Guthrie County >> 1884 Index

History of Guthrie and Adair Counties, Iowa
Springfield, Ill: Continental Hist. Co., 1884.

Panora and Yale
Transcribed by Bobbi Pohl

Henry L. Beam, a son of Louis and Catherine (Henning) Beam, was born in Germany in 1848. After the close of the war in 1866, he came to America, going on his arrival here to Fulton county, Illinois, where he had an elder brother living. In 1872 he came to Guthrie county, and worked on a farm as a hand. In 1875 he purchased a team and some eighty acres of good prairie land, and went to farming on his own account. After several years of this occupation he sold his farm and quit the business, and moved into Yale, where he is engaged in buying grain for Rugg, Bryan & Co., of Des Moines. His mother died in the old home in Germany, in 1863, his father in 1873. Henry L. Beam is a prominent member of the Panora lodge of Odd Fellows, having joined that order in Fulton county, Illinois.

William H. Burns, dealer in furniture and lumber, the subject of this sketch, is one of the most prominent men of Panora. He is a native of Ireland, and was born February 14, 1840. In 1852, the family emigrated to America, settling in New York city, where William was raised and educated at the Cooper institute. He then learned the trade of cabinet-making, which he followed until 1861. In April of that year, he enlistened in Company H, 9th New York zouave regiment, being one of its color guard. At the battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia, in 1863, was wounded by a rifle ball in the shoulder, and was removed to the hospital at Washington, D. C., and was discharged. In July, 1863, he re-enlisted as second lieutenant with the 4th District of Columbia volunteers, and served under Colonel Greene until the close of the war. He then accepted a position in the freeman's bureau, under General O. O. Howard, where he remained until April, 1871. He then located in Panora in his present business. He was the first city treasurer of Panora, and is now serving his fourth term as mayor of that city. He was married January 2, 1868, to Margaret A. Bartholow, a native of Maryland. They have six children--Robert B., Ernest E., Alpheus M., Floyd W., Ormond C. and William H. Mr. B. is a member of the Masonic fraternity and also of the Grand Army of the Republic, and is now serving his third term as president of the independent school district of Panora; also is one of the directors and secretary of the Panora coal prospecting company, etc.

John Cline, of Cline & Son, dry goods, is the oldest merchant now doing business in Panora, and a man who has done much toward making that part of the county what it is. He was born in Carroll county, Indiana, April 8, 1830. He was there reared on a farm, and educated, and there learned and followed the wagonmaking trade until 1855. He then came to Panora, and followed his trade here one year. He then engaged in the mercantile business with which he has since been identified. He was a member of the city school board for twelve years, and a member of Panora's city council for three years. He is one of the leading members of the Baptist church. He was united in marriage April 10, 1851, with Miss Caroline Ortt, a native of Pennsylvania. They have eight children living and four dead--Joseph M., William H., Laura E., Mary V., Elizabeth A., James N., Emma F. and John B.

Josiah Deardorff, the man who has made a market in Panora for farm produce, and one of that city's most enterprising citizens, was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1840, and was there reared on a farm. When sixteen years of age he removed to Lee county, Illinois, where he farmed and worked at the trade of harness making until 1872. He then came to Jefferson, Greene county, Iowa, where he was engaged in the poultry business for two years. He then engaged in the harness business in Panora, and also in the season dealt largely in poultry. In 1884 (April) he sold his harness business to Snyder Brothers, and now gives his attention to managing his farm and breeding shorthorn stock and to the poultry business. He was married December 13, 1863, to Delila Baughman, a native of Pennsylvania. They have one child--Allie V. Mr. Deardorff is the present city treasurer, and was a member of the school board for the past nine years. He is a member of the V. A. S.

Samuel G. Funk, the senior member of this firm [Funk & Goss, drugs, stationery, paints, oils, jewelery, and notions], is a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and was born April 5, 1840. When thirteen years of age, his parents moved to Summit county, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. In 1860, he came to Milton Junction, Iowa, where he enlisted, in June, 1861, in Company H, 2d Iowa infantry, serving until November, 1861, when he was discharged on account of disability. In August, 1862, he re-enlisted in Company K, 35th Iowa infantry, serving till August, 1865. After his discharge he went to Leavenworth, Kansas, where he was engaged in clerking for eight years, three years of which was in the drug business. At the expiration of that time he came to Iowa county, Iowa, where he clerked for George Agnew until 1877, when he went to Malcomb, Iowa, where he was engaged in the drug business up to 1879. From there he went to Des Moines, where he clerked for W. W. Orris until 1880, when he came to Panora. After clerking for R. T. C. Lord for six months, he bought him out, and still continues to run the business. He was married, July 7, 1879, to Katurah Davis, of Pennsylvania. They have one child--Ruby J. Mr. Funk is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of the G. A. R. He is also a member of the board of aldermen, and of the school board.

