USA > Iowa > Harrison County > History of Harrison County, Iowa. Containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county. Together with portraits and biographies of all the governors of Iowa, and of the presidents of the United States > Part 101
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Our subject lived in Appanoose County until three years of age, when the family
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emigrated to Virgin City, Utah, where they spent two years and then returned to Harrison County, Iowa.
Mr. Coffman was united in marriage June 19, 1885, to Nellie G. Hunt, the daughter of Isaac E. and Mary Hunt, na- tives of Ohio, who had three children- Nettie A., Relda, and Nellie G.
Our subject and his wife are the par- ents of three children-James L., Gay L., and Ray.
G EORGE W.CONNYERS(deceased), who was a resident of section 2, Jackson Township, first located in Little Sioux Township in 1868. He ran a sawmill and leased land, coming to the country a poor man. After a pe- riod of five years in and about the sawmill, he bought the farm his widow now occupies, which then consisted of eighty acres of wild land. He constructed a dug-out, in which he lived while he was improving the place. After eight y ars he bought eighty acres more land, which
had a frame on it for a house. He com- pleted the building and put seventy acres of his land under the plow and surrounded it with a good fence, set out an orchard of seventy-five trees, added many shade trees to the premises, making a valuable place.
Just at a time when life seemed dearest to him, he was called from earth. He died May 11, 1885.
Our subject was born in Iowa, Septem- ber 25, 1840. He was a son of George W. and Sarah W. Connyers, who had a fam- ily of twelve children, six of whom are living: Mary A., Matthew M., Jane, George (deceased), Harriett (deceased),
Commodore R., Sarah, John, Arantha (deceased), Minerva (deceased), Emaline, one died in infancy.
Mr. Connyers was united in marriage December 25, 1863, to Mary Gordon, daughter of James and Mary Gordon, na- tives of Scotland, who had nine children- Jenette, Joseph (deceased), Mary J., James, John, Marion, Elizabeth, Rachel and Peter.
Our subject and his wife were the parents of ten children, eight of whom still survive-Mary (deceased), George, Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth, Joseph (de- ceased), James, Nettie, Effie and Pearl.
Mr. and Mrs. Connyers were members of the Latter Day Saints' Church.
OHN J. C. WELDON, of Morgan Township, a resident of Harrison County since 1868, was born in Meigs County, Ohio, in September, 1841. He is a son of John and Mary (El- liott) Weldon, of Pennsylvania and Ohio, both of whom are now deceased. The father's parents were Edward and Eliza- beth Weldon, and the mother's parents were Fuller and Lydia (Jones) Elliott. They reared a family of thirteen children. All are deceased, except the following- Margaret (Tillinghast), Mary A. (Clark), Hannah (McCombe), Richard W., James M., Amanda (Watkins), and John J. C .; of whom we write.
Our subject spent his early life in the Buckeye State, where he obtained a com- mon and High School education. He re- mained at home until July 17, 1861, which was the first year of the Civil War. Upon that day he enlisted in Company E, Fourth
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West Virginia Infantry, and was first as- signed to the Army of West Virginia, operating in the Kanawha Valley, partic- ipating in all of its campaigns, until after the Battle of Charleston, W., Va., in September, 1862. January 1, 1863, he was along with the Thirtieth, Thirty-seventh, and Forty-seventh Ohio, which were styled the "Kanawha Brigade." They were sent South and assigned to the Fif- teenth Army Corps, as a part of the "Army of the West." He took part in the battles of Charleston, W. Va .; Vicks- burg, the siege and battle of Jackson; Mission Ridge, and Knoxville, Tenn. After the Knoxville campaign the brigade was veteranized and was assigned to Gen. Sigel's command, in the Shenandoah Valley, participating in Gen. Hunter's campaign. Their first engagement was at Piedmont, Va., where the rebel Gen. Jones was killed. The rebels lost fifteen hundred men killed and wounded. Our subject also operated in the rear of Rich- mond, his last battle being at Snicker's Ford, July 18, 1864. At Vicksburg, Mr. Weldon was wounded by a gun-shot, which disabled him from active service in the field, and he served as orderly for the Colonel of his regiment until July 29, 1864, when he was discharged at Wheel- ing, W. Va. After the war he returned home and went to farming, and remained in that country until he came to Harrison County in 1868. He came from Ohio, with teams, being forty days on the jour- ney. He first located in Morgan Town- ship, and purchased lot 3 of section 27. He now owns three hundred acres of land in Harrison County, all enclosed by a good fence, and two hundred and sixty acres under cultivation. He carried on stock- raising and general farming.
