USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 72
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and has seen its rapid growth. In politics he is a Republican, and is one of the enterprising representative men of Charles City, where he has been identified since 1856; he was formerly a mem- ber of I. O. O. F., and at present a member of the Good Tem- plars Society, and was one of the first that organized this lodge; he is at present Alderman of the Fourth Ward, and voted for the amendment in 1882, and presented the present prohibition ordi- nance of Charles City in April, 1882.
Joseph S. Trigg, Mayor of Charles City, and partner in the firm of White, Trigg & Co., proprietors of the Elm Spring Creamery, is a native of Hertfordshire, England, born April 8, 1841. His parents, Joseph S. Trigg, Sr., and Susannalı, nee Wilkerson, were likewise of English nativity, and had a family of six sons and three daughters, of whom Joseph S., Jr., was the eldest. He received his education in his native shire, and when twelve years of age came with his parents to the United States, landing in New York City, thence to Fond du Lac, Wis. They engaged in farming there until 1859, then removed to Freeborn, Minn., and settled on a farm. In August, 1862, Mr. Trigg enlisted in Company E, Tenth Minnesota Infantry, and bravely defended his country's cause until the close of the war, when he was mustered out at Memphis, Tenn. He returned to Fond du Lac and was there married on Oct. 3, 1865, to Laura M. Spafford, a native of Vermont, and a daughter of David and Olive Spafford. Five children have been born unto them-Mabel E., Gertrude L., Olive B., Frank E., and Elsie L. After his marriage Mr. Trigg settled on a farm in Freeborn County, Minn., where he resided until 1870, when he located in Floyd County. He farmed in St. Charles Township, until he was appointed Deputy County Auditor in January, 1872. InApril, 1874, he was elected Auditor of Floyd County, and by subsequent elec- tion held the office until January, 1882, and the following April was elected Mayor of Charles City, for which position he has shown himself to be eminently fitted. He is a member of Charles City Lodge, No. 153, A. O. U. W., and politically favors the Republican party. The Elm Springs Creamery was established in May, 1880, by H. D. White and J. S. Trigg, the present owners. The creamery has a capacity of manufacturing 2,100 pounds of butter and 1,500 pounds of cheese daily. They have $5,000 invested in the building, machinery, etc., and the cost of operation is about $200 per day. It is one of the principal manufactories of the city, giving direct employment to fourteen men. The butter,
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CHARLES CITY.
owing to its superior quality is greatly in demand in the Eastern markets, while the cheese finds a ready sale at home.
W. G. Tripp, of the firm of W. G. Tripp & Co., dealers in groceries and drugs, Charles City, was born in the town of De Ruy- ter, Madison County, N. Y., on Nov. 13, 1839. His parents were Israel and Eliza A. (Whitcomb) Tripp, he a native of New York, and she of Vermont State. They were members of the Presbyte- rian church and had a family of three children, of whom the sub- ject of this sketch was the eldest. When he was four years old his parents moved to Boone County, Ill., and he attended school there and at Belvidere, Ill., until he was seventeen years old, and then clerked for different parties in Belvidere until 1860, when he went to Colorado and engaged in mining there two years. From there he went to Memphis, Tenn., where he was chief clerk in the Government ordnance department two years, then returned to Belvidere, Ill. He engaged in mercantile business there until the spring of 1867, when he came to Charles City and embarked in his present business. He is the recipient of a large and lucra- tive trade, and is classed with the prominent and influential busi- ness men of this city. On June 10, 1868, Mr. Tripp was united in marriage with Mary A. Gardner, at Belvidere, Ill., where she was born. Her father, Cephas Gardner, was a native of Vermont. They have one child, a daughter, Alice G., born Aug. 21, 1872. Mr. Tripp is a Mason and a member of St. Charles Lodge, No. 141, and Almond Chapter, No. 53. Politically, he is a Republican. He was elected a member of the City Board in March, 1882.
