USA > Iowa > Monroe County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 22
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 22
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naturally by his fondness for stock and skill in its handling, as his father before him was an expert in this line and laid the foundation on which his enterprising sons have built so successfully. William Ed- wards, of Tennessee, removed in early manhood to Kentucky and mar- ried one of the attractive maidens of that state named Marilla Elliott. After this event the young couple "settled down to housekeeping," as they say in the country, and the father engaged in breeding and raising the stock for which old Kentucky has long been so famous. He did fairly well at the business, but concluded that by moving farther west he could do still better. With this end in view, he closed out his deals, converted his estate into money, loaded up his personal property and in the fall of 1850 started on the long journey to Iowa. The family ar- rived safely in Van Buren county, where they spent the first year, and then moved on to Appanoose, which was destined to be the place of their permanent abode. The father purchased a farm five miles south of Moulton and soon was under way again in his favorite pursuit of rais- ing and selling live stock. He kept this up for about thirty years, during which time he did a great deal of business, made and lost consid- erable money, but on the whole came out on the right side of the ledger and as old age approached found himself in possession of a comfortable estate. Eventualiy he sought rest from active business by retirement at Moulton, where his death occurred in 1885, followed by that of his wife in February, 1902.
Matison S. Edwards, younger son of the afore-mentioned couple, was born in Laurel county, Kentucky, April 11, 1850, and when six months old was an unconscious participant in his parents' journey to the west. He grew up on the farm near Moulton, where his father ini- tiated him into all the mysteries of breeding and selling stock with suc-
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cess, with other innumerable and more or less important details con- nected with progressive agriculture. The boy proved an apt scholar and there was never a time in his subsequent life when it was easy to get the better of him in the price of a bunch of yearlings or the com- parative values of herds of "high grades" and roadsters. But young Edwards got a little schooling, too, as he went along and what he learned in the neighborhood schools was increased and improved by several years' attendance at the Centerville Normal. At length, studies finished and books laid aside, he was ready to take up his life work in earnest and at an early age was busily engaged in general farming and stock- raising. The culminating point in his career was reached in 1870, when he joined with his brother William to make the celebrated firm of Ed- wards Brothers, which has long been one of the heaviest dealers in live stock in southern Iowa. They ship carloads of hogs to Ottumwa and of cattle to Chicago every week and their annual purchases and sales involve an amount of money which would astonish the average citizen. In addition to hogs and cattle, which constitute their main line, the firm also handles horses adapted to farm and road purposes and large numbers of these animals are disposed of at their monthly sales. Re- gardless of any profit accruing to themselves, the Edwards Brothers deserve the name of public benefactors by reason of the benefit they have brought to the people in encouraging them to raise stock and furnishing them a home market for their products. Aside from his main pursuit Mr. Edwards has found time to lend his aid to other enterprises. When the Moulton State Savings Bank was organized in 1902 through his aid and encouragement, he was made one of the directors and also elected president. By way of diversion as well as because his convictions lead earnestly in that direction, Mr. Edwards has been in the habit of taking
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a hand in politics when campaign times approach, and is recognized as one of the leaders on the Republican side. He is nothing of an office seeker, however, and is willing to let the "plums" go to others, his only official position being that of member of the board of supervisors, to which he was elected in 1892 for a term of three years.
In 1870 Mr. Edwards was united in marriage with Miss Mattie WV. Lane, who was born at Winchester, Adams county, Ohio, March 2, 1851, but came to Iowa in girlhood, with her parents. By this union there were six children, but the only survivors are Fred C. Edwards and Mrs. Ethel E. Votaw, with whom her father has resided at the corner of Maine and Broadway since the loss of his wife by death, December 26, 1901. Thoughi preferring a town residence Mr. Edwards owns a valuable and highly improved stock farm of three hundred and twenty acres one mile northeast of Moulton. He is one of the leaders in the Methodist Episcopal church and holds fraternal connection with the Knights of Pythias and Rathbone Sisters.
JOHN DONER.
