USA > Iowa > Story County > Biographical and historical memoirs of Story County, Iowa > Part 57
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Parley Sheldon, farmer, banker, and breeder and dealer of standard-bred horses, Ames, Iowa. This prominent gentleman was born in Cuya- hoga County, Ohio, on the 7th of June, 1844, and his father, Parley Sheldon, Sr., was a native of New York, born in 1810, and died in Ohio in 1869. The mother, whose maiden name was Elvira Litch, was born in 1810 and died in Ohio in 1854. They were the parents of eight children, six of whom are living. About 1828 the father moved to Ohio and there fol- lowed agricultural pursuits the greater part of his life. Parley Sheldon, the sixth in order of birth of the above mentioned children, re- ceived a good practical education in the com- mon schools, and subsequently became a student at Geauga Seminary, at Chester, Ohio. Leav- ing school, Mr. Sheldon was on the farm until he enlisted in the service for the preservation of the Union, and was mustered out of Com- pany B, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in July, 1865. In 1870 he began breeding trotting horses, and carried on agricultural pursuits in his native county until 1874, when he came to Iowa, bringing a number of breeding horses to this
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county. Here he has continued the breeding of standard-bred horses, and has proven him- self a man of superior management and rare business ability and efficiency. Coming to Story County in 1877, he settled on his farm adjoining the limits of the town of Ames, and there resided until the fall of 1882, when he removed to his present residence on Douglas Street in Ames. He has since continued the management of this farm, which consists of 335 acres. In May, 1890, he purchased the Story County Bank, which was organized on the 1st of November, 1888, by the firm of Armstrong & Robinson. In his political prefer- ences, Mr. Sheldon is a Democrat, and in 1883 was elected a member of the Ames council for . a term of three years. In 1884 and 1885 he was mayor of the town. On the 19th of Octo- ber, 1885, he was appointed postmaster at Ames by President Cleveland, and held the office until February 13, 1890, filling that po- sition to the entire satisfaction of all, and being one of the best postmasters the town ever had. On the 4th of March, 1890, he was again elected mayor of Ames. He is a representative citizen of the county, respected and esteemed for his sterling integrity, sober, sound judg- ment and progressive ideas. He was married in September, 1865, to Miss Frances A. Judd, a native of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, born in April, 1845, and two children are the result of this union: Bernice J. and Harriett E.
Mark D. Sheldon, M. D., retired physician, Iowa Centre, Iowa. Among the people of Story County, as well as the surrounding coun- ties, the name that heads this sketch is by no means an unfamiliar one; for for many years he was actively and successfully occupied in the prosecution of his chosen profession, and during this time his career as a practitioner and thorough student of medicine, won for him no less a reputation than did his personal
characteristics, as a citizen and neighbor. Of recent years he has endeavored to avoid, as far as possible, the practice of medicine, preferring to give his entire attention to the management of his large farming interests. The Doctor came originally from New York State, his birth occurring in Monroe County, on the 7th of May, 1816, and is the son of William and Polly (De La Dernier) Sheldon, both natives of the Em- pire State. The Sheldon family is of English descent, and the ancestors settled in Massachu- setts prior to the Revolution. William Sheldon was reared in New York State, and followed agricultural pursuits all his life. He moved to Ohio in 1835, settled in Ashtabula County, and there resided until his death in August, 1852. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was on the Northern frontier. His wife survived him until 1859. Dr. Mark Sheldon, the youngest of four sons and four daugh- ters, passed his boyhood and youth in Ashta- bula County, received a good education in the high schools and academies, and commenced the study of medicine at the age of twenty-one under the supervision of Dr. John E. Cleve- land, a physician of considerable local note. Dr. Sheldon took his first course of lectures at the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleve- land, in the winter of 1845, and the following year located in Lawrence County, Ind., where he practiced his profession for about three years. In the winter of 1849 he returned to Cleveland and completed his course, graduat- ing in the spring of 1850. He afterward took a supplementary course at Cleveland, in the win- ter of 1850-51, and also a course at Louis- ville in the winter of 1949-49. After this, in 1850, he located in Waukesha County, Wis., where he had a large practice, and where he remained for three years. In 1854 he moved to Iowa, settled in Iowa Centre, and practiced over a large extent of country, thirty miles
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around. He was in active practice here for twenty years. He was married in Wisconsin on the 28th of February, 1852, to Miss Annette Fenn, a native of York State, born and reared in Delaware County, and a lady of superior at- tainments. She was the daughter of E. B. and H. A. (Goodrich) Fenn. To the Doctor and Mrs. Sheldon have been born two children: Dwight D., and Carrie A. (wife of E. W. Gif- ford, of Nevada, Iowa). Dr. Sheldon has ac- cumulated a competence in the practice of medi- cine, and is the owner of about 400 acres of good land near Iowa Centre. He is also the owner of a good residence, and other property in the village.