Albert B. Goss, of Funk & Goss, druggists, was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, April 12, 1851. When three and a half years old his parents removed to Morris, Illinois, wehre he received a common school education. In 1869, he returned to Crawfordsville and entered the academy at that place. In September, 1872, he entered the freshman class of Wabash college. The year 1874-5 was spent in teaching school near Roseville, Illinois. Returning to Wabash college he was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1877. In 1880, his alma mater honored him with the degree of M. A. After graduating he taught school in Grundy county, Illinois, until the summer of 1880, when he came to Menlo, Iowa, where he was appointed principal of schools, which plce he held two years. He then accepted the position of assistant principal in the Guthrie county high school, which place he held until June, 1883, when he became a member of the present firm. He was united in marriage August 10, 1882, with Miss Ellen A. Kimball, a native of Lamville county, Vermont, and for several years a successful teacher in Guthrie county. They are members of the Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Goss is a member of the Greek fraternity Phi Kappa Psi, and of the Knights of Pythias.

Lewis Harvout is one of the largest landholders in Guthrie county, and a man who, by his own enterprise and business tact, has arisen from a man in liberal circumstances to be one of the wealthiest citizens of our county. He was born in Ashland county, Ohio, January 1, 1830, and was there reared and educated. His parents, Joseph and Lydia (Bruce) Harvout, were natives of Pennsylvania. They had ten children, of whom Lewis was the seventh child. In the spring of 1854, Lewis came to Panora, where he followed school teaching in the city and country in adjoining counties until 1861. He then in 1862, enlisted in Company I, 29th Iowa regiment, serving with that company until the spring of 1863. He was then commissioned as second lieutenant of the 54th colored regiment United States volunteers, and afterward promoted to first lieutenant of the same. In August, 1864, was discharged on account of disability, and returned to Panora, where he has since been engaged in the brokerage and land business. He owns about one thousand seven hundred acres of choice land, besides other valuable property, and has one of the finest residences in the county. He was united in marriage in 1870, to Miss Nettie Shamp, of Fairfield, this state. They have two children--Carrie L. and Esta N. In 1855, he was appointed treasurer and recorder of Guthrie county, and served six months. The family are members of the Christian church.

David D. Lahman, proprietor of the Lahman house [Panora], was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1834. He is the son of John Lahman, also a native of that place, and his maternal grandfather owned the now famous property (since bought by the government) on which a part of the battle of Gettysburg was fought. His name was John Myers. David was reared in his native place, and there resided until 1853. He then emigrated to Lee county, Illinois, where he was identified with the early settlers. In 1863 (December) he came to Guthrie county and engaged with his brother in the dry-goods business, which he continued until 1866. He then engaged in the grocery business, and two years later closed that business out and engaged in farming. In 1876 he returned to Panora and in 1880 opened his present hotel. He is a genial host and is well liked by the traveling public. He was married November 18, 1862, in Lee county, Illinois, to Miss Amanda McMannus, a native of New York. They have one child--Eva C.

William Maxwell was elected clerk in 1864, and re-elected in 1866, serving four years in all and was a most excellent officer. Mr. Maxwell came to Panora, Guthrie county, in 1863, at the close of his term of service as captain in an Ohio regiment during the war. His former home had been in Williams county, Ohio. His trade was that of a tinner, which business he commenced in connection with a hardware store on his arrival at this point, but being elected clerk he gave his whole attention to his official duties, his partner attending to the store. He was elected as member of the general assembly in 1871, but resigned before the expiration o his term of office had expired. In 1876, he emigrated to Texas, with the intention of establishing a ranch in that state, but met an untimely death at the hand of a negro assassin. [A long account of the murder and robbery by an employee follows. William's son Emmet was also killed. No data on other members of the family is given].

