USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 18
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In 1890 Mr. Levsen was united in marriage to Miss Louisa H. Rick, of Sa- bula, Iowa. They are now the parents of four children, namely : Paul, who is a graduate of the Wyoming high school ; Hettie, a high-school student ; and Emil and Marvin, who are attending the public schools.
Politically Mr. Levsen is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the democracy but at local elections supports the candidate whom he believes best qualified for office, regardless of party affiliation. His business interests have been carefully conducted, his duties of citizenship capably performed, and at all times he has been true to the obligations and responsibilities that has devolved upon him in every relation of life, so that he well merits the esteem and good will which are uni- formly accorded him.
JAMES HENIK.
James Henik, the owner of a fine farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres on section 31. Oxford township, devotes his time and energies to general agricultural pursuits with excellent success. He was born in Johnson county, Jowa. on the 28th of September. 1860, his parents being Michael and Josephine Henik, natives of Bohemia. Both are now deceased, however, passing away in Johnson county, this state.
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James Henik was the ninth in order of birth in a family of eleven children, seven of whom still survive. When about seventeen years of age he secured em- ployment by the month as a farm hand, being thus busily engaged until the time of his marriage, when he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Hale township, Jones county. After operating this place for ten or eleven years he sold the property to his brother Joseph and bought his present farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres on section 31, Oxford township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his time and energies. He has erected most of the buildings on the property and in his farming interests has won a measure of success that entitles him to recognition among the substantial and enterprising agriculturists of the community.
In the year 1884 Mr. Henik was united in marriage to Miss Anna Wasoba, whose birth occurred in Bohemia in 1865. When about two years of age she was brought to the United States by her parents, Michael and Barbara Wasoba, who established their home in Oxford Junction, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henik have been born three children, namely : Frank, at home; Mary, the wife of George Dasonik, of Madison township; and Antony, who is still under the parental roof. The parents are widely and favorably known in this locality and their home is justly celebrated for its gracious and warm-hearted hospitality.
AUGUST H. JANSEN.
The agricultural interests of Jones county find a worthy and successful repre- sentative in August H. Jansen, who now makes his home in Wyoming township. He was born in Germany on the 5th of February, 1859, a son of Peter and Ce- cilia Jansen, who crossed the Atlantic to the United States in the year 1882. They took up their abode in Jones county, Iowa, and here spent their remaining days. They had a family of nine children, five of whom still survive, as fol- lows: Hans, a resident of Chicago, Illinois; John, living in Wyoming, Jones county ; Johanna, who likewise makes her home in this county; August H., of this review ; and Peter, the cashier of the Wyoming Bank.
August H. Jansen attended school in his native land but had only limited op- portunities in that direction. He accompanied his parents on their emigration to the new world and remained at home until he had attained his thirtieth year, when he was united in marriage to Mrs. Melvina Reimer. Subsequently he rented a farm in Clinton county, Iowa, and was successfully engaged in its operation for ten years. He made a specialty of buying, feeding and shipping stock and handled as many as thirty carloads a year, this branch of his business proving very re- munerative. In 1899 he returned to Jones county and bought a farm in Madison township, residing thereon until 1908, when he disposed of the property. He then bought a farm of seventy-two acres in Wyoming township, adjoining the vil- lage of Wyoming, and has since devoted his time and energies to its cultivation and improvement. He likewise owns six hundred and forty acres of land in Canada, all of which is now under cultivation and three hundred and twenty acres of which was planted to wheat in 1909. Though empty handed when he started
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out in life on his own account, he has made good use of his opportunities and as the years have gone by has prospered as the result of his unfaltering industry and capable management.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jansen have been born three children, namely: Peter C., who is a graduate of the Wyoming high school; Albert H., who has likewise com- pleted his studies in that institution ; and Arthur M. The three sons are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Jansen gives his political allegiance to the men and measures of the democracy, but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. The hope that led him to leave his native land and seek a home in America has been more than realized. He found the opportunities he sought,-which, by the way, are always open to the ambitious, energetic man,-and making the best of these he has steadily worked his way upward. He possesses the resolution, per- severance and reliability so characteristic of his nation, and his name is now en- rolled among the best citizens of Jones county.
JACOB WILBUR DOXSEE.
