History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 66

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574

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During his residence in Shelburne Falls he married Miss Mary Ann Sherman, his second wife, and in the winter of 1855 they removed to Independence, Iowa, where they still reside. Here, in 1856, he edited (as part proprietor) the Civilian, which had recently been established as a Democratic newspaper, although under Judge Tabor it was frankly anti-slavery. Its politics, however, were afterwards changed again, and it became the predecessor of the present Conservative, the Demo- cratic organ of the county. In the fall of 1856 he was elected county judge for Buchanan county, then a very important office, to which he was reelected for a number of successive terms, until he declined the office and was elected treasurer and recorder of the county. While filling that office he was, in 1863, called upon by Presi- dent Lincoln to assume the duties of Fourth Auditor of the United States Treasury, which position he occupied with signal ability for sixteen years. In 1879 he re- turned to Independence and formed a partnership with his cousin, Dr. P. Tabor, and son, under the firm name of Tabor & Tabor. They connect with drugs, books and stationary, and are doing a safe and successful business.

In his relations with his fellow men, Judge Tabor is eminently social, kind and just. His convictions are earnest and unswerving, and he is somewhat fond of re- ligious controversy, taking what is properly called the "liberal" side. Towards opposing schools of thought he is sometimes a little severe; but his benevolence does not allow him to become harsh or unjust towards indi- viduals. He has been one of the most enthusiastic and uncompromising anti-slavery men ever since the agitation of the question whether slavery should be permitted to follow our flag into California. Since the formation of the Republican party he has devoted press, pen, and voice to its principles, and used all honorable means for its success. His tastes are literary and poetical. The leisure hours of his life have been devoted to books and art; and instead of investing his means in lands, moneys or stocks, he has formed one of the best private libraries, in proportion to its size, to be found in the Union. It numbers about six thousand volumes, and has been carefully selected by a sound judgment and a critically refined taste. The greater part of the volumes have been imported from Europe. It contains many rare old books, and is rich in all the most esteemed classic works of ancient and modern literature. Among other special- ties he has probably the largest collection in the world of books upon tobacco, tea and coffee; and upon the

first named subject he has an original volume, still in manuscript, entitled "Nicotiana Tabacum," which evinces the most profound research, and the most pol- ished and refined literary taste.

In person Judge Tabor is of medium height and size, dark complexion and full beard, now bleached by the frosts of sixty-five winters. His face indicates the refined and contemplative student ; while his knowledge of men, no less than of books, makes him a most instructive and entertaining conversationalist. He is a classical scholar, familiar with modern languages, and especially erudite in polite literature. He is proud of having been a pioneer in Buchanan county, as may be seen from his entertain- ing address delivered at the last meeting of the Old Settlers' society, and printed in another part of this volume.

Mrs. Tabor, a lady of culture and refinement and of rare social qualities, has been, for many years, to a great extent secluded from general society by loss of hearing, which makes it difficult even for her own family and most familiar friends to converse with her. Judge Tabor has but three children. The oldest, Stephen, married and living with his parents, is engaged in the grocery trade at Independence. He inherits his father's love of books and fondness for writing, and is an occasional poetic contributor to the pages of Scribner's Magazine. Eunice, the second, is now the wife of John Barnet, one of the leading dry goods merchants of Independence; and Annie, the third, a miss of fifteen summers, and a bloom- ing example of the sana mens in sano corpore, is just con- cluding the graded school course of study and about to enter the high school at Independence. These are all the children of the second marriage. There were two by the first, but they did not survive the period of infancy.

HON. GEORGE W. BEMIS,

for many years a prominent citizen of Buchanan county, was born in Spencer, Worcester county, Massachusetts, on the thirteenth day of October, 1826. He is a de- scendant of Joseph Bemis, who came from England in 1640, and settled at Watertown, Massachusetts, from whom have sprung all who bear the name in that part of New England. Edmond Bemis, his grandfather, was a native of Spencer, Massachusetts, where he spent most of his life, and died in 1810, at the advanced age of ninety. In 1745 he served as a lieutenant at the capture of Louisburgh, and as a captain in the Crown Point ex- pedition in 1755-6.

