USA > Iowa > Monroe County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 9
USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa > Part 9
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Archibald Sinclair was a little lad of about seven or eight years when brought by his mother to the United States, and with his parents he came on to Iowa, being reared upon the home farm here. His father and mother endeavored to impress upon his mind the value of industry and integrity in the active affairs of life, and the lessons which he thus learned have never been forgotten, but have been continually practiced in his contact with his fellow men. He obtained his education in the public school, and when but sixteen years of age offered his services to the government, enlisting in the First Iowa Cavalry, under command of Captain W. Whisnen and Colonel Daniel Anderson, while A. U. Mc- Cormick was the first lieutenant of the company. M1. Sinclair joined the army in March, 1864, and although very young proved a valiant de- fender of the Union, serving in the southwest under General Davison and General Rosecrans, and was also under General Custer in Texas, during which time the regiment made several long and severe marches through a wild country, living on half rations. The march was con- tinued through all kinds of weather, and at length they reached San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Sinclair was honorably discharged in March, 1866, at Davenport, Iowa, having been mustered out at Austin, Texas,
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where he had done guard duty for a time. A brave soldier boy, hie de- served all of the praise which his country could give him for his loyal defense of the starry banner.
After his return home Mr. Sinclair worked upon his father's farm until he established a home of his own. He was married in 1872 to Miss Hannah Spears, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, a daughter of William and Mary (Simpson) Spears, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state, and the former died in Ottumwa, Iowa. At the father's death the mother was left with the care of eight children, and she died at the age of seventy-two years. They were earnest Christian people, holding membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. Five of the children are still living, namely : Mrs. Hannah Sinclair. John, James, Anna and Washington, the others having passed away.
Mr. Sinclair is the owner of two hundred and fifty-three acres of rich land and his farm is a valuable property because of the excellent improvements he has made upon it. The place is well watered by a creek and two fine springs, and the fields are rich and productive, while the yield of the orchard adds not a little to the income of the owner, as well as supplying the table with fruit. The pleasant home of the family stands upon a natural building site, and in the rear are good barns with feed lots and pasture lands. Mr. Sinclair keeps fine shorthorn cattle and keeps from forty-five to sixty head of horses upon his place. He also has a large number of sheep, and is well known as a successful stock raiser.
To Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair have been born ten children : John; Mrs. Jennie Lewis, of Mantua township, who was a popular teacher of the county ; Mrs. Mary Chidester, of the same township; William; Susan, who is engaged in teaching school; James, Robert, Charles, Grant and
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Earl. Mr. Sinclair is an earnest Republican, has frequently attended the county conventions as a delegate, and has labored untiringly and effec- tively for the interests of his party and friends. He has served on the school board, but has never been a politician in the sense of seeking office. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Albia Post, G. A. R., and his wife belongs to the Methodist church, as do some of their children.
SANFORD HOFFMAN.
Sanford Hoffman, who carries on general farming on section 1, Taylor township, where he has ninety-seven acres of good land, has been a resident of Appanoose county since 1875, and his residence in the state dates from 1870, for in that year he settled in Monroe county. He was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, November 24, 1834, and is a son of Henry Hoffman, whose birth occurred in Pennsylvania, and who represented one of the old Pennsylvania German families noted for in- dustry and integrity. The mother of our subject bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Higgins, and she, too, was born in the Keystone state, of Pennsylvania German parentage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman died in Greene county, where the father had followed the occupation of farming as a life work. In politics he was a Republican and was a member of the Church of God. In the family were thirteen children, eleven of whom reached years of maturity, while three were soldiers of the Civil war, Bryce being a member of a Pennsylvania regiment, while Layton joined a West Virginia regiment.
Sanford Hoffman spent his boyhood days in the county of his na- tivity, and his parents impressed upon his mind lessons of industry and
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perseverance. His literary training was received in the public schools, and at the age of twenty-three years he was married, Miss Rachel Plantz becoming his wife. She was born and reared in Greene county, Penn- sylvania, a daughter of George and Catherine (Stollen) Plantz, both of whom died in Iowa.
