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 106
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C HARLES WHEELOCK, of section 31, Magnolia Township, came to Harrison County in September, 1866, and settled on his present farm. Four years prior to this he bought two hundred acres-one hundred and sixty acres on section 31 and forty on section 30 -same being wild prairie land, upon which he erected a frame house 16 feet square, in which he lived until 1863, and then built his present residence, which is a two- story brick structure 30x32 feet, with two brick partitions that reach to the eaves. It is a sixteen-room house, and considered one of the best in Harrison County. He
now has two hundred and eighty acres in his home farm, and a farm of one hun- dred and forty-three acres in Jefferson Township, together with forty acres of grass land in Taylor Township.
Mr. Wheelock was born November 3, 1833, in Windsor County, Vt. In 1855 he left the old Green Mountain State and came to Iowa City, Iowa, remained one year, then moved to Mills County, where he remained until September 14, 1861, when he enlisted in Omaha, Neb., as a member of Company B, First Ne- braska Cavalry, afterwards called "Curtis' Horse," and still later the Fifth Iowa Cav- alry. After enlistment his company went to Benton Barracks, Mo., after which he participated in the following engage- ments : Fort Donelson, which com- menced February 14, 1862, and surrend- ered two days later; Paris, Tenn., where our subject's horse received two shots. He was in three different fights at Fort Donelson, almost on the same ground. He was at the Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862; also at Rolling Mills, seven miles from Fort Donelson, besides other small engagements. Christmas Eve, 1862, his command overtook a large number of reb- els and made them prisoners of war. He was also at the Battles of Stone River, Waverly, Murfreesboro, Athens, Pulaski, Sugar Creek during two engagements, and Huntsville. Here he went with Gen. Rozecranz from Murfreesboro, and was with him in the capture of Shelbyville, Chattanooga, etc., also at the Battle of Chickamauga, and assisted in taking Lookout Mountain. At Pulaski, Tenn., January 1, 1864, he re-enlisted and came home on a month's furlough, joining his regiment at Nashville, Tenn, and was with Gen. Sherman until after the cap- ture of Atlanta, Ga., and was in the prin-
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cipal fights of that campaign. July 10, 1864, he started on a raid with Gen. Rous- seau, and went within thirty miles of Montgomery and destroyed thirty-five miles of railroad track, being in the skirm- ish line all the time, and losing eighteen men at Marietta, and after that fight went with Gen. McCook on another raid lasting ten days, when they were under a con- stant fire. One night when he was on duty an encounter occurred between his comrades and the rebels, near Newinan, when twenty-seven men were lost. He ran against the limb of a tree and rup- tured himself. After this he returned to Vienna Station and went with Kilpatrick on one of his famous raids. Went witlı Col. Cline on a raid, and when near At- lanta, Ga., they destroyed the telegraph line and tore up the railroad track, and continued this work until the enemy be- came too strong for them, when they re- traced their steps to Chattahoochie river. After the Battle of Atlanta they went with Sherman to Jonesboro, where they had a hotly-contested battle, after which only four of his company were left able for duty. They wentinto camp and stayed there until Sherman started for the sea, when our subject went with Thomas and encountered Gen. Hood, with whom they had several hard fights, one at Columbus, November 16, 1864, and November 18, at Franklin, also at Ralls Creek and Duck river. They went into camp at Nashville, and were there until the battle occurred at that point. At Pulaski, Mr. Wheelock had his beard shot off and his shirt collar torn, by rebel lead. On January 1 they crossed the Duck river and camped near Huntsville, and from there they went to Gravelly Springs. During the war our subject had sixteen bullet holes put through his clothing, and had his boot-
heel shot off. A cannon ball shot the nose off of his comrade's horse, at which time the bridle-bits were violently thrown against Mr. Wheelock's shoulder. This was at Nashville. In this campaign they burned everything they came to, and en- countered skirmishes all the time. They captured Montgomery, Columbus and Ma- con. At the last named place news came that Lee had surrendered, also that Pres- ident Lincoln had been assassinated; they also captured the school fund of the State of Tennessee, which they took to Nash- ville. Mr. Wheelock was ordered back to Macon, Ga., and from there to Nashville, where he was discharged August 11, 1865, and was mustered out at Clinton some time afterward.
