History of
Floyd County, Iowa Rock Grove Township Allen
Adams was born in Mercer County, Penn., Nov. 26, 1843. He resided on a
farm until he was fourteen years old, when he learned the trade of a shoemaker. He came
to this country in 1861, and in the spring of 1862 enlisted in Company A,
Eighteenth Iowa Infantry; was transferred to the Twenty-first Regiment in the
fall of 1862; went in as a private, was promoted to Sergeant, and during the
siege of Vicksburg, June 17, was mustered in as Second Lieutenant, which he held
till the close of the war. When his time expired he was tendered the commission
of Captain in order to keep the company together till the balance of the
regiment�s time was out and they discharged, but declined. He was in the
battles of Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Jackson, Spanish Fort, Fort
Blakely and others. He was on detached service during the charge at Black River
Bridge. Took part in the charge on Vicksburg and saw Colonel Dunlap killed. He
was married in 1868 to Mary S. Kilborn, who was born in 1842. Her father, E.B.
Kilborn, was born in New York State in 1807, and died in February 1881, in
Otsego County, N.Y. Her mother, Mary (Fitch) Kilborn, was born in 1810 and died
in 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Adams have two children � Mertie L. and Gracie Belle. He
owns ninety three acres on section 17, Rock Grove Township, and is engaged in
both farming and stock raising. John
R. Adams, farmer and stock-raiser, section 9, Rock Grove Township, was
born in Bedford County, Pa., March 19, 1824. He is a son of John Adams of the
same county. His Grandfather Adams was a native of Germany. John R. moved to
Knox County, Ohio, with his parents in 1836, where his father died in 1876. He
came to this county in 1865 and settled on wild prairie land; hauled lumber from
Cedar Falls to build his house and took all his wheat there and sold it for
forty cents a bushel. He owns 1,900 acres, all under cultivation. He is no
office seeker. He was married in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, April 5, 1860, to Ellen
Miksch, a native of New Philadelphia, Ohio. They have five children � Ilo,
Rankin, Asa, Clara, and Ida. Cyrus
M. Allen (deceased) was born in Scipio, Cayuga County, N.Y., May 4,
1822, and in 1833 he moved with his parents to Berrian, Mich., and subsequently
to Chicago. He was married in the latter place, in 1850, to Lucy J. Judson,
daughter of Henry Judson (deceased). She was born in Huntington, Crittenden
County, Vt. Seven children blessed their union, viz.: Lucia, Oscar B., Alonzo,
Carrie, Cyrus, Walter, and Bertie. In 1856 Mr. Allen became a resident of Nora
Springs, where, in company with John West, he owned and operated a saw-mill a
number of years. He afterward worked at the blacksmith�s trade. He died Feb.
11, 1874, and sorrow fell upon many hearts when to the list of the dead was
added the name of this honest and upright man. He was a consistent member of the
Congregational church, as was his wife, who afterward became the wife of Elder
D.B. Mead, a Baptist minister. Oscar
B. Allen, an enterprising young business man of Nora Springs, is a
native of Cook County, Ill., born July 1, 1855, a son of Cyrus M. Allen
(deceased), whose sketch appears in this work. He came with his parents to Nora
Springs in 1856, and was here reared and educated. He served an apprenticeship
at the harness-maker�s trade under G.W. Hall, and is still in his employ. He
went to Dakota Territory in 1878, and was bookkeeper for the contractors who
were building the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad and division, for
some months. He returned to Nora Springs, and has since resided here. He is
Secretary of the City School Board, and has been a member of the Old Settlers�
Association for the past four years. He is a prominent member of the I.O.O.F.
fraternity. Jacob
Ankeny, farmer and stock-raiser, section 4, Rock Grove Township, was
born in Westmoreland County, Pa., Aug. 25, 1822. His father, George Ankeny, of
Westmoreland Co.,, moved to Knox Co., Ohio in 1830. Jacob came to this county in
1855, where he owns 120 acres of fine land. He was Township Trustee at an early
day, and at that time built the first bridge across Flood Creek. He was married
in Knox Co., Ohio, to Susannah Adams. They have had thirteen children � Mary
(deceased), Olive, Rebecca and Elizabeth, born in Ohio; Thomas J., Wallie F.,
Joseph L., Normandy, James P. and four deceased, born in this county. Two
daughters, Elizabeth and Rebecca, are prominent teachers in this county. When
Mr. Ankeny settled here, there were very few families in the township, and it
was a wild prairie. George
Apel, farmer and stock-raiser, section 23, Rock Grove Township, was born
in Hesse, Germany, March 22, 1846. His father, George Apel, was also a native of
Germany. George, Jr., came to America, and to Osage, Iowa, in 1860. He enlisted
in the late war in Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, and served three
years, being in the battles of Little Rock, Nashville, Spanish Fort, Tupelo, and
many others. He came to Floyd County in 1874, where he owns 160 acres of fine
land. He was married in 1868 to Katie Lohn, and has three children � Conrad
G., Anna C., and Willie F. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. Abner
A. Babcock, farmer and stock-raiser, section 16, Rock Grove Township,
born in Otsego County, N.Y., July 22, 1822, a son of Sanford Babcock, also a
native of New York State. His early life was spent on a farm, and his education
was received in the common schools of New York. In April, 1863, he came to this
county and bought land, and the following fall moved his family here. He owns
170 acres and a half interest in 120 acres of fine land. He was married Sept.
19, 1852, to Nancy, daughter of Nicholas Quackenbos.
They are the parents of six children, five living - Amos M., Isaac T.,
Ira J., George L., and Estella. He has served his county as Supervisor and his
township as Clerk and Assessor. Isaac
T. Babcock, son of Abner A., was born in Otsego County, N.Y., April 26,
1858. He
came to this county with his parents in 1863, and has received his education in
the schools of this place, residing on the farm with his parents.
He was married Feb 7, 1882, to Ella Baker, a daughter of George A. Baker,
who came to this county in 1870.
Isaac T. resides on section 14, Rock Grove Township, where he owns 120
acres of land and is engaged in farming and stock raising. George
A. Baker, farmer and stock-raiser, section 15, Rock Grove Twp., was born
in Knox County, Ohio, May 18, 1833, a son of William Baker, a native of
Pennsylvania, who was brought to Knox County, Ohio, when one year old.
Geo. A. grew up on the same farm as his father; was educated in a
subscription school, the first one he attended being held in the loft or attic
of an old log milk-house.
He came to this county in 1870 and now owns 192 acres of finely
cultivated land.
He was married in the fall of 1854 to Mary Robison. They have eight
children - William W., John B., Ella, Clifford M., Jacob H., Sarah, Louis and
Walter. Francis
L. Benedict, was born in Chenango County, N.Y., Oct. 11, 1825; a son of
Lewis Benedict, a native of Connecticut, and Lydia (Parckard) Benedict, a native
of New York. Both are living; the father eighty-three and the mother eighty-one
years of age.
Francis L. was educated in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, where he went with his
parents when a small boy. In 1852 he came to Linn Co., IA, and in 1856 to this
county, where he owns 200 acres on section 18, (Rock Grove Twp.) and is engaged
in farming and stock-raising. He was married March 21, 1848, to Abigail Snow, a
native of Massachusetts.
They have seven children, five living - James L., Lyman L., Elmer A.,
Harrison, and Bertie. He has been Township Trustee and School Director several
years; County Supervisor one year, and was Postmaster two years. Henry
L. Benedict, was born in Coventry, Chenango Co., N.Y., Nov. 1, 1834.
His father, Lewis Benedict, a native of Connecticut, moved to Cuyahoga
Co., Ohio, in 1836, and in 1846 to Dodge Co., Wis.
Henry L. was educated in Ohio and Wisconsin.
He came to this county in the fall of 1867 and settled on section 11,
(Rock Grove Twp.) where he owns 160 acres of fine farm land and eighteen acres
of timber. He is both farming and stock-raising.
He was married in 1855 to Sarah A., daughter of Martin L. Blair. They
have had four children, three living - Sumner A., Charles F., and Lettie S.
Marsha E. died at the age of eight years.
He is Township Trustee and Justice of the Peace; is a member of the A.F.
& A.M. Smith
G. Blythe, M.D., Nora Springs, was born in Middlesex County, N.J., Nov.
6, 1841, and was one of a family of nine children.
His father, Joseph M. Blythe, was a native of Kentucky, and a minister in
the Presbyterian faith.