Our subject was united in marriage in
July, 1866, to Mary A. Egan, the daugh- ter of Thomas and Jane Egan, of Ohio. By this marriage union eight children have been born-James, born in 1867; Lettie E. (Burcham), 1869; Edward, 1873; John and Polly (twins), 1874, and died in infancy; Maud, born in 1878; Ruth, 1876, and Dot, 1889.
Mr. and Mrs. Weldon are members of the Christian Church. He belongs to Post No. 103, G. A. R., at Mondamin.
Politically, he is a Republican, and has held nearly all of the local offices in the township.
LEXANDER M. MCCULLOUGH, a resident of Little Sioux Town- ship, came to Harrison County, twenty-seven years ago, in 1864. He is a native of the Buckeye State, and was born in Tuscarawas County, August 4, 1841, and is the son of John and Sarah J. (Leeper) Mccullough. His grandfa- ther, Andrew Mccullough, was born in Ireland, while his mother's people were of English origin. The early years of our subject were spent in Ohio, where his edu- cation was mostly obtained, with the ex- ception of what common schooling he had in Harrison County. The family removed . to Decatur County, Iowa, in 1854, and the father there engaged in agricultural pur- suits, aud Alexander began to work for himself in 1859, following farm life in De- catur County until 1864, and then came to this county, and worked for Seth Palmer and Amos Chase for nine months. He then went to Jasper County, wherehe located and remained until 1876, and then went to California, where he farmed and mined and remained two years. From
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there he went to Nevada, remained one year, and in 1883 returned to Iowa. Shortly after this he went to railroading in Colorado, which he continued to follow for three years, and again returned to the Hawkeye State. He was married June 8, 1890, at River Sioux, to Mary J. Neeley, a daughter of Nathaniel and Melinda (Butler) Neeley.
Politically our subject is identified with the Democratic party, believing that party best represents the interests of the masses. Mrs. McCullough is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and an exemplary lady.
LBERT M. WALL, a farmer re- siding on section 13, of Jackson Township, first located at Mag- nolia in the autumn of 1870, and there rented a farm one year. He then moved to Clay Township, where he rented land five years, then returned to Magnolia, rented land a year and then bought forty acres of wild land in Allen Township. He broke this ground up and fenced the place and lived in a shanty, that was on the land when he bought it, for three years, and then he bought the farm he now oc- cupies, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres which had been partly im- proved. This place he fenced, set out an orchard of one hundred and twenty-five apple trees, built sheds, cribbings, etc., and now has ninety acres under the plow, whilethe balance is in pasture and meadow land. He also has eight acres of timber land.
Our subject was born September 1, 1850, in Wabash County, Ind. He is the son of William and Maria Wall, natives of Vir-
ginia and Ohio respectively. They reared a family of eight children-Artie, Mary E., Elizabeth, James, John R., Albert, Frank and one deceased. Our subject remained in the Hoosier State with his parents, until he grew to manhood, and then moved to this county. He came here a poor man and was in the country through the grasshopper seasons, when they made life a burden to many a farmer in Harrison County. He was here through the deep snow winter of 1880-81, when he lost $400 worth of cattle.
Our subject was united marriage June 11, 1873, to Lillie Ackerman, the daughter of John and Sarah Ackerman, natives of Virginia, who reared the following chil- dren-Lillie, Ida, Charles, Loiwesa, Ed- ward, George and William.
Mr. and Mrs. Wall have been blessed with the following children-May, Arthur W., deceased; Minnie and Winnie, twins ; Sadie, Homer, Charles, Lorenzo and Eu- gene.
OHN J. THOMAS, a prosperous farmer living on section 26, of Mor- gan Township. has been a resident of Harrison County since 1878. He may well be termed a practical as well as a scientific farmer. Through long years of experience, and the medium of the best class of farm journals published, he has come to know how to obtain tlie best re- sults as an agriculturist.
Mr. Thomas was born in Ohio, July 24, 1829, and is the son of Isaac and Eliza- beth (Holmes) Thomas, both deceased. They were natives of Virginia and Ohio respectively, and had a family of eight children, of whom our subject was the fourth. Our subject's brother, Abraham,
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lives in Ohio; William C., in Colorado; Sarah in Ohio, and Susannah, in Iowa. John J's. early life was spent in the Buck- eye State, and he accompanied his par- ents to Washington County, Iowa, in 1847. Hisfather's family was the third to locate in that county, they settled where the town of Crawfordville now stands. Mr. Thomas attended the com- mon schools of Washington County and learned the carpenter's trade and worked at the same in that locality. He remained in Washington County until 1860 and then removed to Monroe County, Iowa, where he operated a sawmill and doing contract carpenter work, continuing this until 1873 when he removed to Hamilton County, Iowa, and rented land near Web- ster City, and in 1874 removed to Kansas, remained three years and came to this county. He was first on a farm here known as the Walker farm, upon which he lived for six years and then bought the farm he now lives upon, consisting of eighty acres on section 26. He also owns forty-six acres in Mills County. His farm is all under cultivation except eight acres. Everything about Mr. Thomas's place shows him to be a man of thrift and order, and it may be said that unlike many farm- ers, he allows no land to go to weeds, even the fence corners being clean and the main part of his fields.
