USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > Biographical history of Pottawattamie County, Iowa > Part 80
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senior member of the present firm. The barn, 42 × 80 feet and two stories high, was built in 1882 or 1883 by Charles Smith.
Mr. Sullivan was born near Muncie, Dela- ware County, Indiana, in 1860, a son of Samnel and Eliza Sullivan. He was brought up on a farm; lived some nine months in Clarke County, Ohio; then came to Boone County, Iowa, and two years afterward, in January, 1878, he arrived in Pottawattamie County, first settling in Silver Creek Town- ship. Purchasing a farm, he engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1884 he came to Macedonia, and in 1886 purchased the livery stock already mentioned. He is a popular liveryman and is a genial citizen. He was married in 1884, at Oskaloosa, Iowa, to Miss Ida Stevens, and they have one child, Florence.
J. P. Virtne, the junior member of the above firm, was born in 1857, in Fulton Connty, Illinois, a son of Thomas and Mary Virtue; was reared upon an Illinois farm. He is a member of Hillsdale Lodge, No. 331, I. O. O. F., and Ruby Lodge, No. 444, F. & A. M., at Macedonia. He is a genial bachelor who looks upon the bright side of life and is a favorite among his acquaintances.
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YE BROTHERS & CO., comprising Willoughby Dye, Sylvester Dye, Henry Kennedy and Elmer E. Smith, consti- tute the pioncer and leading mercantile house of Macedonia, their establishment being one of the most popular stores in the western part of Pottawattamie County. Willoughby Dye, the senior member, started in business at old Macedonia, in July, 1876, as a mem- ber of the firm of Heinsteiner & Dye. In 1878 Mr. Dye purchased his partner's in- terest, and in 1880 a partnership was formed
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OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
with his brother, Sylvester Dye. In Feb- rnary, 1878, Henry Kennedy and Elmer E. Smith were admitted into the firm. Their store building, 44 x 90, was ereeted in 1882. They keep a very large and fine stock of general merchandise, dry goods and groceries, boots and shoes, etc., doing a business of $40,000 to $50,000 per annum. They are, of course, extensively and favorably known. Willoughby Dye & Co. are the leading man- ufacturers of brick and tile in the eastern part of the county, making 350,000 brick each year and employing six to eight men during the season of business. Their works were established in 1882.
Mr. Willoughby Dye was born in Lee County, Iowa, April 14, 1852, a son of Henry Dye, who settled in Iowa in 1839. Ilis mother's name before marriage was Jane Mickelwaite, a native of England. IIe was brought up on a farm and completed his school education at the Academy at Fort Madison. He then taught school for a time, including two terms in Pottawattamie Conn- ty. Coming here first in 1871, he returned to Lee County, and in 1863 came again to this county. He taught school until Feb- ruary, 1874, when he obtained a situation with D. L. Heimscheimer, at Glenwood, Iowa, with whom he formed in 1876 the partnership, ete., as before stated. Though yet in the prime of life Mr. Dye has had large experience in life and as a business man and citizen he stands high in the esti- mation of the people. Being very liberal, with his purse as well as in spirit, he has done more than any other man in the build- ing up of the village of Macedonia. Politi- cally he is a Democrat; and he is at present the Worshipful Master of the Ruby Lodge, No. 415, F. & A. M .; and he is also a mem- ber of subordinate lodge, No. 421, I. O. O. F.
He was married October 1, 1879, at Mace-
donia, to Miss Maggie Reinund, who was boru in Cedar County, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Dye have four children : Charles, Harry L., Irolene and an infant son not yet named.
OSHUA ALSTON came to this county in 1855, where he has since resided. He was born in Lancashire, England, February 20, 1837, the son of Joshua and Margaret (Wilson) Alston, also natives of Lancashire, England. They had five chil- dren, four daughters and one son. Joshna was a lad of six years when his father died, and his mother lived until 1878, when she died, at the age of sixty-six years. Joshua was reared in his native land, and was mar- ried September 29, 1856, at Bolton, Lanea- shire, England, to Miss Martha Bichno, who was born in Cambridge, England, the daugb- ter of Joseph Biehno. In October following the marriage, Mr. Alston sailed from Liver- pool to New York in a sailing vessel, being twenty eight days on the ocean, and arriving in New York on the day of Buchanan's elec- tion as President of the United States. From New York he went to Cleveland, Ohio, where he obtained a situation on a dairy farm, and afterward worked in the rolling mills. From there he moved to Lee County, Iowa, near Fort Madison, where he bought land very elleap and sold it at higher rates, thus doing quite a real-estate business. He sold his in- terest in Lee County, and bought land in Davis County, Iowa, near Bloomfield, where he remained until 1885, when he came to this county. He has bought and sold many farms here besides his own, which is well stocked, and located two and a half miles from Carson.
