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CHARLES A. LONG is one of the pioneer settlers in his neighborhood. In 1866 he came to Fremont County, where he had settled in 1859, and bought a claim for which he paid two dollars and a half per acre. When he first came to his present place, his nearest neighbor on the north was J. F. M. Porter, who was four miles distant; there was no one on the east until coming to Miller Station, which is twelve miles away. The same year Charles L. Le Barron located on the same section and John Corbit soon followed. About three years after this time, Edmund Whiting began [page 692] to improve a place where the H. & S. machine shops now stand.
Mr. Long is a native of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, born May 7, 1834. His parents were John G. and Elizabeth (Smith) Long. His father was a native of Germany, born in Wurtemberg, Germany, January 14, 1812, coming to the United States about 1831. Elizabeth (Smith) Long was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, September 18, 1813. In 1846 they emigrated to Walworth County, Wisconsin, and in 1859 removed to Fremont County, Iowa.
John G. Long, the father of Charles Long, was murdered, and the history of the crime is one of the darkest found upon the criminal record of southwestern Iowa. His own wife confessed upon the witness stand her complicity in the work, and her accomplice, a young man named Finis Allen, was convicted and sentenced for life in the penitentiary; through the efforts of his friends he was released after serving a portion of the time.
Daniel Torrence, a neighbor of Long's, was aroused from his bed on the night of January 15, 1879, by Mrs. Long, who asked him to come to their house and look for her husband as he had gone out, and she was alarmed lest a horse of which she was much afraid had hurt him. Upon search Mr. Long's body was found in the stall of this particular animal with wounds on the head and face, supposed to have been inflicted by the horse. In due time he was buried, but friends not being satisfied the body was exhumed; a coroner's jury and expert physicians pronounced foul play. Allen, who had lived with the Longs until some time after the murder, disappeared, and a few months after was apprehended in Harrison County: he was tried at the ensuing term of court, when Mrs. Long confessed the details of the killing. We will not attempt a minute recital of the story; suffice it to say that the deed had been planned by herself and Allen, and after the old gentleman was murdered by Allen she helped to carry the body to the barn and placed it in the stall, so it would appear that death had been caused by the kicks of the horse.
The affair created a great sensation at the time, and has thrown a gloom over all the members of the family.
Charles A. Long was married March 19, 1865, to Miss Olive L. Perry, a native of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, born March 8, 1850. They have three children: Emma Adaline, born July 13, 1870; Charles B., February 21, 1874, and Rosina Winifred, October 13, 1875, all in Grant Township, Page County, Iowa. The parents are members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Politically Mr. Long affiliates with the Republican party.
A. S. VAN HEUSEN is a native of the State of New York, born in Montgomery County, April 15, 1841. His father, Charles Van Heusen, was a native of the same county and was a son of Wynent Van Heusen, also a native of New York. The Van Heusens were an old family of Hollandish descent who first settled on Long Island. Charles Van Heusen married Hannah Sanford, a native of New York, and a daughter of Hugh and Ruth Sanford. They reared a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters. Our subject was reared to the life of a farmer, but at the age of eighteen years he went to learn the blacksmith's trade, which he followed for sometime.
When this nation was in peril and so many industries were abandoned that men might go to the defense of the old flag, Mr. Van [page 693] Heusen left the forge and anvil, and enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Fifty third New York Volunteer Infantry, in October, 1862; he participated in several noted engagements and in many skirmishes; he was honorably discharged in October, 1865, as Sergeant, having enlisted as a private. After his return to New York he resided in Albany several months and then went to Troy, where he was engaged at work in a carriage factory; after fifteen months he went to Batavia, Illinois, where he remained until 1868. In that year he removed to Burlington, Iowa, but was there only a short time until he found employment on the railroad as fireman; after serving eighteen months in that capacity he took charge of the engine and ran on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy road until 1880.
During all this time he had a good opportunity to study the advantages of different sections of the country, and when he invested in land it was in Page County; he bought wild land of the railroad company and has improved it until he has one of the most desirable farms in the county; he has planted two acres of orchard, and six acres of grove, and he has erected good and substantial buildings for all farm purposes; he does a thriving business in general farming, and has been met with prosperity on every hand.
Mr. Van Heusen was married August 4, 1878, at Pacific City, Mills County, Iowa, to Miss Mary L. Evans, a daughter of M. L. and Eliza Jane (Templeton) Evans, natives of Virginia and Indiana respectively. Mrs. Van Heusen was born in Holt County, Missouri, and was six years of age when her parents removed to Mills County, Iowa. She was educated at Tabor College, and for three years previous to her marriage was a successful teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Van Heusen are the parents of three children: Mila S., Haven Evans, and Grovie Ruth. The mother is a worthy and consistent member of the Presbyterian Church of Essex. Mr. Van Heusen is a member of Foote Post, No. 89, G. A. R., of California, where they went in 1886 for the health of the family, and returned to Essex in 1887, where they have since resided. They were at Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County. Both husband and wife are people of a high type of character and are numbered among the leading citizens of the county.
LEWIS E. WOLCOTT, one of the successfui farmers of Page County, was born in Louisa County, Iowa, August 10, 1842, and is a son of Moses H. and Mary (Burney) Wolcott, natives of Connecticut and Pennsylvania respectively. His grandfather was Daniel Russel, and great-grand father Josiah. A relative named Oliver Wolcott, was in President Washington's cabinet. After his marriage Moses H. Wolcott settled in Philadelphia, where he worked at his trade, that of a carpenter and joiner. In 1838 or 1839 he removed to Burlington,
Iowa, and at the end of one year he went to Columbus City, Iowa, where he made his home for several years; he then bought a farm near that place and passed the remainder of his days there. He and his wife had five children who lived to maturity: Elizabeth, William B., Lewis E., Chester O. and Mary H. He was killed by lightning in the harvest field when he was forty-two years of age.
Some members of the Wolcatt family were in the colony that came from Connecticut and settled in the Western Reserve in Ohio, and one of the ancestors was in the war of the Revolution.
