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977.701
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1135772
GENEALOGY COLLECTION*
3 1833 01081 3142
Gc 977. 701 J63a v. L
Aurner, Clarence Ray, 1861
Leading events in Johnson
County, Iowa, history
/f'Y
History Johnson County Iowa
BIOGRAPHICAL
I^JjU ^vKW^
<Sjc»v-<a«^av
LEADING EVENTS IN
JOHNSON COUNTY
IOWA HISTORY
BIOGRAPHICAL
CEDAR RAPIDS IOWA
WESTERN HISTORICAL PRESS
NINETEEN THIRTEEN
3RCH PRESS
1135772
BIOGRAPHIES
PETER ANTHONY DEY
r — The ranks of the Old Guard, pioneers of a great civilization
which blazed the way across the prairies when Iowa was a
wilderness, are fast giving- way to Time's decree, and one by
one the members are passing out through the gateway of com-
mon departure.
We know the sound of the pioneer's axe has ceased; that
the warwhoop of the Indian has long since become a memory.
We know that human progress, accelerated by the greatest of
civilizers, the steel horse, has reclaimed the empire of the Mis-
sissippi from the virgin waste of the aborigine; that prosper-
ous farms, with their golden grain and unnumbered herds,
J cities vibrant with industry and the rush of commercialism, a
people contented and ever with their faces to the goal of suc-
cess, occupy the territory where but a few short years ago land
could be had for the asking, the requisite being but the liardy
service of the pioneer willing to face danger as a part of his
daily life and accept hardship as his portion, without shrink-
ing or complaint.
It was during the period of early railroad building, and in
connection with some of these important transportation enter-
prises, that Peter Anthony Dey first became a factor in the
development of the Hawkeye state. Mr. Dey was peculiarly
fitted by education, temperament, and training for constructive
railway work. When but twenty-one years of age, two years
subsequent to his graduation from Geneva (now Hobart) col-
lege, Geneva, New York, he entered the employ of the New
York and Erie Railroad Company as civil engineer, and de-
voted three years to engineering along the Delaware and Sus-
quehanna rivers in Orange county, New York, and in Pike and
Susquehanna counties, Pennsylvania. In 1849 he went into
the employ of the state of New York on the Oayuga & Seneca
canal, building locks at Seneca Falls. Following this, he was
\
6 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
engaged in the same line of work and for nearly the same
length of time on the Erie canal at Port Byron. In the fall of
1850 he began work with the Michigan Southern Railroad, and
remained with this road until it was completed to Chicago,
having charge of construction of a division in the vicinity of
La Porte, Indiana. In the fall of 1852 he became connected
with the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, being in charge of
division work from Peru to Sheffield, Illinois. While making
his headquarters at Tiskilwa, Illinois, he became acquainted
with Grenville M. Dodge, then a young man, who afterward
became famous as a general in the Civil War and prominent in
railway construction. Mr. Dey gave General Dodge his first
employment in railroad work. This was the beginning of a
long association between these men, which ripened into a last-
ing friendship.
Mr. Dey was engaged in various railway construction enter-
prises in Illinois until 1853, when he came to Iowa City, bring-
ing with him General Dodge. With that place as headquarters,
he made the surveys for the Rock Island road from Davenport
to Council Bluffs via Iowa City and Des Moines. After two
years with the company in Chicago, in the winter of 1856 he
again came west, remaining with the Rock Island road in Iowa
until 1863. He left the employ of the road when it was com-
pleted to Kellogg. In 1860 he was elected mayor of Iowa City.
Mr. Dey's greatest service to the nation was in connection
with the first survey and construction work of the Union Pa-
cific Railroad, the outcome of his association with this famous
enterprise establishing his remarkable and indomitable integ-
rity as a man and a public servant. In September, 1862, he
was employed by Henry Farnum, a railroad contractor, to go
over the line of the newly organized Pacific Railroad Company
and make a reconnaissance from the Missouri River to the Salt
Lake Basin, with a view to ascertaining a practicable route and
the probable resources of the country to be developed. In
pursuance of his great task, he went carefully over the country
from Omaha to Salt Lake. A thorough investigation of the
proposed route via Denver convinced him that the line was not
practicable, and he so reported. Crossing the Black Hills at
Cheyenne Pass, minute examination of the range satisfied him
of the availability of that route, and he so recommended. The
BIOGRAPHICAL 7
correctness of bis judgment was afterwards affirmed by the
adoption of this route as the line of the nation's first trans-
continental railway. In 18(53, in company with John A. Kas-
son, Thomas C. Durant, and T. J. Carter, he went to Washing-
ton to ask the president to fix the eastern terminals of the
proposed road. Mr. Dey had carefully prepared a map show-
ing the approaches of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the
Chicago & Northwestern, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pa-
cific railways. From this map Mr. Lincoln decided that Oma-
ha, Nebraska, was the proper terminal for the western road.
The same year, while in the employ of Thomas C. Durant, Mr.
Dey ran some preliminary lines of survey over the Cheyenne
RESIDENCE OF THE LATE PETEB A. DEY
Pass and the Bridger Pass, also between Omaha and the Platte
valley, and between Belleview and the Platte valley, and at
other points. This work was finished early in the fall of 1863,
and on December 30th of that year he was appointed chief en-
gineer of the road by the executive committee.
Perhaps the best way to close this momentous experience
in the professional career of this remarkable man will be to
quote from the History of Iowa, by B. F. Gue, Vol. iv, pages
72-73:
"It was while in the line of his profession that a supreme
test of the character of the man [Peter Dey] was made. The
8 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
notorious 'Credit Mobilier of America' had been organized by
Thomas C. Durant, Oliver Ames, Oakes Ames, and other capi-
talists for the purpose of constructing the Pacific Railroad.
The government subsidies granted for the construction of the
road amounted to the enormous sum of $64,000 a mile for a
part, and $96,000 a mile for the remainder. Peter A. Dey was
the chief engineer of the construction, and, having made a sur-
vey of the first hundred miles, reported that it could be con-
structed for $30,000 per mile. The government was offering
$32,000 and an enormous land grant in addition for this por-
tion of the road. An article in Scribner's Monthly for March,
1874, tells the story of how the Credit Mobilier made a profit
of $5,000,000 in building 246 miles of the road. The following
illustrates the stern integrity of the Iowa man who was the
chief engineer :
" 'When his estimate was made to the directors, it was re-
turned to him with orders to retouch it with higher colors, to
put embankments on paper where none existed on earth, to
make the old embankments heavier, to increase the expenses
generally, and he was requested to send in his estimate that
it woidd cost $50,000 per mile. When Mr. Dey was informed
that this part of the road was let to ,
at $50,000 per mile, which he knew could be done for $30,000,
this difference amounting to $5,000,000 on the two hundred
and forty-six miles, he resigned his position as chief engineer
in a noble letter to the president of the road. He closed that
letter with this statement : "My views of the Pacific Road are
perhaps peculiar. I look upon its managers as trustees of the
bounty of Congress You are doubtless informed
how disproportionate the amount to be paid is to the work con-
tracted for. 1 need not expatiate on the sincerity of my course,
when you reflect upon the fact that I have resigned the best po-
sition in my profession this country has offered to any man."
"This fidelity to public interest is the one bright spot in
that disgraceful era of corruption which reached into Congress
and blackened the reputation of scores of public officials. It
is not strange that Peter A. Dey, whose stern integrity was
thus tested, should have been chosen as the democratic mem-
ber of the commission which built the (Iowa) State House,
a work which for all time will stand as a monument to the
BIOGRAPHICAL 9
ability and integrity of Roberts. Finkbine, Peter A. Hoy, and
J olui Qt. Foote. ' '
Following bis resignation as chief engineer of the Pacific
Railroad, Mr. Dey returned to Iowa City, and from that point
was engaged in making surveys for a north and south road,
until the close of 1868, when he severed his connection with
the Rock Island Company. In 18(i9 he was elected president
of the First National Bank of Iowa City, which office he held
until 1878, when he was appointed railway commissioner for
the state of Iowa by Governor Gear. He w T as re-appointed
to this office by Governors Gear, Sherman, and Larrahee re-
spectively. In 1888 the office became elective, and he was three
times elected to the position, suffering one defeat, in an over-
whelming republican year, his tenure of service bringing him
up to the year 1895. In 1872 he was appointed by the legisla-
ture as one of the commissioners to build the new capitol of
Iowa at Des Moines, remaining on the commission until 1884,
when the building was completed. Declining being again a
candidate for railway commissioner, in 1895 he succeeded Mr.
Parsons as president of the First National Bank of Iowa City,
which office he held until his death. In all, during his two
terms, he served twenty-six years as president of that hank.
He was a memher of the Iowa State Historical Society for
twenty four years, and was its president for twelve years.
On the 23d day of October, 1856, Peter Anthony Dey and
Miss Catherine Thompson, youngest daughter of Harry and
Myra (Hull) Thompson, natives of Connecticut, were united
in marriage at Trinity church in Buffalo, New York, the Rev.
William Shelton, D. 1)., LL.D., F. R. S.. officiating. On the 1 1th
day of September, 1857, the young couple moved into the house
on North Clinton street, Iowa City, which has been the family
home since that time. Mr. Dey selected and purchased the
beautiful site for this home when it was covered with hazel
brush and a very slight growth of small trees. Today it eon
tains numbers of great oaks, elms, and hickories, and is famous
as one of the scenic beauty-spots of the University City. In
this home, on July 11, 1911, this venerable and respected citi-
zen passed away, after a brief illness. He was in full posses-
sion of his mental faculties to the last, and sat at the table with
the family at meals until the last day. The funeral took place
10 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
from the home on July 13th, and the service was the simple
ritual of the Episcopal church, of which he had been a member
from childhood. A great lover of scientific thought, he was
much in the company of the master minds of history, literature,
and science. His private library was large and carefully se-
lected, and he spent much time in the perusal of his books. Tt
has been said of him that he "not only read his books, but he
knew them," and frequently verified his memory in verbatim
quotations therefrom. One of his last tasks during the winter
of 1910-11 was to write his name in every volume of his library.
His beloved wife preceded him to the Great Beyond by
about twelve years, having died in the family home June 12,
1899.
Six children were born to Peter Anthony Pey and Catherine
Thompson, as follows : Harry Thompson, died in 1873, aged
sixteen years ; Anthony, died July 4, 1864, at Omaha, Nebras-
ka, aged four years ; Marvin Hull, married to Harriet Adaline
Martin of Red Hook, N. Y., residing in Iowa City; Myra
Thompson, now Mrs. Craig T. Wright, of Pes Moines, Iowa ;
Curtis Thompson, married to Urania Susan Coldren, residing
at Iowa City; Ann Hull, now Mrs. Clarence W. Eastman, of
Amherst, Massachusetts.
Peter Anthony Pey lacked only sixteen days of being eighty-
six and one-half years old at his death. His advanced age, in
view of the vigor and strength of mind and memory which
reached back across the years, was hardly conceivable to those
who were intimate with this valiant member of the Old Guard.
Eighty-six years battling with men and the world, he lived
during a period of time that marks the greatest progress in
the world's history; he witnessed the entire growth and de-
velopment of Iowa as a state and of Johnson county from a
small pioneer settlement to a teeming, prosperous community ;
he saw the expanse of broad prairies, where houses were forty
miles apart, covered with cities and homes, with fields of
golden grain and herds of cattle ; he saw the locomotives climb
chamois-like over cliffs and to the very crest of the Rocky
Mountains, and a web of steel spread over the wilderness by
the great spiders of commerce; he saw the Indian's camping
grounds covered with churches and beautiful homes and
abounding with commerce and education. Today a line of
BIOGRAPHICAL 11
steel marks the first invasion into a new country, and the pio-
neer seeking an unsettled region may ride there in a palace
car. But the old days of the stage coach, of the ox team and
the covered wagon, should not be forgotten. Their memories
are and shall be precious to men.
GENEALOGY
Peter Anthony Dey was a member of the seventh genera-
tion of the Dey family in America. The founder was Richard
(Dirck Jansen) Dey, who came from Amsterdam at an early
date and settled in New Amsterdam (New York City), where
he married, December 2, 1641, Jannetje Theunis, also of Am-
sterdam. From Richard Dey (first generation) the line of
direct descent is as follows :
Second generation — Theunis Dircksen Dey, of Staten Is-
land, New York, baptized September 24, 1(556.
Third generation — Dirck Theunis Dey, of Bergen county,
New Jersey, baptized March 27, 1687.
Fourth generation — Colonel Theunis Dey, born 1725 near
Preakness, New Jersey.
Fifth generation — Dr. Philip Dey, born July, 1754, at
Preakness, New Jersey.
Sixth generation — Anthony Dey, of Geneva, New York,
born February 6, 1781.
Seventh generation — Peter Anthony Dey, born January
27, 1825, at Romulus, Seneca county, New York, one mile east
of Seneca Lake.
The first ancestor of the Dey family of whom we have any
knowledge, was Count Isarn de Die, Grand Maitre De L'Ordre
Teutonique Seigneurs, in France, Premiere Croisade, 1096,
whose descendants left France, after the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes, and settled in Scotland, England, and Hol-
land.
Richard Dey, the founder of the family in America, owned
property in New Amsterdam (New York City) and established
a mill and ferry at the foot of what is now Dey street, running
from Broadway west to the Hudson river. He resided on
Broadway, at a point which is now the head of Dey street.
Theunis Dircksen Dey, son of Richard, "owned at his death
the fee of a lot of land lying without the City land gate, on
12 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the west side of the highway (now Broadway, New York City),
having to the north the farm of His Royal Highness, after-
wards called the King's Farm, and to the south the land of
Olof Stevenson (Van Courtlandt) " — containing five and one-
half acres, 309 feet front on Broadway and 800 feet deep to
the Hudson river. In 1750 Dey street was laid out through
these premises.
Dirck Theunis Hey succeeded to the estate. He conveyed,
March 25, 1758, to Trinity church, a lot of land lying west of
Broadway, near the present Canal street. In this deed he is
styled, "Richard Dey, Gentleman, grandson and heir-at-law
of Richard Dey." His residence was in Bergen county, New
Jersey.
Colonel Theunis Dey was a colonel of the Bergen County
Regiment, 1776. He built some years before the Dey House
at Preakness, New Jersey, which house was, for three months
during 1780, the headquarters of General Washington. Ac-
cording to de Chastellux, Washington occupied four rooms in
the Dey house. It is said he had them papered at his own
expense, and that the paper then put on remained until about
twenty years ago. The Dey estate at Preakness originally
consisted of 600 acres, but this has gradually been reduced in
size during the past 140 years, until hardly anything is left
of the wide acres of field and wood which the family once held.
But the old house still stands in as good condition (seemingly)
as when it was built, and is pointed to with pride by the anti-
quarians of the neighborhood as the house which was for
months Washington's headquarters. Colonel Theunis Dey
died in 1787.
Dr. Philip Dey, Peter A. Dey's grandfather, was a physi-
cian, and practiced in the region west of Paterson, New Jersey,
for many years. He died August 2, 1810, at Little Falls.
Anthony Dey, father of Peter A., was a tanner by trade,
and died November 14, 1851, at Seneca Falls, New York. He
resided formerly at Geneva, New York. On January 14, 1816,
be married Hannah Dey, who was born June 12, 1787. Sbe
died March 17, 1841. Their children were:
Eleanor, born October 30, 1816; unmarried; died August
22, 1861, Iowa City.
Philip, born October 9, 1818; died December 21, 1822.
BIOGRAPHICAL 13
Jane, born June 5, 1820; died January 11, 1837.
Mary, born April 30, 1822; died August 10, 1837.
Peter Anthony, bom January 27, 1825; died July 11, 1911.
WILLIAM.PETER HOHENSCHUH
The honor of being the home town of "the best funeral
director in America" belongs to Iowa City, Johnson county,
Iowa, and William Peter Hohenschuh is the native son whose
extraordinary work, educationally and practically, has secured
this distinction. Hohenschuh is reckoned by his profession as
a living encyclopedia of information on mortuary matters from
cadaver to coffin. His fame as an author, lecturer, and dem-
onstrator is international. The Embalmers' Monthly, of Chi-
cago, on the eve of his retirement from the lecture platform in
1910, among many splendid statements of his activities cover-
ing a period of thirty years, said : "Mr. Hohenschuh retires
with all the public honors the profession can give him. lie
organized the Iowa Funeral Directors' Association in 1883
and was its first delegate to the National Association, in whose
councils he has been a power from that day to this. He was
elected president of the national organization in St. Louis
in 1894, and reelected to another term at the next year's con-
vention in Atlanta. His expert knowledge of embalming and
sanitation has made him of unusual service to these organ-
izations. In perfecting advanced legislation along the lines
of embalming and public sanitation he has been of the highest
service both in his home state and in the national organiza-
tion. The present regulations for the transportation of the
dead have resulted in a great measure from his efforts. As
an educator in the scientific side of his profession Mr. Hohen-
schuh holds his highest honors, and no man holds more. He
was a member of the faculty of the Chicago College of Em-
balming, and later established the Hohenschuh-Carpenter Col-
lege of Embalming at Des Moines, which still holds two well-
attended sessions each year for the education of the Iowa
funeral directors and embalmers. When the University of
Minnesota established a school of embalming in 1908, Mr.
Hohenschuh was selected to fill the chair of practical embalm-
14 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ing. He has been a prolific writer on educational topics in
all of the journals devoted to the undertaking profession, and
is the author of The Modern Funeral — Its Management, a
book of some 400 pages that is recognized as the standard
work of its class both in this country and in England."
In one of the apartments over the storeroom at 20 South
Dubuque street, Iowa City, where his furniture store is locat-
ed, William Peter Hohenschuh was born November 10, 1858.
At that same location, in 1855, Frank Hohenschuh, his father,
a cabinet maker by trade, started in the furniture business,
making by hand much of the goods sold in the course of a
growing trade. Directly across the street, at No. 19, is located
the Hohenschuh undertaking establishment, which The Em-
balmers' Monthly says is "faultlessly kept and faultlessly
managed." This is high praise, but fully deserved, as every
citizen of Iowa City acquainted with the high class modern
institution maintained by Mr. Hohenschuh can testify.
Frank Hohenschuh and Teressa Statzer, parents of Wil-
liam P., were natives of Germany. The former was born
April 23, 1824, at Wesel, a fortified city on the Rhine; the
latter, November 8, 1827, at Knittelstheim, Bavaria, a small
German village. Frank came to America and to Iowa City
in 1852 and, as previously stated, engaged in the furniture
business and cabinet work on South Dubuque street. Teresa
Statzer came to Iowa City with her parents in 1842, and in
1858 was married to Frank Hohenschuh. The latter died
December 13, 1876, but Mother Hohenschuh is still living at
her old home, 318 Bloomington street.
When a boy William Peter Hohenschuh attended St.
Joseph's Institute at Iowa City, conducted by Rev. Father
Emonds, during whose pastorate St. Mary's church was built.
In the spring of 1877, following the death of his father, young
Hohenschuh took up the business left by the former and has
conducted the same without interruption to the present time.
What greater proof of the rewards of constancy, energy, and
faithfulness in business could be cited than the success that
has attended William P. Hohenschuh?
On February 4, 1880, Mr. Hohenschuh was married, at
Morris, Illinois, to Miss Nena C. Crawford, a native of that
state, whose parents were descended from one of the old
BIOGRAPHICAL
15
families of New York state. Although not blessed with chil-
dren, the relations of the Hohenschuhs have been most happy,
and their home is one of the most beautiful in the city.
In politics Mr. Hohenschnh is a democrat. Never an office
seeker, he nevertheless was honored by his constituents with
the position of coroner of Johnson county for fifteen years —
an indication of the confidence of his fellow citizens and a
strong commentary upon his ability. His only other public
official position is that of member of the Iowa City Public
Park Commission, an office which he has held for six years,
RESIDENCE OF W. P. HOHEUSCHUH
being now secretary of the commission. Mr. Hohenschuh is
a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church, Iowa City;
Past Grand Knight of Knights of Columbus, local council No.
842; Past Exalted Ruler B. P. 0. E. No. 590, and a member
of the grand lodge of the order.
Peter Statzer and wife (nee Miss Margaret Bishop),
parents of Mrs. Frank Hohenschuh, our subject's mother,
came with their five children to America in 1841 from Bavaria,
Germany, the voyage being made by sailing vessel and occupy-
ing eight weeks. Peter Statzer gave as his principal reason
16 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
for leaving Germany the desire that his three sons, Jacob,
John and Ferdinand, should not be compelled to go to war
through association with the German army. His heart was
gratified in this, though two of his beloved boys, Jacob and
John, and a daughter, Frances (married to John Stenz at
Iowa City), have joined him in the Great Beyond. Teresa
Hohenschuh and her brother Ferdinand Statzer (aged 76) are
the sole survivors of their father's family. Happily they have
the comfort of each other's presence in their declining years,
being residents at the same house in Iowa City.
Peter Statzer had a brother in America who constantly
urged him to emigrate, representing to him that he could get
good land at $1.25 per acre in the United States. On arrival
in Iowa, Mr. Statzer looked over a proposed location on the
Cedar Eapids road between Ely and Salem, six miles north
of Salem, but'not being exactly suited, came on to Iowa City
(1842) and purchased from a German named "Nick" for
$300 the property where Mrs. Frank Hohenschuh now resides.
A one-room frame house then stood within ten feet and a log
house occupied the site of the present residence of the widow.
Adjoining was also a log house fronting on East Blooming-
ton street. The same year Mr. Statzer 's mother (his parents
having accompanied him to the new world) died and was
buried between Linn and South Gilbert streets on a tract of
land near the present railway track. This was simply fol-
lowing the usual custom in that early day, cemeteries being-
unknown. Grandfather Statzer survived his wife thirty-
eight years, dying in 1880.
Frank Hohenschuh, in 1875, erected the brick building on
South Dubuque street where Sueppel's grocery store now
stands. Across the street from where his widow now resides
in the early days there was a large slough. This she saw all
filled in and graded, for Mrs. Hohenschuh has resided con-
tinuously at 318 East Bloomington street for sixty-nine years,
with the exception of a short period after her marriage in
1858, when the family lived in one room in a brick building
on East Market street while the husband erected a frame
building for his furniture store, after which they occupied
the up-stairs of the store building for a time — that being the
birthplace, as previously stated, of William P. Hohenschuh.
BIOGRAPHICAL 17
Mother Hohenschnh has a remarkably retentive memory and
can recall many interesting incidents <>f the early days. One
of the epochal events of her young life was attending mass in
the first place of worship of the Catholic church in Iowa City,
when services were held in the dining room of Ferdinand
Haberstroh's boarding house opposite the present campus of
the State University of Iowa on East Jefferson street, now
the site of the residence of Mrs. Martha Marshall. Always a
consistent Catholic, Mrs. Hohenschuh was a charter member
of what was known as The Rosary Society of St. Mary's Cath-
olic church; other charter members of this society whose
names she recalls were Mrs. Catherine Sueppel and Mrs. Bar-
bara Hotz.
The children of Frank Hohenschuh and Teresa Statzer are:
"William, the subject of this sketch; Mary (deceased May,
1890) ; Katie (deceased 1909) ; Christian, of Iowa City; and
Dr. Frank C. The grandchildren of the family number six.
Of the above children, perhaps some particular mention
should be made of Christian Hohenschuh, engaged in the book
and stationery business on South Clinton street, adjoining
the old St. James Hotel. Born in 1865 in Iowa City, follow-
ing his education at the public and parochial schools, Chris-
tian entered at once upon a business career, and in spite of the
fact that he has been in delicate health and his life despaired
of on several occasions, he has made a marked success. Sev-
eral trips to Denver, Colorado, have been necessary to give
Mr. Hohenschuh renewed vigor. Mother Hohenschuh very
pathetically refers to the filial affection and interest man-
ifested by her son Christian, which, she says, has been espe-
cially solicitous since the sad death of Katie in 1909. Every
day, in his journeys from his business to his home, Christian
has been a caller at his mother's residence to pay her the
honor of a son's love — a trait which honors both the object
of his affection and himself.
The wife of Christian Hohenschuh was Clara Dostal,
daughter of John P. Dostal, one of the pioneers of Iowa City.
Two children have blessed their union, Marian and Loretta.
Mr. Hohenschuh was one of the organizers of Marquette
Council, Knights of Columbus, being one of the original nine
IS HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
charter members. He is a member of St. Mary's Catholic
church and of the Gentlemen's Sodality.
We cannot close this sketch more fittingly, we think, than
by transcribing the following extract from an article on the
retirement of William Peter Hohenschuh published in The
Casket, Rochester, N. Y., July, 1910: "Professor Hohen-
schuh has always stood for that which is best, and has won the
confidence and esteem of all who have come in touch with him.
His effort has been to make better funeral directors and em-
bakers of his fellow professionals, and not to exalt himself
at the cost or by the disparagement of others. He has won
for himself a name and fame in the profession which will long
endure, and his many friends will wish for him long years of
happiness and usefulness, by personal influence, in the sphere
which he has both honored and adorned."
JOB TUBBS TURNER
That branch of the Turner family, of which Job Tubbs is a
representative, figured quite largely in the early history of the
American Colonies. The line is of English descent, the first
emigrants having come to the new world in the seventeenth
century. Jacob Turner, great grandfather of our subject,
was born at Killing-worth, Connecticut, in 1731. William, the
grandfather, was a native of the same town, born in 1765 ; as
was also Captain Almerin Turner, our subject's father, the
date of whose birth was January 10, 1780. William Turner
was a soldier of the Revolution and fought at the battle of
White Plains, which occurred in October, 1776. He was bad-
ly wounded by a bayonet thrust in the knee, which crippled
him for life; but the Hessian soldier who made the thrust was
lolled by a Yankee comrade of Turner's who was just behind.
The latter pulled the bayonet from Turner's knee and slew
the Hessian with the same weapon.
William Turner married Hannah Williams, who was of
Welsh descent. They raised ten children, seven sons and
three daughters. Three of the sons became sea captains, Al-
merin, our subject's father, Reuben, and William. Our sub-
ject knows little of his grandfather's family, having never
BIOGRAPHICAL 19
seen any of his uncles except Reuben. He was once told, how-
ever, that his uncles, Ephraim and Sorenus, left the Con-
necticut home at an early day and settled in Texas while it
was yet Mexican territory, and later fought for its independ-
ence. Reuben, the fourth son, he met a number of times. lie
was a sea captain, and lived for a few years after his mar-
riage at Saybrook, Connecticut. Later he removed to Roches-
ter, New York, and thence to Cleveland, Ohio, in the thirties,
lie had four sons, who were all lake captains. Captain Reu-
ben Turner died in Cleveland, and our subject is of the opin-
ion that, his four sons also have passed away. Another uncle,
Elisha Turner, it was said, lived at Rochester, New York, for
some years prior to his death. Several of his sons went to
Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they engaged in manufactur-
ing. Captain William Turner lived and died in Baltimore.
Of the remaining uncles and his aunts our subject heard and
knew little, but he does remember that the only time he ever
saw his father weep was upon the receipt of a letter announc-
ing the death of one of his sisters.
The early experiences of Captain Almerin Turner were
characteristic of his day. School privileges and opportunities
were few and far between, but with all the local drawbacks
he managed to get a term of three days in school. At the age
of fifteen he obtained the position of cabin boy on board a
merchant vessel bound to the West Indies. He was soon ad-
vanced to the position of sailor, learned navigation and the
practical sailing of the merchant ships of that day. Being
active, temperate, and understanding navigation, he soon ad-
vanced to the place of captain's or master's mate, and soon
after reaching his majority he was given command of a mer-
chant vessel, to sail and trade in our southern waters, the
West Indies and South America. Thus he became a full-
fledged sea captain. A hundred years ago the common out-
ward cargo of the Atlantic sailing vessel was New England
rum, sometimes a few mules, chickens, turkeys, etc., and her
return cargo was sugar, sometimes a little coffee, and tropical
fruit. Notwithstanding Captain Almerin Turner's early edu-
cational disadvantages, he came to be a reading man, well
posted in modern history, and full of general information ;
he knew his bible well, was posted in his church matters, was
20
HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
a good talker, and often addressed his neighbors and friends
to their edification. He led a sailor's life at a time when
Yankee seamen had a hard time of it. From 1795 to 1815
the French, under Napoleon, were at perpetual war with the
English both on sea and land. The English had their orders
in Council by which, if an American ship was captured when
bound for a French port, she was subject to trial by the Brit-
ish Court of Admiralty, and if condemned, the vessel and
cargo were confiscated. The Yankee had no remedy, simply
because we were a weak nation, and in those days might made
right. This very thing happened to one of Captain Turner's
RESIDENCE OF JOB T. TURNER
vessels when he was acting as mate. An English man-of-war
captured the ship, tried her before a Court of Admiralty, and
condemned her and the cargo, not even allowing the captain,
mate, and crew sufficient funds to pay their passage back to
New York. On another trip, bound for an English port in
the West Indies, they were captured by a French man-of-war.
All the men, except Almerin, who was mate, his brother Reu-
ben, and the sick captain, were taken off. Almerin was left
on board because he understood navigation. The French
man-of-war put five of its men aboard the American vessel
BIOGRAPHICAL 21
to take her to a French port. The men were composed of an
officer termed the "Prize Master," and four seamen. The
Prize Master told his men to ohey Captain Turner, as he was
the navigator. One fine day the Yankee took advantage of
the situation, and ordered the four French sailors to go down
into the hold to do some work. Three of them obeyed the
order, but the fourth, smelling a rat, refused. Captain Tur-
ner gave his boy brother Reuben an axe, telling him to knock
the three men in the head should they attempt to come out
of the hold. The man who had refused to go down Captain
Turner knocked overboard very promptly, and then went to
look after the Prize Master, who was engaged in a rough and
tumble fight with the captain of the vessel. Captain Turner
took a hand in the combat, and the Prize Master was soon
overcome and bound hand and foot. The three prisoners in
the hold were called up one at a time and also bound. The
fifth recalcitrant, who had been thrown overboard, was found
bleeding profusely but clinging to a rope and pleading for
his life. He was pulled up and bound with his fellows. The
five were carefully guarded and taken into an English port
as prisoners of war. On bidding good-bye to his captor, the
Prize Master said : ' ' Captain Turner, I am never going back
to France."
Captain Turner was obliged to surrender seafaring owing
to two attacks of yellow fever. Following his retirement, he
spent a year or two at his home in Saybrook, Connecticut,
resting and recuperating. About the year 1816 he sold his
Connecticut home and with his family journeyed into the then
wilderness of northern Pennsylvania, where he bought about
three hundred acres of land of Dr. Robert H. Rose, located in
the township of Silver Lake, Susquehanna county. There he
carved out a productive farm from the tangled forest and
raised a family of ten sturdy little Turners, whose names and
places and dates of birth are as follows : Eliza Maria, born in
Saybrook, Connecticut, 1810 ; Almerin W., born in same place
in 1812; Juliette, ditto, in 1814. The remaining seven, all
born at Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, were: John Tubbs, born
1817 ; Caroline A., born 1819 ; Job Tubbs, our subject, born
1821; Angeline, born 1823; Edwin M., born 1825; William,
born 1827 ; Albert D., born ] 829. The mother of this interest-
22 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ing group was Hannah Tubbs, born at East Lyme, Con-
necticut, in 1788. Sbe was a daughter of John Tubbs, whose
English ancestors came over in 1635 and became freeholders
at Duxbury, Massachusetts. Hannah Tubbs married Captain
Abnerin Turner about the year 1809. The couple lived at
Saybrook, Connecticut, for about seven years and then re-
moved to Pennsylvania.
Our subject recalls that his mother "was a godly woman,
the best of wives, the best of mothers, the tenderest of friends"
(we are quoting from his written statement). "She always
held me as long as possible when I went home for a visit, al-
ways hugging, crying, kissing, and blessing me when I came
to leave. The visits were very pleasant; the partings very
trying. She passed away at the old home in 1854. I spent
a week with her just before her death. She was buried in
the old home cemetery at Choconut, located one and a half
miles from our old home. She had better earlier advantages
than my father. Was a good speller, a good reader, could
repeat many of the old Watts hymns, and was always able
and willing to help me out in the spelling lessons. She often
wrote me letters full of motherty affection after I left home.
Mother visited her old Connecticut home once after she came
to Pennsylvania; my father, I believe, never revisited the old
home. I have endeavored to follow my mother's teachings,
and do so today."
A brief recital of the lives and activities of the children of
Captain Almerin Turner and Hannah Tubbs will make an
important chapter in the family history.
Eliza M., the oldest child, married William House, of Little
Meadows, Pennsylvania, in 1838; had two daughters, Eliza-
beth and Caroline, and a son, William A. ; Elizabeth married
Henry A. House, a cousin; Caroline married Judge A. B.
Beers, of Bridgeport, Connecticut; William A. married Eliza
Chubbock, daughter of a Methodist minister, and a bright and
good woman. Eliza taught school in her younger days. She
died and was buried in Vineland, New Jersey, in September,
1881.
Almerin W., the oldest boy, soon after his majority, went
to Seneca Falls, New York, studied medicine with Dr. J. R.
Brown, and soon after receiving his degree of M. D. removed
BIOGRAPHICAL 23
to Cleveland, Ohio. He had a number of eons and daughters
and died, it is believed, in Rockford, Illinois, in L865.
Juliette, after teaching school a term or two, married
George W. Ross, in 1836. She bore five hoys, three of whom
are living: Charles P. Ross, of Newark, New Jersey ; Kennard
J., of Pittston, Pennsylvania; and George W., of Morristown,
New Jersey. She died in Rockaway, New Jersey, in 1870.
John Tnbbs, until about the age of nineteen, remained on
the old Pennsylvania farm. Thereafter he attended the Sen-
eca Falls academy. He taught school and kept up his acad-
emy course both summer and winter. He finally decided to
study medicine. In pursuance of this purpose, according to
the custom of the day he "read" medicine with Dr. Bellows,
of Seneca Falls, New York. Later he attended medical Lec-
tures at Geneva college (now Hobart), Geneva, New York,
for two or three seasons, and finally graduated at a Vermont
school of medicine. Dr. Turner was successful in his practice
from the start. His surgical operations were the marvel of
his day. Unfortunately, in the winter of 1848, he met with
an accident while returning from a visit to a patient which
resulted in breaking several ribs and otherwise injuring him.
From the cold contracted on the occasion he never recovered,
and, although unfit to leave his house, would insist on making
long trips to administer to his patients. His self sacrifice
cost him his life, and he died a year and a half after the acci-
dent, a martyr to his profession. He was buried at East
Cayuga, New York, the latter part of May, 1850, at the age
of thirty-six. He left one son, Frederick. His wife was
Laura Marsh, daughter of Daniel Marsh, of Cayuga Bridge,
New York. She only survived her husband four years.
Caroline A. lived at the old home at Silver Lake till she
was over thirty years of age, then married a Methodist min-
ister, Rev. Walter B. Thomas, an Englishman. She died at
Athens, Pennsylvania, some time in the eighties. Her hus-
band survived her several years. They left one son, Arthur,
a music teacher, residing at Carbondale.
Angeline married C. D. Virgil in 1843 and bore two sons
and a daughter. Father, mother and daughter all died young.
The whereabouts of the sons is unknown.
Edwin M. was a lawyer by profession. After the sale of
24 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the old Pennsylvania farm, he and his father removed to
Vineland, New Jersey, where he practiced his profession. He
married Martha L. Ellis, in 1855, and died in Leadville, Colo-
rado, some five or six years ago. His wife survives him.
They have eight children, three boys and five girls. Henry,
the oldest son, and Willis Tubbs, the third son, are engaged in
the United States Geological Survey in California and
Nevada; Edwin Job is in trade at Leadville, Colorado;
Amanda is a kindergarten teacher at Pittsheld, Massachu-
setts ; Hannah is married to Arthur Hobart, of Boston ; Edna
is the wife of William C. Appleton, of Boston ; the remaining
two girls are unmarried — one is doing newspaper work in
Denver and the other is a typewriter in Boston.
Albert D., the youngest son, is a dentist at Binghamton,
New York, successful and prosperous.
Job Tubbs Turner, our subject, as hitherto stated, was bom
on the Silver Lake farm in Pennsylvania. He first saw day-
light in the little log cabin on April 6, 1821. He was raised
on the farm, and attended the district school at Choconut, a
mile and a half distant from the farm. At the age of seven-
teen he was a student at Union academy, in the western part
of Broome county, New York, continuing for two terms. Fol-
lowing this he taught two terms of school near his old home,
and later became a student and teacher in the Friendsville
academy, Friendsville, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, for
nearly two years, acting for the last year as assistant to
Professor Thurston, a graduate of Bowdoin. In the fall of
1884 he removed to Seneca Falls, New York, in which neigh-
borhood he taught school for several years. Reciting his
pedagogic experience, Mr. Turner recalls that his first term
of teaching near his old home brought him "the munificent
sum of ten dollars a month, with the privilege of boarding
around among the patrons." Finally, after having become
quite proficient, he was asked to continue at his last place at
the salary of twenty-five dollars per month, a raise of five
dollars per month. But, having determined to seek a more
stable employment Mr. Turner declined. Later he obtained
a clerkship in a general merchandise store in Seneca Falls,
where he worked three years behind the counter. His salary
for the first year was one hundred dollars and board ; for the
NTON STEEET, IOWA CITY, IX 1854
BIOGRAPHICAL 25
second year oue hundred and twenty-live dollars and board;
and for the third year one hundred and eighty-live dollars and
hoard. At the end of the third year he was offered a partner-
ship in the store by his employer, Mr. S. S. Gould, which he
accepted. Mr. Turner describes this transaction and his ex-
perience with Mr. Gould as follows: "I accepted the offer
and became a partner in a well established trade. Mr. Gould
was worth about twenty thousand dollars. I had saved about
four hundred dollars from wages received in teaching and
clerking. In the meantime I had made myself so useful that
Mr. Gould did not wish me to quit. I did not fish, hunt, or
attend places of amusement like most of the clerks and young
men of that day, but stayed by the stuff. So the house of
Gould & Turner began trade on April 1, 1850. I paid Mr.
Gould the four hundred dollars and gave my notes for the
balance of the one-half of the stock on hand, payable in one,
two, and three years. Mr. Gould's family trade exceeded
mine to more than cover my notes from year to year, so that
at the end of three years Mr. Gould was in my debt."
At the end of seven years Mr. Turner sold his interest in
the Seneca Falls store and came to Iowa City, where he ar-
rived October 22, 1857, with his wife and son. He had mar-
ried Jane S. Coleman at Seneca Palls on June 20, 1850. She
was born near Morristown, New Jersey, June 30, 1822. Their
son, Edgar, was born June 23, 1851, in Seneca Palls. He
died in Iowa City August 28, 1860. Because of the hard
times and the demoralized state of the currency and the wild-
cat money, so-called, in circulation, Mr. Turner did little bus-
iness during his first three years in Iowa City. However, he
served one term on the school board and two terms as city
councilman. In 1862 he opened up a farm implement store
and continued the business for thirteen years with what he
states was "a fair degree of success." He disposed of the
business in the latter part of 1874, investing a portion of the
proceeds in bank stock and the balance in merchandise. One
of his first bank stock investments was in the First National
of Iowa City. In January, 1870, he was elected a director in
said bank and has continued to be one of its directors ever
since, a period of over thirty-one years. He was one of the
founders of the Farmers Loan & Trust Company, of Iowa
26 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
City, in 1880, and has been a trustee of the same from its be-
ginning to the present day. In the fall of 1862 Mr. Turner
was appointed by Governor Kirkwood as one of the commis-
sioners of the state of Iowa to take the vote of her soldiers
in the field. He was assigned to take the vote of the Twenty-
second Regiment Iowa Infantry, wherever he found them.
The vote of the soldiers in the field was to be taken at the
same date as that of the home election in October. He found
tbe regiment near Rolla, Missouri. The election was a quiet
one, the vote being mostly republican. In due time Mr. Tur-
ner delivered the result of the election to the secretary of
state at Des Moines. In the fall of 1863 he was reappointed to
take the vote of the same regiment. The Twenty-second was
composed of men largely from Johnson county. In October
of that year he found the regiment some two hundred miles
northwest of New Orleans, in western Louisiana, a long and
tiresome journey by rail and water. We think no better de-
scription could be given of this interesting trip than in the
words of Mr. Turner himself. In recounting his experiences
to a nephew at Salem, Oregon, he tells of his Louisiana jour-
ney in the following language :
"General Banks was then in command of the department,
with headquarters at New Orleans. General Butler had been
in command of this department previously and had cleaned
up the city very thoroughly. I have often been in New Or-
leans since, but have never seen it so clean as in October, 1863.
General Butler not only cleansed the city, but he made the
rebels toe the mark and pay respect to the flag. Our regiment
formed a part of the Thirteenth Army Corps. General Banks
went with us to the Teche country and we overtook the Thir-
teenth Corps near New Iberia, Louisiana, late in the after-
noon of the second day out from New Orleans. The next day
after reaching New Iberia, we marched all day up the Teche
towards Martinsville, camped near nightfall beside a field of
sweet potatoes, a few cabins or small houses being in the
neighborhood. Our soldier boys, digging the potatoes with
their bayonets, using the fence rails for their fires, appro-
priating all the pigs and chickens in sight to their own use,
seemed to enjoy their feast hugely. Early the next morning
we took the road again, had a skirmish with the rebels at a
BIOGRAPHICAL 27
crossing of the Teche, captured a bushwhacker and came into
camp early in the afternoon, our Twenty-second taking pos
session of rebel Ex-Governor Mouton's plantation, in sight
of the church steeples of Vermillionville. The Twenty-second
took charge of Governor Mouton's sugar and corn mill and
ground corn for our regiment and for the Thirteenth Corps
as well. General Ord was in command of the Thirteenth in
the field. Generals Banks and Ord both appeared well on
their horses. After two or three days spent in reviews and
inspection, General Banks returned to New Orleans. 1 was
in camp there for nearly two weeks, when the proper day
came to take the vote, and soon after was notified by General
Ord that a lot of prisoners under guard were to be sent to
New Orleans and that it would be a good opportunity for
the Iowa commissioners to take the back track, especially as
the army was soon to move north following the retreating
rebel army. We took Ins advice and left, the government
furnishing us transportation and suitable guard. Secretary
Stanton had issued orders directing quartermasters to fur-
nish us transportation, and all government officials to aid us
and facilitate our mission in every possible way. The com-
missioners each had a copy of this order, and when presented
to .in army officer, it commanded respect and prompt action.
We left camp early in the morning and marched all day, or
at least the prisoners and a portion of the guard marched;
the commissioners and rebel officers were provided with am-
bulances. The officer in command of the guard and his aides
were on horseback. Late in the evening we reached an old
camp at New Iberia, Our prisoners numbered about eighty,
one, General Pratt, an old man, a native of Saybrook, Con-
necticut. He had gone south many years before, married a
woman who bad a large plantation and a goodly supply of
woolly heads, commonly called slaves. General Pratt be-
longed to the same family as Captain Pratt, with whom my
father sailed a hundred years ago. Another noted prisoner
was Albert Voorhees, a cousin of Dan Voorhees, a statesman
of Indiana. He had heen the rebel attorney-general of Louis-
iana. The same night, near midnight, I took steamer on
Bayou Teche, reaching Brashear City next night at midnight.
We showed Stanton's order, and the officials hustled us out
28 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
three or four freight ears and a sickly engine to haul us. We
reached Algiers at sunrise on Sunday morning. Our palace
cars had no seats except one long bench with no back. As I
had not slept for thirty-six hours, I was sick and very weak.
I had about five thousand dollars in my old satchel belonging
to the soldiers, to be brought home and delivered to their
families. I had on my overcoat, wrapped my shawl about me,
laid my satchel on the floor, stretched myself alongside it,
using the satchel for a pillow and slept soundly all night.
Being surrounded by a crowd all the time, composed of all
sorts of people, I ran a great risk, and would not like to
repeat it. I was careful not to reveal my fix, not even to
any of the Iowa commissioners. We crossed over the big
river to New Orleans, went to the City Hotel, where I have
often stopped since, took breakfast, and went to bed. I had
slept only an hour or two when word came that a government
transport was just ready to start up the river — 'All aboard.'
So we started for Cairo on a Sunday morning. The deck of
the transport was packed almost like sardines with sick and
wounded soldiers, and there were many deaths en route. It
was a common thing to hear a soldier say, 'Well, poor Tom
played out last night. ' If not ' Tom, ' it was ' Jake, ' or ' Mose, '
or 'Jim.' A sad sight and an unpleasant trip. From what
I saw and heard during this trip, I came to the conclusion
that there is little sunshine in war. I reached home after a
fatigming trip of six weeks via river and rail. Eesting a
few days, I went to Des Moines and delivered the ballots to
the secretary of state. The soldiers this time gave an almost
unanimous vote for the republican ticket."
Mr. Turner states that he was once asked by a friend,
"What brought you to Iowa?" This set him to thinking, and
he answered the question as follows: "In September, 1856,
I went as usual to New York city to stock up for the fall and
winter trade. My trade was in general merchandise, and this
proved to be my last trip to New York for this purpose. My
custom was to visit the great city by our eastern sea twice a
year to lay in my supplies, in April and September. In those
days I took the morning train at Seneca Falls, reaching Al-
bany in time for the night steamer for New York, usually
reaching that city soon after daylight. After purchasing
BIOGRAPHICAL 2!)
stock, which usually took about ten days, I would take the
night boat for Albany, reaching its destination at daybreak.
These passenger steamers were large and elegant and always
gave us a good supper. On this particular trip up the river
we had about 1,200 steerage passengers on the lower deck.
On the trip in question I went on board the steamer before
sunset, secured my stateroom and took a seat in the ladies'
cabin. A little later there came aboard a couple apparently
of my own age, preceded by a little miss of perhaps five years.
Tbe little maid came close to me, and I extended her my hand.
She took it and, coming nearer, gave me a hearty kiss. This
seemed to amuse and please the father and mother. They
took seats near me, and our tongues soon loosening, we had
a pleasant evening, taking supper together. The next morn-
ing we took the train at Albany for the west, and taking seats
near each other, we had a pleasant visit. They told me of
their old New Bedford home and of their new home at Daven-
port, Iowa. They spoke in the highest terms of Davenport
and of Iowa and its prospects, making it emphatically the
land of promise. Well, it came about that in the spring of
1857, when I sold my interest at Seneca Falls, and was look-
ing for a new location, I remembered the words of New Bed-
ford friends and naturally turned my eyes towards beautiful
Iowa. Landing at Dubuque on the 4th day of July, 1857, I
boarded a steamer bound for Davenport and reached the
latter city near sunset of the same day. I tarried there for
a day or two, called upon my New Bedford friends, looked
over the town a bit, and on the morning of July 8th took
passage on the railroad for Iowa City, then the terminus of
the only railroad in Iowa. Liking the appearance and gen-
eral location of Iowa City, I here concluded to stick my stake
and make my new home, provided my wife was pleased witb
the new plan. Returning to my eastern home, I submitted
the case to her, and she decided favorably. Closing up my
affairs at Seneca Falls, I took my wife and boy and started
for the great valley of the west, landing in Iowa City October
22, 1857. Now, what was the moving cause of my coming to
Iowa? "Was it my kismet? Or was it the kiss of the little
maid of New Bedford? Tell me if you can."
Mr. Turner has been a religious man all his life. His asso-
30 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
eiation in New York was with the Presbyterian church, but
on arriving at Iowa City he and his wife united with the
Congregational church by letter from the First Presbyterian
church of Seneca Falls. On the dissolution of the Congrega-
tional church of Iowa City, in 1864-65, the couple united by
letter with the First Presbyterian church, with which they
have been associated until this writing. Mr. Turner was a
trustee of the latter church for ten years. He was trustee of
the Iowa Deaf and Dumb asylum when it was located at Iowa
City and after its removal to Council Bluffs. He has all his
life been devoted to his home, and gives it as his emphatic
opinion, based on a lifetime of experience, that ' ' a good home
is next door to heaven."
WILLIAM CHRISTIAN FREDERICK ZIMMERMAN
The name of Zimmerman is inextricably interwoven in the
fabric of southern Johnson county history. If the question
were asked, what is the most unique enterprise in Johnson
county, or for that matter in the state of Iowa, the answer
would be, ' ' Zimmerman. ' ' If the further question were asked,
what is the particular object most famous in the prairie
region of eastern Iowa, the answer would be, "the Lone Tree
on the Zimmerman farm." If the biographer should ask,
what family is most remarkable as an example of industrial
cooperation and parental loyalty in Johnson county, the
answer, we believe, would be, "the Zimmerman." Remark-
able facts are involved in the affirmative answers to these
questions, but the Zimmerman family is a remarkable family,
its history a remarkable history, and its accompaniments are
of a remarkable order.
The student of domestic relationships would be attracted
at once by the evidences of affection, unity, and confidence in-
volved in the social and business affairs of this family. Seek-
ing for a reason, he would not have far to go. The wholesome
German principle of respect for parental authority, inculcated
under the law of love, provides the solution. William C. F.
Zimmerman is a father to his children, but he is more than
that, he is their friend, their most beloved companion, their
BIOGRAPHICAL 31
most trusted advisor, and their faithful co-worker. The in
gredients of his character most active in his conduct towards
Ins family came by the law of heredity and example direct
from the German ancestry, with whom kindness seasoned
with the grace of firmness was an invariable rule of action.
It will, of course, be inferred, and rightly, that in the social
life of this family there is the gentle spirit of motherhood
which has wrought a mighty work in weaving the strands of
affection that bind so firmly these sons and their father in
manhood's estate. It would be hard to estimate the force of
this factor in the general destiny of families, but in the Zim-
merman household we have a concrete and striking example of
its results at their best.
Johan Zimmerman, father of William C. F., was one of ten
sons, and he stated many times with great pride and tender-
ness that his father had never touched one of his children
except in kindness. This rule he observed with his own fam-
ily of three daughters and two sons, and the same rule by in-
evitable momentum and habit governed his youngest son,
William C. P. Thus the cohesiveness of the Zimmerman fam-
ily fabric is explained. It is a subject worthy of an essay
in itself, but we must pass it to consider the homelier facts of
the family history.
The founder of this branch of the Ziinmermans in the
United States was Johan, born in Germany in 1800. The date
of his birth was contemporary with the stirring events of the
First Empire, and necessarily young Zimmerman was to some
extent involved in the opposition to Bonaparte which finally
became militant and decisive under Bliicher. An example of
his prowess and strategy is shown by the fact that a number
of Napoleon's soldiers one day came to the Zimmerman home
and ordered young Johan to hitch up a team and convey them
to a given point. Reluctantly, but with discretion, the young-
man complied with their demands ; but, after he had conveyed
them to the cover of a neighboring wood, he suddenly attacked
them unawares and overcame them, putting them to flight.
He then returned home, warned the family, and the entire
household hid themselves until the invaders had left thai part
of the country.
Johan Zimmerman and his nine brothers, being faithful
32 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
adherents of the Lutheran faith, invariably began each day
by saying their prayers before breakfast. This was one of
the requirements of Ludwig Zimmerman, their father, who,
practising the rule of kindness in all things, believed that
due acknowledgement should be regularly made to the Cre-
ator. The introspective value of this habit may not be
doubted.
In 1835 Johan Zimmerman married Louise Bornholtz, a
native of Hamburg, born May 7, 1804. The marriage took
place in Klein Grabo, where the couple resided until 1865,
the husband being engaged for many years as time-keeper and
steward for a crew of day workers in that city. Louise Born-
holtz 's father was a cattle drover by occupation, and was
accustomed to collect large sums of money from the sales of
stock. Frequently he carried on his person in a belt as much
as $10,000 at a time, and his daughter remembers that some-
times he would toss gold coins to his children for playthings
in the home. Of course, the habits of the wealthy drover
became known, and on one of his journeys, after having col-
lected a considerable sum, he was murdered and robbed. The
perpetrators were never discovered. Louise was a small
/P^Wrj/^^'t- 1 ' 11 ' yi^w^
BIOGRAPHICAL 33
child when this tragedy occurred, and her mother having re
married to a man named Treuman, she became a ward of
Emperor William I., with whom she was a great favorite.
Her abilities as a rook brought her especially to the attention
of the Emperor and many times he made special request that
"my little ward shall prepare me something nice to eat."
Her mother died in Berlin in 1830.
On Thanksgiving day, 1865, Johan Zimmerman, accom-
panied by his wife and three children, took voyage in an old-
fashioned sailing vessel, the Humboldt, from Hamburg for
New York. A daughter, Mary, wife of Fred Jahnke, of Iowa
City, preceded the family to America several years, and one
son, John, remained in Germany in the army service until
1869, the end of his five-year term, when he came also, being
now a resident of Lone Tree, Iowa. Of the three children
who came on the Humboldt, .Minnie, wife of Fred Lemke, of
Lone Tree, died in 1905, Sophia, wife of John Joens, now re-
sides near Lone Tree, Iowa, and William C. P., with his fam-
ily, is a resident of Lone Tree. The date of the latter 's birth
was September 9, 1849, and his birthplace was Staat Bellin,
Mecklenburg, Germany. Being just past fifteen years of age
at the time of the departure from Hamburg, William 0. F.
well remembers the incidents of the voyage, which was tem-
pestous and long delayed. In the early part of its journey
the vessel was wrecked in the Xorth Sea and was taken to
Plymouth, England, for repairs; the result of this accident
was not only a long delay but much loss of baggage on ac-
count of careless lighterage. The further voyage was char-
acterized by severe storms and high winds. The vessel's
masts were blown away in sight of New Yoi'k harbor, causing
a delay of seventeen days. The entire journey consumed six
months.
The storm-tossed family reached New York city May 17.
1866, and proceeded direct to Davenport, Iowa, by rail, where
they resided for three years, thereafter removing to Johnson
county, near Lone Tree. There Johan Zimmerman was a
respected citizen until his death.
He was noted for his quiet, retiring, peaceable disposi-
tion. A member of the Lutheran church, lie aimed to
practice his religion without ostentation. His children re-
34 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
member to have heard him say, "If a man insults you, do
not resent it, and the next time he meets you he will be
ashamed." Mother Zimmerman died May 21, 1901, and the
remains of herself and her devoted husband are interred in
Lone Tree cemetery.
William C. F. Zimmerman removed from Davenport to
Johnson county with his father's family in 1869. The family
first rented 240 acres on which they engaged in general farm
ing for two years. They then bought 480 acres of Dr. Tillot-
son, which they farmed for about ten years. In 1880 William
C. F. came to Lone Tree town, where he engaged in business
for four years. Catching the western fever, in the spring of
1884 he went to Washington territory with his wife and two
small sons. He reached Spokane shortly after the great fire
which had devastated the city, and now relates with a smile
how he was at that time offered property for a few hundred
dollars which today is worth millions. But, having the spirit
of investigation upon him, he pressed on from Spokane to
Cheney, and from that point made a complete circuit of the
Big Bend country, the Coeur d 'Alene mines, and other points.
While in Cheney his third son, John Ernest, was born June
19, 1884. This lusty infant established a record for early and
arduous traveling, making the journey from Cheney, Wash-
ington, to Baker City, Oregon, when two weeks old. The
major part of the trip, from Umatilla to Baker was made by
stage. The family remained in Baker City until February,
1885 — again facing the possibilities of a great fortune, for
that city has become a large and wealthy community. At
that time, however, the desire to return to Iowa being strong
in their hearts and the health of Mrs. Zimmerman being poor,
they made the backward trip to Lone Tree. About two years
were spent on the farm, after which the family removed to
Lone Tree, where Mr. Zimmerman engaged in the hardware,
implement, and lumber business for about four years. In the
fall of 1890 he bought the celebrated Lone Tree Farm, con-
sisting of 113 acres in the edge of the town of Lone Tree, on
which, within fifty feet of the present Zimmerman residence,
stands the famous "lone tree," known to every Indian and
emigrant of early days in this section of eastern Iowa. This
tree, an elm, was the only tree or shrub of any description
HE MINE I'HKK, I'HK.MOXT TOWN'S!
BIOGRAPHICAL 35
visible in early days in that part of the state, and served as
a landmark for Indians, emigrants, and surveyors. The
prairie fires of those days swept the country clean for many
miles, and the preservation of the "lone tree" is only ac-
counted for on the hypothesis that the cattle and horses of
the Indians, using it for shade, kept the grass around it
trampled down to such an extent that the fires could not take
effect. This tree is an object of curiosity to old settlers and
strangers alike. The reader will have a correct idea of its
present appearance from the engraving published on another
page. The entire Lone Tree Farm is embraced within the
city limits of Lone Tree, and a small part of it has been laid
out into lots for city residences. On this farm William C. F.
Zimmerman has resided continuously from March, 1891, to
the present time, a period of over twenty years. General
farming has been the program, and the place is now in a thor-
ough state of cultivation under the active management of
Herman Walter Zimmerman, a young man (unmarried) twen-
ty-two years of age, who is also a director in the Zimmerman
Steel Company. JL1357V£
William C. F. Zimmerman constantly felt the desire for a
business or manufacturing life, and so, in 1893, he yielded to
this impulse and began the manufacture of windmills and
tanks under the firm name of Zimmerman & Bennett, con-
tinuing until 1894, when the firm was incorporated under the
name of the Jewel Manufacturing Company. In 1895 this
company erected a factory on the site of the present Zimmer-
man Steel Company. A full description of the latter, its
origin, progress, and present prosperity, will be found in the
first volume of this work. It is enough for the purpose of
this biography to say that in this enterprise the family of
William C. F. Zimmerman have found opportunity for the
expression of their remarkable individual talents and for the
demonstration of those traits of cooperation which have
brought them into prominence and distinction both at home
and abroad. The Zimmerman Steel Company is unique in
its personnel, being not a corporation but a firm composed
entirely of members of the Zimmerman family, with one ex-
ception, Mr. H. V. McCluskey, and he is a son-in-law, having
married Bertha, the oldest daughter ; hence the reader is able
36 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
to understand the following remarkable roster of officers :
William C. F. Zimmerman, president and secretary; H. L.
Zimmerman, vice president and treasurer; F. W. Zimmerman,
J. E. Zimmerman, H. W. Zimmerman, and William C. F. Zim-
merman, Jr., directors and managers ; and H. V. McCluskey.
correspondent and sales manager. And the growth and pres-
ent business standing of this company are as remarkable as
its personnel, a fact which the reader will recognize after
reading the historical sketch before referred to.
The marriage of William C. F. Zimmerman to Rosa
Amanda Fredericka Kranel (nee Nagel) took place at Lone
Tree, Iowa, November 15, 1882. The parents of Mrs. Zim-
merman were Thies Nagel and Wepka Katherine Haas, both
natives of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The daughter was
born January 9, 1863, in Fredericks county, Schleswig-Hol-
stein, and came with her parents to America in 1869. The
family settled at Davenport, Iowa, thence removing to Rock
Creek Mills, and thence to Nichols, Iowa, in 1880. The Nagels
were flour millers by trade.
To William C. F. Zimmerman and Rosa Nagel were born
the following children: Henry Ludolph, at Davenport, Iowa,
July 25, 1879; Frederick William, at Lone Tree, April 23,
1883; John Ernest, at Cheney, Washington, June 19, 1884;
Bertha Louise, at Lone Tree (on Tillotson farm), November
30, 1885 ; Herman Walter, at Lone Tree, July 6, 1889 ; Lillian,
at Lone Tree, April 9, 1897 ; William C. F., Jr., at Lone Tree,
November 12, 1899.
A brief reference to each member of the family may not
be amiss.
Henry Ludolph, the eldest son, remained in the parental
home until his marriage, May 22, 1907, to Isabella William-
son, of Mt. Vernon, Georgia, after which he took up his resi-
dence in the town of Lone Tree, where he now resides. Three
children have been born into his family, two dying in infancy
and one, Teresa Louise, dying at the age of fourteen months.
As vice-president and treasurer of the Zimmerman Steel
Company, Henry L. has displayed marked ability and apti-
tude. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Lone Tree ; past master of the local A. F. & A. M. lodge and
BIOGRAPHICAL 37
past patron of the Lone Tree Eastern Star. He was a mem
ber of Lone Tree city council for six years.
Frederick William resides on the home farm, is unmarried,
a member of the Reformed church, assistant chief of the Lone
Tree fire department, and manager of the foundry of the
Zimmerman Steel Company. He is senior warden of the
Lone Tree A. F. & A. M., and a member of the local I. 0. < >. F.
and of the K. of P.
John Ernest was married October 1, 1908, to Miss Alma
May Kallous, of Lone Tree. He is a member of the board of
directors of the Zimmerman Steel Company, and is a design-
ing engineer of the company. He took a special course in
chemistry at Iowa State University to fit himself for technical
work at the steel plant.
Bertha Louise graduated from the Irish Business College
at Iowa City at the age of thirteen, and was the first stenog-
rapher and typewriter for the Monarch Grubber Company,
the predecessor of the Zimmerman Steel Company. On her
marriage, June 29, 1910, to H. V. McCluskey, she retired from
active connection with the company.
Herman Walter, unmarried, though a director in the steel
company, devotes his attention to the management of the Lone
Tree farm, where he resides.
Lillian, fourteen years of age, resides on the home farm
and attends public school at Lone Tree. Her talents for in-
strumental music are being developed under careful training.
William C. F., Jr., thirteen years old, is a student of the Lone
Tree public schools. Although of tender years, he has an
aptitude for business and enters seriously upon the discharge
of his duties as a director of the steel company. He is an
enthusiastic automobilist, and manages the big family touring
car with the ease of an accomplished chaffenr.
Every male member of the Zimmerman family, with the
exception of William C. F., Jr., is a 32d degree Mason, and
all are Shriners except Herman Walter — members of Kaaba
Temple, Davenport. William C. F., Sr., is a member of Iowa
City Commandery, Knights Templar. He has been secretary
of Lone Tree lodge No. 535, A. F. & A. M., since the first elec-
tion after organization, and was the first candidate initiated
by the lodge, August 14, 1894. He and his sons are members
38 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
of Zarephath Consistory, Davenport. Mr. Zimmerman and
his eldest sons are members of the I. 0. 0. F. of Lone Tree,
and all are members of the local order of the Eastern Star,
including Mother Zimmerman and the wives of Henry, John,
and H. V. McCluskey.
Following in the footsteps of their father, who was edu-
cated in the high school of Germany, the adult children of
William C. F. Zimmerman have obtained their educations in
the public schools. Two only have taken supplementary
courses, Bertha, at Irish Business College, and John Ernest,
at Iowa State University.
Some of the incidents in the life of Mr. Zimmerman illus-
trate the rapid shaping of events even in the lifetime of a
man of sixty-two. For instance, he bought and operated the
first traction steam engine ever used in Iowa; he introduced
the first wire binder into Johnson county; also the first twine
binder.
Mr. Zimmerman is a democrat in politics, and without
question time and time again could have had the choice of
any office within the gift of his fellow citizens of Lone Tree.
The only political positions he has consented to fill, however,
were : 1st, school director of Lone Tree, a position he has held
for about fourteen years, being recognized as the father of
the local public school system; and, 2d, city councilman of
Lone Tree for two years, 1896-97. Mr. Zimmerman's religi-
ous affiliations are German Lutheran, and every member of
the family has been confirmed in that church.
The business of the Zimmerman Steel Company extends
to all parts of the United States and to many sections of
South America, Europe, and Asia. Its output is under the
direct management of the family, aided, of course, by a corps
of competent workmen. The details given in our general his-
tory volume will tell of the technical responsibilities resting
upon each active member of the family in the affairs of the
Zimmerman Steel Company. We submit that the situation
is unique in industrial annals. Add to this fact the perfect
family harmony of the partners and the universal esteem in
which they are held by their neighbors of many years, and
the case becomes astonishing. It is an example of remark-
able success growing out of proper home relationships and
BIOGRAPHICAL 39
training, perfect personal confidence, marked aptitude for the
work in hand, and business ability of a high order. It is with
some degree of pride that the publishers of this history invite
the attention of their readers to the Zimmerman family, of
Lone Tree, Iowa.
WILLIAM PHILIP COAST
The name of Coast figures prominently in the business and
social annals of Iowa's university city. Since the spring of
1854, the year of the arrival of Craft Coast and his family
from Ohio, members of the family have been actively identi-
fied with the development of the city. Craft Coast and his
wife, Nancy Regan, were residents of Youngstown, Ohio,
where AVilliam Philip Coast was born May 5, 1841. The latter
was therefore thirteen years of age when he came with his
parents to Johnson county. The elder Coast, upon arrival at
Iowa City, entered the real estate and brokerage business.
He bought and sold land and loaned money. He took a great
interest in the improvement of all conditions in Johnson coun-
ty, and the effect of his vigorous personality and his timely
activities is manifest to the present time. He was a man
greatly beloved by a large circle of personal friends, who ex-
pressed their sorrow on the occasion of his death at Iowa City,
in January, 1864. His wife survived him three years, dying
in 1867.
Craft Coast and Nancy Regan were the jmrents of two
other children besides William Philip, namely, Oscar Regan,
and Mary Elizabeth, both born in Ohio, where their childhood
days were spent. Both were educated at Iowa City. Oscar
Regan Coast is an artist by profession, who spends his win-
ters in the mountains of the west and his summers in the east.
In spite of the fact that his time is chiefly occupied by travel,
he calls Johnson county his home. The sister, Mary Eliza-
beth, became Mrs. Geo. Henry Yewell. Her death occurred
in 1880. Her husband is also an artist, who spends his time
in New York city and Europe.
William Philip Coast attended the public schools of Iowa
City, and was one of the first students who entered the State
40 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
University of Iowa. Later he attended college at Oberlin,
Ohio. He began his business career at the age of twenty-one,
and was engaged in different lines until the death of his
father, when he took full charge of the estate. About 1890 he
entered the clothing business, with which he has been actively
identified until the present. The firm is now known as Coast
& Sons.
Mr. Coast was married in October, 1864-, to Miss Mary
Ellen Bradshaw, who was born in Indiana in Mav, 1842, and
RESIDENCE OF W. P. COAST
came to Johnson county with her parents when three months
old. She has resided here ever since. Her father, James P.
Bradshaw, was a native of Kentucky, and her mother of Vir-
ginia. This excellent couple were among the earliest pioneers
of Johnson county, Mr. Bradshaw being one of the first mer-
chants of the county. At the time of his death, in 1851, he
was postmaster of Iowa City. Both husband and wife were
very prominent in the Methodist Episcopal church, and did
all in their power to advance the interests and influence of
the church in what was then a primitive community. One
other daughter besides Mrs. Coast was born to them, Narcissa
J., who married Carson L. Mozier, at one time a prominent
dry goods merchant of Iowa City. Mr. Mozier died in June,
1908, and his wife one vear later.
BIOGRAPHICAL 41
Tw«> sons were horn to William Philip Const and Ellen
Br&dshaw, namely, Preston Craft, and William Oscar. The
former was born April 11, 1870, and was married in L894 to
.Miss Grace M. McGee, of Iowa City, Iowa. They have two
children, Marjory E. and Alice Bradshaw. William Oscar
Coast was born September 5, 1880, and was married to Miss
Maude Cleaveland Kingsbury October 24, 1904. They have
one daughter, Louise Cleaveland, bora April 13, 1910.
William Philip Coast and family are attendants and mem-
bers of the First Presbyterian church. Practically all their
lives have been lived in Johnson comity, and the record of
their activities is an open book, without blot or erasement.
Lives like these are an honor to any community, and furnish
conspicuous examples for emulation. It is a sufficient en-
comium for any couple to write of them: "Sixty years resi-
dents of Iowa City, and beloved by all who know them." That
is particularly true of William Philip and Mary Ellen Brad-
shaw Coast.
CAPT. SAMUEL DAVID PRYCE
Samuel David Pryce was born and reared in Ebensburg,
Cambria county, Pa., near the head waters of the Conemaugh,
the scene of the Johnstown flood. It was also near Cresson,
where the loyal governors met during the Civil War, and
only six miles from the summit of the Allegheny mountains.
His father was born and reared in the same county, of Welsh
parents who emigrated to this mountain district of the state
near the close of the eighteenth century. His mother, Eliza-
beth (Jones) Pryce, was born in Llanfair, Montgomeryshire,
North Wales, and came to this country with her parents in
her eighteenth year. Seven children were horn to this fam-
ily. Three sons died in early life, and were buried in the old
mountain home.
With only a limited education in the public schools, and
just about a year preceding the Civil War, the subject of
this sketch took the advice of Horace Greeley, and resolved
to try his fortune in the west. He went to Pittsburg, ami
from this point worked his way down the Ohio river on a
42 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
steamboat to Cairo, then up the Mississippi river to Burling-
ton, Iowa, and from there walked to Iowa City. He worked
for his board for several weeks and then taught school in
Sharon, Union, and Liberty townships. He returned to Iowa
City in the summer of 1862, to matriculate in the State Uni-
versity, but yielding to the patriotic impulse of the times, en-
listed in a company being recruited by Captain Harvey W.
Graham which was assigned to the 18th regiment, then in ren-
dezvous at Clinton, Iowa.
This company was later transferred to the 22d Iowa, at
Camp Pope, Iowa City. It became one of the fighting regi-
ments of the war, having campaigned in nearly every southern
state from Virginia to the mouth of the Rio Grande river.
It made a complete circuit of the southern confederacy and
traveled by land and sea more than fifteen thousand miles.
The regiment served under Curtis in southwest Missouri in
the winter of 1862-3 and marched 250 miles through the Ozark
mountains. It was the first engaged in the midnight march
to Port Gibson. It participated in the battles of Champion
Hills and Black River Bridge, and led the assault on Vicks-
burg, May 22, 1863. The regiment had been greatly deci-
mated by sickness, disease, and death. Out of the 200 en-
gaged in this charge it lost 170 — an average of 85 per cent —
which stands without a parallel in modern times. The orig-
inal report was 164, but six more were traced to remote hos-
pitals. Nearly half of the number were either killed outright
or mortally wounded, and many died within a few days.
Col. E. W. Fox in his Regimental Losses in the Civil War,
places the 22d Iowa at Vicksburg, the First Minnesota at
Gettysburg, and the First Texas at Antietam, as having suf-
fered the heaviest losses in any one battle in the war of the
rebellion on either side — an average of a fraction more than
eighty-two per cent. Gen. Grant says in his report to the war
department, "the 22d Iowa planted its flag on the parapet,
took twelve prisoners, and marched them out into the ditch.
No other troops succeeded in entering the enemy's works."
It held the fort for nine hours, begging for reenforcements.
Twelve of the 22d Iowa were killed inside the fort. For con-
firmation of this record see the official reports. After the
Vicksburg campaign the regiment was sent to New Orleans
BIOGRAPHICAL
43
and then participated in the campaign up the Teehe valley hi
Louisiana. It was then sent to Texas, then up the Red river,
Arkansas, and was then transferred to the east, via the Flor-
ida Keys, and served in the trendies at Petersburg — the only
Iowa regiment on the entire line of investment. It then par-
ticipated in the battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and
Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley. Then it went to
Georgia and North and South Carolina. These facts are re-
ferred to in this sketch because seven companies were from
Johnson county. It is a part of its gallant record in the war.
HUME (IF CAl'T. SAM. I). l'KYCE
Mr. Pryce participated in all the battles and campaigns of
this regiment and never missed a day's service during its
term of enlistment. He served for nearly two years as regi-
mental adjutant, was promoted to the captaincy of his com-
pany, and served on the staff of Gen. Molineux as brigade
adjutant general — one of the youngest officers of this rank
in the volunteer service. He was mentioned in general orders
for conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Winchester. Sergt.-
Major Geo. Remley, who was killed in this battle, was named
44 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
in the same order. (See register of Union and Confederate
armies, series 1, vol. 43, part i, page 331.)
He met and talked to Sheridan on bis famous ride
from Winchester to Cedar creek. He was in charge of a
scouting party to reconnoitre Fisher's Hill, and spent the en-
tire night inside of the confederate lines. At "Camp Rus-
sell," Virginia, be wrote the history of the regiment pub-
lished in the adjutant general's reports. With some additions
it is to be used in the new history of Iowa soldiers. He has
also written a history of the 22d Iowa of five or six hundred
pages, with complete roster, and list of casualties.
At the close of the war Mr. Pryce was elected county
superintendent of schools, but resigned to accept a position in
Chicago, where he remained two years. Returning to Iowa
City he was a member of the mercantile firm of Donaldson,
Pryce & Lee. From 1868 to 1872, he served on the staff of
Gov. Samuel Merrill, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of
cavalry. In 1874 he purchased an interest in the Iowa City
Republican and was associated with Col. J. H. C. Wilson in
the editorial management of this paper. Pryce and Wilson
established the present Iowa City Daily Republican, June 6,
1876. He was. chairman of the county central committee at
this time, and succeeded in the election of the entire repub-
lican representative ticket, for the first and last time in the
history of the county. It was then entitled to one senator and
two representatives. He also served eight years on the state
central committee.
After his retirement from the active management of the
Republican, he was president and one of the organizers of the
Republican Printing Co., and also president of the Iowa City
Cutlery Works, which gave employment to one hundred per-
sons. It was destroyed by lightning in 1880. He was also
financially interested in the glucose works, the glass works,
and the Iowa City Packing Company. He was also one of the
founders of the present Central Manufacturing Co. He was
president of the board of trade, the Iowa City Improvement
Co., and of the Johnson County Fish and Game Protective
Association. He was senior member of the firm of Pryce &
Schell, in the hardware and farm maehinerv business. He
CAPTAIN SAMUEL D. PBYCE
BIOGRAPHICAL 45
also takes pride in the fact that be has erected ten buildings
in Iowa City, more than any single individual, except the
contractors themselves.
In 1881 lie was nominated by the republican party for rep-
resentative, hut declined for business reasons. Be was a del-
egate to the first national encampment of the Grand Army of
the Republic, soon after the close of the war, and with Gen-
eral Vandever of Dubuque represented the state, lie was a
member of the committee on constitution and by-laws, and
with Colonel Lester, of Wisconsin, was the joint author of
the laws for the future government of the order. For years
be was a leading contributor to the press of the state in favor
of permanent public highways, lie was also a leading con-
tributor to the press against the discrimination in favor of
living persons on the Iowa soldier's monument. These dis-
tinctions should be made in favor of the brave men who met
the supreme test of courage on the battlefield.
Mr. Pryce is a member of Iowa City lodge No. 4, A. F. &
A. M., the Royal Arcb chapter, the Palestine Commandery of
Knights Templar. He is also a charter member of Corinth
Lodge, Knights of Pythias, and Kirkwood Post, Grand Army
of the Republic. He has held hut one public office, that of
township trustee being the full measure of his political ambi-
tion. He is a veteran of the fire department and served ten
years in Rescue Hook and Ladder Co.
There is a law that takes the waters of the river, and hears
them away, and lays them at rest upon the bosom of the sea.
So there is a law that compensates patriotism and sacrifice,
integrity of purpose and well directed effort, and makes full
and complete a well rounded life. Mr. Pryce as he appears
today is in the very prime of manhood; strong and vigorous
in mind and body. Blessed with all the comforts of life that
health and wealth can give, be can look back across the busy
years and contemplate the past with a satisfaction which
comes only from having lived a life of accomplishment, of
duty well performed.
The long weary marches under southern skies have long
since ended, the bugle call resounds no more, the danger, the
strife, the struggle, and smoke of battle are only memories
46
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
now, but the brave deeds performed by the gallant heroes in
defence of freedom, home and country shall not be forgotten,
they shall live forever.
JOHN L. THEOBALD, Jr.
John L. Theobald, Sr., father of our subject, is one of the
eldest members of the printing craft in Iowa. For upwards
of fifty years he has been a disciple of Gutenberg and Faust.
He is one of the vanishing army of old-time, all-round printers,
whose knowledge of the art preservative runs from "type-
lice" to web-perfecting press; from "italic spaces" to Mer-
ganthaler. It was a grand army, that old-time company of
EESIDENCE OF JOHN L. THEOBALD, JR.
compositors, whose "chapels" extended from the Atlantic to
the Pacific. Its feasts of ' ' fat takes ' ' and ' ' standing matter"
are but memories, and its "jeffing" contests have passed into
history. Most of its members have gone to meet the ' ' Father
of the Chapel," where "double-price" is their reward and
BIOGRAPHICAL 47
"distribution" is no more. Their "forms are closed" and
the "last edition has gone to press."
Theobald, Sr., was born in Philadelphia, the home of Frank-
lin. His parents removed to Iowa in 1855, and he came with
them. The family settled in Johnson county. There he
learned the printer's trade, and there he met and married
Mary Karetz, of Bohemian birth, in 1863. One of their four
children died in infancy; three are now living: William, mar-
ried, residing in Iowa City ; Emma, now Mrs. George L. Far-
well, residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and our subject.
The elder Theobald always adhered to the democratic faith.
Mother Theobald died in 1898.
John L. Theobald, Jr., was born in Iowa City, June 20, 1874,
attended the public schools of Iowa City, subsequent to which
he worked for the Pioneer Knitting A\ r orks for six years.
Thereafter he took up the restaurant business, in which he has
been engaged for sixteen years. For the past six years he
has been proprietor of the Bon Ton Cafe, of Iowa City.
Our subject was married in 1902 to Miss Mary Ellen Burns,
a native of Iowa City. They have five children, all living at
home : Mary Helen, Marguerite, John, Lucille, and William.
Politically Mr. Theobald has always been a democrat. The
family are members of the St. Patrick's Catholic church.
FRANK E. AYERS
Much of the vim, intelligence, and practical usefulness for
which the Commercial Club of Iowa City is noted is charge-
able to the sterling common sense and direct business methods
of its president, Frank E. Avers, the subject of this sketch.
During his eight years residence in the University City, Mr.
Avers has been a recognized factor in its business life, and
his election to the chief executive office of its representative
commercial organization was both timely and fitting. Under
his able administration, coupled with the hearty cooperation
of as thorough a set of boosters as ever got together for pro-
motion and publicity in eastern Iowa, the Iowa City Com-
mercial Club ranks with the best in the middle west, and is
bringing to the attention of the business world far and near
48
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the distinct advantages of this famous old city as a center for
industrial and commercial enterprises and for home life of a
high order.
Frank E. Ayers has been a business man and a quasi-public
official from boyhood. At fourteen years of age he entered
upon a commercial career in Chickasaw county, his native
heath, and at twenty-six was made deputy treasurer of the
county, an office which he filled for two years. Removing to
Lawler in 1887, he entered the lumber business, and that has
been his occupation continuously until the present time. He
came to Iowa City in 1903. While a resident of Lawler he was
continuously a member of the city council, part of the time be-
4 "... •■w 1 " ■'• |
a£ y»*?"
;^'" ' i
IIKSIIIKXCK UK K. K. AYKK^
ing mayor of the city. He was also a member of the 28th Gen-
eral Assembly of Iowa for two years, and was vice president
and a director of the Citizens Loan & Trust Company, of Iowa
City, but retired from the duties of this last-named position on
account of pressure of business. It will thus be seen that his
training has fitted him for the responsibilities of commercial
life, a fact which accounts in some measure for his aptitude
as chief officer of the Iowa City Commercial Club.
As before stated, Mr. Ayers was born in Chickasaw county.
His parents were David Judson Ayers and Malissa F. Grey.
The former was a native of New York and the latter of Penn-
fa (% ^JU^^\_y
MRS. UAMES M s COuLISTER
BIOGRAPHICAL 4!)
sylvania. The couple were married at the wife's old home in
Scranton, Pennsylvania, and came to Iowa in 1857, settling in
Chickasaw county, where the elder Avers pursued the occupa-
tion of farming until his death. The mother died at the resi-
dence of her son in Iowa City. David Judson Avers was of
German and Irish descent, and his wife of English, her lineage
being traceable to the Jennings family of England. She was
a relative of Judge Grey, of Indiana.
The date of Frank E. Avers 's birth was April 13, 1859. He
was educated at Decorah, Iowa, and at the Breckenridge In-
stitute, and, as heretofore stated, left home at fourteen years
of age to begin his business career. In 1887 he was married
to Miss Alice F. Sheldon, and two children have blessed the
union, Roscoe B., and Lucille V.
Mr. Avers is a member of the Masonic order, the Knights
of Pythias, and the Modern Woodmen of America. His
place of business is at 223 South Dubuque street, and his resi-
dence at 430 South Summit street, Iowa City.
JAMES McCOLLISTER
The "Old Philip Clark farm," situated one and one-half
miles south of Iowa City, on the River Road, is famous as
the scene of the first court house in Johnson county, wherein
the early legal history of the county took form. This house
was the residence of James McCollister for some time after
his purchase of the farm in 1864, and therein his only daugh-
ter Mrs. A. G. Showers, of Iowa City, was born. The legends
of court life in Johnson county recite that juries, after re-
ceiving the evidence, left the old building and made their
deliberations on the open prairie on account of lack of room
for privacy in the court house. James McCollister, soon
after purchasing the farm in 1864, began the erection of a
new brick residence, which he has added to from time to time
until it has reached very large proportions, being one of the
most stately mansions in Johnson county, with every modem
improvement. The great farm of eight hundred acres has
been improved until it is easily one of the finest estates in
Iowa. In addition to the family mansion, the farm contains
50
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
several residences for the use of tenants and immense barns
for housing stock and feed. Water for all purposes is sup-
plied by windmills. A remarkable fact in connection with this
farm is that there have been but two transfers made of it —
one from the United States to Philip Clark and the second
from Philip Clark to James McCollister, and there has never
been a mortgage placed upon it.
James McCollister is a native of Ohio, born in Pike county
March 8, 1835. His father, Judge Charles McCollister, was
born in Maryland in 1799, and came to Ohio in 1803 with his
parents, Robert and Maiy McCollister, who were also natives
of Maryland. They settled near Chillicothe. Robert Mc-
Collister was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was of
Scotch ancestry. Judg'e Charles McCollister, father of
James, was a man of great natural ability, sound sense, and
forceful character. In spite of the primitive methods of
education of his time he acquired a goodly stock of practical
learning and became one of the first school teachers of Pike
county. After he had married and secured a farm, he con-
tinued the work of teaching in connection with his agricul-
tural pursuits. His ability brought him irresistibly to the
front in the public affairs of his county, and he was first
chosen justice of the peace, then county treasurer, and later
BIOGKAPHICAL 51
judge of the court of common pleas, remaining on the bench
for ten years. He was a lifelong democrat, and the only
defeat lie ever suffered was at the hands of the know-nothing
party in 1854. The following year he removed to Johnson
county, Iowa, and settled live miles south of Iowa City on
the farm known as the "Judge Coleman Farm," consisting
of 1,000 acres, which he purchased. Under his management
this place became one of the best cultivated and most pro
ductive farms of eastern Iowa. His agricultural interests
were of such extent that he never took an active part in pol-
itics in Iowa. He was an active member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, though formerly a Presbyterian. His
death in 1876 was universally regretted. His wife, our sub
ject's mother, was Mary Stinson, born in Ross county, Ohio,
in 1802, her father being James Stinson, a native of New
Jersey and a veteran of the War of 1812. She died at the
advanced age of eighty-eight years in 1890, having survived
her husband fourteen years. This excellent, couple were the
parents of eleven children, all of whom reached maturity and
reared families of their own. Their names are as follows :
Jacob, of Oklahoma City; Malinda, wife of Samuel Maneir;
Robert, deceased, married to Malinda Stinson ; Mary, wife of
the late Le Grande Byington, of Iowa City; Lydia, wife of
George Corwin, of Carthage, Missouri; Martha, wife of M,
Dunlop, of Ross county, Ohio, both deceased; Elizabeth, wife
of G. W. Xelson, of Johnson county, Iowa ; James, our sub-
ject; Sarah, wife of William E. Moon, of Spring-field, Mis-
souri ; Ellen, wife of James Stevens, of Johnson county, Iowa ;
and Emma, widow of James Anderson, of Johnson county,
Iowa.
James McCollister received a common school education in
Pike comity, Ohio, his "schooling" being obtained in one of
the log cabin school houses of the day, where the methods
and facilities were of the most primitive sort. School teach-
ers were poorly paid, the highest salary received being only
$20.00 per month. Perseverance and ambition were essential
on the part of the student in those days to cover the handicap
of short terms and limited curriculum, in striking contrast
to the advantages of the twentieth century, which "Dad's
pocketbook" can place within the reach of every child. Young
52 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
McCollister supplemented his common school training with a
course in the graded schools of Waverly. James McCollis-
ter 's journey from Ohio to Johnson county, Iowa, was made
by team and wagon. On his arrival here he began work on
the farm with his father, assisting him in general agricultural
work until he was twenty-nine years of age. In March, 1864,
he purchased his present farm.
In March, 1862, our subject was married to Miss Mary E.
Hill, a native of Johnson county, who was born September
12, 1844. She is a daughter of William Carpenter, but was
adopted by Thomas Hill, by whom she was reared and edu-
BARN OF JAMES MC COLLISTER
cated. Two children were born to James McCollister and
wife: Thomas Jefferson, born in December, 1862, married to
Henrietta Briggs, residing on one of his father's farms south
of Lone Tree, Iowa; Mary E., born in 1864, wife of A. J.
Showers, residing in Iowa City.
Stability and continuity are marked traits of James McCol-
lister. This is proven by the fact that he has resided con-
tinuously on the farm he first purchased in Johnson county
and has developed, improved, and maintained the same with-
out mortgage indebtedness. It is further illustrated by the
fact that he has uninterruptedly voted the straight democratic
ticket for fifty-five years. His political faith is the result of
CHARLES M COLLISTEB
BIOGRAPHICAL 53
deep conviction, and, while not an offensive partisan, he has
been active in the work of his party and has served it when-
ever occasion demanded. He has been identified with every
important enterprise in Johnson county which his judgment
approved, his opinion being law in many instances in the
settlement of business propositions. Having amassed large
wealth, he has felt himself to be in a sense a steward of his
possessions and his pocketbook has always been available
for the promotion of the best interests of his county and his
fellow men. He is a member of the I. 0. 0. F. and the Legion
of Honor, having held prominent positions in both orders. At
seventy-six years, he is in stalwart health and is regarded
as one of the progressive representative citizens of the county.
KATZENMEYER BROTHERS
The name of Katzenmeyer is largely interwoven with the
business development of Johnson county and Iowa City.
Phillip Katzenmeyer, Sr., father of George and Phillip, Ji\,
was a pioneer of Iowa and was the founder of the flour and
feed enterprise which now bears the name of Katzenmeyer
Brothers. The elder Katzenmeyer was a native of Hesse-
Darmstadt, Germany, where he was born in 1831. He came to
America with his parents in 1850. The family landed at New
Orleans, and from that point went direct to Upper San-
dusky, Ohio, where they joined other relatives who had pre-
ceded them. In 1853 Mr. Katzenmeyer decided to seek a home
in the great west. In pursuance of this purpose, he and two
companions, one his brother, walked from the then railway
terminus thirty miles west of Chicago to Iowa City, a distance
of about two hundred miles. The travelers carried their
earthly possessions in a grip, and were provided with fire-
arms with which to shoot game for their meals en route.
They made as high as thirty miles a day, and enjoyed every
moment of the journey. Game was plentiful, and their larder
was well supplied as a result of their marksmanship. Mr.
Katzemneyer's first employment on reaching Iowa City was
on a proposed railroad line running north of the city. This
project being abandoned, he was afterwards employed by the
54
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. Mr. Katzenmeyer
was married in 1854 to Miss Ursula Kempher, who was a
faithful companion and helpmeet until the day of her death in
1907. Nine children were born to them, eight of whom are
living. The first business venture of Phillip Katzenmeyer,
Sr., was his purchase of the Jacob Sam mill, including a flour
and feed store. Mr. Katzenmeyer had been employed in this
establishment for some time; first under Jacob Sam, later
under Dietz S. Hemmer, and lastly under Mr. Johnson, from
nil H I. Ml l\ \ IZI-.N \l 1 \ :■ i: MM-
whom he purchased the business. He conducted this business
successfully for twenty-four years, when, on account of fail-
ing health, and age, he retired, selling the business to his two
sons, Phillip, Jr., and George, the present proprietors, doing
business under the firm name of Katzenmeyer Bros. Mr.
Katzenmeyer died in the summer of 1911, his demise being
greatly regretted by hosts of personal friends who had come
to know him intimately during the long period of his resi-
dence in Iowa City. Deceased was one of the charter mem-
BIOGRAPHICAL
bers of the German Aid Society of Iowa City, in tli
which he took an active interest. His remains v
by the side of his wife in Oakland cemetery. 1
was conducted by Rev. J. G. Boerline from tl
Lutheran church.
PHILLIP KATZENMEYER, JR., was born in [owa City
in 18(52, and received a thorough education in the common
schools of his native town. Prior to his partnership with his
brother George he worked at the printer's trade and various
other occupations. He is unmarried and lives at the old
home.
GEORGE KATZENMEYER was horn in Iowa City in
1875, and is the youngest of nine children. He attended the
public schools of Iowa City, but at the age of fifteen withdrew
from school life to assist his father in the flour and feed bus-
iness, with which he was identified for twenty years, having
grown up in the business, working in every department. He
and his brother Phillip purchased the father's interest in the
business March 3, 1907, and have conducted the same with in-
creasing success to date. The enterprise is located at No. 10
South Dubuque street. The fira handles Minnesota, Kansas
and Nebraska flour, and does a large trade, mostly local. The
building is owned by the firm.
George Katzenmeyer was married to Ellen Schilling, of
Iowa City. They have two children, George Katzenmeyer,
Jr., and Cyril. Our subject, as was his venerable father, is an
active member of the German Aid Societv.
ROBERT BANKISOX SMITH
Twelve hundred men mustered in at Davenport, Iowa, in
1861, in the Second Iowa Cavalry, of which Company G, under
Captain Lundy, was a part. In that company was Roberl
Bankison Smith, now the sole survivor in Iowa City of the
numerous members who enlisted from this city. The Second,
recruiting from time to time, during its service, contained in all
3,500 men on its roster. "When it was mustered out in Ala-
56
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
bama, September 19, 1865, it contained 800 men. Between
these maximum and minimum totals of membership lies a his-
tory of courage, sacrifice, patriotism, and bravery which the
world may never read. It is one of the chapters of the Ameri-
con Conflict which finds wortby companionship with its im-
mortal fellows in the nation's book of heroic remembrance. A
line or two from that chapter will give the index of its con-
tents. In one episode in one battle in Mississippi known as
Farming-ton Charge, the Second lost sixty-five men and one
hundred horses in ten minutes. This intrepid regiment saw
sixty-five davs of battle with General Hood in the Nashville
RESIDENCK OK HOBEKT B. SMITH
campaign. Throughout the war it engaged in over one hun-
dred battles and skirmishes. During the hostilities at Nash-
ville the boys were out in all kinds of weather, and not a tent
was pitched. The regiment captured two redoubts in that
struggle, and marched after night with one thousand prison-
ers to the Tennessee capital.
Robert Bankison Smith was twenty-two when he joined his
fellow troopers at Davenport. He was twenty-six when he re-
turned with the rank of third corporal and an honorable dis-
charge in his pocket. It is fitting that his military record be
here included as a part of this statement : Enlisted September
21, 1861; mustered in October 11, 1861; re-enlisted and re-
BIOGRAPHICAL 57
mustered March 28, 1864; promoted seventh corporal Novem-
ber 1, 186-1; promoted fifth corporal February 12, 1865; pro-
moted third corporal August 1, 1865; mustered out September
19, 1865, at Selma, Alabama. In bis whole military career
Corporal Smith was always found at his post at the sound of
the bugle as well as at taps. He never lost a day in his four
years' service. He is now, at seventy-two, the senior vice com-
mander of Kirkwood Post, G. A. R., Iowa City, honored by his
fellow citizens and beloved by his comrades.
The paternal ancestors of our subject were Scotch; the
maternal, English. His parents were Daniel Smith and Ann
Musgrave. The former was born in Columbia county, Pennsyl-
vania, in 1763, and was a Quaker. In 1 853, with a company of
Friends, he and his family, consisting of wife and nine chil-
dren, started overland for the west with a herd of standard-
bred horses. They had two covered wagons and the family
carriage. The trip lasted over six weeks, the company camping-
out at night. With the rest of the Society of Friends, they
settled in Springdale township, Cedar county, Iowa. Daniel
Smith lived to the advanced age of ninety-three, retaining his
faculties to the last. He left the Friends Society when they
began to have church troubles.
Our subject received a good common school education in
Pennnsylvania, which he supplemented after arrival in Iowa
by attendance at the Friends' Seminary. At the age of twenty-
one he rented his father's and brother's farms and began op-
erations for himself. Just then, however, the Civil War broke
out and the father was compelled to look after the growing
crops so his son could respond to his country's call. On his
return from the front in 1865, he again took up the business
of agriculture, renting for one year. In 1866 he bought his
present fine farm, then raw prairie, at $10.00 per acre. The
place is now known as "Maple Hill Farm," and contains 320
acres of as fine land as can be found in the state, under a high
state of cultivation, with the finest improvements, consisting
of splendid residence and barns, well-water piped to all parts
of the farm, woven wire fence enclosing the entire tract, a
grove of maple trees four rods wide by forty rods long, planted
in 1868, and other improvements. A conservative estimate
places the value of the place at $200.00 per acre. In addition
58 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
to this magnificent estate, Mr. Smith is the owner of rice land
in the south, timber land in Oregon, and a splendid city resi-
dence at 634 Summit avenue, Iowa City. The latter is modern
throughout, contains electric lights, polished floors, outside
screened sleeping rooms, and the latest patterns in furniture.
Surely the determination which carried him through four years
of war and one hundred engagements has served him well in
the battle for home and material substance.
On February 25, 1868, he was married to Miss Ann B. Smith
in Cedar county, Iowa. She was a daughter of John S. and
Rachel (Beason) Smith, the latter a daughter of Richard Bea-
son. John Smith was born in Pennsylvania and emigrated to
Cedar county, Iowa, in the fall of 1863. There were six chil-
dren in his family, including Ann, the wife of our subject.
Mrs. Smith is a woman of culture and refinement, and has been
a faithful helpmate throughout life's journey. Seven children
were born to Robert Bankison and Ann B. Smith. The names
of the living are : Ralph J., an attorney at Montezuma, Iowa,
alumnus of S. IT. L, married to Miss Addie Cray, of West
Liberty, an artist of recognized ability, who has secured sev-
eral premiums for crayon work and china painting — they
have one daughter, Mary Frances; Horton, civil engineer,
alumnus S. U. I., married Miss Alice Hepburn, of Des Moines,
Iowa, May 27, 1911 ; Dr. Oakley, alumnus S. U. I., and gradu-
ate of Naprapathy, head of American School of Naprapathy,
Chicago, with offices at 126 State street.
Both Mr. Smith and his wife are direct descendants of
Quaker ancestry, and both are Quakers in religion. Our sub-
ject takes pride in the fact that neither he nor his sons have
ever used liquor or tobacco. An old Quaker, on Corporal
Smith's return from the war, asked him whether he drank or
used tobacco during service, and expressed great surprise on
receiving a negative answer.
One brother, Isaac, was also a soldier in the Civil War, but
died in the army from sickness contracted during service. Our
subject had to secure a permit to visit his brother in a hospital,
forty miles distant. Thanks to a good horse he made the trip
in time to see his brother before death. He attended to his
burial, and afterwards secured the re-interment of his remains
with the l-est of his comrades in the National Cemetery at
BIOGRAPHICAL 59
Corinth, Mississippi. The mother of our subject died in 1862,
the same year as her son Isaac, above mentioned.
LEMUEL HUNTER
The crowning glory of Iowa is its vast acreage of cultivated,
productive farms — at once the foundation of the state's
wealth and the distinctive charm of its matchless landscapes.
The stranger entering the portals of the commonwealth is im-
mediately impressed, and his mind unconsciously reviews the
procession of persistent, orderly industry which has brought
into being this agricultural fabric so delightfully interwoven
with the warp and woof of production and idealism. In this
procession the plain, purposeful farmer takes the lead and
carries the flag of progress. His is the heart that has throbbed
continually with the love of Mother Earth and his is the spirit
that has passionately wooed and won his goddess amid the
passing seasons of blossom and harvest. Write high on the
pages of the state's annals the names of its agriculturists who
have so nobly wrought.
Lemuel Hunter's name should occupy an honorable place in
these annals. From the time when he first entered the state in
1850 (then a lad of five years) until the date of his retirement
in 1905 he lived and labored on the homestead originally lo-
cated by his father and mother in the northwestern part of
Scott township. There he secured a practical education at the
rural school ; there he learned those priceless lessons of thrift
and industry essential to the highest success ; there he wedded
the companion of his life and labors and rejoiced with her amid
the happy shouts of their children. There also he witnessed
the departure of Father and Mother Hunter, full of years
and good works, and gave them the benediction of a strong
man's tears.
But all these years Lemuel Hunter and his wife were mind-
ful of the obligations of life, and while they gave to their chil-
dren the precious ministry of parenthood and to their relatives
the homage of their love and respect, they remembered their
duties to their neighborhood and to their state. Therefore
thev were found active in the work of their church (the Pres-
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
byterian) and faithful iu the discharge of the social obliga-
tions of their community. Being a stanch democrat, Mr.
Hunter religiously exercised his franchise in the interest of
good govermnent as he understood it.
The Lemuel Hunter family is marked by strong ancestral
characteristics in both its principal branches. Adam Hunter,
father of Lemuel, was an Irishman, born in 1796 in County
Antrim, Balatratic Balamony, Ireland. At the age of eighteen
he removed to America, and ten years later was married to
Elizabeth Morrison at Little York, Pennsylvania. Following
his marriage he located in Baltimore, Md., and was engaged
^ .,
RESIDENCE OF LEMUEL HUNTER
for about three years in merchandising. In 1827 he removed
to Trumbull county, Ohio, and soon after to Mahoning county,
Ohio, where the subject of this sketch was born July 19, 1845.
In 1850 the elder Hunter settled with his young family on the
homestead in Scott township, Johnson county, Iowa, where he
lived until December 18, 1876, when he was gathered to his
fathers. His wife survived until February 6, 1890. Seven sons
and four daughters crowned this faithful couple — all of whom
grew to maturity: J. C, who died in May, 1908, formerly
lived in Graham township; Andrew J.; William, a member of
the 1st Iowa Cavalry, enlisting under Captain Carr, he was
BIOGRAPHICAL (11
wounded at Chalk Bluff aud died in the hospital at Cape Gi-
rard ; James, living in Boone, Iowa ; Joseph, who died in Ida-
ho in the winter of 1911 ; George ; Lemuel ; Nancy, married to
Julius Hill; Rachel; Margaret, married to Wm. Ten Eick;
Mary, married to W. W. Smith. One son, Andrew, gave his
life on the wild western plains in defense of his pack train and
was buried on a bleak mountain side in Idaho.
In his marriage, June 6, 1872, to Elizabeth A. McCrory,
Lemuel Hunter was doubly blessed — he gained a loving,
faithful helpmate and companion and united with his own
blood the strong characteristics of a remarkably virile family.
Hon. Samuel H. McCrory, father of Mrs. Hunter, was a Vir-
ginian (born August 6, 1807) and combined the native graces
of his famous state with the advantages of a splendid educa-
tion. Prior to his settlement in the territory of Iowa in the
spring of 1837, Mr. McCrory achieved prominence at Peoria,
Illinois, by establishing the first newspaper of that city, the
Register. On arrival in Johnson county he located on govern-
ment land in Section 13, East Lucas township. Here he erect-
ed a log cabin, which in time was displaced by substantial
buildings. This homestead, which he named Virginia Grove
in honor of his native state, he transformed into a veritable
garden, famous far and near for its beauty and productive-
ness. In the activities and management of this ideal home,
Mr. McCrory had an able companion in Elizabeth P. McCloud,
to whom he was married at Iowa City, in 1 841. ( Miss McCloud
was born near Worthington, Ohio, and reared there, removing
to Iowa City when a young lady.) Mr. McCrory occupied
some positions of great trust. He was the first postmaster of
Iowa City, and sometimes referred laughingly to the time when
he carried the mail from Muscatine to Iowa City in his hat.
He was a member of the convention which framed the first
constitution of Iowa, and in 1855 was a member of the state
legislature. He was register of the Claim Association, and
drafted the first code of laws. He was appointed by Judge
Erwin as clerk of "Wisconsin territory, but never served. One
of the exploits of his early manhood to which he proudly re-
ferred was that of assisting to lay out the road from Musca-
tine to Iowa City. He was a stanch Presbyterian, and a good
supporter of the church. In politics he was formerly a whig
62 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
and later a democrat. Mr. McCrory was the father of thirteen
children, eleven of whom survived to mature years. Their
names are : Elizaheth, wife of Lemuel Hunter; John, of Law-
rence, Kansas; Virginia, wife of L. H. Jackson, Denver; Es-
ther, wife of George Hunter (brother of Lemuel); Georgia,
wife of C. H. Lee, Boise, Idaho ; Charles E., of Ireton, Iowa ;
Carrie P., residing at the old home, Virginia Grove ; Lucy S.,
now Mrs. Thos. Hitchcock, of Tacoma, Wash.; Hortense G.,
now Mrs. J. H. Grover, of St. Paul, Minn. ; Geo. W., of Atlan-
tic, Iowa; Glenn W., living also at the old homestead. Mr.
McCrory died March 11, 1878. His wife survived him twenty-
three years.
The six children of Lemuel and Elizaheth (McCrory) Hun-
ter are living, with the, exception of Lemuel A., an alumnus of
the University of Iowa, who died at the age of twenty-two.
The surviving sons are Charles R., William H., Samuel A., and
Bion P., the three youngest of whom are married and reside in
Johnson county. Elizabeth A., the only daughter, resides at
home.
On a beautiful site on North Linn street, in Iowa's Uni-
versity City, stands the residence of this honored retired farm-
er. The past, redolent with the records of home, love, and
duty, is an open book sacred and cherished ; the future bears
no cloud before the vision of this honored man and wife as,
amid the charms of the home of their golden years, they look
forward to catch a glimpse of the faces long gone, framed in
the purple memories of the yesterdays.
FREDERICK HILLMAN POWELL EDWARDS
Dr. F. H. P. Edwards came to America from his native city
of Liverpool, England, when twenty-two years of age. His
father was Alex. Cahoun Edwards, of Liverpool. The date of
his birth was October 28, 1865, and he left Liverpool in De-
cember, 1887, arriving in Iowa City in 1888. So far as he
knows he is the only representative of his family in the United
States. Dr. Edwards was educated at Farndon Hall Academy,
Chester. On arrival in America, he supplemented his classical
attainments by a course in the Ontario Veterinary College, of
BIOGRAPHICAL
(;::
Toronto, Ontario, graduating in the class of 1889. Since that
time lie lias been actively engaged as a veterinary physician
and surgeon in Iowa City. He is recognized as one of the
leading veterinarians in the state, and his judgment of horses
and diagnoses of disease are considered invaluable. His ser-
vices are frequently in demand for consultation.
Dr. Edwards owns one of the best equipped barns and hos-
pitals for veterinary purposes in the state. His plant is lo-
cated on the rear of the lot, corner East Burlington and South
Dubuque streets, on which his family residence stands. The
equipment is complete in every respect for the proper care and
RESIDENCE OF F. H. I>. BDWABDS
treatment of sick or injured animals. The doctor is a member
of the Veterinary Medical Association of Iowa, and served as
its president one term. He is assistant state veterinarian also.
Dr. Edwards's wife was formerly Miss Katie Emma Jones.
daughter of George E. Jones, of Iowa City. The latter was
born July 5, 1813, at Herefordshire, England, and was one of
fifteen children of James and Sarah Jones. Mr. Jones was
educated at Herefordshire and taught in the public schools of
his native place. In January, 1869, he started for the United
States with his young wife, Ann Jones, a native of Shropshire,
64 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
to whom he was married October 24, 1868. The young couple
came direct to Iowa City, where Mr. Jones immediately secured
employment with the Rock Island railroad as a car repairer.
He continued in this business for twenty years. Thereafter,
in 1889, he took up gardening, a favorite occupation. He
bought one acre and made a specialty of raising vegetables,
especially cauliflower and tomato. In a single season he has
transplanted as many as 20,000 plants. On this one acre he has
cherry, plum, and apple trees and 300 grape vines representing
eight varieties. It is a common thing for Mr. Jones to aver-
age $1,500 a year profit from his acre of garden. He has been
engaged continuously on the same place for twenty-two years,
and is proud of the fact that he has been a resident of the fifth
ward of Iowa City for forty- two years, in which also he is a
voter, having taken out his naturalization papers two years
after his arrival in Iowa City. Dr. Edwards's wife is the
only daughter of Ann Jones, the first wife of George E.
Jones. Her mother died October 22, 1900, from diphtheria,
contracted while on a visit in Chicago. Mr. Jones married
again, choosing as his second wife Miss Minnie E. Saunders,
daughter of Theodore and Mary E. Saunders, of Chicago. One
son is the first fruit of this marriage, George Jones, Jr., born
December 11, 1908.
The children of Dr. Edwards and Kate Emma Jones are
two in number : Adalaide, and May. The family reside very
happily in the doctor's beautiful home, southeast corner of
South Dubuque and East Burlington. They are attendants at
the Protestant Episcopal church.
Dr. Edwards is past exalted ruler of the B. P. O. E., 1905-
06, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
He is also a member of the Masonic order. Blessed with a
beautiful family, honored by the respect and confidence of his
fellow citizens, and in possession of a splendid practice in his
profession, he is entitled to rank as one of the successful men
of Iowa City.
MAJOR GEORGE W. BALL, JR.
George W. Ball, Jr., was born in Iowa City, Iowa, February
16, 1881. He has always been a resident of this place. He
BIOGRAPHICAL 65
attended the public schools, graduated from the high school
in the class of 1897, and entered the Liberal Arts Department
of the State University of Iowa, graduating in 1901. He con-
tinued his study in the Department of Law, graduating with
the class of 1903. In 1905 he associated with his father in the
firm of Baker, Ball and Ball. Since the death of Mr. Baker,
in 1910, the firm has been constituted as Ball and Ball, father
and son.
Mr. Ball's father, George W. Ball, Sr., was born near Fair-
field, Jefferson county, Iowa, June 7, 1847. His mother, Es-
tella E. (Walter) Ball, was born in Henry county, Iowa. Both
parents reside in Iowa City, Iowa. He has two brothers and
lM>II>i:XC'K UK OKOHOK
one sister, he being the eldest of the family. One brother,
Henry Moffett, was born in Iowa City, February 23, 1883. He
attended the high school in Iowa City, and the Academy for
two years, and for two years studied civil engineering in the
State University.
He is at present conducting a ranch in Montana. The other
brother, Walter McDowell, is a twin of the former. He gradu-
ated from the Academy, spent two years in the Liberal Arts
Department of the State University, and completed the course
in law in the Law School of the same institution. He is now
located at Fort Benton, Montana, where he practices his pro-
66 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
f ession and in addition conducts a title and abstract office. His
sister, Edith B. Maebride, was born November 29, 1887. She
graduated from tbe high school and from the State University,
and was instructor in public speaking in tbe State University.
She is residing in Seattle, Washington. Her husband is the
son of Professor T. H. Maebride, of Iowa City.
George W. Ball, Jr., was married June 29, 1905, to Maude
H. Young, wbo was born in Johnson county, Iowa, December
6, 1881. She attended the State University of Iowa and was
also a student in Oberlin college. Her father, Dr. Miller
Young, is now residing at Young's Crossing, Iowa. He is a
graduate of three medical colleges. Her mother, Iowa M. Ray,
was born in Johnson county, Iowa, and was one of the pioneer
residents of the county. She died October 27, 1909. Her
brothers and sisters are : William W., born on the old home-
stead, in Johnson county; Henry M., born at the same place,
both residing in Madison township, on parts of the home
place; Blanche Myers, born on the same place, residing at
Blessing, Texas ; Iowa Madge Macy, born on the old homestead,
residing at Adel, Iowa, married Clarence S. Macy. All at-
tended the State University of Iowa.
To Mr. and Mrs. Ball have been born one daughter, Virginia
H. Ester, January 27, 1907, and one son, George W. Ill, born
January 4, 1910.
In politics Mr. Ball is a democrat.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Ball are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church at Iowa City. He owns a home in Iowa City
at 325 Summit street.
Mr. Ball is major in the 54th Inf. I. N. G. His past record,
a captain of the State University of Iowa Cadets in 1900, sec-
ond lieutenant of Company I of the 50th, in 1900-1903, first
lieutenant of Company I of 54th, in 1903-1904, captain from
May 9, 1904, until March 18, 1909, major, March 18, 1909, until
the present date. He was a private in Company I, 50th I. N.
G., previous to this time.
He is a member of Iowa City lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M., of
Corinth No. 24, K. P., of Iowa City, and of the M. W. A., Camp
No. 189, of Iowa City, and also of the Phi Delta Theta Fra-
ternity, of Iowa City, and of the B. P. O. E. No. 590, of Iowa
BIOGRAPHICAL 67
Citv. He is also a member of the F. 0. E., No. 695, of Towa
City.
Mr. Ball is a young man of sterling - qualities. He has been
successful, first as a student, second as a practitioner, and last
as a citizen, one who is ever ready to aid in any beneficent pub-
lic enterprise.
PAUL A. KORAB
The subject of this sketch, Paul A. Korab, is a native of
Linn county. Iowa, where he was born July 30, 1857. His
parents, Paul and Katherine (Makovsky) Korab, were both
natives of Bohemia and left their native land for the new
world in 1854. Their first stopping place was in Cbicago,
then a small frontier town. After a short stay there, they
journeyed on to Racine, Wisconsin, where the father was
taken sick and they were delayed until his recovery when
they bought an ox team and drove through to Cedar Rapids,
Iowa. The journey was slow and tedious and in great con-
trast to present means of travel. They settled first in the
northern part of Linn county half a mile east of Western
college where they remained until 1866 when they removed
into Jefferson township, in Johnson county. The father died
February 2, 1877, aged 58 years. The mother remained on the
farm until 1905. She is now living at Western, Iowa, at the
age of eighty-one years.
