USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 22
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turist of Yell township; Ethel, at home; Howard, who makes his home in Canada ; Maude, whose demise occurred in 1901; and Orson, at home.
Mr. Spurrier is a republican in politics and has served as trustee of Yell township for twelve years, making a creditable record in that connection. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church. He has resided in this county for fifty-eight years and has become widely and favorably known within its bor- ders. Ilis life is exemplary in all respects and he has ever supported those inter- ests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral principles are deserving of warm commendation.
JOHN W. VAN ZANDT.
John W. Van Zandt, a well known and respected citizen of Madrid, is a prom- inent factor in financial circles as president of the Farmers Savings Bank. His birth occurred in Highland county, Ohio, on the 11th of July, 1845, his parents being Joshua and Mary Ann (Thayer ) Van Zandt, the former born in Virginia on the 2d of February, 1818, and the latter in Vermont in 1822. In 1850 the family home was established in Kendall county, Illinois, and Joshua Van Zandt there resided until called to his final rest in May, 1899. His wife passed away in 1891. They were the parents of the following children: Mrs. Martha Smith, who is deceased ; Mrs. Jane Andrews, who has also passed away ; John W., of this review ; George W., who resides on the old home farm in Kendall county, Illinois; Mrs. Mary Falkenberg, living at Minooka, Illinois; Frank, who makes his home in Eureka, California ; and Mrs. Hulda Falkenberg, of Joliet, Illinois. The three eldest children were born in Ohio and the younger members of the family in Illinois.
John W. Van Zandt, who was a little lad of five years when taken by his parents to Kendall county, Illinois, there attended the common schools and early in life turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. In May, 1864, he enlisted for one hundred days' service as a member of Company H, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but remained with the Union troops abont six months, being detailed to guard railroad property in Missouri and adjoining states. He participated in several skirmishes and was honorably dis- charged at Springfield in November, 1864.
In 1879 Mr. Van Zandt brought his family to Garden township. Boone county, Iowa, and for a number of years successfully cultivated one of the valu- able and productive farms of the district, winning a gratifying measure of pros- perity in his undertakings. At the present time he serves as president of the Farmers Savings Bank of Madrid, of which institution he is one of the heaviest stockholders and the continued growth and success of which is largely attributa- ble to his able management and direction. He owns a handsome and well appointed residence in Madrid and is widely recognized as one of the prosperous and leading citizens of the community.
On the 12th of May, 1866, Mr. Van Zandt was united in marriage to Miss Addie Kennison, who was born in Vermont on the 19th of November, 1848, her parents being Henry and Arvilla (Smith) Kennison, likewise natives of that
MR. AND MRS. JOHN W. VAN ZANDT
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state. The father passed away in Wilmington, Illinois, in 1857, while the mother's demise also occurred in Will county, that state. Their children were as follows : Delos, who is deceased; Mrs. Sarah Mason, who is a resident of Madrid, Iowa ; Mrs. Evaline Frise, also of Madrid, Iowa; Frank, who passed away in Kossuth county, Iowa ; J. S., who was born on the 4th of September. 1845, and resides in Madrid, Iowa; Mrs. Susan Copp, deceased; and Mrs. Addie Van Zandt. The above named were born in Vermont and reared in Illinois. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Van Zandt have been born five children, four of whom still survive. William H., whose birth occurred on the 11th of October, 1867, was a graduate of the lowa Agricultural College and was employed as postal clerk on the Milwaukee road from Marion to Council Bluffs. He passed away on the 7th of July, 1908. Mrs. Nettie MI. Story, who was born on the 20th of June, 1869. is a resident of Ames. Iowa. E. G., whose natal day was December 19, 1872, has been a postal carrier in Des Moines for the past fourteen years. Mrs. Cora Valline, who was born September 9, 1876, resides in Boone, Iowa, her husband being a locomotive en- gineer in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. Joshua, born April 24, 1890, is a graduate of the Madrid high school and the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines, Iowa, and is now in the employ of Davidson Brothers of Des Moines. All except the last named, who is a native of Garden township, this county, were born in Illinois.
