USA > Iowa > Mills County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 76
USA > Iowa > Fremont County > A biographical history of Fremont and Mills Counties, Iowa > Part 76
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
589
BIOGRAPHIC.IL HISTORY.
mirer of Henry Clay, and when the new Re- publican party was formed he joined its ranks and was one of its most earnest advo- cates. William M. Phipps was twice mar- ried. He first wedded Miss Martha Greer, and unto them were born four children : After the death of his first wife Mr. Phipps wedded Miss Eliza McBrune, a native of Tennessee and a representative of an old North Carolina family. This marriage oc- curred in White county, Illinois. One of her brothers. Jon MeBrune, enlisted for ser- vice in the Mexican war and was never heard from again. It is believed that he was killed in battle. To the parents of our sub- ject were born ten children. Two were Union soldiers in the Civil war. One was held as a prisoner in Andersonville for one month and was then transferred to the prison in Florence, South Carolina.
Charles M, Phipps, the subject of this memoir, spent his entire life in the Hawkeye state and witnessed much of its growth, development and progress. His education was obtained in the district schools of Mills county. His training at farm labor was not meager. Practical experience early ac- quainted him with the work of field and meadow. The occupation to which he was reared he has made his life work and he was numbered among the most successful agri- culturists of the community, having a large and well developed tract of land, the rich fields bringing to him a good return. All the modern accessories and improvements are there found. The rotation of crops keeps the soil in good condition and the stock which he raised was of good grade.
On the 26th of September, 1878, Mr. Phipps was united in marriage to Miss Mi- nerva Rains, an intelligent and cultured lady.
Her father, Laurence Rains, was a native of Ohio and after arriving at years of maturity he wedded Miss Mary Troth, who was also born in that state, but like her husband was a representative of an old North Carolina family. They came to lowa in 1849. Mr. Rains had a brother who was killed in the Mexican war. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Phipps was blessed with three children : Ethel M .. Roscoe and Everet G. The eldest is a graduate of the Glenwood high school, and is now following her chosen profession as a teacher in Mills county. She is a very bright and ambitious young lady. The other children are students in the Glenwood high school.
In his political affiliations Mr. Phipps was a Republican and was honored with a number of local offices, serving for several terms as a road supervisor and township trustee. He attended the Methodist Epis- copal church at Glenwood. He died Janu- ary 29. 1901, aged fifty-one years, two months and twenty-nine days, after an illness of two months, leaving a widow supplied with a beautiful home, which has always been characterized by hospitality.
TABOR COLLEGE.
Some colleges spring fully equipped into existence: Tabor had its infancy and child- hood. Tabor College existed as an ideal in the mind of Deacon George B. Gaston al- most fifty years ago. In 1847 he and his wife started for the west, bringing with them a young man. the Rev. John Todd, in order that they might enjoy church services after they had become located in their new home. They settled a little above Nebraska City, not far from the present town of Per-
590
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
cival. Their whole thought and feeling were entirely different from the ideas of those who lived in this neighborhood, and they endured hardships of which people in these days can have no conception. They remained on the Missouri bottom lands from about October, 1848, until some time in the spring of 1852, when the constantly recur- ring floods led them to seek a higher and better location, and this they found in Tabor. Among the first families here were those of Deacon Gaston, Rev. John Todd and Deacon S. H. Adams. On the original plat of Tabor are marked college grounds al- though there was no college within a thou- sand miles. The following year other fami- lies came from Ohio, including James L. Smith and Origen Cumings and their fam- ilies, and on the 5th of October, 1853, the citizens of Tabor met to take steps toward carrying out the original intention of estab- lishing an institution of learning. Articles of incorporation for Tabor Literary Insti- tute were adopted December 26, 1853.