Paul A. Korab grew to manhood on the old homestead
farm, attended the common schools and was a student at the
United Brethren college at Western, Iowa, where he fitted
himself for teaching school and for some time he was engaged
in teaching schools in the northern part of the county. He was
elected township clerk and trustee for Jefferson township and
served in these offices for several years. In 1883 he came to
Iowa City and was appointed deputy clerk of the district and
circuit courts of Johnson county, remaining in that position
for seven years. In November, 1892, he was elected clerk of
the courts, which office he held for four years. Previous to
this, or in 1891, he had entered the law department of the
State University of Iowa, from which he graduated and was
admitted to the bar of Iowa in 1893. In 1893, while pursuing
68 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
his studies in the law department, he assumed the duties of his
office as clerk of courts, holding the office through his term in
college. To do this required long hours, working much of the
time over twenty hours per day. This, of course, was a severe
strain and sometimes it seemed to him that he would be com-
pelled to give up his studies, but with a determination that
knew no turning he fought his way through. He served
two terms as clerk of courts, and remained one year in the
office assisting his successor after his last term had expired.
In September, 1897, he started into the practice of law, and in
RESIDENCE OF PAUL A. TvOEAB
1898 became cashier of the Iowa City State bank which posi-
tion he has held ever since.
He served three years as member of the Board of Education
in Iowa City, holding the important post as chairman of build-
ing and grounds committee, during which time the present high
school building was erected. He also served for two terms as
member and secretary of the first Board of Park Commission-
ers of Iowa City, during which time funds were raised and the
present city park was selected and purchased. He is now the
treasurer of The State Historical Society of Iowa and also
BIOGRAPHICAL 69
treasurer of the Alumni Bureau of Information of the State
University.
Mr. Korab was married April 26, 1886, to Mary A. Dobrov-
sky, whose parents eaine to America from Bohemia at an early
day. Mr. and Mrs. Korab are the parents of one son, Edward
P. Korab, born June 24, 1888, now a student in the liberal arts
department of the State University.
In his social connections Mr. Korab is a member of the C. S.
P. S. Society, a Bohemian fraternal order. He votes the demo-
cratic ticket. His residence at 729 North Linn street is a cozy,
comfortable home.
Mr. Korab is an example of what can be accomplished by
persistent energy and determination, and demonstrates the fact
that any young man of fixed purposes, honesty, and self-reli-
ance can make his way in the world and attain success and
respectability.
ALBERT M. GREER
Among the old and respected families of Iowa City is that
of Albert M. Greer, son of Patrick and Emily E. (Guffin)
Greer, the latter being pioneers of Johnson county. Patrick
Greer emigrated to the United States when a boy of twelve,
making the voyage in an old sailing vessel, and landing at
New York City, where he learned the tailor's trade. He
worked as a journeyman about seven years, and then em-
barked in business for himself in New York City. Later he
was associated with parties in Albany, New York. During
his residence in the latter city he took a course in the public
schools. He there met Miss Emily E. Guffin, who became his
wife, the ceremony being performed in Albany. In 1855 Mr.
Greer and his young wife came west to Iowa City, and as that
was prior to the railroad, the journey was made in part by the
primitive methods of transportation. Mr. Greer opened his
first store two doors north of the present location of Albert
M. Greer's jewelry store. He erected a building on the site
and began business as a merchant tailor. He continued in this
business until his death in 1894. He occupied an honorable
place in the estimation of his friends, being accounted one of
70 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the foremost pioneer business men of Iowa City. In a recent
discourse the pastor of the First Presbyterian church, of
which the deceased was a deacon, referred to the fact of Mr.
Greer 's advocacy of temperance and paid a glowing tribute to
his memory. Mr. Greer was a Scotchman by birth, and pos-
sessed the sterling Scotch characteristics which made for
honesty and morality in his life. His wife was of Irish an-
cestry, a woman of rare sweetness and nobility of character.
She survived her husband two years, dying in 188fi. Mr. and
Mrs. Greer raised a family of nine children, of whom five sur-
vive: Franklin C, born in New York state in 1854; Ed. B.,
EBrSBESi ■ffSEBril «r i^— <g
SALESROOM,
farmer of Scott township, born in Iowa City ; Albert M., our
subject, born in Iowa City; Ida M., born in Iowa City, widow
of Dr. Charles Fuller, a graduate of S. U. I., resides at Water-
town, New York; Irving E., born in Iowa City, resides at
Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The date of Albert M. Greer's birth was December 13, 18G1.
His entire life has been spent in his native city, where he is
today one of its most honored citizens. He received his edu-
cation in the public schools, being a graduate of the Iowa City
high school. He has been in business since 1887, being a dealer
in jewelry, pianos, and musical instruments of all kinds. His
BIOGRAPHICAL 71
first store was on the present site of the Johnson Comity Sav-
ings hank, being one-half block north of his present location
in the "Webb building, 128 South Clinton, which he has occu-
pied since 1900. Mr. Greer handles pianos by the car load.
He has sold over 500 Kimball pianos in Iowa City and vicinity,
and 500 of other makes. The State University lias just bought
two grand pianos of the Kimball make.
Mr. Greer chose for his wife Miss May Jewett, daughter of
Joseph Jewett, and a neice of former Governor Samuel J.
Kirkwood. Their children are: Mildred Emily and Gertrude.
Mrs. Greer and children are members of the Christian church.
The familv residence is at 15 East Market street.
MAX MAYER
One of the successful merchants of Iowa City, whose name
and methods have stood for probity and square dealing, is
Max Mayer, a native son of Iowa and identified all his life
with the advancement of its general interests. Our subject
was born January 13, 1858, at Washington, Iowa, and there
\ -/.-'-^■■j-
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he received his primary education in the public schools, add-
ing thereto a classical course in New York city. His parents
were Leon Mayer and Teresa Lippman, both natives of Ger-
many, who came to America when quite young. They were
72 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
educated in the east, and were united in marriage in the city
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Mayer came to
Washington, Iowa, in 1855, where the husband engaged in the
clothing business.
Max Mayer's first mercantile undertaking was in his native
town of Washington, where he followed in the footsteps of
his father and embarked in the clothing business. This was
in 1882, and he continued in the same line at the same location
until 1886, when he removed from Washington to Iowa City.
Mr. Mayer is a believer in the business maxim, "master of
one, master indeed," and therefore he continued his chosen
occupation of clothing merchant in his new home, remaining
therein to the present time, and always with success and pop-
ularity.
On February 18, 1885, he was united in marriage to Miss
Laura Bloom, daughter of Senator Bloom, of Iowa City. Two
children were born of this union, Florence and Lawrence.
Mrs. Mayer died November 10, 1889, and was buried in Cin-
cinnati, Ohio. Six years later, in March, 1895, Mr. Mayer
married Miss Julia Bloom, sister of his first wife, and they
have been blessed with one son, Edward.
The family are members of the Hebrew church, and Mr.
Mayer is affiliated with the Masonic order and the B. P. 0. E.
The family residence is at 714 East College street.
JOHN HERBERT WHETSTONE
It has been the endeavor of the publishers of these volumes
to place in enduring form a history of the lives of those who
have aided in the growth and development of this part of
Iowa, and who from their activity and long residence here
have become component factors of the community in which
they live. Years roll by so rapidly that time is already thin-
ning the ranks of those who were participants in the events
of the earlier days, and it is only by getting a true story of
their lives that we can hope to have an authentic record. We
sometimes wonder if the persons who have lived here during
the past forty years do not pinch themselves as they look
back over that period and realize the transformation, to ascer-
BIOGRAPHICAL
73
tain if it is not all a dream. And yet it is not so different :
men had the same hopes and anticipations then as now; they
had successes and reverses, joys and sorrows, the same pas-
sions and impulses. Their surroundings were as natural to
them as ours are to the present generation, and they have
adjusted themselves to constantly changing conditions that
have come so gradually as to be scarcely noticeable.
The subject of this sketch, John Herbert Whetstone, is a
native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, where he was born
September 18, 1844. His parents were John and Katherine
(Horn) "Whetstone, both natives of Pennsylvania, The
father's family consisted of ten children. Of the family oulv
KKSlIiKXCE OF JOHN HKKKKKT WHK.TSTONK
two are now living, J. H. and brother, Albert H. Whetstone.
The parents passed their entire lives in their native state and
died in Bedford county, the mother at the age of fifty-five and
the father at the age of eighty-five. Grandfather Whetstone
moved to Michigan, then a territory, and was one of the pio-
neers in that country. He died there.
Our subject grew to manhood at the old home in Bedford
county, Pennsylvania, where he received all the advantages
of the common schools and also of a normal school at Bed-
ford. He later attended Mt. Pleasant college in Westmore-
land county, Pennsylvania. Many worthy traits of character
74 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
were conspicious in the early life of Mr. Whetstone which
have so creditably marked his later years — those of eager
ambition, strict honesty, and untiring perseverance — anxious
to progress financially, and at the same time make a record
and position for himself in the world. After leaving college
he taught school through the day and at night studied medi-
cine and pharmacy. He continued in this practice until he had
saved a small amount of money and had become master of his
profession.
In 1868 be came to Iowa and settled in Cedar Rapids where
he taught school for about one year. In spring of 1869 he en-
gaged as clerk in William A. Morrison's drug store in Iowa
City and remained in that position for five years. During his
employment with Mr. Morrison he saved enough money to
start into business for himself, and in 1874 he established a
drug trade which lias continued ever since. His first place of
business became known in town and country as "The Little
Drug Store around the Corner."
In January 1880 he moved to the present location and the
firm is known as the Whetstone Pharmacy, the members being
J. H. and Robert Reed, his son.
He was appointed post master under President Harrison's
administration and held that office for four years.
Mr. Whetstone was married September 8, 1880, at Iowa
City, to Miss Mahaska Byington who was born in Johnson
county, and in the same house where they now live. In
another part of this volume is an engraving of the old Bying-
ton home, one of the few landmarks of the earlier times now
remaining. It seems almost incredible when we contemplate
the many footsteps that have passed over the threshold of
this home which has withstood the changing years. The play-
ful patter of childhood has gradually changed to the dignified
tread of men and women who have passed out into the world
to meet life's conflicts, and in turn children and children's
children have been inmates under the old roof tree.
Mrs. Whetstone's father was a very prominent character in
the earlier history of Johnson county — lawyer, politician and
newspaper man. (See sketch of Robert W. Byington.)
Mr. and Mrs. Whetstone are the parents of two children:
BIOGRAPHICAL 75
Robert. Reed, who attended the schools of Iowa City and grad-
uated from the College of Pharmacy in 1904. Edith, who
died when seventeen years of age.
In politics Mr. "Whetstone is a republican, takes an active
interest in public affairs and is broad, liberal and progressive.
He is active in Masonry, a member of Palestine Commandery
No. 2 and Blue Lodge No. 4.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Whetstone are members of the Presby-
terian church and take great interest in church matters.
OTTO HENRY FINK
On the roster of the honorable, progressive business men of
Iowa City stands the name of Otto Henry Fink, a native of
the university city, whose entire life has been lived within
the borders of his native state, and for the most part within
the county of his birth. Mr. Fink comes of sturdy German
stock, both his father and mother being natives of the Father-
land, the former being born in Hamburg and the latter in
Bavaria. J. G. Fink, our subject's father, came to America
in an early day and shortly thereafter settled in Johnson
county. He was first employed as a traveling salesman, but
later, in 1864, engaged with G. W. Marquardt in the jewelry
business. The partnership continued until 1865, when Mr.
Fink retired and took up the tobacco and cigar trade. He
died in 1873. Mother Fink's maiden name was Anna Weigle.
She came from Bavaria to Maryland with her parents when
three years of age and to Johnson county when a young wo-
man. Her marriage to Mr. Fink took place in this county.
She is still living and enjoys the companionship of her chil-
dren, with whom she resides.
Otto Henry Fink attended the public schools of Iowa City,
and later was a student for one year at the German college
in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Following this he attended the Wes-
leyan university at Mt. Pleasant for one year. His first
choice of occupations was fanning, a business in which he
engaged in Johnson county for four years following his school
work. At the end of that time he removed to Cedar county,
where he spent three years in mercantile business, one year
in operating a creamery, and three years running a meat
76
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
market. Thereafter he again took up farming, continuing for
twelve years. He then returned to Iowa City, and six years
ago bought the cigar store at the St. James Hotel, in the oper-
ation of which he is at present engaged.
Mr. Fink was married in 1888 to Miss Margaret M. Albaugh
of Cedar county, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Parsons) Al-
baugh and granddaughter of Baldwin Parsons, early settlers
of Cedar county. Mrs. Fink's father was a pioneer of the
county and a farmer by occupation. He and his wife died
when Mrs. Fink was a child. The family came from Ohio to
Iowa. Mrs. Fink has two sisters living: Mrs. Wash Sailer
wukiifl?
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i;i->ii>i-:nck of urm iif.miv fin k
and Mrs. Bertram Hunter, of Chicago. Daniel Albaugh, of
Cedar county, is her step-uncle.
Mr. and Mrs. Fink have two sons : John George, married,
and living in Iowa City, where he is associated with his
father in business; Guy Samuel, attending Iowa City high
school.
In politics Mr. P'ink has always been a democrat. He was
township trustee for nine years in Cedar county. He is a
member of Eureka lodge No. 44, I. 0. 0. F., Good Samaritan
Encampment No. 5, Iowa City lodge No. 590, B. P. 0. E.,
Camp No. 89, M. W. A., the K. of P. No. 24 of Iowa City,
and Wapeshiek Tribe No. 122, Red Men.
BIOGRAPHICAL 77
JOHN W. METZIXGER
A plain tale of success amid the ordinary routine of life is
the career of John W. Metzinger, a native of Iowa City, whose
entire life and business relations have been confined to the
city of his birth. Mr. Metzinger was born on Christmas day,
1854, and was therefore an infant when the final scenes in the
removal of the state capital from Iowa City to Des Moines
were enacted. But he has seen his native town develop into
one of the most beautiful of the great university centers of the
west, and has himself become an honored factor in its growth
through a life of faithful devotion to the homely daily tasks
of citizenship.
)HX W. METZINGER
Mr. Metzinger 's father was a native of Alsace, Germany,
formerly a part of France, and his mother was born in Penn-
sylvania. The couple met and were married in Iowa City,
where Mr. Metzinger settled shortly after his arrival in
America in 1836. He was a carpenter by trade, and for many
years worked at that business in Iowa City. Later he removed
to Sydney, Nebraska, where he died at the age of sixty-four
years. His wife survived him, and died at Iowa City at the
age age of sixty-seven.
Our subject began his apprenticeship at the carpenter's
trade on July 5, 1871, and has followed that vocation to the
78 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
present time. He enlarged his sphere of operations in 1883
by taking contracting, a work in which he has been contin-
uously successful.
In 1875 Mr. Metzinger was married to Miss Maggie Riek-
stine, who was born in Bohemia in February, 1853, and who
came with her parents to America at the age of eleven years.
Three children have blessed their union, two of whom are liv-
ing, one having died when four years of age. The oldest,
John Joseph, now thirty-four years of age, is located at Fre-
mont, Nebraska, where he is a practicing physician, making a
specialty of diseases of the eye and ear. Lillian is married
to C. M. Sulser, and resides at Iowa City.
Mr. Metzinger is the owner of considerable property, among
which is his home residence, his place of business, and other
town property.
ALBERT J. BORTS
Nearly twenty years continuous service in the United States
mail service in Iowa City is the record of Albert J. Borts, the
subject of this sketch. In the faithful discharge of his duty
as a public servant Mr. Borts has expended the prime of his
manhood, his work having begun at the age of twenty-eight.
For twelve years prior to this time he was engaged in the
brick laying business with his father. Born in Iowa City,
February 26, 1863, practically his whole life has been spent
in Johnson county.
Mr. Borts 's father, David Borts, born in Pennsylvania in
1833, came to Johnson county in 1855. He was a brick and
stone contractor, and followed that business until his retire-
ment in 1905. Some of the principal buildings of the city
contain the evidence of his skill as a craftsman, among the
number being the high school and grammar school buildings,
I. 0. 0. F. hall, St. Patrick's church, Old Science Hall, Chemi-
cal building, and many others. David Borts married Miss
Mary Kemble, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1836. Six
children were born to them : Ella M., now Mrs. J. C. Stouffer,
of Iowa City; Albert J. ; Nettie J., of West Liberty; Emma L.,
married to Ezekiel Clark, Jr., died in 1891 ; Charles W., mar-
BIOGRAPHICAL 70
ried and living in Iowa City; Lillian L., now Mrs. S. W.
Honnel, living at "West Liberty. Mother Borts earne to John-
son county with her parents when three years of age, and re-
sided here continuously until her death in March, 1898.
Albert J. Borts was married in 1891 to Miss Alice E. Smith,
of Cincinnati, Ohio, whose parents were also natives of Ohio.
«MjK<ftt i-
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RESIDENCE OF ALBERT J. BORTS
Six children have blessed their union: Bessie M., Wallace A.,
Howard D., Irving H., Edna E., and Ethel A. All are attend-
ing school in Iowa City. Mrs. Borts passed away March 23,
1906.
The family are members of the English Luthern church.
Mr. Borts is a member of A. F. & A. M., No. 4, of Iowa City.
WILLIAM ROBERT GRAF
Johnson county is one of the most progressive and produc-
tive portions of the great commonwealth of Iowa. Iowa City,
her county seat town, teams with industry, and her broad
valuable acres are aglow with bountiful productiveness. In
fact, her people enjoy rare achievement, morally, education-
ally, and financially. This existing condition has been
brought about by her representative citizens, and cannot live
on without the influence and assistance of this same class.
80 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Numbered in this class is the sound minded, honest-spirited
young business man, William R. Graf. He stands ever ready
to protect the best interests of business man, fanner, and
laborer alike.
William Robert Graf was born in Johnson county, at Iowa
City, January 28, 1882. His parents were Conrad J. and
Anna (Hotz) Graf. His father was born in Germany, October
9, 1849. He" came to America when eighteen years old, land-
ing in New York city. He came to Iowa City in 1874; and,
being a brewer by trade, engaged in that business. Later he
became proprietor of the Union brewery, located on the corner
of Linn and Market streets. This business was started by his
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM ROBERT GRAF
father-in-law, Simon Hotz, in 1868. He married Miss Anna
Hotz, June 18, 1875. Mr. Graf had one sister, Katherine, who
married Mr. Snyder, and resides in Kansas; also four
brothers, Nicholas, Philip, Christian, and Joseph. Mr. Graf
died November 17, 1894.
Mrs. Graf was the daughter of Simon Hotz. She was born
in Iowa City, January 27, 1859. Her parents were both na-
tives of the province of Bavaria, in Germany. Her father
came to America in the spring of 1850, and settled in Iowa
City in 1857.
Mr. Hotz was married on December 26, 1852, to Miss Bar-
bara Williams. They had seven children, two of whom died
BIOGRAPHICAL 81
in infancy; five daughters grew to womanhood. They are
Barbara, who married Benjamin Hugel, and died at Marshall-
town, January 28, 1886; Caroline, who married Herman
St rub of Iowa City, and died in June, 1903; Anna, mother of
our subject ; Ella, now Mrs. Dr. Emmons, living in Seattle,
Washington ; Julia, now Mrs. Murray, living in Iowa City.
Mr. Hotz died November 26, 1891. His wife died on March
18, 1904.
Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Graf were the parents of four child-
ren: Simon, who died, November 4, 1910; George, who died
January 22, 1879; Otto, married and living in Denver, Colo-
rado; and "William, who is the subject of this sketch.
William Robert Graf attended the schools of Iowa City, and,
after completing his education therein, entered the brewing-
business, April 1, 1903, in company with his two brothers,
Simon and Otto. The firm was known as Graf Brothers, and
is still known as such, although the brother Simon has died
since the partnership was formed.
Our subject married Miss Emma Tesor in June, 1905. Mrs.
(Tesor) Graf was born in Iowa City, of Bohemian parentage,
both parents living at present in Iowa City. They have two
sons: Robert, born July 15, 1906; and Carl, born June 24,
1908.
Mr. Graf is a member of the Eagles, Iowa City lodge, No.
695 ; also a member of the Order of Owls, Nest No. 1002, Iowa
City, Iowa.
Mr. Graf is enterprising and progressive. He takes a live
interest in every commendable Johnson county enterprise, and
stands ever ready to support the same financially and other-
wise. He enjoys the respect of all his neighbors, friends, and
business associates. He is looked upon as one of the stanch,
intelligent business men of the county.
CALVIN WALDO HARNED, M. D., D. D. S.
Dr. Calvin Waldo Harned is unique and stands practically
alone in his specialty of facial surgery in Iowa. His practice
is widely distributed, and within one year he was called pro-
fessionally to eighty-six towns. His combined knowledge of
82 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
dentistry and materia mediea, together with his technique of
surgery, give him recognized leadership in his profession.
At the National Dental Association convention, held in Den-
ver in 1910, in which hody Dr. Harned was a delegate from
the Iowa State Dental Society, he gave three days' clinics in
facial surgery, including operations on palates, hair-lips, etc.
He was again invited in July, 1911, to Cleveland, Ohio, to
conduct similar clinics hefore the National Dental Association.
The value of his instruction was generally recognized by his
fellow dentists.
Calvin Waldo Harned is a son of Luther William and Anna
(Whelpley) Harned. He was born in Macon county, Illinois,
BESIDENCE OF CALVIN WALDO HABNED, M. D., D. D. S.
in 1879. His academic education was received in the public
schools of Sullivan, Moultrie county, Illinois, and he was a
graduate of the high school of that city in the class of 1897.
This he supplemented by courses in the dental and medical
departments of the State University of Iowa, graduating from
the former in the class of 1903 and from the latter in the class
of 1906. He began the practice of dentistry at Solon, Iowa,
and continued for parts of two years, 1903-04. He was an
instructor of dental surgery in the S. U. I. from the latter
part of 1903 to 1908 inclusive. He is a member and secretary
of the Alumni Association of the College of Dentistry, S. U. I. ;
BIOGRAPHICAL
83
a member of the Iowa State Dental Society and of the Na-
tional Dental Association. He is a member also of the John-
son Comity Medical Society, State Medical Society, and the
American Medical Association. Dr. Harned has made val-
uable contributions to the Dental Journal and delivered papers
before the American Medical Association. Fraternally he is
affiliated with the I. 0. 0. F. of Iowa City.
Dr. Harned married Miss Dorothy Heinsius, of Johnson
county, daughter of J. 0. Heinsius. The latter 's father was
one of the oldest physicians of Solon, Iowa. Dr. and Mrs.
Harned are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Iowa City.
MRS. WILLIAM MARSHALL
The maiden name of Mrs. "William Marshall was Martha
"Ward. She was born in Bridgewater, Michigan, July 30, 1838.
Her father was Jacob Ward, born in Saratoga county, New
York, in 1806, and her mother was Eleanor Lockerby, born in
Schuvler county, New York. Mrs. Marshall came westward in
AM MARSHALL
1856 and settled in Iowa City. She entered the normal de-
partment of the State University there, that being the only
department in operation at that time. Following her normal
training, she became a teacher in the public schools of Musca-
tine and Johnson counties, and of Iowa City.
84 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
In 1869 Miss Ward was married to William Marshall, a
native of Scotland, at one time engaged in the grocery busi-
ness in Iowa City. Later he entered the real estate business,
in which he continued for about forty years. Mr. Marshall
died September 3, 1906. Since that time his widow has con-
tinued to reside in the old home, which has been her dwelling
place for upwards of forty-one years. Two daughters of the
couple, born in Iowa City, reside at present in Scotland. The
family are members of the Presbyterian church.
The house in which Mrs. Marshall resides is famous as the
scene of the celebration of the first mass of the Roman Catholic
church in Iowa City. The room in which this service took
place remains just about as it was during the celebration of
the mass.
CHARLES ALBERT WEBBER
Charles Albert Webber, president of the C. A. Webber
Printing Co., of Iowa City, was born April 30, 1872, at Fer-
ris, Illinois. He is a son of William J. and Mary A. (Pilking-
ton) Webber, the first-named a native of Maryland and the
latter of Illinois. William J. Webber came with his parents
to Keokuk, Iowa, in 1852. His father was a tailor by trade.
The family later removed to Missouri, and thence back to
Illinois in 1858, settling on a farm near Nauvoo, the old Mor-
mon town, where they made their permanent residence.
Our subject attended the country schools of Hancock coun-
ty, supplementing his common school education with a course
in the Gem City Business College, of Quincy, Illinois, from
which he graduated in April, 1892. In 1894 he entered Car-
thage college, remaining until 1898, when he became a student
at the University of Illinois. He removed to Iowa City in
1899 and entered as a junior in the State University of Iowa,
graduating therefrom in June, 1900. Following his gradua-
tion, Mr. Webber took the position of assistant to the prin-
cipal of the Iowa City grammar school. He became principal
of the school in 1901 and continued in that position until
June, 1904, when he resigned and entered the business of pub-
lishing, in which he is now engaged.
BIOGRAPHICAL 85
The marriage of Mr. Webber to Miss Neta Cutler, of
Carthage, Illinois, took place in 1899. Miss Cutler's father
was a native of New York and a direct lineal descendant of
Governor Cutler, who made the first settlement in Ohio. Her
father's mother was a descendant of the old Lillybridge fam-
ily of Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. "Webber have two chil-
dren : Russell L., aged nine years, and Charlotte A., aged four.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES ALBERT WEBBER
Mr. Webber is a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, the
Knights of Pythias, and the Red Men.
Hon. John F. Webber, of Ottumwa, state senator from the
Thirteenth district of Iowa, a graduate of the S. U. I. and a
prominent lawyer, is a brother of Charles Albert AVebber.
He is accounted one of the influential lawyers of Ottumwa.
Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Webber reside at Ridgeway, Manville
Heights, where he has but recently erected a commodious
house having all modern conveniences.
WILLIAM ELLERY CHAXNING FOSTER
William Ellery Channing Foster is the only son of Silas
Foster and Anna B. Williams, and was born May 15, 1851,
at Iowa City. His father was a native of New Hampshire
86 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
and his mother of Ohio. Silas Foster settled near Iowa City
in the forties. Miss Williams, afterwards his wife, also
settled in Johnson county, where the couple became acquainted
and were married. In 1854, when our subject was three years
of age, his mother died. The father survived until 1880, pass-
ing away at Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Mr. Foster received his education in the public schools of
Iowa City. His first business venture for himself was in 1871
at Sigourney, Iowa, when he engaged in the livery business.
This enterprise he continued for three years, when he re-
turned to Iowa City, taking up the same line of business here.
He carried on that business for thirty years, and became one
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM ELLEKY CHANNING FOSTER
of the best known men in his line in this part of the state.
Upon his retirement from the livery business, he took up
transfer and dray work, continuing for about two years, when
he engaged in the coal business under the firm name of Foster
& Lindsay for about three years. Thereafter he associated
himself with Lowe Manufacturing Company, manufacturers
of jewelry, as manager. He held this position for three
years. He was associated with Otis L. Davis in the manu-
facture of pearl buttons under the name of Davis Button Co.
On September 12, 1877, Mr. Foster was married to Miss
Laura E. Miller, a native of Johnson county, daughter of
<J . O - H O T Z
BIOGRAPHICAL 87
Abraham Miller, a native of Pennsylvania, and a volunteer in
Company G of the Twenty-second Iowa during the Civil War.
Miss Miller's mother was a native of Ohio. Two girls and
one boy were born to Mr. and Mrs. Foster : Maybelle Marcelli ;
Charles Clarence, married and living at St. Paul ; Florence
Irene.
Mr. Foster is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows
fraternities, a republican in politics, and an attendant at the
Presbvterian church.
JACOB J. HOTZ
The national fabric of America is made strong and glori-
ous by the warp and woof of the international threads that
enter into its weaving. Its textile components have been
drawn from every country and every clime, and into its mar-
velous hues are limned the sunshine and the shadows of the
continents of earth. The master design of the American gar-
ment, to the specifications of which every thread and chain,
every battledore and shuttlecock conforms, is Liberty — polit-
ical, religious, industrial. Under the skies of Freedom the
earth's toiling millions have found their industrial a?gis, and
the inexhaustible fields have beckoned them to action. No stu-
dent of history will fail to note the part taken by the children
of the nations in the~making of America's royal robes of
power, peace, progress, and prosperity. In this correlation
the sons and daughters of Germany are distinctly prominent ;
their native worth, virility, and integrity have made them in-
valuable material for the loom of democracy. In every fold
of the American raiment the enduring strands of Teutonic
character are interwoven, giving textual strength and firmness
to the whole.
The state of Iowa has afforded an inviting field for German
thrift and energy, and here the children of the Fatherland
have prospered beyond measure. Under the very eyes of
those who could not or would not see the opportunities for
progress, the provident, plodding Teuton has risen from pov-
erty to wealth. Broad acres and humming industries are his,
and the marts of trade are full of his footprints. But better
HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
than his material successes are the elements of essential good
citizenship which dominate his character. He is a depend-
able integer in the settlement of delicate questions in states-
manship and commerce, and Iowa is today politically and in-
dustrially comme il faut because of his leavening presence.
Johnson county contains many representatives of this sterling
race, as the pages of this history will bear witness. The re-
cital of their deeds is so uniformly creditable that it is ap-
parently an honor to any citizen to be able to "claim relation-
ship" with them.
Jacob J. Hotz, the subject of this sketch, got a good start
for success by being born of German parents under the skies
of America, thus combining the advantages of ancestry with
the opportunities of freedom. His father, Jacob Hotz, and
his mother, Agnes Rosenstein, were born in Germany, the
former in February, 1826, and the latter August 4, 1825.
They were married in their native country in the spring of
1851, and thereafter emigrated to the new world, living for
a time in New York city, where Jacob H. was born July 3,
1853. Two years later, in 1855, they removed to Johnson
county, Iowa, where the remainder of their lives was spent.
Father Hotz died April 1, 1870, and his wife November 26,
1908. Seven children were born to them, of whom four grew
to maturity. Our subject and Mrs. Herman, a widow, both
BIOGRAPHICAL 89
residents of Iowa City, and Frank, living- in Portland, Oregon,
survive. Another son lived to manhood and was an honored
citizen of Iowa City, where he died, having held various posi-
tions of trust in Johnson county.
Jacob J. Hotz was seventeen years of age when his father
died. Having secured a fundamental education in the public
schools of Iowa City, and feeling a desire to add to his book
knowledge the valuable education of travel and experience
he devoted seven years to an itinerary including Chicago, St.
Louis, Memphis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Boston,
and New York city. Four years of the seven were devoted
to carpentering and contracting in the seven cities last men-
tioned, and the concluding three years to newspaper work in
Chicago. Mr. Hotz places great value upon the training and
knowledge of men and affairs which he obtained during these
years spent in the great commercial cities of the nation ; they
gave him the enlarged vision and the broad understanding of
affairs which were a distinct advantage in after years.
On his return to Iowa City, in 1878, he took up the busi-
ness of contracting, but in 1882 was persuaded to relinquish
his avocation temporarily in order to fill the position of re-
corder of Johnson county, to which he had been elected. This
office he held four years. At the expiration of his term he
again took up the business of contracting, in which he has
continued to the present, and which he regards as his life's
work. He, however, intermingles in profitable side lines
when advisable ; for example, the Coralville ice fields, of which
he is the owner and active director — a business which reaches
an exceedingly strenuous stage in midwinter, at which time
extensive storage of ice is made and large shipments are sent
to various points.
While a resident of Chicago, in 1875, Mr. Hotz was mar-
ried to Miss Dehlia Crawford, who only survived her mar-
riage nine years, dying in November, 1884. Four sons were
born of this marriage, Charles C, Frank' W., Guy J., and J.
Walter, all living except the first named. Mr. Hotz married
again in November, 1886, his bride being Miss Frances A.
Englert, daughter of Louis Englert, of Iowa City. Of this
union there were born five sons and one daughter, as follows :
90 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Louis Lee, born September 12, 1887 ; John Jacob, born July
3, 1889 ; Arthur Melville, born May 26, 1893 ; Henry Joseph,
born June 7, 1896; Margaret, born February 18, 1899; and
Ralph, born December 23, 1902.
Mr. Hotz is the owner of considerable business property in
Iowa City, as well as of "Idlewild Park," a beautiful tract
of ten acres near the city. His home at 630 North Dubuque
street is one of the finest in the city. Catholics in faith, his
family and himself are faithful adherents of St. Mary's
church. In politics he is a democrat, and has represented
the Second ward in the city council since 1892. He is a mem-
ber of the B. P. 0. E., and the German Aid Society, F. 0. E.,
and Fraternal Bankers. He is at present chairman of the
park commissioners of Iowa City.
Mr. Hotz's strenuous character and grit seem to have de-
scended upon his eldest son, Frank, who holds the distin-
guished honor of being the only boy from the schools of Iowa
City to enlist in the Spanish-American war. At the age of
eighteen he was enrolled in Company I, Fifty-first Regmlars.
The young man endured the dangers, privations, and hard-
ships of the soldier's life, emphasizing the courage and stay-
ing powers of young America. A noteworthy circumstance
connected with his military service was the fact that his class-
mates kept his seat in the school room decorated with choice
flowers throughout the campaign, and until his return at the
conclusion of the war. This was a touching tribute
both of respect and admiration, and is an index of the patri-
otic ardor of his schoolmates as well as of his place in their
affections.
MAHLON K. WOLFE
It was Solomon who said that "A good name is more to
be desired than riches." By this measurement the descend-
ants of Louis R. Wolfe and Elizabeth Lindsley may' be ac-
counted wealthy, and these "true riches," added to their pos-
sessions of lands and houses and moneys, entitled them to
rank among the leading families of Iowa and Johnson county.
At four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, September 16, 1903,
BIOGRAPHICAL 91
at Seidell, Kansas, Captain Louis K. Wolfe, while driving a
team with a load of grain from his farm to the elevator, was
seen to suddenly throw up his arms and then slowly sink to
the ground at the side of his wagon. When friends reached
his side he was dead. Thus, tragically, passed out a pioneer
of Johnson county, Iowa, an honored man, of whom Judge
M. J. Wade, in a eulogy on his life and usefulness, said : "He
never performed a deed that could bring the blush of shame
to any citizen of the state." Thursday, May 17, 1906, Eliza-
beth Lindsley, the widow of Captain Wolfe, at her home in
Oxford, Iowa, died peacefully at the advanced age of eighty-
five. The Rev. R. D. Poole, in a tender address at her funeral,
said of her: "Her life has been a kind one, more than is
RESIDENCE OF MAHLON K. WOLFE
common, as her many friends can testify. . . She has put in
practice those christian virtues we can all well imitate." And
the remains of this beloved woman and her honored husband
lie side by side in the old Babcock cemetery, Madison town-
ship, nigh unto the old farm where in their younger days they
began their career as pioneers of Iowa.
These are the parents of Mahlon K. AVolfe, the subject of
this sketch, who, with his brother C. D. and his sister, Mrs.
William Hardy, survive to perpetuate the name and lineage
of an honorable family.
Captain Louis R. Wolfe was the son of honored pioneers
of Ohio, and was born in Knox county in that state April 22,
92 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
1825. Early practicing the principle of honoring father and
mother, young Wolfe remained at home, where he was a faith-
ful worker, until his 25th year. Meantime, April 29, 1846,
he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Lindsley, a wo-
man of superior culture and refinement, who was also a native
of Ohio. In 1854 the young couple made the overland trip to
Johnson county, Iowa, where they settled in Madison town-
ship on a farm, twelve miles northwest of Iowa City. They
continued on this farm until 1862, when young Wolfe enlisted
in Company E, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, expecting to
take part in the Civil War. Instead, however, he was re-
quested to raise a company of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry for
service in the Indian wars in the west. This he did, and was
elected captain. He participated in many hard-fought battles
with the Indians, and became renowned throughout the west
as one of the best shots of his day. It was said of him that
he never missed bringing down every buffalo that be "sight-
ed." At the close of the war, after having seen three years
of service, he returned to his family and resumed the occupa-
tion of farming. In 1887 Captain Wolfe sold the old home-
stead to his son Mahlon and moved into Oxford township,
where he continued to farm actively for a number of years.
Deciding to retire from farm life, he moved into the village
of Oxford, where he dealt in stock and real estate. Some of
his extensive land operations were in Kansas, and it was
while on a business trip to Selden, Kansas, looking after his
agricultural interests, that his sudden death occurred. Polit-
ically, Captain Wolfe was a pronounced democrat of the best
type. He was elected to the eighteenth and nineteenth general
assemblies of Iowa, 1880-82. For three terms he filled the
office of township supervisor, and for two years was a member
of the county board of supervisors. He was also a trustee
of the precinct. He assisted in the promotion and establish-
ment of the Oxford State bank, of which he was a director and
a member of the executive committee.
The house of representatives of the state of Iowa, on Feb-
ruary 9, 1904, adopted the following resolutions in his memory :
"Whereas, The Honorable Louis E. Wolfe, an honorable
member of this house in the eighteenth and nineteenth gen-
eral assemblies, a gallant soldier of the Civil War, and a
BIOGRAPHICAL 93
most highly respected citizen in the county in which he re-
sided, passed from his earthly labors on the 16th day of Sep-
tember, 1903 ;
"Whereas, The life and character of the deceased were
such as to entitle him to the respect and esteem of all who
knew him, and his services to the state and nation were of
such a character as to command the confidence and gratitude
of his fellow citizens ;
"Resolved, That in the death of this patriotic citizen, sol-
dier and legislator, this state has lost an influential and up-
right citizen, his family is bereft of a kind and loving father,
his friends of an honored and esteemed man ;
"Resolved, That we extend to his children and to those
nearest to him, whose sorrow is so much greater, our sincere
sympathy in their sorrow and affliction ; and the clerk of this
house is hereby instructed to transmit an engrossed copy of
these resolutions to the bereaved family and to enter the same
upon the Journal of the house.
(Signed) "G. W. Koontz,
"C.A.Wise,
"E.J. C. Bealer,
' ' Committee.
"Adopted by the House February 9th, 1904.
"C. R. Benedict,
"Chief Clerk of House.
"Geo. W.Clarke,
"Speaker of the House."
The Johnson county democratic convention of 1903, held at
Iowa City, also adopted resolutions setting forth their esti-
mate of Captain Wolfe's character as a citizen, a partisan,
and a public man.
Mahlon K. Wolfe, the subject of this sketch, was born in
Ohio January 29, 1848, and removed with the family to John-
son county in 185-4. He attended the public schools of the
county, and on the completion of his school work began work
on his father's farm. In 1887 he bought the old homestead
from his father and continued to live on and operate the same
until 1902, when he retired from active farm work and re-
moved to Iowa City, where he now resides (1911).
Mr. Wolfe was married in 1872 to Miss Mary E. Babcock,
94 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
born and raised in Johnson county. Her father was a native
of Erie county, Pennsylvania, and came to Johnson county
among its very first settlers. Her mother was a native of
Indiana, and also came to Johnson county with her parents at
an early day. Mr. and Mrs. Babcoek were married in John-
son county, and lived near Greeneastle, in Madison township.
They were the parents of twelve children, of whom ten are
living at this writing: John, married, engaged in real estate
business at Denver, Colorado; Mrs. Mahlon K. "Wolfe;
Amanda, now Mrs. C. F. Doty, of Oxford, Iowa; Alice, now
Mrs. Albert Drake, living in Iowa City; William, farmer, liv-
ing in Kansas; Charles W., farmer, living near Walford,
Iowa; James, living near Lisbon, Iowa; Daniel, living near
Fairfax, Iowa; Ella, now Mrs. Arthur Colony, living near
Tiffin, Iowa ; Hattie, now Mrs. Charles Falker.
Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe have seven children, as follows : Or-
ville L., farmer, married, and living west of North Liberty,
Iowa; Christopher B., farmer, married, and living in Oakland,
Iowa; Melvine, married, and living on a farm adjoining North
Liberty, Iowa ; E. A. M,, living on a big ranch in Simeon coun-
ty, Oklahoma, was at one time connected with his grandfather
in the banking business at Selden and Goodin, Kansas ; Clar-
ence, married, and living on the old farm; Edith Pearl, now
Mrs. Dr. Albert Brock, living at Grinned, Iowa; Glea Iona,
now Mrs. Dr. E. J. Schultz, residing at Storm Lake.
Mr. Wolfe is the owner of 595 acres of rich land all in one
body in Johnson county, 800 acres at Selden, Kansas, and a
beautiful residence in Iowa City at 1011 Sheridan avenue. He
is a democrat politically, adhering to the faith of his father.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church
at Iowa City.
BERNARD A. WICKHAM
The attractive architecture of Iowa City, residential and
business, as well as the general architecture of the state, is
greatly indebted to the genius for design and construction of
Bernard A. Wickham, of Iowa City, a designing and super-
vising- architect and builder whose entire life from the age
B. A. WICKHAM
BIOGRAPHICAL
95
of teu years has been spent in the University city. Some of
the striking residences of the city are the handiwork of Mr.
Wiekham. Among these we may mention the University pres-
ident's house, the finest in the city, F. E. Ayer's residence,
F. L. Stevens's residence, Prof. Ford's residence, and the
Delta Delta Delta sorority house, besides numerous fine build-
ings throughout the county and state. Mr. Wiekham 's widely
known ability has brought him many calls for articles, and as
a result he has contributed to several of the leading archi-
tectural magazines. He has also, in response to direct de-
RESIDKXCE (IF HKKXABD A. WICK HAM
mauds, furnished plans for buildings in many parts of the
United States.
Mr. Wiekham was born November 26, 1868, at Southamp-
ton, England, and came with his parents, George and Sarah
(Light) Wiekham, to America when two years of age. The
family settled at Iowa City in 1870. Besides the subject of
this sketch, there are four sons, namely: Charles E., civil en-
gineer with the Lackawanna railroad; William G., contractor
at Albuquerque, New Mexico ; H. F., professor of zoology in
96 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the State University of Iowa; and E. F., member of the Iowa
Glove Company, of Iowa City.
George Wickham was a carpenter, cabinet maker, and stair
builder by trade, and worked in his shop practically until the
day of his death, five years ago. He was the only stair build-
er in Iowa City during the greater part of his residence.
Mother Wickham is still living.
Bernard A. attended the public schools of Iowa City and
then learned the carpenter trade of his father, working with
his tutor for some years. In 1897 he formed a partnership
with his brother E. F. and commenced a general contracting
business. Two years later he bought the interest of his
brother and since then has conducted the business alone. An
idea of the growth of the enterprise may be formed from the
fact that thirteen years ago Mr. Wickham had three men in
his employ; now, during the busy season, he employs about
100 men. From very humble quarters he has come to occupy
modern offices in an up-to-date fireproof office building, with
all the latest equipment for facilitating work in his line.
On July 13, 1893, Mr. Wickham was married to Miss Emma
Weber, a native of Iowa City, whose parents (natives of Ger-
many, and now both deceased) came to the city in the early
sixties. Three children, Florence, Edna, and Euth, are the
jewels of the home.
Mr. Wickham is a member of the Iowa City Commercial
club, Modern Woodmen of America, Camp 189, an enthusiastic
member of the Iowa City Automobile club, and an enterpris-
ing, hustling business man — a striking type of the progres-
sive citizenship which has put Iowa City on the map of pros-
perity and proposes to keep her there
MB. AND MBS. JAMES McKBAY
The people in Johnson county of the present day and their
posterity owe many debts of gratitude to the early settlers.
Few of us at the present time realize the dangers, hardships,
and privations incident to a new country, nor do we fully ap-
preciate the courage and the self-denial practised by the pio-
neer. And in showing our appreciation the least that we, the
JAMES JICKRAV
MBS. LYDIA MC KR.VY
98 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
father was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Northampton
county. Her mother was born in New Jersey. Her parents
were married in New York, and lived in Alleghany county
until Mrs. McKray was seven years old. They then moved to
Pennsylvania, where the family lived until she was 20 years
of age. In 1841 the family emigrated to Iowa. This was
in the month of December, and the family spent the winter
in Burlington. Then, in the spring of 1842, the family came
to Johnson county, and settled in what is now called Washing-
ton township, where the father took np a claim from the gov-
ernment. The parents spent the remainder of their lives
upon this homestead. The father died in August, 1848, at
the age of 77 years, and the mother in July, 1859, at the age
of 77 years. Her parents had four children : Samuel C, Ed-
sell, Christiana, and Robert. Mrs. McKray is the only mem-
ber of her family now living.
Mr. and Mrs. James McKray, after their marriage on June
23, 1844, settled on a farm in Washington township, and lived
on this same farm until 1886. Then they retired from farm
life, and moved to Iowa City, at their present home. Their
children were all born on the old homestead. They are:
Lydia, who is living at home with her parents ; J. W., liv-
ing in Washington township ; Melvin, living in Pottawatamie
county; James, living in Dallas county; Millard Filmore, liv-
ing in Madison county; Frank, who died at the age of three
years.
Mr. McKray was an important factor in the early growth
of his part of our county, assisting materially in the building
of roads, school-houses, etc. He held many local offices in
his time, fulfilling the duties of each to the full satisfaction
of all. His family attend the Christian church. Mr. McKray
died in May, 1907 ; and, as the lamp of life went out, a divine
light spread o 'er his countenance — evidence of the life to
come, and reward for a life so lived, that we may say: "O
Death, where is thy sting?"
Al'liUST HAZKI,H()IM'
BIOGRAPHICAL
!)!)
AUGUST HAZELHOEST
Among the numerous sous of the Fatherland who have
adopted Iowa as their home none has made a more clear-cut
success, from the standpoint of business and citizenship, than
August Hazelhorst, of Iowa City. His parents were Freder-
ick Hazelhorst and Mary Yager, of Gottenstadt, in the prov-
ince of Hanover, Germany, in which place our subject was
burn March 28, 1828. His father was a miller by trade, and
engaged extensively in the manufacture of flour and cereals.
Leaving his native country in 1854, at the age of twenty-
six, our subject came to America and first settled in Rock
Island, Illinois, where for about a year he engaged in carpen-
RESIDEXCE (IF A.UGTJ
AZELHOBST
tering, his trade combining also the work of bridge building.
In 1855 he removed to Iowa City, in which place he has lived
ever since. He continued working at his trade until 1867,
when he began the contracting business for himself. In this
he was remarkably successful, so much so that, in 1900, he was
able to retire from active business to enjoy the fruits of his
toil.
In 1859 Mr. Hazelhorst was united in marriage to Miss
Theresa Shump, a native of Baden, Germany, who came to
America when a young woman. The wedding took place at
Iowa City. One daughter has been horn to Mr. and Mrs.
100 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNT V, IOWA
Hazelhorst, Emma, married to Prank Kane, a business man
of Iowa City.
Mr. Hazelhorst is an extensive property owner in Iowa
City and Johnson county, and is rated as one of the well-to-do
men of the comity. Though advanced in years, being- at this
writing in his eighty-fourth year, Mr. Hazelhorst is still vigor-
ous and looks forward to a considerable lease of life, a boon
which his numerous friends will rejoice to see granted.
Mr. Hazelhorst was in company with Mr. Schets for twenty-
five years or more. He built all the churches in Iowa City,
except the English Lutheran, the Clark residence, the Close
residence, the opera house, and a great many other buildings.
DAVID BORTS
In writing the history of Johnson county the biographer's
mind goes back to the conditions existing upon the arrival
of the first white settlers. Then Iowa City was not mentioned
upon the map, and the county was a broad expanse of dense
timber and unsettled, uncultivated prairie. What a compar-
ison to the present day ! Iowa City is now one of the beauti-
ful university centers of the west, surrounded by fertile, well-
tilled acres, dotted o'er with comfortable and commodious
farm dwellings. What wrought these changes of time ? Many
agencies took part in all this improvement, but none more im-
portant than the influence of the builders; and in this case
none ranks higher than David Borts, who has devoted more
than half a century to the building, improving, and beautify-
ing of Iowa City and the surrounding country. He has erect-
ed more buildings in Iowa City than any other man ; and it
is with pride that her people point to the achievement, and
cherish the memory of the veteran mason of Johnson county.
David Borts was born in Pennsylvania, Westmoreland coun-
ty, August 15, 1833. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael
Borts. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania, where the
father engaged in farming and weaving. His parents never
left their native state, but always lived in Pennsylvania, where
they reared a family of twelve children : Betsy, George, Mich-
ael, Lydia, Solomon, William, John, Barbara Ann, David,
Jacob, Simon, and Isaiah. The last two died in infancy.
^)asO(ol J3&V&
IJKHiWAIMIlCAl,
101
Mr. Hurts came to Eowa City Prom bis native slate in the
spring of 1855. Ee had previously served an apprenticeship
at blaeksmithing, and had also learned, while living in Penn-
sylvania, the art of bricklaying and masonry. Alter his ar-
rival in Iowa City he worked at the mason's trade summers
and at blaeksmithing winters, lie continued working in this
way for a number of years, but later engaged in the con-
tracting business.
He has built more buildings in Iowa City than any other
man. Among the most important, ones are the Old Science
building, formerly loeated on the Old Campus, and later moved
.across the street; the Chemical building; the Furbish block.
jSE^fc : B£i^ESMi
f^M
i
where the Johnson County I
church ; and a great many
life have been given to the
lie retired from activity in
In April, 1S57, he was ma
was born in Pennsylvania ;
her parents in an early da;
seven children, five of whoi
Mrs. J. ('. Stouffer, living
Iowa City (see his sketch)
Emma Lea, who died aboi
ink is
ithers
the English Lull
!SS dm
publi
-the
Netti
twell
d Mrs. I!
- of his
builder.
HOC.
ill. She
lty with
ave had
(it:
!, liv
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Ig at
Ella
it .1
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st L
102 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTS', IOWA
W., living at Iowa City ; Lillian, now Mrs. Harniel, living at
West Liberty.
Mrs. Borts died in 1899.
Mr. Borts is a member of tbe English Lutheran church,
and has been an active worker for over fifty years. In trac-
ing the life stoiy of Mr. Borts we find an example of what
may be accomplished by integrity of purpose, industry, tenac-
ity of will, and strict honesty. He began his career in life
with only a pair of willing hands and an honest determina-
tion, and has steadily progressed until he has secured not
only a competency, but an unblemished name and character, a
heritage of honor, and the fragrance of a life well lived and
days well spent.
LUCY ANNA MAEIA HEMPSTEAD
The wives and daughters of the pioneers of any region play
an important part in the lives of the men who bring about
early improvement and development. Among the women of
Johnson county who have borne their full share in helping for-
ward various movements for the best interests of the com-
munity where they lived may be mentioned Lucy Anna Maria
Hempstead, one of the best known persons in the county. She
has spent almost her entire life in Graham township, which
was not organized at the time the family located there. She
was born in Franklin, Ohio, in 18 — , daughter of Frederick
William and Elizabeth (Akers) Hempstead, the father a na-
tive of York county, Pennsylvania, born March 24, 181-1, and
her mother born in the same state March 7, 1811. They were
married October 7, 1833, and spent the first few years of their
married life in the state of Pennsylvania, then lived six years
in Ohio, where their daughter Lucy A. M. was born.
Mr. Hempstead and his wife brought their family to John-
son county, Iowa, in November, 1844, and spent the first year
in Iowa City. The father had begun learning the blacksmith
and wagon- maker's trade at the age of fourteen years, and
followed the same when he first came to Johnson county. At
the end of one year they moved to a farm in what is now Gra-
ham township, remaining there until 1870, when they came to
BIOGRAPHICAL
103
the farm in Newport township, which is now occupied by the
subject of this sketch. The father became interested in various
local enterprises and was well known in business circles. He
was a republican in politics and voted that ticket from the time
of the inception of the party, and was prominent in its coun-
cils. He held several offices, was a member of the first board
of supervisors in the county, holding this office many years,
and fulfilled his public duties with due regard to the interests
of all. He was most highly respected as a man of strict honor
and integrity in all the relations of life, and was sincerely
mourned by the entire community at his demise, which oc-
curred May 7, 1909. His wife had died many years previous,
February 21, 1883.
RESIDENCE OF LUCY ANNA MARIA HEMPSTEAD
Air. Hempstead became a successful farmer and in his later
life became a practical fruit raiser and gardener. He also
kept some fine stock and showed good judgment in all his
operations and dealings. His first farm consisted of but forty
acres of land, but he kept adding to it from time to time as he
was able, until at one time he was the owner of over 700 acres.
He and his wife had thirteen children, of whom three died in
infancy, the others being: Mary Ann, William Franklin, Sam-
uel Harrison, Celester Emeline, Caroline Elizabeth, Lucy A.
M., Adeline Louisa, John C, James B., and Dexter T. Miss
Hempstead has continued to live on the home place since the
death of her father, whose last days were made happy by her
104
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
loving care. She is held in high esteem for her many fine
qualities of mind and heart and is a worthy representative of
her family. She has a large number of friends and enjoys
their companionship.
JAMES B. KASPEE
James B. Kasper is a well-known and substantial citizen of
Newport township and has lived in Johnson county since 1865.
He is a native of Austria, born September 28, 1862, son of
Frank and Helen (Svatoes) Kasper, who came to America
when he was three years of age and at once located in Johnson
county. They spent a short time in Iowa City, then located
permanently on a farm in Newport township, where they spent
their entire lives. There were five children in the family:
Helen, Mrs. Thomas Whitacre of Iowa Citv; Katherine, mar-
RESIDENCE OF JAM
ried Michael Dvorsky, and died in 1883 ; James B. ; John F., ;
and J. J., of Newport township. The father died about 1881
and the mother survived until 1903.
Since early boyhood James B. Kasper has been working at
farming, for his assistance was needed on the home farm at
that time. He received his education in the schools of New-
port township, and when he was nineteen years old began work-
ing on his own account. He purchased his first farm, a tract
BIOGRAPHICAL 1.05
of eighty acres, in 1882, and six years later sold it and bought
the 220-acre farm which is still his home. He married Annie
Buchmayer in 1888, and they have had four children: Beatrice
died in infancy ; Blanch is teaching her fourth year in the home
district; Frank J. is at home, and John Stanley attends school.
Mrs. Kasper is a daughter of Joseph and Anna Buchmayer,
and was born in Austria, and came to America iu 1874.
The family attend the Catholic church, being members of St.
.Mary's church at Newport. Mr. Kasper is a democrat in
national politics, but in local affairs votes for men and mea-
sures rather than for party. lie has served seven years as
township trustee, four years as assessor, and is now treasurer
of the school board of Newport township. He is keenly inter-
ested in everything affecting the general welfare and is con-
sidered a useful, public-spirited citizen and an upright, honor-
able man. His dealings with his fellows are pleasant and
amicable, and he lias manv friends.
WILLIAM J. VOGT
The late William J. Yogt, a native son of Johnson county,
was a representative citizen and highly esteemed for his many
good points. He enjoyed the regard of a large circle of
friends, being well known among the early settlers, and his loss
was deeply deplored by the whole community. He was born
in Iowa City, February 17, 1858, a son of Charles A. and
Bridget (Mclnerny) Yogt, the father a native of Germany and
the mother of County Kerry, Ireland. The father came to
America in 1851 and soon thereafter settled in .Johnson county.
He conducted a drug store in Iowa City for many years and
died there in 1890. Mrs. Yogt came to America in the forties,
lived in Maine many years, and removed to Iowa City in 1854.
There were five children horn to them: William .1., Louise,
Albert, Charles, and Minnie. The mother still resides in Iowa
City.
Mr. Yogt has been engaged in farming since he was old
enough to select a career, and when about twenty-six years of
age located in Newport township. He married Josephine
Aicher, a daughter of Cyprian and Elizabeth Aicher, born
106 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
in Iowa City, and seven children were born of their union.
The eldest, Helen, graduated from the high school at Iowa
City in 1905 and from the Iowa State University in 1908;
taught in the Muscatine high school two years, and is now in a
convent in Dubuque, Iowa. The eldest son, Albert., graduated
from the Irish Business College, was employed two years by
the Iowa City Electric Light & Power Company, and is now
attending St. Ambrose College at Davenport. The other chil-
dren are as follows : Caroline is teaching the home school ;
Edward is attending high school in Iowa City; Harry is at-
tending St. Ambrose College ; Robert is at home with his
mother; Leo is attending the district school. Mr. Vogt was a
P-'-^ 'm t l Bp » v * ™*™ filM Bare'- -
';..„' . ' - ■ *' ■ -'-•» - ~l
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPHINE VOGT
devout Catholic and all the members of the family are mem-
bers of St. Wenceslaus church, of Iowa City. Mr. Vogt
was a democrat in polities and much interested in the welfare
of his township and county. He was clerk of the township as
long as he lived in Newport township, and for many years
served as president of the school board. He died May 29,
1906, and his widow still lives on the home farm. He was
prominent in many circles, where he was sadly missed. Fra-
ternally he belonged to the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mrs. Vogt has devoted herself to the rearing and education of
her children since the death of her husband and has managed
her financial affairs ably and wisely.
BIOGRAPHICAL 107
SAMUEL ELWOOD SARBROUGB
Mr. Yarbrough was one of the earliest farmers of Newport
township, Johnson county, where he is the owner of a Large
tract of excellent farming land and has been very successful.
He began operations in a modest way, and by industry and
thrift was able to add to his possessions a little at a time, until
he is one of the largest landowners of his part of the county.
He was born in North Carolina, July 29, 1842, son of Zacha-
riah and Hannah (Stout) Yarbrough, also natives of that state.
The father died there in comparatively early manhood, and
the mother brought her children to Johnson county, arriving
at her destination November 19, 1846. The family spent sev-
eral years on a farm in Newport township, then moved to
Pleasant Valley township, but at the end of two years there
returned to Newport township and located permanently there.
The mother died January 20, 1872. She and her husband had
eight children: William T., Jemima A., Rachel Elizabeth,
Jane, who died at the age of six years ; Susanna Abigail, Sarah
M., Barbara A., and Samuel E.
Mr. Yarbrough spent all his active years in Newport town-
ship, and was one of its best-known and most popular citizens.
He is considered a man of strict integrity and honesty and can
be depended upon to use his influence on the right side of any
public question. His first farm, which he purchased in 18fi9,
consisted of forty acres of land, but he now owns 300 acres in
Newport township, which he brought to a fine state of pro-
ductiveness. He operated this place until 1902, since which
time he has been retired from active life and in the enjoyment
of the ease and comfort he has so surely earned. He has a
pleasant home in East Lucas township, not far from Iowa
City, where he is able to enjoy rest and quiet and is yet within
reach of the many advantages of city life.
Mr. Yarbrough was married in March, 1871, to Eliza Tip-
penhauer, who was born in AYilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, June
19, 1844, daughter of Conrad and Sarah (Greenwald) Tippen-
hauer. Her father was born January 14, 1807, in Frankfort,
Germany, and came to America about 1839. He landed in
Philadelphia and six months later moved to AYilkesbarre,
where he was married and resided four years. In 1844 he
108 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
came to Iowa, spent the first winter in Iowa City, then located
on a quarter-section of land in Graham township, Johnson
county, which he entered from the government. After spend-
ing ten years there he moved to Pennsylvania and spent one
year there, after which he returned to Johnson county and lo-
cated on the farm now owned and occupied by his son-in-law,
Mr. Yarbrough. Mr. Tippenhauer enlisted, in August, 1862,
in Company D of the "Graybeard Regiment," the Thirty-
seventh Iowa, in which he served three years.
Mr. and Mrs. Yarbrough have had four children : Minnie,
who died at the age of six years ; Alda, Mrs. William Rarick,
living near Plato, Iowa, has three children: Lillian E., Alda
Louise, and Malvin Elwood ; Charles, of Solon, had three chil-
dren: Charles, Elwood, and Mildred, of whom Elwood is de-
ceased; Sadie, married John F. Allen, of Lebanon, Indiana,
and they have three children : John F., Thelma, and Carl.
The family are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Yar-
brough has always been a republican and is a member of Kirk-
wood lodge No. 24, M. B. A., of Iowa City.
HENRY JOHN AICIIER
Henry J. Aicher belongs to the old and honored family of
Newport township, Johnson county, where his entire life has
been spent. He was born on a farm in the township January
14, 1871, son of Cyprian and Elizabeth (Englebert) Aicher,
natives of Germany. The father came to America as a young
man and was married in this country, settling on a small farm
in Newport township, to which he was able to add from time
to time, until he became one of the successful farmers and
large landholders of the region. He is given more extensive
mention in connection with the sketch of Frank Aicher, his
elder son, which is to be found in these pages. Of the six chil-
dren but two sons and a daughter now survive. The family
was prominently connected with the early history of Newport
township and did its full share in its growth and development.
The parents retired from active life in their later years and
died in Iowa City, the father in 1900 and the mother in 1901.
As a boy Henrv John Aicher attended the schools near his
BIOGRAPHICAL
!<)«>
birthplace, and was engaged in helping the parents upon the
home farm, where he lias always lived. He commenced farm-
ing on his own account in March, IS!).'!, on the place where his
father settled ahoivt 1855, and has since continued in this occu-
pation. He is an energetic and enterprising fanner, following
modern methods and ideas in his operations, and has added
much to the appearance and productiveness of the farm since
taking charge of it. lie, like other members of the family, be-
longs to St. Wenceslans Catholic church, at Iowa City, and is
active in its various movements. He is a democrat in politics
and keenly interested in local events and affairs. He has held
various township offices with ability and honor and is looked
m , f Httt^
■]£••*,,*-•■•■
M m
5^ffl|5aU;«u:a5it^Kli;i",hliri:^ByP
_- |
upon as a substantial citizen. He has a good standing in his
neighborhood, where he has many friends. Having lived in the
community always, he is very well known, and in turn has a
large number of acquaintances there. He has had the most
pleasant dealings with all, being a man of integrity and single-
ness of purpose.
Mr. Aicher was married April 11, 1893, to Fannie, daughter
of Joseph and Josephine (Kriz) Selek, who was horn in Bo-
hemia in 1871 and was brought by her parents to Johnson
county when she was ten years of age. The family located on
a farm in Newport township. The father died in 1911, but the
mother survives. They had two daughters, the other being
Mary, wife of Ed Dvorsky, of Graham township. Mr. and
110 HISTORY OF JOHXSOX COUNTY, IOWA
Mrs. Aicher have two children, Harry Albert and Helen, both
attending school and living at home.
FRAXK AICHER
Frank Aicher belongs to one of the older families of New-
port township, Johnson county, and lias always been identitied
with the highest interests of the region. He was born on a
farm there, February 10, 1S62, son of Cyprian and Elizabetb
(Englebert) Aicher, natives of Germany. Tbe father came to
America as a young man, lived in Pennsylvania for a period
of some three years, then came to Iowa City and purchased
forty acres of land, upon which he settled. He was married
about this time to Miss Englebert, wbo came to tbe United
States in young womanhood. Six children were boru of their
RESIDENCE OF FRAXK AICHER
union: Josephine, married William Yogt, who died in 1907,
and she resides in Newport township ; Frank, the eldest son ;
Henry, who died at the age of one year; Adelia, also died in
infancy, as did Hilary; Henry, of Newport township. Tbe
parents lived upon the old homestead until 1896, when they
retired from active life and went to live in a pleasant home in
Iowa City.
Tbe father, Cyprian Aicher, started farming on bis forty-
acre tract about 1855. and added to his holdings from time to
BIOGRAPHICAL 111
time as he was able, until before his death be was one of the
largest landholders in the county, having over 500 acres of
choice farm land, lie passed away in 1900 and bifl widow one
year later.
Frank Aiober has spent his entire activ.- life in agricultural
pursuits, and has been engaged in this occupation on hi- own
account since he reached the age of twenty-three years, when
he began operations in Monona county, Iowa. Five years
later, in 1890, he returned to Johnson county and purchased
his present home. At that time it consisted of sixty acres of
land, but he has added to it by purchase from time to time.
until he now has 165 acres, which he devotes to general farm-
ing and stock raising, with excellent success.
Mr. Aicber was married in 1885 to Miss Laura Eummelhart,
born in Iowa City, daughter of Devault and Anna (Scherer)
Eummelhart, Her father, who was of German descent, was
born in Ohio, and her mother was born at Alsace. Germany, of
French parentage. Four children have been born to Mr.
Aicber and wife : Clara, wife of Joseph Hotka ; Gertrude Ma-
tilda, and Edith, living at home. The family belong to St.
"Wenceslaus church, of which Mr. Aicher has been a trustee for
the past seven years. He is also a member of the Knights of
Columbus of Iowa City and St. Joseph's Society. lie has be-
longed to the Iowa City Mutual Life Insurance Company for
twenty-seven years, having joined it the second year after it
was organized by Father Emmons. He is active in these va-
rious societies and is well known and popular in various
circles. He is held in high esteem by his many friends, for his
upright character and straightforward, pleasant demeanor.
IRA E. TULL< ISS
One of the first graduates from the Medical Department of
the State University of Iowa was Dr. N. H. Tulloss, father of
the subject of this sketch. Dr. Tulloss was a dentist, having
graduated in the dental schools of Philadelphia and been en-
gaged in practice for some years in Tipton, Iowa, but he sup-
plemented his dental training by a course in materia medica in
the S. U. I., though he practiced dentistry until his death. 1 >r.
112
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, JOWA
Tulloss was a native of Ohio, and came overland to Iowa, in
1851 in company with his young wife, formerly Miss Amy
Williamson, also a native of Ohio, in which state they were
married. He located in Tipton and resided there until 1860,
when he removed to Iowa City. There he remained until his
death, in April, 1882. He was a public spirited man, and took
an active part in business interests aside from his profession,
among the number of his interests being the Hawkeye Foundry
& Machine Co., established by our subject and his brother in
1875. Dr. and Mrs. Tulloss had two children, our subject and
his elder brother, J. F., who resides with his wife in north-
western Nebraska, where he is a large land owner.
RESIDENCE OF IRA E. TULLOSS
Ira E. Tulloss was born in Cedar county, Iowa, January 10,
1855, and came with his parents to Iowa City in 1860, when five
years of age. He attended the public schools of the city until
1869, when he went to Salem, Ohio, and learned the moulder's
trade. He remained in Salem until 1875, returning in that
year to Iowa City and, in connection with his father and
brother established the Hawkeye Foundry & Machine Co., lo-
cated on Gilbert, between Bowery and Court. This enterprise
continued until 1890, when the shop was burned. Thereafter
our subject worked for the government at the Rock Island
Arsenal and in the city of Rock Island until 1902, when he re-
(^7^rrrT^>T>-e^
BIOGRAPHICAL 113
turned to Iowa City and established the llawkeye Foundry, in
which lie is now engaged.
Mr. Tnlloss was married in December, 1874, to Miss Belle
McMillan, a native of Davenport, Iowa. Their only daughter,
Carolyn, is now Mrs. S. E. Rice, residing at Masillon, Ohio.
She has one daughter, Isabella. Our subject is a republican,
and served eight years in the Iowa City council.
FREDERICK ZIMMERLI
Frederick Zimmerli, the well known cigar manufacturer of
Iowa City, came to the United States with his father from
Switzerland in June, 1864, his mother having previously died
in that country, which was the birthplace of the entire family,
our subject being born in 1847. The father and son located in
New York City, where they remained three and one-half years.
Young Zimmerli learned the cigarmaker's trade in that city.
RESTDEXCE OF FREDERICK ZIMMERLI
After a year spent at Cromwell, Connecticut, father and son
came to Iowa City, where the latter still lives, the father hav-
ing died about twenty-six years ago.
Mr. Zimmerli worked at his trade for about, ten years and
then started in the cigar business for himself in Iowa City.
He has continued therein until the present time, and operates
an extensive establishment at 2131& South Clinton street.
114 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Zimmerli chose as his wife Miss May . Ahlers, a native
of Germany, who came to America with her parents when
quite young. Her mother died in the old country, and her
father in 1909. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Zimmerli : Louise, Herman, Elizabeth, Matilda, Dorothy,
Fred, Marie, and Christian. All are living at this writing, of
whom four are married. Louise is Mrs. A. Horrabin; Eliza-
beth is now Mrs. Alex Garsite, living in Missouri; Matilda, is
now Mrs. Roscoe Breece, living at Iowa City; Fred married
Miss Kane, living at Iowa City.
Mr. Zimmerli is a democrat in politics and attends the
German Lutheran church. The family residence is at 324
Church street.
JOHN W. MILLER
The Iowa City Marine band is a musical organization fa-
mous throughout the state for its excellence. For one year it
furnished the martial melodies for the Iowa National Guard.
On two contest occasions, once at Marengo and again at Musca-
tine, it took first prize in competition with the best in the
state. The ability of the organization is of state-wide knowl-
edge from the fact that it has played engagements at tourna-
ments and other public functions all over the commonwealth.
It is one of the institutions of which Iowa City is particularly
proud. John W. Miller, the incumbent chief of police of Iowa
City, is the founder of this organization in connection with its
first leader. Milt Hess ; he has also been its manager for five
years. In this connection it is interesting to note that the first
band was composed of eighteen pieces, and that among the
early members were Jim, John, and Joe Parizek, accomplished
musicians. It goes without saying that John W. Miller points
to this famous band as one of the monuments of his citizen-
ship in Iowa City.
Our subject was born in Des Moines, Towa, April 26, 1862.
He is the second son of John B. Miller, born in Baltimore,
Maryland, in 1839, who was a settler in Iowa City in 1854 and
conducted a stove and tin shop. Later he built the Schrader
drug store corner and conducted a grocery business, continu-
ing until 1878. He died at Iowa Citv in 188(1 His wife was
JOHN W. MILLER
BHMiUAlMUCAL
115
Josephine Babas, a native Bohemian. She died at Iowa City
in 18S9. The Miller family, on its paternal side, was descended
from Bavaria, Germany. Three children were born to .John B.
and Josephine (Babas) Miller: William II., John W., our sub-
ject, and Charlotte, wife of W. F. Burger, all residing in Iowa
City.
Our subject was educated in Iowa City, being a graduate
from the high school and the business college. He learned the
trade of painting and decorating, and later became a contrac-
tor in that line. He was also for ten years the proprietor of
HKSIDKXCK OF .JOHN* W. M1LLKI!
the Iowa City Bottling Works, a manufactory of specialty
carbonated drinks of all kinds. Mr. Miller was alderman from
the fourth ward of Iowa City for two years, and has given
twelve years' service in the volunteer fire department. April
C, 1909, he was elected chief of police of Iowa City, being re-
elected in 1911. He has been chairman of the democratic city
central committee for live years.
Chief Miller chose for his wife Miss Mary Jane Unash,
daughter of Joseph and Anna Unash. The wife's family were
talen+ed musicians and prominent in musical circles in Iowa
City. Children and grandchildren have blessed the home of
John W. Miller and wife. The list is as follows : Lottie, wife
of J. D. Bummelhart, has two children, Matilda and Loretta;
116 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Florence, wife of Leo V. Beaulieu, has two sons, Francis and
Charles, resides at Havre, Montana; Estella, resides at home.
One of the delightful informal social events of the early
spring of 1911 was planned and executed as a surprise by the
fellow card club memhers of Mr. and Mrs. Miller on the even-
ing of April 26. The function marked the forty-ninth birthday
anniversary of the chief of police and the forty-seventh anni-
versary of Mrs. Miller, the couple having been born on the
same day of the month. A local Iowa City newspaper, in
speaking of the occasion, said: "Card playing and feasting
were on the program, with handsome reminders of the night
for the surprised host and hostess."
WILLIAM ROBERT WHITEIS, M. D.
The list of Iowa native sons who have achieved distinction
within the shadow of their alma mater is so large that the
biographical historian is compelled to pause for adequate de-
scriptive breath. The list embraces every profession and call-
ing within the scope of the state's curriculum. The situation
is peculiarly emphasized, of course, in Johnson county, the
seat of the state's leading educational institution, where the
cumulative results of American intelligence and push, plus the
tools of classical education, are so marked as to occasion sur-
prise. Reference has been made to this condition in other
biographical sketches in this volume. The aggregate bulges
with honor both for the individuals and the state. Seemingly,
the old Hawkeye state has been "gettin' a-plenty" both of
intellectual and agricultural production. Small wonder that
its output overflows to other fields of consumption.
Among the alumni of the State University of Iowa who
have passed under the wire of success, the name of William
Robert Whiteis, M. D., is entitled to a prominent place on the
score sheet. Born in Benton county, Iowa, in 1869, he received
his primary educational training in the public schools of Ur-
bana, graduating from the high school. Thereafter he gradu-
ated from the Tilford academy. In 1892 he graduated from
the College of Liberal Arts, State University of Iowa, with
the decree of B. S. In 1895 he Graduated from the Medical
BIOGRAPHICAL 117
Department, S. U. I., with the degrees of M. D. and M. S. Be
followed his university training with a post-graduate course
abroad at Vienna and Leipsic, and attended all important
clinics at London, 1895-9(5-97. His actual practice as a physi-
cian began on his return from Europe to Iowa City in 1897.
In 19(X;-04 he filled the chair of obstetrics and gynecology in
the College of Medicine, S. U. I. University Hospital. In 189.")
he was professor of histology and embryology of the same in-
stitution, being succeeded by the eminent professor of anatomy
and director of the histological laboratory, Dr. Henry James
Prentice, from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York.
Dr. Whiteis has been on the State University hospital staff
— ^N^S^r^dL X
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM ROBERT WHITEIS, M. D.
from 1898; in 1896 he was made a director thereof, and in 1911
was elected its president. He is a member of the American
Medical Association, of the Iowa State Medical Association,
and of the Johnson County Medical Association.
Dr. Whiteis was married August 10, 1892, to Alice Fern-
strom, who resided on her father's farm in Johnson county.
She was a graduate of the Iowa City high school in the class of
1896; spent three years in S. U. I. and two years in Europe,
during one of which she was a student at the Girls' high school
of Leipsic, taking special courses in German. Dr. and Mrs.
Whiteis have one son, William Robert Whiteis, Jr., born in
September, 1901.
Dr. Whiteis 's parents were Dr. William Boyd Whiteis and
118 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Miss Emeline Sprott, daughter of John and Tanizen (Flem-
ing) Sprott. The latter was one of twelve children. Dr.
Whiteis's father was a physician, horn in Ohio in 1830, and
died in January, 1903, at Urbana, Iowa, where his widow still
survives. He was educated in the common schools of Ohio,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Keokuk, Iowa, and Chi-
cago ; graduated in the first class of Northwestern University,
Chicago, in 1860, and took post-graduate course in Chicago.
He practiced at Eockf ord, Ohio, and for many years at Urbana t
Iowa. He was one of the nine children of Thomas and Hannah
Whiteis, among the first pioneers of Ohio.
Dr. Whiteis and wife are members of the Congregational
church of Iowa City. He is the owner of about 1,000 acres of
land, principally in Benton county, Iowa.
The offices of Dr. Whiteis on South Dubuque street, Iowa
City, are fully equipped with every appliance of modern sur-
gery and therapeutics. He was married in 1911 to Miss Agnes
Metcalf. His assistant is Dr. Paul A. Reed, a native of Fair-
field, Iowa; graduate of Medical Department, S. U. I., 1907;
B. A. of Parsons College, 1896; post graduate New York
Lying-in Hospital ; post graduate Cbicago ; assistant in obstet-
rics and gynecology, S. U. I.
ANTHONY J. HANLEY
Anthony J. Hanley, for seven years city councilman of
Iowa City and deputy sheriff of Johnson county for two terms,
was born in Iowa county, Iowa, in 1861. His parents were
Bartlett and Julia (Karney) Hanley. Bartlett Hanley was a
native of Ireland, and came to America with his parents. The
family resided in Ohio for a number of years. In 1844 they
removed to Iowa county, where Bartlett Hanley 's father took
up land from the government. In that county the marriage of
Bartlett Hanley and Julia Karney, also a native of Ireland,
took place, and there for a number of years Mr. Hanley eu-
gaged in farming. In 1870 he removed to Johnson county,
where he was engaged in the hotel business until his death,
about seventeen years ago. Julia Karney 's parents were
natives of Ireland, and her family also lived in Ohio. The
BIOGRAPHICAL
119
family came to Iowa county in the early 'oil's, where her father
located on a farm on which he resided until his death in ISM").
Our subject came to Iowa City with his parents in 1870.
He had previously attended the country schools in Iowa coun-
ty and continued his education in the Iowa City schools. He
started in business for himself at the early age of sixteen,
learning the trade of marble and stone cutting. This work he
continued for about five years, when he took up the livery busi-
ness. He has been engaged in this line in different enterprises
ever since, and at this writing is proprietor of the Iowa City
Bus and Hack line, doing a general transfer business.
RK.SIDKXC'K OK ANTHONY J. HANLKV
Mr. Hanley married -Miss Sarah Thomas, a native of Wales,
who came with her parents direct from Wales to Johnson
county. Her father was a grocer in Wales, and engaged in the
grocery business for a time after his arrival here. Both of
Mrs. Hanley 's parents are dead. Mr. Hanley 's mother is
alive at this writing ( 1913 ). Mr. and Mrs. Hanley have three
children: George R., born June 19, 1SS4, married, and Living
on his father's farm in Johnson county; Maybelle, born
March 5, 1887, now Mrs. Bernard Davis, graduate of the S. U.
I, 1911 ; Mr. Davis is a graduate of S. U. I. in Pharmacy De-
partment, class of 1908; they reside at Onawa, Iowa, where
Mr. Davis is engaged in the drug business ; Ruth S., horn .Ian.
1, 1890, student in the S. U. I., will graduate in 1913.
120 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Hanley owns a farm of 540 acres in Johnson county,
and several business blocks, residences, and other property in
Iowa City. He is a member of the republican party, and active
in its councils.
HENRY HALL RATE
Steering a flatboat, 14x28, down the rushing waters of the
Allegheny river, shooting dangerous rapids, dodging conceal-
ed rocks and battling with snags and sandbars, is the experi-
ence which William S. Rate, the grandfather of Henry Hall
Rate, endured in the first stage of his journey from Pennsyl-
vania to Iowa. The flatboat above mentioned was built es-
pecially for the voyage, and contained the movable effects of
the navigator, then a young man about twenty years of age.
A partial wreck on the rapids of the Clarion river, a tributary
of the Allegheny, delayed the intrepid sailor, but he was soon
righted and, once fully into the current of the lower Allegheny,
attached his boat to a raft and got safely through to the Ohio
at Pittsburg. From that point to a landing in Indiana the
journey was continued on an Ohio river steamboat. The
Whitewater canal being in course of construction at that time,
young Rate secured employment thereon and worked with the
construction crew for about a year and a half. William Page
Rate, father of William S., had settled a short time previously
in Knox county, Illinois, and there our traveler journeyed.
He met and married in that county Miss Margaret Ditto, a
native of Germany. Observing an advertisement in a St.
Louis newspaper for workmen to aid in the construction of
the new state capitol at Iowa City, Iowa, he went to the latter
city and was engaged. This brought him first into Iowa. His
father joined him there, and the two worked together on the
Iowa state capitol building for one and one-half years. There-
after both returned to the Whitewater canal project in In-
diana, where they worked together for two years. In 1848
William Page Rate removed from Knox county, Illinois, to
Johnson county, Iowa, where he settled on a farm in Cedar
township. This claim was the same which he had selected on
a former trip and sojourn in Iowa in 1840. Thereon he erect-
BIOGRAPHICAL 121
ed a log house, 16x20, built of round logs. He resided on that
farm until his death, about 1857. His son, William 8., accom-
panied him to Iowa and labored with him on this farm.
Our subject 's father was Edward Francis Rate, son of Wil-
liam Page, and was born in London, England, November 5,
1829. He was four years of age when he emigrated with his
mother and her family to the United States, whither the father
had gone two years previously. The elder Rate, William
Page, first settled in New York state, but later, about 1835,
removed to a point near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he
became a large land owner. About 1840 he went westward
getting his first view of Iowa about that time. There were
five children in William Page Rate's family: William S.,
mentioned above; our subject's father, Edward Francis;
John; Elizabeth, married to Isaac Sailor; Mary, married to
Frank Kestor. Of these, William S. and John are deceased.
The two daughters reside in Linn county, Iowa. Edward
Francis, still active, lives at Iowa City. The mother died
about 1880 at the home of her son, Edward Francis, in Cass
township, Cedar county.
Edward Francis Rate secured only a limited education,
much of his schooling being under a private tutor. In his
twentieth year he began breaking prairie land in Cedar county,
and continued at farming for about seven years. In 1880 he
began the manufacture of gloves in his factory at Davenport,
Iowa. Two years later he sold out and removed to Chicago.
In 1890 he disposed of his interests there and came to Iowa
City, where he bought out the old glass factory and established
therein a glove factory, equipped with proper machinery, em-
ploying about thirty girls and a few men. The establishment
was burned down in 1898. Business was immediately resinn-
ed, however, in a building just north of the destroyed struc-
ture. The enterprise prospered, and a tannery was estab-
lished in 1903. Shortly thereafter fire again destroyed the
factory, with a total loss of $25,000, there being no insurance.
The business was reestablished, and the firm took the name
of E. F. Rate & Sons, becoming well known as manufacturers
of fine grades of gloves, owning and operating their own tan-
nery, with a trade including both local and distant customers.
For several vears the business has been virtually conducted by
122 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
our subject, Henry Hall Rate, and his two brothers, Albert
F. and Robert G-. (Note — Since this data was obtained this
establishment was for the third time completely burned to the
ground. Details as to rebuilding have not been made known
at this writing. — En.)
Edward Francis Rate was married in February, 1856, at
Potosi, Wisconsin, to Lydia F. Hall, born March 31, 1835, in
Connecticut, and removing with her parents when quite young
to Linn county, Iowa. She is a well educated woman and a
most interesting conversationalist. There were five children
RESIDENCE OF HENRY HALL KATE
in the family, as follows : Amelia E., wife of Ezra Helm, of
Michigan ; our subject ; Abbie, wife of John Bickett, of Iowa
City; Albert F., of Iowa City; and Robert Cower, of Iowa
City. All are married and have families except Robert Gr.
Our subject was educated in the public schools of Iowa City.
From the inception of the Iowa City glove factory he has been
inseparably conuected therewith, and, as he puts it, "knows
nothing else but glove making." In his leisure moments,
however, he has found time to read good literature, especially
historical works, and is particularly well posted on the history
of the Civil War from the standpoint of both north and south.
BIOGRAPHICAL 123
He was married at Iowa City to Miss Calista Tranter, born,
educated, and raised in the first ward, Maiden Lane, Iowa
City. She is a graduate of the high school, class of 1884;
taught the Oxford township school and third ward grammar
school of Iowa City; in all teaching about ten years. Two
children have blessed this union: Henrietta, aged fourteen,
born in the old Tranter home where her mother was born, is
now in the second year at high school ; Edward Francis, Jr.,
will complete the grammar department in 1911. The first
named is a girl of ai'tistic genius, as her original paintings,
hnng in the library of her home, will testify.
Mrs. Henry Hall Rate is a fancier of heirlooms and bric-a-
brac. She has kept all of her own samples of school draw-
ings, including her first painting at school and many little
mementoes of her childhood. Pier heirlooms include many
specimens brought from England by her parents, such as
pewter plates, hand-painted china ware, an apple "scoop,"
made of ivory, an ivory spoon for eating boiled eggs, blue an-
tique decorated plates, an old "grease" lamp with cup and
wick, used before the days of "lucifer" matches, when neigh-
bors had to borrow "fire." She also owned an old-fashioned
4-posted mahogany bedstead, from which she took the posts,
making therefrom legs for a fine table.
The parents of Calista Tranter were John Tranter and Har-
riet Shinn. The former was born at Linton, Herfordshire,
England, May 1, 1820, and died at Iowa City March 3, 1902.
The latter is the daughter of Joseph Shinn of Iowa City, whose
wife was a glove maker at the time when the hand needle was
used entirely in the manufacture of gloves and expert needle-
women were in demand. John Tranter's parents were Ed-
ward Tranter and Mary Caruthers. The former came of a
family of brickmakers, and the couple emigrated to America
in a sailing vessel in 1856, landing after a six-weeks voyage.
John Tranter was a natural mechanic, a genius in wood and
metal working. Some of the relics in Mrs. Rate's possession
were of his making. He died in Iowa City in 1862. His wife
died the same year in Utah. The couple crossed the plains
with an ox team and settled in Salt Lake City. They remained
there about a year, when they returned to Iowa City, where
124 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
he followed engineering for many years in the employ of the
Close oil mill.
The entire Rate family, from the first pioneer, were and
are strong temperance advocates.
GEORGE L. FALK
The reader of the biographies embraced in this volume of
Johnson County history will be impressed with the fact of the
remarkable number of native born sons who have side-stepped
the temptation to remove to newer states and have remained
at the old home, there to make good in the business and pro-
fessional life of their birthplace. That this is a general and
not a special, or unusual fact, is proven by the recorded suc-
cesses of native-born farmers, native-born merchants, native-
born lawyers, schoolmen, physicians, craftsmen, manufactur-
ers, and financiers. Under this exhibit of its home-product
of universal workers Johnson county may well claim, with
pride, that it does not need to go beyond its own borders to
keep its commercial and industrial ranks full of competent
laborers who are worthy of their hire. This condition is com-
plimentary both to the field of action and to the actors. It is
usually reckoned that the newer states and territories to the
westward in the very nature of things offer the more attrac-
tive inducements and opportunities for the culture and vigor
of youth ; hence the competent young man who elects to exer-
cise his abilities in the home field by that very act pays his
native heath the high compliment of his affection and pride.
On the other hand, the home field which provides ambitious
youth with the opportunities for the exercise of its talents and
energies may be rightly considered a worthy mother of men.
George L. Falk is one of the native sons of Iowa City who
elected to identify his abilities with the town of his birth and
training. His present position of cashier of the Johnson
County Savings bank, one of the important financial institu-
tions of eastern Iowa, is the reward which his native city be-
stows upon him for his loyalty; and, reciprocally, the ability,
probity, and integrity with which he discharges the duties of
BIOGRAPHICAL 12.")
this responsible office represent his return in good measure
of value received.
Mr. Fall- is of direct German descent on both his paternal
and maternal side. His parents, John and Minnie (Werner)
Falk, were natives of Hessen, Germany. John Falk, an emi-
grant, was among the forty-niners who crossed the Isthmus of
Panama during the California gold excitement and mingled
with the Argonauts "in the days of old, in the days of gold"
in the fields of the new El Dorado. He was successful during
his three years' sojourn in the Sierras, and when he arrived
in Iowa City after a long journey, via the Isthmus and New
York, he was among the first substantial depositors of the
RESIDENCE OF GEORGE I,. FALK
bank of which his son is now the cashier. He brought his
fortune in gold in a strong belt girded to his waist, and it was
the production of this belt, with its yellow contents for de-
posit, which gave him the sobriequet of the "gold belt man of
California," a nickname which clung to him for many years.
By trade the elder Falk was a shoemaker and in connection
with his craft he established a retail shoe store. His death,
which occurred in 1870, was widely regretted. His widow, our
subject's mother, still survives and lives at 319 Iowa avenue.
Young Falk received his primary education in the Iowa City
public schools. This he supplemented by a course at the Iowa
City Academy, completing his commercial training by grad-
uating from the Business College of Iowa City in the class of
126 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
1885. The first position be secured was with the American
Glucose Company, where he held the position of shipping-
clerk for three years. Subsequently he accepted a position
in the Iowa City postoffice as general delivery clerk under
President Cleveland's administration. During his two and
one-half years' incumbency in this office he became widely
popular. From Uncle Sam's window be stepped to the desk
of assistant cashier of the Johnson County Savings bank in
1889. The best commentary on his ability as a banker is the
fact that at the annual meeting in January, 1907, he was elect-
ed cashier, a position which he now occupies, being also a mem-
ber of the board of directors of the bank.
Combined with his proven abilities as a business man and a
banker, Mr. Falk possesses the winning grace of geniality, a
gift which has won him hosts of friends. His business habits
are methodical and thorough, and his executive grasp is
strong. He is an active member of the B. P. 0. E. and the
Iowa City Commercial club. His religious association is with
the German Lutheran Zion church of Iowa City.
DAVID A. REESE
A moral lesson, inculcated in an adroit way by his father,
left a lasting impression on the mind of David A. Reese and
was a girdle of strength throughout all his business career.
When young Reese determined to leave the parental roof at
the age of twenty-one and cast his fortunes with the great
west, his father, unknown to the son, placed a thick brown
paper containing writing, with the writing face down, in the
bottom of a trunk the mother was packing for her son's jour-
ney. This was not discovered for several years after the sou
had become a resident of Iowa and had been engaged quite a
while at his trade, that of carpentering. One day he was over-
hauling the contents of the trunk and making a clean-up of the
rubbish, when he chanced to notice the writing on the back of
the brown paper and recognized the penmanship as his fath-
er's. Careful perusal of the inscription, of course, followed
and it was found to be an earnestly-written series of rules for
moral conduct. These made a wonderful impression on the
IHOCRAPIIICAL
127
mind of the son and proved to be of great value to him in after
years. Two precepts were particularly impressive: "Keep
up your credit," and, "Be honest." The business career of
David A. Reese proves that this advice was well followed.
Thomas D. and Jane Reese, of Pennsylvania, were the par-
ents of our subject, who is one of six living children. Both
parents are deceased. David A. was horn in Cambria county,
Pennsylvania, in 1854, and was raised and educated in his
native state. He attended the public schools of his county and
the Commercial college at Pittsburgh. His training at the
latter institution was thorough, and fitted him ably for the
business career in which he has achieved distinction. Follow-
ing his school life he worked for a number of years in a lum-
ber yard at Ebensville, Pennsylvania, securing a practical
knowledge of lumber which served him well in later years.
He also learned the carpenter trade. This, as before indicat-
ed, he took up on his arrival at Iowa City in 1875, working for
a time in the country. He continued the business of carpent-
ering and contracting until the year 1889, when he was offered
a position in its lumber yard by the Zinsser Lumber Company
of Iowa City. This place was entirely unsought by Mr. Reese
and the offer came as a surprise. Mr. Musser had become
impressed with Mr. Reese's aptitude in checking up his own
personal bills of lumber obtained from the company for his
128 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
contracting and carpenter business and greatly desired him
for the exacting work of the yards. At that time Mr. Reese
had about fourteen contracts on hand and a number of men
in his employ. So earnest was Mr. Musser in his offer that
he placed Mr. Reese immediately on his payroll and allowed
him two weeks latitude in which to dispose of his contracts
properly to other builders. His acceptance of this position
brought Mr. Reese to Iowa City to reside, and he remained in
the employ of the Musser Lumber Company for thirteen years.
On January 1, 1902, Mr. Reese took up the duties of county
treasurer of Johnson county, a position to which he had been
unanimously nominated on the republican ticket, his majority
at election being very marked in spite of the fact that the
county normally was overwhelmingly democratic. During his
incumbency in this office Mr. Reese handled about $3,000,000
of public money. On retiring from office, he engaged in the
real estate business for about a year, when he entered the
employ of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company, of Iowa
City, as assistant cashier, the position which he occupies at
present.
Mr. Reese is one of the organizers of the Iowa City Electi'ic
Railway Company and is secretary and treasurer of the com-
pany. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Rundell Land
& Improvement Company, which controls 270 city lots located
between the Kelly factory and East Iowa City, with a capital
stock of $25,000.
In fraternal circles Mr. Reese is recognized as an active
factor. He is a trustee of Kosciusko lodge No. 6, I. O. O. F.,
of which he has been a member since 1887, and is Past Noble
Grand of the lodge. He is a member of the M. "W. A., and the
B. P. O. E. He is trustee of the Heath estate and a trustee of
the Congregational church of Iowa City. For six years he
has been an alderman from the fourth ward in the city council,
and was the republican nominee for mayor of Iowa City in
1911 against Hon. George W. Koontz, the successful candidate.
Mr. Reese married Miss Mary Reese, of Union township,
Johnson county, daughter of Rolland Reese, a pioneer of the
county. She was a babe six months old when her parents set-
tled in Johnson county. Her birthplace is Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mr. and Mrs. Reese are members of the Congregational church
and reside at 24 North Van Buren street, Iowa City.
BIOGRAPHICAL 129
JOSEPH ARTHUR VALENTA, M. D.
Perhaps no subject could more worthily engage the research
and sustained effort of the real lover of his fellow man than
that of the public health as involved in the fundamental essen-
tials of hygiene, sanitation, and quarantine. To the violation
of the recognized principles of these factors of modern civiliz-
ation may be traced nine-tenths of the ailments to which flesh
is heir. Amplification of this statement would involve unlim-
ited discussion aud exploitation of grewsome facts in city and
rural life, reflecting upon us as individuals and as a body poli-
tic in no complimentary manner. Mindful of the strong un-
dercurrents of antipathy which flow in the common mind
against what some of the less-informed might term an inva-
sion of individual liberty, to the credit of mankind be it said
that there have arisen from time to time in every community
heroic souls who have braved such public opposition by making
it their business to investigate and overhaul in behalf of the
general good the conditions surrounding private homes and
habits, as well as community methods, involving the public
health. Gratifying results have come from some of these ef-
forts; indeed, the aggregate accomplished gives earnest of
the final happy solution of the problem of gregarious living.
The eity-sanitary, as well as the city-busy and the city-beauti-
ful, is outlined clearly on the horizon of metropolitan develop-
ment — to the delight of those earnest citizens who have borne
the obloquy and burden of original investigation.
Among the names entitled to high place in the Blue Book of
"Who's Who in Hygiene" properly should be written that of
Joseph Arthur Valenta, M. D., of Iowa City, whose efforts and
practical accomplishments in the lines of the promotion of the
public health are of no mean order.
At the first annual meeting of the Iowa health officers and
city physicians, held at Des Moines June 16 and 17, 3903, Dr.
Valenta, who organized the society in 1902 and was its first
president (being at the time health officer of Iowa City), read
a paper bearing on the general matters under consideration.
This paper, which was greatly appreciated, was published in
full in the twelfth biennial report of the board of health of the
state of Iowa, June, 1903. The salient features of the address
130 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
will be indicated by the following excerpts taken from the
printed report :
1st. A more united cooperation between the township trus-
tees and the city boards of health.
2nd. Uniformity in the regulation of quarantine and the
management of the same in the state.
3rd. Repeal of the regulation by the board of health com-
pelling the removal of wall paper in cases of smallpox and
scarlet fever, and leaving the question to the judgment of the
health officer.
4th. Taking the health officership out of politics and sub-
stituting qualification, irrespective of partisanship.
5th. More compliance with the rules of health by the health
officers and the city physicians themselves.
6th. Enlightenment and education of the rural districts in
the regulations and rules of the board of health.
7th. Election of a board of health in a township for a
period of three or five years.
8th. A better and united means of reporting deaths, births,
contagious diseases, etc.
9th. Better appreciation by the public of the work of the
health department.
10th. A detention hospital for every city and township,
with proper accommodations and nurses.
11th. A good organization of Iowa health officers and city
physicians, whose members will work for the good of the
cause.
12th. A practical way to be devised for disposing of garb-
age, etc.
13th. Making public service corporations responsible for
the purity of their water supply.
14th. A state sanitarium for consumptives.
15th. Anti-expectoration ordinances, with strict enforce-
ment.
16th. Careful guarding of fellow practitioners 's interests
in assuming control of cases we are called upon to investigate.
17th. A more united effort to stamp out smallpox by in-
sistence on calling it by its right name.
18th. An information bureau or system of communication
BIOGRAPHICAL
131
officers, giving notice to each other of ej
the Iowa
alth officers
dinate staff,
and
between 1
ics.
19th. An official publication
and city physicians, with a chief
with several departments.
20th. A national union association of health offii
city physicians.
In closing his paper, Dr. Valenta said: "Now there are
many other needs in the department of health, but I have en-
deavored to bring the most important to your consideration.
That these needs, if supplied, would prove a Messing, few of
you will probably doubt, but as to the best ways and means to
accomplish the end desired we may differ. If each of us, how-
ever, will strive to pick out the method which has been shown
to be the best, as accepted by the majority, and work out that
method regardless of our own personal opinion, success will
crown our efforts. May we radiate outward our labors from
this center city, the capital of Iowa, into every nook and cor-
ner of this commonwealth, and before another year passe-
by reap the fruits of labor performed by the faithful few for
the perfect happiness of humanity."
Another notable paper by Dr. Valenta was read before the
Johnson county normal institute in July, 190.">, and was pub-
132 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
lished in the "Iowa Normal Monthly," Volume XXVII. The
essay was entitled, ' ' Hygiene in Rural Schools. ' ' Dr. Valenta
covered the ground ably, and the paper attracted unusual at-
tention. An outline will not be out of place: "Hygiene,"
said the speaker, "may be divided into three classes:
"1. Individual or personal.
"2. Family or domestic.
"3. Municipal or state (public hygiene)."
Commenting quite fully under each of these heads, the doc-
tor classified "school hygiene" as properly coming partly un-
der each of the above divisions. Entering more elaborately
into the subject, the speaker touched upon the elementary
elements of air, water supply, clothing, study, exercise, rest
or recreation, food, contagious disease, heating, emergencies.
Insisting that soil upon which the school house stands has
much to do with the health of the pupils, the doctor elaborated
upon that point and, in further elucidation of proper school
conditions recommended :
1. A site that is dry and not malarious and an aspect which
gives light and cheerfulness.
2. A pure supply and proper removal of water, by means
of which perfect cleanliness of all parts of the house can be
secured.
3. A system of immediate and perfect sewerage removal,
which renders it impossible that the air or water shall be con-
taminated from excreta.
4. A system of ventilation which carries off all respiratory
impurities.
5. A condition of house construction which insures perfect
dryness of the foundation walls and roof. As the air in a
school house is almost always warmer than the outside air, it
has a tendency to draw up the more or less impure air from
the soil into the building.
Other important addresses delivered by Dr. Valenta were
before the Johnson County Teachers' Institute in September,
1904 (published in Iowa State Normal Monthly, Volume
XXVIII), on the topic of "School Hygiene," dwelling upon
the physical and mental development of the child, and, in June,
1904, before the League of Iowa Municipalities, published
in the "Midland Municipalities Magazine" for August,
BIOGRAPHICAL 133
1904) ou the topic of "Consumption and Its Danger,"
insisting on the duty of teachers to be equipped with exact
knowledge on this subject and to teach it to theii' pupils. One
of the most timely papers written by Dr. Valenta was on the
"Garbage System," and he also recommended the establish-
ment of a state bacteriological laboratory to be controlled by
the state board of health in connection with the State Univer-
sity of Iowa, through which any city or town could be exam-
ined without charge. Also at the famous Institute in 190G
he delivered a lecture on rural hygiene and sanitation.
Dr. Valenta is a native of Johnson county, his birth occur-
ring in Big Grove township in 1871. His parents were Wes-
ley and Anna (Kuncl) Valenta, the latter deceased in 1907.
He was a public school student and a graduate of Iowa City
Academy in 1889. He attended the Liberal Arts department
of the State University of Iowa and graduated from the Med-
ical Department in 1896.
The doctor's first practice was in Solon in 1896, and his
general practice began in Iowa City in 1901. He held the
position of city health officer from 1902 to 1909. In 1902 he
organized the Iowa Health Officers Association and was its
first president. His connection as examining physician relates
to the following societies: Fraternal Bankers Reserve,
Brotherhood of American Yeomen, Homesteaders, Royal
Neighbors, Modern Woodmen of America, Slovanska Lipa,
C. S. P. S. and Catholic Workmen ; also to the National Union
and Metropolitan Life Insurance companies. The doctor is
a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic church and secretary of
its board of trustees. His professional relations are with the
Johnson County Medical Society, Iowa State Medical Society,
and the American Medical Association. During the year of
190-4 he was editor of "Midland Municipalities Magazine,"
the official publication of the League of Iowa Municipalities.
CHRISTIAN GAULOCIIER
At twenty-three years of age Christian Gaulocher left his
native land. Prussia, and came to New Jersey, U. S. A. His
birthday was November 20, 1840, and his parents were Simon
134
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
and Josephine (Ruff) Gauloeher. The young emigrant re-
mained in New Jersey only two years. Then he came west-
ward to Iowa City, where he at once engaged in the manufac-
ture of brick. That was in 1865, and from that time to the
present, a period of forty-six years, he has continued in the
same business. The firm of Christian Gauloeher & Son, brick
manufacturers, 722 North Lucas street, Iowa City, is known
far and near throughout Johnson county and the state of
Iowa. The Gauloeher product has entered into the construc-
tion of most of the business houses and residences of Iowa
RESIDENCE (IE CHRISTIAN (iAULOCHER
City and into many structures throughout the county and
state. Gauloeher brick enters into the pavements and via-
ducts and sewers of Iowa City. Christian Gauloeher has liter-
ally covered his community with the evidences of his handi-
craft.
In the year 1873 our subject was married to Miss Teresa
Drews, a resident of Johnson county but a native of Germany.
She came to America with her parents in 1866, and settled in
Iowa City, where she has lived ever since. Her father was
a tailor by trade, and he carried on his business in Iowa City
BIOGRAPHICAL 135
until his death. Both the parents of Teresa Drews are buried
at Iowa City. Mr. and Mrs. Gauloeher have had nine children,
seven of whom are dead: Emma, born December 31, 1S72,
died when a baby; Elizabeth, born in 1874, died in young
womanhood in March, 1897; Hulda, born May 6, 1875, died
April 6, 1893; Harry, born in 1877, died November 12, 1896;
Edward, born May G, 1878, died .March 9, 1879; Hattie, born
December 14, 1879, died January 19, 1S94; Carl, the only liv-
ing son, born in Iowa City June 23, 1881, associated in business
with his father, married February 6, 1907, to Miss Rosa Ebert,
a native of Iowa City, has one daughter, Mary Gretchen. He
is now councilman from the third ward. Clara, the only liv-
ing daughter, now Mrs. C. I. Potter, she and her husband liv-
ing with Mr. and Mrs. Gauloeher, have twin daughters, Ruba
and Ruth, born September 15, 1910.
Mr. Gauloeher was elected councilman on the democratic
ticket for two terms from the third ward, and has held other
positions of trust in local affairs. He is a member of the Ger-
man Aid Society, of which he was treasurer for a good many
years. The family are members and attendants of the Ger-
man Lutheran church.
In tracing the life story of Mr. Gauloeher we find an exam-
ple of what may be accomplished by integrity of purpose, in-
dustry, tenacity of will, and strict honesty. He began his
career in life with only a pair of willing hands and an honest
determination and has steadily progressed until he has secured'
not only a competency but an unblemished name and char-
acter, a heritage of honor, and the fragrance of a life well
lived, and days well spent.
STEPHEN BRADLEY
Stephen Bradley was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, December
26, 1850. His parents were Timothy and Mary Bradley, both
of whom were born in Ireland. Mr. Bradley's father died a
few years ago at the age of 84 and his mother died fifteen
years ago, aged 72.
"With his parents he came to Iowa City July 4, 1856, where
he lived until April 1, 1869, when he moved to Hardin town
136 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ship, Johnson county, Iowa. Here he farmed and taught
school until January 1, 1881. In the November election of
1880 he was elected clerk of courts of Johnson County and
served three terms, until January 1, 1887, and as deputy clerk
until August, 1888, when he began the practice of law in Iowa
City, in which he has been engaged ever since.
Mr. Bradley is affiliated with the democratic party and al-
though he has never considered himself in the political field,
yet he has received many political honors. While living in
Hardin township he was elected clerk and assessor, and sec-
retary and treasurer of the school board of the township, and
i:k>ii>knck di' stki'iii'x in: \i>u:\
has since been councilman of the first ward of Iowa City for
two terms.
He is a member of the A. 0. H. No. 1, of Iowa City, and of
the B. P. 0. E. 592, of Iowa City. He is a member of St. Pat-
rick's Catholic church, of Iowa City.
In March, 1878, Mr. Bradley was married to Mary Cusack.
Mrs. Bradley was born August 15, 1858, in Johnson county,
Iowa. Her parents were Lawrence and Katherine Cusack,
both of whom were natives of Ireland and came to this country
with their parents when small children.
Mr. and Mrs. Cusack were married in Chicago and came
BIOGRAPHICAL 137
to Johnson county in 1855 and lived in Oxford, where Mr.
Cnsack died and where Mrs. Cusack is still living.
Mr. Bradley is now associated in the practice of the law with
Judge John J. Ney.
ROBERT B. GRAHAM
There is always a peculiar connection between a man's
name and his occupation or the business he is engaged in.
Especially is this true when the business has been long estab-
lished under the same management. For instance, the name
of Graham and livery. The "Graham Livery" is so thorough-
ly identical with the business interests of Iowa City that it is
almost impossible to think of one without the association of
the other. To think of Graham it is so very natural to imme-
diately think of the livery business, and if one's attention is
called to the livery business it is at once associated with the
name of Bob Graham. Probably no other man in the county
is better or more favorably known than Mr. Graham.
Robert B. Graham was born in Coshocton county, Ohio,
August 8, 1845. His parents were Benjamin and Jane (Love)
Graham. Benjamin Graham was born in Ireland, and came to
America with his parents when three weeks old. He used to
remark that "he began life at an early age." The family set-
tled first in Pennsylvania ; afterwards moving to Ohio, and on
October 1, 1849, the young couple left their Buckeye home and
started for Iowa, taking with them young "Bob," age two, and
Caroline, then just past four years of age. They landed at Du-
buque thirty-one days later. Prior to their arrival in Illinois,
the family made a tour of Wisconsin, but not being satisfied
with conditions in the Badger state, came to Iowa and stopped
for awhile at Vinton, where they had friends. Thence they
came on to Iowa City, arriving in the month of November,
1849. From that time to the present "Bob" Graham has never
been outside of Johnson county at any one time longer than
three and one-half months. This proves that the county
"looked good to him" from the besrinning and all the way
through.
Benjamin Graham was an influential man in the county in
138 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
his day, being one of tbe largest land owners and most public
spirited men of bis time. Everything relating to tbe welfare
of tbe county and tbe betterment of conditions enlisted his
cooperation. At the time of his deatb, April 18, 1882, he owned
1,013 acres of land in Johnson county. Six children were
born to Benjamin and Jane Graham, our subject being the
oldest. Tbe others are: Caroline S., now Mrs. A. W. Bradley,
of Chicago; James K., residing in Iowa City; Annie E., now
Mrs. Ed Long, of Cedar Rapids ; Josephine and Louise, twins,
the former now Mrs. J. F. Hill, of Iowa City, and the latter
Mrs. F. J. Long, of Iowa City. Mother Graham died April
1,1904.
After securing a good fundamental education in tbe country
schools, our subject engaged in farming in Scott township,
and continued therein until 1883. In that year be moved to
Iowa City. In 1885, however, he returned to tbe farm, where
he remained for fourteen years. November 9, 1899, be bought
the livery and stock business where he was located until March
6, 1912, 217-221 East Washington street. His son, Harry L.,
is now associated with him in the business under tbe firm name
of Graham & Son.
On December 14, 1871, Mr. Graham was married to Miss
Nancy A. Pringey, a native of Virginia, who came to Iowa with
her parents when a child. The Pringeys settled in Muscatine
county, where the mother died in 1868. The father died No-
vember 25, 1911, at the age of ninety-three. Mr. and Mrs.
Graham have five children : Luella, residing at home ; Harry L.,
in business with his father; Albert B., associated with C. R.
Owen in the C. 0. D. laundry in Iowa City ; Leroy, a student in
the Dental Department S. IT. I ; Laura Elsie, living at home,
graduate of the Iowa City Commercial college.
Our subject is liberal as to local jDolitics and republican on
national issues. He is a Knight Templar and a member of
the B. P. O. E. of Iowa City. Mrs. Graham and daughter Lu-
ella are members of the Eastern Star.
BIOGBAPHICAL 139
JOHN ALFBED ALMA PICKERING
John A. A. Pickering' was a child two years of age when be
arrived in Iowa City in the spring of 1857 in company with
his parents, George and Mary A. (Watson) Pickering, natives
of "Warwickshire, England. He was an infant in arms when
the family left their native country for the tedious, six-weeks'
voyage by sailing vessel for New York. After arrival at the
new world metropolis the family remained there for three
months, at the end of which time they went to Rahway, New
Jersey, and resided one and one-half years in that state. Then
they made the westward move which brought them to Iowa
City, where the father and mother and one of their three
children (our subject) still reside. Father and Mother Pick-
ering have both reached the venerable age of eighty years,
but are alert and active, and take great comfort in their beau-
tiful pioneer home at 518 South Gilbert street. The garden
and lawn of George Pickering are famous for their beauty ;
their care and oversight are matters of extreme pride on his
part.
George Pickering was born in Warwickshire, England, May
9, 1831. His parents were John and Anna Pickering, also na-
tives of AVarwickshire, who removed to America and died and
were buried at Salt Lake City, Utah. Three sons and three
daughters were born to John and Anna Pickering, of whom
two survive, George, and Jane, wife of John Segar, of Salt
Lake City. The marriage of George Pickering to Mary A.
Watson took place at Stratford-on-Avon, England, June (i,
1853. His wife is the daughter of John Watson and Mary A.
Harrison, and was born March 23, 1831. Three children were
born to George and Mary Pickering: John A. A., our sub-
ject ; Mary Louise, wife of Dr. J. A. Williams, of Wayne, Ne-
braska; William James, married to Elizabeth Benton, residing
at Seattle, Washing-ton, father of two children. May and Xina.
Reference has already been made to the removal of the family
from England to America. Grandmother Pickering, who is
also a great-grandmother, takes pride in the fact that she is
one of the original charter members of the Protestant K|>is-
copal church of Iowa City. Father Pickering, in his early
140 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
days in Iowa City, was employed by the old Cannon family
and by the Morgan family.
John A. A. Pickering was born March 2, 1855, at Leaming-
ton, Warwickshire, England. His education was received in
the ward schools of Iowa City. After mastering the common
branches he began clerking, at the age of thirteen, for C. M.
