ELISHA RANSOM,
one of the pioneers of Washington Township, Appanoose County, was
born near Lawrenceburgh, April 11, 1831, a son of Joseph and Corinthia
(Swift) Ransom, the father born in Woodstock, Vermont, and the mother
a native of Utica, New York. They were among the early settlers
of Indiana, remaining in that State till their death, the mother
dying when our subject was but eleven years old. Elisha Ransom was
reared to the occupation of a farmer, and has always followed agricultural
pursuits. His education was obtained at the common schools of Madison,
Indiana. He was married in his native State at the age of nineteen
years, to Mary Hays, a native of Jefferson County, Indiana. They
have seven children: James K., Mary H. (wife of O. Spullin), Nancy
J. (wife of W. P. Taylor, of Appanoose County ), Joseph H., Abraham
L., Minnie G., Ulysses E. Mr. Ransom came to Iowa in his twenty-first
year, and located in Lee County, remaining there three years. He
came to Appanoose County in 1856 and settled on his present farm,
his original purchase being 100 acres, for which he paid $4 per
acre. He began life a poor boy, being thrown on his own resources
after the death of his mother. He has led an industrious life, and
has met with success in his general farming and stock-raising, and
is at present devoting his attention to raising fine cattle and
horses. He has added to his real estate till he now has 635 acres
of choice land, all under cultivation. Mr. Ransom has served his
township as trustee and treasurer for five years. He has been school
director for many years, and has also served as highway commissioner.
FRANK A. REICH, one of the prominent
business men of Moravia, is a native of Salem, North Carolina, born
June 30, 1848, the eldest son of H. E. and Ann Aurelia (Herbst)
Reich. In April, 1850, his parents moved to Appanoose County, Iowa,
and settled on a farm near the present site of Moravia, where he
was reared and educated, attending the public schools. In 1869 his
father sold the farm and bought a saw-mill, and when he was twenty-one
years of age he began working in the mill, continuing there about
nine years. From 1878 till December, 1882, he worked at the carpenter's
trade. In the fall of 1882 he took charge of the lumber yard of
W. M. Peatman, and also bought grain for the firm of Stanton & Kirkham,
of Centerville, still continuing the latter business. In March,
1885, he and his brother Junius bought the lumber business, and
have a large and constantly increasing trade, their yard being the
only one in the place. Mr. Reich was married in November, 1881,
to Miss Pearlie Weimberg, of Augusta, Illinois. They have two children:
H. Claude and Clarence P. Mr. Reich is a member of Antiquity Lodge,
No. 252, A. F. & A. M.
AUGUST RICHARD was born in
France, October 13, 1825. In his fifteenth year he began to learn
the trade of a stone-cutter, at which he worked till nearly twenty-one,
when he was conscripted into the French army, and served about seven
years, participating in the Revolution of 1848. On leaving the army,
in October, 1852, he returned to his home and the following March
came to the United States. In 1855 he moved to Iowa, and worked
for a short time at Keosauqua, and subsequently was employed on
the asylum at Mt. Pleasant. In April, 1860, he located at Centerville,
where he took contracts on stone work until 1868, when he became
established in his present business—manufacturing in marble and
granite ware. In 1863 he became a stock-holder in the First National
Bank of Centerville, and in 1870 was one of the incorporators of
the Campbell Banking Company, which in 1873 was merged into the
Farmers' National Bank, and he was chosen one of its directors.
November 16, 1854, he was married at Sandusky, Ohio, to Lizzie Philpolt.
They have three children: Julia, Josephine and Benjamin F. Mr. Richard
and his family are members of the Presbyterian church.
S. K. RINARD was born June 20, 1826,
in Washington County, Ohio, near the bank of the Little Muskingum
River. His grandfather, Isaac Rinard, was born east of the Allegheny
Mountains and lived to the age of ninety-seven years. He was bound
out when a boy to learn the tanner's trade, but before his apprenticeship
expired ran away from his master and made his way across the mountains,
and settled on the Allegheny River, near the present site of Oil
City, Pennsylvania, and became, no doubt, the owner of millions
of gallons of oil, although he never knew it, as he sold his farm
in 1814 and with his family and mill machinery floated on a lumber
raft down the river to Washington County, Ohio. His mill burrs were
quarried out of the Laurel Hill Mountains and are still in use,
being until within a few years owned by some member of the family.
The grandfather never learned to read English, and his old German
Bible is still in the family, although none of them are able to
read it. He served in the Indian war of 1792, being a scout under
General Anthony Wayne. He was an expert hunter, and the woods and
mountains of his native State furnished him plenty of sport of this
kind. He was twice married, the father of our subject, John Rinard,
being a son of his first wife. John Rinard was born near Oil City,
Pennsylvania, June 1, 1801. He was also a miller, following the business
over fifty years. He had no educational advantages and was never
able to read. He was married when twenty-two years old to Nancy
Rea, who was born in County Down, Ireland, in 1802, and came to
America with her parents when thirteen years old. They commenced
their married life poor, but by economy accumulated enough to help
each of their children procure a comfortable home. The father died
aged eighty-two years, and the mother age eighty-one, after a married
life of sixty years, dying within eight months of each other. They
had a family of seven sons and five daughters, all but one living
to years of maturity. S. K. Rinard was reared as was common with
boys in his day, receiving only a limited education in the subscription
schools. His youth was spent in his father's mill, and he continued
his father's assistant until twenty-six years old. In 1850 he wanted
to go to California with the gold hunters, but the entreaties of
his mother kept him at home. In 1855 he came West, and after visiting
Iowa and Missouri, returned to Illinois and entered eighty acres
in Henderson County. He then returned home, but in 1857 went to
Kansas and entered a homestead, and lived among the Indians and
border ruffians. He enlisted in the Kansas State militia, under
Jim Lane, but was never called into active service. He was taken
sick with Kansas ague and in May, 1858, sold his land and located
in what is now Cambria, Iowa. This town he laid out, and has been
instrumental in building up its material interests. He was married
in October, 1858, to Anna Greenlee, and to them were born four children.
The mother died when the youngest was but a few days old. In 1868
he married Mrs. Matilda Shell. They have three children.
JACOB RUMMEL, manufacturer and
dealer in patent medicines at Centerville, was born in Adams County,
Pennsylvania, in 1826. At the age of nine years he was brought by
his parents to Richland County, Ohio, where he was reared to maturity
on a farm. He left the home farm at the age of twenty, after which
he clerked in Ohio in the towns of Newville, Mount Vernon and Lancaster.
He came to Iowa in the spring of 1850, and was employed as clerk
in Keokuk until the spring of 1856, when he clerked for a year at
Centerville, Appanoose County. He then became associated with William
Clark in the general mercantile business, under the firm name of
Clark & Rummel. In 1860 John L. Bashore became Mr. Clark's successor,
when the firm name was changed to Rummel & Bashore, this firm continuing
till 1864, when Mr. Bashore was killed while acting as provost marshal
in the Union service. In November, 1864, Mr. Rummel, having been
elected clerk of the County Courts, discontinued his mercantile
pursuits to take charge of that office in January, 1865, serving
as such one term of two years. He then resumed his mercantile business,
which he carried on till 1872, after which he acted as agent of
the Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railway, at Centerville. In 1872 he
moved his business to Unionville, Missouri, where he met with reverses
by having too much confidence in a man with whom he had been associated.
