in December, 1833. John Sapp U2 married Elizabeth Myers, who was born at Cumberland, Maryland. She emigrated, when but a child, with iier parents to Knox County, Ohio, where she was married to John Sapji. At the death of John Sapp, he left his widow and three children to survive him, two daugh- ters, Angelina and Louisa, and a sou, the subject of this sketch. The eldest daughter, married Dr. Allmon F. Stanley, both of whom are now dead. Louisa was married in Knox County, Ohio, where she is still living, having reared a family of two sons and three daughters, all of whom are married. From this sketch it will be seen that William Fletcher Sapp is of Maryland stock, the par- ents of both his father and mother having been reared in Maryland. John Sapp was what was commonly called a very prosperous and thrifty man, and was greatly beloved by all who knew him, for his honesty, generosity, and superior judgment. At his death he left his widow and children in very good cir- cumstances for that day. Prior to his death, John Sapp made arrangements to move his family to St. Louis, Missouri, and in further- ance of that design he converted all his property into available means. On his death- bed, he purchased a farm, upon which his widow maintained herself and raised her three children. The farm adjoined the town of Danville on the west, and to this day it is looked upon as one of the best farms in that part of the country. William Fletcher Sapp continued to live with his mother and sisters, workiug on the farm in the summer, and attending the pub- lic schools in the winter, taking but little in- terest in education further than to identify himself with the debating societies or ly- ceums then prevalent in that community, and in which he, when but a young boy, be- came a prominent debater. At the age of fifteen years he began putting in ranch of his 434 BIOQRAPniCAL BISTORT time during the summer montlis in reading, and in such other studies as he was able to master without a tutor, still continuing to at- tend the public schools in the winter seasons. At tlie age of eighteen years he attended school at the Martinsburg Academy, an in- stitution of learning under the manHg-emeiit ment of the Presbyterian Church in his na- tive county. When he felt himself qualified for that purpose, he commenced teaching school in the winter seasons and attending school at the academy in tlie summer, and continued doing so until he commenced read- ing law in the spring of 1847 in the office of Hon. Coin iiibus Delano and Hon. William K. Sapp, his uncle, in the now beautiful and prosperous city of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, the county-seat of Knox County. His apti- tude in debate gave him a liking for the law, and he had scarcely begun reading for his chosen profession until he was employed by his friends and admirers to attend cases be- fore justices of the peace. It is his pride now to tell that during the time lie was a law student, he made enough in petty cases before justices of the peace to maintain himself, and when admitted to the bar to buy a small library of books with which to commence the practice. The rapidity with which he ran into practice after his admission to the bar was most remarkable, having had during the very first term following his admission, H dozen or more cases in the Court of Com- mon Pleas of Knox County. He was ad- mitted to the bar on the 27th day of June, 1850, and immediately opened a law office with Hon. Walter H. Smith, then a yonng man who had i-ead law in the same office with him. He was engaged in the trial of a num- ber of important civil and criminal cases during the first year after his admission. His success in his practice, and his ability in the trial of jury cases led his Whig friends to put him on their ticket as their candidate for the office of Prosecuting Attorney in the fall of 1850. At that time, Knox Connty was nearly 900 Democratic. The Democrats had nominated General George W. Morgan as their candidate, lie having returned from the Mexican war with an envialile reputation for iiis services rendered therein. When the official votes were counted it was ascertained that General Morgan had but thirty-two ma- joiity over Mr. Sapp, who was then a mere boy. In 1854, at the formation of the Republican party, lie took an active stand in the organ- ization of this new party, was nominated, witli out being a candidate for the office of Pros- ecuting Attorney, and was electeil over James G. Chapman, his Democratic opponent, by 800 majority. In 1856 he wa> re-elected over Hon. Charles Scribner, now of Toledo, Ohio. In 1856 he was engaged in making politicarspeeches for three months and more, being called upon to go far and near, and so ex- posed himself during that campaign that his health seriously failed him. On December 29, 1856, he was married to Mary C. Brown, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, daugh- ter of Captain Richard Montgomery Brown, he having commanded a company during the war of 1812. Miss Mary C. Brown was a most accomplished and beautiful girl, and was, in the truest sense of the term, a help- mate to her husband all through life. But few young men succeed on their own merits in acquiring so lucrative a practice as William Fletcher Sapp did at the bar of his native county in Ohio. Hi*; reputation as a young man of ability in his own profession was not confined to iiis own county, but ex- tended almost through the whole State of Ohio. He often refers to his early practice, saying that from 1850 until 1860 he made more money in the practice of law than ho has ever OP POTTAWATTAMIE! COUNTY. 425 made in the same length of time since. From 1856 to 1860, his health was such that he de- cided to remove to a locality where the atmos- phere was purer and dryer than that of central Ohio, and in the fall of 1859 he started out in search of a new locality. After traveling very considera'ily through the West, he made up his mind to remove to Omaha, Nebraska, which he did in the spring of 1860, where he acrain entered upon the practice of his profession. Omaha was then a village of from 1,800 to 2,000 inhabitants, and that now prosperous city and the Territory of Nebraska had not recovered from the crisis of 1857. In the summer of 1861 he was appointed Adjutant General of Nebraska Territory by Governor Alvin Saunders, and in the fall of that year he was nominated a member of the Territorial Legislative Com- mittee by the Republicans of Douglas County to till the vacancy occasioned by the resigna- tion of General John M. Thayer, and was elected to that position by the people over Hon. John I. Reddick, then a prominent at- torney of Omaha, which position he tilled to the entire satisfaction of the people of that county. In 1862 Major-General Pope issued an order for a regiment of cavalry to be raised in the Territory of Nebraska, to serve for nine months on the frontier against the In- dians, and relieve the regular army then stationed at Fort Kearney and other military posts. As Adjutant-General he Raided Gov- ernor Saunders in raising said regiment, and was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of that regiment by the Governor. During the time or his military service he was put in command of the Department of the Platte upon the resignation of General James Craig, of St. Joseph, Missouri, which position he filled until he was relieved by General Mc- Kane. Before the Second Nebraska Cavalry was mnstered out of service. Colonel Sapp had made arrangements for a law i)artnership with Samuel Clinton, of Council BluflTs, and, after spending the winter with his family in Ohio, he came to Council Eluti's and entered into practice under the arrangement so made with Judge Clinton, under the tirm name of Clinton & Sapp. They had a large and lucra- tive practice in Pottawattamie and adjoining Counties, practicing law in the Federal as well as State courts. In the fall of 1865 he was elected to rep. resent Pottawattamie County in the State Legislature, which position he tilled with dis- tinction, and during the session of which he Wi'.s a member he introduced and had passed a bill locating the Deaf and Dumb Asylum at the city of Council Bluffs. He also in- troduced and had passed through the House of Representatives a bill for holding the State Supreme Court at Council Bluffs. He was a most efticient and active member. He declined a re-election to the Legislature. In 1869 he was appointed United States District Attorney for the State of Iowa by President Grant, filling that position four years, with honor and credit. It is said that his success in that office, as shown by the report of the Attorney General of the United States, is considerably in excess of that of any other United States Attorney for that period. He was nominated by the Republican party as their candidate for Congress in the Eiglith Congressional District to the Forty- tifth Congress. At that time the District was composed of the following counties: Adams, Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Shelby, Taylor and Union. He was elected over Hon. Lemuel R. Bolter, the Democratic and Greenback candidate, by over 4,000 majority in the above named counties, and was again re-nominated by the Repub- 4i6 HlDGBAPllfCAL msTORT licans as their candidate to the Forty-sixth Congress without opposition, and was re- elected as tlieir Representative from the Eighth Congressional District, receiving 15,- 343 votes aeainst 7,453 votes for Colonel John H. Keatley, Democrat, and 7,760 votes for Mr. Hicks, National. During the time he was a Representative from the Eighth Congressional District, he introduced and secured the passage of a bill providing for liolding the United States Circuit Courts at the times and places where the United States District Courts were then held, — that is, at Dubuqne, Ues Moines, Keokuk and Council Bluffs. He also succeeded in getting bills passed through Congress, giving to the city of Council Bluffs Big Lake ami Car Lake, which are now the properties of said city. He also introduced and had unanimously re- ported by the Committee on Public Grounds in both the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Con- gresses, a bill for the purchase of grounds and erection of a Government building at the city of Council Bluffs; but, owing to the stern opposition of Hon. Samuel J. Randall, then Speaker of the House of Representa- tives, to appropriations for Government buildings, he was refused a recognition to move and suspend the rules and have the bill passed, at both sessions, which, doubtless, he would have procured but for the stern op- position of the Speaker. As a Representa- tive in Congress he devoted himself most assiduously to all the wants and interests of the people of his district. It is said of him that during the time he so represented the people, he was never absent from a roll-call during either the Forty-fifth or the Forty- flixth Congress. He never failed to answer a letter written to him as such Representative by any one in his district. In all his official conduct, he deported himself most honorably and uprightly. It can be said of him justly. that there was never a murmur asainst iiiii; as an officer as respects his integrity, honesty and application to his duties. He was nomi- nated by the State Convention of Iowa, by acclamation, as Elector at Large for Hon. James G. Blaine, the Republican candidate for President, and made quite a State canvass during that campaign. From the time he was admitted to the bar, he devoted himself most assiduously to the practice of law, excepting while he wa-^ in the military service and in Congres>, and may be said to be a very successful practitioner. The Union Pacific Railroad Company undertook to procure a separate bridge charter over the Missouri River. Against this scheme Colonel Sapp took a most active intere&t; went to Washington, and, mainly through Ids influence, the proposition for the bridge charter making the terminus of the Union Pacific at Omaha was defeated. Subsequent to this, he, assisted by others, procured tiie necessary legislation to compel the Union Pacific Railroad Company to build their bridge as a part of the line of their rond, and to compel them to perform their legal obliga- tions, and authorized proceedings by man- damus to compel them to do so. Attei' tliis provision passed Congress he took an active part in the litigation following to compel the Union Pacific Railroad Company by man- damus to operate tiieir road as a continuous line to and from Council Bluffs. By his advice Hon. John N. Rogers of Davenport was employed, who, in conjunction with Colonel Sapp, commenced a procteding by mandamus in the United States Circuit Court at Des Moines, which was decided in favor of the city of Council Bluffs. An apjjeal was taken from this decision to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the decision of the Circuit Court holding Council Bluff's to be the terminus ot the Union Pacific Rail- OF POTTAWATTAMIE! COUNTY. 4;7 road Company was affirmed, t'lat court de- ciding that the tenniiuis of the Union Pacitic Railroad Company was at Council Bluffs and not at Omaha. This decision was a matter of vital interest to the city of Council Bluffs, and its terminus was greatly to its advantage. All the assistance he rendered in that litiga- tion and the legislation that led to it, as well as the two arguments upon the terminus question made by him, was free of any charge to the city, he always absolutely refusing to accept any pay for his services in this respect, and bearing his own expense to and from Washington, and in having his arguments printed. The people of Council Bluffs re- member his action and service in that regard fully and with gratitude. On this question of the terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, Council Bluffs had a most earnest, sincere and effective friend in Colonel Sapp. He was most diligent in procuring the in- fluence of the Iowa delegation in Congress necessary for the needed legislation. After the firm of Clinton & Sapp was dis- solved, Colonel Sapp formed a partnership with the Hon. Joseph Lyman and Hon. S. J. Hanna, the firm being known as Sapp, Lyman & Hanna. In a short time Judge Hanna removed to Chicago, after which the firm name was Sapp & Lyman, which firm continued for fifteen years, during all of which time they did a very extensive law practice in the State and Federal courts. January 1, 1884, Hon. Joseph Lyman was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court by Governor Sherman. Immediately upon Major Lyman going upon the bench, Colonel Sapp formed a partnership with N. M. Pusey, a prominent attorney of Council Bluffs, since which time he has continued in the active practice of the law, the firm name being Sapp & Pusey. Whether we view him as a practicing at- torney, as a citizen, or as an officer, his record is a most honorable one. As a trial lawyer, he has few equals in the State, and is rej^arded as a formidable man to meet in a contest be- fore a jury. His recollection of the testimony of witnesses by which he is enabled to repeat over their very words, and his sound juilg- ment as to the policy to pursue in the con- ducting of a trial, are among the things lead- ing to his success as a trial lawyer. Colonel Sapp is a man of very vigorous and healthy constitution, and it is said of him, by the brother members of the bar, that he can endure more hard work than any man at the Council Bluffs bar. He is a man of very quick and active perception, a very retentive memory, and very superior judgment. Colonel and Mrs. Sapp were the parents of three children, of whom one sou still survives, William F., Jr., the eldest; two sons died in infancy. Mrs. Sapp was a daughter of Cap- tain Richard Montgomery Brown, who com- manded a company during the war of 1812, and was at the battle where Hull surrendered; Init rather than surrender he marched his troops through the wilderness to Mansfield, Ohio, and continued in the service until the close of the war, after which he located at Mount Vernon, Ohio. He was a native of New England, and was remotely related to Daniel Webster. At the end of the war he married Miss Mary Honn, a resident of Knox County, Ohio. She was a native of Hagers- town, Maryland. They resided in Mount Vernon, Ohio, where Captain Brown was en- gaged in the mercantile business, from which he retired with a competency. They reared a large family of six sons and four daughters, Mary C, the wife of our subject being the second daughter. Since the above was written Colonel W. F. Sapp has died, his death occurring on Nov- ember 22, 1890, just one day and a half after 438 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. his sixty-sixth birthday. His death was con- sidered a public calamity, and he was mourned by rich and poor, black and white alike. Resolutions of respect and condolence were passed by many organizations in Council Bluffs and sourrounding counties, and, for the first time in the history of Pottawattamie County, and as an especial mark of respect, a day was appointed and observed by the bar of his home county, of which he was presi- dent, fur memorial services, at which eulogies were pronounced upon his life and character. Colonel Sapp was laid to rest by the side of the wife he loved so well in the beautiful little cemetei-y at Mount Vernon, Ohio. ■°»"»» 4 » S '« S ' g i<-»°« fRANCIS T. McPHERRON, who resides on section 8, Hardin Township, came to this county in 1877, where he has since made his home. He was born in Henry County, Iowa, January 20, 1850, near Mt. Pleasant, the son of J. W. and May E. (Cook) McPherron. The father was a native of Knox County, Tennessee, and the son of William McPherron, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry; the mother was born in Mansfield, Ohio, the daughter of Luther Cook, a native of Penn- sylvania. The father settled in Henry Coun- ty, Iowa, in 1837, before it was admitted to the Union, and when it was inhabited by the Fox and Winnebago Indians. They reared a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, of whom our subject was the second child. Mr. McPherron still resides in Henry County on the farm which he has owned for over fifty years. Francis T. was reared on the old farm, and at tlie age of twenty years he began work at the carpenter's trade in Henry County, which he continued until 1878, when he carne to Council Bluffs and worked at his trade one year. In 1877 he bought eighty acres of wild prairie land, of which he broke forty acres, and the next year he rented the land for one year. In 1879 he built a small farm house, and in 1890 a good frame house, and made 'iiany other improvements. The farm con- tains a grove of eight or ten acres and an orchard. He now owns 200 acres of land, and is engaged in general farming and ttock- raising. Mr. McPherron was first married in 1874, in Henry County, Iowa, to Miss Helen Eve- land, wlio was born in Henry County, the daughter of James W. Eveland. By this union there was one child, Helen. Mrs. McPherron died the same year they were married, in 1874. In 1779 he married Anna B. Henderson, of Henry County, Iowa, the daughter of J. W. Henderson. They have four children: Vernon F., Perry E., Ira C. and Stacy W. Politically Mr. McPherron is a Republican. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Trenton Lodge, ISIo. 57, at Trenton, Iowa, and of the I. O. G. T., of Downsviile, Norwalk Township. He was raised a Pres- byterian, and his wife is a member of the Christian Ciiurch. fDLIUS MULLER, a prominent citizen near Crescent City, was born April 8, 1836, in Colmar, Alsace, France, whicli has been a province of Germany since the Franco-German war of 1870-'71. His par- ents, William and Madaline (Rebert) Mul- ler, were also natives of France. His father was a bookbinder by trade; he had four chil- dren, of whom Julius was the second. In 1851, leaving his family for the purpose, he came to America, sailing from Havre to New Orleans, arriving eight weeks later. Coming OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNT T. 429 on up to St. Louis, he was there engaged at his trade. During the month of December the ne.xt year liis family arrived. A year afterward he went to Davenport and estab- lished himself in his trade there, where also Julius, having previously served his appren- ticeship in the same, remained a short time. Going next to Cassville, Wisconsin, he entered 160 acres of land and began improv- ing it, but after a time he sold it, visited Lancaster, Wisconsin, and then located in Rock Islaml, Illinois, where he carried on his business extensively until he was burned out. His wife, being an invalid, was living with her daughter in Davenport, when she died in 1875. After her death he made a number of changes until lie finally settled in Daven- port, where he still resides. October 2, 1859, Mr. Julius MuUer mar- ried Ann Bird, who was l)orn near Quebec, Canada, May 2, 1838, of Irish ancestry. She was brought by lier parents to Illinois in 1852, and to Clay County, Iowa, in 1855. After his marriage Mr. Muller bought a tract of bot- tom land in Harrison County, this State, and resold it in 1866; but in 1864 he was drafted into the military service, placed in Company E, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was in service at Nashville, Tennessee. Next he was detailed upon a scouting expedition through Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, and thence to Annapolis, Maryland, whence he was sent down the coast on vessels to Morehead City, North Carolina, thence to Newbern and Kingston, where they were en- gaged in a severe fight, Mr. Muller having a narrow escape from the bullet of a sharp- shooter. They then joined Sherman in his march from the sea. At Raleigh they heard of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. They proceeded on to Washington and thence to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were mustered out, July 21, 1865. Mr. Muller then went to Denver, looking for a place to locate, but returned to Potta- wattamie County, and in 1867 purchased forty acres of land entirely wild, and began improving it. He has since added to his first purchase until he now has 164 acres of good land, on sections 13 and 24. tie has a good story -and-a-half house with farm build- ings, etc., a fine orchard and evergreen or- namental trees about the premises. His specialty is the rearing of domestic animals, chiefly horses. Politically Mr. Muller is a Eepublican, but in the primaries he votes for " the best man." He is a member of the M. P. Society, and has held various offices. He and his family are liighly respected. His children are: Mary, born January 25, 1861, residing at home; William, born April 8, 1862, resides in Missouri Valley, Iowa; Charles, born Jan- uary 22, 1867; Minnie, born August 15, 1870; and Thomas, born November 26, 1871, all three of these last still at their parental home. ;R. OLIVER WALKER GORDON, of Council Bluffs, was born in Wayne County, Indiana, in 1887. His father, William M. Gordon, was a native of Ohio. His grandfather, Robert Gordon, removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and thence to Indiana. The Gordon family is of Scotch ancestry. William M. Gordon was a youth when he moved to Wayne County, Indiana, where he was a pioneer. He married Miss Deborah Mendenhall, a daughter of Daniel Mendenhall. The latter was a Quaker and a native of North Carolina. True to his con- victions as a Quaker, he was opposed to the institution of slavery, and although in his early days was an owner of slaves, his con- 430 BIOORAPHIOAL HISTOR? science would not permit him to remain such, and he consequently set his negroes free and emigrated to Indiana, where he remained till death. William Gordon, the father of the subject of this sketch, continued to reside in Indiana a number of years after his marriage, when he emigrated to Iowa. Later he re- turned to Indiana with his family for the purpose of giving his children better advan- tages for education than Iowa in those early days afforded. He settled in Boone County, Indiana. While living here he represented his county in the Legislature. Later he returned to Henry County, Iowa. In early life he learned the trade of harness-maker, but did not long follow it; adopting the profession of law, he became a well-known lawyer and land speculator. His wife died in 1887, while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Esther Frame, the eminent Quaker evangelist. After the death of his wife, William M. Gordon removed to Fairfield, Jefferson County; re- married and has since died. He was a well- known citizen of Iowa; was a Democrat in politics, and in the administration of Buch- anan was appointed by that executive general mail agent, but later, endorsing the prin- ciples of Douglas, he was removed from this official position by Buchanan. He promptly took the side of the Union at the outbreak of the Rebellion, entered the army as a Lieu- tenant and was wounded at Fort Donelson, which resulted in his retiring from the army, and from his wounds he never fully recovered. He and his first wife were the parents of three sons and four daughters, who grew to mature years. Another daugh- ter, Eliza Jane, died in Indiana in infancy. The youngest daughter, Arrenetta, married and died in Minneapolis. The eldest mem- ber of the family is Rev. Luther B. Gordon, a Quaker preacher, residing near Los Angeles, California; the subject of this sketch is the second son; the next in order of age is Mrs. Esther Frame, the Quaker evangelist; Mrs. Lydia Manley is the wife of Rev. William Manley, a Quaker clergyman. Mary Emma is the wife of Rev. Philip Heck, of Moline, Illinois; Leroy A. is a merchant in Minnea- polis. The subject of this notice spent the most of his life in Iowa. Early in life his inten- tions were to follow the profession of law, but after pursuing legal studies for a time he abandoned them for the profession of medi- cine. Early in the war of the Rebellion he was assistant to Surgeon Hughes of Iowa, in the hospitals of Keokuk, and later assisted Surgeon Woods in the United States army, with whom he remained for a time, when he was transferred and his services were jjiven to the colored troops. Still later he returned to Surgeon Woods, with whom he remained until the close of the war. After the war he located at Bloomfield, Iowa, in the practice of his profession, and thence removed to Mount Pleasant; going thence to Chicago, he engaged in practice there, and was also for a time editor of a medical journal. From Chicago he removed to Minneapolis, from which city he removed to Council Bluffs in 1883. Dr. Gordon's first wife was Miss Mary Wright, a niece of Judge Wright, of Des Moines. His present wife was formerly Mrs. Mary C. Walker, of Council Bluffs, and a daughter of Dr. Edward S. Williams, a well- known early settler of this city. Dr. Gordon has two children by his first marriage: Will- iam and Annie, the latter being the wife of Elias Baker, of Lincoln, Nebraska. The Doctor and his present wife have a daughter, Deborah M., and an adopted son, Luther W. The present Mrs. Gordon was formerly the wife of Thomas A. Walker, of Council Bluffs, and has by that marriage four ciiildren. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 431 Edward S. Williams, father of Mrs. Gor- don, was born iu Campbell County, Virginia, wliero he was reared - and educated. He married Miss Mary Brown Austin, a native of the same county as her husband. Mr. Williams was by occupation a silversmith and dentist. He came to what is now Coun- cil Bluifs in 1852, and entered 160 acres of land, and also entered a quarter section, which includes Fairmount Park, and also included what is known as Williams' first and second addition to Council Bluifs. Mr. Williams did not come here directly from his native State, Virginia, but had removed to Missouri many years before. In 1852 he started over- land to California with his family. They included a part of quite a large body of emigrants who started for the land of gold, but on reaching Fort Laramie they were at- tacked by sickness, which carried oflF nearly the whole of them, only two men of the eighteen which accompanied the train, sur- viving. These, with the surviving women and children, left everything behind them, and, dislieartened by the results of the terri- ble scourge that had swept off so many of their numbers, retraced their steps as rapidly as possible. Stopping on their return to Council Bluffs, then known as Kanesville, Mr. Williams pre-empted the land above mentioned, but with the surviving members of the party they returned to Missouri. In 1856 he came back to Council Bluffs and laid out Williams' First Addition to the city, and continued here till about 1859. But the country here was then new and wild, and the wife and mother becoming dissatis- fied they returned to Missouri. Later Mr. Williams returned alone and laid out Will- iams' Second Addition, and in 1868 the family all returned, residing here until 1877, when Mr. Williams and wife returned to Denver, where they still live. They are the parents of nine children; five others died in early life. The entire family are residents of Colorado, except Mrs. Gordon, who has continued to reside here since she came with her father's family in 1868. Here she was married in 1871, to Thomas Walker, who was born and reared in the city of Baltimore. Mr. Walker died in this city in 1882. Mrs. Gordon's children by her first marriage are two sons and two daughters, viz.: Gulielma F., Brown Austin (daughter), Edward W. Walker and Archibald Alexander. Dr. Gor- don and wife have a beautiful home situated on Graham avenue, on a fine elevation, sur- rounded by shade and ornamental trees, and the view of the city of Council Bluffs from the residence is a pleasant and beautiful one. fEFFEIiSON P. CASADY is one of a family of brothers who are thorouo-hlv identified with the history and growth of the State of Iowa, the others being Hon. P. M. Casady and Weir Casady, of Des Mcines, the late Hon. S. H. Casady, of Sioux City, and J. N. Casady, of Council Bluffs. Each of these has been active and energetic In all that pertained to the welfare and devel- opment of the State. The subject of this sketch was born Septem- ber 1, 1828, at Connersville, Indiana, a son of Simon Casady. He is of that sturdy, strong Scotch-Irish ancestry which has pro- duced so many of the notable men of Amer- ica. Until eighteen years of age his life was spent upon the farm and attending the public schools, and afterward pursuing an academic course of study. Having but little tasle for farm life he took up the study of law, and received his training principally from Hon. Samuel W. Parker in the days when the principles of the law rather than the cases 432 BIOOBAPHICAL HI8T0BT were studied, and when the eminent lawyers of the day kept the Bible and Blackstone side by side upon their desks. Judge Casady's tutor was one of a coterie of great lawyers who made the bar of Indiana famous, and he thus imbibed an exalted opinion of the law, as practiced by men of learning and virtue. In 1852 he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, and was admitted to practice. In 1853 he moved to Council Bluffs, and in conjunction with Hon. Hadley D. Johnson opened a law office in the city and engaged also in the land business. As a lawyer he preferred civil business, and being by nature conserva- tive, cautious and prudent he soon became widely and favorably known; and in 1858 his fellow- citizens, recognizing his legal and financial ability, elected him to the office of County Judge. It is due to J udge Casady to say that this office was wholly unsought by him. Each political party had put forth its candidate for the office, but the people, being disatislied with the party nominees, repudi- ated the nominations and without dissent or regard to political prejudices elected Mr. Casady. Under the law as it existed at that time, the County Judge had full management of all the financial affairs of the county, and also of the Probate Court, thus putting upon that officer an unusual amount of hard work and responsibility. Judge Casady filled the office with remarkable ability and at that same time conducted his private business, which un- til 1868 consisted largely of real-estate opera- tions. During this latter year he was elected to represent the counties of Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont and Cass in the State Senate for four years. In July, 1861, he was elected a director of the Council Bluffs & St. Joseph Kailroad, and afterward was elected president of the road. In political sentiment Judge Casady is a Democrat, a Democrat in the broad and Jef- fersonian sense of the word, being a believer in the brotherhood of man and in the dignity of all honest labor. He has always been active in the councils of his party, having frequently been a delegate to its State conven- tions, and in 1880 was one of the Vice-presi- dents of the National Convention. In 1872 he was nominated for Auditor of State and ran far ahead of his ticket, though the State was so overwhelmingly liepublican that he was not elected. Judge Casady uniformly polled his party strength and also a large number of votes from the opposition, out of compliment to his sterling manhood and integrity. He has never coveted office, and never accepted one except at a personal sacri- fice and out of a sense of duty. Judge Casady has always been public- spirited, and has invariably shown his sym- pathy with all local enterprises and improve- ments. While in the State Senate he gave to the business of legislation the same care and conscientious attention that he gave to all macters of duty entrusted to him; and it was his skill, diplomacy and untiring effort that secured the appropriation for the building of the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Council Bluffs. It is somewhat notable in this connection that Hon. P. M. Casady, of Des Moines, rep- resented that district in the State Senate, Hon. Samuel H. Casady represented the whole northwestern portion of Iowa, contain- ing Sioux City, in the lower house of the Iowa Legislature, and Hon. J. P. Casady represented the Council Bluffs district in the Senate. It is another coincidence that his partners, Hon. Hadley D. Johnson and Hon. James D. Test, also represented the Council Bluffs district in the Legislature. The impress of his character has been silently felt throughout OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 433 the county ever since its organization, and it is safe to say that there is not a man in the county better or more favorably known throughout every part of it than he is. In business, while thoroughly conservative, he has been successful, and his name wherever known is a synonym for honest and fair dealing. No man iu the coiinty ever enjoyed the confidence and good will of the farming community to the degree that he has enjoyed it. Intimate acquaintanceship with such a man has a beneficial influence upon character, and more than one of the clerks and employes in his ofHce have become noted and success- ful men, owing to the admirable business training received there. Many young men in politics, in the law, and in other walks owe their start in life, in part at least, to the kindly interest in their welfare shown by Judge Casady, and some of his warmest friendships have originated in acts of kindness on his part toward young men. In his friendships he is loyal and unswerving. Socially he is a well informed, agreeable, companionable man. As a citizen he is univer.sally liked and respected. Years ago he became identi- fied with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and one of the charter members of Council Bluffs l.odge No. 49. He married Miss Hannah Joiner, June 16, 1856, and they have had five children: Law- rence and Jefferson J., both of whom are dead; Thomas E., Ida and Albert W. The eldest son, Thomas E. Casady, is a practicing lawyer in Council Bluffs, and the youngest, Albert W., is a contractor. After living together in unusually happy domestic life for over twenty- five yeai's. Judge Casady's wife was taken from his household by death, May 6, 1882. Early in their married life they became mem- bers of the First Presbyterian Church of Council Bluff's, and have brought up their family in that faith. Judge Casady is still a member and one of the liberal supporters of that church. P. COOPER, who resides on 160 acres of land in Garner Township, on sec- * tions 34 and 35, is one of the well- known and successful farmers of that part of the county, where he has resided since 1884. He was born in Germany, November 14, 1844, the son of Joseph and Maria (Keller) Cooper. A. P. was a lad of thirteen years when, with the consent of his parents, he came with kin and acquaintance to Jackson County, Iowa, where he remained until 1860. He received his education in Germany and in the Jackson County schools. In 1860. he started for California, with a company of about eight men from Jackson County. They had ox teams and horses, and took with them about 160 head of cattle. They crossed the Missouri River, May 10, 1860, and traveled over the North Platte route, by the way of Landers' cut-off. They arrived in California October 1, 1860, being six months on the road. They frequently met bands of Indians and gave them tobacco and groceries, they being very troublesome that season. Mr. C<^oper resided in California about twenty- five years. He first engaged in buying stock mostly, and afterward was engaged in raising wheat, grain and hay in Santa Clara County and Valley. He was successful, and was considered among the first-class farmers of that county. In 1884 he sold his personal effects and returned to Iowa, and on his arrival in Council Bluffs he bought 160 acres of land of Austin Howard, who was one of the most prominent citizens of Pottawattamie County; Mr. Squires acting as agent. The farm is situated two and a half miles from the city limits, and under a good state of 434 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY cnltivatioi). It is well-watered by a bubbling spring, which sends up a large stream of water near the house. He is engaged in general fanning and stock-raising, and has a good orchard and about one and a half acres of grove. Mr. Cooper was married in December, 1884, to Miss Minnie Viella Paup, who was born in Jackson County,- Iowa, the daughter of William and Charity Paup, who reside in Harlan, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have had one child, a son, Leland Levan, who was born October 29, 1885. Politically Mr. Cooper is a Republican. He is a man in the prime of life, and is well-informed on all general topics. He is frank and cordial in his manner, as most men are who have spent many years on the coast and plains. " l ' i * n - < i*' >«!»■ fINCENT BATTIN, contractor and builder, has his office on Seventh street, between Broadway and First avenue, and his residence on the corner of Mynster and North Eighth streets. He es- tablished his business in Council Bluffs in 1867 and since that time has been actively engaged here. Some of the principal build- ings erected by him are the Ogden Hotel, Whitney Block, Everett Block, corner of Pearl street, Key Block, Earnsworth resi- dence. Champ's residence and J. J. Brown's residence, besides many others that might be cited. Mr. Battin was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, in 1833, son of Ezra and Ju- lina (Keith) Battin, natives of Pennsylvania, and Virginia, who came to Ohio while quite young. The paternal ancestors were Welsh and Irish and the maternal English. Vin- icent was reared in Ohio and educated in the public scliools of that State. He also learned the carpenter's trade in his native State. At the age of twenty he went to Indiana, and spent four years in Greensburgh; thence to Lawrence, Kansas, two years; thence to Col- orado, spending three years in Denver and the mines; thence to Idaho and Oregon, three years, working at his trade and mining. In 1867 he came to Council Bluffs, and since then has been an active and enterprising business man of this city. He employs an average of ten men the year round, his pay roll amounting to $6,000 annually. His annual business averages about $25,000. Politically Mr. Battin is an independent Republican. He was married in Idaho, in 1866, to Jen- nie Rogers, who was born in Illinois, in 1843. Mr. Battin and his wife are worthy citizens of Council Bluffs and are favorites in society circles. 'IIOMAS B. LACEY, M. D., of Coun- cil Bluffs, is one of the leading physi- cians of this city, where he located in March, 1876, and has been continually in practice since that date. He was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1853. His parents were Thomas and Rachel (Noble) Lacey. The family emigrated to Racine, Wisconsin, from New England, and thence to Chicago, in 1863. Both the father and the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch were physicians. The mother survives her husband, being still a resident of Chicago. The Doctor has but one sur- viving brother, Fred N., a resident of Chicago, who is connected with the Pullman Palace Car Company. He lost two brothers, Ar- thur at the age of twenty six years, and Ed- ward at the age of sixteen. He has one sister, Mrs. H. A. Summer, of Chicago. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 435 The Doctor received his literary education at Oberlin College, Ohio, and graduated at the Chicago Medical College in 1875. The Doctor was in practice at the Soldiers' Home in Milwankee for a year after graduation, but nearly all his professional life thus far has been spent in Council Bluffs. Doctor Lacey is a gentleman of culture, possessing excel- lent literary attainments, and is recognized as one of the leading physicians of western Iowa. He is at present Medical Director of the United States Masonic Benevolent Association of Council Bluffs. He was associated with Drs. Macrae and Thomas as a Board of Pen- sioning Examiners for a period of four years. The Doctor is a prominent Mason, having taken the higher decrees of that order. He has a son named Tliomas B., born October 12, 1880. fOHN P. STUHK, one of the leading merchants of Mindeii, was born in Schles- wig, Germany, January 12, 1844. Sep- tember 12, 18tj2, he came to Davenport, Iowa, where he attended schoul until September G, 1864, when he enlisted in Company B, Eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served under General A. J. Smith. He fought in the two battles of Spanish Fort, Mobile, Fort Blakely, Alabama, at Island No. 13 against the famous Quantrell in 1864, and at Mem- phis, Tennessee. He was wounded in the knee by a bayonet at Island No. 13, in an encounter with Quantrell and the James boys, but was taken from the tield on a mule by a comrade. Previously he had a very narrow escape from these same guerrillas. With thirteen companions he was detailed from the picket boat Pocahontas by First Lieu- tenant John Nelson Gardner to Island No. 10, to search for bushwhackers, rebels and cotton. This little command, under the lead- ership of Mr. Stuiir, landed on the island, and he pushed his way througii the dense cane, which grew twenty feet high, with liis hands for about one and a half miles at the head of the detail. The party finally came to a clear- ing of about forty acres, where a small cabin was found containing two men and two women, who wore badly frightened. Forcing them to stand in the corner, Mr. Stuhr and three companions, they having been separated from the rest in the dense cane, ate a scanty meal of baked beans and pork; then, ieavincr the people in the cabin, proceeded. In about four hours' travel they came upon another small cabin made of logs, and here Mr. Stuhr opened the door and found two small boys. Upon asking for food the boys replied that they had biscuits and molasses, and told the soldiers to help themselves. While eat- ing a shadow passed the window, and Mr. Stuhr ran out and called to the man to halt, and bringing him in the cabin made him stand in the corner. The prisoner, speaking in low German, asked if Mr. Stuhr was not a low German and came from Schleswig. Mr. Stuhr said that he was, and the prisoner asked why he was there; and on being an- swered that the party were from a steamer in the river and were searciiing for bushwackers and cotton, the prisoner replied that it was fortunate for them that they went no further, and said that a short distance away were 300 guerrillas, and that by stepping to the door and whi8tlii]g they could be called at anv moment. Mr. Stuhr took him to the door and said, show me to their camping place, telling him that if lie whistled or made any sign, even if lie was a countryman, he would shoot him on the spot. They proceeded about 120 rods, and saw through the cane into another clearing about 300 yards away about 300 bushwackers amusing tiiemselves 436 BIOORAPHICAL HISTORY by jumping. Taking his prisoner with him and commanding silence at tiie peril of bis life, he retreated with his companions to the shore and found their steamer within hailing distance, and leaving their prisoner behind were soon safely on board. Had they not found the steamer they would have been forced to take the prisoner and little boys to Memphis. This is one of the most narrow escapes from hanging on record. The names of Mr. Stuhr's companions were: Charles Asherman, Christ Muhl and Gotfrled Man- bauver. While on duty at Memphis, Tennessee, in the slaughter-house, a Second Iowa Cavalry man, by the name of Christian, came in with an order for a fore-quarter of beef, and tried to force Mr. Stuhr to give him a hind quarter. Mr. Stuhr immediately placed his bayonet at ids breast, and the cavalryman gracefully retired with his fore-quarter. On a trip down the Mississippi on a steamer Mr. Stuhr and three companions captured two Confederate soldiers, a Captain and a Lieu- tenant, by the vigilance of Mr. Stuhr, who called attention to them. Mr. Stuhr came to Minden in 1875, and on Aucrust 1, 1881, lie bought the store of Bartlett & Co., and engaged in the general merchandise business, in which he has since continued. He has been Township Assessor in this county, also Road Supervisor in Scott County. Politically he is a Democrat, and socially a member of the Kniglitb of Pythias. He is one of the most popular jnen in Min- den, and has been recently elected by a large majority as the iirst Mayor of Minden, the town having been recently incorporated. He was also Fostinaster of that town four years, under Cleveland's administration. He is well- known as a sociable and enterprising mer- cliant. It can well be said of him that he has done as much toward building up Min- den as any other prominent man of the town. His son, Julius, a capable clerk in his father's store, was elected Recorder of the town at the same election. He was married in Davenport, Iowa, May 26, 1866, to Amelia Cornelius, who was born in Germany, October 28, 1846, the daughter of Marcus and Anna (Muller) Cornelius, both natives of that country. Mr. and Mrs. Stuhr have six children: Alvina A., Julius, John M. R., Adelia H., William and Walter. They are both members of the Lutheran Church. Socially, Mr. Stuhr is a Knight of Pythias, and politically a Democrat. He is now the leading merchant and the Mayor of Minden, to which office he was elected by a large majority. •it* f BRAHAM HOOGEWONING, one of the prominent business men of Avoca, was born in Rysburg, Province of South Holland, March 24, 1851, the son of Peter Hoogewoning, a native of the same place. He was married in the same town, and was the father of tiVe children: Abra- ham, William, Catharina, Charles and John. He lived to the age of seventy-two years, and was killed by an accident on the railroad at Ottumwa, Iowa. He came to America in 1868, and settled at Pella, Marion County, where he became a popular man. Abraham Hoogewoning, our subject, came to Pella, Iowa, when seventeen years of age, and eno-aired in farm work six months. He attended school one month and evening school two winters, and was at first placed with the small scholars on account of not un- derstanding the language, but his natural scholarship was such that after one day he was advanced to the higher classes. Decem- ber 31. 1876, he came to Avoca, and has OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 437 since been engaged in the real-estate busi- ness, house renting and money lending. He was married in Des Moines, Iowa, January 16, 1877, to Cornelia "Van De Peppel, young- est daughter of Cornelius and Mariya Van De Peppel, a native of Holland, and they are the parents of four children: Peter, Cor- nelius, Abraham and Henry. It is gratify- ing to note that while our subject began life as a vegetable peddler when a mere boy from thirteen to sixteen years of age, in the Hague, the capital of Holland, he has, by his own nnaided efforts and with great perseverance, become a reliable citizen. He has never been above earning an honest dollar in any legitimate manner, and it may well be said that he has come by his property honestly. It is needless to stale of Mr. Hoogewoning, that he is rated high in the commercial re- ports and that he is regarded as a straierht- forward and reliable man. He is also a man of excellent natural ability, and, as he is still a young man, should take a high rank in the future. Coming from Holland, England and Germany, and speaking foreign languages, he has, by his force of character alone, over- come obstacles which would have been insur- mountable by many others. ~-*£-^«^^**-~^ llLLIAM U. BROWN, who owns 264 acres of land on section 36, Garner Township, came to Pottawattamie County in 1862. He was born in Indiana, June 26, 1836, the son of John and Rachel (Peterson) Brown, the former a native of Kentucky, and the latter a descendant of old Virginia families. They were the parents of four children, three sons and one daucrliter. William R. was but a babe when his parents moved to Marion County, Indiana, about six miles south of Indianapolis, and at twelve years of age his mother removed to Cass County, Indiana, where he remained until our subject was matured, having passed his youth on a farm. At the age of nineteen years William R. came West, and arrived at Omaha on May 15, 1862, when it was but a small village of about 1,000 inhabitants. He first engaged in teaming, then in working a stone quarry, in which he bought an interest and remained two years. He then sold out and engaged in freighting to Denver, Col- orado, for one year; he then worked in a brick-yard one year; and then engaged in carpentering, a trade which he had followed in Indiana. In 1867 he went to work in the Union Pacific Railroad shops, where he remained until 1877, when he rented some land east of Fort Omaha, and engaged in farming one year. He next went on the Kunce place, now in Omaha, where he re- sided six years. Here he bought 160 acres of land near Fort Omaha, which he kept two and a half years, and then sold it at a good advance. He then returned to Des Moines, and bought a car-load of horses, which he sold, and bought the Scotield farm of lOOJ acres, which he owned nine months, and then sold at an advance of $40. Mr. Brown then purchased his present farm, in October, 1887, which was known as the Van Silver farm, or the White farm: it is well watered by Pony Creek, whicli flows through it. He was married in Warren County, Iowa, near Fort Hartford, in 1861, to Miss Mar- garet L. Lewin, who was born in the eastern part of Iowa, the daughter of Washington Lewin, who came to Omaha in 1856. They have five sous and four daughters, viz.: Charles, who is married and resides in Omaha; James, a commercial ti-aveler, residing in Galesburg, Illinois; Mary, wife J. K. Haz- zard, of Omaha: Albert, who resides in Omaha; Dolly, living at home; Nellie, Ben- 4J8 BIOGRAPniCAL HISTORT nie, Delphia, Salome and Oscar. They have lost five children by death in childhood. Po- litically Mr. Brown is a Republican; he is a member of the I. O. O. F., Council Bluffs Lodge, No. 49. fH. C. STUHR, one of the most prom- inent business men of Minden, was ^ born in Holstein, Germany, February 27, 1841, and was but sixteen years of age when he came to America. In 1857 he went to Davenport, Iowa, where he worked at the trade of stone mason and also at farm work; he was a weaver by trade in the old country. In 1861, after the three months' service men had returned, he enlisted in Company I, Twelfth Missouri Infantry, as a private. He had previously made several attempts to en- list, but failed owing to the eagerness to en- list in Iowa regiments. He missed the bat- tle of Pea Ridge, owing to sickness, and was in the hospital at St. Louis six weeks. He then returned to his regiment, and was on the march through Missouri, Arkansas and in many skirmishes. His first severe battle was at Vicksburg. He was next at P'ort Heintman, on the Little Red River; next at Looivout Mountain, where he captured thir- teen prisoners and afterward had charge of them; lie himself carried their arms. Tlien he was at the battle of Mission Ridge, and afterward at that of Ringgold, Georgia, and here his regiment met with severe loss in men and officers. He was also in the battle of Atlanta, Georgia, detailed as Orderly, and from there he went with Sherman on his famous march to the sea as far as Savannah, Georgia. He became a dispatcher for Gen- eral Osterhouse, and also served a short time under General John A. Logan as Orderly, and still has in his possession one of the Gen- eral's passes. He served altogether four years and five mouths, and was honorably discharged at St. Louis, Missouri, January 15, 1866. Mr. Stuhr served three years as drummer in the old State militia, and at the battle of Lookout Mountain he served as bu- gler. At Ringgold, Georgia, when his Cap- tain, Joseph Ladegerber, was shot and mortally wounded, he was carried off the field by Mr. Stuhr and three companions, under a flank fire. He says that $10,000 would not tempt him to take such a risk again. They took the Captain along the railroad over or^e and a half miles distant, and all the way the enemy poured a fierce fire at them. Throughout all his experience Mr. Stuhr received no wounds, but at one time his blanket was shot through without touching him. Thus our young soldier faced the Rebel bullets for his adapted country, and then resumed peaceful pursuits. Returning to Davenport, Iowa, he engaged in teaming, and the next year rented a farm in Scott County, where he resided until 1875, when he came to Pottawattamie County. Here, in company with J. Stamp, he pur- chased 205 acres in Pleasant Township and 160 acres in Harrison County, but dissolved partnership in 1888. In 1887 he came to Minden, where he became business manager for John L. Daw & Co., in buying grain; this season he bought 60,000 bushels of bar- ley. Mr. Stuhr is a self-made man, having worked his way up from boyhood in a strange country, becoming first a soldier and defender of his country's rights, and is now an honor- able American citizen. Socially he is an Odd Fellow, and has held theofiices of Noble Grand and Treasurer. He is a member of the Dick Yates Post, G. A. It., at Shelby, Iowa. He is a man who is best known for his sterling qualities and integrity, and he is a credit to the sturdy German stock from which he came. OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTS. 43d Mr. Stuhr was married October 6, 1866, to Eva Aron, and they are the parents of eight living children, namely: Emma, Will- iam, Mary, Clara, Katie, Matilda, Dora and Hannah. Mr. Stiilir's first wife died, and he was again married to Abel Linan, and by this marriage there are four children: Emil, Olga, Alma and Johnnie. IcfUOMAS E. CASADY, of the law firm of Burke & Casady, is one of the brightest among the young members of the bar. He was born at Council Bluffs, Iowa, April 27, 1868; attended the public schools of his native city until 1884, when he entered Parsons College at Fairfield, Iowa, where he graduated with honors June 6, 1888, and immediately began the study of law in the office of Finley Burke, Esq., at Council Bhifl's. In September, 1888, he entered the law department of the Iowa State University and remained there until the pro- tracted illness of his father required his re- turn to Council Bluffs, wliere he continued his law studies with his former preceptor until, after thorough examination in open court by the Supreme Court of Iowa at its October (1890) terna, he was licensed as an attorney and counsellor of that court. Few, if any of the lawyers in Western Iowa have had better educational training than Mr. Casady, or taken deeper interest in scholastic matters. He is President of the Alumni Association of Parsons College and is recognized as one of the brightest men graduated at that well-known institution of learning. On account of his attainments he has received from Parsons the degree of Master of Science, conferred by that college on such of its graduates as have earned it. Mr. Casady is a man of high personal char- 33 acter and integrity, and enjoys the confidence of the people both on the score of ability and responsibility. He is possessed of a logical mind, studious habits, courteous bearing, an ability to talk well and to the point, good judgment and common sense and a fixed pride and determination to succeed in what he undertakes. He has a host of friends and is a favorite with all who know him. In politics he is a Democrat. He is the eldest son of Hon. J. P. Casady, one of the early settlers of Pottawattamie County and a member of the well-known Casady family whose names are interwoven with the history and legislation of the State. ~-f*^>^^|^->~ fAMES M. BOLTON is ranked among the intelligent and well-known citizens of Washington Township, Pottawattamie ('ounty, and resides in section 24. He was born in Botetourt^County, Virginia, Septem- ber 14, 1850, son of David and Martha (Fisher) Bolton, natives of Virginia. James was twelve years old when his parents moved to Cedar County, Iowa. The family lived there for many years, after which they came to Pottawattamie County. His parents are now residents of Wheeler, tiiis county. To them were born eleven children, James M. being the third. He was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of Cedar County. He moved to Guthrie County, Iowa, and three years later to Grove Town- ship, Pottawattamie County. After residino- there several years he moved to Mapleton, Monona County, same State, where he en- gaged in the dairy business. In 1886 he re- turned to Pottawattamie County and bouCTht his present farm of A. B. Clark, who had partly improved the place. Here he has since made his home, having 160 acres of 440 I^tographioaL history land under a splendid state of cultivation. lie has a good two-story house, 18 x 26 feet, well located with a grove and orchard near by. His barn is 30 x 38 feet; Mr. Bolton is encrao-ed in general farinina; and stock- raising, and has met with success in his agri- cultural pursuits. He is an expert mechanic, and has invented two machines which he has liad patented. One, a four-row corn-planter, was patented September 14, 1885, and has proved to be a valuable machine, giving Mr. Bolton no little notoriety. The other, a wash- ing-machine, was patented in June, 1890, and is equally successful. It has six small rollers and one large fluted cylinder roller. It is considered the best machine in the county for practical use. When he was twenty years old Mr. Bolton was married to Sarah Anderson, a native of Miami County, Indiana, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Drake) Anderson. To them six sons have been born: Clyde, Herbert, Ilomei-, Roy, Harry and Grant. Their only daughter. Grade, is deceased. In his political views Mr. Bolton is a Republican. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance. In all his business relations he is regarded as an honorable and upright man. fllOMAS J. JONES.— One of the YMk- honored and esteemed citizens and pioneers of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He resides in section 9, Silver Creek Township. Mr. Jones is a native of the Old Domin- ion, having been born in Mason County, near the Ohio River, November 16, 1883. His father, Charles Jones, was born and reared in Monroe County, Virginia, and his grand- father, William Jones, was a native of Ire land, an intelligent and educated man, and a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Jones' mother, Rhoda N. (Wright) Jones, was born in New York State, the daughter of Gad and Rhoda (North) Wright. Mr. Wright was born in the Empire State, and his wife was a native of Connecticut, a de- scendant of a prominent and wealthy family of that State. Charles Jones and wife were married in Mason County, Virginia, and when their son, Thomas J., the subject of this sketch, was three years old they removed to Union County, Indiana, where they re- mained two years. They then spent two years in Butler County, Ohio, after which they returned to Indiana and located in Decatur County. The father died there in July, 1882, at the age of seventy-six years. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits all his life, lie was a member of the Christian Church, and in politics cast his vote with the Whigs. He supported General Fremont when he was a candidate for the presidency, as also did his son, Thomas J. To Cliarles Jones and wife thirteen children were born, six of whom are living. Three daughters are in Indiana and two are in Nebraska. The mother lives with her son in this county, and at this writing has reached the advanced age of eighty- two years. Tliomas J. Jones was reared on a farm in Decatur County, Indiana, and while he was taught to chop wood, grub and clear land, he also learned lessons of honesty and frugality, all of which have served him well in after life. He was married in September, 1858, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Clark, a native of Decatur County, Indiana, who was reared and educated there. Her father, William Clark, also a native of Indiana, was a son of Joseph Clark, a Kentuckian, and her mother, nee Ritty Jane Menefee, was born in Ken- tucky, daughter of Larkin Menefee, also a OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 441 native of Kentucky. Her parents now live in Decatur County, Indiana, the fatlier being seventy-eight and the mother seventy-four years of age. They reared three children, two of whom are living: Mrs. Jones and her brother, Thomas J. of Indiana. In 1872 Mr. Jones came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and bought a farm of 160 acres of wild land wiiere he now resides. This he has improved in a good manner; has a comfort- able cottage home surrounded by a fine grove and orchard. His farm is watered l)y springs and is well adapted for general farming and stock-raising. All the farm conveniences — stables, cribs, feed lots and fences — show thrift and prosperit}'. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have three childi-en as follows: Martha Jane, wifeof Orlandu HamiU ton, of Washington Township, has seven childreti; Elnora, wife of William Shelton, of Pottawattamie County, has three children, and Rlioda, wife of Angus McKenzie, of Silver Creek Township, has two children. One son, William Clark, is deceased. Mr. Jones is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church. i-SmJ-. K. PARKER is one of the prominent citizens and successful stock men of ** Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he has lived since 1869, and where he has been an important factor for good in the com- munity'. Mr. Parker was born in Clark County, Ohio, October 7, 18-44. His father, Emery Parker, was born in New York State, the son of David Parker; and his mother, whose maiden name was Delopha Bailey, was born in New Hampshire. The Baileys were an old New England family. Mr. and Mrs. Parker were married in Clark County, Ohio, and when D. K. was four years old the family moved to Putnam County, Illinois. Some time later they located in Henry County, same State, where the father died at the age of sixty-three years, and the mother at the age of sixty-four. Mr. Parker was in the boot and shoe business until the latter part of his life; then he was on the farm until death. His vote and influence were cast with the Democratic party. Of the seven children born to this worthy couple, the subject of our sketch was the fourth. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools. Mr. Parker was engaged in ag-ricultural pursuits in Illinois until 1869. In that year he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and and bought land in section 25, Waveland Township. After making some improve- ments on it he sold the property and bought 160 acres where he now lives, in section 16. The soil had been broken, but there were no buildings on the land. Mr. Parker has im- proved this farm, and has added to it by other purchases until he is now the owner of 400 acres of as rich land as can be found in Iowa. His first house was a small frame one, 16 x 20 feet. This with other additions was burned down in 1886, and the next year was replaced by a more modern home. This is one of the best farm residences in the eastern part of the county, is built on a rock foundation, has bay window and porches, and was erected at a cost of $3,000. It is beautifully located and the lawn which surrounds it is dotted over with flowering shrubs and ornamental trees. Mr. Parker has a grove and orchard of four acres. His barn is 36 x 50 feet, and his other improvements, wind-mill, sheds for stock, fences, etc., are all of a substantial character. In Henry County, Illinois, May 4, 1869, Mr. Parker married Miss Lucretia Bollen, 443 BIOGRAPHICAL UISTOnr who has since been the sharer of his joys and sorrows. She was born in Henry Connty, Illinois, April 20, 1849, daughter of John and Permelia BoUen. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have four children: Alfred L., Ethel Pearl, Lewis Elmer and Coral Evelyn. They lost one child, Effie Permelia, who died at the age of thirteen months. Mr. Parker is a Repub- lican; has served as Township Trustee and as Treasurer of the School Board for twelve years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Cass Lodge, No. 412. He is well posted on the general topics of the day, is broad and progressive in his views, and is a friend to both education and religion. He is a member of the Church of Christ of Waveland Township, to which he gives his liberal and earnest support. - l ' l *< \ ' l" ^ S. BARNETT was born in New Haven, Connecticut, January 14, 1833, son of I* Willis and Eosetta (Smith) Barnett, natives of Connecticut, of English and Scotch oricrin. The mother died in New Haven in March, 1855, and the father died in 1871, at the age of seventy-one years. Mr. Barnett was reared in his native State and remained there until 1857, when he came to Iowa. He was educated in the public schools and attended an academy one term. During his youth he took up the edge-tool trade, receiving instructions from a thorough mechanic and following that trade for a time. After coming to Iowa he turned his attention to blacksmithiug, which he engaged in for a number of years, in fact, until about 1876, when he suffered a partial paralysis of his right arm, and was forced to give up his trade. In 1878 he was appointed deputy revenue collector, in which capacity he served seven years. In 1886 he was elected Justice of the Peace, and was re-elected in 1888. Politically he is a Repulilican, and is one of the active members of tliat party. He has held the office of Street Commissioner. Mr. Barnett came to Pottawattamie County in 1866, and has been a resident of this county since that time. He is one of the leading citi- zens of Council Bluffs, and an active worker in anything that tends to the public good. He was married, in New Haven. Con- necticut, May 30, 1854, to Sarah A. Jacob-^, a native of that State, and a dauiihter of Enoch and Sarah (Brown) Jacobs', who were of French descent. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett are the parents of two children: Lena, wife of Jonathan Chase, of Weeping Water, Nebrat?- ka; and Catharine, wife of F. H. Young, of Durango, Colorado. The family are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. Barnett having been associated with the church since he was nineteen years old. He is now treasurer of the church board and also a steward. Mr. Barnett is a member of the I. O. O. F., Hawkeye Lodge, No. 184, and of the 1. O. G. T. LTGUST BOSTEDT, one of the Com- missioners of Pottawattamio County, was born in Barmstedt, Germany, July 8, 1859, a son of J. Bostedt, who was a well- to-do farmer of that place. He was the father of fourteen children, twelve of whom are now living, namely: August, William and Lizzie, are now citizens of Pottawattamie County ; John, Lona, Fred, Katie, Henry, and Ernest are the children by his first wife; by his sec- ond wife there are William, August, Lizzie, Emma, Helen and Frederick. Their mother's maiden name was Mary Morris. The father died August 16, 1882, at the age of eighty- two vears. OF POrTAWATTAillB COUNTY. 443 III 1880. at the agn of twenty years, Au- gust Bostedt ca'ne to America, and after landing in New Yurk came direct to Minden, Iowa, where he began worii at the carpenter's trade, which he had learned in the old coun- try. Politically Mr. Bostedt is a Democrat, and has taken an active part in political mat- ters. He was elected Constable and served four 3'ears, and in 1889 was elected County Commissioner by the large majority of 1,300 votes, which office he is still holding, to the general acceptance of the people. Since July 4, 1890, he has built thirty-six bridges, which had been washed away by the floods of June^ 1890, and which is an astonishing number for such a short time. Mr. Bostedt has the confidence and respect of the people on ftc- count of his sterling honesty and a desire to do what is right. He is descended from the sturdy old German stock, who have helped to build up America. He is a lover of good books, and a believer in self-education and cultivation. He was married April 23, 1887, to Mary Goethje, a daughter of Christ Goethje, and they have one child, Minnie. -. .^ . 2 .. I . |. ...~ fOHN T. BALDWIN was born October 12, 1820, Washington Comity, in the State of Pennsylvania, and died in Coun- cil Bluffs, Iowa, on January 30, 1890. While his education was not what is termed liberal, yet he was a man of extensive observation, a great reader, possessed of strong intellec- tual powers, which he so thoroughly devel- oped that he was at all times enabled to sue- fully cope with the best minds that he came in contact with. Having large practical ex- perience in business, a sound judgment, coupled with good common sense, he mingled largely with men of affairs, both in the State and in the Nation, and became himself pre- eminently a man of affair^ and one of the leading and most influential men of Iowa, his adopted State. About the time that he attained his major- ity he engaged in mercantile pursuits in the village of Washington, Pennsylvania, and in the year 1844 removed to Fairfield, Iowa. In 1853 Mr. Baldwin closed out his business interests in eastern Iowa and removed to Council Bluffs, where he resumed his mer- cantile pursuits. In 1856 he established a land agency in Council Bluffs and also en- gaged in banking. While so engaged in banking and land agency from 1856 to 1869, he was associated with General G. M. Dodge, under the firm name of Baldwin & Dod^e. In 1869 he organized the Pacific National Bank, and became a director and vice-presi- dent of the same. In March, 1877, as prin- cipal owner he organized the Broadway Street Railway Company and constructed and operated in Council Bluffs the first street rail- way, running the same to the Union Pacific Railway depot, the Chicago, Burlington & Qiiincy Railroad depot and to other portions of the city. In 1854 he was elected a member of the State Legislature on the Republican ticket. He discharged his duties with ability, and was ever faithful to the trusts committed to his charge. As a member of the Legislature of Iowa he was active and attentive to his duties and diligent in performing them. He was watchful in protecting the rights and pro- moting the interests of the people he repre- sented, lie was possessed of much and varied knowledge, which he was always ready to use in promoting the prosperity and wel- fare of his adopted State. When Council Bluffs first became incorporated he was elected a meml)er of the City Council, and in March, 1877, he was elected to the office of Mayor. In 1876 he was sent as a delegate to the 44-1 BIOORAPHICAL UISTORY National Republican Convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio. No man could be more devoted to a city than he was to the city of Council Bluffs, and no man who ever lived in the city did as much for it as did Mr. Baldwin. He was ever watchful of its inter- ests, rights and honors, and when in office served the city faithfully. He experienced great pleasure in contemplating its growth of population and industries. Coming to Council Bluffs when it had a population of less than 5,000, he witnessed its slow but sure growth into a city of 35,000. He also took a deep interest in the western section of our country — in the advancement of its civil- ization and the development of its material interest. He was in all respects a splendid type of a western man. He was energetic, enterprising, industrious and self-reliant. Mr. Baldwin was married in August, 1843, to Miss Jane Hunter, of Washington, Pennsylvania, and by her had three daugh- ters. In private life he was a genial and agreeable companion, a warm and sincere friend. No man could hear him talk as he often did of his mother, wife and children without being impressed that he was an affectionate son, husband and father. S ' i"t ' S" "" ~ j,.^^R. J. W. NDSUM, of Crescent City, was born in Greene County, Pennsyl- vania, December 19, 1848. His father, George G., was born in Virginia, September 2, 1822, a son of Silas and Charlotte (Frost) Nusum. Mr. Silas Nusum was a native of Virginia, and served in the battle of Novem- ber 4, 1791, under General Arthur St. Clair; was taken to Ohio, where he was in the mas- sacre or defeat at Fort Recovery, in which seven men were taken captives. He and a man named George Gallagher narrowly es- caped from being burned alive at the stake. Gallagher first broke loose and then set Mr. Nusum free, and they then fought for their lives. They were, however, held captive for three years, and one day when, at Hanging Rock, Ohio, they were making their escape, Gallagher fell from the rocks and broke his hip; but he hid among the rocks on the banks of the Ohio River. Nusum swam the river and escaped, the Indians being in hot pursuit. After night he swam the river back to where Gallagher was, made a raft of some logs, put him upon it and paddled him over to the other side, and thus succeeded in sav- ing his life. He then carried him for three days before finding medical aid. He re- covered and entered the practice of law, while Nusum went into the mercantile busi- ness, which he followed until he died in 1847. Mr. George Nusum, brought up in the mercantile business in Morgantown, Virginia, following his father in that line, moved in his twentieth year to Freeport, Pennsylvania. He continued in merchandising from 1842 to 1853, when he came direct to Colesburg, Delaware County, Iowa, and was there en- gaged in merchandising and teaming for ten years. He then sold out all his interests there, moved to Des Moines, entered general merchandising again and so continued tor about ten years longer. In 1862 he ex- changed his property and business for 440 acres of land in Warren County, six miles west of Indianola, and engaged in fanning and stock-raising. In live-stock he dealt ex- tensively, shipping largely. The land had but poor improvements upon it when he first occupied it, but is now well equipped and in a fine condition. There are at present 620 acres in the tract; it is an immense stock farm. In 1844, in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, he OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 445 married Eliza Kimball, who was born in Greene Cuinitj, Pennsylvania, June 8, 1825. and they became the parents of seven chil dren, the subject of tliis sketch being the second. He was reared to mercantile life also, but in his twenty-second year, in 1870, he started out for himself, and about this tiine, February 1, 1872, he was married to Miss Emma Armf trong, of St. Charles, Iowa. Next year he began reading medicine, under the instruction of Dr. Grimes, of Des Moines, who had been a surgeon in tlie late war, and is well-known as a skillful practi- tioner in Council Bluffs, where he followed iiis profession for several years. After study- ing in his office three years. Dr. Nusuni alternated between the office and Rush Medi- cal College, Chicago, for about two years longer; then for another two years, from December, 1876, he was in partnership with Dr. James Wakefield at Spring Hill, Warren County. He arrived at Crescent City De- cember 4, 1878, bought property and opened practice. Taking great pride in iiis profes- sion, he has an extensive and good paying patronage, even in Florence, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Missouri Valley and the surrounding country. He makes a specialty of eye and throat diseases; has saved many cases given up by other physicians. He is a member of the M. P. Society, of Crescent City, in which he has held difFei'ent offices. Is also a member of Lodge No. 49, I. O. O. F., of Bloomington, Illinois. Is an exemplary and enterprising citizen. He is a well-settled Democrat, and has held about all the offices of his township. Is also a mem- ber of a library association. Mrs. Nusnm belongs to the Presbyterian Church of Hazel Dell. Their children are: George G., who was born in St. Mary's, Warren County, Iowa, February 10, 1873; Maggie E., born at Spring Hill, April 14, 1878; Ivy L., born at Crescent City, Decemljer 5, 1881; and Vernie, born in Crescent City, May 27, 1890. fl ' ■ 1 * * I « ^^^ * * (ft * * OJ J. STEPHENSON, City Clerk and Clerk of the Superior Court of Coun- ",5^0 cil Bluffs, is a native of Jackson County, Ohio, born in 1831, son of AndreAv and Elizabeth (McGee) Stephenson, of Vir- ginia and North Carolina. His parents were of English and Scotch ancestry. Both are deceased, his father having died when A. J. was a small child. Mr. Stephenson was about eleven years old when he left Ohio and went to Indiana with an uncle. He was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of that State. At sixteen he started out for himself, remaining in Indiana and be- ing variously employed for a number of years. He Urst clerked in a dry-goods store, then tor four years was employed in a railroad office in Elkhart. At the end of that time he invested his earnings in a stock of creneral merchandise and opened a store at Leesburgh. Fi-om there lie removed to Warsaw, where he continued his business for several years. While at Leesburgh he was married, in 1856 to Miss Eliza Felkner, a native of Indiana. In 1868 Mr. Stephenson sold his businesp at Warsaw, left Indiana, and came to Coun- cil Bluff, Iowa, where he engaged in the liardware business. When the panic of 1873 came on he met with heavy losses and dis- continued business. After that he was em- ployed for five years in the interest of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. Then he opened an office of his own in the real-estate line, and in this he has since been engaged, and continues to do a realty busi- ness although Clerk of the city. Mr. Steph- henson affiliates with the Republican party, being a hearty supporter of the same. 446 BIOGRAPHICAL UISTORT He and bis wife are the patents of five eliildren: Yictor, at home, a telegrapher; Lulu, wife of M. E. Meader, of Gosben, In- diana; Chester F., a graduate of Iowa City Law echool, is now in a real-estate office in Goshen, Indiana; Mary J. and Ada E., at home. fINLEY ADAMS BURKE, deceased, was one of the most highly respected citizens of Coancil fjUift's. Coming to Pottawattamie County in 1856, when West- ern Iowa was sparsely settled, he became a prominent factor in the growth and develop- ment of both city and county. His father (who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylva- nia) fought under General Lee, in the Vir- ginia line in the war of the Revolution. His mother's maiden name was Adams, and her mother's was Finley. Both of these ladies were Scotch, and the family names were re- tained in naming the subject of this sketch. Finley A. Burke was born at Moiionga- liela, July 17, 1815, and died at Council Bluifs, June 3, 1889. He spent his youth in attending school at the academy located at that time at Monongahela. In early man- hood he became owner of boats plying the Ohio and other rivers and acted for years as steam^boat captain on the Ohio. In the lat- ter capacity he visited Burlington, Iowa, by boat, as early as 1840. Quitting the river he was elected City Collector of the city of Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), which he resigned in 1856 to come to Iowa. Pie moved to Pottawattamie County in 1856, taking up lands in what is now Washington Township, and in 1860 he removed to Coun- cil Bluffs. In 1869 he was elected to the office of City Recorder and Police Judge. To this office he was elected ten terms in succession, and after resting one year was re-e!ected for two more terms. By the abolition of the special charter of Council Bluffs, the office above mentioned was abolished, and under the gen- eral charter he was elected City Auditor, con- tinuing as such until his election to the office of City Clerk and Clerk of the Superior Court, which office he held until March 1, 1889. He joined the Independent Order of Odd Fellows when a young man, and was very de- voted to the order and its teachings during all his long residence in Council Bluifs. He was a charter member of the Twin Brothers Encampment of Odd Fellows and had re- ceived many high honors at the hands of that fraternity. He retained through life and still retains the respect and admiration of this large fraternity. Mr. Burke was twice married, the chil- dren by his first wife being: William S., Eliz- abeth J., Isabel and Hugh M. Burke. Eliz- abeth J., Mrs. T. W. Harl, died at St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1888. Isabel, Mrs. W. P. White, died at Kansas City, Octoljer 5, 1890. William S., now at Albuquerque, New Mex- ico, was the founder of the Council Blutfs Nonpareil, it being called the Chronotype, before he acquired it. Hugh M. is a well- known writer and editor at San Francisco, California. August 4, 1849, Judge Burke was married to Margaret McMillen, who sur- vives him. Their children are Mary E. (de- ceased; Emma E., the wife of J. F. Brod- beck, Esq.; Finley, Virginia (deceased), Ed- mund H., George A., John P. and Ambrose. Judge Burke was one of the most popular men in Council Bluffs. As a companion, he was sociable and agreeable, and few could equal him as a raconteur of humorous anec- dotes or in making short speeches on social occasions. As a neigiibor he was respected and beloved. As an officer he was industri- ^:d^ OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 447 ous and correct, performing while City Re- corder the combined duties now performed by City Auditor and City Clerk, besides judicial duties, and all this without deputy, where several are now employed. As a Judge, he was noted for fairness, honesty and common sense. His overwhelming ma- jorities at elections were matters of com- ment, especially as he was often to be found hard at work at his office while his political opponents were out in the held at work. This is explained l)y the fact that ail the electioneer- ing done by him was done by rigid attention to duty the year around, and by his universal courtesy and kindness to all. Indeed it was part of his nature to sympa- thize with his fellow-men and to perform kindly acts of friendship for rich and poor alike, and his death was mourned by people of every rank and class. In politics he was a Republican, but never allowed his party feeling to lead to personal animosities, and he commanded the continual respect and confidence of his fellow-towns- men of every party, it happening several times that his nomination was ratified by the Democrats and also by independent move- ments in addition to the Republican nomina- tion. For over twenty years he lived in the eye of the public where every act of a man's life, both public and private, is open to in- spection and criticism, and yet left to his family not an accumulation of riches, but, what is far more valuable, a name without a blemish or taint of dishonor. •H^-^y^ SINLEY BURKE, the senior member of the well-known law firm of Bnrke & Casady, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is pre-eminently a lawyer. The distinguish- ing qualities of men who have achieved success in any vocation are patient industry and the determination to win. When to this is added unswerving integrity and mental vigor you have the measure for a man who will honor his name and his profession. The most cursory glance at the character of Fin- ley Burke will indicate the presence of these dominating qualities. A little delving around the roots of his genealogical tree shows that he comes of a stock that is noted far these characteristics. He was born September 1, 1855, at Wheeling, Virginia, now West Vir- ginia. His father was Finley Adams Burke, a sketch of whom is given just preceding this, containing also the family record on his father's side. The maiden name of his mother was Margai-et McMillen. She was born in a stone farm house in Maryland, not far from Baltimore. Her father was John McMillen, son of George McMillen and grandson of James McMillen, who came to this country about the time of the Revolu- tion and settled in York County, Pennsylvania. This James McMillen, son of Francis McMil- len, came from Wigtonshire, Scotland, and was heir to the manor of Dunragget, situated about twenty-five miles from Wigton, the shire town, about five miles east of Port Pat- rick. Becoming comfortably fixed in the New World, he remained and founded the McMillen family of Y^ork County, Pennsyl- vania. Her mother's name was Ewincj, and she was a Scotch lady. It will thus be seen that Mr. Burke is of the rugged Scotch-Irish ancestry that insures physical vigor and good digestion, foundations that give additional sti'ength to a stubborn and determined char- acter. This ancestry has been thoroughly Americanized from thedaysof the Revolution, his grandfather Burke, born in Philadelphia, having fought under General Lee in the Vir- ginia line during the war for independence. Mr. Burke's father moved with his family 448 BIOGRAPHICAL RISTOBF from Virginia to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1856, and settled in Washington Tuwnsiiip. In 1860 the family removed to Council Bluffs, which was then a sprightly village, and young Burke lost no time in availing himself of tiie benefits of the public schools, where his time was spent until 1873, when he graduated with credit. Mr. Burke, having early in life selected the law as his cliosen pursuit, has never per- mitted himself to stray off iiito politics or business, but has acted on the belief that there is more honor and dignity in the name and fame of an honest and able lawyer than in the highest otlice in the gift of the people. He is recognized as one of the leaders of the bar in Western Iowa, having had an active practice of sixteen years; and his name in- voluntarily springs to the lips when inquiry is made for a sturdy, persistent and capable lawyer to handle large and important in- terests. He staited in practice with the creed that a lawyer should stay by his client "through thick and thin" without thought of himself or eonsidei'ation of self-interest; and the knowledge of this characteristic and his well-known pugnacity, determination and ability, has frequently caused him to be called to the defense of public interests in the courts. The city has been quick to give him a retainer whenever an important suit lias arisen where public interests were in jeopardy, and the fact is something more than signifi- cant that in no case where he has been re- tained has the city lost. Mr. Burke was licensed on November 16, 1874, after thorough examination in open court before Hon. J. R. Reed and an able committee of the bar, and at once began practice, at the early age of nineteen years. For some time he enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest lawyer in Iowa. Here in the town of his childhood, before the age of twenty-five, he had distinguished himself in a number of cases. In June, 1877, he was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Casady, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Casady. Miss Casady was the first child born in Sioux City. Her father was one of the founders of that city, and was a man of prominence in that part of tlie State. She was a lady of rare gifts, but an invalid, and after a protracted illness of over a year she passed away, in July, 1877. In the early spring of 1881, on account of ill-health, Mr. Burke removed to the county seat of Sioux County, Iowa, — Orange City, — where he soon became recognized as the lead- ing lawyer in that region, and enjoyed a large and Inci-ative practice, calling him into the neighboring counties and into Dakota. In the six years of Mr. Burke's residence in Sioux County he tried more contested suits than any other lawyer in the county, and during the first five years, although employed constantly, he did not lose a single case. This most remarkable record was attributed largely to his peculiar care in refusing to counsel or maintain cases which seemed to him to be unsound and lacking in merit, and his straightforward, fair way of presenting facts to a jury, coupled with thorough prepa- ration. Having thoroughly re-established his naturally robust health, and having out- grown the field of his practice, Mr. Burke returned in February, 1887, to his old home at Council Bluffs, and at once took front rank at the bar, having been employed in almost every important suit in the courts since his return. He practices in the highest courts, being a regular member of the bar of the Su- preme Court of the United States at Wash- ington, District of Columbia. His love for the profession, which is a distinguishing trait, has led him to take a deep interest in all that makes for improvement in the laws. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 449 Mr. Burke is the only lawyer in Western Iowa who has been admitted to member- ship in the American Bar Association, which counts among its members the most noted lawyers from every part of the Union, who meet annually " to advance the science of jurisprudence, promote tlie administration of justice and uniformity of legislation through- out the Union, uphold the honor of the pro- fession of the law and encouraije cordial intercourse among the members of the Ameri- can Bar." Another fact worthy of mention is that Mr. Burke has fought his way, unaided, to the front rank, and tiiis battling against opposi- tion has given him self-reliance, will-power and prudence and that training in economics wliicii makes a successful l)usiness man. This in turn gives a business-like cast to his practice, and appreciating fully the practical bearings of litigation he uses good common sense and business judgment in the affairs of his clients. His knowledge of men and their motives and his readiness to see and avail himself of any error in the policy or plan pursued by his adversary enables him to cope with the ablest campaigner in diplomacy, negotiation, or at the bar. In practice be- fore courts and juries his distinguishing traits are clearness, force, earnestness and direct- ness in getting at the real point in dispute, coupled witli the fact that before going into the contest he has convinced himself of the correctness of his position, carrying into the court-room a zeal which can not be simulated. in consultation his advice is practical and business-like, and always on the side of avoid- ing litigation wliere it can be done with jus- tice to his clients; but when the obstinacy or unfairness of his adversary thwarts a fair adjustment he becomes thoroughly aroused and enlisted for the fight. Mr. Burke has to a remarkable degree the confidence of all who have to do with ques- tions of title and real-estate law, many of the most careful buyers refusing to close im- portant purchases without the stamp of his opinion on the title. In his domestic life Mr. Burke is very happy, and his love of home is attested by the building of one of the handsomest resi- dences in the city. On February 14, 1882, Mr. Burke married Miss Barthenia V. Jetteris, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Thouias Jetieris, who are well known and numbered among the old citizens. She graduated from the public schools of Council Bluffs and afterward Ijecame one of the most successful teachers. She is a lady of rare good sense and social attainments. They have two children: Master Tom, who was born in July, 1885, and a boy born Feb- ruary 25, 1891. Mr. Burke, altiiougli not connected with any religous denomination, is a believer in the cardinal trutiis of the Christian religion. \(m. WILLIAM GKONEWEG, of the firm of Gronewegit Sclioentgen, whole- sale grocers, has been identified with the interests of Council Bluff's since 1861. He is a native of Germauy, born in the Prov- ince of Hanover, July 24, 1838, a son of William H. and Caroline (Behning) Grone- weg, natives of the same place. After leav- ing school Mr. Groneweg engaged in the mercantile business for five years in his native country as an apprentice. In 1859 he emigrated to America, first locating in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, where he was employed as clerk until he came to Council Bluffs in 1861, and engaged in the grocery business on Broadway, where he built up a lucrative pat- ronage, lie continued in the retail trade 450 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY successfully until 1878, when he formed his present partnership. He was elected as a member of the Board of Supervisors for Jan- uary 1, 1869, servinf^ two years. lie was City Treasurer for two terms from 1872, and was nominated as Auditor on the Democratic ticket in 1876, but tlie State being about 10,000 Kepublican majority he was defeated. He was a member of the School Board for three years, and in the fall of 1886 was elected Mayor by a special election to fill the vacancy of John W. Chapman, which posi- tion he resigned, to take effect January 1, 1888. lie was elected as State Senator for the term commencing January 1, 1888, which position he tilled with honor to himself and credit to his constituents, and is the present incumbent. Mr. (TToneweg was married in 1864: to Miss Catherine Lewzinger, who came to this country when tive years of age with his par- ents. They settled in Highland, Illinois, and cam'e to Council Bluffs in 1869. Mr. and Mrs. Groneweg have seven children, namely: George, Katie, Hattie, Nattie, Her- man, Richard and John. Mr. Groneweg is a member of the A. F. & A. M., Council Bluffs Lodge, No. 71; and of the R. A. M., chapter No. 47. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party, but previous to 1872 was a Republican. fHOMAS A. PILLING, of Garner Township, section 4, is one of the en- "^ terprising and well-known citizens of the township. He has been a resident of this county since June, 1856. He was born in Lancashire, at Berry, a large manufactur- ing town of England, April 23, 1854, the son of Ashton and Mary (Ilowarth) Pilling. The parents were born and reared in Lancashire, and on April 23, 1856, when Thomas was but two years old, and with two other chil- dren, Elizabeth and Mary, they started for Kanesville, now Council Bluffs. They landed at Castle Garden, New York, and came across the State of New York by canal, then by the lakes to Cleveland, Ohio, then across Ohio by canal to Cincinnati, then down the Ohio River and up the great rivers to Kanes- ville, where the family settled. The father was a spinner and weaver by trade, but while in Council Bluffs he engaged in well-digging, as it was a good-payi!ig business. He was the tirst to follow well-digging as a trade in Council Bluffs. The father lived in this place until his death, which occurred in 1867 or 1868; the mother died in 1861. Thomas A., our subject, by the death of his father, at the tender age of twelve years, was thrown upon his own resources. First he was chore boy in a store, next he was em- ployed by a gardener, and tinally he settled on the land where he now resides January 15, 1880, of which forty or tifty acres were im- pi'oved, and on which was a small frame house. Here Mr. Pilling has since resided; he now owns 200 acres of land, all in a l)ody, and which is well improved. He is engaged in farming and general stock-raising. In his political principles Mr. Pilling is a Democrat. He has served as a member of the School Board with credit to himself and the township. Although but a young nian he has gained a good position in the county, socially, politically and financially, and is well informed on general topics, frank and cordial in manner and a popular citizen. He was married December 24, 1879. to Miss Coquella C. Garner, a daughter of William and Sarah Garner. Mr. Garner is one of the j)ioneer and well-known citizens of Potta- wattamie County. Mr. and Mrs. Pilling have three children : Carl Ashton, Guy OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 451 Thomas and Maggie. The great loss of Mr. Filling's life was in the death of his wife, February 7, 1887. ■ i t' S ' ^" *" A. BLANCH ARD.— In the history of Pottawattamie County mention " should be made of the aboye named gentleman, a brief outline of whose life is as follows: Mr. Blanchard was born in Stark County, Illinois, August 17, 1853. His father, A. Ct. Blanchard, was born in the pine woods of Maine, a descendant of an old family of that State who were noted for their honesty and industry. His mother, nee Mary Baggley, was born in Ohio, her parents having emi- grated to that State from the East. Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard were married in Toulon, Stark County, Illinois, both the Blanchards and Baggleys being early settlers of that county. To them were born five children: W. A.; M. L., who lives near Storm Lake, Iowa; Sarah A. Marman, a resident of Color- ado; Mary F. Cade, who lives in Stark County, Illinois; and Angeline Smith, of Colorado. Mr. Blanchard's motlierdied when he was fourteen years old. His father is now a resident of Normal, Oklahoma. In early life, while residing in the East, he was a ship carpenter, but after coming West he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits. He is now sixty years of age. W. A. Blanchard was reared on a farm and was educated in the public schools of Stark County. Arriving at the age of manhood, he was married, February 6, 1879, to Miss Anna McRae, who was born in Rosshire, Scotland, in 1819, son of Alexander and Ann McRae, both natives of the same place. He grew up on a farm and wheii he reached adult years married Jennette McRae, daugii- ter of Duncan and Christena McRae, all natives of Scotland. Kenneth McRae and hie family came to America in 1867 and settled in Stark County, Illinois. From there they subsequently came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Mr. McRae is one of the honored and esteemed citizens of Wricfht Township. He is a Democrat and a Presby- terian. Their other daughter, Sabella Sax- ton, is a resident of Monona County, Iowa. In 1883 Mr. Blanchard came to Potta- wattamie County and located in Waveland Township, buying 133 acres of well improved land on section 6. He has a good frame house, an orchard of two acres, a grove, stables, and other farm buildings and im- provements. Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard have five children: W. K., Jennette, Charlotte, Alexander D. and Glenn. Their first born, Mary, is deceased. Like his father, Mr. Blan- chard is a Republican. He is honest and upright in all things, and is trusted and respected most by those who know him best. -^ m ml) '2 ' 'S*S" »" ,DAM RITTER, a well-known pioneer residing on section 16, Garner Town- ship, first came here as early as June, 1846. He was born in Wythe County, West Virginia, July 24, 1812, a son of Michael and Phoebe (Ketron) Ritter, the father a native of Maryland and of German ancestry, and the mother a native of West Yirginia and a daughter of Lawrence Ketron, a Penn- sylvania German. Adam was seven years of age when his father moved to Burke's Gar- den, Tazewell County, Virginia, wiiere he grew to manhood, employed in agricultural pursuits. In 1837 he married Nancy T. Ward, a woman who was born in that county, the daughter of Milton Ward, also of Vir- ginia and of Martha, nee Tliompsoii. In 452 BIOGRAPHIC AI. HIHTORY 1843 lie moved to Hancock Countj, Illinois, settling at Macedonia, previously called Ramus. In the spring of 1846 be came by team and wagon to Council Bluffs, tben a small village called Kanesville. About that time Colonel Kane raised a company for the Mexican War, called the Mormon Battalion. The same year Mr. Ritter settled on the land where he now lives, building a log cabin 12 X 14, with the old-fashioned fireplace, which structure still stands as an old land- mark and relic of pioneer days; and ever since that date Mr. Ritter has steadily made this farm his home. It comprises eighty acres of land, three and a half miles from the city limits, and is very valuable property. Politically, Mr. Ritter is a Democrat. He .is seventy-eight years of age, well preserved, frank and cor 3 i i ; « 2" - *•• — WILLIAM D. HARDIN, whose father was one of the pioneers of Pottawat- tamie County, is engaged iu the real- estate and loan business in Council Bluffs. Mr. Hardin is also City Assessor, to which potiition he was elected at the spring election of 1890. He is a native of Council Bluffs, where he was born in October, 1856. He was educated in the public schools of tiiis city. He began business for himself as a d4 messenger boy, for the Omaha Bridge Trans- fer Company. With this company he con- tinued two years. He was then employed by J. P. and J. N. Casady, real-estate agents and abstracters, for about two years and for about six years was employed as one of the Deputy County Treasurers of Pottawattamie County. He then engaged in his present business, in which he has since continued. He is one of the representative young men of Council Bluffs, and is an esteemed and worthy citizen. •°^"' | * S"S « |" ">~ fOHN C. BLOOM, one of the prominent merchants of Minden, deiling in hard- ware, furniture, agricultural implements, etc., and also an undertaker, was born near Berlin, Prussia, the son of Christian Bloom, who was a farmer by occupation. He came to America in 1861 with his wife, whose maiden name was Fredrlca Schmidt. He settled in Scott County, Iowa, and is the father of seven living children, namely: John C, Herman, William, Robert, Ferdinand, Christian and Matilda. Mr. Bloom is still living, on his farm, at the age of hfty-nine years. Politically lie is a Democrat, and is a straight-forward and honorable citizen. Mr. J. C. Bloom, a son of the al)ove and the subject of this sketch, was born July 24, 1856, and was but five years of age when he was brought by his parents to America. He learned the trade of carpenter, and in 1880 bought a farm three miles north of Minden, which he conducted for three years. In 1888 he bought the hardware store of J. 0. Gar- mong, which was then a small stock of $4,- 040, but which he has since increased to over $9,000, and is doing a flourishing busincoS. Politically Mr. Bloom is a Republican. He is a self-made man, having obtained his 456 BIOGRAPHICAL UIHTORT property bj his own unaided efforts. He is a prominent and reliable business man, who owes his success in life to his own method of dealing and personal character. He was married in 1880, to Miss Margarita Engler, who died in May, 1881. He was again mar- ried in 1884, to Teresa Geiger, and they are the parents of three children: Matilda, Teresa and Ida. fESSE D. GAULT, one of the well- known citizens and successful farmers of Pottawattamie Connty, Iowa, came here in 1879, and is located in section 36, Washington Township. He was born in Worcester County, Maryland, near the Vir- ginia line, July 8, 1828. His father, Obed Gault, was born in Maryland, son of Archi- bald Gault, a Scotchman. Archibald Gault was a sea captain. Retiring from the high sea he married and settled in Maryland. Mr. Gault's mother was Nancy (Burroughs) Gault, daughter of Henry Burroughs, a de- scendant of Scotch- Welsh ancestry. She was born and reared in Maryland. Obed and Nancy Gault were the parents of fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters. They removed from Maryland to Ripley County, Indiana, where they spent the residue of their lives, the father dying at the age of seventy-tive, and the mother at the age ot ninety-one years. Mr. Gault was a farmer all his life; cast his vote with the Republican party, and worshiped with the Methodist Church, of which he was an honored member. Jesse D. Gault received his education in the common schools of his native State, and remained in Maryland until he was twenty- three years old. At tbe age of thirty-five he married Isabella Haynes, and by her had two sons. The older, Albert Morton, was born in Ripley County, Indiana, August 28, 1865. He married a lady oi Des Moines, Iowa, and is now residing in Sacramento, California, where he has an e.xcellent position as freight agent. He recently built a home in that city, which cost hira $3,200. The second son, James E., was killed by accident Nov- ember 4, 1890, at the age ot twenty-two years and five months. He was an expert mechanic and received good wages. He left a wife and one child. In 1870 Mr. Gault married Rebecca Sulton, who was born in Ripley County, Indiana, daughter <>f William Sulton. Her death occurred in Mills County, Iowa. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Church. December 4. 1884, Mr. Gault wedded Mrs. Eliza M. Hanks, a native of Union County, Indiana, and a lady of in- telligence and refinement, who is his present companion. Her father, Andrew Dunbar, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, and died in Indiana at the age of seventy-two years; her mother, nee Sarah Stover, was born in Carter County, Tennessee, and is still living at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Gault was first married in Decatur County, Indiana, to Albert G. Hanks, a native of Woodford County, Kentucky. By liim she had two children, viz.: Lellye Hufier, of Decatur County, Indiana, and Menter O. Hanks, of Silver City, Iowa. Mr. Hanks died in 1873, in Decatur County, Indiana. In 1879 Mr. Gault came to his present location from Mills County, luwa. Forty- five acres of his farm had been broken, but there was not a building on the place. With the characteristic energy of the western pioneer he went to work to make improve- ments. He now has a good cottage home, a grove and orchard, stables and other neces- sary out-buildings and good fences. He is making a specialty of stock-raising, having seven iiorses and yearlings of a good breed, OF POTTAWATTAMIE GOLTNTT. 457 some fine cows and swine. Politically Mr. Ganlt is a Republican. Mrs. Gault has been a member of the Christian Church, from whicli she now holds a good letter. — ^^ • S"t - S" * ' ■ — g^UGENE W. PETERSON, a native of Galesburg. Illinois, was born August 26, 1857, son of Lewis M. and Caroline Peterson, natives of Sweden. The father came to America when about ten years old, in the year 1843 or 1844, with his parents, locating at Galesburg with a colony, remain- inff there for a time. Lewis Peterson was married in Galesburg and lived three for a number of years. In 1861 he entered tlie United States' service in the Quartermaster's Department, serving until the close of the war. During the latter part of that time he was stationed at St. Louis, where he removed his family and where he died about 1880. Previous to the war he was a druggist, but aftirward he engaged in the grocery business at St. Louis. He went back to Galesburg and lived there until a short time before his death, when he returned to St. Louis. His widow still resides in the latter city. They reared a family of four children: Frank, who is a teller in a St. Louis bank; Eugene, the subject of this sketch, a resident of Council Bluffs; and Albert and Roy, deceased. Mr. Peterson was educated in the common schools and also in the high school of Gales- burg, Illinois. He went to St. Louis, where, at the age of fourteen, he entered the employ of R. G. Dun & Co., and has constantly been employed by that company since, with the exception of a few months. He started in as a mei^senger boy, but was soon promoted to the corres])onding department, where he remained until he was twenty-one. He then took field work, traveling for the company I until 1885. In May of that year he took charge of the Lincoln, Nebraska, office, re- maining there until July, 1887. In the fall of tiie same year he assumed charge of the Omahacorrespondingdepartment, from which he came to his present office in April, 1888. He was married April 1, 1879, to Carrie S. Kerr, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Kerr, of St. Louis. She was born in Canada, of Scotch origin, June 15, 1857. Their family consists of two children: Eugene Willie, Jr., born April 14, 1880; and Winni- ford M., born March 25, 1883. They lost an infant daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson are members of the Brethren Church. Politically he is non-partisan. He has purchased a fine property on Park avenue, Council Bluffs, and also owns property in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mr. Petei-son has made his own way from the bottom, and his success is due to his close application to business and his ability to transact the same. He is to-day con- sidered one of the ablest men in the employ of R. G. Dun & Co.'s commercial agency, of which business a short sketch is appended. The Council Bluffs office occupies rooms 205 and 206, Sai)p block, with Mr. Peterson as manager. This business was established in 1841 by B. Douglas & Co., and in 1850 was transferred to R. G. Dun & Co. It is now considered the oldest and largest mer cantile agency in the world. It publishes its reference books in January, March, July and Septem'ber of each year. The January edition of 1890 contained 1,176,988 names of traders, etc., of the United States and Canada. The average added ratings, new names and changes will agregate 2,619 for each business day. The office in this city was established in 1888 by W. H. Myers, who was succeeded by J. H. Hubbard, then by O. S. Stanbro, the present manager taking charge in 1888. Under his management the business has pros- 458 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY pered, and his ability is fully appreciated by the company. Mr. Peterson is a genial, whole-souled fellow and will make friends wherever he goes. — " - > l - : >> i - y - — J. CHAMBEES, lawyer, is a resident of Council Bluffs, and has been iden- ';'' tified with the interests of Pottawat- tamie County since the year 1878; is a native of Michigan, born at Utica, Macomb County; is the son of Rev. W. A. and Sarah M. (Wright) Chambers, natives of New York, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Mr. Cham- bers came to Iowa in the fall of 1865 with his parents, who located at Osage, Mitchell County, at which place the father filled the position of clergyman to the Methodist de- nomination. A graduate of the State Uni- versity at Iowa City, in both tne classics and law, the former in 1876, and the latter in 1878; came to Avoca in the year 1878, en- gaged in the practice of his chosen profes- sion, and continued the practice until the fall of 1884, at which date he was elected to the office of Itecorder of Deeds and Mortgages for Pottawattamie County, in which he served one term; in the fall of 1888, Mr. Chambers was elected to the office of Clerk of the Dis- trict Court of his county, which office he now fills. He was married December 2, 1880, to Miss Ida Fitch, a native of JNewton, Iowa, and daughter of Edward and Clara (Sloan) Fitch, who were formerly from New York, and of English descent. Mr. and Mrs. Chambers have two children: a daughter Claribel, aged five years, and Fred, a little boy aged three years; they have lost one child, Eddie W., aged four years. Mr. Chambers is a member of several secret orders, and in politics affiliates with the Re- publican party. — -o l ' i >> : - 2 — ^ON. B. F. CLAY'TON, of Macedonia, Iowa, is one of the prominent and favorably-known men of Pottawattamie County, his works having been of an exten- sive nature both in private and public life, and he has done much to build up the best interests of the community where he resides. He was born in Nicholas County, Kentucky, January 10, 1839, a son of William M. Clayton, who was born in Virginia in 1788. The father went to Kentucky when a boy, and in 1812 enlisted as a soldier under Cap- tain Metcalf, ex-Governor of Kentucky, and served through the war. He died in 1852, in Robinson County. Ilis wife, n) / \y U County Mayo, Ireland. He was born ^•^m^ October 15, 1836, son of John and Mary (Welch) Hughes. When a lad he was sent to England, and in 1854 he crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in Upper Canada, where he remained eisrht months. Then he came to Iowa, and, after spending two years in Des Moines, in the fall of 1856 he took up his abode in Council Bluffs, where he has since continued to reside. He began to learn his trade, that of a mason, while in England, which he completed in every detail after coming to this country. In 1868 he formed a partnership with the Wickhara Bros., with whom he was associated a num- ber of years. He also turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, as he owned a farm of 500 acres in Lewis Township, the most of which he has disposed of. Mr. Plughes owns a brick-yard on North Eighth street, the output being about 3,500,- 000 brick annually and the average number of men employed being sixty-five. Some of the principal buildings erected by him are the Merriam block, Sapp building. Episcopal Church, Brown building, the Third street nd Pierce street school buildings, besides many tine structures in Omaha. He is one of the oldest contractors and builders in the city, and has been one of the most successi ful. He has an elegant brick residence, No. 903 Third street, which was erected in 1888, at a cost of some $25,000, and is one of the finest homes in the city. He owns a valuable block on the corner of Broadway and Park avenue, also a block on Main street, in which his son is engaged in business, gents' furnish- ing goods. Besides the buildings already mentioned Mr. Hughes owns thirteen resident properties. All this property is the result of his own industry and skillful management. He is eminently a self-made man, as he had comparatively nothing when he came to this city. Mr. Hughes was married in 1858, to Miss Mary Wickham, who was born County Lei- 460 BIOOHAPHICAL U I STORY trim, Ireland, March 23, 1837, daughter nf Patrick and Celia (Prior) Wickhain. The eleven cliildren born to them are as follows: Ida, wife of Ciiarles Fox, a resident of Coun- cil Bluffs; George, a member of the firm of Hughes & Son, Council Bluffs; Thomas, en- gaged in the mercantile business, above re- ferred to; John J., the third son, is now junior member of the firm of Martin Hughes & Sons, and is a late graduate of St. Bene- dict's College, Atchison. Kansas, and Celia, Mamie and Martin, at home. All the above mentioned have have had a thorough colle- giate education, all having graduated except the youngest. Pour of their children are deceased: James, John, Mary and James. The family are members of the Catholic Church, and in his political views Mr. Hughes is a Democrat. The firm of Martin Hughes & Son was formed in 1881. They do an annual business of some $300,000, and their average monthly pay roll is about $6,000. George F. Hugkes is a practical mechanic, having learned his trade under his father. He now assumes the management of the business. The son fol- lows his father in political views as well as in trade. He is a member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association and carries $5,- 000 insurance. His father has an insurance of $20,000. H^HOMAS TOSTEVIN, civil and city engineer for the city of Council Bluffs, resides at No. 209 Park avenue. He is now serving his third term in this office, and has had a large experience in surveying many of the western roads and lands. Mr. Tostevin was born on Guernsey (one of the group of islands south of England, known as the Norman Isles, wliich became a part of the British Empire at the time of the Norman Conquest), December 21, 1830, and is the son of John and Martha (Le Provost) Tostevin, also natives of that place. They trace their origin to the date of the early Norman occupation. The father of our sub- ject came to America when a young man, and resided in Germantown, Pennsylvania for several years, after which he returned to his native isle. He there married and i-eared a family of seven children. When Thomas was four years old he returned to the United States, bringing his family with him and locating in New York city. He was a firm and faithful member of the Friends' Church, and settled in that city in order to educate his children in the Quaker schools. In 1849, with his wife and two youngest children, he removed to Salem, Henry County, Iowa, that place being composed largely of the Quaker element. In 1856 he and his wife returned to New York, and died soon afterward at the home of their daughter, Mrs. Rachel L. P. Alexander, in Brooklyn. They both rest in the old burial ground of the Quakers, now enclosed within the litnits of Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Their children are as follows: Martha L. P., wife of George W. Davies, a resident of Cleveland, Ohio; John, who lives in New York city; Alfred, deceased; Rachel L. P., wife of George Alexander, Brooklyn, New York; Peter L. P., formerly an architect of New York city, now deceased; Thomas and David, residents of Council Bluffs. The subject of our sketch was educated in the Friends' College, Dutchess County, New York. In 1849 he came to Iowa with his parents, and at once commenced the practice of civil engineering. In 1854 he removed from Henry County to Pottawattamie County, where he has since made his home. He was married in Henry County, Iowa, October 31, 1852, to Miss Harriet Gibbs, a native of OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 461 Summit, Scoharie County, New York, daugh- ter of Friend and Lncinda (Wetmore) Gibbs, natives of Vermont and New York, also Quakers Mrs. Tostevin is now a member of the Metliodist Episcopal Church. She was born June 17, 1832. To them nine children have been born, viz.: Clara, Charles and Alice, deceased; Alfred and Alida; Walter J., a resident of San Francisco, Cali- fornia; Lou, wife of E. E. Harvey, Denver, Colorado; Albert T., assistant city civil en- gineer of Council Bluffs; and Ida, wife of W. H. Wakefield, Council Bluffs. When Mr. Tostevin came to Council Bluffs, it was by Government appointment to make the survey of the original squatter claims within the corporate limits of the city. He was then elected County Surveyor and served several terms, but previous to this he had lieen appointed Deputy United States Surveyor of public lands in northwestern Iowa. In 1861 he was appointed both Coun- ty Treasurer and Recorder to fill a vacancy one year. After that he was retained in the Treasurer's ottice three successive terms by election, seven years in all. He was after- ward elected Mayor of Council Bluffs, and the next year was elected Alderman. From 1867 to 1870 he operated a planing mill and furniture factory, which proved unprofitable. In 1870 he went to central Utah, and en- gaged in mining gold and silver. While there he was appointed United States Deputy Mineral Surveyor, remaining in that held until 1874. In that year he returned to Council Bluffs. In connection with his work as surveyor it should also be stated that, prior to his appointment to the County Treasurer's office, he went in 1857 to South- eastern Nebraska and laid out the town of Rule, after which he was appointed by the Nebraska Legislature as Surveyor and Com- missioner to locate and establish a Territorial road from Rulo to Fort Kearney. In 1876 Mr. Tostevin engaged in the manufacture of a reclining chair of his invention in the city of New York, which he continued until 1879. Since then his whole time has been devoted to his profession in Pottawattamie County. He is a stanch Republican; was a candidate for Treanurer and Recorder on the first Re- publican ticket placed before the people in this county. He was one of the first to organize the Union League in Council Bluffs, acting as president of the same. He was a delegate to and assistant secretary of the first railroad convention held in this State, at the capitol building in Iowa City in 1851, for a proposed railroad along the Mississippi River. It was then thought impracticable to con- struct a railroad running west, as the country was supposed to be too wild and barren. He was rodinan on this first Iowa railroad. He made surveys on the site of Omaha, Nebraska, before anything in the form of a house had been erected there. During the war Mr. Tostevin was Captain of Artillery of State militia. Such, in brief, is a review of the life of one of Council Bluffs' worthy citizens. ■^" g ' ? " S - ^ '" HARLES P. FOSTER, one of the prom- inent citizens of Layton Township, was born in St. Lawrence County, New York, March 12, 1836, a son of Simeon Fos- ter, a carpenter by trade, and of old Puritan ancestry. William Foster, grandfather of our svibject, was born in Connecticut, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and also of the war of 1812. He was the father of four children, namely: William, Simeon, Samuel and Olive. He was a prom- inent farmer and also ran a steamboat on Lake Champlain. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and was a man of integrity 462 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTOMF and character. Siineon Foster, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born in Vermont, and was married to Phoebe Foss, and tliey were tlie parents of seven cliildren, viz.: Ahnon, William, Matilda, Richard, Francis, Charles and George. Mr. Foster lived for a time in St. Lawrence, Franklin County, New York, and then moved to Akron, Ohio, in 1837, where he died at the age of forty-two. He was also a member of the Methodist Church, and an industrious and uprigiit citizen. Charles F. Foster, our subject, enlisted in Company II, Forty-third Regiment, Wiscon- sin Volunteer Infantry, and served one year. He was in the battles of Stone River, Johu- sonville, and Nasliville, and was neither taken a prisoner nor wounded, but did good and faithful service, and was honorably discharged at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After the war Mr. Foster resumed the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. In 1876 he came to Pottawatta- mie County, where he settled on a farm. Both Mr. and Mrs. Foster were members of the Methodist Church, of which Mr. Foster was a class-leader and steward, and is a mem- ber of the U. S. Grant Post, G. A. R., of Avoca. Pie served his country when it needed his services, and when he was required to leave his wife and children to endure ex- posure and light the battles of the Union. He is descended from good American parent- age, and men who fought our battles for lib- erty and founded a Government, and his children should be proud of the sterling ancestry from which they spring. For many generations they have been soldier citizens, who honorably fought for their country. Mr. Foster was married, September 5, 1857, to Elizabeth Garth waite, who was born in England August 16, 1842, and was but four years of age when she was brought to America. She was the daughter of Edward and Margaret (Blenkinsop) Garthwaite. The father was an Englishman, born in County Durham, England, and was a shoemaker by trade. They were the parents of nine children, viz.: Elizabeth, Ann, Mary, George, Alonzo, Melissa, Ellen, Ida and Fred. Mr. Garth- waite came to America in 1846, and first set- tled in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where he remained seven years, and then, in 1853, he settled on a farm in Wisconsin, where he is yet living, at the age of seventy-three years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Garthwaite were memberi* of the Methodist Church. He has filled tiie office of Justice of the Peace, and is an honor- able and upright citizen. To Mr. and Mrs. Foster have been born seven cliildren, three of whom died in infancy. The living chil- dren are: Jennie, Wesley, Maude and Floy. Jennie married Mr. Stevenson, a farmer of Lincoln Townsliip, and they have one child, Delmer; Maude is a successful teacher in this county; and the remainder of the family are at home. RA L. MARTIN, Silver Creek Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, is one of W the well-known and successful men of the township. He has made his home here since the spring of 1874, and is highly esteemt-d by all who know him. An outline of his life is as follows: Mr. Martin was born in Darke County, Ohio, August 21, 1840, son of Ira and Jane (Woods) Martin, natives of Pennsylvania. He was a youth of si.xteen years when his family moved to Logan County, Illinois, and settled ten miles north of Lincoln. The mother died in that county in 1879, and the father subsequently cs-ne to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he died in 1885, at Macedonia. The latter was a farmer all his OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 463 life; was a member of the Christian Church, and cast his vote with the Democratic party. Tliey i-eared iive children, four of whom are DOW living: Ira L., John, Harriet Jane and W. J. Muutgoiiiery served three years in the late war. He was a member of the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry Volun- teers, and died of disease contracted while in the service. In 1871 Ira L. Martin moved to Gentry County, Missouri, where he was married to Miss Barbara Kerr, a lady of much intelli- gence and refinement, who was born in Dane County, Wisconsin, and reared in Fayette County, Iowa. Her parents, John and Eliza (Haney) Kerr, were both born in Pennsylva- nia State, and her father was one of the early settlers and pioneers of Fayette County. Mr. Martin remained in Gentry County, Mis- souri, until 1874, when he came to Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of wild land on which he now resides. He was one of the early settlers of this part of the county. Since he took up his residence here he has met with prosperity, and has added to his first purchase, now being the owner of 200 acres of land, as good a farm as there is in the neighborhood. He has a comfortable modern home, built in 1890, at a cost of $850. The main part is 16 x 26 feet, 14 feet high, with an L, 14x20 feet, and a summer kitchen, 14x18 feet. His farm is divided into five fields, and is supplied with stables, cribs and other buildings. He has a grove and an orchard of three acres. Mr and Mrs. Martin have eight children, namely: Edward Clarence, Albert Meerton, Alfred, Artellia Belle, Carrie, Emma, Oscar, Cora Elizabeth and Lawrence. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a friend to education, good morals and religion, and any movement that has for its object the advancement of the best interests of his com- munity is sure to find in him an earnest sup- porter. LEXANDEPt li. PRENTICE, a farmer of Crescent Township, was born in Air- drie, Lanarkshire, Scotland, December 21, 1829, the son of Adam and Margaret (Rennie) Prentice. His mother was born in Kilsythe, Sterlingshire, Scotland, 1800, and his father in Lanarkshire, in 1805. The lat- ter was a stone-mason by trade, but followed mercantile business about twenty years. In 1850 his wife died, and two years later he went to Australia where he had friends, and remained there until his death. In 1852 Mr. Alexander R. Prentice mar- ried Miss Agnes Kirkwood, who was born August 20, 1832. In 1857 he came to America, with family and friends, landed in New York City April 17, and came direct to Pottawattamie County, by way of Pitts- burg and the rivers, landing at Florence, Nebraska, May 22, 1857, on a dark and stormy night. The captain charged them an outrageous price for remaining on the boat until morning. Early in the morning Mr. Prentice's goods and family were set upon the bank until he could find a place for them. He crossed the rough prairie over to Mr. Kirkwood's, his brother-in-law, and made arrangements for settling temporarily. He followed the trade of carpentering, which he had learned in the old country, and this voca- tion he has pursued ever since, more or less, in connection with farming. His first pur- chase of property was a house and lots in Crescent City, from the mother of James Gording. By the way, this Gording went to Pike's Peak, "struck it rich," but, not being able to 464 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY stand prosperity, became dissipated, and was finally hanged. The money that was paid his mother for the property mentioned was used by her in attendance at his trial. After remaining in the village of Crescent six years Mr. Prentice sold out house and lots and bought forty acres of wild, rough land of a Mr. Dunsmore. On this place he built a house 40 x 50 feet, barns, sheds, a brick milk-house, etc., planted a fine orchard and made many other valuable improvements. He has added to his first purchase until he now has a tine farm of 280 acres, on sections 25, 27, 23 and 26. Eighty acres is in cultiva- tion, while the rest is hay, pasture and timber land. His residence, a neat and comfortable house, is on a tract of 140 acres on section 26. Mr. Prentice is a Republican on national questions, and has been a delegate to many State and county conventions; he has been a member of the Good Templars order for twenty-five years, holding tlie various oflices of the lodge; and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Cres- cent City, of which society he has been Re- cording Secretary for three years. He has been a reporter for Crescent Township to the State Agricultural Society for five years. During the war he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, but was discharged when it was discovered that the retina of his right eye had been injured; the injury had been inflicted by the cut of a chisel. He received a certificate of his citi- zenship by proof of his disposition to serve his country in the war, and proving an honor- able discharge. His children are: Margaret R., wife of Isaac M. Barrett, born in Scotland, February 12, 1855, and resides in Fresno, California; Agnes, born also in Scotland, March 27, 1853, is now the wife of Charles W. Caldwell, and resides in Council ElufFs; Mary, born in this county, June 7, 1857, resides in Missouri Valley, Iowa; Adam A., born November 14, 1859, is a farmer on section 25, on land be- longing to his father; Isabella C, born April 8, 1862, is the wife of Charles W. Atwood, of Council Bluffs; Robert L., born November 3, 1864, resides on a farm on section 25. ^ENRY PARKER, section 25, Silver Creek Township, is another one of the representative citizens of Pottawatta- mie County. He has made his home here since 1880. Mr. Parker was born in Lin- colnshire, England, December 4, 1848, son of George and Elizabeth (Beet) Parker, both natives of Lincolnshire. His mother died when he was eighteen years old. He was reared on a farm in his native county, and was educated in the common schools of England. At the age of twenty-one he came to America, landing at New York. From there he came to Iowa, and for three years worked by the month in Mills County. Then he bought a team and rented laud, remaining there until 1880. In that year he came to Pottawattamie County, and bought 160 acres of land, which had been broken and fenced, paying for it fifteen dollars per acre. This he has improved until it now ranks with the best farms in the township. He erected a good frame house on a desirable building spot, planted an orchard and a grove of catalpa trees, consisting of three acres, be- sides building stables, cattle sheds and mak- ing many other improvements. His farm is fenced into four fields. Mr. Parker has had an experience of many years in farming and stock-raising, and is making a specialty of Poland-China hogs, having thoroughbred registered stock, the best in the county. He OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 465 also devotes his attention to raising the pure Plymouth Rock chickens. Mr. Parker was married in Mills County, Iowa, January 14, 1873, to Miss Mary E. Foxworthy, a lady of intelligence and refine- ment, and a native of Indiana. Her parents were Joseph and Mary Foxworthy. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have eight children, as fol- lows: Louisa and Minnie Stella, James Henry, Frederick William, Bertha Ellen, Robert Lincoln, Elva May and John Sherman. Mr. Parker's political views are in harmony with Republican principles. He lias served the public as Township Trustee, and as a member of the School Board. He is an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Lone Star, and is a steward of the same. He has also served as superintendent of the Sabbath-school. Mr. Parker is an enterpris- ing and worthy citizen, and every movement that favors education, good morals or i-eligion is certain to find in him an earnest supporter. H. FOSTER, one of the prominent business men of Council Bluffs, is ^® owner and proprietor of the Council BlufEs Paint, Oil and Glass Company. Mr. Foster has been a resident of this city since 1875, at which time he formed a co-partner- ship with his brother, A. D. Foster, under the firm name of A. D. Foster & Co. This partnership continued until April, 1889, when the subject of this notice became sole proprietor of the business. The brother re- ferred to above came to Council Bluffs in 1870, and engaged in the drug and paint business. Mr. Foster has an extensive trade. He has this year erected a fine block of tene- ment houses on the corner of First avenue and Eighth street, at a cost of about $1,600, the best structures of their kind in the city. He has done considerable other building, amount- ing in all to about $30,000. He was born in Sackett's Harbor, Jefferson County, New York, in 1843. His father was Derley Foster. In 1846 the latter re- moved with his family to Waukesiia County, Wisconsin, where they resided until 1871, when the family removed to Walworth Coun- ty, same State, where the father soon after- ward died, the mother surviving until 1882. Derley Foster was a farmer by occupation. He was twice married. The maiden name of his first wife was Diana Enos. She was the second wife of her husband, and died as above stated, in 1882, at the home of her son, S. H. Foster. Derley Foster was the father of nine children, seven of whom are living. The subject of this notice en- listed in the summer of 1862, in Company B, Twenty-eighth Wisconsin Volunteer In- fantry, and served till the close of the war. The date of his enlistment was August 17, 1862, and of his discharge September 17, 1865. He was in active service during the whole of his enlistment. After the war Mr. Foster remained upon the home farm for a year and a half. He then went to Colorado, and was engaged in mining about three years, when he returned to Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and in 1877 became a resident of Council Bluffs. He was married in November, 1872, to Miss Adda L. Green, a native of Walworth County, Wisconsin. This union has been blessed with four children, two of whom are living: Roy H. and Minnie M. They lost their oldest child, Albert, at the age of nine- teen months, and Mabel, their third child, at the age of eight years. Mr. Foster was be- reaved of his wife by death, September 8, 1887, his daughter having died on the fourth of July of the same year. October 3, 1888, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Minnie S. 486 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Couchman, at Waukesha, Wisconsin. Mr. Foster is one of the representative business men of Council Bluffs, and one of its enter- prising and progressive citizens. fOIIN BOOK.— In sketching the lives of the pioneer settlers and prominent citi- zens of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, the writer finds the name of John Book among the early residents of Waveland Town- ship, lie has made liis home here since 1866. Mr. Book was born in Clarke County, Ohio, April 5, 1843, son of William H. and Mary (Leffel) Book, natives of Botetourt County, Virginia, and Ohio respectively. Both his paternal and maternal grandfathers, John Book and Daniel Leffel, were natives of Pennsylvania. The subject of our sketch was reared in Ohio and Indiana, as his father moved back and forth two or three times. He was brought up on a farm, aud educated in the common schools of those States. His father was a carpenter by trade, for a time was in the mercantile business, and later in life turned his attention to agricultural pur- suits. He died in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, October 11, 1884. His wife died when Jolm was live years old. In 1865 Mr. Book came to this county, and, in partnership with hia father, bought some wild land. Some time later he sold his interest to his father, after which he bought 200 acres where he now lives, and since has sold ten acres of timber. In 1889 he pur- chased eighty acres more, now owning 270 acres of well-improved land. He has a good frame house, the main part a story and a half, and a one-story L. Other improvements are a beautiful grove and orchard of three acres, a barn, 36x50 feet with sixteen-foot posts, cribs, granary and good fences. His farm is divided into several fields, and every thing is arranged with reference to convenience. He is engaged in general farming and stock- raising. Mr. Book was married May 15, 1872, to Miss Sally Maria Potter, daughter of H. C. and Caroline (Parmiey) Potter. Her father is one of the prominent citizens of Waveland Township. Mr. and Mrs. Book have four children: Arthur Benton, Orrin Orlando. John Kay and Ruth. In his political views Mr. Book is a dyed-in-the-wool Republican. He lias served in some of the township oflices, always with credit to himself aud for the best interests of the public. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Walnut Valley, in which he has served as steward. Broad and progressive in his views, he favors education, good morals and religion, and gives an earnest support to all worthy causes. ►>^ NDRE W HELLMANN, a prominent and reliable citizen of Walnut, was born in Schleswig, Germany, the son of John P. Hellmann, a farmer by occupation. Ee was the father of six children: John L., Gars- ten, Andrew, Hama, Lena, and one who died in infancy. Tiie father lived to theage of sixty-five years, dying in Germany. Andrew Hellmann, his son and the subject of this sketch, was born March 5, 1844, and was rearsd to farm life. He came to America at the age of twenty-seven years, in 1870, landing at Que- bec. He then went to Chicago, and next to Pennsylvania, where he worked for the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. In 1873 he came to Iowa, and worked on a farm in Clinton County, and in 1880 came to Wal- nut, where he has since remained. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 467 In 1885 he was married to Dora Hansen. In his political opinions he is a staunch Dem- ocrat, and is well-known as a straight-forward man, a believer in personal liberty, and is a good American citizen. ^OLONEL D. B. DAILEY, an attorney at Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in Ireland, November 15, 1840, and when six years old came to this country with his parents, who settled in Ohio. He was edu- cated chiefly at New Richmond, Ohio, at the Southwestern State Normal School, at Leb- anon, and at Antioch College, same State, when the celebrated educator, Horace Maun, was the president of that institution. At the breaking out of tlie great Rel)ellion, he enlisted, April 19, 1861, in Company B, Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served over a year in the ranks; was promoted to Second Lieutenant, Septem- ber 16, 1862; First Lieutenant, June 2, 1863; Captain, May 25, 1864; and to Major of the Sixth Wisconeiin Veteran Volunteer Infantry, December 21, 1864. August 1, 1864, he was brevetted Major by the President of the United States, with the approval of the Senate, for continued and meritorious services in the Army of the Potomac up to that time; and on the 21st of that inonth he was brevetted Lieutenant Colonel, for gallant conduct in the action of that date, at Yellow Tavern on the Weldon Railroad, in Virginia. March 8, 1865, he was appointed president of a military commission. March 31, same year, he was brevetted Colonel for gallant and meritorious services at the battle of White Oak, or Boyil- town Plank Road, Virginia, and for continued good conduct during the war. June 11, 1864, at the expiration of the term of enlist- ment of his regiment, the Second Wisconrrin, he was retained in the service at his own re- quest, by order of the War Department, and was appointed Provost- Marshal, and placed upon the staff of General Cutler, Division Commander. In addition to his duties as Provost-Marshal, he also commanded the Wisconsin Independent Battalion, composed of veterans and recruits of the Second Wis- consin, whose term of enlistment had not expired with the old regiment. He also com- manded, for a short time, the first battalion of New York Sharpshooters, and at the battle of Hatcher's Run was assigned to the tem- porary command of the One Hundred and Forty-Seventh New York Volunteer Infan- try. He served on the staffs of Generals Henry A. Morrow, Cutler, Bragg, Crawford and Major General G. K. Warren. During his period of service he commanded the Sixth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry, an- other of the regiments of the famous Iron Brigade, and was conspicuously at its head at the grand review of the Army of the Potomac, after which he was assigned to the command of a provisional brigade, with orders to report to General Logan, at Louisville, Kentucky, which he did. Following is a list of the principal engage- ments in which Colonel Dailey participated: Battle of Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861, where he was wounded; First Bull Run, July 21, 1861; Cedar or Slaughter Mountain, Au- gust 12 and 13, 1862; White Sulphur Springs, later in the same month; Gainesville, August 28, 1862; Second Bull Run, August 29 and 30, 1862; South Mountain, September 14, 1862; Antietam, Septemoer 17, 1862; cam- paign under Burnside against Fredericks- burg, and the battle of Fredericksburg, December, 1862; battle of Chancellorsville, May, 1863. The winter and spring of 1868, Colonel Dailey was on independent duty, during 468 BIOGRAPHICAL HlSTORr which lie participated in, and conducted several successful expeditions, through the counties lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers in Virginia, for the success of whicli he was highly complimented in general orders. For the crossing of the Rappahannock, at Fitzhugh Landing, Colonel Dailey was thanked in general orders, by bri- gade and division commanders, for gallantry and skill, displayed at the crossing aforesaid, in facenf the enemy, and was afterward recom- mended for promotion on account of same. He was in the campaign through Mary- land, Pennsylvania, and in the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, and was conspicu- ous for gallantry in the charge of the Iron Brigade against Archer's Confederate Brigade, and in this engagement received the surren- der and sword of the Confederate Getieral Archer, which sword he still retains. Later in the day of that battle he was severely wounded and fell into the hands of the enemy, but escaped from their guard on the night of July 5, and rejoining his command July 11, was assigned to the staff of General Henry A. Morrow, which position he retained until February, 1864; was with the army at the battle of Mine Run, and all of its en- counters with the enemy at Rappahannock Station and Brandy Station. He was with General Morrow at the capture and destruc- tion of Raccoon Ford, on the Rapidan, Vir- ginia; was wounded May 5, 1864, in the iirst day's battle of the Wilderness, but did nnt leave the held. He served through the "Wilderness campaign, and was again wounded in battle in front of Petersburg, June 18, 1864. He was ch-ef of General Crawford's staff in the expedition of the Fifth Army Corps to the Malieran River, in its effort to destroy the Weldon Railroad, and with General Morrow conducted the retreat of that campaign. In the battle of Weldon Railroad, August 21, 1864, he was on General Cutler's (Division Commander) staff, and in the executii>n of an order of that General was dangerously wounded by the Confederate General John- son Hagood, who commanded a brigade in Mabone's division; but, just before being shot by General Hagood, Colonel Dailey secured the colors of one of the Confederate regi- ments which surrendered to him; and at the time of being shot he was holding the Con- federate regimental colors and flag. In this transaction and dash of Colonel Dailey, great danger was averted to the union lines, behind which the gallant Confederate General Ha- good had carried his brigade. This incident in the history of the war has become so famous that we here give it in the language of General Hagood, who shot Colonel Dailey: " This officer (Colonel Dailey, of General Cutler's staff), had galloped out of a sally- port, seized a color from the hands of its bearer, and demanded a surrender. Some officers and men surrendered, but were not carried in; others refused, but just around him ceased fighting. General Hagood called to the men to shoot him and fall back in retreat. They either did not hear liim or, bewildered by the surrender of part of their number, failed to obey. It was a critical moment, and demanded instant and decided action. In a few moments the disposition to surrender would have spread, and tlie whole brigade have been lost. Making his way across the intervening space as speedily as he could, exposed to a regular tire by file from the enemy's line scarce thirty yards off, and calling to his men to fall back, which they did not do, General Hagood approached Colonel Dailey and demanded the colors, and that he should go back within his own lines, telling him that he was free to do so. Colonel Dailey commenced arguing the hope- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 469 lessness of further struggle, and pointed out the line in our rear. Hagood cut Lira short and demanded a categorical reply — yes or no. Dailey was a man of fine presence, with long flowing beard, and sat with loosened rein upon a noble-looking bay that stood with head and tail erect, and flashing eye and distended nostrils, quivering in every limb with excite- ment, but not moving in his tracks. In reply to this abrupt demand the rider raised his head proudly and decisively answered Ifo! Upon the word General Hagood shot him through the body, and as he reeled from the saddle upon one side. General Hagood sprang into it from the other, Orderly Stoney seizing the flag from his falling hands. " It was one of the most dashing feats wit- nessed by me on either side during the war. Upon the chance of securing a prize for the side he served so well, Colonel Dailey doubly staked his life, for he was, wliile in the Con- federate line, in as much danger from the fire of his own men as from that of his enemy." History has recorded this dash on the part of Colonel Dailey as one of the two bravest acts of the war. It is recorded in volume II, page 595, of General Beauregard's Military Operations of the War; and the same bril- liant conduct is mentioned in Swinton's Army of the Potomac. It is also made the subject of a poem, entitled, " The Charge of Hagitod's Brigade," in a work known as the " hiving Writers of the South," besides being recorded in general orders and reports of the operations of that battle; by Major General G. K. War- ren, commanding the Fifth Army Corps. It was commented upon by Southern papers as one of the two bravest acts of the war; the other being by a Confederate soldier. General Hagood and Colonel Dailey are to-day the warmest and best of friends, although they have never met except upon the bloody battle- field of the Weldon Kaih-oad, but have had ex- tended correspondence. As General Hagood wrote, Colonel Dailey, to secure the surrender of a whole brigade, came very near suc- ceeding. On account of the above wound, Colonel Dailey was in the hospital over three months, and is still a constant sufferer from the same. He was in battle of Gravelly Run March 31, 1865, and at Boydton Plank Road, April 2, 1865, was wounded again. He was honor- ably discharged from the service of the United States at Madison, Wisconsin, July 28, 1865; visited Europe in 1866, and took up his resi- dence at Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1867, where he has ever since resided. In 1868 he was admitted to the bar. In 1872 he was ap- pointed by the Governor of the State to the ofiice of District Attorney for the third ju- dicial district, the duties of which office he performed with marked ability. In 1886 he was nominated and elected to the office of County Attorney, for two years, and declined re-nomination. During his practice as an attorney he has participated in the trial of some of the most important cases occurring in the State, both civil and criminal. In politics he has always been an ardent Republican, and always a warm friend and advocate of the public school system of the country. He was one of the charter members of Abe Lincoln Post, of the Grand Army of the Republic; and of the Union Veteran Legion, located at Council BluflFs. to which organizations he was devoted. He took great pleasure in having been a member of the old Iron Brigade, of the Army of the Potomac, and of being a member and officer of two of the regiments composing that organization, which distinguished them- selves upon every battle-field against the Con- federate army under General Lee; and he was especially proud of having risen from the rank of a private soldier to that of captain in 470 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY the Second Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, the regiment that enjoys the supreme honor and distinction of having sustained the great- est percentage of loss, in killed and wounded, of all regiments in the entire Union army, in proportion to its number of enrollment. May 3, 1890, Colonel Dailey was commis- sioned Captain of Company A, of the Fifth Regiment, I. N. G., being the Dodge Light Guard, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Since the war he has taken a deep interest in military affairs, and has one of the best libraries of military text-books and histories in the country. On September 28, 1874, he married Miss Mary E. Warren, who was born in Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada, and was a graduate of the high school of Council Bluffs, Iowa. They have four sons and two daughters, whose names are, in the order of age: Frances, Warren, Robert L., Ada M., Frederick Ney and Chester A. Dailey. Like the father, the children are fond of horse-back riding, and are graceful and at home in the saddle. tUZERN SHELDON, one of tiie promi- nent and successful farmers of Wash- ington Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, located here in 1874. He was born in Trumbull County, Ohio, February 20, 1841. His father, Benjamin Sheldon, was a native of Connecticut, and a son of Jonathan Shel- don, who was born in New England. The ancestors of the Sheldon family were English people, who came to Ohio, in 1816, and set- tled in Fowler, Trumbull County. The mother of our subject was nee Ada Ames, daughter of Benjamin Ames, also a New- Entrlander. She was born in Massachusetts, and was married in Trumbull County, Ohio, to Benjamin Sheldon. They reared four chil- dren, as follows: Joel, a resident of Caro, Tuscola County, Michigan; Luzern; Sarah, deceased; and De Ette Browning, a resident of Geauga County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon lived in Trumbull County until their death, the father dying at the age of sixty- three years. He was a farmer all his life, a Democrat, and a member of the Christian Church. Luzern Sheldon was brought up on the farm, and was educated in the public schools of his native State. August 31, 1862, he wedded Miss Anna Andrews, a lady of intelli- gence and of a good family. She was born at Hartford, Trumbull County, Ohio, the daughter of Drayton Andrews. Her grand- father Chester Andrews, was a Deacon in the Presliyterian Church. Mrs. Sheldon's moth- er's maiden name was Anna Bates. She was also born at Hartford, Trumbull County, Ohio, and was a daughter of Daniel Bates. She died and left four daughters, Mrs. Shel- don being only seven months old at that time. The father subsequently removed to Hillsdale, Michigan, where he died at the age of seventy-six years. He was a merchant and a miller. In politics he was a Repub- lican, and in religion a Presbyterian. The other three daughters are Lovina Jones, Fow- ler, Ohio; Fidelia Finney, who died in Trum- bud County, Ohio; and Laura King, a resi- dent of Castlewood, South Dakota. Mr. Sheldon lived in his native county until 1874, when he came to Iowa and bought 160 acres of land, his present farm. This country was then thinly settled, and for two years he was two miles and a half from his nearest neighbor. The wild land has been converted into a well improved farm, with grove and orchard, barn and other necessary buildin*H fOSEPH PARKER, one of the successful and popular farmers of Pottawattamie County, was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- land, June 2, 1851, the son of George and Elizabeth (Beat) Parker, who were also na tives of England. The mother died when Joseph was fifteen years of age, and four years later he came with an elder brother, Henry, now a prominent citizen of Silver Creek, to America, settling in Mills County, Iowa, where they had relatives and friends. Here our subject was engaged in farming until 1882, when he bought eighty acres of wild prairie land, at $12.75 per acre, in Pottawattamie County, where he has since made his home. He has made many improve- ments on this place, which show the thrift and prosperity of its owner. Mr. Parker was married in Mills County, January 7, 1877, to Miss Adeliza Wilson, who was born in Lincolnshire, England, and had also resided ten years in Mills County before her marriaure. She was the daiicrhter of George and Mary (Schotield) Wilson. The mother died when Mrs. Parker was eighteen years of age, and the father is still living in Mills County. Mr. and Mrs. Parker have four children: Lillie May, George William, Annie Eliza, and Joseph Ervin. Politically Mr.Parkerisa Republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which the former has served three years as Sunday-school Superintendent. "♦»' | ' S " S ' |" »■" H. VAN was born in Jones County, wyMyM Iowa, October 23, 1843. His father, l*=^^» R. T. Van, was one of the first set- tlers in Jones County, and the first to settel in Wyoming Township, he having located there in 1840 when Iowa was a Territory. R. T. Van was a son of James Van Vol ten- burg, a son of Holland Dutch parents. The hist part of the name was dropped by the consent of Judge Huber, in 1847. The mother of our subject was Esther Ann Van, a native of Ohio. She and Mr. Van were married in Indiana, and their bridal tour was made by ox team to their new home in Jones County, Iowa. When they first settled in that county Dubuque was their nearest \\oi':- office, and it took a week to make the trip there and liack with an ox team. Mr. and Mrs. Van had nine children, of whom five OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 489 are living, namely: W. H., S. F., L. A., Azilda and Mary A. Those dead are Mary Ellen, Melissa, Liiman E.,and John W. The mother died in October, 1884. The father is still living in Jones County, and, at this writiiii;, is seventy-two years old. He has been a farmer all his life; casts his vote with the Republican party, and worships with the Methodist E|)iscopal Church. W. H. Yan was reared on his father's farm, and received his education in the log school- house hard by. When the great war of the Rebellion broke out, he entered the service of his country, enii-ti ig in Compati}- K, Twenty-fourth Iowa, February 22, 1864. He was in the battles of Sabine Cross Roads and Fort Derusha, and the Re i River Campaign. He was at Winchester, September 19; Fisii- er's Hill, September 22; and at Cedar Creek, October 19. Mr. Van received two slight wounds, but was not sent to hospital and no record was ever made of them. He was honorably discharged at Savannah, Georgia, an i was paid off at Davenport, Iowa. After the war he returned to his home in Joaes County, where lie reinaiue J until 1873. In that year he came to Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, where he has since resided. He first bought elgiity acres of wild prairie land in section 4, which he has increased by more recjut purchase, now own- ing 225 acres of well improved land. He has a o;ood house, which was erected at a cost of $1,300. It is built in modern style, with bay window and porch, and all the lumber used ifl of the very best, there being only two knots in the entire building! Tlie main part of the house is 16x24 feet, two stories, with an L, 16x16 feet. It is beautifully located and makes a comfortable and attractive hon)e. Mr. Van's other farm buildings are in good condition, and much of his time is devoted to stock-raising. In Jones County, Iowa, in 1866, Mr. Van married Miss Esther A. Lowe, a lady of intelligence and refinement, who was born in England, and was reared and educated in Jones County, Iowa. Her parents. Richard and Esther Lowe, lived in Jones County un- til their death. Mr. and Mrs. Van have four children, namely: Ella L., who is now attend- ing the Iowa Western Normal at Shenandoah, Iowa; Willard R., Henry Harlan and Eva Azilda. Mr. Van is a member of the G. A.R., Worthington Post, No. 9, of Griswold, Iowa. Politically he is a Republican. He and his wife and their daughter, Ella, are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wal- nut Valley. GRASS, a contractor and builder, corner of Sixth and Mill streets, Coun- "^ cil Bluffs, has been a resident of this city since 1856, having come from Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan. He was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, March 18, 1833, the son of David and Phoebe (Cudney) Grass, natives of New York State, the former of Holland and the latter of Puritan descent. Our subject was reared in his native State until his sixteenth year, when he went to Orleans Coutity, New York, atid with his brother, who accompanied him, he learned tlie carpenter's trade. After two years spent in that State they went to New Orleans; thence to Natchez, Mississippi, remainino- two years; then to Cleveland, Ohio, also remain- two years; then to Marshall, Michigan, where they remained until 1856, when he came to Council Blutfs. Since that time he has been engaged in contracting and building, buying real-estate, improving the same and selling it. He is the oldest living resident that has been engagdJ wholly in this line of business, 490 BIOORAPHIOAL UISTORT and lias erected hundreds of lionses, and lias amassed a handsome competency. He does an annual business of over §20,000. Auj^ust 3, 1862, he enlisted in the Second Iowa Battery and served until August 7, 1865. He was engaged in some of tiie most noted battles: Vicksburg, Nashville, Tupelo, siege of Spauish Fort, and a number of minor en- gagements. He was never wounded or taken prisoner, and after the war he returned to Council Bluffs and opened his present busi- ness. He owns property aside from his own residence, which was remodeled in 1889, and is now a handsome two-story building. He hias also taken active interest in political work in the Republican party. Mr. Grass was married November 5, 1865, to Mary Covalt, a native of Wheeling, Vir- ginia, born February 14, 1842, and they are the parents of nine children: Alexander, de- ceased; Dorinda, at home; Frances, deceased; Frederick, at college; Bertha, at home; Ner- tio, Sadie, Robert and Fannie. The family are associated with the Congregationl Church. ►3«f- tEWIS PAINTER, one of the pioneer settlers of Lincoln Township, was born on a farm in Fulton County, Illinois, March 3, 1847, the son of Joseph Painter, who came from London, England. The father was born near the celebrated White Horse Chalk Hills, England, and learned the tailor's trade, having served as a tailor's apprentice at the age of thirteen years. He married Caroline Templer, a native of Etig- land, and they remained in that country until 1840, when he came to America, and by the Erie Canal to the then frontier city of Chicago. He was the Urst tailor in that city, and the first day took in $9. He remained there a short time and then went to a point in Illinois, and thence returned to Chicagu, where he lived for some years, but finally settled in Fulton County, Illinois, where he worked at his trade and farming. In 1855 he came to Iowa and settled in Jasper County, where he remained about thirteen years, and then, in 1869, came to Cass County. Iowa, and settled on a farm in Wright Township. He died in Pottawattamie County at the age of sixty-three years. He was a hard-working and industrious man, and was the father of eight children: James C, Emily M., deceased in infancy, who were born in England; Emily M., Caroline, Lewis, William H., Salina G. and Henry C. Politically he was a Repub- lican. His wife died at the age of forty-two years, in Jasper County, Iowa. Lewis Painter, son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was but eight years of age when his parents removed to Iowa. He learned farming in early life, and after mar- riage settled on a rented farm in Jasper County for two years. In 1869 he came to Cass County, and in 1870 came to his present farm of 280 acres in Lincoln Township, Pot- tawattamie County, which was then a wild prairie, but which he has since converted into a tine, fertile farm. When Mr. Painter came to this township he was the only settler, and thus he has the honor of beinij the first pioneer settler of Lincoln Township. He remained on his claim but one season, built a home and then sold it, and seven years afterward bought the same claim back. Politically he is a Republican, and has also taken an active interest in education, and is a man who stands deservedly high in his township for his sterling worth. Mr. Painter was married August 11, .1806, at the early age of twenty-one years, to Mary L. Whitcomb, who was born October 22, 1844, in Huron County, (Jhio, and was but eleven years of age when, in 1855, her parents OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 491 came to Jasper County, Iowa, in a compMiiy having twenty-one horses. It was in tlie early summer and the trip was a pleasant one, oc- cupying one raontii. She was the daughter of Orrin and ]>ydia (Butler) Wliitcomb. The father was born in Connecticut, and in 1855 settled in Jasper County, Iowa. He was married in New York State to Lydia Butler, a daughter of Samuel Butler, who was a farmer of Albany, New York, and also participated in the war of the Revolution. Both families were descended from old Con- necticut families. Mr. and Mrs. Whitcomb had five children: Aaron, deceased at twenty years of age; Branch, Maria, who died in in- fancy; Levina and Mary L. The mother lived to the age of eighty-six years, and the father died in Jasper County, at tho ajje of sixty-one. He was one of the old pionesr settlers of this county, was a devout c'lurcli member, and respected by all who knew him. Politically he was a Democrat. When he moved to Hui'on County, Ohio, he had to cut his way through the heavy forests and tire the trees to make a narrow path. Postage was twenty-five cents for a letter to New York. Mr. and Mrs. Painter are the parents of eight children, viz.: Joseph C, born Jan- uary 8, 1869; James F., October 31, 1870; Lydia, June 24, 1872; Ira V., April 1, 1874; Seth O., who died in infancy; Jennie, born April 27, 1877; Burleigh M., July 9, 1879; Jay C, October 14, 1882. jERRY KERNEY is one of the prominent citizens of SilverOreek Township, Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, having been a resident of this county since 1880. Mr. Kerney was born in Andrew County, Missouri, December 30, 1851. His father, Caleb Kerney, was born in Pennsylvania, a son of William Kerney, who was of Scotch- Irish ancestry. Grandfather Kerney was a relative of General Kerney, of United State8 fame, the Kerney family being an old and prominent one in western Pennsylvania. Our subject's mother was nee Ruth Yan Buskirk, a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of Holland Dutch ancestry. She and Mr. Ker- ney were married in Richland County, Ohio, and some time afterward moved to Andrew County, Missouri. From there they went to Mills County, Iowa, becoming pioneers of that place. The parents lived in Mills Coun- ty from 1853 until the time of their deaths, the mother dying October 6, 1865, and the father, February 23, 1880. He followed agri- cultural pursuits all his life; was a Democrat and a Baptist. He and his wife reared eight children, four sons and four daughters, Perry being the third born. The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools. He re nained in Mills County until 1880, when he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on his present farm in section 2, Silver Creek Township, which was at that time wild prairie land. He now has one of the best improved farms in the neighborhood. His cottage home is pleasantly located on a natural building site and commands an excellent view of the sur- rounding country. His barn is 28 x 34 feet, with sixteen-foot posts, and his grove and orchard of four acres are amono; the best in the township. Among other improvements are cribs, yards, cattle sheds, feed lots and a modern windmill. Everything about the Kerney farm shows the thrift and prosperity of the owner. Mr. Kerney was married in Mills County, Iowa, February 16, 1876, to Miss Mary E. Tipton, a native of Atchison County, Mis- souri, daughter of Saul and Rachel (Woolsey) Tipton. She was reared and educated in 492 BlOGIiAPHICAL BISTORT Mills County, Iowa. Her mother died when Mrs. Kerney was live years old. Mr. and Mrs. Kerney have three children: JS'athan W., Pearly May and Lela M. Mr. Kerney is one of the leading members of the Repub- lican party in his community. He is the ])re8ent Township Trustee. Mrs. Kerney is a member of the Evangelical Church. rHE MANHATTAN is a tobacco and cigar store and billiard parlor owned and managed by Nicholas O'Brien. It was established in March, 1887, at 418 Broadway, by George Rudio and Frank Yen- ewine. The present proprietor purchased the place in July, 1889, and carries a superb line of domestic and imported cigars, tobacco, etc., and keeps a nicely equipped billiard hall in connection. Mr. O'Brien was born November 6, 1859, in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, the fourth child of John and Mary (Gauldin) O'Brien, natives of Ireland. His father is deceased and his mother is still living at Neola, this county. He was reared to farm life, began to take care of himself at the age of eighteen years, and in 1881 came to this city, where he was first appointed on tiie police patrol, in wliich capacity he served for seven years, and then appointed captain of police, where he served two years. He was next appointed Deputy United States Marshal for one year, under E. Campbell, then lie engaged in his present business. Politically he is a decided Democrat. He is a member of the A. O. H., in which body he now holds the office of Marshal of the Day. He was married October 3, 1883, to Miss Katie Madden, daughter of James and Ellen (Wallace) Madden, and born in Council Bluffs August 25, 1863. They are members of the Catholic Church and avenue. reside at 1032 Si.xth R. FOXLEY, successor to R. Foxley & Son, brick manufacturers. North * Harrison street. Council Bluffs. This business was established in 1880 by R. Foxley and was conducted by him until 1885, when he formed a partnership with his son A. R., the present owner. The annual output of this establishment is 1,000,000 brick, and the number made daily is 18,000. Mr. Fox- ley gives employment to about fifteen men, and manufactui-es both the common and the dry-pressed brick. Richard Foxley, the father of our subject, was born in Bedfordshire, England, in 1836. He remained in his native land until he was eighteen years old, when he came to America and located in New York State. A few years later he went to Toronto, Canada, where he made his home until 1859, and from there to Ottawa, Canada, until 1879, when he came to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In January, 1888, he removed to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick and where he died, August 17, 1890. He followed the trade of brick-maker and contractor all his life. Politically he was a Democrat. While in Canada, in 1856, he married Miss Charlotte Newlove, a native of Lincolnshire, England, born in 1838. She is now a resident of Vancouver. They had a family of nine children, viz.: Edith, wife of Joseph Tindale,of Downsville, Iowa; Eleanor, a resident of Vancouver; Alfred R., the sub- ject of this sketch; Emily, a milliner of Van- couver; Herbert, also of that city; Percival, a resident of Council Bluffs; and Louisa, at Vancouver. Two are deceased. Alfred R. was born near Ottawa, Canada, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 493 June 21, 1864; was educated in the public schools and learned the trade of briek-niaking with his father. In 1887 he was married to Miss Carrie Burgess, of Council Blnflfs. She was born in 1866 and died in 1888. Politi- cally Mr. Foxley holds to Republican prin- ciples. He is a member of the I. O. G. T., No. 175, Council Bluffs Lodge, and at this writing, 1890, is Worthy Chief. "-^K' l - l *'^ jEV. JOSEPH K NOTTS, deceased, was I^K born in Knottsville, Monongalia Coun- ty, Virginia, September 24, 1832. The village took its naine fr >m his ancestry; it is now in West Virginia, near Grafton. He completed his school education at the Acad- emy at Clarksburg, Virginia. At a very early age he became pious and joined the Methodist Episcopal Ciiurch, entering at once with his characteristic zeal into an active Christian life. About this time lie obtained his majority and catue West to locate lands for his father through Iowa. He spent some time teaching school in the States of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and in October, 1855, he married Rebecca Hall at Carthage, Illinois. Returiiino- to Virginia, he was licensed to preach. After serving on several charges in liis native State, he was transferred to Iowa, being a man of strong Union principles, in opposition to the most of his pirisliioners in Virginia. He wa^ transferred in 1860 to the Western Iowa, now the Des Moines, Conference, and he tillei successive appoint- ments until in 1865 he was sent to Council Bluffs, and here the next year he built the Br lidway Church elides, in the face of dif- ficulties that would have overcome any man but one of such invincible will and tireless energy as lie always possessed. Becoming Church Extension Agent of the Des Moines Conference, he traveled at large all over the field, laying the foundation of that infant society. In 1869 he was appointed Presiding Elder of the Council BlufEs district, and served it for three years. i\\ 1871 he was elected a delegate to the General Conference which met in Brooklyn, New York, the May following, and at this session he was placed upon committees where he served during the four years following. Failing health caused him to resign his district after serving it three years, when he engaged in publishing the Inland Christian Advocate, in connec- tion with which he established a book store for the sale of Methodist publications. The great fire in Council Bluffs, which destroyed the first Ogden House, carried off all his stock of books and publishing material in a few hours, leaving him nothing. In 1874 or 1875, shortly after the lire. President Grant appointed Mr. Knotts, Consul to Chihuahua, Mexico, to the climate of which country he looked as a refuge from his failing health; but he soon resigned the consulship to engage in mining, and through his energy and enterprise the people of that Republic had their attention turned to the United States as an inviting field of com- mercial affiliation. On December 26, 1887, he left his home in Council Bluffs on a business trip to Du- rauCTo, Mexico. Riding in a stage, he suf- fered from the chilly weather, pneumonia set in, and on January 15, 1888, he was taken suddenly worse at Parral, sixty miles from the railroad. He insisted on being conveyed to the railroad, and he was accordingly taken there, reaching El Paso, Texas, Sunday, January 22, and died the next day at 3:15 p. M. His body was brought to Council Blnffs, and laid to rest in Walnut Hill Ceme- tery. The following tribute was truthfully paid 494 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT to liis cliaiacter hy Rev. II. H. O'Neal, in his funeral tlisconrse: " I tliink he was a man wlio feared the Lord in early life, who de- voted himself to tlie service of God, and never in after years did he swerve from that consecrated service. In that wliirl of excite- ment in which so niany are ruined, with him the fear of tlie Lord was ever a pervading element of his character. It modified his aims, fortified his principles, strengthened his affections, was with him a permanent principle which dominated his life, pai?sed with him from place to place and from stage to stage of his career: and when driven by broken health from the active work of the Christian ministry, he did not forget the church or leave his religion behind him. He was a man iron-nerved, strong with tireless energy. The erection of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, which would have dismayed many men, displayed the judgment, enter- prise and persistenL energy that possessed him. He could not endure inaction. He was never engaged with trifles, and had always some work to do that was worth doing, and he did it with his might, putting all his energy into it, and also the force of his char- acter. " In the ministry of the church and in his palmiest days, he was a ceaseless worker. Whether in the pastorate, presiding-elder- ehip or heljjing the public institutions of the church, he was full of zeal and industry, and such qualities, sanctified by grace divine, could not fail to make of him an instrument of great assistance, and lie was eminently useful, especially in the ministry. Under his pastorate souls were converted and the churches strengthened. In the wider fields of presiding-eldership the work grew and prospered under his hand, and he won the highest esteem of his fellow ministers by his fidelity and success. He was a man of such genial spirit and so faithful in the manage- ment of affairs that he commanded the highest respect of all, and won his way into the strongest and most enduring love of his personal friends." Mr. Knotts was of English ancestry, com- ing from the north of England, and traceable back for several generations. His grand- father was a soldier in the A.merican war for Independence. His immediate parents were Absalom and Matilda (Sayre) Knotts. He was brought up on a farm. His wife, a native of West Virginia, and also of English origin, died at her home in Council Bluffs, January 26, 1890. They had ten children, two of whom died in infancy. The list is: Edith v., now the wife of Samuel Robert- son, of Boulder, Montana; Absalom B., of Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Thomas H., of Des Moines, Iowa; Matilda, deceased; Lemuel G., of Council Bluffs; E. Franklin, also of Coun- cil Bluffs; James E., a resident of Des Moines: Gordon B., of Council Bluffs; Alice, deceased; Joseph, Jr., a resident of Council Bluflfs. Lemuel G. Knotts was born in New Vir- ginia, Warren County, Iowa, April 3, 1865, and was reared from his fourth year in Council Bluffs, receiving his education here except one winter at Denison, Texas. Dur- ing the summer months previous to the completion of his sixteenth year he worked on his father's farm, after which he devoted his entire time to his studies. At the age of eighteen he spent a year in Mexico, in the study of Spanish and mining. Returning to Council Bluffs he graduated here in the class of 1885. He went again to Mexico to look after the mining interests of his father at Parral in the State of Chihuahua and at Mapimi in the State of Durango, and was there about eighteen months. Returning here he enoraaed in various pursuits. In the OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 495 Slimmer of 1887 lie took a course at the commercial college here, and then entered the office of Wright, Baldwin & Haldara, to study law, and was there one year, when he engaged in his present business, dealing in coal and wood, in partnership with W. F. Sapp, Jr. On September 2, 1890, Mr. Sapp withdrew from the partnership firm of S^pp & Kiiotts, since which time Mr. Knotts had been conducting the fuel business alone. >—.t ^ -a m - ^-»-^°— — fHOMAS OFFICER, of the banking ]'i. house of Officer & Pusey, Council Bluffs, the oldest and one of the most solid banking firms in Iowa, was born in Washington, Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, December 28, 1822. He is descended from those hardy Scotch-Irish Presbyterians so prominent in the history of Pennsylvania and the United States. His grandfather, Thomas Officer, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania; was a man of more than or- dinary aliility and intelligence, and held various offices of trust in his county. His great-grandfather, with a brother, came from the north of Ireland to Pennsylvania soon after the Revolution, one settling near Knox- ville, Tennessee, and the other in Chester County, Pennsylvania, from whom have de- scended about all now in America who in- herit the family name. Our subject's father, Robert Officer, was born in Chester County, and when two years of age moved with his parents to Washington County, Pennsylvania. In early life he engaged in merchandising at Washington and Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and died in 1874, at the age of seventy-nine years. He was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Scott, the daughter of John and Jane (Patterson) Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Rob- ert Officer were Presbyterians, and were the parents of eleven children, four of whom are living, viz.: Thomas, our subject; Rebecca, wife of Neal G. Blaine, a brother of the Hon. James G. Blaine (she is now a widow, and resides in Council Bluffs); S. Ellen, wife of the Hon. Wm. H. M. Pueey, a banker of this city; Robert, also of this city, engaged in the real-estate and insurance business. Thomas Officer, our subject, graduated at Washington (Pennsylvania) College in 1840, and went at once to Columbus, Oliio, where he was employed as an instructor in the Ohio State Institution for the Deaf and Dumb for five years. He was then called to Jackson- ville, Illinois, where he organized, laid out the grounds, and built the Illinois State In- stitution for the Deaf and Dumb, and re- mained as principal and superintendent for ten years. He then resigned this position and came to Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1856 he formed his preseiit partnership with Mr. Pusey, purchasing the same ground on which their present bank building now stands, and in the spring of 1857 opened their present bank, then as now a private bank. This is one of the solid firms in the county, and is worthy of record, as it is one of the few that passed through the panics of 1857-'71-'73. Out of seventeen banking institutions in Council Bluffs, this is the only one that sur- vived the panic of 1857. Mr. Officer was united in marriao-e, Auirust 8, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth M. Pusey, who was born in Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, and is the sister of Hon. William H. M. Pusey, whose sketch appears in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Officer rank among the very best people of Council Bluffs and also of Iowa, and are universally admired and re- spected for their sterling worth. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a ruline elder ever since its organization in 1856. They are the 496 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY parents of three children: Charles T., teller in the bank with his fatlier and uncle, and married to Miss Boyle, of Pittsburg, Penn- sylvania; Julia E., a talented musician, and a graduate of the Petercilia School of Music, of Boston, Massachusetts, and also of the Kockford (Illinois) Female Seminary; and William P., an assistant with his father and uncle in the bank. Mr. Officer has never sought office, but yet has held various local offices of trust, such as Councilman -and a member and president of the School Board. His known personal experience and promi- nence in connection with institutions for the deaf and dumb in other States was an im- portant factor in securing the location of the Iowa State Institution at Council Bluffs. In conjunction with Hon. Caleb Baldwin and Major-General Grenville M. Dodge, he was appointed as commissioner in behalf of the State to select the site, purchase the grounds, decide upon the plans and erect the build- ings, all of which was done under their man- agement. He afterward served, under ap- pointment by the State, as a member of the Board of Directors for a number of years, and part of the time as president of the board. He enjoys the contidence and respect of all, and is a gentleman of the strictest Integrity. -*-^«-»^^-< fA. KILLION, an intelligent and suc- cessful farmer of Belknap Township, ® Pottawattamie County, was born in Menard County, Illinois, September 15, 1858, a son of James E. and Sarah E. (Hornback) Killion, both natives of Kentucky, the former a son of Michel Killion, also a native of Kentucky, and the latter the daughter of John H. and Abigail (Bracken) Hornback. Our subject's father died in Menard County in 1876, at the age of fifty-six years. He had been a farmer all his life, and in his political views he was a Republican. Religi- ously he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His widow is still living in Menard County. They were the parents of nine children, six of whom are still living. J. A. Killion was reared on a farm in his native county until 1883, when he came to his present farm of 146 acres in Pottawatta- mie County. When he first settled on this place it was wild prairie land, but he has since made many improvements, and he now has a fine large farm. He was married in Menard County, Illinois, March 3, 1881, to Miss A. M. Denton, a woman of intelligence and education, and the daughter of William G. and Elizabeth (Powers) Denton. Politi- cally Mr. Killion is a Republican. •■*- "| ' 5"S ' |" '*" ILLIAM C. KLEPPINGER, a prom inent farmer of P(>ttawattamie Coun- ty, is a pioneer settler of Iowa. His grandfather was the founder of the family in America; he was a German by birth, and set- tled on a farm in Northampton County, Pennsylvania He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and also engaged in the wars with the Indians. He was married to a lady of English parentage, and tliey had five children: Lewis, Jacob, William, Eli and Catherine. He spent his days in Northamp- ton County, dying at a good old age. He was a member of the Lutheran Church. Lewie Kleppinger, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born on the old homestead in Northampton County, and learned farming in early life. He was mar- ried in his native State to Barbara Harmon, daughter of Jacob Harmon, a hotel-keeper at OF P02 TAW ATT AM IE COUNTY. 49; Cherryville, who owned and built the old Stone Hotel in which every stone was the same size, picked and dressed, and which is still standing. He was the father of four children: Barbara, Catharine, Mary and Con- rad. To Mr. and Mrs. Klep[)inger have been born seven children : David, Thomas, Joseph, William C, Lewis, Rebecca and Sarah. After marriage Mr. Kleppinger settled in North- ampton County, near his two brothers, Jacob and Eli, each locating on a large farm. Both he and his wife were natives of Germany, and were respected by their fellow citizens. Mr. Kleppinger was Township Supervisor eight years; was an industrious and honest citizen and a prosperous farmer. He was a devout Christian and trustee in his church for many years, and was also one of the building com- mittee and founders of the church. William C, the subject of this sketch, waa born on the old homestead in a stone house, December 27,1829, and served an apprentice- ship of three years at the coach-maker's trade in Bloomsburj, New Jersey. He was then eniraced in driving cattle, horses and sheep over the AUeghanies for three years, having crossed the mountains hundreds of tirnes. After his marriage he settled at Emaus, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, working at his trade, and remaining eight years. In 1859 he moved to his father-in-law's farm, remain- ing nine years; next he went to Kreidersville, where he lived five years, working at his trade ; and in 1867 came to Iowa, settling on a farm in Muscatine County, where he lived thirteen years. In 1879 he came to his present tine farm of 160 acres, situated near Walnut. Mr. Kleppinger married Elizabeth Seem, daughter of Conrad and Catharine (Sworit) Seem. She was born in 1829, and was of Grerman descent. Mr. Seem owned a flax- oil mill and a woolen-mill, and was also a furniture-maker of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. He lived tc the great age of ninety-three years, living ninety years on one farm, which he inherited from his father. The last three years he lived with his son. He was the father of fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to maturity: Joseph, John, Samuel, David, Conrad, Keuben (de- ceased), Lucy, Mary, Patterson (deceased), Elizabeth, Katie, Judy, Polly and Leah. Mr. Seem was a member of the German Re- formed Church, of which he was one of the founders, and also one of the builders of the church. He taught school in his early life, and was once a Justice of the Peace. He was truly one of the old patriarch Pennsyl- vanians, who brought up a large family and taught them industry and virtue. To Mr. and Mrs. Kleppinger have been born nine children, seven of whom lived to maturity: Mary A., Adelaide, Abyssinia (deceased at six years), Preston C, Elizabeth C, Rosie B., Robert D., James P., Meda S. (deceased at two years). Mr. and Mrs. Kleppinger are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has been a member of the build- ing committee, and was steward and class leader in Muscatine County. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, and is tiow Road Supervisor of his township. He is an industrious man and honorable citizen, and one of the many self-made men of which Iowa may boast. ILLIAM WINTERSTIEN was born in Johnson County, Iowa, December 28, 1843, son of William Winter- stien, Sr., a native of Ohio. His grandfather, Nicholas Winterstien, a soldier of the war of 1812, brought his family to Johnson County, Iowa, becoming early settlers of that place. He and his son William and others surveyed the wagon- road from Iowa City to 498 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Cedar Kapids witli breaking plows and ox teams, William driving one of the teams. Among other early settlers in Johnson County there was a family by the name of Laramore who came from Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Laramore were the parents of seven daughters, some of whom remained in the East. Their daughter Susan became the wife of William Winterstien, Sr., and by him had ten children, four of whom are now living, viz.: William, Jr., our subject; Je- rome W., who residesin Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County; Philip, a resident of Hastings, Nebraska; and Franklin, who lives near Goldendale, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Winterstien in 1850 went overland to Cali- fornia, witli ox teams, spending the first win- ter at Carson City, then called Gold Cailon. After a sojourn of six years in California they returned to Iowa, coming via water to New York and from thence to Johnson County. They subsequently went to Kansas, where they lived some ten or twelve years, and then removed to Washington, where they now reside. The father is seventy-four years old and the motiier is seventy-two. During the late war Mr. Winterstien enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, as a recruit. William Winterstien, .Jr., was reared on a farm in Johnson County, Iowa, and when the great Rebellion broke out he entered in the service of his country and fought bravely all through the war. He enlisted in August, 1862, in Company H, Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, and the first battle he was in was that of Port Gibson, near Grand Gulf. The bursting of a shell near his head caused a deafness in his right ear from which he has never recovered. At that time his regiment was supporting the First Iowa Battery. Mr. Winterstien was afterward in the battles of Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, the charge 19th and 22d of May, siege of Vicks- burg, Winchester, Virginia, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek. He was honorably dis- charged at Savannah, Georgia, July 25, 1865. After the war Mr. Winterstien returned to Johnson County, Iowa, where he resided un- til 1870, when he removed to Benton County, same State. In 1871 he went to Montgom- ery County and settled twelve miles north- west of Red Oak. Three years later, in 1874, he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on his present farm in section 28, Wright Township. It was then wild land, but the well directed efforts of Mr. Winter- stien have caused it to assume a different ap- pearance. He has a story-and-a-half frame residence, 16 x 25 feet, located on a natural building site, surrounded by a grove of two acres. He also has other farm buildings and improvements. His home farm consists of eighty acres, and he owns another well im- proved eighty acre farm in Waveland Town- ship. June 10, 1869, in Johnson County, Mr. Winterstien was married to Catherine Louise Burnett, a native of Ohio. Her father, John Burnett, was born in Ohio, son of John Bur- nett, Sr., and her mother, nee Ann Eliza Veness, was born in York County, Pennsyl- vania. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett came to Iowa about the year 1850 and settled in Cedar County, where they spent the residue of their lives. They reared five children, namely: Thomas, Catherine L., George, Smith and Charles. Mrs. Winterstien was reared and educated in Cedar County. She and her hus- band have nine children, viz.: Grant, Eugene, William Arthur, Ethel, Kate, Thomas B., Ray, Ben Harrison and Susan. Politically Mr. Winterstien is a Republi- can. He is a member of the G. A. R., Robert Worthington Post, No. 9. He joined the Iowa City Post. He is associated with the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 499 Mr. Winterstien is a man in the prime of life, is frank and cordial in his manner, and is honorable in all his dealings. |^OP>ERT MILLER, one of the repre- fl^ sentative citizens of Washington Town- ^^ ship, Pottawattamig County, has resided here since 1882. He is jnstly deserving of honorable mention in a work of this charac- ter, and a resume of his life is herewith given. Mr. Miller was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, twenty miles Irom Pittsburgh, near the Allegheny River, February 22, 1831. His father, Joseph B. Miller, was born near Freeport, Pennsylvania, son of John Miller, a native of Ireland. The latter was one of the two early settlers in that part of Alle- gheny County. The mother of our subject, Jane (McCall) Miller, was born in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Her father, John McCall, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1854 Joseph B. Miller and wife removed to Rock Island County, Illinois, where they re- sided until their death, the mother dying at the age of seventy-live years and eleven months, and the father at the age of seventy- six years and eleven months. He was a farmer the most of his life, but for seventeen years acted as a county nfficer. In politics he was a Whig and an Abolitionist. He was one of the twelve men wh(j first voted the Abolitionist ticket in Allegheny County. lu religion he was a Seceder or a United Presby- terian. He and his wife reared eight chil dren, seven sons and one daughter. Three of the sons served in the late war. Robert passed his youth at farm work in his native county and received his education in the public schools. In 1854, when he was twenty-four years of age, he was married in Allegheny County, to Miss Eleanor McKee, a lady of intelligence and refinement. She was born in Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, daughter of John and Mary Ann (Crawford) McKee. Her parents were of Irish ancestry, and were born in Belfast, Ire- land. They worshiped with the old-school Presbyterians. Robert Miller resided in Penn- sylvania until 1854, when he removed to Rock Island County, Illinois, where he re- mained until 1868, with the exception of one year spent at Pike's Peak. In 1868 he re- moved to Page County, Iowa, and located northwest of Clarinda, being one of the early settlers of that place. He resided in Page County until the spring of 1871, when he moved to Thayer County, Nebraska, then called Jefferson County. After remaining there five years and four months he returned to Page County, and for one year made his home south of Essex. He then went to Atchison County, Missouri, and from there, in 1882, he came to Washington Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Id 1881 he purchased 160 acres of land from B. F. Clay- ton. The soil had been broken but there were no improvements on the farm. In 1886 he purchased eighty acres more, now being the owner of 240 acres of well im- proved land. Besides his own residence he has two teuant houses. His farm is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have six children, namely: Mary Jane, wife of George Fulton, ThayerCounty, Nebraska;'Eliza Belle, wife of Samuel Bartle, Carson Township, Pottawatta- mie County ; Joseph B. is married and lives on his father's farm; William John is also mar- ried and resides on the Perry place; James T., at home; and Robert R., at school. Two of their children are deceased, an infant son and Eleanor, who died at the age of seven months. Mr. Miller casts his vote and infiuence with 500 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. the Republican party, and he has served the public in some of the township offices. He and his wife are ixiembera of the Sharon Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder. He is also an active worker in the Sabbath-school. Mr. Miller is a man of three-score years, yet he bears his age lightly. He is a desirable acquisition to the com- munity in which he resides, and is honored and esteemed by all who know hira. lEORGE V. BURNETT came to Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, in July, 1884, and has since continued his residence liere. He was born in Wayne County, Ohio, Jiuiuary 9, 1848, son of John and Ann (Veness) Burnett, the former of Scotch ex- traction, and the latter born in Pennsylvania, a descendant of German ancestors. Mr. and Mrs. Burnett were married in Ohio, and ■when their son George was about three or four years old they came to Iowa, and settled in Cedar County. There the mother died two or three years later, and the father died in 1861, at the age of forty two years and eight months. He was among the early settlers of that county, and his whole life was passed on a farm. Politically he was a Democrat. He and his wife were both members of the Presbyterian Churcii. They reared a lamily of four sons and one daugh- ter, viz.: Thomas H., a well-to-do settler of Pottawattamie County, who died in "Wright Township, March 23, 1886, at the age of forty-two years and twenty-three days. He had never married. Catherine L., who is the wife of William Winterstien, Wright Township, Pottawattamie County; George v.. Smith J., Griswold, Iowa; and Charles i>f Pottawattamie County, Kansas. George was reared on a farm in Odnr County, and learned the trade of stone- mason, which he followed four years in Iowa City before he came to this county. He is now engaged in general farming and stock- raising, owning eighty acres of improved land, well-adapted for stock or grain, located in section 31, Wright Township. Mr. Burnett was married in June, 1878, to Mrs. Lanra M. Parrott, a native of Foun- tain County, Indiana. Her father, Andrew B. Parrott, was born in Ohio, and her mother, Frances Ann (Furr) Parrott, in Fountain County, Indiana. Mrs. Parrott's parents weie Kentnckians. Mrs. Burnett was but eleven months old when she came with her father and mother to Iowa. They settled in Johnson County, where, in March, 1866. the mother died, at the age of thirty-one years and nine months. Mr. Parrott still resides in Iowa City. By her first marriage Mrs. Burnett had one child, Frances Collins, now the wife of Frank Bevier, a resident of Car- son, Iowa. By her present husband she has two children, namely: Maudie Odessa and Rachel May. They lost two children: John Earl, who died at the age of thirteen months and eighteen days, and Marion Oliva, their third child, at birth. In his political views Mr. Burnett is independent. He is well- informed on current topics, is out-spoken and cordial in his address, and is regarded as one of the woi-thy citizens of the community. Mrs. Burnett is a member of the Christian Church. ILLIAM CONVERSE, a prominent farmer of Valley Township, descended from an old American family, of Euirlish descent, who settled in Vermont in early day. The grandfather of our subject, a farmer in Plattsburg, that State, was the OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 501 father of seven children, the sons being Erastus, William, Chase, Jesse and John, and the daughters, Polly and Jemima. Eras- tns, the father of William, went to Penn- sylvania, and was there married to Elizabetli Yan Wermer, and they had six children: John, William, George B., Henry B., Erastus and a daughter who died in infancy. George B. and Erastus served in the Union army four years, and George died in the ser- vice. In 1842 the father brought his family to Iowa, settling on a claim where the land was not yet surveyed, in what is now Green Township, Iowa County. This State was then an entirely new country, and he had to go seventy miles for his groceries, the family having to rely upon their own productions for most of their supplies, which consisted mainly of corn bread and buckwheat cakes, with wild game and fish. For live yeai-s they were without beef, pork, coffee, sugar and milk. Tea they made of '• red-root " {Geano- thus Americanus). The corn they ground with a hand mill. Their clothing was mostly made of buck-skin. They lived in a log cabin, with no sawed timber except the doors and window casings, which were made from their dry-goods boxes, that they had brought from Pennsylvania, and their floors were of puncheon. But they had a comfort- able home and were content. There were no schools, churches, roads, courts, lawyers, or even a justice of the peace, and but one doctor, who lived nine miles distant. The people were healthy, happy and peaceable; their habits were simj^le, and they were friendly and hospitable, helping each other for miles around. Mr. Converse lived to the age of forty-three years, dying from exhaus- tion brought on by riding seventy miles on horseback without a saddle, for a doctor for his sick Son. His widow is still living, at the age of eighty years, with her son Will- iam. When she first came to Iowa, the Sac and Fox Indians were very numerous but friendly, and Keokuk, the celebrated chief, used to come to their cabin, and frequently partook of their hospitality. William Converse, the subject of this sketch, was born in Rockdale Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, and was but nine years of age when his parents came to Iowa. He was brought up in the wilder- ness, and received no education when a boy, as the nearest school at the time of his father's death whs twenty-two miles, and he never had the benefit of but six months' schooling. When his father died his brother, two years his senior, and himself were the support of the family, and at the age of fourteen he did a man's work. He learned from his father and the Indians to hunt, and the meat for the family was procured in this way. He often, when hunting with the Indiatis, par- took of their hospitality, and describes their cooking as being clean and orderly. After his marriage Mr. Converse settled in what is now Greene Township, Iowa County, where he lived twenty-nine years, and where he owned a farm of 226 acres. He sold this place, and in 1871 came to Pottawattamie County, seftling on his present farm of 320 acres in Valley Township. It was wild land when he purchased it nineteen years ago, but he has since converted it into a fine cultivated farm, to which he has since added until he now owns 400 acres. Mr. Converse set out all his shade and fruit trees; also has many good buildings, and a splendid orchard of 300 bearing trees, and a good vineyard. Politically he is a Republican, but is an independent thinker, and liberal in all his views, voting for the man instead of tht politician. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and is president of the Anti-H(jrse- 503 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Thief Society, which office he has held for seventeen years. He has also been a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows and Good Tem- plars orders. He is a strong temperance man, and has subscribed liberally for the cause. He has taken an active part in the cause of education and the good of the schools, and has served as School Director for years, and also as president of tiie School Board. Mr Converse stands high in his community as an upright and honorable man, is always found on the side of reform and in defense of the right. He has tiie honor of being one of the founders of the great and wealthy State of Iowa, as he has been with her from the beginning, endured all the iiardships and privation allotted to her eldest sons, and has been equal to all the vicissi- tudes of life in her borders. Mr. Converse was married at the a^e of nineteen, to Miss Jane C. Henry, then aged fifteen years, daughter of Williamson A. and Sarah (Richardson) Henry. The fatlier was originally from Kentucky, but went to Ohio, and finally settled in Johnson (bounty, Iowa, between 1835 and 1842. They were the parents of seven children: Nancy, Jane, Eebecca, Fannie, Mary A., William A. and Franklin P. Mr. Henry was a soldier in the Black Hawk war; was one of the pioneers of Iowa State and city, and assisted in drawing the stone for the State University. He kept a tavern in Iowa City for many years, and lived to the age of fifty- live years. To Mr. and Mrs. William Converse have been born six children: John, Charles, Mary, Ella, Emma and Clara. Mrs. Converse is a mem- ber of the Baptist Church. William Con verse has practiced medicine for forty years, and for the last twenty-five years has had a large practice. He is now living on his own farm, and is dealing in imported Clydesdale and French draft horses, high-grade mares. high-grade red-polled cattle and pure-bred Poland-China swine. 'g - I ' T - g ffAMES A. TAYLOR, one of the best 'M known pioneers of the county, and a iC resident of Washington Township, has been a resident of this county for forty years. He was burn in Montgomery County, In- diana, February 24, 1831, a son of Pleasant Taylor, anativeofTennessee and an old pioneer of this county. His father, Burzil Taylor, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Pleasant Taylor was married in Montgomery County, Indiana, to Jane Allison, a daughter of James Allison, who was born in Pennsylvania. They had five children, viz.: James A., our subject; Mary E. Gordon, of Oklahoma; Thomas and Pleasant, deceased; and William H., of Silver Creek Township, Pottawattamie County. They lived in Indiana until about 1840, when they moved to Missouri, tlien to Illinois, and in 1848 they came to Iowa and lived in Wapello County until 1850; then they came to Pottawattamie County and bought a Mormon claim in Silver Creek Town- ship, being the first " Gentile" in the vicinity. Some years later he sold out and came to Washington Township and liouglit the place where he now lives. His wife died in June, 1868. Several years after her death he mar- ried Sidney Webb, with whom he still lives. James A. Taylor, our subject, was about twenty years old when he came to this county. His education was obtained in the log schuol- houses of that period. In 1858 he took charge of a saw and grist mill on Silver Creek fur two years. He subsequently purchased 120 acres of land and at once commenced its improvement He now has a well improved farm of 400 acres, one of the best in Wash- ington Township. In 1885 he erected a good ' CyO, /^U^yv^t^-^ OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTT. 50:i house, which cost $1,500. It is built in modern style, and is well furnished tiirough- oiit. A grove of tiftj-five acres and orchard near by makes his home an attractive one. Both general farming and stock-raising are carried on here. Mr. Taylor vi^as married in Pottawattamie County, in 1859, to Miss Maria E. Piles, who was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, in 1839. Her father, James Piles, was born in Ohio, in 1804, and died in that State, at the age of iifty. Her mother, Marg.tret (English) Pile-s, was born in Penn- sylvania, in 1810, and died in this county at the »ge of forty-seven. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have had nine children, viz.: Mary E., wite of G. W. Hamilton, and a resident of Wash- ington Township; William M., Henry P., who married Debember 4, 1889, Ada M. Cole, a teacher of Pottawattamie County, and is a resident also of Washington Township; Isaac, John, Martha Ellen (died in 1882), Alice M., Ira J. and Margaret J. Mr. Taylor is a Democrat in politics. He ha^ served the public as Township Trustee and a; a member of the School Board. He, Henry and John, are associated with the Masonic Order, Coral Lodge, No. 430, at Carson. He and his wife, Henry and wife, John and Alice are members of the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr. Taylor is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. As a fireside companion Mr. Taylor is jovial and cordial. He is well informed on all general topics, and is a good story-teller. He is regarded as one of the popular and worthy citizens of Poitawattamie County. <-i":-|--< fA. MURPHY, a contractor and builder of Council Bluffs, and also the owner * of a planing-tnill, sash, door and blind factory, which was erected in October, 1889, 87 is one of the most important business men in this city. He came here in 1881 and erected the Union elevator for the Pool lines, and after its completion he decided to remain here. He has erected a number of buildings, among which are the David Bradley building, the Massalon, the Morselles, the Sandwich, Elec- tric motor, Marriam Block, Washineton Ave- nue school building, the Grand Hotel, which is now under construction, and many other buildings. He does an annual business of about $75,000. The second year of his resi- dence in Council Bluffs, Mr. Murphy had secured some $60,000 worth of work. At present he turns out all his work at his own plant, which is located at the corner of Twenty-first street and First avenue. It was erected at a cost of some $14,000, and he employs about si-xteen men in the plant and thirty to forty outside, all of whom are prac- tical mechanics. He has in view the enlarcfe- ment of his plant, as he has not sufficient space to do his work. Politically he is an adherent of the Democratic party, of which he is a hearty supporter. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., Apollo Lodge. No. 139, of Chicago. Mr. Murphy was born in Portage du Fort, Canada East, near Ottawa City, December 5, 1839, the son of Patrick and Rose Ann (Pren- tice) Murphy, and of Irish-Scotch descent. He attended school in his native country un- til nineteen years of age, when he commenced work in the pineries, continuing two years; he next served an apprenticeship at the car- penter's trade with his father, who was a con- tractor and carpenter. His father died when he was twenty four years of age, after which he took charge of his business and prosecuted the same two years. He then left Canada, and in 1863 went to Chicago, where he re- mained until 1864. He then went South with Sherman, and served in the employ of 504 UIOGBAPUIGAL HI STORY the Government about two years and three months, when he was honorably discharged. Mr. Murphy then returned to Cliicago, re- mained until 1869; thence he went to Mon- tana for three and a half years; then back to Chicago for two years; next to San Francisco, California, three years; again returned to Chicago, where he remained until 1881; and then came to this city, where he has since made his home. During his travels from one place to another he was engaged at his trade. He has done much toward building up Council Bluffs, and in the fall of 1881 was the means of bringina; 110 mechanics to this city from Chicago. At other times he has been the cause of bringing' men from various parts of the country, and the result is that many are now permanent residents, and some are the best mechanics the city affords. Mr. Murphy was married in Chicago, January 28, 1868, to Kate L. Wright, a na- tive of Canada, and daughter of John and Isabella Wright, of Lancaster, Canada West, and of Scotch birth and German parentage. Mrs. and Mrs, Murphy have three children: George, Maud, and Harry. - "■ "^ ' S ' T ' I fRANK COLEMAN is another one of the representative citizens of Washing- ton Township, Pottawattamie County. He was born in Tolland County, Connecticut, twenty miles east of Hartford, in 1841, son of Timothy Coleman, a native of New Eng- land, and Laura (Hunt) Coleman, who was born in Connecticut, of an old family of that State. When Frank was fourteen years old his father moved to Kansas and settled near Law- rence. That city then contained two shanties and one tent, the latter being 100 feet long and used as a hotel. Border ruffians were plenty in those days in Kansas, and when Mr. Coleman was ordered to leave or suffer the consequences lie chose the former. Go- ing East, he settled in Macoupin County, Illi- nois, near Bunker Hill. On a farm at that place Frank grew to manhood. Previous to their going West he had learned the hatter trade, at which he worked from the age of seven until he was fourteen. His mother died in Illinois, at the age of sixty-five years. His father passed away in St. Louis, at the age of seventy-five, while traveling in pur- suit of health. He was a farmer the gi'eater part of his life. In politics he was a Whig, and later, an Abolitionist. To him and his wife eleven sons were born, seven of whom grew to manhood. The subject of this sketch lived in Illinois until 1871, when he came to Mills County, Iowa, residing there two years. In 1873 he came to Pottawatta- mie County and for some time made his home in Macedonia Township. Then he moved to James Township, where he lived two years and improved two tarms. His next move was to Washington Township. Here he purchased eighty acres of land in section 14, in 1881, and has made many im- provements on the same. The whole farm is in a iiourishinof condition. His coinfortabie cottage home is surrounded by a grove and orchard of three acres, and all of his out- buildings show thrift and prosperity. Mr. Coleman was married, March 14, 1876, at Macedonia, Iowa, to Miss Mary Willson, a lady of culture and refinement, who was born in Cass County, Iowa, near Lewis. Her father, Kirby Willson, who was born near Cin- cinnati, Ohio, and her mother, Julia A. (Bartles) Willson, a native of Fulton County. Illinois, now reside near Charter Oak, Crawford County, Iowa. Mrs. Coleman was nine years old when they went to Mills County, Iowa, where she was OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 505 reared and educated. To Mr. and Mrs. Cole- man seven children have been born, namely: Ella Grace, Frederick H., Bertie and Gertrude (twine), Timothy, Robert and Roy. Mr. Coleman'd political views are in harmony with Republican principles. Mrs. Coleman is a worthy member of the Evangelical Church. A mail in the prime of life, intelligent and well informed on all general topics, frank and cordial in his manner toward all with whom he comes in contact, Mr. (!oleraan is regarded as a desirable acquisition to his community. He has served the public as Township Trus- tee and as a member of the School Board. •"♦■ "^ • ; »' ; • I' *"' riLLIAM popular P. CRAFT, a wealthy and citizen of Pottawattamie County, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1839, a son of Peter and Tacy (DeGood) Craft, the former a native of Ohio, and a son of Samuel Crafr, a native of Germany; the latter is the daughter of Joseph DeGood, of French parentage. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Craft were married in Millsborough, Washington County, Pennsylvania, and in 1854 moved to Wapello County, Iowa, where, in November, 1859, the mother died. The father now lives in Ottumwa, Iowa, at the age of seventy-two years. In the East he was a coal dealer and boat-builder by trade, but in Iowa he has been engaged in iarming. Politically he is a Democrat, and religiously is an Atheist, or a believer in the rotation or progress of souls. The subject of this sketch remained on a farm in Wapello County until 1873, when he went to Montgomery County, Iowa, and bought forty acres in wild land, which he afterward improved. In 1880 he sold this place and came to Pottawattamie County, where he bought 120 acres of land on section 19, Washington Township, and later bought 160 acres on section 18, and in 1888 eighty acres more, and he now owns a well-improved farm of 360 acres. He was married February 5, 1867, in Wa- pello County, Iowa, to Miss Mary Silvers, who was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, but was rieared in Marysville, Iowa. She was the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Prickett) Silvers. Mr. and Mrs. Craft have ten children, viz.: Ella M., now the wife of Ammi Woolf, a worthy and honorable citizen of Washington Township; Emma E., Sadie, James, Jessie, Ida S., Otis, Carl, Daisy and Myrtle. Politically Mr. Craft is a Dem- ocrat, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Craft is yet in the prime of life, is intelligent and well informed on general topics, and is one of the county's solid business men. fAMES WILSON, one of the substantial farmers of Knox Township, is descended from an old American family. James Wilson, his grandfather, was one of the old pioneers of Perry County, Ohio, having set- tled there when the Indians were plentiful. He was from the Cumberland Mountains in Maryland, and when he first settled in Ohio they had great trouble with the Indians, and Mrs. Wilson would barricade the house when her husband was away. They reared a family of nine children: Jonathan, Michael, James, Thomas, William (who died at the age ot seventeen years), Elizabeth, Rachel, Sarah and Martha. The father cleared his farm of 160 acres from heavy timber, and besides this he owned eighty acres in Van Wert County. He died at the age of seventy- live years, and was a member of the Meth- odist Church. He married Martha Asbby, 506 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. a native of Maryland. Mr. Wilson served as County Judge, and was an honorable and upright man. Thomas Wilson, a son of the above and the father of our suliject, was born in Perry County, Ohio, and was reared to the life of a farmer. He married Abigail Sellers, a daughter of John and Martha Sellers, who were early settlers of Ohio, and of German descent. Mr. Wilson came out to the Des Moines River near Oskaloosa when a young man, and before there were any settlers there, but afterward returned to Perry County, Ohio, where he lived on a farm the remainder of his life. He was the father of three chil- dren: Francis, James and John. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were members of the Methodist Church. He died at the .age of forty-live years, and was a hard-working and indus- trious man. James Wilson, his son and the subject of this sketch, was born September 20, 1849, in Perry County, Ohio. At the age of twenty- one years, in 1871. he came to his present farm of 160 acres of wild land, which, by perseverance and industry, he has converted into a well tilled and fertile farm. He has since added to this place until he now owns 240 acres of land. He was married in Marysville, Missouri, to Maria A. Ham- mond, a daughter of William G. and Mary E. (Hatcher) Hammond. To Mr. and Mrs. Wil- son have been born live children: Cora, Rosa, Dora, Orin and Oley. William G. Ham- mond was a native of Maine, but resided for a time in Perry County, Ohio, and then moved to Nodaway County, Missouri. He was the father of live children: Finley, Jesse, Melinda, Maria and Lena. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson has taken an active interest in the schools. He was the pioneer settler on his farm, has made all its improvements, and now stands deservedly higii as a man whose word is as good as his bond. His children descend from an old pioneer stock, who were the real founders of this country. ~^M g . : M ; . g i.... - J. CHENEY, a prominent farmer of Washington Township, was born " in Cattaraugus County, New York, October 21, 1832, the son of Hurd Cheney, who traces his ancestry back to three broth- ers who came from England before the Revo- lutionary war, and one of whom participated in that struggle. Our subject's mother was Phoebe (Ballard) Cheney, a native of New York State, and daughter of David Ballard, of Scotch-Irish descent. The parents were married in Cattaraugus County; the father died in Wyoming when crossing the plains at the age of seventy-one years, and the mother died in Millersburg, Iowa, at the age of sixty-four years. M. J. Cheney was reared in his native State until eleven years of age, when his parents moved to Stephenson (bounty, Illi- nois. In 1854 he came to Mills County, Iowa, which he made his home until 1878, excepting ten months spent in Iowa County, Iowa. He then came to his present farm of 160 acres in Pottawattamie County, which he has since improved, and on which he has erected a tine house. Mr. Cheney was married in Mills County, to Mary M. Dalph, who was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, a daughter of Aaron and Eveline (Miller) Dalph, both natives of New York State. The mother died when Mrs. Cheney was but ten years of age, and the father died in Cass County, Nebraska, when seventy-six years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have eight children, viz.: Milton H., a resident of Neola, Iowa, and a barber and jeweler by trade; Hiram E., who is married OF POTT AW AVT AM IE COUNTy. 507 and lives in Colorado, enojaged in the stock business; Amanda E., wife of M. O. Innian, of Fremont County, Iowa; Charles O., of Colorado; Andrew M., at home; Otha C, Sadie May and Khoda Ellen. Political!}- Mr. Cheney is a Democrat, is intelligdnt and of broad and progressive views, and is regarded as one of the best informed tnea in Washing- ton Township. ""'^ ' I ' T ' S J. JAMESON.— The Jameson fam- ily finds its origin in Scotland, the I* founders of the family name in this country being Nathaniel and Mary Jameson, who came to America about the year 1825, locating in Carlton County, New Brunswick. Tiiey remained there a short time, and then crossed the line to Aroostook County, Maine, where the father died, in 1868, at about the age of eighty-five years; his wife died in 1847, at the age of forty five years. Tliey had a family of six children, all of whom are deceased but one, C. S., the father of our sub- ject. He was born in Scotland in 1820, and came to this country with his parents. He is and has been a farmer all his life, and was always a quiet and unassuming man. He was married in 1846 to Miss Jane Mclntyre, a native of New Brunswick, born in 1825, and is still living. They had six children, five boys and one girl: William J., the eldest, born August 23, 1847; Mary J., wife of George E. Tracy, of Carlton County, New Brunswick, was born March 24, 1850; Henry N., a resident of New Brunswick, was born July, 1853; John H., also a resident of New Brunswick, was born January 28, 1855; Charles O., born March 7, 1858, is a resident of Council Bluffs; Dr. G. L. S., a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was born August 25, 1861. The mother's family originated in Ireland, her parents being Patrick and Jane (Scott) Mclntyre, the latter a sister of General Winfield Scott. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- lntyre came to America in 1890, locating in New Brunswick, where they still reside, at the advanced age of ninety-four and ninety- one years respectively. They had a family of thirteen children, all of whom are living but two, and all are residents of New Bruns- wick and Maine except one, who resides in Montana. They were farmers by vocation. William Jameson, our subject, was reared in New Brunswick until he was twenty-one years of age, and his education was received by dint of hard labor and close application. When he was a small boy the bears were so thick that it was dangerous to venture out alone, and he was therefore deprived of much of his early schooling. In 1870 he came West to Creston, Iowa, where he remained eighteen years, and while there was employed on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road, after which he came to Council Bluffs. In January, 1888, he took the position of Secretary and Treasurer of the largest Masonic Association in the world that confines its membership to the fraternity. This organ- ization was incorporated in 1884, but com- menced business in 1886, and in four years has written up over 10,000 applications. December 1, 1888, the assets on hand were $84,238.55; income during the year 1888, $161,686.21; total during 1889, $139,346.75; total assets on hand December 31, 1889, $106,578.01; assets December 31, 1890, $129,311.61; total amount of death losses paid since organization, $300,772.22; total amount of actual insurance in force, $22,000,- 000. The annual report of the association is verified by the Iowa State Commission of Insurance. This association was founded by the exertions of our subject, William Jameson, and it is through his efforts that the associa- SOS BIoaBAPHlCAL HISTOliT tioii btands where it does to-daj. During the first twu years of its existence, lie could give it but a small part of his attention, as he was still in the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincj Kailroad, but in 1888 he turned his whole attention to the same, and his presence is wonderfully felt. The Board of Directors are: Hon. Joseph K. Reed, President; W. O. Wirt, Vice-Presi- dent ; William J. Jameson, Secretary and Treasurer; T. B. Lacy, Medical Director; Fred. H. Brown, Manager of Agencies, and a resident of Chicago, Illinois. The office is located in rooms two and three, Masonic Temple, Council Bluffs, Iowa. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., No. 71; Bluff City Royal Arch Cliapter, No. 77; of Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 17; El Kahir Temple, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; of the Mys- tic Shrine; of the I. O. O. F.; of the K. of P.; also of the I. O. of R. M., Pottawattamie Tribe, No. 21, and also Chicago Nest, No. 9, 1. I. O. of Owls. Politically he affiliates with the Demo- cratic party. He was married in 1873 to Hattie M. Wing, of East Saginaw, Michigan, and they had a family of three children: Charles P., Guy B. and Gertrude Jane. The mother died in February, 1884, and Mr. Jameson was married to Miss Ella A. Glass in 1885, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was born in 1860, and they have one child, Vesta E. . .^ . M; . ^ .. ^ fB. BOREN, a farmer of Hazel Dell Township, was born in Union County, "* Illinois, April 6, 1817, a son of Israel and Susannah Boren, natives of Tennessee. They came to Illinois in an early day, where the mother died, in Nauvoo, in 1842, and the father died in Madison County, Ten- nessee, in 1825. He was a farmer by occu- pation, and was a soldier in the war uf 1812. Our subject was reared in his native State until his seventh year, when he went to Ten- nessee with his parents, and remained until he was twelve years of age. He then re- turned with his mother and stepfather to Illinois, where he was reared to larm life. He remained at home nntil he was in his twenty-third year when he started ont for himself. He remained in that State until May 3, 1846, when he came to Davis County, Iowa, and spent one winter, and in 1847 came to Pottawattamie County, which was at that time inhabited by In- dians, wolves, deer, etc. He lirst located on his present farm, section 18 of what is now Hazel Dell Township, where he has since made his home. He erected at that time a small log cabin about 200 yards south of where his present residence now stands, and in which he made his home for a nutnber of years. This was erected on the primitive plan, with puncheon floor, clapboard roof and door, and an old stick chimney. Here they started to make a home in the new 'country, and here they faced all the hardships incident to pioneer life, but faced them bravely. Their next residence was a hewed-log house on the more modern plan, witli brick chimney aud plaak floor, and in this he made his home for a number of years, or until 1870, when he erected his present comfortable home, 26 x 38 feet, and one and a half stories high. He has accu- mulated in real estate until he now owns 320 acres in one body, sections 18 and 19, Hazel Dell Township; eighty acres in section 23, Crescent Township; 100 acres in section 22, and also eight residence lots in Crescent City. He has made all of the many improvements on his land, and has done much toward build- ing up this part of the county. He was OF POTTAWATTAMIE 00UNT7. 509 formerly an old-titne Wiiig, hut is now a Democrat. lie liis held the offices of Trus- tee. Justice of the Peace, a member of the Scliool Board, etc. He lias always devoted himself to farming and stoclv-raising, and was also one of the first to engage in the bee business in this county. Mr. Boren was married in Illinois, Sep- tember 25, 1840, to Nancy Mcintosh, who was born December 2, 1810. and who died in I ottawattamie County, \pril 12, 1868. They were the jjarents of tive children: Is- rael, a resident of Crescent Township; Jane, deceased; Fermelia, wife of Philip Ballard, a resident of Idaho; Cornelius, a resident of Hazel Dell Township; Laura, wife of James McMullen, a resident of Crescent Township. Mr. Boren was again married, October 1, 1868, to Mrs. Agnes Brownell, daughter of Matthew and Jennett Hutchinson, natives of Ayr.sliire and Glasgow, Scotland. They were married in that country, and came to Amer- ica about the year 1841, locating in Provi- dence, Rhode Island, where they both died. Agnes was born May 8, 1837, was reared in Providence, and on account of the death of her parents was thrown upon htr own re- sources at the age of twelve years. She had two children by her first marriage: Eugene, a resident of Crescent City, and Mabel, de- ceased, the wife of John McMiller, also de- ceased. They left three children: Annie, Gracie and Edward; the two former make their home with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Boren. SEXTER M. BRIGGS, a substantial farmer of Knox Township, is a native of the State of Yermont. His grand- father on the maternal side was in the Revo- lutionary war, and was at the battle of Plattsbnrg, New York. Royal Briggs, his grandfather on the paternal side, was from an old Puritan family who settled in Boston, There were three brothers of that name who came from England. Royal Briggs was a sea captain, sailing from Boston. His son, also named Royal, the father of our subject, was born in that city, learned the trade of blacksmith, and settled in the town of Hines- burg, Yermont. He was married in Leices- ter, same State, to Fannie Dow, daughter of Moses and Rebecca Dow, natives of France. The father was born in Germany and later was a Yermont farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were the parents often children who lived to maturity: Murray, Dexter M., Nelson, Byron, Cummings, Royal, Amelia, Leticia, Calfer- nia and Julia A. The father lived in Yer- mont nearly all iiis life, having come from Boston at the age of sixteen years. He was in the war of 1812, and drove a team from Plattsburg to Sackett's Harbor. Both he and his wife were members of the Free- Will Bap- tist Church. Mr. Briggs held the office of Justice of the Peace, and was one of the Board of Selectmen of his town. He lived to the age of sixty-five years, and was an up- right and honorable man Dexter M., the subject of this sketch, was bora February 3, 1822, in Hinesburg, Yer- mont, and received a common-school educa- tion. He drove a stage sixteen years from Burlington, Yermont, to Montpelier. He was also engaged in the stock business, buy- ing cattle for the Boston market eight years, but in the financial panic of 1857 lost all his property. In 1866 he went to Omaha, Ne- braska, and after six months moved to Coun- cil Bluffs, where he resided two years. He then came to Avoca, where he was a check- man of the railroad, checking the baggage and passengers across the Missouri River from Council Bluffs to Omaha. In 1871 he 510 BIOGRAPHICAL HlaTOIiY bought his present fann, and has also inter- ested himself in pure-hred Scotch collie dogs. Mr. Briggs was married in Vermont to Emily Brown, daughter of John and Betsej (Growj Brown. The lather was an old set- tler of that State, and participated in the war of 1812. His father, also named John Brown, was a Captain in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were born two children: Frank, who married Rebecca Davis, and is now a farmer of Knox Town- ship, and Clotilda, now the wife of Seth Hnnt, a merchant of Burlington, Kansas. Mr. Briggs' first wife died in Brattleboro, Vermont, and he was married to Alma Tracy, daughter of Harry and Catherine (Reynolds') Tracy. The father was a prominent mer- chant at Barre, Vermont, and his father was in the Revolutionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Briggs were born three children, viz.: Emma, Charlie and William. Emma married David Gates, of Council Bluffs, a conductor on the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. ffACKSON LEWIS, one of tiie enterpris- ing and well-known citizens of Washinsj- ton Township, has been a resident of this county since 1878, in which year he came from Fremont County, Iowa. He was born in Hocking County, Ohio, March 27, 1848, the son of Samuel James and Rebecca (Hardin) Lewis, the former a native of New Jersey, and of PuritaTi ancestry, and the lat- ter of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The parents were married in Perry County, Ohio, and afterward removed to Hocking County, Ohio, where the father died when Jackson was four or five years of age. He was a farmer and blacksmith by trade. Politically he was a Democrat, and religiously was a member of the Old-School Baptist Church. The mother died August 9, 1888, in Lucas County, Iowa, at the age of eighty years. They were the parents of eleven chil- dren, two of whom died in childhood, but four sons and five daughters grew to matu- rity. Two of the sons served in the late war: Ben, who served in the Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry, died in Lucas County, Iowa, in 1882; Arami, who served in the same regi- ment, now resides in Colorado. Jackson was a lad of eleven years when his mother and family moved to Clark County, Iowa, and they afterward returned to Hocking County, Ohio, where they remained for a time, and tlien returned to Iowa. Our subject grew to manhood on a farm in Clark County, Iowa, and in 1871 removed to Fremont County, where he lived seven years. He then came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, first settling on eighty acres two miles south of where he now lives. In 1885 he bought his present farm of Chancey Serry, which consists of 160 acres of well improved land. It is watered by the Little Silver flowing through it, and everything about the farm shows the thrift and prosper- ity of its owner. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Lewis was married May 1, 1870, in Clark County, Illinois, to Isabelle Beal, a woman of intelligence and education, who was born in Washington, Tazewell County, Illinois, the daughter of John Beal, a native of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He was a son of George Beal, a native of England. John Beal was County Judge of Blackford County, Indiana, many years, and died in Decatur County, Iowa, when seventy-two years of age. The mother of Mrs. Lewis was Ruth (Prichard) Beal, who was born in Vir- ginia and died in Clark County, Iowa, in 1853. She was a daughter of Rev. John Prich- ard, who was a predestinarian or old-school OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 511 Baptist minister and baptized Alexander Campbell. Mrs. Lewis was reared and edu- cated in Clark and Decatur Counties, Iowa, and was also a successful teacher before her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have four children, viz.: Myrtle Irene, Sarah Elizabeth, Edgar B. and Cornelius Benjamin. They lost one by death, Eva May, their second born, at the age of one year. Politically Mr. Lewis is a Democrat, and has served as Township Trubtee and as a member of the School Board. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church, and both are workers in the Sabbath-school. P^HARLES GREEN, of Lewis Township, a native of the Province of Schleswig- Holstein, was born September 16, 1834, the son of Jurgen and Dora (Goldstadt) Green. The father died in 1846 or 1847, in the old country, and the mother died in Pot- tawattamie County, in 1883. She came to America in the year 1866, and had a family of eleven children, of whom nine came to Mills and Pottawattamie counties, where they all reside excepting one, who resides in Seattle County, Washington Territory, and two still reside in the old country. Charles Green, our subject, was reared in bis native country until he was twenty-one years of age. He was reared to the life of a farmer, and attended the public schools until he was sixteen years of age, when he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, which he followed until October 28, 1860. After having been in the country live years he was married, in Mills County, to Julia Aiuia Elizabeth Bauer, who was born in Missouri, the daughter of Christian and Caroline (Plumer) Bauer. After tkeir marriage they commenced farm- ing in Mills County on a tract of eighty acres which he pre-empted. They remained here for seven years, when he sold out and pur- chased 240 acres of improved land, where they resided until 1875. In that year they removed to Pottawattamie County, where he had purchased a farm of 280 acres, the most of which was ]irairie land, on section 22- There was a small frame house on the place, where they resided until 1876, when he erected a fine frame residence, 18 x 36 and 16 x 20 feet. He has also erected good barns for stock and grain, and planted groves, orchards, etc., and everything denotes thrift, energy and prosperity. He devotes his at- tention principally to farming and stock- raising. Mr. Green served in Comjjany C, Thir- tieth Iowa Infantry, serving nine months. Politically be is a stanch Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Green have a family of seven children: Maria Cornelia, born August 30, 1861, wife of B. Brandt, residing in Mills County; John A., born November 25, 1863, is a resident of Lancaster County, Nebraska; Henry F., born June 12, 1865; Christopher P\, born March 25, 1870; Martha, born March 16, 1873; Julius, born October 25, 1875; and Ella, born June 3, 1880. They are members of the German Lutheran Church. jgalCHOLAS LERETTE, a prominent W'^ farmer of Pottawattamie County, was born in Canada, the son of Lewis Le- rette, who was born in Lower Canada. He was married to Eliza Delill, of French and Pennsylvania-German descent. In the fam- ily of Lewis Lerette were five children who lived to maturity, namely: Catherine, Mar- garet, Nicholas, Mary and Matilda. In 1852 Mr. Lerette came to Will County, Illinois, where he lived until his death, which oc- 513 BIOOBAPETCAL HISTORY curred in 1859, at the age of tifty-two years. He was a devout Catholic, and a hard-work- ing and industrious man. Nicholas Lerette, our subject, was but three years of age when his parents went to Illinois, and after his father's death he re- turned to Canada with the other children to live with his grandfather Delill. He re- mained with him one year, and then went to Will County, Illinois, his mother having married a man by the name of Gilbo in Canada, where they now live. Young Nich- olas received but little education, and learned farming in early lite. He remained in Will County until 1877, when he came to Potta- wattamie County, and settled on his present farm, wiiich was then wild land. By indus- try and perseverance he has converted this into a fine, fertile farm. Mr. Lerette was married September 3, 1874, in Will County, Illinois, to Mattie Lasure, daughter of Wilson D. Lasnre, who was born in Ross County, Ohio, and is of Pennsylvania-German descent. He was mar- ried to Mary Bell, and they were the parents of ten children, viz.: Mattie, John, Newton, Jane, Alura, Nelson, Carrie, Benjamin, Eli- sha, Clara and Guy Raymond. After mar- riage Mr. Lasure went to Illinois, settlino- on a farm in Will County, where he is now a substantial farmer, and an upright and' hon- orable citizen. In his political opinions Mr. Lerette is a Republican, and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Church. iILLIAM LEWIS,of Lewis Township II was born in Monroe County, Michi- \^-^i gan, November 28, 1834. His father, Silas Lewis, was a native of Onondaga County, New York, born in 1792, and in 1808 came to Monroe, Michigan, with his parents. In his youth he learned the shoemakers' and tanners' trades, which he followed a number of years. He then engaged in farming until his death, which occurred in 1852, at the age of sixty years, in Monroe, Michigan. He was married in Michigan, to Lydia Chilson, who was born in Delaware County, New York, in 1799. She had moved to Michigan in an early day, and died January 15, 1890, at the home of her son William, in Lewis Township, Pottawattamie County. They had a family of ten children, of whom all are living except three: Shubael, a retired farmer of Kansas; Samuel B., a nurseryman of Monroe, Michigan; Silas, deceased; Chilson, a farmer of Pottawattamie County; James, residing in Colorado; William, of Lewis Township, Pottawattamie County; Nelson, a dairyman of Pottawattamie County; George, a nurseryman of Monroe, Michigan. The father served in the war of 1812, under Gen- eral Hull. Tliey were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church. William Lewis, our subject, was reared to farm life, and received his education in the public and private schools. He remained at home until he was twenty years of age, and then came to Iowa, stopping at various points until he finally landed in Pottawattamie County, where he located. He engaged at work by the month for a couple of years; the tirst man he worked for was D. B. Clark, of Council Bluffs. He then commenced farming for himself, renting for a few years, and in 1861 he purchased a tract of forty acres on section 9, Lewis Township, which had been broken. Here he erected a resi- dence and spent one year, when he sold out and purchased 200 acres of J. P. Casady, of Council Bluffs, on sections 10 and 15, Lewis Township, which was partially improved. The farm contained a small house, in which they lived for some time, and in 1885 they OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 513 erected a line two-Btory frame residence, 40 X 40 feet, wliicli is one of the finest in this part of the county. He has also good barns for stock and grain, and tiiree or four acres of grove. He has added to his first purchase 120 acres, making a total of 320 acres, all of which he has under good culti- vation. It lies on sections 10, 11 and 15, Lewis Township. He devotes his attention mostly to farming and stock-raising, and takes an interest in all better grades of stock. He feeds quite a number of cattle each year for the market, and is one of the live, ener- getic business men of his township. Politi- cally he is a stanch Republican. He is a lover of law and order, and strives to pro- mote the best interests of his county. William Lewis was married January 2, 1862, to Miss Lydia Edwards, who was born at Mt. Clemens, Macomb County, Michigan, July 27. 1844. She is the daughter of W. A. and Lncretia (White) Edwards, natives of Genesee County, New York, and Michigan The father is a farmer during his later years, and is a resident of Appanoose County, Iowa; llie mother died in 1848. Tliey had a family of five children: Nelson, deceased; Sarah, de- ceased; Frank, residing in Lewis Township; Lydia, the wife of the subject of this sketch; and Daniel, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are the parents of six children, viz.: George, born November 15, 1863, residing on his father's farm in Lewis Township; Emma, wife of John Short, residing in Council Bluffs; Edward, born February 26, 1869, is at home; William, born March 28, 1872, is employed in a creamery in Dexter, Iowa; Elsie, born October 29, 1875; Katie, born November 24, 1877. Mr. Lewis is a self- made man, having risen from the very bottom of the financial ladder. When lie landed in Council Bluffs he had but $10 to call his own, and how well he has succeeded is demonstrated by looking at his beautiful home, surrounded by his broad acres of well cultivated land. The family are among the county's most worthy and respected citizens. KELVIN C.GOUDIE, section 9,Wave- jlV/tllt land Township, has made his home ^^^ in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, since the spring of 1882. He was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, May 4, 1854, the son of Gilbert and Sarah (Harps) Goudie, natives of Scotland and New York State respectively. His parents were married in New York and subsequently came to Iowa, settling in Des Moines County. When Melvin C. was twenty years old, his father died, leaving a widow and nine chil- dren. The mother died in 1879. Eight of the children are now living, as follows: Jane, Fred, Henry, Joseph, Sarah, wife of Henry Kerr of Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa; William and Melvin C, also of Wave- land Township, and Mary, wife of William Potter. Mr. Goudie was reared on his father's farm in Des Moines County and received his education in the public schools. At Mo- line, Illinois, September 9, 1880, he, at the age of twentv-six, was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. McDevitt, aged twenty-one, who was born in Wapello County, Iowa, daughter of Benjamin and Susanna (Newby) McDevitt, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. Mrs. Goudie's father resides with her, her mother having died when she was six years old. Mr. Goudie bought his present farm of eighty acres of S. Graham, in March, 1882. It is well im- proved with good buildings and fences. Mr. and Mrs. Goudie have one son, Ross L., who was born July 6, 1882. Their 514 BIOQRAPHICAL HISTORY second son, Edgar L., died at the age of two years and four montlis. Mr. Gondie is a Republican. He and his wife are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Walnut Valley, and both are active work- ers in the Sabbath-school. Mr. Goudie is regarded as one of the representative citizens of Pottawattamie County. jRUCE B. DENTLER, one of the well- known citizens of Pleasant Townsiiip, has filled an important office in this county for many years. His grandfather, George Uentler, was a native of Pennsylva- nia and of German descent. He was the father of si.K children: John, William, Fred- erick, Franklin, Maria and Kachel. Hf died in Pennsylvania in early life. His son Franklin, tlie father of our subject, was born in Danphin County, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1819, and was reared to farm life. At the age of twenty-one years he went to St. Joseph County, Michigan, where he was married to Mary Cathcart, daughter of Will- iam and Mary (Burrows) Cathcart, and to them were born nine children, viz.: Bruce B., William C, Frank D., James B., John E., Flora A., Luella, Nettie and Emma Lista. The father settled on a farm in St. Joseph County, Michigan, where he lived several years; next he went Kalamazoo County, re maining twelve years, and then returned to St. Joseph County, where he still resides. He is one of the pioneers of that county, and is a well-known citizen. His wife was born in Pennsylvania, but when ten years of age came with her parents to Michigan. Mr. and Mrs. Dentler were for many years mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church, but having no church near they united with the Meth- odist. Mr. Dentler was an elder in the former church for many years. He is a prosperous man, a good farmer, and a law- abiding and honorable citizen. Bruce B., his son and the subject of this sketch, was born in St. Joseph County, Michigan, February 26, 18-15, and in early life was inured to farm work. He was mar- ried in Kalamazoo County, when twenty-five years of age, to Flora Cox, daughter of George and Amanda (McHuron) Cox. The father, a native of Vermont, and from an old New England family, settled in Kalamazoo County in 1868. He had two brothers in the civil war. Mrs. Cox was born in New York State, and her daughter, Mrs. Dentler, was born in the town of Lysander, Onondaga County, same State, April 29, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Dentlei- have three children: George E., born September 8, 1873, in Schoolcraft, Michigan; Dora M., born March 29, 1876, in Schoolcraft; and Claude B., born January 1, 1885, in Pleasant Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. After mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Dentler lived for five years on a farm in Schoolcraft, Kalamazoo County; then one year in St. Joseph County; and in 1882 they came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and settled on their present farm. Mr. Dentler has been township clerk for seven years, and in his political opinions is a stanch Democrat. Socially he is an Odd Fellow, belonging to Canopy Lodge, No. 401, Shelby, Iowa, in which he is Noble Grand. He is interested in the schools, and has been a director four years. He has an excellent reputation in his township, and is known as a capable and intelligent business man. His children have descended from good old pioneer stock who have aided in founding the institutions of our country, and also helped to subdue the wilderness and make possible the pleasant homes and privi- leges of the present generation. The Amer- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 515 ican farmer is a man of wide intelligence and great energy of character, and npon his shoulders rest the hopes of our country, and from his descendants may we look for the future of America. ►^«^ fOSEPHQS KIRBY, an enterprising farmer of Waveland Township, Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, has resided here since 1881. He was born in Warren County, Illinois, March 19, 1858. His father, Isaac Kirby, was born in Greene County, Penn- sylvania, fifty miles north of Pittsburg, son of Joseph Kirby. Isaac Kirby married Eliza Ann Bailey, a native of Greene County, Pennsylvania. Theysettled in PeoriaCounty, Illinois, in 1850, and two years later removed to Warren County, that State, where they still live. The father is now sixty-five years old and the mother is sixty-three. They have eight children, as follows: Emily Jane, K. B., O. P., Ruth Allen, Josephus, Mary E., George M. C. and Madison. Josephus is the only one in Pottawattamie County' His brother, K. B., is also in Iowa, located in Cass County. The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm and was educated in the common schools and one year at Monmouth College in Illinois. For a short time he was engaged in teachinj):. In 1881 he came to Pottawat- tamie County and settled on an eighty-acre farm in section 5, Waveland Township, which he itnproved and which, in 1888, he exchanged with M. C. Talbei't for 160 acres where he now livef, in section 33. He Las a small frame house, buildings for stock and other farm improvements. Mr. Kirby was married. May 30, 1882, to Clara Belle Yoho, who was born in Fulton County, Illinois, daughter of Jasper and Mary E. (Collins) Yoho. Mr. Yoho, eldest son of Thomas and Eliza Jane Yoho, was born at Mansfield, Ohio, May 25, 1837; was a mechanic; married December 17, 1861, and had three children: Clara B., Dora A. and William J. He died October 15, 1871. Mrs. Yoho was born in Hancock County, Illinois, February 21, 1843, and is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Kirby have five children: George Melvin, Orlaff Ray, William Isaac, Freddy Lewis and Edgar Ellsworth. I'oliti- cally Mr. Kirby is a Democrat. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Walnut Valley, as is also his wife. jAX REIMER, one of the prominent fiVWK German farmers of Walnut, Iowa, ^^~ was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Ger- many. October 26, 1844, the son of Ditlof Rei- mer, who was a prominent German farmer. He died at the age of fifty-one years, when our subject was but two years old. His wife, nee Mary Reimer, was of the same name, but of a different family. They had five children : Katie, Maggie, Mary, George and Max. Katie was married in Germany to Claus Roch, a wealthy farmer of Clinton County, Iowa, and came to America in 1857. They had one son, named John. She died in 1864, and the remainder of the family are still in Germany. Max Reimer, our subject, came to Amer- ica in 1866, at the age of twenty-one years, landing at ^e.^ York from the English steamer Superior. He sailed from Ilolstein, and was four months on the way. He came direct to Iowa and engaged in farm work in Clinton County, and also in the brewery at Lyons for seven years. In 1874 he came to Pottawattamie County, where he bought 160 acres of wild land, which, by industry and 516 BIOOEAPHIGAL UlSTORY hard work he has converted into a fine, fertile farm, and to which he has wisely added until he now owns 320 acres, and where he has a fine barn costing $1,000, a good house and windmill and many other improvements. Mr. Keimer is a trustee of his township, and stands high as a citizen of sterling worth whose word is as good as his bond. Politi- cally he is a Democrat, and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church. He is a self-made man, having by his own industry made his property in America, having had but $9 when he landed. He well illustrates what good, honest, hard work will do in America. He was married in Lyons, October 21, 1871, to Maggie Roona, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Frahan) Roona. The father was a native of Germany, was a well edu- cated man and a school-teacher in Holstein. He died in this county, and was the fatlier of four children: Katie, Annie (who died in Germany), Maggie and George. All of the children came to America. Mrs. Roona came in 1884, and is living with her son-in-law, the subject of this sketch, at tbe age of eighty years. Her daughter, Maggie, now Mrs. Reimer, was bora August 4, 1850, and came to America in the spring of 1869. To Mr. and Mrs. Keimer have been born nine chil- dren, six of whom are now living: Henry W., Emil W., Alvenia M., Bernhart, Katie P. and Annie. ►>+£-. F. VAN is one of the early settlers and successful farmers of Waveland Town- '** ship, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He has made his home here since the spring of 1873. Mr. Van is a native of the Hawk- eye State, born in Jones County, October 11, 1850. His father, R. T. Van, was born in Ohio, and reared in that State and in Indi- ana. He w-as a son of James Van, a de- scendant of Holland ancestry. Our subject's mother was Esther Ann Van, a native of In- diana. The Vans were among the early pio- neers of Jones County, being the first to set- tle in Wyoming Township. For a time they lived in their covered wagons and tents. The country abounded in wild game, and it was not an infrequent sight to see deer come within view of their camping ground and snort and stamp their feet as if to say, " From whence do you come, and why are you here on our domains?" Mr. and Mrs. Van reared five children: W. H., Azilda Tompkins, S. F., Lamon and Mary A. The father has been a farmer all his life, and is still living in Jones County, aged seventy-two years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; was formerly a Whig, but is now a Republi- can. His wife died in 1884, at the age of sixty years. S. F. Van grew to manhood on his father's frontier farm, and received his education in the typical pioneer school-house, a log cabin with slab seats and a fire-place. In 1873, as already stated, Mr. Van came to Pottawatta- mie County, and bought eighty acres of wild land in section 4, Waveland Township. With three horses he broke the sod, and here he has since lived, worked and prospered. He has added to his first purchase, and is now the owner of 240 acres of well improved land. He has a good frame house, stables, granary, cribs, sheds, yards and feed lots, a modern wind pump, and a grove and orchard. His land is fenced into several different fields, and is devoted to general farming and stock- raising. Mr. Van was married Septeniber 9, 1878, in Fremont County, Iowa, to Eva J. Lewis, a lady of education and refinement and a popular and successful teacher. She taught OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 517 the first school in the district where they now live. Mrs. Van was born in Warren County, Iowa, and reared and educated principally in this State. She is a daughter of Rev. J. B. Lewis, a Methodist minister, who was born in Illinois, and Martha A. Lewis, a native of Indiana. Her parents are now residents of Kepublican County, Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Van have two sons, Walter Scott and Lemuel Ray. They lost one son, Robert Don, who died in infancy. Politically Mr. Van is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Walnut Valley. Mrs. Van is the efficient superintendent of Walnut Valley Sabbath-scliool, wliere she is doing a good work. Mr. Van is a man in the prime of life, and for his many estimable qualities is highly regarded by all who know him. He and his worthy companion are both friends to education, good morals and religion, and any enterprise that has for its object the advancement of the best interests of the com- munity finds in them earnest supporters. — --■&> S " ; ', 5 ' " - — ■ [ILLIAM V. ROCK, a prominent farmer of Pleasant Township, was born March 19, 1851, on a farm in the Province of Waldeck, Prussia, the sou of Frederick Rock, who was born in the same province, September 26, 1818. He was mar- ried to Louisa Schnore, who was born in 1822, and they had eleven children: Caro- line, Louisa, Fred, Carl, William, Christian, Christiana and Henry, three others dying in infancy. The father was a soldier in the Prussian army, but saw no active service. Both he and his wife were members of the Lutheran Church. In 1882 Mr. Rock came to America to visit his children, nearly all of whom liad emigrated here, and spent about eighteen months in Iowa, and then returned to Prussia. He is yet living on his farm, at the age of seventy-two years. One son and one daughter, Carl and Caroline, are still liv- ing in Prussia. The father is a leading man in his town, having been Justice of the Peace for many years, also School Director, and an Elder in his church. His children are all prosperous in life, owning good farms, and from such sturdy stock the people of Iowa have been indebted for much of their pros- perity and steady progress. The hardy Ger- mans bring with them to this country traits of industry and perseverance which overcome all obstacles, and these are being infused also into the blood of the young Americans wlio are destined to become our best citizens, and who will form a new generation of Prussian- Americans that will be a liberty-loving, loyal and industrious race. William V. Rock, the subject of this sketch, received a part of his education in the old country, and when but a lad of fifteen years, in 1866, he came with his brother Fred to this country. They went to Davenport, Iowa, and for four years worked at farm labor in Scott County and four more in Clinton County. In 1873 he purchased 160. acres of wild land in this county, and in 1874 broke up eighty acres, on which he built a home. He has been very prosperous in farming, and has added to his first purchase until he now owns 400 acres of tine land. He is also a raiser and breeder of cattle, and is one of the most energetic and prosperous farmers of Pleasant Township. In 1880 he set out 2,000 fruit and shade trees. In his political views he is a stanch Democrat, and has filled the ofiices of Road Supervisor, Township Trus- tee, Assessor, School Treasurer for five years and is School Director at the present time. He is a self-made man, and stands deservedly high as one of the beat citizens of his county 518 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY His children are being well educated, and he takes pride in aiding their desire toward im- provement and cultivation, and he may well take an honest pride in what he has accom- plished in life. His honest efforts and pur- poses have been well rewarded, and it may be truly said that " his word is as good as his bond." March 8, 1875, Mr. Rock married Louisa Freese, daughter of Ludwig and Wilhelmina Freese, and to them have been born six chil- dren, viz.: Minnie, born November 15,1875; Frederick, September 12,1877; Henry, Jan- uary 23, 1880; Christina, August 17, 1883; Albert, October 2, 1886; and Louis, April 11, 1890. The father of Mrs. Rock died in Prussia, in the same town where Mr. Rock's father now lives, and his widow came to America with her children, Wilhelmina, Fred and Louis. She was again married in Amer- ica, and is now living in Clinton County, Iowa. Mrs. Rock was born in Prussia, Jan- uary 10, 1856, and was but eleven years of acre when she came with her mother to this o country. Mr. Rock and family are members of the Lutheran Church. K.. ♦ i| . ; n ; . | i.->» ■ fOHN FLINT is another well-known pii>- neer of Pottawattamie County. He cast his lot here in 1856, and has since made this place his home. Mr. Flint was born in Madison County, Ohio, August 28, 1838, son of Samuel Flint, who was of English extraction and a native of New Hampshire. Samuel Flint married Miss Nancy Dominy, who was born in New York, a descendant of English ancestors. After their marriage they removed, in 1884, to Madison County, Ohio, where the mother died, leaving nine children, when John, the youngest, was six years old. Six years later the father died. All the children grew to adult age. For two years John was engaged in boating on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers with his brother, U. M. He after- ward went to La Salle County, Illinois, where he worked by the month on a farm two years and where he attended the common schools in winter. In 1856 Mr. Flint came to Pottawattamie County. In 1857 or '58, he entered a quar- ter section of land in Wright Township, which is now owned by Samuel Passmore. In 1860, in company with his brother Han- nibal and others, he went to Pike's Peak on the hunt for gold, and prospected the most of the summer, failing to make it pay. In 1861 he bought his present farm, 178 acres on section 11, Waveland Township. A pirl of this farm is timber land. During the years of his residence here Mr. Flint has made great improvements in his place. He has a good frame house, 26 x 32 feet, situ- ated on a natural building site and sur- rounded by shade and ornamental trees. Other improvements are a barn, sheds, yards, feed-lots and an orchard and grove. The school-house of District No. 1 is located only a few rods from his house, and it is a pleas- ant drive of three miles from his home to Griswold. Like many other farmers of this county, Mr. Flint's attention is divided be- tween stock-raising and cultivatinj; the soil. During the late war he served eight months and a half in the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry, Company B. Mr. Flint was united in marriage, January 18, 1863, to Miss Mary E. Pierson, a native of Sheli)y County, Indiana. She was ten years uld when her parents, Joseph and Sarah Pierson, came to Pottawattamie County, where she was educated and grew to woman- hood. Her father died in Griswold, where her mother still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Flint '■■■ \l I OF POTJ'AWArTAMTE UOUNrT. 51'J Iiave seven children: Delia A., wife of Jolin W. McCaskey, of Waveland Township; Alvin also of Waveland Townsliip; Warren, Khoda, Ada E., Ida M. and Edna. Mr. Flint is a Democrat. He has served officially in the townsliip at different tiiries, but never aspired to political distinction. He is a inernl)er of the I. O. O. F., Nashnabotna Lodge, No. 409, of Griswold. Mrs. Flint is a wortiiy mem- ber of the Chri-tian Church, as is also one of her daughters. Two otiier daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Flint is frank and cordial in his manner, broad and progressive in iiis views, and is well known throughout the ciMinty. — ^^ ^ " ; .3...^ IfVON. HORACE EVERETT, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, descended on both the paternal and maternal sides from the oldest and best known of the early Pilgrim families of Massachusetts. His mother, Mary Leverott, was a daughter of William Leverett, of Windsor, Vermont. Tlie founder of the family in America arrived in Boston in 1633, in tiie ship Griffin, from England. His son, Sir John Leverett, was Governor of Massachusetts from 1673 to 1679. His grandson was Rev. Jolin Leverett, President of Harvard College from 1707 to 1724. Mr. Everett's father, the Hon. Horace Everett, of Windsor, Vermont, came from Foxborouo-h Massachusetts, and from the same family as the great and polished orator, Edward Ever- ett. Richard Everett, the forefather, came from England in 1635, and the family for many generations lived in Dedham and Waltham, Massachusetts. Hon. Horace Ev- erett was a prominent lawyer of his State and represented the Windsor district in Con- gress for fourteen years, where he established a reputation tiiat cannot be overrated and ex- 38 erted an influence which will long be felt. His labors in the cause of justice to the In- dians are in themselves a monument to his memory. Horace Everett, the subject of this sketch, was born at Windsor, Vermont, February 8, 1819. With the keen desire that the parents of that day had '• that their children should be brought up to learning," he was sent at tlie early age of eight years to the Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, New Hampshire. When fourteen years of age he entered the University of Vermont at Burlington, and graduated thei'efrom in 1887. After grad- uation he spent two years in the study of law under his distinguished father, and was admitted to the bar. In 1841 he decided to seek a wider Held for his talents, and settled in Gainesville, Alabama, where he practiced in the courts of that State and Mississippi, for fifteen years. In 1851 he was married to Mary, daughter of Judge Abiel Leonard of the Supreme Court of Missouri, also a descendant of Sir John Leverett. In 1855 Mr. Everett settled in Council Bluffs, where he resided at the time of his death and with whose best interests he was ever identified. He was appointed by President Lincoln to the responsible po- sition of Collector of Internal Revenue for the Fifth District of Iowa, embracincr all southwestern Iowa. He served one term as member of the city council, but so distasteful to him were the petty annoyances of the office he declined a re-election. He was one of the trustees of the Fairview Cemetery Association, had been its president ever since its organiza- tion, and to his taste and wise forethonsrlit was due the selection of the romantic and beau- tiful site it now occupies. His interest in the cause of education was great. He was twice elected by the Legislature as one of the Re- gents of the State University in Iowa City, 520 BIOORAPUICAL IIISTORT and was regarded as one of the most zealous and efficient members of tliat board. Mr. Everett had a remarkable literary ability', his private and business letters show a decided genius for composition. It is to be hoped that a collection of his letters may be ])ub- lished. He repeatedly interested liimself to have tlie Legislature abolish corporal punish- ment in the schools of the State, considering the use of the rod on little children as bar- barous and cruel. Mr. Everett was a member of the Episcopal Church, and had been a member of the ves- try of St. Paul's Church since the organiza- tion of the parish. To his long continued benefactions during all the years of his resi- dence in Council Bluffs the church owes much of its present success. Always a lib- eral giver to every worthy object, lie was sadly missed in the two institutions in which he took a special interest, the church and the public library: of the latter he was really the founder, and was the president of the board of trustees at the time of his death. While Mr. Everett was a successful and practical man of affairs, yet his tastes and pleasures were those of a scholar. He enjoyed poetry and literature, and only those who knew him intimately realized how largely sentiment and imagination characterized his mind. In every enterprise relating to the welfare of Council Bluffs he was an active factor. lie was one of the men to whose zeal the city was indebted for the location of tlie terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad. A life time Whicf and Re- publican and strong Union man, always an advocate of the emancipation of the negro, he sacrificed large property interest in the South rather than remain where free speecii was denied him. Mr. Everett was a devoted lover of nature; he never tired of the beauti- ful scenery of the Missouri River bluff's, and the prairies bordering on them, and was never happier than when rusticating on his large "Highland" farm of 4,000 acres near Council Bluffs, where under his personal supervision were planted 100 acres of forest trees and forty acres of apple orchards. He had the pleasure of gathering nuts from his walnut groves and of seeing his orchards red with apples. The trees planted by himself in front of his residence are now four feet in diameter and seventy feet in height. Mr. Everett retained to the last a warm place in his heart for his birthplace, "delightful Windsor," as he called it. He never looked upon a Vermonter as a stranger, and never forgot the hills, brooks or mountains of his native State. He was not willing that the old homestead, situated on the banks of ihe beautiful Connecticut River, should ever pass into the hands of strangers: so early in life he purchased the interest of the other mem- bers of the family, and made provision in his will for retaining this beloved old home in the family. Mr. Everett's great interest in everything that related to the early history of the country and his zeal and enthusiasm in the collection and preservation of manu- script and books led to his ai)pointnient as trustee of the Iowa Historical Society. Mr. Everett's private library was a very large and well selected one. His collection of rare old books was complete and interesting. He took great care of all interesting papers and manuscripts whicli came into his possession and has preserved many autograph letters of great value. Mr. Everett was a man of unfailing cour- tesy, great dignity and beautiful refinement, one of the most sympathetic of men, but of a retiring nature and wholly unambitious of public life, preferring tiie quiet comfort of home and society of his family and books. Exemplary in all the relations of private life, genial, benevolent anil hospitable, he was OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 531 tenderly beloveii by his family and friends, and lionored by the esteem of all who knew him. He was in failing health for a year previous to his death and was stricken with paralysis on tlie 30th day of September, ren- dered almost helpless thereby, but lived until the 3d day of November, 1890, tenderly and assiduously ministered to by his devoted family until the end. When the appointed time came he had passed to that world where there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying nor any more pain. lie was buried in the family grounds in Fairview Cemetery beneath the beautiful elms he had so carefully planted and cared for. Mr. Ev- erett left surviving him of his family iiis widow, Mrs. Mary L. Everett, his sons, Leon ard. Torrey and Edward, and his daughter Ada, wife of Prof. J. A. L. Waddell, of Kan- sas City, Missouri. fsEILLlAM STEELE, a farmer of Lewis Township, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, July 1, 1841, the son of S. K. and Rebecca (Kerby) Steele. Our subject, the second in a family of eight chil- dren, was reared in his native county until fifteen years of age, when he removed to Burlington County, Iowa, where he re- mained until 1869. He then entered the United States service in the great Rebellion, in Company H, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served eleven months and four days, being honorably discharged at Daven- port, Iowa. He participated in four differ- ent battles: Franklin, Tennessee, Nashville, Wise's Forks, North Carolina, McCarver's Station, Tennessee, and was also in a num- ber of skirmishes. After his discharge he returned to Des Moines, where he was en- gaged in farming for three years, and in 1869 he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, piir- chasinff forty acres of wild land on section 14, Lewis Township. Here he erected a small frame house, 14 x 16 feet, in which they lived until 1880, when he erected his present neat frame residence, IG x 26, one and one-half stories high, with an L 16 x 18, one story high. He has added to his first purchase until he now owns eighty acres of land, which is all well improved. He devotes himself to farming, stock-raising and fruit- growing, and is preparing to devote his en- tire attention to the growing of all kinds of fruits and vegetables. He is one of the live, energetic men of this part of the county, and has by honesty and integrity won a large cir- cle of friends. He has assisted largelv in opening up and developing this part of the county, and is deserving of all the honor and esteem shown him. Politically he is a stanch Republican, has served his township as Asses- sor for the past four years, and has also served as Constable two years. Mr. Steele was married December 31, 1864, to Miss Mary E. Hou.k. who was born in Champaign County, Ohio, near Urbana, May 2, 1844. They are the parents of seven children: Lucy B., at home; Clara J., wife of E. L. Gladwin, a resident of Lewis Town- ship; James H., at iiome; William, John W., Hattie M. and Mabel B. J. HALL, a farmer of Hazel Dell Township, was born in Crawford » County, Indiana, May 20, 1817, a son of William and Anna (Copeland) Hall, natives of Virginia, and of Irish and English extraction. They were married in Grayson County, Virginia; then removed to Ken- tucky; thence to Tennessee; in 1851 to Crawford County, Indiana; in 1824 to Ver- 522 BIOGRAPHICAL U I. STORY uiilion County, Illinois, which was at that time a wild and unsettled country, the In- dians tar outnumbering the white men. They improved two farms in that State, and was also engaged extensively in stock-raising. In 1839 they removed to Bates County, Mis- souri, where the father died in the fall of 1840, at the age of sixty-tliree years. His widow died in Decatur County, Iowa, in 1858, at the age of seventy-two years. They h.id a family of eleven children, three of whom still survive, viz.: Elijah, deceased; Fielden, Mary, Eli, William, Andrew J., our subject; Ransome, Eliza J., Miles, a resident of Utah; and David, also a resident of Utah. Andrew J., our subject, was reared to farm life, and received his education in the com- mon schools. He remained in his native State until May, 1846, when he removed to Lee County, Iowa, where he remained live years; thence to Decatur County, same State, remaining eleven years; and in 1862 he came to Pottawattamie County, locating for one year at Crescent City. In 1863 they removed to Utah, and remained until 1866, making the trip by wagon. He returned in 1866 and located a tract of land in Boomer Town- ship, this county, thirty acres of which was partially improved. In the spring of 1872 he located upon his present farm, which con- sists of 195 acres on section 14, Hazel Dell Township. Mr. Hall tirst erected a log cabin, 16 X 20 feet, in which they made their home until 1879, when he erected his present com- fortable home, 28 X 16 and 16 x 22. Politi- cally he is a stanch Democrat. Mr. Hall was married in Vermilion County, Illinois, May 16, 1839, to Ellen Trimmell, a native of Kentucky, and daughter of Samp- son Trimmell. She died about two years after their marriage, leaving one child, who died a short time afterward, both dying in Missoui-i. Mr. Hall was again married, Feb- ruary 12, 1848, in Bates County, Missouri, to Miss Nancy W. Hudson, who was born in Franklin County, Tennessee, December 6, 1815, the daughter of William and Sarah (Bigham) Hudson, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were the parents of eleven children, six of whom still survive: Mary A., wife of S. Ellis, a resident of Mis- souri; Nancy, wife of our subject; Camp- bell, deceased; James and Eliza (twins), lioth deceased; Ewing. a resident of California; Heed, of California; Macklin, a resident of Arkansas; Vance, deceased; Margaret, de- ceased; and La Fayette, a resident of Cali- fornia. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are the parents of seven chUdren: Elethe J., wife of Dalorma Parish, a resident of Hazel Dell Township; Mary Ann, deceased; Sarah E., wife of Mor- ris Hough, of Hazel Dell Township; Miles, residing at home; Eliza, deceased; Ewing, of Hayard, Nebraska; and Isabella, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have assisted largely in opening up and developing this country in many ways, and have always aided any enter- prise tending to the good of the county. Their eldest son Miles is a live, energetic young man, and is among the most prosper- ous citizens of this county, owning 658 acres of land in Pottawattamie County, 239 in Hazel Dell Township, section 24, 160 acres on sections 10 and 14, fourteen acres on sec- tion 9, live acres on section 20, and 240 acres on section 5, Neola Township. Politically he is a Democrat. ^EV. THOMAS J. MACKAY, the pres- ent rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, was born January 8, 1844, in County Mayo, Ireland. Our subject was reared in his native county until his ninth year, when he came to America with his par- OF POrrAWArTAillE COUNTY. 52J eiit-, locating in western Pennsylvania. When lie was sixteen years of age he engaged in the dry-goods business in Worcester, Massa- chusetts, where he remained one year. He then enlisted in the Forty-second Massachu- setts Yolunteer Infantry, serving six months, after which he again engaged in the dry- goods business in western Pennsylvania. Next he entered the St. Stephen's College, Amondale, New York, from which he entered the Cambridge Episcopal Theological School. He took his lirst parish in 1874, in Boston, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1877; thence he went to Fort Worth, Texas, where he erected a church and remained one year; next he went to Central City, Colorado; thence to Leadville, Colorado, where he erected St. George's Church, having held services in the opera building two years. He remaitied there four years, and then came to Council Bluffs, where he has since remained. Mr. Maekay was married September, 1878, to Georgia Coons, a native of St. Louis, Mis- souri, and they have three children: Odin C, Ralph R. and Robert M. Mr. Maekay is a member of the Ivanhoe Conimandery, K. T., No. 17; Bluff City Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and the R. A. M., No. 156. He has been Eminent Commander and Prelate of Ivan- hoe Commandery, and Regent of the Royal Arcanum. In connection with this sketch we will add a short history of his present church, the St. Paul's Episcopal Chnrch of Council Bluffs. The parish of this church was organized April 17, 185(5, through the efforts of E.W. Peet, then of Des Moines, he being the first Episcopal minister to hold services in this county. The congregation worshiped at that time in the rooms now occupied by the American Express Company, corner of Broad- way and Main streets. The first vestry was composed of the following members: J. B. Bess, Horace Everett, W. C. James, J. P. Conady, D. C. Bloomer, A. Cochran, J. P. Treynor, Samuel Perin and G. M. Dodge. Two of these, Horace Everett and D. C. Bloomer, have always been and are still members of the same vestry. August 1, 1857, the corner-stone of a pro- posed church building was laid by the Right Rev. Henry W. Lee, the Bishop of Iowa, assisted by the Rev. George W. Watson and the missionary in charge. A brief his- tory of the parish, the newspapers of the city, a few coins and other interesting articles were deposited in a box prepared for the pur- pose, and over this a large stone was placed. The hard times coming on, nothing further was done toward the building of the church, and the corner-stone remained undisturbed with its contents until about three years ago, when some oiie overturned the stone and stole the contents. A small frame edifice was erected, however, on the same lot in 1860, and this building was enlarged in 1868 by the addition of transepts, and is still standing as a place of worship, being used by the congregation of All Saints' Mission. The first pastor was Rev. George W. Wat- son, who took charge in February, 1857, and who also had a charge in Omaha, dividing his time equally between the two. He re- mained in charge until 1862, when he was succeeded by Rev. Faber Byllesby, who re- mained from 1862 to 1865. The third rector was Rev. John Chamberlain, who resigned in 1871, and was succeeded by Rev. Theoph- ilus Brooks, who remained three years. The Rev. F. T. Webb was then elected, and held the position until the fall of 1882, when he accepted a call in Helena, Montana, and the present rector, T. J. Maekay, was called, and entered upon his duties in January, 1883. The present edifice, the only church in the city built of stone, was erected at a cost of 534 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY about $50,000, and is the finest, both in in- terior and exterior, in Council Bluff.-, and is surpassed by but few in the West. It was opened for services Sunday, September 5, 1886, and since that time the society has had a period of wonderful prosperity. A iine new pipe organ has been placed in the cluirch, the services being equal if not superior to many of the old established churches. Since the accession of the present minister. Rev. T. J. Mackay, tlie church has more than doubled its membership, and has now a fiourisliing mifsion church in the western part of tlie city, with a Sunday-school of over 100. The church building and grounds were the gift of Mrs. S. C. Key, a noble-hearted Christian, who is well known as a warm friend to all worthy objects. An- other church, Unity Mission, is organized and at work in the eastern part of the city, and the present rector hopes soon to have three self-supporting Episcopal churches in Council Bluffs. This church has the follow- ing healthy organizations: Ladies' Aid So- ciety, Unity Guild of Unity Mission, All Saints' Guild of All Saints' Mission, Daugh- ters of the King, and Missionary Host. The present officers of the church are: Rev. T. J. Mackay, Rector; Rev. C. H. Bohn, Associ- ate Rector; D. C. Bloomer and M. Duquette, Wardens; John Baldwin, Horace Everett, J. F. Kimball, S. P. McConnell, II. C. Besley, Thomas Calvin, W. J. Jameson, M. E. Smith, John T. Stewart, Vestry; J. F. Kimball, Treasurer; Charles Calvin, Secretary. The church has a membership of over 400. ' ^^I ' l ^ l - l ILLIAM H. TAYLOR is one of the early and best known settlers of Sil- ver Creek Township. He came to Pottawattamie County in 1850 and has since made this place his home. Mr. Taylor was born in Clark County, Illinois, March 5, 1812. 11 is father. Pleas- ant Taylor, a prominent citizen and pioneer of that county, was born in Smith County, West Tennessee, and his mother, nee Jane Alison, was born in Pennsylvania. They were married in Indiana and subsequently removed to Barry County, Missouri, settling near the Ozark Mountains. From that place they went to Clark County, Illinois, and from there, in 1843, to Wapello County, Iowa. Seven years later they came to Pottawattamie County and settled in Silver Creek Township. Pleasant Taylor was the first Gentile to set- tle among the Mormons here. He bought a claim of Mr. D. Jacobs for which he paid $450. This was before the land here was put upon the market. For several years Mr. Taylor kept the stage station„the proprietors of the stage line between Des Moines and Council Bluffs at that time being Frink & Walker. Mr. Taylor is now eighty years of age and resides in Washington Township. Hie wife died in 1868, leaving three children living, namely: James A., of Washington Township; Mary A. Gorton, of Oklahoma, and William H., the subject of this sketch. The latter was reared on his father's frontier farm and received his education in a log school-house with a board against the wall for a writing-desk and wooden benches for seats, free-schools not being common those days. In 1864 he made a trip to Montana, Virginia City and Helena, and was engaged in mining. In the fall of 1865 Mr. Taylor returned to Pottawattamie County. He came down the Missouri River from Fort Benton to Omaha on a steamboat named Twilight. September 28, that year, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Bratton, a native of Guernsey OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 52S Coantj, Ohio, and a daui^liter of John and Rebecca (Harris) Bratton, who was born No- vember 22, 1845. Her fatlier is a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. They removed to Mills County, Iowa, in 1855, and are now residents of Sil- ver City, that county. Mr. Bratton has been a carpenter and a farmer, a County Judge and a minister. Religiously he is a Meth- odist. Mrs. Taylor was reared and educated in Mills County. After his marriage Mr. Taylor resided on Silver Creek two years and then removed to York Township. In 1869 he came to his present location. He is the owner of a one-fourth section of rich boftom land on Silver Creek. This is well improved and is one of the best stock and grain farms in the township. Mr. Taylor has a good frame house, a tine grove and orchard, stables, cattle-sheds, and a corn-crib made of lo28 that were hewed by the Mormons forty-three years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have three children: George P., at home; M. R. J., wife of F. M. Smith, of Silver Creek Township; and Emma L., at home. Mr. Taylor is a gentle- man in the prime of life, is broad and pro- gressive in his views on general topics, and is regarded by all who know him as an up- right man and a popular citizen. His polit- ical views are in accordance with Democratic principles. fILLIAM STEVENSON, one of the pioneer settlers of "Valley Township, came from Ohio in March, 1870, and settled on his present farm. It was then wild land, but by dint of industry and per- severance he has converted it into a iine, fer- tile farm. William Stevenson, hisgrandfather, was born in Virginia, near what is now known as the Cow Pens. His father caaie from Ire- land, and was a Scotch-Irishman. He was a soldier in the war of the Revolution, and was the father of a large family of children. He had two wives, his tirst being Rachel Wilkins, by v.'liom he had eight children: Robert, John, William, Charles, Samuel, Elizabeth, Polly and Jennie. This wife died and he married a widow by the name of Scott, who had a large family of children by her first husband. By this marriage Mr. Stevenson had live children: James, Daniel, Homer, Preston and Rachel. The father lived on a farm in Virginia for some time, and then moved to Kentucky, and next to Tennessee, where his eldest son, Robert, was born, July 4, 1788. In 1796 he moved to Ohio, settling on the banks of Massie's Creek, in what was then Greene County. After a short residence at this place, Mr. Stevenson moved to the Little Miami, near Clifton, where he was among the early pioneers, and where he lived until he was a very old man. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, a soldier in the war with Indians, and a typical pioneer of the American wil- derness. He had held the oflice of Justice of the Peace. Robert Stevenson, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born in Tennessee, July 4, 1788, and was eight years of age when he went with his father to Ohio, and was brought up in Greene County. He was married to Sarah, daughter of William and Sarah Cohagan. The father was a native of Maryland, and was a prominent farmer of Greene County, Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson were born eleven children, viz.: William, Caroline, John, Thomas P., Charles W., Samuel, James, Robert, David, Henry H. and Eliza. The father lived in Greene County all his life, was a substantial farmer, and a soldier in the war of 1812, serving 536 BIOGRAPHICAL HlaTURT under General Harrison. He was afterward a Lieutenant in tlie militia, and both he and liis wife were members of the Presbyterian Church. He sold his farm and n)oved to Xenia, Ohio, where he lived for fifteen years, dying at the age of eighty. William Stevenson, the subject of this sketch, was born on his father's farm in Greene County, Ohio, November 17, 1814, and learned farming in early life. He re- mained in his native county until March, 1870, when he came to this county, where he has since resided. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and has taken an active interest in the schools of his township, having been school director for many years. He is a self- made man, and stands high as a citizen whose word is as good as his bond. The family is from an old American stock of pioneers and soldiers, and their histories should descend to the most remote generations. Mr. Stevenson was married in Greene County, to Catherine Mills, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth (Webb) Mills. The father was an American, and a farmer of Greene County, and his wife was an Amer- ican of Welsh descent, Mr. and Mrs. Ste- venson have one child, Catherine Owens. The mother died, and Mr. Stevenson married Emily Goldthwaite, daughter of Thomas and Abigail H. (Skinner) Goldthwaite. The father was from Massachusetts, a descendant froi:i an old American family. He enlisted in the civil war, in the Forty- fourth Ohio Volunteer Mounted Infantry, as the Fifth Ohio Cavalry, and served under General Tliomas. He was killed in one of the skirmishes preceding the battle of Shiloh. He was born in 1800, in Northbridge, Massacliusetts, and was over sixty years of age when he enlisted. He was very patriotic, having a very great desire to serve his country, and made several efforts before he was accepted. He was the father of six living children: FrankJin, Emily, Sa- rali, Jeanette, Freeman and Maria L. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson were the parents of four children: Benjamin J., William P., Mary A. and James F. —f-^-J^f— W. REYNOLDS, contractor and builder, has his residence at No. 419 ** North Eighth street, and his office at the corner of Sixteenth street and Eighth avenue. Mr. Reynolds was born in Brighton, North- umberland County, Canada, in May, 1840, son of Silas and Maria (Potter) Reynolds, of English extraction and natives of New York State. Both are deceased. Mr. Reynolds lived in Canada until he was seventeen. He was reared on a farm, antl at the age of four- teen entertd upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade. In 1857 he went to New York, and soon afterward, as first mate of a vessel, he sailed on the lakes, remaining; thus employed for six years. From 1863 until 1868 he was in Saginaw, Michigan, engaged in the lumliering and carpentering business. In 1868 he came to Council Bluffs and con- tinued work at his trade. The next year he began to take contracts and since then has been engaged in contracting and building. He has also been interested in other enter- prises. From 1872 until 1877 he dealt largely in lumber. He afterward erected buildings and placed a plant for sash, doors, blinds, etc., the establishment located on E avenue, between Seventli and Eighth streets. This he conducted some three years. Mr. Reynolds lias erected a number of buildings in Council Bluffs, Omaha and vicinity, and has furnished a vast amount of employment for others, at some times having as many as seventy men in his employ. He is also an OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 527 architect and drafts many of tlie buildings he constructs. In addition to seeing after the maTiy details of his varions enterprises, Mr. Reynolds also finds time to devote to jour- nalistic work. He is a regular correspondent of the St. Louis Trade Journal, and occa- sionally writes for other papers. His politi- cal views are in harmony with Republican principles. He is a member of the Y. A. S. Mr. Reynolds was married in April, 1868, to Ellen I. Hollenbeck, who was horn in Jackson County, Michigan, in 1846. They have had seven children: John H., Edith E., May, Arthur C, Wilbur G., Ethel L. and Warren W. May and AVarren W. are de- ceased. The other children are at home. The family are associated with the First Baptist Chui'ch. -|->^ 4.ii..«o»»- -« fRANCIS ASI3URY De HART is the name of one of the enterprising citi- zens of Waveland Township, who has made his home in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, since 1874. He is a son of the late Larkin De Hart, a well-known and highly es- teemed early settler of Waveland Township, who was born in Tennessee, a son of John and Letta De Hart, both natives of Tennes- see. Larkin De Hart was married in Ken- tucky, to Sarah Collett, daughter of William CoUett, a Kentuckian. The De Harts are of French extraction. The great grandfather on the maternal side was an Englishman, the son of an English lord by the name of Toli- son ; but, being a spendthrift in his school days, he became involved in debt; and being ashamed to face his parents he contracted with a man to act as valet to get across the water to America; twice he took passage to visit his father, but each time was ship- wrecked. This so discouraged him that he settled here and raised a family. Some of his descendants became wealthy people. Some time subsequent to his marriage Larkin De Hart moved from Kentucky to Indiana, and from there to Warren County, Illinois. He remained in the latter place until 1874, when he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and located on the land where his son, F. A., now resides. To Larkin De Hart and Sarah, his wife, sixteen children were born, nine of whom are now living, four sons and five daughters, viz.: Verleny, wife of G. Raw- lins, Guthrie County, Iowa; Elisha F., Allen County, Kansas; Elizabeth, wife of W. T. Johnson, Saunders County, Nebraska; Mary, wife of Ben Conklin, Ringgold County, Iowa; James, Saunders County, Nebraska; Asa, an old soldier, resides at Los Angeles, California; Miranda, wife of John Ciiapman, Allen County, Kansas; Ellen, wife of Clark- son Godfrey, Waveland Township, Pottawat- tamie County, Iowa; and Francis Asbury. Mrs. Godfrey was a successful teacher before her marriage. For many years Larkin De Hart was a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, doing much toward ad- vancing the cause of his Master. Later in life he was a Baptist. His wife was a Meth- odist all her life, her father having been a local Methodist minister for years. F. A. De Hart was the youngest child of his parents' numerous family. He was reared at farm work in Warren County, Illinois, and received his education in the public schools. At the age of sixteen he came to Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa. In April, 1875, he mar- ried Miss Rosa M. Blaney, daughter of Will- iam and Catherine (Nogle) Blaney. Mrs. De Hart was born in New York city, in 1856. Her father, a worthy citizen of Grove Township, settled in this county many years ago. Mr. and Mrs. De Hart have live chil- dren: Charles Frederick, Clarence L., Lillian 528 BIOGRAPHICAL aiSTORT May, Maud Ethel and Larkin Ewall. Julia Irene died at the age of eight months. Mr. De Hart's farm consists of 120 acres and is located in section 7. It has good build- ings, orchard, grove and wind-pump, all being kept in tirstclass condition. On December 16, 1890, his house burned to the ground, with about all its contents. The ashes were cleared away, and with the help of his neigh- bors a new house was soon raised, in every way superior to the old one, and on January 23, 1891, the family moved into tlieir new home. Mr. De Hart is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Cass Lodge, No. 412, Griswold, Iowa. He casts his vote and in- fluence with the Democratic party. --«|->.f^— „4ETER BRADEN, section 12, Silver m Creek Township, ranks among the en- terprising and well-known citizens of his community. He was born in Richland County, Ohio, March 11. 