USA > Iowa > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Iowa; Volume II > Part 21
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ing the livery occupies and also a house in the town, besides having forty acres elsewhere in Jackson county and half a section of land in Shelby county, Iowa. As this valuable property represents what he has accomplished through his own efforts he has every reason to be gratified with the result of his years of unwearying labor.
In 1861 Mr. Tozer wedded Miss Mary Anne Harvey, a resident of Clinton county, Iowa, and unto them were born two children: Kate, who with her brother owns half a section of land near Philip, South Dakota, and lives at home; and Emma, who died at the age of fourteen months. The wife and mother died and was laid to rest in Buckhorn cemetery. In 1875 Mr. Tozer married a second time, his wife having been Miss Lorette Haines, and they became the parents of three children : one who died in infancy ; Guy M., who has a half interest in his father's business and with his sister owns half a sec- tion of land near Philip, South Dakota; and Lena, who is the wife of W. W. Welch, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Mr. Tozer is a republican in his political views and that he is public spirited and interested in the welfare of his fellow citizens is manifest by the accept- able service he rendered as the incumbent of many of the township offices, and after the town of Baldwin was incorporated as councilman and as mayor, He was the chief executive of the village for four years, and his administration was marked by the same good judgment and progressive ideas that distin- guished his management of his private affairs. In his religious beliefs he is a spiritualist, having become convinced of the fundamental truths of spiritual- ism about twenty-five years ago, as the result of his own investigations, although his father was an ardent advocate of that religion. The latter began inquiries into the subject at the Rochester rappings.
REV. JOHN M. GARLAND.
Rev. John M. Garland, a prominent representative of the Catholic clergy in Jackson county, has since October, 1907, been the pastor of St. Theresa's parish in Prairie Spring township. His birth occurred in Kewanee, Illinois, on the 18th of December, 1877, his parents being Patrick and Katherine (O'Neil) Garland, both of whom were born in Ireland. The father crossed the Atlantic to the United States in the '40S.
Father Garland began his education in the city of his nativity and after completing the high school course there he entered St. Benedict's College at Atchison, Kansas, from which institution he was graduated in 1897. Subse- quently he attended the St. Paul Seminary of St. Paul, Minnesota, and then continued his studies in preparation for the priesthood at Louvain, Belgium, and also the Catholic University at Lille, France. On returning to the United States he was ordained to the priesthood at St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1903 and was given charge of a parish at Stone City, Jones county, Iowa, where he remained for two years. During the following two years he was located at Waukon, Iowa, and since October, 1907, has been pastor of St. Theresa's
REV. JOHN M. GARLAND
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parish in Prairie Spring township. This parish was founded by Father Don- ahue of Dubuque in 1853 and the first masses were said by Father Tracy, a visiting priest. The first resident priest was Father Vehey, who in turn was followed by Fathers McGinnis, Kenney, Brennan, McCabe, O'Reilley, Gaffney and O'Ferrell. The last named built the present parsonage and his successors were Fathers English, McInerny, Kelley and Hennessey. Father O'Malley, who next took charge of the parish, built the church at Lamotte and conducted it as a mission from St. Theresa's. Father O'Malley was succeeded by Father Hetherington and the latter by Father Brady, who erected a new house of worship in 1903. In October, 1907, Father Garland was installed as pastor and has since discharged the duties of his holy office with a zeal and devotion that have made his name a power for good in the community. His thorough and comprehensive education has made him a man of scholarly attainments, which he is using for the upbuilding of the church to which he has consecrated his life.
JOHN WEIS.
Although the death of John Weis occurred in Dubuque, where he had spent his last years in retirement, he is remembered by many citizens of Jackson county, for he was identified with the business interests of this section of the state through- out a long period, and he therefore deserves mention in this history. As the name indicates, Mr. Weis was a native of Germany, born in Luxemburg, January I, 1837, a son of Theodore and Margaret Weis. The mother died in that country when the son was but eighteen months old and he was there reared by the father to the age of about eighteen years, when he accompanied the latter on his emigra- tion to the new world. They made their way direct to Galena, Illinois, but after about a year spent in that city they came to Bellevue, Iowa, and it was in this place that the death of the father occurred. His family numbered three sons and two daughters: Michael, Barney, Gertrude, Barbara and John. All are de- ceased with the exception of Barbara.