In 1881 he emigrated South and engaged in business at Siloam Springs,
Arkansas, until 1883, when he sold out and returned to Centerville,
when he became interested in his present business, acting as agent
for the firm of F. Eells & Son. February 9, 1858, he married to
Mrs. Sarah Jane (Henkle) Cutler, of Appanoose County, who died at
Centerville, July 9, 1874, leaving three children: Fanny E., Willie
C. and Charles C. Mr. Rummel is an active and enterprising citizen,
and has taken an interest in every undertaking for the advancement
of Centerville. While serving as county clerk he, assisted by Amos
Harris and E. W. Henkle, planted the trees in the court-house park.
He was also largely instrumental in the erection of the soldiers'
memorial monument in the court-house park. He was director of the
Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railway for seven years, two years of
the time being secretary of the company. He was for several years
a director of the First National Bank at Centerville. While serving
as president of the board of education of Centerville, the first
of the present school buildings was erected. Mr. Rummel also acted
very efficiently as councilman of Centerville for several years.
HENRY AUSTIN RUSSELL,
agent of the United States and Pacific express companies, at Centerville,
Iowa, was born near Jefferson, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1851, the
youngest of seven sons of James and Sarah Russell, natives of Pennsylvania,
of Irish ancestry. In 1861 his parents came to Iowa and settled
on a farm near Bloomfield, Davis County, where the mother died in
October, 1875, aged seventy years, and the father December 27, 1883,
aged eighty-five years. When nineteen years of age our subject went
to Little Rock, Arkansas, and taught school in that city about two
years, and in 1872 became associated with his brother and others
in the mercantile business at Lewisburg, Arkansas, under the firm
name, Russell, Mason & Co. In 1875 he retired from the firm, and
was employed as bookkeeper by the Singer Sewing Machine Company
at Little Rock a year. In 1876 he located in Centerville, where,
until 1884, he was in the drug business, and in the meantime he
erected the Russell Opera Block, at a cost of $12, 000. In politics
he is a Republican. He was reared in the faith of the Presbyterian
church and is now a member of that denomination. January 16, 1884,
he married Ella Rogers, of Jefferson, Pennsylvania, a daughter of
Dr. W. D. Rogers. They have one child: Miles Winston, born August
15, 1885. Mr. Russell is a member of the Odd Fellows and Knights
of Pythias orders.
JOHN LAZELLE SAWYERS, M. D.,
one of the prominent young physicians of Appanoose County, is a
native of this county, born in Unionville, July 18, 1856, a son
of Dr. Sylvester and Mary F. (Miller) Sawyers, both natives of Tennessee,
and of English ancestry. His father is a leading physician of Appanoose
County, and very well and favorably known throughout the State of
Iowa. He was educated in the district schools, and when eighteen
years of age began the study of medicine with his father. During
the summer of 1875 and the winter of 1875-'76 he attended the Chicago
Medical College, and in the spring of 1876 entered the Kentucky
School of Medicine at Louisville, from which he graduated the following
June, receiving a gold medal for proficiency in all branches, and
also the first prize for surgery. After his graduation he practiced
with his father at Unionville until the fall of 1877, when he again
attended the Chicago Medical College, from which he also received
the degree of M. D. in March, 1878. Prior to this, in February,
1878, he was appointed physician of Cook County Hospital, obtained
by competitive examination, and served as such eighteen months,
the time required. By the unanimous request of the Medical Board
he remained in the institution three months longer, and in October,
1879, returned to Unionville and resumed his practice. In February,
1880, he started on a European tour, spending nearly two years in
the old world, the most of the time in attending clinical lectures
at the various hospitals of Vienna. He traveled through a greater
part of France and Germany visiting most of their important cities,
and also made a trip through Switzerland and Italy. In June, 1881,
he was called home by the severe illness of his father. After his
father's recovery they practiced together in Unionville till 1883,
when he located in Centerville, where he has a large and constantly
increasing practice. Dr. Sawyers was married June 12, 1883, to Miss
Jennie Drake, daughter of General F. M. and Mary (Lord) Drake. They
have one child: Mary D. In politics Dr. Sawyers is a firm believer
in the principles of the Republican party. He is a member of the
Masonic fraternity, lodge at Unionville, and chapter and commandery
at Centerville.
NOAH M. SCOTT was born in Morgan
County, Indiana, May 25, 1841, a son of David B. and Nancy (Ray)
Scott, his father a native of Indiana and his mother of Kentucky.
In 1853 his parents moved to Iowa and made their home in Walnut
Township, Appanoose County, where the father improved a farm on
which he lived the rest of his life. At his death he owned 800 acres
of valuable land. He died at Barnesville, Kansas, in January, 1862,
where he had gone to visit Noah M., who was sick with the measles.
The mother is still living on a part of the homestead. They had
a family of eight children, Noah being the eldest. The others are
Calvin R., who served in the Fifth Kansas Cavalry and died of consumption
in 1868, leaving a wife and two children, the former dying the next
year; Bedford enlisted in the Forty-third Iowa, 100 days' service
and died at Davenport, when on his way home; Thomas lives in Stafford
County, Kansas; Clayton and Milton, in Walnut Township, and Hettie
died aged seven years.
Noah M. Scott
enlisted August 12, 1861, in Company D, Fifth Kansas Infantry, and
in January, 1862, was transferred to the Sixth Kansas Cavalry. In
the fall of 1861 he served in the Fremont campaign, and the next
eighteen months was on detached duty on the Missouri borders, scouting
and hunting bushwhackers. In the fall of 1863 he went South with
General Blunt, and in the winter of 1863-‘4 was stationed at Forts
Gibson and Smith. July 27, 1864, while on outpost duty, he was captured
by the rebels near Fort Smith, and was confined at Tyler, Texas,
ten months. May 25, 1865, he was exchanged, and July 17, 1865, was
honorably discharged at Fort Leavenworth. He was a gallant soldier
and his service was creditable and honorable. The hardships he endured,
especially while in prison, so undermined his health that he now
justly receives a pension from the Government. Mr. Scott was married
April 17, 1860, to Miss Persis Stark, who was born in Indiana, August
20, 1843, a daughter of Jeremiah and Sarah A. Stark, who settled
in Walnut Township, on section 8, in 1848. The father died the same
year and the mother afterward married Elijah Bartlett, and lives
in Stafford County, Kansas. After the war Mr. Scott lived on a farm
of eighty acres on section 8, Walnut Township, until 1879, when
he moved to Wayne County, where he lived five years, the last year
being spent in Promise City. In 1884 he moved to the farm where
he now lives, which is a part of his father's homestead. Mr. and
Mrs. Scott have one daughter: Minnie, wife of J. R. Luce, of section
4, Walnut Township. She has three children: Claude, Clay and Ray.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of the Christian church. He is a
member of Jackson Lodge, No. 42, F. and A. M., at Centerville. In
politics he is a Republican and has served in several local positions
of trust and responsibility.