Waldo Wait, retired farmer, residing in Charles City, is one of the old settlers of Floyd County. He was born in Hebron, Wash- ington County, N. Y., April 13, 1801. His parents were Benjamin and Ann (Waldo) Wait; he was a native of Rhode Island, and she of Connecticut. They were both members of the Baptist church, and had a family of seven sons and six daughters. Waldo, sub- ject of this sketch, and one sister were twins, and the youngest of the family. There are but two of the family now living, viz .: Archi- bald Wait, a retired Baptist minister, residing in Chicago, Ill., and Waldo, subject of this memoir. He attended school in Hebron, N.Y., until fifteen, when he removed with his parents to a small village near Auburn, N. Y., for two years; then to Leeds County, Canada West, and they settled on a tarm twelve miles north of Brockville. Waldo was married here to Miss Rose Duck-
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
lon, May 22, 1826; she was born in Elizabethtown, Leeds County, Canada West, Oct. 10, 1810; she was a daughter of Stephen and Harriet (Freell) Ducklon. Mr. and Mrs. Wait resided on their farm in Canada until the fall of 1856, when they came to Floyd County, la., and soon after purchased a farm in St. Charles Town- ship, where they resided until 1865, when Mr. Wait sold his farm and purchased a home in Charles City, where he has since lived, retired from active business. Mr. and Mrs. Wait are members of the Baptist church and have been members of this church for the past fifty years. They have had two sons, viz .: William HI., born in Canada West, July 21. 1845; he enlisted in Company C, Fourteenth Iowa In'antry Volunteers, and died May 9, 1864, from disease con - tracted during his service in the army. Henry M. Wait was born in Canada West, May 20, 1851 ; he married Miss Ida Pratt. They reside in Charles City and have had three children, viz. : Howard W., Henry W., and Miss Mamie Wait. Mr. and Mrs. Waldo Wait are of a few old settlers now living. They came to Charles City when it was in its infancy, and have lived to see the various changes of the county and city since that time; they are true rep- resentatives of Floyd County pioneers.
H. D. White, of the firm of White, Trigg & Co., proprietors of the Elm Spring Creamery, Charles City, is a native of New York, and was born in Groton, Tompkins County, June 6, 1852. His parents were M. C. and Philena (Ingram) White, natives of Massachusetts. She was a member of the Baptist church. They had a family of seven children, six sons and one daughter. The subject of this sketch was the youngest, and when five years of age he removed with his parents from New York to Kenosha County, Wis., settling on a farm near Kenosha. He attended school and worked on his father's farm, also learning the cheese and butter manufacture, and during this time he made some cheese that took the medal at the Centennial of 1876. When eighteen years of age he took charge of different cheese factories of Wisconsin, until 1877, when he came to Algona, Kossuth County, Ia., and was superintendent of eight cheese factories of that county, until the spring of 1880, when he came to Charles City, Ia, and established his present business. Mr. White married Miss Jennie E. Ferguson, at Charles City, Ia., Nov. 5, 1879; she was born at Fort Atkinson, la., a daughter of D. M. Ferguson, ex-Sheriff of Floyd County, and proprietor of the Lewis House, Charles City, and Malinda (Franz) Ferguson. Mr. White is a member of the Iowa Le-
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gion of Honor, and he and his wife have one daughter-Edna T., born July 15, 1880. Mr. White is one of the leading manu- facturers of Charles City. In politics he is a Republican. His family are of the old Puritan stock, his father being a descendant of Peregrine White, who came from England in the "Mayflower" and landed at Plymouth Rock. Mr. White's grandfather was in the war of 1812.
R. B. Wilson, proprietor of the Charles City Foundry, estab- lished his present business in 1877. The foundry was first started by Woolley & Snyder in connection with their plow factory. It is a building 100 feet long, the main room, blacksmith and carpenter shops being 38 x 36 feet, two stories in height, and the machine shops 26 x 24 feet, two stories, and the molding-room 36 x 26 feet. This is the first and only foundry in the city, and is one of the leading manufacturing interests. R. B. Wilson is a native of Vermont, and was born in Hinesburg, May 3, 1844. His parents were George W. and Mary (Oucher) Wilson; he was a native of Massachusetts, and was born at Concord, Middlesex County, and she was born in France. They had one son, viz. : R. B. Wilson, subject of this sketch. He was but eighteen months old when his mother died; he then went to live with his grand- parents near Montreal, Canada, until five years of age, when he went to live with his father, who was a woolen manufacturer. They traveled over the New England States, and settled at West- field, N. Y., in 1851, where his father engaged in various pur- suits. R. B., attended school until seventeen, when he enlisted in Company G, Seventy-second New York Infantry Volunteers; was mustered into United States service July 25, 1861, in what was called Sickles' Brigade. Mr. Wilson remained in that company until expiration of his term of service, when he was mustered out at Washington. He was wounded at the battle of Williams- burg, Va., May 5, 1862-a compound fracture of the right arm, the ball passing into the right side, where it still remains; another ball struck the right shoulder blade, and another passed under his chin, cutting the flesh from the chin and passing through his neck, coming out close to the jugular vein. He was in the hospital at Fortress Monroe and Philadelphia, Pa., returning to his regiment the summer of 1863. He was then transferred to the Regimental Quartermaster's Department; then in January of 1864 was trans- ferred to the Nineteenth Regiment, Veteran Reserve Corps, doing duty in the City of Washington until he was mustered out; he then
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went to Westfield, N. Y., and began to learn his trade; worked in Western New York until August, 1868, when he came to Osage, Mitchell County, Ia., and remained in this vicinity until 1877, when he located in Charles City, and established his present busi- ness. Mr. Wilson married Miss Alzina M. Frazier at Hampton, Franklin County, Ia., Jan. 1, 1873; she was born in Allamakee County, Ia. ; she was a daughter of D. D. Frazier, a farmer. Mrs. Wilson is a member of the M. E. church, Charles City. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have one daughter, viz .: Miss C. Buena Wilson. Mr. Wilson is a member of National Lodge, No. 165, I. O. O. F., at Charles City, Ia. ; Legion of Honor, Hope Lodge, No. 76. In poli- tics Mr. Wilson is a Republican. He is of Scotch and French descent. He is one of the enterprising, representative men and leading manufacturers of Charles City, where he has been identified since 1877.
