USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 20
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Theodore Hochuly has continuously made Fairfield his home since he came to this city with his parents when a little lad of about eight years. He pursued his education in the public schools until graduated from the high school with the class of 1888, after which he continued his studies in Parsons College, of this city, from which he was graduated in 1892. For a few years in early manhood he was engaged in the real-estate business and also became prominent in local military circles. In 1896 he assisted in organizing Company G, of the Fiftieth Infantry Regiment of the Iowa National Guard and went south during the Spanish-American war. On the Ist of December, 1898, he was mustered out and soon afterward en- tered the law office of Leggett & McKemey, with whom he remained for eight years, or until June, 1907. The senior partner of the firm was his
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uncle, Charles D. Leggett, long a distinguished representative of the legal profession here. In 1901 Mr. Hochuly was admitted to the bar but con- tinued in practice with his former preceptors for six years, when he with- drew from that connection to join Judge Robert Sloan in organizing the present firm of Sloan & Hochuly. The firm is accorded a liberal share of the legal business of the county and has been actively connected with many important cases in the last few years. Mr. Hochuly is an able trial lawyer and keeps well informed on all the different departments of the law, so that he is ready for any demand that is made upon his professional service.
In 1906 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hochuly and Miss Mary A. Bates, a daughter of Adin K. Bates, and a niece of Daniel P. Stubbs, now deceased, who was at one time a prominent attorney of Fairfield. Mr. Hochuly is a member of a number of fraternal orders and belongs also to the Episcopal church. He is likewise a member of the Commercial Club, of which he is serving as secretary and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party but does not seek nor desire office, preferring to con- centrate his energies upon his professional duties and his close application, thorough study and comprehensive knowledge have constituted the basis of the gratifying advancement which he has made.
ANDREW F. CASSEL.
Andrew F. Cassel is widely known throughout this section of the country for the numerous political offices he has held and for his interest in edu- cational and religious questions touching the intellectual and moral welfare of his community. He has the further distinction of being the son of one of the first Swedish settlers in the western states. His father, Peter Cas- sel, came to this country in 1845, locating in Jefferson county, Iowa. In Sweden he had been a farmer by occupation, but his love for machinery and the mechanical arts had led him to spend most of his time in the manu- facture of threshing machines. He had also been a proficient millwright and worked in this capacity for some time after his arrival in this country. Like the others of the little band of Swedish immigrants who had crossed the ocean with him and accompanied him to his destination in Iowa, he bought a plat of land in Lockridge township and entered upon a career of farming. It was raw, unbroken land that he found out on the wind-swept prairie, but Swedish industry and Swedish thrift worked a marvelous transformation in the once barren landscape. Green fields of waving corn,
A. F. CASSEL
MRS. A. F. CASSEL
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barley and wheat appeared in their due season to gladden the hearts of the toilers and give them promise of riches to come. Mr. Cassel's farm com- prised one hundred and forty acres of land which he. cultivated for the re- mainder of his life. On March 4, 1857, death too soon claimed him, cut- ting short his labors. His wife, whose maiden name was Katherine Ander- son and became by her marriage the mother of Andrew F. Cassel, out- lived her husband by twenty years, passing away in May, 1877.
When thirteen years of age Andrew F. Cassel, whose birth occurred December 3, 1831, accompanied his parents to the United States. He had already received a good fundamental education in Sweden which he con- tinued in the district schools of his township in order to acquire a ready use of English. He remained at home assisting with the chores and the work in the fields so that, when his father died, he was prepared to take full charge of the operation of the farm. At the death of his mother he came into possession of the home farm by purchasing from the other heirs their shares in the title. He then set about improving the place and adding more land to it until now he owns one hundred and ninety acres, a part of which he rents keeping the rest for his own use.
The marriage of Mr. Andrew F. Cassel to Miss Louise Peterson was solemnized November 13, 1857. She was a daughter of Andrew and Chris- tina Peterson, natives of Sweden. Her parents had severed their home ties in order to seek better opportunities for themselves and their children in the land of promise across the sea, but on the voyage over Mr. Peter- son and two of the children died of cholera. It was a sad little band con- sisting of the mother and seven children who came at length to join the Swedish colony in Lockridge township, Jefferson county, Iowa. Undaunted in her determination, however, the mother bought forty acres of land and began farming with the aid of her children until these were old enough to take from her the heavy burdens which the responsibility of providing for the needs of her family had thrust upon her. It is to women like Mrs. Peterson that we owe an unpaid tribute, the widowed mother with a crown of sorrow on her brow going forth cheerfully from home and friends to endure hardships and toil, to suffer privation, to encounter sickness and the bereavement of death, and yet through it all retaining a faith unshaken in its sublime serenity. At the shrine of her memory let us pause for a moment in silent adoration.
