USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 2
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
served as assessor and trustee of Butler township and he was elected a member of the city council of Clarksville before being first elected to the position of mayor, in which he is now serving, for the third term of two years. He has ever exercised his official prerogatives in support of measures and movements for the gen- eral good and his official record is indeed commendable. He has also been a member of the county central committee and his opin- ions carry weight in republican circles.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mott were born three children: Ada, the wife of Grant A. Gibson, of Valley Ford, Washington; Charles, who is living in Dexter, Minnesota; and Elmer J., of Raymond, South Dakota. The two oldest are natives of New York and the youngest of Missouri. Mr. Mott is a Mason, belonging to Butler Lodge, No. 94, F. & A. M., and also to Temple Chapter, No. 74, R. A. M. He and his wife have an extensive circle of warm friends in Clarksville and throughout the county and he is justly num- bered among the representative citizens of his section of the state.
WINFRED C. SHEPARD.
Winfred C. Shepard is numbered among the native sons of Butler county, whose record reflects credit and honor upon the place of his nativity. Making good use of his time and oppor- tunities, he has gained for himself a creditable position as a member of the bar and as president of the Craig-Ray Abstract Company, Incorporated, of Allison. He was born in Clarksville, January 25, 1879, a son of A. D. and Alice (Sill) Shepard. The father was born in Vermont, December 2, 1852, and at the age of fourteen years came to this county to live with an uncle, Ben- jamin Priest, for his mother had died when he was very young
and his father Ernest Dexter Shepard had died during the Civil war. A. D. Shepard has since lived in Butler county and now makes his home on a farm near Clarksville, being one of the worthy and respected representatives of agricultural pursuits in this section of the state. In her early girlhood his wife accom- panied her parents on their removal from New York to Wisconsin. Later her father came to Iowa and secured government land in Jackson township, Butler county, to which the family removed. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. George Sill, the mother's maiden name being Cooper. Both are now deceased. Mrs. Sill passed
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
away on the farm, on which they first located and Mr. Sill died later at his home southeast of Clarksville. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Shepard were seven sons and three daughters, all of whom survived.
Winfred C. Shepard has spent his entire life in Butler county, remaining on the farm with his father until seventeen years of age. He attended the country schools and the Clarksville high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897. Later he was for two years a student in Cornell college at Mount Vernon, Iowa, and in 1905 was graduated from the law department of Drake University. Having thus qualified for a professional career he returned to Allison, where he has since engaged in practice, being now recognized as one of the able young members of the bar. He prepares his cases with thoroughness and skill and in addition to a gratifying private practice, he is acting as local attorney for the Chicago & Great Western and the Chicago & Northwestern Railroads. He is also president of the Craig-Ray Abstract Com- pany, Incorporated, of Allison.
On the 1st of May, 1909, Mr. Shepard was married to Miss Addie E. Loomer, a native of this county and a daughter of Phillip Loomer of Clarksville. They have had one child, Virgil Eugene. The parents are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Shep- ard is a republican. He served for one term as mayor of Allison and is the present city clerk. He has been a delegate to various political conventions and is deeply interested in all the vital ques- tions pertaining to good government, municipal, state or national. In fact he is an alert, wide-awake, energetic man, who keeps abreast with the times and his worth as a citizen is widely acknowl- edged, while his position in professional circles is one of growing importance.
MOULTON HARTNESS.
Of that class of public-spirited and progressive citizens upon which the security of any community rests, is Moulton Hartness, who for the past twenty-one years has practiced law in Greene. winning in the interval a remarkable and well deserved profes- sional success. He was born in Butler county, near Clarksville. October 15, 1859, a son of George and Susan (Bonwell) Hartness, the former born in Virginia about 1835. He came west with his parents when he was still a child and located in Indiana, where he
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
grew to manhood. In 1855 he came as a pioneer into Iowa, locating in Butler county, where he resided for many years. He and his wife became the parents of three children: Moulton, of this re- view; John; and Eleanor E., who resides in Clarksville with her mother.
