USA > Iowa > Keokuk County > A genealogical and biographical history of Keokuk County, Iowa > Part 28
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Once more Mr. Nelson returned to the old homestead and remained until 1867. when he went upon the road as an agent for about five months. He was then married on the 24th of August, 1868, to Miss Margaret S. King, a native of Indiana, where she spent her early girl- hood, and then accompanied her parents to Iowa at the age of nine years, the family settling in Marion county, where she remained until she gave her hand in marriage to our subject. Their union has been blessed with seven children, two sons and five daughters : Chelca Q., Elsie C., Emily A. and Elias B., who are all deceased ; Perry F. ; Laura, the wife of Fred
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Payne of Whatcheer; Maggie, at home. The mother of these child- ren passed away in Whatcheer, October 12, 1882, and Mr. Nelson was again married on August 7, 1885, his second union being with Ella A. Hockenberry, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to Iowa in her early girlhood, locating in Keokuk county, where she remained with her par- ents until her marriage. She became the mother of twins, who died in infancy, and she died May 20, 1886, at her home in Frontier county, Nebraska, and on the 11th of October, 1891, Mr. Nelson married Mrs. Anna Klein, a native of Keokuk county, but reared in Nebraska. A son, Elias, has been born to them.
Mr. Nelson has spent the last few years upon the old homestead in Washington township, and in addition to the attention which he gives to the operation and management of the old farm he is also engaged in carpentering. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and in his political views is a Republican, faithful to the party and its inter- ests, yet never seeking office as a reward for party fealty. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is well known throughout the county as a man worthy the respect of his fellow citizens and deserving of the friendship which is so largely accorded him.
JOHN A. RIGGEN, M. D.
There are in every community men of great force of character and exceptional ability, who by reason of their capacity for leadership be- come recognizd as foremost citizens and bear a most important part in the development and progress of the locality with which they are con- nected. Such a man is Dr. Riggen, who is a prominent physician and influential citizen of What Cheer, Iowa.
A native of the neighboring state of Illinois, he was born in Stark
Jaleggen MA.
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county, October 29, 1841, a son of John and Anna ( Bothwell) Riggen. His father was born in Ohio and traced his Scotch-Irish ancestry back to the early settlers of Maryland and Delaware. The doctor's maternal grandfather was also a native of the Buckeye state and was of Scotch descent, while his wife was born in Virginia of Irish parentage. Both the Riggen and Bothwell families settled in Knox and Peoria counties, Illinois, in the etarly '30s and originated a generation of people noted for their honest and sturdy habits.
The early educational privileges of our subject were limited, as he was able to attend the country schools only for three winter terms, and what additional knowledge he has acquired has been gathered from the school of experience. In 1859 he accompanied the family on their removal to Missouri, settling in what proved to be a strong secession community. When the war broke out, however, both father and son unhesitatingly declared their adherence to the cause of the Union and emphasized their sentiments by enlisting in the Northern army, the former serving for three years in the First Missouri Cavalry, after which he returned home on account of wounds and disability. The Doctor enlisted in June, 1861, joining the Eighteenth Missouri Volunteer Infantry at its organization in the following July. He was in the service for four years, one month and fifteen days, during which time he was never absent from his regiment, except two weeks while in the hospital with measles, and two months while home on a veteran furlough and in recruiting service. With his command he participated in a number of important skirmishies and small engagements in Missouri during the fall and winter of 1861. He also took part in the battle of Shiloli, where he was wounded; and the siege and second battle of Corinth, Mississippi, in 1862. The follow- 48
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ing year he was in the campaigns and skirmishes in western Tennes- see, and later was in numerous engagements, being under the com- mand of General Sherman in the Atlanta campaign; the march to the sea; the march through the Carolinas, and the battle of Benton- ville, which was the last engagement of the war. His regiment then marched through Virginia to Washington, D. C., and participated in the grand review. The Doctor takes a jast pride in the fact that he carried a musket for nearly three years, although he was inustered out with the rank of first lieutenant, having been promoted for con- spicuous bravery and highly meritorious service.