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew F. Cassel had ten children born to them, four of whom died in infancy. Those living are: Mary Ella, living at home ; John Wesley, book-keeper in the Iowa State Savings Bank at Fairfield; Simon P., employed as an engineer on the Union Pacific Railroad and re- siding in Omaha, Nebraska; Andrew E., a rural mail carrier living in Fair- field, Iowa; Clara S., the wife of George Stephenson, a farmer of Lock- Vol. II-12
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ridge township and Esther A., the wife of G. V. Scott, farmer and trustee of Lockridge township.
Mr. Cassel is a republican in his political sympathies. He cast his first vote for Fremont as president. Always an eager worker for the good of his community, he has often and repeatedly been called to office by the many warm friends who appreciate his sincere and progressive spirit. He served as state representative from his district in the twenty-ninth, the thirtieth and the thirty-first general assemblies, was for nine years a mem- ber of the board of supervisors, and for a long period of years acted in the capacity of trustee of the township and director of the school in his dis- trict. In the general conference of the Methodist Episcopal church held at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1884, Mr. Cassel, on account of his ac- tive interest in the work of this church, was sent as one of the delegates from the state of Iowa. He is a stockholder in the Iowa State Savings Bank of Fairfield, Iowa, and has served as the secretary of the Swedish Mutual Fire Insurance Association ever since its organization January I, 1870. His wife died June 27. 1900, having been an invalid for six years preceding.
Few men in Jefferson county have lived a fuller life than Mr. Cassel nor have been more willing to give of their time and services for the good of the family, the school, the church, the state and the nation. He has never shirked a responsibility ; and whatever duties were laid upon him he has discharged with utter willingness, asking for no other reward than the joy that comes of service well performed.
JAMES V. WEBB.
James V. Webb is devoting his energies to the cultivation of a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-nine acres that he owns on section 8, Locust Grove township, where he is meeting with a gratifying measure of suc- cess. He was born in Pleasant township, Wapello county, Iowa, on the 16th of March, 1871, and is a son of Isham and Jane (Shrom) Webb. The birth of the father occurred in Jefferson county, Iowa, on the 14th of March, 1844, while the mother was born in Ohio, January 1, 1852. During the entire period of his active career Isham Webb engaged in agri- cultural pursuits in different parts of his native county, but he passed away on the farm of his son, James V., in Van Buren county, his demise occurring on the Ist of April, 1907. The mother was living in Bladens- burg, Iowa, at the time of her death in December, 1879. There were four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Webb: James V., our subject ; Mary Ellen,
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the wife of O. C. Davis, a farmer of Wapello county; Lydia, who married Leroy Reynolds, a carpenter of Portland, Oregon; and George, who is farming in Emmett county, Iowa. The paternal grandfather, Jefferson Webb, was a native of Ohio, whence he removed to Indiana, coming to Iowa in 1843. He settled on a farm in Center township, in the vicinity of Fairfield, being one of the pioneers of Jefferson county, as was also the family of his first wife, Nancy Pleu, who was a native of Indiana.
James V. Webb remained at home, attending the district schools and assisting his father with the work of the farm until he was fifteen years of age. At the end of that time he began for himself as a farm hand, continuing to follow this occupation until he was twenty-five years of age, during that period acquiring sufficient capital to enable him to begin farm- ing on his own account. He began his career as an independent agricul- turist in Van Buren county, where he resided until the spring of 1911, when he came to Jefferson county. Here he purchased what was known as the Charles Conner farm, containing one hundred and fifty-nine acres of land in Locust Grove township, where he is now residing. Practical in his ideas by reason of his intelligent and capably directed efforts Mr. Webb is meeting with excellent success. His fields are operated under his personal supervision and as a result annually yield abundant harvests that command good prices.
