USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 19
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Robert McNally was reared at home and attended the public schools to obtain what education they were able to give in the early years of the colonization of this county. He continued to remain with his parents even after he had reached his majority, until he was thirty-two years old, in fact, when he married and had the natural desire to establish a home of his own. Then he bought the farm on which he is living today. It embraces two hundred and twenty acres of good, arable land in Richland township. on which Mr. McNally carries on general farming. With a diligence that may well serve as an example to others he has tilled and im- proved his fields, until he has brought them to the point where they return a most generous harvest for his industry. This, indeed, has ever been the means of his success and has obtained for him an enviable position among the substantial agri- culturists of his township.
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At the age of thirty-two Mr. McNally wedded Miss Maria Kenny. She was a native of New York state, born May 1, 1840, but her parents, Michael Kenny and his wife, were of Irish birth. One of a family of six, through her marriage Mrs. McNally became the mother of eleven children: Jennie, who is the wife of Hillar Souser, of Randolph, Nebraska; Anna, who married Theodore Maire and lives in Cascade, Iowa : Lettie, who is a nurse; Katie, who is the wife of Nic Fre- gen, of Dubuque, Iowa; Nellie, who married James Suple and lives in Cascade, Iowa ; Agnes, who is the wife of J. Hayes, of Cascade ; Thomas, who is at home ; Bernard, Austin and Arthur, who are living in South Dakota ; and Robert, who is now attending college in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mrs. McNally died in 1907, and, having been a devout member of the Catholic church throughout her life. her death was attended with all the consolations of that religion. Mr. McNally also professes that creed, in which all of his children have been reared. Politically he has affiliated with the democratic party from the time he cast his first vote but has never sought office, although he served very efficiently for a number of years as a justice of the peace.
G. H. GEORGE.
George H. George, whose success as a farmer is representative of the agri- cultural prosperity of Lovell township, while as a stockman he is also prominent in his locality, was born on the farm which is now his honie, April 6, 1856, and is a son of George and Anna (Faragher) George. The father was a native of England, while the mother was born on the Isle of Man, but in 1842 they came to the United States, locating in Jo Daviess county, Illinois, where Mr. George bought forty acres of land. He had been there but a few years, however, when in 1850 the rumor of the discovery of gold in California reached him and he was inspired with the desire to go to the Pacific coast. He started overland with an ox-team and remained away three years. In the meantime, in 1850, his wife sold their Illinois farm and in company with a brother came to Jones county, Iowa. purchasing part of the place now occupied by her son G. H. At that time there were but two log cabins in the village of Monticello, while conditions of living were in keeping with that primitive kind of architecture. In 1853, when Mr. George returned from his western trip, he began the improvements on the farm his wife had purchased and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. It was with success, too, for as the years passed he was able to add to the original tract until at the time of his death, in 1883, he owned over seven hundred acres. In the meantime the conditions of the outdoor worker had been greatly ameliorated; the harsh conditions of the early years were but memories, the few loghouses had been replaced by numerous well built homes, barns and outhouses, while cultivated fields filled the stretches which were at that time covered with unturned sod and primitive forests. Mrs. George lived until 1896, so that she enjoyed the addi- tional pleasure of seeing the prosperity of her son. Four children were born to the couple : William, deceased ; Sarah, who is the wife of Frank Oltmann, of Rich- land township : James, deceased ; and G. H., the subject of this sketch.
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G. H. George was reared at home and in the county schools received a fair English education. When he reached his maturity he was put in charge of the parental farm, on which he had grown up, operating it even during the lifetime of his father. In addition to the cultivation of the soil he has engaged largely in the stock business, making a specialty of breeding shorthorn cattle. He is also rais- ing Clydesdale draft horses and standard breed road horses, having in his stables today some noted stallions of this last class. The reputation he has made for himself as a skillful and careful man in his line extends beyond the confines of the township, although the success he has attained may perhaps be indicated more adequately by a citation of his landholdings. In Jones county he owns four hun- dred acres, while in Plymouth county, this state, he has six hundred and forty acres, besides having property in Marion county. He holds considerable stock in the State Bank of Monticello, one of the leading financial institutions of Iowa, and is one of the directors upon whom the stability of the concern rests. Surely his is a record of a life well spent in honest labor, of industry assisted by a care- ful husbanding of one's resources.
