USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > A genealogical and biographical history of Keokuk County, Iowa > Part 18
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Martha (deceased), John, Louisa, Nancy (died in 1843), Elizabeth, Marguerette, Caroline, Anna, Richard, Martin, and Walter.
Our immediate subject, William W. Gwin, whose father and grand- father we have just sketched, was born in Indiana on September 29, 1827, and so, was nine years old when his father crossed the Mississippi river into Iowa. And in 1858, when his father removed to Kansas, he had already acquired a fine farm of two hundred acres in Washington county. He had purchased his land from the government between the years 1847 and 1855 and had brought it into a fine state of cultiva- tion. In 1885 Mr. Gwin moved to Keokuk county and bought a house and lot in Keota, and retired from active farming. For two years he was engineer in a flour mill, and in 1889 he engaged in the lumber busi- ness by buying out the old Hinkle lumber yard. This venture proved very successful, and later he took in S. S. Wright as partner; in 1895 he sold his interest to his partner, and has since lived retired, having well earned a rest and freedom from business cares.
Mr. Gwin was married in 1851 to Catherine Bush, who was born in 1833 in Ohio, where she remained till she was thirteen years old; she is the daughter of Absalom Bush and Violet Arnold, who came to Iowa and settled on a farm in 1846. Mr. and Mrs| Gwin were the parents of ten children, six boys and four girls: Joshua (deceased). Anderson ((leceased), Nathan A., Violet (deceased), Smiley (deceased), Ella May, Williard D., Nora A., Lillie, and Orley.
Mr. Gwin is a charter member of Masonic Lodge, No. 96, at Richmond. He is a charter member of the Christian church at Keota, helped to build it, and among the first officers of the church he was chosen the first elder and the third trustee, and is now also president of the official board. As a Republican he has served as a member of
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the city council. His life spent in varied activity has reflected honor not only upon himself but upon those with whom he has lived.
ANANIAS A. SHRADER.
Ananias A. Shrader is a well known business man of Keota, Keo- kuk county, Iowa, where he carries on a contracting and building busi- ness, and many structures in the town and throughout the county attest his skill and industry. His father was Samuel W. Shrader, who was born in the state of Pennsylvania, and after receiving his education learned the trade of a millwright and lived in that state until he was forty years of age. In 1856 he moved with his family to Iowa and set- tled on eighty acres in Muscatine county ; he conducted this farm and engaged in milling for eight years. In 18644 he went to Iowa county and bought a farm, for the most part well improved ; after remaining here until 1880 he took up his residence in Keota and there lived retired from active labor until his death, April 23, 1893. He was a member of the Democratic party and was connected with the Lutheran church. While in Pennsylvania he married Sarah Aldinger, a native of that state and born in 1826. Six children were born before they left Pennsylvania and one in Iowa, three boys and four girls: Joseph A., Mary, Kather- ine (deceased), Ananias, Susan, Rebecca ( deceased), and Samuel H.
Ananias Shrader was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, April 8, 1849, and was seven years old when his father left that state and came to Iowa. Up to his twenty-fifth year he farmed with his father, and then in 1875 he was married to Emma Pugh, a native of Illinois and a daughter of William and Sarah Pugh, old settlers of
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that state, where both of them died. Mr. and Mrs. Shrader had two boys, but both are now dead, one of whom was named William; they were born in Iowa county, Iowa.
In ISSI our subject removed from Iowa county to Keota, and for two years was employed in the Henkle and Ritche furniture store; at the end of that time he and his brother opened a general store, which they successfully carried on for three years. After selling out his business in 1886 he began contracting and building and has engaged in this ever since. The principles of the Democratic party have appealed to his political reason ; in religion he is an ardent member of the Meth- odist church and helped financially and also erected the present church at Keota.
DAVID P. MARTIN.
