Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa, Part 3

Author: Lewis, S. Thompson, comp; Lewis Publishing Company. pbl
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, Lewis publishing co.
Number of Pages: 638


USA > Iowa > Monroe County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 3
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 3


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40


JAMES W. WAILES.


This honored veteran of the Civil war, who is now successfully engaged in farming in Chariton township, was born on the 20th of January, 1834, in Bartholomew county, Indiana, and is a son of John P. and Sophia (Wilson) Wailes, both of whom were representatives of distinguished old colonial families that bore an important part in the establishment of the republic. His paternal grandparents were Samuel and Nancy (Naylor) Wailes, the former of whom was born in Vir- ginia and died in Maryland, while the latter was born in Maryland and died in Indiana. Our subject's parents were also natives of Maryland, and his mother was a daughter of David and Mary (Wilson) Wilson, who were born in the same state. David Wilson died there, but his wife passed away in Davis county, Iowa. He was a colonel in the Revo- lutionary war and was a son of James Wilson, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Our subject's paternal grandfather also aided in freeing the colonies and held a captain's com- mission in the continental army. At an early day the father, John P. Wailes, came to Iowa and took five hundred and twenty-one acres of government land in Appanoose county, where he spent his remaining days, though he died while on a visit in Kansas at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His wife had passed away many years previously, dying in Appanoose county at the age of forty-five. They had nine children, seven of whom are still living.


Coming to Iowa with his parents in boyhood, James W. Wailes was reared on a farm in this county, and was educated in the local


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schools. No event of special importance occurred during his early life until the Civil war broke out. With the blood of Revolutionary heroes flowing in his veins, he could not remain quietly at home when the country was in danger, and in 1863 he enlisted in Company H, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, under the command of Captain M. M. Walden, and was in every battle in which his company and regiment took part, being never off duty during his entire service. He was in the raid with. General McCook against the rebels near Atlanta, Georgia, and was cap- tured near that city. Later he was sent home as a paroled prisoner of war, and when exchanged rejoined his command at Macon, Georgia. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged in the fall of 1865 and returned to his home in Iowa.


For fifty-one years Mr. Wailes has resided upon his present farm in Chariton township, where he owns two hundred and fifty-three acres of the land his father obtained from the government on first coming to this state. It is one of the best farms in the county. In 1852 a log house, sixteen by eighteen feet, was built upon the place, which, in 1901. was replaced by his present modern and attractive home, and the barns and outbuildings are good and substantial.


On the 22d of February. 1865, Mr. Wailes was united in marriage to Miss Zerelda E. Needham, who is also a native of Bartholomew county, Indiana, and a daughter of Bailey Wesley and Nancy Need- ham. Her parents were both born in North Carolina, as were also her paternal grandparents, John and Nancy Needham, and her maternal grandparents, Benjamin and Ruth Bland. The grandparents all died in Indiana, but Mrs. Wailes' father died in this state, of which he was an early settler, being seventy-six years of age at the time of his death. Her mother also died here, aged seventy-one years. They had a family


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of six children. Among her ancestors were soldiers of both the Revo- lutionary war and the war of 1812.


To Mr. and Mrs. Wailes were born eight children, who are still living, and four of the number are now married. They also have eight grandchildren. The children are John W., a graduate of the Keokuk Medical College, who is now engaged in the practice of his profession in Davis City, Iowa; Emma, Mrs. James Kineman; Luther; Nannie, Mrs. B. Thackery; Myrtle, Mrs. Charles McIntyre; Levin; James W., and Zerelda E.


Most of the family attend the Methodist Episcopal church and are highly respected and esteemed wherever known. Politically Mr. Wailes is unwavering in his support of the Republican party, and cast his first presidential vote for Jolin C. Fremont, riding five miles to the polls. He has creditably filled various township offices, serving as assessor, justice of the peace and as a member of the school board. Socially he is an honored member of Sumner Post, No. 150, G. A. R., of Moravia, Iowa, and also belongs to the Andersonville Prisoners' Association, having been confined in that loathsome prison pen during his army life. He re- counts the sufferings endured by the northern soldiers there, and at one time saw one hundred dead within its walls. He is a man of broad and liberal views, a good citizen and thoroughly patriotic, devoted to the welfare of his country in times of peace as well as in war. He is one of the most popular men of his township, and stands high in the esteem of all who know him.


