USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > A genealogical and biographical history of Keokuk County, Iowa > Part 24
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
354
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
sixty acre farm in Keokuk county, which is now in the possession of his sons. He spent many years of hard work in clearing and improving the place, and as a result had in time one of the choicest farms in the vicinity. Being among the first settlers, he had the pick of the land in the county, a fact of which the place still bears evidence. A man of vigorous constitution, he lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven. He died on the farm in Keokuk county, where he had spent the best days of his life. Mr. Lawson was a zealous patriot all his life. When the war of 1812 broke out he enlisted and did some valiant service for his country. As a Democrat he took a lively interest in polities and was very influ- ential. A large capacity for work and an unwavering purpose in life obtained for him in time a very solid prosperity.
William Lawson as a child saw a great deal of pioneer life. Very young when his parents left the Pennsylvania farm, he spent twelve years of his early life on the Indiana farm. Later he moved with his parents to Steady Run, Iowa, where he received a little schooling and a great deal of discipline in rough farm labor. The work was not, however, without its compensation, and he acquired in time a practical knowledge of agriculture, which has been invaluable to him in later years. For a long time he assisted his father in the management of the large farm and after his father's death fell heir to the old homestead and ninety acres of land. The rest of the property was divided among the other children. On this place Mr. Lawson has continued the work that his father began and has proved himself by no means inferior to the latter as an agriculturist. His crops have been large and of the best quality, and have commanded for him a good price in the market. Wise in financial management he has been enabled to lay aside some-
华教学大美
Marren glinggins
357
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
thing for a rainy day and has added to his estate by the purchase of eighty-seven and one-half acres near the flourishing city of Hedrick.
In 1866 Mr. Lawson married Ellen McMillen, who was born in Ohio, but in 1848, when four years old, moved with her parents, John and Frances (Middleton) McMillen, to Steady Run, Iowa. Both parents were natives of America, and among the old settlers of Keokuk county. Mr. McMillen secured a one hundred and sixty acre farm in the early days and afterward added to his property until at the time of his death he owned five hundred acres in the vicinity, most of which he had cleared and greatly improved. He died July 9, 1855, and his wife in 1899. To Mr. and Mrs. Lawson have been born four children: Jennie, who is now deceased; Hugh; Fannie; and John, all of whom were born and reared in the old homestead. As one of the old settlers and one of the most progressive agriculturists in his section Mr. Lawson is thoroughly well known in his vicinity. He is a Democrat in politics and exerts an influence in public affairs.
WARREN HIGGINS.
Success is determined by one's ability to recognize opportunity and to pursue this with a resolute, unflagging energy. It results from continued labor, and the man who thus accomplishes his purpose usit- ally becomes an important factor in the business circles in the community with which he is connected. Through such means Mr. Higgins of Keswick has attained a leading place among the representative men of Keokuk county, and his well spent and honorable life commands the respect of all who know him.
Mr. Higgins was born in Knox county, Ohio, on the 17th of Feb- 41
358
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ruary, 1825, a son of Myrick and Hannah ( Davis) Higgins, natives of Vermont and Virginia, respectively. His paternal grandfather was Josiah Higgins, who was born in America of Irish ancestry on the paternal side and of Welsh and German on the maternal side. During his boyhood Myrick Higgins accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio, where he was reared, and he continued to make his home in Washington and Knox counties, that state, for many years, his atten- tion being devoted to farming. In 1853 he came to Iowa and spent his last days in Keokuk county, where he died at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years. During his residence in Ohio he held membership in the Baptist church, and in politics he supported first the Whig and later the Republican parties, taking quite an active part in local affairs and holding several township offices. His wife died in the seventy- eightlı year of her age. Her people were also early settlers of Knox and Washington counties, Ohio, her father being Jacob Davis. The subject of this review is the second son and fourth child in a family of seven children, consisting of three sons and four daughters, all of whom reached man and womanhood. He has one sister still living- Mrs. Elizabeth Otis, a resident of Olympia, Washington.
