USA > Iowa > Clay County > History of Clay County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1909 > Part 48
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HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY
He removed to Wisconsin about the year 1846, locating in Green county, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising, and remained there until his death, which occurred November 17, 1876. His mother, who was a native of Virginia, lived in Pennsylvania to the age of twelve and then removed to Wisconsin. She was united in marriage in Wisconsin and departed this life in Green county March 3, 1906. They were the parents of six children: Elliott, who passed away in 1861 ; George, a stock buyer of Monroe, Wisconsin ; Ella, who departed this life in 1888; Hattie, matron of a hospital in Monroe, Wisconsin ; Marion J., a dentist ; and M. O.
In the common schools of his native town M. O. Newman acquired his education and remained on the home farm until he was twenty-four years of age, when he went to Kansas, thence to Nebraska, and after a sojourn of two years he returned to Wisconsin, where he remained until 1897, which year found him settled in Clay county, this state, having located in the south- eastern portion of section 12, in Peterson township. After a period he removed to the southwestern portion of section 14, where he now resides and cultivates one hundred and sixty acres of highly improved land, on which he raises general crops and pays some attention to stock raising. In addition to this tract of land he owns eighty acres in section 15 and a quarter section of land in Brooks township. Buena Vista county, these tracts of land being highly improved and under cultivation. Mr. Newman's farms present the appearance of thrift, and the neat and complete fencing. together with a comfortable residence, barns. outbuildings and other conveniences, evidence the industry and prosperity of the owner.
In 1887 Mr. Newman wedded Miss Catherine Stauffacher, a native of Green county, Wisconsin, and the couple are the parents of two sons, Ralph, who departed this life in 1903, and Harold J., and one daughter, Marian. Mr. Newman votes with the republican party, and among the other services which he has rendered the township is that of trustee, in which capacity he is now acting. He belongs to Royal Lodge, A. F. & A. M., the Eastern Star, of which his wife is also a member, and both attend divine services at St. John's Evangelical church. Mr. Newman is among the substantial farmers of the township and all he has he acquired by his own efforts, having started out in life with few educational advantages and without means, but with the more valuable assets of laudable ambition, patience and perseverance, by which he gradually bettered his condition. Now he is in comfortable circumstances and occupies a prominent place in the financial interests of the county, and is a stockholder and director in the First National Bank of Peterson.
LEVI EDWIN LA BRANT.
For more than a quarter of a century Levi Edwin LaBrant has been a resident of Clay county, and throughout this entire period has been identified with farming interests, although much of the time he has lived in the city of Spencer, where he now makes his home. Many changes have occurred in the county since his
L. E. LABRANT
THE NEW VIPK PUBLICLIBRARY
ASTON . V X TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
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arrival and at all times his influence and aid have been given to further pro- gressive public movements. He was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 5, 1844, and is one of a family of thirteen children, whose parents were Jonathan and Margaret (Eisenbrei) LaBrant. The father followed the occupation of farming as a life work and in 1830 sought a home in America, arriving in this country on the 23d of September of that year. He first located in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, but afterward became an early settler in De Kalb county, Illinois, and gave his attention to the tilling of the soil in that locality. There he died June 22, 1875, when about seventy-two or seventy-three years of age, while his wife passed away July 9, 1878, at the age of seventy-three years. Both were members of the German Methodist church and earnest religious faith characterized their lives and guided them in their relations with their fellowmen. While living in Ger- many Mr. LaBrant served as a soldier in accordance with the laws of his native country. The following is the record of the eight sons and five daughters in their family : Andrew, who died when a year old : William, a resident of Malta, Illinois ; Margaret, the widow of John French, of Dwight, Illinois ; Jonathan, of Weir City, Kansas, and who was a soldier in the Civil war ; Sophia, who became the wife of Samuel Flanders but is now deceased ; Josephine, the wife of Josiah Myers, a resi- dent of Somonauk, Illinois ; Catharine, the widow of Albert Perigo, and a resident of Chicago, Illinois; Charles, who served in the Civil war and lost his life in the battle of Shiloh; Levi E., of this review ; Elizabeth, who died in childhood ; John, a resident of Kansas ; and Henry and Jacob, both residents of Spencer.
