USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 11
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JUDGE C. B. WESTON.
Judge C. B. Weston, one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil war, and one of the early residents in Butler county, where he has made his home since 1874, is numbered among the prominent and representative citizens of Greene, where for almost twenty- five years he has done farsighted and capable work as justice of the peace.
Judge Weston was born in Laporte, Indiana, in 1840, and ac- quired his education in the public schools of his native city. On the 6th of August, 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining Company B, Seventy-third Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He went south with his command and participated in many of the most important engagements of the war, receiving a slight gun- shot wound at Stone River where his regiment lost one hundred and twenty-five men. He took part also in the engagement at Blunt's farm, where his colonel was killed. He served until the close of the war, receiving his honorable discharge at Nashville. Tennessee, in 1865. During his service he was promoted from the rank of corporal to that of first sergeant, an office which he held when he was discharged. With this creditable military record, Judge Weston returned to Laporte, where for one year thereafter he engaged in general farming until 1866, when he sold his prop- erty and moved to Pleasant Grove township, Floyd county, Iowa, where he farmed and held various positions of public trust, in- cluding that of township trustee, school director and con- stable, until 1871, when he moved to Marble Rock, Iowa. After engaging in the furniture business there for three years he moved to Greene, being one of the first men to locate there. He worked on the construction of the flour mill and dam for about eighteen months and then estab- lished himself in the livery business, conducting a profitable enterprise of this character for several years. He was appointed notary public and afterward held many other important positions of public trust and responsibility, including that of Butler county
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soldier's relief commissioner, in which he served for fifteen years. Eventually he was appointed by the county board of supervisors to fill out an unexpired term as justice of the peace, and he has been constantly reelected since that time, being now in the twenty- fifth year of his able and public-spirited service. His office is in a fine two-story brick building, which he owns and he has other valu- able property holdings, including an attractive and modern house on the west side of the river.
At New Carlisle, St. Joseph county, Indiana, on the 4th of March, 1866, Judge Weston married Miss Sarah Isabelle Reyn- olds, a native of Indiana and a graduate of the New Carlisle Institute. Mrs. Weston died in Greene on the 15th of September, 1908, leaving four children: Frank L., a resident of British Columbia ; Numa, a resident of Greene; Effie Pearl, who married James H. Cook of Indianapolis, Indiana; and Charles B., Jr., of Spokane, Washington.
Judge Weston is a Master Mason, holding membership in the blue lodge at Greene, and he is also identified with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is a member of Greene Post, No. 200, G. A. R., of which he was for ten years commander, and of which he is now adjutant. He holds a high place among the prominent and highest respected residents of Greene and is moreover entitled to representation in this volume as a veteran of the Civil war, to whom the country owes a debt of gratitude which can never be fully repaid.
EDWARD WEBSTER KESTER.
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, so was the life of this good man. Edward Webster Kester, who passed away on the 27th day of October, 1913, was greatly respected and revered in the community in which he so long made his home. He was for an extended period a resident of Butler county, becoming iden- tified with its development and upbuilding more than thirty-one years prior to his death. He was born in Boston, Erie county, New York, on the 23d of June, 1834, and was the fourth in order of birth in a family of seven children, whose parents were Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Wilson) Kester, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. In early childhood they removed from
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that state to Erie county, New York, in company with their parents, who drove across the country with ox teams to what was then the far west. The district in which they settled was largely wild and undeveloped. There were still many Indians to be seen and in many sections the work of tilling the soil seemed scarcely begun. Both the Kester and the Wilson families were identified with the Society of Friends, or Quakers. The grandparents and parents of Edward W. Kester remained residents of Erie county, New York, throughout their remaining days, the father passing away in 1884, when seventy-eight years of age, while the mother died when eighty-six years of age. They had a family of seven sons: Eber and Samuel, who died in childhood; Stephen, de- ceased; Edward W .; Josiah H., living in New York; Enos, who died in childhood; and Ellis, also a resident of the Empire state.
