USA > Iowa > Monroe County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 24
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 24
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Mr. Knowels went to the army as a Democrat, but his political
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views changed during the progress of the war, and he returned a Re- publican and has since been most loyal to the party and its principles ; but he is not strictly partisan and regards always the capability of the candidate as well as the party to which he belongs. Mr. Knowels is a third degree Mason and a charter member of Antiquity Lodge No. 252, F. & A. M. For eighty-four years he has traveled the journey of life, during which time he has witnessed many changes in the world of progress and has seen his country advance to take a proud position among the leading countries of the world. He is still interested in what is going on, and is an entertaining, companionable old gentleman, who can relate many interesting events concerning the pioneer history of Appanoose county and the early days during which he took up his abode here to become an active factor in agricultural circles.
JOSEPH C. MCELHANEY.
Joseph C. McElhaney is today one of the prosperous agriculturists and enterprising business men of Monroe county. There is no rule for achieving success, yet certain elements are always found in a prosperous career, and these are tireless energy and keen business perception, both of which are manifested in the career of Mr. McElhaney, who is now controlling extensive and important interests both in Monroe county and in other sections of the country. He is a native of Hancock county, Ohio, his birth having occurred there January 21, 1853, his par- ents being Isaac and Sarah Jane (Reddick) McElhaney. His father was born in Pennsylvania and was of Scotch-Irish descent, while the mother was a native of Columbiana county, Ohio. Durnig his residence in the Buckeye state, Isaac McElhaney followed the cooper's trade, but
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after his removal to Iowa he abandoned industrial interests in order to give his attention to agricultural pursuits. The year 1865 witnessed his arrival in this state and he took up his abode in Guilford township, Monroe county, where he made his home for ten years, and then re- moved to Union township, where his remaining days were passed. As every true American citizen should do, he kept well informed on all political questions affecting the welfare of his county, state and nation, and his belief in the principles of Democracy led him to cast his ballot for its nominees. Both he and his wife were devoted members of the United Presbyterian church and took an active part in its work. Ilis death occurred on the 19th of March, 1891, when he had reached the age of seventy-five years and seven months, and his widow is still liv- ing, making her home with the subject of this review. To Mr. and Mrs. Isaac McElhaney were born eight children, five of whom are yet living, namely : Mary J., Margaret C., Mattie, Cynthia and Joseph C. Those who have passed away are David R., who was the eldest; Irvin Presley; and Dora, who was the youngest of the family.
Joseph C. McElhaney lived in Ohio until he had reached the age of nine years, when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Iowa. He acquired his early education in the public schools and when sixteen years of age took up the study of geology, which he mastered and then began prospecting for coal in the employ of different companies. He has done prospecting work in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, and has been instrumental in locating several coal beds which have yielded excellent returns. He is today the owner of a fine and valuable farm of three hundred and sixty-six acres of Iowa's rich soil, located just north of Lovilia, and of this two hundred acres is under cultivation, being planted with cereals best adapted to the climate, The remainder of the farm is
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pasture land and Mr. McElhaney is successfully engaged in raising and dealing in stock, his annual sales from animals bringing to him a good return. He has resided upon his present farm for fifteen years, living with his mother and his two sisters, Maggie and Cynthia. Mr. Mc- Elhaney is a man of excellent business ability, resourceful and far- sighted and he has not confined his attention entirely to one line. At the present time he is extensively interested in rice growing and has a tract of land of ten thousand acres in Texas, of which forty-five hun- dred acres are now planted to rice. He has been interested in rice pro- duction since 1899 and believes it to be one of the country's profitable crops.
Mr. McElhaney is a member of the Pioneers' Association and at the recent meeting held in Lovilia he served as officer of the day. He is honored and respected by all, not only on account of the success he has achieved, but also because of the honorable, straightforward business policy he has ever followed. In his business affairs he has never taken advantage of the necessities of his fellow men, but has been fair and just in all transactions, and his prosperity is the legitimate outcome of care- ful discernment in business and of unremitting diligence.
JAMES HIBBS.
