USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 38
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Charles Moorman has been very active all his life in helping to further the interests of his community. He and all his family are faithful mem- bers and zealous workers in the Methodist Episcopal church of Packwood. In every relation of life Mr. Moorman has been honest and conscientious and, therefore, he is held in the highest esteem by all in the township where he is so well known.
JOHN THOMAS.
John Thomas, who for more than a third of a century has been con- tinuously and successfully identified with general agricultural pursuits in Black Hawk township, is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and fifty acres. His birth occurred in Stark county, Ohio, on the 29th of June, 1852, his parents being Nathaniel and Christina Thomas. The father removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio at a period when the latter state was still largely wild and unimproved, settling on a tract of land which the grandfather had entered from the government some years before. He undertook the task of clearing the property and gradually developed it into a productive farm. His demise occurred in 1864, while his wife passed away four years later.
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Being thus left homeless at the age of sixteen, John Thomas secured employment as a farm hand, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. In the spring of 1874 he left his native state and made a trip to California but, being not altogether pleased with the west, he soon returned to this part of the country, stop- ping in Des Moines, Iowa, about the middle of July, 1874. Obtaining work in the harvest field, he remained in this state until November and then returned to Ohio, where he spent two years in the service of his pre- vious employer. In the spring of 1877 he again made his way to Iowa and has here remained continuously since, following the pursuits of farming and stock-raising with excellent success. He now owns two hundred and fifty acres of land, all of which is tiled and under a high state of cultivation and improvement, the fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor which is bestowed upon them.
On the 23d of March, 1890, at Agency, Wapello county, Iowa, Mr. Thomas was united in marriage to Miss Laura B. Timonds, a daughter of James and Eliza J. (Grobes) Timonds. The father was a harness maker by trade, but as his health would not permit of indoor work, he took up farming in Wapello county where he now owns a farm of three hundred and twenty acres and he and his wife are counted among the highly re- spected residents of that county. There were seven children in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Timonds of whom one died when but two years of age, while all the rest are settled in Wapello county. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have no children. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. He enjoys an enviable reputation as a prominent citizen and substantial agriculturist of Black Hawk township and has ever mani- fested a deep and public-spirited interest in the welfare of his county, state and nation.
JOHN W. KIENTZ.
The farm which he is now operating in Walnut township was the birthplace of John W. Kientz, whose natal day was August 15, 1861, his parents being Christian and Caroline (Schaffer) Kientz, who were natives of Germany and Ohio respectively. The father came to this country with his parents when but a year old, the family home being established in Ohio, where the grandparents remained for seven or eight years. A re- moval was then made to Jefferson county, Iowa, where the Kientz family cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers, the father of Christian Kientz entering land in Walnut township. Not a furrow had been turned nor an
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improvement made on the place. He cleared it and undertook the arduous task of developing the property, upon which he spent his remaining days, converting the wild tract into richly cultivated fields and deriving there- from as the years passed by a substantial and gratifying income. For years he remained a worthy and valued citizen of this community and in his death Jefferson county mourned the loss of one of its worthy pioneer set- tlers. . He passed away in 1893 and his wife died in 1896.
Christian Kientz remained with his parents during the period of his minority and his youthful experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of farm boys who are reared on the frontier. He shared with the family in the hardships and trials incident to pioneer life and early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. On attaining his majority he started out in life on his own account, pur- chasing the farm which is now the home of his son John. It was an un- developed tract but he resolutely undertook the work of making it produc- tive and the evidence of his labors was seen soon in well tilled fields and substantial improvements. He cultivated the crops best adapted to soil and climate and the years brought him a gratifying reward for his labor. He continued his farming operations until 1899, when he sold the old homestead to his son John and retired from active business life, removing to Germanville, Iowa, where he now makes his home with his daughter, his wife having passed away on the 4th of October, 1907. His memory runs back to the days when this section of the country was but sparsely settled, when the prairies in June were starred with a million wild flowers and in December were covered with one unbroken, dazzling sheet of snow. Only here and there had a little settlement been made to indicate that the seeds of civilization had been planted on the western prairies and with the work of improvement, especially along agricultural lines, he was closely associated for many years.
