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 45
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 45
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Mr. and Mrs. Shafroth are the parents of five children: Emma M., Mary, the wife of Rev. W. C. McClelland, of Nodaway town- ship; Cora, Lonis and Clara. The family were deeply bereaved by the death of the wife and mother, which occurred January 10, 1882, at the age of thirty-seven years.
Mr. Shafrothi is a member of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic party.
M. CASHMAN, farmer and stock- raiser, has been identified with the interests of Adams county since the spring of 1877. He was born in Clinton county, Ohio, July 28, 1843, and is a son of George and Rebecca J. (Murphy) Cashman; there were twelve children in the family, of which he is the seventh. The father was a native of the State of Pennsylvania, and of German parentage; tlie mnothier was born in Ohio, and was a daughter of Jacob Murphy, one of the early settlers of Clinton county, Ohio, where he lived and died upon a farm pre-empted from the Governinent. The parents of Mr. Cashman died in Knox county, Illinois, the father, at the age of eighty-one years, and the mother, at the age of seventy- three. He was reared to the life of a farmer; at the age of nine years he went with his parents to Knox county, Illinois, where his youth was spent in assisting on the farm, and attending the district school. He remained under the paternal roof until he was about twenty-five years of age. He was married December 23, 1871, to Miss Lydia A. Harper,
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a native of Knox conuty, Illinois, and a daughter of Daniel Harper, who was one of the first settlers of Knox county. One child, Sarah Maud, blessed this union. In 1877, March 9, Mr. Cashman came to Adams connty, Iowa, and purchased 320 acres of land in a wild state; he at once began the task of placing it nnder cultivation. At that time it was thought that tame grass would not grow on the prairie, but Mr. Cashman, firm in his conviction that such was not the case, sent to Illinois for seed, and the result of this experiment was the first tame grass grown in the county of Adams. He also brought a car-load of short-horn cattle to his farm, and has since made a specialty of rais- ing live-stock of a high grade. His farm consists of 240 acres of fine land, well adapted to the raising of live-stock.
Mr. Cashman was a second time married, in March, 1882, to Imogene Manrose, a na- tive of Fulton county, Illinois, and a daughter of Burman Manrose, a native of Ohio, and a pioneer of Fulton county, Illinois. One child, Florence M., has been born of this union.
Mr. Cashman is a member of the Farmers' Alliance.
eighty-nine years of age. His wife was be- fore her marriage Miss Jane Wills. In 1834 Samuel J. Moore and wife left Kentucky and moved to Putnam county, Indiana, where the mother died in 1838. The father subse- quently went to Rising Sun, on the Ohio river, and from there came to Marion county, Iowa, where he died at the age of eighty- three years. He was by trade a cooper and wheelwright. Of their six sons and one daughter, only the subject of our sketch and his sister are now living. The latter, Sarah Strahan, is seventy-eight years of age. One son, Robert P. Moore, was State Attorney of Kentucky. His death occurred at Cincin- nati, Ohio.
Benjamin Moore was fourteen at the time of his going to Indiana, and in that State he grew to manhood. In 1840 he came to Iowa and remained one season in Des Moines county. In the fall of that year he settled in Henderson county, Illinois, where he lived until 1856, and during that time was deputy Sheriff four years. His next move was to Ad- ams county, Iowa. He first lived in Washing- ton township, then in Douglas, and in 1883 settled on the farm of fifty acres in Quincy township, where he now lives. His place is well improved with good' buildings, and has one of the finest orchards in the county. He has 500 trees in bearing, of which seventy- five are cherry and thirty are apricot trees. He also has a large variety of small fruits.
B ENJAMIN MOORE was born in Flem- ing county, Kentucky, August 28, 1821. His father, S. J. Moore, served in the war of 1812. He was a native of Pennsyl- Mr. Moore was married in Henderson county, Illinois, in 1845, to Margaret I. Spencer, a native of Bourbon county, Ken- tucky, daughter of Alfred and Elinor Spencer, both natives of Kentucky. Mrs. Moore, however, was reared in Knox county, Illi- neis. They have nine children living, viz .: Robert A., an attorney of Kearney, Ne- braska; Winfield Scott, Lincoln township, vania, and was a son of Amos Moore, who was born in Scotland, and served in the Revolutionary war. The mother of our sub- ject was Jane (Jamison) Moore, a native of Pennsylvania. Her father, Lord John Jam- ison, was born in Scotland, and received a collegiate education there. Atter coming to America he was engaged as a teacher in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and lived to be | this connty; Sarah Ellen, wife of John Har-
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low, of Kinginan, Kansas; Alfonzo, a lawyer of Callaway, Nebraska; Ollie J., wife of L. A. Brittan, Donglas township, this county; Curtis L., also of Douglas township; Nancy A., wife of Ed. Leach, Corning, Iowa; Alfred J., a postal clerk, and Arthur E., at home. Four of their children are deceased: Benja- min, who died at the age of ten years; Mon- roe, who died at the age of fonrteen monthis, and two children that died in infancy.
