USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 32
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JOHN S. GASTON.
With Boone as a railway center, naturally a considerable proportion of its citizens are connected with the railway service, among whom are those whose efficiency has been acknowledged in promotion by the railway corporation which they serve. One of these is John S. Gaston, a passenger conductor on the North- western between Boone and Omaha. He has been a conductor since 1890, while his connection with railroad work dates from 1883, more than three decades ago. His first position was that of brakeman, while later he became freight conduc- tor, and in 1904 was made passenger conductor. He was born upon a farm near Traer, Tama county, Iowa, on the 3d of January, 1859 a son of Hugh Ford Gaston, a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, born in August, 1810. While still a resident of the Buckeye state he married Elizabeth Stokes, of Wells- ville, Ohio, a daughter of John and Martha (Van Tilberg) Stokes. On leaving his native state Hugh Ford Gaston removed to Iowa with his wife and child, settling in Tama county. The journey was made by wagon and they crossed the Mississippi river at Muscatine. Pioneer conditions existed in the state, where the work of progress and improvement had scarcely been begun. They settled
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among the Indians in Tama county and the father purchased one hundred and sixty acres of government land at a dollar and a quarter per acre. His farm was situated in Perry township and was mostly prairie land. He later acquired an ad- joining tract of one hundred and sixty acres of land for which he gave a team of oxen. This was virgin soil, and with characteristic energy he began to turn the sod and prepare the place for cultivation. He built a house of logs and it was in that pioneer cabin that John S. Gaston was born. Later the primitive home was replaced by a frame dwelling and this in turn gave way before a thoroughly modern two-story frame residence containing ten rooms-one of the attractive modern homes of the twentieth century. About fifteen years ago Mr. Gaston retired from active life and removed to Traer, where he is still living-active, hale and hearty and possessing a most retentive memory. He is one of the honored pioneer settlers of his part of the state and has ever been acknowledged a citi- zen of worth. He was one of the builders of the Congregational church, and he has always given stalwart support to the republican party. His wife also survives and is now eighty-four years of age. Theirs is the remarkable record of having been married sixty-six years and having never been separated for a single day. In their family were the following children : Etta, at home ; James, who died at the age of forty-one years; John S .; Ella, now the wife of Professor O. P. Berber of Cornell, Iowa ; Mattie, who died at the age of twenty-one years ; Willis, living at Reinbeck, Iowa; Wallace, who makes his home at Traer; Den- ver Dayton, at home; and Zay, the wife of George Franzenberg of Tacoma, Washington.
Born and reared on the old home farm, John S. Gaston was a pupil in the public schools of Traer between the ages of five and fifteen years. With the family he shared in the usual experiences, hardships and privations of pioneer life, at a time when Waterloo was the nearest town to the Gaston homestead. The entire country was new and the land unbroken, and there was no railroad until the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern was built through Traer. Even in his boyhood days Mr. Gaston was deeply interested in the development and progress of the district. After leaving the public schools he continued his edu- cation at the Tilford Academy in Vinton, Iowa, and also spent a year at Cor- nell College in Mount Vernon. When about eighteen years of age he finished his studies and later remained upon the home farm until he attained his major- ity. About 1882 or 1883 he came to Boone and soon afterward entered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company in the capacity of brakeman. After serving in that way for two years he was called home to take charge of the farm, for his father had been elected county treasurer of Tama county and needed the assistance of his son in the work of the fields that he might be thus relieved to take charge of the duties of his official position. In 1887 John S. Gaston returned to Boone and once more entered the employ of the Northwestern as brakeman, continuing as such until the Ist of June, 1890, when he was pro- moted to freight conductor, his run being between Boone and Council Bluffs. He acted in that capacity until 1904, when, on the 24th of December, he was pro- moted to the position of passenger conductor, still running between Boone and Council Bluffs. He has since served as passenger conductor and is a popular official of the road because of his unfailing courtesy and obliging manner and his ready and willing assistance to the many patrons of the road.
