A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa, Part 48

Author: Lewis Publishing Company
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 752


USA > Iowa > Mills County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 48
USA > Iowa > Fremont County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 48


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For twenty-seven years the home of Mr. Davis has been presided over by the lady whom, in 1873. he made his wife. She was Miss Elizabeth Jane Tarr. of Fremont coun- ty. They have an adopted daughter, Ger-


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trude. Mr. Davis began his political ca- reer as a member of the city council of Ham- burg, where he displayed such ability in the control of municipal matters that he was called to the school board, and the · educa- tional. facilities of the city have been greatly advanced through his efforts. He served the county for two successive terms as sher- iff, being elected by the highest majority ever given a candidate on the ticket, and he was one of the most capable and efficient officers that ever served in the position. He refused a third term, and on his retirement from office he became connected with the clothing trade. For the past six years he has conducted in Hamburg one of the larg- est clothing houses in southwestern Iowa. At the same time he has maintained an act- ive interest in politics, and on the death of Hon. E. W. Curry he was elected his suc- cessor, as a member of the Democratic state ·central committee. In 1897 he was elect- ed to represent his district in the legisla- ture at Des Moines, and was re-elected in 1899. He has been a life-long member of the Democratic party and has a personal ac- quaintance with William Jennings Bryan, of whom he is an ardent admirer. In 1900 he served as a delegate to the National Demo- cratic Convention in Kansas City and aid- ed in nominating Mr. Bryan for the presi- dency. He was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church and both he and his wife holds membership in the church of that denomination in Hamburg. He takes an active interest in its work and is very charitable, withholding not the hand of aid from any needy person. Many have reason to bless him for assistance during the Thanksgiving or the Christmas season, but his benefactions are entirely unostentatious.


He is an exemplary member of the Odd Fel- low's lodge in Hamburg and has for two years represented Fremont county in the grand lodge. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity.


Mr. Davis is a fine specimen of man- hood, being six feet, two and a quarter in- ches in height and weighing two hundred and fifty pounds. He is straight and erect, having a military appearance, and he never fails to attract attention in any assemblage. He is indeed one of the county's most popu- lar men, having a wide acquaintance and be- ing held in the highest esteem by all who know him. He always has a hearty greet- ing and cordial handshake for those he meets, is frank and approachable and takes keen delight in pleasant companionship.


CHARLES E. BRUEN.


A prominent capitalist and agriculturist of Mills county, Iowa, is Charles E. Bruen, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Henderson county, Illinois. September I, 1858, and was a son of John and Sarah (Sharpless) Bruen. The father died at Mon- mouth, Illinois, in 1886, at the age of fifty- eight years, and the mother died in Illinois, near Gladstone, in 1865. Mr. Bruen attend- ed the public schools at Monmouth, the academy for five years and Monmouth Col- lege two years, this being supplemented by one year at a business college in Pough- keepsie, New York.


The first business venture of our subject was when he engaged in farming in Mills county for two years on rented land, later bought fourteen hundred acres; and also owns, near Oakland, four hundred and forty acres and also has a large ranch in Ne-


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braska, which is devoted exclusively to the raising of stock, the land in Nebraska amounting to nine thousand acres.


Mr. Bruen was married January 8, 1884. to Miss Nancy .A. James, a daughter of James and Margaret ( Lewis ) James, natives of Wales, who came to the United States about 1865, locating first in Utica county, New York. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bruen are,-Edna M., Lucille and Marjorie.


In politics our subject is now a stanch Republican and has been, since 1896. He cast his first vote for General Hancock. He has too busy a life to fill any office, but he is a politician from principle, believing that every man should do his duty at the polls. The family connection is with the Baptist church, while he is socially a member of the Elks and Modern Woodmen, in both of these organizations being esteemed highly. Mr. Bruen has taken an active interest in the development of Mills county, always assist ing in those measures which he could see would be of benefit.


F. LOVELAND.


The subject of this brief sketch is en- gaged in the clothing business at Sidney. Fremont county. At all times since he has attained the age of accountability he has la- bored earnestly and effectively to promote the welfare of his community, and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed. He has always resided in Fremont county, where he was born on the 27th of October. 1867. a son of Darwin Loveland, who was probably born about 1834, and married Miss Aclelia Cowles.