The lives of some men are simply told. They have been reared to one pursuit and have followed this with unflagging industry through- out their active careers, perhaps in one locality, and their history must detail solid worth, devoid of the striking features that adorn the course of other men. And there are those, equally successful, whose lines have been cast in both pleasant and unpleasant places, who have been switched from one track to the other and journeyed far from that calm starting point, so that it is often difficult for the subject himself to thread the devious ways by which he has arrived at his present destina-
JOHN LONER.
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tion : such is the case with the life of Mr .John Doner, who, as one of Monroe county's popular officers and citizens, deserves an account in this work of personal history.
Michael and Mary (Allen) Doner, the father and mother, were both born in Ireland and when past twenty years of age came to America, where they were married in Utica, New York; they resided here about five years and then came to Elburn, Kane county, Illinois, which continued to be their home until 1888; in this year they removed to Marshalltown, Iowa, and both passed away here, Mrs. Doner dying in 1891 and her husband just one week later. In this country Mr. Doner followed railroading and for three years served in the Civil war in the One Hundred and Forty-sixth Illinois Infantry.
Of the eight children, six boys and two girls, born to the above parents, John Doner was the eldest and was born in the city of Utica, New York, March 8, 1848. He passed his early youth in Elburn, Illi- nois. He was just fourteen years old when the Civil war broke out. and fired by the spirit of patriotism he one day left the school room, ran away from home and coming to Chicago volunteered his services to the United States army; he was accepted and on June 9, 1862, was en- rolled in Company H, Sixty-ninth Illinois Infantry, from which he was discharged September 28, 1862, his term having expired. On January 15, 1863, he re-enlisted in Battery D, First Illinois Light Artillery, under McAllister, and served in this company until the close of the war, being discharged July 28, 1865. He took part in the following well known conflicts: Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, the siege of Vicksburg, Nashville and the Atlanta campaign. Being still in his 'teens when he returned home, he spent one year in school at his home town and then, following the example of his father,
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he began railroading : in 1867 he entered the employ of the Chicago and Northwestern in the capacity of brakeman and the next year came into Iowa, braking for the same company from Dunlap to Council Bluffs. In 1870 he was promoted to the position of conductor, but in 1871 vol- untarily left that company and obtained a similar position with the Bur- lington and Missouri River Railroad in Iowa, running a train from Ottumwa to Creston; in the fall of that year he became conductor on the Iowa Central from Albia to Northwood, in charge of a passenger train. In 1873 he suffered one of the many accidents that are incident to this dangerous calling and lost a hand, after which he retired from the busi- ness. During his last engagement he had made Albia his headquarters and he now made this his home. For four years he was a hotel clerk ; for three years was the editor and publisher of the Albia Democrat, which he then sold, and entered into the hotel and restaurant business. For four years he served as deputy sheriff under F. S. Miller, and in 1884 he went west to McCook, Nebraska, and in Hayes county of that state he remained five years, in which time he proved up and worked a claim. On returning to Albia he was for three years deputy sheriff under C. M. Forrest and for the next three years was night watch- man. In 1895 Mr. Doner became the Populist candidate for sheriff of Monroe county, and in the face of the strong opposition of the Repub- lican and Democratic candidates overcame the majority and was elected. In 1897 he was the fusion choice for the place of the Democrats and the Populists and was successful, as also in 1899 and 1901, being four times elected in a Republican county.
Mr. Doner is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Mystic Toilers. On August 3, 1874, in Albia, Mr. Doner was married to Miss Anna Cramer, and they
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have one living child, a daughter, Frances. Mr. Doner had a brother, Thomas, who was a soldier in the Civil war, serving three months in the same company as his father, and another brother, Michael, was on the flag-ship Pensacola of the United States navy, for three years; both these brothers are now dead.
WILLIAM EDWARDS.
