1915 Index

Iowa: Its History and Its Foremost Citizens
Original Edition.  3 Vols.  Des Moines, IA: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915-1916.

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Unless otherwise noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton.

HON. GEORGE JEPSON

The Hon. George Jepson, of Sioux City , judge of the fourth judicial district was born in Denmark , December 3, 1864 , a son of Neils and Wilhelmina (Jensen) Jepson, both of whom were natives of that country. The father came to the United States about the year 1858. He was married in Burlington, Iowa, to Miss Wilhelmina Jensen and in 1862 they returned to Denmark, where they remained until June, 1870, at which date they again came to the new world, settling on a farm in Wayne County, Iowa.

It was during the second period of their residence in Denmark that George Jepson was born. He was a little lad in his sixth year when his parents returned to the United States and in the country schools of Wayne county he began his education, afterward attending the Seymour ( Ia. ) high school. Having decided upon the practice of law as a life work he entered the State University at Iowa City and was graduated from the law department with the class of 1887. In July of the same year he opened an office in Sioux City and has since been identified with the bar of Woodbury county and of northwestern Iowa . The secret of his continually increasing clientage lay in his comprehensive and accurate understanding of legal principles as well as attack and entered the court room thoroughly familiar with every phase of the litigation. He marshaled the points of evidence with the precision of a military commander and his arguments were strong and his deductions sound and logical. His high standing at the bar recommended him for the position of district judge and in March, 1913, Governor G.W. Clarke appointed him to the bench of the fourth judicial district. In June, 1914, he was nominated at the primary on the non-partisan judiciary ticket and was elected at the November election in 1914. In politics he has always been identified with the democratic party. Aside from his profession he has business interests as a stockholder in and vice president of the Bennett Loan & Trust Company.

On the 18th of January, 1886 , in Wayne County , Mr. Jepson was united in marriage to Miss Rosina L. Marsh and to them have been born six children, namely, Archie O., George F., Edna D., Emlin McClain, Marie and Gladys. Judge Jepson and his family are prominent socially, occupying an enviable position among the leading residents of Sioux City . He is also a Mason of high rank, being a past master of the Consistory, while upon him has been conferred the honorary thirty-third degree. He belongs to the Commercial Club and his interest in the welfare of his city and state is deep and sincere as manifest in his hearty cooperation with many of the projects which have to do with substantial municipal interests and which tend to a correct solution of vital civic problems.

With early events which have left their impress upon the annals of Iowa the name of Thomas Ballard Johnson is closely associated. He became a resident of Bloomington, now Muscatine, in 1838, and from that time until his demise was more or less closely connected with the development and progress of the state. His father was a soldier of the War of 1812.

Thomas B. Johnson was born in Virginia in 1807 and was but six years of age when his parents removed to Ohio, where the family remained for a few years and then went to Indianapolis, Indiana, which at that time was a small village. There Mr. Johnson resided until after his marriage, when he made his way to Iowa in 1838, settling at Muscatine which was then called Bloomington. There were few settlements in the state outside of those along the Mississippi river. In 1840 Mr. Johnson applied to the government for a contract to establish the first mail line between Muscatine and Iowa City and the following year he was appointed to the office of United States marshal by General William Henry Harrison, who was then president of the United States. Mr. Johnson continued to fill the position until removed by President Tyler two years later. In 1848 he returned to Indiana to be with his parents, who were then quite aged and needed his assistance. He secured the appointment of mail agent on the boat Ben Franklin running between Cincinnati and Louisville and later he became captain of that vessel. In January, 1854, Mr. Johnson and his two nephews, K. T. Murdoch and Jeremiah Johnson, made their way to Cass county, Iowa, and purchased extensive tracts of land, the property which came into possession of Thomas B. Johnson including a part of the present site of the city of Atlantic. Mr. Johnson entered his claim at the land office and this property is now in possession of his daughter, Mrs. Waddell. It was Mr. Johnson and Colonel Knepper who brought the first pure bred stock to their part of the state - a number of Durham cattle which they drove from Indiana to Iowa in the summer of 1854. In addition to his other activities Mr. Johnson entered upon the practice of law, applying for a license at Iowa City and passing the examination before the bar at that place in 1854. He was also notary public. In the fall of 1855 he returned to Indiana and then brought his family to Cass county. In 1856 he removed across the river and began improving the land which he had acquired, bringing his fields to a high state of cultivation. He erected what was at that time considered an unusually fine residence, it being the first frame dwelling erected on a farm in Cass county. The farm, which is one of the few tracts of land in the county that is still in possession of the family of the original owner, is called Cold Springs Farm. That name was given it by Mr. Johnson and was recorded by his daughter, Mrs. Waddell, when the place came into her possession.