John Weis, the youngest of the father's family, was a young man of twenty- four years when the Civil war was inaugurated and when the first call was made for men to serve three years he enrolled his name and going to the front, served his full term of enlistment. Returning to Bellevue after the close of hostilities, Mr. Weis opened a saloon, which he conducted for two years. It was about that time that he was married and he still continued in the saloon business and also opened a grocery in connection therewith, doing business along both lines for thirty-five years. In the meantime he invested his money in a farm of one hun- dred and thirty-one acres, on section 23, two miles west of Bellevue on the Cot- tonville road, and this tract is now in possession of the widow. Mr. Weis even- tually disposed of his business interests in Bellevue and removed to Dubuque, where he spent his last years in retirement, the rental of his farm supplying him with a comfortable income. His death occurred in that city, January 11, 1899, just after he had passed the sixty-second anniversary of his birth. He is still re-
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membered by many of the residents of Bellevue and the vicinity, for the greater part of his life after coming to America was spent in Jackson county.
It was on the 26th of July, 1868, that Mr. Weis was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Schirmer, who still survives. Mrs. Weis was born February 17, 1847, in Wittenberg, Germany, a daughter of Fabian and Anna Mary (Conrad) Schirmer. When the daughter was about seven years of age the family emigrated to the United States, making a location in Galena, Illinois, where the five subsequent years were spent. They then came to Bellevue, Iowa, where the daughter was reared and married, and it was in this place that the mother departed this life. The father afterward went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he was married a second time but he is now deceased, his death occurring in that city. Mrs. Weis is the second in order of birth in a family of five children, the others being: Charles, who resides in California; Sebastian, who makes his home in Emmetts- burg, Iowa ; Frank, who died in Colorado ; and Mrs. Barbara Geiske, of California.
By her marriage Mrs. Weis has become the mother of thirteen children but the three youngest are deceased, these being Sebastian, John and Cecelia, whose deaths occurred at the ages of four, two and one and a half years respectively. Those living are: Katie, the widow of William Calvert, residing in Bellevue town- ship; Charles, who makes his home in California; Nelia, the wife of Charles Calvert, in Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands; Bertha, the wife of George E. Lomen, of Nome, Alaska; Mamie, of California; Laura, who is engaged in teaching and resides at home; Amelia, also in California; Florence and Harry, twins, the former engaged in teaching and the latter with his mother; and Clarence, also on the home farm.
After the death of the husband and father the family remained in Dubuque for a few years but about seven years ago removed to the farm in Bellevue town- ship, the place being operated by the two sons who are at home. This is a good farm, comprising one hundred and thirty-one acres, and the soil responds readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it. The family is one of the most highly respected in the community and well deserve the esteem in which they are uni- formly held.
EDWARD SOMMERS.
Edward Sommers, who owns and operates a valuable tract of land of two hundred and seventy-nine acres in Perry township, is one of the worthy sons that Germany has furnished to the United States, his birth having occurred in Prussia in 1847. His parents, John and Anna M. Sommers, spent their entire lives in the fatherland. They reared a family of six children, two of whom have become residents of the United States.
Edward Sommers remained in his native land until twenty-one years of age and in the fall of 1868 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, for he had heard many favorable reports concerning the advantages to be enjoyed on this side the water. After landing on American shores he first made his way to Galena, Illi- nois, but after a short time came to Jackson county, Iowa, and secured employ-
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ment as a farm hand, being thus engaged for three years. He was married on the expiration of that period and then rented a farm, giving his attention to its operation for four years. At the end of that time he purchased a tract of land in Perry township and made his home thereon until 1900, when he disposed of the property to one of his sons. He then bought his present farm of two hundred and seventy-nine acres on sections 12 and I, Perry township, in the cultivation and improvement of which he has since been actively engaged, his labors being annually rewarded by bounteous harvests. In addition to his agricultural interests he makes a specialty of feeding stock and this branch of his business has con- tributed materially to his income.