In 1856, he was placed in charge of a pastorate at Vincennes, Ind., where
Smith remained one year, then returned to the East, and entered Lafayette
College at Easton, PA., from which he graduated in the spring of 1860. He took
charge of a classical acadeny at Belvidere, N.J., in the following fall, and
began reading medicine. He was one of the first to enlist in the late Rebellion,
becoming a member of Company D, First Regiment New Jersey Volunteers, and in a
month after enlistment was made Commissary Sergeant.
In February 1862, he was promoted tothe rank of Second Lieutenant of
Company A, and at the battle of South Mountain was made First Lieutenant of
Company F, and in November of 1862, was promoted to the Captaincy.
He was wounded four times, and so severely at the battle of the
Wilderness that he was mustered out for physical disability on June 24, 1864.
Upon leaving the service he taught school at Hopewell, Ind., some time,
and in the meanwhile continued the study of medicine.
He attended the Ohio State Medical College at Cincinnati, during the
sessions of 1866-'67, and located in the practice of his profession, in the
spring of 1867, at Vinton, IA.
He successfully practiced there until December 1869, when he moved to
Rudd, Floyd County; thence in January 1873, to Nora Springs.
He graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York City, in
1878, and since his residence here has built up a large and lucrative practice,
being recognized as one of the leaders of the medical profession in the State. Dr.
Blythe was married July 8, 1863, to Miss Emily G. Sharp, daughter of Judge Wm.
R. Sharp, of New Jersey.
Of the nine children born of this union three survive - Emily M., Hannah
L., and Redford V.
The deceased were - Ellen H., William S., Jessie C., Elizabeth G., Jean
M. and one who died in infancy.
Dr. Blythe was the Presidential Elector for the Fourth Congressional
District in 1880, and has efficiently served in various offices.
He is on the Governor's staff as Surgeon General, with the rank of
Brigadier General of the Iowa National Guards. His mother, Ellen Henrietta
(Green) Blythe, was a sister of the Hon. Chief Justice Green of New Jersey. Alvara
W. Burgess is a native of Mukwanago, Waukesha County, Wis., born Sept.
20, 1846, son of Alvaro Burgess,
who died in Beaver Dam, Wis., in 1864, whither he had moved with his
family in 1848. The subject of this memoir was the youngest of a family of ten
children, and he came to Nora Springs from Beaver Dam in 1869 and engaged in the
manufacture of pumps.
In February 1871, he married Miss Marion E. Gaylord, oldest daughter of
W. P. Gaylord. On the 29th day of September, 1872, after an illness of two days,
she died. In
April 1874, he married Miss Lentie Paddleford, second daughter of Charles
Paddleford. They
have two children - Dale and Ruth.
Mr. Burgess is now engaged in the mercantile business at Nora Springs
with Mr. A. Stone. They carry a $7,000 stock of goods, and their annual sales
amount to $30,000. They are popular merchants, and are recognized as men of
irreproachable business integrity. In politics Mr. Burgess's sympathies are with
the Republican party. In religion, a Baptist. Thomas
Edwin Bryan, one of the prominent citizens of Nora Springs, is a native
of Nobles County, O., born Dec. 3, 1843. His father, Cornelius Bryan, was born
in Monroe County, O., in 1810.
The subject of this memoir came to Nora Springs, IA, in November 1869,
from Delaware County, IA.
He enlisted during the war of the great Rebellion in Company K,
Twenty-first Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and remained in the service three
years. He
married Miss Carrie Nichols, who died after a long and painful illness on Feb.
13, 1875. He
was married Jan. 23, 1878, to Harriet A., daughter of Hon. W.P. Gaylord.
They have one child, a daughter, Beulah.
In company with J.J. Gaylord, Mr. Bryan is conducting a store of general
merchandise at Nora Springs under the firm name of Gaylord and Bryan.
He is an accomplished businessman, an active salesman and a good
accountant. In
politics he is a Republican, and was appointed Postmaster of Nora Springs in
January 1879, and still retains the office.
He is a prominent member of the I.O.O.F. and A.O.U.W. fraternities, Nora
Springs. Henry
H. Cott is a native of New York State, born in 1839. He, with his
parents, moved to Wisconsin in 1852 and came to Nora Springs in 1872, starting
the first paper ever printed in the town. With a disposition that cannot endure
inaction, he gathered a slight knowledge of printing while spending the winter
of 1863-'64 in Flint, Mich.; at that time he was working by day in a furniture
manufactory, and becoming acquainted with the "boys" of the Wolverine
Citizen; he passed the evenings in their company at the printing office, without
the slightest idea that printing was ever destined to become his regular
business. In
the spring of 1864 he returned to Wisconsin, engaging in the grocery business,
and printing a three-column amateur paper started by other parties. From this
small beginning and from love of the work grew out a job office, and a newspaper
became a natural consequence.
Mr. Cott is by right the senior editor of Floyd County, having been
continuously in business for a longer period than others of the profession. Charles
Darling, son of Calvin Darling, of Vermont, was born in Tioga County,
N.Y., May 19, 1840.
In 1855 he went to Portage County, Wis., with his parents, where he
worked on a farm in connection with his trade, that of carpenter, which he
learned when a boy, till the fall of 1868, when he came to Floyd County. He is
living on section 21, Rock Grove Township, and is both farming and working the
carpenter's trade,
He was married Sept. 21, 1862, to Maria Post, a native of New York State.
They are the parents of four children, three living - Adda E., Francis
L., and Annie L.
Milton L. died at the age of five years.
Mr. Darling is a member of the Baptist church. He has been Township
Trustee several years, and School Director.
He is a member of the I.O.O.F. and G.A.R.
During the war he served in Company F, Fifth Wisconsin Infantry, one
year. Ira
R. Dean, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Foxcroft, Piscataquis
County, Me., Nov. 8, 1831, and is a son of Ira Dean, a native of Massachusetts.
He was reared on a farm and received a common-school education. He went with his
parents to DeKalb County, IL,
in 1844, and in 1854 came to this township. (Rock Grove Twp.) He resides
on section 14, where he owns eighty acres.
He was married Sept. 27, 1857, to Mary A., a daughter of Adam Cline.
They are the parents of six children, five living - Henry G., Dorcas M.,
Sarah A., Charlotte M., and Luna E.
He has served as Constable two terms. William
Dean, farmer and stock-raiser, Rock Grove Township, is a son of Ira
Dean, a native of Massachusetts, and was born in Foxcroft, Piscataquis County,
Me., July 26, 1827, where he received a common-school education.
He came West, to DeKalb County, IL, in 1844 and to this county in 1853.
There were only two houses where Charles City now stands, at that time, one
being a store and a dwelling.
He went about sixty miles,
to Waverly and Cedar Falls, to mill, built his first house of logs,
making the flooring of basswood and the shingles of oak with an ax only;
fastened the roof on with weight poles. Took his wheat to McGregor, a distance
of 100 miles, and sold it for 25 and 30 cents per bushel. He was married July 4,
1856, to Harriet A., daughter of Samuel Gaylord. They had one child - William
J., born May 7, 1858; died May 25, 1858.
Mrs. Dean died May 8, 1858.
Feb. 12, 1860, he married Adeline Arthur, who died Sept. 8, 1874.
July 4, 1875, he married Harriett N. Birdsell.
He resides on section 11, and owns 370 acres of fine land.
He has held the offices of Township Clerk, Township Trustee, and has been
Justice of the Peace several years. Mr. Dean always held that the path of duty
was the only path of safety; would sooner see the "heavens fall" than
swerve from what he thought to be right.
He was ever particular to fulfill to the letter every promise, even to
the least. When
his promise was out for anything it was always sure.
Though hard up for money his punctuality enabled him to get any money
that was not in immediate use wherever he could find a dollar. Nicholas
Fleenor, farmer and stock-raiser, section 17, Rock Grove Township, was
born in Washington County, Va., June 17, 1811.
He is the son of Isaac Fleenor, of the same State, Nicholas being born
and reared on the same farm as his father; attended a subscription school in a
log cabin; had slab benches with no
backs, puncheon floor, and heated by a fire on a large stone at one end
of the cabin, the smoke going out of a hole in the roof.
There was a slab on pins stuck in the wall for a writing desk, and
greased paper pasted over a crack in the wall for a window.
He went to Washington County, Ind., in 1834, and cleared out a farm.
He came to this township in
1855, moved on a farm here in 1856.
He owns 150 acres, and has deeded eighty acres to his sons.
He was married in December 1835, to Sarah Kaylor.
