Taylor County, Iowa 1910 History: page 342

Among the pioneer settlers of Taylor county who are engaged in agricultural pursuits is C. C. Mohler, who dates his residence in this county from 1856. Born in Morgan county, Ohio, November 5, 1840, he is a son of Leonard and Lucinda (Pletcher) Mohler, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively. The father, who was reared and educated in his native state, was married in Ohio and engaged in farming in Morgan and Washington counties, that state, for some years. He later engaged in the manufacture of furniture in Zanesville, Ohio, being thus employed for about ten years. In 1855 he came to Iowa and entered land in Clayton township, Taylor county, to which he removed in the following year. His farm consisted of three hundred and sixty acres, which he at once put under cultivation. As an agriculturist he (page 347) became very successful and as he prospered he added to his property until at the time of his death he was the owner of several hundred acres. He and his wife both passed away on their farm, near Bedford.

C. C. Mohler was a youth of fifteen years when he arrived in Iowa. He had enjoyed good educational advantages, remaining a student in the common schools of his native state until twelve years of age. He then clerked in a store in Zanesville for some time, thus gaining good practical business training. After coming to Iowa he assisted his father in the cultivation of his fields and remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he engaged in farming on his own account. In 1863, however, he responded to his country's call for aid and enlisted as a member of Company D, Forty-sixth Iowa Infantry, for one hundred days' service. He took part in much skirmishing and did guard duty in Tennessee and Mississippi. He remained with his regiment until 1864, serving out his full term of enlistment, and was then honorably discharged with the rank of third corporal.

After leaving the army Mr. Mohler returned home and was associated with his father on the farm for some time. He was then married and located in Jackson township, where he rented a farm for one year. Later he purchased the tract of land upon which he now resides and directed his energies to the further development, cultivation and improvement of his farm, consisting of one hundred and thirty-five acres of valuable land. When the property came into his possession the only abode upon it was a small log house, in which he lived for about two years and then erected a more commodious dwelling near the road. This has since been replaced by a large and attractive country home, equipped with all modern conveniences, and beautifully and tastefully furnished. He has erected two good barns upon the place and has planted a fine orchard, while the entire farm is surrounded by good fences that are kept in excellent repair. The place today indicates in its well-kept appearance the careful supervision and practical methods of its owner, whose labors have transformed it from a comparatively unimproved tract of land into a splendidly developed farm, which ranks among the finest in the township. As the years have come and gone he has added to his realty holdings until his farm, which is located on section 20, Clayton township, includes about six hundred acres. At one time he owned eight hundred acres but has given some of his property to his children. He was also the owner of four hundred acres in New Mexico, which he has since sold. He deals quite extensively in stock, which branch of his business returns to him a most gratifying revenue. He possesses the only deer park in the county, covering five acres. It contains only four deer at present but he has had on hand in former years seventeen head at one time. Aside from the high place which he has won for himself in the agricultural circles of Taylor county, Mr. Mohler is also well known among the business men of Bedford as one of the promoters of the Bedford National Bank and has remained a stockholder and director therein since its inception.

On the 14th of September, 1885, Mr. Mohler laid the foundation for a pleasant home life in his marriage to Miss Martha Ellen John, a sister of Alexander John, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. In their family are three children, namely: Etta May, the wife of D. M. Gibson, of Clarke county, (page 348) Iowa; Frank John, who is married and operates the north part of his father's farm; and Gertrude Alice, residing at home. They also lost three children, namely: Hattie J., who married Leroy Dowis, of Sheridan, Missouri, where she passed away; Harris H., who passed away when twenty-seven years of age, his death occurring in Kansas City while on his way home from New Mexico; and a daughter who died in infancy.

Mr. Mohler's religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Presbyterian church, of which he is serving as one of the deacons. Politically he is a stanch democrat, voting for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860. In 1864, however, he cast his ballot for Lincoln for president. He has been elected to several public offices, at various times, filling the position of township trustee, assessor and supervisor, and he has also been sent as delegate to various state and county conventions. In all matters of citizenship he is as loyal to his country as when he fought upon southern battlefields. In the business world he started at the bottom of the ladder, without any especially favoring advantages to aid him at the outset, and he worked his way upward until, through his unfaltering industry and persistent labor, he has reached an enviable place among the prominent and successful agriculturists of the county, the high degree of prosperity which he now enjoys coming to him solely through his own efforts.