His son John W. Kientz was reared and educated in this county, at- tending the public schools and in the periods of vacation working in the fields, so that practical experience well qualified him for the tasks which he undertook on starting in the business world on his own account, at which time he rented a farm. After cultivating this for two years he removed to Kansas and engaged in farming there for two years. That period was sufficient to convince him that he preferred Jefferson county as a place of residence and, returning to Iowa, he afterward cultivated his father-in- law's farm for thirteen years. He then purchased the old home place of two hundred and thirty-five acres and has since made a number of sub- stantial improvements thereon, converting it into a valuable property. In the midst of the fields stand a pleasant residence and good barns and out- buildings, which furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. Everything
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about the place is neat and thrifty in appearance and his intelligently directed labor is bringing to him substantial success year by year. He is also a stockholder in the Brighton Mutual Telephone Company and is in- terested in all those progressive movements and business enterprises which are indicative of the trend of the times.
On the 2nd of March, 1887, Mr. Kientz was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Hillenbrand, a daughter of Casper and Elizabeth (Marks) Hillen- brand, who were natives of Germany. Coming to this country, the father located in Pennsylvania at an early day, remaining a number of years in the state, after which he came to Jefferson county, Iowa. Here he married a lady who was the owner of a farm in Walnut township that had been entered from the government. He cleared and improved the property and continued its cultivation until his death, which occurred November 29, 1907, having for less than four weeks survived his wife, who died on the fourth of that month. Mr. and Mrs. Kientz have be- come the parents of four children but one of the number died in infancy. The others are Hattie, Elizabeth and Lester, aged respectively twenty- three, twenty and seventeen years.
Mr. Kientz has served as a trustee of Walnut township and as school director for many years. He belongs to Green Mountain Lodge, No. 205, I. O. O. F., of Brighton, and in his political views is a democrat. He and his family attend the Lutheran church and in every part of the county are widely and favorably known, the hospitality of the best homes being freely accorded them. Mr. Kientz has been a lifelong resident of the county, spending much of his time upon the farm which is now his home, and, while he has carefully managed his business interests, he has at the same time found opportunity to cooperate in public work which has as its object the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community.
IVAN C. FRAY.
Sweden has sent many thrifty and progressive citizens to Jefferson county. Prominent among the younger class of these is Ivan C. Fray, whose birth occurred in Sweden about forty miles east of Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 19, 1881, his parents being John William and Louisa (Ram) Fray, both natives of Sweden. For sixteen years, before coming to America in 1884 with his family, the father served in the king's army. When he left his native land he came direct to Jefferson county, Iowa, locating in Black Hawk township, where he farmed until 1906. In that year he removed to Keokuk county and purchased a farm which he still
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owns, and in addition to cultivating this land he is operating a gristmill at old Manhattan.
Ivan C. Fray was but three years of age when he came to America and his early years were spent attending the district school in Black Hawk township and assisting his father on the farm. Subsequently he worked out by the month but lived at home until twenty-three years of age, when he removed to a near-by farm, where he was employed for two years. After his marriage in 1905 he removed to Keokuk county, Iowa, where he re- mained for one year, and then removed to Polk township, Jefferson county, to locate upon the one hundred and sixty acre farm owned by Mrs. Fray on sections 22 and 23, where they are still residing. Mr. Fray is one of the well known stockmen of Polk township and deals extensively in cattle for the eastern markets. By his recognition and utilization of the oppor- tunities for success which he saw in the business of buying cattle for the Illinois feeders, he has worked up a stock business which is not only very profitable at present but will offer even greater advantages in the future.