At his parental home Mr. Loveland of this review spent the days of his childhood,


being carefully reared, and upon his young mind were impressed lessons of industry and honesty which have colored his later career. He is indebted to the public-school system of Hamburg for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. Entering upon his busi- ness career he became connected with mer- cantile interests in Hamburg, and for four- teen years was in a dry-goods store in that place. In 1808 he was elected to the ofice of county clerk of Fremont county for two years and filled the position so capably that in 1900 he was again made a candidate of the Republican party.


On the 2d of September, 1891, in Ilam- burg. Mr. Loveland was united in marriage to Miss Madge A. Burkholder, and they have had two sons,-Gilbert F. and Harry G. Mrs. Loveland pursued her education in Hamburg and afterward engaged in teach- ing in that town and in Sidney. successfully following that profession for a number ot years. She is a lady of superior education and culture and exerts a strong influence in social circles. In his fraternal relations Mr. Loveland is a Knight of Pythias. He has a large circle of acquaintances in his native county, and that many of his warmest friends are numbered among those who have known him from boyhood is an indication of his. upright career.


II. C. DYE.


Numbered among the prominent busi- ness men of Tabor. H. C. Dye is now occu- pying the responsible position of cashier in the State Bank. He has spent his entire life in this portion of lowa. his birth hay- ing occurred near Glenwood, in Mills coun- ty, on the 19th of November. 1868. His


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parents, Sylvester and Mary Jane (Lin- velle) Dye, were residents of Pottawattamie county, Iowa, where the father is still liv- ing. The paternal grandfather of our sub- ject was Henry Dye, a native of Ohio, who removed to Lee county, Iowa, where he fol- lowed farming for a number of years, his death there occurring in 1899, when he was eighty-two years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Michelwait, was a native of England. The maternal grandfather of our subject was George H. Linvelle, a native of Tennessee. He mar- ried Sarah Burris, who was born in Mary- ville, Missouri, and was a representative of a long-lived race. Mr. Linvelle carried on agricultural pursuits as a means of liveli- hood and died in 1899, at the age of seventy - eight years, while his wife passed away in 1888, at the age of seventy-four years. Sylvester Dye was born in Lee county, this state, and was engaged in farming until 1881, when he turned his attention to mer- chandising, carrying on business in Mace- donia. His wife passed away December 28, 1887. At the time of the Civil war the Dye family was represented among the loyal defenders of the Union by the father of our subject, who enlisted at Fort Madison as a member of Company E, of the Nine- teenth Iowa Infantry. He spent much of the time in Texas, being always found at his post of duty, ably defending the old flag and the cause it represented.


H. C. Dye, whose name forms the caption of this review, attended the common schools in his early life, there becoming familiar with the branches of English usually taught in such institutions. He afterward spent three years and three months as a student in Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, and when


twenty-one years of age he started out in life on his own account and has since depended entirely upon his own efforts. For two years he was a clerk in the treasurer's office at Council Bluffs, and also filled the office of deputy treasurer there for four years. In 1896 he came to Tabor and assumed the duties of cashier of the State Bank, in which position he has since remained. He is well qualified for the position which he ably fills, being a popular officer, for his genial manner and obliging disposition, as well as his busi- ness qualifications, have made him a valued representative of the institution with which he has now been connected for four years. He is also treasurer of the Tabor & North- ern Railroad Company and is treasurer of the Tabor College.


In December, 1894, Mr. Dye was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Grass, a dauglı- ter of Frank and Mary ( Covalt) Grass, who were natives of Canada and Virginia, re- spectively, the former born near Montreal, and are now living in Council Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. Dye have two children, a son and a daughter. Socially he is connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Council Bluffs, and the Knights of Pythias lodge, of Tabor. In politics he is a Democrat and in religious belief is a Con- gregationalist, holding membership with the church in Tabor. He possesses the true western spirit of progress and enterprise, and belongs to that class of citizens who, while promoting their individual success, also con- tribute to the general welfare.


