USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 53
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J. Benjamin Frise attended school in Illinois and Garden township, this county. He early began to assist his father with the work on the homestead farm, becoming thoroughly versed in efficient agricultural methods. His eighty- acre farm on section 22, Garden township, is one of the most profitable in the neighborhood and there Mr. Frise follows the most modern and up-to-date meth- ods. His buildings are kept in good repair and his land is planted to the most suitable cereals and vegetables. His years of labor have brought him prosperity and he ranks today with the substantial citizens of Garden township.
In 1889 Mr. Frise was married in Boone county to Miss Tillie Soderlund, who was born in Madrid, January 1, 1868. There she attended school and grew to womanhood, having ever remained a resident of that locality. Her parents, Jonas and Bertha Soderlund, were natives of Sweden. Her father died in Gar- den township in 1882. He was married in Wisconsin and had eight children, six sons and two daughters: Lewis, of Garden township, cultivating the Soderlund family homestead ; E. J., of Madrid; C. J., also a resident of that city ; Hanson, who died November 21, 1913: Andrew, of Slater, Iowa; Mrs. J. Benjamin Frise ; Mrs. Mary Alsin, who died in Slater, Iowa; and William, who died in infancy. The five eldest children were born in Wisconsin and the younger ones in Garden township, this county, where all were reared. To Mr. and Mrs. Frise three daughters were born: Ethel May, who was born May 2, 1890, and resides with her father ; Stella, who was born in 1892, and is also at home ; and Mrs. Ruby Frisk. All were born on the old homestead in Garden township and attended the common schools in the neighborhood. Mrs. Frisk was also a high-school student at Slater. The mother died in Garden township, sincerely mourned by her many friends, who recognized in her a woman of rare qualities.
Mr. Frise gives his vote to the republican party. For a number of years he served as clerk of Garden township and for fifteen years has been a member of the school board. He belongs to the Congregational church, attending in Gar- den Prairie, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America at Slater. He has always taken a deep interest in public affairs and has done much toward promoting progress and advancement. He stands high in the community, receiv- ing the esteem and respect of all who know him.
CHARLES TUCKER.
Charles Tucker, of Boone, Iowa, is not only an honored veteran of the Civil war, having participated in the battle of Gettysburg, but he gave for many years his efforts to teaching and those who came under his instruction profited by his lessons and went forth from him as valuable members of society. He is now in his seventy-fourth year and can look back with pride upon a career which has been of great usefulness to his country and particularly his county and nearer neighborhood. At present he is engaged in the grocery business at 1019 Story street, Boone, and enjoys a gratifying trade because he is always courteous and obliging to his customers and follows honorable and straightforward methods.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
Mr. Tucker was born on a farm September 6, 1840, in the town of Greenwich, Washington county, New York, his paternal ancestors coming originally from England. Three brothers, the original forbears of the Tucker family in America, settled in this country before 1776, one choosing Rhode Island as his residence, another making his home in Connecticut and the third in Virginia. Simeon Tucker, grandfather of Charles Tucker, participated in the war of Revolution. He and his wife died in Rhode Island and were buried on their farm near Caro- lina Mills. Samuel Tucker, the father, was born on the homestead there and was one of eight children. He received a common-school education and when a young man went to Washington county, New York, where he bought a farmi. He mar- ried Betsy Coon, a daughter of Charles Coon, and both he and his wife died on the old farm near Cossayuna, New York. They were Quakers originally but later attended the Baptist church.
Their family consisted of eight children, six sons and two daughters: Frank- lin, Lydia Ann, Harriet, Henry C. and Horace are deceased, leaving William Penn, Charles and Simeon now living.
