USA > Iowa > Cass County > History of Cass County, Iowa; together with sketches of its towns, villages, and townships; educational, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of old settlers and representative citizens. History of Iowa, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races, and a brief review of its civil, political, and military history > Part 102
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In the spring of 1856, Philip Humerick came into the township, bringing his fam-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
ily and household goods. He located on section 12, where he still resides.
Philip Humerick was born in Germany, August 15, 1839. His parents, John T. and Johanna Mary (Strater) Humerick, came to America in 1843, locating, then, in Richland county, near Mansfield, Ohio. They removed to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1855, and the following spring, (1856) came to Cass county and settled on sec- tion 12, Atlantic township. John T. Humerick died in November, 1869, at the age of sixty-two years. He is buried in the Jameson cemetery. His widow, Mary Humerick is now living with her son, Philip, the subject of this sketch. Philip Humerick was married December 22, 1864, to Louisa Jane Coon, a native of Indiana, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (Lewis) Coon. Her father is now living in Washington township, Cass county. Her mother died in 1849, when Mrs. Hu- merick was three years old. Mrs. Coon is buried in White county, Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. Humerick have three children- John T., George F. and Effie May. Their daughter, Mary Johanna, died September 22, 1875, aged three years, three months and twenty-eight days. Mr. Humerick is still living upon the place where he first located in Atlantic. His land at the time of his purchase, was wholly unimproved. He now has one hundred and seventy acres of good land, all cultivated, except some timber land. He built his present residence in 1876, and is now engaged in farming and stock raising.
John Duncan was born in Polk county, Iowa, November 5, 1853, his parents being William and Abigail (Williams) Duncan. When he was fourteen years old his par-
ents removed to Cass county, locating in Atlantic. He removed to his present loca- tion on section 1, Atlantic township, in 1878, and was married March 29, 1881, to Rosena Strater, daughter of William and Catharine (Hnmerick) Strater, a native of this county. He has one hundred and six acres of land, part in Franklin and part in Atlantic township, about eighty acres of which is under cultivation, and is engaged in stock farming.
William Humerick came in 1856, in the spring, and located on section 11, where he now resides.
William H. Strater came in 1856, and located on section 12, where he lived until the time of his death, in 1880.
A. J. Scott came in 1856, and located on sections 34 and 35, where now resides.
Thomas Benton Morrow located at Grove City in the fall of 1858. He re- moved to his present location, on section 18, in the fall of 1870. He came from Ohio to Iowa.
Thomas Benton Morrow is the son of William and Maria T. (Potter) Morrow, and was born on the 31st of May, 1835. He was reared in Ohio, and in the fall of 1858, he came to Cass connty, and located at Grove City. He and his brother owned one hundred and sixty acres of land in the east part of the city of Atlantic, the fair grounds cover the land. He came to his present location on section 18, At- lantic township, in 1870, where he owns one hundred acres of land, all under culti- vation, and raises some of the finest stock in the township. When he first came to this county there were plenty of deer and prairie wolves, and he was engaged in driving the stage' on the western line
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
from Des Moines to Council Bluffs. Mr. Morrow, was married in September, 1871, to Hannah E. Disbrow, a native of Ohio. They have three children-Addie E., Belle and Ethel.
William O. Kirk, a young man from Kosciusko county, Indiana, came in 1859, and took up his residence with his brother, John R., with whom he lived about eleven years, when he was married to Lizzie Wood, and afterwards removed to Frank- lin township, where he now resides.
William Wilson came from Ash Grove, Illinois, in the fall of 1860, and located at Turkey Grove. He removed to Edna township, in the spring of 1861.
EARLY ITEMS AND INCIDENTS.
The first child born in Atlantic was a boy, and Mr. and Mrs. Clayborn Marion were his parents. That was in the fall of 1854.
In December of the same year, a child was born to Mr. and Mrs. George W. W. Wakefield. His name is Willis Wake- field, and he is now living in the township.
The third child born in the township was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. D. McGechon. Her birthday was December 29, 1854.
These three births occurred in the vi- cinity of Turkey Grove.
R. D. McGeehon erected the first house in the township, in the summer of 1852, on section 14, near Turkey Grove.
On the 5th day of July, 1858, the water in Turkey creek rose twenty-three feet in three hours, at Wakefield's mill, just be- low the mouth of Jim branch.
Jesse Marshall was the first person who died in the township. His demise occurred
in January, 1854. IIe was buried on his own farm lot.
