A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa, Part 60

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 60
USA > Iowa > Fremont County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 60


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dence. His first purchase consisted of ser- enty-five acres of land, only ten acres of which had been broken, but being a man of tireless energy and industrious habits, the entire tract was soon placed under cultiva- tion and is now one of the best improved farms of Silver Creek township. As his financial resources have increased, he has added to his landed possessions until he now has two hundred and forty-eight acres. a part of which he rents. In connection with general farming he has also success- fully engaged in stock-raising. His place is conveniently located, his pretty country seat being not more than one m'le from Malvern.


Mr. Johnson has for many years been identified with the Mill- County Cear ! Fair Association, and has been one of its most active and influential workers. For a quarter of a century he has occupied one or another of its official positions, and in 1899 was elected its president, in which capacity he is now serving. Although reared a Demo- crat. his father being a supporter of that party, he has always affiliated with the Re- publican party since casting his first presi- dential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has been an active worker in its conventions. He attends the Christian church, of which his wife is an carnest and consistent mem- ber, and is an upright, honorable man who commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact either in business or social life.


ALEXANDER STROUD.


A fitting reward of a well-spent life is an honored retirement from labor, an oppor- tunity to enjoy the fruits of former toil and


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to spend some years unharassed by business cares and burdens. This has been vouch- safed to Mr. Stroud, who, after a long con. nection with agricultural pursuits, has now retired, the accumulations of former decades supplying him with all the comforts and many of the luxuries that go to make life worth the living.


A native of Tennessee, he was born in Bedford county, in 1830. His father was a native of North Carolina and at an early day emigrated to Tennessee, taking up his residence in Bedford county, where he de -- voted his time and energies to agricultural pursuits. He had a brother who served as a color-bearer under General Jackson at the battle of New Orleans in the war of 1812, and was the first to plant the stars and stripes upon the breastworks there. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Rebecca Greene, and was a relative of General Greene of Revolutionary fame. She was born in Tennessee and was of Scotch descent, a rep- resentative of a family that was prominent in the Revolutionary war. The parents of our subject were married in the mother's native state, and their opposition to slavery and its practices led to their removal to the north. They located first in Illinois, and afterward came to Iowa.


Alexander Stroud accompanied his par- ents on their removals and thus became iden- tified with pioneer life in the Hawkeye state. His educational privileges were very limited. for there were 110 free schools and this ne .- cessitated his attendance at subscription schools. The first schoolhouse which he ever saw was built by his parents and their neigh- bors out of materials which they hauled to the place, therefrom erecting a structure that their children might receive some educa-


tional privileges. Mr. Stroud's training at farm labor, however, was not meager, for at a very early day he began work in the fields and followed the plow at the time of the spring planting and garnered the crops during the summer and autumn harvests. He carried on farming in connection with his father until 1879, when he removed to Hillsdale, Center township, Mills county, Iowa, his present home. He has now re- tired from active business life, but is still a land-owner in this locality. He superin- tends his investments, but otherwise is en- gaged in no active labor.


At the time of the Civil war Mr. Stroud manifested his loyalty to the Union by enlisting in the army at Knoxville. Iowa, on the 15th of August, 1862. He joined the "boys in blue" with Company A, Fortieth Iowa Infantry, under the command of Cap- tain M. V. B. Bennett and Colonel John A. Garrett. With his company he went to Iowa City and then direct to "Dixie land," going into camp at Columbus, Kentucky. The regiment was engaged in heavy skir- mishing throughout the winter. Their next camp was at Paducah, Kentucky, from which point they went to the support of Grant in the siege of Vicksburg. After the fall of that city Mr. Stroud saw some very hard and trying service in the Yazoo valley country, chasing the rebels through miry swamps and almost impenetrable thickets and canebrakes. He took part in the battle of Jenkins' Ferry, a very severe engagement, and was afterward in service along the Mississippi, where they were constantly subjected to the fire from the sharpshooters and the guns on the gun- boats. They made one march of fifty-five miles in twenty-two hours, Mr. Stroud and three of his companions being the only mem-