In the winter of 1858 Mr. Johnson was appointed by the legislature as commissioner to survey the swamp lands in Plymouth, Sioux, Woodbury, O'Brien and Ida counties. He employed William Waddell and K. W. Macomber to do the surveying and a Mr. Jenkins to do the cooking, carry chains, etc. It required five months to complete that work. It was later in the same year that Mr. Johnson decided to rent his farm and remove to Lewis in order to give his children better educational privileges, school being held there in the courthouse.

Mr. Johnson was married May I, 1838, to Miss Mary Jane Gordon, whose grandfather was a major in the Continental army during the Revolutionary war. He was wounded in the battle of Brandywine, after which he returned home on a furlough, but his death occurred at Valley Forge. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born two children. The son, John Thomas, married and for many years was extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising but passed away in the year 1899, leaving a daughter and three sons, all residing in Nebraska. The daughter became the wife of William Waddell, and is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. The death of Mr. Johnson occurred April 7, 1860, when he was fifty-three years of age. His widow long survived him and passed away in 1901 at the very advanced age of ninety-one years. They were indeed worthy pioneer residents of the state.

In his political views Mr. Johnson was a whig but on the organization of the republican party joined its ranks. Although more than a half century has come and gone since he passed away, he yet lived to see many changes in the state. The settlements were very few at the time of his arrival and it was no unusual thing to see Indians. Much of the land was still unclaimed and uncultivated and the most farsighted could scarcely have dreamed of the changes which were to be wrought, making this one of the leading states of the Union. Mr. Johnson was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, but later attended with his wife the Episcopal church. He was always interested in the cause of education and did good work for the benefit of the schools while serving as director. Mr. Johnson was one of the charter members of the Masonic lodge at Lewis and exemplified in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. He was always interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of the district in which he made his home. He was the first man who set out locust trees, planting fifty of them in 1857. He also planted other trees and ornamental shrubs, experimenting with many of these and in his efforts proving what could be cultivated in his part of the state. His labors were at all times characterized by a devotion to the general good as well as by efforts to advance his individual interests' and he found pleasure in helping those less fortunate than he.

BARUCH WESTON JONES

With the record of Iowa's development along agricultural and horticultural lines, the name of Baruch Weston Jones is closely associated. In the later years of his life he made his home in Charles City, Iowa but had extensive farming interests near by. He was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, September 20, 1850, and was there reared to manhood, attending the public schools. His parents were Isaac Crary and Maretta (Carpenter) Jones. His paternal grandparents were Denison and Hannah (Crary) Jones, the former born at Knox, Albany county, New York, November 10, 1794, and the latter at Stonington, Connecticut, September 23, 1794. The latter is a direct descendant of Peter Crary, who married Christobel Gallup, December 80, 1677; at Groton, Connecticut, and died in 1708. Peter Crary, Jr., who was baptized at Plainfield, Connecticut, April 23, 1682, married Ann Culver. Their son, Nathan Crary, born October 7, 1717, married Dorothy Wheeler, while Ruth Searl became his second wife. He died March 2l, 1798. Isaac Crary, the fourth child of Nathan and Dorothy (Wheeler) Crary, was born July 17, 1751, and wedded Mary Gallup, a daughter of Captain Joseph and Sarah (Gardiner) Gallup, on the 12th of November, 1775. Captain Gallup was a soldier of the Revolutionary war. He and his wife were married May 15, 1749, and had eleven children, the fourth of whom was Mary Gallup, called Molly, who was born July 5, 1756, and died May 17, 1827. She became the wife of Isaac Crary, and it was their daughter Hannah who became the wife of Denison Jones, and the grandmother of B. W. Jones of this review.