Mr. Van Zandt is a republican in politics and has always been interested and active in the work of the party in his home community!" He has held all of the township offices and ably served as assessor of Garden township for many years, while at the present time he acts as assessor of the city of Madrid. He serves on the school board of Garden township and for the past eighteen years has been a valued member of the Madrid board of education. His cooperation and sup- port can ever be counted upon to further any movement or measure instituted to promote the general welfare and he is widely recognized as a most loyal, publie- spirited and progressive citizen. He is identified with the Grand Army of the Republic as a member of John Filmer Post, No. 347, of Madrid, of which he has long been quartermaster, and for one year served as its commander. His wife is a devoted and consistent member of the Madrid Christian church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Van Zandt are widely and favorably known throughout the county, having gained many friends during the long period of their residence here.
LEWIS SAVITS.
In giving an account of the more prominent agriculturists of Boone county and particularly Beaver township, Lewis Savits cannot be overlooked. Mr. Savits, a native of Boone county, owns eighty acres on section 15 and eighty acres on section 21, besides eighty acres on section 10, which he bought in 1900 and which was the first land that he cultivated as an independent farmer. He was born in Amaqua township, December 5, 1872, and is a son of George and Elizabeth (Gunder) Savits, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Illinois. They came to Boone connty about 1862, the father acquiring title
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to forty acres of land in Yell township. He farmed successfully until 1882. In 1886 he removed to Ogden, which remained his home until his death in 1902. His widow resides in Ogden.
Lewis Savits was reared and educated in Boone county, attending the dis- trict schools. Early he began his career as a farmer and remained in the employ of others until 1892, in which year he rented land in Beaver township, in the cultivation of which he was so successful that in 1900 he was enabled to acquire eighty acres on section 10. He immediately took the task in hand of improv- ing the land and has since devoted himself to this occupation with the excep- tion of fourteen months spent in Colorado. Mr. Savits is an up-to-date and modern farmer and follows most progressive methods in the operation of his farm. There can be found a complete and well repaired set of buildings, which in conjunction with his well tilled fields, indicate his careful management and his incessant industry. As his means increased Mr. Savits acquired title to eighty acres of land on section 15 and eighty acres on section 21. He not only follows general agricultural pursuits but excels as a stock-raiser and annually markets three or four carloads of stock. Moreover, Mr. Savits is a stockholder in the Farmers' Cooperative Company of Beaver.
On December 8. 1896, he married Sadie Vaughn, a daughter of Patrick and Lena (Hlorton) Vaughn, the former born in Ireland and the latter in New York. The parents came to Boone county during pioneer days, and here the father successfully devoted himself to agricultural labors. For a short time he was also connected with railroad construction work. He bought eighty acres on section 15, Beaver township, and this is the same land which our subject now owns and operates. Mr. Vaughn had it under cultivation for forty-three years and there remained until his death in August, 1908. His wife died in February, 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Savits have two children: George Patrick Leo, fifteen years of age; and Lina Eloise, who is two years old.
Mr. Savits has not only attained individual success but has been a force in the agricultural development of his section. He has always interested himself in public questions and is at present one of the township trustees, having served in that position for six years to the benefit of the township, whose interests he promotes in every way. Politically he is a republican and thoroughly conversant with the aspirations of his party. its ideals and its principles. He gives his adherence to the Catholic faith and is interested in religious life as well as in all other efforts tending to improve the moral life of man. Both he and his wife are favorably and well known in Beaver township, where they have many friends.