After the war he returned to Mills County, Iowa, and worked in a sawmill one winter. He had entered a piece of land before the war, and in the spring of 1866 commenced to improve it. Feb- ruary 29, 1864, he was united in marriage at Red Oak, Iowa, to Miss Elizabeth Bur- ris, by whom four children were born- Miranda, Nora, Ira and Alice. Mrs. Wheelock, the mother of these children, was born in Henry County, Ind., April 15, 1847, and in 1858 accompanied her pa- rents to Montgomery County, Iowa.
Our subject started in life for himself with no means, the only money he remem- bers of ever having been given to him was fifty cents, on a Fourth of July, by his father; the balance of what he possesses, which is now a handsome competency, he worked for.
Politically, our subject is identified with the Republican party, is a member of the Grand Army Post at Magnolia, and in re- ligious matters he and his wife are in sym- pathy with the Methodist Church.
In reviewing this man's life by the
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above brief sketch the reader will be im- pressed with the fact that our subject had an excellent war record during the time of the Rebellion, and many times almost miraculously escaped. Since war times he has been a hard worker and a success- ful man, and if any one man above an- other is entitled to wear the crown of success, it is he who tramped, tented and fought under Southern skies during the Civil War.
W ELLS F. WALKER, an enterpris- ing farmer of section 16, Magnolia Township, has been a resident of Harrison County since May, 1857, and worked at the carpenter's trade at Mag- nolia most of the time until 1860, then went to Council Bluffs, and was there un- til the spring of 1861, and then went to the mountains, where he worked at min- ing until the autumn of that year re- turned to Council Bluffs, which he counted his home until 1863, during which time he was in the employ of Frederickson and Jackson, who were engaged in freighting across the plains, and he was employed as a weigh-master, and handled goods for them. In February, 1863, lie started across the plains, taking charge of a train of wagons for them, his objective point being Denver, Col. When they left Coun- cil Bluffs, the snow was twenty inches deep, and he had a four-horse team,loaded with four thousand pounds of ham. They put runners under their loads, and lashed the wheels on and traveled with the sleds four days getting to Elkhorn fifteen miles West of Omaha, at which point he at- tached the wheels, and traveled for fifty days, when they reached Denver. The
same year he made three trips for the com- pany, and after two years in their employ he returned to Harrison County, Iowa and rented a farm in Magnolia Township, continuing to farm on rented land until 1867, and then bought eighty acres of wild land-his present place, and moved a log house from Magnolia for his residence. This house was first built on a claim west of Magnolia, by a Mr. George, and was one of the very first houses built in Har- rison County. This served our subject until about 1877, when he built his present residence a two-story frame structure 16x 22 feet, with an addition 14x16 feet. The pioneer cabin referred to above is still in existence, and is used as a calf stable, by Mr. Walker; could its rough logs but speak, a tale of wonderful interest of pio- neer days it would relate.
In 1883 our subject erected a basement barn 30x40 feet. To his original farm Mr. Walker has added until he now has two hundred and fifty acres, one hundred and fifty are under the plow, while the balance is in meadow and timber land, generally keeping about seventy head of cattle, and does a general farming busi- ness. When he commenced to farm, everything he marketed had to be hauled to Council Bluffs, where he also did most of his trading. He has sold dressed hogs at that point for $2 per hundred weight, and at the same time having to pay $160 for a farm-wagon, without a, brake seat or double-box. When he first went on his farm, there was no schoolhouse, near enough to send his children to, but finally the district was divided, and by furnishing their own schoolhouse, they were enabled to draw on the public fund for money with which to pay their teacher. A few of the neighbors clubbed together, and went down on the Missouri bottoms,
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where they bought cottonwood lumber enough to build a schoolhouse 12x14 feet. This building is now used by Mr. Walker for a granary.
To return to the boyhood days of our subject, the reader is informed that he was born in Fayette County, Ind., Octo- ber 14, 1832, and remained there with his parents until about 1853, and then worked for an uncle in Wabash County until 1857, when he came to Iowa. He was married in Harrison County, April 5, 1863, to Miss Candace E. Hopkins, by whom eleven children have been born: Orrin B., Jan- uary 6, 1864; Alberta, March 13, 1866; Mary M., November 23, 1867; Maude and Morton (twins), July 30, 1869; Charles W., December 19, 1871; Preston G., July 25, 1874; John W., July 25, 1876; Will- iam R., August 5, 1879; Jennie R., Au- gust 17, 1881 and Hattie J., March 4, 1883. Mary M. died September 3, 1868; Charles W., December 22, 1871; and Will- iam R., September 16, 1879. Candace E. (Hopkins) Walker was born in Fleming County, Ky., April 2, 1841, and in 1847 her parents removed to Wabash County, Ind., where they remained until 1859, then came to Harrison County, where Mrs. Walker remained until the time of her marriage.