Few men in the county are better known than Benjamin Moore. For forty years he las acted as auctioneer, and for eight years lie was Justice of the Peace. His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Ever interested in religious matters, he has served as class-leader and Sabbath-school superintendent for many years.
ILLIAM THOMAS' livery and sale stables, Red Oak, Iowa, were estab lished here in 1879, and have since changed hands. It is now one of the leading popular livery institutions of Red Oak. For three years previous to the present proprie- sorship, J. P. Thomas, the father of William, was the owner and manager. The barn is located a square east of Mr. Thomas' resi- dence, is 25 x 112 feet in dimensions, and the buggy room is fifty feet square. Every department is neat and well-arranged. Mr. Thomas keeps twenty head of good drivng horses, for all classes of drivers, and splendid carriages, both single and double, and his turnouts are second to none in style and comfort.
Mr. Thomas came to this county in 1876. He was born in Louisa county, Iowa, in 1858, the son of J. T. Thomas, a well-known citizen of Red Oak; was reared to farm work and was married in January, 1880, to Mary
A. Hughes, and they have two children: Etta and Louie. Mr. Thomas is a good business man, accommodating and popular. He is a member of Lodge No. 120, I. O. O. F.
OBERT DIVINE, of Red Oak, Iowa proprietor of Cold Springs, is one of the reliable, enterprising, fine stock men of Red Oak, and one of the well-known citizens of the county, having settled here in Febrn- ary, 1875, where he has since resided and been identified with the interests of the county.
He was born in Ireland in March, 1844, and is a son of William and Mary (Kelley) Divine. He was nine or ten years of age when his father emigrated to America and settled in New York. He grew to manhood in Washington county, New York, being reared a farmer and receiving his education in the public schools.
He was married January 12, 1870, in Washington county, to Miss Margaret Wil- son, daughter of William and Jane (Wier) Wilson. She was born in Ireland, but when two years of age hier parents came to New York; she was reared and educated in Wash- ington county, New York.
Mr. Divine resided in New York until 1872, when he came to Warren county, Illi- nois. He resided near Kirkwood some three years, and then came to this county. He bought eighty acres of land in Grant town- ship, where he remained five years. He then sold the farm and rented land one year. He purchased 160 acres three and a half miles from Red Oak, which he kept two years. He then sold eighty acres to a neighbor and ex- changed the other eighty acres for land in Nance county, Nebraska. His next pnr- chase of land was 160 acres in Red Oak
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township. This he traded to John Hayes for . the farm where he now resides-Cold Springs. The place contains 160 acres of land well improved. It is situated one mile from the city limits. Mr. Divine has a good frame house, sitnated on a natural and pleasant building site, from which Red Oak can be seen in the distance. He has two good barns, one 56 x 72, well arranged for stock and feed, the other 24 x 30, yards, sheds and feed lots. There are several good springs on the farm from which it derives its name; there is a modern windmill for grinding feed and pumping water; water for the house is brought by pipes to a reservoir near and is conveyed to the honse.
Mr. Divine, though but a short time in the business of raising shorthorn cattle, lias a good start, having secured some of Jolin Hayes' cattle.
Mr. Divine and wife have nine children, viz .: William James, Ella J., Andrew J., Robert H., George A., Mary Gracie, Minnie Myrtle, Maggie Belle, and Nancy May.
Politically lie is a Republican.
He and his wife and three children are members of the United Presbyterian Church of Red Oak; he is one of the active mem- bers of the official board and an elder in the church. He is also an active worker in the Sabbath-school. He is yet in the prime of life, intelligent and one of the esteemed men of the county.
ILLIAM CLARK is a member of the firm of Clark & Co., proprietors of the River Roller Mills near Red Oak. This mill was established about 1870, by Samnel Wheeler, an old-time miller of this county. It was later operated for some time by J. J. Monk. Mr. Clark leased the mnill in 1882 and afterward bought out the
owners. The building is a substantial one, forty feet square and abont forty feet high, has a donble set of rollers, with a capacity of eighty barrels a day, of first-class flour. The company therefore has a large local trade, shipping some to adjacent towns and some even to Chicago. The products of their mill give the best satisfaction everywhere they are used. The son, E. E. Clark, a practical mil- ler of nine years' experience, is a partner.
