USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 29
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ently, as he felt that party affiliations counted for less in county and township elections than the fitness of the candidates. While living in Dubuque county he was county supervisor, but was never an office seeker. He was prominent in local Masonic circles, being one of the charter members of the local lodge. He was initiated into the order in 1866 at Epworth, Dubuque county. He also belonged to the Eastern Star. He belonged to the state militia until 1864, when the call came for one hundred day men and he enlisted in Company C, Forty- fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served with his command until the close of the war. The regiment was a part of the Army of Tennessee and most of its service was in the state of Tennessee, where it was largely used on guard duty and in skirmishes. Before enlisting Mr. Metcalf gave practical evidence of his patriotism by helping support some of the families whose breadwinners were in the service of the Union.
Mr. Metealf was a member of the Presbyterian church. His life was at all times actuated by high and honorable principles and he bore an enviable reputa- tion throughout the period of his residence in Buchanan county. The integrity of his business methods was never called into question and to his family he left not only a comfortable competence but also the priceless heritage of an untar- nished name. None speak of him save in praise, and the high esteem in which he was held in Winthrop was but the merited reward of a long and upright life. He passed away on the 14th of October, 1914. His life was as the day with its morning of hope and promise, its noontide of activity, its evening of completed and successful effort ending in the grateful rest and quiet of the night.
W. N. LOY.
W. N. Loy was born in Morrow county, Ohio, July 10, 1843, and became a pioneer settler of Buchanan county, Iowa, in 1856. In the years which have since come and gone he has not only been an interested witness of the develop- ment and upbuilding of the county, but has also borne an active and helpful part in the work which has brought about present day conditions.
He was a youth of thirteen when he came to Towa with his parents, F. S. and Clarassy (Purvis) Loy. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1823 and the mother in New York in 1822. When a young man F. S. Loy went to Ohio, and when old enough began farming in that state, being there connected with agricultural interests until 1854, when he made the trip overland with teams to Grant county, Wisconsin. He there purchased land when the district in which he settled bore the evidences of frontier life. In 1856 he journeyed by wagon from that state to Buchanan county and lived in Independence until 1858, de- voting his time to teaming between that place and Dubuque. Independence was then a mere village and gave little promise of its later rapid and substantial development. All around was the wild prairie, dotted in summer with a million wild flowers and in winter covered by a dazzling and unbroken sheet of snow. There were all kinds of wild game to be had and deer were seen on the town site. In 1858 Mr. Loy began breaking the sod upon the farm land which he had secured, clearing and cultivating his fields and erecting the necessary build-
MR. AND MRS. W. N. LOY
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
ings upon his place. He took possession of the property in 1860 and for many years thereafter actively engaged in tilling the soil and raising stock. He made a specialty of raising shorthorns and he was also the owner of a large number of driving horses which won prizes at fairs. His shorthorns were also prize winners at the Buchanan county fairs. Mr. Loy was engaged on the construction of the first hotel, The Empire, in Independence in 1856, and in many ways was closely associated with the initial steps in the county's development and progress. He was an active republiean in the local councils of his party and did mueh to aid in winning suceess for its candidates. He was also a zealous member of the Presbyterian church and contributed to the support of various churches in Independence in the early days. He died in this city at the ripe old age of eighty-five years, while his wife passed away in Sumner township at the age of fifty-eight.
W. N. Loy, a youth of thirteen when the family eame to Iowa, continued his edueation in the schools of Independenee, being a pupil in one of the pioneer sehoolhouses which was built about 1858. He remained at home until twenty-five years of age and then began farming, which he followed until the outbreak of the Civil war, when all business and personal considerations were put aside and he joined the "Boys in blue" of Company H, Twenty- seventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served for eighteen months, going north on scout duty in the vicinity of St. Paul and afterward south to Tennessee, where he was largely engaged on provost duty. After the war he returned to this eounty, settling upon a farm in Sumner township. He acquired eighty acres, which he still owns and which he eultivated for many years with good success, although he is now living retired in Independence, where he has made his home for the past two years.
