USA > Iowa > Clay County > History of Clay County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1909 > Part 66
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into the Atlanta campaign where there was most terrible fighting and hardships to be endured. Mr. Delaney says he can never forget the scenes of carnage that characterized the battle of Atlanta, in which the gallant General McPherson was killed. In the same battle a brother of Mrs. John Delaney lost his life. Mr. Delaney was mustered out at Greensboro, North Carolina, June 20, 1865, and was honorably discharged at Chicago on the 6th of July. He was a brave and gallant soldier and had served throughout nearly the entire war. As the years are added to the cycle of the centuries, to the lists are constantly being added the names of those old battle-scarred veterans who have marched to an everlasting bivouac. It remains as a solemn duty to man to cherish the memory of those brave defenders, both living and dead, and to record their deeds of heroism and sacrifice.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Delaney have been born nine children, only five of whom are now living. Andrew J., born November 23, 1857, was married June 9, 1896, to Bertha Stewart, and resides at Hutchinson, Kansas. John F., born March 7, 1860, was married March 7, 1899, to Eva Munns, and. residing on the old homestead, is in charge of the farm of two hundred and sixteen acres which he owns jointly with his father. George D., born December 12, 1861, married Dora Ellis and resides in Garfield township. Mary Pamelia, born December 19, 1864, was married July 2, 1898, to George Baker, a resident of Clay county. Sherman, born July 14, 1866, also resides at the old homestead and assists in caring for his parents. Minnie, born April 15, 1869, died March 3. 1896. Edgar. born March 4, 1871, died on the 14th of the same month. The others also died in infancy.
Mr. Delaney is a member of Marathon Post, G. A. R., and in his political allegiance has always been identified with the republican party. His wife is a member of the Christian church, as is also Mrs. John F. Delaney. In their declining years Mr. and Mrs. Delaney are fortunate in having with them their two sons, John F. and Sherman, to faithfully look after their every want and
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comfort. After many years of earnest toil and battle with the world the parents are now enjoying well earned rest. For over a half century they have journeyed as companions along the great highway of life, have seen their children grow up around them, have witnessed the transformation of wild stretches of prairie into cultivated fields, while comfortable homes have taken the place of the rude habitations of the early settlers. In his business dealings with his fellowmen Mr. Delaney has been ever fair and upright, never taking advantage of the necessities of others in any manner whatsoever. He has gained for himself an honorable name among men and a reputation for kindness and generosity that will live through the coming years. He enjoys the respect of all with whom business and social relations have brought him in contact and he takes just pride in what has been accomplished in the country, while at all times he has borne his full share in the work of general improvement.
THOMAS McQUEEN.
Thomas McQueen, now living retired, was for a long period closely asso- ciated with commercial interests in Spencer and his enterprise enabled him to reach the goal of prosperity. The business methods he has followed have ever commended him to the confidence and respect of all with whom he has been associated, for he has based his actions upon the rules which govern strict and unswerving integrity.
Mr. McQueen is numbered among the residents of Spencer that Scotland has furnished to the new world, his birth having occurred in Paisley on the 12th of September, 1841. His parents, David and Joanna (Atkinson) McQueen, were also natives of Scotland and the former was a son of John McQueen, who engaged in merchandising in Glasgow, where he died when well advanced in years. David McQueen became a clerk in the government service in the city of Paisley but the reports which he heard concerning the opportunities of the new world proved an irresistible attraction to him and with the hope of bene- fiting his financial condition he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and established his home in Fulton county, New York, where he had relatives living. He then turned his attention to farming and his remaining days were devoted to general agricultural pursuits, the community recognizing in him a valued and representative citizen. He died in the town of Perth, Fulton county, in 1851 when about forty-five years of age, while his wife passed away in 1878. They were members of the Presbyterian church and their salient characteristics were in harmony with those principles which work for righteousness, truth and justice.
