Hon. Silas M. Weaver, pp. 385-387, 184-185

In the largest and best sense of the term, Hon. Silas M. Weaver, of Iowa Falls, Hardin county, judge of the supreme court of Iowa, is distinctively one of the notable men of his day and generation, and as such is entitle to a conspicuous place in the annals of his city, county and state. As a citizen he is public-spirited and enterprising, as a friend and neighbor he combines the qualities of head and heart that win confidence and command respect and as a lawyer and jurist, who has a comprehensive grasp upon the philosophy of jurisprudence, and who has brought honor and dignity to the position he fills with such distinguished success, he is easily the peer of his professional brethern of the Iowa bar. It is scarcely less than supererogation in outlining the leading facts in his life to refer to him as an attorney in the ordinary phraseology which meets requirements when dealing with the average member of the legal profession. He has indeed been much more than eminently successful in his legal career, as those at all familiar with his long, praiseworthy career at the bar and his honorable course on the bench, will readily concede. He is the master of his profession, a leader among men distinguished for the high order of their legal ability, and his lofty attainments and ripe judgment have rendered him an authority on all matters involving a profound knowledge of jurisprudence and vexed and intricate questions growing out of its intrepretation.

Judge Weaver is a scion of a sterling old family of the Empire state and his birth occurred in Chautauqua county, New York, December 18, 1843. He is the son of Caleb and Matilda (Matteson) Weaver. The paternal grandfather was also named Caleb an he was in the New York militia during the war of 1812.

Judge Weaver's boyhood was spent on a farm in his native county, where he laid up a splended reserve force of potential energy by outdoor life in the fields during the crop seasons, attending the common schools during the winter months, later taking a course at Fredonia Academy. While a mere boy he conceived a strong liking for the law and the few hours he could save from his labors and regular school work were devoted to a careful reading of Blackstone, the early hours of the morning not infrequently finding him poring over the pages of his much prized volume, and in due time he obtained a sound, practical knowledge of the principles of law, which, with his recognized judgment, sound common sense and eminent fairness, gave promise of his later achievements in his chosen profession. Later he was enabled to devote himself exclusively to the study of law at Fredonia, New York, and on May 4, 1868, he was admitted to the bar at Buffalo. Believing that the new country of Iowa offered peculiar advantages at that time, he came to Iowa Falls, where he located for the practice of his profession in August, 1868, and this has since remained his home. He was successful from the first and soon enjoyed a large and ever-growing clientele, in due course of time taking rank with the leading lawyers of a locality widely noted for the high order of its legal profession.

Politically, he is a Republican and has ever been loyal to its principles and party leaders began to be attracted to him in early life and he has been called upon to fill many positons of public trust. From about 1873 to 1876 he was mayor of Iowa Falls, and in 1883 he was elected to the state Legislature, serving two terms in the twentieth and twenty-first General Assemblies, in 1884 and 1886, in which he made his influence felt for the good of his constituents. In the fall of 1886 he was elected judge of the district court, and his record was so satisfactory that he was re-elected in 1890, for a third term in 1894 and a fourth term in 1898. In this capacity he attracted attention far beyond the bounds of his jurisdiction and in the election of 1902 he was elected to the supreme bench and re-elected in 1908 and he is still an incumbent of this important office. During his long career on the bench Weaver has ever discharged his official functions in an able and satisfactory manner and won recognition among the learned and distinguished jursts of the state. As a judge he brought to the bench a mind enriched by years of close study and profound research, which eminently qualified him for the duties of the position, and among lawyers and litigants as well as the public at large he is held in high esteem. By his courage and energy he climbed steadily and persistently and stood firmly upon each rung of the ladder until he could reach the next above and plant himself firmly thereon. Whatever of success he has achieved during his long and strenuous career has been due to careful preparation, a high sense of justice, candor as a counselor, a religious regard for the truth and courteous demeanor and gentlemanly conduct in all relations with his fellow men.

The domestic life of Judge Weaver began on October 9, 1867, when he was united in marriage with Eldora Lewis, of Fredonia, New York, whose untimely death occurred in 1872, leaving a son, Clinton L., who followed her to the mystic country when eleven years of age; also a daughter, now Mrs. Jennie Miller, who resides at Champaign, Illinois. Judge Weaver was again married on September 17, 1874, to Sarah C. Lucas, of Albion, Iowa, and four children of this union are now living, namely: Walter L., George E., Helen M., all of Iowa Falls, and Ben C., of Champaign, Illinois.

Cornell College conferred the degree of Doctor of Laws upon Judge Weaver in 1908, and in that year he was a delegate to the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church at Baltimore, Maryland. He and his wife are active members of the church of this denomination at Iowa Falls, and he has been a trustee in the same many years. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic lodge at Iowa Falls, also the Knights Templar commandery at his home town and the Royal Arch chapter at Eldora.

As a practitioner or on the bench no charge or suspicion of any wrongdoing has ever tarnished the Judge's name or marred his official record, his personal honor having never been compromised and his private life always pure and free from fault. His friendships are warm, steadfast and his sterling worth renders him a power for good among all with whom he comes into contact.

Samuel H. Welden

The gentleman to a brief review of whose life and characteristics the reader's attention is herewith directed is among the foremost business men of Iowa Falls and has by his enterprise and progressive methods contributed in a material way to the industrial and commercial advancement of Hardin county. He has, in the course of a business career been most successful in the enterprise of which he is the head, and is well deserving of mention in the biographical memoirs of this locality.

Samuel H. Welden, proprietor of the Northwestern Bottling Works, was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, March 27, 1857, and he is the son of Levi and Julia (Payne) Welden, the father born in the state of New York, near the Canadian border, and the mother's birth occurred in that state, along Lake Champlain.

When the son, Samuel H., was eight years old the family came to Iowa Falls, and this has been their home since 1865. They have lived to see and take a conspicuous part in the wonderful development of this favored section of the Hawkeye state since then and no family in Hardin county is better or more favorably known.

After finishing school the subject began life as clerk in the store owned by his father and brother, William, their store being one of the leading groceries of the county for some time and enjoyed a very liberal trade. The brother became postmaster at Iowa Falls and held the office in a most satisfactory manner. In 1893 Samuel H. Welden bought a partnership in the bottling business here with A. Long, a manufacturer and bottler of soft drinks. He purchased the interest of Mr. Long upon the latter's death and has managed the business alone ever since under the name of the Northwestern Bottling Works. He has built up an extensive and ever-growing business, and owing to the superior quality of his products they are eagerly sought after, finding a very ready market, in fact, the establishment is often hard pressed to keep abreast of the ever-increasing influx orders. His plant is well equipped in every respect with modern appliances for sanitary and rapid work and only experienced and capable help is employed. The products of this popular plant are shipped to many counties in Iowa and new territory is constantly, being invaded.

Mr. Welden was married in 1880 to Mary A. Ely, daughter of James and Sarah ( Downey ) Ely. She was born in the state of New York. Her father was born in England and her mother in Ireland; the latter came to America with her parents and about 1878 they located in Iowa Falls, Iowa.

Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Welden, five sons and two daughters, namely: William E., who is now postmaster at Iowa Falls; Frank H. is living at Council Bluffs and is engaged in the automobile business; Ernest, who was graduated from the State Agricultural College at Ames in 1911, is now located at Buffalo Center, Iowa; Fred was graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1911, and is now in the United States navy; Louis is attending high school at Iowa Falls; Isadore is teaching school in Hardin county; Doris is attending school in Iowa Falls.

William Ely Welden, pp. 415-416

It cannot be other than interesting to note in the series of personal sketches appearing in this work the varying conditions that have compassed those whose careers are outlined, and the effort has been made in each case to throw well focused light onto the individual and to bring into proper perspective the scheme of each respective careeer.  Each man who strives to fulfill his part in connection with human life and human activities is deserving of recognition, whatever may be his field of endeavor, and it is the function of works of this nature to perpetuate for future generations an authentic record concerning those represented in its pages, and the value of such publications is certain to be cumulative for all time to come, showing forth the individual and specific accomplishments of which generic history is ever engendered.   One of Hardin county's deserving young men is the able yet unassuming postmaster at Iowa Falls.  William Ely Welden, whose birth occurred in this city on July 3, 1883.   He is the son of S. H. and Mary (Ely) Welden, one of the highly respected early families of this locality.

The subject grew to maturity at Iowa Falls and attended school here, passing through the public schools and then took a course at Ellsworth College.  In 1902 he became a clerk in the postoffice at Iowa Falls, in which position he remained until February 22, 1911, when he was appointed postmaster of the local office, which position he now holds, the duties of which he is well qualified to discharge owing to his long service in the office as clerk.

