USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 37
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John A. McDonald had the advantage of sound home training under the guidance of his parents, and in the public schools acquired such instruction as he could obtain in the rudiments of an English education. When he attained his majority he began his life as a farmer upon his own responsibility. For one year he rented from his uncle the farm he now owns and then removed to his
JOHN A. McDONALD
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father's land which he operated as a renter for about twenty-four years. In 1907, the old McDonald homestead was deeded to him by his uncle John and he removed to it and has since made it his home. Here he has engaged very extensively in the cattle business, buying cattle in large numbers and putting into his fields to feed upon the abundant grass. His operations, which have been guided by a clear-headed business policy, have been attended with marked suc- cess and have won for him a conspicuous position among the cattle men of Jones county.
In 1882 Mr. McDonald married Miss Esther Reed, of Madison township and to them nine children have been born: Guy A., a mail carrier of Center Junc- tion, Iowa; John W., who died in 1909; Clifford F., of Center Junction; and Elizabeth M., Ethel M., Lulu B., Maggie E., Andrew R., and Scott B., all at home. The family have been reared in the faith of their parents, and are faithful in their attendance on the services of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally, Mr. McDonald is connected with the Center Junction Lodge, No. 711, I. O. O. F., and with the Center Junction Camp, No. 892, M. W. A., and is prominent in both organizations. On the occasions of elections he invariably casts his ballot for the candidates of the republican party, but he is not active politically nor is he an aspirant for office.
ROBERT JOHN CARSON.
Robert John Carson is a worthy representative of the Carson family, who from the earliest settlement of Jones county has been identified with its farming interests. Mr. Carson was born on a farm in Scotch Grove township, December 1, 1864, a son of Robert and Margaret (Todd) Carson, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father was but a boy when he accompanied his mother to the new world, his father having died when he was but a child. His mother made her way to Illinois and there the son found employment in the coal mines. Event- nally they came to Jones county and located in Scotch Grove township, where Robert Carson purchased two hundred acres of land at ten dollars per acre. This proved a successful venture and he seemed fitted for farm work. On account of his father's death, the family were left in limited financial circumstances and he was deprived of many advantages, not even having the privilege of attend- ing school. His lack of education, however, seemed no bar to his success, for at the time of his death, which occurred August 23, 1906, he was the owner of four hundred and twenty-two acres of land, divided into three farms. He also raised cattle quite extensively and for many years was classed among the prosperous and substantial farmers of Jones county. He was a republican in his political views and a Presbyterian in religious faith.
Robert J. Carson was reared under the parental roof and at the usual age began his studies in the district schools. He remained at home, assisting in the care of the farm until his twenty-third year, when he established a home of his own by his marriage on the 8th of June, 1887, to Miss Mary J. McBride, of Richland township, this county, and a daughter of William McBride, now deceased.
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Following his marriage Mr. Carson located on the farm which is now his home but which at that time was the property of his father. For twenty years he cultivated this land as a renter but upon the settlement of the father's estate he purchased the property of the other heirs and now owns eighty acres in Scotch Grove township. For the past seventeen years, in addition to carrying on gen- eral farming, he has operated a threshing machine. His first engine was run by horse power but when the steam thresher was placed upon the market he pur- chased one and has since done a large business in threshing in various sections of the county.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carson have been born five children, William Frederick, Fannie, John Vernon, Mamie and Margaret, all still at home. Mr. Carson is a republican in his political views and has been called by his fellow townsmen to fill various public offices, having served as constable, road supervisor and school director. He is a Modern Woodman, belonging to Camp No. 892, at Center Junction. His success is well deserved for it has come to him through strict adherance to honorable methods.
EMERSON SHOTWELL.