Mr. and Mrs. Alston have three children: Margaret, wife of David Snapp, of this
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
township; Joseph W., who is married and lives in Carson Township; and Nancy A., the wife of Charles Fredericks, of Lee County, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Alston are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and politically he is a Republican.
E. DURIIAM, of section 26, Carson Township, came to this county in 1881, where he has since resided. He was born in Hart County, Kentucky, January 10, 1826, the son of John and Mourning (Burris) Durham. The father was a native of Albemarle County, Virginia, and was a son of David Durham, of Virginia, and was a soldier in the war of 1812. The mother was born in Albemarle County, Vir- ginia, of a good family. Our subject was but two years old when the family moved to Sangamon County, Illinois, where they lived a short time, and then removed to Bureau County, Illinois, when the Sac and Fox In- dians inhabited that region. Here the par- ents lived until their death. They raised six children, of which our subject was the youngest.
W. E. Durham, the subject of this sketch, resided in Burean County, near Malden, until 1881, when he sold the old farm and came to Pottawattamie County, and bought his pres- ent place, consisting of 580 acres, which is one of the most valuable farms in the county. Grove Farm is a beautiful home: the resi- dence was erected in 1882, and is in the shape of three L's, two stories high, and cost $8,000. The farm contains about twenty acres of forest and grove trees.
He was married March 27, 1856, in Bureau County, Illinois, to Miss Rebecca Sherman, a woman of intelligence and of a good fam- ily. She was born in Lucas County, Ohio,
the daughter of John Sherman, who was born on the ocean, of German parents, who were on their way to America. They after- ward settled at Cumberland County, Penn- sylvania. Mrs. Durham's mother was Cath- erine (Keel) Sherman, who was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Durham was only fourteen years old when her parents removed from Stark County, Ohio, to Bureau County, Illinois. Her father died at the latter place in 1861, and her mother died in Missouri in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Durham have eight children, viz .: Flora V., wife of David White, of Carson Town- ship; Ethelinda, wife of Felix Setz, of Washington Township; Mary W., wife of Rob Steele, of Center Township; Rhoda, wife of J. C. Elswicks, of Carson Township; Ira E., one of Pottawattamie's successful teachers; John Sherman, at home; William Arthur, of Carson Township; and Charlie K., at home. Mr. and Mrs. Durham, two sons and their youngest daughter are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church; the other daughters are members of the Presby- terian and Baptist churches. Politically Mr. Durham is a Democrat, and works for the best interest of his party.
F. PRATT, of Crescent City, was born in Abbeville County, South Carolina, October 19, 1824, the son of William and Martha (Murdoch) Pratt. His mother was born July 31, 1800, and his father Sep- tember 27, 1798, both being descendants of English, Irish and Welsh ancestry. Mr. Pratt's grandfather came to America at the age of sixteen years, in 1776, at the com- mencement of the Revolutionary war, first locating in Newberry County, South Caro- lina, and engaging in a distillery. He mar-
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OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
ried Elizabeth Davenport, a native of the same county, and they moved to Abbeville, where they spent the remainder of their days with their son. William Pratt received a good education, his father being a teacher, and married Gabriella Callahan, who was born in Abbeville County, July 31, 1824, and then left his parental home, in his twenty-first year, 1845, locating in Chatooga County, Georgia. There he purchased 160 acres of land, for which he paid $800; seventy acres of this traet had been enltivated by an old Cherokee Indian named Overtaker. The improvements, therefore, were few and meager. Here Mr. Pratt commeneed raising grain, fruit and cotton, and also his own domestic animals, and continued there until 1855, when he sold the place at $1,600, and bonght another two miles distant for $800. On that place there were forty acres cleared. He cleared twenty-five acres more, put up a log house and barns, and made many other improvements. He added to it by purchase until he finally had 370 aeres of good farm- ing land.
Then in September, 1861, he enlisted in the military service, joining Company F, Thirty-fifth Georgia Volunteer Infantry, under General IIolmes, and was engaged in many hard-fought hattles, as those of Fair Oaks, Virginia, the Wilderness, Seven Days' fight in front of Richmond between Lee and Me- Clellan, etc. In 1862 he enjoyed a furlough, being disabled, and remained at home some- thing more than a year. In 1863 he re- turned to service under General Early, whose forces scoured the Shenandoah Valley as far as Winchester. In February, 1865, he pro- eured another furlough home, and before its term expired the war closed. He was in most of the hottest battles of Virginia during the four years of the war, but was not wounded.
