USA > Iowa > Adair County > History of Adair County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 31
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In 1899, Mr. Dorsey was married to Miss Ada Taylor, a daughter of Isaae N. and Sallie (Nichols) Taylor, the former of whom was born in Grant county, Wis- consin, August 2, 1851. and was a son of John and Jane (Gillman) Taylor. The father was a native of Virginia and was of Seoteh lineage. He came to Adair county. Iowa. in 1869. Previously he had worked as a miner but after his removal to this state he took up his abode in Jackson township and purchased land on seetion 6. In 1876 Isaac N. Taylor settled in Eureka township and engaged in farming, while in 1880 he bought the land upon which he now resides. He was married on Christmas day of 1877 to Miss Sallie Niehols, a daughter of Thomas Jefferson and Permilla (Fink) Nichols. Mr. and Mrs. Dorsey are parents of but one ehild, Averil, who was born May 5, 1901. He attended school in distriet No. 3. Eureka township, and was graduated on the completion of the eighth grade work. He is now a pupil in the high school of Anita.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Dorsey is a Modern Woodman. holding membership in the emnp at Anita. Politically he is a standpat republican. He believes firmly in the policy of that party and is a stanch advocate of its principles. The eause of education has ever found in him a stalwart champion and for one term he was dircetor of school district No. 3. Eureka township. He is interested in all those things which mean most to the community in the advancement of its material. intel- Jeetual, social, political and moral progress, and his eooperation ean always be counted upon to further measures for the general good.
SIMEON DUNBAR.
Simeon Dunbar is the owner of valuable farm property in Adair county, having three hundred and sixty aeres in his home place in Walnut township, and two hundred and forty aeres near Greenfield in Grove township. This investment repre- sents the result of earnest, persistent effort, intelligently directed, and he is accounted one of the foremost farmers of his part of the county. He was born in Knox county, Illinois, June 15, 1860, a son of Jackson and Marian (Wright) Dunbar, the former a native of Kentucky and of Scotch-Irish deseent, while the mother was a native of Pennsylvania. Jackson Dunbar devoted his life to farming. In his boyhood he accompanied his parents on their removal to Knox county. Illinois, where he was reared and educated. He made farming his life work, but his labors were terminated by death in 1864 when he was only forty-five years of age. His wife died in 1890 at the age of fifty years.
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Simeon Dunbar spent his youthful days in his native county. Following his father's death his mother married again and he went to live with an uncle, with whom he remained until he attained his majority. He then started out in life independently, taking up his abode upon a rented farm in Henry county, Illinois, which he operated for seven years. He then removed to Missouri Valley, Iowa, where he purchased land, upon which he made his home for nine years. On the expiration of that period he disposed of his property and came to Adair county, where he invested in three hundred and twenty acres on sections 27 and 28, Walnut town- ship. With characteristic energy he began the further cultivation of this place and in a short time was gathering golden harvests as the reward for the care and labor which he bestowed upon the fields. He has brought his land to a high state of cultivation and the farm is most neat and thrifty in appearance. To that tract he has added an adjoining forty acres and he has also become the owner of two hundred and forty acres in Grove township near Greenfield, which is now being operated by his son. A visit to the Dunbar farm is a delight, for it is one of the best improved places in the county. The buildings are all large, commodious and sub- stantial and well adapted to the purposes for which they are used. The home is an attractive one and investigation into the farm methods followed by Mr. Dunbar shows that he is in touch with the latest processes of scientific farming. He is prominently known as one of the leading stock-raisers of the county, making a specialty of handling Aberdeen Angus and shorthorn cattle, feeding about two carloads per year.
