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 92
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ACOB DARTING, a resident of section 6, St. John's Township, came to Harrison County in 1858, . and raised one crop near Magnolia and that fall settled on the site of his present home, where he purchased one hundred and seven acres of unimproved land, on which he erected a log cabin, the roof of which was made of "shakes." He lived in this house about ten years and then built a small frame structure, a part of his present residence.
Our subject was born in West Virginia August 15, 1816, the son of John and Bar- bara Darting and was the fourth child of a family of fifteen, thirteen of whom attained their majority. When twenty- one years of age, our subject started on the untried sea of life for himself, working out by the month for three years, also working on a brickyard as well as on the Wabash & Cross Cut Canal.
In every man's life there are important events, not the least of which is the selec- tion of a life companion, who in this case
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was Rachel Murphy, to whom he was married January 28, 1841. She was the daughter of Sion and Elizabeth Murphy, born August 29, 1821. Shortly after their marriage they removed to a farm Putnam County, Ind. The same consisted of eighty acres, which was covered with a dense growth of timber. Here our sub- ject in the vigor of his young manhood, commenced to clear up a farm for himself, and remained there until 1856, at which time he had succeeded in clearing thirty acres. In the autumn of that year he sold out, removed to Jasper County, Iowa, bought a small farm ' and remained until the spring of 1858 and then came to Harrison County.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Darting has been blessed by the advent of seven children-Elizabeth, born November 1, 1842; Barbara, August 7, 1844; John L., September 17, 1846; Sarah, August 12, 1851, deceased; Silvania, born October 25, 1853; Rachel E., December 14, 1861, died August 7, 1880; and Jacob A., born September 27, 1863.
When our subject came to Harrison County he had but little of this world's goods, but he came as a conquerer, and being possessed of a loving companion, and two strong arms he felt as rich as a king. With the double ox-team, a span of ponies and two wagons, he set forth to make for himself a liome in what has proved to be one of Iowa's banner coun- ties.
P HILO M. RICHARDSON, a farmer living on section 19, of Magnolia Township, came to Harrison County, in the spring of 1874, and went to work by the month on the farm during
the summer season and teaching in the winter. After two years he rented the farm he now occupies, which a year later was given to his wife by her parents. When they first went to this place there was a combined log and frame house, which was in a dilapidated state and there was no barn, simply straw sheds. Mr. Richardson built a new frame house 20x24 feet, one story and a half high, the same being completed in 1880. In 1887 and 1888 he built a barn 30x84 feet.
Our subject was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, October 19, 1848, and in. 1853 his parents went to Defiance County, and were there until 1865, when they re- moved to St. Joseph County, Mich., and our subject remained there with his par- ents until the spring of 1872, when he en- tered the Michigan Agricultural College, and two years later came to this county.
Our subject was united in marriage in Magnolia Township, March 17, 1877, to . Miss Mary E. Downs, and by this mar- . riage two children were born, one who died in infancy, and Ralph W. Mary E. (Downs) Richardson, was born in Frank- lin County, Vt., November 25, 1840, and came with her parents to Harrison County, Iowa, in 1858. Her father, George G. Downs, was born in Benning- ton, Vt., February 22, 1812, and when . twelve years of age his parents removed to Franklin County, Vt., where he re -; mained until 1858, and then came to Har -. rison County where he died December 31, 1881. His wife, Betsy (Rice) Downs, was born in Franklin County, Vt., December 12, 1814, and died in Harrison County; January 1, 1879. They were the parents of two children. In their religious faith they were identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Our subject's father, James S. Richard-
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son, was born in Ohio, October 20, 1827, and there remained until 1853, when he moved to Defiance County and in 1865 to St. Joseph County, Mich., but now lives in St. Joseph County, Ind. The mother, Mary M. (Bowder) Richardson, was born in the Buckeye State, February 18, 1829, and remained there until the date of her marriage. They were the parents of six children, our subject being the eldest. The parents were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Politically Mr. Richardson is a member of the Republican party.
W ILLIAM ELLIOTT, a farmer liv- ing on section 10, La Grange Township, came to Harrison Coun- ty, in the spring of 1862, and settled on a part of the farm he now lives upon. At that time the improvements of the place consisted of forty acres of breaking and a log house covered with clapboards with a layer of buckwheat straw, and then dirt on top of that, so that when it rained the shower was a combination of water, buck- wheat straw juice, and terra firma. He lived in this house for four years, and then erected a small frame shop, which they lived in while building their present brick dwelling, which was completed in 1867. The same is a two story building, 16x32 feet, with an ell 16x24 feet.