In 1837 the subject of this sketch migrated with his father, Eleazar Bemis, to Genesee county, New York, where the latter died, August 11, 1873, in the eightieth year of his age. Here he resided, being an only son, until after reaching his majority, working on the farm summers, and attending school during the winter months, finishing his education at Carey Collegiate seminary, Oakfield, Otsego county, New York. Shortly after reaching his majority he spent two winters teaching school in Wisconsin, and in 1854 removed to Iowa, and

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settled at Independence, where he still resides. For sev- eral years he was employed as county surveyor, and was also actively engaged in carrying on an extensive real es- tate and banking business, in connection with Dr. Edward Brewer and Judge O. H. P. Roszell. In 1859 he was elected a member of the Eighth general assembly, and served in the lower house during the regular session of 1860, and in the extra war session of June, 1861, as chairman of the committee on State University, and was also a member of the appropriation committee. On his return home he received the appointment of postal clerk on the Dubuque & Sioux City railroad, in which capacity he faithfully served the Government for about seven years. Upon the death of Albert Clark, commissioner of the insane asylum at Independence, he was appointed by Governor Samuel Merrill to fill this vacancy in the board, and served as secretary and treasurer until his resignation, in December, 1871. He was reappointed by Governor C. C. Carpenter, in April, 1872. Being the only resident commissioner, a disproportionately large amount of work and responsibility devolved upon him, which he performed to the entire satisfaction of his as- sociates and the criticising public.

In the fall of 1871 he was elected to the State senate, and occupied at once an influential position in that body as a member of several important committees, and chair- man of that on public buildings.

In 1876 Mr. Bemis was elected State treasurer, and was reelected to the same office in 1878. At the close of his second term he returned from Des Moines to In- dependence, where he intends to make his permanent home.

The State still retains his services as a member of the board of commissioners for the hospital for the insane, at Independence.

Politically Mr. Bemis has always acted with the Re- publican party. Sympathizing with and encouraging the anti-slavery movement when it was unpopular, he has always stood firmly and unflinchingly in the defence of right and justice, no matter what it might cost him. Although too truthful, frank, and firm in his convictions, too outspoken and unpolitic in the expression of his opinions to secure that kind of popularity sought by modern politicians, yet he has, by his honest, fair, and incorruptible conduct in public life, won hosts of friends whom the most fastidious would be proud to acknowl- edge.

He was married April 11, 1855, to Miss Narcissa T. Roszell, an accomplished lady, and sister of the late Hon. O. H. P. Roszell. They have a family of three children, two sons and one daughter.

WILLIAM A. JONES.

Honorable William A. Jones was born August 24, 1824, at Middlebury, Schoharie county, New York, where the earlier years of his life were spent. He had the ed- ucational advantages to be derived from the common school of that time, combined with the practical training

which farm life gives to a youth of natural quickness of intellect. The winter after he was seventeen he attended Jefferson academy for four months, and then entered his father's store in the capacity of clerk. After an appren- ticeship of something more than three years, he com- menced business for himself by opening a store at Breakabean, New York, which he successfully conducted for seven years, when he disposed of his stock and re- moved to Benton Centre, Yates county, in the same State, purchasing there a general variety store. Soon after this change in his business Mr. Jones' health failed to such an extent that he was compelled to leave the management of his affairs entirely in the hands of em- ployes, and at the end of two years found himself on the verge of bankruptcy as a consequence. He immediately closed his business, paying every debt, though at a loss of ten thousand dollars. Abandoning the mercantile business, he next, with the remnant of means left him, rented land and raised twenty acres of broom-corn, which he manufactured and sold, realizing from his ven- ture, above living expenses, just three hundred and ten dollars. That Mr. Jones was not encouraged by this success will not be a matter of surprise to those who un- derstand how difficult it is for him not to "despise the day of small things." Large operations with a fair prospect of large returns seem to be a necessity to some minds, and this is emphatically a characteristic of the mental constitution of the subject of this biography.