Lewis E. Wolcott was a faithful soldier in the war of the Rebellion. He enlisted [page 694] August 2, 1862, in Company F, Twenty-fifth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was under General Sherman at Vicksburg and was at the surrender; he participated in the battle of Vicksburg from the first attack, the siege, battle and surrender of Arkansas Post, and battle of Black River, Mississippi, and many skirmishes. He was taken ill from continued exposure and was confined to the hospital at Memphis for three months; he was then transferred to the Invalid Corps and did good service in Washington, District of Columbia, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and throughout the remainder of those dark days of conflict. He was honorably discharged at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, July 5, 1865, and returned to his home in Columbus City, Iowa. After the declaration of peace Mr. Wolcott was united in marriage to Amoret A. Hight, who died May 3, 1880. He was married a second time, March 15, 1882, to Anna E. Turner, a daughter of J. B. Turner; the mother's maiden name was Matilda J. Adams. To Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott have been born two children: Ralph Howard and Mary Jessie. The parents are both worthy and consistent members of the United Presbyterian Church.
Politically Mr. Wolcott is identified with the Republican party and is a stanch adherent to its principles. He is a self-made man, and as a citizen and a soldier is worthy of the regard and esteem of all loyal people. Since 1876 he has been a resident of Page County; he owns eighty acres of land, which is under good cultivation.
REV. JAMES M. STOCKTON was born in the Cumberland Mountains, East Tennessee, July 25,1807. He acquired a good knowledge of the ordinary English branches in the pioneer schools and by diligent study at home. In his sixteenth year he was converted and joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. When young Stockton was seventeen or eighteen years of age he was licensed to preach by his presbytery, and for five or six years was engaged in itinerant work in his native State. At the age of twenty-five years he removed with his father's family to Morgan County, Illinois. James M. taught school in Morgan County for more than a year, and during that time he met Susan E. Kirkpatrick, to whom he was married in the summer of 1832. He afterward settled near Quincy, Illinois; there he and his father and brothers opened up a farm, and on the Sabbath-day he preached the Gospel without other compensation than the consciousness of a duty faithfully performed. Some time about 1840 this farm was sold, and two quarter sections were bought in Hancock County, about six miles from Warsaw.
In the spring of 1844 Mr. Stockton removed with his family, now numbering seven children, six sons and one daughter, to Henderson County, Illinois, and engaged in school-teaching and preaching two years; at the expiration of this period of time he returned to Hancock County and purchased a tarm five miles south of the then noted Nauvoo, the Illinois home of the Mormons; there he resided until the spring of 1852.
When the excitement of the California gold fever arose, Mr. Stockton sold his land and in the spring of the year left Illinois with his family, bound for the far-off Pacific coast; his younger brother and his family accompanied him, and they traveled in wagons drawn by ox teams. The Missouri River was crossed at St. Joe, Missouri, and when they were west of this point about ten days' travel, the cholera broke out in the camp, a son, a daughter and a sister-in-law being carried away by the [page 695] dread disease. Mr. Stockton was at one time near death's door, and when he recovered sufficiently to continue the journey it was too late in the season. Both families returned to Missouri and remained there until April, 1853, when Mr. Stockton and his family started to hunt a home in western Iowa; he bought an improved claim in the edge of Taylor County, where he lived for many years. In 1865 he sold this farm and purchased a smaller one near the present site of New Market, where he passed the remainder of his days.
Mr. and Mrs. Stockton reared a large family: nine sons and four daughters have been born to them; three sons and a daughter died in infancy, and one son, W. A. Stockton, who was at one time a teacher in the Clarinda public schools, died at the old home in Taylor County in 1859.
Mr. Stockton's life, from the time he was licensed to preach in his boyhood to the day of his death, was one of uniform usefulness and diligence; he superintended the cultivation of his farm and preached on the Sabbath, he was a close student, not a reader of many books, but a thorough master of those to which he gave his attention. He was beloved and respected both by old and young, and when the Master called him home he laid down life's burdens and responsibilities without a fear of the future, conscious that his work had been well done. His body now lies by that of his sainted wife, within the borders of Page County, the scene of so many years of his labors.
MRS. MARY E. DAVIS, relict of the late William Davis, is one of the oldest settlers of Page County, and a woman whose many virtues and varied
talents make it a pleasure to enter this biographical record upon the pages of history which shall tell to coming generations the character and mold of the men and women who made this country what it is today. Mrs. Davis came with her husband from Indiana to Iowa, in 1859, and settled in Fremont Township, where Mr. Davis had a brother, Benjamin Davis, residing. (See sketch of Benjamin Davis for early history of the Davis family.) The country was then little more than a wilderness, and those sturdy souls who braved the dangers and privations of pioneer life have witnessed the almost unparalleled growth and development of one of the finest sections of the West.
William Davis was born in Maryland in 1836, and is a son of James and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Davis, of Welsh and German ancestry respectively. They reared a family of ten children: Mary, Susan, Catherine, Nancy, Elizabeth, James, John M., Benjamin, William and Robert. The father removed to Ohio, in a very early day, and afterward settled in Jay County, Indiana, on a farm, where he spent the remainder of his life. He died at the age of fifty five years. William Davis, his youngest son, came to Indiana when a mere lad. He received the education afforded by the pioneer schools and passed his youth after the manner of the sons of early settlers.
September 5, 1857, he was united in the holy bonds of marriage to Miss Mary E. Woten, daughter of John and Mary (Boyles) Woten. Mr. Woten was a farmer by occupation, and a native of the State of Ohio; he was the father of eleven children: George, Jane, Mary E., Hugh, Celia, Elizabeth, Pamela, Fidelia, John L., William J. and Conzada. In 1870 he came with his family to Page County, Iowa, intending to remain permanently if he liked the country. At [page 696] the end of one year he started back to Indiana for the purpose of selling his farm there and arranging his affairs to make his home in Iowa. He had proceeded as far as Chicago, and the last that was seen of him, he was at the railroad station, surrounded by hack-men and hotel runners. As he was a quiet, unassuming man, unaccustomed to the ways of a large city, his family believe him to have been robbed and then murdered. He was over sixty years of age and was in good circumstances. His loss is much harder to bear because of the suspense and anxiety attending his mysterious disappearance.