1837. His father. Samuel Braden, a native of Washington County, that State, was a son of John Bra den. The Bradens were of German ancestry. The mother of our subject, Margaret (Gates) Braden, was born in New Jersey, daughter of Peter Gates. When they were children Sam- uel Braden and his wife came to Ohio with their parents. They grew up and were mar- ried in that State. The Braden family was one of the first to settle among the Indians in Ohio. Samuel Braden lived in Richland County until 1849, when he came West and settled in Macon County, Illinois. His wife died in Ohio when her son Peter, the subject of this sketch, was about ten years old. By her Mr. Braden had five children, and after her death he was twice married. He died in Iowa, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was a farmer all his life; was a member of the Lutheran Church, and affiliated with the Democratic party. Peter Braden was about twelve years of age when he went to Macon County, Illinois, with his father. There he was reared on a farm and was educated in the common schools. He was married at that place in August, 1864, to Miss Sarah A. Poole. She was born in Henry County, Illinois, daughter of Simeon and Elizabeth (Parineter) Poole, and was left an orphan at tiie early age of four years. Mr. Braden lived in Illinois until 1866, when he removed to Otoe County, Ne- braska, where he lived nine years, at the end of that time coming to Pottawattamie County. He settled near Macedonia, where lie resided until he purchased his present farm of eighty acres in Silver Creek Township. It was then wild land, and with the enterprise and push which characterized the western pioneers he went to work to improve his farm. He now has a good frame residence, a grove, orchard, stables, feed lots, and everything about the place shows the thrift of the owner. He is engaged in general farming and stock- raising. Mr. and Mrs. Braden have seven children, namely: Belle, wife of John Harburt, of Carson Township, this county, Elmer E., of Macedonia, is a painter; Ida, wife of A. E. Seaburg, of Silver Creek Township; Willie, Gracie, Claude and Archie. They had three children who died in childhood. Mr. Bra- den has always been a Democrat, but has never aspired to public office. ,ENRY H. SPETMAN, a resident of Lewis Township, Pottawattamie County, was born in Holsteiu, Germany, April 21, 1825, a son of G. H. and Ann H. (Ellis) Spetman. They had a family of nine chil- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 529 dreii, six of whom came to America, and four still survive, namely: H. H., our subject; William H., a resident of Mills County; J. H.,a resident of Omaha, Nebraska, and Mar- garet C, wife of Charles Wymiller, also of Omaha. Henry H. was reared on a farm in his native country until he was seventeen years of age, after which he engaged as a seaman on a sailing vessel in the employ of German merchant ships for seven years, and three years in American ships on the coast of China. After this he went to California, wliere he engaged in mining for a period of three years. He then returned to his home in Germany, spending about one year, and iu 1853 returned to America. He came to Iowa and spent one year in Davenport and St. Mary's, and in 1854 came to Pottawat- tamie County, locating on his present home- stead, which he purchased of a Mormon. His farm consists of 240 acres, on sections 34 and 35, Lewis Township. Here he com- menced life in the then new country, where Indians were frequently seen and the wild game plentiful. Mr. Spetman was married October 15, 1854, to Catherine H. Beck, daughter of A. H. and E. H. (Kickbush) Beck, natives of Germany. She was born June 27, 1830, in Holstein, and in 1854 emigrated to America with her parents, and the same year was married to Mr. Spetman. About six inontlis afterward they came to Pottawattamie County, where they commenced housekeeping in a small log house erected by the Mormons fur a church, but with the expectation of some- thing better in the future. They gradually ascended the ladder of wealth until they have reached the topmost round, with 960 acres of fine farm land, and the following property in Council Bluffs: four dwelling-iiouses and lots, three brick store buildincrg and lots and two vacant lots, all located iu the business portion of the city. Their anticipated home has been realized in a nice frame residence, unpretentious but roomy, with a number of buildings for stock and grain. Mr. Spetman is a public-spirited man, and has enjoyed seeing his county come to the front in every respect, and has assisted the Democratic party to the extent of his ability and vote. He has represented his township as Trustee for several years. Mr. and Mrs. Spetman's life is brightened and made happy by eight children: Fred W., a resident of Council Bluffs; William C, also of this city; Mary, the wife of D. Holz; Henry and Lizzie, of Council Bluffs; Wilhelmina, wife of Frank Fox; Carl L., at home, and John, deceased. The family are worthy and consistent mem- bers of the Lutheran Church, and are highly respected citizens. ►>*^ mlLLIAM O. YOUNG has been a hI resident of Pottawattamie County since 1876. He was born in Seneca County, Ohio, near Tiffin city, September 16, 1848. His father, Alfred Young, was a native of Maryland, and his mother, Sarah (Montieth) Young, was born in Ohio, of Scotch ancestry. William O. was but a small boy when his parents came to Iowa in 1856, and settled in Iowa County, near Marengo. The parents still reside in Iowa County, on a farm where they have lived since 1861. They are consistent members of the Methodist Church, and in his political views the father is a Republican. William O. was reared at farm work and was educated in the public schools of Iowa. In 1876, as already stated, he came to Potta- wattamie County, and in 1878 he bougiit his present farm, eiglity acres of which had been broken. On this place he has made many 530 BIOGBAPUWAL IHSTORY improvements, and now lias one araonjjf tho best farms in the neigliborbood. He has a laro'e frame residence, which was erected at a cost of $1,400. It is well situated and is surrounded by shrubs and shade and orna- mental trees. Near by is a fine orcbard of about three acres. Mr. Young's barn is 34x36 feet, with 16-foot posts. He has yards feed lots, a wind-mill, and other farm conveiiiences. He devotes his time to gen- eral farming and stock-raising, and every- thing alout the premises shows the pros- perity which has attended his labors. Mr. Yoi ng was married at the age of twenty-six years, in Iowa County, to Miss Alice Tibbies., a native of New York State- She was rearea there and in Wisconsin. The three children born to them are Bertie, Orley and Elsie. Poliiically Mr. Young is a Re- publican. ■■ «=i »i ^ 'i 'SnS' ' |S' "'^' lENJAMIN F. BIXBY descends from an old American family who have been famous as soldiers and pioneers from old colonial times. Deacon Solomon Bixby, grandfather of our subject, was born in "Worcester, Massachusetts, and was the father of eirrht children, viz. : Amasa, Rufus, Amos, Sumner, Jothara, Jonathan, Simon, Deborah and Nancy. The father emigrated to the State of Maine, and settled at Norridge- wock, on the Kennebec River, during the latter part of the eighteenth century. He lived to the age of sixty-six years, auG was a prominent member of the Congregational Church, in which he was a deacon for many yfears. He was one of the founders of the church in Norridgewock, and was a prosj er- ous farmer, owning one of the finest farms in the State. Rufus Bixby, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born on the old homestead at Norridgewock in 1796, and received a common-school educa- tion. He was married to Betty Weston, daughter of Deacon Benjamin Weston, who was born at Skowliegan, Maine, and was a son of a Revolutionary soldier. He was one of Arnold's brave soldiers who invaded the then impenetrable and unexplored forests of Northern Maine in the late fall and early winter. Mr. Weston received his death from exposure. He reached home and died two weeks after his return. Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Bixby were the parents of fourteen children, three of whotn died young: Solomon, Will- iam, Benjamin F., Augustus, Mary, Caroline, Elizabeth, Eunice and Sarah. The father was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was a deacon in the Congregational Church. He lived to the age of eighty-five years. Benjamin F. Bixby, the subject of this sketch, was born on his grandfather's farm at Norridgewock, Maine, June 17, 1828, and received a good academical education at the old academies of Bloomtield, Anson and Thompson. He began life as a school-teacher at Madison, Maine, and on the Penobscot Bay. In March, 1852, he sailed from Boston around Cape Horn to California. While his vessel was stopping at Chili for a supply of water during an insurrection there, they found Captain Brown, of the bark Florida, held a prisoner by the Chilian authorities, accused of aiding the insurgents; and at night the captain of Mr. Bixby's vessel res- cued Brown and immediately put to sea, ex- pecting to be followed by a man-of war. The former carried two large guns, besides small arras and cutlasses, and was ready for defense. The next day, however, Captain Brown was placed aboard his own vessel, and went on his way rejoicing. On arrival in California Mr. Bixby mined for gold at Volcano, Placerville and Cedar- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTV. 531 ville. He followed this business quite suc- cessfully four years, and then went into the dairy business in Jackson, California, which he contined two years. He then returned to Maine to visit his relatives, and in 1858 came to Winterset, Iowa. He obeyed the call of his country, and enlisted in Company E, Forty-seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served at Helena, Arkansas. He was taken sick with malarial fever, and came near death. He was in the hospital at Helena, in the old residence of General Hindman, a noted Confederate General. After serving out his time, Mr. Bixby returned home to Winterset, and was honorably discharged at Davenport, Iowa, September 28, 1864. He was shattered by the malaria and for two years was disabled. He then went into the employ of the Rock Island Railroad in the depot at De Soto, Iowa, for five years. In 1874 he came to Walnut in the employ of the same railroad company, as station agent, in which capacity he served fourteen years; he was also agent for the United States Com- pany. Mr. Bixby's long service with the Rock Island Company is the best indication of his character and of his faithful and honest services. In 1889 he was appointed Postmaster under Harrison, and is now filling tliat office to the satisfaction of the Govern- ment and the people of Walnut. He is well fitted for this position by his long business training, his pleasant and courteous disposi- tion, and his accommodating way of dealing with the people. He is a member of John A. Dix Post, G. A. R., No. 408, Walnut, of which he has been Adjutant many years. In his political principles he is a Republican. Mr. Bixby was Tuai'ried in Winterset, Iowa, in September, 1859, to Miss Mary A. Hornback, daughter of Abraham and Eliza- beth (McConnell) Hornback. The father was a native of Ohio, and of German descent, and was a resident of La Fayette, Indiana, for many years. He settled in Madison County, Iowa, in 1852, and died in 1884, at the age of seventy-eight years. He was the father of six children: James, George, John, Eliza- beth, Nancy and Mary A. To Mr. and Mrs. Bixby have been born five children: I'ranklin (deceased at five years of age), William, Loyd, Maud and Bessie. William W. Bixby, the next eldest brother of our subject, made the first survey ever made to the Pacific Coast, about 1854-'55, which was made for a rail- road from St. Paul to Puget Sound. Lyman, the youngerbrothe r, was a soldier in a Maine reginjent, and was captured at the battle of Cold Harbor. He was a Lieutenant, and was in charge of the company when captured. He was six months in Anderson ville and Libby prisons, and escaped from the former, and after nine days in the swamp was re- captured by means of blood-hounds. He was finally exchanged. He saw service be- fore Richmond, being for two weeks under fire at one time. ARTHA MARTIN is one of the ||jMl|t self-reliant women of Valley Tovvn- *^^^ ship, who, after the death of her hus- band, Robert Martin, has successfully carried on the farm and reared her family. Robert JMartin was born in County Antrim, Ireland, and was the son of James Martin, who was born at that place, and was a farmer by occu- pation. He married Susan Taylor, and they were the parents of four children: Daniel, James, Robert and Jane. The fatner lived to the age of eighty-seven years, dyinof in his native place. Both he and his wife were members of the Presbyterian Church, llis son Daniel marrieil and was the father of five children, and also died in County An- 532 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTOUT tritn. The remainder of the children came to America. Robert Martin, a son of the above, and the husband of our subject, was born about 1832, on ins fatlier's farm, who had been born, reared and died there. At tlie age of seven- teen, wishing to Ijetter iiis fortune, he came to America, landing at Philadelphia. He learned the trade of ingrain-carpet weaver, at which he worked until about 1860. In 1856 he went to Illinois, and June 3 was married to Martha McBride, of Fulton, Illi- nois, and the daughter of John and Elizabeth McBride. The father, a Scotch-Irishman, was born in Countj Antrim, Ireland, and after marriage moved to County Derry, about three miles frum where James Martin lived. In 1842 he came to America, settling at Philadelphia, wliere he worked at his trade of weaver, which he had learned in Scot- land. He died in Philadelphia about three years after his arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- Bride were the parents of five children: Isabel, Mary J., William, Ellen and Martha. The mother also died in Philadelphia, pre- vious to her husband's death, and they were both members of the Presbyterian Church, in which the father was an Elder and a de- vout Christian. Martha was a little girl of about six years when her parents died, -and she was brought up in Philadelphia by a married sister, Mary J.Thompson, wife of Daniel Thompson, who moved to Fulton County, Illinois, where she lived three years, until her marriage to Rob- ert Martin. They then returned to Phila- delphia, remaining until 1862, when they settled on a farm in Ontario, Canada, re- maining until 1871, and in that year they came to their present home. When they set- tled here it was wild land, and they tirst lived in tents, but by industry and economy this laithful pioneer coui)le converted their frtrm into fine, fertile land, and to which they have added until Mrs. Martin now owns 160 acres in her own right, and her sons have 240 acres more, making in all 400 acres of splendid farm land. January 16, 1880, Mr. Martin died, since which time his widow has carried on the farm and brought up her fcimily. She possesses good business ability and is an excellent manager. She is the mother of seven children, viz.: Mary J., de- ceased in infancy; Ella J., also deceased in infancy; William J., of Hancock, was mar- ried to Margaret J. Dool, and they have one child; Robert J. was married to Louisa E. Bair; Daniel T. married Mina Britton; An- nie E. mari-ied Albert Peterson, this county, and Emma M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Martin were members of the Presbyterian Church, and the former assisted in organizing the Knox Presbyterian Church, in which he was an elder until his death. In his political views he was a Republican, and he had an honest ambition to have Jiis family in com- fortable circumstances, and to gruw up good, moral and industrious men and women, with Christian principles. He was a kind father and loving husband, and his descendants may well revere his memory. Mrs. Martin has, ill a measure, since his deatii tilled his place, and has instilled in her children the same principles of truth and honesty. tTIS HARDENBERGH, one of the prominent farmers of Lincoln Town- ship, is from an old American family of Dutch descent. The remote ancestors of the family came with the Pilgrims to Plym- outh Rock, in 1620. There were three broth- ers of that name who landed at that time. The Hardenberghs were soldiers in the war of the Revolution, and were early pionee OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTT. 533 settlers of Ulster County, New York State. Nicholas Hardenbergh, the father of our sub ject, was born on a farm in Ulster County, and was a man of education, and was a sur- veyor by occupation; he did a great deal of business for the people, such as writing deeds, etc. He was married in that county, to Margaret Cronk, of Scotch ancestry. To Ml', and Mrs. Hardenbergh were born twelve children: Cornelia A., Mary J., Thomas H., Susan, Abraham, John 13., Garrett C, Ger- trude, Otis, Rachel, Nicholas, Eliza, all of whom grew to maturity, and of whom live are now living: Thomas, Garret C, Otis, Mary J. and Eliza. Tlie father lived on a farm in Ulster County, New York, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a man of honorable character, respected by all who knew him, and a man of great intelligence and quiet disposition. He was an excellent, sensible and well informed gentleman. Otis Hardenbergh was born October 3, 1828, and learned farming and carpentering in early life. He followed the former occu- pation in Ulster County, until twenty-eight years of age, when he came to Iowa and set- tled in Lewis, Cass County, as a carpenter, where he remained six years. In .1866 he went to Colorado, settling in Arapahoe County, seven miles from Denver, where he worked on a ranch and also at his trade for fifteen years. In 1881 he returned to Iowa and settled in Lincoln Township, Pottawat- tamie County. Mr. Hardenbergh has the respect of the people, and has served as Town- ship Trustee, and was also Township Clerk in Cass County. In religious principles he is a Reformed Episcopal, but both he and his wife attend the Congregational Church at Lewis. In politics he is a stanch Jacksonian Democrat, and socially is a Master Mason, being a member of the lodtce No. 117, at Lewis, Iowa. He has accumulated his prop erty by his own unaided efforts, and stands high as an honorable and industrious man. He is a practical farmer, and takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to his town- ship and county. He is a man of good judg- ment, a clear thinker, and expresses his thoughts in a vigorous manner. He has al- ways lived a life of probity, has been self- sacrificing, and endeavored in aU ways to lead a correct and moral life. Mr. Hardenbergh was married in Januaiy, 1860, to Margaret Hopley, daughter of Thomas and Francis (Arrowsmith) Hopley. The father came to Iowa from England in 1856, and became a prominent farmer in Lewis, Cass County. He lived to the age of sixty-eight years, and was the father of eleven children, ten of whom lived and came to America: John, William, Thomas, James, Peter, Joseph, Margaret, Hannah, Anna and Fannie. The father was shipwrecked and lost nearly all his property, and part of his family were sent back to England, but finally came to America. Mr. and Mrs. Harden- bergh were the parents of three children: George H., Sophia (who died in infancy) and Jessie. George was born October 25, 1860, and Jessie was l)orn August 11, 1864, and was married to Henry Conn, of Beatrice, Ne- braska, and they have two children: Otis and Harrold. Mr. Conn is connected with the Union Pacific Railroad. In February, 1882, Mrs. Hardenbergh died, and in 1889 Mr. Hardenbergh married Eliza Wilson, daughter of Knight and Margaret (Rath born) Wilson. The father was boi-n in Churn ley, Cheshire County, England, and was a prominent farmer, within five miles of the old city of Chester, famous for its splendid cathedral. He died at the age of fifty-five years, from the effects of an accident. His father, Sam- uel Wilson, was a Scotchman by birth, who settled in England in 1800. Mr. Wilson's 534 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY wife was of an old English family, who lived on the home farm eight miles from Cliester, for 200 years. He lived to the age of sixty- fonr years, and died in England. By his last marriage Mr. Hardenbergh has one daughter — May W. Thomas H., the eldest brother of our sub- ject, served tiirough the Seminole or Florida war, and was shot through the hand; he now receives a pension. LBERT E. FULLER is one of the well- known citizens of Center Township, ^ Pottawattamie County. He was born in Cuyahoga County, Oiiio, April 7, 1860, the son of Ezra Fuller, deceased. Ezra Fuller came to Iowa in April, 1861, soon after the firing on Fort Sumter. He was born near Bloomtield, New York, in 1803, the son of Jerrod and Cynthia (Wait) Fuller. During the war of 1812 his father was employed in lianling provisions from Blooomtield to Bnffalo, New York. When a youth Ezra removed with his parents from his native State to Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where he grew to manhood. He married Raciiel Hickby, a native of New York. By her he had six children, as follows: Corydon, who resides in Florida; Jerrod, who was a soldier of the Fiftli Iowa Infantry, and who m]iany D, Thirty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served through the war, and was promoted as Captain. He was badly wounded at the battle of Stone River, Tennessee, the hall passing through his body below the heart and through the breast, and he is now suffering from the efi'ects of this wound. He was again badly wounded at Chickamauga, Tennessee, through the upper right thigh. He was in the battle of Shiloh, and all the engagements until he was wounded at Stone River. He was absent about six weeks. Isaac N., Company C, Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served seventeen months, and was transferred to the Twentv- seventh United States colored troops, as First Lieutenant, serving until the close of the war. Washington was in Company D, Sixty- fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was but sixteen years of age when he enlisted, in 1861, and was awarded a medal at Stone River for bravery. He was in every march and battle that his regiment took part in; was wounded at Resaca, Georgia, and was conveyed from the field by three comrades in the heat of the battle. He went to school in Ashley, Marion County, Ohio, and then wen. to Hillsdale, Michigan, but was graduated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, in Delaware, Ohio. He is now Vice-President of Albion College, Albion, Michigan, and lias also been Com- mander of the G. A. R. Post of Michigan. This is one of the most remarkable army records to be found in any family. Isaac N. Gardner, the subject of this sketch, was born October 7, 1841, on the old homestead, six miles from Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and was but twenty years of age when he left the farm and school, where he had tauo-ht four terms, to begin the life of a soldier. He entered as a private, was promoted to First Lieutenant of a colored regiment, and came out as Captain. He was in the battles of the Wilderness, Fort Fisher, Petersburg, 588 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. was not wounded or taken prisoner, and did active service throughout the great struggle. He ret'irned to Ohio, where he was honorably dischsrged, October 7, 1865. He then went to southwestern Missouri, where he bought a tract of land, and remained one and a half years. In 1869 he came to Iowa, settling on his present place, which then consisted of 160 acres of wild laud, but which he has since converted into a line farm, and Uj en- ergy and industry has added to it until he now owns 240 acres. He was married to Emily W. Kearney, daughter of Thomas Kearney. The father, a native of Ireland, came to Council Bluffs from Galena, Illinois, in 1857. He is still living, at the age of sixty-two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Gardner have been born six children : Frank, Gerald, Chester A ., Marcus, Mary I., and an infant yet unnamed. Mr. Gardner is a stanch Republican, has held the office of Justice of the Peace, and has also been School Director. He is a well-known citizen of this county, and his descendants for generations will hold in respect the names of the soldiers of this family who fought for their country. ^.■*^g^i-,'~^+.^ W. WILLIAMS, contractor and builder. No. 123 West Broadway, is a native of i* Ashtabula County, Ohio. He was born May 2, 1842, son of James and Sarah (Wood- ruff) Williams, both natives of New York State and descendants of old Puritan families. When the subject of our sketch was four years old his father died, and when he was twelve he left his native State and went with his mother to Michigan and located near Coldwater. After remaining there three years they removed to Warren, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, where tix'.y lived one year. In the fall of 1857 they located in Furt Cal- houn, Nebraska, where th'^ mother died the following autumn. In December of that year, 1858, Mr. Williams and his two sisters came to Council Bluffs, where he has since made his home. In 1860 he began a two years' apprenticeship to the trade of brick- laying and plastering, but before his time expired, in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served six months, until P^el- ruary, 1862, but was not accepted. He then returned to Council Bluti'-i and completed his trade, after which he worked as a journey- man until 1870, when he commenced con- tracting. In 1883 he turned his whole attention to contracting and nas since been extensively engaged in the same. During the year 1883 he took the contract for seventy houses. His annual business the past two years aggregates $45,000. During the busy season Mr. Williams employs about thirty men. On upper Broadway he has a brick-yard where he manufactures his own brick besides supplying the trade. Some of the contracts he has taken are numbered among the best business blocks and jirivate residences. In connection with the business already referred to he also has a wholesale flour and feed store and deals in wood ;uid coal, lime and all building materials. lie handles the Diamond Blutf flour of St. Peter's, Minnesota, and is agent for the Acme Cement Plaster, one of the best plas- ters in existence, just entering the market in this city. Politically Mr. Williams is a stanch iie- publican. He is a memUer of the A. O. U. W., Pottawattamie Lodge, No. 46, and of the Modern Woodmen, Hazel Camp. Mr. Williams was married, July 21, 1863, to Miss Charlotte E. Armstrong, a native of Nanvoo, Illinois, burn May 6, 1844. They OF POT PAW ATT AM [E COUNTY. 639 are the parents ot seven children: Fannie, Italpli, Mark, Stella, Olive, Emma and Ruth. P^annie, Stella and Olive are deceased. Mr. Wlliaras and his family reside at No. Ill Stuttnian street. lie is the owner of u num- ber of city properties, eleven in all. IDWIN J. ABBOTT, Assistant Clerk and Treasurer of Council Bluffs, has been serving this city in various capac- ities at least eij^ht or nine years. He was bjrn in London, England, September 27, 1841, the son of Josepli and Mary (Bam- ford) Abbott. At the age of twelve year.s, he came to America, locating at Cleveland, Ohio, where he received his education, and remained until his fourteenth year, when he commenced work for himself. He was va- riously employed until he entered the service of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern (Northern Indiana) Railroad. In 1861 he enlisted in the hundred-day service, after which he did hospital duty for some time. Mr. Abbott then enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged Sep- tember, 1864, at Camp Chase, Oiiio. After the war Mr. Abbott returned to Cleveland, and connected himself with the Metropolitan Police forje, in which capacity he served until 1871. In that year he came to Coun- cil Bluffs, where he has since remained. He has served as Deputy Recorder and Township Clerk for several years, and since that time he has been twice elected as Justice of the Peace and in the employ of the city as Fi- nance Clerk. He has been a faithful friend to the public, and has been untiring in his duties. He is a member of the G. A. R., Abe Lincoln Post, No. 29, of which he is a charter member, and Past Judge Advocate and Assistant Adjutant General of the De- partment of Iowa, G. A. R. He has organ- ized fifteen posts in this locality. He is also a charter member and Post Commander of St. Albans Lodge, K. of P., No. 17, and also a member of the I. O. O. F. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party. Mr. Abbott was married October 27, 1861, to Sarah E. Packer, of Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio, who died December 26, 1888, leaving the following children: Mrs. James H. Craig- mile, of Council Bluffs; Mrs. James. R. Bar- rett, also of Council Buffs, and two deceased. Mr. Abbott was again married, January 7, 1890, to Mrs. Mary H. Dougherty, a native of Rome, New York. They are both mem- bers of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. LEXANDER WOOD, Alderman at large, and a resident of the First Ward of Council Bluffs, was elected to liis present position first in 1882, serving two years, and was re-elected in March, 1890. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1836, a son of James and Jennie (Glass) Wood, both of Scotch descent. The parents died when Alexander was quite young, and he went to live with an uncle in Ayrshire, Scot- land, where he made his home until he reached his majority. He then came to America, locating at Florence, Nebraska, and in 1870 came to Council Bluffs, where he has since made his home. Shortly after he came to this county he established a vine- yard of twelve acres and an orchard of two acres in the corporate limits of Council Bluffs. The average yield of this place is about 6,000 pounds to the acre, and he has turned his whole attention to horticulture, and has made a decided success. He is a live, energetic business man, and strives to fl40 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTilRY promote the welfare of the public good. He affiliates with the Republican jiarty, and is a member of the Western Iowa Horticultural Society, and also of the Pottawattamie County Fruit-Growers' Society. Mr. Wood was married in 1870 to Mrs. Pyper, nee Ellen Watson, a native of Ayr- shire, Scotland. She had one child by her former marriage — William Pyper. -|->-^^" ?OSEPH McGINNIS was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1850, sou of John McGinnis, Jr., also a native of that county. His grandfather, John Mc- Ginnis, Sr., was born in London, England. He was a saddle-maker, at which trade he worked in London for seven years. John McGinnis, Jr., married Elizabeth Hoffman, a native of Greene County, Pennsylvania, a descendant of German ancestry. They reared ten children, seven sons and three daughters, Joseph being the seventh born. His parents passed their lives and died in their native county, the father at the age of sixty-two years, and the mother at seventy-six. The latter was a member of the Baptist Church, and the children were reared in that faith. Their father was a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Republican. At the Jige of six years Joseph McGinnis went with his parents to Ritchie County, West Virginia, where he remained until he was nineteen. Then he came to Iowa, and first settled in the eastern part of the State. In 1872 he came to Pottawattamie County and bought his present farm in section 16, "Wright Township. At that time it was wild land, and he was one of the earliest settlers in the neighborhood. He at once went to work to improve his place, tlie present flonrisliiug condition of his farm being the result of years of labor and well directed efforts. Air. McGinnis erected a comfortable frame house on a natural building site, and surrounded it by a grove and orchard of two acres. He also has other buildings and farm improvements. A branch of Walnut Creek flows tbrough Ids premises, furnishing an abundant supply of water for stock purposes. The most of the graiti raised on the farm he feeds to his stock. Mr. McGinnis was married March 31, 1878, to Miss Roxanna Bridges, of Madison County, Iowa. She was born in Des Moines, and was reared there and in Madison County. Her parents, Lawson and Malinda Bridges, both natives of Rush County, Indiana, now reside in Madison County, Iowa. Mr. Bridges was born in 1822, and Mrs. Bridges in 1829. They moved first to Burlington, Iowa; next to Pleasant Grove, then to Des Moines, and in 1869 to Madison County. Mr. and Mrs. McGinnis have two children: Hattie, born February 11, 1879; and Joseph, July 19, 1885. They lost two children: David, the second child, who died at the age of seven years, and an infant daughter not named. Mr. McGinnis' political views are in ac- cordance with Republican jirinciples. He and ins wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and both are Sabbath- school workers. He ranks among the repre- sentative citizens of Pottawattamie County. MON L. ALLEN, a substantial farmer of Layton Township, descended from a prominent American family, who were early settlers of Maryland. His grandfather, Isaac Allen, was born in that State, settled on a farm in Harrison County, Ohio, and died from cliolera in Burlington in 1851. His son, Isaac Allen, the father of our sub- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 541 ject, wa^i horn in Oliio, and learned farning in early life. lie was married in his native State, to Sarah A. Lemmon, daughter of Jacob Lemmon, of Scotch descent. They were the parents of live children: Amon L., Madison, Alvin, Alice and Frank, in 1851 the father moved to Iowa, settlins in Wash- in^ton County, where he became a substan- tial farmer. He passed the remainder of his days on this farm, and was a hard-work- ing and influential man. He held many of his township's offices, and died at the age of fifty years. His son, Amon L., our subject, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, December 5, 1847, and was reared to farm life. When but three or four years of age his father moved to Iowa, 80 that he has passed nearly his whole life in this State. In 1882 he moved to Pottawattamie County and bought his present farm of 160 acres, which is now under a good state of cultivation. He was married in Washington County, at the acre of twenty-three years, to Mattie Maxwell, daughter of Robert and Rachel (Thompson) Maxwell. To Mr. and Mrs. Allen have been born two children — Sheldon and Roy. They are both members of the Presbyterian Church. Robert Maxwell, the grandfather of Mrs. Allen, was born in America, but his father was a native of Ireland, and settled in this country in an early day. Robert Maxwell was a farmer of Harrison County, Ohio, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was married to Martha Crowson, of Scotch de- scent, and to them were born eleven children: William, Thomas, Robert, Samuel, Martha, Rachel, John, Nancy, Walter, and two who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell were both members of the Presbyterian Church. In 1847 they came to Iowa, settling in Washington County, where the father lived to the age of eighty-seven years. Rob- ert Maxwell, a son of the above, was born in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1819. At the age of twenty-eight years he was mirriud to Rachel J. Thompson, and in 1846 they set- tled in Washington County, Iowa. They w^ere the parents of nine children: Ella, Martha, Mary, Jennie, Thomas, Florence, Estella, and two who died in infancy. The parents were members of the Presbyterian Church, and the father was a hard-working and substantial farmer, and is still living at the age of seventy years. He was one of the men who helped to build up the country in which be lived, and has added his quota in making the State of Iowa one of the grandest in the Union. Thomas Thompson, the maternal grand- father of our subject, was also a pioneer of OhiOj and lived in that State when the In- dians were very troublesome. He married a lady of German descent, and they were the parents of eleven children. ►^«H flf ILLIAM A. COOPER, section 15, Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, postoffice Griswold, is anoth- er one of the enterprising and successful citi- zens of the township. He has resided here since 1881. Mr. Cooper was born in Scott County, Iowa, near the Muscatine County line, Octo- ber 6, 1855. His father, John Perry Cooper, owned land in both counties. He was a na- tive of Tennessee, of Irish extraction. Mr. Cooper's mother, nee Jane Pace, was a na- tive of Kentucky. His parents were married in Illinois, near Rock Island, and were among the early settlers of Iowa. The mother died in the fall of 1877, and the father, at this writing, aged seventy-eight years, resides in 542 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Muscatine County, Iowa. The}' reared a family of eleven cliildren, teu of whom are now living, viz.: Robert, Mary, Jolin P., Louisa, Catherine, Harriet, William A., Emma, Josephine and Winona. Vilena, the second born, is deceased. Robert, the eldest, served all through the late war, and now lives in Adams County, Iowa. The subject of our sketch passed his youth on a farm, eleven miles from Mus- catine, and attended the public schools in Muscatine and Scott counties. In 1877 he took up his abode in Montgomery County, Iowa, where he worked at farm work by the month. He was married in that county, March 24, 1880, to Miss Mary Everett, a na- tive of Henry, Marshall County, Illinois. Her father, Cliarles Everett, a native of Ohio, born near Urliana, is now a resident of Cheltenham, Illinois. He was formerly a druggit^t, but is now engaged in the grocery business. Her mother, Sarah (Jenkins) Everett, a native of Virginia, is deceased. She was a Methodist, as also is Mr. Everett. Politically he is a Democrat. In 1881 Mr. Cooper came to Pottawatta- mie County and bought eighty acres of im- proved land. He sold that property, and in 1889 purchased his present farm of J. G. Cramer. Mr. Cooper has a good frame resi- dence situated on a natural building site and surrounded by shade and ornamental trees. He has barns, sheds, cribs, hog house, yards and orchard. His farm is well watered, and is considered one of the best improved in the neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have four children: Earl, Edna, Howard and Ida. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical Church, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Cooper is a man yet in the prime of life. He is fair and honorable in all his dealings, and is regarded as one of the representative citizens of Wave- land Towns^hip. Politically crat. i;: a Demo- <- > ^l' l " HjENJAMIN WINCHESTER, retired, is a well-known pioneer and the pioneer brick-manufacturer of Council Pluffs and Omaiia, having arrived here in May, 1854, and ever since made this county his home. He was born in Erie County, Penn- sylvania, August 6, 1817, a son of Stejihen Winchester, a native of Orange County, Ver- mont. The family trace their ancestry back to two brothers, who settled one in New Eng- land and the other in Virginia. Stephen's father was Benjamin Winchester, who served with distinction and bravery for seven years in the Revolutionary war, under General Putnam. Mr. Winchester, our subject, was reared in agricultural pursuits and at brick- making. At tiie age of fifteen years he be- came a Mormon, and attended the laying of the corner stone of the Mormon Temple at Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836. At eighteen he began as a missionary and preached both in New England and in Europe, his headquar- ters being at Philadelphia; and for nine years he was thus a zealous laborer for the Mor- mons' cause. He became disgusted, in 1844, with the leaders, owing to their immorality, and withdrew from the church. About this time Joseph Smith„the founder of Mormon- ism, was killed. Mr. Winchester resided then for a time at Philadelphia, and next was engaged in the tobacco trade in Pittsburg. In the spring of 1854 he arrived at Council Bluffs, coming by railroad to Alton, Illinois, and thence up the Missouri River. In the fall, by team, he went by way of Davenport to Pittsburg for his family At this time Council Bluffs comprised about 1,500 inhabit- ants, dwelling mostly in log cabins along OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 543 Broadway and Madison streets. The leading hotels then were the Roliertson House and the Pacific House, — tlie hitter just opened. Mr. Winchester engaged in the manufacture of brick, being the first in the county to engage in that business to a considerable ex- tent, very lew small lots having been previ- ously made by the Mormons. Subsequently he assisted in laying out the town of Omaha, and afterward broke the ground for making the iirst brick-yard there. He entered into a contract with the Ferry company to make a quantity of brick, and built a log cabin near by in which to keep the laborers. Mr. Duell and wife did the cooking; but Indians and squatters stole their lumber and other sup- plies to such an extent that brick-making was not profitable. He sold out and retired to this side of the river. Mr. Winchester, however, continued in this business from that period to 1887, when he also sold out and retired. In 1867 he made the brick foi- the Ogden House and several business blocks, manufacturing $20,000 worth that season and employing twenty to thirty men. He now lives at 420 Washington Avenue, where he has a tine residence. In his political principles he is a zealous and active Democrat. He has served two years as City Councilman, and during the war was a candidate for the State Lesislature, but then his party were more tlian ever in the minority. He was married, February 25, 1840, to Miss Mary Hannah Stone, an intelligent and well educated lady, who was born and reared in Brooklyn, New York. She is a daughter of Robert and Maria (Smith) Stone, natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. Winchester have three sons and two daughters, namely: Savil- lion A., of Garner Township; Americus, at home; Benjamin, Jr., at home; Josephine Marion, wife of Thomas Owen, of Garner Township; and Frances Amelia, now Mrs. Joseph Abel, also of Garner Township. Three children died: Orlando, at the age of seven months; Richard A., when seven years old; and a babe. Mr. and Mrs. Winchester celebrated their golden wedding February 25, 1890, when live children and eleven grandchildren were present. EORGE S. DYE, of section 9, Carson Township, was born in Lee County, Iowa, April 6, 1854, the son of Henry and Jane (Mickelwait) Dye. The father was born in Miami County, Ohio, and was the son of John Dye, who was a native of Kentucky and of Scotch ancestry. Henry Dye is now living with his son, George S., and is one of the old pioneers of Iowa, who settled in this State in 1839. The mother was a native of England, and died in Lee County, in 1861. She was a member of the Baptist Church. The Mickelwaits of Mills County, Iowa, are brothers of hers. George S., our subject, resided in Lee County, Iowa, until in 1883, when he came to Pottawattamie County, and purchased 160 acres of wild prairie land, where he now lives. He has since improved the same, and now has a fine farm of 200 acres. He also owns eighty acres of land in Silver Creek Town- ship, on section 24. He is engaged in general farming, stock-raising and feedii.g. Mr. Dye was married in Grant County, Wiscon- sin, November 7, 1879, to Miss Julia C. Kirk, of that county. She was born in St. Lawrence County, New York, the daughter of Joseph and Charlotte (Meyer) Kirk. The father was engaged by the United States Government as civil engineer and surveyor, and was sent to Russia to take plans of cer- tain portions of railroad from Petersburg to 544 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT Moscow. Here he met Charlotte Meyer, to whom he was married. During the civil war he was engaared in biiildino; gunboats and ships for the United States Government. Mr. and Mrs. Dye have six children, viz.: Harry K., Ralph B., Albert L., Olga J., Georgia S. and Merl. Politically Mr. Dye is a liberal Democrat, and is a member of the I. O. (X F., lodge No. 444, of Carson, Iowa. Mrs. Dye is a member of the Presby- terian Church. Mr. Dye has always taken an active part in educational matters. Has been a member of the School Board in some capacity ever since he has resided in the county. SILLIAM N. CONFARR, one of the substantial farmers of James Town- ship, descended from an old American family of German descent. His great grand- father participated in the war of the Revolu- tion, and his remote ancestors settled near Reading, Pennsylvania. Colonel Long, the great-grandfather of our subject on the ma- ternal side, was a colonel in the Revolutionary war, and received his pay in Continental money, which became worthless, and was used for papering the walls of a room in his resi- dence. Michael Confarr, the paternal grand- father of our subject, who spelled his name Confer, was a farmer in Berkeley County, Virginia, and was married to Elizabeth Gild- ner, who lived to the great age of ninety-six years They were the parents of three chil- dren: David, John and Catherine. John Confarr, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born in Berkeley County, Virginia, and learned the blacksmith's trade. At the age of nineteen years he was married clandestinely to Eve C. Stimmel, daughter of Abraham Stimmel. To Mr. and Mrs. Con- farr were born eight children, viz.: Eliza, William N., Mary C, John W., Sarah L., Isaac T., Charles E. and Susannali C. The father began business as a blacksmith near Winchester, Virginia, where he lived until about 1838, when he went to Clifton, Greene County, Ohio, where he still resides. He was very prosperous, and began loaning money before the civil war, and is now worth at least $25,000. He is greatly re- spected by his fellow townsmen, and has been Treasurer of his township for twenty -five years, and has also held the ofBce of Town- ship Trustee. Politically he is a Democrat, llis wife is still living; they have been mar- ried sixty years. William N. Confarr, our subject, was born March 5, 1833, near Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia, and in early life learned the trade of l)lacksmith from his father, and was also a clerk in a general store. He was then in the mercantile business at Clifton, Ohio, until 1883, when he came to James Township, Iowa, and settled on his present farm of 160 acres. Politically he is a Re- publican. He has served in the civil war, and was called out when Cincinnati was threatened b}' the rebels. He also served in the National Guards for 100 days, and is now a member and commander of the U. S. Grant Post, No. 123, G. A. R., at Avoca, Iowa. Socially he is a member of the Mount Nebo Lodge and Ral)boni Chapter of Masons at Avoca, and both he and his wife are mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church, in which he is an elder. Mr. Confarr has served as Jus- tice of the Peace, and has also been a mem- ber of the Board of Education. He is an active man of wide experience and much practical information, and stands deservedly high as a citizen. The family are from old Colonial stock, and they should take an honest pride in the sterling ancestry from which they sprung. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 545 Mr. Cont'arr was married to Eliza Bick- inore, daughter of Sedate Bickmore, who was of English descent, and emigrated from Maine to Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Confarr have been born one son, Herbert O., who is a well-read young man, and lias spent four years at Antioch College at Yellow Springs, Ohio. The Biekmores own St. George's Island off the coast of Maine, which has been in the family for many generations. — ♦' ^ • !"l - | '««" ID WIN A. WOOD, one of tlie old soldier citizens of Pottawattamie (boun- ty, is from an old American family of Scotch descent. Thomas G. Wood, the grand- father of our subject, was a native of Massa- chusetts, and the father ot five children: Thomas, Henry, Gideon, Nancy and Tabor. Tabor Wood, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born near New J]edford, Massachusetts, and learned tiie manufacture of woolen cloth, which lie fol- lowed in that city for many years. He was also a farmer and sheep-raiser. He married Eliza Fuller, and to them were born seven children: John, Samuel, Ellen (deceased at the age of fifty-eight years), Edwin, Francis, and Thomas, — all l)oin in Massachusetts ex- cept Thomas H., who was born in Chautau- qua County, New York. In 1841 the father moved to Jamestown, New York, and en- gaged in the manufacture of woolen cloth, where he remained seven years; next he went to Black Rock, now a part of Buffalo, New York, and here he resided three years; about 1852 he moved to Elvira, Lorain County, Ohio, remaining three years; in 1854 he went to Brownhelm, same county, where he resided on a farm until 1863; next he went to a farm near Oberlin, and in 1887 moved to Oberlin, where he still resides, at the age of ninety years. He was born March 4, 1800, in the town of Fairhaven. Massachu- setts. Mr. Wood took an active interest in local affairs and in the cause of education, and at Elvira was a member of tiie School Board, and when a citizen of otlier places he was usually a member of the same board. He was also a member of the Board of Supervisors in Elvira, and was a member of tlie Congi'egational Church; a man of ex- cellent character and morals, and exceedingly temperate, as his long life will show. He won the confidence of the people as a neigh- bor and friend, and was also true to his pro- fession. He is now retired, and is spending his last days in peace in the beautiful town of Oberlin. Edwin A. Wood, a son of tiie above, and the subject of this sketch, was born in Fair- haven, Massachusetts, Angnst 5, 1834, and received but a limited education in the public schools. At the age of ten years he went to work for his father in the woolen mills, and tlie remainder of his education was gained at odd times by diligence and liard work. Being very strong physically he was obliged to work when he was very young, to assist his father in the care of the family, and thus liis youthful years were passed. At the age of eighteen years he went to Ohio, where he remained on a farm in Lorain County until Lincoln made his first call for 300,000 men. He promptly responded, and on August 5, 1862, on his natal day, he enlisted, leaving his wife with two young children. He en- listed in Company F, One Hundred and Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served two years and ten months, which period closed our great civil war. He was one of the soldiers who chased John Morgan through Kentucky, and was in many skirmishes with him. The next year he crossed the moun- tains with Burnside into East Tennessee and 546 BIOOBAPHTCAL HISTORY was in the battles of Knoxville, Tunnell Hill, Resaca, and was with that great General, who, with his victorious army, marched through the heart of the Confederacy to the sea. Mr. Wood was with his regiment all through the heavy fighting until they i-eached Atlanta, when they were ordered back, and reached Nashville in time to participate in that battle, and assisted in driving Hood across the Tennessee River and annihilated his army. The regiment was then ordered to Washing- ton, District of Columbia, and they then went by boat to Cincinnati, and by rail to Annapolis, where they took ^ steamer to Fort Fisher, where they were engaged in the capture of Wilmington. They then fought their way into the lieart of North Carolina, and durinp' the march had one continual skirmish. They joined Sherman at Colum- bia, North Carolina, which they had captured, and here the regiment was discharged and brought by boat to Baltimore, and then home to Ohio. Mr. Wood was promoted as Cor- poral at Frankfort, Kentucky, and detailed as clerk lor tiie Adjutant General at brigade headquarters, and served in this capacity about one year. He was in active service all of the time, and was but a short time sick. When lie entered the artny he was the per- fection of physical manhood, but like many others of those brave men who risked their lives for tlieir country's canse, he came from the army with a constitution shattered by exposure. On returning home he found that farm life did not agree wiih him, and he engaged in the mercantile business in Brownhelm, Ohio, which he continued three years, but was burned out and met with a loss of all his property. He then engaged in buying prod- uce for one and a half years, and was in New York city one year. In 1879 he came to Avoca, Iowa, and engaged in the dairy busi- ness, which proved verv successful. He was appointed Postmaster under Harrison, March 10, 1890, which office he still holds, to the general acceptance of the people. Being naturally a man of good nature, tiiis oth'ce is particularly adapted to him, and due him as an old soldier who risked in his young manhood life and health in the service of his country. Mr. Wood is a man of quiet tastes, and his straightforward character has always given him the confidence of his fellow towns- men. In Ohio he held the office of Town- ship Assessor and Clerk, and was also a member of the School Board. Politically he is a stanch Republican, voting as he fought. He is Chaplain of the G. A. R., D. S. Grant Post, No. 123, Department of Iowa, in which he was one of the commanders. At the age of twenty- three years Mr. Wood married, at Brownhelm, Ohio, Miss Angelina Cooley, daughter of Rensselaer and Julia (Wells) Cooley, both descended from old American families who had been con- nected with the early history of our country as pioneers and soldiers since the first settle- ment. Mr. Cooley was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and his wife was from Con- necticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Wood have been born ten children: Eliza F., Almira E., Julia M., Rensselaer T., Mercy Anna, Sarah G., Edwin, Thomas G., Dora B. and Frank H. The daughter, Mercy Anna, is deputy post- mistress, which position she fills with ability and skill. — |->-f^- IPSENRY PIEPER, one of the pioneer settlers and a prominent merchant of Minden, was born in the village of Leet, Ilolstein, Germany, August 26, 1848, the son of John N. Pieper, who was a farmer by oc- cupation. He was the father of six children: OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 547 Henry, Christina, Emma, Nicholas, Herman and Keimer. Henry Pieper, onr subject, came tu Amer- ica in 1867, landing iu New York. He came directly to Davenport, Iowa, where he re- mained seven years engaged in farm work. In 1874 he bought 280 acres of wild land one and a half miles northwest of Minden, which, by hard work and industry he has converted into a tine, fertile farm. He re- mained here two years and then came to Min- den, where he engaged in running the first livery stable in this city. In 1885 he en- gaged in the hardware business in company with John P. Stuhr, and they carry a large stock of furniture and hardware, having a commodious building for the purpose. Per- sonally Mr. Pieper owns the building iu which Dr. Wyjand's drug store is located, and also the building in which the Bank of Minden is situated. He still owns his or- iginal 280 acres, which is now one of the best farms in the township. Mr. Pieper was Constable of Minden three years, and for two years was a member o" the School Board. In 1881 he married Abel Ilolhfs, and they have two children: Sophie and Rudolph. Mr. Pieper deserves much praise for his manly and straightforward course in life, and is a credit to the sturdy German-American people who have d(jne so much to develop this country. ^LONZO GROUT, a prominent farmer of Pottawattamie County, is of Holland Dutch ancestry. Three brothers of that name came from Holland before the war of the Revolution, one settling in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire and one in Vermont. The grandfather of our subject, Hezekiah Grout, was a soldier in the Revolutio.tary war, and was a farmer of Wethersfield, Wind- sor County, Vermont, but passed most of his life inKutland County, that State. He lived to the great age of ninety \ears. He was the father of seven children, viz. : Hannah, Chloe, Elmina, Nabia, John, Hezekiah and George. The father was an honest man, a patriotic soldier, and one who assisted in founding this great Republic. John Grout, the father of our subject, was born in Wethersfield, Ver- mont, and learned farming in early life. He was married to Polly McAllister, and they had nine childien, namely: Elkana, Daney, Alonzo, William, Henry, Rockwood, Marcia, Lucia and Louisa. The father lived all his life in Vermont, and died at the age of sixty years. He was a soldier in the M'ar of 1812, and was an industrious and hard-working man. Alonzo Grout, a son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was born April 10, 1829, in Wethersfield, Vermont, and learned the mason's trade in early life. In 1849 he came to Kane County, Illinois, and worked at his trade in Aurora for ten years. He then moved to De Kalb County, Illinois, where he remained four years, and next set- tled on a farm in Will County, where he lived fourteen years. In 1876 he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on his present farm of 250 acres, where he has made many good improvements. The farm is in a good condition, showing the effects of careful husbandry. Mr. Grout has always held the respect of his fellow-citizens, and in Will County held the oSice of Assessor, and in Knox Township, this county, has been Trustee, Supervisor and School Director several times. In his political opinions he is a Republican. He was married in Aurora, Illinois, to Emeline Kice, daughter of Layton and Man- dana (Waters) Rice. The fatiier came from Vermont, and settled near Aurora. Mrs. 548 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Grout was born in Rutland County, Vermont, December 26, 1831. Her great-grandfather, Joshua Vallet, was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary war. To Mr. and Mrs. Grout have been born eleven children, namely: Addie E.. Clara C, deceased at thirty two years of age; Fred A., Edgar R., deceased in infancy; Cora G., who died at the age of two years; Lizzie M., John D., Maude E., Merton B., Harry E. and Roy, deceased in infancy. There were eleven brothers and sisters in Mrs. Grout's family, viz.: Asahel, Emeline, Philander, John, Isaac, Alphonso. Mary, Ed- gar, Albert, Eugene and Emigene. Mr. Grout had three brothers in the civil war: Henry, William and Rockwood. Henry was in the Fifty-seventh Illinois, and was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, the ball passing into his stomach and be- ing evacuated from his bowels, and he is still living. Rockwood was in a Vermont regi- ment. Mrs. Grout had two brothers in the war: Isaac and Alpiionso. The former was in the Thirty-sixth Illinois, held the office of Orderly, and served all through the struggle. He was in the battles of Pea Ridge, Shiloh and many otliers. Alphonso was also in an Illinois regiment, and was killed in his first battle— Vicksburg, May 16 and 17, 1863. — l-^-^l'— — ROBERT M. WHITE is one of the promi- nent pioneers of Valley Township. His grandfather, Nathaniel White, was a farmer in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and of English descent. He lived to the great age of eighty years. He was married to Mary Little, and they had nine children, viz.: Nicholas, David, John, Nathaniel, Samuel, James, Mary A., Jane and Eliza, all born in Washington County. The father moved tu Lawrence (^uinty, where he owned a farm of 200 acres, and where he died. He was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and was a man of industrious habits and integrity of character. Samuel Wiiite, his son, and the father of our subject, was born on the farm in Washington County, in 1806, and was reared to the life of a farmer. He married Mary Leslie, in Lawrence County, where he had gone with his father when a boy. They were the parents of seven chil- dren, namely: Nathaniel, Nancy A., Mar- garet, Robert, Samuel, Maria and Eliza — all born in Lawrence County. The father owned a farm in that county, where he died at the age of seventy- three years. Both he and his wife were members of the United Presby- terian Church, and the father was a conjfort- able farmer, an honorable man, and enjoyed the respect of his fellow-citizens. His son Samuel was a soldier in our great civil war, belonging to the First Pennsylvania Volun- teer Artillery, was in several battles, and iiad the drum of one ear destroyed by the dis- charge of the artillery. Robert M., the subject of this sketch, was also born in Lawrence County, December 7, 1833, and, like his father before hira, was reared to farm life. At the age of nineteen he left home, and began work for himself. At the age of twenty-one, in 1854, he went to Mercer County, Illinois, where he remained five and a half years. In 1860 he went to Brown County, Kansas, but returned to Iowa the same year, and settled in Valley Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, on his present farm. Iowa was then a new country, and Valley Township had but few settlers. His land was wild, but by dint of energy and perseverance he has converted it into a fine fertile farm, to which he has added until he now has 480 acres. He is a prominent citizen of this county, and a pioneer, and as such his name will go down to posterity in OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUINTT. 549 the annals of the State of Iowa. He lias given each of his three sons 160 acres of land. He was married in Mercer County, Illi- nois, to Martha Clark, daughter of Charles and Sarah Clark. The father was a native of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and set- tled in Mercer County, Illinois, in 1850. He came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1860, and died in 1886, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, as was also his wife, but in Iowa they joined the Baptist Church. Fie was an industrious man, and well known to the early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Clark were the parents of six children, viz.: Uriah, William, Samuel, Margaret, Martha and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. White have had six children: Charles, Warren, Uriah, Leslie, Edmond, and one who died when yoniig. Warren was a graduate of the State Univer- sity, and was a lawyer by profession, but while at his home, and while assisting in the harvest field, he was instantly killed by lightning. He was unmarried, but was a young man of great promise. His death was H severe blow to his parents and friends. Socially Mr. White is an Odd Fellow, and politically a Republican. He was Township Trustee seven years and Clerk sixteen years. He stands high in his county as a man of integrity and good judgment, and his honor is un impeached. ^LEXANDER KENEDY, an enterpris- ing and well-known citizen of Center Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, has resided on a farm in section 1 since 1880. lie was born in Huntingdon County. Pennsylvania, February 5, 1819. His father, Gilbert Kenedy, was born in Belfast, County Down, Ireland, son of John Kenedy. Gilbert Kenedy was only two years old when his par- ents came to America and settled in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. John Kenedj' was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and fought bravely all through that struggle for his adopted country. Gilbert Kenedy married Jane Applebee, who was born on the ocean, of Scotch-Irish parents. They reared six sons and three daughters, Alexander being the youngest sou. The father died at Shade Gap, Hun- tingdon County, Pennsylvania, at the age of eighty-five years; and the mother died in Pike County, Illinois, when pa^t eighty. Mr. Kenedy followed the vocation of a farmer all his life. He was in politics a Whig, and in religion a Presbyterian. Alexander grew to manhood on a farm in Pennsylvania, receiving a somewhat limited education. Arriving at the age of manhood, he was married, November 3, 1852, to Jane Gillis, who was born in Bedford County, near the Fulton County line, Pennsylvania. Her father, Daniel Gillis, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and when a young man he came to America and settled in Pennsylvania. Her mother was also a native of Scotland, her maiden name having been Margaret Carlisle. Daniel Gillis and wife passed the remainder of their lives in Fulton County, Pennsylva- nia, the former living until lie passed the seventieth mile-post, and the latter reaching the advanced age of eighty-eight years. Tiiey reared nine children, three sons and six daughters. Two of the sons, David Andrew and John McCoy, were soldiers in the late war, the latter dying of disease contracted while in the service. Daniel Gillis was a farmer all his life; was a Whig and a Pres- byterian. Mr. Kenedy resided in Pennsylvania until 1856, when the family moved to Pike Coun- ty, Illinois, where they lived six years. He 550 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTOBF also spent some time in other portions of Illinois. In 1874 they took up their abode in Chariton County, Missouri, where they re;nained until 1880. In that year, as before stated, he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on his present farm. Mr. and Mrs. Kenedy have eight children: John Calvin, at the homestead; Mary Rebecca, wife of J. L. Phillips, Center Township, Pottawattamie County, has seven children; Sarah Emma, wife of TiiomasB. Phillips, of Wright Town- ship, same county, also has seven children; Margaret Jane, at home; James Chalmers, who is married and has two children, resides in Layton Townsiiip, this county; Newton Daniel is married, has one child, and lives in "Wright Township; Virginia Adeline, wife of Daniel P. McLaiu; and Luella P., wife of S. J. Smith, of Lincoln Township, has two children. Our subject was rocked in an Abolitionist cradle, and is now a Kepublican. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as also is his wife. Tiiey have reared their children in such a manner that they are fitted to occupy worthy and respected posi- tions in society. Although over seventy years of age Mr. Kenedy is well preserved. He has traveled extensively, is well in- formed on general topics, and is one of those frank and cordial gentlemen with whom it is a pleasure to meet. By all who know him lie is regarded as an honored and esteemed citizen. ■■I » iy « S < i t « x i « -i " , BEL A. RANDALL, a prominent farmer of Knox Township, came from Virginia in 1859, and settled at Newton, Iowa. His father came with his family the same year, and settled on 160 acres at Newton and 120 at Highland Grove. Jacob Randall, the grandfather of our subject, was a farmer of Hardy County, West Virginia, all his life, dying at the age of eighty-one years. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and was the father of twelve children: Catherine, Ruth, Elizabeth, Margaret, Rebecca, Jemi- ma, Asenath, Amelia, Abel, Silas, Mary and Tabitha. Abel Randall was born in Hardy County, West Virginia, in October, 1803, and learned farming and blacksmithing in early life. He was married in his native county, to Mary Gailey, of Irish descent, and they had seven children: Jacob Y., de- ceased; George W., deceased; Asenath T., Mary R., Isaac D., deceased, and Margaret A. After marriage Mr. Randall settled on the old homestead, where he remained until 1859, and where he followed blacksmithincr part of the time. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church, but later in life joined the United Brethren Ciiurch, in which the former was a local preacher, class-leader and steward. In West Virginia he held the office of Justice of the Peace for many years. He died at the age of seventy- seven years, having lived from 1864 to 1868 in Wasiiington County, Io«?a. He was a good, substantial farmer, a law-abiding citi- zen, and a man of integrity of character. Abel A. Randall, our subject, was born in Hardy County, West Virginia, July 3, 1838, and was twenty-one years of age when he came with his father to Iowa. After his marriage he settled one-half of a mile east of Newto :, where he remained until 1879. In that year he moved to his present farm of eighty acres. He lived in Washington County four years before his marriage, an J served as Township Trustee. In his political principles he is a Republican. Mr. Randall was married February 22, 1870, to Emma Sinclair, daughter of James A. and Martha (Adkisson) Sinclair. The OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 551 fatlier settled ia Newton, Pottawattamie County, ill 1854, and was the father of six children: Cora A., Emma M., James L., Ada A., Frank E. and Foy. The father has been Justice of the Peace, Supervisor and Town- ship Clerk, and also School Clerk of his connty. Both he and liis wife are members of the United Brethren Church, in which he is class-leader, steward and trustee. He is still living, at the ago of nearly sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Randall are the parents of five children, only two of whom survived: EtMe L. and James Edward. — tnt .1.1?' ■ ?l i? tUCIUS WELLS is of the firm of Deere, Wells & Co., wholesale dealers in agri- cultural implements, wagons, and vehi- cles, being the leading and the largest house cf tlie kind in the Northwest, and one of the largest in the whole country, and as such deserves special notice here. Tiie tirm is made up of Deere & Co. and the Moliue Wagon Company, both of Moline, Illinois, and Mr. Wells, who is resident partner. The former company are proprietors of the John Deere Plow Works, which were founded by John Deere in 1847, and is the largest steel plow works in the world. John Deere was the j)ioneer of steel plow-makers, hammering the first steel plow out of saw steel, and was the founder of the Grand De Tour Plow Works, which establishment he left when locating at Moline. The Moline Wagon Com- pany have one of the largest factories of the kind in the country. The house of Deere, Wells & Co. was establislied November 1, 1881, and was the pioneer of the many es- tablishments of the kind whose aggregate business at this time makes Council Bluffs the second largest implement center in the Northwest. 40 Mr. WelLs was born February 9, 1845, near Moline, Illinois, and spent his early days on the farm. After receiving a com- mon-school education he attended Lombard University at Galesburg, Illinois, taking an elective course. Upon leaving that institu- tion he took a position with Deere & Co. and continued with them for a period of fourteen years, contributing his mite toward building up that great business, and during that time saw the establishment double its capacity no less than tliree times. He has been a resi- dent of Council Bluffs since the opening of the house of Deere, Wells & Co. in 1881, and to his untiring energy and business man- agement is due the success of the business. Mr. Wells is known in the West as an act- ive business man who l>elieves that "what- ever is worth doing at all is worth doincr well," and acts upon that principle*. His ancestors on his father's side were English, who left the old country in the lat- ter part of the seventeenth century and set- tled in Connecticut. His ancestors on his mother's side were Scotch-English and settled in New England before the Revolutionary war. His great-grandfathers on both sides were soldiers under George Washington. His father, whose name also was Lucius Wells, was born in Windham County, Ver- mont, in 1803, and his mother in Genesee County, New York, in 1808, they both em- igrating with their parents to Wayne County, Illinois, in 1823, and were married there in 1825. They soon after removed to northern Illinois, locating in what is now Rock Island County, and in that removal passed nearly the entire length of the State of Illinois through a country inhabited only by wild animals and Indians. His father died at the homestead in Eock Island County, in 1875, after celebrating their golden wedding. His mother is at this writing (March, 1891), 552 BIOOEAPHICAL HISTORY enjoying good health at the age of eighty- three. Mr. Wells was married March 26, 1868, to Miss Martha A. Wadsworth, of Di.xon, Illinois, whose parents came from Maryland and were of German ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Wells have two daughters: Miss Ennice M. aged twenty years, and Cherrie, aged seven years. — ,^, g ,. ; ,. : . g -^ fUIIN A. WOLF, one of the enterprising and representative citizens of Washing- ton Township, came to this county in the spring of 1881, where he has since re- sided. Lie came from Mills County, Iowa, where he had lived several years. He was born in Perry County, Ohio, May 19, 1850. a son of Philip Wolf, a native of Pennsyl- vania; the Wolfs were of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. The mother of our subject was Mary (Lewis) Wolf, who was born in Perry County, Ohio, and her family were of an old American family of New England. Philip Wolf came to this county in 1887, where he resided until his death in June, 1889, at the age of sixty-three years. He was a farmer by occupation, and politically a Democrat. In religion he was connected with the Lutheran Church for several years. The mother died in Lucas County, Iowa, near Chariton, in 1865. The parents reared tive children. John A. was about two years of age when his parents moved to Van Buren County, Iowa, where they were early settlers. He was reared in southern and western Iowa, and at the age of seventeen years he obtained employment with a well-known stockman, J. M. Strand. He was in his employ near Dallas, Marion County, Iowa, one year, and then came with him to Malvern, Mills County, in 1869, and whs in his employ in that county eight or nine years. He then rented land for two or three years, and in 1881 bought eighty acres of his present farm, paying $10 per acre. Later he bought forty acres more, and one year later added forty acres still more, and he now owns 160 acres, all under a good state of cultivation. Besides his general farming, he is now feed- ing twenty-one head of cattle and 115 head of swine. Mr. Wolf was married at Red Oak, Iowa, November 30, 1876, to Miss Henrietta Mil- ler, a daughter of John and Ann (Strand) Miller. The mother is a sister of J. M. Strand, a prominent stockman of Mills County, Iowa. Mrs. Wolf was reared mostly in Henderson County, Illinois, and was edu- cated in Illinois. Mr. and Mi-s. Wolf have three sons: Ira Lewis, Philip Miller and Eugene Earl. Politically Mr. Wolf is a Dem- ocrat, but has never aspired to public office. He is a member of the Evangelical Church, a class-leader in the same, has served as super- intendent of the Sabbath-school, and is at the present a teacher. Mrs. Wolf is also a worthy member in the same. Mr. Wolf is yet in the prime of life, frank and cordial in his manner, and is honorable in all his business dealings. He is numbered politically, socially and financially among the representttive citi- zens of ills neighborhood. ff K. MURCHISON is one of the thrifty 1 Scotchmen who left his native land * and sought a home in the United States. He was born at Lochcarron, Ros- shire, in the Highlands of Scotland, in Au- gust, 1846, son of Kenneth and Christy (McLeod) Murchison, both natives of that place. The father died in Scotland, at the age of tifty-six years, and the mother is still OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 533 living there, aged sixty-five. Of their tliree sons and two daughters the subject of tiiis sketch is the oldest. He was reared on a farm and educated in his native land. At the age of twentj-one he bade good-bye to home and friends and set sail from Grlaso-ow for New York. After traveling over Ohio and Ken- tucky he went to Stark County, Illinois, where he worked by tlie month for two years. Then he went to Henry County, same State, where he rented land near Kewanee for live years. In August, 1869, while in Stark County, Mr. Murchison married Ann McKinzie, also a native of Rosshire, Scotland, the dangliter of Scottish parents, John and Eliza McKin- zie. Mr. Murchison then made his home in Elmira, Stark County, until 1883, when he came to Iowa and settled in Pottawattamie County. He bought 120 acres of improved land in section 17, Waveland Township. h\ 1887 he purchased eighty acres more, now owning 200 acres in one body. He has a comfortable frame house, grove and orchard, stable, feed yards, granary, cribs, etc. The farm is well improved and everything about the premises has a look of prosperity. Mr. and Mrs. Murchison have five chil- dren: Mary, Kenneth, Willina, John Alex- ander and Christena. Two of their children, Lizzie and a babe, are deceased. In politics Mr. Murchison is a Republican. He is a Presbyterian, in which faith he was reared. His intelligence combined with his honesty and industry has brought prosperity to him and won for him the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens. t RIG AN STILLINGS, one of the pio- ^J neer settlers of Layton Township, was born in Illinois, February 18, 1839, the son of Josiah J. Stillings, who was of Ger- man descent. His father died in Baltimore, Maryland, when Josiah was but three years of age, and his mother died when he was but six years old, and he was brought up on a farm by his uncle, Abraham Swartz, a farmer of Knox County, Illinois. When about sev- enteen years of age he left his uncle and went to Galena, wliere he worked in the lead mines. He afterward returned to Knox County, and was married to Lucy A. Coy, daughter of Benjamin Coy, a native of the Eastern states, and who was a pioneer of Ken- tucky. He was a great hunter and a fast runner, and could outrun his Indian com- panions. He married a Welsh lady in Ken- tucky, and here Lucy, the wife of Josiah Stillings, was born. Her family settled in Iowa, where they were among the early pioneers. To Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Stillings were born eiglit children: Arena A., Mary A., Origan A., Eliza J., Sarah E., Martha E., James B. P., Emeline and one who died in infancy. The father was a miller in Illinois for some years, and in 1844 came to Iowa, settling in Washington County, where he ran a mill for four years. He then moved two and a half miles northwest, where he built and ran a milL He then went into a grocery store and also kept a hotel at Was- sonville, one of the oldest towns in Iowa. He also owned a small farm, where he died in 1886, at the age of seventy-seven years. He was in the Black Hawk war when a young man; held the office of Constable twenty-four years in Iowa — seventeen consecutive years; and was a member of the Methodist Church; Mrs. Stillings was a member of the Baptist Church. O. A. Stillings, our subject, was reared to farm life, and when five years of age he came with his father to Iowa, and was early accus- tomed to the vicissitudes of pioneer life, and well remembers seeing the Indians buy 554 BIOORAPHICAL HISTORT goods of his father, who could talk and un- derstand some of their language. He re- mained at home until he was twenty-one years of age when, in 1861, he enlisted in Company F, First Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, and served one year in Missouri. He was in the battle of Black Water, where 1,300 Confederates were captured, and he was also in the battle at Silver Creek, where a ball struck the visor of his cap. He was honor- ably discharged at Sedalia, Missouri. Return- ing home he engaged in farming; then went to Illinois; thence to Kansas, where he drove a Government team to Salt Lake, Utah; next he went to Virginia City, Montana, where he remained ihrough the winter of 1863-'64, and was a member of the celebrated committee which established law and order in Montana, and who executed a great many desperadoes. The next August Mr. Stillings returned to Iowa, and in 1867 was married to Elizabeth Phillips, daughter of George and Elizabeth (Dean) Phillips, and they have five children: Bertha, Frank, Wilber, Frederick, and one who died in infancy. The mother died, and Mr. Stillings married Hortense Van Meter, in 1886, during which year he came to Pot- tawattamie County and bought his present farm of eighty acres, but which he has since converted into a tine farm of 120 acres. He is a member of Methodist Episcopal the Church, in which he is a class-leader and steward. Mrs. Stillings is h, member of the Christian Church. Politically he is a Re- publican, voting first for Abraham Lincoln. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post, and is a man who stands deservedly high in his township as a straiglitforward and honorable man. He was injured in the United States service, and is now drawing a pension from the Government. Mrs. Stillings was born in Johnson County, Iowa, the daughter of Elias B. Howell, who was born in Ohio, and was an early settler of Johnron County. He was married to Rachel Pre^toll, and they have had seven children: Mattie, Lorena, Hortense, Cora J., Fadilla, Ralph, and one who died when young. Both Mr. and Mrs. Howell are members of the Ciiristian Church, in which he has for many years been a dea- con and class-leader. The Howell family originated in New Jersey. Elias Howell, the father of the above, was an old pioneer of Licking County, Ohio, and was a member of Congress from that State in the time of William H. Harrison, and was also promi- nent in the Log Cabin and Hard Cider cam- paign. He was Sheriff of Licking County for many years, was the proprietor of the silk interest in Ohio, was married three times and was the father of twelve children. His son, James B. Howell, was United St.ttes Senator from Iowa. G. BRYANT, Mayor of Carson, Jus- tice of the Peace, agent for the Chi- " cago, Burlington & Quincy and the Chicao-o, Kock Island & Pacific railroads and also express agent, was born in Parke County, Indiana, November 3, 1863, the son of S. B. J. and Martha (Strother) Bryant. The father is now in Atlantic, Iowa, and general agent for an insurance business, and is a respected citizen of the town. T. G. Bryant was reared in Champaign County, Illinois, receiving his education there and in Indianapolis, and when sixteen years of age they came to Iowa. In 1882 he was made operator at Neola, Iowa, and later at Anita, Iowa. In 1883 he was stationed at Exira, Iowa, where he re- mained for about three years, and was then promoted to the agency of this town, tilling his position well, and gaining the good will of the railroad officials. Politically Mr. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 555 Bryant is a Republican, and was elected Mayor of Carson in 1890, and is serving to the best advantage of himself and party. He is interested in tducational matters and served on the School Board for two or three years. He is a member of I. O. O. F. Lodge. No. 444, and is Secretary of the same, and is also Secretary of the Modern Woodmen, Botna Lodge, No. 172. Mr. Bryant was married November 4,1886, at Exira, Iowa, to Miss Mary Houston, the daughter of A. B. Houston, a well-known and prominent citiz ;n of that town. They have had two children: Clarence Jackson, who died July 22, 1890, and Hazel. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant are members of the Pres- byterian Church. Mr. Bryant, although a young man, has gained a position, S(jcially, politically and financially among the best citizens of Carson. H. GRAFF, the proprietor of the City Drug Store at Carson, and one [' of the leadiuij; business men of the town, has been in business in Carson since 1880, and carries a complete line of drugs, patent medicines, stationery, and also gives part of his time to the jewelry trade, carry- ing a full line of jewelry. He is a registered pharmacist, and has had many years of ex- perience in the business. His store is 22 x 65 feet, which was built in 1889, his first store having been burned to the ground. Mr. Graft' is a native of Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa, was born December 29, 1853, the son of F. and Maria (Becker) Graff, the former a native of Germany and the latter of St. Louis, Missouri. He was reared in Fort Madison, Iowa, and Hancock County, Illi- nois, and when still a youth spent one year n the music store at Burlington, Iowa. In 1875 he went to Sigournej', Iowa, and was in the drug business with Cook & Franken un- til 1879, wa3a \\^ spjut ons year in Counoi Bluffs, with Dr. C. Deetken, a druggist. In 1880 he came to Carson, which he has since made his home. Mr, Graff was married in 1879, at Sigour- ney, to Miss Sophronia M. Muzzy, of Clin- ton, Iowa, and a daughter of Milton Muzzy. They have one daughter — Lulu A. Politi- cally Mr. Graff is a Democrat. In 1881-'82 he served as Councilman; was City Recorder one year and Mayor one year. He was Postmas- ter four years under Grover Cleveland's ad- ministration, and has been on the School Board three years, serving with credit to himself and friends. He is a member of the Masonic order of Coral Lodge No. 430, and was made a Mason in 1882. He was made Master of the Carson lodge and served two and a half years, but resigned. Mr. and Mrs. Graff are members of the Presbyterian Church, and Mrs. Graff was a graduate of the Iowa City College, and has a life certifi- cate. She has taught twelve or fifteen terms, and was principal of the Carson school four terms. Mr. GraflE is a good business man, and is interested in the welfare of the town. ,OBERT F. WALKER, a prominent farmer of Pattawattamie County, de- scended from an old American family of English origin. His grandfather, Martin Walker, was from Maryland, and settled in Harrison County, Ohio, where he was among the early settlers. His son, Ephraira Walker, was married in that State, to Mary Ann Rearadon, and they were the parents of four children, who lived to maturity: John, Jessie, Martin and Robert F. The father was a mason and bricklayer by trade, and died in BIOGBAFHIGAL UlbTORY Harrison County, Ohio, at the age of sixty- five years. Both he and his wife were mem- bers of the Methudist Episcopal Church. His first wife died, and he was married to Mary LaPort, and they had three children: Wiliiaiu, Ephraiin and Mary. Mr. Walker was a well-to-do man, and had three sous in our great civil war: Jesse, in Company I, Seventeenth Illinois lufantry, who was in the battles of Fort Donelson and Sliiloh and many others. He served all through the war, and was re-enlisted as a veteran. Martin was in Company E, Third Iowa Yolunteer In- fantry, and died at Raleigh, Missouri, after a service of six months. The father was a stanch Union man. Robert F. Walker, the subject of this sketch, was born in Cadiz, Ohio, February 16, 1841, and learned the trade of brick- laying and plastering in early life. In 1862, at the age of twenty-one years he enlisted in Company C, Ninety-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until June 1, 1865, or until the close of the war. He was in the battles ot Perryville, Kentucky, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Jonesborough, Evansborough, Bentonville, Kenesaw Mountain, and was with Sherman at Atlanta and through to the sea, and was also in a great many skirmishes. He was present at the great return march to AVashington, and was mustered out at that place June 1, and honorably discharged at Cleveland, Ohio, June 10, 1865. After his marriage, in 1865, Mr. Walker came with his wife to Big Grrove (now called Oakland), where he remained until the fall of 1867. In 1868 he settled on 160 acres of wild land in this county, which, assisted by his faithful wife, he converted into a fine farm. He takes an active interest in the schools of his district. He is a member ot the G. A. R., William Layton Post, Oakland. Mr. Walker is one of tiie pioneers of this part of Pottawattamie County. When he came to his farm the township was but thinly settled, and the Indians visited him several times, and often took dinner with him. As a citizen he has done his share in building up his township and county, and as a pioneer he stands high, and is well-known for honesty and industry. May 8, 1866, he was married to Susan La Port, daughter of John L. and Melinda (Har- rison) LaPort. The father was of French de- scent, and was the grandson of Ephraim La Port, who came from France before the Revolutionary war and settled in Ohio. His son, Abraham LaPort, the grandfather of Mrs. Walker, participated in the war of the Revolution, and also that of 1812. He was a farmer of Harrison County, Ohio, and was the father of ten children, viz.: Bazer E., Abraham, Isaac, Susan, Barbara E., Ephraim, John, Samuel, William and Charles. The father lived to the great age of ninety-five years, and his father lived to be over ninety years old. Mr. LaPort was a member of the Christian Church, and was a substantial farmer. He was a man of sterling character, and was much respected by the old pioneers. He was familiar with the Indians, and used often to accompany them on their hunting expeditions. His sons were soldiers in the war of 1812. John L. LaPort, the father of Mrs. Walker, was a carpenter of Logan County, Ohio, and was married in that State to Melinda Harrison, daughter of Ephraim Harrison, a full cousin of General Harrison, of Tippecanoe fame. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Margaret, Mary, Charles, Frank, Eleanor, Emily, Jane and Eliza (twins). Miller and Susan. The father moved to Knightstown, Hancock County, In- diana, where he lived until his death, which occurred at the age of sixty years. Both he and his wife were members of the Christian OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 557 Clinrcli, in which he was an elder foi- many years. He was much respected by his fellow- townsmen, and served as Justice of the Peace for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have had five children, viz.: Mabel, now the wife of Emerson Fletciier, a farmer of Valley Township; Martin, who died at the age of nineteen; Ephraim, Eva, June, and an adopted son, named Claudie. Mrs. Walker is a member of the Christian Church, — — ^>.:-l— — j^^^j. IN FIELD S. PACKARD, one of I tiie first merchants of Walnut, Iowa, has been identified with the business interests of this thriving town since its in- fancy. When he came to Walnut in 1872 it eon tai tied but eleven houses, and Oscar F. Lodge was the only merchant. Mr. Packard is descended from an old American family from Massachusetts. Gahret Packard, his grandfather, was born in Vermont November 15, 1775, and died November 20, 1820. He married Elmira Brittan in October, 1797, and she died May 15, 1830. They^migrated to Ohio in an early day, settling in Mahon- ing County. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and died from wounds contracted in that struggle. He was the father of eleven children, — -of whom the living are: Esther, Charlotte, Thomas, John, Asby D. and G-ah- ret H. Asby D. Packard, the father of our subject, was born July 22, 1816, on his father's farm in Mahoning County, Ohio, and when a young man learned the trade of milling. In 1838, at the age of twenty-two, he came to Iowa and took up a claim in Johnson County, and being the first settler ill HardinTownship, upon which he remained until he obtained Government title. He then went back to Ohio on foot, having been on his claim two years, made a visit, and then returned. When he first catne through from Ohio he rode a pony, and at Chicago he was offered forty acres of land now in the heart of the city. April 29, 1845, he married Nancy (Akins) Montgotnery, daughter of James and Martha Montgomery, born near Dublin, Ireland. Her father, one of the early settlers of Iowa from Pittsburg, Pennsylva- nia, died August 26, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Packard had nine children, eight of whom lived to maturity: Winfield S., Nancy A., Charlotte, Helen A., Ida, Amelia A. and Asby D. The father lived on his farm all his life, and died at the age of seventy-one years. He owned a fine farm of 425 acres in Johnson County, which is still in possession of the family. He laid out the town of Windham in the center of his farm. Mr. Packard served as Justice of the Peace for many years, and was an industrious and law- abiding citizen. The early pioneers of Iowa were men of strong constitutions and able to endure the hardships of pioneer life. They had strong minds as well as bodies, and were capable of self-government, every locality governing itself. Mr. Packard voted at forty elections, and took an active part in all affairs relating to local government. Built a water saw-mill in 1845, and in 1855 and '56 built a steam grist and saw mill, which was a great help to the early settlers. These mills were burnt down in 1864. Winfield S. Packard, the subject of this sketch, was born on the old homestead in Johnson County, Iowa, March 19, 1847, and gained the elements of his education in a log cabin, and also lived in a cabin constructed in the same manner. He early learned to work on the farm and in his father's saw and grist mill, and grew up with that best of aids to a sound constitution, a good character. He remained with his father until he was twenty-four years of age. In March, 1872, 5o8 BIOGllAPITICAL UISTORT he moved to Walnut and engajJied in tlie mer- cantile business, in which he continued until 1881, when he was burned out. He then traveled for a grocery house in Chicago, and then, in 1884, went into the real-estate and insurance business, which he has since con- tinued; he also owns a livery stable. Mr. Packard has been a member of the Council six years, Township Clerk six years, and Jus- tice of the Peace two years. Politically he is a Republican, and is a man who stands high for good, upright moral character, and is well known to the citizens of this part of the country. December 8, 1871, Mr. Packard was mar- ried to Miss Emily J. Myers, daughter of Peter and JSIancy (Watson) Myers. The father was an old settler of Iowa County, a native of Pennsylvania and of German de- scent. He moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio, where he was a Senator from Columbus. He was a substantial farmer, and the father of fifteen children: Mary, Elizabetli, Maria A., D. and Reside W., twins; William H., Caro- line M., Jennie, Mack, Columbia, Ella, Syl- vester, Samuel P., and one who died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Packard have been born three children; Ida M., deceased in infancy: Cordie M. and Grade F. ■ ;n; « SELIX N. LESLIE, a substantial fanner of Knox Township, was born in Alle- gheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1842, the son of Hugh Leslie, a native of the same State, and of Scotch-Irish descent. His great-grandfather came to America, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, after which he settled in Pennsylvania. Hugii Leslie married Rebecca Negley, a native of that State and of German descent. In 1871 our subject bought forty acres of land, a part of his present farm, to which he has i-ince added until he now owns 240 acres of line farm land. He is a Union- Labor man, and a member of the Farmers' Alliance. He was a soldier in the late civil war from Scott County, Iowa, in Company G, Twentieth Regiment Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and was in the battle of Prairie Grove, Ar- kansas; Vicksburg, siege of Ft. Morgan and Ft. Blakely, Alabama, and also in many skir- mishes. He served three years, and was honorably discharged at Mobile, Alabama. At the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. Mr. Leslie was in the Twentieth Iowa Infan- try, and marched from near Wilson's Creek (Springfield), Missouri, day and night, halt- ing only long enough to make coffee, for nearly three days, and without any halt went into the battle of I'rairie Grove, Arkansas. They traveled a distance of 112 miles. The regiment was composed of guard troops, which stood the shock of the charge as well as veterans. Mr. Leslie has been a hard-work- ing man, having made a good farm from wild prairie. He landed in this county without much means, and by perseverance and indus- try he has acquired a handsome property. He is a member of the U. S. Grant Post, Avoca, Iowa. He was married in Clinton County, Iowa, to Catherine A. McAllister, daughter of Peter and Jane McAllister, and to them have been born nine children: Frank H., Nora A., Maggie R., Hugh Edmund, Charles T., Joseph B., Jesse N., Daniel P. and Harry A. ■*o*- fi^'' * S i i 3 * ^ < * ♦<>« p\ENRy H. PETERSON, a prominent farmer of Knox Township, is troin an old American family of English de- scent, who were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. William Peterson, his grandfather. OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 559 was a pioneer in tiie State of Maine; the family originated in Nova Scotia. JVlr. Peter- eon was a soldier in tlie war of tlie devolu- tion, after which he settled near Portland. He was the father of eight children: Cor- nelius, William, Abraham, John, Joseph, Charles, Lucella, Samuel and one whose name is forgotten. The father was a farmer all his life and died in Maine. William Peterson, the father of our subject, was born in that State, and served as a private in the war of 1812. He was married to Martha Mjrick, daughter Andrew Myrick, a native of Maine, and an old Revolutionary soldier. To Mr. and Mrs. Peterson were born fourteen chil- dren, viz.; Patience, Ann, Lydia, Fannie, Rosanna, William, John, Samuel, Charles and Henry H., the remainder dying in in- fancy. The father was a farmer, but pre- viously a sailor, and for forty years sailed from Portland to points all over the world. When an old man he settled down on his farm, and lived to the age of seventy three years, dying in Indiana at the residence of one of his relatives. When fifty-six years of age he moved with his family to New York State and settled in Rochester, where he re- mained two years, and then went to Athens, Ohio, settling on a farm. While on the trip by schooner from Buffalo to Cleveland, Ohio, a great storm came up, and the crew refused duty, and Mr. Peterson, being a sailor, offered his services and secured the rigging, and thus saved the vessel. The family re- mained in Athens County, Ohio, about seven years, where Mrs. Peterson died at the age of sixty-three years. Henry H. Peterson, the subject of this sketch, was born on his father's farm near Portland, Maine, August 18, 1826, and was but five years of age when he went with his father to Rochester, New York, in 1831. He learned farm work in Ohio, and, like President Garfield, became a canal-boat driver on the Ohio and Erie canals. He then learned the tanner and currier's trade, which he followed about five years in Ohio and Indiana. In 1845 he came to Iowa and engaged in prairie-breaking in Warren Coun- ty, and in 1855 he settled in Knox Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, where he was among the early pioneers. Joseph Headly came the year previous, and Washington Le.win, who was the first actual settler, came three years before the Petersons. His daugh- ter was born the same night of his arrival, which was the first white child born in Knox Township. Jonathan Hall, Amos Wright, William Henderson, Halan Griflith, John Crutsinger, Thomas Davis and Ira Baker were all in the township previous to Mr. Peterson. Our subject settled at Lewin Grove on 120 acres of wild land, where he remained eleven years. He then sold this and bought his present farm of 265 acres. He is a true pioneer of this township, having helped to bring it to its present fertile con- dition, and was for four years Township Sui)ervisor, and was also School Director four years. He was married July 4, 1852, to Miss Fannie Wood, daughter of Carson and Mary (Taylor) Wood. The father went from North Carolina and Kentucky to Lawrence, Indiana,, and then moved to Montgomery County, same State. His father, John Woods, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. Mr. Woods came to Des Moines, Iowa, about 1842, before the Government made the Des Moines purchase from the Indians, settling in Wapello County, where he lived seven years. He next moved to Green County, and then started to go to Kansas, but was taken sick and died in Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Wood were members of the Free- Will Baptist Church, and were the par- 560 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY nets of twelve children, viz.: Pleasant, Fannie, Nancy, John, Barzella T., Mary, Lucinda, Almeda, Thomas J., James M., Carson and William. Mr. and Mrs. Peter- eon are the parents of six children who lived to maturity, namely: Fannie J., William C, Charles M., Mary C, Almeda A. and Min- nie. Faniiie J. married Wintield Scott, a farmer of Knox Township, and they have tive children: Avah M., Harry J., Arthur L., Grover C. and Ada. Charles M. married Gertie Adams, and tliey have one child, Harry L. Mary has heen a successful teacher. The name Peterson was originally spelled Patterson, but after the Revolution- ary war the members of tlie family petitioned the Goverment, and it was changed to Peter- son. Wiien Mrs. Peterson's grandmother, Fan- nie Johnson, was three years old, during the Revolution, the family were on their way to a fort when they were overtaken by a party of Tories, wlio, desiring to impress Mr. John- son into their service, took little Fannie upon a horse behind a ridor, in order to compel her father by filial ties to follow. In this manner they rode three days, sending liim on ahead to the house of an old farmer, with the intent to murder him; but the intended victim escaped and reached the fort in safety. — «■» I'l x « S i ' S * S" ' " lAPTAlN GEORGE F. C. SMART, one of the old soldier farmers of James Township, is the son of Caleb Smart, who was born in 1802 in New Hampshire. He was married in tiiat State to Clarissa B. Smith, and tiiey were the parents of live chil- dren: George, Helen, Morill, Mayette and Hiram. In 1835 the father moved to Michi- gan and settled on a farm in Kalamazoo County, where he was one of the pioneer set- tlers. He died in 1840 at the early age oi thirty-eight years. George F. C. Smart, our subject, was born in New Hampshire, July 18, 1883, and was but two years of age when his family moved to Michigan, and only seven years old when his father died. In the spring of 1852, at the age of twenty years, he went to Califor- nia, by way of New York city and tlie Isth- mus, and was engaged in gold-mining in the Indian diggings and Sonoma, and was also in the city of Sacramento, engaged in truck marketing. In 1857 he returned to Kane County, Illinois, where he engaged in fanning, and next he went to Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and engaged in rail- road work and also worked for the express companies. In August, 1862, he enlisted, when General Lee was invading Pennsyl- vania, in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, as a private; wasoppointed Orderly Sergeant, then promoted as Second Lieutenant, then First Lieutenant, and then Captain, for meritorious services and gallant conduct. His first battle was Antietam, and he was then in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chan- cellorsville and the Wilderness. He was cap- tured, and after twenty days paroled. He was at Libby Prison and was on duty at Annapolis, Maryland, until exchanged. Cap- tain Smart was detailed to distribute paroled prisoners to different points, and then went into winter quarters with his regiment on the Rapidan River, where be received his pro- motion as Captain. He was in all the battles from Chancellorsville to Petersburg. He was again taken prisoner, and was taken to Macon, Georgia, Charleston, and Columbus, South Carolina, where he remained impris- oned until nearly the close of the war. He then returned to Pennsylvania and was hon- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 561 orablj discharged at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, ill 1865. In that year lie was married to Lorretta McFarren, daughter of Josiah and Martha McFarren. Mrs. Smart had two brothers, Qiiincy and Julius, the tbrnier serving in the same regiment as her husband. To (3aptain and Mrs. Smart were born four children: Edward, Francis, Walter, and one who died in infancy. After marriage Captain Smart went to Hannibal, Missouri, where he was engaged in the livery business. When the Black Hill mining excitement broke out Captain Smart went there, and thence to Colorado, and returned to Pennsylvania after an absence of nine months. In 1878 he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and settled on a farm in James Township. He is a member of the G. A, R, No. 358, William Layton Post, Oakland, Iowa; and politically he is a Kepublican. The Captain has taken an interest in good schools in his community, and has been elected School Director. He has had a varied experience in life, and stands deservedly high as an honorable and strightforward citizen. When the country needed men he responded, was a good soldier, an efficient officer, and faithfully did his part, and enddnre imprison- mont with patience, and to such men we owe the preservation of this government. ►>t^ fH. McDonald, one of the enterpris- ing self-made men of Pottawattamie " County, Iowa, resides in section 14, Wright Township. He was born in Steuben County, New York, May 2, 1852, son of William and Savilla (Rising) McDonald, the history of whom will be fonnd on another page of this work. His mother died when he was only five years old. He was a robust lad of fourteen when his father moved to Bureau County, Illinois, where he grew to manhood on a farm, and was educated in the public schools. In 1875 he came to Iowa and located in Adams County, remaining there two years. At the expiration of that time he took up his abode in Pottawattamie County, and has since made this place his home. In March, 1881, he purchased his present farm of 160 acres, which was then wild prairie land, lly judicious management and much labor he has made it one of the best in the community. The first season he broke the soil, and in 1882 he built a house, 14x24 feet, one and a half stories, with a oue-story addition, 12 x 24 feet. He planted an orchard of two acres and a grove, which are now in a flourishing condition; built stables, cribs, eighty feet of sheds, and a granary, 14x20 feet. He has 150 feet of tight board fence which is six feet high. One hundred acres are being cultivated and the rest of the farm is devoted to stock purposes. At this writing Mr. McDonald has thirty head of cattle and 100 hogs. Two of the former are' registered thorough-bred Shorthorns. He also has some draft horses of a high grade. A modern three-horse- power wind-mill raises the water for house- hold use, and forces water tlu-ough pipes to the feed-lots. Mr. McDonald has an attach- ment by which he can make use of this power to grind grain for stock purposes. Everything on the premises is arranged with reference to convenience, all showing the enterprise of the owner. July 3, 1877, Mr. McDonald married Martha E. Tie, a lady of intelligence and re- finement, who has been a true helpmate to her worthy husband. She was born in Ra- cine County, Wisconsin, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Spriggs) Tie, now prominent and wealthy citizens of Wright Township, Pot- 502 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT tawattamie County. They were both born and reared in England. Mr. Tie is the present Township Trustee. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have five children: Jay Carroll, John II., Kay B., Ira Eltner and Lilly May. Their first-born, Willie, died at the age of three months. Politically Mr. McDonald is independent, casting his vote for whom he considers the best man for the office. f[AMES O. FRIZZELL, section 22, Center ! Township, is one of the intelligent, en- terprising and successful citizens of this part of Pottawattamie County. He came here in 18S2, and has since made this place his home. He was born in Bureau County, Illinois, March 23, 1853, the son of Michael and Charlotte (Dean) Frizzell, the former a native of Massachusetts and the latter of Connecti- cut. Mrs. Frizzell died in Bureau County, June 8, 1881, at tiie age of sixty-seven years. Mr. Frizzell died at Firth, Nebraska, April 23, 1887. The father was a farmer and a carpenter, and was among the early settlers on prairie land in Bureau County. In poli- tics he was a Republican. Both he and his wife were consistent members of the Chris- tiaTi Church and were active workers in the same. Mr. Frizzell was twice married. By his first wife he had two chililren, one of whom, A. L., now resides in this county. J. O. is the youngest child living of the three sons and four daughters born to him by his second marriage. Our subject was reared on his father's farm, and received his education in the public schools of his native county. Arriving at the age of manhood, he was married, in Bureau County, July 17, 1877, to Miss Emma Win- tors, a native of that place and a lady of intelligence and refinement. She is adauarh- ter of James and Catherine (Sheller) Winters, both of Pennsylvania. They came to Illinois at an early day, and were among the first set- tlers of Bureau County. They still reside there, near Arlington. In 1882 Mr. Frizzell came to this county, and bought 160 acres of land of C. C. Merri- man, who had improved the farm to some extent and had put up a small building on the place. Mr. Frizzell now owns 320 acres of land as good as Center Township affords. He has a comfortable home, suitable out- buildings and other farm improvements, and is engaged in general farming and stock-rais- ing. He intends making a specialty of thorough-bred Percheron horses, at present having two horses and two colts of that kind. Mr. and Mrs. Frizzell have three children: D. Leroy, Ethel May and James Garfield. Their third boi'u, Alzina Pearl, died at the age of ten months. In politics Mr. Frizzell is a Republican, and is the present Trustee of Center Town- ship He and his wife are both membsrs of the Methodist Church. — ^.. l - i .. ; . ^ . - ^ — kAIJL BEEZLEY has been a resident of this county since 1879. He was born in Shelby County, Ohio, March 24, 1839, the son of John and Elizabeth (Ells- worth) Beezley. His mother was a distant relative of Colonel Ellsworth, who was killed in Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Beezley reared a family of nine children, Paul being the youngest. Captain William Beezley, a prominent citizen of Macedonia, a sketch of whom appears in this work, is their first born. The subject of this sketch grew to man- hood on his father's farm in Ohio, and re- ceived a common-school education. March OF P02TAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 563 28, 1858, he was married, in his native county, to Miss Eleanor Lewis, a native of New Jersey, daugliter of Samuel and Cather- ine Lewis, also of New Jersey. The fruit of this union was two children: Elizabeth A., who died at the age of three years, and Will- iam, who is married, has one child and resides in Council Bluffs. The wife and mother, Eleanor Beezley, died May 10, 1866, in Slielby County, Ohio. October 12, 1861, is the date of Mr. Beezley's enlistment in Company F, Twen- tieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and he served until July 15, 1865. His regiment was in thirty-two battles, in the most of which he participated. Among them are the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Pea Ridge, Black Kiver Bridge, Jackson, Champion Hill, and in the engaa'ements around Vicks- burg until its surrender to General Grant, July 4, 1863. He was in a number of other important engagements; was with Sherman on his memorable march from Atlanta to the sea; and, finally, was with those who participated in the grand review at Washing- ton. He was honorably discharged at Louis- ville, Kentucky, after which he returned to his home in Shelby County, Ohio. Mr. Beezley was married, September 28, 1867, at that place, to Miss Jerusha Ann Simms, a native of Miami County, Ohio, daughter of C. K. Simms and Mary, his wife, both natives of New England. By his second marriage Mr. Beezley had five chil- dren, viz.: John, a resident of Pottawattamie County; Minnie, at home: Othello, also of this county; Mattie, a resident of Missouri; and Jesse, who died at the age of five years. Mrs. Beezley died August 30, 1878. No- vember 24, 1881, Mr. Beezley wedded his present wife, nee Miss Sophronia P^iekl, a lady of intelligence and refinement, who was born and reared in Pottawattamie County, daugh- ter of John and Sarah A. Field, of Wheel's Grove. By her he has three children: liudy R., Vernon L. and Melissie Valentine. Mr. Beezley made his home in Slielby County until 1868, when he moved to Logan County, Illinois. In 1876 he removed from there to Mills County, Iowa, and settled near Emerson. In 1879 he came to this county, and for two years lived near Macedonia. Then he came to his present farm, and has since made his home here. He owns eighty acres of well improved land, but his farming operations are not limited to this, as he also cultivates other lands. He keeps a large number of cattle and is very successful with his stock. Jordan Creek flows through his farm and affords a constant supply of water for stock purposes. In his political views Mr. Beezley is a Republican. He is a member of William Layton Post at Oakland, and is also asso- ciated with the Masonic fraternity, having been made a Mason in Miami County, Ohio. He afterward joined at Emerson, and is now a member of Ruby Lodge. Mrs. Beezley is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. fOHN CLARK, occupying 300 acres of land on section 18, Garner Township (No. 75, range 43), is one of the well- known influential pioneers of the county, coming here in May, 1853. He was born at Ansty, Leicestershire, England, October 29, 1821, the second son of James and Rachel (Goodman) Clark, natives of the same shire. The parents were married in the house in which he (the father) was iiorii, and there they resided all their days. Tlie dwelling was built by Mr. Clark, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch. As he grew up, Mr. Clark, our subject, 564 BIOGRAPHICAL HI STOUT became a mechanic and also learned the shoe- maker's trade, which he followed for many years. He was married in the city of Leices- ter, England, July 7, 1845, to Rachel Smart, who was born in that city, April 2, 1827, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Baylis) Smart. Her parents lived tliere at the time of the above marriage, but eventually, with most of their children, moved to Bar- rowden, Rutlandshire, and thence to Baltons- burg, Somersetshire, where Mr. Smart en- gaged in fancy dyeing, and resided until death. A number of years afterward Mrs. Smart, with all her children excepting one, emigrated to the United States, settling in Utah, and three weeks afterward Mrs. Smart died, as a result of the fatigue of the journey. In January, 1851, Mr. Clark, with his wife and two children, sailed from Liverpool to Mew Orleans, arriving there after a nine weeks' voyage. In two or three weeks he, witii his family, went up to St. Louis, but returned to New Orleans to pass the follow- ing winter. In the spring of 1852 he went a^ain to St. Louis and began work at his trade. In the spring of 1853 he moved with his family to Keokuk, and then across the State of Iowa, by ox team, having to ford many rivers and other streams, sometimes carrying his family, one at a time, upon his back across the streams. Coming to Potta- wattamie County, he engaged in shoemaking in Council Bluffs. In 1867 he bought his present farm, which had been in cultivation some time, but had no permanent improve- ments; there were only the log cabin and a rail fence. Here Mr. Clark has judiciously expended a vast amount of labor and money, with the result of making a fine residence and a splendid farm. The dwelling, built in Janui.ry, 1874, cost $2,000. Mr. Clark has served as Justice of the Peace for several terras, with credit to him- self and satisfaction to the public. He is a Democrat, although formerly a Republican, voting for Lincoln for his first term. He has had seven children, of whom five are living, namely: Alam; Joseph, who was born in England, is married, has one child, and lives near his father; Rachel Elizabeth, wife of S. A. Winchester, living on section 18, Garner Township, and has four children: she also was born in England; John Thomas, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, lives in Mills County, near Henderson, Iowa, is mar- ried and has one child, a son; Henrietta, wife of William Wright, lives in Boomer Town- ship and has one son and three daughters; Henry James, who is married and lives near his father, on section 18. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have lost two children by death: their third child, a babe, died in New Orleans when live days old; and Hezekiah Baylis, the youngest, died when three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Clark made a visit to their native country in December, 1881, returning the following May, being only thirteen days on the way from Liverpool to Council Bluffs. 3^ gf HEODORE GUITTAR, United States Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, December 20, 1842. He attended the common sciiools of that city until twelve years of age, when, in 1855, his parents removed to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and consequently Mr. Guittar is one of the early settlers of this place. He is of French de- scent, his ancestors having come from that country to Canada, settling near Qnebec. His grandfather, Vansaw Guittar, was born in France, but subsequently came to Canada and encraged in farming. He was married in the lattercountry,and soon afterward I'emoveJ OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 565 to St. Louis, where ail his children, four sons and one daughter, were born. One son, Francis, the father of onr subject, when twelve years of age engaged on a boat for the American Fur Company a short time, and afterward became an agent for the same com- pany, remaining in their employ until 1840. In that year he engaged in the same business on his own account as an Indian trader. In 1852 he opened a store of general merchan- dise at Council Bluifs, continuing the same until 1878, when he retired, and still resides in Council Bluffs at the ripe old age of eighty-one years. He was in this city as early as 1825, when it was an Indian camp- ing ground; it afterwards became an Indian trading post. He traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the Yellowstone in keel-boats. Mr. Guittar was married in St. Louis, Mis- souri, in 1841, to Miss Eugenia Bono, who was born July 8, 1824, and is still living. They have three sons: Theodore, Francis, Jr., and Frederick. Francis and Frederick are engaged in farming, and reside in St. Louis County, Missouri, near St. Louis. Theodore, our subject, attended school and also clerked in his father's store until A'lgust 11, 1862, when he enlisted in the Second Iowa Battery, Light Artillery; though not twenty years old and remained in the service until the close of the war. He was in the siege of Vicksbnrg, Nashville, Tennessee; Tupelo, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi; and was in both battle and siege of Raymond, Hurricane Creek, Old Town Creek, O.xford, Black River Bridge, and others. At the close of the war Mr. Guittar returned to Council Bluffs, and remained as clerk in his father's store until 1870. He then purchased a farm two miles east of this city, where he engaged in farming and fruit-raising. He remained on this farm live years, and then settled in Council Bluffs. In January, 1875, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, served two years, and was then elected Constable of this city. He held this office one term, and was re- elected; but after serving half of his second term, was elected County Sheriif in 1881, and re-elected in 1883. At the expiration of his second term, in January, 1886, he engaged in the real-estate business, purchasing and renting houses of his own. April 1, 1890, he was appointed by Lewis Weinstine De- puty Collector for the Fourth District of Iowa. December 20, 1869, Mr. Guittar was uni- ted in marriage in this city to Miss Eliza- beth Beecraft, a native of England, and the daughter of Henry Beecraft, who resides in Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Guittar have one daughter, Eugenia I., born December 17, 1873. Mrs. Guittar is a member of the Bap- tist Church, and Mr. Guittar is a member of the I. O. O. F., Council Bluffs Lodge, No. 49, and also of Abe Lincoln Post, No. 29, of Iowa, and is a Republican politically. He is one of our representative citizen and business men, and enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him. fRANCIS GUITTAR, a retired mer- chant of Council Bluffs, is the oldest settler of Pottawattamie County, if not the oldest in Western Iowa. He came here in 1825, as an agent tor the American Fur Com- pany, when not quite sixteen years of age. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, Septem- ber 25, 1809, the son of Vansaw and Mary (Ai-pah) Guittar, who were both born in St. Louis, Missouri. The father was a son of Paul Guittar, a native of Canada, but of French parentage. At the age of fifteen years our subject en- tered the employ of the American Fur Com- 566 BIVORAPHIOAL BISTORT pany, and remained in their employ as agent until 1850, when he engaged in that business for himself. He also had a general store in Council Bluffs, on tke corner of Broadway and Main streets. It was a log house built by the Mormons, for which Mr. Giiittar gave $250, and afterward sold the same to J udge James, of Council Bluffs, and M. Tootle, of St. Joseph and othern, and in 1878 retired from business. His experience has been more than that of many men, and could fur- nish material fur an interesting book. In company with the Pawnee Indians, he fought the Sioux, although he was friendly with the latter, and at one time was shot in battle. Mr. Guittar has four children living. He is a Democrat politically, and is one of the old landmarks of this county whom every one is glad to meet. jLFRED E. KINCAID, a member of the hardware firm of Lodge & Kincaid, is one of the prominent business men of Walnut. He was born at Farmersville, Lee County, Ontario, August 29, 1852. His father, John Kincaid, was a Scotchman, born September 7, 1810, and came to Ontario and settled in Brockville. He was a tanner by trade atid became a prosperous man. He married Lodevia Wilsie, December 18, 1889, daughter of Comfort M. Wilsie, a Canadian, but of American descent. Mr. and Mrs. Xincaid had ten children: Albert A., born March 22, 1840, deceased at twelve years of age; Esther E., born March 5, 1842; William W., March 2, 1845; Nancy C, June 29, 1852; Charles H., June 5, 1855, deceased; Eva C, April 2, 1858; Helen M., September 14, 1860; Addie J., September 2, 1864. Mr. Kincaid lived to the age of seventy-six years, and died in February, 1888. He was a man who had the respect of his fellow citizens, was Reeve for several years, a prominent Mason, and a soldier in the patriot war on the side of the government. He was a man of strong constitution and sterling character and well known for his integrity. He was at one time a prominent and influential man. Alfred E. Kincaid, our subject, is from sturdy Scotch and American stock, possessing an independent character, which stands him in good stead, as his father met with finan- cial reverses, and he at the age of thirteen began to learn the tinner's trade at Farmers- ville, Ontario, working at it two years. Then he went to West Winchester, Ontario, and worked for two years, and in the spring of 1871 went to Chicago and worked at his trade there. October 10, same year, the most disastrous conflagration that the world has ever seen broke out and Mr. Kincaid saw the great spectacle, — the burning of Chicago. Directly after the fire Mr. Kincaid came to Atlantic, Iowa, and worked there for J. C. Yetzer, and after a short time came to Anita, Iowa, where he remained nine years; and while there he went to Michigan and married Miss Lillie V. Snell, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Skinner) Snell. They were Michi- gan people, of American ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid have been born five chil- dren: Gertrude B., Grace C, Carrie A., Lillie J. and one who died an infant. After marriage Mr. Kincaid resided at Kalamazoo, Michigan, two years, and in 1883 came to Walnut, Iowa, forming a partnership with Oscar F. Lodge, and has continued in this business. Socially Mr. Kincaid is a meini)erof Moriah Lodge, No. 327, I. O.O.F., at Walnut, in which order he has filled all the offices: he is now treasurer of this lodge. In politics he is a Republican. He has the con- fidence of his fellow townsmen, and has been a member of the Council for one full term. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 567 and has recently been re-elected. He owns real estate in Walnut and a good home, and is a man well known fur his honorable methods of dealino; and substantial character. !ILL1AM SIEDENTOPF, a promi- nent real-estate dealer of Council BlnSs, was born in Hanover, Ger- many, in 1846, and came direct to this city in 186.5, where he has since resided. He came by stage-coach, prior to the advent of the railroad. He has witnessed the " ups and downs" of the city of his adoption dur- ing the last quarter of a century, and has been closely identified with every move for its prosperity. His unlimited faith in the future of Council Bluffs and Pottawattamie County, is best evinced by his large holdings of real estate, and he is also one of the largest tax-payers in the county. Up to 1879 he was actively identified with the banking busiu'iss of this city, and is now a director of the First National Bank. A term of three years as School Director and four \'ears as Alderman, comprise his service in official life. While a member of the School Board, Mr. Siedentopf was a firm advocate of the introduction of phonetic spelling and the re- organization of the high school, and strongly supported Professors Alexander Gow and W. H. Hatch, overcoming vigorous opposition in and out of the board. As a member of the City Council, the city finances received his careful study and attention, and to this day his counsel is frequently sought on that (piestion. During his term of office (1882- '86), commenciiig with the operation of the present charter, the various improvements of paving, grading and sewering were inaugu- rated, and a new era in the prosperity of Coun- cil Bluffs may well bo dated from that period. 41 In 1870 Mr. Siedentopf and Miss Mary Burhop, also of this city, were united in mar- riage, and of their three children, two sur- vive: William F., aged nineteen, and Ella, fourteen. For several years past Mr. Sied- entopf has devoted almost his whole time to his large real-estate interests. -— l*^s-|— - ILLIAM BEYEE, a substantial farmer near Walnut, Iowa, was born , in Schleswig, Germany, in 1851. Ills father, Madir'on Beyer, was a farmer and land-owner. He was married to Annie Ram- burg, and to them were born five children; Hans, William, John, Julian and Charley. Julin was the only son, besides our subject, who came to America; he lived on a farm north of Walnut. Tlie father is still living in Germany, and both he and his wife are members of the German Church. He was a sailor and captain when a young man. William our subject, became a sailor when he was sixteen years of age, but he fol- lowed the sea only five years. He came to America in 1872, settling in Scott County, where he lived two years. In 1874 he came to Pottawattamie County, where he pur- chased 160 acres of land in company with his brother Julien. By hard work Mr. Beyer has added to his land until he now owns nearly 200 acres, all of which is in a good state of cultivation. In 1876 he married Caroline Coffman, dauo-hter of Charles Coffman, and to them have been born five children: John, deceased in infancy; Charles, also deceased in infancy; William, August and Amanda. Both Mr. and Mrs. Beyer are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. Beyer has held the office of Road Supervisor, is a thorough farmer, and an honest and upright man. He is doing his 568 BIVORAPHIGAL HISTORY share to build up the great State of Iowa, to which the German element has been an honor and a substantial aid. ■■I ii?.]i iT.'yif. M . ;^fi|^M^ E. HA RLE, proprietor and mana- WWmx. ger of the Livery, Sale, Breaking ^^^^ and Training Stable, 17 and 19 North Second street. Council Bluffs, estab- lished in 1887, carries a stock of good horses, carriages, etc., devoting the most of his atten- tion to the breaking and training of horses, especially track horses, and has to his credit that he has broken, trained and driven two of the fastest pacinoj horses ever bred and raised in Pottawattamie County, namely: Mattie Harle and Warren Daily. He was born at Mt. Vernon, Kno.x County, Ohio, June 10, 1848, the son of Trammill and Elizabeth (Willson) Harle, natives of Virginia, and possibly of Irish and Scotch ancestry. On coming to Council Bluffs, in 1869, he earned his first money, with which he purchased two colts, and continued to do whatever he could find the first year; then followed farming thres years and then en- gaged in the horse business, which he has ever since followed, excepting three years spent in Colorado, mining and prospecting. In 1872 he commenced in the livery business at his present stand; and then moved to Fierce street, where he operated eight years; and next for over a year he was proprietor of the Ogdeu Broadway, one of the leading liv- ery stables west of Chicago, and finally back to the place he now occupies. Mr. Harle is a Republican in his political principles. He married Miss Elizabeth Harle, who also was born in Knox County, Ohio, but reared in Council Bluffs. They have two children: Gracie and Mattie. Mr. Harle's father was a contractor for building while in Ohio, i)ut in this county he was engaged in dairying and stock-raising. He died in De- cember, 1885, at the age of seventy-nine years and eleven months; his wife died in Ohio, the mother of M. E. Harle. ;.- s " s - di- EORGE W. HAMILTON, one of the enterprising and well-known citizens of Washington Township, and an ex- soldier of the late war, was born in Fulton County, Illinois, February 6, 1846, a son of John and Barbara Hamilton, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsyl- vania, the daughter of Jacob Rist. The parents resided for a time in Wisconsin, in which State the father died when George was a babe, leaving a widow and one child, our subject. The mother died when George was twelve years old, and he was reared by his grandfather, Jacob Rist, on a farm in Fulton County, Illinois. During the great Rebellion, at the time of Lincoln's call for 600,000 more men, our sub- ject enlisted, August 9, 1862, at Princeville, Peoria County, Illinois, in the Eighty-sixth Illinois Infantry, Volunteer Company K, under Colonel Irons, who went out with the regiment, but after his death Colonel David McKee took command for a time. He re- signed and then Colonel Farnstock had com- mand; the Captain of the company was John French. George W. was out about three years, and was first under fire at Perryville, Kentucky, and later at Stone River, Chicka- mauga. Missionary Ridge and at the two battles of Buzzard's Roost. He was in the great charge at Kesaca. where he was wounded June 30, 1864, in the head. His skull was cracked and shattered in several places, and the officials thought lie was mortally wounded. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 569 He was confined in the tield hospital one week; was then removed to Chattanooga Hos- pital, wliere he was confined for another week; was then removed to Nashville for one week, and then to Louisville, Kentucky. He was at that city and Springfield until the second of November, when he was removed to Qiiincy, Illinois, wiiere he was confined until April 21, 1865. He was then taken to New York city for a sliort time; was next taken toMorehead, North Carolina, where lie remained three daya; and finally removed to Alexander, Virginia, where he remained un- til his discharge, June 27, 1865, and he then returned to Fulton County Illinois, where he resided one year. Then he went to McDon- ough County, Illinois, where he remained but a short time, an f then went to Hender- son County, where he lived fifteen years, en- gaged in farming. He came to Pottawatta- mie County in 1882, and settled on the sec- tion where he now resides. Mr. Hamilton now owns 160 acres of good land all in one bodv. He was married in Fulton County, Illi- nois, in 1866, to Mary Overman, a daughter of Charles and Evelitie (Montgomery) Over- man. By this marriage tiiere were four chil- dren, of whom only one is now living — Anna Mrs. Hamilton died in July, 1884, and Mr. Hamilton was married again September 28, 1888, to Mrs. Mary Taylor, a widow, whose first husband was a Mr.Hecker. She was a daughter of James A. Taylor, one of the well-known early pioneers of Pottawatamie County. Mrs. Hamilton was reared and educated in this neighborhood. By hei- first marriage she had five children: James, Ettie, Lily, Pleas- ant and Charley. Mr. Hamilton is an inde- pendent politically, and is a member of the G. A. R., Robert Provard Post, No. 414, in whicli he is a charter member. He is one of the well-known representative citizens of this township. Mrs. Hamilton is a member of the Evangelical Church. R. J. M. WYLAND, the only physi- cian and druggist of Minden, was born in Harlan, Iowa, February 24, 1858, the son of Isaac P. Wyland, who was a pio- neer of this State, having settled at New- town, near Avoca, in 1860. He was born in Elkhart County, Indiana, August 26, 1832, in the town of Wyland, which was named in honor of his father, Jonatiiaii Wyland, who was born in 1797, in Bedford County, Penn- sylvania, moved first to Greene County, Ohio, and then to Indiana. He came to America when a young man, settling in Elkhart County, where he built a grist-tnill and woolen factory, and also a dam across the Elkhart River, and was in short the founder of Wyland. He was married to Miss Cath- erine Plum, by whom he had two sons: Jonathan and Washington. This wife died and he was again married in Ohio, to a Miss Elizabeth Vanarsdoll, and by this marriage there were eleven children, viz.: Catherine, Rachel, William, Isaac, Jasper, David, Jef- ferson, Elizabeth, Mary Barbara, Christian and Lawrence, all of whom lived to tnaturity. Jasper died in the service of his country' in the late war, in an Iowa regiment; Jonathan died at his home, at the age of fifty-eigiit years, of pneumonia, contracted by exposure. The father was a stanch Democrat politically, and religiously was a German Baptist or Dunkard. The Dunkards were among the most thrifty and peccable people who sought a home in America from the oppression of older countries. Isaac P. Wyland, a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born in Wyland, Indiana, received a common-school 570 BIOaRAPHICAL BI8T0RT education, and was brought up a Dunkard, but afterward changed his religion to the " Christian " belief. He was a miller by trade, and was married in Elkhart, Indiana, to Julia A. Miltenberger, of Germati de- scent, and daughter of Henry Miltenberger, who came from Pennsylvania to Elkhart County. Mr. and Mrs. Wyland have had six children: William W., Omar P., Jonathan M., Seth L., Mary H. and Asa A. The father moved to Iowa in the spring of 1856, settling in Shelby County, near Harlan, which was then a wilderness. In 1860 he settled in Newton, Pottawattamie County, where he built a grist-mill, and one and a half years later settled near his old farm east of Harlan, where he lived until 1884. In that year he went to Dakota, settling on a farm in Hand County, where he still resides. He is a Democrat in his political opinions, and has served as Sheriff of Shelby County, in 1862, and Postmaster of Jackson Town- ship, Shelby County. He has always been a hard-working, industrious, honorable and substantial citizen, and will be remembered by the old settlers of Shelby County. Dr. J. M. Wyland, his son and the subject of this sketch, received a good education at the high school of Harlan, and also studied medicine at Iowa City, where he graduated in 1884. His preceptor was Dr. E. A. Cobb, of Harlan, with whom he remained three years. Leaving this able instructor in the spring of 1884, the Doctor came to Miiiden, where he immediately bought the drug store of Kervill & Schaff, and has since had a large trade as well as a good practice Socially he is a Mason, and also a member of the Knights of Pythias. In his political opinions he is a Democrat, and has also taken an active interest in the schools of his county, being a member of the School Board. He has the confidence of all the people, and was recently elected a member of the Town Coun- cil. In the spring of 1886 Mr. Wyland was married to Amelia Schumaker, daughter of Henry Schumaker, a native of Germany, but now of Moline, Illinois. He is the father of two children: Henry and Amelia. The Doc- tor's brother, Asa 0., is also a physician, and is now engaged in practice at Underwood, this county. Dr. Wyland is a man of high character, and his success as a physician at- tests his skill and knowledge of medicine. He is yet a young man, and the succeeding years should add honor and dignity to a life well begun. A. CUE, section 3, Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, is an old set- ^ tier and popular citizen of this neigh- borhood, having been identified with its best interests for the past thirty years. He was born in Muscatine County, Iowa, March 4, 1852, son of Samuel Coe, who for many years was a prominent citizen of Montgom- ery County, Iowa. He settled therein April, 1853, and twenty years later, in 1873, re- moved to Jewell County, Kansas, where he still resides and, at this writing, is seventy- eight years of age. He was born in Brown County, Ohio, the son of a Revolutionary soldier, John Coe, also a native of Ohio, of Irish ancestry. Samuel Coe was married in Indiana to Huth Becknell, who was born in that State, near Albany. Her father, Will- iam Becknell, was born in Ohio and was of German origin. Some time after mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Coe removed to Mus- catine County, Iowa, and settled near Davenport. In the fall of 1852 they went to Lewis, Cass County, and soon afterward moved to Montgomery County, where as OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 571 above stated Mr. Coe lived many years. His wife died when her son, D. A., the subject of this sketch, was fifteen years old. The father is a Democrat and has served in most of the township offices where he has lived. He is a believer in, universal salvation. The tive children born to this worthy conple are: D. A., William, a resident of Lancaster, Jewell County, Nebraska; James B., who lives in Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County; S. E., also of Waveland Township; and El- vira Elizabeth, wife of William Wilds, a conductor on the railroad, lives in Stuart, Guthrie County, Iowa. The subject of our sketch was reared in Montgomery Conuty, and the first school he ever entered was in a log cabin with slab seats in Waveland Township. He lived at home until nineteen years old, when he en- gaged in the hotel business at Avoca, remain- ing thus employed for three years. Then he spent one year in Jewell County, Kansas, after which he returned to Iowa and worked as an overseer on a farm for John Jones, near Avoca. His next enterprise was to rent land south of Griswold, in Cass County, Iowa, which he cultivated four years. In 1880 he bought 120 acres of land in section 23, Wavelcnd Township, Pottawattamie County, forty acres of which were broken. He built a house on the land, and two years later sold the property. Then he bought 100 acres of land in section 4, all of which had been plowed. He put up a house and other build- ings on this place and after remaining there live years sold it. Mr. Coe bought his pres- ent farm of Thomas McCuUa. It consists of 125 acres, and had been improved by James Pierce, who owned it before Mr. McCuUa. On this farm is a good frame house, 14 x 22 feet, with an L, 12 x 14 feet. It is pleasantly situated and is surrounded by a srove and orchard of one acre. Other improvements on the place are a barn, sheds, yards, feed lots and a wind-mill. Mr. Coe's attention is divided between stock- raising and cultivating the soil. He was married, May 16, 1873, at Avoca, Iowa, to Flora A. Winsby, a native of Nova Scotia and a daughter of Robert C. Winsby, who was born in Nova Scotia of English an- cestry. Her mother, nee Ruby A. Griffin, was also a native of Nova Scotia. Mr. Winsby is now a resident of Avoca. Mr. and Mrs. Coe have seven children, viz.: Rob- ert Guy, Mark P., Clarence G, Clara E., El- mer A., Eddie E. and Roy A. Mr. Coe is one of the leading Democrats of this neigh- borhood. For the past six years he has been a Justice of the Peace. He is in the full vigor of manhood, is genial and affable, and is regarded as one of the most popular citi- zens of Waveland Township. Mrs. Coe is a member of the Christian Church. C. STRONG has been a resident of Pottawattamie County since 1864 and * is one of the well-to-do farmers and worthy citizens of Center Township. He was born in Ohio, October 13, 1837. His father, James M. Strong, was born in New England, and was a babe when his par- ents moved to Ohio. In that State he grew to manhood, and was married, in Meigs County, to Miss Melissa Barker, who was born in 1816. When their son C. S., the subject of this sketch, was nine years old they came to Iowa and settled in Jefferson County, coming via the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Keokuk, and from there by teams to Jefferson County. There the son attended school in a log cabin and worked on a farm, remaining with his father until he reached his majority. At the age of twenty-one he BWGRAPUICAL HISTORY was united in marriage with Lucy Clover, a lady of iatellicreNce who has proved lierselt' a lielpinate to her husband tlius far ou life's ourney. She was born near Deertield, Ohio, and was ten years old when she came to Jef- lersoti County, Ljwa, with her parents, Jaiues and Emily (Sniillen) Clover. In 1864, as already stated at the beginning of this sketch, Mr. Strong came to Pottawat- tamie County. His parents, who came here at the same time, lived on a farm until 1889, when they moved to Oakland, where they are passing their declining days in peace and Comfort. The father is now seventy-eight years of age. Mr. Strong was among the pioneers of this county, the land on which he settled being wild and unimproved. He now owns a fine farm of 260 acres; has com- fortable and substantial buildings and good fences, broad pastures and well cultivated fields and two groves. He also has a fine orchard from which, in 1889, he gathered 1,200 buhsels of fruit. He raises annually large numbers of cattle and hogs. Mr. and Mrs. Strong have five children, namely: Alice Converse, who for years has been a successful teacher in California, and is now in Oakland, this county, and has one son, Thomas, who married Addie Butler, a daughter of William B. Butler, of this township, and has one child; William Fred, a student at Simpson's College, Indianola, Iowa; James Clover and Charlie Cook, at home. They lost two children by death: Florence Belle, February 17, 1883, at the age of twenty-one years and fifteen days; and Mary Catherine, at the age of six months. Florence Belle was a general favorite with her associates, and was known far and wide for her Christian virtues, her amiable qualities and her cheerful and affec- tionate disposition. She was gifted with musical talent, and rendered valuable serv- ices to the choir of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she was a consistent mem- ber. She was an affectionate daughter and sister, and her uiUimely death cast a gloom not only over the home circle but also over all those who knew her during hej brief but useful life. Mr. Strong and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Hancock Circuit, and their son, William, is also a zealous worker in the cause of religion. Po- litically Mr. Strong is a Republican. He has served the public in several township offices. llAPtLES S. ROBINSON is one of the prominent and influential citizens of Center Township, Pottawattamie Coun- ty, Iowa. He is one of the brave pioneers who came here in 1853 when everything was new and wild, and is justly deserving of honorable mention in work of this character. A history of his life will be found of interest to many. Mr. Robinson was born in Fountain Coun- ty, .Indiana, March 2, 1828. His father and grandfather, Joel and Jeremiah Robinson, were natives of North Carolina. Joel Robin- son was reared in his native State, and there married Jane Daily, who was born in North Carolina, the daughter of Charles Daily, who was of Irish extraction and also a native of that State. He and his wife went to Indiana in 1825, where they lived for many years. The following children were born to them: John now a resident of Perryville, Indiana; Marion, in Davis County, Iowa; Erastus, Appanoose, Iowa; Sabra Ann, wife of Thomas Foster, Appanoose County; and Charles S., the subject of this sketch. His youth was spent on his fathers farm in Indiana, and his education was obtained in the typical log OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 573 school-liouse of the period, wliicli was fitted up with slab seats. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson rennoved to Appanoose County, Iowa, in 1851, wliere tliey lived until death. The father was born in 1797, and died in 1877. He was formerly a Democrat but later in life cast his vote and intlnence with the Re- publican party. Both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church. She died at the age of eighty-four years. When their son, Charles S., was twenty- one years old he left his native State, came to Iowa, and settled in Appanoose County, where he was engaged in farming for three years. In 1853 he came to Pottawattamie County, as already stated at the beginning of this article, and lirst settled in Council Bluffs. There he teamed and farmed for a time, after which, in 1855, he moved to Wheel's Grove, where he spent one season. In 1856 he located on his present farm, being one of the first settlers in the neighborhood. There were a few families about Big Grove; but nortii, cast and south of him stretched the wild prairie. It was ten miles to the first house east on Walnut Creek. The situation was enough to discourage a man not possessed with pluck and courage, but Mr. Robinson had in his make-up both of these elements combined with energy and perseverance: and the inconveniences of the new country only served as a stimulus to help develop the wild land that lie before him, and built for him- self and family a home. His first winter was passed in a shanty covered with sod, but be- fore the frosts of another winter came they were j-nngly living in anew log house, where he and his good wife dispensed hospitality with a liberal hand to all those who sought shelter in their humble home. Stranger and friend were entertained in true pioneer style. On this farm of 248 acres Mr. Robinson has lived for thirty-four years. The log house, however, has given jplace to a substantial and modern frame one, which is surrounded with shade trees and an orchard of two or three acres. The farm has other icood buildings, is well fenced, and is devoted to general farm - ing and stock-raising. Mr. Robinson was married, November 25, 1849, to Miss Mary D. Rogers, a lady pos- sessed of all the virtues and accomplishments that make a pioneer successful. She was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, a daughter of Clement and Rachel (White) Rogers, both natives of Delaware. When Mrs. Robinson was a girl her parents moved to Indiana, where they spent the residue of their lives. They were members of the Methodist Church, and were honored and respected citi- zens. Of their family of three children, two sons are deceased, Mrs. Robinson being the only survivor. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have had ten children, as follows: William, a res- ident of Wisconsin; Frank is married, has one child, and lives in Belknap Township, Pottawattamie County; Anna has been a suc- cessful teacher in California for seven years; Susan, wife of John Means, of Rice County, Kansas; Charles Freeland, Ira Joel, Sydney Grant — all at home; S. Jessie, a popular teacher; and Fred Elmer, at home. Their second child died at the age of nine months. All of them were born in Pottawattamie County, exce|)t William, who was born in Wapello County, Iowa. Mr. Robinson has given his children the advantages of a good education, and fitted them for honorable posi- tions in life. The daughters have all been teachers. Politically Mr. Robinson is a Republican. He has served in all the township offices. Two terms he was Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. lodo-e, of Oak- land, No. 442. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Oakland. r)74 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Mr. Robinson is sixty-two years old, yet lie bears his age lightly. He is a man well in- formed on all general topics, and is broad and progressive in his views. He is frank and cordial in his manner, and is honorable in all his business dealings. let »| V » ^ t | ^ ». j |» »o* . tANIEL A. BURCKHALTER, one of the older soldier fanners of Pottawatta- mie County, was born in Boone Coun- ty, Indiana, September 22, 1840. His great- grandfather, Adam Burckhalter, was of Ger- man descent. His son, Abraham, the grand- father of our subject, was born in South Caro- lina, and at an early day moved to Ohio on pack horses, and again moved to Union County, Indiana, where he lived several years. He next went to Boone County, where he died, on his farm, at the age of eighty years. He was a member of the Baptist Church, an honorable and upright citizen, and a man re- spected by all. His wife survived until 1888, dying at the advanced age of 104 years and two days. He was the father of ten children, viz.: Carson, Fannie, Margaret, Rebecca, Jerry, Sarah, Joseph, Thomas, James S., and one who died young. James S., a son of the above and the father of our subject, was born in Union County, Indiana, March 22, 1818, and was reared to farm life. He was married to Leah Belles, daughter of John W. and Mary (Huff) Belles. The father was a native of New Jersey, and moved to Hamilton County, Ohio, where he worked at his trade of carpenter. He was the son of Adam Belles, who was a native of Germany. John Belles moved to Boone County, Indiana, in 1863, and built a mill on Prairie Creek, but died two years afterward, at the age of sixty-three. He was an industrious and honorable man, and was the father of ten children: Annie, Elisha, Isaac, Leah, Will- iam, Jacob and Peter. To Mr. and Mrs. James S. Burckhalter were born eight chil- dren: Eliza J., Daniel A., Cynthia A., John M., Thomas W., Abigail C. and Laura A. After marriage his father lived on a farm in Boone County for seventeen years, and then moved to Marion County, Iowa, in 1854, where he lived until 1862, and where he was one of the early settlers. He enlisted in Company H, Fortieth Iowa Regiment Vol- unteer Infantry, but was taken sick and died one year afterward, from chronic diarrhea. He died on the steamboat at St. Louis. He was a good, substantial farmer, and although over forty-five years of age his patriotism would not allow him to remain at home, and he left his family and a comfortable home to lose his life for his country. His brother, Carson Burckhalter, was also in the same regiment, and was sixty years of age when he enlisted, and like his brother was a well-to- do farmer, but could not remain idle when his country needed him. James Burckhalter and his wife were devout members of the Christian Church. Politically he was a Re- publican, and socially a Master Mason. He was a man of high character, true and stead- fast, a kind father and loving husband, and a patriot who did not hesitate to risk his life for his country, which is all that any one can do. Daniel A. Burckhalter, the subject of this sketch, enlisted in Company K, Third Iowa Cavalry, Colonel Bussey, at the early age of twenty -one years. He was in several skir- mishes, served in Missouri and Arkansas, and was in the siege of Yicksburg. The service in Missouri was principally against General Price and the bushwhackers, which was very dangerous, as the troops were very often fired upon from the bush. He was in a hard fight at Saline River, after which he was sent OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 575 to Fine Bluff with the ambulance corps, and was captured by the Confederates under Cap tain Webb, but escaped within one hour. He served three years, and was honorably dis- char., born March 81, 1885. jNDREW ANDERSON, of sections 24 and 25, Macedonia Township, is one of the. enteiprising and successful citizens of this county, and one of the first of his countrymen to settle in the eastern part of the county. He, like many of Iowa's suc- cessful and enterprising citizens, is a native of Sweden, born January 15, 1844, the son of Andrew and Bianda Anderson. Andrew was reared in his native country until twenty- two years of age. He attended school until fifteen years of age, receiving a good educa- tion. He was two years in the Swedish army. At the end of that time he worked at farm work, which avocation he followed un- til he came to America. In 1869 he sailed from Gnttenburg, Sweden, to Hull, Eng- land, and from there overland to Liver- pool, and then by steamer and sail vessel to New York. He then went to Chicago, Illi- nois, where he remained a short time, and then went to Junction City, Kansas, where he stayed but two days, as the grasshoppers were too plentiful in that region. He then went to Council Bluffs, where he obtained work on the Rock Island Rail road, which was then being built into that place. Here he worked during the fall and winter, and in 1870 he went on a farm in Mills County, where he resided four years, and for two or three years worked in different places. The first land he bought was forty acres in sec- tion 36, Macedonia Township, which he bought on speculation and sold. He then bought another eighty acres on section 14, which he again sold. He bought eighty acres of land where he nuw lives in 1878-'79, and has since added to it until he now has 149 acres, well improved. Mr. Anderson was married, in September, 1874, to Miss Sarah Shank, a native of Parke County, Indiana, and a daughter of James and Alzina Shank. They have four sons: Archie Monroe, Olin Oscar, Evert C. and Aredie A. Politically Mr. Anderson in 1889 supported the Democratic ticket. He is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Macedonia, as is also his wife. ILLIAM McDonald was born in Addison Township, Steuben County, New York, March 10, 1822, the son of Elihii McDonald, a native of Scotland, and Margaret (Helmer) McDonald, who was born in New York State. Early in life he was left an orphan, his father having died when he was a babe and his mother when he was only three years old. He was reared by a man named Rollin Saunders, to whom he was given by his relatives. Mr. Saunders owned a farm and kept a hotel and bar. When not employed at work on the rocky and stumpy land, young McDonald sold whisky at the bar for three cents a drink. At those tiTnes almost every one took his dram, and it was not infrequent that ministers of the Gospel came to the bar, drank their whisky and there discussed questions of church doctrine and affairs of State. Brought up with these sur- roundings, Mr. McDonald received but a limited education. He, however, made up for its lack by the knowledge gained in the school of experience. At the age of twenty-three years our sub- ject was united in marriage with Savilla Kis- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 591 ing. She was horn in Oswego County, New York, daughter of Henry and Clarissa (Noble) Rising. By this marriage seven children were born, namely: Eveline Mosely; Emma, a resident of Wright Township, Pottawatta niie County, Iowa; Martha Sherbnrn; Mary, wife of O. O. Hotchkiss, of Wright Town- sliip; John, also of Wright Township; Hattie Middangh and Willie, of Washington. The mother of these children died in Steuben County, New York, December 14, 1855. Two years later, December 31, 1857, Mr. McDonald wedded Miss Mary E. Aldrich, also a native of Steuben County, New York. Her parents, Warner M. and Fidelia (Eddy) Aldrich, were natives of Rhode Island. They trace their ancestry back to the Aldriches who came to America in the far-famed May- flower. Mr. McDonald remained in New York un- til 1866, when he moved to Bureau County, Illinois. From there, in 1877, he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and settled in Wright Township. In 1883 ke bought his present eighty -acre farm in section 13, same township. This land at the time of purchase was wild and unimproved. As the result of his well directed efforts it now assumes a different appearance. On a natural building site he erected a good frame house, 24 x 26 feet, a story and a half, from which an excel- lent view of the farm and surrounding coun- try is obtained. His other farm buildings and improvements all attest the thrift and enterprise of the owner. By his present wife Mr. McDonald has had Ave children, four of whom are living: Beers L., at home; Charles W., who is in railroad employ in Mississippi; Carl E., a resident of Wright Township; and Julia Elma, wife of E. R. Pierson. Their son, Jay, died at the age of eighteen months. Mr. McDonald is a meml>er of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Politically he is a Re- publican. He is nearly seventy years old, weighs 275 pounds, is cordial and jovial in his disposition, and seems to make the most of this life. He is honored and esteemed by all who know him. B. CARLEY, section 14, Silver Creek L Township, is another one of the enter- prising and well known citizens, who is worthy of mention in this work. He came here in February, 1882, and has since been identified with the best interests of this com- munity. He was born near Plymouth, Ohio, November 4, 1855. His father, Albert A. Carley, a native of Vermont, was a son of James Carley, who was of English ancestry. Albert A. Carley, one of the brave soldiers of the late war, served as Captain of the Seventy- third Indiana Regiment, and, after four years' service died, February 22, 1865. He had been captured and confined as a prisoner in the Anderson ville and Libby prisons for eighteen months, and died while trying to escape. He was married, in Sandusky, Ohio, to Miss Rosanna Brown. She died, leaving three children, when the subject of this sketch was four years old. Mr. Carley, having been left an orphan before he was ten years of age, was reared by Harry Kimball, his great uncle, of Indiana. He was educated in the common schools, and lived on a farm in Porter County, Indiana, until he reached his majority. At that time he came to Mills County, Iowa. In 1882, as already stated at the beginning of this arti- cle, he came to Pottawattamie County, and bought wild land upon which he now resides. He erected a good frame house on a desirable building site, planted a grove and orchard of three acres, built a barn 30 x 40 x 14 feet, put 593 BIOORAPHIOAL BISTORT up a wind-mill, and made many other im- provements. October 23, 1881, in Mills County, Iowa, Mr. Carley was married to Miss Olive A. Smith, who was born in La Porte County, Indiana, daughter of James F. ami Sarah J. Smith, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this book. Mr. and Mrs. Carley have five children, viz.: James Harry, Fred S., Arthur L., Carrie J. and Flora C. Mr. Car- ley is a leading Democrat in Silver Creek Township. He is the present Justice of the Peace, and dispenses justice in an impartial manner to all who are called before his court. Although but a young man he has gained a position of responsibility among his fellow- citizens. •°*~**.' ■4Mf« * M ' 10, *. Ilg^ C. LELAND, of section 27, Garner Township, has been a resident of Iowa I * since 1873. He was born in York- shire, England, June 10, 1844, the son of B. F. and Lydia (Dickens) Leland, both natives of Nashville, Tennessee. H. C. was a child of three years when his parents came to the United States, and settled at Ottawa, LaSalle County, Illinois, where they remained one year. They then removed to Lowell, Dodge County, Wisconsin, where they re- mained until our subject was sixteen years of age. The father was a farmer by occupa- tion and H. C. Leland was therefore reared on a farm. At the time of the civil war he enlisted in the Eleventh Infantry, Wisconsin Volunteers, under Colonel Charles Harris and Captain James Long. He was under fire at Cotton Plant, Arkansas, and the bat- tles of Grand Gulf and Port Gibson; in the latter battle he was shot through the lungs, and was confined in the field hospital two weeks; was then removed to the Government hospital, and then to the general hospital at Madison, Wisconsin. He served three years and one month. After recovering sufficient for labor he re- turned to New York, where he was employed as engineer in a mill, and also as railroad fireman and engineer. He afterward located in Chicago, in the stockyards, where he was engaged as engineer in a packing house, and later was promoted to foreman, remaining five years. In 1873 he came to Hamburg, Iowa, and August 3, 1881, he went to Omaha, Nebraska, and later to Pottawattamie Coun- ty, Iowa. Politically Mr. Leland is a Re- publican; he is a member of the Masonic order, Jerusalem Lodge, No. 253. at Ham- burg, Iowa. He was married in Chicago, Illinois, in April, 1872, to Miss Jennie Bonney, a native of Chelsea, Massachusetts. LBERT HORNER, one of the intelli- gent and enterprising citizens of Wash- ington Township, came to this county in 1885, where he has since resided. He came to this county from Mills County, Iowa, where he had resided for several years. He was born in Texas, April 4, 1850, a son of Henry and Malinda (Waldruff) Horner, the former a native of Ohio, and of German an- cestry, and the latter a daughter of William and Margaret Waldruff, who were of Pennsyl- vania Dutch descent. Henry Horner and wife were married in LaPorte County, In- diana, and afterward removed to Texas, where their son Albert was born. They re- sided in that State three years, and then returned to La Porte County, Indiana. The father was a farmer; and politically was a Democrat. The parents reared eight chil- dren, of whom Albert was the third of three sons and five daughters. One of the daujrh- OF POTTAWATTAMIE VOUNTT. 593 ters, Aletliia, wife of William Chapman, resides in Silver Creek Township. Albert Horner was reared on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana, where he resided until 1875, when he removed to Union County, Iowa, remaining three years. He then went to Bureau County, Illinois, and resided there one year. He then came to Mills County, Iowa, where he remained until he came to this county. In 1884 lie bought his present farm of Ed Gustison, which he has since improved. Wlien he purchased his place it was covered with brush, which he has since cleared away. The farm consists of eighty acres, on which is some natural tim- ber. Mr. Horner was married in Council Bluffs, to Mrs. Nancy J. Chipps, who was a widow, and the daughter of Francis Camp- bell, a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Francis Campbell, Sr. One of her brothers, D. D. Campbell, resides in Mills County, Iowa. The mother of Mrs. Horner was Elizabeth (Hughart) Campbell, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of David Hughart. Francis Campbell, Jr., and his wife had ten children, live of whom are living. Mr. Horner is politically a Democrat, having been reared to that belief. He is a man yet in the prime of life, frank and cordial in his manner and address. He is a man who has traveled extensively, and is well informed on general topics. ~-«^*+^^-~ fOHN V. GORRELL, one of the intelli- gent and successful citizens of Wash- ington Township, came to this county in 1877 from Pettis County, Missouri, and settled on his present farm in 1881. He was born in Pettis County, Missouri, February 17, 1848, the son of Joseph Gorrell, who was born in Bei'keley County, West Virginia, and was a son of William Gorrell, a native of Ireland. William Gorrell grew to manhood and was married in his native country. He afterward came to America, first settling in Virginia, but later removed to Missouri, where he died, in Pettis County. In religion he was a believer in the Church of Christ. The wife of Joseph Gorrell and the mother of our subject was Priscilla (Bine) Gorrell. She was a native of Virginia, and died when J. V. was four months old. Joseph Gorrell now resides in Saline County, Missouri; he is a farmer by occupation; a Democrat politi- cally; and in religion he is a member of the Christian Church. John V. was reared on a farm in Pettis County until 1877, when he came to Potta- wattamie County, first settling in Keg Creek Township, where he resided one year, and then removed to Washington Township. He resided here one year and in tlie northern part of Washington Township two years. In 1881 he purchased his present farm of 120 acres, at ten dollars and a half per acre, and here he has since resided and made his home. His residence, which was erected in 1890, cost $1,045. Mr. Gorrell was married in Pettis County, October 18, 1876, to Alice Hamilton, a woman of intelligenceand education, and a daughter of Thornton Hamilton, who was born and reared in Kentucky, was of English ancestry, a miller by vocation and politically a Republican. He died in 1863. The mother of Mrs. Gorrell was Amanda (Blythe) Hamilton, who was a native of Kentucky and a daughter of John Blythe, a native of Kentucky. She now lives in Woodbui-y County, Iowa, at the age of sixty years. Mrs. Gorrell was reared and edu- cated in Kentucky, and came to Missouri in 1874. Mr. and Mrs. Gorrell have five chil dren, viz.: Lillie, Percilla, Avis, James, Allen and Charlie. They lost one by death, Albert 594 BIOORAPHIGAL BISTORT Walter, their first born, who died at the age of five years, from the effects of falling into a boiler of hot water. Mr. Gorrell politically is a Democrat, and in religion was reared a " Campbeliite." Although they are not members of any chnrch, they are believers in Christianity aad tiie Golden Rule. They are interested in the canse of education, and are numbered among the intelligent people of the neighborhood. I^OUISA STODAKD LELAND, of MfH Garner Township, section 27, has been ^1^ a resident of Pottawattamie County since 1878. She was born in Joliet, Will County, Illinois, the daughter of George and Eva (Atzle) Witty, the former a native of Saxony, Germany, on the Rhine. Our subject grew to womanhood in Joliet, where she received lier education. She was engaged for some time in selling boots and shoes in Chicago and Joliet. She has a farm of 117 acres of well improved land, situated three miles east of Council Bluffs, which is devoted largely to small fruits and a vineyard, and on which is a tine residence, which cost $4,000. She was married in Joliet, Illinois, when twenty years of age, to Major Stodard, a native of Joliet. He was a soldier, having served in the late war. He died in Joliet in 1880, leaving one child, named Magdeline. Mrs. Stodard was again married in 1884, to Mr. Leland. [AVID BLAIN is one of the progressive and popular citizens of Waveland Town- ship, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He came to this township on the thirteenth of March, 1874, and has since made this place his iiome. Mr. Blain was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, September 15, 1848, son of James and Moreland (Aitkin) Blain, natives of that place. His mother died in Waveland Town- ship Marcii 11, 1885, at the age of seventv- live years. He was one of five children — four sons and one daughter — born to his parents. Mr. Blain was reared on a farm and edu- cated in the common schools of Scotland. In 1870, bidding farewell to home and the heather hills of his native land, he sailed from Glasgow for America, landing at New York. From there he came direct to Iowa City, Iowa, where he had an uncle. March 2, 1874, he was married, in Johnson County, Iowa, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Hamilton, an amiable and intelligent lady, a native of Ayrshire, and his old school-mate. She came to this country with her parents, Robert and Mary (Martin) Hamilton, in 1870. Her mother died in New Vork State and her father in Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County. A few days after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Blain came to their present location in Western Iowa. He bought sixty- seven acres of wild prairie land, upon which they at once took up their abode. At that time the country was very thinly settled and scarcely a house could be seen between their place and Walnut. Mr. Blain is an indus- trious man and a good business manager. As the result of his own well directed efforts he is to-day a wealthy man. He now owns 214 acres of improved land, there being two good dwellings on the same. His farm is also supplied with other buildings and is well fenced. His land is bounded on two sides by highways, his residence being mid- way between the two roads. His groves, orchards, well tilled fields, and pastures dotted over with stock — all give evidence of pros- perity. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 595 Mr. and Mrs. Blain liave nine children, as follows: James, Edmonson, David, Joseph, Moreland, Marj, Robert, Nelly Bly and Susan. Their lirst born, Moreland, is de- ceased. Politically Mr. Blain is a Republi- can, but is independent in many of his views. H. CHANEY, a representative citizen of Washington Township, and an ex- ^® soldier of the late war, was born in Montgomery County, Missouri, October 12, 1845, a son of Samuel Chanej'. who was of Irish ancestry. The mother of our subject was Ellen (Parmer) Chaney. a native of Ger- many. Our subject was but eight years old when his father died in Montgomery County, Missouri, and his widow and six children moved to Scott County, Iowa. The mother died when C. H. was but ten years of age, and he was then reared on a farm in Scott County, by Jeri-y Hubbard. During the late war he enlisted, May 1, 1864, in the Forty- fourth Iowa Infantry, Company I, Volunteers, and was out some four months. His regi- ment was stationed mostly at Memphis, Tennessee. After his discharge he enlisted in the Eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company C, and was under fire at Spanish Fort, and was honorably discharged at Mo- bile, Alabama. He then returned to Scott County Iowa, where he resided until 1868, when iie came to Western Iowa, first settling in Mills County. He remained in that county until 1883, when he came to Potta- wattamie County and bought his present farm, which consisted of forty acres. It was partly broken, though there were no im- provements of any kind on it; but it is now under a good state of cultivation and im- provement. Mr. Chaney was married in Bartlett, Fre- mont County, Iowa, in March, 1872, to Miss Helen Aitken, who was born in Pennsylva- nia, the daughter of David Aitken, of Fre- mont County. Mr. and Mrs. Chaney have four children: Walter Newton, Maggie Belle, Word and William Henry. Politically Mr. Chaney is a Republican, and he and his wife are both members of the Evangelical Church, and both are workers in the Sabbath-school. -_»^ „'P . ; ,. ;.? .- E. MAXWELL was born in Jeffer- son County, Iowa, Hecember 16, 1854. His father, John Maxwell, was born in Indiana, and his mother, nee Catherine Clover, in Pennsylvania. They were married in Jefferson County, Iowa. Grandfather Benjamin Maxwell was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. When the sub- ject of this sketch was about ten years of age his parents moved to Lucas County, Iowa, and located northeast of Chariton, where they lived for some time. They are now residents of Chariton. The father has been engaged in farming all his life. They have reared a family of six sons, viz.: Albert, who resides in Washington; W. E., the subject of this sketch; I. M., Sumner County, Nebraska; T. H. and E. J. (twins), the former a resident of Creston, Iowa, and the latter of Chariton; and C. G., also at Creston, engaged in the mercantile business with his brother, T. H. W. E. passed his youth at tarm work, and received his education in the public schools of Lucas County. He was married at Coun- cil Blutfs, Iowa, September 5, 1878, to Miss S. J. Timberman, a native of Pottawattamie County. She received her education in her native county and also in Harrison County, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell have three children: Amy Pearl, Gaylen Cloyd and Ivy Emma. 59G BIOORAPHWAL HISTORY Mr. Maxwell came to Pottawattamie County in March, 1876. For three years he rented land. In 1879 he purchased eighty acres of wild land, which he improved and sold in 1888. Then he bought his present farm of John Colwell. This land was first improved by Morford & Burggess. It com- prises eighty acres, and is under a good state of cultivation. A good frame iiouse has been erected, which is situated on a natural build- ing site, surrounded by a grove and orchard of an acre and a half. Everything about the house and farm shows tlie enterprise and prosperity of the owner. Politically Mr. Maxwell i8 a Republican. He is a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a man yet in the prime of life, is frank and cordial in his manner, and is regarded as one of the repre- sentative citizens of Center Township. '" "^ * 3"i ' S" ' " fAMES RAINBOW, section 24, Silver Creek Township, is a well known and representative citizen of this community. He came here in 1875, and has since made Pottawattamie County his home. Mr. Rain- bow was born near York, Yorkshire, Eng- land, March 16, 1826. His parents, Jonah and Sarah Rainbow, were natives of York- shire. James was reared on a farm, but at an early age he engaged as porter and clerk in a hotel, which occupation he followed sev- eral years. He worked at some of the fashionable watering resorts on the coast, where he saw much high life amongthe titled aristocrats of England. At the age of twen- ty-four years he came to America, and was employed for a tiuie in a hotel at Rochester, New York. Later, he went to Lyons and Avon Springs, Western New York. In Western New York he was engaged in hotel work, and spent some time in a nursery. While there he took active interest in horti- culture, and the knowledge thus gained proved of much value to him in after life. In 1856 he came to Iowa City, then the capital of Iowa, where he engaged in the livery business. Next he turned his atten- tion to the nursery business again, and later was employed by W. B. Daniels, a prominent merchant. In 1867 he moved to Iowa Coun- ty, and at Genoa Bluff again entered the nursery business. In 1875, as stated at the beginning of this sketch, he came to Potta- wattamie County. Previous to this time, in 1856, he had entered 120 acres of Govern- ment land here, and to this he added eighty acres more, which he acquired by purchase, making 200 acres in one body. During the fifteen years of his residence here Mr. Rain- bow has improved his farm, and now has one of the best in the neighborhood. It is well adapted for both grain and stock, and his orchard of four acres ranks with the best in the county. Mr. Rainbow takes an active interest in the horticultural affairs of Potta- wattamie County. He has done much to promote the fruit interests of his section, and no one is considered a better judge of fruits than James Rainbow. He has a good frame house, situated on a natural building site. All the out-buildings, wind-mill and fences and everything about the premises indicate thrift and prosperity. Mr. Rainbow was married, at Honey Falls, New York, to Eliza Goody, a native of Eng- land, and a daughter of Jatnes and Sarah Goody. They have seven children, viz.: James J., formerly a successful teacher, now a resident of northern Iowa, where lie is en- gaged in the dairy business; Sarah, Robert, Louisa, William, Lizzie and John. Politically Mr. Rainbow is a Repul)lican. He has served on both petit and grand OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 597 juries frequently, and has been elected to several township offices, the duties of which he performed with credit to himself and for the bests interests of the public. He is a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Eaiiibow has been honored in many ways by his friends and party. He was a delegate to the Farmers' Alliance State Convention, October, 1890, and was one of the honored citizens who went to Denver, Colorado, at the time of the Farmers' Congress. He was one of the most liberal donators to the decorations of Council Blufls, in September, 1890, when the Farmers' Congress met there. He is a gentleman well informed on all general topics, and is broad and progressive in his views. He is honored and esteemed by all who know him. ►>^ fACOB I. REED, a prominent farmer of Pottawattamie County, first came to Council Bluffs in 18i4. when the town contained only log houses. His great-grand- father, Jacob Reed, came from Scotland, and settled in South Carolina long before the Revolutionary war. His son, Jacob Reed, the grandfather of our subject, was born iti that State, and was a captain in the war of the Revolution, and received a land warrant. He was married in his native State to Mary Smith, and to them were born nine children: Enos, Rebecca, Wilburn, Harper, Francis, Jackson, Joseph, Mary and Ozie. After these children had reached maturity Mr. Reed moved to Rush County, Indiana, ai)()ut 1817, and settled on a farm near Rushville. In 1842 he moved to Mercer County, Illinois, where he died in 1853, at about eighty years of age. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Churcli, and was a devoted Chris- tian. He was also an educated man, and taught school until he was seventy-four years of age, having taught in one building for five years. Enos Reed, the father of ovir subject, was born in South Carolina, and was twenty-three years of age when his father moved to Indiana with his large family. He was married in Rush County, that State, to Elizabeth Rishling, daughter of Fredrick and Catharine (Bousenian) Rishling. The father was of German descent, and was an old settler of Rush County. He was the father of six children, viz.: Fredrick, Cath- erine, Elizabeth, George, William and Sam- uel. After marriage Mr. Reed settled on a farm in Rush County, and w-as the father of nine children, namely: Emily, George, Ja- cob. Edner, Mary, Enos, Marion, Emeline and Elizabeth. The father was County Judge of his county for several years. He removed to Illinois and settled on a farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was a devout member of the Baptist Church, and held several church offices. Atone time he had a handsome property, but hist it all in the cat- tle business. He lived to the age of fifty, four years, dying in Mercer County, Illinois. His son, Jacob I., the subject of this sketch, was born November 26, 1830, in Rushville, Indiana, and was but eleven years of age when his parents removed to Illinois. He remained on a farm in Mercer County until 1861, when he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He lived two years south of Oakland, and then came to the northeast cor- ner of what was then Big Grove, where he remained nineteen years. In 1882 he settled on his present farm of 200 acres. He was married in Mercer County, in 1851, to Hannah J. Sherer, daughter of Rob- ert Sherer. He was the father of three chil- dren: Eunice, Margaret and Hannah J. To Mr. and Mrs. Reed were born ten children, namely: Adaline, May S., Margaret, Robert, 51/8 BIOGRAPUWAL HISTORY George, John, Albert, Irvin, Harry and Jennie M. The mother was a member of the Presby- terian Church in Illinois, hut joined the Methodist Church in Iowa. She died in March, 1890, at the age of tiltj-eight years, and was a faithful and devoted wife and mother. She was a helpmate to her husband, having labored with him to build up a liome in the wilderness of Iowa. Robert Reed, their eldest son, died very suddenly in Au- gust, 1890, at the age of twenty-eight years. This was a sad blow to Mr. Reed, following 80 closely the death of his wife. Mr. Reed is a man of honor and integrity, and has done his full share toward building up and developing this township. He has taken an active interest in the schools, having acted as school director and trustee. Socially he is an Odd Fellow. fACKSON C. BORUFF, of section 23, Macedonia Township, was born in Mer- cer County, Illinois, May 17, 1845, the son of John and Mary (McGreer) Boruff. The father, a native of Tennessee, was the son of Valentine Borufl', a native of the South; the mother was born in Indiana near Connersville. The parents were mar- ried in Illinois, and reared three children. The mother died in 1865, and the father now I'esides in Rock Island County, Illinois, and is married and has one son. Jackson, the second of three boys, was reared in Rock Island County, Illinois, and passed his youth at farm work. In 1876 he came West to Montgomery County, near Red Oak, where he bought a farm and resided three years. He then bought eighty acres of land, and later forty acres, and he now has 120 acres within one mile of Macedonia. He has three wells to supply water for stock ]-iir- poses. Mr. Boruff was married in Muscatine County, Iowa, May 18, 1876, to Miss Han- nah Drury, who was born in Rock Island County, Illinois, the daughter of James and Jane (Randolph) Drury, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Boruif have three children: John W., Hattie A. and Claude C. Politi- cally Mr. Boruff is a Democrat, but has never aspired for public office. He is a man yet in the prime of life, honorable in all his dealings and is one of the solid men of the township. ►>^ 4«-*o^ ■ERN HARD GRESS, a prominent farmer of Pottawattamie County, and the pro- prietor of the Cottage Home Hotel in Walnut, was born in the Grand Dukedom of Baden, Germany, June 24, 1851, the son of Balthaser S. Gress, a blacksmith of Baden. He was married to Magdalena Kanzler, and they had four children: Bcrnhard, Anna, Frank and Katie. He was engaged in the Rebellion, and was under the com- mand of Franz Siegel, afterward a distin- guished general in our great civil war. In 18G0 Mr. Gress brought his family, then consisting of a wife and two children, to America, settling in Iowa City. He engaged in farming six miles north of that city, and remained until 1878, when he came to Pot- tawattamie County, where he still lives, at the age of sixty-four years. He has always been a hard-working and honest man. Bernhard Gress, the subject of this sketch, was but eight years old when he came with his father^ to America. In his twenty-third year he came to Pottawattamie County, and began farming in Waveland Township. He OP POTTAWATfAitlE COUNTY. 599 sold tills farm and bought 240 acres of land in Lincoln Township, which he still owns. In 1889 he moved to Walnut and bonght the old Hinckley residence, which he con verted into a hotel, the " Cottage Home,' and is now running witli success and general satisfaction to tiie public. Mr. Gress has had the conSdence of his fellow townsmen, and in Lincoln Township was Assessor for eight years. His farm is one of the best in this part of the county, and has many excellent improvements. In 1876 he was married to Miss Katie Eichhorn, daughter of Adam Eichhorn, of Johnson County, and a native of Germany. He is now retired, and is living with Mr. Gress. Mr. and Mrs. Gress are the parents of seven children: Frank, George and Vina. Mr. and Mrs. Gress lost four children in three weeks, by diphtheria, in the winter of 1887. jLLEN BULLIS has been a resident of Wright Township since 1870. He was born in Racine County, Wisconsin, June 6, 1847, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Bullis, natives of England. His parents were married in England, and subsequently removed to the United States and became residents of Racine County, Wisconsin. They had a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, Allen being the fifth child. He was only eight years old when his father died; was brought up on the farm and was educated in the public schools. January 1, 1864, he enlisted in Company E, Nineteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war. He was in the battles of Duvall's Bluffs, Cold Harbor and Seven Oaks; was honorably discharged at Richmond, Virginia; returned to Wisconsin 42 and received his final payment at Madison. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits, and remained in Wisconsin until 1870. In that year he came to Iowa and located in Wright Township, Pottawattamie County, wiiere he had relatives and acquaictances. The first land he bought was 160 acres in o section 4, which he imjiroved and afterward sold. Then he purchased eighty acres in section 8, and later 120 acres more, now own- ing 200 acres of well improved land. He has a comfortable house, good stables and othei' out-buildings, a grove and orchard, and a modern wind pump. Much of his attention is being devoted to stock-raising. At this writing he is feeding thirty-six head of cattle and sixty-five hogs. Mr. Bullis was married in 1873, at Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, to Miss Mary Harmes, who was born in Ohio and is a daughter of Jacob and Catherine Harmes, residents of Wright Township. Mr. and Mrs. Bullis have one son, Freddy J., a youth of fifteen years. Mr. Bullis casts his vote and in- fluence with the Republican party. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., Lewis Lodge, No. 140. P^MITH G. AG NEW, one of the siib- stantial farmers of Layton Township, is descended from a prominent old American family of Scotch descent. His grandfather came from Scotland and settled in Pennsylvania, and his father, Gibson Agnew, was born on a farm in that State, and learned the tanner's trade, which he followed several years. When a young man he went to Ohio, and was there married to Eleanor Smith, and to them have been boru twelve children : Eliza, Sarah, Martha, Amanda, William, David, Margaret, John, 600 bwgkjLphical history. Mary, Smith G., George and Irwin. The father settled on a farm in Parke County, Indiana, where lie ran a distillery, and where he remained one-fourth of a century. In 1852 he settled on a farm in Cedar County, Iowa, where he was among the early pioneers. lie then moved to Muscatine County, where he died in 1877 at the age of eighty-one years. He was a member of the Presby- terian Church, in which he was an elder. His soti, Smith G. Agnew, the subject of this sketch, was born October 8, 1848, in Parke County, Indiana, and was but four years of age when his parents came to Iowa. After tlie death of his father, he managed the home farm for two years. After mar- riage Mr. Agnew came to Pottawattamie County and settled on 160 acres of wild land, which he had bought a few years before. With the help of his wife anJ his own hard work he has added to this place until he now owns a fine homestead of 240 acres, which is pleasantly situated near Walnut. Politi- cally Mr. Agnew is a stanch Democrat, and also takes an active interest in the cause of education and in the good of the schools, serving as School Director for three terms. He has held the office of Road Supervisor. He was married in Clark County, in 1879, to Laura Woods, daughter of John and Amanda (Walker) Woods, who were the parents of live children: Laura, Charles, James, Loren and Warren. The fatlier was an old settler of Muscatine County, having come in 1851. Both lie and his wife were members of the Methodist Church, and the former is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Airnew are the parents of four children: Millie. Harry, Loren and Edith. Both Mr. and Mrs. Agnew are members of the Presbyterian Cliurch. The grandfathers of Mrs. Agnew are both living. Valentine Woods, her father's father, is now living in Cass County, at the age of seventy-nino years. He emi- grated from Pennsylvania to Dearborn, In- diana, where he lived many years. Rol)ert Walker, her mother's father, is living in Sacramento, California, at the age of seventy- eight years. He came from Switzerland, is a carpenter Ijy trade, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. •" " ' ^ ' S t' S '- j) '""^ — EORGE W. POLAND, a substantial farmer of Pottawattamie County, was born in Maryland, December 8, 1825, the son of Peter Poland, also a native of Maryland. He was married to Margaret Metz, and they were the parents of three chil- dren: Jane, Margaret and George W. Mrs. Poland died when our subject was but six years of age, and the father was again mar- ried and went to the Western country, and our subject never heard from him again. He was brought up by different people, and re- ceived but little education, but in early life began to work on the farm and in a tan-yard, which he continued three years. He re- mained in Virginia until 1855, when he came to Iowa, settling in Washington County, and first working at farm work, and in 1863 lie bought a farm in that county, and ten years later came to his present place, which then consisted of 240 acres of wild land, but which he has since converted into a fine, fer- tile farm. He sold eighty acres of his land and gave his son, Amos, forty acres, so that he now owns 120 acres of fine land and ten acres of timber. Mr. Poland was married, in 1849, in Hampshire County, Virginia, to Mary A. McShane, daughter of John McShane. She was born in Maryland. March 9, 1821, and had a similar experience with iier husband, her parents having bee.i poor, and she was OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 601 brought up by strangers. They are tlie par- ents of four children, viz.: Elizabeth E., now the wife of M. T. Baker, a fanner of Wash- ington Connty, Iowa, and they have four children: Jacob U., Viola, Cora A. and Elma; Amos, a fanner of Knox Township, married Mary Stewart, and they liave two children: Julia E. and Anna \\.\ Mary J. married William Gibbons, a farmer of Woodbury County, Iowa, and they have four children: Eva B., George E., Amos C. and Cleveland; Dennis married Annie Garthwaite, and is now a farmer on the old home place, and they have three children: George E., Grant and Amos C. The gaanddaughter, Julia E., married William Meredith, a farmer of Knox Township, and they have one child, Jane H. Thus Mr. and Mrs. Poland have thirteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They have both been life-long members of the Unibed Brethen Church, in which Mr. Foland has held the office of Class-leader, Trustee and Sunday-school Superintendent for many years. In his political views he is a Republican, and has been School Director and Supervisor of his township. Mr. Poland is a self-made man, as his early days were clouded with poverty, and in early youth he was left to the care of strangers with all the vicissitudes of such dependency, and by a straightforward course and an honest purpose he has steadily risen until he now owns a good farm, and has given his children a good home. He has always been a religi- ous and moral man, and deserves the respect of all his descendants for the good example he has set them, in which he has been assisted by his faithful wife; together they have borne the burden, and t igether they will reap the reward of the well-doer. Mr. Poland had a cancer cured on his nose, which bid fair to end his life. The regular doctors failed to cure it, and a frietid recommendeil him to a farmer who had cured several cancers. Mr. Poland called to see him, and used his medi- cine, which in time cured him completely. He bought the prescription, ani has since treated others successfully. "^ "^ ' S *' ! * !" "^ fOIIN H.WINANS, a substantial farmer of Knox To^vn3hip, is from ai old Amer- ican family of NevV Jersey, a;il of Eng- lish descent. His great-grandfather and grandfather were in the Revolutionary war, and the latter was a fannsr of New Jersey near Elizabeth City. Our subject's father, Benjamin Winans, was also a fanner, and was married to Hannah Hucrhes, daughter of Charles Hughes, of New Jersey. They were the parents of six chil irea: Fannie, John H., Charles, Mary, George E. and Eliza. In 1854 the father moved to Scott County, Iowa, settlinjj on a farin of wild land, where he lived until 1884, when he moved to Chester Township, Poweshiek County, where he is still living, at the age of eighty-six ye irs. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church at Rahway, New Jersey, for forty-six years. The father is a prosper- ous farmer in good circumstances, and has always obeyed the Quaker instructions of owing no man anything. In his political principles he is a Republican. John H. Winans, our subject, was born in Elizabeth City, Essex County, New Jersey, August 15, 1842, and was reared to farm life. He was but twelve years of age when his father came to Iowa, and he carried from New Jersey $1,200 in a leather belt, with which his father bought his farm. In 1865 Mr. Winans moved to Pottawattamie Coun- ty, settling in Center Township, and in 1878 moved to his present farm of 160 acres in Knox Township. In his political principles 602 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY he is a Republican; has been a Supervisor of his township five years, Constable two years, and School Director three years. He has been identified with Iowa since his boyiiood, and like his father has always stood higli as an industrious and honest man and a good citizen. ■ Mr. Winans was married at the age of twenty years, in 1862, to Sarah J. Fuller, daughter of Ezra and Arloah L. Fuller. Tlie father was a farmer of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and settled in Scott County, Iowa, in 1861, where he was a large landholder, own- ing 900 acres of land. He had two sons: Jared M. and James, and a brother, Spencer, in the civil war, all three of whom died in the army. He was the father of twelve chil- dren, and died in Center Township, this county, where he had moved in 1864:. He held the office of Supervisor five years. Con- stable two years, and School Director three terms. Isaac, the eldest brother of Benjamin Winans, was a captain in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of Morristown, New Jersey. (EORGE H. GRAYBILL, of section 14, Garner Townsliip, was born Decem- ber 23, 1846, in Pottawattamie County, and was one of the first white children born in this county. His father was George W. Graybill, a native of Jackson County, Ohio, and the son of Michael Graybill, who was born in North Carolina; and tiie mother, nee Polly Stoker, was born in North (Carolina. The parents were married in Indiana, but afterward removed to Missouri, and thence to Hancock County, Illinois. They were mem- bers of the Church of the Latter- Day Saints, and followed the Mormon leaders to this county, where they were early pioneers. Tlie father settled in Pottawattamie County, in 1846, near Wheeler's Grove, and afterward near the place where his son, George, now lives. He now jesides at Underwood. The mother died when our suliject was tiiirteen years of age, leaving nine children. The father afterward married a widow who had three children. George H., our subject, was reared in Pottawattamie County, in the pioneer days, and passed his youth upon a farm, receiving his education in the district schools. He now owns 150 acres of valuable bottom land situated five miles from tiie city limits of Council Bluffs. December 8, 1887, he was married to Mrs. Flora Brower, who was born in Marion County, Iowa, the daughter df Moses and Nancy (Jones) Doty; she has oue child, Lucy. Her father was born iu In- diana. Mr. and Mrs. Graybill have two chil- dren: George and Lee. Politically Mr. Graybill is a Republican, and is yet in the prime of life, intelligent, frank and cordial in his manner and address. 