F. R. Woolley, senior partner in the Charles City Plow Com- pany, is a native of the town of Weathersfield, Rutland County, Vt., born Dec. 23, 1825, a son of John B. and Annis Woolley, nee Rice, also natives of the Green Mountain State. His father was a blacksmith and manufacturer of all kinds of edge tools; he died in 1849 in his sixtieth year. F. R. was the fourth son of a family of seven children, and when he was some five years old his parents removed to Genesee County, N. Y .; thence to Cattaraugus County, and from there to Trumbull County, O. F. R. resided there until 1853, when he went to Rockford, Ill .; manufactured sickles and machinists' tools there until the fall of 1855, and in the spring of 1856 le located in Charles City, Ia .; he worked at the black- smith's trade here until 1859, when he engaged in the manufacture of plows; he built a factory in 1862, which he operated until 1876, when the present establishment was erected. Owing to the rapid increase of their business the company are building a much larger factory, wherein they can ineet the demand of their extensive trade. Mr. Woolley was united in marriage in September, 1849, to Ammy Hull, who was born in Chenango County, N. Y., and was a daughter of Joseph and Mercy Hull, nee Briggs. They have one child, a daughter, Grace, wife of George M. May, who is work- man of the furniture manufactory of this city. Mr. Woolley is one of the early settlers of Floyd County, and has ever been active in the advancement of her interests, morally and financially. He adheres to the principles of the Republican party.
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CHARLES CITY.
E. B. C. Wright, retired merchant, Charles City, is a native of Ohio, and was born in Vernon Township, Trumbull County, May 23, 1824. His parents were Adam and Rhoda (Clark) Wright; he was a native of Mercer, Mercer County, Pa., and was a merchant, and opened the first store in Vernon Township, Ohio; she was a native of Connecticut, born in 1800, and a member of the Baptist church. They were married in 1818, and had a family of twelve children. E. B. C., subject of this sketch, was the eldest son. He attended school in Vernon, Ohio, until twelve years of age, when his parents emigrated to Burlington, Ia., where his father died nine years later, and his mother returned to Ohio. E. B. C. re- mained in Burlington, clerking and attending school until twenty- three, when he returned to Ohio, and taught school until 1849, and in that year went to the city of New York, and engaged in the mercantile business until 1857, when he came to Charles City. In company with H. W. McNabb, a retired merchant of Osage, Mitchell County, bought out John Ferguson & Co., and engaged in the mercantile business until 1863, when he went to New York City. He was married there to Mrs. Caroline Mann, on Feb. 11, 1863; her maiden name was Caroline Barringer. Mr. Wright en- gaged in the mercantile trade in New York City until 1870, when he returned to Charles City, and he and his brother, B. F. Wright, engaged in the mercantile trade until 1872, then Mr. E. B. C. Wright ran the store alone until 1879, when he closed out his business, and took the agency for canvassing the whole Northwest for the National Needle Co., of Springfield, Mass., the largest manufacturers of sewing-machine needles in the world. Mrs. Wright is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Wright is a charter member of St. Charles Lodge, A. F. & A. M .. No. 141, and has been Master a number of years, and was the founder of the order of the Eastern Star, Excelsior Chapter. He is one of the old settlers of Charles City and the State of Iowa, having been identified with the State since March, 1836, and Floyd County since 1857. He is one of the representative business men, and has always taken an active interest in anything that promises progression to the town. In politics he is a Democrat, and a strong supporter of that party. He is of German descent. There are but three brothers and two sisters living, viz .: subject of this sketch; Mrs. H. W. McNabb, of Osage, Mitchell County, Ia .; Mrs. E. A. Mann, of New York City; B. F. Wright, Postmaster of Charles City, and J. Z. Wright, farmer of Floyd County.