PRESLEY W. SEARS, one of the
early settlers of Appanoose County, was born in Fairfax County,
Virginia, April 29, 1806, a son of Charles Lee and Elizabeth (Wooster
) Sears, natives of the same State, of English descent. His grandfather,
Barnard Sears, came to America in 1727, and settled in Virginia.
He was one of the workmen employed in building General Washington's
residence, at Mt. Vernon. His maternal grandfather, John Wooster,
was born in London, and came to America as a soldier during the
Revolutionary war. In 1836 our subject removed from Virginia to
Ohio, and settled near Zanesville, Muskingum County, where he lived
about twenty years, and in 1856 removed with his family to Appanoose
County, Iowa, entering 320 acres of land three miles west of Moravia,
where he lived until 1870, when he retired from the busy cares of
life, and moved to the village of Moravia. Mr. Sears was married
in 1831 to Ann M. Caton, a native of Fairfax County, Virginia. She
died in September, 1863, leaving seven children. He subsequently
married Mrs. Orlensa Wright, a native of Pennsylvania, daughter
of Robert Johnston. They have one daughter: Flora E. M.
PETER SIDLES, one of the pioneers
and a representative farmer of Lincoln Township, Appanoose County,
was born near Blanchester, Clinton County, Ohio, June 4, 1823, the
eldest son of Israel Sidles, who was a native of Pennsylvania. The
father went to Ohio when a boy, and was married in that State to
Nancy Morrison, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, born November
30, 1801. They had a family of eleven children, eight of whom are
yet living, our subject being the third child of this marriage.
The father died during the late war, in January, 1865, and his widow
still resides on the old homestead in Ohio. Our subject's grandfather,
Peter Sidles, was a native of Germany, coming to America when about
fifteen years of age. He served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution.
Peter Sidles, the subject of this sketch, passed his youth on the
old homestead, receiving his education at the district schools.
At the age of twenty-three years he was married to Susan Crossan,
a native of Clinton County, Ohio, she and her husband being playmates
in that county. They have had seven children born to them: Maria,
wife of James Pendergast; Mary M., wife of Rev. Andrew Kershaw,
now of Nebraska; Hannah E., wife of George B. Sagerty, of Concordia,
Kansas; John A. is married, has four children, and a home near the
homestead; Nancy J. died when about eighteen years of age; George
I. and Susan A., at home. After his marriage Mr. Sidles settled
on 112 acres of land where he continued to reside till the fall
of 1854. He then came to Appanoose County, Iowa, locating on his
present farm on section 3, where he purchased a tract of land containing
430 acres of which but forty acres had been broken. A small log
cabin had been erected on this land in which he lived several years,
when it was moved back and an addition built to it. Mr. Sidles's
chief occupation has been general farming and stock-raising, being
very successful, especially in hog and cattle raising, and has also
devoted some attention to sheep-raising. He has at present some
very fine cattle and horses on his farm. In August, 1861, Mr. Sidles
enlisted in Company B, Sixth Kansas Cavalry and served in the western
army. He spent two years on the borders between Kansas and Missouri,
taking part in several skirmishes. He was wounded near Fort Smith,
Arkansas, and was taken prisoner. He was confined in a stockade
at Tyler, Texas, with some 4,000 men for about seven months. He
received an honorable discharge at Leavenworth, Kansas, in April,
1865, when he returned to his home in Lincoln Township, where he
has since followed agricultural pursuits. Mr. Sidles served his
township as trustee and treasurer, and assessor for one term, beside
holding the office of justice of the peace for eleven years. He
and his wife and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he holds several official positions. In early life he was
a Democrat, but since the organization of the Republicans he has
affiliated with that party.
JOSEPH P. SMITH, M. D., of Moulton,
Iowa, is a native of the Keystone State, born in Westmoreland County,
near the village of Donegal, August 27, 1828, the eldest of a family
of eight children, of Valentine and Fanny (Phillips) Smith, natives
also of Pennsylvania, of Irish and German descent. In an early day
his parents moved to Ohio, and settled in Tuscarawas County, later
going to Williams County, where they both died. The youth of our
subject was spent on a farm, and his early education was obtained
in the common school, later attending the high school. He began
teaching when quite young, and while engaged in this avocation began
the study of medicine. He commenced reading under the direction
of Dr. W. C. Morrison, of West Unity, Ohio. He entered the Eclectic
Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1852.
He commenced his practice in Williams County. In the fall of 1853
he came to Iowa and located in Van Buren County, where he lived
two years, and in 1855 moved to Blakesburg, Wapello County, and
two years later to Milledgeville. In 1859 he located in Centerville,
and in 1860 in Orleans, where he lived nine years. In May, 1869,
he removed to Moulton, where he has since lived, and has built up
a good practice. In addition to his professional duties Dr. Smith
has devoted considerable attention to literature, and is an able
contributor to a number of local journals. He was married in 1854
to Abigail Gast, of Van Buren County, Iowa. They have a family of
four children: Valentine, Napoleon B., Josephine and Flora B. Josephine
is the wife of W. J. May, and Flora, of B. F. Dye. N. B. is an attorney
at Sulphur Springs, Montana. Dr. Smith is a member of the Odd Fellows
order, Moulton Lodge, No. 297, and Prairie Gem Encampment, No. 80.
CALVIN FINLEY SPOONER,
justice of the peace, Centerville, Iowa, was born near Paoli, Orange
County, Indiana, June 24, 1825, a son of Benjamin and Martha (Ware)
Spooner, his father a native of New York, of English descent, and
his mother a native of Kentucky. His parents came to Iowa in 1839,
and settled on a farm near West Point, Lee County. Later they moved
to Davis County, and from there to Appanoose County in the spring
of 1845. The claim which they improved is part of the original plat
of Centerville. The father died in 1873, aged seventy-one years.
He was an extensive farmer, and also engaged in the mercantile business
at Centerville several years. From boyhood he was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and always took an active part in church
work, for many years holding official positions. He also was much
interested in the material progress of Centerville, always assisting
liberally in the advancement of any enterprise of benefit, either
socially or materially. The mother still survives, at the advanced
age of eighty-one years, living with her sons in Centerville. She
has also been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since her
girlhood. She is the mother of seven children, but four of whom
are living: Lindsey W., a farmer of Pleasant Township; Calvin F.,
James B. and Dexter A., of Centerville. Benjamin F. died in Centerville;
Lemuel L. was a Lieutenant of Company G, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry,
and died at Memphis, Tennessee, while in the service of his country,
and Christina Ann, the only daughter, died in Centerville, in the
sixteenth year of her age.
Calvin F.
Spooner remained with his parents till twenty years of age and then
went to Wisconsin and worked in the lead mines. Returning home a
year later he made a claim near his father, which is also a part
of the site of Centerville, and followed farming till the fall of
1856. He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church in his
sixteenth year, and upon leaving his farm in 1856, he joined the
Southern Iowa Conference, and entered upon the work of an itinerant
minister, and traveled in that connection six years. In the fall
of 1862 he took a local relation to the conference, and has since
lived in Centerville. When the county was first organized he was
elected coroner, and by the resignation of the sheriff, A. J. Perjure,
became sheriff, ex-officio. In 1880 he was elected justice of the
peace, a position he still retains. In politics he adheres to the
principles of the Republican party. January 4, 1849, he was married
to Nancy, daughter of John Browning, a pioneer of Appanoose County.