Eeno, who had just opened a queensware business on East
Washington street at what is now the site of the Western
Union Telegraph office. After clerking for Mr. Eeno ten
years, young Pickering bought out his employer and after
RESIDENCE OF THE LATE JOHN ALFRED ALMA PICKERING
three years removed the store to the corner of South Dubu-
que and East College streets, the present site of the Citizens
Savings and Trust Company. At that location Mr. Pickering
branched out into a department store and became a wholesaler,
retailer, and importer of china, glass, and fancy goods, toys,
etc. For twenty-six years he continued at the last named lo-
cation and then removed to 119-121 East College street, where
he occupied two floors 22x80 and carried on a trade unsur-
passed in popularity by any store of the city. The business
was originally known as "China Hall," and this name,
through long association, still clings to the store and its pro-
prietor.
Mr. Pickering was the father of six children. The names of
BIOGRAPHICAL 141
the children, in the order of birth, are : John Cleveland (named
for President Cleveland) ; Geneva, wife of George Ellis Kenny,
mother of two children, John J. and "William Harold ; George
W. E., his father's assistant in the store; Arthur A., married,
father of one child ; Marjorie Louise, and Dorothy, residing at
at home. The family are members of the Episcopal church.
The Pickering family home is located at 610 Brown street,
and is the old homestead of Banker Downey, deceased, one of
the pioneer financiers of Johnson county. The place is one
of the landmarks of Iowa City and occupies ten acres. The old
timbers which were hewn for the residence are still intact;
indeed, except for the replacing of the small window lights
with modern patterns, the house looks the same as of yore.
Mrs. Downey, who revisited the old home recently, declared
that everything looked quite familiar to her. Two of the old
fruit trees set out by Banker Downey still bear fruit. As high
as twenty -two bushels of pears in a single season have been
taken therefrom. The excellence of the "Pickering pears" is
well known by all the neighbors, old and new. Our subject
died December 15, 1911, and was buried in Oakland cemetery.
JOHN SUEPPEL, SR.
Deceased
"His life was gentle and all the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And sag, This was a man."
The greatest monument to the memory of any human life
is a record of worthy character, of good deeds accomplished.
No granite shaft can tell the story : it must be engraved upon
the page of history as recorded in the hearts and minds of
men.
The subject of this sketch was a person whose character left
a deep impression upon the community in which he moved
and his departure from the scenes of active life leaves a va-
cancy that must long be realized. His watchful care and zeal
and good faith in every official position of life won for him
the confidence and respect of all who knew him. His loyalty
to home, friends, and fraternal relations displayed his great
142 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
moral worth and won him the admiration and love of these
associates with him. He never sowed to the wind, neither did
immorality of any kind find lodgment in his pure mind. Noth-
ing dishonorable or untruthful was ever charged against him,
but in every department of life he walked uprightly before God
and man, squaring his actions by the square of justice, ever
remembering that he was traveling upon a level of time to a
brighter, purer sphere than this.
John Sueppel was born October 8, 1836, at Muersbach,
Landgericht Bannach, Koeigriech Bacom. With his parents
he came to America in 1853, and the family settled at Erie,
Pa. Three years later, being then nineteen years of age, he
became imbued with a desire to try his fortune in the farther
west and in a newer country, so bidding adieu to the paternal
home he came to Iowa City. He arrived there on New Year's
day, 1855, and soon became identified with the business in-
terests of the pioneer town, and for forty years conducted suc-
cessfully different commercial enterprises, part of the time dry
goods and later the grocery business. Forty years in business
in Iowa City is a long record for any man, but the career of
Mr. Sueppel did not comprise the accumulation of wealth
alone but embraced a desire to benefit mankind and advance
the welfare of the community. He was public spirited in every
sense of the word, anxious to aid and encourage the growth
and upbuilding of his city. He was proud of his state, his
county, and of Iowa City and her educational institutions,
parochial schools and hospitals.
He was city treasurer from 1876-1877 and in 1877 was elect-
ed county treasurer, which office he held for four years. He
was one of the leading citizens instrumental in securing the
fine Carnegie library. He was one of the principal founders
of the Roman Catholic Mutual Protection Society, which from
a small beginning has grown into a state-wide organization
with over 4,000 members, including also a number of branches
in adjoining states, and which by securing protection and sup-
port to the widows and children of its beneficiaries is doing a
noble work of charity and blessing that not only brings a great
reward upon its founders and supporters, but is of incalculable
value and benefit to humanity. So great was the esteem of the
members of the societv for his financial ability that they
BIOGRAPHICAL
1 i:
elected him one of the directors of the state board and re
tained him in that position until his death, when he was then
in the beginning of his fifteenth year of service. In 1881 Mr.
Sneppel was elected treasurer and secretary of the R. C. M.
P. S., and held that office for ten years.
For over thirty years he held some responsible office in the
management of the Catholic church. He was an active mem-
ber of St. Mary's Gentlemen's Sodality and never missed a
communion Sunday while able to attend. He was a member
of St. Joseph's Benevolent Society and the Knights of Colum-
m-.-IUKXCK OF
>EL, SB.
bus, and was ever devoted to the noble principles of fraternity
and Catholicy which that order inculcates. His wife was a
charter member of Rosary Society.
Mr. Sneppel was married September '12, 1859, to Miss
Catherine Robert, daughter of Wolfgang and Katherine
(Shellhorn) Robert, natives of Bavaria, who came to America
on a sailing vessel, and after an eight week's voyage landed
at Baltimore. Maryland, July 4. From Baltimore they came
by rail and canal to Havre de Grace, and then over the Alle-
144 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
gheny Mountains by elevated railway to Pittsburg and then
down the Ohio river by steamer to Cincinnati and St. Louis.
From St. Louis they proceeded by steamer up the Mississippi
river to Burlington, Iowa, and then across the wild prairie
country with an ox team to Johnson county. They crossed
the English river at the present site of Riverside, and finally
arriving at Old Man's creek in Sharon township they estab-
lished their pioneer habitation in the woods. They first located
on section 31, and lived for a time in true pioneer style in a log
house made of big round logs put together with wooden pegs in
place of nails. They lived here on a small farm of fifty acres
for about two years. They then moved to a different location
on the same section where they built a larger house and here
they made their home for fifteen years. During some part of
this time Wolfgang Rohert and his son Adam worked on the
state capitol then building and walked from the farm back and
forth to their work, a distance of ten miles.
On September 12, 1901, Mr. and Mrs. John Sueppel cele-
brated their forty-second anniversary. The following notice
regarding the event appeared in a local paper :
"There were no demonstrations and no formal observance
of the happy event but the bride and groom received many
congratulations from the many warm friends who recalled the
fact that the veteran grocer and his estimable wife had been
pronounced one September 12, 1859. The bride resided then
at Old Man's Creek, and the young groom, though not an im-
personator of Leander, who swam the Hellespont for his loved
one or Lochinvar who bore his bride away on the fleet steed,
Mr. Sueppel in claiming his bride called to mind both the an-
cient and modern gallant. To bring Miss Rohert to Iowa City
where Rev. Father Emmons might pronounce the words that
made the couple husband and wife it was necessary for the
prospective groom to ford the Iowa river, and of course the
ever ready friend at hand played an important part in that
journey to the west side. The lower river bridge was then
building and the abutments going into place. The contractor
was a former sheriff of Johnson county — Marshal Scott
Wilson's father, by the way. Thus the young man found it
incumbent upon him to drive thru the rolling waters of the
Iowa and he accomplished this feat without hesitation. He
<%>^$h-
BIOGRAPHICAL 145
brought his sweetheart, the priest was summoned and the
young woman now a noble wife and mother became Mrs.
Sueppel."
Mr. Sueppel was a man of strong purpose, high minded, the
essence of honor, with a strength and warmth of sympathy
that made kindred and friendly ties especially strong. His
life was one of vigor. Activity was as essential to him as the
air he breathed. All who knew him will bear testimony to
his memory. A man of strong mental force, his unerring
judgment marked him from his fellows and only good motives
actuated his conduct. His life of fortitude stands as a model
of worthy emulation by a rising generation.
On Thursday, February 23, 1905, he laid down the burdens
and cares of earthly life and his soul passed out through the
gateway of immortality to his eternal rest. The funeral cor-
tege from the church to the cemetery was a long and impres-
sive procession. The four societies of which the deceased was
a member attended the obsequies in a body. Court had been
adjourned as a mark of respect for the departed former pub-
lic official and the city and county authorities assisted at the
services. So great were the throngs of people that sought
entrance that the big church edifice was quickly filled to over-
flowing so that many could not obtain admittance. The dense-
ly crowded auditorium and array of prominent priests in the
sanctuary with Pit. Rev. James Davis, D. D., coadjutor bishop
of Davenport, made an impressive scene, a silent but forceful
demonstration of the high regard of clergy and laymen for the
lamented departed. It was the largest funeral seen in Iowa
City for many years. The sanctuary rail and the casket were
covered with a profusion of magnificent floral tributes from
the familv and friends.
RALPH OTTO
The centennial year and month of American independence
witnessed the birth, in Iowa City, of the subject of this sketch.
It was fourteen days subsequent to the national anniversary
however, that the hearts of Max Otto and Katherine Mcln-
nery were gladdened by the arrival of their first son, Ralph,
146
HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
who was the fourth child of the family, three daughters,
Agnes, Clementine, and Mary, having preceded him. Later
the stork made three visits to the household hearing Joseph,
Lucia, and Helen. These seven children had a worthy father
and mother in Max and Katherine Otto, a happy union of Ger-
man and Irish blood which, under the favorable conditions
existent in the American great west, is productive of progres-
sive progeny.
Max Otto was a native of Germany, and saw the light of
day on Christmas, 1842, near Dusseldorf. Katherine Meln-
lil.slliK.M'E OF KALPH OTTO
nery, his wife, was born in Ireland, August J 3, 1843, and came
to Iowa in 1854. The former received a liberal education in
Dusseldorf, and when twenty-four years of age came to Amer-
ica, reaching Iowa City in the latter part of 1866, where he at
once entered upon active work as a school teacher in the build-
ing in the northern part of the city, which afterwards was
known as the Convent School, corner of Brown and Johnson
streets. Five years later he began business as a dealer in
musical instruments and taught music in connection therewith.
His classical German education had fitted him for the work of
BIOGRAPHICAL 147
instruction, and coupled with this he possessed the most deli-
cate and discriminative natural taste, the whole combining to
make him one of the most competent and popular instructors
of the west. Throughout his life, though in after years active
in other lines, his love and taste for music were preserved.
Perceiving the necessity for a German newspaper in this sec-
tion of Iowa, in 1881 he established the Iowa City Post, which
he conducted with ability until his death twelve years later.
Mr. Otto was called to the responsibilities of public office in the
spring of 1882, when he was elected city clerk, an office to
which he was re-elected in 1883, '84, '85, and '86, making a
consecutive term of office longer than that of any previous in-
cumbent. In 1887 he was elected to the office of clerk of the dis-
trict court of Johnson county, being re-elected to second and
third terms without opposition, and receiving the nomination
of his party by acclamation. In addition to discharging the
duties uf the two offices above mentioned, Mr. Otto served as
a member of the Iowa City school board. His marriage to
Miss Mclnnery took place April 4, 1869. She was a school
teacher in Iowa City for six years, doing her work in a two-
story brick building, which, on being burned in 1869, was re-
placed by a new brick, and the school work continued therein
by Mrs. Otto until 1871. Max Otto died March 14, 1893, and
the Johnson County Bar Association adopted very complimen-
tary resolutions, reciting his sterling character and invaluable
public services as clerk of the district court. Mrs. Otto is
still living.
Ralph Otto is a graduate of the Iowa City high school and
of the Department of Liberal Arts, S. TJ. L, 1898, and the De-
partment of Law, 1900. The year of his graduation he was
admitted to the bar and began the practice of law in his native
city, continuing without interruption until the present time.
That he is a worthy son of a worthy sire is proven by the fact
that he was chosen as mayor of Iowa City and filled that office
and professor of law at his alma mater. His legal practice
is very large, and his property holdings in the city and county
are extensive.
His marriage to Miss Alma Moffitt, of Iowa City, took place
July 29, 1903. The bride was born in this city November 9,
1878, her parents being of English descent. One daughter,
148 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Gretchen, four years of age, brightens the home at 415 East
Brown street.
Joseph M. Otto, the second son, brother of Ralph, was born
at Iowa City September 29, 1878. He graduated from the
Iowa City high school in 1894 and from the Department of
Liberal Arts, S. U. I. in the class of 1898. He served as dep-
uty clerk of the district court until 1901, when he became dep-
uty county auditor, serving for about one year. Thereafter
he became assistant cashier of the Citizens Savings & Trust
Company, holding this position until 1908. He was admitted
to the bar in 1906, and has been an active practitioner ever
since. He is a member of B. P. 0. E. and Knights of Colum-
bus.
Of the five daughters of Max Otto, Agnes is supervisor of
drawing in the Iowa City public schools and Lucia is a teacher
in the high school.
The student of biography cannot fail of being impressed
by the rise and progress of this family in America. The sit-
uation is one fraught with compliment alike to the talented
and energetic German father and his no less talented and vig-
orous Irish wife and to the gifted children who have brought
honor and further distinction to the name of Otto; but it is
also a significant commentary upon the great country of lib-
erty, where the social, educational, and economic conditions
make such successes possible. "A Lesson in American Fam-
ily Development" might fittingly be the title of this brief story
of Max Otto and his descendants.
ALBERT HEMMER
One of the honored retired merchants of Iowa City is Al-
bert Hemmer, who for twenty years, from 1881 to 1902, was
engaged in the dry goods business in the University City. At
that time, though only fifty years of age, he withdrew from
active business, and today, in the prime of life, resides at his
home, 430 East Bloomington street. Mr. Hemmer is a native
of Peoria, Illinois, the date of his birth being November 12,
1855. His parents were Joseph and Margaret Hemmer, both
of whom were natives of Germany. They died in Illinois and
BIOGRAPHICAL 149
are buried there. The elder Hemmer was by trade a mill-
wright, having secured a thorough knowledge of the business
in Germany, where he pursued the calling prior to removing
to America. Albert also was an expert miller, having learned
the trade in Cresent Flour Mills, Davenport, in 1870, and when
he came to Johnson county in 1875 he engaged in that trade,
continuing in the same line for ten years.
In 1877 Mr. Hemmer was married to Miss Marie S. Rupert,
a native of Iowa City, whose parents, born in Germany, were
pioneers of Johnson county, having located in 1855. Mr.
Rupert died in 1874. The mother died August 26, 1911, at
an advanced age of 89 and both are buried in Iowa Citv.
Albert Hemmer and wife are the parents of three children:
Amelia, born August 17, 1878, is married to J. S. Mutchler
and resides at Harvard, North Dakota ; Mary, born July 5,
1880, is married to A. E. Marquardt and resides at Lombard,
Illinois; Amil John G., born December 24, 1882, is a civil en-
gineer and a resident of Chicago.
Mr. Hemmer's business life has always been characterized
by conservatism, strict integrity, and straightforwardness,
though his methods were not lacking in vigor and aggressive-
ness, as must be evident from his long continuation as one of
the leading merchants of Iowa City. The inherent honesty
and ability of the German and the push of the American were
150 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
happily combined in him in the making of a sane, responsible
citizen. In politics nationally he is a democrat, though he has
always placed citizenship above partisanship. He and his wife
attend the German Lutheran church, of which she is a member.
At fifty-six, conscious of having wrought well in the years
of active life, he is in that state of mind and physical health
to enable him to thoroughly enjoy existence and take an active
interest in the current affairs of his city, state, and nation.
Among his neighbors, who are unanimously numbered in the
category of his personal friends, he is highly esteemed — an
indorsement to which no man can be indifferent, for there can
be no better.
Our subject served efficiently on the school board of Iowa
City for nine years, and was one of the directors of the old
Iowa City National bank. He was assistant assessor of Iowa
City for eight years up to the close of 1911.
SAMUEL F. LE FEVEE
Few men were better known or more widely respected in
Johnson county than Samuel Le Fevre, who, while a capitalist,
was every inch a man of affairs and aggressive in his efforts to
develop the city and county of his adoption. Mr. LeFevre
was born at Paradise, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in
1846. His death occurred at his residence in Iowa City on
June 15, 1900. Mr. LeFevre, though strictly speaking a finan-
cier, had a great fondness for agriculture, and though not
personally an adept at farming, he owned a large farm south-
east of Iowa City, which he took great pleasure in supervising.
In connection with T. C. Carson, who was president of the
Johnson County Savings bank, he formed a partnership in a
carriage repository. For a number of years Mr. Le Fevre
represented his ward in the city council of Iowa City, in the
affairs of which he exercised a distinctive influence. It was
his invariable rule to put into the administraton of public
business the same industry and care which he exercised in the
management of his private interests. This trait of character
brought him the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens
universally. Fraternally Mr. Le Fevre was a member of the
iAMTJEL LEFEVBE
BIOGRAPHICAL
151
A. F. & A. M. of Iowa City. The family were members of the
Congregational church.
Mr. Le Fevre's marriage to Miss Anna Lord took place at
Iowa City. The latter is a native of Maine, and came with
her parents to Johnson county in 1870. Her family settled
in Scott township on a farm purchased by her father. This
homestead is still farmed by Mrs. Le Fevre's only brother,
Frank Lord. Her parents spent their declining years at the
home of their daughter in Iowa City, receiving every comfort
that could be provided in a palatial home. Mrs. Lord died in
1886 and Mr. Lord in 1893.
HKSIIir.NCK OF MRS. ANNA I. KIT. VI IK
One son was born to Samuel and Anna Le Fevre, Samuel
Lord Le Fevre, in 1886, a young man of great promise. He
was a graduate of the Iowa City high school, and at his death,
in his nineteenth year, he had just completed the freshman
year in the State University of Iowa. His death was a great
sorrow to the devoted mother, who only five years previously
had been called to mourn the departure of her beloved husband.
Samuel Lord, the father of Mrs. Le Fevre, was born in Han-
cock county, Maine, September 1, 1826. Attracted by the gold
excitement on the Pacific coast, he went to California in 1850,
but returned to Maine in 1852 and engaged in the lumber busi-
ness. In 1857 he removed to the province of New Brunswick,
continuing in the same line of business until 1860, when he
152 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
again returned to the bosom of his native state. His next and
final move was to Johnson county, Iowa, in 1870, in company
with his wife (Emma Smith, to whom he was married in Maine
in 1855) and his two children, Anna and Frank. His occupa-
tion in Johnson county, until his retirement, was farming, a
business which he enjoyed.
HERBERT M. THOMPSON
From the schoolmaster's desk to the editorial sanctum is an
easy and natural step. There is no better post-graduate course
on earth than the newspaper forum, and the curriculum of this
institution is peculiar in that it provides for no day of gradu-
ation ; hence in the great College of Journalism there are no
alumni, barring, of course, those fellows who have become
smitten with the extreme unction of old age. Herbert M.
Thompson was a successful school teacher in Iowa for thirteen
years, being an instructor in the towns of Palo, Shellsburg,
Mondamin, Thornton, and Solon. In the latter town he has
been principal for the past three years, and for the year 1911,
the date of this biography, continues to hold that office. On
April 1, 1911, however, he purchased the Solon Economy, the
local newspaper, and became at once its editor, thus making
the change from Three R's to Fourth Estate without undue
shock. In connection with his regular school work, Mr. Thomp-
son spent one year upon the lecture platform, and for a num-
ber of years was an instructor at teachers' institutes in various
places. His editorship of the Economy, with the injunction of
its name constantly in mind, ought to give him the opportunity
for extensive usefulness.
Our subject was born at Shellsburg, Iowa, May 7, 1879, and
received his fundamental education in his native village,
graduating from the high school. Thereafter he took up the
active work of teaching, adding to his store of practical and
technical knowledge by attendance at summer schools in sev-
eral different institutions. His parents are Rev. J. W. and
Mary (Simmons) Thompson. The former was born in Tennes-
see and the latter in Illinois. Rev. Mr. Thompson received his
education and spent the early part of his life in his native
BIOGRAPHICAL 153
state. He began his ministry there. Later he removed to
Illinois, where he met and married Mary Simmons, who was a
native of Dallas. Her father, Samuel Simmons, was a soldier
in the Civil War, serving three and one-half years, retiring
from active service on account of a serious wound, from the
effects of which he died in later years. Reverend Thompson
and wife removed to Iowa about thirty-five years ago and set-
tled at Shellsburg. Tlieir family consisted of ten children:
Ollie, now Mrs. W. O. Penrose, of Marsballtown, Iowa; Ed-
ward S., engaged in boot and shoe business at Omaha, Nebras-
ka ; Mary L., chief buyer for Benson & Thorne, retail dealers
in ladies' and children's furnishings, at Omaha; Shirley M.,
manager of the Shellsburg Lumber Co., Shellsburg, Iowa ; our
subject; Maybelle R., now Mrs. R. E. Browne, whose husband
is manager of the S. H. Knox 5 and 10 cent store at Buffalo,
New York; Clifford H, a farmer, residing near Shellsburg,
Iowa ; Maude, who died at the age of nine years ; Grace L., now
Mrs. C. C. Miller, her husband being a representative of the
International Harvester Co., residing at Shellsburg, Iowa ;
"Winnifred. wife of Lee Cheney, a barber, of Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Our subject was married in 1904 to Miss Alta A. Barlow,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Barlow, of Palo, Iowa. Mrs.
Thompson is a native daughter of Nebraska. Mr. Thompson
is of the democratic political faith, and being a man of intelli-
gence, of course speaks his mind. He is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
DR. MARTIN OSCAR STAUCH
A graduate of the Medical Department of the State Uni-
versity of Towa in the class of 1911, Dr. Martin Oscar Standi.
of Solon, Iowa, is just entering upon the practice of his chosen
profession. His friends, having in mind the carefulness of his
preparation and his natural fitness for the work, predict for
the young physician a career of great usefulness, and to this
end they will aid him by an abundance of good wishes — a
valuable asset on the balance sheet of any young man.
Dr. Stanch is a native Iowan, born March 1, 1890, in Battle
Creek, Ida countv. He comes of fighting stock. His father,
154
HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Andrew Stauch, born in Germany in 1850, came to America in
1867, making the voyage in a sailing vessel, sixty days being
consumed in the journey. His first stop for any length of time
was in Ohio, from which state he enlisted in the regular army
for a period of five years. Having completed his term, he re-
enlisted for another five years, which be completed, making ten
years of continuous service in the army. During tbis period he
traveled all over the west and was engaged in numerous cam-
paigns against the Indians, having many miraculous escapes.
On his discharge from the army, he settled in Ida county, Iowa,
where he engaged in the furniture and undertaking business
at Battle Creek, continuing therein until his death, January 22,
HOME OF DR. M. 0. STAUCH
1901. He married Miss Ameta Peper, who bore him three chil-
dren: our subject; Elsie, who died at the age of sixteen; and
Marie, who is now attending school at Battle Creek and living
with her widowed mother.
Our subject graduated from the Battle Creek high school in
1907, thereafter entering the Medical Department of the State
University of Iowa, graduating in 1911, as before stated. He
is a member of the Nu Sigma Nu, an international medical fra-
ternity. For three years he was a member of the second de-
tachment of the hospital corps of the Iowa National Guards,
and was a first sergeant when he received his discbarge in May,
1911.
BIOGRAPHICAL
155
CHARLES H. SHTRCLIFF
''Once a postmaster, always a postmaster," may not be a
postal truism, but in tbe ease of Charles H. Shircliff, of Solon,
Iowa, it applies almost literally. Beginning- as a young man in
the postoffice at Newark, Ohio, as clerk, Mr. Shircliff held the
position of "Nasby" for a period of nearly forty years, or
until his retirement eight years ago to reside upon his farm
near Solon. His term at Newark was two years prior to 1853,
in which year he removed with his father's family to Johnson
county, Iowa. On arrival, our subject entered the general
store of Mr. McCune, at Solon, in which the postoffice was then
located, and, of course, his knowledge of the mail service was
put into immediate practical use in his new position. He con-
RESIDENCE <>F CHARLES H. SHIRCLIFF
tinued in the employ of Mr. McCune about five years, at the end
of which time he engaged in the mercantile business for him-
self, eventually securing the postmastership, which he retained
for about thirty years. His retirement from active mercantile
life took out of the business ranks of Johnson county one of
the most widely known citizens of Big Grove township.
Charles H. Shircliff was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, Au-
gust 5, 1836. He is the son of Lewis and Mary (Conley) Shir-
cliff, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Vir-
ginia. The parents were married in Maryland, and directly
after their union emigrated to Ohio, where they resided for
156 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
about forty years, their children being all born in that state.
In November, 1853, they removed to Johnson county, settling
on a farm near the present town of Solon. The elder Shircliff
pursued the occupation of farming until his death, January 19,
1881. His wife died July 8, 1878. Lewis Shircliff 's father, our
subject's grandfather, was a soldier in the revolution, and was
a participant in the famous battle of Brandywine. Lewis was
himself a soldier in the War of 1812 from the beginning to the
end. Eight children were born to Lewis and Mary Shircliff :
Edward, Harriet, Anna, William, Charles H., Michael, Har-
riet, and Margaret. All are dead, with the exception of our
subject and Michael, who lives in Solon, and Harriet, residing
in Kansas.
Our subject took for his wife Miss Eliza Fisher, a native of
Solon, whose parents were early settlers in the township. Two
children have blessed their union : Margaret and Lucille, both
living at home. Mr. Shircliff is a democrat, and has held many
local offices. He is widely known, honored, trusted, and re-
spected.
ANTHONY W T AYNE BEUTEE
Since he was a young man twenty-three years of age, An-
thony Wayne Beuter has farmed the old homestead taken up
by his father, Joseph Beuter, in Big Grove township, in 1843.
Five years later, or in 1848, the family located upon this home-
stead, a period of sixty-four years of continuous, faithful, and
intelligent effort as an agriculturist. Mr. Beuter is now
seventy -five years of age, vigorous, active, alert — a splendid
type of the Iowa farmer. It is upon the citizenship represent-
ed by such men as he that the progressive commonwealth of
Iowa rests — secure in its position in the front ranks of the
great sisterhood of American states, an abiding place for an
industrious, loyal, intelligent, prosperous people. The posses-
sions of such men as Anthony Wayne Beuter extend beyond
the metes and bounds of their original homesteads — they
overlap and intertwine with the aggregate wealth of the state ;
that wealth of public institutions and utilities, including the
school house, the university, the church, the railway, the elec-
tric energies, the network of good roads, the manufactories,
A. \V. II 1.1 II I
BIOGRAPHICAL
157
and all the elements of trade and industry. For the efforts
and ambitions and sacrifices of such men as he have made pos-
sible the completed structure of statehood -which is the admira
tion of the nation and the proud possession of the sons and
daughters of Iowa. The rewards of their efforts are all
around these valiant builders of the commonwealth — they
share with their posterity, and rightfully, the peaceful fruits
of progressive statehood.
Anthony Wayne Beuter is a native of Taylorsville, Mus-
kingum county, Ohio. The date of his birth was May 16, 1836.
Ilis parents were Joseph and Anna (Staasy) Beuter, horn in
Germany, and married in their native country. Thev settled
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58
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.
.XTHOXY W.
in Taylorsville in 1833. The elder Beuter was a cooper, and
worked at that trade for fifteen years. In 1843 he made a trip
of investigation to Johnson county, Iowa, at which time he
purchased 120 acres of land. He then returned to Ohio, where
he remained five years, at the end of which time he removed
with his family overland to Johnson county and settled per-
manently upon the farm which he had previously purchased.
This farm he lived upon until his death, January 2:1, 1 sT.'i.
His active work thereon ceased, however, in 1861. Mother
Beuter survived until 1888. Six children were horn to this
couple: A. J., married, and lived in Solon a good many years,
now deceased; Lucy, married to John Eekler, of Iowa city,
both deceased; Nicholas L., a volunteer in the Civil War, killed
158 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
in Arkansas ; our subject ; Genevieve, now Mrs. Edward Lilly,
living- in Pocahontas county, Iowa.
In 1859 our subject took active charge of the work on the old
homestead. Eleven years later (1870) he decided that it was
not well to be alone and took as a life companion Miss Marga-
ret Williams, a native of Pennsylvania, whose parents came to
Big Grove township in the early sixties. Mr. and Mrs. Beuter
have three children living: Wayne, married to Miss Rose
Kroma, father of eight children, Marie, Harvey, Nicholas,
Charles, Genevieve, Bernard, Joseph, and Anna — his wife
died December 3, 1910; he was married to Margaret J.
Kroma, November 8, 1911; Mary, now Mrs. Thomas Eggen-
berg, living on a farm near Coralville, has one daughter,
Clara ; Ray, married to Miss Caroline Brecht, living in Benton
county.
Anthony Beuter has always been a consistent democrat.
He held the position of township trustee for fifteen years and
secretary of the school board for over twenty-five years, be-
sides other offices in the county. His life has been that of a
typical American citizen, his interest in all proper public en-
terprises being keen and practical. He is among the oldest
settlers of the county living today, is one of the best known of
its citizens, and commands universal respect. No man could
ask or receive a greater reward for the labors of a well-spent
life.
MICHAEL S. SHIRCLIFF
The history of the Shircliff family has been quite fully set
forth in the biographical sketch of Charles II. Shircliff, printed
in this volume, to which the attention of the reader is directed.
Michael S., the subject of this sketch, is the only surviving
brother of Charles II., and is a respected citizen of Solon,
Iowa, having retired from active business about ten years ago.
He was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, February 29, 1842, and
removed to Johnson county, Iowa, with the family in 1853.
Our subject was eleven years of age when he reached Big
Grove township, and for some time thereafter attended the
public schools of the neighborhood. On leaving school, he
entered the mercantile business in company with his brother
BIOGRAPHICAL 150
Charles, and continued therein up to the time of his retire-
ment from active business life in 1901.
Mr. Shircliff was married in 1870 to Miss Helen McCune, a
daughter of one of the pioneer merchants of Solon. She died
in 1885, and our subject remarried in 1888, taking for his sec-
ond wife Miss Addie Pratt, daughter of 1). A. and Rachel
RESIDENCE OF MICHAEL S. SHIRC
Pratt, who came to Johnson county in 1840, in which county
Miss Addie was born. Mr. Shircliff has one child by his second
wife, Lois H., now Mrs. G. I. Fleming, residing on a farm near
Ely, Iowa.
Our subject, though near the three score and ten limit, is
still an active factor in the social life of his community. He
is a democrat in politics.
DR. LEWIS WILLIAM HARDING
One of the most respected medical practitioners of Johnson
county is Dr. Lewis William Harding, of Solon. For twenty-
one years the doctor has administered to the sick and the in-
jured of his neighborhood, adhering religiously to the ethics
of his noble profession ; in readiness at morning, noon or night,
in storm or sunshine, in heat or cold, to respond to the call of
need; to face danger of tempest, or flood, or contagion.
Dr. Harding was born June 8, 1806, in Washington county,
160 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Iowa, and there his aged parents, Thomas and Alvina (Sears)
Harding, are still living at the advanced ages of eighty-three
and eighty-one respectively, having enjoyed together sixty-one
years of wedded life. The father and mother are natives of
Ohio and were married in that state. Soon after their mar-
riage they removed to Rock Island county, Illinois, where they
resided two years, thence removing to Washington county,
Iowa, where they have since continuously resided. Both are
in excellent health at this writing (1911). Seven children were
born to Thomas and Alvina Harding. In the order of birth
they are: B. H., married and living at What Clieer, Iowa, en-
| M ji|'^ntng' i nf'
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hbe 4
ytiiii'iiiiiii^
^^jzrr&* 3! $
PALMER HOUSE
gaged in railroad work; Mary, wife of Dr. J. T. Glaze, died in
Solon about twenty-two years ago ; Minnie, now Mrs. F. B.
Jackson, living in Washington county; Charles, who died in
infancy; Ella, now Mrs. A. E. Hefer, living in Solon; our sub-
ject; Margaret, now Mrs. Dr. J. T. Hay, living in Lincoln,
Nebraska.
Our subject received his public school education in Wash-
ington county, graduating from the Ainsworth high school.
Thereafter he entered the Medical Department of the State
University of Iowa, graduating therefrom in 1898. He imme-
diately began the practice of medicine at Solon, Iowa, where
he has resided continuously. On April 6, 1892, Dr. Harding-
was married to Miss Anna Grace Beuter, daughter of A. J.
BIOGRAPHICAL 163
Beuter, who was an important factor in the early history of
Solon, having owned at one time all the land whereon the
southern part of Solon is now located. This land he platted
and sold out in lots. Mr. Beuter was county supervisor for a
number of years, was very influential in politics and business,
and was regarded as one of the stanch men of the county.
Dr. and Mrs. Harding have two children: Meryle Cleone,
attending Cornell college at Mt. Vernon, Iowa, having gradu-
ated from the Solon high school in 1909; Donnan Beuter, now
lit'teen years old, a graduate of the Solon high school, class
of 1911.
In politics Dr. Harding is a republican ; in religion, a Metho-
dist. He is a member of the Johnson County Medical Society,
the Eastern Iowa Medical Society, the Rock Island Railroad
Surgical Association, the Iowa State Medical Association, and
the American Medical Association.
JACOB Y. STOVER
The subject of this sketch is one of the U>\v now remaining
who were among the first of the pioneers of Johnson county.
Seventy-three years have passed since the Stover family first
set foot in Iowa and located on the site of the old homestead,
which is still in possession of the family.
Jacob Stover was then fifteen years of age, and it is dit'lilult
to realize that during his lifetime this area which now com-
prises the county has emerged from one unbroken wilderness
to a proud position among the foremost commonwealths of
the United States; that men are now living who have witnessed
this entire transformation seems almost incredible.
Mr. Stover was born in Wayne county, Indiana, August 4,
182o. His parents, Joseph and Ester (Yount) Stover, were
natives of Virginia and Tennessee respectively. At an early
day they settled in Ohio, but after a short stay there they re-
moved to Hagerstown, Wayne county. Indiana, where they
lived for about thirty years. In 1836 they removed to St. doe,
Indiana, and about one year later, or in 1S.'!7, the father made
a trip to Iowa and, after looking the country over to some ex-
tent, he returned to Indiana and in 1838 he removed with his
162 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
family to Johnson county, arriving there after a long and
tedious journey on the 6th of May, 1838. It was the time of
year when the new country possessed a peculiar charm, when
earth and sky combined to make delightful to the eye the
grandeur and majesty of the rolling prairies covered with wild
flowers and waving grasses. The Iowa river and smaller
streams were heavily timbered and it was in the wooded por-
tions that the new settler usually established his home. South
of what is now Iowa City and in Pleasant Valley township,
not far from the Iowa river, the Stovers selected the location
for their future dwelling. That was two years previous to any
RESIDENCE OF JACOB Y. STOVER
appearance of the town of Iowa City. They lived there two
years and then removed to a farm they had purchased within
one mile of Iowa City, and this became the old family home-
stead and is still in possession of Mr. Stover. Here on the old
farm Mr. Stover grew to manhood, assisting in the labor of
home building and in bringing the soil into cultivation, expe-
riencing the usual lot of pioneer settlers.
Ten years later, Mr. Stover began to hear some of the
stories of the wonderful country lying far towards the setting
sun, and in response to the lure of gold and wild adventure he,
in company with some others, set out for California. After a
BIOGRAPHICAL 1G3
long journey across the plains and meeting with many Btrange
adventures, he finally reached his destination. He remained
there for three years, where lie had a varied and interesting
experience, some of which is told in the first volume of this
work. Returning home, lie remained on the farm for ahoul
one year and then engaged in the wholesale grocery business
in Iowa City. It was during the time of "wild cat" money.
when a person could go to bed at night with a roll of hank
notes that were good and wake up in the morning to find them
worthless, owing to the uncertain and precarious conditions
of the country's finance, and unstable banking system, all of
which caused a loss in the enterprise of about $20,000.
In 1859 Mr. Stover made the second trip to California. The
journey was eventful in many ways, and, after encountering
many dangers and enduring many hardships, found himself
again in the "golden west." It was his intention to remain in
that country, but after three years' residence, during which
time he had prospered very well, he received word from his
father, who was getting very old, and in November, 1862, he
returned to the old homestead in Johnson county, where he
remained until 1896. He then retired from the farm and re-
moved to Iowa City, where he now resides on Court street in a
very comfortable home.
Mr. Stover was married duly 12, 1863, to Susan R. Switzer,
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Wolfe) Switzer, both natives
of Maryland. (See sketch of Switzer family.) To this union
were born eight children, six of whom are now living: U. S.
Grant, married to Miss Eva Allen, of Lone Tree, and residing
in Burlington, Iowa: Chas. C. Switzer, married to Miss Annie
Zimmerman, of Wellman, Iowa, they reside in Minneapolis;
Sarah Emma resides at Iowa City and is employed in Citizens
Bank; Jacob Edwin, postal clerk on C. M. & St. P. R. K., re-
sides at Davenport; Bessie E. Stover, librarian in the Univer-
sity Horary, resides at home; Samuel K. resides in Minneapo
lis, where he is an electric engineer.
Mr. Stover votes the republican ticket, and both he and his
wife are consistent members of the M. E. church.
164 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
SAMUEL DANFORTH WHITING
Samuel Danforth Whiting, the subject of this sketch, is en-
titled to write his name among the first families of New Eng-
land. His ancestors were among the founders of Boston, and
Lowell, Massachusetts, is located on the Whiting farm. His
father's ancestry dates back to the seventeenth century in
Massachusetts. Timothy Whiting and Mary A. Dudley, his
parents, however, are natives of New York state, both being-
born in Jefferson comity. Happily, both are now living, the
father in honorable retirement, at Iowa City with our subject.
The mother is a practicing physician at Los Angeles, Califor-
nia. Timothy Whiting, in earl}- life, was a railroad engineer
(civil), but later took up in connection with his profession the
business of brick and tile. He is well and favorably known
throughout Iowa, having done a large amount of surveying in
the state. He was at one time in company with Ex-Governor
Larrabee in the brick and tile business at Clermont, Iowa. The
Whiting family came west to Fayette county, Iowa, about 1861,
at the beginning of the Civil War, and resided in that county
until 1885, where Mr. Whiting was county supervisor, when
they removed to Iowa City in order that the children might
have the educational advantages of the University city. Five
BIOGRAPHICAL 165
children were bom to this excellenl couple, all of whom are
living at this writing.
Samuel Danforth Whiting, the third in order of birth, was
born in 1875 in Clermont, Payette county, [owa,and came with
his parents to lnwa ( !ity when he was ten years of age. Here
he grew to manhood, was educated, entered business, and still
resides. Ee graduated from the [owa City high school in the
class of 1892, and from the State University of Iowa in the
class of 1896, with the degree of A. B. Following his gradua
tion lie became principal of the .Jefferson Township high
school, Shueyville, [owa, lor one year. He was then elected
county school superintendent ami served from 1898 to L902.
Thereafter Mr. Whiting entered the Law Department of the
S.U. I. and graduated in the class of 1904, with the degree of
LL.B. He immediately put out his "shingle" and began the
practice of law. Being an expert French, German, and Bo-
hemian scholar, his pathway to professional success has been
uniformly progressive, and he is regarded as one of the sue
cessful members of the Johnson Counts- Bar Association.
Mr. Whiting married Caroline Buresh, of Shueyville.
daughter of Joseph and Mary (Kahoun) Buresh, both de
ceased. Mr. Buresh was a farmer of Jefferson township. He
was a native of Bohemia, horn in April, 1838, and came to
America in 1864. He accidentally shot and killed himself
while hunting, in 1883. His marriage to .Miss Kahoun took
place in Cleveland, Ohio, December 25, 1869, where he lived
for ten years and was employed by a glass company. Miss
Kahoun was a native of Bohemia, and came to America when
sixteen years old. She was the fifth child in her father's
family.
Four children have been hum to Mr. and Mrs. Whiting:
Nathan, Samuel, Mary, and Joseph. The family resides on a
forty-acre tract north of the Kimball road, facing North Sum
mit avenue, a sightly, beautifully shaded place, famous for its
products of fruits. Mr. and Mrs. Whiting are members of the
Congregational church.
STEPHEN AJjFRED SWISHER
The name of Swisher bulks largely in the history of John-
son conntv. It is one of the early names of this section (J' the
166 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
state, and figures prominently in the financial, educational, and
religious development of the commonwealth. No name is
more honored in Iowa City, where prominent members of the
family reside. Wilson Swisher, a deceased brother of our
subject, had the honor of being the first male white child born
in Jefferson township. His father and mother were distin-
guished as the first couple to be married in that township.
Thus it will be seen that the origin of the family dates back to
the beginnings of civilization in Iowa. The fact that it has
kept pace with the development of the state, identifying itself
with the affairs thereof, and today occupies a prominent and
important place, speaks more loudly than words of the sterling
worth of the Swisher household.
Our subject is the youngest of the eight children of Benja-
min and Elizabeth Smith Wliitemore, six of whom reached
maturity. Benjamin Swisher was born in Piqua county, Ohio,
April 2, 1817, and died a resident of Johnson county in 1885.
He was a son of John and Catherine Swisher, and was left
fatherless at four and motherless at seven years of age. On
the death of his parents, the orphan boy went to live with his
uncle Leeds, and remained with him until he reached his ma-
jority. In 1840 he turned his face westward and became a
resident of Yan Buren county, Iowa, then a territory. In
March, 1841, he removed to Monroe township, Johnson county,
where he resided until 1844, when he settled in Jefferson town-
ship in Section 7. In this township he became a large land
owner, accumulating over 400 acres. On May 16, 1841, he was
married to Mrs. Elizabeth (Smith) Whitemore, a widow, their
marriage, as stated previously, being the first to be celebrated
in the township. The homestead established by Benjamin and
Elizabeth Swisher is one of the best known and most cele-
brated in this section of the state. It was "dedicated by the
father and mother to their country and their God." A writer,
in speaking of it, says: "No home has done more for John-
son county and Iowa than this old farm in the hills, and its
influence shall abide when the waves of another ocean surge
above it." The country was sparsely settled in those early
days. Only one dwelling stood in all the country between the
Swisher home and Cedar Rapids, while but three or four had
been built between it and the then little village of Iowa City.
r.KMiKAIMIR'AL
Hi
In spite of the soda] isolation, however, the home was the
scene of ideal fellowship, in which the comradeships of par-
ents and children were wrought out in an atmosphere of per-
petual sunshine. Strong family attachments were therefore
inevitable, and these are a distinctive characteristic of the
Swisher family.
In this old "home in the hills" the eight children of Benja
min and Elizabeth Swisher were horn. Wilson, the eldest,
died in childhood ; Abraham E., died in August, 1909 j John P.,
died in February, 1881 ; Catherine Bollard, died September 9,
1885. The names of the survivors are: Lovell A., cashier of
the First National bank of Iowa City; Benjamin F., Stephen
KKSlliKXCK OF STEPHEN ALFRED SWISHER
Alfred, our subject. The eighth child died in infancy. The
mother died August 9, 187").
Stephen Alfred Swisher was born February 4, 1856, in the
log cabin home in Jefferson township. He was raised on the
old homestead, and, of course, took part in the farm work in
his younger days. His education, begun in the common
schools of the county, was continued in the Iowa City Academy
and the State University of Iowa. In October, 1879, he began
the business of general insurance, in which he has continued
until the present time. He represents the following compan-
ies: Aetna; Hartford; Home; Franklin; Insurance Company
of North America; Liverpool, London & Globe; Connecticut
168 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Insurance Company; Iowa Manufacturers ; Travelers of Hart-
ford; Mutual Benefit of Newark, New Jersey; Metropolitan
Casualty Company; Maryland Casualty Company. He has
been signally successful in his chosen avocation, and ranks as
one of the best informed men in the insurance line in the state
and has been the leading man in his profession for 28 years.
A remarkably retentive memory has been a distinct advantage
to him in his business relations.
Mr. Swisher's interest in educational, commercial, and so-
cial matters has always been pronounced. At the sixteenth
session of the Iowa Society of Colonial Wars he was reelected
governor for 1911-32. He is a member of the Sons of the Rev-
olution, securing his eligibility in this order from his mother's
descent from Thomas Rose of Rhode Island, who was the first
member of the Rose family in this country and traces back to
the old Red Rose family of England, seven generations dis-
tant. He is an active member of the Country Club of Iowa
City and of the Iowa City Commercial Club. His standing in
the Methodist Episcopal church of Iowa City is indicated by
the fact that he is secretary of the board of trustees and has
been secretary of the Sunday school since 1882.
On September 14, 1886, he was married to Miss Nell G.
Custer, daughter of Paul and Gabriella (Wallingford) Custer,
who were natives respectively of New York and Kentucky.
Mr. and Mrs. Swisher have five children: Paidine, wife of
Dr. Lester A. Royal, of West Liberty, Iowa; Stephen A., Jr.;
John Custer; Thomas Rose; Gretchen Eleanor. The family
reside at 120 Fairchild street, Iowa City.
ABRAHAM E. SWISHER, deceased, brother of our sub-
ject, was a prominent factor in Iowa City. His death, in
August, 1909, was widely deplored. He was one of the or-
ganizers of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company of Iowa
City, and was elected its first cashier, later being made its
president. Born on the old homestead in Jefferson township
March 6, 1855, his early days were devoted to agriculture. He
was a student in the common schools, a graduate of the S. IT. I.
class of 1872, also of the law department, class of 1874, at
which time he received the degree of M. A. He began the
practice of law in Iowa City, and later was made local attor-
ney for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, the Bur-
BIOGRAPHICAL 169
Lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern, and the Chicago, Mil
waukee& St. Paul. His wife was Miss [da K. [ngalls, daugh
ter of Rev. P. P. tngalls, a promineni minister of the Metli
odist Episcopal church. The marriage took place in Des
Moines in June, 1879. Four children were born: Esther,
Alice, Helen, and [ngalls. Mr. Swisher was a man in whom
his business associates and the public reposed implicit confi-
dence. As an illustration, on the death of ( iharles T. Rankin,
the first president of the Citizens Savings & Trust Company,
Mr. Swisher was made administrator without bond of the
large estate. He was honored by the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he was a member from boyhood, in every
lay office within its gift, from teacher in the Sunday school to
delegate to the General Conference, the highest representative
body of the church. His pastor said of him, in an address
delivered at his funeral, September 1, 1909: "This confer-
ence has always held him in the highest esteem, and he was
nearly as well known as the best known preacher among us.
In fact he has attended every annual conference for fifteen
vears save one."
HARL VOLNEY McCLUSKEY
The marriage of Mr. Hail Volney McCluskey, on dune 2!).
1910, to Miss Bertha Louise Zimmerman made him by legal
relationship a member of the Zimmerman family. He was
already a member of the industrial household, having entered
the employ of the Monarch Grubber Company on Match 2,
1906, and continuing on the change of the name of the eider-
prise to Zimmerman Steel Company in 1908. The marriage
of these two young people seemed a logical outcome of their
association together day after day in the business office of
the steel company, and the consummation of their nuptials
was the occasion of widespread felicitations from host.', of
friends. Mr. and Mrs. .McCluskey were the recipients of
hearty congratulations on -Inly 2, 1911, when their first child,
a stout, sturdy boy, was horn. Thus the steel business al
Lone Tree promises to lie supplied with future directors and
managers.
170 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. McCTuskey is a native of Iowa, and his birthplace was
Riverside, Washington county. The date of his birth was
December 29, 1881. His father, John Pierre McCluskey, was
born near Farming-dale, New Jersey, April 25, 1852; and his
father's father came to America from Ireland at the age of
twelve years. The latter married an American girl and lived
and died in New Jersey. Three children were born to this
couple, John Pierre, George M., residing at Pleasant Point,
New Jersey, and Margaret (now Mrs. Conine), residing in
New Jersey.
John Pierre McCluskey was married on May 13, 1880, to
RESIDENCE OF HARL VOLNEY M CLUSKEY
Miss Eldora Fesler, a native of Liberty township, Johnson
county, Iowa (born March 3, 1855). To them were born the
following children: Harl V., George Sanford, Bertha May,
and Jesse W T alter. The three last named reside with the
parents at Waterloo, Iowa.
The Fesler family were early settlers of Liberty township.
Jacob Fesler, the father, was born in Virginia and moved to
Johnson county some time in the forties. His wife's name
was Mary Slife. The names of their family are: John,
Daniel, Albert, Charles, Eldora L., and E. Sandford; one
child, Rufus, died in infancy.
Daniel A. Fesler and his son carried on a furniture busi-
BIOGRAPHICAL 171
ness for some time together at Lone Tree. The business is
still being conducted by the son.
Harl Y. McCluskey was formerly a school teacher in Wash
ington and Johnson counties, and was at one time principal
of the Sharon Center high school. Upon entering the employ
of the Monarch Grubber Company, in 1906, he, of course,
abandoned pedagogy. Mr. McCluskey lias been clerk" of the
city of Lone Tree since 1909; is Chancellor Commander of
Lone Tree lodge K. of P.; Patron of local Eastern Star; is a
32d degree Mason, and member of Zarephath Consistory, of
Davenport; is a member of local lodge I. 0. 0. F., and Past
President M. B. A. of Lone Tree. With the exception of four
years of his boyhood spent, in Florida, where he assisted his
father on a tomato farm, his entire life has been lived in Iowa.
C. E. CLIFFORD
One of the most prosperous and highly esteemed farmers
of Scott township is C. E. Clifford, whose life and activities are
an open book. Few abler or more energetic men have taken
part in the agricultural development of Johnson county. From
the time of his first sojourn in the county, in 1858, wdien he
worked out by the month on a farm, until his settlement, with
his young wife, in 1862, in Union township, followed four
years later by his permanent location in Scott township, Mr.
Clifford has been an advocate of the best methods of agricul-
ture and stock raising. That he is a man of ability is attested
by the condition of the splendid farm of three hundred and
sixty acres in Section 28, which has been his home for forty-
five years, with the exception of the past ten years spent in
retirement at Iowa City.
Mr. Clifford was born in Eensselaer county, New York,
December 6, 1836, and at three years of age removed with his
parents to Oneida county, where he was reared upon a farm
and educated in the district school. At twenty-one years of
age he concluded to look over the great west with a view of
selecting a location for a permanent home. In pursuance of
this purpose, he first visited Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois, and
172
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
lastly Iowa, with the result that the Hawkeye state and John-
son county were given the decision. Having settled the mat-
ter of location, Mr. Clifford proceeded to return to the east
and take unto himself a partner for the journey of life. The
woman thus honored was Miss Arethusa Hartsook, horn in
Green county, Illinois, January 28, 1842. After their mar-
riage, Octoher 18, I860, the young couple remained in Oneida
county, New York, for a year and a half, after which they
carried out their purpose to settle in Johnson county, Iowa, as
indicated in the first paragraph of this sketch. The children
of Mr. and Mrs. Clifford are: Charlotte E., died Julv 24,
RESIDENCE OF C. E. CLIFFORD
1884; Belle, wife of Arthur B. Hall, Emporia, Kansas; Alice
M., wife of Charles M. Hollingsworth ; Oneida A., wife of
John E. Mosby, Oklahoma City; Edwin C, at home; Myra A.,
wife of Samuel Maxwell, M. D., Emporia, Kansas.
The paternal ancestors of C. E. Clifford were Germans, his
great grandfather, John Clifford, having been born in Hesse-
Cassel, Germany, where, enlisting in the German army, he
served seven years, and during that time was hired out to the
Hessians and came to America. Having served his seven
years, he was discharged in the West Indies, and then came to
Charleston, South Carolina, and enlisted in the American
cause, bravery assisting the Colonists in their struggles for
BIOGRAPHICAL 17::
duty. At the dose of the Revolutionary War he married an
American woman, and settled in Rhode Island. Christopher
A., their son, the grandfather of our subject, was horn in
Rhode Island, and died in Oneida counts, New York, but at
one time lived in Renssalaer county. New York, where the
father of our subject, Peter C. Clifford, was horn. The ma
ternal great grandfather of Mr. Clifford was Major Daniel
Brown, a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was a native
of New England, and died in Renssalaer county, where the
paternal grandfather, Daniel Brown, was born. Mis daughter,
Charlotte L., was also a native of Renssalaer county, and
afterwards became the mother of our subject.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. ( '. E. Clifford was Henry
Hartsook, a native of Pennsylvania, who died in Green county,
Illinois. The father of Mrs. Clifford, Stephen Hartsook, was
born in Pennsylvania, and later removed to Johnson comity,
Iowa, where he became widely known as an industrious, use-
ful citizen. He died much regretted by all who knew him. The
maternal great grandfather of Mrs. Clifford was Simon Van
Arsdale, who was born in Holland, emigrated to America in
an early day, and located in Pennsylvania, there founding liis
branch of the family in the United States. His son Simon
was the father of Mrs. Clifford's mother, Ellen J. Van Ars-
dale, who was born in Mercer comity, Kentucky.
Politically Mr. Clifford is emphatically a democrat, having
always taken an active interest in party organization. He
served as justice of the peace two years, trustee of Scott town
ship, school director, and road supervisor. He and his wife
have been active in religious work in the Presbyterian church,
of which they are honored members.
Mr. Clifford was one of the pall-beaTers at the funeral of
his intimate friend and neighbor, Gilbert R. Irish, one of the
associate editors of this history. Mr. Clifford died Augusl
21, 1911, and is buried at Oakland cemetery, Iowa City, Iowa.
174 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
SAMUEL TURNER MORRISON
Four generations of the Morrison family have been native-
born Americans, though the ancestry on the paternal side of
the house is Scotch-Irish and on the maternal French. The
great grandfather of the subject of this sketch, John S. Mor-
rison, emigrated from Ireland, his native country, and settled
in Pennsylvania, in which state John H. Morrison, our sub-
ject's grandfather, was born. The latter married Isabel W.
Dickey, a native of Pennsylvania (Franklin county), and the
couple removed to Tazewell county, Illinois, where they re-
sided for a great many years and where William A. Morrison,
our subject's father, was born, March 10, 1838, he being fifth
in a family of seven. Grandfather Morrison was an old line
whig and held office for twenty-four years in Tazewell county.
He died in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in 1870, and his wife at Albia,
in 1879. Both are buried at Iowa City. William A. Morrison
assisted his father on the old home farm in Tazewell county
until he was sixteen years of age, at which time (1854) his
parents removed to Marshalltown, Iowa, and he accompanied
them. In 1856 the family went to Missouri, but remained for
only a short time when they returned to the Hawkeye state
and settled in Johnson county. William A., with his brothers,
James and Crawford, opened a drug store in Iowa City, to
which in later years jewelry and stationery lines were added.
After a few years William A. bought out the interest of his
brothers and continued the business alone, building up an es-
tablished trade on the corner of Dubuque and Washington
streets, now the site of the Morrison block and the Commer-
cial Savings bank. Mr. Morrison was formerly vice president
of the Iowa State bank ; was four years an alderman from the
fourth ward of Iowa City, and was mayor of the city in 1880-
81. He was the owner of the Morrison block, of which our sub-
ject is now the manager. A democrat in politics, he was ac-
counted a man of sterling honesty in public as well as in pri-
vate life, and until his death he wielded a large influence in
the affairs of Iowa City. He was a member of Iowa City lodge
No. 4, A. F. & A. M., of the Royal Arch Masons and of Pales-
tine Commandery No. 2, Knights Templar. He was married
in 1863 to Elizabeth Fanny Jones, daughter of Wesley
HON. \VH. A. MOEBISON
BIOGRAPHICAL
Jones, a merchant of Burlington, Iowa. .Mr. Wesley
Jones, grandfather of our subject, erected the first frame
building in Johnson county, and was the lirst real mer
chant to locate in Iowa City. Mr. Jones had seven stores
at different places in Iowa and Illinois at that time.
Four children were horn to them: Wesley Jones Morrison, M.
D., a graduate of S. V. I., also of State University of Pennsyl-
vania in Medical Department; Cora r>.; Samuel T., our Bub
ject; and Captain William P., graduate of West Point in 1902.
Mr. Morrison and his wife were active members of the Pro-
HKSIDKXCE OF SAMUEL TUBNEB MORRIS!
testant Episcopal church; in fact, the widow is still one of the
prominent workers in that society.
Samuel Turner .Morrison received his education in the
public schools of his birthplace, Iowa City. Be attended the
State University of Iowa, and took a special technical course
in New York City. He chose for his occupation the jewelry
business, and in 1903 began his present enterprise in the old
stand in the Morrison block, confining himself to the exclusive
trade of jewelry and diamonds and its associated lines. It is
Mr. Morrison's proud claim that he has the most elegantly
and completely equi] "jied establishment in his line in Iowa City,
and this claim an inspection of the store would seem to justi-
fy. The show cases and fixtures are of mahogany and cul
176 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
glass in the latest designs, aiid every device and compartment
for storage and display is of the most up-to-date pattern.
The cut-glass display in a room adjoining the main store is
provided with electric bulbs so that the lines of the ware are
illuminated for the convenience of the customer in making
selections. A desk equipped with writing materials and tele-
phone for the use of patrons is provided. At the rear of the
main office is a fine vault of steel and within this is a burglar-
proof safe for the storage of jewelry. First-class watch-
makers and an optician are important adjuncts to the estab-
lishment. Mr. Hugo Rohwedder, a graduate optician, late of
Davenport, who joined the force in March, 1905, has charge of
the optical department. This store, in construction, equip-
ment and stock, will compare favorably with any of the larger
cities.
Our subject is married to Miss Hazel Frisbie, of Iowa City,
who is of English and German ancestry. They have one
daughter, Cora Adelaide. Mr. Morrison is a director of the
Commercial Savings bank; member of the Sons of the Revolu-
tion, the Society of Colonial Wars, the B. P. 0. E., the Iowa
City Automobile Club, and the Iowa City Country Club, and
Iowa City Commercial Club, in all of which he takes an active
interest.
OSCAR CLAY VAN METER
Ever since the dawn of civilization, and that dates from the
time when men began to travel, the inn, or hotel, has been
celebrated as "The Stranger's Home." At its fireside the
weary wayfarer has found a welcome and companionship; at
its table he has found refreshment and good cheer; in its
chambers he has found security and sweet repose. Some ap-
preciative disciple of Morpheus once said, "Blessings on the
man who invented sleep." He might have added a companion
by saying, "Blessings also on the man who established the
first hotel." From the days when in his tents at Mamre, the
Hebrew Abraham "entertained angels unawares," and the
years of chivalry, when kings and knights made merry at the
wayside inn, down to the time of the Cecil, the Waldorf-
BIOGRAPHICAL 177
Astoria, the La Salle, and the Palace, the descendants of the
Nomads have been liail fellows with the innumerable mine
hosts of the caravanseries of the centuries. The idea was born
of the inherent hospitality of the human heart. "Brother
hood" was the first motto placed upon the walls. Every com
fort at the command of the host and his servants, even to the
discomfiture of themselves, was given to the stranger, who
was esteemed the guest of honor, by the bonifaces of those
elder days. A study of successful hotels and hotel keepers
will reveal the fact that just in proportion as the business has
been cast on its original lines of fellowship, brotherhood, hos-
pitality, comfort, and the careful entertainment of the guest,
just so far has prosperity blessed it and popularity acclaimed
it. A splendid motto for a born hotel-keeper would he, "Care
for the guest in the inn with the sain msideration you would
care for the friend in the home." The inn-keepers who have
endeavored to observe this principle in spirit and practice
have not failed to achieve distinction in their calling.
In Iowa City, Iowa, the emphasis on the hotel as the
"Home of the Traveler'' is distinctive. A peculiar local
condition growing out of the presence of a great university
with a large student body makes it practically impossible for
the transient American to secure desirable private accommo-
dations during the nine months of the "school year," unless
he yields to the demands of the thrifty housewife and takes a
lease for that length of time. It follows, therefore, that a
measure of patronage and popularity in unusual degree is
given to those hotels which aim to provide home comforts and
the simple good cheer of life for those Americans who desire
to remain in Iowa City for indefinite days, or weeks, or
months. This is one of the factors entering into the success
and popularity of the Hotel Van Meter, conducted by Oscar
Clay Van Meter and his estimable wife, Sarah Beck Van
Meter.
Mr. Van Meter got into the hotel husiness in Iowa City,
paradoxical to say, through the necessity for a "students'
boarding house," and his first enterprise was established in
the old home of his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Van Meter,
on North Capitol street. His former experience with his
father in hotel keeping at Rose Hill, Iowa, together with his
178 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
knowledge of farm products and the handling and buying of
stock, stood hirn well in hand in his new enterprise. The ' ' stu-
dents ' boarding house" prospered and became popular. Six
years Mr. Van Meter continued as the "man-on-the-job."
That brought him up to the good year-of-our-Lord and the
inauguration of William McKinley, 1897, when he sold out his
under-graduate happy-home to Walter Pratt and bought from
William Buck the property on the southeast corner of Iowa
avenue and Linn street, where the present Hotel Van Meter
stands. The new venture was a success from the beginning.
It became a "home" for transients who for various reasons
VAN METER HOTEL
desired to sojourn for a time in the Athens of Iowa. These
embraced the people of ordinary means, whom Abraham Lin-
coln said God must have loved. Friends, tarrying for a time
to care for dear ones under hospital treatment; farmers, re-
maining in town on jury work and other business ; theatrical
people, playing the local houses for split-weeks; and the gen-
eral line of commercial men, people "looking around," and
historical writers even. Students also, to a limited number,
were made welcome, and a vast multitude of people employed
about town who were without regular homes. "Table board"
was provided practically without limit to all comers. And so,
the Hotel Van Meter grew from a modest building in 1897 to
a large main building, an annex, two cottages, and a store-
BIOGRAPHICAL 179
room in L911, with full capacity taxed and further improve
menta and enlargements made accessary. It has a capacity
for seventy-five regular guests; a dining room Beating eighty-
five; a wide, cozy porch fronting the finesl avenue in the city ;
an inviting green lawn, with greal elms and maples. Its
popularity may be measured by the fact that for the past five
years the daily average number of meals provided has been in
excess of three hundred. Mine Host Van Meter still continues
to branch out, and just prior to this writing has bought from
F. M. Taylor the property on East Washington street, near
Linn, 80x150 feet, with two story brick mansion and fine barn,
which it is Ins intention at an early date to transform either
into a high-class family hotel or a fraternity home.
On both sides of his family Mr. Van Meter descended from
Dutch ancestry. His father, Jacob Wilson Van Meter, a son
of Solomon Van .Meter, was of direct Holland descent. His
mother, Susan Elizabeth Mo. .re. daughter of David E. Moore
and Mary Marshall, was of "Pennsylvania Dutch" descent.
Both of Mr. Van Meter's parents were horn near Xenia,
Ohio — the father on May 14, 1819, and the mother on Febru-
ary 4, 1829. The Van Meter and the Moore families made
practically the same removals in early days — first settling in
Ohio and thereafter in Illinois, reaching the latter state in
1849. Jacob Wilson Van Meter and family located in Rock
Island county on a farm of 320 acres, which they farmed for
about twenty-eight years. Then they removed to Washington,
Washington county, Iowa, where Mr. Van Meter, Sr., took up
the livery and meat business, in connection with which he
bought and handled stock and ran a hack line. After a resi-
dence of nearly three years at Washington, the family re-
moved to Rose Hill, Mahaska county, where the father en-
gaged in hotel keeping. The next move was to Iowa City,
where the elder Van Meter died one year after his arrival.
Mother Van Meter survived her husband ten years. Both
are buried at Iowa City. Seven children were born to this de-
voted couple, as follows: Mary Jane, married to Bruce Tat
terson, resides in Washington township; Caroline Ann, mar-
ried to John Wagner, resides in Washington township;
Marshall W., married to Annie Burge, resides at Minneapolis.
Minnesota; Thomas Babb, died at the age of ten years in
180 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Illinois ; Oscar Clay, our subject ; Etta, died at the age of five
years in Illinois; Susan Josephine, married to Prof. A. T.
Hukill, of Waterloo, Iowa.
Oscar Clay Van Meter was born in Rock Island county,
Illinois, February 15, 1857. The first eighteen years of his
life were spent on the home farm, where he assisted his father.
His education was received in the public schools of the neigh-
borhood. He removed with the family to Washington, Iowa,
where he still continued to assist his father in his livery, stock
buying and shipping, and meat business. When the family
removed to Rose Hill, Iowa, he became his father's assistant
in the hotel business. It was only after the family settled in
Iowa City that he decided to "see some of the world for him-
self," and in pursuit of this purpose he went to Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where he was associated for two years with his
brother, Marshall W. Following this he returned to Iowa
City, where he was engaged for about four years as foreman
of a gang of workmen for the American Sugar Company.
After that he entered the employ of J. Walter Lee as salesman
in his grocery store, continuing for about four and a half
years. Thereafter he opened the "students' boarding house"
heretofore mentioned, which was the real beginning of his
business career and his success as a hotel keeper.
On September 9, 1889, Mr. Van Meter was married to Miss
Sarah Beck, daughter of John and Sarah (Atkinson) Beck,
natives of Ontario, Canada, where the Beck and Atkinson fam-
ilies were well known. John Beck and Sarah Atkinson were
married in Ontario, and lived for some time on a farm there.
The Beck family are celebrated for longevity, Grandfather
Beck being in his 100th year at death, and Grandmother Beck
in her 98th year. Mrs. Van Meter's parents removed from
Canada and settled near North Liberty, Iowa, where she was
born January 10, 1870. Her marriage to Mr. Van Meter took
place in Iowa City. Father Beck died some years ago, but
the mother still survives at the age of eighty-four, at Windom,
Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Van Meter are happily mated, and are
earnest co-workers in the battle of lif.e. "Van" is frequently
told by his boarders that his wife is "the best man of the two,"
a witticism which he receives with a smile of appreciation and
a nod of approval in the direction of Mrs. "Van." Two
BIOGRAPHICAL isi
charming daughters have been born to them: Zoe A Hie, born
in Iowa City August 1, 1893, and Eula .Marie, born in Iowa
City July 13, 1897. Both are earnest students in the Iowa
City high school.
While a lifelong republican, Mr. Van Meter lias always held
to liberal political views and has sought to secure the election
of men pledged to public improvements and political honesty.
He was himself honored by election to the city council of Iowa
City for a term of two years in 190(5-07 on a platform of
public improvements. His redemption of his pledges at that
time is proven by the creation of Iowa avenue — once one of
the most impassable thoroughfares of the city, now the finest
hard-surfaced, parked avenue in eastern Iowa — Mr. Van
Meter being one of the prime factors in the pushing of this
improvement. While his people were Methodists, Mr. Van
Meter himself takes the liberal view, though he is extremely
friendly to the churches. He is a member of the Odd Fellows,
Knights of Pythias, and Benevolent Protective Order of Elks
of Iowa City. In the first named order he has occupied all the
chairs and in the K. of P. he was elected Chancellor Com-
mander, but was compelled to decline the office on account of
pressure of business.
In addition to the property interests already mentioned,
our subject owns ten acres in east Iowa City, several town lots
in Marine View, California, Guthrie, Oklahoma, and points in
Texas. He holds interests in Colorado mines, and is asso-
ciated with his brother Marshall W. in the promotion of a
valuable invention for smoke protection for the use of firemen,
insurance companies, etc. Perhaps no man is better known
in Iowa City and most parts of Iowa than Mr. A T an Meter, and
he numbers his personal friends by the hundreds.
LEWIS GRANT LAWYER
Another of the native sons of Iowa who has achieved dis-
tinction within the shadow of his alma mater is Dr. Lewis
Grant Lawyer, the popular dentist of Iowa City. Reference
has been made in biographies of other citizens of .Johnson
county to the remarkable percentage of graduates of the S. ['.
182
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
I. who remain within the borders of the state, largely within
the borders of the county, of which this great institution of
learning is so signally a factor. This notable fact is both a
compliment to the alma mater and to the state, and in some
sense is a foil to the charge of former United States Senator
Lafayette Young that Iowans are inclined to run after strange
gods of other states. Probably in no state of the Union, cer-
tainly in no county thereof, can be found a greater percentage
of alumni who have remained within earshot of their gradua-
tion halls and made recognized progress in the manifold pur-
suits of life than in Iowa and Johnson county. A directory of
KKSIDKNCK OF LKWIS CiKAMT LAWYIiR
the leading professional and business men of Johnson county
would in large measure doubtless prove a "deadly parallel''
to the roll of alumni of the State University of Iowa. Thus
the value of the University, both as a coach for practical busi-
ness and as a steadier of men's spirits for the responsibilities
of life, is made manifest. The charge that such influence leads
to provincialism is disproven in Johnson county, for nowhere
do the tides of national patriotism run higher nor the broad
views of the "Big American" more forcefully prevail than
here. The alumni of S. U. I. are men of the wide vision, and
their eyes are steadied for the sight of things by the quieting
L. G. LAWYER, D. D.
BIOGRAPHICAL 1.83
shades of the campus and the peaceful presence of their fel-
lows of the school room.
Dr. Lawyer is a native of Solon, Iowa, and the date of his
birth was October 18, 1869. He was educated in the public
schools of his native village, and afterwards took a course in
the Iowa City Commercial College. This he supplemented by
matriculation in the Dental College of the State University of
Iowa. At the age of eighteen he learned the printer's trade,
afterwards forming a partnership with V. I>. Becter in the
publication of the Solon Reporter. He began the practice of
dentistry in Iowa City in March, 1895, and has built up a prac-
tice which he admits is "of average size," hut which is well
known as one of the best in the city, the doctor's modesty to
the contrary, notwithstanding, lie is a member of the Iowa
State Dental Society.
1)]-. Lawyer is happy in his domestic relations, having for
his wife Miss Mae E. Talbott, daughter of L. W. and Laurana
Talbott, to whom he was married September 12, ism, at Iowa
City. The Talbott family came to Iowa Oit\
1851. Mr. Talbott was a volunteer in the Ci
formerly city marshal and a trustee of the p<
been prominent in the work of the Methodist
of Iowa City.
The parents of Lewis Grant Lawyer were Lewis Mathias
and Nancy Jane Lawyer, the former a native of Maryland,
and the latter of Pennsylvania. Lawyer, Sr., was a general
merchant, and carried on his business at Solon following his
arrival in Iowa in 1*55. For several years he hauled all his
merchandise from Muscatine and Iowa City by wagon. He
was formerly postmaster at Solon. In 1862 he took up a gov-
ernment claim in Kansas, but was compelled to relinquish it on
account of ill health and return to Solon.
Dr. Lawyer is an active worker in the Methodist Episco-
pal church of Iowa City, having united with that denomination
at the age of seventeen at Solon. He has one child, Laura
Jeanette, born November 15, 1000. The family reside at 4'L'
South Linn street.
from In
diana in
il War.
lie was
or farm.
lie has
Episcops
ll church
184 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
JOSEPH L. WILKINSON
The strength of the American republic rests in the native
good sense, honesty, and integrity of its great common people,
whose name is legion. Abraham Lincoln, remarking on the
number of these, gave it as his quaint opinion that "the Lord
must love the common people, for He made so many of them."
In this country of matchless opportunity, where the springs of
power have their source in the hearts and initiative of the
electorate, men are ofttimes tempted to lay aside the homely
garments of the commonplace and take on the habiliments of
political preferment and power. Thus it has passed into an
aphorism that "many a good citizen has been spoiled in the
making of an indifferent statesman." In view of the number-
less instances of such "indifferent" creations, it seems fitting
to give a just meed of praise to those members of the com-
monwealth who have had the inherent good judgment to live
their lives in the simple environments of home and occupation,
expressing their citizenship in terms of good fellowship, right
living, and honest suffrage.
Joseph L. Wilkinson, a native of Union township, Johnson
county, Iowa, is known among his neighbors as a man of
straightforward character, transparent honesty, and plain,
common sense. Born of native Irish parents, he was given by
inheritance the primary elements of success ; and that he has
"made fine capital of his birthright" his honorable life of
forty-two years in Iowa City and vicinity abundantly attests.
The parents of Joseph L. were Robert Wilkinson and Anna
Murphy. The former was born in the County of Antrim and
the latter in the County of Kildare, Ireland, in the year 1 824.
Emigrating to America, Wilkinson, senior, landed at Quebec,
near which for a time he was engaged in burning charcoal. In
1855 the couple, with their four children, came west, settling
in Johnson county, Iowa. The trip from Dubuque to Iowa
City was made by wagon. For about ten years subsequent to
his arrival Robert Wilkinson pursued the business of draying
at Iowa City; thereafter living on a farm south of the city.
In 1868 he purchased 240 acres of land west of Iowa City, in
Union township, at the low price of $1.25 per acre. There he
remained, with his growing family, developing his homestead,
,. WILKINSON
BIOGRAPHICAL 185
until 1896, when he died. His beloved wife survived until
September 1,1910.
Anna (Murphy) Wilkinson was the mother of ten children,
seven of whom are living. They arc, in the order of their
birth: James, of Iowa City; Mary .). Weeks, of Iowa City;
Robert, of Iowa City; Prank and Thomas, of Scotl township;
Charles, of Iowa City; and Joseph L., of Penn township.
Father and Mother Wilkinson were faithful members of St.
Patrick's Roman Catholic church, Mr. Wilkinson being one of
the actual builders of the church edifice.
Joseph L. Wilkinson was raised on the home farm in Union
township, where he remained until twenty-seven years of age.
He received his education at the public schools and the Iowa
City Academy. His attention was given to farming until 1898,
when he opened a retail grocery store on South Dubuque
street, between College and Washington, Iowa City. A splen-
did, prosperous business is the outcome of his careful efforts.
His marriage to Miss Margaret Kenny, a native of Plato
township, Cedar county, Iowa, has been ratified by the birth
of seven children, named respectively: Thomas, Mary, Anna.
Edward, Paul, Alice, and Bernard. The family reside upon
the farm in Penn township, which Mr. Wilkinson owns — his
time being happily divided between the prosperous business in
Iowa City and the attractive home in the country.
In politics Mr. Wilkinson is a democrat and the family are
members of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church.
The introductory statements of this article apply with
singular fitness to Joseph L. Wilkinson. He is an honored
member of the great American majority, who find their chief
delight in discharging the multiplied duties of life without
ostentation, in the spirit of true neighborliness and patriot-
ism.
JOHN T.JONES
It is a natural desire, common to all who look beyond mere-
ly the needs of the passing hour, to know something of our
kin and also to leave some recorded story of our lives thai
those who live after us may know something more of their an-
cestry than is carved on some marble shaft or pediment. A
186
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
genealogy is a kind of an analysis of our particular tribe, so
that we may consider the elements of which we are composed.
Printer's ink outlasts the granite shaft and tells more than
name, date of birth, and day of death. The men and women
who made Johnson county, who labored and waited, who
shaped events, formulated its government and forecast its
prosperity, deserve a larger remembrance than an unmeaning
line cut into the facet of a monument, for men's lives and the
deeds they have done are worthy of comprehensive record, and
in writing the commemorative history of Johnson county it is
a pleasure to the biographer to record the history of those
1 ^firfiii
MiiiiiHi
^~-tj.j~
IF JOHN T. JONES
who were factors in the growth and development of this part
of the great commonwealth of Iowa.
The subject of this sketch, John T. Jones, is of Welsh
parentage. He was born in Wales, December 10, 1845. When
he was ten years of age he came with his parents, Thomas H.
and Ann (Bruce) Jones to America. These parents were of
the sturdy W T elsh type which has found many representatives
in the New World and is one that has ever been found fore-
most in giving impetus to the march and progress of events
and in directing affairs along safe and conservative lines.
America owes much to this hardy Welsh stock and has hon-
ored and been honored by noble men and women of this ex-
traction.
BIOGEAPHICAL 1ST
Upon the arrival of the family in Johnson county, the
father secured a tract of land and immediately engaged in
farming and continued in that pursuit until his death in L885.
The mother's death occurred in 1880.
John T. Jones grew to manhood on the old homestead and
attended the public schools of the county until ten years of
age, when he commenced farm work and was employed at
different places in the neighborhood for a period of about
eight years. In the spring of 1863 he answered the call of his
adopted country, then in the midst of a civil war, and enlisted
in Co. K, of the 8th Iowa Cavalry, and remained in the service
until the close of the war. In the winter of 1863-4 when his
regiment was in Tennessee, he had some very thrilling expe-
riences with "bushwhackers." He was engaged in skirmish-
ing at Lookout Mountain and at Chattanooga and Bosque.
Later he was with Sherman on his eventful "march to the
sea." He was in the hattles of Lost Mountain, Tilton, A I
toona, and many others. At Nemnan, Georgia, duly 30, 1864,
he was taken prisoner and conveyed directly to Andorsonville,
where he remained nine months, suffering the undescribable
tortures, starvation, and hardships of that infernal hades,
the cruelties of which bore the stamp and approval of the
president of the Southern Confederacy. On March 30, 1865,
after long days and nights of suffering and waiting, when
hope had almost fled, one can easily imagine the joy which
must have filled his weary heart when he found he was to be
exchanged and released from that awful prison. On dune 30,
1865, he was discharged from further service and returned to
his home.
In April, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss Ruth
Baxter, who was horn in Ebensburg, Cambria county, Pennsyl-
vania, July 16, 1849. She was but six years of age when her
parents removed to Johnson county and settled on a farm in
Sharon township. She remained on the old farm until their
death. The father died December 8, 1898, aged ninety-five;
the mother died August 13, 1873, aged sixty-two. They are
both laid at rest side by side in the old churchyard.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are blessed with three children: Eliza-
beth Grace, horn September 3, 1875, who married A. F.
Weeber, and they are living on a farm in Sharon township.
188 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Johnson county; R. B. Jones, born September 7, 1877, who
married Annie Weaver and is living on the old homestead
south of Iowa City; Margarette Ann, born July 13, 1881, now
Mrs. L. C. Yoder, and resides with her parents in Iowa City.
Mr. Jones is a republican and has served three years as
supervisor of the county.
In his social relations Mr. Jones is a member of A. F. &
A. M., Iowa City lodge No. 4, Iowa City No. 2 of Royal Arch
Chapter, Palestine Com. No. 2 of Iowa City, and of I. 0. 0. F.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones are both members of the Congregational
church and are held in high esteem by all who know them.
In tracing the life story of Mr. Jones we find an example
of what may be accomplished by integrity of purpose, indus-
try, tenacity of will, and strict honesty. He began his career
in life with only a pair of willing hands and an honest deter-
mination and has steadily progressed until he has secured not
only a competency, but an unblemished name and character,
a heritage of honor, and the fragrance of a life well lived and
days well spent.
ALBERT J. HERTZ
One of the most faithful, painstaking, and efficient public
servants of Iowa City in his generation is Albert J. Hertz, the
subject of this sketch. Probably no man has a more complete
knowledge of the general conditions of both city and county,
and certainly none has a more thorough grasp of the public
school system of the city or of matters affecting the welfare of
the youth of Iowa City. He also has special knowledge of as
well as long experience in the subject of fire protection for the
city, having served actively twenty-five years as a volunteer
fireman and three years as chief of the fire department. For
sixteen years Mr. Hertz has been secretary of the board of
education of the public schools of Iowa City, and for the past
two years has devoted his entire time to that work. The po-
sition involves supervision of the janitors of the various school
buildings, as well as of the buildings and grounds, and the
duties of truant officer. To the discharge of his various duties
Mr. Hertz applies the power of practical and conscientious
effort.
P.KMiRAPIIU'AD
The parents of our subject were Henry He
Tilton. The former was a native of Darmstadt,
was born January!), 1824. His parents were Dai
tina Hertz, natives of Germany, who settled in
sylvania, in 1827, making the voyage from the
an old sailing vessel, a journey requiring aboi
At the age of eighteen Henry Hertz went to
where lie became an apprentice at coach blacksm
years, afterwards serving as a journeyman For
In 1857 he came west to Johnson county, win
until his death, April 24, 1904. His wife, Anna
rtz a
(iern
lie] a
A
CI
■Mid
ris-
Bast
m
Pi
nn-
Path
>r
an
1 in
it nil
We
iks.
Phil
a<
el,
bia,
ithin
&
'or
two
lil'te
•re b
»n
3
ye
■es'
ded
Tilt.
)n
W!
is ;i
native of Easton, Pennsylvania. She died soon after the birth
of her fourth child. The names of the children of Daniel and
Christina Hertz are: Henry, William, George, .Jacob, Gustave,
Dehlia, Lena, Mary, and Sarah. The three children id' Henry
Hertz and Anna Tilton were: Albert J., our subject; Harry
P.; Cordelia, wife of (J. Blessin. Mr. Hertz was a man of
affairs in Johnson county, serving in many positions of trust
in his township.
Our subject was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, No-
vember 13, 1S48. He accompanied his father to Johnson
county in 1857 when nine years of age. His education was
secured in the public schools of Iowa City. In the spring of
190 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
1880 he entered business for himself in the dry goods trade,
and continued therein for sixteen years, when he sold out and
went into the employ of Denecke & Yetter as a salesman. He
remained with this firm for three years, after which he en-
tered the employ of H. A. Strub & Co., with whom he contin-
ued as a salesman for ten years. For the past two years, as
heretofore stated, he has devoted his entire time to the duties
of secretary of the board of education.
Mr. Hertz has a worthy wife in the person of Miss Sarah E.
Gobin, a native of Iowa City. Her parents were natives of
Pennsylvania and came to Johnson county in 1849. They were
among the well-known pioneer settlers and were identified
with the early growth and development of the county. Mr.
and Mrs. Hertz have" six children : Charles, Henry, George,
Sophia, Ada, and Elsie.
The family are all members of the English Lutberan
church. Although a large part of Mr. Hertz's time has been
spent in the service of the public, he has been accumulating a
modest fortune, which, with the beautiful home which he owns,
guarantees him a competence for the years of retirement, to
which, though considerably removed as yet, he naturally looks
forward with expectation of comfort and the consciousness of
duty well performed. The family residence is at 624 Summit
street, Iowa City.
WILLIAM E. PRATT
The founder of this branch of the Pratt family in the United
States was William, one of the passengers of the pilgrim ship
Mayflower, who settled near the old town of Boston, Massa-
chusetts. The heads of the generations in direct succession
of William are James, Robert, Edward, James, Cotton, James
G, Edward, and William Edward, our subject, the latter be-
ing the ninth generation of his family in America. Edward,
the father of our subject, was born in Massachusetts and re-
moved to Pennsylvania. He married Malinda Davidson, a
native of Massachusetts, who was the mother of our subject.
William Edward Pratt was born June 30, 1837, at Mead-
ville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and educated in the dis-
trict schools of Trumbull county, Ohio. He took up the car-
BIOGRAPHICA
1!)1
penter trade as an occupation, and on reaching Johnson
county, Iowa, in 1854, was employed at his trade until 1863.
Immediately upon his arrival, however, he became a land
owner, and during his long residence in the county has owned
farms in East Lucas, Scott, and Graham townships. For man;
years he has been a practical farmer, and at this writing re
sides on the old Muscatine road, near Iowa City, in honorable
retirement. His present farm is recognized as a model, and
contains everything essential to up to date farming, with
splendid residence and complete fences.
Mr. Pratt was married October 26, L863, to Miss Emma 1>.
Trotter, born in Johnson countv, September 25, Is-f-J. and
H&
ft
raised and educated in Johnson coi
of Samuel B. and Martha (!. (S;i
county pioneers of 1839. Mrs. Tn
white women of the Iowa frontier,
privations of pioneer life. She wai
Mr. Trotter being a native of Ohio.
E. Pratt and Emma D. Trotter a
Henrietta Stevenson; Martha E., i
living in Oklahoma ; Calista L, livim
married Mable Rice, living in Nehrs
Mr. Pratt has held many positim
evinced a strong interest in local an
M !■:. PBATT
inty. She is the
laughter
inford) Trotter,
.Johnson
otter was among
the first
and endured ma
IV of the
s horn in New Y.
ilk state.
The children ..I
William
re: Elmer <!., m
irried tn
iow Mrs. E. <i. '1
en Eyck,
gal home; and Si
ofordJ.,
iska.
is id' trust, an. 1 hi
is always
id national polith
al issues.
192 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
SAMUEL EDGAR CARRELL
Samuel Edgar Carrell was born near Aledo, Mercer county,
Illinois, April 1, 1862. He is a son of E. L. Carrell and Mrs.
Eliza (Cowgill) Carrell. E. L. Carrell was born in Logan
county, Ohio, in 1830, and Mrs. Carrell was born in Cham-
paign county, Ohio, the same year. He was a carpenter by
trade, as was his father before him, and the first years of his
life were spent in pursuit of this vocation. Later he became
interested in land ownership and farming, and the last years
of his business life were spent in the grain and coal business
at Adel, Iowa. He has now retired from active duties and he
^Kftt
RESIDENCE OF SAM TEL EDGAR CARRELL
and his wife are pleasantly spending their declining years in
a comfortable residence at that place.
Mrs. E. L. Carrell 's parents were early pioneers of Cham-
paign county, Ohio, and endured all the privations, hardships,
and dangers of a new and wild country, and it was here in this
community in its primitive state that Mrs. Carrell was reared
and grew to womanhood.
Samuel Edgar Carrell came to Washington, Iowa, with his
parents in 1865 and from there went to Des Moines, Iowa, in
1870 and shortly afterward moved onto a farm in Dallas
county, Iowa. Here he attended country school and taught
BIOCRAIMIICAL 193
school in that county for some time, finally moving to Add,
Iowa, where lie graduated from the high school.
In 1883, at the age of twenty years, he started in the news
paper business as part owner of The Dull/is County Demo-
crat. Here he remained as proprietor and editor of this publi
cation for eight years, during four years of which time he was
postmaster of Adel. From here he went to Des Moines and
for a year's time was city editor and editorial writer on the
Des Moines Leader.
In 1891 he moved to Perry, Iowa, buying the Perry Adver-
tiser. Soon after this, in order to he in better position to take
care of his new acquisition, he sold his interest in the Add
paper and for thirteen years his life was coincident witli the
development of Dallas county and the welfare of its people,
spent in the publication of its official newspaper.
He sold the Pern/ Advertiser in 1904 and came to Iowa
City, where he has been engaged in publishing and editing the
Iowa City Daily Press ever since.
Mr. Carrell was married to Miss Rachel Diddy in 1883, at
Adel, Iowa. Her parents were Levi and Sarah Diddy, who
were natives of Indiana ami who came to Dallas county in
1849. Here they outlived all the newness of the times, gained a
comfortable competence, and died a few years ago.
Three children came to gladden the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Carrell, two sons, who are still living, and one daughter who
died when a baby. The older son, Dale E., was born January
19, 1885, and Clarence (A, the younger, on July 31, 1891. Both
are working with their father in the newspaper office.
Mr. and Mrs. Carrell are members of the Christian church.
Mr. Carrell is a democrat and has held numerous positions
of distinction, honor, and trust conferred by his party. Dur-
ing much of the time he lived at Add he was chairman of the
central committee.
WILLIAM J. DUNKEL
The distinction of being the first-born male white child of
Iowa City belongs to William J. Dunkel, the subject of this
sketch, whose birthday was October 9, 1840. lie also bears the
honor of being the first child baptized in Iowa City in the
194 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Catholic religion, this rite being performed by the first priest
who ever came to Iowa City. The fact that he is now a citizen
of his native city, retired at the age of seventy-one, proves
that he is satisfied with the place of his birth and consecration.
The parents of our subject were Caspar Dnnkel and Mary
Axnor, both natives of Bavaria, Germany. The former was
born in 1809 and the latter in 1817. Caspar Dunkel emigrated
to America in 1836 and settled at Boston, remaining there for
about two years. There, in September, 1837, he married Mary
Axnor, who came to America with her parents and settled at
Roxbury, Massachusetts. In the spring of 1838 the young
couple went to Natchez, Mississippi, and in July two years
later continued their journey to Iowa City, where the husband
took up work at his trade, carpentering. Win. J. Dunkel and
his wife were among the original members of St. Mary's
Roman Catholic church. Mrs. Dunkel died of cholera in Iowa
City in August, 1855; the father survived until 1898. Both
were excellent people, highly esteemed. The old family resi-
dence at 125 North Linn street, built by Caspar Dunkel in 1853,
is one of the landmarks of Iowa City.
( )ur subject is the second of the seven children of Caspar
and Mary Dnnkel, only three of whom survive, namely: Hen-
ry, a dentist, residing at Gunnison, Colorado; our subject, and
Frank P., proprietor of the Dunkel Hotel, Iowa City.
William .1. Dnnkel was educated in the public schools of
Iowa City. At the age of seventeen he went south to Natchez,
Mississippi, where he learned the cabinet maker's trade. He
resided there three and one-half years and then returned to
Iowa City, where he attended Professor Brownson's high
school for one year. For a time he held a position in a gen-
eral store. In 1865 he went to Chicago, where he remained
five years. This time was spent in the pursuit of different vo-
cations. His purpose in going to Chicago was to attend
business college, which he did for the first year of his sojourn
in the city. Later he was engaged in a gent's furnishing
store. The last two years were spent in the pursuit of his
trade. During this time he was identified with one of the
large planing mills of Chicago, holding a very important po-
sition. In 1870 he returned to Iowa City and took a clerkship
in John Brosshart's store, remaining four years. Beginning
BIOGRAPHICAL 195
with April 6, 1875, he clerked for one year Tor Frederick
Kriz, and for something over one year following was in the
employ of the Union Brewing Company. He started in the
grocery business for himself in the fall of 1877, continuing
therein until .May, 1910, when he retired.
In 1875 Mr. Dunkel was married to Miss Rosa Lutter, of
Richmond, Iowa, who was born in New York of German
parentage. Mrs. Dunkel died July 15, 1889, at the age of
thirty-three. Three sons and one daughter were born, the lat-
ter dying in infancy. The sons are: Eugene W., horn Kehrn
ary 25, LS77, a railway mail clerk on the Northwestern between
Chicago and Omaha; George, horn .Inly I'd. 1S7!>. married to
Miss Ida Hemstead, of Newport, Iowa, is a practicing physi
cian at Fairfield, Iowa: William Benedict, horn February 22,
1881, married to Miss Emma Mintzer, resides at Iowa City,
and is also a railway mail clerk, operating on the Bock Island
between Chicago and ( tanaha.
As stated before, Mr. Dunkel enjoys the honor and dis-
tinction of being the firs! male child horn in Iowa City. He
first saw the light of day in the autumn of 1840, in a little log
cabin then located on the corner of College and I. inn streets.
When our subject was two years old his father buill a frame
dwelling just west of the log cabin on the corner, where our
subject lived until he was thirteen years old. It was at this
time that his father buill the old landmark at 125 North Linn
street, where our subject has lived the greater part of his life.
Mr. Dunkel has been identified with the affairs of Johnson
county all his life, and has always taken a prominent part. In
the school .lays of his boyhood he always excelled in the ath-
letic spoils participated in by the young n at that ti
He became an expert swimmer and diver. It was known and
conceded far and wide that there was no one in his vicinitj
who could surpass him in this sport. Many of the old resi-
dents of Iowa City recall the athletic victories of Mr. DunkePs
boyhood. In later years, amid the grave cares and responsi
bilities of life, he has been equally successful. For thirtj five
years lie was engaged in the mercantile business in Iowa City.
During all this time he made and kept a host of friends who
admire and respect him for his adherence to the principles of
196 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
strict honesty. He is now enjoying the well earned fruits of a
life well spent in conscientious toil.
Mr. Dunkel had a narrow escape from drowning in the
Iowa river when nine years of age. He was rescued by Peter
Hepburn, former congressman, and John Gower.
JOSHUA HUNT SECREST
The advanced march of civilization from east to west, coin-
cident with the inflow of immigration to Iowa, brought to
Johnson county one of her most useful, successful, and hon-
ored sons. To write the history of this county in all its phases,
to tell of its improvement from the raw prairie, of its advance-
ment morally, educational ly, and financially, without proper
mention of the assistance and influence of Joshua Hunt Se-
crest, would be utterly an impossibility, as well as an unpar-
donable injustice to a man who plainly demonstrated the value
of the rare qualities of character, ambition, perseverance, and
honesty.
Mr. Secrest most assuredly did possess these precious gifts
of nature. His comfortable fortune, bis beautiful home, his
honored and respected widow, his talented children, all are
evidences of a spotless character and a life well spent; in
memory of which his host of friends bespeak, "Thou hast not
lived in vain."
Mr. Secrest was born near Hartford in Guernsey county,
Ohio, August 9, 1848. His father, Michael Secrest, was born
at Capron Springs, Virginia, January 22, 1822. His mother's
maiden name was Mary Hunt. She was born September 10,
1828, at Kimbalton, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Michael Secrest were
married at Hartford, Ohio, in 1844. In 1852 they moved to
Warren county, Ohio, and a year later to Mercer county, Ohio,
which at that time was an unbroken wilderness of timber and
swamp. The family lived in the covered wagon until a log
cabin could be built. There was no railroad for miles, nor any
schoolhouse in that locality.
In 1854 the first school bouse was built in Mercer county,
and it was here that our subject attended one term, the first
and only schooling be had for several years. About this time
our subject lost his mother. Her death was caused from ex-
UOGRAPHICAL
197
cessive hardship incident to pioneer Life, and a decidedly an
healthy condition existing in thai country at that time. The
loss of the mother, experienced in that pioneer region by the
father and six small children, can never be told.
The children were Reb< a Elizabeth, Joshua Hunt, Rachel
Marie, Amanda Melissa, David Elwood, and Samuel Filmore.
Our subject continued to live in his native state until 1869,
when he came to Johnson county, arriving on the 25th day of
February. At this time his only assets were a rugged consti-
tution, an honest spirit, and a determination to be somebody.
On January 15, 1873, he married Esther J. Hollingsworth.
She was born in Warren county, < >hio, January 27, 1854. I [er
parents were Mahlon, who was bom February 24, 1821, and
Mary T. (Whitacre) Eollingsworth, born in January, 1824.
Her parents were both natives of Ohio, were married there.
and moved to this county when Mrs. Secrest was live months
old. They bad eight children, two of whom died in childhood.
The children are Edward \Y., living in Missouri Valley, Har-
rison county, Iowa; James EL, who now resides in Muscatine
county, Iowa; Rebecca, who died at the age of five years:
Rachel, now Mrs. Meade, residing at West Liberty, Iowa:
Aquila W., who is living in Colorado; Esther J., now Mrs.
Joshua H. Secrest; and Harriet, who died when about five
years old. Mr. Hollingswortb died February 21, 1901, his
wife on February 24. 1883.
198 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. and Mrs. Joshua H. Secrest have heen blessed with
seven children.
Guy R. was born April 14, 1874. fie, as a boy, attended the
county schools, and later the Academy at Iowa City, from
which he graduated in 1892. He then took up farming on the
old homestead in Scott township, and lias been thus engaged
since. On October 12, 1895, he married Miss M. Rose Wilson.
She was born in Millville, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1884. She
came to Jobnson county with her parents a few years before
her marriage. Her mother died in the fall of 1910. Her father
is still living. They have two children: Walter Wilson, born
December 19, 1905; and William Staddon, born May 0, 1909.
Mr. Guy R. Secrest is a republican. His family are mem-
bers of the Methodist church. He is a member of the I. 0.
O. F., of the Modern Woodmen of the World, also the Masonic
order at West Branch.
Walter, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Secrest,
was born December 25, 1878, and died August 2.'], 1898.
Mary A. was born May 5, 188:!. She is now Mrs. John F.
Dunn. Dr. Dunn received his degree of M. D. from the State
Universitv of Iowa in 1904. They were married September
25, 1905. 'Their children are John E., Robert, and Esther S.
They are located at Stratford, South Dakota.
Edna R,, born June 10, 1885, is now Mrs. E. S. Xey. Their
children are Ethelyn and Edwin E. They reside at West
Liberty, Iowa.
diaries M. was born February 12, 1887. He attended the
county schools, also the Academy at Iowa City, from which he
graduated in 1904. He then attended the S. U. I., graduating
from the electrical engineering department in 1909. He
worked in Cincinnati, Ohio, one year, after which he engaged
in the automobile business in Iowa City. He was married
August 31, 1910, to Miss Pearl Jenkinson, of Downey, Iowa.
Her father was a native of Ohio, and a prominent pioneer of
Cedar county.
Charles M. Secrest is a republican as to national politics,
and liberal in respect to local. He is an associate member of
the American Institute of Electrical Engineers; also a mem-
ber of the fraternity Sigma Xi.
Carrie B. was born October 11, 1888, and Florence E. born
BIOGRAPHICAL L99
December 26, L893. Bothare livingal liomewith their mother.
For twenty years after their marriage, Mr. and Mi-. Joshua
Secrest farmed. Then Mr. Secresl engaged in the lumber busi
ness for the B., C. If. & X. Railroad Company, on the Cedar
river near Conesville, Iowa. In 1896, and for four years
thereafter, he engaged in the stock business, and during thai
period he handled over forty thousand sheep and many hun-
dreds of cattle His last business was thai of real estate,
mostly in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, where, at
one time, lie owned ten sections of land. He engaged in this
business for-five years or more, in the above nai I locality,
and bought and sold many thousands of acres there. All of
this time lie retained possession of the old homestead, which
contained, at the time of his death, February 26, 1911, 520
acres in Scott township.
In national politics Mr. Secrest was always a republican.
In local matters he sought to support the best man. I le was a
member of the Ancient Order of Royal Arch Masons, and took
great pride in his connection with this order. While not a
fanatic upon any question, Mr. Secrest was an advocate and
an upholder of all institutions for the betterment of society.,
and for the advancement and education of his fellow-men.
GEORGE S. CARSON
One of the passengers on the first passenger train which
entered Iowa City over the Rock Island Railway in January,
1856, was Thomas C. Carson, father of the subject of this
sketch. The traveler was a young man twenty-two years of
age, and had come all the way from Philadelphia, his native
city, to identify himself with the new and wonderful west.
He brought with him the Philadelphia idea, "Everlastingly
at it brings success," and the application of that idea, togeth-
er with the exercise of the dominant principle of honesty,
made him one of the most important factors in the develop-
ment of Iowa City and a leader among its great financiers.
Mr. Carson was unmarried when he reached Iowa City, lint
there was a fair young woman back in the city of Philadelphia
who somehow exercised a strong drawing attraction over the
200 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
long-distance telepathic route, and we are therefore not sur-
prised to learn that one year later this young adopted son of
Iowa returned to Philadelphia and joined his heart and hand
with Miss Mary Josephine Reiff, born in Philadelphia, Penn-
sylvania, in 1835. The honeymoon trip of these two young
Pennsylvanians was a westward journey to their new home
in the beautiful university city of the Hawkeye state, "where
they lived happily forever afterwards." This happy bride
of 1857 survives her beloved husband, who died in October,
1905, and at the advanced ag'e of seventy-six resides at the
old home, 906 East College street.
Thomas C. Carson had been engaged one year in the hard-
ware business when he brought his bride to Iowa City. He
was among the first of the progressive merchants of the city.
His operations in the hardware trade continued until January
1, 1860, when he enlarged the scope of his business and began
to handle agricultural implements. In all his business rela-
tions Mr. Carson was a man of scrupulous honesty and up-
rightness, and on that account he inevitably won the respect
and confidence of his fellow citizens. His business judgment
was essentially sound, and was frequently sought by his asso-
ciates in the settlement of enterprises and questions of im-
portance. For a half century he was closely identified with
the commercial development of Iowa City and Johnson county.
In 1874 he became vice president of the Johnson County Sav-
ings bank which position he held three years. Three years
later he succeeded to the position of president, being identified
with this institution for a period of over thirty years. It is
scarcely necessary to recite the fact, well known to all his con-
temporaries, that the high standing of this bank among the
financial institutions of Iowa is attributable in great measure
to the integrity and ability of Thomas C. Carson.
Six sons were born to Thomas C. Carson and Mary Jose-
phine Reiff, five of whom are living at this writing, the eldest
(Chas. Reiff Carson) having died in December, 1866. Their
names in the order of birth are : Chas. R., Thomas B., residing
at Davenport, Iowa, secretary of the Bettendorf Wheel Com-
pany, with which enterprise he has been identified for twenty-
five years ; George S., our subject ; Frank O, secretary of the
Iowa City Gas & Electric Company and a director and presi-
ags bai
ik; II
ayes II..
engaged
City j I
tobei
t X., tre;
usurer of
>mpany
and
preside
n( of the
BIOGRAPHICAL 20]
dent of the Johnson County S;
in the Live-stock business at lo<
the Iowa City tins & Electric
Iowa League of Commercal clubs.
George S. Carson, our subject, was educated in the public
schools of Iowa City, his native town, and spent one year in
the State University, lie entered the implement business in
1882 and continued therein for ten years, when be became ac-
tively associated with the Iowa City Electric Light Company,
which afterwards was consolidated with the Iowa City Gas
Company under the name of the Iowa City Gas & Electric
Company, of which latter concern he has been president and
active manager for over five years. The plant of the Iowa
City Electric Light Company was first started in 1886 by M.
T. Close with the modest capital of $3000, and its operations
were carried on in a simple way, Jack Paintin, of Coralville,
walking back and forth to attend to the lights. The consoli-
dated company is now one of the most completely equipped
in the state, and is provided with every modern appliance,
both in machinery and supplies, for the production of elec-
tricity and gas for lighting, fuel, and power.
Mr. Carson was married in 1904 to Miss Celia Xamur, a
native of Iowa City, educated at the State University. Ber
father was born in France and her mother in Germany. Three
sons have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carson: Thomas C,
born October 20, 1905; George S., born Junel, 1907; Burke X.,
born May 20, 1909. The family reside at 103 South Governor
street, Iowa City.
CHRISTIAN SENNEE
After three years' service in the German army, Christian
Senner (born in Germany, February 11, 1858) came to Amer-
ica. He was a young man of twenty-three when he landed in
New York, and he had the strong good sense, after looking
over the new world metropolis for about two months, to turn
has face westward to the land which Horace Greeley immor-
talized. His first location was at Iowa City, where he re-
mained seven years. Thereafter he spent eight years in the
state of Washington. This brought him up to the year 1896,
202 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
when he returned to Iowa City. He has been a resident of the
University city continually since that time.
Mr. Senner was employed at Simon Hotz's Brewery, and
when that establishment passed into the hands of Conrad
RESIDENCE OF CHRISTIAN SENNER
Graf and then later the Graf Brothers, Mr. Senner remained
in connection with the establishment.
On September lfi, 1896, our subject was married at Iowa
City to Mrs. Anna M. Graf, a native of that city. Her par-
ents were natives of Germany. Her father came to Johnson
county at an early day and was one of the pioneer business
men of Iowa City. Her mother came in 1840. Both parents
are buried at Iowa City.
Mr. Senner is a democrat. His religious faith is Catholic,
and he is a member of St. Mary's church. He takes an active
interest in the work of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the
German Aid Society, being an honored member of both organ-
izations.
WILLIAM LE CLAIRE BYWATER
The state of Iowa is conspicuous because of the great num-
ber of her native sons who have received the fundamentals of
classical and scientific education within her borders, added
ilOGRAPHICAL
thereto both at home and abroad by post-gra
dnatc attain
meats, and settled within the bosom of their m<
»thcr state to
bring- honor to themselves, their almae materae i
mi their com-
monwealth. The panes of tliis history arc erow<
led with such
examples, and the gamut of their services tone
hes every aC
tivity of their times. The Some Successes of th<
! Native Sons
and Daughters of Iowa would furnish the text
for a stirring
chapter of the state's history. Jt is to the eterr
al credit of a
commonwealth that within her holders her sons s
md daughters
find congenial conditions for the exercise of thei
rtalents. ami
remain to become weavers of her garment of «l
estiny rather
than emigrants to other states and toilers in otlu
>r workshops.
Iowa City and Johnson comity furnish many prominent ex-
amples of such sons and daughters. Whether the attachments
for alma mater and the friends of the University days, or the
natural charm of the University City and the University court
ty, account for this evident condition, is not known; but the
sons and daughters are here, marching on to success and re-
joicing in the facts of success already achieved.
William Le Claire Bywater, the subject of this sketch, is
one of such conspicuous examples above recited. Bom in
Tama county, Iowa, in 1S(>7, bis preliminary education was
obtained in the public schools of his native county, lie grad-
uated from the Grladbrook high school in 1883, after which, in
preparation for the work of teaching, he attended the State
Normal and "Western college. He entered the State Univer
sity of Iowa in 1894, and graduated from the Medical Depart-
ment (Homeopathy) in 1897. He supplemented this with a
post-graduate course in ophthalmicus in 1899-1900 at New York
City and took also special degrees in car, nose, and throat.
His attainments were given recognition in 1902, when he was
elected vice dean and chosen to succeed Professor Gilchrist
as secretary of the faculty of Homeopathy, S. 1*. I. In 1903
he was made a director id' the University Homeopathic Hos
pital and professor of eye. ear, nose and throat, succeeding in
that chair Professor F. .1. Newberry. As a clinical operator
Dr. Bywater demonstrates the value of his pedagogic educa-
tion and training, bis lectures being lucid, practical, ami in-
structive. Dr. Bywater is a member of the medical ami sur-
204 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
gical societies of his school in Johnson county, as well as of the
state association. He is a member of the American Institute
of Homeopathy and of the American Ophthalinological, Onto-
logieal and Laryngological Society. While a resident of Tama
county, Dr, Bywater had as preceptor Dr. C. M. Morford, a
distinguished practitioner.
Reference has been made to the pedagogic experience of
our subject. This relates to his election, on the democratic
ticket, to the office of county school superintendent of Tama
county, and his service of four years (1890-94) in that capac-
ity. It was this position which the doctor states gave him his
greatest opportunity for the " study of humanity."
Dr. Bywater 's ancestors were Welsh and Irish. His par-
ents were Napoleon and Sarah (Fitzgerald) Bywater, who
reside at Garwin, Tama county, Iowa.
In the county of his nativity, Tama, Dr. Bywater found
his wife and was united to her in wedlock. Her name was
Miss Jessie M. Cannon, daughter of Erasmus J. and Harriet
(Collins) Cannon. The father is a distant relative of "Uncle
Joe" Cannon, the famous ex-speaker of the United States
house of representatives. One daughter, Ruth Elizabeth, has
blessed the union of Dr. Bywater and Jessie M. Cannon.
Dr. Bywater is a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the
K. of P. and M. W. A. He is a member of and takes an active
interest in the Country Club. Mrs. Bywater and he are both
active members of the Christian church. They reside at 316
East Brown street, Iowa City, and are held in high esteem by
a large circle of friends.
JUDGE 0. A. BYINGTON
Judge Byington is a lawyer by inheritance, education, and
training. No natural gifts, it is well understood, will com-
pensate for a lack of definite knowledge of the law books in
the practice of the legal profession, and yet, all things being-
equal, it will be conceded that the born lawyer, like the born
poet, has a distinct advantage in the forum. There came to
Judge Byington, through his father, the Honorable Le Grande
BIOGRAPHICAL 205
Byington, the Indefinable momentum or swing of heredity
which gave him his liking for the law. "Fra Blbertus," in
his quaint terminology declares that "Art is the expression
of a man's joy in his work." Even so, a liMng or bent for
Justinian discipleship may properly constitute "Exhibil A"
in the curriculum of the courts. But Judge Byington supple-
mented Folio 1 of his chosen Brief with Xos. 1> and 3. namely,
graduation in liberal arts in the State University of Iowa in
1880 and matriculation in the law department of his alma
mater in 1881. Then, to add to his faith a knowledge of hu-
man nature, he accepted the superintendency of schools of
Johnson county from 1886 to 1890; and to further coach him-
self in the intricacies of law, became a member of the 26th
general assembly of Iowa and worked with his colleagues in a
revision of the Iowa Code. From this point the step to the
bench seemed both easy and natural, and he became judge of
the district court on January 1, 190.'!, and served to January
1, 1907. Today he is a regular practitioner in all courts and
has further widened Ins sphere of activity by becoming presi-
dent of the Citizens Savings bank, of Iowa City.
Eeference has been made to Judge Byington 's father. ( >ther
details of this able man and late respected citizen of Iowa
City may be appreciated. LeGrande Byington, born March
24, 1816, in New Haven county, Connecticut, was the youngesl
of eight children. His career, from early orphanage and com-
parative poverty to influence and prominence socially and po-
litically, is most striking. In 1831, at the age of fifteen, he
entered a printing office as an apprentice, and his aptitude
may be guaged by the fact that three years later he was the
publisher of a newspaper. While the venture from a financial
standpoint^ following the accepted standards of rural journal-
ism, was not a gold mine, still the training and experience were
of great value to the young publisher and stood him well in
after years. In 1836 he settled at Elyria, Ohio, and edited
the Republican, a democratic organ. While thus engaged he
took up the study of law. Two years later found him at Ra-
venna, Ohio, engaged on a salary as editor ami publisher of
The Buckeye Democrat. In 1839 he started westward with
the intention of locating at St. Louis, but en route he met Sen
206
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ator William Allen ("Bill" Allen, of Ohio), at Chillicothe, and
was induced to stop off and take temporary charge of a news-
paper. This stop marked the beginning of his legal and po-
litical career. The first case of prominence in which he fig-
ured was the prosecution of a homicide. Judge Allen O. Thur-
man and Thomas Ewing appeared for the defense, and Mr.
Byington 's victory in securing a conviction was on that ac-
count the more notable. The advance of the lawyer-journalist
was rapid from that time. During the fall of 1841 he was
elected to the 40th general assemblv of Ohio, and was honored
A. BYINGTOX
by the chairmanships of the judiciary committee and the com-
mittee on corporations. He was reelected to the next legisla-
ture of Ohio, and later became a candidate for Congress.
Hearing the "Call of the West," Mr. Byington resolved to
carry out his impulses of former years to identify himself
with the region west of the Mississippi, and in 1849 removed
to Iowa City. Land operations first engaged his attention,
and he became an extensive dealer. His success was such that
great wealth was assured him. The adherence to his concep-
tion of right characterized all the acts of the elder Byington.
His opinions respecting the liquor question were emphatic,
and he was a lifelong temperance advocate and opponent of
the saloon. For nearly sixty years he was a prominent and
influential factor in Johnson county, a leader among men, re-
ed by a
host of pei
L907, a
t Iowa ("it
ile wife
died at th
BIOGRAPHICAL 207
spected by all as an bonesl man and bel<
sonal friends. His death, November -
occasioned universal regret. His estitn
old home September 1, 1!M 1.