Emerson Shotwell, a substantial farmer of Greenfield township, was born in Lobo, Ontario, Canada, March 19, 1864, and is the son of Joseph Marsh and Martha (Ferguson) Shotwell. On his father's side he is descended from the Friends or Quakers who came to this country in the second half of the seventeenth century. A. M. Shotwell, a relative, with care and diligence traced the family genealogy back two hundred and fifty years and as the result of his study a large book of tables and historic data is in the possession of Mr. Shotwell. There are many interesting items concerning this compilation, first in regard to the men who began it and the means used to carry on the work. A. M. Shotwell. who undertook the task of looking up the old records and tracing the different members of the family, strange as it may seem, had no use of his eyes. He was assisted by a brother and sister. His brother did most of the writing, but he was also disabled and, because of paralysis of his arms, was compelled to hold the pen in his teeth. With the aid of a sister the work was completed and made useable. From it is learned that Abraham Shotwell was the first of the family in this country. He came from England in 1665 and located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, whence his descendants have spread over the United States and into Canada, their location in the latter section of this continent being due to the fact that as Quakers the family took no part in the Revolutionary war and in compensation for their neutrality were given a grant of land in Can- ada by the British government. Considering the other side of the struggle, William Shotwell, a great-grandfather of the subject, was fined by the colonies for failing to render military service and his property confiscated, including the stone house that was completed on the day Cornwallis surrendered, October 19, 1781. He thereupon moved to Welland, Canada West, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying at the advanced age of ninety-three years. He
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had a son John, one of the sixth generation since the founding of the family in the United States, who was born in 1785 and died in Lapeer county, Michigan. His home had formerly been, however, in Thorold, Canada West, which is now the district of Ontario. This book of genealogical facts has a historic value in that it corrects a mistake that from constant repetition is supposed to be authen- tic, namely the battle commonly known as that of Lundy's Lane, should be Lundy's Land, as it was fought on the property owned by Lundy, who was a distant relative of Mr. Shotwell.
Joseph Marsh Shotwell, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Canada and came to Iowa first in 1854. He remained here for some time and then returned to Canada, where he married Miss Martha Ferguson and then in 1866 came to Greenfield township, Jones county, to spend the rest of his days. His wife, like himself of Canadian birth, can also trace her family back many generations. Through her marriage she became the mother of two children : Emerson, of this review; and Louisa, who was born in June, 1870, and died at the age of two years.
Emerson Shotwell was a child of two when his parents came to live in Greenfield township and here he grew to manhood, learning the secrets of the cultivation of the soil from his father and through actual experience. He received a common-school education and when it became time for him to embark upon the sea of life upon his own responsibility he devoted himself to farming. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres on sections 21 and 22, Greenfield township, a well improved tract of land, cultivated by progressive methods.
In 1893 Mr. Shotwell wedded Miss Louisa Bishop, a daughter of Francis M. and Harriett (Armstrong) Bishop, who were old settlers in this county and were the parents of two other daughters: Mrs. Angeline Gordon, now living in Oklahoma; and Lydia, who has remained at home. To Mr. and Mrs. Shot- well have been born two children: Alma, born September 4, 1894; and Francis Joseph, born November 15, 1896.
Mr. Shotwell's political sympathies are largely with the democratic party, but he is independent and inspired with progressive ideas and frequently votes for the candidate or issue which he thinks best irrespective of party ties. He has been school director and secretary of the board of education for the past twenty-two years, and trustee of the township for four years. In both capaci- ties he has ever exerted his influence in the development of all the enterprises which would advance the best interests of the community in which he lives. He has in this manner made himself a vital factor in local affairs.
WILLIAM LEWIS KETCHAM.
William Lewis Ketcham, whose demise occurred on the 23d of July, 1906, was for many years actively and successfully indentified with the farming and stock-raising interests of Jones county, gaining an enviable reputation as a dealer in shorthorn cattle and Clydesdale horses. His birth occurred in Dela- ware county, Ohio, on the 18th of February, 1851, his parents being John and
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Martha (Wheaton) Ketcham. He was about sixteen years of age when he left his native state in company with his parents and took up his abode in Iowa and here he made his home throughout the remainder of his life, winning a gratifying measure of prosperity in his undertakings as a farmer and stockman. His standard of conduct was high, his word absolute and unquestioned truth and his counsel and advice were much sought. A man of unfailing courtesy and unfeigned cordiality, he was a worthy exemplar of the Golden Rule and a splendid type of the true Christian gentleman.