April 12, 1869, he sold his farm already
deseribed and started for Utah, by way of Chattanooga, Memphis, St. Louis, ete., by rail and water, and on arriving at Omaha, May 1, he stopped here until July, doing odd jobs. Then he rented a farm of eighty aeres in Rockford Township, Pottawattamie County, of which forty aeres were broken. After fol- lowing agricultural pursuits there for a year, he purchased a saw-mill and ran it for ten years. June 26, 1876, he moved the mill to Crescent City and ran it two years. Then he sold it to his sons and bonght his present farm of sixty acres within the limits of Crescent City, which had been improved some, having a log house upon it. Nearly all the improvements there at the present day are the product of his own labor,-a good residence, out- buildings, ete. It is in- deed a well furnished and comfortable home.
Mr. P'ratt is a high-principled Democrat, sympathizing with the so-called "Green- baek" movement, and liberal in his heart to- ward all parties. In local elections he is of course independent, voting for the best man, regardless of party. He was Justice of the Peace eight years in Georgia, two terms in Rockford Township, and two in Crescent Township. He is a member of Mount Hickory Lodge, No. 133, F. & A. M., of Georgia, esteeming this order far above all other organizations. He has also been the second officer of the Grange for a number of years, and has held other offices. He also belongs to the Crescent M. P. Society, this lodge being the oldest of the kind in the State. In this he has officiated as president, vice-president, ete., ever since its foundation. He is also a member of the Farmers' Alli- ance. He and his wife were Baptists in Georgia, both being baptized on the same day and by the same minister; they are now members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY.
Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the parents of nine children, as follows: John W. and Nancy E., born in Chattooga County, Georgia, June 2, 1846: John W. resides in Harrison County, Iowa; Nancy E. is the wife of E. L. Mckinney, in Jackson County, Indian Territory; James A., born September 14, 1849, in Chattooga County, Georgia, now re- sides in Crescent City ; S. V. was born April 10, 1852, in Georgia, and also resides in Crescent Township; Martha Ann, born An- gust 12, 1853, in Chattooga County, died July 21, 1871; Emma C. was born also in that county, April 11, 1855, and is now the wife of C. D. Watts, in Sherman County, Kansas; Phobe J., horn also in Chattooga County; Angust 11, 1857, is the wife of J. M. Boyd, in Crescent City; Charles F., born November 10, 1861, in Chattooga County, and resides at home; Leona, born also in Chattooga County, February 28, 1864, is the wife of Clement Hough at Crescent City. Mr. and Mrs. Pratt are the grand- parents of twenty-one children, all living. Mrs. Pratt is of English and Irish descent; was born in Abbeville County, South Caro- lina, the daughter of John and Nancy (Ste- venson) Callahan; was brought up as a farın- er's daughter, within four miles of where she was married to Mr. Pratt, July 2, 1845. She is the fifth in order of birth in a family of twenty-three children, and the daughter of her father's second wife. All those children grew up and married during their father's life-time. Mrs. Pratt is now aged sixty-seven years.
and Eliza (Morris) Everson, both natives of Delaware; the latter can trace their family back to Scotch ancestry. They had five chil- dren, of whom J. W. was the second of three sons and two daughters. The mother died in Delaware in 1867, and the father is still living at Wilmington, Delaware, and has been a farmer all his life. J. W. received his education in the public schools of that State, and afterward at St. Mary's College, and at the age of twenty-three years, in 1868, he removed to Mahaska County, Iowa, where he remained until 1881. He then eame to Pottawattamie County and bought eighty acres of land, which he broke and improved and afterward added eighty acres more, until he now has 160 acres in a body. He also owns eighty acres in Belknap Township, sec- tion 21, which is in cultivation.