They had eleven children, seven living - Robert, John, James, Mary J.,
Martha E., Nancy C., and Luella.
Two sons, Isaac M. and Geo. F. died in the late war.
Isaac M. was in the Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry and Geo. F. was in the
Dubuque Battery.
One daughter, Mary, died after she was married, and left one son. Enoch
F. Forbes, section 20, Rock Grove Township, was born in Black Hawk
County, Ia., June 2, 1853.
He came to Floyd County with his parents in April, 1865.
He married Nov. 25, 1873, to Lora E. Henry,
born this township May 24, 1856, and a daughter of John and Julia A.
(Workman) Henry.
They are the parents of four children, three living - Milton, Wilson, and
Mary Maud. Mr. Forbes is a member of the I.O.O.F. John
G. Forbes, a native of New York, came to Iowa in 1850, and settled in
Henry County.
From Henry County he went to Louisa, from Louisa to Black Hawk, from
Black Hawk to Tama, and from Tama to Rock Grove, in 1865, and purchased of B.M.
Lyon the premises near Rock Grove City, where his widow now resides.
He married Miss Elizabeth Mathews.
In February, 1872, he died, and was buried at Rock Grove City.
He was an industrious, honest farmer, and was respected by all.
On the premises he planted a fine young orchard, which is now producing
its fruits. He
held theoffice of Trustee and School Director, and whatever he did for himself
or the public was well done.
His children were - Harriet, now dead;
Margaret J., wife of William O. Moore, of Indiana, and now dead;
Thomas J., now in Kossuth County Ia.;
Joseph W. , now in Minnesota;
James W., now here;
Mary E., wife of P.J. Smith, of Black Hawk County;
Wilson M., now studying for the legal profession, at State University at
Iowa City;
E. Fletcher, now here, and Isabella, wife of George Brown, Esq., of this
place. In
politics a Republican.
In religion a Methodist. H.
Gage, Mayor of Nora Springs, was born in Worcester County,
Massachusetts, Feb. 20, 1822, a son of Nathan Gage, likewise a native of the Bay
State. His
grandfather, Silas Gage, emigrated from Scotland to America when a mere boy, and
his descendants are now among the prominent respected citizens of various
States. The
subject of this memoir was reared on a farm, and his educational advantages were
those of the common schools.
At the age of fourteen he became self-supporting, purchasing a stock of
tinware, which he peddled three years, then ran a wholesale cigar and
confectionery wagon three years.
He spent two years as collector for T. New & Co., stove dealers, in
Keene, N.H., and in 1852 he married Nancy E. Stone, of that place.
Four children have blessed their union, Henry S., Warren H., Frank H. and
Mary E. After
his marriage in 1854, Mr. Gage moved to Madison, Wis., thence to Steven's Point
in 1856. One
year later he located in Howard County, IA, where he engaged in farming and the
mercantile and stock business until the fall of 1867, when he became a resident
of Nora Springs.
He has been instrumental in building up the town, and has always been
foremost in any enterprise that promised progression to her interests.
He always takes an active interest in educational matters and has been a
member of the School Board for six years.
He has served acceptably as Mayor for the past five years;
he helped to organize the Masonic Lodge of this place, and is also a
member of the I.O.O.F. fraternity.
During the first years of his residence here Mr. Gage engaged in the
mercantile, grain and banking business, but of late has attended to the
management of his farms, five in number, and loaning his money.
Though coming to this country in limited circumstances he has by
indomitable will and determination to succeed surmounted many obstacles, and
to-day he ranks with the wealthy and influential citizens of Floyd County.
Jonathan
F. Gates,
attorney, Nora Springs, was born near Marietta, Ohio, Nov 13, 1838.
He went with his parents to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1843, and in 1847 to Fond
du Lac County, Wis.
In 1861 he went to Independence, Ia., and from there direct to what is
now Springfield, D. T., and helped lay out the town; returned to Independence in
1861. In
August 1862, he enlisted in Company C, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, and was
discharged Feb 16, 1863, on account of disability.
His education was limited till after the war, when he went to Lenox
Collegiate Institute, Hopkinton, Ia., during 1866 and 1867.
He then read law and was admitted to the bar in March, 1875.
He practiced in Independence a short time; served five years as Deputy
Sheriff of Buchanan County, Ia., before he was admitted to the bar.
He came to Nora Springs in the fall of 1875, where he is engaged in the
practice of law, collecting, notary public, real estate and general agent.
He was married April 10, 1869, to Mary J. Burrington.
They have one adopted child - Edna, born April 14, 1873.
He is a member of the I.O.O.F. Edson
Gaylord, born in Northville, Litchfield County, Conn., October 16, 1826,
is a son of Samuel and Betsy (Jackson) Gaylord.
His paternal grandfather, Ager Gaylord, was in the French and Indian
wars, and distinguished himself by killing two Frenchmen at one shot, while on
picket duty. The
Gaylords are noted as a long-lived race, several of his ancestors reaching 100,
and one the advanced age of 112 years.
His mother was specially noted for her fine vocal powers.
Edson Gaylord has always been a hard-working man commencing at the early
age of six years, when his father hired him out to ride a horse for Elmer
Baldwin, of New Milford, Conn., to plow a steep side-hill full of stumps and
stones. He
was put on the horse, which was hitched ahead of two yoke of unbroken steers.
The horse pulled one way and the steers the other.
The order was given to "lick up", and he "licked up",
when off they started, boy, horse, steers, and lastly Yankee Baldwin, holding on
to the plow with a death-like grip.
He started as soon as the sun was up in the morning, and rode all day,
returning just as it was dark, and received six and one-fourth cents a day.
At the age of nine, he was hired out to work on a farm at $6 per month.
At the age of seventeen he went to Sussex County, N.J. to teach school.
He left home with $7 in money and one plain suit of clothes.
After traveling three days he reached his destination with fifty cents
left. He
taught the school three successive terms and returned to Connecticutt with $70,
paid up his father's small debts and commenced going to school.
Three weeks later he was sent for from a back country school, where the
large scholars had just dismissed the teacher with fearful warnings if he ever
dared show himself in the community again as a teacher.
After many warnings from friends and much persuasion from the committee
he concluded to accept the position which he filled with perfect satisfaction to
all concerned for three winters.
In the spring of 1848 he engaged to work for Captain John Peters, of
Woodville, for $160 a year, pledging himself to work faithfully, with no
holiday. This
pledge he kept to the letter, losing no time in the following five years he did
not make up by working nights.
He taught three terms in a district school in New Jersey.
Up to the time he was twenty-one he gave all his wages to his father,
reserving only sufficient to clothe himself in the plainest manner.
In the spring of 1853 the five brothers were in council together and
agreed that one of their number should "go West", and look up, and
secure homes for themselves and families.
This lot fell to Edson.
He went first to Bristol, Wis., where he had cousins;
looked over the Southern part of Wisconsin and the Northern part of
Illinois, down as far as Quincy;
then came into Iowa, and from here went to Minnesota;
then back to Bristol, where he worked through the harvest; then started
once more, and, finally, after coming to Rock Grove for the third time, was
fully convinced that it was the most lovely spot, and possessed more natural
advantages than any other he had seen in all his rambles.
On Oct. 21, 1853, he cut the first tree, to clear up the site for his
future home on the northwest quarter of section 17.
He completely finished a house 18 x 24, warm and comfortable, without
using a nail.
The roof was of split stakes, held in place by heavy poles.
Mr. Gaylord has some peculiarities that it would be well if more
possessed. He
has held as his motto:
"Pay as you go", owing no one, and never gave his note till
after he was forty-five, and then on conditions.
Never gave written security to any one.
In religion he is eclectic;
in politics is independent;
always subscribes liberally to all church and public enterprises,
especially such as pertain to the cause of education.
He cut the first tree for a school-house in Floyd County, getting up in
the middle of the night to do it.
Mr. Gaylord is a man of more than ordinary ability, as his work has
shown. He
cut out and made the first pioneer road through Rock Grove;
burned the first lime in a regular kiln.
He made and supplied almost the entire country with lime and brick for
many years, having for this business over forty-five acres of very heavy timber,
averaging to handle the wood three times with his hands.
He deeded most of the land where Nora Springs now stands from the
Government. He
built one of the most substantial houses in Northern Iowa, using for the purpose
100,000 brick and 500 bushels of lime;
has dealt with many, but lawed with none, always exemplifying his fixed
convictions, that every person should secure their own needs by honest toil. He was
for some years a correspondent for the New York Tribune.