On the Ist of January, 1877, Mr. Ketcham was united in marriage to Miss Ruby Stone, a daughter of Curtis and Mary (Burton) Stone, who were natives of New Hampshire and Vermont respectively. The year 1853 witnessed their arrival at Bowen Prairie, Jones county, Iowa, and here they continued to reside until called to their final rest. Mr. and Mrs. Ketcham were the parents of five daughters, as follows: Mary Lulu, who died in 1884 when but an infant; Ruby Stone, who is a student in the American Medical Missionary College of Battle Creek, Michigan; Mattie Emily, who on the Ist of September, 1909, gave her hand in marriage to A. Ray Fairbanks, with whom she resides on the old farm home, they having recently purchased the place from the heirs; Clara An- toinette, a student in the fine arts department of Drake University at Des Moines. Iowa ; and Wilhelmina H., who is a sophomore in a high school of Battle Creek, Michigan.
HUGH CORBITT.
Energy and perseverance are the qualities which have placed Hugh Corbitt among the successful and representative farmers of Clay township. A native of Ireland, he came to this country a poor boy but has now accumulated a substance which may compare favorably with those acquired by men whose handicap in the battle of life was not so great. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Betsey McMaster, came to America with her son Hugh, after the death of the father, but lived only six years after her arrival, for her death occurred in 1870, and she is buried at the cemetery in Wehawken, New Jersey. A sister of our subject. Nancy Corbitt, lias also come to this country. The father, John Corbitt, lived and died in Ireland.
It was on May 4, 1847, that Hugh Corbitt was born. He received his edu- cation in the schools of his native land, and in 1864, when about seventeen years of age, came to the United States. He landed at New York city, where he secured employment as spinner in a carpet factory, remaining there for about nine years. At the expiration of that period he came to Jones county. Iowa, buying a tract of eighty acres of land in Clay township, on which he im- mediately began to pursue the calling of a farmer. In the course of years, as a well deserved success crowned his efforts, he was able to purchase two hundred and twenty acres more, so that he now has a fine farm of three hundred acres. In addition to the cultivation of cereals he has engaged in the stock business, raising a large quantity of hogs and cattle for the market. Industry.
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energy and perseverance have ever been strong characteristics of his and they have been the means of the success which has marked his career. £ His farm is well improved in accordance with the most advanced ideas, his buildings are substantial, commodious and adequately adapted to the uses to which they are applied, while the careful cultivation of his fields tells its own story of his skill in his chosen vocation.
After he became well established in life, Mr. Corbitt married Miss Agnes B. Litch, who was born near Belfast in County Antrim, Ireland, August 6, 1860. She was a daughter of Samuel and Lavinia (Campbell) Litch, both na- tives of Ireland. The latter was born in 1830, and despite her years, came to America in 1903, taking up her residence with Mr. Corbitt and his family. Be- sides Mrs. Corbitt three of her daughters and one son have come to this country and established themselves in useful and profitable lives here. Mrs. Corbitt spent the early years of her life in the city of Belfast, receiving her education in its schools. In 1889 she embarked upon her journey to the new world, and. shortly after her arrival, on January 1, 1890, was united in marriage to Mr. Corbitt. Six children have been granted to the couple: John Cecil, born April 18, 1891 ; Elizabeth McMaster, born March 5, 1893; Lavinia C., born Decem- ber 16, 1895; Anna N., born April 18, 1897; Agnes E .. born August 22, 1902; and James M., whose birth occurred May 6, 1904.
In the years that he has exercised his right of franchise, Mr. Corbitt has given unqualified support to the candidate of the republican party, for he has felt convinced of the value of its principles, while he has, since coming to Jones county, fulfilled the duties of school director with care and efficiency. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and has been closely identified with its work. A diligent farmer and a good citizen, in the enjoyment of a large in- come, Mr. Corbitt holds the respect and good will of his fellows, though his popularity is not determined by his success but by the strong traits of honesty and integrity of purpose which have ever characterized his intercourse with others.
FRANK STHALEK.