They have a family of six children: Frederick S., an engineer of
the coal shaft at Trenton, Missouri; Martha A., wife of William
Higginbotham, of Brazil, Iowa; Sabina L., John B., a machinist,
in the employ of the Wabash Railroad; Clara Belle and William F.
Mrs. Spooner is also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. C. F. Spooner is a member of Jackson Lodge, No. 42, F. &
A. M.
DEXTER AUSTIN SPOONER,
of the firm of Spooner & Co., drayers, Centerville, Iowa, was born
in Greene County, Indiana, August 13, 1832, and is the fifth of
six sons of Benjamin F. and Martha (Ware) Spooner. He was but thirteen
years of age when his parents moved to Centerville and here he grew
to manhood and early became identified with the business interests
of the place. Until 1856 he was a clerk in his father's store at
Centerville, and then became proprietor of the first stage line,
and carried the first mail west to Clarinda, Iowa. In 1859 he sold
out to the Western Stage Company and engaged in freighting from
Keokuk and Alexandria, till the building of the Rock Island Railroad,
and since then he has engaged in general draying in Centerville,
his son, John W., and his nephew, Lemuel L. Spooner, being associated
with him since 1885. From 1875 till 1883 he was also extensively
engaged in dealing in coal. When the war of the Rebellion broke
out he was Captain of the Centerville Cavalry Guards, and his company
was often called upon to guard the Missouri frontier. Politically
he is a Republican and an avowed Abolitionist. He was married December
24, 1855, to Elizabeth Ferguson. They had a family of five children,
but four are living: Sarah, wife of J. D. Stier; Jessie, wife of
George A. Henry, M.D.; John W. and Lizzie. Crissie died in 1867,
aged three years. Mrs. Spooner died in 1870, aged thirty-four years.
She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and took an active
interest in church work. May 27, 1872, Mr. Spooner married Miss
C. B. Stratton, daughter of J. F. and Laura (Foster) Stratton, pioneers
of Appanoose County. She is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Spooner is a member of the Masonic fraternity, lodge and chapter,
at Centerville.
JOSEPH STAUBER, one of the
oldest men and one of the first settlers of Taylor Township, was
born in Stokes County, North Carolina, September 30, 1804. His father,
Christian Stauber, was a native of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania,
of German ancestry, and was by trade a tailor. He went to North
Carolina when a mere lad, and there married Anna M. Baumgardner,
a native of Stokes County, and a descendant of a noble family. Of
a family of eight children, two lived to maturity, and only one,
our subject, is living. Benjamin died in Linn County, Missouri.
Joseph Stauber was reared on a farm, and in his youth learned the
trade of a blacksmith, which he followed many years. He lived in
Salem, North Carolina, until the fall of 1849, when he came to Iowa,
and in May, 1850, located on the farm where he now lives, which
he entered from the Government. He built a fair house and made other
substantial improvements and now has a pleasant home, his 220 acres
of land being among the best in Taylor Township. He worked at the
blacksmith's trade, building a shop on his farm when there was no
town of Moravia. Abandoning his trade he devoted his entire attention
to agriculture until his health induced him to give up the care
of the farm to his son. He is a man of unquestionable integrity
and was one of the organizers of the Moravian church in the village.
He was married in February, 1832, to Dorothea E. Fogle, a native
of Stokes County, North Carolina. She died in 1878. Mr. Stauber
has a family of eight children: Maria, Benjamin C., Sophia L., Ellen
M., William H., Alexander N., Charles E. and Anna R.
GEORGE LAWRENCE STEVENS,
Moravia, was born near Corydon, in Harrison County, Indiana, September
9, 1814, a son of Benjamin and Nancy ( Arnold ) Stevens, the father
born in Wythe County, Virginia, and the mother a native of Kentucky.
They immigrated to Indiana in an early day, where the father died.
Of the twelve children born to them six are still living. George
L., our subject, was reared on a farm, his education being obtained
in the common school. He learned the carpenter's, shoemaker's and
blacksmith's trade, turning his attention principally to the blacksmith's
trade, which he followed a number of years. He was united in marriage,
in 1836, to Maria Fletcher, of Harrison County, Indiana, and reared
a family of four sons and two daughters, five of the family still
living, all of whom are married. Mr. Stevens removed with his family
to Monroe County, Iowa, in the fall of 1850, locating four miles
south of Albia, where he resided four years. He then came to Appanoose
County, and settled three miles south of Moravia, where he carried
on general farming and blacksmithing. He continued to reside on
the farm till 1862, when he moved to Moravia, where he still followed
farming in connection with his blacksmithing. He is now living retired
from active life, taking that rest which he has so well earned by
a life of industry. When Mr. Stevens settled in Monroe County the
houses were few and those were made of sod. His customers came from
Appanoose, Wayne and Decatur counties. He has served two terms as
justice of the peace, and was supervisor of Taylor Township for
two years, and has also held the position of township trustee. He
is a member of the Predestinarian Baptist denomination. He belongs
to the Masonic fraternity, a member of Moravia Lodge.
SAMUEL STEWART, proprietor
of the Tremont Hotel, at Centerville, Iowa, was born at Grange Corner,
County Antrim, Ireland, January 1, 1830. He was reared a farmer
in his native country, remaining there until 1865, when he came
to the United States. He first located at Fulton, Iowa, where he
was employed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company
until 1873. He then removed to Centerville, still, however, remaining
in the employ of the railroad company until 1879, and at the same
time kept a boarding house near the railroad depot. From 1875 until
1885 he was the proprietor of a saloon in Centerville, which was
a paying enterprise until the passage of the Iowa prohibition law,
under which he was frequently arrested and fined for violating a
law which he, like many others, believed could not be enforced.
Since embarking in his present business he has been successful,
and has now a large patronage. He is well known in Appanoose and
adjoining counties, and has many friends, who familiarly call him
“Uncle Samuel.” In politics he has always adhered to the principles
of the Republican party, but in the Presidential election of 1884
cast his suffrage for Grover Cleveland. In 1855 he was married at
his birthplace to Miss Margaret Clark, who died at Centerville,
May 24, 1884, leaving three children: Lizzie, Anna and Robert. One
daughter, Maggie, died in Ireland, aged eighteen months, and another,
also named Maggie, in Centerville, in 1874, aged five years. Mr.
and Mrs. Stewart were both reared in the faith of the Presbyterian
church.
JAMES M. STONE, one of the early
settlers of Johns Township, was born near New Haven, in Hartford
County, Connecticut, August 27, 1809, a son of Christopher and Esther
(Jerome) Stone, his father being a native of the State of Connecticut.