Our subject was united in marriage De- cember 27, 1851, in Washington County, Iowa, to Elizabeth Boyd, a native of Ohio, who was born in 1836,in Sandusky County, Ohio. She is the daughter of James and Forille Boyd. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are the parent of nine children, eight of whom are now living-Joseph, now living in the State of Washington, born in 1854; Sarah E., now Mrs. Stewart, born in 1856; Ab- raham R., born in 1858, now married and liv-
ing in Minnesota ; Alice, now Mrs. Galen B. Clark, born in 1860, living in North Dakota; Clara, Mrs. Bowen, born in 1862; William, born in 1864, now married ; Rosa, born in 1866, now married to R. H. Thomas; Hattie born in 1868, died in 1880, and Charles E., born in 1875, now at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are consistent members of the Baptist Church and in his political views he has ever been identified with the Republican party.
M OSES GERMAN, a native of Ohio, has been a resident of Harrison County since 1855, and is now a resident of Little Sioux Township. He was born in Putnam County, Ohio, January 13, 1820, and is the son of John and Casander (Smith) German. His pa- ternal grandparents' names were Moses and Susan German, natives of Maryland. Our subject was the second in a family of seven children, five of whom are still liv- ing. His boyhood days were spent in the Buckeye State, his parents removing to Putnam County, Ill., in 1833, where the father engaged at farming. In Illinois he assisted his father on the farm and at- tended the common schools, and com- menced farming for himself in Jones County, Iowa, and there remained until in 1855, when he came to this county. He located at the village of Little Sioux, and the first winter lived in a "dug-out" on the bank of the Little Sioux River. The next season he erected the first house built in that village, the same being a log house, still standing and is occupied by Mr. Farber.
Mr. German was united in marriage,
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May 1846, in Jones County, Iowa, to Eliza Brazzelton, the daughter of Benjamin and Elsie (Moore) Brazzelton. The father was killed in the Indian War, and the mother died in Little Sioux in 1859.
Mr. and Mrs. German have one child living : Mary Frances, wife of W. H. Wil- sey. Politically our subject is a Demo- crat and in religious matters he is a Meth- odist. He served as Deputy Sheriff of Harrison County for a number of years, and stands high in the community in which he lives.
W ILLIAM H. WILSEY, of Little Sioux Township, came to Harrison County in 1876, when he took up his residence in Little Sioux. He was born May 6, 1822, at Troy, Bradford County, Pa., and lived there until 1836, when the family removed to Ohio, and from there to Michigan, and then to Illi- nois, in which State our subject obtained the most of his education, and there grew to manhood. He came to Monona County, Iowa, in 1855, and settled in the town of Maple, and laid out the village of Maple- ton on his farm, where he was both mer- chant and Postmaster for some years. By his own industry, perseverance and fru- gality, herapidly accumulated both money and lands, until he became one of the largest land owners in the county, owning at one time fifteen hundred acres in Maple Township.
He remained in Monona County until 1876, when he concluded to try' his for- tune in the Far West, and with this in view, he removed to Colorado, but after a few months was glad to return to the Hawkeye State and took up his residence
in Harrison County, but lived for two years in Mapleton, but finally in 1882 came to Little Sioux Township, and has resided here since that time. He is one of the largest land owners in this and Monona Counties, having five hundred acres in Little Sioux Township alone, a greater portion of which is under the plow.
Mr. Wilsey has been three times' mar- ried : first in Henry County, Ill., in 1844, he was united to Miss Sarah Jane Cun- ningham, by whom four children were born-Clarissa, Nelson A., Duke W. and William H.
Mr. Wilsey afterward married Mrs. Sarah (Ruggles) Maynard, the widow of Amos Maynard, of Pennsylvania, who came to the country with him.
March 27, 1877, Mr. Wilsey for the third time entered into the bonds of matrimony, being on that day united in marriage to Mrs. Mary A. Smith, a native of Linn County, Iowa, the daughter of Moses and Eliza (Brazzelton) German, of Little Sioux, and who came there at a very early day. Her father built the first dwelling house erected in Little Sioux Village.