The gentleman above mentioned is perhaps the best known man in Appanoose county. His fame chiefly rests upon his achievements as a breeder and dealer in stock, but he is one of those broad-gauge men who are not content with one occupation, and he has figured conspicu- ously in banking and religious circles. His name has been rendered familiar all over southern Iowa and in adjacent stock markets by the firm of Edwards Brothers, of which William is the senior member. Many of the thousands of carloads of all kinds of stock which keep busy the railroads leading from Iowa to Chicago are sent out by this enter- prising firm, whose yearly transactions foot up an enormous sum of money. By this traffic they have been benefited themselves, but they have also greatly benefited the state by stimulating the trade in stock, while improving its quality. It is to such men as these that Iowa owes its prominence in the world of agriculture, and to no two citizens is more credit due for this culmination than to the Edwards Brothers. This notable family is of southern origin. William Edwards, Sr., moved in early life from his native state of Tennessee to Kentucky, where he met and married Marilla Elliott, with whom he migrated in 1850 to Iowa. The first year after this arrival was passed in Van Buren county, after which they settled permanently in Appanoose on a farm about
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five miles south of Moulton. Here for many years the head of the household carried on successful farming, with especial attention to live stock, a taste for dealing in which he had acquired in his "Old Ken- tucky home." Eventually, as the shadows began to lengthen and old age was felt to be creeping on, this estimable couple moved to town for the purpose of spending more agreeably their declining years. The closing scene occurred for the father in 1885, but his wife survived many years afterward and terminated her blameless life in 1902.
William Edwards, namesake and eldest son of his father, was born in Laurel county, Kentucky, December 19, 1843, and was about seven years old when his parents settled in Iowa. As he grew up he received from his father that training in farm management and stock dealing which proved so valuable to him in later life, and meantime obtained a fair education during desultory attendance in the schools of the town- ship and at Centerville. Young Edwards, though still in his "teens" when the Civil war began, was among the first to enlist, and served with steady gallantry for three years and eleven months as sergeant of Com- pany B, Second Regiment, Missouri Cavalry. He made an excellent record in the army and as soon as his honorable discharge was obtained returned without delay to his home in Iowa. Immediately thereafter he took up the work interrupted by the war and soon showed that he possessed a natural aptitude for the farm and all the various ramifica- tions of agricultural pursuits. His tastes as well as his talents seemed, however, to turn naturally to stock-raising and stock-selling, and in his branch of agriculture his success has been pre-eminently pro- nounced. In 1870 he formed a partnership with his brother, Matison S. Edwards, for the raising, buying and shipment of live stock, which firm now ranks among the foremost of its kind in southern Iowa.
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While making a specialty of cattle and hogs, they have also dealt exten- sively in horses for the farm and road. It is hardly necessary to attempt to analyze the reasons for the success of this popular fraternal firm, in- asmuch as the causes lie close to the surface, in the shape of good judg- ment, untiring energy and an acquisition of the public confidence by constant fair dealing. That is the whole story in a nutshell. Every- body knows the Edwards Brothers; everybody likes them; everybody has confidence in them, and everybody trusts them. At present Mr. Ed- wards owns, one-half mile from Moulton, three hundred and twenty acres of land, which is one of the best stock farms in the state.
His residence in Moulton has long been celebrated for the gen- erous hospitality of its happy home circle and the family constitute a social center around which assemble all the brightest and best people of the vicinity.
In 1867 Mr. Edwards was married to Mary A. Floyd, and the six of the nine children by this union now living are: Ulysses W., Mrs. Mae Tifft, wife of G. E. Tifft, a Methodist minister, stationed at Moline, Kansas; Charles W., Clyde V., Clarence F., and James H. The last two mentioned are still at home and Clarence remains on the farm all the time, looking after the practical management of his father's widely diversified interests. In 1901 Mr. Edwards consummated a second marriage with Miss Maude May Taylor, who presides over his home with a grace and discretion that add much to its social charm. In many ways, aside from his main business, Mr. Edwards has proved himself a progressive, enterprising and public-spirited man. In 1902 he was one of the organizers of the Moulton State Savings Bank and holds the position of director of this popular institution. In religious circles he has also long been active, enforcing his views both by precept and prac-
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tice. He contributed liberally to the funds for the construction of the handsome building devoted to the services of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is a leading member. The fraternal connections of Mr. Edwards are confined to the Odd Fellows, with whom he has fraternized for over twenty-eight years, and associates with his old com- rades in the Grand Army of the Republic.
MOSES Y. SELLERS, M. D.
