Jasper County
>> 1894 Index Portrait
and Biographical Records of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, Iowa P Unless noted, biographies submitted by Dick Barton.
Hess D.
Parsons, one of Jasper County's
most popular and influential residents, and Malaka
Township's most successful stockraiser and dairyman, is the descendant
of a wealthy Virginia family. His
grandfather, George Parsons, was
throughout his entire life a resident of West Virginia, where
he was an extensive slave-owner and man of wealth.
He was a prominent and
enthusiastic Democrat, and a farmer by occupation. A large, portly
man, he had a powerful physique, and retained until his death, at seventy, the vigor which had characterized him in
life's prime. The father of our subject,
George Parsons, was born on the old plantation
in West Virginia, and was reared to manhood in that state, receiving
excellent educational advantages in his youth.
He learned the trades of a
blacksmith and wagonmaker, and manufactured the wagon which the
family came to Iowa. His wife, whom
he married in 1827, bore the maiden
name of Susanna Harper and was a descendant of Dutch ancestry, her
father having been a native of Holland. After
his marriage George Parsons
received from his father a small tract of timberland, upon which he
cleared a space of sufficient size to admit of the erection of a cabin.
That place continued to be his home until 1843, and in the meantime
he suffered all the hardships incident to life upon the frontier.
His father had offered him a slave, but, being opposed to the institution,
he refused to accept the gift. As early as 1843 George
Parsons came to Iowa, traversing the entire distance from the Old Dominion to the Hawkeye State in a
wagon, his family coming at the
same time in a carriage drawn by four horses.
The trip was attended by
many hardships and discomforts, and all were glad when
their destination was reached. For
a time they resided east of Newton,
after which they came to Malaka Township, where the father entered three hundred and twenty acres and also purchased a
tract of eighty acres of partly
improved land. The lumber for his
home he hauled from Burlington, and
by arduous labor finally improved a farm. In
those days harvesting was done in
the old crude way, harrows were made in the shape
of the letter A, and other farming machinery was equally crude in design.
Mr. Parsons brought him a corn plow, but the nature of the soil here
was such that he was unable to use it successfully. A man of great energy,
George Parsons was prospered in his farming and stock-raising enterprises.
Among his prominent characteristics may be mentioned close observation, careful reflection, soundness of
judgment, practical views and a
wide range of interest. His
faculties were well balanced, and
he was, perhaps, inclined to conservative rather than radical
views and actions. He was
public-spirited, always deeply interested
in whatever he thought promised to advance the well-being of society.
He was one of the men, of whom the number is none too large, who
give their time, knowledge and thought, almost without reservation, to
promote public interests and private happiness.
While he moved in the best
circles of Jasper County, he was well known to the uncultivated and
poor, who trusted and loved him. He
had a wide circle of acquaintances
and friends, to whom his pleasant home was always open.
His house stood for cheer, counsel and hospitality.
It was therefore a source of
regret to all when, in 1856, Mr. Parsons passed away, at the age
of fifty-four years. He possessed a
deeply religious nature, and for
many years was connected with the Methodist Church at Newton. Though eight
miles away, every Sunday found the family in their accustomed
places at church, to which they rode on horseback, there being
a horse for every member of the family. The
widowed mother of our subject is
still living, and makes her home with her sister in Newton. The subject of this sketch
was born in West Virginia, April 17, 1843, and was less than a year old when brought by his parents to
Iowa. Being the eldest son at home in the family, a large part of the work
fell upon his shoulders, and at an
early age he was initiated into the duties connected with rural life.
His opportunities for attending school were limited, but through reading and self-culture he has become
well informed.
He was one of thirteen children, of whom six are now living, viz.:
Alvernon, who lives in Newton; Harper J., a resident of California;
Geraldine, the wife of James Mendenhaw, of Montana; Hess D., of
this sketch; George W., an inventor of numerous machines and resident of
Newton; and Newman L., whose home is in Newton Township, Jasper County.
Residing with his mother
until twenty-six years of age, our subject was then united in marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of George
Wydell, a native of Pennsylvania.
The Wydell family came to Newton, Iowa, in the year
1866, where the father followed the occupation of a farmer.
He was a carpet weaver by
trade, and had charge of an establishment while residing
in Lebanon County, Pa. Mr. and Mrs.
Parsons are the parents of three
children, the eldest of whom, Hattie Bell, died at the age of seven
months. Lula and Mary Pearl are the surviving children. In 1882, Mr. Parsons
embarked in the creamery business on
a small scale, but has constantly
increased his facilities until the present time,
when the output of butter average thirty-three hundred pounds per day;
he has churned as high as five thousand pounds per day.