Dwight D. Sheldon, farmer and stock-raiser, Iowa Centre, Iowa. Among the younger agri- culturists of Indian Creek Township who are in the front ranks as progressive and indus trious farmers and stock-men, we can not fail to mention Dwight D. Sheldon, who, in the management of everything connected with his farm, displays excellent judgment and thor- oughness, qualities which can not fail of suc- cess. Mr. Sheldon owes his nativity to Knox- ville, Marion County, Iowa, where his birth occurred on March 18, 1855, and is the son of Dr. Mark D. and Eveline Annette (Fenn) Sheldon, natives of New York. D. D. Shel- don came to Story County with his parents when an infant, grew to manhood in Iowa Centre, and there received a thorough educa- tion in the Centre High School, completing at the Iowa State Agricultural College at Ames. Returning to Iowa Centre, he engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, and this has continued with unusual success ever since. He was married at Eddyville, Iowa, on December 25, 1877, to Miss Henrietta A. Fish, a native of Iowa, who took a complete course at the Agricultural Col- lege, and in the same class with her husband. She is the daughter of John M. and Mary A.
Fish. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon are the parents of two interesting children, Dwight D. and Willie Milton. In his political preferences Mr. Sheldon is a Democrat, though no polit- ical aspirant, and earnestly supports the meas- ures of that party. He and Mrs. Sheldon are members of the Evangelical Church, and he is class-leader and steward in his local church. He is a Master Mason and is also a member of the Good Templar lodge. He taught school for a number of terms in Story County, and was unusually successful as an educator.
Erick R. Shildall was born in Norway, De- cember 28, 1832. His parents, Rasmass and Isabella Shildall were natives of that country, emigrating to the broad and hospitable Ameri- can shores in 1847, and settling in Grundy County, Ill., afterward moving to Story County, where the father still lives. The mother de- parted from this life in the year 1878. The subject of this sketchi passed his youth in Grundy and Kendall Counties, and is the only son in a family of four children. A victim to the fascinations of Miss Betsy Ness, a Norwe- gian beauty, who emigrated to the States in 1849, with her father, Ole Ness, Mr. Shildall was united in marriage with that lady in the month of October, 1855. Soon after their marriage they moved to Iowa, settling in Story County, and buying the property where he now lives. He is one of the most prosperous farm- ers in the district, has served as school trus- tee, and held other local offices at different periods of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Shildall are the parents of eleven children, all of whom are at present living: Eribel (wife of Mr. Sever- son), Olive (wife of Samuel Twede), Caroline (wife of Jake Burrison), Roswell, Henry, Oscar, Martha, Isabella, Anna, Emma and Lewis. The family are faithful and devout Christians, belonging to the Lutheran Church.
Rothmer J. Silliman is president of the
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First National Bank of Nevada, Iowa, but he also devotes much attention to dealing in grain and lumber. He ranks among the leading citizens of this county, is in every respect a self-made man, and is a shrewd, honest and successful man of business. His birth oc- curred in Sterling, Whiteside County, Ill., March 27, 1842, his parents, Ira and Melissa (Brooks) Silliman, being born in Vermont and Ohio, in 1813 and 1817, respectively ; they died at Como, Ill., in 1872, the latter's death occur- ring two months prior to that of her husband. Elijah Silliman, the paternal grandfather, was ! born in the "Green Mountain State," and died in Pennsylvania. Rothmer J. Silliman is the second of six children, two now living, and his education and rearing were received at Como, whither his parents had moved in 1846. In 1860 he began life for himself as a book- keeper for Simeon Sampson, a grain dealer at Sterling, Ill., but two years later gave up this calling to engage in farming in Whiteside County, an occupation which he continued to fol- low for ten years. In 1873 he removed to Wisner, Cumings County, Neb., and after spending three and a half years there engaged in the grain and lumber business, he, on April 18, 1877, came to Nevada, Iowa, and purchased the business interests of George A. Kellogg, a well-known lumber merchant of this section. In 1878 he purchased the Amouth Elevator, which was built in 1876, one of the first and largest in the county, and in 1889 Mr. Silli- man shipped 147,000 bushels of corn and oats from Nevada. In January, 1882, he was elected president of the First National Bank of Ne- vada, and since May, 1888, he has been inter- ested in the banking business at Cambridge, this county, being associated in this enterprise with his son, Homer N. Silliman. His vote has always been cast in the interests of the Republican party, and for eight years he has
been a member of the Nevada school board, of which he is now the president. Mr. Silliman has always attended strictly to the details in every enterprise in which he has been engaged, and as a result is one of the leading business men in the county. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is now serving his third term as superin- tendent of the Sunday-school, and socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. His marriage, which occurred on November 9, 1864, was to Miss Lucy Newman, who was born at Elkhorn Grove, Carroll County, Ill., October 16, 1842, and to their union the following family of chil- dren have been born: Homer N., Edwin R., Mahala, Emma, Alice and Ira A.
William Smay, proprietor of the Pleasant Hill Creamery and store at Smaysville, was born in Marion County, Ind., in 1842, being the second child of Absalom and Mary A. (Sours ) Smay. The boyhood of William Smay was passed on his father's farm in Indiana, but at the age of thirteen years he accompanied his parents to Iowa, and this State has since con- tinued to be his home. He remained at home with his father, assisting him in his farm labors, until he had attained his twenty-first year, and then commenced life on his own respon- sibility by engaging in agricultural pursuits. He purchased the farm on which he now lives, comprising 160 acres, in 1869 (at that time there was but one school-house in the town- ship, and only thirteen families), and imme- diately commenced tilling it, and followed farm- ing and sorghum-making for about fourteen years, turning ont about 4,000 gallons of No. 1 molasses yearly. In 1879 he started a creamery (the second in this county ), begin- ning on a very small scale, and made about 300 pounds per day in summer, and half that much in winter. Gradually increasing in his business as his patrons gained confidence in
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his ability as a butter-maker, he is now at the head of a large and lucrative business, and is turning out daily from 900 to 1,200 pounds of first class creamery butter, which he ships to New York and other Eastern cities, and he always receives the top prices for his goods. He has recently put in a Sharpless Improved Centrifugal Separator, the only one known of in this State, and contemplates putting in an- other soon. In connection with his creamery he keeps a country store, and carries every- thing in the way of provisions, dry goods, boots and shoes, hardware and agricultural implements, and also a feed-mill and black- smith and wagon repairing shop. He also runs a meat market, and delivers daily to the farmers, over a space of two or three townships, fresh meat and all household necessities. He has one of the best refrigerators in the county, it being eighteen feet square and divided into three compartments, with a capacity of sixty tons of ice and two car-loads of provisions. To give a better idea of the extent of Mr. Smay's business, it may be mentioned that he keeps seven wagons delivering goods and gathering cream constantly, besides the farmers' milk wagons. In addition to all these interests, Mr. Smay is a breeder of thoroughbred Holstein cattle, and his herd is headed by representa- tives of the best families of that breed. His marriage to Miss Frederica Kelley, of this county, was consummated in 1868, and the fruits of this union have been three children: Warren A., Grant H. and Jennie M., all of whom are living at home. The eldest son has an interest in the agricultural implement de- partment of the business. Mr. and Mrs. Smay and their two sons are members of the Evan- gelical Lutheran Church, and in his political views the former is a Republican. He is probably as well acquainted with the develop- ment and resources of this county as any man
residing here, and he is well known and highly respected by all in the community with which he has been so long and so prominently iden- tified.
Thomas B. Smeltzer, proprietor of Maxwell House, Maxwell, Iowa. There is nothing adds so much to the prestige of a city in the estima- tion of a stranger as first-class hotel accommo- dations. First in Maxwell is the well-known house kept by Mr. Smeltzer. This gentleman was born in Pennsylvania, in Centre County, on April 29, 1852, and is a son of J. D. Smeltzer, also a native of the Keystone State. The mother, whose maiden name was Miss Anna M. Mingle, was a native of the same State and county. The family moved to Iowa in the fall of 1852, located at Davenport, remained there one year and then moved to Stephenson County, Ill., locating in Dakota, where Mr. Smeltzer engaged in merchandising and the stock busi- ness for some time. There his death occurred in June, 1888. He held many local positions of trust and honor. The mother still survives. Of the five children born to this union all are living and heads of families. Thomas B. Smeltzer grew to manhood in Stephenson County, Ill., received his education in the com- mon and higher schools of that State, and when twenty years of age entered the grain and ele- vator office of his father, with whom he re- mained until 1882. In March of that year he came to Story County, locating in Maxwell, where his father was in business under the title of Jacob Williams & Co., and built an elevator in that town directly after the build- ing of the line of railway. Our subject took charge of the business at this place, and car- ried it on for five years, buying and shipping grain. He then embarked in the butcher busi- ness at Maxwell and Nevada, having a meat market at the former place for about one year, after which he moved to Nevada, where he ran
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a market for about eighteen months. In April he moved back to Maxwell and engaged in the hotel business, where he now is. He has the only hotel at Maxwell, and keeps a first-class place. He is a Democrat in politics, has held several local offices, served as justice of the peace, and was a member of the town board for a number of years. He was married in Illinois on August 20, 1872, to Miss Mary C. Youut, a native of Pennsylvania, and the daughter of Henry Yount. Mr. and Mrs. Smeltzer have one child, William Otto, a bright lad of thirteen years. Mr. Smeltzer joined the I. O. O. F. Lodge in 1876, and represented his district in the Grand Lodge in 1885. On the organiza- tion of the lodge at Maxwell he was a charter member, and first noble grand of his lodge. Mr. Smeltzer is a pleasant, agreeable man, and is naturally suited and adapted to his present business.
Levi Smith, farmer, Nevada, Iowa. Many are the changes which have occurred since this esteemed citizen first became located here, and he has lived to see the growth of what was at that time an almost unsettled tract of land, to one of the most prosperous and influential connties in the State. Mr. Smith was born in Franklin County, Ohio, in 1825, attained his growth in that State, and was married in 1850 to Miss Mary Vincent, the daughter of Thomas B. Vincent. Mr. Smith emigrated to Iowa in 1865, locating in Milford Township, and has re- mained there ever since. He is now the owner of 120 acres on Sections 27 and 28, and is a pros- perous farmer. He enlisted as musician in the Eighteenth United States Infantry, and served in that capacity three years. In the spring of 1865 he enlisted as second lieutenant in the One Hundred and Eighty-Eighth Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, and served in that capacity until the close of the war. He then returned imme- diately to Iowa. He is a stanch Republican,
and votes as he shot. To his marriage were born three children: M. F., Benjamin W. D. and Thomas V. Mr. Smith is the seventh in a family of eleven children born to Daniel and Elizabeth (Ogden) Smith, natives of New Jer- sey and Massachusetts, respectively. The children were named as follows: Moses, Aaron, Joseph, Levi, Hiram H., Francis M., Daniel O., Lydia, Jane, Mary and Martha E. The father of these children, Daniel Smith, was born in 1785, was the son of John Smith, and was one of eight children: Peter, John, Henry, David, Jacob, Daniel and two daughters. Elizabeth (Ogden) Smith, mother of our sub- ject, was the daughter of. Moses and Lydia Ogden, probably natives of Massachusetts, and was one of eight children: Lewis, Elias, Charles, George, Abigail, Jane, Sarah and Elizabeth.
Capt. I. L. Smith, abstract, loan and real- estate broker, has been giving his attention to this business since 1887, and has in his posses- sion a complete set of abstract books, and un- der his control a large amount of valuable real estate. He was born in Somerset County, Penn., January 14, 1835, and is a son of John H. and Catherine (Dom) Smith, who were born in Franklin County, Penn., and Germany, in 1812 and 1813, and died in Somerset County, Penn., and McLean County, Ill., in 1862 and 1872, respectively. The mother came to the United States with her parents in 1819, and settled in Somerset County, Penn., where she grew to womanhood, met and married Mr. Smith. The paternal grandfather, Peter Smith, was born in the "Keystone State," and died there at a ripe old age. Capt. I. L. Smith is one of the three surviving members of a fam- ily of seven children, and his rearing and early school training were received in the town of Berlin, Penn. On the 4th of September, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Fifty-fourth Penn-
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sylvania Volunteer Infantry, as a private, but upon the organization of the regiment he was appointed orderly sergeant, and continued as such until the 1st of February, 1863, when he was commissioned captain, continuing to hold this rank until he was mustered out of service on the 12th of September, 1864. He made a faithful and fearless soldier, and he returned home with the consciousness of having faith- fully performed every duty. In November, 1864, he removed to McLean County, III., where he carried on farming until 1869, at which time he came to Story County, Iowa, and located at Ames. He has always been an ardent Republican in his political views, and on this ticket was appointed to the position of deputy clerk of the courts, a position he filled very successfully from March, 1875 to Janu- ary 1, 1877. In the fall of 1876 he was elect- ed clerk of the courts of Story County, and was four times re-elected to this position, serv- ing in the clerk's office, in all, twelve years, and it is but saying the truth when the state- ment is made that no more capable man for the position could have been found. He was a pop- ular official, and in choosing him to fill the above- mentioned position the people showed the soundness of their judgment. Capt. Smith is a practical business man, and through good judgment, energy, integrity and skill he has come to be regarded as one of the leaders in his business in this section of the country. He is a Mason, belonging to Nevada Lodge No. 99, 3 X 3 Chapter No. 92, and has attained to the Commandery. He also belongs to the K. of P. and the G. A. R. His marriage to Miss Har- riet King took place on the 9th of September, 1857. They have five children: M. K., Charles E., W. L., A. R. and John H. Mrs. Smith was born in Pennsylvania, September 1, 1839, a daughter of John R. and Catherine (Sanner) King, of that State.
Robert D. Smith, farmer and stock-raiser, Zearing, Iowa. Mr. Smith is recognized as a careful, energetic agriculturist of this com- munity, and by his advanced ideas and pro- gressive habits has done not a little for the farm- ing element hereabout. His parents, Enoch and Jerusha ( Wolverton ) Smith, were natives of New Jersey, and emigrated to Illinois in 1847, locating in Stephenson County, where they reared their family. The grandfather was John Smith. Robert D. Smith was born in New Jersey in 1842, and was the third of ten children. He grew to manhood in his native State, received his education in the common schools, and in August, 1862, enlisted in Company G, Ninety-second Illinois Mounted Infantry, and served until cessation of hostili- ties. He was in the Western Division under Gen. Sherman, and was mustered out in June, 1865. He participated in the following battles: Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, etc. After the war he returned to Illinois, and in the spring of 1866 was married, and in March of the same year he moved to Story County, lo- cated at Colo, and has remained in the county since that time. He has four children-Mary E. (now Mrs. Louis Glanz, of Des Moines), William H. (now of Zearing), Frank and Cora. Mr. Smith located on the farm where he now lives in 1878, and has one of the best tracts of land in the township. He is a stanch Re- publican is his political views, and he and Mrs. Smith are members of the Evangelical Church. His son, William H. Smith, was born in Story County in 1868, and was married in 1888 to Miss Lola L. Hahn, daughter of Rev. W. J. Hahn, now of Belle Plaine, Iowa. William H. is now proprietor of the best gro- cery store in Zearing, and is doing a renumera- tive cash business. He has one child, Nina O. Socially he is connected with the A. F. & A. M.
Lee H. Smith, farmer and stock-raiser, Ames,
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Iowa. It was natural, perhaps, that Mr. Smith should choose agricultural pursuits as his occu- pation through life, for his ancestors have for many generations followed that calling. He is a native of Franklin County, Ohio, his birth occurring October 18, 1848, and is the son of Aaron and Sarah ( Paddock ) Smith, and the grandson of Daniel and Elizabeth Smith, who were natives of Holland. The father, in connection with agricultural pursuits, was a molder by trade, having learned that in his early manhood, and this he carried on for many years. In 1864 he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-third Ohio Infantry, and served until the close of the war. After this he moved to Lee County, Ill., where he remained until 1869. His children were named as fol- lows: Lee H., Winfield Scott, Eugene E. and Daniel P. In the fall of 1869 the family sought Iowa as their home, and located in Story County, where the subject of this sketch re- ceived a good college education in the Iowa State Agricultural College, finishing in 1871. He then went to Napa County, Cal., remained there two years, and afterward returned to Story County, Iowa. He was married in 1875 to Miss Mattie G. Evans, daughter of Walter and Susan J. Evans, and the fruits of this union have been six children: Sadie (deceased ), Ma- bel, Winnie, Clifford, Nathan R. and Susie. Mr. Smith remained in Story County, Iowa, until 1882, being there for nearly seven years, and then went to Colorado, where he was success- fully engaged in mining. In the fall of 1887 he returned to Story County, and has since re- mained on his farm, located nearly four miles northeast of Ames, on Section 32. Mr. Smith is a Republican, and at all times has voted tlie Republican ticket. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. Mr. Smith's father died in July, 1885.
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