Le Grande Byington's wife was Miss Mary McCollister,
and the date of their marriage was 1S4.~>. They enjoyed the
unique privilege of celebrating together the Bixty-second anni-
versary of their wedding. They were survived by three chil-
dren: Judge O. A. Byington, Mrs. Iowa B. Reed, of Coral-
ville, and Mrs. J. II. Whetstone, of Iowa City. Four grand-
children gladdened their declining years: Miss Nellie By-
ington, of Chicago, and Roberl Whetstone. William and Le
Grande Byington, of Iowa City.
Judge O. A. Byington was married on June 1, 1887, to Miss
Frances Brernnor, of Marshalltown, who is a native of Iowa.
Her grandparents, Mr. and Mis. Hampton, were residents of
Iowa City. Mr. Hampton was clerk of the supreme court at
an early day. Two sons are the offspring of this union : He
Grande, aged sixteen, and William II., aged twelve years. Mr.
and Mrs. Byington are most happy in their domestic relations
and have a beautiful home on the west side of the city, over-
looking the picturesque Iowa river.
The judge, in politics, is a democrat; is a member of the
Masonic, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias fraternities,
and an attendant at the Presbyterian church. His integrity
is unquestioned, his ability has been demonstrated by the ac-
tivities of a successful life, in the midst of which he is at this
writing most strenuous and useful, and his place is secure in
the affections of a wide circle of friends, embracing the pion-
eers and their descendants and the general citizenship of John
son county and vicinity, as well as numerous residents of the
state and nation.
ROBERT LIVINGSTON DUNLAP
The ancestry of the Dunlap l'amil\ of Iowa City, so far as
its record in America is concerned, dates from William Dim
lap, a native of Scotland, who emigrated from the north of
Ireland to the United States in the latter part of the eigh-
208 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
teenth century. John W. Dunlap, a son of William, was an
officer in the New York Militia during the Revolutionary War,
and he, with his three brothers, was a participant in the bloody
battle of Orriskany, where the commander, General Herkimer,
was killed, and one of the Dunlap boys lost his life. John
W.'s son, William, was the father of the subject of this sketch.
His wife was Margaret Lane, whose ancestors were of German
descent. They were residents of New York state, and were
engaged in agriculture. In 1836, when our subject was thir-
teen years of age, the family removed to Illinois, the journey
from New York being made in a lumber wagon. Their first
location was in La Salle county, where they remained until
1852, when they removed to Champaign county. Mrs. Dunlap
died in that county in 1854.
The date of Robert L. Dunlap 's birth in New York state
was June 6, 1823, and bis birthplace was Cherry Valley, Otse-
go county. His primary education was received there. This
he supplemented by a further course in the public schools of
La Salle and Champaign counties, Illinois, completing his
education at the Warrenville Institute, Warrenville, Du Page
county. About this time he removed to Cook county, Illinois,
and was engaged in farming until 1853 about eighteen miles
northwest of Chicago. Thereafter he became interested in
the lumber business at Green Bay, Wisconsin, and for the two
years following was engaged in the manufacture of pine lum-
ber. From Green Bay he went to Virginia, where he built
and operated a dredging machine, the first ever operated in
the Appomattox river. This he afterward sold to Peters-
burgh parties and returned to Cook county, Illinois, where
he operated the first dredging machine in the Chicago river.
There he remained several years, engaging in the manufac-
ture of sash, doors, and blinds. This business he sold in the
fall of 1857, and in 1858 removed to Iowa City. There he en-
gaged in buying grain and hogs, which business he continued
until 1863. As a portion of that period was the time of the
Civil War. his operations were often very extensive. In the
year last mentioned he began handling agricultural imple-
ments, including heavy farm machinery of all descriptions.
His two business houses were located at 220 Washington
BIOGRAPHICAL 209
street, near the present city hall site, and at the corner of
Capitol and Washington streets, now the site of the Univer-
sity engineering building. At one time lie had one of the
largest farm implement trades in the state, selling within a
single year on the last named corner 200 reapers and movers,
L'5 threshing machines, .'!(>() wagons, 60 corn planters, 70 sulky
hay rakes, 300 cultivators, 300 plows, and everything else in
proportion. Mr. Dunlap was a man of one work, it being a
fixed policy of his business life to devote his entire attention
to the business in hand; he therefore never had any financial
interest in other enter) irises.
K KOBKRT LlVIXilS'l'iiX
Mr. Dunlap was twice married. His first wife was Miss
Alma L. Wiley, daughter of Calvin and Jeannette Strong-
Wiley, natives of Vermont, to whom he was wedded June 15,
1847, in Cook county, Illinois. She died December 5, 1858,
having borne two children, Marcus F. and Fanny H. Mr.
Dunlap was again married, April 23, 1866, to Mrs. Orlando S.
Cole, a native of Ohio. Two children were the fruit of this
union, Robert O. and Ralph L. The former died in 1900, and
the latter resides in Towa City, where he is engaged in the lum-
ber business, under the firm name of R. L. Dunlap Lumber
Company. Marcus F., residing in St. Charles county, Mis-
210 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
souri, is married to Sadie Ellen Woods, of Fairfield, Iowa,
and Fannie H. to M. A. Lunibard, of Des Moines. Mrs. Dun-
lap survives her husband, who died February 6, 1898, and
lives at the residence he established at 114 East Market street,
Iowa City.
In polities Mr. Dunlap was originally a know-nothing, af-
terwards becoming a republican. He was never an office seek-
er, but always took an active interest in the public welfare,
especially in the temperance cause. While living in Chicago
he became a member of the Sons of Temperance, and on locat-
ing in Iowa City, assisted in the organization of Ragan lodge,
in which he filled all the higher chairs. This lodge was a
noted factor and at one time quite aggressive in its work
against the saloons in Iowa City. So great was Mr. Dunlap 's
interest in this reform that at one time he undertook single-
handed the prosecution of the liquor interests in the city, with
the result that his house was mobbed by extremists of the lat-
ter class. In church work both he and his wife were always
active participants, being members of the Methodist Episcopal
denomination. Mr. Dunlap was an officer of the First M. E.
church of Iowa City for many years, being superintendent of
the Sunday school and one of the three members of the build-
ing committee which supervised the construction of the church
edifice preceding the present structure.
Mr. R. L. Dunlap has been twice married, first on Septem-
ber 1, 1898, to Miss Mary E. Carroll, who died October 4, 1904.
then on April 21, 1909, to Jeannette Melchert of Clinton, Iowa.
They have one daughter, Muriel, born August 18, 1911. He
is a member of Iowa City lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M., Iowa
City Chapter No. 2, R. A. M., Palestine Commandery No. 2, K.
T. Zarephath Consistory No. 4, Kaaba Temple, A. A. 0. N. M.
S., Eastern Star Jessamine Chapter No. 135. He was worship-
ful master of lodge No. 4 in 1909 and worthy patron of the
Star in 1910.
Ralph L., the youngest son, as heretofore stated, is one of
the proprietors of the R. L. Dunlap Lumber Co., at Iowa City.
He is a graduate of the State University of Iowa, and is one
of the successful business men of his native city, where he is
universally respected. He resides at the old home, 114 East
Market street. His place of business is at 120 West Burling-
ton street.
BIOGRAPHICAL 211
FRANK PAUL BURKLEY
The Burkley Imperial Hotel, of Iowa ( !ity, is known as one
of the first class hostelries of the ffawkeye state Its history
dates from 1863, when Frank Paul Burkley, father of the
present manager, Albert Burkley, after two years' experience
as proprietor and manager of the Union bakery, launched out
in the hotel business under the name of The Burkley House
on the site now occupied by the Burkley Imperial. The
growth of the enterprise was in response to the increasing
demands of its patronage. It is, paradoxically, the effect of
its own cause and the cause of its own effect. The effect of
maintaining an always satisfactory hotel has heen the creation
of a large constituency, and the demands of that constituency
have necessitated the enlargement and improvement of the
caravansary. Thus the Burkley enterprise has literally lifted
itself over the fence of progress by its own bootstraps, a feat
ordinarily deemed impossible.
But, in the vocabulary of the American business man, de-
termined to win the good will and patronage of his fellows,
there is no such word as impossible. The register of the
Burkley never had such a word written on its pages.
Frank Paul Burkley came from the Black Forest of Ger-
many, where he was horn April 2, 1827, in the village of
Svendi, thus wisely side-stepping the romances of All-Fools'
Day, and beginning life with the fundamental, straightfor-
ward good sense which gave him a lug start on the highway
of success in America, to which he emigrated just as soon as
he reached his majority. He elected to begin at the Hub, and
so Boston, Massachusetts, was his home for the first thirteen
years of his life in the new world. In 1861 he raised the cry
of " AVestward, ho !" and landed in Iowa City that year. Two
years saw him devoted to the bakery business (not a bad train-
ing for a boniface), and 1863 witnessed the launching of The
Burkley House, as before stated. In this enterprise Frank
Burkley met his destiny. The rest is matter of history.
A few bristling sentences tell the tale of enlargement: In
1870 ten rooms were added; in 1876, fifteen more; in 1892, re-
modeled and enlarged, twenty rooms added and the name
changed to The Kirkwood; in 1901 extensive alterations and
212 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
improvements made, thirty rooms added, the name switched
to Burkley Imperial, American and European systems adopt-
ed, Frank Paul Burkley retired, and his son, Albert Burkley
installed as proprietor and manager.
For ten years, under the management of this worthy suc-
cessor of a worthy sire, the Burkley Imperial has stood in the
front ranks of popular Iowa hotels, with the recommendation
of every guest who has passed its doorway. Its picturesque
banquet hall is known throughout Towa as "The Gothic Ban-
quet Hall," its cuisine is a precious memory on the tongues
of epicures, and its sleeping suites, with private baths, are
famous for their comfort. Thus again the venerable commer-
THE BURKLEY IMPERIAL
cial adage is justified of its sapience, "Nothing succeeds like
success. ' '
The Burkley Imperial has been the scene of many notable
banquets, and will beyond question be the scene of many more,
as it is the only house in the University City suitably equipped
for such functions.
While a resident of Boston, Frank Paul Burkley was mar-
ried in 1850 to Miss Genevieve Muchenburger, who, in after
life, became known far and near for her benevolence. To
them were born seven children, of whom five are living, name-
ly: Mrs. G. A. Mullin, of Cedar Bapids; Mrs. .1. McManus,
of Iowa City; Miss Anna, proprietor of Svendi Hall, Iowa
F. P. Bl'RKLKV
BIOGHRAPHICAL 213
City; Otto, of Chicago, and Albert, proprietor of the Burkley
Imperial, of Iowa City. Mr. Burkley died at Iowa City at
6:30 a. in. on Sunday, December 20, .1908.
The old Park House, to which reference is made in the
general history section of this work, which was formerly sold
to the Sisters, was repurchased by Albert Burkley in 1909,
and is now known as Svendi Hall, a dormitory for women,
managed by Miss Anna Burkley. It has a capacity for seven-
ty-five people.
The Burkley family are members of the Catholic church of
Iowa Citv.
ARTHUR JOHN COX
Arthur John Cox is today living in the same house in Iowa
City in which he was born January 14, 1870, the old home of
his parents at 104 East Market street. But this fact does not
give the key to the dominant note of Mr. Cox's character.
While possessed of sentiment sufficient to give him keen ap-
preciation of the romance of residing in the house of bis birth,
Mr. Cox is essentially a practical man of affairs, and his activi-
ties and connections commercially, financially, fraternally, and
socially may be best described by the Rooseveltian term,
"strenuous."
Educationally, Mr. Cox is primarily a product of Iowa City
schools, having taken the complete course of the graded schools
and graduated from the high school in 1887. In 1891 be grad-
uated from the State University of Iowa with the degree of
Civil Engineer, and in 1895 from the department of law with
the degree of LL. B. Having decided upon civil engineering
as his profession, he secured employment immediately follow-
ing his graduation, in 1891, as assistant city engineer of Iowa
City. The following year he was made city engineer, and
again in 1896. This was followed by election to the office of
county surveyor of Johnson county in 189(3-97.
In 1893, in company with Charles P. Chase, of Clinton,
Iowa, be formed the Iowa Engineering Company, with head-
quarters at Clinton, for the purpose of carrying on civil, sani-
tary, and hydraulic engineering. This company was later in-
corporated and Mr. Cox has been its secretary-treasurer and
214 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
consulting engineer to date. In 1901-02 he spent fourteen
months in Europe, making a special study of sewage disposal
methods. Mr. Cox is a stockholder, director, and chief en-
gineer of Eastman, Gardiner & Co., manufacturers of Long-
leaf Yellow Pine lumber, Laurel, Mississippi, and is interested
with the same firm in timber lands in Simpson county, Mis-
sissippi. He is also a director of the Laurel Cotton Mills.
In fraternal, scientific, and social organizations Mr. Cox
has taken a prominent part. He is a member of Beta Theta
Pi, 1887; Phi Delta Phi, 1894; Sigma Xi, 1908; University
Club, Chicago, Illinois; Triangle Club, Iowa City; Iowa En-
L 1
Mi 1
|H1 I
... -
RESIDENCE OF ARTHUR JOHN COX
gineering Society, being its secretary in 1906, its vice presi-
dent in 1907, and its president in 1908; member and vestry-
man Trinity Parish Protestant Episcopal church, Iowa City;
member of Board of Curators Iowa State Historical Society,
1908-09-10-11 ; thirty-second degree Mason, Clinton Consis-
tory; Knight Templar, Iowa City; Mystic Shrine, Meridian,
Mississippi. He was Cadet Captain S. U. I. Battalion 1890-
91, and was recommended to the war department at Washing-
ton in 1891.
Mr. Cox was married at Clinton, Iowa, on November 14,
1895, to Miss Elizabeth Louisa Gardiner, daughter of Silas
BIOGRAPHICAL 215
W. Gardiner, the eighth descendant of John Lyon Gardiner,
of Gardiner's Island, New York. The latter landed in Ameri-
ca in 1635, and in payment for distinguished services prev-
iously rendered the British king- was given the island contain-
ing 3,300 acres, situated east of Long Island, now known as
Gardiner's Island. Silas Wright Gardiner, Mrs. Cox's fath-
er, was a member of the firm of Gardiner, Batchelder & Wells,
lumbermen, of Lyons, Iowa, and treasurer of Eastman, Gard-
iner & Co., Laurel, Mississippi. He was state senator in the
Iowa General Assembly of 1891, a thirty-second degree Mason
and member of the Sons of Colonial War. He died in 1907.
Her mother was Louisa Catherine Henkel, a native of Goshen,
Indiana. Four children have been born to Arthur John Cox
and Elizabeth Louisa Gardiner, namely: Frederick Gardin-
er, October 28, 1896; Sarah Elizabeth, May 27, 1903; Thomas
Gardiner, December 12, 1905, and Louisa Catherine, January
3, 1910 — all born in the old home at 104 East Market street,
Iowa City.
Mr. Cox's paternal ancestry dates from England, the found-
er of the family in the United States being James Cox, who
settled at Oyster Bay, Long Island, in 1763. Thomas Jeffer-
son Cox, our subject's father, was born at Hayesville, Ohio,
in 1827, and first came to Iowa in 1849. He went back to Ohio,
but returned to Iowa City in 1854, and served several years in
the United States land office. During the Civil War he was
clerk and auditor of Johnson county, the two offices at that
time being combined. He was the first cashier of the Iowa
City Branch State bank, holding the position until 1877, after
which he was associated with Samuel J. Kirkwood under the
firm name of Cox & Kirkwood, real estate and loan business.
Sarah Eliza Hershiser, his wife, mother of our subject, was
born at Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania, in 1830, and came to
Ohio with her parents at an early date and thence to Iowa in
1855. The couple were married at Iowa City in 1856. Father
Cox died April 25, 1897.
116
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
JOHN W. MORFORD
Living in comfortable retirement at his home, 802 East
Bloomington street, Iowa City, is John W. Morford, a native
son of Iowa and former prosperous farmer of Graham town-
ship. The sharer of his home and fortune is his beloved wife,
formerly Miss Stella Mae Colt, daughter of William and Eliza
(Trimble) Colt, to whom he was married March 18, 1878, in
River Junction, Fremont township. Mrs. Morford 's mother,
Eliza Trimble, is a daughter of Judge Trimble, a prominent
man of his day, formerly of Iowa City. Mrs. Colt now resides
at Columbus Junction. She was born at Iowa City in 1841.
Judge Trimble settled in Iowa in 1840.
KF.SIM'.XrE OF JOHN \V. MOKFOHH
John W. Morford was born in Pleasant Valley township,
April 22, 1852. His father Avas Reason Morford, who was
born in Pennsylvania December 13, 1822, and died in Pleasant
Valley township May 26, 1886. His wife, the mother of our
subject, was Miss Sarah Yarbrough, born in North Carolina
August 11, 1835, and died in Newport township December 5,
1867. Of the six children of this couple three survive, as fol-
lows: John W., our subject; Thomas Henry, superintendent
of parks, Iowa City; Mary Hannah, died when four years of
age; Elizabeth who died in infancy; Elwood, a resident of
BIOGRAPHICAL 217
North Dakota, and Sheridan, died September 12, 188(1, at the
age of twenty-one.
Our subject, prior to his retirement, was always a farmer.
He was raised on bis father's farm, and his education was re-
ceived in the first log school house in Pleasant Valley town
ship. At the age of sixteen he worked by the month at farm-
ing, an occupation which he continued for eight years, most
of his work being done on his uncle's farm east of the village
of Hills. Having saved up his money, our subject bought a
part of the old Byington place, 11.8 acres at $25 per acre. This
he sold some time after at $50 per acre. He then bought 133
acres in Graham township at $55 per acre, and after nine
years sold 100 acres of this for $129 per acre. To his remnant
of 33 acres he added four acres and sold the entire thirty-seven
acres for $3,800. His last purchase was a farm near Oasis.
During his residence in Pleasant Valley township, Mr. Mor-
ford occupied the office of justice of the peace for nineteen
years and assessor two years. He was also president of the
literary association of Pleasant Valley township. He has
always been a republican.
Mr. and Mrs. Morford are the parents of four children:
Grace, wife of William Doan, has six children, William, Hazen,
Alden, Marie, Ethel, and Edna ; William Ray, married to Beta
Hagerman, has one daughter, Mabel ; Charles E., married to
Ada Manasmith, of Iowa City, has one son, Loraine ; Ula, re-
siding at home, a graduate of the Iowa City high school.
The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church
of Iowa City. Mr. Morford has taken an active part in church
work, having been superintendent of the Sunday school of the
M. E. church in Pleasant Valley township.
CHARLES M. DUTCHES
The firm of Wade, Dutcher & Davis, of Iowa City, is recog-
nized by the legal fraternity of the state as one of the repre-
sentative law partnerships of the central Mississippi Valley.
The reason for this reputation is not far to seek. The firm
contains elements of character, ability, and strength within
itself of more than ordinarv mould. This will lie manifest to
218 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the reader in perusing the individual biographies of the part-
ners as set forth in this volume. The attainments and partic-
ular talents of each seem to he a fitting complement, so that
the combination is essentially unique. The strength of the
organization is proven by its large clientele and extensive
business interests.
Charles M. Dutcher, the second member of the firm, while
a native of Kansas (born in Allen county April 29, 1869), is
by early transplanting, education, and residence, an Iowan :
for in 1877, when eight years of age, he settled in Iowa county,
on a farm near Ladora ; after a residence there of one year, the
family removed to Iowa City, where Mr. Dutcher has since
' \V -M:
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RESIDENCE OF CHABLES M. DUTCHER
continuously resided. There he received his education and
his legal equipment, being a graduate of the law department
of the State University of Iowa in the class of 1894. The
following year, he formed a law partnership with Charles H.
Burton, which continued until 1900, when he became asso-
ciated with Walter M. Davis, the firm being known as Dutcher
& Davis. In 1905 the present tripartate was effected by the
entrance of Judge M. J. Wade, a man of strong personality,
and an able and popular lawyer. The firm now occupies a
fine suite of offices at 105i/ 2 South Clinton street, with com-
plete library and every equipment of the modern law office.
Charles M. Dutcher 's parents were Daniel N. Dutcher, born
BIOGRAPHICAL 219
in New York January 18, 1833, and Sarah A. Beattie, bom in
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, November 22, 1833. Father Dutch-
er died in Iowa City August 24, 1902, and the mother resides
with her son, Charles M., in the same city. There are two
sons in the family besides the subject of this sketch: Louis
W., horn April 24, 1870, residing at Helena, Montana, and
George B., horn April 24, 1871, living in Iowa City.
The marriage of Charles M. Dutcher to Miss Marie D.
Campbell took place July 24, 1907. Miss Campbell is a daugh-
ter of Melvin Campbell and Etta Brooks, whose family con-
sisted of four daughters and one son.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dutcher one son has been born: Daniel
Campbell, August 1, 1908, and one daughter Jane Elizabeth
on June 9, 1911.
Charles M. Dutcher is a republican, and was honored by
his party with the office of county attorney in 1897-98. He
was a member of the board of education of Iowa City for six
years ; is a member of Iowa City lodge, No. 4, A. F. & A. M., of
which he was Master in 1898-99; is a member of Iowa City
Chapter No. 2, Royal Arch Masons; Palestine Commandery
Knights Templar and Kaaba Temple Mystic Shrine, of Dav-
enport. He is a Knight of Pythias, Corinth lodge No. 24,
Iowa City; member of Camp No. 18!), M. YV. A., of Iowa City,
and a member of 0. E. S.
Mr. and Mrs. Dutcher are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church of Iowa City. Their home is at 909 East Bur-
lington street.
Surely, at forty-two, with the blessing of perfect health,
happy home, prosperous business and the universal respect
and confidence of his fellow citizens, Charles M. Dutcher is
entitled to congratulations. His friends rejoice with him in
the brightness of his horizon, and wish him the full fruition
of all his hopes.
GEORGE WILLIAM SCHMIDT
At the date on which this biography is written (September
20, 1911) the subject thereof has just passed one day beyond
the fifty-first anniversary of his birth. He was able yesterday
to look backward through the half century of residence in
220
HISTOBY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Iowa City, his native town, with the consciousness that he had
endeavored to live the life of a true man and to perform the
duties of a patriotic citizen. Moreover, he had the satisfac-
tion of feeling that his career had been one of success, both
socially and financially, and that in the catalogue of citizen-
ship he had the honor of being placed on the page of the self-
made men of Johnson county, who, while carving out their
own characters and destinies, have been active factors in the
development of the institutions of which this county so proud-
ly, and rightfully, boasts.
The parents of George William Schmidt, who occupy a high
place in his affections, were John Schmidt and Frances Zera-
CE OF GEOBGE WILLIAM SCHMIDT
bek, both natives of Germany, who were among the pioneers
of Johnson county and took an active part in the homely, exact-
ing work of the early days. The father emigrated to America
in 1855, landing at Philadelphia, whence he came to Daven-
port, Iowa, by rail, and from the latter point overland to Iowa
City. The mother came direct from Germany to Johnson
county in 1856, and the couple were married the same year at
Iowa City. John Schmidt was a wagonmaker by trade and
worked at that calling in Iowa City until his death in Decem-
ber, 1889. Frances Zerabek bore twelve children, and that
liKOKCE W. SCHMIDT
BIOGRAPHICAL 221
tolls the tale of a mother's affection and self sacrifice. Six of
these children survive: John C, residing at Kansas City,
Missouri; Mary, living at Kearney, Nebraska; Qt. W., our sub-
ject; F. J., residing ai Iowa City; C. A., residing at Iowa City;
Louise, now Mrs. William Kurz, of Iowa City.
At the age of twelve years our subjecl was compelled to
leave school in order to enter the world of work, and from that
time to the present he has been a strenuous factor therein. At
the age of fifteen he became an apprentice at the blacksmith
and machinist trade in the shops of N. II. Tulloss & Co., where
he remained for three years, mastering the trade. Thereafter
he spent one year at farm work and then returned to take
regular employment with N. II. Tulloss & Co., with whom he
remained for eight years. He then went into the laundry
business, starting the first steam laundry in Iowa City in con-
nection with A. T. Calkins, to whom he sold his interest in the
husiness at the expiration of a year and a half. In company
with N. Dalsheid he then launched a machine shop. After a
few years Mr. Dalsheid retired and Mr. Schmidt has continued
the husiness to the present time, which has proven very suc-
cessful. Our subject is now president of the Schmidt-Kurz
Improvement Company, which built and owns the Paul-Helen
building, one of the finest structures in Iowa City.
Mr. Schmidt chose for his wife Miss Augusta Strub, a
native of Iowa City, born December IS, 1863. They have one
son, Paul G., who is associated in business with his father.
The family residence is at 225 Fairchild street. They are
communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church.
Mr. Schmidt takes the liberal view in politics. He is a
member of Iowa City lodge No. 590, B. P. 0. E., of which he
was exalted ruler for the years 1909-10. During his incum-
bency he had the honor of dedicating the new Elks Temple at
Iowa City. Mr. Schmidt is also a member of the Knights of
Columbus, and was a trustee of the order for six years. He is
a member of the German Aid Society, and a charter member
of the Iowa City Country Club, in which latter organization
he has always held an office. In March, 1911, he was elected
alderman from his ward by the largest democratie majority
ever given in the second ward.
222 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
THEODORE FREDERIC SANXAY
The prominent part which the Sanxay family has taken
(still takes, for that matter) in the history of Iowa City and
Johnson county may be gathered by the reader from a peru-
sal of volume one of this history. One of the distinguished
representatives of this family, Theodore Frederic Sanxay, is
now and has been for a number of years a resident of New
York City. A sketch of his life and activities will properly
supplement the reference which has already been made to his
family in the preceding volume. Mr. Sanxay has never lost
active interest in the old town of his birth. He reckons him-
self as one of her sons — gone out, it is true, to other and per-
haps larger fields, but alive with affection for the home scenes
and the home faces of the long ago.
Theodore Frederic Sanxay is the eldest son of Theodore
Sanxay and Hetty A. Perry, and is of the eighth generation
in the line of descent from Pierre Sanxay, Huguenot-pastor
of the Reformed church at Saintes, in the old Province of
Saint Onge, France, from 1570 to 1576. Our subject was born
March 12, 1843, at Iowa City, Iowa. He attended the schools
of his native city, including that of Dr. William Reynolds, and
finally became one of the students of the State University on
its opening. In 1858 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and attended
the Cleveland Institute, situated on University Heights, and,
although a new pupil, was selected as the Fourth of July ora-
tor of the school on the occasion of the celebration of that day
in 1860. He also received private instruction from Professor
Carl Ruger, the eminent teacher of the classical languages in
that city. In 1861 he entered as a freshman in the Western
Reserve college at Hudson, Ohio. Among his classmates were
Samuel E. Williamson, who became eminent at the bar of
Ohio, and George Trumbull Ladd and Thomas H. Seymour,
afterwards distinguished professors at Yale University. The.
year following Mr. Sanxay entered as a sophomore at Prince-
ton University, New Jersey, and graduated therefrom, A. B.,
in 1864. While at Princeton he was chosen by vote of the stu-
dents as junior orator to represent Clio Hall, one of the liter-
ary societies, on the junior orator stage at the commencement
of 1863. He received the degree of A. M. from Princeton in
1867.
BIOGRAPHICAL
After his graduation from Princeton, our subject took up
the study of law. and after a time spent in Cincinnati as a
student in the law office of Vachel Worthington, son-in-law oi
Judge Jacob Burnet, he left that city for Chicago and entered
the office of Walker and Dexter, leading lawyers of that city,
the former being- counsel for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
Railroad Company. Failing to recover his health, unpaired
by a severe illness during his last term at Princeton, he took
a trip to Europe, and returning in the fall of 1864, he entered
the law school at Albany, Xew York, where he continued his
studies for two years, during a part of which period William
McKinley, the late president, was also there as a student. In
1866 he took his degree of LL.B. and was admitted to practice
OLD SANXAY HOMESTEAD
at the bar of the state of New York; but he remained one year
longer, continuing his studies until 1867. During his stay in
Albany his services were utilized for campaign speeches by
the republican local committee for that county.
In the spring of 1867 Mr. Sanxay went to the city of New
York and entered upon the practice of law, connecting himself
with the office of his cousin, the late Skeffington Sanxay, win*
died shortly thereafter. Mr. Sanxay has been a resident of
New York City continuously ever since. He was actively en-
gaged in the practice of law in the nation's metropolis for
twenty-six years, and until 189o, when by reason of failing
health (his health always having been delicate) he was com-
221 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
pelled to relax, and ultimately he retired altogether therefrom.
His practice, which he conducted singly, having entered into
no partnership relations, was general, covering most of the
leading branches of the law. He was especially active in liti-
gated business and in the trial of cases. While thus engaged
in practice, and especially during the early part of the period
aforesaid, he was also active in the duties of citizenship. He
engaged in the campaigns as a republican speaker in his home
city and New Jersey, and when, about the year 1873, the move-
ment was organized to de-Tammany-ize the republican party
in the city of New York, by re-enrollment and re-organization
pursuant to a resolution of the republican state convention,
he entered actively into the movement, and was among the
delegates chosen to represent the Twentieth Assembly dis-
trict in the re-organized republican county committee — said
committee having charge of the management of the republican
party in the city of New York. He has always continued to
be a republican, though with independent views, which became
more pronounced as he withdrew from party activity, his re-
tirement being made necessary from the lack of strong health
and in view of the exacting demands of professional practice.
He has never held or sought a political office.
Since retiring from business activity, Mr. Sanxay has de-
voted himself to the management of his private affairs, and
to a considerable extent the affairs of others which seemed
to fall on him, or which his former practice entailed. He has
devoted much study to political questions, for which he has a
natural fondness, and is also the author of a historical and
genealogical work in which, in connection with the records of
his ancestors, and by means of laborious investigations and
researches, and by extensive correspondence with Huguenot
savants and others in Europe, he has been able to contribute
to Huguenot history a hitherto unpublished chapter. Mr.
Sanxay has been active in hospital affairs, and has been a
member of the board of directors of the New York Ophthalmic
Hospital for eighteen years, being now the president of the
hospital. He personally drafted and secured the passage by
the New York legislature of a law exempting hospital prop-
erty from taxation, even though not in use for hospital pur-
poses, when the rental income therefrom was necessary for
SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOh
BIOGRAPHICAL 225
and used in the maintenance of the hospital and its work. I lur
subject was connected with the old First Presbyterian church,
corner Fifth avenue and Eleventh street, at the time of the
pastorate of the late Dr. William M. Paxton, and organized
for it a Young People's Association. He was later connected
with the Collegiate Dutch Reformed church, Fifth avenue and
Forty-eighth street, and for several years was superintendent
of its Sunday school.
Mr. Sanxay has traveled considerably, several trips to
Europe being included in his itinerary. He makes annual
visits to his old home in Iowa City, in the welfare of which
city he retains a feeling of deep interest. He has been a mem-
ber of the Union League club of New York for over forty
years. He is also a member of the Princeton club of New
York, the New York Historical Society, the Huguenot Society
of America, Iowa Society of New York, Sons of the American
Revolution, and The State Historical Society of Iowa. He has
never married.
MKS. JANE KIRKWOOD
At the advanced age of ninety years, Jane (Clark) Kirk-
wood, widow of Hon. Samuel .1. Kirkwood, Iowa's honored
war governor, and former secretary of the interior under
President Garfield, resides in the family mansion at 1028 Kirk-
wood avenue, Iowa City. It is needless to state that no resi-
dent of the University city is more highly esteemed or held in
more universal and tender respect by its citizens than tins
aged relict of Iowa's once foremost citizen. The memory of
the stirring days in which she stood by the side of her loyal
husband when his heart and brain were occupied with affairs
of momentous interest to the nation lingers about her head
like a halo. A touch of the pathetic past is graven upon her
noble face, and the unforgotten visions of tin- yesterdays of
the nation's travail lie in the depths of her tender eves. Her
friends gather about her and esteem her beloved. How could
it be otherwise when her life and character compass so much
that is priceless in the history of her state and nation .'
Jane (Clark) Kirkwood is the eldest of the two surviving
226 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
daughters of Ichabod Clark and Isabel McQuade, wbo were
married in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1812. She
was born September 1, 1821, in Richland county, Ohio. Her
surviving sister is Mrs. Joseph Jewett, born in October, 1826.
Ichabod Clark and wife, soon after their marriage, moved to
Richland county, Ohio, where the father resided until his
death at the age of sixty-three. He was a farmer and a miller,
and a veteran in the War of 1812. After the death of her
husband, Mrs. Clark (in 1854) removed to Johnson county,
Iowa, and located at Iowa City, where she died at the age of
seventy-six. She was the mother of ten children. Jane (Mrs.
Kirkwood) was educated in Richland county, Ohio, and at-
tended the Seminary at Grantville. She was a school teacher
for a few summers in her old home county. On the 27th of
December, 1843, she was married to Samuel J. Kirkwood, then
a young man of thirty, just beginning the practice of law at
Mansfield, Ohio. With her husband she removed to Iowa in
185.3. The historic mansion in which she now resides was built
in 1864. Mrs. Kirkwood recalls that one of her first tasks
after her marriage was the weaving of a carpet with her own
hands, the wool for which she had herself spun and had dyed.
Soon after her marriage she united with the Methodist Epis-
copal church, of which she has been a consistent and useful
member all these nearly seventy years.
GOVERNOR SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD was of Scotch-
Irish descent. His grandfather, Robert Kirkwood, was born
in the north of Ireland, and came with his widowed mother to
America in 1731. The mother settled in New Castle, Delaware,
where Robert grew to man's estate and became the father of
five sons and one daughter, the youngest of the sons, Jabez,
being the father of Samuel Jordan Kirkwood, our subject. A
former biographical sketch of Governor Kirkwood recites that
"Captain Robert Kirkwood (a cousin of the aforesaid Robert)
was a valiant soldier in the Revolution. He was successively
in the battles of Long Island, Trenton, Camden, Eutaw
Spring's, Ninety-six, and Hobkirk's Hill. The regiment to
which he belonged was so badly reduced in the latter battle,
that only enough for one company was left, when it was re-
organized as a single company and its command given to Cap-
tain Kirkwood. For his valor and meritorious services, he was
BIOGRAPHICAL 227
advanced by General Washing-ton from a captaincy to the
office of Brigadier-General, without filling any intervening
office. He was killed in the battle between St. Clair's troops
and the Indians on the Wabash in 1.791, in a bayonet charge
against the enemy."
Jabez Kirkwood was born in Harford county, Maryland,
in the year 177(5, and he married for his second wife a widow,
Mrs. Wallace, whose maiden name was Mary Alexander,
who was born in Scotland. One of the fruits of this second
marriage was Samuel Jordan, who was born in Harford coun-
ty, Maryland, December 20, 1813. His father was both a
farmer and a blacksmith, and, like most of the Kirkwoods of
that time, was a man of more than ordinary ability, and took
a leading and active part in affairs of both church and state.
Samuel's education was begun at a very early age, as there
was a log school house on his father's farm, and so apt was he
that he cannot remember when he could not repeat the multi-
plication table, and he was always in advance of the scholars
of his years. At the age of ten he went to Washington City
and entered a school kept by John McCloud, in which his half-
brother, Robert, an excellent classical scholar, was an assist-
ant teacher. After spending four years in this school he en-
tered a drug store as clerk, and a year afterwards, at the age
of seventeen, went to Pennsylvania and engaged in school
teaching. At the close of several terms of teaching he re-
turned to Washington, and spent two years as clerk in the
drug store of his brother Wallace. Then returning home, he
spent a year in completing his classical studies.
In 1835, when he was twenty-one years of age, his father
removed to Richland county, Ohio, and there opened a farm in
the wilderness. Samuel worked on this farm in the summer
and in the winter taught school. In the year 1840, as deputy
assessor, he did the work of assessing thirteen townships in
the county. Then he engaged for a year as clerk in a store
and tavern kept by his principal. Relinquishing this, at the
age of twenty-eight, he went to Mansfield, entered the law
office of Judge T. W. Bartley, and commenced a two years'
study of the law, being afterward admitted to the bar. He
spent twelve years in practice at Mansfield, being in 1850
elected a member of the Constitutional convention to revise
228 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the constitution of Ohio. In the deliberations of this body lie
took an active part, and though it was composed of some of
the ablest men Ohio then possessed, he took a prominent po-
sition among tliem. During his law practice he was engaged in
an important murder trial, in which were employed as oppos-
ing counsel Thomas Ewing and Columbus Delano. It is a
remarkable coincidence that these three men, Kirkwood,
Ewing, and Delano, were afterwards in presidential cabinets,
each as secretary of the interior.
In 1855 Mr. Kirkwood abandoned the practice of law, bade
good-by to Ohio, and joined the then surging throngs that in
vast numbers were seeking' new homes on the fertile soil and
RESIDENCE OF MRS. JANE KIRKWOOD
in the genial clime of Iowa. On bis arrival in Iowa City, he
entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Hon. Ezekiel
Clark, and engaged in the farming, milling and merchandise
business. The firm owned a large farm of twelve hundred
acres, and a large grist and flouring mill at Coralville, on the
Iowa river, about two miles above Iowa City. Their store was
located in the latter city.
Though in early years a democrat, the repeal of the Mis-
souri Compromise and accompanying legis'ation drove Mr.
Kirkwood out of that party, and though avoiding rather than
seeking political preferment, the republicans of the senatorial
district composed of Johnson and Iowa counties, in 1856, sent
BIOGRAPHICAL 229
him to the state senate for a term of two years, and soon after
its close, in 1859, lie was nominated by the republicans for
governor. He made a canvass of the slate with bis competi-
tor, lion. A. C. Dodge, in one of the most memorable political
contest- ever held in the state, they both alternately address-
ing the same audiences from the same rostrum. Mr. Kirkwood
was elected by three thousand majority. During his first year
as governor, lie had a controversy with Governor 1 .etcher, of*
Virginia, in regard to the return to that state of Barclay Cop-
poc, one of John Brown's men engaged in the raid ou Harper's
Ferry. The requisition was defective, and Coppoc was not
returned. During the second year of his first term, the Civil
War broke out, and from that time until the close of his sec-
ond term as governor, he was the busiest and hardest worked
man in the state of Iowa.
When the call was made on him for a regiment of men for
United States service, it was found that the state had com-
paratively no complete military organization (a few com-
panies only), no arms, no funds, and hut little credit. He
went to the state hanks and on his own individual rcsponsi-
bility borrowed money by the tens id' thousands of dollars to
raise arms and equip the troops, and before the close of his
second term raised and sent to the front without draft all the
troops called for. No man ever looked after the welfare of his
own children with more interest and untiring zeal than did he
after the welfare of the Towa soldiers, from the time they
were mustered into the service until they were mustered out
and returned to their homes. Mr. Kirkwood was one of the
body of loyal governors that held a consultation at Altoona,
Pennsylvania, in September, 1862, to consult in regard to a
more vigorous prosecution of the war, and these governors
presented their views to the president, visiting him in person,
Governor Kirkwood being one of the speakers on that occa-
sion.
Before the close of the second gubernatorial term he was
offered the position of minister to Denmark by President Lin-
coln, and though he at first hesitated to accept it, the appoint-
ment was held several months for his acceptance, when, owing
to the pressure of other duties, he finally declined it. In 1866
he was elected to fill the unexpired term of Senator Harlan in
230 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the United States senate. Soon after the expiration of his
term in the senate lie was elected to the presidency of the
leading bank in Iowa City, and when the Iowa City National
bank was organized be became its president and held the office
for several years.
In 1875 Mr. Kirkwood was again elected governor of the
state by a majority of over thirty thousand. Before the close
of his last term he was reelected to a seat in the United States
senate. On the 21st of January, 1879, be made in the senate
a speech on the army appropriation bill, in which he discussed
the relative powers of the states and the general government.
This speecb received tbe commendation of members of both
parties in the senate, and was favorably commented upon by
the leading papers of the country, and especially by the New
York 'Tribune. In no speecb ever made in the senate was this
question more ably discussed, or the relations of the states to
the general government more clearly stated and delineated.
In forming his cabinet, President Garfield gave to Governor
Kirkwood tbe position of secretary of the interior, an office
which he held until the April succeeding the President's
death, when he resigned and retired from official and political
life, but he was recalled to lead a forlorn hope in the race for
congress on the republican ticket in 1886, when there were two
other candidates, democratic and union labor, in the field, and
in which the democrat, Judge Hayes, was elected.
The governor was always a great friend to both common
school and higher education, having served many years on the
school board of his own township, on tbe board of regents of
the State University, and as a trustee of the State Agricul-
tural college. He never shirked any public duty which the
people called him to perform, filling even the humble office of
road supervisor in his road district, after serving in the United
States senate.
Perhaps the proudest and happiest tune of the governor's
life was when, on one of the balmy days of September, 1892,
a party of some thirty of his old friends and foimier associates
in political and official life, of both parties, including judges
and ex-judges of the supreme and district courts, ex-gover-
nors, ex-members of congress, ex-state officers, ex-army offi-
cers and others, made him a call and spent a social afternoon
BIOGEAPHICAX 231
in his house ami on his lawn, and when a score or more of his
friends sent their res-rets at not being able to be present. No
event could have happened that would have shown more em-
phatically the esteem in which lie was held in his declining
years than this.
Governor Kirkwood was an American prince of the royal
bloodj and whether in the overalls of the rusty farmer, the
dusty coat of the country miller, filling the office of governor,
sitting in the United States senate, or performing the duties
of cabinet minister, he has always belonged to the nobility of
American manhood. To his widow, sitting in the mellow rays
of life's glorious sunset, the loyal sons and daughters of Towa
offer affectionate salute. Theirs is the heritage of his glo-
rious career ; theirs the pride of her dower of honor. Who can
doubt that in the resplendent courts of Tomorrow her knight
and lover awaits the coming of his bride of Yesterday ?
CALVIN WILLIAMSON
When three years of age, Calvin Williamson, a fatherless
boy, made the trip from Pennsylvania to Missouri, and passed
under the care of an uncle. Two years later he accompanied
that uncle and his family to Johnson county and has resided
here ever since. He is now a man of sixty-six, a retired far-
mer, living in Iowa City, well off in this wwld's goods and has
a wife and three children, all married and doing well. It is
the old, old story of a life devoted to an honest purpose
crowned with success in the fruitful fields of the great com
monwealth of Iowa.
Mr. Williamson was born in Somerset county, Pennsyl-
vania, May 6, 1845. His parents were David and Commilla
(Shaver) Williamson, the former a native of Connecticut and
the latter of Pennsylvania. The father died when our subject
was an infant, and the little boy passed into the custody of
the uncle aforementioned. His education was received in the
country schools. When twenty-one years of age he began
farming for himself. That was in 38(56, and one year later he
bought a farm in Washington township. Indefatigable in-
dustry and frugality have enabled him to increase his hold-
232 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
iiigs, so that his realty possessions in Johnson county are at
this writing of considerable proportions. In 1898 he retired
from active business and removed to Iowa City, where he now
His marriage to Miss Matilda Fry took place in 1870. Miss
Fry was born in Johnson county January 13, 1848. Her father
was a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of Ohio. They
were pioneers of Johnson county, having settled here in the
thirties. Both reached a ripe old age. Father Fry dying at the
age of ninety-four and his wife at eighty-four.
kk-;iiik.\('k (if
'ALVIN WILUAMsn
Mr. and Mrs. Williamson have three children: Samuel,
born October 15, 1875, is married and resides on a farm in
Johnson county; Ralph C, born August 3, 1878, is a lawyer,
practicing at Davenport, Iowa; Nellie, born October '22, 1880,
is married and living in Franklin county, Iowa.
Mr. Williamson is a republican. Plis life has been an open
book, with no blotted pages. His many friends hold him in
respectful esteem, and he is accounted one of the substantial
citizens of the county.
BIOGRAPHICAL
233
PEED W. KEMMERLE
Fred W. Kemmerle has become widely known throughout
Iowa as the president of the [owa Brewing Company. He is
well known as a free-handed, open-hearted man, ever ready to
help the needy, and public spirited to a degree. Ele entered
the brewing business at Aurora, Illinois, at the age of twenty-
one years, and that lias been his chosen occupation ever since.
The power of his personality and his ability as a business man
are demonstrated in the large manufacturing enterprise of
which he is the head.
Mr. Kemmerle was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
November 24, 1871. His parents, Chris, and Catherine Kem-
merle, were natives of Germany, and came to America in 1861,
KKMMKKLF.
settling at Philadelphia. In 1876 they went westward to Au-
rora, Illinois, where they died, the father in 1X92 and the
mother in 1896. Chris. Kemmerle was engaged in the mer-
cantile business. Fred W., as stated before, began the brew-
ery-trade at Aurora in his twenty-first year. He continued in
that business in the same city for ten years, when he came to
Iowa City. Brewing has been bis occupation ever since.
In 1895 Mr. Kemmerle was married to Miss Anna Wis-
brook, a native of Aurora, Illinois, whose parents were natives
of Germany. They have two children: Hazel, born December
19, 1897, and Irene, born May 4, 1899. The family residence
is at 214 Church street.
234 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
WIOT R. HINKLEY
The New York family of Hinkleys has a worthy descendant
in the person of Wiot R., son of Samuel Hinkley and Adaline
Perkins, who was born in Johnson county, Iowa, December 14,
1866. Samuel Hinkley was a native of Madison county, New
York, and came to Johnson county in 1855 in company with
his brother, Henry L., where he settled on a farm in Fremont
township. There he lived until his death, January 30, 1908, at
the age of eighty-nine years. His wife is still living. (For a
more complete account of the ancestry and activities of the
Hinkley family, see the biography of Henry Luther Hinkley,
published elsewhere in this volume — Editor.)
SAMUEL HINKLEY HOMESTEAD
Two children were horn to Samuel Hinkley and wife:
Julia, now Mrs. Jesse Holdeman, residing at Lone Tree, and
the subject of this sketch. The former is the mother of an
interesting family (see biography of Jesse Holdeman), while
the latter is the father of six children, five of whom are living.
Following in the footsteps of his progenitors, Wiot R.
Hinkley has devoted his energies to farming. On leaving
school, he began work upon the old homestead of his parents.
His first independent efforts were inaugurated in his twentieth
year. When twenty-three he bought his first farm, upon
which he lived for four vears. On account of the ill health of
BIOGRAPHICAL 235
his parents, he sold this place and moved hack upon the old
farm to care for them. After his father's death he purchased
the old Alva Hinkley farm, near the old home. This he im-
proved, and sold in Decemher, 1911. He is at present living
in Lone Tree, Iowa.
The marriage of Wiot R. Hinkley and Miss Lida Douglas
look place in 1886. His wife was horn and bred in Johnson
county, being a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Douglas.
As previously stated, six children have blessed their home.
Their names in the order of birth are: Ellen Eunice; Frankie
Douglas, who died at the age of five years; Myrtle May ; Mary
Jane ; Hazel Pearle ; Harry Samuel.
Mr. Hinkley is a republican. The family have been mem-
bers of the Christian church for fifteen years. Mr. Hinkley is
one of the first members of Lone Tree lodge No. 160, M. B. A.,
and is active in the work of the order. In his forty-fifth year,
he is a sturdy example of the Iowa farmer at his best. It is a
trite thing to say that he and his kind are the enduring and
admirable foundation of the American republic. All thought-
ful men will say, "may their like increase."
ANTON FISHFdi
No further proof of the fact that America affords matchless
opportunities for individual success is needed than the ex-
perience of some of the foreign-born residents of Johnson
county, Iowa. The time-worn epigram that ' ' nothing succeeds
like success" is given an explanatory setting in this section of
the great western state of Iowa. Undoubtedly individual
ability and persistent application are essential factors in
financial victories, but it is a further fact that a fruitful field
for the exercise of these qualifications enters largely into the
final solution. Many wealthy citizens of southeastern Iowa
came from sections of the old world where the earnest exercise
of individual talents and industry availed small returns after
many years of application. Transplanted to the fecund re-
gions of the new world, these same talents and industry ac-
cunmlated within a generation ample fortunes for their pos-
sessors. In the final analysis of the matter the most that can
236
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
be said as between the individual and the scene of his efforts
is that "honors are easy." Nor are the "honors" so inferior
thai abundant glory may not be given to both factors. Suc-
cess, real and honorable, is a fitting crown for any man even in
the midst of the congenial conditions of southeastern Iowa.
The fact that many fail under seemingly identical advantages
only serves to emphasize the worth of the one who succeeds.
It may be truly said of Johnson county that its history is
glorious with the tales of individual successes, and these,
taken in connection with the famous richness of its soil and
favorable conditions of its climate, cannot but impress the
^K 1 SI JCk'
! it U
EESIl'EXCE OF AXTOX FISHER
student of history with the claims of that county to distinction
as one of the regions of American prosperity.
Anton Fisher is a Bohemian whose parents wisely brought
him to America and to southeastern Iowa when he was
young — thirteen years of age, to be exact. Today, at the age
of fifty three, after forty years of effort, Anton Fisher is ac-
counted one of the wealthiest men of Lone Tree, esteemed by
Ins neighbors and honored by his fellow citizens with positions
of public trust and responsibility. But between the Bohemian
boy of thirteen and the American citizen of fifty-three there
lies a history of earnest, persistent effort which tells the story
of success. Martin and Mary (Shebek) Fisher were the names
of our subject's parents, and they registered his birth as June
AXTOX FISHEE
BIOGRAPHICAL 237
24, 1857. In 1870 the Fisher family settled in Washington
county, Iowa, where the elders resided for ahout ten years,
thereafter removing to Nebraska. Father Fisher died in Ne-
braska, but the mother still lives in that state.
Anton Fisher spent five years at home on the Washington
county farm. At eighteen years of age lie determined to learn
the harness-makers' trade and for that purpose Located at
Iowa City and worked two years. Having- become a proficient
workman, he removed to Lone Ti'ee, where he labored at bis
trade for ten years. In 181)0 he changed from harness-making
to the hardware and implement business, and tins occupation
he pursued for fifteen years, retiring' about five years ago.
Since his retirement Mr. Fisher has held the office of county
supervisor, the duties of which, with the care of his large
property interests, have occupied his time. The day that An-
ton Fisher arrived at Lone Tree he possessed $75. 00 in cash,
which constituted his entire wealth. Today he owns one of the
most beautiful homes in the town, a block of brick business
buildings, and numerous farms and other property in Fre-
mont township, besides cash in abundance. A simple story of
thrift and success — it looks easy, and it is, to the man who
nill.
The family of .Martin Fisher and Mary Sbebek was of the
old-fashioned variety — that is, it was large. There are nine
children living at this writing, namely, in the order of their
birth: John (with a family), residing in Nebraska; Wytonie
(now Mrs. James Hoolek), living in Nebraska ; Anton ; Fannie
(Mrs. Blair), a resident of Los Angeles, California; James,
residing in Nebraska; Mary (now Mrs. Shelton), living in
Kansas; Frank, living in Nebraska ; Annie (now Mrs. Richard-
son), living in Nebraska; Joseph, residing in Nebraska.
Anton Fisher was married in 1875 to Miss Rosa Toi
a native of Bohemia, who came to America with in
when fourteen years of age. Two children were the
this union — Otto, who died live years ago at the
twenty-six years, and Ada, who is living at home. Th
are members of the Roman Catholic church.
As hitherto indicated, Anton Fisher has held public office
considerably. For twelve years he was township trustee; for
ten years city councilman of Lone Tree; and for the past five
>rme
Lz,
sist
cl-
ruit
ot'
age
fanii
of
ly
238 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
years county supervisor. Unquestioned integrity and ability
have characterized his administration of these positions of
public trust. He is a member of the local Lone Tree lodges of
I. 0. 0. F. and M. W. of A., and of Iowa City B. P. O. E.
Near by to the mausoleum of David Kirkpatrick in Lone
Tree cemetery stands that of the Anton Fisher family. Both
are imposing specimens of the tombmakers' art. One of the
marble tablets of the Fisher crypt contains the name of Otto,
son of Anton and Rosa Fisher, aged twenty-six years and 10
months. Three companion tablets await the coming of the
Grim Reaper to receive the inscriptions reciting the names
and ages of the surviving members of the family. Thus, even-
tually, in the neighborly silence of "God's acre" will repose
the dust of two of the wealthiest and most prominent house-
holds of Lone Tree. But every friend of the families (and
their name is legion) will wish that that day of silence may be
Ions* delaved.
ALBERT J. STONEBARGER
The agriculturists of Johnson county, Iowa, as well as the
dealers in some of the great stock centers of the country, are
indebted to Albert J. Stonebarger for his unremitting care
and labor in the breeding of pure-bred Percheron horses dur-
ing more than twenty years past. Nearly a score of magnifi-
cent specimens of these kings of draft horses may be seen at
this writing on Mr. Stonebarger 's farm in Fremont township,
where our subject has been engaged in farming for the past
thirty-five years. The work of Luther Burbank in breeding-up
magnificent species of vegetables, fruits, and flowers is not
more valuable in its way than the efforts of men like Mr.
Stonebarger to produce perfect specimens of horse flesh.
Such work, whether in the conservatory, the orchard, or the
stock ranch, is of vast importance, and is worthy of commen-
dation.
~Mr. Stonebarger 's parents, Jacob and Mary (Peebles)
Stonebarger, were natives of Pennsylvania, but our subject
was born in Ohio May 30, 1856, to which state his parents re-
moved at an early day. The elder Stonebarger engaged in the
furniture business in the Buckeve state, but became diseour-
BIOGRAPHICAL 239
aged on account of losses by fire, and decided to seek a change
of fortune in Iowa. The trip was made overland by wagon in
1857, our subject being then about one year old. The settlers
located on the homestead now occupied by our subject and
lived and died there. Of the children born to them live are
living, as follows: Frank, living in South Dakota; our sub-
ject; George, living in Lone Tree; Jacob, living in South Da-
kota; Sarah, now Mrs. E. C. Lee, living at Grinnell, Iowa.
( lur subject was twenty years of age when he began farming
on his own account on the old homestead of his parents. He
RKSIIiKXiT. of a. .1. >Ti>xi;i;ai;<;i;i;
has established a record for continuity by remaining on the
same place to date. In 1886 he took as his life's companion
Miss Mary Hill, a native of Ohio. Four children have been
born to Mr. and Mrs. Stonebarger : Vara, Ethel, Harry, and
Wayne, all living at home.
Mr. Stonebarger is a republican and a member of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He stands high in the esti-
mation of his neighbors, and being just past fifty-five years
of age, is in the prime of life, with many years of usefulness
before him.
■2i0 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
JOSEPH R. CORBETT
Old Ireland has laid Iowa under indebtedness in her contri-
bution of the Corbett family to Johnson county. Both parents
of Joseph R. were natives of the Emerald Isle. Reference is
made to Alexander Corbett and Henrietta Hanley, who were
married in their native land and came to Johnson county,
Iowa, in 1862, with their growing family. Nine children were
born to this estimable couple, now deceased, of whom seven
are living. Joseph was the sixth child, being born in Johnson
county August 21, 1865. The other children, in the order of
their birth, are as follows: Elizabeth, now Mrs. Fred Palmer,
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH E. CORBETT
residing at Lyons, Iowa; Edith, now Mrs. Minor Swink, living
in Calhoun county, Iowa; John A., married to Miss Anna Mc-
Kain, died in September, 1896, being the father of two chil-
dren, Guy and Grace; Anna, now Mrs. Jake Hildehrand, liv-
ing at Manhattan, Kansas ; Belle, who died at the age of ten
years; Margaret, now Mrs. William Wolford, living in Louisa
county, Iowa ; Mary, now Mrs. J. M. McClennan, living in
Oskaloosa, Iowa, Mr. McClennan being a Methodist minister;
Sarah, now Mrs. Clarence Forties, residing in Louisa county,
Iowa.
Alexander Corbett was a farmer. He lived until his death,
BIOGRAPHICAL 241
October 4, 1908, on the farm which he purchased in Fremonl
township. His wife's death took place June 21, 1898.
Joseph E. Corbett lived upon a farm until lie was twenty-
seven years of age. Having been well educated, he look ap the
profession of a schoolmaster, and in this work, coupled with
the business of carpentering and contracting, he engaged from
1892 to 1902, when he entered the lumber business and estab-
lished the enterprise in which he is engaged at present, at
Lone Tree, Iowa. He lias demonstrated Ids ability as a busi-
ness man, and is accounted one of the wealthiest men of Fre-
mont township.
Miss Dora Wolford, a native of Louisa county, Iowa, cap-
tured the heart of this mature Irish-American, and the couple
were married January 1, 1901, Mr. Corbett being at that time
thirty-six years of age. A gir] and a boy have been born into
the home: Irene, aged nine, and Bernard, aged five years. No
couple could be more happily mated. Their home, one of the
most modern and attractive in Loue Tree, is made wholesome
by the presence and ministrations of a queenly wife and the
strong, inspiring companionship of a manly, successful bus
band.
Mr. Corbett is a republican. He is a member of the local
lodge A. F. & A. M. of Lone Tree, of the T. 0. 0. P., M. W. A.,
and the K. of P. of the s'ame place. He and bis wife are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of Loue Tree.
JESSE HOLDEMAX
It would be hard to imagine a more interesting occupation
than that of the construction of the various edifices which com-
pose one of the picturesque villages of eastern Iow T a. Aside
from the mere fascination of seeing the structures one after
another take form, there is the relationship of buildings af
fecting the general scheme and grouping of the town, which
invariably appeals to the artistic workman. It is said that
"a man is made by his tailor," and if this is true of men, may
it not be said with equal force that a town is made by its archi-
tect and builder? Necessarily every workman leaves the im-
press of his personality upon the products of bis bands and
brain. "The thumb-marks of the potter are on every vessel
242 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
of his craftsliip." Logically, therefore, the character of the
builder of a city is written upon its edifices and carved upon
its doorposts. Following this reasoning, it may be said with
exactness that the town of Lone Tree, Iowa, bears the impress
of the intelligence of Jesse Hokleman, for he has been its lead-
ing constructive genius. A list of his work would embrace the
High School building, the Kirkpatriek Opera House block, the
Fisher Opera House block and adjoining buildings, the City
Hall, together with numerous other public buildings and many
dwellings. Lone Tree is pronounced ' ' an attractive little city"
by strangers who enter its gates. A generous share of this
compliment must fall upon the work-table of Jesse Holdeman.
Jesse Holdeman, by birth, is a son of old Michigan, but by
residence, education, and experience he is a son of Iowa. Born
in Berrien county, Michigan, March 11, 1862, he removed at
the age of four years with his parents to Iowa and settled
with them near Independence in 18G6. His father was Lewis
Z., a native of Ohio, and his mother Sarah Mangus, a native of
Michigan. The family went to Iowa City in 1884, where the
father died in the fall of the same year. The mother remained
at Iowa City for several years, when she removed with her
family to Peoria, Illinois, there residing for quite a lengthy
period. At present she resides with a daughter at Hammond,
Louisiana.
Eleven children were born lo Lewis Z. Holdeman and
Sarah Mangus, seven of whom reached maturity, four dying
in infancy. The names of the seven, in the order born, are as
follows:
Mary E.. living in Canton, Illinois ; Jesse, Lone Tree, Iowa ;
Frank A., who died at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, May, 1900; Fred,
whose home is at Peoria, Illinois ; Florence, now Mrs. George
Piper, residing at Canton, Illinois; Fannie, now Mrs. T. Les-
ter Smythe. living at Hammond, Louisiana ; Lewis M., residing
at or near Elkhart, Indiana.
Jesse Holdeman has followed faithfully the conjugal ex-
ample of his father. He is the father of twelve children, eleven
of whom are living. Miss Julia Z. Hinkley, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Samuel Hinkley, whom he married in October, 1885,
is the mother of this interesting group. "We use the term "in-
teresting" advisedly, for among the neighbors at Lone Tree
BIOGRAPHICAL 243
it is common talk that there are no nunc attractive young
people in the community than the hoys and girls of the Bolde
man household, in the older of whom splendid character and
wholesome accomplishments are delightfully intermingled.
The following is the roster of the children of Jesse and
Julia Holdeman:
Glen, now Mrs. Roy Huffman, residing at Lone Tree;
Berna, a graduate of Wesleyan College, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa,
assistant principal-elect of Lone Tree public school, residing
at home; Lillian, now Mrs. Glen Burr, living on a farm in
Johnson county; Harley %., employed at the Lone Tree Re-
porter office (the four just named are graduates of the Lone
Tree high school) ; Bessie, graduate of class of 1911 of the
Lone Tree high school; Elsie, in class of 1912; Lucy; Perry;
Vernon; Leslie; Kenneth (the last seven residing at home).
Julia Z. Hinkley, wife of Jesse Holdeman. is the daughter
of Samuel Hinkley and Adelaide Perkins. Her father was a
son of Luther Hinkley and Eunice Burdick, and was horn in
Brookfield, New York. His grandfather, Wiot Hinkley, emi-
grated from Connecticut to Brookfield, New York, by ox-team
in 179li, cutting his way through the heavy timber to locate his
farm. He died on his farm there September 22, 1815, aged
seventy-six years. Luther, his son, succeeded him on the same
farm and there died September 2(i, 1859. Samuel Hinkley and
bis brother Henry L. came together to Johnson county, Iowa,
in 1855. The former died at the advanced age of ninety years ;
the latter resides at Lone Tree. Another brother, Alva, who
spent the greater part of his life in the east, came to Johnson
county in 18ti0, acquired property in the county and died there.
Two children were born to Samuel Hinkley and Adelaide
Perkins, viz: Julia Z. and Wiot IL, the latter now living on the
old Alva Hinkley farm. A more extended history of the
Hinkley family will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Jesse Holdeman is now serving his third term as mayor of
Lone Tree. His familiarity with the affairs of the city, ac-
quired during two terms' service as city clerk, stands him well
in hand as chief executive. In politics he is a republican. He
is a member of Omega lodge No. 728, 1. 0. 0. F.. of Lone Tree.
244 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ANDREW McCONCHIE CRAWFORD
Andrew McConchie Crawford was born in Creetown, Scot-
land, May 11, 1838. He was the baby of the family when bis
parents, Hugh and Jeanette (McConchie) Crawford, left bon-
ny Scotland for America. Fifteen years after their arrival
the family decided to locate in Iowa, so in 1854 they landed in
Johnson county. The father settled upon a farm in the bounds
of what is now Lincoln township, and carried on agriculture
until 1867, when he moved to Iowa City, spending the re-
mainder of his life there. Andrew, in 1862, when twenty-four
years of age, settled on a farm in Fremont township. In
Mirer aa
RESIDENCE OF ANDREW M'CONCHIE CRAWFORD
1866 he removed to the farm, which has been his home ever
since.
Six children were born to Hugh Crawford and Jeanette
McConchie: Hugh, married, raised a family and lived until his
death in 1907 on a farm in Johnson county ; William, came to
Johnson county with the family, was married here, moved to
Cedar county in 1877, was a soldier of the Civil War in the
Twenty-second Iowa from 1862 to 1865, died about 1900, and
is buried at Lisbon, Iowa ; our subject ; Robert, died in 1856,
aged fourteen ; Margaret, married J. K. Corlett, of Iowa City,
died in June, 1911 ; Jessie, who died in the spring of 1864, aged
twelve years. Both Father and Mother Crawford are buried
at Iowa City.
cAru/AMir '/wjwdou/
BIOGRAPHICAL 245
Andrew McConchie Crawford was married January 8, 1 s<>7,
to Miss Jeanette Allison, a native of Ontario, Canada, in
which province the marriage took place". They have four living
children : William, married, residing in Lone Tree; Jessie, now
Mrs. Iloraee Klotz, of -Muscatine county; Thomas, married
and living on a farm in Muscatine county; Walter, a retired
farmer, married and Living in Lone Tree. Mrs. Crawford
died in May, 1909.
Mr. Crawford took for his second wife Mary Steel Russell,
a native of Scotland, to whom lie was married in March, 1911.
Mr. Crawford has heen a lifelong republican, and, as may
be inferred, was born and raised a Presbyterian. He lias al-
ways been identified with farm life. His home farm, which is
one of the most beautiful in the county, lie developed from
raw, wild prairie. For years he has been an extensive im-
porter of Clydesdale horses, and has all his life taken a great
interest in the development of good stock, both cattle and
horses. His latest importation of Clydesdales was in May,
1911. The public spirit of Mr. Crawford has led him to active-
ly cooperate with every movement tending towards the public
g-ood.
DA VI 11 JAYNE
David Jayne, from both the main branches of his family,
came from righting stock. His mother was Katherine Gar-
dener, great-granddaughter of Captain Gardener, of Revolu-
tionary fame; her grandfather fought also in the Revolution
in the company of his father. John W. Jayne, his father, en-
listed in the fall of 1861 in Company B, 8th Iowa Infantry, and
served in the Civil War until the battle of Shiloh, when he and
his entire regiment were captured and imprisoned; when re-
leased, in 18(52, he was unfit for service and was honorably
discharged. His father (our subject's grandfather) was a
soldier in the War of 1812, and his grandfather a soldier of the
Revolution.
David Jayne was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania,
April 2-1, 1845, near the Delaware river, just across the line
from where his father was born in Broome county, New York,
246 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
January 28, 1820. His mother was born in Cooperstown, in
the Mohawk valle3 r , New York, November 29, 1813.
In 1854 the family removed to Scott county, Iowa, where
they resided for two years, after which they established a home
on a farm in Muscatine county. The father devoted his sum-
mers to agriculture and his winters to teaching school until
the beginning of the Civil War. On his return from service
he was elected clerk of the courts of Muscatine county and
served in that capacity for six years. In the spring of 1870 he
settled in Johnson county on a large farm, upon a part of
which, in 1872, he laid out a portion of the town of Lone Tree.
He continued the business of farming until 1889, when he re-
liKSIDKXCK (IF DAVID JAYN K
tired. At that time he was appointed postmaster of Lone
Tree, under President Harrison, and served four years. Fol-
lowing his term as postmaster he took up the business of tire
insurance, which he followed successfully until July 23, 1908,
when he was injured by a runaway team, dying from his in-
juries on the 26th of the same month. Mother Jayne died
March 29, 1898.
Our subject first engaged in farming in Muscatine county,
and thereafter in Johnson county on the old homestead of his
father. He now resides in the house which was the old farm-
house. Retiring from farming in 1892, he served as assistant
postmaster of Lone Tree during 1892-3; thereafter he wrote
fire insurance with his father until the latter 's death, since
DAVID jay:
BIOGRAPHICAL 247
which time lie lias continued the business. His adaptability to
his particular work is shown by the fact that he wrote during
the month of April. 1!»11 (figures taken by ourselves), over
$80,000 in fire insurance.
David Jayne was married June 2, 1897, to Rebecca Satter-
thwaite, a native of Ohio, who came to Muscatine county with
her parents when about fifteen months of age. The couple
were classmates thirty years before their marriage, and, as
may be inferred, their domestic relations have been most
pleasant.
Although a republican in national politics, Mr. Jayne has
pursued a liberal policy with respect to local government. He
is a member of the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias.
HENRY LUTHER HINKLEY
About thirty miles due south of Utica, New York, is the
village of Brookfield, Madison county. There, in the year
179b", Wiot Hinkley emigrated from Connecticut with his fam-
ily. The journey was an arduous one and fraught with some
danger. An ox team was the means of locomotion, and the
travelers frequently had recourse to their sturdy axes to cut
a pathway through the primeval forest. But the anticipation
of a home of their own, wrjh the blessings of liberty, coupled!
with the irresistible urge of the frontier and the American am-
bition for action, spurred them on in spite of obstacles to
their destination. Near Brookfield, Wot Hinkley, then a
man of 67, selected his homestead and began operations as a
farmer. There he lived, loved, and labored for nine years,
when he died. His son Luther succeeded him on the farm,
and, following in the footsteps of his father, lived on the old
homestead for fortv-four years, dying there September L'li,
1859.
Luther Hinkley and his wife, Eunice Burdick, were natives
of Connecticut, and never knew any life but that of the farm.
Little wonder it is that their youngest son, looking back over
his life's occupation at the age of eighty-nine years, says of
himself that he has "been a steady farmer." And there is
no more honorable occupation, and the Hinkley family of
Johnson county, direct descendants of the intrepid Wiot, ac-
248 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
cording to the judgment of their neighbors of half a century,
are a credit to the profession.
Five children were born to Luther Hinldey and Eunice Bur-
dick: Aniila, born in 1805, married a Mr. Clark and raised a
family in New York, but died in Kansas, where she had gone to
visit relatives ; Alva, lived in the east until 18(50, when he came
to Johnson county, Iowa, acquired property and finally died ;
Lucy, who lived and died in New York; Samuel, who came to
Johnson county, Iowa, with his brother Henry L., married,
raised a family, and died at the ripe old age of ninety, being at
that time the oldest person in Fremont township; Henry
Luther, the subject of tliis sketch.
RESIDENCE OF HENRY LUTHER HINKLEY
It was near the Christmas season in 1855 that Henry L.
Hinkley and his brother Samuel arrived in Johnson county
from their old boyhood home in Madison county, New York.
Henry was also accompanied by his newly-wedded wife, Miss
Hannah Collins, a native of New York. As soon after arriving
as practicable, he settled on a farm in Fremont township, and
there the couple resided continuously until about three years
ago, when they retired and removed to Lone Tree, their pres-
ent place of residence.
Mr. Hinkley states that he paid $8S0.00 for 160 acres of
land, and in the spring of 185fi, when he began farming, not a
MR. AND MRS. SAMUEL HINKLKV
BIOGRAPHICAL 249
bush or tree of any kind as high as his head could be seen on
the place; now there are willow trees fifteen feet in circum-
ference, and cottonwood, elm, and maple trees four feet in
diameter. His training- as a practical farmer in New York en-
abled him to take hold on his new place with intelligence, and
this fact, coupled with great energy, persistence, and economy,
gave him the right start in his new home. He states that he
began by "raising a few horses, cattle, sheep, swine, and chick-
ens, getting a little ahead by economy and laying it out in
improvements." Today the farm is fully equipped with every
necessary building and has "three miles of woven-wire, hog-
tight fence in the best of condition." The first activities on
the new place were of pioneer character. There being no trees
on the farm, Mr. llinkley bought eight and onedialf acres of
timber land, from which he hewed logs for a house 15x24; the
rafters, sheeting, and flooring being sawed from logs cut on
his timber tract. A journey of twenty miles to Muscatine was
necessary to obtain the shingles and flooring. The young
couple moved into their new house, all completed, on April 2,
1856. The building has been in daily use ever since and today
seems to be in as good condition as ever. In 1875 a new resi-
dence 26x30, two-story, with a kitchen annex 16x16, was built.
As land is now selling in the vicinity, Mr. llinkley estimates
the value of his farm at $200.00 per acre.
Hannah C. Collins, wife of Henry L. Hinkley, is the daugh-
ter of Hoxie and Deborah Collins, and was born at Brooklield,
New York, June 1, 1829, being married at Waterville, same
state, on September 27, 1855. Hoxie Collins was born Novem-
ber 7, 1796, and his wife Deborah May 9, 1800. Both were
Americans, and were farmers by occupation, making a special-
ty of dairying. Father Collins died at Brookfield, New York,
July 14, 1873, and his wife at the same place March 29, 1860.
Father Collins's grandfather, Stephen Hoxie, was one of the
first settlers and the first justice of the peace in the Unnidilla
valley, New York. He died at the remarkable age of 101.
Father Collins' family of eleven have all passed to the be-
yond with the exception of Mrs. Hinkley and her youngest
brother, who lives at Poolville, Madison county, New York.
On September 27, 1905, Mr. and Mrs. Hinkley celebrated their
250 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
golden wedding anniversary, with all their living children and
many friends present.
The children of Henry L. and Hannah C. Hinkley are eight
in number, and all were horn on the home farm, near Lone
Tree, Iowa. Their names are as follows :
Henry Duane and Hoxie Eugene, twins, the former born
May 14 and the latter May 15, 1858. Hoxie Eugene died Au-
gust 2, 1878. Henry Duane was educated at the State Uni-
versity of Iowa, graduating from the School of Law in 1888,
and is a prosperous lawyer at Sterling, Colorado. He has
held the offices of deputy district attorney, city attorney,
county judge, and county attorney, and is now Grand Master
of the Odd Fellows of his state. He was married to Georgia
A. Olds January 1, 1891, at Moorhead, Minnesota. They have
three children, Lelia May, Tracy, and Henry Lawrence.
Hobart DeLoss, born March 2(5, 1860, attended the commer-
cial college at Iowa City and graduated; then entered the
State University and took a dental course; is now practicing
at Williamsburg, Iowa. He married Carolyne L. Thompson
October 17, 1893.
Ellen Henrietta, born December 8, 1862, was educated at
Iowa City and taught school several years. Was married to
Dr. L. B. Oliver June 27, 1888, and* died May 10, 1895, at
Sigourney, Iowa. Three children were born to them, Ervin,
Earl and Pearl (twins). Ervin is attending the S. U. 1.,
studying for a physician.
Hannah Jane, born November 15, 1864; died November 11,
1891, at Sigourney, Iowa.
Luther Harley, born July 28, 1866, attended the S. U. I.,
taking a dental course ; he located at Sigourney, Iowa, where
he practiced until June, 1911, when he was appointed post-
master at Sigourney. He was married to Bertha 0. Stuck
June 16, 1897. She died December 6, 1911.
Harminia Deborah, born July 8, 1868, was married to
Charles E. Cipperly March 25, 1896. They resided on a farm
for several years, and he is now a hardware merchant at Lone
Tree.
Howard Collins, born August 15, 1870, was married to Effie
Patten October 30, 1991. They live on the home farm. Four
children were born to them, all dying in infancv.
H. L. HINKLEY
MR-. H. L. HINKLEY
BIOGRAPHICAL 251
Mrs. Hinkley has been a member of the Reformed church of
the United States for a number of years, holding- affiliation at
Lone Tree. Several of the children are members of the same
church, and Mr. Hinkley attends there.
In the twilight of life this beloved couple, conscious of duty
well done, await the summons of the Pilot Eternal. The dear
ones gone over the tideless sea beckon with love's gleaming-
hands, while the cherished children of earth cling with fond
affection to the garments of their sires.
"In the Silent Sea of the Silent West
We will all sail out some day;
We will cruise 'mid the Isles of Eternal Rest
In the Sunset Sea for aye ; —
In the Sunset Sea — Time's evening time,
But Eternity's morning sky; —
We shall hear forever Love's golden chime
And the answer to our cry."
FREDERICK T. CARL
In one grave in Lone Tree cemetery, Fremont township,
lie the remains of George Carl and Cordelia Wright, his wife.
They are the mortal remnants of the father and mother of
Frederick T. Carl. Five children remain to honor the memory
of the deceased; five others have accompanied their parents to
the great beyond. The silent occupants of this twin torn!)
were a part of the great tide of immigration which settled
Iowa in the '30s and '40s of the nineteenth century. Born in
New York state, George Carl went with his parents to Ohio
when five years of age. There he met and married Cordelia
Wright, a native of the Buckeye state. When about twenty-
three years of age, Mr. Carl and his young wife went to
Indiana, where Frederick T. was born in Le Grange county
April 18, 1837. Three years later, hearing the call of the
west, he joined the caravans bound for the broad prairies of
Iowa. The family settled in Cedar county, near Tipton, where
they lived until 1867, when they sold out and went to Kansas.
They only resided one year there, when they came back to Iowa
and settled in Lone Tree, where thev lived one and one half
252 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
The names of the ten children of George Carl and Cordelia
Wright are as follows :
Elizabeth, horn in April, 1831, married Andrew J. Craw-
ford, of Cedar county; both are now dead.
E. Y., horn in 1833, was a Methodist minister; he died in
Appanoose county and was buried at Centerville, Iowa.
J. W., horn 1835, was a farmer; died February 4, 1876.
Frederick T., residing at Lone Tree, Iowa.
Mary Ann, married to James Nelson; living in California.
George W., born 1*43; died in state of Washington Novem-
ber 10, 1910.
RESIDENCE OF FREDERICK
Henry L., born in 1846; living at Portland, Oregon.
Amanda, born in 1847, now Mrs. A. M. Leonard; resides at
Lone Tree, Iowa. Mr. Leonard died in 1896.
Sophia, born in 1855, now Mrs. Nute Roberts; lives in
North Dakota.
Joseph, born in Cedar county, Towa, in 1857; died in 1897
and is buried at Iowa City.
Frederick T. Carl commenced farming for himself in Cedar
county when eighteen years of age and continued to farm there
for twenty years, when he removed to Johnson county and
settled on a farm one and one-half miles north of Lone Tree.
BIOGRAPHICAL 253
There he made another record of twenty years farming, when
lie retired and entered the clothing business at Lone Tree.
This occupation he followed for thirteen years, when he per-
manently withdrew from active business, the date of his re-
tirement being January 5, L909.
In 1855 Mr. Carl was married to Miss Emiline Soper, a
native of New York, who came to Iowa when she was twelve
years of age. She died in October, 1880. Eight children were
born of this union, as follows:
Minerva, now Mis. William Dunham; living in Muscatine
county, Iowa.
James R., living in Fremont county, Iowa.
Dr. F. F. Carl, a physician, practicing at Nichols, Iowa.
Lucina, now Mrs. Henry Colbert; living in Fremont town-
ship.
Addie, now Mrs. (1. W. Baker; living in Fremont township.
Elard, living in Elk county, Kansas.
E. D., engaged in clothing business at Lone Tree.
In 1887 Mr. Carl was again married, to Ava C. Farnum,
who was a native of Maine. Two children, both deceased, hal-
lowed this union. The mother is also dead, expiring Septem-
ber 23, 1890.
On May 3, 1898, Mr. Carl was married to Lily A. Brown, a
native of England, born September 16, 18(54. One daughter,
Marian, has been born to them.
Mr. Carl has established a reputation as a good business
man, a kind neighbor, and a true friend. He is of a very
happy disposition, being always jolly, with a cheery word for
everyone — a trait of character worthy of wide emulation.
A democrat in national politics, he is liberal in local govern-
ment.
ZEPHANIAH STOUT CRAY
The Civil War drew its heroes from every rank and pro-
fession. The stock broker on 'change, the merchant behind
the counter, the lawyer in the court room, the minister in the
pulpit, the farmer in his field, all heard the nation's call to
arms. What pen can portray the emotions, the enthusiasm,
the patriotism of the days of Til- '65? The issue was the su-
254
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
preme climax in the nation's life; the test the touchstone of
citizenship. There were other factors than the mere exercise
of courage and self-sacrifice. There were the conflicting opin-
ions of the day, for the words of the great orators and the
great editors had strewn the arena of discussion with interro-
gation marks as thickly as the leaves of Vallambrosa. What
is right, what is wrong? These were the questions with which
patriots wrestled. And then, the family question. Must it
be brother against brother, father against son, friend against
friend? Ah ! the heart-tugs had to be reckoned with also. It
was a time of tremendous wrestling, not with the physical
liKSIDKNC'K OF ZEPHANIAH STOUT CRAY
fears of combat, but with the moral fears of mistake. It was
a time of hesitation, not through lack of unflagging love for
one's country, but through dread of entering upon a program
fraught with possibilities of disaster. Surely, we who are
privileged to read the complete history of that conflict are
ready to say that the men who grappled with its perplexing
problems, found the difficult pathway of duty amid the laby-
rinth of discussion, and, having decided, mounted with courage
long held in leash the black steeds of war, were heroes worthy
of a nation's gratitude. Out of the roar and the smoke and
BIOGRAPHICAL 255
the blood and the imprisonments of that conflict thousands re-
turned again to the exchange, to the store, to the office, to the
farm — there to take up the homely duties of life. Their
names should lie held in eternal remembrance.
Zephaniah Stout Cray was one of the young farmers of
Iowa who grappled with that problem and decided to stand by
the old flag. The pruning hook and the plowshare had been his
weapons from boyhood, but he grasped the grim sword of
conflict and went out as a volunteer in the famous Second Iowa
Cavalry, a member of Company G. He enlisted in 1861, and
he saw three years of the hell of war, including exposure,
hunger, battle, and suffering. He was in his twentieth year
when he was mustered in ; he was twenty-four when lie again
took up the pursuits of peace, with an honorable discharge in
his pocket. Since that time he has been an honored farmer of
Page county, Iowa, until three years ago. when he returned to
Johnson county.
Mr. Cray's parents were Christopher Cray and Priscilla
Ulich, both natives of New Jersey, in which state our subject
also was born October 19, 1841. The family came to Johnson
county in 1856, the father surviving only about one year after
his arrival. The mother died about twelve years ago at the
age of eighty-four. Nine children were born to them: Lydia,
deceased about twenty years ago, was the wife of C. Ricket ;
John, died about eight years ago; Zephaniah, our subject;
Elizabeth, wife of J. Brown, residing in St. Charles, Illinois;
Abraham, a farmer in Johnson county, died in 1875 ; Jerry, a
farmer in Johnson county, died in January, 1911; Jane, now
Mrs. Dexter Fowls, resides at Newton, Iowa; Mary, wife of
John St. Clair, resides in Missouri; Hattie, died when young
in 1875.
Our subject was married in 187(3 to Miss Louisa Sweet, a
native of Iowa (born October 21, 1839), whose parents, David
and Lydia R. Sweet, were among the oldest settlers of John-
son county, having arrived in 1838. The children of the Sweet
family were: Caleb Joshua, born February 12, 1835; Martha
Jane, born December 10, 1837; Louisa Ann, born October 21,
1839; Angeline, born September, 1842. Father Sweet died
Sept ember 19, 1845. His wife survived until January 3, 1884.
Mr. Cray is a man of quiet manners, delights in his chosen
256 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
occupation of farming, and is highly esteemed among' his
neighbors of Fremont township. Escaping the fatalities of
war, though in peril often, he is enjoying the sweets of a peace-
ful life among the friends and neighbors of a lifetime, who wish
him long lease of life and happiness withal.
HONORABLE THOMAS HUGHES
The honor of establishing the second newspaper in Iowa
City, which, by reason of the early death of its senior con-
temporary, is really entitled to rank as the first newspaper,
belongs to Honorable Thomas Hughes and General Verplanck
Van Antwerp. The paper was known as the Iotra Capital Re-
porter, and is still published under the name of the Press.
General Van Antwerp was a protege of President Van Buren
(who was his personal as well as political friend), and had
been appointed in 1838 to the position of receiver of public
moneys in the United States Land Office at Burlington, Iowa.
He and Mr. Hughes became acquainted at Bloomington (now
Muscatine), Iowa, about 1840, in which year (October 27th)
Mr. Hughes, in connection with John B. Russell, formerly of
Dubuque, began the publication of the Bloomington Herald,
the seventh newspaper established in Iowa. The acquaintance
formed ripened into friendship, and so, when the establishment
of the territorial capital at Iowa City made that field an invit-
ing one for newspaper enterprise, Messrs. Van Antwerp and
Hughes associated themselves together as partners, shipped
their material from Burlington via Bloomington (Muscatine)
to Iowa City and began the publication of the Iowa Capital
Reporter just prior to the assembling of the territorial legis-
lature on December 6, 1841. A lively contest was on between
the Argus, a contemporary started in August, 1841, and the
Reporter for the "public printing," the plum for which in fact
both papers had been started. The latter was successful in
this competition, and the Argus, having insufficient support to
justify its publication, was discontinued.
Thomas Hughes was born in Catawissa, Montour county,
Pennsylvania, September 22, 1814. His parents were Ellis
and AVilhelmina Hughes, Quakers, whose ancestors had at an
MRS. LOUISA IircHl
BIOGRAPHICAL
257
early day settled in the colony of William Penn, and, like their
great leader, were of English and Welsh origin. Xoung
Hughes' boyhood was passed among the foothills of the Alle-
ghenies on one of the picturesque tributaries of the Susque-
hanna. Later the family removed to Danville, the county scat
of Montour county, and there Thomas Hughes attended the
village school taught by his father, acquiring a good knowledge
of the Euglish branches. Our subject, however, was wont to
attribute to the printing office the greater credit for the practi-
cal education he acquired, and always looked back to his first
day in the local newspaper office at Danville as the beginning
of his "higher education." Danville was near enough to
KF.slliKXCK OK MT.-
Harrisburg, the capital of the state, to receive a decided liter-
ary and political advantage, and so the conditions surround-
ing the young apprentice were such as to incite and spur him
on to industrious efforts. Needless to say, he became a master
in the art preservative, with an unusual knowledge of books,
men, and affairs. With his increase of knowledge came an
increase of ambition, anil a few years later found young
Hughes in Harrisburg and Philadelphia, in both of which
cities he worked as a "journeyman printer." In 1838 he
caught the western fever, and, although Horace Greeley had
not yet uttered his historic advice to young men, Mr. Hughes
258 HISTORY OF JOHNSQN COUNTY, IOWA
turned his face to the setting sun and reached Iowa territory
in the fall of the year last mentioned.
A most interesting chapter of Iowa newspaper history
opens coincidentally with the arrival of Mr. Hughes. We be-
lieve we cannot do better than to reproduce verbatim an ac-
count of these early conditions as set forth by Mr. T. S. Parvin,
now deceased, a warm personal friend of our subject, and
published in the Iowa Historical Record for April, 1890. Mr.
Pax-vin says :
"Iowa had been organized as a territory in July (4), 1838,
at which time there was published at Dubuque the News (by
W. W. Corriell), the successor to the Dubuque Visitor (by
Judge King), the first newspaper published in Iowa, while it
was Wisconsin, in 1836. The Iowa Territorial Gazette was
published at Burlington, being also in its second year, by
James Clarke, afterward the third and last territorial gover-
nor. The Fort Madison Patriot, which in the fall of 1838 was
removed to Burlington and became the Hawheye, was pub-
lished by James G. Edwards, its founder.
"At the time of Mr. Hughes' arrival in Iowa, which was at
Davenport the 27th of October, 1838, there was published by
Mr. Logan the Iowa Sun, and the Davenport and Rock Island
Netvs. All these papers were edited by the publishers, and all
except Mr. Edwards, who was a whig, were democrats of the
Jacksonian school. The Sun was founded in the August (15)
preceding Mr. Hughes' arrival in Davenport. The 'Rock
Island' in the title had reference to the island on which stood
the ruins of Fort Armstrong, and not to the present city of
that name, which was then called Stephenson, and the paper
purported to be published 'simultaneously' at both places,
country villages of that day.
"Mr. Hughes entered the office of the Sun as a journeyman,
bringing with him but little capital other than a strong deter-
mination to succeed in his business. He worked in this office
with Mr. Logan and his sons till in November, when the con-
vening of the legislature (the first territorial) promising a
better prospect in the printing business, he went to Burlington,
the territorial capital, and engaged with Mr. Clarke, also a
Pennsylvanian, upon the Gazette. In that office Mr. Paul (city
postmaster, 1890) also worked that winter, and like Mr.
BIOGRAPHICAL 259
Hughes later removed to this (Iowa) City and engaged in the
newspaper business. Jn the spring of '39, when the legislature
had adjourned, and the river opened, Mr. Hughes moved to
Dubuque and entered the office of the Dubuque Neios, upon
which he worked until his removal to Bloomington (Musca-
tine), in October, 1840. The Express is still published at Du-
buque under the name of the Herald — the Gazette and Hawk-
eye at Burlington, under their old names. The Sun, previous-
ly mentioned, was, in 3842, sold, removed and became a Mor-
mon paper under the significant title of The Bride and the
Lamb's Wife. As its title was in the singular number, it is
presumed that polygamy had not then become engrafted upon
the Latter Day Saints' church policy. . . "While at work in
Dubuque, if not before, Mr. Hughes became acquainted with
John B. Russell, also engaged in the News office, and the two
agreed to go into business for themselves, and established a
paper at Bloomington. Mr. Hughes, in 1840, returned to
Pennsylvania, purchased the material and forwarded it by
boat from Pittsburgh to Bloomington, where, under the firm
name of Hughes & Russell, they published, on the 27th of Oc-
tober, 1840, the Bloomington Herald, the seventh paper pub-
lished in Iowa.
"The Herald had been preceded four days by the publica-
tion of- the Iowa Standard, at Bloomington, by Messrs. Crum
and Bailey, from Pennsylvania also, wbose first number had
made its appearance on the 23rd of October. The publication
of the Herald had been delayed over a week, awaiting the com-
pletion of a room they were to occupy, but they had tempo-
rarily set up their press and printed the tickets for the demo-
cratic party, at that October election. . . Messrs. Hughes
& Russell were democrats and published a democratic paper,
while the Standard was whig in its politics. A few months
later the Standard was removed to Iowa City and issued under
the name of the Iowa City Standard, and for a time it pur-
ported to be issued 'simultaneously' at Iowa City and Bloom-
ington, until a wag of a devil in the office changed it to 'spon-
taneously,' when it was dropped. In the fall (November 20)
of 1840, Mr. Hughes, having sold his interest in the Herald to
his partner, Mr. Russell, also removed to Iowa City."
In October, 1842, Colonel Jesse Williams, who bad been a
260 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
clerk in Governor Lucas' office in 1838, and later, in 1846, be-
came the secretary of the territory, purchased General Van
Antwerp's interest in the Iowa Capital Reporter and became
a partner with Mr. Hughes and joint editor and publisher.
Later, Mr. Hughes retired, having sold his interest to Colonel
Williams, who became sole editor and proprietor. This was
Mr. Hughes' last venture in the newspaper business as editor
and publisher. Mr. Parvin, however, recalls that "some years
later (after the war) he returned to the case and worked for a
season;" also, that, "during the war, while the Twenty-
eighth Regiment, of which Mr. Hug'hes was quartermaster,
was stationed at Alexandria, Louisiana, Colonel Conned, its
commander, confiscated the rebel press of that town. Mr.
(now Lieutenant) Hughes, being a practical printer, opened
the office and issued for awhile a 'live' daily journal from the
abandoned office, in the interest of the Union and the Union
Army of Occupation. ' '
Iowa having in the winter of 1846 (December 27th) become
a state, Mr. Hughes was elected a senator to the first state
legislature from Muscatine and Iowa counties, which then in-
cluded the present territory of Johnson county, and took his
seat as a democrat, which party had a majority in both houses.
Mr. Hughes was honored as chairman of the committee on
incorporations and the committee on enrolled bills. He took
an active interest in schools and school lands, but made no
pretensions as a public speaker. An extra session was held
January 3, 1848, at which Senator Hughes was elected presi-
dent of the senate. A singular coincidence was that his old
partner at Bloomington, John B. Russell, was elected secre-
tary of the senate at both these sessions.
In 3856 Mr. Hughes, in company with Samuel J. Kirkwood
and many other democrats, swung away from the democratic
party on the slavery question involved in the Kansas-Nebras-
ka bill, and thenceforth acted with the republican party. From
1869 to 1872 and again from 1878 to 1880 he served by annual
and successive elections as city clerk of Iowa City, a position
which he filled at the time of his death in 1881. For two terms,
1856-60, he served as county treasurer of Johnson county, and
was an efficient and faithful officer. Senator Hughes was an
active and prominent Odd Fe'low, having joined the order at
BIOGRAPHICAL 261
Muscatine about 1845. In 1 S4<> he became a charter member
and was one of the leading- founders of Kosciusco lodge No. 6,
at Iowa City. To his influence, personal efforts, and worthy
example this old and popular Lodge owes much of its reputa-
tion and high standing in the order and in the Grand Lodge of
the state. That his worth and serviees were duly appreciated
is evidenced by the fact that he was called successively to till
the position of Noble Grand at home, and of Grand Treasurer
and Grand Master of the state body as well as of Grand Rep-
resentative in the National or Supreme Grand Lodge of the
< )rder. In April, 1877, by election of the board of curators, he
became the secretary of The State Historical Society, holding
the office till July, 188L In this position he rendered valuable
services in arranging and caring for the large collections of
the society.
August 15, 18(52, Senator Hughes was commissioned quar-
termaster of the Twenty-eighth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer In-
fantry, which rendezvoused at Iowa City. Of this regiment
William E. Miller, a fellow townsman, was the first colonel.
He was succeeded upon his resignation, March, 1863, by John
Connell, of Toledo, who led his regiment, as a part of the third
division of the army under General Banks, in the famous Red
River expedition in the spring of 1864. At the bloody battle
of Sabine Cross-roads General Banks was defeated, and Colo-
nel Connell was wounded (losing his right arm) and captured.
Quartermaster Hughes was captured also and carried by the
rebel forces under General Dick Taylor (son of old Zach.) to
Tyler, Texas, where he languished fourteen months in the rebel
prison. When released in July, 186*5, enfeebled by long con-
finement and prison hardships, he returned, broken in health
if not in spirit, to his Iowa home. The result of exposure on
the march and his sufferings in prison caused him the partial
loss of an eye, and this was supplemented by two paralytic
strokes, from the last of which he never recovered.
The marriage of Senator Hughes to Miss Louisa Catherine
Frances King, born in Baltimore in 182:!, took place at Du-
buque September 15, 1841. Their acquaintance began during
Mr. Hughes' residence in Dubuque, in which city Miss King-
was an assistant to her mother in teaching the first female
school of the higher grade in Iowa. When Mr. Hughes had
262 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
become settled in Bloomington as the publisher of the Herald,
he returned to Dubuque and married the lady of his choice,
who became the mother of his children and proved a helpmeet
indeed in all the qualities of a most estimable and devoted
wife. To Senator and Mrs. Hughes were born four children:
Delia, wife of Professor James Glow, formerly of the State
University, and later a large stock raiser and farmer of
Greenfield, Adair county, Iowa; Ellis Gr., deceased, a promi-
nent attorney and leading citizen of Portland, Oregon; Anna
Gr., the prop and stay of her mother in her declining years, re-
siding at the old home in Iowa City; Louise E., long time
principal of the Iowa City high school, later of the high school
of Des Moines.
Senator Hughes died March 11, 1881. Though his last
years were tilled with the heavy burdens of life, he bore his-
lot uncomplainingly and bravely battled to provide a compe-
tence for those dependent upon him. His faithful companion
survived until August 31, 1902, when she followed her husband
into the great beyond. Side by side this devoted couple lie in
the beautiful cemetery overlooking the Iowa River. "Who of
their numerous friends that survive does not wish for them
the joy of a blessed reunion in the life everlasting ? Both were
devout members of the Presbyterian church, and, while in
health, served in religious work with a zeal that knew no
abatement.
Miss Annie Hughes, who was the faithful minister to her
father and mother in their infirmities, resides at the old home-
stead, 122 North Capitol street, Iowa City. This historic old
home dwells in the memories of many of the first students of
the State University of Iowa, who found under its roof a wel-
come and good cheer in the years long gone. The faces of the
kindly host and hostess will never be effaced from their vision
of those "days that are no more."
Ellis Gr. Hughes was a man amongst men in Portland, Ore-
gon, where he accumulated an independent fortune and was
foremost in promoting the material welfare of the city of
Portland and the great empire of which it is the metropolis.
At the time of his death he was actively a factor in publicity
work, and his death, which was sudden and unexpected, caused
universal regret among the influential citizens of that city, to-
JOHN STOCK AND WIFE
BIOGRAPHICAL 263
most of whom he occupied the place of persona] friend. Ee
was an able attorney and enjoyed a very lucrative practice.
He took delight in writing pamphlets and articles upon the
resources of the Pacific Northwest, and was one of the original
board of directors of the Oregon state board of immigration,
in the great work of which he was an active factor. His most
useful public service probably was in connection with the Port
of Portland Commission, of which for many years he was the
chairman and executive head.
JOHN STOCK
Among the retired farmers whose aggregate presence and
wealth have served to make Lone Tree, Iowa, one of the most
prosperous and progressive of the villages of Johnson county,
none stands higher in the esteem of his old neighbors and
friends than John Stock, the subject of this biographical
sketch. His home, which is one of the coziest among the many
comfortable homes of Lone Tree, is headquarters for good
cheer and genuine neighborliness, and therein, in the peace
and quietness of the sunset side of life, our subject and his
lovable helpmate are enjoying the proper restfulness which
is the due of a couple that have faithfully home the burdens
and responsibilities of a busy life.
The parents of our subject were John and Sarah (Samp-
son) Stock, residents of Bedfordshire, England, in which coun-
ty our subject was born in the year 1833. At the age of twen-
ty-one, young John came to America, landing at New York-
City. He spent one year in the Empire state, and then re-
moved to Ohio, where he resided two years. His next move
was to Johnson county, Iowa, and his first residence in the
Hawkeye state was at Towa City. About the close of the
Civil "War he bought a farm of 160 acres in Lincoln township,
settling upon it one year later. This farm, which now con
tains 200 acres, was the family home until 1907, in which year
Mr. Stock retired from active agricultural work and removed
to Lone Tree. In addition to his old homestead in Lincoln
township, Mr. Stock owns the southeast one-half of the north-
east one-fourth of section nine, containing 130 acres, a part
of which is within the corporate limits of Lone Tree; also the
264 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
northwest quarter of section seventeen in Fremont township,
containing 160 acres.
Mr. Stock's wife was formerly Miss Emma Reynolds, born
in Nottinghamshire, England, April 17, 1813. Her parents
came to America when she was a baby and settled in Living-
ston county, New York, where they resided until 1856, when
they removed to Johnson county, Iowa, where they remained
until their death. The marriage of John Stock and Emma
Reynolds took place in Johnson county in 1862. They have
been blessed with nine children, six of whom have grown to
manhood and womanhood. Their names in the order of birth
RESIDENCE OF JOHN STOCK
are: Anna Mary, born October 17, 1863, now Mrs. John P.
Burr, residing in Lincoln township; William Franklin, born
March 25, 1865, died January 27, 1.871; David Henry, born
July 8, 1868, died January 15, 1871 ; George A., born January
7, 1871, living on farm in Fremont township; William F., born
December 15, 1873, living near Lone Tree in Fremont town-
ship; John Tilden, burn June 23, 1876, died October 27, 1883;
Walter Howard, born March 26, 1879, living at home; Elmer
Lee. born September 19, 1881, living in Lincoln township on
the old homestead ; Alfred, born March 9, 1883, living at home.
Mr. Stock is a democrat. He was assessor of Lincoln town-
ship for a good many years, and has held other important
local offices. He and his wife are members of the Reformed
church at Lone Tree.
WILLIAM SWEET
BIOGRAPHICAL
265
WILLIAM THOMAS SWEET
It required six months for William Thomas Sweet to make
the journey overland from Johnson county to the California
gold fields in 1852. lie made the return trip in six days in
1869. The difference in time represents the ratio of the ox to
the locomotive. Mr. Sweet was a youth of twenty when he
started westward. When he returned he was a bronzed, ma-
ture man. The vicissitudes of the miner's life had whetted his
appetite for the homely farm life of his youth, and he at once
took up agriculture, a pursuit he has continued to this day.
William Thomas Sweet is a son of David Sweet and Lydia
Russell, and was horn in Champaign county, Ohio, March 29,
HKSIDKXCK OF WII.IJA.M THOM.U
1832. He came with his parents to Johnson county in 1838.
(For further details of David and Lydia Sweet and their chil-
dren, see biography of Zephaniah Stout Cray, in this volume.
— Ed.) The family settled on the farm in Fremont township,
and there our subject worked with his parents until 1852.
In 187") Mr. Sweet was married to Miss Mary E. Hillhouse,
a native of Illinois, who' came to Iowa with her parents in the
'60s. The couple have heen hlessed with six children: David:
William C, married to Miss Floy Parkins, father of three
children, Genevieve, Lucille, and William Thomas: Louisa
Ann, now Mrs. J. IT. Williams, living in the state of Washing-
ton; Joshua Franklin, living at home; Florella May, now Mrs.
266
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
W. L. Edwards, residing in Louisa county, mother of three
children, Paul, Aleda, and Lyle; Caleh Benjamin, living- in the
west.
Mr. Sweet is a pronounced republican, and takes an active
interest as a citizen in political matters. The family are
affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.
WILLIAM ARN
William Arn, well known for many years as the proprietor
of the dray line in Iowa City, succeeded to the same at the
death of his father in 1880. Michael and Christina Arn, our
subject's parents, were natives of Germany. They came to
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM ABN
America in the early fifties and settled in Johnson county.
William Arn was born in Iowa City September 9, 1854. So
also was his brother Charles, who was two and onedialf years
younger. He is at present living at Richmond, California.
When Michael Arn first started in the dray business in Iowa
City there was no railroad, and the greater part of the mer-
chandise had to be hauled from Muscatine by team. Mr. Arn
did a great deal of this kind of work, and he was a familiar
figure in those pioneer days, well known to every old citizen
and newcomer as well. He developed a fondness for the busi-
BIOGRAPHICAL 267
ness and continued therein actively until oia death. Mrs. Arn
survived her husband five years, dying in September, 1885.
After completing Ins schooling in the public schools of Iowa
City, William Arn commenced work for his father in the dray
business, succeeding, as stated above, on the death of the
elder Am in 1880. He continued the business until a few years
ago, when he retired.
Mr. Arn was married in May, 1ST", to Miss Elizabeth
Kroenline, who was born in Iowa county, Iowa. Her parents
were natives of Germany. Four children have been hern to
Mr. and Mrs. Arn: Amelia, now Mrs. Jerry Miller, living in
Iowa City; William, Jr., married and living in Iowa City;
Mary, who died two years ago; John, married and living in
Iowa City. Mr. Arn is a democrat politically. The family
reside at 718 South Dubuque street.
JOHN DOEERES
An honored name in the annals of Fremont township is
that of John Doerres, who was born in Edgington, Illinois,
January 1(5, 1847, and died on his farm in Fremont township
June 2, 1905. His parents were John K. and Mary (Walkale)
Doerres, natives of Bavaria, who came to America several
years prior to the birth of our subject. There were three
children in the family: Christina, Henry, and John. Parents
and children are now all deceased.
John Doerres came to Johnson county from Illinois when
he was a small boy, and as soon as old enough began work on
a farm. This occupation he followed all his life. At the time
of his death he was the owner of 280 acres of choice, cultivate! 1
land. In 1875 he was married to Miss Louisa Miller, a native
of Rock Island, Illinois. Miss Miller's parents were Caid
Mueller and Elizabeth Traessle. The names of their children
are: Henry, John, Chris, Katherine, Margaret, Mary, Louisa,
Barbara, Lena, and Elizabeth.
Mr. and Mrs. Doerres had six children : Caroline, now Mrs.
Charles Green, living in San Francisco, California; Carl, mar-
ried to Miss Amelia Rymers, of Moline, Illinois, living on the
old homestead; William, a carpenter, living at Lone Tree;
26H
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
John, in stock, feed, and poultry business at Lone Tree; Al-
bert, residing at Lone Tree; Enid, living with her mother at
Lone Tree.
In polities Mr. Doerres was a life-long democrat. He was
RESIDENCE OF MRS. JOHN DOERRES
called to the position of township trustee for a number of
years, and held the position of county supervisor for six years.
The record which he left behind was that of a thoroughly hon-
est man and a good neighbor. His widow survives him, and
lives in comfort at lier residence in Lone Tree.
DR. HORATIO U. BAKER
The parents of Dr. Horatio U. Baker, of Lone Tree, were
natives of Iowa. Marion Baker, his father, was born in
Cedar county and Ellen Harding, his mother, in Keokuk coun-
ty. The marriage of his parents took place in the latter coun-
ty. Our subject was born in Cedar county September 20,
1868. After their marriage Marion Baker and wife lived for
a number of years in Cedar county. The family removed to
Johnson county in 1878, and the father engaged in the general
merchandise business at Lone Tree. He continued in this
line until 1901, when he sold out and moved to Wichita, Kan-
sas, where he took up the special line of agricultural imple-
ments. He is now retired from active business, having sur-
BIOGRAPHICAL
vived his wife, who died in the spring of 1886. Seven child
were born to Pollen Harding Baker, namely: Horatio U., i
subject; Carrie R., now Mrs. II. 15. Bill, residing at \Y
Liberty, Iowa; Proctor T., a resident of Davenport, low;
the employ of the International Harvester Company; Pr
Margaret, living- at West Liberty, Iowa; Cecil H.. a resid
of "Wichita, Kansas; Marion De Witt, also a resident of W'i
ita; Ellen D., died in infancy.
Dr. Baker secured his early educational training in
schools of Iowa City, and thereafter for a time was in the <
ploy of his father in the general merchandise business. E
•eda
the
/n
hI
i I i
lowing this he was engaged with the International Harvester
Company for two years. He then decided to take up the study
of osteopathy, and in pursuit of this purpose attended Dr.
Still's College of Osteopathy and the American School of
Osteopathy at Kirksville, Missouri, where he completed his
course. In January, 1906, he returned to Lone Tree and look-
up the practice of his profession, and has been engaged there-
in ever since.
On May 25, 1891, Dr. Baker was married to Miss Lynda
Margaret Robinson, born in Muscatine, Iowa, January L'li,
1869. The names of their children are: Robert R., Don-
270 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
aid D., Eva E., Marion M., Ellen D., Merle, and Walter P.
The three last are deceased.
Dr. Baker is a democrat, and a member of the German Re-
formed church.
JACOB CHESTER LOEHR
The founder of the Loehr family in the United States was
Johan Heinrich Loehr, born September 24, 1753, in Wallahal-
ben, or Wallahausen, a town of Prussian Saxony, on the
Helme, in the Principality of Leiningen, who came to America
in j 774 and settled in Bedroinster township, Bucks county,
Pennsylvania. Later he removed to Northampton county,
Plainfield township, and located on a farm southwest of
Argyl. He died December 25, 1834, and was buried at Plain-
field church cemetery. His occupation was that of school
teaching, and he was a good musician and singer. For many
.years he led the singing in his local school house and church.
His wife was Margaret Elizabeth Young, born in Germany,
December 31, 1760. After her husband's death, Mother Loehr
removed, with her son Jacob and his family and her oldest
daughter Elizabeth, to Ohio, where she died July 20, 1844.
Her remains are buried in Pleasant Hill cemetery, four miles
southwest of Van Buren, Ohio.
Johan Heinrich Loehr and Margaret Elizabeth Young were
the parents of six children, and all lived to a good old age.
Some of the children and grandchildren dropped the "o"
from the name and they now spell it Lehr.
John Loehr, the great-grandfather of the subject of this
sketch, was a son of Johan Heinrich and Margaret Elizabeth
Loehr. He was born in Bedminster township, Bucks county,
Pennsylvania, January 7, 1778. He married Elizabeth Bar-
tholomew in 1812, who was born April 22, 1792. They had
seven children, all born at Plainfield church, where he taught
school and led the choir for nineteen years. The family then
removed to Moorstown church, where he taught school and
led the choir for ten years. John Loehr died November 11,
1877, and his wife October 28, 1877. Both are buried at Naza-
reth, Pennsylvania.
One of the seven children of John and Elizabeth Loehr was
BIOGRAPHICAL
271
Jacob 11., the father of our subject, who was horn October 20,
1819. He married Lovina Eoch, and kept store in Plainfield,
Pennsylvania, for some time after his marriage. In IS."),'!, with
his family, lie removed (by horses and wagon) to a point near
Van Buren, Ohio, on a farm. His wife died March 24, 1886,
and he followed her .May 2!', 1899, both being buried in the
cemetery near the old home. The birthplace of Lovina Hoch
was Northampton county, Pennsylvania, and the year of her
birth 1824. Her parents were Jacob and Catherine Hoch.
Seven children were born to Jacob H. and Lovina Loebr.
Of this number Jacob Chester, the subject of this sketch, was
born September 15, 1843, in Plainfield township, Northamp-
KF.SII'KXCK ill' .lACIir. CIIKSIT.l; MiKlll:
ton county, Pennsylvania, not far from the Blue Ridge moun-
tains and about ten miles from Easton, Pennsylvania. In re-
counting bis boyhood days, Jacob C. states that be has not
much recollection of Pennsylvania — only remembers seeing
the mountains and being in Easton with his father. He was
about nine years of age when the family removed to Ohio.
His early life was spent on the farm near Van Buren. Desir-
ing to give his children a good education, Jacob H. Loebr sup-
plemented the common sebool education of bis son Jacob C. by
entering' him in Heildelberg college, at Tiffin, Ohio. The date
of bis entrance was in I860, the year in which Lincoln, Doug-
las, and Breckenridge made their memorable campaigns for
272 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the presidency of the United States. Our subject says he re-
members seeing the "little giant," as Stephen A. Douglas was
called, in the fall of 1860 in Tiffin, where he made a speech at
the fair grounds. The incidents of the campaign are, of
course, indelibly impressed upon bis mind, be being then a lad
of seventeen. In reviewing the matter, he states that he recalls
the peculiarities of the marching organizations and symbols of
the leading parties. "The republicans," he says, "had an
organization called the 'Wideawakes,' who marched at night
with tin lamps on poles about six feet long. Linn poles repre-
sented the republicans, and hickory poles the democrats. The
northern democrats were almost unanimous for Douglas, and
in politics the students of Heidelberg were about evenly di-
vided. I remember, at the breaking out of the war, how we
students went to the timber and cut a pole and raised it with a
flag on top of the college building. Many of the students en-
listed and went to the front. ' '
Young Loehr spent nearly six terms at Heidelberg, when,
on the 8th of May, 1862, he took sick with brain fever or spinal
meningitis, and lost his hearing. He thinks the cause of this
affliction was an injury to the back part of his head resulting
from two bad falls. The loss of his hearing, of course, changed
his plans entirely, and he returned home to his parents, re-
maining with them mostly thereafter until the spring of 1868,
when he came to Johnson county, Iowa, for the purpose of
assisting his brother-in-law, N. B. Richey, on a new farm of
240 acres. He worked on this farm, in the employ of Mr.
Richey, until 1874, when he ventured to buy 160 acres of wild
land for himself. By steady work and economy, in due time
he paid for the land and added considerably to his holdings.
On October 24, 1877, our subject was married to Miss Emma
Faulkner, at Bucklin, Missouri. Miss Faulkner's family
have an interesting history. Her parents were Hugh White
Faulkner and Filena Reynolds, and her father's occupation
was that of farmer and carpenter. Mr. Faulkner's Civil War
record was most honorable. He enlisted in the 144th New
York regiment in August, 1864, but was rejected. November
11th of the same year, however, he was drafted into the 67th
Pennsylvania, Company 0, Third Brigade Second Division of
the Sixth Army Corps. He served under General Wright,
BIOGRAPHICAL 27:;
General Rickets being corps commander and Hiram Stark his
captain. He was in the picket line at Petersburg and in the
battle to the left of Petersburg on April 2, 1865; then followed
General Lee to the battle of Sailor's Run on Thursday, and
continued on Friday to follow him to the Farms River, where
Phil. Sheridan cut off his supply train. Next day Lee sent a
white flag and surrendered. .Mr. Faulkner was honorably dis-
charged August 17, 1865. All four of the brothers of Mrs.