Among the many worthy and esteemed residents of Appanoose county who make up the farming class, and by their substantial citizen- ship and progressive ideas have made the county one of the foremost agricultural sections of the state, is Mr. James Hibbs, who now resides in Numa, but for many years served in an official position, was active in the mercantile business, and also as a leading farmer.
His parents were Mahlon N. and Elizabeth (Hurst) Hibbs, who
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were both natives of Tennessee, and when young were taken by their parents to Putnam county, Indiana, where they were married. Mr. Hibbs was a lifelong farmer. In 1847 he came to Iowa with his family and located in Wapello county, and there he died about 1850. Shortly afterward his wife, with her children, moved to Appanoose county and located on a farm two miles south of what was known as Hibbsville, where Mrs. Hibbs died.
James Hibbs, the immediate subject of this sketch, was the eldest of eight children, six of whom are still living. He was born in Putnam county, Indiana, April 15, 1826. He early displayed the energy and honesty of purpose which have charactertized his entire career, and not only was he successful in his private affairs, but entered heartily into any enterprise directed toward the common good. When he, with his mother and family, settled in Appanoose county, he was instrumental in having a postoffice established near their farm, and in his honor it was named Hibbsville. Dr. Hall, now deceased, was the first postmaster of this place, but after his incumbency Mr. Hibbs was appointed to the office and conducted it in connection with a general store until 1901, when the postoffice was abolished. Mr. Hibbs still owns the old farm south of Hibbsville, but makes his home in Numa.
In 1856 Mr. Hibbs was married to Martha E. Cooley, who is a native of Indiana, and was born in 1840. When only six months old she came west with her parents and has since made her home in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hibbs became the parents of eight children, of whom six are now living : Mahlon E., James W., Mrs. Martha Farmer, George, Mrs. Nancy Jane Ellis and Samuel. This family hold a very influential position in the social and business life of their community and justly command the high regard of many friends and acquaintances.
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JOHN S. BOARDMAN.
The subject of this sketch has had a career extending over a period of many years which may justly be described as arduous, adventurous and hazardous. The first portion covered the period of the Civil war, during which Mr. Boardman saw much hard service and fighting, and made a most creditable record. Leaving the army, he entered a service whose risks and dangers are second only to those of war, and as a "railroader" endured hardships in many different states and in the em- ployment of many different corporations. Added together. his army and railroad service extended from the early sixties to 1898, nearly forty years, and none will envy him the repose he is now enjoying after a life of such strenuous labor and exciting experiences. His father, Levi Boardman, was a native of New York state, who followed milling in early life and devoted his last years to farming. He married Minerva Monroe, who came from Scotland with her parents in childhood and grew up in Genesee county, New York. This union, which continued in utmost conjugal harmony until severed by the death of Mr. Board- man in 1866, resulted in the birth of eight children, of whom only two are now living.
John S. Boardman, youngest of his father's surviving children, was born in Pennsylvania, January 17, 1843. and was prevented by poor health in childhood from obtaining more than the mere rudiments of an education. When fourteen years old he began driving a stage between Columbus, Pennsylvania, and Jamestown, New York, but soon abandoned this job for employment in the oil fields of Crawford county, Pennsylvania. Subsequently he was engaged for four years as a stage driver between Titusville and Union, Pennsylvania, and during this time also had charge of several teams. This monotonous and unexcit-
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ing employment was terminated by that mighty event which changed the current of so many million lives, and altered the very course of history itself. The outbreak of the Civil war found young Boardman in his eighteenth year, and full of the fiery patriotism that inspired every spirit in those troublous times. His feelings found vent by enlist- ment in Company B, Twelfth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Cav- alry, with which he went promptly to the front and took part in the opening scenes of the great drama along the Virginia border. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted, or "veteranized," as it was then termed, in the same command, and remained with it until the last gun was fired in the fratricidal strife. Mr. Boardman's services were not only of a varied and dangerous character, but they were marked through- out by a gallantry and devotion to duty which brought him constant commendation of his superior officers. He was with General Mcclellan all through the Peninsula campaign and during this exciting time was detailed to act as orderly for the commander-in-chief. Later, when General Pope took command in Piedmont, Virginia, the troops to which Mr. Boardman belonged were detached and sent to join his forces, it being the only part of the regiment that was employed in that service. By reason of this detached assignment the troops participated in the hard fought battles of second Bull Run, Antietam and South Mountain, with all the intermediate hard marching and privation which charac- terized the campaign preceding and following Lee's first invasion of Maryland. June 16, 1863, shortly before the battle of Gettysburg, whither the armies were then converging, Mr. Boardman met with the misfortune of being wounded and taken prisoner, which necessitated a countermarch under guard up the valley of Virginia to Richmond, where he was introduced to the delectable bill of fare of Libby prison.