Moulton Hartness remained upon the home farm until he was eighteen years of age, acquiring his primary education in the coun- try school and supplementing this by a course in the Clarksville high school. After graduating from that institute he attended business college in Keokuk and he later studied law under Captain C. A. L. Roszelle, a prominent attorney. Mr. Hartness was ad- mitted to the Iowa bar at Des Moines in 1890. He had previously located in Greene, where he held a position in the First State Bank, retaining this for a time after his admission. He resigned it however, in 1892, and opened a law office in the First State Bank building and since that time has been one of the active and promi- nent members of the legal fraternity, of Butler county. He pos- sesses a comprehensive and exact knowledge of underlying legal principles and a clear and analytical mind, and these qualifications have won him distinction in a profession where advancement comes only as a result of superior merit and ability. Mr. Hartness has accumulated an excellent law library, one of the largest and most complete in the county and he has remained always a close and earnest student of his profession.
At Mount Pleasant, Iowa, November 28, 1889, Mr. Hartness married Miss Venia E. Tracy, a native of Ohio, who was reared and educated in Iowa. She is a graduate of the Mount Pleasant high school and for some years engaged in teaching. Mr. and Mrs. Hartness became the parents of two sons: Moulton, Jr., a gradu- ate of the Ellsworth School of Stenography, who for a time read law in his father's office, and is now a student in the law depart- ment of the Iowa State University; and Joseph G., a graduate of the Greene high school and now a student at Grinnell college.
Fraternally, Mr. Hartness is identified with the blue lodge Masons, of which he is lodge master, and he is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Hartness is a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, president of the Ladies' Aid Society and also a member of the Home Mission Society. Mr. Hartness gives his political allegiance to the republican party and although he has never de- sired office for himself has always taken a prominent part in public affairs. The cause of education has found in him a loyal champion, for he has accomplished a great deal of important work
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
along this line during his twenty years on the school board, for the past fifteen years of which he has served as president. His cooper- ation can always be counted upon in the promotion of public enter- prises, which have for their object, community advancement and growth. He was one of the promoters of the Electric Light & Power Company, in which he is still a stockholder and director. He is a man of more than ordinary ability and the position which he occupies in social, political and professional circles is the fit reward of a life of well directed energy and straightforward deal- ings.
HON. WILLIAM I. ATKINSON.
The consensus of public opinion accords Hon. William I. Atkin- son a prominent position in public regard. Attacks have been made upon him but they have been of a partisan nature and none questioned the integrity of his motives or the honesty of his posi- tion. It is said that no man in Butler county has a wider personal acquaintance and perhaps none has a larger circle of friends. Faith in him was strongly expressed in the election of November, 1912, when he was chosen to represent his district in the state legis- lature, being the first native son that Butler county has sent to the general assembly. He was born in Clarksville, March 17, 1876, his parents being Henry and Sophia Atkinson, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume. He was thirteen years of age when his father died at which time he left the farm. He was the young- est of seven children, but at an early age he realized the importance of acquiring an education and he spared no labor that would bring about this end. While attending high school the vacation months were devoted to farm work and later he taught school, whereby he was enabled to continue his own studies. His early teaching ex- perience was in the rural schools of Butler county and subsequently he was engaged as assistant principal of the schools of Clarksville. He was also at one time principal of the school at Ridgeway, Win- neshiek county, Iowa. He worked his way through three years at the Upper Iowa University of Fayette and next entered the State University, where he devoted a year to the study of history and political science before entering the law college from which he was graduated in 1906. He was then admitted to the bar, but has never engaged actively in practice. The elemental strength of his char-
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HON. WILLIAM I. ATKINSON
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
acter is displayed in the resolute way in which he obtained an edu- cation in the face of difficulties and obstacles, which would have utterly deterred many a young man of less resolute spirit and laudable ambition. While in college he became greatly interested in the lyceum business and following his graduation from the law department he gave his entire attention to lyceum work, which developed to large proportions and won him promotion from the position of agent to that of district manager for the Mutual Lyceum Bureau of Chicago, his territory comprising Iowa, South Dakota and southern Minnesota. He managed the interests of the bureau with such keen insight and capability that he won the commenda- tion and approval not only of the home office, but of all those for whose interests he cared in connection with public entertainments. In September, 1913, at the convention in Chicago, Mr. Atkinson was elected vice president of the International Lyceum Asso- ciation.