Edward W. Kester spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native county and in fact continued his residence in the Em- pire state until 1882, when he removed to Butler county, Iowa, where he continued to make his home until called to his final rest. While in New York he spent three years as a traveling salesman upon the road and the remainder of his time was given to agri- cultural pursuits. After coming to Iowa he again engaged in farm- ing, but for twenty years prior to his demise made his home in Allison. At one time he was the owner of three hundred and seventy acres of rich and valuable land adjoining the town but eventually sold that property. In all of his active business life his agricultural interests were carefully managed and his business affairs wisely conducted, so that he derived therefrom a substantial and well merited competence.
On the 1st of March, 1860, Mr. Kester was united in marriage to Miss Adaline Jones, who was born in Erie county, New York, February 25, 1834, and died in this county March 31, 1898. There were three children of that marriage: Earl; Eva ; and Lissa, who died in infancy. The son married and died seventeen days before the birth of his son, Newton, who was adopted by Mr. Kester, his paternal grandfather, and now resides in Greene, Iowa. He is married and has one child, Francis Edward. The daughter, Eva, is the wife of E. L. Hill, of Mason City, Iowa.
Mr. Kester was a republican in his political views and always kept well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He served as town assessor and as a member of the city council, in both of which offices he discharged his duties with promptness and
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fidelity. He was reared in the faith of the Society of Friends and was a member of the church the time of his demise. Fraternally he was connected with Opal Lodge, No. 417, F. & A. M., of Allison, and was its treasurer for twenty-six years. His life always ex- emplified the beneficent spirit of the craft and he followed closely its teachings concerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kind- ness. Mr. Kester was in his eightieth year at the time of his de- mise. One of the local papers wrote of him: "In all his career he has been a good neighbor, a true friend and an honest man and he closed a business life covering half a century with a most honor- able record." All who knew him mourned his death, for he had been found straightforward and reliable in business, faithful in friendship and honorable in every relation.
HENRY CLAY McNAMES.
A history of the pioneer settlement and later development of Butler county would be incomplete without mention of Henry Clay McNames, who settled in the locality in 1868 and has since re- mained an honored and respected resident. He was born in New York state, on the Hudson river, January 8, 1844, a son of William and Polly (White) McNames, both natives of New York state. In 1844 the family moved westward to Michigan, locating in Lenawee county, which was then a vast wilderness covered with primeval forest. William McNames died in Butler county in 1902. Henry Clay McNames grew to manhood in Michigan and from that state enlisted for service in the Union army, joining in 1862 Com- pany B, Eighteenth Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He went south to Alabama with his regiment and there did provost duty and assisted in guarding the railroads. Mr. McNames was for sixteen months in Nashville and he served until the close of the war, receiv- ing his honorable discharge at Jackson, Michigan, in July, 1865.
After he was mustered out Mr. McNames returned home and began learning the wagon-making trade at Fairfield, Michigan. In 1868, accompanied by his father and the other members of the family, he moved west to Iowa, locating in Dayton township, Butler county. Here Henry C. McNames purchased one hundred acres of land, partially improved, there being an old house upon it and forty acres under the plow. He cleared the remainder of the property and afterward added to it an adjoining tract of ten acres,
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whereon he erected a house and barn and other necessary buildings. The McNames family still reside upon this property and in addi- tion to its cultivation Mr. McNames of this review is engaged in business in Packard, where he purchased a repair shop in partner- ship with Mr. Holt, a blacksmith. He has secured a large patron- age, for his work is first-class in every particular and his business methods at all times straightforward and honorable.
The McNames family is as follows: Henry Clay, of this re- view; Abraham, who served in the Civil war as a member of the Eleventh Michigan Volunteer Infantry; Mary, who lives with her brother, of this review; Mrs. Lucinda Chittenden, a widow; and Caspar, a resident of Colorado.