3|SAAC HOOPES, deceased, late of Silver |l Creek Township, Pottawattamie County, W was one of the respected and esteemed citizens of his community. He came to this county in 1876 and resided here until the time of his death. He was born in Adams County, Pennsylvania, December 29, 1832, the son of James Hoopes, a native of Penn- sylvania. His mother, Elizabeth (Briuton) Hoopes, was born in Chester County, Penn- sylvania, near Philadelphia. The Erintons were of Welsh ancestry. Isaac Hoopes was reared on a farm in Adams County, Pennsyl- vania, and learned the trade of blacksmith and wagon-maker. His education was ob- tained iu the common schools of his native OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. G03 State. At the age of twenty-one years he came West, and worked at his trade in Dela- ware County, Iowa. It was in Delaware County that he became acquainted with Miss Rebecca Farr, a lady of intelligence and education, who afterward became his wife. She was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Moses and Mary (Hatfield) Farr, both natives of Fayette County. Her father was a son of John Farr, a Frenchman by birth. He was a teacher in his younger days, is a mechanic and cabinet-maker Ijy trade, and now, at the age of seventy -eight years, is still a resident of his native county. His wife was of Ger- man ancestry. She died in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1884, at the age of seventy years. Mrs. Hoopes was educated at her na- tive place, and at the age of fifteen years began teaching school in Virginia. At sev- enteen she came to Iowa and continued her profession in Delaware County. At Coles- burg, that county, September 24, 1865, she was united in marriage to Isaac Hoopes, Rev. B. H. Crider performing the ceremony. They continued to reside in Delaware County until 1876, when they removed to Oskaloosa, Ma- haska County, Iowa, where Mr. Hoopes worked at his trade for a time. He subse- quently purchased a farm five and a half miles from Oskaloosa, where they lived until 1876, when they came to Pottawattamie County. Here Mr. Hoopes purchased 160 acres of wild land in Silver Creek Township, paying for it $1,750, and here lie spent the residue of his life. He was killed on his own farm, February 16,1888, by a runaway team. He was a believer in Christian Science. Po- litically he was a Republican. His widow and two children survive him. The names of the latter are Willis I. and Orville G. Charles R., their lirst-born, died in 1882, at the age of fifteen years. The Hoopes farm is one of the best in Sil- ver Creek Township. The residence is 16 x 24 feet, with wing 16 x 24 feet, same height, one and a half stories, is situated on a natural building site, and is surrounded by various kinds of trees. The farm is well improved, and everything about the premises — the barn, sheds, yards, feed-lots, modern wind-pump and orchard and grove — all indicate prosper- ity. Since her husband's death Mrs. Hoopes has managed the farm with the assistance of her son, Willis I. She is not only a lady of intelligence and refinement, but is endowed with good executive ability as a financier. "♦♦' | ' 2n; . g - fRANK SHINN, attorney at law at Car- son, was born in Jacktowu, Adams County, Ohio, October 28, 1843, a son of Rev. Allen Trimble Shinn, who was a nephew of Governor Trimble, and was a native of Hillsboro, Highland County, same State. The latter was a son of George Shinn, of an old Virginia Quaker family. Frank's mother's maiden name was Melinda Fenton. She was a native of Adams County, Ohio, and brought up in Kentucky. Her father, John Fenton, was a native of Penn- sylvania, and her mother (maiden name Sarah Field) was born in Loudoun County, Virginia. Rev. A. T. Shinn went to Ken- tucky in ministerial work when his son Frank was nine years old. Subsequently in 1856 he was transferred to Marshalltown, Iowa, and two years later to Macedonia, this county, arriving March 4, 1858. Six months afterward he died, leaving a widow and six sons. Asa F., the eldest, enlisted in the First Nebraska Infantry in 1861, and died of typhoid fever at Syracuse, Missouri, thus leaving Frank as the eldest at home, to take care of his mother and the younger members 601 BI'GBAPEICAL BISTORY of tlie family. lie therefore remained with her until he was twonty-five years of age. Jamiaiy 25, 1869, he married Miss Almira Schenck, a native of Parke County, Indiana, born near Rockville, a daughter of James M. Schenck, who was a native of Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Her mother, whose name before mar- riage was Alzina Fisher, was born at Ripley, Brown County, Ohio. Mrs. Shiim was nine years of age when her father settled in War- ren Connty, Iowa, in 1864. Afterward the family removed to Macedonia Township, Pottawattamie County. Mr. Shinn has improved four different farms: two in Mills Connty, one in Mont- gomery County, and one on section 10, Grove Township, Pottawattamie County. His first case at law occurred February 21, 1864, be- fore Esquire Groom, in Macedonia Town- ship, and it was such as to create consider- able notoriety. He received two tons of hay as his fee. Urged by E[. C. Watkins to study law, he complied, having to read of evenings, and at length was admitted to the bar, April 16, 1876. In August, 1877, he moved to Emer- son, Mills County, and lived there until 1883, engaged in the law, and finally came to Carson, where he has since made his home and has had a good practice, his extensive acquaintance in this and adjoining counties being of great value to him. As a public speaker he is fluent and impressive. He has also taken a prominent part in the temper- ance movement, working in favor of the pro- hibition amendment ever since 1874. In May, 1882, he "stumped" western Iowa in favor of the prohibition constitutional amend- ment. As a candidate for State Senator in 1887 he ran 117 votes ahead of his ticket. He is the wheel-horse of the Republican party in western Iowa. He is a member of Coral Lodge, No. 430, F. & A. M., at Carson. Mr. Shinn has three daughters, namely: Liiinie A., Kate L. and Myrtle I. He has lost two children by death: James A., at the age of ten years, and Addie, at the age of fourteen years. While residing where Marshalitown now is in 1857, Mr. Shinn cut his knte with a corn knife, which rendered him a cripple for life. -^«|-2«f^*-~ LEXANDER L. BROWN came to his present location in Center Township, Pottawattamie Connty, in 1872, and was among the first settlers in this neighbor- hood. A brief resume of his life is herewith given. Mr. Brown was born in Muskingum Coun- ty, Ohio, May 25, 1827, the son of Benjamin Brown, a native of New York. His grand- father, Alexander Brown, was born in Scot- land. His mother, Nancy (McKee) Brown, a native of New Jersey, was a daughter of a Protestant Irishman. Our subject passed his youth on his fa- ther's farm in Muskingum County, and re- ceived his education in the public schools. He was married April 20, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth Catherine Mennefee, a native of Virginia. Her father, Charles Mennefee, was born in the Old Dominion, in 1782, the descendant of an old Virginia family. Her mother, nee Mary Madox, a daughter of Notley Madox, was also a native of Virginia, as was her father. Mr. Brown resided in Ohio until 1853, when the whole family re- moved to Mercer County, Illinois. There the parents spent the residue of their lives. The father died at the age of seventy years. In politics he was a Whig until the organiza- tion of the Republican party, when he joined its ranks. A member of the Christian OF POTTAWATTAillE COUNTY. 605 Chiireh, lie was an active and zealous worker in tlie cause of relij^ion. Tlie mother died at the age of ninety years. Mr. Brown remained in Illinois until 1872, when he came to this county and bought his present farm, eighty acres, of J. Q. Rollins, who had broken the ground. Mr. Brown has since put the land under a good state of cul- tivation, and has substantial and convenient farm buildings. lie and his wife are the parents of seven children, viz.: Samantha, wife of Horace Bull, Rock Island, Illinois, has live children; Joanna, wife of Riley Duncan, of Wayne, Nebraska, is the mother of two children; Charles, a resident of Custer County, Ne- braska, is married and has three children; Theodore is married and lives in Omaha; L. W., at home; Hugh resides in Pottawat- tamie County, is married and has two children; George A., a successful teacher of Center Township, is married and has one child. Benjamin, the twin brother of Charles, died at the age of four years. Politically Mr. Brown is a Republican. For many years he has been a member of the Baptist Church, and forty years a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity. He is an intelligent man of broad and progressive views, and is regarded by all as a worthy and upright citizen. In connection with Mrs. Brown's family history it should be farther stated that her father died in Mercer County, Illinois, and her mother, now at the age of eighty eight years makes her home in Mr. Brown's family. fAMES F. SMITH, section 12, Silver Creek Township, is one of the well known and successful men of his community. He cime here in 1882 from Mills County, Iowa, where lie had resided since 1877. A brief sketch of Mr. Smith's life is as follows: He was born in La Porte County, Indiana, November 5, 1835, a son of James F. Smith, Sr. His father was a native of New York State, and was a hotel-keeper all his life. He built and kept the Checkered Tavern near Buffalo, New York, and subsequently re moved to Indiana, where he was a popular and successful hotel manager, and where, in 1840, he was killed by a desperado at Hud- son, La Porte County. Mr. Smith's mother, India (Darby) Smith, was born in New Y'^ork State. She died when James F. was two or three years old, and he was only live when his father's death occurred. Left an orphan thus early in life he was reared by relatives in La Porte County, Indiana, and in Southern Michigan, near Ann Arbor. He was brought up on a farm, and his education was obtained in the common schools and in the practical school of experience. In 1870 he removed to Porter County, Indiana, where he resided seven years. He then sold the farm he had purchased at that place and came West to Mills County, Iowa. There he rented a farm of his brother-in-law, Josiah Wearing, one of the most prominent stock-men of that county. In 1882 he came to Pottawattamie County, and purchased 160 acres of wild land at $12.50 per acre. He afterward bought 240 acres more. He is now the owner of 240 acres, having sold eighty acres to one of his sons, and the same amount to another. Mr. Smith has a good frame house, 22 x 28 feet, one and a half stories, and an addition, 20 x 16 feet, well situated, and surrounded with an orchard comprising two acres and a half. His granary is 20 x 20 feet, and he also has cribs, yards, feed-lots, a wind-mill, and every- thing to denote the thrifty and prosperous farmer. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raisins'. 606 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY At the age of twenty-one years Mr. Smith was inarried. in La Porte Connty, Indiana, to Sarah Jane Cooper, daughter of John and Mary (Walldriiff) Cooper, l)oth natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have four children, as follows: Olive, wife of E. B. Carley, Silver Creek Township; Nevada, wife, of G. R. Cook, of the same township; and Geoi-ge L. and Frank M., also of Silver Creek Township. Politically Mr. Smith is a strong and radical Republican. He and his wife were formerly connected with the Christian Church. Mr. Smith is a man in the ]irime of life, is cordial in his manner toward his fellow-men, and is honorable in all his business dealings. He is numbered among the solid men of the township. 1^ B. JACK, a prominent farmer of Pot- Wi tawattamie County, was born in Lick- " ing County, Ohio, and is of English descent. His great-grandfather came from England and settled in Virginia, and his grandfather, James Jack, was a soldier in the war of 1812. He was a native of Pennsyl- vania, and moved to Wheeling, Virginia, in 1802, and afterward went to Muskingum County, Ohio, where he owned a good farm, and where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1847, at the age of eighty years. Both himself and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the former was an industrious and honorable man. His son John Jack, the father of our subject, was born November 19, 1797, in Pennsylvania, and at the age of five years went with his father to Wheeling, Virginia. At the age of nineteen years he went to Muskingum County, where he was married to a widow lady named McDowell, formerly Delilah Dean, who had four children by her former marriage, viz.: Commodore P., Mary A., Emily and Cynthia. Mr. and Mrs. Jack were the parents of six children: James, Charles, Hugli, John W., Henry B at d De- i lilah. After marriage Mr. Jack removed to Perry County, and in 1833 to Licking County, where he was among the early set- tlers. He remained there until 1859, when he moved to Jasper County, Iowa, settling on a new farm, which, with the assistance of his son Henry B., he converted into a fine farm. He died in Pottawattamie County, in April, 1880, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife died July 12, 1887, at the age of one hundred years, three months and twelve days. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Jack was a steward and class- leader. Henry B., the subject of this sketch, was born April 14, 1834, in Licking County, Ohio. In 1859, at the age of twenty-five years, he came to Jasper County, Iowa, with his father. August 2, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war. He was in the battles of Port Gibson, May 1, 1863; Champion Hill, May 16, 1863; Black River Bridge, May 17, 1863; the assault on Vicksburg, May 22, 1863, where he was taken prisoner, but in fourteen days was paroled and exchanged, and in Octolier following re- turned to service; was also in the battle of Winchester, September 19, 1864. He was wounded at Port Gibson and at Winchester, and was in the hospital; was also injured by a fall in the hatchway of a vessel at St. Louis, and was in the hospital three months. He has since suflered from disability caused by his service in the army, and should have a pension. After the war, like many of the soldiers who risked their lives for their country, he returned to bis old home and engaged in OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUHTT. 607 farming. After his marriage he settled in Jasper County, and in 1873 removed to Lincoln Township, Pottawattamie County, and in 1889 cams to Valley Township and settled on his present farm. He is a mem- ber of John A. Dix Post, G. A. R., of Wal- nnt, Iowa, and is a stanch Republican. As a soldier his record should be preserved and handed down to his children as one who did not hesitate to offer his life for her de- fense, and as one who never flinched when ■duty called. His children's children should tell the story of their grandfatlier's battles and sufferings as a soldier in the great war which saved the Union. The descendants of Mr. Jack on both sides have honorable an- cestors, who helped to found the country in peace as well as to save it in war. He was married in 1870, to Ella E. Kel- lotrff, who was born in Litchiield, Hei'kinier County, New York, December 21, 1845, and received a good education at Madison, Wis- consin. She was the daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Fellows) Kellogg. The father was born in Paris, Oneida County, New York, and in 1847 settled in Wisconsin, where he was among the early settlers. In 1869 he moved to Missouri. His father was a native of Hartford, Connecticut, and was in the war of 1812. He descended from three brothers who came over in the May- flower; one settled in Connecticut, from whom Mr. Kellog..^Sm S . | i..>~ ^ENRY A. DONER, a farmer residing on section 29, Hardin Township, has been a resident of this county since 1876. He was born in Wayne County, Ohio, March 6, 1850, a son of Henry A. Doner, Sr., and the latter was a son of Jacob Doner. of Maryland, and of Swiss ancestry. The maiden name of the mother of the subject of this sketch was A.manda Johnson. She also was a native of Wayne County, Ohio, and her father was a native of Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch, the third-born in his parents' family of six sons and three daughters, was a small boy when they re- moved to De Kalb County, Indiana. In a short time they returned to Ohio, settling in Defiance County, and in 1867 they removed to Jasper County, where the father died the next year; the mother now lives at Silver City, Mills County, this State. Mr. Doner was reared a farmer. From 1871 to 1876 he was a resident of Bureau County, Illinois; and then he came to Pottawattamie County and purchased a quarter-section of hind on section 36, Hardin Township. Since then he has bought more, and now has altogether 439 acres of valuable land; 279 acres are in one body, on section 36, and on sections 29 and 30, where he resides, he lias 160 acres. This is one of the best farms in the county. His dwelling, built in 1890, cost $2,500; and his barn, built in 1889, cost $1,500. Both are fine structures, in modern style. In his political views Mr. Doner is a Re- publican. He has served on the School Board. fREDERICK G. HETZEL is one of the substantial citizens of Avoca who has been identified with the business in- terests of the town almost from its beginning. He is one of those men who have prospered by their own industry and busine. s ability. His father, Charles F. Hetzel, was l»orii Au- gust 19, 1807, at Heidelberg, Germany, that city famed for its great university. The grandfather of our subject. Christian Hetzel, was a wheelwright in Germany, an honest. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 617 industrious man with the material thrift of the German race. He was a Protestant in religions belief and is yet well remembered by tradition in the family. Charles F. Ilet- zel, the father of our subject, learned his trade of his father in Gerniany, in the the thuronahgy the Canadians and known as the Patriot war, and which, although unsuccessful in its principal object, involved the best blood and vigor of the en- tire British Canadas, and was ultimately the means of a great modification of the severe and tyrannical rule of England. In 1837 the gathering clouds of discon- tent in Canada darkened into the storms of civil war, and Dr. Consigny was one of the first to respond to the call of patriotism. His countrymen, fellow-patriots and compan- ions in arms were such men as General Fapineau, and Dr. Allard, two of the most prominent men in this patriotic movement. After a short but severe struggle and some fighting, the jiatriots, deceived by traitors and overwhelmed by the mighty power of England, were obliged to fiy for their lives. Dr. Consigny fled to the neighboring and friendly State of Vermont, which indeed proved a haven of rest for his weary body as well as a solace for his heart, for here he met and won his wife, Miss Lucy L. Good- rich, in 1840. She was the daughter of Ezekiel Goodrich, of an old American fam- ily, and among the defenders of our country in the war of 1812. Captain Valentine Good- rich, a brother of_^ Mrs. Consigny, gave his life to this country at the battle of Lundy's Lane, and the ballet by which he met his death is still in the possession of the family as a precious relic. Dr. Consigny practiced medicine at Swan- ion Falls, Vermont, for two years. A price of £10,000 cash was placed upon the heads of General Papineau, Dr. Allard and Dr. Consigny, and it required a special pardon from the King of England before they could return to their native land. When this was eflfected Dr. Consigny returned to the peace- ful pursuit of the practice of his profession at St. Cesaire, taking with him the young bride he had won in the States when a rebel exile with a price on his head. He was con- tent to remain at peace with the Government the remainder of his life. His health was greatly shattered by the vicissitudes through which he passed while attempting his escape from his pursuer. His horse having given out, he was three days and nights in the dense Canadian forests in a rain-storm with- out shelter. Here he contracted rheumatism, which resulted in his deatii at the compara- tively early age of forty-five years; and thus a man of brilliant parts and devoted to his family and his country, was sacrificed to the cause of liberty. On account of his health he was obliged to relinquish his profession, and to accept from the Government the ap- pointmentofSuperintendent of Instruction of Lower Canada. This office he held until his death, to the credit of himself and great sat- isfaction of the people. He was a man of great liberality and broad ideas, and while earning and possessing large means he did not at his death leave more than a comfort- able estate. Dr. and Mrs. Consigny were the OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 635 parents of ten children; four died in infancy and six are now living: Eugene A., Lucy, George J., Napoleon B., John F. and Joseph E. Dr. Consigny was a man that the biogra- pher delights to lienor, possessing great nobleness of character. He was an honored citizen and liberal-minded patriot, a true Christian and indulgent father. To say that he was a dignified gentleman of the old school, would be only to say that he was an educated and cultured Canadian gentle- man. Ilis memory is revered by his de- scendants, and this tribute springing from the heart and lips of his eldest son is but little in comparison with his great worth of char- acter. His widow is still living, at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, in Avoca. She was born June 2, 1811, at Swanton Falls, Vermont, and after her marriage to Dr. Con- signy resided in Canada for about fifteen years. She ha 1 a natural taste for literature and was a good scholar in her girlhood days, and throughout her life has been a great reader, and to this day retains the memory and mental faculties unimpaired by time. She has been a consistent and life-long member of the church, and her strength of character has been a great influence in molding the minds of her children. Her father, Ezekiel Goodrich, was a well-to-do Vermont farmer, and lived to the very great age of ninety-nine years, and retained to his last days liis cheerful disposition and mental activity. He had all his life been a man of great energy and of very temperate habits. The Consigny family thus blends with French stock and the sturdy solid characteristics of the Vermont pioneers and soldiers, who as "Green Mountain Boys" are famous in Rev- olutionary annals, and the good characteris- tics of the two races who for generations were opponents in arms were thus joined together. General Eugene A. Consigny, the oldest son, was born May 15, 1841, at St. Cesaire, Lower Canada, now Province of Queliec. He received the usual common-school education, and then entered the College of St. Hyacinthe, and graduated with honor. His father died about this time, and young Eugene was ap- pointed in his father's place as Superinten- dent of Instruction for Lower Canada to fill the unexpired term of three montlis, and though so young in years he tilled this im- portant position so well at least that there was no cause for complaint. His father's choice had been that his eldest son should enter the legal profession, and his own inclinations were in the same direction. However, his father's liberality had so encroached upon his estate that the family, although not poor, found themselves in not the easiest circum- stances, and upon Eugene, as the oldest son, devolved the task of assisting his brothers in acquiring an education. After a severe struggle, and actuated by a sense of duty to his mother and family, he gave up his cher- ished plans and entered a mercantile estab- lishment, as a clerk, at Granby, Lower Canada. He remained in the mercantile business as a clerk, engaged by different Arms at St. Al- bans, Vermont, and at Montreal for more than four years, and then went to the old home of his mother's youth (Swanton Falls, Vermont), his mother having returned from Canada two years before. Here he was con- nected with the firm of Jewett & Barney, and represented the interests of Colonel Barney, who was at that time a soldier in our great civil war. During this time Eugene had con- tributed liberally of his earnings to assist his mother in educating her children, and had truly been a mainstay and support to bis family. Young Consigny, however, was tired 626 BIOOUAPHICAL HISTORY. with a feeling of patriotism, and altliough offered a commission by his cousin, Colonel Barney, of Vermont (a gallant Vermont sol- dier wlio fell at the battle of tlie Wilderness while bravely leading his brigade), preferred to enlist as a private in Company M, First Regiment Vermont Volunteer Cavalry, going to Burlington, that State, to enlist, and receiv- ing nu bounty Tlie regiment was imme- diately ordered to the front, and Mr. Consigny was engaged in a good many bat- tles and skirmishes, among them Fairfax, Dranesville, Winchester, Lynchburg, Gettys- burg, Fisher's Hill, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Spottsylvania, Petersburg, Five Forks and Appomattox, where Lee surrendered; and here, on the morning of the 9th of April, 1865, he then being Adjutant of the regi- ment, led the last charge made by cavalry in the Eastern army. He received his tirst pro- motion as Sergeant after a service of a few months, and soon after Orderly Sergeant. He then received the con mission of Second Lieutenant, and for gallant and meritorious service on the battle-lield he received his pro- motion of First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the regiment — an office much courted by the younger officers. From the battle of the Wilderness at Five Forks, he was detailed on General Hancock's staff, and while on duty was wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania, by a sharpshooter, and was struck by a spent ball on the head. After the war he served three months on the frontier, and was hon- orably discharged at Burlington, Vermont. Like the great majority of our soldiers who fouglit to preserve the Union and survived. Adjutant Consigny returned to a life of act- ive business, and seeing the great opportuni- ties offered by the West, came to Dubuque, Iowa, by way of Chicago, and engaged in mercantile business for two years, and then went to Cascade, Iowa, and engaged in the same business. Flere our soldier citizen was himself called upon (by Cupid) to surrender, which he gracefully did, September 2, 1869, to Miss Cassie Benham, daughter of Dr. Lucius Benham, formerly a surgeon in the United States Army, and an Ohio man. Her mother's name before marriage was Rebecca Van Horn, and she was of an old Kentucky family. The family circle of General and Mrs. Consigny have been made complete by the birth of two sons, Goodrich L. and Eugene F. After marriage General Consigny took his young wife to De Soto, Missouri, and for three years was a fruit farmer. In 1872 he came to Avoca, then a very small town, and engaged in the grain business, and ran the first elevator in Avoca. Since that time Gen- eral Consigny has been identified with the leading business enterprises of Avoca; is a prominent member of the milling firm there, a stock company, and has done a prosperous business. The Centennial Mill Company also own mills at Tracy, Missouri, and Avoca. General Consigny is president and manager. Socially General Consigny is a member of the Knights of Pythias, G. A. R. and Loyal Legion, and he holds the office of Depart- ment Commander of Iowa, to which he was elected by acclamation. At Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at the encampment in 1888, by a rising vote of the convention, the delegates were instructed by resolution to nominate General Consigny as commander-in-chief of the G. A. R., an honor which an old soldier can always appreciate. By virtue of his rank as Department Commander of Iowa, the title of our subject is that of General, which is for life. At the Colonel Redfield Association, Dexter, Iowa, 8,000 soldiers being present, a resolution was ordered sent by wire to President Harrison for the appointment of General Consigny as Commissioner of Pen- sions, in place of Corporal Tanner, Pension OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 637 Agent, a compliment appreciated by our sub- ject, as showing the esteem in which he was held by the old soldiers of his State. At Des Moines, in April, 1890, at the department encampment, he was presented by that body with an elegant jeweled gold badge repre- senting his rank as General, as a sliglit token of their recognition of his services. In his political views General Consigny is a Republican, and he represented the Ninth Iowa Congressional District at the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1884. He lias filled the office of Mayor of his town, has taken an active interest in the cause of education, and was Trustee of Simpson College at Indianola, Iowa. Being mindful of the utility of our common schools, lie served six years as President of the School Board of Avoca. Both General and Mrs. Consigny are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The oldest son, Good- rich L., is Captain of the Camp Major E. A. Consigny, Sons of Veterans, which camp was named in honor of his father. He rep- resents the Centennial Mill Company on the road as a traveling agent, and, althougii but twenty-one, and the youngest traveling man in the State, meets with assured success. General Consigny is still a comparatively young man, not having reached lifty years, and while the frosts of winter have touched his head witii silver, his erect military form and energetic bearing mark hiin for many years of active life. As a soldier and a citi- zen he has been an example to younger men, not only in what he has accomplished in de- fense of his country in its hour of need, but in the bright example of temperance and morality. Neither the vicissitudes of camp nor the pleasures of the social reunions have tempted him to indulge in either intoxicating liquor or tobacco, and few there are, born and reared amoii": a social and rather bibulous people, and who have been accustomed through life to the ease and freedom of the West, can say as much. When the great roll of honoris called, while the achievements of the young soldier who fully offered him- self to his country will be credited to him, his name will be more honored for his con- trol of himself than for his victories in the field. J. WAY, of the firm of W. J. Way & Co., general merchants at Carson, " has been a successful business roan by his own tact and energy, and also by his social manner he has won for himself many warm friends. He commenced here in Car- son in 1880, on a small scale, as a pioneer merchant at this point, and he forced pros- perity upon his path. His present large and commodious building, erected in the fall of 1889, is 36 x 120 feet in ground area, the first story being fifteen feet high, and here the firm carry a stock of $15,000 to $20,000 worth of goods, doing a business of $20,000 to $40,000 annually. Mr. Way was born in Menard County, Illinois, October 11, 1860, a son of T. B. and N. J. (Cox) Way, father of English ancestry. His mother was a native of Bonaparte, Iowa. When the subject of this sketch was a small lad, his father engaged in business at Indian Creek, Illinois, and later moved to Winter- set, Iowa. At the age of seventeen he took charge of his father's store, at Chandlerville, Cass County, and still later he was at Clar- inda. Page County, and from that point he moved to Carson, in connection with his ex- tensive mercantile business. He is also operating a large brick-yard. He was married, December 8, 1882, at Glenwood, Iowa, to Miss Vesta Head, a 628 BIOORAPHICAL IIISTORT daughter of Captain T. H. Head, who is a prominent citizen of Glenwood. She is a iady of more than ordinary culture, as she graduated at the age of fifteen years, at the Glenwood liigli School. Mr. and Mrs. Way's children are Leo C, Lynn D. and Philip. In politics Mr. Way is a Republican, and in religion a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Carson. [AMUEL R. COMER, of Walnut, is one of the best known citizen.s of this thriving town, and a member of the firm of Comer & Griffith, the only furniture establishment in the town, carrying an ex- cellent, well selected stock of $4,000 worth. Mr. Comer was born near Trenton, Grundy County, Missouri, on a farm May 27, 1850, and received a common-school education. His father, Thomas Comer, was from High- land County, Ohio, and from an old Ameri- can family. He went to Indiana when a younf man and married Racliel J. Apple- gate, daughter of Thomas Applegate, of Jasper County, Indiana, an old settler and pioneer. In 1842 Mr. Comer moved to Missouri, and settled in Grundy County. He was a soldier in Company A, Seventy- Second Regiment, Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, and was in service in Kentucky and Tennessee, being in several battles. He re- turned home and died in 1866, his days be- iu'T shorte lel by exposure. Mr. Comer was an industrious man and respected by all who knew him. He lett Missouri on account of the war troubles and died at Delphi, In- diana. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a Democrat in politics. Samuel R. Comer, the subject of this sketch, was left an orphan being but sixteen years of age at his father's death, and the care of his mother devolved upon him. He had gone to Indiana in 1861 with his parents, and engaged on a farm by the month, and thus supported his mother. This he con- tinued until his marriage at the early age of nineteen years, in 1869, to Miss Amanda E. Cappess, daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Cappess, from Ohio, and of American ances- try. They have two children : Henry A. and Hattie E. After marriage Mr. Comer went to Cedar County, Iowa, and farmed until 1879, and then came to Walnut, and engaged in the teaming and dray business, in which he succeeded well. In 1888 he engajjed in his present business, in which he has pros- pered, and in which he still continues. In society Mr. Comer is an Odd Fellow. He is a self-made man, having by his own unaided efforts made his way from the con- dition of a poor boy to that of a representative American citizen, respected by his fellow townsmen and having a highly respectable family. RSON O. HOTCHKISS, an ex-soldier if the late war and for many years a railroad ma", now resides on a farm in section 2, Wright Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He bought land here in 1881 and took up his residence on it in 1888. Mr. Hotchkiss was born in Kane County, Illinois, near Geneva, December 20, 1837. His father, Wallace Hotchkiss, one of the first settlers of Kane County, was born in Tioga County, New York, son of Gillian Hotchkiss. He traced his ancestry back to seven brothers in England, who, on account of their politics and religion, were banished from their native country by the king. The maiden name of Mr. Hotchkiss' motlier was Lucy Carver. She was born in New York, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTT. 629 a descendant of German ancestry. Many years ago the Carver family was a prominent one in Germany in both church and state. They were exiled from that country and came to America. Wallace and Lucy Hotch- kiss located in Kane County, Illinois, about the year 1834 and lived there until 1859, when they moved to Bourljon County, Kan- sas, where they spent the residue of their lives, the father dying at the age of sixty-five 3'ears, and the mother in 1880, at the age of sixty-three. Mr. Hotchkiss was a farmer all his life. His political views were those of tiie Democratic party. He and his worthy com- panion reared a family of eight children, six of whom are living, viz.: Orson O., David, a resident of Kansas; Mary, in Dakota; Alice, in Kansas; and Carver and Nancy, also in that State. Burt, deceased, was a member of a Kansas regiment and served through the war for his coiintry. The subject of our sketch remained on the farm until he was seventeen years old, re- ceiving his education in the pioneer schools of Kane County. He was then employed to carry water for the workmen who were build- ing the Chicago, Burlington & Quiiicy iiail- oad through Kane County. Some time later he obtained a situation as brakeman on that road, which position he resigned during the Pike's Peak excitement; and with a company he set out for the West, From Pike's Peak he went overland to California, where, for two years he was engaged in mining, ranch- ing and freighting. In 1861 he returned to his home in Illinois, and in September of that year he enlisted in Company A, a cav- alry company which was attached to the Fifty-second Illinois Infantry, Colonel Will- son and Lieutenant Colonel Ed. Joslyn, the latter a prominent lawyer and ]>olitician. His company was stationed at St. Louis, where the Captain was Provost-marshal for a time. Later, with a portion of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry, they acted as body-guard for General Halleck, forming a battalion. From Pittsburg Landing Mr. Hotchkiss was all through the campaign, fighting along the lines to Corinth. Two months and a half he was confined in a hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, after which he was discharged for general disability. He returned to Kane County, and some time .-vfterward again ob- tained a situation as brakeman. Not long afterward his faithfulness, honesty and ability were recognized by his employers and he was promoted to a higher position. In 1867 he resigned to accept a situation as engineer on the Northwestern Railroad, then being built through Iowa. He joined the force at Jeffer- son, took charge of engines and the making up of trains, and it was lie who took the first passenger engine into Council Bluffs on the Northwestern Railroad. It was No. 33, a wood-burner. Some time after this Mr. Hotchkiss again returned to Aurora, Illinois, and accepted a position as engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. He was afterward promoted, and ran the best passenger engine on the i-oad. It was at- tached to the fast mail train which ran be- tween Chicago and Aurora. During the great strike, February 4, 1888, Mr. Hotch- kiss retired from railroad life. He had spent thirty years on the road, had met with many trials and hair-breadth escapes, and at that time he decided to pass the declining years of his life in agricultural pursuits. In the spring of 1888 he built a fine residence, modern style, at a cost of $1,600. Hj also made other improvements on his farm, which comprises 120 acres, and is now pleasantly situated. Mr. Hotchkiss has been twice married. His first companion was nee Mary McDonald, daughter of John and Lucinda (Vaiigim) 630 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT McDonald. She died in 1867, leaving one son, P'rederick, who was a fireman on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad and who was killed in March, 1876, at the age of eighteen years. February 10, 1870, our sub- ject wedded Miss Mary Roxanna McDonald, a native of Steuben County, New York. She is a daughter of William McDonald, a sketch of whom will Vje found on another page of this book), and was fourteen years old when she came with her parents to Bureau C!ounty, Illinois. His second union has been blessed with four children: Willie and Wallie (twins), Savilla and Mary. Mr. Ilotchkiss is a member of the Brother- hood of Engineers, Division No. 32, Aurora, Illinois. In politics he is a Democrat. He still retains many of the characteristics of the railroad man; is sincere and outspoken, cordial and respecful to all. m l my a l l I t < T ill »B» ■» fe * * a) II. KNEPHER, a grocer at No. 744 West Broad street, Council ** Blufff, carries a stock of some $2,- 500, and his atmual sales amount to $16,000. He established his present business in 1878, which he has since successfully conducted, lie was born in Brownsville, New York, De- cember 23, 1860, the son of H. T. and Mary (Bremmel) Knepher, the former a native of Germany, and the latter was born and reared in Ohio. They were the parents of six chil- dren, of whom our subject was the tiiird child. His early life was spent in attending school, and when sixteen years of age he cime to Council Blutis and engaged in the manufacture of cigars, which business he continued two years. He has also made several investments in real estate in this city. He is an active politician, and a stanch supporter of the Democratic party. He was elected City Alderman in 1888, and re- elected in 1889 as Alderman at large. He is a member and treasurer of the I. O. O. F., Hawkeye Lodge, No. 184, and is also a mem- ber of the M. W., Hazel Camp, No. 171. Mr. Knepher was married April 4, 1885, to Miss Rena Berger, daughter of K. C. and Mary L'erger, and wlio was born in Ohio, but reared in Brownsville. They have had two children, both of whom are deceased. Mr. Knepher is a member of the Board of Trade, and has Ijeeii a liberal endorser of anything that pertains to the good of the city. fW. MIKESILL, proprietor of a general store at 2300 West Broadway, Council ^ Bluffs, established his business in Sep- tember, 1888, and carries a stock of some $2,500. He was born in Dayton, Ohio, in November, 1829, the son of John H. and Phoebe (Birch) Mikesill, natives of Virginia and New York, and of Scotch and Irish de- scent. They had a family of eight children, five of whom are still living. Our subject, the third child and the only one residing in this State, was brought up on a farm and educated in the common schools. In 1840 he came to Iowa with his parents, locating in Marion County, where he grew to man- hood, and where his parents died. When he was twenty years of age he engaged in the mercantile business at Red Rock, Iowa, and in 1851 took a trip to California, passing through Council Bluffs. He remained in that State some eight years, and was engaged in mining, mercantile business, and also operated a water ditch for mining purposes. In the spring of 1860 he returned to this State, where he remained until 1870, when he again started for California, but stopped at Council Bluffs, where he has since re- OF PO I TAW ATT AM IE COUNTY. 031 imineJ. He first engaged in the stock busi- ness, but drifted into real estate, which he continued two years. In 1888 he commenced his present business, and has since acquired considerable property. His home is at No. 2206 Avenue A. Politically he has always been a strong supporter of the Democratic party, and in the spring of 1890 was elected Alderman of the Sixth Ward. Mr. Mikesill waa married in 1861, to Miss Catherine Alley, a native of Indiana, bnt was reared in Iowa. They have a family of six ciiildren: Uba, wife of John Clatterbuck; Robert P., deceased; Caroline J., wife of Ira Benge, of Council Bluffs; Bettie, at home; William J., Donnelly C, John W., and Hor- ace, deceased. The mother is a member of the Christian Churcli, while the fatiier holds to tlie Spiritualistic faith. lOUNCIL BLUFFS LUMBER COM- PANY, 900 South Main street, corner ^1 of Ninth avenue, are dealers in lumber, lime, coal, etc. Incorporated 1887, with a cash capital of $25,000. R. Stevenson, Presi- dent; M. J. Irons, Vice-President; H. Ste- venson, Secretary and Treasurer. Sales amount annually to $120,000 to $130,000, retail. Their stock includes all kinds of building material and all kinds of coal. Mr. H. Stevenson was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, December 24, 1859, the son of Hugh and Charlotte (Seelye) Stevenson, natives of Canada, and of Scotch descent. His father died in Nebraska in 1887, aged sixty-five years; and his mother is still living in Ansley, Custer County, Nebraska. In their family were eight children, all of whom are living excepting one. Mr. Stevenson, our sul)ject, the third child in the above family, lived in his native State 45 until he was nineteen years of age, and at- tended the normal school. In 1878 the family removed to Nebraska, where the boys engaged in the rearing of live-stock, a busi- ness called "ranching." These sons were: Renfrew, now the president of the Council Hlutf's Lumber Company; Robert, who is now encraofed with the H. Stevenson Lumber Company, of Ansley, Nebraska; and our subject, Henry. After two or three years' ranching, they engaged in the lumber busi- ness at Riverton, Nebraska, a short time, when Robert went to Franklin, the same State, and opened a lumber yard, and Henry went to Orleans and opened a yard there under the title of The H. & R. Stevenson Lumber Company. After following the busi- ness there for two or three years, and estab- lishing yards at Long Island and Almena, Kansas, he, with his brother Robert, con- solidated with their father and formed the H. Stevenson Lumber Company at Fuller- ton, Nebraska, with yards at Genoa, Ansley and Berwin, same State, and tiiis company still exists, now owned and controlled by six brothers: Renfrew, Henry, Robert, Brougham, Scotia and Stymert, Robert being the man- ager. In 1887 Henry came to Council BhiflPs and took charge of the Council Bluffs Lum- ber Company, which position he still main- tains. Renfrew is vice-president and man- ager of the Star Union Lumber Company at Omaha, with a capital of $50,000. He is therefore one of the most extensive lumber dealers in this part of the West. Mr. Henry Stevenson was married at Long Island, Kansas, July 15, 1885, to Miss Minerva Wel)b, of Orleans, Nebi'aska, but a native of Michigan, born in April, 1856, a daughter of George A. and ■ (Nichol) Webb, and of English and Scotch origin. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have two children. 632 BIOORAPniCAL HISTORY Leal and Renfrew N. Mr. Stevenson affili- ates with the Republican party. Is a mem- ber of St. Andrew's Society at Council Bluffs, and secretary of the saiue; also a member of the Board of Trade, and of the Retail Merchants' Association. He is presi- dent of the Board of the Iowa Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines. Mrs. Stevenson is a member of the First Baptist .Church. ►>^ IHARLES A. ALTMANNSPERGER, one of the prominent business men of Iowa, and a Council Bluffs City Coun- cilman, was born in the town of Burgehaun, Province of Kurbessen, Germany, July 12, 1858, the son of Andreas Aitmannspercrer, who was a lawyer of Marburg, Germany. He was elected a Judge of his native province, and died at the age of fifty- one years. Charles Altmannsperger received an excel- lent education at the Gymnasium of Fulda, Germany, where he obtained a knowledge of the English language, and after completing his education be entered the business house where ho served three years. During this time he took a commercial course, and then served three years as a clerk in Switzerland. In 1880 he came to America, and in 1881 to Avoca, where he entered the employment of Seifest & Wiese, an extensive business firm of that place. After remaining with them a few months, he came to Minden and took charge of their business here, which is prin- cipally lumber and coal, and since that time he has attended to their work with satisfaction to his firm and credit to himself. Mr. Alt- mannsperger takes an interest in thoroughbred English mastiffs, being a lover of the traits and character exhibited by that noble breed of dogs, and, like many men, see many traits which are worthy of lieing cultivated and improved. He now has a large kennel, num- bering at times as many as thirty thorough- bred English mastiffs. Ashmund, Suwanee, American Kennel Chib, 16,006; Vesta, 6,854; Queen Victoria, 16,008 are the lead- ers from which he breeds. His dog Ben Harrison, 2d, 16,010, is a splendid animal, and is one of the best specimens of the Eng- lish mastiff now living. He is now only twenty months old, and weighs 185 pounds. When full grown he will weigh over 200 pounds. Chancellor Bi>marck, 14,894, took the first prize at Denver, Colorado, in De- cember, 1889, and the silver prize medal at Chicago. There were American Kennel Club shows at New York. Mr. Altmannsperger's dogs are registered in their record book, where are kept the pedi- grees of pure-bred dogs with as much care and fidelity as the records of thoroughbred trotting-horses are kept. Chancellor Bis- marck is valued by bim at not less tlian $1,000. Mr. Altmannsperger is a careful breeder of the English mastiff, and his dogs are being shipped to all parts of the country. His noble race of dojis have descended from old English stock, made famous by the pens of the great English writers. Sir Walter Scott descriljed in '' Woodstock " a magnifi- cent specimen of this race as the famous guardian of Woodstock Hall. They are noted for their fidelity as watch-dogs and as guards for ladies. The trait strongly marked, which makes them of great value, is that they guard or keep their prisoners without a savage at- tack unless resisted. Tliey prevent their es- cape by holding rather than brutality. In size they are very tnassive, with immense lieids, and are alight fawn in color with black muz- zles and ears. They stand tirmly on well shaped legs, and have a bright, intelligent eye. Socially Mr. Altmannsperger is a promi- OF PorrAWATTAMlli COUNT T. 63:j nent Mason, being a member of the blue lo'ige, Neiila Chapter of Avoca, and Scottish Rite, Counftil Bluffs. He has taiven fourteen degrees in Masonry. He is also a member of tlie Knights of Pythias of Neola. He has the confidence of tlie people of Minden, and is now serving as To vnship Clerk, which of- fice lie has lield i-ix years. He has taken an active interest in good schools, liaving heen Treasurer of the S'diool Board for five years, and lias lately been elected, as before stated, to the first Town Council of Minden. In 1881 Mr. Altmannspergor married Eliza liohren,a native of Switzerland, and they have three girls: Caroline, Eliza and Matilda. Mr. Altmannsperger is a reliable citizen, owning his residence and otiier own property, and also a farm in this township. He is a young man, and lias just entered upon his career of usefulness. He is an active and reliable business man, possessing the confidence of his firm and the respect of the community in which he lives, and he is not only a credit to the sturdy German race from which he sprang, but a direct benefit to the county in which he has settled. He is a courteous host, having a delightful home, in which he takes great pleasure in entertaining his friends, and in whic!) he dispenses a liberal hospitality. •"'^ '^ " j' 'I '^^''--°~- — fJ. BARTON, proprietor of the St. Joe Livery, Feed and Sale Stable, 706 " South Main street, Council Bluffs, carries a stock of some $8,000 or $9,000, and also buys anl sells horses on commis- sion. He took charge of the barn in July, 1888, and is doing a good business. He was born in Lincolnshire, Enorland, in 1856, the son of Frederick and Mary , (Tomlinson) Barton, of English parentaire. He was reared to farm life in his native country, and in 1872 his parents emigrated to America, locating at Council Bluffs, where they have since resided, except that the father died in 1876. In 1878 our present subject com- menced to take care of himself by operating his farm south of Council Bluffs for one year. Afterward ho engaged in various pur- suits until 1887-'88, when he engaged in buying and selling hay and in threshing, which he followed until he took his present place. He has a good farm in South Da- kota, and also owns an interest in a farm of eighty acres in Lewis Township. Politically Mr. Barton is a Democrat, takintc an active interest in the public welfare. He was married September 8, 1889, to Miss Lillie Pardan, a native of Council Bluffs, who was born in 1870, and they have an infant daughter. .4«H|^ ESLEY SNYDER, one of the old soldier citizens of Walnut, who is r^ferj Commander of the John A. Dix Post, No. 408, was born on a farm near Huntington County, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1847, the son of John Snyder, who was born in the same place, and was of German descent. He married Sarah Lynn, daughter of John Lynn, of Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of nine children who lived to maturity, namely: Jane, Susan, Elizabeth, Martha, Rachel, Lucinda, Wesley, Jonathan and Hugh. The Snyders were old settlers of Pennsylvania, and John Snyder had two un- cles in the war of the Revolution. Mr. Snyder was a comfortable farmer, and in 1865 emigrated to Iowa, settling on a farm in Johnson County, where he lived until his death in 1876. He was a member of the 634 BIOORAPSICAL SI STORY Methodist Episcopal Church, and an honor- able and upright citizen. August 29, 1864, at the age of sixteen years, Wesley Snyder enlisted in Company K, Two Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He served along the Orano-e and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia, and on his return home he came with his father to Iowa, and has since been a citizen of this State. In 1879 he left farm work, which he had followed until this time, and worked in the elevator as engineer for two years in Shelby, Iowa, and then in Minden two years. In 1884 he catne to Walnut, where he has since ran the elevator for Davenport & Co. In 1889 he was appointed Commander of the John A. Dix Post, G. A. R., of Avoca for one year. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Church, of which is a Trustee and Steward. He is a well known in Avoca as a conscientious and upright citizen. — g-S"S%^— — fAMES MURRAY, one of the old soldier citizens of Pottawattamie County, was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, March 1, 1833, a son of James Murray, who was a steward of the estate of William Howe, which was called Allendale. The father was a Catholic religiously, and died in Ireland in 1861. His wife's maiden name was Jane Flynn, and they were the parents of six chil- dren, who lived to maturity: Dennis, Patrick, Elizabeth, Catherine, James and Eliza. Mr. Murray was an active and industrious man, and remained with Mr. Howe for over forty years, being implicitly trusted, — in other words, he was an honest man, who, as Pope, says, "is tlie noblest work of God." Mr. William Howe was a public notary and stock- broker in Dublin, and a man of wealth. At the age of seventeen years James Mur- ray, our subject, came to America, arriving in New York city in September, 1849. He went to Middletown, that State, and worked in a nursery, and the next spring went to Paterson, New Jersey, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Davenport, Iowa, and engaged in work on the Rock Is- land Railroad. He next removed to Iowa City, and worked in a commission house un- til April 28, 1861, when he enlisted in Com- pany B, First Iowa Regiment Volunteer In- fantry, under Captain Malian. Thus he num- bers among the brave men who were the first to volunteer in defense of the Union, and to set the example which was followed by thou- sands of men who were willing to risk their lives that their country might be saved, and become one of the greatest nations on eirth. Mr. Murray went with his regiment to Mis- souri, and was in service against the guerrillas who infested the State, and was in several skirmishes with them. This service was very severe, and the guerrillas or " biish- whackers" would be in ambush in the heavy oak scrubs and tire upon the troops. At Mc- CuUonufhtown a severe skirmish was fought, and August 10, 1861, at twenty minutes past two o'clock a. m., the first rifle shot was tired by the pickets at the famous battle of Wilson Creek, where the noted General Lyon fell; he was shot at fifteen minutes p ist 12 o'clock. Mr. Murray saw him ride out in front of the First Iowa Regiment on a dapple- gray horse, where he fell instantly, pierced with bullets. He was but a few rods from Mr. Murray when he fell, and within two minutes our subject was shot through the wrist, shattering the small bones. His regi- ment retreated directly after the death of General Lyon to Springfield, Missouri, in OF POTFAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 635 good order, wliicli place tliey reached at 7 o'clock same day. Mr. Murray received no medical attendance, and tlie next night slept on the ground; and the next day the regi- ment, with the remainder of the army, re- treated to Raleigh, Missouri, 150 miles, and thence liy rail to St. Louis, where our subject received medical attendance, his arm being badly swollen. H.e was not in a hospital. His time having expired he was honorably discharged at St. Louis, and returned to Iowa City, but was disabled one year from work on account of his wound. He remained in the warehouse of the Rock Island Railroad until 1871, when he bought his present farm, then consisting of 120 acres of wild prairie. In 1876 he came to live on this land, which lie has since improved and made a comfortable home. He is well known as a faithful and honest citizen, and his course through life, either in the employ of others or working for himself, has been straightforward and manly. Politically he is a [Republican, and religiously a devoted Catholic. He is a member of the G. A. R., John A. Dix Post, of Walnut, Iowa. He was married, in 1862, at Iowa City, to Mary Quinn, who was born in the State of Maine of Irish parentage. To Mr. and Mrs. Murray have been born seven children: Eliza J., James, William, Ellen, Catherine, John and Annie. Mrs. Murray's father, Johnson Quinn, was born in Ireland, and settled in Elkhart County, Indiana, on a farm. He lived to the age of eighty-three, and was a member of the Methodist Church. His first wife, Sarah Shelleday, was born in Ireland, and died at the age of thirty-six years. They had six children: Eliza, William, Samuel, John, Mary and Robert. Mr. Quinn was again married, this time to Eliza Spencer, and they had two children: Daniel and Sarah. Mr. Murray is a pioneer of the township. having inade his farm from a wild prairie by hard work and industry, assisted by his faith- ful wife. He stands deservedly high as a good, intelligent American citizen. Having siied his blood on the field of battle in defense of American principles, he has a great love for his country, and we have no more loyal men than those who fought for our flag. •°^' ^ * 3 n i ' S ' * '~ ||flLLIAM B. CUPPY.— This truly Wk Western gentleman was born in the ^ great State of Iowa when it was yet aTerritory, and came to Pottawattamie Coun- ty before there were any settlers, except on the old stage route. The Sioux Indians were then camped in Levins' Grove, near where our subject now lives. William Cuppy, the great-grandfather of our subject, came from Spain, but was of Irish and French descent. He was the founder of the family name in America, which Was changed from Copps to Cuppy. Ada,m Cuppy, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Shelby County, Kentucky. He served in the war of 1812, and was present at Hull's surrender at Detroit. He went to Illinois when a young man, and there married Christiana Shaffer, daughter of John Shaffer, a soldier of the war of 1812. He was a farmer of Cass County, Illinois. Soon after marriage, in 1837, Mr. Cuppy came to Iowa, and stopped at Burlington during the fall and winter following. Here the subject of this sketch was born, and when but twenty- four hours old was the hero of an Indian outbreak. Some men had brought ten gal- lons of whisky across the Mississippi River in a canoe and sold it to the Indians. They became very wild and commenced burning the houses of the whites, and drove them to the Indian agent's headquarters for shelter. Mrs. Cuppy was lying in a slab shanty with 630 BKGHAPUICAL U IS I OUT her young cliild, ana the Indians set tire to it; but the squaws were friendly to her, and rushed in and carried her out on her bed. Tiie Indians, taking up tiie child to kill it, discovered it was a boy, and exclaimed: "It is a buck; don't kill it;" and so the boy was left to tell the story to another generation. Soon after this his father moved to Ot- tumwa, Iowa, and there served the Govern- ment as Indian Agent five years. The Sacs, Foxes and lowas were uader his agency, and here young William became familiar with Indian life. In 1850 Mr. Adam Cuppy moved to Mississippi County, remaining one year, and in 1851 went to Shelby County, where he lived until 1865. That county was organized at his house, the settlers coming together for a shooting match, and the poorest shots were obliged to take the offices, as no one desired them — quite a contrast to the present day. The tirst case was tried at Shelby ville by Judge Riddle, under the trees, the jury retiring to a hollow in the grove to deliberate. One of the lawyers who tried the case, "Jim" Brettor, procured a two-gallon jug of whisky, and treated the jury until some of them could not answer to the call of the sheriff. Mr. Cuppy was the father of seven children: Mary C, Emeline, William B., Lucy J., Charles, Grenville M. and Emily. Mr. and Mrs. Cuppy were members nf the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father was a line specimen of a frontiersman and a West- ern pioneer; he wassixfeet in height, weighed 200 pounds, and was of robust health and character, and became accustomed to all the vicissitudes and trials of a pioneer life in the great West. He was a noted hunter of that period, and became a substantial farmer, owning COO acres of laud at Cuppy 's Grove. His hospitality was of the true Kentucky type, and he was never known to charge a man a dime who sought shelter or food at his house. In the winter of 1856-'57, which is recorded as the winter of great storms, several families took shelter under his roof and shared his hospitality, as their provisions were exhausted and the weather too severe for them to get to any town for supplies, and they remained with him until spring. William B., the son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was born in 1838, and as there were no schools in Iowa at that early day, he received but a limited education, ex- cept what he acquired by observation and practical experience. But having a quick and ready mind he became a well informed man, and in the rough school of the Iowa pioneer he learned manliness and stability of character, which has enabled him to turn his attention to any matter which he needed to carry through and succeed. He was married at the age of twenty-one years, to Susan A. Long, daughterof James M. and .Sophia (Deer) Long. The father was an old and proininent resident of Harlan, Iowa, and both families were of old American pioneer stock, from Indiana, and originally from Kentucky. They were the parents of five children : Susannah, Sarah G., Mary P., Mahala J. and Eddie W. After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cuppy re- sided on the old homestead at Cuppy's Grove for ten years, and in 1870 came to their present farm of nearly 1,000 acres, 750 being in one body. In politics Mr. Cuppy is a stanch Democrat and free-trader, and several times has made speeches in defense of his opinions, in which, with his vigorous use of the old-fashioned, pioneer English, he freely and pointedly exprceses his views. When young, like his father before him, he was a great hunter, and among these peerless hunt- ers, the Indians, learned all their skillful tactics with shot-gun and rifle. The country was then full of game, elk and deer abound- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 037 ing, and in the early setrlMiients the buffalo were not driven to the prairies of Kansas by the inroads of tlie settlers. The face of the country was undulating and covered with grass, and in the spring was a mass of beau- tiful and many-colored flowers, and Mr. Cuppy describes it as being one of the love- liest sights the eye of man ever rested upon. The old pioneers of Iowa were noted for their kindness and hospitality, and also for their strict honesty. The neighbors within a radius of thirty and fifty miles visited each other an ' rt" '" P. WICKHAM, of the firm of Wick- ham Bros , contractors and builders, " of Council Bluffs, have their ofHce at the corner of Broad and Main streets. The firm was organized in 1867, and they have since done an extensive business, having erected many of the business blocks in this city. Among those they have erected are the Pottawattamie court-house, the Bennett block, Eisman's block, Deen & Wells build- ing. Keystone building. First & Broadway, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 643 and Bnrnham & Lulley's banks, J. J. Brown's building, Dodge building, the new Grand Hotel and Dahaney's Opera Block, which is one of the largest buildings in the city. Mr. Wickham has also built two fine residences for himself, the first being now owned by P. C. Duval, corner of Willow avenue and BluflF street, and his present residence on the cor- ner of Seventh street and Seventh avenue. He was born in October, 1845, in Antrim County, Ireland, the eon of Patrick and Celia (Pryor) Wickham. He was reared in his native country until twelve years of age, when he came to America with his parents. He went first to New Orleans, and then to St. Louis, where he remained a short time. He next came to Council Bluffs, where his parents died, and as soon as he reached his majority he engagee at brick and stone ma- sonry, which he has since followed. Mr. Wickham was married in this city, in 1875, to Jennie Fenian, a native of Winne bago County, Illinois, born in 1852. They have a family ot six children: Angeline, Celia, George, Genevieve, Paul and Agnes. They are both members of the Catholic Church. Politically Mr. Wickham is a stanch Democrat, and is one of the charter members of the Building and Loan Associa- tion of Council Bluffs. ->^*>^f-|^-~ fAMES SAINT, section 35, Waveland Township, is numbered among the early settlers and successful citizens of this part of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Mr. Saint was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, ten miles from the mouth of the Little Miami River, October 27, 1830. His father, James Saint, Sr., was born in Massachusetts, a de- scendant of one of the Pilgi-ims who landed on Plymouth Rock. Mr. Saint had two uncles who served in the war of 1812, one being killed and the other wounded. These were brothers of his father. James Saint, Sr., married Jane Allen, a native of Penn sylvania. Her father, William Allen, was a relative of William Allen, ex-Governor of Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Saint five sons and five daughters were born, James being the sixth child. The father died in Ohio in 1861. He had been a farmer all his life, and was a Republican. The mother is now eighty-five years old, and resides at Louis- ville, Kentucky. Mr. Saint spent his yonth on a farm in Hamilton County, Ohio, chopping wood, clearing land and doing other .farm work, and during the winter months got what edu- cation he could in the little log school-house. In 1858 he went to Pike's Peak in search of gold. Prom there he continued his way across the plains to California. After a sojourn of two years on the Pacific Coast he came back as far as Iowa, traveling on horse- back, and bringing with him a pack-horse. During the journey he camped out at night and did his own cooking. In 1861 Mr. Saint bought land in Potta- wattamie County, Iowa, but soon the war broke out and he entered the service of his country. He enlisted in Company I, Twenty- third Iowa Infantry, one of tiie best regi- ments that ever went to the front. Mr. Saint participated in many important en- gagements, among which we note the follow- ing: the battles of Port Gibson, Jackson, Mississippi, Champion Hill, Black River Bridge, the siege of Vicksburg, New Or- leans, the Red River expedition, and several others. He was honorably discharged at Harrisburg, Texas, after which he returned North. At the close of the war Mr. Saint located at Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, where lie 641 BIOGRAPHIC A L HISTOR 7. worked at the carpenter's trade for some time. In 1866 be married Miss Elizabeth Hamilton, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of James and Elizabetii (Long) Hamilton, also natives of Ohio. The year he was mar- ried Mr. Saint settled on a farm of 120 acres, where he now lives, being among the first settlers of the neighborhood. He is now the owner of 240 acres of well-improved land. He has a good frame house and large barn, 30 X 45 feet. He also has other farm build- ings, a wind-mill and good fences. Mr. Saint gives his attention to general farming and stock-raising. He and his wife are the parents of five children, viz.: George, Will- iam, who is now attending college at Shenan- doah, Iowa; Inez, James and Earl. Mr. Saint is much interested in educational mat- ters, and is giving his children the benefit of a good education, so that tliej will be fitted to occupy useful positions in life. He is a Republican, and has served as Township Clerk. Is a member of the Masonic frater- nity, having been made a Maion in (3hio. Mrs. Saint and the three oldest children are members of the Christian Church. SKANK R. LEVIN was made Chief of the City Fire Department in April, 1890, and has been a member of the order since its early history. He joined the Volunteer Fire Department in 1877, and was associated with it until 1884, when the city established the paid department. He was foreman of Rescue Engine Company, No. 3, for four years, and when the paid department was organized he was foreman of it until it was thoroughly established. Mr. Levin was born in Sweden, July 16, 1854, son of John and Louisa Levin. His youth was spent in his native country, and in 1868 he came to America with his parents and settled in Council Bluffs. His father is living and resides in this city. Before comino' to the United States Mr. Levin spent one year learning the cigar trade, and after locat- ing here he was engaged in various pursuits for two years. Then he became associated with Filbert & Vaight. cigar manufacturers, with whom he remained two years. After being with Mr. Hubstine one year and with Mr. Daubaum for a time, he, in 1877, estab- lished a cigar manufactory of his own. He also opened a retail store, and since then has done an extensive business, turning out as many as a quarter of a million cigars in one year. This establishment is located at No. 400 Broad street. In 1889 Mr. Levin also opera. ed a barber shop in connection with his cigar trade. He employs an average of four men in his factory and puts up a tirst- class line of goods. His oldest brand, the " Figaro," has been in use for ten years. Politically he has atBliated with the Repub- lican party until recently, but is now an in- dependent. He is a member of the following orders: A. F.& A. M., No. 71, Council Bluffs; A. A. S. R., Oriental of Iowa Valley, Council Bluffs, and R. A. No. 156. In the A. A. S. R. he officiates as one of the degree officers. Mr. Levin was married August 3, 1880, to MissCaroline Acton, a native of Den mark, born November 26, 1855. They have one child — Oscar. They hold to the faith of the Scandina- vian Baptist Church. ■o^.. g . 3 .. ; . g . ^ fOHN H. GOULD, an enterprising and well-known early settler of Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa, and an ex-soldier of the late war, located in Waveland Township in 1866, when all this part of the State was new and wild. OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 645 Mr. Gonld was born in Vermont, January 15, 1811, son of Joseph and Susan (Haskin) Gonld, natives of the Mohawk Valley, New York. Both the Haskins and Goulds were Dutch. Grandfather Haskins was a soldier in the war of 1812. Josepli Gonld and wife reared a familv of four daughters and three sons. The mother was a Methodist, and in that faith reared her children. The father was a farmer all his life, and in his political views was a Democrat. His death occurred in Vermont John H., although reared on a farm, in early life showed himself to be a natural mechanic; could lay stone or brick, plaster, handle the broad-ax, and, in fact, could turn his hand to anything he chose. His educa- tion was obtained in the common schools of Vermont. For a time he was in New York State working on tlie Erie Canal, employed by Mr. Comstock, a prominent canal owner. He was in New York city during the great cholera epidemic in 1833. In 1835 he re- moved to Eureau County, Illinois, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of tiiat place. Tiiis was Ijefore the Black Hawk war. Mr. Gould was married in Bureau County, Janu- ary 29, 1846, to Martha Prunk, who was born in Virginia, daugliter of Daniel and Cather- ine Prunk. Mr. Prunk also settled in Bureau County before the Indian war. During tiie great Rebellion Mr. Gould served nine or ten months in the Ninety-third Illinois Infantry, Company E, his regiment being stationed in Missouri and other parts of the South. He was in several skirmishes but no battles. Mr. Gould resided in Bureau County, Illi- nois, until 1866, when he came to Pottawat- tamie County, Iowa, and bought land which WHS partly improved, and on which a log house had been built. He is now the owner of 214 acres of well improved land on section 11, Waveland Townsiiip. He has a comfort- able house and other buildings on his farm. Mr. Gould has five children: Mary Magdaline Johnson, a widow, who resides with her father. Before her marriage she was a suc- cessful teacher. George W., of Willow Lake, South Dakota; Daniel W., a resident of Port- land, Oregon; Addison, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska; and Emma Catherine, wife of S. Solomon, "Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County. They lost one child, Madison, who died at the age of eighteen months. The great loss of Mr. Gould's life was in the death of his beloved wife. January 14, 1889. She was a devoted and loving wife and mother, atid a true Christian. Her church relations were with the Methodist. Mr. Gould is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been connected with it thirty-three years. His mother was a worthy member of the same for seventy-six years. Mr. Gonld has served as Sabbath-school Superintendent, and is a zealous Christian worker. His polit- ical views are in harmony with Democratic principles. He has ever been interested in educational matters, and has served the public as a member of the School Board, lie is associated with the G. A. R., Worthingtc^n Post, No. 9, Griswold, Iowa. Although past eighty he is a well preserved man. As an honored and upright citizen he has the re- spect ot all who know him. "-• % * i »' ! ' ^ '' '" LARKSON GODFREY.— Among the many successful citizens of Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa, we find the above- named gentleman, who by his own exertions has risen to a position of wealth and in- fluence. Mr. Godfrey was born ten miles west of La Fayette, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, July 17, 1836. Elijah Godfrey, his father, was l)orn in Maryland, a smi nf Joseph 646 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY Godfrey, wlio was of English ancestry. Elijali Godfrey was married in Ross County, Ohio, to Eleanor Davison, a native of that county, and a daughter of Frederick Davi- son. They subsequently moved to Tippeca- noe County, Indiana, making tiie trip on horseback and carrying some household goods and two children on pack-horses. They were among the early pioneers of that part of Indiana. Of the two sons and seven daughters born to them, the subject of this sketch was the fifth child. When he was fourteen years old his mother died. The father afterward moved to Warren County, Illinois, where he died al the age of eighty- two years. His whole life was spent on a farm. He was an honored and esteemed citizen, a member of the Republican party, and a believer in the Gospel. Clarkson Godfrey spent his youth on a frontier farm in Tippecanoe County, where he learned to clear land and do all kinds of farm work, and where he was educated in the common schools of the period. At the age of nineteen he went to Warren County, Illinois, where he engaged in farming until 1873. In that year he came to Waveland Townshiji, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. During the war Mr. Godfrey entered the service of his country, enlisting in tlie spring of 1865 in the Forty-seventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry. He was in the battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged and returned to Illinois. Mr. Godfrey was married in Warren County, Illinois, March 14, 1868, to Miss Ellen E. De Hart, a lady of education and culture and a successful and popular teacher. She WHS born in Brown County, Indiana, but was reared in Warren County, Illinois. In 1873, as already stated, Mr. Godfrey came to iiis present location. He first bouglit 160 acres of wild land in section 19, Wave land Township, and be>.'ame one of the early settlers of the neighborhood. His efforts have been rewarded with prosperity. More land has been added to his first purchase, and he now owns 565 acres of well-improved land. Four hundred and forty acres are in a body in Waveland Township, and 125 acres are in Grove Township. He has three good tenant houses on his land, and his own house is a comfortable story-and-a-half frame cot- tage, pleasantly located on a natural building site. His home is surrounded by a grove and orchard of five acres. Other improve- ments on his farm are a good barn, 26 x 48 feet, cattle sheds, feed lots, modern wind pump, etc. Mr. Godfrey is engaged in stock-raising, and is one of the most exten- sive farmers in the township, and it would be difficult to find a better large tract of land in the township than his. Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey have seven children: Maud, Isabelle, Franklin, Albert, Nellie, Ernest and Emma. They have lost three by death: their first bjrn, an infant son; Charlotte Jane, at the age of six months; and a baby girl. Mr Godfrey is a Republi- can, and has served the public as Township Trustee. He is a man in the prime of life, is well posted on the topics of the day, is out- spoken and affable in manner, and is regarded as one of the popular citizens of Waveland Township. Mrs. Godfrey is an active uiem- ber of the Evangelical Church, of which her husband is one of the most liberal supporters. .j^^g, ILLIAM QUICK, an enterprising and successful young farmer of Wright Township, has been a resident of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, since he was a OF POTT AW A rr AM IE COUNTY. 647 small boy. He was born in Ohio, in Au- gust, 1865, son of Jasper and Jane Quick, na- tives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. When quite young he came with his parents to Waveland Township, this county, where he grew up on a farm and received a limited education. He early learned habits of indus- try, honesty and perseverance — factors in a young man's character which will always in- sure success. His parents had eight children, three sons and five dauwliters, he bein^ the first born. For some time lie worked ont by the month. March 10, 1887, Mr. Quick married Eme- line Pierson, a native of Pottawattamie County, daughter of Granville and Elizabeth Pierson. Her father is an old settler of this county, and a veteran of the Mexican and civil wars. After his marriage Mr. Quick lived in Waveland Township one year. The farm on which he now lives, eighty acres on section 12, Wright Township, he purchased from E. a. Pierson. With his characteristic go-aheadativeness he set about improving the farm at once: finished the house, built stables, cribs, granary, made stock-lots and put up a modern wind-pump, besides many other im- provements in the way of fencing, etc. He is cultivating 320 acres, having rented a large tract of laud. He has sixty-live head of cat- tle, 100 hogs and four horses. Mr. Quick is a good judge of cattle and a successful breeder of the same. He and his wife have one daughter, Flor- ence May. fILLIAM STIDHAM is one of the well known early pioneers of Grove Township, having first come to this county when a lad, in 1847. He was born near Wilmincfton, Delaware, 46 B ' February 18, 1837, the son of George David and Esther Stidha.n, both natives of Pennsyl- vania. He was only a babe when his parents moved to Fountain County, Indiana, and when he was seven years old his mother died. Then for a time he made his home with an uncle. His father was subsequently married, in Vermilion County, Illinois, to Susan Ann Winegar, by whom he had one daughter, now Mrs. Esther Williams, a widow of Grove Township. After his father's marriage Will- iam returned to him. Mr. Stidham came to Garden Grove, Iowa, with the Latter-Day Saints, in 1846, where he spent the winter, and the next season went to Salt Lake. He was a bold and fearless man. He loved new scenes, new country and plenty of game, and the adventurous life of the West was con- genial to his tastes, but he would not obey the Mormon laws. He was threatened with death if he continued to disregard their laws, so the next season, with two other families, he left Utah to return to Iowa. On his way back he met Brigham Young, to whom he told why and where he was going, but Mr. Young, seeing lie was in the vicinity of friends, did not offer to molest him. Upon his arrival in Iowa he located in Monroe County, where he remained two years. At the end of that time he came to Pottawatta- mie County and settled in Grove Township, where he spent the rest of his life, and died at the age of seventy-six years. Previous to his death he united with the Christian Church. In politics he was a Republican. His wife was a Methodist. She lived until 1889, and died at the home of her step-son, the subject of this sketch. William Stidham grew to manhood in this pioneer country, received a limited education in a log school-house, and early in life did farm work, breaking and clearing land. In 1869 he went to California, going across the G48 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY plains with ox teams. He engaged in mining, prospecting, and ireighting goods, which at tliat time was a profitable bnsiness, and spent ten years on the Pacific coast, after which he returned to Iowa, and for two years lived in Grove Township, Pottawattamie County. Then he went to Big Horn River, the head of the Missouri, on a prospecting tour, lint the Indians were so troublesome, killing some of the men, that the search for minerals had to be abandoned, and the prospecting party re- turned to civilization. Mr. Stidham came back to his oltl home in Grove Township. Here he owns 186 acres of land, on section 21, well watered, and comprising botli timber and prairie land. Tlie farm is well adapted for grain or stock. Mr. Stidham has in his make-up many of the characteristics of tlie Western pioneer. He is firm in his convictions of right and wrong, is plain in his speech and is frank and fearless in his manner. He has the confi- dence and respect of all who know him, ►>4^ fAMES WICKHAM, of Council Bluffs, is a native of County Antrim, Ireland, and a son of Patrick and Sisela (Prior) Wickliam. James remained in his native country until 1855, when he came to Amer- ica, locating in New York City, where he joined his mother and two brothers, who had come to this country in 1854; the father and remainder of the family came via New Or- leans and joined the family at Council Bluffs. They had a family of ten children: Edward, deceased; Mary, wife of Martin Hughes, of Council Bluffs; James, our subject; Patrick, a resident of Montana; Bernhard, deceased; Thomas, deceased ; John, deceased; Francis, deceased; Owen P., a resident of this city, and Ann, deceased. The parents made their home in Council Bluff's until their death, the father dying in January, 1872, and the mother on March 4, 1889. Our subject was born January 12, 1837, and after attaining his majority commenced work for himself, having learned the stone and brick-mason's trade, at which he worked in the summer, and in the winter seasons turned his attention to anything that pre- sented itself. He commenced contracting and building in 1863, under tl.e firm name of Hughes & Wickham Bros., which paitner- ship continued until the former withdrew from the company, which then continued business under the name of James & O. P. Wickham. They do an immense amount of business, and are among the oldest contract- ors and builders in the city, tlie partnership having been established in 1865. They do an annual business of some $150,000, and employ about 200 men during the summer seasons. In 1888 Mr. James Wickham erected a handsome brick mansion on Frank- lin avenue, No. 400, at a cost of some $10,- 000, where he and his family reside in peace and comfort. He was married, in June, 1859, to Mary Lacy, who was born in Ireland in 1835. She died in Council Bluff's November 9, 1867, and Mr. Wickham was then married, in Sep- tember, 1873, to Miss Bridget Keating, a native of Clare, Ireland, born February 2, 1853. They have eleven children, namely: Bernhard P., Edward A., Kate, Nell, Jdhn, Anna, Veronica, James, Nora, Loretta and Leo. The family are members of the Catho- lic Church. E. A. Wickham, of the firm of Wickham & Co. composed of E. A. Wickham and J. E. Riley, have their office at 502 Broad Street, Council BInffs. They also have an office at 4 and 5 Granite Block, Omaha, under the firm name of J. E. Riley & Co., and also an OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 649 office at Denver, Colorado, in R')ijin 17, Gran- ite Buildine, also under tlie name of J. E. Kiley & Co. They are tlie leading contract- ors of public work, and do a i annual busi- ness of $550,000, employing about 400 men. They do business in Council I>luffs, Omaha, Jr'lattsmoutli, Burlington, Denver and Ne- braska City. They did their heaviest con- tracting in Denver in 1889-'90, amounting to $280,000. E. A. Wickham was born in Council Rlutt's, November 6, 1864, and was educated in the public schools of this city, and three years in the Benedictine College at Atchison, Kansas. In 1884, after completing his studies, he took charge of the busint^ss of Wickham Bros., as manager, which position he is still holding, but will withdraw in January, 1891. Polit- ically he is a stanch Democrat, and is associ- ated with the Catholic Church. He is also one of the Directors of the State Savings Bank of Council Bluffs, fL. TEMPLETON, Marshal of Council Bluffs, was elected to his present posi- * tion in March, 1890. She is a native of Missouri, born April 11, 1855, son of James M. Templeton. His parents came to Council Bluffs in 1863, where he was reared and educated in the public schools. While a youth he learned the cigar business, with which he has since been connected. In 1882 he established a cigar manufactory and store, No. 550 West Broad Street. He carries a full line of manufacturers' supplies, and is doing a fine business. In 1871 he joined the city tire department, and was Chief of the same during the years 1882, '83 and '84 and also during 1887 and '88. He was one of the organizers of the paid tire department, and was the first Chief. Mr. Templeton has been considered one of the most successful chiefs of this order in the West. He is a member of the National Association of Fire Engineers, and was a delegate to the conven- tion of the same held in Detroit, Michigan, in 1890. He is also a member of the State Firemen's Association, being its Yice-presi- dent. Mr. Templeton is associated with the I. O. O. F., Hawkeye Lodge, No. 184. Politically he is a stanch Democrat and takes an active interest in political matters. When he was elected Marshal he received the largest majority ever cast in Council Bluffs. March 2, 1880, Mr. Templeton married Miss Ella Lamb, a native of Wisconsin. Her death occurred in November, 1882, at the age of twenty-four years. — -♦^■i ^ ' S n ;»| *-'-»* lOT HE WESTERN LUMBER AND SUPPLY COMPANY, of Council Bluffs, was established in 1888 by Jacob Martinson, Lewis Hammer and Ed Mott. In 1889 Mr. Mott withdrew. They first established with a cash capital of $35,- 000, which was afterward increased to $45,- 000. The annual amount of dues is $100,- 000, wholesale and retail. They deal in all kinds of building material and deliver at any point The yards and office are at the corner of Third avenue and Thirteenth street, and are managed by Mr. L. Hammer. This gentleman is also interested in another lum- ber yard, at the corner of Second and Vine streets, under the firm name of L. Hammer & Co., established by them in 1867, with a cash capital of $25,000, afterward increased to $35,000. The annual amount of business there is $65,000, and the scope is the same as at the other place already mentioned. Lewis Hammer was born in Lorain County, Ohio, September 4, 1847, the son of Godfrey 650 BJOOBAPHICAL HISTORY and Catliarina (Dochtler) Hammer, and of German ancestry. Tlie parents both died in Ohio. Mr. Hammer, one of their six chil- dren, was reared in his native State, to farm life, and at the age of twentj-one struck out in the world for himself, tirst working at the carpenter's trade seven years, — two years in Ohio. In July, 1857, he came to Council Blufis and followed his trade here five years, when he engaged in the lumber trade, pur- chasing a saw-mill, which he operated two years. He furnished the first ties for the Union Pacific Railroad. The ties and lum- ber were ratted down tlie river to Omaha. After running that mill — located on the Bauyo River in Harrison County — two years, he came to Council Bluffs, wiiere he has since been engaged in the lumber trade. He is also carrying on farming and stock-raising extensively, under the firm name of Hammer & Wood. They have a farm of 2,500 acres, and rear high-grade cattle, horses and liogs; 600 acres are under cultivation. The grazing lands are in Dawson County, Nebraska, on the Fort Kearney and Black Hill Railroad. Mr. Hammer has assisted largely in build- ing up Council Bluffs in all its interests, especially in the line of manufactories, etc. In 1859 he went by ox team to Pike's Peak, being on the road thirty days from Council Bluffs to Denver, and spent a year there. Politically he is a stanch Republican ; has been Alderman for the city two terms. He is a member of Council Bluffs Lodge, No. 49, I. O. O. F.. in which he has passed the chairs; and he is also a member of the en- campment. He was married in March, 1869, to Rhoda A. Wood, daughter of T. K. and Deema (Mann) Wood, of Kentucky, where she was born in 1858; and four of their five children are living: Etta, wife of Henry Brier, of Council Bluffs; Lewis H.,at home; Elmer Arthur, deceased; Hazel J. and Bessie L., at home. VLk^MJ^*.^ IfHEODORE BRAY, proprietor of the Pacific Livery, Sale and Feed Stables, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, February 19, 1841, the son of John and Eliza J. (Struble) Bray, of Irish and German origin. Was reared to farm life in Ids native State, educated at the public schools and in a private college at Deckertown, that State, graduating April 10, 1861. Four days afterward he enlisted in Company I, Harris' Light Cavalry, under General Kilpatrick, and served four years and nine days, being mustered out at Washington, District of Columbia. He was taken prisoner in the Shenandoah Valley, and nine days after this was exchanged ; but lie was again captured at luka, Mississippi, and was in [jrison eight months at Vicksburg. The principal battles in which he was engaged were those of Fair Oaks, Fairfax Court House, Corinth, Shiloh, Lookout Mountain, and skirmishes. After the war he spent a year in Chicago as foreman of a livery barn; then was a ye&v in the same business at St. Louis; and then ten months for himself at Rockford, Illinois. Selling out at the latter place, he came to Bowen, Iowa, where for one winter he ran a pack line. In August, 1877, he came to Council Bluffs, where he has since made his home. Here he first engaged in rnilroading on the Sioux City & Pacific line, contracting and making the first grade into Sioux City. Two years afterward he returned to Council Bluffs, and since then he has been engaged in the livery business, in which he gives general satisfaction and is doing a prosper- ous business, having now a stock of about thirty-five horses, with a good number of OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 651 vehicles, etc. He is a Republican, and a member of Lodge No. 166, F. & A. M.; of Abraham Lincoln Post, G. A. R., and also of the Veteran Firemen's Associaticm, he beino; one of the charter members in 1868. He was married in 1866 to Cynthia A. Allen, at Hamilton, Canada, who was born in that province in 1843, and they have two children: Charles, enaajj-ed in real estate and loans in Omaha, but residing in Council Bluffs; and Nettie A., a graduate of 1890 at the Sisters' School. The family are Catholics. T. COLE, proprietor of the Ogdeii Livery Stables, at No. 158 West I* Broad street, assumed control there in January, 1887, carrying now a stock of about $8,000. He also runs a line of car- riages, and supplies hearses for funerals. The first business of the kind he had here in Council Bluffs was as manager of the St. Joe Barn, from 1883 to 1886; and next he had control of the Rink Barn, which he ran in conjunction with the O^den establishment a year. He was born in Henry County, Iowa, in 1858, the son of Robert and Mary (Hut- ton) Cole, and of English origin. His father is dead, and his mother is living at Mount Pleasant, this State. His school education was completed at the Wesleyan University in that town. In 1869 he went to Hamilton County, this State, and opened up a farm of eiglity acres, and in 1881 he came to Council Bluffs, where he has since resided. He was als I engaged as collector and in other pur- suits until 1883, when he commenced in the livery business, as already stated. He pos- sesses a valuable patent wire-stretcher, for stretching all kinds of wire. He is an ener- getic business man. He was married in November, 1883, to Miss Anna Maxwell, of this county, svlio was born in Rock Island, Illinois; and they have one son, Robert, who was born in Ivlarch, 1885. Mr. Cole is a Republican on national questions, is a member of the Royal Arcanum and Modern Woodmen societies, while Mrs. Cole is a member of the Baptist Church. ■'•' 'i .'' l ** i 'if^ fOSEPH F. YOUNG, Jr., dealer in live- stock, Council Bluffs, was born in this city, June 2, 1868, the son of J. F. and Mary A. Young; was educated three years at the Western Iowa College here. At the age of fourteen he commenced handling live- stock for his father, and at eighteen years of age he entered into partnership with S. H. Buliard, and for a year was engaged with him in buying and shipping stock. Then he again entered partnership with his father, and was with him until June, 1890, when he once more commenced upon his own hook, and he is now doing an extensive business dealing in cattle and horses. He is a Re- publican in his political sympathies. For his wife he married. May 14, 1890, Miss Lil- lie B. Garner, who was born in this city, June 3, 1870. ■ lEL STABLES, at the corner of Fourth i/W street and Fifth avenue. Council Bluffs, are managed by Mr. Fred Davis as livery, feed and sale stables. He carries a good stock and has an extensive business, keeping two large barns. He also deals some in real estate. He began here as pro- prietor of the Ogden Stables on Broadway for a year; next he was owner of stables on North First street for eighteen months; then 653 BIOGRAPHICAL aiHTOliT for two years cuiuJucted staliles on North Main street, and since 1888 lie has i)cen at his present place. lie has lieen a resident of the city since 1863, having come here with his parents, William H. and Rebecca (Neal) Davis, from Oskaloosa, this State. His father is dead, wliile his mother is still a resident of this city. They are of Welsh and Irish extrac- tion. Mr. Davis was born in Peoria, Illinois, in May, 1853; was ilve years of age when the family removed to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they resided until 1861; then they moved to Oskaloosa, and thence to Council Bluffs. At the age of nineteen or twenty years he entered the employ of Thomas & Jackson, wholesale grocers, for something over two years in the house and a year as traveling salesman for them. Next he was traveling salesman' for Steele & Johnson two years, and finally engaged in the livery busi- ness, which he has since followed. He is a live, enterprising business man. Republican in his politics, and a member of the order of Modern Woodmen. »M. ELLIS & CO., architects, rooms 243, 244 and 245, Merriam building, * Council Bluffs, and the main office in the Bee building, Omaha, is a company formed December, 1889, and consisting of F. M. Ellis, H. C. Cook and J. H. Kent. The office in Council Bluffs is under the super vision of H. C. Cook. Some of the prin- cipal buildings of Omaha and other cities have been erected by this firm, such as the Commercial National Bank, residence of H. W. Yates, Alfred Millard, lion. H. C. Clark's building, of Omaha, and the first Presbyterian Church of Council Bluffs; also the State Insane Asylum of New York, Nebraska, the McDonough County (Illinois) Asylum, the court-house at Lincoln, Ne- braska, Wesleyan University at Bartley, Nebraska, Grand Opera Houoe at Peoria, Illinoiti, opera house at Huron, Dakota, Opera House and Masonic Temple at Oska- loosa, Iowa, hotel at Waterloo, Iowa, and numerous other fine buildings at different points of the West and Central States. Mr. Cook came to Council Bluffs in De- cember, 1889, where the branch office was formed. Previous to his comincr to Council o Bluffs he was located in Omaha, Nebraska, where he had been five years. He was a student of H. P. Sedding, of London, Eng- land, in architectural work. After having completed his schooling he went to Rome, where he did his first work. He also trav- eled through Italy and France, in the pursuit of his studies, after which he returned to London, England, where he remained but a short time. In 1875 he came to America, locating at Boston, Massachusetts, where he was engaged at his trade, and in 1884 he removed to Kansas City, where he sjjent one year. In 1885 he came to Omaha, Nebraska. His entire life has been devoted to his busi- ness, having entered the study of architecture at the age of fifteen. lie is a native of Boston, Massachusetts born in 1851, the son of Edward and Mary (Howard) Cook, of English ancestry. He was married in November, 1874, to Miss Elizabeth Founton, daughter of Joseph Founton, a native of France. They arc the parents of five children: Edward, Will- iam, Mary, John, Frank, all at home. Mr. Cook is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Modern Woodmen and the A. F. & A. M. The family are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. Cook being President of the M. M. A., a society OF r()TTAWATTAM[E COUNTY. 