USA > Iowa > Cedar County > A topical history of Cedar County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 9
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Mr. and Mrs. Wingert have four children: Elma Grace, the wife of J. N. Witmer, living about three miles from Tipton; Ralph D., whose home is a mile and a half east of Tipton and who married Edna French ; Ruby Ellen, at home ; and Emma Lucile, attending St. Katharine's Boarding School in' Davenport.
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All four of the children are graduates of the Tipton high school, the two younger daughters having attended Cornell College, while Ralph was a student in the State University at Iowa City. He also completed a business course at Daven- port. By his marriage he has two children, Dorothy French and Harold.
Mr. Wingert and his family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have assisted most liberally in building the present fine house of worship in Tipton. Mr. Wingert gives loyal support to the Masonic fraternity, to the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Modern Wood- men of America, in all of which he holds membership. He is a business man of marked enterprise, displaying in all things an aptitude for successful man- agement. In his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. Thorough investiga- tion into all business projects with which he becomes connected enables him to so place his investments as to secure substantial returns therefrom, his business integrity remaining unsullied, for all of his trade transactions are conducted along lines of fair, honorable and open-handed dealing.
JAMES SAFLEY.
From many sections of both the new and the old world came the pioneers of Iowa, but none possessed in greater degree the sturdy qualities necessary for life on the frontier or required in the substantial and permanent upbuilding of such a commonwealth than did James Safley, whose name now appears on the list of Cedar county's honored dead. He was one of Scotland's contribution to the citi- zenship of this state, his birth occurring in Dalhousie, that country, near Edin- burgh, on the 24th of October, 1812. He was the third in order of birth in a family of five children born to John and Agnes (Hunter) Safley, the others being John, George, Robert, and Mrs. Frances Tryon, who went to Oregon in 1850. The father, a weaver by trade, spent his entire life in the land of hills and heather, passing away in 1832 from the effects of cholera. Later, however, the family became established in the United States, various members arriving in the new world at different periods. James, the subject of this review, was the first to cross the water, while a year later, in 1836, the mother and eldest son John, and daugh- ter, in company with John Ferguson, his wife and two children, and Charles Dallas and his two children, came to Iowa. They made their way to Illinois, where the winter of that year was spent, and in 1837 came to Cedar county, where they made permanent settlement, the party being the first to arrive in Red Oak township. The year 1842 witnessed the arrival of the sons George and Robert in the United States. The mother passed away in Linn county, Iowa, in 1842.
In his native land James Safley spent the period of his boyhood and youth, and in the schools of that country acquired his education. He early began as- sisting his father in the weaving mill and was thus engaged until twenty-three years of age, when, believing that the new world held better opportunities for business advancement, he joined some relatives who were making the journey to the United States. They located at Waterford, New York, and in the following
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year Mr. Safley, with friends, went to LaGrange county, Indiana, as one of the pioneers of that district. Becoming badly afflicted with rheumatism, however, he was obliged to return to New York, and he made his home in Cohoes, that state, until 1839, when he was again attracted by the advantages of the rapidly growing west. He arrived in Linn county, Iowa, in November of that year, making the journey from Chicago by team. He continued his residence in that county for three years, and then, in the spring of 1843, he came to Cedar county, which remained the scene of his activities throughout the remainder of his life. He had become identified with agricultural interests upon his arrival in the United States, and upon coming to Cedar county he bought from the government three hundred and twenty acres of land about two miles north of Tipton, which still remains the family homestead. This farm lies partly in Red Oak and partly in Center township, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres on section 24 of the former township and one hundred and sixty acres on section 25 of the latter.