Mr. and Mrs. Davis lived in Fremont Township, a few years after coming to Iowa, and then bought their farm near Essex on which the family still reside. There Mr. Davis died in 1880, at the age of forty-six years. He was a man possessing all the Christian virtues, to which were added unexcelled business qualifications. He was a devoted husband, loyal and true to her in whom he found all that the heart could desire, and in whom he confided his every thought. As a father he was ever desirous of securing means whereby he might give his children the advantages which as a rule had been denied to pioneers. He was a man of intrepid and elevated character, and in his early life on the western prairie met with unshrinking firmness the most trying hardships. In the community he came to be regarded as one of nature's noblemen, and as long as the memory of William Davis exists there will exist the memory of a true, Christian gentleman, greater praise than which can not be given.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, all of whom lived to maturity: Elnora, Mary E., Huldah D., John M., Benjamin F. and Otis E.; James I., born August 26, 1862, died November 2, 1863. Mrs. Davis has remained on the farm since her husband's death, and has managed her affairs with sagacity and excellent judgment. She has added to the original purchase until she own 3,380 acres, well improved and free from incumbrance. She is practical in her ideas and has superior executive ability. She is educating her family and giving to them those opportunities it would have been the delight of their father to see them enjoy. In the spring of 1890 she sold at one time $2,200 worth of live-stock, a fair index of the scale on which she transacts business. Her success is due to wise management, as she is obliged to hire the greater portion of the work done. She is deserving of unbounded credit for what she has accomplished in life, and adds another noble example to the long and constantly increasing roll or the notable women of our country whose free institutions and liberal Government are rapidly develop ing characteristic womanhood.
Miss Elnora Davis married Solon Bacon, and they have three children: Ora, Guy and Ona; they reside in Johnson County, Nebraska. Miss Mary is the wife of Royal Bacon, also a farmer of Johnson County, Nebraska, and they are the parents of four children: Elda, Clyde, Clay and Elsie. Miss Huldah married Albert Fellows, a farmer in Montgomery County, Iowa. John is attending college at Shenandoah, and will graduate the coming fall (1890). Benjamin and Otis are pupils in the school at Essex. The two older daughters, Elnora and Mary, have been teachers in Page County, and made a success of the profession.
The history of this admirable family adds another chapter to the record of possibilities in this county. Industry, perseverance, good habits, and ability,—what will they not accomplish? And no government in the world can present such a prosperous and happy [page 697] people as this free land of America, no section of which surpasses the "Great West."
JACOB L. FISHELL, one of the honorable and upright citizens of Buchanan Township, is of German descent. His grandfather was a native of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, and his father, Michael Fishell, was also a native of Pennsylvania and passed all his days in the old " Keystone" State. He married Jane Konkle, a daughter of Michael Konkle, and to them were born seven children: John, William, Jacob L., Daniel, Catherine, Caroline and Grant. The father was a member of the Lutheran Church, and in his political opinion he adhered to the principles of the Republican party. By perseverance and industry he accumulated a competency.
Jacob L. Fishell, son of Michael and subject of this biographical sketch, was born June 12, 1853, in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, and was early trained in all the details of agriculture; he received his education in the common schools. At the age of twenty-three years he came West as far as Woodhull, Illinois, and worked on a farm in that neighborhood. October 15, 1879, at Ontario, Knox County, Illinois, he married Miss Susan C. Fortwangler, and they are the parents of four children: Maggie H., Norman M., May M. and Alfred L. In 1882 the family emigrated to Iowa and located on their present farm in Page County. In political opinions Mr. Fishell is Republican. He is an energetic worker, and his efforts in any direction are certain to be crowned with success. Mrs. Fishell was born in Warren County, Illinois, January 24, 1862, a daughter of Godfrey and Mary A. Fortwangler. Her father was born in Switzerland, July 26, 1835, and came to
America with his mother when he was but two years old, settling in Ohio; and when a young man he removed to Indiana and thence to Illinois. September 4, 1856, he married Mary A. Medhnrst, in Floyd Township, Warren County, Illinois; she was born in Geneva, Ontario County, New York, November 17, 1840. Mr. and Mrs. Fishell are the parents of six children: Susan C, Charles G., Dollie J., Huldah M., Jessie S. and Ralph S.
J. W. VINACKE, the senior member of the firm of Vinacke & Son, dealers in hardware, at Blanchard, Iowa, has been in the trade since October, 1880, when the business was established. The firm carries on a large, well selected stock of general hardware, and does an annual business of $8,000. The building occupied is 22x80 feet, and there is a large tin-shop and ware-room in connection. The second floor is used by the Odd Fellows, Freemasons and the United Workmen as a lodge room.
Mr. Vinacke was born in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1830, His father, John Vinacke, was a native of Pennsylvania, and married Margaret Cochran. Simon Vinacke, the father of John, was a native of Holland, but was reared and married in France. The mother of our subject died when he was but five years old, and the father lived to be seventy-six years of age. In 1832 J. W. Vinacke moved with his parents to Columbiana County, Ohio, and was engaged at different points in various occupations until 1845. He then went to La Porte, Indiana, and worked with L. D. Webber the following spring; then he went to Canton, Ohio, and served three years as an apprentice to the tinsmith business. In the year 1852 he started in business at Winches-[page 698]ter, Columbiana County, same State, where he continued eighteen months, then moved to Salineville. He was married Jane 28,1856, to Miss Avis N. Hale, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Thomas Hale. In the tail of 1858 he moved to Hanover, Ohio, where he engaged in business until the spring of 1862, when he moved to Wellsville, Ohio. In 1867 he came to Iowa and settled in Council Bluff's, where he remained live years; he then obtained a position on the Northern Pacific Railroad, but after six months he returned to Council Bluffs. The following spring he went to Woodbine, Iowa, where he was in business until 1880, when he came to Blanchard and established the hardware business, as before stated.
During the civil war he was rejected on account of disability, but he served as Second Lieutenant in a militia company in Columbiana County, Ohio, and as Commissary at Camp Wayne, where 6,500 rations were issued daily, at the volunteer and militia officers' camp, before the State furnished the 100-day men to the Government.
Mr. and Mrs. Vinacke are the parents of seven children: Clara, wife of W. F. Gray; Ella, wife of J. C. Seyster; Flora, wife of F. A. Burlingame; Anna, wife of Charles Duffield; W. O., the junior member of the firm of J. W. Vinacke & Son; H. C. and John Wesley; three children have died in infancy.