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On the 22d of November, 1888, in Traer, Iowa, the Rev. Bingham pronounced the words that made John S. Gaston and Miss Helena Schroeder husband and wife. Mrs. Gaston was born in Marne, Holstein, Germany, June 19, 1865, and was brought to the United States when a year old by her parents, who located in Davenport, Iowa. When she was five years of age they went to Toledo, Tama county, and when she became a maiden of twelve summers a removal was made to Traer, Iowa, where she continued her education in the public school. Her father, Peter Schroeder, was educated in Germany and served for three years in the German army. He afterward learned and followed the mason's trade in his native country, but, thinking that he might have better opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, as previously stated, accompanied by his wife and two children. He was the only one of that branch of the Schroeder family to come to America. He followed the mason's trade for a time after reaching the new world, but ultimately turned his attention to other pursuits and is now a retired farmer living in Davenport. Unto him and his wife were born the following children: Mrs. Gaston; Charles, who makes his home in Spencer, Iowa; William, deceased ; Henry, a practicing physi- cian of Braymer, Missouri; Peter, a physician of Davenport, Iowa; and Emma, the wife of Charles Anderson, of Peoria, Illinois.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gaston have been born three children. Mildred, born November 18, 1889, in Boone, attended the public schools until graduated with the class of 1908. She then pursued a four years' course in Ames College, tak- ing domestic science, and for a year and a half she was a teacher at Ida Grove. On the IIth of February, 1914, she became the wife of John M. Gould and resides in Cleburne, Texas. Mary Elizabeth, born November 13, 1894, was graduated from the Boone high school with the class of 1913 and is now a teacher in the Ericson school of Boone county. Donald S., born April 17, 1899, is a high-school pupil in Boone. The record of the children indicates the inter- est of the parents in education and their efforts to give their daughters and son excellent advantages along that line. In politics Mr. Gaston is a stalwart repub- lican, believing firmly in the principles of the party. He belongs to the Brother- hood of Railway Trainmen and to Boone Lodge, No. 79, F. & A. M. He and his family are consistent and faithful members of the Presbyterian church, and they occupy a pleasant home at No. 204 Tama street, which Mr. Gaston purchased eight years ago. Fidelity to duty is one of his strong characteristics ; his ability has developed through effort and his energy and industry have made him one of the trustworthy representatives of railway activity in Boone.
JOHN REED BOYD.
John Reed Boyd is a prosperous farmer residing on section 17, Colfax town- ship, where he successfully cultivates one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he owns. His birth occurred in Elk River township, Clinton county, Iowa, on the 2d day of December, 1853. His father, James Boyd, was a native of Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood. His marriage occurred in Clinton county, Iowa, his wife being in her maidenhood Miss Mary Sloane.
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They later came to Boone county. The father passed away in Colfax township after he had reached the Psalmist's allotted age of man, his death occurring when he was seventy-two years old. His political support was given to the democratic party, and he was a man of splendid qualities of character and enjoyed the esteem of his community. His wife passed away on the homestead, and both are buried in Clarke cemetery. To them were born the following children : George J .; Thomas S .; Martha W., now deceased, who married Norman Hurd; Marion and David, who have passed away; John Reed, of this review; Mary E., now Mrs. Smith Barret, of Boone; Ethel A., deceased, who married Harry Myers ; and James B., of Colfax.
John Reed Boyd remained in Clinton county, Iowa, until he was sixteen years of age, and his energies were devoted to the acquiring of an education in the public schools and the assisting in the work of cultivating the home farm. In 1860 he accompanied his father to Boone county, locating on a tract of land in Colfax township. The father was at one time the owner of nine hundred acres, which he later divided among his children. Our subject continued his education in Colfax township, putting aside his text-books at the age of nineteen. For a few years thereafter he remained at home, aiding his father in the tilling of the soil. In 1875 his marriage occurred, and for thirteen years subsequently he made his home upon his father's land. In the fall of 1892 he built his present residence. He has proven himself an efficient agriculturist and reaps bountiful harvests as the reward of his labor.
In 1875 Mr. Boyd married Miss Ella Hull, a daughter of Samuel A. and Rachel ( Prother) Hull. The following children were born to our subject and his wife: Minnie May, the wife of Charles Cromwell of Madrid; Samuel R., at home ; Ernest W., also at home; Byron J., of Colfax township ; Alpha C., who married Tillie Legvold, of Colfax; Harry E., who passed away at sixteen ; and Lee J. and Leah Irene, twins.