At the time Mr. Safley located here Iowa was still known as the "far west," her lands remaining largely unclaimed and uncultivated, and with the early pio- neers who had braved the dangers of frontier life he cast in his lot, enduring all the hardships and privations incident to openinig up a new farm. He pos- sessed, however, in large measure those qualities of thrift and perseverance which seem to be characteristic of the Scotch race, and these proved potent forces in the success which came to him as year by year he carried on his agricultural pur- suits, bending every energy to the further development and improvement of his farm. During his early residence in Cedar county few roads had been laid out and railroads had not yet been built, and he was compelled to haul his wheat to Muscatine, thirty miles away, or to Davenport, forty miles away, where he sold it at forty cents per bushel. Money was scarce in those days, and only part of his payment was received in cash, the other part being taken out in trade. He sold dressed pork in Iowa City for one dollar and twenty-five cents per hundred pounds, and also hauled it to Galena, Illinois, where he sold it at the mines, re- ceiving gold in payment. But in spite of primitive conditions Mr. Safley pros- pered from year to year, and as success came to him in his undertaking he in- vested in real estate, so that at the time of his death, which occurred on the 9th of January, 1880, he was the owner of fifteen hundred acres of valuable Iowa land, constituting him one of the extensive property owners of this locality. For almost four decades he was identified with the history of this state, witnessing the wonderful transformation from a wild tract into a splendid commonwealth, . and at all times bore his full share in the work of development and improvement. Death came to him ere he had reached the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, and cut off a life that had been characterized by untiring industry and unfaltering perseverance, and crowned by well merited success.
Mr. Safley had been married three times. On the 7th of January, 1837, he wedded Janet Safley, a cousin, who passed away in Red Oak township on the 8th of March, 1847. Unto this union were born five children. The eldest son, John G. Safley, was a graduate of Cornell College, Mount Vernon, with the class of 1859, and later pursued a law course at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. In 1866 he was called to represent Cedar county in the legislature. After
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his graduation from that institution he located for practice at Toledo, Iowa, and there followed the legal profession for several years as junior member of the firm of Stivers & Safley. His health failing, however, he was later compelled to reside on a large farm south of Traer, Iowa, where he spent his remaining days, pass- ing away on the 12th of July, 1879. He had been a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting as a private in Company K, Eleventh Iowa Regiment, and before re- ceiving his discharge had been promoted to captain of Company E, that regiment. He participated in many hotly contested engagements of the war and was wounded at the battle of Atlanta on the 22d of July, 1864. He married Jennie Fraseur of Tipton and left one son and two daughters. Robert Lowe, the second son, now deceased, was also a soldier in the Union army, enlisting on the 8th of August, 1862, as a member of Company C, Twenty-fourth Iowa Infantry. His death occurred on the 19th of April, 1863, as a result of sickness contracted at Milliken's Bend, and his remains were laid to rest in the National cemetery at Vicksburg. Socrates Tryon, likewise a soldier in the Civil war, enlisted in Com- pany K, Eleventh Iowa Volunteers and was killed at the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. Isabelle, a twin sister of Socrates, passed away in infancy. Janet, the youngest member of the family, died in Indiana when but two years of age.
After the death of his first wife Mr. Safley was united in marriage on the 26th of July, 1848, to Mrs. Eliza Tryon Peet, the widow of Marlin Peet, of Jones county, who was a native of Poultney, Vermont. Unto that union were born four children, as follows: Mary, who passed away at the age of one and a half years; Hulda, the wife of Marion R. McCaulley, of Eugene, Oregon; George William, of Calhoun county, Iowa, who is married and has nine sons and two daughters ; and Laura, the wife of Amos M. Hawley, a resident of Scranton, Greene county, Iowa. Mrs. Safley passed to her final rest on the 25th of July, 1859.
