Keokuk County Iowa IAGenWeb - 1903 Biography

ROBERT A. MARSHALL

One of the honored pioneer citizens of Keokuk county, where he has long and successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits, is Mr. Marshall, who is now living retired in the attractive village of Ollie, where he has a pleasant home and is enjoying the well earned reward of his former years of toil and endeavor. Mr. Marshall is a native of the state of Indiana, having been born in Decatur county on the 7th of May, 1831, a son of John Marshall, who was born in Maryland, where he was reared and educated and whence, as a young man, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio, where they were numbered among the early settlers. His father, William Marshall, was born in England, whence his parents came to America when he was a child, this being in the colonial epoch. Here William Marshall grew to manhood, and when the colonies, burdened with unjust oppression, sought to throw off the yoke of the mother country, he was loyal to the cause of independence and tendered his services as a soldier in the Continental army, serving under Washington and taking part in many of the important engagements of the Revolution. He died in Greene county, Ohio, when well advanced in years. His wife and her mother were residing in Massachusetts at the time of the war of the Revolution and were in so close proximity that when the battle of Bunker Hill was in progress they stood at their door and received the flying reports as to the progress of the conflict.

John Marshall, father of our subject, was married at Madison, Indiana, to Miss Elizabeth Edwards, who was born in Virginia, whence her parents removed to the west when she was an infant, making the long journey on pack horses. They first settled in what was known as the Crabapple Orchard, in Kentucky, being among the very first to locate in that section, and there Mr. Edwards aided in the various conflicts with the Indians, who were finally brought under subjection. When the mother of our subject was a young lady she went with her parents to Indiana, and after her marriage she and her husband took up their abode on a farm in Decatur county, that state. John Marshall there planted the town of Milford, seven miles west of Greenburg, and there he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, honored by all who knew them and known as persons of sterling rectitude of character. There also they reared their children to lives of usefulness, and the name is one honored in that section of the Hoosier state. They became the parents of ten children, of whom only three are living at the present time. The names of the children are here entered in the order of birth: William, James and John are deceased; Robert A. is the immediate subject of this sketch; Alfred and Eliza are deceased; Mary is the wife of David Barger; Nancy is the wife of Angus Forbes; and Elijah and Deborah are deceased.

Robert A. Marshall continued to remain on the old homestead farm until the death of his father, and his vocation throughout life has been that of an agriculturist. In 1854 he came to Keokuk county, Iowa, and located on a tract of eighty acres of prairie land in Steady Run township, and here he developed a fine rural estate, making the best of permanent improvements and adding to the area of his estate until he is now the owner of six hundred and fifty acres of valuable land, the major portion of which is under effective cultivation. He has devoted his farm to diversified agriculture and also given special attention to the raising of a high grade of cattle and hogs, while he directed his efforts to such discrimination and energy that a full measure of prosperity came to him, enabling him to eventually lay aside the more active labors and cares and to resign the management of his farm to younger hands. He took up his residence in the village of Ollie, which town he was instrumental in having laid out about 1885, and no man in the community enjoys a more unqualified confidence and esteem, and that he is well known in the county need hardly be said when we revert to the fact that he has here maintained his home for nearly a half century. He has aided materially in the development of the natural resources of this section, has contributed to civic advancement, and all worthy causes concerning the public good have gained his influence and support.

In Milford, Decatur county, Indiana, in the year 1852, Mr. Marshall was united in marriage to Miss Mary Landis, who was born and reared reared in that state. She died on the homestead farm in this county, leaving two children, John and Nettie, both of whom were born in this county. On the 14th of January, 1861, Mr. Marshall was married to Mrs. Phoebe Braden, the widow of Walter Braden. She was born in Ohio, being a daughter of William and Margaret (Dearmond) Fye. Our subject and his estimable wile are the parents of two children, Frank and Van. In politics Mr. Marshall has given a staunch support to the Republican party from the time of its organization, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he has been a member for half a century. He assisted materially in the erection of the church edifice in Ollie and has taken an active part in church work, as has also his wife, who is likewise a member of the church.

DAVID P. MARTIN

Among the well known and respected retired farmers of Keota, Iowa, is David P. Martin, who for many years carried on the most honorable pursuit of agriculture and now is spending the remaining days of life in the enjoyment of his well earned competency. His father, David M. Martin, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania in 1816 and was a jolly miller of that locality, and here he married and his children were born, but in 1853 he came west and went to farming in the state of Illinois, where he remained until his death in 1892. His wife was Elizabeth Palmer, of Pennsylvania, and she was the mother of six children, three boys and three girls, David being the fourth in order of birth and the eldest son: Rebecca, Maria, Harriett (deceased), David P., Samuel and Solomon; all of these spent their early life in their home in Pennsylvania.

David P. Martin was born on the 6th day of January, 1839, and spent the first fourteen years of his Hfe in the old Pennsylvania home, and there received the rudiments of the education which he completed in Illinois. His school days were finished in his twentieth year and then he worked on the farm until he was of age. In that year, i860, he was married, and in the spring of 1862 he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, Company G, and after being in the service for a few months was mustered out in July of the same year. Returning to the farm in Illinois, he remained there until 1869, at which time he took his family to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Lafayette township, Keokuk county, Iowa. This land was uncleared, but in a short time by his assiduous labor it was brought under a fine state of cultivation. In 1888 Mr. Martin sold his farm and retiring to Keota purchased three lots and three houses and has since lived in this place; he also purchased a half interest in a general store and continued in its management for six years, but then sold it back to H. F. Williams, and has since enjoyed the pleasure of domestic life, untrammeled by the cares of business.

Mr. Martin was married to Hortensia J. Golden, daughter of John and Lucila Golden, of Ohio, where she was born; she came to Illinois with her parents and remained there until her marriage. They have no children of their own, but adopted three: Leona R., who is now dead; Ellie Romines; and Lottie Glen (deceased). The Republican party finds a loyal supporter in Mr. Martin; the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is not only a member but an active worker for the cause of religion, being a trustee, and he was on the building committee when the present church was erected. His honorable and active career has not failed to bring him many friends and make him a prominent figure in his city.

R. S. MARTIN
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Among the many worthy enterprises of the stirring little city of Hedrick, Keokuk county, Iowa, none are more deserving of commendation than the one which is being conducted by the above genetleman and his sons, who are editors and proprietors of the Hedrick Journal, a newspaper which has done very valuable service in bringing the development of the youthful city to the attention of the capitalists of the east. Mr. R. S. Martin is a native of Licking county, Ohio, born February 4, 1836. He was the son of Daniel and Sara E. (Hagan) Martin, natives of Pennsylvania. After marriage they removed to Ohio, where he became a prominent and influential citizen, having been judge of the court of common pleas in Licking county. In 1854 the family removed to Iowa and located at Steady Run township, Keokuk county, where the father continued to reside until his death at the advanced age of ninety-one years. He was a man of very fine mold of character, and during his life time spread an influence for good in every community in which he resided. The parents of Mr. Martin had a family of eleven children, ten of whom grew to maturity, Mr. Martin being the seventh child and fourth son.

He remained at home until his majority, coming to Iowa with the family. The first active work he engaged in was the teaching profession, which he followed for two or three years previous to the war. In 1861, however, he put aside all considerations of business and was found a loyal citizen who valiantly espoused the cause of the Union. He was among the first to enlist, entering the army in 1861 as a private soldier of Company D, Thirteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. In this company he served three years, and passed through some of the most hotly contested battles of the army of the Cumberland. The first of these battles was Shiloh, then came the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg; after which he was on the Atlanta campaign and in other minor engagements. At the battle of Shiloh he received a bullet wound but it did not incapacitate him for duty. He was also wounded in front of Atlanta. He received an honorable discharge from the service on the ist of Noveriiber, 1864, and returned to his home with the consciousness of having served his country faithfully and well. After the war he continued in the teaching profession until 1886, when he in company with his sons, W. D. and C. J., established the Martinsburg Journal. This plant they conducted until 1889, when they removed to Hedrick and consolidated it with the Hedrick Enterprise, the name of the paper since that time having been the Hedrick Journal. This enterprise has been very successful, the paper having one of the largest circulations in the state and being a power in the moulding of public opinion in its various departments. Mr. Martin and his sons also do a very large business in job printing.