Charles Tucker attended the public schools and academy of Greenwich and subsequently the Fort Edward Seminary. He then returned to the Greenwich Academy to prepare for entering college at Schenectady, but the Civil war broke out and after several calls for vohinteers had been issued, he enlisted in August, 1862, as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-third New York Volunteer Infantry, his term being for three years. He was under Captain A. T. Mason and Colonel A. L. MeDougall, and his regiment was assigned to the First Brigade of the First Division of the Twelfth Army Corps under General H. W. Slocum. In the fall after he had enlisted he was taken sick at Loudoun Val- ley, Virginia, and was afterward taken to Harpers Ferry and placed in the hos- pital. There he remained until March, 1863, many times being near the point of death. At one time he had just written a letter home asking for some money, when the doctor came to his cot and he asked him what the verdict was. As the assurances of the physician were not very encouraging, Mr. Tucker recalled his letter and wrote another one asking to be taken home. The father sent the family doctor for him. He remained at home until the Ist of June, when he rejoined his regiment about twenty miles above Washington. They became part of the main army and he participated in the battle of Gettysburg, after which they went to Bristow Station, Virginia. The army was then reorganized and Mr. Tucker's regiment with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps was ordered to join Sherman. He then did general duty in patrolling the Louisville & Nashville Rail- road, being detached from his regiment, but afterward joined his command and participated in the battles of Chattanooga, Resaca and New Hope Church, Col- onel MeDougall being killed in the last engagement. He was also at Marietta, Kenesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek and Atlanta. There he remained until the fall of 1864, when he went with Sherman to the sea and afterward marched through the Carolinas to Washington and took part in the grand review. He was mustered out in June, 1865, receiving his discharge in Albany, New York. He returned home and there spent the summer. In the winter he took up school teaching in Greenwich, having already been engaged in that line of work before he joined the army. In the spring of 1866 Mr. Tucker made his way to Jo Daviess county, Illinois, on a visit and thence came to Boone county, Iowa, which at that
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time was the end of the railroad. In the summer of that year he solicited insur- ance and also sold shrubbery. He then began teaching in Des Moines township, continuing so for four terms and remaining a teacher for about twelve years in all, the last five of which were spent in the schools of Boone. For four years of this time he was principal of the grammar school and the fifth year he acted as principal of the Boone school. At one time he was a candidate for the office of county superintendent of schools, but was defeated. Mr. Tucker has always given his allegiance to the republican party and is still true to those political colors. For thirty years he has been a member of the Universalist church and has been president of the board for the last ten or twelve years. Fraternally he is a Mason and has been a member of that order since 1868.
In August, 1871, Mr. Tucker was married, in Madrid, lowa, to Miss Emma A. Norton, of Boone, a daughter of Andrew S. and Elizabeth ( Hoppin) Norton, and to this union were born two children. Grace E., a graduate of the Boone high school, has engaged in teaching and for five years has served as county super- intendent of schools here; Scott Emory received his education in Boone and at the age of nineteen entered his father's store as a clerk. He at first acted as delivery boy but is now a member of the firm. Mrs. Tucker died in Boone, September 28, 1908, her death causing sincere regret among her many friends. Mr. Tucker is highly respected and esteemed by all who know him and stands high as a citizen of Boone county.
DAVID H. LATHAM.
David H. Latham is a farmer living near the southern line of Boone, in Des Moines township, where he owns a tract of ten acres. He was born in that town- ship. April 29, 1855, his parents being Labron and Mary ( Parker ) Latham. The father's birth occurred in the state of Indiana in 1824 and he there spent his boy- hood. He acquired a common-school education and when a young man moved with his parents to Iowa. Throughout his entire life he followed the occupation of farming and became a well known figure in agricultural circles in Boone county. Following his demise his widow became the wife of Michael Myers and died in Boone county in 1892 at the age of fifty-eight years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Labron Latham were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and his political endorsement was given to the republican party. In the family were three children. John W., who married Miss Sarah Doty, was a business man of Omaha, in which city he passed away. David is the second. Alice M. is now Mrs. Thornton of Los Angeles, California. By the mother's second marriage there were two children: Charles R., now living in Seattle, Washington ; and Belle. the wife of C. A. Ingersoll, of Boone.
Reared under the parental roof, David H. Latham pursued his education in the public schools of Boone, his first teacher being a Miss Wood, while his last teacher was John M. Reynolds. He left school at the age of seventeen years and the lessons which he has since learned are those which we master in the school of experience. He started out in life as a farm hand, working on the home farm and for others. On the 25th of September, 1878, he was united in
MR. AND MRS. DAVID H. LATHAM
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
marriage to Miss Mary F. Wayne, who was born in Des Moines township, Boone county, June II, 1858. She, too, was educated in the public schools, her first teacher being Henry Lucas and her last teacher Professor Charles Tucker. Mrs. Latham is a daughter of John M. and Caroline (Hull) Wayne and her maternal grandfather was James Hull of Worth township.