Faulkner's mother served in the war, one being a minister.
Her mother was an orphan when she married Mr. Reynolds,
but was a woman of great vigor of character. The Reynolds
family were intensely musical and were prominent in Chris-
tian work in the Baptist church.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather,
Jacob C. Loehr is the father of seven children. In the order
of their birth they are as follows :
Lena May, born February 17, 1879; educated at high school ;
married, November 1(i, 1898, to Frederick ('. Jahnke, a pro-
duce dealer; resided for a time at Lone 'free, but now resides
at Muscatine; is the mother of four children: Lovell Freder-
ick, born November 20, 1899; Helen Winnifred, born April :i.
1902; Willis Ernest, born September 28, 1905; and Minnie
Myrtle, born August 1, 1910.
Second child, a son, died at birth, September 1, 1880.
Frank Elmer, born November 1.'!, 1883 ; railway mail clerk;
residence Albert Lea, Minnesota; married November 25, 1903,
to Maud Furniss Siverley; is the father of three children:
Lauren Dale, born October 24, 1905; Rodney Clement, born
November 16, 1907; and Ardeth Maude, born May 31, 1909.
Mertie Ellen, born August 6, 188.'}; high scbool graduate
and school teacher; married September 26, 1905, to Rev. Ulan-
chard Allen Black ; residence for a time, Lone Tree ; removed
to Louisville, Ohio, in 1908; is the mother of three children:
Margaret Ellen, born July 12, 1906; Frances Marian, horn
June 21, 1907; and Florence Emma, born June 20, 1910.
Clement Leslie, born October 7, 1885 ; bachelor of arts of the
State University of Iowa, 1909; studying for the ministry in
the Reformed Cburch Theological Seminary at Lancaster,
Pennsylvania; married December 20, 1910, to Grace Margaret
Davidson, an alumnus of S. IT. I., at Stanwood, Iowa.
274 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Katherine Lavina, born March 19, 1887; high school gradu-
ate and school teacher ; married September 22, 1908, to Guy C.
Black, ]). D. S., who practiced three years at Delta, Iowa, and
then removed to Mason City, Iowa ; mother of one child : Alice
Laurine, born April 19, 1910.
Emma Alice, born January 12, 1891 ; high school graduate;
married March 19, 1911, to William H. Yakish, Rock Island
R. R. station agent at Lone Tree.
The residence of Mr. Loehr is at Lone Tree, Iowa, where
the family is universally respected and beloved.
AUGUST KRANZ
The sons of Germany have found in Iowa congenial condi-
tions for the exercise of the thrift and industry inbred from
time immemorial in the "Faderland." Scores of rich, well-
tilled farms throughout the state attest the enterprise and
staying <|iialities of their German owners. It has passed into
a proverb that where a German gets a foothold, "there he
sticks." Conspicuous examples of this truism may be found
in Johnson county, where in every township in great abun-
dance names whose orthography attest their Teutonic origin
are written across prosperous farms in the county maps and
plats.
On a 280-acre farm in the northeast part of Fremont town-
ship in the above mentioned county is written in the latest
county map the name of August Kranz. On that farm for
about twenty-eight years the subject of this sketch pursued
the peaceful occupation of a farmer. His first purchase of
land was in 1881, when he took possession of the 160 acres
where the old home stands. He gradually added to his hold-
ings till at one time he owned in Johnson county 420 acres and
in Louisa county 137 acres. In 1909 he retired and moved to
Lone Tree, where he has a beautiful residence at the time of
this writing.
August Kranz was born in Germany February 4, 1848, and
is the son of Frederick and Sophia (Freilasky) Kranz. He
came to America with his parents when twelve years of age.
The family landed at New York city, and, after spending three
months in the Empire state, removed to Muscatine, Iowa,
BIOGRAPHICAL 275
where they resided between three and four years. The nexl
move was to Bock Island county, where the parents remained
until their death. At the age of twenty-one, in Bock Islam!
county, August Kranz began business as a farmer on his own
account. His entire residence in that county covers a period
of about ten years. In 1879, as above stated, he removed to
Fremont township, Johnson county.
Six children were born to Frederick and Sophia Kranz, of
whom four reached maturity, two having died in infancy.
Only two now remain — Mary (now Mrs. John Collnar, of
Rock Island), and the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Kranz was married September •">, 1872, to Miss Kath-
KESIDENCE OF AUGUST KRANTZ
erine Stamm, a native of Bock Island county, of German par-
entage. Miss Stamm's parents came to Bock Island county
at a very early day, were married there and resided continu-
ously in the county until the death of the father, about twenty-
two years ago. Thereafter the Widow Stamm removed to
Muscatine, residing there about ten years, after which she went
to Davenport, where she died in the fall of 1910. Mrs. Kranz
had four brothers and five sisters: Maggie, George, Michael,
Mary, Elizabeth, Adam, Ara, Nicholas, and Louisa. All are
living except Maggie, who died when two years of age, and
Michael, who died at eighteen.
Mr. and Mrs. Kranz have six children, all of whom are
276 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
living. Of these George, married, resides at Iowa City ; Mary
(Mrs. Fred Lentz) lives on a farm in Lincoln township ; Emma
(Mrs. Joseph Krai) resides in Lincoln township; Louisa (Mrs.
Frank Krai) lives in Louisa county; Minnie (Mrs. John
Jones) lives in Muscatine county, and Clarence, married, re-
sides on the old home farm in Lincoln township.
Mr. Kranz is a republican, a member of the Reformed
church and of Omega lodge No. 728, I. 0. 0. F., of Lone Tree.
Still in the prime of life, he daily enjoys the association of
lifelong friends and enters heartily into the activities of his
residence city.
HENRY WALKER
In numerous places on the township map of Johnson county,
Iowa, may be seen the name of Henry Walker. In all, accord-
ing to the latest deeds of record, 1,100 acres are included in
the ownership of this successful farmer. These represent, in
part, the accumulations of fifty-eight years of industry and
frugality as an agriculturist in eastern Iowa. If further proof
is needed that an energetic American citizen, under the favor-
able conditions of rural life in the great west, may become
wealthy, the reader is cited to the accomplishments of num-
bers of Mr. Walker's neighbors in that productive section of
the Hawkeye state known as Johnson county. Scores of
bronzed farmers in Fremont, Lincoln, and Pleasant Valley
townships can write their wealth in six figures, and yet other
scores can crowd five figures to the limit. The advocates of
the "back-to-the-farm" movement need look no further than
this region for arguments that are convincing of the profit-
able nature of agriculture at its best.
Henry Walker took his elementary education in farming
in Indiana, to which state his father and mother removed from
Portage county, Ohio, which was his birthplace, when he was
four years of age. That was in 1833, and seven years later, in
1840, the family settled in Johnson county, Iowa. James
Walker, the father (a native of Virginia), and his wife, Betsey
Burnett, determined to have a home of their own in the new
west, and so the head of the family visited the government
land office at Dubuque and entered his application for a home-
liKMiWAlMIK'AL
277
stead in Johnson county. The couple spent the remainder of
their days in this county.
Henry (born March 9, 1829, twenty miles east of Cleveland,
Ohio) is the sole survivor of his father's family of nine chil-
dren. The birth roster, which (pathetic indeed) is also a
death-roll, is as follows : Robert, married and died years ago;
Nancy, dead many years; Samuel, married, and a successful
farmer near River Junction for years, dead; Eliza, died in
Indiana; Amos Wortinger, dead; James, Joseph, Laura, and
Fannie — all dead; Henry, alone of all his father's household.
RESIDENCE OK THE LATE HENRY WALKER
survives at the age of eighty-three. There must inevitably be
a last man in every family. Comforting the thought to the
survivor (as in this case) that old age has brought peace and
prosperity, with honor and a good conscience.
At twenty-four years of age Henry Walker bought his
first farm, which is now his old homestead. His purchase con-
sisted of 200 acres, and his deed bears date of 1853. Additions
from time to time, as stated in the first paragraph of this
article, have swelled his holdings to 1,100 acres in Fremont
and Pleasant Valley townships. A rich man in the midst of
278 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
his acres, there is no man in all the region of River Junction
and vicinity who is more thoroughly respected and esteemed
than Henry Walker. Hard by the village of River Junction
stands the modest little Methodist chapel with its beautiful,
welbkept "God's acre" adjoining. Henry Walker donated
the land for both, and his active membership of many years
in the church has added to his beneficence the benediction of
his faith. Mrs. Walker was a member of the Unitarian
church.
On Friday, June 30, 1911, the old settlers of Johnson
county held their annual picnic in the beautiful grove adjoin-
ing the River Junction M. E. chapel, and the speakers on that
occasion made reference in their encomiums to the geiierosity
and thoughtfulness of Henry Walker in donating for the per-
manent use of the organization the picturesque three acres
where, under the shade of the great oaks, maples, and hicko-
ries, the first fathers of Johnson county, with their wives and
descendants, could fittingly celebrate the anniversaries of their
yesterdays and meet together in neighborly feasting and con-
versation. Henry Walker was present on that occasion, and
he was one of the "young men" of the company — several
pioneers being there who had passed their ninetieth year.
The marriage of Henry Walker to Miss Harriet McComas,
a native of Indiana, who came to Johnson county with her
parents, took place in 1854. The couple were Messed with two
children: Laura, married to William Fairall, of Iowa City,
died in 1909; Mary, now Mrs. Charles Shellady, of Fremont
township. Harriet McComas Walker died in 1880. Mr.
Walker was married again to Miss Martha Sweet, daughter of
David and Lydia Sweet, who died April '2('\ 1!»1 1 , aged 7-1 years.
Primitive democracy and fundamental honesty go hand in
hand; it is therefore not surprising that Henry Walker is an
old-fashioned democrat. He is one of the "undaunted mi-
nority" which holds the balance-wheel of the republic true.
It is a far look backward across the years when the children
made merry at the fireside of James Walker. In that time the
Rocky Mountain Limited has displaced the patient oxen; the
traction thresher has crushed the flail to a pulp; the loyal-
blood of the north has washed the black stain of slavery from
the nation's escutcheon; and everywhere that men once crept
'1
HENRY WALKEB
BIOGRAPHICAL 279
in arduous, footsore journeyings their descendants are chasing
the eagle in his native air, looking down on the primitive paths
of their fathers; electricity, speaking daily of a world's ac-
tivities, has long-time flashed across the post-horse's grave,
and the hastening feet of a greal procession of Americans
pestle the dust in the mortar where the forefathers sleep.
Henry Walker lias lived in remnants of two great centuries,
and his soul is big with memories; but who doubts that in the
eventime of life his eyes feast in reverie on the faces of the
l.rothers and sisters and the father and mother of the years
ago, while mystic voices echo from the ingleside whose embers
have died and -Town cold? "At eventime it shall be light,"
and the torch of faith shall blazen the pathway of the surviv-
ing member of James Walker's family to reunion with his own.
GEORGE W. JOHNSTON
One of the successful fanners of i'Yemont township is
George W. Johnston, who has been engaged in business for
himself since 1876. With the exception of a few years spent in
Nebraska, his entire agricultural experience has been confined
to Johnson county. Our subject was born in Louisa county,
Iowa, in October, 1853. His parents, who were natives of
Tennessee, came to Iowa in 1851 and settled in Louisa county,
where the father engaged in farming. There were ten children
in the family, all of whom reached maturity. Father Johnston
died in 1SVS, his wife having preceded him two years. The
names of the children in the order of birth are as follows:
A. 1)., married and living in Taylor county, Iowa, was a sol-
dier in the Civil War, baving enlisted in the fall of 1.861 in
Company C, Eleventh Iowa, and served until honorably dis-
charged in the summer of 1865; Kisia, deceased wife of -I. ('.
Wilcox; Anne, now Mrs. J. ( !. Duncan, living in California;
J. C, living in Valley, Oregon; Margaret, now Mrs. Jasper
Cox, residing at Seattle, Washington; our subject; Belle, now
Mrs. L. L. Siverly, living near Diagonal, Iowa; Samuel II.,
living at Seymour, Missouri; Arvilla, deceased wife of ( '. ( '.
Blake, of Oklahoma; Elizabeth, now Mrs. W. M. Blake, living
in Oklahoma.
Geor.ii'e W. Johnston was married in September, 1880, to
280 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Miss Amanda Edmonds, a native of Johnson county. She was
a daughter of William and Hannah (Evens) Edmonds, former-
ly of Ohio. There were two children in the father's family,
wife of our subject and Even, now married and living at Can-
yon City, Texas. When a child of about three years her father
died, and later her mother married Mr. Westfall, who enlisted
in an Iowa regiment and died in the service of his country.
Mr. and Mrs. Westfall had one son, George, living in Fremont
township. After the war Mrs. Westfall married Wm. Shep-
pard. They were parents of two sons, both now deceased.
Mrs. Sheppard died about 1885, Mr. Sheppard in the fall of
1911.
The names of their seven children are: Alta, now Mrs.
Charles Miller, of Pleasant Valley township ; Roy M., residing
in Pleasant Valley township; Edgar E., a veterinary surgeon,
practicing at Centerville, Iowa; Bessie, a trained nurse in the
Methodist Hospital at Pes Moines; Leota, keeping house for
her brother Roy M. in Pleasant Valley township; Glenn and
Holly, both living at home.
Mr. Johnston has been honored by his fellow citizens with
numerous township offices, all of which he has administered
with ability and satisfaction. He is one of the straightfor-
ward, four-square men of Johnson county, who can be de-
pended on three hundred and sixty-five days of every year. In
politics he is a democrat. His family belong to the Methodist
Episcopal church.
• WILLIAM FRANKLIN LUTZ
One of the well known business men of Lone Tree, Iowa, is
William Franklin Lutz, the subject of this sketch. Born in
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, November 7, 1856, he came with
his parents, John Lutz and Margaret Huskins, direct from his
native state to Johnson county, when four years of age. There
he' has resided continuously ever since, with the exception of
two short periods. A residence of forty years in any com-
munity is sufficient test-furnace for any character, and the
fact that William F. Lutz today is universally respected and
esteemed by his neighbors proves his worth as a citizen, neigh-
bor, and friend.
BIOGRAPHICAL
281
John Lutz and Margaret Huskins were the parents of three
children, our subject being the second child. The others were:
Georgia Anna, now Mrs. W. S. Potter, of Lone Tree, and John,
living at Lone Tree.
John l..ntz died in L859, and his widow remarried in 1862,
her second husband being S. J. Devoe, one of the prominent
early settlers of Johnson county. Mr. Devoe made his en-
trance to the county on the first railroad train that came into
Iowa City. In company with a \'f\v others he laid out the
original townsite of Lone Tree. His business was that of
general farming and stock raising, and he was always a quiet,
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industrious man and a good citizen. Both he and his wife are
now dead.
Seven children were born to S. J. Devoe and Margaret Lutz,
their names being Richard, Henry, Elizabeth, Alfred, Mar-
garet, Julia, and Mary — all of whom are living except the last
two mentioned.
William F. Lutz began farming on his own account when
twenty-three years of age, and continued for eleven years,
after which he entered the employ of M. Baker, of Lone Tree,
a storekeeper. At the expiration of five years of service with
Mr. Baker, he began the general mercantile business for him-
self, which business he has continued until the present time.
On February 1, 1884, our subject was married to Miss Mae
Buser, a native of Oskaloosa, Towa.
282 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Lutz is a democrat, and has occupied the position of
city councilman of Lone Tree for eight years; also that of
township trustee for four years, as well as other positions of
trust. He is a member of the local Masonic lodge of Lone
Tree, of which he has been master.
THOMAS JEFFERSON McCOLLISTER
The ancestry and genealogy of the McCollister family is
quite fully set forth in the sketch of James McCollister, the
father of our subject, which appears elsewhere in this volume.
The reader's attention is called to this in connection with the
RESIDENCE OF THOMAS J . MC COLLTSTER
present biography of Thomas Jefferson McCollister, of Lone
Tree, Iowa.
Our subject was born in Johnson county December 4, 1862.
He attended the public schools of the county, receiving there-
from a good fundamental education. This he supplemented
by courses at the Iowa City Academy and the "Williams Com-
mercial College, graduating from the latter institution in 1884.
Thereafter he took up the business of farming on the old home-
stead below Iowa City in connection with his father. When he
was twenty-two years of age he moved to his present location,
near Lone Tree, and, with the exception of five years spent at
Iowa City, has resided there ever since. For several years
BIOGRAPHICAL 283
past Mr. MeCollister has made a specialty of raising pure
bred Aberdeen Angus cattle, and his name stands high among
stuck men and cattle buyers for the excellence of his product
Mr. MeCollister has been married twice. His first wife was
Miss Lettie Briggs, a native of Johnson county, Iowa. Three
children were horn to this union: Oscar, married and living
in Eoek Island, 111. ; James and Glenn. The latter married and
living in Dubuque, Iowa. Mr. MeCollister was married again,
1901 to Miss Julia E. Hynes, a native of Louisa county, Iowa.
Their only child a bright winsome little hoy died May 10, 1913,
aged 5 years, 1 month and 20 days.
Mrs. MeCollister is a daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Eden)
Hynes, natives of Ireland and England, respectively. The
father was born in County Clare, Ireland, September 20, 1821,
and came to America when 17 years of age and died in Johnson
county, April 9, 1907. He was the parent of nineteen children.
The home life of Mr. and Mrs. MeCollister is filled with
comfort and good cheer, and is typical of the prosperous sec-
tion of Johnson county in which they reside.
Politically, like his father, Mr. MeCollister has always been
a democrat. He is a member of the M. W. A. of Lone Tree,
Camp 2505. Is a member of the Episcopal church. His wife
is a member of the Catholic church.
ALBERT II. DELANO, M. D.
One of the objects most frequently seen on the streets and
highways of Lone Tree, Iowa, and vicinity is a gasoline run-
about directed by a man of middle age, whose speed invariably
is that of an individual who has some place to go quickly and
knows just where he is going. That is the machine of Dr.
Albert H. DeLano, and the driver is the doctor himself. Were
the doctor a young medico, just entering the practice of medi-
cine, this activity might in part lie attributed to a desire for
284 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
pleasure-riding or an effort to counterfeit a condition of heavy
patronage ; but in the present instance the runabout journeys
are in every case the response to a practice extending to all
sections of Johnson and adjoining counties, for Dr. DeLano
has been a successful practitioner in Lone Tree, Iowa, for up-
wards of twenty-four years.
Dr. DeLano, by birth, is a "way down east yankee," being
born in Bath, Maine, March 13, 1854. His "yankee" compo-
KKSIHK.XCK OK AI.BKRT II. DF.LANO, M. D.
sition is further emphasized by the fact that both his father
and mother were natives of the same state, their birthplace
being Huron county. The mother (Mary Ann Norton) died
when Dr. DeLano was a baby; his father (H. M. DeLano) re-
moved to Ohio in 1865 and remained there until his death,
March 26, 1910. Our subject and a sister, Ella Gr., now Mrs.
H. S. Vaughn, of Denver, Colorado, were the only children.
Dr. DeLano attended high school at Norwalk, Ohio. He
supplemented his common school education by a course at the
State University of Iowa, graduating from the Medical De-
partment March 2, 1887. In 1903 he completed a short course
at the Post Graduate Medical School and Hospital at Chicago.
BIOGRAPHICAL
He first hung out his shingle at Lisbon, Iowa, in March, 1*s; ;
but in July, 1888, he removed to Lone Tree.
April 2, 187D, lie married a charming young woman, .Miss
Elsie S. Qoodsell, a native of Ohio, who is the honored queen
of the doctor's beautiful home at Lone Tree, an active, useful
factor in social and church life, beloved by all who know her.
Two children are the fruit of this marriage: Oourtland A., a
graduate of the dental department of the S. U. L, now prac-
ticing at Lone Tree, and Mildred L., residing at home.
The doctor is a republican ; a member of the Masonic order,
Knights of Pythias, and the Odd Fellows. His church connec-
tion and that of his family is with the Methodist Episcopal, of
Lone Tree. He has several times filled important offices at
the behest of his fellow citizens, and, in the prime of manhood,
commands the universal respect of his neighbors and the
members of his profession. Able, alert, and energetic, he has
reason to look forward expectantly to many years of useful-
ness in Johnson county and vicinity.
CHARLES BYRON SHELLADAY
Among the prosperous and successful farmers of Johnson
county is Charles Byron Shelladay, whose entire active life has
been devoted to this pursuit. He belongs to the best type of
citizen and has always evinced great interest in the welfare
and development of his community, having filled various of-
fices of public honor and trust. He is well known in many
circles and has friends in all. He is a native of the county,
born August 10, 1861, son of Robert and Isabelle (Russell)
Shelladay. The father, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Shel-
lady, was born in Ireland, and came to America with his
parents when a young man. They settled at Iowa ( !ity, where
they lived a number of years. Robert Shelladay was a farmer
of Johnson county until 1865, when he sold his farm near Iowa
City and moved to Washington county, buying a farm there
and residing on it until his death in 1898. His widow survived
until 1904. They were the parents of seven children : George,
died in Oklahoma in 1910; Sarah Jane, died in 1889; Samuel,
died in Iowa City in 1901 ; Katherine is the wife of Xeal Me-
jsi;
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Ewen, of Formoso, Kansas; Robert, of Washington county;
Charles Byron, of this sketch ; Isabelle, Mrs. John Wallace, of
Monte Vista, Colorado.
Mr. Shelladay's first enterprise on his own account was in
the line of farming, and his active career has been spent on
the farm he now occupies, which he has improved and de-
veloped in a high degree. In 1893 his house was destroyed by
fire, and soon afterwards he erected the comfortable and con-
venient farm residence the family now occupies, a cnt of which
appears in this publication. In 1881 he was united in marriage
with Miss Mary Walker, daughter of Henry Walker and wife.
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RESIDENCE
IHIX SHELLADAY
The Walker family are mentioned at length elsewhere in these
pages. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Shel-
lady : Georgia Harriet is attending school at Glenwood, Iowa ;
Effie Meryl, wife of Gilbert Matthews, lives at River Junction,
where she is acting as agent for the Rock Island Company, has
one son, Marsh Earl ; Cecil Henry, living on a farm adjoining
that of his father, married Nora Crim, and they have one son,
LeRoy Charles ; Walker Day, now twelve years of age.
Mr. Shelladay is a democrat in political faith and is now
serving his third term as township trustee. He is president of
the Palestine Telephone Company and has been identified
with various other local enterprises. He is a member of the
BIOGRAPHICAL 287
Christian church and fraternally is connected with Omega
lodge Xo. 728, I. (). (). F., of Lone Tree, and his wife belongs
to Lone Tree lodge No. 160, M. B. A. Both are wholesouled,
generous, and hospitable, being model neighbors and having a
host of friends. Although quiet and unassuming in manner,
they have been most influential in the life of the community
and spare no pains to entertain their guests. They take es-
pecial pleasure in being kind and sympathetic to all, believing
in the worth of the golden rule, to "do unto others as ye would
that thev should do unto you."
CALEB JOSHUA SWEET
Probably no family has figured more prominently in the
early history of Johnson county, Iowa, than that of David and
Lydia Sweet. Five children were born to this honored couple,
and each one has written a worthy page upon the historical
record of the county and state. Four of the five have left the
impress of their personalities upon Fremont township, and
three of them still reside therein, respected and esteemed.
David Sweet lived only seven years after his settlement in the
county in 1838, but his memory is green to this day among his
offspring and the friends of his youth who survive. Mother
Sweet departed January 3, 1884, but those who knew and
loved her remember and love her still. Who can forget the
saintly character of Martha Jane, the departed wife of Henry
Walker? Louisa Ann is the helpful companion of Zephaniah
Cray, of Lone Tree. William Thomas is a respected farmer
of the same neighborhood. Angeline is the wife of George W.
Maxwell, of Cambridge, Iowa, and our subject, crippled for
years by rheumatism resulting from exposure during the Civil
AVar, lives in honorable old age on the original homestead of
his parents in Fremont township. Thus the name and the
blood of David and Lydia Sweet are mingled with the memo-
ries and the activities of the state of their adoption.
David Sweet was a native of Kentucky, but he removed
when a child with his parents to Ohio. Later he resided in In-
diana. He married in Champaign county, Ohio. In May,
1838, as above stated, the couple settled in Iowa. They lived
and died upon the old homestead near Lone Tree, now occu-
288 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
pied by our subject. Their remains are interred in the quiet
cemetery at River Junction.
Caleb Sweet contracted the gold fever in 1853, and went to
California in quest of the yellow metal. He mingled with the
argonauts for six years, and came back to the old home in Fre-
mont township just in time to catch the spirit of the Lincoln-
Douglas debates and the ante-bellum campaign of 1860. For
about a year he labored as a farmer on the old homestead, and
then the frenzy of conflict swept over him and he united with
his brother-in-law, Zephaniah Cray, and enlisted in Company
Gr of the famous Second Iowa Cavalry. Three years and two
months he devoted to the service of his country. He took part
in many hard-fought battles, among them being the memorable
RESIDENCE OF CALEB JOSHUA SWEET
charge at Farmington. In May, 1862, he was taken prisoner
at Booneville, Mississippi, and confined for four months and
twenty clays in a rebel prison. He was held in Mobi'e, Ala-
bama, Macon, Georgia, Libby, Richmond, Virginia, and signed
his parole in Libby prison. After his honorable discharge in
October, 1864, he returned to the old farm, where he has re-
sided ever since.
In 1888 he was married to Miss Margaret S. Hanthorne, a
native of Iowa, who has been a true companion and helpmeet.
Politically he has always been a republican. He is a member
of Kirkwood Post, G. A. R,, of Iowa City. No man stands
CAI.F.n SWKK'I
BIOGRAPHICAL
higher among- his neighbors, who honor 1
and esteem him for his daily virtues as a
zpy
n for
liis sufferings
itizei
.
JOSEPH RAYNO]
Joseph Baynor came into Fremont township before there
was a railroad in Iowa, and has resided continuously in that
township, engaged in farming, till the present time, lie com-
menced farming for himself at the age of twenty-one, at which
time his entire capital was one horse. Industry and care en-
abled him in a little while to purchase a tract of land in com-
pany with his father. This contained about 200 acres. He has
mil!
RESIDENCE OF MRS. .TOE RAYNER
continued to add to his holdings and now owns 450 acres in
Fremont township and 128 acres in Pleasant Valley township.
He is now seventy-one years of age, hale and hearty. His
semi-centennial of business finds him a rich man, respected
and esteemed.
The parents of our subject were Joseph and Elizaheth Bay-
nor, natives of England, in which country our subject also was
born August 1, 1840. The family came directly from England
to Johnson county. The father was a shoemaker by trade, but
on reaching his new home took up government land and en-
gaged in the business of farming and stock and grain buying.
The children of the elder Baynors were: our subject; Eliza-
290 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
beth, wife of J. D. Musser, both dead; William, residing at
Lone Tree; Frank, a farmer, married and living in Fremont
township.
Joseph Eaynor, our subject, was married in 1864 to Hiss
Jemima J. Musser, a native of Pennsylvania. Their children
are : Chris, engaged in brick and tile business at Marengo,
Iowa; Elizabeth, now Mrs. A. II. Hinkley, living in Fremont
township ; Jemima Jane, now Mrs. Kline, living in Hills, Iowa ;
Clara, now Mrs. Cecil Mullinix, living in Fremont township.
Mr. Raynor is a republican and a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church.
WILLIAM EDEN
"Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe hath broke" was
literally true of the parents of William Eden, for, following
his settlement in Johnson county in 1859, Charles Eden, the
father, engaged for a number of years in the business of
"breaking" the virgin Iowa prairies. Both the parents of our
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM EDEN
subject, Charles Eden and Jane Allen, were natives of Eng-
land. They emigrated to Wisconsin in 1816, in which state our
subject was born November 21, 1852. The latter was therefore
seven years old when the family removed to Johnson county.
There were twelve children in all: Betsey, Mary, Emma, Wil-
liam, Albert, Alfred, John, Sarah, Charles, George, Thomas,
BKHiKAPIIICAL 291
and Rosette. All arc living except Emma, Sarah, and Albert.
Father Eden still survives and resides upon the ..Id farm.
The mother died in 1906.
William Eden chose the husiness of farming and began "on
his own hook" in 1886. lie has continued in the same line ever
since, and has made a success. On February 25, 1886, he was
married to Miss Mary Alcock, a native of England, horn May
31, 1855. They have been blessed with seven children, three of
whom died in infancy. The names of the survivors are: Eliza
Jane, Mary Rose, Charles Thomas, and Frank Edwin, all re-
siding at home. The family are members of the Reformed
church.
Thomas Alcock and his wife, Eliza Brothers, parents of
Mrs. "William Eden, came from England to America in 1879,
and settled upon the farm now the property of Mrs. Eden.
They both died on this farm in 1900, and are buried in the little
cemetery adjoining the Union church. Their children were:
Joseph P., Charles T., and Mary B. Charles T. died in 1875.
JOHN LUTZ
John Lutz is one of the best-known farmers of Johnson
county, where most of his life has been spent. He was
brought there by his parents when but two years old, and there
became interested in agricultural pursuits at an early age.
He is a member of one of the pioneer families — one that has
always been identified with the best interests of the region,
and has a strong affection for his home county. He was horn
in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1859, the elder of
the two sons of John and Margaret (Huskins) Lutz, natives of
Pennsylvania. There were two other children born of this
union: "William Franklin, a successful merchant of Lone Tree,
Iowa, a sketch of whom appears in this volume, and Georgia
Anna, wife of "W. S. Potter, also of Lone Tree.
John Lutz died in 1859 and his widow afterwards became
the wife of S. J. Devoe, of an old Johnson county family, who
was among the number to lay out the townsite of Lone Tree.
He was prominent in local affairs and by occupation was a
farmer and stock-raiser. He was a worthy man, a good citizen
and highly respected. Five children were born of this union :
292 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Richard, Henry, Elizabeth, Alfred, and Margaret. All of these
children survive, bnt both parents are now deceased.
John Lutz was reared to farm work and educated in the
schools near his boyhood home. When he was twenty-four
years old he began farming on his own account, and since that
time he has successfully continued in this line. He makes a
specialty of handling and raising pure-bred Percheron horses,
and has been engaged in this line for the past twenty years.
He is an influential man in his community and stands well with
his friends and associates. He is a democrat in politics and
fraternally belongs to Omega lodge No. 728, I. 0. O. F., of
Lone Tree, and to Lone Tree lodge No. 160, M. B. A.
In 1886 Mr. Lutz was united in marriage with Miss Ada
RESIDENCE OF JOHN LUTZ
Dunham, whose parents were early settlers of Johnson county,
having come there from Illinois and settled on a farm in Fre-
mont township. Mrs. Lutz died about 1895-96. She, like her
husband, was well known in Johnson county, and had a large
number of firm friends, who sincerely mourned her loss. In
December, 1911, Mr. Lutz married Margaret Ann Carter, a
native of Champaign county, Illinois.
CHARLES EDEN
The township of Eden in Buena Vista county, Iowa, is
named in honor of Charles Eden, the subject of this sketch, he
BIOGRAPHICAL 298
having built the iirst wooden house in that township. Mr.
Eden was twenty-one years of age when he left his native place
of Oxfordshire, England, and came to America in 1846. He
lirst sojourned for a time in Wisconsin, and then, hearing of
land for entry in Iowa, came to Iowa City in Johnson county.
He purchased his present home in Johnson county in 1870,
where he has lived continuously since. He now owns a con-
siderable body of land in Johnson county.
Mr. Eden was married in England to Miss Jane Allen, a
native of that country. They were blessed with twelve chil-
dren: Betsey, Mary, Emma, Sarah, Rose, William, Alfred, Al-
RKKIIiEXt E OK CHARLES EM'.X,
bert, John, Charles, George W., and Thomas. Of these Emma,
Sarah, and Albert are deceased.
Mr. Eden has always adhered to the democratic political
faith. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal church.
ROBERT SWANK
Robert Swank is a prosperous farmer of Fremont township,
who was born in Ohio October 4, 1845, and came with his
father to Louisa county, Iowa, in 1864. His parents,
George and Margaret (Moore) Swank, were both natives of
Ohio. The mother died when Robert was a small boy. There
were two other children in the family: Katherine, now Mrs.
294
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
F. J. Hank, living in Ohio, and Miria, wife of Mr. Dickinson,
died about twenty years ago. George Swank and family re-
sided in Louisa county about four years and tlien moved into
Johnson county, where they lived twenty years. The father
then removed to Kansas and later to Indian Territory, where
he died.
Mr. Swank took up farming as bis occupation at an early
age, and has followed it continuously until the present. He
was married in 1878 to Miss Mary 0. Elliott, a native of Ohio,
Wfe%
*
IBt]
i B
KBlly §
El
i m y
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT SWANK
who has borne him three children: Edward, married and liv-
ing in Lone Tree ; Alma and Earl, both living at home.
Mr. Swank is a republican. He is a member of Omega
lodge No. 728, I. 0. 0. F., and Lone Tree lodge No. 160, M. B.
A., of Lone Tree. His standing and character as a citizen are
unimpeachable.
GEORGE W. EDEN
Fruit trees grown in the nurseries of George W. Eden, of
Fremont township, are shipped to all parts of the United
States and Canada. Mr. Eden has originated several new and
popular varieties of fruit, among which are the Lone Tree
peach, which is grown all over the state of Iowa and in many
other states, the Eden plum, and the Red Wild crab-apple. Mr.
BIOGRAPHICAL
295
Eden grows fruit trees by the thousands. His nursery enter-
prise dates from 1900, and his farm in Fremont township has
been transformed into a fruit paradise, for in addition to pro-
ducing stock for transplanting Mr. Eden lias developed im-
portant fruit orchards. He lias forty acres in bearing apple
trees, besides many other varieties of fruit. < >ur subject began
farming when he was twenty-one years of age, and has con-
tinued on the old farm in Fremont township ever since. Aside
from his abilities as a nurseryman and horticulturist, he takes
great pleasure and pride in antiquarianism. TTe has a re-
markable collection of pre-historic Indian relics made of stone ;
also a collection of old tools of all kinds. In numismatics he
EO. W. EDE?
has made considerable progress, having a very complete and
valuable collection of old and rare coins.
George W. Eden is the eleventh child of Charles and Jane
(Allen) Eden, and was born in Towa City February 2:2, 1864
(see sketch of Charles Eden — Ed.). He was married in 1S85
to Miss Frances L. Could, a native of Louisa county, Iowa,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Gould, wdio came from Ohio
at an early day and settled in Louisa county. Mr. and Mrs.
Eden have eleven children. Large families are a character-
istic of the Eden line, Charles, the father of our subject, being
the father of twelve children. The names of George W. Eden 's
296 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
children are : Arthur L., Oscar A., George W., Jr., Clem W.,
Otto M., Homer E., Dayton, Clayton, Lorena M., Lucy, and
Frances L. The first named, Arthur L., is prominent in the
Odd Fellows order.
George W. Eden is a democrat, and has taken a prominent
part in the councils of his party. In 1904 he was an alternate
delegate to the democratic national convention at Kansas City.
In 1908 he was official usher of the democratic national con-
vention at Denver. He has filled the office of assessor of Fre-
mont township. His religious affiliation is with the Methodist
Episcopal church. He takes an active interest in fraternal
orders, being a member of Middle Link lodge No. 245, I. 0. 0.
F., Riverside, Iowa, Encampment No. 112, Columbus Junction
I. 0. 0. F., also Rebecca lodge 416, of Iowa City; M. B. A., No.
160, Lone Tree. Mrs. Eden is also a member of the latter
order.
JOHN BELL
The centennial year of American independence witnessed
the arrival in Boston, Massachusetts, of a young Irishman
twenty-four years of age named John Bell, a native of County
Down. He was a stranger in a strange land, but his heart was
filled with the love of liberty and in his soul burned the prin-
ciples of true patriotism. He had the right stuff out of which
to make a good American. For four years he worked in the
city containing Faneuil Hall, and his daily view of Bunker Hill
monument gave strength to his purposes of patriotism and
warmed his heart towards the country of the oppressed. Hav-
ing worshipped at Liberty's cradle, he determined to journey
to the heart of the great west, and in March, 1880, came to
Johnson county, Iowa, where he bought and settled upon a
farm of eighty acres. His present home stands upon those
eighty acres, but he has added to his holdings yet other three
hundred and forty acres, so that today he is the possessor of
four hundred and twenty acres of as fine land as the sun shines
on in the Mississippi valley. From this it will be rightly in-
ferred that the young Irishman of 1856 has made good in the
land of Liberty.
John Bell liked farming from the beginning, and in addi-
BIOGRAPHICAL
297
tion to the ordinary work of tilling the soil he took up the
special business of stock raising. In this he was eminently
successful. Today he is rated as one of the wealthy farmers
of Johnson county. But in addition to making money and
acquiring property, he lias also made friends. Always a good
fellow, he has not been spoiled by the increase of wealth, and
he is held in high esteem by those who have the good fortune
of his acquaintance, and their name is legion.
In 1879, in Boston, a romance of the young Irishman's
former residence there was revealed in his marriage in Novem-
ber of that year to Miss Susan Kane, who, be it known, is also
a native of Ireland and came to America in that same eenten-
RESIDEXCE OF .1011 X BKI
nial year, being then a young lady. The union of John Bell
and Susan Kane was the joining of two faithful hearts that
have beat true as steel during all these thirty-five years.
Eleven children have made glad their fireside, eight of whom
are living: James H., married and living on a farm in Fre-
mont township; John A., died when seventeen years old;
Mary E., now Mrs. Chester.. M. Estel, living in Muscatine
county on a farm ; Susan Jane, now Airs. Ben Keeler, living in
Fremont township; Charles S., residing at home, but he has
recently purchased a farm in Fremont township ; William, re-
siding at home ; Anne R., attending high school and residing
2»8
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
at home; Margaret, attending school and living at home;
Robert John, living at home ; two others died in infancy.
In politics Mr. Bell is a republican. He is a member of the
Reformed church of the United States. He still resides on the
original eighty acres which he bought in 1880, in Fremont
township.
GLAUS LUTZE
Motherless at three years and fatherless at thirteen years
of age, Glaus Lutze was left to face the realities of life's bat-
tle in his native Germany. At the age of twenty-one he decid-
HKSIKKXCE OF CI.AUS I/TTZE
ed to cast his fortunes in America. He left Holstein, his
birthplace, in 1855, and came direct to Davenport, Iowa, where
he resided eleven years. Then he made a visit to his native
land, remaining one year, when he returned to Davenport,
where he resided another year. In 1869 he sold his farm of
eighty acres near Davenport and moved to Lincoln township
in Johnson county. There he settled upon the farm upon
which he now lives. He takes great interest in agricultural
matters, to which he is devoted by natural inclination as well
as training. He retired from active business in 1891, and has
since devoted his time in looking after property interests. He
continues to live at the old homestead.
C'L.VTS LUTZE
BIOGRAPHICAL 299
Our subject's parents were John and [da (Kleinwortk)
Lutze, natives of Germany. They had three children besides
Clans, namely: Henry, who now resides on his father's old
homestead in Germany; Wibke, wife of Clans Behrens, died
ten years ago; Anna, Avife of Henry Kruse, died about six
years ago. Neither of the deceased sisters ever left Germany.
Mr. Lutze was married in 1868 to Miss Anna Dieckmann,
horn in the same place in Germany as himself. They have had
rive children, two of whom died in infancy. The names of the
others are: Annie, living at home; Clare, who died in 1!)00 at
the age of twenty-three ; Minnie, living at home.
Mr. Lutze is a republican, and has occupied the position of
township trustee for six years. He and his family are mem-
bers of the German Lutheran church. This German orphan
boy, by the exercise of industry and economy, coupled with
scrupulous honesty, has become one of the prosperous farmers
of Johnson county; he bears an untarnished reputation, and
numbers bis friends as legion.
WILLIAM JOHN KIRKPATRICK
The American-born Irishman takes as naturally to the in-
stitutions of free government as "a young duck to water."
Breathing the atmosphere of liberty and educated amid the
progressive mentality of the American public schools, all those
instincts of the Irishman tending to generosity, neigbborliness,
integrity, patriotism, and intellectual progress are fully
aroused and given free rein for development and expression.
It has been quaintly said of the American Celt that "he is not
a chip off the old block — he is a new tree throughout." Cer-
tain it is that the world has come to recognize in the true
Irishman, born on American soil, a type of rare citizenship
worthy of the sacred name American. Almost without excep-
tion such men rise to distinction in their communities and be-
come moving factors in intellectual, social, and political life.
William John Kirkpatrick is an American of pure Irish
blood. His father, David Kirkpatrick, and his mother, Eliza
Jane Corbett, were born on the "ould sod." The history of
both these honored children of Ireland has been told in the
biography of David Kirkpatrick, published elsewhere in this
300
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
volume. It is a record to inspire pride and satisfaction in the
minds of their descendants. Next to the fact of his Irish par-
entage the matter which gives William John Kirkpatrick the
greatest feeling of pleasure is the fact that he was born in
Fremont township, Johnson county, Iowa, on the old farm
which was the scene of his father's early struggles and victo-
ries. This event occurred February 13, 1866.
Mr. Kirkpatrick had the advantages of an academic educa-
tion, coupled with the business training of a thorough course
in the Iowa City Academy and Commercial College, from
which he graduated in 1893. Possessing fine qualities as a
#?™
RI>II>KX('K OF \V. ,T. KIRKPATRICK
business man, the love of the farm predominated, and William
John today resides upon his farm southeast of Lone Tree, a
prosperous man, happy in the possession of a most estimable
wife and five bright children. His marriage, in 1905, to Miss
Anna McCabe, a native of Seymour, Iowa, daughter of William
McCabe and Elizabeth Lowry, pioneers of Appanoose county,
was most fortunate. Five children, as above indicated, have
blessed the union : William David, born June 30, 1906 ; Eliza-
beth Margaret, born November 30, 1907; Annabelle, born
March 30, 1909; Maybell Eula, born July 23, 1910; Helen
Gladys, born February 7, 1912.
W8.J. KIRKPATRIC1
BIOGRAPHICAL 30]
Mr. Kirkpatrick's first experience at farming was with liis
father, an occupation which he renewed after his graduation.
With the exception of a period following 1895, when he en-
gaged in the grain business at Lone Tree, practically his en-
tire life has been spent as a tiller of the soil. And there is no
more honorable occupation. While a resident of Lone Tree
Mr. Kirkpatrick was honored by the election to the position of
city councilman, a place which he filled with credit. In politics
a republican, he has stood always for good government and
progress.
Mr. Kirkpatrick is an honored member of the Masonic fra-
ternity. His local lodge is Abner No. 535, of Lone Tree, but
he is also a member of West Liberty Chapter, Iowa City
Knights Templar, and Davenport Consistory Scottish Rites.
He is also a member of the Mystic Shrine of Davenport. He
is a member of Eureka lodge No. 44, 1. 0. 0. F., Iowa City, and
of the Modern Woodmen of America, Lone Tree.
The traits peculiar to a true American Irishman predomi-
nate in William John Kirkpatrick. Love of country (which
involves pride of birth), love of home, generosity, loyalty to
friends — these are the attributes which have made him a
popular, beloved citizen of Fremont township. Some day the
mantle of his honored father will fall upon this only surviving
son. That it will be borne unsullied and with distinction is
without question. The name and the honor of the Kirkpat-
ricks will rest secure under the roof-tree of William John, of
Fremont township.
JACKSON CORBETT
Jackson Corbett is an Irishman who has thrived in the con-
genial atmosphere of American institutions. Like multitudes
of his countrymen, he only needed the boon of civil and relig-
ious liberty and the virgin soil of opportunity to enable him to
reach the terminal of success. His life, since he landed in
Johnson county in 1875, then a lad of eight years, has been
spent in the neighborhood of Lone Tree, and is an open book.
The fact that he numbers his friends by scores and that his
reputation for integrity in every walk of life is unimpeach-
able, tells the story of the progress of the Irish lad in Iowa.
302 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Robert Corbett, tbe father of Jackson, came to America in
1865 and settled in Johnson county upon a farm. When he
had gotten the enterprise well under way, he sent for his fam-
ily, and in 1873 his wife, Jane McMullin, and our subject came
over and joined the father in the new home. There the family
RESIDENCE OF JACKSON COKBETT
has continued to reside until the present. Father Corbett died
in 1896, but the mother is still living.
Jackson Corbett is a republican ; a member of the Knights
of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows of Lone Tree. His church
membership is with the Reformed congregation of Lone Tree.
JOSEPH R. GUTHRIE
Joseph R. Guthrie has continued the business of farming on
the old homestead taken up by his father and mother in Fre-
mont township in 1865. In this particular he gives an example
of continuity worthy of emulation by the young men of this
generation, and the success which has crowned his efforts and
faithfulness would seem to be sufficient reward for almost any
ordinary ambition. Mr. Guthrie was born in Boston, Massa-
chusetts, August 25, 1864. His parents were Andrew and Isa-
bella (Corbett) Guthrie, the former a native of Scotland and
the latter of Ireland. The father and mother came to America
about the same time (1860) and were married in this country.
BIOGRAPHICAL
303
(See sketch of the Kirkpatrick family, — Ed.) J. R. Guthrie's
parents came direct from Boston to Fremont township in 1865,
he being then about one year old, and settled on a part of the
present farm, owned and operated by their son. They had
two children: Joseph R., and Elizabeth, teacher in the public
schools of Lone Tree. The father and mother are both dead.
RESIDE XCE
Mr. Guthrie married Miss Nellie Babbitt, a native of Appa-
noose comity, Iowa. They have six children: Andrew S.,
Alida Grace, Isabella, May, John AYesley, and Margaret Jane.
He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a
republican in politics. His fraternal affiliation is with the
Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows, M. B. A., and M. W. A., be-
ing a member of the local lodges of Lone Tree, Iowa.
LEVI P. BURR
A statement of the history of Nelson and Lydia Burr, the
parents of Levi P. Burr, will be found in the biography of
John P. Burr, youngest brother of Levi P. Burr, published in
this volume. The attention of the reader is called thereto in
connection with this sketch. Levi P. Burr is the oldest sur-
viving child of Nelson and Lydia Burr, and was born in the
native state of his parents, Massachusetts, December 9, 184-6,
in Berkshire county. He attended the "village school not far
304 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
away 'mid Berkshire hills," and devoted his first practical
energies industrially in assisting his father, who was a farmer.
He accompanied his parents to Rock Island county, Illinois,
in 1860, where he continued the business of farming until 1865.
On April 5th of that year he enlisted in Company H of the
Forty-fifth Illinois Regiment of Veteran Volunteers, answer-
ing Abraham Lincoln's last call for volunteers "for one year,
or until the close of the war. " The surrender of Lee on April
9th virtually closed the rebellion, and Mr. Burr was honorably
discharged on July 12th of the same year. He immediately
returned to the old home in Rock Island countv, Illinois, and
RESIDENCE OF LEVI P. BURR
again took up the business of farming. This he continued until
1872, when he went to Nebraska and took up a homestead of
160 acres, remaining thereupon until 1882, when he sold his
homestead and bought the farm in Lincoln township where he
now resides. This he has farmed continuously until the pres-
ent time.
In 1882 Mr. Burr was married to Miss Elizabeth Matthie-
son, a native of Germany, who came to America with her par-
ents when seven years of age. They have three sons: Clar-
ence N. and Charles H., living at home ; Glenn W., married, to
Miss Lilian Holdeman of Lone Tree, and residing on a farm
near Iowa City. (Pee sketch of Jesse Holdeman in this vol-
ume. — Ed.)
BIOGRAPHICAL 305
Mr. Burr's first purchase of land in Lincoln township con-
sisted of 120 acres. This is his present home. He lias added
to bis holdings, and now owns 450 acres in Johnson county and
fifty acres in Washington county. Tie is a stockholder in the
River Junction Lumber company and the Lone Tree Savings
bank. This bank was the first one organized at Lone Tree.
Mr. Burr is one of its directors. Of late years he has been
directing his attention to the feeding and shipping of cattle
for the market, the shipments from his farms annually being
in excess of one hundred head. Mr. Burr may he fairly said
to be a typical successful Iowa farmer. He is a fine type of
manhood, an example to young men of what can he accom-
plished by industry and honesty.
His political convictions have aligned him with the repub-
lican party, and be has been honored with numerous local
offices. The familv attend the Reformed church of Lone Tree.
DAVID II. THOMAS
David II. Thomas, deceased, late of Lone Tree, Iowa, was
a carpenter by trade and worked at that occupation until about
eight months prior to his death, July 4, 1908. He was a native
of Marcy, New York, where he was born in August, 1833. His
father, Even D. Thomas, was a native of "Wales, and was
twelve months of age when his parents came to America. < )ur
subject's mother, Sarah Owens, was a native of Rhode Island.
Following their marriage, this excellent couple settled at
Marcy, New York, where they resided until their death. They
had seven children, John, William, Jesse, Even, our subject,
Benjamin, and Sarah Ann. All are now deceased, except
Even who is residing in Utica, New York.
David H. Thomas married Miss Elisa Bemister on Decem-
ber 30, 1856, who was born June 1, 1839, at Wilshire, England,
and came with her parents to America when she was eleven
years of age. The Bemister family also settled at Marcy,
Xew York, and the parents lived and died there. There were
nine children in the family, of whom three died in infancy.
The survivors are: Ann, Eliza, Harriet, Emma, Alfred, and
Xettie. David H. and his wife had eight children: Edward
L., married and living in Lone Tree; Clara, now Mrs. C. B.
306 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Andrews, living at Oakland, California; Frederick, married
and living in Fremont township ; Arthur and Alfred, living at
home ; Louisa, the oldest, died when she was three and one-half
years old ; Cornelia, died at the age of four and one-half years ;
Jennie, died when three and one-half years of age.
Mr. Thomas was a strong republican. He was lieutenant
and captain of the New York National Guards at Utica, New
York, for about thirty years. He was a member of the Knights
of Pythias at Lone Tree, and was honored with the highest
office in his lodge. His character was unimpeachable, and the
EESIDENCE OF MRS. DAVID H. THOMAS
universal verdict at this death was that Lone Tree had lost
one of its best citizens. His widow, beloved by her children
and friends, is a resident of Ph-emont township.
HARRIS CHILDS BUELL
On February 29, 1904, the cashier of the Lone Tree Savings
bank, at Lone Tree, Iowa, committed suicide, and the question
of a competent successor for this important position became
at once important. The president of the Lone Tree bank tele-
graphed to the Cedar Rapids National bank for its advice as
to a candidate for the vacancy. The latter institution replied
by sending at once one of its trusted employes, Harris Childs
Buell, who had been in its service three years under the tutor-
BIOGRAPHICAL 307
ship of that able banker, Ralph Van Vechten, who is now vice-
president of the Continental & Commercial National bank, of
Chicago, the largest hank of that city. .Mr. Buell appeared al
Lone Tree the next day, and was at once engaged for the posi-
tion. The judgment of bis sponsors has been abundantly vin-
dicated, for he is now in his ninth year of service as cashier,
and during his incumbency the deposits of the Lone Tree bank-
have increased fourfold and the stock has doubled in value.
Harris Childs Buell is a native son of Iowa : born at Mar-
shalltown, July 10, 1879. He received his education in his
RESIDENCE OF HARRIS CHILDS BUKLL
native town and at Mechanicsville, graduating from the high
school at the latter place in 1897. The fall following his gradu-
ation he began teaching in the public schools of Jones county,
an occupation which he continued in the same neighborhood
for three years. In 1900 he entered the employ of the Cedar
Rapids National bank, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the result
above stated.
Samuel Thompson Buell, father of our subject, was born at
Detroit, Michigan, May 4, 1838, and Delia Henrietta Childs,
his mother, was born at Suffield, Connecticut, October 26, 1848.
The elder Buell heard and responded to the first call of Abra-
ham Lincoln for 75,000 volunteers to serve three months in
defense of the Union, and enlisted as a private in Captain
Ripley's Tenth Company, First Vermont Regiment of Volun-
308 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
teers, serving the full time. Afterwards he enlisted for three
years in the Seventh Vermont Regiment of Volunteer Infan-
try, and served as quartermaster sergeant and lieutenant in
Company U. At the close of the war he came to Iowa and
engaged in merchandising at Mechanicsville and Marshall-
town.
The genealogy of the Buell family in America dates from
William Buell, "the immigrant," who was born in Chesterton,
Huntingdonshire, England, in 1610, and came to America in
1630, settling at Dorchester, Massachusetts. In 1635 he re-
moved to Windsor, Connecticut, where he died. His wife,
Mary, died at Windsor, September 1, 1684. From William
Buell the line of descent is as follows :
Samuel Buell and Deborah Griswold.
Captain Peter Buell and second wife, Martha Huntington,
widow of Noah Grant.
Major Elias Buell and Sarah Turner.
Elias Buell and Catherine Thompson.
Samuel Thompson Buell and Jane Briggs.
Samuel Thompson Buell and Delia Henrietta Childs.
On March 14, 1906, Harris Childs Buell and Miss Gladyce
Elizabeth Stoffel were married at Mechanicsville, Iowa. The
bride is a daughter of Henry P. Stoffel, born in Prussia June
30, 1846, and Louisa Elizabeth Jennings, born in Licking
county, Ohio, December 12, 1850. Gladyce Elizabeth was born
at Mechanicsville, Iowa, October 28, 1884. Mr. Stoffel came to
America with his parents in 1855, and settled at Racine, Wis-
consin; thence came to Iowa in 1866 and engaged in the boot
and shoe business.
One child, Louise Gladyce, born at Lone Tree, July 11, 1907,
is the fruit of the marriage of Harris Childs Buell and Gladyce
Elizabeth Stoffel. The couple are now occupying a modern
new home in Lone Tree, to which they removed in December,
1911, from the residence which Mr. Buell purchased at the time
of his marriage.
Mr. Buell has a brother, Samuel Kenneth, who is married
and residing at Independence, Iowa. They are the only chil-
dren. On both sides of the Buell household the ancestors
were participants in the Revolutionary War. Samuel Thomp-
BIOGRAPHICAL 309
son Bucll is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution,
as well as the Grand Army of the Republic.
Our subject is a stockholder in the Lone 'Free Savings bank
and owns considerable real estate in the village, lie lias been
honored with public office, having been elected treasurer of
the town of Lone Tree, Iowa, in 1912, to serve for two years.
He joined the Masonic fraternity in 1904, and has held the
office of treasurer in his lodge for four years. In 1903 he
united with the Modern Brotherhood of America, and lias
served as secretary of his lodge for seven years ; was elected
a delegate to the supreme convention of this order, held in
Denver in August, 1911. lie joined the Knights of Pythias in
1905, has attained the Past Chancellor's degree and is at
present Keeper of Records and Seal. He is a member of the
Royal Arch Masons at Iowa City. Mr. Bnell and his family
are attendants at the Reformed church. He is universally
respected, and takes a pardonable pride in his home and home
town.
JAMES W. LUX
One of the successful young business men of Lone Tree,
Iowa, is James W. Lux, lumber merchant, who was born in
Germany June 18, 1877. His parents, John and Mary (Kubi-
chek) Lux, came to America when he was eight years of age
and went direct to Johnson county, Iowa, where they located
at Iowa City. The father was a cabinet maker, and secured
immediate employment at his trade in the State University,
where he worked for thirteen years. Thereafter he took up
carpenter work. In his childhood days young James, who was
the only child, attended the public schools of Iowa City. When
he had grown to sturdy youth he worked in a grocery store
in that city. Thus he early imbibed the principles of merchan-
dising which have enabled him to make a success as a business
man. Concluding that knowledge of craftsmanship would be
a distinct advantage, he learned the moulder's trade, working
thereat for six years. An opportunity presenting for entering
the lumber business at Lone Tree, he took up this line and has
been engaged therein ever since, doing a thriving and prosper-
ous business.
310 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
In 1899 Mr. Lux was married to Miss Clara B. Syble, a
native of Iowa City, daughter of Michael and Barbara Syble.
Their pleasant home life attests the happiness of their union.
Politically Mr. Lux is a democrat and takes a true citizen's
interest in matters affecting the welfare of government, both
RESIDENCE OF JAMES W. LUX
local and general. He is an active worker in the fraternal
orders of Lone Tree, being a member of Omega lodge No. 728,
I. 0. 0. F., Lone Tree lodge No. 334, K. of P., and Wapashiek
tribe No. 122, Imp. Order Redmen, Iowa City. Socially and
commercially he stands high in his community, being esteemed
and respected by all.
JOHN MUMM
One of the sons of Germany who has made good in America
is John Mumin, son of Henry and Christina (Rague) Munim.
He was born June 1, 1826, and left the Fatherland for the new
world when twenty-four years of age. Both his parents died
in Germany. John Mumm first settled near Chicago, Illinois,
and later in Rock Island county, Illinois. He lived in the lat-
ter county about twenty years. In 1872 he removed to John-
son county and purchased a farm of eighty acres. This he
cultivated for ten years, when he sold it, immediately baying
another farm of 276 acres.
BIOGRAPHICAL 311
In 1866 he was married to Margaret Messer, a native oi
Germany, who bore him eleven children, two of whom died it
infancy. The surviving children are: Minnie, now Mrs. Ed
ward Price, living in West Liberty; Edward, married and liv
ins>- in Lone Tree; John, married and living in St. Paul, Min
RESIDENCE OF JOHN MVMM
nesota, where lie has a government position, was a soldier in
the Spanish-American war; Lonis, living- in Moline, Illinois;
May, now Mrs. Gnstaf Herring of Lone Tree, Iowa ; Emma,
living at home; Xellie, living at home; Harry, living in Can-
ada ; Gertrude, a teacher for four years in West Liberty.
Mrs. Mumm died in 1895. Her husband, at the advanced
age of eighty, is a resident of Lone Tree, respected by all who
know him and beloved bv his children.
OHAKLES PETRU
Charles Petru, a retired fanner of Lincoln township, now
residing at Lone Tree, was born in Bohemia, in October, 1857.
He is a son of John and Katherine (Thomas) Petru, natives
of Bohemia, and came with his parents to America when a lad
of fourteen. The family first settled in Chicago, where they
resided something over two years. There the elder Petru
worked at his trade of cabinet making. This occupation he
also continued a few vears later when the family removed to
312 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Iowa City. Tiring of town life and feeling a desire to pursue
the business of agriculture, John Petru bought a farm in New-
port township and moved thereupon. There he and his good
wife spent the remainder of their lives, he dying in 1907 and
she in 1908. They had five children : John, living in Chicago ;
Frank, living in Chicago ; our subject ; James, who was acci-
dentally killed upon the farm in Newport township a good
many years ago ; Mary, now Mrs. Jake Schonf elder, living in
Graham township.
When a lad our subject learned the watchmaker's trade.
He worked at this business two years in Chicago, but on his
arrival at Iowa City worked at the gunsmith trade temporari-
RESIDEXCE (IF CHARLES PETRL
ly. Later he took to farm life, and worked at that business
until he retired in the spring of 1911. He bought his home
farm in Lincoln township in 1888, which he still owns. In
July, 1887, he was married to Miss Mary Parezek, born in
Johnson county in October, 1871, daughter of Joseph and
Annie (Hradek) Parezek, both natives of Bohemia. Mrs.
Petru 's parents both came direct to Iowa City on landing in
America from their native country. They at once settled upon
a farm in Newport township, where they lived about twelve
years and then bought a farm in Lincoln township. They re-
sided on the latter place until 1906, when they removed to
Iowa City, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Parezek had
BIOGRAPHICAL 313
nine children: Joseph, living on a farm in Pleasant Valley
township; Frank, living on a farm in Big Grove township;
Charles, living on a farm in Lincoln township; .lames, living
on a farm in Scott township; Emil, living on a farm in Lin
coin township; John, living on a farm in Scott township;
.Mary, wife of our subject; Annie, now Mrs. John Nuizel, liv-
ing about seven miles northwest of Iowa City; Anna, now Mrs.
Fred Timmerman, residing with her parents at Iowa City.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Petru have five children: Charles,
living- on his father's farm in Lincoln township; George, Bes-
sie, Ernest, and Arthur, all living at home. Mr. Petru is a
member of the democratic party. Fraternally he is affiliated
with the M. W. A. of Lone Tree. The family are members of
St. Wenceslaus Catholic church. Mr. Petrie is the owner of a
beautiful residence at Lone Tree, and is enjoying the fruits of
his toil while vet in the noondav of life.
PPOF. WILLIAM A. WILLIS
Professor William A. Willis, principal of the Iowa City
Academy, has had wide experience as a principal and superin-
tendent of public schools in addition to his long service ns the
administrative head of Iowa City's famous preparatory
school. He is an alumnus of Beloit College, A. B. 1862, A. M.
1865, and began his public school work at La Salle, Illinois, in
1861, where he was superintendent of city schools from 1864
to 1868. From 1868 to 1870 he was principal of West Des
Moines schools, and from 1873 to 1884 (11 years) was superin-
tendent of schools at Baraboo, Wisconsin. In 1884 he became
superintendent of schools of Iowa City, an office which he held
until 1891, when he became principal of the Iowa City Acad-
emy, a position which he now holds, having just entered upon
his twenty-first year of service. Professor Willis is widely
known and esteemed as a schoolmaster; he is a member of the
Johnson County and the State Teachers Associations, in both
of which he takes an active interest, and is a life member of
the National Educational Association.
Professor Willis was born in Madison county, New York.
He is the son of Rev. E. D. Willis, who was a Presbyterian
314 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
minister. His father removed to Eockford, Illinois, in 1851,
where our subject spent his boyhood days. Following his
graduation at Beloit in 1862, young Willis enlisted in August
of that year in Company K, Seventy-fourth Regiment Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. He went to the front, but was discharged
in 1863 on account of disability. This was a great disappoint-
ment to him, for his heart was set on serving his coimtry in
that great struggle for freedom and the preservation of tbe
Union. However, his friends who have taken note of his great
services and usefulness as an educator are inclined to the
opinion that nowhere else could our subject have performed a
greater work for his country or his fellow men than he has
been permitted to perform during his long service in the
schoolroom. With no purpose of jest, they insist that his long-
training of the "young idea how to shoot" has done more to
preserve the citadel of liberty than he possibly could have done
by observing the manual of arms on a southern battlefield.
Professor Willis married Miss Laura R. Rehkopf, a sister
of the Grand Recorder of the A. 0. U. W. of Iowa. Seven chil-
dren have blessed their home, all living at this writing. Six
are graduates of the State University of Iowa. One daughter
is the wife of Professor Nutting of the S. U. I. Three sons
are professional men, one an electrical engineer, another a
civil engineer, and a third a physician. Miss Bertha Willis,
B. S., assists her father as a teacher of botany, zoology, his-
tory, and economy in the Iowa City Academy.
Our subject is the only descendant of his parents, both of
whom died in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Like his father, he chose
the Presbyterian church. His interest in religious work is
proven by the fact that he is an elder of the First Presbyterian
church of Iowa City, of which he has been a member since his
arrival in the city. Professor Willis resides at 308 Church
street, which has been his home for a number of years.
MALCOLM GLENN WYER
The present efficient librarian of the Iowa State University,,
at Iowa City, has been prepared by years of study and expe-
rience to fill his present responsible position. He holds the
degree of B. L. S., which he received in 1903, upon completing-
BIOGRAPHICAl
315
a course in the New York State Library School at Albany, one
of the best institutions of its kind in the United States. Be
had previously received other degrees, having won thai of
B. A. when he graduated from the State University of Minne
sota in 1899, and that of M. A. from that institution in 1901.
For two years after completing his classical education he held
a position in the First State Bank at Red Lake Falls, Minne
sota, but did not feel satisfied with his environments and fu-
ture prospects, so decided to take up the library course, in
which he felt a strong interest, and for which line of work he
has proven himself peculiarly well fitted. He has thus gravi-
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tated to the class of work for which his personal gifts and
abilities have given him a strong attraction, and for which he
has received the most thorough training. During 1903 and
1904 he was librarian of Colorado College at Colorado
Springs, and assumed the duties of his present position in Sep-
tember, 1904, through appointment. He is a member of the
American Library Association, the Iowa Library Association,
of which he was elected president in October, 1910; of The
State Historical Society, and of the Beta Theta Pi, a univer-
sity fraternity. He has a good standing with the community
and is highly regarded among members of university circles.
316 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Wyer is a native of Concordia, Kansas, born August 21 ,
1877, son of James I. and Ella E. (Glenn) Wyer, now living
at Excelsior, on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. When he was
about four years of age his parents moved to Red Lake Falls,
where they lived from 1881 until 1890, then went to Minne-
apolis. Malcolm G. Wyer attended the public schools in the
latter city and graduated from Central high school in 1895.
The parents have lived at Excelsior some seventeen years.
The father was formerly engaged in banking, having spent
the larger part of his life in this occupation, but is now a hard-
ware merchant. There were seven children in the family.
In 1906 Mr. Wyer was married, in Wisconsin, to Miss Char-
lotte M. Spalding, of Lincoln, Nebraska, daughter of F. M. and
Julia (Kingman) Spalding, the former a son of Dr. Phineas
Spalding, a noted physician of New Hampshire. Dr. Phineas
Spalding practiced many years in New Hampshire, and be-
came one of the leading physicians of his part of New Eng-
land. F. M. Spalding was born at Haverhill, New Hampshire,
and his wife in Vermont. One daughter has been born to
Mr. and Mrs. Wyer, Madeline. They are members of the First
Presbyterian church, Mr. Wyer being superintendent of the
Sunday school. They are well known in various circles and
have won many warm friends in the city. Mr. Wyer is much
interested in matters of a historical or literary nature, being
especially mindful of the work of The State Historical So-
ciety, which has done much to preserve and perpetuate early
history which is of great value to present and future genera-
tions.
JOSEPH A. SHALLA.
It has passed into a proverb that the Bohemian-Americans
of eastern Iowa are setting the pace of success. On the farm,
in the storeroom, in the counting house, in craftsmanship, in
manufacturing, in the arts, in education, the story is the
same — unceasing, exceptional, unanimous success. It is a
situation commanding the attention of economists and their
admiration likewise. Historians of racial characteristics and
the congenial influences of American conditions thereupon
will find data for interesting theses in the rise and progress of
BIOGRAPHICAL
:17
the Bohemian people in Iowa. It is not within the province of
the biographical writer to enter upon a discussion of the sub-
ject. He can only wonder at its aspects in passing. For pur-
poses of timely illustration it is sufficient to refer to the several
biographical sketches of successful Bohemians contained in
this History of Johnson county. The histories of adjacent
counties will be found to illumine the subject still further.
Joseph A. tthalla is a native of Iowa City, and is proud of
the fact ; but it is inconceivable that he is not also proud of the
companion fact that his parents were born in Bohemia. In his
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RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH A. SHAE
own person he combines the elemental ingredients of the suc-
cess of his race above referred to — Iowa and Bohemia. The
working out of his life story, after this first statement, be-
comes essentially mere detail. It is like a simple deduction in
logic : Bohemians are successful ; Iowa is the place of their
success; therefore, a Bohemian born in Iowa must become a
success. Enough for deductive reasoning. Back of the pre-
mise, the sequence, and the conclusion, however, there must
stand the personal equation, and that takes us from logic to
algebra in the analysis of our subject, which is changing text-
318 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
books in the middle of our biographical semester with a ven-
geance.
Joseph A. Shalla is worthy of this rhetorical nourish. He
is one of the really self-made young men of Iowa City. The
comparison is commonplace, but not odious. There is no point
of shame along the highway of honorable success through self
effort. The purpose of every original, ambitious, dynamic
man is to achieve victory — and the way is open, the pathway
clear, the honors transparent — just as certainly today as
they have ever been in the yesterdays. Mr. Shalla has trod a
beaten path, but his footsteps are discernible, because like
every other traveler on that highway, he has walked alone.
The parents of Mr. Shalla are Anthony and Mary (Maley)
Shalla, humble but honest and industrious natives of Bohemia.
The father has pursued the blacksmith trade in Iowa City dur-
ing all his residence here. The mother came overland in a
wagon from Burlington, Iowa, with her parents. Three sons
and one daughter constitute the family of Anthony and Mary
Shalla, all born in Iowa City. Joseph A. received his educa-
tion in the Iowa City public schools, and supplemented this
with a commercial course in the Business college, graduating
in the class of 1886.
Mr. Shalla began and has continued his career as a banker
in the Johnson County Savings bank. His first position was
that of clerk of collections, from which he was promoted to
bookkeeper. January 1, 1907, he was further promoted to the
position of assistant cashier, which office he now occupies.
His constituents in the democratic party saw fit to select him
as their nominee for the office of city treasurer. He was
elected and served from 1905 to 1909, two terms.
Mr. Shalla is happily married to Miss Anna M. Parizek, of
Iowa City, of which union one daughter has been born, Edna
Mildred. The Shalla family are members of the Catholic
church of Iowa City. Our subject owns his beautiful residence
on Church street. Young, energetic, resourceful, the future is
before him with inviting possibilities. He is on the highway,
the end of which is competence, peace, and honorable old age.
Every friend of his, and they are legion, will wish him God-
speed to the terminus.
BIOGRAPHICAL 319
DANIEL COBLETT
Among the hardy band of pioneers who "beat the railway
builders into Iowa City" was Daniel Oorlett, the subject of
this sketch. Mr. Corlett utilized the iron horse in his west-
ward journey from Ohio to Davenport, Iowa, in 1855, as far as
the steed traveled at that time; but from Davenport to Iowa
City lie was compelled to continue his journey by wagon. Even
this was a great improvement on the round-about steamboat
rides and ox-team journeys of the first settlers, and Mr. Cor-
lett reckoned himself quite an up-to-date traveler in his day.
But, even with all the modern prestige of a railway journey
from Ohio to Davenport, Mr. Corlett reached Iowa in time to
be registered among its pioneers and to write his name in
honorable letters upon the page of its history. The briefness
of duration when expressed in terms of development seems
amazing. .Mr. Corlett outran the iron horse in the race to
Iowa City by a year, and yet in the fifty-six years intervening
between his arrival and the date of this writing, the entire
continent has been spun over with the "unbreakable webs of
steel," and the most distant outposts of what was in his day
the dim frontier of the nation have became mighty cities,
shrieking with the clamor of the descendants of the first loco-
motive. It seems fortunate that Pioneer Corlett and his brave
compatriots reached the safe and solid ground of Iowa City
when they did; for in view of the wonderful speed with which
the mighty railway giant has stretched his tentacles across the
continent, it seems marvelous that they were not run over and
obliterated.
Daniel Corlett was born on a farm near Cleveland, Ohio, in
1833, and was the fifth in the order of birth of the seven chil-
dren of William Corlett and Ann Kinley, all of whom grew to
maturity. His early education and training were received in
Ohio. Mr. Corlett left the farm when seventeen years of age.
He spent two years in Cleveland, where he learned the car-
riage-making trade. He worked a year as a journeyman that
he might earn enough to pay his way to Iowa. Young Corlett
became an expert carriage maker in connection with his at-
tainments at the district school. This knowledge stood him in
good play on his arrival at his new Iowa home, and for a good
320 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
many years he plied his trade in the construction of vehicles
and the maintenance of a carriage and wagon repair shop.
Those were the days when wagons were made hy hand, and it
goes without saying, he being a true son of Ohio, that Daniel
Corlett made substantial vehicles. Some of his former pat-
rons are still living to bear witness to the excellence of his
workmanship. With the introduction of factory-made ve-
hicles, Mr. Corlett concluded to g*ive up the trade of carriage
making, but his association with the buggy family led him to
take up the related business of livery, and in this he continued
for a number of years. He also purchased and operated a
farm. For a considerable time prior to his death, however, he
THE OLD CORLETT HOMESTEAD
lived in peaceful retirement, enjoying the companionships of
the friends of his youth and the association of his family.
Mr. Corlett was most fortunate in his domestic relations.
June 3, 1859, he was united in marriage at Iowa City to Miss
Nancy McDonald, who had reached Johnson county in 1856,
the year preceding her future husband's arrival. Miss Mc-
Donald was born near Quebec, Canada, May 22, 1829, and was
the daughter of Angus and Mary (Andrews) McDonald, both
natives of Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in the early
twenties, settling near Quebec. Later they removed to To-
ronto, Ontario, and in 1843 decided to locate in the United
States, settling in Lockport, New York. There Mr. McDonald
BIOGRAPHICAL 321
died in 1852. Mrs. Corlett still lives in the pioneer residence,
northeast corner of Court and South Dubuque streets, which
she and her husband occupied immediately after their mar-
riage. Of the five children born to this couple, three are liv-
ing: Albert, of Colebrook River, Conn.; Clara, of Iowa City;
Jessie, residing in Montana.
Mr. Corlett was one of the early members of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Iowa City. His widow is also a member
of that church and one of the active workers therein. Fra-
ternally he was a member of the I. 0. 0. F. of Iowa City.
MISS CLARA CORLETT, daughter of Daniel and Nancy
Corlett, the well known and popular pharmacist at the Boerner
Pharmacy, Iowa City, was educated and raised in her native
city, where she has always resided. She is a graduate of the
Iowa City Academy and was a student in the Liberal Arts de-
partment of the State University of Iowa, graduating in phar-
macy with the class of 1904. She is recognized as an expert
prescriptionist, and her knowledge of the retail drug trade is
bevond the ordinary.
PROFESSOR THOMAS HUSTON MACBRIDE,
M. A., Pn. D.
In the science of botany, which has been his special field of
investigation and activity for nearly forty years, no man
stands higher among his fellow scientists and educators of the
nation than Thomas Huston Macbride, professor and head of
the department of botany, State University of Iowa. His asso-
ciation with this department of natural science was born of
inherent devotion from youth, hut to the inclination of taste
he has added the sinews of careful training and critical re-
search, so that his prowess in his mature years is that of the
fully-developed mental athlete. The strength of Professor
Macbride, both as a devotee and student of cryptogamic flora,
is manifest to all who have come under his tutelage or shared
in his fellowship. But Professor Macbride is more than a
specialist — he is a scientist, and this involves a love of kin-
dred topics dear to the heart of the student of nature. Ge-
ology, the graveyard of the flora and fauna of the ages, in-
322 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
evitably fascinates him with its epitaphs. Of both these
departments of physical scieuce Professor Macbride is an ex-
pert and critical student.
Professor Macbride 's connection with the State University
of Iowa dates from 1878, when he was elected to the chair of
botany. He was at this time thirty years of age, and it will
therefore be apparent that he has given largely of the best
years of his life to the ministry of education. Vigorous ser-
vice and ripe experience yet remain to him, however, with
which fittingly to crown on octogenary of devoted effort, a
point on the Hills of Athens which every friend of bis hopes to
RESIDENCE OF PROFESSOR THOMAS HUSTON MACBRIDE, M. A., PH. D.
see him reach "with eyes undimmed and natural vigor un-
abated."
Thomas Huston Macbride was born in Tennessee in 1848.
His parents were James and Sarah (Huston) Macbride. Like
scores of fellow men of affairs in Iowa, he received his pri-
mary and classical education in the public schools and colleges
of his adopted state. Following Ids graduation from the first
named, he matriculated at Lenox College, Hopkinton, Iowa.
In 1869, Monmouth conferred upon him the degree of A. B.,
and in 1873 his alma mater gave him the degree of A. M. Fol-
BIOGRAPHICAL 323
lowing his graduation at Lenox, he became an instructor there,
ami later at Monmouth, Illinois, and in the public schools of
Kansas and Scott county, Iowa. Regularly since 1887 he has
delivered public addresses on scientific subjects, including sev-
eral addresses annually at Davenport, Iowa. He is the author
of the text-book, "Slime Moulds," and many other scientific
publications, and his magazine articles are voluminous. His
botanical research extends to the division of forestry, in which
he is rated as an expert. His attainments have been given
substantial recognition in bis election to the presidency of the
Iowa Academy, State Conservation Commission, Botanical
Section of the American Association. Professor Macbride is
director of University Extension S. U. I. He was at one time
dean of the Graduate College of the University. He has long
been fellow of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science ; is a fellow of the American Botanical Society; vice
president Sigma Xi; member Washington Academy of Sci-
ence; member of the Board of Park Commissioners of Iowa
City; one of the promoters of the Triangle Club; member of
the Baconian Club, of Iowa City.
Dr. Macbride 's wife was formerly Miss Harriet Diffen-
derfer, and the domestic relations of the couple are most
happy. They have been blessed with two children: Jean,
graduate of S. U. I., class of 1905, and Philip, graduate S. IT.
L, class of 190fi. The latter is married and a resident of Se-
attle, Washington, where he is engaged in the practice of law.
Dr. Macbride spent the summer of 1911 at the research sta-
tion on the west bank of Okoboji lake, where prominent
students of botany, geology, zoology, and physical geography
were assembled. He is an enthusiast on the Spirit-Okoboji
group of Iowa lakes, and predicts that they will become the
mecca for scientists of the entire country, because of their un-
usual and varied opportunities for science study and investi-
gation. Just as the natural beauty of the lakes makes them
the favorite playground for the people of the middle west, so,
he insists, their topography and surroundings make them es-
pecially attractive to men of science. Already, he states, a
movement is under way to establish there a great telescope on
"the highest point in Iowa" to study astronomy. On account
of the great natural beauty of watercourse and landscape at
324 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
these resorts, Dr. Macbride gives it as his opinion that art as
well as science will claim them as favorites.
WALTER MORTON DAVIS
In the regions celebrated for the production of the world's
premier fruits it is oftentimes remarked that the choicest
specimens are shipped far away to the centers of consumption
and that which remains at the home market is of secondary
quality. To the "home folks" this fact is sometimes the
source of humiliation when confronted by the demands of in-
quisitive guests for a sight of the wonderful products whose
fame has filled the marts of the distant cities. In "brain-
training" cities also this condition is frequently prevalent.
The vigorous and progressive alumni wave farewell to the
stately elms and classic halls of alma mater and are absorbed
by the ever-yawning maw of insatiate progress in the great
metropolis or lured by the "call of the wild" to the frontiers
of the romantic west. It is the exception when the gifted
native son settles among the scenes of his childhood and dem-
onstrates by an honorable, successful career the coaching pow-
er of his home university.
Disclaiming any Mattering purpose to "point with pride"
to Walter Morton Davis or to catalogue him in the awesome
list of "the man who," it is proper to recite the plain story
of his life and let the reader draw his conclusions of its moral.
It has been already indicated by inference that he is a na-
tive of Johnson county. The date of his birth was November
30, 1868, and the scene of it was the farm of his father, Thomas
R. Davis, six miles west of Iowa City. Davis, senior, be it
known, was one of those plain, heroic products of the nine-
teenth century (born January 11, 1825) who, with his numer-
ous fellows, carved a matchless civilization out of the territory
of Louisiana. He settled in Johnson county in 1852 and hon-
ored himself by selecting as his wife Elizabeth Thomas, daugh-
ter of Oliver Thomas, a prominent pioneer of Johnson
county of the early '40s. Elizabeth was born in Montgomery
county, Wales, January 12, 1828, and came to this country
with her parents when seven years of age. A coincidence in
family acquaintance is the fact that for a short time after their
BIOGRAPHICAL 325
arrival in America Oliver Thomas and family lived at Ebons-
burg, Pennsylvania, where the paternal grandparents of Wal-
ter Morton Davis resided. As the latter were of Welsh an-
cestry, it is not difficult to trace the racial attraction which
drew the families ultimately more closely together. Oliver
Thomas made the journey from Pennsylvania to Iowa in 1841
on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers via St. Louis to Muscatine,
thence overland to destination, an arduous trip considering
the primitive methods of transportation.
This worthy pioneer and his wife located on a farm four
miles southwest of Iowa City where thev reared to manhood
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and womanhood a family of hoys and girls who later on con-
tributed largely to the agricultural development of the county.
Thomas R. Davis and Elizabeth Thomas were married March
20, 1856, and four children were born to them : Hattie Davis
Reese, who died September 18, 1893; Clara Davis, now Mrs.
E. F. Kerr, of Fort Collins, Colorado; Edwin T. Davis,
a prominent stockman of Johnson county, and Walter M.
Davis.
For almost half a century the elder Davis resided on the
farm developed by his own thrift and industry in University
township. In the fall of 1904 the parents moved to Iowa City
and made their home for a time with their son, Walter M.,
326 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
where the father died the following spring, on March 14, 1905,
at the ripe age of 80 years. The mother, Elizabeth, contin-
ued to make her home with her two sons and on January 18,
1911, she too went to her reward after having passed the 83rd
milestone on the highway of years.
To the honesty, integrity and industry of these two worthy
pioneers and their great devotion to the welfare of their
children the subject of this sketch attributes the greater por-
tion of whatever success he may have attained.
The sturdy stuff of the Davis stock is well illustrated by
the case of Robert R., a brother of Thomas R., who was a mem-
ber of the Twelfth U. S. Infantry, participated in the battles of
Antietam and Gettysburg and later on was taken prisoner at
the battle of the Wilderness and confined to Andersonville
prison for eleven months, his period of enlistment having ex-
pired several months prior to his release from prison.
Walter M. Davis received his early education at the country
schools followed by graduation from the Iowa City Academy
in 1891. Four years later he received his diploma from the
department of liberal arts of the great Iowa University. Hav-
ing in mind the legal profession, he completed one year of the
university law course prior to graduation ; but was interrupt-
ed for two years by the power of the press, which adopted him
as a disciple of Franklin and placed him in the editorial chair
of the Iowa City Daily Republican from June, 1895, to Febru-
ary, 1897. On the latter date he resumed the study of law in
the State University, and, graduating in 1898, was admitted
to the bar and began practice the same year in the office where
he is now located.
In 1900 Mr. Davis formed a partnership with Charles M.
Dutcher, and in the spring of 1906 the firm name was changed
to Wade, Dutcher & Davis by the addition of Hon. M. J. Wade.
It is no detraction from other lawyers of central Iowa to say
that this firm is one of the ablest and most popular in the
state.
Two years after his induction into the practice of law,
namely, on September 16, 1902, Mr. Davis was united in mar-
riage to Miss Elsie Carpenter, of Burlington, Iowa, a daugh-
ter of Gr. B. P. and Ella Carpenter, both natives of Iowa and
residents of Burlington. Miss Carpenter was born July 27,
BIOGRAPHICAL 327
1873. Her father was a .jeweler at Burlington and died a
number of years ago. Mrs. Carpenter is now living with her
daughter at Iowa City. .Mrs. Davis attended the Burlington
high sehool and later was a student at the University, Oherlin.
Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been blessed with three sons,
Thomas, who died in infancy; Richard, horn January 14, 1!M)7,
and Edwin, born January 15, 1909.
Mr. Davis has large real estate interests around Iowa City,
and this current year (1911) was elected president of the
Johnson County Savings bank. He is recognized as one of
the influential republicans of the state and was a member of
Governor Cummins' staff during the two terms of his office.
Mr. Davis is a member of the Presbyterian church and of the
three Masonic bodies of Iowa City— the Commandery, the
Chapter, and the Blue Lodge No. 4. While in college he was
a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and of McLain
chapter Phi Delta Phi.
REV. ALOYS JOSEPH SCHULTE, DEAN
Rector St. Mary's Catholic Church
Perhaps to no man more than the pastor of a popular,
prosperous church does the opportunity come to write the
impress of his personality and genius upon a community.
The church, by reason of its venerable claims of divine author-
ity and its long ministrations in the interest of humanity,
both spiritual and temporal, receives the attention, the con-
fidence, and the cooperation of mankind. It therefore follows
that its accredited servants, and particularly its clergy, have
the open sesame to the hearts and the minds of its communi-
cants and hold a general voucher for the respect and trust of
the people. Armed with the credentials of priesthood, sup-
plemented by an individual personality of culture and origin-
ality, the pastor of an influential church, as stated above, is
in a position to wield tremendous influence both in the spirit-
ual and the secular affairs of his community. Add to his
advantage the elements of a pure life, a quick conscience, and
exhaustless energy in the discharge of duty, and such a pastor
becomes a leader among his fellow men and a person of place
and power.
328 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
The essential elements of priestly success recited above
find concrete expression in the person of Rev. Aloys Joseph
Schulte, Dean, rector of St. Mary's Roman Catholic church,
of Iowa City, Iowa. For twenty years following September
17, 1891, Father Schnlte has served as pastor of this well
known church, and for four years dating from February 6,
1907, he has served as dean of the Iowa City Deanery, one of
the most important in the Diocese of Davenport. During the
years of his pastorate and deanship, which involved the priest-
ly offices of the parish of St. Mary's, the superintendency of
St. Mary's school, and the advisory oversight of twenty-four
pastors and churches of the deanery, Father Schulte has
grown constantly in the estimation and affection of his people,
his fellow priests and the general public, and today it may be
truthfully said of him that no man in eastern Iowa stands
higher among the Catholic clergy than he. In appreciation
of this fact Ave think that we cannot do better than to quote
here the words of Rev. John F. Kempker, of Davenport, form-
er pastor of St. Mary's church. Father Kempker, in a chap-
ter of the forthcoming History of the Catholic Church of
Iowa, says of Dean Schulte:
"As a boy in school, a student at college, as seminarian
and as a young professor of a new seminary, Father Schulte
had always displayed a most charming disposition; gifted,
talented, sanguine, the pink of propriety, a model of good
example, apt in his studies, diligent in application ; adding a
fine mind to an exquisitely good character, he evinced that
rarest of all acquisitions, sagacity and good common sense.
It was owing to those qualifications and his persistent appli-
cation that the St. Ambrose Preparatory Seminary had grown
with such unexampled prosperity. . . From his college
presidency, and heralded with the best record, he came to St.
Mary's church, where he was received with unfeigned gratifi-
cation and with the fullest measure of confidence in his pro-
bity and competence. . . In this he did not give disappoint-
ment. . . Father Schulte has shown himself unusually
strong, and possessing abilities which might well be envied by
anyone. . . He boasted not, but accomplished his work."
This is high praise from a predecessor, and will be appre-
ciated by the legions of friends of the popular Iowa City
BIOGRAPHICAL 329
priest, who arc prepared to add their voices in approval.
(Seldom a man wins so universally the cordial esteem of his
cotemporaries and the public as has Dean Schulte. J lis mod
esty in the midst of success confirms the quality of his char-
acter.
The Schulte family, of which our Dean Schulte is a descend-
ant, came originally from Meppen, Province of Hanover, Ger-
many. Grandfather Schulte reached America about 1790 and
settled in New York. Thence he removed to Cincinnati, where
the father of the dean was born. The mother of Dean Schulte
was born in St. Mary's, Ohio, and removed with her parents
to St. Louis, Missouri, where she was married. Six children
were born to this couple, of whom two died in infancy. Dean
Schulte is now the sole survivor of his family. Two of his
sisters entered Notre Dame, of Milwaukee, namely, Sister
Mary Amanda, and Sister Mary Clotilde. The former had
been a religieuse eighteen years and the latter forty-eight
years prior to her death. Sister Mary Clotilde opened
schools under the Notre Dame sisters in Canada, at Berlin,
Waterloo, Walkerton, Mildmay, and other towns, and was a
Sister Superior for thirty years. A third sister was married.
One brother died when quite young.
Dean Schulte 's parents were H. Joseph and Mary Helena
Schulte, whose birthplaces are noted in the preceding para-
graph. Subsequent to their marriage in St. Louis Mr. and
Mrs. Schulte resided in that city for twenty years. They were
pioneers of Missouri. In 1854 they removed to Fort Madison,
Iowa, where they resided until their death. Dean Schulte was
born in Fort Madison September 17, 1858. He declares that
his boyhood days were just like those of ordinary children,
and he remembers them with pleasure. From early life, how-
ever, he was religiously inclined, and this feeling was given
additional impulse by his educational training, the primary
portion of which was received in the parochial schools of Fort
Madison. Upon graduation from the Fort Madison schools
he entered St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
where he took a four years' classical course. This was fol-
lowed by a two years' classical course at St. John's University.
Collegeville, Minnesota, under the Benedictine Order. From
the latter he received the degrees of A. B. and A. M.
330 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Having decided to devote his life to the priesthood, Dean
Schnlte entered St. Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa, and took
a complete theological course, graduating with honor. He was
ordained to the priesthood December 28, 1881, at Davenport,
Iowa, by Right Reverend John McMullen, D. D., first bishop
of the diocese of Davenport. Father Schulte bad the dis-
tinguished honor of being the first priest ordained by Bishop
McMullen in the diocese of Davenport. Following his ordina-
tion, he was appointed (January, 1882), assistant to Very
Reverend H. Cosgrove, D. IX, who later became bishop of Dav-
enport. In the succeeding September the young priest was
appointed president of St. Ambrose's Preparatory Seminary,
Davenport, now St. Ambrose College. In this work he was
eminently successful. From the modest school conducted in
two rooms of St. Marguerite's Parochial school building the
seminary advanced until, in 1884, ground was broken for the
splendid new college building now standing on North Locust
street. The school was conducted as a day school only until
1886, when a boarding school was added. Father Schulte con-
tinued in charge as president until September 17, 1891, when
he was transferred by Right Reverend II. Cosgrove, D. D.,
successor of Bishop McMullen as bishop of Davenport, to take
charge pro tern for one year at St. Mary's church, Iowa City.
The same day he arrived in Iowa City and took up the work
as successor to Rev. J. F. Kemper, known as a zealous priest
and popular worker.
Pastor Schulte 's administration of the affairs of St. Mary's
is known far and wide. From the day of his arrival to the
present writing the church and the community have felt the
impulse of his zeal, consecration, and character. Among
Catholics and Protestants alike he is esteemed as a manly
man and a square citizen, while within his own congregation
he is generally beloved as a religious teacher and pastor. His
appointment as dean on February 6, 1907, "in recognition of
services rendered," was recognized by all his friends as a
fitting sequel to the celebration of his twenty-fifth anniversary
of ordination to the priesthood. At various times since this
appointment he has been a counsellor of the bishop, and has
performed the duties pertaining to the Deanery with ability
and wisdom. The cities embraced in the Iowa City Deanery
BIOGRAPHICAL 331
under Father Schulte's administration are: Iowa City, em-
bracing three churches and Mercy Hospital; Oxford, North
English, Marengo, Brooklyn, Victor, Cosgrove, What Cheer,
Anna, Kinross, Colfax, Newton, Valeria, Nichols, Richmond,
Riverside, Hills, Morse, Nolan's Settlement, Newport, and
Solon, with one church each, and each having a resident pas-
tor, Solon having an out-appointment known as Saints Peter
and Paul. St. Mary's church, Iowa City, is the largest in the
Deanery, having a membership of over two hundred families
and a parochial school, St. Mary's, with an average attend-
ance of two hundred pupils, including a high school with about
sixty pupils and four teachers.
Under Father Schulte's vigorous pastorate St. Mary's
school was reorganized September 11, 1892, and on its reopen-
ing in 1893 the Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee took
charge, who conducted it for three years. They were fol-
lowed by the Sisters of Charity, B. V. M., of Dubuque, Iowa,
in 1896, and the latter have continued in charge ever since
with great success. In 1897 the first steps were taken for the
organization of St. Mary's high school, and its first class
graduated in 1900. The old addition to St. Mary's school, used
for school purposes and living rooms for the Sisters, was torn
down in April, 1911, to make way for the new and modern
building, costing $30,000, completed and occupied by Thanks-
giving, 1911. This building is one of the finest of its class in
the diocese. It is equipped with living rooms for the Sisters,
an auditorium for the meetings of the societies, and a chapel
for the church services and the week-day church meetings in
the winter months. Dean Schulte naturally 7 looks upon this
edifice and the activities associated therewith as one of the
crowning successes of his pastorate.
In 1892 the priest's residence of St. Mary's was built, and
in 1908 St. Mary's church building was remodeled at an ex-
pense of $16,000. This is one of the most beautiful church edi-
fices in Iowa. Its interior is a marvel of architecture, and its
statuary T is not excelled anywhere. Harmony and dignity in
its construction mark the hand of the accomplished artist. In
addition to the main auditorium there is a commodious chapel
in the basement for the accommodation of the week-day meet-
ings of the church in the winter time. The societies of the
332 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
church are: Gentlemen's Sodality, Altar Society, Young-
Ladies' Sodality, Children's Sodality, League of the Sacred
Heart, St. Joseph's Benevolent Society and the Roman Catho-
lic Mutual Protective Society, Branch No. 3, Alumni Associa-
tion.
As a preacher Dean Schulte ranks among the leading pul-
piteers of his church. His sermons are practical expositions
of the Christian faith, given with the chann of the orator and
the zeal of an evangelist. He is foremost among his brethren
as an exponent of the doctrines of Catholicism. Following the
purposes formed when a mere youth, he has given his life in
devotion and self-sacrifice to the cause of religion and hu-
manity. At fifty-three he is in the prime of life, vigorous,
alert, able, active. Surely he is to be congratulated upon the
victories he has achieved and the friendships he has won.
The affections of a devoted people are the visible evidence of
his character.
FREDERICK THEOBALD
Frederick Theobald was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl-
vania, June 11, 1838. He was the eighth child in a family of
nine of "William and Jane (Yager) Theobald, natives of Ger-
many, who came to America in 1833, locating first at New
York and thence removing to Philadelphia, where the family
resided eleven years. From Philadelphia they removed to
Wyoming, Luzerne county, and afterwards to Wilkesbarre in
the same county. Mr. Theobald was a shoemaker by trade and
established a profitable business as a dealer in boots and shoes.
He removed with his family to Iowa City in 1855, where he
continued in the shoe manufacturing business to 1862. Wil-
liam Theobald was born in Germany May 25, 1802, and died at
Iowa City July lfi, 1882. His wife was born in Germany in
1798 and died at Iowa City in April, 1883. The children of
this excellent couple, in the order of birth, are: William, died
in infancy in Germany; William II, born in Germany in 1827,
died in Johnson county, Iowa, October 21, 1875 ; Mary, born in
Germany in 1832; Bernhard and Fiesler, both deceased;
Philip, born in the United States in 1834; Jane, widow of
August Schmidt, residing with Frederick ; our subject ; John
BIOGRAPHICAL 333
L., Sr., printer, resides in Iowa City (see sketch in another
part of volume).
Frederick Theobald first engaged in the retail shoe business
in Iowa City in 1862. lie continued therein for forty years,
retiring from business life in 1902. He has taken a prominent
part in the affairs of Iowa City. He was mayor of Iowa City
in 1877, and served as alderman from the third ward for
twelve years, being first elected in 1874. He is a democrat in
politics, and was member of the central committee and also
served as chairman. Fraternally he is associated with Kos-
kiuseo lodge No. 6, I. O. 0. F., of Iowa City, having passed
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RESIDENCE (IF FREDERICK THEOBALD
through all the chairs, and in 1874 represented the lodge in
the Grand Lodge at Des Moines.
The long business career of Mr. Theobald is emphasized
by the fact that not a single man now in business in Iowa City
was here when he came. His father's old home was on North
Dodge street, above the church. The beginning of this place
of business was in a small frame building, 30 feet deep, until
1866, when a brick replaced the frame, he having remodeled the
front. In 1892 the business demanded more room, and be
made the building 60 feet deep, again remodeling and putting
in a metallic front. In 1011 he again remodeled the block with
an addition of 20 feet more, an entire new front, with plate
334 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
glass windows. The Theobald block now is strictly modern
with an np-to-date shoe store.
Mr. Theobald is a member of the Old Settlers Association
of Johnson county. He is a man well and favorably known
throughout Johnson and Iowa counties, a man of retentive
memory, and has lived to see Iowa City develop and has helped
materiallv in its building. His home is on Church street.
THOMAS EDGAR MURPHY
The name of Murphy is derived from Flaithblieartach
'Murchadha, chief of Cinel, Boghaine, who was slain A. D.
1030, and comes clown in its various forms as Murchadha,
'Murchadha, 'Murphy, Murphy. Patrick Murphy, the
father of Thomas Edgar Murphy, was a native of County Kil-
kenny, Ireland, who emphasized his Celtic origin by being
born on St. Patrick's Day, 1819. But, while proud of his na-
tive land and the ancient history of his family, Patrick Mur-
phy longed for the atmosphere of political and industrial
freedom, and came to America when a young man a little past
his majority, and cast his lot for a time in the state of Pennsyl-
vania. There, in 1846, in Monroe county, he married Anna
Eilenberger, born in that county May 1, 1831 — a daughter of
one of the prominent German families of Penn's common-
wealth. Her father, Jacob Eilenberger, and his wife, Anna
Brown, were the parents of a large family, of which Mrs. Pat-
rick Murphy is the sole survivor. The Eilenbergers were
farmers, and Jacob and his wife lived and died in Monroe
county, Pennsylvania. Patrick Murphy, after his marriage to
Anna Eilenberger, resided for a short time in Pennsylvania,
and then removed with his wife to New Jersey, where he
worked as a miner for a brief period ; thence he went to War-
ren county, Illinois, where he pursued his chosen calling of
farming. In 1857 he settled at North Liberty, Iowa, buying
an improved farm, with a double log cabin. The following
year he built a substantial home. In early life Mrs. Murphy
was a Presbyterian, but she was converted to the Catholic
faith at Monmouth, Illinois. Mr. Murphy was one of the
charter members of St. Patrick's church, of Iowa City. Thir-
teen children, two of whom died in infancv, were born to
BIOGBAPHICAX 335
Patrick Murphy and Anna Eilenberger, namely: Marietta,
wife of James White, residing on the old Phil Clark farm in
Newport township; Anna, wife of Mat J. Rhea, Iowa City;
William F., attorney, member of law firm of Murphy & Bailey,
Iowa City; Charles A., married to Emma Bishop, residing at
Iowa City; our subject, Thomas Edgar, of Iowa City; James,
a prominent physician of Iowa City, who died March 12, 1902 ;
Catherine, deceased, wife of James Denneny; Miss Nell, Liv-
ing at home; Elizabeth, deceased, wife of John Nolan, of
Sioux City; Maurice, wife of D. F. Fitzpatrick, health officer
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of Iowa City; and Miss Bertilla Murphy, residing at home.
The venerable father passed away December 18, 1887, but tin-
mother survives, and has been permitted to look into the faces
of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She reached her
eighty-first year in 1912.
Thomas Edgar Murphy was born on the farm at North
Liberty, Iowa, May 25, 1860. One of the picturesque homes of
Penn township has since been erected on that pioneer loca-
tion. By lineal descent an Irish-German, and by birth an
American, a mixture of national characteristics which, under
the genial conditions of freedom and opportunity in the greal
336 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
west, make for citizenship of the first order, Thomas Edgar
is a direct descendant of the original Murphy family through
his father, Patrick Murphy and Anna (Eilenberger) Murphy,
as above stated. On the death of his father, December, 18S7,
having always lived on the old home, he succeeded his father,
continuing the farm until 1907. The ill health of his wife
caused him to quit farming and move to Iowa City, but he still
retains his residence on the old homestead where he first saw
the light of day fifty-two years ago.
While farming he served as township clerk of Penn town-
ship, and was also justice of the peace for several years. He
was director and vice president of the North Liberty Savings
bank, of North Liberty, Iowa. In connection with his land
interests in Penn township he owns a fine farm of 162 acres in
Scott township, in all over 600 acres in Johnson county. Ho
has also been engaged in the real estate and insurance busi-
ness a number of years with offices at 129V2 East College
street, Iowa City.
He was married on the old farm at North Liberty, April 12,
1899, to Miss Josephine Zeithamel, daughter of Joseph and
Mary Zeithamel. The former died in September, 1887; the
latter still survives.
Two bright children have blessed this union, Helen Murphy,
born February 16, 1900, and James Emmet, born March 9,
1902. We are sorry to record that Mrs. Murphy has been an
invalid for a number of years. The children attend the Pa-
rochial school of St. Patrick's parish, Iowa City. The family
are members of St. Patrick's Catholic church.
He is now serving his second term as county chairman of
the Johnson county democratic central committee ; was candi-
date for nomination under the primary law for sheriff of
Johnson county and was defeated by the narrow margin of
twenty-four votes, his own township giving him every vote but
one, and Madison and adjoining townships every vote ex-
cept two. He was chairman of the democratic central com-
mittee during the Parker-Roosevelt campaign, and this was
the only county in Iowa that gave Parker a majority; also it
was the only campaign in which every candidate on the local
democratic ticket was elected. He has been a delegate of his
party to state and congressional conventions, and has served
BIOGRAPHICAL 337
efficiently. He has never been a voluntary candidate for any
office. His strength and ability have been manifest in the
management of campaigns. Be lias taken an active interest
in North Liberty.
Dr. .lames Murphy, who died .March 12, 1902, at Mercy
Hospital, Iowa City, was a brother of our subject, and a man
of prominence in the medical profession. Born on the old
homestead near North Liberty August .">, 1K(i:;, he was educated
in the Johnson county public schools. On reaching manhood,
he entered the State University of Iowa and graduated from
the Medical Department in the class of 1888. Through the in-
fluence of his friend, Dr. W. F. Peck, he was appointed physi-
cian and surgeon for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Pail-
road in Kansas and Colorado, where the road was under con-
struction. Five hundred men were under his oversight, and he
continued in charge of that large force until his return to Iowa
City. His death was widely deplored. Hundreds of men,
women and children felt a personal loss in his passing, and
every city newspaper paid a glowing tribute to his ability and
manhood. A devout Catholic, be died in the faith of his
father, his funeral being held from St. Patrick's church,
March 14, 1902.
LOVELL SWISHER
Some one has said that the best history of any country is a
history of the lives of its people. It would be impossible to
write a true history of Johnson county and pass over the
names of persons who were important factors in the home-
spun drama and have been identified with the growth and de-
velopment of the county. Of that courageous company known
as early settlers in Johnson county, many forms stand out in
clearly defined outline, compelling the present generation to
recognize their lives and characters, and through the passing
years there filters to us something of their steadfastness which
enabled them to conquer the wilderness and convert its re-
sources to the betterment of mankind.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Johnson county,
horn October 14, 1843, and a son of pioneer parents. The
name of his father, Benjamin Swisher, after whom the town of
338 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Swisher is named, will always be associated with the earlier
history of the county, for he was of that type of men who,
amid wild surroundings, helped to pave the way for a greater
civilization.
Benjamin Swisher was horn in Pickaway county, Ohio,
April 2, 1817, son of John and Catherine Swisher. "When but
four years old his father died, and three years later his
mother passed away. He was then seven years old, and for
the next fourteen years lived with his uncle. In 1840 he came
to Iowa and for about one year remained in Van Buren
county, and in March, 1841, he came to Johnson county. Dur-
ing the first two years of his residence in the county he lived
on what was known as the Iowa bottoms in what is now Mon-
REKTDEXCE OF LOVELL SWISHEE
roe township. He then bought out one who about one year
previous had taken up a claim and built a house and black-
smith shop, but becoming sick and discouraged, was very glad
to exchange it for a team of horses and what belongings he
could load on his wagon. This was prior to any government
survey and all claims were made in a general way and after-
wards made to conform with boundary lines and section cor-
ners. It was not until a survey had been made that the lands
were placed on the market, and Mr. Swisher had to wait until
that time before securing full title from the government for
the land he occupied.
BIOGRAPHICAL 339
There was an unwritten law among the earlier settlers
which was ofttimes more forcible than that of the courts. An
experience which Mr. Swisher liad soon after acquiring his
claim demonstrated that fact. It seems that some person, a
newcomer, had taken some advantage of the law and by an
underhanded way had attempted to deprive Mr. Swisher of a
portion of his claim and had the papers recorded in advance.
The news of the transaction soon spread around the little
neighborhood and in a short time the settlers had assembled
and informed Mr. Swisher that if he said the word they would
see that the land should not be occupied by the newcomer. Mr.
Swisher said that he did not want to cause any trouble, but
that he thought he was entitled to at least 15 acres adjoining
and which he had partly improved. It was only a few days
later that Mr. Swisher was presented with a deed for the 15
acres.
As time went by Mr. Swisher gradually added adjoining
lands to the original tract until he possessed 437 acres situ-
ated on section seven in Jefferson township.
Mr. Swisher was married May II), 1841, to Mrs. Elizabeth
Whitmore, formerly from Newport, Rhode Island. Tins was
the first wedding in Jefferson township, Johnson county. To
them were born eight children: Lovell A., Abe E., John P.,
Benjamin P., Catherine Ballard, Stephen A., and two de-
ceased.
Lovell Swisher, Sr., grew to manhood on the home farm,
remaining there until 18(i8 when he engaged in civil engineer-
ing and for about one year was employed by the government
on surveys in the Lake Superior region. He was also employed
on government surveys for a ship canal between Chicago and
Rock Island, and on the Mississippi river. His last position
was for the government improvements in the building of the
canal around the rapids at Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mississippi
river, where he met with an accident. He was compelled to
abandon the work and then returned to the old homestead. In
1873 he was elected treasurer of Johnson county and on
January 1, 1874, he commenced his first term of office. He was
reelected, and upon the termination of his second term he be-
came associated with the Clark & Coldren bank, afterwards
changed to Iowa City State bank. Tn 1884 he was selected as
340 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
cashier of the First National bank, which position lie held
until December 1, 1911. At present he is a money loaner, sec-
ond floor First National Bank building.
Mr. Swisher was married August 31, 1870, to Elizabeth
Leonard, daughter of 0. P. and Diana (Davis) Leonard,
natives of Tennessee. C. P. Leonard and Diana (Davis)
Leonard came to Johnson county, Iowa, settling in Monroe
township, where he followed farming. He now lives in Cali-
fornia; his wife is deceased.
Mr. and Mrs. Swisher are the parents of the following chil-
dren : Abraham W. ; Arthur E., who resides in Iowa City and
was assistant in the First National bank, assists in looking
after his father's personal affairs; Leonard A., Methodist
minister at West Union, Iowa ; Benjamin F., attorney at law,
located at Waterloo, Iowa ; Mabel A., living at home ; Lovell
Swisher, Jr.
The old Swisher homestead still remains in possession of
the family, Lovell Swisher, Sr., being trustee for the estate.
Mr. and Mrs. Swisher are members of the M. E. church.
For many years Mr. Swisher affiliated with the democratic
party, but now votes independently. He was treasurer of the
State University of Iowa from 1890 to 1911.
SAMUEL KIRKWOOD STEVENSON
The archives of biography are brilliantly illuminated here
and there by recitals of the activities of that large company
of the world's workers catalogued under the caption, "To the
manor born." There is beyond question a distinct emphasis
bearing upon these persons who, spite of the "prophet-not-
without -honor" handicap, have risen to distinguished success
in "their own country and their own house." This statement
takes on peculiar force in connection with the name and record
of Samuel Kirkwood Stevenson, native son of Johnson county,
Iowa, pupil of its district school, student in Iowa City Acad-
emy, alumnus of State University of Iowa and graduate of its
Law Department, a chosen orator of its commencement, a
winner of competitive debates with rival universities, educa-
tional organizer, ex-superintendent of city and county schools,
editor, lawyer, and man of affairs. Readers of this brief
MKHMi'AI'HICAL
341
sketch of the life of Mr. Stevenson will be impelled to declare
that the handicap of local familiarity lias not been apparent
in his winning race for success.
Mr. Stevenson was fortunate in that mysterious divine
lottery, parentage, being endowed with a heritage of virility
from both mother and father — the former dying at the ad
vanced age of eighty-four and the latter on December 1l!, 19.1 1,
at the age of ninety. John A. Stevenson and Henrietta Grif-
fith were the parents of eight children, of whom Samuel Kirk
wood is the youngest. John A. Stevenson, father of S. K.,
settled in Scott township, Johnson county. Iowa, in 185(i.
RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL KIRKWOOD STEVENSON
where he pursued the occupation of farming. Samuel K. was
born and raised on this farm and secured his primary educa-
tion in the district school of his home township. The elder
Stevenson was essentially a farmer and devoted to home and
family, but his interest in public matters led him to accept the
position of member of the county board of supervisors on two
different occasions — first when the board was composed of
one representative from each township and lastly when the
number of members was limited to five.
The date of Samuel Kirkwood Stevenson's birth was March
1, 1867, and twenty-two years later he graduated with honor
from the Iowa City Academy. June 15, 1893, he graduated
342 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
from, the collegiate department of the Iowa State University
and was given the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy. On the
third of the same month he was appointed a first lieutenant of
the Iowa State National Battalion. During his graduation
year he was elected a ruling elder of the First Presbyterian
church of Iowa City, and has been actively identified with the
work of this church ever since, serving meanwhile as its Sun-
day school superintendent and extending his influence to
county Sunday school affairs as secretary of the Johnson
County Sunday School Union. To further emphasize the year
1893 as an epochal twelvemonth in his career, Mr. Stevenson
was interrupted in his studies in the Law Department of the
Iowa State University by election in November to the office of
superintendent of schools of Johnson county on the republican
ticket by the handsome majority of 725 in a strongly demo-
cratic county. He was reelected to this office in 1895, being
the only member of his political party honored by the electo-
rate that year.
His interjection into the educational field (while an unwel-
come interruption of his congenial legal studies) seems to have
opened a period of unusual usefulness to Mr. Stevenson and
gave opportunity for the exercise of exceptional talents as a
school-man. His genius for organization was manifested im-
mediately, and with vigor. Educational meetings were held
under his direction in every township of the county, a move-
ment which quickened the interest of both patrons and teach-
ers. The formation of the Johnson County Teachers' Asso-
ciation followed as a logical sequence. This organization now
holds four meetings yearly and is recognized as one of the live
public school factors of the state. Mr. Stevenson also pro-
moted the organization of the Johnson County School Officials'
Association, the usefulness of which has been signally demon-
strated. One of the first of its kind in the state, its timeliness
and utility have been proven by its large membership and
activity. A marked feature of Superintendent Stevenson's
administration was the introduction of the school library
movement in Johnson county. During the last two years of
his term ninety-five school libraries were established. The
value of these as aids to both teachers and pupils is unques-
tioned. Seeking always for the highest efficiency, Mr. Steven-
BIOGRAPHICAL 343
son raised the standard of qualification for teachers so that
the grading of .Johnson comity school instructors now stands
second to none in Iowa. Coincident with his general work, he
was editor of the Johnson Count// Teacher, a monthly paper
published in the interest of education. In the spring of 1897
.Mr. Stevenson organized the Johnson County School of
Methods, which was largely attended by the progressive teach-
ers of eastern Iowa because of the high quality of instruction
given. At the initial meeting resolutions were unanimously
passed by the teachers ami others expressing their commenda
tion and appreciation of Superintendent Stevenson for making
possible for them this most excellent institute of methods.