Mr. William Clark, the senior member of the firmn, came here in the spring of 1869. He was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1838. a son of James Clark, who was a native of Ireland and came to America when a young man, and was married in Pennsylvania, to Miss Adaline Bittinger, a native of tliat State. The father was a con- tractor and builder of pikes and public roads. Mr. Clark was reared in Adams and Franklin counties, of the Keystone State, until sixteen years of age. At the age of eighteen he went to Mt. Carroll, Illinois, where he was engaged in the wood trade and in the grocery business. In 1869 he came to Montgomery county, and opened up a new farm west of Red Oak; later he was engaged as a brick mason in this city, and afterward in the butch- er's trade, and finally, in 1882, he entered the milling business. He also has a good farm and is a successful feeder of live-stock and dealer in the same.
February 7, 1861, at Mt. Carroll, Illinois, Mr. Clark was married to Miss Maria J. Adair, a native of Pennsylvania who was reared at Mt. Carroll, and they have four children, viz .: E. E., who is in company with his father; F. H., a clerk in the postoffice at Omaha; Jesse N., at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa; and Nellie, at home. The family lost one by death, their fourth child, at the age of three years.
In his political sympathies, Mr. Clark is a
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
radical Republican; in religion he is a memn ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he is steward, class-leader and Sunday- school worker; and his wife and three children are also members of the same church. Mr. Clark is in the prime of life, intelligent, cordial and highly respected.
AST END LIVERY, FEED AND SALE STABLES, of Elliott, Iowa; M. Lindsay, proprietor. This is the popular and leading livery institution of the place, where the proprietor keeps a sufficient supply of driving horses, single and double carriages, etc., and indeed everything that is needed for good turnouts. Mr. Lindsay came from Kansas and started in business here in 1889, buying out Joseph Humphries, who had had the place for a year. The barn, which is a good one and located on Main street near the hotel and depot, and conveni- ent to all the business houses, was built by Martin Soddars, 56 x 100 feet in dimensions and well arranged. Mr. Lindsay thoroughly understands the business, being withal kind and obliging.
He was born in Mercer county, Pennsyl- vania, April 1, 1846, a son of Henry and Sarah (Hazen) Lindsay, both natives of that State, who emigrated to Iowa when our sub- ject was a babe, settling in Jackson county. When he became a young man he visited Erie county, Pennsylvania, and resided two years at Edinboro. Coming to Jackson county, he lived there until 1871, when he moved to Kansas, settling in Ottawa county, as a pioneer, where he took a homestead. After improving two or three farms there until 1888 he came and took his present sitna- tion.
He was married at Minneapolis, Kansas,
in 1878, to Miss Elizabeth Little, who had been born and brought up in Ottawa county, . Kansas, the daughter of Hugh R. Little, one of the first settlers of that county. They have had five children, three of whom are now living: Hugh Ben, Chester Milo and Archie J. Mr. Lindsay is one of the reliable and popular men of Elliott, a Republican, a member of the Masonic order, Lodge No. 493, and of the Christian Church.
IRAM KENT, an enterprising farmer of section 7, Prescott township (post- office Corning), was born in Putnam county, Indiana, April 20, 1845, the son of Moses and Dolly (Miller) Kent, natives of Vermont. The parents were married in New York State, near Buffalo, and afterward moved to Putnam county, Indiana. In 1856 the Kent family moved to Poweshiek county, Iowa, where the mother died in 1868 and the father in 1881. He was a farmer all his life. Politically he was a Republican.
Mr. Hiram Kent resided with his parents until 1882, when he purchased wild prairie land in Adams county, and he is rapidly im- proving it, having already one of the best farms in the neighborhood; it embraces 111 acres. The appurtenances-residence, yard, grove, barn, wells,-are sufficient in number and in good order. The house is 14 x 24 feet in dimensions, with an L 14 x 16 feet,-both parts being a story and a half high. In re- spect to national issues Mr. Kent is a Repub- lican. Heis a genial gentleman.
He was married in June, 1863, to Eliza- beth Viretta Erip, a worthy partner for life. She was born in Missouri, a daughter of William Erip, a native of Maryland. Her mother's maiden name was Martha Arbuckle, and she died during the childhood of Mrs.
