USA > Iowa > Boone County > History of Boone County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 62
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
with their family in what was then known as Montana and is now the city of Boone. Patrick Egan, the father, was born in Ireland and in the year 1853 crossed the Atlantic to Canada, in which country he formed the acquaintance of and wedded Eliza Payton, a native of that country. As previously stated, they crossed the border into the United States in 1865 with Boone county as their destination. The railroad was then built as far as Nevada and after reaching that point the family continued their journey to Boone, where they established their home, remaining there until the spring of 1866, when they went to Moin- gona. The father there worked for the railroad company and in 1886 went with his wife to Des Moines. The family, however, were reared in Boone county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Egan eight children were born: P. C., of this review; James, a resident of Boone; Mrs. Bridget Landels and Mrs. Mary Ann O'Connel, both deceased; J. T., of Woodward; Mrs. Elizabeth Fin- land, whose home is in Des Moines; and two who died in infancy.
P. C. Egan acquired his education in the schools of this county and was about twenty-three years of age when his parents removed to Des Moines. In early life he had learned the blacksmith's trade, which he has always followed, and he and his brother Thomas now conduct a modern blacksmith shop in Woodward, where they do all kinds of manufacturing and repairing along that line. Before coming to Woodward, however, P. C. Egan located in Zena, Dallas county, and on the removal of the town in 1882 he became a resident of Woodward, where he has since remained with the exception of two years. His life has been one of unfaltering industry and energy and in the management of their business the brothers have been successful, securing a comfortable competency. P. C. Egan is interested along various mechanical lines, and he has ever sought to improve his work and give to his patrons the utmost satisfaction. He has overcome many difficulties and obstacles, steadily working his way upward through deter- mination and energy, and there are in his life record many traits worthy of emulation.
In 1884 Mr. Egan was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wilsey, who was born in Illinois, April 18. 1865, and died in Woodward in 1894. They became the parents of a daughter, now Mrs. Myrtle Todd, who was born September 25, 1889, and is residing in Dallas county. In 1897 Mr. Egan was again married, his second union being with Sophia Harrison, who was born in Madrid, Iowa, December 31, 1875, but who was reared and educated in Boone county. The children of this marriage are: Marjorie, who was born in November, 1900, and is attending the Woodward public schools; and Charles, born January 29, 1910.
In his political views Mr. Egan is an earnest republican and has been active in the work of the party, his influence carrying weight in its local councils. He has held all of the local offices in Woodward except that of mayor and for the past twenty years has been a member of the board of education, with which he is still connected. The cause of the schools has indeed found in him a stalwart champion, and he has done everything in his power to advance their interests. His wife is a member of the Christian church, and he belongs to Peaceful Lodge, No. 454, A. F. & A. M., of Woodward, and to Woodward Lodge, No. 460, I. O. O. F. He has been captain of the famous World's Champion Degree Staff since its organization and has planned all of the drills therefor. His life is broad
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in its interests and has been well spent. He and his family own and occupy a well furnished home in Woodward. Mr. Egan deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and of him it may be said :
"He looks the whole world in the face, For he owes not any man."
ARTHUR BENJAMIN SILLIMAN.
Arthur Benjamin Silliman, chief clerk at Boone for the Northwestern Rail- road Company. was born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1868, and is a son of Benson J. and Elizabeth A. (Buchanan) Silliman, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father studied dentistry and practiced the profession for many years, keeping in touch with the advanced ideas resulting from scientific investigation, research and broad experience. At the present writing, however, he is living retired. His wife passed away Sep- tember 21, 1907, and her death was deeply regretted by many friends as well as by her immediate family. She left, beside the husband, a son and daughter : Minna, who is the wife of C. N. Green of Troy, Pennsylvania ; and Arthur B.
The latter was sixteen years of age when he started out in the business world on his own account, being employed as a telegraph operator. He also took up the study of surveying and when twenty years of age he made his way westward to Denver, Colorado, where he ran the preliminary survey in connection with the work of bringing the water down from the Platte Canyon to Denver. lle was afterward employed by a county surveyor there and subsequently went to Fort Worth, Texas, where he assisted in building an electric railroad through an addition which he helped lay out-Arlington Heights. He afterward accepted the position of agent for the Santa Fe Railroad Company at Ardmore, Indian Territory, where he remained for eight years. He was also representing the Associated Press at that time and sent to it the articles in regard to the Dalton train bandits. His sojourn in that section of the country made him widely acquainted with pioneer conditions in the southwest, and he also studied the methods of the government in relation to the Indians as well as other important problems relative to the settlement and upbuilding of that section of the country.