Mr. Welden's parents came here about the close of the Civil war, the father of the subject having been brought by his parents from Wisconsin, and here S. H. Welden has remained ever since, being now engaged in the bottling business.   Fraternally, William E. Welden is a member of the Knights of Pythias.

On August 5, 1907, occurred the marriage of Mr. Welden and Beth Wilkinson, the daughter of D. K. and Elizabeth Wilkinson.  Her parents came to Hardin county from Vermont in an early day, locating six miles east of Iowa Falls among the first settlers and there they became well established.  The union of Mr. and Mrs. Welden has been blessed by the birth of two children, Richard and Robert.

Sidney S. Westgate, pp. 856-859

The Westgate family is an old and eminently honorable one and for many years it was identified with the development of various parts of New York, Chenango county especially, of which his parents, Paul and Hannah (Collins) Westgate, were natives and well known residents. In 1852 Paul Westgate moved his family to Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he lived for three years, at the expiration of which time he came to Hardin county, Iowa, whither his wife's uncle, Joshua Collins, had preceded him in the spring of 1856. In the fall of that year, Mr. Westgate located at Iowa Falls, and about a year later purchased forty acres of timber land two miles northwest of the town, which formed the nucleus of the farm which he afterwards developed and improved and on which he spent the remainder of his days. A few years after making his first purchase he bought two additional forty-acre tracts adjoining the original homestead and in due time brought his place to a good state of cultivation and became one of the leading farmers of the township in which he resided.

Paul Westgate was a man of sound, practical intelligence and took an active part in promoting the material prosperity of his community. He was a pronounced Democrat until James K. Polk ran for the Presidency, when he became dissatisfied with certain policies advocated by his party and joined with the opposition. Mrs. Westgate was a birthright member of the Society of Friends.

Paul Westgate was born October 24. 1818, and departed this life July 22, 1904, in his eighty-sixth year. Hannah Collins Westgate was born April 15, 1819, and died October 22, 1896. Three children constituted the family of this excellent couple, the oldest of whom being Sydney S., the subject of this review. Henry L., the second in order of birth, lives on the home farm, and Mary, the youngest of the number, for over twenty years one of the most efficient and popular teachers of Franklin and Hardin counties, married Isham Lane, and is now living at Van Wert, this state.

Sydney S. Westgate was born December 5, 1844, in Chenango county, New York, and when about eight years of age accompanied his parents to Michigan where he spent the ensuing three years on a farm. In 1856 he removed with the family to Hardin county, Iowa, and during the next four years devoted his energies to farm labor, attending the district schools at intervals in the meantime. At the breaking out of the great war between the Northern and Southern states, young Westgate became so enthused with patriotic fervor that he tendered his services to his country, having been among the first young men of Hardin county to respond to the call of the President for volunteers. On August 9, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Second Iowa Cavalry, which was made up mostly of recruits from Webster City, although about a dozen went from Iowa Falls. The regiment saw much active service in Mississippi, Tennessee and other states, guarding railways and doing scout duty during the earlier part of the war, or until the Atlanta campaign, when it was sent back to Nashville to augment the force gathered at that city to intercept the Confederate advance northward. Mr. Westgate was with command in the bloody battles of Nashville and Franklin, and to the Second Iowa belongs the honor of being the first cavalry regiment to capture a fort, which feat was accomplished at the former city in the thickest and most obstinate part of the battle. By reason of disability he was afterwards detailed as a teamster, in which capacity he continued until his discharge after three years and two months of faithful and arduous service.

Returning to Hardin county at the close of the war, Mr. Westgate resumed the pursuit of agriculture and not long after his arrival he was united in marriage with Lydia Ellen Mendenhall, daughter of Johnson and Lucinda (Jones) Mendenhall, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, the ceremony having been solemnized in March, 1865. The parents of Mrs. Westgate moved to Indiana in an early day and from that state to Illinois in 1849. Later, about 1855, they moved to Hardin county, Iowa, and located on Elk river, near Iowa Falls, the farm on which they lived being contiguous to the present corporate limits of the city. A number of years later Mr. Mendenhall sold his farm and moved to Guthrie county, Iowa, where his death subsequently occurred, Mrs. Westgate being the only representative of her family in Hardin county at the present time.

During the eleven years following his marriage, Mr. Westgate traveled quite extensively throughout Nebraska and other western states, visiting many points of interest with the object in view of finding a location suitable to his tastes. In 1876 he purchased the farm in Hardin township on which he has since lived and prospered, and which under his effective labors and judicious management is today one of the finest estates and among the most beautiful and desirable places of residence in that part of the county. In connection with agriculture, which he carries on quite extensively, he devotes considerable attention to live stock, especially cattle and hogs, which he breeds and raises in large numbers and for which he always received the highest market prices. In the year 1904 Mr. Westgate went to New Mexico and took a soldier's homestead, selecting a site in a beautiful and fertile valley on which he was able to prove up within three years and which will doubtless become quite valuable in the no distant future.

Mr. Westgate cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, since which time he has been an uncompromising Republican and a factor of no little importance and influence to his party in his township and county. He is a member of the Charles Payne Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and the present commander of the same, in which office he is now serving his third term. He is quite prominent in Grand Army circles and has represented the post to which he belongs in national encampments at St. Paul and Minneapolis, besides taking a prominent part in the organization in various other capacities.

Mr. and Mrs. Westgate have four children whose names are as follows: John, a farmer living near Tracy, Minnesota; Alonzo, who lives with his parents and manages the homestead; Lucinda, a former teacher of Hardin county, but now the wife of Eugene Morris, of Guthrie county, this state; and Effie Ann, who married H. E. Ridge, a successful farmer and public spirited citizen of Hardin county.

Thomas W. Whaley, pp. 566-568

One of the conspicuous names on the list of Hardin county agriculturists is Thomas W. Whaley, proprietor of the "Sunset Park Farm," in Ellis township, a gentleman of high standing to whom has not been denied a full measure of success.  Long recognized as a factor of importance in connection with the farming and stock raising industries here, he has been prominentlu identified with the material growth and prosperity of this part of the state, the latter part of his life having been closely interwoven with the history of the county where he has been content to live and follow his chosen vocation for over a quarter of a century.

Mr. Whaley was born at Council Hill, Jo Daviess county, Illinois, June 12, 1860.  He is the son of Jacob and Agnes (Brown) Whaley, the father born on June 23, 1824, at New Milford, Connecticut, the mother a native of Council Hill, Illinois.  Jacob Whaley left the East when a young man and went to Chicago before any railroad reached that city.  He later went to Galena, Illinois, where he farmed, then, the Mexican war coming on, he went to the front, enlisting from Galena.  He also served three years and eight months in the Civil war, being a cavalryman.  After the war he returned to Galena, Illinois.  He had forty acres there.  In 1865 he went to Nebraska, where he remained a short time along the Platte river, then came to Hardin county, Iowa, and settled in Ellis township, on July 17, 1866, buying a farm here on which he lived seventeen years.  He then lived with his son Thomas fifteen years, dying on May 9, 1898, his wife having preceded him to the grave many years, sying in 1869.   Their only child to reach maturity was Thomas W., of this review.  When a boy he went to live with Peter Lemon in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, and remained there until he was twenty-one years of age, attending school in the meantime.  He was married on March 28, 1883, at Apple River, Illinois, to Julia E. Cunningham, who was born on December 19, 1865, at Scales Mound, Illinois.  She was the daughter of Hugh and Catherine (Deming) Cunningham, who were married on December 25, 1851.  Mr. Cunningham was born on August 25, 1823.  They spent their lives at Apple River, Illinois, engaged in farming and stock raising.  Mr. Cunningham was an influential man in Jo Daviess county, holding many of the local offices.  He was a staunch Republican and a member of the Methodist church.  There were eight children in his family, namely:   Martha Ann, born September 5, 1853, is deceased; George Arthur, born July 15, 1857, is deceased; Mary Amanda, born June 31, 1862, is deceased; Julia Etta, born December 19, 1865; Kittie Luemma, born June 24, 1867, married George Hife, of Iowa Falls; Flora Adell, born October 31, 1869, is the wife of J. S. Lake, of Ellis township, this county; Willie Hugh, born in 1871, married Edna Bogenrief and is now farming in Kossuth county, Iowa; Charles Albert, born September 23, 1875, died when young.

Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Whaley, namely:  Laura E., born January 13, 1884, married, February 7, 1906, Amos E. Nehring, who owns a half section of land in Saskatchewan, Canada, and is engaged in farming there; they have three children, Etta, Lloyd and Marshall; Eva Aurella, born June 20, 1885, married, on February 7, 1906, Frank D. Winterfield, a farmer in Hardin county, Iowa, and they have one child, Verna; Leo Thomas, born August 10, 1886, married Dora Sheldon on January 23, 1907, and they have two children, Howard and Gerald; Leo T. is farming in Ellis township, this county; Roy Cleveland, born October 23, 1891, is at home; Wendell Hugh, born May 20, 1908.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Whaley came at once to Hardin county, Iowa, arriving here on April 3, 1883.  In 1881 he had bought eighty acres in section 21.  It was all wild, ut he improved it and placed it under cultivation in due course of time.  He first put up a house twelve by sixteen feet, in which he lived two years, then built his present substantial home, and made all the extensive improvements now to be seen on the place.  He bought forty acres more, known as the Caverhill place, a few years later, buying the James Hartinger one hundred and twenty acres, on which his son Leo now lives, and he now has a fine home and one of the best farms in the township, owning one hundred and twenty acres where he lives.   He makes a specialty of raising short-horn and Hereford cattle, Duroc-Jersey hogs and a good grade of draft horses, besides Plymouth Rock chickens, and, being a good judge of live stock, no small part of his income is derived from this source.  He and his wife started in life poor, but they have worked hard, being economical and managed well, and today they have accumulated a competency and are surrounded with all the comforts of life, and they have the respect of all who know them, for their lives have been above reproach and they are good neighbors and obliging friends.

Frank Z. Whinery, p. 429 � 430

A leading merchant and influential citizen of Union, Hardin county, Iowa, is F. Z. Whinery, a man who has gained a definite success in life because he has worked for it along definite lines and has pursued such ideals and principles as to lead to the best goals in the annals of human endeavor. He was born on February 27, 1858, in Clinton county, Iowa, and is the son of Benjamin Whinery, a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, who was born on November 3, 1825, and he was the son of Zimri and Judith (Wright) Whinery, both of Columbiana county, Ohio, where Mr. Whinery was a large and successful farmer and an influential man in the early days. The maiden name of the mother of the subject was Ruth Linton, who was born on April 23, 1827. Benjamin Whinery was educated in the public schools of his native community in Ohio and for some time engaged successfully in merchandising at Wilmington and he also conducted a large farm. He emigrated west and located in Marshall county, Iowa, in 1865. He lived in Marshalltown one year, then moved to a farm at Bangor, Iowa, where he resided until 1873, when he came to Union, Hardin county. He was engaged in the mercantile business about ten years under the firm name of B. Whinery & Son. He was successful in building up a large trade and he sold out in 1885, when he retired from active business and spent the last two years of his life at Marshalltown, Iowa, where his death occurred on April 4, 1900, his wife having preceded him in death on December 30, 1891. Politically he was a Republican and in religious matters a Quaker. He was regarded as a good and useful man by all who knew him.

The following children were born to Zimri Whinery and wife: Edward, Elizabeth, James, Benjamin, Ezra, Abigail; Samuel is living at Marshalltown, Iowa; Sarah Jane makes her home at Bangor, Iowa; Isabelle.

To Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Whinery these children were born: Calvin, who was in business at Union, this county, for a number of years, is now a resident of Ozark, Missouri, where he is in the mining business; Rachael, Jane, deceased, married first S. O. Kinzer, and later C. A. Billings, and lived at Marshalltown, Iowa; Edwin died when two years of age; Frank Z., of this review; James L., who practiced dentistry at Marshalltown, Iowa, died in 1907; Samuel G. died when ten years of age.

Frank Z. Whinery was educated in the home schools and took a business course at Des Moines, also attended school at Iowa City, and therefore received a very liberal education. In 1895 he entered the store with his bother, Calvin, at Union, buying the latter's interest nine years later and has since been in business alone. In 1898 he was burned out, but, nothing daunted, he started up again on a larger scale, building his present substantial and attractive store room the same year. It is a two-story brick, forty-eight by one hundred feet. He has one of the best stocked general stores in Hardin county, his goods being tastily arranged and carefully selected and he has built up an excellent trade with the people of the entire southeastern part of the county and surrounding territory. His uniform courtesy and fair dealing has given him a prestige second to none.

Mr. Whinery has been twice married, first on March 13, 1883, to Jennie A. Hobbs, of Union, Iowa, a daughter of Hon. Alexander Hobbs, of Horton, Kansas. Two children were born of this first union, Reba, a teacher in Marshalltown, Iowa, and Gail, who is living at home. Mr. Whinery was again married on September 19, 1900, to Mary H. Hobbs, a sister of his first wife, and to this union three children have been born, George L., Jean and James C.

Fraternally, Mr. Whinery is a Mason, belonging to Alhambra Lodge No. 602, at Union, Iowa; he also holds membership with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America at Union, and he affiliates with the Congregational church at this place, being a liberal supporter of the same. He has been very successful as a business man and has done much for the general good of Union and vicinity, and he is held in high regard by all classes.

Daniel White, pp. 864-866

This old and esteemed citizen who has been identified with Hardin county since the pioneer period, is a native of New England and combines many of the sterling qualities and characteristics which have long distinguished the sturdy people of that section of the union.  He was born December 8, 1827, at Webster, Maine, and is a son of Charles and Bethia (Ellis) White, both natives of that state and representatives of families that have lived there from a remote date.  Daniel White spent the first eighteen years of his life at or near his birth-place, during which time he learned the trade of brick laying and became a rapid and skillful workman.  Going to Boston, Massachusetts, about 1845, he worked as a journeyman mason in that city during the ensuing three years and in 1852 went via the Isthmus of Panama to California to prospect for gold.  Arriving at his destination, he made his way to the mines and during the following three years prospected in various parts of California and met with success far beyond that of the majority of miners.  While in the latter territory one day he met with a man who had been badly bitten by a grizzly bear and while attending to the stranger's injuries, learned that he was from Eldora, Iowa.

Mr. White returned to Boston at the expiration of the period indicated and after remaining in that city until January, 1856, he again started west, this time in company with his brother, William White, and brother-in-law, Robert McClearn, with California as a possible destination.  While staging through Iowa, however, and noting the fine appearance of the country, they decided to proceed no farther, accordingly on arriving at Iowa Falls they located claims about six miles southwest of the town and at once proceeded to improve their lands.  At the time of their settlement the country was an unbroken prairie just as nature had made it, there being but one house below the two branches of the Iowa river westward for a distance of five miles, and that a stage station.

The spring following his arrival Mr. White plowed forty-five acres of his land and erected a small log dwelling, the timber for which he hauled from the south fork of the Iowa river, about three miles distant.  He at once planted a number of trees from which he afterward obtained sufficient material to fence the greater part of his land, and it is a fact worth noting that one of the trees which he set out in 1856, a butternut of large size and imposing appearance, is still standing.  In 1872 Mr. White bought an additional tract of land, for which he paid the sum of six dollars and a half per acre, and still later, about 1883, he purchased other land adjoining at twelve dollars and a half per acre.  In 1859 his father and sister joined him in his new home, but, not being greatly impressed with the west, they went back to Maine, where the former afterwards died.  The sister, however, returned after a short time and remained here for a number of years.  His brother, William, who came with hime, removed in 1862 to Wisconsin, where he still resides, and Mr. McClearn, his brother-in-law, who is mentioned in a preceding paragraph, died in the year 1900.

Mr. White literally grew up with the country and in due time became one of the large land owners and prominent farmers and stock raisers of Hardin county.  He erected fine buildings on his farm and otherwise improved it, sparing neither money nor pains to beautify his home and make it attractive.  He early began taking an active part in the affairs of his township, did much to promote the interests of his community and for many years has been one of the leading men and influential citizens of the section in which he resides.  By industry and successful management he long since placed himself in easy circumstances and with a comfortable competence at his command he is spending the evening of a long and useful life in quiet and content.

