Guthrie County >> 1884 IndexHistory of
Guthrie and Adair Counties, Iowa
|
Penn Township Addison Cave, also a native of Virginia and the eldest son of John S. Cave, settled at the same time as his father, on the north half of the southeast quarter of section 12. He is now a resident of Dallas county, wheither he removed in 1877. He still owns a farm in this township, however. Andrew J. Cave, a son of Addison J. Cave, is now a resident of this township [Penn]. He was born in Caldwell county, Missouri, on the 17th of July, 1841. When he was but two years of age his parents removed to Wapello county, Iowa, but after a short time returned to Missouri; but in 1846 they came to Des Moines, where they resided until 1851, when they came to Guthrie county. He resided with his parents until his marriage, in July, 1862, to Miss Elizabeth H. Harper, when he removed to Dallas county. Here he remained until 1870, when he returned, and purchased a farm on section 14, where he resided until 1882, when he sold it out. He is still a resident of the township, living on section 13. He has four children living, and two dead. The names of the living ones are--Sabra A., Charles E., Eliza J. and Olive A.; the names of the deceased were--Ellis E. and Mahala M. He has an adopted boy that he has had since it was three months old, known by the name of Orville. In the winter of 1848, John S. Cave came here [Penn township] from Des Moines, with a company, in search of lands. He put up a log cabin, but did not stay long at that time. He was born in Virgina, in 1801, on the 16th of November. In early manhood he removed from the state of his nativity to Ohio, and from thence to Missouri and Iowa. He lives with his children in this township, and is a very neat and tidy old man, with all the peculiar characteristics of the Southern people, although he is and has been a strong anti-slavery man. He was married in Virginia to Miss Eva Michael, also a Virginian, by whom he has had fourteen children, eleven of whom came with the old people. It was not until 1851 that Mr. Cave came to make a permanent stay. The cabin which he built in 1848 was occupied all that winter by a man by the name of Dixon. Mr. Cave and family were therefore the pioneers of this townshiip in the settlement thereof. William B., another son of John S. Cave, settled on the south half of the southeast quarter of the same section in the same spring of 1851. He now lives on the northwest quarter of the same section [12]. William R. Fairholm, a son of I. H. Fairholm, was born in Indiana, November 4, 1843. His early life was spent on a farm; came with his mother to Madison county, Iowa, in 1864, and one year later came to Dallas county. He was married on 6th of February, 1868, to Miss Elizabeth Jamison. Directly after their marriage he moved to Guthrie county, and bought land on section 25 [Penn township]. Mr. Fairholm is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the G. A. R. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, 48th Indiana infantry. He participated in the engagements at Champion Hills, Vicksburg, and several others, and was on the Yazoo river expedition. He was mustered out on the 7th of August, 1863, and returned home; stayed one year, thence to Iowa, as above stated. Mr. and Mrs. F. have four children--Ina M., Garrett W., Bessie, and Bertha. George H. Fitting, a native of Richland county, Ohio, was born April 18, 1833, and is the son of Solomon and Margaret (Strong) Fitting. In 1869 he left Ohio, and came to Guthrie county, Iowa, buying one hundred and sixty acres of land on sections 35 and 36 [Penn township]. He bought thirty-five acres of timber in section 15, of widow Stiles, very little of which was improved. He set out nice groves and a large orchard, having now one of the nicest locations and nicest groves in Penn township. He also raises some stock, of which Hereford and Durham cattle are the chief consistence. He was married in March, 1858, in Ohio, to Miss Eva A. Hake, a daughter of Peter Hake. Their union Has been blessed with four children--Frederick H., Ada L., Libbie B. and Mamie. Ada L., who is attending the normal school at Dexter, expects soon to graduate. Mr. Fitting is member of the I. O. O. F. William R. Godwin The Godwin brothers settled in Penn township this same year [1855]. They were from Randolf county, Indiana. William R. Godwin was a native of Highland county, Ohio, where he was born May 19, 1835. In early life his parents removed to Indiana, where he was reared. In the spring of 1856, he entered the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 23. He was married June 5, 1856, to Miss Margaret Harbour, and they have seven children living. Mr. Godwin is still a resident of the township. James Godwin settled also upon section 22, where he is still living. Nathan Godwin located a claim upon section 23, where he remained some years, but has since moved back to Indiana, where he now lives. Elias Hadley and his family came from Morgan county, Indiana, and settled upon section 28 [Penn township]. Here he took up sone six hundred acres, partly in this and parly in Adair county. He settled down to open this farm and resided here until the day of his death, August 6, 1860. Simeon W. Hadley, who was born in Morgan county, Indiana, October 18, 1834, is the son of Elias and Deborah (Doane) Hadley. He came with his parents to Guthrie county, in 1855, and settled on section 28 [Penn township]. In July, 1857, he was married to Miss Mary M. Griffith, a daughter of Evan and Nancy O. Griffith. Thirteen children bless their union--Alonzo, Alphonso, Emma, Jonathan, Zelinda, Elton, Washington