Levi Edwin LaBrant was only six years of age when the family went from Ohio to Illinois and there upon the home farm he spent his youthful days to the age of eighteen years, attending the district schools, working in the fields and indulging in such sports as the youth of the period enjoyed. He was about nine- teen years of age when in 1863 he donned the blue uniform of the nation and offered his services to the government in defense of the stars and stripes. He went to the front with Company C of the Seventeenth Illinois Calvary and served for two years, during which time he participated in a number of skirmishes and in a three weeks' campaign against General Price, during which time they did considerable fighting with the bushwhackers. Mr. LaBrant was first duty ser- geant. He continued at the front until the close of hostilities and with a credit- able military record he returned home. After the close of the war he again took up his abode in Illinois and began farming on his own account in De Kalb county, where he brought a tract of land under a high state of cultivation, his energy and determination converting it into rich and productive fields. In 1883 he came to Iowa and purchased land in what was then Spencer township but is now Sioux township, Clay county. His first purchase embraced one hundred and sixty acres, which he at once began to develop, making it an arable and valuable tract. He has since extended the boundaries of the place by additional purchase until it now comprises two hundred and eighty acres. He lived in Spencer for five years, beginning in 1897 and then returned to the farm, whereon he remained for another period of three years. He then came again to Spencer, where he now makes his home. He erected an attractive residence in 1907 and has built alto- gether four houses in the county, having on his farm a most attractive and com- modious residence which he built at a cost of five thousand dollars.
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On the 25th of December, 1868, Mr. LaBrant was married to Miss Alice Edinburn, a daughter of William and Rachel (Byers) Edinburn. There were three children of that marriage: Albert B .; Gertrude E., who died at the age of seven years ; and one who died in infancy. The living son wedded Cora Kindle- spire, and they have three sons, Simon, Roscoe and Merle. Mrs. Alice LaBrant passed away September 10, 1879, and on the same day their little daughter Gertrude died. On the 14th of December, 1880, Mr. LaBrant wedded Mrs. Isabel Gilbert, the widow of Arthur B. Gilbert, and a daughter of Garrett and Sophia (Weed) Seeber. Mrs. Seeber was born in McHenry county, Illinois. Her parents were natives of New York but became early settlers of Illinois and there reared their family of six children: Persis, the wife of William Delano, a resident of Sandwich, Illinois; Anna, the wife of A. C. McCrory, of Cogswell, North Dakota; and Isabel, now Mrs. LaBrant; while three died in childhood. The paternal grandfather of Mrs. LaBrant was William Seeber, a native of the Empire state. Her maternal grandparents were Lewis and Esther Weed, also natives of the state of New York, where the father followed the occupation of farming.
By her former marriage Mrs. LaBrant had two children, Elmer and Wini- fred, but both died at an early age. There is one son of the second marriage, Roy Seeber, who was married to Miss Audrey E. Livingston, daughter of A. J. Liv- ingston, of Spencer, Iowa, on August 2, 1905. They are living on his father's farm. Both Mr. and Mrs. LaBrant hold membership in the Congregational church and he belongs also to Annett Post. G. A. R., thus maintaining cordial and friendly relations with his old army comrades. His political views are in harmony with republican principles and he has served for several terms as school treasurer and school director but public office has had little attraction for him. He has lived to witness many changes in the county since he arrived here, for the condi- tions of frontier life have been replaced with the evidences of a modern and progressive civilization. As the years have passed he has prospered in his under- takings and is now one of the substantial residents of the county, deriving his income from the judicious investments which he has made.
THOMAS McPHERSON.