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THOMAS MILTON FEE.


As a prominent and talented representative of the legal profession of Iowa, as a member of the bench whose concise, clear and accurate judgments have gained for him marked distinction among the state judiciary, Judge T. M. Fee is worthy of a prominent place in the history of Appanoose county. He is the descendant of eminent ancestors. On the paternal side the Fee family came to America in 1627; the first one to come was of English and Irish lineage, and he settled in Mary- land, a branch of the house also going to Pennsylvania. On the mater- nal side the great-grandfather Hastings was the progenitor of the American family. He was a Protestant preacher, and on account of persecution came across the waters and settled in Pennsylvania. The parents of Judge Fee were Thomas and Sarah (Hastings) Fee. The former was the son of James Fee and a Miss Lacon, who were natives of Pennsylvania, but later removed to Ohio. Thomas Fee was born in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1802, and, on coming to manhood, em- barked in merchandising in Brown county of that state. He was the founder of Feesburg, in that county. In 1848 he removed to Pike county, Illinois, and began the manufacture of furniture in Perry. He there spent the rest of his days and died in 1866 at the age of sixty- four ; his wife survived him many years, passing away at the age of eighty-five in Illinois. Their family consisted of eleven children, of whom three sons and three daughters grew to maturity.


Thomas Milton, the youngest child, was born in Feesburg, Brown county. Chio, on the 18th of April, 1839. From the age of nine to nineteen he lived in Illinois, but then passed out from the parental home and went to Missouri to teach school. In 1860 he removed to Ottumwa,


THOMAS M. FEE.


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Iowa, where he evinced his industry by teaching school and studying law at the same time. He had enjoyed only a common school educa- tion, supplemented by a course in an academy, but with such vigor and earnestness did he apply himself that he was admitted to the bar in 1862. May 12, 1862, is the date of his arrival in Centerville, and he at once hung out his shingle as a practicing attorney. But in the same year he laid all other duties aside and enlisted, in June, in Company G, Thirty- sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, the regiment of which ex-Governor Drake was lieutenant colonel. On October 4, 1862, he was made cap- tain of the company, and with that rank was mustered out at the close of the war, in September, 1865. He was captured with his regiment at Mark's Mills, and for ten months endured the privations of prison life at Tyler, Texas. He now recalls his war experiences with his comrades in John L. Bashaw Post, G. A. R.


At the close of the war Mr. Fee returned to Centerville and re- sumed his practice. For two years he served as superintendent of schools of Appanoose county. For one term, from 1875 to 1879. he was prosecuting attorney of the second judicial district of Iowa. In 1895 his Republican partisans elected him to the judgeship of the second judicial district court for a term of four years, and he was re-elected and served till January, 1902. In 1899 he was a candidate for supreme judge of the state, and, although he did not receive the nomination, he had the hearty support of his friends, and there is no doubt that he will receive the nomination in the near future if his friends can per- suade him to become a candidate. He has made a reputation as a campaign orator of great force and talent.


Judge Fee is prominently identified with the social orders, a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the Masonic fraternity


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is a Knight Templar of St. John's Commandery, No. 21, and a Mystic Shriner of the Kaaba Temple at Davenport, and is a member of the military order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Commandery of the State of Iowa. In religious belief he is a Methodist. He has been twice married and has five children. One son, John A., is a farmer in this county; Thomas G. is a graduate of the law department of the Iowa State University, was admitted to the bar in 1899 and is now practicing in connection with his father. The judge owns a nice resi- dence property on Van Buren street, besides other real estate in the city and in the county.


ASBURY W. POTTS.