It was in 1864 that Mr. Hoffman offered his services to the gov- ernment, enlisting in the Sixth West Virginia Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He then returned to farm life in Pennsylvania and in 1870 moved west- ward to Iowa, settling in Monroe county, where he carried on farming until 1875. In that year he came to Appanoose county, and has since lived upon his present farm on section I, Taylor township, where he has ninety-seven acres of rich and productive land. It is well watered by a creek, and there are good pastures and meadows together with plowed land. He keeps a high grade of Polled Angus cattle and draft horses of English breed, and both in his stock-raising and in his gen- eral agricultural pursuits he is meeting with success for as the years pass his income gradually increases.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were born seven children: Frank- lin M. resides in this county. Jervis Leroy, who carries on farming here and is now serving as justice of the peace, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, in 1862, and was therefore eight years of age when the family came to Iowa. He was here reared, obtaining a good education, and for a number of years was successfully engaged in teaching. On the 27th of May, 1897, he wedded Miss Lizzie Stoops, who was born in Monroe county, Iowa, a daughter of William and Judith (Wright) Stoops. Her father was a soldier of the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry during the Civil war. J. L. Hoffman and his wife have
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two sons, Charles and Harold. The other children of our subject and his wife are: Mrs. Ollie Hampton, of York, Nebraska; and Mrs. Mary Faber, of Monroe county, Iowa. They also lost three children, Libbie and Harvey, who were successful teachers, and an infant named Jane.
Mr. Hoffman exerts his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party. He belongs to Moravia Post, G. A. R., and is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. In matters of business he is straightforward and reliable and when called upon to aid in any measure or improvement of benefit to the community his co-operation is not withheld.
JACKSON LUSE.
Jackson Luse, who resides on section 17, Taylor township, Ap- panoose county, where he owns and operates two hundred and forty acres of good land, besides forty acres in section 25, Chariton township, was born on the old homestead farm in this county, April 8, 1855. His father, Aaron Luse, was one of the pioneer settlers here and was a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, born March 12, 1819. The grand- father was William Luse, a native of Pennsylvania, who removed from the Keystone state to Ohio and there spent his remaining days. Aaron Luse was reared in Ohio, where he remained until nineteen years of age, and then went to Missouri, while later he became a resident of Illinois. At the age of twenty-two he was united in marriage in Van Buren county, Iowa, to Miss Martha Smith, who was born October 26, 1821, near Cleveland, Ohio, and with her parents went to Van Buren county, Iowa, when this state was still a territory. The marriage of
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Mr. and Mrs. Luse was celebrated on the 24th of January, 1841, and ten years later they became residents of Appanoose county, Iowa. The father secured a tract of government land which he transformed into one of the best farms of the township. He also successfully engaged in the raising of stock, and he improved his fields with modern equip- ments, planting an orchard, building a large barn, also a comfortable home and other buildings upon his place, He set out one of the first orchards in the county and took an active interest in the agricultural development of this section of the state. Honorable in all things, his word was as good as his bond, and he left to his family an untarnished name. His death occurred August 25, 1881, when he was sixty-two years of age, and his wife passed away August 3. 1898, at the advanced age of nearly seventy-seven years. Both were devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which Mr. Luse served as steward and also as Sunday school superintendent for a number of years. His wife was an invalid for a quarter of a century. In their family were eight children : Mrs. Rosetta Cline, whose husband died of the measles contracted in the Civil war, and who is living in Moravia; Mrs. Sarah J. Skinner, of Moravia; Mrs. Martha Foster, who is a widow living in Taylor township; Laura E., the wife of Rev. George M. Andrews, of Adams county, Nebraska; William J., of Gordon Grove, Iowa; Jack- son, of this review; Mary, the wife of T. J. Turner, of Moravia; and Douglas, who died at the age of eleven months.