On the IIth of October, 1871, Mr. Sommers married Miss Angella P. Sis- ler, who was born in Perry township in 1854. Her parents, Joseph B. and Susan (Davis) Sisler, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania, came to Jackson county, Iowa, in 1851. Joseph B. Sisler came to this county with his parents, who entered a large tract of land here. He remained one of the worthy and respected residents of Jackson county until called to his final rest on the 19th of April, 1885, having long survived his wife, who passed away in 1857. Their family numbered four children: William M., who was born December 10, 1848, and was married November 4, 1872, to Miss Angeline Miller; E. J., who died in in- fancy; Mary C., who was married May 31, 1877, to John Mahar and lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Mrs. Sommers, who completes the family. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sommers have been born nine children, as follows: Mary Agnes, the wife of George Hayes, of Jackson county ; Frank J., who is deceased; Isabelle, the wife of William Woods, of Linn county, Iowa ; John E., a resident of Andrew ; W. H., living in Fulton, Iowa; Ada, who makes her home in Marion, Iowa; Alice G., who has likewise passed away ; Leo; and Edmond.
Mr. Sommers is a stanch republican in his political views but does not desire office as a reward for his party fealty. He and his family are faithful communi- cants of the Catholic church. For about four decades he has been identified with the agricultural interests of this county and has therefore been an active factor in the work of development which has transformed the region into one of rich fertility and productiveness. He is numbered among those who left the fath- erland to identify themselves with American life and institutions, who have pushed their way to the front and who are a credit alike to the land of their birth and that of their adoption.
FREDERICK H. STORM.
Extensive farming interests in Jackson county fully claim the time and at- tention of Frederick H. Storm, for he is the owner of two hundred and eighty- three acres in Fairfield township and eighty acres in South Fork township. Mr. Storm was born in Cook county, Illinois, January 14, 1861, a son of George and Lena (Burmeister) Storm, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father was there born on the 16th of April, 1833, and was a young man of twenty years, when, in 1853, he emigrated to the new world. He spent the
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succeeding four years in Cook county, Illinois. He was married in Chicago, March 26, 1858, to Miss Lena Burmeister, who was born in the same place as her husband. In 1857 he came to Jackson county, Iowa, and purchased a farm on section 22, Fairfield township, but returned to Illinois, where he engaged in farming until 1862. In that year he located upon his Jackson county farm and engaged in its cultivation until 1883, when he put aside business cares and removed to Preston, where he spent his remaining years in honorable retire- ment. His death occurred in 1899, he having survived his wife six years, she being called to her final rest in 1893. Their family numbered six children : Frederick H., of this review; C. J., who resides in Preston; William A., a resident of Maquoketa, Iowa; Henry F., who is employed by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company at Tama, Iowa, as an operator, and two who are deceased.
Frederick H. Storm was a little over a year old when his parents located on the farm which has since been his home. He was here reared to the tasks which usually are assigned to the farmer boy and as his years increased larger responsibilities rested upon him, so that through this means he acquired the knowledge of agriculture that has served him well in his later years. He pur- sued his studies in the common schools and in Clinton Business College. In 1894 he came into possession, through purchase, of the old homestead prop- erty, comprising two hundred and eighty-eight acres in Fairfield township and he also owns eighty acres in South Fork township, his possessions thus being extensive and valuable. He engages to some extent in general farming but gives the greater part of his time to raising stock, which has proved a valu- able source of revenue to him. His farm is supplied with good buildings, in- cluding a nice residence, while the outbuildings and barns are arranged with a view to convenience, and everything about the place is kept in a good condition.
Mr. Storm was married on the 2d of March, 1883, to Miss Caroline F. Schmidt, who was born in Lyons, Iowa, August 12, 1862, a daughter of John and Wilhelmina Schmidt, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they emigrated to America in 1856. Their family numbered eleven children, of whom Mrs. Storm is the fourth in order of birth, the others being: Henry T., Lewis F., Charles F., Christopher, Joseph, and Bertha M., all living in Crawford county, Iowa; Frederick, August, and Trena, all of Clinton county, this state; and one deceased. The father passed away on the 4th of April, 1905, but the mother still survives and makes her home in Almont, Iowa.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Storm has been blessed with four children, namely: John G., who is a graduate of the Clinton Business College and assists his father on the home farm; George J., who is likewise a graduate of that college ; Lena M., who is a graduate of the Epworth Seminary at Epworth, Iowa ; and Alma T., at home.