On the 4th of September, 1894, Mr. Silliman was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Whitbeck, a native of New York, and a daughter of G. R. and Jane (Norton) Whitbeck. who are also natives of the Empire state and are now liv- ing in St. Paul, Minnesota, where for eight years the father has conducted a snc- cessful business as a contractor and builder. In the Whitbeck family were three children : Blanch, the deceased wife of S. D. Dysinger ; Mrs. Silliman ; and Me- lissa, the wife of Dr. H. H. Malteson of Bellingham, Washington.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Silliman have been born four children. De Wayne, who was born September 10, 1895, in Indian Territory, was graduated from the high school when seventeen years of age and is now attending Coe College at Cedar Rapids. Gilbert La Mont, born November 6, 1901, is also attending school. Lorenzo Martin was born November 14, 1904; and Delancy Eugene on the Ist of May, 1908.
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On leaving the southwest, Mr. Silliman came to Boone in 1900 with the Northwestern Railroad Company. He occupied a clerical position for three years and was then advanced to the position of chief clerk, in which capacity he has continuously served since 1904, his record being most acceptable. He is interested in the public welfare and is now serving as a member of the city coun- cil, in which connection he does everything in his power to further the interests and promote the welfare of the community. He belongs to the Modern Wood- men of America and is a Royal Arch Mason, while his wife is a member of the Eastern Star. They hold membership in the Presbyterian church, and their in- terest and activities are such as place them among Boone's best citizens and win for them the warm and enduring regard of those with whom they are brought in contact.
PARIS ROY PHIPPS.
Paris Roy Phipps. who owns and operates a farm on section 33, Des Moines township, is one of Boone county's native sons, his birth occurring in Yell town- ship on the 30th of August, 1869. His father, Hardin Phipps, was born in Owen county, Indiana, but when young was brought to Boone county, Iowa, where he grew to manhood and married Abigail Toliver, also a native of Owen county, Indiana. He died on the 19th of June, 1901, at the age of sixty-nine years, but she is still living at the age of seventy-three and makes her home in Boone. The children born to them were: Martha, now Mrs. William Henry Elsbury ; Mrs. Abraham Hiatt, deceased: Sarah, the wife of W. F. Phipps of Fraser, Iowa ; Hannah, the wife of Joseph Gillen; Paris Roy, of this review ; George, of Fra- ser; Louisa, the wife of William George of Des Moines; Lizzie, the wife of George Phipps of Fraser ; William, a resident of Boone; Rosie, the wife of John Gillen; and Ezekiel, of Webster City, Iowa.
Paris Roy Phipps was principally reared in Dodge township this county. and during his boyhood he attended the public schools there until thirteen years of age. He remained with his parents until he had attained his majority and was then married on the 10th of August, 1890, to Miss Rebecca Cline, who was born at a point called Daly's City in Yell township, August 26, 1869. Her girl- hood, however, was passed in Jackson township, and after attending the public schools she entered Boone Normal. At the age of eighteen years she commenced teaching under Professor Chambers and continued to follow that profession for two years. Her father, Joseph J. W. Cline, was a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, and a farmer by occupation. During the Civil war he enlisted in an Iowa regiment, but being injured in battle, he returned home at the end of eight months. He married Miss Rebecca Jones, a daughter of Rev. Jackson and Rebecca (Cunningham) Jones. Her father was a minister of the United Breth- ren church. She was born in Pennsylvania, but in early life was taken to Co- lumbiana county, Ohio, and she died in Jackson township, Boone county, Iowa, in 1901 at the age of seventy-nine years. Mr. Cline survived her for about eight years, passing away in 1909 at the age of eighty-five. They were both earnest and consistent members of the United Brethren church, and she was an active
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
worker in the Sunday school. In their family were ten children, namely: Gil- ruth, who served under General Grant in the Civil war for four years and eight months and now makes his home in Alton, Missouri; Nancy, the wife of John Moriorty, a resident of Iowa; Sarah, the wife of Patrick Quigley of Yell town- ship; Elizabeth, the wife of Andrew Moriorty of Coatesville, Missouri; Abra- ham, of California: Jackson, of Alton, Missouri; Eldora, the wife of A. L. Bendow, of Minnesota; Hulda, the wife of Joseph Kidd, of Sioux City, Iowa ; Florence, the wife of Benjamin Hickman, of Ogden ; and Rebecca, the wife of our subject.
