Portrait and Biographical Record of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties - 1894 - P

Jasper County >> 1894 Index
Grundy County
Marshall County

Portrait and Biographical Records of Jasper, Marshall and Grundy Counties, Iowa
Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1894.

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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.