USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 47
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MARQUIS MICHELSON SMITH.
Marquis Michelson Smith, a progressive and up-to-date business man con- ducting a general store at Mackey, lowa, was born in Germany on the 11th of June, 1861, and is a son of Michael Anderson and Maria (Gerberson) Smith. The parents spent their entire lives in the fatherland and both are now deceased.
Marquis M. Smith was reared and educated in Germany but at the age of seventeen years went to Denmark, where the following three years were passed. It was in 1881 that he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, determined to try his fortune in this country. Locating in Davenport, Iowa, he followed the painter's trade there for a short time and then removed to Des Moines, where three years were passed. The following two years were spent in Story City and at the end of that time he came to Boone county. In 1887 he opened a general store in Mackey and has since carried on business here, having built up an excel-
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lent trade in the meantime. His stock is large and well selected and in the delivery of his goods he uses an auto truck.
Mr. Smith was married on the 23d of October, 1885, to Miss Christina Chris- tianson, a daughter of Thomas Peterson, and they have become the parents of the following children: William, who married Christina Weigel and is now employed as an engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad with headquarters at Council Bluffs; Harry, who married Beatrice York and is engaged in farming in Harrison township; Mamie, who is teaching school in that township; and Andrew, who assists his father in the store and resides at home.
For sixteen years Mr. Smith served as postmaster of Mackey but the office was discontinued in 1905. He is an earnest member of the Methodist church and belongs to the Danish Brotherhood and Modern Woodmen Lodge, No. 7803, of Mackey, of which he is now clerk. His success in life is due to his own untir- ing efforts, sound judgment and reliable dealing, and besides his store he today owns forty acres of improved land. Always courteous and accommodating, he has made many friends during his residence in this county and both as a business man and citizen stands deservedly high in the estimation of his fellow citizens.
GEORGE HENRY STEVENS.
The life record of George Henry Stevens is interwoven with the history of Boone, where he has been a resident for half a century, becoming well known as a carpenter, builder and architect. He has now passed the eighty-first milestone on life's journey, having been born in Almond, Allegany county, New York, June 8, 1833.
His paternal grandfather, Phineas Stevens, was descended from Henry Stev- ens, who was a son of Nickolas Stevens, an officer under Cromwell, and who came to this country in 1678, settling at Stonington, Connecticut. Phineas Stevens was the first white child born at Almond, New York. His son, Levi Stevens, the father of the subject of this review, was also a native of Almond and married Jemima Dyke. She was a descendant of Captain Nathaniel Dyke, a native of Connecticut, who was educated at Yale and who served in the Revolution, being an officer in the American army. He was on the staff of General Warren at Boston and later was on the staff of General Washington. The Stevens, McHenry and Dyke families were among the early settlers of Allegany county, New York. Levi Stevens followed the occupations of farming and of carpentering. His political indorsement was given to the whig party, and both he and his wife were Univer- salists in religious faith. Her death occurred in Allegany county in 1847. when she was nearly fifty years of age. They were the parents of eleven children : Harriet, who became the wife of Lester Ely and died in Nebraska at the advanced age of eighty-six years; James, of Rochester, New York, now deceased, who married Georgie Annie Allen and after her death wedded Ophelia Goff ; Robert, who married a Miss Stoddard and located in Rochester, New York, but died in Detroit, Michigan; Ann, who became the wife of William Wilcox and died in Dunkirk, New York; William, who also passed away in the Empire state; Jack- son, who makes his home in Hamilton, Illinois ; Martin, who died in childhood ;
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George Henry, of this review; Asher, who with his brother Martin was burned to death in a fire that destroyed their old home in New York; Llewllyn, who was a soldier in an Illinois regiment during the Civil war ; and Lucien, who also served in the Civil war and is now in the National Soldiers' Home at Danville.
In his youthful days George Henry Stevens attended the subscription schools to the age of eighteen years. He was reared upon the home farm and when a youth of fifteen began learning the carpenter's trade, which he made his life work. On the 20th of December, 1858, when a young man of twenty-five years, he married Emily Thankful McHenry, a daughter of James and Abigail (Vin- cent) McHenry. Mrs. Stevens was born October 12, 1836, in Almond, New York, and attended school there and also an academy at Alfred, New York. She then began teaching at the age of twenty years in the country schools and was thus employed to the time of her marriage.