Has written many valuable papers on the apple-tree question in the
Northwest, which have been republished and highly complimented by leading
horticulturalists of the Northwest.
He never aspired to any public office which he did not secure by heavy
majorities. He
has been Justice of the Peace, Chairman of the Board of Township Trustees, and
Chairman of the City School Board several years each.
Is now a member of the two latter, and also Marshal and Street
Commissioner.
He was married July 22, 1862, to Helen M. Lamb, of Wayne, Dupage County,
Illinois, of Scotch parentage.
Their first born was a son - Wallace E., born July 22, 1863; the second,
a daughter, Myrta J., born July 22, 1865, died March 1, 1869;
the third, a daughter, Vienna, born Jan. 27, 1871. Jackson
Gaylord was born in the village of Northville, township of New Milford,
Litchfield County, Conn., on Dec. 23, 1829.
He was named after his mother, whose maiden name was Betsy Jackson.
He is a descendant of brave and patriotic ancestors, many of them having
fought bravely in the defense of their country's honor, in the wars which
occurred in their lifetimes.
His great-grandfather died in the French and Indian wars, and his
grandfather, Ager Gaylord, entered the army at the age of 16, serving through
the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars.
On one occasion while out on a scouting expedition, he saw two Frenchmen,
who had taken refuge behind two trees which had commenced growing together and
widened out as they grew.
Mr. Gaylord and his party took refuge behind a stump, standing in Indian
file, to watch the proceedings of the enemy.
The Frenchmen stepped together to prime their guns, one of them
apparently being out of powder.
Mr. Gaylord embraced the opportunity to make sure of his men, which he
did by killing both at one shot.
Agur Gaylord died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years.
Samuel Gaylord, father of the subject of this interesting record, was
born Jan. 6, 1776, in the town of Norfolk, Conn., and at the age of fourteen was
apprenticed to the blacksmith's, serving seven years.
He was an excellent workman, especially excelling in the manufacture of
edged tools. He
emigrated to Rock Grove Township in 1855 and resided here until his death.
He secured the south half of southeast quarter of section 1, township 96,
range 19, Portland Township, Cerro Gordo County;
also twenty nine acres of timber on section 18, lying between the rairoad
addition to Nora Springs and the Shell Rock River, on a part of which the M.
& St. P.R.R. Co. built their depot.
He also owned blocks 13 and 14, old town, living on said premises several
years. He
has since built a house on lots 1 and 2, block 10, railroad addition, where he
resides at this time.
He was married on the 9th of November, 1862, to the widow Harriet Vliet,
of Tranquility, Sussex County, N.J.
She had three children - Eliza and Ira, who live in Jersey, and Alice,
who married Robert Wilson, and now lives in Nora Springs.
His wife, Harriet, died of consumption, on Dec. 2, 1877.
He was married again
August 7, 1879, to the widow Elizabeth Coppock, a native of Stockport,
England, and sister to Israel Turner, depot agent at Nora Junction.
She had one son - W.M., who lives with his mother.
Jackson has no children.
By profession
he is a school-teacher, and has a good education.
He attended the common schools until twelve years of age, and from that
time until his eighteenth year went to school during the winters and worked in
the summers. He
spent four terms in an academy or high school.
Being naturally endowed with superior mental abilities he has been a
diligent student, and is one of the best informed men of his day.
As a teacher he has been very successful.
While in the West farming was his principal business.
In politics a Republican.
He is not a member of any church, but in sentiment a Congregationalist.
His wife, Harriet, was a member of the Congregational church.
The following narrative as related by him shows to some extent the
endurance and perseverance of the early settlers:
"In 1855 I was living in Tranquility, Sussex County, N.J.;
having determined on going West, I went to New
York City, where I met my father, mother, and two sisters, also brother
Lyman and family and brother Edson, who had returned from the West for the
purpose of taking my father and family back with him.
We went to Chicago, then up the lake to Kenosha, Wis., thence to Bristol,
where we stopped several weeks with brother Wilberforce and other friends,
making preparations for a three-hundred mile overland journey to Iowa, also
waiting for our goods which we had sent by the way of the lakes, but we were
obliged to go without them, learning afterward they arrived the day we left.
We purchased four yoke of oxen and three wagons;
on the 12th day of November we commenced our journey.
For three days the weather was very pleasant, when suddenly it changed,
rained, turned cold, snowed, and winter set in in earnest.
Our faithful oxen trudged on, day after day, slow but sure.
At night stopping with some farmer, spreading our beds upon the floor,
bunked in for a snooze and a rest, Edson and sometimes myself sleeping out-doors
in the wagon.
So we traveled on day after day through the snows, and beaten by the cold
winds of the Wisconsin hills.
Upon reaching the Missippi River we found navigation stopped on account
of the slush ice in the river.
Thinking we might have to remain where we were during winter, we
commenced making preparations for that purpose.
We stopped with a Kentuckian by the name of Hartford, a whole-souled,
generous-hearted man, who with his wife, did all they could to make us
comfortable. In
about four days the weather moderated so that the ferry-boat could run.
We hurried our things aboard our wagons, and bidding good-bye to our kind
hosts, we started once more for Iowa.
On nearing the river we had to cross some bridges over bayous;
our oxen not liking the looks of things very well, behaved so badly we
were obliged to unyoke part of them and draw the wagons over by hand.
On reaching the ferry we had quite a time in persuading our cattle to get
on board; this
being accomplished, we crossed the river and landed at Clayton City, Ia., just
at dark. Then
we had to climb the heights and get over the bluffs.
Our oxen not being shod and the road slippery, we had to double teams,
sand the road and take one load at a time.
All having safely reached the summit, we were soon bunked for the night
and in the arms of Morpheus.
On the 5th of December, after a cold and tedious journey, we arrived at
Rock Grove, on section 17, where Edson Gaylord lives at the time of this
writing. The
log house is now standing, having two rooms, in which seventeen of us, big and
little, lived most of the winter.
Provisions were very scarce; no meat or anything hardly in the country,
except flour;
for some time we lived principally on bread, and gravy made of flour,
water, and molasses.
We had to go long distances to trade.
Myself and Earl Gaylord, my nephew, ten or twelve years of age, went to
Dubuque to trade, with a big wagon and two yoke of cattle, a distance of 140
miles; stopping
at Janesville, we found salt $9 a barrel;
in Dubuque it was about $1.60.
We were gone 12 days, camping out and sleeping in our wagon.
Meetings were held in log school-houses and the groves.
The people gathered for miles around, coming with ox teams.
All were on a common level, and general harmony and peace prevailed. John
G. Gaylord, known in army records as J. J. Gaylord, was born in
Litchfield County, Conn., July 28, 1843.
He is a son of Lyman Gaylord, and came with his parents to this county in
1855. He
was reared on a farm, and educated in the common schools of this county.
He enlisted in the late war, in Company A, Twenty-first Iowa Infantry,
and served over three years.
He was in the battles of Magnolia Hill, Champion Hill, at the capture of
Vicksburg, July 4, 1863;
was one of the number that made desperate charges at Black River Bridge
and Vicksburg, May 22, when Grant attempted to take the latter by storm;
fought from May 1 to July 4, losing one tenth of their number May 17, at
the Black River Bridge charge, and taking 1,100 prisoners and eighteen cannon;
also, at Mobile, Flort Blakely, Spanish Fort and others;
was never wounded or taken prisoner, and was always in the front.
He was married May 21, 1861, to Alice La Due.
Mrs. Gaylord died and, Sept. 16, 1863, he married Sarah Ankeny.
Of his four children only three are living - Alice, Flora, and George A.
He resides on section 10, (Rock Grove Twp.)
and is engaged in farming and stock raising.
He owns 200 acres of fine land. John
J. Gaylord, brother of the Hon. W. P. Gaylord, was born in the State of
New York, Dec. 12, 1818.
His parents moved to Litchfield County, Conn., when he was an infant, and
he was reared and educated in New Milford of that State.
When he was seventeen years old his parents moved to Warren Township, and
he worked in his father's blacksmith shop there and on farms in the
vicinity until 1844, when he returned to New Milford and followed his trade
there six years, thence to Southford, Conn.
He worked in an edge-tool manufactory there one year;
in a machine shop one year, and in 1852 went to Woodbury, Conn.
In 1854 he came to Floyd County, Ia., and returned to Connecticut the
same year. He
worked in a paper-mill at Wolcott two years, and in 1861 came to Nora Springs,
Ia. He
farmed in this township thirteen years, and is now engaged in the mercantile
business - a member of the firm of Gaylord & Bryan.