His grandfather, Joseph Stone, was of English ancestry, and four
of his brothers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Our subject's
parents died in Connecticut, his father dying when he was sixteen
years of age. They were the parents of ten children of whom our
subject was the youngest. He and a sister are the only survivors
of his father's family. He was reared on the home farm, remaining
there till reaching maturity, and in his youth attended the common
schools of his neighborhood. While on a visit to his brothers in
New Jersey he was married to Eliza A. Wilcox, of that State. He
then went to Ashtabula County, Ohio, where he settled on a farm
and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He removed with his family
to Appanoose County, Iowa, in the spring of 1859, and settled near
his present farm in Johns Township, where he bought 160 acres of
land, residing on the farm until 1873, when his wife died, leaving
six children: Mary (wife of O. M. Powers, of Ohio), James L., Harriet
J. (wife of Ambrose Curtis), John J., Alfred C. and Albertus W.
The third child, Aurelius, was a member of a Wisconsin cavalry regiment,
and died in the service. Mr. Stone began life poor, but by his untiring
industry and strict economy he has become one of the well-to-do
citizens of his township. His farm, which now belongs to his son,
Alfred C., contains 200 acres, and is located on sections 14 and
15, Johns Township. Alfred C. Stone was married in 1865 to Anna
H. Thurman, a native of Indiana, but at the time of her marriage
living in Appanoose County, Iowa. She is a daughter of Senator Thurman,
of Ohio. This union was blessed with four children: Eliza A., Walter
J., Cora B. and Essa M. Alfred C. Stone makes a specialty of raising
short-horn cattle, and is one of the enterprising farmers of his
neighborhood, his farm showing thorough cultivation. James M. Stone,
our subject, served as justice of the peace while living in Ohio.
He is now seventy-seven years of age. He is an earnest member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, all of his children becoming members
of the same denomination at the age of sixteen years. Four of his
sons served in the late civil war: James L., Aurelius L., John J.
and Alfred C. The latter was a member of Company I, Thirty-sixth
Iowa Infantry.
EDWARD TURNER STRATTON,
surveyor of Appanoose County, Iowa, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
October 11, 1839, a son of Jonathan F. and Laura W. (Foster) Stratton.
His parents came to Iowa in 1843, and settled in what is now Udell
Township, Appanoose County. Jonathan F. Stratton was the first surveyor
of the county, and filled that position several years. He made many
of the first surveys of the county, either as civil engineer or
county surveyor. He died August 8, 1884, aged nearly eighty-four
years. His widow survives him, making her home with her children,
and is now eighty-two years of age. When seventeen years of age
our subject was apprenticed to learn the carpenter's trade, at which
he worked some twenty years. In the spring of 1861 he enlisted in
Company D, Sixth Iowa Infantry, but was discharged on account of
disability the 22d of the following August. In December of the same
year he again enlisted in Company F, Seventeenth Iowa Infantry,
and served until January 30, 1863, when he was again discharged
on account of disability. When a boy he was instructed by his father
in the art of surveying, and this, added to private study, gave
him a practical and theoretical knowledge of the business, and in
1878 he was employed on the engineer corps of the Missouri, Iowa
& Northern Railway. In January, 1885, he was appointed county surveyor
by the Board of Supervisors to fill a vacancy, and was reappointed
in January, 1886. In politics he is a Democrat. He is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, lodge and chapter, and of John L. Bashore
Post, No. 122, G.A.R.
GEORGE WASHINGTON STRICKLER,
of the firm of Israel Brothers & Co., Centerville, Iowa, was born
in Centerville, September 2, 1861, a son of David L. and Margaret
Jane (McCreary) Strickler, natives of Pennsylvania, of English ancestry.
He was educated in his native town, and when fourteen years of age
began clerking. In 1883 he opened a restaurant, which he conducted
until 1885, when he became associated with the Israel Brothers and
his brother John J., forming the present firm. September 16, 1885,
he was married to Miss Olive M. Biddle, a daughter of William M.
and Eunice Biddle, old residents of Appanoose County. He is a member
of Centerville Lodge, No. 64, K. of P.
JAMES N. SWAN, one of the leading
stock men of Johns Township, Appanoose County, was born in Greene
County, Pennsylvania, near the town of Carmichaels, August 12, 1837.
He was the fifth of a family of ten children of Jesse and Elizabeth
(Niel) Swan. Jesse Swan was a farmer by occupation. He died when
our subject was but fourteen years of age. After the death of his
father, James was thrown upon his own resources, when he began working
on a farm at $6 per month. He continued on the farm till twenty
years of age when he came West and assisted in taking through a
drove of horses to Mount Pleasant, Henry County, Iowa. He then engaged
to work on a farm in that county and about this time had a hard
siege of the ague. The following year he ran a breaking team of
four yoke of cattle. He then returned to his native county in Pennsylvania,
but a year later came back to Henry County, Iowa. Owning a team,
he engaged in breaking land, and the next fall bought a threshing
machine which he operated during the winter. He was married in 1862
to Mary A. Maulding, of Henry County, this State. After his marriage
he lived one year at Mount Pleasant, where he was employed as a
salesman by the Coles Brothers, for whom he sold lightning rods
for three years. In 1865 he came to Appanoose County, where he still
continued in the employ of the Coles Brothers, being with that firm
in all for twelve years. He then engaged in general farming and
buying and selling stock, shipping his cattle largely to the Chicago
markets. His first land was forty acres of raw prairie on which
a small cabin had been erected, and to his original purchase he
added till he had 160 acres. In 1873 he bought 240 acres of land
on section 11, Johns Township, to which he removed his family the
same year. His home farm now contains 640 acres, all in one body,
besides which he owns a farm of 120 acres located in this vicinity,
which is occupied by his son, W. L. Swan. He erected his fine substantial
residence in 1876, and his barns and other farm buildings are among
the best in his neighborhood. He devotes his entire attention to
his farm and is making a specialty of high-grade short-horn cattle.
Mrs. Swan died in Johns Township, February 4, 1877, leaving a family
of five children, the youngest being but eighteen days old. Mr.
Swan was again married in the fall of 1879 to Mary F. Andrews, who
was a widow at the time of her marriage with Mr. Swan. This union
has been blessed with one child. Mr. Swan is one of the self-made
men of Appanoose County, having commenced life on his own account
without a dollar, and by his own efforts became one of the well-to
do citizens of the county. He has served his township as trustee,
besides holding other township offices, all of which he has filled
acceptably.
WILLIAM TISON SWEARNGEN,
Marshal and City Clerk, of Centerville, was born in Morgan County,
Indiana, January 17, 1845. His parents were George W. and Jane (Martin)
Swearngen, the former a native of North Carolina, of German ancestry,
and the latter a native of Kentucky. His father located in Indiana
in an early day, and in 1849 brought his family to Iowa and settled
on a farm near Centerville, where he lived two years, when he sold
out and removed to Centerville, and engaged in the mercantile business.