At the time of their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Latham began their domestic life in Des Moines township, where they have since lived. His present farm was. left him by his mother, his father having preempted forty acres of land in 1854, of which this is a part. Mr. Latham erected his present place of residence in 1894 in what was then a meadow. He has made many improvements and today has a most commodious, comfortable and attractive residence in the midst of pleasant surroundings. Here he has reared his family of four children. Grace Blanch, the eldest, is now in Des Moines. Lulu May is the wife of W. H. Mor- rison, of Boone. Orville Ray, superintendent of schools at Pomeroy, pursued his education in the public schools of Boone and in the University of Iowa. He was graduated when twenty-one years of age and the same year began teaching at Coggon, Iowa, where he remained for a year. He next went to Pomeroy as principal. He was married June 5, 1913, to Miss Helen Fern Walter, of Iowa City. Esther Fay, the youngest member of the family, was graduated in June, 1913, from the Boone high school and for a time taught in the Fourth ward school of this city.
Mr. Latham was reared in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church. His political belief is that of the republican party and he regards it the duty, as well as the privilege of the American citizen to exercise his right of franchise. His popularity among his fellowmen has its root in the fact that he is always con- siderate of the opinions of others, is always straightforward and reliable in busi- ness and loyal in friendship.
SEBASTIAN MACKEY.
Sebastian Mackey, deceased, was for many years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Boone county and at his death the community real- ized that it had lost a valued and useful citizen. He was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, in November, 1827, and in 1845 accompanied his parents on their removal to Piatt county, Illinois, where he grew to manhood upon a farm. His parents, Joseph and Catherine (Cole) Mackey, made their home in that state until called from this life. His father was a native of New Jersey, and the family was of Irish and Dutch lineage. Mr. Mackey had two sisters, one of whom still resides in Mansfield. Illinois, at an advanced age.
While still a resident of Piatt county, Illinois, Mr. Mackey was married, Sep- tember 11, 1853, to Miss Susan Kerr, who was born in Franklin county, Ohio,. in 1832, her parents being John A. and Mary Polly ( Peterson) Kerr, who were originally from Pennsylvania and of Dutch descent. They removed to Piatt county in 1838 and there Mrs. Mackey passed her girlhood. She has one sister living, Mrs. Carrie Adams, who is ten years her junior and is a resident of Craw- ford, Nebraska. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Mackey are as follows :
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Marcellus, who was an extensive cattleman of Frontier county, Nebraska, died in the fall of 1913, leaving a widow and four sons and one daughter, who are all grown. Lenora, the next of the family, is the wife of Andrew C. Johnson, a farmer of Harrison township, and they have three daughters. Martha is the wife of August Stoll, a farmer living near Ontario, Story county, Iowa, and they have seven daughters. Sebastian, Jr., a carpenter and contractor, is married and has two sons: Edgar, who owns and operates land in both Dodge and Des Moines townships, is married and has one daughter, but his wife is now deceased. John, who lives near the old homestead in Harrison township, is married and has two sons and one daughter. George, also a farmer of Harrison township, is married and has two sons.
Coming to Boone county in 1854, Mr. Mackey purchased a farm in Jackson township and a year later brought his family to this locality. In 1856, however, he removed to section 22, Harrison township, where he made his home until his death on the 8th of June, 1911. In his farming operations he met with most ex- cellent success and became the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of very valuable and well improved land. In connection with farming he carried on his stock business, probably handling more stock than any other man in the county. He bought, raised and fed for the market large herds of cattle. He was one of the most prominent men of his community and Mackey's Grove, now known as Mackey, was named in his honor. On first coming to this locality he built a house from lumber hauled from the sawmill at Milford on the Des Moines river, and he was actively identified with the early development and improvement of this locality. His political support was given the democratic party, and he served as trustee and in various township offices. He was an honored member of the Masonic fraternity and was a man whom to know was to honor.
JOHN MACKEY.