Among the well known and respected retired farmers of Keota, Jowa, is David P. Martin, who for many years carried on the most honorable pursuit of agriculture and now is spending the remaining days of life in the enjoyment of his well earned competency. His father, David M. Martin, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1816, and was a jolly miller of that locality, and here he married and his children were born, but in 1853 he came west and went to farming in the state of Illinois, where he remained until his death in 1892. His wife was Elizabeth Palmer, of Pennsylvania, and she was the mother of six children, three boys and three girls. David being the fourth in order of birth and the eldest son: Rebecca, Maria, Harriett (deceased), David P., Samuel and Solomon; all of these spent their early life in their home in Pennsylvania,
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David P. Martin was born on the 6th day of January, 1839, and spent the first fourteen years of his life in the old Pennsylvania home, and there received the rudiments of the education which he completed in Illinois. His school days were finished in his twentieth year and then he worked on the farm until he was of age. In that year, 1860, he was married, and in the spring of 1862 he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteer Cavalry, Company G, and after being in the service for a few months was mustered out in July of the same year. Returning to the farm in Illinois, he remained there until 1869, at which time he took his family to a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Lafayette township, Keokuk county, Iowa. This land was uncleared, but in a short time by his assiduous labor it was brought under a fine state of cultivation. In 1888 Mr. Martin sold his farm and retiring to Keota purchased three lots and three houses and has since lived in this place ; he also purchased a half interest in a general store and continued in its management for six years, but then sold it back to H. F. Williams, and has since enjoyed the pleasure of domestic life. untrammeled by the cares of business.
Mr. Martin was married to Hortensia J. Golden, daughter of John and Lucila Golden, of Ohio, where she was born; she came to Illinois with her parents and remained there until her marriage. They have no children of their own, but adopted three: Leona R., who is now dead; Ellie Romines, and Lottie Glen ( deceased). The Republican party finds a loyal supporter in Mr. Martin; the family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is not only a member but an active worker for the cause of religion, being a trustee, and he was on the building committee when the present church was erected. His hon-
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orable and active career has not failed to bring him many friends and make him a prominent figure in his city.
JOHN CAMPBELL.
As a man travels on in the journey of life and passes the prime of manhood, his strength and energy are somewhat lessened by age, which is an indication that it is intended that his last years should be, at least to some extent, a period of rest. Not all who pass he meridian of life are permitted to put aside business cares, for through the lack of business ability or mismanagement they have not acquired capital sufficient to supply their needs in their declining years. We here present, however, a gentleman who is enjoying a well earned rest. Long con- nected with the agricultural interests of the county, his capable manage- ment and the careful husbanding of his resources brought to him a very desirable competence, which now supplies him with all the necessities and many of the luxuries that go to make life worth living.
This rather brief and imperfect sketch of the Campbell family will serve to place before our readers a record that can be safely emulated by all young men. Mr. John Campbell is a native of Franklin county, Ohio, born December 25, 1829. His parents were Robert and Phoebe (Martin) Campbell, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in Franklin county, and located in Plain township. The mother died at the birth of our subject and the father died here at the age of sixty-six years. He was an active and earnest member of the Methodist church, and a follower of Jefferson in politics. His father before him was born in Ireland and came to America when but a boy with his two brother. The grandmother of Mr. Campbell was June
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Meads, a daughter of an old pioneer family of Pennsylvania. The mother of our subject was also a native of Pennsylvania. She became the mother of four children, three sons and one daughter, of whom our subject is the youngest, and all of whom grew to maturity and lived to a good old age.