Mr. Atkinson was united in marriage to Miss Rachel Patti Maxon, a talented reader of Brooklyn, New York, who died in 1909. He has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances and they reach far beyond the limits of Butler county, for he is now widely known in this and adjoining states. In Masonry he has attained the Knight Templar degree and is also a member of El Kahir Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he has ever been a stalwart republican and following the suggestion of many friends he at length announced himself as a candidate for the position of gen- eral assemblyman from Butler county. His election followed and during his first session he was given a chairmanship-an unusual honor-being placed at the head of the committee of the college for the blind. He is also a member of the committees on state edu- cational institutions, normal schools, roads and highways, public health, schools and text books, enrolled bills, appropriations and soldiers' and orphans' homes. He is greatly interested in legis- lation affecting schools and public health. He has studied the in- terests of humanity rather than material things and he strongly opposed the proposed change made by the state board of education in state schools and has been an unfaltering advocate for better rural schools. Speaking of his business career a contemporary biographer has written, "The story of his rise from an agent to the district manager for the Mutual Lyceum Bureau, handling the territory embraced in his own state, South Dakota and southern
Vol. 11-2
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
Minnesota, is an inspiration to the many thousands who have since looked to him for their higher, nobler amusements; their purpose- ful, profitable, mental and moral uplift, and those musical and literary treats that have turned thousands of dreary evenings into a joy forever. The lyceum and the chautauqua have been the greatest liberalizers in religion, politics and business, more so than any other institution extant. That is why Iowa appreciates Wil- liam and looks to him as a candidate who will represent the state as well as Butler county. On March the Sth, 1912, William I. Atkinson of Clarksville, was elected a member of the State His- torical Society in recognition of his work in that line. This is an honor that comes only by invitation. Here I have not said a thing about those traits of character, those tests of manhood's real worth that are revealed only to those who know the inward workings of our lives. I will simply say that God only makes a few men who always ring true and fortunate indeed is he who enjoys the friend- ship of one of these."
Such a one is William I. Atkinson, whose splendid physique is but the expression of a still broader, stronger and more stalwart nature. With him life is real and earnest and he attacks each duty with a contagious enthusiasm that produces gratifying results.
V. C. BIRNEY, M. D.
Dr. V. C. Birney, the oldest medical practitioner in Butler county, dates his residence in Greene from 1872 and since that time has become established as one of the leading and prominent physicians and surgeons in this section of the state. He was born in Ontario, Canada, November 1, 1849, a son of Dr. Lewis and Mary (Ferris) Birney, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Canada. The father grew to manhood in his native community and later moved to Toronto, Ontario, where he studied medicine. After receiving his degree he moved to the States, locating in Floyd county, this state, in 1856. He engaged in general practice there for many years, afterward moving to Nora Springs, where he spent his declining years, his death oc- curring about 1908. His wife survives him and is still hale and hearty at the age of eighty-eight.