Turning his back upon what, to many, at that early date would have seemed the highway to fortune, Mr. Jones determined to seek a fortune in the west; and, packing up his household goods, he landed in Indepen- dence in the spring of 1855, with just ten dollars in money. With his usual restless energy he immediately rented half of a very small store on west Main street, and stocking it with a small quantity of goods which he had bought on thirty days' time, put it in charge of his wife, who in five months' time sold over five thousand dollars' worth. Mr. Jones at the same time engaged in the lumber business, both manufacturing and selling. Commencing in a small way, his first purchase being two trees for which he paid five dollars, he gradually in- creased, he says, but so rapidly that in less than six months he had cleared over two thousand dollars in his lumber operations. This business was continued until 1858, during which time he had cut from standing timber about one hundred thousand feet of native lumber.

In the summer of 1857 Mr. Jones built a large hotel at Fayette, which he completed and furnished at a cost of over ten thousand dollars, besides engaging to some extent in real estate business. In the fall of 1857, when the financial embarrassment which was prostrating all branches of business in the east, began to be felt in the west also, it found Mr. Jones largely involved, as he was owing some thirteen thousand dollars, although owning property worth a third more than his liabilities. With his characteristic decision and promptness of action, he asked no extension of time to realize the full value of his assets, but converted all he had into money at prices cur- rent, and paid his obligations as far as he could; but,

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owing to the great sacrifice he was compelled to make, he did not pay in full until several years later. He did what he could, understanding well that a part of a debt paid during such a crisis may be, and often is, worth more than the whole in more prosperous times. Men of such undoubted integrity do not often experience much difficulty in securing the means to transact business, as Mr. Jones' experience shows. Not disheartened by this second failure, and with a large capital of untarnished honor to operate with, and an energy that knows no abatement, he was soon at work to pay his remaining debts, which he successfully accomplished in 1865, pay- ing one hundred cents on the dollar.

In the fall of 1859 he engaged in stock buying with P. C. Wilcox, a man in whom a correct business judg- ment seemed an instinct. Mr. Wilcox furnished the capital and shared the profits. Their first consignment, thirteen cars of hogs, was the first stock shipment from Independence. But though it enjoys the distinction of being the first shipment of stock, it did not prove to be the first success, as the hogs were sold in New York at a total loss to the firm of about fifteen hundred dollars. Other operations followed in the same line with very dif- ferent results, as the partnership was continued about seven years, or until 1865, when Mr. Jones had the satis- faction of commencing life once more out of debt, and with (he tells us) just one hundred and sixty-five dollars in money. Since then he has continued the same busi- ness, being extensively known as a large dealer in stock, his operations amounting to not less than one hundred and fifty thousand dollars per annum. He now owns and operates, in connection with his stock business, a half-section farm, with sixty-five acres of good timber land adjoining, besides a good residence and other prop- erty in Independence.

In the spring of 1864 Mr. Jones was elected mayor of Independence, reelected in 1865, and again in 1870, after which he positively declined to be a candidate for reelection.

Mr. Jones was married at Schoharie, New York, Janu- ary 25, 1844, to Miss Elizabeth C., daughter of Rev. David Poor, of the Troy conference. They had ten chil- dren, only two of whom are now living. Mrs. Jones died in August, 1868, and in 1869 he was married to Mrs. Mary E. Anable, who, like her valued prede- cessor, has proved in every respect a help-meet for her husband.

LIEUTENANT GEORGE C. JORDAN.

An account of Lieutenant Jordan's business career in this county in connection with that best of all pioneer papers, the Quasqueton Guardian, and also of his brief but brilliant military career, and of his untimely and widely lamented death, has been given with sufficient minuteness in another part of this volume. It only re- mains, therefore, to give some additional particulars in regard to his personal and domestic history.

The facts given below were furnished mainly by his old friend, and former partner, the Hon. Jacob Rich,

now of Des Moines. They would be painfully brief were they all that the volume contains of him; but they are all that we have been able to obtain-and only, in fact, for which we now have time and space.

Lieutenant Jordan was born in Philadelphia, in Sep- tember (according to Mr. Rich's recollection) of 1832. His father was a soldier before him, having entered the army as a volunteer in the Mexican war; and was killed, or died, in that service.