Her father, a son of Captain John McHenry of the Revolution, made farming his life work and always continued a resident of the Empire state. By his first marriage he had four children. Benjamin, who was born November 13. 1813, married Julia Hall and lived in Allegany county, New York, to an old age, after which he removed to Denison, Iowa, where his last days were passed. Josiah McHenry, born August 15, 1815, married Minerva Green and spent his entire life in Allegany county, New York, where lie engaged in the hotel business. Priscilla, born July 13, 1817, became the wife of James Chase in 1838. They went as far west as Nauvoo, Illinois, with the Mormons, after which Mrs. Chase was taken back to New York state by her brother Josiah and never returned, her husband afterward going to England as a Mormon missionary. Roswell, born November 24, 1819, married Sarah Coffee and they removed to Rock county, Wisconsin, becoming pioneer settlers of that locality, in which they spent their remaining days. Having lost his first wife. James McHenry married, in 1821, Miss Abigail Vincent, and their children were as follows: James Vincent, born October 16, 1822, married Dency Teft and settled in Rock county, Wisconsin, and afterward went to Denison, Iowa, where his death occurred. Elizabeth, born January 9, 1825, became the wife of Thomas Cottrell and died in Allegany county, New York. Richard Charles, born April 10, 1826, married Adeline Peck, and they remained residents of Allegany county until called to their final rest. Amelia, born October 16, 1828, became the wife of Milo Wigant, an attorney, who removed westward to Helena, Arkansas, and finally became a resident of Oregon, where both passed away. Morris, born July 29. 1831, removed to Crawford county, Iowa, where he wedded Mary L. Comfort. He served as first county surveyor and continued in office until his death in 1911. Mary Eleanor, born October 31, 1833, became the wife of William Coon and settled in Crawford county, Iowa, where her death occurred. Mrs. Stevens is the next of the family. Abigail. born July 11, 1839, became the wife of Paul M. Green and they removed to Rock county, Wisconsin, where they spent the remainder of their lives. For his third wife James McHenry chose Sarah Alexander and they had one child, William Alexander, who was born March 6, 1841. He married Miss Mary Sears, and he served as a soldier in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry during the Civil war. He afterward settled in Denison, Iowa.
Following the marriage of George Henry Stevens and Emily Thankful Mc- Henry they began their domestic life in the east, but in 1865 came to Iowa, influ-
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enced by the fact that Mrs. Stevens had two brothers at Denison, Crawford county. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens intended joining them there and proceeded by train as far as Nevada. which was then the terminus of the railroad. They then took the stage for Denison, but found the country so wild and undeveloped that they returned to Boonesboro, which was then a village of promise, later establishing their home at the corner of Eighth and Benton streets, Boone, where Mr. Stevens built a dwelling. He acquired a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Craw- ford county, which he developed but eventually sold. After his removal to the west, however, he continued to follow his trade and as an architect and builder became well known in this county, erecting many of the early substantial resi- dences of Boone and the surrounding country, while the Phipps Hotel, one of the first hostelries of Boone, was a monument to his skill and enterprise as a builder.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevens have a daughter, Marie Burr, who was born in New York, January 1, 1861, was educated in the public schools of Boone and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1879. On the 2d of October. 1879, she became the wife of John H. Boggs Frampton, by whom she had five children: George Elliott, a brakeman on a passenger train on the Chicago & Northwestern, who married Rosalee Forbes; Arthur Vincent, an electrician of Boone, who wedded Mary Smith ; Mary Emily, who was a graduate of the Boone high school and attended Simpson College for two years, but passed away November 23, 1911, at the age of twenty-six years ; Walter John, a passenger brakeman residing at home: and Harris Burr, who is attending school at Iowa City. The father of these children, John Harris Boggs Frampton, is next to the oldest engineer in point of service on the Western Iowa division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. When Mrs. Mckinley was taken ill on a tour over the country with the President Mr. Frampton was chosen as the one to haul the train from Omaha to Boone and was highly complimented for the manner in which he performed this service by the president, who noted his extreme carefulness.