He is a popular merchant, and is known throughout the county as a man of
irreproachable business integrity.
He was married in 1839 to Charlotte A. Johnson, who died Nov. 6, 1874,
leaving two children - Ellen L., now Mrs. J. K. Rupert, of Charles City, and
Marion, wife of Chas. E. Brown of Norwalk, Conn.
Mr. Gaylord has filled many offices of trust, with credit to himself and
the satisfaction of his constituents.
He is a Methodist in his religious faith. Lyman
Gaylord came here from Litchfield County, Conn., in the fall of 1855,
and settled on section 8, (Rock Grove Twp.) where he now resides.
He is the eldest of five brothers living in this neighborhood.
He has a good farm, a fine brick dwelling, and substantial outbuildings.
He is a man of remarkable energy, and at his advanced age today does more
work than most of the young men who call themselves smart.
He is one of the few who can't endure rest, and one of the kind who will
wear out instead of rusting away.
He is out of debt, and has laid up enough for the ""rainy
day". He
has a fine young orchard and an abundance of good timber.
His sones are - John G. and Earl L.
His daughters - Eliza, now Mrs. Wm. B. Reed, and Emily, now Mrs. Nick F.
Weber, attorney at law at Clarion, Wright County, Iowa.
His daughter Sarah, a child about seven years old, died in 1861.
In politics he is a Republican.
In religion, a Second Adventist. Wm.
H. Gonser was born in Knox County, Ohio, March 16, 1847.
His father, Henry Gonser, died when he was quite small, and his mother
married William Workman.
In 1856 the family came to Floyd County.
Wm. H. engaged in farming in Nora Springs till 1870, when he was engaged
as a clerk in the stores here, which continued till the spring of 1882, when he
went into business for himself in a grocery crockery, etc., store, and is having
a good trade.
He was married in 1876 to Sarah, daughter of Wm. F. Stewart of Nora
Springs. Mr.
Gonser is a member of the Masonic, I.O.O.F., and A.O.U.W. societies. David
Hardman (deceased) was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, May 24, 1817.
His parents moved to Wayne County, Ind., in 1818, and to St. Joseph
County, Ind., in 1832.
He was married March 29, 1840, to Melinda Roe, of Wayne County, Ind.
He went to Delaware County, Ia., in the fall of 1851, and came to this
county in April, 1853, where he entered 160 acres of land on sections 20 and 21,
Rock Grove Township, and was engaged in farming and stock-raising.
He was the father of twelve children, ten living - Israel A., Noah W.,
Francis J., Vina A., Henry F., David A., John W., Jennie M., Ida F., and George
R. Mr.
Hardman died April 17, 1882.
His son, George R., is carrying on the farm. Geo.
A. Heintzelman was born in Centre County, Pa., Jan. 23, 1836.
His father, George Heintzelman, was a native of Union County, Pa.;
his great-grandfather came from Holland about the same time as William
Penn. He
was reared on a farm, and his early education was comparatively limited.
He removed to Will County, Ill., in 1854, and in 1860 went to St.
Genevieve County, Mo.
June 16, 1861, while cutting wheat in the field, he was drafted into the
rebel army. He
made the officers believe it was all right, but asked permission to finish his
wheat, which was granted.
That night he signalled a boat and escaped, going to St. Louis;
he then bought a ticket for Red Wing, Minn., but was robbed on the wharf;
then stopped at Fulton, Ill., and worked in the harvest-field one month,
and enlisted in Company K, Eighth Illinois Cavalry;
was in the charge of Yorktown, Williamsburg, seven days' fight at
Richmond, second Bull Runn, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Chancellorsville, Upperville, Gettysburg, Falling Water, and others.
After the war he went to Plainfield, Ill., and in 1867 went to Newton,
Jasper County, Ia.;
thence to St. Genevieve County, Mo., in 1870, and in 1873 came to Nora
Springs, Rock Grove Township.
He is by trade a contractor and mason.
He was married May 18, 1866 to Cynthia Culver.
They had two children - Harley E. and Effie C.
Mrs. Heintzelman died in Marshfield, Mo., and in 1875 Mr. Heintzelman
married Sarah Lewis.
They have two children - Lulu and Willie.
He was a member of the I.O.O.F., K.P. (in Missouri), A.O.U.W., and the
Grand Army of the Republic. David
A. Hoel, farmer and stock-raiser, was born in Iroquois, Ill., Jan. 8,
1850. His
father, James Hoel, is a native of Indiana, who moved to Bremer County, Ia., in
1855, and to this county in 1868, and is still living in Rudd.
David A. received his education in the common-schools of Bremer and Floyd
counties. He
was married March 24, 1874, to Katie Howard, of Wisconsin.
They have had three children, two living - Sydney and Alfred.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoel are both members of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Rudd. He
is Superintendent of the Sunday-school.
He owns 80 acres of fine land. F.
M. Hubbard, of the firm of F. M. Hubbard & Son, was born in Indiana
in 1830. He
was the sixth child of Dr. John and Anna Hubbard, who were early pioneers from
Massachusetts and Vermont to Western New York, and from there to Indiana, thence
to Illinois in 1836, while Indians still occupied that country. Dr. John Hubbard
was a graduate of the Williams College, Mass, a son of Major John Hubbard, of
Revolutionary fame.
F. M. Hubbard spent his boyhood days in Cook County, Ill., until he was
twenty years old; then, in 1850 crossed the plains to California, where he
stayed until 1854, when he returned to Illinois, studied medicine, and graduated
in New York City in 1856.
In the same year he was married to Hattie E. Burbank, of Lancaster,
Mass., who was the daughter of Aaron and Chloe Burbank.
Aaron Burbank was a Baptist minister and graduate of Waterville College,
Me. F.M.
Hubbard engaged in the practice of medicine at Janesville, Wis., in 1856, but
soon abandoned that, and engaged in the patent right business, taking out five
patents for inventions while in the business at Ripon, Wis.
In 1869 he came to Nora Springs, and has since been engaged in various
occupations here, but mostly in the mercantile business.
They have four children living - Myra Alice, born in 1858;
George Melville, in 1860;
Charles Henry, in 1864;
Jason Coridon, in 1867; and two dead.
George M. is a member of the present firm of F. M. Hubbard & Son,
dealers in drugs, jewelry, groceries, music, etc.
Also publishers of the Advertiser, a little sheet issued weekly (first
number July 4, 1882), to represent the interests of Nora Springs and its
business men. Eli
M. Hutchinson, farmer and stock-raiser, northwest quarter of section 26,
was born in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., June 7, 1838.
His father, John B.
Hutchinson, was a native of the same county.
He was reared on a farm and was educated in the common schools.
He came to Cedar Rapids, Ia., in 1854, and to Mitchell county in 1855,
where he farmed near the Floyd County line till 1873.
He built a mill on Rock Creek in 1867.
He came to this township (Rock Grove Twp.) in 1873; owns 160 acres of
fine land, besides some timber.
He was married Dec. 31, 1866, to Mary C., daughter of Wm. G. Dudley
(deceased), a native of Edgar County, Ill.
They are the parents of six children, five living - Minet A., Mira A.,
Hattie M., Lissie M. and Floyd M.
He was Postmaster of Meroa Postoffice, Mitchell County, four years;
Township Clerk, three years; Assessor, one year; Township Treasurer, one year,
and has held other offices of trust in Mitchell County.
He is a Master Mason; is a member of Rock Creek Christian Church, of
which he is an elder.
He served one year and a half in Company K, Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry,
and eight months in Company K, Twelfth Iowa Infantry; was in the battles of Fort
DeRossa, Pleasant Hill, La., Old Oak and others; was ninety days under fire at
one time, one-third of his brigade being killed and wounded at Pleasant Hill. Luther
J. Keyes, of the publishing firm of Keyes and Blythe, editors of the
"Moniter", is a native of St. Lawrence County, N.Y., born April 17,
1839. His
father, Luther H. Keyes, was a native of Massachusetts, and a carpenter. Luther
J. learned his father's trade in his youth, and worked at it five years.
In 1854 he went to Laporte, Ia., thence to DeKalb County, Ill., in 1856;
two years afterward went to Beloit, Wis., and in 1859 to Laona, Ill.
He enlisted in 1861 in Company C, Fifty-fifth Volunteer Infantry, and
served four years and four months, participating in all the battles of his
regiment. He
entered the service as a private, and for meritorious conduct was promoted to
the rank of First Lieutenant.