Thomas Mendenhalll was born in Hancock county, Indiana, September 22, 1845. He moved from Indiana to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1858, where he farmed and followed blacksmithing until the spring of 1873, when he went to Dallas county, where he followed backsmithing and milling until he came to Yale. He was married in the fall of 1871, in Poweshiek county, to Miss Elvina J. Hirlbirk, a native of Missouri. They have five children--Larken, Lawrence, Lansen, Lucretia and Lora.

William W. Montgomery was born in Shelby county, Indiana, being the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Steers) Montgomery. His father died in 1880, at the age of sixty; his mother died in 1874, aged forty-six years. He moved from Indiana in the fall of 1864, coming to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he farmed for nearly a year, when he came to Cass township, Guthrie county. He returned to Oskaloosa, where he remained until 1866, when he came back to Guthrie county. He was married in September, 1866, to Miss Sarah Phillips, a native of Ohio. They have six children--Zillah, Mollie, Caddie, Joseph, Frank and Lulu. He owns a fine farm, all under cultivation, which he farmed himself. He commenced the erection of his fine residence in Panora in the fall of 1882 and finished it in 1883. His parents are buried in Shelby county, Indiana, and have a magnificent tombstone, costing $1,000, to mark their resting place. He has a large number of the finest grades of horses, cattle and hogs.

George H. Moore, of Moore & Son, dry goods.--Among the progressive and successful merchants of Panora, who deserve special notice in this work, may be mentioned the subject of this sketch. He was born in Farquhar county, Virginia, June 12, 1827. When five years of age he taken was by the family to Greene county, Ohio, where he was reared on a farm and received his education from the log schoolhouse of that neighborhood. In 1858 he removed to Logan county, Ohio, where he resided until 1865. In the spring of that year he came to Guthrie county, locating on section 18, Cass township, where he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1880. He then engaged in the dry goods business. He still owns a well improved farm of six hundred and forty acres in Cass township. He was united in marriage March 13, 1850, to Miss Hannah J. Peterson, a native of Ohio. They have seven children--Marcellus F., Ada A., Clara A., Horace L., Willis G., Flora B., Arta G. Mr. M. has for six years been president of the Guthrie county bank, now Guthrie county national, and has held the offices of township trustee of Cass township, and member of the board of aldermen of Panora, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

D. H. Plaine, of Plaine Brothers, hardware.--The subject of this sketch is a native of Carroll county, Maryland, and was born December 18, 1846. He is the son of Beniah E. Plaine, an early settler of this county who was born in Maryland, and came to Guthrie county in 1867, with which he was prominently identified until his death, which occurred November, 1880. Daniel was nineteen years of age when the family came to this county. He farmed on the old home farm until 1877, when he engaged in the hardware business in Panora. He was united in marriage November 29, 1870, to Miss Cathrine Bower, a daughter of Dr. John Bower of Guthrie Center.

H. E. Plaine, of Plaine Brothers, hardware, is a native of Carroll county, Maryland, and was born August 15, 1860. He moved to Iowa with his father in 1867. In 1877 he went into the hardware business with his father, under the firm name of B. E. Plaine & Sons. In 1880 he bought a half interest, and at present is in the business under the firm name of Plaine Brothers.

James R. Powell, real-estate agent, an old settler of Panora, and one who has been closely identified with the growth and prosperity of the same almost from its existence, was born in Washington county, Maryland, April 15, 1828. He is the son of William and Catharine (Richardson) Powell, who were natives of that state. In March, 1829, the family removed to Monroe county, Ohio. James, at fourteen years of age, found himself alone in the world, free to shift for himself, and engaged with farmers as a laborer until 1846. He then clerked one year in Sardis, Ohio, and went from there to Beallsville, Ohio, and served in a like capacity, for a short time. He then resided in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until 1848. He then returned to Ohio, where he followed the profession of school teaching. In the spring of 1849 he went to Bartholomew county, Indiana, there teaching and farming until 1854. He then came to Iowa, and was merchandising in Centerville, Appanoose county, until September, 1855, when he came to Panora and engaged in merchandising--so engaged three years. He then engaged in farming and followed that occupation in this and Dallas county until 1876. He then returned to Panora, and engaged in the real estate business. He was married August 17, 1851, to Miss Clarinda Hill, a native of Indiana. They have nine children--John A., Eliza C., Asberry F., Mary A., William L., Charles L., Lorada J., Leo G. and Eva B. Mr. Powell is a member of the Masonic order.