S., Elmer, Isaiah, James G., Edgar, Oliver, and Arthur. Those who are old enough have received a good common-school education. When Mr. Hadley was first married, he located on section 20, buying eighty acres of his father, and there remained until six years later, then buying one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 32, which is now laid off in lots. He has lived in Guthrie county ever since he came here with the exception of six months that he lived in Dallas county. He bought one half of section 18, which he still owns. He is a member of the Friends church, and has also held the position of trustee about eighteen years. William Harvey is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, being born on December 16, 1823. His mother died when he was about eighteen months old, and he went to live with a relative when he was about four years of age, having lived until that time at his home. When he was about eight years old, he moved with his father to Ohio, and living there some time, he returned to Pennsylvania, where he lived with his uncle several years; then began to work for his brother Peter in a flouring mill. He followed this business until 1855, when he came to Iowa, and he worked in the milling business with his brother, in Dallas county, for seven years. In 1862, he was enployed by John Pearson, a miller, on section 15, in Penn township of this county, where he remained until 1881, when he bought a farm in this township, which he has greatly improved. He now owns two hundred and sixteen acres, and owns a number of fine stock. On November 18, 1852, he was married to Miss Mary A. Edal, a native of Pennsylvania. They have had six children--Emma, Hannah J., Sarah A., dead; Jessie M., George W., and Grant D., dead. Mr. Harvey is township clerk and treasurer of the West Milton independent school district. John Kunkle is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born on September 21, 1832. He is the son of Benjamin and Barbara (Edmund) Kunkle, the pioneer settlers of Guthrie county. When quite young, John moved with his parents to Crawford county, Pennsylvania, where he remained some time, when he moved to Champagne county, Ohio, He staid there nine years, thence to Van Buren county, Iowa. In the course of a few months he went to Wapello county, and in 1849 he came to Guthrie county. He was married to Lucinda Williams, a daughter of John and Harriet (Chilcoat) Williams. Mrs. Williams is a native of Guernsey county, Ohio, and was born in 1834. When John was first married, he bought eighty acres of good land on section 20 [Penn township]. He owned that piece of land for some time, and there lived until 1861, when he bought eighty acres, on the same section, of Charles Lamb. In 1861 he went to the mountains, and, after seeing many hardships and severe weather, he returned home, being satisfied to remain. He enlisted in Company C, 46th Iowa infantry. When he returned from the army he went to Dale City, where he lived some few years, and then returned to his farm on section 18. He now owns one hundred and ninety acres of land, which is some of the best land in Penn township. Milton Macy is a native of Randolph county, Indiana, and was born on the 25th of January, 1830. In 1859 he moved to Illinois, where he remained one year, when he came to Guthrie county, buying a farm in Penn township, which he now has improved, and has made some good improvements on the farm. He has some fine stock which he raises for his own use. He was married in September, 1850, to Miss Mary Barnett, of Indiana. The have seven children living--Sarah A., wife of F. O. Burke; Alma, married to F. F. Dulton, now living in Cass county; Madison M., married Olive Purdown; Albert E., Oliver E., Alta L., and Charles M. Mr. Macy is a prominent member of the I. O. O. F. Joseph W. McPherson was born in Warren county, Ohio, on the 30th of May, 1815, and is the son of George D. McPherson and Charity H. Locke, daughter of Captain John Locke, of Roanoke, Virginia, who served through the revolutionary war as captain. Mr. McPherson resided in Warren county a few months, when he removed with his parents to Cincinnati, where they remained until the spring of 1816, when they removed to Lawrence county, Indiana, where they remained nine years. In 1825 they removed to Wayne county, Indiana. He roamed about through Eastern Indiana, and Western Ohio, teaching school and working at the carpenter trade, until 1853, when he went into the mercantile business in the town of Economy, Wayne county, Indiana, where he remained until the fall of 1856, when he went to Keokuk county, Iowa. He remained there until the spring of 1857, when he came to Guthrie county and settled on section 35, township 78, range 30, in Penn township. The Macksville post-office was established at his house, between Greenfield and Redfield, while he carried the mail between these points. The post-office was subsequently removed to Stuart and the name of the office changed from Macksville to Stuart. In the fall of 1869 he sold his farm and bought another in section 33, to which he removed in the spring of 1870, where he followed farming and stock-raising. In early life he joined the M. E. church and commenced reading for the ministry; was licensed to exhort in 1846, and sustained that relation until about 1860, when he was licensed to preach, and held religious meetings at many school-houses in Guthrie and Adair counties. In 1873 he was ordained and appointed to Richland mission, which comprised a part of Guthrie, Carroll and Greene counties. He founded two small methodist societies, one in Highland