The marriage of Mr. Martin occurred in Keokuk county, Iowa, on 15th of January, 1865, when he led to the altar Martha J. Hampton. This lady is a native of Tennessee, from which state her family removed to Kentucky and in 1856 to Iowa. To the union of Mr. ands Mrs. Martin three children were born, Walter D. and Charles J., both in business with their father, and Anna who is the wife of A. A. Buck, of Fremont, Nebraska.

The Martin family has been a very prominent one in this section of the state of Iowa ever since their removal here. The father, Daniel Martin, leaves his name to posterity in the name of the town of Martinsburg, Iowa, which he laid out in 1855. He was a man of much public spirit, which he bequeathed to his son, who has a live interest in every movement affecting the welfare of his fellow-townsmen and advocates and assists to the extent of his ability every measure which in his judgment tends to the advancement of the interests of his county aid state.

CALVIN McCAY

Since an early epoch in the development of Keokuk county, Calvin McCay has been numbered among its citizens. To know the early life of our subject in this county, we have but to picture the conditions common here five or six decades ago. Much of the land was wild, awaiting the awakening energy of civilization to transform it into richly cultivated fields. Schools were primitive, and the curriculum limited. The now thriving towns and cities were merely hamlets, or had not been founded, and the settlers were deprived of many of the comforts and conveniences of the older east; but they were people of resolute thrift and with determined purpose well fitted to the work of making homes in the wilderness.

Calvin McCay bore his part in the task of breaking up and developing the wild land, and now in the evening of life is enjoying the results of his well directed labors. Washington county, Pennsylvania, was the place of the nativity of Mr. McCay, his birth occurring there November 26, 1830. His father, James McCay, was a native of the Keystone state, and was by occupation a farmer. His mother was Sarah Stoolfire, also a native of the Keystone state. They were the parents of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity, and ten of whom still live: William, Calvin, Charles, Matilda, Susana, Phoebe, Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Samuel, Joshua, and Thomas.

Mr. McCay, on account of the large family at home, was early in life bound out to a Mr. David McKune and remained with him until he reached his majority, engaged in the labors of farm life. During this time Mr. McCay was treated as an own child by Mr. and Mrs. McKune. They gave him the best education that could be secured in his district. At the age of twenty-one he started out for himself with nothing of capital but good health, an earnest and determined spirit. He first worked by the month for different farmers about the neighborhood , and in 1853, with his mother and two sisters, came out to Edgar county, Illinois, where they remained a short time. They later were joined by his brother, Charles, and the family settled in Shelby county, Illinois, where they lived for three years.

Mr. McCay was married in Macon county, Illinois, on the 4th of July, 1858, to Cynthia J. Wells, and after marriage came to Keokuk county, where he located in German township, near where he now resides. Here he purchased a farm of forty acres and has since that time been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in this part of the county. In 1870 he bought his present farm, on which he has since lived. Here he has one of the finest rural homes in the county, and has the satisfaction of knowing that he made all the improvements himself. Mr. McCay has had a more or less eventful life, devoted to activity in different branches in his earlier history. In 1863 he made a trip across the plains, visiting Salt Lake City and later going on to Virginia City. This trip consumed about a year and he returned by the water route.

The lady who became the wife of Mr. McCay was born near Danville, Illinois, July 19, 1836. She was the daughter of Bazzell E. and Katherine (Jones) Wells, father a native of Ohio, and mother of Kentucky. They became the parents of eleven children, six of whom grew to maturity. This lady has borne to Mr. McCay the following family: Arnold, David, Alice, Gertrude, Granville, Emma, and Lindlay. All the children save Alice were born in Keokuk county, and she was born in Macon county, Illinois.

In political faith Mr. McCay adheres to the principles of the Democracy and has been honored frequently by being chosen to some of the minor offices of the township, having served a period as trustee. He is proud to claim that he is a self-made man in the highest acceptance of that term, and he is certainly deserving of that appellation, for he has secured his competence by his own exertions. He and his family are held in the highest repute by an extensive circle of friends in Keokuk county.

JOHN HOLLIN McCORMICK

Coming from staunch old Scottish ancestry, than which there is none more true, manly and capable, John Hollin McCormick in the early days of the settlement of Iowa came to join the adventurous ones who were seeking homes in the untrammeled west. He was born on the 22d day of February, 1838, in Portage county, Ohio. His father, James McCormick, was a native of Armstrong county, Pennsylvania, and lived there from the time of his birth on February 11, 1796, until the year 1837, when he removed to Portage county, Ohio, where the subject of this narrative was born. In 1853 he changed his place of residence again, moving to Keokuk, Iowa, where he died on April 30, 1869. His political persuasion was that of a Whig, and he rendered valuable services to that party, holding local offices at various times. He was also an active member of the Presbyterian church. His paternal grandfather, John McCormick, was born in Scotland and came to America before the Revolution, locating in Pennsylvania.

His mother, Sarah Barber, was born in Pennsylvania on July 25, 1812, and there passed her childhood days. After her marriage to James McCormick they removed first to Ohio and later to Keokuk, Iowa, where she died on April 14, 1894. Her father was a native of Ireland. She was second wife of James McCormick, whose first wife was a Miss Hall. Ten children were born of the first marriage, of whom nine grew to maturity; of the second union eleven children were born, of whom nine reached the age of adults, and of both families ten are now living.

John Hollin McCormick was the third child and eldest son of the second marriage. He was reared in Summit county, Ohio. In 1857 he went to Van Buren county, Iowa, and eventually settled in 1859 in Lancaster township, Keokuk county. At the age of fifteen years he began working at the blacksmith trade, which he continued in Summit county, Ohio, for some three years, when he removed to Iowa and resided for a period of one year, and again removing to Ohio, spent one year in that state, from whence he ultimately came to Lancaster towriship, where he formed a partnership in the blacksmithing business. In the fall of 1861 he removed to Sigourney and was there till 1866, when he located on the farm where he now resides, since which time he has been engaged both in the business of farming and blacksmithing.

On April 17, 1861, he was married to Hulda Stone, who had removed to Iowa from the Hoosier state, where she was born on October 21, 1833. Her father, Martin Stone, was born in Genesee county, New York, but came to Indiana when he was about eighteen years old. He was twice married, his second wife being Mary G. Lindsay. Charles L. Stone, her half-brother, lives at Brighton, Washington county, Iowa. One other child of this second marriage died in infancy. The mother of Mrs. McCormick, Caroline Cole, was born in Bennington county, Vermont, but came to Indiana at the same time that her husband made the trip. Mrs. McCormick was the fifth child of a family of six daughters and four sons, and came to Keokuk county with her parents in 1854, locating in Lancaster township, where she pursued her education in the common schools and afterward taught in the schools of Keokuk county. Four children were born to them, Donald, who died in infancy; Fred A., who is now living at home with them; Cora V., wife of Harry Harlan, of What Cheer, Iowa; Lottie A., wife of Howard Richardson, of Ottumwa, Iowa, who is a telegraph operator at that place.

Mr. McCormick has a fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, on which his home is situated, and sixty-eight acres east of his home place, and has long been in the business of general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of fine blooded trotting horses, many of which have made splendid track records. Among these are Rinaldo, record 2:11 1-2; J. H. McCormick, record 2:29; and Major Lacy, record 2 :29. Of late years he has made a specialty of raising short-horn cattle, in which he has been exceedingly successful.

In his somewhat varied career Mr. McCormick has encountered many difficulties, none of which, however, were sufficient to daunt him. He has steadily overcome all obstacles and has himself alone to credit for his many successes, since he has accomplished all unaided. He has long been one of the enterprising and leading citizens of the county, is a Republican in principle and action, a member of the order of Masons at Sigourney where he holds high rank in the esteem and respect of his brothers, and generally has been pronounced one of the ablest and most successful men of his day.

