Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 50

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 484

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STORY COUNTY.

ston's father and mother were born in Pennsyl- vania and Virginia, and died at the ages of sev -. enty-seven and forty years, respectively, the former being a farmer by occupation. The following are the names of their children: Sarah ( who is residing in Linn County, Iowa, is the widow of Thomas Wilson, a native of Ohio, and a farmer by occupation ), Aaron ( who was a farmer and a widower at the time of his demise, which occurred near the close of the late war), Isabelle (who is the wife of Robert Evans, & meat merchant, residing in Belmont County, Ohio), I. (who also resides in Belmont County, Ohio), Michael D. (the subject of this sketch ) and Hezekiah (who resides in Cedar Rapids, Iowa).

William Lockridge, lumber dealer and manu- facturer of drainage tile at Nevada, Iowa, was born in Augusta County, Va., June 23, 1832, being a son of John and Eliza (Ervin) Lock- ridge, also natives of that State. The father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died in Augusta County, Va., the mother also passing from life there in 1841, at about the age of forty-two years. William Lockridge was the sixth of seven children born to them, three now living, and his youth was spent on a farm in his native State, where he also received a fair knowledge of books in the common schools near his home. At the age of twenty-four years he emigrated westward and reached Nevada, Story County, Iowa, on May 16, 1856, having come here from Des Moines by ox team, which was then the means of conveying the mails thither. In July, 1856, he entered the office of J. C. Moss, who was then county treasurer and recorder, but upon the latter's resignation in 1857, he was appointed to fill the vacancy by Judge E. C. Evans, and was elected to the position in August of that year. He served in a very efficient manner until 1860, and from that time until 1870 he was engaged

in farming on a quarter section of land about one mile southeast of where the present court- house now stands, a tract of land which was given him by his father in 1855. This farm he sold in 1870 for $5,600. The first year he farmed with a yoke of oxen. After his re- moval to Nevada he engaged in the lumber business in partnership with C. B. Letson, but one year later bought out his partner, and has since conducted the business alone, and is now the oldest lumber merchant in the town. In 1883, in partnership with John Beatty, he be- gan the manufacture of tile, but at the end of four years became sole proprietor, it being the second tile factory established in Story Coun- ty. It gives employment to about twelve men, and has a capacity of 500,000 per annum. Mr. Lockridge has been a Democrat all his life, and has served as mayor of Nevada for three successive terms, and has been a member of the town council for many years. He is a man who is highly esteemed by all who know him, and since locating here he has taken an active interest in all matters pertaining to the public weal, and has been one of the directors of the First National Bank since its organiza- tion. Socially he belongs to the Masonic, I. O. O. F. and A. O. U. W. fraternities. Janu- ary 19, 1860, he was married to Miss Lydia A. Letson, who was born in Hardin County, Ohio, January 15, 1841, and by her is the father of eight children: Elfa, Jennie, Etta, Lovie, Maggie (born September 23, 1870, and died December 31, 1873), Clarence and Anna Fay. Frank L., a son, was born on March 21, 1867, and died of heart disease November 6, 1888. He was an intelligent and promising young man, and a graduate of the Nevada High School. Mr. Lockridge has helped to make Nevada and Story County what they are, and he is counted, wherever known, as a man of sterling qualities and a true gentleman.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