On the 24th of January, 1897, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Webb and Miss Daisy Sterner, a daughter of Wallace and Martha (Porter) Sterner. The father, who is a native of Pennsylvania, came to Iowa in the 'zos, locating on a farm in Wapello county, in the cultivation of which he has met with most gratifying success, being numbered among the pros- perous agriculturists in his community. The mother is deceased, having passed away on the family homestead in 1904. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Sterner numbered seven children, as follows: Daisy, now Mrs. Webb; Eva, the wife of Edgar Harris a farmer of Locust Grove township, this county ; Lesie, the deceased wife of A. C. McCart, a farmer of Wapello county ; John, a farmer living in the vicinity of Eddyville, Iowa ; Mary, who is deceased ; and Marion and Belle, who are at home with their father. Mr. and Mrs. Webb are the parents of six children: Dora M., who is thirteen years of age; Iva, now twelve; Inez, of ten summers; William Wallace, aged eight years; Lester I., who is looking forward to his fifth birthday ; and Russell, a babe of six months. The four eldest are all pupils of Hickory Ridge district school, No. 2.
The family attend the services of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bladensburg, in which Mrs. Webb holds membership. The fraternal con- nections of Mr. Webb are confined to his membership in the Masonic order, his local affiliation being with Abingdon Lodge, No. 104, A. F. &
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A. M. In his political views he is a democrat and served an unexpired term as trustee in Des Moines township, while living in Van Buren county. A man of decision, energy and definite purpose, by reason of the intelligent direction of his undertakings, Mr. Webb is meeting with an encouraging measure of prosperity, the just and highly deserved reward of his efforts.
HUGH CIAIG PATTISON.
One of Jefferson county's successful farmers, who has long been prom- inently identified not only with the political life of the township but that of the county, is Hugh Ciaig Pattison, who owns and operates a fine farm in Cedar township. He was born on the farm where he is now living on the 7th of March, 1868, and is the son of Robert and Rosa (Gilbert) Pattison, both natives of County Antrim, Ireland, the father's natal day being the 31st of October. 1816, and that of the mother Christmas day, 1828. They were both of Scotch-Irish extraction, the paternal grand- mother having gone to Ireland from Scotland with the Ross clan, while the maternal grandfather was born in Scotland. Robert Pattison emigrated to the United States in 1849, locating in Jefferson county, where he pre- empted eighty acres of land. He later extended the boundaries of his farm by the addition of another eighty acres, a portion of which he subsequently sold. The maternal grandparents came to this country prior to 1847. set- tling on a farm located east of Fairfield, now known as the old Gilbert homestead. Here they were later joined by their daughter Rosa and some of their other children. On the 31st of October, 1849, Mr. Pattison and Miss Gilbert were married, beginning their domestic life on the farm he had already purchased on section 20, Cedar township. There they resided until the father passed away on May 7, 1896, since which the widow has made her home with her daughter. Miss Ellen M. Pattison, who lives across the road from the old homestead. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Pattison numbered ten, our subject being the ninth in the family and the youngest son. The others in order of birth are as follows: A. W., who is a contractor and carpenter at Salem, Idaho; John M., who is deceased ; Annie, the deceased wife of J. M. Conley, of Fort Madison, Iowa : Emma J., the wife of George P. Conley, a carpenter of Salem, Idaho: Robert Ross, who is engaged in fruit growing and bee culture in Fowler, Colorado ; Mattie B., the wife of John W. Elm. a farmer of Hill City, Kansas; Ro- setta M., the deceased wife of A. R. Speer, a farmer of Cedar township ; W. J., who is engaged in the real-estate and insurance business in Claude, Texas ; and Ellen M., who is living with her mother.
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At the usual age Hugh Ciaig Pattison began his education which was pursued in the third district school in Cedar township, and during that time he also assisted in the work about the farm. He remained at home, where he was associated in agricultural pursuits with his father, until his marriage. Subsequent to this event he rented the N. D. Ankrom place, located a mile and a half east of Fairfield, that he operated for two and a half years. Following the death of his father he purchased one hundred and fifty-seven acres of the old homestead, together with the original build- ings and here he has ever since resided. He is a good business man and capable agriculturist and is meeting with a gratifying degree of success from his undertakings. His personal attention is given to the tilling of his fields and the harvesting of his crops as well as to the various minor ope- rations about the place, which is kept in excellent condition. He keeps a good grade of cattle, his fields are in a high state of cultivation and the buildings on his farm are in good repair, all manifesting the spirit of thrift and prosperity that invariably accompanies capable supervision.