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Kent. Mrs. Kent was reared in Poweshiek county, Iowa. Her father lives at Marengo, Iowa, being now eighty-one years old. Mr. and Mrs. Kent have three children, namely: Clara Florence, wife of John D. Bagenstos of Poweshiek county; Mary Ann, who married Ellsworth James, and is now living in Pres- cott township; and Benjamin, at home. Three children died, viz .: Laura Isabelle, at the age of five and a half months; Cornelius Allen, when thirteen and a half months old; and Clinton Oscar, who died at the age of two years and four months.
W. SCHRADER, a farmer of Nod. away township (postoffice Nodaway), was born in Germany, May 10, 1845, a son of Charles and Mary (Traft) Schrader, both natives of Germany. Mr. Schrader, whose name introduces this sketch, came to America in 1858, with two older brothers, the parents having died when F. W. was seven years old. They first settled at Buffalo, New York, then in the country near by. Young Schrader received a good education, in botlı the English and the German lan- guages. In 1871 he came to Taylor county, Iowa, and cleared a tract of land from the brush and grubs, making of it a fine farm. In 1882 he sold that place and purchased eighty acres of wild land a mnile froni Nod- away station, where he now lies, and which place is now one of the best farms in the vicinity. In 1883 he built a modern resid- ence, 24 x 28 feet and two stories high, sur- rounded with beautiful scenery. All the farm appurtenances are sufficient in number and in good order.
In his views of national policy Mr. Schrader is a Democrat, and, with his wife and three
of the children, he is a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church.
At the age of twenty-one years he married Miss Mary Barron, a native of Pennsylvania, bnt reared and educated in Erie county, New York, whither her parents liad moved during her childhood. Before her marriage she was a school-teacher. Her father was Ray R. Barron, a native of Pennsylvania; her mother's maiden name was Lncy Knowlton. Mr. and Mrs. Schrader have four children, namely: Arthur A., in a wholesale house at Creston, Iowa; Cora Estella, a successful teacher; Delia Cordelia Cynthia and Herbert.
He was married in 1870, in Ralls county, Missouri, to Miss Mary Pierson, a woman of intelligence and of a good family, born in New Jersey, a daughter of Morris and Mary Ann Pierson. They have three children: Morris A., Alice and Robert S.
Mr. Schrader is a Republican in his political views, and a member of Meyerhoff Post, No. 466, G. A. R .; formerly he was a member of Thomas Lundy Post at Villisca, and he be- longs to the Methodist Episcopal Church at Nodaway, to which religious body his wife and daughter also belong.
OHN F. HUMBERT, one of the prog- ressive farmers of Jasper township. has been a resident of Adams ounty since 1854. He was born in France, January 4, 1837, and is a son of John and Margarett (Aubry) Humbert. At the age of thirteen years he came with his father to America, landing in the city of New Orleans. There he remained four years, spending a portion of the time in attending the common schools. In 1854, as before stated, he came to Adams county, where he assisted his father in clear- ing up a farm; he resided under the parental
1
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY OF
roof until he had attained his majority. He then went to Hancock county, Illinois, but after a year and a half he returned again to Adams county. He and his brother pur- chased his father's farm, and also the live- stock; as they had little means to pay down, they had a struggle for some time, but by hard work and good management they met their obligations as they became due; they lived economically, and were soon out of debt.
Mr. Humbert was united in marriage January 22, 1862, to Miss Susan Jane Mc- Mahan, a native of Johnson county, Missouri, and a daughter of Moses and Mary (Taylor) McMahan. The parents were formerly from Tennessee, but removed to Missouri in 1853. After his marriage our esteemed subject set- tled on the farm he had bought of his father, where he resided for a period of five years. In 1867 he traded it for a tract of eighty acres of unimproved land, the residence being a small log cabin. This place he improved, and as his means would permit he invested in other land, until he now owns eighty acres in section 11, eighty acres in section 16, and forty acres in section 10, all of which is well improved and under excellent cultivation.
Mr. and Mrs. Humbert are the parents of five children: Mary, the wife of R. J. Mahe, of Corning; Margaret, wife of Peter Gerard, of Mercer township; Frank, a farmer in this township; Samuel, also a farmer, and William. Mr. Humbert has served as school director for several years, is a self-made man, and a good citizen in every sense of the word.