There is also preserved the ancestral line of the Denison family, from which Denison Jones received his name. The first to come to America was William Denison, who was born in England about 1586 and sailed for the new world in 1631, settling at Roxbury, Massachusetts, accompanied by his wife, Margaret, their three sons, Daniel, Edward and George, and by John Elliott, who seems to have been a tutor in his family and who became pastor of the church at Roxbury and did missionary work among the Indians. Daniel Denison, a son of William Denison, was born in 1612 and married Patience Dudley, daughter of Governor Thomas Dudley. They had two children: John, who married a daughter of Governor John Symonds; and Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Rodgers, president of Harvard College. Edward, the second son of William Denison, was born in 1614, married Elizabeth Welde, of Roxbury, and had twelve children. George Denison, the third son, was born in 1618 and married Bridget Thompson, of Northamptonshire, England. She died in 1643, and George Denison afterward returned to England and served under Cromwell in the Army of the Parliament, winning distinction. He was wounded at Naseby, and was nursed at the home of John Bowdell by his daughter Ann, whom he later married and then returned to Roxbury, afterward settling at Stonington, Connecticut. He died in Hartford, October 28, 1694, and his wife died in 1712. Both were remarkable for magnificent personal appearance and for force of mind and character. She was always called Lady Ann, while he was described as "the Miles Standish of the settlement." But he was a greater and more brilliant soldier than Miles Standish. He had no equal in conducting war with the Indians, except perhaps Captain John Mason. Mrs. Calkins, in her history of New London, says of him: "Our early history presents no character bolder or of more active spirit than Captain George Denison. He reminds us of the border men of Scotland." John Denison, of the third generation, was born July 14, 1646, and was married, November 26, 1670, to Phoebe Lay, daughter of Robert and Sarah Lay, of Saybrook, Connecticut. They settled upon their farm near the mouth of Mystic river, in Stonington. Their son, George Denison, born March 28, 1671, was graduated from Harvard and settled in New London, Connecticut. He studied law, was town clerk, county clerk and probate clerk. He wedded Mary (Wetherell) Harris, and they had eight children, including Daniel Denison, who was born July 27, 1703, married Rachel Starr, November 24, 1726, and lived in New London. This couple were in turn the parents of Daniel Denison, Jr., who was born in New London, Connecticut, December 16, 1736. He was married to Katherine Avery, a daughter of Captain Ebenezer Avery, and removed from New London to the wilds of New York, in 1771, settling in Renssalaer county, east of Albany. He became one of the prominent men of the new settlement. An extract from his memorandum book says: "June, 1771. I moved into this county from New London and brought with me nine children." He and his wife are interred in the family burying ground at Berlin, New York. They had thirteen children and their homestead remained in the family for more than ninety years. The seventh of this number was Asenath Denison, who was born February 24, 1767, and became the wife of Roger Jones. They lived in Berlin, Albany county, New York, and they had twelve children, one of whom was Denison Jones, the grandfather of B. W. Jones. As previously stated, he married Hannah Crary, and their family included Isaac Crary Jones, who was born in Connecticut, June 20, 1824, and on the 7th of October, 1849, wedded Maretta Carpenter, who was born at Harrisburg, New York, November 15, 1822.

Another point of interest concerning the ancestry of B. W. Jones was given in the December Century of 1885, as follows "On an ancient brown stone tablet, raised upon four legs, above a grave in one of the old burial grounds of New London, may be found a knightly coat-of-arms cut upon a piece of slate which has been let into the larger slab; underneath the coat-of-arms appears this inscription: 'Here lyeth buried ye body of his excellency John Gardiner, Third Lord of ye Isle of Wight. He was born April 19th, 1661, and departed this life June 25th, 1738.' The Isle of Wight was the old name for what is now known as Gardiner's Island, lying off the eastern end of Long Island, and the John Gardiner mentioned on the tombstone was the grandson of the first English settler in the province of New York."

A most interesting account of this family in early days is that which appears in the Century article, and it is from this family that the line of descent is traced to Sarah Gardiner, who became the wife of Captain Joseph Gallup. Their daughter Mary was the wife of Isaac Crary and thus the ancestral line is traced down to B. W. Jones.