Mrs. Boyd is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Boyd gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and has served for some time as · a school director, always manifesting a praiseworthy interest in the welfare of the public schools of his district. He has carried the same spirit into all the relations of life and in consequence holds the respect of his fellowmen.
FRANK D. ADIX.
Frank D. Adix, who is engaged in the carpentering and contracting business in Boone in partnership with his brother A. W., is numbered among that city's shrewd and able business men. Ile is a son of Lewis W. and Fredericka ( Krog- man) Adix, natives of Germany, who are mentioned in another part of this work and who are numbered among the pioneer residents of Boone county.
Frank D. Adix was born on the home farm in Yell township, March. 12, 1875. and when old enough entered the district schools of the neighborhood, continuing his lessons in the Hickory Grove school during the winter months until he was twenty-one years of age. During this time, however, he gave much attention to agricultural pursuits, acquainting himself thoroughly with the best methods
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under the able direction of his father. He so continued until twenty-two years of age and then, in partnership with his brother Albert W., acquired the title to the homestead, which they operated as partners until the spring of 1913, when Mr. Adix of this review removed to Boone in order to give the best of care to his aged parents. He is now engaged in the contracting business in Boone and in partnership with his brother has executed a number of important contracts. He is shrewd and able, up-to-date and thoroughly honest in all his methods, having gained a high reputation among the builders of Boone county. In partnership with his brother he owns eighteen lots in Barnett's addition in the fifth ward of the city of Boonc.
On March 20, 1907, Mr. Adix was united in marriage, in Ogden, Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth Rinehart, a daughter of William P. and Phoebe ( Bressler ) Rinehart. Mr. Adix takes a lasting interest in the social and material progress of his community. Ile gives readily to charitable causes and, although not a member of any church, often attends religious services. He is a democrat, loy- ally supporting that party at the polls, although he is not an office-seeker.
WILLIAM H. CHANCE.
William H. Chance, of Boone. Iowa, is a partner in the firm of T. H. Chance & Son, who conduct a large and profitable machine shop in that city. He is one of the younger business men of Boone county, his birth having occurred in Angus, this county, March 14, 1884. He is a son of Tillman and Jennie (Davis) Chance, the latter a native of Boone county. The father was born in Adel, Dallas county, Iowa. about sixty years ago. He spent his boyhood and youth in Dallas county, there attending the public schools. In his earlier life he assisted in farm labor but subsequently became an engineer in the gold mines of Colorado and upon his return from the western state established himself as a stationary engineer in Angus in 1880. He now deals in farm lands, besides being interested in the firm with which son is connected. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chance are members of the Christian church and the former is fraternally a Knight of Pythias and a Mason. He votes independently, preferring to follow his own judgment in giving sup- port to the various candidates. Previous to his marriage to Jennie Davis, Mr. Chance was wedded to a Miss Garoutte, who bore him two children: Zilla ; and Clifford A., of Ralston, Iowa, who married Jessie Le Compte, by whom he has one child, Eloise. To his second marriage the following children were born : William H., of this review; Myrtle, who now resides with her parents and who is the widow of James McCart, by whom she has one child, Grace; Josephine, the wife of R. A. Timmins and the mother of Audrey Timmins ; Emma, who is Mrs. Frank Burris of Des Moines; Lena, who married Richard Harrison and resides in Des Moines ; and Linnie, at home.
William H. Chance was but a year old when his parents removed from Angus to Fishville, Iowa. There they remained about a year and then proceeded to Van Meter, which was the family home for about four years. The next two years were spent in Victoria, British Columbia, whence the family returned for one year to Van Meter, thence going to Fraser, Iowa, where they domiciled for thir-
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teen years. William H. Chance was educated in the public schools of Fraser and Ogden. He completed his lessons in the latter place at the age of sixteen and then became a fireman for the Boone Coal & Mining Company at Fraser, holding that position for two years. At the end of that time he was promoted engineer and for six years acted in that capacity. He then was given charge of an engine in the Ogden mines for one year and for the next two years was employed as master merchanic. On the expiration of that period he came to Boone, becoming part owner of the machine shop which is operated under the firm name of T. H. Chance & Son. Mr. Chance is not only an expert machinist but an able business man and has done much toward establishing the reputation of his firm. They now do an extensive business and are numbered among the prosperous concerns of his city.