Politically Mr. Vinacke stands with the Republican party, though born a Democrat and he first voted for Franklin Pierce; he voted for John C. Fremont. Since living at Blanchard he has held numerous local offices, in which he has given entire satisfaction. He and his wife are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has served as class-leader and steward. He organized the present church, and is president of the board of trustees. In all church work he has been active and earnest; he has superintended the Sabbath-school work very successfully, and has done valuable work in the cause of temperance. He may well be styled a self-made man, having had in the beginning of his business career no capital outside of his own will to succeed, and a pair of willing hands. He has worked his way through many obstacles, and has reared a family, which would adorn any community. He has accumulated a competency and stands well among the business men of the county. In the days of the oil excitement in Pennsylvania he took an active part in the organization of companies for the purpose of prospecting, and made a success in the business of option sales.
WILLIAM M. HARDEE. — Among our oldest and most respectable pioneers is William M. Hardee, who settled in Buchanan Township, Page County, March 28, 1842. He was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky, in 1815. His father, John Hardee, was born in Dinwiddie County, Yirginia, and was of sturdy Scotch-Irish stock. He served six years and nine months in the war of the Revolution, and was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. He married Lucinda Sears, and to them were born ten children. The family removed to Kentucky and thence to Scioto County, Ohio, during the early part of this century. They afterward went to Rush County, Indiana, and the father died in Montgomery County, Indiana, in 1837, at the age of eighty-six years. He was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a strong Jackson Democrat. He was an indus-[page 699]trious, upright man, and had the respect of all who knew him.
William M., the subject of this sketch, went with his father when a child to Ohio, and grew to the years of manhood in Rush County, Indiana. At the age of twenty-one years. August 11, 1836, he was married to Elizabeth Farley, who was born in Henry County, Kentucky, July 31, 1815. Nine children were born of this union: Joseph married Mary J. Stone; Theresa A. married F. O. Fouley; Oliver married Eliza Bred-waiter; Rebecca married Vincent W. Pointer; Doniphan married Delia Collins; Sylvester married Hattie Whittington; Elizabeth married Andrew McFarlan; Ezra married Jennie Adams, and Jane. Mr. and Mrs. Hardee lived the first six years of their married life in Indiana. In 1841 they removed to Missouri, and the next year they came to their present home in Buchanan Township, where they own 330 acres. Mr. Hardee was the first settler after Henry and Wesley Farrens, who had located in the township the preceding spring. The young couple went to work to build them a log house and prepare the ground for a crop. Mr. Hardee broke thirty acres the first year with an ox team and a wooden mould-board plow, which he made himself, and with this plow he broke the larger part of his neighbors' land the next few years. The country was full of game, a few elk, and wolves which would frequently catch the poultry. A part of the tribe of Pottawattamie Indians often camped near the place, and would come to the house to purchase supplies of corn and other things. Mr. Hardee was paid $50 bounty in one year for wolf scalps by Mr. Zeke Smith, sheriff of Andrew County, Missouri, $1 being paid for each scalp. Being a famous hunter he kept his family supplied with venison.
Our worthy subject was Captain of the old militia, and he also held the office of township treasurer for many years. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church. In political opinion he is a stanch Democrat. General Hardee, the famous military tactician and author of " Hardee's Tactics," was a full cousin of William M. Hardee.
Mr. and Mrs. Hardee are now old and highly respected residents of a populous and wealthy county, which they have seen grow up out of the wild, raw prairie. They have brought up a large family, who are a credit to their parents and to the county in which they were reared.
ENGELBERT FALLER, one of America's loyal adopted citizens, was born in Baden, Germany, October 22, 1828. His father, Joseph Faller, was a farmer by occupation, owning his own land in Germany. He married Anna Dorer, and to them were born one son, Engelbert. The mother died, and Mr. Faller was twice married afterward. He was the father of four other children, all of whom remained in their native land except Richard, a resident of this township. Engelbert was desirous of trying his fortune in a new country, and he accordingly emigrated to America in 1849; he settled in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, where he worked by the month in a saw-mill. In 1852 he was caught in the tide of western emigration, and landed in Iowa, securing employment in a steam saw-mill in Iowa City; he was afterward engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1855 Mr. Engelbert was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Burkley, daughter of Frank and Mary A. (Helming) Burkley. Mr. Burkley was born in Germany; after landing in this country in 1853, he located at Cincinnati, Ohio, and at the end of one year he removed [page 700] to Iowa City, Iowa. He soon settled on a farm in Johnson Connty. He reared a family of four children: Frank, William, Andy and Mary A. He died in Iowa City at the age of seventy-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Faller have had born to them eight children, who are living: Frank, Josephine, George, Lew S., Mary A., Engelbert, John and Barbara. After their marriage they settled in Johnson County, Iowa, where they resided until 1874; in that year they removed to Page County and located on their present farm, which consists of 320 acres; it is fine farming land and is well improved. They are people who have always been industrious, and have carefully saved their means until they have a comfortable home and sufficient income for future use. Mr. Faller was a soldier in the German army, and participated in three battles which were fought on the river Rhine. Frank Faller married Josephine Thomas, of Idaho, and to them have been born two sons; Lew S. married Gertrude Breakbill, of Nebraska; Lew is located on his farm in Otoe County, Nebraska, and to them has been born one son. The remaining members of the family reside in Pierce Township, except Barbara, who received her education at Western Normal College, Shenandoah, Iowa, and Tabor College, Iowa, and is teaching in Fremont County. She is well fitted for her calling, and has made a success of her undertaking. Each member of the Faller family is of sterling worth and highly respected in the community.
J.W. GREEN, deceased, was one of Douglas Township's highly esteemed agriculturists, coming to Page County, Iowa, in August, 1875. He was born in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, September 12, 1845, a son of Job Green, a native of Rhode Island, who was reared in Pennsylvania. His mother's maiden name was Dolittle, and she was a native of Connecticut. The father of Job Green was John Green, of Irish descent; he was a soldier in the war of 1812. Job Green and wife reared three sons, James, John and Charles. The parents died in Pennsylvania, the father in September, 1865, aged forty-seven years, and the mother September 25, 1889; Job Green was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and had served as class-leader and steward. In politics he was allied with the Republican party.
J. W., the subject of this notice, was reared and educated in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. In August, 1864, he responded to Lincoln's call for men to assist in the defense of this country, enlisting in Company C, Two Hundred and Third Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of that terrible conflict, receiving his discharge July 5, 1865. January 1,1866, he united in marriage with Miss Harriet Donson, a native of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania and a daughter of Edward and Sally (Dickson) Donson. Her father was born in Newcastle, England, and he and his wife reared eleven children. They remained on the old homestead until death overtook them; the father was aged eighty-three years, and the mother seventy years. They were good and true, old-fashioned Methodists, living and dying by that faith. The father was class-leader for more than thirty years.