Our subject is the only living member of the family. He was born, educated and married in his native county. The date of the marriage was August 30, 1854, when he was joined to Miss Sara Thrall, a native of Licking county, Ohio, and the daughter of Dr. B. F. and Eliza (Pyle) Thrall. Her father was born in Vermont, and was a practicing physician for a number of years in Licking county and during the Civil war was a surgeon in the Federal army. He was a man oi fine education and of excellent reputation in his profession. He had a family consisting of ten children, five sons and five daughters, all grow- ing to maturity. Our subject remained in Ohio until 1855, when he came to Iowa, where lie located first in Des Moines county, and in the fall of 1859 came on to Keokuk county and located in Martinsburg. Here he remained for two years, during which time he was post- master and hotel keeper. He then removed back to Ohio, and remained there two years, and then returned to Keokuk county, where he pur- chased land and engaged in farming. Since coming to Iowa Mr. Camp- bell has had a very busy existence, and has been prominent in the local life of the different communities in which he has resided. He has lived in several localities in the county and has always been prominent- ly identified as a member of the agricultural and stock raising class. By the use of good business judgment, and a life of energetic activity. he has been enabled to accumulate a considerable property. In 1900 31
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he retired from active business and has since resided at Hedrick in enjoyment of the competency which he has so well earned.
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Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are the parents of eight children, B. Frank, a farmer of Keokuk county; Daniel, a farmer in Steady Run town- ship; Phœbe, wife of Dr. W. H. Wilson of Table Rock, Nebraska; Eliza, wife of Geo. R. Davis, Steady Run township; Minnie, single and at home; Robert, a farmer of Steady Run township; Homer, de- ceased at nine years; and a son, who died in infancy. These child- ren were given fair educational advantages, and given also excellent financial aid for the beginning of their several battles of life. In polit- ical faith Mr. Campbell has always adhered to Democratic principles, and during the long fight for the principles of prohibition in Iowa has been exceedingly active in favor of the prohibition legislation that has been enacted. He has held only minor offices, never being a seeker of political preferment. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church, in which he has been active as an official and has been a liberal contributor.
JOHN CLARK.
At an early day in the development of Keokuk county the late Jolin Clark became one of its residents. Many years have passed since then, bringing great changes, and in the work of transformation he bore his part as a loyal and interested citizen. He carried on farming on section 9, Lafayette township, where he had a good home and valuable property. Mr. Clark was born in Lincolnshire, England, March 25, 1830. His father, Thomas Clark, also a native of that country and a farmer by occupation, died in England when about eighty years of age. His wife,
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Rebecca (Cunningham) Clark, was also born, lived and died in Eng- land, passing away when the subject of this review was only about a year old. The father was three times married, the mother of our subject being his second wife, and to them were born three children. The brothers of our subject were David and Daniel. They, too, came to the United States and both died in Illinois in 1902.
John Clark was the youngest of the three brothers and was a self-made man whose strong perseverance and diligence were the means of bring- ing to him creditable success in life. He was about twelve years of age when he began work by the week, receiving twenty-five cents for a week's wages. He was willing to take any employment that would yield him an honest living. For three years he remained with Mrs. Back, his first employer, and then entered the service of Mr. Wilson, a farmer with whom he remained for a year. He next entered the service of Mr. Cullum. also a farmer, with whom he continued for about a year. He next worked for Mr. Stewart, near Spalding, England. Thus another twelve months passed and he then went to the home which his father owned and worked in that locality, as he could find employ- ment. Believing that he could enjoy better business opportunities in the new world he came to America with his brother David in the year 1852. They first located in Washington, Illinois, near Peoria. They had about five hundred dollars in money when they reached that place and thus they began life in the new world. Mr. Clark of this review remained in Washington or its vicinity for about eight years, working by the month.