During the last four months of his final term as county
superintendent, from August to November, 1897, Mr. Steven-
sou did dual work as superintendent of schools of Iowa City,
having been elected to the latter office April 28 of that year.
This latter office he held continuously for nine years, his ad-
ministration being characterized by the well-known originality
and vigor peculiar to his work as a schoolmaster. It is not too
much to say that under Mr. Stevenson's master hand the pub-
lic schools of Iowa City have been put into the very first ranks
of the American school system.
In the year 1898 Mr. Stevenson acknowledged the force of
the scriptural wisdom that "it is not good for man to be
alone," and invited Miss Marcia .1. Jacobs to become his life's
companion. The consummation of this happy arrangement
was effected August. 2, and the simplest commentary on their
union is to say that Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have enjoyed
thirteen years of comradeship in the sacred ministry of mat ri-
mony, unmarred and unalloyed.
Upon the termination of his long administration as super-
intendent of Iowa City schools, Mr. Stevenson was free to
carry out bis fondly-cherished ambition to enter upon the
practice of law. Having already completed a large part of the
legal curriculum of the S. U. I., it was easy for him to finish
the required course, and on June 7, 1007, be was graduated
from the Law Department of the State University with the
degree of Bachelor of Laws. Believing in striking while the
iron is hot, Mr. Stevenson lost no time in candidating for ad-
mission to the bar, and five days after his graduation (June
34-1 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
12, 1907) he was licensed to practice by the supreme court of
the state of Iowa. He immediately united with the State Bar
Association and hung out his shingle in the city of his alma
mater.
Mr. Stevenson's collegiate career was characterized by dis-
tinct evidences of proficiency. Recognition was given this by
his selection as one of six out of a class of forty-eight to de-
liver an address on Commencement Day. He was also chosen
as one of three speakers in the first joint debate between the
State University of Iowa and the University of Minnesota,
held at Minneapolis, the result of which was a unanimous de-
cision for Iowa. While in student life at S. U. I., Mr. Steven-
son constantly took an active interest in the affairs of the
student body. He was president of the Zethagatbian literary
society during the fall term of 1892 ; business manager of the
Vidette Reporter, the university paper, in 1892-93; and trea-
surer and one of the organizers of the University Lecture
Bureau.
While serving as school superintendent Mr. Stevenson read
several papers on educational themes before the State Teach-
ers' Association, the most notable being "School Libraries,
How to Establish and Maintain Them," and "School Exhi-
bitions — Are They Beneficial ? ' ' The data as well as the logic
for these practical papers were undoubtedly the outcome of
his personal, successful experience. Reference has already
been made to his valuable work in establishing school libraries.
His views on "School Exhibitions" were most likely crystal-
lized by his personal efforts in organizing and holding school
exhibitions at the Johnson county fairs.
The activities of a strenuous life have not prevented Mr.
Stevenson recognizing his fraternal and political obligations,
evidenced by his active membership in the Masonic order, the
Woodmen of the World, and the Improved Order of Red Men ;
as well as by practical work in the membership of the state
central committee of the repiublican party, extending into the
current year of 1911.
And so, at the age of forty-four, in the full vigor of healthy,
hopeful manhood, this strenuous son of Johnson county is "a
prophet not without honor in his own country and in his own
house" — bringing credit to the illustrious name of the great
BIOGRAPHICAL 345
Iowa statesman, and fairly started on the highway of SUCCes
the further stretches of which may give him opportunity
yet greater service in the interest of the mighty commonweal
of Ins nativity.
DAVID KIRKPATRICK
The history of the Mississippi Valley would be a dull and
spiritless tale were it not for the recounted deeds of a Ion-
line of hardy, indomitable men who literally carved victories
out of defeats and defied misfortune by carrying to the heights
of success the brave flag of excelsior. Pitiful is the fact that
numbers of heroes entitled to places of honor in the panes of
courageous story have passed into oblivion, "unwept, unhon-
ored and unsung" — their graves unknown and the memories
of their chivalry hidden among the shadows of the world's
yesterdays. History, at best, is but a remnant of the tale of
humanity — the tardy, fractional tribute of the world at the
shrine of its forbears. It is a gratifying privilege for the
present-day chroniclers, and particularly for the writers of
this current history of Johnson county, to be able to preserve
in the transparent amber of their thought the recital of the
lives and activities of some of the men whose names are worthy
of record in the state's book of remembrance; and perhaps
there is comfort in the thought that the recounting of the deeds
of a few of the host of worthy ones may shed a measure of
lustre over their countless nameless contemporaries.
In the beautiful hillside cemetery overlooking the town of
Lone Tree, Iowa, at this writing stands a cut-stone mausoleum,
bearing the name of "Kirkpatrick." It is no discredit to the
lifelong thrift and forethought of its builder to say that this
"mute mansion" is a fitting keystone to the life-arch of David
Kirkpatrick, whose remains and those of his wife it is in-
tended to sepulchre. Being constructed under the personal
supervision of its future occupant, this "storied urn" indeed
points the final moral of a life story. For what more fitting
than that a man who has carved a pathway of success, self-
aided, from boyhood to old age, should, at the eventime of
life, erect his own final mortuary temple :'
"Self-aided" describes aptly the career of David Kirkpat-
346
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
rick, of Lone Tree. Deprived of a father in babyhood and of
a mother at the infant age of six years, this orphan son of the
Emerald Isle virtually was thrown upon his own resources
from birth. Fortunately the young Celt yielded to the prompt-
ings of the spirit of liberty which burns in every true Irish-
man's soul and early came to America, landing at Boston,
under the shadow of Bunker Hill and Plymouth, at the age of
twelve years. He remained at the American Athens for fifteen
years, during ten of which he served as coachman for a rich
RESIDENCE OF DAVID KIRKPATRICK
widow. But the spirit of David Kirkpatrick was not to be
satisfied with the place of a servant. He longed for inde-
pendent, initiative effort, and, having heard of the opportuni-
ties of the great west, in 1860 he bade good-by to his friends
of the Atlantic coast and started for Johnson county, Iowa.
Among the number from whom he parted in Boston was a cer-
tain winsome young lady, Eliza Jane Corbett, with whom his
troth had been pledged — the understanding being that young
Kirkpatrick should first test out the opportunities of the Mis-
sissippi Valley and later return to claim his bride. Tarrying
BIOGRAPHICAL 347
in Ohio for a time at the farm of an elder brother, who had
preceded him to the new world, David got his first taste of the
western spirit, and the brother being the owner of eighty acres
of land about six miles southeast of Lone Tree, the young man
concluded he would push out to Iowa and make a start for
himself. Arriving in Johnson county, he bought a yoke of
oxen with borrowed money and began operations on the eighty
acres belonging to his brother, which he afterwards purchased.
Discouraging results followed the young Irishman's first
farming efforts. Having "broken" with his ox team twenty
acres of prairie, he sowed it to wheat, only to have the grain
largely destroyed and overrun by chinch bugs. Hoping to
profit by the residue, he bought a drove of hogs and fed them
with the smitten wheat crop. The hogs contracted the cholera
when in marketable condition and to a porker died or became
unsaleable. Undiscouraged, the young farmer ventured into
cattle raising, again borrowing money with which to make the
investment. In the hard winter which followed, bis stock, with
the exception of two head, were smothered by the deep snow
covering the shed built for their protection, ami, as Mr. Kirk-
patrick expressed it, all he had left was a "fine lot of hides."
Undaunted, however, he again borrowed money and continued
his farming operations and stock raising — all the time during
these varied experiences working by the day for neighbor
farmers and making good his financial obligations. Need it be
written that final success crowned his persevering efforts ?
Year after year he added to his original purchase, until at the
time of this writing he owns in Johnson, Muscatine, Washing-
ton, and Louisa counties, Iowa, 2,o00 acres of the best farming
land in the state, besides farms in other states and valuable
business blocks and residence property in Lone Tree. Mr.
Kirkpatrick attributes his business success to his ability
properly to use borrowed money, and he has made it a rule of
his life to make "his word as good as his bond." With unim-
peachable credit at the banks, he broadened his operations
from time to time, engaging in cattle raising on a large scale
and buying and selling farm property and dealing in lumber
and grain. Today he is reckoned one of the wealthiest citizens
of his community and is credited with a display of public
spirit worthy of emulation.
348 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
David Kirkpatrick did not lose sight of that "winsome
colleen" in Boston. Early in June, 1.861, he made the hack-
ward trip to his former New England home, and when be re-
turned to Johnson county Miss Eliza Jane Corbett accompan-
ied him as Mrs. David Kirkpatrick. For a little time, or until
he could erect a house for their shelter, he left his wife in Iowa
City. That first house, by the way, was a small affair, the
lumber for it being hauled by ox-team at one load from Musca-
tine by David himself. The structure was only one-story
12x14 feet, yet it was the abode of two hearts of love and in its
one plainly furnished room two children of their family of
four came to gladden the home.
Herself a native daughter of Ireland, Eliza Jane Corbett
possessed those qualities of mind and heart that have made
her a worthy wife and true mother. Constant in her affections
and untiring in her efforts, she wears today the crown of old
age glorious in the love-light of four score years and six. Her
birthplace was near Castlewellan, County Downe, Ireland, and
the date of her birth February 12, 1825. She emigrated to
America in 1856 and June 30, 1861, was married to David
Kirkpatrick. The young couple came together to Iowa July
5, 1861. On Friday, June 30, 1911, this venerable couple cele-
brated at Lone Tree the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage
in the presence of beloved relatives. Automobiles in waiting
on the occasion emphasized the far cry from the ox-team which
marked the locomotion of their early life.
The date of David Kirkpatrick 's birth was March 15, 1832.
His parents were Archie L. Kirkpatrick and Sarah Ann Kel-
ley, whose home at the time of David's birth was only a short
distance from the birthplace of the latter's wife.
Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick,
namely: David, who died in infancy; Jackson, who died at the
age of nineteen ; William John, married and the father of four
children, residing on a farm in Muscatine county; and Eliza-
beth Mary, unmarried, residing at home with her parents and
ministering to their comfort in their declining years.
In politics Mr. Kirkpatrick is a republican. His church
membership is with the Methodist Episcopal of Lone Tree.
To thus struggle through adversity to success, and all the
time to keep his honor pure; to live and mingle among the
BIOGRAPHICAL 349
same neighbors for fifty years, and in the end have the heart's
affection of them all; to bask in the sunshine of a true wife's
love for half a century and gaze into her eyes on a golden wed
ding day with a heart beating loyal and true; to stand at the.
threshhold of the Evermore undismayed, prepared to leave
with posterity the mantle of a character unsullied — this is a
record worthy of inscription in the history of his day. And
across the top of this page of biography of Johnson county let
the name of David Kirkpatrick he written.
JOHN CHESLEY WARN Ell
On December 22, 1904, John Chesley Warner took the posi-
tion of night operator on the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Rail-
way (the Interurban Line), under Frank D. Lindsley, the
agent for the company at Iowa City. This position he held for
six months, after which he became Air. Lindsley's chief clerk.
On September 17, 1909, Mr. Lindsley died, and Mr. Warner
was appointed acting agent, serving in this capacity until
January 1, 1910, when, in recognition of his abilities and
knowledge of the office, he was appointed agent for the com-
pany at Iowa City. (A full account of the Interurban Line
will be found in the general history in Volume I of this work. —
Ed.) The steady, speedy advancement of Air. Warner to this
responsible position marks him as a man of ability and action,
characteristics which his friends are free to say are dominant
in him.
Mr. Warner is a native son of Johnson county, and his
progenitors on both sides were pioneers of Iowa. John Ardery
Warner, his great-grandfather, and William Ardery Warner,
his grandfather, were Maryland farmers, the latter being born
in Maryland in 1809. Grandfather Warner came to Iowa in
1853, and settled on a farm in Washington county. Prom
there he removed to Iowa City, and after a brief stay pur-
chased a farm in Pleasant Valley township, where he died in
September, 1802. Mr. Warner was a widower when he came
to Iowa, his wife, whom he married in Baltimore, having died
in that city. John Ardery Warner, the father of John C, is
the only surviving member of William Ardery Warner's lam
ily. He was horn in the city of Raltimore, Maryland, in 1846,
350 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
being at this writing (1911) in his sixty -fifth year. He was
seven years of age when he came to Iowa with his father. His
early life was spent on the farm, and his education was re-
ceived in the Iowa City schools. John A. Warner married
Martha B. Loan, a daughter of William Loan and Mary Bash-
ford, the latter born June 21, 1806, and married to William
Loan March 27, 1823. Mrs. Warner is tbe youngest of twelve
children. William Loan was a farmer and well-to-do. Mrs.
Loan herself entered 1,680 acres of land in Chickasaw and
Floyd counties, Iowa, her object being to leave her children
HKSIDKXCE OF JOHN CHES1.KV WAIlM'.ll
well provided for. She died at the home of her daughter, our
subject's mother, December 28, 1884.
John Ardery Warner was a corporal in Company A of tbe
famous Twenty-second Iowa, and served with this gallant
fighting regiment during the Civil War in nearly every south-
ern state from Virginia to the mouth of the Rio Grande. The
Twenty-second made a complete circuit of the Confederacy
and traveled by land and sea more than fifteen thousand miles.
Corporal Warner enlisted in 1862, and the following winter
marched under General Curtis in southwest Missouri two hun-
dred and fifty miles through the Ozark Mountains. His first
BIOGRAPHICAL 351
serious taste of the realities of war was in the midnight march
to Port Gibson. His regiment was in the battles of Champion
Hills, Black River Bridge, and led the assault on Vicksburg
May 22, 1863. In this last engagement the regiment lost 170
men out of 200, an average of eighty-rive per cent, which
stands without a parallel in modern warfare. The time con-
sumed in these fatalities was less than ten minutes and the
ground covered in the engagement not more than one-half
acre. Corporal Warner was in the very midst of the enemy at
this time, being in company with Captain Samuel David Pryce,
scouting within the rebel lines. Corporal Warner served three 1
years and three months, being honorably discharged Septem-
ber, 1865. (For further particulars of this memorable regi-
ment, see sketch of Captain Samuel David Pryce. — Ed.)
On his return to Iowa in 1865, Corporal Warner rented a
farm in Pleasant Valley towuship, which he farmed for sev-
eral years. Thereafter he engaged in the grocery husiness in
Iowa City, and up to 1882 was more or less engaged in farm-
ing operations in connection with his other business interests
in Liberty township. His last enterprise in Madison township
was a general merchandise store at North Liberty, from which
he removed in 1909 to Hills, where he purchased the general
merchandise store of Jess Sydell, which he conducted in con-
nection with his son, George C. Warner, as associate partner,
until April 15, 1911, when he sold the enterprise to the latter.
He has since been incapacitated for active work, and lives in
retirement at his home in Hills. Although quite iil at this
writing, he conducts all his own affairs. For three years fol-
lowing 1889 Corporal Warner was deputy sheriff of Johnson
county under Sheriff John Englert. For a time he also held
the position of special deputy for the Chicago, Eock Island &
Pacific Railroad at Iowa City. He is a member of the Masonic
and Odd Fellows orders at Iowa City. He has taken an active
interest in politics in the democratic party, and lias repre-
sented the party in county, state, and congressional conven-
tions. By his marriage to Martha B. Loan, Mr. Warner had
five children : William Edward, residing in Wyoming; George
Clinton, residing in Hills, Iowa; Charles Henry, a farmer of
Pleasant Valley township; James Everett; and John Chesley,
352 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
our subject. Six grandchildren have gladdened his declining
years.
John Chesley Warner was educated in the public schools of
Iowa City, graduating from the high school. He assisted bis
father in farming in Pleasant Valley township until the spring
of 1902. In 1903, in connection with his father, he opened a
grocery store in Iowa City. This he sold in 1904, and entered
the employ of the Interurban Railway, as hitherto stated. On
February 19, 1901, he was married in Iowa. City to Miss Mamie
S. Ruppert, daughter of George L. and Mary Ruppert, the
latter now living in retirement on the west side of Iowa City,
near the city park. Mr. and Mrs. Warner own their own home
at 419 South Capitol street. Mr. Warner is a member of the
A. F. & A. M. and I. 0. O. F. of Iowa City.
Since this biography was prepared the father of our subject
passed away. He died in Hills, Iowa, at his residence, Oc-
tober 24, 1911.
WILLIAM J. BOWEN
William J. Bowen, a veteran of the Civil War, former city
clerk, and for the past fifteen years assistant postmaster of
Iowa City, comes of pure American stock of Maryland and
Ohio nativity. His parents were Isaac Bowen and Miss Susan
P. Williams, the former born in Ross county, Ohio, August 23,
1812, and the latter at Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27, 1824. Their
marriage took place in Johnson county, Iowa, November 25,
1841. Isaac Bowen 's parents were Jesse and Priscilla Bowen,
both natives of Maryland, who are described in an old histori-
cal sketch as "honest, God-fearing people, . . . who made
their lifetime home in Ross county, Ohio, where they passed
away at a good old age, respected and beloved by all who knew
them." Susan P. Williams's parents were John Williams and
Elizabeth Ferry, and the father died in Hamilton county,
Ohio, when Susan was ten years of age. Following his death
she was placed in the custody of her uncle, William B. Snyder,
with whom she came to Iowa in 1839. When twenty-four
years of age Isaac Bowen, having resided up to that time with
his parents on the old homestead in Ross county, Ohio, deter-
mined to make a start for himself in the great west which was
BIOGRAPHICAL 353
then the objective point of many hundreds of active, ambitious
young Americans, and, in 1836, performed the first stage of his
journey by removing to Indiana, where he remained for three
years. In April, 1839, he departed from the Hoosier stale,
and, with his face to the setting sun, pursued his quest, lie
arrived in Johnson county, Iowa, May 5, 1839, and in a brief
time had purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in
Scott township. With the exception of eighteen acres, the
land was entirely unimproved. Its owner lived to see it one
of the most highly cultivated farms of the county, and very
valuable.
The names of the children of Isaac Bowen and Susan P.
KKSIDKXCE OF WILLIAM J. BOWKX
"Williams are : William J. ; Mary Eliza, wife of Emory Wescott ;
Elizabeth E., wife of LaFayette Strahl ; Maria J., wife of
Smith Bradley; Isaac N., married to Miss Clara Thomas;
George E., married, first wife Fannie Meriden, who died ; sec-
ond wife Grace AVhitaker; Susan Z., wife of Charles Westen-
haver; Anna P., deceased, wife of Thomas Faueett, of Kan-
sas ; two others died in infancy.
Isaac Bowen was active in the advancement of education,
and gave long and valuable service as school director in John-
son county. He also served as justice of the peace, and was
noted for his impartial justice. In both public and private life
he "has been distinguished for bis keen sagacity, excellent
354 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
judgment, and sterling integrity of character." He and his
beloved wife were lifelong members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church, and were active workers therein. They have been
gathered to their fathers, and the memory of their lives and
deeds is a precious heritage to their children.
William J. Bowen was born on the home farm in Scott town-
ship April 13, 1843, being the first born of a large family. His
early life was spent upon the farm, where he assisted his
father in the general work of agriculture. He was educated in
the district schools of the country and later took a course in
the schools of Iowa City. When a lad of eighteen he heard his
country's call for volunteers, and on June 13, 1861, enlisted in
Company F of the First Iowa Cavalry, being mustered in
July 29 of the same year. His regiment engaged in numerous
skirmishes with bushwhackers and guerillas in Tennessee and
adjoining states during the fall and winter of 1861-62, the
dangerous character of which is known to all students of the
Civil War, and so it is not surprising that he was dangerously
wounded in engagement with these outlaws. On May 6, 1862,
he was discharged on account of his injuries, but his intrepid
spirit could not be quenched, and, when fully recovered from
his wounds, he re-enlisted January 5, 1864, in Company F,
Twenty-second Iowa Infantry. This regiment saw the grim
horror of war in the battles of Winchester, Virginia, and
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley un-
der the intrepid Sheridan, in all of which Mr. Bowen took
part. On July 25, 1865, he was finally discharged at Savannah,
Georgia, and was mustered out and paid off on August 3rd of
the same year.
Returning to the old home farm in Scott township, he con-
tinued to work thereon for a few years. Feeling a desire to
engage in business for himself, he removed to Omaha, Ne-
braska, where, in 1869, he began the sale of household goods
and woodenware. He continued in this line until 1875, when
he returned to Johnson county and engaged in farming near
Iowa City. While a resident of Omaha, he was married, Oc-
tober 7, 1869, to Miss Ruth B. Strickland, a native of Ohio,
who had moved to Nebraska with her parents in the early six-
ties. In 1882 Mr. Bowen left the farm and removed to Iowa
City, where for several years he was engaged in carpenter
BIOGRAPHICAL 355
work. Later he was made city clerk, and afterwards received
the appointment of assistant postmaster of Towa City, a posi-
tion which he held until April 1, 1912.
Seven children have blessed the union of William .7. Bowen
and Ruth B. Strickland, namely: Jesse B., Ada C, Fannie
H., Royal, Angus, William L. and Richard (1. In the natural
line of increase they are the proud grandparents of sixteen
descendants, and look with comparative assurance to the per-
petuity of the name and hlood of Bowen in the annals of Iowa.
In politics Mr. Bowen is a republican, and has been repeat-
edly honored by his party, both in its councils and by public
office. He is an honored member of the G. A. R., and is a com-
municant of the Congregational church of Iowa City. Ap-
proaching the years of three score and ten, he is a man of
vigor and activity, and looks forward confidently to a liberal
lease of life. His long residence in Johnson county, coupled
with his services to his country and his state, have endeared
him to the hearts of great numbers of personal friends, who
on the western pathway of life bid him good cheer and God-
speed. The family residence is at South Governor street, be-
low Bowerv street, Iowa City.
AUSTIN ABRAHAM HIKES
One of the recognized factors in business circles at Lone
Tree, Iowa, is Austin Abraham Hines, a son of Abraham Lin-
coln Hines and Elisa S. Carl, born in Fremont township Sep-
tember 25, 1883. The father of Mr. Hines was a native of
Pennsylvania ; his mother was born in Iowa. The former came
with his parents from Pennsylvania to Iowa when two years
of age, and grew to manhood on the farm where his father
settled. His early life was devoted to farming, but later he
engaged in the harness business, a calling which he followed
until about twelve years ago, when he again took up farming,
this time in Louisa county, where he now resides. Seven
children were born to Abraham Lincoln Hines and Elisa S.
Carl ; one of these died in infancy, and the names of those liv-
ing are: Austin Abraham, our subject; Mary L., now Mrs.
N. E. Townsley, residing at Iroquois, South Dakota; Etta M.,
now Mrs. W. R. Rhoads, residing at Muscatine, Iowa ; Martha
356 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
E., living in Muscatine, Iowa ; Ernest A. and I. Manilla, single
and living at home.
When he was just past nineteen years of age, in November,
1902, Mr. Hines took up the real estate and insurance busi-
ness in connection with S. C. Carl at Lone Tree. He remained
in this position until February, 1903, when he removed to Mus-
catine, Iowa, continuing in the same business. He was six
years in that city. In March, 1909, be returned to Lone Tree
and again engaged with his former partner, S. C. Carl, with
whom he is associated at present.
Mr. Hines was married September 8, 1909, to Miss Florence
iUJSTIN ABRAHAM HINES
B. Longstreth, of Letts, Iowa. One son, Howard H., has
blessed their union.
Mr. Hines is a member of Omega lodge No. 728, 1. 0. O. F.,
of Lone Tree, and at this writing is Noble Grand of his lodge.
He is also a member of Lone Tree lodge No. 304, Knights of
Pytbias, and of Company 18, Uniform Rank, K. of P., of Ce-
dar Rapids.
JULIUS OTTO SCHULZE
Our subject's fatber, Joseph Schulze, son of Frank and
Teresa Schulze, was born in Prussia March 24, 1826, that day
being Good Fridav. Of the six children of Frank Schulze
BIOGRAPHICAL 357
four came t<> America, the journey being made in Bailing ves-
sels at different times. Of these, two now survive, Joseph,
our subject's grandfather, and .John, of Chicago. Joseph
emigrated to the United States in 1852, and the voyage occu-
pied fifty-six days, lie landed at Baltimore and immediately
located in Cumberland, Maryland, where be resided three
years. In 1855 he came west to Iowa City, making the journey
by rail to Rock Island, thence by steamboat to Muscatine,
thence by stage to Iowa City. His first occupation in his new
field was day's work as a harvest hand, followed by employ-
ment with the stage company in their blacksmith shop. Sub-
sequently he engaged in the grocery business in a building ad-
joining the present site of William Hohcnschuh's undertaking
parlors. He disposed of this business in 1866, and built a
boarding house for the workers in the Coralville Woolen mills,
which he conducted for two years. Following this he became
a member of the brewing firm of Schulze & Graf. Later be
entered the shoe business in what was known as the Blue Front
Shoe store, located on South Clinton street. There he con-
tinued for eighteen years, retiring from business about 1898.
He was married in St. Mary's church, Iowa City, in Septem-
ber, 1862, to Miss Mary Williams, a native of Iowa City,
daughter of George Williams. She died in Muscatine July
4, 1882, after the birth of Mary, their last child, who died at
the age of five weeks, after his return from a trip across the
plains. Ten children were born of this union: Frank, of
Cedar Rapids; Helen, wife of Charles Morrow; Albert, re-
siding in Liberty township, Johnson county; William, living
in California; Lizzie, now Mrs. W. Karresel, of Iowa City;
Clara, of Cedar Rapids ; Julius Otto, our subject ; Peroy Irv-
ing, of Texas ; Laura, Mary.
Joseph Schulze is the owner of considerable business and
residence property in Iowa City, including his fine home at
31 North Van Buren street, corner of Jefferson street. He
is a member of St. Mary's Catholic church, St, Joseph's Be-
nevolent Society and the Elks. He held the position of town-
ship trustee in early days and was an alderman for four years
from the third ward, Iowa City. Fourteen grandchildren
give him lively promise of the perpetuity of his name and
blood.
358 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Julius Otto Selmlze, seventh child in regular order of birth,
was born in Iowa City in 1875, and received his primary edu-
cated in the Catholic parochial schools. He graduated from
the high school in 1893 and from the engineering department
of the S. U. I. in 1897. Some of his first work was in connec-
tion with the construction department of the Rock Island sys-
tem, on the extension of that road between Dallas and Fort
Worth, Texas. He was also engaged upon the St. Louis &
San Francisco and the Trinity & Brazos Valley. In 1907-08
he was city engineer of Iowa City, and in 1909 became secre-
tary of the Iowa City Commercial club.
Technical training as an engineer, led him to make proper
KESIDENCE OF JULIUS OTTO SCHULZE
investigation and through him Iowa City can feel thankful for
the launching of the first street railway in Iowa City together
with the cooperation of the substantial board of directors.
Beginning with one mile of track its completion in 1912 will
give to the city four miles of street railway passing through
the principal streets, intersecting the thickly populated por-
tions of the city, a long felt want in Iowa City. Mr. Scbulze
is also president of the Rundell Land and Improvement com-
pany, which controls 270 city lots located between the new
canning factory and east Iowa City, with a capital stock of
$25,000.
He married Miss Agnes F. Sueppel, daughter of John and
BIOGRAPHICAL 359
Catherine (Rohret) Sueppel, of Iowa City. Two children,
.Mary Catherine and Mary Louise, have been born to him.
Mr. Schulze is a member of the St. .Mary's Catholic church.
On the 17th of November, L909, Mr. Schulze as president
of the Iowa City Electric Railway company, had the pleasure
of driving the silver spike which marked the completion of
tracklaying on Iowa City's first street railway system. The
ceremony took palce in the presence of an immense throng of
citizens at the corner of Clinton and College streets, the ter-
minus of the line. Since that time extensions have heen com-
pleted and the line put in operation. In addition to his Iowa
City interests, Mr. Schulze has large lumber interests in Tex-
as and is associated with extensive townsite and land enter-
prises in Texas.
MILLARD W. DAVIS
In the death of the late Millard W. Davis Johnson county
lost one of its earliest settlers and Iowa City its oldest mer-
chant. He had occupied his place of business for more than
fifty- four years and was one of the best known men in the
entire county, where his interests had been centered for so
many years. He was the pioneer of pioneers in the city, hav-
ing come there when it was a hamlet, with the first trains, and
having seen it grow and become a great educational center.
He lived to feel the stir of the business life which had come
to the city and community, and always kept in tune with the
various changes that had heen transpiring. He was horn in
Pickaway county, Ohio, son of Ebenezer S. and Susan (Mc-
Farland) Davis, natives, respectively, of Virginia and Penn-
sylvania. His grandfather, also named Ebenezer Davis, was
horn in Wales, came to Virginia in an early day, and in 180-1
settled in Ohio.
( )n January 1, 1858, Mr. Davis took possession of the build-
ing in which he was located so many years, and his record is
perhaps unequalled in the state of Iowa. He witnessed great
changes during his life in Iowa City, and his description of
conditions there in 1857 were lifelike and interesting, showing
the primitive life led by its inhabitants at that time. Between
the Metropolitan block, the building which lie chose for the
360 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
location of his business, and the Johnson County Bank corner
there were nothing but frame buildings and shacks, and the
same held true of the other side of the street. The only build-
ing in the neighborhood of any pretensions was a long build-
ing reaching to the alley, occupied by the firm of Daniels &
Company, on the present site of the place where Maresh
Brothers later had their establishment, but at that date this
location was considered to be outside of the business district
of the town. Ten or twelve teams a day came from the coun-
try within a radius of some 150 miles, to get a load of dry
goods or provisions from the Daniels store. Being then the
terminus of the Rock Island road, Iowa City had a large trade
from the surrounding country. Dubuque street was a line of
mere shacks, and the business center was then located near the
St. James hotel. Communication with every direction except
the east was by means of stage coaches, the Western Stage
Company having a barn and shop on Jefferson street. There
were a dozen stage coaches in the town at a time, which car-
ried passengers, mail, and express. John M. Carleton was
mayor in the year mentioned. Dubuque street was a residence
section but contained a few business buildings, among them
the Republican office. This was memorable as the year in
which the state capital was removed to Des Moines, and also
as the year in which the State University was located at Iowa
City.
Before moving to the Metropolitan block, Mr. Davis had
occupied the Brossart building on Clinton street, halfway be-
tween Washington street and Iowa avenue. He came to the
city in 1856 and spent his first night at the old Park Hotel on
Dubuque street, which later became a school, and still later
a rooming house. On the morning after his arrival he looked
out and saw the Presbyterian church burning. He engaged
in the drug business, which he continued for a period of fifty-
five years. During his earlier years in the city he was active
in public life, and in 1866 served as a member of the city
council from the old Fourth Ward. He was at one time cur-
ator of The State Historical Society and always felt keen in-
terest in perpetuating the history of early days. He was
quiet and unassuming, fond of the companionship of his
friends, and taking great pride in his business. For some
BIOGRAPHICAL
361
time prior to his death he had been in poor health, but wont to
his store daily, almost up to the day of his demise. His death
occurred at his home on East College street, August IS, 1911,
at the age of seventy-eight years, he having been born Decem-
ber 24, 1S.">::, at Williamsport, Ohio. Rev. .John Arthur, of
Cedar Rapids Episcopal church, officiated at the funeral at
Iowa City. The remains were shipped to the old birth place,
Williamsport, Ohio, on the morning of August 21.
Mr. Davis is survived by a widow and two sons, all of whom
were at his bedside at the time of his death. The two sons
are : Harry C, of Chicago, and Charles P., of St. Louis. The
former is a traveling salesman for a wholesale drug house.
KKSIDF.XCK OK THE LATK MILLARD \V. DA\ I .-
The latter is a professor at the Art School of the Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri, is an artist and educator.
Mr. Davis was a prominent member of the Old Settlers So-
ciety and took keen interest in its proceedings. He was thor-
oughly in sympathy with the cause and was helpful in many
ways. He has been sadly missed in many circles. His busi-
ness has been discontinued.
The death summons came at 11 :30 at night when all was
quiet and peaceful, at the hour the genial old man Millard \Y.
Davis, Iowa City's pioneer druggist and oldest merchant,
passed away into that sleep that bears him to his maker to
receive his eternal reward. The beautiful birds, the martins
362 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
that used to build their nests around that familiar mortar and
pestle annually lay their eggs and rear their young, Mr. Davis
always gave them a welcome and one of the windows was a
veritable old curiosity shop, and was a noted place for visitors.
The old man was a naturalist, objects of historic value in con-
nection with Iowa history and the world at large were on ex-
hibition from time to time, and his collection of curios was
among the finest and most interesting in the state, outside of
the University museum. He served as secretary of The State
Historical Society in former years, and was always a member
of the board of curators. Shortly before he died the honor-
able board held their meeting in his store to save his strength
climbing the stairs leading to Liberal Arts hall, their regular
office. He naturally was a lover of history in general.
SAMUEL CALVIN, A. M., LL. D., PH. D., F. G. S. A.
In the death of Samuel Calvin, professor, and head of the
department of geology of the State University of Iowa, the
state lost one of its best-beloved citizens and educators and
the nation probably its greatest geologist. The biographer
is overwhelmed with the quantity and the quality of the data
affecting the life and the activities of this remarkable man.
The opinions of his fellows, expressed in tender encomium,
no less than the manifest affection of his friends, afford volum-
inous material for the memorialist. It seems to be literally
true that Professor Calvin is embalmed in the love and ap-
preciation of his countrymen, and there can be no nobler
sepulcher this side of divinity.
Three dominant traits, in the estimation of Dean W. C.
Wilcox, of the State University of Iowa, were manifest in the
life of Professor Calvin : First, his ' ' power of personal char-
acter in academic life;" second, his "kindly consideration for
other people," and, third, his "accomplishment of the best
results with the least effort." Professor L. G. Weld esti-
mates him as possessing "a standard of scholarship, of gen-
tle manliness and Christian honor." Professor Shimek sums
up a graceful tribute with the words, "He was a Man." Ex-
President George E. MacLean states that "he was the most
BIOGBAPHICAL 363
valued counsellor of the president." His friend and pastor,
Bev. 1). W. Wylie, D. 1)., says, "In his life he revealed those
Christian qualities of character which endeared him to every
one and which were the secret of his influence." Sentiments
similar, but varying in their touch and quality of expression,
might be multiplied — from press, from colaborers, from stu-
dents, from fellow citizens. It is an aggregate memorial
worthy of its place on a great man's grave.
Professor Calvin entered the University of Iowa as an in-
structor in 1874, accepting the professorship of natural sci-
ences, the chair being general at that time. He taught phy-
siology, botany, and geology. Later, when the division took
place, he was made professor of geology, which position he
held until his death, bringing to his university and himself
honor and world-wide recognition. His scientific accomplish-
ments were voluminous. A statement of the honors bestowed
upon him and some of the societies with which he was con-
nected in scientific research will give a hint of his attainments
and activities. He received the degree of Master of Arts from
Cornell college in 1875 ; the degree of Ph. D. from Lenox col-
lege in 1888; and the degree of LL. D. from Cornell in 1904.
He was the editor and associate editor of the American Geol-
ogist, the principal publication in that field in the United
States, from 1888 to 1905, when he retired on account of the
great pressure of his work in other lines. He was a Fellow
in the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
and was honored with its presidency in 1894. He was a Fel-
low in the Geological Association of America, which is the
leading society of geologists in America, and was elected its
president in 1908. He was recognized as the leading and dom-
inant spirit in the Iowa Academy of Science, and held many
positions and offices in this body, including its presidency in
1909. He was a member of the Paleontological Society and
the National Geographical Society. He was made State Geol-
ogist of Iowa in 1892, and held that office until his death, with
the exception of a period from 1904 to 1906, when other work
compelled his temporary resignation. Twenty volumes of re-
ports of the State Geological Surveys attest the vigor of his
administration of this important office. He was given national
recognition and honor bv President Roosevelt in 1908 when
364 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
he was chosen as one of the members of the White House con-
ference on the conservation of the natural resources of the
United States. Recognizing his authority in geological work,
the government advised with him as occasion demanded. He
was a member of the government advisory board on fuels and
structural materials, and wrote many articles of practical
scientific value on these subjects. He was an extensive writer
on the pleistocene geological period in Iowa, and was consid-
ered the authority on this subject. Paleontology received his
detailed and comprehensive attention and has made him
known the world over.
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EESIDENCE OF MRS. SAMUEL CALVIN
Professor Thomas H. Macbride states that "as a student
of paleontology and geology Professor Calvin was the legiti-
mate and direct successor, in this field of research, of Hall
and Whitfield, men long ago famous throughout the scientific
world. . . These were distinguished men, among the great-
est geologists of the world; but their work was preliminary
only, incomplete and necessarily imperfect. . . When Pro-
fessor Calvin came to the field, since especially his own, the
geology of Iowa was still largely an unwritten volume. The
paleontology of the state had long been studied simply as a
matter of presentation to the University classes. . . In the
BIOGRAPHICAL 365
preliminary work of Hall and Whitfield an attempt was made
to correlate the several Iowa horizons with those of the stale
of New York. Professor Calvin has shown that this may be
done with the exactness once supposed impossible. . . Bui
in geology, Professor Calvin's most conspicuous service has
been effected within recent years, in fact, since he assumed
charge of the re-established geological survey. In this his
genius for organization as well as for detail work has had
full sway. . . AVhile in the conduct of research so extended
the activity of many collaborateurs must, of course, appear,
nevertheless the plan of the work entire belongs to Professor
Calvin, and of almost every volume (of the official survey) his
own personal contributions constitute a very extended part.
In this survey, the disposition and sequence of the pleistocene,
or latest deposits, of the state have received special attention
and have been so successfully worked out, delimited, and de-
scribed, as to make Iowa henceforth classic ground for pleisto-
cene geology for all the world. In the meantime, our general
knowledge of the state, our information relative to waters,
drainage, clays, rocks, and coal, has been so greatly and so
advantageously increased, that all these things today are a
matter of easy knowledge to such as choose to read."
Professor S. W. Williston, of the University of Chicago, in
an address delivered at the Calvin memorial exercises held in
the Natural Science auditorium, State University of Iowa, on
May 3, 1911, said: "I have asked several eminent geologists
what their impressions were of Calvin as a man and as a geo-
logist. Unanimous have been their replies that he was a man
of most winning personal character, a man whom all his col-
leagues liked; that he was a geologist of ability whose work
was characterized by sound judgment, honesty, sanity, and
thoroughness. . . It was Professor Calvin who began a
new epoch in the pleistocene paleontology of North America.
In his analysis of the Aftonian fauna, he for the first time
definitely located in time and place an American pleistocene
fauna. I doubt if any one else in America could have done it
as well as he, if at all. I think that I am safe in saying, that,
outside of his adopted state. Professor Calvin will be longest
known for this, his last scientific work, and the paleontologist
can only regret that as a scientist he was not spared for an-
366 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
other ten years to continue his researches in pleistocene
paleontology. Though he had passed his three score years
and ten, he showed no abatement of his zeal or of his ability,
nor would he, I am assured, had he reached four score years."
Prof. Calvin was also versed in law. He attended Ann
Arbor, Michigan, a short time before coming to Dubuque,
Iowa. Providing himself with a good law library on his ar-
rival in Dubuque, be read law with Judge Shiras. While in
Dubuque he instructed a class and gave a course of lectures
on geology.
He was employed by the city as a lecturer prior to entering
the State University. Prior to the division of the university,
in former periods Professor Calvin taught in the Medical De-
partment a class including such eminent men as Professor
Nutting, Professor Houser, Dr. Dean, Dr. Whiteis, and others
their first lessons in biology, histology, and anatomy.
Samuel Calvin was born February 2, 1840, in Wegtonshire,
Scotland, and died April 17, 1911, at his residence in Iowa
City, Iowa. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Calvin,
natives of Scotland, who, with their family, left their native
land in 1852 and settled in America, residing first in Saratoga
county, New York state, where they remained three years.
Samuel was twelve years of age when he left Scotland. In
1855 the family removed to Buchanan county, Iowa, where
they made their permanent home. On the home farm young-
Samuel laid the foundation of the strong, vigorous, and
healthy body which stood him so well in hand in his strenuous
after life. His course at Lenox college, Hopkinton, Iowa, was
interrupted by the Civil War, in which he enlisted in the
spring of 1861. After his service in the army he was secured
by Lenox college as a professor of science. It was while en-
gaged at Lenox as an instructor that Professor Calvin, in
September, 1865, was married to Miss Louise Jackson, of
Hopkinton. In 1869 the couple removed to Dubuque, Iowa,
where Professor Calvin accepted the principalship of one of
the ward schools of the city. This position he occupied until
1871, when he was elected to the chair of natural science at the
Iowa State University.
BIOGRAPHICAL 367
Samuel Calvin and Louise Jackson arc the parents of two
children: Alice, wife of Dr. Willis Lomas, of Villisca, Iowa;
William John, residing with his family at Sacramento, Cali-
fornia. The latter is a graduate of S. U. I., is a civil engineer,
and is now holding the position of division superintendent of
the Western Pacific Railroad. The daughter was at her
father's bedside during his last illness and death. He has one
brother, John, who resides at Kansas City.
Professor Calvin was active in the work of the Grand Army
of the Republic. At the time of his death he was commander
of Kirkwood Post, having been elected to that position after
the death of Commander J. E. Jayne in January, 1911. The
members of the post were proud to have such a man in their
executive chair and deeply regret that he was permitted to
preside only once over their deliberations. The military rec-
ord of Comrade Calvin is brief, but complete: "Samuel Cal-
vin, Newton township, Buchanan county. 24. Scot. Enlisted
April 30, 1864, Company C, 44th Regiment, Iowa Infantry.
Mustered in June 1, 1864. Mustered out at the close of the
war." The excessive heat of the summer in Tennessee, where
his regiment was engaged in garrison duty, caused extensive
sickness among the troops, and when Comrade Calvin reached
Davenport, Iowa, on the homeward trip, he was compelled to
enter a hospital for treatment.
The death of Professor Calvin was sudden, the result of
valvular heart trouble. His affliction was known to him, and
he remarked to a representative of this publication who ob-
tained from him personally a portion of the data for this
sketch a few weeks before his death, "I have only a short time
to stay." The funeral services, impressive in their utter sim-
plicity, were held at 2 p. m., April 21, 1911, in the First Pres-
byterian church, Iowa City, of which he was an active, useful
member for many years. Dr. Wylie, the pastor, officiated,
and, in closing a timely sermon, said: "His service in pro-
moting the coming of the kingdom of God was as great as his
work in the realm of science." The services were attended by
a very large number of the old friends of the deceased, many
being present from other cities and particularly from other
colleges in Iowa. Kirkwood Post, G A. R., attended in a
368 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
body. The remains, in the bowed presence of a hushed com-
pany, were interred in Oakland cemetery.
"The wisdom that we strive for he won abundantly;
The noble character we praise was also his;
But Death distinguished not the beauty and the prize.
The lessons of his life are with us still ;
The lesson of his death is for the world —
That whatso'er our gains may be, they perish with us,
But light we give to others leads on a race, to praise
and glorify. ' '
JOHN KOZA
John Koza left his native land, Bohemia, when nineteen
years of age, determined to apply the factors of industry,
thrift, and honesty towards the solution of the problems of
life in the new world. He wisely came direct to Iowa City,
where he immediately secured employment with J. K. Corlett
as a carriage painter. This position he retained for five
years, at the end of which he formed a partnership with his
brother Joseph in the meat market business. The brothers
carried on a successful business for fourteen years, and then
John purchased Joseph's interest and continued to carry on
the enterprise single handed for over ten years. He had then
achieved pronounced success, and retired from the meat busi-
ness in order to give his entire attention to his personal prop-
erty interests in Iowa City and Johnson county. (See biog-
raphy of Joseph Koza.)
Mr. Koza was married in 1874 to Miss Barbara Pechman,
a native of Bohemia, who came to Iowa City in 1857 with her
parents, when four years of age. Her father was a prosper-
ous farmer in Lincoln township, and shortly before his death,
in 1909, retired and removed to Iowa City, where his widow
resided until her death on May 11, 1912.
Mr. and Mrs. Koza have five children: Abigail, now Mrs.
John H. Sunier, the jeweler ; M. J., of Texas ; William, mar-
ried Miss May Baker, living in Iowa City; Anna, living at
home; Carrie, clerk in Sunier 's store.
Mr. Koza is a member of the C. S. P. S. and the P. J.
BIOGRAPHICAL 369
Safarik lodges of Iowa City. He was one of the founders of
the latter lodge, and takes a great interest in fraternal mat-
ters. In 1902 he erected a business block on East College
street and in 1906 his modern home at 619 North Linn.
At sixty-one years of age, this son of Bohemia is a repre-
sentative and prominent citizen of his adopted city, having
proven to his friends and the world the power of honest pur-
pose in the activities of life, and the possibilities of success
under the favorable conditions of a leading American com-
monwealth. With ample means in his possession, he may
r
1
ill PI
UUJii
Bfe;"'.-"'* ;J ?P^^R
RESIDENCE
look confidently forward to many years of peace and useful-
ness, with the comforts of wife, children, and friends, and the
respect of neighbors and fellow citizens.
F. B. VOLKRIXGER
Many native sons of Johnson county have spent their en-
tire lives within its limits, and of these none has won a nunc
honorable record than Frank B. Volkinger, who has been
honored by election to the office of county clerk, and who has
filled the duties of his responsible post with credit to himself
and to the satisfaction of all. He was born October 2, 1864,
370 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
son of Frank and Josephine (Meyer) Yolkringer, the father
a native of Alsace, Germany, and the mother of Strasherg,
Germany. Frank Volkringer came with his parents to the
United States at the age of three years and was educated in
this country. He came to Iowa City in 1856, walking in from
the edge of the town, as the railroad had but just been com-
pleted to Iowa City and had not yet entered the town proper.
He later engaged in business in Iowa City and became a prom-
inent citizen. He died there April 11, 1881. He and his wife
had two sons and six daughters, of whom all survive except
one son. The mother of Mr. Yolkringer, Mrs. Josephine
(Meyer) Yolkringer, died in Chicago, 111., March 5, 1900, and
^l™«St^ i m • JL \
Wsf
m
J. !/ '
,\
Millifia
RESIDENCE OF F. B. VOLKRINGER
her remains were brought to Iowa City accompanied by her
son, Frank B. Services were held at St. Mary's church of
which she was a member and she was laid at rest beside her
husband in St. Joseph's cemetery March 7, 1909. The sur-
viving children are Lilly, wife of John English of Iowa City;
Louisa, widow of Robert Lorenz, Iowa City; Catherine or
Kate, wife of William Vokes, of Chicago; Annie, wife of
George Reasor, Iowa City; Frank B., of this review; Ella,
wife of George Wise; Emma, wife of Frank Glennon.
Frank B. Volkringer received his early education in St.
Joseph's Institute, established by Rev. F. Emonds, and later
graduated from Iowa City Business College. In his seven-
BIOGRAPHICAL 371
teenth year he entered the Johnson county court house in the
capacity of deputy recorder to assist Recorder Weden. He
was appointed to the office for four years by J. J. Hotz;
sewed two years under J. J. Novak in the same position, and
six months under Joseph Cerny. His next appointment to
office was in the county auditor's office under Hon. George
Koontz, present mayor of Iowa City. He next entered the
county clerk's office as assistant to William Hotz, and upon
leaving this position became deputy for County Treasurer
A. R. Cherry, in which place he remained two years, then re-
mained there four years under Ed. Kozer. He was first elect-
ed to the office of county clerk in 1906, and has held it ever
since, having been reelected in 1910.
Fraternally Mr. Yolkringer is a member of the Maccabees,
Modern "Woodmen of America, the Elks, the Knights of Col-
umbus, the German Aid Society, and Catholic Order of For-
esters. He and his wife are members of St. Wenceslaus Bo-
hemian Catholic church, of Iowa City, and are much inter-
ested in the various branches of the work. Mrs. Yolkringer
is especially active and interested in all Christian endeavor
and affairs of the church.
Mr. Yolkringer was married in Iowa City to Miss Tonic
Strand, native of Bohemia, who came to Johnson county when
a child. She is a daughter of Joseph and Mary Strnad.
Joseph Strnad died 1894. Mary Strnad died 1896.
Mr. and Mrs. Yolkringer are well known in social circles
and both are much interested in everything pertaining to the
welfare of the community. Having spent all his life in John-
son county, Mr. Volkringer has many friends and is one of
the most popular men within its limits. His friends often re-
fer to him in a familiar, friendly way as "Frenchv. "
JAMES L. LUSCOMBE
Among the self-made of Iowa City, Iowa, may be count-
ed James L. Luscombe, who has been a resident of the city
since infancy. He is a native of London, England, born July
25, 1868, son of James and Mary (Liddle) Luscombe, who
were born, reared, and married in that country. The father
372 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
was born in March, 1843, and the mother during the same
year. They came to America, direct to Iowa City in 1871,
and there located permanently. James Luscombe was a car-
penter who made a specialty of indoor work, and he became
one of the first professional stair-builders of Iowa. He was
an enterprising and successful workman, being well skilled in
his particular line of the trade. He died in 1875. His widow
survives. They became the parents of three children.
James L. Luscombe graduated from the Iowa City high
school with the class of 1885, and after following various lines
of work, in 1892 engaged in business on his own account, as
a photographer. He has since continued in this line and has
built up a high reputation for the excellence of his work.
He is a true artist and keeps in touch with modern ideas. He
takes an active interest in the welfare of the city where almost
his entire life has been spent, and can remember no other
home. He is affiliated with the republican party. He and his
family attend the English Lutheran church, of which they are
members. He is ready to forward any object affecting the
general welfare and is regarded as a public-spirited citizen.
He is well known in various circles in Iowa City and vicinity
and has a host of friends. He has patronage from a wide
territory.
On January 1, 1893, Mr. Luscombe was united in marriage
with Miss Minnie E. Hartle, a native of Iowa county, Iowa,
and daughter of Geo. Hartle and Hartle, the
former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Virginia.
Two sons have blessed this union: Donald A., born in 1897,
and Robert, born in 1902, bright young people, and students
in the Iowa City schools.
WILLIAM MARESH
It is probably not generally known that the use of copper
in cornice construction was, if not actually conceived by
Vaclav W. Maresh of Iowa City, at least first put into general
favor by him through the product of his factory in this city.
His was the first manufactory of the sort west of Chicago,
and it is conceded that he is one of the oldest operators in
this line. His plant has furnished material for many of the
BIOGRAPHICAL
373
principal buildings of Chicago, Denver, and other western
cities, and the manufactory established by him and now oper-
ated by his two sons, "William and Stanley E., is among- the
best in the country in the line of ornamental copper work.
Vaclav W. Maresh became an artificer in copper in his
native country, Bohemia, whence he came direct to Iowa City
when a young man. In bis adopted home he met Antoinette
Miller, who became his wife, the couple being married in this
city. Miss Miller came to America witb her parents, who
located at Iowa City. Seven children were born to them:
Emma, living with her parents; Stanley E., associated in busi-
ness witb our subject; Lillian Choate, living at home; Delia,
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM MARESH
now Mrs. Thomas Chadima, of Cedar Rapids; "William our
subject ; Dr. George, practicing medicine at Riverside, Iowa ;
Dr. Reginald, practicing dentistry at Cedar Rapids. Both
parents are living and residing at 530 East Market street,
Iowa City, the father being seventy-two years of age.
William Maresh was a student in the public schools of Iowa
City, and took a course in the Iowa City Business College.
This he later supplemented by a course in architectural design-
ing and drawing, and then served a full apprenticeship at the
coppersmith trade. In March, 1900, he became associated
374 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
with his brother, Stanley E., in the galvanized iron works and
stoves and tinware business at 212-214 East Washington
street, in which he is still engaged.
Mr. Maresh was married September 10, 1902, to Miss Ella
Hurka, of Cedar Rapids, a native of Iowa, whose parents
were born in Bohemia. The family residence is at 312 East
Davenport street.
Mr. Maresh is a member of the Masonic fraternity, includ-
ing the degrees to Knight Templar of Palestine Commandery
of Iowa City. He is also a member of the B. P. 0. E., of
Iowa City.
FRANCIS LEONARD LOVE, M. D.
One of the most popular young physicians of Johnson and
adjoining counties is Francis Leonard Love, M. D., the sub-
ject of this sketch. His first general practice began in 1906
and his work as a specialist in 1908, his clientage extending
to all parts of Johnson, Iowa, and Washington counties.
Probably no physician in Iowa City has finer equipped of-
fices or accommodations for patients than Dr. Love. He oc-
cupies eleven rooms in the new, modern Paul-Helen block,
furnished with every possible convenience. Included in the
equipment are an operating room and a laboratory, with
every modern appliance. The doctor's specialty is diseases
of the eye, ear, nose, and throat. He is assistant in surgery
in the State University of Iowa.
Dr. Love is a native of Iowa, being born in Calhoun county
in 1879. His parents are Horace A. and Annie M. (Sullivan)
Love, of Manson, Iowa. He was a graduate of the high
school of Manson in the class of 1897. In 1897-98 he enlisted
in the Spanish-American War and served with 52d Iowa vol-
unteer infantry until the regiment was mustered out of ser-
vice. He attended the University of Chicago. He graduated
from the medical department of the State University of Iowa
June 18, 1906. He took a post graduate course in eye, ear,
nose, and throat at the Polyclinic, Chicago.
Dr. Love is a member of the American Medical Associa-
tion, of the Iowa State Medical Society and the Johnson
County Medical Society. He was honored by the last named
BKHiRAPIIICAL
375
society with the office of president in 1910. His fraternal
affiliations arc with the Knights of Columbus, B. P. 0. E.,
M. W. A., and W. O. W., of Eowa City. His family and he
are members of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church.
Dr. Love's wife is Miss Frances Mullen, daughter of Wil-
liam Mullen, one of the prominent citizens of Johnson county.
They have one daughter, Mary Catherine.
WILLIAM MULLEN, father of Mrs. F. L. Love, is living
in retirement with his son-in-law at the family residence, 922
East College street. He is a native of Queen's county, Ire-
land, where he was born August 2, 1841. On December 14,
1863, he left his native country for the United States, reach-
RESIDENCE OF FRANCIS LEONARD LOVE, M. D.
ing New York December 28. In January, 1864, he moved to
Rockford, Illinois, and on April IS, 1868, located at Iowa City.
For eleven and one-half years he was associated with the Iowa
City Gas Company. In March, 1880, he was appointed super-
intendent of the county poor farm by the supervisors of
Johnson county, a position which he held until his retirement
from active business. One year prior to his removal from
Ireland Mr. Mullen was married to Miss Katherine Whalen,
also a native of Queen's county. They have seven children:
John P., Annie S., Joseph, James, Mary, Katie, and Frances,
wife of Dr. Love. In politics Mr. Mullen is a democrat. Al-
37(5 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
though in favor of temperance, he declares he felt it to he his
duty to vote against the constitutional prohibition amend-
ment, and did so.
JOSEPH KOZA
Joseph Koza is two years the senior of his brother, John,
whose biography appears in this volume, and much that has
been said respecting his younger brother is equally applicable
to him. The reader is respectfully referred to the biography
of John Koza for additional facts. In one respect the
brothers repeated his story — they both left their native
land, Bohemia, at the age of nineteen. Joseph preceded
James in his westward journey by two years. Both settled
in Iowa City, and both have acquired financial independence.
The date of Joseph Koza's birth was September 21, 1848.
His parents are Joseph and Josephine (Balat) Koza. He
reached Iowa City in 1868 and entered the meat market busi-
ness. In this he was successful, being associated for about
fourteen years in partnership with his brother John. In 1900
Joseph sold out the business to his brother and retired, since
which time he has been enjoying ease and rest, his property
interests being sufficient to occupy his attention.
On June 12, 1870, Mr. Koza was married to Miss Mary
Pechman, a native of Bohemia, who came direct to Johnson
county with her parents in 1857. Again the Koza brothers
repeated history, both having married daughters of the same
parents, as stated in the biography of John Koza. Mr.
Pechman died in 1909, and his widow lived at Iowa City,
where she died May 11, 1912. Three children were born to
Joseph and Mary Koza : P. Joseph, married Miss Dela Gris-
sel, and living at Chicago; Emma J., now Mrs. J. D. Nad-
herny, living at Chicago ; E. G., married Emma Duker, and
living at Quincy, Illinois. Mrs. Koza died September 30,
1910.
Mr. Koza is a member of St. Wenceslaus Bohemian Catho-
lic church.
BIOGRAPHICAL ::77
EDWARD 8ULEK
Rising, by persistent application, from an obscure farmer
boy to a successful place as an honored member of tbe legal
profession of Iowa City, Edward Sulek stands as an example
to the young men of Johnson county. Born on a farm in
Johnson comity; working steadily thereon in his youth and
attending school in the winter and spring; graduating in the
high school ; teaching country school ; studying the elementary
principles of law by correspondence; graduating in the law
department of the State University of Iowa; undertaking his
first law practice with the old farm for his office; then remov-
ing to Iowa City and entering actively into practice with a
splendid clientage — all this reads almost like a romance.
Yet this is briefly the life sketch of Edward Sulek. This
simple recital of facts discloses at once the stuff of which he
is made. Men made of this material have no such word as
failure in their lexicon.
The founders of the Sulek family in this county were An-
thony and Barbara (Sladek) Sulek, natives of Bohemia, Aus-
tria, who settled in Jefferson township in 1853. After a
residence there of fifteen years, they removed to Linn county,
and thence in old age removing to Ely, Iowa ; finally back to
the old home in Johnson county, where Grandfather Sulek
lived with our subject's mother until his death. Frank Sulek,
son of Anthony and father of Edward, was born in Bohemia
in 1843 and came to Johnson county with his parents at the
age of ten years. The farm on which the family settled in
1853 is still in the possession of the family name, being now
owned by Frank Sulek, brother of our subject. The elder
Prank Sulek died in 1893 at the age of fifty years. He was a
successful farmer and was appreciated by everybody who
knew him for his efficiency and honesty. He served Johnson
county for six years as a member of the board of supervisors.
His wife was formerly Anna Besk, a native of Bohemia, who
came with her parents to America when seventeen years of
age. She was born in 1849. Her father, Vac. Besk, died in
March, 1912, at the age of eighty-five years. The parents of
Barbara Sulek, Grandfather and Grandmother Sladek, ac-
companied Anthony and Barbara Sulek to this country and
378
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
died at an extreme old age, Grandfather Sladek having
reached his ninety-sixth year.
There were two sons in Anthony Sulek's family: Frank,
father of Edward; and Anton. Edward Sulek was the fifth
child in a family of ten, of whom seven now survive, four
boys and three girls.
As heretofore stated, Edward Snlek was born and raised
on his father's farm. The date of his birth was July 29,
1874. After attendance at the district schools of Jefferson
township, he entered the Shueyville high school in 1888.
RESIDENCE OF EDWARD SULEK
From there he went to Cedar Rapids high school, where he
graduated in 1895. He entered the Law Department of the
State University in 1904, graduating in 1906. His first em-
ployment, aside from agriculture, was teaching the Sulek
school near his home farm. Today he is a resident of Iowa
City, where he is accounted one of the successful lawyers of
the city.
Mr. Sulek was married November 1, 1910, at Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, to Stella Novak, daughter of Frank J. and Aloyzina
Novak, both natives of Bohemia. The parents of Mrs. Sulek
BIOGRAPHICAL .".7!)
came to America in poor circumstances, and by industry and
frugality have become well-to-do. One daughter, Stella
Ivenka, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Sulek, at Iowa City, Feb-
ruary 1, 1912. All the responsible duties of the sheriff's
office is looked after by Mr. Sulek, he being special deputy
sheriff with all the authority of that office. He is a candidate
on the democratic ticket for the office of county clerk, of John-
son countv, at the 1912 election.
ALBERT HUN A
Among the representatives of Austria-Hungary who have
played an important part in the development of southeastern
Iowa no people have shown greater aptitude for assimilation
with our American institutions than the children of Bohemia.
It is undeniable that these people of the upper tributaries of
the Elbe have brought to this new world habits of industry,
frugality, honesty, and good citizenship that entitle them to
the respect of mankind. From the Prague we have the ob-
ject lessons of virtue, loyalty, respect for parents, and com-
munity fellowship which invite our admiration and respect.
Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, Brandenburg, or the Nether-
lands, have brought us no better examples of thrift and native
ability. The Bohemian in Iowa, and noticeably in Linn ami
Johnson counties, is in evidence as a sample of citizen-trans-
planting of the first order. Scores of farms in a high state
of cultivation in all parts of Johnson county attest the activity
of their Bohemian owners, while the cities and villages, the
store, the shop, the factory no less tell the story of their ad-
vance. The Bohemians are essentially a humble people, ready
to do the fundamental tasks of life; and therefore they may
be found in all the ordinary activities, toiling unceasingly and
uncomplainingly — but day by day and year by year climbing
higher in the scale of success, until today in astonishing num-
bers they occupy the places of industrial and financial power
in eastern Iowa. And thus are the former subjects of Francis
Joseph justified of their exodus.
Among the Bohemian-Americans of Iowa City, Albert
Husa occupies an honorable place. He has been a resident of
380 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the city for seventeen years, and in that time has built up a
profitable business as a merchant tailor. His success is ex-
plained by two factors: First, his honesty and square deal-
ing, and, second, his expert knowledge of his trade. The
former is inherent ; the latter is the result of careful training
and long practice. At the age of twelve years he became a
tailor's apprentice at Vienna, serving four years, and follow-
ing this he worked as a journeyman three years. At the age
of nineteen, in 1883, he came to America, locating in Chicago,
where he followed his trade for eleven years, and in 1893
added to his educational equipment by graduating from the
cutting department class of the Garment Workers Associa-
EESIDENCE OF ALBERT HUSA
tion. He left Chicago in 1894 and located in Iowa City. His
first place of business was on South Dubuque street, where he
remained until 1908, when he relocated at 203 East College
street, his present shop. There he has an established trade
which is constantly growing. He is assisted in his work by
his son, who has served five years under his father.
Albert Husa was born April 24, 1864, his parents being
John Husa and Elizabeth Hrubec, who followed the occupa-
tion of farming and lived and died in Bohemia. Our subject
was educated in the schools of his native land ; his school life
extended to Vienna during the time he was serving his tailor's
apprenticeship. He was married in Chicago to Miss Eleanor
BIOGRAPHICAL 381
Schomfelder, a native of Bohemia. Four children have been
horn to them: Catherine, at home; John P., assisting his
father in the tailor shop; William J., attending- high scl 1;
Albert, a student in the public schools. Mr. Husa is a member
of several fraternal societies, including the I. (>. 0. F., C. S.
P. S., Slovanska Lipi, a pioneer order, Zabadny Jednota So-
ciety, Branch Iowa City Sokol, the Bohemian Turner Society.
The family residence is at 326 Fairchild street.
JASPER S. POTTER, V. S.
In comparatively recent years the treatment of sick and
injured domestic animals has passed from the grasp of "old
grannies" into the hands of trained professionals, equip] >ed
by education and practice for the performance of the neces-
sary ministrations to the "dumb friends of man." Adequate
education has been supplemented also with modern appliances
and sanitary quarters for the handling of horses, cattle, and
other members of the brute creation whose ailments place
them in the category of "patients." The old barbarous prac-
tice of shooting a sick or injured animal is being largely
eliminated by the successful work of veterinarians, who bring
scientific medicine and surgery into the practical treatment
of the sick and afflicted among our four-footed friends. It
can hardly be denied that such service is of the highest value.
The extent of suffering hitherto entailed upon the horse, for
example, prior to the introduction of modern veterinary
science, is scarcely conceivable. The department of animal
dentistry alone covers a multitude of ills, for the horse, as the
human, suffers from decay and malformation of his teeth,
as well as affections of his gums and mouth. An hour's ex-
perience with the dental clamps offtimes "makes a new man
out of him," and causes him to whinny in his appreciation.
Equally gratifying results come from scientific treatment of
the hoofs, the joints, the epidermis, and other affected parts
of the animal; while, in the case of fracture or severe strain
of limbs or jaw, the science of the veterinary in nearly every
case precludes the use of the pistol or the ax. The list of
common ills of animals which yield to expert hospital treat-
382 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ment is sufficient to fully establish the claim of the veterin-
arian to the gratitude both of tbe animal creation and of the
business world. The place of the veterinary surgeon in the
economy of modern science is secure and unassailable.
In his profession in Iowa City Jasper S. Potter, D. V. S.,
stands at the head. His equipment, from the school room
to the laboratory and hospital, is of the first order. He sup-
plemented a fundamental common school education by a com-
plete course in the Chicago Veterinary College, from which
he graduated in the class of 1892, while, in connection with his
membership in the Iowa State Veterinary Association and the
liKSIUKXt'K (IF 0ASP1
I 'OTTER, V. S.
American (National) Veterinary Association, he keeps pace
with the progress and thought of his profession.
Dr. Potter was born in Muscatine county, Iowa, May 28,
1869. His parents were John D. and Kate (Scott) Potter,
pioneer settlers of Cedar county, Iowa, in 1839, now residents
of Rochester, Iowa. Dr. Potter's wife was formerly Miss
Fannie Maguire, a native of Iowa, and their marriage took
place in Cedar county. They have one son, Lawrence.
The doctor takes a great interest in fraternal matters. He
was Exalted Ruler of the B. P. 0. E. for one year, and is a
member of the M. W. A., Yeomen, Homesteaders, and Red
Men. His residence and hospital are located at 226 South
Capitol street, Iowa City.
BIOGRAPHICAL 383
JOSEPH WALKEB
Joseph Walker is one of the extensive landholders of John-
son county and is one of its most successful business men as
well. He belongs to an old pioneer family, one that has al-
ways been held in high regard by all. Ee was horn in John-
son county, June 29, 1858, son of Joseph Walker. Joseph
Walker, Sr., was born in Portage county, Ohio, in 1819, son
of James Walker. James Walker, who was a native of Vir-
ginia, moved to Ohio when it was still a territory, and there
married Miss Mary Burnett, a native of Ohio. The nine chil-
dren born of this union were: Robert, Nancy, Samuel, James.
Eliza, Joseph, Laura, Fannie, and Henry. Nancy married
James Penwell, of Ohio ; Eliza married Benjamin Wortinger,
of Ohio; Laura married Henry Welsh, of Johnson county,
Iowa, and they moved to Kansas; Fannie married George
Walker, formerly of New York, and they settled in Johnson
county.
Joseph Walker, Sr., whose education was limited to a
month in Ohio came to Johnson county, Iowa, in the fall of
1837, one of the first pioneers to arrive in the settlement of
this region. In June, 1847, he married Jane Powelson, and
they became parents of seven children: Mary, married Mar-
tin Burge (see sketch) ; Henry, of Iowa City; Joseph, whose
name stands at the head of this review; Callie, wife of John
McCollester, of Iowa City; Emma, wife of I. R. Thompson, of
Des Moines ; and Minnie Belle, died when very young. The
father of these children took an honorable part in local affairs
and always upheld the best interests of his community. He
was one of the first farmers to feed stock in Pleasant Valley
township. He was active to his last illness. He passed away
August 13, 1893, and his wife in April, 1890. He was a Uni-
versalist.
At the time the fort was constructed for the Indians in
Tama county he and Governor Kirkwood helped to make it.
He was an extensive stockman and loved to be among his
herds. Although not having much schooling he was a careful
man at figaires, was very active, and a successful farmer. He
was at work in the hay fields where he was taken sick with his
384 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
last illness. He began with a small capital and acquired a
competence for his children.
James Walker, grandfather of Joseph, came to Johnson
county in 1840 and located in Pleasant Valley township, where
he died in 1847, having spent but a few years in the new
home. His widow died in 1848. He was an industrious
farmer and a successful business man, a kind friend and g - ood
neighbor, and popular with all who knew him. He was a
stanch democrat in politics. He left his descendants the ex-
ample of a well-spent life, and made his impress on the com-
munity.
Third in the family of seven children, Joseph Walker, of
this review, was reared to farm work and upon reaching ma-
turity continued this line of endeavor for some years. He
carried on agricultural operations in Pleasant Valley town-
ship until he moved to Hills to take charge of Hills Savings
Bank. He lived there about seven and one-half years, and
was identified with the progress of Hills. In 1911 he retired
from active life and came to Iowa City to live. He is well-
known throughout Johnson county and to financial institu-
tions, recognized as an able business man and an enterprising,
useful citizen. He has various interests in Johnson county
banking circles,, and is a fit representative of one of the
oldest and most respected families in his community. He was
president of Lone Tree Savings Bank for seven years and a
director of the same.
February 22, 1883, Mr. Walker married Cora Adams, a
former school teacher of Johnson county. They are parents
of three sons and one daughter : Fred M. Walker, deceased ;
Bernice ; Myron J. ; Ralph E. Mrs. Walker is a daughter of
Moses Adams, now deceased, formerly living on Oak Grove
farm, on Section 22 Cedar township, Johnson county, and a
native of Oxford county, Maine, born November 2, 1815. He
was the sixth of nine children born to his parents and became
an expert farmer in his earlier years, coping with pioneer con-
ditions and in his later years taking advantage of the labor-
saving devices which had been brought into more general use.
His father John E. Adams, also a native of Maine, moved to
Cuyahoga county, Ohio, in 1826, bought a homestead near
Cleveland, which he cleared and improved. He died in 1850,
BIOGRAPHICAL 385
at the a i;o of fifty-nine years, while on a visit to Iowa. His
wife, Sarah (Moody) Adams, was of English descent and horn
in Massachusetts. She died several years prior to her lms-
band. John E. Adams participated in the War of 1812.
Moses Adams received a limited education in the district
school, moving with his parents to Ohio when a boy, in 1826.
In 1838 he started in life for himself, and in the autumn of
that year started for Iowa. He went south by canal to the
Ohio river, then on down the river and up the Mississippi
river to Burlington, where he attended a land sale. He then
came on to Johnson county. He rented land there for a time
and in 1845 entered land in Cedar township, erecting a log
house in the wilderness, his nearest neighbors being Indians.
Deer and other game were plentiful, and he found the condi-
tions such as are described in the first volume of this work.
He used five or six yoke of oxen to break soil, for himself and
also for others. For the first corn he sold he received twelve
and one-half cents per bushel, and Muscatine (then known as
Bloomington) was his nearest trading point for some time.
In 1856 he married Sarah Keisler, a native of Ohio, who came
to Iowa with her parents in 1851. Her father, Josiah Keisler,
was born in Greensboro (or Greensburg?),. Pennsylvania, in
1802, and died in 1881; his father having been killed by In-
dians, as a boy Josiah Keisler was "bound out" to a Quaker
family. After coming to Iowa he became an expert marks
man and noted hunter. In 1861 he enlisted for service in the
Civil War. He married Mary Regesteer, a native of Wash-
ington county, Pennsylvania, and died in 1868. Six children
were born to them.
Moses Adams and wife had three sons and three daughters,
of whom Miss Cora became the wife of Joseph Walker, as
above mentioned. She was formerly a school-teacher in
Johnson county. Her father held various positions of trust
in Cedar township and was a republican in politics. He
passed away on the home farm. Mrs. Adams survives at the
home of our subject. His loss was sadly mourned by many
friends.
Mrs. Joseph Walker, of this review, is well educated.
She was one of the first teachers employed to teach high
school in Lone Tree, Iowa. When her husband took charge
386 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
of the Hills Savings Bank slip took right hold with him. Her
thorough business training in her school work proved her a
valuable assistant cashier in the bank, a lady of true culture
and refinement and executive ability. She was a very active
worker of the Presbyterian church at Hills while living
there. Of their two sons living, Myron J. is a graduate of
Iowa City high school and was a junior of the S. U. I. prior
to entering the Naval Acadamy at Annapolis, Maryland,
where he is midshipman. The other son, Ralph E., is a stu-
dent of the Iowa City high school. Mr. and Mrs. Walker can
feel justly proud of these boys. Having received a Christian
training, Mrs. Walker is a lady of many accomplishments and
traces her lineage to President John Quincy Adams. Mr.
Walker is one of the capitalists of Johnson county, the owner
of 1,600 acres of good farming lands in the county and in
Macon county, Missouri. He is trustee in a very large tract
of land in Missouri.
The Walker family has traveled extensively, north, east
and south, but are glad to call Iowa their home.
WILLIAM LEE AND FAMILY
< )ld residents of Iowa City will remember the Pioneer Book
Store, which formerly occupied the east half of the present
site of Bennison's dry goods store on East Washington street.
Until the year 1862 it was the only book store in the city.
Its founder, William Lee, was one of the best known among
the pioneer business men of the University City, and his ac-
tivities reached back to the years when Iowa City was the
capital of the Hawkeye state. In fact, his bookbinding estab-
lishment, first opened in 1852, in connection with the state
printing, was the only institution of its kind in the entire
state fully equipped for the handling of legis'ative reports,
legal codes, and the various publications required for the
transaction of public business.
William Lee was a practical bookbinder of thorough train-
ing and experience. A native of Glasgow, Scotland (born in
1809), after a fair education under Scotch tutors, he was, at
the age of fourteen, apprenticed by bonded indenture for
BIOGRAPHICAL ::s7
seven years to Fisher & Brothers, an extensive publishing
firm of his native city, to learn the bookbinding trade. He
mastered the business in every department, inclnding folding,
stitching, paper ruling, and pressing. Having completed his
apprenticeship, he removed to London, where he secured em-
ployment at his trade, working uninterruptedly until 1845,
when, at the age of thirty-six, he set sail for New York from
London on the good ship, "Prince Albert." The voyage oc-
cupied thirty days. In July of the same year, having reached
the new world, he pushed westward by way of the Erie canal
and the great lakes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he re-
KF.SIUF.XCK OK MISS MARliARET LEE
mained until 1848. He then removed to St. Louis, Missouri,
and became foreman in the bookbindery of James Hogan, his
term of employment extending to 1851. In the last named
year he first settled in Iowa City. At that time Hon. George
Paul and Major Garrett Palmer, proprietors of The Capital
Reporter, were the state printers and hinders, hut they had no
practical knowledge of binding, and theirs being the only
bindery then in the state, they were compelled to send that
class of work to St. Louis. As may be supposed, Mr. Paul
was in search of a competent book-binder who would locate in
Iowa City and take charge of binding the legislative journals
and acts and the state code, seven thousand conies of the lat-
388 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ter having been ordered by the General Assembly. His in-
quiries brought him in contact with Mr. William Lee, and the
twain returned together to Iowa City. One year later, as
above stated, Mr. Lee established the Pioneer Book Store in
connection with the state bindery. The work turned out of
his bindery, under the contract of Palmer & Paul, was most
satisfactory, so much so that the Code of 1851 is referred to,
to this day, as the most durable specimen of book binding
ever done in the state. For some time Mr. Lee continued to
do the state binding, and, on the inauguration of the State
University, he did the work for that institution.
The first building erected by Mr. Lee for the housing of
the Pioneer Book Store was of frame construction, and, as
hitherto stated, fronted Washington street on the alley east
of Dubuque street. This was afterwards superseded by a
brick structure. William Lee conducted this business until
his death, April 23, 1871, when the management passed to his
son, James. The latter died May 18, 1888, after which the
business was carried on by Miss Margaret Lee, the only
daughter of William Lee, who still lives at this writing in the
old brick mansion, built by her father, corner of South Capitol
and Court streets, facing the county court house.
William Lee was marked in his knowledge of human nature.
One of his business maxims was, "Take people as they are,
not as you wish them to be." His character for probity,
benevolence, and scrupulous business exactness was of the
highest. He was very attentive to his patrons. In his latter
years he was usually found sitting in the rear part of his
store entertaining his pioneer friends; and even while thus
engaged, if a customer was left unnoticed by the clerical force,
he was up and looked into the matter at once. The simplicity
of his business methods was noticeable to the last. As his
final end was approaching he summoned his old-time personal
friend, Hon. George Paul, to his bedside, and to him and the
assembled children he gave verbal instructions for the dis-
position of his independent fortune, discarding the written
form of will. He also laid upon his children certain injunc-
tions, one of which was to decline any public office. He for-
bade the least ostentation at his funeral or any inscription on
his tomb, both of which he deemed vanity. In religion his
BIOGRAPHICAL 389
association was with the Protestant Episcopal church. Be
was an Odd Fellow.
The paternal ancestors of William Lee were Scotch; the
maternal, English. His wife was Miss Jean Murray, of
Edinburgh, Scotland. The marriage ceremony was per-
formed on November 28, 1830, in London, England, by the
Rev. I. T. Council, a minister of the Church of England. The
marriage took place in St. Margaret's Chapel, an appendage
of Westminster Abbey. Years afterward the faithful wife
and mother was buried from the same chapel. Her youngest
son, Robert, lies beside his mother.
The children of William Lee and Jean Murray are: Mar-
garet Lee, born in London, England, living in the old home,
Iowa City; William, husband of Jane McBride, buried in the
Crown Hill cemetery, near Denver, Colorado ; James, died in
Denver, Colorado, at the residence of his brother Henry, May
8, 1888; Henry, married to Jennie Paul, has resided in Den-
ver, Colorado, since 1865; Robert, died very young at London.
England. All the children of Wiliiam Lee were born in Lon-
don.
Concerning the death of William Lee, the eldest son, the
Colorado Transcript, of Golden, Colorado, says: "Mr. Lee
was one of the very first settlers in Jefferson county, having
in '59 taken up a homestead a few miles east of Golden. He
resided there continuously until his death, having reached
the age of seventy-four. Mr. Lee represented this county at
the constitutional convention, and before and after that mem-
orable event was prominent in the affairs of the county. He
was the very first man in Colorado to plant fruit trees, bring-
ing a load of young apple trees all the way from Iowa City.
Iowa, in an ox-cart. These trees were his especial pride, and
he never failed to point them out to visitors at his farm. Mr.
Lee's place, which is about midway between Golden and Den-
ver, is one of the finest farms in the Clear creek valley. Mr.
Lee was a member of the Colorado Pioneer Society, and the
members of that organization, accompanied by the pioneer
ladies, attended the funeral in a body."
James Lee, the second son, was educated in the public
schools of St. Louis, Missouri, and Iowa City, Iowa. In 1851
he removed with his father to Iowa City, where he began his
390 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
first work for the Capital Reporter, remaining in the employ
of that paper until 1859, when he started with his brother
William on a proposed journey to Pike's Peak. However,
after penetrating the wilds of Nebraska a distance of forty
miles beyond Omaha, then infested by hostile Indians, they
met the returning tide of disappointed emigrants, and, aban-
doning their journey, returned to Iowa City. It was his de-
sire the following year to renew the attempt, but the elder
Lee forbade, and the enterprise was abandoned. About this
time an association founded on friendship, mutual confidence,
and a community of tastes was formed between James Lee,
Charles Reiff, and George P. Plumley, which endured for
many years. In fact, until death intervened to separate these
companions, they were practically inseparable. William
Reiff, being the senior, was named "Dad," and his decisions
were law. These three bachelors were prominent and orig-
inal members of the Riverside Boat club, of which "Dad"
Reiff was the caterer. Other original members were: John
P. Irish, Greene Choate, M. AY. Davis, S. J. Hess, H. 0.
Hutchinson, and Ed. Clinton.
Between 1873 and 1888, the year of his death, James Lee
made several trips to Colorado and westwai'd; first on busi-
ness, and latterly in search of health. In 1882, in company
with Mayor George W. Koontz and others, he visited Pelican
lake, in Palo Alto county, Iowa, on a hunting, fishing, and
camping trip. During his last visit to his brother, Henry
Lee, at Denver, Colorado, he was overtaken by his fatal ill-
ness, and on May 18, 1888, died at the latter 's residence. His
remains were brought to Iowa City by his devoted sister and
brothers, and on May 22d interred in Oakland cemetery by
the side of his father. Pitting resolutions concerning his
death were adopted by the board of curators of The Iowa
State Historical Society, of which he was a member.
James Lee's religious connections, like his father's, were
with the Protestant Episcopal church. He took an active
part in public affairs. He was a member of the city council of
Iowa City for two years from March, 1873, and of the board
of supervisors of Johnson county for three years from March,
1877. His membership in The State Historical Society cov-
ered twenty years, during seventeen of which he was an active
BIOGRAPHICAL 393
member of the board of curators. Be presented a large buf-
falo head to the State University Museum, and his sister Mar-
garet, on his behalf, gave to The Iowa State Historical Soci-
ety an oil painting of the first judges of Iowa. James Lee
was a Mason.
Margaret Lee, residing at Iowa City, and Henry Lee, of
Denver, Colorado, are the sole survivors of the family. The
latter is a leading merchant in the Colorado metropolis.
Margaret, as before stated, occupies the old family mansion
in Iowa City. She is held in high esteem by a large circle of
friends and acquaintances in the city which has been the scene
of her life's activities.
FRANK J. FLOERCHINGER
Frank .1. Floerchinger is a son of George Floerchinger and
Katie Worf, both natives of "Germany. He was born in Ox-
ford township, Johnson county, Iowa, in 1877. He was raised
RE-IDEXC'E OK FRANK J. FLOERCHINGER
in Oxford and educated in the public schools of that town.
His first employment was as a farm hand for three years on
the old home farm, which he afterwards rented and farmed
for eight years. Thereafter he went to Xeodosha, Kansas,
where he carried on a furniture and undertaking estab'ish-
nient for three years. Returning, he entered the emplov of
392 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the Oxford Furniture Company for a year and a half, after
which he moved to Tama, Iowa, where he continued in the
same line for about eight months. He then returned to Ox-
ford and became permanently connected with the Oxford Fur-
niture Company as undertaker and embalmer, holding licenses
as an embalmer from Kansas and Iowa.
Mr. Floerchinger married Miss Teresa Ellen Orabin,
daughter of William and Annie (Tomash) Grabin, old settlers
of Johnson county. (See sketch of the Grabin family for
further particulars. — Ed.) Miss Grabin was born and
raised in Oxford township. They have one son: William
George, named after both grandfathers, aged ten years, at-
tending school at Oxford.
Mr. Froerchinger is a member of the M. W. A., and B. P.
0. E., of Iowa City. He is a member of St. Mary's Catholic
church. In this church he was baptized, and made his first
communion, and was confirmed. His son was also baptized
in the same church.
JAMES H. NESMITH
Serving three years and taking an active part in forty-five
engagements of the Civil War and yet never receiving so
much as a scratch is the remarkable record of James H.
Nesmith, the subject of this sketch. If Comrade Nesmith
had been fighting against Indians, he would have been credit-
ed by the superstitious red men with the possession of a
charmed life, and their medicine men would most probably
have sought his acquaintance to learn the marvelous secret
of his immunity. Alert and vigorous today at the age of
seventy-six, Mr. Nesmith is himself given to wonder at his
experience, and counts it as a part of the remarkable chances
of war unexplainable except on the score of sheer good luck
or the guiding hand of a good providence which led him
always just the narrow distance away from the fatal point,
while comrades just as good as lie fell wounded to the death
on the right hand and the left. He was witness of the fall,
mortally wounded, from their horses of several sergeants of
his company, and personally helped to catch two poor fellows
in their descent of death.
BIOGRAPHICAL
393
Mr. Nesmith enlisted August 20, 1862, in Company F,
Fourteenth Pennsylvania, Staunton Light Cavalry, and was
honorably discharged at Alexandria, Virginia, May 30, 1865,
taking- part in the final grand review at Washington, D. C, in
which he bad the privilege of being both a participant and a
spectator, his personal friend, the provost marshal, having
secured him a permit to witness the review after his own com-
pany had passed. Mr. Nesmith has kept a daily diary of the
events of his life, including the experiences of his company in
the Civil War. From this we have been permitted to make
RESIDENCE OF JAM!
the following schedule of the engagements in which he took
part :
Lynchburg, Virginia, January 18, 1863; Buckingham, Vir-
ginia, June 13, 1863; Beverly, Vest Virginia, July 3, 1863;
Huntsville, West Virginia, July 4, 1863; Hedgeville, West
Virginia, July 19, 1863; Union Springs, West Virginia,
August 24, 1863; Rocky Gap, West Virginia, August 26-27,
1863 ; Sa'em Raid, December 8, 1863 ; Wytheville, May 10, 1864 ;
Union, May 13, 1864; Lynchburg, June 17-18, 1864; Liberty.
June 19, 1864; Bunker Hill, June 26, 1864; Darksville, July 2,
1864; Snicker Gap, July 18, 1864; Newtown, Virginia, July
22, 1864; Kernstown, Virginia, July 24, 1864; Martinsburg,
394 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Virginia, July 25, 1864; Clear Springs, Virginia, July 29,
1864; McConnelsburg, Pennsylvania, July 31, 1864; Shepards-
town, August 3, 1864; Antietam Ford, August 4, 1864; Mor-
fielcl, West Virginia, August 7, 1864; Winchester, August 11,
1864; White Post, August 12, 1864; Martinsburg, August 31,
1864; Darksville, September 3, 1864; Bunker Hill, September
5, 1864; Darksville, September 10, 1865; Stone Bridge, Sep-
tember 18, 1864; Opaquan, September 19, 1864; Fishers Hill,
September 21-22, 1864; Forestville, September 24, 1864; Mt.
Crawford, September 25, 1864; Wyers Cave, September 26-
27, 1864; Mt. Jackson, October 3, 1864; Cedar Creek, October
19, 1864; Milford, Duray Valley, October 26-Nov. 12, 1864;
Ninevah, November 12, 1864; Mt. Jackson, November 22,
1864; Milwood, December 17, 1864; Madison Lt. House,
December 21-22, 1864; Liberty Mills, December 27, 1864; Mt.
Carmel Church and Ashby Cap, February 17, 1865. In the
latter engagement his brother, John H. Nesmith, was severely
wounded.
James H. Nesmith is a native of Fayette county, Pennsyl-
vania, his birthday being November 5, 1835. He was well
educated in the common schools of the day, and on reaching
his majority took up the trade of shoemaking. This business
he has followed the major portion of his life. In 1856 he and
a companion left Mansfield, Ohio, in a covered wagon drawn
by two stout horses, en route to the new state of Iowa. They
passed through Iowa City, and on the night of November 4th
camped near Fort Dodge. Coincidentally, this was the eve
of our subject's twenty-first birthday anniversary and also
the eve of the presidential election. Mr. Nesmith was al-
lowed to cast his first presidential vote in the little town of
Homer, Iowa, the law not then specifying any fixed time of
prior residence. This first vote of the future soldier of the
Union was cast for General John C. Fremont, the leader of
the anti-slavery forces, who, in spite of his popular majority
of 115,868, was beaten in the electoral college by James
Buchanan. Mr. Nesmith remained one year in Iowa and in
the winter of 1857 returned to Pennsylvania, where he fol-
lowed his trade until the breaking out of the great Civil War.
At the close of the rebellion he returned to Pennsylvania,
where he continued working at his trade until 1869. The
BIOGRAPHICAL 395
memory of that one year spent in the virgin state of Iowa,
however, still lingered seductively with him, and this, coup ed
with the fact that his brother John II. had removed thence
county, decided him one- more to cast his fortunes with the
llawkeye state, lie hecaine a fanner in York township,
where he resided until 1876, when he removed to the town of
Oxford, where he became interested in town property and
where he has acquired a comfortable competence for his de-
clining years, lie still works at his trade, however, during
the fall and winter. A view of his cozy resilience near the
high sehool appears in connection with this sketch. He re-
calls, with some pride, the fact that lie has seen this beautiful
high school building develop from a two-room frame ami a
four-room brick to its present capacity of six rooms and every
modern appliance. Mr. Nesmith has taken an active in-
terest in educational matters in Oxford, having served on the
hoard of education for thirteen years, a period of most pleas-
ant memories. In connection with his humble work of shoe-
making, Mr. Nesmith performs the duties of notary public
and tire warden. He has always taken an active interest in
the development of Oxford, the growth of which from the
date of its laying-out to the current year he has witnessed.
His first office in the town was that of constable, and his next
that of marshal. At the time of his incumbency in the Latter
office there were nine saloons in the town, and much roughness
prevailed owing to a floating foreign population. At the end
of June, 11)11, the town became dry. In politics .Mr. Nesmith
is a "stand-pat" republican. He has served as a delegate to
county conventions and is a member of the county central
committee. His knowledge of military affairs has made him
a valuable man in the settlement of pensions for most of the
old soldiers of his section. He has a complete record of all
vouchers, taken from the official record. Mr. Nesmith holds
the record for membership in the Masonic lodge of Oxford, in
which he is an able worker and greatly respected. He was
commander and secretary of George A. Remley Post, (i. A. R.,
which is now disbanded, owing to depletion in membership.
His church affiliation is with the Methodist Protestant denom
ination.
396 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Nesmith was married in Fayette county, Pennsyl-
vania, to Miss Sarah J. Wyatt, daughter of Aaron Wyatt.
Eight children were born to them, of whom six are living.
Thirteen grandchildren and one great grandchild swell the
number of his posterity. The names of the surviving chil-
dren are : Nancy, widow of John Nesmith, resides at Wilmar,
Iowa ; James, Jr., unmarried, resides at Oxford, employed in
steam shovel department C, R. I. & P. R. R. ; Mary, wife of
Ed. Linkhardt, a prominent farmer of Oxford township;
Thomas, married to Flora Schmidt, of Kellogg, Iowa ; Libbie,
wife of Robert Sherlock, son of the county supervisor of Iowa
county.
THOMAS J. NESMITH, father of James H., was born in
"Washington, D. C, during the first administration of Presi-
dent Washington. He received a practical education and in
early life was a comb-maker by trade. He took a great in-
terest in religious matters, and during the greater part of
his life was an exhorter and local preacher in the Methodist
Protestant church of Pennsylvania. He lived to see his large
family grown to manhood and womanhood. His wife was
Nancy Hibbins, born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, their
marriage taking place at Uniontown, Pennsylvania. This
venerable couple removed to Illinois, and both are buried in
Putnam county, having left the heritage of a well-spent and
useful life. Father Nesmith lived to the age of ninety, his
mental faculties being clear to the last. An estimate of the
esteem in which he was held by his neighbors is shown by the
fact that he was justice of the peace of South Union township,
Fayette county, Pennsylvania, for forty years consecutively.
He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and when the Civil W r ar
laid claim upon the patriotism of the North, three of his sons
enlisted to fight for the preservation of the Union. These
were : William D. Nesmith, of the Eighth Pennsylvania, who
died in the service at Alexandria, Virginia ; John H. Nesmith,
formerly with the Pennsylvania Reserves 1861-62, and after
discharge reenlisted in the Fourteenth Cavalry, serving with
his brother, our subject, until severely wounded at Mt. Carmel
church, Ashby Gap, February 17, 1865; James H. Nesmith,
whose war record has been already given. Mary E. Nesmith,
a daughter, was the wife of a Civil War veteran, and she her-
BIOGRAPHICAL 397
self did service at Camp Douglas. In all out subject had
five brothers-in-law and two nephews in the Union army,
which places the family unquestionably in the ranks of the
nation's warriors. The three surviving- memhers of this fam-
ily of eight are: Mary E., widow of the veteran William (i.
Bardsley, residing at Tonika, Illinois; Dorcas, widow of Rev.
Brown, residing at Confluence, Pennsylvania; and James H.,
the subject of this sketch. The ancestry of the family is pure
American, and that they have worthily honored the country
of their birth will not he denied. Their place in the annals
of the nation's history is assured.
DR. ELMER AUSTIN DOTY
James Doty, the paternal grandfather of the subject of
this sketch, was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1802,
and was of Scotch-Irish descent, his ancestors having settled
in that region prior to the close of the American Revolution.
His father was Abraham Doty, who moved with his family
in 1815 to Milton township, Richland (now Ashland) county,
Ohio. In 1834 James Doty married Miss Sarah Croninger.
Ten children were born of this union, eight of whom (five
sons and three daughters) survived up to 1880. James Doty
died January -1, 1879, aged seventy-seven years. Lewis Mar-
tin Doty, the father of our subject, was born May 18, 1825, in
Ashland county, O., and died at Oxford, Iowa, September 26,
1901. He made the trip from Ohio to Iowa in 1849 on horse-
back and located land in Oxford township, Johnson county,
taking up two quarter sections, purchasing one with Mexican
land warrants. The region was raw prairie at that time,
Iowa City being the postoffiee for the entire district. The
nearest neighbor was three miles and others from seven to
ten miles distant. Indians were nmnerous. Mr. Doty's first
dwelling was a rude structure built of round logs without the
use of a nail in its construction. Game was plentiful, the
prairies being literally filled with wild turkeys and prairie
chickens, with occasional deer. Lewis M. Doty was a citizen
of progressive and public spirited ideas. One of his hist en-
terprises was the erection of a sawmill in Oxford township,
398 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
from which he supplied the settlers with lumber — a greatly-
needed commodity. Later he owned a sawmill at Boone,
Iowa. Mr. Doty is on record as one of four settlers who, in
the fall of 1852, erected a school house on the site of what was
known as "Wolf Corner," west of the residence of L. R.
Wolf. The house was a small log affair, and in addition to
its use for school purposes was used as a place of worship
until 1861. Up to the latter date no regular organization had
been perfected. In that year, 1861, school house, District
No. 2, was built. Mr. Doty interested himself in the cause of
religion also, and was among the original members of the
Methodist Episcopal church in the township. Lewis M. Doty
was married to Hannah Mason, daughter of Martin and Mary
Mason, born in Ashland county, Ohio, March 19, 1828. Mrs.
Doty's sister, Anna Mason, was a pioneer school teacher in
Oxford township in 1851. For two winters she taught in a
room of Mr. Williams's residence. Mrs. Doty reached Ox-
ford township with her son, Elmer A., in 1851, having re-
mained in Ohio during her husband's pre'iminary work in
the new west. The other children of the family are : Charles
F., auctioneer, Oxford, Iowa; Yilda Ann, wife of Dr. F. R.
Ward, Omaha, Nebraska, at whose home Mrs. Lewis M. Doty
now resides; Ida C, wife of Charles E. Frost, Wapello,
Iowa; Arta M., deceased. All these, with the exception of
Elmer A., were born in Oxford township.
Charles F. Doty, our subject's only brother, was born in
the original log cabin on the homestead in Oxford township,
November 2, 1852. He was raised a farmer and educated in
the dictrict schools and the Iowa City Academy. In 1876 he
began business as an auctioneer and has been engaged therein
ever since. He was married in 1875 to Miss Amanda Bab-
cock, daughter of Orville G. and Julia (Stee'e) Babcock, of
North Liberty, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. C. F. Doty have
one son, Fred E., living at San Diego, California, and an
adopted daughter, Belle, graduate of the Oxford high school
and the Capital City Commercial College, of Des Moines, who
is now a stenographer at Portland, Oregon. Mr. Doty is a
member of the I. 0. 0. F.
Dr. Elmer A. Doty, our subject, was born in Ashland coun-
ty, Ohio, in 1850, and, as heretofore stated, came with his
BIOGRAPHICAL 399
mother to Johnson county in 1851, his father having left for
the west before the birth of his first son in order to provide a
homestead. The early life of young Doty was spent upon
the farm. His education was received in the common schools.
He graduated from the high school and entered the medical
department of the State University of Iowa, from which he
graduated in 1885. The same year lie began his practice and
since that time lias been a general practitioner in Oxford.
He established a drugstore in connection with his practice,
which has developed into one of the prosperous institutions
of the town. The Doty building, a fine two-story structure,
is the outgrowth of Dr. Doty's thirty-six years of honest, in-
dustrious effort. The first floor of this building contains the
drug store, while on the second floor are located the doctor's
offices. Dr. Doty is also the owner of a fine residence on
"Quality Hill," Oxford, and rich farm lands near the town.
He is a director of the Oxford State bank. He has held many
positions of trust in his township, and was health officer for
ten consecutive years. Politically he is a republican, and has
taken an active interest in the affairs of his party as delegate
to county, state, and congressional conventions. Dr. Doty
is a member of the Iowa State and .Johnson County .Medical
Societies and the Cedar Valley Medical Association. He has
read papers before the first two societies on the subject of
'"Diabetes" and kindred topics. The doctor is a trustee of
the ( )xford lodge of Odd Fellows, in which his father was also
an officer; is an active worker in the M. E. church and a mem-
ber of the Lincoln Farm Association. Dr. Doty was married
in Boone county in 1871 to Nancy A. Myers, born in Indiana,
daughter of Michael and Sarah (Latham) .Myers, and is the
father of two children: Lewis M., married to Lucy McDonnell,
father of two daughters, Esther and Ruth; Nellie P.., wife of
Daniel McCleery, of South Dakota.
THE HEW GEORGE BENNETT
The minister of the United Brethren church, Shueyvil
the Rev. George Dennett, was born at Carlean Farm, t'ai
borne, county of Cornwall, England, on January 1!», IS."
400 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOAYA
Carlean is on the wild and precipitous sea-coast that forms
the northern boundary of Cornwall, where from dizzy heights
one looks down on the incoming waters of the Atlantic, as
they are churned to foam and hurled hither and thither from
rock to rock, or dashed high up the grim cliffs that stand as
sentinels keeping eternal watch over nature in one of her
grandest domains. His father also bore the name of George,
and grandfather, too, in addition to three previous genera-
tions, the same name coming down from father to son for a
long series of years and through a number of individual
families.
The father was the eldest son of his family and was also
born at the Carlean homestead, which his father farmed.
His mother bore the maiden name of Mary Kendall, and there
were many brothers and sisters. Among the former two died
in childhood, Samuel and James settled in Australia, while
"William and Alfred made their home in the vicinity of the
old birth-place. The eldest brother, George, the father of
the subject of our sketch, after moving to the eastern section
of the county of Cornwall, where he lived several years, left
England, accompanied by his wife and joined a son in
Cheshire, Connecticut, U. S. A. He had been a preacher from
early manhood among the Wesleyan Methodists in England,
and after coming to Cheshire rendered effective service in the
ministry of the New York East Conference of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He died in Cheshire, Connecticut, on the
31st of March, 1911, having reached the good age of 86. Of
the two sisters, one, Catherine, passed away in girlhood, while
Mary, who married Stephen Polkinghorne of Gonwin Farm,
Cornwall, England, is a resident of Portreath, in the same
county, and the sole survivor of the family.
The mother of the subject of our sketch bore the maiden
name of Emma Edmonds, and was the eldest daughter of
Richard Edmonds of Treswithan Farm, Cornwall. Her
mother's maiden name was Mary Lanyon. She had a brother,
Alfred, and a younger sister, Susan. The former married
Mary G. Hosking of Birkenhead, England, and the latter,
Josiah Hoskino- of the same place, the two last named being
brother and sister. Another sister died in early life. This
family was related to Charlotte Bronte, the famous writer.
BIOGRAPHICAL 401
Mrs. Emma Bennett died at Polstrong Farm. Camborne,
at the age of 33, leaving a husband and five young hoys. The
previous March a little baby girl, Mary Emma, an only daugh-
ter, had passed away. The father afterwards married Ellen
Vivian, of Pengegon, Camborne, who lived but a brief year
or two following her wedding-day. Be was subsequently
again united in marriage to Thyrza Hicks, of St. Kew, Corn-
wall, England, who survives him and is a resident of Cheshire,
Connecticut.
Mr. Bennett of our sketch was the eldest of the live hoys
mentioned. The second brother, Richard Edmonds, married
Jane Martyn of St. Columb Forth, Cornwall, England, and is
a minister of the Protestant Episcopal church in Mobile, Ala-
bama; the third, William Lanyon, is a minister of the Wes-
leyan Methodist church and stationed at Budleigh Salterton,
Devonshire, England, his wife being- formerly Clara James,
of Camborne, England; Alfred Samuel is the fourth brother.
He married Annie Cleave of St. Kew, Cornwall, England, and
is engaged in business in Cheshire, Connecticut; the youngest
of the five, James, is a citizen of South Meriden, Connecticut,
where he also is established in business; his wife bore the
name of Julia Andrew, her parents having been residents in
the neighborhood of his home town. Boys and girls have
been born into each of five families of the five brothers.
After a course of education in private schools, and some
years of life on the farm, Mr. Bennett took up business pur-
suits, during which period he lived in various parts of Eng-
land. In the spring of 1893 he left the mother country for
the state of Connecticut, where his father and two younger
brothers had preceded him. He had been from young man
hood a preacher in the Wesleyan Methodist church in Eng-
land, and a few months after reaching America entered the
active work of the pastorate, being stationed at West Hart-
land, a methodist appointment in Connecticut. It is a note-
worthy fact that his ancestry were distinctly of a preaching
stock and of a strong Methodist type. They were identified
with the early history of John Wesley's remarkable work, as
Cornwall, the native county, was the scene of some of his
ardent and devoted efforts and the territory today bears abid-
ing evidence of this.
402 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Various pastorates in the state were filled till Stamford
was reached, where Mr. Bennett spent a number of years, his
time being divided there between the pulpit and other pur-
suits. It was at this period that he took a special interest in
the country sections outside the city, and promoted a move-
ment and organization which brought these together in united
effort towards what tended to advance all along social and
civic lines. Various village improvement associations were
formed, and the whole affiliated in a central body that bore
the name of "Stamford Rural Association." He served for
years as secretary of this movement, contributed much to the
press, and was also active in grange circles in the community,
being both a member of subordinate, county and state organ-
izations.
He became identified with religious effort in the village of
Turn-of-River, Stamford, and after ministering to a congre-
gation there for several years, a church was organized on a
union basis, embracing all denominations, Mr. Bennett being
the officiating clergyman and its first pastor. The mutual re-
gard characterizing people and pastor was most cordial, and
when the latter at the close of 1909 resigned his work pre-
paratory to leaving for the west, he was made Pastor Emer-
itus of the church by unanimous vote.
On January 3, 1882, Mr. Bennett was united in marriage
to Alice, the youngest daughter of Joseph Wilson, of Hull,
England, who was a well-known business man in the eastern
section of that city for a period of more than fifty years.
Her mother's name was Ann Kirk; she was a native of Hull
and died at the age of sixty-eight. Her husband outlived her
eighteen years and passed away at the ripe age of ninety.
Besides Mrs. Bennett there were two sons and three daugh-
ters. Joseph, the eldest, passed away in early life and un-
married, while the younger, William Henry, also died com-
paratively young and unmarried. The eldest daughter, Ellen,
is Mrs. Henry Rippon, of Hull, while Emma is the other sur-
viving sister. Annie, who never had been strong, died some
years ago.
Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have had six children, five of whom
are living. The eldest boy, George Bronte, did not outlive
infancy, and his twin sister, Mary Ellen, thus leads the fam-
BIOGRAPHICAL 403
ily. The second daughter is Alice Mabel. A son, George,
who is the seventh generation to bear his name in direct line,
conies next; he was married on August 21, 1911, to .May.
the eldest daughter of the Rev. Thomas and Mrs. Booth of
Hamilton, Texas. Muriel Kathleen is the third daughter,
while the last of the five is Henry Arnold, the only child of
the family horn in the United States.
As a christian minister Mr. Bennett realizes his supreme
privilege and duty to he, to focus the individual aspiration on
the greatness and glory of personal service for the Creator,
but he recognizes life to be a sacred thing in its material as
well as moral aspects. He believes acceptable service with
God to consist not only in reverent obedience to the teachings
of the Book of Books, but in filling well one's allotted place
in life, whatever the legitimate vocation may be. Hence, he
contends the preacher should he a leader in the community at
large, and while intelligently presenting the message of in-
spired truth, at the same time should aid the cause of progres-
sive culture, civic government, community improvement, and
general uplift, as opportunity presents itself. And that is
just the program he has outlined for himself and others
in his rural charge in Johnson county. He is a member of
the Iowa State Conference of the United Brethren church and
came to Shueyville October 24, 1910, in accordance with the
appointment assigned to him by that body on the previous
day, at its annual session convened in Toledo.
REVEREND HENRY ALOYSIUS KNEBEL
Rev. Henry Aloysius Knebel is well known for his activity
in behalf of the interests of St. Mary's church, of Tipton,
Iowa. He is a native of Sharon township, Johnson county,
horn May 12, 187:1, tenth of the thirteen children of Rochus
and Elizabeth (Wumbacher) Knebel, now living retired, at
Hills. They were emigrants from Germany, and early settlers
of Johnson county, coming there about 1S50. Their trip across
the ocean was made in a sailing vessel, which took thirteen
weeks to make the trip. They became highly respected and
successful farmers and reared a tine family of children to do
404 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
them credit, and who remember with pleasure the pleasant
life in their childhood home.
To Rochus and Elizabeth Knebel the following children
were born: Louis, married Walburger Hise, anrl they have
one son, Charles, who married Mary Dalmage, who have three
children, Ambrose, Earl, and Ralph — was the first blacksmith
of Hills, Iowa, where he still resides; James, of Richmond,
Iowa, married Anna Dautremont, and their children are Wini-
fred and Robert ; Mary, who became the wife of Frank Dautre-
mont, and died at her residence at Monticello, Iowa, at the age
of forty-nine years, on August 9, 1907, left ten children —
Adelbert, Gertrude, Margaret, Clotilde (Mrs. Murphy, who
has two sons), Frank, Jr., Lillian, Leona, Leroy, Lorraine,
and Verena, the last of whom was about four or five years old
when the mother died ; Lavina, who married Joseph N. Schnoe-
belen, a farmer living near Riverside, Washington county, and
their thirteen children, who form a part of the congregation of
St. Mary's Catholic church at Riverside, are Linus, Hubert,
Guy, Stella, Hilda, Louis, Oswald, Bernadette, Verodina,
Mello, Percy, Urban, and Rita; John, of Liberty township, a
separate sketch of whom will be found in this work; Miss
Anna lives with her parents at Hills and looks out for their
comfort and welfare ; George, a successful farmer of Liberty
township, married Mary Hise, a sister of Mrs. Louis Knebel ;
Frank, formerly a partner of his brother Louis, has a lunch
room at Hills, attends St. Joseph's Catholic church, Hills,
married Elizabeth Gringer, and they have three children —
Zeno, Mary, and Amelia; Amelia, ninth in order of birth, be-
came a member of the order of Franciscan Sisters of Perpet-
ual Adoration, of St. Rose Convent, LaCrosse, Wisconsin,
assumed the name of Sister Mary Amanda, and is at present
a teacher in St. Angelns Institute, Carroll, Iowa; Rev. Henry
A. is the tenth child, as mentioned above ; Joseph Knebel is a
prosperous farmer three miles southeast of Riverside, mar-
ried Catherine Bauer, and they became parents of twins, Lo-
retta and Claretta, the latter of whom is deceased, and two
other daughters living, Celeste and Norma; Linus, married
Adaline Beatsch, and they became parents of two sons, Clem-
ent and Edward, who live on the old farm in Sharon town-
BIOGRAPHICAL 405
ship; the thirteenth and youngest of this large family is Wil-
liam Knebel, who married Nellie Bauer, sister of the wife of
his brother Joseph, and they have a daughter, Bertha.
The Knebel family became identified with the best interests
of Johnson county and were active in promoting the general
welfare and progress. They played an important part in the
early history of the region ami all members of this large lam
ily are devout members of the Catholic church and are earnest
workers in the cause. As shown above, some of them have de-
voted their lives and energies to the service of the beloved
cause, and have done important work in this connection.
Reverend Knebel was raised on the home farm and re-
ceived his preliminary education in the district schools of
Sharon township. At the age of twenty-one he entered St.
Ambrose College, Davenport, where he remained six years,
four of which were devoted to the classical course and two to
the philosophical. One of his tutors was the Reverend R. J.
Renihan, the present rector of Oxford, Iowa. In 1900 he en-
tered the famous Kenriek's Seminary at St. Louis, where he
took a three year's course in theology, being - ordained to the
priesthood June 13, 1903, by the Rt. Rev. J. J. Glennon, I). 1>.
He received bis first appointment from Rt. Rev. Henry Cos-
grove, Bishop of Davenport, on July 18, 1893, being made as-
sistant to Rev. J. P. Ryan, rector of St. Mary's church, Dav-
enport, Iowa. He remained in that parish six years and three
months. On October 27, 1909, he was appointed regular pastor
at St. Mary's church, Tipton, to succeed Rev. Thomas Francis
(ialligan, the appointment being made by Bishop Davis, of
Davenport, successor to Bishop Cosgrove.
June 18, 1903, was a memorable occasion in the Catholic
church at Riverside, Iowa, that being jointly the celebration of
Father Knebel 's first mass and the golden wedding anniver-
sary of his aged parents. The wedding anniversary should
properly have occurred sooner, but the parents desired to
have it occur jointly with the celebration by their son of his
first mass as a Catholic priest. The church edifice was filled
by the relatives and friends of the young priest and his fam-
ily, and it is said that the reception and dinner, taken in con-
nection with the religious ceremony, constituted an occasion
406 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
long to be remembered. It was tbe first time in eighteen years
that the members of the Knebel family had all met together,
and these, with the classmates of the young priest, made a
memorable company.
In addition to his offices as priest of the important charges
of Tipton and Cedar Valley, Father Knebel is a member of the
Western Catholic Union and of the Knights of Columbus.
While in Davenport, Iowa, he was chaplain of the court of the
Knights of Father Matthew. He takes a very active interest
in the societies of his church, which are : Rosary and Altar So-
ciety, Willing Workers Society and the League of the Sacred
Heart. In his religious work he is characterized by great zeal '
accompanied by extreme modesty, insisting that all the glory
of his work shall be given directly to Almighty God. His con-
gregation at Tipton consists of forty-live families and that at
Cedar Valley of thirty families. Both churches are making
marked progress under his vigorous and efficient administra-
tion.