Thomas McPherson, a worthy and respected representative of agricultural interests in Logan township, owns and cultivates a farm of one hundred and twenty acres and in addition owns another tract of forty acres, all of which is under a high state of development. Aside from any business connections Mr. McPherson also has a strong hold upon the regard of his fellow men, owing to a kindly spirit and generous disposition. He was born in Perthshire, Scotland, May 19, 1833, a son of James and Katherine (Cullum) McPherson, both of whom were natives of Scotland. The grandfather, Angus McPherson, resided in Scotland up to the time of his death, which occurred when he was more than eighty years of age, while his wife also passed away at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather. Thomas Cullum, died when about seventy years of age, and
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his wife, Mrs. Catherine (Buchan) Cullum, was also long-lived. The parents of Thomas McPherson never left their native land, but passed their entire lives there amid the scenes of their early childhood. They were of a sturdy race and came from a long line of ancestry, who developed a type of character noted for courage, strength and the strictest integrity. The death of Katherine McPherson occurred in 1879, when she was sixty years of age, while James McPherson passed away in 1886, at the age of eighty years. In their family were the following named, Margaret, Mary, Nancy, James, William, Thomas and John. The last named crossed the Atlantic to Canada and settled near Ottawa, the other members of the family remaining residents of the land of hills and heather.
America is especially indebted to the hardy pioneers who came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and other countries, who patiently and heroically endured the privations and hardships incident to dwelling far out upon the border lines of civilization, away from railroads and markets, there performing the work of converting the wild prairie into fertile fields. To such tasks Thomas McPherson has devoted his energies. He was reared in the land of his nativity and remained there until about twenty-eight years ago, crossing the Atlantic to the United States in the spring of 1881. It was the morning of the anniversary of his birth that he first set foot upon the shores of the new world, and from New York he made his way direct to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he remained for about four years. During most of that time he was associated with Marion R. Mason, an attorney of that place. In 1885 he came to Clay county, where he purchased a tract of land from Griffin and Adams, paying for it eight dollars per acre. This is the old homestead, whereon he has since resided. He is now the oldest settler in the township and has been closely identified with the progress and interest of the county during his residence here, covering a period of twenty-four years. His farm now embraces nearly one hundred and twenty acres. His home place is under a high state of improvement, being equipped with all the accessories and conveniences of a model farm. The place presents an attractive appearance because of its neatness and thrift, and in springtime gives promise of golden harvests in the autumn, because of the practical methods which Mr. McPherson employs in the development and man- agement of his place.
Mr. McPherson has been married twice. About 1855 he wedded Robena Downer, who died about 1869. They had several children. James, their oldest son, was born October 10. 1856, and wedded Mary Cram, by whom he had four children, Thomas, William, Mary Robena and John. Having lost his first wife, James McPherson wedded Jessie Furgeson, August 12, 1901, and they reside in Scotland. Their children are David and Gavin. Robena, the second child of Thomas and Robena McPherson, was born January 1, 1859, and on the 25th of November, 1883, became the wife of William Bremer, of Canada. Their children are : Robena, born November 10, 1884; Robert, who died in infancy ; Nettie, born April 20, 1892 : Thomas, August 5, 1894 ; Katie, May 5, 1896; Mary, September 4, 1901 ; and Nellie, November 19, 1903. William Downie McPherson, the third member of the family of Thomas and Robena McPherson, was born August 9, 1862, and was killed in an accident in April, 1867. Sarah, the fourth member of the family, born October 13, 1867, married William Watson, who lives in Logan
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township. William Downie McPherson, the second of the name, was born March 16, 1869, and resides on the old homestead, being in charge of the place and looking after the comfort of his father and mother. For some years he has been correspondent for the Spencer newspapers and has been active in official circles, serving as assessor twelve years and also acting as constable for some time.
On the 9th of January, 1875, Thomas McPherson, of this review, was again married, his second union being withi Elizabeth Furgeson, a daughter of David and Margaret (Campbell) Furgeson, both natives of Scotland. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. McPherson were Alexander and Hellen (Gieggie) Furgeson and the maternal grandparents were John and Elizabeth ( McQueen) Campbell. The parents of Mrs. Elizabeth McPherson passed their entire lives in their native land, where Mr. Furgeson died in 1873, while Mrs. Furgeson departed this life April 30, 1875. Unto the marriage of Thomas McPherson and Elizabeth Furgeson there were born two children. The elder, Maggie Campbell, born July 15, 1876, was married April 5, 1899, to Thomas O. Kenyon, and they have two children, Helen and Ronald Thomas, the family residing in South Dakota. The younger daughter, Elizabeth McPherson, who was born July 12, 1879, died June 26, 1881.