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bers of the company to stack arms on their arrival at their destination. Subsequently he went with his regiment to Jackson, Mis- sissippi, and Helena, Arkansas, and thence to the Arkansas river, opposite Little Rock, where he experienced some of the very hard- est service of his enlistment. The men were ordered across the river in the face of the rebel guns to capture the city, and though the service was a very difficult one it was per- formed by the brave "boys in blue." Then occurred some very sanguinary battles, the soldiers being mown down like grass! The regiment turned south in Arkansas toward Texas, and the subsequent battles, skirmishes and forced marches in dangerous places and in the darkness of the night were enough to try the metal of the most courageous soldier. but through it all Mr. Stroud never wavered. and when mustered out of service he could claim the honorable distinction of having never lost a day and having ever been found at his post of duty, whether in the thick- est of the fight or upon the tented field. His patience, fortitude and valor are worthy of the highest commendation, for no other sol- dier ever bore such hardships with a more cheerful or courageous spirit. He was mus- tered out at Fort Gibson. Indian Territory, after a service of about three and one-halt years.


Mr. Stroud was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Wade, in Marion county, Iowa. her people having come to the west from In- diana. She is an estimable lady and has been to her husband a faithful wife and helpmate on life's journey. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stroud have been born ten children : Angeline, who became the wife of Dr. Eddy, of Malvern Iowa, but both are now deceased : Judith, the wife of William McCoy, who resides on


a farm near Tabor, in Mills county : Priscilla J., the wife of Calvin Goddard, of Pueblo, Colorado; Rebecca, the wife of Dr. Cross, of Hillsdale: Clara, who married Daniel AAnderson, a farmer of Mills county : Telitha, who wedded S. E. Surface, a resident farm- er of Ringgold county, lowa; Ola, who is the wife of C. S. Day, an agriculturist of Monona, lowa: Joseph F., the elder son, who was reared as a farmer but is now in business in Hillsdale : Willis C., the younger son, who is a resident of Ottumwa, lowa: and Sadie, who is deceased.


In his political views Mr. Stroud is a Re- publican, having voted the ticket since the organization of the party. He has filled a number of local offices of trust, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. thus winning the high commendation of all con- cerned. He has a wide acquaintance in Mills county and enjoys the respect and es . teem of his fellow men by reason of his hon- orable and upright life.


R. C. SMITHI.


R. C. Smith, a prominent and representa- tive farmer and mechanic whose residence in Fremont county dates from an early day of its development, was born in Warren county, Pennsylvania. September 5. 1828. his parents being Horace and Margaret ( Reese) Smith, the mother being a native of Pennsylvania, where they were married. The father, however, was born and reared in the Empire state, whither his parents had removed with their family previous to his birth.


His father followed freighting before railroads were built and owned two four- horse teams and wagons. In 1812 Horace


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and his father were driving one of the teams when the government pressed both men and teams into the service of transporting the supplies and munitions of war for the army. They were thus engaged for some time and after the close of the second war with Eng- land Horace Smith returned to Pennsyl- vania. He became a sailor on the northern lakes and while thus engaged he sailed on Lake Michigan and visited the site of Chi- cago before the city was founded, and aided in erecting old Fort Dearborn, and thus he became connected with one of the works which became historic.


Subsequently he returned to Pennsyl- vania, where he was married and took up his abode, engaging in the lumbering business. He dealt in lumber, which he rafted down the Susquehanna river to market, carrying on that enterprise until 1837, when he re- moved to Illinois, becoming one of the pio- neers of the Prairie state. Upon a tract of unimproved land in Warren county, which his wife had inherited, he and his family lo- cated and with characteristic energy he be- gan its cultivation and improvement. Later he exchanged that farm for a tract of coal land and thereon he opened coal mines, which he operated for a number of years, devoting his energies to that industry until his labors were ended in death in 1859. A quiet, unas- suming man, he worked hard and by his un- faltering industry and honorable dealings he managed to accumulate a comfortable com- petence. He never aspired to public office. being content to perform the duties of cit- izenship without official reward. After his death the widowed mother sold her home and coal mines in Illinois and removed to Iowa, locating in Fremont county. Her children were all grown and in their homes she re-


sided. Some time afterward she went to Illinois to visit a daughter who was living in that state, and there the death of Mrs. Smith occurred. The parents of our subject had six children, of whom he is the eldest. The others are Isabel, now Mrs. Barnard; Mrs. Mary Pettit; John, who served through the war of the Rebellion; Charles and Orin, who also "wore the blue" in defense of the Union. The four sons of the family were in the service of their country at the time of the Civil war. Each one returned home in safety, although they had sustained slight wounds.