Mr. Storm has always supported the men and measures of democracy and for four years served as township assessor and six years as tax collector, while for the past twenty-seven years he has acted as secretary of the school board. The family are members of the Lutheran church. He is not in the sense of office seeking a man in public life and yet he has exerted immeasurable in-
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fluence in the community in which he has always made his home. He has steadily worked his way up in the business world until today he is accounted one of the substantial citizens of Jackson county and all who know him have for him the warmest regard and esteem.
MRS. MARCIE ANN HUBBARD.
Mrs. Marcie Ann Hubbard enjoys the distinction of being the oldest settler now living in Jackson county, and to her has been granted a vision vouchsafed to few of the present residents of this section of Iowa, for she has witnessed the transformation of the primeval prairies, the camping grounds of the aborigines, into well tilled farms and prosperous towns, a change which one of the older settlers claimed was the greatest miracle of modern times. At one time her husband owned the greater part of the valley, but now she has in her possession only forty acres in Monmouth township.
She was born in Castleton, Vermont, October 30, 1823, her parents being Tertullus and Hannah (Kimpton) Nickerson. The former was born in Rut- land, Vermont, in 1794, and lived in that state until he was married, when he removed to New York. Later, however, he returned to Vermont, where during the four years of his stay his daughter, Mrs. Hubbard, was born. He made a second removal to New York, locating in Warren county, where he lived until 1842, when he decided to come west. He started by boat on Lake George creek, opposite Mrs. Hubbard's old home, proceeded by the Erie canal to Buffalo, thence on the Great Lakes to Chicago, where he sojourned for a time and where he secured a team with which, in 1842, he came overland to Jackson county, Iowa. He settled in Maquoketa township, which remained his home until his death in 1881. Before coming to this state he had been engaged in milling but after he located here he devoted himself exclusively to farming, in which he obtained a good success. In his early years he had been a whig, but when the republican party was organized he joined its ranks and was ever stalwart in supporting its doctrines. His wife, who was Hannah Kimpton in her maidenhood, was also a native of Vermont and in that state grew to maturity and was married. She survived her husband several years, her death occurring in February, 1885, when she was in the ninety-second year of her age, and her grave was made beside his in Buckthorn cemetery, Monmouth township. Four children were born to her and her husband: Elvira, who is deceased; Mahala, who died May 28, 1901; Mrs. Hubbard; and Truman K., who passed away in 1895. One of Mrs. Nickerson's uncles fought in the Revolutionary war.
Mrs. Hubbard received her education in the public schools of Ticon- deroga, New York, and was about nineteen years of age when she came to Jackson county, September 6, 1842. At that time there were only two houses in Maquoketa township, those of Mr. Goodenow and Mr. Shaw, and she has the distinction of having taught in the second school maintained in the locality. It was a little log building, rudely made and finished, and one day was visited
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by an old Indian woman, who opened the door and seeing all the pupils exclaimed, "Heap much pappooses," evidently thinking the children were members of her family. Mrs. Hubbard taught for about four years and then in 1846, gave her hand in marriage to Dr. Leonard Truman Hubbard. He was born at Sacketts Harbor, New York, November 2, 1821, studied medicine at Frankfort, Kentucky, and later came to Jackson county, Iowa, locating in Maquoketa township, where he was engaged in practice for some time. In 1848 he removed to Monmouth, where he labored for the greater part of half a century. In 1850 he went overland to California, where he remained about eighteen months. He was successful in the hunt for gold, returning by way of the isthmus, and in 1880 he went to Colorado on a mining expedition. He did not sojourn in that state long, however, but came back to Monmouth, where he was engaged actively in the practice of medicine until 1894, when he suffered a paralytic stroke as the result of an accident. He did not recover from its effect and on the 22d of June, 1895, passed from this life. At that time he was the oldest physician in Monmouth and Maquoketa and had wit- nessed and participated in the great change the years had wrought. In 1848 he started the village of Coloma, which would be located on the west side of Division street in Monmouth, but at that time the latter town had not been laid out. In those early days he owned the greater part of the valley, disposing of his holdings as settlers flocked to this region.
