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 40
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child of the family, and his mother died when he was six years of age. Thus left an orphan at so tender an age, he early began life's eon- flict for himself. His opportunities for gain. ing an education were very limited. He learned the shoemaker's trade, serving an apprenticeship of three years. After master- ing this industry he engaged in the manu- facture of goods which are now rapidly turned out by machinery. He followed this occupation at intervals for twenty years, and in the spring of 1856 came to Iowa with the Milford Emigration Society, when not a wheel-track had flattened the native prairie grass. He pre-empted a quarter section of land npon which he began making a home; he erested a small log cabin just north of the present town, and afterward purchased other lands and improved them. All that was pro- duced for market had to be hauled by ox- teams a great distance, and sold very low. The hardships endured were enough to have disheartened any man, but Mr. Phipps's cour- age did not fail him, and he remained with his undertaking. Soon there were evidences of better days; emigration commenced to flow westward, and the country began to develop. Having secured a choice piece of land near the placid waters of the Little Sioux, Mr. Phipps turned his attention to farming the traet upon which he now lives, it contains 200 acres of land, and he has kept it well stocked with high grades of animals, and paying proper attention to the business of stock-raising he has made it pay well. In 1844 he was married to Miss Martha Little- field, a most estimable lady, a daughter of David Littlefield, Esq. She was born in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the same neighborhood in which Mr. Phipps was brought up. After coming to Iowa, during those long, dark pioneer days, she not unfre- quently longed for the onee happy home in
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old New England, but sighs and heartaches could not take her back to her childhood's home, midst the pine-clad hills of the old Bay State. To Mr. and Mrs. Phipps have been born nine children, all of whom are living: Bethana A., Luther, John A., Ada- line II., Henry L., Frank F., Arthur 1., Na-
than A. and Mattie. They all reside in Cherokee County, and as the father remarked, " I can jump a horse and ride to any child I llave in half an hour." Mr. Phipps took part in the Civil War, being a member of Com- pany I, Fifteenth Iowa Infantry, which was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee, Gen- eral McPherson commanding. He took part in the siege of Savannah and battle of Benton- ville, and was with General Sherman on his famous march to the sea, and back through the Carolinas to Goldsboro, until the final surrender of Confederate General Jo John- ston. On account of exposure Mr. Phipps contracted rheumatism and was sent north to Philadelphia, where he was honorably dis- charged; he at once returned to his home in Cherokee County. Politically he supports the issues of the Republican party, and has held varions township and county offices. Hle served the county ten years as supervisor, holding that office when the supervisor sys- tem first became a law in 1861, and at a time when the whole county was in one great civil township. He himself composed the Board of Supervisors-was a sort of king. But he was elected to such position on account of his good, sound judgment, and his strict in- tegrity of character, which he has ever main- tained. Had it not been for his sterling qualities at an early day the land sharks and contract swindlers would doubtless have ruined the finances of this county, as they did in adjoining counties. Many an overture was made to him to put up jobs to swindle the Cherokee County tax-payers, all of which
were received with disdain. Mr. Phipps be- longs to Custer Post, No. 25, G. A. R. It may be added in conclusion that the author of the general history of this county is deeply indebted to Mr. Phipps for many points of interest.
