USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 1
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IVO ( Page CO.) Kershaw
HISTORY
OF
PAGE COUNTY IOWA
Also Biographical Sketches of Some Prominent Citizens of the County
By W. L. KERSHAW
ASSISTED BY THE FOLLOWING NAMED AS AN ADVISORY BOARD:
EDWIN C. LANE, Editor The Clarinda Journal
C. A. LISLE, Editor The Clarinda Herald
W. P. FERGUSON, Shenandoah, Judge of the Superior Court
G. B. JENNINGS, Attorney-at-Law, Shenandoah
VOL. II.
ILLUSTRATED
CHICAGO: THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.
1909
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 100224B
ASTOR. LENA AND TALI AN ANDALLONS 1941 L
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BIOGRAPHICAL
JACOB HOLLAND POWERS.
In the period which marked the pioneer development of Page county and witnessed the laying of the foundation upon which has been built its present prosperity and progress, Jacob Holland Powers was a prominent factor in the district. He came here in the early days and for many years figured prominently in connection with its agricultural interests and also as the owner of a large amount of real estate. He is well remembered, too, as a man of kindly spirit and generous civility as manifested in his liberal aid to those who needed assistance.
He was born near Morgantown in what was then Virginia but is now West Virginia, September 24, 1807, and his life record covered the inter- vening years to the 14th of February, 1884, when he passed away. His father, Nehemiah Powers, who married Cassandra Holland, was descended from an old family represented in the American army in the war of the Revolution. He was a planter and slave owner but freed his bondsmen be- fore his death. In 1819 he removed to Wayne county, Indiana, becoming one of the pioneer residents of that state, which only three years before had been admitted to the Union. Subsequently he removed to Henry county, where his death occurred. He was a member of the Baptist church and his life was an upright and honorable one, in consistent harmony with his pro- fessions. In his family were twelve children.
Jacob H. Powers spent his youthful days in his parents' home, receiv- ing his education in private schools. He was a lad of twelve years when his parents removed from Virginia to Indiana, arriving in that state only two or three years after its admission to the Union. Many evidences of pioneer life were still to be seen there and Jacob H. Powers, who was reared as a farm boy, early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist as he converts wild land into productive fields that annually bring forth rich crops. Not desiring to give his entire atten- tion, however, to the tilling of the soil, he entered mercantile circles in
5
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
Indiana and for some time conducted a tannery. In 1853, however, he sold his business in Indiana and made a visit to Page county. He then returned to his old home and the following year removed from Muncie, Indiana, to Clarinda, driving the entire distance across the country. In the year of his arrival he established a general mercantile store in Clarinda and he also purchased considerable property, including both city real estate and farm lands. He thus became an active factor in the development, upbuilding and improvement of this part of the state. He was one of the pioneer mer- chants of the town and conducted stores on both the west and north sides of the square. In his mercantile ventures he was successful, carrying such lines of goods as the public demanded, while his reasonable prices and honorable dealing won him a continually increasing trade. His lands were adjacent to the city and with the growth and development of the county increased rapidly in value. Later he made investment in lands in Missouri, Texas, Florida and Kansas. As the years passed he conducted important business negotiations, prospering in his undertakings.
On the 15th of January, 1835, Mr. Powers was united in marriage to Miss Gilla Scott Tomlinson, who was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, January 15, 1816, and was of English lineage. In early life she held mem- bership in the Methodist Episcopal church and afterward became a member of the Presbyterian church. She died May 10, 1845; at the age of twenty- nine years, leaving four children: Amanda Tomlinson, now the wife of Harvey White, a contractor and builder residing in California: Sarah Emeline, who is the widow of Charles Linderman, mentioned elsewhere in this work ; Mary Holland, now deceased ; and Naomi Olive, who is now mak- ing her home with her sister, Mrs. Linderman.