Mr. Everson was married at Kirkville, to Miss Polly Ann Lee, who was born in Ma- haska County, Iowa, the daughter of Mar- shall, a native of this State. They have five children: Harvey E., Irwin W., Rosaltha, Minnie and Gertie. Politically Mr. Everson is a Republican, and is at present Township Trustee, serving to the best interest of his party. Mrs. Everson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
W. FERGUSON, of section 31, Car- son Township, was born in Wayne County, Indiana, March 1, 1821, the son of Nimrod and Elizabeth Isabelle Ferguson, both born in Wilkes County, North Carolina. They came to Wayne County in 1812, but they were forced to move back to their old home in North Carolina on account of trouble with the Indians. They again moved to Wayne County, where they re-
W. EVERSON, of section 29, Carson Township, came to this county in 1881. He was born in Newcastle County, Delaware, May 26, 1846, the son of John | mained until 1849, and then came to Edgar
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OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
County, Illinois, and in 1855 to Jasper Connty, Iowa. M. W. Ferguson remained in Jasper County until 1867, when he went to Dallas County, Iowa, and then to Fremont City, Iowa, where he bought 160 acres of wild land, which he broke, and to which he has since added another 120 acres, until he now has 280 acres of land in a fine state of cultivation. He engaged in extensive grain and stock-raising, being quite successful in each.
Mr. Ferguson was married in July, 1860, in Jasper Connty, to Miss Mary Jane Han- ley, a woman of intelligence, who was born in Wayne County, Kentucky, the danghter of George W. Ilanley. They have thrce children: George Ferguson, at home; James I., who is one of the successful teachers of the county, and Mary, the wife of George Conod, of Carson Township. Politically Mr. Ferguson is a Democrat. Mrs. Fergn- son was brought up under the anspices of the Christian Church, while her husband was raised in the Baptist Church.
OBERT INGRAM, of section 13, Keg Creek Township, first came to Potta- wattamie County in 1872. Ile was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, August 30, 1832, the son of James and Jane (Sterling) Ingramn. Both were born in Ayrshire and lived there until they died, the mother dying when Robert was only four years old, while the father died abont two years ago, in 1888, at the advanced age of ninety years. Robert received his education and was reared to farm work in his native place. At twenty years of age he left his native land and came to the United States, and resided for two months near New Amsterdam, New York, and then went to Chicago, when that place
was but a small town. He then removed to La Porte County, Indiana, where he resided ten or fifteen years, working out by the month mostly. Ilis next move was to Kan- kakee, Illinois, and later, in 1872, he moved his family to Iowa, driving first to Morris, Illinois, and from there shipped his honse- hold furniture by railroad to Iowa. They bought 320 acres of land from the Rock Island Railroad Company, where his son, An- drew Lincoln, now lives on 160 aeres of this land. Mr. Ingram erected his house in 1883, at a cost of $2,500, which is surrounded by shade and ornamental trees.
He was married in La Porte County, In- diana, when twenty-eight years of age, to Miss Eliza Cain, a native of Ohio, and they have one child. A year after his marriage his wife died, and he was married some time later in Indiana, to Miss Melissa M. Mur- phy, who was reared in Porter and La Porte counties, Indiana. They have three children: Andrew Lincoln, who is married and resides near his father; Martha, the wife of Poland Ward of this township; Rob Marion, at home. Politically Mr. Ingram is a Repub- lican, and is a member of the Methodist Church at Silver City, but that society is now building a church at Silver Creek, calling themselves the Lone Star Class.
L. TIIROP, of section 4, Carson Township, was born in Decatur
0 County, Indiana, January 21, 1846, the son of J. C. and Margaret (Hood) Throp, the former a native of New Jersey and a de- scendant of the old Puritan stock of this coast: the latter is a native of Kentucky, and a daughter of Samuel Hood, of Irish extrac- tion. The parents were married in Indiana, where they had come with their parents from
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BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
New Jersey. They reared a family of nine children five sons and four daughters. W. L. Throp, the sixth child, resided in Decatur County until 1873, when he came to Potta- wattamie County and purchased 160 acres of wild land, mostly prairie, excepting fifteen acres of natural grove. He has since im- proved it, and he now owns one of the best farms in this township. He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He was married January 20, 1876, to Miss Carrie Potter, of this county. She was thirteen years of age when she came with her parents and was the daughter of Ira and Sybil (Win- sor) Potter. The father died in Rhode Island, and the mother lives in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Throp have two children: Jen- nie and Fred. Politically Mr. Throp is a Republican, and has served as Justice of the Peace with credit to himself and the best in- terests of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Throp are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder. He takes an active interest in both education and re- ligion and anything for the best interests of the people in the community where he re- sides. He is a man yet in the prime of life, and is numbered among the enterprising cit- izens of the township.