Jackson Luse was reared upon the old family homestead, where he was early trained to habits of industry, economy and integrity. He attended the public schools to a limited extent, and by reading, study and investigation in later years has become a well informed man. At the age of twenty-one he was united in marriage to Miss Mina Kaster,
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who was born in Chariton township, Appanoose county, and was reared and educated here. Her father, Robert Kaster, was one of the early and prominent settlers of the county, a native of Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Indiana, and from that state came to Iowa. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary McDaniel, and she, too, was born in Pennsylvania. She is now living in Chariton township, at the age of seventy-eight years, but Mr. Kaster passed away at the age of seventy- four years. He was a farmer by occupation and gave his political sup- port to the Democratic party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mrs. Kas- ter also belongs. For a number of years he was a class leader in the Fairview church and was one of the active workers and liberal sup- porters of the church. In this family were ten children: Mrs. Huldah J. Worthington, of Hamilton county, Nebraska; Mrs. Mary E. Boyer, of Chariton township; Robert H., of this county ; Mrs. Luse; James M., of Monroe county, Iowa; Mrs. Hannah E. Gladfelder, of Chariton township; William and Benjamin, who have passed away; and Nancy, who was the firstborn and died at the age of nine years. Another daughter, Mrs. Australia Worthington, died at York, Nebraska.
Reared upon the home farm Jackson Luse has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits and the nursury business, except two years which were spent in the village of Maine, and ranks among the lead- ing farmers of his portion of the state. In 1892 Mr. Luse established a fruit nursery on his home place, which he conducted successfully for almost ten years, closing it out to engage more exclusively in ag- riculture. For two years he conducted a mercantile business in Maine and served as postmaster during that time. He has upon his prop- erty a good house, good barn and a fine orchard of ten acres, around
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which is a half mile of evergreen trees to serve as a wind-break. The buildings for the shelter of grain and stock are substantial and com- modious, and everything about the place is neat and thrifty in appear- ance. The greater part of the farm of two hundred and forty acres is under a high state of cultivation, and the owner is regarded as one of the successful men of his locality.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Luse has been blessed with seven chil- dren: Effie V., the wife of J. W. McDaniel, of Chariton township; Elbert A., who is living in the same township; Robert E., Lloyd E., Guss E., Cody Jackson and Coy E., all under the parental roof. Mr. Luse gives his political support to the Republican party and is a rec- ognized leader in this locality. For four years he served as assessor of his township and was re-elected in the fall of 1902; was also justice of the peace and township trustee, and in the discharge of his official duties he has been most prompt and faithful. He belongs to the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, and every movement for the benefit of his community and tending to promote advancement in all material, social, educational and moral lines receives his sup- port and endorsement.
GEORGE W. DEAN.
George W. Dean is proprietor of the Peerless Hereford Farm, making a specialty of the raising of fine Hereford cattle. He is a leading citizen of this locality and a veteran of the Civil war. He was born in Schuyler county, Missouri, May 24, 1839, and is a son of Levin Dean, who was one of the early settlers of Appanoose county. His birth occurred in Kentucky, and he was reared there, removing
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afterward to Missouri. In Howard county, of the latter state, he was united in marriage to Miss Missouri Ann Evans, also a native of the Blue Grass state. In 1846 they removed from Missouri to Appanoose county, Iowa, casting in their lot with the early settlers who were re- claiming the wild lands for farming purposes. Here Mr. Dean carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-five years of age. His widow still survives him and is now living at Moravia, at the age of eighty-six years. In their family were seven children: Elizabeth is deceased; George W. is the second of the fam- ily; Jesse, who was a soldier of the Civil war, died in a southern prison at Tyler, Texas, having been captured by the enemy; Sarah has passed away ; Mrs. Mary Harn resides in Moravia; Mrs. Martha McCauley is the next younger ; and Erastus is also living in Appanoose county. The father, in order to provide for his family, always carried on farm work. He gave his political support first to the Whig party and afterward to the Republican party, and in religious faith both he and his wife were Methodists.