In 1877 Mr. George was united in marriage to Miss Anna Belle Wilson. She is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Robert and Catherine Wilson, who came to Jones county in the early years of its development. Six children have been born of this marriage: George. deceased; Robert Wilson, re- siding in Canada; Catherine Ethel, who is at home; and Raymond Henry. Thomas Irving and lola Frances who are at home. The last is a graduate of the Monticello high school, while Miss Catherine finished the four years' course at the University of Wisconsin and is now engaged in teaching;
FRANK J. BRAINARD.
When Frank J. Brainard passed from this life on the 12th of March, 1902, Cass township lost one of its most valued and representative citizens, who for more than four decades was actively and helpfully identified with community affairs. Few men's lives are crowned with the honor and respect which were uniformly ac- corded him and few have enjoyed in so great a measure the love and confidence of their fellowmen. A life governed by the most honorable principles, Mr. Brainard never deviated from what he believed to be right between himself and his fellowmen and in much that he did was actuated by a public spirit that found manifestation in the tangible aid which he gave to the county of his adoption. His personal characteristics, his straightforward business career and his effi- cient public service have made his memory sacredly cherished since he was called from this life.
Mr. Brainard was born on the 24th of September, 1842, in Wyoming county, New York, on the old homestead farm located about one and a half miles east of the town of Gainsville. His parents were Stephen and Jemimah (Helmer) Brainard, also natives of Wyoming county, where their entire lives were passed. Their family consisted of six children, four sons and two daughters, but only one son now survives.
F. J. BRAINARD
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Under the parental roof Frank J. Brainard was reared to manhood and at the usual age was sent as a pupil to the district schools near his father's home, later attending an academy and high school. He supplemented his early training by a course of study in the academy at Pike, New York, and after completing his course in that institution engaged in teaching school for three terms, the sum- mer months being devoted to farming in partnership with his father. In 1866, he sold his interest in the farm and came west to Iowa to visit friends living in Anamosa. He was so impressed with the excellent opportunities which this state offered along agricultural lines that he decided to take up his permanent abode here and consequently, in the spring of 1867, he purchased a farm of eighty acres in West Cass, for which he paid ten dollars per acre but sold in 1909 for one hundred and twelve dollars and fifty cents. He added another tract of forty acres to his original purchase and on that farm of one hundred and twenty acres he continued to make his home until 1876, when he sold out and purchased the farm upon which he was residing at the time of his demise and which is now operated by his son. It consists of two hundred and forty acres of land, located on section 9, which, under his careful management, was brought under a high state of cultivation, the farm becoming one of the best improved prop- erties in the township. The place is equipped with two comfortable and attractive dwellings and has a large barn forty-eight by one hundred feet, while he also added all the modern conveniences and accessories used to facilitate farm labor. In addition to his general farming he made a specialty of raising cattle and hogs, and was a most successful, all around agriculturist, whose well directed labors were crowned with a most gratifying degree of prosperity.
On the 21st of October, 1866, in Gainsville, New York, Mr. Brainard was united in marriage to Miss Martha E. Price, native of that town, born on the 15th of July, 1843. Her father had been twice married, Mrs. Brainard and two brothers being the children of the second union, while by his former marriage he became the father of six children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brainard were born five children, namely : Fred A., of North Dakota; Grace May, who passed away when seven years old; Walter and Warren, twins, who died at the age of three months; and George, who resides upon and operates the home farm. The last named married Emma Pfiel, by whom he has two children, Geraldine and Carl- ton, while Fred, the eldest son, is also married, the lady of his choice being Miss Lizzie Crain. They are the parents of seven children, namely: Asa, Bertha, Chauncy, Dorothy, Ethel, Florence and Glenn.
