USA > Iowa > Buchanan County > History of Buchanan County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 53
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The Hon. JJerome S. Woodward remained at home until he was grown and was given the advantages of a good education. He attended Kimball Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire, and prepared for entering Dartmouth College, but instead of taking a course in that institution aeted upon the advice of Horace Greeley and went west. Hle located at Janesville. Wisconsin, and read law in the office of George B. Ely. He was admitted to the bar in due time and in 1853 came to Buchanan county, locating in the fall of that year at Independence. This city was then merely a pioneer hamlet of from twenty to thirty inhabitants and Mr. Woodward was a young lawyer with no capital but a Yankee ninepence and six law books. His ability and self-reliance soon gained him the confidence of the people and as the city increased in size his practice and influence grew apace. In 1854 he was elected prosecuting attorney and in 1857 he was honored by election to the state legislature. In 1864 he was a delegate to the republican convention at Baltimore which nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency for a second term. In all of his public service he gave unstintingly of his time and thought to the welfare of the people and the present prosperity of the state is due in no small measure to the far-seeing and well directed efforts of such as he. At the time of his death he had practiced his profession longer than any other man in Independence and was accorded the deference and honor due him by his colleagues and by the general public. Many of the prominent lawyers of this generation were students in his office and recognize the fact that the excellent training received there has been an important factor in their subsequent success. He was a man of almost inexhaustible energy and was also characterized by a keen sense of humor and delighted in a hearty laugh. His genial, great- hearted personality is still held in memory by many and the thought of his generous, vigorous life is still an inspiration to those who were privileged to know him intimately.
Mr. Woodward was married on the 6th of December, 1855, to Miss Caroline Morse, who was born in Orleans county. New York. August 22, 1835, a daughter
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of Heman and Eliza (Hoyt) Morse, both natives of Massachusetts. In 1847 the family removed to Belvidere, Illinois, where the father was a fur trader, buying from the Indians of western Illinois and Iowa. In 1853 he came to Independence and, being pleased with the new town, returned to Illinois the following year and brought his family here, the trip being made by wagon. He operated a hotel here for a number of years but subsequently engaged in the mercantile business. Mrs. Woodward survives and makes her home with her son, W. M. Woodward. To their union were born five children : Jerome Calvin; Anna Frances; Florence Agnes, the wife of J. Bright, of Kansas City, Missouri; Will M., a merchant of Independence; and Kate E., the widow of Robert E. Leach, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Woodward was a stanch republican and prominent in the councils of his party in Iowa, and he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His death occurred on the 18th of May, 1895, and not only was his demise an irreparable loss to his family and friends, but it deprived Independence and Buchanan county of a prominent and highly esteemed pioneer citizen.
JOHN FREMONT STEPHENSON.
The Wiltse Hotel at Fairbank is known to the traveling public as one of the better class smaller hostelries of the state. For a number of years MIr. and Mrs. John Fremont Stephenson have owned and managed it and the high standard which is maintained there is due to their unremitting watchfulness and care. Mr. Stephenson was born in Walworth, Wisconsin, August 22, 1862, a son of Sherman and Amy Adeline (Lewis) Stephenson, both natives of Ohio. They came to Iowa with their family in 1874 and located upon a farm in Fairbank township, this county. The father died near Fairbank in 1878 and his widow resides in Oelwein, this state. They were the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom survive, namely : Charles H., of Ringwood, Illinois; Elwood, deceased ; Orlo William, who resides in Alberta, Canada; Seeley, deceased; Mrs. Delilah Miller, of Independence, lowa; Alvaro, who resides near Woodstock, Illinois; John Fremont, of this review; Mrs. Eva White, of Long Pine, Nebraska; Frank, who died at Hazleton, Iowa ; Fred, of Oelwein ; Mrs. Nettie Allen, living at Fair- mount, Minnesota ; Everett, of Alberta, Canada; and R. W., cashier of a bank at Forest City, Iowa. The eight elder children were born in Wisconsin and the five younger ones in Illinois, but all were reared and educated in Iowa. Mrs. Allen attended school at Oelwein after completing the course offered by the local schools, and R. W. pursued his studies at Independence, Iowa.