In the summer of 1857 Origen Cummings, a member of the board of trustees of Tabor Literary Institute, went to Ohio to secure a teacher to open an academy at Tabor, and on the recommendation of Professor Fair- child, of Oberlin College, he secured William M. Brooks, who had just graduated at that institution. Arrangements were consum- mated whereby he was to come to Tabor for a year, and on the 23d of October, 1857, he arrived in this city and on the 3d of No- vember following he began teaching. There was an enrollment of seventeen pupils on the first day, including the Rev. E. S. Hill, D. D., now of Atlantic ; A. C. Gaston, of Tabor ; Mrs. Mary E. Lawrence and Mrs. W. M. Brooks. The school continually increased
until before the close of the winter terni there were sixty-three pupils-all that could be crowded into the little school-house. In 1859, however, a chapel was built, forty-two by thirty-two feet, and was used as a church, academy and for all public meetings. Dur- ing the first years of the school Mr. Brooks, the principal, gave instruction in all the com- mon branches of learning, and in addition ยท taught algebra, geometry, physiology, Latin and Greek, and in the evening he conducted evening sessions and also taught singing.
With the close of the war of the Re- bellion came the building of railroads, the influx of population and other indications of prosperity. Students who had attended the academy at Tabor were splendidly pre- pared for college and wished to advance farther in their studies. In this way the question of establishing a college in accord- ance with the original plan came up in the autumn of 1865, and so, at a meeting held December 29, 1865, it was voted "that the corporation now known as Tabor Literary Institute be hereafter known as Tabor Col- lege." This action was, however, recon- sidered at a subsequent meeting, and it was not until the 23d of July, 1866, that the final articles of incorporation were adopted.
The first nineteen donors to the college subscribed sixty per cent. of the assessed value of their property, and Mr. Brooks was sent to the east to secure funds for the pros- ecution of the work. In order that the money might all be saved for this purpose subscriptions were taken in Tabor to pay the traveling expenses of Mr. Brooks, and many interesting incidents in connection with this work of securing money for the college show the great interest which the people felt in the enterprise. The number
591
BIOGRAPHIICAL HISTORY.
of donors exceeded the number of families in Tabor, and the self-denial in giving was not confined to those who had property. There were gifts from those who necessarily counted the pennies; gifts from those who wanted to have some part in the work, and all these gave hope and courage to those who were carrying forward the work of es- tablishing the school. It is no wonder that the college prospered. for it grew because of a great number of small gifts, made by the self-sacrifice and united efforts of all the people.
The Rev. John Todd, the pastor of the church, with a salary of eight hundred dol- lars a year, gave one thousand dollars to the college, and in fourteen years gave more than twenty-five hundred dollars in money. besides contributing in large measure to all benevolent enterprises of the community. He also taught for three years in the col- lege and for many years acted as librarian without accepting compensation for his serv- ices. He was a man of small means who lived economically for the sake of giving. and to him Tabor College owes a great debt of gratitude.
To Deacon S. H. Adams also the col- lege is indebted to a far greater extent than can be easily realized. From the time that he came to Tabor with the first settlers Dea- con Adams has been a stanch supporter of the college, both in gifts and money and with loyal advocacy. In proportion to his income his donations have been more munificent than those of any other one man, and in recogni- tion of his life-long work and devotion to its interests the name of Adams Hall was given to the last of the college buildings erected. This was built in 1899 to meet the demands caused by the steady growth of the
college. The college property now consists of five buildings, and a large heating plant is in process of erection.
The conscientious and efficient leadership of the first president of the college, backed by the loyalty and gifts of the first settlers, has made Tabor College what it is to-day. Too much cannot be said of the faithful work of Mr. Brooks as the president of the insti- tution in its earlier years, when the diffi- culties of placing and keeping the college on a sound financial basis were very much great- er than they are at present.
On the 3d of October. 1897. Dr. Richard Cecil Hughes was inaugurated president. He had for six years held the chair of phil- osophy and been dean of the faculty. He graduated at Wooster University in 1884 and at McCormick Seminary, of Chicago, in 1887. His administration has been di- rected toward improving the class-room work of the college. The modern labor- atory method has been introduced and ample laboratories provided and equipped with ma- terial and apparatus for the demonstration of problems in science. It is particularly com- plete in this regard, and the chemical and physical libraries add greatly to the interest which the students have in those branches of learning. The library has also been greatly increased in size and arranged according to the decimal system, and has become a splen- did reference library. Accessions are con- stantly being made to it, and already it con- tains twelve thousand volumes, together with a complete file of the government records up to date.