E. GILLILLAND.


A prominent and substantial farmer of Mills county, Iowa, now living a comfort- able retired life, is E. Gillilland, the subject


E. GILLILLAND


THE NEK LOPE PURIK WE ARY


TILLINII F


SITIONG


٦


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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.


of this sketch. Ile was born in Barren county, Kentucky, May 6, 1814, and was a son of John and Sarah ( McCurry) Gillil- land, both of whom were natives of David- son county, North Carolina. John Gillil- land removed to Indiana at an early age and is still remembered in his part of the state as an athlete and brave and successful hunter. At the time of his settlement in Indiana the country was yet a wilderness, peopled with Indians and filled with wild beasts, and his life was one of adventure, it often being imperiled. Our subject can relate many thrilling incidents in his father's career, up- on several occasions the killing of Indians being necessary for self-protection. His physical strength and stature were beyond what was possessed by the majority of men and our subject has inherited a great many of his father's characteristics.


One of the most important events in the life of our subject and one that deserves prominence in a sketch of his life, was his marriage to Miss Fanny Wright, February 15, 1835. These worthy people were reared in the same neighborhood, and have passed more than sixty-six years together as man and wife. In 1857 Mr. Gillilland built the present comfortable residence and here the most of their lives have been passed. Of a family of nine children born to them, five survive, these being,-Reuben, a resident of Idaho; Amanda, a resident of Iowa; Anna, a resident of Gray's Harbor, Wash- ington ; Shirley, an attorney, a resident of Glenwood, lowa: and Emma, a resident of Council Bluffs, lowa. Sarah Ann, Lemuel, Cyrena and John W. are deceased. Our subject owns a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land, which is exceedingly productive, having been brought to an ex- 23


cellent state of cultivation. He has been an industrious man all his life, beginning his agricultural labors hoeing corn in Indiana, when but eight years of age. He has served his fellow citizens upon the county board for several years, but has never aspired to office. He has been a consistent member of the Methodist church for many years, where he is beloved and valued. Eighty-seven years have passed over the honored head of our subject, leaving him a fine example of temperate, upright living, he never having been addicted to either drink or tobacco in any form. He retains his eyesight and is able to thread a needle and sight a gun as well as he did an youth. His sweet-faced companion has also borne her years well, be- ing active and healthy, although also ad- vanced along the path of life. If the friends and well-wishers of this admirable couple could be gathered together, it would be one of the largest congregations ever assembled in Mills county, so universal is the feeling of esteem.


FRANCIS M. BUFFINGTON.


Since 1854 this gentleman has been a resident of Mills county and has therefore witnessed the greater part of its development from the period when its wild lands were still in their primitive condition, many acres being yet in the possession of the govern- ment. There came to the west men and women of strong purpose to claim the rich gifts of nature and to aid in laying the foundation for the present advancement in Mills and other counties of the great west- ern empire. The parents of our subject were among the number that came with their


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families forty-six years ago and throughout the intervening period Francis M. Buffing- ton has been a representative of the agri- cultural class. Splendid success has been achieved by him and to-day he is the owner of one thousand acres of valuable land.


He was born March 12. 1835, in Meigs county. Ohio, a son of Hezekiah and Eliza- beth ( Barringer) Buffington. The family is of English lineage and was founded in America by three brothers, who located in Virginia, one of whom was the great-grand- father of our subject. The grandfather was born in the Old Dominion and married a lady who was a native of Maryland. Heze- kiah Buffington, the father, was born in Ohio and in 1837 removed from the Buck- eye state to Adams county, Illinois, where he remained until 1854. when he came to Mills county, Iowa, here spending his re- maining days. His death occurred in 1864. His wife was a native of Pennsylvania and died in 1897.


Francins M. Buffington was the fourth in order of birth in their family of ten chil- dren, seven of whom are yet living. He was but two years of age when his parents left Ohio and was about twenty years of age when they came to Iowa. After arriving at years of maturity he was married, on the 16th of May, 1861, to Miss Sarah Byers, a daughter of William and Nancy Byers, na- tives of Ohio, whence they came to Mills county in 1856. Six children blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Buffington, but only two are now living: Carrie, the wife of Oliver Hammers, a resident of Center town- ship, Mills county ; and Effie, the wife of Richard Jackson, of Oak township, Mills county. Those who have passed away are John, who died in February, 1898, at the


age of thirty-two: Jennie E., Francis M. and Clark.