In the meantime, in 1855, Mr. Clark was united in marriage to Margaret Ferguson, a native of Scotland, and in 1857 he came to Keokuk county, Iowa, locating on the land on which was his late home
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and where his daughter now resides. Here lie improved a place which, when it came into his possession, was entirely wild and uncultivated, although the land was fenced. He built the residence, barns and other outbuildings upon the place, added all the modern equipments which are here seen and cultivated the fields until now they are very productive. For forty-five years he made his residence here and lived to witness much of the growth of the county. He had two hundred and six acres of land and throughout the years of his residence successfully carried on general farming and stock raising.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Clark were born four children who are yet liv- ing and two who have passed away, namely: William, a resident farmer of Keokuk county; Eliza, the wife of John Herr, who also fol- lows farming in this county: May the wife of George McDonald, who operates her father's land; Catherine, the wife of Benjamin Showalter, of East Chicago, Indiana; and David and Benjamin, both deceased. The mother passed away February 13, 1898, dying in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which she was a consistent and loyal mem- ber. She possessed many excellent traits of heart and mind, which have endeared her to her friends as well as to her immediate family. In his political views Mr. Clark was an earnest Republican, whose study of the questions and issues of the day led him to give his aid to that party. His life serves to illustrate what excellent business opportunities are furnished in America to young men of ambition, determination and industry. Success may here be won by these qualities unhampered by caste or class. Desiring to provide well for his family, Mr. Clark labored untiringly at farm work until several years ago, when his health failed him and at the time of his death he was numbered among the men of affluence of the community and as a substantial and repre-
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sentative citizen connected with agricultural interests in Keokuk county. His name is also on the role of pioneer settlers, for through almost a half century he lived in this part of Iowa. Mr. Clark died on October 23, 1902, and the event was the occasion of sincere regret throughout the community of his friends and neighbors.
SIMON P. HERR.
Simon P. Herr, who is connected with the farming interests of Lafayette township, makes his home on section 7 and has here an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres of well improved land. He is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Montour county, on the 26th of January, 1848. His parents were Michæl and Catherine (Sandle) Herr, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. The father was born in Lancaster county and was there reared and married. In 1858 he came to Iowa, taking up his abode in Liberty township, where he purchased a farm, and it remained his place of residence until he was called to his final rest in his seventieth year. His wife also died in this county when about sixty-two years of age. They were the parents of eight children, and Simon P. is the fifth of this number.
Simon was about ten years of age when he came with his parents to Keokuk county and on the home farm in Liberty township was trained to habits of industry and economy, honesty and integrity. He enjoyed the pleasures in which most boys of the period indulged and also assisted in farm labor as his age and strength would permit, while in the district schools near his home he mastered the branches of Eng- lish learning usually taught in such institutions.
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In 1875 Mr. Herr was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Ferguson, a native of Illinois, who came to Keokuk county with her parents in her early girlhood. The young couple began their domestic life in Liberty township, where they remained for about six years, and then came to their present home on section 7, Lafayette township. Here they have since remained and Mr. Herr has devoted his time and energies to to the general work of tilling the soil and raising stock, placing his one hundred and sixty acres of land under a high state of cultivation, so that it compares very favorably with the best improved farms in this portion of the state.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Herr was blessed with five children : Charlie, Mabel, Daisy, Earl, and Willie. For his second wife Mr. Herr chose Anna Heyer, who was the first girl born in Harper, Iowa, her parents being John and Mary ( Fauly ) Heyer, who were early settlers of Harper, locating there at the time the railroad was built. Mrs. Herr accordingly spent her girlhood days in that town and was a student in its public schools. Their three living children are: Leona, Earnest, and Lillian. They have also lost two children, Cecilia and Lawrence. From pioneer times down to the present Mr. Herr has been identified with the growth and progress of Keokuk county, taking an active and abiding interest in all that has pertained to the general welfare and to the public good. He is a Democrat and has held local offices, dis- charging his duties with marked promptness and fidelity ; he has served as road supervisor and as school director. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and his life has been in strict conformity with its teachings and its principles.
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JONATHAN DUNCAN.