Austria has furnished to the United States many men who left their native land inspired by laudable ambition to seek in this western country, with its more progressive methods, livelier competition and broad fields of industry, the opportunity to attain success and have here established their homes. Among this number is Frank Sthalek, who was born in Bohemia about seventy years ago and, starting out on the journey across the Atlantic unaccompanied, arrived in America and settled in Jones county, Iowa, sometime in the '6os after the Civil war. He started to work immediately on his arrival in this county, being employed as a farm hand by the month and in this way his time and energies, conscientiously given to others, enabled him to acquire a practical knowledge and broad experience in his chosen work. Eventually he rented a farm of eighty acres in Oxford township, whereon he made his home for six years, industrious- ly tilling the land and raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate. Real-
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HISTORY OF JONES COUNTY
izing the importance of economical and careful expenditure, through his cap- able management, wise selection of grain and untiring efforts in the cultivation of the fields, he finally saved a sum sufficient to purchase this eighty acre farm and, as the years have passed, he has added to this tract another of like dimen- sions situated nearby, being now the owner of one hundred and sixty acres.
Mr. Sthalek married Miss Mary Kucra, who was also born in Bohemia, in 1844, and came to America with her brothers. Unto this union have been born three children, as follows: Joseph, who died unmarried at the age of thirty-two years; Annie, who became the wife of John Bawlists, of Clinton county, Iowa; and Frank, who is at home with his parents and operates the farm. Mr. Sthalek has engaged in agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life and, while at present he oversees and is yet interested in the management of the farm, most of the manual labor is entrusted to his son, Frank, who is ambitious to follow in the footsteps of the father, who is classed among the worthy representative citizens of his community.
MOORE AND ELWOOD KIRKPATRICK.
Moore Kirkpatrick, Sr., the father of the gentlemen whose names head this sketch, was one of the best examples of the sturdy sons Ireland is sending this country. He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, December 8, 1826, a son of Thompson and Elizabeth (Story) Kirkpatrick, who brought him to America, locating in Philadelphia when about eleven years of age. Both parents died in Pennsylvania. Thompson Kirkpatrick was a school and music teacher and was kindly remembered for many years by his pupils who loved the kindly old Irish gentleman. The children born to Thompson Kirkpatrick and wife were seven in number, namely: Moore, John, William J., Ellen, Anne, Elizabeth and Martha.
The education of Moore Kirkpatrick, Sr., was secured in Philadelphia and there he also learned the trade of a painter and grainer and followed it after locating in Iowa. His advent in this state occurred in 1866, when he reached Cedar county, but his permanent settlement here was made when he located in Hale township, Jones county, in the spring of 1867. This locality continued to be his home until his demise, which occurred July 9. 1876. Upon coming here Mr. Kirkpatrick settled upon one hundred and twenty acres of land, which he im- proved, and he kept adding to his holdings until he owned about five hundred acres. He was a public-spirited man and held a number of the township offices, espousing at all times the principles of the republican party.
On the 19th of May, 1848, Moore Kirkpatrick, Sr., married Annie M. Scott who was born in Ireland, July 4, 1825, and was brought to Philadelphia by her parents when she was about fifteen years old. Mrs. Kirkpatrick passed away. deeply lamented, August 24, 1888. She bore her husband six children, two of whom died in infancy, the others being: William, who died unmarried, in Jan- uary, 1888. aged thirty-six years, for he was born July 13, 1852 ; Moore was born January 21, 1854 and resides on a part of the homestead ; Dr. John W., a physi- cian, who was born October 9, 1862, and died May 9, 1903, at Wyoming, Jones
MOORE KIRKPATRICK
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county, leaving a wife and four children : and Elwood, who was born October 30, 1865, and now resides on a part of the homestead. These children were born in Philadelphia.