One of the most prosperous and substantial farmers of Appanoose county, Iowa, is Asbury W. Potts, who owns and operates a valuable farm in Chariton township, its neat and thrifty appearance plainly indi- cating his careful supervision and excellent management. He belongs to an old Virginia family, noted for industry, honesty and morality. His birthplace was Jackson county, now West Virginia. where he first opened his eyes to the light of day on the 2d of October, 1846, the year Iowa was admitted to the Union. His father, William H. Potts, was born in Bath county, Virginia, October 29, 1824, and was one of the early settlers of Chariton township, Appanoose county, Iowa. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Potts, was born in the Shenandoah valley, Virginia, and was the son of a well known hotel man of Baltimore, Maryland, the family having previously resided in the latter state. William H. Potts grew to manhood in the Old Dominion and there married Rachel Welch, a native of the same state, and a daughter of


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John Welch, who died in Virginia. In 1849 Jacob Potts and his wife and children, of whom William H. was one, together with their fam- ilies, came to Iowa, making the journey by water, down the Ohio and up the Mississippi, to Keokuk. They located in Franklin township, Monroe county, where the grandparents of our subject spent their remaining days, their deaths occurring on the old homestead where they first settled. Upon his own place in Chariton township William H. Potts built a log house and at once began to break the sod and culti- vate the fields. He died in 1857 at the comparatively early age of thirty-three years, honored and respected by all who knew him. He was a good husband and father and a kind neighbor. His widow still survives him, being now in her eightieth year, as she was born on the 16th of September, 1823. She is well preserved both in mind and body, and is well loved for her kindness of heart and many admirable characteristics. She is still living on the old home farm. In her family were five children, namely: Asbury W., whose name introduces this sketch; Cornelia E., wife of H. A. Thompson; Bernhart H., a resident of Monroe county, Iowa; Mrs. Mary Miner, who died in Graham county, Kansas, and Eugenie, who lives with her mother. In his politi- cal views the father was a Democrat.


Asbury W. Potts was quite small when he accompanied his parents on their removal to Iowa and was only eleven years old when his father died. Being the oldest of the family, he became his mother's assistant in the operation of the farm and in providing for the younger children. He early learned lessons of honesty and industry, which have been the chief elements in his success. He attended school in a log cabin fur- nished with slab benches that were immovable, and the writing desk was made by a slab placed upon pins driven into the wall.


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Mr. Potts remained with his mother until he was married, at the age of twenty-three, in Monroe county, Iowa, the lady of his choice being Miss Cynthia O. Gilliland, one of the most popular and successful teachers of this part of the state at that time. She was born, reared and educated in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and engaged in teach- ing for a time in that state prior to coming west. Her parents, Simpson and Hannah (Lewis) Gilliland, were also natives of Crawford county, where they spent their entire lives, the former dying at the age of fifty years, the latter at the age of forty-five. Both were earnest and con- sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and the father was a Republican in politics. By occupation he was a farmer. They had four children: William L. and Cynthia O., who are still living, and Samuel A. and Mrs. Mary Thompson, now deceased.


To Mr. and Mrs. Potts were born five children : Albert, the eldest, is now a widower and has one child; he resides with his father, al- though he owns a farm of his own. Jessie is the wife of W. P. Davis, of Monroe county, Iowa. Horton is married and lives on a farm in Chariton township. Amy is the wife of O. Duvall, of Taylor town- ship. Elva, the youngest of the family, is at home. The children have all received good educations and the family is one of prominence in the community where they reside. The sons are capable business men and are meeting with success in their undertakings.


Throughout his active business life Mr. Potts has followed farm- ing and has steadily prospered until he is now the owner of eight hun- dred and ninety acres of the best farming land in Appanoose county. His elegant home was erected at a cost of two thousand dollars, and everything about the place is in perfect harmony therewith. There are large barns and other outbuildings and a windmill, while a fine orchard


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and grove add greatly to the beauty of the place. The fields are well cultivated, and everything betokens a painstaking and progressive owner, who thoroughly understands his chosen vocation. He is an up-to-date farmer and stock raiser, making a specialty of high grade cattle. The success that he has achieved in life is due entirely to his own well directed and energetic efforts, for he started out with no capital, and he deserves an honored place on the roll of the county's self-made men. He is a man of more than ordinary business ability, possesses keen discrimination and sound judgment, and these qualities have enabled him to leave the ranks of the many and stand among the successful few. In manner he is hospitable, frank and genial, and he makes many friends. His estimable wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and with her husband shares in the friendship of all who know her.


