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 43
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122
24
396
HARRISON COUNTY.
company as soon as the surgeon would allow him to. He was also in the battles of Corinth, Iuka, and Vicksburg. He was also at the battle of Atlanta, where brave Gen. McPherson was killed, and where Gen. John A. Logan commenced his brilliant career. Here fifteen of our sub- ject's company were taken prisoners. After coming out of the service, the last bugle having sounded and peace fully es- tablished, our subject returned to Har- rison County, and like legions of his com- rades, again became a tiller of the soil.
To acquaint our readers with our sub- ject's earlier career, it may be stated in this connection, that he was born May 12, 1832, in Wethersfield, Vt., and is the son of Levi and Mary (Griswold) Boynton. The father was born March 10, 1787, in Connecticut, and was of English descent. The father married Mary Griswold, June 26, 1812. He passed from the scenes of this life at Wethersfield, when our subject was but three years old, the date of his death being May 10, 1835. His mother died at the same place May 15, 1832, three days after his birth. It was found by referring to a genealogical register by Frederick Field, that Mrs. Mary (Gris- wold) Boynton (mother of our subject) was born at Westfield, Conn., June 28, 1783, and was the second child of a family of ten children, born to Daniel and Anna (Ames) Griswold. Daniel's ancestors date back to Sir Humphrey Griswold, of Mal- vern Hall, England, but the first record of coming to this country, was when Ed- ward and Mathew, brothers, came to America in 1645, and settled in Connecti- cut. Edward, the direct ancestor of Daniel, was born in England in 1607. married there and had a family of nine children, one of whom was John, who was born August 15, 1658, and married and had
a family of four children, after which his wife died, and he was again married to Bathsheba North, by whom eleven chil- dren were born, among whom was Joseph, born September 26, 1690. He married Temperance Lay, December 29, 1714, and had a family of children, one of whom was John, who married Mary Ward, and reared a family of twelve children, of whom David, father of Mrs. Boynton, was the eighth child. The date of his birth be- ing December 5, 1762. He married Anna (Sinthal) Ames, of South Farms, Middle- town, Conn., in January, 1826, and they had a family of ten children. The mother was born February 17, 1764, and died June 8, 1826, and the husband was again mar- ried to Mrs. Abigal (Davis) Woodbury, June 6, 1832, and she survived him.
When our subject, Mr. Boynton, was three years old, he was left without father or mother, and went to live with his oldest sister, Mary Sherwin, where he resided until he was seven years old, and then went to live with his next youngest sister, Emily Robinson, of Addison County, Vt., and during the two years with them, they moved to Washington County. In each of these two counties our subject attended district school. At the age of sixteen he returned to Windsor County, where his sister, Martha Topey, lived, and there re- . mained until twenty one years of age. In the nineteenth year of his age he attended the Springfield Wesleyan Seminary one term, and in October. 1853, he, with about one thousand dollars in money (the most of which had been bequeathed him by his parents), "started West to grow up with the country." He came to Sangamon County, Ill., where for one year he worked out by the month, and the next year rented land. In January, 1856, he again started West, this time making his way
397
HARRISON COUNTY.
on horseback to Harrison County, Iowa, where he had friends living. By exposure on the way he froze his face and ears, and that night travelled until ten o'clock be- fore he could get a place to stay. At that late hour of the night he reached Winterset.
After having pioneered it in Harrison County, and marched and tented and fought under the burning Southern sky, with none but men for companions, our subject very naturally, after the close of the war, sought the heart. and hand of one of the gentler sex, and upon January 2, 1867, he was married to Mrs. Hattie (Cut- ler) Day, a native of Illinois, and May 22, 1867, she died. July 3, 1888, after having lived a widower for eleven years, he was united in marriage to Mrs. Irena (Best) Elma, a native of Adams County, Wis. By this marriage union two children were born-Carrie I. and Ida M.
Politically, Mr. Boynton is a Republi- can. He belongs to no church or civic society. He has seen the hardships co- incident to pioneer life, having hauled wheat to Council Bluffs, and sold it for 35 cents, one-half being in trade, at that. He now has in his home farm six hundred and eight acres, and all told seven hundred and twenty-two acres, of which about two hundred are under the plow; three hundred and sixty in pasture, and the balance in timber and meadow.
Since living in Iowa, he has made four trips to the old Green Mountain State, where he was born, and attended the Cen- tennial, in 1876, at Philadelphia. The Boynton family hold reunions each year, and are now publishing a family genea- logical record, which cannot fail of being of much value.