One afternoon in September, 1861, while J. B. IIardenbergh was living in Atlantic township, a drizzling rain com- menced, which increased in intensity, so that at night the water was coming down almost in torrents. In the morning, Mr. Hardenbergh's brother, on looking out, exclaimed: "Why, we're all under water." The family hurried to the windows, and sure enough, the whole surrounding coun- try was flooded. But one knoll was visible above the water, and on to this Mr. Har- denbergh's cattle were being crowded by the rise. Finally, one was crowded off into deep water, and then they all started to swim, and persevered till they found a place where they could stand without be- ing lifted off their feet by the water. But one, a calf, was caught in a current and carried down the stream. It was given up for lost, and the matter had been for- gotten when one day Mr. Byrd said there was a strange calf in his herd. On in- vestigation it was found to be the iden- tical calf which was supposed to have been drowned in the flood. It had lodged among the bushes, where it was held till the waters subsided, and then found its way to Mr. Byrd's place.
On the 9th day of July, 1880, a cyclone passed through the county, which some of the people of this township have good. cause to remember. It came from the di- rection of Pottawattamie county, and passing through the township, its course was from southwest to northeast. The farms of A. N. Gaylord, L. N. Granger and Caspar Beckman were devastated, and these gentlemen lost their houses,
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
fences, stock, and even their trees. There has been no violent storm since that time through this district.
OTHER PROMINENT CITIZENS,
Emerson truly says, that "biography is the only true history," and in this connec- tion we present a sketch of a few of the representative citizens of the township who settled a little later than those al- ready named, but who also deserve atten- tion :
George Lewis, was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, on the 15th of Feb- rnary, 1820, his parents being Levi and Sophia (Banker) Lewis. In 1844 he removed to Lee county, Illinois, and there remained about eighteen months, when he moved to Bureau county, where he lived until June, 1865. He then came to Cass county, and settled on the farm he had previously purchased on section 1, Atlantic township. He was married on the 14th of October, 1847, to Margaret Lemrick, who died on the 14th of August, 1850, leaving one child, who died a few days later. He was again married in September, 1853, to Esther Oliverson. She died in 1856, her death heing caused by the explosion of a lamp. They have two children-Sophia, born in 1854, and Levi, was born in July, 1856, died in Septem- ber, 1856. Mr. Lewis was united in mar- riage again to Ann J. Maine, who died a number of years later, leaving nine chil- dren-John R., born in August, 1858; Jewett H., born in 1860; Charlotte, born Jannary9, 1862; Millitta P., born in 1864; Mary S., born October 2, 1865; Joseph P., born in 1867; Luta S., born in 1869; Ellen S., born in 1871, and David L., born in 1873. Mr. Lewis was married to his pres-
ent wife on the 23d of February, 1882. Her maiden name was Jennie Bauer, a native of England.
William Duncan was born in Lower Canada, fifty miles southeast of Montreal, August 27, 1824. His parents, William and Margaret (Smith) Duncan, were na- tives of Scotland. The subject of this sketch removed to Windsor county, Ver- ment, when nineteen years old. He ob- tained his education in the schools of Canada and Vermont. He learned the carpenter's trade in Vermont and spent the year 1847 in Boston, Massachusetts, working at his trade. He then returned to Vermont, where he continued the same business until September, 1848. In that year he moved to DesMoines, Iowa, which contained, at that time, only one frame building. He lived in DesMoines six years, working at his trade. He then moved to a farm twelve miles east of that city, on which he resided until August, 1862, when he enlisted in company D, of the Second Iowa Cavalry commanded by Colonel Hatch. He served three years and three months. He was in the battles of Farmington and Corinth. His regi- ment formed part of the Seventeenth Corps of the Army of the Tennessee. He participated in all the skirmishes and cav- alry fights of that corps, in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, etc. He was hon- orably discharged at Davenport and re- turned to Polk county where he lived until March, 8, 1868, at which time he moved to his present location on section 3, Atlantic township. He was married in Windsor county, Vermont, to Abigail Williams, a daughter of Henry and Abi- gail (Cram) Williams. They have seven
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
children-Mary, Luella, John, Emma, Ada, Jennie and Maggie. Mr. Duncan's farm contains one hundred and six acres, all under cultivation, with a good bearing orchard. He built his present house in 1882. It is in the form of an octagon, two stories in height, with an octagonal dome rising from the center of the roof having a window on each side, affording magnificent views of the surrounding country. He values his house at some- thing like three thousand dollars. He has the most complete system of water works in Cass county, everything operat- ing automatically, and an abundance of of water for every purpose. He keeps the Chester White hogs and graded Shorthorn cattle. Mr. Duncan is a Republican in politics.
