USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 16
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LEWIS TRABERT.
Lewis Trabert, deceased, was for years a resident of Lockridge town- ship, Jefferson county, Iowa, and gave to the development of the agricultural interests in this state his best efforts throughout his life. Endowed by birth with Teutonic traits of hardy endurance and indomitable persever- ence, even in the face of disheartening obstacles, he won his way steadily to the front, making a name for himself that will endure in the annals of Iowa's noble pioneers. Lewis Trabert was born in Lockridge township, Jefferson county, Iowa, November 13, 1852. His parents came to this country from Germany. His father, Frederick Trabert, located in Penn- sylvania, in 1842, and, trained in agricultural pursuits, he entered service as a farm hand for five years. He then came west, settling in Jefferson county, Iowa, where he bought forty acres of land in Lockridge township. This tract he cleared and improved; and, adding more to it by degrees, he became the owner of a very valuable farm of three hundred acres which he operated till the close of his life. His death occurred in February, 1875. His wife, the mother of the subject of this biography, passed away December 27, 1900.
Lewis Trabert was reared and educated in Lockridge township, where he attended the district school. Upon the death of his parents, with whom he had remained after finishing school, he bought out from the other heirs the title to the land bequeathed by his father's will, thus acquiring possession
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of one hundred and forty-seven acres. These he cultivated until his death, which occurred September 16, 1905.
On April 27, 1876, Lewis Trabert was united in the bonds of matri- mony to Miss Sophia A. Smithline. She was a daughter of George and Mary B. (Dallner) Smithline, natives of Germany. Her parents came to this country, locating in Jefferson county, Iowa, in pioneer days; and here Sophia Smithline grew to womanhood. Among her early recollections, she recalls vividly many of the barbarities perpetrated by the Indians, then still densely settled in this region and clinging tenaciously to their inalien- able right to the land of their fathers. She remembers the hardships of the pioneers and can recall, from her own experience, many incidents of great historic interest. Mrs. Trabert's father did not settle in Iowa directly upon coming to this country, but spent four years in Ohio working as a farm hand. He then came to Jefferson county, Iowa, and bought eighty acres of land in Lockridge township. This tract he cultivated, extending its area by the purchase of eighty additional acres. After operating this farm for about eight years, he retired, taking up his residence in Lock- ridge, Iowa, where he lived until his death in December, 1894. His wife (lied just thirty years before, in 1864.
To Mr. and Mrs. Trabert were born four children, namely: Franklin A., a farmer in Lockridge township; Mamie B., the wife of D. R. Linn, a resident of Burlington, Iowa; Frederick L., at home; and Lawrence H., at home. Mr. Trabert was a loyal democrat ; and, with his wife and family, held membership in the German Lutheran church. In his premature death, Lockridge township lost a man of serious purpose and exemplary life; the kind of citizen whose memory does honor to his family and community.
CAPTAIN ARTHUR S. JORDAN.
Captain Arthur S. Jordan is now living retired in Fairfield where he has made his home since 1854. He has been connected at different times with the business interests of the city as a general merchant and a dealer in lumber and coal, and during the period of the Civil war he was a stanch defender of the Union cause. Now in the evening of life he is resting from labor, the efforts of his former toil supplying him with all of the necessities and some of the comforts of life. He has passed the seventy- ninth milestone, his birth having occurred at Cape Elizabeth, Maine, on the 22d of February, 1832. His parents, Clement and Elizabeth F. (Dyer) Jordan, were also natives of that place. The father first came to the west in 1851 on a visit and about 1863 or 1864 returned to Fairfield to spend
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the remainder of his days among his children. The Jordan family is one of the oldest in the state of Maine, the first representative settling at Cape Elizabeth when that region was an unbroken wilderness. He secured a grant of land from King George and there established the ancestral home of the family. All through his early life Clement Jordan was captain or master of a ship. In early manhood he wedded Eliza F. Dyer who up to the time of her marriage had resided upon a farm near Cape Elizabeth. They became the parents of nine children. Emily D., the eldest, became the wife of Captain William R. Wells and both died in Fairfield. Frances C. married Captain Henry Eaton and died in Fairfield while her husband passed away in California. Clement J. died on the old homestead at Cape Elizabeth. Caroline E. became the wife of John H. Wells, a merchant of Fairfield, and both passed away in this city. William Henry married Maria W. Webster of Cape Elizabeth and his death occurred there while his wife died in Clinton, Massachusetts. Arthur S. is the sixth in order of birth. Charles Henry died in Cape Elizabeth when sixteen years of age. Albert married Hattie Wells and died in Fairfield, Iowa, but his widow resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Harry married Maggie Brown and died in Fairfield while his widow is living in Los Angeles, California.