B. G. MILLER.


B. G. Miller, of Union township, Appanoose county, was born in Tennessee, April 4, 1848, and the same year was brought to Iowa by his father, Hon. C. B. Miller, now of Unionville. He was born in Hick- man county, Tennessee, December 1, 1824, and is a son of Nathaniel Johnson Miller, whose birth occurred in North Carolina, and who was of Irish descent. The grandfather married Sarah Martin, whose mother bore the maiden name of Miss Barber, and the latter had sev- eral brothers who were soldiers of the Revolutionary war. At his death Nathaniel Johnson Miller left two children, Claudius B. and Har- riet J.


Cladius B. Miller was reared upon the old home farm in Tennessee and there acquired his education. He was married in 1846 to Martha


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Baldridge, an estimable lady who traveled life's journey with him for twenty-seven years, passing away in Appanoose county in 1873. Their children were Benjamin G .; Joseph D., a resident of Missouri; Mrs. Laura J. Hicks; Mrs. Amanda Miller; Sarah, deceased; William C., and Mrs. Rosa B. Large, of Indian Territory. After the death of his first wife the father was again married, in 1876 to Miss Dorcas E. Jennings, of Appanoose county, a daughter of Perry Jennings. There are two children by this union-Mabel, who is a school teacher, and Agnes. For many years the father has carried on farming and mer- chandising, and is recognized as a leader in business, political and social circles. In 1871 and 1873 he was elected to represent his district in the state assembly and left the impress of his individuality upon the legisla- tion enacted during those sessions. At the time of the Civil war he was equally loyal to his country, joining the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry under the commnad of Colonel Kittridge. He did faithful service in defense of the government and is now a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic, thus maintaining pleasant relations with his old comrades. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Metho- dist Episcopal church, and there is no man in the community more honored and respected than Claudius B. Miller.


Benjamin G. Miller has spent his entire life in Appanoose county. He remained under the parental roof and at an early age assisted in the work of the farm. His education was obtained in a log school- house, seated with slab benches, and his feet rested upon a puncheon floor. In one end of the room was an immense fireplace, and the methods of instruction were also somewhat primitive. At the time of the Civil war, although a boy of fifteen years, he enlisted for service in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, as a member of Company C. This


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was the same company to which his father belonged. He was under the command of Captain Allen W. Miller and Colonel Kittridge, and later the company was commanded by Captain William Vermillya. With his regiment he took part in a number of hotly contested battles, and on the expiration of his term of service he was honorably dis- charged and returned to his home. He then resumed farm work, and at the age of nineteen years was united in marriage to Miss Mary Clancy, who has been a faithful companion and helpmeet to him as the years have passed by. She is a native daughter of Appanoose county, and her parents were Wesley and Malinda (Martin) Clancy, who became pioneer settlers here; in fact, Mr. Clancy was the first man to establish a home in the county, the date of his arrival being in May, 1843, at which time he secured a claim from the government.


Throughout his entire life Mr. Miller has carried on agricultural pursuits, and is now the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and four acres in Union township. Upon it is a good modern resi- dence, standing on a natural building site, and around it are fine shade trees, beautiful flowers and shrubs, making the home one of the most attractive features of the landscape. There is an orchard, containing many kinds of fruit trees, and meadows and pasture lands furnish feed for the stock in both summer and winter. There is a large barn, feed lots and granaries and other necessary outbuildings, and the farm has some of the best corn producing land in the county. Mr. Miller is also engaged in the stock business, raising and feeding good grades of stock, and through this avenue he is likewise meeting with excellent success.