Thomas McPherson has reached the seventy-sixth year of his existence and his has been a useful life, for not only has he won success in business but has been ever willing and ready to bear a full share in matters of public improvement. For more than seventeen years he filled the position of school director and the cause of education has found in him a warm and stalwart friend. He is now serving as justice of the peace, having been incumbent of that office fourteen years, during which time his decisions have ever been fair and impartial, being based upon the law and the equity of the case. Fraternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows while in Scotland. He votes with the democracy and he and all of his family are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. McPherson belongs to that class of men who are the real builders and promoters of the country. Indeed, so broad has been his philanthropy, so kind his heart, so open his purse and so generous his disposition that he is honored and beloved among, his neighbors, amid whom he has labored. Being the oldest citizen of the township, no history of Logan would be complete without extended reference to him.
PROFESSOR AMPLIAS HALE AVERY.
Prof. Amplias Hale Avery, superintendent of the city schools of Spencer, in which connection he is giving the benefit of his broad knowledge and ability to his chosen field of labor, winning for himself recognition as one of the foremost representatives of educational interests of Iowa, was born in Richwood town- ship, Richland county, Wisconsin, May 20, 1870, and is one of seven children whose parents were Alden Hale and Sarah (Otto) Avery. The father was a son of Richard Avery, a native of Vermont. His grandfather was likewise born in the Green Mountain state, and was of English descent. He fought for the
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independence of the colonies in the Revolutionary war and lived for many years to enjoy the fruits of liberty, passing away in Vermont at an old age. Richard Avery learned and followed the cabinet maker's trade until the time of the Mexican war, when he joined the army as a cavalryman and died in the service. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Jerusha Hale, long survived him, living to the age of about seventy-nine years. They were the parents of six children, Alonzo, Amplias, Alden, Henry, Jerusha and Deborah. The maternal grand- father of Professor Avery was John Otto, a native of New York and of German descent. He followed the occupation of farming. married a Miss Teller, and lived to the age of eighty-three years.
Alden Hale Avery, the father of Professor Avery, was a cabinet maker in early manhood, but later turned his attention to other pursuits. Removing west- ward to Wisconsin, he settled in Richwood township, Richland county, among its pioneer residents, establishing a home there when the district was largely covered with forest growth and when the work of improvement and development seemed scarcely begun. He built a saw mill, grist mill, woolen mill and chair factory, becoming closely associated with the industrial progress of the community. In fact he was numbered among the prominent and influential residents of Rich- land county because of his business activity and his enterprising efforts in behalf of general improvement. He wedded Sarah Otto, a native of New York, who died in 1873, at the age of thirty-seven years, while his death occurred in 1879 when he had reached the age of forty-seven years. They were both of the Unitarian faith. Of their family of four sons and three daughters five reached adult age: Maria, the deceased wife of Samuel Yeager; Caroline, the deceased wife of Emmet Paine; Richard: Frank, who died just a month prior to the date on which he would have graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school : and Amplias H.
Professor Avery left Wisconsin when fourteen years of age and came to Iowa. He then entered the Cedar Falls Seminary at Osage and worked his way through that school. In 1889 he removed to South Dakota and for a year and a half devoted his time to the study of law in Aberdeen. Because of the financial stringency of that period he accepted a country school in order to replenish his depleted exchequer, and later became principal of the public schools of Ashton, South Dakota, where he remained for three years. He was so suc- cessful as a teacher that it was with no difficulty that he obtained schools, accepting the principalship of the Woonsocket public schools, where he remained seven years. In 1901 he came to Spencer, where he acted as principal of the high school for a year, and was then called to the superintendency, in which position he has since remained. There are four schools of the city, over all of
f which he has general supervision, and during his incumbency as superintendent he has introduced many substantial improvements in the methods of teaching and also in the branches taught. His labor's are at all times practical and he inspires the teachers under him with much of his own zeal and interest in the work.
Professor Avery was married December 11, 1889, to Miss Grace Cornwall, a daughter of A. R. and Amanda (Luse) Cornwall. There was one child of that marriage, Theta, who is now attending Stanley Hall School for Girls. On the 30th of November, 1899, Professor Avery wedded Miss Grace Dunham, who CLAY 25.
