Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
ADY, James H.,
far., Sec. 11; P. O. Atalissa; son of Joshua and Rachel Ady; born March
12, 1825, in Harrison Co., Ohio; parents moved to Belmont Co. in 1844.
Married there to Miss Sarah Gregg, Jan 2. 1851; she was born Jan 23, 1824,
in the same county; the following spring, emigrated to Muscatine Co.; entered
his present farm of 160 acres, which now adjoins the town of Atalissa,
and is valued at $45 per acre. The town was laid out in the fall of 1855
by Capt. Lundy and John P. Cook, of Davenport, the railroad being completed
and the first passenger-train run through to Iowa City Jan.1, 1856. Mr.
Ady's father is still living in Atalissa, in his 81st year; his mother
died in March, 1853. Their children are--- Maria, Hillis J., and Laura
L.; lost one son--- Gregg. Republican.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: Andreas'
History of the State of Nebraska, Gage County
Wm. H. was born in Chenango County, N. Y., June 1, 1831, entered the employ of Edward Miller, of Truxton, N. Y., as clerk, at the age of sixteen years. During the year 1850 he entered the dry goods house of E. Gogham, Detroit, Mich., as salesman, where he attained his majority--casting his first ballot for Zach Chandler for mayor; afterward having charge of a general merchandise store in Oakland County, Mich. September 11, 1854, finds him established in general merchandise at Union, McHenry Co., Ill., where he continued successfully to the close of the war, his name appearing upon record as Supervisor, Township School Treasurer, Postmaster, etc., which public offices he resigned upon his removal to Tipton, Iowa, April, 1865. In connection with his business of general merchandise, his service of five years as Director and Secretary of the Muscatine, Tipton & Minnesota Railroad Co. evince his active interest in all public improvements, and the files of Aurora newspapers record him as Chairman of the (anti-license) Board of Trustees for 1881-82, as also of Board of School Trustees. Mr. A. is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was knighted in DeMolay Commandery, No. 1, Muscatine, Iowa. He was married October 26, 1854, at Rochester, N. Y., to Elizabeth Payne Findley, who died at Tipton, Iowa, 1871. In 1872 he married Miss Mary Lightfoote, of Canandaigua, N. Y., who, in addition to the cares of a large family, finds time and evident pleasure in the details of his extensive business, appearing daily at her position in the dress goods department.
Wm. Merle A. (married), Kate F., Eva B., John L., Joseph
G., and James H, children of Mr. A., comprise a family large enough to
place him among the representative men of Nebraska's population. Notwithstanding
Mr. A. has met many reverses, he has never failed in his business and claims
that his legitimate business of merchandising has never proved unremunerative
(outside transactions only disastrous) during thirty-five years
of active business.
Source: Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska, Hamilton County
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Note: daughter Alma Mary had not yet been born at the
time this article appeared.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
In early manhood Mr. Alt
was united in marriage to Miss Louise Danz, a daughter of Chris Danz, of
Muscatine,
Iowa. A son and a daughter
have been born to them-Herbert and Catherine. The family are members of
the
Lutheran church, while
Mr. Alt has always given his allegiance in political matters to the democratic
party. While
he is not an aspirant
for office, he has won the confidence of his fellow citizens who elected
him to the position
of director of the Blue
Grass schools. He belongs to Blue Grass Lodge, No. 26, of the Modern Brotherhood
of
America, and to the Grange,
and he has made friends who loyally accord him respect and good will.
"History of Davenport
and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.Chicago.
1910
Transcribed by Elaine
Rathmann of the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project - used by permission
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Seventy Six Twp
Our subject spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native land, where he received his education. When a young man he resolved to cast his lot in the New World, and in 1848, accompanied by a brother and sister, he bade good-by to his home and friends and started for America. There were no steamers in those days, the voyage having to be made in a sailing-vessel, which was seventy-seven days in crossing the Atlantic. Landing in New York in June, he remained there but two days, and then went to Philadelphia on foot, and there worked for three months in a shipsmith's shop, for which he received no wages. He remained in Philadelphia until the 1st of November, and then went to Lebanon, County, Pa., and there worked for a farmer for his board during the winter. He remained on that farm until May, 1851, when he came West, locating in Muscatine County, where he entered 160 acres of land, having previously purchased a land warrant in Philadelphia. He subsequently added to the original tract until he became the owner of 275 acres. He has since given eighty acres each to two of his sons, and is now the owner of 116 acres where he resides, and which pay tribute to his care and cultivation.
On the 14th day of December, 1852, Mr. Alteneder was united in marriage with Miss Barbara Hahn, who was one of a family of ten children, the following-named now living; Mathias, John, Margaret, Paul, Barbara, Catherine and John of Muscatine. Three children grace the union of Mr. and Mrs. Alteneder: George, a resident of Sweetland Township, who married Anna Schmidt, daughter of George Schmidt, whose sketch appears on another page of this work; Charles, husband of Pauline Wurm, now residing in Atlanta, Ga.; and Willie, who wedded Louisa Kleinsmith, and lives in Montpelier Township. In 1873 Mr. Alteneder returned to Germany to visit his mother, whose death occurred the following year. He is truly one of the self-made men of Muscatine County. Coming to this country in limited circumstances, he began working at the ship-builder's trade, but for three months received no compensation for his labor. His early disadvantages seemed but to strengthen his resolve to make his life a success, and with renewed energy he continued his labors, until he has now become one of the well-to-do farmers of this community. He was formerly a Republican, but is now a supporter of the Democrat party.
Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County,
Iowa, 1889, page 338
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Wilton
Twp
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: William G. Cutler's History of the State of Kansas, Neosho Co.
Source: History of Guthrie and Adair Counties, IA Continental
Historical Company 1884, Springfield IL
Spending his boyhood days under the parental roof, Walter M. Balluff pursued his education in the public schools of Davenport, continuing his studies through consecutive grades until he was graduated from thehigh school with the class of 1899. Reflection concerning the business world and the various opportunities therein offered along many lines of industrial, commercial and professional activities, led him to the determination to make the practice of law his life work and to this end he entered the office of Cook & Dodge, with whom he remained as assistant until 1906, when he was admitted to the firm. Since the 1st of June, 1909, the firm has been Cook & Balluff. In no profession does advancement depend more largely upon individual merit and with the realization of the fact that his labor must constitute the foundation upon which to build success, he devotes himself with great earnestness to the preparation of his cases and in their presentation leaves no point undefended that he can fortify by the citation of precedent or law principle.
Mr. Balluff in his political allegiance is a democrat, and his social relations are with the Elks and the Knights of Columbus.
"History of Davenport
and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Chicago IL 1910
Transcribed by Debbie
Gerischer for the Scott Co IA GenWeb Project-used by permission
Source: University of
Iowa Special Collections
(note if you are researching this family, the U of
I library special collections houses 4 boxes full of her personal papers
and photographs)
In the common schools of Germany John Bangert acquired a good education and remained under the parental roof until fifteen years of age, when he came alone to America. Here he joined an uncle, John Wanda, who resided in Muscatine county, Iowa, near Blue Grass, with whom he continued to make his home until twenty-one years of age. On attaining his majority he took up agricultural pursuits on his own account and for four years operated a farm belonging to his aunt in Muscatine county. At the expiration of that period he came to Scott county, where he rented a farm in Buffalo township for two years. He then returned to Muscatine county and there engaged in farming in the capacity of renter until about eleven years ago, when he purchased his present farm, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres located on the northwest quarter of section 34, Cleona township. He has since directed his efforts toward the further development of this farm, which under his wise and careful management has been brought to a high state of cultivation, it being one of the well improved properties of the township. He practices rotation of crops, has made a thorough study of the cereals best adapted to the soil and climate and the proper cultivation of the same, and is systematic, methodical and progressive in his methods, so that with the passing of the years he has won a most gratifying measure of success in agricultural lines.
Mr. Bangert laid the foundation for a happy home life by his marriage, October 23, 1879, to Miss Katharine Shulte, who was born in Buffalo township, Scott county, Iowa, on the 1st of May, 1858, and is a daughter of Henry and Marie (Gaass) Shulte, both natives of Germany. The parents came to New York in 1850 and were there married, after which they removed to Cleveland, Ohio, and thence to Davenport. The father died at the age of sixty-eight years, his death occurring on the ocean while on a trip back to the fatherland, while the mother survived for several years, passing away when eighty-three years of age.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bangert were born six children, namely: August, of Cleona township; Marie, the wife of Henry Bierkamp of Cedar county; Anna, who married Henry Lehms of Muscatine county; Clara, the wife of Hugo Schneckloth, a resident of Muscatine county; and Henry and Lena, both at home.
Politically Mr. Bangert has given stalwart support
to the democratic party since age conferred upon him the right
of franchise, but he has never been an aspirant for
public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon the
conduct of his business affairs. He is public-spirited
in his citizenship, however, and although born across the waters is thoroughly
identified with the interests of his adopted country and is numbered among
her loyal, representative and substantial citizens.
History of Davenport and Scott County, Volume 2 by
Harry E. Downer
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago IL 1910
Originally transcribed for the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project
by Debbie Gerischer-used by permission
Reared in the county of his nativity, at the usual
age Dr. C. L. Barewald became a pupil in the public schools and, continuing
through consecutive grades, completed his preliminary training by graduation
from the high school at Wilton Junction, Iowa, and later received his B.
S. degree at the Norton Normal and Scientific Academy at that place. He
then entered the medical department of the University of Iowa, graduating
therefrom in 1891, and immediately thereafter opened an office for practice
in Muscatine, where he remained for two years, after which he came to Scott
county, locating in Buffalo in 1893. Ten years were there devoted to the
general practice of medicine, at the expiration of which time he came to
Davenport in order that he might be in constant touch with his duties as
county physician, to which office he had been elected on the 1st of January,
1904. In that official capacity he had charge of the regular medical work
of the county hospital and the emergency work of the jail and police station.
These duties were at all times faithfully performed and with credit to
his skill and humanity. In the meantime he had become well known as a most
capable and proficient physician and surgeon, and when, after serving in
the capacity of county physician for three and a half years, he returned
to his private practice he was accorded a liberal patronage which has continued
to grow in extent and importance. From the first he has been highly successful,
impressing all with whom he has come in contact with his trustworthy character,
his earnestness, zeal and scrupulous regard for the ethics of his profession.
He has
proven himself skillful in diagnosis, sure in prescription,
thoughtful and tactful in attendance and prompt and efficacious in emergency.
He has not only sought to extend his knowledge and efficiency by continued
study and research, but keeps in touch with the advance made in the medical
world through his membership in the Scott County and State Medical Associations.
In March, 1893, Dr. Barewald was united in marriage to Miss Grace Urban, a native of Chicago and a lady of excellent traits of character, who occupies a high place in social circles in Davenport. Although a large private practice demands his time and talents, leaving little opportunity for the amenities of life, Dr. Barewald nevertheless finds time to keep up his interest in things municipal and social, and holds membership in Wilton Lodge, No. 167, A. F. & A. M., while he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and other societies.
Early in life he became interested in the politics of the country and, forming his own opinions and rules of conduct, has given stalwart allegiance to the principles of the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. Public-spirited and loyal in his citizenship, he has ever been a worker for the best interests of Davenport and Scott county along both professional and civic lines, and his adopted city has profited by his efforts in her behalf and accords him a place of prominence in the forefront of her valued and representative citizens.
History of Davenport and Scott County, Volume 2 by
Harry E. Downer
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago IL 1910
Originally transcribed for the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project
by Elaine Rathmann-used by permission
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
William A. Barnes was born in Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1859, but received the greater part of his education, however, in Scott county, for he was little more than six years of age when his parents removed to this state. Reared to the life of a farmer, he has followed it as his vocation, and on the death of his father inherited one hundred and fifteen acres of timber land in Muscatine county, which he has held as an investment. It is from his arable fields that he has derived his success, for he has tilled the land with care and diligence, and, being thoroughly conversant with agricultural methods, has known the character of crops best adapted to the soil. While he has consistently followed diversified farming, he has devoted considerable time to the stock business, making a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs. This branch of his business has proved most profitable, so that he well deserves to be numbered among the successful men of Blue Grass township.
It was in 1890 that Mr. Barnes was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Burnsides, a daughter of Amos Burnsides, of Buffalo township, and a descendant of one of the early families of Scott county, for her grandfather, James Burnsides, was one of its pioneers. Three children have been born to them, namely: Chester, Wilma and Roland, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Barnes is a consistent member of the republican party and for the last twenty-five years has served as school treasurer. With a realization of the advantages of educational institutions of high grade, he has steadily given his support to progressive measures and everything that is calculated to advance the welfare of his fellow citizens. While he is ever interested in public affairs he has never sought any public office.
History of Davenport and
Scott County Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago
IL 1910
Transcribed by Elaine
Rathmann of the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project-used by permission
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
During his boyhood and youth Charles O. Barry received a good practical education in the common schools and remained at home with his parents. As a young man he worked at the carpenter's trade for a time and was later employed in the creamery at Walker for four years. In the meantime his father had been appointed postmaster of Walker and he assisted in the office, continuing to carry on affairs after the father's death when his mother was appointed postmistress. He practically had charge of the office until Grover Cleveland was elected to the presidency, when, being a republican, the office passed into other hands. In the meantime he and his brother Justin had acquired the printing plant of the Walker News and after pursuing a commercial course in the Cedar Rapids Business College he returned to Walker and entered the printing office, being a partner of his brother in its operation. They have since carried on the paper and have made it one of the leading journals of this section of the state. On the 1st of March, 1898, Mr. Barry was appointed postmaster and is now filling that office in a most creditable and satisfactory manner, having early become familiar with the duties which devolve upon him in this connection.
On the 23d of June, 1897, Mr. Barry was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Edwards, of Walker, and to them was born one child, who died in infancy. They have since adopted a son, Charles Paul, whom they are now rearing. By his ballot Mr. Barry has always supported the men and measures of the republican party and has taken an active and commendable interest in public affairs. For the past five years he has served as president of the Iowa branch of the National League of Postmasters and prior to that time served one year as secretary of the organization. He has been sought to allow his name to be used for the office of national president but has refused the honor. Fraternally he is a member of Walker Lodge, No. 498, I. O. O. F., and is a man prominent in business, social and political circles, for he is a wide-awake and progressive citizen, whose genial, pleasant manner has gained him a host of warm friends.
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: Source:
THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County,
its Cities, Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois
1879
The life record of Mark E. Bartlett is one that proves that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously and that the public official may represent in his service the highest and most unselfish devotion to the general welfare. A native of Ohio, Mr. Bartlett was born in Lorain county, February 3, 1854. His parents, William and Sarah A. (Sturdevant) Bartlett, were natives of Maine, but were married in Ohio where they made their home for a number of years. In 1855 they came to Iowa, settling in Clayton county where the father entered land from the government and developed the farm upon which he made his home throughout his remaining days. He died January 18, 1899, having long survived his wife, who passed away in 1871. In their family were seven children, of whom three are yet living.
Mark E. Bartlett was only about a year old when the family came to Iowa and upon the home farm in Clayton county he was reared. He acquired his education in the district schools and upon leaving home at the age of seventeen years engaged in clerking. After a year and one-half spent in that way he began working for a surveying party with which he remained for some time and then again secured a clerkship. A year later he turned his attention to the painter's trade and after working in the employ of others for a time began contracting in that line and continued in the business until his death. He was accorded a liberal patronage and his business interests constantly developed in volume and importance, making him one of the leading painting contractors in Cedar Rapids, where he took up his abode in 1875. For ten years he also conducted a store in this city, dealing in wall paper and paints, and he occupied a prominent position among the representative and progressive merchants of Cedar Rapids.