Jacob Wilbur Doxsee, attorney at law and publisher of The Monticello Ex- press, was born at Western Star, Summit county, Ohio, January 17, 1857. His father, Alfred R. Doxsee, was born in Stark county, Ohio, September 27, 1832, and was descended on the paternal side from ancestors who came into New York from Holland, previous to the Revolutionary war, and on the maternal side from those who were known as Quakers. The father of Alfred R. Doxsee was Jacob Doxsee, and his mother's maiden name was Mary Vickers. The mother of the subject of this sketch was Mary Jane Bennett, the daughter of parents living on the Western Reserve in Ohio, where she was born May 31, 1837. Her father, Abel Bennett, was a native of Canada and her mother, whose maiden name was Cylenna Tyler, was born in New York. The parents of the subject of this sketch were married August 13, 1854, by Rev. Almond Green, in Summit county, Ohio.
The family lived at Sharon Center, Ohio, until they came to Iowa and settled on a farm on Bowens Prairie, Jones county, in October, 1863. Jacob Wilbur, the eldest of the four children, remained on the farm until he entered Lenox College. at Hopkinton, at the age of fifteen years. In 1874 he became a student at the Iowa State College, at Ames, and graduated with the class of 1877, in the scientific course. During his college course he availed himself of the privilege of teaching during the winter vacations and thus earned almost enough to defray his college expenses.
In the spring of 1878. Mr. Doxsee began the study of law in the office of M. W. Herrick, at Monticello. He was admitted to the bar the next year and soon after entered into partnership with Mr. Herrick. During their partnership Messrs. Herrick & Doxsee wrote a treatise on the Probate Law and Practice of Iowa and Dakota, which was well received by the legal profession. On December 1, 1883, they purchased The Monticello Express, a newspaper which they con-
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ducted in connection with their law business until the dissolution of their part- nership in 1888. Since that time Mr. Doxsee has conducted his law practice alone and has found time to superintend the publication of his newspaper. He has been a director of the Lovell State Bank as well as its attorney since its organiza- tion, and was for a long time president of the Monticello Electric Company.
Mr. Doxsee is a republican but has never sought political preferment, choos- ing to give his entire time to his profession and business. He was one of the or- ganizers of the Fifth District Editorial Association and was its president in 1895. In July, 1899, he was appointed by President Mckinley, supervisor of the census for the fifth congressional district of Iowa, a position which came unsought. He had the supervision of the taking of the twelfth census in that territory. In 1894 he was a delegate from the fifth district of Iowa to the republican national convention which nominated Theodore Roosevelt, and he was a member of the committee appointed by that convention to notify the vice-presidental nominee, Charles W. Fairbanks, of his nomination. In 1905 he spent nearly four months traveling in Europe in company with C. S. Bidwell. He has been a member of the school board during the past eight years.
Mr. Doxsee was united in marriage on the 3d of February, 1887, to Miss Jessie Sloan Fawcett, at the home of her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Charles L. Faw- cett, at Salem, Ohio, the ceremony being performed by Rev. Ezra Hingley. They have two children : Charles Alfred, born August 7, 1888, and Mary Eliza, born August 9, 1890, both of whom are students at Cornell College.
F. B. WOSOBA.
F. B. Wosoba, who was formerly identified with farming interests in Oxford township, now makes his home in Oxford Junction and is serving as marshal of the village. He was born on his father's farm in Oxford township, March 14, 1872, a son of Michael and Anna Wosoba, who were natives of Bohemia, and accompanied their respective parents to the United States in their childhood. The parents are still living and make their home in Oxford Junction. Their family numbered four children but the youngest, John, is deceased. The other members are : Mary, the wife of Albert Hronik, a resident of Silvis, Illinois; Frank; and Frances B., the wife of James Bracha, of Oxford Junction.
F. B. Wosoba acquired his education in the common schools and remained on the home farm, assisting his father in the work of the fields until he attained his majority, when he began farming on his own account, cultivating for ten years the farm which he still owns in Oxford township, this tract comprising two hun- dred and sixty acres, located on section 15. In addition to his farm work he also raised stock, making a specialty of this branch of business. In 1902, however, he put aside his farming interests and took up his abode in Oxford Junction, where he owns a fine modern residence.