R. C. Smith spent his early boyhood days upon his father's farm, and to the public- school system of Illinois is indebted for the educational privileges which he enjoyed. When sixteen years of age he was appren- ticed to the blacksmith's trade, serving for a term of three years, and afterward he fol- lowed that calling for some time. At the time of his marriage, however, he began farming in conection with his blacksmithing and folowed the dual pursuit until 1861, when, feeling that his country needed his services, he enlisted as a member of Company I, Fiftieth Illinois Infantry. The regiment was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee and he was at the front under Colonel Bain and General John A. Logan. As a member of the Fifteenth Army Corps he went to the front and did guard duty in the winter of 1861-2 on the Hanibal & St. Joseph Rail- road. With his regiment he participated in the campaign of Missouri, after which the command was transferred to Tennessee and participated in the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, and they then went to Nash- ville and Clarksville and took part in many engagements under General Grant in his


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campaign doing much hard service. At length the regiment arirved at Paducah, Ken- tucky. After serving at the front for two years Mr. Smith was granted a furlough, on account of physical disability, and returned to his home. When his leave of absence had expired he was still unable to do field sery- ice and his furlough was therefore extended. But he did not recover his health as he had hoped to do, and therefore was honorably discharged. Two years passed before he was able to engage in any work ; and even now, almost forty years after the war, ho yet feels the effects of his army experience and the ill health incurred thereby.


When again strong enough to take up the active duties of life, Mr. Smith resumed farming and blacksmithing. In 1851 he had married Miss Loretta Myers, and in October, 1872, he brought his family to Fremont county. Iowa, where he purchased the farm upon which he yet resides. The land had been broken, and a small house, then in a rather dilapidated condition, had been built, but the place was unfenced and the work of cultivation had been carried forward to only a slight degree. Mr. Smith paid twenty-five dollars per acre for his land. The first work which claimed his attention in Iowa was the erection of a blacksmith shop, and soon he was busily engaged at his trade, while his two sons took charge of the farm, which they improved under his direction. The home therefore soon became self-supporting and has been so ever since. For a number of years Mr. Smith was the leading blacksmith in his locality, his patronage coming to him from a wide extent of territory. His expert work secured him the continued trade of all with whom he once had dealings, and until a few years since he followed black-


smithing : and at the present time he does his own work in that line. He has made per- manent and substantial improvements on his place which add both to its value and attrac- tive appearance. He remodeled and enlarged the house, erected an extensive barn and com- modious outbuildings, planted an orchard and grove, and everything is kept in excel- lent condition. The place is pleasantly lo- cated about three miles south of Randolph. By his honorable business methods and un- faltering perseverance Mr. Smith has ac- quired a comfortable competence for the evening of life, and at the same time he has won that good name which is rather to be chosen than great riches.


Mrs. Smith has been to her husband a faithful companion and helpmeet on the jour- ney of life. She was born November 22, 1837, in the town of Monmouth, Illinois, and represents one of the honored early families of Warren county, that state. Her parents George and Anna ( Goody ) Myers, were both natives of Ohio and were there married, after which they sought a home in what was then a wild and unimproved district. Lo- cating in Monmouth, Illinois, the father there conducted a general mercantile establishment for a number of years and also had charge of a stage coach line. Subsequently he turned his atention to farming and became an extensive dealer and shipper of fat cattle. About 1865 he sold his property in the Prairie state and came to Iowa, locating near Shenandoah, where he purchased a large tract of land. Still later he engaged in merchandising in Manti, where he remained for three years, when he removed to Mis- souri and resumed his agricultural labors, continuing the work of the fields and at the same time handling stock. His next place of


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abode was in Kansas, but he ultimately re- turned to Manti, Iowa, where he died in 1888. He was a man of excellent business ability, strong purpose and energy, and was charitable and public-spirited. His standard of integrity and honor was very high and his life was in harmony therewith.