EORGE W. LEBOURVEAU, one of the original pioneer band which made up the Milford Colony, has been an ini- portant factor in the organization and devel- opment of Cherokee County. This brief re- view of his career is of necessity but a mere outline of his eventful life, thirty-three years of which have been spent in this county, the Milford Emigration Society landing liere in 1856. Mr. Lebourveau was born in the town of Keene, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, August 28, 1827, and is the second son of a family of eight children, tliree boys and five girls, only three of whom survive. His tather's name was George, and he was also a native of the old "Granite State;" his mother's maiden name was Betsey Bliss, a native of Massachusetts, of English descent; the father was of French extraction. The parents remained in New Hampshire until the death of the father, at which time George W. was two years of age. When he was seven years old he left homeand worked on a farm until he was seventeen years old. He then bezan working for the railroad company on the line between Boston and Rutland, Ver- mont, via Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was overseer of the construction department for three years, and then became overseer of con- struction on the Norfolk Railway, serving in that capacity for three years. After leaving the work of railroad building, he engaged in the boot and shoe trade at Milford, Massa- clinsetts, remaining there until 1856, when
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the Emigration Society was formed. He be- came a member of that colony, and for the details of his trip by rail and " prairie schooner" to the wilds of Northwestern lowa, we refer the reader to the chapter on " Early Settlement." After piloting the company through to the " promised land," Mr. Le- bourvean's first work was to assist in staking ont and surveying the lands taken up by the colony. During his first year's residence he helped break prairie sod, and built four log houses, which afforded many of the members quite a comfortable home during that never- to-be-forgotten " hard winter" of 1856-'57. It may here be stated that the country was anything but honrelike and pleasant to a per- son reared in the New England States. In the fall of 1857 Mrs. Lebonrvean made a visit to their old home at Milford, Massachu- setts, and Mr. Lebourvean in the fall of 1858, returning in the spring of 1859. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he became a member of Company I, Seventh Iowa Cav- alry, and was sent to the frontier to guard the borders of civilization against the depreda- tions of the desperadoes and Indians. He served three years and was honorably dis- charged in November, 1864; he took an act- ive part in the battle of White Stone Ilill, Dakota, where the soldiers met with heavy loss. After receiving his discharge from the United States service he took up a homestead, part of which is the present site of Cherokee; lie claimed eiglity acres, which he improved, his house being the first erected within the town limits. Unfortunately he disposed of his land several years before land raised, but received all it was worth at the time he sold it. Mr. Lebourvean was married in October, 1849, to Miss Sarah J. Cooke, at Providence, Rhode Island. She was a native of Belling- ham, Massachusetts, and died at her home in Cherokee, February 5, 1885. Three children
were born of this marriage, one of whom sur- vives, Cora M. Politically our pioneer friend is a Republican, and has oftentimes been hon- ored with county, township, and city offices. He was elected the first treasurer and re- corder of the county, held the office of county supervisor for three terms, served as assessor and trustee, and was elected the first mayor of the incorporate town of New Cherokee, holding the office two terms, and acquitting himself with credit, and to the satisfaction of his constituents. He is Commander of Cns- ter Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Repub- lic, at Cherokee. Mr. Lebourvean is a man possessed of a strong will, and can not be turned aside from the path in which his con- victions lead him; he is of the every-day, practical, pioneer type, kind and generous hearted, and is thoroughly posted in regard to all the early events connected with the set- tlement of his State and county.
ILAS B. PARKHURST, who forins the subject of this biographical notice, is one of the remaining pioneers of the original Milford Colony who settled in Cherokee County in 1856. It is truly betit- ting that some record here be given of the members of that brave band of people, so few of whom survive as residents of the county which they first settled, explored and organ- ized, and finally helped to bring to its pres- ent standing among Iowa's best counties. Mr. Parkhurst is a native of Massachusetts, born at Milford, April 24, 1815, and is the young- est of a family of five children. His parents were Silas and Lydia (Robins) Parkhurst, na- tives of New England. The father of our subject was a carpenter and contractor by trade; both he and his wife died in Milford. Silas B. lived in his native town until he