Their family numbered ten children, six sons and four daughters, as follows : David, deceased ; Ellen, the deceased wife of Alfred DeGraff; Miriam, the deceased wife of William Heath: John, a resident of York, Nebraska; Joan, the deceased wife of David Vandebogart ; Thomas, of this review; Archibald, who makes his home in Wilmington, Illinois; Peter, who has also passed away ; Jeannette, the widow of Orson Barker ; and Alfred, of Braidwood.
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Thomas McQueen was but a little child when his parents left the land of the crag and glen, of mountain peak and mountain lake, of lowland heath and plain, and sought a home beyond the seas. He was reared upon his father's farm in Fulton county, New York, early becoming familiar with the task of plowing, planting and harvesting. Through the summer months he assisted in the work of the fields and in the winter seasons attended the district schools, thus preparing for life's practical and responsible duties.
In 1861 he arrived in Illinois, being then a young man of twenty years. He located first at Wilmington in Will county, where he engaged in farming, but had scarcely made a start in his new location when he felt that his duty to his country was paramount to all else and in August, 1862, enlisted as a member of Company A, One Hundredth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until June, 1864. In the battle of Chickamauga he sustained two wounds. He participated also in the battles of Bardstown, Perryville, Stone River and the Tullahoma campaign, serving throughout the entire time as a private. He was a brave and loyal defender of the old flag and at length was honorably discharged on account of disability occasioned by his injuries. After the war he returned to Will county, Illinois, and resumed farming with his three brothers. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1872, when the farm was sold and Thomas McQueen purchased a half interest in a grocery store in Wilmington. For eleven years he carried on that business but in 1883 disposed of his stock of groceries there and removed to Clay county, Iowa, where he resumed merchandising, having a stock of groceries, boots and shoes. He was thus identified with commercial interests in Spencer for four years, after which he established a coal office in the north end of town and also dealt in wood and farm implements. The new undertaking prospered and he continued the business with increasing success until about 1902, when with a handsome competence acquired through his well directed diligence he put aside further business cares and has since lived retired.
On the 9th of June, 1870, Mr. McQueen was married to Miss Helen A. Corbett. a daughter of Rufus and Mary Ann (Currier ) Corbett. Mrs. McQueen was the first white child born in the town of Florence. Will county, Illinois, after the township organization was effected. On the 24th of January, 1904, at the age of fifty-six years, she passed away and her death was the occasion of deep regret to her many friends. Mr. McQueen was again married on the 15th of July, 1906, his second union being with Mrs. Etta Dye, the widow of A. M. Dye and a daughter of Loren Ellsworth. By her former marriage she had one son, Leon Dye, who married Alma Hoke and has two children, Leo and Olive.
Both Mr. and Mrs. McQueen attend the Congregational church and are prominent in the social circles of the city. Mr. McQueen belongs to Spencer Lodge, No. 247, I. O. O. F., and to Annett Post. G. A. R., of Spencer. Pre- viously he had been affiliated with Bowen Post, No. 24, at Wilmington. Illinois, it being one of the first organized posts of the country. His political views have been in accord with the principles of the republican party since he attained his majority and he has always given loyal support thereto. Soon after his return from the war, while living in Illinois, he was elected tax collector and served on the school board for a number of years. After coming to Spencer he was
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elected a member of the city council and also served for one term as mayor, his administration being characterized by a businesslike dispatch of his duties and by the utmost loyalty to the public good. He was appointed one of the three members of the soldiers relief commission and held that important office for nine years. embracing three successive terms. For a quarter of a century he has resided in Spencer, where he was known as a prosperous, enterprising and successful businessman until his retirement. He is yet regarded as one of the leading and valued citizens here, being held in high esteem for his manly bearing and his integrity of character.
JAMES ELDER.