In taking up the personal history of Baruch Weston Jones we find that he was in his twenty-fourth year when he left Wisconsin and came to Iowa, settling; on a farm in Floyd county, which remained in his possession until his death. In fact, it was upon that farm that he passed away. He always carried on general agricultural pursuits on his own account, but in 1884 he entered the employ of C. G. Patten & Son, nnurserymen of Charles City, owning the largest nursery interests in Iowa. His worth and ability were recognized by the firm and he was made bookkeeper and manager, in which important connection he directed the extensive interests of the firm until 1908, when he retired to devote his entire attention to the farms which he owned individually. He resided upon the old homestead, of which he became the possessor on his removal to Iowa until several years prior to his death when he took up his abode in Charles City. His business affairs were most carefully, systematically and wisely conducted and in the course of years he acquired a very substantial and gratifying competence. His efforts constituted an important element for progress in the state along agricultural and horticultural lines and his influence was always given on the side of progress and improvement, so that he became connected with many projects for the general good.

On the 5th of March, 1873, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Amanda E. Hart, who was born in Peekskill, New York February 17, 1854, a daughter of Ward and Esther (Brown) Hart. In the Hart line the ancestry is traced back to Jonathan Hart, of Westchester county, New York who served with the rank of major in the Revolutionary war. He was the father of Gilbert Hart, who was born April 2, 1770. and died on the 15th of October, 1854. He had married Sarah Woolsey, who was a direct descendant of the famous Cardinal Wolsey, of England. James Hart, son of Gilbert and Sarah (Woolsey) Hart, was born September 22, 1794, and died October 23, 1882, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Tamny Sloat, was born August 10, 1802, and passed away October 15, 1854. It was their son, Ward Hart, who became the father of Mrs. Jones. He was born in Peekskill, New York March 30, 1828, and his life record covered the intervening years to the 18th of March, 1892. when death called him. He was married March 5, 1851, to Esther Brown, who was born in Peekskill, March 19, 1829, and died on the 25th of March, 1897. She was a daughter of Samuel and Margaret Brown. The former was born June 18, 1800, and died October 22, 1866. He wedded Margaret Tompkins, daughter of Isaac and Orpha Tompkins. She was born July 7, 1798, and died November 7, 1851. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Jones was blessed with one son, Clyde R., who was born in Charles City, January 9, 1875. He married Bertha McDaniel, of Cedar Rapids, and they have two children, Francis E. and Weston Eugene, both in school.

Mr. Jones was always active in connection with the different phases of civic life and did everything in his power to promote the public welfare and advance the progress and upbuilding of the community. While he worked toward high ideals he utilized practical methods for their accomplishment. He served at various times on the board of directors of the Charles City independent school district and the cause of education ever found in him a stalwart champion. In 1901 he was elected to the city council and was reelected for two successive terms. He then retired from the council in 1907, but when his successor resigned, Mr. Jones was appointed to fill out the unexpired term. He then again retired, but on the failure, in 1908, of the newly elected councilman at large to qualify, he was named for the place and was serving as one of the aldermen of his city at the time of his demise. His support was given to every plan and project that he deemed of value to the community and his work was of far-reaching effect and benefit. He was a most earnest Christian man and took a helpful interest in church work. He held membership with the Baptist denomination until 1895, when he united with the Congregational church, with which he continued to work until his demise. In 1896 he was elected superintendent of the Sunday school and in 1899 was made clerk of the church society. In 1902 he was elected deacon and at the time of his death was senior deacon and chairman of the board of trustees. Over the record of his public and private life there fell no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil. He was progressive, enterprising and reliable in business, steadfast in friendship, loyal in citizenship and faithful to the ties of home and of church. He passed away October 20, 1909, and his memory is yet enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him, for they had high appreciation of his sterling worth and the influence of his noble character. Mrs. Jones has always been very prominent in club work and in the church circles of Charles City and in both has been active, accomplishing excellent results. She has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintance and the hospitality of the best homes of Charles City is cordially extended to her.

ISAAC T. JONES, attorney at law of Des Moines, was born in Winchester, Van Buren county Iowa, April 29, 1871, his parents being Dr. Wiley A. and Altha (Miller) Jones, who are still residents of Van Buren County, Iowa. The family is of Welsh lineage and was founded in America by the great-grandfather of Isaac T. Jones, who settled in North Carolina about 1790. Reared in Cantril, Iowa, Isaac T. Jones there attended the public schools and afterward became a high school pupil at Fairfield, Iowa. He then continued his studies in Parsons College at Fairfield, but prepared for a professional career in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, being numbered among its alumni of 1894.