In 1868 Mr. Green removed to Lyon County, Kansas, and remained there seven years engaged in farming and stock-raising. In 1875 he came to Page County, Iowa, and lived for one year in Valley Township. He then bought the farm in Douglas Township, which he owned till his death, and which is [page 701] well improved with fine buildings. The residence was erected at a cost of $1,400, and the barn is worth $1,000. A good grove and bearing orchard add both beauty and value to the place.
Mr. and Mrs. Green had two children: Flora Belle and Edward J. G. Politically Mr. Green was identified with the Republican party. He belonged to Lundy Post, No. 146, G. A. R., at Villisca, and was an acceptable member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Among the local offices he served as constable and as a member of the school board, discharging his duties faithfully and well. He died May 9, 1890, most highly respected by the community and deeply mourned by a large circle of friends.
F.E. BRYANT, one of the early, well-known settlers of Colfax Township, traces his ancestry directly to two of the strongest foreign nations, Great Britain and Germany. His father, Thomas Bryant, was a native of Cornwall, England, and his mother, whose maiden name was Hannah Hines, was born in Saxony, Germany. They were the parents of fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters. After emigrating to America they located in Pennsylvania where the father died in 1856, the mother in 1886, at the age of eighty-three years.
Franklin E. Bryant was born in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, September 4, 1842, and was reared to the life of a farmer. He received his education in the common schools of Wayne County. Desiring to secure a home for himself, and believing that the opportunities were much better for young men in the West, he emigrated to Linn County, Iowa, at the age of twenty-eight years in 1871. After a few months he came to Page County and settled near Blanchard; the country was comparatively new and wild, and where the villiage of Blanchard now stands, Mr. Bryant owned a stock ranch. But the prairie has since been subdued by the strong arm of the pioneer and civilization has long since taken up her abode. Mr. Bryant did not purchase his present home until 1884; he has erected good buildings and has planted an orchard, and has made a very comfortable and attractive home.
February 26,1880, Mr. Bryant was united in marriage to Miss Emma Gillihan, a daughter of Levi Gillihan, a well-known early settler of Colfax Township. Of this union one child has been born, Edwin C. The parents are worthy and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Coin, and are numbered with the progressive citizens of the county. Politically Mr. Bryant adheres to the principles of the Democratic party.
W. F. M. GIBSON has been identified with the history of Page County
since 1868. He was born at Greencastle, Putnam County, Indiana, November 12, 1839, and is a son of James and Emily (Moss) Gibson, who were prominent in the early settlement of the county of Page. When our subject was fifteen years old his parents removed to Appanoose County, Iowa, and there the family resided four years; they then went to Missouri and settled in Gentry County, where they made their home four years. Young Gibson was the third of a family of ten children; he was reared to the life of a farmer and was educated in the common schools of Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. He was united in marriage November 17, 1858, to Minerva Rosetta Smith, a native of Holt County, Missouri. She was born [page 702] April 8, 1843, and is a daughter of Freeman and Mary Ann (Wolfe) Smith.
In 1859 Mr. Gibson returned to Appanoose County, Iowa, but after a time he went back to Missouri, settling in Worth County, where he remained until 1868; in that year he came to Page County and located on his present farm; it consists of eighty acres of rich land, and by his own untiring efforts he has established a most desirable home; he has planted shade and fruit trees, and has erected substantial buildings. There are eleven children in the Gibson family: Marilla J., wife of John Fields; C. Marion, Emily, wife of Sam Glick, of Marshall County, Kansas; James R., Edgar S., Anna Jane, Delias W., Lillian Alice, William Ellis, Maggie I. and Ina Ethel.
Politically Mr. Gibson affiliates with the Republican party. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Blanchard. He is yet in the prime of life and has made a career in life of which his family may well be proud.
NICHOLAS SNODDERLY was born in Campbell County, Tennessee, in 1806, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Gibbs) Snodderly, natives of South and North Carolina respectively. In October, 1834, he was united in the holy bonds of marriage, in Campbell County, Tennessee, to Miss Mahala Hill, a daughter of Matthew and Polly (Moore) Hill, who were born in the Carolinas. Mahala was born May 13, 1815. In 1841 Mr. Snodderly emigrated to Platte County, Missouri, and resided there until 1853; in that year he came to Page County and settled on his present farm. To those of us who view Page County for the first time in its present high state of cultivation, it is impossible to realize the privations and hardships endured by those hardy souls who took up the burden of settlement nearly half a century ago.
Mr. Snodderly built for his first residence in Page County a rude log cabin which has since been replaced by a more imposing structure. His buildings, which are neat and substantial, are surrounded by a beautiful grove of oaks and other woods, and thrift and prosperity are visible on every hand. The farm consists of 185 acres, a good portion of which is timber land. It is watered by the Tarkio creek.
Mr. and Mrs. Snodderly are the parents of ten children who have lived to maturity: John, Elizabeth, Henry, William, Parlinda, wife of David Beasley; Mary, wife of J. B. Preston; Bishop, Samuel, Ellen, and Ann, wife of Ed Copeland; three children died in infancy. Politically our subject affiliates with the Democratic party. Although he is a man of eighty-five years he is active, and well preserved. He has witnessed the growth and development of Page County, and has assisted in the advance of all good movements. It is, indeed, an honor to have been " a first settler."
THOMAS DAVISON is from one of the oldest and best known families in Page County. His grandfather, Samuel D. Davison, was born in Kentucky, where he was married and reared a family. His first wife, by whom he had ten children, died there. The names of only nine are remembered by the grandchildren: Cyrus, Caleb, Robert, Daniel, Isaac, Wayne, Edward, Mary and John. In middle life the father removed to the State of Missouri; he married, in Kentucky, Mary Wilson, and by her had ten children, making him the father of twenty [page 703] children. The children of the second wife were named Gould, Sarah, Lemuel, Henry, Maria, Elizabeth, Margaret, Pleasant, Armina and Matilda. Mr. Davison lived in Andrew County, Missouri, until about 1850, when he came to Page County, Iowa, and settled on a farm in Buchanan Township: there he spent the remainder of his days, dying at the age of seventy three years. He had been very successful in business and owned, at the time of his death, 300 acres of land. He was a noted huntsman in his day.