Mr. and Mrs. Phipps have one son, Orlando Blaine, who was born February 22, 1892, and pursued his early education in the public schools, but later attended the Biblical College and the Boone Business College. For ten years after his marriage Mr. Phipps made his home with his mother-in-law in Jackson town- ship, but at the end of that time purchased eighty acres of land in Des Moines township, where he now makes his home. He has tiled the place and greatly improved it, has built an addition to the house and today has a very comfort- able home. He added to his land until he had two hundred and twenty acres, but has since sold a portion of this and today owns forty acres on section 33. He holds membership in the Baptist church, but is at present attending the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is an ardent republican and takes a very com- mendable interest in those enterprises which he believes will advance the moral or public welfare.
JESSE DAVIS.
Jesse Davis, a retired farmer living on his finely improved place of one hun- dred and sixty acres on section 9, Worth township, has made his home here for the past third of a century. He was born in Harrison county, Ohio, October 4, 1844, and was eleven years of age when, in 1855, he came to Boone county. Iowa, with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Davis, who were farming people. Extended mention of the family is made in the sketch of Henry L. Davis which appears on another page of this work. Jesse Davis had but limited educational advantages, attending subscription schools only after his removal to Boone county. At the age of twenty-one years he commenced farming for himself and operated a part of the old homestead for about eight years. After his marriage, however, he purchased land and at different times owned several farms in Worth township, which he subsequently disposed of and finally became the owner of his present valuable farm, which is well tiled and is a very productive and well improved place. He carried on general farming and handled much stock, but is now practically living retired, while the land is cultivated by hired help.
In 1873 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Davis and Miss Mary A. Hiatt, a daughter of James Hiatt, a pioneer carpenter and contractor. She was born in Indiana and was but three years of age when the family came to Boone county. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have had five children, namely: Lillie May, who is now the wife of C. H. Johnson and has one son, Harvey ; Mrs. Ida Belle Dyer, who lives in the eastern part of Boone county and has one child, Rus-
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sell; Albert, a farmer of Des Moines township who married Miss Carr and has two children, Marvin and Lester : Bessie, the deceased wife of a Mr. McQuilken ; and one child who died in infancy unnamed.
Although Mr. Davis has always taken an active interest in public affairs, he has never accepted office, preferring to give his entire time to his farming inter- ests. His political support has always been given the republican party. He is progressive and public-spirited and can always be relied upon to further any movement which he believes will prove of benefit to his locality.
RALPH R. COBB.
Ralph R. Cobb is well known in connection with educational and business interests in Boone and along both lines has contributed to the progress and pro- moted the welfare of the community. A broad-minded, cultured gentlemen, his influence is ever on the side of right, justice, truth and improvement. He was born in Porter county, Indiana, April 21, 1872, and is a son of Henry A. and Sylva R. (Sawyer) Cobb, both of whom were natives of the Hoosier state. On the Ist of March, 1883, they arrived in Boone and are now residents of Jackson town- ship, this county. In their family were three sons and four daughters: Ralph R., of this review; Bertha, who is the widow of Ira B. Johnson and makes her home in Boone ; Agatha M., the wife of Dr. E. L. D. Montague, of Cedar Rapids ; Frank F., who is living in Jackson township; J. Asa, whose home is in Sioux City, Iowa ; Viola, the wife of Rev. Dow Crewdson, pastor of a church in Mis- souri Valley, Iowa ; and Mattie M., who was a teacher in the graded schools of Logan and now makes her home with her parents.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Ralph R. Cobb has resided during the greater part of his life in Boone county. His educational op- portunities were those afforded by the common schools, supplemented by study in the Ames high school and in the Northern Indiana University at Valparaiso, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. He then took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for eleven terms, being connected with the Madrid high school for four years. In 1903 he was elected county super- intendent of the schools and in January, 1904, entered upon the duties of that position, in which he continued for seven years, during which time he greatly improved the conditions of the public schools and raised the standard of educa- tion in the county. He had the ability not only to impart clearly and readily to others the knowledge that he had acquired, but he also inspired teachers and pupils with much of his own zeal and interest in the work. After leaving the position of county superintendent he spent a few months in the Boone National Bank, in charge of the savings accounts. He afterward became one of the organizers of the Boone Blank Book Company, which is one of the important manufacturing interests of this part of the state. He is still connected there- with as one of the directors.
