USA > Iowa > Monroe County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 11
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 11
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Harrison Hickenlooper was born in Armstrong county, Pennsyl- vania, April 21, 1840, and consequently was six years old when his
HARRISON HICKENLOOPER.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL HISTORY. 161
parents came to this state. He grew up in Monroe county and was still living at home when the outbreak of the Civil war drove all thoughts from his mind save the single determination to join the throng then rushing to the defense of the Union. In May, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Sixth Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Henry Sanders, and with this command took part in all the early campaigns of the western army. During this period he partici- pated in the battles of Shiloh, Black River, Jackson, the sieges of Corinth and Vicksburg, not to mention the many intervening engage- ments of a minor nature. At the battle of Missionary Ridge Mr. Hick- enlooper received a gunshot wound in the arm, which so badly shat- tered that member as to necessitate his removal to the hospital at Chat- tanooga, from which place he was taken to Nashville. Up to the time of this accident he had not lost a moment's time from his company, but reported promptly for duty every day after his enlistment. The injury above mentioned, however, was so severe as to incapacitate him for future duty, and he received his discharge for disability after a faithful service of two years and nine months. After his release from the army Mr. Hickenlooper returned home and put in a crop on his father's farm. Later he taught school a while, and in the fall of 1865 was elected treasurer of the county, in which office he served four years. When his time expired he kept a bookstore, and then acted as agent for the American Express Company until his re-election to the country treasurership in 1874. After serving the term of two years he was again elected and finished his career in this office in 1880, but afterward was appointed deputy treasurer and has served several years in that capacity. He has always been an active Republican and recalls with pride the fact that his first presidential vote was cast for Abraham
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Lincoln, when that great patriot and statesman was making the race for his second term. Besides his long tenure of the office of county treasurer, he served six years in the office of justice of the peace, and has been a local leader of his party ever since he returned from the army.
November 13, 1867, Mr. Hickenlooper was married to Sarah J., daughter of Samuel and Jane (George) Wallace, natives of Virginia, who came to Iowa in 1854. Mrs. Hickenlooper was born in Virginia, March 7, 1845, and died at Albia, February 24, 1900. She was a de- voted member of the United Presbyterian church, and all who knew her intimately speak highly of her virtues as a woman, wife and mother. Of the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Hickenlooper, Clara died in Albia at the age of twenty-four years; Mildred married Albert F. Ewers and has one daughter, Edna; Wallace, civil engineer, who graduated from the Iowa university, is in business at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and Edna remains at home with her father. Mr. Hickenlooper is a member of the Knights of Pythias, has been an Odd Fellow for thirty years, and belongs to Orman Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He was a charter member of the last mentioned order and has been hon- ored by his old war comrades with all the offices in the local organiza- tion.
J. W. GILBERT.
A life devoted to agricultural pursuits is naturally peaceful and free from many of the striking features which characterize men in more hazardous callings, but to be a successful farmer, nevertheless, requires all the resolute purpose, the energy and the careful manage-
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ment which are necessary to any business; and in J. W. Gilbert we see a man who is a farmer, representative of these qualities, and one of the leading men in his line in the county of Monroe .. His father, William Gilbert, was a native of the old Green Mountain state, born there in the early years of the past century ; he joined the great tides of emigra- tion which were constantly streaming westward from the less favored sections of the east to the fertile areas of the west, and on reaching Iowa in 1854 settled on a large farm of seven hundred acres in Jackson township, Monroe county, where he was an extensive farmer for the rest of his life. He was one of the earliest supporters of the Repub- lican party and was a member of the Christian church. Before coming west he had married Elizabeth Hickocks, who was a native of the state of Connecticut. She became the mother of fifteen children, and of them six are living at the present time. The elder Gilbert died in Jackson township in 1878, aged sixty-six, and his wife died in Lucas county in 1902.