Arthur S. Jordan remained at the place of his birth until sixteen years of age and afterward spent two or three years as a sailor. He worked on the old homestead farm of two hundred acres until he made his way to the west in 1854, when twenty-two years of age, since which time he has resided in Fairfield, the period of his residence here covering fifty-seven years. For a time he was engaged in general merchandising with his brothers, W. H., Albert and Harry, the four conducting their store under the name of the Jordan Brothers. The business had been established by Captain W. R. Wells and William Jordan in 1851 and in 1857 Captain Jordan purchased the interest of Captain Wells and organized the firm of Jordan Brothers, the other brothers being admitted at a later date. They continued the business together with gratifying success until the '70s. In the meantime A. S. Jordan had enlisted in Fairfield, Iowa, in July, 1862, as a member of Company B, Nineteenth Iowa Infantry. He joined the army as a private but was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and afterward became captain of his company. He served until the close of the war and was mustered out in July, 1865, having in the meantime par- ticipated in all of the engagements of his regiment, including the sieges of Vicksburg and of Spanish Fort. His brother Harry also served in the same company, going out as captain. He was promoted to the rank of major and was mustered out with that title. The other brothers, William and Albert, remained at home and conducted the store, being joined in
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its management and operation by the two soldier brothers after the close of hostilities. In 1871 William Jordan died, after which the three other brothers continued the business for a few years and then closed it out. Captain Jordan next entered the lumber and coal business from which he retired in his seventy-fifth year, remaining throughout the whole period as one of the representative, honorable and honored business men of the city.
In 1868 Captain Jordan was united in marriage to Miss Ada M. Jor- dan, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, who was not related unless the tie of kin- ship came in many generations back. The Jordans, however, were very numerous in Maine, almost half of the town of Cape Elizabeth bearing that name. Mrs. Ada Jordan was born in 1848 and was a daughter of John G. and Ann V. (Dyer) Jordan, also natives of Cape Elizabeth. Unto the marriage of our subject and his wife have been born two children, Nellie E. and Arthur G. The former, a graduate of Parsons College with the class of 1892, has been engaged in teaching in the high school most of the time since. Captain Jordan, his wife and his two children are now the only members of the family still living in Fairfield, all the others having passed away. He has never held any public office but served on the city school board for twelve years and for twenty-four years was a member of the board of trustees of Parsons College but resigned that position on reaching the age of seventy-five years, at the same time putting aside all other business and public connections in order to live retired. His is an honorable old age and the respect and veneration of his fellow townsmen are accorded him. No history of Fairfield would be complete without mention of Captain Jordan, so well and worthily has he lived and so actively has he participated in the business life of the city and in its growth and improvement in other ways.
WILLIAM ODEAN.
Notable for the achievement of having been engaged in two wholly dissimilar callings, railroading and farming, William ODean was so suc- cessful in the pursuit of each and husbanded his resources so wisely that he was enabled to retire some years ago and has since been living in the enjoyment of well deserved ease. He is a native of Sweden having been born in February, 1844. His father, Peter ODean, was a farmer in Sweden where he died in 1874. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Swenson, died in 1880.