On the 15th of November, 1904, Mr. Cobb was united in marriage to Miss Mary H. Heward, a native of Bureau county, Illinois, and unto them has been born a daughter, Lois H., whose natal day was May 19, 1907. Mr. Cobb votes
RALPH R. COBB
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
with the republican party and has always strongly indorsed its principles. He has made a study of political conditions and is always ready to support his position by intelligent argument. His fraternal relations are with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church. They are prominent in the social circles of the city and are recognized leaders where intelligence and culture are received as passports into good society. Wherever known, and his professional and business interests have brought him a wide acquaintance, Mr. Cobb is held in the highest regard and the circle of his friends in Boone county is an extensive one.
WALTER E. BURRELL.
For many years Walter E. Burrell was actively identified with the agricultural interests of Boone county, but is now living retired in Woodward. He was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, May 11, 1837, and is a son of Alexander and Cynthia (Baker) Burrell. The father was born in Scotland in 1779 and often remarked that he was three years younger than the United States. In early life he came to the United States, while the mother's birth occurred in New York in 1804. In 1842, when the subject of this review was but a small child, the family re- moved to Michigan, making the trip overland with an ox team, but after spend- ing one year in that state they went to Illinois and in 1857 came to Boone county, Iowa, locating upon a farm in Yell township. In this county the parents spent their last days, the father dying in Peoples township in 1872 and the mother in Cass township in 1886. They had ten children, of whom two sons are still liv- ing, namely: Walter E., of this sketch; and Robert, a resident of Perry, Iowa. Those deceased are Alexander, Cynthia, Mrs. Betsy Pardee, Mrs. Elizabeth Olm- sted, Mrs. Susan Miller, Mrs. Margaret Chapman, William and Adam. The seven older children were born in New York and the others in Ohio.
Walter E. Burrell was twenty years of age when he became a resident of Boone county, and after living for some time in Yell township the family re- moved to Peoples township in 1862. He early became familiar with agricultural pursuits and for some time worked for neighboring farmers along the Des Moines river. After his marriage he followed farming in Cass township until 1903, when he and his wife removed to Woodward and in 1914 he purchased the modern residence which they now occupy and in which they expect to spend their declining years, surrounded by every comfort as well as many of the luxuries of life. Besides his well furnished home here he still owns a valuable farm of four hundred acres on sections 29, 30, 31 and 32, Cass township, improved with good buildings. His wife owns an eighty acre tract of excellent land on section 13, which is also improved and under excellent cultivation. Thoroughly understanding the occupation to which he devoted the active years of his life, Mr. Burrell met with most excellent success and is now able to enjoy a com- fortable competence. A portion of his land has recently been secured by the state of Iowa, which expects in the near future to erect thereon a home for epileptics.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
It was on the 14th of August, 1867, in Boone county, that Mr. Burrell was united in marriage to Miss Eliza J. Rowley, who was born in Wisconsin, Sep- tember 9, 1847, and came to Boone county with her parents in 1867, the family locating upon a farm in Peoples township. Her father, L. Nathan Rowley, was born in Steuben county, New York, March 26, 1816, and died in Woodward, Iowa, April 26, 1902. He was married October 20, 1842, to Miss Sarah Sitler, who was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, December 2, 1820, and died in Woodward, December 20, 1898. They were among the pioneers of Wiscon- sin, having removed to that state in 1845. Their children were as follows: Mrs. Mary Bates, who was born December 12, 1843, and now resides in Troutdale, Oregon; George W., who was born June 1, 1845, and also makes his home in Oregon ; Eliza J., now Mrs. Burrell; Charles, who died at the age of six weeks ; Annie, who died at the age of two years; Mrs. Sarah Ellen Caylor, who was born in 1852 and lives in Woodward, Iowa; Ward, who was born in 1854 and resides in Anglin, Washington ; Mrs. Ann M. Watts, who was born in 1856 and makes her home in Beatrice, Nebraska; Eugene K., who was born in 1858 and died in Alaska ; and Warren W., who was born in 1860 and died in April. 1884. The two eldest children were born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and the others in Wisconsin.