John D. Moore, a well-known and successful agriculturist and stockman of Washington township, is the owner of a finely improved and productive farm of two hundred acres. His birth occurred in Davis county, Iowa, on the 16th of June, 1861, his parents being Edward W. and Emeretta (Ogden) Moore. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Jabis and Alatha (Baker) Moore, who reared a family of ten children, as follows: Edward W., Garrett, John, Elizabeth, Lila, Thomas, Daniel, Robert, James and Jabe. Mr. and Mrs. John Ogden, the maternal grandparents of John D. Moore, had a family of three children, namely: Emeretta, Aaron and Albert. Unto Edward W. and Emeretta (Ogden) Moore were born seven children: John D., Green, Ira, Mary Ellen, Garrett, Hattie and Frank.

When a little child of three years John D. Moore was brought by his parents to Taylor county, this state, and has here continued to reside to the present time. He obtained a good practical education as a student in the district schools and early in life became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist, aiding his father in the work of the home farm. He has devoted his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits throughout his entire business career and is now the owner of a fine farm of two hundred acres in section 19, Washington township. This is a neat and well improved property, carefully cultivated and displaying in its attractive appearance the energy and diligence of the owner. He breeds horses, cattle and hogs and also buys and feeds cattle, this branch of his business contributing not a little to his annual income.

Mr. Moore has been married twice. On the 3d of July, 1883, he wedded Miss Addie Marshall, a daughter of William and Amanda (Burr) Marshall, by (page 586) whom he had five children, namely: Jessie, Nettie, Oma, Loretta and Nina. On the 3rd of July, 1900, he was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Lizzie Hunt, a daughter of Philip and Jane (Mosier) Clouse. The one child of this marriage, Mildred, is deceased, and they now have an infant daughter.

Politically Mr. Moore is a stalwart advocate of the republican party, believing that its principles are most conducive to good government. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Gravity, Iowa. Having lived in this county for a period of forty-five years, he is well and favorably known within its borders and is widely recognized as one of its most substantial, enterprising and representative citizens.

The ranks of Civil war veterans are fast becoming disseminated and it behooves us to pay all merited honor and respect to those who remain. Among the residents of Taylor county who fought for the Union in the dark days of the Civil war is numbered J. L. Mothershead, who is now living on section 28, Ross township, where he owns and cultivates a good farm of one hundred and twenty acres. The place is neat and well improved and constitutes one of the attractive features of the landscape.

(Page 499) Mr. Mothershead is a native son of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Lee county, April 9, 1841. His father, Barzillai Mothershead, was born and reared in Scott county, Kentucky, and in early manhood went to Illinois, where he became acquainted with and married Martha Yeedenberg, a native of New Jersey. The father was a tailor by trade and followed that pursuit in early life. After living for some time in Illinois, he crossed the Mississippi river into Iowa and became numbered among the pioneer settlers of Lee county when the state was still under territorial rule. He located there about 1836 and entered land from the government, securing a tract upon which not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made. Upon that property he reared his family and for a considerable period was numbered among the progressive agriculturists of the community. His wife died in Lee county about 1858. In their family were eight children, five sons and three daughters, all now deceased with exception of J. L., of this review; and Alvin, of Osborn county, Kansas.

J. L. Mothershead was reared to manhood in Lee county and was only about twenty years of age at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. He was greatly interested in the political situation of the country and the results involved therein and in the fall of 1861 he offered his services to the government in defense of the Union, joining Company E of the Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. With that regiment he went to the south after spending the first winter in drill in camp at Keokuk, Iowa. In the following spring they proceeded to the seat of hostilities and the first engagement in which Mr. Mothershead participated was the battle of Shiloh, in which he was knocked senseless by a spent ball but not disabled. He afterward participated in the second battle of Corinth and also in the siege of Vicksburg and was in numerous lesser engagements, continuing at the front until honorably discharged. At Vicksburg he served on detached duty for eleven months, being employed in the bake shop of Hospital No. 3.