H. EDMOND FRY.
H. Edmond Fry, a practitioner at the Boone county bar since 1902, con- nected in his professional work with Judge John L. Stevens until 1914. but since that time alone, has his offices in the Boone National Bank building and is accorded a large and distinctly representative clientage. He was born Septem- ber 13, 1870, in the county which is still his place of residence and is a son of
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Henry Fry, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume. His entire life thus far has been passed in Boone county and from the Boone high school he was graduated with the class of 1889. He afterward attended Cornell College for about one year and subsequently entered the State University, pursuing a par- tial course in the law school of that institution. He then continued the study of law in the office and under the direction of J. J. Snell, a prominent attorney, until qualified for admission to practice. He passed the required examination in 1901 and entered upon the active work of the profession in 1902. However, this was by no means his initial step in business life, nor was his educational course a continuous one. Reared upon the home farm, he had early become familiar with the duties and labors incident to the development of the fields and was active in their cultivation until twenty years of age, when he became a teacher in the schools of Boone county. He afterward became a stenographer and typist and later was made accountant for the Building & Savings Associa- tion and subsequently occupied the position of bookkeeper and teller in the First National Bank of Boone for about two years. He next entered the State Uni- versity at Iowa City and as mentioned above, returned to Boone for the further study of law, in which he continued until his admission to the bar. Ile began practice in 1902 with Judge John L. Stevens, and this association was main- tained until 1914, since which time Mr. Fry has been alone in the general prac- tice of law. He has won for himself a creditable position in a calling where advancement depends entirely upon broad knowledge and individual merit.
In January, 1913, Mr. Fry was united in marriage to Miss Elsa C. Odel, of Red Oak, Iowa, a daughter of H. F. Odel, a pioneer of the state and a promi- nent retired farmer and real-estate man. Mr. and Mrs. Fry hold membership in the Methodist church, and in fraternal circles his connection is with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias. He has been somewhat active in public affairs, serving as city solicitor for two terms, or from 1905 until 1909. He is now a candidate for district judge of the eleventh judicial district on the non- partisan ticket, and should he be elected there is no doubt that he will make an excellent presiding officer over the courts. He has been well informed con- cerning the principles of jurisprudence, and an analytical mind enables him to readily recognize the relation between the fact, the evidence and the law applicable thereto.
CHARLES R. MORGAN.
Charles R. Morgan, a well known and representative citizen of Ogden, is a lineman in the service of the Marcy Mutual Telephone Company and has also been engaged in auctioneering for the past seven years. His birth occurred in Peoples township, Boone county, Iowa, on the 13th of December. 1875, his parents being John W. and Margaret ( Miller) Morgan. A sketch of the father, who passed away in Ogden on the 20th of October, 1913, appears on another page of this work.
Charles R. Morgan acquired his early education in the district schools of his native county and also attended public school in Ogden. He remained under
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the parental roof until eighteen years of age and then went to Ames, where he attended the Iowa State College of Agriculture until graduated from that institution with the class of 1898. Subsequently he made his way to Jefferson, Green county, this state, and there worked in a creamery for a year and a half. On the expiration of that period he rented a tract of land and after cultivating the property for two years entered the service of the Bell Telephone Company, with which he continued for five years. He next spent two years as lineman with the Boone County Telephone Company and five years later became con- nected with the Marcy Mutual Telephone Company, by which he has been retained to the present time. For the past seven years he has also devoted con- siderable attention to auctioneering and in that connection has won an enviable reputation that has caused his services to be frequently sought.
On the 14th of January, 1903, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Linderman, a daughter of John and Phoebe (Cook) Linderman, who were natives of Germany and emigrated to the United States in an early day. They settled first in Harrison county, lowa, and subsequently came to Boone county, Mr. Linderman here following farming for a period of fourteen years. He now makes his home with our subject, his wife having passed away in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan are the parents of four children, as follows : Carroll, eight years of age ; Gerald, who is seven years old; and Earl and Helen, who are six and four years of age respectively. Mr. Morgan gives his political allegiance to the democracy and in religious faith is a Methodist. He is also a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity. Both Mr. and Mrs. Morgan enjoy a wide and favorable acquaintance in the community where they reside, and the hospitality of the best homes is cordially extended to them.
ALLEN T. SILVER.
