USA > Iowa > Adams County > Biographical history of Montgomery and Adams counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of Iowa, with portraits and biographies of the governors of the state, engravings of prominent citizens of the counties, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 21
USA > Iowa > Montgomery County > Biographical history of Montgomery and Adams counties, Iowa : containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with accompanying biographies of each ; a condensed history of Iowa, with portraits and biographies of the governors of the state, engravings of prominent citizens of the counties, with personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 21
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J. I., our subject, was but three years of age when, in 1851, his parents removed to Louisa county, Iowa, near Morning Star, where he grew to maturity. Between the ages of thirteen and twenty years he lived in Hancock and McDonough counties, Illinois, where he was engaged in farm work. In 1884 he settled in Grant township, Adams county, Iowa, where he bought an improved farm of D. O. Cline. Here he has a good frame house, 16 x 24 feet, one and a half stories high, with an L 14 x 14 feet, situated on a natural building site and surrounded by shade and ornamental trees. He has a grove of six acres, a vineyard of small fruits, sheds, stables, cribs and feed lots.
Mr. Hamilton was married in Louisa county, Illinois, January 20, 1875, to Miss Leticia Martin, a woman of intelligence and refinement, who was born in Louisa county, where she was reared and educated. She is the daughter of John and Catharine (Cum- mings) Martin. The father was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, a son of John Martin, a soldier in the war of 1812; the mother was born in Ireland, a daughter of Joseph Cum- mings. Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton have two children: Mary Maude, born May 3, 1877; and Warren Melville, February 8, 1879.
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Politically Mr. Hamilton is a Democrat, and is now holding the office of Assessor of his county. IIc has been a member of the Legion of Ilonor since 1883. Mrs. Hamilton united with the Methodist Church in Louisa county, and the family are now active workers in the church and Sunday-school.
Mr. Hamilton had two brothers in the late war,-Robert and John,-both in the Seventy cighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Company D. Robert was twice wounded.
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ORDAN FEAZELL, a prominent farmer of section 6, Carl township (postoffice Mt. Etna), was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 23, 1824, a sou of John Feazell, who was born near New Lisbon, Bedford county, Virginia, a son of Barnett Feazell, who was born in Germany. Four brothers participated in the war of 1812. John Feazell married Nancy Lawrence, a native of Virginia and a daughter of John Lawrence, of English parentage. He was a boy when taken to Ohio. In 1845 he settled in Fayette county, Illinois, and in 1855 he died, at the age of sixty-one years. In his younger days he had learned the trades of shoemaker and miller, but was a farmer during the rest of his life. In politics he was a Whig, and in religion a member of the Disciples' Church, in which body he was a bishop. His wife died in 1846, in Jasper county, Indiana, leaving four sons and four daughters.
Jordan Feazell, the fourth in the above family in order of birth, at the age of twenty- one years spent a season in Indiana, and re- turned to Ohio. He served his time as a miller, becoming accomplished at the trade, and followed it for many years. In 1837 he went to Holmes county, Ohio, and lived
therc until 1868, when he came to Adams county and purchased cighty acres of wild land in the Nodaway bottom, when toward the northwest it was, eight miles to the near- est neighbor. He and his sons now own less than 600 acres of the best bottom land in the county. They have raised as much as 110 bushels of corn to the acre there. Their blue-grass pasture would rival the best in Kentucky. Mr. Feazell's Hereford cattle are of the best strain and in fine condition. A beautiful sight is to see sixty-four white- faced yearlings in one herd on his place. At the head of the herd is Shiloh, No. 26,434, as good an animal as can be found in Adams county. In 1890 Mr. Feazell sold three car- loads of fat cattle, and he now has 162 head of cattle on the farm. "Strawberry Plain " is the fancy name of Mr. Feazell's placc, and it is indeed a beantiful home.
In his political sympathies Mr. Feazell is a Republican, and he is a wide-awake, pro- gressive citizen.
He was married February 8, 1849, to Miss Mary Harris, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, October 13, 1829, a daughter of John Harris, a native of Virginia, and Sarah, Winslow Harris, who was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, of New England an- cestry. Mrs. Feazell's parents died in Ohio, -the mother at the age of sixty-seven years, and the father at seventy-seven. They had ten children, of whom three sons and four daughters grew up. Mr. and Mrs. Feazell have had five children, and three are living, as follows: Sophronia Caroline Olds, who lives in Keya Paha county, Nebraska, and has six children; John F., who lives near his father, married Martha A. Bnrris, and has two daughters and a son,-Francis S., Thorn- ton Walter and Hattie; and Joseph D., mar- ried to Laura Blooms, who was born in Rich- land county, Ohio, and resides near by, and
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has one boy,-Elmer. Two children died,- Sarah Isabelle, the first born, at the age of ten years, and George, in his fourteenth year.