In December, 1888, was celebrated the marriage of Simeon Dunbar and Miss Laura L. Buffum, a daughter of Emory and Anna (Hines) Buffum. the former a native of Rock Island county, Illinois, and the latter of Bradford county, Penn- sylvania. For many years Mr. Buffum followed farming in Stark county, Illinois, establishing his home there about the time of the close of the Civil war after having served in that conflict with the Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry. He and his wife arc now living retired in Toulon, Stark county. Mr. and Mrs. Dunbar have become the parents of ten children: Bertha, the wife of Ross Hall, a resident of Logan, Iowa; Edith, the wife of Bert Handley, residing on her father's farm near Green- field; Eddis, who is married and is farming in Grove township; and Susie, Forrest, Merle, Harold, Glenn, Clarence and Lec, all yet at home.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church and their lives are in accord with its teachings. Mr. Dunbar is also connected with the Order of American Yeomen. He is widely and favorably known as a business man, as a citizen and in social relations, and he and his wife have made their home a most hospitable one, whose good cheer is greatly enjoyed by their many friends.
STEPHEN GREEN.
Stephen Green, an honored veteran of the Civil war and a well known old settler of Adair county, has lived on his farm of one hundred and seventy-one acres on section 18, Union township, during the past thirty-two years, and he and his sons also own three hundred and twenty acres of land on sections 5, 6 and 7 of that town- ship. His birth occurred in New York on the 6th of December, 1841, his parents
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being David M. and Anna (Card) Green, who were likewise natives of the Empire state and came of New England ancestry. The father removed with his family to Henry county, Illinois, and subsequently to Cold Harbor, Michigan, where he worked at the carpenter's trade until his demise, which occurred on the 26th of February. 1854. The widowed mother spent the remainder of her life with a daughter in Rock Island, Illinois, where she passed away on the 15th of Deeem- ber. 1875.
Stephen Green was reared under the parental roof and attended the publie schools in the acquirement of an education. As a youth he worked with his father at the earpenter's trade. On the 12th of August, 1862, when not yet twenty-one years of age. he joined the Union army as a member of Company E. One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and until the close of hostilities served in the Army of the Cumberland under General Burnside. He participated in the battles of Knoxville. Athens and Chickamauga and in other engagements and was captured at Knoxville, with twenty-two other men, spending eighteen months in rebel prisons. He was confined at Belle Isle, Virginia. for three months, and afterward trans- ferred to Andersonville. Milan, Savannah. Blackshear. Ocean Pond, Florida, and Jacksonville, being released at the last named place. Mr. Green then returned home but did not receive his discharge until two months later. on the 30th of May, 1865, for on the records of his regiment he had been marked as dead. Only two of the twenty-three men captured at the time he was taken returned home, the other twenty-one dying in prison and most of the number at Andersonville. His service for his country was characterized by the utmost loyalty and his courage never faltered through all the dangers, hardships and terrors of his military career.
Again taking up the pursuits of eivil life, Mr. Green was engaged in farming in Illinois until March, 1878, when he eame to Adair county, Iowa, here eultivating rented land for five years. On the expiration of that period he purchased his present home farm of one hundred and seventy-one aeres on seetion 18, Union township, whereon he has resided continuously during the intervening thirty-two years. He also owns eighty aeres of land on seetion 6, a place of similar size on section 5, and two other eighty-acre tracts on section 6 and seetion 7, which have been allotted to four of his sons. His undertakings as an agrieulturist have been attended with a most gratifying measure of prosperity and he has long been numbered among the substantial and esteemed citizens of the community.
Mr. Green has been married twice. In 1865 he wedded Miss Fannie Hunt, of Farmington, Illinois, by whom he had two sons: Charles A., at home; and Sylvester S .. of Union township. The wife and mother passed away in 1869, and in 1870 Mr. Green was again married, his second union being with Miss Abbie Mooney, of Kewanee, Illinois, by whom he has five children. as follows: Edward T., Harry F. and Walter O .. all of whom are engaged in farming in Union township; Arehie C., who operates the home farm; and Nellie M., who is the wife of Charles Younkins, of Allianec, Nebraska.
In politics Mr. Green is a stanch republican, loyally supporting the men and measures of the party which was the defense of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war. He belongs to the Grand Army post at Orient and thus still main- tains pleasant relations with his old comrades among the fast thinning ranks of the "boys in blue." His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the
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Christian church, to which his wife also belongs. He has now passed the seventy- third milestone on this earthly pilgrimage and his entire life has been in harmony with the principles of upright, honorable manhood, so that he well merits the esteem and veneration which is uniformly aeeorded him.