Mr. Wosoba was married in 1892 to Miss Anna Lipchausky, who was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and this union has been blessed with two children: Vlast,
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who is employed as clerk in a store and is with his parents; and Lilly, who is a high-school student at Oxford Junction.
Mr. Wosoba is a democrat in his political views. For the past four years he has served as marshal of Oxford Junction and in this connection is doing much good for the community, while at the same time he is gaining an honorable name for himself. He is a Modern Woodman and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias Lodge. No. 85, at Oxford Junction. He likewise affiliates with the C. Z. B. J., a Bohemian organization. In whatever relation of life he is found, he is the same honorable and upright man, loyal in friendship and true to every duty that devolves upon him in citizenship.
T. E. BOOTH.
There are few men whose lives are crowned with the honor and respect which is uniformly accorded to T. E. Booth, for through more than a half century's connection with Anamosa's history his record has been characterized by all that makes for honorable manhood and progressive citizenship. With him success in life has been reached by his sterling qualities of mind and a heart true to every manly principle. The record is uneventful if judged by the standard of exciting experiences. yet his influence has not been a latent factor in the life of the community but rather a steady moving force which has wrought for general progress and advancement. He is known in journalistic circles through- out the state as the proprietor of the Anamosa Eureka. He set his first line of type in the office of which he is now the owner.
His father. Edmund Booth, was at one time the owner of the Eureka, and when he passed away at the age of ninety-four years he was the oldest editor in America and the oldest teacher of the deaf, probably, in the world He was himself a semi-mute, for though he could speak he could not hear, and his wife was both deaf and dumb. Their marriage license is the first one recorded in Jones county, Iowa, having been issued in 1840. Their son, T. E. Booth, was born February 11, 1842, in Fairview township, and has since lived within its borders save for a period of less than two years. His early education was acquired in common schools of the most ordinary kind, and even then his oppor- tunities were limited because of the necessity for his labor on the farm. His ambition, however, was not in agricultural lines, but tended toward the printer's trade and he served a three years' apprenticeship in the office of the Eureka, which had been established in the fall of 1856 by John E. Lovejoy, a brother of the distinguished orator and Illinois congressman, Owen Lovejoy, and also of Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed at Alton, Illinois, because of his advocacy of anti-slavery sentiments. The new paper had little support and proved such a disheartening enterprise that Mr. Lovejoy sold it to C. L. D. Crockwell, a local druggist, a few weeks after it was started. In January, 1858, Matt Parrott, a job printer of Davenport, Iowa, purchased a half interest in the paper and was local editor and foreman when Mr. Booth began his apprenticeship. "The first thing he did on that day so eventful to us," writes Mr. Booth in the Eureka many
EDMUND BOOTH
T. E. BOOTH
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years afterward, "was to bring forth a big box of nonpareil pi, probably a half peck of small legal matter type that some printer unluckily spilled out of a case. Mr. Parrott set a line to show which side up the nicks should be and turned the stick over to us. Another boy, Douglas, son of Mr. Crockwell, started at the same time. He soon tired of the job and quit."
The Eureka at that time had a circulation of four hundred, including ex- changes, but it had little advertising patronage and its main source of support came from the sheriff sales, original and probate notices and the tax list after the county went republican in 1859. Not long after Mr. Booth became con- nected with the paper his father purchased a part of Mr. Crockwell's interest in the Eureka, of which practically he had been the editor from the first. The equipment of the plant included a Washington press but there was no job press, the hand press being used to print the few little "jobs" that were brought to them. For his apprenticeship Mr. Booth was to receive thirty dollars for the first year, forty-five dollars for the second year and sixty dollars for the third, but such was the financial outlook of the paper that during the three years he did not re- ceive, perhaps, more than ten dollars in cash, with the smallest possible allow- ance for clothing. During the second summer he and Mr. Parrott set up and printed the paper without any other help. His apprenticeship concluded, he spent twenty months in an eastern academy and then returned to take his place in the office of the Eureka. Since that time he has been continuously connected with the paper, doing every kind of work in the office, mechanical, business and editorial. He had thought in early youth to some day become connected with a metropolitan establishment, but fate decreed otherwise and he has remained in the Eureka office, which has been owned by the Booths for more than four de- cades. The Eureka has always been an example of clean journalism, character- ized by progressiveness in keeping with the advancement that has characterized the country press. Its columns have been used to advocate all measures and movements which has had for their object the betterment of municipal or county interests and in the discussion of state and national policies its tone has been no uncertain one, yet with none of the bitter aggressiveness or partisanship that is too often seen in the local press. Mr. Booth is himself a fair-minded man, capable of looking at the question from an unprejudiced standpoint and his ad- vocacy of any issue or principle has been sufficient to win for it other followers on account of the public confidence felt in his judgment.