F. IVEY, proprietor of the Ivey store at Iveyville, is a dealer in general merchandise, and is recognized as one of the leading merchants of the county. Buy- ing his goods in large amounts, he is able to sell at very low prices. He started in busi- ness here in 1882, in a small way, and by strict economy and faithfulness to his cus- tomers his trade has gradually grown to large proportions, amounting now to about $12,000 annually. The building is a good two-story structure, 20 x 48 feet, with eighteen-foot posts. The wareroom is 20 x 40 feet, also with eighteen-foot posts, and two stories high. The upper story is a public hall. His dwell- ing is a fine two-story building in modern style and adjoining his store. Mr. Ivey is a thorough business man, deserving all he has made, both in money and in reputation.
He was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, April 15, 1856, the son of James Ivey, a na- tive of Cornwall, England, who was one of the earliest pioneers of that part of Wiscon- sin, when lead-mining was in its infancy. Mr. Ivey's mother, whose maiden name was Mary Eudy, was also born in Cornwall. Mr. Ivey was reared to farm life, and completed lis school days at the Normal at Plattville, Wisconsin. He resided in Grant county, that State, until July, 1881, when he came to Adams county. Here at Iveyville he has served as postmaster since 1884. Mail is received here daily from the stage between Corning and Clarinda. Mr. Ivey is a Re- publican, and a member of Instruction Lodge, No. 275, F. & A. M., at Corning.
He was married in December, 1882, to
Miss Anna M. Chappell, a native of Grant county, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Ed. Chappell, deceased, an early settler of that- county and an honorable citizen of Jasper township, this county, where he died, in No- vember, 1887. His widow still resides at Iveyville. Mr. Ivey and wife have four children-Jessie Julia, Glenu, Gertie and Dale.
OHN TIMMERMAN .- This gentleman is another one of the worthy citizens of Carl township who is deserving of rep- resentation in the history of his county.
Mr. Timmerman dates his birth in Shelby county, Illinois, Augut 7, 1841. His father, James Timmerman, was a native of Ohio and of German extraction, and liis mother, nee Maria Brown, also a native of Ohio, was a daughter of John Brown, a soldier of the war of 1812. James Timmerman and wife moved west and became pioneers of Illinois. The former died at Marietta, Fulton county, that State, about 1856. He was born in 1814. By trade he was a carpenter; in politics, a Whig, and in religion a Methodist. The mother died in Cowley county, Kansas, in 1879.
John Timmerman was reared on a farm in his native State, receiving a limited education in the common schools of Shelby and Mc- Donough counties. He was handy with tools, and worked at the carpenter's trade for some time. At the age of twenty-one he came to Monroe county, Iowa. In Novem- ber, 1864, he enlisted in Company F, Six- teenth Iowa Infantry Volunteers. He par- ticipated in the battles of Nashville, Tennessee, and Kingston, North Carolina, and while near Raleigh was struck by a spent ball. It passed through the clothing on his arın and dropped into his hand, stunning and
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disabling him for a short time. Ile was honorbly discharged at Davenport, Iowa.
In 1878 Mr. Timmerman came to Adams connty, bonght eighty acres of wild land, which he has improved, and now has a good farm and nice home. He has bought eighty acres more lately joining on the north.
Ile was married February 22, 1867, to Mahala Boggs, who was born in Monroe county, Iowa, July 13, 1845, and reared and educated there. Her father, Josiah C. Boggs, was born in Baxter county, Virginia, and was one of the first four pioneers to locate in Monroe county, Iowa. Her mother was Louisa Lemaster before her marriage. She was born in Point Pleasant, Virginia, and died when Mrs. Timmerman was twelve years old. The father died August 12, 1888. He was a man of means and had a fine farın of 300 acres. He and his wife had thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters. Jo- siah C. Boggs was the son of a slave-owner. He was for many years an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his political views were in harmony with Republi- can principles.
Mr. and Mrs. Timmerman liave two sons, viz .: James Henry, born April 16, 1868, and Charles, born September 10, 1878. Mr. Timmerman is a Republican, and a member of the J. H. Wagner Post, G. A. R.
ETER B. HUMMEL, a farmer of sec- tion 8, Carl township (postoffice Carl), was boru in Snyder county, Pennsylva- nia, in 1839, a son of Daniel Hummel, a na- tive of Snyder county, that State; his mother's maiden name was Susan Bastian, and she was born in Lycoming county, that State.