Mr. White was married march 13, 1857, to Lydia L. Oviatt, the ceremony, which was performed by Squire Sydney Peck, being the first of the kind that ever took place in Ellis township.  Mrs. White was born in Warren, Ohio, and when seventeen years of age came to Iowa with her parents, James M. and Christiann Ann (Griswold) Oviatt, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively.  Mr. Oviatt moved from his native state to Wisconsin in 1845, and from the latter state to Hardin county, Iowa, in 1856, settling in Ellis township about one mile west of Mr. White's place of residence; he died in 1879, at the age of sixty-seven years; his wife, who survived him until 1890, departed this life in her eighty-first year.  Mr. and Mrs. White have a family of nine children, whose names are as follows: Clara, who married A. P. Hillhouse, of Hardin county; Eveline, wife of W. I. Clark, of Mountain Lake, Minnesota; Edith, now Mrs. R. S. Hillhouse, of Hardin township; Ellis, an attorney at law, of Twin Falls, Idaho; Herbert, a carpenter living in Denver, Colorado; Clarence, a farmer residing at Big Lake, Minnesota; Laura, who married G. A. Chatfield, and lives in Greeley, Colorado; Islethera, a teacher in the public schools and a member of the home circle; and Ethelyn, wife of E. A. Dean, of Ellis township.  Mr. White is a Republican in politics and was formerly an influential factor in public affairs, but of recent years he has not been very active in such matters.  He has never sought nor desired office of any kind, though by nature and experience well qualified to fill important trusts.  He has chosen the quiet way rather than the turmoil and unrest of party strife, and in the quietude of home has found the content which would have been denied him in public place.  A successful farmer, a kind and obliging neighbor and a worthy citizen, he has lived to honorable ends and the future awaits him with ample rewards.

George Whitney, pp. 728-730

A man who has long been a resident of Hardin county is the subject of this review, one who in the pioneer times experienced many hardships.  George Whitney made his first home in Hardin county in the winter of 1855-56 in the twenty by twenty log cabin built by Greebury Haggin, on the northeast quarter of section 26, Union township.  This winter was the hardest in the recollection of Mr. Whitney, and indeed the hardest experienced in Iowa since the coming of the whites.  The cabin in which Mr. Whitney lived was of the rudest kind, with clapboard roof and puncheon floor, the door hung on wooden hinges, while the family used a dry goods box for a table.  There was a big fireplace in one end iwth a chimney made of mud and sticks.  Mr. Whitney tells of one of the severest snow storms of the winter which lasted a day and a half and two nights, nearly burying the cabin.  He hoisted the younger children to the attic where they shoveled down the snow that had drifted through the broken roof, while he carried it out in a basket having to be careful that he did not fall through the broken floor.   The next season he roofed the house and fixed it up to last until he built a new house.  Here he remained and built up a farm, adding to his holdings until he now owns the land surrounding the original farm, his land lying in four sections in this part of Union township.  In early days Mr. Whitney's home was often used by the travelers as a resting place, for his latchstring was always out and they were made heartily welcome.  How different today are the customs and scenes in this part of Iowa from the time when Mr. Whitney first settled here.

George Whitney was born in Dutchess county, New York, on September 12, 1823, a son of Crosby and Mary (Carmon) Whitney.  Crosby Whitney was the son of Reuben and Ruth Whitney, who were of German stock, and was born in Maine.  He passed through many hardships in his younger days and practically raised himself.  In 1827 he died in Canada, where he had come overland by wagon, driving through the hub-deep snow.   The first winter and summer while in Canada he worked for the British government, making a road and laying out a town.  Each laborer was to receive one hundred acres of land for hire, but this land proved to be unproductive and would raise nothering but wild buckwheat.  Crosby Whitney left two children, George, and Lydia, who married Samuel Row.  She died near Dubuque, Iowa, and left four children:  Frederick, deceased; Ira, of Rockford, Illinois; Eva, of Dubuque, Iowa; and Ella, of Florida.   Mrs. Whitney, the mother of the subject of this sketch, subsequently married Caleb Tompkins, who was a native of Dutchess county, New York, came to Illinois in 1838, and in 1854 moved to Marshall county, Iowa, and later to California, where he died.  The children of this marriage were Eliza J., Sarah, Samuel, and Caleb.  Mary Carmon, the wife of Crosby Whitney and Caleb Tompkins, was of German descent.  Her brothers and sisters were Sarah, Phoebe, Trelow, Amy, Edward, who was in the Canadian Rebellion, and laid for a long time in the London jail, because he refused to swear that he could not take up arms against the queen, and Marion.

When a young man George Whitney started from Canada, in company with a friend of the family named Vandiwalker, and came to St. Joseph, Michigan, where he remained for two months, then pushed on to Stephenson county, Illinois, to join his mother.  In 1846 he married, in Stephenson county, Maria Row.  In 1850 he left his wife at home on the little farm and started overland to California, and there followed mining for four years, enduring many hardships and living the exciting and adventurous life of the gold seekers.  He returned to Stephenson county by way of the isthmus.   In 1855 he started with his family for Hardin county, Iowa, and spent the first winter in the manner noted above.  Since that time he has lived in Union township and has prospered and become a man of influence and standing in the comunity in which he has lived so long, and of which he is now one of the oldest residents.  Maria Row, his wife, was the daughter of Frederick Row, both her father and mother being natives of Holland.  After forty-seven years of married life, she died in 1903, and is buried in Union cemetery.  She was ever a faithful and loving wife and mother.  The children of Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are:  Crosby, deceased; Henry, of Union; Martha; Jane; Eugene, a prominent politician of Sioux City; and George, of Tipton township, Hardin county.

Mr. Whitney was raised a Whig and cast his first vote for Henry Clay.  He has voted the Republican ticket since the formation of the party.  His schooling was meagre, but by reading and observation he has gained much of education.   Though eighty-seven years of age, he is well preserved physically and his mind in as clear as that of many men at forty.  George Whitney has never considered it necessary for him to have a church to bolster him up in order to do right, but he has stood out through life as a man of honest and upright character and the strictest integrity, who is much to be admired.

Thomas H. Wilson, pp. 545-547

The present sketch is concerned with the history of a representative farmer of Aetna township, Hardin county, a man well and favorably known to his neighbors, an excellent farmer, and an honest and honorable citizen.  Thomas H. Wilson was born on April 9, 1833, in Clinton county, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Elizabeth (Henry) Wilson, both natives of Pennsylvania.  In 1850, James Wilson and his family came to Stephenson county, Illinois, where he purchased a farm of raw prairie land and improved the same.  In 1864 he sold this and came to Hardin township, Hardin county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, partially improved.  He was a shoemaker by trade, but preferred farming and stock raising, in which he passed his mature life.  The Wilson family is of Irish descent.  James Wilson was in earlier times a Whig, and later a Republican.  Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist church.  They were the parents of eleven children, three of whom died in infancy, and seven of whom are living in Iowa.  Samantha, Mrs. Hoskins, is deceased.  The living are: Jane, now Mrs. Shaner; Samuel L., Thomas H., George W., Margaret, the twin of George W., now Mrs. Klapp, Robert P., and Ellen, now Mrs. Reynolds.

Thomas H. Wilson remained in his father's home until he was of age, receiving his education in a log school house in Pennsylvania, having a slab with legs affixed for a seat, and a desk as rude.  He was married on March 9, 1865, to Hannah E. Stotser, a daughter of John and Hannah Stotser, of Hardin county.  Her father was a native of Switzerland and her mother of Ohio, and they were married in Ohio and came to Stephenson county, Illinois, in the early settlement of the state, entering land from the government.  In 1857 they came to Hardin county, Iowa, where they bought a farm, and lived until their death.  Mr. and Mrs. Wilson began married life in Hardin township on rented land, and in 1874 bought a farm in that township, which was sold in 1883, in which year Mr. Wilson purchased his present farm of one hundred acres in Aetna township.  This is excellent farming land and has good buildings on it.  Mr. Wilson has been successful, and no man in the township is better known or more highly respected for good citizenship.

In 1861 Mr. Wilson enlisted in Company A, Twelfth Iowa Infantry, and served three years and three months until he was honorably discharged.  He served on Grant and took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg and Pleasant Hill.  Many of his comrades fell at his side, but he returned to his parents without a scratch.

In politics Thomas H. Wilson is a stanch Republican and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln.  He and his wife are members of the Disciples church at Robertson, and he is a deacon in the church and lives up to his religious belief in his daily life.  Mr. and Mrs. Wilson are the parents of  seven children living, and have fifteen grandchildren.  Five of their twelve children are dead.  Those living are Lillie F., born on November 21, 1871, the wife of Edwin Cross; Elizabeth Jane, born on April, 1877; Ruie B., born on May 5, 1879, now Mrs. Strahorn; Alva H., born on October 24, 1883; Irvin T., born on June 27, 1881; Myrtie E., born on May 15, 1886, now Mrs. Bacon, and Rose Velma, born on December 6, 1891.  The deceased with dates of their birth, are: James Alvin, July 29, 1866, died May 17, 1874; William H., born March 27, 1868, died May 23, 1874; Charles H., born February 27, 1873, died May 30, 1874; George E., born April 5, 1875, and died on October 31, 1885; Clinton Leroy, born on October 20, 1889, died on February 15, 1909.  Elizabeth Jane, Ruie B. and Rose Velma were teachers in public schools of the county, and attended Ellsworth College at Iowa Falls and Ames College.