He has added to his farm until he has four hundred and twenty acres; eighty acres of meadow on the Boyer Valley, and eighty of pasture land on section 22, and sixty acres of timber on section 11, making in all four hundred and twenty acres. He keeps about one hundred head of cattle, and feeds a car load of steers each winter.
When our subject came to Harrison County a greater part of it was yet wild land, and houses were many miles apart. His nearest post office was Magnolia, but he did his trading at Council Bluffs.
Our subject was born in Durham County, England, January 23, 1826. His inother died when he was ten years of age, and his father when he was fourteen. He worked for a time in the lead mines; then worked as a section hand on the railroad, being section boss at the age of seventeen. After this he engaged as brakeman on the railroad, and worked at that until 1846, when he sailed for America, his voyage lasting twenty-eight days. He first lo- cated in Schuylkill County, Pa., where he worked eight months at blacksmithing, after which he turned his attention to carpentering, and followed that until 1854, and then he got a position as overseer of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Canal, which place he held until the spring of 1862, when he came to Harrison County. He was married in Carbon County, Pa., July 4, 1854, to Miss Anna Phillips, by whom eight children were born-Anna J., William E., John W., Martha M., Clara C., William W., Sherman S., Augusta O. William E. is deceased.
John W., our subject's son, is married and is now living at Valentine, Neb .; Martha M., married William Bennett and lives at Sioux City ; Clara, married and lives at Missouri Valley, the wife of Peter Ferrell; William is in the general offices of the Burlington & Missouri River railroad at Omaha; married in Council Bluffs in fall of 1891; Anna J. spends her time in California, teaching; Sherman is a druggist at Council Bluffs; Augusta O. is in Omaha serving in the capacity of a shorthand reporter.
Mr. Elliott has visited the Old Country
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(Europe) twice, enjoying his trip each time, but having no desire to again live in that country. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Lodge No. 420, A. F. & A. M., at Logan. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the Encamp- ment and Rebecca degrees.
On January 2, 1836, our subject joined a Total Abstinence Society in England, and has always kept his pledge to the letter.
OSEPH C. HASZARD, a farmer located on section 13, of Union Township, came to Harrison County in September, 1867, and rented a house on the land he now occupies. Before spring he bargained for the place, paying $15 per acre for forty-seven acres, five acres of which had been broken; the remainder was timber and hazlebrush land. To this he has added forty-three acres more, making ninety acres in all, of which sixty are under cultivation. The place is well improved, provided with a good house, outbuildings, and two wells. It may be said of this man that he is truly a home man, always found about the place unless called away on business.
Mr. Haszard was born in Marcy, Oneida County, N. Y., October 23, 1835, and is the son of George and Elizabeth (Cham- plain) Haszard, natives of Connecticut and Rhode Island, respectively. They were the parents of six children, as fol- lows: Thomas, Louisa T., Jeffrey W., one deceased in infancy, Joseph C. and Aba E.
The father of our subject died when he was five years old, and as soon as old
enough he was bound out as an apprentice to a wagon maker, but ran away the first year and hired out to a man on a dairy farm, getting $3 per month, but this position was anything but a continual round of pleasure, for he had to milk fif- teen cows night and morning. The fol- lowing year he went to live with his uncle, George H. Champlain, where he worked for his board and clothes, and got one month's schooling. But the following season he engaged at $5 per month in a cheese factory, where he remained four years, at the end of which time he engaged with a man named Walker (another dairy- man) at $12 per month for the year, re- maining there for three years.
We next find our subject at work by the month on a farm in Lafayette County, Wis., and the winter following was in the big pine woods of that State, following logging and rafting for the next three years, at the end of which time he visited his native State, but returned to Wiscon- sin and was married. After his marriage he removed to Hamilton County, Iowa, where he rented land for four years, and then emigrated to Nebraska, where he improved a claim, and after five years sold out for $2,000, in 1867, and came to Harrison County, Iowa.
