A History
of Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa
[?]: Lewis Publishing Co., 1893
M
Unless
otherwise specified, biographies are submitted by Conley
Wolterman.
W. A. McHenry, a
banker and stockbreeder of Denison, was one of the most prominent men
in western Iowa, and without more than a passing mention of him and
his stock interests, a history of Crawford county would be incomplete.
W. A. McHenry was
born in Almond, Allegany County, New York, March 6, 1841, son of James
and Sarah (Allen) McHenry, the family being of Scotch-Irish extraction.
Major John McHenry, great grandfather of W. A., emigrated to New York
in 1739, and in the First New York Battalion, during the French War
of 1756, served as Major. His son, Captain Henry McHenry, grandfather
of our subject, was a Captain in the Second United States infantry in
the Revolutionary War. James McHenry was a Lieutenant in Captain Van
Campen's Company of New York Rifles in the War of 1812, and W. A. McHenry
was First Sergeant in Company L, Eighth Illinois Cavalry in the late
war. It is thus shown that Mr. McHenry and his ancestors for four generations
have served their country faithfully.
The boyhood days
of Mr. McHenry were spent in his native State. At the age of fourteen,
he came West, spent four years in Wisconsin, and from there went to
Ogle County, Illinois. He enlisted there October 5, 1861, in Company
L, Eighth Illinois Cavalry, and re-enlisted in January 1864, serving
until the war closed, and was mustered out at Chicago, July 23, 1865,
as Orderly Sergeant.
Mr. McHenry was
married in January 1864, to Mary L. Sears, a native of Massachusetts,
daughter of David G. and Olive (Deming) Sears, and at the time of her
marriage was a resident of Rockford, Illinois. During the time that
Mr. McHenry was in the war, after his marriage, his wife was in Denison,
Iowa, acting as Deputy County Treasurer. Mr. McHenry's brother being
Treasurer of Crawford County, so, as soon as he received his discharge,
he came direct to Iowa. Here he formed a partnership with his brother
Morris in the banking and real estate business. In 1877 he purchased
his brother's interest, and has since operated the business in his own
name.
This was one of
the first banks established in Crawford County. It was continued as
a private bank until Aug. 1, 1892, when it was changed to the First
National Bank, incorporated, with a capital stock of $100,000 with Mrs.
Henry its president and principal stockholder. It was begun in a small
way and has grown until it is now one of the most substantial monetary
institutions in the State.
While Mr. McHenry
has been very successful in the various enterprises with which he has
been connected, it is probably as a stockbreeder that he is most widely
known. He is the owner of the "McHenry Park Farm," which comprises
320 acres, located just outside the incorporated limits of Denison,
and which is complete in all its appointments. Here Mr. McHenry is engaged
in breeding the Aberdeen-Angus cattle, the name being derived from Aberdeen
and Angus counties, Scotland, where the Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association
was formed about the year 1860. It was then that this particular breed
of cattle received its name.
He is president
and one of the directors of the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association,
and devotes much time and energy to the advancement of its interests.
Besides his stock farm and city property, Mr. McHenry owns a number
of other farms, making in all some 4,000 acres, the most which is in
Crawford County.
He and his wife
have four children: Sears, who is cashier in his father's bank; Jennie,
wife of Louis Seemann, who is an assistant in the bank; Abbie, and George.
Mr. McHenry was actively identified with the G. A. R., and she with
the Woman's Relief Corps. He has held the office of Department Commander
of Iowa, while his wife has filled the positions of Department President,
Treasurer and Counsellor, and has also had the honor of being National
President.
John E. McNally, a farmer of Section 10, Crawford County, Iowa was
born in Sharon Township, Clinton County, Iowa, April 20, 1857, a son
of Philip and Mary (Nichols) McNally, natives respectively of Ireland
and Scotland. He was educated in the district schools of Harrison County.
John had 7 brothers and sisters: Mary L., James, P. T. (formerly a teacher
in Harrison, Crawford and Monona counties and later a principal of schools
in Minnesota), Lucie E., Francis Louis, Peter C., and Rose A. L.