William P. Wilson, pp. 727-728

Among the progressive farmers of Union township is William P. Wilson, who is a descendant of an old and well-known family of Ohio, and who himself is one of the early settlers of Hardin county, and first located here when the county was almost a wilderness.  He has, by his energy, built up a good farm and has reached prosperity.

William P. Wilson was born on October 29, 1860, the son of Joseph Allen and Anzoletta (Sayer) Wilson.  J. A. Wilson was born in Logan county, Ohio, on May 1, 1832, the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Holt) Wilson, who were natives of Kentucky.  Robert Wilson was a soldier in the war of 1812.  Mrs. J. A. Wilson was the daughter of Milton V. and James Sayer, and was born in Logan county, Ohio, on January 17, 1839.  Her parents came to Ohio in 1818, and there spent the remainder of their lives.  J. A. Wilson and his family moved from Ohio to Rock Island, Illinois, in 1854, and, in September, 1860, came to Hardin county, Iowa, and located in Union township.  At that time there was no market nearer than Waterloo, Iowa.  In 1862 Mr. Wilson enlisted in the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry and served for three years faithfully.  He was successful as a farmer and was prominently identified with the early schools of the county.  In politics he was a Republican.  He was a member of the Grand Army post at Eldora.  J. A. Wilson was known to the earlier residents of the county as a man of strict integrity and strong character, who was always to be found on the side of right and progress.

Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Wilson were the parents of twelve children, five living, namely: Mary E., William P., Elizabeth J., Deborah L. (dead), John A., Alma G. and Cora E. (dead), Robert M., Thomas H., Herbert, Emma and James B. are all dead.

William P. Wilson received his education in the home schools.  Later he took up farming as a vocation, and in 1883 moved onto a part of the home place.  On March 26, 1882, he was married to Olive Cross, the daughter of Asher J. and Harriet M. (Baker) Cross of Gifford, Iowa.  To this marriage four children were born: Roy Wayne, who married Minta J. Rowen, the daughter of W. H. Rowen, of Union township; Nina Esther, married Leonidas L. McFarland, of Lake Park, Iowa; Robert Milton married Viola M. Vigars; Everett Allen is at home.

Mr. Wilson has taken much interest in farming, and has been very successful.  His cattle, horses and hogs are fine specimens of the breeders' and the feeders' art.  The farm is well improved with excellent outbuildings and a comfortable home.  In 1884 Mr. Wilson set out the fine orchard and the shade trees which make his home conspicuous in Hardin county for its beauty.  In politics he is a Republican, but never cared for office.  Mr. Wilson is well known and the many excellent qualities of his character have won for him many friends, and he is highly respected in his township as one of its solid and reliable citizens.

Frederick A. Winter, Jr., pp. 461-462

Holding prestige among the successul farmers and stock raisers of Grant township and ever since his birth an honored resident of the same, Frederick A. WInter, Jr., is entitled to more than passing notice in the biographical history of his section of Iowa, for he has ever had the upbuilding of his home communityat heart and has led the life of a good citizen in every respect, for while laboring to advance himself along material lines he has not neglected his larger duties to his neighbors and the public in general.

Mr. Winter was born on August 18, 1872, in the northeastern part of Grant township, this county, and he is the son of Frederick A., Sr., and Henrietta (Brunemeier) Winter, one of the honored and influential families here, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this work.

The subject grew up on the house farm, in the development of which he assisted when of proper age, attending the district schools in the winter months.   In 1889 he was united in marriage with Amelia Hoelscher, daughter of Henry and Charlotte (Miller) Hoelscher, the father having been born and reared in Germany.  In 1867 he came to America and joined his brother Charles, who had located in Monroe county, Wisconsin, in 1860.  In the fall of 1868 they came to Hardin county, Iowa, and on September 3, 1871, Henry was married to Charlotte Miller, daughter of Fred and Caroline Miller.  She was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany.  Mr. Hoelscher and wife continued to live in Grant township until the death of the former, which occurred on August 16, 1879.  He was a very industrious, honest man, devoting his entire life to farming, becoming the owner of two hundred and twelve acres of good land.  There were five children in his family, namely:  William is now living on the eastern edge of Grant township; Lizzie is the wife of Henry Boeke and lives in Hubbard; Lottie is the wife of Fred Mesch and lives in Providence township; Amelia, wife of Mr. Winter of this review; Henry is living in the northeastern part of Grant township.

After the death of Mr. Hoelscher, his widow married Fred Klemme, a prominent farmer living in the northeastern part of Grant township, where she now resides.

After his marriage Mr. Winter began farming for himself, buying eighty acres where he now lives, in section 14.  Here he prospered from the start and about five years later he bought forty acres more, and later, in 1908, he bought eight acres additional, making him a fine farm at present of two hundred acres, which he has placed under excellent improvements and high cultivation, carrying on most successfully general farming and stock raising.  He has a very peasant home and such outbuildings and modern farming implements as his every need requires.  A good grade of live stock is to be seen about his place at all times.

Mr. Winter has two children, Arthur, born November 27, 1901, and Gilbert, born May 19, 1908.  Mr. and Mrs. Winter belong to Zion Evangelical.

Frederick A. Winter, Sr., pp. 1008-1010

One of the honored pioneers of Hardin county, Iowa, was Frederick A. Winter, Sr., who, having completed his allotted course on this terrestrial sphere, has taken his departure to the unknown country where we all, after a few more years of toil and loss and gain, must wend our own way with the "innumerable caravan."  Grant township had no better citizen or more worthy representative of the great farming class.  Here he labored long and arduously, removing the wild growth with which his place was covered and otherwise improved the land until he brought it to a high and successful state of cultivation.  He was a man of substantial worth, very industrious and energetic, and as a farmer ranked among the most enterprising in the locality.  By diligent devotion to his vocation he succeeded in accumulating a liberal competence, owning at the time of his death a finely improved farm, and at one time in his career he owned in all in this and adjoining townships the large aggregate of fourteen hundred acres, being one of the largest land owners and substantial citizens of the county, besides valuable personal property and bank account considerably in excess of that of the average agriculturist of those days.  He did a great deal of good in his community in every way, always ready to forward its interests, and his life, being one of strict integrity and honor, was well worth imitating.

Mr. Winter was born in Lippe-Detmold, Germany, February 19, 1831, and was the son of Frederick A. Winter and wife.  He grew to maturity in his native land and was educated in the common schools.  When he reached manhood he was united in marriage with Henrietta Brunemeier, also a native of the community in the fatherland just mentioned.

In 1869 Mr. and Mrs. Winter emigrated to America and after stopping a short time at Eldora, Iowa, came on to Grant township, Hardin county, and bought forty acres in section 2, there being a small old log house nerby  in which they lived for awhile.  Their neighbors were few and far between, this part of Grant township being nearly all new, wild prairie, much of it marshy and as yet unsettled.  They went to work with a will and improved their small farm, undergoing many of the hardships incident to pioneer life dwelling.  Prospering through his diligence and good management, Mr. WInter bought more land from time to time, until at one time he owned land in Grant, Ellis and Buckeye townships, aggregating, as above stated, nearly fourteen hundred acres.  He improved as much of it as possible and rendered it very valuable.  No man of his day was more industrious, no man could have worked harder.  In those early days he had to fight prairie fires, drain marshes and many other hard tasks fell to him.  He did his full share in developing the county and was very aactive in furthering the good of his community in every way.  He assisted in organizing the Lutheran church at Hubbard, he and his wife being among the constituent members.  He was a director in the public schools for many years and did much to further educational work here.

There were ten children in his family, named as follows:  Mary who married Herman Panton, lives three and one-half miles southwest of Eldora; Maggie married William Hartwig, a sketch of whom appears herein; they live in the eastern part of Grant township; Frederick A., Jr., who lives on his farm in section 14, Grant township, has a sketch in this work; Louis lives two and one-half miles northwest of Buckeye; Henry, whose sketch appears herein, lives on the home place in Grant township; Etta is the wife of Carl Reinert, a farmer in section 13, Grant township, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; Minnie is the wife of Carl Roemer and they live at Farnhamville, Iowa; Frederica is at home with her mother; Anna married Otto Kulow and they live near Cottage, this county; Alvina died in infancy.