In June, 1905, in Fraser, William H. Chance married Miss Bessie Grylls, who was born in Angus in September, 1883, and is a daughter of Samuel and Mar- garet ( Williams) Grylls of Fraser. Mr. and Mrs. Chance have two children : Clifford Howard, who was born February 27, 1907 : and Raymond Samuel, born March 25, 1909. Mr. Chance votes independently, not submitting to any party dictation. Fraternally he belongs to the Loyal Order of Moose, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the National Association of Steam Engineers. Mr. Chance has not only built up an individual success but has been a factor in the growth and development of his community. He is every ready to give his sup- port to measures which are undertaken to extend the trade interests of his city and also takes a lively interest in the moral and intellectual upbuilding of the people. He receives the confidence and esteem of all who know him and is worthy of the trust which is placed in him.
PETER A. STARK.
Peter A. Stark, who was born in Sweden, January 16, 1863, is a representa- tive of that race which has contributed so much toward the general development of this country in various sections of the United States. He combines in his character the sturdy qualities of his nation with the aggressiveness and the shrewdness of the American merchant. He is engaged in the hardware and im- plement business in Boxholm, Boone county, and has been very successful in the conduct of his affairs. His parents were Peter and Matilda (Larson) Stark, natives of Sweden, the former a carpenter by trade. He was engaged in that occupation in his native land until 1868, when he and his family came to America, locating in Hardin township, Webster county, Iowa, where the father found employment in a sawmill, remaining there until 1879, when he removed to Grant township, Boone county, where he had previously bought land which he transformed into richly bearing fields, operating this property for many years. He had bought this farm while yet a resident of Hardin township, Webster county, in 1872, but took up its cultivation about seven years later, when he moved thereon. This farm consisted of eighty acres and was located on section 16. Mr. Stark finally retired from active labor with a fair competency and moved to Boxholm, where he lived until his death, which occurred in the spring
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of 1909, at the age of seventy-six years. His widow is a resident of Boxholm and is now in her seventy-fifth year.
Peter A. Stark was five years of age when his parents came to America and received his education in Webster county, Iowa. He remained on the home farm until he had reached his majority and then bought land on section 16, Grant township, which he improved and cultivated for nine years. Upon selling out he came to Boxholm, engaging in the hardware and farm implement business, and has ever since given his attention to this line of work. He carries a large stock and enjoys a profitable trade, his store being the only one of its kind in the neighborhood. He owns his own business building and also holds title to his residence.
In June, 1888, Mr. Stark married Miss Rose Johnson, a daughter of Swan and Margaret (Englund ) Johnson, natives of Sweden, who upon coming to America located in Grant township, where the father followed farming and also acted as engineer. His property was located on section 3, Grant township, and there he continued until 1890, when he retired and moved to Dayton, where he gave some attention to auctioneering and the real-estate business. He died in that city in February, 1912, and his widow is still residing there. Mr. and Mrs. Stark are the parents of four children: Swan A., twenty-four years of age, who is engaged in farming in Missouri; Alice, who is twenty-one years of age and who married Oscar T. Wilen, who is employed in his father-in-law's store : Ernest Bryan, sixteen years of age ; and Virgil J., aged ten.
Mr. Stark also owns a hardware and implement business in Harcourt, Web- ster county, which is in a most prosperous condition. He is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Boxholm and at present is a member of the town council. For twelve years he served as trustee of Grant township and also held the office of assessor. In his various 'public connections he has always proven himself a man of trustworthiness and faithfulness, placing the general welfare above his private interests. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist church. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic lodge, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Stark has many friends in Boxholm and stands high in the esti- mation of all who know him.
JAMES W. LAMB.