After his return to Lee county, Mr. Mothershead remained with his father for about two years. He then made preparation for having a home of his own by his marriage in that county in December, 1866, to Miss Harriet W. Redman, a native of Indiana, who was reared near Jeffersonville. The young couple began their domestic life on his father's place where they remained for four months and then settled in Knox county, Missouri, where they continued for eighteen months, Mr. Mothershead raising two crops there. Selling his property in that state, he returned to Lee county but afterward removed to Harvey county, Kansas, settling near Newton, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, securing through a soldier's warrant. He proved up the land and there carried on general farming for eight years, after which he sold the property and came to Taylor county. Here he invested in one hundred acres where he now resides. On this he took up his abode and with characteristic energy began the further development and improvement of the place. A fine two-story residence which he erected stands as a monument to his thrift and enterprise. He has also built a large barn and good outbuildings and among the attractive features of the place is an orchard, together with many cedar and ornamental trees, which make this one of the beauty spots of the locality. Saving his money for further investment, he purchased twenty acres adjoining the home place and also eighty acres on section 29 and now has a highly improved farm devoted to (page 500) the raising of grain and stock. Both branches of his business are proving profitable and the success which he has achieved is the merited reward of his earnest, persistent labor.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mothershead have been born four sons and three daughters: Charles, who is now a resident farmer of Ross township; Harmon, who also follows farming in the same township; Jesse, who is living in New Mexico; George, who is also in New Mexico, both he and his brother having taken up claims there; Bertha, the wife of Grant Johns, who follows farming in Ross township; Grace, the wife of Frank Keith, a resident farmer of Ross township; and Edith, the wife of Robert Poagne, who is likewise engaged in tilling the soil in Ross township.

The family is one widely and favorably known in this part of the county, the hospitality of the best homes being freely extended to its members. The parents belong to the Berea Christian church and Mr. Mothershead originally gave his political allegiance to the democratic party, casting his first presidential ballot for Samuel J. Tilden in 1878. He continued to vote for the men and measures of that party until recent years but at the last elections he supported Roosevelt and Taft. Locally he is independent, voting for the candidate without regard to his party affiliation. He has for years been officially identified with the schools and is a stalwart champion of the cause of public education. He has been a resident of Iowa during the great part of his life and for twenty-eight years has made his home in Taylor county. He has wide acquaintance throughout this part of the state and enjoys the confidence and esteem of he entire community. Wherever known he is held in high regard and his warmest friends are those who have known him longest, a fact indicative of an honorable and upright life.

Oliver S. Nash, who has won merited success in the careful conduct of his farming interests, now makes his home on section 36, Bedford township, where he owns and cultivates two hundred and forty acres of rich and arable land that in generous harvests responds to the care and labor which he gives to his fields. Moreover he is entitled to representation in this volume from the fact that he is numbered among the honored pioneer settlers of Taylor county, where he has made his home since 1853. He arrived here when a lad of twelve years, his (page 276) birth having occurred in Madison county, Indiana, February 9, 1841. His father, William Nash, was a native of Tennessee but the removal of his parents to Indiana enabled him to spend his boyhood days in Madison county, that state. He was there married to Miss Harriet Ingle, a native of Indiana, and upon a farm in that state the young couple began their domestic life, remaining there for some years. Eventually a removal was made to Missouri and, settling in Nodaway county, near the present town of Pickering, William Nash there carried on general agricultural pursuits for several years, or until 1853, when he came to Taylor county, Iowa, entering land in Jackson township. At that time few settlements had been made within the borders of the county and much of the land was still in possession of the government. The settlers had to endure many of the hardships and privations incident to the establishment of homes upon the frontier, but they were of a sturdy race and built well for future generations. After a year William Nash removed to Bedford, where he carried on merchandising for some time. At intervals he entered more land and became the owner of several hundred acres, thus placing his capital in safe investments. His remaining days were passed in this county, his death occurring on a farm in Taylor county.