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ROBERT McDOWELL, SR.

Tales of heroism have been the theme of song and story throughout the ages. The soldier has figured prominently in all writings, yet there is another kind of heroism which is as worthy of mention, and that is such as is done by the pioneer settlers who meet the difficult conditions of life upon the frontier when cut off from the comforts of the older east. They establish homes in a wild country, perform the arduous task of developing new land with few of the conveniences and comforts which they have previously known. The struggle is often a stern and hard one, but it has been met by men of strong courage and unfaltering purpose. Such a one is Robert McDowell. These men deserve all praise and honor and the splendid states of the west will ever stand as monuments to their memory.

Mr. McDowell is now living a retired life in Kinross, Iowa. He was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of January, 1818, and comes of Scotch ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Sutfon McDowell, was a Revolutionary soldier under General Washington and had his leg shot off in the battle of Billet. He was an officer and after losing his leg he obtained a cork leg and remained in command of his company until the close of the war, proving a valiant soldier. He lived to be about one hundred years of age. General McDowell, who fought in the first battle at Bull Run, was a second cousin of the subject of this review. Samuel McDowell, the father of our subject, was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and by occupation was a farmer and weaver. He married Rebecca Hallowell, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father lived to be about eighty years of age, while her mother reached the very advanced age of one hundred and three years. Leaving the Keystone state the parents of our subject removed westward and both died when sixty years of age, Samuel McDowell passing away in White Pigeon, Michigan. His wife came of English ancestry, who were Quakers in religious faith. Eight children were born unto this worthy couple, of whom Robert McDowell is the oldest.

He was reared in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, from the age of five years. His father moved across the mountains at that time, by wagon, settling near Fort Washington. In early life Mr. McDowell was for some time a captain of a boat which sailed on the Susquehanna, Delaware and other rivers, and also made coasting trips. He was thus engaged for about twelve years. In 1839 he was first married, Miss Catherine Herr becoming his wife, and unto them were born twelve children, ten of whom reached years of maturity. [Catherine] passed away in Keokuk county, Iowa, about 1893. After their marriage the young couple took up their abode in Pennsylvania, whence they removed to Rock Island county, Illinois, and in 1852 became residents of Keokuk county, Iowa, locating in Liberty township, among its first settlers. Mr. McDowell secured government land on the prairie, built a log house and, after cutting away some timber, began the development of a farm which bordered on the English river. There he improved his land successfully, carrying on general agricultural pursuits until about 1885, when he rented his land to his sons and took up his abode in Kinross, where he has since lived. He was a progressive agriculturist, wide-awake and enterprising, and his work was successfully carried on. He accumulated a large tract of land, at one time becoming the owner of sixteen hundred acres. He was also for many years engaged in the stock business, buying and shipping, and his annual sales brought to him an excellent income in the line of work which he undertook. He possessed sound business judgment and enterprise and his efforts proved very efficient in winning success.

Mr. and Mrs. McDowell traveled life's journey together as man and wife for fifty-six years. Theirs was a happy married life, in which their confidence and love increased as the years went by. Their children were as follows: David, who now resides in Keokuk county ; Catherine, deceased; Martin, a resident of Keota; Lovina, the wife of William Kent, of Nebraska; Ellen, the wife of George Dillen, of Keota; Elizabeth, the wife of John La Fever, of Washington county, Iowa; Sarah, the wife of Theodore Green of Washington county; Mrs. Hattie Winter, deceased; Robert, who resides upon the old home farm in Liberty township; Nancy, the deceased wife of John Lawler; and William and Johnie, who have passed away.

In 1898 Mr. McDowell was again married, his second union being with Mrs. M. E. (Crosby) Oldaker, who was born in Licking county, Ohio, a daughter of Edwin and Dianna (Green) Crosby. The mother was a descendant of the well known Green family and the father was born in Rhode Island and came of an old New England family, his ancestors having crossed the Atlantic in the Mayflower. Mrs. McDowell was their sixth child and was reared in Licking county, Ohio, until she was about twelve years of age, when she became a resident of Iowa City, Johnson county, Iowa. On the 1st of January, 1860, she gave her hand in marriage to H. J. Oldaker, and became the mother of six children, five of whom are living, namely: H. E.; A. J., deceased; William G.; H. W.; Beulah, the wife of Robert Thomas; and Lola, the wife of Ivan E. Coffey. A. J. Oldaker served as county recorded of Iowa county for four years and was a prominent and influential resident there, while H. E. Oldaker served as deputy county clerk of the county for eight years.

In his political affiliations Mr. McDowell has been a life-long Democrat and in early manhood cast his ballot for James K. Polk. His fellow-townsmen had honored him with a number of local offices and he has taken an active part in the upbuilding of schoolhouses and churches and has been the friend of every movement for the promotion of the general good and for the development of the county in which he has lived for so long. He was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends and with that denomination has always been identified, exemplifying in his life his Christian faith. In 1876 he made a trip to Philadelphia, where all his relatives were living, he being the only one of the family who resides in Keokuk county. He is now enjoying a well-earned rest from labor. By carefully watching and improving his business opportunities and laboring untiringly for the achievement of a competence, he gained an honorable place among the substantial residents of this portion of the state.

JOSEPH K. McELROY

Joseph K. McElroy is a well-known citizen and an old resident of the state. Since 1856 he has been identified with many of its business interests and has a wide acquaintance with its leading men. The birth of Joseph McElroy occurred May 2, 1836, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and he is a son of Hugh and Fredericka (Mueller) McElroy. Hugh McElroy landed in Philadelphia, an Irish lad of twenty-one years, and almost immediately entered upon a successful business career. He was born near Belfast, county Down, on December 26, 1798, a son of Andrew and Mary Jane McElroy, who lived out their lives in their native Ireland. Securing a position as clerk in the great mercantile house of Dickie Hewey and Stephen Girard, he very soon attracted the attention of his employers and in less than two years was sent by them to Pittsburgh to manage their flour shipments to New Orleans. Young Hugh accompanied the flour to the southern city on the flat-boat, as that was the means of transportation afforded at that time, but his impatience made him return by foot to Philadelphia, rather than await the slow river route. Another trip was successfully undertaken, and from this trip he returned by sea.

Soon after, his business instincts and an adventurous spirit induced him to make his way to the new portions of Ohio and after making a trial venture in the mercantile business in Somerset, Perry county, he embarked on a larger scale at New Lisbon, in Columbiana county, operating a store and a distillery and introducing the first steam engine ever in use in the state. To conduct his business properly it was necessary for him to make frequent trips to various points and as this was prior to the building of any railroads in this vicinity, Mr. McElroy crossed the Allegheny mountains fifty-two times, either on horseback or by the lumbering old stage. In 1838 his business enterprise induced him to locate at Sidney, in Shelby county, Ohio, and here he became the first merchant and also built and operated a grist-mill, a carding mill, a saw-mill and also a cooper shop, providing thus for the wants of the community and accepting raw material in return for merchandise, a great accommodation on account of the scarcity of money in these regions. In 1840 he was one of the prime movers in the building of the Ohio Mainland canal, sixteen miles in length, which has a feeder located at Lockport, Ohio. After promoting all these activities, his energies turned in another direction, and in 1850 he sold his interests and embarked in the business of pork packing, at Sidney, Ohio; Madison, Indiana; Peoria, Illinois; Muscatine and Keokuk, Iowa; and Hannibal, Missouri. To buy pork he made his first trip to the west in 1856, making his head-quarters at Oskaloosa, Iowa, paying unheard of prices for the commodity and returning in the same business in 1857 and 1858. Mr. McElroy then disposed of his business and closed out his trade relations, and went back to his old home at Sidney. There as one of the leading capitalists, he opened a state bank, known as the Shelby State Bank, and continued his financial operations until his death in 1864. His was a remarkable career. Born with great natural gifts, he developed them for the benefit of others as well as himself, and attached to him many of the leading men of his time. It was no secret that he was a valued adviser of Salmon P. Chase even after the latter had attained his high office in the government.