On the 15th of September, 1871, Mr. Loy was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. North, who was born in Washington county, Wisconsin, a daughter of Nelson and Isabelle (Wiley) North. Her father was born in Shoreham, Vermont, in 1824 and died in 1891. Her mother, whose birth occurred in Trumbull county, Ohio, in 1830, is still living at the age of eighty-four years, in Sumner town- ship. Mr. North went from New England to Wisconsin when a young man, settling there before the state was admitted to the Union. He purchased land and resided thereon until 1865, in which year he came to Iowa, making the trip overland. He purchased a farm in Sumner township and in both Wis- consin and Iowa engaged in the raising of shorthorn cattle in addition to general agricultural pursuits. He also held loeal township offices in both states and for seven years he was county assessor in Wisconsin.
To Mr. and Mrs. Loy were born four children: Elsie B., now the wife of John Firth, a farmer living near Independence, by whom she has one' ehild, Susan; Frederick, who was a farmer of Sumner township and died in 1912, leaving a wife and daughter, Elsie; Elma C., now the wife of Charles O. Jones, who is connected with the State Hospital at Independence and by whom she has three children, Nellie, Sarah and Howard; and Lucy E., who married Walter M. Jones, a brother of Charles O. Jones, and they now have three children, William B., Kenneth N. and Donald F.
Mr. Loy is active in the Grand Army of the Republic and his wife in the Woman's Relief Corps. They are well known as pioneer residents of the
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HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY
county, Mr. Loy having resided here for fifty-six years, during which notable changes have occurred, for when he came this entire distriet was then largely undeveloped and unimproved. There was still considerable wild game to be had in the forests, the timber was uncut and the prairies uncultivated, while the now thriving towns and villages of the county had not yet sprung into existence. Mr. Loy has borne his part in the work of general improvement as the years have gone by and can tell many an interesting tale of the early days and of the events which have marked the progress of this section of the state.
LEN T. SWARTZELL.
Len T. Swartzell, who since 1902 has been sole owner of the largest store in Hazleton and who has other important business interests and connections estab- lishing him as one of the leading and energetic business men of his section of the state, was born in Quasqueton in 1869, his parents being David S. and Mary E. (Moore) Swartzell. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1837 and was a son of Solomon Swartzell, who became one of the pioneer residents of this county and one of the first to engage in the raising of fancy stoek in this part of the state. He was active in politics and several times was called to public office. He served as deputy sheriff in an early day and was also town constable. The family arrived in lowa in 1855 and settled upon the farm where Len T. Swart- zell was born. There David S. Swartzell remained until the time of his marriage to Miss Mary E. Moore, the wedding being celebrated in Quasqueton. She was born in Ohio in 1842 and following their marriage they began their domestic life in Quasqueton, where the father engaged in the implement business. During the later years of his life he conducted a poultry business and was also the owner of good farm property in this county. During the period of the Civil war he served for three years in an lowa regiment. He died in 1912 at the age of seventy-five years, while his widow now makes her home in Quasqueton at the age of seventy-two years.
Len T. Swartzell was the fourth in order of birth in a family of ten children and in his youthful days attended school in Quasqueton, but when fourteen years of age began earning his own livelihood, entering the employ of A. P. Burrhus, a liveryman, for whom he worked for three years. He was afterward for seven years in the employ of J. M. Benthall. proprietor of a general store at Quasque- ton, and later he went to Maxwell, where he was with the Kimball & Swartzell Clothing Company, becoming connected therewith in 1893. He severed his connection with that firm two years later and in the meantime he was also part owner in a store at Washington, Iowa. In 1896 he removed to Independence, but remained there for only a brief period and in October of that year came to Hazleton, where he embarked in general merchandising in connection with W. E. Curtis, the partnership continuing for five years. In 1902 he became sole owner of what is now the largest store in Hazleton. He carries a large and carefully selected line of goods and his sales increase annually, for his business methods commend him to the confidence and patronage of the publie. He is also interested
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in the general mercantile business of Swartzell Brothers at Stanley, Iowa, and is a stockholder and director in the Iowa State Bank and in the Farmers Tele- phone Company of Hazleton.