J. C. Lovell. No name is more closely as- sociated with the farming interests of the coun- ty than the one that heads this sketch, for it is borne by a man who is progressive in his ideas, and during a residence in this county of nearly thirty-six years, has been one of its most snc- cessful agriculturists. Originally from Weath- ersfield, Vt., he was born in May, 1834, being the fifth child born to the marriage of Randal and Electa (Hatch) Lovell, both of whom were natives of New Hampshire. The father grew to manhood in his native State, and there mar- ried, but soon after this latter event took place, ' he moved to Vermont, where, for a number of years, he was occupied in tanning and the man- ufacturing of boots and shoes, in addition to farming operations. In 1840 he removed from Vermont to Wisconsin, and selected a location in Waukesha County, and there he farmed and engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes on quite an extensive scale, employing from six to eight men in his factory. He died in 1843, leaving a widow, who survived him twenty-five years. They were the parents of fourteen chil- dren, nine of whom grew to maturity: Helen (deceased), John (a farmer, living in Dodge County, Wis.), Mary (deceased ), Mark (a resi- dent of Dodge County, Wis., ) Frederick H. (deceased ), Charles (a resident of Minneapolis, Minn. ), Caroline ( now Mrs. Kribb, of St. Paul, Minn.), Corcelia (deceased) and Georgiana (deceased). J. C. Lovell spent his school days in Wisconsin, and when he was twenty years of age came to Iowa. He arrived here in 1854, and immediately purchased 160 acres, to which he has since added the balance of 296 acres, and he has at different times owned a great deal of land over the county. The town of Ne- vada was then one year old, and he, with six- teen other regular boarders, lodged in the hotel at that place, which had only one bedstead. The first winter Mr. Lowell passed in this

county he taught writing school, and made enough money to enter eighty acres of land, pay his board, and buy a suit of clothes. He subsequently engaged in the lumber business, and opened the first lumber-yard at that place. In 1858 he erected his house (a white oak frame, and black walnut siding), which was known as the "big white house out on the prairie," and the same year turned his attention to farming. He entered the United States service in January, 1864, joining Company A, Twenty-third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. D. P. Ballard, and was mustered into service at Davenport, assigned to the Thirteeth Army Corps, and sent to the front. He was in the Red River Expedition, then went to New Orleans, then to the fight at Mobile, and Span -. ish Fort thirteen days and nights, and was finally discharged, at Davenport, in August, 1865, after which he returned to his home, where he has lived continuously ever since, with the exception of two years at Mitchellville, whither he had moved to educate his children. He was married, in 1856, to Miss Mary Ro- mane, daughter of Isaac and Jane Romane. She was born in Indiana, on the 12th of No- vember, 1834. Their union was blessed in the birth of three children: Carrie (now Mrs. Hill, resides in Seattle, where her husband is con- nected with one of the daily and weekly papers), Libbie C. Lovell (deceased), and James C. (who is engaged in tilling a farm adjoining that of his father). Mr. Lovell is a member of the J. D. Ferguson Post No. 31, G. A. R., at Nevada. In politics he is an active Republican, and is a frequent delegate to county conventions. Ever since becoming a resident of this county he lias been an active worker in educational mat- ters, having helped to organize the first school district, and the first school held in the district was taught in his house, for a term of three months. He was the first director, and has

Johns Indly & @ queball

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STORY COUNTY.

held office in the district nearly ever since. He is one of the most extensive stockmen in the county, and raises and sells from eighty to 100 hogs each year, making a specialty of the Po- land China breed, and this year shipped a car- load of the heaviest cattle in the county. He raises Percheron horses.

Hon. Thomas Clifton McCall. In the career of this gentleman there is a valuable lesson to be learned by the young men of the present day, who wish to rise to prominent and influ- ential positions in life, for in his youth he re- ceived no advantages that any young man in the land may not have, but such as he did re- ceive he improved to the utmost. He was born in Ross County, Ohio, on September 4, 1827, being the younger of two surviving children born to the marriage of Samuel W. McCall and Ann Clifton, who were born in Kentucky and Ross County, Ohio, in 1792 and 1795, and died in Polk County, Iowa, and Ross County, Ohio, in 1864 and 1833, respectively. The father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was wounded in the battle of McQuaggy, at about the time of Hull's surrender. His grandfather, Samuel McCall, was born in Maryland about 1750, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and was drowned in Licking River, Ky., in 1795. The mother's father, Thomas Clifton, was a South Carolinian, born about 1740, his death occurring in Ross County, Ohio, in 1830. He also fought for American independence, being under Gen. Nathaniel Greene. In 1836 the subject of this sketch was taken by his father to Fulton County, Ill., and there he con- tinued to make his home, being engaged in following the plow until 1846, when he came to Iowa and settled in Polk County, where he taught the first school ever taught in that county east of the Des Moines River. In 1851 he opened a mercantile establishment at La Fayette in partnership with A. Y. Hull, and