In his early voting days, Hugh McElroy was a Whig, and later became a zealous Republican and exerted decided influence in his party. Mr. McElroy was twice married. His first wife was Frederica Mueller and was of German parentage, the three sons born them being: John Andrew, who resides at Beloit, Kansas; William B., who is deceased; and Joseph K., who is the subject of this biography. The death of William B. McElroy took place in 1857 in Sigourney, Iowa. He was a man of education, in earlier years had an adventurous life in whaling vessels, but later operated a hardware store in this city, where he was well known and respected. The second wife of Hugh McElroy was Ann Stephenson, by whom there were no children.

Joseph K. McElroy was reared in Sidney, Ohio, and obtained his education there in the public schools. In 1856 he accompanied his father to Iowa, and upon the death of his brother, William, settled up the latter's business affairs at Sigourney. He then went back to Sidney and engaged in the hardware business, removing in 1859-60 to Marion, Indiana, in the same line of business, and in the spring of 1863 located permanently in Sigourney and followed farming until 1865. Our subject then opened up a general store in this city, which he successfully conducted for a period of twelve years, selling out in order to enter upon a partnership with E. Laffer in another similar enterprise, which continued for two years, and for two more years he was associated with A. G. Brown in the dry-goods business. In 1889 Mr. McElroy first engaged in the hotel business in Sigourney, selling out three years later. He conducted hotels at several other points for short seasons at Keota and Winfield, and remained two years at Columbus Junction, returning to Sigourney in 1898, at which time, in partnership with his son-in-law, C. C. Berry, he took charge of the Merchants Hotel. In the fall of 1902 he disposed of his interest in this business.

Mr. McElroy has been a life-long supporter of the Republican party and well recalls the occasion of his first presidential vote, cast for John C. Fremont. He numbers many friends among the old residents of Sigourney and has been identified with much of the permanent development of Keokuk county.

In 1858, at Sigourney, Mr. McElroy was united in marriage with Miss Harriet E. Cattell, and one daughter, Cora, was born to this union, she now being the wife of C. C. Berry. She was born in Marion, Ohio, and her one son, Leonard, is now agent for the United States Express Company at Sigourney.

The birth of Mrs. McElroy was in Stark county, Ohio, and she is a daughter of Samuel G. and EHzabeth (Hair) Cattell, the former of whom was born January 11, 1812, at Mount Holly, New Jersey, and died in Sigourney in February, 1900. His widow resides with her daughter, Mrs. McElroy. In 1857 Mr. Cattell located in Sigourney and followed an agricultural life. He was a quiet man of exemplary life and character, a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, and a good citizen. He voted with the Republican party. His two children were a son and daughter, the former of whom is John B. Cattell, a resident of Wichita, Kansas. For a number of years the mother of Mrs. Cattell lived in Sigourney and her venerable appearance is still recalled as her age reached ninety years. A most interesting picture is in the possession of the family, which shows five generations together, all at one time residing with our subject.

DR. DANIEL C. McFARLANE

Perhaps no one in Keokuk county exerted a wider influence in the affairs of Keota and the surrounding country and was more highly respected for his noble strength of character and his kindly, helpful disposition than was the late Dr. McFarlane. A native of the hardy land of the Scots, reared under the moral and strengthening influences of a Scotch home and trained to his chosen profession in a university noted for its thorough, scientific teachings, it is no wonder that our subject developed his natural talents to such an extent that he passed into the front rank of his profession.

The birth of Daniel C. McFarlane occurred on the 31st day of July, 1841, in Loch Gailhead, Argyleshire, Scotland; his father, Hugh McFarlane, was a large sheep farmer and grazier. Up to his fourteenth year young Daniel attended the school in the Highlands and in 1855 was sent to the high school at Glasgow, from which he passed into the university in 1856; there he studied his art curriculum and also had one term of anatomy and chemistry. He showed such natural fitness in these studies that he at once decided upon the profession of medicine as his life work, and in accordance with this desire his father sent him to the Edinburg University; the university had at that time among its corps of instructors Hughes Bennett, Sir Robert Christison, Sir J. Y. Simpson, and Sir James Lyme, and at the College of Surgeons Mathews Duncon was at the zenith of his career. Under such gifted men his young genius was expanded and he completed his studies in 1864. For two years he attended to the business connected with the settlement of his father's estate and at the same time did what practice he could find at home.

In 1866 he was advised, on account of his weak lungs, to go to Canada, and accordingly he made his home there for five years, coming to Iowa in 1871; he made his advent in Keota in the following year on a construction train, which did not come quite so far as the present town site. Dr. McFarlane made Keota the choice of his residence after consulting Dr. William S. Robertson of Muscatine, who showed him great consideration and kindness and remained a life long friend. In Keota Dr. McFarlane enjoyed an excellent practice and held the confidence of the people and the friendship of his fellow physicians; he had the faculty of cheering his patients when in their presence and his kind face will be missed by many whom he had helped. He was a member of the Washington county medical society, the Iowa Southeastern District Medical Society, the State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. While engaged in the performance of the duties of his profession he passed away on the 10th of December, 1901.

While in Scotland the Doctor was made a Mason and in Keota was a member of the Adelphi lodge. No. 353, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in Sigourney belonged to the Joppa Chapter, No. 40, and the Bethlehem commandery, No. 45, Washington, Iowa. He was also an Odd Fellow, being elevated to the Grand lodge for 1899 and 1900, a Patriarch and a member of the Cretona lodge, No. 365, Knights of Pythias at Keota; also a member of the Legion of Honor and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he was a staunch Republican. July 22, 1874,

Dr. McFarlane married Miss Mary Ellen Disor of Keota, and their married life was blessed with three children, all daughters, one of whom, little Maude, died at the age of twenty-two months; the eldest, Sarah I., was married on November 14, 1894, to Charles A. Singmaster and is the mother of three children, Samuel C., Mary A., and Margaret S.; the youngest daughter, Margaret C, is the wife of Elmer S. Erdice, a prominent business man of Keota.

George Disor, Mrs. McEarlane's father, was born, reared and married in Virginia and came to Iowa as one of the early pioneers, locating in Keokuk county. He engaged in the tilling of the soil and had a farm in Lafayette township; during the war he was postmaster of Chandler. Mr. Disor held firmly to the principles of the Republican party and filled various local offices in the township. He was a member of the Christian church and took an active part in its work. He lived to an advanced age and died in this county. His wife was Rebecca McDonald, also a native of Virginia, where she passed her youth; she lived to be about seventy-two vears old. Mr. and Mrs. Disor were the parents of seven children; all of whom grew to maturity: Mary is deceased; Lizzie is the wife of William Cranston and resides near Frankfort, Kansas; William was a soldier in the war of the Rebellion and is now deceased; James was also in the war and has passed away; Henrietta is the wife of Thomas Hudson, living in Iowa county; Anna is deceased; Ellen, who became Mrs. McFarlane, was the youngest of the family and was born on the old homestead in Lafayette township, April 15, 1856.

CHARLES McKINNIS, M.D.

So dependent is man upon his fellow-men that the worth of the individual is largely estimated by what he has done for humanity. There is no class to whom greater gratitude is due than to those self-abnegating, noble-minded men whose life work has been the alleviation of the burden of suffering that rests upon the world, thus lengthening the span of human existence. Their influence can not be measured by any known standard and their power goes hand in hand with the beneficent laws of nature that come from the source of life itself. Among the able representatives of the medical profession in Keokuk county is Dr. McKinnis, who is established in practice of medicine and surgery in the thriving town of Ollie, his support being of a distinctly representative order and his standing in the community, both as a man and a physician, being such as to establish him high in the confidence and regard of all who know him.