Dr. V. C. Birney came to Iowa with his parents when he was but a child and he grew to manhood in Floyd county, acquiring
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
his primary education in the public schools. He supplemented this by two years at Osage Academy. From his boyhood he had studied medicine under his father and before he was twenty-one he became thoroughly familiar with the basic principles of the science. He took his first course of lectures at Rush Medical College in Chicago but he completed his studies at Keokuk, re- ceiving his degree of M. D. in 1878. Prior to receiving his degree he practiced with his father for a short time and then in March, 1872, located in Greene, where he has since remained in practice. He is without doubt the oldest physician in Butler and adjacent counties and his broad and varied experience is one of his greatest assets. He has, however, kept in touch with the most advanced thought of his profession, supplementing his early training by special courses in medicine and surgery and by constant reading, research and investigation. He is a prominent surgeon, having performed many difficult operations most suc- cessfully, and his practice is large and important-the result of forty-one years of earnest, conscientious and disinterested work. Dr. Birney is a member of the Butler County, the Austin Flint and the Cedar Valley Medical Societies and in this way keeps in touch with the most advanced medical thought. He has re- mained always a close and earnest student of his profession and has a fine medical library of which he makes constant use. He has prepared and presented articles before the medical societies to which he belongs and is a recognized authority upon many branches of his profession. In the course of time he has secured a comfortable fortune and he today controls valuable property interests in Greene, owning an attractive residence on the west side of the river and a large business house, in which he has his office, where he carries a large stock of drugs and medicines for use in his own practice.
Dr. Birney has been twice married and has two children by his first wife: Nellie, who married Frank Ellis, of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, and Dr. V. C., Jr., who is practicing medicine in Portland, Oregon. In Mason City, in 1897, Dr. Birney married Miss Ida H. Hartz, who was born in Wisconsin but reared in Iowa. Dr. and Mrs. Birney have become the parents of a daughter, Varillas Helen.
Dr. Birney gives his political allegiance to the republican party and served for six years as county coroner and for a number of years as pension examiner and member of the board of health. He is active in Masonic circles, holding membership in the blue lodge
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
at Greene, the chapter at Clarksville, the commandery at Charles City and the shrine at Cedar Rapids. He has served through all of the chairs and is past grand of the local lodge of the Independ- ent Order of Odd Fellows, which he represented in the Grand Lodge of Iowa. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias. A residence of forty-one years in Greene has gained for him the respect and confidence of all who have had professional, social or business relations with him.
COLONEL HOUSTON GREEN.
Colonel Houston Green, who was one of the veterans of the Civil war, came to Butler county soon after the close of hostilities and here resided until his death, which occurred March 25, 1907. He reached the Psalmist's span of life of three score years and ten, for his birth occurred in Claiborne county, Tennessee, January 16, 1837, his parents being John and Orpha (Slatten) Green, who were natives of North Carolina and South Carolina respectively. Their last days, however, were spent in Scott county, Kentucky, where Mr. Green followed the occupation of farming, which he made his life work. He was a soldier of the War of 1812. Four of the Green brothers married four sisters of the Slatten family, and each had eleven children. Unto John Green and his wife were born six sons and five daughters, Houston Green being the youngest son. He and four of his brothers served as soldiers in the Civil war, two enlisting from Illinois, while three became members of the Kentucky regiments. Colonel Houston Green was a young man of twenty-four years at the time of the outbreak of hostilities. His patriotic spirit aroused, he joined the Fourth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for two years and three months and was then honorably discharged on account of disability. Throughout the remain- der of his life he was in delicate health. After his military experi- ence he resided in Indiana and Illinois until he came to Butler county, Iowa, in April, 1866, settling in Shell Rock township, where his remaining days were passed, covering about forty-one years. He always followed farming and prospered in his under- takings, owning at one time four hundred and twenty acres of rich and valuable land, which was divided among his children. He displayed unfaltering industry and determination in carrying on
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
his farm work and contributed much to the progress of the county along agricultural lines. He set an excellent example to others in progressive methods of farming, and his place became one of the attractive features of the landscape.