After the war Dr. Riggen taught school for a few months and then began the study of medicine, locating for the practice of his pro- fession in Johnstown, Bates county, Missouri, in 1869, where he main- tained an extensive practice for ten years, when he was compelled by failing health to change his location. Coming to Iowa in the spring of 1879. he first located in Washington county, and in 1884 removed to his present home in What Cheer. During the years that have since passed his practice has only been limited by his physical endurance, for his skill and ability in his chosen profession were soon widely rec- ognized. For twenty years he has been division surgeon for the Bur- lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad Company. He is ex- president of the Keokuk County Medical Society and a member of the American Medical Association, the Iowa State Medical Society, the National Association of Railway Surgeons and the American Public Health Association.
At St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1868, Dr. Riggen was united in mar- riage to Mrs. Hannah E. Mesley, with whose companionship and love he is still blessed. She is a daughter of the late John E. Warner, of
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Syracuse New York. Their only child is Fannie E., now the wife of T. C. Legoe, a prominent attorney of What Cheer, though they have an adopted daughter, Cora FF., the wife of Joseph C. Reilly, a suc- cessful millinery dealer in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Doctor has a splendid plantation of two thousand one hun- dred and twenty acres in the sunny south, where he spends his win- ters, while the summers are passed at What Cheer. Socially he is an honored member of all of the Masonic bodies up to and including the thirty-second degree, and he is also connected with the Independent Or- der of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Grand Army of the Republic, the Sons of Veterans and the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. For seven years he served as commander of Grand Army Posts Nos. 112 and 114, and in 1888 was elected senior vice-commander of the department of Iowa and had charge of the Iowa camp at the national encampment at Columbus, Ohio, that year.
In 1887 Dr. Riggen was nominated by acclamation by the Republi- cans of Keokuk county for state representative and came within five votes of being elected, although the county went strongly Democratic that year. He has served as a member of the city school board and was postmaster under President Harrison, but resigned in a short time on account of ill health. He was the choice of his county for district delegate to the national Republican convention in 1892 and was elected as an alternate from the sixth district that year. In 1893 he was elected state senator from the twelfth district, being nominated by acclamation and elected by a majority of eight hundred and eighty-five, succeeding a Democrat. During his term of four years the Doctor rendered in a quiet way honest and faithful service to his constituents
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and to the state. He was a member of a number of important com- mittees, including the ways and means, suppression of intemperance, railroad corporation, military, mines and mining, labor, highways, elections, public health and pharmacy. He was also chairman of the legislative committee to visit the Independence insane asylum in 1894 and the Anamosa penitentiary in 1896. From the hour of his election he positively refused to be considered a candidate for re-election, his dislike for the duties of the office and his persistent ill health making his resolve absolutely necessary.
When the war with Spain was declared Dr. Riggen took an active interest in aiding the government, and by his diligent efforts the city in which he resides had the honor of a good representation in the Fiftiethi Iowa Volunteers. He organized a squad of fifteen, accom- panied them to the recruiting station, and by his efforts raised money to pay the expenses of all who were accepted or rejected. He kept in touch with the boys at the front, forwarding the money to Jackson- ville, Florida, and when they returned gave his gratuitous profes- sional services to all who were ill. Upon the receipt of the news of the battle of Santiago he promptly tendered by telegraph through Congressman Lacy his immediate and gratuitous service to our wounded. As a number of similar offers had been made, the surgeon general ac- cepted the services of those who were nearer when they were needed. The Doctor loves Iowa and her people, but his physical condition will not permit him to risk the rigors of a northern winter climate. He is deservedly popular with all classes, having the happy faculty of being able to win friends easily and as easily retain them.
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DR. ROBERT H. PAYNE.
No word of encomium is necessary to introduce this gentleman to the citizens of Keokuk county, for the simple reason that he has been known of them for a period of four decades. Dr. Payne is a native of Illinois, where he was born in Vermilion county, February 22, 1836. He came to Keokuk county when a young man and has been here con- tinuously since that date. He has the distinction of having taught the first school that was ever held in Ioka.