Mrs. Winter now lives on the original home farm in Grant township.  She is a woman of many sterling characteristics and has a host of friends throughout the county.  The death of Mr. Winter occurred on October 6, 1908, at the age of seventy-seven years, seven months and eighteen days.  His place in the community cannot be filled and he will long be deeply deplored.

Henry Winter, pp. 470-471

The following is a brief sketch of the life of one who, by close attention to his individual affairs, has been successful in agricultural affairs beyond the average person.  Henry Winter is a representative of one of the county's old and highly respected families, and he has ever striven as best he could to keep their name untarnished and that he has succeeded admirably well is evinced from the fact that no one who has had dealings with him in any relation of life can speak aught against him or hold a spirit of malevolence or vindictiveness toward him.  While primarily engaged in furthering his own interests, he has not lost sight of his larger duties to his county and state and ever supports such measures as make for the general good.

Mr. Winter was born in Grant township, this county, on February 10, 1875, and he is the son of Frederick A., Sr., and Henrietta (Brunemeier) Winter, and sketch of whom is to be found on another page of this work.  Suffice it to say here that they were early settlers of the county and prominent in the life of the pioneer days.

Henry Winter grew to manhood on the home farm and there made himself generally useful during the summer seasons, attending the common schools in the winter time.  On January 16, 1907, he was united in marriage with Anna Koeppen, daughter of Fred Koeppen and wife.  She was born in Brandenburg, Germany, and came to America in 1891 with her parents and the rest of the family, who located near Hubbard, Iowa, where they engaged in farming for eight years, becoming well established here.  The family now lives in the town of Hubbard.

Mr. and Mrs. Winter have one son, Walter.  This family belongs to the Lutheran church at Hubbard.

Mr. Winter's career has been a very successful one.  He has been a tactful manager and his labors are annually rewarded with large crops.  His farm of three hundred and twenty acres is well improved, well tilled and is a very productive and valuable tract.  On it stands a pleasant home and substantial buildings, everything denoting thrift and industry.

The family of Frederick Winter, Sr., consisted of the following children, in order of birth:  Maria, born June 7, 1869; Margaretta, born December 19, 1870; Frederick A., Jr., August 18, 1872; Louis P., March 2, 1874; Henry F., February 10, 1875; Henryetta M., born January 2, 1877; Wilhelmina, September 14, 1879; Frederika R., born April 9, 1881; Alvina, deceased, born January 19, 1883; Anna A., born November 4, 1884.  All are married but Frederika, who lives with her mother.  All live in Hardin county, except Wilhemina, who married Rev. Carl Roehmer, a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran church, Farnhamville, Iowa.  Mrs. Winter is a refined lady whom it is a pleasure to meet.  She lives in a neat cottage near her son, Henry, surrounded with all the comforts of life, of which she is very much deserving.

George H. Wisner, pp. 456-458

A man who was easily the peer of any of his fellows during the life of the past generation in Hardin county, in the qualities that constitute correct manhood and good citizenship, was the late George H. Wisner, who was what he was from natural endowment and self-culture, having attained his eminent standing in the life of the community solely through the impelling force of his own genius.  He possessed not only  those powers that render men efficient in the business world, but also the gentler traits that mark genial and refined social intercourse.  In his daily affairs he manifested a generous regard for his fellows and as a large-hearted, whole-souled, companionable gentleman, actuated by principles of honesty and integrity, no man who has lived in this county more fully merited and commanded the good will of the people.

Mr. Wisner, who for many years was one of Eldora's representative citizens, was born at Iowa Falls, Iowa, September 9, 1864, and although his span of life was short he made his mark in an indelible manner, his death occurring at Eldora on January 11, 1893, at the age of twenty-eight years, four months and two days.  He was the son of Lyman F. and Julia A. Wisner, the former dying on August 21, 1889.  He was the only child and succeeded to two-thirds of his father's immense property, which made him the wealthiest man in central Iowa.  He was a young man of rare business acumen, sagacity and foresight and at the time of his death he was president of the Hardin County Bank and director of the First National Bank at Iowa Falls, the State Bank at Radcliffe and the State Bank at Ledyard, Kossuth county, and he was fast taking his place in the business world as an enterprising, wide-awake, prudent business man of keen discernment, and during the three short years of his active business career he endeared himself to every citizen of Eldora and Hardin county by his enterprise, liberality and genial disposition, winning the confidence and good will of all with whom he came into contact.  He was the life and moving spirit in every undertaking for the improvement of Eldora.  The fine opera house which bears his name was completed at a cost of seventy-five thousand dollars.

Mr. Wisner came to Eldora when eleven years old and grew to manhood here.  After a thorough preparation in the public schools he attended Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota, where he made a splendid record, graduating therefrom with the rank of captain.

Fraternally Mr. Wisner was a member of St. Elmo Commandery, Knights of Pythias, of Iowa Falls; of Evergreen Chapter and Montague Lodge of Eldora, and a short time before his death he had been elected commander of Wisner Division No. 7, and was a member of Evergreen Lodge No. 56, Knights of Pythias.  He also belonged to Lodge No. 77, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Masons, belonging also to the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Although Mr. Wisner possessed great wealth, his generous and unaffected nature held every man as worthy of his esteem and friendly regard until forfeited by some unworthy action.  The poor and humble were as free to approach him as the exalted and powerful, and every one who knew him admired and loved him, and when his untimely death occurred the whole central part of the state mourned him.  He used his money for the benefit of the community.  He was very liberal in his subscription to the court-house fund.  It was said during his life that he was worth a million dollars, but he was unassuming, plain, quiet and "homespun" as a common day laborer; he gauged men by what they were within themselves and not by their money or political power.  He was a loving son, very devoted to hi mother, willing to sacrifice anything, if need be, for her comfort and pleasure.  He was also one of the best of husbands, having married, on October 8, 1889, Fannie W. Gilman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Gilman, a prominent and influential family of Eldora, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.  Mrs. Wisner is a lady of culture and refinement and has long been a social favorite is this city and community.  This union was graced by the birth of two bright and interesting children, Gilman H. and Lois Julia.

It is worthy of note that while the opera house, mentioned above, was in course of construction, a friend said to Mr. Wisner, addressing him by his first name by which he was familiarly known: "George, some of your friends think you are not going to receive a very large per cent, on this investment of yours."  Mr. Wisner's face lighted up with the well known smile and he said: "You can tell my friends that I did not erect this building for per cent.  I built it for Eldora, and," he added with words that proved of prophetic significance, "it is my monument."  While the structure was yet new he was called to take up his work on a higher plane of action, and his funeral was held there, special trains bringing many from neighboring cities.  This part of the state never saw such a funeral, during which one could not help recalling a line of Shakespeare's from Mary Antony's famous address, "There was a Caesar; when shall  there be such another?"

Mr. Wisner bore an active part in every laudable enterprise having as its object the upbuilding of Eldora and the general development of the county.  No one was more liberal or more enthusiastic for the new Young Men's Christian Association building than he.  He was always most liberal at church dedications in assisting to lift the indebtedness.  In securing modern public buildings for this city no one had more to do or advocated them more strongly, and when there was sorrow, distress or trouble of any kind in private homes, there was no one more interested or charitable than he.  One of nature's noblemen is gone, but the good deeds he did and the example he set the young men of the present generation will live and the world will long be better and brighter for his having passed through it.

Lyman F. Wisner, pp. 448-450

The babe sparkles and is exhaled; old age, fully ripened, like the grain in the chock, yields to the inevitable and is gathered to its fathers, but where man, in the full strength of his years, glorying in the conscious power of his manhood, falls, overcome by the burden he bears, the will of Him whose law is inscrutable is accepted with bleeding hearts, and we yearn that the full fruition was not permitted here.

The gift of life is so mysterious that when that other mystery which we call death interrupts the current of human hopes and aspirations, we know not in what new channel the spirit may be turned, but if the life has been characterized by strength and vigor everything that it has touched in its onward passage must have received a beneficent inspiration.

No man who has ever lived in Hardin county is entitled to a more conspicuous place in her history than the late Lyman F. Wisner, whose sudden and untimely death, August 28, 1889, was not only a profound personal bereavement to hundred of friends, but a distressing public calamity as well.  In a broad sense, Mr. Wisner belonged to Iowa, and the state has a right to claim her privilege in honoring a citizen so notable.  As all men of general excellence in life deserve and command the spontaneous homage of their fellowmen, so did Mr. Wisner possess to a marked degree those attributes of character that made him a leader among men and a peer of any of his contemporaries of the great commonwealth of Iowa.  Though not a native of Iowa, he was really a product of the state, and was a splendid type of that western spirit and thrift that has transformed a wilderness and builded a modern civilization.