6 HOMAS J. LANYON, proprietor of a general store at Little Sioux, Iowa, has been a resident of Harrison County, since 1858, and consequently would very naturally find a place among the representative men of his county as forming a part of this history.
Our subject was born in Pittsburg, Pa., July 17, 1848. He is a son of Thomas and Sophia (Campion) Lanyon, who were na- tives of England, but emigrated to Amer- ica in 1832. The father was born in Corn- wall, and the mother in Leicestershire.
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HARRISON COUNTY.
Both parents are deceased; the father dy- ing in 1854, and the mother in July 1887, aged seventy-eight years.
The early life of our subject was spent in the city of Pittsburg; he received his education there and at Preparation, Iowa. In his parents' family there were seven children, our subject being the fifth. In 1859 our subject went to Magnolia and entered the newspaper office of George Brainard, who was then publishing the Republican. One year later we find him at Onawa, Iowa, with D. W. Butts, on the Cordon, and in 1862 he came to Little Sioux and hired out to Isaac Gamet, on a farm and there remained until 1865, fol- lowing farming for the next two years. He was with the surveyors, who estab- lished the line of the Sioux City & Pacific Railway, with whom he was associated about six months; was then employed in a drug store for about eight months. We next find him clerking in the store of D. M. Gamet, from some time in 1869, to July 7, 1870, when President U. S. Grant appointed him Postmaster, which position he held for seventeen years, ending in January, 1886.
March 22, 1877 he was united in mar- riage at Little Sioux, to Miss Ella M. Pet- ers, the daughter of Richard L. and Ly- dia Ann (Butts) Peters. By this union five children were born, four of whom still survive-Marion T., Ralph H., Clement Earl, Leon (deceased), and 'Teressa.
Politically our subject is a Republican, and he is numbered among the honored members of Frontier Lodge, No. 382, of the Masonic order at Little Sioux. He has been Secretary of the School Board since 1883, and Township Trustee for sev- eral years. He started his present busi- ness in 1871, with a very small beginning, but has gradually worked up the scale,
and now has a paying business estab- lished. In 1877 he erected his present business house, and in 1884 built his resi- dence which adjoins his store.
E DWARD G. COWAN, who resides in the heart of Six-Mile Grove, on the west half of section 17, has been a resident of Harrison County since the spring of 1877, coming to these parts with his parents when he was nineteen years old.
He was born in Poweshiek County, Iowa, and is a son of Thomas and Han- nah (Matchet) Cowan. The father was a native of Virginia, and reared a family of ten children, of whom our subject was the sixth child. His brothers and sisters were as follows : Robert, Mary A., and George, doceased; John J., Jennie M., deceased ; Edward G., Sadie E., Charles R., Frank L., and Willie, deceased.
Our subject was married August 24, 1879, to Dora Stoner, of Harrison County, daughter of Andrew J. Stoner, a native of Ohio, who had a family of seven children, of whom our subject's wife was the fourth child. The family consisted of Emma, Rosa, deceased, Ella Dora, Alice T., de- ceased : William C., and John W. Five of these children are living in Harrison County.
Mr. and Mrs. Cowan are the parents of three children-Bert M., born May 23, 1880; Raymond E., September 16, 1882; Bessie M., February 14, 1891.
After coming to Harrison County our subject remained at home two years, as- sisting his father on the farm in Jefferson Township, then for two years he rented land and farmed on his own account.
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HARRISON COUNTY.
Having been quite successful, and also having faith in the agricultural resources of this country, he purchased one hun- dred and twenty acres of land in Cass Township, paying $7 for a part of and $15 per acre for the remainder. The buildings consisted of a one-story house 16x28 feet.
This was in 1881 and he . continued farming until the spring of 1891, when, on account of ill health, he engaged in the grocery business in which he is now doing well.
.P ETER BOLCH, a successful farmer of section 33, Allen Township, has been a resident of the county since September 22, 1873. When he first came to the county he worked for Will- iam Cutler, of Magnolia Township, by the month on a farm. He continued to work by the month for about one year, and then commenced work on his account. Being unable to buy land of his own the first year, he and his brother farmed on rented land, after which they purchased the farm upon which our subject now re- sides, their sister keeping house for them. They continued to operate the farm in company for seven years, at the end of which time he purchased his brother's interest. At the time they purchased the place there was about one hundred acres under cultivation, but now he has about one hundred and fifty under the plow, while the remainder is in pasture and meadow land, his whole farm now con- taining five hundred and sixty acres, all in one body and fenced.