On the 11th of March, 1861, Colonel Green was married to Miss Susan E. Bassett, who was born in Owen county, Ken- tucky, October 2, 1844, a daughter of Luke and Janette (Wilson) Bassett. The father was of German parentage, and the mother was a native of Kentucky, born August 24, 1823. His birth occurred on the 11th of February, 1811, and throughout his entire life he followed the occupation of farming, thus providing for his family, which numbered eight children, four sons and four daughters who reached years of maturity. The parents both passed away in Kentucky, the father on the 1st of September, 1880, and the mother on the 26th of March, 1888. To Colonel and Mrs. Green were born eight children: William Albert and Janetta, both of whom died in infancy; Amanda, who owns and is operating a farm in Shell Rock township; Mason, living in Marengo, Iowa; Nellie, who died at the age of four years; Adel- bert, of Shell Rock township; George, who resides with his mother on the old home place, now comprising one hundred and sixty acres, and Edward, also living in Shell Rock township.
Mrs. Green is a member of the Christian church, which she joined in Bement, Illinois. She has ever been a devoted wife and loving mother, giving to her children every possible atten- tion and care. Colonel Green was also most devoted to his family, and they mourned the loss of a loving husband and father when he passed away on the 25th of March, 1907. He was a stanch republican in his political views and filled some minor offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. He belonged to the Shell Rock lodge, A. F. & A. M., and exemplified in his life the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness.
J. L. SCRIPTURE, M. D.
Dr. J. L. Scripture, successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Clarksville, his wide knowledge, skill and ability being recognized by his many patients, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, March 13, 1870, and is a son of Calvin and Nancy
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
(Strohl) Scripture. The father's birth occurred near Lockport, New York, in 1826 and when fourteen years of age he came to Iowa with his parents, who located at Dubuque when that city contained but two or three houses. Calvin Scripture operated a threshing machine for thirty years and then located on a farm three miles west of Clarksville. He married Nancy Strohl, who was born in Sandusky, Ohio, December 17, 1832, and who was brought to Iowa by her parents about 1842, the family home being established on a farm in Julian township, Dubuque county. They were married in that county and there the death of Mrs. Scripture occurred in February, 1896, while Mr. Scripture survived only until the follow- ing July. In the early days he secured his land from the govern- ment and he and his wife spent their entire married life upon the farm which he developed and improved. Both were active and faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal church, never missing prayer meeting or any church service unless ill health forced them to remain away. They lived upright, godly lives and their influence was of far-reaching benefit among friends and neighbors.
Dr. Scripture was the seventh in order of birth in a family of eight children, of whom two are now living, a sister. Carrie, making her home with the brother. Under the parental roof Dr. Scripture continued until 1886, when he went away to school, entering the Epworth Seminary, Epworth, Iowa. He attended only through the winter terms and completed his course in 1894. In that year he entered the medical department of the State University and was graduated therefrom in 1897. In the same year he opened an office and began practice in Clarksville, where he remained for two and one-half years, after which he pursued a post-graduate course in New York city. He then located in Cresco, Howard county, Iowa, where he remained for ten years, but in 1909 returned to Clarks- ville, where he has since engaged in general practice. He has always been a close student of his profession and by wide reading, research and investigation as well as by post-graduate courses has kept in touch with the advancement of the profession. He is also a member of the County and State Medical Societies, and the Ameri- can Medical Association and in all of his practice he holds to the highest standards of professional ethics.
In 1899 Dr. Scripture was married to Miss Nellie E. Davis, a native of Clarksville and a daughter of M. S. and Minnie (Millen) Davis. They have one son, James Cyril. Dr. Scripture has served on the executive committee of the Driving Park Association and has been a member of the board of health of his town. In politics
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HISTORY OF BUTLER COUNTY
he is a progressive and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is a prominent Mason, having served as worshipful master of Butler Lodge, No. 94, A. F. & A. M., and as high priest of Temple Chapter, No. 74, R. A. M. He also belongs to Waterloo Council, R. & S. M., and to the Knight Tem- plar Commandery at Cedar Falls. A liberal education qualified him for his professional duties and in that regard he has made a creditable record by his success in practice. At the same time he has never been neglectful of his duties of citizenship and Clarks- ville has benefited in many ways by his efforts in her behalf.
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