Mr. and Mrs. Burrell have become the parents of ten children, all born in Boone county ; Marion W., who was born June 8, 1868, and lives in Peoples township; Eva Leona, who was born June 1, 1870, and died December 4, 1875; Mrs. Ellen Pierce, who was born June 6, 1872, and makes her home in Thomp- son, Iowa; Delavan Victor, who was born November 10, 1874. and lives at Rocky Ford, Colorado; Sarah and Cynthia, twins, who were born in 1877 and died in infancy ; Carrie and Clara, twins, who were born May 6, 1880, the former dying at the age of two months, while the latter is now Mrs. Noland and resides in Cass township, this county ; Gladden Alvin, who was born July 15. 1884, and lives in Cass township; and Mrs. Thora Eliza Small, who was born October 22. 1888, and makes her home in Cass township. The children were all given good educational advantages and after attending the common schools of the com- ntunity Marion was a student at Drake University at Des Moines, while Delavan and Mrs. Noland attended Highland Park College of the same city and Glad- den attended Highland Park College and Simpson College at Indianola.
The republican party finds in Mr. Burrell a stanch supporter of its prin- ciples, and for a number of years he served as trustee of Cass township. He and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and are held in the highest regard by all who know them.
ISAAC NEWTON WOODS.
The raising of live stock features as one of the chief activities on the farm of Isaac Newton Woods, who lives on section 36, Peoples township, where he owns sixty acres of land that is rich and arable and which he has brought to a high state of cultivation.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY
A native son of Boone county, Mr. Woods was born in Cass township. De- cember 5, 1850, a son of John Woods, who was born in Highland county, Ohio, in 1824. The father possessed marked mechanical ability and built a mill dam at what was then known as Elk Rapids, completing the work in its entirety. He married Susannah Rhodes, also a native of Highland county, Ohio, and after living for a number of years in Boone county they removed to Kansas, where their last days were spent. It was in the year 1849 that they arrived in Iowa -just three years after the admission of the state into the Union. They made the overland trip to Cass township, where they took up their abode upon a farm, at which period there were few settlements in this part of the state. All around them was wild, unbroken prairie covered with the native grasses that grew to great height. In the winter seasons there was a broad, unbroken, dazzling sheet of snow. It required much arduous labor to break the sod and develop the fields, but the work was resolutely carried forward by the early settlers, whose trading point was at Des Moines or rather at Fort Des Moines, for at that time the settlements were all along the river, which was the only means of transpor- tation except by private conveyance, so that the early settlers naturally took up their abode along the streams.
Mr. and Mrs. John Woods had a family of eleven children: W. W., who is now residing in Kansas; Isaac N., of this review; Daniel W., Louis and Joseph Henry, now deceased ; Mrs. Anna Miller, who resides in Portland, Oregon ; Mrs. Susan Carroll, a resident of Woodward, Iowa; Sarah Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Mrs. Maggie Heath, of Portland, Oregon; Mrs. Emma Cooper, of Portland, Oregon ; and Mrs. Hattie Meir, of Kansas. With the exception of the eldest, all were born in Boone county and all were reared here, attending the public schools.
Isaac Newton Woods had the usual experiences of the farm lad who acquires a public-school education through attendance during the winter seasons and gains practical knowledge of farm labor through work in the fields during the summer months. He was a student in the schools at Elk Rapids, and throughout his entire life he has continued his residence in Boone county, where he has followed farming and stock-raising since attaining man's estate.
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