The medical corps at Moulton includes the above named physician, who has been practicing there over thirty-three years and has become thoroughly identified with the growth and progress of the place. Though a native of Indiana Dr. Sellers has been a resident of Iowa nearly half a century and has done his share as a citizen to help forward the marvelous development which has characterized this state during that eventful period. The family is of Kentucky origin, his father, Nathan Sellers, having been born on a farm near Lexington in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. He married Mary Yowell, also a member of a Kentucky household, and with her moved to Indiana at an early period in the history of that state. He settled on a farm in Put- nam county and in after years rose to a position of prominence in that community, being elected treasurer of the county and otherwise hon- ored by his political associates. In 1854 he removed with his family to Iowa and located near Albia, county seat of Monroe, and there resumed his old occupation of tilling the soil.
Moses Y. Sellers, next to the youngest of his father's eight chil- dren, was born near Greencastle, Indiana, August 5, 1839, and was a boy almost fifteen years old when the migration was made to Iowa. He
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assisted his father on the farm and attended school until he reached his majority, when he engaged in teaching, and followed that occupation for five years. During the year 1864 he spent some time at the Keokuk Medical College and after leaving that was engaged for four and a half years in the practice of medicine at Iconium. Afterward he returned to the same institution at Keokuk, where he took a thorough course and was graduated in the class of 1880. Immediately thereafter he returned to his office at Moulton, and that town has ever since been the central point from which he prosecutes his professional labors. The Doctor is a member of the Des Moines Medical Association and the Medical Society of Wayne and Appanoose Counties. His religious affiliations are with the Christian church and his fraternal connections are confined to membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
May 14, 1867, Dr. Sellers was united in marriage with Sarah Cas- sie Stauber, who died in October, 1870, leaving two children, whose married names are Mrs. Lillie May Brunk and Mrs. Flora Effie Bradley. August 30, 1877, Dr. Sellers contracted a second marriage, his bride be- ing Elizabeth C. Tipton, who died leaving three children : Mrs. Jennie Bell Brunk, Maggie, and Earl D. Sellers, who is a medical student in the Louisville Medical College. Dr. Sellers contracted his third matrimon- ial alliance with Mrs. Ann Primm, a native of Virginia, who came west with her parents in 1853. Mrs. Sellers is the daughter of Samuel Peek, who married Mary Hildreth, by whom he had ten children: Elizabeth, Amelia, Aaron, Eli, Gustavus, Alfred, Ann, Mack, Christopher Colum- bus, and Casandra. Of these children Christopher C. and Mrs. Sel- lers are the only ones living. Mrs. Sellers was married in Virginia to A. P. Primm and lived with him a few years near Lafayette, Indiana, after which they came to Greene county, Iowa. Mrs. Primm's marriage
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to Dr. Sellers occurred at Lancaster, Missouri, in 1890, since which time she has presided over the household at Moulton with the dignity and grace of the experienced housekeeper.
P. H. HYNES.
One of the busiest, most energetic and progressive business men of Monroe county is P. H. Hynes of Avery, the secretary of the Smoky Hollow Coal Company, and in his official capacity he controls the opera- tions of six hundred men employed in the mines, besides a large number of bookkeepers and others employed in clerical capacities. From a humble financial position he has gradually worked his way upward through close application, unremitting diligence and honorable methods, and today occupies an enviable position as a leader of industrial interests in this part of Iowa, and his example is one well worthy of emulation.
Mr. Hynes is a native of Champaign county, Ohio, born in 1865, a son of Patrick and Mary Hynes. His mother died in 1890. His father, who was born of Irish parentage, died in 1869. The son, P. H. Hynes, was reared in Keokuk county, Iowa, and his school privileges were supplemented by study at home and by knowledge gained in the school of experience. Possessing an observing eye and retentive mem- ory he has continually added to his knowledge until he has made it a potent factor in his successful business career. When a boy he began work in the coal fields in a humble way, but his earnest labor and close application won the attention of those who employed him and he was promoted from time to time. He lived successively in Lee county, Ma- haska and Monroe counties, and as the years passed gradually pro- gressed in the business world until for the past ten years he has filled the
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responsible position of secretary of the Smoky Hollow Coal Company, of which Mr. Evans is the president. Mr. Hynes is virtually in con- trol of the business and his practical understanding of every department of coal mining from the time the shafts are sunk until the product is placed upon the market makes him splendidly qualified for the super- vision of the extensive interests of the company. More than six hun- dred miners are employed, together with superintendents, bookkeepers and other clerks, and one thousand tons of coal are daily taken from the earth and prepared for distribution throughout the country. The company pays good wages, has done much for its men in providing comfortable homes, and the treatment of employes is always just and fair, so that the feeling is one of general satisfaction, and the men en- tertain genuine respect for the officers of the company.