Mr. Wisner's life and work were a part of the growth and development of Hardin county, and so intimately intermingled with its rise and progress that to place emphasis upon this or that particular achievement were merely random acknowledgment of a career singularly fruitful of just and honorable deeds.  He was one of those solid men of brains and substance who constitute the creative capacity of a community.  He was essentially a business man, trained in that fine old school where the highest integrity, implacable justice and ragged honesty are the prerequisites of success.  But behind the man of business was a devoted husband and father, helpful neighbor and loyal friend.

Mr. Wisner was born in Orange county, New York, July 1, 1832.  He was reared on the parental farm and early acquired habits of industry and learned by precept and example those plain and sturdy virtues that characterized the pioneers.  Early in life he started out for himself and soon found employment with a large mercantile establishment in New York where he received his methodical business training.  He came to Hardin county in 1856, a poor young man.  He located at Iowa Falls and for some time drove a peddling wagon about the country.  Getting a little start in life, he engaged in the mercantile business at Iowa Falls, and for several years was a member of the well known firm of Wisner & Sayre.  While a member of this firm he got to dealing some in real estate and soon sold out to engage in the real estate and loan business.  During the war Mr. Wisner spent some time in the South, and one time, by a rebel raid, lost every dollar he had in the world and has contracted debts amounting to fifteen thousand dollars.  He did not lose his head, however, but applied himself more closely to business than ever.  At the close of the war he returned to Hardin county, having repaid every dollar he owed and had accumulated a few thousand dollars as a nest egg.  He then engaged in the banking and real estate business at Iowa Falls, which he followed until 1875, when he removed to Eldora, which was afterwards his home, though he had probably more business interests at Iowa Falls, for which place he always had a strong affection.

Mr. Wisner was married December 11, 1858, to Julia A. Hatch, and to them was born one son, George H., who died January 11, 1893, and who is mentioned at length elsewhere in this volume.  There was a strong attachment between father and son.

Mr. Wisner met death in a tragic manner, being killed by the accidental discharge of a gun while hunting with his son George on August 28, 1889.  At the time of his death Mr. Wisner was president of the Hardin County Bank and was interested in numerous business enterprises, besides being the possessor of large landed estates.

Possessed of the strictest business integrity and honor, Mr. Wisner had acquired a reputation for square dealing possessed by few men.  With him his word was as good as his bond, and he would often put himself to great inconvenience to keep an engagement.  Although he sold thousands of acres of land to poor men on time and loaned them money to make needed improvements, he was never known to oppress his debtors, and the right of foreclosure was only used as a last resort.  His life was a model of honor and probity.  While he was devoted to his business, he found much time to enjoy life and the company of his friends.  He gave away probably more money than any man living in Hardin county, and expended thousands of dollars for the improvement of Eldora and Iowa Falls.  His gift and subscription to the Chicago, Iowa & Dakota railroad alone would make a man rich.

Mr. Wisner long enjoyed being the wealthiest man in Iowa, and this great wealth, controlled as it was by him, made him a benefactor of his kind.  He was not a man of pretense.  He never courted faavor and disliked ostentation.  Others have made more display, but this quiet, unassuming man was more sincerely mourned and sorely missed than any other of his generation in this community. No chaplet of words that we can weave can add to or detract from the estimate of the man held by those who knew him.  This was exemplified by the universal sorrow felt at his death and the expressions so heartfelt for his memory.  In this community where his life work was done he wrought better than he knew, and he died rich in the wealth of a legion of friends beyond any dream he might have cherished of what name it would be possible for him to leave behind.

Adelbert D. Wood, pp. 709-711

Herein are briefly reviewed the lives and actions of a father and a son who have become well known in Hardin county on account of the active interest which they have always taken in the affairs of the community in which they lived, and whose service in behalf of the public welfare made them leaders of their neighbors.  Adelbert D. Wood was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, on June 15, 1854, the son of Alanson F. Wood.

Alanson F. Wood was born in Cayuga county, New York, on January 6, 1829, the son of Elijah Wood, who was born in Westchester county, New York, on December 19, 1803, and Roxana (Bouchton) Wood, who was born on June 30, 1804.  Elijah and Roxana Wood were the parents of five children, four sons and one daughter, and moved with their family to Carroll county, Illinois, where Mr. Wood died in 1844, and his wife also is deceased.  Alanson F. Wood grew up on his father's farms, and on January 8, 1851, was married to Mary Wilcox, who was born in August, 1833, the daughter of Daniel Wilcox, a native of New York.  To this union were born nine children:  Mary J., the wife of A. J. Pelham, of Marshalltown, Iowa; Adelbert D.; Ellen, the wife of Melum Craig, of Armstrong, Iowa; Oscar E., the postmaster at Union, Iowa; James M., a farmer in Kansas; Nettie, the wife of George Peirce, a farmer southwest of Union, Iowa; Nellie, deceased; Charles W., a liveryman of Armstrong, Iowa; William W., a banker at Armstrong, Iowa.

In the spring of 1856 Alanson F. Wood came to Hardin county, Iowa, and for one year lived at Berlin.  In 1859 he moved to a farm adjoining Union village on the north.  In 1860 he took a trip to Pike's Peak, lured by the quest of gold, and was away from his home for a year.  On his return he was elected captain of the Home Guards, who were to put down the Knights of the Golden Circle.  In August, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-second Iowa Infantry, Company F, and participated in many engagements, among which were those of Cape Girardeau, Pleasant Hill, and all the others in which his regiment took part.  In April, 1863, he was promoted to Sergeant; on August 23, 1865, he was commissioned as second lieutenant of his company.  After the war he became active in his local Grand Army post.

In politics A. F. Wood was a Republican, and shortly after returning from the army, and in part because of his excellent war record, he was elected to be sheriff of Hardin county, which position he filled with credit to himself and to his county.  Later he held many other offices of trust.  He came to the county in the possession of very limited means, but by fair dealing and judicious management accumulated a large amount of property and erected for his residence a handsome house.  His religious affiliations were with the Congregational church.  Alanson F. Wood was a man with the unquestioned attributes of leadership, and was much respected and admired by those who knew him.  As a man of public spirit, devoted to the good of the community, and at the same time a man who in his domestic relations was an example to those about him, his loss was keenly felt when he passed away.

Adelbert D. Wood was educated in the schools of Union and lived at home until his marriage, on February 15, 1877, to Lizzie C. Hall, who was born in Lee county, Illinois, the daughter of James and Laura (Wilcox) Hall.  Her father was a native of Virginia, and for some years lived in Lee county, Illinois, and from that county enlisted in the Union army.  After the war he removed to Union township, Hardin county, where he died, and where his wife, who is a native of Indiana, is still living.  Their children are: Melinda, of Lincoln, Nebraska; William, of Ord, Nebraska; Alvin, of Cottonwood, California; Olive, of Shingleton, California; Mahala, of Tama county, Iowa; Mary, living with her mother, in Union township; Lizzie; Laura, deceased; and an infant son, deceased.  To Mr. and Mrs. Wood have been borne three children, Harry F. and Ora E., at home, and Effie M., who married Jefferson Crosser, a farmer of Union township.

After his marriage Mr. Wood spent one year in Union township; one year in Mill county, Iowa; for seven years lived north of Radcliffe; for two years ran drays and a livery stable in Whitten; was for eighteen years in the buggy works at Union, Iowa, and in 1905 located on his present large, valuable and well-improved farm.  He gives most of his attention to the breeding of stock, raising registered short-horn cattle, Oxford sheep, good grade hogs and draft horses, and in addition carries on general farming.  In politics he is a Republican, in religion a member of the Congregational church.  He has a large acquaintance in Hardin county, to whom he is known as a man of sterling character and substantial wealth.

Albert L. Wood, pp. 926-928

Prominent in the affairs of Hardin county and distinguished as a citizen whose influence is far extended beyond the limits of the community honored by his residence, the name of Albert L. Wood stands out a conspicuous figure among the successful business men of the locality of which this volume treats.  All of his undertakings have been actuated by noble motives and high resolves and characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individuality and his success and achievements but represent the result of fit utilization of innate talent in directing effort along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way.