He was the third sheriff of Appanoose County, and held the position
several terms. He died at St. Louis, Missouri, of cholera, while
there to buy goods, his age being forty-four years. The mother died
in Centerville in 1864, age forty-six years. William Tison Swearngen
was but four years of age when his parents moved to Appanoose County,
and here he was reared and educated. When seventeen years old, in
1862, he enlisted in the defense of his country, as a private, in
Company A, Seventh Iowa Cavalry, and served three years and six
months, being in the meantime promoted to Orderly Sergeant. His regiment
was on scouting duty on the frontier, and was in many engagements
with the Indians, the most important being Sand Creek, Powder River,
Montana, Julesburgh, Colorado and Plum Creek, Nebraska. He was discharged
at Leavenworth, Kansas, in May, 1866, at the expiration of his term
of service, and returned to Centerville. He then engaged in the
grocery business with his brother Evan, under the name of Swearngen
Brothers, till 1869, when he entered the employ of John Zulauf,
and remained with him till 1874. He then formed a partnership with
his brother, George W., under the firm name W. T. Swearngen & Brother,
which continued until 1876, when, being elected marshal of Centerville,
he sold his interest in the business. At the expiration of his term
he was employed by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Company
to build bridges, and remained with them till the spring of 1883,
when he was appointed deputy by Marshal W. S. Stire. In the spring
of 1884 he was elected chief marshal of Centerville, and was re-elected
in the spring of 1885. He was also elected in the spring of 1885
city clerk of Centerville. He is an efficient and trustworthy officer,
attending to his duties in a satisfactory and painstaking manner.
In politics he adheres to the principles of the Republican party.
He was married in 1869 to Louisa J., daughter of the late John and
Mary A. ( Jennings ) Ogle, old settlers of Centerville. They have
four children: Albert Rolla, Minnie Tison, Hallie and George A.
Logan. Mr. Swearngen is a member of the Odd Fellows order, Lodge
No. 76, and Encampment No. 24, and has passed the chairs in both.
He is a comrade of John L. Bashore Post, No. 122, G.A.R., and has
held the position of senior vice-commander. He was reared in the
faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, both parents being members
of that denomination.
 Harvey Tannehill
|
| HON. HARVEY TANNEHILL is
a native of Urbana, Ohio, born September 5, 1822. His parents were
James and Anna (Goudy) Tannehill, the former a native of Virginia,
of Scotch descent, and the latter a native of Kentucky. His parents
were farmers and in limited circumstances, and in his youth he had
no advantages of school, his services being required on the farm.
After reaching the age of twenty years, having always had a desire
to obtain an education, he attended three years what was then known
as the high school of Springfield, Ohio, taught by Chandler Robbins.
From 1845 till 1848 he taught school in Champaign, Clarke and Miami
counties, Ohio, and then began to read law with Charles Morris,
Esq., of Troy, Ohio. In August, 1851, he came to Iowa, and the following
month (September) was admitted to the bar in Appanoose County, Hon.
William McKay on the bench. He then began his practice at Centerville,
and from the commencement controlled over half the legal business
of the county. He was elected in 1853, prosecuting attorney of Appanoose
County. He held this office two years, and in the meantime, during
the absence of the county judge, performed the duties of that court,
ex-officio. In 1855 he was elected county judge of Appanoose County,
entering upon the duties in January, 1856, and filling the office
a term of four years. In 1866 he was elected judge of the Second
Judicial District of Iowa, for a term of four years. Since the expiration
of the latter term, in 1871, he has devoted his exclusive attention
to the practice of his profession, at Centerville, and has been
engaged as counsel on most of the important cases in the county.
His reputation as an honorable and reliable attorney is not confined
to the county in which he lives, but extends all over the State
of Iowa. Judge Tannehill was married May 29, 1856, to Miss Anna
M., daughter of Dayton and Eliza (Crawford) Miller, of Springfield,
Ohio. Mrs. Tannehill died March 25, 1885. Their only child, William,
died in infancy. Judge Tannehill is a member of the Presbyterian
church, as was also his wife. |
GEORGE W. TAYLOR, one of the
early settlers of Appanoose County, Iowa, is a native of North Carolina,
born near the town of Salem, Stokes County, September 19, 1825,
a son of George W. and Elizabeth (Harrell) Taylor, the former a
native of Virginia and the latter born near Albemarle Sound, North
Carolina. The father died in Stokes County, and the mother afterward
moved to Indiana. Our subject was reared a farmer, and in his boyhood
had very little opportunity to attend school. After getting old
enough to earn money he worked and paid for four months' tuition
at a select school, and subsequently taught thirteen months in Tennessee.
He was married in 1849, in North Carolina, to Anna J. Hiatt, who
died December 23, 1874. After his marriage he moved to Iowa, and
located four miles south of Moravia, where he engaged in farming,
and the winter of 1850 taught a three months' school in Unionville,
and in the spring of 1851 moved to that village and taught the school
ten months. He then returned to his farm, where he lived until 1883,
making of it one of the pleasantest homes in the county. He continued
teaching during the winter months until 1879, and became one of
the most successful and popular instructors of Appanoose County.
In the spring of 1883 he sold his farm, and purchased the one where
he now lives, near the Wabash depot, which contains eighty acres
if choice land. In September, 1884, he erected a small store building
and opened a grocery, and has now a good trade, it being a convenient
point for his neighboring farmers. Mr. Taylor has been a prominent
and influential citizen of the township, and has held several public
positions of trust. His life as a teacher has made him particularly
interested in educational matters, and since 1853 he has been a
member of the School Board. He has been surveyor of Appanoose County
two years, assessor of Taylor Township two terms, justice of the
peace one term, and in 1885 was elected assessor of the village
of Moravia. In his early life he was a Democrat politically, but
was an abolitionist and after its formation affiliated with the
Republican party. He has a family of seven children: George W.;
Atlas P.; Susan E., wife of Carroll Miller; Andrew J.; Florida C.,
wife of Clark Masterson, of Nebraska; Charles V. and William M.
March 13, 1886, he married Mrs. Isabella T. Irwin, of North Carolina.
LOUIS LEROY TAYLOR, clerk
of the courts of Appanoose County, is a native of Kentucky, and
was born near Munfordville, the county seat of Hart County, March
27, 1839, a son of John M. and Nancy ( Wilson ) Taylor. When he
was ten years of age his parents moved to Appanoose County, Iowa,
and settled in Washington Township, where he grew to manhood. From
1860 to 1878 he taught in the schools of Appanoose and Davis counties.
In 1879 he was elected clerk of the courts of Appanoose County for
a term of two years and has been thrice re-elected. He has also
held the offices of township assessor, clerk and justice of the
peace, and for fifteen years was secretary of the Board of Directors
of Washington Township. May 26, 1864, he was married to Miriam,
daughter of B. H. Siler, of Davis County. They have two children:
Henrietta and John B. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor and their daughter are
members of the Christian church.
CLAYBURN C. TEATOR, one of
the pioneers of Independence Township, dates his settlement at his
present residence in 1853. Mr. Teator is a native of Kentucky, born
in Girard County, June 7, 1804. His father, Paris Teator, was the
thirteenth white child born in the State of Kentucky, and first
saw the light of day March 26, 1780, in the fort which stood on
the present site of Danville, Boyle County. He was a son of George
Teator, a soldier in the war of the Revolution, who was a native
of Maryland, his father, Paul Teator, a native of Germany, locating
in Bladensburg in the colonial days. It is supposed that all of
the name Teator, now living in America, are descendents of Paul.