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reached man's estate. He attended the com- mon schools of that day, whose term did not exceed nine weeks during the entire year; he began at an early age to work in a boot and shoe factory, which was not furnished with the machinery now found in those establish- ments, but all was done by hand, and at the greatest disadvantage. It is no wonder that so many of the New England shoemakers desired to make a change by seeking prairie homes in the West! Our subject toiled on at pegging the soles of boots and shoes for four- teen years, and then for a short period en- gaged in farming. In 1842 he was married to Miss Izanna Fisk, danghter of Martin Fisk, of Milford, Massachusetts. Mrs. Parkhurst was born in 1818. In 1856 they removed to Cherokee County, Iowa, coming with a part of the Emigration Society by rail to Dubnque, and thence by wagons across the wild and asettled prairie State. The first winter, that of 1856-'57, they spent in Sac City. In the summer of 1857 Mr. Parkhurst pre-empted a quarter section of land and then deeded the saine to the agent of the Emigration Society; when the division was made it left him sixty- two acres of prairie and twenty acres of tim- ber land adjoining the town site. He served as a soldier in the Civil War, being a mnem- ber of Company I, which was largely from Sioux City. He was sent np the Missouri River to guard the frontier from the attacks of Indians. His company was under General Sully's command, and they took part in the battle of White Stone Hill, near Devil's Lake, Dakota. Mr. Parkhurst served three years, and was mustered out of the service of the United States in 1864. He then located at Sioux City, Iowa, remaining there two years, and thence removed to Woodbury, Wood- bury County, Iowa, where he lived a year, at the end of that time coming back to Chero- kee Connty. He settled on a small tract of
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land near Albert Phipps's place, and had a shoe-shop in town; he also took up a home. stead north of Hayward's mill, on Mill Creek. Upon this eighty-acre farm he hved until the autumn of 1888, when he sold his homestead and moved into Cherokee, spending the win- ter with G. W. Lebourvean. In the spring of 1889 he built a house on a two-acre tract in theextreme northern portion of the " Addi- tion," where he now leads a somewhat retired life. In political belief Mr. Parkhurst is a stanch Democrat. He belongs to Custer Post, No. 25, Grand Army of the Republic. He and his wife are among the most aged of the original colony, he being seventy-four years old, and she seventy-one; she is still hale in body, clear in inind, and does all her own housework. To form any correct idea of the labors, and the privations endured by the pioneers in Northwestern Iowa a third of a century ago, one must converse with an aged couple who have battled through all obsta- cles and have overcome all difficulties. The bowed form, the whitened locks, the furrowed brow, all tell their story, and it is to these heroic people that the present generation is indebted for the high state of culture and de- velopment attained by the county and State. This worthy conple had two children born to them, both of whom are deceased; one was named Charles, and the other was an infant unnamed.
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AMES A. BROWN is one of the early and well-known pioneers, a member of the Milford Colony .who settled in the county of Cherokee in 1856. This section of country was wild and uninhabited, and offered few inducements to any but the hardy and courageons. James A. was boru in Smith- field, Rhode Island, Jannary 17, 1820, and is
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HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTY.
a son of Henry and Sarah (Vose) Brown, natives of Rhode Island and Maine respect- ively. The father was a mechanic, a wheel- wright by trade, bnt our subject was reared to the occupation of a farmer, and obtained his education in the common schools. At the age of twenty-five he was married to Miss Louisa S. Sholes, a native of Rhode Island, born December 25, 1820. Five years after his marriage he removed to Milford, Massa- chusetts, and there he was employed in a boot and shoe factory. It was there he made the acquaintance of Messrs. Phipps, Corbett, Lebourveau and others, who were also pio- neers of Cherokee County. Mr. Brown has been engaged in farming since coming to the county, and has been successful in the pursuit of this industry. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party. He has represented his county as supervisor, clerk and as jus- tice of the peace, serving with credit to him- self, and to the best interests of the public. Hle has experienced all the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life, well remembering the time when meal was ground in the coffee- mill for the family use. Mr. Brown's thrill- ing experience with the Indians is related in the chapter on Indian Troubles. He and his wife reared five children: George, Clara (widow of George E. Fislier), Thomas, Ida (wife of Henry IInbbard), and Ella. The great loss of Mr. Brown's life was the death of his wife, which occurred July 30, 1888. She had been a member of the Baptist Church since 1841, and her death was deeply regretted by all who knew her. Mr. Brown has been a member of the Baptist Church for forty-eight years, and has held the office of deacon of the saine. He has always taken an active interest in education and religion, and is numbered among the leading farmers of the county. Ida (Brown) Hubbard was the first white child born in Cherokee County.
George Brown was born at Cumberland, Rliode Island, December 25, 1847, and is the son of James A. and Louisa (Sholes) Brown. When a lad of nearly nine years he came with his parents to Cherokee County, and has wit- nessed the wonderful growth and develop- ment of this productive section of country. Mr. Brown was married March 19, 1878, to Miss Mary Sonter, a daughter of Robert and Alison (Crombie) Sonter, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Five children have been born of this union: Elmer, Arthur, Ella, Maggie and Alice.
HOMAS McCULLA, Editor and Mana- ger of the Cherokee Times, and' pres- ent Mayor of the city, is the subject of this brief biographical notice. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, November 29, 1855. and is a son of John and Sarah (McCraith) MeCulla, of Scotch-English extraction. He received a good cominon-school edncatian, and then took a special couse at Wilton (Iowa) Collegiate Institute. He afterward entered the law department of the Iowa State Uni- versity at Iowa City, and was gradnated in the class of 1879. He was admitted to the bar at Muscatine, Iowa, in June, 1878, and located in Cherokee, July, 1879, and entered into the practice of his profession. He has always been considered a sound attorney with whom to counsel. He is a diligent reader, and is well posted on the topics of the day. Mr. McCulla practiced law and handled real estate until 1887, when he became editor of the oldest Republican journal in the county, the Cherokee Times. At present he divides liis energies between the publication of his paper and the practice of his profession. He was elected mayor of Cherokee in 1885, and lias held that office ever since to the entire satis-
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HISTORY OF CHEROKEE COUNTY.
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faction of the public. In the way of offices he has held that of city recorder and city attorney. Politically he is a Republican, who can always be counted on as true to his party and sound in his judgment. He is an honored member of the various Masonic divisions from the Blue Lodge to the Com- mandery. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F. He is interested in many of the com- mercial enterprises of the place, and always works for the best interests of the masses.
S. BARNES, a man highly esteemed in the business circles of Cherokee County, was born in Delaware County, Iowa, July 14, 1848, and is a son of James and Margaret M. (Hudson) Barnes. He.is the second of a family of nine children, and was reared in his native county, being trained to the occupation of a farmer. He received his earlier education in the common schools, and at the age of nineteen years entered Lennox College, at Hopkinton, Iowa, where he took a business course. He made his home in Delaware County until 1879, when he came to Cherokee County, and purchased 160 acres in Marens Township; from time to time lie added to this purchase until he owned 540 acres; he has since engaged in buying and selling land until he now owns 220 acres, besides a large mortgage interest. After coming to the county he engaged in the live- stock business, feeding and shipping quite extensively, in connection with his other farming interests. In 1884 the Citizens' Bank was organized, with Mr. Barnes as president and cashier, the partnership being formed with M. A. Creglow, Esq., of Gutten- berg, Iowa, with a good caslı capital. Mr. Barnes also owns an interest in the Clayton County Bank, of which he is Vice President.
He is well posted on all financial questions, and is looked upon as one of the wisest finan- ciers in Northwestern Iowa, as well as one of the most influential citizens of Cherokee. County. He is a genial, whole-souled gen- tleman, and enjoys a large circle of friends. Politically he is a Republican, and has the distinction of being chairman of the Board of County Supervisors; he has also filled the office of township treasurer for four years. He is a member of the A. O. U. W. Mr. Barnes was united in marriage December 28, 1871, to Miss Saralı Edith Everhart, a dangh- ter of H. B. and Caroline (Kirk) Everhart. Mrs. Barnes was born in the State of Penn- sylvania, October 12, 1850. This union has resulted in three children: Alice Gertrude, born December 25, 1873; Frances Edith, born - June 2, 1878, and Floyd Senate, born May 17, 1886. Mr. Barnes was reared in the Freewill Baptist Church, and his wife was brought np in the Presbyterian faith.