In 1894. in Monroe county, Mr. Hynes was married to Miss Mary Appleman, a lady whose many social qualities and intellectual worth have endeared her to those with whom she has been brought in con- tact. She was educated in this state and is a daughter of W. S. Apple- man, for many years a well known citizen of Avery. Mr. and Mrs. Hynes now have one son, P. H., Jr.
In his political views Mr. Hynes is a Republican and is regarded as one of the leading workers of the party in his town. He has fre- quently served as a delegate to party conventions and does all in his power to promote the growth and secure the success of the organiza- tion. Socially he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. In manner he is genial, pleasant and easily approachable and always gives courteous attention to those who seek an audience with him in business hours, while in social circles he is known as a companionable and popular gentleman. He is also a
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man of fine personal appearance, being six feet in height and well pro- portioned. He has in Avery a beautiful home, furnished with many evidences of refined taste and culture. He is widely known in busi- ness, social and political circles in the state, and has high standing, be- cause of his strong personality, his unquestioned integrity and sterling manhood.
THOMAS WALLACE.
This venerable man, now in the eighty-first year of his age, was one of the first settlers of Appanoose county, where he has lived consid- erably over half a century. His farm, consisting originally of ninety acres, was all wild land when he bought it and with the exception of thirteen acres every inch of it was cleared by Mr. Wallace, as the result of many a hard blow and many years of wearisome labor. In fact, his whole life, from childhood up, has been one of almost unremitting toil, and up to a year ago he might still be seen in his fields "holding a row" with the best of them. Though quiet and unassuming, Mr. Wallace is a man of great worth and real nobility of character and in his unpre- tentious way has contributed to the development which has placed Iowa at the lead of all the agricultural states of the Union.
He is a son of Solomon and Millie Wallace and was born in Kent county, Delaware, December 14, 1822. The death of his father when he was still in early childhood brought upon him that fate so much dreaded, the necessity of becoming a "bound boy" as the only means of obtaining a livelihood. Such a life at best is not enviable, but Mr. Wallace seems to have fallen into fairly.good hands when apprenticed to one William Hollingsworth, a seafaring man who lived in Kent
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county, Delaware. This individual was captain of a sailing boat and it was the business of little Thomas to cook for the crew, while incidentally engaged in mastering the details of the sailor's trade. This drudgery continued four years, at the end of which time the boy was taken by his master to Fayette county, Indiana, where he was fortunate enough to find an uncle, who furnished him a home. He remained with his uncle Joshua one year, during which time he worked on the farm all week and hauled logs on Sunday. AAt the expiration of his time on this place the boy had completed the thirteenth year of his age and during the ten following years was engaged as a farm hand by the month on differ- ent places in that part of Indiana. In 1845 he was married to Eliza Barkley and spent the next two years on the farm of his wife's father, in Fayette county, Indiana. In the fall of 1847 he removed with his wife and child to Davis county, Iowa, where he remained five months and then made what proved to be his final move to Appanoose county. He arrived in March, 1848, and immediately took possession of the farm of one hundred and sixty acres which has ever since been his place of residence. Here he busied himself for some years getting his land in shape for cultivation, until his household affairs were disarranged by the loss of his wife, who died in the early part of 1856, leaving five children. These, in order of birth, were George, now a resident of But- ler county, Kansas; James, of the same section; Mrs. Sarah Ankrom, who has since died; Jasper, who lives in Custer county, Nebraska; and Lewis, who resides near his father's homestead.
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