In politics Dr. Hubbard was a whig, later a republican, and in the post bellum controversy over the money question he espoused the cause of the greenbackers. His was a hard and difficult life but through it all he maintained a cheerful spirit, which made him welcome and endeared him to those who had need of his pro- fessional services.
Six children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Hubbard, as follows: Adelaide, Leonard, Tertullus, Hannah, Katie and John. Hannah died in 1878, at the age of twenty-three years. But few of the associates of Mrs. Hubbard's young womanhood are now living, and of the eleven who spent the first winter in Jack- son county in the old house in Maquoketa, only one other, a niece, now survives. The bleak prairies of that time are now rich agricultural districts, the two houses have been multiplied many fold, and Mrs. Hubbard, as she contrasts the past with the present, may well be proud and grateful that she has been an eye wit- ness to the progress of civilization.
HON. LYMAN BRADLEY PARSHALL.
The safety of the republic depends not so much upon methods and measures as upon that manhood from whose deep sources all that is of permanent value in life must at last proceed, and in Hon. Lyman Bradley Parshall, agriculturist, educator and statesman, Jackson county has a citizen whose efforts have been of great worth in promoting its interests along material, intellectual and political lines. In every relation of life he has held himself above reproach and while he has won conspicuous success in the management of his private interests, no un-
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' worthy or unquestionable means have been employed in the attainment of this end, for on the contrary his course is one which at all times will bear close inves- tigation and scrutiny.
Mr. Parshall was born in Interlaken, Seneca county, New York, June 28, : 1845, and is a son of Caleb Halsey and Elizabeth Barlow (Bradley) Parshall. The Parshall family has been identified with American interests from early colonial days, for it is recorded that one of the name was the first white child born on Long Island. Caleb H. Parshall was a native of Suffolk county, New York, situated upon the eastern end of Long Island. During the years of his active life he followed farming and enjoyed the reputation of being the most en- terprising, progressive and successful agriculturist of his locality, owning and cul- tivating one hundred acres of land, his labors in connection therewith netting him about four thousand dollars annually. His religious allegiance was given to the Dutch Reformed church, while in politics he was a democrat, save during the period of the Rebellion, when, in harmony with the effort to uphold the Union, he voted for the candidates and measures of the republican party. He spent his entire life in New York, as did his wife, who was also a native of the Empire state.
Lyman Bradley Parshall obtained his literary education at Northville, Long Island, and in 1865 matriculated in the Sheffield Scientific School, a department of Yale University, from which he received the Ph. D. degree in 1868. A short time thereafter he went to Chicago, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits for two years, at the end of which period he went to McPherson county, Kansas, where he engaged in driving cattle from Texas into that state. He was thus en- gaged until 1884, when he came to Iowa and purchased a tract of land on the border of Jones and Jackson counties. He has since made this section of the state his home and is one of the largest landowners and most prominent agricul- turists. In addition to the work of tilling the soil, which is carried on under his direct supervision, he also gives his attention to the raising and shipping of cat- tle. In business affairs his judgment is sound, his discernment keen and his en- terprise unflagging.
Mr. Parshall has not confined his attention alone to agricultural interests, how- ever, but has found time and opportunity to respond to the call of his fellow townsmen who have sought his service in public office. In 1892 he was elected to the superintendency of the Jackson county schools, in which capacity he served for two terms, during which time he inaugurated improvements, the practical value of which has been demonstrated in the excellent work now being done by the schools throughout the county. In 1908 still higher political honors were conferred upon him in his election to the state senate. He has long been a close student of the questions of vital interest in state and national politics and his foresight into existing conditions and his understanding of public needs have enabled him to speak with authority upon many matters that engross general at- tention. In a canvass of the state in 1896, for state superintendent, the subject of his addresses was one which largely appealed to public thought, viz: "The Cause of the Rise of American Wages." It was his thesis that machinery was accountable for this rise and he gave proof that every advance in wages was due to a corresponding advance or improvement in labor saving devices, citing among
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