Mr. Jones began practice in Memphis, Missouri, and had already gained recognition as an able lawyer of growing practice when ill health necessitated his seeking a change of climate. The succeeding decade was passed at Colorado Springs, where he also engaged in law practice. Later he spent four years in South Dakota and in May, 1908, he removed to Des Moines, since which time he has been an active member of the capital city bar. His ability has advanced him to a prominent position among the lawyers of that city and his clientage is now extensive and important. While residing in Colorado Springs he was made assistant postmaster, occupying that position for a year and a half, and he filled the office of city attorney while at Bonesteel, South Dakota. He is not an aspirant for office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional duties. At all times he is careful to conform his practice to high standards of professional ethics, ever treats the court with the studied courtesy which is its due and never indulges in malicious criticism because it arrives at a conclusion in the decision of a case different to that which he hoped to hear. He is calm, dignified and self-controlled and gives to his clients the service of great talent, unwearied industry and rare learning. He has always voted with the democracy and has been an active worker in support of the party. In 1910 he had entire charge of the literary bureau of the democratic state central committee for the state campaign, and his opinions are frequently sought in matters relative to party management.

Mr. Jones is most pleasantly situated in his home life. He was married February 25, 1908, in Villisca, Iowa, to Miss Blanche Farquhar, a native of that city and a daughter of George and Lizzie Farquhar. Their two children are Elizabeth Alice, born in Des Moines, October 17, 1909, and Wilma Altha, born on the 25th of August, 1910.

Mr. and Mrs. Jones are consistent, active and helpful members of the Christian church and he is equally loyal to the teachings and purposes of the Masonic fraternity, the Odd Fellows lodge, the Elks, Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen of America. He has membership in a Greek letter fraternity and in the Press Club of Des Moines. A contemporary writer has said: "He finds his greatest enjoyment in making trips into the mountains and roaming at will far from the haunts of men. He loads a burro with provisions and necessary implements and spends three or four months in tramping over the mountain sides, fishing and hunting when taste inclines him to those pursuits, and finding in close contact with nature the source of health and strength. He is likewise a lover of all manly outdoor sports and is a most congenial companion at the campfire as well as in social circles of the city. In a word, Mr. Jones has the ability to concentrate upon the thing nearest at hand. He attacks everything with contagious enthusiasm, entering heartily into professional work and turning with equal eagerness when opportunity permits, to those recreations which are to him a source of interest and pleasure.

It was the Hon. James Cunningham Jordan who in 1854 introduced a bill to the state legislature to remove the capital to Des Moines and for many years he was a most important factor in shaping the history of the capital city. His entire life was characterized by the spirit of progress. Where the path of opportunity seemed lost in the maze of the future he had little difficulty in seeking it out, and the course which he pursued not alone brought him ultimately to the goal but also proved an element of public benefit. He studied closely many questions relating to Iowa's welfare and was especially active during the time of the Civil war as the adviser of Governor Kirkwood, of whom he was a warm personal friend.

Mr. Jordan was a native of West Virginia, his birth having occurred in Greenbrier county, that state, on the 4th of March, 1813, his parents being John and Agnes (Cunningham) Jordan, who were also natives of that state, as were also his grandparents, both families being long represented in that part of the south.

James C. Jordan attended the common schools near his father's home, but that by no means terminated his education. Throughout life he remained a student and from each experience learned the lesson therein contained. He early took up the occupations of farming and live-stock dealing, and his next step along business lines was to engage in the purchase and sale of real estate. He also became closely associated with the building of the earlier railways of his district and there were few business projects of importance in which he was not concerned to a greater or less degree. He advanced steadily. There were no spectacular phases in his business career, for he based his progress upon industry and determination and thus he forged constantly ahead. In time he became the possessor of a most comfortable competence. Upon the organization of the State Bank of Des Moines he became one of its stockholders and was elected a director. In that position his interests were often subjected to rigid inspection and it was with pardonable pride that he would say: "The financial coast is clear Ñ no tempest to catch me and destroy." He maintained his home a few miles out of Des Moines but with the interests of the city was closely identified, and the fact that he was indorsing a project seemed to gain for it further support from his fellowmen, who felt that his example was one well worthy of being followed.