H. GROVES, proprietor of the Wood- bine Valley Stock Farm, Pilot Town- ship, is one of the prominent and extensive agriculturists of Cherokee County. He was born in Delaware County, Ohio, De- cember 1, 1842, and is a son of Adam and Catherine (Sellers) Groves, natives of the State of Pennsylvania. In 1855 the family removed to Clinton County, Iowa. The father died in Scott County, Iowa, and the mother in Pilot Township, Cherokee County. J. H. Groves, the subject of this biography, was reared to farin life, and received the ad- vantages of the common schools. During the great Rebellion he enlisted in August, 1862, in the Twenty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, Company C; he took an active part in the engagements of Arkansas Post, siege of Vicks-
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bnrg, Jackson, Mississippi, Lookout Mount- ain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold Ridge; thence he went to Chattanooga, thence to Vienna, spending the winter there; afterward he went to Resaca, and thence to the Kenne- saw Mountains; at one time lie belonged to the First Division, Fifteenth Army Corps, and was detached from Sherman's army and placed nnder Hooker at the battles of Look- out Mountain and Missionary Ridge; he marched through the Carolinas, and was with General Sherman at Raleigh, North Caro- lina, at the time of the surrender of General Johnston. He attended the grand review at Washington, District of Columbia, was honorably discharged, and was mustered out of the service at Clinton, Iowa. Mr. Groves engaged in farming in Clinton County until 1869 when he came to Cherokee Connty and took a homestead of eighty acres of Government land in section 26, Pilot Township; he was prosperous in his under- takings, and invested in land until he owned 760 acres in one body, on which he lived until 1887, when he removed to Woodbine Valley Stock Farm; this place contains 1,280 acres of well-improved land; there is a com- fortable dwelling, and one of the best barns in the county; in the stone basement is a tank filled with a natural supply of water, and all the arrangements of the barn are equally con- venient. Mr. Groves is one of the oldest and inost extensive cattle feeders in Cherokee Connty ; in raising stock he makes a specialty of the higher grades, and has been very suc- cessful in this enterprise. The large tracts of land now owned by Mr. Groves, viewed from the small beginning, attest his thrift and wise management. In Clinton County, Iowa, Mr. Groves was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Bull, who was born in England, and came with her parents, George and Catherine (Bruce) Bull, to America. Mr. and Mrs.
Groves have four children : George F., Charles H., Alice E. and Roy A. Politically our subject is an Independent Republican. He was elected county supervisor in 1871, serv- ing one term; he has also filled the office of township trustee, acquitting himself with much credit. He is a member of Speculative Lodge, No. 307, A. F. & A. M., and Burning Bush Chapter, No. 90, R. A. M. Mr. Groves is still in the prime of life, is cordial in man- ner, firm in liis convictions of right and wrong, honorable in business, and highly respected by all wlio know him.
OHN FRENCH, of Amherst Township, has experienced more than the average adversity, as well as prosperity, of the pioneer settler of Cherokee County. To trace his career from the beginning let us go back to Lincolnshire, England, where lie was born December 18, 1830. His parents were Ed- ward and Ann (Parkin) French, also natives of England. He was reared to agricultural pursuits, and obtained his education through his own efforts, as the advantages offered him were very meager; being a close observer, liowever, he has acquired a fond of informa- tion that enables him to attend to any busi- ness that may devolve upon him. When he had attained his nineteenth year he bade fare- well to his native land, and sailed for Amer- ica; he located in Ontario, near Hamilton. After coming to this country he learned thie trade of general building, and followed this avocation until 1867, when he came to Iowa, and settled in Jackson County; there he re- mained until 1871, when he came to Cherokee County, and purchased a farm in Amherst Township. At that time there were only eight homesteads in the township, and only two or three actual settlers. Mr. French had
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bought eighty acres, and he erected a small honse which made a home for several years; in 1885 he built a handsome brick residence, which is second to none in the township; it is surrounded by a beautiful grove of two acres, which adds very much to the attract- iveness of the place. All of the improve- ments have been made by the present owner, and are of the best kind. He has made ad- ditions to his first purchase of land nntil he has at different times owned several hundred acres of land. He has made generous gifts of land to three of his sons, and takes delight in being able to render them assistance, being fully able to appreciate the difficulties which beset the young man without capital or lands. When they first came to the county, Mr. French and his family were compelled to nn- dergo many hardships; their neighbors were few and far away; the roads were poor, and the market places at a great distance, while the prices paid for produce were oftentimes very low; the prairie fires were often very destructive, and two different seasons there were grasshoppers in such abundance that Mr. French on one occasion caught fifty-three bushels. He erected the first school-house in the township, and while doing this work he was shut in by a blizzard for two days and two nights, with only two meals' provision. Mr. French was married January 19, 1858, to Jane Ward, a daughter of George and Ann (Pickering) Ward, who was born in Canada September 20, 1840. Six children were born of this union: George Edward, John Albert, Thomas William, James Robert (who was the first male child born in Amherst Township), Lizzie Ann Malissa and Charles Henry. On first coming to the county Mr. and Mrs. French were associated with the Methodist Episcopal Church; after several years they joined the Second Adventist Church, and have taken an active part in the work of that
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