Mr. Wood, who is a member of the well known and successful firm of the Wood Carriage & Auto Company, Inc., of Union, Iowa, was born in Carroll county, Illinois, July 27, 1863, and there he grew to maturity and received his primary education.  On April 2, 1882, he arrived at the town of Union, Hardin county, and engaged in the manufacture of wagons and buggies, in connection with which a foundry and machine shop was operated.  From 1882 to 1883 inclusive, the firm was known as J. D. Wood & Son, the senior member being John D. Wood, father of the subject, whose death occurred in November, 1902.  From 1883 to 1887 the firm was known as J. D. Wood & Sons, another son, Lige Wood, having been admitted to the firm.  In 1887 the present large quarters were purchased and in 1907 Ray Wood, son of the subject, was admitted to the firm.  In 1910 the incorporated under the name of Wood Carriage & Auto Company, with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, the members of the firm being Albert L. Wood, Albert Ray Wood and Lyman Sheets, son-in-law of the subject.  By honest dealing and judicious management they have succeeded in building up a large and rapidly growing business, and the popularity of the firm has ever increased until it is second to none in this section of the state.  Their plant is thoroughly equipped with every modern appliance and only the most skilled artisans are employed.  This firm would be a credit to a much larger town.

On March 5, 1885, Mr. Wood was united in marriage with Elizabeth Bates, who was born April 25, 1865, in Union, Hardin county, Iowa.  She was the daughter of William Cotton Bates and Minerva (Valentine) Bates, prominent and influential pioneers of this vicinity, a complete sketch of whom appears on another page of this work.  The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wood: Albert Ray, born January 4, 1886, was married November 24, 1909, to Miss Alta Lenore Lyon, daughter of James H. Lyon, of Whitten, Iowa; Lela J., born November 15, 1887, married Lyman Sheets; Clarence Madison, born November 5, 1896; John Andrew, born November 27, 1898; Herbert William, born March 26, 1906.

Mr. Wood has never taken a very active interest in public matters, though he has always stood ready to lend his support in furthering any laudable undertaking having for its object the general upbuilding of the community.  He is a Republican in national politics, but he votes independently in local elections.  From 1902 until 1908 he was a member of the city council, and in 1909 he was re-elected, being at present a councilman, filling the duties of this office in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself, resulted in a great deal of good to the town and vicinity and brought forth the hearty approval of all concerned.  He also served on the local school board from 1902 to 1906.

Personally, Mr. Wood has always been popular, being a genteel, refined and kindly gentleman, honest and straightforward in all the relations of life and he and Mrs. Wood are favorites with a wide circle of friends.  He is a worthy son of a highly honored and influential old pioneer family, John and Jane (Burgdiff) Wood, the mother born in Cayuga county, New York, and her death occurred December 21, 1897.  They were married in June, 1848, and became the parents of ten children.

Joseph J. Wood, pp. 616-617

Among the farmers and stock raisers of Providence township, Hardin county, is Joseph J. Wood, who owns land in sections 2 and 3, where he has resided many years, and who by his long residence in the county is well acquainted with the history of his neighborhood, in which he is reckoned among the substantial and solid citizens.  He was born on December 12, 1838, in Washington county, New York, the son of Jonathon F. Wood.  His father, soon after Joseph's birth, moved to Wisconsin, and there Joseph grew up and lived until he was nineteen, when he came to Grundy county, Iowa.

On February 28, 1867, Joseph J. Wood was married to Teresa P. Gidley, who was born in Morgan county, Ohio, on August 6, 1845, the daughter of Daniel A. and Deborah (Hickok) Gidley.  Daniel Gidley was a son of William and Hannah Gidley and was born in New York.  His boyhood was spent in Ohio, and there he learned the trades of carriage and wagonmaker and millwright.  While in Ohio he ran a saw and grist mill, and also a grocery store, to accommodate his neighbors, as they were some distance from a large market town.  At an early day he came to Lynn county, Iowa, and settled, living in a small one-room log cabin with a fireplace.  Here he joined the Friends church.  The first winter they spent in their cabin and Mr. Gidley made their only bedstead from cottonwood timber.  On the overland trip from Ohio they brought with them only a box chest and a bureau.  (Mrs. Wood has now this bureau in her possession.)  Shortly after Mr. Gidley bought an old house and one hundred and sixty acres of new land, which he fenced with a stake and rider fence.  The first crops he planted were chopped into the ground with an axe.  In 1850 the family moved to Marshall county, and located at Bangor, where Mr. Gridley set up a grocery store on a small scale, the nearest trading place being Iowa Falls.  Here he remained during the remainder of his life, and prospered.  He was much interested in education.  His death occurred on May 5, 1875.  His wife died December 4, 1906.  Deborah (Hickok) Gidley was the daughter of Harvey and ----- (Mackinworth) Hickok.  The children of Daniel and Deborah Gidley were: Teresa, Victoria, Hennington, Ellen, Brinton, Rosabell and Orabell, twins, Mary and Moses.  To Mr. and Mrs. Wood the following children have been born: Oliver, born in 1870, married Margaret Peckam; Clara, born in 1873, died in 1897; Roy, born in 1880, married Edna Buncker; Herbert, born in 1885, married Lucille Kersey.

Joseph J. Wood first located in Hardin county on the farm where he now lives, and planted the first trees now standing about his house from seed picked up on Honey creek.  He has improved the farm greatly, and has recently built a large and comfortable modern home.  His farming has been general in character, and while not making a specialty of stock raising, that which he does raise is of the best, without a superior in the county.  He attends mainly to his farming and gives little attention to politics.  In religion he was born a member of the Friends church.  Mr. Wood is an active member of the Mutual Insurance Company of Providence, and has been for some time its efficient secretary.  He is a man well known of strong character and a capable and successful farmer.

Oscar E. Wood, pp. 918-920

In every life of honor and usefulness there is no dearth of incident, and yet in summing up the career of any man the writer needs touch only those salient points which give the keynote to his character.  Thus in giving the life record of Oscar E. Wood, the present able and popular postmaster at Union, Hardin county, sufficient will be said to show, that all who know him will freely acquiesce in, that he is one of the enterprising and progressive citizens of Union township.

Mr. Wood is the son of one of the influential pioneer citizens of this county, A. F. Wood, who is mentioned at length elsewhere in this work.  The subject was born July 5, 1857, in Berlin, Iowa, and he was educated in the district and high school at Union and he has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits.  He was married in 1888 to Callie T. Lawrence, who was born in Hardin county, Iowa, the daughter of John W. and Julia E. (Shepard) Lawrence.  The father was born in Barren county, Kentucky, November 10, 1842, and he was the son of William W. and Jane (Johnson) Lawrence.  William W. Lawrence was born in Virginia, his wife being a native of Kentucky.  They were the parents of nine children.  William Lawrence and family moved to Hardin county, Iowa, in 1857 and here continued to reside until 1875, when he moved to Kansas and died there in 1878, his widow returning to Union, Iowa, where her death occurred the following year.  They were excellent and highly respected people, worthy members of the Baptist church.

In 1862 John W. Lawrence enlisted in Company A, Second Iowa Cavalry, and served very faithfully in defense of the flag, participating in many engagements, including those at Water Valley, Mississippi, Coffeeville, Holly Springs, Ripley, Tupelo, West Point and Jackson.  As a result of his efficient service he was promoted to orderly sergeant and he was mustered out at East Port, Mississippi, August 2, 1865.  He and Julia E. Shepard were married in 1867.  She was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, in 1847, and the following children were born to them: Callie T., wife of Mr. Wood of this review; Sibbie, deceased; Charles E. is in the bank at Union, Iowa; Herbert S. is in the First National Bank at Marshalltown, Iowa; Cora L. is deceased; Cady O. is in the bank at Union.

Politically, Mr. Lawrence was a Republican and he held many offices of public trust.  He belonged to Industry Lodge No. 225, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Union, Iowa.  From the years 1889 until his death, with the exception of four years, he was in the secret service of the United States, being located first at St. Louis, later at St. Paul, Minnesota.  In 1873 he engaged in the implement business at Union, Iowa, and was successful; branching out, he took H. C. Chapin as a partner.

Oscar E. Wood, of this review, was reared on the home farm, where he worked during the summer months and attended school in the winter time.  He began life for himself by entering the furniture and undertaking business, which he followed for a period of fourteen years in a most successful manner, building up an extensive trade through his ability and honesty and he became one of the leading business men of Union.

Politically, Mr. Wood is a Republican and he has always been more or less active in public affairs and in the good of his party.  On June 1, 1905, he was appointed postmaster of the town of Union and he has since conducted its affairs in a very able and satisfactory manner.  Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Masons and stands high in each order in this locality.

Mr. and Mrs. Wood have no children, having lost an infant son.