In addition to his work here President Hughes has also taken a deep interest in the educational progress of lowa, having been prominent in the work of the State Teach-
592
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ers' Association. During the four years of his administration as the head of the college the endowment fund has been greatly in- creased, and the new and handsome Adams Hall has been erected. The present faculty of the institution is composed of capable and conscientious teachers, thoroughly in touch with the modern methods of the day, and not a little of the value of the college train- ing received in Tabor is due to the constant contact of the students with men and women of broad, well-rounded characters and lives.
So from a humble beginning, by means of many small gifts, slowly but surely Tabor College has grown to her present extent and her usefulness is yet in its infancy. Under the guidance of wise and able leaders her share in the world's activities is destined to be a large one.
CASPER O. McCOY.
Pennsylvania has furnished many pio- neers to the west whose natural industry and business ability made them prominent wherever they located. Of such stock came Casper O. McCoy, a well known farmer of Ingraham township. Mills county, Iowa, who owns and lives on a fine six-hundred- acre farm not far from Silver City.
Casper O. McCoy was born near Union- town, the seat of justice of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, January 5. 1829. a son of James McCoy, who was born there in 1804 and died in Ingraham township. Mills coun- ty. Iowa, in 1865. James McCoy married Margaret Graham, a native of Pennsyl- vania, who was reared there in a German family, and in 1839 they went with teams from Pennsylvania to Fulton, Whiteside county, Illinois, where they remained during
the winter of 1839-40. In the spring of 1840 they moved on to Scott county, Iowa, and in 1843 went to Cedar county, also in this state, whence they came in 1850 to In- graham township, Mills county. They were practical farmers and reared their three sons and five daughters to the work and respon- sibilities of farm life, and all of them are living except the eldest son, Joseph G. Mc- Coy, who was killed by a runaway team, in Oregon, in his sixtieth year, and whose old- est son was killed there by the Indians. Mr. McCoy was a prominent farmer and a leader in local affairs and held many township of- fices. His widow survived him ten years and died in 1875, aged seventy-three. They are buried at East Liberty cemetery, Ingra- ham township.
Casper O. McCoy left home at the age of nineteen years and worked out by the month and for about three years lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was married in 1851, in Cedar county, Iowa, to Lucinda Watkins, a native of Pennsylvania, who bore him a son and a daughter, both of whom live in California. He was married a second time in 1856 to Miss Frances Butts, of Platte county, Missouri, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. The daughters are deceased. Frances McCoy died. in 1875, and June 20, 1877, Mr. Mc- Coy married Mrs. Josephine Orr, in Coun- cil Bluffs, by Rev. T. H. Cleland. The son, William McCoy, who lives on the McCoy homestead, has two daughters, and his only son is dead. Lee McCoy, Mr. McCoy's second son, who also lives on the homestead, has six children living.
In the fall of 1861 Mr. McCoy came from Missouri to Ingraham township, Mills county, Iowa, and bought seventy acres of
593
BIOGRAPIIICAL IHISTORY.
land, at five dollars an acre. He was suc- cessful as a farmer and saved money and bought other land, for eighty acres of which, now constituting his home farm, he paid fifty dollars an acre. Mr. McCoy is now living in comparative retirement from active life, believing that his many years of hard work entitle him to a season of rest, and his sons farm his land and are regarded as industrious, intelligent, pro- gressive citizens. Lee McCoy has won a reputation as an expert checker player and his love for the game is well known to all who are acquainted with him. By a for- mer marriage, to Anderson Orr, Mrs. Jo- sephine McCoy had a son, Eugene .\. Orr, who died as the result of cerebro-spinal meningitis, and was an invalid from the age of sixteen years until his death four- teen years afterward. He was a good stu- dent and a boy of bright intellect, whose brief and unfortunate life filled all who knew him with regret at his loss.
JOHN THOMAS SKERRITT.
Among the numerous citizens of Mills county, Iowa, who came from Ohio and have attained to a conspicuous position as farmers and stockmen, there is none who more richly deserves the success he has at- tained than John Thomas Skerritt, of In- graham township.
Mr. Skerritt was born in Wyandot county, Ohio, November 12, 1857. a son of Abraham and Jane ( Parker) Skerritt. His parents were natives of Lincolnshire, England, and his father was born in 1830. They married in 1856 and the same year came to the United States and located on a farm in Wyandot county, Ohio, where Mr.