township at center school-house, and one at Moffitt's Grove. He established four others--one in Richland township, at Savis school-house, one in Dodge township, at a school-house, one at Tuttle's Grove, and one at Leeta school-house, all in Guthrie county. He held protracted meetings through the winter with good success. The membership increased over fifty percent during the year. The next year he was appointed agent for the American Bible society, and traveled through Adair county, distributing bibles and preaching on Sundays, taking up collections and receiving donations to the American Bible Society and subsequently traveled the Greenfield and Redfield ciecuits. Commenced in 1869 preaching in Stuart as soon as a place could be found in which to hold divine service. He preached the first sermon that was ever preached in Stuart, and that in the old depot, and subsequently held divine service in the barroom of the hotel known as the Dunham house, which was subsequently used by Pearson and Rodakes as a carriage manufactory. And while used as such, it was burned down. He held the first class meeting that was ever held in Stuart, in the upper chamber of a house on Division Street, opposite the M. E. Church, now occupied by Mr. Smull. In the fall, of 1869, Rev Winning, P. C., of the Greenfield circuit, formed a class of six members: Rev. J. W. McPherson and wife, George W. Clark (C. L.) and wife, and John Birchard and wife. Mr. McPherson took great interest in politics, and was elected justice of the peace in April, 1859, and was re-elected to said office seven successive terms. Thereafter he was also a member of the board of county supervisors, and also held other township offices, and was at the same time a member of the board of county supervisors, justice of the peace and township clerk. He was placed in nomination by the republican party for the office of county clerk in 1862, without his knowledge or consent. The ticket was sent to the army to get the soldier vote, with his name printed thereon for the office of county surveyor by mistake. At the suggestion of his friends he announced, through the county paper, that he declined the nomination (seeing he would lose the soldier vote and be likely to cause defeat), and was a tie at two succeeding county conventions for the same office, to wit--in the years 1864 and 1868. Since his work in the ministry he has not taken much interest in politics. He was married on the 24th of December, 1834, to Miss Sarah Lenington, daughter of Abraham Lenington, formerly of Pennsylvania. Some of Mrs. McPherson's ancesters came over in the Mayflower in 1620. They have ten living children, whose names are as follows: George B., Abraham L., John B., Augustus W., Mary Jane (married to W. C. Wollen), James M., Rufus K., Emma C. (married to Edward L. Pugh), Exa S. (married to George Burgan), and Myrta E. (married to J. Fowler). All married and gone by themselves, the two old piople living alone, except when some of their children visit them. They have thirty living granchildren. The old people enjoy good health for persons of their age. B. F. Raber was born in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of May, 1829, and is the child of Daniel and Susan (Powell) Raber. When he was about three years of age, he moved with his parents to Wayne county, Indiana. He remained there until 1856, when he came to Guthrie county, and bought a farm on section 10 and 11 [Penn township]. He has since torn down the cabin, built a commodious house and other farm buildings, and has improved the farm, all but eleven acres, the farm being forty. He has some Durham stock, horses and some cattle of smaller value. Mr. Raber was married in Guthrie county, to Miss Melvina Sheeley, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of George Sheeley. By this union they have had eleven children, nine of whom are living--Arthur, Lucretia, George, Martha J., Daniel, Emma, Hattie, Franklin F. and Doice. Mrs. Raber is a member of the Baptist church. Benjamin F. Tate came to Guthrie county in the spring of 1859, and bought a farm on section 36 and forty acres on section 25 [Penn township]. He was born in Henrico county, Virginia, on the 14th of September, 1826. When he was about seven years of age, he moved with his parents to Licking county, Ohio, where they remained two years, and moved to Delaware county, Indiana. Here they remained until 1857, when he came to Dallas county, Iowa, and staid one year. He then came to Guthrie county. He was married in 1852, in Wayne county, Indiana, to Miss Laura L. Beason, who died in the fall of 1865, leaving three children--John M., Jehu B., and Mary F. He was married for the second time, in 1866, to Miss Louisa Mendenhall, by whom he has four children living--Charles C., Elmer C., Archie B., and Frederick H. Mr. Tate and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Nathaniel Wright came to Guthrie county in 1866, was on a farm at Morrisburg for two years, thence to a farm of eighty acres on section 29 [Penn township], to which he has since added forty acres on section 30. He was born in Kosciusko county, Indiana, on the 29th of July, 1842. Mr. Wright is the son of Newcell and Mary (Barnes) Wright. His mother is a native of North Carolina, and his father a native of Kentucky. Nathaniel was married in Morrisburg, April 19, 1868, to Miss Mary A. Nation, a daughter of John and Isabella Nation. They have been blessed with four children--Martha N., Isa M., Nellie and Laura E. Mr. Wright is now holding the offices of school director and township assessor, the latter position of which he has held for five years. |