Mr. Powers was again married in August, 1851, his second union being with Eliza B. Silvers, who was born in Kentucky and died March 17, 1896, in her eightieth year. She lived a consistent Christian life, in harmony with her professions as a member of the Baptist church. By that marriage there were five children, but two of the number died in infancy. Myra Ella, born in Muncie, Indiana, died in Clarinda in February, 1863, at the age of eleven years. Martha Ida, born in Clarinda, died December 7, 1879, in her twenty-fifth year. Dr. T. E. Powers, the youngest, is represented elsewhere in this volume.
Jacob H. Powers not only became a successful business man and a large land owner of the county but was also prominent in other ways. He was a charter member of the Masonic lodge and also took the degrees of the Royal Arch chapter and the Knights Templar commandery. In his polit- ical views he was originally an old line whig and eventually, on the dis- solution of that party, became a republican, continuing in the latter or- ganization until his death. He had no aspirations for office, preferring that others should seek and enjoy the benefits of office holding. He was a very generous man and his benefactions are mentioned in the article devoted to the history of Nodaway lodge. During his later years he spent half of his time in Florida and the remainder in Clarinda. He was regarded as one of the city's best and foremost residents, stanchly supporting every
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
cause for the public good and giving liberally where aid was needed. While he conducted important and extensive business affairs, he was ever reliable in his transactions, his negotiations being in harmony with the strictest business ethics. He died February 14, 1884, when in his seventy-seventh year, and because of the prominent place which he occupied in the com- munity no history of this county would be complete without extended mention of him.
EDWIN CARLOS LANE.
Edwin Carlos Lane, editor of one of the leading county-seat newspapers of Iowa, was born August II, 1855, on the home farm of his maternal grandfather situated midway between Plano and Bristol Station near the main line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, in Little Rock township, Kendall county, Illinois. He was one of a family of three sons and one daughter whose parents were Levi Hart and Emily Jane ( Kendrick) Lane. The father was born in Lewis county, New York, in 1830, and was a son of Lyman Lane, a native of Suffield, Connecticut, who was born in 1799. Our subject's great-great-great-grandfather, L. Lane, came from Scotland to New England and was the founder of the family in the new world. Lyman Lane continued a resident of New England through the period of his early life and married Miss Nancy Hart, a daughter of the Hon. Levi Hart, who was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, in 1773, and removed to Lewis county, New York in 1798. He was an extensive farmer and figured prominently in the public life of the community in which he lived, serving his county in the New York assembly in 1818 and was for many years county judge of Lewis county. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Lane removed from Lewis county, New York, to Kendall county, Illinois, in 1837 and the former ac- quired the ownership of a farm two miles from what is now Yorkville. He was one of the successful pioneer farmers of Kendall county, prominent in the progress of the community along agricultural lines. There he died at the age of ninety-seven years.
It was his son, Levi Hart Lane, who became the father of Edwin Carlos Lane. Born in the Empire state he was only about seven years of age when he accompanied his parents on their westward removal to Illinois and in Kendall county, that state, on February 23, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss Emily J. Kendrick, who was born in the state of New York, in 1833. Her father, William P. Kendrick, was born at Hollis, New Hampshire, in 1790, attended the Theological Seminary at Andover, Mas- sachusetts, and was a graduate of Harvard University. For six years he was a member of the faculty of that famous institution of learning. He became a Congregational minister and for nearly thirty years acted as a home missionary in the state of New York. In 1826 he married Emily Tucker, who was born at Suffield, Connecticut, in 1804, and was a daughter
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
of Morris and Ruth ( Fowler) Tucker of Suffield, Connecticut, and of Agawam, Massachusetts, respectively. Rev. and Mrs. William P. Kendrick removed from the state of New York to Kendall county, Illinois, in 1846, and there he died in 1854, while his widow passed away in 1861. Having married their daughter, Emily Jane Kendrick, in Kendall county, Illinois, in 1854, Dr. Lane engaged in the practice of dentistry at Bristol, now a part of Yorkville, Illinois, and later removed to Prescott, Linn county, Kan- sas, where he was a druggist for several years. Ile also acted as postmaster of that town and his prominence in the community is indicated by the fact that he was elected in 1872 to represent Linn county in the state legislature. For about twenty-five years he has been a resident of Topeka, Kansas. In 1864 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in Bristol, Illinois, when their son, Edwin, was but nine years of age.