On December 6, 1878, Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage to Miss Mary Stebbins, who was born in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1855, a daughter of Joseph and Jane (Young) Stebbins, who were natives of Indiana, but removed to Delaware county in an early day. Her father entered land there and remained a resident of that county until 1858, when he brought his family to Linn county, Iowa. Her mother died in 1884, while Mr. Stebbins survived until 1897. In their family were five children. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett became the parents of eleven children: Harry C., now deceased; Mabel M., the wife of W. E. Miller of Linn county; Pearl, the wife of F. P. Hanson of Muscatine county, Iowa; J. W., who is living in Nebraska; Ray and Berry, who are deceased; Charles E., at home; Hazel, who has also passed away; Josephine, who is now attending high school; Howard, at home; and one who died in infancy.
The husband and father died January 28, 1901, leaving
a widow and six children to mourn his loss. His remains were laid to rest
in the Linwood cemetery and his death was a matter of deep regret to many
who knew him. He held membership in the Modern Woodmen camp at Cedar
Rapids and gave his political support to the republican party. On that
ticket he was elected mayor of Kenwood and gave to the town a public
spirited business-like and practical administration, characterized by
many needed reforms and improvements. He also served as alderman and was
a
member of the city council and did effective work
for the interests of Kenwood. He likewise served on the school board for
six years and the cause of education found in him a stalwart champion.
He attended the Methodist Episcopal church and was active and helpful
in its work. Mrs. Bartlett is also a member of that church and belongs
to the Yeomen lodge at Cedar Rapids. She now has a beautiful home in
Kenwood Park which she and her husband occupied and where they delighted
to extend to their many friends a warm-hearted hospitality. In all
of his public duties Mr. Bartlett was actuated by a spirit of unfaltering
devotion to the general good and his business life was characterized
by unquestioned probity. Wherever he was known he was held in high
esteem and most of all where he was best known.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa from its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time: Volume II
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc. Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Leaving Winneshiek County after a residence of nineteen years, Dr. Batty then went to Topeka, Kan., and there dealt in musical instruments for a short time, but as the business was not a paying one he abandoned it and removed with his family to Muscatine, Iowa in 1873. Residing in the city until the fall of 1874, he then removed to his country residence in Sweetland Township, the farm formerly owned by Albert Tebbets, where he has since engaged in farming and also in the practice of medicine.
On the 17th of July, 1845, in Addison County, Vt., Dr. Batty was united in marriage with Miss Louisa B., daughter of James and Ruth Chase, and to them were born a family of seven children, though three are now deceased: William E., the eldest, born Dec. 14, 1849, is engaged in teaching music in Muscatine; James H., born May 28, 1852, who was a partner of his eldest brother and one of the highly respected young men of the city, died July 19, 1887; Amos E. and Eddie C. died in Winneshiek County in childhood; Frank H., who is married and lives in Hodgeman County, Kan., is the owner of 400 acres of land, and engages extensively in stockraising, and is pursuing the study of medicine; Willard A., born Oct. 14, 1868, residing at home, is a graduate of the Muscatine High School; and Grace L., who was born July 13, 1872, is in attendance at the same school. On the 15th of January, 1880, Dr. Batty was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife. She was a lady beloved by all who knew her; her hopitality and kindness won her many friends; in her home the weary ones found rest, and those in distress were comforted. The Doctor was again married, Feb. 27, 1881, becoming the husband of Emma C. Pace, daughter of M.P. Pace, one of the earliest settlers of Sweetland Township, whose sketch appears on another page of this work. Two children have been born of this union: Mary E.L., born Aug. 18, 1884, and Alice H., Nov. 21, 1887.
In his political sentiments Dr. Batty has always been a stanch supporter of the Republican party, and is also strong in his support of the prohibitory law. He has always taken an active part in temperance work, and was a member of the organization known as the Washingtonian Temperance Men. In 1856, when the Republicans nominated John C. Fremont as their candidate for President, he took an active part in the canvass in Winneshiek County, and has ever possessed a controlling influence in the community where he resides. Mrs. Batty is his co-worker in behalf of the temperance cause, is a member of the W. C. T. U., in which organization she is Local County and District Superintendent of the Benedict Home work, and is one of the earnest Christian workers of this section.
Dr. William C. Batty traces his ancestry back for upward of two centuries. His paternal ancestors were from the northern part of England, and emigrated to this country in Colonial days, probably late in the seventeenth or early in the eighteenth century, as we find that the founder of the family in this country, Samson Batty, settled in Jamestown on Connecticut Island, and one of his sons was there married to Margaret Cass on the 15th of September, 1707. Nicholas Batty, the grandfather of our subject, was of the fifth generation; he was born on the 29th of October, 1758, and died on the 23d of February, 1847. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He afterward became a Quaker. On the 5th of February, 1784, he was united in marriage with Miss Thankful Baker, who was of English descent. They were the parents of seven children: Lydia, Joel, Ezra, Joanna, Benjamin, Joseph and Amos, who was the father of William C. Amos was born on the 21st of February, 1800. He was a prominent member of the Society of Friends and a preacher for that denomination. He was united in marriage with Miss Ruth Carpenter, a daughter of Stephen and Hannah Carpenter. Their children were nine in number, five of whom are now living, three sons and two daughters: Lydia is the wife of William F. Hoyt, of LaCrosse, Wis.; William C. is next in order of birth; Lucy is the wife of Henry C. Morrison, and resides at Red Bluff, Cal.; Zeno C. is a resident of Hesper, Iowa, and is a Quaker preacher, and James H., also a resident of Hesper. Four children died in Vermont. Amos Batty became a resident of Iowa in 1856, and settled in Hesper, Winneshiek county, where he resided until his death, which occurred Oct. 30, 1872, his wife having departed this life about four years previously.
The maternal ancestors of our subject, the Carpenter family, are able to trace their family genealogy back to Richard Carpenter, who lived about 1638 in Wales. His brother William Carpenter, amassed a very large fortune in Wales. He was a ship chandler, and died intestate in 1700, at an advanced age, and his will bears date of 1684. His estate was valued at 40,000,000 pounds sterling, which amount is in the Bank of England awaiting claimants. The Carpenter family, of which Mrs. Batty, the mother of Dr. Batty, was a member, are among the claimants for this vast estate, and they have succeeded in tracing their heirship back to Richard, who is proved to be a brother of a William Carpenter and supposed to be a son of Ezra, but they have not established the fact that he was the William who left the large estate.
This Carpenter family was established on this continent by three brothers, Ephraim, Josiah and Timothy, who sailed from Bristol, England, for New York, in the barque "Reindeer", in 1678, and settled on Long Island and bought an extensive tract of land from the natives, at or near what is now Jerusalem in Hempstead, Queens Co., N. Y.
Dr. Batty was in early life a Whig, but a short time previous to the disruption of that party he became identified with the Free-Soil party, and on the formation of the Republican party he became a member of that party, and has acted with it since. The doctor while in Winneshiek County took the census on two different occasions, and once in the township where he resides. He has been a Justice of the Peace for six years. He is a member of the Society of Friends, and is an earnest worker in Sabbath-school work, being the Superintendent and a Bible Class teacher in the Friend's Church in Sweetland Township.
Source: PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL
ALBUM OF MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA-1889
Posted by Donna
VanZandt
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Cedar Twp.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Wilton Twp
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
The father was born in the southern part of Germany in the year 1826 and pursued his studies in the schools of his native country. He also learned the stonecutter's trade and about 1850, with his wife and one child, emigrated to the United States. He made his way to Detroit, Michigan, but after a year there spent took up his abode in Buffalo, Iowa, where he worked at stonecutting and lime burning for a number of years. He cut the stone that was used in the erection of the Catholic church in Buffalo and also in a number of other buildings erected in this village. In 1867 he engaged in farming, having purchased one hundred and twenty acres in Buffalo township, sixty acres of which was improved. He served as justice of the peace, road supervisor and school director in Buffalo township and in many other ways his influence was felt in community interests. He was a prominent member of the Catholic church at Buffalo and gave liberally of both time and means in support of the church. He also kept the records of the church for many years prior to his death, which occurred in 1899. His wife, also a communicant of the Catholic church, donated the bell and our subject and his brother were the first to ring the bell after it was placed in the tower. The mother died in 1904, at the age of seventy-two year.
The family record is as
follows: Henry R., of Muscatine county; Anna, the wife of Morris Barnick,
who also lives in
Muscatine county; Joseph,
who is engaged in merchandising in Harlan, Shelby county, Iowa; Frank X.,
of this review; Katherine, the wife of Adolph Strohbehn, who resides on
a part of the old homestead farm in Blue Grass township; Charles C., of
Dickinson county; Benjamin, of Buffalo township; and Mary, the wife of
Harry Schiele, a resident of Muscatine county, this state.
Frank X. Beh, the immediate
subject of this review, was reared on the home farm and acquired his preliminary
education in the schools
of Buffalo and Oak Hill, while later he pursued a course in Ambrose College
at Davenport. He then returned home and resumed farming with his father,
remaining under the parental roof until his marriage, when he began work
on his own account. Eventually he became the owner of land and followed
farming for many years. He still owns an interest in hte home farm of one
hundred and sixty acres in Buffalo township and also owns residence property
in Davenport, where he now lives retired.
Mr. Beh chose as a companion for the journey of life, Miss Alvina Weise, a daughter of Fritz and Christina (Schnack) Weise, who were early settlers of Scott county. The father conducted a livery stable in Davenport for forty years and died in 1899, at the age of sixty-three. The mother is still living and is a communicant of the Protestant church. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Beh, which was celebrated June 25, 1896, has been blessed with six children, Alvin F., Clarence M., Frank B., Leon Beh, Raymond and Eddie, but the last named is deceased.
Mr. Beh, inheriting the
sterling characteristics of a long line of German ancestry and endowed
by nature with a
good constitution, early
developed all the attributes which make the successful man. His home at
1419 Marquette street, in Davenport, is a hospitable one and the family
take great pleasure in entertaining their many friends
"History of Davenport
and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Chicago IL 1910
Transcribed by Debbie
Gerischer for the Scott Co IA GenWeb Project-used by permission
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Fritz Bernick is successfully engaged in farming in Buffalo township and is well known as a raiser of Scotch shorthorn cattle, to which line of business he gives much of his time. A farm in Blue Grass township, Scott county, was the place of his nativity, his natal day being December 29, 1857. His father, Mortiz Bernick, was born in Germany, November 29, 1826, the wedding ceremony being performed in the year 1846. They began their domestic life in the land of their birth and there remained until 1857, when, the father believing he could provide a better living for himself and family in the new world, they set sail for America and upon their arrival here at once made their way to Scott county, Iowa. The father rented land of a Mr. Newcomb in Blue Grass township and continued its operation until 1866, when he purchased a tract of land in Muscatine county, this state, to which he removed. He was very successful in his farming operations and became a prominent and influential citizen of that section of the state. There are four living members of the family, those beside our subject being: Moritz, a farmer of Muscatine county; Adolf, who lives in Cedar county, Iowa; and Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Sheelie, a resident of Davenport.
Fritz Bernick was reared on the farm in Blue Grass township to the age of nine years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to their newly acquired tract of land in Muscatine county, and it was in the district schools of the latter place that he acquired his early education, completing his studies in Davenport in 1871. On putting aside his text-books he returned to the home farm in Muscatine county and for a decade worked for his father. During this time he gained an intimate knowledge of the best methods of farming so that when he started out independently he was well qualified for carrying on a successful business.
In 1881 he established a home
of his own by his marriage to Miss Melinda Harsch, a daughter of Emanuel
Harsch, who was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, November 7, 1823, and located
in Scott county in 1852. He still owns a farm in Buffalo township, which
is operated by Mr. Bernick, and he makes his home with his daughter and
her husband.
Mr. Bernick prior to his marriage
had made arrangements to farm his father-in-law's place and immediately
after that important event in his life he took up his abode thereon. He
has since purchased land in the same neighborhood and altogether has under
his supervision two hundred and eighty acres, most of which is under cultivation
but a portion of the land is devoted to pasturage, for his is engaged in
breeding and raising Scotch shorthorn cattle, making a specialty of this
branch of business. Mr. Bernick also owns a section of land in Kansas,
buying this in 1886, and he likewise owns a section in Canada.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs.
Bernick has been bless with five sons and one daughter, namely: Fritz,
who is an
electrical engineer in the employ
of the Ames Electric Company at Ames, Iowa; Emanuel H., who is in Downey,
this state; and Benjamin H., Henry H., Charlie and Lulu M., all at home.
Mr. Bernick is a democrat and takes an active interest in public affairs. In 1906 he was elected justice of the peace, while for the past ten years he has served as township trustee and school director. He is also a stockholder in the Blue Grass Savings Bank. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of Scott county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of his county. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been accorded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of Scott county. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of his county and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and cooperation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the county or advance its wonderful development.
History of Davenport and Scott County, Volume 2 by
Harry E. Downer
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago IL 1910
Originally transcribed for the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project
by Elaine Rathmann-used by permission
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Goshen
Twp p. 683
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Pike
Twp
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Shortly afterward be was appointed superintendent of telegraph for that company; in which position he continued until the spring of 1873. Meanwhile, in conjunction with L. G. Tillotson & Co., of New York City, he established in 1867 the first important manufactory of electrical goods in Chicago, continuing until the fire, after which it was resumed for one year, when Mr. Bliss bought out his partners and merged the business in the stock company, George H. Bliss & Co., capital $40,000. The new enterprise requiring all his time, he resigned his position with the Chicago & North-Western in 1873; and in 1875 his company was embodied in the Western Electric Company, of which he became general agent. In 1877 he disposed of his interest therein, and engaged in the sale of some of Edison's earlier inventions. His health becoming impaired, he was largely occupied in a successful endeavor to restore the same by journeyings to and from Utah and other sections of the Northwest, in 1879 and 1880. In 1881 he became general western agent for the Edison electric light, being the first to introduce that system in the West. In 1882 the Western Edison Light Company was organized, with a capital of $500,000, and he was appointed its general superintendent.
Mr. Bliss was married December 19, 1865, to Miss Mary M. Gilbert of Worcester, Mass., by whom he has had four children--Grace Ethel in 1869, Julian Perrin in 1872, Gilbert Ames in 1875 and George Edison in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss are members of the Plymouth Congregational Church, of which Mr. Bliss is a deacon. tie has been a Mason for about twenty years, and is a Republican in politics. He has been a resident of Hyde Park since September, 1871.
Source: HISTORY
OF EARLY CHICAGO: MODERN CHICAGO AND ITS SETTLEMENT,
EARLY CHICAGO, AND THE NORTHWEST BY ALBERT D. HAGER
page 540
The History of Muscatine County,
Iowa
Western Historical Company,
1879
Mr. Bohl is a native of Iowa, having been born in Muscatine county, October 23, 1859. His parents, Nicholas and Margaret Bohl, were natives of Germany, where the father followed the occupation of farming until emigrating to the United States in 1840, meeting the lady who afterwards became his wife, in Marietta, Ohio. There they spent some little time, and in the spring of 1868 pulled up stakes and pushed on farther west, driving through the country in a covered wagon to Lancaster county, Nebraska.
They located thirteen miles from Lincoln and fifty-five from Nebraska City, the latter being their nearest market place. During the first days of their travel in the region, the season being a wet one, making bad roads and delaying them in their journey, they suffered considerable discomfort in camping along the way, and they were indeed glad to complete their trip.
The first year was full of hardships, Mr. Bohl recounting his experience of having fought prairie fires for hours at a time in order to save their property from utter destruction. Also, in 1873, they suffered greatly through the grasshopper raids, in which they lost all of their corn from the pests depredations, although saving their small grains, in which they were more fortunate than many of their neighbors. The blizzards of April, 1873, and October, 1880, caused severe hardship to all, especially so to those who had cattle exposed to the extreme weather as well as those whose supply of fuel was scant.