Skerritt died in 1859, leaving his widow and two-year old son, far away from Mrs. Skerritt's kindred, but with a few hundred dollars which stood between them and want. Later she married Robert Plumb and had eight children; and he died at the age of sixty-three, in September. 1896, leaving her in good circumstances. She lives at Malvern, Mills county, lowa. Mr. Plumb moved to Ohio in 1853 and from there he came to Mills county, lowa, and became a prominent stock farmer in Ingra- ham township, where he owned three hun- dred and sixty acres of land .
John T. Skerritt was reared to farm life and attended the district school in win- ters and thus acquired a fair English edu- cation. He became a farm hand at the age of twelve years, and the next year he did a man's work, plowing with a four-horse team. After his marriage he settled upon a portion of his present farm. The place originally consisted of one hundred and six- ty acres, but now contains two hundred and forty acres. He does general farming and raises cattle, hogs and a few sheep. He makes a specialty of red polled. mostly graded cattle, and keeps a thoroughbred bull for breeding purposes. He raises and sells from seventy-five to one hundred Po- land China hogs each year. His farm is under a high state of cultivation and is well fenced and supplied with suitable barns, granaries and other outbuildings.
Mr. Skerritt, who is recognized as one of the enterprising farmers and well-to-do citizens of Mills county, is a stanch Repub- lican, but has no desire for public office. Hle and his wife are members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, in which he fills the office of trustee. He is a domestic
594
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
man, who appreciates his home and spends most of his spare time with his wife and children. He was married March 1, 1887. to Ella J. Howard, a daughter of Sampson Howard, of Ingraham township, and has five children : Elsie, who is twelve years old; Ralph, who is ten: Edith M., who is six ; Ethel K., who is four; and Ella Fern, who is two years old.
WILLIAM B. HOUTZ.
It becomes the duty of every American citizen upon attaining his majority to sup- port in one way or another the constitution of the United States, and by exercising his privilege of voting he evinces his fealty to his country and his pride in its citizenship. In this respect Mr. Houtz has never failed to show his loyalty. He is an uncompro- mising Republican and has taken a most active part in local and county matters in behalf of his party and his friends. At the same time he has been honored with office. and since 1892 he has filled the position of mayor of Hamburg. No higher testimo- nial of capable service could be given than the fact that he has been three times re- elected to the office, which is a free-will gift from his fellow towsmen. It indicates that his administration has been business- like and progressive, and that it has proved of practical benefit and has largely promoted the welfare of the city. No other incumbent of the office has won higher commendation for faithful sevice, and when his time shall have expired he will retire from the posi- tion as he entered it .- with the confidence and good will of all.
William B. Houtz is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Perry county,
that state, on the 16th of June, 1842. His father, Leonard Houtz, was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of Jacob Houtz, who was born in Germany and came to the United States when a young man, locating in Pennsylvania. He served his adopted country as a soldier in the war of 1812, and again in the Mexican war, and re- turned to his home with an excellent record as a gallant defender of the nation's ban- ner. His wife was Eva Houtz, and dur- ing the boyhood of their son Leonard they removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio, lo- cating on a farm in the latter state. Leon- ard Houtz was reared in that commonwealth and after attaining his majority he was married in Perry county, Ohio, to Ann Eliza Dennison, a native of Maryland and a rep- resentative of one of the good families of that state, living near Baltimore. From Ohio Leonard Houtz removed with his family to Fountain county, Indiana, in 1844, taking up his abode upon a heavily timbered tract of land on the Wabash river. Clearing away the trees, he prepared the land for the plow and in course of time gathered rich harvests. The greater part of his life was devoted to agricultural pur- suits, but he spent the last decade in retire- ment in Attica, Indiana. Honest and up- right, he commanded uniform respect, and in his demise, which occurred when he was sixty-seven years of age, the community lost one of its valued citizens. His wife died in December, 1858. In his political views he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and in religious faith both he and his wife were connected with the United Brethren church. They had the following named children : Jeremiah, who served as a soldier in an In- diana regiment during the Civil war and
595
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
died soon after his return from the south ; Louisa and Evanna, who also have passed away: William B., of this review: John, who was numbered among the "boys in blue" of the Civil war and died in Fountain county. Indiana, in 1890; Cyrus ; Ora; and Mary E., who is deceased.