John Fremont Stephenson accompanied his parents to this state in 1874 when a lad of twelve years and grew to manhood upon the home farm in Fair- bank township. After attending the common schools he took a course at R. C. Spencer's Business College at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Prior to this he was a clerk in John Meyers' store in Fairbank and after returning home he reentered the business world in the capacity of a clerk. From Fairbank he went to Bran- don and was employed by D. A. MeLeish, who had a store there. He gave up his position at the time of his brother's death at Hazleton and, as he was shortly
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afterward strieken with typhoid fever, did not reenter business for some time. When he had fully recovered his health, however, he returned to Brandon and clerked for several years for John Kline, who conducted a general store. He was married in 1886 and several years afterward he moved his family to Inde- pendence, where they lived until February 1, 1914. In 1896 he was appointed deputy elerk of the county court and continued in that capacity for nine years. At the time of the resignation of Clerk Fouts he was appointed by the board of supervisors to fill out the unexpired term. He was afterward elected to that office for two consecutive terms, serving in all five years. He proved thoroughly competent and absolutely trustworthy and the business of the office was trans- acted in an efficient manner. After the expiration of his term he was a traveling salesman for about three years. On the 1st of February, 1914, he returned to Fairbank and he and his wife have since conducted the Wiltse Hotel.
Mr. Stephenson was married at Brandon, Iowa, in January, 1886, to Miss Alta Elizabeth Colt, who was born at that place in 1870. Her parents removed to Nebraska soon after her birth but subsequently went to Marshalltown, Iowa. Her paternal grandparents were among the pioneers of Marshall county, this state, and her maternal grandparents were early settlers in Jefferson township, this county. Her parents. Frank C. and Catharine (Stainbrook) Colt, reside near Brandon at present. They have two children: Charles, a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota ; and Mrs. Stephenson. Our subject and his wife have four children. Mrs. Vera May Seny, who was born March 23, 1890, is now a resident of Mason City, Iowa. She has the unique distinction of having issued her own marriage license, as she was serving as deputy clerk under her father at the time of her marriage. Floyd T., who was born April 27, 1893, is a resident of Independence. The two youngest children, Theodore Roosevelt, born October 27, 1901, and Ray E., born October 19. 1907, are both attending school at Fairbank.
Since returning to Fairbank Mr. Stephenson has been elected city elerk, which position he now holds. Fraternally he belongs to Independence Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and to the camp of the Modern Woodmen of America at Inde- pendence. He is also a member of the United Commercial Travelers. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is active in its work. His has been a varied career, as, in addition to the pursuits mentioned above, he was for a time, while living in Independence, engaged in training horses, but in all that he has done he has manifested the qualities of energy, sound judgment and reliability. IIe has gained a competence and owns his comfortable residence in Oelwein. He has many stanch friends and is loyal to those whom he admits into the inner eirele of his regard.
CHARLES L. CATT.
Charles L. Catt owns and operates a farm of one hundred and five acres on section 32, Byron township, and devotes considerable attention to dairying. having a herd of from twelve to fifteen mileh eows. He also does general farming and is meeting with sneecss in his undertakings. He was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, December 26, 1864. a son of Louis and Julia (Casselmon) Catt. the
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former a native of Hastings, England. The father was reared and educated in his native land but when a young man of twenty-one years of age came to this country and located at Buffalo, New York, where he found work in a distillery. He was so employed for eighteen years and then removed to Michigan, purchas- ing land which is now a part of the site of Kalamazoo. In 1865 he sold his hold- ings in the Wolverine state and came to Iowa and bought an eighty acre farm, forty acres of which he sold prior to his demise, while the remaining forty is now a part of the land owned by his son. The father continued to reside upon his farm until his death, which occurred on the 12th of August, 1900, when eighty-two years of age. He was a democrat in his political belief. His wife was born in Oswego, New York, and when a girl accompanied her parents to Michigan, where she grew to womanhood and where her marriage occurred. She is still living at the age of eighty-two years and makes her home in Independence.