George C. early apprenticed himself to the trade of printer, and was always regarded as one of the best of workmen. He worked in Philadelphia until 1852, and then went to New York, where he stayed for two or three years. Afterward, about 1855, he went west-first to Cincinnati, then to St. Louis, and finally to Dubuque, where he entered into partnership with Mr. Adams, and established the Nonpareil job printing office in that city.

In 1856, in company with Mr. Rich, he started the Guardian at Quasqueton ; the paper being removed to Independence in 1858. There, respected and influen- tial, he continued to reside until he enlisted and went into the late war as first lieutenant.

Of the sequel, so bright, and yet so sad, our readers are already informed.

Mrs. Jordan is a sister-in-law of George S. Harris, one of the most extensive ornamental printers in Philadel- phia. It was with him that Mr. Jordan learned his trade; and at his house that he first met Mrs. Jordan. After all the arrangements for starting the paper at Quas- queton were completed, he returned to Philadelphia and was married-the engagement having then existed for some years.

Mrs. Jordan is a lady of excellent family ; of fine men- tal endowment and culture, and of every wifely virtue. Her maiden name was Thompson; but she had been previously married to a man named Tanner, from whom, some years before her acquaintance with Lieutenant Jordan, she had been compelled to procure a divorce. Since her husband's death she has never married again - preferring, with a constancy as beautiful as it is rare, to cherish his memory in perpetual widowhood. Her residence is mainly in Philadelphia, though a consider- able portion of her time has been spent with friends in Dubuque.

In some of his more striking traits of character-es. pecially in his ardent patriotism, his indomitable cour- age, and the warmth and purity of his domestic affec- tions-Lieutenant Jordan resembled his distinguished companion-in arms-Captain Little. It is fitting, there- fore, that, as far as this local history can accomplish so desirable a result, the names of the two brave and patri- otic soldiers-the two faithful and devoted husbands- should be handed down to posterity together.

CAPTAIN E. C. LITTLE.

So prominent was the career of the heroic Little as will be seen in our voluminous chapter on the war, and

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so eloquently does every presentation of his name speak of those qualities which take captive the heart and thrill it with emotions of admiring love, or bow it with sym- pathetic sorrow, that a simple record of the closing scene, the yielding up of the brave, true soul, after years of suffering, nobly, patiently borne, would seem all that remained to be done. But only the army life of Ed- mund C. Little has been brought before us; and the few short years that intervened between his compulsory de- parture from his command and his lamented death so completely correspond to our conception of his capabili- ties, that they cannot be ignored. He returned to the friends he had made by his gallantry since, as a boy sol- dier, he went away, few suspecting that fame was even then preparing a chaplet for his youthful brow. So man- ly was he, yet so modest, so gentle, so faithful in the use of means for his own improvement, and in the discharge of all the duties of a private citizen, that he lost nothing of the enthusiastic regard which he had called forth in a sphere so different. So far as his physical condition would permit, and far beyond what would have been possible to some of a different mold, he was diligent in the personal performance of the duties of postmaster, an office conferred upon him as a slight recognition of his manly worth, and of the great sacrifices he had made in the service of his country.

All that could be crowded into his shortened career of the most generous friendship and tenderest love, it soothes the heart to think of as his. Married in 1870, to one in the highest degree worthy of the noble heart she had won, how much of brightness must have been cast upon the pathway, which, from the first, he knew was tending toward the dark valley, and which, all too soon, entered the shadows which hid him from the gaze of all who loved, and still love, the youthful hero, the noble man !

Captain Little's death occurred on the sixteenth of April, 1874. Probably no other death of so young a person ever occurred in the State which called forth such a widespread expression of sympathy and sorrow. Some few selections from the many tributes before us, penned by those whose privilege it was to know his worth and feel his loss, will furnish the most fitting language with which to complete this brief biography:

No event of recent occurrence in our city has occasioned, among all classes and in all circles, such profound and all-pervading sorrow as the death of Captain Little, which occurred yesterday at about the hour of noon, after a long and painful illness, which he bore with the courage of a martyr, and a cheerfulness which was but a reflex of his strong and healthy nature. Nor will the sad intelligence which it thus becomes our painful duty to pen, fall with a pang alone upon his friends and neighbors, who knew him best, and had learned best to appreciate his high character, his honor, his life above reproach, his manly, generous instincts, and his possession of all those noble quali- ties which exalt men above their fellows. It will be read by many acquaintances all over Iowa with emotions of heartfelt sorrow, that the grave has prematurely closed over one so worthy to adorn his day and generation, and whose career of usefulness was so bright with promise.