On the 27th of February, 1905, Mr. Fray was married to Miss Lilly Anderson, the only daughter of Andrew and Sophia (Swanson) Ander- son, and to this union two children have been born, namely: Violet Arlene, born October 8, 1907; and Alice Iola, whose birth occurred May 28, 1911. In politics Mr. Fray is a stanch republican and has served as school direc- tor in district No. 3 of Polk township. He was at one time a member of the Packwood Lodge of the Modern Woodmen of America and both he and his wife hold membership in the Swedish Lutheran church of Pack- wood. Although still a young man, Mr. Fray has shown conclusively that many of his salient characteristics are among the requisites for success- alertness, energy, industry and integrity in all business dealings and social relations.
OLIVER I. WESTENHAVER.
Oliver I. Westenhaver, who was long and successfully identified with agricultural pursuits in this county, now operates a feed mill at Pleasant Plain. He also holds the office of justice of the peace and has ably dis- charged the duties devolving upon him in that capacity for thirteen years. His birth occurred in Ohio, on the 10th of September, 1838, his parents being Jacob and Elizabeth (Simpson) Westenhaver, who were natives of Virginia and Ohio respectively. The father drove from Ohio to Jeffer- son county, Iowa, in 1847 and subsequently made his way to Illinois, where he remained three years, subsequently purchasing a farm near Walnut
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Creek and operating the same for three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to this county and in Penn township purchased a tract of eighty acres which was nearly all covered with brush and timber that had to be cleared away before the land could be utilized for farming pur- poses. The cultivation and improvement of that property claimed his at- tention throughout the remainder of his life, his demise occurring in 1894 when he had attained the age of eighty-three years. His wife passed away in 1895 at the age of eighty-four.
Oliver I. Westenhaver was a lad of nine years when he came to Jeffer- son county with his parents. He began attending school at the early age of four years and pursued his studies in Ohio, Illinois, and also in this county. When he had attained his majority he left the parental roof and for two years was busily engaged in the operation of a rented farm. Subsequently he bought a tract of twenty acres in Penn township and began its improvement and by additional purchase later extended the boun- daries of his farm, operating the same for many years or until the death of his wife. He next lived with his daughter at Brighton for six years, but at the end of that time returned to his farm in Penn township, there con- tinuing his agricultural pursuits for two years. On the expiration of that period he disposed of the property and took up his abode in Pleasant Plain, purchasing a residence and nine town lots. A year ago he bought a feed mill and has since operated the same with excellent success.
Mr. Westenhaver has been married tivice. On the 4th of June, 1862, he wedded Miss Samantha Blissfield, a daughter of William and Eliza- beth (Henderson) Blissfield, who were natives of Virginia. Coming to Iowa, they settled near Brighton and there continued to reside throughout the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of four children, as follows: Oscar Willis, who is a resident of Pleasant Plain ; Cora B., who is the wife of E. A. Mortimore and resides at Brighton, Iowa: Ida L., the wife of Samuel Cassady, of Brighton ; and Hubert B., a railroad en- gineer living in Missouri. The wife and mother was called to her final rest in June, 1895, and on the 30th of August, 1907, Mr. Westenhaver was again married, his second union being with Carrie H. Funston, a daughter of John P. and Maria (Barcalow) Staats, both of whom were natives of New Jersey. The father, whose birth occurred in November, 1813, chose the occupation of farming as his life work and in 1839 removed to Illi- nois, where he entered and improved prairie land and carried on agricul- tural pursuits until 1853. In that year he came to Jefferson county, Iowa, and entered a tract of land, devoting his attention to its cultivation and improvement until he passed away on the 12th of September, 1903, at the age of eighty-nine years.
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In politics Mr. Westenhaver is a stanch republican and his services have been in demand in positions of public trust. He has been constable, school director and road supervisor and is now acting as justice of the peace, in which capacity he has ably served for thirteen years. His religi- ous faith is that of the United Brethren church, to which his wife also belongs. He has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and has long enjoyed an enviable reputation in both business and social circles.
DAVID H. MEALEY.