The old Buckeye state figures as the place of Dr. McKinnis' nativity, since he was born in Vinton county, Ohio, on the 22d of April, 1851, being a son of Jesse McKinnis, who was likewise born in the same state in 1830 and was there reared to maturity.

At the outbreak of the war ot the Rebellion, [Jesse] enlisted as a private in an Ohio regiment of volunteer infantry, with which he was in active service for a period of ninety days, within which he contracted a disease which resulted in his death about a decade later. In the fall of 1863 Jesse McKinnis, in company with his wife and their children, all of whom were born in Ohio, came to Iowa and settled on a farm in Jefferson county, where he continued in agricultural pursuits until 1865, when he removed to Washington county, where he was engaged in farming until his death which occurred in 1872. In his native state he was united in marriage to Miss Aliie Wilson, who was born in Maryland, whence her parents emigrated to Ohio when she was about ten years of age, her father becoming one of the successful farmers of the Buckeye state. They later moved to Iowa, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Their names were William and Elizabeth Wilson. Jesse and Allie McKinnis became the parents of three sons and one daughter, namely: Charles, the immediate subject of this sketch; George, a resident of Ollie; Mary E., the wife of G. B. Richardson of Sigourney, this county; and Jasper, who died at the age of ninteen years.

Dr. McKinnis received his early educational discipline in the public schools of Ohio and Iowa, and that he made proper utilization of the advantages afforded him is evident when we revert to the fact that he became eligible for the pedagogic profession when a youth, having been a successful teacher from the age of twenty-one until that of twenty-five years, within which interval he taught one year in the public schools of Washington county and the remainder in the schools of Keokuk county, having been twenty-two years of age at the time of his father's death. After giving up his pedagogic work the Doctor engaged in the drug business at loka, where he remained until 1882, when he established himself in the same line of enterprise in Ollie and also entered upon the general practice of medicine here, having thoroughly prepared himself for the work of his profession and having been in practice in loka prior to coming to Ollie. His technical education was received in Keokuk Medical Oollege, where he prosecuted his studies with energy and marked discrimination.

In Jefferson county, in 1872, Dr. McKinnis was united in marriage to Miss Laura Helen McCarty, who was born in Washington county, this state, in 1851, being the daughter of Robert and Rebecca McCarty, who emigrated from Pennsylvania and became numbered among the pioneers of Washington county, Iowa, where their children were reared and educated. Dr. and Mrs. McKinnis are the parents of three children, namely: Mollie B., who is the wife of R. L. Grimes, a jeweler of Dows, Iowa; Ivy, who is the wife of C. W. Long, a hardware merchant of Dows Iowa; and Stella Grace, who still remains at the parental home; all were born and reared in Keokuk county.

Dr. McKinnis is one of the public spirited citizens and popular physicians of this section of the county, and he still continues to conduct a drug store in OUie in connection with his general practice, which is of wide extent. He has taken at all times a deep interest in public affairs of a local nature, and has given his influence and aid in support of such measures as have tended to the general welfare, while in his political proclivities he has been a stalwart adherent of the Republican party, as had been his father also. Fraternally he is identified with Ollie Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; with loka Lodge, No. 173, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; with the organization of Modern Woodmen at Richland, the Triple Alliance and the Mutual Benefit Association at Ollie, while he is one of the prominent and honored members of four different medical societies. The Doctor and his wife hold membership in the Baptist church at Ollie, and he has been clerk of its official board for a number of years past, taking a zealous interest in both the spiritual and temporal work of the organization.

CHARLES E. McQUAID

Charles E. McQuaid, a member of the lumber firm of McCann & McQuaid, at Sigourney, Iowa, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1858, and is a son of James F. and Amanda (Cort) McQuaid, both of whom were natives of the same county. The ancestry of the family is Scotch-Irish on the paternal side and German on the maternal, both James McQuaid and Joseph Cort, the grandfathers, being bom, however, in Pennsylvania. The father of our subject was a merchant for many years in Westmoreland county. In the year 1869 he removed to Beaver county, Pennsylvania, where his widow still resides. He died in 1890, aged sixty years. A family of nine children was born to the parents of our subject, two of whom are deceased.

Charles E. McQuaid, the subject of this sketch, was ten years old when his parents moved to Beaver county. His rearing was on a farm, and his primary education was obtained in the pubHc school, supplemented later by two years at the State Normal School at Edinboro. The succeeding three years were spent as a teacher in his native state, and then he accepted a position as bookkeeper with a wholesale and retail hat, cap and fur establishment in Pittsburg, remaining with this one firm for nine years. In April, 1899, he located at What Cheer, Iowa, and for the two succeeding years was the traveling representative of the Crescent Coal Company, and for two more years for the C. L. Dering Coal Company, wholesale, of Chicago, returning to the former company for
two and one-half years again.

In the spring of 1898 our subject became associated with Lee McCann in business in Sigourney, under the firm name of McCann & McQuaid, which since that time has been a leading factor in the lumber trade of this section. This firm succeeded to the oldest lumber yard of Keokuk county and has instituted progressive methods which have been met very favorably by the public. Mr. McQuaid has been very active in looking after all lumber interests and for two years was the president of the Southeastern Iowa Retail Lumber Association.

Mr. McQuaid was married in 1890 to Miss Lavina Sampson, who is a daughter of the late Judge E. S. Sampson. Both our subject and wife are prominent in the Presbyterian church, and for three years he has been the efficient superintendent of the Sunday school. He is also president of the Keokuk County Sunday School Association. In public matters our subject has always shown a public-spirited interest, has served as town councilman, as a Democrat, has been a very acceptable member of the school board, and in 1902 was chairman of the Democratic county central committee. Mr. McQuaid's fraternal relations are with the Royal Arch Masons, Canton Lodge of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen and the order of Fraternal Choppers. As a business man, citizen, Sunday school superintendent and member of the social circle, Mr. McQuaid is a man to be esteemed, and he enjoys to the highest extent the respect and kind wishes of his community.

FREDERICK MEYER

One of the most highly esteemed and prominent old settlers of German township, Keokuk county, Iowa, who resides upon a fine, well improved farm in section 9, is Frederick Meyer, who came here in 1854. The birth of Frederick Meyer was on January 3, 1853, in Hanover, Germany, and his father, John Meyer, was born in the same place, and there married Margaret Muller. In 1854 John Meyer and family came to America and settled in Keokuk county, Iowa, where he bought eighty acres of land which was still raw prairie; with great industry he cleared this and placed it under cultivation. This first eighty acres had been purchased of the government and he paid one and one-ouarter dollars an acre for it. His second purchase cost him more, but he kept on adding until at one time he owned three hundrd and twenty acres. He was a leading member of the Evangelical church and very materially assisted in the building of what is the leading house of worship for that religious body in this township. His death occurred when he was about sixty-eight years of age. His widow still survives, at the age of seventy-two years. They reared all of their seven children, six sons and one daughter. These are as follows: Frederick, the subject of this sketch; William, a resident of Nebraska; Kate, the wife of Charles McKue, of Colorado; John, a resident of Nebraska; Louis, a general farmer on the old homestead; George, a druggist in Hancock county, Iowa; and Henry, also a druggist there.

Frederick Meyer, of this sketch, was about one and one-half years old when his parents brought him to Geman township. Here he was reared and attended school, assisting in the farm work, driving oxen, plowing and breaking up the prairie land. After he was twenty-one years old he worked for a neighboring farmer for one year, and in June, 1879, was married to Miss Mary Cassens, who was born in Hanover, Germany, on November 13, 1847. She came to America with her parents when about five years of age and was reared in German township. Her first marriage was to Ernest Fauth, and five children were born to this union, namely: Henry, John, Charles, Anna and Matilda. The children born to our subject and wife are the following: William, Gustaf, Mary, Louisa and Emma.

In addition to being an extensive farmer, Mr. Meyer is a large stock raiser and owns eight hundred acres of land. He has taken a prominent part in politics and has held various offices, being township trustee for three years. He is fraternally connected with the order of Modern Brotherhood of America and belongs to and liberally contributes to the support of the Evangelical church. He is one of the responsible, substantial and representative citizens of German township.