J. W. Gilbert was the fourth child and his birth occurred in Jack- son county, Indiana, June 7, 1851. He came to Iowa when three years of age and received his education in the schools of Melrose. In 1879 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Thompson, a native of Kansas and the daughter of B. F. Thompson, of the same state. Six children blessed this marriage, one son and five daughters: Amasa, Cora, the wife of Elmer Adcock; Effie, Pearl, Milly, and Macey. Mr. Gilbert has always followed farming and is recognized as one of the representa- tive citizens of the county. In politics he has adopted the choice of his father and votes for the Republican party, and his church mem- bership is with the United Brethren.
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W. A. KNAPP.
W. A. Knapp has always lived in the Mississippi valley, his birth having occurred in Switzerland county, Indiana. His parents were John J. and Sarah Knapp, and under the parental roof he was reared. He has been a resident of Iowa since 1855 and has taken an active and helpful interest in everything pertaining to the general good and pro- gress of the communities with which he has been connected. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all business and personal consid- erations and offered his services to the government, enlisting as a mem- ber of Company G, Twenty-first Missouri Infantry, with which he went to the front. He participated in a number of hotly contested battles, including the two days' engagement at Shiloh and the two days' contest at Corinth. He was also in the battle of Tupelo and others of lesser importance and was always found as a faithful follower of the old flag, never wavering in his allegiance to the Union cause. He was honorably discharged in July, 1865, and returned home as one of the heroes of the Civil war, to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude that it can never repay. In the battle of Tupelo he was wounded by a piece of shell which injured him considerably and he now receives a well de- served pension.
Mr. Knapp has a wide reputation as a penman, both for his skill as a writer and as a pen artist, his ability in this direction being of a very superior order. He is now a teacher of penmanship and his artistic work in this regard is almost unsurpassed.
On the 30th of August. 1865, Mr. Knapp was united in marriage to Miss Isabelle Trussell, the wedding ceremony being performed by George Osborn, justice of the peace. Their union has been blessed with a large family of eleven children, namely: Viola Jane, who was
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born January 6, 1867, and died the same year; Mary C., who was born November 10, 1869, and died March 8, 1885; Priscilla, born April 5, 1872, who died the same day; Mahlon, born March 22, 1873; Lillie, born July 30, 1874, who died December 4, 1897; Sarah E., who was born March 6, 1878, and died December 8, 1878; Dorothy, who was born December 9, 1879, and died December 25, 1879; Albert R., born April 23, 1881; Clarence Winchester, born December 15, 1882; Emma, who was born March 17, 1884, and died the same year; and Melvin M., born July 20, 1886.
In 1889 Mr. Knapp removed to Moravia and has since been ac- counted one of the prominent and influential residents of this place. He was honored with the office of mayor of the city, which he filled for a term of five years. His administration was practical, business-like and progressive and he retired from office as he had entered it, with the confidence and good will of all concerned. He received the high commendation of all law-abiding citizens and his course was one which proved of benefit to the town. In 1894 he was president of the board of trustees of Union township. In politics he has always been a Re- publican, prominent in the work of the party and doing everything in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He feels it to be one of the duties of citizenship to uphold political views in which are embodied the best ideas of good government. He has delivered a number of campaign addresses in behalf of the party and his in- fluence has been of no restricted order. Neither has the moral nature of man been neglected in the life work of Mr. Knapp, who is an or- dained elder of the Christian church. He has filled many pulpits and in many public addresses has set forth the value of Christianity to the world and the plan of redemption as exemplified by the Nazarene
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teacher. Thus has he labored along many lines for the upbuilding of his country and his people, and no man in all the community is more deserving of the respect, confidence and good will of his fellow towns- men than is W. A. Knapp.