In 1903 Mr. Bohl came into Antelope county and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, which is located in section four, township twenty-seven, range five, where he now resides, giving his attention principally to the raising of stock and small grains. He has a good dwelling and outbuildings, barns and sheds, surrounded by an abundance of fine shade trees, with an orchard in bearing supplying a large quantity of good fruit. Mr. Bohl is an experienced stockman, raising from thirty to forty head of cattle each year, also buys and feeds Jersey Duroc hogs.
Mr. Bohl was joined in matrimony March 31, 1892, to Miss Augusta Wegman, daughter of Henry and Sophia Wegman, and they are the parents of eight children, named as follows: Maggie, Sophy, Edward, Clara, Elmer, Lydia, Allie and William.
Mr. Bohl is a republican in national and independent in county politics, and with his family worships at the Methodist Episcopal church. He has made a fine record as a successful, farmer, and by industry, good management and perseverance has placed himself and family in very comfortable circumstances, is widely known and universally respected as an honorable citizen.
Source: Compendium of
History, Reminiscence and Biography of Nebraska,
Alden Publishing Co, Chicago IL 1912, p 389-390
In 1851 William Boiler and wife moved from Ohio to Iowa and settled in Muscatine County, becoming pioneers of that place. They made their home in Muscatine County until 1865, when they moved to Marshall County, same State. After remaining in the latter place three years they returned to Muscatine County. Then, in 1873, they came to Wright Township. Three years later they moved to Walnut, Iowa, where the father died April 25, 1886, at the age of seventy-six years. He was a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Democrat. His widow, now sixty-eight years of age, resides at Walnut.
On a frontier farm in Muscatine County James Boiler grew to manhood. He was educated in the pioneer schools, and early in life was taught that industry, economy and honesty were necessary elements for the foundation of a successful life. At the age of seventeen he entered upon a three years' apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, and was afterwards engaged in contracting and building in Marshalltown, Iowa. In 1873 he came to this township and bought 160 acres of wild prairie land, and was one of the first settlers in his neighborhood. He has since added to his first purchase until he is now the owner of 320 acres of valuable, well improved land. He also owns 160 acres which he uses for pasture, and which is located two miles from his home farm. He has a fine two-story residence, which was enlarged and remodeled in 1884. It is beautifully located and is surrounded with shade trees, making an attractive place and a comfortable home. A grove and orchard of five acres are near the house. He has a large barn, stock scales and other buildings, two modern wind pumps and good fences; in short, this farm is considered one of the best improved ones in the neighborhood. Mr. Boiler keeps annually from fifty to 150 head of cattle, and from 200 to 300 hogs.
Mr. Boiler was married in Muscatine County, Iowa, January 25, 1876, to Miss Sarah Jane Nolte, a native of Jefferson County, Indiana, daughter of Herman and Sarah (Padgett) Nolte. She was reared in Indiana, and at the age of sixteen years carne with her parents to Muscatine County, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. Boiler have three children, namely: Orpha Lola, born November 1, 1876; Glen Ira, born May 22, 1878, and Grover Cleveland, born February 2, 1885.
Mr. Boiler is one of the leading Democrats in the eastern part of Pottawattamie County. In 1885 he was elected County Supervisor and served three years. During his term of office the Court House was erected, and other important business was transacted. Mr. Boiler was an efficient and popular officer. He has also served in township offices, and has acted as Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee. He is a man well informed on all general topics and current literature, and has broad and progressive views. He is honorable in all his business dealings, and is regarded as one of the solid men of Pottawattamie County. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church.
In regard to Mr. Boiler's family history, it should be further stated that of the five sons born to his parents, four are living,: Joseph is a prominent real-estate dealer at Walnut, Iowa. Benjamin and Cyrus also live at that place, the latter being a contractor and builder. Wesley Boiler, next to the eldest, lives in Muscatine County, Iowa. Besides the above there was one sister.
Source: The Biographical
History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Pike
Twp
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879
John R. Boyle came to
the United States in 1839 and settled in New England, where he conducted
an extensive
business as a contractor
and builder of canals and railroads. He was married in New York City in
1842 and in 1850 came to the middle west, where he was engaged in the building
of the Michigan southern Railroad. Two years later the family came to the
west to Ottawa, Illinois. In 1854 they removed to Muscatine, Iowa, coming
thence to Scott county in 1865. The father assisted in building many of
the western railroads, including the Union Pacific and others. After taking
up his abode in Scott county he purchased land in Davenport township and
settled upon a farm, hi remaining days being given to general agricultural
pursuits. His life was one of untiring business activity and his strong
purpose enabled him to carry forward to successful completion whatever
he undertook. He died September 16, 1895, while his wife survived until
the 16th of May, 1902. They were the parents of two children: C. R. Boyle,
who is now living in New York city; and Peter A., of this review.
Peter A. Boyle spent the first five years of his life in New Haven, Connecticut, and afterward attended school in different places as his parents removed from one point to another, the father's business calling him to different localities. At length he was graduated from Griswold College in the class of 1870 and with broad general information to serve as the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning, he took up the study of law in Harvard University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1872. He then returned to Davenport and entered upon active connection with the profession as a law clerk in the office of Davison & Lane, formerly well known attorneys of this city. After ten years devoted to the practice of law, he turned his attention to his property interest, which now claim his attention.
On the 5th of June, 1884, Mr. Boyle was united in marriage to Miss Jessie A. Boyle, of Birmingham, Alabama, and unto them were born two children: Mary Lee, who died in 1898; and John R., who is now a high school pupil. The parents are members of the Episcopal church and are prominent socially in the city, theirs being one of the attractive and hospitable homes of wealth and culture. Mr. Boyle belongs to the Commercial Club and has other social relations, being usually seen where the most intelligent men of the city gather.
From "History of Davenport
and Scott County" Vol. II by Harry E. Downer-S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Chicago.1910
Transcribed by Elaine
Rathmann of the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project-used by permission
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879, Wilton Twp
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879, Wilton Twp
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879, Wilton Twp
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago,
IL 1879
Source:
The History of Muscatine County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, 1879
The subject of this sketch, the second child, was reared and educated in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. In 1843 he engaged in bridge-building and carpenter work in different parts of Iowa. In 1845 he came to Jackson County, Wisconsin Territory, then called Crawford County, and engaged in the lumber business; in 1847-’48 he cut timber for a saw-mill; and in May, 1850, built an addition and put in the first circular saw-mill on the Mississippi above Rock Island, Illinois. He has resided in the town of Albion (now Brockway) since 1845,--forty-six years.
As an interesting reminiscence we may relate that Mr. Brockway in 1866, late in the fall, went down the Mississippi, with two fleets of sawed lumber, but failed to sell it until all the steamboats had made their last trips. He purchased a stern-wheeler named the Skipper, of 150 tons’ burden of $3,000, loaded it with his crew of sixty men and winter’s supplies and started up the river, but was compelled to stop at Muscatine, December 8, on account of floating ice and winter storms. Shipping his men and a portion of the winter’s supplies by rail by way of Chicago and Milwaukee to the terminus of the road, he came directly home by team, at an expense of $15.
He owned and ran his steamboat on the Mississippi, Des Moines, Chippewa and St. Croix rivers until the autumn of 1868, when it sank in the Chippewa River. During the ensuing winter he built the steamer Chippewa Valley, at Eau Claire, in company with Captain George A. Buffington,--a boat of 185 tons,--and retained an interest in it while it was run, on the Mississippi and its northern tributaries, until the second year of the war, when he sold his interest in it. It was taken South and soon afterward sunk in the Arkansas River above Little Rock. Since his residence in Jackson County, Mr. Brockway has also built and owned four different saw-mills in this part of Wisconsin.
In 1871-’72 he was one of the Representatives in the Legislature from his district, then Jackson and Clark counties. He is now holding the office of County Surveyor. Politically he is a Republican.
Mr. Brockway was married, October 18, 1849, to Miss
Sarah Rriggs, who was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, January 28, 1832,
the daughter of David and Katherine (Hendricks) Riggs, the former a native
of New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania, but both emigrated to Ohio
in early life. The father was farmer by occupation, and held several township
offices. Mr. and Mrs. Brockway have had seven children, viz: Melvin
F., Ada M., Mary E., Albert M.,
LaFayette J., Fred R., and Judson W., all of whom
are living.
The history of the Brockway family is as follows: In the early days in the history of the country seven brothers by the name of Brockway settled in Connecticut. They came from England, and it is thought that most of the men now in the country by that name are descendants of these. Our subject’s grandmother Brockway was a direct descendant of Captain Miles Standish, who came over on the Mayflower in 1620. The lineal descent of his mother’s father, William Potter Goff, was a general in the English army under Oliver Cromwell, and was one of the judges who, appointed by Parliament for that purpose in 1649, tried, convicted and sentenced to execution King Charles I, for tyranny and treason. Goff fled from England to this country in 1660, to escape the fate of the beheaded king, at the hands of Charles II, who had just gained accession to the throne. Here he had to remain in concealment for several years. A peculiar coincidence in the Brockway family is the fact that E. L. Brockway has five boys and two girls, and he himself one of a family of five boys and two girls, as was also his father.
Mr. Brockway, our subject, is one of the very early settlers here, and was at one time quite wealthy. He is now a very popular man in the county.
SOURCE: 1891 History of Clark & Jackson Co., WI pg. 172-174
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Cedar Twp.
Source: The History of Fayette County, Iowa
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
In 1868 he removed to Muscatine, Iowa, where for one year he was associated with his older brother, Thomas Brown, in teaching in the Muscatine academy. His older brother had graduated from Kenyon college in 1861 and had engaged in teaching in Muscatine, Iowa, where he is now successfully engaged in the practice of law. Before leaving Ohio, Cassius had resolved to study law and had been reading under the direction of W. C. Cooper, the colonel of his regiment. Upon his removal to Iowa, he entered the office of Thomas Hanner, of Muscatine, where he pursued his studies while teaching in the academy and public schools of Muscatine county. He graduated from the law department of the State university in 1871 and at once opened an office in Sigourney, and has remained a member of the bar of Keokuk county since. He was at one time in partnership with Judge Ben McCoy, and from 1878 until 1892 was associated with the late Judge E. S. Sampson.
He was elected state senator in 1882 and served one term, this being the only political office held by him, but he has been an active participant in every campaign. He was candidate from Keokuk county at the judicial convention in June, 1898, for judge of the Sixth judicial district, but failed to secure the nomination. He is and always has been a republican. He enlisted in 1863 in the Ohio National Guards, and in the United States service in 1864, being a private in Company A, One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio infantry. He is a member of Robert F. Lowe post, G. A. R., past noble grand in the I. O. O. F., of which order he has been a member since 1873. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. He was married June 18, 1874, to Miss Flora Sampson, eldest daughter of Judge E. S. Sampson. They have four children, Eunice A., who is a graduate of Sigourney high school, and attended Penn college one year, and now teaching in the public schools of Keokuk county; Roy C., who graduated from the high school of Sigourney and now teaching in the public schools of Keokuk county and pursuing the study of law in his father's office; Millie E., who is attending the high school of Sigourney, and Helen, the baby of the family.
Source: Biographies and Portraits of the Progressive Men of Iowa. Gue, B.F. Des Moines: Conaway & Shaw Publishers, 1899, p 233
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Pike Twp.
From "History of Dallas County Iowa" published 1879
Des Moines Ia by Union Historical Company
BROWN, ORLANDO
C., col. of the 1st Iowa reg. vol.; son of Capt. Geo. B., of Perch
river, Jeff. co., N.Y.; emigrated to Muscatine, Iowa, about 1857;
was engaged in merchandise, and was killed at the battle near Springfield,
Mo, Aug. 10., 1861.
Source: American Biographical Notes, The Chicago Historical Society page 48
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Cedar Twp.
Note: Thomas M. "Tobe" Brown was also known as one
of the best fiddle players in the Muscatine Louisa Co area.
One of the enterprising
farmers of Buffalo township is John H. Brus, who was born in Muscatine
county, Iowa, and is a son of Rudolph and Adelheid (Bockhorst) Brus. The
father was born in Holland, July 19, 1838, and at the age of eight, in
1846, he came with his parents to this country. Like so many of their compatriots
the family landed at New Orleans, thence made their way by boat up the
Mississippi river to St. Louis, where they disembarked and spent six months,
so that it was not until the spring of 1847 that they reached Scott county.
Here in Blue Grass township, Theodore Brus, the paternal grandfather, bought
a farm, which has remained in the possession of his descendants to the
present and is the home of a grandson Theodore and his mother. On that
place Rudolph Brus grew to young manhood, witnessing and participating
in the development of the county, which was rapidly progressing during
those years. In 1864, in Davenport he wedded Miss Adelheid Bockhorst, who
was born in Prussia, Germany, in 1843, and is a daughter of Henry Bockhorst,
who had come to this country and taken up his residence in Scott county,
Iowa. In 1874 Mr. Brus purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land upon
the line between Blue Grass and Hickory Grove townships. That farm remained
his home
throughout the rest of
his life and is now the residence of his widow and their two sons, Frank
and Bernard, and their daughter. Rudolph Brus died in 1892, and with his
demise, Blue Grass township lost one of its valued citizens and successful
agriculturists.
John H. Brus was reared upon the farm his father had bought. He was enrolled as a pupil in the public schools of his district, although no more time than was necessary was devoted to the preparation of lessons, for there was always labor to be accomplished around the home. He lived with his family, operating the place after the death of his father until 1900, when, having married, he was desirous of establishing a home of his own. Accordingly he went to Hickory Grove township, where he rented property, and then, after two years' experience, came to Buffalo township, where he purchased the fine farm he and his wife own and which has been their home since. He has cultivated the soil with skill and profit and is rapidly rising to a position among the men engaged in a similar occupation.
It was in 1900 that Mr.
Brus was united in marriage to Miss Lena Brus, a daughter of Jacob Brus,
from whom the young couple acquired their home. They have become the parents
of five children, namely: Adeline, Raymond, Velma, Walter and Marie. Since
old enough to exercise the franchise right of an American citizen, Mr.
Brus has adhered to the principles of the republican party, and on its
ticket was elected to membership on the school board, which he still holds.
While he was still a
resident of Blue Grass township he was also identified with public interests,
for then he served as road supervisor. A member of the Catholic faith,
he belongs to the congregation of St. Joseph's in the city of Davenport.
Having fulfilled the public trust imposed upon him with credit to himself
and the satisfaction of his fellow citizens, Mr. Brus enjoys the respect
of those associated with him in occupation, while the success which has
come to him has won their admiration.
History of Davenport and Scott County, Volume 2 by
Harry E. Downer
S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago IL 1910
Originally transcribed for the Scott Co IAGenWeb Project
by Elaine Rathmann-used by permission
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Cedar Twp.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Contributed by: Susie
Martin-Rott
Jeremiah Burge, the father of our subject, was born in Pennsylvania in 1800, and was a son of William and Priscilla (Long) Burge, also natives of that state. He married Hester Morford, and to them were born seven children, namely: James M., of this review; Fannie, wife of William Waln, of this county; Jeremiah, deceased, who married Sarah Archer; William, who married the widow of his brother Jeremiah and lived in Franklin township, this county; John, who married Harriet Harlis, deceased, and resides near Cedar Rapids; Jane, who married Robert Maxwell, of Cedar county, Iowa, and both are now deceased; and Martha, who married, first, Washington Turner, who was killed in the Civil war, and she is now the widow of Elijah Rundell and resides in Clyde, Nebraska.
During his boyhood James M. Burge was able to attend
the country schools only a short time, and his education was mostly acquired
by reading and observation in later years. In 1837,
at the age of sixteen, he came with his father's family to Muscatine, Iowa,
the journey being made by boat down the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers.