William ODean was reared and educated in the common schools of his native locality. He lived with his parents until he was twenty-five years
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old when he took leave of them and of the home of his childhood days. In his mind's eye he saw a vision of that illusive dream-success-beckon- ing him onward to America, the land of promise across the sea, where Fortune holds forth hopes and opportunities to her faithful adherents, and thither he made his way in 1869, following the westward trail. On reaching Ottumwa, Iowa, he found the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad laying their road-bed through this region. Here he secured employment as bridge foreman of a construction crew. After two years at this work he gathered the proceeds of his toil and came to Jefferson county, Iowa, where he invested in one hundred and thirty acres of land in Lockridge township. This tract he improved and subsequently rented, returning to his work on the railroad, in which he continued twenty more years and at the close of this period, in 1891, he withdrew to his farm, assuming charge of its cultivation. Twelve years he devoted to the opera- tion of his property and thereafter retired, moving to Four Corners, where he now resides on twenty-seven acres of highly improved land. Financially he is interested in the Lockridge Savings Bank in which he is a stockholder and director.
Mr. ODean married Miss Charlotta Swanson in December, 1882. Her parents, Andrew and Luisa Swanson, were natives of Sweden. Her father came to this country and located in Jefferson county, Iowa, in 1852, buying a farm in Lockridge township which he set about to improve. He operated it until his death in 1884. Mrs. Swanson's death occurred in 1874.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. ODean, namely: Minnie, the wife of A. D. Edmund, now operating his father-in-law's farm in Lockridge township; Fred, living in Henry county, Iowa; and Paul, who died in 1889.
Mr. ODean generally votes with the republicans and with his family holds membership in the Lutheran church. He is a man of upright char- acter and high principles and has won the regard of all who know him.
THOMAS M. HAWK.
Thomas M. Hawk owns and cultivates a farm of one hundred and fifty-five and one-half acres situated in Walnut township, and its neat and thrifty appearance renders it one of the attractive features in the land- scape. His birth occurred in Penn township, Jefferson county, October 14, 1856, his parents being William and Frances (McClure) Hawk, who were natives of Tennessee. The father came to Jefferson county in 1839,
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when the greater part of the state was still wild and unimproved, few settlements having been made beyond the eastern border. He entered forty acres of land in Penn township and began the arduous task of clearing and improving this, turning the first furrows in the fields and planting the seeds, which in due time brought forth good harvests. His persistent and intelligently directed labors brought him success, that enabled him to add to his possessions from time to time until he owned five hundred acres, which he continued to cultivate and improve until about a year prior to his death, when he retired from the farm and took up his abode in Fair- field. His was a long, useful and active life, crowned with substantial success and the high regard of all with whom he had business or social relations. He died in 1903, at the age of eighty-six years, having for several years survived his wife.
Thomas M. Hawk was reared and educated in his native county and its district school system provided him with his educational privileges. In the school of experience, however, he has added many valuable lessons. He remianed with his parents on the home farm and assisted in its develop- ment and improvement until he had attained his majority, when he started out in life independently, giving his attention to the work, to which he had previously been trained. After renting land for two years his father bought a tract and later he purchased more land in Walnut township. He at once began improvements and has since cultivated it, having now a valuable farm of one hundred and fifty-five and one-half acres lacking in no modern equipment or accessory. He uses the latest improved machinery to facili- tate the work of the fields and has upon his place good barns and out- buildings, furnishing ample shelter for grain and stock. His methods, too, are practical and produce substantial results.
On February 5, 1881, Mr. Hawk was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Jennison, a daughter of Stephen S. and Mary (Fenton) Jennison, who were natives of Indiana. Her father became a resident of Wayne county, Iowa, at an early day and there purchased and improved a farm which he has since continued to cultivate. Her mother, however, has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Hawk have become the parents of three children: Rollie R., now living at home; Minnie, the wife of G. M. Lesher, a resident of North Dakota; and Ina E., the wife of H. B. Lesher, who is also living in North Dakota. The wife and mother passed away after a year's illness, on the 16th of August, 1905, her death being deeply regretted by many. friends as well as by her immediate family.
Mr. Hawk holds membership in the Church of God and his political support is given to the democratic party. A life-long resident of Jefferson county, he is well known within its borders and his history is a familiar one to many of our readers. His life record shows what may be accom-
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plished when energy and determination lead the way. He has had but little assistance and yet his persistent, earnest labor has enabled him to steadily advance toward the goal of prosperity, his landed possessions making him one of the substantial citizens of Walnut township.