Wayne Davison, son of Samuel D. Davison, and father of Thomas, the subject of this notice, was born in Kentucky. He married Dorcas Combs, and they were the parents of six children: Samuel, Elizabeth, William, John, Jerry, and Wayne. The father settled on a farm in Kentucky, but afterward removed to Missouri and located in Andrew County, where he resided until 1850. He then came to Page County, Iowa, and made his home in Buchanan Township. His wife died in Missouri, and he married Nancy Brown, a daughter of Thomas and Sarah Brown. Twelve children were born of this union: Thomas, Henry C, James R., Zachariah, Sarah, Jane, Susan, George, Robert, Amanda, Silas and Martha. Mr. Davison was an industrious, hard-working man, and at the time of his death was the owner of 320 acres of good land. He was one of the pioneers of the county. His widow still survives and is a member of the Christian Church.
Thomas Davison was born in Andrew County, Missouri, January 13, 1845. He was but five years of age when his father removed to Page County, Iowa, which was then a wilderness. He well remembers the journey, made with oxen and horses; they brought with them sheep and cattle and the full equipment of frontier settlers. Yonng Thomas grew to manhood amid the scenes of the wild west, and was early inured to farm labor and the hardships of pioneer life. The schools were poor at best, and the school houses of the primitive style.
In 1865 Mr. Davison was married to Miss Harriet Fine (see sketch of John M. Fine) and they have had born to them four children: Frank, Ora, Elva and Nellie. After his marriage Mr. Davison settled on a farm in Taylor County, Iowa, where he lived a number of years; he then removed to his present homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Davison are members of the Free Methodist Church, and they with their children constitute one of the leading families in the community. They are from good, old pioneer stock, and are honorable, upright citizens.
[page 704]
JOHN BLOOM, one of the large land owners of Page County, has resided here since 1875. He is a native of Germany, born in Wurtemberg, March 16, 1840, and a son of George and Susan (Hummel) Bloom, also natives of the " Fatherland." When John was a lad of thirteen years his parents determined to emigrate to America. After landing on our free, hospitable shores they at once proceeded to Mercer County, Illinois, and there our worthy subject grew to manhood. He was educated in the occupation of farming, and attended the common schools of the county.
When the great struggle for the perpetuation of this nation began he enlisted in the defense of his adopted country, entering Company E, First Illinois Light Artillery. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, and was with General Sherman's army at Jackson, Mississippi, Pontiac, Jefferson City, and Nashville, Tennessee. He made an honorable record and was discharged at Nashville, Tennessee, February 16, 1865. He escaped being wounded but received permanent injury to his hearing. After the declaration of peace he returned to Mercer County, Illinois. In 1875 he came to Page County, Iowa, and purchased eighty acres of land in Morton Township. Later, as his means increased he was enabled to make an additional purchase of 160 acres, and he has brought this to an advanced state of cultivation. In 1889 he bought another farm of Peter Neis, which was one of the first tracts of land improved in the township; it contains 320 acres, and is well improved in every particular; there is a grove which serves not only as a wind-break during the winter but adds much beauty to the appearance of the place; ample sheds and barns furnish protection to the live-stock, and all the surroundings indicate the thoroughgoing traits of the owner.
In 1866, April 2, Mr. Bloom was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Klotz, a native of Mercer County, Illinois, and a daughter of Jacob and Josephine (Versell) Klotz. Eleven children have been born of this union: Charles F., Frank J., George P., Delia S., Ed. J., Lewis H., Minnie Maud, Bert B., Carrie L., Lester C. and Efiie Fern. Mrs. Bloom was reared to the faith of the Evangelical Church, while her husband was brought up in the Lutheran Church. Politically our subject is identified with the Demo-[page 705]
cratie party. He is an honored member of the G. A. R., Burnside Post, No. 56, at Shenandoah.
THOMAS GILLESPIE, one of the leading farmers of Tarkio Township, has been a resident of Page County for the past twenty years. He was born in the north of Ireland, in county Monaghan, in 1830, and is a son of Isaac and Jane (Boyd) Gillespie. They were the parents of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, and, desiring to give them better opportunities than were afforded in their native land, they emigrated to the United States, in 1849. They sailed first to Liverpool, England, and thence to New Orleans, Louisiana, and up the Mississippi River to Savanna, Illinois. The father died at the age of seventy years, and the mother passed away at the age of sixty-five years.
Thomas Gillespie was reared to the life of a farmer, and in his youth passed through all the experiences common to the lot of a farmer boy. He was married in Carroll County, Illinois, December 6, 1855, to Miss Maria Donaldson. She was born in Orange County, New York, December 7,1834, and is a daughter of John and Nancy (Beaty) Donaldson, natives of county Monaghan, Ireland. In 1836 her family removed to the State of Indiana, and in 1844 to Carroll County, Illinois, where they were among the earliest settlers. The father lived to be sixty years of age, and the mother survived until eighty-seven vears old.
Mr. Gillespie lived in Illinois engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1870, when he came to Page County and bought eighty acres of wild land; he was one of the first settlers in the neighborhood, and had to undergo many of the trials and hardships of pioneer life. As his means increased he invested in land until he now has 160 acres in an advanced state of cultivation; the place is well adapted to raising live-stock, being watered by living streams. He has built a comfortable house and necessary buildings for stock and grain; a grove and orchard add to the value and beauty of the place, and all the surroundings indicate thrift and prosperity.
Mr. and Mrs. Gillespie are the parents of ten children: Jane, wife of Charles Turner; John, attorney at Law, now Cierk of the County Court, at Colorado Springs, Colorado; Samuel, Anna, Sadie, Charles, Mary, Ella, Grace and Robert. The parents were reared in the Presbyterian faith, and have ever striven to elevate the morals of the community.
Mr. Gillespie is identified with the Republican party, and is a stanch supporter of its principles.
WILLIAM A. McFERRIN is one of the leading citizens of Buchanan Township, and is of English and Irish descent. His grandfather, Samuel A. McFerrin, came from England and settled in Knox County, Tennessee, at an early day. He was married there and brought up a large family of children. He was a farmer and school-teacher, and lived to the advanced age of eighty-two years. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he served as steward. His son, James H. McFerrin, was born in Knox County, Tennessee. He married Sarah Clapp, the daughter of George Clapp, and seven children were born of this union: Elizabeth, Samuel, Nancy, William A., Henry, Parley E. and Adeline. In 1847 the family removed to DuBois County, Indiana, and settled on a [page 706] farm, where the father spent the remainder of his days. In politics he was a Republican. He and his wife mere both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a very pious man and served as class-leader for more than thirty years.