After spending two years on a farm at that place, they came to Linn
county and took up their
residence in Franklin township. Our subject remained
under the parental roof until about 1846, when he entered eighty acres
of land on section 21, Franklin township, and purchased the same when it
came into mrket. He walked to the land office in Dubuque, starting on Monday
morning and reaching home Wednesday afternoon in time to do a portion of
a day's work, though he had traveled one hundred and forty miles in that
time. His
home was midway between Dubuque and Iowa City, on
the old military road, and was the favorite stopping place for all passing
that way. No one was ever turned away hungry from his door, and he would
charge nothing for the meals and accomodations furnished. Mr. Burge was
a very generous, open hearted man, who was always willing to lend a helping
hand to friend or stranger, it mattered not. Even his younest son remembers
seeing as many as forty-six persons entertained at one meal.
On starting out in life for himself, Mr. Burge became interested in the stock buying business in connection with farming, and bought cattle in three states. He would start out on horse back, going first to Illinois, and working his way into Missouri and Iowa. He marketed much of his stock at Davenport and Muscatine, and was one of the first to ship cattle to the Chicago market after the opening of shipping facilities to that place. He was one of the most prominent cattle men of Iowa in early days, and as he prospered in business he became an extensive land owner, having at one time over fourteen hundred acres of land. He presented each of his children with a farm. Mr. Burge was a man of splendid physique and unusual strength, and when a boy was able to cradle grain with any of the men in the field. In early days he used to raft his wheat down the Cedar and Mississippi rivers to St. Louis and then return home on foot.
In 1844 Mr. Burge was married in this county to Miss
Elizabeth McRoberts, a native of Kentucky and a daughter of Michael and
Mary (Smith) McRoberts, who were born in Virginia. The McRoberts family
came from Scotland to America in the early part of the eighteenth century
and it has been well represented in the wars of this country. William Smith,
the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Burge, was in the secret service under
General Arnold in the war of 1812, was present at the surrender of Detroit,
and was massacred at the battle of River Raisin. Mrs. Burge was the fifth
in order of birth in a family of eleven children, the others being William,
who is married and is now living in Watsonville, California; Russell, who
wedded Mary Fitz and resides in Greene county, Iowa; Mary Jane, who married
John Prather, and after residing for a time in Linn county, Iowa, moved
to Kansas and later to Oregon, where both died; George, who married Sarah
Black and makes his home in Mound City, Missouri; Frank
and James, twins both of whom entered the Union army
during the civil war, and died at Maitland, Missouri, from the effects
of their army life; Lucinda who married Henry Rogers, and both died in
Greene county, Iowa; Elsina, who died in infancy; Duncan, a physician,
who was killed in the Civil war; and Margaret E., who died at the age of
twenty years.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Burge were born twelve children,
as follows: Frances married Jeremiah Thomas, a farmer of Franklin township,
and died in 1878. Jerry was killed in a tornado on the home farm in Franklin
township June 3, 1860. Hester M. married Joseph Moore, who died in this
county in 1877, while her death occurred in Greene county, Iowa, in 1885.
Their sons are now engaged in the cattle business in Tillamook, Oregon.
John
W. married Hannah Clark and is engaged in farming
in Bertram township, this county. Ellen married Andrew Dill, a farmer of
Franklin township, and died August 21, 1879. Elizabeth is the wife of John
Hoffman, a farmer of Franklin township. James R. married Alvina Minick
and is engaged in the ice business in Mt. Vernon. Lavina is the wife of
James Waln, a farmer of Franklin township. Elmer married Kate Heller and
resides on his
grandfather's old homestead in the same township.
Ethelda makes her home with her brother George H. She is a graduate of
Cornell College and has for a number of years been a teacher in the high
schools. Anson S. married Lulella Davis and resides in Spokane, Washington.
George H. is mentioned more fully below.
Politically Mr. Burge was a Republican but he never
cared for the honors or emoluments of public office, although he always
took a deep interest in those enterprises which he believed calculated
to prove of public benefit. He died upon his farm in Franklin township
May 5, 1891, and in his death the community realized that it had lost one
of its most valued citizens. He was always a friend to the poor and needy
and was held in the highest
respect and esteem by all who knew him. His estimable
wife passed away April 21, 1886, and both were laid to rest in the Mt.
Vernon cemetery.
George H. Burge, our subject's youngest son, was born
on the 21st of August, 1872, on the old homestead in Franklin township
where he still continues to reside. The district schools afforded him his
early educational advantages, but he later attended the high school at
Mt. Vernon, where he was graduated with the class of 1888, and for several
terms during the winter he was a student at Cornell College, while the
summer months were devoted to farm work. In 1889 he took charge of the
home farm of one hundred and thirty acres, a half of which he purchased,
while his father gave him the remainder. This includes the original tract
entered by his father from the government. As the son has prospered in
his farming operations he has added to his property until he now has two
hundred and fifty acres of very valuable and productive land, which he
has placed under a high state of cultivation, and on which he has made
many useful and substantial improvements. He has a good modern residence,
has built new fences, erected numerous cattle sheds,
and has planted an orchard, so that he now has one of the best places in
the county, it being known as the "Wayside Farm."
Mr. Burge is one of the most successful breeders of
fine cattle in America, making a specialty of the short-horn breed, and
has carried off many premiums at county fairs, and also at several state
fairs in different states. His cattle have not only won prizes at
these fairs, but also at national exhibits. He has made a constant study
of his chosen occupation and has met with success. Mr. Burge attributes
his success to the teachings of his
father, who was a most excellent judge of stock. His
evenings are mainly devoted to study, and he has an excellent library,
his office at home reminding one more of a literary man than a farmer.
He is one of the most intelligent, progressive and successful agriculturists
of the county, while as a stock raiser he has but few equals among the
young men of this county. He is a scientific as well as a practical farmer,
and to this may be
attributed his success. In politics he is a Republican.
Source: Biographical Record of Linn County, Iowa, Chicago:
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The Early History of Omaha, Nebraska,
p. 53 (note: The Arrow was the local newspaper of the day)
Source: Andreas'
History of the State of Nebraska, Clay County
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 page
641 Orono Twp
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Fulton Twp p. 663
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
On being released from duty he came to San Francisco and in 1912 located at Fort Bragg. Here for two years he was an employee of the store of the Union Lumber Company. Mr. Cannarr then went back to Chicago, where he found employment and continued his apprenticeship and study as an embalmer. On May 4, 1915, he received a diploma after a post-graduate course in embalming and immediately returned to Fort Bragg. In 1917 he became embalmer at Sacramento for the firm of Clark, Booth & Yardley.
In the early part of 1920 he returned to Fort Bragg and organized the Cannarr & Cannarr Company, Incorporated, with his wife, Grace T. (Turner) Cannarr, as his partner. Mrs. Cannarr graduated from the Carpenter College of Embalming at Iowa City, Iowa. She was born in New Hampshire and came to California in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Cannarr started their business at Fort Bragg in 1920, and in 1927 completely rebuilt and remodeled their establishment. Their facilities include four pieces of motor equipment, and they are adequately equipped to perform their service throughout the North Coast district of the state.
Mr. and Mrs. Cannarr have one son, William Francis, now a student in the San Rafael Military Academy. The firm are members of the Chamber of Comerce. Mr. Cannarr for eight years has been deputy county coroner. He is a member of the Masonic Order, Fort Bragg Lodge No. 361, and Mendocino Chapter No. 88, R. A. M., is a past officer of the Knights of Pythias, a past officer of the Improved Order of Red Men, and has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for a quarter of a century. He also belongs to the B. P. O. Elks and Fraternal Order of Eagles. Mrs. Cannarr is a member of the Eastern Star, is a past officer of the Rebekahs, a past officer of the Pythian Sisters, member of the Daughters of Pocahontas, and the Business and Professional Women's Clubs, of which she has served as secretary.
Source: California and Californians: Volume 4-Sycamore Valley Ranch, p 117
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Pike Twp
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: Andreas'
History of the State of Nebraska, Gage County
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: History of Muscatine
County Iowa 1879
History largely records the material upbuilding, the political progress and the military movements of a country, and yet back of all this are the principles that actuate men in their lives, in all of their relations with their fellowmen, and these principles in large measure have their root in religious faith and belief. In a history of Iowa, therefore, it is meet that extended mention be made of those who have had to do with planting the seeds of righteousness and truth which in the passing years have sprung up and borne rich fruit. Among the early ministers of the gospel in this state was the Rev. Jacob B. Casebeer, who almost to the time of his death was filling the pastorate of St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal church in Cedar Rapids. So widespread was his influence, so beneficient his work, that his history is inseparably interwoven with the annals of Iowa.
A native of Ohio, he was born at New Philadelphia, February 11, 1838, but in his youthful days accompanied his parents on their removal to the neighborhood of Muscatine, Iowa, where his father engaged in the practice of medicine as one of the early physicians of that district.
In young manhood Jacob Casebeer studied medicine under his father's direction and for a time engaged in practice, but was destined to devote his life to even a higher and holier work than the healing of the body. In 1857, while residing near Des Moines, he attended a Methodist campmeeting at Mud Creek and there joined the church. He at once entered actively into phases of religious work and manifested an adaptability for the labors of spiritual ministration which has made his career peculiarly successful. His first sermon was preached in the log schoolhouse at Corrys Grove. He was licensed to preach on the 21st of August, 1858 and was assigned to duty on the Palmyra circuit which included twenty appointments and required four weeks to visit each.
He met the usual experiences and hardships of the itinerary minister in pioneer times, but never faltered in the course which he had set out for himself nor murmured when his path seemed beset with difficulties while he carried the gospel into sparsely settled districts of western Iowa. He found that the people eagerly listened to the word of God and that their hospitality was generous and their welcome most hearty. He possessed ready adaptability that enabled him to meet all conditions of life as he found them, and speak the ready and timely word of encouragement, assistance and sympathy. His love for his fellowmen was the predominant influence in his life and thus he wanted to share with them what he regarded as life's richest gift--the blessings of a belief in religion.
In 1859 he was assigned to the Marengo circuit and in 1860 to the Muscatine circuit as junior preacher, thus returning as a messenger of the gospel to the field where he had first begun his labors in behalf of the cause. He was next assigned to the Richmond circuit and soon his pastoral duties were interrupted by work which he regarded as high and holy as that in which he had formerly engaged.
It was in 1861 that he was importuned to go south to bring home an insane soldier, the son of a parishioner. He made his way to the contested ground where the two armies lay, and gaining personal knowledge of the conditions and a clear insight into the causes of war, he became another "fighting parson," and was as stalwart and loyal a soldier of the country as he was a soldier of the cross. Returning to the north in 1862 he raised a military organization that became known as Company D, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry, of Johnson and Cedar counties, and Governor Kirkwood sent him a commission as captain on the 9th of August. He refused to accept this, however, and enlisted as a private. But the company that he had raised, thoroughly loyal to him and believing in his ability, unanimously elected him to the captaincy. He then consented to serve and the company, which was organized on the 20th, rendezvoused eight days later at Muscatine, was mustered into the service on the 24th of September, and on the 20th of October started for the south. His history during the remainder of the war was that of the regiment. He shared in all the hardships and privations incident to the life of the soldier engaged in active duty. He inspired his men with much of his own loyalty and bravery; he did not command but led them into the thickest of the fight and while carefully looking after their physical wants he also ministered to their spiritual needs, looking after them with the devotion of a brother. One of the Iowa papers said of him: "In the 'hornet's nest' at Champion's Hill his company was decimated, but when the sun set on that bloody field he gathered the survivors of his company about him and with tears that were mingled with prayer poured out his heart to the God of battles. In the Red river expedition he was wounded by the explosion of a shell, and after struggling heroically for weeks to keep at the head of his men he was compelled to return home when the surgeons declared that his life would pay the penalty unless he did."
When the war was over and the country no longer needed his aid Rev. Casebeer returned to the active work of the ministry in Iowa. During the progress of the war he had married Miss Mira Riggs, daughter of John and Eliza (Longstreth) Riggs, of Muscatine, the wedding being celebrated in 1863. They became the parents of two daughters, Mrs. H. S. Kneedler, and Maud C., the wife of Dr. H. L. Walker of Cedar Rapids.
In 1864 Rev. Casebeer had been transferred to the Upper Iowa conference and was pastor of the Methodist church in Dubuque until 1866; afterward spent a year at Lyons, and from 1867 until 1869 was at Waterloo. Through the two succeeding years he labored at Charles City; was at Decorah for two years; at Anamosa from 1873 until 1875; at West Union from 1875 until 1877; Osage, from 1877 until 1879; McGregor from 1879 until 1882; Marshalltown from 1882 until 1885; Cedar Rapids from 1885 until 1887; and then accepted the pastorate of the Fourteenth Street Methodist church in Davenport. But after four months' service in that connection he was obliged to put aside the active work of the ministry because of the great nervous strain under which he had labored for years and because of the wounds which he had sustained in the army. He continued in ill health until the end, which came on the 18th of December, 1889.
Mr. Casebeer was honored and revered wherever he was known. He was a valued member of the Masonic fraternity in which he took the degrees of the lodge, chapter, commandery and consistory and of the Mystic Shrine. He was an Odd Fellow and was identified with other fraternal organizations. He served as state chaplain of the Grand Army of the Republic and was chaplain of the First Regiment of the Iowa National Guard. It has been written of him: "His willingness to respond to all calls, the warm fellowship of his nature and his ready oratory, have conspired to make him friends all over the state where he is undoubtedly as well and widely known as any minister in Iowa. But by a narrower -- and yet wide -- circle of friends he is held in even higher esteem. We refer to those innumerable ones who have tested the warmth of his affection and the generousness of his disposition. In secret he was continually doing good, even at the expense of time and health and money which he could illy afford. Since his sickness many poor people have called at his home to inquire for him and to tearfully tell of his goodness to them. Helpless and decrepit men, needy and suffering women and especially little children whom he tenderly loved, have sounded the depth of his abundant charity. During his ministry here there were many who tested this spirit of sacrifice and who in the hour of deepest affliction found in him a responsive chord for the expression of their woes. He was moved by the misfortune of others, and his compassion had no mean or sordid bounds. Greater even than the imperishable tribute of the twenty-five hundred brought into his church during his twenty-five years of ministry will be the jewels on his crown which will be added by the unforgotten prayers of the needy whom he has succored. This life which was so full of varied activity, so stiringly dramatic when it rose to the heroic demands of war and so abundantly meet for the tender work of the Saviour when it followed the walks of its own choosing -- has closed. The man who has gone among us for so long and who has so tenderly cemented the ties of friendship, is dead. Rousing from the deep sleep that hung over him as the end drew near a day or two ago he said distinctly as he clasped the hand of his wife and lifted his eyes heavenward, 'Thy will be done.' "
Religion was never to him a stern taskmaster -- it was ever with him a service of love. He believed that Christian people should be the happiest people in the world and his intercourse with others always showed a light heart and a genialty that had their root in a belief that all was well and that the destiny of the world was being shaped according to the divine plan. The memory of his life remains as an inspiration and a benediction to many who knew him.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa from its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time: Volume II.
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa 1879
Our subject was reared to manhood in his native county, receiving his education in the subscription schools, and subsequently learned the carpenter's trade. In 1840 he left his childhood home and emigrated to Marion County, Ind., where he remained for ten years working at his trade. At the expiration of that time he continued his journey westward to Muscatine County, landing in Fulton Township on the 16th of June 1850. He there entered 160 acres of land, and became a dealer in real estate, steadily adding to his possessions by thrift and enterprise, until he is now the owner of 2,600 acres of land, 800 in Muscatine County, 160 in Hancock County, Ill., and the remainder in Otoe County, Neb.