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
B. F. Wright .- Among the widely known men of the county is B. F. Wright, Postmaster of Charles City, who has had the position since October, 1869. But few men are so universally known in the county, and he has of late years acquired a State acquaintance by reason of his prominent association with the "prohibitory amend- ment." Mr. Wright is the third son of Adam and Rhoda Wright, and was born in Vernon, Vernon Township, Trumbull County, O., Aug. 20, 1837. His father was of German descent, whilst his mother was of the old Connecticut Yankee blood. In appearance the sub- ject of our sketch is decidedly German; height, five feet ten inches, stockey, stout, portly, weighing 245 pounds, whilst in mental quali- ties he displays those powers that have made Yankeedom famous. The family came to Burlington, Ia., in 1838. After the death of his father in 1843, the family returned to Vernon, O. Frank lived with his uncle, Aaron Clark, in Bloomfield, Hartford, and Vernon, until 1849, when it was arranged that he should live with his uncle, Ilenry Vernon, in West Williamsfield, O., until he was of age. His mother died in 1852, when Frank, through the assistance of his older brother, E. B. C. Wright, became a pupil of the Meadville Academy, Pennsylvania, and attended for several terms the Allegheny College at that place. He taught two terms of school, one at Lane's Corners and one at Randall's Corners, in Crawford County, Pa.
In the spring of 1856 he went to New York City and engaged with Rockwell & Winton in a hat and cap house, with whom he remained until May 7, 1857. when he reached Charles City and entered the employ of John Ferguson & Co., with whom he had made business arrangements before leaving the East. The mer- cantile house of J. Ferguson & Co. was soon succeeded by the firm of Wright & McNabb, and B. F. wis long identified with the mercantile interest of Charles City, up to 1872, since which time he has given his time to his official duties and the development of a stock farm in Pleasant Grove Township, in company with his younger brother, J. Z. Wright.
In every development of the city and county Mr. Wright has taken an active and prominent part, and is said by all to be a fast friend and vigorous opponent of the Ben. Wade order. The adoption by 30,000 majority of the prohibitory amendment to the constitution of Iowa by its electors, June 27, 1882, is undoubtedly the most remarkable event in the line of prohibitory temperance which has ever occurred. Its praises are sung in churches and
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schools; its triumph is published from thousands of eloquent ros- trums, while family and pulpit altars will never cease to "Praise God from whom all blessings flow" for its adoption. To those who conceived, planned and executed this great measure the pub- lic are interested in knowing the details of the work.
In August, 1878, Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, widely known in Iowa as the head of the W. C. T. U., was conducting a Congressional ses- sion of that temperance organization in Charles City, and while the guest of Rev. A. N. Clute, of that place, Mr. Wright called upon her and endeavored to interest her in the matter of uniting all temperance efforts of the State in the single line of amending its Constitution. At first she was not favorably inclined to the project, but subsequently changed her mind. Mrs. Foster, in the December State session of the W. C. T. U., at Bur- lington, as their chairman on the legal phases of the question, presented the new idea of a constitutional amendment, but stated in her able report that she " did not claim it as original, as it had been first suggested to her by a gentleman in Floyd County." Up to this date the matter had received but little public agita- tion.
In February, 1879, Mr. Wright attended the State Reform meet- ing at Waterloo, and in a series of resolutions urged as the plan of work the constitutional amendment. His address on that occasion, the great debate of the convention on the subject, and their prac- tical adoption of the scheme, had the effect of bringing the project prominently into newspaper discussion of the State, especially in the Dubuque Daily Times, edited by M. C. Woodruff, and the Iowa State Register, by the Clarkson brothers.
In 1879, at the Republican State Convention, Mr. Wright, in company with Col. Nate Reed, who at that time was editor of the Northwestern News, at Davenport, and now editor of the Evening News in Chicago, secured a suite of rooms at the Abom House, in the city of Des Moines, and began a systematic effort of consulta- tion with every prohibitionist on every county delegation from all parts of the State. Hon. John H. Geer was a candidate for re- nomination for Governor by the Republican Convention. In the previous election he received a majority vote, and desiring to be U. S. Senator, he was most anxious to fill the executive office by a clear majority vote of the State, and greatly desired that the tem- perance element of his party should be harmonized and reconciled. Mr. Wright sought an interview with the Governor, and secured
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HISTORY OF FLOYD COUNTY.
in him a staunch ally for declaring in favor of a non-partisan vote to be taken on a prohibitory amendment.