Warren Higgins spent the first nine years of his life in the county of his nativity, and then removed with his parents to Marion county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, his education being obtained in a little log schoolhouse in that county, with its slab seats and a writ- ing desk, made by a board laid upon pins driven into the wall. On attaining his majority he began life for himself, working as a farm hand for three years. In 1850 Mr. Higgins was united in marriage to Miss Marcia Rubins, who was born in Richland county, Ohio, but was reared in Marion county, whither she removed with her parents when
359
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
only four years old. By this union were born four children, three sons and one daughter, namely : Hale; Joseph R. : Effie, the widow of Hallick Messenger; and Delano, who now has charge of the old home farm.
After his marriage Mr. Higgins continued to reside in Marion county, Ohio, until 1852, when he sold his property there, and in the fall of that year came to Keokuk county, Iowa, locating on a farm in Adams township, where he purchased seven hundred and twenty acres of land for three dollars per acre. This he divided with his brother- in-law, Henry C. Otis. To the cultivation and improvement of this farm he devoted his energies until his youngest son, Delano, took charge of the same and he removed to Keswick, where he has made his home since 1894. having erected there a beautiful residence. On the organ- ization of the Keswick Savings Bank he became one of its stockholders and directors and the following year was made president, in which capacity he served for five years, and has since filled the position of vice president. He is also a stockholder in the Sigourney State Bank and is still the owner of the old homestead farm, consisting of about seven hundred acres, which is under a high state of cultivation and well in- proved.
Politically Mr. Higgins was a Whig in early life, but on the organ- ization of the Republican party he joined its ranks and has since been a stanch supporter of that great political party. He has held local offices, such as that of township trustee, and as a public spirited and progressive citizen has borne a very important part in the development and up- building of his adopted county. He spent more than one thousand dollars to assist in bringing the railroad through this county and has ever contributed to those enterprises which he believed would prove of
360
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
public benefit or would in any way advance the general welfare. As a business man he has met with marked success in most of his undertak- ings, and although he started in life for himself with no capital, he is to-day one of the most prosperous and successful citizens of his part of the county. Wherever known he is held in high regard and as an honored pioneer and highly respected citizen he is certainly deserving of honorable mention in the history of Keokuk county.
FRANK D. HINTON.
Frank D. Ilinton, an energetic young farmer of Steady Run, has won success for himself through steady and persistent efforts in one line of work. Bred to farm work and coming of a family of agricultur- ists, he has imbibed a vast deal of practical common sense, which has a market value in dollars and cents in his special field of labor. John Hinton, his grandfather, was of Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he resided for many years. Later he moved to Champaign county, Ohio, where he settled upon a farm. He followed agriculture for the most part throughout his life, meeting with excellent results. He married a woman of Irish descent, who was of great assistance to him in his undertakings. Among their children was a son named Davis.
Davis Hinton, father of Frank D., has given his best energies to the development of the soil, and is now living in retirement in the city of Hedrick. Born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, in September, 1839, he there grew to manhood, receiving the ordinary rearing of a farm boy of his day. Upon attaining his majority lie moved with his parents to Champaign county, Ohio, where he soon afterward settled upon a
361
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
farm. Previous to this, while living in Pennsylvania, he married Sarai J. Jameson, who was born in Pennsylvania, September 11, 1840, and there grew to womanhood ; her parents later moved to Ohio. To Mr. and Mrs. Hinton were born ten children, four daughters and six sons, of which Frank was both the second child and second son. In 1869 Mr. Hinton moved his family to Davis county, Iowa, where he settled upon a farm and remained four years. In 1873, however, finding a farm in Wapello county offering greater inducements to an agriculturist, he moved there, and making a success of his work continued there ten years. Then another change seemed advisable, and he moved to a farm in the township of Benton, Keokuk county. This place em- braced one hundred acres of rich improved land, and by hard work and strict attention to business he carried on a profitable industry. After ten years of faithful labor there he moved to Hedrick, where he has since lived in retirement. Mr. Hinton is a thoroughly upright, and well informed gentleman, and commands the respect of all who know him. As a Republican he has always evinced a keen interest in poli- tics.