The subject of this sketch was left an or- phan when a small child, never knew a
mother's love or a father's care, and was " kicked and cuffed about " by a cold world. He served an apprenticeship at the black- sinitli's trade, at which he was employed un- til June 20, 1861, when he enlisted in the Twelfth Pennsylvania Reserve Veteran Corps, and afterward was transferred to the Forty- first Pennsylvania Volunteers, Third Brig- age,"and was assigned to the First Pennsyl- vania Artillery, Battery A, after serving eighteen months in the infanty. He served three years, participating in the battles of Drainsville, seven days before Richmond, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Bull Run, siege of Suffolk, etc. At one time he, with other men, had to lie in trenches for two weeks. At another time his horse was killed under him, and still an- other his ear-drum was thrust out; and from the latter injury he has not yet recovered. He was houorably discharged at Portsmouth, Virginia.
He then made his home in Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, until April 12, 1875, and then settled upon his present farm, where he owns 360 acres --- one of the best farms in Carl township. December 28, 1885, he moved to Corning, Iowa, and worked at his trade there, while renting his farm, until 1890, when he returned to the farm. On this place is a good frame house, 32 x 36 feet, and a story and a half high, with nine rooms and well furnished. The barn is 16 x 48 feet, granary 24 x 363 and one and a half stories high, sheds, feed lots, modern wind- mill, grove, orchard, etc. The water is forced through 1,200 feet of pipe, to a ninety-bar- rel tank near the house, whence it is distrib- uted about the premises through pipes. Mr. Hummel has some high-grade cattle and horses. " Fairlands" is the appropriate name of the beautiful home he occupies, where the family are surrounded by the comforts and
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luxuries of life. In his political sympathies Mr. Hummel is a Democrat, and he is a member of Lewellen Post, G. A. R., of Corn- ing. He was niade a Mason at Mt. Etna Lodge in 1888. He is also an Odd Fellow, belonging to Lodge No. 206, at Corning, and he is a member of the Encampment, Lodge No. 84, and a member of Lodge, No. 18, Daughters of Rebekah.
He was married in Snyder county, Penu- sylvania, November 1, 1864, to Miss Emeline Hartman, a daughter of George and Eliza- beth (Bikkhart) Hartman. Of their six chil- dren, three are living,-Charles P., Daniel B. and Clinton C. They lost three sons by death,-Archer, a babe; Henry A., who died by chemical poison at the age of twenty- three; he was an artist by occupation, and re- sided in Corning, Iowa.
B L. BONNETT was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, November 30, 1839. His parents, Simon and Marinda (Boggs) Bonnett, natives of Virginia, were married in Ohio. The Bonnetts are of Eng. lish origin, and grandfather Bonnett was a soldier in the war of 1812. Grandfather Ezekiel Boggs was a native of the Old Do- minion. B. L. Bonnett is one of a family of three sons and three daughters. The mother died January 25, 1879, at the age of sixty years, and the father is now living at Gam- bier, Knox county, Ohio, and is classed with the octogenarians. He has been a farmer all his life; is a Republican in politics and a Methodist in religion.
The subject of our sketch was a lad of twelve years when his father moved to Knox county, Ohio, and there he grew up on a farm and received his education in the pub- lic schools. During the war he enlisted, 1 father of our subject married Miss Mary,
November 13, 1861. in Company K, Forty- third Ohio Infantry, and served mnost cred- itably until January 15, 1865, when he was honorably discharged at Pocataligo, South Carolina. Returning to Ohio via New York and Buffalo, he spent six weeks in Mount Vernon, and then came west. After living four years in Muscatine county, Iowa, he sold out his interests there and came to Adams county. In 1871 he settled on wild prairie land in section 10, Lincoln township, where he now resides. Here he owns eighty acres of well improved land.
Mr. Bonnett was married in Knox county, Ohio, February 27, 1860, to Jane Horn, who was born and reared in Knox county. Her parents, Isaac and Pheobe (Ulery) Horn, na- tives of Pennsylvania and residents of Knox county, Ohio, reared a family of nine chil- dren. Mr. and Mrs. Bonnett have two chil- dren, viz .: Luella A., born October 22, 1865, is the wife of Joseph Krouth, of Lincoln township, this county, and has one daughter, Clara May, and Elmer E. Ellsworth, born March 11, 1869, who resides with his par- ents.
Mr. Bonnett is a Republican, and a mem- ber of the G. A. R., Jake Miller Post, No. 484, of which he is Quartermaster.