Elbert Walker, the father of our subject, was born in Georgia, in 1790, came to Fayette County, Ind., with his mother, and remained there until his death in 1849. The mother of our subject, Eliza- beth (Malone) Walker, was born in Ohio, in 1810; her parents coming to Fayette County, Ind., where she was married.
Mrs. Walker's father, Benjamin Hop- kins, was born in Fleming County, Ky., July 15, 1800, and remained there until 1847, then came to Wabash County, Ind., where he remained until 1859, and then
came to Harrison County, Iowa, purchas- ing a farm in Magnolia Township, where he remained until his death, February 19, 1885. The mother of Mrs. Walker, De- lilah (Jones) Hopkins, was born in Mary- land, June 7, 1798, later removed to Ken- tucky, and was married to Benjamin Hop- kins, December4, 1824, and they were the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Walker was the youngest and the only child now living. The mother died in Wabash County, Ind., March 2, 1849, the father being a member of the Christian Church, the mother a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Walker, our subject, is a member of Magnolia Lodge, No. 177, I. O. O. F. Mrs. Walker joined the Christian Church in Indiana, and is still of that belief, but has not united since coming to Iowa.
OHN DICKINSON, a farmer living on section 16, of Cincinnati Town- ship, came to Harrison County in the summer of 1882, and worked by the monthi that summer and in June, 1883, purchased one hundred and thirty acres of improved land, where he now lives. Since then he has bought eighty acres on section 17, which he uses as pasture land. His present farm now consists of one hun- dred and ninety acres, which is under a good state of cultivation.
Our subject was born in Lincolnshire, England, February 13, 1851. He remained there with his parents until the spring of 1876, when he came to Canada, remained one month, and then came to Blair, Neb., and worked on the railroad one year, as a section hand, and continued to follow rail- road grading, etc. until he came to Harri-
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son County. He was married in Harrison County, in February, 1883, to Miss Leona Brownrigg, and they are the parents of two children-John R. and William L. Mrs. Dickinson was born October 30, 1859, in Ohio, and came with her parents to Harrison County. They settled on a farm in Cincinnati Township. Her parents were John and Sarepta J. (Marquis) Brownrigg, who reared a family of twelve children, Mrs. Dickinson being the sixth child.
Of our subject's father, William Dickin- son, it may be said he was a native of England, and died there about 1883. He was married to Sarah Spinks, of England, by which marriage union eleven children were born, our subject being the oldest. He has one brother living in this country, a resident of Washington (State).
Our subject in his political belief is in sympathy with the Democratic party.
OHN S. EDWARDS, a farmer of Lincoln Township, whose well-situ- ated home may be found on section 3, came to Harrison County in July, 1877, when he bought forty acres of wild land, built a small house 14x16 feet, which served as a dwelling until he could do better. He broke out his land, built stables with poles and a hay roof, and went through what so many other men, of small means have had to, in a new country. But being possessed of frugal and industrious habits, he is now in possession of a valua- ble farm of two hundred acres, all fenced, and one hundred and twenty acres of which is improved. His farm house, a model of neatness and good design, is
16x24 feet, with a wing 20x24 feet. He has a barn 18x30 feet, with fourteen-foot posts, and an orchard of one hundred and fifty trees, besides a goodly amount of shade trees.
To acquaint the reader with his earlier life it may be said that our subject was born beyond the seas. He is a native of Wales, and was born November 22, 1841. His parents were William E. and Sarah Edwards, who were the parents of seven children, as follows: Elizabeth; John, Belle, Mary, Sarah, Hattie, Edward. These children are all living, except Mary, and they are all residents of Johnson County, except John. Our subject was but ten years of age when his parents emigrated to America. They landed in New York, and went direct to Manitowoc County, Wis. There our subject remained until he had reached his majority, when he en- listed in the Union Army, becoming a member of Company I, Twenty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry, who did their share towards putting down the great Civil War. He was in the Fifteenth Army Corps, un- der Gen. Sherman. He was at the battle of Milliken's Bend, Vicksburg, and Black River, and remained with the army two years, when he received his discharge, on account of disability. After his return from the service he came to Johnson County, Iowa, and from there to Harrison County.