CHARLES O. WOODARD.
Charles O. Woodard, whose standing as a farmer and business man is known all over Jones county, has for many years been a resident of Hale township. He was born in this county, two and a half miles northwest of Wyoming, Madison township. September 17, 1869, a son of Leonard and Jennie (Hall) Woodard. The father was a native of Oneida county, New York, while the mother was born near Dunkirk, New York, being a daughter of Joseph and Sophia (Taylor) Hall, both natives of the Empire state. Three children were born to them, as follows:
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Lewis, of Wyoming; Charles O., of Hale and Albert, of Canada. After losing his first wife in Ohio, Leonard Woodard removed to Jones county, Iowa, where he now resides.
Until he attained his majority, Charles O. Woodard assisted his father upon the homestead, but at that age he commenced working out by the month on neigh- boring farms, being thus employed for a year. After his marriage he rented land in Madison township and commenced farming for himself. In 1903 Mr. Wood- ard bought his present farm of one hundred and eighty-seven acres on section II, Hale township, and he also has fourteen acres on the Wapsi river. His farm is well improved and yields a comfortable annual income. He has learned the best methods of working his land so as to secure the largest profits and he feels sat- isfied with the results of his efforts and good management.
In 1891 Mr. Woodard married Amanda Lage, of Rock Island, Illinois, who was born in March, 1873, a daughter of Henry and Margaret Lage, natives of Germany, who now reside in Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Woodard have two chil- dren, namely : Bertha L. and Margaret. Mr. Woodard is a republican but as yet his farm duties have prevented his holding public office. His religious affiliations are with the Methodist church of Hale, of which he is a member.
One of the best stone quarries in the neighborhood is located on his farm. It has been in operation for fifty years and all of the stone used in Wyoming was procured from this quarry. Other villages and towns also depend upon it for stone as the product of the quarry is excellent. A good farmer and business man, careful and conscientious in his dealings with others, consistent in his church life, Mr. Woodard is a good citizen and a man whose example others would do well to follow. He and his wife have an ideal home life and welcome their friends with true hospitality that knows no distinction because of social standing or worldly prosperity.
BENNETT E. RHINEHART.
Bennett E. Rhinehart, for twelve years an attorney at the Anamosa bar, en- joying during this period a constantly increasing clientage, was born at Waynes- burg, Greene county, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of November, 1868. His par- ents were Bennett and Catherine Rhinehart. The father was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania. February 7. 1833 and died in 1908, having passed the sev- enty-fifth milestone on life's journey. He was a farmer by occupation and came to Iowa on the 10th of February, 1869, settling first in Taylor county, where he secured a tract of land, making it his home during the greater part of his remain- ing days. He became prosperous as the years went by and retired about ten years prior to his death, which occurred while he was on a visit to his children in Wal- ter, Oklahoma. He held membership in the Christian church and his life was in consistent harmony with its teachings. Politically he was a strong republican giving unfaltering allegiance to the principles of the party. Fraternally he was connected with the Odd Fellows and also with the Grand Army of the Republic. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for troops, enlist-
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ing in his native county as a member of Company K, Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, with which he served for about a year. He took part in the battle of Stone River and for about a year was ill in the military hospital at Nashville, Ten- nessee, after which he was honorably discharged. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Catherine Leonard, was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on Christ- mas day of 1842 and is now living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is a con- sistent member of the Christian church and was a most devoted mother to her family, which numbered ten children.