The home of Mr. and Mrs. Miller has been blessed with the follow- ing children: Mrs. Cora E. Thompson; William N., who married Bertha Hudgens and lives in Udell township; Turpa J., Cleffie B., Iva


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E .; and John B., Flora and Alice, who are now deceased. The last named was twenty-two years of age at the time of her death, and she had many friends who mourned her loss because of her pleasing characteristics and many excellent qualities. Mr. Miller is recognized as one of the leading Democrats of his township and was nominated by his party in 1902 for the position of county supervisor. No trust of a public or private nature reposed in him has ever been betrayed, and at all times he gives his influence and aid on the side of right, improvement and progress. His entire life having been passed in this county, his history is well known to his many friends and neighbors and the fact that those who have known him the longest entertain for him the warmest regard is an indication of an upright career.


JAMES MADISON CREECH.


James Madison Creech, who owns and cultivates a fine farm of three hundred and eighty-five acres on section 24, Taylor township, came to Appanoose county on the 24th of April, 1857, and has made his home here since then. He was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, October 22, 1834, a son of Stephen Creech, who was born in Virginia, and a grandson of Elijah Creech, also of the Old Dominion. The fam- ily, however, is of Irish descent, the great-grandfather having been born 011 the Emerald Isle, whence he emigrated to the new world Stephen Creech was reared in Virginia and in early life learned the cooper's trade. He married Elizabeth Hicks, who was born in the same state as was her father, James Hicks, who was of English descent, and served his coun- try as a soldier in the war of 1812. Removing westward to Tennessee


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Stephen and Eliza Creech spent their remaining days upon the old home- stead farm, which the father continued to cultivate throughout his active business career. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Demo- crat and both he and his wife were members of the Missionary Baptist church. His death occurred when he had attained the ripe old age of eighty-two years and his wife passed away at the age of seventy years. Their children were Sarah, James M., Lydia, Elijah, John, deceased; Amanda, S. Nelson, Andrew, who has passed away; William Jesse and Solomon B. Only four of the number, however, are now living.


James M. Creech was reared in Hawkins county upon the home farm and at an early age began following the plow. He obtained his education in a log schoolhouse and when twenty-one years of age left the state of his nativity, going to Texas, where he remained for some months. He then came northward to Appanoose county, Iowa, and has since been identified with agricultural interests in this part of the state. He was married on October 2, 1858, in Appanoose county, to Miss Eliza Clancy, who for forty-four years has been a faithful companion and helpmeet to him on life's journey. She was born in Jackson county, Illinois, a daughter of John Wesley Clancy, who was one of the first settlers of this county, arriving here in May, 1843, when Iowa was still a territory. He was born in Tennessee and was there united in marriage to Malinda Martin, a native of Kentucky. In Iowa Mr. Clancy developed a good farm in the midst of pioneer surroundings and here he died at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife passed away at the age of forty-eight years. He voted with the Democracy and was a loyal adherent of the Missionary Baptist church, in which he served as a deacon. To him and his wife were born ten children, seven of whom reached years of maturity, namely: Clarissa, de-


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ceased; William, deceased; Mrs. Eliza Creech, Mrs. Elizabeth Bishop, John, deceased; Mrs. Mary Miller, George, Mrs. Jane Coulson, Mrs. Freelove Chambers, and Andrew, deceased. For his second wife the father chose Mary Frost and they had three children, but Walter is the only one now living, Edward and an infant being the deceased.


For a while after his marriage Mr. Creech located upon the farm belonging to his father-in-law, and then with the money he had gained through his own labors he purchased forty acres of land and took up his abode in a little log cabin upon his present farm. Here he worked hard, chopping away the timber and clearing the bushes from many acres of land. As time has passed and his financial resources have in- creased he has added to his property until he now has three hundred and eighty-five acres, constituting one of the best farms in his town- ship. This is rich bottom land and upland and the fields are watered by Soap creek. All is fenced and the farm is divided into pasture and meadow lands and tilled fields. An orchard yields its fruits in season and a large barn and other outbuildings furnish shelter for grain and stock, while the home of the family is accounted one of the best country residences in Appanoose county. Mr. Creech has been a very success- ful farmer and stock-raiser, and assisted by his estimable wife has ac- quired a handsome competency.




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