Mr. Stevens cast his first presidential ballot for John C. Fremont in 1856 and has since been a stalwart supporter of the republican party but has never sought nor desired office. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and their many good qualities have gained for them the high regard, confidence and good-will of all who know them. No history of Boone county would be complete without reference to them, for they have been actively iden- tified with its upbuilding and progress through five decades.
MARK C. JONES, M. D.
Dr. Mark C. Jones, a physician and surgeon of established reputation and recognized skill, has practiced his profession in Boone for the past five years with gratifying results. His birth occurred in McLean county, Illinois, on the 24th of September, 1871, his parents being Nelson and Eliza A. (White) Jones, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. Both have passed away. Throughout his active business career Nelson Jones devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits. To him and his wife were born five children, as follows: Ward B., who is a resident of McLean county, Illinois ; Lattie G.,
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also living in McLean county, Illinois; Anna, who is the wife of S. R. Hilts, of Bloomington, Illinois; Elmetta, at home; and Mark C., of this review.
The last named supplemented his early education by a course of study in the Illinois State Normal University at Normal, and subsequently attended Eastman College of Poughkeepsie, New York. He afterward spent three years in the Third National Bank of Bloomington and then took up the study of medi- cine in St. Louis University, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1898. Dr. Jones first located for practice in Illinois, but after a short period removed to Indiana, where he followed his profession successfully for ten years. In 1911 he came to Boone, Iowa, where he has remained to the present time, building up a gratifying and remunerative practice.
On the 21st of September, 1898, Dr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Harriett White, a native of Illinois, by whom he has three children, as follows : Margaret, whose birth occurred on the 4th of June, 1900; Robert N., who was born June 2, 1903; and Grace Virginia, whose natal day was December 21, 1907.
In his political views Dr. Jones is a progressive, advocating the principles set forth by Theodore Roosevelt at the time of the birth of the party. He is a worthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, while his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. His acquaintance is wide, and he has a host of friends, whose high regard he has gained through his professional ability, his deference to the opinions of others, his genial manner and unfailing courtesy.
GOTHARD HEEDWELL.
Boone county has drawn its quota of citizens from various sections, not only of this country, but of the globe. Among those who have come from Sweden is Gothard Heedwell, who since 1907 has had charge of the county farm. He was born in Sweden in 1861 and his first name was takgn from the famous Gothard tunnel through the Alps. His father was a graduate of an agricultural college and became manager of a large estate. At length he determined to try his for- tune in America and crossed the Atlantic with his family, making his way to Boone county, Iowa, at which time he settled in Marcy township. He began work in the mines, as did his son Gothard, and they were thus employed for thirteen years, or until able to purchase a farm. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eric Heed- well, still reside upon the old homestead in Marcy township and are well known and representative agricultural people.
Gothard Heedwell had a common-school education such as he could secure at that early day. He was but six years of age when the family came to the new world and was quite young when he started out to earn his own living, for his parents were in limited financial circumstances and needed his assistance, for he was the eldest in a family of five children, the others being daughters. Ellen, his eldest sister, became the wife of Eric Anderson and now resides upon a farm near Boone. Selma married J. E. Sandereen, who is farming in Kansas. Lydia is the wife of the Rev. J. A. Edlund, pastor of a Lutheran church in Idaho. Olma died of measles at an early age.
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Gothard Heedwell spent his youth largely in this county and, as previously stated, began to earn his own living when quite young, working with his father in the mines. In 1893 he was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Aspengren, whose parents and family still reside in Sweden, the daughter coming alone to the United States. For twelve years prior to 1907 Mr. Heedwell spent much of his time on the Pacific coast, employed on various fruit ranches. During the last period of his residence in that section of the country he had charge of a ranch of four hundred and twenty acres near San Jose, California, which was the property of W. W. Montague. Since 1907 he has had charge of the county farm of Boone county, comprising two hundred and thirty-six acres, and has most capably, ably and wisely directed its cultivation and management. He has succeeded in reducing the expense of its operation to a minimum. At the present time the inmates number thirty-three insane and thirty-one paupers, and by reason of what is raised upon the farm the average cost of meals per individual has been reduced to four and a half cents-a great saving to the taxpayers of the county.