Oliver S. Nash, accompanying his parents on their removal to Missouri and thence to Iowa in his boyhood days, supplemented his early training by study in the schools of Bedford. He remained with his father until about twenty-four years of age, and was then married in Nodaway county, near the present town of Hopkins, on the 11th of December, 1864, the lady of his choice being Miss America Glendora Aldrich, a native of Scioto county, Ohio, who had come to Iowa with her parents and later became a resident of Nodaway county, Missouri. She was reared and educated in Van Buren county, Iowa, and in Nodaway county and for five years was successfully engaged in teaching.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Oliver S. Nash located on the farm where they now reside. Only a few acres had been placed under cultivation at that time and their house was a little log cabin which they occupied for ten years, when Mr. Nash erected a more commodious, modern and substantial residence. He began his farming operations here with only eighty acres of land, but as he diligently pursued his work and his financial resources were thereby increased, he kept adding to his property from time to time until he had extended the boundaries of his farm to include two hundred and forty acres of the rich prairie land of Bedford township. His place is no longer a treeless plain for upon it is a good orchard and some fine shade trees of his own planting. He has also erected modern buildings which he keeps in a state of good repair and he now has a valuable place, pleasantly located within two miles of Bedford. He has been a successful business man, winning prosperity both in the cultivation of grain and in the raising of stock. His place is now given over largely to pasture and meadow land and many herds of fine stock are seen in his pastures.

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Nash has been blessed with four children. Arthur D., who was educated in Bedford and for three years was a teacher in the public schools, is now assisting in the operation of the home farm. Cora is the wife of D. C. Mohler, a prominent farmer living on the old Mohler homestead near Bedford. Archie D. is married and follows farming in Clayton township and Daisy Armada is at home. In his political views Mr. Nash is a democrat but has never (page 277) sought nor desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. In his farming operations he has been very successful and has made a specialty of raising fine horses, disposing of one three-year old for fifteen hundred dollars. While active in business he has never been neglectful of the duties of citizenship and has given his aid and influence to further various beneficial public projects. He was reared in the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is a member of the Baptist church. For fifty-six years a resident of the county, he has seen Bedford grow from a cross-roads village to one of the thrifty cities of the state and has witnessed the transformation of wild prairie land into productive farms, making this one of the richest agricultural districts of Iowa.

The farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Dallas township which is now owned by Frank L. Noble, was formerly the old Burlingame homestead, so that it has been in possession of the family throughout a long period. Mr. Noble was born on this farm, May 7, 1875, a son of John S. and Harriett A. (Burlingame) Noble. The father is a native of Michigan, born in 1847, and was the eldest in a family of six children born unto Mr. and Mrs. Lodowic Noble. The other children were Henry, Jerome, Frank, Lora and Ruth. Mrs. Harriett A. Noble was likewise born in Michigan, in 1853, a daughter of William H. and Hannah J. Burlingame, whose family numbered two daughters, the younger being Lucy B.

(Page 280) John S. Noble was but a boy when he came to Iowa from his native state, the year of his arrival here being 1859. He was here engaged in farming but his interests were interrupted at the time of the Civil war, for he went to the front as a member of Company I, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, with which he served throughout the period of hostilities. Returning home he once more resumed his farm work and for many years was the owner of the place on which the son now makes his home. It was in this state that John S. Noble was united in marriage to Miss Harriett A. Burlingame, and their union was blessed with five sons and two daughters, namely: Hattie A., Billy S., Frank, Bessie E., Fred, Jerome and Chauncey A.

Frank L. Noble, the third in order of birth, was reared to the pursuits of the farm and under the able instruction of his father became well qualified to carry on farming when he started out to make his own way in the world. He has spent his entire life at his present home, he having purchased the property from his grandfather. The place consists of one hundred and twenty acres in Dallas township, it being one of the valuable properties of this section of the county. On the farm are seen good buildings, which are kept in excellent repair, while through the rotation of crops and strict adherence to the best methods of farming Mr. Noble keeps his land in a rich and arable condition.

Mr. Noble was married March 21, 1900, to Miss Myra Glasgow, who is a native of Taylor county, born November 16, 1880. Her father, William Glasgow, was born in Illinois in 1833, a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Glasgow, Sr., the other children of the family being Samuel, Charles, Bell and Mattie. William Glasgow, Jr., was married to Miss Julia A. Roberts, who was likewise born in Illinois, the year of her birth being 1844. Their union was blessed with five sons and two daughters, namely: Myra, Frank A., Marion R., George W., John, Lola M. and William C.