His children were: Sarah, who became Mrs. M. Ware; William; . Mrs. Matilda Speck; Nancy, the wife of D. Myers; Lor- etta, the honored wife of Mr. Smith; and John. Twelve children came to add hap- piness and brightness to the home of our sub- ject and his wife, but they lost their first born, William, who died in infancy. The others are : Alonzo, who is living in the state of Washington; George, a farmer of Iowa; Mrs. Margaret Jenkins; Louisa, the wife of William Kline; Mrs. Mary Pippitt; Harvey, an agriculturist; Ida, the wife of William Wilson; Isabel, at home; Guy and Elliott, both of whom follow farming in this state; and Richard, who is yet with his parents. Mrs. Smith is a faithful and earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Smith maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Randolph Post, G. A. R. His career has ever been characterized by fidelity to (luty in every relation, whether upon the field of battle, in the home or in business life, and his history illustrates the power of industry and honesty in gaining success.


WILLIAM C. SWARTS.


The people of Indiana are enterprising and progressive and have made it one of the great states of the Union, and Indianans who have located elsewhere have most of them made their marks in the business com-


munity and taken the lead in public affairs. One of the prominent Indianians of Mills county, Iowa, is William C. Swarts, a pros- perous stock farmer who for the past seven- teen years has lived at Silver City.


William C. Swarts was born in Allen county. Indiana, October II, 1849, a son of George Swarts, who was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1826. and passed his younger days there, removing to Erie county, New York, and thence after seven years to Wayne county, Ohio. Peter Swarts, the father of George Swarts, and grand father of William C. Swarts, was born in Pennsylvania in 1796 and died in 1880. His wife was Susan Dolph and they had five children, of whom three sons and a daughter are living. One of these, George Swarts, the father of William C. Swarts, lives in Mills county. Another, known as "Aunt Mary" Boles, is living, widowed, in Hemphill county, Texas. His wife died at the age of forty-three in Wayne county, Ohio, and he married again and had five chil- dren by his second marriage. In 1849, when he was twenty-three years old, George Swarts married Margaret Johnson, who died in 1868, nineteen years later, leaving five daughters and one son, William C. Swarts, the subject of this sketch. February 22, 1870, he married Amanda (Johnson) Don- er, a sister of his first wife, who bore him one daughter, who was named Kate, and who is the wife of E. H. Scott, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Mr. Swarts began life poor, but pros- pered abundantly and became an extensive land owner and bought and sold many farms, and at this time he owns three hundred and sixty-five acres, comprising two farms. He is a Mason and in politics is independent. He has filled the offices of township trustee


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of Ingraham township and mayor of Silver City.


William C. Swarts was older than his five sisters. He passed his younger days in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan and his el- ucational advantages were limited. At the age of twenty he left home and hired out on a wood job in Indiana and earned fifty dollars during his first two weeks' service. Later he settled on a small farm of eighty acres, which he paid for in work before he was married. The success which attended his first business ventures did not desert him in after years, and he has been prosperous to the present time. He lived on his first farm from 1873 to 1876, and improved it greatly and sold it to advantage preparatory to mor- ing to Mills county, Iowa. Since he first located in Mills county he has moved four times and has owned several different farms. Hle came to his present farm, which ad- joins Silver City on the south, in 1895. It consists of three hundred and sixty-five acres, well improved and well equipped for stock farming. For twelve years prior to coming to this place. he owned and lived on a farm of two hundred and seventy-six acres north of Silver City, which he bought for ten thousand dollars and sold twelve years after for twenty-five thousand dollars. He has always been a stock-raiser, and while dealing principally in cattle has handled horses and hogs somewhat extensively. During the past twenty-four years he has made a specialty of feeding beef cattle, and until 1894 shipped more fat stock than any one else in the county, often handling forty to fifty thousand dollars' worth a month. Owing to failing health, he partially retired from business in the year mentioned. but has