The name of Carlos came to Edwin Carlos Lane from his great-uncle, Carlos Hart, who was the son of Judge Levi Hart. Reared in Kendall county, Illinois, he attended a select school and also the public school in Bristol, Illinois, now Yorkville. Later he attended the Godard and Rickard rural schools in the vicinity of Yorkville and added gradually to his know !- edge through his experiences in printing offices where is demanded broad general information. At the age of twelve years he had an opportunity to enter a printing office, which gratified a natural inclination and longing and, therefore, on the 2d of September, 1867, he became an employe in the office of the Kendall County Record at Yorkville, Illinois, where he worked at the printer's trade under the instructions of his employer, John R. Mar- shall, a superior printer. With him Mr. Lane continued for four years and in 1871 and 1872 was employed as a printer in the office of the Beacon at Aurora, Illinois. In December of the latter year, he went to Prescott, Kansas, to assist his father in business and was thus engaged for about a year and a half, during which time he gained practical insight into business methods. In July, 1875, he went to La Cygne, Kansas, where he formed a partnership with J. P. Kenea in the publication of the La Cygne Journal and for the conduct of a job printing business. Since that time Mr. Lane and Mr. Kenea have been in partnership, the organization of the firm of Kenea & Lane being effected in July, 1875. Together they continued the publication of the La Cygne Journal until August, 1893, when they removed to Clarinda, lowa, where in September, 1893, they founded the Clarinda Journal and in connection therewith a job printing business. For some years before leaving La Cygne for Clarinda, Mr. Lane with Mr. Kenea became financially interested in the publication of a neighboring newspaper, the Pleasanton Observer, at Pleasanton, Kansas. Mr. Lane has now had thirty-four years' continuous experience as an editor and publisher and has always been thoroughly familiar with the details of his business. During all this time he has been an industrious worker, giving careful, faithful and intelligent attention to his duties and, therefore, has proven successful. He has an established reputation as a clear, concise and able writer. His political and other writings are widely quoted and the Clarinda Journal, of which he is the editor, is one of the leading papers of lowa, standing as a
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
splendid representative of modern journalism in all that is commendable and progressive in the field of newspaper publication at the present time.
In 1889 Mr. Lane was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison to the position of postmaster of La Cygne, Kansas, and held that office for more than four years. He resigned the position a short time before his re- moval to Clarinda. He has been a life-long republican and strictly a straight party man. For ten years he was the member from Linn county of the second Kansas republican congressional committee and for two years, including the presidential campaign of 1888, was its chairman. He is now a member of the Clarinda publie library board and in all professional and non-professional relations is a stalwart advocate of every movement that tends to promote general progress and upbuilding in the city. He became a member of the Masonic fraternity in 1877 when the Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft degrees were conferred upon him and in 1878 he was raised to the degree of a Master Mason in La Cygne Lodge, No. 61, A. F. & A. M., of which he was the worshipful master for two years. He is now, 1909, the senior warden of Nodlaway Lodge, No. 140, A. F. & A. M. ; is a Royal Arch Mason-member of Clarinda Chapter, No. 29, of which he is a past high priest. He is also a member and past worthy patron of Clarinda Chapter, No. 214, O. E. S., and he belongs to the First Presbyterian church of Clarinda. Throughout his entire life he has been connected with the printing business, having occupied every position in the office from the most humble to that of editor-in-chief, his advancement following as the logical sequence of his close application and his thorough understanding of the work in which he emharked as a young tradesman.