Moore and Elwood Kirkpatrick came with their parents to Hale township, Jones county, Iowa, in 1867 and after the death of their father they had charge of the estate under the firm name of Kirkpatrick brothers until 1892, when they divided the five hundred and sixty-six acres of land that they had held in com- mon and made some changes. Moore Kirkpatrick now owns two hundred and twenty-three acres, including the old home on section 35, Hale township, while Elwood owns four hundred and twenty-three acres, two hundred and twenty acres of which are in Cedar county, and the remainder in Jones county, his farm being on the county line. His residence, however, is on section 36, Hale town- ship. Elwood feeds about two hundred head of stock annually. He is a strong republican and at present is one of the township board of trustees. In 1890 he married Lucy Vaughn, who was born August 23, 1868, near Wyoming, Jones county, a daughter of P. L. and Lydia (Baldwin) Vaughn, the former of whom is deceased, but the latter survives and lives in Wyoming. Mr. and Mrs. Elwood Kirkpatrick have three children, namely: William Howard, Harry Elwood and Marian Lucy. Religiously he is a member of the Clarence Presbyterian church. Moore Kirkpatrick is unmarried.
These young men are progressive farmers who have done much to raise the standard of agricultural life in their community. Their fertile acres yield them comfortable incomes and they are public-spirited enough to desire to assist in anything that looks toward the advancement of neighborhood interests.
JAMES MYRON YOUNG, M. D.
Since 1903 Dr. James Myron Young has been one of the remarkably suc- cessful physicians of Center Junction. A native of this town, he was born Aug- ust 29, 1875, his parents being James and Amanda (Printz) Young. The father is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the Young family having been founded in America about the middle of the eighteenth century by William and Mary (White) Young, natives of Scotland. This couple came to this country from the north of Ireland, where they were wealthy landowners and his ancestors were said to have been baronets. In their religious faith they were Presbyterians and as they were living in the midst of a Catholic community they came to the new world in order to escape the persecutions to which members of their faith were subjected. Mr. and Mrs. David Young, the grandparents of our subject, were married in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and in 1843, after selling their farm, started upon their journey to Iowa. They traveled down the Ohio river to Cairo, Illinois, thence up the Mississippi to Bellevue, Jackson county, Iowa, where they disembarked. On Brush creek Mr. Young found a site suitable for the erection of a mill and there built a log house with puncheon floors and clapboard roof held in place by weight poles, no nails being used in the con- struction of the cabin. The mill which he also built had but one iron wheel,
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the others being made of wood, the wooden cogs for which were boiled in lard for three or four days. Upon the site chosen when he came to Iowa, he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives, the former continuing in the opera- tion of the mill until his death.
As James Young, the father of our subject, was but two years of age when he came to Iowa, almost his entire life has been passed within its boundaries. He was reared to manhood under the parental roof, assisting in the work of the mill until 1867, when he married and engaged in agricultural pursuits, to which he has since devoted his life, having become with the passage of years one of the successful farmers of Scotch Grove township. Seven children were born to him and his wife, namely: Eliza M., the wife of Rev. A. B. Fickle, of Shells- burg, Benton county, Iowa; E. Ray, of Madison township, mention of whom is made elsewhere in this work; James M., the subject of this sketch; David L., an attorney of Boise City, Idaho; John Arthur, a Methodist Episcopal minister of Ridgeway, Iowa; William Harvey, who is attending Grinnell College; and T. Ross, who is yet at home. A consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church, the father has served on its official board for several years and at the same time has been most active in Sunday-school work. Politically he gives his support to the prohibition party and for two years served his community as justice of the peace. Characterized as his career has been by high ideals and noble principles, his life has been a constant example and inspiration to those who have borne his name.
James Myron Young was reared under the parental roof, on the farm, and he continued the education derived from the common schools through attendance at the Center Junction high school. After the completion of its prescribed course he spent the year of 1894-5 at Epworth Seminary in Dubuque county, Iowa. The next two years, those of 1895-6, and 1896-7, he spent in teaching, later reentering Epworth Seminary, from which he was graduated with the class of 1899, having taken the Latin and scientific courses. In that year he decided to take up the profession of medicine, in which he had always been interested and had read to some extent. He entered the State University at Iowa City, from which he received his medical degree at the close of the school year of 1903. His graduation having taken place on June 19, the following day he arrived in Center Junction with the intention of going to his home to spend a week's vacation. However, a professional call awaited him in the town and his vacation was postponed. From that time to the present Dr. Young has enjoyed a career as a medical practitioner that has been singularly successful from the start. Always having a pronounced liking for the work, he prosecuted his studies with the enthusiasm of a man who knew what was his life's work.
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