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After four weeks' detention in this dismal den he was transferred to Belle Isle, an equally undesirable boarding house, situated on James river, near the western end of Richmond. From this abode of misery he was sent in a month to another of the same kind at Florence, South Carolina, and finally obtained his parole at Charleston, in the same state. After his release Mr. Boardman served under General Phil Sheridan throughout his famous campaign in the Shenandoah valley, taking part in the innumerable raids and skirmishes which preceded Early's com- plete overthrow in the fall of 1864. During his services with Sheridan's dashing and incomparable cavalry. Mr. Boardman was commissioned second lieutenant for conspicuous bravery and held this rank until mus- tered out of the service on the 20th of July, 1865.
Immediately after obtaining his honorable discharge, Mr. Board- man went directly to his brother and engaged as a fireman on the Chi- cago and Northwestern Railroad. Thus began a career which was des- tined to last a long time in the same line of work, and during this period he worked as a locomotive engineer, ten years for the Chicago and Northwestern, five years for the Burlington and Southwestern, one year for the Union Pacific, five years for the Wisconsin Central, four years for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, and seven years for the Illinois Central. The only interruption in this chain of employment was caused by failure of health, which compelled him to spend four years in Colo- rado for recuperation. Finally, in 1898, he concluded that he had done his share of hard work, and the veteran soldier and railroader sought a rest from the strain and perils to which he had so long been sub- jected. He first located in Appanoose county in 1879, and ever after- ward made his headquarters here while engaged in various railroad occupations.
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In 1864 Mr. Boardman was married to Mary Robinson, who died in 1876, leaving a son, W. R. Boardman, who is at present a resident of Lynchburg, Virginia. In 1883 a second marriage was contracted, with Miss Emma Ferris, a native of Ohio, who came to Iowa with her parents in early childhood. They are comfortably situated on a pro- ductive farm of eighty acres, five miles west of Moulton, where a gen- erous hospitality is dispensed to visiting friends. For the last thirty years Mr. Boardman has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, still holds membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and is an honored comrade in the Grand Army of the Re- public.
GEORGE D. PORTER.
Through a long line of good Irish ancestral stock-and a good ancestral heritage is often worth more than money-reared among sur- roundings that were favorable to the growth and development of the excellent traits of his character, the subject of this biography was one who made the most of life's opportunities, and his career is well worth study and emulation. In tracing the ancestry of the Porter family we find that in the year 1797 Robert Porter with his wife Elizabeth and son George left their native land of Ireland and sought a home in the new world, landing at Wilmington. From there he drifted into Penn- sylvania, and there maintained his residence. So far as is known he had only one son, George, who was born in Ireland and married Mollie Dougal. Their son, George D. Porter, was born in Pennsylvania in 1805, and married Sarah McCoy, and they became the parents of the subject of this sketch. George D., Sr., was a Presbyterian minister, and preached at various points in Illinois, later moving to Cedar
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county, Iowa, in 1851, in which state he preached at several points. He continued in the active work of the ministry until his death, which oc- curred in Blairstown, Iowa.