WALTUS COLLINS.
Waltus Collins is one of the venerable citizens of Jefferson county. He was born in Simpson county, Kentucky, November 10, 1824, so that his life record has already spanned eighty-seven years. It covers a most interesting period in the history of the country and he can well remember many of the chief events which have left their impress upon the records of this land. He has himself taken an active part in shaping the develop- ment and promoting the welfare of Jefferson county and he can relate many interesting points concerning pioneer history not only in this region but also in Illinois and Kentucky. His parents were Thomas and Polly (Elam) Collins. The father was born in North Carolina, in 1787, and the mother's birth occurred in Virginia, on the bank of the James river, about eight or ten years after the birth of her husband. He was a son of Jasper Collins, who was born in North Carolina and served through the Revolu- tionary war as a teamster. In the days of peace, however, he followed the occupation of farming. The Elams were a prominent Virginia family and one of the name served in congress. Although reared in North Caro- lina Thomas Collins was married in Kentucky. In early life he learned the cooper's trade which he always afterward followed, and he also owned a farm which was operated by his sons and their negro assistants. About 1827 the family removed from the state line into Sumner county, Tennessee, and after living there for a time took up their abode in Christian county, Kentucky, where they remained for three years. In the spring of 1836 they arrived in Morgan county, Illinois, and while living there the mother of Waltus Collins passed away, in 1852. The father died later at Pekin, Illinois, when seventy-nine years of age. Their children were eleven in number: Valina, the wife of William Edwards; Olivia, who married Charles Wilson ; Thomas Jefferson ; James Madison; Mary, the wife of Enoch Frazey ; Waltus; Benjamin Franklin; Susan, the wife of William Baldwin : Frances Ann, the wife of William McCasland; Henry Clay, who died at the age of eight years; and Orvil, who served through the Civil war in an Illinois regiment. Waltus and Mrs. Baldwin are the only ones now living. Benjamin Franklin enlisted from Illinois for service in the Civil war and died at the front, near Memphis, Tennessee.
WALTUS COLLINS
I-LARY
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The first incident in his life which Waltus Collins remembers occurred when he was about two years of age, when the family were removing from Kentucky to Tennessee. He can recall the large logs that were used in the building of his father's house and in the other buildings on the premises. While living there he frequently saw General Jackson riding in the stage coach. Following the removal to Christian county, Kentucky, when he was about nine years of age, he witnessed the developinent of his father's farm into one of the finest tobacco plantations in the world. In the neigh- borhood lived Peter Cartwright and for a number of years they were neighbors to Jefferson Davis and Buckner. In the same part of the state also lived Lincoln, Clay, and Harlan, together with others who have won state and national prominence. In those early days he and his brother were allowed to hunt rabbits while the older brothers hunted turkey and larger game which was quite plentiful in that district. Corn and tobacco were the chief products raised and Mr. Collins' father frequently sold corn to the slave drivers at fifty cents per bushel. Both the white and black people worked in the fields and Mr. Collins was many days employed by a neighbor when but a young lad. Fox hunting was the favorite sport of the young men of the district and some of the older ones and there were a good many packs of hounds kept in Kentucky. Mr. Collins says that his life was fraught with much pleasure during that period. Corn huskings were among the most interesting social functions of the day and on such occasions a splendid supper was; served at which the principal dish was pork pie. When a red ear of corn was found a drink of whiskey was given to the finder, but the owner was usually careful about the disposition of the intoxicant.