CAP E. MILLER

The welfare of any community depends on the number of strong young men it can muster. Old men for wisdom; but it takes the elastic energy and fire of youimages/holzwarthj_sm.jpgth to carry great projects through. Old men think; young men act. And, though it be true that young men may act without sufficient thought, yet even failure, with strength and a will to do again, discounts the conservative halting of old age. Keokuk county has a goodly stock of these young men, alert, active, awake to the probabilities and possibilities of life, and keeping the car of progress in the van of the procession. Many of these are worthy sons of well-to-do sires, equipped at their expense for the battle of life, while others have fought their way to success by their own unaided personal effort. Of this latter class is the subject of this article. At an age when mimages/holzwarthj_sm.jpgost young men are just beginning to take life seriously, he is superintendent of schools of Keokuk county.

Cap Miller was born and reared to man's estate on a farm in English River township, one of a family of nine children. The education he received in the country school served but to whet the boy's appetite for something broader and deeper. The parents, though willing to sacrifice much for their son's advancement, were able to help but little and do justice to the other members of their large family, and he was thus thrown upon his own resources. Such a state of affairs, however, did not dampen the ardor of the youth; indeed, it but challenged the spirit of self-help which had been lying dormant, and led him to resolve that he would secure the object of his desires, come what may. The way opened for him, as it had for others of like mind before, through the arduous work of the schoolroom. Teaching one season and attending the next constituted his life for several years. After two years at Hedrick Normal, he matriculated in the Iowa State Normal, from which excellent institution he graduated in 1901. Even before graduating from the State Normal Mr. Miller had won an enviable reputation as an educator. Here his worth was immediately recognized by President Seerley, and he was frequently sent to take temporary charge of schools throughout the state in the absence of superintendents and principals, an honor which came to no one not fully deserving, as the reputation of the State Normal was at stake.

Prior to graduating from the State Normal, Professor Miller took charge of the Millersburg schools, and the two years of his incumbency were marked by thorough organization and effective class work. Upon graduation he was offered the principalship of the DeSoto schools, and accepting, he taught until the holidays, when he resigned to enter upon the duties of his present office, to which he had been elected on the Democratic ticket, over a strong man on the Republican ticket, and this in a Republican county. Since that time this office has felt the rejuvenating effect of his master hand, the school system of Keokuk county never having been on a better basis than at the present day.

The family of which Mr. Miller is a member still resides in South English. The parents, David Wesley and Margaret (McWilliams) Miller, are natives of the Buckeye state, having come to Iowa in early life. They belong to the substantial farming element and are regarded as among the best citizens of the county.

H. A. MILLHOUSE

H. A. Millhouse is a pioneer carriage manufacturer of Keota and is also engaged in general blacksmithing. He realizes that industry forms the keynote of success and it has therefore been owing to his close application and unremitting diligence that he has gained a substantial competence. Mr. Millhouse is one of the worthy citizens that Germany has furnished to Keokuk county, his birth having occurred in the province of Hesse-Cassel on the 2d of November, 1847. He came to America when twelve years of age, making his way direct to Muscatine, Iowa, and he learned his trade at Wilton Junction, in Muscatine county, serving an apprenticeship of three years. He afterward went to Moscow, Iowa, where he worked for twelve months and afterward was employed for nine months by his old employer at Wilton Junction. Later he located in the city of Muscatine, where for twelve months he was engaged in shoeing horses, and then came west to Washington county,images/holzwarthj_sm.jpg Iowa, where he assisted his father in building a house. For two years he worked at his trade in Washington and in Marshall. The latter town is now called Whalen, and is situated on the Illinois Central Railroad in Henry county. During the fall and winter Mr. Millhouse built a shop in Washington county, chopping down the timber with whicli to build the structure. He occupied that smithy for two years and when the town of Keota was established in 1872 he opened the first blacksmith shop in this town. He erected a little building eighteen by twenty-four feet and has added to this until he had a fine shop covering forty-seven by fifty-eight feet, which is equipped with all necessary machinery and implements for carrying on his work, and he has done a good business in both branches of his trade. He built the first buggy ever made in Keota and has manufactured as many as eighty-five vehicles in a single year. He is the pioneer buggy manufacturer of the town and has made and sold more buggies than any other man in Keokuk county. His patronage has been quite extensive and his trade profitable. As his financial resources have increased he has invested in land and he now owns four hundred acres in this state together with a good residence property in Keota. He has recently sold his business to Albert Hillhouse and will retire from active affairs.

Mr. Millhouse was united in marriage to Miss Sadie Rand and they have a pleasant home, which is noted for its genial hospitality. Mr. Millhouse is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was formerly a Democrat in his political affiliations, but he voted for McKinley and now endorses many of the principles of the Republican party, believing in sound money and expansion. As one of the pioneer business men of Keota he is well known and the part which he has taken in the upbuilding and improvement of this place entitles him to honorable mention in the history of Keokuk county. He was the first man to circulate a petition for a water system here. In this work he was defeated the first time, but he continued to agitate the question until his efforts were crowned with success. Keota now has a good water system, which receives the endorsement of all public spirited men. He was also instrumental in having the cattle shut up and not allowed to run in the streets.

When the town was established the owners of property paid all expenses for the improvement of streets, and Mr. Millhouse, being a very liberal man, did everything in his power to promote the growth and substantial development of Keota. He has spent much time and money for the up-building of the town and his efforts have been attended with excellent success. In connection with Mr. Wilson he took up a subscription to buy the first cannon of the town and he assisted in raising the first flag in behalf of the Democratic party in Keota. He was also the first boarder in the town, there being but one house when he located here, and Gulps' drug store was the first business enterprise of the village. Mr. Millhouse's shop was the second business structure built in Keota and the lumber used in its construction was brought here by train and was the first unloaded at this place. Putting forth every effort in his power to contribute to the general welfare Mr. Millhouse certainly deserves the commendation and the gratitude of the public for what he has accomplished in behalf of this enterprising city.

HENRY J. MOHME

Emigration, as those conversant with the subject well know, is largely influenced by certain primal causes, chief among these being climatic conditions similar to those accustomed to and relationship of language, religion and political beliefs between the incomers and those already settled. The first difficulty is to "break the ice," as the average human being dislikes to leave the old home, but if a start is once made, if a few go and report favorably, it is comparatively easy to induce others to follow. A handful of Irish, Swedes, Italians and other nationalities having settled in a locality are often the means of drawing great colonies, who eventually grow to such dimensions as to dominate the community. The sheep and the wild geese are not the only animals who follow a leader or cross the line promptly in imitation of the "bell wether." These remarks are introductory in a general way to the specific cases of the Mohme family, with a view to accounting for their appearance in Keokuk county. The simple reason is that relatives had come in advance and wrote back such glowing accounts of the opportunities of Iowa that their kinsfolk across the water decided to abandon the fatherland and seek homes in the prosperous commonwealth on the banks of the Upoer Mississippi. This party included Henry and Christina (Miller) Mohme and their son Henry J., who was born in Prussia, October 24, 1847. They came over in 1863 and located on a farm one mile northeast of Sigourney, in the county of Keokuk, and the cultivation of this land constituted the father's business until his death, in 1865, at the age of forty-nine years. His widow remained on the farm until the children grew to maturity and passed her declining years in Sigourney, where she died June 6, 1902, a little over seventy-nine years old.

Her son, Henry J. Mohme, continued to work on the farm until his marriage, June 23, 1871, to Emma Lena Fritz, and two years later went to Texas. He remained in that state two years, engaged in farming and railroading, when he returned to Keokuk county and occupied the old homestead until 1880, then taking up his residence at Sigourney. He was employed as associate editor of the Sigourney Courier until 1884, when he purchased the plant from J. C. Starr and has since conducted the paper. It is a German weekly, Democratic in politics and has a large circulation among the Germans in Keokuk and adjoining counties. Though of such great service to his party in assisting to bring an important and influential element to its support, and one of the leaders by virtue of his editorial position, Mr. Mohme has never sought political preferment, his only official position being the non-lucrative one of member of the school board. His membership in Webb Lodge, No. 182, of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons at Sigourney, constitutes his only fraternal connection. Mr. Mohme's wife died May 19, 1902, leaving five children, whose names are Charles, Mary, Flora, Walter and Louis.