Charles L. Catt was the only child born to his parents and was but three months old when the family removed to this county. His boyhood was spent upon the home farm and he was of great assistance to his father in the cultiva- tion of his land. When a youth of eighteen he decided to engage in mercantile pursuits and for a year and a half clerked in a grocery store in Independence and for about six months was employed in a hotel at Independence. At the end of that time he had reached the conclusion that farming was a more congenial occupation and returned home and took over the management of his father's farm. After his father's death he inherited the place and has since added sixty- five acres to it, so that he is now the owner of a well improved and highly culti- vated farm of one hundred and five acres. He understands thoroughly practical methods of agriculture and as he is energetic and industrious his labors yield him a gratifying return. He has a dairy of twelve or fifteen cows, which adds a considerable sum to his income annually.
On the 4th of January, 1887, Mr. Catt was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Spece, who was born in Monroe, Wisconsin, on the 5th of September, 1861, a daughter of William and Julia (Youngblood) Spece. Her father was born in Morgan county, Virginia, but when a child of four years was taken by his parents to Ohio, where he remained until 1848, in which year he removed to Green county, Wisconsin, where he remained until 1871. In that year he came to Buchanan county, Iowa, and purchased one hundred and thirty acres in Sumner township, where he resided until his death, which occurred when he had reached the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was married in 1844 to Miss Julia A. Youngblood, likewise a native of the Old Dominion, and in 1873 she passed away at the age of fifty-three years. They were the parents of eight children. Their religious faith was attested by their membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work they always manifested a keen interest. Mrs. Catt was but a child of ten years when the family came to this county, and has since resided here. By her marriage she has seven children, namely: Mae, the wife of Clifford Porterfield, of Waterloo, Iowa; Jesse C., at home; Bessie, a bookkeeper employed in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Vivian, Helen, Bertha and Clyde, all at home.
Mr. Catt is a republican in his political views and has served as school director for seventeen years, doing much in that capacity to advance the interests of the school of his district. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of
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America and is well known and well liked, not only in that organization, but also throughout his locality, as he is a man of unswerving integrity and of broad sympathies.
BENJAMIN B. SELLS, M. D.
Dr. Benjamin B. Sells, engaged in the active practice of medicine in Inde- pendence, was born in Winthrop, Buchanan county, in 1870. His parents, Leonard and Melissa (Knight) Sells, were both natives of Ohio, the former born in 1841 and the latter in 1850. The father came with his parents to Iowa when but seven years of age, the family home being established near Webster City when that section of the state was still a wild and undeveloped region. He there remained until after the Spirit Lake massacre, when he enlisted in what was known as the Northern Iowa Brigade. He afterward settled near Winthrop, where he had purchased lands, and there he began farming, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation. He carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising and while successfully managing his business affairs he also held a number of local offices, giving his political support throughout the entire period to the democratic party. He is now living retired with his wife upon a small farm near Independence.
Dr. B. B. Sells, the younger of their two children, attended school at Winthrop, and afterward entered Lenox College at Hopkinton. Iowa. Still later he attended the State University, in which he pursued his professional course, being graduated from the medical department with the class of 1905. He remained upon the home farm until it was necessary to go away to school, and following his graduation he made his way direct to Buchanan county, settling in Independence. Here he opened an office and has since devoted his entire attention to his practice, the duties of which he discharges with a sense of con- scientious obligation. He is most careful in the diagnosis of his cases and at all times keeps in touch with the advanced thought that is brought to light through scientific investigation and rescareh. He has held no political office save that of pension examiner. The only business interest outside of his profession is in connection with the fair association, of which he is a stockholder.
In 1909 Dr. Sells was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Little, who was born in Buchanan county, a daughter of Ebenezer and Louisa (Smith) Little, both of whom were natives of Illinois, born in the year 1842. The mother passed away in 1910. Ebenezer Little came to Buchanan county when only a small boy and with his father settled near what is now Littleton, the town being so named in honor of the family, who owned considerable land in Buchanan county, which they had taken up as claims from the government. Ebenezer Little was a brother of Captain Little, who commanded Company C of the Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry during the Civil war and for whom the Grand Army post of Inde- pendence is named. During his early life he was very prominent in public. affairs of the county and his aid and influence were an element in substantial growth and improvement. He is still the owner of land here, but at the present time is living retired and makes his home with his daughter, Mrs. Sells. Dr.