He was married October 15, 1872, to Mary Buker, daughter of James and So- phia Buker, natives of Maine and Penn- sylvania, respectively. They were parents of five children: Mary, Emery, Hannah, Lucy and Carrie.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwards are the parents of three children : William E., born Sep- tember 26, 1873; Carrie, November 12, 1877, and Earle, September 4, 1890.
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Our subject belongs to Shields Post, No. 83, G. A. R. Mrs. Edwards is a consis- tent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. .
B ATES BRANSON, of St John's Township, will form the subject of this notice. It was in the autumn of 1855, that he pre-empted eighty- six acres of his present farm. He made some improvements that season and lived with Isaac Cox, whose land adjoined him, that winter. The following spring, he worked for him until May 15th. The balance of the summer he worked in Pot- tawattamie County, and in October, went back to Indiana, where he remained dur- ing that winter, and the following spring going to Coffee County Kan., remained two weeks in that locality and then re- turned to Harrison County, Iowa, where he worked on a farm by the month for two years, receiving what was then high wages-$20 per month. In the fall of 1858 he again visited his old home in the Hoosier State, and in the spring of 1860, brought his parents to Harrison County.
Our subject was born in Clay County, Ind., November 6, 1835, and is the son of Jonathan and Malinda (Moore) Branson. The father was a native of Tennessee, while the mother was born in Kentucky. Our subject received his education at the subscription schools in Indiana, and re- mained at home with his parents until he came to Harrison County, in 1855. He accompanied Evan and John S. Moreland, as far as Guthrie County, Iowa, and from there to Harrison County, with his two uncles, Ephraim Moore and Henry Mains. They only remained a short time leaving
our subject in the country alone. At that date everything was new, wild flow- ers bedecked the prairies and the forests were filled with wild game and rank under- growth of vegetation. A herd of deer or elk, might have been seen on almost any hill side, while the groves were alive with wildturkeys. The blue-joint, onthe Missouri bottom, was higher than a inan's head, and surged to and fro, against the passing. wind, like the waves of an ocean. The whole appearance of Harrison County, at that date was that of one green, glad soli- tude.
Our subject was united in marriage Oc- tober 25. 1859, with Mary Ann Evans, in Clay County, Ind., in the house in which he was born, his father having sold the home- stead to William Evans, the father of our subject's wife-so they were both married "at home."
Mary Ann Evans (Branson), was born January 11, 1834, the daughter of William and Sarah (Phillips) Evans, and was the oldest of a family of ten children. Our subject and his wife are the parents of six children-Jennette, born September 6, 1860; now the wife of Oscar Kirkendall, of Logan, Iowa; Sarah Estella, born October 29, 1863, and died November 5, 1870; William T., born June 25, 1866, and mar- ried Joicy Gibson, September 29, 1889 and lives on, and helps operate the home-farm. Luella, born April 11, 1868, married John P. Martin of Missouri Valley; Carrie V. born March 11, 1875, died August 25, 1876; John Thomas, born April 23, 1877, and died January 28, 1879.
Our subject's mother died in Clay Coun- ty, Ind., in the spring of 1855, after which the father again married and moved to Harrison County, Iowa, and died in Pot- tawattamie County in 1881. The step- mother is still living in Pottawattamie
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County, at the advanced age of eighty-one years. Mrs. Branson's mother died Sep- tember 14, 1877, aged sixty-seven years; her father died April 11, 1891, aged seven- ty-nine years.
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To give the reader a more detailed ac- count of Mr. Branson's father's family it should be stated that our subject was the third child of a family of ten children, the names were as follows-William H. a resi- dent of St John's Township; Manervia, deceased, Bates, our subject; Daniel, of Fremont County, Iowa, Samantha (single) of Pottawattamie County; Jane, Mrs. Isaac Skelton Sr. of Pottawattamie Coun- ty Milley, Mrs. Perry Reel residing in the same county, Elizabeth, deceased, Nancy, Mrs. Isaac Skelton Jr. and Isaiah deceased.
C HARLES G. SCOFIELD wended his way to Harrison County during during the month of October, 1856, and settled at Six-Mile Grove, where he remained until 1861, when he and his two oldest sons, William and Moses, enlisted in Company A, Fifth Iowa Cavalry. Charles G., he of whom we write this bio- graphical notice, wore the loyal blue for three years and was honorably discharged at Atlanta, Ga., September 14, 1864. His sons served until the close of the war.