David H. Mealey, the present efficient mayor of Pleasant Plain, has for the past thirty-five years been continuously and successfully engaged in business as the proprietor of a well equipped drug establishment in, that town. His birth occurred in Keokuk county, Iowa, on the 6th of February, 1851, but he lost his parents when still but a baby and conse- quently has no recollection of them. He was reared by his grandparents, Dr. Samuel and Margaret (Blaine) Mealey, who were natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. The former, a physician and surgeon by profession, practiced medicine in the Keystone state for forty years and then came to Iowa in 1844, locating in Keokuk county, where he entered a tract of land and undertook the task of clearing and improving the property. Abandoning his profession, he gave his entire attention to gen- eral agricultural pursuits and operated that farm until 1853, when he dis- posed of the place and took up his abode in Brighton, Iowa. There he lived in honorable retirement until called to his final rest in 1871. His wife had passed away in 1869.
David H. Mealey was reared and educated at Brighton, Iowa, attend- ing the high school of that place. When sixteen years of age he left the home of his grandparents and afterward worked at different occupations, including farming and railroading. Subsequently he began reading medi- cine under the direction of his uncle, Dr. T. S. Mealey of Pleasant Plain, whom he also assisted in the conduct of a drug store at that place. In 1876 he purchased the establishment from his uncle and has conducted the same to the present time with constantly growing success. The law re- quiring registration was not passed until 1880, since which time Mr. Mealey's registration number has been 1050. He carries a comprehensive line of drugs and druggist's sundries and enjoys an extensive and lucrative patronage. In addition to his place of business he owns an attractive and modern residence at Pleasant Plain. He is a stockholder and director of
-
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the East Pleasant Plain Savings Bank and a stockholder in the East Pleasant Plain Telephone Company.
On the 16th of October, 1872, Mr. Mealey was joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret M. Fuqua, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fuqua, both of whom were natives of Tennessee. The father, a shoemaker by trade, worked at that occupation in Missouri until he passed away in 1860. His widow, who still survives at the age of ninety-five years, makes her home in Walla Walla, Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. Mealey were born seven children, as follows: Murrel B., an electrician residing at Portland, Ore- gon ; Lulu, the wife of O. V. Klingeman, a farmer of Black Hawk town- ship ; Lilly E., whose demise occurred in June, 1909; Alfred H., a jeweler of Walla Walla, Washington; Bessie, who gave her hand in marriage to H. A. Shannon, an agriculturist of Texas; Samuel L., who also follows farming in Texas; and one who died in infancy.
In politics Mr. Mealey is a stanch republican and his services have been in demand in various positions of public trust and responsibility. He has held the office of township clerk of Penn township for fifteen years, has served as secretary of the school board for a similar period and acted as. councilman during six consecutive years. He is the present mayor of Pleasant Plain and his administration has been characterized by many measures of reform and improvement. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, becoming one of the first members of the lodge here at the time of its organization in 1880. He enjoys the pleasures of an ideal home and is a man in whom public as well as private enterprise and the true civic spirit are highly developed.
GEORGE A. SPIELMAN.
George A. Spielman, manager and partner of the general store of the M. M. Spielman Company at Packwood and postmaster of the town, is one of the good substantial business men of his county. His birth oc- curred in the village of Merrimac, Iowa, July 21, 1869. The grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Spielman, were born and reared in Germany. In the prime of life they came to America and settled in Franklin county, Ohio, near Columbus, where the son, Lewis Spielman, father of George A. Spielman, was born. Lewis Spielman married Matilda Otterbine, a native of Stark county, Ohio, and she also was of German descent. In 1844 they went to Iowa, locating in Walnut township, where he bought eighty acres of land, to which he later added until at the time of his death he
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owned one hundred and sixty-eight acres of very fine land. Here he re- sided-one of the most highly respected men of Walnut township-until the time of his death, on March 19, 1879. His wife remained on this farm until 1891, when she moved to Pleasant Plain, Iowa, where she now lives, greatly loved by all her acquaintances. They were the parents of nine children, of whom George A. Spielman was seventh in order of birth. The others are: John W., a retired farmer of Worthington, Minnesota; Mary, the wife of Henry Williams, also a retired farmer of Worthington, Minnesota ; Henry E., a farmer of Brighton, Iowa; Franklin, who died at the age of twenty-three; Lewis, who died at the age of one month ; Jacob, who died at the age of two years; Tillie, the wife of William Gardner, a government inspector of forestry at Cass Lake, Minnesota; and William, who died at the age of two years.