James Elder, living on section 3. Sioux township, is one of the public-spirited citizens of his part of the county. He has lived here since 1882 and is a well known representative of the sons of Scotland who have sought the opportunities of the new world, bringing with them their national characteristics of thrift, perseverance and determination-qualities which are always of value in the attainment of success. Mr. Elder was born near Edinburgh, Scotland, June II, 1845. His father, James Elder, Sr., was likewise a native of the same country and when he had attained his majority he was there married to Miss Jane Sibald, who was likewise born in the land of hills and heather. The father followed farming there and reared his family in that country. Both he and his wife remained residents of Scotland until called to the home beyond. Their son. Samuel Elder, still owns and operates the old home farm there, comprising one hundred and sixty acres.
James Elder of this review spent his youthful days in the land of the crag and glen, of mountain peak and mountain lake, of lowland heath and plain- a land celebrated as the home of liberty, poetry and song, whose heroes have honored Britain's flag on every field from Waterloo to Crimea and Lucknow. That land has been the ancestral home of many of America's brightest, best and most distinguished men. On his father's farm there James Elder remained until nineteen years of age. He pursued his education and then went to New Zealand, where he spent ten years in mining and sheep farming. When the decade had passed he returned to Scotland, where he continued for four or five · years, engaging in farm work with his father.
It was in the spring of 1880 that Mr. Elder was married in his native land to Miss Anna Shaw, a Scotch lady, and soon afterward they crossed the Atlantic to the United States, making their way at once to Iowa. Their destination was Osceola and in that locality Mr. Elder engaged in farming for about three years, after which he removed to Clay county, where for six years he rented a farm. In the meantime he carefully saved his earnings so that at the end of that period he was enabled to purchase the place upon which he now resides. With characteristic energy he began to further cultivate and develop the property and has since erected a good substantial residence. large barn and outbuildings. He has also planted an orchard, set out a grove and many ornamental trees, and
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has altogether made his farm a most neat and attractive property. In the fields are planted the cereals best adapted to soil and climate while in connection with the raising of grain he also raises and feeds hogs. He likewise conducts a dairy business and is a stockholder in the Dickens Creamery and the Farmers' Elevator at Spencer. His business interests are carefully managed and his investments judiciously made, so that he has become one of the substantial farmers of the community.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Elder have been born six children: Maggie, who was educated in Spencer and at Cedar Falls, is now a teacher in Clay township; Anne, also well educated, is engaged in teaching; James has started out in life for himself; Mary is likewise following teaching; and John and Robert are at home. They also lost one child, Jane, at the age of fifteen years.
Politically Mr. Elder is a stanch democrat, never faltering in his allegiance to the party. He has been a member of the school board and has also served for three years as township trustee. He has likewise been a delegate to county conventions and at all times he supports every measure that he believes calculated to promote general progress and improvement. That he has made good use of his time and opportunities is indicated in the fact that he is now the owner of a valuable farm of one hundred and sixty acres which is carefully cultivated and well improved.
H. M. WILLIAMS.
H. M. Williams, prominent as an agriculturist and stockman in Logan town- ship, is of English descent and a native of Iowa county, Wisconsin, born April 7, 1856. His grandfather, John W. Williams, was a prominent manufacturer in the old country and for many years operated a silk mill in London, England. His parents, John P. and Emma (Clarke) Williams, were also of English birth. The father, a native of London, went to Prince Edward Island when he was but fifteen years of age and in the year 1846 he repaired to the United States and located in Iowa county, Wisconsin, where he engaged in general farming, hauling the products of his farm to Milwaukee, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. He was a carpenter by trade and to some extent carried on this occupation in connection with farming, and during the latter years of his life conducted a wagon shop and was well known as a skilled mechanic. In Iowa, while on a visit, he departed this life November 15, 1908. His wife, a native of Yarmouth, England, is now living in Iowa county, Wisconsin, on the old homestead. To her were born William L., a farmer of Gillett Grove, Clay county; Thomas R., who was a soldier in the Twenty-first Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry and received a wound during a battle, the effects of which eventually caused his death ; Harriet, Jordon J. and B. C., all of whom are deceased ; H. M .; Emma, widow of S. T. Roch, of Iowa county, Wisconsin ; and Harriet M., deceased.