GILBERT S. MORGAN

Almost fifty yeears have passed since this gentleman arrived in Keokuk county and he is justly numbered among her honored pioneers and leading citizens, his home being in Adams township. As an agriculturalist he has been prominently identified with her up-building and development. His is an honorable record of a conscientious man, who by his upright life has won the confidence of all with whom he has come in contact.

His father, Hon. Theron Avery Morgan, was one of the prominent citizens of this locality in early days. He was born in Massachusetts in January, 1809, and was principally reared in that state. From there he removed to Ohio and in 1854 came to Iowa, locating in Keokuk county, where he entered land from the government and improved the farm on which our subject now lives. In early life he married Sylvia Mallory, also a native of Massachusetts, and to them were born five children, all of whom reached man and womanhood. Both parents lived to a ripe old age, the mother being eighty-one at the time of her death, and the father ninety-two. Some idea of the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow citizens can be gathered from an obituary published at the time of his death, which is as follows:

"At the little village of Webster, Keokuk county, at ten o'clock, February 6, 1901, occurred the funeral services of the Hon. Theron Avery Morgan. While the bells of the village church were tolling and the people were gathering from all the country-side to pay their last respects to one of their oldest citizens, the funeral carriages were driven from the home of Gilbert S. Morgan to the Methodist church of Webster. It was this farm from which he took his last journey, that a half century ago Mr. Morgan, then in the prime of vigorous manhood, entered as a homestead, and it was from then that his life became closely mingled with the early life and development of Keokuk county. At the church the services were conducted by the Rev. Smith of the Methodist Episcopal church, assisted by the Rev. Matlock of the Congregational church. Among those gathered there were men who when they, beardless boys of twenty, had marched out to defend the Union, had spoken of the then gray-bearded Lieutenant Morgan as "Father Morgan." Rugged men with heads of gray were assembled to pay a last token of respect to their fathers' old friend and contemporary. Rev. Smith spoke of Mr. Morgan's life in Keokuk county, how in social life, in philanthropy and in politics he had ever represented that which was noblest and best. He dwelt upon the strength, purity and nobility of the life which had given of its vigor to uphold and support our legislature in those days in the '50s and '60s when men of strength were needed. Men and women were present who knew of the unselfishness and practical Christianity of. his life as a neighbor. Men were present who knew of his sterling integrity and steadfast honor in political life and in positions of public trust. Children and grandchildren were present who knew of the sweet, unselfish nobility of his family life, which constitutes true greatness. The relatives present were Mrs. Victoria Morgan, of Grand Junction; Mrs. Mary M. Griswold, of Ottumwa; Mr. and Mrs. G. S. Morgan, of Webster. The grandchildren present were Misses Daisy and Mary Griswold, Morgan Griswold and George O. Griswold and Mrs. W. T. Wilson of Ottumwa; Avery Morgan, of Washington; Mr. and Mrs. William Montz, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cook, Mr. and Mrs. William Heaton and Alden Morgan, of Webster. Among others from abroad were Mrs. John M. Donnough, of New Sharon; and Theron Morgan of South English. The pall bearers, were D. P. Brown, Alex Hearst, D. Swails, John Van Tyle, T. Goeldner and Hon. Fred E. White. The interment took place at the httle cemetery of Webster, where twelve years ago was buried Sylvia (Mallory) Morgan, wife of the deceased. Every one felt to be true the words of Rev. Smith in his sermon: 'A strong man has fallen'."

Gilbert S. Morgan was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, April 17, 1841, and was the fourth child and third son in his father's family. He was about thirteen years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Keokuk county, and on the home farm in Adams township he grew to manhood, acquiring a good practical education in the schools of the neighborhood and also gaining an excellent knowledge of farm work in its various departments. He remained with his parents and continued to assist in the operation of his father's land until twentynine years of age.

On the 14th of November, 1869, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Morgan and Miss Sarah A. Ervin, who was born in West Virginia, December 15, 1848. Her parents, Elias and Maria (Messenger) Ervin, were also natives of that state, the father's birth having occurred in Preston county. In 1865 Mr. Ervin brought his family to Iowa and after spending about a year in Iowa county came to Keokuk county and took up his abode in English River township. To him and his wife were born fourteen children, twelve of whom reached mature years and seven of the number are still living. In this family Mrs. Morgan is the seventh in order of birth and was about sixteen years of age when she came to Keokuk county. She received a good common school education. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, namely: Stella, wife of William Heaton of English River township; Alden, who married Leonia Hall and resides in Adams township; Rollin E., who married Mayme Lechty and lives in Iowa City; and Virgil G., who is at home and assists his father in the operation of the farm.

After his marriage Mr. Morgan located on the old homestead where he now lives, and devoted his entire attention to general farming and stock raising until 1872, when he went to California and spent one year on the Pacific coast engaged in fruit farming. At the end of that time he returned to this county and has since followed general farming and stock raising uninterruptedly, owning a well improved and valuable place of three hundred and twenty acres, which was once the property of his father.

Politically Mr. Morgan has been a life-long Republican, and has taken quite an active interest in local politics, serving two terms as assessor, and justice of the peace for several years. Socially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Through the long years of his residence in this county he has become widely known, and his many excellent traits of character have gained him the high regard of his many friends.

THOMAS A. MORGAN

Thomas A. Morgan is a leading representative of the business interests of Webster, Iowa, where he is engaged in general merchandising, and he also carries on general farming and stock raising in this county. Of excellent business ability and broad resources, he has attained a prominent place among the substantial citizens of his part of the county and is a recognized leader in public affairs. He has won success by his well directed, energetic efforts, and the prosperity that has come to him is certainly well deserved.

One of Keokuk county's native sons, Mr. Morgan was born in English River township, May 17, 1867. His father, Thomas Morgan, is a native of Kentucky, from which state he removed to Indiana with his parents during boyhood, and was there reared and married. In 1846 he came to Iowa and settled in English River township, Keokuk county, where he took up a tract of government land and engaged in farming throughout his active business life. This worthy pioneer is still living at the ripe old age of eighty-two years, honored and respected by all who know him. He is a staunch supporter of the Republican party and has acceptably filled the offices of township trustee and assessor. Religiously he is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has taken quite an active part in its work. He was twice married and by the first union had eight children. For his second wife he wedded Miss Mary McBride, the mother of our subject. She was born and reared in Pennsylvnia and died in Iowa when about sixty-five years of age. She was the mother of four children, of whom Thomas A. is the youngest.

In the county of his nativity Thomas A. Morgan grew to manhood, receiving a good practical education in the common schools of English River township. With the exception of six months spent in California, his entire life has been passed in Keokuk county. He followed farming until 1893, when he removed to Webster and embarked in general merchandising, opening a store at that place which he still conducts. He carries a well selected stock of dry goods, groceries, etc., and by fair and honorable dealing has built up an excellent trade, which is constantly increasing. Besides his store he owns other property in the town and has a valuable farm of four hundred and forty acres, all in English River township with exception of eighty acres. With the assistance of hired help he operates this land and is meeting with marked success as a farmer and stock raiser.

In November, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Morgan and Miss Malissa Axmear, a native of Virginia and a daughter of John and Julia Axmear, the former of whom was born in Holland and the latter in Germany. To our subject and his wife have been born five children, as follows: Clarence, Ada, Blanch, Grace and Helen. By his ballot Mr. Morgan supports the men and measures of the Republican party. He is a worthy representative of that class of progressive businessmen who lead quiet, industrious, honest and useful lives, and constitute the best portion of a community. Wherever known he is held in high regard, and is certainly deserving of honorable mention in the history of his native county.