The mother of our subject was Rebecca Totten, a native of Long Island,
New York. Her father was murdered near Lynchburg, Virginia, when
she was a child. Of eleven children born to the parents of our subject,
he is the eldest. Three of the brothers, Nelson H., Russell H.,
Absalom D. and a sister, Mrs. Minerva Davis, live in Kentucky; one
sister, Mrs. Thurza Saddler, lives in Kansas, and the others are
deceased. The parents both died March 16, 1865, aged respectively
eighty-four and eighty-two years. The father had been ill and the
mother waited upon him until an hour before his death.
Clayburn C.
Teator was reared to a farm life, but in his early manhood learned
the carpenter's trade, which he followed at intervals as long as
he engaged in active business. His educational advantages in his
youth were very limited, sixteen days being the extent of his attendance
at school. His lessons have been those of experience, well learned
and well remembered, and have fitted him for contact with and success
in the duties of life. Mr. Teator was married November 27, 1823,
to Miss Elenor Davis, a native of Girard County, Kentucky, born
September 24, 1807, a daughter of John and Rachel Davis. In 1845,
with a wife and eleven children, Mr. Teator came to Iowa, and was
one of the pioneers of Jefferson County. He bought an improved farm
near Fairfield, for $2,000, paying $305 in cash. With characteristic
energy and good management he soon cleared his indebtedness, and
in 1853 sold his farm for $4,800, and moved to Appanoose County,
where he bought 640 acres of land. Mr. Teator has been a good financier
and in his native State became well-to-do, but being always ready
to lend a helping hand to his friends he became involved and came
to Iowa a poor man. Of his 640 acres he has given 400 to his children,
and now has a fine farm of 160 acres and eighty acres of timber
land. His wife, who was his companion and helpmeet for fifty-seven
years, was taken from him September 8, 1880. Their children were
fifteen in number. The eldest died in infancy, Christmas week, 1824.
Cyrus N. is a prosperous farmer of Independence Township; James
N. died in Kentucky in his seventeenth year; George C. is a resident
of Independence Township; Rebecca is the wife of Moses Reynolds;
John R. lives in Wayne County; William died in Lucas County, leaving
a widow and four children; Mary E. is the wife of Josephus Haines,
of Kansas; Paris R. enlisted in the war of the Rebellion, in the
Sixth Kansas Infantry, and died while serving his country; Robert
died in his twenty-ninth year; Rachel, deceased, was the wife of
Morrison McCormick; Lysander M. lives in Lucas County; Sophrina
died in Jefferson County, aged eighteen months, and an infant died
in the same county; Nancy E. is the wife of Alexander Empey, of
Corydon. Three sons, Cyrus N., John and Paris, served as gallant
soldiers in the war of the Rebellion. In 1832 Mr. and Mrs. Teator
united with the Methodist Episcopal church, and for nearly half
a century they lived together a practical Christian life. Mr. Teator
has eighty-six grandchildren, and eighty-three great-grandchildren.
November 25, 1880, he married Mrs. Emorine VanKirk, a most estimable
and worthy lady. Mr. Teator can look back with pleasure upon a well-ordered,
useful life, and now in his old age is blessed with many friends
who honor him for the part he has taken in furthering the material
and social interests of his neighborhood. He was a neighbor and
friend of Henry Clay, by whom his political opinions were influenced.
He has always been a strong anti-slavery man, and since its organization
has affiliated with the Republican party. At his father's death
he inherited eight slaves, but immediately gave them their freedom.
Seventeen grandsons of his father served their country in the war
of the Rebellion. His grandfather accompanied Daniel Boone on his
first visit to Kentucky, and was therefore one of its early settlers.
ARCHIBALD FRANKLIN THOMPSON,
attorney at law, Centerville, Iowa, was born near Columbus, Bartholomew
County, Indiana, January 15, 1850, the only son of William R. and
Elizabeth A. (Pyle) Thompson, both natives of Indiana, the former
of Scotch-Irish and the latter of German descent. When he was six
years of age his parents moved to Iowa and located on a farm in
Walnut Township, Appanoose County, where he was reared, attending
the public schools. When sixteen years of age he attended Bellair
Seminary, and when nineteen years of age graduated from Oskaloosa
College. He read law with McCoun & Flick, attorneys of Bedford,
Iowa, and afterward with Tannehill & Fee, at Centerville. He was
admitted to the bar at Bedford, Iowa, April 18, 1873, and in October
of the same year located at Seymour, Wayne County. In August, 1880,
he removed from Seymour to Centerville, where he is now enjoying
a fair practice. In addition to his law business he has since 1882
given considerable attention to stenography, and is an expert, now
giving instruction to a number of pupils. In 1874 he qualified as
a pension attorney and claim agent, and has a large patronage in
that line, procuring and collecting pensions. In politics he is
a member of the Greenback party. While living in Seymour he was
mayor of the city two terms. In 1872 he was the nominee of the Democratic
party for county recorder of Appanoose County, but the county being
largely Republican, he was defeated, although he ran some 300 votes
ahead of his ticket. In 1878 he was the candidate on both the Greenback
and the Democratic tickets for clerk of the courts of Wayne County,
and was defeated by only forty-nine votes.
Mr. Thompson
has been twice married. First in Bedford, Iowa, November 8, 1870,
to Lizzie Cook, from whom he was divorced in March, 1877. December
6, 1877, he married Ella McCord, of Seymour. They have one child:
Hugh LeRoy. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Christian church.
He joined this denomination in 1866, and for four years was a minister,
preaching in Appanoose, Taylor, Page and Fremont counties, and still
takes an active part in the work of the church. He is a member of
Jackson Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M. Mr. Thompson has traveled quite
extensively in his native country, both East and West. In 1869 he
went to the Rocky Mountains, and in 1870 to the British Possessions.
In 1871 he traveled through Kansas, and in 1873 took a trip South,
visiting Missouri, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Texas and Kansas,
and in 1876 he took an overland trip to New Mexico, Arizona and
Colorado. In 1880 he visited Kansas, Colorado and Utah, and in 1883
took a trip to the East, visiting New York and other Eastern cities.
In 1885 he went to the World's Exposition, at New Orleans, by way
of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida.
WILLIAM R. THOMPSON, an
early settler of Walnut Township, resides on section 18, on land
he bought in 1856. He bought 230 acres of land, forty acres of which
had been broken, and a small cabin had been built by the former
owner, Mr. Elam. His farm now contains 250 acres, 180 acres being
under cultivation and the rest being pasture and timber land. He
has a fine residence, and has made other substantial building improvements.
Mr. Thompson was born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, January 10,
1824. His father was a native of North Carolina, and his mother,
whose maiden name was Susannah Stillwell, was born in Shelby County,
Kentucky. The parents were married in Kentucky, and subsequently
moved to Indiana, spending the rest of their lives in Bartholomew
County. William R. is the seventh of eight children, six of whom
are living: Silas and Archibald live in Bartholomew County; Mrs.
Elsie Jackson lives in Virginia; Mrs. Martha J. Campbell, in Davis
County, Iowa, and John, in Nodaway County, Missouri. Mrs. Lucinda
Smith and James died in Indiana. William R. remained with his parents
till manhood. March 27, 1849, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Anna
Pyle, a native of Franklin County, Indiana, born December 27, 1825.