three years later became the pioneer merchant of Rising Sun, in the same county. In 1855 he began dealing in real estate in Des Moines, but in 1858 came to Nevada, and has here fol- lowed that occupation with success up to the present date. He is a clear-headed man of business, an excellent manager of all affairs of which he has control, and enjoys an unsullied reputation. He is now the owner of 2,400 acres of land in Story County, and in his de- clining years feels that he can rest from his labors if he so desires. His intelligence on all matters of public interest has always been rec- ognized, and in 1861 he was chosen by the Republicans of Story County as a fitting man to represent them in the General Assembly of the State, and served in the Lower House during the regular and extra session of 1862. In Oc- tober of this year he volunteered his services in defense of the old flag, and was sent to the front as quartermaster of the Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, with the commission of lieuten- ant, and on March 22, 1864, received, from President Lincoln, the appointment of assist- ant quartermaster of volunteers, with the rank of captain, and in that capacity served until November 27, 1865. In discharging the duties of his position he proved himself competent and unquestionably honest, and his war record is one of which he may well be proud. In 1881 he was again chosen by his many friends to represent Story County in the State Legis- lature, and this position he filled by re-election in 1883, and discharged his duties in a highly satisfactory manner. He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for thirty-five years, an elder in the same for twenty-five years, and since 1853 has been connected with the I. O. O. F., having joined that organization at Des Moines. He has since represented it a num- ber of times in the Grand Lodge of the State, and is also a member of the G. A. R. His

John Indy J. CAMbale

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STORY COUNTY.

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

first marriage took place in 1849 to Miss Sarah A. Garrett, who died Jannary 19, 1855, and October 28, 1858, he espoused Miss Mary A. Boynton, her death occurring on August 4, 1875. His present wife was formerly Miss Clara Kennedy, a native of Carroll County, Ohio, born in 1842.

Hon. C. G. McCarthy is a well-known citizen of the State of Iowa, whose intelligence, en- terprise and energy, with many other estimable qualities, have secured for him a popularity not derived from any factitious circumstances, but a permanent and spontaneous tribute to his merit. This fact has been proven by his call at different times to positions of trust and re- sponsibility, the duties of which were always discharged with the same care and fidelity that have ever characterized his career. He was born in Toledo, Ontario, January 29, 1843, a son of Florence and Elizabeth ( Moore) Mc- Carthy, natives of Ireland, the former's birth occurring March 25, 1798, and the latter's June 24, 1808, their deaths taking place at Toledo, Ontario, and Ames, Iowa, March 14, 1862, and July 12, 1887, respectively. The paternal grandfather, Daniel McCarthy, lived and died in his native land of Ireland, but his son Flor- ence removed to Canada at quite an early day. Hon. C. G. McCarthy is the sixth of eight children, five of whom are living. He was reared and educated in Canada, but came to Story County, Iowa, in 1864, and during that winter he was engaged in teaching school at Walnut Grove, this county. At the end of that time he returned to Canada, and on March I, 1867, returned, and settled on a farm near Ames, where he farmed during the summer seasons and taught school during the winter for several years. He has always supported the men and measures of the Republican party, and in 1881 he was elected to the position of auditor of Story County, and was re-elected