J. W. HALDEN.
J. W. Halden is an enterprising business man of Moravia, where he has made his home since 1899, and where he is engaged in the drug business. He was born in Monmouth, Illinois, July 20, 1863, a son of J. W. and Jessie D. Halden, who in 1869 removed from Illinois to Iowa, settling upon a farm in Warren county. The subject of this re- view was then only six years of age. In that county he entered the public schools, gaining a good knowledge of the common English branches of learning, while upon the home farm he received ample training in the work of tilling the soil and cultivating the fields. In 1880 he removed to Centerville, Iowa, and in 1889 became a factor in official life there, being appointed to the position of deputy sheriff. The following year he was appointed city marshal and discharged his duties with promptness and fidelity and without fear or favor. After retiring from the office he removed to Moulton in September, 1893, and resided there for six years, coming thence to Moravia in 1899. Here he has since carried on business as a druggist and now has a well appointed store, in which he carries a complete line of drugs and kindred articles. Because of the neat appearance of the store and the honorable dealing of the proprietor, combined with his rea- sonable prices and earnest desire to please his customers, he has se-
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cured a liberal patronage, which is constantly growing, and which is well merited.
Mr. Halden was united in marriage in the year 1891 to Miss Etta Berry, and to them have been born four chidren, but only two are now living. Myrl, who was born on the Ist of July, 1892, died on the 5th of May, 1901. Berry F., born April 13, 1894, is still with his parents. Jessie D., born July 31, 1897, passed away on the 5th of February, 1899, when only two years of age, and Vivian, born on the IIth of October, 1902, completes the family. Mr. Halden has been quite prominent in fraternal circles. He was initiated into the mys- teries of Masonry, in which he has attained the third degree, and he also belongs to the Odd Fellows, in which he has filled the office of sec- retary. He is likewise connected with the Modern Woodmen of Amer- ica. Well known in military circles, he served for nine years as a member of Company E, Second Regiment, Iowa National Guard, and was successively corporal, sergeant and orderly sergeant. Mr. Halden is yet a young man, imbued with the progressive spirit of the west, and his genial manner, social nature and kindly disposition have made him popular with a large circle of friends, while in business affairs he has won success through close application and energy.
H. C. ESCHBACH. M. D.
During a residence at Albia of some fourteen years, the gentleman above named has impressed himself quite favorably upon the com- munity both as a man and a physician. Before coming from the east he obtained an excellent education, both literary and professional, and this has been so improved upon by subsequent study and observation,
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to say nothing of his practical experience, that it may truthfully be said that Dr. Eschbach is now one of the best informed men in his profession. If proof of this were needed, it is furnished by the fact of his membership in so many prominent medical associations, and the active part he takes in their deliberations. Dr. Eschbach's grand- parents were natives of the German Palatinate and after their emigra- tion to the United States located in Pennsylvania, where they spent the remainder of their days. The Doctor's parents were David and Sarah Eschbach, both natives of Pennsylvania, who spent their lives in agricultural pursuits, and died at the respective ages of seventy-eight and sixty-nine years. They had eight children, of whom four are living.
H. C. Eschbach, one of the younger of his father's surviving chil- dren, was born October 23, 1856, in that part of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, known as "Paradise." He was reared on the farm, and in addition to the attendance at the public school had the benefit of courses at the Limestoneville and Turbutville Academies, and Franklin and Marshall Colleges at Lancaster. He was graduated at the last mentioned institution in 1880 and shortly after entered the medical department of the Pennsylvania University, where he was graduated with the class of 1883. Equipped with a diploma from the famous college, Dr. Eschbach turned his face toward the setting sun and sought in the boundless west opportunities for rising in the profession he had chosen for his life's work.
He located first at Des Moines, where he practiced two years, and from there went to Monroe the capital of Jasper county. Three years were devoted to practice at this place and in January, 1888, Dr. Esch- bach selected what proved to be his final location at Albia and here has
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remained up to the present time in general practice as a physician and a surgeon. He is an esteemed member of nearly all of the more promi- nent organizations devoted to the advancement or the promotion of the welfare of individual practitioners. Included in this last are the Des Moines and Iowa State Medical Associations, the International Asso- ciation of Railway Surgeons, American Medical Association, and the Tri-State Medical Association. Dr. Eschbach is surgeon for the Iowa Central Railroad Company, and his professional work in that position has given entire satisfaction to his employers. In 1892 Dr. Eschbach was united in marriage with Miss Augusta Coe, by whom he has three children. He holds membership in the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and is as popular in social circles as he is esteemed in the pro- fessional world.