Mr. Heedwell is a republican in his political views and stanchly advocates the principles of his party. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen Camp at Ogden, lowa, and he attends the Lutheran church, although he does not hold membership with any denomination. He has many of the sterling characteristics of the sons of Sweden and has become thoroughly imbued with the spirit of enterprise char- acteristic of the new world. He has made good use of his time and opportunities on this side of the Atlantic and whatever prosperity has come to him is well deserved.
DE WITT C. WILEY.
De Witt C. Wiley has for more than two decades represented the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway as agent at Pilot Mound and is a highly esteemed and pro- gressive citizen of the town. His birth occurred near Rochester, in Wayne county, New York, on the 7th of December, 1855, his parents being Alex and Lucy Wiley, who were likewise natives of the Empire state. The father followed general agricultural pursuits in New York for many years but subsequently removed to Michigan, where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away on the 20th of April, 1889. The mother was called to her final rest in 1897.
De Witt C. Wiley was reared and educated in the state of his nativity and afterward made his way to Wisconsin, where he learned telegraphy and entered the service of the Wabash Railroad Company, continuing with the corporation from 1882 until 1893. In the latter year he came to Pilot Mound, Boone county, lowa, and accepted a position as agent with the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, in which capacity he has ably served throughout the intervening twenty-one years, discharging his duties in a highly satisfactory manner.
On the 11th of April, 1883, Mr. Wiley was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna (Derry) Parker, who was born in Illiopolis, Illinois, in September, 1858, her par- ents being M. H. and Harriet (Dickerson) Derry, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter of Illinois. Mr. Derry was a railroad man and made his home at Illiopolis, Illinois, until his death in November, 1897, while the demise
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of his wife occurred in August, 1907. To Mr. and Mrs. Wiley has been born one child, Ruby B., now seventeen years of age, who is attending school. Mrs. Wiley has been twice married and by her first husband had a son and daughter : Fanny E., who died on the 6th of February, 1889, when eight years of age, and J. C. Parker, who is a practicing dentist of Rockwell City, Iowa.
Mr. Wiley supports the prohibition party at the polls, believing that the liquor traffic is one of the worst evils with which this country has to contend. He has served as a member of the town council and did creditable work in that connec- tion. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, while fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. He has a wide circle of acquaintances throughout the community and is best liked where he is best known-a fact indicative of qualities of character that are commendable, ever commanding respect and regard.
THEODORE A. ADAMS.
For twenty-two years Theodore A. Adams has been a passenger engineer on the Northwestern railroad, having ever discharged his duties with circumspection and faithfulness. He now resides in a pretty home at No. 229 Cedar street, Boone. He was born January 30, 1858, in Monroe county, Wisconsin, and is a son of Nathaniel and Matilda ( Curry) Adams. The father was born in New England. He served in the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as a private and was killed in the battle of Petersburg. Matilda Curry was a daughter of Riley Curry, who was born in Ireland and upon coming to the United States settled near Perry, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits. Mrs. Adams subsequent to her first husband's death married Andrew J. Hutson. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and died in Perry, lowa. Mr. and Mrs. Adams had four children : John H., of Valley Junction, Iowa, who married twice; Maria, who married John Cameron of Des Moines, Iowa; Theodore A., of this review ; and Frank, of Valley Junction, lowa.
Theodore A. Adams spent the first years of his life in Wisconsin, attending school in the little village of Ripon, that state. After his father's death the family removed to Iowa, and he completed his education in the schools of Grand Junc- tion. He entered upon the duties of life by assisting his stepfather and the lat- ter's brother, who were engaged in building operations and in moving houses. After leaving home Mr. Adams first worked for a Mr. Hughes on a farm five miles north of Beaver, lowa, being at that time about eighteen years of age and receiving in remuneration for his services eighteen dollars per month and board. There he remained for a year and then worked for his brother John. who con- ducted a livery stable at Grand Junction, remaining for about two years. At the end of that time he first took up railroad work, becoming a brakeman on the Rock Island railroad on February 20, 1878. His run was from Grand Junction to Fort Dodge, and there he continued until October 17, 1879, when he became brakeman on the Northwestern between Boone and Belle Plaine, holding that position until the fall of 1880. He next was fireman for the same company for two years and in Jannary. 1883, was promoted to engineer, his run being in
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Iowa between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. For the last twelve years Mr. Adams has had the passenger run between Boone and Omaha. He has shown himself capable in the discharge of his duties and stands high in the esti- mation of his superior officers. Many are those who know him in Boone, and he also has many acquaintances among the passengers who travel regularly on his run and who esteem him as a reliable, trustworthy official.