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and Mrs. Sells have become the parents of two children: Dorothy Theresa, who was born in 1910; and Leonard Little, born in 1912.
Dr. Sells holds membership with the Masonic fraternity and along more strictly professional lines is connected with the .Buchanan County, the Iowa State and the American Medical Associations. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession and recognizes fully the heavy obligations and responsibilities which devolve upon the medical practitioner. He and his wife have many friends in Independence and the hospitality of the best homes of the city is freely accorded them.
JOHN R. ROGERS.
John R. Rogers resides upon an attractive farm two and a half miles north- west of Independence, where he owns and cultivates forty acres of good land. He was born in Cornwall, England, March 14, 1839, a son of John and Mary (Prant) Rogers, both of whom were natives of Cornwall. The father, who made farming his life work. died in England about 1846. About 1857 the mother brought her family to the new world and with her son, John R., she made her way to Michigan, while other members of the family remained in New York and continued their journey to Michigan at a later date. John R. Rogers and his mother proceeded to Bridgeville, Van Buren county, and there became con- nected with farming interests, the mother making her home in that county throughout her remaining days, her death occurring in 1889. In the family were six children.
John R. Rogers, who was the fifth in order of birth, was a youth of eighteen when he crossed the Atlantic. He attended school for a time in Michigan but his educational opportunities were quite limited and in the school of experience he has learned his most valuable lessons. He was only a child at the time of his father's death and later he worked as a chore boy in London until the emigration to the new world. He then engaged in farming in Michigan as a partner of his brother-in-law for about three years and later removed to Du Page county, Illinois, where he was employed at farm labor. He also engaged in teaming between Chicago and Bloomingdale for about ten or twelve years and in 1886 he came to Iowa, making his way direct to Independence. Here he cultivated a rented farm for a few years and then purchased his present place, situated two and a half miles northwest of the town. It was but partially improved when it came into his possession. He has forty acres which he operates in the cultiva- tion of cereals best adapted to soil and climate, and his farm now presents a neat and attractive appearance.
On the 10th of January, 1861, Mr. Rogers was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ryan, who was born in Ireland, June 4, 1842, a daughter of Lawrence and Mary (Byron) Ryan, both of whom were natives of the Emerald isle. They came to the United States in 1850 and after living for a short time in Chicago went to Bloomingdale, Du Page county, Illinois, where the father purchased a small tract of land. He thereon engaged in farming and also practiced veterin- ary surgery. He and his wife had a large family, of whom Mrs. Rogers was the
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seventh. The father died in the year 1878 and the mother passed away when eighty-three years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have five children : Francelia, the wife of J. C. Holmes, a mechanic living in Independence ; Charlie Byron, who wedded May Manning and is a resident of Independence; Lizzie, the wife of Frank Vanderhoof, a carpenter residing at Independence; Maud, the wife of David Irvin, a farmer living at Vandalia, Iowa; and Lee, who married an Eng- lish girl and is proprietor of a restaurant and bakery at Greene, Iowa.
Mr. Rogers is a republican but has no aspiration for political office. He has now passed the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey and his career has been an active and useful one, characterized by honorable principles and fraught with many good deeds. Ilis sterling worth has won for him the confidence and warm regard of all who know him.
CYRIL F. ARTHAUD.