Upon leaving the service he went to Waverly, Ia., and in 1875 left there
and located in Nashua, Ia., and in the fall of that year moved to Marble Rock.
In the fall of 1877 he came to Nora Springs, when he establised the
telephone system here; conducted it four and one-half years, and in January,
1882, became a partner in his present business as editor of the
"Monitor", an enterprising sheet devoted to interests of the order of
I.O.O.F. He
was married Dec. 25, 1865, to Esther A. Lancaster, of Winnebago County,
Illinois. John
A. Kidney (deceased) was born in Marcellus, Onondaga County, N.Y., Jan.
8, 1823, a son of Robert Kidney, a native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. who moved with
his family to Cattaraugus County, that State, settling upon a farm.
John A. was raised on a farm and educated at the Springville Academy.
He taught school and followed the insurance business in his native State
until the fall of 1850, when he came West, locating in Dodge County, Wis.
He engaged in teaching there, and was married March 21, 1854, at Lowell,
Wis., to Waity A. Sweet.
After his marriage he followed the mercantile business in Markesan, Wis.,
two years, thence to Winona County, Minn., in 1856, being among the earliest
settlers of that region, and suffering many of the privations and hardships
incident to pioneer life, engaging in farming there until 1865, when he came to
Nora Springs, and resided here until his death, one of her most prominent and
respected citizens.
He owned a fine farm near the town and much city property.
He was very conversant with law and practiced in the justice courts, and
was Justice of the Peace several years.
He was a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, and was always ready
with open purse to subscribe to church and school funds.
As a man of rare social qualities, superior mental endowments, he had few
superiors and in his death, which occurred April 9, 1880, Floyd County lost an
esteemed and honored citizen. Abiah
Knapp was born in Otsego County, N.Y., Feb. 9, 1803, and went with his
parents to Delaware County, N.Y., when quite young; remained there till 1816
when they moved to McKean County, Pa.
Abiah Knapp worked at the lumber business a number of years in
Pennsylvania, and in 1837 went to St. Clair County, Ill., where he worked at the
carpenter and joiner's trade; went to Rockford, Ill., in 1840, and remained till
1858, when he came to Floyd County, (Rock Grove Twp.) where he has since
resided. He
was married Feb 10, 1826, to Susan Mills.
They have had eleven children, seven of whom are living - Robert, Alex,
Jane, Aurilla, Ann, Miles and James.
One son, Albert, died at Murfreesboro in the late war.
Mrs. Knapp died Sept. 5, 1876.
April 12, 1877, Mr. Knapp married Mrs. Pamela Sells, nee Nickerson. James
A. Lathrop was born in Burlington, Vt., Sept. 30, 1828.
His father, John Lathrop, also a native of the "Green Mountain"
State, died when James A. was ten years old, and he went to live with an uncle,
in Middlebury, Vt.; remained there three years and then began to rely on his own
resources. His
early educational advantages were limited; he can truly be called a
self-educated and self-made man.
In 1850 he came West to Fond du Lac County, Wis., and worked a short time
as a carpenter and joiner; then worked in different parts of the State as a
millright, till 1855, when he bought land in Waupaca County, Wis., and located
on it, and erected a saw mill; two years later he built a grist-mill in
partnership with Daniel Barnum.
In 1859 he bought out Mr. Barnum and sold one-fourth interest to his
brother-in-law, William West.
They carried on the business together for two years when Mr. Lathrop sold
out and came to Rock Grove, where he owns a fine farm of 130 acres on section
21. Mr.
Lathrop was married in June, 1855 to Rebecca Atkinson.
They had one son - William.
In 1865 Mrs. Lathrop died, and in 1868 Mr. Lathrop married Jennie Capen.
They have three children - Emma, Charles and Lena.
He is a member of the Baptist church; is also a member of the I.O.O.F. John
C. Lindsay, farmer, section 25, was born near Darlington, Canada West,
Aug. 3, 1849.
His parents moved to DeKalb County, Ill., when he was quite small.
He was educated there in the common schools, his home being on a farm.
He came to Floyd County, Ia., (Rock Grove Twp.) in 1865.
Jan. 12. 1876, he was married to Ann E. Archard.
They have two children - Maud and Mary.
He was Constable two years in Mitchell County, Ia. James
Marshall, farmer and stock-raiser, Rock Grove Township, was born in
Canada East (or Quebec), Nov 13, 1843.
His father, George Marshall, was a native of Yorkshire, England.
James Marshall's early life was spent on a farm, his education being
received in the common schools.
He went to New York State in 1863, from there to DeKalb County, Ill., in
1864, to Black Hawk County, Ia., in 1865, and to this county in 1874, where he
settled on section 20, this township, (Rock Grove) and owns 160 acres of fine
land. He
was married in October 1873, to Josephine Forbes.
They have three children - Mary, William and Belle.
He is a member of the I.O.O.F. William
Mathers, postoffice Nora Springs, was born in Quebec, Canada, Dec 22,
1823. He
is a son of Wolsey and Mary (Irwin) Mathers, of the North of Ireland.
They came to this country in 1820.
William grew to manhood in Quebec. He
was left an orphan at the age of eight years, and thrown on his own resources
for a livelihood.
He learned the trade of harness-maker at the age of ten.
He went to Massachusetts in 1845, and from Martha's Vineyard on a whaling
voyage, one year; was on the Brazilian man-of-war "Constitution" one
year and on two or three other vessels one year.
In 1846, while out on the ocean he saw a school of sharks under the peak
of Tennerief.
On the passage from Rio Janiero to England he saw a man fall from the
mizzen top-sail-yard and killed.
He saw the Spaniards and Portuguese celebrate "Neptune shaving
Greenhorns."
They form a police, who seize inexperienced men and go through a farcical
shaving, immersing the head of the victim in salt water.
They pretend that Neptune comes up the side of the boat out of the sea,
and does the shaving with a huge razor of hoop-iron.
He fell over-board once.
He leaned the Spanish and Portuguese languages, and was employed as
interpreter. In
1847 he was on the police force in Liverpool seven or eight months.
From there he went to New Orleans and worked at his trade, for the
Government contractors.
In 1865 he came to this county and farmed for a while, then worked at his
trade which he is still doing in Nora Springs.
He was married in Chicago in 1850 to Eliza Slee.
They had had twelve children, nine living, seven boys and two girls.
From 1853 to 1865 he lived in Boone County, Ill.
E.
W. McNitt was born Sept. 11, 1831, near Rochester, N.Y., son of John and
Julia (Chamberlain) McNitt.
He received his education at Beaver Dam, Wis., where his parents located
when he was very young.
In 1857 he engaged in a mercantile business in Otsego, Wis., which he
continued in that place and Beaver Dam until his removal to Floyd County in
1869. He
settled at Nora Springs, and engaged in the hardware business.
He was elected to the Wisconsin Legislature, serving one term, and also
held the office of Mayor of Nora Springs, and at the time of his death, which
occurred Oct. 23, 1874, was a member of the Board of Supervisors of Floyd
County. He
was married Jan. 1, 1856, to Miss Rhoda Boutwell, of New York State.
They had four children - Clarence J., Anna B., Harrie L. and Allen R.
Mr. McNitt was a man of more than ordinary acquirements, and was held in
high esteem by a large circle of friends.
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. Elder
Daniel B. Mead is a native of Cayuga County, N.Y., born in the town of
Mentz, Sept. 14, 1817, a son of William Mead, who was born near Newark, N.J.
He was reared on a farm, and educated in Wadsworth Academy and Granville
College, O., having moved to that State in 1833.
He became a member of the Baptist church at the age of eighteen, and five
years later commenced preaching in that faith.
In 1845 he was given charge of a church in Berrien County, Mich., where
he remained until 1854, then settled in Nora Springs, Floyd County, IA, where he
has since resided, one of the most honored and esteemed citizens of the town.
He was united in marriage with Abigail W. Ward on May 4, 1837.
Of six children born to this union, five are living --Giles W., Emma M.,
Eliza, Laura A. and William W.
His wife died March 11, 1876, and Oct. 1, 1877, he married Mrs. Lucy J.
(nee Judson) Allen, widow of the late C.M. Allen.
Mr. Mead held the office of Justice of the Peace two years, and served as
County School Superintendent a short time.