On May 12, 1879, Mr. Adams married in Grand Junction, Iowa. Miss Mary Luce, a daughter of John and Elizabeth Luce, the former a carpenter by trade. To this union were born six children. Frank, of Grand Junction, Iowa, was born March 15, 1880. He is a graduate of the Boone schools and is now a conductor on the Northwestern railroad, making his home with our subject. He is promi- nent in Masonry, having become a Shriner at the age of twenty-one and being at that time one of the youngest in the state. Etta May, who was born in Perry, Iowa, September 16, 1882, is now Mrs. Edward Painter, of Leadville, Colorado. Ollie, who was born in Boone, February 1, 1885, married R. W. Weaver and they are now living in Des Moines. Cleo, who was born in Boone, April 4, 1893, is clerk to the foreman at the round house of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad and resides at home. Charles is deceased and another died in infancy. Mrs. Adams is a member of the Presbyterian church, the services of which her husband also attends. The latter is politically independent, preferring to follow his own judgment in giving his support to such candidates as he considers best fitted for the position to which they aspire, irrespective of party lines. Frater- nally he belongs to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and is popular in that organization. He has many friends in Boone, all of whom speak of him in the highest terms of appreciation.
JOHN R. BOONE.
John R. Boone is now living retired. making his home with his son S. A. Boone, in the city which bears the family name. He has been a resident of this part of the state for many years and is widely and favorably known. He was born February 29, 1836, near Fredericksburg. Wayne county, Ohio, and has passed the seventy-eighth milestone on life's journey, his parents being Samuel and Susan (Davidson) Boone. His paternal grandfather. James Boone, was a native of Pennsylvania, born near Philadelphia, and he devoted much of his life to teaching mathematics. He passed away in 1783 and was buried in the Friends cemetery, between Brandywine and Philadelphia. Throughout his entire life he had been identified with the Society of Friends, or Quakers. His son Samuel Boone was also born in the vicinity of Philadelphia. His mother died at his birth and by his father's death he was left an orphan when but three years of age. He then went to live in the home of his aunt. Mrs. Leash, in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and throughout his entire life he followed farming. In 1802 he removed to Wayne county. Ohio, where he lived for three years, at the end of which time he secured timber land in Holmes county. Ohio. This he cleared and developed, making his home there until his death. which occurred in 1847. when he was sixty-seven years of age. His religious faith was that of the Presbyterian
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church, and his political belief was that of the democratic party. His wife died in Holmes county in 1868, at the age of seventy-eight years, passing away in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which she was a devoted member.
John R. Boone was one of a family of eleven children. He was educated in the academy at Haysville, Ohio, and in a college at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, completing his course in the latter institution when twenty-six years of age. In the meantime, however, when a youth of sixteen, he had begun teaching in the schools of Holmes county, Ohio, devoting four years to that profession there. In fact, for several years he continued to teach and attend school alternately. After leaving Holmes county he took charge of a school in Ashland county, Ohio. where he continued teaching for a year and a half. He also engaged in the dry- goods business at Jeromesville, Ohio, where he conducted his store for more than two years, and on the expiration of that period he came to Iowa, making his way to Independence, where he took charge of the county schools, directing edu- cational activity in the county from 1864 until 1882. He also engaged in farming in the county for eight years of that period. He eventually located in Independ- ence, where he entered upon the practice of law, which he followed until 1882, when he removed to Angola, Steuben county, Indiana, where he conducted a creamery business for seven years, or until 1889. He then sold out and removed to Chicago, where he engaged in the real-estate business. He was clerk in the office of Carter Harrison, Sr., who was then revenue collector, Mr. Boone occupy- ing that position from 1889 until 1894, when he came to the city which bears his name. Here he has lived retired.
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