Frank D. Hinton has certainly made the best of the opportunities that life has offered him. Born in Ohio, he moved with his parents first to Davis county, Iowa, and later to Wapello county in that state. In the common schools of the last named county he received for the most part his education, further developing those habits of industry and attention with which nature has endowed him. For some time after leaving school he assisted his father on the home farm. In 1893 he married in Keokuk county, Iowa, Eliza H. Hursey, who was born in that county, daughter of William and Margarette ( Honnoll) Hursey, natives of Ohio, and among the old settlers of Keokuk county. To Mr. and Mrs.
362
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Hinton have been born five children, two sons and three daughters : Clara, Eugene M., Ruth, Forrest L., and Florence, all born in Keokuk county, Iowa.
About two years previous to his marriage Mr. Hinton settled upon a farm in Steady Run, Keokuk county, where he has since resided. The property embraces eighty acres of improved land, largely under cultivation, and is one of the most productive farms in the vicinity. By strict attention to business and by keeping himself well informed on the most scientific and practical methods of agriculture Mr. Hinton has always made his place yield its maximum crops, and he is considered one of the progressive agriculturists of his section.
Mr. Hinton has always occupied a high place in the estimation of the people of his section, where he is widely known. As a Republican he takes an interest in public affairs, and has served as assessor two years. A leading member of the Baptist church at Hedrick, he has held several offices and is now serving as deacon, performing his duties with marked ability. Fraternally he stands high and belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons, at Martinsburg, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Steadfastness in business, marked integrity in his dealings with people, and freedom and ease in his intercourse with men are some of his dominant traits.
H. E. DUKE.
Much of the phenomenal growth which has attended the city of Hedrick since 1888 is due to the active interest taken in its welfare by the above named gentleman, a well-to-do real estate man and representa- tive of the agricultural interests, who has had his residence in the city since that date. During this time he has been exceedingly active in
363
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
everything that promised for the welfare of the city, and can be depended upon at any time to further its interests. He is a compara- tively young man and is a native of Keokuk county, where he was born in Richland township, August 12, 1865. His father was David Duke, in liis turn a native of the Old Dominion state, who after attaining his majority settled in Logan county, Ohio. He later removed with his family to Richland township, where he has since been engaged actively in agricultural pursuits. The mother of Mr. Duke was Phoebe Hone, a native of Logan county, Ohio, and is still living, the mother of seven children, five sons and two daughters. These children are all married and are worthy citizens in their respective communities. The eldest, William, resides in Clark county ; Walter, residing on the old homestead ; Artie, wife of Eli Emery, Richland township; H. E., the subject of this sketch; Minnie, the wife of James Douglas, residing in Indiana; Frank and Fred were twins; Frank is a farmer living in Missouri, and Fred is a traveling man with the Deering Harvesting Company.
Of this family Mr. Duke is the fourth child. He was brought up to habits of economy and industry on the old farm, acquiring his rudi- mentary education in the district school, which was supplemented by a course at the academy in Pleasant Plain and by a business course at a college in Burlington, Iowa. After completing this course he went to Chicago and engaged with Swift and Company as bookkeeper for a period of one year. He then settled in the town of Hedrick, where he has since resided. For a period he was engaged in the hardware business, having been in partnership with J. M. Brady, which firm continued to do business until 1896. He then traded his interest in the business for a farm, and was then the representative of the Rhodes Carmean Buggy Company of Marshalltown, Iowa, for a period of one year. He then
364
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
came back to Hedrick and continued the same business in conjunction with Mr. John Ebelsheiser, in which he continued for a period of two years. A brother of the subject was then taken into the firm, and the business was conducted under the firm name of Duke Brothers and Com- pany. In 1900 Mr. H. E. Duke retired from the firm and has since been engaged in the real estate business with Mr. C. L. Dean, the firm name being Dean & Duke. Our subject has been most of the time actively engaged in agriculture, also, on a farm of one hundred and seventy-six acres near Hedrick. He also owns one hundred and forty acres of land in the northern part of Steady Run township. Mr. Duke is a man who is popular among his associates in business and takes an active interest in the public life of the community in which he resides. He is a past master Mason, being a member of Garfield Lodge, No. 485; he is also a member of the Chapter and a Knight Templar, having his membership in Ottumwa. In political faith he supports the principles of the Demo- cratic party. Mr. Duke is a gentleman who has had the felicity of see- ing a large number of his ventures succeed in a financial way, and al- though a young man, he is looked upon as one of the most substantial residents of his enterprising little city. He married December 5, 1896, the lady being Miss Minnie Hagan, daughter of J. M. and Ellen (Barnes) Hagan. This family was one of the early settlers of Keokuk county. This marriage has been blessed with two bright children, Walter E. and Marcella. Mr. and Mrs. Duke are worthy members of the society of their community, where they are held in high respect by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
365
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
CHESTER ALLISON.