In 1830, in Greenville County, Va., Mr. Chambliss was united in marriage with Julia Hill, who was a native of that county, and a daughter of Thomas Hill, who had a family of four children, namely: Catharine, who is now deceased; Nathaniel, the second in order of birth; Julia, wife of our subject; and Washington. Eight children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Chambliss, six of whom are living: Virginia, who was bon in the Old Dominion in 1831, is now married and has a family of eleven children, namely: Benjamin F.; Samantha E.; Sylvester M.; Charles A. (now deceased), Jesse A., Nora S., John J., Julia M., William L., Hattie M., and Emily E. (should read Emery E.). Hester, Mrs. Joseph Brunell, lives in Nebraska; Rodgers, the third child, is a resident of Oregon; Jefferson, who wedded Lizzie Charter, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is now living on Muscatine Island; Christina is the wife of E. S. Smith, a resident of Nebraska, and to them have been born eight children, seven of whom are living-Alice, Laura, Effie, Walter, Eddie, Marsha and Ray; America wedded William Diffendaffer, whose home is in Nebraska, and they have four children, two living, Orpha and Lily; Theresa is the wife of Nelson Henderson, of Nebraska, and to them have been born four children-Blanche, Eddie, Luella and Ross. The mother of these children was called to her final home Jan. 14, 1884. She was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a kind and loving wife and mother, and was beloved by all who knew her. Her remains were interred in a beautiful vault in Parr Cemetery, which is large enough for six persons, and is of a most beautiful design, being lined upon the inside with fine marble, while all the cells are air-tight.
Politically, Mr. Chambliss is a Democrat, but is not a strong partisan, having voted a number of tmes for the man of his choice, regardless of party. A shrewd enterprising man of good business ability, yet strictly honest in all his dealing, Mr. Chambliss has been remarkably successful in his business enterprises, and is one of the leading citizens of Muscatine County, known and honored throughout the commumity. He is one of whom it may be justly said that his word is as good as his bond, and now in his eighty second year, is hale and hearty, and more active than many younger men. We are pleased to have his portrait and that of his late estimable wife accompany this sketch.
Source: PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL
ALBUM OF MUSCATINE COUNTY, IOWA-1889
Posted by Donna
VanZandt
In the usual channels Orange J. Chapman acquired his education, but at the age of fifteen years left school to join the army, becoming a member of Company A, Ninth Iowa Cavalry. He was with that command for two years and took part in a number of the minor battles and also in the hotly contested engagement at Peach Orchard Gap. Following the close of the war he was honorably discharged June 21, 1865.
Almostly continuously since Mr. Chapman has been connected with the express service, driving the first wagon put on at Des Moines, Iowa, for the United States Express Company. This was on the 1st of August, 1866. He was thus employed for six months, after which he was made messenger and clerk for the company. Promotion followed when, in 1876, he was made the company's agent at Muscatine, Iowa, where he remained for about ten years. He then resigned and became manager of the street railway company at Wichita, Kansas, acting in that capacity for two years, when on account of illness he retired from active work. In 1896, however, he returned to the United States Express Company as agent at Independence and is now the company's representative at Cedar Rapids, in charge of the agency at this point. That he was again taken into the service of the company is proof of the excellent record which he had previously made. He is today one of the oldest and most trusted employes of the company in Iowa, his record at all times being entirely commendable.
On the 10th of January, 1871, Mr. Chapman was united in marriage to Miss Mary Seymour, a daughter of Captain Seymour, of Rock Island, Illinois. Mrs. Chapman died June 7, 1910, and was buried in Oakwood cemetery, Independence, Iowa, June 10, 1910. They became the parents of two children, who are still living: Maud Dorothy, the wife of C. V. Rosenberger and residing in Independence, Iowa; and Letah Evangeline, at home. The family residence is at No. 1620 Second avenue. Mr. Chapman maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in the post at this place, and he also belongs to the Royal Arcanum and to the First Congregational church. His fidelity to duty and unfaltering industry have ever been numbered among his salient characteristics and his uniform courtesy and obligingness have made him popular with the patrons of the company which he represents and with its superior officers.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa from its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time: Vol II (Biographical) 1911
When our subject was sixteen years old, in England, he commenced working at shoemaking, which he followed most of the time until he came to America, as well as one year afterwards. It was during the month of January that he bid farewell to his native land and sailed for America, landing at New Orleans, and from thence by boat up to Council Bluffs, and during the year 1851 purchased the farm in Boomer Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. But like so many ithers at that date, he saw visions of golden wealth and prosperity, and in 1852 started for Salt Lake, crossing the plains with ox-teams. He remained in that country twleve years, just prior to his settlement in Harrison County.
In the fall of 1851 he had assisted in surveying a part of the section lines in Harrison County. November 20, 1847, he was united in marriage with Amelia Willis, in England. She died in Salt Lake, April 9, 1856, and in 1857 he was married to Mrs. Deborah J. Blair, daughter of James and Rebecca (Hall) Bushnell, a native of England, born October 11, 1819. She was the youngest of a family of four children, and was married in the land of her birth January 2, 1841, to David Blair, who was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, May 5, 1810, and was the son of John and Jane Blair, who came to America in November, 1856, landing in Boston, and from there he took up his journey to Utah, coming in cattle cars to Iowa City, being under the supervision of Daniel Taylor and Edwin Martin, missionaries of Brigham Young. From Iowa City to Salt Lake City the long march was made by the Mormons, to which sect this family belonged, by means of handcarts heavily laden with their household effects, books, keep-sakes, and trinkets. Nearly the entire way across what was then known as the Great American Desert this little band, our subject's wife, husband and three children, which had been driven by persecution from the Mississippi States, were obliged to subsist on a pint of flour per day and it will be remembered that this was in the winter. Shortly after leaving Laramie, Wy., the snow was deep, and in many places they were compelled to wade through it waist deep, as the oxen gave out.
Mr. Blair, Mrs. Chapman's first husband, who necessarily enters largely into this sketch, while in England and a subject of the Queen, was one of the Royal Guards. He was six feet and three inches high, and served in the capacity of one of the Royal House Queen's Body Guards, and Mrs. Chapman now possesses a regimental coat he wore, and a sword which was presented to him by his Colonel.
While crossing the plains this man fell a victim to starvation, as did one of the children, and died at Rocky Ridge. When the party reached Independent Rock they were compelled to halt for nine days on account of a snow blockade, until teams reached them from Salt Lake, bringing provisions and some clothing, allowing them to leave their hand-carts and ride the remainder of the journey. Like great military campaigns of the Civil War, the hardships endured, the sacrifices made and the lives lost, can never be fully described or thoroughly understood by any one who did not march through the enemy's land. The survivors of the late war, and those who withstood the torture of an Andersonville or a Libby Prison can in a measure enter into the spirit of the suffering entailed by that terrible conflict. So it is with the exodus of the Mormon people, from winter quarters, near the present site of Omaha, across the desert land of Nebraska and Colorado, at a time when they were hundreds of miles from any other human creatures than the savage tribes of the Indians, and fortunate indeed were the many thousands of their number who became "Apostates" this side of the Missouri River and withdrew from that people on account of polygamy; for while they sought out homes on the eastern shore of the Missouri River, in many of the southwestern counties, in Iowaas well as in Missouri, and endured the hardships co-incident with frontier life, yet they escaped the religious imprisonment and disgrace of those who became Brigham Young's followers in the far West.
Our subject and his wife are members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Politically, Mr. Chapman is a supporter of the Democratic party, and stands high in the community in which he lives. Mr. Chapman adopted two boys in Salt Lake City -- George P. and Charles G. Dykes. The former was nine and the latter four years of age, and were motherless. George P. remained with the Chapman family until twenty years of age; and Charles until twenty-two years, when he married. He now resides in Muscatine County, Iowa, and has eighty acres of land. They were both cared for and treated as their own children.
Source: 1891 History of Harrison County Iowa.
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Pike
Twp
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
CLARK, Alexander, journalist,
was born in Washington county, Pa.. in February. 1826, of colored parents.
He received a good district school training, learned the trade of barber,
removed to Muscatine, Iowa, in 1843, and there pursued his vocation. He
was a delegate to the national convention of colored men at Rochester,
N. Y.; in 1853, identified himself with the Republican party and became
a prominent political orator. He was a delegate to all the county and state
conventions of his party, and in 1869 represented his race in Iowa in the
national convention at Washington
D. C. In 1882 he purchased the Chicago Conservator
and conducted it with success until 1889. In 1883 he was graduated at the
Iowa state law school and was admitted to the Chicago bar. In August, 1890,
President Harrison appointed him U.S. minister to Liberia, and he died
at Monrovia, Liberia, June 3, 1891.
Source: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary
of Notable Americans: Volume II
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Wilton Twp
Unfortunately the impression has gone abroad that Orion Clemens was a rather ridiculous person. This opinion, however, is based upon a mistaken assumption that people laughed at him instead of with him. Orion was not ridiculous, nor was he even funny. But that he was witty, absent-minded, and often humorously inconsistent is attested by many an anecdote. Somehow his more peculiar characteristics have come to be accepted as wholly indicative of the kind of man he really was.
There is the story about his wedding trip from Keokuk to Muscatine in the winter of 1854 when Orion, having stepped into the stagecoach and carefully arranged his bundles, leaned back in comfort to await the departure of the vehicle only to be apprised by a friend that his newly acquired bride, standing near-by on the platform with her bundles, was also to accompany him on the trip. Orion himself loved to tell this story and it later found its way into Albert Bigelow Paine's biography of Mark Twain.
But some of the modern versions are scarcely recognizable,
having taken on curious accretions which tend toward the ludicrous. For
instance, it has been alleged that Orion, happening one day to be in Keokuk,
casually married there. Such casualness in so important an event would
be interesting, indeed, if true, but much more interesting is the exquisite
little note which disproves it - the note in which Orion asks for the hand
of the young lady he wished for his bride.
Muscatine, Iowa, Nov. 21,1854.Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Stotts:
The object of this note furnishes a subject so entirely novel to me, that I hope I shall be excused for any blunders or awkwardness in writing.
Without further preface, I venture to inform you of my attachment to your daughter, Miss Mary Ellen, and to ask your consent to our union in a few weeks.
An early answer is respectfully solicited.
Most respectfully yours,
Orion Clemens.
Then there is the story, with many variations,
of the time Mrs. Clemens went to afternoon tea. Before leaving she told
Orion there was a cup of salad for him in the pantry, which he was to eat
in case she returned late. Heeding his wife's instructions, which, as gossip
reports, he was in the habit of doing, he went to the pantry, took down
a cup with something in it, and ate. Presently his wife returned
and asked him if he had eaten his salad.
"Yes," replied Orion, "but it didn't taste very good,
so I beat up an egg in it."
"And then how did it taste?" asked Molly suspiciously,
as she stepped to the pantry.
"Rather yeasty, " Orion said sheepishly as it dawned
on him that he had eaten a cup of yeast by mistake - "sunshine vitamins"
and all.
Molly's somewhat rigorous management of her husband
is the theme of an anecdote that also reveals Orion's sense of humor.
One day Orion was in the back yard cleaning a pair of trousers when Molly
called out, " Orion, what are you doing? "
No answer.
"Orion, what are you doing?"
Still no answer.
"Orion, tell me what you are doing!"
Then rather meekly from the yard, "Molly, I am cleaning
our pantaloons."
Or there is the story, again with many variations, of Orion's method of keeping books. One time when he had charge of the church funds, his books got into a hopeless tangle, so he went to an auditor to have them straightened out. Shortly afterward, when the two men met on the street, the auditor inquired of Clemens how he kept the church books. "Well, I put down everything I pay out," replied Orion, " and trust my memory for everything that is paid in."
Numerous incidents relate to Orion's law practice. One year when the city of Keokuk was involved in some important litigation? Clemens volunteered his services in behalf of the city without pay. The city accepted. Thenceforth it seems to have been as difficult to keep Clemens at work and to expurgate his jokes from the record as it was to win the case.
Stories of this nature the visitor at Keokuk encounters abundantly the moment he evinces an interest in the Clemens family. But if he is fortunate enough to talk with some of the older people who knew Orion, and if he is discerning, he can not fail to sense that there is affection in the telling of them.
Molly Clemens's Note Book
When Molly Clemens died in 1904, having out lived
her husband about seven years, there was found among her effects an old
note book which she began in 1862 while she was in Keokuk waiting for Orion
to send for her. Orion, it will be seen, had the year before been appointed
Secretary of Nevada Territory. That his sudden rise from the position of
an obscure country-town lawyer to that of a man prominently engaged in
State-building should have prompted her to jot down a bit of family history
is entirely excusable. The note book is interesting not only for the sketch
of Orion's career, with the steps leading up to his appointment, but also
for its references to Sam Clemens who accompanied Orion and for whom the
western trip proved the threshold for literary career. Except for minor
changes to insure clearness the entries are rendered as found.
Married, Orion Clemens, to Miss Mary E. Stotts, Dec. l9th 1864. By Rev. J. T. Umsted, Pastor of the Westminster Church.
Orion Clemens, lived in Muscatine, Iowa, when we were
married. The river being closed we had to take our trip, or rather return
to his home from Keokuk, in the stage. We left K. Dec 20 arrived at M.
Dec 21st. I returned to Keokuk on my first visit March 18, I was taken
sick about the last of April and was sick a long time. My Mother
was sent for. She came and staid 10 days. In June Mr. Clemens bought the
"Ben Franklin" book
and job office, at Ogden & Delaplain. We moved
to Keokuk on the 9th of June 1855. Our little Jennie was born Sept 14,
1855. On the 19th of Dec following, we went to board at Pa's. Remained
there until February 2d 1857. In June of 1857, Mr. Clemens sold the printing
office to H. H. Belding. On the 25 of September 1857, we started to Tennessee
to spend the winter and to see a large amount of mountain land. We spent
10 days in
St. Louis, with Mr. Wm. A Moffett. Belle Stotts went
with us. We all attended the "Great Fair of the West." We spent 10 days
in Adair Co. Ky. visiting relatives, and friends of our parents. We then
proceeded to Tenn. by private conveyance.
I left Tennessee on the 24 of March 1858. We went to Wayne Co. Ky - the present position of a large army. I staid until the 12 of April then went to Columbia Ky. There I remained 8 days, received a letter urging my speedy return to Iowa on account of my mothers illness. I arrived in Keokuk on the 27 of April. Found my mother better. Spent one day in St. Louis on my return.
Mr. Clemens returned to Keokuk on the 7 of July. He came by Memphis Tenn, to see and perhaps wait on & relieve his poor and unfortunate brother Henry Clemens who was second clerk on the steamboat Pennsylvania, which exploded her boilers, on the Mississippi river 60 miles below Memphis, Tenn on the 13, 1858.
Henry died on the 20 of June, one week from the time he was injured. No one of his friends reached him excepting Sam Clemens, his brother who was steersman at that time; but from a difficulty which took place between Sam C and the other pilot named Brown, on Henry's account Sam had left the Penn and was to go on her again as soon as they arrived at Saint Louis, where Brown was to be discharged. Brown was killed by the explosion.
We staid at Wm Stotts'es from July 7 'til the following
July, when we went to housekeeping. On Feb 1st 1860, we moved to town.
In May Orion concluded to go to Memphis Missouri, to practice law. (I will
say he was admitted to the bar in Jamestown Tenn. examined by Judge Goodall)
He moved his family over in August, 1860. In Jan. 1861, went to St.
Louis to see Judge Edward Bates who had accepted an appointment in Abraham
Lincoln's Cabinet as Atty General.
Mr. Clemens was successful, he received the appointment of Secretary of Nevada Territory, a new Territory organized in the session of 1860 & 61.