AMES J. HAMILTON, one of the well- known pioneer farmers of section 34, Nodaway township (postoffice Nodaway), was born in county Tyrone, Ireland, on
March 23, 1823, the son of James and Jane (Fife) Hamilton, natives of the same county. Mr. Hamilton, our subject, was reared to farin life in his native conntry. In 1841 he emigrated to th+ New World, sailing from Londonderry, Ireland, to St. John, New Brunswick, thence down the coast to Boston and to New York, where he obtained work on a farm. During the war he enlisted in Com- pany A, One Hundred and Sixty-eighth New York Infantry Volunteers, and served about a year, being in action in ten different States. His company went to New York, Philadel- phia, Baltimore, Yorktown and in the raid after General Lee made an attempt to enter Pennsylvania. He was honorably discharged, and returned to his home in Orange county. New York. He lived there until 1867, and then came to Iowa and purchased eighty acres of land, where only a few acres had been broken and a log-cabin built. This constitutes a portion of his present fine farm of 160 acres, well improved and furnished with all the appurtenances, in good order, essential to a first-class, rural home. The residence is a modern frame house, 16 x 24, with L 14 x 20, and one and one-half stories high; the barn is 16 x 40, and the granary 14 x 16. Native shade-trees and an orchard also grace the premises. With reference to national questions Mr. Hamilton takes Dem- ecratic views, but for local offices he votes for the " best men." He and his wife belong to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and are exemplary members of society, kind and hospitable to all.
Mr. Hamilton was married in Orange county, New York, at the age of thirty-five years, to Miss Sarah Jane Kelley, a worthy help-mate to her husband. She was born, reared and educated in Ireland, a daughter of James Kelley, who was killed by an accident when she was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Ham-
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ilton have an adopted son, named William Lawrence Hamilton.
M. REICHARDT, a prominent farmer residing on section 22, Nodaway township, was born at Altenberg, Saxony, February 4, 1852, the third of the four sons of Godfrey and Ida Wilhelmine (Kuenstler) Reichardt, natives also of Saxony. His father died January 2, 1877, in Saxony, and his mother is still living, aged sixty-nine years. From the age of fourteen to seven- teen years he served an apprenticeship at the glazier's trade, and then emigrated to Amer- ica, landing at New York, October 30, 1869. After spending six weeks visiting an aunt he came to Bureau county, Illinois, where he worked upon a farm and attended school, according to the season, for about four years, when, in 1880, he came to Adams county. For the first three years here he made his home with his brother, A. F. He then married and settled upon his present farm, which he had bought in 1875, and which is one of the best in the neighborhood. The house, 14 x 24, one and one-half stories high, is erected upon a beautiful site and sur- rounded with a fine lawn, ornamented with trees, etc., and a barn and out-buildings, etc., are well arranged and in good trim, all con- stituting good evidence of the thrift of the proprietor. On national questions Mr. Reichardt is a zealous Republican. In re- ligion he was reared a Lutheran, and his wife . Methodist. Mr. Reichardt is a well in- formed citizen, and frank and cordial in his manner.
He was married November 29, 1883, in Jasper township, this county, to Miss Eliza- beth Storch, a popular and successful teacher, born in Tioga county, Pennsylvania, a
daughter of Leonard and Mary (Krieger) Storch. By this marriage there are two sons, namely: Chester Otto, born July 29, 1886, and Albert Godfrey, February 22, 1890. One child died in infancy.
AMES WHITE, a well-to-do farmer of section 35, Nodaway township, was born in Muskingum county, Ohio, near Zanes- ville, May 17, 1849, a son of Alfred White, a favorably-known pioneer of that county who was born in Pennsylvania, of English ancestry. Mr. Alfred White was married in Ohio to Eliza Devoll, who died when the son, our subject, was a lad of fifteen years old. Afterward he was again married. He improved a farm of 360 acres, in Nodaway township, and a few years before his death moved to Brooks, where he died.
Mr. James White, the subject of this sketch, was reared on a farm in Nodaway township, obtaining his schooling in the pioneer log-schoolhouse. After his marriage he left his parental home and worked rented land three years; then, in 1859, purchased ninety acres of his present farm of Milton Ritchie, who had improved the place. Since then he has added by further purchases, until hie now owns 250 acres. His home farm contains 130 acres, and there are 120 acres in two lots ou section 36. Twenty acres are timber land. His home .place is one of the finest farms in Adams county. A good stream of water runs through the farm. The residence, barn and other buildings and appurtenances all show the prosperity and good judgment of the owner. In his po- litical views he has always been a Democrat, and as a citizen he is one of the solid men of Adams county. Mrs. White belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
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