Dr. Payne is the son of a physician, his father having been Dr. Jesse D. Payne, who was for long years a successful physician in Ver- milion county, Illinois, and who became one of the earliest settlers of the state of Iowa, locating in Henry county in 1836. He was a native of Jefferson county, Tennessee, and in medicine was a graduate of a medi- cal school at Nashville, Tennessee. Upon his graduation he located at Georgetown, Vermilion county, Illinois, the date being about 1830, and as stated came to Iowa in 1836. He located at a point now known as Mount Pleasant, a town which he surveyed and in company with others, laid out. He continued the practice of medicine there until his death occurred in middle life, he being only forty-three years of age. Dr. Payne was a man of great energy of purpose, and was largely interest- ed in the public utilities of his section of the country. He was one of a number who were instrumental in bringing Iowa Wesleyan University to Mount Pleasant, and was one of the trustees of that institution. He was very favorably known all over his section of the state. He served in the Iowa legislature one term and as clerk of courts in Henry County. The grandfather of our subject was also named Robert. He was a native of the Old Dominion state of Virginia, and had taken the family name to Tennessee in the early part of the century. The mother of our
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honored subject was Artemetia Earnest, and is of a family that was for long years connected with the religious interests of Tennessee. Her peo- ple were natives of Blount county, Tennessee, her father being Lawrence Earnest, a prominent minister of the Methodist church. Dr. Payne's father and mother were the parents of a family of seven children, two sons and five daughters. Only two of the family are now living, the other member beside our subject being Ellen E. West, at present a resi- dent of Omaha, Nebraska.
Dr. Payne is next to the youngest child of the family and was only five months old when he landed in Henry county. He remained at his home in Mount Pleasant until he was about eighteen years of age and succeeded in acquiring a very good foundation in the common schools of that day for his later medical education. He entered the Iowa University, and after a course there came to Keokuk county, where he taught the first school at Ioka. He immediately began preparation for his profession by reading medicine with Dr. Myers of loka, and for the succeeding several years also followed the profession of teaching. On November 21, 1857, he married Martha J. Faulkner, and removing from Icka, located at a point now known as Wayland, where he con- tinued the study of medicine with Dr. D. A. Kittle. Here he late - began the practice in company with Dr. Kittle, but in 1858 located in Troy, Doniphan county, Kansas. After three years' practice in this place he returned to Wayland, and entering Keokuk Medical College, remained in that institution until his graduation in 1862, this same date marking the year of his location in Richland, where he has been continuously engaged in the practice since that time. This makes him the oldest resi- dent practicing physician in Keokuk county. Dr. Payne is an excellent physician and a man who is widely known for his many fine qualities of
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citizenship. He is prominent in his profession and keeps in close touch with his brother physicians, being a member of the American Medical Association, the International Association of Railway Surgeons, and the Keokuk County Medical Society. He is a prominent and worthy member of the Masonic fraternity, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and his political affiliations lie with the Republican party. Dr. Payne and his wife are the parents of three sons and three daughters, namely: Dr. Jesse D. Payne, a prominent physician practicing at Los Angeles, California; Anna E., wife of Dr. W. R. Nugent, a leading physician in Chicago; Carrie M., wife of Martin Starr, Richiand, iowa ; Dr. John E. Payne, whose sketch appears below; G. Logan Payne, of Chicago, being an advertising representative of leading Iowa daily pa- pers ; and two young members of the family that were deceased in in- fancy. Dr. Payne and his family are worthy members of the Methodist church, and have during their time been leaders in thought and novement in the community of Richland.
Dr. John E. Payne, the fourth child of the above parents, was born in Richland, September 16, 1871. He was well grounded in education in the public schools of Richland, which was later supplemented by a literary course in the Penn College of Oskaloosa. He then entered formally upon the study of his profession with his father and finished at the old College of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, Iowa, in 1896. He began the practice of his profession at Harper and continued it for a period of three years, but in November, 1899, he became associated in practice with his father in Richland. Dr. Payne is an earnest student of his profession, having since his graduation taken a post-graduate course at the Illinois School of Electro-Therapeutics, from which institu- tion he graduated May 24, 1902.
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Dr. Payne was married on the 29th of June, 1890, to Maggie Vitti- toe, and has two bright children, Vera H., and Robert H. Like his father, he is keenly alive to the interests of the profession, being a mem- ber of the lowa State Medical Society, and of the Keokuk County Medical Society, while both he and his wife are acceptable members of the Methodist church. The family name of Payne is an honored one in Keokuk county, and the authors of this volume are pleased to give it representation here.