Sylvanus Brott, son of Charles and Ma- tilda (Brown) Brott, was born Febru- ary 16, 1840. In 1845 he went to Mc. Henry county, Illinois, where he was reared and received his education. He came to Cass county in 1867, locating then upon section 14, Atlantic township. Mr. Brott was married in McHenry county, Illinois, in 1866, to Adelinc Sands, a na- tive of West Virginia. They have one child-Howard, born in 1874. Mr. Brott's farm contains one hundred and ten acres of good land, the greater portion of which, is well improved. It was formerly all timber land. He is engaged in raising stock, paying particu- lar attention to Poland China hogs. He keeps a dairy of eight cows. In politics he is a Republican. He enlisted in Sept- ember, 1861, in company H, of the Eighth Illinois Cavalry, under the command of Colonel Farnsworth. This was a some-
what independent regiment, and is well known in history. They served a consid- erable time, in Sumner's corps and took part in all the battles of Mcclellan's army up to the time of the second battle of Bull Run, He was in the seven day's fight before Richmond and the battle of Mal- vern Hill, where he was wounded. He was honorably discharged in February, 1863. He re-enlisted in February, 1865, in the Ninth Illinois Cavalry, Company E, under Colonel Harper. He was mus- tered out of the service, November 20, 1865, at Selma, Alabama.
Wilson Prall came to Cass county in November, 1857, and settled in Franklin township. He was born in Ohio, on the 20th of April, 1839, and is the son of Gabriel and Mary (Heaton) Prall. When about five years of age his parents re- moved to Indiana, where Wilson re- mained until eighteen years of age, when he came to Cass county, and worked for different parties for some time, when he settled on. section 28, Franklin township, where he remained about eight years, when he came to his present location on section 26, Atlantic township. He has four hundred and eighty-five acres of improved land, all being under cultivation, and is now raising a fine stock of Durham and Short-horn cattle. He has received several prizes for his fine horses, and raises a number of Poland China hogs. Mr. Prall was married in Cass county, in August, 1859, to Mary Judd, a daughter of William Judd, and an early settler of Cass county. They have seven children living-George B., Thomas W., Henry T., Mary E., John B., Etta V. and Martha V. Frederick ard an infant died a number
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
of years ago. Mr. Prall and family are members of the Christian church.
John F. Reesman, one of the prom inent men of Cass county, is a native of Clinton county, Pennsylvania, and was born on the 21st of January, 1821. He was reared and educated in Pennsylvania, and in 1853 he removed to Ogle county, Illinois, where he remained about two years, when he went back to Pennsyl- vania, and there remained about five years, when he came to Carroll county, Illinois. He then went to Stephenson county, and in 1871 he came to Cass county, and settled in Atlantic township, where he bought four hundred and thirty- five acres of good land, of John Keyes, but when surveyed lacked twenty acres, which he lost. He raises some of the finest cattle in the county. He has some full blood Shorthorn cattle, and Poland China hogs. He was married on the 13th of September, 1844, to Christina Reber, a native of Pennsylvania. They have two children living-Aaron A. and Benja- min F. Both married. They had four children who died in infancy. Mr. Rees- man's father died in 1876, in Pennsyl- vania, and is buried in Hamburg, Clinton county. Ilis mother died in 1844 and is buried in the same grave yard at Ham- burg.
Junius Childs, was born in Bureau county, Illinois, on the 8th of November, 1844, his parents being H. A. and Eliza- beth (Franks) Childs. He was reared and educated in his native county, and in the fall of 1870 he came to Iowa, and settled on section 18, Atlantic township, Cass County. Ile has continued a resi- dent of this township ever since, and is
one of the successful and enterprising farmers of the county. He built a nice residence soon after coming, and now has an artificial grove of four acres, and a fine orchard. He bas three hundred and eighty-six acres of land, all under cultiva- tion, and has a large stock of cattle and Poland China hogs. Mr. Childs was married in Bureau county, on the 17th of February, 1870, to Sophronia A. Studyvin, a native of Illinois. They have been blessed with three children- Harry E., Grace L. and Alice E. Mrs. Childs is a cousin to Miss Hall, who was held in captivity by the Indians at the first settlement of Bureau county. Mr. Child's father died in April 1853, and his mother is now living at Creston, Union county.