George A. Spielman was reared under the parental roof, attended the district schools and later, Pleasant Plain Academy. He helped with the work on the farm until he attained his majority and then entered the gen- eral store of F. L. Eck at Pleasant Plain, where he worked for two years. He was then employed in the store of Andrews & Powers in Pleasant Plain until 1895, when he moved to Packwood and established his present busi- ness. In 1903, under Roosevelt, he was made postmaster of Packwood, a position which he still holds. He has been for two years a member of the board of directors of the Farmers Savings Bank at Packwood.
On the 24th of October, 1894, Mr. Spielman was married to Miss Minnie Humphrey, a daughter of Sanford and Margaret Frances (Ken- dall) Humphrey. The father, a native of Penn township, Jefferson county, is of Irish-American descent and comes from an old Virginia family, the members of which were large land and slave owners. The mother was born in Miami county, Ohio, of German-Irish descent. Mr. and Mrs. Kendall moved to Iowa when their daughter Margaret was only nine years old and located on a farm in Penn township, Jefferson county, where they lived a great many years. The last few years of their active lives they spent in retirement and both are now dead. Mr. and Mrs. Humphrey became the parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Spielman is the eldest. The others are : Alonzo, who is a liveryman at East Pleasant Plain, Jefferson county ; Leward, who is superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company at Jacksonville, Illinois; Emmett, who is engaged in farming at Superior, Nebraska ; Charles, who is a harness maker of Pleasant Plain, Iowa : Frank R., an employe of the Hall Railroad Signal Company of Syracuse, New York; Ina, who is attending college at Cedar Falls, Iowa; Zona, who is at home with her parents; and two sons, Clyde and Wilford, who died at the ages of nine months and twenty-two years respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Spielman are the parents of two children, Guy H. and Mildred Irene, both
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of whom are attending the Packwood high school and are also employed as clerks in the postoffice.
George A. Spielman has been very active in his life work and is recog- nized as one of the substantial business men of his township. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he takes an active interest in all local politics, being for six years clerk of Polk township, and also has served as a member of the Packwood city council and as city clerk. Fra- ternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Pack- wood, where he has been clerk of the lodge for fourteen years, and he is also connected with the Masonic lodge of Abingdon, Iowa. He and all his family are zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal church. From a financial, social and political standpoint he may well be called one of the most prominent citizens of his township.
REV. HENRY J. HOGAN.
Rev. Henry J. Hogan, the pastor of St. Mary's church, Fairfield, Iowa, was born June 9, 1874, in Davenport, Iowa. His parents, John Hogan and Cathrine Cooper Hogan, were born at Long Grove, Iowa, the father, July 1, 1840, and the mother, November 25, 1844. His mother was the daughter of Leonard Cooper, born October 19, 1799, and Julia Ann Elder, born March 21, 1805, at Loretta, Pennsylvania. Both grandparents were baptized by the Rev. Demetrius Gallitzin and united in marriage by him, on October 19, 1824, in the old St. Michael's church, Loretto, the most historical church in central western Pennsylvania.
His mother's parental and maternal ancestors emigrated from Lanca- shire, England, November 22, 1633, and reached America at Point Com- fort, Maryland, February 27, 1834, with Leonard Calvert, the brother of Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, who had secured a special charter from King Charles I, and who, with his brother above mentioned, located their colony at St. Mary's, Maryland, March 27, 1634. As time went on the colony prospered and numerically increased, and eventually the descendants scattered throughout the country, some going to Kentucky, others to Pennsylvania, and others still to Ohio and Iowa, ever carrying with them the industry and probity for which they were noted, and the fidelity and loyalty to the religious faith of their fathers.
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