The date of his marriage was February 23, 1859, and his wife's maiden name was Nancy J. Jones, daughter of Andrew and Mahaley Jones, natives of New Jersey. Mrs. Haszard was their o ily child.
Mr. and Mrs. Haszard are the parents of six children, as follows: Ursula J., born April 27, 1861; Louisa T., July 6, 1864; George T., May 5, 1867; Lora M., December 30, 1869; Herman, December 30, 1872; Albon I., July 6, 1875.
Politically, our subject is a supporter of the Democratic party. He belongs to
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Masonic Lodge, No. 490, at Persia, Iowa.
From the time he was left an orphan on down until he was surrounded with a home of his own, our subject saw many hard- ships, and doubtless appreciates the com- forts of a well regulated home more than the average man who grew to manhood under the paternal roof, with all the ad- vantages that comfortable circumstances can afford.
RVING C. WOOD, M.D., practicing at Logan, Iowa, came to Harrison County in 1881. Was born in' Franklin, Dela- ware County, N. Y., March 9, 1857, and is a son of R. S. and Susan (Mann) Wood. The grandfather, Charles Wood, who was a farmer by occupation, is still living in New York State, at the age of ninety years. Our subject's grandfather Wood had three children, of whom Rufus, our subject's father was the oldest, and he married Susan Mann, by which union two children were born, of whom our subject was the older. His early life was spent in Franklin, Delaware County, N. Y., where he attended the common schools, graduating from the Delaware Literary Institute, at Franklin, in 1875, after which he taught two years, and then began the study of medicine, with Dr. T. M. Edwards; then attended lectures in the University of New York City, and finished his course in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1880. He re- mained in the Hospital at that place one year, as assistant surgeon, and took a special course in surgery, and began the practice of medicine, at Woodbine, Iowa, in 1881, remaining two years, and then came to Logan, where he has since built
up a large, lucrative practice, and has been very successful in the practice of the healing art.
He was married May 12, 1886, at Logan, Iowa, to Miss Florence M. Bolter, only daughter of Senator L. R. Bolter, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Wood is a graduate of St. Frances Academy, at Council Bluffs, and is a member of the Catholic Church.
Dr. Wood held the office of Coroner of Harrison County, for two terms. He be- longs to the Masonic fraternity, is a mem- ber of Blue Lodge No. 420; Royal Arch. Chapter, and Ivanhoe Commandery of Knights Templar, at Council Bluffs.
The Doctor is company surgeon for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad; ex- amining surgeon of the United States Pension Board, and belongs to the Iowa State Medical Society; the National As- sociation of Railway Surgeons, and is a member of the committee on organization of The Inter-Continental Medical Con- gress.
OHN McCRILLIS (retired), came to Harrison County in November, 1869, and settled at the village of Calhoun. He had been to the county prior to this and had bought a house and lot in Calhoun and also twenty acres of timber-land. In the spring of
1870, he rented land near Calhoun but lived in the village until the next spring,
when he removed to a two hundred and · forty-acre tract of wild land, on section 28, of Taylor Township. Here he built a frame house which was boarded up and down, the same being 16x24 feet. He broke forty acres of this land in 1870 and
ON . Puston
Anna E. Preston
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in the autumn of 1887 provided the place with a good barn. The farm now con- sists of three hundred and twenty acres, divided into two equal farms. The home- stead is occupied by his son, Monroe, while a renter operates the other. Our subject removed to Modale in the month of February, 1887, where he makes it his home with his daughter, Mrs. Martin.
Mr. McCrillis was born in Vanderburg County, Ind., December 24, 1825, and is the son of William and Cyntha (Shultz) McCrillis. The father died when our sub- ject was a small boy, and he remained at home with his mother until 1853. His mother married for her second husband a man by the name of Henry James, and they removed to Jefferson County, Iowa, in 1840. They halted two days and two nights, where the busy city of Burlington now stands, which at that time only had two houses. They could get no accom- modations, consequently they slept out of doors. At that point they hired two teams to convey them to Jefferson County. In 1853, our subject removed to a farm that he had bought some time previous and had operated before the death of his step-father. In 1868 he sold and re- moved to Mills County, Iowa, where he purchased eighty acres of wild land, but upon finding that there were no school facilities, he did not improve this land, but rented a farm for one year, during which time he sold his place, and in No- vember, 1869, came to this county.