Speaking from an historical point of view, it is only a short time since the region west of the Allegheny mountains was a "howling" wilderness and the land producing nothing beneficial to civilization. And men who came to the middle west even in the middle of the last century are looked upon as old settlers and almost patriarchs of the country. The subject of this sketch has been in Iowa ever since 1854. locating in Washington county, where he engaged in farming, and is one of the old and respected farmers of Keokuk county, having lived here a good many years ago, and two years ago lie removed here again from Washington county. The grandfather of Jonathan Duncan was of Scotch descent, as the name indicates, and was a native of Pennsylvania and lived during the struggle of the colonies for independence. William Duncan, the father of Jonathan, was born in Pennsylvania in 1776, and was reared and educated on a farm and in the schools of the times, followed the occupation of a farmer, and in politics belonged to thie old Whig party. His first wife was Jane Drennen, who was the mother of six children : William, James, David, Mary, Eliza and Eliza Ann, all of whom are deceased. His second wife, the mother of our subject, was Mary Kinsie, born and reared in Pennsylvania. They had five children, of whom Jonathan was the eldest. The others were: Samuel (deceased), Hiram, Rachel (deceased) and Sarah (deceased), all born and reared in Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Duncan was born on the 30th of March, 1824; he learned the trade of a blacksmith and after serving an apprenticeship of three years went into business on his own account. At the age of thirty he decided to go west, and accordingly came to Iowa in 1854 and settled
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on a farm in Washington county ; here he remained a short time and then came to Keokuk county, where he conducted a farm for twenty years. In 1874 he returned to Washington county and carried on farm- ing there for some time, but finally returned to this county and has since been living in Keota.
Mr. Duncan's first marriage was to Elizabeth Moore, a native of Pennsylvania ; this took place in 1861, and she died in 1872, the mother of four children, William, Ida, Mattie and Charles. In 1875 he again married, and his wife was Mary Tennent, who was born in New York city and came with her parents to Ohio when she was about ten years old and was there educated. Her parents, John and Mary Tennent, were natives of Ireland, coming to Ohio at an early day, and there they died. Mr. Duncan was a believer in the principles of the Whig party while that organization was in existence and he later became a Repub- lican. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church of Keota, and is an influential and upright citizen of his community.
CHARLES C. WONDERLICH.
In studying the early history of Keokuk county, Iowa, we find that Frederick A. Wonderlich, the father of our immediate subject, was one of the very earliest settlers of this county. A native of Germany, he remained in his fatherland until he was thirteen years old, when he came to Ohio, where he remained for some time. It was in the '40S that he came to Keokuk county and settled on eighty acres in Jackson township, which he labored hard to clear and cultivate. His political beliefs were strongly Republican and he was always interested in the
Robert Mc Dowell Ar
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public weal of his community. He was married in Keokuk county to Adeline Bottger, who came from Germany to this county in 1854. Nine children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wonderlich, of whom our subject is the oldest. In order of birth they are: Charles C., John Philip (deceased), Sarah A., Anna A., Abram L., Aaron A. J., George and Ollie; these children were all reared in Keokuk county.
The birth of Charles C. Wonderlich occurred in Jackson town- ship, Keokuk county, on the 6th of September, 1856. Until he was twenty-six years old he spent his time on his father's farm, going to school and assisting in the duties of the farm; in 1882, however, he began farming on his own account on an adjoining place. He now has ninety acres of excellent and well improved land.
On the 14th of December, 1881, Rosa I. Wheeler became his wife; she is a native of the same county and her father was Calvin Wheeler, who was an old settler and died while in the army during the Civil war. Miss Wheeler's mother was Sarah M. (Baker) Wheeler. Mr. and Mrs. Wonderlich have two children, boy and girl: Dora A., who was born on the farm September 10, 1882, and Frank H., born August 26, ISSS. Mr. Wonderlich was road supervisor in his district and takes an active interest in the Republican party. His has been a varied and busy life, which may well serve as a model for those who follow him.
ROBERT McDOWELL, SR.
Tales of heroism have been the theme of song and story through- out the ages. The soldier has figured prominently in all writings, yet there is another kind of heroism which is as worthy of mention, and 32
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that is such as is done by the pioneer settlers who meet the difficult conditions of life upon the frontier when cut off from the comforts of the older east. They establish homes in a wild country, perform the arduous task of developing new land with few of the conveniences and comforts which they have previously known. The struggle is often a stern and hard one, but it has been met by men of strong courage and unfaltering purpose. Such a one is Robert McDowell. These men deserve all praise and honor and the splendid states of the west will ever stand as monuments to their memory.
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