On the 17th of March, 1896, Mr. Pattison was married to Miss Eliza Stout, a daughter of Ephraim and Angeline (Miller) Stout, who are men- tioned at greater length elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Pattison is the fourth in order of birth of the six children, the others being as follows : Ella, the wife of S. W. Fry, a farmer of Cedar township; Albert, who is a farmer of Van Buren county ; William, who is a farmer of Cedar town- ship; Effie, the wife of William McWhirter, also a farmer of this town- ship; and Bertha, the wife of A. Frame, a farmer and ranchman of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Pattison have three children: Earl W., who was born on the 30th of April, 1897; Paul E., whose birth occurred on the 18th of March, 1899; and Edna L., who was born on the 30th of June, 1904. They are all attending the third district school.
Mr. Pattison is very public-spirited, as was also his father, who offered his services to the Union during the Civil war, but they were refused owing to his age. He is a stanch republican, and has always done his best to keep the party together in his township. Ever since he attained his ma- jority he has been prominently connected with the political life of the town- ship, having been under bonds continuously, as he puts it, since long be- fore his marriage. When he was twenty-two years of age he was elected superintendent of roads, under the old law, and served for seven years. while for fourteen years he was secretary of the Cedar township school board. He was elected township trustee, but served in this capacity for only one year, resigning in order to accept the office of county supervisor. He was the youngest man ever elected to this office in Jefferson county, and served from 1904 to January, 1911. Mr. Pattison is very popular not only among his constituency, but the entire community, where he is rec-
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ognized as a thoroughly capable and trustworthy official, his record being particularly free from any petty political scandal. In matters of faith both he and his wife and their two older children are Presbyterians, holding membership in the church of Cedar township, of which Mr. Pattison has been an elder and the clerk of sessions ever since its organization in 1898. Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow and belongs to the lodge at Fairfield. Mr. Pattison has met with a fair degree of prosperity in his undertakings and in the county where his entire life has been spent is widely known and held in favorable regard by reason of his genuine personal worth and his clean public record.
AMOS TAYLOR.
The late Amos Taylor was one of the highly esteemed citizens of Des Moines township, where he is still kindly remembered by some of the older residents, although more than eighteen years have elapsed since he departed this life. His birth occurred in Ross county, Ohio, on the 15th of Feb- ruary, 1828, his parents being Joseph and Polly Ann (Bogard) Taylor. The father, who was a farmer, was born and reared in Pennsylvania, of Scotch-Irish descent, and the mother was a native of Ross county, Ohio. Her father was killed on the banks of the Wabash river, where he was re- siding at that time, during an Indian uprising. Having been notified of the approaching enemy the family started for the fort, located at some dis- tance from there. In their haste they left some articles of value in the house for which Mr. Bogard returned. He was attacked by the Indians, killed and scalped. His body was found later carefully guarded by his faithful dog. His son, Cornelius Bogard, swore vengeance, and thereafter never hesitated to kill an Indian when an opportunity presented itself, dur- ing either peace or war. Joseph Taylor with his wife and family removed from Ohio to Indiana, where they resided for nineteen years, proceeding to Missouri. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Taylor: William, who is deceased ; Sarah, who has attained the venerable age of eighty-two years, living in Missouri; Annie, who is living in Kansas ; and Lydia, Eliza- beth and Amos, all of whom are deceased. The father died while the family were living in Missouri, but the mother was residing in Marion county, lowa, at the time of her death, having removed to this state with her chil- dren during the Civil war.
The first fourteen years in the life of Amos Taylor were passed amid the scenes of his birth. In 1842 he removed with his parents to Indiana, sharing with them the hardships and privations incident to frontier life.