Mr. Clemens received notice of his appointment on the
27 of March, received his papers on the 20 of April. We then left Memphis
on the 26, reached Keokuk again on the 27. Mr. C started to St. Louis that
night. He left Keokuk on the 4 of July to visit his sister P. A. Moffett
in St. Louis. There he met and prevailed on his brother Sam to go to his
new home with him. They left Saint Louis on the 18 of July on the Sioux
City, for St. Joe.
There they took passage in the overland coach a mail
conveyance which began to run daily between St. Joe Missouri and Sacramento
California.
They left St. Joe, on the 26 of July, arrived in Carson City, Nevada Territory on the 14 of Au. 1700 miles from St. Joe, and 580 miles west of Great Salt Lake City.
M. E. Clemens
It is unfortunate that the note book consists so largely
of mere chronology. Of Orion's experiences in Muscatine there is practically
no mention, nor of the reason for the removal to Keokuk. The reader may
surmise that Molly's long illness in the spring of 1855 made her anxious
to be near her parents again, and so, when a business opportunity in the
form of a printing shop appeared in Keokuk, Orion at once accepted.
But there was probably another reason why Clemens
was glad to move to Keokuk. That very summer the Gate City saw the beginning
of the biggest boom in its history. Property suddenly rose to fabulous
prices, and the town went wild in an orgy of buying and selling lots. Within
a year the population almost doubled. Strangers from abroad came in hordes.
Speculators in real estate crowded the hotels and street corners. So permanent
did the era of prosperity seem to be that by the summer of 1856 the newspapers
of Keokuk were extending condolences to the neighboring towns for their
sad lack of progress. Even St. Louis stood in danger of a eclipse.
Something of the exultation and vast pride in the city's growth is shown in the item that announced Orion Clemens's purchase of the printing office. "We are informed that Messrs. Ogden and Delaplain have sold out their job office to Mr. O. Clemens of Muscatine. Mr. Clemens is not blind to the advantages and prospects of Keokuk. Wonder if there 'ain't' a number of such persons of that place, and also at Burlington, who would come here if they could. 'One horse towns' won't win in this age of railroads and steam. Men who would thrive must be in a thriving place."
Mark Twain, who worked with Orion at the Ben Franklin Print Shop during these boom years, reports that Orion did not thrive, however, on account of his lack of business sense which resulted in the failure that overtook him in 1857. Molly merely records the event. It would be unfair to accept Twain's indictment at face value, however, for his own lamentable lack of business acumen is a matter of common knowledge, and he fails to add the significant fact that Orion's failure came during the great slump of 1857 when the boom utterly collapsed and left Keokuk gasping at the suddenness and extent of the catastrophe.
The note book item of the birth of Jennie will remind old friends of the Clemens family in Keokuk of the mute pathos of an empty little rocking chair. Jennie died in Nevada Territory on February 1, 1864. At the time of her death she was only eight years of age. For forty years afterward, up to the time of Molly's death, the little girl's chair was kept in the living room of the Clemens home.
Those familiar with Mark Twain's Autobiography will have no difficulty in identifying "the large amount of mountain land" which Orion and Molly went to see in the fall of 1857. This enormous tract of land, comprising seventy-five thousand acres, had been purchased by Orion's father in the hope that some day it would bring fabulous wealth to his children. It actually became, instead, the worry of three generations. Once, in the early days, when Orion was Territorial Secretary, a development scheme that promised large returns was about to be consummated. It involved the importation of wine growers and wine-makers from Europe, and settling them on the land. All that was needed was Orion's signature. But Orion, opposed to the liquor interests, refused to become a party to the scheme and so the project was abandoned. Many years later Mark Twain, speaking of the land, said that it had been created under a misapprehension, that his father had loaded himself up with it under a misapprehension, that he had unloaded it upon his children under a misapprehension, and that he himself should be glad to be rid of the accumulated misapprehensions as soon as possible.
Of the death of Henry Clemens, Molly's account agrees in detail with that given by Sam. He was three years younger than Sam and a favorite with all the members of the Clemens family. In 1853 he had gone up to Muscatine with Orion, and while there had worked as a clerk in Burnett's book store. Later he had followed Orion to Keokuk and had become a printer's apprentice in his shop. After Orion's failure in 1857, Henry had gone on the river with Sam. He was a clean, good-looking boy, and so generally beloved that Sam was often jealous of him, though he, too, loved him deeply as his wildly pathetic letter to Molly shows, written when Henry was dying.
Orion's appointment as Secretary of Nevada Territory was a political plum, a doubtful boon when first presented, but a position which might have proved exceedingly desirable had Orion played his cards right. He had received the post for his energetic support of Lincoln's first candidacy in a stumping tour of northern Missouri. Judge Edward Bates of St. Louis, who secured him the appointment, was an old friend.
For five years Orion prospered. Then the Territory became a State. At the first election he announced his candidacy for the office of Secretary of State. But at the last moment, according to Mark Twain, when there was no doubt of his nomination, he suddenly took it into his head not to go near the convention because his presence there might be an unfair and improper influence. This, together with the fact that he just as suddenly changed to an unfriendly attitude toward whisky in a country where whisky was popular, was enough to eliminate him. Having lost his political job he was forced to turn to law for a livelihood. In 1866 he returned to the Mississippi Valley, never to become a candidate for office again.
Literary Apprenticeship
None of the gossip touching Orion Clemens is more intriguing than that which associates him with authorship. Many are the stories of his habit of secluding himself for days in a little room in the upper part of the house and laboring over great heaps of manuscript. But what the nature of this manuscript was not even the nearest neighbors seem to have known. In general the impression was that Orion was writing fiction, but since nothing appeared in the magazines under his name, the belief finally became established that he was writing under a pseudonym. Had gossip stopped there, it would have been at least within hailing distance of probability. But curiously enough a new impression began to gain currency, namely, that Orion Clemens was not only writing fiction, but that he had a hand in writing some of Mark Twain's best books.
How much of truth lies at the foundation of such gossip is pretty much a matter of record. Of immediate interest are the definitely tangible evidences of Orion's attempts at literary expression. That he entertained through the years an ambition for excellence in writing is unquestionable.
The earliest piece of writing from the hand of Orion
Clemens is a letter still preserved in the old files of the Muscatine Journal
of 1854. It is dated March 10th from Hannibal, Missouri, where he had gone,
presumably on business. Only an extract is given below - a description
of his trip down the river on the steamboat - but the attempt at literary
effectiveness is obvious.
On Tuesday night, pale-faced Fog, that white robed messenger of Delay stealthily crept around our boat like a winding sheet. It spread out from shore to shore; it hid the river; it stole upon the deck; it hovered over the boat; it wreathed up between the chimneys; it was everywhere, gently whispering " Stop!" The Captain obeyed this noiseless, but superior power. Thus the wide world over, firm gentleness is always powerful.
After several hours the fog sailed off, leaving air, woods, and water clear. Then the McKee's head was turned downstream, and she was soon again pushing on toward Montrose. But ere long we were obliged to encounter another opponent. The wind rushed against our boat, shrieking and howling; threatening to throw down our chimneys, or lift off the cabin. It tossed the water into large waves, and at every stroke of the paddle-wheels it roared "Stop!" The Captain obeyed this boisterous superior power. Thus the wide world over, what gentleness fails to accomplish, force must.
A more widely known bit of writing, especially
to Iowans, is Orion Clemens's brief "History of the Half Breed Tract".
It was written in 1856 and served, quite appropriately, as introductory
matter for his Directory of Keokuk, the first directory ever made for that
city. The history is compact, clear, and excellently written, and serves
as an indication of Orion's possibilities in literary Craftsmanship.
Whether in the early years Orion and Sam wrote each other occasional "literary" letters can only be conjectured, but certain it is that each was conscious of the good qualities in the letters of the other. Orion sensed Sam's descriptive talent as early as 1853 when he printed in the Muscatine Journal a portion of a letter from his younger brother, describing in great detail the water-works at Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, and immediately invited him to correspond regularly for the Muscatine paper.
And likewise, a few years later, Sam expressed his admiration for a letter he has just received from Orion. "It reminds me strongly", he wrote, "of Tom Hood's letters to his family....But yours only remind me of his, for although there is a striking likeness, your humor is much finer than his, and far better expressed. Tom Hood's wit, (in his letters) has a savor of labor about it which is very disagreeable. Your letter is good. That portion of it wherein the old sow figures is the very best thing that I have seen lately. Its quiet style resembles Goldsmith's ''Citizens of the World,' and 'Don Quixote,' - which are my beau ideals of fine writing."
Again in 1871 Sam commended Orion for his writing. At the time Orion was the editor of the Publisher, a Hartford, Connecticut, newspaper, while Sam was still in the flush of nation-wide popularity as the author of Innocents Abroad. What it was that Orion had written is not apparent, nor is it a matter of particular importance. More significant is the fact that the younger brother, then a recognized craftsman, was pleased with Orion's efforts as a writer.
Some months before this, Mark Twain had contracted to produce a new book. Naturally the publishers wanted something in the nature of travel literature to follow up the phenomenal success of Innocents Abroad . Twain did not have long to hunt for suitable material. Ten years previously he had made a thrilling trip overland in a stagecoach from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Carson City, Nevada Territory. The occasion of the trip was Orion's appointment as Territorial Secretary, and his journey west to fill the office. Sam, it will be remembered, accompanied Orion, acting, in a measure, as secretary to the Secretary. But since Sam had made the trip in a free spirit of adventure, he had taken no notes. Now, although his general impressions of the experience were vivid enough, he lacked detail. The new book had to be out in six months.
There was nothing to do but to write to Orion in the hope that he might be able to send a page of notes with the names of places where they had stopped, the names of people they had met, and such incidents and adventures on the trip as he might recall. Orion rummaged around and finally produced a little memorandum book that he had kept on the journey. It contained in abundance just the sort of material that Mark Twain wanted but had despaired of finding. He was greatly delighted, for Orion's help would simplify his labors immensely. In return for this aid he promised Orion one of the first thousand dollar installments that should come to him from his publisher. Such, as far as the records show, was the nature and extent of Orion's collaboration in the volume that was later called Roughing It, and there is little reason to believe that here or elsewhere was his aid more extensive or more direct.
Mark Twain's meteoric rise in literature during the seventies must have produced in Orion an eager desire to try his hand at the same sort of career. He undoubtedly felt that he could write as well as Sam, but that Sam, like occasional prospectors he had known in Nevada, had struck a good lead and had suddenly become rich. In Mark Twain's letters of this period are frequent indications that Orion had sent him bundles of manuscript hoping to get the benefit of his brother's criticism and the stimulation of his suggestions. Unfortunately these contributions from Orion reached Twain at unhappy moments. In fact most moments were unhappy for this sort of business, for during those years Twain was in a frenzy of work and the least distraction irritated him.
But occasionally he took time off and wrote to Orion at considerable length. In one of these letters the fact is revealed that Orion had been piling up manuscript on an ambitious burlesque of Jules Verne. Twain's comment seems sound, but the tone of it unpleasantly impatient. He objects to two hell scenes, which Orion apparently had treated at great length, on the ground of indiscreet manipulation. Next he proceeds to warn Orion that a novice can not hope to do what a seasoned writer like himself has been laboring for years to achieve.
The same letter instructs Orion how to get into print and recalls the gossip about Orion's use of a nom de plume. "If the N. Y. Weekly people know you are my brother, they will turn that fact into an advertisement - a thing valuable to them, but not to you and me. This must be prevented. I will write them a note to say you have a friend near Keokuk, Charles S. Miller, who has a MS for sale which you think is a pretty clever travesty of Verne; and if they want it they might write to him in your care. Then if any correspondence ensues between you and them, let Molly write for you and sign your name - your own handwriting representing Miller's. Keep yourself out of sight till you make a strike on your own merits." It is not likely that Orion acted upon his brother's suggestion. The modifications suggested by Twain would have involved tremendous labor even if he had had the heart to do it. But it is probable that the letter discouraged him and that he gave up the project altogether.
When Kipling visited America for the first time in 1889, he called at Elmira, New York, to pay his respects to Mark Twain. The conversation between the two men finally turned upon autobiography and the possibility of a man sticking rigidly to the facts when writing about himself. "I made an experiment once," said Twain. "I got a friend of mine - a man painfully given to speak the truth on all occasions - a man who wouldn't dream of telling a lie - and I made him write his autobiography for his amusement and mine. He did it. The manuscript would have made an octavo volume, but - good honest man that he was - in every single detail of his life that I knew about he turned out, on paper, a formidable liar."
The author of that autobiography was Orion Clemens, and as far as can be ascertained it was the very last ambitious piece of literary work he at tempted. It was also unquestionably his best. In the earlier stages of its composition Mark Twain not only spoke of it as model biography but was so enthusiastic that he sent portions of it to William Dean Howells, then editor of the Atlantic Monthly, with a view to its publication in that magazine. Howells read the manuscript, but so soul-revealing were many passages that he felt haggard when he had finished and could not consent to publish it. It was all of two thousand pages in length. The best parts, according to Howells, were those that dealt with his illustrious brother. These, he believed, would eventually be valuable for their biographical information about Mark Twain, a prediction which proved correct, for Paine admits that he found the manuscript almost indispensable for an adequate treatment of Twain's early life.
Practically nothing of Orion Clemens's extensive literary effort now exists. At least little is accessible. At Orion's death, according to relatives of the family, most of his papers were boxed and shipped East at Twain's request. Paine claims it was Mark Twain's wish that most of them should be destroyed, and is of the opinion that they have been. Such odds and ends as remain are deep in the dusty obscurity of a safe deposit and are not available. What a deal of interest many Iowans would find in a glimpse at those papers!
Adrift for Heresy
Orion Clemens's desire for public recognition manifested itself no less picturesquely in matters of religion than in matters of politics. To Mark Twain, far removed and feverishly engaged in his own projects, literary and otherwise, the incidents that featured Orion's progress toward agnosticism must have been perplexing indeed. Aware of the major events which marked this progress, he did not understand, and probably never troubled himself to discover the precise nature of Orion's attitude toward orthodoxy. All he could see was that "Orion is a field which grows richer and richer the more he mulches it with each new topdressing of religion or other guano."
As a matter of fact Orion was always unwaveringly religious, and the topdressings were not so much mulches as manifestations of Orion's vital religious experience. He sought to satisfy his religious nature by church membership. For many years he was a member of the Presbyterian church, having united with that denomination in 1864 while he was Secretary of Nevada Territory. He not only belonged to the church, but was, in Keokuk, one of its most active members. Yet from the first he was not fundamentally orthodox. It is true that he supported the church faithfully, for he looked upon it as an institution capable of great good, but he questioned some of the principles upon which it professed to offer salvation.
If the impulse came to Orion in the earlier years to
give public expression to his views, the straight laced orthodoxy of his
mother and the desire for social tranquillity on the part of his wife must
have restrained him. By 1876, however, it appears that Orion was no longer
inclined to remain silent. The occasion which prompted the explanation
and defense of his faith is not now known, but the following letter to
his mother is entirely creditable to Orion. It shows not only the orderliness
of his thinking, despite the phrenology, but a fine and sensitive nature
as well.