John Mackey, who is today successfully operating his fine farm of one hun- dred and sixty acres on section 22, Harrison township, together with the home property of one hundred and sixty acres, was born on the old homestead, Novem- ber 20, 1867, and is a son of Sebastian Mackey, of whom mention is made on another page of this volume. Reared upon the old homestead, he early became familiar with all the duties that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and is today regarded as one of the leading farmers of his community. His literary educa- tion was obtained in the public schools and since laying aside his text-books he has given his entire time and attention to general farming and stock-raising and is today operating three hundred and twenty acres, including the farm on which he was rcared.
Mr. Mackey was married in 1893 to Miss Aggie Marsden, a native of Penn- sylvania and a daughter of John and Margaret Marsden, who now make their home at Gilbert Station, Story county, lowa. For many years, however, her father owned and cultivated land in Boone county. He has now reached the advanced age of ninety years, while his wife is cighty-two years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Mackey have three children, namely, James H., Maggie C. and Clark I.
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Since attaining his majority Mr. Mackey has affiliated with the republican party and takes quite an active and commendable interest in public affairs. Fra- ternally he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and is a man hon- ored and esteemed by all who know him.
GEORGE MACKEY.
George Mackey, a brother of John Mackey, follows farming on section 3, Har- rison township, where he owns a well cultivated and highly improved place of one hundred fifty-one and a half acres. He was born in this county July 19, 1873, and received a good common-school education. On the 3d of January, 1900, he married Miss Jennie Kennedy, a daughter of William James and Ellen ( Manion) Kennedy, now residing at Grand Junction, Iowa. The children born of this union are Glen Roosevelt and Samuel Kerr, both attending school.
Since 1907 Mr. Mackey has resided upon his present place and to its cultiva- tion and improvement has devoted his undivided attention. In politics he is a progressive republican, and he has most ably filled the office of school director for two terms. He has never, however, given much attention to political affairs, pre- ferring to devote his entire time to the operation of his farm, and its neat and thrifty appearance indicates to the passerby that he thoroughly understands the occupation which he follows.
ISAAC C. HARMON.
Isaac C. Harmon, who for almost sixty years has been a resident of Boone county, was born in Richland county, Ohio, October 25, 1832, and is a son of Horatio and Lucy (Clark) Harmon, who in 1818 removed from Vermont to Richland county, Ohio, where they spent the remainder of their lives. In their family were eight children, but Isaac C. is now the only one living. In the fall of 1854 he came to Iowa and after spending a short time in Polk county became a resident of Boone county in the spring of 1855. Here he commenced herding cattle for Sebastian Mackey and has since been connected with the Mackey family. He is widely and favorably known in the locality where he resides and has many warm friends in Harrison township.
JEFFERSON D. GILDEA.
Jefferson D. Gildea, who deserves mention in this volume as one of the hon- ored soldiers of the Civil war and a representative citizen of Boone county, now makes his home on section 27. Worth township, where he has resided for the past fifty years. Here he owns a valuable and well improved farm of one hundred and twenty acres and also has another tract of forty acres on section 22 of the
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same township, and forty in section 29, and he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, April 20, 1840, his parents being Thomas B. and Mary ( Boyd) Gildea. His father was a native of England and was a young man when he emigrated to America. His paternal grandfather, Captain James Gildea, followed the sea and was commander of a vessel. He was born in Ireland and married an English lady, after which he made his home in England for some years. Coming to America, he secured a farm in Harrison county, Indiana, but he continued to follow the sea and was eventually captured by pirates and put to death. His widow afterward married John Zenor, and they located on the farm in Harrison county, Indiana, continuing to make their home there throughout the remainder of their lives.
James Gildea, a son by the first marriage, and the uncle of our subject, came to Boone county, Iowa, in the early '50s and secured the land in Worth town- ship now occupied by Jefferson D. Gildea. The uncle remained here until his death, an honored and highly esteemed citizen of the community. Prior to com- ing to this state he had been engaged in the mercantile business in Bowling Green, Indiana, in partnership with Robert Wingate, who also came to Boone and at one time owned the site of the northwestern part of that city, it being still known as Wingate's addition.