In 1892 Mr. Swartzell was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Everett, who was born near Tama City in 1873, a daughter of Jackson and Sarah (Addy) Everett. Her father came to this state with his family in 1851 and they cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Tama county, which was then a wild and almost unpopulated district. There were no railroads and no roadhouses for stage travelers. Jackson Everett was a farmer by occupation and owned consid- erable land. His brother Thomas was a soldier of the Civil war, going to the front from Iowa.
To Mr. and Mrs. Swartzell have been born two children, who are yet living. Clifford E., born in Maxwell, Iowa, in 1894, is a graduate of the Hazleton schools and of the Oelwein high school and for the past three years has been pursuing the collegiate course in the University of Minnesota as a member of the class of 1915. Marion was born in Hazleton in October, 1909.
Mr. Swartzell is a member of Hazleton Lodge, No. 678, I. O. O. F., in which he has held all of the offices. His wife is active in elub and social eireles of the city, and both are widely and favorably known. They have many friends and the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by those who know them.
JOSEPH SMITII.
Joseph Smith owns and occupies a farm of one hundred and sixty aeres in Homer township, which he has converted from a tract of wild prairie into richly productive fields. A native of New York, he was born September 21, 1857, his parents being Ferdinand and Magdelina (Graff) Smith, both of whom were na- tives of Germany, the former born in Prussia, and the latter in Bavaria. Coming to America in 1852, the father settled in New York and after residing for a number of years in the Empire state, made his way westward to Benton county, Iowa, where he worked in a sawmill for some time. Finally he purchased land there which he cultivated and improved until 1897. He then retired and took up his abode in Norway, Iowa, where he made his home until his death, which occurred on the 29th of December, 1908. It was almost five years later before his wife was called to her final rest, her death occurring on the 22d of Sep- tember, 1913.
While born in the east, Joseph Smith has spent the greater part of his life in Iowa, having been reared in Benton county, where he acquired his education in the publie schools. He remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-four years and worked for his father in the fields upon the old home place. He then purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 27, Homer township, and afterward added thereto forty aeres adjoining on sec- tion 34, Homer township. The tract was nothing but wild land when it came into his possession. He broke the sod, tilled the fields and cultivated his crops and today the land is rich and mellow, responding readily to the care he he- stows upon it.
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4
On the 13th of June, 1882, Mr. Smith was married to Miss Theresa Nolte, a daughter of George and Mary (Death) Nolte, natives of Prussia. The parents came to America and settled in New York in 1852, the father there securing employment at the blacksmith's trade. After three years, however, he removed westward to Indiana, and a year later came to Iowa, settling in Fayette county, where he purchased two hundred and twenty acres. This he developed and im- proved, and upon the farm spent his remaining days, dying on the 1st of June, 1891, while his wife's death occurred ten years later, on the 15th of May, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of an only child, Mary M. They are Cath- olies in religious faith, and Mr. Smith is a democrat in his political views.
CHARLES E. BOIES.
Charles E. Boies is one of the extensive landowners of Buchanan county, his possessions aggregating eight hundred acres. Of this he is personally cultivating a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and in addition buys and ships cattle and horses, the extent and importance of his business connections making him widely known. He was born in Boone county, Illinois, January 15, 1859, and was a nephew of Governor Boies of Iowa. His father. William D. Boies, was a native of Aurora, Erie county. New York, born August 24, 1819, and his life span cov- ered eighty-six years, his death occurring in September. 1905. He always followed farming and upon his removal from New York made his way to Boone county, Illinois, where he took up his abode upon a farm in 1847. In early life he engaged in teaching school for twelve dollars per month and walked four miles to the schoolhouse. His wife was also a schoolteacher. In pioneer times in Boone county he had to market his wheat and other farm products in Chicago, hauling his grain with ox teams to that city. In Boone county he remained until 1873, when he came to Buchanan county and purchased a traet of land known as the Hatch farm, near Quasqueton. With characteristic energy he began its further development and resided thereon until 1895, when he took up his abode in the village, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of a rest which he had truly earned and richly deserved. His business affairs were most carefully con- dueted and his investments judiciously made. At one time he was the owner of twelve hundred acres of land near Quasqueton and in connection with general farming conducted an extensive dairy business, having a large herd of cattle. Ile engaged successfully in the manufacture of cheese and all of the products of his dairy found a ready sale upon the market.