W. H. HUMES.
W. H. Humes, who carries on general farming in Washington township, Keokuk county, and is one of the old residents of this locality, is a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Tippecanoe county, January 10, 1837. His father, James Humes, was born in Pike county, Ohio, in 1812, and there spent his early childhood days. In 1829, how- ever, he removed with his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana, where he assisted in the farm work. In 1852 he and his son came to Keokuk county, Washington township, Iowa, where they entered two hundred acres of raw land from the government, paying the usual price of one dollar and a quarter per acre. This he improved, transforming the wild land into productive fields. The father of our subject remained with his parents until his marriage, which was celebrated in Tippecanoe county. Indiana, the lady of his choice being Sarah Start, a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, born in 1817. They were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, and all are yet living with the ex- ception of two sons who died in the army. These are: John, W. H., Harriet, Samuel, Solomon, Rachel, James, and Thomas. John and Solo- mon died in the army. The father of these children lived upon his farm
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until two years prior to his death, when he removed to Whatcheer, Iowa. His first wife had died in Tippecanoe county, Indiana, and he was again married in 1852, his second union being with Mary Ann Hutchinson, a native of Pennsylvania. By this marriage there were two children, George and Frank, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Iowa. Mr. Humes was a stalwart supporter of the Democracy and was a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Whatcheer. He died at his home in that town at the age of eighty-two years, respected by all who knew him.
WV. H. Humes spent his early childhood days in Indiana and when fifteen years of age came with his parents to Iowa, assisting his father on the old farm until about eighteen years of age. The first land which he ever owned was a tract of forty acres and this he improved, placing it under a high state of cultivation. At the time of the Civil war he offered his services to the government, enlisting on the 8th of April, 1861, in Chicago, Illinois, as a member of Company B, Mcclellan's Dragoons. He served for three years and during the last two years was a member of the Twelfth Illinois Cavalry, belonging to Company I. He took part in the battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, in the seven days fight at Rich- mond and engagements at South Mountain and Antietam, and others of lesser importance, and was mustered out at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on the 8th of October, 1864, returning to his home with a creditable mili- tary record which had covered almost the entire period of the Civil war, his services being of great value in defending the Union. He stood guard at Lincoln's door and often acted as escort to him in Washington, D. C.
After the war Mr. Humes returned to Iowa and located on his farm in Washington township, Keokuk county, where he still makes his home. He was married on the 8th of April, 1865, to Eliza Harbison,
49
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a native of Ohio and a daughter of Mathew R. Harbison, one of the early settlers of Washington township. They became the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters: Glenn C .; Eva, the wife of Irvin Ogden, of What Cheer; Leonard; Clair, deceased; Mabel, the wife of Clyde Legg. of What Cheer; and Earl, who has also passed away. Socially Mr. Humes is connected with the Masonic lodge of What Cheer, of which he is a past master. He has always been a stanch advocate of the Republican party, unfaltering in his support of its principles, yet he has never sought or desired office. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church of What Cheer and as a citizen has ever been as true and loyal to his country in times of peace as he was when he followed the old flag upon the battle fields of the south.
DAVID NICHOL HENDERSON.
David Nichol Henderson is one of the oldest settlers of Keokuk county and now makes his home on section 3, Richland township, being widely known as a prominent farmer of his locality. He was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, April 5. 1819. His father, the Hon. Thomas Henderson was a native of Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, born in 1776 and there he spent the days of his boyhood and youth. When a young man he accompanied his parents to Huron county, Ohio, where he was married. He afterward located in Guernsey county, Ohio, and followed the occupation of farming. He was also very prominent in public af- fairs and was a recognized leader of the public thought and action of his community. He served as judge of the court and was three times elected to represent his district in the state legislature of Ohio. He held many local offices, including that of justice of the peace. He was
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ever faithful, prompt and honorable in the discharge of his official duties. Prominent and influential, he left the impress of his individual- ity upon the public life of his county. He and two brothers, William and John, all located in Guernsey county. They were the sons of John Henderson, Sr., who was born in Pennsylvania and was of Irish descent. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Jane Jackson. She was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1789, and was the eldest in a family of ten children. The father, Robert Jack- son, was the third child of David and Elizabeth Jackson and was born in Ireland, whence he came to America in 1762. By occupation he was a wheelwright and for many years engaged in the manufacture of the old-fashioned spinning wheels. His father and Andrew Jackson's father were half brothers. The latter settled in South Carolina, while Robert's father took up his abode in Pennsylvania. They were also near relatives of General "Stonewall" Jackson. Unto the parents of our subject were born three sons and eight daughters, all of whom reached years of ma- urity and were married, although only three of the number are now living, namely : David Nichol, of this review: John; and Sarah, who is the widow of P. S. Langford and resides in California.