John E. had been a farmer, but from 1879-1888, he began farming and
teaching in Shelby County. He taught in Harrison, Shelby, Crawford,
and Monona Counties. Mr. McNally was married in Harrison County on February
10, 1889, to Anna L. Wright, a native of Magnolia, Harrison County.
She was the daughter of W. H. H. and Lucy M. (Goodrich) Wright, natives
of Wisconsin and Ohio, and of Scotch-Irish and Scotch descent. Mrs.
McNally was a teacher of Crawford and Harrison Counties before she married
John E. They had two children: Ruth Ann and Mary Frances.
F. P. Moore
[Ida County] F. P. Moore,
proprietor of a livery and feed stable at Ida Grove, Ida County, Iowa,
had the leading business in his line in the town. He had room to accommodate
70 head of horses, and carried a stock of horses and vehicles worth
$2,000. This business was established by his father, C. W. Moore, in
January, 1879, and was conducted by him until September, 1887, since
which time F. P. Moore has had possession. He had been in business with
his father two years prior to this date.
F. P. Moore was a native of Wood County, Ohio, born April 27, 1850,
son of C. W. and Hannah (Condit) Moore. He spent his youthful days on
a farm in his native county, and at 16 years old, the family came to
Iowa. They lived one year in Marshalltown, and from there moved to Belle
Plaine, Benton County, where they engaged in farming 12 years. For some
5 years of this time, F. P. Moore ran a dray line. In March 1879, he
went to Cherokee County, Iowa, where he farmed 2 years, and in 1881,
came to Ida County locating in Galva Township. After farming 2 years
in that township, he located on a farm 2 miles south of Ida Grove, and
remained there until September 1887, since that time he was a resident
of Ida Grove.
Mr. Moore married August 18, 1870, to Katie A. Machiner, a native of
Pennsylvania. They had 6 children: Herbert E., Freddie, Charles J.,
Ella E., Alice V., and Nellie C.
John H. Moorehead came to Ida County in June, 1856. He was born in Zanesville,
Ohio, September 21, 1808. He was a son of Thomas Moorehead who was of Scotch
ancestry. He had been engaged in shipping flour down the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers to New Orleans. In 1854, Mr. Moorehead came to Iowa City, Iowa, where he
remained until 1856, when he and his family came to Ida County. He took an
active part in all public affairs and assisted in the upbuilding of the county.
He had been a man of business for many years and shouldered the public duties
which were thrust upon him. When the Ida County government was organized in
1858, he was chosen as County Judge. By this time, there were 38 people residing
in the county. The county courthouse was established at his home in 1860. The
first post office of the county was also at the Moorehead Homestead by 1857, and
stagecoaches traveled daily from Fort Dodge to Sioux City, and back. Mrs.
Moorehead prepared meals for the riders of the stagecoaches, and travelers could
room there, also.
When John Moorehead came to Ida County, he made his residence in the grove
near where the town of Ida Grove was later established in 1877. When they first
arrived in the county, they lived in a trapper�s cabin near where the Timber
Creek and the Maple River joined, until their log cabin had been built nearby.
The log cabin had one room downstairs and an upstairs for the men and boys. The
family brought Mrs. Moorehead�s mother with them, along with a hired girl.
This thriving place became the Moorehead homestead, and was christened Ida Grove
by Mrs. Martha Moorehead. Martha was the daughter of John A. and Mary A. Good of
Martinsburg, Virginia and was born July 6, 1814.
J. H. helped plat and lay out the Village of Ida, and on April 13, 1871, the
plat was recorded. Here the village was built, and after the appearance of the
railroad in 1877, the new town of Ida Grove was platted. Many of the businesses
were moved from the Village of Ida to the location of the new town built beside
the railroad tracks. It new town was named Ida Grove, the same as the Moorehead
homestead.
John and Martha had five children: Anna L. (the wife of Rev. Dr. Woodworth),
William C., Hammond A., Frank R., and Giles C. (the first white boy born in Ida
County on November 2, 1856). Giles was reared on the old home place and received
his early education in the schools of the district and at Sioux City, Iowa. He
graduated from the medical department of the State University of Iowa on March
5, 1875. He located at Ida Grove and setup medical practice there. He made a
specialty of diseases of the eye.
|