CLYDE A. SMITH.
Clyde A. Smith, engaged in general farming in Eureka township, was born September 27, 1884, in the township in which he still lives, his parents being Julius B. and Ida (Eby) Smith, who are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. He was reared and edueated in this county, attending the town schools of Anita. He remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-two years, and then began farming on his own account. He is now in partnership with his father in the development and conduet of the old homestead and is an enterprising, wide-awake business man who is making good use of his time and opportunities.
On the 3d of April, 1907, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Maude Bloomfield, a daughter of Henry and Fannie (Madison) Bloomfield, who were natives of Indiana and became pioneer settlers of Adair county, arriving here at a day when Indians still lived in the distriet and when the work of development seemed seareely begun. Mr. Bloomfield was a veteran of the Civil war, having loyally served in defense of the Union at the time of the hostilities between the north and the south. Mrs. Bloomfield still survives and is now a resident of Fon- tanelle. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two children: Gale and Jewell, aged respeet- ively seven and five years. They are well known in the part of the county in which they live and enjoy the friendship of many with whom they have come in contaet. In his political views Mr. Smith has always been a republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise, but, while he does not fail to east his vote in support of the principles in which he believes, he has never sought nor desired office.
ISAAC P. BAILEY.
Isaae P. Bailey, a representative and sueeessful agrieulturist residing in Prussia township, is the owner of an excellent farm embracing one hundred and fifty-threc aeres on seetions 30 and 31. His birth oeeurred in Keokuk county, Iowa. January 9, 1872, his parents being Isaae and Ella (Tomblinson) Bailey, the former born in Indiana and the latter in Virginia. Isaae Bailey made his way to Keokuk county, this state, by ox team in 1861 and there carried on farming until he came to Adair county, purchasing a traet of land in Jaekson township, three miles west of Fontanelle. This he operated continuously and successfully until 1895, when he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Greenfield, where he has sinee lived in honorable retirement. He has now attained the age of seventy-eight years, while his wife is sixty-five years old. The period of their residenee in this county covers many years and they enjoy an extensive and favor- able acquaintance within its borders.
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Isaac P. Bailey was reared and educated in Jackson township, Adair county, and remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority. He then started out as an agriculturist on his own account, cultivating rented land in Eureka township for two years, and renting land in Prussia township for ten years, on the expiration of which period he purchased his present farm of one hundred and fifty- three acres on sections 30 and 31, Prussia township. He has made many substantial improvements on the property and in its operation has won a gratifying measure of success, the well tilled fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon them. In connection with the production of cereals he makes a specialty of the raising of Chester White hogs, this branch of his business materially augmenting his income. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and widely recognized as a substantial and esteemed citizen of the county.
On the 6th of December, 1893, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage to Miss Kate Hemphill, a daughter of James and Mary ( Humphreys) Hemphill, both of whom were natives of Missouri. They came to Adair county, Iowa, in 1874 and here the father successfully operated a farm throughout the remainder of his active business career. His last days were spent in honorable retirement at Fontanelle, where he passed away in September, 1906, at the age of sixty-nine years. His widow, who has now attained the age of seventy-six years, still makes her home in Fontanelle. James Hemphill served for six months of the Civil war as a member of a Missouri regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have two children, Roy Otis and Cleo Maude, who are eighteen and fifteen years of age respectively.
Politically Mr. Bailey is a staneh advocate of the democracy and for the past seven years has served as township clerk, holding the office at the present time. His religions faith is that of the Methodist church. He is well known among his fellow citizens and the fact that many of his best friends are those who have known him longest is an indication that his salient characteristics are such as inspire and liold regard, esteem and good will.
ASBURY DENHAM RATER.