ROCHUS KNEBEL, father of Reverend Henry A. Knebel,
was born in Baden, Germany, and at the age of fourteen years
with his parents sailed for America. They sailed from Havre
in the early part of 1843, and crossed the ocean, then through
the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi
river to St. Louis, Missouri, where a stop of three months was
made. At the end of three months, accompanied by his par-
ents, Rochus went to Centerville, Illinois (now called Mild-
stadt), St. Clair county. He remained here for nearly seven
years, then came to Iowa at the age of twenty-one years. The
first stop was at Bloomington (now Muscatine). From there
he came to Sharon township, Johnson county, where he bought
the "old homestead" of 120 acres from the government at
$1.25 per acre. After remaining in Iowa six months he re-
turned to Centerville, Illinois, where he remained for nearly
two years. He then returned again to Iowa, where he still
lives.
One year after his second trip to Iowa he was united in
marriage to Elizabeth Wombacher, by Father McCormick at
Iowa City, Iowa.
BIOGRAPHICAL 407
ELIZABETH (WOMBACHER) KNEBEL was born in
Bavaria, Germany, and came to America with her parents
when she was five years old. Sailing from Bremen, Germany,
they landed at Baltimore, Maryland, in L838, being on the
ocean six weeks. She and her parents remained at Baltimore
three years, then they moved to Cumberland, Maryland, where
they lived for eight years. Their next move was to Wheeling,
West Virginia, where they resided a short time, then took
passage on a boat down the Ohio river and up the Mississippi
river to Burlington, Iowa. From Burlington to Washington,
Iowa, the trip was made overland by team. During three
years Elizabeth, with her parents, lived just a short distance
south of Washington, Iowa. Later they moved to the farm
that is known as the F. Heitzman farm, about four miles north
of Riverside, Iowa. Finally her parents bought the farm
which is now owned by Niclaus Sueppel. Part of this farm is
in Johnson county and part in Washington county. This farm
was purchased from the government at $1.25 per acre, and
Elizabeth Wombacher lived here until her marriage to Rochus
Knehel.
RALPH K. LUSE
The Luse family were early identified with Johnson county
interests, and played an important part in pioneer days, in the
affairs of the newly settled community. Ralph K. Luse is a
son of Stephen and Mary Ellen (Kepford) Luse, the worthy
pioneer couple, and was horn in Lett township, Washington
county, Iowa, in 18 — . Stephen Luse was horn in Butler
county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1823, and his wife was a native
of the same state. They were of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry,
and were married in November, 1878, in Iowa. She had come
to Johnson county in early youth, and prior to her marriage
was a school teacher. She was a daughter of John Kepford,
of North Bend district, near North Liberty. Mr. Luse came
west to Johnson county in 1851, remained there but a short
time, then crossed the plains, in company with Jacob Wenn,
Thomas Combs, and James II. Windrem, as will be mentioned
in the sketch of the last named gentleman, to be found in this
work. Mr. Luse and the others of his party endured many
408 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
hardships and dangers on this trip. They started with ox
teams and provisions from Council Bluffs, where they joined
a large party, and upon arriving at Salt Lake Mr. Luse left
his ox team and walked the remainder of the way to California.
He spent twelve years mining for gold and then returned to
Iowa, where he became interested in farming and became the
owner of land in Oxford township. He and his wife had two
children : Ralph Kepford, of this sketch, and Clare V., baby
girl, deceased. This worthy couple won the highest respect
and esteem from their neighbors and associates, and were im-
portant factors in the life around them. They are rem em -
RESIDEXCE OF RALPH K. LUSE
bered whenever attention is drawn to the early history of
Johnson county, and to the heroic lives of the pioneers.
Ralph Kepford Luse was brought to Johnson county in
infancy and received his education in the common and high
schools of Oxford, which is still his home. He has always been
more or less interested in agricultural operations, and has be-
come owner of some seven hundred acres of the best Iowa
farm land. He is a stockholder in Oxford State Rank, and in
the Eastern Iowa Telephone Company. He is prominent in
fraternal affairs, being a member of the Masonic order. He is
affiliated with the Knights Templar of Iowa City and the Con-
sistory and Shrine at Davenport. He lias taken an active in-
BIOGRAPHICAL 409
terest in political and public matters and in 1905-06 served as
mayor of Oxford. Be lias also served as a member of the
council. In public life be lias stood for clean government and
in his private life lias been upright in his dealings with bis fel-
lows. He has taken a prominent place as one of the most
enterprising and popular citizens in Oxford township.
Mr. Luse was married November 8, 1905, in Davenport,
Iowa, to Mahel Gould, of Washington comity, Iowa, daughter
of George Gould, now of Johnson county, and two children
have blessed this union, Harold C. and Clare.
.JACOB A. GEORGE
Among the most prosperous of the native sons of Johnson
county may lie mentioned Jacob A. George, who has been in-
terested in a number of business enterprises and lias been an
industrious and successful farmer for many years. He was
born October 2, 1848, and is a son of Martin and Nancy (Bow-
man) George, highly respected as early pioneers and active in
promoting the early growth and upbuilding of their com-
munity. The father was born in Cumberland county, Pennsyl-
vania, January 1 , 1811, and died June 1 7, 1 872, and the mother,
who was born January (i, 1814, died March 2(1, 1882. Both arc
buried in North Liberty cemetery. Both were devout mem-
bers of the Lutheran church and keenly interested in church
work. The father was a blacksmith in early life and in 1^4<i
came to Iowa, spending a short time in Iowa ( !ity, after which
he returned to his old home in Pennsylvania, having mean
while taken up a farm on Section 20, Penh township. After
spending six months in his native place, he again came west,
sold his farm to Samuel Miller (father of Judge Miller), and
bought another place in East Lucas township, also the stone
mill in Iowa City, which he conducted for a time. Ele sold this
property and purchased property in North Liberty, where he
embarked in business as a merchant. lie eventually sold out
there and purchased a farm in Section 7, where he spent his
declining years. Of the eight children horn to this family hut
four now survive: Jacob A., Nancy Y., Martha K., ami
Emma M.
410 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
After the death of his father, Jaeoh A. George rented the
home farm, which he later purchased, and still occupies. On
Decemher 25, 1877, he was united in marriage with Martha
Zellar, daughter of Nicholas Zellar, Sr. The children horn to
this union were: Cadence 0., horn August 23, 1879, who mar-
ried Jesse Ham and lives in Iowa City; Martha E., horn .Janu-
ary 28, 1881; and Grace Ellen, horn February 10, 1889, at
home.
In company with J. F. Price, Jacob A. George bought the
steam saw mill of L. W. Chamberlain (known as the George
and Andrle Mill) and moved it to North Liberty, where they
RESIDENCE OF JACOB A. GEORG
used an engine to operate it and conducted it as a saw mill,
cane mill, and feed grinder. He has planted every tree in his
orchard, and also every tree on his place and has erected all
of the buildings on the place excepting the kitchen of the old
home. He has put up good fences and several hundred rods of
tiling. In 1892 he erected a handsome farm residence. He is
a member of the Lutheran church, of which he is an elder, and
in politics is a democrat. He operates 188 acres of land, which
constitute one of the fertile farms of the township, and also
owns other fine farms, which he rents out. His property is
located on Sections 18, 20, and 7 of Penn township, and com-
prises about 450 acres altogether.
BIOGRAPHICAL 411
Mr. George is a most enterprising farmer and is an excel-
lent business man as well. He is vice president of the North
Liberty Savings Bank, the other officers being: R. II. Wray,
president, and Dr. David Stewart, first vice president. His
daughter, Miss Bda George, served nearly ten years as the
deputy clerk of Johnson county, filling the position with abil-
ity and faithfulness. She spent four years under Ed Koser,
two under J. J. Warner, and nearly five under F. B. Volk-
ringer. She was a favorite among the employes at the court
house, well known for her accuracy and careful handling of
the county records, and her presence there is missed by many.
She is now in Colorado Springs.
Below we give, somewhat in detail, the maternal ancestry
of Jacob A. George. Nancy Bowman was a daughter of Abra-
ham and Martha (Messner) Bowman, and was born January
6, 1814. Abraham Bowman was born December 12, 1788, and
died April 21, 1846, and his wife, who was born April 26, 1788,
died January 9, 1855. Children were born to them as follows :
Jacob and Nancy, twins; Martha, Mrs. Fred Mentzer, born
October 23, 1815; Samuel, born August 31, 1817, and Francis,
April 8, 1819 ; John ; Abraham ; Catherine ; Mary.
Mr. Bowman broke his land with oxen and did this work
for several of his neighbors, also made many trips to Bloom-
ing-ton and exchanged grain for needed commodities. When
he first came to Johnson county deer, wild turkeys, and prairie
chickens were still plentiful. He was a typical pioneer. He
was a public-spirited and useful citizen, and when he bought
part of the Samuel Miller and Allbright places, he made a
public highway and gave the same to the county. In 1847 he
erected a log house, which he weather-boarded and made warm
and tight. He improved his farm of 280 acres, set out a fine
orchard and put up substantial buildings, continuing to im-
prove the place until his death. This place is now occupied by
his daughter, Mrs. J. W. Beecher. He and his wife were mem-
bers of and helped erect the Lutheran church edifice. Three
of his children now survive: Catherine B., John, and Ellen
(Mrs. Beecher).
Jacob Bowman was married at Newvale, Pennsylvania, De-
cember 22, 1842, to Margaret J. Oiffin, Rev. John Heck, officiat-
ing, and an uncle, John McCrea, and Miss Martha Logan
412 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
being witnesses. They began housekeeping in Bloserville, and
in 1846 came with their two children to Johnson county, arriv-
ing there May 6th. They located on a farm two miles south-
east of North Liberty, where there was a double log cabin and
a well. Mrs. Bowman died November 10, 1892, and Mr. Bow-
man in . He had been a carpenter and blacksmith in
early life, and in 1836 had gone to Louisiana, where he engaged
in bridge building and carpenter work for two years, then re-
turned to Pennsylvania. He conducted a store at Bloserville,
that state, for a time. The eldest child of himself and wife,
Martha J., is deceased ; Catherine E. married C. H. Bane, of .
Cedar Rapids; John P. lives at Keokuk; Mary Ellen is Mrs.
J. W. Beecher, and the fifth child was Emma P.
GEORGE HUNTER
A volunteer of the Civil War from 1S62 to the close of hos-
tilities in 1865, George Hunter's name stands honorably upon
the list of his country's defenders "in the times that tried
men's souls." He is a native of Ohio, from which state he
removed with his parents to Iowa in 1850, where his father
bought land in Johnson county and continued in the business
of farming until his death in 1876. George attended school in
the first public schoolhouse built in the township where his
father resided, and also for a time in the Iowa City schools;
but his educational efforts were interrupted by President Lin-
coln's call to arms, and in the summer of 1862 he enrolled his
name on the roster of Co. F, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer
Infantry. After a season of drill at Camp Polk, his company
went to St. Louis, thence to Raleigh, Missouri, then in battle
at Ft. Nelson, Champion Hill, where his company had charge
of prisoners and hospital, in all 400 prisoners, and in 1863
joined Grant's army in the siege of Vicksburg. From that
point they were ordered to Louisiana, thence to Texas, thence
back to Louisiana, and finally to Washington to check Early's
advance on the national capital. Thereafter this veteran com-
pany operated in the Shenandoah Valley, and finally, on July
22, 1865, Mr. Hunter was honorably discharged at Savannah,
Georgia, whence, with the consciousness of duty well done, he
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BIOGRAPHICAL
41 :
came back to the old farm, where he is now located. Between
the lines of this brief outline might be written unnumbered
descriptions of weary marches, of days and nights of hunger
and anxiety, of dreadful combat, of the grim companionship
of death, of the martial obsequies of comrades, and all the
fearful elements of war ; but these are memories that lie in the
subconscious mind of every veteran of that mighty conflict,
and George Hunter, like the rest, is mindful of their horrors.
On the old farm where the happy days of childhood were
spent, George Hunter took up the homely burdens of life and
glad for the days of the plowshare and the pruning hook.
RESIDENC
>k<;k h r.NTKi;
In September of the year following his return ( 1866) he was
united in marriage with Miss Esther E. MeCrory, and two sons
were given them as seals to their union : Glenn S., married and
living near Fort Madison, Iowa, lias five children, Esther,
Laura, Elizabeth, Glenn, and Bura ; and George M., married
Minnie Buck, have one child, Geneva Esther, and living with
his father. His beloved wife died November 1, 1909, and the
veteran saw amid his tears a vision of the shining shore and
the final reunion.
Adam Hunter, father of our subject, was a native of Ire-
land, born in 1796, and his wife, Elizabeth Morrison, was a
native of Pennsylvania. When seventeen years of age the
elder Hunter came to America and entered the grocery busi-
ness in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. In 1826 he removed
414 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
to Ohio, where he engaged in farming, and in 1850, as before
stated, came to Iowa City. Eleven children were born to this
pioneer couple, of whom only four are now living. Their
names are: James, residing in Iowa; George, our subject;
Lemuel, living in Iowa City. Mother Hunter died in 1891.
George Hunter is a democrat; was county supervisor for
six years, and has held other township and county offices. He
attends the Presbyterian church and is a member of the G. A.
R. He has just joined the Masonic order. No man is more
thoroughly respected. His declining days are filled with the
fruits of that peace he fought so nobly to secure, and mankind
whispers, "It is well."
.JAMES BRIDENSTINE
James Bridenstine, now living retired from active life, at
North Liberty, Iowa, is a self-made man and has been engaged
in several different enterprises in the community where he
still resides, having been successful in all through industry
and good management. He was born in Bedford county,
Pennsylvania, March 3, 1829, son of Jacob and Sophia ( Houck )
Bridenstine, and the only survivor of the family. The father
was born February 7, 1799, and died September 21, 1836, in
comparatively early life. He and his wife had one daughter,
Rebecca, born July 14, 1827, and died in 1828.
Left fatherless at an early age, James Bridenstine early
learned the habit of self-reliance. He spent part of his youth
on a farm and at the age of eighteen years began learning the
trade of wagon-maker. After he had served his apprentice-
ship he worked for a few years at his trade, and also became
an expert carpenter. In 1852 he came west, bringing his
household goods from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, to what
is now Muscatine, Iowa, but then known as Bloomington. They
were taken by a team to the railroad, loaded on a car over an
inclined plane, later put on a canal boat, taken thence to Pitts-
burg and down the Ohio on the steamer "Persia" to Cairo,
Illinois, thence up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, where
they were put aboard another steamer and taken to Musca-
tine. Thence they made the rest of the journey by wagon.
//lUW4 {ffi^dt^^SL
BIOGRAPHICAL 415
Mr. Bridenstine had relatives and friends expecting Ids ar-
rival, and for the first year lie worked by the day, then worked
at the trade of carpenter, and when able to do so purchased
forty acres of land as a start towards a farm. lie built a
house and shop and worked at the trade of wagon-maker, and
later began farming on his forty acres and rented other land.
Later he purchased sixty acres more, subsequently added two
tracts of eighty acres each, in Penn and Madison townships,
which he operated until retiring from the farm in 1901. There
has been a remarkable increase in the value of this land since
it was purchased by Mr. Bridenstine. He purchased his first
forty acres for $87.50, and other farms at prices varying from
KESIhKXCK OF JAME
$18 to $30 per acre. The last of this land which he sold was
sold to John Lininger for $90 per acre, and the latter sold it
to George Ranshaw, the present owner, for $125 per acre.
Mr. Bridenstine proved an able and industrious farmer and
brought his land to a high state of development, erecting suit-
able and substantial buildings as needed and carrying on his
work in a manner to insure the best results.
Mr. Bridenstine became well known in the community
where he lived so many years and made many warm friends
there. He served as trustee and road supervisor of Madison
township, and was active in church work. He joined the
Church of God in 1851 and became an early member of the
416 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Bethel church in Perm township, which in earlier years he
served as deacon and elder.
On March 4, 1851, Mr. Bridenstine married Susan Hoover,
daughter of John and Anna Hoover, who came to Iowa in
1852. She died August 4, 1871, having borne her husband six
children. She was horn July 25, 1827. Mr. Bridenstine mar-
ried again, March 14, 1872, Mrs. May J. (Work) Bane, who
was the widow of John W. Bane, who was killed in the army.
The second wife died May 25, 1890, having borne Mr. Briden-
stine five children. His third marriage took place March 22,
1894, when he was united with Mrs. Cornelia (Butler) Tucker,
widow of James S. Tucker, who had ten children by her for-
mer marriage, five of whom survive. By his first wife .Mr.
Bridenstine had children as follows: Sylvester J., of Seattle,
Washington, has one living child ; Martin, of Kalona, Iowa,
has two children; John William, of California, is married and
has five children; James S., married and living in California;
Mary Ellen died at the age of two years ; Elmer H. is a farmer.
The following children were born to Mr. Bridenstine by his
second marriage : Burton Vance, clerk in the Citizens Savings &
Trust Company's bank, in Iowa City, is married and has four
children; Minnie Belle is the wife of C. E. Myers, of Kansas:
Nellie Sophia is the wife of Albert Hickle and they also reside
in Kansas; Walter L. in Madison township, and Harvey S.
are farmers who are married and live in Clear Creek ami
Madison townships.
GILBERT ROBINSON IRISH
Poetry, thrilling with emotion, places her sweetest garlands
on the mounds of the pioneers, while history, passionate with
the facts of their sacrifices, carves her scrolls upon their
shafts. Out of the hosts of the world's heroes and heroines
the sons and daughters of men have selected the pathfinders,
and on their brows have entwined the laurels of victory with
the immortelles of remembrance. No student of progress will
doubt the justice of this judgment. From the closing portals
of Eden to the caravels of Genoa the generations of Adam and
Noah have gone forth to "multiply and replenish the earth"
■\ r.Ki. in. i.
BIOGRAPHICAL 417
and to "subdue and have dominion." All dangers of adven-
ture, all arts of peace, all conquests of war, all empires of dis-
covery have been the factors of their quest. Moses and
.Joshua, Alexander and Caesar, Napoleon and Wellington,
Washington and Grant have been the captains of their armies ;
the Romans, and the Britons, and the Saxons, and the Cava
Hers, and the Puritans have been the vanguards of their civi-
lizations; the Norseman, and the Italian, and the Portuguese,
and the Frenchman, and the Teuton, and the Englishman, and
the Yankee have been their navigators; on the pages of their
necrology are inscribed the names of Balboa, and De Soto,
and Pizzaro; of Marquette, and La Salle, and Lewis, and
Clark, and Fremont, and Pike. "Who can challenge the pride
of the families entitled to write their names in such a com-
pany? The world's meed has been placed upon the heads of
its conquerors; but perhaps the tenderest strains in the gamut
of its praises have been sung to the memory of its partizans
of peace, the pioneers. In America their names have been
placed in the niche of honor. Their weapons have been the
plowshare and the pruning hook ; their propaganda the school
house, the press, and the church ; their fields "the orchard, the
meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood." The dove-cote has dis-
placed the eagle's eyrie, and the lamb has inherited the wolf's
pasture under their aegis. Broad commonwealths, thriving
cities, happy homes, prosperous people attest the texture of
their tasks. Standing, as we do, on civilization's last frontier,
awaiting the nuptials of the Occident and the < )rient, witness
ing the realization of the world's dream of international fra-
ternity, we are bound to take note of the vast bulk of the pio
neers in the fruitions that confront us. "What signifies it that
their feet are on the world's apex and that their prospect
dwindles into the sunset perspectives? They are the conquis-
tadores. The battle is won. The world is a unit. History
will be their memorial.
Iowa, in the midst of the constellation id' American states,
boasts of her army of hardy forbears whose hands have trans-
formed her prairies, blackened by the vagrant fires of sav-
agery, into productive farms, emerald groves, and industrious
cities. On the long roll of the regiments are written many il-
lustrious names, whose original bearers have hearkened to the
418 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
call of the Eternal Captain. Peace be to their memories.
Their posterity have risen up to call them blessed. Johnson
county claims the proud honor of a goodly company of these
immortals. The pages of this history will bear witness to
their deeds. Among the honored names therein recorded, how-
ever, none can lay claim to higher principles of citizenship or
greater merit for tasks well performed than that borne by the
subject of this sketch, Gilbert Robinson Irish. As a family,
the Irish household plays an important part not only in the
local history of the county and state, but in the affairs of the
nation as well. The object of this and the series of sketches
which accompany it, is to present the relations of this family
with the events of its time for historical preservation.
GILBERT E. IRISH HOMESTEAD
John Irish, of Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, who came from
England in 1631, was the founder of the family in the United
States. He was one of the volunteers against the Pequods,
and for that service was granted by the government land which
he located at Sacconett Neck, Rhode Island, in 1637. John
Irish's wife was named Elizabeth, but the descendants of the
family in Johnson county are unable to recall her maiden
name or any facts concerning her progenitors. The line of
descent from John and Elizabeth Irish to our subject is as
follows : 1st, John Irish, Jr., and Deborah Irish ; 2d, Jedediah
and Mary Irish; 3d, Jedediah and Sarah Irish; 4th, Jedediah
and Susannah Irish; 5th, Jonathan and Ruth Irish; 6th, Fred-
FBEDEEICK M. IRIS!
BIOGRAPHICAL 419
crick M. and Elizabeth Irish; the latter being the father and
mother of Gilbert Robinson Irish, our subject. The wife of
John Irish, Jr., was Deborah Church, a sister of Captain
Church. Both families were natives of Rhode Island. The
first mill for grinding English and Indian corn and provided
with stamps for beating the latter in Plymouth Colony was
built on Stony Brook, on lands of John Irish, Sr., by George
Pollard and William Hillier in 1637; and it was provided in
their charter that they were to "take one pottle for grinding
each bushel, and that no other mill should be built as long as
they continued to grind all the grain brought to them."
Frederick Macey Irish, the father of Gilbert R., was born
at Hudson, New York, March 13, 1801. His wife was Eliza-
beth Ann Robinson, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Robin-
son, and her birthplace was Westchester. Her family were
Quakers, descendants of Rev. John Robinson, of Leyden, Hol-
land. When a mere lad Frederick Macey Irish went to sea
from Nantucket, and for a time was engaged in the whale fish-
ing industry. In 182li he had extended his voyaging to the
Sandwich Islands. Later he was engaged in pilot service in
New York. In 1834 he removed to Terre Haute, Indiana, and
established a foundry there. In 1839 he made his last move,
this time locating near Iowa City, Iowa, where he pursued the
business of farming until his death in 1875.
Gilbert R. Irish was born at Terre Haute, Indiana. He
was a very small boy when his mother took him to New York,
where both remained while the father made the westward trip
to locate a new home in Iowa. In 1840 mother and son made
the long journey to the new home, where they safely arrived
after the usual arduous experiences. Mr. Irish's first tutor
was his mother, who for ten years gave him such educational
training as she could; thereafter he had for his teacher Dr.
Reynolds, a popular pioneer educator of Iowa City. Mr. Irish
freely acknowledged, however, and with some pride, that his
education was largely the result of his own efforts, abetted
by the experiences of his early days — a training which lifted
him for the unique position which he has occupied in Johnson
county history. Answering the question as to his occupation,
Mr. Irish, in his quaint way, declared: "Since the age of
eighteen, first and alwavs a farmer." His agricultural benl
420 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
led him into kindred lines, and at one time he took up horti-
culture as a specialty at Peoria, Illinois. In the distribution
of his stock, Mr. Irish made frequent trips from Peoria to St.
Louis by boat. He is credited with the introduction of many of
the fruit trees grown in the vicinity of his Peoria enterprise.
While a resident of Illinois, from the latter part of the fifties
up to 1863, he taught school. His knowledge of school work
led to his election, on his return to Iowa, to membership in the
school board of Lucas township from district number eleven.
In 1867 he was chosen secretary of the board, a position which
he held for many years.
Probably Gilbert R. Irish held the record for continuous
service as justice of the peace in Johnson county. He held
this office for thirty-five years. In the administration of the
affairs of this position he acquired a unique reputation. He
was punctilious in rendering his annual reports. When the
peaceable character of his constituents practically left the of-
fice without any business from year to year, he would discuss
the general topics of the day in his annual reports with char-
acteristic humor. An incident showing the ready wit as well
as the innate sense of justice of the man is told by some of his
old friends : In a case wherein a citizen appeared before him
charged with a certain offense, the sympathies of the court
were strongly with the defendant on account of his general
reputation for honesty, sobriety, and good citizenship. The
counsel for the prosecution introduced volume after volume of
state and supreme court reports to establish the ruling of
other judges on the various points of testimony, and to wind
the matter up made a voluminous plea for the conviction of
the defendant on the authorities quoted. After listening to it
all with some degree of impatience, Justice Irish said : "This
court overrules the supreme court in its decisions in these mat-
ters and declares the defendant not guilty."
On October 9, 1879, Mr. Irish took for his wife Miss Jose-
phine Martha Strawbridge, daughter of Jesse K. Strawbridge,
a pioneer of Graham township, whom he had known from
childhood. The couple made their home on the old homestead
of Frederick Macey Irish, in the outskirts of Iowa City, known
as "Rose Hill." This place is celebrated for its trees and
shrubs and flowers, manv of which are the handiwork of Gil-
BIOGRAPHICAL 421
bert Irish and wife. One daughter, Jane Terril, born in Iowa
City, June 3, 1881, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Irish. She was
educated in the public and commercial schools and is an expert
stenographer.
Mr. Irish, in his eccentric way, said : "The only important
thing in my life is that 1 have always been a democrat in poli-
tics and have never been a member of any church, society, or
club." He, of course, had reference to secret and fraternal
orders, for he was a prominent member of the Old Settlers'
Association of Johnson county for many years and its secre-
tary from 1899 to his death, June 4, 1!M 1 . His father was one
of the founders of the organization, which dates its existence
from 1861. He took great pride in the records of this society.
His presence and his ministrations will he greatly missed by
his surviving associates.
One beautiful midsummer afternoon of dune, 1911, out at
the old homestead at "Rose Hill," where Mr. Irish had lived
for nearly half a century, under the shadows of the old trees,
many of which his hands had planted and his care fostered,
there was gathered from nearly every part of Johnson county
large numbers of old friends and neighbors who had come to
pay the last token of respect to the remains of their pioneer
brother. The heat of the summer vibrated in the air and
scarcely a leaf rustled. All nature seemed to have paused,
while a sense of quiet and peace and rest "brooded like a gen-
tle spirit o'er a still and pulseless world." Among this
gathering were many men and women who had traveled along
the great highway of life and were Hearing its terminus —
gray-haired pioneers, patriarchs of a period stretching into
the far-away past — soon each one of them to pass through
the portals eternal, while a new and bustling generation should
take their place. Assembled to take the last look on the face
of their departed brother, what memories must have swepl
the minds of these dear old friends and neighbors — the mem-
ories of the garnered years, fragrant with the Mowers that
bloom in the beautiful and ever-growing garden of God. The
day of the pioneer is passing, and as the sun setting in the
west calls mankind to rest, leaving a trail of twilight, to guide
the loiterer home, so these human "stars of empire," having
labored and loved and wept, having sacrificed and saved and
422 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
builded, linger beyond the sunset time to lighten the pathway
of the romping, laughing children who are even now entering
the citadels which their sires have builded. Many of them,
though dead, yet speak, and the writing angel in heaven
through all the yesterdays has written and written and in the
tomorrows will still write and write of their thoughts and
words and deeds. It may be true that the bright and morning
star shall burn out in the sin', that men may follow the seasons
into the limbo of forgetfulness, that some sad day in the com-
ing years the names of these pioneers, devoted men and
women, may be erased from human memory, but their gospel
of brotherly helpfulness and kindly influence shall live beyond
the wreck of worlds and the dismal crash of creeds.
In his loyalty to home and friends, Gilbert R. Irish dis-
played his great moral worth and won for himself the admira-
tion and love of those associated with him. His creed, " What-
soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," was the strong
and enduring foundation upon which he builded his soulful
and manly life. He never sowed to the winds, neither did
immorality of any character ever find lodgment within his
pure mind. Nothing dishonorable or false was ever truthfully
charged against him, but in every department of life he
walked uprightly before God and man, guaging his actions by
the square of justice, remembering that he was traveling upon
the level of time to a better, brighter, and purer sphere than
this. He was never united with any religious society or secret
organization, yet we find in his life many of the Christian at-
tributes and virtues. His was a religion of works and deeds,
rather than of creeds and professions. He lived and died a
manly life, at peace with God, his neighbors, and himself.
These are all striking factors of immortality, and serve to re-
mind us of that imperishable part of man which bears the
nearest affinity to the Supreme Intelligence, which pervades
all nature and can never, never die.
MRS. E. J. STKAWBRIDGE
BIOGRAPHICAL 423
ELIZABETH IRISH
The subject of this sketch is a true Hawkeye, and was borii
and reared in Iowa City, Iowa. The institution for commer-
cial training, Irish's University Business College, over which
she presides, is an excellent testimony to an Iowa woman's
ability and skill. It was founded in 1895 by Miss Irish, who,
having just returned from California, saw at the Athens of
Iowa an opening for a good business college and at once set
about building up such a school. Her education and business
experience, combined with her interest in the welfare of young
people, particularly fitted her for such an undertaking. With
Miss Irish, to plan meant to execute, and to execute meant
success, so after nine years of determined and efficient work
on her part, the modest little school which she started in Au-
gust, 1895, bad grown to be one of the leading colleges of the
state, drawing students not only from our own, but from the
sister states. This college now has a commercial department,
preparatory department, and a department of shorthand and
typewriting, and in all these Miss Irish has had a business ex-
perience so that she can, when conditions require it, give per-
sonal attention to the work in any of them. Thereby the stu-
dents receive not only instruction in this work, but have also
the advantage of her business knowledge along these lines.
This practical handling of the subjects taught is one of the
secrets of her success as a commercial teacher. The other is
found in her great energy, courage, and determination to suc-
ceed.
To the question, how she came to found such a school, Miss
Irish responded: "During my service, in various capacities,
in the business world I found many young people who failed
through lack of thorough training in their line of work which
should have given them power of application and self-reliance
and also that high moral standard which should obtain in bus-
iness as in other relations of life. Therefore I concluded to
start a business college in which the young could gain an edu-
cation in accordance with the theories I hold."
The high class work done by those who are graduated from
her college fully demonstrates that Miss Irish in most cases
reaches the high aim set by her theories, for whenever her stu-
424 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
dents finish their course they go forth fitted to begin life's
work in the most intelligent and helpful manner.
Miss Irish is a graduate of Prof. Wm. McClain's College,
also of Prof. Elden Moran's School of Shorthand and was the
first woman to hold a position of bookkeeper in Iowa City.
She was the business manager of the Iowa State Press for a
number of years. When her uncle, Col. John P. Irish, re-
moved to California, she accompanied him and became the
cashier and bookkeeper for the Oakland, California, Times, of
which he was editor. Later on she held successfully the posi-
tion of bookkeeper and cashier in the Alta Calif ornian, which
was the oldest paper on the Pacific coast. She next held a
responsible position in the U. S. Mint at San Francisco, from
which she was called to be chief clerk, stenographer and book-
keeper in tlie United States Surveyor General's office of the
state of Nevada. Later Miss Irish traveled for the U. S. Ir-
rigation Commission. Then as receiving and paying teller of
the money order department of the Oakland post office she
gave a fine example of her executive ability, and later estab-
lished a business school at Reno, Nevada. One season was
spent at Scaggs Spring, Sonoma county, California, in the
capacity of bookkeeper, assistant post mistress, and Wells-
Farg'o agent. This record of faithful and efficient and varied
service in the business world, prior to the establishment of her
University Business College at Iowa City, is evidence of Miss
Irish's preparedness for her work, and also shows why her
.college has been, from the start, a business success.
Truly Miss Irish's career in the business world is one in
which the women of the state in particular, should feel justly
proud. The Iowa City Commercial Club, Kings Daughters,
Iowa City Improvement League, Central Commercial Teach-
ers Association, Western Commercial School Manager's As-
sociation, Iowa Court Reporter's Association and National
Commercial Teachers Federation all know her as an interest-
ed and active member of their organization.
The story of such a busy life, is truly an inspiration to the
young who are longing to meet and conquer the problems of
the world.
The parents of Miss Irish were General Charles W. Irish
and Susannnah Yarbrough, the latter a native of North Car
BIOGRAPHICAL 425
olina, coming with her parents to Iowa City when eighl years
old, is still living in this city at the age of seventy-three, Her
father died in 1904. (Sec his sketch elsewhere — Ed.)
Notwithstanding her strenuous business duties, Miss Irish
takes an active interest in the work of the Protestant Episco
pal church, of which she is a member. She is treasurer of the
Daughters of the King and a member of the King's Daughters
Association, an organization which cares for the poor. In
civic matters she figures as a member of the Improvement
League and the Iowa City Commercial club, being distinguish-
ed as the only woman member of the latter organization. Tier
membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution was
obtained through her mother's (Susannah Yarhrongh's) an-
cestry.
JUDGE MARTIN J. WADE
The senior member of the law firm of AVade, Dutcher &
Davis, of Iowa City, Iowa, is Hon. Martin J. Wade, former
district judge, congressman, University professor and lectur-
er, chautauqua orator, politician, and all-around good fellow.
Judge Wade's connection with this popular linn gave it great
additional strength, dignity and public favor. His natural
ability, education, and wide legal and public experience have
proven invaluable factors in association with the recognized
attainments of Mr. Dutcher and Mr. Davis.
Judge Wade is a native of Burlington, Vermont, where he
was born October 20, 1861. His parents were Michael Wade
and Mary Breen, both natives of Ireland, who came to Massa
chusetts at an early age. The couple were married at Wor-
cester, Massachusetts, and located in Burlington soon after-
ward.
Young Wade received his primary education in the public
schools, which he supplemented by a classical course at St.
Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa. He graduated from the
Law Department of the State University of Iowa and was
given the degree of LL. B. in 1886*. He began practice imme-
diately after matriculation and formed a law partnership
■with Hon. C. S. Ranck at Iowa City, continuing active prac-
tice until 189.'], wben, at the age of thirty-two, he was appoint-
426 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ed judge of the eighth judicial district of Iowa. He remained
on the bench for ten years, or until January 1, 1903. In 1902
he was elected to Congress, in which body he served until
1905. Thereafter he resumed the practice of law in connec-
tion with his present associates, with whom he had formed a
law partnership.
Judge Wade's great abilities naturally brought him kin-
dred responsibilities and activities. From 1890 to 1904 he
was lecturer in the Law Department of the State University
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of Iowa, and from 1895 to 1907 professor of medical jurispru-
dence in the Medical Department of the same University.
The growth of his practice, however, compelled him to forego
his engagements at his alma mater. During his terms upon
the bench and in Congress the judge was in constant demand
for the lecture platform, and he devoted one season to the
circuit of the Mutual Lyceum Bureau of Chicago. At another
season, under the direction of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, he
held joint debates with Congressman Adam Bede at Chautau-
quas in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Needless to say, as
a public speaker, he was an ornament both from a literary and
BIOGRAPHICAL 427
oratorical standpoint. Few men excel him in polemics, in
repartee, and the elements of gifted speech.
Politically Judge Wade is a democrat of the highest stand
ard. His election to Congress was upon that ticket, ami lie
is at present an active member of the National Democratic
Committee from Iowa. His fraternal affiliation is with the
M. W. A., the B. P. (). E., and the Knights of Columbus. In
religion he is a Catholic. He is a member of both the Ameri-
can and the Iowa State Bar Associations, and has served as
president of the latter.
On April 4, 1887, at Iowa City, he was joined in wedlock
to Miss Mary McGovern, daughter of Hugh McGovern, for
many years treasurer of Johnson county. Two children have
hallowed their union: Julia Katheryn, aged 14, and Eleanor,
aged 8 years. His home is at No. 115 North Clinton street,
Iowa City.
Judge Wade is in the prime of a vigorous manhood, signally
equipped for the responsibilities of citizenship, a type of the
well-rounded American, whose presence makes for the preser-
vation of the national equilibrium, civilly and politically. He
finds his greatest satisfaction in the activities which connect
him with the affairs of his fellow men, in the service of whom
he levies unsparingly upon his remarkable storehouse of
knowledge and his abilities of speech and pen. No man stands
higher in the estimation of his neighbors, and for none does
the sky of the future give brighter omen.
JOHN W. SCHELL
John W. Schell is a prosperous farmer of Scott township
and the father of eight children, all of whom are living. Since
1879 he has been engaged in farming in Johnson county, and
has lived upon his present place since 1896. Owns 170 acres
here. He has held the office of township clerk, school treas-
urer, and numerous other local positions in his community,
and is a man highly respected and trusted by his neighbors
and friends. Mr. Schell was born in Ohio on October b', 185(1
His father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. William P. Schell, were
natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married. She died
428 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
in Ohio shortly afterward. They settled in Ohio in the early
forties, where they resided until 1856. He and his second
wife moved to Johnson county, Iowa, where they spent the
remainder of their lives. Mr. Schell had six sons and three
daughters: Joseph, Alary, .Margaret, William L., our sub-
ject, were of the first marriage; Henry S., Abraham, Charles.
Martha, were of the second marriage, their mother is still
living. Mother Schell died when our subject was a baby. The
father died in 1867 and was buried in Oakland cemetery.
John W. Schell was educated in the country schools near his
father's farm. Soon after reaching his majority he went to
RESIDENCE OF JOHX W. SCHELL
Nebraska, where he took up a homestead and lived five years.
In 1879 he returned to Johnson county and engaged in farm-
ing. In 1896 he bought his present farm home. He was mar-
ried December 6, 1876, to Miss Elizabeth Townsend, a native
of Iowa. The marriage was performed by Rev. Fellows. His
wife died in 1888, leaving five children, with the husband, to
mourn her loss. The children, in the order of birth, are:
Alice, born December 6, 1877, now Mrs. Wilton West ; William,
born September 18, 1890, residing in the state of Washington;
Anna, born October 26, 1882, at home; David, born April 14,
1886, residing with his brother William in Washing-ton ; Al-
bert F., born February 29, 1888, living in California. Mr.
Schell took for his second wife Miss Mary E. Stevenson of
BIOGRAPHICAL 42!>
Iowa City, daughter of John A. and Henrietta (Griffith) Stev-
enson. He was horn in Pennsylvania and she in London,
England, were fanners, came west in 1 85(5 to Johnson comity,
where both died and are buried in Oakland cemetery. Ee
lived to be over 90 years of age. She was 84. They were
married by G. H. Hemingway of the Presbyterian church.
They have three children: Mary II., horn October 8, 1891,
Harold W., horn March 1<>, 1895, and Robert S., horn Decem-
ber 27, 1896, all living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Schell are members of the Methodist Episco-
pal church. He is a republican, and interested in all matters
affecting the welfare of his community and his country. He
also owns 320 acres in Alberta, Canada.
JOSEPH B. DENISON (Deceased)
The oldest settler at North Bend, Penn township, Johnson
county, was Joseph B. Denison, who arrived in what is now
that division, in 1839, being one of the few to live there when
it was a part of Wisconsin territory. Through his influence
a number of other persons left Ohio for the unsettled wilds of
Iowa. He was a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, horn De-
cember 1, 1815, and died at his home in Section 1, Penn town-
ship, May 18, 1902, after only a short illness. His loss was
keenly felt by the entire community and was a shock to his
many friends. He was a son of Gordon and Etherlinda
(Slack) Denison, the former horn at Stonington, Massachu-
setts, May 3, 1781, the latter a brother of William Denison,
who lived at Zanesville, Ohio, and had a family. To Gordon
Denison and wife were horn children as follows: Alonzo,
Joseph B., George Slack; Maria became Mrs. Hihhs, died in
Ohio, leaving children; Charles, deceased. Alonzo 0. Deni-
son moved to Kansas and died near Wichita, leaving one son,
who has also passed away, as the result of disease contracted
in the army. Alonzo died in 1900. George S. Denison, who
had a claim in Clear Creek township, was horn in 1 SI 4 and
died October 31, 1883, at the age of sixty-nine years, six
months, and ten days, being buried in North Liberty cemetery.
The other children of Cordon Denison are also deceased, and
430 HISTOEY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the only descendant who hears the name of Denison is the son
of Joseph B., who is thus the sole living representative of the
venerable pioneers of Ohio, who were of Revolutionary stock.
Gordon Denison made several trips from Ohio to Iowa to
visit his children, bringing them wearing apparel, including
shoes, which could be obtained cheaper and of better quality in
the former state. He was of French and his wife of Irish
descent.
Joseph B. Denison was one of the band of pioneers who
walked to Dubuque to enter a claim at the U. S. land office
there. In early days he had to go to Muscatine to dispose of
THE OLD DENISON HOMESTEAD
his products and then received no money, but was obliged to
take goods in exchange. The Indians were plentiful along
the trail when he first came to Johnson county, but he soon
grew to understand their language and customs, and found
them friendly enough. He used breaking teams in many
places in his part of Iowa and was an expert in his use of oxen.
It is often remarked by different persons among the early
settlers that "Joe Denison broke this piece of ground," and
his skill in this line of work made him a popular citizen. He
was an able hand in the grain field with the cradle and other
primitive tools.
BIOGRAPHICAL 43]
Alonzo C. Denison, mentioned in the first paragraph of this
sketch, removed to Kansas, as he said, "to open a new coun-
try." He was a valued citizen of Johnson county and an
active church worker.
Joseph B. Denison began farming- with a small piece of
land, which he earned by breaking land for the neighbors, and
continued this occupation several years, using sometimes as
many as thirteen yoke of oxen. At the time of his death he had
added to his holdings until he had 540 acres of choice land.
At one time he plowed near the present city of Chicago, 111b
nois. Upon locating permanently in Towa and securing a
farm, he brought 100 head of hogs, cattle, and oxen to the new
country. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Dig-
gens, was a daughter of Jesse and Catherine (Fisher) Diggens.
She came to Johnson county in ]852, and during the following-
year was married to Joseph Denison. Those of their children
who now survive are : Maria and David, on the old homestead ;
Julia A., widow of Harlan Sentman, has three children; Ma-
tilda, widow of James A. Work, of North Liberty, has one
daughter. The parents were active in every move for the bet-
terment of conditions in their community and were highly
respected for their high character and kindly dispositions.
Their children have reason to be proud of the part these hardy
pioneers played in the early history of the township and
county, and the good name they left behind them.
David Denison, who was born, reared, and educated in Perm
township, has grown up with the development of the neighbor-
hood. He is one of the most popular men in his part of the
county and his many friends enjoy his hearty manner and
kindly ways. He is a man of strong physique and good health,
and enjoys using his strength in moving buildings, at which
work he is often employed. He is skilful in his use of jack-
screws and other tools used in this connection, and 'whenever
anyone in his portion of the county wishes an old landmark
removed or a building hauled to another foundation, lie is
called upon to perform the delicate task. He has keen enjoy-
ment in using his skill in this manner. A stone, which he
removed from his farm, weighs about as much as a locomotive,
and now stands at the side of the main road to the cemetery.
This cemetery is on a portion of the old home farm, and from
432 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the pleasant hill contained in it one is able to get a panoramic
view of the surrounding country within a radius of some thirty
miles. Mr. Denison and his sister occupy one of the best farms
in the county, and he has recently erected a new residence and
barn on a portion of the old farm at Denison Station on the
Interurban line, which he rents. He is unmarried. Both par-
ents are buried in North Bend cemetery. They were married
at the home of James Chamberlain, April 10, 1853, by Rev.
Jervis, of the Methodist church of Penn township.
REV. C. C. TOWNSEND, ORGANIZER OF THE FIRST
EPISCOPAL SOCIETY IN JOHNSON
COUNTY, IOWA
BY GENERAL CHARLES W. IRISH, GOLD CREEK, NEVADA
Somewhere in the early fifties I, a young man then, met
through an introduction by my father, with a clergyman by the
name of C. C. Townsend. He was just out from New York
City and for the first time in, or on, the border of the then wild
west. His journey so far from "the center of civilization"
was an errand of mercy. He was an upholder of the Episco-
pal church or "The Church of England," as I had often in my
youth heard it spoken of derisively; for then the fierce fires of
hatred kindled by the war of the Revolution and the swiftly
following War of 1812 were still burning as ash-covered em-
bers upon many a hearthstone, and were frequently fanned
into weak and flickering flames of passion against Great Brit-
ain as parents related stories of the murders and woeful
devastations of those great struggles to their children by the
winter fire-sides.
I was not an exception to the rule in this matter, for my
forefathers had taken a hand in both those wars. And on my
father's side nearly all the male members of the family, born
for generations on the New England coast and the island of
Martha's Vineyard, had been sailors, my father among the
number. Hence the long winter evenings by our fire-sides
drew out many tales of the nation's struggle for independence
and many stories of the sea. Thus impressed I confess now,
looking back after the lapse of near half a century, to a very
BIOGRAPHICAL
43S
strong dislike in my youthful (lays for anything British; and
this in a shadowy way included the "Church of England."
Imagine my surprise when the Reverend Townsend, talk-
ing with me soon after our acquaintance began, proposed that
I should join him in an attempt to organize a society of that
church in Iowa City, lie had been about and over Johnson
county and had succeeded in finding several members of his
church — not above three or four, as I remember — and now
he desired my help and that of some other young folks to
make the organization complete. I frankly told him that 1
could not grant his request for I understood that he desired
TOWNSEND STUDIO
me to become a member of the congregation about to be or-
ganized and, further, that 1 did not like his church — of its
creed I knew nothing. He questioned me as to my refusal and
dislikes in the matter, and I told him that I was a Quaker after
the manner of my fathers and that I disliked everything Eng-
lish. He commended me for sticking to the faith of my fathers,
pronouncing that faith a good one to live and die by, and then
gave me a history of the Episcopal church, a revelation to me.
I was captivated by his kindly manner and the bit of history
of the church given, and consented to assist in organizing the
first congregation of the Episcopal church in Iowa City.
434 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Townsend gave me a hook of prayer and instructed me
in the use of it. He started me out on a proselyting expedition
to gather in some of my boyhood companions to help swell the
embryo congregation. He did not expect at first very many to
come even through curiosity, for religious jealousy ran high
at the time and there -was very little amity or comity between
the various religious sects then organized at the capital of
Iowa.
1 well remember our first meeting; it took place in Dr.
Reynolds's school room in the second story of the old Mechan-
ics Academy. I can now recall in memory's picture only that
little congregation, five or six in number, aside from the
clergyman, nevertheless we went through the services without
a hitch, succeeding even in the singing.
We continued to meet with great regularity and the lew
regular members, all of whom lived at various distances in the
country, came without fail, in spite of the severe winter wea-
ther which soon followed upon our first efforts, and the con-
gregation grew slowly in numbers.
Mr. Townsend was a tall, slim man, his face pleasing and
impressive; hair, eyebrows, and beard black; and of a bilious
temperament. He was naturally kind hearted and his manner
was of the most friendly.
1 have said that this trip to the then wild west, the state of
Iowa, was on an errand of mercy. He had observed the large
number of children, offspring of dissolute parents in large
proportion, hut in many instances waifs from once well-to-do
families broken up by business failures and other disappoint-
ments, and this mass of infantile humanity turned upon the
streets of the great maritime cities of the east with no help,
no shelter, nor the guidance of parents, exposed alike to the
pitiless storm and the still more pitiless world, to grow up in
the main, felons, preying upon the heartless society which had.
in its heedlessness of the pain and the wrongs heaped upon
these defenceless waifs, brought them to, and forced them into
the great schools of vice to be found on every hand in all large
cities.
The then wild west of Iowa and associated states was al-
most entirely free from such schools of vice and, moreover,
being par excellence a farming community, it offered in the
BIOGRAPHICAL 435
Reverend Townsend's opinion the very best school for the
training of the poor little friendless streei arabs of New York
City, not only leading them in the paths of virtue and good-
ness, Imt along and on the broad way of industry and useful
ass to suitable trades and callings, through the learning o1
which they might become independent and useful members of
society. Thus bis mission to the west was to find places
among its fanners and tradesmen for cast off remnants of
eastern civilization. He even dreamed of the founding of a
home and school for them and hoped against hope, and most
devoutly prayed for some Good Samaritan, with riches, to
arise in the glorious west, who, with the kindness of heart
which he himself possessed, might come forward with an
ample endowment for such an institution, lie sought aid in
his scheme by asking even small donations, and ever enthus-
iastic, began to bring as many of the destitute children west
as he could find means to transport and maintain.
For many of these he found good homes, where kindly
hands and hearts undertook their guidance, and for the rest
he provided the best and cheapest shelter that his limited
means would afford until fortune should open more friendly
doors for the little members of liis charge. I am glad to say
that so far as my knowledge goes, the majority of the poor,
friendless children, placed in Iowa homes by Mr. Townsend,
grew up to be good and useful members of society, some even
amassing a competence with which they entered successfully
into business; and I recall instances where, with the means
thus attained, parents long lost were hunted up and taken
from public refuges, and made comfortable and happy for the
remainder of their lives. On the other hand many of the
waifs were found to be unworthy and soon became criminals.
It was noted that these failures were among those who had at-
tained several years of intimacy with the shun life of the great
city where they were born, being in all cases the oldest chil-
dren brought out from these haunts of vice.
As from the beginning of human society, failures have at-
tracted more notice than have successes, so it was with the
Reverend Townsend's efforts, and it was soon noised ahout
that he was importing criminals by the car-load into Iowa
City and the surrounding country.
436 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
These rumors grew apace and soon it was proposed to put
a stop to his apparently ' ' criminal behavior. ' '
To this end a criminal prosecution was brought against him
and he was forced to appear before the district court for trial
on this base charge. The old man, full of years and good
works, came under bonds for trial before a jury on a penal
charge based upon his work of mercy and goodness which I
have hastily described. The trial was in progress in the court
house on a warm summer day, and Mr. Townsend was sitting
near an open window with his hand on the sill, when without
warning the heavy sash descended upon his fingers and so
crushed and bruised them that he sickened and in a few days
thereafter died from tetanus, or what is commonly called
lock-jaw.
Thus ended a life devoted to charity and aiding the helpless
in the most unselfish and painstaking manner. He sleeps, I
believe, in an unmarked grave ; but let the good which he did
be his monument. He made some mistakes, doubtless, in se-
lecting the little ones whom he sought to better and relieve,
but if he saved even one of them to a life of usefulness and
virtue, it went far toward compensating for all such errors.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP MRS. CHARLES W. IRISH, ONE
OF IOWA'S PIONEERS
I am now in my seventy-fourth year and as I watch the
automobiles and electric cars flash past my window and read
of the trips made in actual flying machines, I can but wonder
if I am dreaming or am lost in some wonderful Arabian Nights
tale, so different does this world of 1911 appear from that
upon which my eyes first gazed in 1837.
I was the sixth child and fifth daughter born to the late
Zachariah Yarborough and his wife, Hanna Stout. My birth-
place was near Lexington, North Carolina. My parents were
natives of that state and descendants of the patriotic pioneers
that helped to make history by fighting for our national inde-
pendence. My paternal great grandfather was Benjamin
Merrill, captain of the North Carolina Regulators who bravely
went out to meet Gov. Tryon and his force of British soldiers
%* . f> x^x
BIOGRAPHICAL 4::7
who were laying waste the plantations and homes of settlers
along the Alamance. My father was a man of that boundless
energy and ceaseless activity which made him successful in his
chosen work, that of planter and teacher. His life was brief,
hut full of accomplishment in these avocations. After his
death, my mother married again and soon thereafter the step-
father disposed of our plantations and moved us — that is
mother and her six children with his five young folks — to the
then new born and far off state of Iowa.
On the 18th of November, 1846, we arrived at our destina-
tion — a cabin home three miles east of Iowa City. There
were fifteen in our party aud we made the long and arduous
trip in six weeks. We had only two teams and wagons; of
course the prairie schooners were crowded and as the children
of those days were supposed never to weary we were coaxed
and cajoled into walking much of the way. I feel sure that I
did my full share of treking, and can yet feel the blisters and
stone bruises on my heels, when I recall that pioneer journey.
Bridges were scarce in those days, and the greatest pleasure
that came to us youngsters on the trip, was that derived from
crossing shallow streams on foot-logs or by wading; and finest
of all when the water was too deep for our childish limbs —
being carried over on the shoulders of our brother-in-law,
James Hill.
When I first saw Iowa, it was a vast expanse of brown and
blackened prairie, strewn thickly over with the bones of many
animals that had been victims of prairie-lires that had recently
consumed them while burning the rank grasses of the prairie.
The deep snows of that winter and the warm, gentle rains
of the following spring obliterated this gruesome scene by
scattering beautiful verdure and flowers over these remains.
The beauties of spring also dispelled my homesick longings
for my old plantation home in the sunny southland.
Corn and hominy were the chief articles of diet in those
first years of our pioneering in Iowa. The winter of '46 was
so cold that the water wheels of the little mill on the Iowa were
frozen up ; therefore, bread was a luxury to the settlers. I lorn
sold for five cents a bushel. With this inexpensive corn meal,
we had for food the wild game and fowls that were so abund-
ant here in those days. Often the wild fowls were so hungry
438 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
that large flocks of them came to the barnyards searching for
food, and the farmers set traps there and where wild turkeys
roosted, catching them in plenty. I have seen a dozen turkeys
secured at one time in the traps. In those days there was no
need for anyone to go hungry.
In my eleventh year I went to live with my eldest sister,
Mrs. James Hill, on their farm about five miles north of Iowa
City. While living here I attended the Rapid Creek school
and here in the autumn of 1854, Mr. Charles W. Irish, of Iowa
City, was the teacher, and I was one of his pupils. A year
later, in April, we decided to enter the great school of life to-
gether, so we were married on Easter Sunday, April 8, 1855.
A year and a half later with our baby daughter we left Iowa
City for our new home at Toledo, Tama county, Iowa. This
location was then on the edge of civilization in this state. So
we continued as pioneers, and a cabin home on the edge of a
clearing was deemed a luxury, and I am quite sure that the
hospitality that emanated from those cabin homes carried
more genuine friendships than the hospitality of today, that
is served out in such dainty precision from the palatial resi-
dences which have in so many instances replaced the pioneer
cabin.
We remained in Tama county about nine years; during this
time Mr. Irish was engaged in his chosen profession, civil en-
gineering. He also taught several terms of school in the coun-
ty. The latter part of our stay here was marked by the hard-
ships and sorrows of our great Civil War, and another little
girl was added to our household. As Mr. Irish's railway work
kept him much from home, leaving myself and little daughters
lonely and unprotected in our country home, we returned to
Iowa City in 1866, so that we could be near relatives and also
have better opportunities for the education of our daughters.
From 1866 to 1876 Air. Irish was engaged in railway building
in Iowa and adjoining states; then he was called into the
Southwest, helping to build the A. T. & Santa Fe road across
Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The year 1879 found
him busy in the great northwest extending the Chicago &
Northwestern road across Minnesota and Dakota. When this
railway work was completed in 1886, Mr. Irish was called into
the state of Nevada by President Cleveland, who appointed
►f thai sta
fee. As 1 bad trawled
much
p on the
»me quite
rfrom ho
Dakota plains for a yea
a !'i ontiers-woman am
me for so indefinite a ]
r at a
1 IM.W
ieriod,
•as dosed
ami 1 went with him
t.> his
>, Nevada.
Our eldest daughter,
Eliza
BIOGRAPHICAL 439
him surveyor general
with him, living in can
time, 1 had really bee
that he was going so f;
our Iowa City home \
new headquarters, Hen
beth, now proprietor and principal of Irish's University Bus-
iness College, was at this time living in California, holding a
fine position in the l". S. Mint at San Francisco. Our other
daughter, Ruth, now Mrs. ( '. II. Preston, of Davenport, was
principal of the third ward school in [owa City, and remained
with her work.
Seven years later, Mr. Irish was called by President Cleve-
land, again, to he chief of the Bureau of [irrigation, with head-
quarters at Washington, D. C. This change necessitated the
giving up of our Nevada home, so I again returned to Iowa
City, opened up the old home, and there the hearth lire has
been kept burning ever since.
Mr. Irish and I had become by this time good travelers,
birds of passage as it were, winging our flight from one point
to another across the United States, feeling at home wherever
our camp chanced to lie pitched, he it in the wilderness or in
the center of civilization. Xow that his work called him to
the beautiful capital of our nation, I had the pleasure of re-
tracing as it were with him my footsteps to the sunny South
land which I had not seen since my childhood. This trip was
made in 1895. Together we visited many points of interest
in and about the capital ami contrasted its beauty and life with
the beauty and life of the great wilderness of the west which
we had known so long and so intimately. Xow after an ab-
sence of forty-nine years I returned to the old Tar state, North
Carolina, and visited the home of my childhood. Although I
still found some of the neighbors and relatives and even the
daughter of the old Black Mammy that had given us young
sters such careful and kindly care, still great changes had
come, not alone to the "poor colored man" but to the entire
South. The beautiful country so cruelly devastated by the
Rebellion was even then beginning to feel the thrill industrial-
ly and socially that was the forerunner of the movement that
is now making a new and progressive South. 1 was happy in
440 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the contemplation of these great and really marvelous chang-
es, for I realized that the life of the New South would rest on
a more just and sounder foundation than had the old, and that
Mr. Irish's labors and others in the engineering field had con-
tributed largely in bringing about peacefully the new and pro-
gressive age.
When I had left the South, in my childhood, travel was
mainly by team over rude roads or by water if one chanced
to be going to points reached by the navigable rivers, and as I
before stated, I practically walked most of the way to Iowa;
but my return — how different. In a comfortable, yes luxur-
ious palace car, I was speeded along, covering in thirty-six
hours the distance that we, as emigrants, forty-nine years
before, had wearily accomplished in six weeks. The patient
team of oxen of that day are now retired and steam and elec-
tricity are doing their work. Will the next fifty years pro-
duce as great changes in transportation as the past fifty have
I often ask myself. The flying machine is now here — will it
be practical ? What a boon the telephone would have been to
the isolated frontiers-man and his family fifty years ago. The
rolling prairies of Iowa when I first saw them were pictur-
esque with the wild annuals and Indians roaming at will across
them, and we had great fear of the red-man, especially after
the massacre of Spirit Lake and vicinity, but the settlers of
that day were not perpetually in half as much danger at the
hands of Indians and wild beasts, as the citizens of today are
on their streets, because of the rapid transit of electric cars,
automobiles, and the like.
Mr. Irish and I together braved many dangers on the Da-
kota plains ; experienced severe winters, with deep snows and
famine — followed by floods and a reign of terror due to the
attempt of desperadors filled with bad whisky to gain control
of the settlement and its meager supply of food stuffs. We
knew personally many of the foremost Indian chieftains of the
Dakotas, for Mr. Irish had to meet them in council and obtain
the right of way across their territory before he could proceed
with the building of the railroad. We often entertained them
in camp. When Crow Dog was seeking the life of Spotted
Tail, the old chieftain, Spotted Tail, first sought protection
in Mr. Irish's camp. In Nevada also we knew intimately the
BIOGRAPHICAL 441
leading Indians of the time, Sarah Winneumcca, the noted In-
dian woman, Scout Pinte, princess, whose father had guided
Fremont across the Sierras, the Pinte chief and lawyer John-
son Sides, also Chief Joseph, of Pyramid Reservation, and
others.
After Mr. Irish's work in the irrigation bureau was com-
pleted he returned to the state of Nevada where until his death
in September, 1904, he was busily engaged in mining engin-
eering. I am now past my three score years and ten, but have
by no means lost my interest in the present or the past, and as
I go about my daily duties, for I still love to keep house, I
often find myself in reminiscent mood, and in company with
those who are now lost to sight I live over again and again my
pioneer days.
THOMAS CROZIER
About the time the United States of America were crystal-
lizing into a nation under the federal constitution, a young
man named John Crozier was united in matrimony to a fair
maiden named Jane Lawson, both being natives of the county
of Arrnah in the north of Ireland. They were sturdy Pro-
testants by conviction, and were connected with the Reformed
Presbyterians, commonly known as "the Covenanters." The
family were originally from Scotland, and had emigrated to
the north of Ireland in search of land and liberty. They be-
longed to a race known in American history as "Scotch-Irish"
— Scotch in origin and ancestry and Irish by choice and set-
tlement ; a people honest and firm in purpose, with full cour-
age of their convictions, haters of all oppression, and the un-
shrinking friends of civil and religious liberty. Such was the
stock to which John and Jane Crozier belonged. Soon after
their marriage the young couple sailed for America. The
voyage occupied nearly three months. They landed at Phila-
delphia and soon made their way to the western part of Penn-
sylvania, settling on George's Creek, Payette county, about
ten miles east of Uniontown, the county seat. By combining
his trade of stone masonry with the work of farming, John
Crozier earned a competence for his rising family of seven
children, all of whom were born in the Pennsylvania hills. Of
442 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
these children, David, father of Thomas Crozier, the subject
of this sketch, was the third son and the fifth child in the order
of birth. Equipped with a common school education such as
those primitive times afforded, David Crozier, at the age of
sixteen, left the parental roof and learned the carpenter's
trade with a craftsman named Stephen Campbell. In 1819 he
journeyed down the Ohio river with his brothers James and
Thomas, who brought a boatload of produce to Cincinnati.
David refused to return, and went out to West Union, county
seat of Adams county, to visit some distant relatives, and there
worked at his trade. While there he was engaged by Colonel
John Means, late of South Carolina, to build him a house near
RESIDENCE OF THOMAS CROZIER
Manchester. Colonel Means, with his sons, afterwards de-
veloped the iron interests of Brush Creek, Hanging Rock, and
Ironton. He was the grandfather of Hon. William Means,
afterwards mayor of Cincinnati. In the fall of 1821 David
Crozier was united in marriage to Margaret, eldest daughter
of William Means, son of a former soldier of the Revolution,
and an elder brother of Colonel John Means. In the autumn
of 1822 the elder Means, with all his family, set out from Man-
chester to remove to Illinois. The horses, with wagons and
flocks, were driven through by land while the heavier freight
and moveables were placed on a keel boat which Mr. Means
bought and placed under the command of David Crozier. The
BIOGRAPHICAL 44:;
human cargo of this boat consisted of Mr. Crozier, wife, and
infant son, Adriel Stout, wife, and infant daughter (Mrs.
Stout being a sister of .Mrs. Crozier), Eleven Tucker and fain
ily, and a few dockhands. The voyagers sailed from Man
Chester on the 10th of October, 1822, and drifted down the
Ohio river, past Cincinnati, past the falls of the Ohio, to the
mouth of the Wabash; thence np the Wabash, over the grand
rapids, to Terre Haute, Indiana. By this time the winter had
set iii and put an end to navigation. Messrs. Crozier and
Stout then removed to Vermillion county, Indiana, where they
joined their overland party and moved on into Edgar county,
Illinois. Their first house was built in the latter part of the
winter about one mile north of where Paris now stands. Early
the following spring three commissioners, Colonel John Hus-
ton, and Messrs. Boyd and Kincaid, appointed by the Illinois
legislature, located the county seat of Edgar county and called
it Paris. At this time David (Yozior's carpenter trade was
immediately in demand. He laid the foundation for the first
house in Paris for Nathaniel Wayne, and therein the "Inn.
by X. Wayne," was kept for the next ten years. Mr. Crozier
also built the county jail and assisted in building the first court
house and the first grist mill in the county, the latter being
located about six miles northeast of Paris. He thus continued
to advance the growing interests of the new county until 1*:!'J,
when the Black Hawk War broke out. He immediately volun-
teered, and was elected first sergeant in the company of Cap
tain Jonathan Mayo. Though this war was a mere "squirrel
hunt" compared with later events, Serjeant Crozier served
with ardor until its close and demonstrated that he had the
stuff in him for a soldier. Returning to the bosom of his fain
ily and to the arts of peace, Mr. Crozier continued to he an
active factor in Paris until 1835, when, in company with
Thomas Brock and Eleven Tucker and their families, he set
out for the new and growing city of Chicago, then having a
population of about 4,000, where he resided for a time. Later
he removed to Joliet, living there five years and working at his
trade. Just about that time the country suffered from a -real
panic, superinduced by wildcat currency and speculation, and
to add to his personal troubles Mr. Crozier lost thr f his
children bv scarlet fever. As a result of it all. lie decided to
444 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
make an exploring trip to Iowa, and did so in the fall of 1839.
His examination of the country in the vicinity of Wyoming,
Iowa, and Edgington, Illinois, convinced him that the new
region was worthy of a fair test, and the following year he
removed with his family from Joliet and located at Edgington,
Illinois, determining , to use that place as a base of supplies
from which to investigate the Iowa country later on. After
putting in crops of corn, oats, and potatoes, Mr. Crozier, with
his son John, a lad of eighteen, set out to look over the prairies
of Iowa. They landed at Wyoming and proceeded inland, fin-
ally reaching Iowa City. Hearing of a claim west of the Iowa
river, ; Mr. Crozier made an examination thereof, and, after
submitting the matter to his family at Edgington, proceeded to
purchase from Thomas B. Anthony a half section of land in
the bend of the Iowa river, about nine miles northwest of Iowa
City, the consideration for Anthony's relinquishment being a
spotted horse named "Joe," which Mr. Crozier brought with
him from Edgington. The following September Mr. Crozier
and his family moved on to the new homestead in what has be-
come known as "the South Bend." The Crozier family, as
they settled in the fall of 1840, consisted of the parents and
seven children, John, Nancy, Jane, William Means, James,
Amanda, and Thomas, the latter an infant of six months. In
1841 Mr. Crozier sold the Anthony claim to Rev. Launcelot
G. Bell, of Burlington, the pioneer Presbyterian minister of
the territory, and, taking up a half section of prairie, opened
the farm where he spent the remainder of his days, dying in
his seventy-seventh year, March 19, 1876. His wife died Oc-
tober 12, 1869, aged seventy years. On this old farm last men-
tioned our subject, the youngest member of the family, was
born December 19, 1842.
Thomas Crozier is the only male survivor of his father's
family. There is one other survivor, his sister, Amanda Bess
Rackett, a widow, who has a daughter and two sons residing
at Chicago. Mr. Crozier was educated in the rural schools of
his township. On July 12, 1861, at the age of nineteen, he fol-
lowed the example of his father in the Black Hawk War, and
enlisted in the Sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, for service in
the Civil War. On account of physical disability he was dis-
charged, but later, when recovered, he worked in the subsist-
BIOGRAPHICAL 445
ence department in the winter of 1863-64. tie re-enlisted in
Company G, Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry, and was mustered
out at the close of the war. On his return from the war, Mr.
Crozier spent three years in the west as a contractor on the
Union Pacific Railroad. During his mother's illness in 1869
he returned to the home farm, which he farmed and subse-
quently bought from the heirs. He continued in active work-
on this place until 1910.
Mr. Crozier was married in the fall of 1868 to Elizabeth
Orris, daughter of Joseph and Susan Orris. Miss Orris was
born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, and came to .Johnson
comity with her parents when a child in 1849. Both her par-
ents died in Penn township. The children of Mr. and Mrs.
Crozier are: Maggie, widow of George Hoover, Iowa City;
Charley, farmer of Penn township; Annie, wife of Albert
Northrup, Iowa City; Ethel, wife of Andy Raup, Madison
township; Edith, wife of George Green, Madison township;
Ora, wife of P. E. Ritz, Waterloo ; Geneva, wife of Ray Lenin-
ger, Madison township.
Mr. Crozier has been township trustee and was a member
of the board of school directors for nine years. He is a mem-
ber of the Masonic fraternity of North Liberty and of the
G. A. R.
ISAAC MEYERS
One of the prominent retired farmers of Johnson county is
Isaac Meyers, who in 1903 gave up the active work of the farm
and in 1904 established his home in the beautiful town of
North Liberty, where his declining years are being spent in
the enjoyment of the friendships which he has formed during
his half century of residence in Penn township. Mr. Meyers
was born in York county, Penns3dvani a, September 26, 1841,
and is the second of the family of five children of John and
Susanna (Bair) Meyers, both natives of the Quaker state.
John Meyers "was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in
1810, and died at Muscatine, Iowa, in 1849, of cholera, while
en route to Johnson county with his wife and family. Susanna
Bair, daughter of George and Catherine Bair, was born in
Pennsylvania, June 17, 1818, and died at Baltimore, Maryland,
44U
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
July 10, 1893, being buried at Westminster. Five children
were born to this couple: Elizabeth, Isaac, our subject: Sam-
uel ; Louisa, wife of Frank March ; and David. Immediately
after the sudden death of John Meyers at Muscatine, the
widow went to Penn township, and there remained until Sep-
tember, 1849, when she returned with her children to the old
home in Pennsylvania. Later she removed to Maryland,
where she was married to JohniMalehorn, dying in Baltimore,
as stated above. Abraham Meyers, the paternal grandfather
of our subject, came to Johnson county in the fall of 1848 and
bought four farms in Penn township — one for himself and
one for each of his children — paying therefor the sum of
RESIDENCE OF ISAAC MEYERS
$12,400.00. He resided in that township until his death in 1863.
His wife survived until 1873, dying. at the age of eighty-two.
Her maiden name was Elizabeth Erb. The children of Abra-
ham and Elizabeth Meyers were: Mrs. Elizabeth Aldiuger:
John, father of our subject; Anna, wife of Mathias Albright.
Isaac Meyers, our subject, returned to Penn township at the
age of eighteen in 1859. His early life was filled with mis-
fortunes. When a boy his arm was broken twice within two
weeks; before his marriage, his team ran away with him near
Iowa City, crushing his ankle and injuring one of the horses
so that it had to be killed ; the same year his residence and
contents were burned, being a total loss ; in 1875 he was burned
out again, as was a saw mill owned by his brother-in-law, and
the same yi
•arhisl
at a mill o
n his fa
our subjec
t has si
City in coi
oforl at:
ily and f ii
ends.
BIOGRAPHICAL 44;
her Samuel was drawn into a circular saw
recovering from his injuries. I low ever
ived misfortune, and now lives in Lowa
>eace, respected and honored by his lam
August 10, 1861, our subject enlisted in Company II, Sec-
ond Iowa Cavalry, under Major II. \V. Love of Iowa City,
taking part in numerous battles as follows: Siege of Corinth,
Farmington, Booneville, Rienze, luka. Corinth, Coffeville,
Palo Alto, Birmingham, Jackson, Grenada, Collieryille, -Mos-
cow, Pontotoo, Tupelo, Old Town, Oxford, and engagements
against Hood's march on Nashville, battle of Nashville, and
close skirmishes of the Civil War, remaining in active service
until September 22, 1865, when be was mustered out at Selma,
Alabama. During a fierce engagement at Franklin. Ten
nessee, he was shot by a minie hall through the left thigh and
was confined to the hospital for about four and a half months.
The war ended, our subject returned to Johnson county with
impaired health, and for nearly one year was unable to en-
gage in any labor.
Mr. Meyers was married in IVnn township, February 20,
1868, to Miss Sarah E. Moreland, by Rev. Joseph Buzzard.
She was the daughter of John L. and Mary (Hetrick) More-
land, natives of Pennsylvania. The Morelands came from
Pennsylvania to Penn township in 1844, where they resided
until their death. Mrs. Meyers is the youngest of six children.
and was born in Penn township, on the old homestead, Janu-
ary 13, 1847. Immediately following their marriage, Mr. and
Mrs. Meyers settled upon the old Meyers farm, and in 1882
moved onto the old Moreland farm. The names of their chil-
dren are: Mary Ellen, wife of J. B. Hemphill; Anna Eliza-
beth, wife of Samuel A. Myers, of North Liberty ; Iowa Elmira.
wife of L. L. Lentz; John G., of Texas, married to Blanche
Young, daughter of Dr. Miller Young: Isaac B. (see sketeli),
married to Ivy Anderson; Lewis, married to Faye Anderson,
sister of Ivy, both daughters of George A. Anderson, of
North Liberty; Sarah Edna, wife of Frank Zellar, of Winter-
set, Iowa.
Our subject is a pronounced republican (standpatter), and
has taken an active interest in local and general politics, hav-
448 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ing occupied the offices of trustee, clerk, and assessor in his
township. He is a member of the G. A. R., and has never
missed a reunion of his old company ; in this respect he stands
alone. He is an honored member of the Masonic fraternity —
White Marble lodge, No. 238, of North Liberty, and Iowa City
chapter No. 2, Iowa City. The family are associated with the
Evangelical church, in which Mrs. Meyers has been a most ac-
tive and valuable worker.
If any early facts are wanted by the settlers they always call
on Isaac Meyers and his cousin, Abraham Albright, two pio-
neers with retentive memories. Mr. Meyers keeps a record of
events as they transpire, and this is an encyclopedia for his-
torical data.
ALEXANDER LEMON 'MORELAND
The Morelands were prominent among the early pioneers
of eastern Iowa and have been representative of the best in-
terests of the region. The farm in Penn township, Johnson
comity, now owned by Alexander L. Moreland, is one of the
finest in the neighborhood, being well drained and containing
substantial buildings. Mr. Moreland, who is a veteran of the
Civil War, has lived retired from active life for several years,
but continues to reside on his farm, and takes an active interest
in the affairs and issues in his locality. He is one of the most
substantial and best-known citizens of his county, and has been
identified with various enterprises besides his farming opera-
tions. He is president of the North Liberty Savings Bank,
with which he has been connected for some years. Mr. More-
land is a native of Perry county, Pennsylvania, born Pebruar} 7
20, 1842, son of John L. and Mary (Hetrick) Moreland, and
grandson of Captain David Moreland, the latter a soldier in
the War of 1812 and a native of Ireland.
John L. Moreland was born March 3, 1807, and died July 3,
1878. His wife survived him many years, passing away Janu-
ary 1, 1900. They left Pennsylvania in 1843, with their five
children, going west in search of a desirable location for a
home. They made the trip in a prairie schooner, with four
horses, and camped out on the way, finally locating in Illinois.
There were no bridges and it was with difficulty they crossed
~<JyiLi/.Gt^>zc6iA J /-j y^7co^>£a^cc£
Ai/Poyi^ (y r c^^ij)J^Po^L^L^ I< ^C
(MRS. ALEXANDER M.)
BIOGRAPHICAL
44!)
many of the streams on the way. After remaining in lllii
two years, in 1845 they came on to Johnson county, Iowa, ;
there made a permanent home. The father had been rea
on a farm and in youth had learned the trade of fuller, wl
lie followed for a time. On March 28, 1833, he married M
Hetrick. who bore him six children, three of whom now e
vive. The eldest child, David Semern, was killed at the ba
of Shiloh. The survivors are: Alexander L. ; William S.
Audubon county, Iowa; Sarah E., wife of Isaac Myers.
family located on Section 12, Penn township, where they
proved laud and developed a fine farm, of which the two i
vivins sons eventually took charge. The father was
Im-
ur-
an
KESIDENt'E OF ALEXANDER L. MORELAND
industrious and energetic farmer and became influential in the
life of the community. In early days money was very scarce,
as trade was carried on by the method of exchange. At one
time the father took a load of potatoes to Iowa City and traded
them for a pair of hoots, which instance illustrates the com-
parative value of the commodities in those days.
Alexander L. Moreland was reared on the home farm in
Penn township and educated in the school near his boyhood
home. Later he engaged in farming on his own account, in
which he has been most successful. In 1868 he married Miss
Mary Zeller, a native of Franklin county. Pennsylvania,
daughter of Nicholas and Catherine Zeller, early settlers of
450 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Johnson county. She was a popular school teacher before her
marriage and her family was prominently identified with
various interests in pioneer times. Her father secured land
and developed a fine farm, which is the property of Mr. More-
land, so that Mrs. Moreland now resides on the place where
her girlhood was spent. Mr. Moreland purchased the More-
land home in 1876. In 1876 he had purchased the David S.
Miller place, which he improved in varioiis ways, remodeling
the house and building a new barn, etc. He purchased 187
acres of the present home, the Zeller and Moreland farms
later. He also owns 217 acres of fine pasture land near his
home. He has a good tenant on his farm on Section 12, who
rents the land by the year. The land has been brought to a
high state of cultivation and produces 80 bushels of corn and 50
bushels of oats to the acre.
Mr. Moreland enlisted in Company E, Twenty-eighth Regi-
ment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which was mustered in October
10, 1862, and mustered out at Savannah, Georgia, July 31,
1865. This company was organized at Iowa City and was com-
posed of Johnson county men. They were under the command
of Colonel William E. Miller, Major C. B. Lynch, and Lieu-
tenant-Colonel John Conned, of Toledo, and the captain of
their company was Captain David Stewart. They participated
in the battles of Fort Gibson, Champion Hills, Jackson, and
siege of Vicksburg; took part in General Banks's Red River
Expedition ; and were engaged at Sabine Cross Roads, in Shen-
andoah Valley, Winchester, Fisher's Hill, and Cedar Creek.
Mr. Moreland was wounded at Winchester, Virginia, Septem-
ber 19, 1864, when he sustained an injury to his leg. His
cousin, Amos Moreland, was captured at Sabine Cross Roads,
April '8. 1864, sent to Tyler, Texas, and held until the close of
the war. He was also engaged in many skirmishes. At the
close of his service, during which he had won a most honorable
record, Alexander L. Moreland returned home and took up
private life, turning his attention again to farming. He is an
active member of G. A. R. Post No. 8 at Iowa City.
Children as follows were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moreland:
Mary C, wife of Charles Colony, Jr.; Clara died young; Cora
E., wife of W. W. Young; Florence A., wife of Orville Wolf
(see Wolf and Y r oung sketches). Mr. Moreland retired from
THANKSGIVING REUNION OF A. L. AND MRS. MORELAND, CHILDREN
AND GRANDCHILDREN
BIOGRAPHICAL
451
active work in 1903 and lias since had leisure to enjoy the
fruits of his toil and take a more active part in other affairs.
He is a member of the Old Settlers' Association and actively
interested in its activities, lie and his wife have reared ;i line
family to be a credit to them and to the community. They
have fourteen grandchildren.
The reunion of this family annually on Thanksgiving Hay,
will always live in the memory of their children and grand-
children.
IRVY ERR WILLIAMS
Irvy Err Williams removed from Carroll county, Maryland,
to North Liberty, Iowa, in 1899. At that time he was thirty-
one years of age and unmarried. Previous to his location in
Iowa Mr. Williams had been engaged in farming in Maryland,
his entire efforts up to the age of twenty-four being expended
Si' ''
^ '■
if ■■JgSESJi
T^i
RESIDENCE OF I. E. WILLIAM*
on the home farm of bis father in Carroll county. When
twenty-four years of age, in 1892, he began business for him-
self as a farm hand, and continued in that line until 1899, the
date of his removal to Iowa. Mr. Williams' parents were
farmer folks, and were for a considerable period of their lives
152 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
residents of Pennsylvania. It was in Adams county, in the
Quaker state, that our subject was born, January 26, 1868. In
1875 he removed with his parents to Maryland. Henry Tritt
Williams, his father, died in Maryland in June, 1911, at the
advanced age of eighty-four. Tlie mother, Amanda Jane Hum-
mer, died in August, 1910, at the age of sixty-eight. Our sub-
ject is the third child in a family of nine, all of whom reached
maturity and all of whom were married with one exception.
Mr. Williams was seven years of age when he removed to
Maryland with his parents, and his education was received in
the public schools of that state.
In 1900 Mr. Williams began working in the Linebaugh
Lumber yard at Iowa City, where he continued for five years,
thereafter removing to North liberty and continuing work in
the same yards at that point. In 1910 he purchased the North
Liberty yards of Mr. Linebaugh and changed the name of the
enterprise to North Liberty Lumber Company. The business
has developed into an important enterprise, including coal,
cement, building supplies, and wire fencing.
Mr. Williams was married in 1907, at Iowa City, to Miss
Rebecca Paulus, daughter of John and Henrietta (Detwiler)
Paulus. They have one child, Florence Mildred, bora April
28, 1909. Mr. and Mrs. Williams ai*e members of the Lutheran
church.
SAMUEL RANSHAW
Among the many beautiful homes for which North Liberty,
Iowa, is noted, probably the most modem, up-to-date, and com-
plete in every respect is that of Samuel Ranshaw, the subject
of this ,sketch. The fine copper-plate view of this residence,
accompanying this sketch, will give the reader a good idea of
the exterior appearance of this cozy home. Samuel Ranshaw
paid for the ten acres upon which this residence stands the
flat sum of $300.00 per acre, and the property, with the cost of
house and improvements added, represents a cash investment
of $12,000.00. The house is completely plumbed for hot and
cold water, both hard and soft, pumped by gasoline engine,
and is also provided throughout with gasoline gas system for
lighting. The interior finish is of the latest pattern and in
BIOGRAPHICAL
4.")
keeping with the splendid exterior. Surely, its owner and his
family are to be congratulated upon the possession of such a
home as this. That it is the outcome of careful industry and
management through years of toil goes without saying, for he
it known that such homes do not grow on sluggard hushes nor
spring, unhidden like mushrooms, from the soil of inactivity.
Samuel Ranshaw is a farmer with a business education.
This, plus native ability of a high order, accounts in part for
his success. He had a humble beginning, however. His birth-
place was a log house, formerly a log barn of the famous old
stage hostelry, the Bond Hotel, known to all early settlers of
Johnson county, which his father began to use as residence
when he first took up government land in Madison township.
This old log house still stands on the home place and is used
by Samuel Ranshaw as a machine shed. Dropping coin by
band and covering it with a hoe in the old-fashioned way was
a sample of the humble work of our subject in his boyhood
days. He made a "hand" in the daily work of his father's
farm and learned the homely lessons of industry and frugality.
His common school education, received in the district schools
of his township, was supplemented by a course at the Iowa
City Academy. Following this, he took up the occupation of
farming in Madison township, a business which he continued
454 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
until he retired to North Liberty March 10, 1908. During his
farming operations he became the owner of the original quar-
ter section which his father entered as a homestead. To this
he has added from time to time until he now possesses over
five hundred acres of the best land in Johnson county. The
old house on the home farm has been remodeled, new stock
barns have been built, and many extensive improvements
made. The date of his birth was August 24, 1863. Today, at
the age of forty-nine years, he is accounted one of the wealth-
iest and most progressive citizens of the county.
Mr. Ranshaw took for his wife Miss Emma A. Stauffer,
sister of Joseph Stauffer, retired, of Iowa City. (See sketch
of the Stauffer family for further data). They were married
by Rev. J. H. Becorc. The names of their five living chil-
dren are: S. Raymond, graduate of the Irish Business Col-
lege ; May, a graduate of the North Liberty school ; Ruth and
Elsie, attending North Liberty high school ; and Laura, also at
school. They had one son, John A., who died at the age of 16
months. Mr. Ranshaw is a deacon of the Church of God of
Madison township, of which the family are members. He has
been a member of the school board of this township, and takes
an active part in the cause of education.
JOHN RANSHAW, father of Samuel Ranshaw, was born
in 1827 in Lancashire, England. He came to America about
1850, and for a time pursued the occupation of gardening in
New York City. He was well educated and a splendid work-
man in his line. In 1854 he came west by rail as far as Rock
Island, Illinois, and thence by stage to Iowa City. The first
piece of land he purchased was twenty acres from Nathaniel
Scales, an old settler. In a little while he disposed of this and
took up a quarter section from the government in Madison
township, paying therefor $1.25 per acre. On this he moved
the old log barn heretofore mentioned, which he transformed
into a residence. John Ranshaw added to his holdings until
at one time he owned four hundred acres. His early work was
characterized, of course, by the use of primitive tools and
methods, but during his entire life he was known as a man of
great executive ability. His early market town was Musca-
tine, and his trips thereto with produce occupied from two to
4
H
BIOGRAPHICAL *55
three days. He raised splendid grain and was frequently in
the long - line at Muscatine, awaiting his turn to unload. Be
became noted for the fine quality of his grain and stock, and as
a natural consequence became prosperous and well-to-do. Mr.
Ranshaw was married in England to Miss Mary Goodwin, who
became the mother of eight children, four of whom arc living:
J. W. Banshaw, of Madison township; Samuel, our subject;
Mary, wife of Moses Snavely, of Madison township; George
G., of Penn township. Mrs. Ranshaw died in 1893, and her
husband survived until 1896. Mr. Ranshaw was a township
trustee and a school director. He and his wife were prominent
and active members of the Methodist church in Madison town-
ship.
ALFRED J. RUNKLE
Alfred J. Runklc was born in Linglestown, Pennsylvania,
October 16, 18-16. The early ancestors of the Runkle family
came from Germany in the 18th century.
Alfred J. was nine years of age when the family came to
Iowa, locating in the town of Lisbon. In 1*64 he gave up his
studies ha school and enlisted in Co. F, 24th Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, and was honorably discharged at the close of the
Civil War. Soon after his return from the government ser-
vice he began work as a clerk in a dry goods store in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, February 22, 1866, and during the spring and
summer of 1867 was employed as salesman for Mandel Bros.,
in Chicago. In the autumn of the same year he located in Iowa
City in the same occupation, and remained there until March,
1881, when he removed to Kansas City, Missouri, where he
became head member of the firm of A. J. Runkle and ( !o., deal
ers in dry goods, notions, etc. In April, 18S«), he removed to
Cedar Rapids and was engaged in the same line of business
until 1S!»7, when he retired from the mercantile trade and en-
gaged as agent for the Aetna Life Insurance Company and as
public accountant.
Mr. Runkle was married October 2.'!, 1868, to Frank Eliza-
beth Brown, whose parents then lived near Tiffin, Johnson
county, Iowa. This union was blessed with two children:
Thomas William Rankle, horn in Iowa City, August 8, 1869,
456 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
photographer in Cedar Rapids, and Carrie J. Rnnkle McCul-
lough, born in Iowa City, Iowa, October 11, 1871.
Mr. Rnnkle became a member of the Masonic fraternity by
joining Iowa City lodge No. 4, in the spring of 1868.
ISAAC B. MEYERS
The business of stock raising is becoming more popular
every year with the farmer of today, as this line of enterprise
brings the best financial results. Among those who are thus
engaged in Johnson county, may be mentioned Isaac B.
Meyers, of Section 6, Penn township. He has a quarter sec-
tion of some of the best farm land in the comity. All the
buildings on the place were erected by his father, Isaac Mey-
ers, Sr., a pioneer in Johnson county, a sketch of whom is given
in this work. He is an extensive feeder and shipper of cattle
and hogs for the Chicago market. He has some 70 head of the
latter besides young pigs, and ships from North Liberty. He
raises horses with which he carries on the farm and he is ener-
getic and up-to-date in his method of operation. In 1911 he
erected a silo with a capacity of 140 tons, which is a model of
of this class of buildings. He averages a crop of 50 bushels of
oats to the acre, and endeavors to get the highest results from
BIOGRAPHICAL 457
all his operations, having a high opinion of the possibilities
of land and conditions with which lie has to deal.
Isaac B. Meyers was born in Penn township, on October 10.
1880, son of Isaac and Sarah (Moreland) Meyers.
Isaac B. Meyers and wife, who is a daughter of George and
Sarah (Green) Anderson, became parents of three children:
Erman, horn January 15, 1901; Siebert, horn January 21,
1904; and Ceola, horn February 22, 1909. Mr. Meyers is ac-
tive in the affairs and interests of his community and is highly
esteemed for his sterling qualities as a citizen. He is now a
member of the school board, and fraternally is a member of the
Masons and the Odd Fellows. He is one of the best known
men of Penn township and has a host of friends.
GEORGE E. JAMES
One of the representative and prosperous farmers of Lin-
coln township is George E. James, who was horn in Muscatine
county, Iowa, September 7, 1SG7, his parents being Gad and
Harriet (Kile) James, the former a native of Wales and the
latter of Indiana. Gad James came to America with his
father in 1854, being then a small hoy and motherless, the
mother having died when he was four years old. The widower
and his small family (there were four hoys and one sister)
settled first in Xew York state for a few years, thence remov-
ing to Cedar county, Iowa, where they remained a short time,
and thereafter to Louisa county for a few years. Finally he
settled in Missouri, where he resided until his death. Gad
James remained in Muscatine county, where he was married
to Harriet Kile, and engaged in farming in that county. This
always was his occupation. He died September 1."), 1!>12, and is
buried at West Liberty, Iowa. Gad James and Harriet Kile
had ten children : George E. ; Curtis W., married to Nettie Ris-
ley, of Nichols, Iowa, father of four children, Harriet, Evelyn,
Janet Ruby, and Curtis Ripley; May, now Mrs. Vincent Bir-
kett, living at West Liberty, mother of six children. Blanch
Lilly, Thomas, Dorothy May, James Vincent, Edith Leota,
and Ethel Marie; Edwin G., living on a farm in Lincoln town-
ship (see his sketch) ; Bertha, now Mrs. Benjamin Bigsby, liv-
458 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ing in Cedar comity, Iowa, mother of three children, Herbert,
Gynith, and Grace — Mr. Bigsby died September 20, 1912;
Jesse K., living in Muscatine county, married to Miss Edith
Nichols, of the same county; Clayton S., also of Muscatine
county, married to Miss Bessie Heath, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Heath, has one son, Raymond Heath ; Leota, now
Mrs. Chas. Waite, residing in West Liberty ; Harry, who died
when two years old ; Warren W., living in Muscatine county,
married to Beulah May Avers, of West Liberty. All of our
subject's brothers are farmers, who possess their own homes
within a radius of a few miles of his own residence in Lincoln
township.
RESIDENT E OK (,K<H;<;H K. .1 A .M }..-
George E. James has always been a farmer. In 1897 he
bought his present farm, containing 160 acres, which is now
one of the finest in the county. He was married March 18,
1891, to Miss Martha Hanna, who was born in Preston county,
West Virginia, October 21, 1866, and came to Muscatine county
with her parents, James and Ellen Hanna, in 1875. Mr. Hanna
was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He enlisted from his
native state and served three years in the Civil War. Mr. and
Mrs. Hanna had seven children, three of whom died in infancy.
Those who reached maturity were : Martha, wife of George E.
James ; William, married to Lottie Wells, and he died in June,
1901, father of two children, Elsie and James, the latter dying
at six years of age ; Lucinda, now Mrs. Lewis Leach, of Lu-
1E0EGE E. JAMElr
BIOGRAPHICAL
4.")! I
vciiic. Minnesota, mother of three children, Albert, Harry, and
Vera; Mary Delia, now Mrs. Ernest Wells, of Lincoln town
ship, Johnson county.
Mr. James lost liis wife by death July 28, 1908. She left
one daughter, Alverda Fern, horn October 11, 1899. George
E. James has always been a republican. Tie has been town-
ship trustee for six years and has held other local offices, lie
is a member of the M. P. church.
HENRY M. COLBERT
Henry M. Colbert, of Fremont township, is a farmer and
the son of a fanner. Moreover, lie is proud of both facts. At
twenty-one years of age he determined upon agriculture as
his chosen occupation and began work on his own account.
Seventeen years ago he bought 160 acres at bis present loca-
tion and from year to year added thereto until today he has
390 acres of as nicely improved land as can be found, in south-
ern Johnson county and has one of the coziest homes in the
county.
Mr. Colbert is a son of Luther and Phoebe (Kiser) I !olhert,
and was born in Louisa county July 28, 1863. His father was
born in Indiana and his mother in Iowa. The father came to
460 HISTORY OP' JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Iowa in 1854, and settled upon a farm in Louisia county. There
he was married in 38(31 to Miss Phoebe Riser, who bore him
five children, two of whom died in infancy. The surviors are :
Jacob H., married and living in Ottumwa, Iowa; Addie, now
Mrs. J. P. Teeter, living in Muscatine county; our subject.
Father Colbert died January 8, 1908. The mother is still liv-
ing.
Mr. Colbert was married November 16, 1887, to Miss Lu-
cina Carl, daughter of F. T. Carl, of Lone Tree, Iowa. (See
sketch of Mr. Carl elsewhere. — Ed.) They have two daugh-
ters, Maybelle E., and Elda Merle, both living at home.
HIRAM HEATH (Deceased)
At the time of his death in Iowa City, January 21, 1907,
Hiram Heath had just completed a continuous term of thir-
ty-four years as secretary of the Lincoln Mutual Insurance
Company, with which corporation he had been identified since
its organization in 1873. This long term of service is illus-
trative of the persistency and faithfulness which were domi-
nant traits of his character. His life was marked by consist-
ent, continuous attention to the duties and obligations of the
citizen, the father, and the neighbor. His place in the con-
fidence and affection of his family and friends was unshak-
able. It was the universal verdict at his death that a good
man had gone to his reward. This judgment of his fellows
and his friends should temper the grief of his loved ones and
crystallize their veneration for the departed. If the "good
that men do lives after them," then the influence of Hiram
Heath will unquestionably be a factor for righteousness for
many years to come in the memories and consciousness of his
family, his business associates, and his neighbors.
New Jersey was the birthplace of Hiram Heath, April 15,
1836. His parents, John and Rachel (Norman) Heath, were
also natives of New Jersey. The family removed to Ohio
when Hiram was a small child. They remained there until
Hiram was eighteen years of age, when they pushed further
westward to Iowa county, Iowa. From that county, in 1861,
at the age of twenty-five, young Heath enlisted in Company
BIOGRAPHICAL
4(11
D of the Thirty-fifth Iowa. He devoted three years to the
service of his country, one of which was in active combat,
during which he took pari in the siege of Yickshurg. His
health failed, however, and he was assigned to the position
of clerk in the government hospital at Davenport, Iowa, which
place he held for two years. On receiving his discharge he
settled upon a farm in Muscatine county, Iowa, where he re
mained until 1869 when he moved to a farm in Johnson county.
He resided upon this latter place until 1891, when he went to
Iowa City, there remaining until his death.
Mr. Heath was married in September, 18K1, to Flora A.
Taylor, who shared with her young husband the anxieties of
the Civil War. She was born May 22, 1836, in Ohio. Her
RESIDENCE
parents were of Scotch descent. Her father died when she
was five years of age and her mother many years ago. She
is the only surviving member of her father's family of eight ;
the names of the deceased are : John, Mary, Archibald, Doug-
las, Margaret, Daniel, and Jane. One brother and two sis
ters of Mr. Heath survive him : John, living in Idaho ; Naoma,
living at Tacoma, Washington; and Sarah, living at Platte,
South Dakota.
The family of Hiram and Flora Heath are: Edna, now
Mrs. T. E. Fountain, living in Cedar county, Iowa, has one
daughter, Dorothea; Mac, who died in 1891 at the age of
twenty-two; Myrtle, new Mrs. 0. R. Reeves, living on the old
462 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
homestead, has six children, Teresa, Raymond, Helen, Wil-
liam, Lois, and Vernon ; May, now Mrs. Dr. F. W. Beets, liv-
ing at Hanover, Illinois, has two children, Margaret and Paul.
Mr. Heath was a pronounced republican in politics, and was
honored by his party and fellow citizens by election to a num-
ber of local offices. He and his wife were identified with the
membership and work of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Comrade Heath was a member of the G. A. R. of Iowa City.
JOSEPH PRIZLER
Joseph Prizler resides upon the old homestead of his par-
ents in Lincoln township, where he was born April 11, 1873,
and where his entire life has been spent. He takes pride in
this place, and esteems it the highest privilege of his life to
have been able to buy and to maintain the reputation of the
old family home for productiveness and good cheer. Careful
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH PRIZLER
management and constant industry have given Mr. Prizler
a goodly quota of this world's goods, and the farm, well-kept,
productive, and attractive, is a credit to its owner and to his
capable wife, who has been his companion and help-mate for
ten years.
Joseph Prizler is the son of Nerbet and Mary (Kezakl
MR. AND MRS. .1 ( >E l'lil/.l .KK
BIOGRAPHICAL 463
Prizler, natives of Bohemia, who were married in their na-
tive land, and in 1866 came directly therefrom to Iowa City,
soon after settling on the farm in Lincoln township, which is
the present home of our subject. The mother died in 1890,
but the father is still living in Iowa City at the advanced age
of eighty-one. Of the eight children born to this couple, six
now survive, one having died in infancy and one, John, at the
age of forty. The survivors are : Frony, widow of Mr. Slaby,
residing at Davenport ; Peter, living in Iowa City ; May, now
Mrs. Frank Zeithammel, living in Iowa City; our subject;
Frank, residing in Pleasant Valley township; Charles, resid-
ing in Colorado; and Kate, now Mrs. Albert Tauber, living
at Iowa City.
Mr. Prizler was married in October, 1901, to Miss Mary
Kanek, a native of Bohemia, who came with her parents to
Iowa City about 1891. The Kanek family settled at Iowa
City, where they have since resided, the father, Frank Kanek,
being a merchant tailor at 126 South Dubuque street. Mr.
and Mrs. Prizler have four children: George, Ernest, Edna,
and Melvin.
Mr. Prizler is in every respect a self-made man, having
by frugality, industry, and intelligence worked his way up
step by step to his present standing. He is bright, enter-
prising, and progressive, a type of the ideal young Iowa
fanner. He is a democrat in politics, and well informed con-
cerning the vital issues of the day.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BALL
Very few men in Iowa City have witnessed more material
changes in Johnson county than the subject of this sketch,
who was born near Fairfield, Jefferson county, Iowa, June 7,
]S47. His parents were pioneers, having settled in this coun-
ty during the spring of 1840. George W. remained on the
farm assisting his father, anil attending the rural schools.
At the age of twenty-three he removed to Pes Moines where
he remained about four years.
November, 1874, he removed to Iowa City, and established
himself in law and has been in active practice since that time.
464 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
He formed a partnership
turned as such until 1905,
mitted. The death of Mr
father and son continue tl
Crescent block.
After attending the ru:
studies for some time at
Wesleyan college at Mt.
law course of the State C
with Mr. Baker and their firm con-
when George W. Ball, Jr., was ad-
. Baker occurring July 1, 1910, the
ie business, their offices being in the
ral schools, Mr. Ball continued his
Fairfield college, one year at Iowa
Pleasant, and then completed the
niversitv of Iowa, graduating with
-4' f i&:S
K~*%
RESTDEXCE OF GEORGE W. BALL
the class of 1870. He immediately took up the practice of law
in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Ball family are direct descendants of one of the earliest
Colonial families of Virginia. Smith Ball, father of George
W., was born in Madison county, Ky., July 29, 1810, and died
at Fairfield, Iowa, December 13, 1890; his mother, Rebecca
(Moffitte) Ball, was born in Fayette county, Kentucky, Feb-
ruary 25, 1814, and died in Jefferson county, Iowa, October
3, 1902. There were seven children in the family: Emily
Ann Case, born in Sangamon county, Illinois, March 27, 1838,
died in Jefferson county, Iowa, November 18, 1895; Mary
Melissa Phillips, born March 25, 1849, resides in Birmingham,
BIOGRAPHICAL 465
Iowa; Sarah Frances, horn March 10, L845, died 1895; the sub
jeot of this sketch; Margaret Cassander Fisher, bora Decem-
ber 10, 184!), died August 20, 1905; Lewis Cass, bom January
18, 1852, resides in Fairfield, Iowa; Frank Pierce, bora Feb-
ruary 25, 1854, resides in Jefferson county, Iowa.
Mr. Ball was married January I, 1880, to Estella E. Walker,
who was bora in Henry county, Iowa, April 29, 1854. Miles
Walker, her father, was horn in Indiana, February 22, 1827;
died September, 1895. Her mother, .lane (McDowell) Walk-
er, was bora in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, October 27,
1822, and at present resides with her daughter, Mrs. Ball, in
Iowa City. The grandfather, William Walter, was an Iowa
pioneer, settling in the state in 1834. Mrs. Ball had one broth-
er and three sisters; Joseph I'., horn in Henry county, Iowa,
April 2, 1852, resides in Putnam county, Missouri; Dora Dell
Dean, wife of Henry Clay Dean, born at Mount Pleasant, Sep-
tember 16, 1856, died in Putnam county, Missouri, January 2,
1911; Mrs. Luella Porter, born in Mount Pleasant, Henry
county, Iowa, October 23, 1858, resides in Putnam county,
Missouri; Mrs. Lavanda Helene Babcock, born October 23,
1861, resides in Custer county, Nebraska.
To Mr. and Mrs. P>all have been bora three sons and one
daughter: George Washington, Jr. (see sketch), born Feb-
ruary 16, 1881, associated with his father in the practice of
law in Iowa City; graduated from Iowa City high school, class
of 1897. from the Liberal Arts Department of the State Uni-
versity of Iowa in 1901, and from the Law Department in
1903; he is major in 54th Regiment, T. X. <!.; Henry Moffitte,
born February 23, 1883, attended high school, two years in the
Academy, and two years in civil engineering in the University
and is now conducting a ranch in Montana; Walter McDowell,
born February 23, 1883 — twin of the former — graduated
from the Academy, three years in the Liberal Arts Depart-
ment of the State University of Iowa, completed the course in
the law school of the same, graduating in 1009, practicing law,
and conducts an abstract office at Fort Benton, Montana:
Edith B. Macbride, born November 20, 1887, wife of Philip D.,
resides in Seattle, Washington. There are two grandchildren :
Virginia Hester Ball, and George W. Ball III.
In politics Mr. Ball is a democrat. He was a member of
466 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the city council from 1881 to 1883, and representative from
Johnson county in the 21st General Assembly, 1886-87.
He was state senator in 28th-29th General Assemblies,
1900-04, and mayor of Iowa City two terms, 1905-09. Mr. Bal 1
is a member of board of directors, and vice president of the
First National Bank of Iowa City. He is a member of the
board of curators of the State Historical society. ,
In his social relations he is a member of Iowa City lodge
Xo. 4, A. F. & A. M., Iowa Chapter No. 2, Palestine Coni-
mandery, K. T., member of De Molay Consistory No. 1, of
Clinton, 32nd degree, member of El Kahir Temple, A. A. O.
X. M. S. (Mystic Shrine), of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He has
been W. M. of Iowa City lodge No. 4, H. P. of Iowa City
( Ihapter Xo. 2, Eminent Commander of Palestine Commandery
Xo. 2, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Iowa for two
terms, and of a sequence Past Grand Master, Grand High
Priest of Grand Chapter of Iowa, and Grand Prelate of the
Grand Commandery of Iowa.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Ball are members of the Methodist Epis-
copal church of Iowa City. They reside in a modern home at
429 X. Clinton street. Their children were all educated in
institutions of Iowa City. Mrs. Ball attended Simpson col-
lege at Indianola, Iowa, completing the course and graduating
in the class of 1876. She is a member of the O. E. S., Xo. 35,
and is also a member of the Beta Chapter of the Phi Beta Phi
at Simpson, transferred to the Zeta Chapter, of Iowa City.
JOHX J. KADERA
One of the notable examples of self-made men who have won
success in Johnson county is John J. Kadera, a well-known
and popular citizen of Graham township. He was born in
Bohemia, April 1, 1858, son of Joseph and Kate (Cervenk)
Kadera. the former of whom died February 13, 1879, as a re-
sult of being overheated in the harvest fields some time prev-
ious. The mother now resides with her daughter, Mrs. Krock,
in Cedar county, Iowa, at the age of seventy-four years. John
J. was the first born of their eight children, and the responsi-
bility of caring for his mother and some of the younger chil-
BIOGRAPHICAL
-Mil
dren devolved upon him for some years after the father's
death. Of the children horn to this couple four now survive,
namely: John J., of this sketch ; Wesley is a farmer of Cedar
township; Jacob W., lives in Union township, and Mary, the
only surviving daughter, married Nicholas J. Krock, and they
reside in Cedar county. The other four children died in child
hood.
At the aye of eighteen years, in 1S7<i, John J. Kadera came
to America, landing in Baltimore and going at once to Cedar
Rapids, where he had an uncle. He worked by the month
at farming for the first seven years and at odd times was en-
ItESIDKM'K
IX J. KAHKKA
His parents came to America
Upon his father's death John
gaged at the trade of mason,
with the other children in 1877.
Kadera was the mainstay of his mother, who was left with
several small children, and those were trying times for all.
He received six dollars a month for his first month's work,
thirteen the second month and in the second year eighteen
dollars per month, and sixteen the third year, on account of
hard times, and this was considered good pay for a youth at
that time. During these years he was learning the lessons of
economy and thrift which enabled him to get so good a start
in life afterwards. By his twenty-fifth year he had been re-
lieved of the care of the other members of the family and
had been able to save $800, so he felt justified in marrying and
starting to farm on his own account. lie had landed in Cedar
468 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Rapids on May 27, 1876, with a capital of but ten cents, and
had need of his store of energy and ambition to enable him
to see brighter days ahead. He has justified his faith in his
own ability to get on and in the opportunities to be found in
the land of his adoption.
Upon his marriage Mr. Kadera purchased forty-five acres
of land and soon afterwards added another twenty-five acres,
in Cedar county, and occupied that farm fifteen years, during
which time he had greatly developed it and land bad increased
in value there to such an extent that he was able to sell it for
a good price. He then purchased a farm of 160 acres in Sec-
tion 23, Graham township, which is a most desirable location
for general farming and stock raising. The place, which was
known as the old Harrison estate, was transferred to him on
February 22 (Washington's Birthday), 1898, he being the
third person to whom the deed was transferred. There were
several buildings there, and in 1908 he erected a fine modern
residence, and during three years expended $8,000 in improv-
ing the place. In 1911 he erected a fine barn, 50 x 54 feet, with
a capacity of 120 tons of hay ; his fields are well fenced, and he
has put tiling wherever it would add to the value and produc-
tiveness of the land. He has raised sixty-five bushels to the
acre, average on fifty acres of corn, and forty bushels to the
acre of oats and other grains. He has set out a fine orchard,
and the 51)1) catalpa trees which he set out are the first of the
kind in the neighborhood and give the place the name of Ca-
talpa Farm. Mr. Kadera is interested in local matters and
in politics is a democrat. He is affiliated with Camp No. 5059,
M. W. A., of Oasis. His religious views are liberal.
In 1883 Mr. Kadera was united in marriage with Mary
Zenisek, by Father Emmons. She was born in Johnson coun-
ty March 25, 1864, of a prominent family. She is a daughter
of Albert and Anna (Kodl) Zenisek. Her father died in Ce-
dar township and her mother resides with her son, Mika A.
Zenisek, in Cedar township. Of their eleven children seven
are living and have families. To Mr. and Mrs. Kadera seven
children were born, and six of them survive: Emma, born
November 8, 1883, is the wife of Frank J. Grezel, a farmer of
Scott township, Johnson county, and they have one son, Leo
Frank, born June 2, 1910 ; Joseph, born July 16, 1885, helps his
MR. AND MRS. JOHN J. KADF.liA
BIOGRAPHICAL 469
father on the home farm ; Marie, born September 8, L889, mar-
ried Joseph J. Hora, they reside in Pleasant Valley township;
Clara A., horn .May 28, 1897; Lilly Blanche, born August 8,
1899, and Charles, born March 20, 1901. Lilly B. died in in-
fancy.
WILLIAM HENRY DROLL
William Henry Droll is the first child of the twelve children
of Charles Droll and Magdaline Birrer. The family is re-
markable from the fact that three pairs of twins wei'e included,
the first pair being a boy and a girl, the second pair two girls,
and the third pair two boys. Of this trio of twins the first-
born of each pair now survives. Charles Droll is a native of
Germany, born November 29, 1832; his wife, Magdaline Bir-
rer, is a native of Alsace, Germany. The couple were mar-
ried in Johnson county. Father Droll was raised and edu-
cated in Germany, and emigrated to America at the close of
the Civil War, landing at New York. He almost immediately
came west and settled in Liberty township, where he still re-
sides with his estimable wife. The father of Charles Droll
was William Droll, who was bom and died in the Fatherland.
(For further data of the Birrer family, see the Birrer sketch
elsewhere in this volume. — Ed.) The twelve children of
Charles and Magdaline Birrer are: William Henry, <mr
subject ; Leo, married, father of one child ; Frank, accidentally
drowned at the age of three years; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Vic-
tor Schnoebelen, of Kansas ; Frank and Mary, twins, the latter
died when young; Mary, now Mrs. R. Knittel, of Riverside,
Iowa; Philomena and Annie, twins, the latter died August 5,
1909; Philomena became Mrs. William Scott, of Riverside;
Cyril and Linus, twins, the latter died April 7. 1911. Cyril is
now farming the home place. (See separate sketch of Linus.
— Ed.) Mother Droll has suffered much for her children,
and passed through many ordeals by sickness and death of her
loved ones. The death of her son Linus particularly affected
her. He was a fine character and a devout Christian. This
venerable lady is known far and near as a kind and loving
neighbor, devoted to her children and grandchildren and to
her church, the Catholic.
470 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
William Henry Droll was born in Johnson comity, Liberty
township, in 1870. He was raised on a farm and educated in
the district schools of his township. From the age of sixteen
to twenty-three he worked on farms in Liberty township, hav-
ing assisted M. Sydell to plant corn in 1891 on the present
town site of Hills. In the fall of 1893 he rented the farm
of Burdette Cline and began the business of farming for
himself, continuing until the close of 1900. In 1901 he
opened a general store in Hills, which he conducted for one
year and then sold. In 1902-03 he again engaged in farming
on rented places. He, however, had acquired a taste for mer-
chandising, and in 1904 began the business of grain and stock
dealing, in which he is now engaged. During 1904-05 he con-
ducted the business alone, but in 1906-07 the firm was known
as Droll & Eiley, Philip Riley having purchased an interest.
During those years an elevator of 12,000 bushels capacity was
built. In 1909 the name of the firm was changed to Droll &
Fitzpatrick Bros., and later in 1910 Frank Krai bought a half
interest in the stock business. The volume of business of the
firm may be estimated from the fact that during the year 1910
there were shipped 140 ears of hogs and from 8 to 10 cars of
cattle ; from July 1, 1910, to July 1, 1911, the firm shipped 103
cars of wheat, oats, and corn, and during the month of Septem-
ber, 1910, 65 cars of hay and straw. This will be accounted a
fine record for a town of 200 people.