On the 18th of September, 1860, Mr. Safley wedded Margaret Ritchie, who was born in Scotland on the 3d of July, 1838. When twelve years old she lost her mother, after which she was reared by an aunt, with whom she came to the United States in 1851. They located first in Knox county, Illinois, and later, in May, 1853, came to Iowa, where she resided in Linn county until her marriage. Since that time, or for a period of nearly fifty years, she has made her home on the old Safley homestead, upon which her husband had located in early pioneer times. A remarkable business woman, she has shown excellent ability in the management of the large estate left to her at her husband's death, and also in the capable way in which she has reared and educated her family. Well read, she is a lady of broad general knowledge, and her strength of character and many fine traits of heart and mind have won her the respect and good will of a large circle of warm friends. By her marriage to Mr. Safley she became the mother of seven children. Clarence, the eldest, was born August 9, 1862, and was a student of the high school at Tipton. He followed the occupation of farming and stock- raising for many years but is now living retired in Tipton. He married Minerva Wisener, and unto them have been born two children: James Clifford, whose birth occurred on the 25th of April, 1894; and May Elizabeth, born August 10, 1905. Nellie, born in 1865, married Walter J. Bray, of Arlington Heights, Illi-
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nois, and they have two children : Margaret Jean, born May 2, 1900; and Helen Safley, born January 18, 1903. James Arthur, who was born March 17, 1867, is a farmer by occupation, residing on a tract of land adjoining the old homestead in Red Oak township. He was married on the 17th of March, 1896, to Margaret Phelps, and they have five children : Henrietta, born March 17, 1897; Effie, born March 12, 1899; Ritchie, born September 4, 1901 ; Emily Louise, born May 30, 1903 ; and Maurice Phelps, born July 6, 1905. Effie, born March 12, 1869, passed away on the 4th of December, 1879. Archibald Lester, born December 9, 1871, was married April 18, 1905, to Miss Lucy Walenta, by whom he has three chil- dren : Jessie E., born February 25, 1906; James Lester, born December 18, 1907; and Florence, born January 5, 1910. He also follows agriculture as an occupa- tion, owning and operating the old home farm. Agnes Isabelle, who was born May 14, 1875, was graduated from the State University of Iowa in 1899 with the B. S. degree, and also pursued a medical course in that institution. Upon her graduation from that department in 1904 she located for practice in Cedar Rapids and has since remained in that city. Margaret James, named for her father and mother, was born upon the day her father passed away, January 9, 1880. She won her B. A. degree upon her graduation from the State University of Iowa in 1900 and was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa sorority. Following her graduation she taught history in Washington, Iowa, for six years, and on the 15th of September, 1909, was united in marriage to Rev. R. D. Echlin, pastor of the Second Presbyterian church of Sioux City, Iowa.
JOHN J. ACKERMAN.
John J. Ackerman, who has passed the ninetieth milestone on life's journey, is one of the venerable and respected residents of Cedar county, within the bor- ders of which he has made his home for practically seven decades. He followed farming and stock-raising throughout his active business career and at one time owned more than five hundred acres of valuable land in this county. He still retains a farm of two hundred and thirty-three acres in Inland township and resides thereon with his daughter, the place being operated by his son-in-law.
His birth occurred in Wurtemberg, Germany, on the 6th of October, 1819, his parents being Matthias and Christina Ackerman. In 1831 they crosssed the Atlantic to the United States, arriving in New York on the Ist of October of that year. While en route to Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, which was their destination, they stopped at the Black Bear Hotel in Philadelphia, our subject being just twelve years old on that day. A short time after their arrival in Lancaster county the mother passed away. The following spring John J. Acker- man went to Louisville, Kentucky, with his father, while in September, 1832, he located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. In the spring of 1833 he went to Cincin- nati, where he was apprenticed to the baker's trade, there remaining for two and a half years. On the expiration of that period he returned to Crawfordsville, ville, Indiana, with his father and was there engaged in the grocery business™ for four years.
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In the spring of 1839 Mr. Ackerman came to Iowa, crossing the Mississippi river at Rockingham, seven miles below Davenport. Thence he made his way to Posten's Grove, in what was then known as Springfield township, Cedar county, which included what is now Massillon, Springfield and Inland townships. James Posten, the first settler in Inland township, was living there at that time. Mr. Ackerman here turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits and met with excellent success in his undertakings, accumulating more than five hun- dred acres of land. In connection with the tilling of the soil he was also engaged in stock-raising, which branch of his business added materially to his income. He still retains a farm of two hundred and thirty-three acres in Inland township, where he resides with his daughter Nancy and her husband. At the time of the gold excitement in California he crossed the plains to that state, leaving Iowa by wagon on the 7th of March, 1850, and reaching his destination on the 28th of July of that year. He was successful in his search for the precious metal and returned to this state in 1852, in which year his father died.