Chester Allison, a retired farmer who is now engaged in the buying and shipping of stock at Thornburg, lowa, was born on the roth of April, 1836, in Washington county, Ohio. The birth of his father, Stephen Allison, occurred in the old garrison at Marietta, Ohio, where but few white settlers had located, they being far outnumbered by the red men in that locality. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Abigail Kinne, was a native of Washington county, her people being among the pioneers there, and to this day there stands a monument to the family on the site of the garrison opposite Lowell. Both Mr. and Mrs. Allison lived to an advanced age, the former dying at the age of eighty-two and the latter when ninety-four. The father had one sister who lived to be one hundred and seven. This was Mrs. Nancy Frost, who was only five years old when the family removed to Ohio and for the long period of ninety-one years she made her home in one place after her mar- riage.
Chester Allison was the seventh in order of birth and the third son in a family of eight children, there being four sons and four daughters. In his native place he grew to manhood and was there married in March, 1858, to Miss Rebecca Perry, who was also born in Washing- ton county, Ohio, being a daughter of Elijah Perry, an old settler of that county. By this union were born the following children : Stephen N., now a druggist of Nassau, Iowa; Alva; Lucien, a farmer who now has charge of the old homestead; George, a farmer of Colorado; Area- dne, wife of Joseph Wingfield of Colorado; Emma, wife of Rudolph Draegert, a farmer of Prairie township, Keokuk county; and Clara, at home.
366
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
During early life Mr. Allison engaged in farming in his native county until 1865, when he located in Winnebago, Illinois, and remained there until the fall of 1869, when he left Illinois and came to Iowa, settling on a farm in Prairie township, Keokuk county. He continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until his removal to Thornburg in December, 1899, since which time he has devoted his attention to buy- ing and shipping stock. In his present business he is meeting with good success. He is still the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and six acros of well improved land in Prairie township, which he has left to the management of his son. The place is well stocked and sup- plied with all the conveniences and accessories found upon a model farm of the twentieth century.
The Republican party has always found in Mr. Allison a stanch supporter of its principles, and he has taken quite an active interest in local politics, having filled the office of township trustee in a most com- mendable manner. For forty years he has been an earnest and con- sistent member of the Christian church, and his life has ever been in harmony with his professions. For a third of a century he has been numbered among the residents of this county and he has ever borne his part in promoting those enterprises calculated to advance the moral, social or material welfare of his community, and is justly regarded as one of its most valued citizens.
EVAN SMITH.
Evan Smith, whose home is in Coalcreek in Prairie township, needs no special introduction to the readers of this volume, but the work would be incomplete without the record of his life. A native of Ohio, he was
367
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
born in Belmont county, May 31, 1819, and on the paternal side is of English origin, although the family was established in the new world several generations ago. His father, Thomas Smith, was a native of Virginia, born in either Harrison or Loudoun county in 1787, and there he spent the first years of his life. In the year 1800 he accompanied his father, Samuel Smith, on his removal to Ohio, the family becoming pio- neers of Columbiana county. They settled on the Ohio river and during the winter of 1802 Samuel Smith entered a section of land, which is now a part of the town-site of Salem, and there in the midst of the dense forest he hewed out a farm. When he took up his residence upon this property his home was fifteen miles from any white habitation, and the family endured all the hardships and privations known to pioneer life. His last days were spent in Washington county, Ohio, where he died when in his ninetieth year.