BIOGRAPHICAL 471
Mr. Droll lias been a witness to the entire growth of Hills,
from a farm, with a double hedge fence along the road now
known as Main street, to its present prosperous proportions,
with himself as its mayor. The first resident of J I ills was
Dr. F. W. Lloyd, a graduate of the State University of Iowa,
who 1 m i It the first house in L891. This small frame structure
is now standing on the west side of the depot. The lumber
contained in it was hauled from Iowa City. Dr. Lloyd carried
on a drugstore with a small line of general merchandise, lie
was succeeded in 18!>;5 by Burdette ('line, and it was during
that year that William Droll farmed Mr. Burdette's place. In
L904 Louis Kneble opened his blacksmith shop, which he still
continues. The town of Hills was incorporated in 1906, the
incorporators being Fred C. Hirt, William H. Droll, Jess Sy-
dell, Charles Mentzer, Joseph Walker, and Albert Frantz.
The first mayor of Hills was Dr. George J. Wenslick, and on
his removal William H. Droll was appointed to lill the unex-
pired term. On the conclusion of the term he was nominated
and elected mayor aud is now serving the town's second term
as its chief magistrate. In addition to this office, Mr. Droll
has served as school director for Liberty township for one
term. Under his administration as mayor many improve-
ments have been carried on, and Hills is looked upon as one of
the progressive communities of Johnson county. In addition
to his business establishment and elevator, Mayor Droll owns
several lots and a fine residence. He is a republican in poli-
tics; a member of the Eagles, and an adherent of the Roman
Catholic church.
On June Hi, 18!)?, Mr. Droll was joined in wedlock to Miss
Ella Burger, a native of Iowa City, daughter of William
and Catherine (Helmer) Burger. The ceremony was per
formed in St. Mary's church, by the pastor, Dean A. J. Schulte.
(For data respecting the Burger family, see sketch elsewhere
in this volume. — Ed.)
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Droll are: Genevieve, Cath-
erine, William Edwin, Albert, Margaret Helen, and Blanche,
the first three named being in attendance at the Sisters' school
in Hills.
472 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
JOSEPH FUHEMANN
Joseph Fuhrmann is a retired teacher of the Parochial
schools of Iowa. Incidentally, also, he has been an extensive
traveler, not only over this, hut over most of the states of the
Union. Incidentally, also, he is a booster for Iowa City, John-
son county, and the state of Iowa. In the early seventies
Fuhrmann rode on horseback from Keokuk to the north-
western corner of ; Iowa. Being a close observer, he is quite
familiar with a large portion of the United States, and, in
summing it all up, he says : "I found that almost every local-
ity has a certain charm and advantage peculiarly its own; but
in all my travels I have never found a city cleaner and neater
IIF.SIM'.XI'K HI' JOSKl'H Fl'HRMAXX
in every respect than Iowa City, and I believe there is as good
a chance to succeed here, both in city and country, in business
and in farming, as in any of the much-lauded locations else-
where." It follows as a natural sequence that the author of
these sentiments is a respected and popular resident of the
University City.
Joseph Fuhrmann was born October 9, 1851, in Kaifenheim,
Rhine Province, Germany. He came to America with his par-
ents (Peter and Anna M. Fuhrmann) and five brothers, ar-
riving May 1, 1868, and settled on a farm near Baden (now
Harper), Keokuk county, Iowa. In 1873 he removed from
Harper to Marathon county, Wisconsin, where he taught the
BIOGRAPHICAL 473
parochial school in Marathon City until May 1, 1874, when he
went to Richmond, Washington comity, Iowa. There for ten
years in succession he taught in Trinity school. In L884 he
settled on a farm one mile east of Richmond, and resided there
until 1881, when he removed to a farm one and one-half miles
southeast of Iowa City, on the lower Muscatine road, in East
Lucas township. In 1908 lie moved into Iowa City to his
present residence at 114 South Lincoln street, having rented
his farm to his sous.
While living on his farm near Richmond, Mr. Fnhrmann
held various township offices and other positions of trust.
He was township clerk four years, justice of the peace five
years, and townhip assessor for ten years in succession. He
was school director and secretary of the school hoard for a
number of years; also a director in the Washington County
Mutual Insurance Company. While living- on his farm near
Iowa City he also held township office and other positions of
trust. He was fundamentally a democrat from principle, be-
lieving that the democratic party could and would do more
for the common people at large than any other political or-
ganization; but he always had a profound respect for those
who differed from him in their views, and frequently cooper-
ated with them when he believed it to he for the welfare of
the puhlic.
Mr. Fnhrmann's educational attainments were cumulative
and practical. After graduating from his parish school in
Germany, he entered high school to prepare himself for the
work of teaching, but being interrupted by his removal to
America, on arriving in this country, he worked in summer
on the farm and in the winter attended public and private
schools, mostly in order to master the English language. Af-
ter three years of study he received a first-class certificate
from the county school superintendent and taught the public
and parish schools at Baden (Harper) for two years. H<>
also taught two years at Riverside, Iowa.
Mr. Fnhrmann has always been deeply religious in his con-
victions and practice. Raised by good and pious parents, who
instilled in him at an early date an ardent faith in their moth
er church, the Catholic, he endeavored always to he a faithful
member, and, wherever located, took an active part in the
affairs of his congregation. He is at present a member of St.
474 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mary's church of Iowa City; belongs to the Gentlemen's So-
dality and also to St. Joseph's Benevolent Society, of which
latter body he has been president for five years.
On January 19, 1875, he married Catherine E. Strabala,
daughter of Balthasar and Josepha Strabala, of Richmond,
Iowa. Miss Strabala was born May 24, 1851, in Columbiana
county, Ohio, and came to Washing-ton county, Iowa, with her
parents, seven brothers and six sisters, in April, 1864. Of
this union eleven children, three boys and eight girls, were
born, as follows: Mary Caecilia, born July 3, 1876; Rosa C,
born September 28, 1877; Agnes C, born July 30, 1879; Aloy-
sius J., born April 5, 1881; Stanislaus K., born July 23, 1883;
Angela R„ born in 1885; Victor B., born March 2, 1887; Mary
E., born August 15, 1888; Oliva C, born September 17, 1891 ;
Celesta M., born September 26, 1894; Zita A., born July 26,
1899.
Mary Caecilia went to the Convent of the Franciscan Sis-
ters of P. A., at La Crosse, Wisconsin, July 8, 1895, and is
known as Sister M. Celeste F. S. P. A. She is a competent
member of their teaching force. Rosa C. also went to the
same convent July 12, 1896, and was known as Sister M.
Clarett F. S. P. A. She was mostly employed in the various
hospitals, and died March 7, 1908. The rest of the children
are all living at home.
WESLEY NOVOTNY
Wesley Novotny is one of the native sons of Johnson county
who have had so large a share in its development during the
last quarter century. He is a wide-awake business man and
an intelligent, enterprising citizen. He was born in Jefferson
township, November 23, 1869, son of .Joseph and Anna No-
votny, the latter of whom is deceased, but the father survives
and lives in Jefferson township, at the home of his daughter
Anna, Mrs. Verhotsky, being now eighty-three years old. Jo-
seph Novotny was born in Bohemia and came to America in
1858, soon afterward selecting Jefferson township as his
future home. He and his wife had six sons and one daughter.
In bovhood Wesley Novotny attended the country schools
BIOGRAPHICAL
and was reared like many another farmer's son of tl
taking- part in the work of the home farm at a tender
the age of twenty-one years he began farming on hii
count and in 189] moved just across the river into
township and located at his presenl place, lie engat
butcher business for two years, driving a wagon tin
country. In 1893 he retruned to Jefferson township,
continued fanning until 1898, when he moved hack t
mer location and opened a store, which he has condu
since. The little village where he is in bsuiness is
Curtis, formerly a post-office, but since rural deli
installed in the county'the office lias been discontim
3 own a
Madisi
jed in II
•ongh tl
where I
his In
cted evi
known j
vciv w;
?t ;'"d - p^H' ^^i
Ai,A jfcJilliUJlX-^^y mi. '"to
Bf- ■ !__ ■ -- -~^. . -- . ~w- . --: — ■-,..
i;ksii)Knck of wksi.ey xovotxy
ten years Mr. Novotny served as postmaster. His store,
which is 30 x 20 feet, is well known in the vicinity. He carries
a high class general line of goods. He has a good trade, not-
withstanding the discontinuance of the postoffice at Curtis,
and has a good standing with all who have had business oi
social dealings with him. In 1906 he purchased the Roberts
farm, comprising about seventy-three acres, in Section 27.
Madison township, a portion of it government land. Mr. No-
votny takes a commendable interest in local affairs and has
served as constable in both Jefferson and Madison townships
He is a member of the M. 15. A., of Swisher, and of th<
M. W. A., at Shnewille.
476 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
On August 8, 1891, Mr. Novotny was united in marriage, by
Mayor Reno of Iowa City, with Fannie Machovets, daughter
of Frank and Christina Machovets, the latter of whom died
February 2, 1905, having had nine children, all of whom now
survive save one. Mr. Machovets, who was an old resident of
Jefferson township, passed away at the home of Mrs. Novotny,
on December 14, 1911, and was buried from the United Breth-
ren church, interment being made in the Shueyville cemetery.
He was seventy years of age, and his death was caused bj r
heart failure. He was survived by the following children:
Mrs. Wesley Novotny, of Curtis ; Mrs. John Lorack, of Iowa
City ; Mrs. Anthony Novotny, of Cedar Rapids ; Mrs. Antone
Notolicky, of Mt. Vernon ; Frank, of Cedar Rapids ; Adolph,
of Roswell, South Dakota; Antone, of Pocahontas, Iowa;
Joseph, of Roswell, South Dakota ; Blanche, now Mrs. Koss,
of Ely, Iowa. To Wesley Novotny and wife one son was born,
William Lester, November 25, 1895, now in his second year in,
the high school at Shueyville, a promising youth, who is a
source of pride to his parents.
ENOCH II. HOPE
Enoch H. Hope is one of the most enterprising and success-
ful farmers of Graham township, Johnson county, of which
township he is a native. He is of English descent, his father,
Thomas Hope, having been born in Yorkshire, England, May
19, 1819, and his mother in Hull, Yorkshire, England, May
12, 1832. Thomas Hope came to the United States in 1852 on
a sailing vessel, the voyage lasting eleven weeks. He landed
in New York, went on to Detroit, Michigan, and thence to La
Salle, Illinois, whence he continued his journey by wagon to
Johnson county. He settled on a farm northeast of Morse,
where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away Febru-
ary 12, 1875. At the time of his demise he was the owner of
a quarter section of land. Upon coming to the newly opened
country he purchased eighty acres of land from the govern-
ment, paying therefor seventy-five cents per acre. For some
years the nearest trading point was Muscatine, then known
by the name of Bloomington, and the trip to market with grain
BIOGRAPHICAL
477
or other produce was made with oxen. Be and his wife were
compelled to undergo all the hardships and trials of frontier
life and worked very hard to get their start in the new home,
but became owners of a valuable farm. Mrs. Hope's maiden
name was Annie Harrison. She died June 8, 1895, at the age
of sixty-three years. There were four children horn tin tins
family: John, died in infancy; Mary, died at the age of thir-
teen years; Enoch, of this sketch; and John Sherman, who is
a mate. The two last-named live together.
The subject of this sketch was horn on his father's farm,
about two miles from Morse, in 1862, was reared on the place,
and received his earlv education in this district school. Later
RESIDENCE OK ENOCH II. HOPE
he attended Iowa City Academy. As he grew up he became
the mainstay of his parents, remaining with his mother Until
1889, when he bought the Westenhaver farm, also in Graham
township. This place consisted of a half section of land on
Section 13, and two years after coming to live on it Mr. Eope
added eighty acres more. This is one of the best farms in
his part of the county and he has brought it to a high state of
productiveness and attractiveness. There were only log
buildings on the place at first, and he has replaced these from
time to time with modern ones. He lias erected two barns, 70
by 56 feet in size, one for cattle and one for horses, and has
room for one hundred tons of hay. In 1911 he had a yield of
60 bushels to the acre from seventy acres of corn, and he also
478 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
had forty acres of land in small grain, which yielded
well. He has a hue herd of Shorthorn cattle, and about
ninety head of pure bred Poland China hogs. In 1910 he
shipped a number of yearling cattle, averaging 1,300 pounds
per animal. He raises a quantity of fine timothy seed each
year, having a yield of between two and three hundred bushels
in 1911, and has raised as much as 650 bushels in one. year.
He has his farm well fenced, most of it hog-tight, and all that
requires it is well drained. Mr. Hope carries on his opera-
tions in accordance with modern methods and ideas and dis-
plays excellent judgment in his work. He takes an active in-
terest in local affairs and has served some time as school
director of Grant school No. 6. Besides his farm he owns
some city property on Washington street, near Dubuque, Iowa
City, that is occupied by the popular millinery emporium
owned by Adams Sisters. Mr. Hope is influential in the coun-
cils of the republican party and in religious faith is affiliated
with the Christian church, as is his wife. In October, 1889,
in Chicago, Mr. Hope was united in marriage with Miss Cath-
erine Adams, by Rev. J. W. Allen of the West Side Christian
church, whose sisters are successfully engaged in the millinery
business in Iowa City, as above mentioned. She is a daughter
of Frank and Elizabeth (Edwards) Adams, the former a
descendant of Enock Adams, a tanner by trade, who was born
in ^Massachusetts and participated in the Revolutionary War.
The latter was descended from an old New England family,
the progenitor having come to America in the Mayflower.
Members of the family moved from Massachusetts to Maine
in an early day, and became farmers and pioneers. Frank-
Adams was born September 18, 1819, and died in Johnson
county February 25, 1883. His wife, a native of England,
born in England November 4, 1834, died in Chicago June 30,
1897. The father of Frank Adams, John E. Adams, was a
pioneer of Ohio. He came thence to Johnson county, Iowa,
in 1837, and returned to Ohio, but in 1861 came again to John-
son county, where he settled permanently and where his chil-
dren were reared. Mrs. Hope is one of six children born to
Frank Adams and wife, namely : Francis M., Fred, Matilda,
Catherine, William, and Catherine. The first two were twins
and both died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Hope have no children.
BIOGRAPHICAL 479
WILLIAM ANDREWS
William Andrews is a representative business man of Morse,
Johnson county, and has been residing in the vicinity the past
forty years. He came to Graham township with his parents
in 1860, just prior to the Civil War, and since reaching man-
hood has been actively interested in the general progress and
prosperity of the region. He was born in Chester county,
Pennsylvania, July 23, 184-9, son of Joseph and Joanna (Gar-
rett) Andrews, the former a native of Allegheny county and
the latter of Chester county, he horn March 4, 1820, and she
January 10, 1817. The mother died in Graham township Au-
gust 1, 1889, and the father June 3, 1911.
The Andrews family came to Johnson county in I860, locat-
ing in Graham township, William Andrews being then in his
eleventh year, and he finished his education in the common
branches in the local schools. Later he attended the State
University of Iowa a year and a half, preparing for the pro-
fession of teaching. He spent two years in Madison county,
being engaged in teaching one year, but aside from this, has
lived in Johnson county since first coming here. At the time
the Rock Island railroad was built to Morse, he came to the
town, where he has since been a leading business man. In
the early seventies, when a railroad was completed between
Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, he entered the employ of a Bur-
lin,i>-ton firm, buying and shipping grain, with headquarters at
Morse, and at the expiration of his contract yith this company
formed a partnership with E. K. Morse, a prominent pioneer.
He spent two years in the stock and lumber business, and at
the time of dissolving partnership with Mr. Morse, he con-
tinued alone a short time, but on May 7, 1876 (Centennial
Year), took Alfred R. Ohl as a partner, the style of the firm
being Andrews & Ohl until September 1, 1880. Later the firm
became known as Andrews, Ohl & Company, when Samuel H.
Hempsted became a partner. Mr. Hempsted was the father
of Mrs. Ed Graham, and a sketch of his career may be found
in these pages. The concern dealt in stock, grain, lumber,
seeds, wagons, farm implements, buggies, harness, coal, and
rock salt. They won a wide reputation in eastern Iowa for
the fairness of their dealings and for the strict integrity of
480 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the men interested in the enterprise. They built up a sub-
stantial business.
For some years past Mr. Andrews has carried on a lumber
business on his own account, also dealing in other building-
material, coal, salt, and other commodities and devotes much
of his attention to his business at Morse. He has other in-
terests, however, and is a man of large affairs, farming on
quite an extensive scale. His farms are stocked with a line
grade of Polled Hereford cattle. His herd has taken a state
premium and he takes great pride in the reputation he has
in this line. In the year 1911 his corn yield varied from 85
to 90 bushels per acre, one of the best records in his part of
the state. His land is well tiled and fenced "hog-tight," and
RESIDENCE OF WILLIAM ANDREWS
he has the most modern and substantial buildings possible.
In 1911 he erected a concrete foundation to his barn, and his
splendid farm residence, located just outside of the town
of Morse, stands on a most pleasant eminence, so that it over-
looks the surrounding country and is most desirably situated.
The house is surrounded by cement walks and is fitted with
everything possible to add to the comfort and pleasure of
the inmates. Mr. Andrews gives employment to several men
on his place, which is kept in fine condition.
On May 25, 1876, Mr. Andrews was united in marriage with
Charlotte L. Morse, daughter of a pioneer, E. K. Morse, and
a native of Graham township, where their union took place.
BIOGRAPHICAL 4*1
Seven children have blessed this union, of whom three died in
early childhood, the others being: Alfred, Lewis, Frank, and
Ruth. Mrs. Andrews is prominent in church, social and Liter-
ary circles, and influential in various movements in Graham
township. They were anions- the founders of the Christian
church at Morse and have always been active in its support.
Mr. Andrews is a member of the A. F. & A. M. He is one of
the most public-spirited citizens of Johnson county, always
ready to lend a helping hand to those in distress or need, who
deserve his consideration, and helping forward every worthy
cause. He is pleasant and genial, hut modest and unostenta-
tious, and greatly enjoys the society of his friends, of whom
he has a large number, ne is an advocate of temperance and
at the time of the incorporation of the village voted to keep
out intoxicants, believing it to be for the best interests of the
community to ward off the evils which would be likely to fol-
low the advent of a saloon. His action in this regard has been
appreciated by the best element in the township and identifies
him with the best interests of all.
ED C. GRAHAM
The Graham family was one of importance as connected with
the early history of Johnson county, and for them Graham
township received its name. This family was foremost in all
measures for public advancement and was representative of
the highest interests of the community. It has several worthy
representatives in the region today, prominent among whom
is Ed. C. Graham, living on Section 25 of Graham 'township,
who was born on the farm he now occupies, January 3, 1865,
just prior to the close of the Civil War. He is a son of Alex-
ander and Mary E. (Dyarmett) Graham, the father born at
Zanesville, Ohio, March 7, 1834, and died in Chicago, Illinois.
The father of Alexander was the noble pioneer, Andrew
Graham, who died January 19, 1870, at an advanced age, and
who was a native of the Emerald Isle. He first arrived in
Johnson county in 1849 and located land from the govern-
ment, but did not settle there permanently until 1S54. It was
for this emigrant ancestor of the family that the township re-
482 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
ceived its name. He was foremost in the affairs of his com-
munity and held many positions of public trust. He was a
useful factor in the Methodist church and the local society,
organized in 1864, was known as the Graham church, of which
he was trustee. His wife died three years prior to his own
demise. She was a native of Maryland.
Alexander Graham received a good education in the schools
of Zanesville, where he grew to manhood, and in 1850 came to
Johnson county with his father, and the two purchased some
900 acres of land from the government, at a price of $1.25 per
acre. He returned to Zanesville and there married, April 16,
1854, Mary E. Dyarmett, a native of that place. Soon after
RESIDENCE OF E. C. GRAHAM
marriage the young couple took up their permanent home in
Iowa, on the place where the subject of this sketch now resides.
He had made several trips to Iowa to look after his land in-
terests and became highly successful in his operations. Seven
children were born to him and his wife, of whom the following
four now survive : Hattie, the wife of E. 0. Shankland, a
member of the Subway Commission, of Chicago ; Andrew D.,
of Chicago; Cora I., and Eddie C. Andrew and Cora are
graduates of Cornell college, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Three
children died in infancy. The parents of these children were
active in the Methodist church at Oasis and the father, who
was a republican in politics, held many township offices and
served one term as deputy sheriff. He was interested in
BIOGRAPHICAL 48:?
various financial enterprises and was one of the founders and
served as president of West Branch State Bank, lie was ac-
tive in securing the services of the best teachers in the local
schools. His line farm of 400 acres spoke volumes for his
thrift, good management, and energy, and his beautiful home,
which is modern throughout, is a lasting monument to his
pride in his home. The lumber was all milled on the place,
materia] being hauled from Iowa City. He was popular in
fraternal circles, being a loyal member of the Masonic order.
The good work which is so ably begun has been continued
through the efforts of his son Ed, who has the advantage of
many late inventions and methods.
Ed. C. Graham received his early education in the district
school, and later attended Iowa City Academy and Commer-
cial college. With the exception of eighteen months, which
he spent in railroad work, he has made this place his home
during his entire life, and takes peculiar pride in his estate.
He has made general farming his occupation, but has paid
especial attention to cattle feeding, and also has 200 hogs on
his place. He has many land interests aside from his home
farm, having an interest in three horse ranches in Sully coun-
ty, South Dakota, a quarter section of wheat land in Brown
county, in the same state, and a quartet section in O'Brien
county, Iowa. In PHI his corn crop averaged 65 bushels to
the acre on forty-eight acres, and he has ever been successful
in other lines. He ships from three to six car loads of cattle
annually. He purchased the old homestead of 400 acres in
1006, but has since disposed of part of the land. He has made
a number of notable improvements, having erected barns and
an auto garage. He has a very fine concrete cave, which he
constructed himself, which he uses as a vegetable and fruit
cellar, and in case of a cyclone he thinks it would be a con-
venient refuge. In his concrete wash-house he has installed
a machine that is run by a gasoline engine. He has procured
every convenience possible for his home. He is a natural
mechanic, and underneath the ice houses he has constructed a
meat room, with a refrigerator which will hold a la rue amount,
and which has been found most useful and convenient.
Mr. Graham was united in marriage with Miss Lillian Hem-
sted, of Graham township, daughter of Samuel II. and Mary
484 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
J. ( Haddock) Hemsted, the latter of whom died in the spring
of 1879. The grandparents of Mrs. Graham, Frederick and
Elizabeth (Akers) Hemsted, came to Johnson county from
Ohio in 1844. Mrs. Graham presides over her modern home
gracefully and efficiently, and she and her husband gladly
welcome their many friends there. She is the mother of four
children: Helen and Carl, students in the Iowa City high
school; Archer, attending school; Harriet. Mr. Graham is a
republican in politics and has been a delegate to the county
convention. He is president of the West Branch Telephone
Company and his business ability and sagacity are well recog-
nized. Fraternally he is a member of the A. F. & A. M., being
a Shriner of Davenport Consistory, and also is affiliated with
Camp No. 5059, M. W. A., of Oasis.
THOMAS A. EVANS
The Evans family is one of the oldest in Johnson county
and its members have been prominently identified with the
progress and growth of the region. Thomas A. Evans is well
known as a successful farmer, the son of a pioneer, and a
veteran of the Civil War. He is a native of Johnson county,
born December 24, 1858, son of Thomas Albert and Nancy A.
(McAdams) Evans, who came to Iowa in 1842. The father
was born December 4, 18 — , and was a farmer by occupation.
He brought his family to Iowa in the year previously men-
tioned and they located permanently in Newport township,
Johnson county. He had been educated in the district schools
of Delaware and as a young man moved to Indiana, where he
was married and spent the first years of his married life.
Nancy A. McAdams was born, reared, and educated in In-
diana. By this union there were eight sons, as follows:
Walter J., of Newport, Iowa; Wesley D., of Humboldt, Iowa;
John H., of Alburnett; James H., of Creston; Larkin H., of
Iowa City; Alexander Isaac died in infancy; Alexander Isaac
the second, who is in grocery business at Mount Vernon, Iowa ;
Thomas Albert is the immediate subject of this sketch. This
large family of boys received as good an education as their
parents were able to give them and were given valuable home
BIOGRAPHICAL 4S5
training, which Influenced their subsequent lives. They early
learned the lessons of industry and self-reliance and learned
the details of farming with their father.
Thomas Albert Evans, Jr., attended school in the neighbor-
hood of his father's home, as did his brothers, and at the age
of fourteen began doing a man's work in the harvest, iield.
The first land he purchased on his own account was eighty
acres in Newport township, having previously worked out by
the month until he was able to save eight hundred dollars, then
made a trip to Colorado. However, upon returning home, he
was more than satisfied that in his native county and state
were 1 letter opportunities for a young farmer. Later he pur-
chased land in the vicinity of West Branch, Cedar county, and
Oasis, Johnson county, and now owns eighty acres in Section
26, Graham township, in the latter county. About 1883 he
moved to East Lucas township, where he lived twelve years,
and then purchased 150 acres of land in Newport township.
Two years later he moved to Ins present home on Section 26,
Graham township, and has since lived in the vicinity of Oasis.
He also owns some city property. He has owned land in
various parts of Johnson county and has been successful in
his operations there, but has lately given much attention to
buying and selling stock, which he ships from Oasis.
Having spent practically his entire life in the county, Mr.
Evans is one of the best known men within its limits, and has
been able to build up a large stock business. He has the en-
tire confidence and good will of his customers and looks well
to their interests. While living in Newport township he filled
several local offices, such as trustee, member of the school
board and road supervisor. His father has a good war rec-
ord, although not quite sixteen years of age at the time he en-
listed, in 186*4, in the Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry,
under Captain Lucas, and served in the battle of Cedar Creek.
(His record may be further found in the sketch of Captain
S. D. Pryce, which appears in this work.)
On December 10, 1899, in Iowa City, Mi - . Evans was united
in marriage with Miss Julia A. Sponey, born July 26, 1862,
daughter of Frederick and Theresa (Durin) Sponey. both of
whom are deceased. All eight children in this family survive.
By this union three children were born: Harry B., now in
486 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Minnesota, born June 5, 1881 ; Frederick, born February 2,
1883, married Miss Flossa Crawford, daughter of Rev. John
Crawford, a minister of the gospel, and they have two sons,
Eugene Donald, and Robert Thomas, the only grandsons in
the family of the father; Miss Grace, born February 2, 1887,
a graduate of West Branch and Iowa City high schools, is a
popular educator of Johnson county and now has charge of
St. James League of the M. E. church, in Chicago, where she
is doing fine work. Mr. Evans has a comfortable residence
and other substantial buildings on the home farm and has it
well furnished with good fences. He is a prominent member
of M. W. A. Camp No. 5059, of Oasis, which he served as bank-
er two years, and now holds the office of advisor in the organi-
zation He also belongs to the Odd Fellows, being affiliated
with lodge No. 508, of Morse, in which he has passed through
the chairs. He is much interested in the good work of these
orders and does his share to forward their welfare. He is
interested in general affairs in the community and upholds
various worthy public movements.
ORRIN ANDREWS (Deceased)
Probably no couple were more intimately associated with
the early history of Johnson county than Orrin Andrews,
who passed to his reward January 11, 1902, and his venerable
widow, who is so widely and favorably known there. They
passed through many years of hardship and privation and
enjoyed the fruits of their early toil together, being among
the earlier pioneers to locate in their community. Mrs. An-
drews well remembers the early years when wolves were fre-
quently seen in front of their cabin, and deer, elk, and wild
fowl were plentiful. At first the candles used for lighting the
home were made by the primitive method of "dipping," and
later, when molds came into the market, the new method was
considered a great saving of time and work. She was a typi-
cal pioneer wife and mother, and was always most solicitous
of the comfort and welfare of her family.
Orrin Andrews was born in Orange county, N. Y., December
8, 1825, son of Nathan and Filena (Ames) Andrews, and died
BIOGRAPHICAL
4S7
in Johnson county, [owa, the same day that Lis son, Charles
M., was called to rest, a severe shock to the widow and mother,
thus doubly bereaved, and one from which it seemed difficult
to recover. ^Ir. Andrews was very young when he removed
with his parents to Oswego, New York. Eight years later he
accompanied them to Trumbull county, Ohio. One year later
removal was made to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where he at-
tended the country schools. He was married in Crawford
county, Pennsylvania, and moved to Iowa in 1854, locating
first on the home where his father had located, the latter being
a pioneer of Graham township, Johnson county. Later he
purchased eighty acres of land in Section 10 and kept adding
UIJ
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to his holdings until lie had 300 acres, lie took an active and
honorable part in all public movements and was one of the
building committee who erected the Christian church at Morse,
being one of its founders and an elder for many years. His
widow is still an active and useful member. He served as
township trustee and four years as justice of the peace, also
being active in school matters. Tie was keenly interested in
local and national politics. He became very successful as an
agriculturist and erected good, substantial buildings on bis
farm. He also made other improvements and installed mod
ern machinery. He fenced and tiled the place and brought
it to a high state of cultivation. In the early days he was
obliged to use the crude and primitive tools of the day, snch
488 HISTOEY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
as the diamond plow and the cradle, and was delighted with
modern tools for lightening labor and saving time. He was a
most highly respected member of society, popular in many
circles, and sincerely mourned by his multitude of friends.
He is buried in the Morse cemetery as is his son, as this is the
family cemetery with many members buried there.
Mr. Andrews was united in marriage with Sarah Shepard in
Crawford county, Pennsylvania, December 16, 1852, married
by Justice Finley, and they made their first home in Erie
county, Pennsylvania, remaining there two years until moving
to Iowa. Sarah Shepard was born in Erie county, Pennsyl-
vania, February 6, 1827, daughter of Mason and Jane (Smith)
Shepard, her father a native of Vermont and a farmer by oc-
cupation. He was married in Erie county and died in Craw-
ford county, Pennsylvania, in 1866, at the age of seventy-
seven years. Mrs. Shepard was born in Erie county and died
in Crawford county, at the age of eighty-six years. Mrs.
Andrews, the eldest of their eight children, is now in her
eighty-fifth year, and in full possession of her faculties. She
was reared on her father's farm and well educated in the
public schools and in an academy. The locality where she
and her husband settled, soon after coming to Johnson county
in the spring of 1854, was mostly unbroken prairie, but con-
tained some timber. The trip to the new home was fraught
with interest to the young couple. They came by wagon to
Erie City, thence down the Ohio by steamer and on to Cleve-
land, thence by rail to Chicago, and on from that city by stage
to Tipton, Iowa. Arriving at Tipton, they crossed the Cedar
river at Gower's Ferry, now Cedar Bluffs, and landed in
Newport township, their final destination. Part of Newport
was later included in Graham township, the present home of
Mrs. Andrews.
Mr. Andrews lived for a time on his father's farm, where
their first children were born, and the first eighty acres of
their own was unimproved. Their hewed log cabin was of fair
size, plastered and mortared with clay, and it is still plainly
remembered by Mrs. Andrews. The location was formerly
known as Picayune Grove, and they lived there nine years.
In the rugged pioneer cabin Charles M. Andrews first saw the
light. Their three children were: Jennie I., wife of Arthur
BIOGRAPHICAL 489
E. Page, a farmer of Polk county, Wisconsin, whose postoffice
addres is Frederick; Jessie [., married .lames Cozine, M. !>.,
a Chicago physician, died November 27, L911, ami is buried in
Oakwoods cemetery, Chicago, Illinois, also have one child de-
ceased; Charles M., who died in L902. Mr. and .Mrs. Page
have the following children: .Miss Edna, the sole companion
and comfort of her grandmother; Ada, married Charles John-
son, lives in Frederick, Wisconsin ; one child, Gladys I.eora, the
only great grandchild of Mrs. Andrews; Arthur O., Tracy S.,
Bertha X., and two deceased. These are Jennie Andrews'
children. Mrs. Andrews lives in the old homestead in Graham
township. Miss Edna is a bright and charming yonng woman
and brightens the days of her aged grandmother. Mrs. An-
drews has rented all her land and is relieved from its care, so
that she is ahle to enjoy a well earned rest 'with few cares to
interrupt her ease and quiet. She lias a vivivd recollection
of early days and her account of her earlier life is most inter-
esting. This is one of the rare families in which there are
four generations living.
ELIZABETH ITRDLICKA
Few persons have been more closely identified with the
history of eastern Iowa than Mrs. Elizabeth (Stone) Hrdlicka,
whose father was the first white man in Cedar Rapids, where
he had a claim and shanty and was an Indian interpreter at
the trading house. She lias spent many days in active farm
work, for in early life she was accustomed to help with husking
corn and other tasks within her strength, and when living with
her grandparents performed numerous household tasks and
also spent many hours a day at the spinning wheel. She is a
native of Johnson county, born in Oxford township, in 1845,
daughter of James Wilbert and Elizabeth G. (Brown) Stone.
James W. Stone was horn in Providence, Rhode Island, and
died at Hudson, St. Croix county, Wisconsin. His wife was
a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Cruson) Brown, her father
from Pennsylvania and 1km- mother from Virginia, and mar-
ried in Ohio.
Elizabeth Stone was a babe of four weeks when her mother
490 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
died and she was reared by her grandparents, Joseph Brown
and wife, who came to Johnson county in 1841. She received
her early education in the country schools of Monroe township
and later attended school at Blairstown, Benton county. She
was married, on Independence Day, July 4, 1S65, to Maurice
Hrdlicka, Squire Sulet performing the ceremony. (Mr. Sulet
is father of Ed. Sulet, a sketch of whom appears in these
pages.) After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Hrdlicka lived on the
Orville Babcock place two years, then purchased sixty-five
acres of land where the son now lives. It was nothing but
I
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' M
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JM ■
lifiaaMiHisH
RESIDENCE OF ELIZABETH HRDLICKA
brush and prairie, but he cleared and broke it, adding to it
until he owned 240 acres in this place. It was partly covered
with timber in 1867, and bore little resemblance to the well
improved farm of today. Mr. Hrdlicka also purchased a
twenty-two acre tract of land for his wife, which was not to be
considered a part of his estate, but set aside for her especial
use and ownership.
Mr. Hrdlicka was born in Bohemia September 22, 1843, son
of Joseph and Theresa Hrdlicka, who came to the United
States when he was a boy. They came to Cedar Rapids and
later to Johnson county. Maurice Hrdlicka gave up active
work in 1904 and prepared to spend his remaining years in
BIOGRAPHICAL 491
comfort and cast". Ee creeled a fine home in 190] and fitted
it with modern conveniences. Their first home had been a
modest one-room dwelling and they had replaced it when they
began to prosper in their operations. They worked in liar
mony to attain success and both were most industrious and
ambitions. They won the entire respect and esteem of their
neighbors and found time to enjoy the society of their many
friends. .Mrs. Brdlicka is a woman of intelligence and good
breeding and was a valuable helpmate. Mr. Hrdlicka passed
away while on a visit to his daughters in Cedar Rapids, Jan-
uary 19, 1908, and his loss was a shock to the entire community,
where he had passed the latter part of his life.
Eleven children are now living of this couple: Joseph, who
married Mary Brown, lives on a part of the home place and
they have two children, Florence and Mary; Catherine, wife
of Elias Brant, of Clear Creek township, has three children,
Kaymon, (Miss) Georgie E., and Floyd ; Mary Agnes, married
Paul Dodt, of Madison township, and their two children, Beu-
lah Florence, and Maurice Earl; Charles, married Mary
Hempsky, of Linn county, and their children are three in num-
ber, Harold, Lloyd L., and Dorothy M. ; Elizabeth, wife of
Edward Anderson, of Cedar Rapids, lias two children, Donald
W., and Gladys; Wilbert A., married Bessie Dodd, lives in
Cedar Rapids, and they have two children, Ii'ene and Wilma.
All these children have been well educated and reared to take
their proper places in life. They revere the memory of their
father and honor their good mother, who has meant so much
in their lives.
MILTON MELVIN WOLFE
Milton M. Wolfe, of an old and well-known Johnson county
family, was born on the homestead in Madison township,
where his paternal grandfather settled in 1854. This is one
of the oldest farms in the county and was developed and im-
proved by successive generations of the "Wolfe family until
the present day, when it is one of the best in the region. Mil-
ton M. is a son of Mahlon K. AVolfe, a sketch of whom also
appears in this work, and the family is given further mention
in connection with the sketch of Clarence K. Wolfe, also to be
492 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
found in these pages. The grandfather, Captain Louis E.
Wolfe, was born in Knox county, Ohio, being a son of Christo-
pher Wolfe, a native of New Jersey and of German descent.
Mahlon K. Wolfe now lives retired from active life, in Iowa
City, the old home having been sold to his son Clarence K.
Mr. Wolfe of this sketch was educated in the public schools
and reared to farm work. After attaining his majority he
carried on farming near Fairfax, Iowa, seven years, then sold
out there. In 1909 he purchased the Zeller farm of 108 acres
on Section 13 of Penn township. He has forty-five acres of
corn and is known as an energetic, able farmer. He has erect-
ed a modern residence, which is heated bv a furnace and
RESIDENCE OF MILTON M. WOLFE
furnished with modern conveniences in every possible way.
He makes a specialty of Norman horses and has a good breed
of cattle and hogs as well. Besides this place he owns a 200-
acre farm in Sanborn county, South Dakota, which is cared
for by a tenant and is growing in value year by year. Like
the others of his family, he has a keen business instinct and
manages his affairs with good judgment. He is a democrat in
politics and much interested in local affairs. He is also prom-
inent in fraternal circles, belonging to the M. B. A., and the
A. F. & A. M. of North Liberty. He and his wife are well-
known socially, having a large number of friends.
In 1900 Mr. Wolfe was united in marriage with Miss Mae
BIOGRAPHICAL 4!)::
Stoner, daughter of William Stoner, of North Liberty, and
three children nave blessed this union: Myrle, Donald, and
Russell, all bright young folks and children of whom their
parents are justly proud.
WILLIAM STONER, deceased, was horn in Pennsylvania.
in 1847, son of John Stoner. He became a tanner and stock-
man after coming to Iowa and bought, fed, and shipped cattle
and hogs on an extensive scale, lie became one of the suc-
cessful business men of North Liberty, where he erected a
pleasant modern home. He purchased a hue 240 acre farm
on Sections 10 and 11 of Madison township, and this place is
now the property of L. 0. Wolfe. He became known through-
out the eastern part of Iowa for his activity in the stock busi-
ness and won an enviable reputation in business circles. His
death occurred December 2'2, 1901, and his loss was sincerely
mourned by all who had known this estimable business man
and public-spirited citizen. His wife's maiden name was
Alice Markham, and their union took place in 1871. She was
born in Pennsylvania, daughter of Martin and Emeline (Wat-
erman) Markham, natives of the same state, who came to
Iowa when she was four years old. Mr. Markham was a car-
penter in early life but later became a farmer in Oxford, Mon-
roe, and Madison townships, Johnson county. He died in
Illinois in 1894 and was buried at Glidden, Iowa. Mrs. Ston-
er was the eldest of nine children. Mr. and Mrs. Stoner be-
came parents of eight children: Lester, of Madison town-
ship, married Nellie Wray, who died, leaving two children.
Gertrude and Richard; Emma, married George Ranshaw, a
sketch of whom appears within these pages; Ollie, died in
young womanhood in 1909; May is the wife of Mr. Wolfe;
Martin J., married Mattie Myers, of Madison township, have
two children, Donald and Wendell ; Adella, married E. M.
Wray and they have no children, live in Sanborn county,
South Dakota, where they have a farm ; Glenn, married Inez
("beadle and they have a daughter, Gladys, and live on a farm
in Sanborn county; Feme M., married Oral Ramsey and they
live at North Liberty. Mrs. Stoner is a member of Bethel
church in Madison township and is active in the work of the
King's Daughters and other worthy causes. She has a mice
home at North Liberty, where she has many friends.
494 HISTORY OP JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
EDWARD B. RINDA
Edward B. Rinda, proprietor of beautiful Pine Hill Farm,
operating a choice half-section of land in Graham township,
Johnson county, is a representative Bohemian- American citi-
zen, who is interested in all that relates to the general welfare
and prosperity of his community. He was born August 26,
1864, at a time when the country of his future adoption was
in the throes of civil warfare. He is a son of Frank and Kate
(Drastak) Rinda, natives of Bohemia, the former of whom
now resides with his daughter, Mrs. George Cole, of West
Lucas township, and the latter died in 1908, at the age of
seventy years. The father followed the trade of weaver in
early life, but after coming to America followed any honest
labor by which he could make a living, and for some years has
lived retired from active life, being now eighty-three years old.
The mother died as the result of an operation performed in
Mercy Hospital at Iowa City. Two sons and one daughter
were born to this couple: Edward B., Anna, and Benjamin,
who died in infancy. Anna Rinda married George Cole, a
well-to-do farmer, and they live on the County Farm road,
two and one-half miles from Iowa City, in West Lucas town-
ship. Mr. and Mrs. Cole have children as follows: Ernest,
George. Edna, Edith, and AVilma.
At the age of sixteen years, having received a good educa-
tion in the public schools, Edward B. Rinda began learning
the trade of carpenter, which he followed for three years, dur-
ing this time working on a number of buildings in the third
ward in Iowa City, which city was his home for eighteen years.
He was married in Newport township, in 1891, to Miss Be-
atrice Buchmayer, the ceremony being performed in the Cath-
olic church by Father John Zlebeik. She was born in Bo-
hemia February 7, 1871, daughter of Joseph and Anna
(Jelenak) Buchmayer, the former a retired farmer of New-
port township. He had four children: Frank, of Johnson
county; James, lives here also; Anna, married James K. Ras-
per, lives in Newport township; and Mrs. Rinda. She is a
talented artist, whose work in oil colors, especially, has been
widely admired and favorably criticised. She has natural
genius in this direction and has given play to her ability and
BIOGRAPHICAL 495
skill. She decorated the interior of St. Mary's church, of
Morse, and the beauty of this work lias been greatly praised.
Five children have been born of this union: Florence F.,
born Febraury 26, 1893, who has inherited her mother's talent
and is r. gifted artist, has furnished many beautiful pictures
for the family home, and who is an able instructor. She took
a three months course in Cedar Falls State college; Eliza-
beth, born November 27, 1894, and Clara, born December 28,
1898, who graduated from the district school when fourteen
years of age, and the latter is attending the Catholic Sisters'
school in Davenport; Edward IF, born July 14, 1899, the
RESIDENCE OF E. B. RIXDA
fourth child; Marcella, born December 20, 1905, the youngest,
attends the home school. The eldest daughter, Florence, grad-
uated from Grant school, near her home, when fourteen years
of age, then took a course in St. Agatha's School of Iowa City
and then attended the Immaculate Conception Academy at
Davenport, Iowa, where she studied art and music; is now
teaching in the home district No. 6. This is a home where
music, art, poetry, and song abound. The mother has inherit-
ed her talent, as she never bad an opportunity to study art,
and the children have all inherited her tastes. They are be-
ing given opportunities to develop their talents, and brilliant
futures may be predicted for at least one of their number,
although all are vet in early youth.
496 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Mr. Rinda began farming on his own account on the home
place in Penn township in 1892, and fifteen years later sold
out and purchased 160 acres, at $65 per acre, on Section 14,
Graham township, where he now lives. In 1903 he purchased
160 acres adjoining this place, for which he paid $69 per acre,
the old Sam Hempstead farm the first, the latter the old
Ashorn farm. Since 1910 he has expended $6,700 in im-
provements, and has a beautiful farm home. His modern
residence is surrounded ,with fine concrete walks and is furn-
ished with concrete porch and pillars. His barn, 108x60 feet,
with 20 foot posts, has a capacity of 125 tons of hay, and he
has in same barn a fine place for his horses, 38x60 feet, with
cement floors. He keeps a herd of about 50 to 80 Hereford
cattle, 100 hogs, and raises a high grade of horses for himself.
In 1911 he planted 120 acres with corn, and the yield was 60
bushels to the acre. Of other grains he averaged 45 bushels
to the acre. He raises timothy seed for his own use. He has
fenced his farm so that it is hog tight and has tiled much of it.
He has fitted it with modern machinery and equipment, and
it is one of the model up-to-date places in the township.
He has built a corn crib 56x28 feet, 14 feet high, with
an elevator to take in his corn. He lias a fine orchard and
has in all possible ways added to the beauty and value of his
farm. He is a self-made man and furnishes a good example
of what may be accomplished by earnest effort and untiring
energy. He is a devout and active member of St. Mary's
Catholic church of Morse, to which the other members of the
family belong, and fraternally belongs to Camp No. 5059, M.
W. A., of Oasis. He is a democrat in politics. He is school
treasurer in District No. 6. His wife is a member of St.
Mary's Societv of Morse.
FRANKLIN DAVID LINDSLEY (Deceased)
The boyhood days of Franklin David Lindsley were spent
on the farm of his father, John B. Lindsley, near Frederick-
town, Knox county, Ohio. There our subject was born De-
cember 5, 1845, being the second of four children of John B.
Lindsley and Eliza P. Strong. The former was born in Ohio
April 25. 1818, ana the latter January 15, 1820. Mother Lind-
BIOGRAPHICAL
VJi
Sley died February 2, 1871, at Gait, Illinois, and Father land
sley at West Branch, Iowa, duly 1!), 1892. Of their family of
four children only one, the youngest, now survives. Franklin
David received a good common school education in Knox conn
ty, and when the family removed to Whiteside county, Illinois,
lie accompanied them. They settled at Gait, where our sub-
ject maintained his residence until shortly after the great
Chicago fire of 1871, when he came west to Iowa. He was
then employed by Mr. Whittmore, of Rockford, in the insur-
ance business. Although just a little past eighteen years
of age, voting Lindsley determined to enlist for service in the
(ESIDEXCE
Civil War, and so, in response to President Lincoln's call for
100-daj volunteers, he mustered in at Sterling, Illinois, as a
private in the 140th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
He way honorably discharged October 2!), 1864, and returned
to Gait.
Sooner or later, however, every man is destined to take up
the calling for which he has the natural talent. In the case
of our subject it was railroading, and so in a few years we find
him taking up the duties of an agent of the Chicago iv North-
western railroad at Gait. Once in the harness, Mr. Lindsley
took to the business as naturally as a young duck to water,
498 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
and when he removed to Mt. Auburn, Benton county, Iowa, he
"checked in" as agent for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids &
Northern railroad at that point. He held that position until
he came to Iowa City April 1, 1882, when he took up a similar
position with the same road at that point, a post which he held
until the absorption of the B., C. R. & N. by the Rock Island
System, thus completing twenty-one years of service with the
Rock Island road. For three years following his withdrawal
from railway service, Mr. Lindsley engaged in the coal busi-
ness with W. E. C. Foster, of Iowa City, under the firm name
of Foster & Co. But the old fever was still in his veins, and
he retired from the coal business to accept the agency of the
Interurban System at Iowa City, and he continued with that
company from its inception until his death, September 19,
1909. He is buried in the Iowa City cemetery.
Mr. Lindsley was married June 15, 1872, at Mt. Auburn,
Iowa, to Miss Penena Kile, by Rev. M. F. Smedley, of the
Methodist Episcopal church. The latter was born in Lancas-
ter county, Pennsylvania, May 7, 1853, and was a daughter of
Abraham and Susan (Ginrich) Kile. The parents of Miss
Kile wei-e "Pennsylvania Dutch," both being born in Lancas-
ter county, Pennsylvania. Mr. Kile was born August 5, 1826,
and his wife, April 10, 1827. The couple were married in
1852. Mr. Kile died on his farm in Benton county, Iowa, No-
vember 14, 1898, and Mrs. Kile at Iowa City, December 24,
1906. They had twelve children, of whom six are living at
this writing. Mrs. Kile was the youngest. Abraham Kile
and wife removed from Pennsylvania to Iowa City in 1856.
where for three years Mr. Kile worked at his trade of con-
tracting and building'. He constructed the first railway pas-
senger depots at Iowa City and West Liberty. Being a man
of original ideas, he always drew his own plans, and his work
included bridge and miscellaneous construction. In 1859 the
family removed by ox-team to Benton county, where they set-
tled on a farm in Cedar township. Vinton was their trading
point until Mt. Auburn, four and 'one-half miles distant, was
established. Prior to the arrival of the Kiles, there was only
one house between Vinton and Blairstown, a distance of eigh-
teen miles. The first house erected by Mr. Kile on his new
farm was of round lo°rs, and therein nine of their twelve chil-
BIOGRAPHICAL 499
dren were born. Mr. Kile, as may be supposed, was prom-
inent in the development of Benton county. He was township
trustee of Cedar township for five years. At one time he
owned f>00 acres of fine land in that township which he cleared
with his oxen. At his death, in 1898, he owned 312 acres of
improved land, which he deeded to his wife. At her death the
land was Bold and the proceeds divided among their six sur-
viving children.
Two sons of Franklin David Lindsley and Penena Kile sur-
vive: Henry A., born May 22, 1873, a conductor on the Chi-
cago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, is married to Miss Vina
Meggeson, of Cedar Falls, father of one son, Willard LeRoy,
born June 23, 1907; J. Clarence, born April 4, 1876, also a
conductor on the Rock Island System, married to Miss Rachel
B. Branson, of Thornburg, Keokuk county, Iowa, father of one
son, Francis Kenneth, born July 25, 190G, lives in Iowa City.
Mr. Lindsley was an active member of the Masonic fratern-
ity, being a Knight Templar. He was also a member of Kos-
ciusco lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and of the C A. R. He was treasurer
and a member of the official board of the M. E. church of Iowa
City for a number of years. His interest in education is shown
by the fact that he was president of the Iowa City board of
education for some years, also director in the Iowa City State
Bank. He built the family home at 328 South Clinton street
in 1906, which he only lived three years to enjoy. He was
greatly attached to his home, and evinced a special fondness
for his two grandchildren. Mrs. Lindsley, who survives her
husband, is an active worker in the M. E. church, and is a
member of the Foreign and Home Missionary Societies of the
church. As she has just reached middle life, she may confi-
dently look forward to many years of usefulness in the com-
munitv of which she and her family are honored members.
500 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
FREDERICK ZIMMERMAN
Among the self-made successful men of Johnson county
Fred Zimmerman deserves prominent mention. He is a na-
tive of the county, born in Newport township, March 13, 1856,
son of Christian and Kate (Boler) Zimmerman, the former of
whom was born in Germany in 1815, and died in Johnson coun-
ty in 1897. The mother, who was born in 1823, died in 1908.
The father began life as a farm hand, but by perseverance
and energy won success, and at the time of his demise owned
100 acres of land in Newport township, his residence being in
Graham township. He and his wife had four children : Fred-
erick, whose name stands at the head of this sketch; Christ,
KKSIHEXCE OK KRKHKRICK ZI M M EKM AX
died at Boise City, Idaho ; John, lives in Butler county, Iowa ;
and Sam, lives in Boise City, where Christ is buried. The
parents were respected for their industry and integrity and
had a good standing in their community.
At the time of leaving his father's home, when he had
reached his majority, Frederick Zimmerman had a cash capital
of but eight dollars, and subsequent events have proven that
he had enough pluck and ambition to bring him to a position
of independence and success in life. He had but meager edu-
cational advantages and learned much in the hard school of
experience. He began life working as a farm hand, which
he continued eight years, receiving sixteen dollars a month for
BIOGRAPHICAL 501
the first year. Ee then purchased a threshing machine, which
he operated for several years, and later purchased Land on
which to begin farming for himself. His first eighty acres
was comparatively wild land, having been recently broken to
the plow. His first plowing was done about half a mile east
of his present home, where he bonght land at $31.50 per acre,
but which is now worth $175 per acre. Later he purchased
the eighty acres where his home stands, lie purchased an-
other 160 acres at $50 per acre, and in the spring of 1913
bonght eighty acres of improved land for $150 per acre. He
owns a total of 400 acres of choice land on Sections 11 and 14,
Graham township, and in 1906 erected a cozy farm residence.
He built two substantial barns, one 56x54, with capacity for
120 tons of hay, and the other, 36x30 feet, for horses and cat-
tle. He has 75 fine Hereford cattle and 160 hogs. In L91]
he had a crop of corn averaging 50 bushels to the acre on 75
acres, and on fifty acres of hay averaged a ton and a half to
the acre. He has ninety acres of pasture land and meadow.
On twenty acres he raised three bushels of timothy seed to the
acre, the market price of which was $5 per bushel.
Mr. Zimmerman is deserving of great credit for the success
he has won and is highly regarded in many circles. In po-
litical views he is independent of party lines, voting for men
and measures regardless of party, and believes this is the
attitude of the true patriot. He served a short time as school
director but has never cared for public office, being too busy
with his work and plans. He is a member of Camp No. 5059,
M. W. A., of Oasis.
In 1898 Mr. Zimmerman was united in marriage with Miss
Mary Wyjek, daughter of Frank Wyjek, a blacksmith of New-
port township. Mrs. Zimmerman helped her husband very
materially in reaching his present success and often worked
in the fields with him. She is industrious and thrifty, and is a
good wife and mother. She has borne seven children : Mabel,
Clarence, Annie, Lauretta, Marie, John, and Luella, the last-
named a sweet baby, who was born in 1911. Mrs. Zimmerman
was born of German parents, and was reared and educated in
Newport township, being well and favorably known in the
neighborhood. Her parents came to Iowa in 1876.
502 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
MATTHEW RUSSELL COCHRAN (Deceased)
According to family tradition, James Cochran, the earliest
known ancestor of the family herein described, was a tailor
by trade, born in Kilbarton, Scotland, and who lived to be a
centennarian. His son James, of the second generation, fol-
lowed the trade of weaver, was born in Kilbarton, and reached
the age of ninety-eight years. General James Cochran, of the
third generation, was born in the same place, became a manu-
facturer, removed to Ireland in 1788, and died in Dublin, at
the age of about sixty years, being the father of three sons and
four daughters. General James Cochran (2), son of the last-
named, was the American progenitor of the family. He and
Matthew Cochran returned to Scotland, the former home of
the family, and came thence to America, some time later.
Matthew Russell Cochran, whose name stands at the head of
this sketch, was a native of Glasgow, in "Bonnie Scotland,"
born March 6, 1828. He died in Johnson county, Iowa, March
22, 1896. He was a son of Matthew and Margaret (Russell)
Cochran. The father was born September 23, 1793, and died
in Johnson county in 1866. He was a Presbyterian in reli-
gious faith all his life. The mother, who was born in Scotland
in 1798, and died in Johnson county in 1864, was a Congrega-
tionalist. These pioneers of Johnson county had made the
voyage from the old world to the new in a sailing vessel, land-
ing in New York when their son Matthew was a babe about
six months old. They were parents of seven sons and two
daughters, all of whom are now deceased. They arrived in
what ie now Johnson county in 1843 and settled in Graham
township. They made this interesting trip by canal and down
the Ohio river, then up the Mississippi, finding the conditions
in the new home to be the same as so ably described in the his-
torical part of this work.
Matthew Cochran was some fifteen years of age when his
parents located on the unsettled prairie. He did not then re-
main with them, but returned to St. Louis and worked with his
brother-in-law, remaining until 1855, when he returned to make
his permanent home in Johnson county. During this time he
had made many trips back and forth to look after his land in-
terests. He finally took up as a homestead the place now occu-
BIOGRAPHICAL
503
pied by bis widow, Mrs. Adeline Cochran. He erected a one
story and a half log house, which was finished by his brother-
in-law, J). M. Dixon, now of West Branch, and in that primitive
home he and his bride, whose maiden name was Adeline
Douglass, lived for a number of years, all their children being
born there with the exception of Raymond and Grace, lie had
six or eight yoke of oxen and in partnership with his next
younger lirother, William, broke prairie for himself and many
of his neighbors. They carried on their farming operations
in partnership until 1876.
.Matthew Cochran kept adding to his holdings from time to
time as he was able, and improved the place in every possible
MRS. ADELINE COCHRAN
way, becoming one of the able and enterprising farmers of the
county. He died on this place in 1896", in the second house
which was erected there, being then the owner of four hun-
dred acres of excellent farm land. His widow has 200 acres of
land under cultivation and some eighty acres of timber land on
Rapid creek. This is one of the oldest farms in the county and
the homestead has never been transferred since it came from
the government.
Mrs. Cochran was a teacher in the days when she was ex-
pected to make quill pens for her pupils. She taught the Pair-
view school, occupying a building erected in a very early day,
14 by '?- feet, with seven foot posts, which stood just west of
L. Douglass's farm in Section 2fi, Graham township. This
504 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
was a frame building and Sunday school services were also
held therein, under the auspices of the Methodist and later the
Fairview Presbyterian church. Church services were also
held there at irregular intervals, from May, 1855, during the
ensuing two or three years. The location was selected by
James Douglass, Sr., and there the people of the neighborhood
gathered to listen to the preaching of Rev. F. A. Shearer and
Rev. Conklin, a synodical missionary. While Miss Douglass
was a teacher in this school she met Mr. Cochran and they
were married at her father's house in Scott township, by Rev.
F. A. Shearer, of Iowa City, January 22, 1857, after which
they lived together nearly forty years. They were both char-
ter members of Fairview church, Mrs. Cochran being one of
the four charter members who now survive. Mr. Cochran was
a man of superior intelligence, who took a keen interest in
everything pertaining to the general welfare and prosperity,
and was an active factor in promoting the best interests of his
community. He kept well informed on current events and
issues and had well defined opinions on subjects of public
interest. He proposed that the township be named after An-
drew Graham, and this suggestion met the approval of his
neighbors and fellow-citizens, with the result that it was adopt-
ed. He was a farmer in primitive times and then often swung
a cradle and used a single shovel plow. He also carried on
agricultural operations in times when he was able to enjoy the
advantages of modern machinery, and availed himself of them,
for he was always the friend of progress. He left a record of
a well-spent life and had the keen satisfaction of knowing that
he had provided well for his family.
Eleven children were born to Mr. Cochran and his wife:
The eldest died in infancy; Mary is the wife of Brewster W.
Gardner, of Graham township; James A., of Cedar county,
married Essie Spining; Miss Lura is housekeeeper for the
brother George L. ; Agnes E. is the wife of Sydney Cozine;
Charles D. lives near Wellman; George carries on the Lennox-
farm; Grace lives with her brother George L. : Raymond, the
youngest, who is left with his mother and sister. The one
brother and two sisters who live together near Elmira have a
pleasant home. George L. Cochran has had this place since
1901.
BIOGRAPHICAL 505
Mrs. Matthew Russell Cochran is the only survivor of pio-
neer days in her immediate neighborhood and is a person of
interest to all her neighbors. She has a host of friends and f ,s
held in great esteem for her line qualities of mind and heart.
Her children look upon her with love and reverence and appre-
ciate her care and solicitude for their well-being. She remem-
bers that when the family used to start for church they loaded
firewood into the back part of the vehicle for heating the build
ing. The sills for this church building were taken from the
Matthew Cochran timber, Matthew and his brother William
hauling the same May 23, 1855. Mr. Cochran and his wife
gave the land for the site of the station at Ehnira, comprising
the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 22,
Town 80, Range 5, and this gift was made conditional, with the
proviso that if the requirements or conditions were not com-
plied with the land should revert back to their heirs. The
building which was then erected was removed to the present
site of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad,
April 6, 1870. The deed making the gift of land was dated
December 10, 1870, signed by Matthew and Adaline Cochran,
before William Haddock, Notary Public, and witnessed by E.
R. Morse and W. II. O'Hare. Mr. Cochran broke the land
with oxen and made the harness from hickory bark. Mr.
Cochran made the trip up the Iowa river from St. Louis by
boat, the onlv one that was ever made.
DAVID ALFRED GOULD
The Goulds were among the earlier settlers of Johnson
county, Iowa, and had previously been pioneer settlers in
central Illinois. They are one of the oldest families in the
country, three brothers of that name having settled in Massa-
chusetts in the middle of the seventeenth century. The latter
were Thomas, John, and Nathan, and the branch of the family
here described are descended from Nathan. The descent
comes through Thomas, Nathan, Nathan (3), Samuel, Christo-
pher Moses, Moses Nathan (4), Samuel, and John, to John
Gould, great-grandfather of David Alfred Gould, subject of
this sketch.
506 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Henry S. Gould, grandfather of David A. Gould, and son of
John Gould, was horn in Erie county, Pennsylvania, May 10,
1810, and died in Johnson county, Iowa, December, 1872. He
was tenth of the eleven children born to his parents, and this
generation comprises professional men and also those who fol-
lowed various other avocations, several of them and their de-
scendants becoming mechanics and moving farther west to
Ohio, Indiana, etc. Henry Scoville Gould learned the trade of
stone cutter in Pennsylvania and worked for a time on the
locks of the canal at Johnstown. His mother's maiden name
was Betsy Scoville, a native of New York state.
When in his twenty-eighth year Henry Scoville Gould settled
in what later became Morgan county, Illinois, and there en-
gaged in farming, but his health was so poor there that he
decided to move farther west, where he hoped to escape the
RESIDENCE OF DAVID A. GOULD
fever and ague so prevalent in that climate, and five years
after reaching- Illinois came on with a team and wagon to
Johnson county, this being in 1843. He entered land on Sec-
tion 32, Madison township. In the fall of the year he erected
a house of round logs, with a stick and clay chimney, and then
returned to Illinois for his family. In 1835, in Pennsylvania,
he had married Jemima Simons, who was a native of New
York, born September 28, 1814, and died December 11, 1871.
She was a daughter of Isaac Simons, of Clarencetown, Erie
county, New York. They had two children, William and
David, born in Pennsylvania, and two others, Henry and
James, born in Illinois. Prior to the birth of James the father
had gone to Iowa, to stake out his claim, and upon returning
with his family located permanently in the new home. Some
BIOGRAPHICAL 507
time later he erected a story and a half house, where the follow-
ing children were horn to him and hie wife: John; Henry;
Harriet, now the widow of William Black; Elizabeth; .lames;
Martha Ellen, lives near Iowa City; Eva, wife of Michael To-
hin, of Colfax; Nathan, of Madison township. Three of these
children, William, Henry, and .lames, served in the Union
army in the Civil War. Henry S. Could joined the Methodist
church when he was twenty-one years old and "both lie and his
good wife remained faithful to its teachings all their lives,
carrying the practical deeds of their faith into their everyday
lives, and becoming highly esteemed by all for their piety and
uprightness. He was an exhorter for several years, served as
a teacher and officer in the Sunday school, and gave his sup-
port to every good work. He became the owner of about 600
acres of choice farm land, which he improved and cultivated.
He split rails for fencing and broke the land with ox teams.
In early clays he and his wife used dipped or moulded candles,
and the first lamp they had was a receptacle in which they used
lard and a wick. The men dressed in home made jeans and
the women wore linsey woolsey dresses, all woven in the homes.
Their nearest market for some time was Bloomington, which
later became known as Muscatine, and the only money used in
trade was gold, most of the trading being carried on through
an exchange of commodities. This pioneer family took a
prominent place in the affairs and social events of the com-
munity and Mr. Gould was a member of the first board of
trustees of the township and also served some years as super-
visor on the county board. In early days the prices for farm
products were very low, and Mr. Could hauled dressed hogs to
Iowa City and then sold them for less than two dollars per
hundred weight.
David Gould was the eldest child of Henry S. Gould and was
born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1836, and died on
the old home farm in Johnson county, February 11, 1902. The
other children in the family were: William, born in Pennsyl-
vania, March 9, 1839, died October 16, 1898, being a veteran of
the Civil War, where he served in Company G, Sixth Iowa Vol-
unteer Infantry; Henry Harrison, born in Illinois, April 22,
1841, died in the army, January 12, 1862; James, born in Illi-
nois, October 11, 1843, formerly lived in Johnson county, but
508 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
is now a resident of Calhoun county, Iowa ; John, born June
17, 1847, died May 11, 1907 ; Harriet was born October 30, 1848,
in Iowa ; Amanda Elizabeth was born September 10, 1850, and
died October 11, 1852; Martha Ellen, born July 4, 1852; Eva,
born September 25, 1854, wife of Michael Tobin, of Colfax;
Nathan C, born November fc!, 1857, is given further mention in
a succeeding paragraph.
William Black and Harriet Gould were married in 1870 and
settled in West Lucas township, where the latter still resides.
Mr. Black was born in Auburn, New York, and died in 1881.
His widow resides on the farm of 300 acres, which she manages
with the assistance of her son-in-law and nephew, Charles, son
of John Gould. She and her husband had the following chil-
dren: Eva E., living at home; Nellie 11., wife of Walter Mc-
Ginnis, has two children, John and Grace ; Katie G., lives at
home; Hattie May married Emery Gould, of Colorado, and
they have two children, Alice and Margaret.
Nathan Gould, son of John Gould and brother of David
Gould, started in life on his own account at the age .of nine-
teen years, having received a common school education in the
local schools. He spent two years with his brother John, then
rented the James Gould farm, and later bought out his brother
William, who had a farm just east of the place now occupied
by his nephew, Thomas Gould. He spent eleven years on that
farm, which contained one hundred and twenty acres of land,
when he lost it. He then rented the farm of ten acres where he
now lives, and which is part of the farm of his brother John.
He is an intelligent and enterprising citizen, and has always
taken great interest in the progress and well-being of the com-
munity. He has for many years kept a diary which gives the
names of all the preachers who have officiated in Greencastle
Methodist church, and which gives in detail events of the big-
snow and floods of the year 1881. He has witnessed some very
interesting times in Johnson county, which he has seen develop
from a thinly settled region to its present prosperity and pros-
pects. He is well liked by his neighbors and acquaintances and
has a great fondness for the place that has always been his
home, and where so many of his relatives have been active in
affairs for more than half a century.
David Gould was married in 1859 to Auna Ewing, a native
BIOGRAPHICAL 509
of Pennsylvania, who died January 15, 1882, at the age of
fifty-three years, and both she and Mr. Gould arc buried in
Greencastle cemetery. She was one of the early educators of
Johnson county, and for many years taught what was known
as Swan Lake school, which was held in a log building. Chil-
dren were born to this couple as follows: Thomas Henry,
James Bailey, David Alfred, and Amy Elizabeth, all living on
the home farm except David A.
David Alfred Gould was born on the Gould homestead in
Johnson county in 1868, being youngest of four living children
of David and Ann (Ewing) Gould. He has made his own way
in life since sixteen years of age, and for several years worked
at farming by the month, after which he rented land and op-
erated it for himself. In 1909 he purchased his present farm
of seventy-one acres, of Robert Myers, paying over one hun-
dred dollars per acre for this valuable place. This was former-
ly part of the Christian Grabeen estate and afterwards the
property of Mr. Myers. The land has been brought to a high
state of cultivation and Mr. Gould would not accept a price of
$150 per acre for it.
The house is situated on a pleasant knoll, from which one
can gain a viewiof the surrounding farms for miles in every
direction, giving a pleasant sight in the summer of green fields
or golden grain. Mr. Gould has worked at various other occu-
pations, but returned to farming, as he enjoys the freedom and
open air, which he considers make a healthful condition, lie
married Miss Emma Parisek, daughter of John and Katie
Parisek, and they have three children: Charles is nine years
old; Harry, the second son ; Gladys is a year and a half old.
Mr. Gould's farm was improved at the time he purchased it,
hut he has continued to add to its appearance and value as
seemed desirable. He has added some fencing and has kept
the buildings in good repair. It is a well stocked farm and he
has modern machinery for carrying on his work. He stands
well in the community and is popular with all.
510 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
JOHN D. MUSSER
John D. Musser, Sr., at the time of his death, July 24, 1900,
was a well known merchant of River Junction, Iowa. His son,
John D., our subject, succeeded his father and is at present en-
gaged in the mercantile business at River Junction. Formerly
the senior Musser was a farmer, and the farm which he occu-
pied in Fremont township, and which he cultivated until 1875,
is still known as the Musser homestead. John D. Musser, Sr.,
was a native of Pennsylvania, and bis wife, Elizabeth Rayner,
mother of our subject, was a native of England. The latter
survived her husband nearly nine years, dying January 18,
1909. The elder Musser came to Johnson county with his par-
ents when a child, and from that time his entire life has been
lived in this county. Six children were born to John D. and
Elizabeth Musser: Frank, living on the old homestead (see
personal sketch) ; Sarah G., now Mrs. J. I). Decker, living in
Pleasant Valley township ; Jane E., now Mrs. M. S. Maxim ;
Mary R., now Mrs. H. W. Hilton, living in South Dakota; Jos-
eph R.. married and farming in Fremont township (see per-
sonal sketch) ; our subject.
John D. Musser, Jr., was born in Fremont township in No-
vember, 1874. His first business was farming, an occupation
which he followed until 1900, when he succeeded his father in
the mercantile business at River Junction. He owns a beauti-
ful farm in Pleasant Valley township, and is interested in
farming as well as in other lines of business.
Mr. Musser was married in 1897 to Miss Mary J. Fountain,
a native of Johnson county, whose parents were pioneers of
the county. Six children have blessed their union: Harry,
Josephine, Gladys (died at age of four years), Fay, Willis, and
Neoma. Our subject is a democrat politically. His church
affiliation is with the Methodist Episcopal.
FRANK MUSSER, brother of our subject, was born in Fre-
mont township in January, 1865. He began farming for him-
self when twenty-two years of age, and has continued in the
same businesss to this day. About nineteen years ago he
bought his first farm in Pleasant Valley township. Two years
ago he bought his father's old homestead, where he is now liv-
ing. In June, 1892, he was married to Miss Velta May Wim-
BIOGRAPHICAL 511
man, a native of Iowa, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Wini-
man. The couple have three children : Fred, John, and Emma,
all living at home. Mrs. Musser is dead. Mr. Mns.ser is a
democrat and is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOSEPH R. MUSSER
Joseph R, Musser belongs to a well-known family of John-
son county and is one of its native sons. He was born in Fre-
mont township, February 20, 1873, son of John D. and Eliza-
beth (Rayner) Musser, natives of England. There were six
children in the family, those besides Joseph R. being: John
D., a sketch of whom appears in this work ; Frank, also given a
sketch herein ; Sarah G., now Mrs. John Decker, of Long Beach,
RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH R. MUSSER
California; Jane E., now Mrs. M. S. Maxim, resides in Em-
metsburg, Iowa; Mary R., now Mrs. Henry Hilton, of Vale,
South Dakota.
In youth Joseph R. Musser spent his time as other
farmers' sons of the region, helping with the work on his
father's farm and attending the local schools. He has always
had a taste for farming and began this line of work on his own
account at the time he reached his majority. He has since con-
tinued this occupation with the exception of a time spent in
mercantile business, in company with his brother John I >.
512 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
They engaged in business, in River Junction, Iowa, soon after
their father's death, in 1900. Joseph R. Musser now lives on a
farm in Fremont township and has been very successful in his
work. He is an industrious and useful citizen, much inter-
ested in the affairs of the community and giving his influence
for the best interests of all. He is independent in local poli-
tics but in national affairs votes the democratic ticket.
On January 16, 1907, Mr. Musser was united in marriage
with Frances Aubrecht, a native of Iowa, and one child has
blessed their union, a daughter, whom they have named Mil-
dred May. Mrs. Musser is a daughter of James and Katherine
Aubrecht.
ANTHONY GALLAUGHER
Though now residing upon and cultivating the farm in John-
son county which he purchased in 18!I4, Anthony Gallaugher
has had wide experience as an engineer and machinist, both in
his native state, at Davenport, and in the metropolis of the
west, Chicago. His first introduction to manufacturing came
as a result of his acquaintance with E. F. Rate, on whose farm
in Johnson county he had been engaged as a laborer. When
Mr. Rate left the farm and took up the manufacture of gloves
at Davenport, Mr. Gallauglier went with him as his mechanical
engineer. When Mr. Rate left Davenport, our subject engaged
with Hall & Ross, glove manufacturers, of Chicago, in the same
capacity, and continued with that firm for twenty years. In
the spring of 1902 he returned to Iowa and settled upon the
farm, where he now resides.
Mr. Gallaugher is of Irish and English blood. His father
was a native of Ireland, and his mother of London, England.
The father, James Gallaugher, came to America when a very
young man; the mother, Lucy Marshall, arrived in the fall of
1854. James Gallaugher conducted a carpentering and con-
tracting business in Iowa City for a number of years. He
died in 1868, when our subject was five years of age. The
mother survived until the fall of 1902.
Young Anthony began work on the farm of E. F Rate at
the age of fourteen, and from that time has made his own way
in the world. He has made faithfulness and effectiveness the
BIOGRAPHICAL
513
cardinal principles of Ins industrial work, and, of course, has
made good in the battle of life. In the prime of manhood, he
has prospectively many years of usefulness before him.
Mr. Gallaugher is a native of Iowa City, being born April
27, 1863. He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss
Elsie M. Akett, of Iowa City, who died in December, 1892. One
child was born of this union, Sarah, now Mrs. Fountain, of
Fremont township. His second wife was Miss Selina Fowl,
who is the mother of one son, Clarence. The latter is engaged
in the manufacture of tools and special machinery, having in-
herited his father's aptitude for mechanics. His ability and
equipment are such that it is said of him that he is in a position
to produce any kind of machinery.
CHARLES V. DOERRES
The history of the Docrres family is set forth in the sketch
of the life of John Docrres, to which the attention of the
reader is directed in connection with this account of Charles
V. Docrres, who is a son of John and Louisa Doerres. Our
subject was born in Fremont township, Johnson county, Iowa,
February 14, 1879. His boyhood was spent on the home farm
of his father, and the aptitude displayed for agriculture dur-
ing these years decided him to make farming his life work.
514 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
He has therefore continued in this line of business ever since,
taking up in connection therewith stock raising and feeding.
Mr. Doerres has made a decided success of his life work, and
stands high among the progressive young farmers of Johnson
county.
August 31, 1910, Mr. Doerres was married to Miss Amelia
Reime?s, a native of Moline, Illinois, and together they look
down the pathway of the future with bright anticipations of
prosperity and happiness. Mr. Doerres is a democrat and a
member of the M. B. A., of Lone Tree, Iowa.
CONEAD JE.HLE
Conrad Jehle, a prominent farmer of Fremont township,
settled in Johnson county in 1873, and has continuously resid-
ed in the same neighborhood ever since, a period of thirty-
eight years. His lifelong occupation has been farming, and
his father before him was a farmer. Mr. Jehle was born in
RESIDENCE (IE CONRAD JEHLE
Germany November 19, 1843. His parents, Michael and Mary
(Ristmeuller) Jehle, also natives of Germany, came to Amer-
ica when Conrad was nine years of age and settled in Wiscon-
sin. There they remained for fifteen years, when they moved
to Muscatine county, Iowa. From Muscatine county, at the
end of six vears, they settled in Fremont township. Our sub-
BIOGRAPHICAL 515
ject's residence in Fremont township dates from the day of
the family's arrival from Muscatine comity.
Mr. Jeble was married in 1869 to .Miss Elizabeth Ranch, a
native of Germany, who came to America with her parents
when a small child. They have been blessed with five chil-
dren: William, married, and residing- in Cedar comity; .la-
cob, living at home; Hannah, now Airs. Feltman, living upon a
farm in Muscatine county; Louisa,'now Mrs. Henry Sturgis,
living in Muscatine county; Joseph, living at home.
Mr. Jehle is a member of the Catholic church, and is a
democrat politically. He is esteemed by his neighbors as an
honorable, industrious man — one of the substantial and pro-
gressive citizens of Fremont township.
RICHARD WALLACE HUSKINS
Richard Wallace Huskins, at the age of sixty-one, is still
farming the old homestead which his parents took up as gov-
ernment land in 1856. He was a lad six years old when the
family located on that farm. For fifty-five years, therefore,
he has resided continuously at the same place, and at this
writing fully expects to spend the remainder of his days amid
the old scenes which have become more precious to him with
the passing years.
"The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, . .
And every loved spot that my infancy knew" —
These are the elements that enter deeply into the conscious-
ness of this sturdy Iowa farmer and bind him to the old home-
stead with sinews of affection unbroken and unbreakable. The
student, of psychology will not doubt that there are influences
and sentiments surrounding such old family homes which make
for peace of mind and gird the occupants with the comfortable
thought of companionships long gone but not forgotten, and
these, taken in connection with the vital ties and activities of
the present, constitute ideal conditions for contentment, which,
with the scriptural ingredient of godliness, provide "great
gain" for their fortunate possessors.
Richard Wallace Huskins was born in Uniontown, Penn-
sylvania, in November, 1850. His parents, Richard and ( 'liar-
516 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
lotte (_ Wells) Huskins, wore also natives of Pennsylvania, the
former being- born in Chester county, October 2, 1803, and
the latter in Fayette county, February 28, 1807. The elder
Huskins was married in Fayette county, and moved to Fre-
mont township, Johnson county, Iowa, in 1856, where he
settled upon the farm which is the present home of our sub-
ject. Father Huskins 's business originally was that of a
paper manufacturer. His election to the position of clerk of
the courts in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, however, gave
him the agreeable opportunity of cultivating his natural taste
for the law. This position he held for a good many years.
After 1 airing up his homestead in Iowa he divided his time
between farming and the practice of law. For a number of
RESIDENCE OF K. W. HUSKINS
years he was justice of the peace in Fremont township, and
held numerous local offices under election on the democratic
ticket. His connection :with public affairs made him an im-
portant factor in the development and history of the town-
ship. He died September 11, 1885, in his eighty-second year.
Mother Huskins survived him six months, dying February 28,
1886, that date being singularly the seventy-ninth anniversary
of her birth. This excellent; couple brought into the world a
family of twelve children : John, Margaret, Elizabeth, James,
Joseph, Rachel, Mary, Rebecca, William, Bryan, our subject,
and Frank. Of these only four survive: Elizabeth, Mary,
our subject, and Frank.
BIOGRAPHICAL 517
First, a farmer; secondly, a farmer; finally, a farmer. This
describes the life work of Richard Wallace Huskins. lie lias
been a man of one purpose and one work. His reputation and
standing in the business world and among his neighbors at-
test his success. In 1879 he took to wife Miss Sarah France,
who was born in Illinois and came to Johnson county with her
parents in 1865. The elder Frances have been dead a good
many years. She had five brothers and two sisters: John,
Andrew, Henry, Jacob, James, Barbara, and Minnie .Mr.
and Mrs. Huskins have tive children : Carrie, now Mrs. F. M.
Baker, residing in Fremont township (see sketch of Fred M.
Baker elsewhere in this volume. — -Ed.) ; "William, married to
Mary Janard of Fremont township, who died in April, 1910,
leaving two daughters, Mildred and Vera (William is now
making his home with his parents) ; Juliet, now Mrs. George
Crawford, living in Lincoln township; Minnie, now Mrs. 0.
Edmonds, living in Rock Island, Illinois; Bessie, living at
home.
( >ur subject followed the example of his father politically and
allied himself with the democratic party. The family are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOSIAH KINLEY CORLETT
WilUam Corlett, the father of the subject of this sketch, was
born oa the Isle of Man about the year 1800, and died near
Cleveland, Ohio, in 1867. His wife, Anna Kinley, also a na-
tive of the Isle of Man, was born in 1797 and died in Ohio in
1868. They had seven children: Jane Clark; William, died
in Ohio; Thomas, died in California; John, deceased; Daniel,
deceased; Catherine, residing in California; Josiah Kinley,
our subject. W'illiam Corlett was a farmer, and pursued that
occupation in America until his death.
Josiah Kinley Corlett was born in Cuyahoga county, Ohio,
near Cleveland, January 23, 1838. He came to Iowa City in
1856 and began work at his trade, that of carriage making.
In 1860 he spent a season in Colorado, mining. He was a
soldier of the Civil War, and saw three years of hard service,
■enlisting in 1861. His first service was for three months in
518 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Company B of the First Iowa Infantry and his last in Com-
pany I of the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry. He was hon-
orably discharged in the fall of 1865. Mr. Corlett took part
in every engagement of the campaign and siege of Vickslrarg,
as well as in numerous skirmishes. He was with Sheridan in
Shenandoah Valley and took part in three pitched battles in
that campaign.
At the close of the war be returned to Iowa City and took
up the peaceful work of carriage making at his shop on South
Dubuque street, between Washington and College. There he
was in business many years. Later he sold the property on
South Dubuque and removed to College street, between Du-
buque and Linn. He has lived in retirement since 1905.
RESIDENCE OF J. K. CORLETT
Comrade Corlett is Past Commander of Samuel J. Kirk-
wood Post No. 8 of the G. A. R. ; is a member of Eureka lodge,
I. O. 0. F., and of Iowa City Lodge No. 4, A. F. & A. M.
Mr. Corlett was married in 1873 at Iowa City, to Miss Mar-
garet H. Crawford, a native of Canada, who came to Iowa
City with her parents in 1854. Her parents were Hugh and
Janet ^McConchie) Crawford, who lived on a farm in Johnson
county for many years.
To Mr. and Mrs. Corlett were born two children: Addie
Belle, who died in infancy, and Robert Kinley, principal of
West Hill school, Burlington, Iowa. Mrs. Corlett died June
26, 1911, at the family home, 418 South Van Buren street.
BIOGRAPHICAL 519
Jolm Corlett, a brother of J. K., came to Iowa the same
year, 1856", and was for a time engaged in the livery business
with his brother, Daniel, and later Cor himself, lie was suc-
ceeded by his brother, Josiah, who conducted the business
thereafter for many years. John Corlett also was a soldier
in the Civil War, having enlisted at the first eall in Company
F, First. Iowa Cavalry. He died in Nebraska in 1892, leaving
a wife and six children. Mrs. John Corlett now resides in
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
THE BOERNER-FRY COMPANY
Probably very few people in Iowa City really know the ex-
tent or magnitude of the business transacted by the Boerner-
Fry Company or that their special representatives travel the
greater portion of the United States. While this company
manufactures every kind of toilet articles their specialty is a
pure vanilla extract. During the year 1910 there were sold
from this plant over 5,000 gallons of this article alone.
It is only by a visit through this manufactory that one can
form any conception of the amount or of the high quality of
goods here produced or of the amount of investment required.
Large quantities of the pure vanilla bean, purchased by the
Boerner-Fry Company's agents direct from the growers, ai'e
constantly on hand. Huge tanks hold over 250 gallons of
vanilla while tiers of barrels hold in storage thousands of
gallons of this valuable extract to supply the constantly in-
creasing customers of this company. The extraction of this
delicate flavor from the vanilla bean is an interesting process
and requires special machinery. The chemical and laboratory
equipment is probably the most elaborate and complete of any
plant of this kind in the country, affording every facility for
the production of the highest grade of goods in this line. The
material which is used in the manufacture of these goods
comes from many different parts of the world. Copper tanks
most securely sealed, battered and dented from transportation
have come direct from far away Ceylon. Costly pomades are
brought from the great flower gardens of France and other
520 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
places in Europe, the contents of only a tiny dram vial being
valued at $95.00.
The Boerner-Pry Company was first started as a partner-
ship concern in 1897 by E. L. Boerner, druggist. In 1906 it
was incorporated under the state laws of Iowa as The Boern-
er-Fry Company. The present officers are: E. A. Wilcox,
president; W. J. Teeters, vice president and consulting chem-
ist; W. A. Fry, treasurer; W. H. Conant, secretary. The
above named officers together with D. A. Harkness and Wil-
lard J. Welch comprise the board of directors.
The officers and directors of the Boerner-Fry Co. are men
who have been prominently identified with the business and
educational interests of Iowa City for a number of years.
E. A. Wilcox, the president, is a professor of law in the Law
Department of the State University of Iowa.
W. J. Teeters, vice president and consulting chemist, is
Dean of the Pharmacy Department of the State University.
The chemical laboratory of the Boerner-Fry Co. is under the
direct charge of R. A. Kuever, a professor in the Pharmacy
Department of the State University.
W. A. Fry was for a long time cashier and president of the
Johnson County Savings Bank.
W. ii. Conant, secretary and manager, has been identified
with the newspaper and business interests of Iowa City for
eighteen years.
D. K. Harkness is the Iowa representative of Reed, Mur-
dock &. Co., of Chicago, Illinois, and a director in the Com-
mercial Savings Bank, of Iowa City, Iowa.
Wiilard J. Welch is a prominent capitalist and business man
of Iowa City and also a director in the Johnson County Sav-
ings Bank.
The business of the Boerner-Fry Co. is as indicated above,
the manufacture and sale of all kinds of flavoring extracts,
butter color, perfumes, and toilet preparations and their pro-
ducts are shipped to every point in the Mississippi Valley
and tin- west.
BIOGRAPHICAL
521
FRED E. .MORRISON
Fred E. Morrison is well known throughout Johnson and
adjoining counties in his capacity as auctioneer. He was born
in Adams county, Illinois, September 29, 1870, and was
brought to Louisa county, Iowa, by his parents when he was
three years of age. The family came to Johnson county in
1884 and there the father carried on farming, as he had prev-
iously done. The parents, Junius B. and Angeline (McCoy)
Morrison, were natives of Pennsylvania and Indiana, respect-
ively.
In boyhood Fred E. Morrison attended the common schools
and helped with the work on his father's farm. When he was
im-'.siuknci: or ri;r,i> r.. .\i.n;i;is<>.\
ready to choose an occupation for himself he chose farming
and continued to follow this occupation with success until
1906, when he took up that of auctioneer, for which he is pe-
culiarly fitted. All his business career has been spent in
Johnson county and be is well known there. He has estab-
lished a good business in bis present line and operates in
Johnson, Louisa, Muscatine, and Washington counties, where
be takes complete charge of various kinds of sales.
522 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
In JS92 Mr. Morrison married Miss Delia Siverly, a native
of Louisa county, Iowa, and their union lias been blessed with
seven children, namely : Frata G., Ralph F., Esther M., War-
ren E., Ruth D., Dorothea A., and Beula I. The family oc-
cupy a pleasant home in Fremont township, near the south
county line, and take an active part in local circles.
REV. FATHER ALOYS CIHAL (Deceased)
It would be commonplace to say that the ranks of the Chris-
tian ministry contain and have contained uncrowned heroes,
whose moral deeds of valor are entitled to recital in the annals
of state and nation; everyone acquainted with the history of
missionary and religious effort in the great west of America
is full}' aware of this fact. What is more to the point is the
fact that there are living, moving religious integers in Iowa
City and Johnson county today whose consecration and work,
both in results accomplished and in daily, devoted effort, mark
them as men of force and power in religious circles, entitled
to recognition in company with the hundreds of other citizens
whose deeds emblazon the pages of local history. The pas-
tor, because he is a pastor, need not therefore be relegated to
the heavenly historians for his biographical crown ; it is neith-
er out of order nor out of taste to recite his life and activities
in the history of today.
Rev. Father Aloys Cihal, pastor of the St. Wenceslaus Bo-
hemian Catholic church, of Iowa City, Iowa, is a former Kan-
sas missionary and a man of culture and education. He was
born in Moravia, Austria, in 1866, and is the son of Thomas
and Mary Cihal, an educator who taught school for forty-nine
years. In the year that he left his native land for missionary
service among the Bohemians of Kansas, Father Cihal was
ordained to the priesthood by the Right Reverend Laurier, a
prelate from the United States. Prior to his ordination he
had supplemented his elementary education received at home
by a theological course at the University of Louvain, Belgium,
one of the most noted schools of Europe, from which he grad-
uated in the class of 1891.
Father Cihal began his work in his new field from Leaven-
BIOGRAPHICAL 523
worth, Kansas, his first charge being near the Nebraska line
at Hanover, Kansas. There he served fourteen years as a
missionary, when he removed to Everett, Kansas, remaining
nine years before coming to his present charge. His first
circuit extended from Hanover to Marysville and Marion, a
distance in all of thirty-five miles, which be covered in a buggy
or on horseback every third Sunday, besides holding services
twice a month at the Nebraska line and often within that state.
Among the churches organized during his missionary term
in Hanover, Kansas, were Marrow Station, Lanham, Irving,
Randolph, Clara, and Clifton; with intervening services at
Alma and Wanmigo, in each of which were located fine church
buildings. During his pastorate at Everett he also held ser-
vices at Marak, Kansas, near Hiawatha.
Father Cilial has proven the right man at St. Wenceslaus
church, of Iowa City, which is recognized as one of the repre-
sentative parishes of the Bohemian Catholic denomination in
Iowa. His culture, experience, and withal his recognized abil-
ity as preacher and educator, have enabled him to minister
most acceptably to his people. Under his direction the church
made rapid and useful progress.
After a long and lingering illness he died February 13,
1912. He was taken ill with his last sickness on February 6,
his 46th birthday. The funeral took place February 13, at 10
o'clock, a. in., from his regular church, St. Wenceslaus, where
the body lay in state in charge of a guard of honor from the
fourth degree members of the K. of C. The funeral was very
impressive. It was in charge of Rt. Rev. Bishop Davis and
corps of assistants. Two sermons eulogizing the reverend pas-
tor's life were ably presented, one in English and one in Bo-
hemian, showing the love and esteem in which this reverend
priest was held both in Kansas and Iowa.
524 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
FEED M. BAKER
Fred M. Baker is a native of Fremont township, John-
son county, Iowa, where he was born in 1881. His father,
Solomon Baker, married Amanda Jane Loehr, who is Fred
M.'s mother. From early life Mr. Baker has been a farmer in
his home township, and has been at his present location for
nine years. He has a laudable ambition to make his farm one
of the attractive and most productive places in the county.
RESIDENCE OF FRED M. BAKER
Mr. Baker was married in 1902 to Miss Carrie E. Huskins,
also a native of Fremont township, who has proven to be an
excellent wife, and has borne children : Pearl, Esther, Orville
M., Richard, and Wesley. The family are members of the
Methodist Epicsopal church.
JOHN JOSEPH NEY
One of the best-known attorneys of Johnson county is John
Joseph Ney, who has been a resident of Iowa for about twenty
years past. He is a native of Sandusky, Ohio, born June 8,
1852, son of Patrick and Ann (Corcoran) Ney, natives of Ire-
land. The father was by occupation a railroad contractor,
farmer, and soldier, and served in the War of the Rebellion.
He was successful in a business way, and although he was
BIOGRAPHICAL 525
away from home on railroad work a great deal of the time,
his sons were reared to farm work. He and his wife had
five sons and two daughters.
John J. Ney attended the village school at Areola, Allen
county, Indiana, and later entered a Catholic Brothers' school
at Fort Wayne. He soon afterward returned to the home
farm and later went with his father on railroad work for a
year, after which he took a course at Notre Dame University.
Later lie read law in an office at Independence, Iowa, and then,
RESIDENCE OF J. J. NEY
returning to Notre Dame, graduated therefrom in 1874. He
returned to the college for the next year after graduation, then
began practicing at Independence. In 1875 he became a mem-
ber of the legal firm of Lake, Harmon & Ney, upon the election
of M. W. Harmon to the Iowa state senate. Mr. Ney retired
from the firm upon Mr. Harmon's return from the session of
1876, and thereupon formed the law firm of Buckart & Ney
in the same year.
Mr. Ney has served creditably in various public offices, first,
in 1877, as city attorney of Independence, and the following-
year assumed his duties in the office of mayor. Upon his
election to the latter office he dissolved the firm of Buckart &
Ney, and from that time practiced alone. He was elected cir-
cuit judge in 1884- to fill the unexpired term of B. W. Lacy, re-
signed. He was twice elected as district judge of the Tenth
526 HISTOEY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
judicial district of Iowa, serving in this office from January
1, 1837, until December, 1894, at which time he resigned. Mean-
while, he had removed to Iowa City, which has since been his
home. In September, 1894, he became resident professor of
law in the State University, while at the same time he con-
tinued private practice, but after the June commencement in
1898, he ceased his connection with the institution, devoting his
entire time to his large and growing practice. Since that time
this has been his life work, and he is known as one of the most
astute and successful men' in his profession in his part of the
state. He is popular with all who know him and stands well in
the estimation of his fellow citizens. He has proven faithful to
every trust imposed on him and has given valuable service to
the public in every office he has filled. In religious views he is a
Catholic and fraternally he was a member of the old Iowa City
Club later absorbed by the Elks.
Mr. Ney was married (first) in Chicago, October 3, 1878, to
Emily Frances Colby, daughter of Abram Usher and Mary
(Sautor) Colby. Mrs. Ney died at Independence, September
14, 1893, leaving four children surviving: Frank J., Philip
E., Genevieve F., and John J., Jr. Mr. Ney was married
(second) in Iowa City, January 20, 1904, to Miss Anastasia
Mullin, daughter of William and Margaret (Phelan) Mullin.
They have a pleasant home in Iowa City.
SAMUEL P. FEY
The name of Fry has been identified with the business de-
velopment of Iowa City and northern Johnson county since
1840, in which year Titus and Jane (Preston) Fry, the parents
of our subject, settled in Johnson county and took up land
from the government, a part of which is the site of the present
village of Frytown. The parents were natives of Ohio, and
Samuel P. Fry was also born in the Buckeye state June 15,
1840, being barely six months old when his father and mother
made the westward journey to Iowa. Titus Fry was by trade
a carpenter, but took up farming after coming to Johnson
county. He was a man of active mind, abreast of the times,
progressive and aggressive. Though he resided on the farm
MK\ S. P. FRY
BIOGRAPHICAL
527
in Washington township until is<if>, then moved to Iowa City,
he nevertheless took an active interest in all matters pertain-
ing to the development and growth of Iowa City, lie filled
the office of justice of the peace in his township for a number
of years and various other township offices. The children of
Titus and Jane Fry were eight in number: our subject ; Wil-
liam A., president of the Iowa City Water Co. and treasurer of
the Boerner-Fry Co., Iowa City, and was president of the
Johnson County Bank, with which he has been connected for
thirty-two years; Mary Jane, now Mrs. Moore, living in Iowa
City; Rachel, now Mrs. Jacob Patterson, living in California;
Amanda, married to Samuel dinger, she now deceased; Flor-
ence; Samantha; Carrie, deceased wife of Bert Wyman.
Our subject attended the country schools of his home neigh-
borhood, and early in life began to farm. This business he
continued for a number of years after leaving school. Feeling
a desire for work in the city, he removed to Iowa City, where
he engaged in the grocery business for two and one-half years.
Following this, he took up the livery business for two years.
He then returned to the farm west of Iowa City, where In-
resided for nineteen years, or until he removed to his present
location about six years ago, to Towa City, there for two years,
528 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
then bought 142 acres in East Lucas township, where he lived
for four years, then moved to his present home March 1, 1912.
Mr. Fry was married on September 30, 1875, in Iowa City by
Eev. D. P. Grosscup, a brother of Mrs. Fry, and both are
cousins of Judge Grosscup, of Chicago, to Miss Fianna M.
Grosscup, a native of Ohio. She has borne him eight children :
Hayes Allen, born October 10, 1876, married and living in
Iowa City, one child, Margaret; Edna Grace, born February
4, 1878, now Mrs. Roscoe Wilson, of Iowa City, one child,
Robert; Jessie May, born March 10, J 880, now Mrs. Stoner,
living near North Liberty, four children, Helen F., Edna,
Irma, and Samuel F. ; Mary Edith, born March 1, 1882, wife of
L. B. Beeson, engaged in the agricultural department, Wash-
ington, D. C, two children, John A. and Edith V.; Stella B.,
born September 25, 1885, now Mrs. William Rowland, living
four miles west of Iowa City, two children, Mabel and Ger-
trude; Annastatia, born May 111, 1887, now Mrs. Ward Row-
land, lives near her sister Stella, west of Iowa City; Glenn G.,
born May 16, 1890, unmarried, residing at home; Ella Leera,
born August 20, 1892, now Mrs. Lynn, of Ann Arbor, Michigan,
one child, Laurance.
Our subject was the owner of a fine home in East Lucas
township, west of Iowa City, which he sold in the fall of 1911,
an engraving of which is given in connection with this sketch.
He is a republican politically and in every sense a citizen of
worth. He has held the position of assessor, and has been
prominently identified with the Johnson County Agricultural
Society. He and his entire family are members of the Chris-
tian church.
WILLIAM HENRY JAMES
William Henry James, born in Providence, Rhode Island,
September 4, 1857, is a son of John and Katherine (Mil ward)
James. The latter was a native of England, and came to
Providence, Rhode Island, in 1867. Three years later he
removed to Johnson county, Iowa, where for a time he carried
on the business of a contractor. He afterwards took up pho-
tography, and continued in this line until his death, which
took place at Des Moines in 1882. Mrs. James was also a
IUiMIRAIMIlCAL
529
native of England, and the couple were married in that coun-
try. She died in 1893.
Our subject attended the public schools of Iowa City, and
when old enough to enter business took up his father's profes-
sion of photography, in which occupation he continued for
thirty-five years, most of the time in Iowa City. He retired
from active business May 1, 1909, and since that date has de-
voted bis attention to his property interests.
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RESIDENCE OF W. H. JAMES
Mr. James was married October 2, 1881, to Miss Nancy W.
Fairaii. a native of Iowa City, daughter of Judge Pairall.
They have no children.
His brother, Tom James, and bis sister, Nell, reside at Des
Moines, Iowa.
CLARENCE K. WOLFE
Maple Grove Farm is one of the oldest farms in Madison
township, Johnson county, and its present owner and operator,
Clarence K. "Wolfe, belongs to the third generation of his fam-
ily who have occupied it and added to its value and productive-
ness. His grandfather. Captain L. Wolfe, located on this place
in 1854 and took part in the pioneer activities of the region.
The father, Mahlon K. "Wolfe, now retired from active life
and residing in Iowa City, was formerly the operator of the
530
HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
farm above mentioned and has taken a prominent part in the
life of the county. A sketch of his life appears in this work.
Captain L. Wolfe was born in Knox county, Ohio, April 22,
1825, and was a son of Christopher Wolfe, who was a native
of New Jersey, born July 11, 1791. Christopher Wolfe was a
farmer by occupation and died in 1888, when in his ninety-
fourth year. He was a democrat in politics and served as
county commissioner and justice of the peace. His wife died
at the age of seventy-three years. Their eight children were :
John, Mary Ann, George, Captain Louis E., William, Thomas
J., Eliza, and Samuel C. Louis R. was the fourth child and
third son of his parents, and on April 29, 1846, married Eliza-
RESIDENCE OF G. K. WOLFE
beth Lindsley. In 1854 he brought his family to Iowa and lo-
cated on Section 33 of Madison township, on the farm above
mentioned. The region abounded in wild game and he became
well known as a successful deer hunter. His wife was a sister
of the mother of W. S. Files. Mr. Wolfe recruited a company
for an Indian war in the west, was elected captain of the same,
and served until 1865. He and his wife had three sons and
two daughters, of whom Mahlon K. was the eldest. The others
were: C. Douglas, Lewis A., Phoebe, wife of William Hardy,
Lucinda, deceased. Captain Wolfe was highly respected by
the pioneer settlers in Johnson county and was recognized as
BIOGRAPHICAL 531
a man of strong character and high principles. His fellow
citizens delighted to honor his ability and fitness for office and
he "was given several local positions of trust, as well as others
of more importance. He served three terms as a supervisor
of the township board and two years on the county board. He
was elected to the general assembly of the state in 1880 and
reelected two years later. In 1887 he moved to Oxford town-
ship. He became active in various business operations and was
one of the organizers of the Oxford State Bank. He was a
strong democrat and most of his descendants have adhered to
the principles of the same party with firm conviction. He was
outspoken in his defense of the right as he saw it, and was a
powerful factor for good in his township and county, as well
as in the affairs of the state.
To Mahlon K. "Wolfe children were born as follows : L. O.
of Madison township; C. B., of Pottawatomie county; M. M.,
of Penn township ; M. I. is the owner of a large ranch in Okla-
homa ; Clarence is the subject of this sketch, and was born on
the home farm in 1881 ; Edith is the wife of Dr. Albert Brock,
a dentist of Grinnell ; Glee is the wife of Emery Schultz, a den-
tist at Storm Lake, Iowa.
Clarence K. "Wolfe is the youngest son of his parents and
remained on the home farm until attaining his majority. He
received his early education in the rural schools and later took
a course in Iowa City Academy and in a commercial college
of Iowa City. After he was twenty-one years old he began
farming on his own account, working for others until he was
able to buy land of his own. In 1910 he purchased the old
home farm of 200 acres in Madison township, where he carries
on general farming, with special attention to stock raising. He
furnishes employment to some three or four men throughout
the year and carries on his agricultural operations in a scien-
tific and business-like manner. He has about 110 acres in corn
and has considerable land in pasture for his cattle, horses, and
other stock. He keeps some 200 head of hogs and finds this
branch of his business very profitable. In 1!)11 he erected a
fine modern barn, with two cupalos, thirty-five feet, high inside,
40x62 feet in ground space, with cement floors, and conceded to
be one of the finest in that part of Johnson county, being
planned by himself. The farm is well supplied with water and
532 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
contains a handsome maple grove. No expense has been
spared to make this a model estate and modern machinery and
appliances are in use wherever they will facilitate the work.
Mr. Wolfe is a keen business man and an excellent judge of
stock. He is recognized as an enterprising farmer and an up-
right citizen, interested in everything appertaining to the wel-
fare of his community, and proud of the name he bears.
Mr. Wolfe was married in Madison township to Miss Belle
Wray, daughter of David W. Wray, a sketch of whom appears
in this work. She was the recognized belle of her neighbor-
hood, being widely known for her beauty and estimable quali-
ties of mind and heart. One child has blessed this union, Miss
Catherine Wray Wolfe, born on March 1, 1909. Mr. Wolfe and
his family are well known in social circles and he is a member
of the M. W. A., of North Liberty. like his father and grand-
father, he is a strong democrat.
LEWIS ORVILLE WOLFE
Among the well-to-do farmers of Johnson county who have
become extensively interested in stock-raising is L. Orville
Wolfe, who has been successful in his operations in a gratify-
ing degree. He has spent his entire life in the county, having
been born on Section 33, Madison township, in 1873, seventh
child of Mahlon K. and Mary Elizabeth (Babcock) Wolfe, a
sketch of whom appears in this work. The father is a native
of Ohio and now resides in Iowa City, and the mother was born
in Iowa. They have been residents of Johnson county since
1855.
In early boyhood Mr. Wolfe attended the district schools in
Madison township, at the same time learning the details of
farm work. Upon reaching maturity he decided to make farm-
ing his career and began operations on his own account. He
has always been interested in stock and is a good judge of cat-
tle and hogs. A few years since he sold his farm in the north-
western part of Madison township and bought 180 acres in
Penn township, which he sold later and purchased his present
farm of 240 acres in the same township, which is located two
miles west of North Liberty. He has a large crop of corn each
BIOGRAPHICAL
;,:;:;
year, having about ninety acres planted in tins manner, and
also lias about eighty-three acres of small grain. In 1911 he
had thirty acres planted in oats, in two fields, from one of
which lie had a yield of -ll' bushels to the acre, and from the
other, 35 bushels. His fall wheat yielded some 22 bushels to
the acre. He has a high-grade line of cattle and keeps about
150 head of hogs. He is an expert judge of horses and has
some nineteen head of high-grade Norman horses and colts,
for which he has won a local reputation. He is a man of ex-
cellent business judgment and manages his affairs in a manner
that insures his financial success. He is active in the councils
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RESIDENCE OF L. OKVILLE WOLFE
of the democratic party and takes great interest in the affairs
and issues of the township, county, and state. He is one of the
best-known men in his township and is popular with his many
friends. The family have a high standing in the community,
being prominent in social circles. They have a pleasant home
in which they dispense a gracious hospitality.
Mr. Wolfe was married February 11, 1897, by Rev. Hickman,
of the Church of God. to Miss Florence Moreland, youngest
daughter of Alexander Moreland, of North Liberty. A sketch
of Mr. Moreland appears within these pages. Mr. and Mrs.
Wolfe have three children: Floyd, born September 12, 1902.
Mary, born May 30, 1903, and Edith, born September 5, 1903,
534 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
all bright young people, and the last named is an especially
beautiful child.
Mrs. Wolfe is a member of Purcella and King's Daughters.
He is a member of the North Liberty Commercial Club.
CHARLES ROBARTS
The man who has the distinction of being the oldest continu-
ous resident of Madison township, Johnson county, is Charles
Robarts, who has lived from the time of the flint musket, the
tomahawk, and the spinning wheel, to the day of the automo-
bile and the coming aeroplane. He and his wife have a beauti-
ful home, made famous throughout the county by the culture
of rare and handsome flowers, in which she takes great plea-
sure. They have named the place Robarts Rest, a most appro-
priate cognomen for it. This is part of the home farm which
his father began to cultivate and improve in 1848. Mr, Robarts
was born at Black Hawk, Louisa county, Iowa, July 9, 1844,
son of Adolph and Elizabeth (Crosby) Robarts, the former a
native of Ohio.
Adolph Robarts was born November 2, 1802, and died in
September, 1872. He was the second child born to Amos Rob-
arts, who was the father of three sons and three daughters,
all of whom reached maturity. With his wife and seven chil-
dren, Adolph Robarts came to Iowa in 1843, spending some six
weeks on the way. The trip was made in a covered wagon
drawn by horses. They first went to Louisa county, and in
1844 removed to Linn county, and in 1849 came to Johnson
county. Cedar Rapids at that time was but a hamlet. His
wife, who was born in 1803 and died March 9, 1899, was a
daughter of Edward and Phoebe (Shreves) Crosby. She and
Mr. Robarts were married in 1826. Both were stanch Metho-
dists and they helped to build a church at Greencastle and later
the U. B. church at the cross roads in Madison township.
They had children as follows : John, died in California ; Isaac,
lives in that state ; William, lives at Bucyrus, Kansas ; Thomas,
who served in Company E, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, lives
at Bucyrus; Phoebe, married William H. Morse, who was
killed in the battle of Mansfield, during the Civil War ; Mary,
BIOGRAPHICAL 535
married James Paintin, lives in Kansas; Daniel, of Kansas.
John crossed the plains in 185] and William and Isaac in 1854;
Daniel P. served in Company E, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry,
was wounded at the battle of Champion Hills, May 16, 1863,
now lives in western Kansas; and Charles, our subject.
Adolph Robarts entered land in Section 34 of Madison town-
ship, in 1849. This comprised the southeast quarter of the
northwest quarter. The Robarts home was below Robarts
Ferry and the iron bridge, the first cabin being southeast of
the bridge, being some thirty-five rods from that point. In
1851 the high water rose to within twenty feet of the cabin.
Wild turkeys and other game abounded. The home was erect-
tiik t'l.n i:ui;\i;'is iiu.m h> i i-..\i>
ed of round logs, was 16x24 feet in the main part, with a
kitchen eight feet wide on one side, one story high, with a
puncheon floor. The chimney, of stone and clay, was on the
west side, and a door on the east side, and in each of the two
rooms was a six-light window. The iron kettle in which their
baking was done was brought from Ohio. About 1857-58 this
building was replaced by a frame house which still stands and
is a landmark in the neighborhood.
Mr. Robarts broke the prairie with four or six yoke of oxen
at a time, using a 20-inch plow for the former and a 28-inch
one for the latter. He also helped other farmers to break up
their land, having several good teams for this work. His son
536 HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
Charles helped with this work after he was able, and was al-
ways much interested in all the operations which were going
forward on the home place. Mrs. Robarts raised flax, which
she heckled, spun, and wove, making linsey dresses for her
daughters and shirts and jeans for her sons. Bloomington,
now Muscatine, was their nearest trading point. They went to
a mill at Cedar Rapids, and in early days Mr. Robarts hauled
dressed hogs to Iowa City and sold them, sometimes as low
as $1.50 per hundred weight. He also sold corn sometimes as
low as fifteen cents per bushel. Money was scarce and trade
was carried on by an exchange of commodities, except in rare
instances. In the fall of 1853 he established Robarts Ferry,
his first boat being forty feet long and eighteen wide, fitted
with ropes and pulleys, coupled to wire, which was fastened to
trees on either side of the river. He made his first fences by
splitting rails, and by this work paid for a part of his land.
He erected a weaving shop on his land, which is still standing
on the farm of bis son Charles. There a daughter, now Mrs.
Paintin, of Kansas, became the weaver for the neighborhood.
These noble pioneers deserve praise for the hardships they
endured and for the Christian fortitude with which they made
the best of every situation and helped pave the way for future
iniproveihent and development. They reared a large family
to honorable manhood and womanhood and are held in grate-
ful remembrance by their descendants and surviving friends.
In early boyhood Charles Robarts attended school in a log
building in Penn township and later attended the Wray school,
erected in 1854. In later years Mr. Robarts hauled the latter
building to his home place, in 1892 having made the purchase,
and it is now a part of his cozy home. In his later school days
he attended school at the Cross Roads, where a building was
erected in 1863. He remained on the home farm until one year
after his marriage, in 1871, when he brought his wife and one
child to the present home of forty acres. He remodeled and
added to the old house, and Robarts Rest is one of the most
picturesque spots in the county. When his father moved from
the original location in Madison township to Section 34, he
had an orchard of 120 fine trees, arranged in twelve rows of
ten each, and a portion of this orchard is now the property of
the son. The latter now has nearly every fruit for which local
BIOGRAPHICAL 537
conditions are suitable, including a great variety of apples.
The estate now consists of forty acres and was first cultivated
in 1854, the first crop of sod corn on the place being entirely
destroyed by wild game. In 1911 Mrs. Robarts says her
ground cherries were eaten by quail, of which there were many
in the neighborhood.
Mrs. Robarts has many visitors who come to view her
flowers, and they are a source of much pleasure to her, growing
profusely under her ministrations. She has a natural gift for
horticulture, and many handsome bouquets from her garden
have found their way to a sick-room or funeral. She has a
vegetable garden of which she may well be proud.
In 1869 Mr. Robarts was united in marriage with Anna
Horak, a native of Bohemia, who crossed the ocean when she
was between eight and nine years of age. She is a daughter of
Wesley Horak, deceased, who died while on the voyage to
America, and one of her brothers had the plague aboard the
ship. Her first home was with the Swisher family in Jeffer-
son township, after reaching Johnson county. The first child
of this union, Florence, was born in the old log house, but the
others were born in the new home. She married Charles W.
Babcock, of Walford, Iowa, an importer of fine horses, and
they have six children : Lee Orville, Jesse Clarence, James Ar-
thur, Irvin Robarts, Lucy Ella, and Charles Raymond. The
other children born to Mr. and Mrs. Robarts are : Ernest, died
in infancy; Esther Adele, married Henry Beyer, of Benton
county, and they have tw T o children, Floyd and Nellie Isabel ;
Hortense Isabel, 