George D., the son of George D. and Sarah (McCoy) Porter, was born in Perry county, Pennsylvania, in 1846. He obtained a fair edu- cation in the public schools and later studied law in Richmond, Mis- souri, being admitted to the bar at that place. He began the practice of his profession at Moulton, Appanoose county, Iowa, in 1870. In the following year he returned to Richmond, and there married Hannah Rodman, a native of Indiana. They then came to Moulton, but soon took up their residence in Centerville, where he carried on a very lucra- tive general law practice. Mr. Porter was a thorough believer in the principles of the Democratic party, and was always active in the party councils. The citizens of Centerville chose him to the important posi- tion of mayor of the municipality, and he also served on the school board. His useful life came to an end in Centerville, on the IIth of February, 1899, and thus passed away a man whose worth was well recognized by his fellow-citizens and whose influence in public and social affairs will long be felt in the community. He left behind his widow, who resides in Centerville, and five children: Claude R., Sadie L., Northa I., George McCoy, and Anna Mary.
Claude R. Porter, the son of George D. and Hannah (Rodman) Porter, was born in Moulton, Iowa, July 8, 1872. After graduating at the Centerville high school he spent one year of study at Parsons Col- lege at Fairfield, Iowa. He then decided upon the legal profession as his life work, and after studying under his father for a time attended the St. Louis Law School for one year, and was admitted to the Iowa bar in October, 1893. He has since carried on a high-class practice in
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Centerville. As an evidence of his popularity and eminent fitness for important positions in county and state, it is only necessary to give the offices he has held in the gift of the people. Although, like his father, he was an ardent Democrat, in 1895 the voters of his county, which is Republican, elected him as a representative to the lower house, and chose him again in 1897, while in 1899 he was made state senator from the district consisting of Appanoose and Davis counties, which is a Republican district, and in 1902 he was elected county attorney of Ap- panoose county. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, and in religion is a Presbyterian. In 1899 his marriage was celebrated to Miss Maud L. Boutin, of Centerville, and they have one son, George.
R. S. COULSON.
Among the substantial and progressive farmers and stock raisers of Appanoose county none stands higher in public esteem than R. S. Coulson, who owns and operates the fine farm Maplehurst, of two hundred and twenty acres, on section 33, Douglass township. He was born on the old Coulson homestead in this county on the 24th of Janu- ary, 1861, and is a representative of an old and honored family, his father, William Coulson, having settled here about 1849. The latter was a native of Tennessee, where he grew to manhood upon a farm, and in that state he married Margaret Slater, who was also born and reared there. Loading their possessions into a wagon, they came to Iowa in 1849, and took up their residence in Taylor township, this county, where Mr. Coulson engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout the re- mainder of his life. Success crowned his well directed efforts and he
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became the owner of several hundred acres of land. He was one of the heaviest taxpayers in the county, and was a man highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him. By his marriage to Margaret Slater he had six children, four of whom are still living: John, a resident of Darbyville; Elkaner, also of Appanoose county; Samuel, of Johns township; and Jerry, of Oklahoma; while Rachel and Luther are both deceased. For his second wife the father married Martha Kinser, who came of a good family. She was born in Indiana and died in 1882 at the age of fifty-four years. The children born of this marriage were Frank, a resident of Taylor township, Appanoose county; F. H., of Monroe county, Iowa ; R. S., of this review ; Mrs. Mary Sarepta Turner, who lives on the old home farm; Wiley B., also of this county; Ben- jamin and Sarah, both deceased; Martha, and Margaret.
R. S. Coulson passed the days of his boyhood and youth upon the old home farm, and by assisting in its operation developed his physical strength, while his literary education was acquired in the district schools of the neighborhood. At the age of twenty-two years he was united in marriage to Miss Flora Scott, who was also a native of this county, where she was reared and educated, being a daughter of Stephen Scott, now deceased, who was a resident of Taylor township. After a brief married life she died in 1884 at the age of twenty years. She was an earnest and consistent member of the United Brethren church, to which the mother of our subject also belonged.