C. N. CRAIN.
C. N. Crain, a successful and enterprising agriculturist and stock- raiser of Valley township, is the owner of a well improved and valuable tract of land of three hundred and three acres, known as the Nodaway Val- ley Stock Farm. His birth occurred in Taylor county, Iowa, on the 12th of April, 1859, his parents being John F. and Margaret ( Howard ) Crain, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Indiana. In 1854 they took up their abode in Taylor county, Iowa, where the father purchased land and made his home until called to his final rest in 1871. The mother still lives in that county, having now attained the age of seventy-four years. Unto this worthy couple were born eight children, seven of whom yet stirvive.
C. N. Crain acquired a common-school education in early life and re- mained under the parental roof until he had attained the age of twenty-one years. He then secured employment as a farm hand and was thus busily engaged for a period of six years, at the end of which time he rented a tract of land, devoting his attention to its operation for a few years. In 1889 he bought the farm on which he now resides in Valley township, Page county,
10
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
and as the years have gone by has placed many substantial improvements on the property, erecting a commodious and attractive residence, two large barns and all necessary outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. His place comprises three hundred and three acres of rich and arable land and is known as the Nodaway Valley Stock Farm. He feeds all of his grain to stock and has met with a gratifying and commendable measure of prosperity in his undertakings, being widely recognized as a substantial and representative citizen of the community.
In 1885 Mr. Crain was united in marriage to Miss Nancy C. McKec, a native of Scott county, Indiana, and a daughter of William and Martha (Murphy) McKee, the former born in Kentucky and the latter in Indiana. Both Mr. and Mrs. McKee have passed away. Mrs. Crain was one of a family of seven children and by her marriage has become the mother of six, as follows: Anna B., a graduate of the Hepburn high school, who is now engaged in teaching ; John W., who is a graduate of the business college at College Springs, Iowa ; James ; Ella R. ; Charles L. : and Martha M.
Mr. Crain casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has served his fellow townsmen in the positions of school director and township trustee. Fraternally he is identified with Mod- ern Woodmen Camp, No. 1785, of Villisca, and with the Odd Fellows Lodge, No. 482, at Hepburn, Iowa, in which he has filled all of the chairs. His wife is a devoted member of the United Presbyterian church and takes an active and helpful interest in its work. They are people of genuine per- sonal worth and many sterling traits of character and are well known and highly esteemed throughout the community in which they reside.
IION, CHARLES E. LINDERMAN.
Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the world through us is the measure of our success, and judged by this standard as well as by the ratings of the business world Hon. Charles E. Linderman was a most successful man. He was numbered among the prominent, val- ued, honored and respected citizens of southwestern Iowa and left the impress of his individuality for good on its substantial development and improvement. He stood for high ideals in citizenship, in business affairs and in private life, and the nobility of his manhood made him most honored and respected where best known.
A native of Orange county, New York, Mr. Linderman was born near Bloomingburg, February 4, 1829, and was of German lineage on the pa- ternal side and of Irish descent on the maternal side. He was the ninth in order of birth in a family of eleven children and his early education, acquired in the common schools near his boyhood's home, was supplemented by study in the academy at Bloomingburg, while in 1851 he entered Ham- ilton College, at Clinton, New York, and was graduated from that insti- tution with the class of 1854. For a year thereafter he engaged in teaching
. Mr and Mrs. G.G. Linderman and daughter
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
school at Seneca Falls, New York, but in 1855 he resolved to seek his fortune in the great west and accordingly came to Iowa. For one winter he taught school in Scott county and then in the spring of 1856 went to the territory of Nebraska and for a season assisted the government sur- veyors in establishing the sixth principal meridian. In November of the same year he located at Sidney, Fremont county, Iowa, where he remained until the spring of 1859, and in April of the same year he came to Clarinda and entered upon the practice of law but soon abandoned the profession for other duties.
