A History
of Crawford, Ida and Sac Counties, Iowa
[?]: Lewis Publishing Co., 1893
W
Unless
otherwise specified, biographies are submitted by Conley
Wolterman.
C. H. Waitley, a farmer and fruit-grower, resided on Section 21, Boyer
Township, Crawford County, Iowa, and came to the county in 1878. He
was born in Massachusetts in 1829, and was the son of John S. and Lydia
Bartlett Waitley, natives of Scotland. C. H. Waitley was reared in Ashtabula
County, Ohio, received his education in the district schools, then attended
the Canton schools and then Hiram College, and was a pupil there with
the lamented President Garfield.
Mr. Waitley was married in Knox County, Ohio, in 1855, to Rosalia Mackenzie,
a native of Knox County and the daughter of Moses and Hester (Sapp)
Mackenzie. They moved to Noble, Indiana in 1859 and engaged in milling.
Then he went to La Grange, Indiana, following the same occupation for
some years. In 1878, he came to Harrison County, Iowa. He bought a farm
of 80 acres of raw prairie in Crawford County in 1884.
Mr. Waitley made a great success of fruit growing and put out a good
orchard of 1 � acres, also 2 acres in blackberries, 1 acre in strawberries,
1 1/2 acres in raspberries. He had a vineyard of 400 bearing vines.
For 16 years in Boyer Township, Crawford County, Mr. Waitley served
as Justice of the Peace. Mr. And Mrs. Waitley had 5 children: Flora,
Edwin B., Charlie, Eva (the wife of Dr. Spaulding of Battle Creek, Iowa,
and a successful teacher in Harrison and Monona Counties), and Ida.
Mr. Waitley was connected with the Dunlap Reporter as soliciting agent
for two years. He was editor of the paper for 2 � years.
B. F. Wicks, one
of the pioneers of Crawford County, was born near Jamestown, Chautauqua
County, New York, December 14, 1825, a son of John Wicks, a native of
Genesee, New York. The latter was a son of John Wicks, a Revolutionary
soldier, and of French descent.
B. F. Wicks' mother,
Abigail (Hartwell) Wicks, was born in New York, a daughter of Daniel
Hartwell, who was a son of a Revolutionary soldier. John and Abigail
Wicks were the parents of 14 children, 8 sons and 6 daughters. John
and Abigail both died in Bureau County, Illinois. The father was a millwright
by trade.
B. F. Wicks, the
7th of 8 brothers, was reared and educated in his native county, and
in early life was engaged in surveying for a time. At the age of 22
years, he moved to Bureau County, Illinois, and was a resident of that
county before the railroad was built.
In 1854, he came
with ox teams to western Iowa, remained at Boone, Iowa, several days,
and then settled on Government land in Crawford County. Mr. Wicks erected
a log cabin, 16 ft. square, and on account of Indian troubles, had to
attach the barn to the house.
He was elected the
first County Treasurer of Crawford County, and later was a candidate
for County Clerk with Thomas Dobson, but they received the same number
of votes, and after casting lots, the latter won. He was County Supervisor
2 years.
The Trading Post
was then Council Bluffs, 75 miles distant, and there were no bridges
over the streams.
In 1861, B. F. Wicks
returned to Bureau County, Illinois, but 8 months later came again to
Crawford County. His dwelling house on the 190-acre farm in Crawford
County was 16 x 24 feet, and a barn was 32 x 32 feet, with a brick basement.
In 1884, he came
to Deloit, where he erected a 1-½ story house, 14 x 22 feet,
which was surrounded by a beautiful lawn.
Mr. Wicks was married
in Chautauqua County, New York, in 1853 to Christina Klock, who was
born and reared in that county. Christina was the daughter of John B.
and Margaret Klock (both deceased in Bureau County, Illinois) who were
parents of 15 children, 8 daughters and 7 sons.
Christina and B.
F. Wicks had 2 children: Carrie, wife of William McKim of Decatur County,
Iowa, and Anna. Mrs. McKim (Carrie) had 6 children: Roy, Edna, Bernice,
Bertie, Ava, and Arthur.
Noah Williams
[Ida County] Noah Williams, one of the representative citizens and
early settlers of Ida County, Iowa, came to Ida Grove in 1876 and engaged
in business, opening the first bank in the county, known as the Ida
County Bank. This was in the old town on the north side (Village of
Ida) and was a private concern. In 1878, he erected a bank building
in the new addition, named by the Maple River branch of the Maple Valley
Railroad as Ida Grove. Under his judicious management, the enterprise
proved a successful one and he transacted a vast amount of business,
requiring three efficient assistants. Here he continued banking until
the fall of 1888. He was also interested in a real estate and loan business.
He handled a large amount of Ida County's land, and was the owner of
about 7,000 acres. He owned 1,000 acres of land in Black Hawk County,
Iowa. Since he disposed of his banking interests, he devoted his attention
entirely to real estate, long-time loans and stock-raising.
Mr. Williams was born in Highland County, Ohio, in the year 1840, and
was the son of James and Sarah (Wolf) Williams, of Welsh and English
descent. He was reared and educated in his native county, and taught
school for several years in Ohio and Illinois. He handled grain for
a time. He began to invest his money in bonds and securities, and in
1875 came to Iowa with a view of entering into the banking business
at Jefferson, but changed his mind and came on west to this part of
the state. He spent about 8 years in Illinois.
During the Civil War, he was a member of Co. H, 60th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, under Colonel William H. Trimble, and served for a short time
only. Since 1888, he was one of the trustees of Cornell College.
He was married near Waterloo, Iowa, in 1883, to Miss Louisa J. Cottrell, a
native of Troy, New York, and a daughter of Amasa and Rebecca J. Cottrell. They
had one child, Noah, Jr., born in 1885.
V. D. Wolcott was the proprietor of "Maple Grove" stock farm, adjoining the town of Battle Creek,
Iowa. He was a native of Washtenaw County, Michigan, born
September 16, 1858, son of Samuel and Maria (Matthews) Wolcott. He
was reared on a farm in Michigan and remained there until 1880.
When
he was 21 years, he married Hattie Teal, daughter of Franklin and Lavinia
(Palmer) Teel of Michigan and Battle Creek, Iowa, and had two children, Fred W.
and Gean. His sister's name was Florence Gillet. Mr.
Wolcott is a native of Washtenaw County, Michigan, born September 16, 1858, son
of Samuel and Maria (Matthews) Wolcott. His father was a native of New
York and his grandfather served as a soldier of the War of 1812. Mr.
Wolcott was an orphan at an early age, being left motherless at the age of 3
years and without a father when he was eleven. Mr.
Wolcott came to Ida County in 1880 and his farm comprised 115 acres in the
vicinity of Battle Creek, Iowa. His house was a story and a half with an
L, and he had two barns. Mr. Wolcott made a specialty of fine horses and
secured the best breeds of draft horses. His French draft,
"Captain," a black Percheron, weighed 1,850 pounds, and his French
coach was a bay of good style and action.
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