William A. McFerrin, son of James H. McFerrin, was born in Tennessee in 1835, and removed to Indiana with his father at the age of thirteen years. He became a farmer, and in 1855 was united in marriage to Miss Caroline M. Inman, daughter of Abednego White and Mahala A. (Reeder) Inman. To them were born nine children: Caroline M., William R., Alfred T., Willis T., Enoch E., Polly A., Morton N., Argyle, and Benjamin. Mrs. MeFerrin's father was of Irish descent; his grandparents emigrated from Ireland and settled in Alabama, where Abednego was born; he finally settled in DuBois County, Indiana, and twenty years before his death he located in Morton County, Iudiana. His wife was a native of Virginia.
Mr. and Mrs. McFerriu are the parents of seven children: Alfred T. died at the age of twelve years; Willis died when only seven years old; James A., Alvin A., Marion R., and Elvin E. After Mr. McFerrin was married he settled on a farm in DuBois County, Indiaua. In 1862 he obeyed the call of Abraham Lincoln for more troops and enlisted August 16, in Company D, Eightieth Indiana "Volunteer Infantry, as a private. He left his wife and three small children and went bravely forth to assist in the defense of his country. He was in the battles of Perryville, Kentucky, Resaca, Peach-tree Creek, and in continuous battles and skirmishes from Chattanooga to Atlanta, a period of thirty days. He received no wounds, but had a bullet hole in his blouse just above the hip. He was taken with typhoid fever the day that General McPherson was killed, and lay in the hospital at Knoxville, Tennessee, for three months. After his recovery he was again in the field in time to take a part in the battle of Nashville, Tennessee. He was mustered out at Raleigh, North Carolina, receiving an honorable discharge as Sergeant, June 22, 1865. He then returned to his home and engaged in farming.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McFerrin are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having joined in their younger days and remained faithful to their vows. Mr. McFerrin, like his father and grandfather before him, has served as a class-leader for many years. He and his wife have brought up their children in the same faith, endeavoring to instill into their minds the truths of Christianity and to lead them into paths of virtue and right.
In 1877 Mr. McFerrin removed with his family to Page County and settled in Buchanan lownship, two and one-half miles northeast of Morseman. In 1882 he located on his present farm of 178 acres of fine land, which is well improved. He is a Republican and takes an active part in all important enterprises of his community. He deservedly ranks high in the community not only as a worthy and honorable citizen, but as a brave soldier who gallantly served his country in her time of peril.
JAMES L. BARRETT, physician and surgeon at Clarinda, Iowa, is perhaps the most widely and favorably known gentleman now living in Page County. He was the first physician to practice medicine in this section; he came in 1855 when the place contained but a few houses, and has made it his home ever since. He is one of those rare men who have knowledge, skill, liberal ideas, and withal a heart as tender and [page 707] full of genuine sympathy and Christian kindness as a man can possibly have.
He was born in Campbell County, Kentucky, January 18, 1818. He is the oldest son and third child of a family of eight children. His father, Jonathan B. Barrett, was a native of Maryland. His grandfather, Colonel Lemuel Barrett, came from Ireland previous to 1765, and participated in those great national conflicts known as the Revolutionary war and the French and Indian war. He was Colonel of a New Jersey regiment during the former war and after that was ended settled at Fairfax, Virginia.
When Jonathan B. Barrett was a child his family removed to Kentucky and settled in Harrison County, where they were among the early pioneers. His father spent the remainder of his days in Kentucky, dying at the extreme old age of 100 years. The mother of our esteemed subject, Dr. Barrett, was
----------- Pendleton, a native of Virginia
and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. When James L. was but six months of age his parents removed to Indiana, coming down the Ohio River in a keel-boat and finally settling in Jennings County, being the first white family to invade the forest wilds of that section. The father entered a half section of Government land, which he improved and made into a beautiful frontier home. He was a man of prominence, and was elected the first judge of the judicial district. In 1824 the Barrett family removed to Madison, Indiana, and afterward the parents went to Indianapolis, where they passed the remainder of their days. The mother died in August, 1843, at the age of fifty-two years; the father died ten years later, aged sixty-three years.
It will be noticed that the youth of Dr. Barrett was spent in a pioneer land amidst the scenes of a forest wilderness. His early education was obtained at Madison, Indiana, and at --------- and Hanover colleges.
After leaving college he walked through the mud ninety miles to work in a printing office as a type-setter. In 1838 he began the study of medicine under the tutorship of Richmond, Meiers & Richmond, with whom he remained four years; he taught school occasionally in order to raise funds to prosecute his studies. He began his practice at Indianapolis, and afterward went to Fishersburg and then to Pendleton. He next located in the big woods, where Kokomo now stands; he built the first log house at that point, and at the end of two years he removed twelve miles distant and took up a claim. He assisted in the laying out of Greentown, Indiana, and then went South and practiced in various places until 1851, when he came to Iowa and located at Burlington; from Burlington he moved to Missouri. He returned to Indiana and again came to Iowa in 1855, locating at Clarinda, Page County. He was the first to engage in his profession at that point, and soon had a very large practice, extending throughout a wide range of territory in Page and adjoining counties. He was in constant practice until 1883, when began a long needed vacation. He has been a diligent student for over a third of a century, availing himself of every opportunity to advance himself in his special science of medicine, in art, and general literature. He has attended lectures in Indianapolis, at Rush Medical College, and at the St. Louis Medical College; he was graduated from La Porte College in 1844. He was one of the organizers of the Southwestern Iowa Medical Association and was its president, serving ten years. He was also the first president of the Page County Medical Society, and was appointed surgeon for the Council Bluffs & Quincy Railroad at this point. For further particulars of Dr. Barrett's medical career the reader is re-[page 708]ferred to the " Medical Chapter" of this work.
In religious matters the Doctor subscribed to the Presbyterian faith many years ago, and to-day his magnanimous nature is broad enough to take in his brother man, wherever he may be found, trying in God's name to do right. Politically he is a Republican. With any citizen of Page County it will go without the saying that no man has more warm friends for virtue's sake than Dr. Barrett. Would the world had more such truly good men !