He was married in Jefferson County, Iowa, December 8, 1853, to Miss Eliza- beth Crenshaw, the daughter of John and Martha (Cadwell) Crenshaw. Elizabeth (Crenshaw) McCrillis was born in Illinois and when young she accompanied her parents to Jefferson County, Iowa. She died in Taylor Township, Harrison
County, September 10, 1873, and was buried in the cemetery at Calhoun. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Our subject and his wife were the parents of three children-Casper, Rosina and Monroe, who are living ; five are buried in the cemetery at Calhoun.
During the Civil War our subject formed a company of Home Guards, and received a commission from Gov. Stone, as its Captain.
Politically Mr. McCrillis votes for the man and not the party, believing that the best men should hold public office.
W ILLIAM TURNER PRESTON, a highly respected farmer and stock- feeder, whose beautiful farm-home is on section 10, Harrison Township, has been identified with the interests of Har- rison County for the past twenty-three years; has done an extensive business, both as a farmer and dealer in live stock. The time has long gone by since it has been believed that an ordinary and unedu- cated man can become a successful agri- culturist. But he who makes the calling one of a high standard, and becomes thor- oughly posted regarding this honorable calling, makes experiments himself, reads the best farm journals published, and adopts the best methods, is almost sure to be repaid by an abundant harvest. Such has been the career of Mr. Preston, who was reared in New England, where farm life was not what it is in the prairie West ; but he has coupled the economical princi- ples of his native State with the broad- gauge notions of the West, and as a result has brought forth the most paying crops
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from the broad acres he owns. It is the object of this notice to make a personal mention of this man and his estimable family, and to begin with, it may be stated that Mr. Preston is a direct descendant of John and Mary (Ford) Preston, who it is supposed were natives of Windham County Conn. John Preston, was born January 18, 1716, and is a son of one of three brothers, who came from England in the latter part of the sixteenth century. John and Mary Ford were married in 1736, and reared a family of twelve children, their third child being Medina, who was the great-grandfather of our subject. He was born at Ashford, Conn., in 1841, and was a tanner and leather dresser by trade. He married Anna Howard, June 7, 1762, and by this union nine children were born, their fifth child being our subject's grand- father, and his name was Shubal Preston, who was also born at Ashford, Conn., May 16, 1772, at the old Preston homestead. In his younger days he followed school teaching, but later in life was engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died December 24, 1851. November 9, 1794, he was united in marriage to Lucretia Miner, at New London, Conn., where she was born Feb- ruary 1, 1778, and died April 19, 1859.
They had a family of seven children, the fifth child being Miner, the father of our subject, who was born May 24, 1803, at Ashford, Conn. He was reared to farm life and educated in the public schools, and also studied evenings and rainy days, being ambitious to secure an education. He let none of these oppor- tunities go by unimproved, as for an example : while going to mill with a sack of grain before and one behind him on horse back, he not unfrequently took his grammar, and made the most of his jour- ney, by delving into its mysteries. When
he had reached his manhood, he began teaching which he followed until after he was married. At one time he was inter- ested in a paper mill, which he subse- quently disposed of and purchased a farm in Connecticut, and tilled the greater por- tion of his life, dying in the town of Cov- entry, Conn.
Mr. Preston was a man who took great interest in public affairs, and held many of the official positions in his town and county. In 1856 he represented his town- ship in the Legislature. Politically, he was an old line Whig, but afterward a Re- publican. He believed in the great prin- ciples of the Christian religion, and was one of the founders of the Congregational Church at Rockville, Conn., as well as an ardent worker in the Sunday-school cause. He was married March 16, 1831, to Betsy Thrall, who was born December 19, 1807, at Vernon, Conn., and is still living,a resi- dent of Coventry, Conn. They were the parents of five children: Jane M., wife of H. B. Lyman, now residents of Tacoma, Wash .; Anna J., wife of Jabez H. Kings- bury, of Connecticut; Henry B., of Wap- ping, Conn .; Sarah C., deceased ; and our subject William 'T. Our subject's father died August 8, 1867, and was a man of high character, and of much moral worth in the community.