James WV. Lamb, a retired hotel proprietor, has been a resident of Boone for thirty years and of the county for forty-four years. He has an extensive acquaint- ance in this part of the state, and lie has had considerable influence in shaping pub- lic affairs. He was born near Terre Haute, Indiana, on the Ist of April, 1836. His paternal grandfather was a pioneer of Kentucky and died in that state. His father, William Lamb, was born in North Carolina in 1804 but when four years of age was taken by his parents to Kentucky, where he was reared. He there mar- ried Rachel Ashcroft and afterward removed to Indiana, where he lived until his removal to Illinois, his death occurring in Jo Daviess county of the latter state
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when he was in his seventy-sixth year. His wife passed away when sixty-five years of age. They had a family of nine children, all of whom have now passed away with the exception of James W. and John R., the latter a resident of Hanover, Illinois.
James W. Lamb was but four years of age when the family removed from Indiana to Schuyler county, Illinois, where they lived for four years and then took up their abode near Freeport, that state, where he was reared to manhood. The country was new and pioneer conditions existed on all sides. He remembers see- ing herds of deer and elk where now stands the flourishing city of Freeport. He was educated in one of the old-time log schoolhouses with its hewed log benches and big fireplace occupying one end of the room. Methods of instruc- tion were as primitive as the building and it was at a time when every school teacher heeded the injunction concerning "Spare the rod and spoil the child." In his youth Mr. Lamb worked upon the home farm and as he advanced in years and strength assisted more and more largely in the labor of the fields. After a time the father purchased a farm in Jo Daviess county, just across the line from their old home.
In 1856 James W. Lamb was married in McDonough county, Illinois, to Miss Deborah Ann De Camp, of that county, a daughter of Joel and Matilda (Bridge) De Camp. The young couple began their domestic life upon an Illinois farm and in May, 1870, they removed to Iowa, settling at Ogden, where Mr. Lamb conducted a meat market which was the first in the town. At the end of three years he purchased a farm in Yell township and thereon made his home for seven years, upon the expiration of which period he went to Rolfe, Iowa, where he was engaged in the live-stock and banking business for five years. He then came to Boone and embarked in the hotel business, conducting the City Hotel for twenty-seven years, since which time he has lived retired. His business affairs have at all times been carefully and wisely directed and his energy and careful management have brought to him a success which now enables him to live retired.
While living in Yell township Mr. Lamb was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who passed away there in 1877. He afterward wedded Susie Fogel, in Phillipsburg, Kansas. She died in Boone in 1896 and on the 24th of April, 1901, Mr. Lamb wedded Mrs. Margaret Totten, who was born in Park- ersburg, West Virginia, October 21, 1849, a daughter of William and Lucy ( Maddox) Davis, who were natives of West Virginia and were descended from New England ancestry. The latter was a daughter of one of the soldiers of the Revolutionary war. Allen Davis, the paternal grandfather, was a large slave holder in Virginia. During the early period in the history of that state hie owned and operated a ferry at Harpers Ferry. Margaret Davis, daughter of William and Lucy ( Maddox) Davis, was but five years of age when she accompanied hier parents to Jasper county, Iowa, where she was reared to womanhood. In that county she first married Phillip Totten, a native of Ohio and a butcher by trade. He died in Hot Springs, Arkansas. They became the parents of three children : Alvin, a merchant of Turtle Lake, North Dakota; Anna, the wife of Asby Perry, of Atkinson, Nebraska ; and William, of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. By his first marriage Mr. Lamb had two children, who are yet living, Alzina and Julia. The former is the widow of David Reading and has three children, Lewis, Nellie and Ethel. Julia is the wife of George Rittgers, of Paton, Iowa, and their
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children are Glenn, Bessie, Gertrude, Lloyd and Floyd, twins, Marvel and Homer.
Mr. and Mrs. Lamb are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he was a republican for a number of years after casting his first presi- dential ballot for Fremont. For some years past, however, he has been active in the prohibition party and for a long period has been county chairman. In the early days of his residence here he served as deputy sheriff and has also been constable, supervisor and school director. Fraternally, he is connected with the Odd Fellows, being a charter member of Rolfe Lodge, No. 94. Energy and industry constitute the basis of the success which he has achieved. He early realized that these qualities are indispensable in winning business advancement and his close application and diligence have placed him in a position among the men of affluence in his adopted county, where he is also widely and favorably known by reason of many attractive social qualities.
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