JAMES MORRISON

In every community are found quiet and retiring men who seek no public honors or public notice, yet exert a strong influence on the community by reason of their upright lives, their fidelity to principles and their devotion to the good of their community. Such a man is James Morrison, who was for long years an honored representative of the agricultural interests of Benton township, and his life in many respects is worthy of emulation. He is at the present time residing in the town of Hedrick, where he is living a retired life on the competence which his well directed efforts in earlier manhood have brought to him.

James Morrison is of Scottish descent, having been born in Scotland, August 27, 1836. He is the second child of John and Katherine (Marnoch) Morrison. For further mention of his parental history see the personal sketch of John Morrison, of Hedrick, who is his brother. James Morrison was a mere lad when he came to America with his parents, who remained six years in the state of Ohio and came in 1854 to Keokuk county, where they settled on wild land in Benton township. Here James was reared to manhood and was taught the habits of industry and perseverance, which have ever been traits of his character. In 1862 he enlisted in company F, Thirty-third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, as a private soldier. In this organization he served until the close of the war, mostly in the west. In all his service he passed not a single day off duty and was always found at his post. He received an honorable discharge at New Orleans in 1865, on account of the close of war, having served well the country of his adoption.

On the i6th of April, 1868, he was joined to Rachel Hudson, daughter of Joseph and Rachel Hudson. Mrs. Morrison is a native of Virginia, where she was born in Washington county in 1843. When she was ten years old her parents removed, to Jefferson county, Iowa. Her father was a native of England, and her mother was a native of Virginia; they had four sons and four daughters, all of whom are living but one daughter, and all are married and have families of their own. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Morrison there were born six children; Mary, wife of Jos. Davis, of Eddyville; James, residing in Hedrick; Margaret resides at home; Hugh is a farmer in Benton township; Walter is a son at home; Katy, who died in girlhood. After their marriage Mr. Morrison located at the old homestead in Benton township, where they resided for the next thirteen years, engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1881 Mr. Morrison bought a farm in another part of the township, upon which they lived until they retired from active work and removed to the town of Hedrick. He still retains this farm of one hundred sixty acres. Mr. Morrison is one of the old pioneers of the county, and his life has been such as to secure him the friendship of a numerous acquaintance.

In political affairs he has always been a staunch Republican, and is proud of the fact that he was one of the early supporters of that party. He has been honored with some of the minor offices of his township, having served as trustee for a period of years. Fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order, having his membership in Garfield Lodge, No. 485. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, J. M. Hedrick, Post No. 424. Mr. Morrison has been very successful in the pursuit of agriculture, due largely to his untiring industry and excellent business judgment, steadily pursuing his way undeterred by the obstacles and difficulties in his path. Steady application, careful study of business methods to be followed, close attention to details, combined with untiring energy - these are the traits of character which have brought to him success. He is passing his life in easy retirement among an extensive circle of friends.

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HON. JOHN MORRISON

Among the many prominent sons of pioneers in Keokuk county, Iowa, is the postmaster at Hedrick, the honorable gentleman named above, who is a native of Scotland, where he was born January 30, 1835. Noting briefly the salient points in the family history of Mr. Morrison, the father's name was John, and he was a native of the same country, and by occupation was a cotton spinner. He grew to maturity in the old country, married, and with his family in 1842 came to America and located in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He engaged in the cotton spinning business for a period of two years, and then returned with his family to his native land. In the spring of 1848, however, he again resolved to try his fortunes in the new world, and this time tried the west, where he remained for a short time in Wisconsin. He, however, soon came east and located in Ohio, and for several years plied his trade in the city of Steubenville. In 1854 he came to Keokuk county, Iowa, and located on a farm in Benton township, on which farm he lived until his death, in 1872, at the age of sixty-three yeears. His father before him was named John, and was a weaver by occupation. He also came to America with his family and settled in Ohio, in about the year 1846. His wife died soon after coming to America, and he started on a return soon afterward to the old country, but on the voyage he was taken sick and died. The mother of the immediate subject of this sketch was Katherine Marnocli. She also was a native of Scotland, and coming to America with her husband died in 1873, at about the age of seventy-two. Her father was James Marnoch, who Hved and died in Scotland. Mr. and Mrs, Morrison became the parents of four children, James, living in Hedrick; Robert, deceased; Mary, the deceased wife of Henry Dean; and John, the subject of this sketch.

John Morrison was a lad of seven years when the family first came to America, and on the second trip was but fourteen. He was civen a very fair education in his youth, and began work quite early for himself in the cotton factory at Johnston, Scotland. He engaged in this business for the first ten years of his business life in different places in the east, and came with the family at the time stated above to Keokuk county. He had learned the tinner's trade in the east, and continued to work at that trade during the first part of his life in the west at Pella, Iowa.

Mr. Morrison married on Christmas day of 1856, Martha Doolittle, who was a native of the Hoosier state, and whose family had removed to that state from the old Green Mountain state of Vermont. In 1857 her people settled on a farm in Benton township. After the marriage of our subject he settled on a farm in the township near his people and had just begun to get it into proper shape when the war cloud gathered over the nation. Putting aside all other considerations, for he felt that his duty was to his country, he enlisted in the army as a private soldier and enrolled in Company K, of the Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in which organization he served for three years. He was in some of the most severe battles of the middle west, was at the surrender of Fort Donaldson, the battle of Shiloh, and in many minor engagements. Just subsequent to the battle of Shiloh he sickened of the typhoid fever and passed a period in the hospital. In 1864 he received his honorable discharge on account of expiration of term of service, and returned to the bosom of his family. He did not remain long at home, however, for he received an appointment as foreman of a government tin shop at Nashville, Tennessee, and repairing to that place he passed the last year of the war in the service of the government.

Returning to Keokuk county, he followed farming until 1875, in the meantime serving as member of the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth general assembly, representing Keokuk county, the dates being 1868, 1870 and 1872. In the latter year he was appointed as a special envoy by President Grant to carry to the German and Austria-Hungarian empires a postal and trades mark treaty to each country. In 1874, after his return from the old country on this mission, Mr. Morrison was elected to the position of comity auditor of Keokuk county, and removed to the county seat, Sigourney. Here he remained until 1886. In 1882 he received the appointment of postmaster at Sigourney, and he served until President Cleveland removed him for offensive partisanship in September, 1885.

In 1886 he removed to Hedrick, then a new town and in partnership with J. T. Brooks and W. H. Young, he erected a flouring mill at that point, which he conducted for a period of some ten years, being also actively engaged in the buying of grain during that period. In 1896 he was elected to the legislature by the Republicans of his district, in which he served with great credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. In the following year he was appointed postmaster at Hedrick, a position which he still holds. It is unnecessary to say that Mr. Morrison is a staunch Republican, and an earnest supporter of the administration. He has been a Republican ever since the party was organized, and he is proud to state that his first vote was for John C. Fremont in 1856. Fraternally Mr. Morrison affiliates with the Masons and is a member of J. M. Hedrick Post of the Grand Army of the Repubhc, of which he is past commander.

Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are the parents of a family of seven children, Jessie, the wife of John Palmer; Mary, wife of Charles Wharton; Mina, wife of J. C. Burns; Jenny, wife of Professor Samuel Byers, Ames, Iowa; John, Jr.; Ruth, a graduate of Ames College; Josiah S., also a graduate of Ames, and at present engaged with the Chicago & Northwestern railroad as a civil engineer. The son mentioned above as John Morrison, Jr. was a well-educated boy, a graduate of West Point Military Academy. At the time of the breaking out of the Spanish-American war, he was assigned to duty with Troop A, Fourth United States Cavalry, in the Philippines, where he was killed January i8, 1901, while in command of Troop A.

Mr. Morrison and his family have always been prominently identified with the social life of the sterling little city of Hedrick, where they are held in the highest esteem by a large circle of friends. Mr. Morrison has a wide acquaintance in the county, and his fidelity to all duties in life's relations has gained him the regard of his fellow men to a high degree.