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Later he went to Missouri, subsequently locating in Marion county, Iowa. In 1848 he became a resident of Jefferson county, settling in Des Moines township, where fifteen years later he purchased the farm on which his widow is now living. The land is located on section 21, and consists of eighty acres under cultivation and thirty acres of timber. When he first came to Jefferson county, it was but sparsely settled ; such improvements as had been made were crude, while the majority of the roads through the rural districts were little more than wagon tracks. Mr. Taylor was the typical pioneersman, energetic, tireless, determined, and despite the many discouragements he encountered, his faith in the ultimate future of the country was never shaken. Versatile and resourceful he could turn his energies in any direction and became one of the factors in promoting the development of the township, whose interests he most efficiently served for many years in an official capacity.
On the 30th of September, 1857, Mr. Taylor completed his arrange- ments for a home by his marriage to Miss Mary E. Pearson, a daughter of Sampson and Nancy (McClure) Pearson. The father was a native of Miami county, Ohio, where for many years he worked as a farmer and blacksmith. He was of English descent, but the mother, whose birth occurred in Shelby county, Ohio, was of Irish and Scotch extraction. They came to Iowa in 1853, settling in Des Moines township, Jefferson county. After residing there for twenty-two years they went to Missouri, where they both died, the mother on the 12th of March, 1885, at the home of her daughter Edna, and the father in Nodaway county, at the home of his son Young, on the 5th of January, 1898. Their family numbered nine : Silas, who is living in Libertyville, Iowa; and Young, Henry, John and George, all of whom are deceased; Rachel, who is living in Missouri; and Edna and Annie, both of whom are also deceased. Mrs. Taylor is the eldest of the family. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor were the parents of eight chil- dren and there are now twenty-six grandchildren and six great-grandchil- dren descendants. Ida, the wife of John Wildman, a carpenter of Fair- field, Iowa, has three children : Otto Taylor; Grace, the wife of John Lang- ner and the mother of three children, William, Kenneth and Marie; and Floyd. Millard, a farmer of Des Moines township, married Allie Fry and has four children, Hazel, Florence, Russell and Fern. Sarah, the wife of Ben Wildman of South Haven, Michigan, has five childen: Roy; Cora, who married William Mapes and has two children, Ethel Louise and Dora May ; Amos; Clarence ; and Ethel. Laura, who is the fourth member of the family, is at home with her mother. Margaret Edna, the wife of Sher- man Draper of Port Angeles, Washington, has five children: Winnie, who married Montie Hetrick and has one child, Thelma, Richard, Ruby, Ina and Dorothy. Mary E., the wife of John McDonald, a farmer of Lane
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county, Oregon, has one child, Carrie. Victoria, the wife of James Mc- Elderry, a farmer of Davis county, Iowa, has three children, Ralph, Mer- vin and Taylor. Charles L., a farmer of Des Moines township, this county, married Delilah Manning and has five children: Cleo, Glenn, Irene, Marie and Bernice. Mrs. Taylor continues to live on her farm, which for sev- eral years after the death of Mr. Taylor was cultivated by her youngest son, Charles, but since he left home she has been renting the land. During the long period of her residence in the township she has been the inter- ested observer of its wonderful development, and has lived to witness all the expectations of her husband, regarding its agricultural future, fully realized.
Mr. Taylor always took an active and helpful interest in all public matters, giving his political support to the men and measures of the re- publican party. He served for two terms as assessor of his township, while for six years he acted as township trustee and was treasurer for twelve years. He was well qualified for public office, and although very young while living in Missouri he held the office of justice of the peace. During the Civil war he was a member of the Home Protective League, and for many years he was a prominent member of the Iowa Grange. He had been a resident of Des Moines township for thirty years at the time of his death, on the 12th of July, 1893, during which period he became widely known, winning the esteem and friendship not only of those in his imme- diate community but throughout the county.
W. G. ROSS.
W. G. Ross, who is serving for the second term of four years as post- master of Fairfield, having been appointed to the position in 1904, has made a most creditable record in the office, administering the affairs of his position in a prompt and businesslike manner, which has won him the good will and respect of his fellow townsmen. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 1859, his parents being John and Rebecca Ross, the former born in Fayette county, February 10, 1825, and the latter in Washington county, Pennsylvania, September 14, 1827. They resided in the Keystone state until 1866 and then came to Jefferson county, Iowa, where they have since made their home, being now located in Fair- field. In the east the father followed merchandising, conducting a store at Masontown, Pennsylvania, for about fifteen years but after coming to the middle west he took up the occupation of farming and for many years owned and cultivated a tract of land in Center township, upon which he
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