Mr. MeNames gives his political allegiance to the republican party and although he has never sought public office, is interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community. He has been a resident of Dayton township for forty-five years and has witnessed a great deal of the development of this section of the state. His life has been active, industrious and straightforward and in its course he has worked his way steadily upward, at the same time gaining the good-will and confidence of the people of the community where he makes his home.
IRVING MINOT FISHER.
Iowa leads the country in the production of corn and is scarcely second to any other state in the Union in the growing of other cereals and in stock-raising. Among those who have added to the fame of the state in the production of fine stock is Irving Minot Fisher, owner of the well known, historical and renowned Iowa Central Stock Farm, situated a mile and a half southwest of Allison, in West Point township, Butler county. It is without doubt one of the finest farms in the state. Upon the place are two large dwellings, one being the country home of the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher, while the other is occupied by a tenant. There are several large barns, cattle sheds, a hog house, machinery houses and other modern equipments and improvements upon the place. The big white barn is a notable feature in the landscape and is the finest in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher came to this farm January 6, 1875, after he had entered into an agreement with its owner, Hon. H. L. Stout, of Dubuque, who was one of
MRS. IRVING M. FISHER
IRVING M. FISHER
D. K
MARY
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Iowa's best men and millionaires. Mr. Fisher accepted the posi- tion of superintendent of this farm, then comprising more than twenty-five hundred acres and recognized as the finest stock farm in the country, where the best horses and finest shorthorn cattle were kept that could be obtained in Europe and the United States. Through all the intervening years Mr. Fisher has been connected with the management and improvement of the farm and upon its division he purchased the tract of three hundred and twenty acres which he now owns.
A native son of New England, he was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, his parents being Minot and Mary (Austin) Fisher, who were likewise natives of the old Bay state. The Fisher family was one of the old Colonial families, its founders in Amer- ica being among the Puritans who settled in Dedham, Massa- chusetts, where they owned large estates. Representatives of the name also became founders of the Dedham Bank. One of the ancestors in England had a coat of arms bestowed upon him and this seal Joshua Fisher, the first member of the family to come to America, used on his will and also used in connection with the bank. The ancestral record of the family is one of which Irving M. Fisher has every reason to be proud, the line being traced back as far as 1585.
Having lost his mother when five years of age, Irving M. Fisher then lived with an uncle and aunt for two years, after which his father married again. He attended school in his native state until twelve years of age, when he went to Bennington, Ver- mont, in order to secure employment on a farm. He worked on the farm of Colonel Baker and at the same time was granted the privilege of spending some time in the public school. In the fall of 1857 he came to Iowa with Henry Baker, a son of Colonel Baker, who brought his family to the middle west, settling at Bradford, Iowa. Mr. Irving remained with them until July, 1861, when his patriotic spirit could no longer be content to remain at home while the country was engaged in civil war, so he enlisted as a member of Company B, Seventh Iowa Infantry. He continued to serve until honorably discharged because of dis- ability at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, March 22, 1862. With his regiment he participated in the battle of Belmont and the sieges of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. After recovering his health he assisted in recruiting work and reenlisted October 12, 1862, as a member of Company C, Fourteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in which he was made a sergeant. He acted in the ord- Vol. II - 8
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nance department under General A. J. Smith, participating in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Vicksburg, Tupelo, and then in the Red River expedition and was always on active duty, prov- ing his loyalty to his country in many a situation that demanded marked valor and bravery. He was mustered out November 16, 1864, at Davenport, Iowa.
Mr. Fisher was married on the 1st of January, 1867, to Miss Mary J. Biggar, a teacher in the public schools. The wedding was celebrated in her father's home in the presence of a few friends by the Rev. John K. Nutting, pastor of the Congregational church. The bride was the third daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Simpson) Biggar, of Franklin county, New York, and was born in Huntingdon, Huntingdon county, Quebec. She was a descendant of a family of educators of Scottish origin. They were also landowners and the town of Biggar in Lanarkshire was named in honor of the family. Mrs. Fisher was most care- fully educated in a Christian home, received instruction in an academy and taught for a number of years in some of the best schools in Chickasaw county, ranking high as a student and always holding a first class teacher's certificate. She acquired a business education and possesses rare executive ability, which was greatly appreciated by Mr. Stout, the former owner, during the term of years in which Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were managing the farm. Mrs. Fisher is a lover of books and literature and her writings are valued by the press as well as by her many friends. She is and always has been a worker for the best inter- ests of the public schools and her influence has been a potent force in promoting educational progress.