William T., was born in Vernon, Conn., on the old homesteed, August 30, 1840, He received his early education in the common, private, and High Schools, and also took a course at Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., from which institution he graduated in July, 1864. His early life was spent assisting his father on the farm, during the sum- mer, and attending school in the winter. When a young man he taught several terms of school, and was also employed as
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a book-keeper, both positions he filled in a satisfactory manner. But life had some- thing in store for this young New Eng- lander. The great sea of life was before him, but he must choose his craft, as well as mark his own course, across an untried sea. To venture alone might prove fatal, so in his twenty-third year, just as he was crossing the threshold of manhood, he sought the companionship of Miss Anna E. Peck, and on April 7, 1863, they were united in marriage. Mrs. Preston was born in Coventry, Conn., September 4, 1840. In 1864, our subject and his wife removed to Holyoke, Mass., where he was employed as a packer and shipper of fab- rics, in which capacity he served for three years, and then went to Chicopee, Mass., where he acted as overseer in a shipping depot. In March 1868 they came to Iowa, locating at Dunlap.
Mr. Preston intended to enter the hard- ware business at this point, in company with another party, but through some mis- understanding the partnership was not formed, and so he concluded to become a farmer in the West. The first year he operated in conjunction with his brother- in-law, H. B. Lyman, and during the same year purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 10, of Harrison Township, the same being wild prairie and, upon which surface waved the luxu- riant growth of prairie grass. In the fall of 1869, Mr. Preston erected a frame house, 14 x20 feet, making such additions as they could until 1873, when they erected their present commodious farm house, which is among the best built farm residences in Western Iowa. It is nestled within the shade of a charming grove of trees, which· he planted out when he first went to the place; the branches of these trees now tower high, affording a cooling shade in
mid-summer, and serve as a good wind- break during the long cold winter.
Our subject has added to his first pur- chase one hundred acres, and in Willow Township, Monona County, he owns all of section 29-an even six hundred and forty acres-which he uses for grazing purposes, while his home farm in Har- rison Township is one of the best im- proved places in this part of the country, and has been wonderfully transformed in the last two decades, by the industrious, skillful manipulations of our subject.
Of Mrs. Preston's family history it may be said that she is the daughter of Ebene- zer and Phœbe (Kingsbury) Peck, who were natives of Connecticut. The father was born in Franklin County, December 5, 1804. His early life was spent in New York City, and was subsequently employed in different manufactures, but finally set- tled on a farm, where he died September 13, 1856, at Vernon, Conn. He was united in marriage June 9, 1838, to Phœbe Kings- bury, who was born in Connecticut, June 9, 1810, and died January 6, 1863. They reared a family of two children-Anna E., the wife of our subject ; and Henry, a resi- dent of Syracuse, Neb. The grandpar- ents of Mrs. Preston on the paternal side were Ebenezer and Mary (Tracy) Peck. The former was the oldest of a family of thirteen children, and was born on the old Peck homestead, in Peck's Hollow, Conn., which was also the birthplace of his father. He died in Connecticut at the age of ninety-one years, in October, 1863. His good wife, the grandmother of Mrs. Preston, Mary (Tracy) Peck, was the daughter of Elisha Tracy, the grandson of Winslow Tracy, who died in 1768, at the age of seventy-nine years. Elisha was the son of Eliphalet Tracy. The Tracy family were among the first families of
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New England, and figured conspicuously in the political history of that section at an early day.
The mother of Mrs. Preston was the granddaughter of Ephraim Kingsbury, a native of Franklin County, Conn., born the 13th of March 1740, and his wife, Phobe French, was born in the same county, October 5, 1741. They were united in marriage in the county of their birth, and reared their family in Coventry, Conn. The fifth child of this family was Jabez Kingsbury, who was born in Coventry, October 22, 1769, and was there reared, married and died. His wife was Freelove . Utley, who was born at Mansfield, Conn. Jabez Kings- bury was one of the prominent men of his community, and a potent factor in church work. The family were of good old Puritan stock, and believed in every thing that was pure and good, and tried to live in accordance with such belief.
Mr. and Mrs. Preston were brought up in the Puritan Congregational Church, of Vernon, Conn., and at the age of seven- teen became members of the same. Upon coming West they brought their church letters, united, and soon became identi- fied with the Congregational Church, at Dunlap, and Mrs. Preston has been an ac- tive, faithful Sabbath-school worker for many years, and the result of her labors in this direction cannot fail to make the rising young with whom she has min- gled, purer, nobler, better.
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