George W. Dean was a lad of seven summers when brought by his parents to Appanoose county, and upon the home farm his early boy- hood days were spent. He obtained his education in a log schoolhouse which was seated with slab seats, and he has also added to his knowl- edge by experience and observation. In August, 1862, he responded to the country's call for aid in preserving the Union, enlisting as a member of Company C, Thirty-sixth Iowa Infantry, under Captain Phillips and Colonel C. W. Kittridge. Later the company was com- manded by Captain W. Vermilya. Mr. Dean was wounded at the en- gagements at Marks Mills and for a time was held in a prison. In September, 1865, he received an honorable discharge, at which time
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he was serving with the rank of sergeant. Whether on the lonely picket line or upon the firing line he was found loyal to his duty and returned to his home with a creditable military record.
Mr. Dean had been married in 1860 in Appanoose county to Margaret C. Baldridge, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of W. C. Baldridge, who came to Iowa in 1849. He was a farmer by oc- cupation and gave his political support to the Democracy, while his religious work was in behalf of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a member. He died at the age of forty-seven years and. is survived by his widow, who bore the maiden name of Miss Harriet Jane Miller and is now seventy-six years of age. In their family were seven children, namely: Margaret C., Drucilla, Sarah, James, Cyntha, Mary and Nora. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Dean has been blessed with eight children: W. F., who is a practicing physician of Warren county, Iowa, and is a graduate of the Van- derbilt College of Tennessee; Mrs. Maggie J. Campbell, of Hastings, Nebraska; Mrs. Ella D. Smith, of Appanoose county; Ralph, who died at the age of eight years; Mrs. Arletta Morrison, of Colby county, Kansas; Earl M., who is a student in the Iowa Wesleyan Col- lege at Mount Pleasant, Iowa; Emil E .; and Lucile Dean, who is at home.
In 1866 Mr. Dean located upon the farm which has since been his place of residence, becoming the owner of two hundred and twenty acres of land. This was mostly wild land, and his labors soon wrought a transformation in the appearance of the place. the fields becoming highly cultivated and good buildings erected. He now has a fine resi- dence, big barns, pasture lands and feed lots and an extensive orchard. He is making a specialty of the raising of Hereford cattle and has a
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fine herd of thoroughbred stock upon his place. So splendidly im- proved is his farm that it is well named "Peerless," and the owner is a representative agriculturist, standing for all that is progressive and practical in farm work. He votes with the Republican party, which he has supported since casting his first presidential ballot for Abraham Lincoln. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and the Masonic fraternity, being connected with the lodge, the chapter and the Eastern Star. He also holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church and is well known as a man of genuine worth, loyal in citizen- ship and progressive in his business affairs.
ELI ANKROM.
On a modest homestead of eighty acres, two miles from Moulton, may be found that always pleasing spectacle of a man and woman who have lived together in conjugal union for a long period of time. Mr. and Mrs. Ankrom, the couple alluded to, were married forty-seven years ago, and during all that time have had nothing approaching a disagreement. All except seven of these years of connubial bliss have been passed on the farm near Moulton, and there this worthy but un- assuming couple expect to remain until the lengthening shadows are followed by that final accounting from which no man can escape. Their story is soon told, as it is of the uneventful kind that usually enters into the lives of farmers and does not admit of gaudy coloring or dramatic touch in narration.
John Ankrom, a young Marylander, left his native state about the third decade of the last century and crossed the Potomac for the pur- pose of seeking a better fortune in old Virginia. Whether or not he
MR. AND MRS. ELI ANFROM
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found the fortune is not recorded, but it seems that he found something better in the shape of a good woman, whom he wisely made his wife, and who, in subsequent years of trial, proved entirely worthy of his choice. A few years after their marriage, John and Hannah Frances Ankrom decided that while old Virginia was a great state to be born in, it was not so desirable as a place of residence for those not pos- sessed of much of this world's goods. Accordingly, in 1834, they joined the tide of emigration then settting strongly toward the rich ter- ritory in the west, and did not stop until they arrived in the heart of the richest of it. They traveled by boat as far west as Burlington and rode in wagons from there to their destination, which lay near Fair- field, forty miles west of Burlington, Iowa. There the father pur- chased land, which he worked hard and continuously until his death in 1867, his wife surviving him eleven years and passing away in 1878.