In the fall of that year Mr. Linderman was appointed clerk of the dis- trict court and in the fall of 1860 was elected to that office and reelected in 1862. In the latter year, however, he resigned and offered his services to the government in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company A, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, as a private. On the organization of the regi- ment he was made second lieutenant of his company. The regiment was sent forward to Louisville and in the fall and winter of 1863-64 was engaged in guarding the railroads and putting an end to the guerrilla warfare that had been so successfully waged around Waverly and other points west of Nashville. In the spring of 1864 the regiment became a part of the army that was to fight and win the Atlanta campaign and he took part in most of the engagements of that campaign. At its close the regiment became a part of General Thomas' command that was to resist General Hood's attempt to capture Nashville and participated in the engagements with General Hood's army while General Thomas was falling back upon Nash- ville and also during General Thomas' advance upon General Hood that resulted in the destruction of the heroic army commanded by that Confed- erate leader. In the spring of 1865 the regiment was attached to General Wilson's cavalry command and with it fought its way from Alabama and Georgia and had reached Macon, Georgia, on its way to join General Sher- man in his campaign from Savannah along the Atlantic coast, when its further progress was stopped by the close of tlie war. Except when on detailed duty as provost marshal and acting quartermaster Lieutenant Linderman was at the front, meeting with every peril, discharging every duty with the highest courage and conspicuous fidelity, at all times and under all circumstances displaying those and only those qualities that char- acterize a true soldier and general. As in civil, so in military life, his ab- solute devotion to duty, joined with a genial disposition, won for him the con- fidence and general respect of all who came in contact with him. He rep- resented one of the best types of American manhood-an honorable, use- ful, public-spirited citizen in times of peace ; a loyal, courageous, volunteer soldier in the hour of his country's peril.
At the close of the war Lieutenant Linderman gladly sought a home among those who knew him best and therefore loved him most. He possessed business ability of a high order and accumulated a considerable fortune, becoming one of the largest property owners in the county. He never allowed the accumulation of wealth, however, to dwarf his finer sensi- bilities nor to dull his interest in his fellowmen. He was generous in
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
charity although he avoided anything like ostentation in his benevolence. The integrity of his life and the value of his public service were recognized and in the fall of 1865 he was elected by the voters of Page county as their representative in the eleventh general assembly. The following year he was elected to the responsible position of clerk of the supreme court of Iowa and by successive reelections held the office for eight years. In 1875 he became identified with the banking interests of Clarinda and soon became prsident of the oldest and strongest bank of the city, which position he re- tained, except for a short interval or two, until his death. It was in January, 1875, that he purchased an interest in the First National Bank of Clarinda, now known as the Page County State Bank, and as its chief executive officer his opinions carried great weight in its management, while his enterprise was a substantial factor in its success. In 1892 Mr. Linder- man was again called from private to public life in his reelection to the general assembly. It was in that year that the prohibition party broke down the republican prestige and the state went for Boies. The republicans had to bring out their very best man in order to save the county from going democratic. Mr. Linderman was persuaded to make the race and he won by a hard struggle, the vote standing twenty-four hundred and twenty- seven for Mr. Linderman, and twenty-one hundred and twenty-one for Jesse B. Bartley, who was running as an independent, supported by the democrats. It is doubtful if any other man than Mr. Linderman could have succeeded in that year. He served acceptably as a member of the house and at the close of the session returned again to his banking business.
On the 7th of November, 1877. Mr. Linderman was united in marriage to MIrs. S. E. Conine, who was a daughter of J. H. Powers, one of the pio- neers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Linderman had one child, Ina Lucile, now the wife of Frank L. Blair, of Creston.
From the time of Mr. Linderman's arrival in Clarinda to the day of his death he was actively identified with the upbuilding and development of his home town and county and was ever willing and ready to assist in each laudable undertaking. 1 lis acquaintances became his friends and he retained their confidence to the end. A prominent Mason, Mr. Linderman also held membership with the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He was, moreover, a member of the Loya! Legion and of Warren Post, No. 11. G. A. R .. and through his business, social and political connections he had an extensive acquaintance throughout the state. For more than half a century he was a resident of Iowa and during all of that time was actively identified with the interests which have produced the marvelous growth and development of the state. The feeling in which he was held in his home town is shown by the fact that some years ago the people of Clarinda sought a name for their new hotel-the name of some man among them most representative and most estecmed-and the choice fell unanimously upon the "Linderman."
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