OSEA WILSON, a respected and pros- perous farmer of section 35, Nodaway township (postoffice Brooks), was born April 1, 1818, in Champaign county, Olio, the son of John Wilson, a native of Green- brier county, Virginia. The latter was a son of John Wilson, Sr., who was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, came to this country and served in the Revolutionary war, suffer- ing many indescribable hardships. The
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
danghter of David Wilson, of an old Vir- ginia family and of Irish ancestry. He (John Wilson) moved with his family to Ohio in 1815, and had to flee a couple of times for protection against the Indians. In his younger days he had learned the shoe- maker's trade, but was a farmer all his life. He died while on a trip to Kentucky, and his wife died in Macon county, Illinois. IIe was a Democrat, and in religion belonged to the Primitive Baptist Church. They reared two children, viz .: Euphemia, who died in Decatur, Macon county, Illinois, and the subject whose name lieads this sketch. The latter was reared on a farm. In the year 1833 tlie family moved to Boone county, In- diana, and in 1856 to Illinois. The year 1855 Mr. Wilson entered Government land here in Adams county, and intended to settle upon it; but various matters interfered, and finally the great war came on, and he did not arrive here until 1866, when he broke the first furrow on the land. He continued to improve the farm until it was brought to its high state of perfection. His nine acres of 350 trees constitute a splendid orchard, and he has also an abundance of small fruits. He is a model farmer. In his political sympa- thies he is a Democrat, and in religion a member of the Christian Church, as well as his wife and children.
Mr. Wilson was married in Boone county, Indiana, in 1851, to Miss Massa Ann Greene, who was born in Preble county, Ohio, a daughter of David Davis and Elizabeth (Sut- ton) Greene. The seven children are: David G., who is married and lives on the home farm; William Orus, residing in Omaha, Nebraska; Lewis Franklin, living in Iroquois county, Illinois; Mary Elizabeth, wife of Daniel McMillen, of Antelope county, Ne- qraska; Euphemia Emeline, wife of Roy Newhouse, of the same county, and Walter
Scott and Anna, at home. One son, named Ulysses Grant, died at the age of five years.
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A. AVRILL was born in Oakland Norfolk county, Canada, May 9, 1838.
He is a son'of Thomas and Frances (Flewelling) Avrill, the former a native of Connecticut, of English ancestry, and the latter of New York, of Welsh extraction. The youth of our subject was spent on a farm where he did the lighter work which falls to the lot of a farmer's son, and attended the common school. At the age of fifteen years he was engaged as clerk in a dry-goods and grocery store, and followed this business for seven years. In 1863 he came to Iowa, and January 4, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, Sixteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and went to the defence of the flag of his country. IIe participated in many battles and sieges; was witlı Sherman on his march to the sea, back through the Carolinas to Washington, where he took part in the grand review. He was mustered out of the service at Louisville, Kentucky, and was honorably discharged at Davenport, Iowa, July 17, 1865. He then went to De Witt, Clinton county, Iowa, and engaged in the practice of dentistry, for which profession he had fitted himself previous to entering the army. He remained in this place for five years, after which he practiced in Ottumwa for two years. In 1873 he came to Corning, Adams county, Iowa, and again engaged in the practice of his profession. In connection he has been interested in the sale of agricultural implements; he also owns and conducts a large stock farm three miles from Corning. In his undertakings he has been highly successful, and by his honorable and upright dealings he has won the confidence and esteem of the entire community .
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Dr. Avrill was first married in October, 1866, to Miss Elizabeth Shoemaker, by which union seven children were born, six of whom still survive: Ella F., the wife of W. F. Mc- Gill; Adello, chief clerk in the loan depart- ment of the Globe Savings Bank, Chicago; May, Florence, Grace and Frank. Mrs. Avrill departed this life January 27, 1881. The Doctor was married a second time September 5, 1881, to Mrs. Helen Alexander, a daughter of William and Jane (Jones) Smith, and a native of Steuben county, New York. By her first marriage Mrs. Avrill had three children: John, Jennie and George. Jennie is the wife of John M. Widner, acting president of the First National Bank of Corning; John is engaged in the furniture business in the same town, and George is a railroad employee. By the last marriage there are two children,-Ida Louise and Wallace S. The Doctor is a member of Eagle Lodge, No. 27, F. & A. M., and has also taken the thirty-second degree in Scottish- rite Masonry. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically he affili- ates with the Republican party.