William D. Boies was also active as a factor in the public life of the com- munity. . While in Illinois he served as county supervisor for twelve or fifteen years and after coming to Buchanan county filled the office of justice of the peace in Liberty township for several years. his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. In carly manhood he wedded Sarah C. Bugby, who was born in Vermont in 1821, and they became the parents of six children, of whom C. E. Boies is the fifth in order of birth. Three of the number have passed away, while three yet survive. One brother. H. L., is a resident of Quasqueton, while W. D. Boies, of Sheldon, lowa, is now upon the bench as district judge.
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Charles E. Boies completed his education in the high school at Sycamore, Illinois, and when twenty-one years of age began farming on his own account, renting land from his father, under whose direction he had become thoroughly familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops while he assisted in the work of the home farm. He was identified with general agri- cultural pursuits continuously until 1873 and came with the family to Iowa. In 1890 he removed to Rowley, where he embarked in the hotel, livery and live- stock business, which he conducted for six years. In 1896 he went to Quasqueton, where he engaged in buying cattle and horses until 1902. He then removed to Independence, where he continued in the same business, and in 1908 he settled upon his farm sonth of the city, in Sumner township. Here he owns and culti- vates one hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land and still buys and ships cattle and horses. As the years have gone on he has added to his hold- ings until he is now the owner of eight hundred acres of valuable farm land in Buchanan county. The soil is naturally rich and productive and he derives a gratifying annual income from his property.
In 1880 Mr. Boies was united in marriage to Miss Clara Miller, who was born in MeHenry county, Illinois, a daughter of William J. and Elmira (Benson) Miller. The father was born in Illinois in 1826 and the mother's birth occurred in Chautauqua county, New York, in 1833. Mr. Miller became a farmer of McHenry county, Illinois, and in connection with the tilling of the soil engaged in stock-raising. He served for one year as a private of Company I, Ninety-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and at the close of his military experience returned to his native state. Later, however, he removed to Iowa, settling in Liberty township, Buchanan county, in October, 1865, so that the residence of the family here covers almost a half century. Mr. Miller was county recorder for two terms. being elected on the greenback ticket. In addition to his agricultural interests he engaged in teaching in the country schools and in Row- ley. He passed away in 1895 and Mrs. Miller now makes her home with her daughter in Buchanan county. Mrs. Boies is worthy matron of the Eastern Star and for four years has been superintendent of the household department of the County Fair Association. She takes an active part in church, social and club life in the town and her work and influence along those lines is most valuable and beneficial.
To Mr. and Mrs. Boies have been born three children. Ethel, born in this county, is now the wife of E. M. Wilcox, a farmer of Liberty township. Both are graduates of the Cedar Falls Normal School and at the time of the Spanish- American war Mr. Wilcox went from Montour, Iowa, to the front with the Forty- ninth Iowa Infantry. For four years he engaged in teaching school in the Philippines. Unto him and his wife have been born two children, Marion and Charles. The second member of the Boies family is Inez M., who is a graduate of the Independence high school and of the Cedar Falls Normal School, and is now a teacher in the primary department in Independence. Burr B., born in 1890, is upon the home farm with his parents.
Fraternally Mr. Boies is a Mason and is connected with the Eastern Star. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp, and his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Methodist church. He takes an active interest in public affairs and cooperates in many movements for the benefit and upbuilding of this
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section of the state. He is now a stoekholder in the Fair Association. In politics he is a republican and his party has elected him to the office of county supervisor for a term of three years. His efforts in behalf of the public welfare have been far-reaching and beneficial and his life work makes him one of the valued citizens of the county.