three different times, serving in all eight years. In 1889 he was elected by his numerous friends to represent Story County in the General As- sembly of Iowa, and served on the committee of ways and means the enrolled bills, normal schools, insurance, county and township or- ganizations, fish and game, compensation of public officers and rules. He took an active part in the work of the Legislature, and was one of the popular members of the Twenty- third General Assembly. In the space allotted to this sketch it is impossible to mention in de- tail all the services rendered by Mr. McCarthy ; suffice it to say that his good name is above re- proach and that he has won the confidence, respect and esteem of all who know him, and is one of the most popular men that has ever held official position in the county. His mar- riage to Miss Laura Barnes took place on Feb- ruary 3, 1870, her birth having occurred in Scott County, Iowa, June 29, 1847. Her par- ents, D. and Emily (Danforth ) Barnes, were born in Schroon, N. Y., and Granville, Conn., respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy a family of five children have been born: Clarice E., Wilton B., Marion S., Albert H. and Charles F. Mr. McCarthy is a charter mem- ber of Sampson Lodge No. 77, of the K. of P., and has been chancellor commander of this organization, and has represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the State.

Thomas James McKee, commercial agent, Cambridge, Iowa. Mr. McKee is a much-re- spected resident of Cambridge, Iowa, and is commercial agent for the large agricultural firm of Deering & Co., Chicago, Ill. He is a native of New York State, born July 8, 1854, and is the eldest of five children-four sons and one daughter-who are named as fol- lows: Samuel J. (married Miss Etta Woods, and resides in Polk County, Iowa, where he has been quite successful in mercantile pursuits),

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STORY COUNTY.

David (was a farmer, and died when about twenty-eight years of age, leaving a wife, who was formerly Miss Emeline Finch, and four children), William (is married and resides in Washington, where he follows the carpenter and joiner's trade), Fannie ( married a farmer, Thomas Love, and died when about seventeen years of age). The parents of these children were natives of the "Empire State," and both are now deceased. The father was an agricult- urist. Thomas James McKee's education was received in the common schools of Polk County, and he is strong in the support of all educa- tional institutions. He started out in life for himself when fourteen years of age, without a dollar, but with the determination to succeed in whatever he undertook, and although he ex- perienced many hardships and had very little encouragement and cheer, he came boldly to the front, and is to-day one of the substantial and representative citizens of Cambridge. He has always been a stanch Democrat, and has sus- tained the principles of true Jacksonianism. He has never taken an active part in politics, but has ever upheld men of honor and prin- ciple rather than men who were small in his estimation. Mr. McKee is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, belonging to the Chapter at Nevada. He emigrated direct to Allamakee County, Iowa, when about a year old, and re- mained there until nearly six years of age, when he came to Polk County, Iowa. There he continued until fourteen years of age, and then commenced working on the farm at $14 per month. He continued working on the farm for one man for five years, and in 1874 emi- grated to Story County, where he remained un- til 1876. After this he went to Colorado, and engaged as a ranchman, having full care of a rancho of both cattle and horses. He remained in Colorado one year, and returned to Story County, where he made his home with Mr.

John Groseclose, one of the substantial and first-class farmers of Story County. He con- tinned with this gentleman until 1882, after which he and Howard Groseclose entered into partnership in the implement business in Cam- bridge. After this he became salesman with the large and well-known firm of Baldwin & Maxwell, of Cambridge, Iowa, and still later occupied himself as general salesman of farm- ing implements for Jones & Co., of Des Moines, a well-known firm. After two years' work with this company he engaged with the large imple- ment firm of William Deering & Co., with which he has remained for six years. He is their trusted salesman, and is well known by every well-to-do farmer in the southern part of Iowa. He is a pronounced expert in the ma- chinery business, at an excellent yearly salary, and he has been true as steel to his employers, as well as to his many customers. Mr. McKee has a fund of good common sense and business tact, which are sure to prove successful, no mat- ter in what he engages. All he has accumu- lated is the result of honest toil, energy and indomitable courage. He has many warm friends, and expects to make Cambridge his home for the future.