The home farm of Asbury Denham Rater is on section 26, Walnut township. He was born in Marion county, Iowa, August 16, 1863, a son of Daniel and Sarah Anthus ( Romans) Rater. The father was born in Indiana and was of German lineage, while the mother, who was born in Kentucky, represented an old American family. Daniel Rater was reared to the occupation of farming and prior to the Civil war removed westward to Marion county, Iowa, where he began the work of tilling the soil, there residing until 1865, when he went to Jasper county, Iowa, where he purchased land and carried on farming until he retired from active business. At that date he removed to Reasnor, Iowa. where he continued to make his home until he was called to his final rest on the 6th of June, 1901. His widow also passed away there on the 10th of May, 1910.
Asbury Denham Rater was reared as a farm boy. attending the district schools and assisting in the work of the home place. Ambition led him to start out in the world for himself and he made his way to Rawlins county, Kansas, where he home-
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steaded a farm and resided thereon for five years. He then returned to Jasper county, Iowa, where he rented land for two years, after which he spent a similar period in the Sunflower state. He next went to Oklahoma, where he lived for six years, engaged in the cultivation of sehool land which he leased. In 1900 he again became a resident of Jasper county, but in 1901 established his home in Adair county. For two years he rented a farm in Summit township and then went to Guthrie county, Iowa, where he rented for a year. In 1905 he became a resident of Walnut township, Adair county, and in 1911 purchased the eighty acre tract of land whereon he now makes his home, the place being situated on section 26, Walnut township. He devotes all of his time to farming and stock-raising and breeds a good grade of stoek.
On the 28th of Jannary, 1885. Mr. Rater married Miss Ida Elizabeth Franklin, a daughter of Andrew J. and Catharine (Covert) Franklin. The father was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, and is of French descent. The mother's ancestry was strictly American through several generations. She died when Mrs. Rater, the oldest of the four children, was but seven years of age. Mr. Franklin was a farmer and for years engaged in the tilling of the soil in Iowa and Nebraska, but now makes his home upon a farm in Oklahoma.
To Mr. and Mrs. Rater have been born seven children, but the eldest, Jessie Pearl, who was born January 28, 1886, died on the 7th of February of that year. The second daughter, Ethel Victoria, born April 14, 1887, is the wife of Elmer Sherman Smith, a resident farmer of Walnut township, and they have two children, Howard Leslie and Verle Elsworth. Lulu Anthus, born April 10, 1889, is the wife of George Franklin Smith, a resident farmer of Walnut township, and they have one ehild, Boyd Franklin. Ollie Alvin, born August 5, 1891, married Alma Staggs, and is a resident farmer of Walnut township. Virgil Asbury, born December 26, 1895, Daniel Arthur, born March 24, 1902, and Ida Evelyn, born June 16, 1904, are at home.
Mr. Rater operates the home place with the aid of his sons and is one of the highly respected farmers of Walnut township. He has ever placed character above success and yet in his business affairs has been actuated by a laudable ambition that has stimulated him to put forth his best efforts to seeure advancement.
FERDINAND GREENBECK.
Ferdinand Greenbeck, who owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty aeres on seetion 20, Grove township, has lived in Adair county for nearly four decades and is widely known as one of its substantial agriculturists and respected citizens. His birth oceurred in Illinois on the 1st of December, 1857, his parents being Casper and Christina (Engel) Greenbeek, both of whom were natives of Germany. They emigrated to the United States in the early '50s and made their home in Illinois until 1876, when they eame to Adair county, Iowa. Here the father passed away in 1909, after a period of residence covering a third of a century, but the mother is still living and now makes her home in South Dakota. To them were born five children, four of whom survive.
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Ferdinand Greeubeck acquired his education in the common schools and remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, when he was married and established a home of his own, in Jackson township, where he was actively engaged in farming until 1903. In that year he removed to Lee township and one year later took up his abode in Summerset township, where he continued to reside for five years. On the expiration of that period he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on seetion 20, Grove township, which he has operated to the present time and has partly improved. In his undertakings as an agriculturist he has won suecess, his well tilled fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which he bestows upon them.