Cyril F. Arthaud is the proprietor of the West Hill Farm situated on sec- tion 6, Hazleton township, and it was upon this farm that his birth occurred April 23, 1875. His father, Antonio Arthaud, was born in France in March, 1826, and the mother, who bore the maiden name of Anna Callahan, was born in County Cork, Ireland, March 28, 1842. They are now residents of Hazleton township. Antonio Arthaud, Sr., saw military duty in the war between France and Spain. Mr. Arthaud, the father of our subject, learned the weaver's trade of his father and followed that pursuit through the winter months, while in the summer seasons he engaged in farming in France. He remained in the land of his birth until about twenty-seven years of age, when, in company with two of his brothers, he emigrated to the United States. One of the brothers soon afterward returned to France, but the other is stll living in Nebraska. After- landing at New York, Antonio Arthaud, Jr., made his way westward to Ottawa, Illinois, where he was employed as a farm hand until about 1856. He then came to Iowa, settling first at Dubuque, where he remained for about seven years, farming and gardening there. Upon leaving Ottawa he traveled by rail to Galena, Illinois, and walked the balance of the way to Dubuque. It was while living there that he was married November 15, 1865, to Miss Anna Callahan, who had come to the United States with her sister, sailing for Quebec and thenee journeying to Jackson county, Iowa, where she lived with her uncle, John McCarty, a pioneer settler of that county.
Mr. and Mrs. Antonio Arthaud began their domestic life in Dubuque, but the following year, 1866, came to Hazleton township, Buchanan county, at which time pioneer conditions still existed here. There were only a few schoolhouses and churches scattered here and there and Mr. Arthaud was employed on the construction of the first Catholic church in Hazleton and also in Oelwein. He also assisted in building the old stone schoolhouse in Hazleton township, where many men now prominent attended school in their boyhood days. The chief occupation of Mr. Arthaud, however, was that of farming and he continued active in agricultural pursuits until, having become the possessor of a comfortable competence, he put aside business cares and he is now living retired. He has
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passed the eighty-eighth milestone on life's journey. He and his wife are the parents of six children : Mary, the wife of Michael McDonoughi, of Idaho, and the mother of five children; Julia, who died at the age of eighteen years and three months; Lucy, Sister Mary Carmalita, a nun of The Sisters of Mercy, teaching at Eagle Center, Iowa; Cyril F .; Nellie, the wife of Gus Hill, station agent at Hazleton, by whom she has three children; and Genevra, the wife of Otis Fer- guson, a merchant of Hazleton, Iowa, by whom she has two sons.
Cyril F. Arthaud attended the district schools of the neighborhood and has always followed farming, now owning two hundred acres of land which is the original homestead of the family. The place is known as the West Hill Farm and is one of the attractive farms of the township. The buildings are substantial, the improvements are many and all modern machinery is used in facilitating the work of the fields. In addition to the cultivation of crops Mr. Arthaud is engaged in feeding cattle.
He is pleasantly situated in his home life, having wedded March 1, 1905, Miss Lizzie Shilling of Dubuque, a daughter of John Shilling, who was one of the pioneer settlers of that county. They have become the parents of three ehil- dren, Clement, Cyril and Maurice. The family hold membership in St. Mary's Catholic church at Hazleton, and in politics Mr. Arthaud is a democrat. His entire life has been given to general agricultural pursuits and his energy and determination have enabled him to overcome all difficulties and obstaeles in his path and work his way steadily upward. He has a wide acquaintance in this county, where his entire life has been spent, and that the record he has made is a creditable one is evidenced in the fact that inany of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time.
J. C. BATES.
J. C. Bates, widely known as an owner and trainer of race horses, maintain- ing his stables at Independence, was born in La Salle county, Illinois, in 1850. His father, O. A. Bates, was born near Oswego, New York, in 1821, and in early life became a farmer and horseman, buying and selling horses both in New York and Iowa. He removed from the Empire state to Illinois, where he fol- lowed farming for a time and then went to Janesville, Wisconsin, where he built the first livery barn of that city, conducting it for several years thereafter. Later he took up his abode upon a farm and when he left Wisconsin, in 1859, came to Iowa. In this state he purchased land near Hazleton and in connection with the cultivation of crops best adapted to soil and climate he engaged in handling and raising horses. Years ago he would match them up, ride them to the east and then sell, and he became well known as a prominent horseman of the middle west.
Mr. Bates was united in marriage to Miss Elvira Lawrence, also a native of Oswego, New York, born in 1821. They lived happily together as man and wife for more than seventy years -a most notable record-and passed away in 1911 when both were ninety years of age. They had a family of ten children, of whom J. C. Bates was the fifth in order of birth. One of the sons, J. P. Bates,
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