Aside from the high rank which Mr. Brainard attained as an agriculturist, he also became a well known and influential factor in community affairs, although he never sought to figure prominently before the public. A life-long republi- can, he did all in his power to further the influence of that party in the com- munity, and his fellow citizens, recognizing his genuine worth and ability, called him to various public offices. He was elected township trustee, in which office he served during the years 1886 and 1887, and was also chosen as assessor and justice of the peace. In 1899, further civic honors came to him in his election to the office of county supervisor, being a member of the board at the time of his demise and discharging the arduous and sometimes tedious duties of this office with exemplary diligence and fidelity. During his entire lifetime he had
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been a faithful and regular attendant at church and Sabbath school, never being absent unless detained by illness. On the 6th of March, 1879, he became a member of the Cass Center Congregational church, and for nearly eighteen years served as deacon therein. In the Sunday school he was by turn scholar, Bible class teacher and superintendent, occupying the latter office for eight years. He was a stanch advocate of the cause of temperance, doing all in his power to ex- tend its influence in the community, for he realized that the liquor traffic is one of the greatest evils against which the country has to contend. He remained throughout his life an earnest student, keeping in touch with modern thought and advancement. and was well known as a man of sterling integrity and well cultivated intelligence.
Two weeks prior to his demise Mr. Brainard was seized with a chill devel- oped into grippe, and this, with a complication of heart trouble, proved to be his fatal illness. He passed away on the 12th of March, 1902, at the age of fifty- nine years, five months and sixteen days, his remains being interred in Cass Cen- ter cemetery. His death was a great shock to the members of his family, for he had ever been a most loving husband and father, while his loss was also sorely felt throughout the community, where he was known as a faithful and con- siderate neighbor and a man of kindly thought and spirit, generous and helpful in action, and at the same time his genial disposition made him the life of every social gathering. Just prior to his final illness he was engaged in a characteristic ministry, assisting to care for a sick neighbor. He realized as few men seem to do his obligations to his fellowmen and to the community in which he resided. He looked at life from a broad standpoint and the simple weight of his character and ability carried him into important relations with his fellowmen and won for him the unqualified regard and esteem of everyone with whom he came in contact.
WILLIAM R. ROBINSON.
William R. Robinson, one of the prosperous farmers of Greenfield township, is also one of the early settlers of Jones county and can relate many stirring tales of the bandits and Indians, whose bloody deeds imperiled the lives of the men and women brave enough to endure the hardships of the pioneer life He was born in Champaign county, Ohio, November 26. 1836, and was about four years of age when his parents. AAsa and Hannah ( Stratton) Robinson, in the vanguard of the early settlers, came to Fairview township. this county. For two years the family remained there and then removed to Cedar county. where William R. Rob- inson grew to manhood. It was in the period just preceding the Civil war that the cruelty of the Indians reached its highest pitch. and the family, together with the other inhabitants, resorted to a common camp at night for greater safety. Thieves and robbers, too, were at large and pillaged the little communities with- ont fear of apprehension. One noteworthy instance was the murder of Mr. Gowdy of Linn Grove, whose life was held of no value as compared with the three hundred dollars the robbers knew he carried. In spite of the hardships and
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the risk to life and property William Robinson and other children of the family grew up. He had two brothers, Charles, who had helped to build the first mill in Jones county and died in Shelby county, Iowa, at the age of sixty-six, and Her- man, who died at the age of fifteen. There were also three sisters, Mrs. Lavina Comstock, Mrs. Rebecca Lindsay and Mrs. Eva Platner, all now deceased. Mr. Robinson also had three half-brothers: one who died in infancy; Jacob, who died in Colorado at the age of forty-five; and Alva, who resided in Cedar county to within a few years ago when he went to Garden City, Kansas, his present home; and five half-sisters: Mrs. Hannah Melton, deceased; Mrs. Amanda Franklin, who resides in Story county, Iowa; Mrs. Cynthia Ann Osborne, of the state of Washington; Isabelle, who lives in Hastings, Nebraska; and Mrs. Torre Cole, who lives in Hall county, Nebraska.