In 1879 Mr. Greenbeck was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Rechtenbach, a native of Illinois and a daughter of A. W. and Amelia Rechtenbach, of whom more extended mention is made on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of G. G. Rechtenbach, brother of Mrs. Greenbeck. To our subject and his wife have been born six children, as follows: August C. and Gustave G., who are engaged in farming in Grove township; Barbara C., at home; William E .; John F., who is deceased; and Ferdinand E.
Mr. Greenbeck gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has ably served as school director. Both he and his wife are devoted and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, exemplifying its teachings in their daily lives, and their circle of friends is an extensive onc.
C. E. GRAVES.
C. E. Graves is a resident farmer of Jefferson township living on seetion 22. New England elaims him as a native son, for his birth oceurred in Bowdoinham, Maine, on the 27th of September, 1841, his parents being James and Martha (Preb- ble) Graves, who were also natives of the Pine Tree state, in which they spent their entire lives. The father was a spar maker by trade and also owned and cultivated a farm of one hundred acres. He died in 1885, while his wife passed away in 1852.
In his youthful days C. E. Graves largely devoted his time to the acquirement of an education in the distriet sehools and after the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted for active service at the front, being mustered in as a private, in December, 1861, as a member of Company B, Fifteenth Regiment Maine Volunteer Infantry. He served for four years and seven months, participating in many of the important military movements of the war, and was honorably discharged on the 5th of July, 1866. After President Lineol's assassination his regiment was assigned to police duty and was subsequently sent to South Carolina, where they were on provost duty for almost a year. Mr. Graves participated in the engagements at Sabine Cross Roads, Pleasant Hill, Cane River Crossing, Mansura Plain, and was on duty under General Banks. He was mustered out as first lieutenant.
Following his return home after the elose of his military service, Mr. Graves engaged in farming for two years upon rented land in Maine and then sought the agricultural opportunities offered in the middle west. In 1869 he arrived in Adair county and for twelve or thirteen years engaged in the cultivation of rented land, but in 1882 purchased eighty acres of his present home farm-the traet upon which
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C. E. GRAVES
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his buildings are located. He crected his residence and all of the barns and out- buildings that now furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. He also set out trees which are now splendid specimens of their kind and constitute a pleasing feature in the landscape. As opportunity has offered. Mr. Graves has also extended the boundaries of his place until he now has two hundred and ten acres. He is one of the substantial and well known farmers of the township and is one of the few sur- vivors of the number who were here at the time of his arrival. He has witnessed much of the growth and development of this section of the state and has borne his part in the work of transformation and improvement.
On the 2d of February, 1878, Mr. Graves was united in marriage to Miss Ellen K. Vaughan, of Waupaca county, Wisconsin, by whom he had six children, three of whom survive, namely: Roy E., who is a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Charles C. and Beulah V., both at home.
In his political views Mr. Graves is a republican, having supported the party continuously since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He served for six terms, or eighteen years, as township trustee, his long continuance in the office being incontrovertible evidence of his ability and fidelity. He is a member of Max- well Post, No. 14, G. A. R., at Stuart, and thus maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades, while in all matters of citizenship he is as true and loyal as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. He has not only appre- ciated but has improved the opportunities offered in the middle west and during the forty-six years of his residence in Adair county has so directed his labors as to win the success that classes him with the substantial residents of Jefferson township.
OLLIE H. HEMPHILL.
Ollie H. Hemphill owns and cultivates eighty acres of land on section 30, Prussia township, comprising one of the most attractive and highly improved farms in the county. His birth occurred in Lincoln county, Missouri, on the Ist of September, 1874, his parents being James and Mary (Humphreys) Hemphill, who were like- wise natives of that state. They made their way to Adair county, Iowa, in 1874, the father here devoting his attention to general agricultural pursuits throughout the remainder of his active business career. His last days were spent in honorable retirement at Fontanelle, where he passed away in September, 1906, at the age of sixty-nine years, his death being the occasion of deep and widespread regret through- out the community. His widow, who has now attained the age of seventy-six years, still makes her home in Fontanelle and enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaint- ance here. James Hemphill served for six months of the Civil war as a member of a Missouri regiment.
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