He was born in Washington County, Ohio, his parents being John and Eliza-
beth (Kuhn) Bolch, natives of Germany. They were the parents of seven children, our subject, (the third child) was born February 24, 1854. The names of his brothers and sisters were John, Mary, Frank, .Joseph, Adam and Elizabeth (twins), all living except Adam.
Our subject remained in the Buckeye State, with his parents, until he was nine- teen years of age, when he came to Har- rison County, Iowa. When he was nine years of age, his father was a soldier in the Civil War, and he was thrown on his own resources, having to work out for his board, attending school when he could.
He was married April 14, 1880, to Jessie E. Hefford, daughter of William and Sarah (Ratliff) Hefford, natives of New York and Illinois respectively. They had three children, our subject's wife being the eldest, and was born in Magnolia, Iowa. The names of the children are as follows: Jessie, Hattie and Rubie. Mr. and Mrs. Bolch are the parents of four children, born as follows : Nellie, Febru- ary 12, 1881; William, February 11, 1883, deceased; Eva, October 25, 1885; Ruth, January 6, 1888.
. Politically our subject is identified with the Republican party, and in religious matters he is a Roman Catholic in be- lief.
n ATHAN D. BARNES, who came to the county July 1, 1866 and now resides on Six-Mile Creek, on the north side of Six-Mile Grove, upon sec- tion 18, was born in Luzerne County, Pa., June 20, 1828, and lived with his par- ents until sixteen years of age, then came to Lee County, Ill. with his father's fam-
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HARRISON COUNTY.
ily, who in 1845, settled at Dixon, Lee County, July 5, which was the day after the murder of Col. Davenport at Rock Island. Our subject remained at home until twenty-one years of age, and then commenced life's work for himself, engag- ing at masonry and carpenter work, whichi he followed for about seven years. In 1854 he established a grocery and bakery busi- ness at Dixon, Ill., which he operated a year and a half. During the financial craslı of 1856-57, he failed in business, as did thousands of other men at that time. We next find him in Chicago, attending the Commercial College, from which insti- tution he received a diploma, and at once went to Carbondale, Jackson County, Ill., where he served as bookkeeper, and clerk for one year. From that date to 1866, he farmed in the vicinity of Dixon. Upon coming to Harrison County, he went to grading on the railroad, for which he re- ceived $8 per day for himself and two teams. He bought the farm he now oc- cupies, taking possession August 10, 1866. The place had no improvements except a one-story house, 16x20 feet, and two miles of rail fencing. His present improvements in the way of buildings, feed lots, etc. are of the best character. His farm now con- sists of two hundred and twenty acres, on section 18, and eighty acres on sections 5 and 7, making three hundred acres in all. Of this tract one hundred acres are culti- vated, the balance being timber and pas- ture land. At the time our subject came to the township, there were only about a dozen other settlers.
The father of our subject was Uzal O. Barnes, born in Warren County, N. J., June 8, 1806. He was the father of thir- teen children, of whom our subject was the eldest. The father died May 2, 1888, at Dixon, Ill. Our subject's brothers and
sisters were Nathan D., James D., Su- sanna C., Eleanor V., John A., Sarah A., Hannah M., Mary Elizabeth, Eliza M., Sidney M., George N., Melissa and Uzal O. Barnes, Jr. Of these children, ten grew to manhood and womanhood.
Our subject's mother's name was Sallie (Hutchison) Dodson, born December 31, 1803, in Columbia County, Pa., and died at Dixon, Ill., October 26, 1890.
Our subject was married June 19, 1855, Dixon, Ill., to Elizabeth H. Moseman, born at Bedford, Westchester County, N. Y., October 26, 1835. To our subject and his wife have been born nine children, seven of whom are living-Annie B., born April 18, 1857; Gacia M., June 12, 1859, (deceased) ; Charles N., March 5, 1862; Alice R., February 25, 1865; Della D., September 5, 1867; Josephine, January 7, 1870; Nellie E., October 26, 1872; Diocle- sian L., October 9, 1875. (deceased) and Maude E., August 12, 1878.
Politically, our subject is a supporter of the Republican party. In his religious convictions, he is a believer in John Wesleyan Methodism.
AMES ROBERTS, a resident of sec- tion 4, Jackson Township, came to Harrison County during the month of February, 1865, and first located on the farm he now occupies, which at the time of his coming consisted of six hun- dred and seventy acres of wild land: He built him a house 18x35 feet, one story and a half high with an addition 18x32 feet, and also built a barn and cattle sheds all being painted, even to his tool house, which was 14x30 feet. He built granaries and corn cribs, the latter having a capac-
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