Mr. Buffington is to-day the owner of one thousand acres of land in Center and Oak townships, and also has other town property and other interests, owning forty shares in the Mills County Bank. Industry and careful management have been the salient points in his career and he has won his success along the lines of the old-time trite maxims : "Honesty is the best policy." and. "There is no excellence without labor." He votes with the Republican party and is a public-spirited and progressive citizen and gives hearty support and co-operation to all movements which he believes will prove of public benefit.


ALBERT J. MUNSINGER.


Albert J. Munsinger is numbered among the native sons of Mills county, his birth hay- ing occurred near the city of Tabor, Iowa, on the 4th of May, 1861. His parents, Jo- seph and Martha (Stany) Munsinger, were both natives of Ohio, but in the year 1852 they emigrated westward, taking up their abode in Tabor, where they have since re- sided. Under the parental roof their son Albert J. spent the days of his childhood. and the common schools of Tabor afford- ed him his early educational privileges. He was graduated in the high school at the age of eiyhteen years and then entered the sci- entific course in Tabor College, where he was graduated in the class of 1885. After leaving that institution he engaged in teach- ing for two years, being employed in that way at Strahan and on the Missouri bot- toms. He now devotes his energies to agri- cultural pursuits, having followed farming


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since 1887, and since September, 1900, has been in the clothing and furnishing goods business in Tabor.


On the 24th of March, 1897, Mr. Mun- singer was united in marriage to Miss Cora Shell, and they now have three children, Blake and the twins, Clyde and Hazel. They hold membership in the Congrega- tional church, and in his political views Mr. Munsinger in a Republican. He takes an active interest in the work of the county and has been honored with offices, holding every township position except that of trus- tee. Ile was assessor for four years, was justice of the peace for four years and was township clerk for two years, and in these offices discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity that won him the commendation of all concerned.


JAMES J. McCOY.


Almost every state in the Union has sent some of its sons to Iowa, and the character- istics of the different sections of the coun- try have combined here in forming a spirit of enterprise and progress that has builded up a commonwealth of large proportions while the work that it has accomplished has excited the admiration of the nation. Mr. McCoy is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in the Keystone state. in 1854. His father, Robert McCoy, spent his early life in the east and was there mar- ried to Miss Phoebe Anne Jester, a native of Pennsylvania, in which state their mar- riage was celebrated. Five children were born of their marriage, namely: J. E. and W. E., who are residents of Mills county ; Emma and Sarah who are at home with their father: and James J., of this review. The


year 1856 witnessed the arrival of the fam. ily in lowa, and the father bought the land upon which he now resides. It was then a wild tract on which not a furrow had been turned or an improvement made, but to-day it is a fine and valuable farm, pleasantly lo- cated about one mile east of Glenwood. There the father is still living and is one of the highly respected and honored pioneers of the community. He had one brother. James McCoy, who was a gallant soldier in the Civil war. Hle enlisted in Pennsyl- vania and participated in the battle ot Gettysburg, the most hotly contested and memorable engagement of the war.


Mr. McCoy, whose name introduces this review, was only two years of age when brought by his father to Jowa, and in the dis- trict schools near his home he was educated. Upon a farm he was reared, carly taking his place in the fields behind the plow. Prac tical experience thus fitted him for carrying on agricultural pursuits on his own account and to-day he owns, occupies and cultivates a farm three miles southwest of Hillsville.


Mr. McCoy was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Schappell, who was born in New York state, a daughter of AAndrew Schappell, who was born in Germany and from the fatherland crossed the Atlantic to New York, and is still living. his home be- ing in Glenwood, Iowa. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Christina Slomp. is now deceased. She. too, was born in Germany, her birthplace being in the northern por- tion of the country. AAndrew Schappell first opened his eyes to the light of day in Worms one of the most historic places in the father- land, prominent on account of the Reforma- tion which was there inaugurated by Martin Luther, who gave to the world its Protestant


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religion. Mr. Schappell had two brothers who were soldiers in Blucher's army and were both killed at the battle of Waterloo. Unto the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McCoy have been born five children : Maggie, now the wife of Lucas Reasner, a member of a very prominent family of Mills county : Mrs. Annie Wiles, whose husband is a representa- tive of one of the old families of that lo- cality; Nellie, Rhoda and Jennie, who are intelligent and ambitious girls, in whose edu- cation the parents take a deep interest, being determined that good advantages in that di- rection shall fit them for life in later years.