Three children were born to them: Archibald F., an attorney, of
Centerville; Mary Ellen died September 7, 1870, in the nineteenth
year of her age, and Martha died in infancy. Mrs. Thompson died
November 10, 1877. She was a most estimable woman, kind and loving
as a wife and mother, and a thoughtful friend and neighbor. She
had been a member of the Christian church thirty years. September
26, 1880, Mr. Thompson married Miss Elizabeth Ann Lain, who was
born in Bartholomew County, Indiana, January 24, 1842, a daughter
of Sillick and Permelia (Arvalt) Lain, pioneers of Davis County,
Iowa, settling there in 1848. Her mother died in 1854, and her father
in 1872. She has two brothers and four sister, viz.: Sarah Jane,
the eldest, is in an insane asylum at Mount Pleasant; John M., George
W., Mrs. Mary Headrick and Mrs. Matilda Taylor live in Davis County,
and Mrs. Clarissa Jeffreys lives in Ellsworth County, Kansas. Mr.
and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Christian Church. In politics
he is identified with the Democrat party. He is a member of the
Masonic fraternity, Jackson Lodge, No. 42, Centerville.
THOMAS J. TURNER, the eldest
son of William D. and Jemima Turner, was born in Davis County, Iowa,
December 1, 1855. He was reared on a farm in Appanoose County, where
his parents had moved when he was about six months old. He remained
with his parents until his marriage, and then settled on a rented
farm, where he lived about two years. In 1879 he bought eighty acres
on the north half of the southwest quarter of section 9, Taylor
Township, which has since been his home. He has increased his possessions
until he now owns 192 acres of choice and valuable land, all well
improved and stocked with a fine grade of both cattle and hogs.
He is one of the prosperous and enterprising young men of Taylor
Township, and is laying the foundation for a future of wealth and
influence. He was married in 1877 to Miss Mary Luse, youngest daughter
of Aaron and Martha Luse, early settlers of Appanoose County. They
have a family of four children: Charles A., Eunice, Eurissa and
Mary.
WILLIAM D. TURNER, one of
the prominent and early settlers of Taylor Township, was born in
Guilford County, North Carolina, February 20, 1827, the fourth of
eight children of Thomas and Mary Tucker, natives of Connecticut,
who moved to North Carolina in early life. He remained with his
parents until his marriage, in 1850, to Jemima E., eldest daughter
of George and Mary Parsons. In the fall of 1855 he came to Iowa,
and settled in Appanoose County, on the farm where he now lives,
on section 28, Taylor Township. He first purchased 120 acres, but
to this has added until he now owns 320 acres of choice land. He
has been an extensive stock-raiser and dealer, buying and shipping
to the Chicago market. He came to Appanoose County with a team,
and when he reached his destination had only $300. His land was
a tract of unbroken prairie, but with characteristic energy he went
bravely to work and now has one of the finest farms in the county.
His large two-story frame residence and other farm buildings are
models of convenience, and his other improvements are noticeably
good. He has one of the largest apple orchards in the county, which
contains some choice and well-selected varieties. Mr. Turner has
a family of eleven children: Thomas J., Charles, Francis S., Hugh
Seigel, B. Ellsworth, Mary B. (wife of William Hicks), Ella R.,
Adella F., Melissa Grant, Effie L. and Eldora E. In politics he
was an old-line Whig, but now affiliates with the Republican party.
He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JOHN ULLEM, one of the early settlers
of Douglas Township, Appanoose County, was born near Terre Haute,
Indiana, March 13, 1826. His parents had a family of four sons and
one daughter, our subject, who was the eldest child, being the only
one now living. His youth was spent on a farm and in attending the
district school. When he was ten years old his father died. He remained
with his mother till eleven years of age, after which he lived with
Henry Greenwood, a neighbor, with whom he made his home till reaching
the age of twenty-two years. He then came to Iowa and lived in Van
Buren County till March, 1856, when he came to Appanoose County,
entering part of his land and purchasing the rest, which land comprises
his present farm. He improved this land on which he has lived since
1856, and is still engaged in general farming and stock-raising.
His farm is located on section 9, Douglas Township, and contains
360 acres of choice land. In early years he devoted his attention
principally to raising hogs, by which enterprise he has acquired
most of his money, he disposing of his hogs at good prices. Of later
years he raised cattle and horses principally, making a specialty
of raising high grades. Mr. Ullem was first married in Van Buren
County, Iowa, to Phoebe Cook, who died in Douglas Township, Appanoose
County, leaving eight children. By his second marriage he had one
child. For his present wife he married Harriet Vaught, in 1876.
No children have been born to this union. His wife is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Ullem began life without means,
beginning the struggle for his maintenance at a very early age.
He had but $150 when he came to Iowa, but by his persevering industry
and strict economy he has acquired his fine property.
CHARLES E. VROOMAN, publisher
and editor of the Appanoose Iowegian, is a son of R. B.
and Laura A. (Chaplain) Vrooman, natives of the State of New York.
They were married in Ohio, and resided in that State on a farm until
1860, when they removed to Fillmore County, Minnesota. Mr. Vrooman,
Sr., there engaged in merchandising for two years. He then removed
to Indiana, where he died in 1863. His wife yet survives in Toledo,
Ohio. Their son, the subject of this sketch, was born April 15,
1848, at Sylvania, Lucas County, Ohio. At the age of fifteen he
entered a drug store, in which he was employed for four years, with
the exception of five months passed in the military service of the
United States. In February, 1865, he enlisted in the Tenth Minnesota
Infantry, and was employed as hospital steward until his discharge
in June, 1865. In the autumn of 1867 he went to Ypsilanti, Michigan,
and entered the State Normal School at that place. He remained there
but one year, and then entered the law department at Ann Arbor,
where, in addition to his legal studies, he pursued the Latin scientific
course in the literary department. Graduating from the law department
in 1870, he located in Chicago for the practice of law. After a
stay in Chicago of a year and a half (during which time occurred
the great Chicago fire of 1871), he located in Schuyler County,
Missouri, in January, 1872. In the autumn of the same year he was
elected prosecuting attorney of that county, and to this position
he was re-elected two years later, serving four years in all. He
was mayor of Lancaster (capital of Schuyler County ) for three years,
and public administrator of Schuyler County for two years. In the
fall of 1882 he was nominated as the Greenback candidate for Congress
from the First District of Missouri. His residence in Missouri continued
until the spring of 1883. During these ten years he was constantly
engaged in the practice of law, and was also an active participant
in local politics, attending all conventions, and serving on many
important political committees.
In the spring
of 1883 he fixed his residence at Centerville, and established the
Iowegian, to which he has since devoted his time. He has
had considerable influence in political matters since coming here,
and in 1885 was a delegate to the State Republican Convention. Mr.
Vrooman was married November 27, 1873, at Kirksville, Missouri,
to Julia C. French. Their four children are named: Forrest F., Raymond
R., Edwin E. and Ethel E. He is a member of the G.A.R. (was commander
in 1885), I.O.O.F. (representative to Grand Lodge and D.D.G.M. while
in Missouri ), A.O.U.W. (M.W. in 1886), and K of L. He and wife
are members of the Christian church.
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