653 of the same clinrcli, and is one of the rising business men of the city of Council Bluffs. fOHN EVANS, of Garner Township, section 6, is one of tiie well-known and early settlers of Pottawattamie County. He was born in Wales, June 14, 1844, and came to this country in 1856. (For parents, emigration, etc., sea sketch of Joseph Evans.) He passed his youth engaged in farming, wliich occupation he has always followed. His first purchase was his present farm, where he has lived for many years. He has 145 acres of Pottawattamie Creek land, where he is engaged in general farming, stock-rais- ing and gardening, five miles frOra the city limits of Council Bluffs. He is a man yet in the prime of life, frank and cordial in his manner, honorable in his business, and is one of tlie enterprising citizens of Garner Town- ship. Politically he is independent. He was married in Pottawattamie County, October 10. 1866, to Miss Sarah Reece, who was l)orn in Wales, the daughter of John and Mary (Davis) Reece, also natives of Wales. The father died in Council Bluffs in 1875, and the mother in Garner Township in 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have six children, viz.: Mary, wife of William Strang, of Council Bluffs; Margaret, Francis, Sadie, John and Eva. The family are memlters of the Re- organize! Churcli of tiie Latter- Day Saints, of which Mr. Evans is a Priest. SORRIS HOUGH, of Hazel Dell Township, is the son of Riley and ^&^^ Sedelia Hough, was born in Lee County, Iowa, April 20, 1843, and was but live years of age when his parents emigrated to i'otta vattanie County, where he has since made his home. He has therefore been broucrlit up to farm life. He made his home with his parents most of the time until he was twenty-six years of age, excepting three summer seasons spent in freighting from Council Bluffs to Denver. He was married April 25, 1869, to Sai-ah Hall, daughter of A. J. and Nancy Hall. Mrs. Hough was born in Lee County, Iowa, May 31, 1847. They have had seven chil- dren, namely: (Charles A., Lee J., Richard M., David M., Samuel A., Oscar H. and Ernest W. After his marriage Mr. Hough came to the farm where he now resides, then comprising eighty acres of unimproved land on section 3, Hazel Dell Township; and here, where there was nothing but prairie grass, he and his new bride began life's journey together, and here they have steadily resided for twenty-one years. In the meantime he had added to his estate, until he now has 320 acres in one body, on sections 2, 3, 10 and 11, Hazel Dell Township, and twenty acres in section 5, and 160 in Neola Township. He first erected a small frame, 14 x 16 feet, in which he commenced life and which he occupied until 1882, when he erected his present handsome frame residence, 16 x 28 and 16x20, one of the neatest houses in this part of the country. He has of course also good barns for stock and grain, as general farming and stock-raising is his business. He takes special interest in introducing the better grades. Of cattle he has the short- horn breeds. He was instrumental in having brought to the county one of the finest im- ported Clydesdale horses — -Napeau byname — which he keeps upon his farm. He was sired by Prince Harold, and is a splendid specimen of the horse genus. Mr. Hough stands in the front ranks as a progressive and prosper- ous farmer and stock-raiser of Pottawattamie ()-|4 blOORAPli ICA L HISTORY County. He is a decided Democrat; lias been Township Trustee, member of the School Board, and is now a member of the Farmers' Alliance. \ENRY F. PLUME R, a farmer of Lewis Township, is a native of Hanover, Ger- many, born October 8, 1828, the son of John H. and Mary Plnmer. The parents came to America in the year 1830, locating in what was then Cole Contity, now Moniteau County, Missouri, and then removed to Mills County, Iowa, where their death occurred — the mother's in December, 1862, and the father's in April, 1885. The war record of Mr. Plumor's father is something to be re- membered by his children, as six years was spent in the English army. He was in the famous battle of Waterloo, and served in the French revolution under the Duke of Well- ington. They had a family of six children, viz.: Caroline, deceased; Sophia, wife of Wm. Saar, of Mills County, Iowa; Henry F., the subject of this sketch; Frederick, residing in Kansas; William, residing in Pottawattamie County, and Christopher, residing in Mills County, Iowa. Henry F. Plumer, our subject, was reared to farm life, and received his limited educa- tion in the schools of German}- and this country, but by close application he has se- cured a practical education. When he was twelve years of age he came to America with his parents, and since that time lie has made his home in Missouri and Iowa. When he was about twenty-one years of age lie com- menced to work for himself Mr. Plumer was married August 20, 1849, to Miss Sophia Kinning, who was born in Mercer County, Ohio, October 12, 1835, the daughter of John H. and Mary (Meyer) Kin- ning. natives of Hanover, Germany, who came to America in 1829. The mother died in Missouri about the year 1843. They had three children: Henry, who died in the army at Jefferson Barracks, after having served two years; Sophia and Augusta. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Plumer located in Missouri for two years, after which they came to Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie County. They made a purchase of a claim from a man named Huston, for $250, who had made fine improvements, and as soon as the land came into market he purchased it from the Government. Mr. Plumer made a pre-emption of 160 acres on section 25, Lewis Township, where he erected a small log house, 18x20 feet, in which he made his home for some time. In 1861 he erected a frame residence, 18 x 38 feet, and in 1880 built an addition. He has a pleasant home surrounded with shade and ornamental trees, and everything bespeaks thrift, energy and prosperity. He has added to his first pur- chase until he now owns 1,200 acres of as good land as lies in Pottawattamie County, Lewis Township and Keg Creek, and he also has 840 acres in Woodbury County, Bremner Township, and 1,280 acres in Ellis County, Kansas. He has always devoted himself to farming and stock-raising, buying, shipping, etc., in which he deals quite extensively. In 1870 he erected the Crystal Mills of Council Bluffs, which he disposed of to Thomas Evans. Mr. Plumer is a good example of what a man can accomplish who starts with nothing but pluck and energy, as he started with com- paratively nothing, but by good management amassed a handsome competency. He has been a public benefactor in various ways to the community at large. They are worthy members of the Evangelical Church, and do- nated the land to the society upon which to build the church, and also assisted largely in OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 655 its constructicn. Politically Mr. Plumer is a Democrat, and is a strong advocate of law and order, and strives to promote tlie best interests of the cominiiuity in general. Mr. and Mrs. Plumer have twelve children living, namely: Mary J., wife of Fred Spetman, of Omaha, Nehraska; John, residing in Council Bluffs; William, of Woodbury County, Iowa'; Emeline, wife of Fred Ludick, of Woodbury County; Josephine, at home; Ferdinand, of Woodbury County; Edward, at home; Cor- nelius; Oscar; Augusta, deceased; Thomas, at home; Laura, Plenry, and an infant daugh- ter deceased. Mr. Plumer has given quite generously to his children as they grew to manhood and womanhood, helping them to make a start for themselves in life. — — ^^-^^i^— IILLIAM II. DIAL, a farmer of Hazel Dell Township, is a native of Cabell County, West Virginia, born Sep- tember 21, 1833, the son of George and Ma- tilda (Stoakes) Dial, natives of North Carolina and Virginia respectively. They were married in Virginia, where they resided a few years, and then moved to Mis- souri, where Mrs. Dial died in 1844. They had five children, namely: John E., deceased in 1848; William H., our subject; Mary, a resident of Oregon; Rebecca, deceased in 1843; and Francis Marion, a resident of Ore- gon. In 1847 Mr. Dial was again married, in Taylor County, Iowa, to Rachel Husbands, and they had two children: Thomas J. and Martha. His wife died, and he was aeain married, to Mrs. Wilson. He afterward went to his son's, where he died. He was a farmer by occupation. William H. Dial, our subject, was but two years of age when his parents removed to Platte County, Missouri, and then to Andrew County, where he was raised to the life of a farmer. His education was received by studying during his leisure moments, and by observation; on account of living on the frotitier he was deprived of the advantages of schooling. When he was fourteen years of age, in 1847, they removed to Taylor County, in a wild and unsettled territory inhabited by wolves and Indians. This was the second time he was thrown on the frontier, but he again went to work and assisted in opening up the country. Here they endured njany hardships and privations, such as are incident to pioneer life, making their home in a log cal)in of that day, which had no windows, and they did their cooking at the wide, old- fashioned fire-place. In 1863 he came to Pottawattamie County, and spent the first winter east of Council Bluffs, and then moved to the vicinity where he now lives. He first rented a farm of raw prairie land for seven years of William Garner, but in 1870 he purchased a tract of forty acres of the Rock Island Railroad Company on section 25, Hazel Dell Township, which was also raw prairie land. In June, 1871, he removed to his ])resent farm, where he erected a residence 26x14 and 16,xl2, one and a half stories high. He has added to his farm at different times, until he now possesses 120 acres of the best stock land in the county, and ten acres of timber land on section 17, Hazel Dell Township. He also has property in Weston, where he has resided since February 17, 18yO. He has always turned his atten- tion to farming and stock-raising, and also has a fine orchard on his farm, and one of the finest plum orchards in this section of the county. In his political views Mr. Llial has always been a stanch Democrat, taking an active part in all political work of his county and State. He has represented his Township as a mem- 656 BIOORAPHTCAL BISTORT ber of the School Board, Road Supervisor, and is now acting as Justice of the Peace. Mr. Dial was married December 4, 1852, to Mirtha A.nii Campbell, who was born in Kentucky, and the daughter of Isaac and Mary A. (Parker) Will. They have seven children, namely: John I., a resident of Gar- ner Township; Mary E., wife of John Garner, residing in Garner Township; Margaret A., wife of Mr. Price, residing in California; William Vallanding, deceased; Amanda, de- ceased; Russell F., residing in Hazel Dell Township on tiie old home farm; Georgia M., the widow of William A. Moore. Mr. Dial is a self-made man, having risen to his present position by pluck and perseverance, and he now stands among the well-to-do citi- zens of the county. +^' fj. HARTWELL, a business man of Oakland, was born in Rockford, lUi- _- * nois, February 24, 1855, the son of George and Chloe (Dodge) Hart well, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of New York. The senior Hartwell was a millwright by trade, lived near Janes- ville, Wisconsin, some time, and was married there. After that he moved to Rockford, Illinois, and thence to Muscatine, Iowa, where he bought a farm and erected a mill. Finally he went to Marshalltown to repair a mill, and there by accident met his death, at the age of forty-four years, leaving a wife and six children, namely: George W., now residing at Lincoln, Missouri; Helen, wife of George W. Welsh and residing at Boone, Iowa; T. J., the subject of this sketch; San- ford, editor of the News; Charles and Har- din, residents of Marshalltown. T. J., the third child in the above men- tioned family, at the age of thirteen years began to learn the trade of tinner. His mother, being left a widow, lost what money she had, and the education she gave her children was therefore very limited, and the boys were placed out early to learn some trade. Thus by industry and economy they have won for themselves a comfortable home in Marshalltown, where she and two of her sons reside. After completing iiis terra of apprenticeship. Mr. Hartwell spent a year in Des Moines; then was in several places; spent four years at Malc<»lm; after that he sold fruit trees and was in other employments until he came to Carson, Pottawattamie County, engaging in trade in agricultural implements, grain and coal. February 21, 1884, two years after he came to Carson, he married a lady whose parents first emigrated to Illinois, settling upon a farm, and tinally came to this county and settled near Carson, where the father about live years ago was ac- cidentally killed, leaving his wife and three daucrhters: Annie, wife of F. S. Coy, of Cen- ter Township; Libbie G. is the next, and Allie, a resident at home. Mrs. Hartwell was born in Illinois, August 16, 1863, and was brought up as a farmer's daughter. At length Mr. Hartwell disposed of his business at Carson and came to Oakland, buying his present establishment, where he is carrying on the same trade, in two large warerooms and a nice office adjoining. Here he has a large stock of farming implements, farm ma- chines and apparatus of all kinds, also an extra repository for wagons, buggies, etc. He also deals to some extent in seeds for the farm. His gross income amounts to about $20,000 a year. The conduct of his business has been such as to win for him many friends, and favor among all his patrons. He is a fixed Democrat, being chairman of a central committee. He has been Assessor of his township two years, Recorder for a period, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 657 and is now Mayor of the city, where he takes great interest in building up the material in- terests and moral standing of the commu- nity. He is a member of Oakland Ark, No. 335, F. & A. M., also of Lodge No. 442 of 1. O. O. F., at tlie same place, and of the lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah. Ilis two children are: Lottie Ghloe, born Decem- ber 26, 1884, and Katie May, born August 16, 1886. fAMES B. FOSTER came to Wright Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, in 1880. He was born in Pike County, Ohio, April 8, 1858, a son of Andrew and Martha (Humphreys) Foster, both natives of that place. The Fosters are of English an- cestry. The six children born to Andrew Foster and wife are as follows: Hannah, James B., David, Nancy, Samuel and Jenny. When James B. was fourteen years old his mother died. She was a member of the Free- Will Baptist Church. The father is now seventy years of age and still resides in Pike County, Ohio. James B. received a common-school educa- tion and was reared in his native county. At the age of twenty-two years he came West and settled in Iowa. He remained two months in the eastern part of the State, after which he came to Wright Township, Potta- wattamie County. For two years he worked for James Boiler, a relative of his. Then he purchased his present farm of eighty acres, which at that time was wild land. Fifty acres of it. however, had been broken. He selected a natural building site on which he erected a story and a half frame house, and, surrounded as it is with shade trees, it makes a comfort- able and attractive home. Mr. Foster has also made other improvements in the way of stables, other buildings and good fences. He was married January 30, 1882, to Miss Agnes Wimpenny,a native of Racine County, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Joseph Wim- pennj', a native of England. Her mother was born in Edinl)urg, Scotland. Joseph Wimpenny, a weaver by trade, was for many years foreman of the mills at Burlington, Wisconsin. Mrs. Foster was reared and ed- ucated in her native county. She and her husband have three children, viz.: Grace Mabel, Charlie Joseph and Roy. Mr. Foster is in the prime of life, has a good physique, is frank and cordial in his manner, and is re- spected by all who know him. His political views are in harmony with Democratic prin- ciples. Mrs. Foster is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. ~'" "| ' S i' S * |" "-*°' ^ A. HATSWELL is one of the prom- Mffi inent and successful stock-dealers of ^5^" Pottawattamie County, Iowa. He came here in the spring of 1881, and has since made Grove Township his home. Mr. Hatswell was born in Iowa County, Wisconsin, June 8, 1858, son of John and Mary (Collard) Hatswell, both natives of England. His father settled in Wisconsin in 1849. L. A. spent his boyhood days in Iowa County and when in his 'teens came with his parents to the State of Iowa and located in Montgomery County, where he grew to manhood. He received his education in the public schools, and was reared to the stock business from his youth up. In 1881 he came to his present location and purchased eighty acres of wild land, to which he afterward added 160 acres more, making 240 in one body, in section 26. This farm is now well improved, having a good frame house, two barns, cribs, yards, wind- mill, feed-lots, and other modern convenien- 658 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORT ces. One of" the barns is 26x30 feet, and the other, whicli was built in 1890, is 36x48 feet, with sixteen-feet posts, and with a rock basement. Mr. Hatswell also owns 103 acres of improved land in section 19. Last year he raised some 4,000 bushels of corn, feeding a large amount of it to his stock, having about 200 head of cattle and 300 liogs. He deals extensively in cattle, buying, feeding, shipping and selling, and has been very suc- cessful in his business undertakings. At difterent times he has been in partnership with William Lewis, in shipping stock. Mr. Hatswell is a Republican. He is a gentle- man of integrity and is frank and cordial in his manner. Although comparatively a joung man he is numbered financially, socially, and politically, among the enterprising and successful business men of Grove Township. ■■ ^ ■ 2 " S ' | """ - fAMES F. CON KLIN, a successful farmer of Wright Township, came to his present location in 1877. He is a native of the Buckeye State, born in Belmont County, No- vember 1,1843. His father,J.D.Conklin, was born in Morris County, New Jersey, a son of Benjamin Conklin, who was of Scotch-Irish extraction. J. D. Conklin was married in Belmont County, Ohio, to Elizabeth Hill, a native of that State. The Hills are of Ger- man descent, but many generations of the family have been residents of Pennsylvania and Ohio. When the subject of this sketch was four years old his parents moved to War- ren County, Illinois, where they lived until 1877. In that year they came to Iowa and located in Wright Township, Pottawattamie County, where the father died July 21, 1888. He was a mechanic, brick-layer and plasterer, having learned his trade in I^ew York city. In later life he turned his attention to agri- cultural pursuits. He was a Republican and a Methodist. While in Illinois he was licensed to exhort in the Methodist Church, and was a zealous worker in the cause of his Master. He and his wife reared a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters. Mrs. Conklin is still living, and makes her home with her children. James F. was brought up on the farm, educated in the public schools, and early in life was taught lessons of honesty and frugal- ity. Having arrived at manhood, he was married at Lewis, Cass County, Iowa, to Nelly Graham, daughter of Christie and Elizabeth Graham, the father a native of Ohio, and the mother of Wisconsin. Mrs. Conklin was born in Wisconsin, and at the age of thirteen years came with her parents to Iowa, locating in Pottawattamie County, where they still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Conk- lin have six children: Fanny. Laura, Roscoe, William, EInora and Minnie. They lost two infant sons. In politics Mr. Conklin is a Republican. He and his wife are consistent members of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has served as class-leader. They are also Sabbath-school members. Mr. Conklin owns 145 acres of well-improved land, and is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He is a man of broad and progressive views, and is regarded as an up- right and honorable citizen. ' S ' ^"^ ' S' * " ' ILLIAM SIDENER came to Wright ^ Township, Pottawattamie County, 1^=^^ ill 1880, and has since made his home here. Mr. Sidener was born in St. Joseph County, Michigan, December 2, 1838. His father, Jacob Sidener, was born in Fay- ette County, Ohio, and his grandfather, Nicholas Sidener, was a native of Kentucky, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 659 tlie Sideners being of German ancestry. Jacob Sidener married Sarah Fox, who was born in Fayette County, Ohio, a daughter of Andrew and Sarah Fox, natives of Pennsyl- vania, and of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. Both Mr. Sidener and his wife were reared in Ohio. Some time after their marriage they emigrated to St. Joseph County, Michi- gan, where they became pioneers. He en- tered a tract of Government land, and atone time owned 360 acres. They spent the re- mainder of their lives in St. Joseph County, the mother dying at the age of thirty-eight, when her son William was about fifteen or sixteen years old. The father died at the age of sixty-seven years. He was a farmer and a stock-raiser and dealer, and his prosperity in life was due to his own well directed efforts. Politically he was a Republican, formerly a Whig. He was a member of the Methodist Church, and an active and zealous worker in the cause of Christ. This worthy couple reared six children, William being the oldest of the fatnily. Joseph, the second son, was a member of the Forty-first Iowa Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Shiloh. The subject of this sketch was reared on his father's farm in Michigan. Arriving at tlie age of manhood, he was united in mar- riage, in Lagrange County, Indiana, January 8, 1857, to Miss Catherine Roat, a native of New York State, daughter of William and Emma (Smith) Roat. Her father was born and reared in jS"ew York State, and died there at the age of forty-eight years, and her mother died in Lagrange County, Indiana, at about the same age. They reared a family of four sons and five daughters, Mrs. Sidener being the fourth born. In 1859 the subject of this sketch and his wife removed to La Fayette, Illinois, where they resided until 1880. In that year they came to this county, and he bought his pres- ent farm of Abel Gifford, who had improved it. It consists of 160 acres, has a good frame house and other farm buildings, and all the surroundings are in a flourishincr con- dition. The school-house in District No. 9 is situated on the southwest corner of the farm, and the Asbury Church is only sixty rods east of Mr. Sidener's residence; so he is in close proximity to both school and church privileges. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Sidener and wife have three children, viz.: Ida B., Estella May, wife of Fremont Dewitt, Wright Town- ship, and Arthur G. They have three de- ceased: Roxelania, at the age of three years, and two who died in infancy. Mr. Sidener's political vit ws are in har- mony with Republican principles. He and his wife and daughter Ida are members of the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a man who has had much experience in the world, has traveled extensively, and is well informed on all general topics. He is a trustee of the church of which he is a member, and takes an active interest in re- ligious and educational matters. I^ENJAMIN G. HARDING, farmer at Crebcent City, was born in Greeu County, Kentucky, December 20, 1820, son of Payne and Matilda (Reed) Harding, natives of that State but of Virginia ances- try, and farmers. The parents moved from Kentucky to Hendricks County, Indiana, where they remained fourteen years, clearing two farms. The mother dying there, the father moved to Linn County, Iowa, bought a farm on Cedar River and commenced im- proving it; and in December, 1859, married Mary Reynolds. Several years afterward he (160 BIOGRAPUIUAL UI8TURT disposed of tliat property and purchased a farm in Decatur County, this State, and moved upon it, but shortly left that and set- tled in Chariton County, Missouri, where his second wife died. After residing there ten years he sold and came to live with his son, our present subject, and died March 22, 1883, at the age of eighty-three years. He had eight children, namely: Sarah and Elizabeth, deceased; Benjamin G., the third born; Emily, wife of James Kirk, of Missouri; Rowanna, deceased; Mary Ann, now the wife of George Daugherty, of Iowa; and Martha and Samuel, also both deceased. Benjamin, brought up to farm life, left home at the age of twenty years and began life for himself by raising live-stock exten- bively and successfully. In live years he sold out and moved to Decatur County, Iowa, and bought ninety acres of unimproved laud, lived upon it four years and was mar- ried there. He then located in Crescent City and engaged in farming and buying cattle, and turning them to sell to emigrants. This he followed for nine years and then bought forty acres of partly improved land on sec- tion 13, and this he has made a comfortable home. He erected a frame house twenty- ei^ht feet square and one and a half stories hiffh, the usual farm buildings, and planted a tine grove and orchard, etc., and the prem- ises denote thrift and prosperity. He has added to his farm until he now has 210 acres of tine land, of which 100 acres are in culti- vation; fifty acres are in Hazel Dell Town- ship. He has experienced many of the hard- ships of pioneer life, commencing with nothing, but iias faced them bravely and won success. Politically he is a stanch Democrat and takes great interest in the public affairs of the town and county. He has held various township othces; is a lover of law and order; a member of the M. P. Society of Crescent City, of which lie is usually the spokesman, being deeply interested in tlie work. He and his wife are members of the Church of Lat- ter-Day Saints, of which he is an ordained elder; and he has officiated as pastor of the Crescent City and other congregations of this faith in the vicinity for twenty years. He is a representative citizen and farmer of this county, and has many friends. February 19, 1857, he married Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Elsa and Mary (Hall) Has- kins, natives respectively of Virginia and Kentucky, who in 1838 moved to Missouri and afterward came to Crescent City, where they bothdied, he at the age of seventy-seven years and she at seventy-eight, spending her last days at the residence of Mr. Harding. Mr. and Mrs. Harding's children are ten in number, namely: Samuel P., at Crescent City; Oliver, in Crescent Township; Emma, wife of Charles Sapworth of Hazel Dell Township; Olive May and Jason, at home: George Jackson, at Council Bluffs; Don Car- los, Pearl, diaries and Mary ,all at home. There are also two grandchildren, whom they are bringing up, named Myrtle M. and Wil- liam B. — ^'V^'^*"-^ — EORGE W. PECK was born in Essex County, New York, January 18, 1852, a son of Scott and Betsey (Chamberlin) Peck, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Vermont. His maternal grand- father was of German descent. Mr. Peck's parents were married in Essex County. In 1863 the family moved from New York to Ogle County, Illinois, where George W. grew to manhood. Ilis education was ob- tained iu the common schools of his native county and in Illinois, and he was early OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 661 taught industry, economy and -honesty. To his early training is due much of his success in after life. In 1875 he started West tc make his way in the world, coming with a team to Montgomery County, Iowa, where he settled. For several seasons he rented land, but afterward purchased forty acres in sec- tion 10, Grove Township, Pottawattamie County. After keeping it two years he sold it and bought another farm, in company with R. H. Barr. Two years later he sold out to Mr. Barr, and bouglit 120 acres of Mr. T. S. McAlhing, which he still owns and on which he lives. It is now under a good state of cultivation, is well fenced and divided into fields. Mr. Peck is extensively engaged in feeding stock, keeping an average of one hun- dred head of cattle and a large number of hogs. Mr. Peck was married in Grove Township. January 2, 1876, to Miss Ella Barr. She was born in Massachusetts and lived there until twelve years of age, when she came to Ogle County, Illinois. She is a lady of in- telligence and refinement and was before her marriage a successful teacher. Her father, E. H. Barr, is a resident of Grove Town- siiip. Mr. and Mrs. Peck have five children, viz.: Walter Frank, Ida E., Ethel Clara, Dor- cas Bessie and an infant sen. They lost their second child, Cora, who died at the age of eight years. Politically Mr. Peck is a Re- publican. He and his wife are both mem- bers of the Evangelical Church, of which he is a trustee. He is an active worker in the church and Sabbath-school, being superin- tendent of the latter. He is also interested in educational matters and anything tending toward the advancement of the community where he resides. Mr. Peck's father is a resident of York, Nebraska. His mother died in York County, that State, in 1888, at the home of her son. where she had gone on a visit with the hope of regaining her health. ►4wH rnOMAS J. JOHNS came to this county in 1863, and has since made it W his home. He was born in Polk County, Iowa, August 26, 1852. He is a son of Peter S. Johns, one of the early set- tlers of Polk County, and nee Sarah Fisher, his wife. In 1863 the parents catne to Pot- tawattamie County, and settled in Belknap Township, where the father rented land for some time. During the Rebellion he was one of the Iowa soldiers. From exposure in the war he contracted a chronic disease, and died from its effects about the year 1865. He left a wife arid six children, five of whom are now living, viz.: Angeline, wife of M. S. Gillespie, Valley Township; Thomas J., the subject of this sketch; Menton, a resident of Washington ; A. B. and H. F (twins), the forme'- at Oakland and the latter at home, a teacher and a law student. Lucretia is de- ceased. The father was a farmer all his life. His political views were those of the Repub- lican party. The mother still resides on the farm. Mr. Johns was a lad of eleven years when his parents located in this county. He was reared on the farm and his education was obtained in the public schools of Pottawatta- mie County. In 1872, with his mother and brothers, he came to the land he now owns, which at that time was wild prairie. He has since improved it, and now owns two farms of 160 acres each, separated by the highway. He has two good frame houses and other modern farm improvements. A spring on his place furnishes a bountiful supply of water for his stock. Mr. Johns is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, feeding 662 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY from one to two car-loads of cattle and a large number of hogs annually. He was married in Center Township, Jan- uary 6, 1886, to Izora B. Butler, daughter of W. B. Butler, one of the prominent citizens of Center Township. This union has been blessed with two children, namely: Frauces J. and Grace E. Mrs. Johns is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Pleasant Ridge. Politically Mr. Johns afBliates with the Republican party. At present he is a member of the Board of Township Trustees; is associated with the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 442, of Oakland. ■^^ "^ • > ' I ' |" '"^ ^LFRED FRAZlER,of Rockford Town- ship, was born in Indiana, March 13, 1837, the son of James C. and Malinda (Fuller) Frazier, natives of Tennessee and Indiana, respectively. The father, in pioneer times, moved from Tennessee to Indiana, locating upon a farm and lived there until his death, leaving a wife and nine children, of whom Alfred, our subject, is the fourth in order of birth. Remaining at the paternal home until he was married, he, in 1854, located at his present residence, purchasino; about 800 acres of piairie, a small portion of which had been broken by Mormons, and there was a log house on the premises. With Mr. Frazier came also his mother (the young- est child of ten in the family of John and Esther P'uller, natives and farmers of Vir- ginia), who died a few years afterward. Mr. Fuller had also a mill and a distillery, which he ran here until he died. Mr. Frazier was married at the age of nine- teen years, in May, 1857, to Juliana Wild, daughter of William and Sarah Wild, natives of England, who emigrated to America and located on Pigeon Creek, this county, and died there. Their three children were John and Nancy, now residing in California, and Juliana. The latter was born in November, 1837. Mr. Frazier now has 500 acres of ex- cellent land on section 35, of which about 260 acres are in cultivation and the rest in meadow and pasture; he also owns a lot in the village of Honey Creek. He ships three or four car-loads of cattle annually and two car-loads of hogs. He superintends the cul- tivation of the large farm while he is also Postmaster at Honey Creek, which office he has held ever since 1868. Coming here in the early day, he has witnessed all the changes that have been made to redeem this country from its original savage state to its pi'esent high standing. Politically he is a decided Republican, and as such has been an active worker; has been Township Clerk, etc. His live children are: James W., residing at home; Nettie, deceased; Mary, wife of J. E. White; Eunice, at home; and John F., deceased. jj^^i REICHART, grain-dealer at Neola, was born June 4, 1845, a son of Henry * and Catharine (Gaytross) Reichart. The father was born in Pennsylvania, of German parentage, the fourth of eight chil- dren, was reared to farm life and continued at his parental home until he was twenty- five years of age, and then for fifteen years he was engaged in the butcher's trade. In 1869 he came to Pottawattamie County, set- tling upon eighty acres on section 16, Nor- walk Township, and there he resided until his death, November 4, 1885, when he was about eighty-six years of age. His wife died in September, 1871, aged fifty-five years. They had six children, namely: Caroline, Saraii E., the subject of this sketch was the the third, George, Samuel and Jacob. OF rOTrAWATTAMIH COUNTY. 663 Mr. Reichart, our subject, was also brought up as a fanner's son. At the age of nineteen he left home and soon, May 22, 1861, en- listed in Company C, One Ilnndred and Forty-third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was taken witli a detached force to Han is- burg, that State, and tli rough New York to enforce the draft. They then joined the army of the Fotoinjic, lirst under General McClellan and then under General Meade, engaging in tlie celebrated battle of Gettysburg, the hard- est-fought battle of the war. Mr. Reichart was captured and held two days. Rejoining his regiment at Fairfax, he was afterward eti- gaged at Culpeper, where he remained in camp some time; he was also at Laurel Hill, where he received a wound in tiie leg. He was then sent to a hospital in Philadelphia. Two months afterward he obtained a furloueh. Four months after that he i-ejoined his regi- ment at Petersburg. At the surrender of that place he was detailed with others to convey prisoners to New York, and while on their way between Washington and Baltimore they received the news of the assassination of President Lincoln, and they were consequently stationed four days at Washington. After delivering tiie prisoners at New York they returned to Washington and were placed in review. Tbey then visited White Haven, Pennsylvania, and were taken to Harrisburg, where they were mustered out, June 19, 1865. Li 1863, just after the battle of Gettysburg, Mr. Reichart was promoted Orderly Sergeant. After visiting home a short time belauded at Council Bluffs, August 12, in company with four other young men, and for a year worked for Mr. Garner, of Garner Township, for $25 a month. In June, 1857, he married and moved upon a farm of 120 acres on sec- tions 16 and 21, Norwalk Township, which he had purchased the preceding year, and 47 here he began life anew. At that time there were no improvements on the place, and the nearest neighbor was four miles distant. He put up a frame house 14x24 feet in dimen- sions and the necessary farm buildings, fences, etc., and planted a grove. Here he raised grain and stock, dealing in the latter con- siderably, with success. In 1879 he moved into Neola and engaged in the hardware busitiess, renting his farm; in 1871 he sold the farm and bought the hardware store and three lots, on which he built a residence and where lie now resides. The hardware trade he conducted for about eleven years, transact- ing an annual business of $35,000 to $40,000; and then he exchanged the stock and busi- ed ness for 320 acres of land in Nebraska, with the live-stock and grain that was upon it. A year subsequently lie disposed of this and went into the grain business, which he car- ries on extensively, handling about 265.000 bushels a year, his crib having a capacity of 100,000 bushels. Mr. Reichart is a thorough Democrat; has held the various offices of Neola and Norwalk townships; was elected the first Justice of the Peace of Norwalk Township, a member of the first Board of Supervisors, a member of the first town council of Neola, the third Mayor of the town, a member of the first Board of Education of the independent dis- trict, and for the past eight years has been TownshipClerk. During his mayoralty bonds for water-works were issued. Mr. Reichart is a breeder of fine horses, the Norman and Clydesdale; of these he has twenty-seven liead. He deals also exten- sively in pure-bred Poland-China hogs, and in agricultural imp'ements. In the latter he is in partnershi|) with his brother. June 19, 1867, Mr. Reichart married Eliza Jane Ritter, of Pottawattamie County, who was born in 1850, daughter of Adam and 664 BIOORAPHICAL HISTORY Nancy (Ward) Kitter, natives of Virginia, who came to Iowa in 1837, and were the parents of nine children. Mrs. Reichart, the fifth in the above family, was reared as a farmer's daughter. By this marriage there have been four children: Laura, deceased; Caroline, who resides at home; and Sarah and Lizzie, deceased. ►>4j-. jLFRED BY BEE, a prominent farmer of Crescent Township, was born No- vember 4, 1810, in Barren County, Kentucky. His father, Lee Bybee, a native of Virginia, moved after his marriage to Kentucky and subsequently to Clay County, Indiana, upon 240 acres of rough, unim- proved land in a wild country among Indians, dangerous beasts and wild game. About twenty years afterward his wife died, leaving the following named children: Betsie, who married Nebil Gee, resided in Kentucky and is now dead; Nancy, who married Oliver Cromwell and is now deceased; Lucinda, who resides in Utah; Loramer, in Kansas; Maria, in Indiana; Jerusha, deceased; Absalom, in Ogden, Utah; Alfred, the subject of this sketch; John, Lee and Jo, all three deceased; Mr. Bybee then came with his children to Nauvoo, whence he was driven with the rest of the Mormons, with whom he came to Pottawattamie County and lived here five years. Then he went West to Salt Lake and remained there until his death. Here Alfred was detailed, before his father's death, to take a train to California, and lie remained there ten years. In 1861 he returned to Potta- wattamie County and purchased a farm. He now has 230 acres of good land, lying in Hazel Dell, Boomer, Rockford and Crescent (section 1) townships. In March, 1832, he married Mary Walker, who was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, whence her parents afterward moved lo In- diana, where they remained until they died. After his marriage Mr. Bybee settled upon his present place. His wife died in 1835, at the age of sixty- six years, leaving two chil- dren: Alfred A., residing at Honey Creek, and Mary M., wife of John Ranson of Boomer Township. December 10, 1876, Mr. Bybee married Miss Ann Arthur, daughter of Peter and Catherine (Sillers) Arthur, natives re- spectively of England and Scotland, who came to Canada East about 1817; they had eight children, the sixth of whom is Mrs. Bybee; she was born September 19, 1833. After her father's death she with her three children came to Pottawattamie County, where she died in June, 1875. Mr. Bybee is a reliable Republican and a member of the Church of Latter- Day Saints, zealously active in former times. Although he has suffered many of the hardships of pioneer life and has labored hard to establish and maintain a comfortable home, he is lib- eral and does much for the promotion of Christianity and morality. He is enjoying a happy period in his declining years, which he so well deserves. ILAS L. STEPHENS, a farmer of Cres- jJSi'^ cent Township, was born in Utah Territory, November 7, 1854, a son of William C. and Lydia S. (Ballard) Stephens, natives of Tennessee. The father was reared on the farm, and in 1859, after having gone to Utah during the great Mormon emigra- tion, was married. About 1866 he returned to Council Bluffs and .--ome months afterward went to Crescent City, bought forty acres near by, made a number of improvements, and about five years afterward he sold it, and OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 663 was in different places until he bought eighty acres of partly improved land, which he now occupies. He has put the place in good condition, and has been successful in his enterprises. He makes his home partly in Council Bluffs. He had eight children: James, born in 1S59, an i now residing in Council Bluffs; Francis, deceased; George W., born in Utah, in 1862, now residing in Council Bluffs; Silas L. was the next; Philip and Robert are both dead; Samuel U., borti in 1874, is in Council Bluffs; and Bert, born in 1873, lives also in that city. Mr. Silas L. Stephens, January 2, 1887, married Alice Gideon, the daughter of V. M. and Rosanna (Baum) Gideon, who had four children: Alice, just mentioned, was born in Madison County, Iowa, September 12, 1868. After his marriage Mr. Stephens worked with his team on the grade, then rented a farm for two years and since then he has been follow- ing agricultural pursuits on the old home place, where he is enjoying the pleasures of a well finished residence. His two children are Ernest R., born October 17, 1888; and Lydia Rosanna, September 19, 1889. Mr. Stephens is a stanch Democrat, well principled and energetic. Is a good violin- ist and a favorite in social circles. ►>4^i A. HUTCHINSON, a farmer and stock-raiser of Ci'escent Township, '** was born near Providence, Rhode Is- land, May 6, 1842, the son of Matthew and Jenette (Anderson) Hutchinson, natives of Scotland, who came to America in 1842. The father was a dealer in general merchandise ai.d engaged in the lisheries. He died No- vember 8, 1867, his wife having died four years after their emigration to America. On lier death, Mr. Hutchinson abandoned house- keeping, while the subject of this sketch, the youngest of his seven children, was taken charge of by an older brother until he was eight years old, when his father married his second wife. At the age of sixteen years he went to Providence and served two and a half years learning the trade of jeweler; then he came to Council Bluffs, and thence went to St. John's, near the site of the Missouri Val- ley, and was engaged there on a farm until the next spring; next he was on a farm on Pigeon Creek one season; returning to Coun- cil Bluffs, he learned photography and after- ward traveled extensively in the practice of this art until his healtli failed, and he re- sorted to hauling goods across the plains, which enabled him to recover his health. For four years of this time he practiced photography in connection with his other business. Coming again to Council Bluff's, he bought a farm of 132 acres, sold it the next year and purchased seventy-two and a half acres, and in three years sold that. Meanwhile he was married, and afterward he bought eighty acres of land on section 23. Of this tract he has made a comfortable home, with all the usual farm appurtenances, in good condition. Much may be said in his praise, as he started with nothing in pioneer times and by pluck and energy has stood all the expenses of travel, changes and many little losses, and yet has the possessions he now enjoys. He has now an aggregate of 500 acres of good land. He deals also in live-stock to a considerable extent. Politically Mr. Hutchinson is a zealous Re- publican, and locally independent. He is efficient in the promotion of education, Christianity and the scope of modern benovo- lent institutions. He and his wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Crescent City, of which class he is leader, and was virtually one of its founders. 666 BIOGRAPHICAL n [STORY November 18, 1867, he married Martha Green, daughter of Rowland and Ruth (Haskins) Green, natives of Vermont. Mr. Green, a carpenter by profession, still resides at Wallingsford, in his native State. His wife died at the age nf thirty-four years, leav- ing four children: Edward, deceased; one died in infancy; Smith, also deceased; and Martha J. After the death of Mrs. Green, Mr. Green married Mrs. Wheeler, now de- ceased, and by that mari'ii'ge there were five children. Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson have six ciiildren: Arthur M., who was born May 3, 1869: Ada, September 9, 1871; Lillie, September 20, 1872; Louie A., September 5, 1876; Maud, June 7, 1881; and Ruth May, October 26, 1889. All these are still with their parents. PftlLLIAM BEEZLEY, of section 22, Macedonia Township, was born in Clarke County, Ohio, two miles east of Springfield, in January, 1818, the son of John Beezle}, who was born in Brown County, Ohio, and was one of the earliest settlers of that State, and whose father, William Beezley, came there with Daniel Boone, and built the first grist-mill on the Little Miami River. The Beezleys were a patriotic family, and John Beezley, William's father, though a boy, was with his father a short time in the war of 1812. His grand- father was made Captain under General William Harrison, and the subject and his father both lived to vote for General and Ben Harrison. The father lived to an advanced age, being born in October, 1797, and died in Clarke County, Ohio, March 7, 1889, at about ninety years of age. Our subject's mother was Elizabeth (Ellsworth) Beezley, who was born in Martinslnirg, Virginia, of an old Virginia family; Colonel Ellsworth of the late war was her second cousin. William Beezley, our subject, was reared in Ohio, engaged in farming and stock-rais- ing: until 1857, when he removed to Louran County, Illinois. When the war broke out he enlisted in the first Illinois regiment that went out, and he again enlisted in 1862, in the One Hundred and Sixth Illinois Infantry, Com- pany F, and served until the close of the war. He was at Island 62, siege of Vicksburg, the taking of Little Rock, Arkan.~as, and went up the Red River with General Steele as far as Jenkins' Ferry, and was in many other engage- ments. He then went out as Captain, and after the death of the Major he was elected to fill his place, and was made Lieutenant, Colonel, and had charge of the re-5»-»f" fOSHUA ALSTON came to this county in 1855, where he has since resided. He was born in Lancashire, England, February 20, 1837, the son of Joshua and Margaret (Wilson) Alston, also natives of Lancashire, England. They had five chil- dren, four daughters and one son. Joshua was a lad of six years when his father died, and his mother lived until 1878, when she died, at the age of sixty-six years. Joshua was reared in his native land, and was mar- ried September 29, 1856, at Bolton, Lanca- shire, England, to Miss Martha Bichno, who was born in Cambridge, England, the daugh- ter of Joseph Bichno. In October following the marriage, Mr. Alston sailed from Liver- pool to New York in a sailing vessel, being twenty eight days on the ocean, and arriving in New York on the day of Buchanan's elec- tion as President of the United States. From New York he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he obtained a situation on a dairy farm, and afterward worked in the rolling mills. From there he moved to Lee County, Iowa, near Fort Madison, where he bought land very cheap and sold it at higher rates, thus doing quite a real-estate business. He sold his in- terest in Lee County, and bought land in Davis County, loWa, near Bloomtield, where he remained until 1885, when he came to tins county. He has bought and sold many farms here besides his own, which is well stocked, and located two and a half miles from Carson. Mr. and Mrs. Alston have three children: Margaret, wife of David Snapp, of this 670 BIOGRAPHICAL HI STORY township; Joseph W., who is married and lives in Carson Township; and Nancy A., the wife of Cliarles Fredericks, of Lee County, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Alston are members of the Methodist Episcopal Chnrch, and politically he is a Republican. E. DURHAM, of section 26, Carson Township, came to this county in * 1881, where he has since resided. He was born in Hart County, Kentucky, January 10, 1826, the son of John and Mourning (Burris) Dnrham. The father was a native of Albemarle County, Virginia, and was a son of David Durham, of Virginia, and was a soldier in tho war of 1812. The mother was born in Albemarle County, Vir- ginia, of a good family. Our subject was but two years old when the family moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, where thej lived a short time, and then removed to Bureau County, Illinois, when the Sac and Fox In- dians inhabited that region. Here the par- ents lived until their death. They raised six children, of which our subject was the youngest. W. E. Durham, the subject of this sketch, resided in Bureau County, near Maiden, until 1881, when he sold the old farm and came to Pottawattamie County, and bought his pi-es- ent place, consisting of 580 acres, which is one of the most valuable farms in the county. Grove Farm is a beautiful home; the resi- dence was erected in 1882, and is in the shape of three L's, two stories high, and cost $8,000. The farm contains about twenty acres of forest and grove trees. He was married March 27, 1856, in Bureau County, Illinois, to Miss Rebecca Sherman, a woman of intelligence and of a good fam- ily. She was born in Lucas County, Ohio, the daughter of Jchn Sherman, who was horn on the ocean, of German parents, who were on their way to America. They after- ward settled at Cumberland County, Penn- sylvania. Mrs. Durham's mother was Cath- erine (Keel) Sherman, who was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Durham was only fourteen years old when her parents removed from Stark County, Ohio, to Bureau County, Illinois. Her father died at the latter place in 1861, and her mother died in Missouri in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Durham have eight children, viz. : Flora v., wife of David White, of Carson Town- ship; Ethelinda, wife of Felix Setz, of Washington Township; Mary W., wife of Rob Steele, of Center Township; Rhoda, wife of J. C. Elswicks, of Carson Township; Ira E., one of Pottawattamie's successful teachers; John Sherman, at home; William Arthur, of Carson Township; and Charlie K., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Durham, two sons and their youngest daughter are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the other daughters are members of the Presby- terian and Baptist churches. Politically Mr. Durham is a Democrat, and works for the best interest of his party. »°*- " | V » 3| i ; . 7 lii 101 F. PRATT, of Crescent City, was horn in Abbeville County, South Carolina, I® October 19, 1824, the son of William and Martha (Murdoch) Pratt. His mother was born July 31, 1800, and his father Sep- tember 27, 1798, both being descendants of English, Irish and Welsh ancestry. Mr. Pratt's grandfather came to America at the age of sixteen years, in 1776, at the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war, first locating in Newberry County, South Caro- lina, and engaging in a distillery. He mar- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 671 ried Elizabeth Davenport, a native of the same county, and they moved to Abbeville, where they spent the remainder of their days with their son. William Pratt received a good education, his father being a teacher, and married Gabriella Callahan, who was born in Abbeville County, July 31, 1824, and then left his parental home, in his twenty-tirst year, 1845, locating in Chatooga County, Georgia. There lie purchased 160 acres of land, for which he paid $800; seventy acres of this tract had been cultivated by an old Cherokee Indian named Overtaker. The improvements, therefore, were few and meager. Here Mr. Pratt commenced raising grain, fruit and cotton, and also his own domestic animals, and continued there until 1855, when he sold the place at $1,600, and bought another two miles distant for $800. On that place there were forty acres cleared. He cleared twenty-iive acres more, put up a log house and barns, atid made many other improvements. He added to it by purchase until he finally had 370 acres of good farm- ing land. Then in September, 1861, he enlisted in the military service, joining Company F, Thirty-fifth Georgia Volunteer Infantry, under General Holmes, and was engaged in many hard-fought battles, as those of Fair Oaks, Virginia, the Wilderness, Seven Days' tight in front of Richmond between Lee and Mc- Clellan, etc. In 1862 he enjoyed a furlough, being disabled, and remained at home some- thing more than a year. In 1863 he re- turned to service under General Early, whose forces scoured the Shenandoah Valley as far as Winchester. In February, 1865, he pro- cured another furlough home, and before its term expired the war closed. He was in most of the hottest battles of Virginia during the four years of the war, but was not wounded. April 12, 1869, he sold his farm already described and started for Utah, by way of Chattanooga, Memjihis, St. Louis, etc., by rail and water, and on arriving at Omaha, May 1, he stopped here until July, doing odd jobs. Then ho rented a farm of eighty acres in Rockford Township, Pottawattamie County, of which forty acres were broken. After fol- lowing agricultural pursuits there for a year, he purchased a saw-mill and ran it for ten years. June 26, 1876, he moved the mill to Crescent City and ran it two years. Then he sold it to his sons and bought his present farm of sixty acres within the limits of Crescent City, which had been improved some, having a log house upon it. Nearly all the improvements there at the present day are the product of his own labor, — a good residence, out-buildings, etc. It is in- deed a well furnished and comfortable home. Mr. Pratt is a high-principled Democrat, sympathizing with the so-called "Green- back" movement, and liberal in his heart to- ward all parties. In local elections he is of course independent, voting for the best man, regardless of party. He was Justice of the Peace eight years in Georgia, two terms in Rockford Township, and two in Crescent Toivnship. He is a member of Mount Hickory Lodge, No. 133, F. & A. M., of Georgia, esteeming this order far above all other organizations. He has also been the second officer of the Grange for a number of years, and has held other offices. He also belongs to the Crescent M. P. Society, this lodge being the oldest of the kind in the State. In this he has officiated as president, vice-president, etc., ever since its foundation. He is also a member of the Farmers' Alli- ance. He and his wife were Baptists in Georgia, both being baptized on the same day and by the same minister; they are now members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 673 BIOaUAPHICAL HISTORY. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the parents of nine children, as follows: John W. and Nancy E., born in Chattooga County, Georgia, June 2, 1846: John W. resides in Harrison County, Iowa; Nancy E. is the wife of E. L. McKinney, in Jackson County, Indian Territory; James A., born September 14, 1849, in Chattooga Countj', Georgia, now re- sides in Crescent City; S. V. was born April 10, 1852, in Georgia, and also resides in Crescent Township; Martha Ann, born Au- gust 12, 1853, in Chattooga County, died July 21, 1871; Emma C. was born also in that county, April 11, 1855, and is now the wife of C. I). Watts, in Sherman County, Kansas; Phcebe .!., born also in Ciiattooga County; August 11, 1857, is the wife of J. M. Boyd, in Crescent City; Charles F., born November 10, 1861, in Chattooga County, and resides at home; Leona, born also in Chattooga County, February 28, 1864, is the wife of Clement Hough at Crescent City. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the grand- parents of twenty-one children, all living. Mrs. Pratt is of English and Irish descent; was born in Abbeville County, South Caro- lina, the daughter of John and Nancy (Ste- venson) Callahan; was brought up as a fann- er's daughter, within four miles of where she was married to Mr. Pratt, July 2, 1845. She is the fifth in order of birth in a family of twenty-three children, and the daughter of her father's second wife. All those children grow up and married during their father's life-time. Mrs. Pratt is now aged sixty-seven years. fW. EVERSON, of section 29, Carson Township, came to this county in 1881. ' He was born in Newcastle County, Delaware, May 26, 1846, the son of John and Eliza (Morris) Everson, both natives of Delaware; the latter can trace their family back to Scotch ancestry. They had live chil- dren, of whom J. W. was the second of three sons and two daughters. The mother died in Delaware in 1867, and the father is still living at Wilmington, Delaware, and has been a farmer all his life. J. W. received his education in the public schools of that State, and afterward at St. Mary's College, and at the age of twenty-three years, in 1868, he removed to Mahaska County, Iowa, where he remained until 1881. He then came to Pottawattamie County and bought eighty acres of land, which he broke and improved and afterward added eighty acres more, until he now has 160 acres in a body. He also owns eighty acres in Belknap Township, sec- tion 21, which is in cultivation. Mr. Everson was married at Kirkville, to Miss Polly Ann Lee, who was born in Ma- haska County, Iowa, the daughter of Mar- shall, a native of this State. They have five children: Harvey E., Irwin W., liosaltha, Minnie and Gertie. Politically Mr. Everson is a Republican, and is at present Township Trustee, serving to the best interest of his party. Mrs. Everson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. W. FERGUSON, of section 31, Car- son Township, was born in Wayne CJounty, Indiana, March 1, 1821, the sou of Nimrod and Elizabeth Isabelle Ferguson, both born in Wilkes County, North Carolina. They came to Wayne County in 1812, but they were forced to move back to their old home in North Carolina on account of trouble with the Indians. They again moved to Wayne County, where they re- mained until 1849, and then came to Edgar OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 673 County, Illinois, and in 1855 to Jasper County, Iowa. M. W. Ferguson remained in Jasper County until 1867, when he went to Dallas County, Iowa, and then to Fremont City, Iowa, where he bought 160 acres uf wild land, which he broke, and to which he has since added another 120 acres, until he now has 280 acres of land in a fine state of cultivation. He engaged in extensive grain and stock-raising, being quite successful in each. Mr. Ferguson was married in Jirly, 1860, in Jasper County, to Miss Mary Jane Han- ley, a woman of intelligence, who was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, the daughter of George W. Hanley. They have three children: George Ferguson, at home; James I., who is one of the successful teachers of the county, and Mary, the wife of George Conod, of Carson Township. Politically Mr. Ferguson is a Democrat. Mrs. Fergu- son was brought up under the auspices of the Christian Church, while her husband was raised in the Baptist Church. ROBERT IJNGRAM, of section 13, Keg Creek Township, first came to Potta- wattamie County in 1872. He was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, August 30, 1882, the eon of James and Jane (Sterling) Ingram. Both were born in Ayrshire and lived there until they died, the mother dying when Robert was only four years old, while the father died about two years ago, in 1888, at the advanced age of ninety years. Robert received his education and was reared to farm work in his native place. At twenty years of age he left his native land and came to the United States, and resided for two months near New Amsterdam, New York, and then went to Chicago, when that place was but a small town. He then removed to La Porte County, Indiana, where he resided ten or fifteen years, working out liy the month mostly. His next move was to Kan- kakee, Illinois, and later, in 1872, he moved his family to Iowa, driving first to Morris, Illinois, and from there shipped his house- hold furniture by railroad to Iowa. They bought 320 acres of land from the Rock Island Railroad Company, where his son, An- drew Lincoln, now lives on 160 acres of this land. Mr. Ingram erected his house in 1883, at a cost of $2,500, which is surrounded by shade and ornamental trees. He was married in La Porte County, In- diana, when twenty-eight years of age, to Miss Eliza Cain, a native of Ohio, and they have one child. A year after his marriage his wife died, and he was married some time later in Indiana, to Miss Melissa M. Mur- phy, who was reared in Porter and La Porte counties, Indiana. They have three children: Andrew Lincoln, who is married and resides near his father; Martha, the wife of Poland Ward of this township; Rob Marion, at home. Politically Mr. Ingram is a Repub- lican, and is a member of the Methodist Church at Silver City, but that society is now building a church at Silver Creek, calling themselves the Lone Star Class. L. THROP, of section 4, Carson Township, was born in Decatur " County, Indiana, January 21, 1846, the son of J. C. and Margaret (Hood) Throp, the former a native of New Jersey and a de- scendant of the old Puritan stock of this coast: the latter is a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Samuel Hood, of Irish extrac- tion. The parents were married in Indiana, where they had come with their parents from 674 BIOORAPHICAL BISTORT New Jersey. They reared a family of nine children five sons and four daughters. W. L. Throp, tiie sixth child, resided in Decatur County until 1873, when he came to Potta- wattamie County and purchased 160 acres of wild land, mostly prairie, excepting fifteen acres of natural grove. He has since im- proved it, and he now owns one of the best farms in this township. He is engaged in general fanning and stock-raising. He was married January 20, 1876, to Miss Carrie Potter, of this county. She was tiiirteen years of age when she came with her parents and was the daughter of Ira and Sybil (Win- sor) Potter. The father died in Rhode Island, and the mother lives in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Throp have two children: Jen- nie and Fred. Politically Mr. Throp is a Republican, and has served as Justice of the Peace with credit to himself and the best in- terests of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Throp are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which lie is an elder. He takes an active interest in both education and re- ligion and anything for the best interests of the people in the community where he re- sides. He is a man yet in the prime of life, and is numbered among the enterprising cit- izens of the township. B. PERKINS, of section 12, Keg Creek Township, came to this county "' in the spring of 1872, where he has since resided. He was born in Warren County, Illinois, February 6, 1845, the son of D. R. Perkins, a native of Kentucky and the grandson of D. R. Perkins, Sr., a native of Virginia and of Welsh descent. Our sub- ject's mother was Maria Lienrance, a native of Virginia and of French ancestry. The father with his parents came to Warren Coun- ty, Illinois, where he was married, being one of the first pioneers of that part of Illinois. They reared a family of eleven children. The mother died in the summer of 1878, and the father in March, 1888; he was a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church. A. B., the eldest child, was reared on a farm, and in 1859 his parents came to War ren County, Iowa, and in 1870 removed to Kansas, where they lived until their death. He lived in Warren County until 1871, when lie removed to Sarpy County, Nebraska, and remained two years and then came to Potta- wattamie County. He first bought sixty-one acres of wild land, on which he lived one year, and then purchased eighty acres where his home now is, and later forty acres north of it. He now owns 120 acres of well-im- proved land in a body. His residence, which was built in 1887, cost $2,300. Park Place is a beautiful home, and Mr. Perkins and family are surrounded with many of the comforts of life. He was married in Warren County, Iowa, February 3, 1870, to Malinda W. Whited, who was born, reared and educated in the same county. She was a daughter of Laza- rus and Maria (Surber) Whited, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Indiana. The parents were among the first settlers of Warren County, and afterward moved to Cass County, where they lived until their death. The mother died in 1870 and the father in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have eight children, viz.: Mary Blair, who was a successful teacher; Beriah B., Daniel R., Bert, RoUa W., Minnie L., Nellie, Maria, Solomon and Pusey. Mr. Perkins was for- merly a Democrat but is now independent. He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and has served as Township Trustee and also OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 675 as Assessor. Tlie fainily are members of the Christian Church. -^^OLONEL WILLIAM ORK, of section W. 5, Keg Creek Township, the proprie- tor of Hardindale Farm, is one of the prominent citizens of the county. He came here in 1872 from Harrison County, Iowa, where he has since made liis home. He was horn in Down County, near Belfast, Ireland, the son of John and Elizabeth (Laraont) Orr. William lived in his native place until six- teen years of age, and then sailed from Bel- fast to Liverpool and from there to New York. He went to Harrison County, Ohio, then to Tuscarawas County, where he lived until 1844, then to Butler County, Pennsyl- vania, until 1847, then to Washington Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, until the fall of 1848, then returned to the old homestead in Ireland. After six months he returned to Ohio and lived in Carroll County until 1856, when he went to Nebraska, and in 1857 near Florence, and in 1861 to Harrison County, Iowa. Here he bought an improved farm four miles south of Logan, where he settled and lived until the fall of 1872, when he came to I'otta- wattamie County, purchasing the land where he now lives, which was partly improved. Hardindale now contains 590 acres in a body, and is one among the well-improved farms of Keg Creek Township. The farm is fenced and divided into cultivated fields, meadows and pasture, and everything about the Orr homestead shows the thrift and en- terprise of the owner. Colonel Orr is one of the prominent btock-raisers and feeders in the county, making a specialty of Red Polled cattle, of which he has as good as can be found in Western Iowa. He was married in Belfast, Ireland, March 24, 1849, to Margaret Orr, the daughter of John Alexander Orr. They have had twelve children, six of whom are still living, viz.: Margaret Anna, the wife of D. S. Frank, of this township, was born January 24, 1850; Elizabeth Jane, born June 15, 1855, wife of H. B. Knowles, of this township; Mary, wife of Artemus Ward; Lamont and Mary, twins; William, at home, born May 12, 1861; and Emma, born February 27, 1865. They have lost six by death, namely: John Alexander, born July 25, 1851; Mary, horn November 27, 1852, died when a child; William Orr, born March 15, 1857, also died when a child; Edwin, born January 10, 1864; Hiram Wood- worth, born February 28, 1869; and Minnie, born January 15, 1871. The great loss of Colonel Orr's life was in the death of his wife May 6, 1888. They had lived together for nearly thirty-nine years. She was reared a Unitarian, and was a woman of many virtues, an affectionate wife and mother, and a very estimable lady. Politically Colonel Orr is a Democrat, and has served as Trustee and a member of the School Board. He also served as Trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum for four years, from 1874 to 1878. He is a man sixty-four years of age, has traveled extensively, and is well-informed on all the questions of the day. p^DMOND LATHAN, of section 1, Hardin Township, came to this county May 5, 1851. He was born on Elk River, Clay County, Indiana, July 14, 1824, the son of John and Nancy (Bollarhide) Latlian, both natives of North Carolina, the former of English ancestry and the latter of German. They were married in North Carolina, and afterward removed to Indiana about 1812, where they were among 676 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY the early settlers. They reared a family of eight children, namely: Utley Ann, Eliza- beth, Edmond, Laborn, John, Charlotte, Harrison and Eliza Ann. The parents died in Boone County, Iowa, near Des Moines, the father at fifty-two years of age, and the mother at the age of sixty-live. Edmond Lathan was reared on a farm in Clay County, Indiana, until twenty-four or twenty-five years of age, and his youth was passed at farm work, in chopping, clearing and grubbing. After his marriage lie bougiit a farm in Clay County, where he lived until 1850, when he sold out and came West to Pottawattamie County, with two teams of horses. He brought his wife and three cliil- dren with him, and was on the road about twenty days, fording many streams, and cross- ing the larger ones on ferry-boats, camping out at night most of the time. When he arrived in tliis county he settled above Cres- cent City, ten miles from Council BlutfjJ. Here he lived several yeai's and improved quite a tract of land, and in 1855 built the first school-house erected in the county, which was of hewed logs and shingled roof; he made the shingles with a drawing-knife. He sold out some years later and moved to Council Bluffs, where he resided for three years, engaged in teaming and gardening. Mr. Lathan then moved to Keg Creek Town- ship, where he resided for several years, and in 1878 came to his present farm, which was partly improved and contained a small prairie house. Mr. Lathan was united in marriage, when twenty years of age, to Nancy Reel, who was born near Greencastle, Putnam County, In- diana, the daughter of William A. and Sarah (Reel) Reel. The father was born in Dayton, Ohio, of Irish ancestry. They had nine chil- dren, six of whom are now living, namely: John William, who resides in Colorado; Mrs. Martha Aldridge, who resides in Ne- braska; Joseph Riley, who lives in Monroe County, near Mapleton; Mary Etta, wife of George Cox, who resides in Missouri Val- ley; Anna, wife of Silas Jones, who resides in Monona County, near Mapleton; Edmond, who resides in Nebraska. They lost three children by death: Sarah Elizabeth, who died at the age of forty-four years; Edith, who died in childhood; and a babe. Mrs. Lathan died in 1859, when thirty-five years of age. Mr. Lathan was married to his present wife in 1861, to Mrs. Jessie Martin, nee Under- wood, who was born in Scotland, and a sister of Samuel G. Underwood, of Keg Creek Township. They have four children: Nancy Ann, wife of G. L. Brown, residing in Wash- ington Township; Samuel, engaged in the timber business in Butte, Montana; Harrison, at home; and Jessie, also at home. Politi- cally Mr. Lathan is a Democrat, and has been a member of the Baptist Church for forty- five years. He was at one time a member of the Methodist Church and a moderator in the Baptist Church. ^ • S i' S ' l" -'-^ — HOMAS FLOOD, of Hardin Town- ship, section 26, has been a resident o Pottawattamie County since 1873. He was born in Mills County, Iowa, September 6, 1858, the son of James and M. L. (Bel- atti) Flood. The father was a prominent old settler of Mills County, and is now one of the the solid citizens of Keg Creek Township. Thomas, the eldest child of five sons and one daughter, was reared in Mills County until fourteen years of age, when his father settled in Keg Creek Township. Here he grew to manhood, having passed his youth at farm work in the summer and attending school durincr the winter. He finished his education OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 677 at a public school and by studying at home, and lastly at St. Joseph Business College. He engaged in teaching at the age of eighteen years, and taught during the winter montlis and frequently during the summer months for twelve years. He bought the land where he now lives in the spring of 1881, which was then wild land. He broke out some of it, and the next season rented it. He again located on his farm in the spring of 1884, where he has since resided and made his home; he has eighty acres well improved. He is engaged in general farming and stock- raising, and is also engaged in general mer- chandising, having built a store and put in a good supply of general merchandise in com- pany with his brother, Lawrence Flood, who is also in company with him on the farm. They carry a tine assortment of dry-goods, groceries and farming implements. The Flood Brothers are favorably and well known all over this section and have a good trade. Politically Mr. Flood is a Democrat, and was appointed Postmaster of Armour in March, 1890. He was married March 12, 1884, to Miss Alice Le Valley, of Silver Creek Township, a woman of intelligence, who was born in Lincoln, Illinois, the daughter of Hugh Le Valley. They have four children: Fran- ces, Charles, Lawrence and a baby girl. S. QUICK, one of the best and most favorably known citizens of Hardin 1*^ Township, was born in Rocking- ham County, Virginia, August 15, 1818, a son of William Quick, who served in the war of 1812, and Elizabeth (Trout) Quick. He was seven years old when his pai-ents re- moved to Licking County, Ohio, in pioneer days. William and live brothers drew b}' hand a light wagon, loaded with household goods. Mr. W. S. Quick, our subject, saw the first shovelful of dirt thrown on be- ginning the construction of the Erie Canal, by Governor Trumbull, of Ohio. He was brought up on a pioneer farm, clearing ground in the forest. After his marriage in 1856 he came to Iowa, settling at Winterset, Madison County, for three years. Then he went to Pike's Peak with an ox team, in search of gold; next he was engaged in freighting from Des Moines and Plattsmouth to Denver; tben conducted a hotel at Denver and also entered the mercantile trade; re- moved to Omaha and then to Council Bluffs, engaging in the livery business, in buying and shipping grain, and in general merchan dise. One season (18G5) lie drove a herd of 600 cattle to Chicago. He settled upon his present farm in 1881, which he had pur- chased previously, in 1872. Here he has built two good liou.ses, a barn 42 x 50, and other buildings, and planted a tine orchard and grove of ornamental trees. He and his son are partners in the farm and in the store, in which they carry a full line of general merchandise, and have an extensive trade. The farm at present comprises 280 acres of well-improved and well-stocked land. In his political views Mr. Quick is a Democrat. While in Council Bluffs he was Alderman three years. He was initiated as a Free- mason in 1848, at Bellefontaine, Ohio. When twenty-four years of age Mr. Quick married Miss Angeliiie Effinger, who was born at Newmarket, Virginia, and they have two children: Elias Jefferson, now in part- ership with his father; and Cornelius S., an banker at ludianola. Red Willow County, Nebraska. Mrs. Quick died in October, 1885, and April 28, 1889, Mr. Quick mar- ried for his present wife Miss Amelia Hamp- 678 BIOORAPniCAL HISTORY ton, and by this marriage there are two chil- dren — Gertrude and Howard. Elias J. Quick, jnst mentioned, was born in Licking County, Ohio, and was eleven years of age when his parents came to this State, and fourteen years old when he went to Denver. He attended school in Ohio, in Iowa, at Denver and at Council Bluffs, and by actual practice obtained his business train- ing. He was married in February, 1873, at Council Bluffs, to Miss Elizabeth Thomas, who was born in Wales, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Thomas. They have eight children, namely: Anna Caravena, George, Cornelius, Tilly, William T., Jay, Elizabeth and Mabel. Mr. Quick is a Democrat in his political sympathies. He was appointed Pt)straaster of Quick postoffice in 1884, under Ir'resident Arthur. ^^ILLIAM F. PLUNKET, of section 19, Hardin Township, is one of the prominent and well-known settlers of the township, where he has resided since September 19, 1870. He was born in Men- ard County, Illinois, November 29, 1833, the son of Zeno A. and Sarah (Foster) Plunket, both natives of Kentucky. They were also married in this State. The father was among the early settlers of Sangamon County, where he settled in 1831 and remained until 1835, when they moved to Henry County, Iowa, which was then a Territory, inhabited by the Fox and Winnebago Indians; he was also one of the first settlers of this county. The father died in September, 1842, leaving a widow, three sons and one daughter, viz.: William F., Elizabeth, who died in Henry County, near Wayland; J. H., of Garner Township; and Samuel, who was killed at Vicksburg in 1863. He wa* a member of the Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry. The mother now resides with her son, William F., at the age of seventy eight years. William F., our subject, passed his youth in Henry County, assisting at farm work. April 6, 1854, he started for California with an ox team, crossing tlie Missouri River at Council Bluffs, when there was only one log cabin where the boat landed at Omaha. At the end of four months he reached Shasta County, California, where he remained until December 5, 1856, when he returned home via the Isthmus of Panama, to New York, and thence to Henry County, Iowa. In the fall of 1870 he came to Pottawattamie County, and purchased 200 acres of jiartially improved land, which he has since converted into one of the best improved farms in the township. He has since added to this tract until he now has 280 acres. He has a grove and orchard of four acres, and everything about the farm shows the thrift and prosper- ity of the proprietor. Politically Mr. Plunket is a Democrat, and has served as Township Trustee and as a member of the school board, serving with credit to himself and the best interests of the people. He is a man fifty-seven years of age, but bears his years lightly; he is frank and cordial in his manner. He has lived fifty years in Iowa, and has witnessed tiie growth and prosperity of this part of the county, and has shared in its development. He is numbered, socially, financially and politically, among the solid men of the town- ship. He was married in Henry County, October 7, 1858, to Miss Nancy .Vnn Caughey, a native of Pennsylvania, and the daughter of Josiah and Elmira (Malone) Caughey, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Plunket have seven children living, viz.: John F., who lives adjoining his father; Charles C, a physician at Anita. Cass County, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 679 Iowa; Edward, a machinist at Des Moines; William O., Albert F., at home; Ira Z. and Casper A. They lost their second child, Samuel, by death, at the age of two years. ISAIAH ROSSA, who resides in Garner Townsliip, section 12, is one of the prom- inent citizens of the township. He came here in July, 1877, from Mills County, Iowa, where he had resided for three years. He was born in Ulster County, New York, Octo- ber 6, 1857, the son of John Z. Kossa, who was born in the same county, and the son of Zachariah Rossa, of Holland- Dutch ancestry. Our subject's mother was Catharine (Oakley) Rossa, who was born in Ulster County, New York, the daughter of John Oakley, a cap- tain in the war of 1812, and of an old Amer- ican family. John Z. Rossa and wife had two children — Isaiah and Phosbe Monroe — who died in New York State at the age of twenty- nine years. She left live children. The father died in Ulster County, New York, in November, 1882, and the mother resides with lier son Isaiah. The subject of this sketch passed his youth upon a farm, and linislied his education at Ashland, in Green County, New York. He taught school several terms. Arriving at the age of manhood he was married May 29, 1856, in Ulster County, New York, to Mary L. Turner, who was born in Ulster County, the daughter of Josiah and Jane Ann (De la Montonge) Turner, natives of New York. At the time of Lincoln's call for 300,000 more men, our subject enlisted in the civil war in August, 1862, in the One Hundred and Twentieth Infantry Volunteers, Company C, of New York. Ilis regiment was stationed in Virginia mostly. He served one year and eleven months, and was honorably discharged 48 in July, 1864, at West Philadelphia, where he had been confined some time by a chronic disease in a hospital. After the war Mr. Rossa returned to Ulster County, New York, and in 1869 removed to Clark County, Iowa, where lie resided for one year. He then came to Montgomery County, Iowa, where he resided until 1874, and then removed to Mills County, same State, re- maining until 1877, and then settled on his present farm, which was then wild land. He now owns forty acres of land in Crescent Township and eighty acres in Garner Town- ship, all under a good state of cultivation. In his political principles Mr. Rossa is a Re- publican. He is a man of intelligence, well informed on general topics, and has taken an active interest in educational and religious work of the community where he resides. Mr. and Mrs. Rossa have six children, viz.: Catiierine Wood, Sarah Olive Osborn, resid- ing in Weston, Iowa; Lavinia, wife of Harry Osburn, of Council Bluffs; Frank, who mar- ried Lillian Osborn, and resides in Crescent Township; Josiah, who resides at liome and owns a fartn in Crescent Township; and Emma, at home. They gave their children a good education, and two of their daughters have been successful teachers. They lost one child by death, John, at the age of twelve years. He was the second child. ►>,^ ILLIAM D. BALL, of section 30, Hardin Township, came to this county in 1879, where he has since resided. He was born in Parke County, Indiana, Janu- ary 15, 1847, the son of Zopher and Deborah (Mothorn) Ball, the former a native of Sulli- van County, Ohio, and the latter of Tennes- see. The parents were married in Parke County, Indiana. William D. was eight years C80 mOORAPUWAL HISTORY of age when his parents canie, in 1855, and settled in Marion Couiitj, Iowa, where they were among the early pioneers. The father lived there until his death in 1860, and the mother came to Fottawattamie County about 1879, and lived until her death, near Oak- land, at the age of seventy-four years. They had three sons and four daughters, of whom two sons and two daughters are in Pottawat- tamie County. William C, the fourth child, lived in Marion County until 1867, when he went to Denver, Salt Lake, Idaho and Wyoming. He worked for the Northern Pacific Kail- road, engaged in freighting and railroad work. After three years he returned to Marion County, Iowa, and in 1875 he came to Pottawattamie County, where he lived two years. He then moved to Shelby County, remaining two years, and then returned and bought eighty acres of wild land in Potta- wattamie County, where he now lives, and where he has made many improvements. At the age of twenty- seven years he was married to Delia Orr, who was born in Illinois, but reared in Missouri. She is the daughter of Anthony and Jane (Blake) Orr, of Scotch- Irish extraction. Mr. and Mrs. Ball have reared four children: Maggie Jane, Marion, Posa May and Bertie Lee. Their eldest child, Clarence, died at five years of age. Politically Mr. Ball is a Democrat. f'OHN HARDING.— Among the old set- tlers of Grove Township none are better known than the gentleman whose name heads this article. He came here in 1866, and has since made this place his home. Mr. Harding was born in Wiltshire, Eng- land, December 28, 1820, the son of John and Elizabeth (Heuer) Harding, both natives of England. He was reared on a farm and educated in his native land. The lessons of industry, economy and honesty, which in early life were instilled into him by his par- ents, have been of great value to him. In 1852 he married Miss Louisa Trotman, a native of Wiltshire, born in June, 1825, the daughter of Cornelius and Ann (Reeves) Trotman. In 1866, with his wife and children, Mr. Harding liade farewell to friends and native land and sailed for America to make a home for himself and family. They started from Liverpool and landed at New York city, thence to Chicago by rail. In the latter place he purchased a team and wagon, and in it continued his Western journey to Potta- wattamie County, and settled in Grove Township. Here he bought seventy acres of partly improved land. Mr. Harding has prospered since he took up his residence here, and is now the owner of 270 acres of land; 230 acres are in one body, section 32, and forty acres are on section 21, being a mile and three-quarters apart. This laud consists of rich prairie soil and good timber land, well watered and well adapied for stock, and is considered one of the best farms in Grove Township. Mr. Harding has a comfort- able house, and suitable outbuildings for stock, grain, etc., and is engaged in general farming and stock raising. He has some of the finest hogs in Pottawattamie County. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Harding, viz.: Ellen Lydia Wagner, of Colorado; Elizabeth, wife of John Osier, of Grove Township; Augusta Maud, wife of J. W. Brownell, of Colorado; Finetta Almina, wife of A. A. Sanders, of Missouri; Robert J., who married Addie Magee, and resides in Colorado; Thomas W., at home; Hester Drusillie Maria and Bertha Charlotte were both drowned in England, the former at the OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 681 age of two years and ten months and the lat- ter at the age of nineteen months; Mary Catherine died at the age of fourteen; and Fanny Sarah Jane died when she was nine- teen years old. All their children were born in England except Tlioinas W., who is a native of this county. Mr. Harding and his wife were reared in the Chnrch of England. They both nnited witli the Protestatit Methodist Church of this place, but Mr. Harding says they were tur:ied out of the church because he was a loyal Democrat; however, they are earnest and consistent Christians. He is a leader in the Democratic party, not only in his town- ship but throughout the eastern part of Pot- tawattamie County. Colonel Bowman once stated that Pottawattamie County had no more zealous and loyal Democrat than John Harding. For a number of years he has served as a member of the Board of Township Trustees. He has been a delegate to both State and Congressional conventions at Des Moines and Atlantic, and to all the conven- tions of note on the Bluffs, at times going from his place thirty miles and back in the same day to attend said conventions. He is a man well posted on all general topics, is hrm in iiis convictions of right and wrong, and is honored arid esteemed most by those who know him best. piLLIAM LEWIS, a well-known stock- dealer of Grove Township, has been a resident there since 1870. He was born in La Salle County, Illinois, September 21, 1848, a son of Charles Lewis, who was born in Norway, and was but a youth when he came in 1826 to America. He married Elizabeth Hou,gas a very intelligent lady, who was born at Rochester, New York. He was a pioneer of La Salle County, and re- sided there, a successful business man, until his death, in 1861. He left two sons (Will- iam, the subject of this sketch, and Ed, a resident of Dakota), and his widow, who lived until August 5, 1890. William was brought up to farm work, and completed his school education in the city of La Salle. In 1870 he came to Pottawattamie County, first buy- ing a tract of wild land on section 36, Mace- donia Township, which he occupied and improve \ for ten years, when he settled upon his present farm. He now owns 1,080 acres of well improved land. His home farm com- prises 160 acres, and there is on the premises a good frame residence built in modern style, beside.