The fact that he was but sixteen years of age at the outbreak of the Civil war did not deter Mr. Robinson from offering his services in defense of his country. On the 10th of August, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Thirty-fifth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and took part in every engagement, about eighteen in all, and all the skirmishes in which his regiment shared. One of the most notable battles was that before Vicksburg, in which Grant and Sherman were his commanders, and Colonel Hill had the charge of the regiment. Though he was a little more than three years in the service, he received no wound and was never in the hospital and his bravery was unquestioned. About the Ist of September, 1865, Mr. Rob- inson was honorably discharged and returned to civil pursuits, taking up his resi- dence in Greenfield township: In 1870 he married and settled upon what is now his homestead. It consists of two hundred and sixty acres, and through his ef- forts and toil has been placed under a fine state of cultivation and exhibits many improvements which are the result of his progressive ideas. He also owns thirty- one acres of timber land.
On the 10th of March, 1870, Mr. Robinson wedded Miss Lizetta Piper. She was born September 28, 1850, near Fort Wayne, Indiana, a daughter of William and Minnie (Reese) Piper. The other children-four sons and four daughters that were born to her parents were: Henry, of Lisbon, Iowa; William, of Rome township, Jones county ; Lewis, also of Rome township; Augustus, of Mechanics- ville, Iowa; Mrs. Minnie Jackson, also of Mechanicsville ; Mrs. Johanna Kohl, of Clinton, Iowa; Mrs. Elvina Floyd, of Lisbon; and Mrs. Augusta Krohm, of Springville, Iowa. To Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have been born eleven children, seven daughters and four sons: Frank Walter, of Greenfield township; Mrs. Anna Maley, of Mechanicsville : Mrs. Alice Viola Mershon, of Sac City, Iowa; Lewis F., deceased ; William, who lives at home; Mrs. Ida May Miller, of Mor- ley, Iowa; Asa, of Greenfield township, this county ; Mrs. Bertha Vanderbilt, of Greenfield township; Mrs. Bessie Fisher, of Mechanicsville; Mrs. Minnie S. Parks, who is living in Cedar county, Iowa; and Ishmael Murfield, of Grand- field, South Dakota. This large family was reared in the most harmonious home surroundings and in the faith of the United Brethren church. By their own ef- forts have Mr. and Mrs. Robinson attained to their present position of comfort. Hardships they have both known, especially Mr. Robinson from his boyhood's days, when nature seemed to conspire against man, as in 1860, when the great Co- manche cyclone swept the country and destroyed his home and when man knew
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no limit to greed and debauchery. In the changed condition of the times, these things have been all but forgotten and the man that survived them can only be grateful that the severity of those days taught the lessons that made possible the advance of today. In his political sympathies Mr. Robinson is a republican.
A. A. COLE.
A. A. Cole, proprietor and publisher of the Olin Recorder, is a man of wide experience and broad-gauged knowledge and is eminently fitted to shape the opin- ion of his locality through the medium of his paper. He was born on a farm at Nigger Point, afterward Pleasant Hill, Hale township, January 21, 1859, a son of John and Rebecca Cole. When he was but eighteen Mr. Cole, who had been attending the district school, began teaching in his home district and succeeded remarkably well, continuing there for several terms. When Professor C. L. Por- ter began agitating the matter of a college at Olin, Mr. Cole organized a sum- mer school for him at Pleasant Hill in 1876, after which he with others assisted Professor Porter in carrying out his plans, and the college became an accom- plished fact in September, 1878, and the following spring it was incorporated. Mr. Cole was one of the first pupils and graduated from the new college in the class of 1880.
Following this he had a varied experience, for the young man was ambitious and endeavored to find the work for which he was best suited. In the fall of 1882, he located in Olin, where he purchased a furniture store and conducted it for several years. In the meanwhile he studied law, and in October, 1900, he passed the examination before the supreme court of Iowa and was admitted to the bar, since which time he has been in active practice. His inclinations, how- ever, had always led him toward newspaper work and in 1896 he formed a part- nership with his youngest brother, John 1. Cole, and they bought the Olin Re- corder. This association continued until February 28 1907, when the junior member retired, and A. A. Cole has since continued alone. owning the printing plant and the building in which it is located. and acting as editor. Mr. Cole is a fearless writer and never hesitates to take a decided stand upon public matters, and his paper is regarded as an authority upon all subjects which he discusses.