The most improved machinery
is used in the creamery, and the products are marketed
principally in Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore. In 1887 all the
buildings were burned to the ground, causing a total loss, as there was no insurance. Mr.
Parsons decided not to rebuild, but friends and
neighbors prevailed upon him to change his determination, and assisted
him by drawing bricks and sand for him. The
houses were rebuilt, and in three
weeks the creamery resumed operation. Formerly
he kept as many as eighty milch
cows, but he does not now do so. In addition to his dairy
interests, Mr. Parsons engages in stock-raising and has a herd of Short-horn cattle numbering about ninety
head of the purest blood.
Among them is the celebrated animal, " Band Master," which
was bred by Amos Crookshank in Scotland, and imported by Luther Adams. This herd
took the first premium at the Iowa State Fair, the purse being $250. Mr.
Parsons is also the owner of an animal which took the first premium at the World's Fair. He owns about sixty horses, among them the well-known "Toronto," of Percheron
stock, which was imported by George
Metz, of Polo, Ill. Poland-China
hogs also command some attention,
and Mr. Parsons has about four hundred of very fine stock.
The Parsons farm resembles a
small village, having on every hand buildings
of various sizes, each adapted to its peculiar purpose.
Mr. Parsons is a man of
exemplary habits, and has never used tobacco nor intoxicating
drinks. Politically, he has voted
twenty-eight Republican tickets,
and expects to continue voting that ticket so long as he lives. From the perusal of the
above, one might conclude that Mr. Parsons has been an exceptionally fortunate man, and such, in some
respects, he has been. However, he has had his share of misfortunes, and his life
has not been all "smooth
sailing." In 1867, on account
of an accident in a threshing-machine,
it was found necessary to amputate his left arm at the
shoulder. Three times have wagons
run over him, and once he was lost
for one day on the prairie, where his feet were frozen, he being rescued when almost perished with hunger and cold.
He is a man of powerful physique, brawny and muscular, well fitted by nature
and individual preference for the
career of pioneer, farmer, stock-raiser and
dairyman. SAMUEL B. POWERS, is a leading farmer and stock-raiser of Rock Creek Township , Jasper County , his fine farm of two hundred acres being situated on section 29. Though he was born in Steuben County , N. Y., in 1851, he is practically a native of Iowa , for he has spent nearly his entire lie in this state. Mr. Powers is the eldest in a family of six children born of the union of John and Laura A. ( Baldwin ) Powers, natives of Steuben County , N. Y.,, and Milford County , Conn. , respectively. Their marriage was celebrated in New York State , and in 1856 they emigrated to Bureau County , Ill. , where they made their home until 1863. In that year they removed to this county, and after one year's residence in Grinnell, settled in Rock Creek Township . Mr. Powers, Sr., was a public-spirited man, and from the time of his location in the county, became identified with her better interests. He was a stanch Republican and an avowed enemy to slavery, and after his removal to this vicinity he held one township office or another continuously. His family comprised six children: Samuel B.; Maria, wife of J. G. Brown, a farmer in Poweshiek County; Charles T. and John J., both residents of this township; and Cyrus and Amos, twins, who died in infancy. The paternal grandfather of our subject, John Powers, was a native of the Empire State , and was born in the Mohawk Valley . His father was an old Revolutionary soldier, and during that stormy period of the Colonial history every other member of his family was killed by the Indians. During the war of 1812 he was in the military service and was mail carrier for the troops. Samuel B. Powers, of whom this is a brief sketch, received good educational privileges in the Iowa common schools and later in the Iowa College . In the fall of 1873 he was united in marriage with Miss Louisa E. Parmalee and since that event their home has been in Rock Creek Township , with the exception of four years, when they were located in Shelby County . They have a family of five children: John R., Cyrus H., Frank A., Harry M. and Ermine, all of whom are bright and intelligent boys, still under the parental roof, and engaged in assisting their father in his farm work. Mr. Powers is especially a raiser of fine wool sheep and does considerable local buying and selling of live stock. He is a very successful farmer and one of the representative men of the county. Our subject is an unwavering Republican and has held every local office within the gift of the people of the township. As an evidence of the trust and confidence reposed in him he was elected in 1889 to serve as a Representative of Jasper County in the Twenty-third General Assembly, which he attended during the winter of 1889-90. A man of more than usual intelligence, good judgment and quick perceptions, his opinions are greatly respected and valued in the community where he resides. The Powers family have been members of the Episcopal Church for several generations, and to this denomination our subject and wife now belong. Socially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. |