^ a good barn and other outbuildings, competent for the care of a large number of domestic animals. In the winter of 1889-'90 he fed 40,000 bushels of corn. Besides, he owns an interest in 700 or 800 head of live- stock in Sarpy County, Nebraska. Mr. Lewis is a thorough stockman, and a jolly, warm- hearted Westerner. He is a Democrat, but too busy with his own affairs to take any part in a political canvass. He was married in Mills County, Iowa, May 30, 1873, to Mrs Elizabeth Richards, a native of Parke County, Indiana, and daughter of James and Alzina (Fisher) Shank. Her father was born in Warren County, Ohio, and her mother in Brown County, same State. The four children of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are Anna W., Arthur C, Laura I. and Charles M. lOBERT CURRIE, a farmer of Nor walk Township, Pottawattamie County, was **$i born in Fifeshire, Scotland, October 7, 1837. He spent his schooldays at his native place, where he learned the blacksmith's trade. When a young man became with his 6S2 BIOGRAPHICAL HISlORr parents to the United States, in 1849, and to Utah in 1852, working at his trade. In 1859 he went to Nevada and California, where he remained until 1864, and then returned to Utah. In 1872 he again crossed the plains to Carson City, Nevada, working in the shops of the V. & T. Railroad until 1876, when he again came to this county and located in Crescent Township, being engaged with Robert Adams in mercantile pursuits, and then in Underwood for a time. In 1881 he caine to Norwalk Township, and located on the farm where he now lives, and of recent years he has turned his attention exclusively to farming acd stock-raising. In 1861, March 24, he married Miss Eliza- beth Jones, a daughter of David E. Jones. She was born in South Wales September 7, 1839, and came with her parents to the United States when fifteen years of age. They immediately went to Utah, and after- ward to Nevada and California, and in the latter State was married to Robert Currie. David Jones, her father, died in Nevada. Be was a farmer by occupation. Mr. and Mrs. Currie have eight children, viz.: John L., a farmer of Crescent Township; William C, residing in Salt Lake, and in the employ of the Salt Lake & Rio Grande Railroad; James R., a farmer of this county; Thomas H., George W., Mary Elizabeth and Orse, all at home. Raymond died in 1889, when nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Currie are members of the Latter-Lay Saints' Church. Politically Mr. Currie is a Democrat, and is a member of the Mutual Protective Society. fOSEPH EVANS, residing on section 6, Garner Townslii|i, is a well-known set- tler of Pottawattamie County. He came to this country in 1856, where he has since made his home. He was born in Wales, July 4, 1848, the son of Evan and Mary (James) Evans, both natives of Wales. The parents reared a family of three children: David Evans, residing in Vail, Crawford County; John, residing in Garner Township; and Joseph, our subject. The father lived in this country until his death, which occurred in 1865, and the mother now lives in a house adjoining her sou, Joseph, at the age of sev- enty-five years. She was again married in 1866, to F. D. Piddington, who was born in England, and died in October, 1888. She is a member of the Reorganized Cliurch of the Latter-day Saints. Her first husband was an elder in the Mormon Church, but later be- longed to the Latter-Day Saints. Joseph Evans, our subject, was a lad of nine years when his parents sailed from Liverpool to New York, then came to Iowa City, and from there, by hand-carts, to Coun- cil Bluffs. He received his education in Pottawattamie County, and was reared to farm life. Arriving at the age of manhood he was married, in Council Bluffs, October 26, 1866. to Miss Jane Rees, who was born in Wales, the daughter of John and Mary (Davis) Rees. She came to Ohio when a girl of twelve years. The parents came to Pottawattamie County about 1856. The father lived in Council Bluffs until his death, in 1875, and the mother died in Garner Township in 1886. Mrs. Evans has one lis- ter in Garner Township, Sarah, the wife of John Evans; and one in Salt Lake, Anna, the wife of James Obint. Mr. Evans settled on his present farm in 1878, when it was wild laud, but which he has since improved. He now owns sixty-six acres of land, and is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Evans is a Democrat poliiically, and is one of the enterprising and respected citi- zens of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Evans OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 083 have live cliildren, viz. : William, David, Rosa, Candace and Minnie J. They have lost seven l)y death in childhood. fOIlN CLTRRIE, Jr., is an influential resident of Nor walk Township; was born near Edinburg, Fifeshire, Scotland; February 14, 1837, is thought to be the date of liis birth, lint on account of the records of the Currie family becoming lost when they came to the United States the date is rather uncertain. He was the son of John and Tomema (Blythe) Currie, both of whom were born in Fifeshire, Scotland, where they were married and resided until coming to the United States in 1849. They landed in the port of New Orleans, after a perilous jour- ney. They soon after came to Council Bluffs, then Kanesville, and commenced farming on the land where Streetsville now is, having entered the land from the Government. In 1852 the family continued their trip to Utah, where they arrived after a long trip, in company with a large number of others. After a short stay in the Capitol of Utah the family moved to Utah Valley, on the Amer- ican fork. In 1863 they returned to Cres- cent City, which became their home, and where the father died, in 1880, when seventy- six years of age. His wife, our subject's mother, died at Kanesville the year after her arrival from Scotland. She was born in 1805s John Currie, our subject's father, learned horse-shoeing and blacksmithing when yet a young man in Edinburg, at which he worked until coming to America. He was a farmer in Utah, a merchant at Crescent City, and was presiding Elder in the Latter- Day Saints Church in Utah; he was Justice of the Peace a number of years, and Post- master of Crescent City from the beginning of his residence in that place to IiIh death. After the death of his first wife he married Amanda Chipman, who died in Utah. By his first marriage he had ten children, six of whom are now living: Agnes Toprith, of Crescent City; James, a blacksmith by trade, but at present is a commercial traveler; Ellen, for a tiuie in business at Salt Lake City; John, our subject; Robert, a farTner of Nor- walk Township; "William, Deputy Sheriff of this county, and residing at Crescent City; Euphemia, the wife of Robert Adams, a grain-dealer at Underwood. Thomas, Katli- erine and Margaret are deceased, the latter when thirteen years of age, while preparing to start to Utah; she is buried in Fair View Cemetery. Mr. Currie, our subject, spent his scliool days in Edinburg, Scotland, and when quite a young boy commenced to learn the black- smith's trade. After his arrival in Salt Lake, he and a brother worked in the Pacific shops, on Temple block. Salt Lake City. Soon after his arrival he worked for Brigham Young on the Bee and Lyon house, and afterward turned his attention to farming and stock-raising on the American fork. In 1866 he returned to Iowa, and with his father engaged in farm- ing, first in Crescent Township, and afterward where he now lives. He owns a splendid farm of 200 acres. Mr. Currie, although not aspiring to public position, has held almost all the offices of Nor walk Township, and while in Utah was Constable two years. In 1860 he married Miss Elizabeth A. Filchber who was born in England, in 1839, and died at Crescent City, April 13, 1881. She was the mother of eleven children, nine of whom are now living: Margaret Pratt, the wife of Sylvester Pratt, a farmer of Cres- cent Township; John B., a rancher in Califor- nia; Eliza, wife of Thomas Walton, deceased, who was killed in a railroad accident, and she 684 BIOGRAPniCAL HISTORY resides in Underwood; Ann, the wife of Harry E. Fislier, a merchant of Underwood; Aggie, at home; Fj-ank K. and Lorena May. The deceased are: Joseph A., at nine years and four montlis; Cora Jane, an infant. August 20, 1887, Mr. Currie married Miss Jennie Thompson, who was born at Cler- mont, Ohio, near Williamsburg, January 29, 1843, the daughter of Alexander and Nancy (Wood) Thompson, natives of Virginia and Ohio. The father died in Ohio, when sixty- two years of age in 1875, and his wife two years later, when sixty-five years of age. Mr. Thompson was a prominent citizen in his commnnity, holding responsible positions of trust. Politically he was a Democrat.. Mrs. Currie was highly educated in Oiiio at the State Normal School and at Terre Haute, In- diana, and taught school for a number of years. Mr. Currie is a Democrat in his political principles. ►4HH lEORGE H. OSBORN, who owns and cultivates 160 acres of land in section 3, Garner Tow^nship, first came to this county in April, 1865. He was horn in Frederick County, Virginia, near Winchester, in the Shenandoah Valley, noted during the last war, the date of his birth being February 24, 1818. His father was George Osborn, a miller by trade and of English ancestry; and his mother, whose maiden name was Amelia Gordon, was a Virginian by birth and of old Virginian ancestry. Mr. Osborn was brought up a farmer in his native county. March 26, 1846, he married Miss Eliza Grant, a daughter of John and Kebecca (Fulton) Grant. The Grant family were from Penn- sylvania before the war of 1812. After his marriage Mr. Osborn removed to Frederick County, and in the spring of 1860, he came West and located near St. Joseph, Missouri, and lived there live years, engaged in farming. During the war tiie community was a disagreeable one; and in the spring of 1865 Mr. Osborn bought his present farm, on which at the time there were an old log cabin and a few other improvements. Now the place is a i^plendid home, up with the times. Mr. Osborn is a Democrat in his political principles, a highly honored and worthy citizen. His children are: Ella, wife of William King, living in Hazel Dell Town- ship; John L., who also resides in Hazel Dell Township; Alcinda, now Mrs. William Trip- plet, residing in Buffalo County, Nebraska; and George C, a resident of Hazel Dell Township. - g - S " i .g.... fRANCIS MARION OWENS, of section 1, Garner Township, is another promi- nent citizen who deserves mention in this work, as he has been a resident of this county ever since 1850. He was born in Monroe County, Missouri, October 18, 1832, the son of Elijali Owens, a Virginian, now deceased. His mother's name before mar- riage was Mary Holman, and she was a na- tive of Kentucky, and died when the subject of this sketch was seven years of age. He was a small boy when his father removed to Shelbyville, Shelby County, Missouri, where they resided until he was thirteen years of age. Tliey then removed to Putnam County, where they lived until he was eighteen years of age. He was brought up on a farm, and reared principally by strangers. It wa,s in October, 1850, when he came to this county and engaged chiefly in herding- cattle until about 1854. He then married and settled in Monona County, Iowa, near Ashton Grove, north of where Onawa now is. Remaining OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 685 there until about 1860, he returned to this county and enu^aged in jobbitig and trading in live-stock at Oouiicil Bluffs. In 1874 he located upon his present farm of 160 acres, being then a Mormon claim and one of the first settlers. Mr. Owens has built a fine cottage and embellished the premises, making a fine home. Living streams from pure springs run through the farm. Tlius, dairy- ing is a continued specialty. Mr. Owens is a zealous and intelligent Republican Prohibi- tionist, a man of easy manners and address and honorable in all his dealings, spending much time and money in the cause of tem- perance. Mr. Owens was married June 25, 1854, to Miss Samantha Jane Douglass, a woman of intelligence and education, who was born in Scotland County, Missouri, and came to Pot- tawattamie County in 1851 with her parents, John McFarland Douglass and Hannah, nee Barnes, a native of Missouri. Mr. Doncrlass was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and had lived in Pottawattamie County, but two or three weeks when he was drowned in a cut- off near Manawa Lake, May 24, 1851, leav- ing a widow and one child. Mr. and Mrs. Owens have two children, viz.: Len Douslass, who was born in Monona County Iowa, and is engaged in extensive manufacturing in San Francisco, California; and Frank M., who is a resident of the homestead. ilLLIAM H. KUHN", of Garner Township, has been a resident here since April 18, 1857, and is well and favorably known. He was born at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Frederick (bounty, Maryland, October 20, 1832, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Oveliuan) Kuhn, the former a native of Maryland, whose fatiier came from Germany, and the latter also a native of Maryland. In th'^ir fa'niiy were six sons and one daughter. Tlie father died in 1854 at the age of fifty-four years, and the mother died in 1873 at the advanced age of seventy-one years, and was buried at Me- chanicstown, Maryland. William H. was reared in his native county and learned the trade of wheelwright. In 1853 Re came to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he learned the carpenter's trade. Coming East in 1854 he continued at his trade until 1857, when he returned West, this time coming by way of steamboat from Wheeling down the Ohio River, and then up the Mis- sissippi and Missouri to Council Bluffs, being a month and three days on the way. Here he followed his trade, in company with J. P. Williams, an old citizen, during the summer and winter. He then enscacred in building a large mill for William Garner on Mosquito Creek. When this was completed, Septem- ber 20, 1858, he started for Pike's Peak and was one of the first to cross the plains to that point, arriving after a forty days' journey. There he engaged in mining, in company with Mr. Gregory, who first discovered valu- able minerals at Black Hawk and Central City, Colorado. He remained in the Terri- tories, raining, etc., until the spring of 1859, when he returned to Council Bluffs, working at his old trade of millwright until the spring of 1864. He then again crossed the plains with an o.x team to Virginia City, in Mon- tana, starling on the 20th of May and arriving there October 1, by way of Yellowstone and Big Horn. The next year he returned to Council Bluffs, and built a large woolen mill for William Garner on Mosquito Creek. In 1866, when this work wa^ finished, he took charge of the mill for thres years, operating it and maaiita'3t'iring wojlen cr )o Is. In the tall of 1868 he built his present residence on 686 BWOMArinCAL n I STORY liis farm, which consists of 440 acres, one of the best iin proved farms in tlie township. Tiie residence, a two story frame, cost $2,000. There is also on the premises an orchard of twenty acres, with a great variety of fruit. This farm is seven miles nortlieast of Council Bluffs and Mr. Kuhn has eighty acres be sides in Hazel Dell Township. In his political sympathies he is a Demo- crat. He has been Township Assessor for five years, Township Trustee and a member of the School Board. He was married No- vember 13, 1860, to Julia H. Garner, daugh- ter of William Garner, a prominent citizen of the township. She was born in Adams County, niinois, but received her education in this county. In their family are the fol- lowing children: Cyrus Frank; Sarah G., a successful teacher; Brick Fomeroy, attending school at the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor; and William H., Jr., at home. Margaret E., a daughter, died in her four- teenth year year. fOIIN GKEEN, M. D., of Council Bluffs, engaged in the practice of his profession in this city in February, 1877, and has been constantly in practice since that time. Dr. Green was born in Morrow County, Ohio, October 10, 1832. His father was Isaac Green, who was born in New Jersey but went to Washington County, Pennsylvania, in early manhood. He married Lettie Miller and removed to Morrow County, Ohio, where they were pioneers and where they continued to live until death, the mother passing away in 1880 at the age of eighty-three years and the father sevei-al years later, at the age of eighty-six years. The family of Isaac Green and wife consisted of four sons and four daughters. Two of each are now deceased. Tlie oldest of the family is William, who is still a resident of Morrow County, Ohio. The deceased brothers were Joseph M. and the Rev. Daniel Green. The latter was a Pres- byterian clergyman, who died in 1875. At the time of his death he was a resident of Kansas. He was for eighteen years a mis- sionary in China. He left, at his decease, a wife and three children. The subject of this notice was educated in the common schools of Ohio and was also for some time a student of the Presbyterian Academy at Martins- burg, Knox County, Ohio. He began the study of medicine in 1857, at Chesterville, in his native State, and took a course of lec- tures at the medical department of Michigan State University at Ann Arbor in 1858-'59. In April, 1861, in response to the first call of President Lincoln for troops to aid in sup- pressing the Rebellion, Dr. Green entered the army as a private in Company B, Fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and on the reorganization of the company for three years' service, he was made First Lieutenant of his company, and subsequently Adjutant of the regiment, in which position he served until promoted to a captaincy. Soon after, with the rank of Captain and Assistant Adjutant- General of Volunteers, he served under Gen- eral John S. Mason, and as aid of General Lander, and subsequently was on duty in the same capacity with General McDowell. He was mustered out of the service in August, 1866, at Tucson, Arizona Territory, as Lieu- tenant-Colonel by brevet. Dr. Green was a gallant and efficient soldier and served in many important campaigns of the war. He served with McCIellan in West Virginia, early in the war, taking part in the battle of Roney. He was also at the first battle of Winchester, where General Shields defeated Stonewall Jackson, and also took part in the battle of Port Republic. His command was OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 687 tlieii ordered to join the army of tlie Poto- mac, where they arrived soon after McClei- lan's peninsular campaign closed. He took part in the second battle of Bull Run, where he had the lionor of withdrawing the last picket line. Soon after this battle he was severely injured by being tlirown from his horse at Georgetown, and was confined to the hospital for aboirt six months. When able to rejoin liis command, he was ordered to the Department of the Ohio, then in com- mand of General Rosecrans, but was assigned to duty at Camp Chase, Ohio, where he re- mained six months. He was then ordered to San Francisco, where he reported to Gen- eral McDowell, thence to Arizona, accom- panying General McDowell as Adjutant- General of the District of Arizona. He was discharged at Chesterville, Ohio, at the date already given. Dr. Green resumed liis med- ical studies with Dr. John W. Russell, of Vernon, Ohio, and a prominent surgeon of that part of the State. He graduated at Charity Hospital Medical College, in 1866- '67. He practiced in Ohio until he came here. Dr. Green was married to Miss Mary A. Greenlee in JMovember, 1861. She was born in Fredericktown, Knox County, Ohio, a daughter of Archibald Greenlee. Doctor Green and wife have three children: John A., Margaret L. and William M. Dr. Green stands high in the medical profession, and is a worthy and esteemed citizen. He was a gallant soldier in the war of the Rebellion. fUEDERICK W. HOUGHTON, M. D., physician and druggist at Council Bluffs, is a native of Wisconsin, and was born at Sparta, in that State, September 9, 1861, and is a son of Albert R. Houghton. When Dr. Houghton was but two years of age, his parents removed to St. Albans, Vermont, and when eight years old the family removed to Sacramento, California, and after a residence of one year on the Pacific Coast returned and located at Council Bluffs. Dr. Hough- ton was educated in the public schools of this city, graduating from the high school in the class of 1879. Deciding to pursue the medical profession, he entered the office of Dr. McCrae, of Council Bluffs, where he continued for a time, but in 1880 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York city, taking a three years' course, graduating in May, 1883. He still further qualified himself for the medical profession by a year's course at St. Joseph's Hospital, at Paterson, New Jersey, where he remained one year. In 1887 Dr. Houghton' located at Council Bluffs and engaged in the practice of his profession and also opened a drug store, which he still conducts in connection with his medical practice. He was married in September, 1885, to Miss Geneva Van Beebe, of this city. They have one son — Albert B. Dr. Houghton received a thorough medi- cal education; he is energetic and public spirited, and though still a young man, occu- pies a prominent place among the medical fraternity of Pottawattamie County. ILLIAM A. MYNSTER, of Council Bluffs, one of the leading members of the bar of Pottawattamie County, is the only son of Christopher O. and Maria Mynster, pioneers of this county, a sketch ot whom is found elsewhere in this work. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, October 13, 1843, having been but a child when the family emigrated to America. He was edu- 688 BIOORAPnrCAL HI8T0RT cated at Sinsinawa Mound College, Wiscon- sin, and at St. Louis University, Missouri, graduating from the latter institution in 1861, and from the Albany Law School, at Albany, New York, in 1865, and has been actively engaged in the practice of law in the city of Council Bluffs since that time. One year after beginning the practice of his profession he became associated with Mr. Hight, in the firm name of Mynster it Hight. This co- partnership continued for several years, when the tirm of James, Aylesworth & Mynster was formed, and later that of Mynster, Mickle & Davis, and still later that of Mynster & Adams. His next association was in the firm name of Mynster, Lindt &, Seabrook. He is still associated with Mr. Lindt, the firm being Mynster & Lindt. Mr. Mynster was married to Miss E. A. Plater, daughter of Ira Plater, an early set- tler of Council Bluffs. Mr. Mynster was bereft of his wife by death in November, 1886. He has five children: William Rufus Choate, Marie, L-a C, Lester A. and Henry F. Mr. Mynster is one of the representative citizens of Council Bluffs and an enterpris- ing and progressive citizen. He has served as attorney of Pottawattamie County, and President of the City Council of this city. Politically Mr. Mynster affiliates with the Democratic party. fUDGE EGBERT E. AYLESWORTH is one of the earlier and well-known members of the bar of Council Bluffs. Judge Aylesworth is a native of the Empire State, having been born in the town of Mil- ford, Otsego County, New York, in 1838. His father, now deceased, was also born in the State of New York,' as was his mother, Savina Adams. They were the parents of six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters. The former in the order of their birth, are the subjects of this notice; Loretme, of Council Bluffs, and Freting, who is still a resident of the State of New York, as are the sisters of the family. Judge Aylesworth was reared in his native town and was educated at Hartwick Academy and at the Delaware Literary Institute, at Franklin, in Delaware County, New York, and began the study of law in 1861, at Portlandville in his native county, with R. M. Townseud, Esq., a prominent lawyer of that place. He was admitted at Bingham- ton. New York, May 12, 1863, but continued in the office of his preceptor till he came West three years later. Politically Judge' Aylesworth is a Democrat. In 1884 Judge Aylesworth was the Democratic candidate for Judge in the Fifteenth Judicial District, his opponent being C. F. Loofbourrow. The can- vass of the votes gave Judge Aylesworth a majority of two votes, but the election was contested and Loofbourrow was declared elected by fourteen votes. Four years before that election he ran against the same gentle- man for the same office, when the latter was elected by but sixty-four votes, though the Republican general ticket received a majority of about 3,000. In 1873 Judge Aylesworth was appointed by the City Council to the office of City Attorney of Council Bluffs, to succeed Judge J. R. Reed, and was elected to that place in 1874 and re-elected in 1876, serving in that position for four years. In March, 1882, he was elected Judge of the Superior Court, a position that he filled in an able and satisfactory manner for the period of eight years. He has alsc been a member of the Council and of the School Board of the city. Judge Aylesworth is a lawyer of fine legal attainments, and is a progressive and popular citizen. He was married in the State of OF POTTAWATTAMIE OOUNTT. 689 New York, to Miss Marcella Winsor, also a native of Otsego County. Their cliildren are Paul Clark, Ellen Winsor, Egbert DeWitt and Setli Winsor. ... ..i g . ^ ti ; . ! !.-^ iiAUL ACKELS is one of our substantial German-American citizens, and one of the early settlers and promoters of this town, who by industry and energy has made a place of honor for themselves, as well as assisted to promote the business enterprises of Avoca. He was born in the beautiful Province of Khine, Germany, the son of Malt Ackels, who was a farmer of that prov- ince, and the lather of four sons: Joseph, John, Paul and Malt. The father is in com- fortable circumstances, and has reached the age of ninety years. He served three years in the regular Prussian army, and was also in the rebellion of 1848 as a soldier for the Government. He is a man of remarkable constitution, and of great strength of charac- ter, and this robust constitution his son, our subject, has inherited to a great degree. The strong and sturdy sires of the old country have given to their sons, the voyagers to a new world, that vitality and character which are making them leaders in the West. Paul Ackels, our subject, was born Api-il 20, 1844, and, as all Prussians are obliged by law to learn a trade, he chose that of tailor, which he completed in a very thorough man- ner in France, that country which for so many years was the emporium of fashion for the world. Mr. Ackels remained in the old country until the age of twenty-nine years, when, in 1873, he came to America, landing in New York city in the early part of May. His brother Malt was a farmer in this county, and he naturally came direct to Avoca, and after spending a few months working at his trade in Council Bluffs he came to this city and established himself in business as a mer- chant tailor. In 1876 he went into the clothing business, and has ever since been the leading clothier in the city. He married Miss Augusta Fincks in 1876. In his political opinion he is a stanch Re- publican, and socially a member of the Knights of Pythias, and of the Catholic Church. He is a man of liberal ideas, and has by industry and economy accumulated handsome property, owning real estate in this town and also in Nebraska. He is well known for his integrity of character, and his honor as a merchant is established. Coming from a foreign country and unable to speak our language, he deserves great credit for the manly way in which he has overcome every difficulty and won success by his own un- aided and laborious efforts. tBRAM HARRIS, a prominent farmer of Knox Township, descended from a prom- inent American family. His grand- father, Barnett Harris, was born on a farm in Connecticut, and was of English descent. He was the father of six sons: Barnett, Far- rington, Gilbert, Daniel, William and Joseph. The father lived to the age of sixty years, dying on his farm in Dutchess County, New York, where he was one of the early settlers. His son, Barnett, the father of our subject, was born in Dutchess County, and was mar- ried at the age of nineteen to Miss Sarah Vanolinda, of Holland-Dutch parentage, but who had lived in New York State a number of years. They were the parents of eight children: Sabin, Abram, Hiram, deceased at the age of twelve years; Aaron, who died when forty-five years of age; Jane, deceased at live years; Anna E., died at the age of «90 BIOOE.'iPHICAL HISTORT twenty-five; Fannie and Mary J., de- ceased when eight years old. At the age of twenty-one Mr. Harris enlisted in the war of 1812, and served three months. He died at the age of seventy years in Saratoga Comity. He took great pride in his family, and bronght them up under the old New England regime — to be honest and upright men and women. He was well-known for his integrity of character, and was industrious and frugal in his habits. His son, Abram, the subject of this sketch, was born in Saratoga County, New Y^ork, April 15, 1823. His first experience at working out was when but nine years of age, for a six-months job, for which he received $12 and his board. He learned farming in the old-fashioned way, nsing the old-time sickle, scj'the and hoe. He then became a dealer in cattle and meat, driving the cattle to the Albany markets. In 1855 he moved to Ottawa, Illinois, and engaged in the butcher business, remaining there about thirteen years. Next, in 1868, he went into the dairy business in Colorado, remaining but one year, when he went to Omaha, where he stopped three months, and while there he purchased 240 acres of land in Pottawatamie County. He soon sold this and bought a one-half section, which he improved and also built a home. He sold this land in 1888, and bought his present farm of 274 acres, which is now under a good state of culti- vation. Besides this fine farm Mr. Harris also owns business property in Avoca. He is a large stock-raiser, having at present over 200 head of cattle and twenty-eight horses. In his political opinions, he is a "Green backer," and belongs to the Union- Labor party. He was one of the old-time Repnblicans, and took an active interest in forming that party. He has always been an original thinker and independent in his opinions, and believes strongly in the orig- inal purpose of our Government, — •" a govern- ment of the people, by the people, and for the people," — and never hesitates to express his views. He served the city of Avoca as Mayor two years, and also tilled the office of Justice of the Peace two years. He was nominated as candidate for State Senator on the Greenback ticket, and received the heaviest vote on the State ticket. He is a self-made man, having begun the struggle of life for himself at ten years of age, and by honest industry he has made his property. He is a well preserved man of sixty-seven years. Mr. Harris was married in Dutchess County, New York, to Johanna Ferris, of Irish parentage, and to them have been born five children: George W., who died at the age of eighteen; Eliza, Mary, Belle and Julia, deceased at nineteen years of age. The mother died, and the father was married to Mary Harder, daughter of Jacob and Mary (Heppner) Harder, and to them have been born seven children: Maud, Charles, Lin- coln, Thomas (deceased in infancy), Robert, Bennie and Jackson. Mrs. Harris has five brothers and sisters living, namely: Christian, Sophia, Mary, Charles and William. Their father was born in Germany. — '^ • ' 1 ' S t ' ; • !■" •• — M. HUFF. — This is an old and promi- nent American family of German and ' French descent, the remote ancestors being natives of Germany, and early settlers of Stokes County, North Carolina. John Huff, the grandfather of our subject, was born in that State, and was a prominent farmer, owning 200 acres of land. He was the father of twenty-two children, by two wives: Daniel, John, Wells, Charity, Mel- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 691 vina, David, Jordan and William are all that our subject remembers. Lewis Huff, the father of our subject, was born on the old homestead, and when a boy went to Indiana with one of his neighbors, where he remained and was married to Susan Palmer. They had twelve children, viz.: Martha, Mary, Margaret, Edith, William, Alexis, Phoebe, Alice, Hermanda, Arthur, Luella and Charity. After his marriage, in 18-iO, Mr. Huft" settled in Henderson County, Illinois, where he re- mained until 1853. In that year he came to Council Bluffs, and setcled on a farm on the bottoms, now covered by the court-house and park. At that time there were but five houses and five stores there, which were cov- ered with earth. At Omaha there was not a building, and Mr. Huff had a claim of 160 acres now in the heart of the city. He .was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and both he and his wife were members of the Baptist Church, in which Mr. Huff was a deacon for many years. In 1855 he came to Center Township, where he was one of the pioneer settlers, there being but three others, — Joshua and Joseph Layton and Mr. Belknap. Mr. Huff was born in 1809, and died on his farm in 1885, at tiie age of seventy-six years. Alexander M. Hiiff, the subject of this sketch, was born in Henderson County, Illi- nois, May 17, 1845, and was reared to farm life. When but eight years of age he came with his father to Council Bluffs, and he well- remembers the trip to this State. He came witli his father to Center Township, and was married in Omaiia, in 1866, to Ella Doran, daughter of John Doran, a native of Nova Scotia. To Mr. and Mrs. Huff were i)orn six children: Mary, Lewis, Ford, Eva, Katie and Daisy. The next year, in August, 1869, Mr. Huff moved to his present farm of 160 acres, on which he has made many improve- ments. He has taken an active interest in the cause of education, has been School Di- rector for many years. In his political prin- ciples he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in all matters pertaining to his town- ship. In 1863 Mr. Huff enlisted in Company C, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and served two years, or until tiie close of the war. He was in the siege and capture of Mobile, at the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, and was sixty days on one march, on Red River, which was a continual skirmish. He was in the hospital five weeks with small- pox, and was honorably discharged at New Orleans. As a soldier of the great civil war, his descendants will honor his memory. fOHN H. DAVIS, residing on section 27, Garner Township, is one of the well- known and early settlers of the county, having settled here July 4, 1853. He is a native of Wales, born May 2, 1825, the son of James and Martha (Harris) Davis, also natives of Wales. John H. was reared in his native land, engaged in mining must of the time. December 28, 1852, he was mar- ried to Miss Mary Griffeys, who was born in Wales. In February, a short time after their marriage, they went to Liverpool, where they sailed for New Orleans on the sailing vessel the Old Jersey. They made the voyage in six weeks, and after landing in New Orleans they went to St. Louis, then to Keokuk, Iowa, where they camped for six weeks on the banks of the Mississippi River. They traveled over the plains of Iowa with an ox team, and on the Fourth of July ar- rived at Council Bluffs. Mr. Davis removed from here to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he arrived in October, 1853, after riJing over the plains and prairies. He resided in Salt 693 BIOGRAPUICAL HISTORY Lake until 1861, when he moved his family back to Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Coun- ty, on his present farm, in 1865. It consists of 187 acres, situated four and a half miles from the city limits. He is engaged in gen- eral farming, fruit-raising and gardening. In his political views Mr. Davis is a Democrat, and although ho is growing old he yet bears his years very lightly. He has traveled extensively and is well informed. He has three sons and two daughters: Ben- jamin, living at home; William, residing on Keg Creek; Mary, wife of C. Herrick, and living on Keg Creek; James, at home; Sally, the wife of Fred Baup, and residing in Shelby County. A great loss to Mr. Davis was in the death of his wife, in 1867, who had shared his trials and hardships with him. ■^ "I ' S"? ' ^" ' " fSAAC G. CARTER, of Ha-ncock, Valley Township, is one of our old soldiers who •=^ served his country in her time of need, and after her victory was secured returned to liis home and resumed the peaceful pursuit of agriculture in Valley Township. Mr. Carter is from an old American family, who were among the early settlers of Virginia. His grandfather was born in Virginia, and moved to Ohio, settling in Muskingum Coun- ty, as a pioneer, and became a successful farmer, owning 200 acres of land. He lived tu the great age of eighty-two years, and died on his old homestead in Ohio. He was tiie father of eight children: Ezekiel, Mar- cus, John, Joseph, Matilda, Hulda, Jane and Alvin. The youngest son, Alvin, was the father of Isaac C, our subject. He was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, and married Nancy Clark, of the same county. To them were born six children: Isaac G., Henry B., WashincTton, William, Hugh and Mary A. Mr. Carter died very suddenly at the early age of thirty years from exposure. His wife died within two weeks from exposure in taking cai-e of the stock on the farm. Isaac, their oldest son, and the subject of this sketch, was born February 20, 1830, and was but twelve years of age when he was left an orphan, and the little family of six orphan children were scattered. Isaac was brought up by William Evans, a wealtliy Irishman, who treated him kindly. He received a com- mon-school education, and at eighteen years of age he began to learn the carpenter's trade, serving a four-years apprenticeship, the old- fashioned plan of thoroughly learning a trade, and followed his trade until after the close of the war. He married Lucinda Dowell, daughter of George and Grace (Helms) Dowell. Mr. Dowell, an American of German descent, was a farmer of Muskingum County, Ohio, and the father of thirteen children : Mary, Harri- son, Isabel, Amanda, George, Malinda, Lu- cinda, LaFayette, George W., Thomas, Henrietta, Mahala, and an infant who died unnamed. Mr. Dowell was born in Vir- ginia. His father, George Dowell, moved to Muskingum County, Ohio. John Dowell, an uncle of Mrs. Carter, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. All her uncles were large men, weighing over 200 pounds. After marriage Mr. Carter settled in Dres- den, Ohio, for one year, and in 1853 went to Chicago with his family, where he followed his trade and became a contractor and builder. In 1859 he moved to McDonough County, Illinois, where he continued his business of contracting and building. Here he enlisted August 12, 1862, when Abraham Lincoln made his first call for 300,000 men to defend the Union. Joining Company C, Seventy- eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry he went immediately to tlie front with iiis regiment, OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 693 and was soon promoted Commissary Sergeant of" his company. After three months he was transferred to the Engineers' Corps, Company A, Second Regiment, and worked at bridge- bnilding. His principal service was in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia. While with the Seventy-eighth Illinois, he was in the battle of Munfordville, Kentucky, and the whole regiment was captured except Mr. Carter and one boy. The Ninety-first Illinois and Seventy-sixth Indiana were cap- tured at the same time, by the famous Con- federate raider, John Morgan. Mr. Carter and the boy returned to the Union line. His regiment was paroled and exchanged. While connected with the Engineer Corps he was in the battles of Murfreesboro, Frank- lin, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain and Nashville, all in Tennessee. In the fall of 1863 he was injured by a tailing bridge tim- ber, and was in the hospital for nine months, part of which time he was Commissary Ser- geant of the hospital at Louisville, Kentucky; and then was assigned to act as Commissary Sergeant by the Provost- Marshal at Lebanon, Kentucky, and remained there until the close of the war. He was sent to Clinton, Iowa, with supplies, and was mustered out and honorably discharged July 7, 1865, at Clin- ton, Iowa, having served his country during three years of the great civil war. The fol- lowing is endorsed on Mr. Carter's discharge paper: Headquaetees Co. B, 23d V. R. C. The bearer, Isaac G. Carter, was formerly a private of the Seventy-eighth Illinois In- fantry, and afterward transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps, IT. S. A., on account of disability incurred in the discharge of his duties. Since his connection with this company he has acted as Commissary Ser- geant, and has proved himself in every way a good and faithiul soldier, and a sober, reliable and intelligent inan. Should he ever have occasion to use this endorsement I hope his application may be favorably considered. J. W. Beebee, 1st Lieut. Commanding Co. B, 23d V. R. C. After the war, like most of the surviving soldiers, Mr. Carter came to the West and settled in Iowa, which was then a new State. He lived on a farm in Jasper County for four years, and then went to Platte County, Ne- braska, where he lived a year, and in 1872 came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and settled in Valley Township, where he still resides, an honored citizen. Mr. Carter owns a fine farm of 120 acres, which he has nicely improved. Both himself and Mrs. Carter are life-long devout members of the Methodist Church, and Mr. Carter has always taken an active interest in his church, has filled all its local offices, and has held them most of the time since the war. He is now class-leader, trustee, steward and Sunday-school superin- tendent. He enjoys the respect of his fellow- citizens in a marked degree. Has held the offices of Justice of the Peace and Constable, filling one or the other for the past seventeen years. He is Chaplain of William Layton Post, No. 358, Oakland, Iowa; also Chaplain of the Anti- Horse-Thief Society at Hancock, Iowa. Mr. Carter has taken an active inter- est in the cause of education and the schools in his community, having been School Direc- tor. Two of his daughters have been teach- ers — Jennie and Florence. Mr. Carter is a man of honorable and upright character, whose word is taken for its full meaning. As a soldier and a citizen he has served his country, in war and in peace, by faithfully doing his duty to his country and his com- munity. He is a man of strictly temperate habits and correct moral principles, and iias striven to instill right principles in his family. His record as a soldier will descend to his children for generations, and as ouj who 694 BIOGRAPHICAL OISTORT fouglit for the preservation of his country. The family descended on both sides from good, old American pioneer stock, than which there is no better. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are the parents of ten children, seven of whom lived. Harry A., Charles, deceased; George W., Henrietta, Eva, Ida, deceased; Jennie, Howard, de- ceased; Flora and Hugh. Harry A., now an engineer at Hancock, married Miss Hale, and his children are Arthur, Charles, Blanche, Amy and Ruby M.; Henrietta married George Payne, now deceased, and has one child, Rolio; George, now on a cattle ranch at North Canyonville, Oregon, married "Win- nie Pickett, and has four children: Ida, Irmie, Hugh and Pattis; and Eva married William Tibbetts, a farmer of Hardin County, Iowa, and has one child, Minnie. ►>^^^ ILLIAM C. ACKER, a prominent I farmer of Pottawattamie County, is the son of John Acker, who was born in Sandy Hill, New York, near the head of LakeChamplain. He studied surveying, and also received a good education, and later be- came a school-teacher. In 1830 he went to Illinois, where he ran a steam saw-mill at Beardstown, and where lie was married to Eliza Elmore, a widow lady, formerly a Miss Early, and they had seven children: David, John, William, Mary, Nathaniel, Sarah and Samuel. In 1837 Mr. Acker settled in Ore- gon, Ogle County, Illinois, where he ran a ferry for some years, and was also a trunk- maker. About 1852 he bought a farm, where he remained some time, and then en- gained in the mercantile business at Ashtown, remaining five years. In 1876 he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he was in business at Avoca for some time; next lie lived in Marys ville two years, and then re- tired from active life. He is now living with his son, William O., and has always enjoyed the respect of the community in which he lived. He was an industrious man, and was entrusted with many public offices in Illinois, having been County Commissioner, Trustee and Clerk of the county. He had three sons in the civil war: John, Nathaniel and Samuel. The two former were in the army of the Po- tomac, were on General McClellan's body- guard, and were in many battles. Samuel was in the Army of the West. Mr. Acker is still living, at the age of ninety, and bids fair to live to the age of 100. His eyes are still bright and his health firm. William C, the subject of this sketch, was born Marcli 5, 1835, in Beardstown, Illinois, and learned the carriage and wagon- maker's trade in Chicago, where he worked for twen- ty-tive years. After his marriage he settled in Ashton, Ogle County, Illinois, and estab- lished a wagon and carriage shop, where he remained five years. He then went to Am- boy, same State, remaining until 1869, when he settled in Boone, Boone County, Iowa, where he had the first carriage shop, and also was one of the founders of the town. He lived there about six years, and then came to Pottawattamie County, settling on his pres- ent farm of 160 acres in Valley Township, which is well improved. Mr. Acker takes an active interest in the schools. He built the fir=t school-house in his district; has been School Director and Township Supervisor, and has always commanded the respect of the community. He has ornamented his place by setting out fine trees, and now has a beau- tiful home, in which he has been assisted by his sons. His father is a stanch Republican, and has always been an active temperance man; and William C. is also very earnest and active in the cause of temperance, assisting to OF pen TAWATTAMIB COUNTY. 695 enforce the law in his county and advocates the cause. Mr. Acker was married in Ogle County, Illinois, to Sophia Van Loon, daughter of Isaiah and Isabel (Reeder) Van Loon. The father was born in New York, and went to Ohio when a boy, and then moved to Illinois, where he is now a well-to-do fanwer of Ogle County. Tiiey were the parents of seven children, viz.: Harriet, Elsworth, Jane, Phffibe, Clarissa, Sophronia and Kachel. Mr. and Mrs. Van Loon are members of the Methodist Church, and the father is now sev- enty-six years of age. The children of Will- iam C. Acker married as follows: William C. married Emma Bilger, and is now a farmer in Valley Township. Tliey have three chil- dren: Frank, Hay and Cottie. Estella mar- ried B. B. Brown, a farmer of Valley Township, and they have three children also: Mabel, Bert and Clarence. jARION PALMER, a substantial farmer of Valley Township, is de- "^i^^ scended from an old American family of English origin. Plis grandfather, Will- iam Palmer, was a farmer of Indiana. His son, M. T. Palmer, the father of our subject, was born in that State, and was reared to farm life, but in the latter part of his life he became a physician. He was married in In diana, to Caroline Tuel, and to them were born seven children who grew to maturity: Marion, Sumner, Abraham L., Mary M., Alexander R. (who died in 1889, at the age of twenty-five years), Hiram T. and Delia. After marriage the father moved to Mercer County, Illinois, where he lived on a farm about three years. In 1852 he came to Council Bluffs, remaining one year, and then came to what is now Big Grove, Belknap 49 Township, where he remained until his death in August, 1882, at the age of sixty-one years. Both himself and wife were members of the Baptist Church, and politically he was a Republican. His widow is still living on the old homestead. Marion Palmer, tlu! subject of this sketch, was born in Mercer County, Illinois, April 5, 1851, and was early inured to farm life. He was but two years of age when he came to Council Bluffs with his parents. After his marriage he settled on his present farm, which then consisted of forty acres of wild land, but which he has since converted into a fine fertile farm of 200 acres. He is en- gaged largely in the stock business. He has taken an active interest in the cause of edu- cation, and has been School Director and also Road Supervisor. Politically he is a Repub- lican, and stands deservedly high among his fellow-citizens for his sterling worth. November 24, 1883, Mr. Palmer was mar- ried to Lizzie J. Scott, daughter of William and Jane (Jefiries) Scott. The father is an old settler of this connty, and is still living on his farm near Oakland. He came from Ohio in 1869, and is the father of six chil- dren: Lizzie J., Lydia, Charles, Lillie, Theo- dore and Mary. The father was a soldier in our great civil war, and is respected in the community in which he lives. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are the parents of four children: Myrtle, Gertrude, Ernest, and an infant unnamed. ►^.«^ ^ENRY P. GERTZ, of Shelby, Iowa, is one of the sturdy German citizens who has shed his blood for his adopted country in the great civil war. His father, Henry, was a weaver in the village of Aben- vale, Holstein, Germany, and served during 696 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY a period of peace in the army. He married Lena Beck, and had five children: Christina, Catharine, Christian, Henry and Lena. He came to America with his family in 1846, from Hamburg, Germany, to New Orleans, by a sailing vessel. The first three years in this country he resided at Quincy, Hlinois, working at his trade. He tlien went to Davenport and became a farmer, owning 298 acres of good land, bnt he lost his property during the financial troubles of 1859. He died on a farm six miles north of Davenport. His first wife died on tlie voyage to America and was buried at sea; and about ten years afterward, in America, Mr. Gertz married Mrs. Hannah Schroeder, and Mr. Gertz, our subject, was brought up by Henry Beck, his grandfather, who came to America at the same time. Mr. Gertz died at the age uf fifty-six years, a member of the Lutheran Church. He was an industrious and honor- able man, taking extraordinary care of his children. Mr. Gertz, the subject of this sketch, was born in the village of Abenvaie, Holstein, JSovember 5, 1840, and was about six years of age when he came to this country, and obtained here a limited education. When Lincoln made his first call for 300,000 men, Mr. Gertz, then of age, enlisted August 7, 1861, in Company E, Twentieth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and served through the war, being honorably discharged July 8, 1865, at Mobile, Alabama. He was in the battle at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and was shot through the left thigh, December 7, 1862. After being iu the hospital three months at Fayetteville, Arkansas, he returned to active service, engaging afterward in the battle at Vicksburg, siege of Fort Morgan, Alabama, siege and assault at Fort Blakely, and in a great many skirmishes. lie served under Captains Chester Barney and Edward E. Davis, and his Colonel was Mac. E. Dey, and his Lieutenant-Colonel J. P. Lock. His reo-j- o ment charged three times across a field at Prairie Grove, under a heavy fire, each time repulsed with heavy loss. The regiments in the charge consisted of the Twentieth Iowa Infantry, Twentieth Wisconsin Infantry, Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and the Twenty-sixth Indiana Infantry, the line of battle being three miles in extent. The last time the repulse was very severe, and the field was covered with the dead and wounded. On the last retreat the Twentieth Iowa was ordered to lie down behind a staked and ridered rail fence, and here they remained about half an hour, keeping up a round of fire. When the order was given to retreat, Gertz, Richards and Pickards were lying on their breasts in a fence corner, and firing on the enemy. They were so absorbed in their work, and the noise of the artillery was so great, that they did not hear the command to retreat; and when they discovered the rebels were upon them their regiment was half a mile away. The ground gently sloped from the woods where the rebels were in force, and the charge was made across an open field, in the face of a severe fire of artil- lery and musketry. At thirty paces a ball struck young Gertz, passing through his thigh, and he exclaimed, " I am shot." Kichards stopped and Gertz placed his arm around his shoulder, and they ran as one man under a heavy fire, the balls falling around then) as thick as hail, one striking the bayo- net scabbard of young Gertz. One ball passed through his cap and one through his blouse at his waist, and Richards had a ball through his haversack, canteen and clothing. They ran rapidly toward the Tenth Illinois Cavalry, who opened ranks to receive them on the order of the ofticer commanding, who asked what regiment they belonged to, and OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 69T being answered, exclaimed, '-You are brave men." Mr. Gertz was one of those soldiers who did not siiritii< from battle, and his record shows that he was indeed a brave man. He will carry to iiis death the honor- able scar which he received in battle for his country. His record as a soldier will be pre- served and handed down for generations to his descendants, and tliey may well take an honest pride in tlieir soldier ancestor, who gave the best years of liis life to his coun- try's cause, and shed his blood on the Held of battle to preserve the Union. He returned from tlie liorrors of war to tiie delights of a fanner's life of peace. In 1876 he married Lena, daughter of Hans and Lena (Bowden) Snickloth. Her father died in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and when but thirteen years of age she came with her motlier and family to America, in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Gertz are the parents of twelve children, namely: Henry (an in- fant, deceased), Annie, Edward, Henry, Will- iam, Gustave (an infant, deceased), Minnie, Vinnle, Albert, Grover, Louis (died an in- fant), and Benjamin H. (also died in infancy). Annie married Gustave Haas, a farmer of Pleasant Township. After marriage Mr. Gertz settled in Scott County, Iowa, where he lived for thirty years, and in the spring of 1874 he came to Pottawattamie County, and settled upon his present farm, which was then a wild prairie, covering 160 acres of land, and assisted by his faithful wife has converted it into a fine and fertile farm, to which he has since added until he now owns 240 acres of well-culti- vated land. On the place are excellent im- provements, including the comfortable, taste- ful and well-furnished residence. Our old soldier has been prospered in the land for which he fought, while he has done a vast amount of hard labor. He ran a threshing- machine for seventeen years. lie has accu- mulated all his property by his own indus- try, and may well be called a self-made man. He is regarded by his neighbors as upright and honorable. In politics he is a Democrat. Is a member of Dick Yates Post, No. 364, G. A. R., at Shelby, Iowa. He is also a member of Canopy Lodge, No. 401, I. O. O. F., at Shelby. Mr. Gertz is yet a strong and rugged man. Was one of the best shots with a rifle in his regiment, and has a diploma from the Shelby County Agricultural Society for the best score at the l^igeon Shoot at the Annual Pair in 1882. He is a credit to the sturdy Ger- man race from which he springs, one of those pioneers who have greatly aided in the material progress of this country. As a class, no better settlers are to be found. Their sons and daughters are the race of American people who will do well to emulate the virtues of the sturdy pioneers who founded their race in this line of liberty. The name by which Mr. Gertz was enlisted in the army, and in which his papers are made out, is Henry Gates, the enrolling offi- cer, being an American, not knowing how to spell the German name. ►>t^. fOHN N. YOUNG, one of the old soldier citizens of Pottawattamie County, was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, February 5, 1844, the son of John Young, formerly a farmer of that county, who moved to Iowa in 1846 when our subject was but two years old, and engaged in the mercantile business in Washington. After one year he bought a farm in that county, where he spent the remainder of his life. He was married in Kentucky, to Mary Adams, and they had eight children: James A., Robert S., John 698 BlOGRAPnWAL HISTORY N., Nancy, Sarah A., Mary, Charles and Addie. Mr. Young was a Scotch-Irish man of German descent, and lived to the age of seventy-two years. He was an industrious man, and was respected by all who knew him. John N. Young, the subject of this sketch, received a good education, attending a college at Washington, Iowa, a Presbyterian institu- tion. At the age ot eighteen, in 1862, when Lincoln made his first call for 300,000 men, young John bravely enlisted as a private in Company C, Nineteenth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. He was in the battle of Prairie Grove, Ar- kansas, was on the Arkansas and Missouri frontier ten months, and was then at the siege and capture of Vicksburg. He was at the siirrender of Port Hudoon, battle of Sterling Farm, September 29, 1863, where he was taken prisoner, and confined at Tyler, Texas, and Shreveport, Louisiana, for nine months and thirteen days. He was then exchanged, July 22, 1864, and went to New Orleans, thence to Barancas, Florida, where he was at the siege of Spanish Fort and capture of Mobile; and here the war closed. He was honorably discharged July 10, 1865, and mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, August 1, 1865. He had two brothers in the war, James A. and Hobert S., the former in the Seventh Iowa Infantry, and was present at the battle of Belmont, where he was taken prisoner and confined eleven months and ten days in Memphis, Tennessee; Corinth, Mis- sissippi; Mason, Georgia; Tuscaloosa, Ala- bama, and Belle Island. After the war Mr. Young returned to Washington County, Iowa, and, like many of the men who had risked life and health for their country, followed the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. In the fall of 1867 he went to Cass County, Missouri, where he bougiit land and lived seven and a half years. He then returned to Washington County, re- maining two years, and in 1878 settled on his present farm of eighty acres in Pottawat- tamie County, which he has since converted into a well-tilled farm. He has held the otHce of Assessor two years. Township Trus- tee three years, and a member of the School Board two years. He is a member of the G. A. R., William Layton Post, No. 358, and in his political views is a stanch Repui)- lican. In the days when his country needed his services, he bravely went to the front and did trallant service in tiie cause of his conn- try, believing that a country worth living fur was worth fighting for, and to such men we owe the preservation of the Union and our free institutions. As a citizen Mr. Young has been above reproach, and his name and record should be handed down to the most remote generations. March 29, 1866, he was married to Sarah A. Farley, daughter of Sylvester and Candace (Barnett) Farley. The father was a pioneer settler in AVashington County, Iowa, having come from Ohio in 1839, and is of Scotch- Irish descent. He was born in Oliio in 1811, and is still living, at the age of seventy- nine years. He was the father of thirteen children, seven of whom are now living, name- ly: Nancy, John, Harvey, Noah, Sarah M., William and Andrew. Mr. and Mrs. Young are the parents of four children: Jeanette, Minnie A., Edward B. and Orriii II. fOHN B. JOHANNSEN, of Walnut, is one of the leading business men of that thriving town. He was born in the Province of Schlesvvig on a farm. His father, Paul Joliannsen, owned his farm, was in comfortable circumstances, married Catli- OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. G99 erina Brodersen. an(J liad fonr cliildren, namely: Hans C, Jens C, August and John B. Mr. Jobanusen died at the comparatively early age of sixty years. He belonged to the Lutheran Church, and was a man who lived an upright life and brought up his son in the same way. John B. Johannsen, our subject, was born December 28, 1847, received a good common-school education, and learned the mercantile businesss in Germany. He was a soldier in the regular German array at tlie age of twenty-one, and was in the war be- tween France and Germany, being at the battle of Sedan and siege of Paris. He was at this great siege for four months, and was exposed all this time to active service. He served three years and ten months, thirteen nxjnths of this time being spent in France. In 1871, at the age of twenty-five years, he came to America, landing at New York, September 5. Coming to Lyons, Iowa, he became clerk in a store, and then in a simi- lar capacity at Lowden, Cedar County, until 1873. During the fall of this year he came to Walnut and engaged in the mercantile business, being the fourth merchant in this town. In 1882 he went into the loan and insurance business, and has been uniformly prosperous. In 1872 he married Miss Anna C. Carst- ensen, daughter of Carsten Carstensen, who came from Germany. He was the father of four children: P. C, I. A., Carl (who died at the age of twenty-one), and Anna C. Mr. Carstensen died in Walnut, at the ao-e of sixty- six years. Mr. and Mrs. Johannsen are the parents of seven, cliildren, viz.: Palmrick, Carrie, Clara, John B., Charlie and Arthur. Both Mr. and Mrs. Johannsen are Lutherans in religious belief. Socially Mr. Johannsen is an Odd Fellow, has held the office of Noble Grand, and has been for many years Past Grand. He is also a United Workman. Politically he is a stanch Democrat. Mr. Johannsen is respected by his fellow citizens, and has held the office of Councilman since the town was incorporated, and the office of Justice of the Peace for many years. He is a man of stanch business integrity and ranks among the first men of the county. He is a self-made man, and is the architect of his own future. His reputation for sterlino- o integrity is above reproach. DOLPH LEBECK is a member of the firm of Lebeck Brothers, dealers in dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, etc., at Walnut. They are among the leading merchants of this thriving town. Adolph Lebeck's father, S. L. J. Lebeck, a school-teacher by profession, was educated at Tondern Schleswig, and was a teacher in Albersdorf, Germany, from 1842 to 1884, or a period of over forty years in one place, and previously in different places from early man- hood. He married Hanna Ketelsen, and they had ten children: James, Alfred, Carl L., Line. Christina, Hanne, Adolph, Male, Wil- helm, Berthold. Mr. Lebeck has now retired from active life. He is a member of the Lutheran Church, and has reached the great age of eighty-one years, and is still living in Albersdorf, enjoying the respect of the people, many of whom he taught as children in the schools. Adolph, his son and the subject of this sketch, was born in Albersdorf, Holstein, Germany, September 27, 1855, received an excellent education and learned the mercan- tile business in early life. In 1872, at the age of seventeen, he came to America, and directly to Lyons, Iowa, where his brother, Carl L., was a clerk in a store. He then went to Monmouth, Illinois, entering the 700 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY cigar husiiiess, hut, the work not agreeing with his health, lie returned to Lyons, Iowa, and engaged as clerk in a jjeneral merchan- dii^e store, remained there for a little over two years, and then went to Omaha and en- gaged in the grocery business. In 1874 his brother Carl started in business in Walnut, and in 1878 Adolph returned to Germany on a visit and remained one year, then returned to America and went into company with his brother, under the firm name of Lebeck Brothers, buying out Lodge Brothers. Since this time the firm has been attending to busi- ness, driving a prosperous trade, and stand to-day among the leading business men of this part of the connty. In 1880 Mr. Lebeck married Miss Bertha Siebke, who was born at Davenport, Iowa, her parents coming from Germany in 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Lebeck have three children: Hanne, Theodor and Malitta. Mr. Lebeck in national affairs is a Democrat, but has no time to devote to politics. The firm has been prosperous in business, and Mr. Lebeck is a man who is self-made, and, coming to Amer- ica without knowledge of the English lan- guge, he has by his own merits succeeded in life and deserves great credit for his manly and honorable course. For business integ- rity the firm stands high among the citizens and the merchants of the county, and their credit has never been impeached. tSAAC POWELL, of Hancock, is one of the substantial farmers of Valley Town- ^ ship, from an old American family of English descent. His great grandfather was Morgan Powell, who came from England at a period long antedating the war of the lievolution, and was one of the old settlers of Saratoga County, New York. Jonathan Powell, son of the above and grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war. The calf of his leg was shot off and he was lame the remainder of his life. He married Sarah Burvee, of New York State, and they were the parents of six children: Jonathan, Richard, William, Sarah, Jane and Eveline. Mr. Powell was a farmer in Oswego County, and lived to the great age of eighty-four years, dying in that county. He was a man of integrity and industry, and one of the patriots who were the founders of liberty in their country. Peter Powell, son of the above and father of our subject, was born in Saratoga County, New York, learned the shoemaker's trade and bouglit a farm in Oswego County, New York. He Tnarried in Saratoga County, Miss Sally Weldon. To Mr. and Mrs. Powell were born nine chil- dren: Jonathan, Richard. Peter, Weldon, Isaac H., Mortimer, Betsy, Eveline and Esther. Mi'. Powell was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, was in the battle of Sackett's Harbor, and his widow drew a pension after his death. Mr. Powell was a prosperous farmer, a member of the Universalist Church, respected in his comity, was County Com- missioner in Oswego County, New York, for some years, and held the usiial township oflBees. In 1844 he moved to Boone County, Illinois, and was one of the pioneers of that county. He settled on a farm, where he died at the age of seventy-eight years. He was a prosperous farmerandlaw-abidingcitizen, and reared his family to habits of industry and good moral habits. Ho liad two sons in the great civil war, Mortimer and Jonathan. Mortimer was in Company B, Ninety-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, all through the war and in many battles and two charges at Vicksburg. He was captured at Guntown, seventy-five miles north of Memphis, and confined in Cahaba prison, Alabama, for ten OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 701 months, when lie was exchanged, after suffer- fering great hardships. When captured he weighed 180 pounds; when returned, only ninety-six pounds. Jonathan was doing busi- ness in New Orleans when the war broke out and was forced into the Rebel armj. There are two families who have had members in all the wars from the Revolution down. Isaac H. Powell, our subject, was born December 23, 1832, in Oswego County, New York, and learned farraitig in early life. He was a boy of twelve years when he came with his father to Illinois, and married, in Boone County, Illinois, Sarah Walker, daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Smith) Walker* Mr. Walker was an old settler in Boone County, from Chenango County, New York, and of an old American family. He came to Boone County in 1840, being one of the active pio- neers there. He is yet living on his farm, at the age of eighty-two years. He had seven children: Hannah, Cornelia Sarah, Phoebe, Ransome, Edgar, Nimrod and Frank. Mr. and Mrs. Powell have six children: Lindon, Livingston, Frank, Emma, Betsy and Or- selia. After marriage Mr. Powell settled down upon a farm in Boone County, Illi- nois, and all his children were born there, except the youngest son. In 1871 he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, and settled upon his present place, then consisting of forty acres of wild land, and which, by thrift and energy, he has converted into a fine and fruitful farm. To this he has added until he now owns 321 acres of line land. Mr. Powell has been respected by his fel- low-citizens, and taken an active interest in the cause of education, and has been School Director, Constable and Road Supervisor. He is one of our substantial pioneer citizens, who has helped to make his town and county what is now one of the best in the State. He stands deservedly high for his integrity of character and as a self-made man, and by hard labor made his property. His word may well be said to be as sood as his bond. He has four children married, and ten grandchildren. The entire family merit the respect of all who kno V them for their starling worth. Tlie daughter, Einma, married J. C. Sears, a farmer iu Valley Towiishij), anl they have six children: Horace, Harry, Arthur, Flora, Orselia and Beryl. Bettie married B. T. Stephenson, a farmer in Valley Township, and they have three children: William, Kit- tie, and Cornelia; Livingston, who is a farmer in Valley Township, married Addie Frazier, and they have one child, Frances. Orselia married Henry Seward, also a farmer of Valley Township. HRISTIAN STRAUB, a contractor, builder and brick manufacturer of Council Bluffs, was born in Heiden- heim, Wiirtemberg, Germany, February 3, 1847, the son of Carl and Emma (Koch) Straub, both natives of Wiirtemberg. The father was a wagon manufacturer by trade, and both he and his wife died in their native country. They were members of the Lutheran Church, and were the parents of six children: George, who resides in Germany; Jacob, also of Germany; Mary, wife of Fred Rig, and resides in Council Bluffs; Anna M., a resident of Germany; Dora, who lives in Illinois; and Christian, our subject. The latter attended school and also worked at his father's trade until seventeen years of ao-e, when he came to America, landing in New York. He then went direct to Aurora, Illinois, remained four or five months, and then came to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in the spring of 1867. He worked for the North- western Railroad Company a short time, and 702 BIOGRAPHICAL U I STORY then learned tlie brick anrl stone mason's trade, whicli lie lias since followed. In 1872 he became a contractor and builder, and in 1875 purchased the brick-yard of George Baiim, and has been ensaged in inanufactiir- ing brick since that time. Mr. Straub was one of the first stockholders of the Citizens' State Bank, and also of the Iowa Insurance Company. He was united in marriage, in Council Bluffs, April 12, 1873, to Arnetta Feifer, a native of Bavaria, Germany. Mr. Straub was elected Councilman from the Third ward in 1885-'86, and is also a member of Humboldt Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. He ranks among our most reliable citizens, and by honesty, frugality and diligence has accumulated a comfortable fortune. (XCHANGE BANK, Walnut, Iowa, the only bank in this thriving town, was established in 1875, by E. K. and C. R. Hinkley as a private banking establishment, and it was purchased by the present owner, J. H. Henry, November 1, 1880, it then having a capital of $35,000 and doing a gen- eral banking business. The bank now has a capital and surplus of over $200,000, which is the largest in this county, and one of the largest in Western Iowa. The Exchange Bank has always been a very conservative institution, and since it has been owned by Mr. Henry, the charge to the loss account has been so small as not to be worth mentioning. The business men of Walnut and surrounding farmers may well feel confidence in this stable institution. This bank is equipped with the best modern appliances against fire and burglars, having one of Hall's safes and time-locks on a bur- glar-proof chest, and further secured by a fire- proof vault. This makes it one of tiie safest institutions in the county. James H. Henrj', president of this insti- tution, was born at Sturgis, Miciiigjm, in 1845. He received a good education, and was one of those men who, when the great civil war broke out, did not shrink from the call of duty, but enlisted and served through all that great struggle, which will make his name remembered by his descendants for generations to come. After the war Mr. Henry engaged in the lumber trade at Blairs town, Iowa, and did a successful business. He married, in 1871, Miss Emma Edson, and they are the parents of four children: William, Angelina (deceased February 13, 1887, at the age of nine years and eleven months), Bessie and Joe E. In 1875 Mr. Henry came to Walnut and engaged in the grain and lumber trade and did a good business until 1875, when he went to Chicago and built a large elevator and carried on extensive grain operations, in connection with his brother William C, un- der the firm name of Henry Brothers. In November, 1880, he sold out this business and came to Walnut, and bought the Ex- change Bank of Walnut, the history of which is given above. January 1, 1888, Mr. Henry, with the view of educating his ciiildren and for the benefit of the climate, went to California and settled at San Jose, where he rested from his labors for two years. Turning there his attention to public improvements, he purchased the old horse-car line and franchise on the famous Alameda, and established an electric railway system, the first in the State of California, which is a complete success. During the past winter he bought the principal street railway in the city of Sacramento, and changed the system from mule propulsion to electric, being the second successful electric OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTT. 703 road in the Golden State. Mr. Henry is an ahle financier, a man of wide business ex- periences, perfect integrity and broad views. He is a man wlio commands the respect of all who know him and is an American citi- zen whose word is valued as highly as his bond. His reputation as an honorable busi- ness man is unsullied and extends as far as mercantile records are used. Socially he is a Mason, being a member of San Jose Lodge, No. 10. His liberality of sentiment is shown by the fact that he has always been in favor of public liberty, and a stanch supporter of that great party whose watchword is the greatest liberty to the greatest number, namely, a Democrat. He is a member of the tr. A. K. He is a man of wealth, his property being estimated at about $500,000. He is an extensive owner of real estate, owning over 5,000 acres of fine farming land near Walnut, which is valued at $200,000, while his bank is worth $200,000, and his electric railroads more than $100,000 more, besides which he owns other property and a line residence in San Jose, California. John P. Burke, whose connection with this bank dates from November 1, 1880, the time that Mr. Henry purchased it, was born at Dnrant, Cedar County, Iowa, March 17, 1862. His father, P. E. Burke, was born in Tipperary County, Ireland. In 1846, at an early age, he sailed for America and settled at Statcn Island, New York, where he mar- ried Miss Mary Murphy, and soon after they removed to Potts ville, Pennsylvania. They were the parents of eight children, namely: William F., James T., Mary, John P., Charles M., Edward D., Lizzie M. and Katie. (James T., Mary and Katie are now deceased.) In 1856 P. E. Burke, with his family, moved to Iowa, and settled at Durant, where he lived until 1876, when he moved to Shelby County, Iowa, bought a large farm, and remained there imtil 1884. He then sold his personal property, rented his farm, came to Walnut, purchased a fine residence, and is now re- tired from active pursuits, taking the world easy. When Mr. Henry purchased the bank in November, 1880, he was very fortunate in securing the services of John P. Burke as bookkeeper. Mr. Burke was then teaching school in Pottawattamie County, and though but eighteen years of age his ability was such that in one year he was made cashier of this bank. He became so well informed in business generally that in January, 1888, when Mr. Henry saw fit to remove witli his family to California, he lett Mr. Burke in charge of all his affairs, giving liim sole charge and management of over 5,000 acres of improved land adjoining Walnut. Mr. Burke has conducted all this business in a manner highly satisfactory to all persons in- terested, and has shown his ability to handle financial matters to such a degree that Mr. Henry's confidence in him is well deserved. For over ten years Mr. Burke has been in active business here, and has most assuredly won the high opinion of the patrons of the bank for his unassuming integrity, accommo- dating disposition, genial and pleasant man- ners and liberal methods of dealing. He has been Treasurer of the city for over four years, and treasurer of the independent school district over eight years. Mr. Burke is now but twenty-eight years of age, has made an early success in life, and has had a practical experience which should make his future one of continued prosperity. February 8, 1887, he was united in mar- riage with Miss Lulu G. Kepford, daughter of David Kepford and Anna (Colwell) Kep- ford, of Havana, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Burke are the parents of one child, a daugh- ?04 BIOORAPHIGAL HI STORY ter, named Grace L., who was born August 9, 1888. Ed D. Burke, assistant cashier and book- keeper of the above bank, was born at Durant, Iowa, November 25, 1864. He has been with the bank for over three years, is a young man of energy and integrity. — »-^»i ? . ; ii ; » "^M --^ fHOMAS KEAST, of section 30, Mace- donia Townsljfip, was born in Cornwall, England, August 9, 1844, the son of Samuel and Elizal)eth (Tailing) Keast, natives of the some place. They reared three chil- dren, of whom Thomas was the second 8on_ The father received an injury by draining while ditching in England. He was an in- valid about one year and then died, when Thomas was but four or five years of age The mother now lives in Cornwall, England. Thomas was reared in England, and his first work was at farming, and later he engaged in mining. He was about twenty-one years of age when he was married to Eliza Grace Oliver, March 3, 1865, who was born in Cornwall, England; she was the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Mathews) Oliver. Some four years later he came to America, sailing from Liverpool, England, to New Y^ork, and from there he went to Rockford, Winnebago County, Illinois. He lived there one year, and then went on a farm at New Wiliford, where he lived four years. He then removed to Ogle County, Illinois, near Linnville, on a farm, eleven and a half miles from Rosehill. He lived there until 1877, when he came to Pottawattamie County, and in 1876 purchased eighty acres of land from J. D. Edmundson, of Council Bluffs. Here he has since resided, and he now has an im- proved farm of 310 acres, which is one of the best in Pottawattamie County. He has a mill building, 16x40, with an addition of 12 X 20, a feed-mill and two wind-mills, which supply the motive power for grinding the feed. He has a grove of catalpas, forest and other trees. His farm is well watered by tiling and pipes, and he is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. His land lies in three different sections; his residence and eighty acres are in section 30, 150 acres are in section 31, and eighty acres are in section 36, Silver Creek Township. Mr. and Mrs. Keast have seven children, viz.: Emma, wife of D. D. Clark, of Clay, Nebraska; Samuel, of the same place; Will- iam, John, Elizabeth, Frank and Charley. Politically Mr. Keast is a Republican. EORGE W. HICKS, of Hancock, is one of our soldier farmers who served his country in the great civil war, and helped to preserve the stars and stripes un- sullied. After the war he engaged in farm- ing. William Hicks, the grandfather of George, was born in England, and emigrated to North Carolina at an early day. He is supposed to have married in that State. He was the father of three sons and two daugh- ters: Jesse, Saul, John, Dorothy and Made- line. He lived to a great age. He was a substantial farmer and a large landowner, and left a large estate in Fleming County, Kentucky, whither he had moved from North Carolina. His son Saul, the father of George W., was born in North Carolina, and was but a small boy when his father moved to Ken- tucky. He early learned to work on the farm, and followed that business all his life. He married, in Fleming County, Elizabeth McDougal, of Scotch parentage. Her father came to Fleming County, Kentucky, when she was a child, and followed farming there OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 705 He was the father of four children: Solomon, William, Hannah and Elizabeth. Mr. Hicks, in 1844, moved with his family to Menard County, Illinois, and settled on a farm as a pioneer there. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Hicks was an elder for some years, taking an active interest in his church. He died at the age of sixty years, in Menard County, Illinois. His son, George W. Plicks, the subject of this sketch, was born in Fleming County, Kentucky, in 1832, learned farming when young, and when thirteen years of age moved with his father to Illinois. He married Mary E. Trumbo, of Menard County, in Springfield, Illinois, in 1857, and settled on a farm in that county. In 1859 he moved to Grundy County, Missouri, and when the war broke out he returned to Illinois and enlisted, August 21, 1862, in Company K, One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, as a private, and was promoted to First Sergeant. He was at the battles at Jackson, Champion Hills, Black River, and the siege of Vicksburg, at the second battle at Jackson, and at Guntown, all in Missis- sippi. At the last named point he was wounded in the left shoulder, and was in the liospital at Memphis, Tennessee, a short time, and sent from there to Camp Butler, Illinois, and was honorably discharged Octo- ber 29, 1864, on account of disability from wounds received in battle. He had served two years and three months. He returned to Menard County, Illinois, and resumed farming, and lived there until 1874, and then settled in Madison County, Iowa, where he lived twelve years. In 1886 he moved to Pottawattamie County, and settled in Valley Township on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have five children: Mary E, George II., William T., Samuel M. and Charles E., all born in Menard County, Illinois; but Mary E., who was born in Grundy County, Mis- souri; and all are living. In politics he is a stanch Democrat. He has always com- manded the respect of his fellow-citizens, and was elected to the office of Coroner in Illinois by a large majority of the voters. Mr. Hicks has always taken an active in- terest in the cause of education, and lias served as School Director and held township offices. He is a member of William Layton Post, No. 358, G. A. R., at Oakland. He owns a good farm of 120 acres in Valley Township, and is esteemed by his neighbors and fellow-townsmen as a good citizen and as an upright and moral man. As a soldier he was loyal and faithful in his country's service, in war and in peace. He is a law- abiding citizen, and interested in the pros- perity of his county. His memory will be cherished by his descendants as an honorable and patriotic man, who offered his life and shed his blood to save his country in her time of peril. May his descendants emulate his example. jjjRESTON TILTON, of Walnut, was W born in Washington County, Pennsyl- vania, in 1820, of an old American family, and received but a limited education, as his father died when he was but nine years of age. He went to Illinois when quite young, remaining a few years, and then went to McKeesport, Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of ship-carpenter. He was there married to Jane Gillcrist, and to them were born four children: John, who died in infancy; Oscar B., Eliza J. and George H. Mr. and Mrs. Tilton came to Ruck Island County, Illinois, in 1855, and bought a farm, where he remained six years. 706 BIOGRAPHICAL BISTORT In 1860 they removed to Washington County, Iowa, where they lived on a farm four years; next tliey returned to Rock Island County, remaining until 1876, and then they returned to Iowa, settling on a farm in Pottawattamie County, which is now occupied by tlieir son, Oscar. He has now retired from active business, and is living in Walnut. Mr. Til- ton has been a member of the Odd Fellows fraternity since young manhood, and has filled all the offices in Moriah Lodge, No. 327, at Walnut. He has always been a hard- working man, and now enjoys the respect of all who know him. Oscar B., his son, was bom in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, September 19, 1853, and was but two years of age when his parents moved to Illinois. In 1875 he came to Iowa, set- tling in Harlan Township, Shelby County, where he remained two years. He then sold that place and came to his father's farm, where he still resides. The property is pleasantly situated near Walnut, and is in a good state of cultivation. In political opin- ions, Mr. Tilton, like his father, is a stanch Democrat. Socially he is a member of the United Workmen. He has the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen, and has held the office of Assessor of Layton Town- ship for the past six years, and has also been Secretary of the Board of School Directors. He is a man of general information, and ranks high as an honorable man and a good citizen. He was married in Rock Island County, Illinois, November 2, 1874, to Miss Emma Everett, daughter of George W. and Susan (Ream) Everett. The family were natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Tilton are the parents of three children: Hattie M., Marshall L. and Nora D. Mr. Tilton's sister, Eliza J., mar- ried Joseph P. Seymour, a farmer in Adair County, Missouri, and they have five chil- dren: Nellie V., William, Myrtle, Hattie and Delia. His brother, George H., married Carrie Hillman, and they have one child — Yiva. He is now a farmer on his father's farm. ~^ "& ' S " S ' ^ ^-- — HARLES H. SHERRADEN, the lead- ing photographer, has been a resident of Council Bluffs since 1859. He is a son of Hon. Oliver P. Sherraden, who settled here with his family in that year. He was a well-known fruit-raiser, and remained here until his death, which occurred November 13, 1881. He was a man of fine education and more than ordinary ability. He was a native of Ohio, and his wife, whose maiden name was Lydia M. Johnson, still resides in this city. She was a native of Buffalo, New York, and went to Canton, Illinois, with her father, Ira Johnson, a well-known citizen of that place, where he lived until death, which occurred when he was eighty-six years of age. He was a great reader, a successful business man and held various local offices of trust. His wife died at the age of eighty-five years. Oliver P. Sherraden went to Canton, Illinois, when a boy, where he met and mar- ried his wife. He was a merchant at that place for a number of years. He came to Iowa at at early day and settled in the town of Richland, Keokuk County, where he en- gaged in general merchandising also, and represented that county in the Legislature at Des Moines. He and his wife had four children — two sons and two daughters. The subject of this sketch, the eldest child, was born at Canton, August 26, 1845. He was about fourteen years of age when the family came to Council Bluffs. Received his education in the public schools of Council OF POTTAWATTAMIE VOUNTT. 707 Bluffs, and was a clerk for William H. Rob- inson, a merchant, for four years. He was subsequently engaged in the fruit and con- fectionery business before entering into his present occupation. Mr. Sherraden enjoys the distinction of being the leading photog- rapher, and also of being the oldest in this business at Council Bluffs. Mr. Sherraden has the confidence of all. His patrons are not confined to Council Bluffs alone, as many people of Omaha and surrounding towns come to him for photographs, crayons, etc. He has the very best cameras and photo- graphic apparatus in Western Iowa, and does strictly first-class work. We know this to be correct, as Mr. Sherraden has made most of the photographs from which the portraits in this volume were produced. Mr. Sherra- den is a member of the Modern Woodmen Lodge, Hazel Camp, No. 71, and Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 40. Mr. Sherraden has been twice inarried. His first wife was Lnvenia Young, who died in 1872. She left a son, who survived the mother but one month. The present wife of Mr. Sherraden was formerly Mary J. Jones. Mr. and Mrs. Sherraden have three daucrh- ters: Lulu, Vinie and Edith. L. HENDRICKS, Justice of the Peace, Council Bluffs, has been identified '** with the interests of Pottawattamie County since 1872. He is a native of West Virginia, born on a farm in Russell Coun- ty, July 22, 1822, the youngest son of Aaron Hendricks, who also was born on the same farm. Aaron's father was Thomas Hendricks, who settled with an English colony in what was called the Elk Garden, and received a crown right, or patent, from King George, for 400 acres. He here improved his land and reared a family of nine children. The father was the youngest, and Thomas A. Hendricks, the father of the late Vice Presi- dent, was one of the older sons. Later the father of our subject purchased the interests of the other children in the home farm, which eventually passed into the hands of our sub- ject, and was retained in the family until 1872. The mother of our subject was 7iee Rachel FuUen, a daughter of Colonel Whitley, who figured conspicuously in the war of 1812, said to have killed Tecumseh, and assisted Daniel Boone in the settling of Kentucky, and the descendants now reside in the vicinity of Crab Orchard, Kentucky. The father of our subject was an Adjutant during the Revolutionary war, and died in his seventy- first year; his mother in her fifty-first year. Mr. Hendricks' youth was spent on a farm, receiving his education in a select school, and completing it at the University at Cliarlottes- ville, Virginia. After this he engaged in the mercantile business in Lebanon, Viro-jnia, which he followed until after the death of his father, when, in connection with which, he took charge of the estate his father left, and he purchased his brother's interest. That estate he managed until 1869, when he, with his family, removed West, and in 1872 located in Council Bluffs,and has since been engaged in collection and insurance. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1884, and has served ever since in that ca- pacity. He was married first in September, 1845, to Miss Mary E. Boyd, a native of Vir- ginia, and they had four children, three of whom still survive: Robert, now living iu Council Bluffs; Thomas, in Virginia, and Henry, in Council Bluffs. He was again married May 2, 1855, lo Martha M. Fuller, a native of Russell County, Virginia, and a daughter of Abraham Fuller, 708 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY who was one of tlie six colonists who first settled that section. By this marriage there are four children, viz.: Matilda F., Ira F., Frank C. and Mannel L. Mrs. Hendricks is a member of the M. E. Church, and politically Mr. Hendricks affiliates with the Democratic party. — -».<->« x « S ' i ; ' fRANCIS T. C. JOHNSON, noted for thrift and enterprise as a farmer in Nor- walk Township, was born in Augusta County, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, June 16, 1834, a son of Francis and Mary Jane (Hall) Johnson, who were also natives of Augusta County, Virginia. Francis John- son, Sr., died in Virginia, about 1846. when probably sixty-eight years of age. In his youth he attended the college at Lexington, Virginia, and in after years was said to be the best educated man in the Shenandoah Valley, and acted with efficiency as Surveyor General of that part of Virginia in which he lived. When a young man he taught school, and in later years was a dealer in trrain, etc. Politically he was a Whig, and during the war witb England, in 1812, served in the ranks as a soldier. . His father, also named Francis Johnson, was the iiri-t wiiite child born in Augusta County, Virginia. He was a soldier in the American army during the war for freedom, and was a farmer- Mary Jane Hall, who became the wife of Francis Johnson and the mother of the sub- ject of this sketch, is still living, now in her eio-htieth year, making her iiome with her grandchildren in Virginia. She has been a member of the Methodist Church nearly seventy years. She had seven children, five of whom are now living, viz.: Mildred Ellen, now of Salt Lake City, Utah; May J., wife of Henry K. Eakle, who resides at the old home in Virginia; Elisheba, who married John A. Rudisel, deceased, and resides in Lucas County, Iowa; Francis T. C. is next; Julian A. is a ranchman of Colorado; and Abbie, the youngest, was born in 1839 and died in 1862; and Asenath, the wife of Thornton G. Stout, a merchant and capitalist of New Hope, Augusta County, Virginia. Francis T. C. spent his school days in Au- gusta County, Virginia. Early in life he served an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and when yet a young man came West and located at Council Blufl's, where he was engaged working as a carpenter until 1870; then he moved to his present location, on sections 12 and 13, where he purchased 360 acres of land, which he has improved in various ways, etc. On coming to where he now lives his nearest neighbor north was at Neola; west. Under- wood; east, two and one-half miles, and south, one mile; and there were two houses on the road from there to Council Bluti's. Since coming to this place he has held nu- merous official positions, with the utmost satisfaction to all interested parties. In 1872 he was elected Assessor of York Township, whicii th'iu included the eastern iialf of Nor- waik and all of York Township. Among the positions of trust which he has held are: Secretary of School Board, Trustee and Town- ship Clerk. September 17, 1857, he married Miss Caroline Babbidd, a daughter of Colonel Ly- sander Babbidd. She was born near Cleve- land, Ohio, in 1836, and to their marriage six children have been born, five of whom are now living, viz.: Lysander W., who oper- ates an elevator at Neola, this county; Alex- ander W. was four years of age at death; Mary Ellen is the wife of John Phillips, a farmer of Norwalk Township; Francis Lee recently graduated at a commercial college at Rochester, New York, and is now a resident OP POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 70ff of Denver, Colorado; Julian A. is some- where in Mexico, and Daisy is at home. Mr. Johnson was one of the first members of Council Bluffs Lodge of I. O. O. F., No. 49, and is politically a Democrat. ^^^RS. MARY A. WALDO, of Crescent '^fymv ^'''7' ^^® born in Windham County, ^^m^ Vermont, December 24, 1829, the daughter of George W. and Mary (Randall) Allen, natives also of the Green Mountain State, and of Scotch and Englisli ancestry. Mr. Allen was a nephew of the noted Ethan Allen of Revolutionary fame, and his wife was a first cousin of Hon. Samuel Kandall, one of the most eminent statesmen of this nation. Mr. Allen was the eldest of eight children. He grew up and educated himself thoroughly by both book and observation, notwithstanding the literary privations of his youth. On the frontier he was made familiar with Indians and life among danger- ous beasts. He was a farmer during his life, dying in March, 1866. In his family were the following ten children: Mary A., whose name heads this sketch; Fannie M., deceased; Edwin G., residing in Hopkinton, Massachu- setts; Charles A., living in Marlboro, New Hampshire; Belinda, deceased; Thankful H., now the wife of Fred Johnston, and residing in Yernon, Yermont; Lucy Augusta, now Mrs. Calvin Cook, and residing also in Yer- non; Lydia, who married Henry Crandall, and lives in Worcester. Massachusetts; and James F., who resides in Erving, Massachu- setts. Mrs. Waldo was but fifteen years of age when she received a certificate and she taught school for one year, altiiough her father was well-to-do and able to support her without her lal)or; but, being ambitious, she learned the art of cutting and fitting dresses. At the age of twenty years she married Asa Berry Waldo, November 8, 1849, who was born in Ackworth, New Hampshire, in April, 1823. He was a blacksmith for two years, and then came West and joined the Mor- mons at Nanvoo as they were about to emi- grate to Council Bluffs. Here he left them, returned to Yermont, resumed his trade, and soon after his marriage settled in Keene, N. H. Two years afterward, in the spring of 1852, he came West again, at the time of the emigration of the Mormons across the plains. He visited the principal cities of the West, and at length in 1852 he settled at what was then called Carterville; but sick- ness soon compelled him, after a year and a half of successful business there, to emigrate again; and after numerous changes he located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and resided there eight years; and then, in 1871 he came to Crescent City, bought property and opened out in business, which he continued until his death, February 5, 1853. He was a good mechanic, an industrions and energetic man, and had it not been for his roving disposition he would evidently have been wealthy. He lived well, furnishing himself with the best fare. He was independent but active in political matters, aided local institutions, and made a mark in society that will be visible for generations to come. Mrs. Waldo wrote the first notice of the meeting of the district school directors, and taught the first school in the Crescent City district. Being of high literary culture, she has written articles for Eastern journals; has been active in church work and leader of the choir. She has a neat residence in Crescent City. Her children have been: Flora A. and Orpiia E., both deceased; Aden M., born October 19, 1854, and re-iding in Omaha; Orpha E. (2) resides in Mills County, this 710 BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY. State: she was born February 17, 1859; Ed- win P. an(i Carrie C. are botii deceased. ►>4f- jMOS SCOTT CARTER, proprietor of the Snnny-Side Farm, was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, October 7, 1837, a son of Samuel Carter, who was born in Harford County, Maryland, in 1806, and died in Guernsey County, Ohio. He was a farmer all his life, and his political views were Republican. Religiously he was a Friend or Quaker, and his children were also reared to that faith. Our snbject's mother was Susan (Benson) Carter, a native of Har- ford County, and daughter of Amos Benson. Mr. and Mrs. Benson were the parents of three children: John, Mary Jane and Doud- ney, one of whom died when seventeen years of age. The mother dif'd when Mr. Carter was but four years old. The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm in Guernsey County, Ohio, where he was taught to chop wood and grub and clear land, which was the foundation of his subse- quent prosperous life. In 1867 he bid fare- well to his father and birth-place, and went to Nodaway County, Missouri, near Mary- ville, where he remained two years and nine months. Deceuiber 24, 1870, he came to Pottawattamie County, where he was among the early settlers, and where he has since re- mained. He became interested in the settle- ment and improvement of the county, and for several years acted as land agent, and it was through his influence that many of Wash- intrton Township's best citizens were induced to locate here. Mr. Carter now owns a line farm of 240 acres, on which he has erected a beautiful home, a house 24x40^ feet, which is surrounded by shade and ornamental trees and a grove of eight acres. The house is situated near the public road which divides the farm east and west. Opposite the house is a bearing orchard of tine fruit, of about two acres, which yields good crops. Near by is a five-ton wagon and stock scales; a barn 32 x 48 feet, twelve feet high to square, which is convenient for twenty head of horses, with corn and oats bin and good hay loft. There are also a cattle feed lot, a shed 16 X 112 feet, a wind-mill and tank, a hog house adjoining, 18x48 feet; a hog pasture enclosed of thirty acres, which takes in the creek for the use of watering the stock. No better stock farm exists in the township. His farm is watered by the Middle Silver Creek, which flows through it. He is also engaged in stock-raising, of which he has some very high grades, and the next year he intends to devote his whole time to this business. Mr. Carter was married in Guernsey County, Ohio, September 29, 1860, to Miss Melinda Hartley, daughter of Noah Hartley, a pioneer of Guernsey County, and a native af Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Malone Hartley, of English ancestry. The mother of Mrs. Carter was Millicent (Hall) Hartley, daughter of Isaac Hall. Mr. and Mrs. Noah Hartley reared thirteen chil- dren, eight of whom are now living, namely: William H., Phoebe, Arnold, Melinda, Sarah E. Smith, Uriah, Caleb, Samuel and Noah P. The mother died August 5, 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Carter are the parents of ten children) viz.: Millie Jane, born October 25, 1861, now the wife of James Boileau, an architect of South Omaha, Nebraska; Noah Elmer, foreman of planing-mill at South Omaha, born March 13, 1863; James Thomas Albert, born March 8, 1865, a wagon-maker and blacksmith by trade; John William, born November 8, 1866, is now living on the old homestead; Phebe Adaletta, born July 9, 1869, is the wife of Henry H. Crawmer, a OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY. 711 railroad man of Kansas; Amos Edwin, born February 25, 1871, a mechanic, is at home; Arthur Elwood, l)orn May 31, 1873, also at home; Charles Tilmon, born July 7, 1875; Ruth Minnie, November 18, 1878; and George Alfred, July 17, 1881. Politically Mr. Carter is a Republican, and also a mem- ber of the Christiaii Science Church. (.ORNELIUS VOORIIIS, iirst Mayor of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in Lebanon, Ohio, in 1813. Early in life he moved to Springfield, Ohio, and en- gaged in mercantile business. While there he was married to Miss Minerva J. McCoy. Thence he removed to St. Louis, Missouri, and became connected with the enterprising and well known dry-goods firm of Eddy, Jameson & Co., of that city. In 1848 the spirit of adventure induced Mr. Voorhis and family to go farther west. Ascending the Missouri, they landed in what was then known as Kanesville, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, a settlement more particularly of Mor- mons and Indians. Mr. Voorhis was the second white man to reach this settlement to make it his home. Again he successfully engaged in trading and mercantile pursuits. He was elected the tirst Mayor of Council Rlufl's, and served one year — 1853-'54-. He continued in the mercantile business until 1857. In 1859-'60 he was City Recorder, and in 1860-'i)l was Sheriff of Pottawattamie County. In this city he engaged more or less in active business pursuits until 1873, when he and family moved to Harlan, Shelby County, Iowa, remaining there until his de- cease, July 12, 1873, at the age of tifty-iiine years, nine months and sixteen days. His remains were brought to this city and buried in Fairview Cemetery, this community testi- 50 fying to his worth, and giving profound ex- pressions of grief at his departure. His wife, Minerva J. Voorhis, died September 25, 1881, aged sixty-one years, nine months and tive days. His daughter. Alia Bell, died January 18, 1862, aged six years, four months and twenty-nine days. Another daughter, Fanny May, died November 19, 1863, aged live months and one day. His son. Cornelius 1). Voorhis, died February 2, 1889, aged thirty-eight years, four months and live days. He has two children living: James "W. Voorhis and Mrs. Mary E. Kel- ler, wife of V. L. Keller, Esq., of Council Bluffs. Cornelius Voorhis, the subject of this sketch, was a man of sterling integrity, tine business capacity, quiet in his demeanor, possessed of wonderful energy, sagacity and determination, and as a pioneer, merchant, counselor, friend and citizen, was always abreast of the needs of the hour. fRANK T. SEVBERT, physician and surgeon, Council Bluffs, has been iden- tilled with the interests of Pottawatta- mie County since 1882. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Columbia County,. April 13, 1859, a son of S. E. and S. M. (Knorr) Seybert, natives of Pennsylvania,, and of German extraction and of Quaker families. The youth of our subject was spent in attending the public school and the Normal School at Bloonisburg, Pennsylvania,, and completed his education at Kingston Seminary. He began the study of medicine in the spring of 1877, under the preceptor- ship of Dr. B. F. Gardner, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania; entered the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia in the fall of 1877, and graduated in the spring of 1881. After 712 BIOGRAPfflCAL HIS TOST. practicing in the liospital for a time, lie came to Conncil Bluffs, in the spring of 1882, where he located and has since followed his profession, having built up a successful and lucrative practice. He was married June 20. 1888, to Miss Ida B. Wies, a daughter of F. Wies. Tiiey have one child — Frank "Wies. Dr. Seybert is a member of the K. of P., St. Albans Lodge, No. 17; the Uniform Rank, Bluff Division, No. 27, holdintr the honorable position of Surgeon; also of the Red Men, Pottawattamie Tribe, No. 20. also holdino- the ofHce of Great Medicine Man. lie and his mother are members of the Episcopalian Church. He has held the oftice of City Physician and Health Ofiicer for three years; is president of the stafl' at St. Bernard's Hos- pital; is a member of the Council Bluffs Medical Society, serving as Treasurer; of the Iowa State Medical Society, of the Missouri Yalley Medical Society and of the American Medical Association. Politically he is inde- pendent. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 016 085 666 A 'iMMiHf^iiUMiiiiiiiiitaii