Reuben C. Reeves is a prominent man of Yale, and is a grain and lumber merchant of that place. He was born in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in April, 1850. His father, Uhler Reeves, married Miss Maria Haughtelin, the latter of whom died in 1863, the father in 1860. Reuben moved to Panora in 1868, where he remained for some time. In 1870 he bought a large farm on section 6, in Cass township, which he commenced improving at once. In 1872 he went to take personal charge of his land and there remained until 1884, when he established his present business, renting his farm to a neighbor, who takes excellent care of the finely cultivated land. Reuben C. Reeves has spent considerable of his time in traveling until he became a citizen of Yale.

William J. Revell

The next [fourth] settler was William J. Revell, who came to Valley township, in June 1854, and made a claim on section 8, where he still resides. William J. Revell came to Guthrie county, in October, 1853, and settled in Panora, where he remained until December of the same year, when he moved to Missouri. He remained there one year, when he returned to his present location near Panora. He was born in Albany county, New York, on March 17, 1832, and is the son of Francis and Mary (McDonald) Revell. He was married in Guthrie Center, April 16, 1860, to Miss Lucy Parrish. They have eight children--Ellen, married September 3, 1882, to William Baden; Edith, Cora, Frank, Margaret, died November 30, 1879; Rachel, Gracie, and Martha. Mr. Revell enlisted in the late civil war, in June, 1861, in Company C, 4th Iowa infantry. He was in the battle of Pea Ridge, and in the skirmishes from Springfield to Cross Hollows, Arkansas. He was mustered out in the latter part of 1862, at St. Louis, Missouri. He owns nine hundred acres of land throughout the county, some five hundred and sixty acres of which are cultivated, and seventy acres timber land. Mr. R. is a member of the Guthrie lodge, No. 123, A.F. and A.M., and is a member of the I.O.O.F.

Elijah J. Reynolds came to Guthrie county in May, 1852, and located where he now lives, on the edge of Panora, in 1853, and has lived there while a city has been built around him. He was an early settler of Cass township, and has been prominently identified with the interests of this county for the past thirty-two years. He was born in Owen county, Indiana, July 5, 1832. His parents, Gillum and Winnie (Beaman) Reynolds, were natives of North Carolina. They were early settlers of Indiana, and there reared eleven children, of whom Elijah was the third. The father died in 1856, and the mother's death occurred December 23, 1875. Elijah was reared in Indiana and in 1852 came to Cass township, this county, where he has since been a resident. In 1871 he was elected county treasurer, which office he held for three terms. In 1875 he, with others, organized the bank of Guthrie county, with which he has been identified ever since as vice-president. In 1878 he became a member of the drug firm of Pentecost, Hayden & Reynolds, with which he is still interested. In 1881 he engaged in the grain business, and in 1882, with Mr. Spurgin as a partner, added also the lumber business. He was married June 28, 1853, to Miss Eliza Anderson, a native of Ohio. They have five children--Martha J., Marshall M., Sarah E., George M. and Arthur. Mr. Reynolds is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and also a member of the Masonic fraternity.

William H. Spurgin is a native of Bartholamew county, Indiana, and was born May 9, 1842. He was reared in his native county until fourteen years of age, when the family came to Mahaska county, Iowa. In 1867-8, and 1868-9 he attended the Wesleyan university of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. In 1870 he came to Guthrie county, where he taught school one term. In 1870-1 he again attended the Wesleyan, graduating from that institution in the spring of 1871. He then returned to Panora, where he was principal of the school for two years. He then engaged in farming, which occupation he followed two years. In 1876 he accepted the office of deputy treasurer under E. J. Reynolds, holding the same until 1878. He then retruned to the farm. In 1880 he engaged in his present business [lumber]. In 1882 he accepted the office of deputy treasurer under John D. Lenon, but owing to his impaired health, he resigned, and the year following returned to his present business. At the breaking out of the war he enlisted, June 13, 1861, in Company H, 1st Iowa cavalry, and served until September 9, 1864. He was united in marriage November 1, 1872, with Martha J. Reynolds, a daughter of E. J. Reynolds, of Panora. They have three children--Warren C., Prude and Wade. Mr. S. is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic.