USA > Iowa > Cherokee County > Biographical history of Cherokoe County, Iowa : Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States from Washington to Harrison, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of Iowa, with portraits and biographies of the governors of the state ; engravings of prominent citizens in Cherokee County, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families. A concise history of the county, the cities, and townships > Part 39
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sided upon his homestead since coming to Cherokee. During the three years mentioned he lived in Cherokee, and was engaged in operating a saw-mill. He has done his share in building up the county, and well deserves the high esteem in which he is held.
W. PRESCOTT, President of the Chero- kee County Bank, Meriden, Iowa, has taken an active and leading part in the building up of the town of Meriden. He was born in Merrimack County, New Hamp- shire, and is a son of Jonathan and Sarah (Scribner) Prescott. Mr. Prescott was reared to the occupation of a farmer, and received his education in the public schools of his na- tive county. At the age of twenty-one years he was married to Miss Lydia A. Upton, a native of New Hampshire, and a danghter of Daniel Upton, Esq. By this union three children were born: Frank K., Myra S., de- ceased wife of N. C. Buswell, and Ella, who died in her fifth year. Frank K. Prescott lo- cated at Meriden in 1871, when the town was called Hazzard; he engaged in the general mercantile trade, and was one of the leading business men of the place. In 1883 he sold his business interests in Meriden, and re. moved to Fresno City, California, in which place he now resides. Mrs. Lydia A. Prescott died in the year 1858. Mr. Prescott was mar- ried to Miss Hattie J. Upton, a sister to his first wife. By this marriage one child was born: Charlie D., who died in his nineteenth year. In 1873 Mr. Prescott decided to join his son in the West, so he came to Meriden, and engaged in the general mercantile trade. The same year he bnilt an elevator with a storage capacity of 10,000 bushels, which was consumned by fire; in its stead the present building was erected in 1878. In 1875 our
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subject entered into partnership with Samnel Upton, Esq., their business relations continu- ing for seven years. The firm of G. W. Pres- cott & Co. is the leading mercantile firm of the town, doing an annual business of $20,000. Mr. Prescott has not been behind in the building interests of the place, having erected twelve dwellings and three business houses; the hotel was built by Prescott & Son. He owns 240 acres of land joining the town on the west. Politically he gives his support to the Republican party. That he possesses the confidence of the people is evi- dent from the fact that he has been township treasurer for fifteen years; he is the present mayor of the town, and has served on the Township and Central committees. He is a worthy member of the Congregational Church, and is one of its liberal supporters. It is to the tireless zeal and unwearying efforts of such men as G. W. Prescott that the exist- enceof such towns as Meriden is due. With- out such spirit and enterprise the West would not be the Great West, and the past decade would not have witnessed the most rapid growth and wonderful development of any country or clime.
M. JACKSON, dealer in lumber and coal, Marcus, Iowa, is one of the prominent and substantial residents of Cherokee County. He was born in the State of New York, December 28, 1833, and is a son of A. H. and Phobe (Lawrence) Jackson, also natives of New York. When he was two years old his parents removed to the Western Reserve, in Northeastern Ohio, locating in Summit County. There they spent ten years and then went to Cleveland, Ohio, or what was then known as Ohio City. I. M. was engaged in varions avocations, farmning, the dairy busi-
ness, and clerking claiming his attention in turn. At one time his father controlled the Snminit Hotel in Ohio City, and during that time he assisted him in carrying on the busi- ness. Hle obtained his education in the com- mon schools with the exception of a commer- cial course which he took after reaching his majority. In 1857 Mr. Jackson migrated to Illinois, locating at Winnebago; there he re- mained about fourteen years, having become interested in the saddlery business which he conducted until Octover, 1871. He then re- moved to Cherokee County, and settled at Marcus, which was then composed of a rail- road depot and a section honse. The town lots had been staked off, but were not yet for sale because they had not been recorded. Mr. Jackson had brought material all framed for the construction of a dwelling, but did not erect it until the spring of 1872; it was the first dwelling-house in the village, and was the cause of a vast amount of comment by people passing through on their way West. Immediately upon his arrival Mr. Jackson opened his present business, attending to it in connection with his farming. In 1872 he had pre-empted eighty acres of land in Marcus Township, and had erected a small dwelling for the accommodation of his wife and two children during the summer months; in the fall they removed to their home in Marcus which is one of the neatest and most com- fortable in the village. Mr. Jackson has been one of the main factors in building up the town in a business as well as social way. He has erected several houses, and has owned inore residence property than any other one man in the place. He does an extensive bnsi- ness in lumber and coal, carrying a stock of $10,000; his plant is one of the best in the country, covering 500 lineal feet. He owns 324 acres of farm land, five dwellings, one blacksmith shop, a business room and a har-
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ness shop. Politically Mr. Jackson affiliates with the Republican party, and has repre- sented his township officially as trustee. He was united in marriage in 1860 to Miss Clara C. Straw, a native of Canada. They are the parents of- two children: Charles, re- siding in Cherokee County, and Ida, wife of Henry Mankey, living in Marens. Mr. Jack- son's residence in Marcus Township began in its pioneer days; he assisted in the organiza- tion of the township, served as its first as- sessor, was one of the first aldermen, and was one of the first to serve on the School Board. The first school taught in the town- ship was held in his residence.
ORATIO PITCHER was born in the town of Monroe, Waldo County, Maine, Jannary 23, 1839. His father, Horatio Gates Pitcher, was born in Belfast, Maine, and his ancestors came from England at an early day and settled in New Hampshire. His mother was Auna Leonard, a native of Maine, who traces her ancestry directly to the Mayflower. When Horatio was eight years old his father removed to Bangor and engaged in mercantile pursuits; he attended the schools of that city until he was fifteen years old, when he entered a dry-goods store to learn the business of clerk and salesman. He remained there two years, and then at- tended the academies at Bucksport and Kent's Hill for two years. At the age of nineteen he started for the West to seek his fortune. The first season he worked on a farm in Western New York, and in the fall he went to Ohio and took a course in pen-drawing at Oberlin. The following winter and early spring he taught eleven schools of twelve lessons each in penmanship in Northwestern Ohio. He then entered the Maumee Busi-
ness College as teacher of penmanship. He returned to Bangor on a visit, but was in- duced to remain there and go into the grocery business on his own account. In 1860 he arrived at his majority, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has voted with the Republican party ever since. In the spring of 1861, at the first call for soldiers to sup- press the Rebellion. he sold out his business and enlisted as a private in Company A, Sec- ond Maine Volunteers, under Colonel Jame- son. This was the first regiment that left the State for the war. After the first battle of Bull Run he was promoted to Regimental Commissary Sergeant, and soon after was made Quartermaster Sergeant, in which ca- pacity he served with the regiment until after the Peninsular campaign. He then received a commission as Quartermaster of the Eight- eenth Regiment Maine Volunteers, then be- ing organized at Bangor, Maine. In the spring of 1864 he was ordered to Albany, N. Y., on inspection duty, and was retained there nntil the close of the war, as inspector of cavalry and artillery horses for the United States Army. He then went to Savannah, Georgia, and embarked in the ship-chandlery business, but this proved with him, as with many others, to be a fool's errand; in two years he lost all lie had and more too, and then went to Boston and engaged in the same business there under the firmn name of Pitcher, Flitner & Co. In the spring of 1863 he came to Iowa, stopped in Marshall- town and bought a team and an old buggy, and began a tour of inspection of Northwest- ern Iowa, which was then a vast, unbroken prairie, with a settler here and there on the rivers. After traveling over this beantiful country lie decided to become a farmer, and noticing on the land plat at Sioux City that the surveyor had indicated a spring upon the section where he now resides he decided to
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find it, and securing the services of a sur- veyor, measured from the Little Sionx River to the spot; finding an unfailing supply of water, he at once secured the tract, paying the Government $2.50 per acre for the same. He immediately had sixty acres broken and commenced keeping bachelor's hall. On the organization of the township, desiring to honor their worthy citizen, the name of Pitcher was chosen. Mr. Pitcher was elected the first supervisor, and continued to hold that position nntil the law reduced the num- ber of supervisors from one to each township to five in the county. After the Boston fire of 1872 he went back to that city, and for three years engaged in the lumber business. At the expiration of that period he returned to Iowa, and has since made it his home. His farm now consists of 720 acres of fine land, which is largely seeded to tame grass; it is well adapted to raising live-stock. and 150 head of cattle are fed annually on the Pitcher farmn. The improvements are of the best, and there is a beautiful grove of ten acres, of which Mr. Pitcher may well be prond. In 1881 Mr. Pitcher was elected to represent the county in the Lower House of the Nineteenth General Assembly of Iowa. He was married June 13, 1877, to Miss Liz- zie A. Hersey. They have four children: Ray, Leon, Bessie and Marian. Mrs. Pitcher is a native of the State of Maine.
ON. JOSEPH COOPER LOCKIN, member of the State Legislature from Cherokee County. One of the most progressive men in Cherokee County, Iowa, is he whose name heads this sketch. A cult- ured gentleman, a close student and a thor- ough business man, the people of Cherokee Connty have acted wisely in selecting him to
represent their interests in the Legislature of the State. His career in that body has con- vinced his friends and those whose confidence in his ability and judginent placed him there, that no mistake had been made in his selec- tion. Joseph Cooper Lockin was born No- vember 3, 1854, at Brandon, Fond du Lac County. Wisconsin. His parents were John and Mary J. (Gregg) Lockin. His father is a native of Lincolnshire, England, and caine to America at the age of twenty years. He is still living, at the age of sixty-six years. The mother was a native of Connectient, and was a dangliter of George Gregg. She died May 6, 1889, aged sixty-seven years. The parents were married at Cherry Valley, New York, in 1845, and immediately after settled in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Soon after- ward they settled in Fond du Lac County. They had a family of eight children, of whom five are living, Joseph and Charles H. being residents of Cherokee County. Joseph was reared to the occupation of a farmer, near the town of Brandon, Wisconsin. He was educated in the public schools of Brandon, and at the age of twenty began to teach. After completing one terin in the fall of 1876 he came to Iowa, and located in Cherokee County, two of his brothers, William H. (deceased) and Charles H., having previously settled there. The first two years after his arrival were devoted to teaching, the latter of which he was principal of the Anrelia Public Schools. In 1879 he began farming 160 acres. He now owns 200 acres in his home farm, and 160 in Spring Township. His imn- provements are of the first class, the residence and barn costing about $3,000. He has the farm well stocked with high-grade animals, feeding annually from three to seven car- loads of cattle, and from seventy-five to 100 head of hogs. Mr. Lockin is one of the in- corporators of the Maple Valley Mutual In-
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surance Association, and has been its secretary and treasurer since its organization in 1883. The marked success of this institution, which carries over $200,000 of insurance at a much less cost than can be given by standard com- panies, is largely due to the untiring efforts and careful business methods of Mr. Lockin. He held with credit various township trusts until his election to the Legislature in 1887. Although his opponent in the race was the popular ex-county clerk, J. H .. Butts, of Cherokee, Mr. Lockin received the handsome majority of 300 votes. His ability was recognized by the Speaker of the House, who selected him as chairman of the Committee on Animal Industry, and named him as a member of the Ways and Means and Judi- ciary committees. As chairman of the Com- mittee on Animal Industry he prepared a bill providing for a fund to be used for the purpose of eradicating contagious diseases of domestic animals, and protecting the State from the scourge of pleuro-pneumonia and similar diseases. As further evidence of the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens, he was chosen delegate to the State Conven- tion which selected delegates to the National Republican Convention held in Chicago in 1888. Mr. Lockin was married September 24, 1878, to Miss Mary Josephine Batson, daughter of Josiah and Arabella (Wells) Batson. Mrs. Lockin was born February 4, 1855, in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. They have had three children: Jomm Wini- fred, Harry and Mary. Mr. Lockin is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his wife belongs to the Baptist Church. In writing Mr. Lockin's biography it would be proper to add that his brother, Charles Hiram Lockin, who was born in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, March 25, 1851, is one of the present representative farmers of Pitcher Township. His beautiful tract of
land, lying in the fertile Maple Valley, con- sists of 360 acres of finely improved land. He also has the estate of his brother, Will- iam H., whose widow he married January 23, 1878. Mrs. Lockin's maiden name was Emma Ferguson, and her parents are Friend P. and Betsey (Landow) Ferguson. She was born in Delaware County, New York, December 27, 1847, and was married July 18, 1872, to William H. Lockin. He was born October 23, 1846, and died August 25, 1875. He had settled in Cherokee County in the fall of 1871. During his short residence in the county he was widely known as an enter- prising farmer, and as a popular teacher of vocal music. He left one child, Charles Her- man, born March 27, 1873. Charles H. Lockin and wife are the parents of three chil- dren: Coraline, Jessie Emily and Clara Louisa.
OLONEL LUCIUS W. BEAL, who now so ably fills the office of auditor of Cherokee County, was elected to that responsible position at the general election of 1885, by a vote of 2,173 of his fellow-citi- zens. The total number of votes cast at that election was a little greater than the number cast for this most worthy gentleman; he had no opposition. Having served his first term he received the nomination the second time by the Republican party, of which he is an ardent supporter in deed and thought. But political ambition placed another candidate in the field, in the person of John Donovan, who was defeated, however, by a majority of 659 in favor of Colonel Beal. To one ac- customed to go from one county seat to an- other and do business with county officials, it is indeed a pleasure to meet the class of mnen found at Cherokee, including our subject.
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To the reflective mind the officials of a city or county are a true index of the people who have placed them in office. This is quite natural when we come to consider that in this land of freedom the public sentiment is measured by popular vote and majorities, and not by caste or royal rank. Bnt to speak per- sonally of Mr. Beal; he is a native of Rock Island County, Illinois, born January 20, 1838, and is the oldest child of Daniel and Betsey (Spencer) Beal, natives of Peacham, Caledonia County, Vermont. The father was born February 5, 18-, and is the son of Saul and Rachel (Wells) Beal, who were of Puritan ancestry. When Daniel Beal was yet a child his father died and he went to live with one Leonard Jolmsou, where he passed his youth at farin labor. At the age of nine- teen years he received a colt as compensation for ten years of liard work. He sold the colt for $50, aud with that money started West in search of his fortune. From the old home in Vermont he walked most of the way to the wild, unsettled prairies of Rock Island County, Illinois, arriving there in the antnmn of 1834. He then worked at anything that would pay for two years, when he returned to the old Green Mountain home in September, 1836. He was married September 18, 1836, to Mi-s Betsey Spencer, a daughter of Saul Spencer. Esq. Mr. and Mrs. Beal at once came West in quest of home and fortune. They journeyed by all sorts of conveyances, including the canal, the Great Lakes, the river and the stage coach. Upon reaching Illinois Mr. Beal pre-empted land then nn- surveyed, now situate in what is known as section 18, Lama Township, where he began the task of improving a farm in a land not made cheerful and glad by numerous inhabit- ants, but thickly settled by wild beasts that roamed at will, free as air. The Indians still lingered around that section, it having been
their beloved hunting ground. However, with all these struggles Colonel Beal's father improved his farm which he has owned fifty- three years. There on the homestead, about which many a hallowed memory clings, were born five children: One died in infancy; Lu- cius W., Samuel S., Albert M., professor of natural science at Western College, Toledo, Iowa; and Ennice C., wife of Fred Cooper. The parents still reside upon the old home- stead at an advanced age. They belong to the United Brethren Church. Politically Daniel Beal was an old-line Wlrig, but was one of the first to fall in line with the Re- publican party. Colonel Beal was reared no his parents' farm in Illinois, and began liis education in the subscription schools, held within the primitive log school-house of the early pioneer days. He finished his school- ing at Lombard College, Galesburg. Illinois. He commenced teaching school at the age of seventeen years, and afterward studied law with G. W. Sinith one year. He resided with his parents until the breaking ont of the Civil War, when dnty and patriotism called yonng men of his stamp to the field of con- flict. Ile enlisted August 2, 1861, in Gra- hamn's Independent Company of Cavalry, which was attached to the Fourteenth Mis- sonri Infantry, but was never mustered. Ile enlisted for three years, but on September 20 he was captured at Lexington, Missouri; he was soon paroled, returned home, and again enlisted Angust 2, 1862, in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, as a private; upon organiza- tion of the regiment he was commissioned Captain. He spent the following winter in Tennessee, and took an active part in the following engagements: Siege of Vicksburg, Little Rock, Claridon and Arkansas Post, after which he served in the Western Army until the close of the war. He was cominis-
.