How two hundred and fifty head of cattle and about fifty head of horses and mules. He has bred many horses and some valuable ones. He raises one hundred acres of corn and fifty acres of small grain, and buy- corn and hay for his stock. His home farm orig- inally consisted of five hundred and twenty- five acres, of which he sold one hundred and sixty acres, and he owns a section of land in Nebraska, which is cultivated by ten- ants but the stock on which is his, and there is no time when he does not have on hand two to three hundred head of cattle. He built the fine residence on his former farm north of Silver City in 1894, and his pres- ent modern residence, the best in the vicin - ity, two years later.


Mr. Swarts is a Master Mason, a Re- publican and a supporter of the Christian church, of which his wife is a member. He has steadfastly refused to accept any public office, but exerts a recognized influence in city and township affairs. He was married in 1873. in Porter county, Indiana, to Sarah Jane Isminger, a native of that county, and a daughter of John and Catharine ( Koutz ) Isminger, natives of Ohio. Frank Swarts. their eldest son, was born November 9. 1875 and came with his parents to Mills county, Iowa. He is a pharmacist and has a wife and one little daughter. Edward, their next son in order of birth, is a member of their household, as are also Mark, Jim. Mabel and Mae. Maud died when fifteen months old. Mabel and Mae are twins and were born November 26, 1888, on the anniversary of the birth of their grandfather Swarts. They do not resemble each other in personat appearance as some twins do, but are bright interesting girls, with a decided talent for


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music ; and Mae is a star in social entertain- ments both as a vocalist and as an elocu- tionist.


SIDNEY FOWLER.


Sidney Fowler is a prominent Mason of Hamburg, Iowa, and a well-known railroad man, having been in railroad service in this portion of the state for a quarter of a cen- tury. A native of Illinois, he was born in Schuyler county, February 3, 1849, his par- ents being Josiah and Misniah (Dunning) Fowler, both of whom were natives of Ken- tucky. The father belonged to one of the old families of that state, while the mother's people were from South Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler became well-known residents of Schuyler county, Illinois, and as people of sterling worth they are held in high esteem. The father gave his time and attention to agricultural pursuits and in that manner provided a livelihood for his famliy. His death occurred in 1876, and his wife passed away in 1865.


Sidney Fowler, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared in Illinois and in Kansas. When twenty years of age he entered the railroad service, with which he has been connected for thirty years, this long period being characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty. He is well known in rail- road circles in southwestern Iowa and north- western Missouri, and for eighteen years has been the foreman on section 29 of the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad at Hamburg, Iowa. During this time he has never met with an accident, ow- ing to his capable management. his close ap- plication and his thorough understanding of the work entrusted to him.


In the year 1875 Mr. Fowler was united in marriage, in Doniphan, Kansas, to Miss Martha Hughes, who to him has been a faith- ful companion on the journey of life. She is a native of Missouri but was reared and educated in Miami county, Kansas, her par- ents being William and Martha (Terry) Hughes. The father is still living in south- ern Missouri, but the mother died at the age of sixty-two years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have been born two children,- Roy Eddie and Nondas Frances, aged respective . ly thirteen and seven years. Mr. Fowler ex- ercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Democracy, and for eight years has served as a council- man of Hamburg county.


He keeps well informed on the issues of the day and is thus enabled to support his political position by intelligent argument. He is well known and deservedly prominent in Masonic circles, for his life exemplifies the beneficent principles of the fraternity. He is now serving as the master of Jerusalem Lodge, No. 253, F. & A. M., of Hamburg, with which he has been identified for thirteen years. He was made a Master Mason ill Rushville, Missouri, in 1880. He also be- longs to Olive Council, has taken the chap .. ter degrees, and both he and his wife are members of the Order of the Easter Star.


NELSON CURTIS FIELD.


In the promotion and conservation of advancement in all the normal lines of hu- man progress and civilization there is no factor which has exercised a more potent influence than the press, which is both the director and the mirror of public opinion. Glenwood has been signally favored in the




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