Keokuk, Aug. 10, 1876.My dear mother:
It grieves me to see you and Mollie so distressed over a difference of opinion. It is not as if I believed in crime; it is merely that I question that certain facts reported to have occurred a long time ago really occurred. There is nothing in this to indicate depravity. But if I profess to believe certain facts to have taken place when I do not believe it - this is hypocrisy in religion. A hypocrite who is right by accident in his profession is worse than one who honestly professes wrong views, for he is merely wrong by accident - the accident of a wrong mental vision. Belief in the facts recorded in the old and new testament, may grow out of a combination of circumstances, both outside of and inside of the mind. These operating together through a long series of years, mentally acquire a consistency, a complexion, and an aspect as peculiar to the individual, and as distinctly marking him, as the circumstances of shape, exposure and age, mark, tan, or freckle, and wrinkle the face of an individual, so that he can be like himself and no other. For instance, it is now impossible for you to believe in the Catholic religion. You once had the power, if you had properly cultivated it, but it is now lost. So you may put your finger on Catholics who have similarly lost the power, which they all had in greater or less degree when young to believe in Christianity. This formation of a believing character is the work of books, of association,and of phrenological bumps, taking those bumps as insignia of separate faculties of the brain. Do not misunderstand what I say. Do not suppose that I allude to anything occurring to myself in childhood. The books I had and the influences around me were towards belief in all that is in both the old and new testament.
But I am thankful that I have always felt free, whatever I might openly say, to think and read on both sides of any question which was sufficiently supplied with two sides to become a question. It thus happens that in the exercise an unchained, God-given freedom, I have looked at both sides, and ventured to question what was backed by insufficient evidence. In doing this I cast aside the mere characteristics that might have adhered to me merely because I brushed past them in life, and have thought upon the subject. Hence, I say there are some things in the old and new testament concerning which I cannot say "I believe," because the evidence has not been sufficient to command my belief.
I do not necessarily throw aside belief in God or a future state. I only question whether God and the future have been interpreted to us aright. I fear that we have in those venerable books but the works of successive ages, each of which has said - Let us make God in our image. If we study the character of Moses, and the character of God interpreted by Moses, we find the two characters agree at every point. Moses passed in and out among the idolaters, saying "Let every man slay his brother, and there fell that day three thousand." God commanded Moses to leave not one inhabitant of Canaan alive. We find the characters, both of God and Moses, as developed in the early history of the Jews, precisely agreeing.
When Christ came, his character and that of God precisely agreed, and were both at all points antagonistic to the characters of Moses and of the God whom he depicts. Can Christ himself have been a God whose character should have totally changed in a few thousand years? How much more reverent to God to suppose that the change was in man and not in Him! The change in the character of God marks the progress of man through the centuries, for, as he was himself he painted God. As Moses was, a barbarian, with a powerful fraternal and national love, to the scorn of all other nations, and all other rights of man, he made God, an enlarged, but exact image of himself - a magnified photograph. Barbarism was at its end when Christ came to lead the van of a civilization founded on love and self-sacrifice for others, for which I sincerely love and adore him. But the photograph of God copied from himself is the civilized man's God, and not the Barbarian's.
Let us be thankful for the Christian religion, for our hopes of a future, and for all we are taught in the Bible, without being compelled to believe that Christ, who taught us to love one another, was the God who taught the Jews to hate and murder and rob their neighbors.
Our cow had a little calf yesterday afternoon. I have to feed it with a bottle.
Glad to hear Annie and the baby are doing so well, and that Sammie has gone into Greek.Orion.
Holding such opinions, it is evident from what
followed that Orion voiced them from time to time until finally he was
"earnestly counseled and repeatedly besought by the Presbyterian session
not to give utterance to these views. "
Early in May, 1879, affairs culminated in an episode still memorable to the older people of Keokuk. On the evening of May 6th Orion engaged himself for a lecture at Red Ribbon Hall, the subject of the lecture being "Man the Architect of Our Religion". Members of the Presbyterian session must have suspected what the nature of his remarks would be, for several of them were in the audience that night with pencil and pad to record the heresies of their church brother.
That was on Monday night. The very next day Orion received a citation from the session to appear before it and answer the charges preferred against him. A copy of the charges was appended to the citation in order that the matter might be heard and immediately decided. Orion acknowledged acceptance the same day, and on Wednesday evening he presented himself at the pastor's study where the session was assembled. In addition to Doctor W. G. Craig, the pastor, there were in the room P. T. Lomax, clerk of session, George B. Smyth, prosecutor, and four others who had attended the lecture and upon whose testimony the charges had been drawn up. In brief the charges were as follows:
First, that he denied the presence of the supernatural in the Old Testament scriptures by asserting that the last six commandments of the decalogue were moral rules, always practiced by mankind, the formal statement of which was like naming a river for a mountain.
Second, that he denied the doctrine of the church that the Old Testament scriptures are the inspired word of God, by asserting that inspiration is simply a higher development of thought in a special direction, or a dream; that there was nothing in the Old Testament indicating a belief of its writers that any thing thought, said, or done in this life would affect the condition of the soul in the life to come, and that Abraham was a sun and fire worshiper.
Third, that he had avowed sentiments contrary to the fundamental doctrines of the Presbyterian church in that he had denied the divinity of Christ and the sanctity of the Sabbath day.
The four witnesses were then called upon to testify
what they had heard Orion say and what they had understood him to mean.
The charges were repeated with greater elaboration. Presently the moderator
asked Orion, "Did you feel impelled by a sense of duty and privilege to
give public utterance to these views ?"
"Yes," replied Orion. "I consider it the duty of every
man to think soberly upon these subjects, to make up his views satisfactorily
to himself and then express them to others, in order that if he be in error
he may be corrected and the truth reached through free, full and open discussion."
"Were you earnestly counseled and repeatedly besought
by the session not to give utterance to these views?"
"I was."
" Do you understand the views enunciated in your lecture
and freely expressed here to be directly contrary to the fundamental teaching
of the Presbyterian church?"
"I do."
"Have we, the session, according to our best ability,
sought to resolve your doubts?"
"You have sought to resolve my doubts. You will have
to judge as to the best of your ability."
"That is a correct answer."
Two days later Orion was apprised of the decision of
the session when he received through the mail a notice of excommunication.
It read as follows:
Mr. Orion Clemens:Dear Sir - I have to inform you that the session on Wednesday evening last, unanimously found you guilty under the charges tabled against you, and their sentence was that you should therefore be excommunicated from the church, and said excommunication be pronounced at morning service on Sabbath next.
Very respectfully,
P. T. Lomax, clerk of session.
That Orion Clemens was sufficiently curious to
attend Presbyterian services the next Sunday to hear Doctor Craig's sermon,
adapted to the occasion, and to listen to the formal announcement of his
excommunication is extremely doubtful. Had he been there he would have
heard the minister narrate the steps leading to the excommunication, showing
the authority of the church to cast out unworthy members, pointing out
the nature, use, and consequence of the censure, and finally he would have
heard him warn the congregation to avoid all unnecessary intercourse with
Clemens that they might not be contaminated by his opinions.
But Orion Clemens was apparently undaunted. On Monday the local papers informed the public that "Orion Clemens will repeat his lecture on 'Man the Architect of Our Religion', at Red Ribbon Hall, on Monday evening May 19. Admission 25 cents.' In view of the fact that the first lecture was given with free admission, it would be interesting to know whose idea it was to have the lecture repeated and to charge admission. Perhaps Orion was not quite so destitute of business acumen after all.
In the meantime the newspapers printed contributions of people commending Clemens for his frank expression of opinion. "Is it wise," asked one person addressing himself to the church, "to so commit yourself to any religious creed that you expel really honest and worthy men from your church simply because their thinking has been too free? Should not character and character alone, be the test of church membership?"
Whether or not Doctor Craig's warning against contamination actually served as a deterrent, the fact remains that despite the publicity which Orion Clemens received in the newspapers the second lecture was not well attended. In closing, Orion referred briefly to his expulsion from the church. He claimed that no attempt had been made to refute his statements, but that the session had merely determined that he had formed incorrect conclusions from his materials owing to his weakness of mind, and that because of that weakness he was accused of heresy and sent where he would catch worse than a sick headache. As a parting shot he said he did not desire to advise people not to associate with Doctor Craig, but trusted that every one would associate with him as heretofore.
If Orion Clemens ventured again to express his religious opinions publicly, it is not a matter of record.
The Closing Years
Orion Clemens was well over fifty before the hope
of achieving more than local distinction or of earning a comfortable competence
for himself definitely waned. He had tried business and had failed, and
politics and lecturing and authorship. To each of these in turn he had
brought much industry and enthusiasm. But somehow, though success often
hovered at his very finger tips, the consummation of it always eluded his
grasp just when he seemed most likely to attain it.
How far the causes for Orion's failures were the result of his own deficiencies of character and personality it is difficult to say. If Mark Twain's presentation of his older brother may be trusted the answer is not difficult to find, for his letters to Howells and his Autobiography supply not only an elaborate catalogue of Orion's follies and vagaries, but many references to his capricious and ill-regulated mind and to his instability of character in all matters save those touching his fundamental principles. It is true that now and again Sam expressed an appreciation of the fine qualities of Orion's character, and recognized the fact that Providence and unfavorable circumstances too frequently interfered with his success. Yet far oftener he was brutally disparaging.
But it would be unsafe to rely upon Sam's estimate of Orion. Although Mark Twain's spirit may have been of the very fabric of truth so far as moral intent was concerned, he made no real pretense to accuracy in his earlier autobiographic writings, while in later years an ever vivid imagination and a capricious memory made history difficult, even when his effort was in the direction of fact.
Furthermore, it is well to remember that Mark Twain had very little direct knowledge of Orion's later years. He knew of some of his plans and ambitions, for of these Orion had written Sam unreservedly. And he knew of some of his disappointments. But he did not know, and could not know at a distance, of the growing beauty of Orion's character. Only the people of Keokuk knew that, his neighbors and friends who saw daily evidences of it. For it appears that as Orion's long-cherished ambitions died out, his nature, always genial and kindly, developed in these qualities until during the closing years his person came to be regarded in Keokuk as a symbol of cheerful contentment and the virtues of charity, optimism, and good humor.
Many people still remember those last kindly years of Orion's life. "I boarded in Orion's home for a number of years and my association with him and his wife was very close", writes Jesse Benjamin, formerly of Keokuk and now of Washington, D. C. "I was well acquainted with his and Twain's mother; Orion and Molly commenced keeping friendly roomers soon after the mother's death. I took the rooms formerly occupied by her. A little later, they commenced boarding us, - the widowed wife of our former Congregational minister, his daughter, and myself. Some ' pinch' seemed to prompt this, tho their sensitiveness about it was covered in the rare home spirit in which we tried to help them."
Others speak of Orion's devotion to his mother and of his fond care for her in those last years when the infirmities of life rested heavily upon her. Her child-like mind frequently made her, it is said, a difficult taskmaster, but if Orion ever displayed impatience or uttered an unkind word, the memory of it has entirely faded from the minds of those friends who were privileged with more than casual glimpses into Orion's home life.
Something of the affection old friends had for Orion and Molly Clemens is reflected in the following poem, the unknown author of which was one of the guests at the occasion of their fortieth wedding anniversary in 1894. The poet announces in a little prefatory note that "the many who have enjoyed the hospitality of that home will find my title a sufficient identity." Orion's well-known love for sugar in his coffee and the allusion in the last stanza to "the bride left by the way" serve as a further means of identification, while the whole poem expresses the kindly, whimsical good nature that was personified in the character of Orion Clemens.
The Keokuk Pilgrim
Put in a heaping spoonful, now, -
You needn't stir it up,
For you know I like the sugar
At the bottom of the cup.
It somehow so reminds me
As I sip my coffee, wife,
Of the sweet found near the bottom
Of the bitter cup of life.
Forty years since first you sugared
My morning cup for me, -
Forty years since first you sweetened
The days then yet to be.
Put in another spoonful,
And, while I drink it low, -
Our minds will watch life's phantoms
As they swiftly come and go.
Forty years! I can remember, -
Not much, though I'll be blessed,
About that day, - except I know
How queerly you were dressed.
Queer as dress in these days -
A big sleeved, low necked gown,
With waves and bands and folds
Of white and gold and brown.
Of myself I don't remember -
Forgetfulness is kind;
few points have, however,
Been kept green in my mind.
I'd forget, though, if you'd let me,
How on our wedding day,
I started for my honey-moon
My bride left by the way.
Orion Clemens died on December 11, 1897, aged seventy-two years. He had got up early in the morning, as was his custom, to build a fire in the kitchen stove. The end came quietly while he was waiting for the house to warm and was in the act of jotting down some notes on a brief for a case then pending in court.
His passing was deeply mourned. Newspapers from Muscatine to St. Louis noted his death and gave tribute to his lovable character. Typical of such tributes is that of the Reverend W. L. Byers, of the Congregational church, an old friend of the Clemens family. "I knew him for a genial, happy, kind-hearted man who said no ill word, did no wanton unkindness, and who went through the world making it brighter....What worry he had he locked in his own breast and gave to his fellows only and ever a smile and a sunny word. He was the man who walked through the snow to buy wheat for the sparrows when the days were cold and bleak. That is the parable of what he was at home and everywhere. "
Mark Twain was in Vienna when the cablegram announcing Orion's death reached him. That night he penned Molly the note which follows. It was undoubtedly sincere, even in its utter pessimism, and many of his friends wish that it might have stood as Twain's final expression concerning that unique and lovable character.
Hotel Metropole
Vienna, Dec. 11/97.
Dear Molly:
It is 10 in the evening. We sent
you our cablegram of sympathy half an hour ago & it is in your hands
by this
time, in the wintry mid-afternoon
of the heaviest day you have known since we saw Jenny escape from this
life
thirty-three years ago, & were
then too ignorant to rejoice at it.
We all grieve for you; our sympathy
goes out to you from experienced hearts, & with it our love; &
with Orion,
& for Orion I rejoice. He has
received life's best gift.
He was good - all good, and sound;
there was nothing bad in him, nothing base, nor any unkindness. It was
unjust that such a man, against
whom no offence could be charged, should have been sentenced to live 72
years. It was
beautiful, the patience with which he bore it.
The bitterness of death - that
is for the survivors, and bitter beyond all words, it is. We hunger for
Susy, we
suffer & pine for her; &
if
by asking I could bring her back, I could stoop to that treachery, so weak
am I, & so
selfish are we all. But she &
Orion are at peace, & no loyal friend should wish to disturb them in
their high
fortune.
I & all of us offer to you
what little we have - our love & our compassion.
Sam.
Comment by the Editor
THE FIRST DIRECTORY OF KEOKUK
In a small "book and job printing" shop on the third
floor of a building at 52 Main Street the first General Directory of the
Citizens of Keokuk was compiled and published by Orion Clemens in 1856.
It was a credit to the shop and to the city. Printed clearly from
clean type on fine rag paper, the directory was a good example of commercial
printing at that time. And after nearly three quarters of a century
the paper is still white and soft and the ink is as black as ever. Orion
Clemens had a right to be proud of the contents, typography, make up, and
press work. Besides containing a list of Keokuk residents (though
very few women were mentioned), the directory was prefaced with a "Sketch
of the Black Hawk War and History of the Half Breed Tract" and included
statistics of commercial prosperity as well as the inaugural address of
Mayor Samuel R. Curtis. Despite a seductive title, as long as the name
of a Puritan theological dissertation, the supplementary material in the
directory was reasonably conservative and entirely dignified.
Mr. Clemens's history was accurate and fair, while the optimistic implications of remarkable business developments were balanced by the sound policies of Mayor Curtis who curbed his municipal vision with sensible circumspection. Indeed, so much care was taken to avoid exaggeration and "tell the plain, simple truth, without any varnish at all" that the publisher was criticised for making the list of civic improvements five hundred per cent too small. Nevertheless people bought enough directories at a dollar a copy and advertisers contributed sufficient life-blood to justify a bigger and better Business Mirror in 1857.