Thomas Smith, the father of our subject, was reared amid frontier scenes, and early became familiar with the arduous task of clearing and improving a new farm. Soon after going to Ohio he was cured of white swelling in the leg by an Indian doctor, the red men being still very numerous in the locality. On starting out in life for himself he engaged in the manufacture of brick for some time, but when our subject was two years old he removed to a farm and devoted the re- mainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. He died at Salem, Ohio, in 1850, at the age of sixty-four years, and his wife passed away in the spring of 1860. She bore the maiden name of Nancy James and was also a native of the Old Dominion, her birth having occurred in either Loudoun or Harrison county, Virginia, in 1792. Her father was Samuel James, who was born in Wales, while her mother was of English descent, Thomas Smith and wife were married in Belmont county, Ohio, and
368
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom reached man and womanhood, four sons and four daughters.
Of this family Evan Smith is the fifth in order of birth and the second son, though he is the oldest son that reached years of maturity. He made his home in the county of his nativity until fifteen years of age and then removed with his parents to Columbiana county, Ohio. and later to Morgan county, that state. It was in the latter county that he was married on the 24th of November, 1841, to Miss Mary Burgess, who was born near Smithfield, Jefferson county, Ohio, November 21, 1819, but from the age of eighteen years had made her home in Mor- gan county. Her parents were John and Margaret (Wood) Burgess. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born eleven children, six sons and five daughters, namely : Margaret A. and Maria, both deceased ; Louisa, who was superintendent of schools for a period of four years and a most successful teacher for a good many years, is now the wife of Thomas Blackburn; Caroline, wife of Milton Haldeman, of Washington county, Kansas; Joshua P., a resident of Emporia, Kansas; Thomas E., who resides on the old home place in Prairie township, Keokuk county : Bur- gess, who died young ; William D., also a resident of Kansas; Sarah, wife of Clinton Hampton, of Kansas; Marion, who is living in the same state ; and Alva J., a surveyor of Lyon county, Kansas.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith began their married life in Athens county, Ohio, on a densely timbered tract of land, their nearest neighbor being nearly one mile distant. After residing there for about three years they returned to Morgan county, and later took up their residence in Washington county, Ohio, whence they came to Iowa in 1860. At that time they settled on the farm in Prairie township. Keokuk county, which was their home for twenty-seven years; to the cultivation and improve-
1
369
GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
ment of his farm Mr. Smith devoted his energies, but is now practically living a retired life. He still owns some property, but has sold much of his farming land.
For the long period of sixty-one years Mr. and Mrs. Smith have traveled life's journey together and are to-day the oldest couple in the county. By birthright both are members of the Society of Friends and have ever taken a very prominent and active part in church work. In the fall of 1861 they assisted in organizing a meeting of that denomi- nation in their home, which was a branch of the Pennsville monthly meeting of Ohio until the spring of 1864, when they were granted a monthly meeting which was attended by a committee from the Penns- ville monthly and quarterly meetings. In 1885 the membership num- bered about two hundred, although they began here with only twenty- three members. Mr. Smith was one of four men who borrowed the money to erect the first meeting house, which still stands in Coalcreek. At that time many of the little congregation were just getting a start in life in their new homes and were unable to subscribe the required amount and were therefore forced to borrow the sum needed. To get the money four of the number had to sign a note, and Mr. Smith is the only one of the four living, the others having passed to their reward in the other world. Jeremiah Stanley, one of the leaders in this work, only lived to attend one meeting in their new meeting house. Most of the lumber for this structure was hauled from Washington, Iowa, a dis- tance of forty-three miles. When erected the meeting house was thought to be sufficiently large to accommodate the congregation for many years, but in the course of three years it was found to be too small, and so in that the present building is now fifty-eight by thirty feet in dimensions. 1868 an addition twenty-eight feet in dength was built to the east end, so
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.