CHARLES G. HOOVER.
Dentistry, like many other professions, has reached its present high point of development within the past few years and now rests on a scien- tific basis, requiring besides the qualities that are common to all pro- fessions remarkable care and accuracy and patience. The town of Albia, Monroe county, Iowa, is fortunate in having among her profes- sional men one of the leaders in this important branch of modern aids to the increase of physical health and comfort, and it is the purpose of this sketch to briefly narrate some of the main facts of his career which will be of interest to the many readers of this historical volume.
The parents of our subject were John C. and Mary (Wintermote) Hoover; the father was a native of Germany and the mother of New Jersey; the former, who was a farmer through the years of his business
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activity, was a soldier in the Civil war, having been a member of the Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; he returned from the service shat- tered in health, and as a result died at the early age of thirty, December 24, 1869, leaving two children. John C. Hoover was his wife's sec- ond husband; her first husband was Ferdinand Hoover, by whom she had two children; her third husband is Dennis Druley, of which union there were no children; they now live in Boston, Indiana.
Born of the above parents in Greenville, Ohio, on the 23d of April, 1867, was Charles G. Hoover. He was reared in his native state and acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of the vicinity and of Yellow Springs, Ohio, also gaining much of the strength necessary for his life work on his father's farm. Having decided to study dentistry he attended the Indiana Dental School at Indianapolis and in 1891 received his degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. For two years following his graduation he worked in a dental office at Manitowoc. Wisconsin, and in 1893 came to Albia and established an office, where he has ever since continued with success that has been gratifying to himself and friends. He keeps up with the progress of his profession and is a member of the Iowa Dental Society and of the Southwestern Iowa Dental Society.
In 1894 Mr. Hoover was married to Miss Olive M. Wright, the daughter of Samuel W. and Marietta (Hancock) Wright, of Albia. Two children are now in their home, Harry Kenneth and Wendell Wright. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover are members of the Christian church, and he is a chapter Mason and Royal Arch Mason. Mr. Hoover claims especial distinction from the fact that he is a self-made man, having had few of the favoring winds of fickle fortune to carry him
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to success, but having become what he is by his own diligent and per- sonal application.
ROBERT THOMAS BARTRAM, M. D.
Among the physicians of Albia who command the confidence of the people to a high degree and enjoy a large clientage because of their skill in the treatment of the ills that flesh is heir to, is Dr. Bartram, who is recognized not only as an expert in his profession but also as a man of high character and one who through his own efforts has gained the place which he now occupies, in other words, a man who is the architect of his own fortunes.
Doctor Bartram is the son of English parents, Robert and Mary (Stokes) Bartram being born, reared and married in that country, and while there two sons and two daughters were born to them. The family came to the United States in 1852 and settled on a farm in Kendall county, Illinois; from here they removed to Iowa about 1874 and located in Warren county, where both passed away, Mrs. Bar- tram dying in 1884 at the age of fifty-six, and her husband in 1894 at the age of seventy-four. Four sons and four daughters were born to them in America, and thus they were the parents of twelve children.
Robert Thomas was born while his parents resided in Kendall county, Illinois, the date of his birth being January 25, 1853. He was reared on a farm and received his education in the country schools, after which he taught for two terms. Having been attracted to the medical profession he began his study when twenty-five years old and in 1886 graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Keokuk, Iowa; he then came to Albia, where he has become one of the
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successful practitioners. He owns a well equipped office, a good medi- cal library, and he has always been a hard student, having taken post- graduate courses in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keo- kuk.
Dr. Bartram was twice married; his first wife, whom he married in 1881, was Miss Henrietta J. Stare, who died in 1891, leaving two children, Fern and Ida. In 1893 he became the husband of Emma S. Snodgrass, and their children are Margarette and Lois. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church and stand high in the social circles of the city.