E.A. STRONG, who is located on section 24, Washington Township, owns 160 acres of land, and is a farmer in good standing. He was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, September 22, 1846, and. is a son of B. M. Strong, a native of Pennsylvania and a descendant of Irish ancestors. The mother, Emily Whitlock Strong, was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, of Scotch extraction. She was the mother of five children, three sons aud two daughters. When our subject was live years of age the family removed to Stark County, Illinois, where the father passed the remainder of his days; the mother had died in Pennsylvania. E. A. Strong was reared to agricultural pursuits and attended the common schools. He was united in marriage December 7, 1869, to Mary Jane Miller, at Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois. Mrs. Stroug was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of John Miller, whose biography appears on another page of this history.
Mr. Strong removed to Page County, Iowa, in 1870, and first settled on section 10, Washington Township, where he broke aud improved fifty acres; five years later he removed to his present farm, where he has made many valuable improvements; he owns eighty acres in this tract and eighty acres across the road in Colfax Township. His first dwelling was a small box-house, twelve by sixteen feet, but prosperous days have replaced it with a larger house planned after a modern style of architecture and erected at a cost of $1,500; it is one of the best residences in the township. The buildings for the care and protection of the live-stock are of a substantial character and all the surroundings present a neat and thrifty appearance.
Mr. and Mrs. Strong are the parents of six children: Lois Ann, Charles B., Mary Belle, Emma Jane, Edgar A. and Elmer Perl. Politically Mr. Strong affiliates with the Republican party. He and his wife are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Blanchard, and they have always taken an active interest in the advancement of religion and education.
C. P. GREENE, the genial Postmaster of Northboro, is one of the most popular of Washington Township's citizens. He was born in Rensselaer County, New York, February 6, 1829, and is a son of Benjamin Greene, a native of the same county. His grandfather, Langford Greene, was a native of New England, and traced his ancestry back to John Greene, who settled in Rhode Island in the Roger Williams colony. Gen. Greene was a grandson of John Greene. Benjamin Greene married Rhoda Niles, a daughter of Eliphalet Niles, a New Englander by birth, and to them were born five children. They lived out their days in the State of New York; the father passed away at the age of forty-three years, and the mother lived to be forty-six years old. Young Greene spent his [page 709] early youth in the schools of his native county, and later attended the South Williamstown Academy in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. At the age of seventeen years he engaged in the profession of teaching, and two years later he was principal of the school in his native village, Berlin, New York. He was at one time employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment.
In 1850, January 31, Mr. Greene was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Jenette Dodge, a native of New Hampshire, and a daughter of John and Malinda (Bates) Dodge. One year later the young couple emigrated to Illinois and settled in Peoria County, where Mr. Greene engaged, alternately in teaching in the winter months and farming during the summer season. After a residence in the West of ten years, he returned to New York, but in 1863 he went back to Illinois and located this time in Marshall County, where he remained four years. In 1867 he opened a harness shop at Lawn Ridge, Illinois, which he conducted with success; he was also postmaster of the place for two years. In the fall of 1874 he disposed of his property and came to Iowa, purchasing 160 acres of wild land, which he has improved in good style. In 1881 he rented his farm and came to Northboro and embarked in the hardware trade. He has done a good business, and with his solid financial standing and superior business qualifications he is certain to make a success.
Mr. and Mrs. Greene are the parents of six children: Ida L., Darby, Frank L., Charles G., who is a partner of his father; Henrietta, wife of A. Sollars; Jessie R. and Alfred W.
Mr. Greene was appointed Postmaster in 1881, and has made an efficient, faithful officer. He has served as township clerk three years, and Justice of the Peace two years, and has been Notary Public for eight years. He and his wife and children are members of the Baptist Church, and are active workers in the cause of their Master. He has been Sabbath-school superintendent for eleven years, and has given liberally of his means in the support of the church. Politically he is a Republican of the Prohibition type. He is a man honored and esteemed by all who know him.
LEWIS BUCHANAN is descended from an old Virginia family of English origin. His grandfather, John Buchanan, was a farmer in Yirginia, and was one of the twelve men who came down the Ohio river with their families' in canoes and made the first settlement in Switzerland County, Indiana, at a very early day. There he owned 400 acres of land one mile from the Ohio river, on which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1850. He had four children by his first wife and six by a second marriage. He was a prominent citizen in that part of the country, and was well known to all the early settlers.
Wilson Buchanan, son of John Buchanan, and lather of our subject, was born in Virginia, and came with his father when a boy to Indiana. He married Zella Forester, a daughter of one of the " twelve first families," and to them were born six children: William, Lewis, Lucinda, Sarah J., George W. and John. A few years after his marriage Mr. Buchanan removed to the " Indian Purchase" in Decatur County, Indiana, where he resided until his death at the early age of forty years. His widow survived him ten years, remaining on the homestead. He was a man of energy and industry, and of very high principles, thoroughly respected by his fellowmen. Lewis Buchanan, his son, was born in [page 710] Switzerland County. Indiana, November 2, 1820. He received his education in the subscription schools of that day, his mother paying his tuition by spinning flax. He resided with his mother until she passed to her eternal rest, and then he went to Lambsburg, on the Ohio river, where he learned to run a stationary engine; he continued in this business many years and was very proficient.
In 1849 Mr. Buchanan was united in marriage to Miss Sarah, daughter of John and Margaret Pope, and to them were born seven children: Laura, wife of James W. Lockman; John W., who married Miss Ettie Sanders; Theodore, Roseyeltha, wife of Alfred Mixon; Roslin, George W. and Alonzo. In 1857 Mr. Buchanan moved to Daviess County, Indiana. Under the firm name of George W. Buchanan & Bros., he, with two of his brothers, built a saw and grist mill, and the firm existed thirteen years. In 1872 he removed to Sumner County, Kansas, and took up Government land, but at the end of two years he became dissatisfied and came to Iowa, locating on a farm in Taylor County; there he lived five years, and in 1881 he came to Page County and settled in Buchanan Township. He is now engaged in general farming, and enjoys the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances. He looks with pride upon the line of ancestors from which he is descended, as they were of the sturdy pioneer type to whom this country is indebted for the hitherto unparalleled progress made in the settlement and development of a new country. |