He performed the ceremony for the first couple married in this county,
the contracting parties being John Henry and Julia A. Workman. Charles
W. Morris, farmer and stock-raiser, section 30, Rock Grove Township, was
born in Montgomery County, Ky., Feb 11, 1844.
His father, Wm. Henry Morris, was also a native of the same county. He
received a common-school education; moved with his parents to Putnam County,
Ind., in 1854. He farmed summers and worked at the shoemaker's trade winters for
several years.
He came to Iowa in 1873, and settled in Cerro Gordo County, and in 1874
came to Floyd County and settled in this township, (Rock Grove) where he still
resides. He
owns 160 acres in this township, forty acres in Cerro Gordo County and 100 acres
in Mitchell County.
He was married in 1863, to Nancy M., daughter of Joseph T. Eggers of
Indiana. They
have two children, Mary F., and Mahala D. Halvor
Nelson, proprietor of the Upper Ten Roller Mills, formerly Upper Ten
Merchant Mills, Nora Springs, was born in Norway and came to America, to Rock
County, Wis. in 1845, and from there to Clayton County, Ia., in 1848.
He has seven children - Nelson H., Peter, Henry, Anna, Barbara, Peer and
Isabella C. His
mill is a stone structure four and a half stories high, with a frame elevator
and feed mill.
Uses patent roller system and makes first-class flour, doing both
merchant and custom milling.
Has nine pair of rolls, two pair of middling stones, and two for corn and
feed; has a capacity of 125 barrels daily. Myron
H. Nickerson, section 20; post office, Nora Springs, was born in
Chenango County, N.Y., March 28, 1831.
He is a son of Edgar M. Nickerson, a native of New York, but now a
resident of Humboldt County, Ia.
Mr. Nickerson went to Linn County, Ia., in 1851, from there to Jones
County in 1855, and to this county in 1865.
He was married in December 1853, to Louisa, a daughter of James Snow.
They have had four children, three living - Arvine, Sarah and Ina.
He has held the offices of County Supervisor and Assessor the past eight
years. Is a member of the A.O.U.W. Harrison
Pierce, section 6, Rock Grove Township, was born in Wayne County, N.Y.,
Sept. 1, 1834.
His father, John Pierce, was a native of Hampshire, England.
Harrison Pierce was educated in the common schools of his native State
till 1844, when he came West, to Kenosha County, Wis. and in 1854 came to Floyd
County. He
enlisted in the late war in the Third Iowa Battery, light artillery, and served
about 4 years;
was in the battles of Pea Ridge, Helena, etc. He owns
236 acres of fine land, and is both farming and stock raising.
He married in April 1876, Mrs. Laura A. Wright, nee Fish, and has one
child - Annie M.
Mrs. Pierce had one son - Afton L. Wright.
Mr. Pierce is a member of the A.O.U.W. Rev.
Edward G. F. Pribbenow, was born in Prussia, Germany April 8, 1839,
where he remained till 1853, when he came to America and to Milwaukee, Wis.; he
moved to near Madison, Wis., in 1854, and to Mitchell County, Ia., in the spring
of 1869. He
came to Floyd County (Rock Grove Twp.) in the fall of 1873, and settled on his
present farm when it was wild land.
He owns 236 acres of fine land, and is both farming and stock-raising.
He was married Jan. 7, 1862, to Mary G. Rinder.
They have twelve children - Ferdinand, Amanda, Richard, Julius, Alvina,
William, Lydia, Albert, Emeline, John, Adda and Nora.
His is a member of the German Methodist Church. Lewis
D. Powers, one of the prominent citizens of Nora Springs, was born in
Geneva Township, Walworth County, Wis., on March 20, 1837, a son of James B.
Powers, a native of Maine.
He was reared on a farm, and his educational privileges were those of the
common schools.
He came to Floyd County with his parents in 1856, settling on a farm.
He enlisted in 1861 in Company I, Third Iowa Infantry, and served three
years, participating in many a hard fought battle, among them those of Shiloh,
Mattamora, and the siege of Vicksburg.
Upon returning to Nora Springs he engaged in general trading, and now
does a general mercantile business, carrying a full line of goods.
He was married Sept. 16, 1865, to Sophronia C. Daniels.
They have one child - Alice E.
Mr. Powers has been elected to the offices ot Township Clerk, Township
Trustee, member of the School Board, and is at present Constable.
He has ever been an able and efficient officer, discharging his duties
with credit to himself and the satisfaction of his constituents. Josiah
G. Quinby, farmer and stock-raiser, section 12, Rock Grove Township, a
son of James Quinby, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in Stark County, Ohio,
July 20, 1836.
They went to Jasper County, Ind., in 1845, and in the fall of 1855 Mr.
Quinby came to this county, and settled in Ulster Township.
He owns 441 acres of fine land, 160 acres of it in Cerro Gordo County, Ia.
He was married in August, 1857, to Edith Kanouse,
a daughter of John H. Kanouse, now of Kansas.
They have seven children - James, John, Charles, Eda, Nellie, Elmer and
Hattie. Mr.
Quinby was Township Trustee several terms. Murray
Roberts, farmer and stock-raiser, section 12, Rock Grove Township, was
born in Winnebago County, Ill., June 3, 1853.
He is a son of William W. Roberts, of Pennsylvania.
He came to this county with his parents in 1857, where his father died in
1871. He
received his education in Rock Grove Township.
He was married in December, 1879, to Eda A. Dean.
They have one child - William M.
He is a member of the Sons of Temperance; owns 120 acres of fine land. William
W. Roberts (deceased) was born in Sussquehanna County, Pa., Jan. 12,
1823. He
was a son of Daniel and a grandson of Jacob Roberts, who was six years of age at
the time of the Wyoming massacre, but he and his parents escaped just before and
went to Luzerne, Pa.
William W. went to Winnebago County, Ill., in 1850, and to this county
(Rock Grove Twp.) in 1857, where he died March 16, 1872.
He was married Oct. 5, 1847, to Fanny Roberts, also a grandchild of Jacob
Roberts. They
were the parents of ten children, seven living, Zina, Murray, Clara, Julia,
Edwin, Ira and Wilson.
One son died March 22, 1872, at the age of seventeen. Zina
Roberts, eldest child of William W. Roberts, was born in Susquehanna
County Pa., Dec.. 27, 1848, and moved with parents to Winnebago County, Ill., in
1850, and to this county in 1857.
He has taught school eight winters, but is at present engaged in farming
and stock-raising.
He owns 120 acres on section 22, Rock Grove Township. William
G. Robison, farmer and stock-raiser, born in Knox County, Ohio, March
31, 1828, is a son of Isaac Robison of the same State.
He was educated in the common and subscription schools of an early day.
He came to Warren County, Iowa, in 1864, and to this county (Rock Grove
Twp.) in 1868. He now owns 159 acres of fine land. He was married October 20,
1859, to Mary M. Gonser.
They have ten children - Emma A., Ida J., Ella L., Tena M., Mary E.,
Martha M., Mabel B., George W., Eddie and Burnett.
He is a member of the German Baptist church at Rudd. Harry
B. Shaw, a native of Licking County, Ohio, was born Sept. 19, 1838.
He remained there and in Delaware County until 1852 when he came overland
to Iowa, settling in Black Hawk County, where he engaged in farming until 1861.
Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion, he was one of the first to offer
himself on the altar of his country's honor.
He became a member of Company I, of the Third Iowa Infantry, commanded by
Colonel, now General, M. M. Trumbull, and was in many a hard-fought battle.
At the battle of Hatchie River he was severely wounded and made a cripple
for life, receiving a cannister shot through the left breast, just above the
heart. He
now carries a withered hand as an evidence of the part he performed in that
memorable conflict.
Recovering partially from the wounds, he again re-enlisted in the Veteran
Reserve Corps, and remained in the service until May, 1865, when he was
honorably discharged, having been in the service three and a half years.
In February, 1870, he located in Nora Springs, where he engaged as clerk,
and traveling, until 1875, and since that time has been manager of the Spencer
House, and conductss a real estate and insurance business.
He was married in 1870, to Emma G. S. Spencer, an estimable woman, and a
daughter of the late W.G. Spencer, formerly the proprietor of the Spencer House.
Four children have blessed this union, viz:
Willie (deceased), Robert (deceased), Lelia E.S. and Bessie M.
Mr. Shaw
is a quiet, agreeable man, and possessed of much more than ordinary
acquirements.
He is a prominent member of the I.O.O.F.,
A.O.U.W. and I.O.G.T. fraternities, and politically he favors the
Republican party.