Mr. Ackerman has been married twice. On the 3d of August, 1852, he wedded Miss Nancy Scarlet, who passed away on the Ioth of September, 1864, leaving four children, as follows: Amanda Ann, whose natal day was July 8, 1853; George W., who was born May 2, 1857; Nancy N., whose birth occurred May 29, 1859; and Catherine C., born March 22, 1863. For his second wife Mr. Ackerman chose Mrs. Nancy J. Reader, whom he wedded on the 8th of January, 1868.
Mr. Ackerman is a republican in his political views and served as one of the first trustees of Inland township. He cast his first presidential ballot for Martin Van Buren and in 1868 became a republican, having since supported all the can- didates at the head of that party with the exception of Taft. In religious faith he is a Lutheran, while fraternally he has been identified with the Masons since 1865. Though now in the ninety-first year of his age, he is still bright and ac- tive and has the appearance of a much younger man. He attributes his long life to the fact that he has always endeavored to follow his mother's dying re- quest and to live honestly and temperately and to help the poor and needy. No good work in the name of charity or religion has ever sought his aid in vain and generosity has always been one of his most salient characteristics.
F. A. KESTER.
F. A. Kester, who resides on an attractive farm adjoining the village of Rochester, is known not only as a substantial farmer but also as a breeder of thoroughbred Poland China hogs, his stock being some of the finest to be found in Cedar county. He was born on the farm which is still his home, his natal day being October 22, 1877. He is the youngest in a family of four children, whose parents were John F. and Martha Ellen (Walters) Kester. The Kester family located in Cedar county at an early day, coming from Pennsylvania, and it was here that John F. Kester was born, and his wife was also a native of this section of Iowa. The parents died in 1887, their death occurring on the same
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day, from diphtheria. The record of their children is as follows: Elizabeth, the widow of A. E. Edwards, of Cedar Rapids; Ira Alvin, a farmer, residing near West Liberty, Iowa; Ida Ellen, the wife of Elmer Cole, a resident of Cedar Rapids ; and F. A., of this review.
F. A. Kester was a little lad of ten years when he lost his parents and he was then taken into the home of his maternal grandfather, Noah Walters, who came to Cedar county from Ohio in 1845, establishing his home in Rochester, where he lived until his death, which occurred in October, 1903, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Mr. Kester is now the owner of the old homestead, comprising one hundred and forty acres, situated on section 2, Rochester township. Many of the improvements on the place have been made by him and he follows the most modern methods in his work. The land is very pro- ductive and this, together with its close proximity to the village of Rochester, makes it a valuable property. Mr. Kester carries on general farming and has gained a reputation in the county as a breeder of Poland China hogs. At the present time he has sixty-three head, of which fifty are registered.
Mr. Kester established a home of his own on the 18th of February, 1904, by his marriage to Miss Myrtle May Wilkerson, who was born near Wilton, Iowa, in 1882, a daughter of Charles Wilkerson. Mr. Kester is a republican in his political views and is ever active and interested in local affairs of a public nature. He is now serving as secretary of the school board of Rochester township and is also secretary and treasurer of the Rochester & Tipton Telephone Company. He stands as a high type of American manhood, who has won success in a use- ful field of business and gained the respect and honor of his fellowmen by his public service and private life.
J. D. ANDERSON.
J. D. Anderson devotes his time to the cultivation of one hundred and fifty acres of land, located on section I, Rochester township. He is a native of Cedar county, born on a farm in Iowa township, August 20, 1862. His father, John Rutledge Anderson, was born in Leesburg, Loudoun county, Virginia, May 25, 1823. His grandfather served in the war of 1812. About 1841 the latter's widow, with her two children, John R. and Adaline, removed to Ohio and ten years later came to Iowa, making the journey with ox-teams. Her son was married in this state on the 26th of June, 1860, to Miss Nancy A. Johnston, who was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, June 17, 1834, and when but two years of age was taken by her parents, David and Catharine (Shires) John- ston, to Ohio. They made their home in the Buckeye state for a few years and then came to Cedar county, Iowa, the daughter being twelve years old at the time of the family's arrival in this locality. Here she grew to years of maturity and gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Anderson. Her father died in Cedar county but the mother passed away in Linn county, Iowa. They became the parents of three sons and eight daughters.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. John R. Anderson began their domestic life on a farm and in 1866 he purchased two hundred acres of land and
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from that time to the present this has been in possession of the family. He was identified with farming interests in Cedar county until the time of his death, which occurred on the 10th of August, 1889. His widow is still living and now makes her home with our subject, having reached the age of seventy-six years. By her marriage she became the mother of four children: J. D., of this review ; Lee, of Rochester, Iowa; S. P., deceased; and Kate, the wife of C. U. Edwards, of California.