William B. Houtz was reared on a farm in Fountain county, Indiana, and lessons of industry and honesty were early taught him. The educational privileges he enjoyed were those afforded by the common schools. and in Indiana he remained until 1867. when he came to Fremont county, locating near Hamburg. It was not until the fol- lowing year that the railroad was built, the line being completed from St. Joseph, Mis- souri, to Council Bluffs, lowa. Mr. Houtz puchased a tract of land in Buchanan town- ship. AAtchison county, Missouri, and there developed one of the best farms in this sec- tion of the country, increasing his landed possessions from two hundred and forty to four thousand acres. Upon the place he had fine orchards and groves, good meadow and pasture lands, highly cultivated fields, substantial buildings and a pleasant and commodious residence. Everything about the place was kept in first-class condition, showing his careful supervision. He now rents his property and it brings to him a good income.
Mr. Houtz was married first in Fountain county, Indiana, to Armanda Jane Overbeg. of that county, a daughter of Julien and Elizabeth Overbeg, also natives of Indiana. The children born of this marriage were William J., a carpenter of Omaha: Mrs. Emma Holton, now deceased: John, who died at the age of eighteen months: Gus, who is engaged in carpentering in Omaha,
Nebraska; Frank, who is living in San Francisco, California; and Lon, at home. The wife and mother died in October, 1892, and in June, 1894. Mr. Houtz again mar- ried, his second union being with Miss Nellie G. Ackley, a representative of a good family, her parents being Eli and Susan ( Reeves) Ackley, of Fremont county. Three children have honored this marriage.
Although Mr. Houtz has ever been a stalwart Republican, he is not bitterly or aggressively partisan, but is a broad-minded man, having earnest regard for the welfare of county, state and nation. He has indeed been a popular mayor and his rulings have been for the best interests of the town. He belongs to the Christian church known as Lone Chapel, at MeKissick's Grove, Mis- souri, one of the pioneer churches of this portion of the county, and his first wife was also a member. Mr. Houtz is now fifty- eight years of age, an intelligent and well- informed man, genial and approachable and popular. His public and private record are alike commendable, and he enjoys the good will and sincere esteem of his fellow citi- zens.
GEORGE W. DARLING.
Among the prosperous stock-raisers of White Cloud township is George W. Dar- ling, who comes to lowa from the Badger state. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin. January 18. 1850, his parents being George W. and Merriam ( Fleming) Darling. The former was born in New York city in the year 1812. He followed carpentering in early life and afterward turned his atten- tion to agricultural pursuits. He went to Wisconsin about the year 1846. and in 1857
596
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
crossed the Mississippi river into Iowa, es- tablishing his home in Mills county a year later. Here he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in Rawles township, when seventy-one years of age. On coming to this county he purchased land which was partially improved and built thereon a frame house sixteen by twenty-four feet. Throughout the remainder of his active business career he followed farming pur- suits, but spent his last days in partial re- tirement in the home of his son George. His wife was a member of the Presbyte- rian church and was an earnest Christian woman whose influence over the lives of her children was marked and beneficial. She was a native of New Jersey, and her death occurred May 2, 1878, and her hus- band's death August 4, 1883. She is sur- vived by six of her seven children, namely : Matilda J., Elizabeth, George W., Merriam Tilton, Edward T. L. and Daniel A.
George W. Darling spent his early boy- hood days in the city of his nativity and was then brought to Iowa by his parents. He was reared upon the old home farm and worked in field and meadow, assisting in the task of plowing, planting and harvest- ing. His educational privileges were those afforded by the common schools, and thus he was prepared for the practical duties of life. At the age of eighteen he started out on his own account, being employed as a farm hand, and when twenty years of age he began renting land, which he cultivated for several years. When twenty-six years of age he made his first purchase, becoming the owner of eighty acres of partially im- proved land in Rawles township, and there- on made his home until 1884, when he pur- chased the old Hobbs farm of one hundred
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.