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 39
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sian centuries ago. The very figures of floor cloth on which the Shalı Malı- moud walked in the teuth century, the shawl patterns that adorned the hero- ines of Jamind of Hatiz are imitated in the looms of England and the United States to-day. In architecture and fine arts, as in the decorative art, the Persians of the Middle ages achieved notable success. - North American Review.
Br sure, sir, that idle bread is the
factive change had commenced. Vari- ous methods of effecting these resusci- tations are described, the most original and effective being that of pumping warm defibrinated and oxygenized blood into an artery in such a manner that the stroke of the pump shall cor- respond with the natural pulsations of the artery, and to the stroke of the eart, which is thus awakened to its customary work. The action of per- xide of hydrogen in reanimating the lood and restoring animal heat in a really dead body is quite startling. Dr. Richardson's paper appears to jus- ify the conclusion that a drowned or uffocated man is not hopelessly dead o long as the bodily organs remain un- njured 'dy violence or disease, and the lood remains sufficiently liquid to be et in motion artificially, and supplied with a little oxygen to start the chem- cal movements of life.
Cuban Railways.
About the only instance of competi- ion which I have encountered in Cuba s that between the two lines of railway extending from Havana to ,Matanzas. In general railway fare is phenomenal- y high. The tariff from Havana to Cienfuegos, on the southern coast, is $16 in gold, and the railway company held a meeting not long ago to ascer- tain, if possible, why the receipts don't exceed the expenses. But a first-class fare by the longest of the two routes to this city is only $1.10, and by the short- est, $1.50. Second and third-class fares are proportionally cheaper. The ong route has a train which pushes right through in two hours and thirty minutes, without stopping, save two or hree times at railway junctions.
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be the man to present to the presiden- rial convention in case Mr. Seward could Got be nominated. Mr. Lincoln in- formed these gentlemen of his engage- ment, but said he would speak in New York if the Brooklyn Club gave its con- sent. That club agreed to do so on condition that an admission fee of 25 cents be charged. This was the reason why 2,000 people that night paid for the privilege of entering the lecture- room in Cooper Institute to hear Mr. Lincoln make a political speech.
Mr. Lincoln was introduced by Mr. Bryant, with some very complimentary allusions, especially as to his contro- versy with Mr. Douglas.
When Mr. Lincoln came on the plat- form and was introduced by Mr. Bryant he seemed a giant in contrast with him. His first sentence was delivered in a peculiarly high-keyed voice, and dis- appointed us. In a short time the sharp points of his address began to come, and he had not been speaking for half an hour before his audience seemed wild with enthusiasm. In its sharp analysis, and clear statements, and abundant proofs, and its sparkling humor, it was not a whit behind Mr. Corwin's great political speech in 1843, on the Texas question. In saying this pay Mr. Lincoln the highest compli- ment I can.
That speech, as I am told, made Mr. Lincoln the presidential candidate in 1860 .- President J. F. Tuttle, in Bos- ton Congregationalist.
The Esthetics of the Middle Ages.
The Persians early acquired repute as a people of taste, invention and ar- istic skill. The finest silks, the richest velvets, the costliest brocades, the soft- est and rarest carpets and the most splendid tissues were of Persian origin. The art newly discovered in America and Europe, how to combine great variety of colors with perfect harmony, and to delight the eye with soft and pleasing gradations, producing a rich composite effect from the simplest vents, was original with the Per-
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Tourists ordinarily make the trip out by one route and back by the other.
A railway train in Cuba is not such curiosity as one in India, Burmah, or ven Europe. The rolling-stock was
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HARRISON COUNTY.
She is the daughter of Abram and Laura DeLong, who were the parents of five chil- dren, Adelia being the second of her fatlı- er's family.
He not unlike the majority of American citizens prizes the right of franchise and exercises that right by working for, and voting with the Republican party.
Having been reared in, and trained un- der the influence of a God-fearing people, both he and his wife adhere to the gener- ally accepted faith of the orthodox church.
MSEY BEEDLE, of whom we now write, was born February 11, 1841, in Warren County, Ohio, came to Council Bluffs in April, 1852, and to Harrison County in August, 1856. His step-father, Alexander E. McCoy, built the first house in Jeddo, and later on put an addition to it in which he conducted a general store, continuing the same for two years. Mr. Beedle was but sixteen years of age at the time of coming to the county, and in the spring of 1857 he em- barked in life for himself by working on a farm by the month for George Thorpe for two years.
In August, 1862, he enlisted as a mem- ber of Company C, Twenty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, serving three years. After having faithfully served his country, peace having been declared, he received an honorable discharge at Davenport, Iowa, in August, 1865. He then purchased a horse, riding across the State to Harri- son County, arriving about September 1st. For five years he worked in Dalley & Co.'s woolen mills at Woodbine, and during the
time purchased eighty acres of land on section 13, of Jefferson Township. He lived on the land about one year, sold it and went into a sawmill, located at Six-Mile Creek near Jeddo. He bought the place on which he now lives in 1876. At first he purchased forty acres but has kept adding until now he is the possessor of a half section of Harrison County's valuable land-two hundred of which are in Jeffer- son and one hundred and twenty acres in Cass.
Mr. Beedle, our subject, was married in 1861, to Mary J. Hall, daughter of Dr. D. M. Hall, who settled in Douglas Town- ship in an early day. He was again mar- ried January 1, 1868, to Elizabeth A. Keirnes, a native of Missouri, born Jan- uary 1, 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Beedle are the parents of seven children as follows : Carry, Laura, George, Bessie, Laverna, Jessie, and Maude.
Mr. Beedle is a pensioner under the act of June 27, 1890.
P ETER KIRLEY, a resident of St. John's Township, residing on sec- tion 36, came to the county in 1871, having lived in Pottawattamie County, from one year previous to that date. He purchased from James Seaton eighty acres of his present farm, which he at once commenced to improve. The farm house he moved from its old loca- tion to where it now stands. A few years ago he planted out a fine orchard.
To inform the reader of more of the de- tails of this man's life, we will ask him to let his thoughts wander across the At-
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lantic Ocean to the County of Monaghan, in the north of Ireland, where our subject was born March 4, 1840. His grandfather, Bernard Kirley, was a farmer of that county, who had four children, the father of our subject, Peter Kirley, being the eld- est. His mother was Ann Carr, of the County of Monaghan, Ireland. In our sub- ject's father's family there were six chil- dren-Owen, now deceased; Mary, Mrs. McBride, of Missouri Valley; Bernard, a resident of Duke Centre, Pa .; Patrick, now of Louisville, Ky .; Peter, our sub- ject; Michael, now of Taylorstown, Pa.
Our subject's early life spent in Ireland, and in 1855, with his father and younger brother he sailed for America. From New York harbor they went to Rochester, N. Y. The father and older sons were me- chanics and worked in a factory while the younger sons went to school. In 1859 the father rented a farm near Rochester, where our subject remained until 1863, which was the middle of the Civil War period in this country. March 13, of that year, he enlisted in Company D, Eighty- ninth Volunteer Infantry, as a private, and was assigned to the Army of the Po- tomac under Gens. Perry and Ord. He participated in the following battles : Siege of Petersburg, and battle of Peters- burg; battle of the Wilderness, where the transport containing the regiment sunk in the James River; they were at Fair Oaks, where our subject was wounded in the right shoulder by the explosion of a shell, which laid him up for some time, but he again joined his regiment and was in the engagement at Hatchie's Run; and was Appomattox at the time of Lee's sur- render. He marched back to Richmond, was taken sick and laid in the hospital for three weeks, and was discharged in Au- gust, 1865, and mustered out at Elmira,
N. Y. He was sick for over a year after his return, and as the father had rented a large farm he assisted him until 1871, when the father and himself came to Har- rison County.
Our subject was married April 29, 1874, in Council Bluffs, to Miss Nora Manly, who was the daughter of Patrick and Bridget (Noonan) Manly, natives of Ire- land, who came to the United States in 1855. Her father died in Ireland and her mother in Nebraska in 1870. Our subject and his wife have been blessed by one child-Annie, born August 25, 1877. They belong to the Roman Catholic Church at Missouri Valley.
Mr. Kirley is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and in his political choice affiliates with the Democratic party.
S AMUEL N. DALE came to Har- rison County in November, 1881, from Harrison County, Mo., and in March, 1882, moved to his present place, which he had bought the winter before. It is situated on section 11, Jef- ferson Township, comprising ninety-five acres. He later purchased forty acres, giving him one hundred and thirty-five acres, twenty-five acres of which is timber land. His place is well located on Six- Mile Creek.
Mr. Dale was born in Hart County, Ky., February 19, 1848, son of Abraham Dale, a native of the same State, born November 2, 1804, and is still living in Harrison County, Mo. The mother was Martha (Masters) Dale, born in Kentucky in 1819. Abraham Dale and wife were
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the parents of ten children, our subject being the fifth child.
When twenty-one years of age our sub- ject, just entering man's estate, full of ambition to accomplish something in life, started for himself, his first work being splitting rails and working at various things for two years, at the end of which time he had saved enough of his earnings to purchase a team, and went to farming ; for four years he rented, then bought a farm on the State line, of which ten acres were in Iowa. This he held and farmed until coming to Harrison County.
Our subject was married December 1, 1872, to Martha J. Deputy, a native of Indiana, born November 7, 1853. She was the daughter of Solomon and Lucy (Law- rence) Deputy, and was the eldest of seven children. The parents are now res- idents of Woodbine, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Dale are the parents of six children : Nellie A., Laura E., Harvey and Minnie C. (twins), Bennie C. and Elsie C. (twins), all living at home. The history of this man's life shows the advantages of living in this, the "Middle Kingdom," where honest industry is always rewarded for its labors, and men of small means may be surrounded by the comforts of good society and a pleasant home.
Politically, our subject votes with the Republican party, and in religious matters believes in the creed of the Baptist Church.
E DWIN ERVIN came to Harrison County June 22, 1856, and located on section 36, of Jefferson Town- ship, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land, upon which he
lived until the spring of 1862, and then moved to his present place on section 35.
Mr. Ervin was born in Washington County, Ind., May 4, 1824. His parents were Robert and Isabella (McNight) Er- vin, who reared a family of ten children, our subject being the fourth. The father was a farmer, and died in Indiana April 12, 1866. His birthplace was in Ken- tucky, the date being April 25, 1797. His wife is also a native of Kentucky, born April 28, 1797, and died in Indiana.
Our subject remained at home until eighteen years of age, when he started out in life for himself. He worked out by the month, chopping wood and clearing up timber land, for which he received $7.00 per month. In 1845 he pur- chased eighty acres of land in Howard County, Ind., which he sold the following spring, and in June of that year enlisted in the United States Army as a Mexican soldier, serving until the spring of 1847, when he was discharged at Mattimaurice, Mexico, and then returned home, pur- chased one hundred and twenty acres of land in Howard County, which later on he sold, and purchased a farm in Cass County, in the State of Indiana, which he sold in the spring of 1856, and came to Harrison County, Iowa. He came over- land with two horse teams and four yoke of oxen. Notwithstanding this journey was made over trackless prairies and unbridged streams, it will always be remembered by our subject as one of the most enjoyable trips he ever made. Within his "Prairie Schooner" might have been seen a happy family, wending their way Westward, like the Star of Em- pire, in search of a new home in the West.
Our subject was united in marriage February 1, 1849, to Catharine (Rider) Riggle, daughter of David and Mary Ann
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Riggle. She was born in Ohio, November 20, 1829, and is the youngest child of a family of fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to manhood and womanhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Ervin are the parents of three children-Mary E., born April 2, 1850; William E., December 2, 1855, died June 16, 1858; and an infant son, born May 14, 1861, died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Ervin affiliates with the Republican party. He stands high in the community in which he has resided for so many years.
C LARK E. SWAN, a farmer, located on section 31 of Union Township, close to Harrison County, in the spring of 1869. With no means to begin operations upon, however, he secured eighty acres of land in La Grange Town- ship, paying $4 per acre for
the same, at least agreeing to. He made substantial improvement on the place, and remained there until 1881, when he sold out and bought his present place, which at that time was partly improved, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres in La Grange Township. His place contains first-class buildings including a two-story frame house, built after a modern design.
Our subject was born in Jefferson County, N. Y., July 6, 1842, and is the son of Emulus and Catherine (Van- skiver) Swan, who had seven children named as follows -Lucinda, Albert, de- ceased, Elenor, Clark E., Sarah, deceased, Allie and Bayron.
Our subject lived with his parents until
he arrived at his majority, attending school winters, and assisting on the farm summers. When he was twenty-one years old, he enlisted in Company F. Twentieth New York Cavalry, under Capt. Reynolds and Col. Lord. He was mustered in at Sackett's Harbor, and from there went to Washington, and on to Norfolk, Va, where he did picket duty, and was with Butler in his Peninsu- lar campaign, also with Grant in front of Richmond, and Petersburg, wearing the royal blue until the close of the Rebellion, receiving his discharge, at Manchester, Va., but mustered out at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y. While he never re- ceived a wound, yet his health was greatly impaired. He remained in Jefferson County, N. Y., and then came to Iowa.
Mr. Swan was united in marriage July 1, 1868 to Kittie Caswell, daughter of Henry and Kittie Caswell, who were the parents of two children. The parents were natives of Canada, but they were married in New York. Our subject and his wife are the parents of three children named as follows :- Bert, born June 27, 1871; Fred, February 28, 1873; Hattie, July 2, 1878. All are living at home.
Politically, our subject is identified with the Republican party.
W ICKLIFFE B. COPELAND takes rank among the early settlers of Harrison County. He came to St. John's in November, 1852, and remained there two years, and in February, 1855, removed to the site of his present home, having taken the claim in the fall of 1852,
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and moved a small pole shanty to the place (which had been built by the Mormons) which he used until he could- erect a log cabin, which had the primitive puncheon floor, and shakes for roofing. Their near- est post office and trading point was Kanes- ville (now Council Bluffs). Mr. Copeland was born in Jackson County, Ind., in Jan- uary 1823. He is the son of Hugh and Charlotte (Alexander) Copeland. The fa- ther was a native of North Carolina, born in 1786, and died in Fremont County, Iowa, aged about eighty-six years. Our subject's mother was a native of the South, and died in Fremont County, Iowa, in 1861.
When our subject was twenty years old, he commenced trying the realities of life for himself. He worked as a common la- borer until he was married in 1845, to Ma- linda Frazier, a native of Tennessee, who was the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Shafer) Frazier. Her father died in In- diana in 1851, and her mother in Pottawat- tamie County, about 1870.
Mr. and Mrs. Copeland are the parents of nine children-F. J., Mary J., Vincent S., Amanda J., Oliver H., Perry, Cather- ine S., William T. and James H. When Mr. Copeland came from Indiana to Har- rison County, he made the trip by ox- teams, and was a year on the road, for they stopped at Ottumwa, and also in Missouri. He and his wife are members of the Baptist Church.
LFRED BESSIRE, a resident of section 1, St.John's Township, came to the county in October, 1875. He was born in Wayne County, Ohio, November 2, 1854, and is a son of Eugene
and Mary Ann (Grimm) Bessire, natives of Switzerland. The father was born June, 7, 1823, and the mother November 7, 1830. The father came to America in 1849, and settled in Wayne County, Ohio. The mother came to America in 1833, her par- ents also settling in Wayne County, Ohio. His parents were united in Wayne County, December 29, 1849. To them were born eight children, seven sons and one daugh- ter, all living except one. They came to Harrison County in 1875, and lived in St. John's Township. Alfred was the third child in the family, and received his edu- cation at the district schools of Allen County, Ohio, to which location his par- ents moved when he was one year old. When nineteen years of age he started for himself, by working on a farm by the month. Not unlike other men, an import- ant event of his life was that of his mar- riage, March 4, 1875.
Our subject was united to Clara Bell Shaw, a native of Allen County, Ohio, born May 17, 1857, the daughter of John E. and Eliza (Hedges) Shaw. She was the oldest child and only daughter of a family of four children. Six months after their marriage, this young couple came to Harrison County, Iowa. Their home has been blessed by the advent of four chil- dren : Bertha Pearl, born April 12, 1878; Howard D., March 15, 1880; Otto L., Feb- ruary 22, 1885; and Lawrence, born No- vember 16, 1889, died in infancy.
Our subject and his wife are members of the Christian Church, having united in 1883. In his early manhood, Mr. Bessire was a Democrat, as was his father before him, but on account of the stand they took regarding the liquor traffic, he has since voted with the Republican party.
Upon coming to the county, our subject rented land for one season, and then
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bought forty acres on section 1, St. John's Township, to which he has added forty acres. He now has a well-improved farm, and is surrounded by the comforts of life. In 1876 he erected a house, to which he made an addition in 1883, and remodeled the same in 1891.
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OHN H. FISCHER, one of Harri- son County's representative farmers came to this county, in March, 1883, and removed to his present farm on section 24, Jefferson Township, having purchased the same the fall before. He has two hundred and forty acres of well- improved land, one hundred and thirty- five being under cultivation ; twenty acres in timber, the balance in pasture and meadow.
Mr. Fischer was born in Prussia, Ger- many, January 1, 1830, and is the son of Herman H. and Catherine (Willman) Fischer, who died in Germany before our subject sailed for America. He sailed for America in November, 1847, landing at New Orleans, January 1, 1848, and im- mediately went to Putnam County, Ill., where for two years he worked at a hotel and on the canal one season, subsequently he rented a farm, operating the same for five years. He then came to Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa, and remained until coming to this county.
Our subject was married December 10, 1856, in Bureau County, Ill., to Mary Neiderbroker, a native of Prussia, who came to America with one sister in 1855; the mother died in Germany and the fa- ther came to Missouri in 1857. Our sub- ject and his wife have reared a family of
eight children-Fred H., Amelia, Charlie F., Edward W., Robert H., Matilda M., Albert H., Andrew A. F., all of whom are living.
Mr. Fischer politically votes with the Republican party. Upon arriving in this country, he only possessed $21, and has accumulated a handsome competency, through his own energy and hard labor. At one time he worked as low as $6 per month, clothed himself and saved some money. The highest wages received per month was $12 and his washing, which was given him when working on the canal. This case but illustrates what an honest, painstaking, adopted citizen, coming to our shores from a foreign land, may ac- complish under our peculiar form of Gov- ernment.
EHIGH DAKAN, a farmer located on section 17, Union Township, moved to the farm on which he now lives in the spring of 1876. His farm con- sists of one hndred and twenty acres, pay- ing $8.65 per acre. He built a house 22x28 feet, with a wing 12x16 feet; dug a well, erected out buildings, put up a windmill, and set out an orchard of one hundred trees. He has added to his farm until it now contains two hundred and eighty acres.
Our subject was born March 17, 1840, in Ohio. He is a son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth (Shaffer) Dakan, who had five children. Our subject lived at home, until about twenty years of age, when he enlisted in Company E, Thirty-eight Ohio Infantry, and was in the Army of the Cumberland, under Gen, Thomas, and
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remained in the army until May, 1864. He was in tlie battles of Mill Spring, Murfreesboro, the siege of Vicksburg and other engagements. He served under his original enlistment until April 4, 1863, and was discharged at St. Louis, Mo., and was then appointed captain of Com- pany K, Mississippi Marine Brigade, by Edwin M. Stanton, then Secretary of War. He served in this capacity until May, 1874, when he was discharged at Vicksburg, Miss.
Upon his return home he went to farming, coming to Harrison County in 1876. Poli- tically Mr. Dakan is a Republican, " first, last and all the time."
He was married March 29, 1868, to Adaline Lincoln, daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Kay) Lincoln, natives of Ohio, who had seven children. Mr. and Mrs. Dakan are the parents of four children- William L., born April 29, 1869; Nellie A., December 22, 1870; Harry L., July 22, 1874, and Pearl, September 27, 1885.
S HEDERICK B. CARD, a resident of section 10, Jefferson, came to Harrison County with his family May 10, 1854, and settled at Six-Mile Grove, Cass Township, where he bought a piece of land on section 20, and remained there thirteen years, and then went to Ohio, and remained in that State eighteen months, and there sold his Har- rison County farm. He soon returned and settled at Whitesboro; the land he selected was the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of section 10, Jefferson Township. He rented land there until 1874, and then moved to his present place,
Upon going to this land all was wild and new, with no improvements, and as one looks at his present well improved farm, they are convinced of the fact that he has not been an idle man.
To learn something of our subject's earlier life and ancestry, it may be said that he was born in Portage County, Ohio,. February 4, 1833. He is a son of Bostwick S. and Hannah (Blackburn) Card, and is the fourth in a family of eight children. He spent his early years 'midst the forests and prairie openings of the Buckeye State. He attended the common district schools in his native State and one term after coming to Harrison County.
Mr. Card remained at home until he was married, which event occurred No- vember 13, 1853. His wife's maiden name was Susan M. Chamberlain, who was a native of Ohio, born December 14, 1835, and the daughter of Peter and Susan (Hamilton) Chamberlain. She is the youngest child in a family of seven chil- dren. The father and mother both died in Ohio, the latter dying in 1867.
Mr. and Mrs. Card have been blessed with six children-Clara, born in 1854; twins, who died in infancy; Orlin O., born in 1863; Lorin, in 1871; and Clay, in 1875. When Mr. Card came to Harrison County he was $5 in debt. He came down the Ohio River to St. Louis, and from there to St. Joseph, and there hired livery and came to this county. The first summer after he came here he worked at any la- bor he could do; he remained eighteen months before he bought his land.
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