In the year 1887 Mr. Jordan was united in marriage at Niles, Michigan, to Miss Melinda De Witt Pitman, a daughter of Benjamin and Jemima (De Witt) Pitman. A native of Mount Vernon, Ohio, she was born in 1819 and was descended from English and Dutch ancestry. Of her it has been said: "She inherited the industry and thrift of her parents and while many privations incident to Iowa pioneer life were her daily portion, yet her modest and well kept home, her well cared for family and her husband's well preserved pocketbook were constant witnesses to the indomitable energy, the continued watchfulness and devotion to the better life of this most admirable woman. She was a lovely Christian wife and mother, whose light faded far too soon for the world's good." She was but thirty-five years of age at the time of her demise and her loss was keenly felt.

In Madison county, Iowa, in 1856, Mr. Jordan was again married, his second union being with Cynthia D. Adams, a daughter of Cyrus Adams, a descendant of the Adams and Hancock families that figured so prominently in New England history. Six children were born of the first marriage of Mr. Jordan, as follows: Benjamin Pitman, who is a resident of De Soto, Iowa; Emily Agnes, the widow of Dr. George P. Hanawalt, a leading Iowa physician and surgeon of Des Moines; Henry Clay, who saw service in Company A, Twenty-third Iowa Infantry, during the Civil war and is now a resident of Polk county; John Quincy, living in Des Moines; James Finley, who resides on the old homestead in Polk county; and George Benton, of De Soto, Iowa. Five children were born by the second marriage of Hon. James C. Jordan, namely: Ella, the deceased wife of John P. Cook; Calvin Smith; Eva and Eda, who died in early life; and Edward, a resident of Des Moines.

Mr. Jordan lived at the momentous period in American history when Henry Clay, William Henry Harrison and Daniel Webster were playing important parts in the theater of national affairs. His study of the questions and issues of the day led him to become a stanch admirer of Fillmore, Fremont, Harlan and Kirkwood. His attitude on the slavery question had been determined some years before. He had witnessed the wrongs inflicted through the practices of slavery and at one time, writes a contemporary biographer, "he was one of a party engaged in hunting up and returning to their owners a number of fugitive slaves who had escaped from the neighboring plantation. They were trying to elude pursuit by hiding in bushes and caves by day and stealing out at night, enduring untold hardships to make a few miles toward the great free west, of which they had but a vague idea, from hearsay only. These people, men, women and children, with hungry, pinched faces, sad, longing eyes, bleeding feet, and scanty, ragged clothing were quietly caught while most of them were trying to pray for deliverance, and, despite their pitiful pleadings and remonstrances, were marched back to their masters' homes and to their lowly life of servitude to await the coming of the storm of anti-slavery heralded by Wendell Phillips, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry Ward Beecher, John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Jordan was a particularly warm friend of Governor Kirkwood, who offered him many military places of honor, which were declined on account of his conviction that he would represent the union cause better by producing the money for the needs of the government by remaining in civil life rather than in military." John Brown, the noted abolitionist, was a guest at his home and more than once received assistance in different ways from Mr. Jordan. He rendered important service to his country even before the war as the first whig member of the state senate, to which he was elected in 1854 from a district then embracing more than twenty counties. That he made a creditable record in office is indicated by the fact of his reelection in 1856. He was once more called upon to assume legislative duties when, in 1879, he was chosen to represent Polk county in the lower house of the eighteenth general assembly. On several different occasions he was a member of the county board of supervisors. In 1854 he introduced a bill to make Des Moines the capital of Iowa and through his influence he gained many supporters for the bill, which was passed. He was among the first few who met Calvin Leighton in discussion of the question of raising funds for the building of the Des Moines Valley Railroad and he suggested the way to secure the extension of the road to the capital city, saying: "I'll be one of two hundred who will give a thousand dollars each," and the money was raised.

The death of Mr. Jordan occurred on the 1st of March, 1891, when he was about seventy-eight years of age. He had lived through a most momentous period in American history and on more than one occasion his influence was directly beneficial along lines of public improvement. The cause of education and of religion as well found in him a stalwart champion. His home was always open for the reception of ministers and their families, and he did much to further the upbuilding of the Methodist church in pioneer times. He belonged to the Early Settlers Society, the Tippecanoe, Pioneers, Octogenarian and Pioneer Law Makers Societies. The circle of his friends grew as the circle of his acquaintance broadened. He achieved distinguished success in the several fields of effort which engaged his best thought, and his life was an exemplification of the loftiest patriotism and the truest conception of the American idea of the common brotherhood of man.