On his father's farm H. M. Williams was reared and there became familiar with the various departments of agricultural work, in the meantime attending the district schools, where he acquired his education. When sixteen years of age
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he assumed the management of his father's lands, which embraced three-fourths of a section. He remained on the home farm until he was nineteen years old and then spent six months in Colorado, after which he came to Clay county in the fall of 1879 and located lands near Spencer. There he engaged at once in buying and shipping stock and during the first year his business amounted to something over one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. At that time, the railroad having passed through the place two years before, corn sold for seventeen cents a bushel; hogs brought two dollars and eighty-five cents a hundred weight ; cows, one dollar and eighty-five cents a hundred weight ; and steers, two dollars and forty cents a hundred weight. At these prices it obviously required quite a number of heads to net the sum of money which Mr. Williams handled during his initial venture in the stock trade but he entered the enterprise heavily with a view to conducting the business on a large scale and, as a result, was eminently successful in this line of trade which he followed for seventeen years. His next move was to Sioux township where he located an extensive tract of land which he cultivated for twelve years, at the expiration of which period he located in Logan township, where he is operating a farm containing one thousand acres for M. E. Griffen, of Spencer, Iowa.
Mr. Williams has always supported the republican party, his political con- victions being, the result of a candid study of the platforms of the several parties. While in Sioux township he served as trustee. Mr. Williams is a man whose genial disposition and honesty have won him the confidence and respect of his fellowmen and whose aggressiveness and industry have not only contributed to his own success and prosperity but have also enabled him to do much toward the general welfare.
WILLIAM J. DURANT, M. D.
Dr. William J. Durant is one of the well known and honored physicians of Clay county, following his profession in Spencer, where he holds to high ideals in practice and at all times conforms to a high standard of professional ethics. His service as a physician and surgeon is always performed with a sense of conscientious obligation and the general public has come to trust him fully, knowing that he is both zealous and capable in his chosen field of labor. A native of Jackson county, Iowa, Dr. Durant was born in Preston, October II, 1869, and in the paternal line comes of English lineage. His grandfather, Samuel Durant, a native of England, was born in 1794 and came to America in early life and was married on this side of the water to Miss Alma Ferris, whose birth occurred in Vermont in 1800.
Their son, John Durant, was born in Cayuga county, New York, July 31, 1823, and was a little lad of six summers when in 1829 his parents removed to London, Canada, where they maintained their home until 1836, when they became residents of Michigan. The following year they removed to Illinois and in 1838 became residents of Van Buren township, Jackson county, Iowa, where John Durant entered land from the government. Iowa was at that time still under territorial rule and save along the Mississippi and other rivers was largely
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uninhabited except by red men who yet found it a good hunting ground. Much of the youth of John Durant had been passed on the frontier and after coming to Iowa he assisted in the arduous task of developing the new farm. He had also learned the carpenter's trade and on his father's land he built a house which is still standing. The timbers were hewed by hand and the work was primitive but substantial in construction, as indicated in the fact that it is still one of the old landmarks of the neighborhood. The place was surrounded by a rail fence, the rails and posts being split by hand, and this too is a feature of the old homestead farm. Taking up the occupation of farming John Durant gave his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits and as the years passed brought his fields under a high state of cultivation and annually gathered rich crops, for which he found a ready sale on the market. As time passed and his finan- cial resources increased he made other investments in land until he owned between three and four hundred acres in Jackson county, Iowa, and three quarter-sections near Pipestone, Minnesota. He had only a grammar school education but he was a man of good judgment and learned many valuable lessons in the school of experience and turned all the knowledge that he acquired to practical account. His political allegiance was given to the republican party and he held a number of township offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. All who knew him respected him for his general worth, his progressive spirit and his loyalty to principles.