While Orion Clemens was adventuring on the perilous frontier of book publishing, his younger brothers, Henry and Sam, bore the burden of the job work. One night Mark Twain (to be) stood manfully at his "little press until nearly 2 o'clock" while the "flaring gas light" over his head "attracted all the varieties of bugs which are to be found in natural history". What he thought at first was only a local bug picnic turned out to be a gigantic entomological mass meeting. A venerable beetle that occupied a prominent position on his head sounded the key note of a grand chorus sung by 47,000 mosquitoes (treble), 23,000 house flies (alto), 32,000 locusts (tenor), and 97,000 pinch bugs (bass). The next morning Sam combed 976 beetles out of his hair, "every one of whose throats was stretched wide open, for their gentle spirits had passed away while yet they sang".
THE PALIMPSEST- Copyright 1929 by the State Historical
Society of Iowa
Vol. X - Issued in October 1929 - No. 10 - pp. 353-388
Edited by John Ely Briggs
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Sweetland
Twp.
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Wilton Twp.
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 page
653, Seventy-Six Township
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History
of Muscatine County Iowa, Containing A History of the County, its
Cities, Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 Cedar
Twp
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 page
641, Orono Township
In 1854, when the subject was a child of about four years, his parents removed from Ohio to Muscatine county, Iowa, being numbered among the pioneers of that section of the Hawkeye state, and there Mr. Cone was reared to maturity, receiving his preliminary educational discipline in the public schools, after which he continued his studies in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, and being graduated in the law department of this excellent institution as a member of the class of 1873, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the summer of 1872 and the winter of 1874 he devoted his attention to teaching in the public schools, and in March, 1874, having been duly admitted to the bar of the state, he engaged in the practice of his profession in Iowa City, where he remained until 1883, having gained marked prestige in his chosen vocation.
In April of that year he came to Brule county, South Dakota, and settled upon a homestead claim which he had secured in May of the preceding year, and here instituted the reclamation and improvement of the property, while simultaneously he was engaged in practice before the United States land offices in Mitchell and Yankton, thus continuing until 1893, when he removed to Sioux Falls and here compiled a set of abstracts of titles of Minnehaha county, being still engaged in the abstract business and also identified with real estate operations to a considerable extent.
In politics Mr. Cone has ever accorded a staunch allegiance to the Republican party, in whose ranks he has been a zealous and valued worker since coming to what is now the state of South Dakota. He cast his first vote, in Iowa City, in 1872, for General U. S. Grant for president, and his first official identification with political affairs was made in 1875, when he was elected township clerk in Iowa City, by thirty seven majority, the regular Democratic majority in the township being at the time three hundred and fifty. He was a member of the board of commissioners of Brule county, Dakota, in 1884-5-6, and in the last year served as chairman of the board.
Soon after taking up his residence here Mr. Cone became a zealous advocate of the division of the territory and of securing the admission of the two states to the Union, while in 1885, under the constitution of that year, he was chosen a member of the lower house of the legislature and continued to take an active part in the work looking to statehood until the desideratum was an accomplished fact. He was a clerk in the house in the seventeenth and eighteenth general assemblies of the territorial legislature, and upon the organization of the state government, on the 15th of October, 1889, he was chosen chief clerk of the house, being reelected to his position in the second and third sessions, while up to the present time he is the only person who has thus been honored with reelection to the office. In the second session the Democratic and Populist majority in the house was six, and yet he was elected by a majority of one, a fact indicating his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by the members of the body, irrespective of partisan affiliations. He served with satisfaction to all during that stormy and somewhat turbulent session, and in the third session he had the further distinction of receiving the vote of every member of the house. He served one term as a member of the board of education in Sioux Falls, declining to become a candidate for a second term
He is prominently identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past grand, while he is also past master workman in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, which he has represented in the grand lodge of the state. He also holds membership in the Modern Brotherhood of America.
On the 23d of October, 1873, Mr. Cone was united in marriage to Miss Emily M. Staples, who was born in Vergennes, Vermont, on the 26th of October, 1852, being a daughter of Cyrus and Sarah M. (Sedgwick) Staples. Of the children of this union we enter the following brief data: Arthur H. died in infancy; Charles C., who was a private in Company B, Forty ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American war, is now residing in Sioux Falls; Roscoe E., of Mitchell, South Dakota; Ralph J. remains at the parental home; William C. died in infancy; Myrtle E. is at home, and Walter S.
Source: History of South
Dakota,(1904) Doane Robinson, Vol. I, pg 712-713
Source: THE HISTORY
OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA Containing A History of the County, its Cities,
Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 page
641-2, Orono Township
Source: Andreas'
History of the State of Nebraska, Cuming County
History of Guthrie and Adair Counties, Iowa 1884
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
History of Montgomery County, Iowa; Des Moines: Iowa
Hist. and Biographical Co., 1881
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Orrin Alonzo Cooper, former miller and grain buyer of Humboldt, was a resident of Richardson County from 1869 until his demise, and was regarded as one of the pioneers of his community. He was born at Conquest, Cayuga County, New York, November 18, 1849, and was of German descent. His father, Henry Cooper, was born in New York, May 23, 1827, a son of German parents, but lately established in this country when he came into the world. They moved from Branch County, Michigan, in 1869, settling on a farm north and west of Table Rock, Nebraska, and there Henry Cooper died April 18, 1900. His wife, mother of Orrin Alonzo Cooper, and grandmother of Guy L. Cooper, was Phoebe Jane Wendover before her marriage with him. She was born in Cayuga County, New York, April 5, 1829, and died September 15, 1912. Henry and Phoebe Cooper were the parents of the following children: Orrin Alonzo, who was the first born; Mrs. Clara Lane, who resides in Table Rock; William, who is a resident of Wymore, Nebraska; Bernard H., who resides in Beaver City, Nebraska; Lafayette, who is a resident of Saint Joseph Missouri; and Mrs. Sadie Redman, who is a resident of Denver, Colorado.
Orrin Alonzo Cooper attended the public schools of Branch County, Michigan, and after the removal of the family to Nebraska in 1869 he attended school in his home neighborhood in Pawnee County for a time, and also assisted his father in developing the homestead for four years, after which he was engaged in the grain business on his own account. The first grain and stock buyer at Table Rock after the completion of the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad was built to that city, he was in the employ of Mr. Norton for about two years, and then bought the business and conducted it for a year under the firm name of Cooper & Norton. For another year he was alone, and then formed a partnership with J. L. Linn, under the name of Cooper & Linn, and established a lumber yard in Table Rock, adding the handling of lumber to the grain interests.
During the two years that this firm was in existence Mr. Cooper made a trip to Indian Territory as a partner of William McClure, and for one season the two were engaged in buying cattle from the Indians of the territory and shipping them to the North. These partners were the first authorized buyers of cattle in Indian Territory, and received their authority from the Federal Government. At the close of the season Mr. Cooper disposed of his interest to his partner and returned to Table Rock. It was not long thereafter that he and Mr. Linn purchased the Hulsey elevator at Humboldt, and in 1879 Mr. Cooper took up his permanent residence in this city and assumed personal charge of the elevator. He formed a company under the name of Linn, Cooper & Fellers, established a lumber yard, and operated it for two years in conjunction with his grain and livestock interests. With the termination of that period Messrs. Cooper and Linn bought out their partner, and a new partner, L. B. Brinson, was taken into the firm. A 200-barrel flour-mill was erected, and was operated under the firm name of Linn, Cooper & Brinson for a year, when the name was changed to Linn & Cooper, who bought the interests of Mr. Brinson. For the succeeding five years Linn & Cooper carried on the grain, livestock and milling interests, and expanded, their operations coming to include the building of a chain of elevators to include the rapidly increasing business. In 1890 the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Linn taking over the lumber business, and Mr. Cooper retaining the grain, livestock and milling business, and the latter continued to operate under his own name until 1903, when he formed a partnership with C. M. Linn, a son of his former partner. They operated the flour-mill and a chain of fourteen elevators until 1907, under the firm name of Cooper & Linn, but in the latter year this firm, too, was dissolved, Mr. Linn taking charge of the grain elevators located outside of Humboldt, and Mr. Cooper taking over the mill and other Humboldt property. At that time he commenced operating under the name of O. A. Cooper & Son, but the name is now the O. A. Cooper Company. As time progressed Mr. Cooper acquired other interests, and at the date of his death had under the management of his company the Humboldt Steam Mills, an electric-light and power plant which supplies the cities of Humboldt, Dawson and Table Rock with light and power; an artificial ice-manufacturing plant; and an automobile business, including the agency for the Buick automobiles. The importance of these industries to Humboldt cannot be over estimated, and they serve as a monument to the tireless energies and excellent business management of their founder, now passed from the scene of his former activities. He was also connected as a stockholder and official with numerous other enterprises of Dawson and Table Rock, and owned several hundreds of acres in Nebraska and Kansas in addition to his home farm of 100 acres adjoining the city of Humboldt, which he continued to operate up to his death.
Twice married, Orrin Alonzo Cooper's first wife was Calista Ellen Merrifield, to whom he was united at Table Rock, July 4, 1875. They had the following children born to their marriage: Mrs. Grace MacMurray, who is deceased; Cary K., who resides in San Bernardino, California; Mrs. Eva Stanley, who resides in Norfolk, Virginia; Guy L., whose name heads this review; and Mrs. Ena Seabury, who resides in Omaha, Nebraska. The first Mrs. Cooper was born in Benton County, Iowa, September 25, 1858, a daughter of W. P. and Olive (Spracklin) Merrifield, and she and her sister, Lydia, were the only children of their parents. The death of Mrs. Cooper occurred October 20, 1905. On June 18, 1907, Mr. Cooper married Mrs. Minnie Akers, a daughter of Solomon G. and Louisa J. (Avitts) Spracklin.
Very active in the Republican party, he served Humboldt as mayor for seven years. In 1877 he was made a Mason, and for nearly fifty years he belonged to that fraternity. He affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. During the World war he had charge of the drives for the American Red Cross in Richardson County. Like many others who have achieved fame and fortune in Nebraska, Mr. Cooper was the architect of his own fortune, and the greater part of his knowledge was acquired after he had reached man's estate. A man of shrewd business sense, he was also so upright and honorable that his word was regarded as good as his bond, and no one could show that he ever took unfair advantage of an associate in any transaction.
Guy L. Cooper is a true son of a good father, and is carrying on many of the older man's enterprises with efficient capability. After he was graduated from the local schools he had two years in the Nebraska State University, and upon his return to Humboldt, went into business with his father, in which he has since continued. Like his father he is an active Republican, and was a delegate to the national convention of his party in 1920 which nominated Warren G. Harding for President. For twelve years he belonged to the Humboldt School Board, and for six years of that time was its chairman.
Mr. Cooper married Josephine Bruun, a daughter of Lewis Bruun, of Muscatine, Iowa. Mrs. Cooper completed her education in a famous girls' school of Saint Louis, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper have four children: Guy L., Junior, and Charles, both of whom are attending the University of Nebraska, and John and Calista, who are attending the local public schools. Mr. Cooper is a member of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a trustee. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and he also belongs to the Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at Lincoln, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Source: Nebraska the Land and the People: Volume 3 page 239
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Wilton Twp
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Jackson B. Crane was born in Ohio, owing his baptismal name, perhaps, to the fact that his birthday occurred on or very near the day that General Jackson captured New Orleans, January 8, 1815. In manhood be left his native state for Iowa, accompanied by his aged father, who died at Muscatine and was buried there. Mr. Jackson Crane remained at Oskaloosa, Iowa, until 1854, in the meanwhile becoming a trusted and valued citizen of Mahaska County, which he served two terms as sheriff.
He had always been a democrat, a Jacksonian democrat, but the time came when his opinions changed to some degree on the subject of slavery. This attitude gave him some trouble with his neighbors after he had moved to Kansas, in 1854, but he was unyielding in his views in regard to the further spread of slavery. Hence, when the infant republican party came into existence, in 1856, with its main platform of prohibition of slavery in the territories, it found in Mr. Crane a conscientious supporter, to such an extent that he sent his eldest son back to his old neighbors in Iowa to give them his views, as having had more experience of slavery than they in its practical workings, and to urge them to approve the principles of the new party and vote for its first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, as was his own intention. It is on record that many of them did so.
Jackson B. Crane and his wife had thirteen children: Columbus, Alexander Pope, James, Miner, Leonard, John, Robert, Stephen, Jackson, William, Ann, Emeline and Mary. After a residence of forty-five years in Leavenworth County, Jackson B. Crane and wife left Kansas and moved to Perry, Oklahoma, where both died in advanced age. Of their surviving eleven children, the ages run from fifty-two to eighty-one years.
Columbus Crane, the eldest son of the founder of the family in Kansas, married Miss Permelia Jones, a member of a family that came to Kansas in 1855 from Ohio. To them were born five children, three sons and two daughters: Lafayette Fremont, who was born in 1858; Emma, who is now Mrs. Tork, lives at Holton, Kansas; Josephine, who is Mrs. Blossom, lives at Rutland, Vermont; Alfred E., who was born in 1863, at Leavenworth, is an attorney at Topeka; and Calvin C., who is a temporary resident of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Alfred E. Crane married Miss Lillian M. Woodburn, a member of a family that came to Kansas in 1860. Rev. J. A. Woodburn still survives, having been active in the ministry for sixty years. The family and its connections are all prominent in the state. One son, F. T. Woodburn, is a district judge at Holton, Kansas. An uncle of Mrs. Crane, John Quincy Adams Roberts, who was one of the early pioneers, still survives at the age of eighty-seven years, a resident of Newcastle, Indiana. He was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Crane have one son, Harry Alfred, who was born in 1902.
Source: Kansas and Kansans: Volume 4, page 2003
Source: The History of
Muscatine County Iowa Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns,
& etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879 page
642, Orono Twp
While in Ohio he was a member of the "Hardsbell" Baptist Church, but after coming to Iowa he united with the Christian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Croghan were the parents of fourteen children. Benjamin, their first born, is a resident of Allen County, Kansas.
Joshua was reared in Cedar County, Iowa, on a farm, and when he grew up learned the harness-maker's trade at Wilton Junction, Muscatine County, same State. During the great Rebellion he enlisted, in 1864, in Company B, Second Iowa Infantry. The regiment was on its noted march to the sea under General Sherman. Mr. Croghan joined them at Atlanta, Georgia, and from there marched with them to Savannah, then up through the Carolinas and to Richmond. After the surrender of General Lee's army they marched on to Washington, and were present at the grand review. He was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, and at Davenport, Iowa, received his final discharge and was paid off.
The war over, Mr. Croghan returned to Cedar County, Iowa, where he resided six years. He then removed to Clinton County, same State, and after remaining three years returned to Cedar County. Five years later, in 1879, he came to Pottawattamie County. In 1880 he purchased forty acres of wild land, which he has since improved and brought under a high state of cultivation. He has a comfortable home, a good barn, modern wind pump, a grove and orchard of four acres, and other substantial improvements. Everything, about the Croghan farm shows thrift and enterprise. At present Mr. Croghan is cultivating 240 acres of land, and is feeding twenty-eighty head of cattle and a large number of hogs.
February 25, 1868, and Clinton County, Iowa, are the date and place of Mr. Croghan's marriage to Miss Mary Jane Dale, a, native of Crawford County, Ohio, daughter of Samuel and Mary Dale. Her father died in 1864, and her mother is a resident of Muscatine, Iowa, where she has three sons. Mr. Croghan and his wife have seven children: Mary C., the oldest, died in 1870; James F., Phillip, Sina A., Charles, Colbert and Sherwood M. Mr. Croghan is a charter member of Washington Post, G. A. R., No. 9. In politics he is a Republican. He and his wife are members of the Protestant Methodist Church.
Source: The Biographical Record of Pottawattamie
County Iowa
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879
Source: THE HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
Containing A History of the County, its Cities, Towns, & etc.
Western Historical Company Chicago Illinois 1879,
Seventy Six Twp
Source: The History of Jasper County, Iowa 1878, Chicago, Western Historical Company