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sioned Colonel of the regiment November 1, 1864, was honorably discharged at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, at the end of the struggle, and was mustered out at Springfield, Illinois, August 1, 1865. Mr. Beal was married to Miss Lizzie S. Drum, December 10, 1863. She was the daughter of Thomas and Martha (McLaughlin) Drum, and a native of Penn- sylvania. her parents having removed to Rock Island County, Illinois, when she was yet a child. Her father had charge of the Gov. ernment works at that point, from which Rock Island derives its name, until his death. After his marriage Mr. Beal settled on a farm in his native connty, and for a time engaged in the mercantile business at Port Byron; after selling out he was appointed deputy cir- cuit clerk, and served a few months, when he was appointed deputy sheriff, serving a year and a half. He then returned to the old homestead and continued to farm on liis father's place for seven years. In April. 1882, he came to Cherokee County and pur- chased 220 acres of partially improved land, homesteaded by William II. Michael. It is located on section 10, Sheridan Township, and there he resided until elected to his present position. The life of Colonel Beal has been somewhat eventful, and at times a sad one. On December 9. 1883, he was be- reaved by the death of his wife, aged one month less than forty years. March 30, 1887, he married Mrs. Corelia A. Biddle, of Dixon, Illinois, a daughter of David and Effie (Hoke) Holly. She had one daughter by her former husband named Eva. Mr. Beal and his first wife were the parents of five children, three of whom survive. Daniel N. died in childhood. and Edna died August 31, 1889. She was a lovely girl, much admired for un- usual sweetness of disposition, and her deatlı was a severe blow to the fond father, and deeply regretted by a wide circle of friends.
The remaining children are: Albert R., who holds a trusty position in the First National Bank at Cherokee; Lucy M., wife of A. L. Funk, and May. Mr. and Mrs. Beal are con- sistent members of the First Presbyterian Church. He is a member of Xenophon Lodge, No. 158, Knights of Pythias, and Vice Chancellor and a member of Custer Post, No. 25, G. A. R.
LBERT PHIPPS .- From ont the goodly company that composed the Milford Emigration Society, which effected the first permanent settlement in Cherokee County, there are at present bnt five remain ing in the county. The others have either re- moved to other sections of country, having been driven away during the Indian troubles or having gone from choice, or have been called from life's shifting scenes and are now sleeping that long sleep we call Death. With lives so full of activity and grand accom- plishments, with a history so replete with self-sacrifice and thrilling adventures, the biographical pen scarcely knows where to commence, and at what point to conclude. When one contemplates this little band of liberty-loving people. who left their sung, cultured New England homes over thirty years ago to plant a colony in the wilds of Northwestern Iowa, and then glances at the statistics of to-day, showing over 16,000 pop- ulation in a county whose foundation stone and corner stakes were set np in 1856, he is inspired anew, as it were, to sketch a brief review of the life of each survivor of that band. As one interviews these first pioneers, notes their failing voices and bedimmed sight, their whitened locks and deeply furrowed brows, he shrinks from the task imposed npon him, knowing that these unfailing signs
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speak in tones of pathos and eloquence, such as the pen is incapable of expressing. Yet a written record, a just and adequate memento, must and shall be preserved, so that future generations may have means of forming cor- rect ideas as to who and what the first comers to the county were, and what they endured and accomplished. Well may we pause to- day midst the cultivated surroundings and charming attractions of this developed coun try, and note the contrast between the present and that day in May, 1856, upon which the Milford Colony viewed it, just as it was left by the trails of Indians in their flight from civilized life. These first settlers looked upon streams that reflected the image of the red man who had just folded up his tents in Cherokee County for the last time; he had trod the rolling expanse of prairie a life-time, but then left it to the plowshare of a better and nobler race. Albert Phipps, one of the tive of the original colony now left, was born in the town of Milford, Worcester County, Massachusetts, October 7, 1820, 200 years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers on the wild New England shores. Aaron Phipps, father of Albert, was also a native of Massa- chusetts, and a descendant of English ances- tors. Aaron's father was Samuel Phipps. The Phipps family were noted for the great number of blacksmiths it contained, the trade having been handed down from father to son for generations. Albert Phipps's mother was Polly H. Phipps, a daughter of Jason Phipps, of Revolutionary fame. She was born in Connecticut, and after her marriage to Aaron Phipps settled in Massachusetts, where she resided until her death, which occurred in October, 1826. Aaron Phipps was a stone worker and cutter by trade. Ile and his wife were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, six of whom are living. HIe died in June, 1839. Albert was the fifth
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