In 1851 Jolin Durant was married to Miss Amanda Tompkins, who was born in Ohio, February 20, 1831, and was brought to Jackson county, Iowa, by her parents about 1844. The death of Mr. Durant occurred March 4, 1892, and on the 2d of July, of the same year, his widow also passed away. so that they were separated in death for only a brief period. They were the parents of eleven children : Mary, whose death was occasioned by falling down stairs when twenty-three years of age; Eliza, who became the wife of Albert Hanyen, of Michigan, and died in 1898; Alma, the wife of Henry Heberling, a resident of Santa Rosa, California; Albert, who is living on the old homestead in Jackson county, Iowa, the place having been deeded by the government to his father and from him passing to the son, so that it has never been out of possession of the family; Louis, who died at the age of twenty-eight years; George, a retired farmer living in Gordon, Wisconsin; Thomas, who for twelve years was principal of schools at Sumner, Iowa; Dr. Durant of this review; Charles, who died at the age of five years; May, who died in infancy; and Horace, who is living in Berrien county, Michigan.
Dr. Durant spent his boyhood days on his father's farm and at seventeen years of age entered the Upper Iowa University at Fayette, where for three years he pursued a literary course. He afterward engaged in teaching in the district schools and for seven years was principal of the schools at Washta. Iowa, but he regarded this merely as an initial step to further professional labor, his laudable ambition prompting him to prepare for the practice of medicine and surgery. With this in view he matriculated in the medical department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he was graduated with the class of 1902. Immediately afterward he came to Spencer, where he has since been located, and his thorough understanding of modern methods of practice, his
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careful diagnosis of cases and his accurate application of remedial agencies have been the features which have brought to him a constantly growing practice. He is justly regarded as one of the prominent physicians of this part of the state and he remains a thorough and discriminating student of the profession, interested in everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life.
On the Ist of September, 1892, Dr. Durant was married in Cherokee, Iowa, to Miss VeNetta Fee, who was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and is a daughter of William G. and Elizabeth (Welsh) Fee. Unto Dr. and Mrs. Durant have been born two interesting children. Elizabeth Amanda, whose birth occurred on September 8. 1895, and Winston John, born October 30, 1902.
The parents are members of the Congregational church and are prominent socially, the hospitality of the best homes of the community being cordially and continually extended them. In his political views Dr. Durant is a stalwart republican and, as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has served the city as health officer and in all of his practice conforms to a high standard of professional ethics in putting forth every effort to prevent as well as to allay disease. In this connection he did good work as a health officer. He keeps in touch with the onward march of the profession through his membership in the Clay county, lowa State and American Medical Associations. He is now widely recognized as a most able and progressive physician, one who is never content with his present achievements but is always reaching out to something broader and better in the field of his chosen labor and he thus makes steady advancement.
ALVERTUS B. RUSK.
Alvertus B. Rusk, a farmer and stockman of Freeman township, making stock shipments from Dickens, was born in Morgan county, Ohio, October I, · 1856. He is one of a family of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, whose parents were John and Nancy (Breese) Rusk, also natives of the Buckeye state. The former was a son of James Rusk, who was born in Ohio and devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits. He married a Miss Stansbury. They reared a family of eight children. and lived to be more than eighty years of age. The maternal grandfather of Alvertus B. Rusk was Luke Breese, who was born in Virginia and on removing to Ohio cast in his lot with the early settlers of Morgan county, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring, when he was about ninety-two years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Hopkins and she, too, was very old when she died.
John Rusk was reared to farm life and determined to make agricultural pursuits his life work. His early training was thorough and well qualified him to take up the task of tilling the soil on his own account. In 1876 he removed from Ohio to Champaign county, Illinois, and purchased land near Rantoul. There he carried on general farming for some years, after which he retired and established his home in the village of Rantoul, where his last years were passed.
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