J. D. Anderson was reared to farm life and with the exception of three years spent in South Dakota has always resided in Cedar county. At the usual age he was sent to the district schools, wherein he mastered the common branches of learning and during the periods of vacation he was trained in the work of the fields. In 1882 he went to South Dakota and entered land, spending three years in that state. At the end of that time he disposed of his interests and returned to Cedar county, now owning one hundred and fifty acres of the old homestead, situated on section 1, Rochester township. On the place stands a good brick residence and substantial outbuildings and Mr. Anderson keeps everything in good condition, while he follows systematic methods in the cultivation of his crops so that the best results obtain.
Mr. Anderson has been twice married. His first union was with Miss Winnie Edgeington, their marriage being celebrated in 1879. She was born in Potta- wattamie county, Iowa, and died in Crawford county, this state. There is one son of that union, Elwood, principal of a high school in Omaha, Nebraska. He is a graduate in law and practiced for two years prior to engaging in teaching. Mr. Anderson was married in 1887 to Jennie Atkinson, a native of Rock Island county, Illinois. There are six children of this marriage, Roscoe, Harold, Veda, Vance, Gladys and Donald. All are at home with the exception of the eldest son, Roscoe, who is married and farms on a tract of land adjoining the home- stead. Mr. Anderson is not a man in public life but prefers to spend his time in the pursuit of his private interests and finds his greatest social enjoyment in the companionship of his wife and children at his own fireside.
CHARLES E. WOODS.
In connection with the stock-raising interests of Cedar county mention should be made of Charles E. Woods who, as owner of two large stock farms, is doing an extensive and profitable business in that direction. One of Cedar county's native sons, he was born in Center township on the Ist of December, 1869, a son of Richard M. Woods, who was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. The father was a young man of twenty years when, alone, he came to Iowa and cast in his lot with the early pioneers of this district. The journey was made by way of the river route as far as Muscatine, Iowa, from which point he traveled overland to Cedar county, where he located on a farm about five miles west of Tipton in Center township. There he became the owner of two hundred acres of farm land, besides some valuable timber land, and on the place where he had originally located he spent his remaining days, passing away in April, 1906, when
MR. AND MRS. RICHARD M. WOODS
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he had reached the ripe old age of eighty-three years. He has been twice mar- ried and by his first union became the father of six children. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Anna M. Darger, the widow of a farmer, who by her previous marriage had three children. Mrs. Woods, who was in her maiden- hood Anna M. Sheets, was born in Virginia and died at Wyoming, Iowa, July 31, 1910, at the age of sixty-eight years, one month and eleven days. By the second union were born four children, as follows: Hattie, the wife of Emery Meyers, of Wyoming; Charles E., of this review; John, a resident of Garden City, Kansas; and Edith, the wife of Arthur Coffin, of Tama county, Iowa.
No event of special importance came to vary the routine of life for Charles E. Woods during the period of his boyhood and youth, which were spent on the home farm in Center township, amid the busy activities of rural life. His time was passed in the usual manner of the country lad of that day, acquiring his edu- cation in the district schools of the neighborhood and when not engaged with his text-books assisting his father in the cultivation of the fields. He remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, when he laid the foundation for a happy home life of his own by his marriage, on the 3d of December, 1891, to Miss Bessie M. Shank, who was born on the farm which is yet her home on the 22d of March, 1872. She is a daughter of Henry Shank, of whom extended mention is made on another page of this volume.
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