Frank A. McLain, farmer and stock-raiser, Nevada, Iowa. Mr. McLain, one of the most extensive farmers and stock-raisers of Story County, and one of the pioneers of the same, was born in Bedford County, Penn., on the 7th of January, 1837, being the youngest of three children born to his father's first mar- riage. In early boyhood he moved with his father to Ohio, received a rather limited edu- cation in the schools of that State, and when but ten years of age was obliged to start out in life for himself. He worked for one year and received in pay seventy-five bushels of corn and a pair of shoes. He came to Story County, Iowa, in May, 1854, and the following

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HISTORY OF IOWA.

year, in partnership with J. R. Lockwood, be bought four yoke of oxen and broke prairie at $3 per acre, after which, for some time, he was engaged in teaming to the river. In 1865 he settled where he now lives, although previous to this he had farmed near Nevada. He is now the owner of 1,385 acres of land all in a body, well improved, and four miles from town. He is one of the leading stock-raisers in Story County, and while an agriculturist of ad- vanced ideas and tendencies, he does not lose sight of the stock interests, in which industry he has gained quite a local reputation. In June, 1861, his nuptials to Miss Mary A. Doyle, a native of Virginia, born on the 24th of De- cember, 1842, were celebrated, and two chil- dren have blessed this union: Clark (born July 17, 1863) and Mildred Lee (born Octo- ber 18, 1867). Mrs. McLain's father, Daniel Doyle, was a native of Ireland. In politics Mr. MeLain is a Democrat, and is one of the representative men of the county. His par- ents, Wilson and Sarah ( Laughard) MeLain, were natives of Pennsylvania, and the father died in Ohio in 1847, at the age of forty-four years. The mother received her final sum- mons in the Keystone State in 1838. The pa- ternal grandfather was born in Maryland and died in Story County, Iowa, when abont eighty years of age.

Howard P. McLain, a dealer in hardware at Ames, Iowa, was born in Hardin County, Ohio, July 9, 1845, being a son of John H. and Elizabeth C. (Ingham) McLain, the former of whom was born in Bedford County, Penn., in 1821. He left his native State when he was about twenty years of age, and went to Hardin County, Ohio, where he remained until 1849, at which time he removed to Illinois, where he made his home until the spring of 1854. He then came to Nevada, Story County, Iowa, be- ing the head of the second family settling in

the town. He built the first tavern in the place, known far and near as McLain's tavern. Mrs. McLain was a native of Ohio, was a good cook and housekeeper, and those who lived at, or frequented their tavern, were always sure of a clean, comfortable bed and a square meal. If the old logs of the attic could repeat the wit of Finch, the humor of Crocker and the broader jests of McFarland, Hull and "Old Timber," which were wont to rouse the echoes in that primitive bed-chamber, it would be better enter- tainment than any cirens. The MeLains made their home in Nevada until 1865, then moved to Marshalltown, and for three years Mr. McLain was the proprietor of the William House at that place. He then returned to Story County, and settled at Ames, where he was engaged in the hardware business until 1871. The follow- ing year he removed to Colorado, but at the end of twelve years removed to Montana, his home being now at Glendale. He was mar- ried in 1844, in Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Ing- ham, who died at Ames, Iowa, in 1871. Their son, Howard P. McLain, came with his parents to Story County, in 1854, and here he has since made his home. He was a student in the school of Nevada until he was eighteen years of age, then entered the employ of the American Express Company, and for two years was on the stage coaches running from Marshall- town to Des Moines as express messenger, af- ter which he was transferred to the North- Western Railroad, from Boone to Omaha, a position he held for ten years. The following eight years he was agent for the company at Ames, and since 1887 he has been in the hard- ware business at that place, and has built up an excellent business. He was married, in 1873, to Miss Julia F. Tilden, who was born in the State of New York. To them have been born a family of two children: Albert C. and Willis H. In his political views Mr. McLain is a Re-

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Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa, Part 50

Author: Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed Number of Pages: 484

Author:
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Goodspeed
Number of Pages: 484