In 1891 Mr. Coulson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Lucy ( Tadlock) Hopkins, widow of J. B. Hopkins, who was a member of the United Brethren church, and died in this county in 1889. Mrs. Coulson was born in Wapello county, Iowa, near the city of Blakesburg, but the greater part of her girlhood was passed in Appa-
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noose county. Her parents are J. M. and Charlotte (Kent) Tadlock, residents of Taylor township, this county. Her father came to Iowa from Illinois, but her mother was born in Lincolnshire, England, though she was only eight years of age when she came to the new world and settled in Iowa. In his political views Mr. Tadlock is a stanch Democrat and his religious faith is manifest by his member- ship with the Cumberland Presbyterian church. In his family are seven children, namely: Lucy, the wife of our subject; Thomas; John A .; Arthur J .; Ivy S .; Arlie R .; Sylvia S. Our subject and his wife have two children, Flora C., now ten years of age, and Bethel E., aged eight.
Throughout his active business life Mr. Coulson has followed farming with marked success, and is to-day the owner of a well im- proved and valuable farm of two hundred and twenty acres. He has erected thereon a fine residence, a large barn and windmill, and has set out an orchard; in fact, he has one of the best and most desirable farms of its size in the county. The fields are highly cultivated and on the pastures are seen good grades of stock. By his ballot Mr. Coulson supports the Democratic party and its principles, and he has efficiently served as a member of the school board in his district. Now in the prime of life, he is enjoying the success which usually follows a life of industry and honesty, and both he and his wife are numbered among the most highly esteemed and honored citizens of the community where they reside.
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J. R. DOGGETT.
J. R. Doggett, whose fine farm of three hundred and forty acres is pleasantly located on section 15, Douglass township, Appanoose county, not far from Centerville, is a self-made man, who, through un- tiring industry and unfaltering honesty and good management has worked his way upward to a position of affluence. His residence in the county covers almost thirty-eight years, and he is one of Iowa's native sons, for his birth occurred in Wapello county, near Ottumwa, on the 17th of December, 1848. His father, Silas Doggett, came to Appa- noose county in 1865 and died ten years later at the age of fifty-four years. He was born in Indiana and was reared in that state, and when a young man cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Wapello county, living there when it was possible to hunt wild game, for so desolate was the region that the animals had not been driven west by the approach of the white man. Mr. Doggett was a good hunter and trapper and secured the animals for their furs, which brought a fair price. In those early days it required two weeks to go from his home to mill, and the family endured many hardships and privations incident to life on the frontier. He married Martha Redish, who was born in Indiana and died in 1848, leaving a family of ten children, namely: Thomas Dud- ley, who is now deceased; Mary A .; Catherine, who has also passed away; Absolom, who died in 1902; John; Dudley; Daniel P .; Nancy J .; Moses, who was a soldier of the Civil war; and J. R., of this re- view. In the year 1849, soon after the discovery of gold in California, the father crossed the plains with an ox team, being five months upon the way. There were few good roads, and as the rivers were unbridged they had to be forded. The party with which he traveled had several encounters with the Indians and on more than one occasion Mr. Doggett
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narrowly escaped death. For three or four years he engaged in mining in California, and then returned to Wapello county, Iowa, and later went to Appanoose county, where he carried on agricultural pursuits until his demise. For his second wife he chose Harriet (Derby) Bouren, and they had four children: Gilmore, Martha, Milton, and Harriet. The last named is now deceased. The father voted with the Democracy and was a zealous and active member of the Hardshell Baptist church, in which he was an exhorter, proclaiming the gospel tidings for many years.
J. R. Doggett was reared in Wapello county until fifteen years of age, and in early life began work in the fields, following the plow almost from the time that he was old enough to reach its handles. He ob- tained his education in subscription schools, which were held in different houses in the neighborhood, and remained at home until nineteen years of age, when he went west, being employed in freighting across the plains. He afterward engaged in mining coal in Wyoming and in driving freight trains. He was also a cowboy upon the plains and in the winter months mined coal at Bitter Creek, Wyoming. He experi- enced many hardships and saw some of the wild and exciting times which form a part of the early history of the west. After two years, however, he returned to Appanoose county, Iowa, and began farming here.
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