M. STANLEY, breeder and dealer in thoroughbred stock, has been identified with the interests of Adams county since 1871. He is a native of Ohio, born in Columbiana county, January 17, 1845, and is a son of Moses and Hannah (Gruwell) Stanley, natives of Ohio, of English ancestry. In 1853 the family emigrated to Iowa and settled in Johnson county, where the father engaged in farming. Mrs. Stanley was a daughter of Timothy and Ann (Pinnick) Gruwell, who were of French descent. She died in Johnson county, Iowa, in April, 1858, at the age of thirty-two years. She
was the mother of seven children, four of whom survive: L. M., the subject of this notice; W. G., L. E. and J. S. In 1860 Mr. Stanley removed to Mahaska county, Iowa, for the purpose of giving his children better educational advantages. They resided there until 1864, when they moved to Warren county, Iowa. In 1881 they went to Chase county, Kansas, and the father still resides there.
Our subject was eight years of age when his parents removed to lowa. His early edu- cation was obtained in the district schools, and completed at the S --- - Seminary at Indianola, Iowa. At the age of eighteen years he began to teach school, and followed this calling for eight terms. He was married January 19, 1870, to Miss Rebecca Maxwell, a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Alfred and Lydia (Hayworth) Maxwell, of English birth. May 6, 1872, Mr. Stanley and wife arrived in Adams county and settled on 240 acres of wild land in Grant township. Their labors have been rewarded, as they now own one of the finest farms in the community, but it has been no light task to reduce it all to cultivation and make the necessary im- provements. In 1886 Mr. Stanley took charge of the office of county Auditor, to which he had been elected in the fall of 1885. In 1887 he was re-elected to the office, serv- ing the whole four years with great credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the public. In 1887 he purchased the home he now occupies. It is situated in the suburbs of Corning, and he is devoting his whole attention to the breeding of short-horn cattle and Poland-China hogs. His herd of cattle are as fine as can be found in southwestern Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Stanley are the parents of five children: Carl W., Claud M., Arthur, Maude, who died at the age of nine months,
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BIOGRAPHIICAL HISTORY OF
and Harry M. They were both reared in the Society of Friends, but are now acceptable members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Stanley is a member of King Arthur Lodge, No. 344, K. P. Politically he is in- dependent, but he is an ardent supporter of the temperance cause.
W. BEESON, the present County At- torney of Montgomery county, is a brother of Allen Beeson, a well known pioneer lawyer of Red Oak, where he located in 1863. He now resides at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he is engaged in the prac- tice of his profession. IIe is a native of Highland county, Ohio, as is also the subject of this sketch. The latter was born in 1848, the son of Jeliu Beeson, a native of the same county, born in 1807, and died at the age of sixty-seven years. The parental grandfather of Mr. Beeson was born at Guilford Court House, North Carolina, and was a pioneer of Ilighilaud county, Ohio. Our subject was one of a family of fifteen children, seven sons and eight daughters, and received his primary education at the public schools, afterward graduating at Hedding College, at Abingdon, Knox county, Illinois. He was engaged in the profession of teaching for a number of years, and was for four years principal of the school at Maquon, Illinois. His career as a teacher was comprised be- tween the years 1871 and 1876. He first came to Red Bluff in 1867, for the purpose of pursuing the study of law with his brother, who was then in practice in this city, but deciding that a more thorough literary education would be a better founda- tion for the legal profession, he went to Illi- nois and pursued a college course as above stated. Mr. Beeson was admitted to the bar
at Red Oak in 1877, but afterward located at Hastings, Nebraska, and after a few months returned to Iowa and located in Clarke county, where he continued un- til 1878, and then returned to Red Oak. Ile is now (1891) serving his third term as County Attorney, having been first elected in 1886. His long continuance in the office he now occupies is an evidence of the confidence in his integrity and ability on the part of the public. He is a gentleman of culture, and an able and successful lawyer.
Mr. Beeson was married at Maquon, Illi- nois, in 1872, to Miss G. Grove, a native of Highland county, Ohio, and they have one daughter, Bessie, born in 1873. Politically Mr. Beeson is a Republicau, and strongly attached to the principles of that great national party.
HOMAS S. H. DOUGHERTY, a farmer and stock-raiser of section 10, Union township, Adams county, and also president of the Iowa State Savings Bank of Creston, was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, October 22, 1842, the son of Matthew (deceased) and Susan (Min- ary) Dougherty, natives of Pennsylvania. The parents had thirteen children, ten of whom are now living, namely: Joseph, John, Thomas, Matthias, Lemuel, Wilson, Sarah, Susan, Mary and Martha. One son, William, died when fifty years of age.
The subject of this sketch was reared on a farm and received a common-school education, after which he taught school a few years in Pennsylvania and Illinois. He served three months in the late war, in the Pennsylvania State Militia. He went to Sangamon county, Illinois, in the spring of 1863, where he taught school a few years in that and Logan county, after which he settled on a farm in
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