Allen T. Silver, who for the past twenty-eight years has resided at Boone, is a retired farmer, now residing at the home of George W. McBride at 1606 Carroll street. He is widely known and highly respected, for his life has been a busy and useful one in every relation. He proved himself a loyal soldier during the Civil war, has made a capable public officer and is known as a reliable business man. At the present time, however, he is enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. Ile was born at Franklin, Warren county, Ohio, April 25, 1827, and has, therefore, passed the eighty-seventh milestone on life's journey. He is a son of James and Mercy ( Mullin) Silver. The grand- father removed with his family to Warren county, Ohio, in 1805 and there fol- lowed the occupation of farming, spending his remaining days in that locality. He was twice married and by his first wife had two children and by the second ten. The father, a native of New Jersey, was but five years of age when he went with his parents to Warren county, Ohio, and in 1831 he removed with his family to Henry county, Indiana. He engaged in merchandising at West Liberty and when the new National road was built removed to Knightstown. where he engaged in business for a number of years. Subsequently he took up his abode upon a farm in Rush county, Indiana, but his later years were spent at
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ALLEN T. SILVER AND GREAT-GRANDSON
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Knightstown, where he died in 1864. He was active in politics and at one time was a candidate for the state legislature. His religious faith was that of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. He married Mercy Mullin, who was born in New Jersey, December 31, 1799, a daughter of Isaac Mullin, who removed to Warren county, Ohio, about the same time the Silver family established their home there. He became an extensive farmer of that district. His father also went to Ohio and died near Springboro, Warren county. He was a native of Ireland. Mrs. Mercy (Mullin) Silver passed away in 1855.
Allen T. Silver has reached a more advanced age than any other member of his family. He is the eldest of six children and only one other is now living, Isaac, who resides near Indianapolis and is seventy-eight years of age. For a quarter of a century Allen T. Silver was a resident of Indiana, the family home being established there when he was but four years of age. It was a frontier region in which they settled, and he experienced the usual privations and hard- ships of pioneer life. His education was acquired in the old-time subscription schools, for the public-school system had not then been organized in his locality. There he engaged in farming until 1853, when he removed to Boonesboro, Boone county, Iowa. However, he had previously attended lot sales here in 1851. For some time after taking up his abode in the county he engaged in clerking and in 1856 he went to Ridgeport, where he conducted merchandising on his own account for two years. Later he was again in the same line of business for short periods. At length he purchased a farm just north of the city and operated it until his removal to Boone, where he engaged in stock-buying, conducting business very successfully.
On the 15th of April, 1855, in Dodge township, Mr. Silver was united in marriage to Miss Sophia Friedley, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Daniel Friedley. She came to Boone with her brother Henry Friedley, a pioneer of this county, who arrived in 1850. He spent his later years near Tacoma, Wash- ington, and there passed away in December, 1913, at the age of almost eighty years. Mr. and Mrs. Silver had no children of their own but adopted George W. McBride when he was but thirteen months old. He had lost his mother, and they took him into their family as a son, rearing and educating him. He is a machinist by trade and is in the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- road Company. He married Miss Lena Pohl, and to them have been born three children, Leone and Ella and Alice, twins. Ella was married and has one son, Richard Lamonte Noland. The death of Mrs. Silver occurred in September, 1902, and Mr. Silver now makes his home with his fosterson, Mr. McBride. His wife was a consistent member of the United Brethren church and had a large circle of warm friends in this county.