Their son, Eli Ankrom, was born in Virginia, February 27, 1832, and was consequently two years old when the long journey to Iowa was undertaken by his parents. He assisted his father on the farm until 1855, when he decided to marry and set up a household of his own. The lady whom he selected as his wife was Elizabeth Walmer, whose birth occurred in Montgomery county, Ohio, April 21, 1837, and who was brought to Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1851 by her parents. Shortly after his marriage Mr. Ankrom took his bride to a place nine miles northeast of Fairfield, where he was engaged in farming during the following six years. Subsequently one year was spent in Davis county, and then Mr. and Mrs. Ankrom located on the farm in Appa- noose county, near Moulton, which was destined to prove their perma- nent abiding place. This estimable couple are without children of their own, but have an adopted son in the person of John II. Ankrom, upon
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whom they have centered all their affections and hopes, and who gives promise of realizing their brightest expectations. Mr. and Mrs. Ank- rom are devoted members of the Christian church, and by practice as well as precept show the sincerity of their religious convictions. In fact, they are one of those couples who "grow old gracefully," whom young people like to surround on account of their fatherly and moth- erly kindnesses and who secure general esteem by gentleness of man- ners and goodness of heart.
JOHN A. MOSS.
The above named gentleman is a native of Iowa and has been closely identified with the state's development from the time of his entrance into active business life. His earlier adult years were ( voted to teaching, in which occupation he achieved decided success and gained rank as one of the best instructors of his grade in the state. Abandoning the schoolroom for the farm, Mr. Moss displayed equal ability in that line and is now known far and wide as a breeder of short-horn cattle and one of the progressive agriculturists of his coun- ty. His father, G. R. Moss, was a North Carolinian, who emigrated to Indiana and was there married in 1852 to Martha Bishop, a native of Ohio. One year after marriage this couple removed to Appanoose county, Iowa, and located on a farm in Bellair township, which proved to be their permanent home. The father devoted himself energetically to general farming and stock-raising, in which business he achieved a gratifying success, and was in good circumstances at the time of his death in April, 1900. The surviving widow still occupies the old home- stead and receives from her loving children the devotion due to a good
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mother. Of the nine children born to these early settlers of Bellair township only four now survive, and among them is the subject of this sketch.
John A. Moss was born in Appanoose county, October 2, 1857, and grew up on the farm without incident or accident worthy of mention. His routine consisted of that combination of work and study which forms such a useful training in youth and has laid the foundation for so many successful men of the world. Besides attendance in the country schools Mr. Moss had the benefit of academic courses at Centerville and Moul- ton, which were supplemented by a term in Commercial College at Iowa City. Thus, unusually well equipped in an educational way, Mr. Moss joined the great army of instructors engaged in teaching "the young Iowa idea how to shoot," and devoted the next ten years to assiduous attention to this useful calling. Having a natural apti- tude for preserving discipline and imparting knowledge, Mr. Moss was quite successful as a teacher in the ordinary country schools, and equally so during his one year in charge at West Grove, Davis county, and five years in the county of Wayne. In 1891 he abandoned the school room indefinitely, returned to Appanoose county and settled down to general farming and stock-raising. At the present time he is a mein- ber of the firm of Moss & Bowen, breeders and dealers in short-horn cattle, which industry is conducted in connection with miscellaneous agriculture.
In 1885 Mr. Moss was united in marriage at Mystic, Iowa, with Miss Lizzie, daughter of Obadiah and Agnes Lawton, and the children of this union are Everett, Orison, Wilber Earnest, Osa Ilo, Carl Law- ton, Mary Agnes, Margaret and John B. For twenty-four years Mr. Moss has been a member of the Christian church, in which he holds
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the position of elder, and has always taken an active interest in religious work. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Pythias, Modern Woodmen of America, Court of Honor, Royal Neighbors and Rathbone Sisters.
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