In religious faith he is a Congregationalist. William
G. Spencer (deceased) was born in Westmoreland, N.Y., on June 3, 1813, a
son of A. Spencer.
He left his native town in 1834 and came West, locating in Chicago,
Illinois, thence in 1836 to Ogle County, that State.
He was married there in 1839 to Elizabeth A. Marshall, and in the same
year moved to Rockford, Illinois, and, after residing in various localities, he
settled in Nora Springs in 1869.
He embarked in the furniture business here continuing two years, and at
that time built the Spencer House, which he owned and conducted until his death,
which occurred June 16, 1881, and sorrow fell upon many hearts when to the list
of the dead was added the name of this honest and upright man.
Mr. and Mrs. Spencer had a family of five children, two living - Clara A.
and Emma G. One
son, George M., aged twenty -seven years, was killed at Menomonee, Wis., by
flying timber while driving piles. Wm.
F. Stewart, born in Delaware County, N.Y., June 2, 1830, was a son of
Alex. Stewart of the same county.
He went with his parents to Wyoming County, N.Y., in 1836, and to
Rockford, Illinois, in 1844.
In 1873 he came to Nora Springs, where he sold goods, which has been his
occupation since a boy.
He was married in the fall of 1852 to Amanda A. Williams and they have
had six children; four are living - William, James, Sarah and Frank.
Mrs. Stewart died July 13, 1882. Augustus
Stone, of the firm of Burgess & Stone, merchants, Nora Springs, was
born in Ottawa, Canada, Dec. 16, 1823.
His parents were Augustus Stone, Sr., a native of Connecticut, and
Triphosa, nee Cutter, of Vermont.
He was reared on a farm and educated in the schools of Canada, where he
resided until 1844, then moved to Winnebago County, Illinois.
He remained there until 1856, when he removed to Winnebago County, Wis.;
thence to Nebraska in 1872.
In 1873 he came to Nora Springs, Iowa, where he has since resided and has
won the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens.
He is a good salesman, an honest man, active and accurate in his
business. He
was married March 28, 1850, to Miss Emily J. Wheeler, a native of Massachusetts.
He is a prominent member of the Baptist church. J.
Edwin Sullivan, farmer and stock-raiser, section 8, Rock Grove Township,
was born near Niles, St. Joseph County, Michigan, July 31, 1844.
His father was Thomas Sullivan, a native of Kentucky.
J. Edwin came with his parents to Iowa in 1849, and to this county in
1854. He
was educated in the schools of Nora Springs; was married Dec. 18, 1873, to
Electa G. Montgomery.
They have three children - Myrtie M., Charles LeRoy, and William A.
He owns 100 acres of fine land.
Is a member of the I.O.O.F. L.
D. Sweet, section 31, Rock Grove Township, was born November 15, 1831,
in Upper Canada.
His father, John F. Sweet, a native of New York State, came West to Dane
County, Wisconsin, in 1839, and to Dodge County Wis., in 1846.
He was a mechanic, but lived on a farm, at which L. D. Sweet has always
worked. He
went to California in 1850, and returned in the fall of 1862 to Lowell, Wis.
He came to Floyd County, Iowa, in the fall of 1865, and settled on the
farm where he still resides.
He now owns 490 acres.
He was married May, 1864, to Agnes H. Dogan.
They have three children - Lizzie E., Taylor E. and John F.
He is a member of the Baptist church, and is a Master Mason.
He has held several township offices. Andrew
B. Tredway, banker and grain merchant, Nora Springs, was born in
Richfield, Lucas County, Ohio, Mar. 1, 1843, a son of Stutley Tredway, a native
of Allegany County, N.Y.
His father was a lumber merchant, and he engaged in that business with
him in Wisconsin, where the family had moved when he was but three months old,
until 1858,
and in 1860 entered the employ of a grain firm in Lowell, Wis., with whom he
remained four years.
He served as Orderly Sergeant in Company C, Fifty-first Wisconsin
Volunteers, from 1864 to
1865, and at the close of the war went to North McGregor, Iowa, where he
engaged as general manager and salesman of Seley & Shaw's wholesale lumber
yard until 1869.
Then purchased a yard at Pottsville, Iowa, which he conducted till the
fall of 1871.
He came to Nora Springs in September of that year, embarking in the grain
business here, and in 1877 built an elevator and feed mill, with a storage
capacity of 15,000 bushels.
In 1879 he added a banking business, which he has successfully operated
since. He
was married Jan. 1, 1868, to Josephine M. Sweet of Lowell, Wisconsin.
Of four children born unto them two are living - Stutley W. and Everett
M. Mr.
Tredway is serving his second term as Justice of the Peace of Nora Springs, and
was Mayor one year.
He is an enterprising business man, and a prominent citizen of Floyd
County. Daniel
A. Wheeler, one of the prominent citizens of Nora Springs, was a son of
Daniel Wheeler, Sr., a native of Massachusetts, who moved to New York state
about 1835, and to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1844.
Daniel A. was born in Chenango County, N.Y., February 16, 1840, and was
reared and educated in Sheboygan.
In 1860 he accepted a clerkship in a law office at Council Bluffs,
remaining there two years, and in 1862 he went to Central City, Colorado, where
he engaged in mining six years.
He returned to Wisconsin in 1868 and embarked in the grocery business at
Omro, continuing until 1872, and in that year he located in Nora Springs.
He has been engaged in the lumber business since coming here, and has
built up an extensive and lucrative trade.
He is a popular merchant, and is know throughout
the county as a man of irreproachable business integrity.
He was married in 1871 to Josephine Packard, an estimable lady of
superior social and mental qualities.
They have had four children - Mary, Frank, Hattie, and Josephine.
Mr. Wheeler served acceptably in the chair of the Mayoralty and has held
other local offices. John
W. Whitesell was born near St. Thomas, Canada, August 23, 1849.
His father, Daniel Whitesell, came to this place in 1852, being the first
settler. He
carried a bushel of corn meal on foot from Cedar Falls.
His father, Aaron Whitesell, was a native of Germany.
Daniel Whitesell is now living in Brookins County, Dakota Territory.
The first school John W. attended was taught by Hon. W..P. Gaylord, in an
old log house.
Their family lived in a house with no floor for nearly two years; the
roof was made of shakes, and not a nail used in the contruction of the house.
They pounded corn with an iron wedge.
When they came here they had no money and were $5 in debt.
Buffalo and deer roamed over the prairies.
He now owns 305 acres of fine land on section 20, and is engaged in
farming and stock-raising.
He was married Sept. 4, 1879, to Flora A., daughter of Silas Walker, now
of Verndale, Minnesota. William
Workman, born near Cumberland, Maryland, April 15, 1811, is a son of
Stephen Workman, who moved to Knox County, Ohio in 1815, and died there, aged
101 years. Mr.
Workman came to Rock Grove in 1854, and purchased the place where he now
resides, on section 8, of Anthony Overacker.
He was first married to Mary Baker and had seven children, six living -
Andrew J., Philip, Julia Ann (now Mrs. John Henry), Martha (now Mrs. Alex.
Hemphill), Sarah (now Mrs. Alfred Drury), and Catharine (now Mrs. Joseph Shork).
Mrs. Workman died in Ohio in 1854.
In 1856 Mr. Workman went back to Ohio and Nov. 23 he changed the name of
Mrs. Gonser to Mrs. Workman.
Mrs. Gonser had eight children, five living - Lucinda, Mary M., Matilda,
William H. and Mahala.
One daughter, Eliza, died at the age of nineteen.
In politics Mr. Workman is a Democrat.
In religion he is a German Baptist, being the head and front of that
church in this region. James
Wyatt, section 31, Rock Grove Township, born in February 1824, in
Summersetshire, England, was a son of John Wyatt, a native of the same place.
James Wyatt was educated in England, and came to the United States in
1849, going to Kenosha County, Wisconsin, and working on a farm until 1856, when
he came to Floyd County and settled on the farm where he still resides, which
was at that time wild land, and which he has brought under a fine state of
cultivation. He was married Oct. 17, 1852, to Elizabeth Price (Pierce?), a
native of Dorsetshire, England.
They had nine children;
eight are living - Charles B., Judson L., Josephine, James W., John B.,
Harry, Dora and Estella.
Mrs. Wyatt died in January 1875, and May 15, 1877, he married Mrs. L.
Hammer. She
has one daughter - Blanche Hammer.
Mr. Wyatt owns 187 acres of land.
He has been Road Supervisor for the past five years. |