The eleventh plank of the Republican platform of Iowa was substantially adopted and framed at a caucus of the temperance element of the Republican party in that suit of rooms, and B. F. Wright was the chairman and Nate Reed the secretary of that caucus. The plank was unanimously adopted the next day by the Republican Convention. The temperance liosts of Iowa have had a State temperance committee patterned after the Republican and Democratic parties, a member in every Congressional district. Aaron Kimball, of Cresco; B. F. Wright, of Charles City, and J. A. Harvey, of Des Moines, have been for two years respectively President, Secretary and Treasurer, and the newspapers of the State have spoken of Mr. Wright as the father of the late prohibitory amendment.
S. P. Yeomans, M. D., Charles City, is a native of New York and was born in German Flats, Herkimer County, Jan. 23, 1822. His parents were Prentice and Margaret (Mckinney) Yeomans, natives of Connecticut and members of the Universalist church. They have a large family of children, S. P., subject of this sketch, being the youngest son. In 1837, when fifteen years of age, he came to Iowa; crossed the Mississippi River at Fort Madison, and settled near Mt. Pleasant, Henry County, where he followed farm- ing, and attending and teaching school until eighteen, when he began to study medicine with Dr. J. D. Payne, at Mt. Pleasant, and grad- uated at the Rush Medical College, at Chicago, in 1854. He then practiced medicine at Agency City, Wapello County, and Sheridan, Lucas County, Ia., and was elected to the Legislature from Lucas County in 1854. In 1855 he was appointed United States Register of the land office at Sioux City, by Pierce, and reappointed by Buchanan, and held that office six years. At the outbreaking of the Rebellion he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the Seventh Regiment Iowa Cavalry, and remained with them until the close of the war; he then went to Clinton, Ia., and practiced medicine until 1879, when he came to Charles City, where he has practiced since. He married Clara Vale in November, 1840. She was born in Vermont, and was a graduate of the Hahnemann Medical College, of Chicago, in 1870, and has practiced medicine since. Dr. Yeo- mans and wife are members of the M. E. church, and have had six children, two living viz .: Margaret S., wife of Rev. N. O. Mc- Niff, of Minnesota Conference, and George W., an attorney at
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Clinton, Iowa. Dr. Yeomans is a Mason, and was formerly a member of Olive Branch Lodge, A. F. & A. M., Agency City, and member of chapter at Sioux City. He is one of the leading physicans of Floyd County. In politics he is a Republican. In 1861 he also graduated from the Hahnemann College, Chicago. He is a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, of Homeo- pathic physicians.
Professor James C. Yocum, Superintendent of Charles City schools, is a native of Ohio, and was born in Mansfield, Ashland County, March 4, 1838. His parents were Elmore and Jane (Cameron) Yocum; he was a native of Pennsylvania, and a mem- ber of the Methodist church, and now resides at Sparta, Wis .; she was a native of Ohio, and also a member of the Methodist church. They had a family of three sons and two daughters. James C., subject of this sketch, was the eldest child. When three years of age he removed with his parents to Wooster, O., re- maining there six years; thence to Sydney, Shelby County, and two years afterward to Delaware, Delaware County, O. James attended the preparatory department of the Ohio Wesleyan Uni- versity one year; then removed to Plattville, Wis., and entered the Plattville Academy, prosecuting his studies there four years; then removed to Appleton, Wis., and attended Lawrence Uni- versity four years; then spent two years in the New England Conservatory at Boston, Mass. He taught instrumental and vocal music in Wisconsin two years; then took charge of the Mount Hope, Wis., Seminary one year, and of the Bamson Collegiate Institute at Point Bluff, Wis., three years, and was for several years County Superintendent of Schools in Adams County, Wis. He was then appointed Principal of the Lodi, Wis., graded school, remaining there five years; thence to Boscobel graded school, at Boscobel, Wis., for two years; then came to Charles City, to accept his present position as Superintendent of Schools. He has charge of twelve schools, employing fourteen teachers. It was the Professor's intention to devote himself to the study of music, but, circumstances preventing, he abandoned that, confin- ing himself to teaching in the public schools. Professor Yocumn married Miss Mary Moore, at Point Bluff, Wis., Dec. 20, 1862; she was born at Zanesville, O., and was a daughter of Amos and Julia (Rice) Moore. Mrs. Yocum died in July, 1863. Mr. Yocum married Miss Maria Newell, at Baraboo, Wis., May, 1864; she was born in Pennsylvania, and was a daughter of Orange Newell and
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