On September 23. 1883, Mr. Cole married Miss Nancy Elizabeth Coleman and they have had seven children as follows: Raymond, who married Grace Switzer, lives in Olin and is foreman of his father's printing office : Clarence C. who married Hallie Clancey, lives at Coggon, Iowa, and is editor and proprie- tor of the Coggon Monitor ; Glen F .. Letha M., Ruth M., Esther M. and Frances L. are at home. Clarence C. has a school record of which his parents are very proud as he entered the Olin school when five years old and completed the en- tire course in twelve years without being absent or tardy.
Mr. Cole has often been called upon to represent the republican party in town and township offices and for fifteen years he has served faithfully on the school board of the independent school district of Olin, and his experience as an educa- tor has been of considerable benefit to his people. In 1900 he joined the United
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Brethren church of Olin and was made superintendent of the Sunday school and with the exception of two years has given the church his services in this ca- pacity ever since. Prominent in so many other ways, Mr. Cole also takes an in- terest in fraternal matters and is a member of the Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 200, A. F. & A .M., of which he is secretary; also Meridian Lodge, No. 245, Knights of Pythias, of which he is chancellor commander, Big Wood Camp, No. 526, M. W. A. of which he is venerable consul; Olin Company, No. 9, Uniform Rank Knights of Pythias, of which he is captain; Hyacinth Temple, No. 72, Py- thian Sisters, all of Olin ; and of Ben De Meer Temple, No. 12, D. O. K. K. of Maquoketa. In legal circles, in newspaper work, socially, fraternally and in his church Mr. Cole easily dominates by reason of his personality and energy, and he is extremely popular, winning and retaining friends everywhere, so that there are few men of Jones county who are more widely known or who are better liked than he.
GEORGE ROGERS.
George Rogers, a successful representative of the agricultural and stock- raising interests of Jones county, is the owner of an excellent farm of four hun- dred and twenty acres in Richland township. He was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, on the 25th of October, 1854, his parents being Peter and Catherine (Moonen) Rogers, both natives of Ireland. In 1849 they crossed the Atlantic to the United States, taking up their abode in Dubuque county, Iowa, where the father was engaged in mining. In 1856 he came to Jones county, purchasing a portion of the farm which is now in possession of his son George. He made his home thereon throughout the remainder of his life, devoting his time and ener- gies to general agricultural pursuits with gratifying results. His demise occurred in 1880 and his wife, surviving him but four years, was called to her final rest in 1884. They were the parents of five children, namely : Patrick, a resident of Jones county ; Michael, who is deceased; George, of this review; Catherine, who lives with her brother George; and Jane, who has likewise passed away.
George Rogers spent his youthful days under the parental roof, attending the common schools in pursuit of an education that would equip him for the prac- tical and responsible duties of life. When twenty-one years of age he took charge of the old home farm, operating the same until his father's death, at which time it came into his possession. He is now the owner of four hundred and twenty acres of rich and arable land in Richland township, this county, and also has a tract of three hundred and twenty acres in Cedar county, Nebraska. In addi- tion to the production of cereals he makes a specialty of raising and feeding stock, both branches of his business returning to him a gratifying annual income. His industry has ever been one of his salient characteristics and has been the measure of his success.
In 1905 Mr. Rogers was united in marriage to Miss Rosanna Troye, a native of Austria, who came to this country in the year 1902. They now have three children : Joseh Peter, Catherine B. and Mary G.
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Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Rogers has cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democracy. His fellow towns- men have honored him by election to various positions of public trust and he has acted as township trustee and supervisor, while for about a quarter of a cen- tury he has served as school treasurer. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Catholic church, of which his wife is also a communicant. He has now made his home in this county for more than a half century and his life, ever upright and honorable, has gained for him the warm esteem and un- qualified confidence of those with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.
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