Thomas B. Gildea, father of our subject, accompanied the family on their emigration to America and after living in Indiana for some years came to Boone county, lowa, locating in section 22, Worth township, where he secured one hun- dred and twenty acres of land. He later bought eighty acres on section 29 and continued to make his home here until he passed away at the age of about seventy- three years. At the age of sixteen years he became connected with the boating business on the Ohio river and eventually became captain of a vessel which he owned. He continued to follow the river until his removal to Iowa, when he turned his attention to farming in Boone county. In Indiana he was a member of the United Brethren church, but here joined the Methodist Episcopal church. He was also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and served as trustee of Worth township for many years. His wife, who also held member- ship in the Methodist Episcopal church, was a native of Ohio and survived him for twelve years. They had five children, of whom three died in infancy, those now surviving being Jefferson D., of this review; and Susan, the wife of Jacob Hoffman, of Boone. The father was twice married, his first wife being Susan Lloyd, by whom he had one son, Thomas J., the father of John T. Gildea, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
Jefferson D. Gildea was in his fourteenth year when the family came to Boone county, lowa. He attended the subscription schools during the winter months. while throughout the summer he aided in the work of the home farm until his marriage. Ile then built a house upon that farm, but eventually became the owner of the home of his uncle, as previously stated. He has followed farming with marked success and has devoted considerable attention to stock raising.
Mr. Gildea was married May 3, 1863, to Miss Sarah Doran, who died on the 20th of May, 1906, at the age of fifty-nine years. She was born in Ohio, but in the early '50s was brought to this county by her parents, George and Lydia Doran. She has three sisters living, namely : Mrs. George Millard and Mrs. William R. Dyer, of Boone; and Mrs. George Bennett, of Oregon. She also had a half
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
brother, Andrew Doran, who now resides on the western coast. Of the eight children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gildea, seven are living, while Charles, died at the age of nineteen years. Teresa became the wife of Nathan Burlingame, formerly a railroad engineer who is now engaged in farming in Worth township, and they have one child, Merrill. Carrie is the wife of J. E. Hoffman, a farmer, and they have six children: Mabel, the wife of Charles Elliott of Boone; Clarence, oper- ating our subject's farm ; Mrs. Iva Yeager, of Colfax township; Iona and Ross, at home ; and Mrs. Daisy Killion, of Worth township. Mary, the third daughter of our subject, is the wife of Tyler Hoffman of Luther, who carries on business as a liveryman and farmer. They have four children, Archie C., William C., Opal and Harold. Anna and Rosa are both at home. Charles was the next in order of birth. Ella is the wife of Philip Hoffman, a farmer living in Clear Lake, Iowa. John H. is engaged in farming on section 22, Worth township. He mar- ried Daisy Boone, daughter of Virgil Boone, and they have one son, Harry, aged nine years.
During the dark days of the Civil war Mr. Gildea felt that his country needed his services and in October, 1861, he enlisted in Company D, Sixteenth lowa Vol- unteer Infantry and was mustered in the following December. He served under General Sherman for nine months and was then discharged on account of dis- ability and returned home. His discharge papers were lost, however, and owing to that fact he was afterward drafted (a most peculiar and unusual cir- cumstance) and then became a member of Company D, Thirteenth Iowa Volun- teer Infantry. At Goldsboro, North Carolina, hie met his old regiment and went with them to Washington, D. C., where he participated in the grand review at the close of the war. He is today an honored member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Madrid, Iowa. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the republican party and he is an earnest member of the Methodist church, to which his wife also belonged.
LEONARD E. JOHNSON.
Leonard E. Johnson is successfully engaged in the elevator business in Madrid and also handles Iowa and Illinois hard and soft coal. He was born in Sweden, September 16, 1864, and was brought to America by his parents, C. E. and Louisa (Bergreen) Johnson, in 1865, the family at first locating in Illinois, where they remained for six months. They then removed to Des Moines, lowa, where they made their home for a similar length of time. At the end of that period they came to Swede point, Boone county, and settled in Douglas township in 1866, where they remained until 1876, when the father purchased land in Garden township, where he successfully followed agricultural pursuits until 1893. The parents were both born in Sweden, the father July 20, 1829, and the mother Jan- uary 5, 1827. The father died in Madrid, November 28, 1902, after a long and successful career in this country. There his widow is still residing. Of their four sons two are living: Albert W., residing in Omaha, Nebraska ; and Leon- ard E., of this review. Carl H. and Edward T. both died in infancy. The three elder children were born in Sweden, but Edward T. was a native of Boone county.
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