Mr. and Mrs. Fisher spent two years on a stock farm near Charles City, Iowa, previous to coming to the Iowa Central Stock Farm in Butler county, then owned by the late Hon. H. L. Stout. For seventeen years they superintended this farm, or until Mr. Stout decided to divide the large area of land, at which time they purchased the home place, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres. They have always maintained the same high stan- dards in the control of the farm and in stock-raising and the property is unsurpassed by any stock farm in the state. Mr. Fisher handles only the highest grades of pure-bred stock and there is every equipment and convenience for the care of the ani- mals and the improvement of the farm. Mr. Fisher is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains pleasant relations with those with whom he was associated as a wearer of
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the blue. He has been a lifelong republican and has enjoyed the acquaintance of a number of men prominent in public life, includ- ing Senator W. B. Allison, Speaker D. B. Henderson, Governor Gear and others. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are members of the First Congregational church of Allison, of which they were virtually the founders. They have always contributed liberally toward its upbuilding and support. Mrs. Fisher is the founder of the Benevolent and Patriotic Society, which was organized in 1898 and is still doing good work. In fact, their influence is always on the side of progress, reform and improvement and they hold to the highest standards of citizenship and of conduct as well as of business honor.
FRANK H. BROCKMANN.
Success has crowned the efforts of Frank H. Brockmann, who now makes his home in Clarksville, where he owns a large and attractive modern residence. For an extended period he has been identified with farming and stock-raising in this county and on the 8th of August, 1910, he purchased a half interest in the Great Western Elevator and in lumber and coal yards. The business is conducted under the style of Muller & Brockmann, Frank H. Brockmann, however, taking little active part in its management, his son Martin relieving him of the necessity of activity in that connection. He is now vice president of the State Savings Bank of Clarksville and his name is an honored one in commercial and financial circles. His birth occurred in Guttenberg, Clayton county, Iowa, July 24, 1858, his parents being Barnard and Gesina (Johnson) Brockmann, both of whom were natives of Germany but came to America in 1846, sailing to New Orleans and thence proceeding up the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they were mar- ried. For two years they were residents of Dubuque, Iowa, and then removed to Guttenberg, where their remaining days were passed, the father dying in 1863, at the comparatively early age of forty-two years, while the mother passed away in 1884, at the age of fifty-eight years. Mr. Brockmann was engaged in the manufacture of brick until 1858, when he purchased land and later carried on farming to the time of his death. Five years after losing her first husband Mrs. Brockmann was married to Fritz Kretzmeyer. There were no children of that marriage, but seven were born of
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her first union: Joseph, who is now living in Rockford, Illinois; Mary, who became the wife of William Buchholz and died in Clarksville; Margaret, the widow of Henry Lundt, of Butler township; Katie, the deceased wife of Mike Gorsche; Frank H .; Matilda, the widow of Henry Busching of Waverly, Iowa ; and Au- gust, living in Clayton county.