Bennett E. Rhinehart, the sixth in order of birth, pursued his education in the schools of Bedford, Iowa, and after attending the district schools was graduated from the high school of that place with the class of 1891. Immediately afterward he took up the study of law under private instruction, thus continuing his review for a year, after which he began to work in order to secure money that would enable him to pursue a law course. He then entered the Iowa College of Law at Des Moines and was graduated in May, 1896, with the degree of B. L. He then took the examination before the supreme court on the 13th of May, of that year, and was admitted to practice at the Iowa bar. His early experience was that of the average farm boy, who is deprived of all but the actual necessities. He worked for nine months each year on the farm and attended school in the winter. He was ambitious, however, and, determining to follow a professional career, pursued his plans for becoming a member of the bar, as previously stated. Fol- lowing his admission he at once began practice in Anamosa on the Ist of January, 1897. He continued alone until 1900, when he formed a partnership with Charles J. Cash under the firm style of Cash & Rhinehart, and they practiced together until 1908, when M. W. Herrick joined them under the style of Herrick, Cash & Rhinehart. Their progress in a professional way has been extremely flattering. This is recognized as one of the strongest law firms of the county, their clientage being of a most extensive and important character. In 1904 Mr. Rhinehart was elected city attorney of Anamosa and is now serving for the third term in that po- sition, his reelections being evidence of his ability and the confidence imposed in him by the public. He was also justice of the peace from the Ist of January, 1897, until January 1, 1901. Aside from all professional connections he is known in financial circles as one of the stockholders of the Citizens Savings Bank.
On the Ist of March, 1894, Mr. Rhinehart was united in marriage to Miss Julia Florence Feehan, who was born in Onslow, Jones county, November 27, IS,I, a daughter of John and Julia Feehan, who came to this county about 1852, making the journey with John Russell from Ohio. Mr. Feehan was a brother of Mrs. Margaret (Feehan) Russell, the wife of John Russell. Mrs. Rhinehart pur- sued her education in the schools of Anamosa and for a time engaged in teach- ing in the country schools. The household is a most hospitable one, and both Mr. and Mrs. Rhinehart are numbered among the valued members of the Baptist church. Mr. Rhinehart belongs to Anamosa Lodge, No. 46, A. F. & A. M .; Mount Sinai Chapter, No. 66, R. A. M .; Mount Olivet Commandery, No. 36, K. T., of which he is a past eminent commander, and El Kahir temple of the Mystic Shrine and the Eastern Star. He is likewise connected with Sumner Lodge, No. 92, K. P., of which he is a past chancellor, has been a member of the Pythian grand lodge and served on the committee on judiciary, which committee
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recodified the grand statutes during the year 1909. He was reappointed on the committee for another year. Mr. Rhinehart is likewise connected with the Mystic Workers and with the Jones County Bar Association. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party, and he has never wavered in his sup- port thereof, for he believes that its principles are most conducive to good gov- ernment. Endowed by nature with strong intellectual force and developing his talents by the prompting of a laudable ambition, he is making steady progress in the profession which he has chosen as his life work.
ROBERT MCNALLY.
Despite his advancing years Robert McNally is still actively engaged in agri- cultural pursuits in Richland township, which for almost two score years has been the scene of his labors. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1835, and is a son of Thomas and Jane ( Farrell) McNally. The parents were both natives of Ireland, coming to America in 1833, shortly after their marriage. For two years they resided in Brooklyn and then removed to Maryland, where they lived for three years. In 1841 they came to Jones county, Iowa, settling in Washing- ton township, where Mr. McNally "squatted" on a tract of land. When the land of this section of the state was put upon the market he secured it from the gov- ernment through fulfilling the conditions prescribed for homesteaders and it re- mained his home for the rest of his life. On it he built a log cabin, that served to shelter him and his family from the weather until he was able to erect a more substantial and adequate dwelling. Forty-five years later, in 1886, when his death occurred, he had the satisfaction of contrasting the comforts which he then en- joyed with the hardships of those early years and felt a justifiable pride in the results of his years of labor. His wife, although she died a year before her hus- band, was also able to partake of the ease which added pleasure to the later years of their lives. They were the parents of eight children, namely : Robert, the sub- ject of this sketch ; one who died in infancy; Bernard and Frank, who have also passed away; Mary, who is the wife of James Linch, of Richland township; Anna, who has not married ; J. T., of this county ; and Norbertis, who is deceased.
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