B. PERKINS, of section 12, Keg Creek Township, came to this county in the spring of 1872, where he has since resided. He was born in Warren County, Illinois, February 6, 1845, the son of D. R. Perkins, a native of Kentucky and the grandson of D. R. Perkins, Sr., a native of Virginia and of Welsh descent. Our sub- ject's mother was Maria Lienrance, a native of Virginia and of French ancestry. The father with his parents came to Warren Conn-
ty, Illinois, where he was married, being one of the first pioneers of that part of Illinois. They reared a family of eleven children. The mother died in the summer of 1878, and the father in March, 1888; he was a farmer all his life. In politics he was a Democrat, and both he and his wife were members of the Christian Church.
A. B., the eldest child, was reared on a farm, and in 1859 his parents came to War. ren County, Iowa, and in 1870 removed to Kansas, where they lived until their death. He lived in Warren County until 1871, when he removed to Sarpy County, Nebraska, and remained two years and then came to Potta- wattamie Connty. He first bought sixty-one acres of wild land, on which he lived one year, and then purchased eighty acres where his home now is, and later forty acres north of it. He now owns 120 acres of well-im- proved land in a body. His residence, which was built in 1887, cost $2,300. Park Place is a beautiful home, and Mr. Perkins and family are surrounded with many of the comforts of life.
He was married in Warren County, Iowa, February 3, 1870, to Malinda W. Whited, who was born, reared and educated in the samne county. She was a daughter of Laza- rus and Maria (Surber) Whited, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Indiana. The parents were among the first settlers of Warren County, and afterward moved to Cass County, where they lived until their death. The mother died in 1870 and the father in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Perkins have eight children, viz .: Mary Blair, who was a successful teacher; Beriah B., Daniel R., Bert, Rolla W., Minnie L., Nellie, Maria, Solomon and Pnsey. Mr. Perkins was for- merly a Democrat but is now independent. Ile is a member of the Farmers' Alliance, and has served as Township Trustee and also
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OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
as Assessor. The family are members of the Christian Church.
OLONEL WILLIAM ORR, of section 5, Keg Creek Township, the proprie- tor of Hardindale Farm, is one of the prominent citizens of the county. He came here in 1872 from Harrison County, Iowa, where he has since made his home. He was born in Down County, near Belfast, Ireland, the son of John and Elizabeth (Lamont) Orr. William lived in his native place until six- teen years of age, and then sailed from Bel- fast to Liverpool and from there to New York. Ile went to Harrison County, Ohio, then to Tuscarawas County, where he lived until 1844, then to Butler County, Pennsyl- vania, until 1847, then to Washington Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, until the fall of 1848, then returned to the old homestead in Ireland. After six months he returned to Ohio and lived in Carroll County until 1856, when he went to Nebraska, and in 1857 near Florence, and in 1861 to Harrison County, Iowa. IIere he bought an improved farin four miles south of Logan, where he settled and lived until the fall of 1872, when he came to Potta- wattamie County, purchasing the land where he now lives, which was partly improved. Hardindale now contains 590 acres in a body, and is one among the well-improved farms of Keg Creek Township. The farm is fenced and divided into cultivated fields, meadows and pasture, and everything about the Orr homestead shows the thrift and en- terprise of the owner. Colonel Orr is one of the prominent stock-raisers and feeders in the connty, making a specialty of Red Polled cattle, of which he has as good as can be found in Western Iowa.
He was married in Belfast, Ireland, March
24, 1849, to Margaret Orr, the daughter of John Alexander Orr. They have had twelve children, six of whom are still living, viz .: Margaret Anna, the wife of D. S. Frank, of this township, was born Jannary 24, 1850; Elizabeth Jane, born June 15, 1855, wife of H. B. Knowles, of this township; Mary, wife of Artemus Ward; Lamont and Mary, twins; William, at home, boru May 12, 1861; and Emma, born February 27, 1865. They have lost six by death, namely: John Alexander, born July 25, 1851; Mary, born November 27, 1852, died when a child; William Orr, born March 15, 1857, also died when a child; Edwin, born January 10, 1864; Hiram Wood- worth, born February 28, 1869; and Minnie, bern January 15, 1871. The great loss of Colonel Orr's life was in the death of his wife May 6, 1888. They had lived together for nearly thirty-nine years. She was reared a Unitarian, and was a woman of many virtues, an affectionate wife and mother, and a very estimable lady. Politically Colonel Orr is a Democrat, and has served as Trustee and a member of the School Board. He also served as Trustee of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum for four years, from 1874 to 1878. He is a man sixty-four years of age, has traveled extensively, and is well-informed on all the questions of the day.
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