Following the removal of the family to Morgan county Mr. Collins spent about eight years of his life in that district. There was no free instruction, the schools being supported by the parents of the children and partly by the state, but later a system of free public instruction was intro- duced, owing to the rapid settlement of Illinois. When about sixteen years of age Waltus Collins left the parental roof and started out in life for himself, working for farmers for a number of years, including some of the big cattle men and wealthiest stock dealers of the country. While thus employed he first came to know something of the Mormon religion and its followers. Resentment against the Mormons grew stronger as it found that many of the people were desperate characters who committed much theft. In September, 1843, Mr. Collins enlisted in the Illinois State Constabulary, a light horse cavalry, for active duty during the trouble with the Mormons at Nauvoo. There were one hundred mounted men in the brigade, under Captain Thomas Turner and Brigadier General Hardin. Mr. Collins remained in the state service for three years and was the Vol. II-10
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tallest man in his company, standing six feet four inches and weighing about two hundred pounds at that time. He is thoroughly familiar with the history of Mormonism and the movement that ended in transporting the followers of Joseph Smith to the west. The people who had been defrauded would follow their lost property to the edge of the Mormon city but could not recover the stolen goods, and again and again officers with warrants for the recovery of stolen goods would attempt to make an arrest and were never heard of again. At length feeling became so intense against the sect that the Smiths, who were imprisoned in the Carthage jail, were killed by a mob of thousands from Missouri and Illinois. The movement against the Mormons was probably delayed by the political situation, as both parties wanted their votes, but Ford, the democratic candidate for governor, won. In September of the same year he called out a brigade of soldiers to quell a mob composed of desperate men from Missouri and Illinois, men who had suffered great loss of property through the Mormons. Governor Ford had as his advisers Stephen A. Douglas and Hardin who counseled a diplomatic course. But at length it was seen that the move- ment against the Mormons was so strong that they feared a massacre and finally agreed to leave this part of the country. The governor detailed two companies to remain at Carthage and maintain peace. One of these, com- manded by Captain Turner, was the cavalry company to which Mr. Collins belonged and the other company was composed of Quincy riflemen, under Captain Morgan. Mr. Collins says that his experience in the constabulary service among the Mormons convinced him that they were the worst body of men he has ever had anything to do with.
At length, when he was discharged from service he came to Iowa, reaching Jefferson county March 20, 1846, and here he has since lived. He made the journey on horseback to join his sister, Mrs. Valina Edwards, who resided in what is now Buchanan township. With her he had spent the winter of 1843-4 and then returned to Illinois, but came here to reside permanently in 1846. He entered eighty acres of land in Buchanan town- ship and resided on it for nine years, after which he sold out and in Febru- ary, 1857, purchased his present farm, containing one hundred and one acres in Lockridge township, a mile northeast of Salina. It was mostly covered by heavy timber although thirty acres had been cleared and culti- vated. The fertility of the ground, however, had been so reduced that it could yield only thirty bushels to the acre. But Mr. Collins planted it to grass and kept his stock thereon, and after a few years its productiveness had so increased that he could raise from seventy-five to one hundred bushels per acre. On his first farm he built a log house with a shingle roof and glass windows. The cabins of those days were mostly built with round logs and clapboard roofs. Splitting a puncheon and hewing it until it was
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thin, he made a settee upon which he put rockers and used this for the baby's cradle. All the necessary farm buildings were built of logs and covered with clapboards. Mr. Collins availed himself of the wide range for cattle and as the years passed his efforts at farming and stock-raising brought him substantial profit.
As a companion and helpmate for life's journey Mr. Collins chose Jane Chilcott whom he wedded June II, 1846. She was born in Huntington county, Pennsylvania, June 14, 1830, and in April; 1844, came to Jefferson county with her parents, Richard and Ruth (Gorsuch) Chilcott, who were also natives of the Keystone state and spent their last days in Jefferson county. Mrs. Collins was a sister of United States Senator George M. Chilcott, of Colorado, who came to Jefferson county in 1844 with the family and worked for our subject at fifty cents per day, furnishing his own yoke of oxen and thus assisting in clearing the land. For forty-four years Mr. and Mrs. Collins traveled life's journey together but were separated in the death of the wife, December 13, 1890. They were the parents of nine children : Ruth, the wife of Alonzo J. Green, of Fairfield ; Emma, the wife of Finley Chester, of Kansas City, Missouri; Sarah Jane, who died at the age of nine years; Jay, a farmer of this county; Ira, a resident of Los Angeles, California ; Melvin R., of Fairfield; Miles Grant, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Ernest, of Emerson, Iowa; and Dennis Colfax, of Los Angeles, California.
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