Frank H. Brockmann was reared in the county of his nativity, spending his youthful days in the acquirement of an education and in farm work through the summer months, assisting his mother in the cultivation and improvement of the homestead. He re- mained in Clayton county up to the time of his marriage, which occurred on the 24th of January, 1884, the lady of his choice being Miss Anna Meyer, who was born in Clayton county, September 27, 1863, a daughter of William and Mary (Brandt) Meyer, na- tives of Germany. Coming to America about 1846, the father settled in Cincinnati and in Guttenberg, Iowa, he wedded Miss Mary Brandt, who crossed the Atlantic some time after he had made the voyage. Their last days were spent in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Brockmann, the father, who was a farmer, passing away in 1903, at the age of seventy-five years, while the mother died in 1907, at the age of seventy-four years.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brockmann removed to Fremont township, Butler county, where they made their home continuously until 1912. He then retired from agricultural pur- suits and the family removed to Clarksville, where he erected a beautiful and commodious residence in the modern style of archi- tecture and equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences. His farm comprised two hundred and forty acres on sections 16 and 21, Fremont township, and was well improved by him. He raised the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and also made stock-raising a feature of his place. He was also connected with important business interests in Clarksville in partnership with his brother-in-law, George Meyer, but sold out. On the 8th of August, 1910, he purchased a half interest in the Great Western Elevator and in lumber and coal yards that are now owned by the firm of Muller & Brockmann. They deal not only in grain, lumber and coal, but also in cement and all kinds of building material. Mr. Brockmann does not take an active part in the management of the business, however, but leaves this to his son Martin, for whom he purchased it. He is the vice president of the State Savings Bank of Clarksville and is now acting as president in the absence of that officer. He still owns his farm property in this county and recently
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disposed of farming interests in Minnesota. He was the first treasurer of the Butler-Bremer Telephone Company and contin- ued in that position until his removal to Clarksville in 1912.
While his business affairs have been extensive and important Mr. Brockmann has also had time to capably perform the duties of citizenship and in that connection has fully met every obliga- tion that has devolved upon him. He has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party and was its nominee for the office of county treasurer in 1912, at which time he received a large vote. For twenty-seven years he was school treasurer of district No. 5, Fremont township, and for many years he was a trustee and during the last six years of his residence in Fremont township he filled the office of assessor.
Mr. and Mrs. Brockmann became the parents of six children, but lost their first-born, Carrie, at the age of five years, and their third child, Lydia, when a year and a half old. Those who still survive are Martin, Hulda, Albert and Edwin. The first named, residing with his father, now conducts the grain, lumber and coal business. The parents are members of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Clarksville and their influence is always on the side of progress, reform, justice and truth. The life record of Mr. Brock- mann may well serve to inspire and encourage others, for he came to this county empty-handed, his only capital being industry and commendable ambition. He realized that there is no royal road to wealth, but that persistent effort, thrift and honesty will bring one at length to the goal of prosperity. He therefore cultivated those qualities and he is today one of the substantial citizens of the county. The most envious cannot grudge him his success, so honorably has it been won, so worthily used.
JOHN NEVINS, M. D.
Dr. John Nevins, a resident of Greene for the past thirty years and today accounted one of the most prominent and representative members of the medical profession in Butler county, was born in Laporte, Indiana, June 11, 1857. His parents afterward moved to, Valparaiso, where he began his education, later taking a high- school course in Hampton. His parents passed away when he was a mere boy, and his progress in the world has been due to his own efforts and determination. There were three small children at the:
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time of the parents' death. Our subject attended Lombard Uni- versity at Galesburg, and after leaving he taught school two years in various places, after which he moved to Greene. In this city he engaged in the drug business for some time, being a registered pharmacist, and this led to his interest in the science of medicine, which he studied under a preceptor for two years. He then took three courses of lectures at Rush Medical College in Chicago and was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1886. Immediately afterward he formed a partnership with Dr. Huckins and engaged in general practice. After four years the association was discontinued and since that time Dr. Nevins has been alone. In the course of years he has built up a large and rep- resentative practice and has won a high place in public regard, for he has become known as a conscientious, skillful and able phy- sician, well versed in underlying medical principles and keenly alive to the responsibilities which his profession entails upon him. He has remained always a close and earnest student, keeping in touch with the most advanced medical thought, and in addition to this he completed in 1900 an extensive post-graduate course. He built and operates a hospital in Greene and is greatly interested in the growth of the institution, which is completely appointed, being provided with neat and well furnished apartments for patients and a well equipped operating room.
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