To thoroughly understand part of this man's success, it should be stated that he
has never allowed his name to be pre- sented for any public office, believing that he had all he could do, and do well, to re- main at home, and attend to his own pri- vate interests, let alone the interests of the public. The house he erected in 1861 has served as a shelter from the cold blasts in winter and the sun and rains of the summer-just thirty years-and in the autumn of 1891 Mr. Boynton and family moved into their new apartments, which is a large two-story frame house, second to none in the township in way of archi- tecture or finish. If you go to his house to-day you will find him the same plain "home spun" man that you found in 1856, while Mrs. Boynton will convince you you are welcome.
C ALVIN SCHRODER, of the firm of Schroder & Martin, hardware, har- ness and implement dealers at Modale, forms the subject of this sketch. In January 1890, Mr. Schroder engaged in the hardware business, beginning with about $1,100, and in May 1891, he took in Reuben A. Martin as a partner, at which time he added agricultural implements and a harness shop. The firm now carry about $3,000 worth of goods. Our subject was born in Lewis County, Mo., Septem- ber 9, 1863. He is the son of Henry and Jane A. (Waggener) Schroder. When he was four years of age, in August 1867, the family came to Harrison County, Iowa. The father having died in Missouri, the mother married a man by the name of Benjamin Martin and they settled on the land Modale is now on. He platted and called it "Martinville,"
398
HARRISON COUNTY.
and here they remained until the fall of 1879, Mr. Martin having died in the autumn of 1875. The mother married for her third husband Mr. D. M. Arnold, who took a homestead in Antelope County, Neb., and died there in 1833. The family then came back to Harrison County, and settled in Cincinnati Township and from there removed to Modale. The mother died in March 1884.
Our subject farmed near town, until he went into business. He was married in Harrison County, May 7, 1884, to Miss Martha E. Clifton. Four children have been born to them-Ray L., Arthur E., Harry H., (deceased), and Grace.
Martha E. (Clifton) Schroder, daughter of Joseph and Sarah E. (Hargadine) Clifton was born in Peoria County, Ill., November 28, 1862, and in September 1875, came to Montgomery County, Iowa, and in 1878 they moved to Clark County, Neb., and in 1881, to this county, and settled in Taylor Township.
Our subject obtained his education at the common schools. Politically, he is a Republican, and is now Township Clerk, and was appointed to the office of Mayor of Modale in the summer of 1890, and was elected to that office in March 1891. He is a member of the Odd Fellows' order, belonging to Mondamin Lodge, No. 192. His wife is a member of the Christian Church.
P W. SCHWERTLE, a resident of Section 17, of Taylor Township, was born in Magnolia Township, April 8, 1858, and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years
old. He is a son of Frederick and Salome (Brecht) Schwertle. At the above named age, he went to farming for him- self in Clay Township, his father giving him the use of seventy acres of land for three years, at the end of which time he purchased it. In 1887, he owned two hundred and forty acres in Clay Township, which he traded for his liome in Taylor Township, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres.
Our subject received his early education in the common schools . of Harrison County, and attended the High School at Magnolia one term, as well as the High School at Missouri Valley one term. He was united in marriage in Taylor Town- ship, September 12, 1837, to Miss Eliza- beth O'Connor, daughter of John and Mary (Marley) O'Connor. By this mar- riage union three children have been born -Salome M., Frederick J., and John.
Elizabeth (O'Connor) Schwertle, was born near Davenport, Iowa, September 12, 1861, and accompanied her parents to Harrison County in 1869.
LPHONSO SPOONER, a lumber- man at Mondamin, came to Harri- son County in 1871. He is a native of the State of New York, and is the son of P. C. and Amelia (Ogden) Spooner. The father is still living but the mother passed from the scenes of this life April 23, 1890. Our subject was born in 1843, in Warren County, N. Y. His early life was spent in his native State. He received his education at the village schools, and later on graduated at East- man's Business College, at Poughkeepsie,
399
HARRISON COUNTY.
N. Y. He came West in the employ of the Union Pacific railroad company, fur- nishing timbers for bridges, culverts, etc. He was with the company three years and went West as the road was constructed. In 1873, he established his present busi- ness, hardware, lumber and agricultural implements. Our subject was united in marriage, February, 1870, at Laramie City, to Lizzie Healey, the daughter of John and Mary Healey. She died in January 1885, leaving the following children :- Irving, born in 1871; Sumner, in 1875; Grace, in 1877; and Carrie, in 1880. Our subject was again married in March, 1887, · to Miss Olive A. Bryant, of Ohio, the daughter of Hopkins and Mary E. Bryant.
Mr. and Mrs .. Spooner are members of the Congregational Church. He be- longs to the Masonic and Odd Fellows' Lodges, and in politics affiliates with the Republican party.
P HENRY CADWELL, farmer and stock-raiser of section 36, Magnolia Township, was born in Harrison County, Iowa, on the farm upon which he now lives, December 8, 1860, having al- ways resided upon the same place. When his father removed to Logan, he remained on the homestead and took charge of the place for his father, until January, 1884, when he bought eighty acres of the place and his father gave him one hundred and sixty acres, making two hundred and forty in all.
Mr. Cadwell was married in Cass Town- ship, March 15, 1882, to Miss Magdalene Aleck, and by this marriage union one child has been born, Carrie, born January
25, 1883. Our subject's wife was born March 26, 1861, in Cass Township, and re- mained at home until her marriage, with the exception of. three years spent in school teaching.
Mr. Cadwell politically is a Republican, and was nominated in the summer of 1885, as a candidate for the office of County Auditor, but was defeated at the election.
AMA M. FYRANDO, a merchant at the Village of Magnolia, to- gether with interesting facts con- cerning his parents, will form the subject matter of this notice.
He was born at Mt. Pleasant, Utah, July 26, 1865, and when nine months old, his parents started with ox-teams for Omaha, Neb., reaching that point in the in the spring of 1866, and remained there until the spring of 1869, when they re- moved to Blair, Neb., where they resided until the spring of 1874, and then came to Magnolia. Here our subject remained with his parents until the spring of 1887, when he went into the general merchan- dise business, in partnership with J. F. Mintun, the firm being known as J. F. Mintun & Co. In March 1889 our subject's father bought Mr. Mintun's share in the business, when the style of the firm was changed to M. Fyrando & Son, and so stands to this time, his father having died November 22, 1890.
Politically, our subject is identified with the Neutral party, although naturally a Democrat. He belongs to the Latter-Day Saints' Church, and is president of the Magnolia branch. He united with the church July 26, 1874, and was ordained
400
HARRISON COUNTY.
an Elder December 8, 1888, and chosen District Secretary the same day; Decem- ber 15, 1888, he was chosen President of the Magnolia branch.
Magnus A. Fyrando, the father of our subject, was born in, or near, Malmo, Sweden, September 28, 1836, and remained in his native country until 1857, when he, with a company of emigrants, sailed for America, having Utah for their objective point. Upon landing in New York har- bor they came direct to Omaha, Neb., from which point they made an ox-team, overland trip to Utah, arriving in the " Promised Land " in the spring of 1859, and remained there until 1866, when they returned to Omaha, by ox-train, and re- mained there until 1869, and in 1874 came to Magnolia. He embraced the religion of the Latter-Day Saints in Sweden, when only sixteen years of age, and was or- dained an Elder at the age of seventeen. He suffered persecution in Sweden on ac- count of his religious belief, in some in- stances being whipped and imprisoned, and even to the day of his death there were marks upon his body received from these persecutions in Sweden when he was yet a youth. He received the Gospel according to this Faith without hearing of or knowing anything about the prac- tice of polygamy, and knew nothing about it until he got to Salt Lake City; and he always denounced the same. He made several attempts to leave there, was branded as an apostate and had his oxen and wagons taken from him, to prevent him from escaping from under the tyran- nical rule of Brigham Young. Finally, after seven years, he and his family es- caped, under the protection of armed friends.
In 1866 at Omaha, he was baptized into the Reorganized Church, In 1875 he was
sent to Sweden as a missionary, continu- ing until 1878, and was then sent as a mis- sionary to Utah, where he remained one year. At the time he came back from Utah in 1866, he and his family were pen- niless and without proper clothing. He was a tailor by trade, and worked at this for some time in Omaha, Blair and Mag - nolia, and also at Weeping Water, Neb.
The mother of our subject, Elsie (Ole- sen) Fyrando, was born at Malmo, Swe- den, December 8, 1826, and remained there until the date of her marriage, in 1857. She is now living in Magnolia. She and her husband were the parents of seven children, five of whom are deceased.
Josephine E., our subject's sister, was born on the Sweet Water River, Utah, August 29, 1859, while her parents were en route for Salt Lake City. She was mar- ried December 16, 1879, to D. R. Cham- bers, now living in Magnolia. One son, Magnus, has been born to them.
G EORGE MILLER, of section 21, Union Township, came to Harrison County in the spring of 1883, when he removed to the place he now occupies. There was about one hundred and thirty acres broken, but no other improvements. He hauled lumber from Shelby, with which to build a house 16x28 feet, and fenced the `whole place with a two-wire fence.
Mr. Miller was born in Washington County, Iowa, July 4, 1846, and removed from there with his parents to Keokuk County. His parents dying when he was twelve years of age, he went to live with his grandfather, who was appointed ad- ministrator of his father's estate, He re-
401
HARRISON COUNTY.
mained there until he was twenty-one years of age, and then took charge of his farm in Keokuk County, which he man- aged until 1882, and then removed from there to Shelby County, and from thereto Harrison County as above related. He sold his farm in Keokuk County, and in- vested in his present farm, at about $15 per acre. His father's name was George Miller, a native of Germany. His father and mother were the parents of three chil- dren, of whom he was the oldest. They were George, Mary and Elizabeth. Our subject was married, March 21, 1872, to Anna M. Glanz, daughter of Christian and Mary Glanz, who were the parents of the following children : Anna M., Henry (de- ceased), William (deceased), Louis and George.
Mr. Miller and wife are the parents of nine children, named as follows: Mary, born February 17, 1873; Minnie, January 29, 1875; Emma, October 16, 1876; Matilda, September 17, 1878; William, May 10, 1880; Lydia, February 5, 1882; Anna, June 11, 1884; John, August 23, 1887; Robert, No- vember 20, 1889. Politically, our subject votes with the Democratic party.
C HARLES E. CUTLER, M. D., of Magnolia, was born in Pottawatta- mie County, Iowa, August 7, 1851, and in March, 1853, his parents removed to Harrison County. The father pre- empted one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 7, of Magnolia Township. The first year they were here his father injured himself while building rail fence, and was confined to his bed for two years, at the end of which time he died. Our
subject remained at home until 1876, when he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and attended a course of lectures at Pulte Medical College, and after attending one course he returned home, and the fol- lowing autumn returned to school again and took two courses, graduating the 28th of May, 1878, and came back to Mag- nolia, where he has practiced medicine ever since.
The year 1878 was an eventful one for our subject, besides being the year in which he graduated, for on June 4 he was united in marriage with Miss Nellie White, who was born in Kenosha County, Wis., November 8, 1856, and when twelve years moved with her parents to Cincinnati, Ohio. By this union three children were born-Atta M., born March 21, 1879, died July 21, 1879; Jennie M., born June 11, 1880, and Roy H., May 8, 1894.
Dr. Cutler's father, Collins I. Cutler, was born in Connecticut in 1809, and when a young man ran a peddling wagon for a firm in New Orleans, delivering goods as he went, as this was before the' days of commercial travelers. His trips extended through the Southern States. When he quit that he purchased a farm and lived there until about 1850, when he came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, purchased a farm near Avoca and re- mained there until 1853, at which time he sold out, came to Harrison County and pre-empted a farm in Magnolia Town- ship and soon after met with the accident in building a fence above referred to and died May 5, 1855.
The mother of our subject, Caroline Todd, was born in Oswego County, N. Y., September 28, 1815, and is now living at Magnolia, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Collins Cutler were the parents of eight children, our subject being the seventh. When
402
HARRISON COUNTY.
they came to Harrison County, Council Bluffs was the nearest post-office and trading point, and nearly all the settlers were poor and had hard work to tide over from one season to another.
Mr. and Mrs. Cutler are members of the Congregational Church at Magnolia. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and politically he believes in the principles of the Republican party. Most all professional men are appreciated at times, but none so much as the phy- sician who comes to the sick chamber to visit a father, mother or child. By their coming the high fever is allayed and pain almost magic like leaves the body. No wonder they are anxiously looked for by the family, and no wonder they who are finally restored to health are willing to speak kind words regarding them.
HOMAS A. BURLING, of Harrison Township, forms the subject of this notice. He is a native of Canı- bridgeshire, England, born September 19, 1837. He is the son of Thomas and Mary (Burkitt) Burling, who died in England, the father August 21, 1884, in his eighty- eighth year, and the mother December 7, of the same year, aged seventy-six years. The father served in the British Army twenty years and one month, and was in the East Indies sixteen years. He served as Corporal and was commissioned Ser- geant previous to his discharge. He en- listed August 20, 1816, and was discharged September 14, 1836. He was a Royal Arch Mason, and belonged to the Wes- leyan Church. He was a tailor by trade, and possessed of many sterling qualities.
He and his wife reared a family of eight children -- Thomas, our subject; Lucy, wife of James Beckwith, a resident of Harrison Township; James, a resident of New York; Amram, a resident of Ford- ham, England; John, deceased; Sarah Ann, wife of Samuel Gibbons, of London, England; Mary J., wife of J. B. Kirby, of London, England; and an infant de- ceased.
Thomas, our subject, was reared a sub- ject of the Queen, and in 1854, when he was seventeen years of age, he emigrated to this country and located in New York City for several months and then came to Rochester, where he worked for a man by the name of John Todd, on a farm. He remained at this point until 1855, and then came West to Illinois -- Dunton Sta- tion, now Arlington Heights -- where he had two uncles living. He remained there two years, and then went to Freeport, Ill., and spent two years at farm labor. We next find him in Aurora, Ill., engaged with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, but after six months went to Chicago. and engaged with the Illinois Central Railroad, as a fireman. He remained with them until 1866, and then came to Clinton. Iowa, with the Chicago && Northwestern Company, as an engineer, and ran the first locomotive that rolled over the rails into Council Bluffs, during the month of February, 1867. He was with the Northwestern Company un- til December 31, 1880, and soon after pur- chased his farm consisting of two hundred and four acres, on sections 9 and 17, and has added thereto until he has three hun- dred and twenty-four acres, which is all finely improved, and carries on general farming and stockraising, and ships his own stock.
He was married February 5, 1868, to
403
HARRISON COUNTY.
Mary E. Broadie, who was born in Uncas- ville, Conn., was the daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Holland) Broadie, natives of England. The father is a resident of Freeport, Ill., and has been time-keeper for the Northwestern Railroad Company for thirty-one years, resigning his position April 1, 1891, and is a man seventy-two years of age. His good wife, who jour- neyed with him through the sunshine and shadow of life, lived to be seventy years old, and fell into the sleep of death, June 19, 1888. This worthy couple celebrated their Golden Wedding September 12, 1897. . They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They reared a family of five children-Hamilton H., a resident of Winnebago County, Ill .; Al- fred H., deceased; Mary E., wife of our subject; Anna E., wife of John Myers (deceased) ; Kate, wife of D. O. Clark, a resident of Freeport, Ill.
Mr. and Mrs. Burling are the parents of four children, all of whom are at home at this writing-Edward, Alfred H., Thomas Arthur, and Joseph B.
Politically, our subject is a supporter of the Democratic party. Both he and his wife belong to the Farmers' Club. Mrs. Burling is a member of the Congregational Church at Dunlap, and also of the F. W.S. and of the West Side Mission.
SAAC K. TEETER, a farmer living on section 2, Taylor Township, came to Harrison County in the autumn of 1855, and entered twenty acres of land, one hundred and twenty-five on section 11, also in 1856 purchased a "forty" from Charles Van, a (mulatto). There were
no improvements upon this land at the. time he obtained it. After securing his land, in the fall of 1855, he returned to his family in Jefferson County, and moved out the following spring. He came with an ox team, and lived in his wagon until a small shanty could be erected, which served the purpose of a house until fall, when he built a log house 16x21 feet. One reason our subject had in wanting this place was the fact that it contained one of the finest springs in Harrison County. It runs a two-inch stream the year round, and gushes forth from the ground at the corner of his house. The family lived in the log house above referred to until the summer of 1884, when their present residence was Irected. It is a 16x24 foot frame house, with an addition 15x16 feet two stories high. There is also an excellent milk honse 9x22 feet. Their farm now consists of three hundred and eighty acres in Tay- lor Township, and twenty in Raglan. When our subject first came to the county he did . his trading at Council Bluffs, and he relates how tlist he raised onions from seed and nearly supplied the market at that place.
In his earlier experience in the county he ran a breaking team, and while he was turning the virgin sod and laying barethe bosom of the beautiful prairie land, his family did most of the onion cultivating. At that time there was no settlement from his place to Cincinnati, and as far as his eye could see, up and down the bottom, was one vast sea of prairie land and swamp. From his place to where Modale now stands it was impossible to pass un- less one went miles around the swamps, which were about five miles long and from one-half to a mile in width. This is now very valuable land for hay and pas-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.