David Nichol Henderson was the seventh child and second son in his parents' family and was reared in his native state until sixteen years of age, acquiring a common school education in one of the old log schoolhouses of his native county. The light was admitted into the building through greased paper windows and in one end of the room was a huge fireplace from which the smoke made its egress through a mud and stick chimney. The seats were rude slabs and all of the furnish- ings of the little temple of learning were equally primitive. . Mr. Hen- derson. however, acquired a fair knowledge of the English branches of
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learning and has continually broadened his knowledge by reading, ex- perience and observation in later life. In the year 1836 he started west- ward, accompanying his parents on their removal to Warren county, Illi- nois, where he was engaged in general farming until 1839. In that year he came to what is now Keokuk county, Iowa. The Indians were still numerous here, far outnumbering the white settlers. Mr. Henderson located in the midst of the green woods and erected a double log house with a puncheon floor and a clapboard roof which was held down by the weight of poles. He remained with his father until his marriage and largely assisted in the arduous task of clearing the wild land and preparing it for the plow and placing it under a high state of cultivation.
In 1845 Mr. Henderson was joined in wedlock to Miss Lavina Jeffrey, who died in 1852, and for his second wife he chose Rose Ann Noggle, who died in September, 1900. They had no children of their own, so they reared an adopted daughter, Mary, who is now the wife of John Wallerich and has two children, Ransom O. and Rosa Belle. They still reside upon the farm with Mr. Henderson. After his first marriage Mr. Henderson located in what is now Clear Creek township. Keokuk county, where he had taken a claim, and there he improved a farm of one hundred acres, adding to it from time to time until he owned there about four hundred acres. He carried on general farming and stock raising, making his home upon his first place until 1892, when he removed to Colfax, Iowa, hoping to benefit his wife's health by the change. For six years he remained in that place and then returned to Richland, where he lived until 1900. His wife died in that year and he then took up his abode with his adopted daughter, Mary, with whom he is now making his home.
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Mr. Henderson is one of the honored pioneer settlers of Keokuk county and has been identified with the development and improvement of this section of the state through many years. He prospered in his undertakings, but has now sold much of his land in this county, retain- ing, however, sixty-five acres. He also owns three hundred and twenty acres in Trego county, Kansas. He has been a life-long Democrat and has served as justice of the peace of Clear Creek township for forty years and has held other local offices. In the discharge of his official duties he has ever been found true and faithful and no higher testimonial of capable service could be given than the fact that for four decades he has been continued in one office. He was made a Mason in 1851 and has acted as worshipful master in three different lodges, served in that office most of the time from the first to 1881. In his religious faith he is a strong Spiritualist, having been identified with the society since 1839. He takes a just pride in what has been accomplished in Keokuk county. When he arrived amid a population largely composed of Indians, he took up his work as one of the frontier settlers. He found conditions which would have discouraged many a man of less resolute spirit. The strug. gle for existence was a stern and hard one for many years. The pio- neer homes were little cabins, situated far apart, and the settlers had to perform the difficult task of reclaiming the wild land for purposes of civilization. The farm implements then were not as efficient as they are at the present time and the work of agriculture was therefore much more slow and difficult. With strong purpose and resolute will, how- ever, Mr. Henderson undertook the task of improving a farm and aid- ing in the upbuilding and progress of the community, and what he has done in behalf of the county entitles him to the gratitude of the present and later generations.
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