Mr. Scofield was born in Warren County, Ohio, February 22, 1816, and is the son of William and Lydia (Abbott) Scofield, and when he was eight years of age, he was bereft of his father who died, and was then bound out to John Jacoby, of Greene County, Ohio, at whose place our subject remained until sixteen years of age. He then went to work by the month, following that until the time of
his marriage, the date of which was Sep- tember 17, 1840. He married Matilda Frasier, daughter of Israel Frasier, who was a native of Virginia, and was the mother ofseven children-William, Moses, Adelia, Stephen, Solomon, Diana, and George, who died, aged nine months.
In November, 1860, our subject's wife died at Six-Mile Grove, and soon after he entered the army as above referred to. After the close of the war and on March 5, 1865, he married Mary A. Richardson, widow of Marvin F. Richardson, and set- tled on the site of his present home on section 18, Jefferson 'Township.
By his last marriage five children have been born-Emma J., Charles Sherman, who died at the age of nine months; Oda I., Myra C. and Katie.
Mr. Scofield's sons, William and Moses, after coming out of the army, went to Cal- ifornia in 1874, and now live in Colo- rado. In reviewing so much of this man's life it must now be recorded that since 1875, or for a period of sixteen years, the light of day has been shut out from the " windows of his soul," as he was stricken with blindness, as a result of his exposure and hardships while serving as a Union Soldier in the War of the Rebellion.
B ENJAMIN F. MARKS, a highly respected farmer located on section 13, of Lincoln Township, has been a resident of Harrison County since 1865.
He was born January 3, 1835, and is a son of Jonathan N. and Adaline (Prior) Marks, natives of Connecticut, who had six children in the following order: Ed-
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gar B., Merritt, Amelia, Benjamin F., Elnora H., and Isaac B.
Our subject, Benjamin F., left the High School when seventeen years of age, and clerked in a store for four years, and then went to Chicago, where he was a dry- goods clerk for six years. While there he had the opportunities to obtain lots at $100 each, which would be worth a for- tune to-day, but they were so low and wet that he did not consider them worth $5 apiece. From Chicago he drifted to Texas, New Mexico and Florida. In 1862 he enlisted in the Eighteenth Wis- consin Infantry at Corinth, Miss. . He wore the loyal blue for three years and two months, and received an honorable discharge in Washington in 1865. He then went to Iowa, locating in Harrison County, where he has been ever since.
He was united in marriage New Year's Day, 1868, with Mary Jane Johnson, daughter of Nathan and Margaret John- son, natives of Virginia, who had two children, of whom our subject's wife was the youngest. Her father was an old set- tler in this county, and served a number of terms as County Supervisor from Lin- coln Township.
Mr. and Mrs. Marks are the parents of · eight children-Maggie E., born August 29, 1870; Marietta A., September 12, 1873; Harriet A., December 30, 1874; Katie E., March 30, 1876; Emma S., Oc tober 22, 1877; Harry B., September 19, 1879; James Wilson, November 26, 1884 ; and Edward E., August 13, 1886.
Mr. Marks has held many of the local offices, and has been Township Clerk for fifteen years. Mrs. Marks is a member of the Christian Church.
When our subject first came to the county, he worked in a sawmill on the Boyer River, in Harrison Township, the
same being owned by A. K. Grow. and has since been washed away. After he had worked there between two and three years, he engaged in farming in Lincoln Township, which he still follows.
h OMER D. HULBURD, a farmer of section 15, Lincoln Township, has been a resident of Harrison County, since the autumn of 1868. He ac- companied his parents here, he being only twelve years old at the time. He was born at Waterville, Vt., April 4, 1856, and lived there until he came to Harrison County. His father's name was Daniel, and his mother's name Mary J. (Betty) Hulburd, who had no other children but our subject.
He was married January 10, 1878, to Gertrude Evans, the daughter of J. C. and Elizabeth Evans, who had two chil- dren, Alexander M. and Gertrude, both of whom are living. Our subject and his wife have been blessed with four children : Lester A., born October 21, 1878; Loyal D., June 12, 1882; Edith J., September 14, 1883; and William F., December 15, 1885.
Upon coming to Harrison County, his father bought eighty acres of wild land on section 15, Lincoln Township, paying $3.80 per acre for this. He broke fifty acres of this land, the balance being young timber. Homer D. remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age and then bought the land he now occupies, paying $11 per acre for the same. This was a wild tract, which he improved by breaking, erecting buildings, sinking wells, etc. To his original tract he has added, until he now owns two hundred
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acres, one hundred and thirty of which are under cultivation.
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