FRED D. EVERETT.
The world, and America in particular, will never grow tired of praising the "self-made" man, one who begins life with none of the often fictitious helps, such as wealth, position or a family name, and by consistent and hard "plugging" forges forward to a position in the front rank; when this man has won the contest he often bears none of the signs of the struggles and disappointments through which he has passed, but to those who know his whole life he seems deserving of his success and well worthy a place among the leaders of men. The popular young lawyer of Albia, Iowa, Fred D. Everett, is one of this class, and in the long future which is before him a highly prosperous career seems to be marked out for him.
Mr. Everett comes from a good mingling of nationalities, the pro- gressiveness of his English father being supplemented with the sturdy qualities of a Swiss mother ; he is the son of John and Bertha (Demuth) Everett, the former born in England and the latter in Switzerland,
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both coming to America in childhood. They were married in Davis county, Iowa, where Mr. Everett followed the occupation of a miller and died in 1900; his wife still survives and resides in Bloomfield, Iowa. There were only two children, a son and a daughter, Fred D. and Frances M.
Fred D. Everett was born in Bloomfield, Iowa, April 18, 1876, and there grew up to manhood. In 1892 he graduated from the high school and the following year taught school in Monroe county. The next two years he engaged in farming in Monroe county, and having from these occupations saved some money and being filled with the am- bition to enter the profession of the law, in the fall of 1895 he began his studies in the law department of the State University at Iowa City, from which he graduated in the spring of 1897 and was immediately admitted to the bar. He selected Albia as the place to begin his legal career and formed a partnership with D. M. Anderson, which has continued to the present time. In the enthusiasm consequent upon the breaking out of the Spanish-American war in 1898 he became a private in Company D, Fifty-first Iowa Infantry, and served in the Philippines up to November, 1899. Since this time he has engaged actively in the practice of the law. As an evidence of his growing popularity and his ability, in the fall of 1900 he was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of attorney of Monroe county and in the fall of 1902 received a renomination and election for second term. Fra- ternally Mr. Everett belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen; he is a man of much public spirit, and his enterprising character is evidenced in the record of his public career.
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WILLIAM C. STICKNEY.
Prominent among the energetic, far-seeing and successful business men of this portion of Iowa is William C. Stickney. His life history most happily illustrates what may be attained by faithful and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Integrity, activity and en- ergy have been the crowning points of his success, and his connection with the various business enterprises has been a decided advantage to Appanoose county. He is now the popular cashier of the First Na- tional Bank of Moulton.
Mr. Stickney was born in Prince Edward county, Ontario, Can- ada, on the 8th of June, 1842, and his parents were Walter H. and Phebe (Christy) Stickney. He comes from one of the oldest families of England. The line of descent can be traced back to William Stick- ney, a native of England, who in the seventeenth century left his own country and crossed the broad Atlantic, settling in Rowley, Massa- chusetts. His descendants are now numerous and are widely scat- tered throughout the country, Mr. Stickney of this review being in the eighth generation in America. John Stickney, the paternal grand- father, was born in Massachusetts, and after acquiring his literary education took up the study of medicine and became a physician. When a young man he went to Canada and was there married to Re- becca Barker, a native of Saratoga county, New York, and a de- scendant of an old New England family. Among their children was Walter H. Stickney. He was born and reared within twenty miles of the birthplace of his son William, and after arriving at years of matur- ity he wedded Phebe Christy, also a native of the same locality, and a daughter of William Christy, who was born in Scotland, whence he came to America alone at the age of seventeen years. He first lived
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in Philadelphia, but later took up his abode in Canada. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Ruth Bull, was a native of Dutchess county, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Stickney spent their lives in Prince Ed- ward county, Canada. There the former followed farming and was one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of his community. Both he and his wife were followers of the Quaker church, and in their family were eight sons and two daughters. Three of the brothers are now deceased, and one brother is living in Canada, another in New York, and two in East St. Louis, Illinois. The sisters are still residents of Canada.
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