But beside the stricken friends bound to him by ties of family, none will mourn his loss more sincerely, or cherish his memory more tenderly than the brave men who with him, at the call of their country, marched to the defence of the Union, and upon many a well-fought field upheld the honor of the flag. It is around Captain Little's career as a soldier, with its record of patriotism, of bravery, of duty well performed, of

much enduring sacrifice, that a peculiar glow is shed. Among the he- roes that Iowa sent to the war, none have a brighter record of bravery and devotion, and the same sterling qualities of heart that secured for him the respect and confidence of all who knew him in civil life, en- deared him to his companions in arms.

Edmund C. Little was born in LaSalle, Illinois, to which State his father had emigrated from New Hampshire- - on the eleventh day of March, 1845. In 1853 the family made a further move westward, set- tling near Littleton, in this county, on land yet occupied by the elder sons. The father was a man of exceptional intelligence and strength of character, and early secured a position of influence and honor in the community. He died in December, 1856, universally lamented.

The subject of this sketch remained with his mother, engaged in the labors of the farm, until 1861, when the portents of the civil war at- tracted his attention and stirred his patriotic impulses. He was anx- ious to enlist, but his age was a bar to this step. This obstacle, how- ever, he managed to evade, and in August, 1861, at the age of sixteen years and four months, he enrolled himself in company C, Ninth Iowa infantry, then being organized in this county by Captain Hord. He was made eighth corporal, and soon after departed with his company for the rendezvous at Dubuque. His genial nature, his enthusiasm, and his soldierly qualities, at once made him a favorite in the company and regiment, and his advancement was steady from the first. July 18, 1862, he was commissioned second lieutenant of the company; and on the eighth day of March, 1863, three days before he was eighteen years old, he received his commission as captain. He participated in all the marches and battles of the regiment in the Missouri campaign, during which his courage and coolness under fire were the theme of every tongue. On the memorable twenty-second of May, while gal- lantly charging, at the head of his company, upon the defences of Vicksburgh, he received a wound in the hip, which incapacitated him for further service, caused him months and years of unspeakable suf- fering, and was finally the cause of his death. He was carried off the field by Valentine Cates, one of his company, then and now a resident of this city, and a worthy man and brave soldier.

After his return from the army, he commenced the study of the law, but his health forbade and he was obliged to desist. The duties of the position of postmaster of this city, which he held by the consent of all parties until his death, he performed to the unqualified satisfaction of the public and the Department.

A loving mother, several brothers and sisters, and an affectionate wife are left to mourn his loss.

From another source we take the following :

When the war broke out, Mr. Little, then but a boy of sixteen, promptly enlisted for the fight, and entered himself upon the rolls of the Ninth Iowa, General Vandever's gallant regiment. One of the cheerfulest, bravest and most zealous soldiers that ever shouldered a musket, he soon won the respect of his officers and the warm affection of his comrades. He was with the Ninth in all its fierce struggles; and the nonchalance and imperturbable coolness of the boy-soldier was the theme of many a letter which came home from the regiment.

Captain Little had a strong, vigorous mind; and, taking up his studies after his return, with all his earnestness and ardor, gave prom- ise of much intellectual achievement. He wrote well, spoke well, and thought well; and at all times was the cheerful, witty companion. Generous, liberal minded and honest, a fast friend, a good son and brother, and a most affectionate husband, there can be found few char- acters more admirable.

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History of Buchanan County, Iowa, with illustrations and biographical sketches, Part 66

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers Number of Pages: 574

Author: Williams bros., Cleveland, pub. [from old catalog]; Riddle, A. G. (Albert Gallatin), 1816-1902
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Cleveland, Williams brothers
Number of Pages: 574