In public affairs Mr. Silver has always taken a keen interest. He acted as enrolling officer during the Civil war in Dodge and Harrison townships, Boone county, being appointed to that position in 1863. In the following year he en- listed as a member of Company K, Thirteen Iowa Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He is now a member of the Grand Army post at Boone and thus maintains pleasant relations with those who were his comrades in arms. Politically he was originally a whig, but on the organiza- tion of the republican party he joined its ranks and has since been one of its stalwart advocates. He served as supervisor of his township, as township trus-
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tee, as justice of the peace and postmaster. He acted as deputy postmaster at Boonesboro for a year and later was postmaster at Ridgeport. He has likewise been school director and at all times he has been a helpful factor in promoting public progress. In former years he served as a trustee of the Methodist Epis- copal church and assisted in building the house of worship for that denomina- tion at Ridgeport. His life has been well and worthily spent, and he is today one of the most venerable of Boone's citizens, receiving the honor and respect which should ever be accorded those of advanced years, whose lives have been guided by manly principles. Six decades have come and gone since he arrived in this county, so that he has been a witness of much of the growth and develop- ment of this part of the state. He has seen many remarkable changes and can tell many interesting stories of the early days.
BENJAMIN F. ROBERTS.
Boone county lost one of its valued and representative citizens when Benja- min F. Roberts passed away on the 22d of May, 1899, for he had been a resi- dent of Harrison township from 1857. He came to Iowa from New York, having been born in Jefferson county, the Empire state, in 1830. His parents were Dr. Hugh and Betsy ( Burdick ) Roberts, who were also natives of New York, where they spent their entire lives. They were of Quaker faith and the father was a practicing physician, who also owned and supervised a farm.
Benjamin F. Roberts was reared in his native county, where he learned the wagon-maker's trade, following that pursuit in the east until 1857, when he removed westward to Boone county and began farming in what was then Jack- son, but is now Harrison township. In his work he met with a large meas- ure of success. He kept in touch with the advanced methods of farming. brought his land to a high state of cultivation, and as improved machinery was placed upon the market, he became a purchaser thereof and thus facilitated his farm work. His place ever presented a neat and attractive appearance, and the result of his labors was the attainment of a gratifying competence.
In Jefferson county, New York, on the 24th of August, 1854, Mr. Roberts was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Houghton, who was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 6, 1835, a daughter of Elijah and Harriet (Dop- king) Houghton, who were natives of Massachusetts and New York respectively and were farming people. Mr. and Mrs. Roberts became the parents of two daughters. Harriet Estella is the wife of J. R. McNaughton, a farmer living at Cedar Rapids, Linn county, Iowa, and they have four children: Mrs. Ollie Delany; Mrs. Lillian Privett ; Earl, of Des Moines ; and Benjamin F., a student in the Art Institute of Chicago. Emma was married July 31, 1884 to William F. Boggs, who was for many years a hardware merchant of Streator, Illinois, and for five years conducted business at Story, Iowa. He has followed farm- ing in Boone county, operating the Roberts farm in Harrison township. He was born July 10, 1854, in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, and in 1857 was taken to Illinois by his parents, Robert M. and Isabella May (Baumgardner ) Boggs. They remained in Illinois until 1873, when they removed to Plainview, Nebraska,
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where they resided until they passed away. William F. Boggs attended the high school. He afterward entered the hardware business and in 1889 formed a partnership at Streator, Illinois, becoming a member of the firm of McFeely, Boggs & Company. In 1905 Mr. Boggs withdrew from that firm and removed from Streator to Story, Iowa, where he engaged in the hardware business for five years. On the 5th of May, 1910, he arrived in Boone, where he has since made his home, and is today one of the valued and respected residents of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Boggs have one son, Sidney R., who is a graduate of the Boone high school of the class of 1914. Mr. Boggs served for five years as a member of the state militia of Illinois. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and while in Streator he served as a member of the board of education for nine years. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of the Globe. Since 1884 he has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is inter- ested in the Young Men's Christian Association.
In his political views Benjamin F. Roberts was a stalwart republican, sup- porting the party from its organization, until his demise. He was a man of progressive views and ideas. He helped to build the first agricultural college, at Ames, donating liberally to the institution and attending in 1859 the first picnic on the campus, together with Mrs. Roberts, who also attended the last one, held in 1909. While fifteen years have come and gone since Mr. Roberts passed away, he is yet remembered by many citizens of Harrison township and other sections of the county, who esteemed him highly because of his many excellent traits of character, his public-spirited devotion to the general good and his loyalty in friendship.
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