ROBERT H. COPELAND.
Robert H. Copeland is a retired farmer living in Independence but for many years was actively and successfully connected with general agricultural pur- suits in Buchanan county. He is also one of the veterans of the Civil war and there are in his life history many chapters worthy of commendation and approval. Hle is now in the seventy-ninth year of his age, his birth having occurred in Albany county, New York, in 1835, his parents being Robert and Mary (De Long) Copeland, the former born in Scotland in 1781 and the latter in New York in 1787. Robert Copeland came to the United States when a small boy and resided in the Empire state until 1837. He then removed with his family to Ohio, settling near New Philadelphia, where he worked at the carpenter's trade and also engaged in farming two hundred aeres of land about four miles from the town. He thus led a busy, active and useful life and after his retirement from business affairs he took up his abode in town, where he held the office of justice of the peace for many years, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial. He served as an officer under General Butts in a New York company of militia in the War of 1812. His wife died in 1839 and he passed away in 1866.
Robert H. Copeland was one of the two children born of his father's second marriage. He attended school in New Philadelphia and when seventeen years of age he learned the blacksmith's trade under his brother, who erossed the plains to California in 1849. Our subject worked at his trade in New Philadelphia until 1855, when he heard the call of the west and in company with another young man left home and friends in Ohio, journeying westward by train to Freeport, Illinois. From that point he walked to Quasqueton, Iowa, where he arrived on the 24th of April, 1855. Ile found conditions similar to those which are always characteristic of pioneer life. There were plenty of Indians, but they were friendly, and there was all kinds of wild game, including deer. Mr. Copeland secured employment as a farm hand but worked in that way for only a few months, after which he located in Independence and secured employ- ment in a brickyard, aiding in the manufacture of the briek used in the con- struction of the first briek buildings in Independence. In 1856, however, he returned to Liberty township and broke the sod upon a tract of prairie land preparatory to farming. He then carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1864, when he answered the call of President Lincoln for volunteers and enlisted as a member of Company D. Fifteenth Iowa Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He was with Sherman on the march to the sea and participated in the sharp fighting at Atlanta and at Savannah, Georgia. When the war was over he returned to his farm and in connection with tilling the soil he worked at his trade until his retirement from active business in 1911. He is
ROBERT H. COPELAND
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now enjoying a well earned and well merited rest and is accounted one of the worthy and highly respected citizens of his community.
Mr. Copeland has been married twiee. He first wedded Miss Louisa Me- Gonigle, who was born in Buchanan county, a representative of one of the early families who settled in this eounty in 1849. She passed away in 1888, leaving behind her many warm friends. By her marriage she had become the mother of five ehildren: Eudora, the wife of W. J. King, a blacksmith of Waterloo, by whom she has two children, Gladys and Golda; Lilah, the wife of Helmer Nibeck, a farmer of Fremont township, by whom she had four children, Lena, Odessa and Leora and R. H., who died in 1913; Elsie, the widow of Roscoe Singer, of Oelwein, Iowa, and the mother of two sons, John and Robert; J. Dewey, who owns land and follows farming in Liberty township and who is married and has six children, Plummer, Gertrude, Catherine, Phoebe, Robert and Dewey; and Gertrude, the wife of P. M. Freeman, a prominent farmer of Hazleton township, by whom she has two sons, P. M. and Kermit. In 1890 Mr. Copeland was again married, his second union being with Miss Amy Perkins, a native of Vermont and a daughter of John D. and Tryphene (Shurtliff) Perkins, who removed to Wiseonsin in 1855, the father there carrying on farming throughout his remaining days.
Mr. Copeland belongs to the Church of God. He has always given his politieal allegianee to the democratie party and has filled some local offices. He is an active member of the Grand Army of the Republie and thus maintains pleasant relations with the "Boys in Blue," with whom he did active service on southern battlefields. He has always been as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when he followed the nation's starry banner through the south.
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