In his political affiliations Mr. McCoy is a Democrat and holds membership with the Odd Fellows' lodge of Hillsville. His wife belongs to the Baptist church, attend- ing the services of that denomination in Glenwood. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy occupy a pleasant home and hie devotes his time and attention to farming, being a worthy rep- resentative of the agricultural interests of Mills county.


ROBERT J. BRADLEY.


One of the most energetic and enter- prising men of Percival is Robert J. Brad- ley, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, Tuly 31, 1829. His father, Edward Bradley, was a native of Dumfriesshire, Scotland, born in 1781, and prior to 1825 he crossed the Atlantic to America, locating in New Brunswick, in the British possessions there. Prior to the great fire he had taken up his abode in the new world and was an eye witness of the awful conflagration of 1825, known as the great Marimichi fire, which originated in the forest and was appalling in its destructiveness. Soon afterward Mr.


Bradley removed with his wife to Boston. He was married to Miss Sarah Newton, of Guisboro, Nova Scotia, whose father served as an artilleryman under King George and was stationed at Quebec during the war of the Revolution but subsequently removed to Guisboro. He was commander of one of the vessels at the time of the capture of Quebec.


The father of our subject was a man of high scholarly attainments. He had ac- quired a collegiate education in Edinburgh, had prepared for the ministry, preaching the gospel in the Presbyterian church, and was also a life-long teacher, and through a long and active career he devoted his en- ergies toward the improvement of the in- tellectual and moral condition of the people among whom he lived. After residing in the United States for some time he returned to New Brunswick, where he died in 1841, having survived his wife a number of years, her death occurring in 1834. She left six children, three sons and three daughters : Louisa, who became the wife of Neil Mc- Nutt, died in the fall of 1899, at the age of seventy-four, leaving one son and two grandchildren; Maria A. is the widow of Robert Barbour, of New Brunswick, and ten of her thirteen children are still living; Robert J. is the third of the family ; William H. died in St. Stephens, New Brunswick, at the age of twenty-nine years; Gilbert S. died in New Brunswick, at the age of twen- ty-eight ; and Sarah became Mrs. Goodwin, of New Brunswick, and now has six chil- dren.


Robert J. Bradley, whose name intro- duces this record, lost his mother when he was five years of age. He did not live at home until he was ten years of age, after


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which he spent one year with his family. On the expiration of that period he secured a position as an errand boy in the town of Bathurst, New Brunswick, receiving two dollars per month in compensation for his services, through a period of eight months. At the age of seventeen he apprenticed him. self to learn the tanner's and currier's trade in New Brunswick, serving for a term of four years, during which time he received ten dollars per month. He subsequently worked as a journeyman currier for three years, and at the age of twenty-four he ac- cepted a position as finisher of morocco in Providence, Rhode Island, where he re- mained for two years. Subsequently he en . gaged in the daguerreotype business, hay- ing a photographic car on wheels. In this way he traveled through Rhode Island and Connecticut, and at Willimantic he sold the enterprise preparatory to going to the west. At the age of twenty-eight years he made his way to Detroit, Michigan, where he pur- chased an ambrotype outfit and with this traveled through the Wolverine state. In 1859 he located his art gallery in Coldwater. Michigan, where he carried on business un- til 1861.


In that year Mr. Bradley put aside all personal interests and responded to Presi- dent Lincoln's call for troops, enlisting as a member of Company A. of the First Mich- igan Battery of Light Artillery. He re- mained in the service for two years and was mustered out as third sergeant. In 1863 he returned to Coldwater, where for a year he remained as a convalescent, it requiring that time for him to recover from his army experiences. In March, 1864. Mr. Bradley . went to Salt Lake, where he followed the currier's trade until December, 1864. and




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