Silas Wilson, in company with S. W. Wilson, established the nursery at Grove City, in 1871, the name of the firm being Wilson and Wilson. In 1877 they dis- solved partnership, Silas taking the wholesale, and S. W. Wilson the retail department. Mr. Wilson has eighty acres of nursery stock on section 11, and some lots of seven acres in Grove City. He has, altogether, one hundred and twenty acres in trees. He has a grape nursery of seventy acres, the largest one in the United States. His trade extends into every State and territory in the Union. He does exclusively a wholesale business, and em- ploys from twenty-five to thirty men con- stantly. He grew and shipped, last year, (1883), eight hundred thousand grape- vines. He grows a general variety of seedlings, but makes a specialty of grape- vines and apple seedlings. Mr. Wilson was born in Marshall county, West Vir-
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
ginia, May 16, 1846, and is a son of Samuel and Charlotte (McIntyre) Wilson. He obtained his education in his native county, and in Washington county, Iowa, where he went in 1865. He went from Washington county to Madison county, and commenced the nursery business near Winterset. He removed to this county, as before stated, in 1871. He was married in September, 1875, to Edna Aylesworth, a native of Lake county, Illinois. He is a leader in the Republican party, and is at present chairman of the county central committee.
Henry Bell was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, February 23, 1834, his parents being Richard and Sarah . (Crooks) Bell. The latter is still living in Guernsey connty, Ohio; the former died in Ohio in February, 1874. His pa- rents moved to that State when he was about six years old, where Henry was bronght up and educated in the common schools of the county, and the instruction thus received was supplemented by a course of study at Madison college. In 1865 he came to Guthrie county, remained nearly two years, and then came to this county, locating in Atlantic township. His present improvements are substantial, and the old, original house still stands. He was married in Guernsey county, Ohio, to Margaret Jane Shipman. They have had five children-R. R., John S., Mary Almeda, Moses A. and George Henry. His first wife died during the spring of 1869. In December of that year, he was again married to Jane Ann Tweed, a native of Henderson county, Illinois. By this mar- riage there were eight children, six of whom are now living-Sarah A., Rosa
May. Maggie A., James William, Oscar P. and Lulu Pearl. He and his sons have nine hundred and fifty-seven acres of land well improved.
Thomas Hardenbergh was born in Ulster county, New York, on the 13th of March, 1813, his parents being Nicholas and Mar- garet (Cronk) Hardenbergh. His father participated in the war of 1812, and al- ways lived in the place where Thomas was born. Thomas enlisted, in 1837, in company D, First United States Artillery, and was wounded in the hand at Mosquito Swamp, Florida. He removed to Illinois in 1857, and was there engaged in the nursery business until 1859, when he came to Cass county, Iowa, and located at Lewis. In 1864 he removed to his present location, on section 17, Atlantic township. He was married in New York, on the 10th of March, 1842, to Fanny C. Nieur. Their union has been blessed with six children, all born in New York-Mary, married to William Raeny, now living in Atlantic; Georgia, married to Warren L. Dean, now living in Pottawattamie county; Alice, married to R. G. Phelps, of Atlantic; Theodore W., now in Peoria, Illinois; Asa, married to Sadie Moreland; Ada, married to F. D. Clues. Mr. Hardenbergh owns eighty acres of good land, and has an orchard of eight hundred bearing trees, also a small vineyard. He was a member of Columbia lodge. A. F. and A. M., at Tuttletown, Ulster county.
David D. Morris was born six mile from Rochester, in Monroe county, New York, Jannary 1, 1816. His parents, An son and Hannah (Pearson) Morris, re- moved in 1826, to Trumbull county, Ohio, where Anson Morris followed his trade,
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
that of carpenter and joiner. . Here David D., lived until sixteen years old. He then went to St. Joseph county, Michi- gan, with an uncle, and remained four years, after which he returned to Ohio, where he lived until he came to Iowa, in the fall of 1854. He spent the first winter in Dallas connty, and in the spring of 1856, came to Cass county and settled about two miles east of his present loca- tion. He removed to section 11, where he now resides, in 1874. He was married, in Ohio, in 1838, to Sarah McAfferty, and by this union there were twelve children. He was married to his present wife in June, 1875. She was formerly Sarah Beart, and is a native of England. She is a sister of the Rev. William Abrahams, who formerly had charge of the Grove City pastorate. Mrs. Morris has one hun- dred and thirty-nine acres of land in two farms, both under good cultivation. They have two orchards, one of five, and the other of two acres, also a vineyard, and are engaged in stock-raising. Mrs. Morris is a member of the Episcopal church. In politics Mr. Morris is strongly Democratic, but has no political ambition. In pioneer days, Mr. Morris was a successful liunter, often killing two deer before breakfast, which was all the meat they had. They killed coons to make soap-grease. The first election after his arrival was held at Indiantown, the only precinct in the county.