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was born at Wheatland, Iowa, July 6, 1878, a daughter of Niles J. and Clara (Rogers) Dunham, the former a native of Indiana and the latter of New York city. There are two children by this marriage, Margaret and Alden Dunham Avery. Mrs. Avery is a member of the Congregational church and has won for herself an enviable position in social circles. Professor Avery belongs to Evening Shade Lodge No. 312, A. F. & A. M., and Clay Chapter No. 112, R. A. M: Politically he is a republican, but while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do, he does not seek public office. He is a man of strong intellectual and marked force of char- acter, whose natural ability makes him a leader of public thought and opinion.
GEORGE W. MANNING.
George W. Manning is one of the active and prosperous farmers and stock- raisers of Riverton township, and is conducting his business interests on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres within four miles of Spencer. The farm's neat and thrifty appearance indicates Mr. Manning's careful supervision and practical methods and he is justly accounted one of the leading agriculturists of the community. He came to Iowa in 1870, at which time he took up his abode in Cedar county, while, since March, 1892, he has lived in Clay county. His birth occurred in Ontario. Middlesex county, Canada, August 5, 1848. His father, Jotham Manning, was born in Massachusetts and was of English descent. His youthful days were passed in his native state and when a young man he went to Canada, where he married Ann Dale, who was born in Pennsylvania and was of German lineage. Mr. Manning became a farmer of Ontario, Canada, and there reared his family and spent his last years. He performed the arduous task of developing a farm in the midst of the forest, cutting away the timber and clearing away the stumps in order to till the fields. His remaining days were there passed and his death occurred in 1876.
The old home farm in Canada was the training ground of George W. Manning and, under the guidance of his father, he was prepared for the practical duties of business life. He assisted in the cultivation and improvement of the homestead until he had attained his majority and then crossed the border into the United States, locating first in Livingston county, Missouri. He had previously learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed in Chillicothe, Missouri, for nine months, then removed to Cedar county, Iowa. There he worked at his trade, in the employ of others for a time, but later became a contractor and builder, and was thus closely identified with the substantial improvement of the district.
While living in Cedar county Mr. Manning was married, in 1871, to Miss Anna J. Wareham, who was born in Pennsylvania but was reared in Iowa. Her death occurred in Cedar county. By that marriage there were six children. On the 13th of January, 1886, Mr. Manning was again married, in Cedar county, his second union being with Mary C. Gano, a native of that county and a daughter of David Gano, who was one of the first settlers there and is now living in Scotland, South Dakota, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife also survives and is now
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sixty-seven years of age. Mrs. Manning was reared and educated in Cedar county and there continued until 1892. It was in that year that Mr. Manning removed with his family to Clay county and purchased eighty acres of land, on section 36, Riverton township, where he now resides. The place had but slight improvements upon it and he began to further develop and cultivate it, while later he purchased an adjoining tract of eighty acres. He has erected a good two-story residence, has fair outbuildings and has fenced the entire place. He has also done some tiling and carried his work forward along lines that he believes will produce practical and substantial results. In addition to tilling the soil he raises and feeds a large number of hogs annually. For three years after his arrival in this county he worked more or less at the carpenter's trade in Spencer and his own home is evidence of his skill and ability in this direction.
By his first marriage Mr. Manning, had six children: E. J., who is married and lives in Oklahoma ; B. D., residing in Sutherland; O. D., who is married and lives upon a homestead claim in North Dakota; Georgia, the wife of C. R. Dahms of Oklahoma; Eva L., the wife of C. A. Skov, of Clay County ; and Ella M., of Wilton, Iowa. The children of the second marriage are: Ethel L., now in Oklahoma; M. M., E. G., G. F., and Alora Pearl, all yet at home. They also lost a daughter, Attia May, who died in infancy. The parents are members of the Friends church, of Spencer, and Mr. Manning gives his political support to the republican party, of which he has been a faithful advocate since becoming a citizen of the United States. While he still has a deep love for the land of his birth, he has never had occasion to regret his determination to seek a home in the new world, for in conditions here he has found the opportunities which he sought and in their improvement has won for himself a creditable place as a substantial business man.
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