Henry Rogers was born in Johnson county, Indiana, on the 5th of December, 1834, and is the son of J. A. and Mary A. (Hammer) Roger. IIenry lived on a farm until about sixteen years of age, when his parents removed to Madison
county, Iowa, and there remained until 1864, when he came to Cass county, Iowa, and located on section 33, Atlantic town- ship. He owns three hundred and twenty acres of land, two hundred and fifty acres of his farm are under cultivation, and the remainder is timber and pasture. In 1878 he built a commodions house, and has a nice stock farm. He has an interest in the National bank at Atlantic, and is a very prominent man in political affairs. Mr. Rogers was married in Madison county, in 1855, to Eunice DeBusk, a native of West Virginia. They have four children living-Mary Ann, Eliza Alice, William Lewis and Sarah L. They have two children dead-John H. and an infant.
Casper Beekman, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Schön) Beekman, was born in Germany, on the 4th of March, 1847. His father died in October, 1847, and his mother, a sister of Casper Schön, died in 1870. Casper came to America in 1865, and located in Pike county, Ohio, where he remained with his friends until Janu- ary, 1866, wlien he came to Cass county, Iowa, and settled in Atlantic township. About three years after his arrival to this township, he bought some land north of where he now lives, and remaining there about three years, when he sold his farm, and purchased his present farm and moved there in the spring of 1874. He now owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, has a fine residence, terraced lawu and a large barn. Mr. Beekman was mar- ried in Cass county, in September, 1869, to Lizzie Schön, a daughter of Casper Schon, one of the earliest settlers of the county. They have been blessed by four
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HISTORY OF CASS COUNTY.
children-Frank, aged fourteen; Charles F., aged twelve; Katy, aged seven, and Edward, aged four.
William Hopley, one of the prominent men of Atlantic township, came to Cass county in June 1858, and first located in Washington township. He was born in Cheshire, England, on the Ist of Decem- her, 1837. He came to America in 1854, and remained in Jersey City until 1858, when he came to Cass county. He soon after established a dairy having about thirty cows. On the day of Lincoln's assassination, which occurred on the 14th of April, 1865, he came to Atlantic town- ship, and settled on section 32. He por- chased one hundred and twenty acres of land, and has since added six hundred and thirty acres of land, and is doing a thriv- ing and successful business. He devotes most of his attention to stock raising and dealing in high graded Shorthorns. He has now one hundred and fifty to two hun- dred head of cattle, and has a large num- ber of hogs. He built his present resi- dence in 1876, and now has one of the best farms in the township. Mr. Hopley was married near Burlington, Iowa, in February, 1864, to Mattie Okell, also a native of England. She died on the 9th of April, 1884, leaving seven children to mourn her loss. The children's names are -Jennie, Mattie, Sophia, Thomas, Glenn, Mabel and Frank. In politics, Mr. Hop- ley is a Republican, and is much inter- ested in the political affairs of the county.
S. W. Wilson, proprietor of the Grove City nursery, is a native of Belmont county, Ohio, and was born on the 7th of August, 1846. When seven years of age his par- ents removed to Rock Island county, Illi-
nois, and there remained about three years, when they came to Washington county, Iowa, where his father died in 1861, and his mother is still a resident of that county. S. W. there received his ed- ucation, and there remained until 1871, when he removed to Cass county, and en- tered into the nursery business, with Silas Wilson. In 1877 the partnership dissolved and since that time Mr. Wilson has run the business alone. He is doing a flour- ishing business, and has greatly adapted his energy and good management to the welfare of his occupation. Mr. Wilson was married in Cass county, on the 16th of November, 1872, to Amanda Peterson, a native of Iowa. They have four chil- dren-Thomas L., Harry M., Clarence L. and Bessie M. The family are members of the United Presbyterian church.
George Jillich, one of the substantial citizens of Atlantic township, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on the 22d of Oct- oher, 1844, and is the son of John V. and Anna Jillich. When about five years of age, George moved with his parents to Huron county, Ohio, where his father farmed. In 1860, George went to Chicago, and stay- ing about one year he removed to Lewis, Cass county, Iowa, and there lived one winter. He then lived on his farm in Atlantic township, which he purchased in 1866, and now owns one hundred and fifty-four acres of good land, about half improved. He was married in Ohio, in 1865, to Mary Jane Bennett, a native of Huron county, Ohio. They have two children living-George and Frank. Lillie died in January, 1882, aged eight years. Mr. Jillich enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Ohio National
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