USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 43
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MRS. CAROLINE SUTHERLAND.
Mrs. Caroline Sutherland, a well known and highly respected resident of Scotch Grove township, where she makes her home on a farm on section 28, was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania. on the 30th of September, 1842, a daughter of Robert and Mary Ann (Bell) Espy, both natives of Pennsylvania. They came to Jones county in 1851, where the father entered land in Scotch Grove township, and here their remaining days were spent. In their family were eight children of whom only three now survive. Mrs. Sutherland is the widow of John Sutherland, who passed away on the 8th of September, 1901.
John Sutherland was born in Canada, in March, 1818, and there the period of his boyhood and youth were passed. In 1837. when nineteen years of age, he came to Jones county with his parents, and here made his home until 1849. In that year, in company with two younger brothers. he started for the far west, traveling overland all of the way, and after arriving in California obtained em- ployment in the gold mines of that state. He was thus employed until 1856, when he returned to Jones county, Iowa, and here continued to make his home until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Ninth Iowa Infantry as a member of Company D, serving for four years, during which time he was brave and valiant in the defense of his country. He was wounded at the battle of Pea Ridge and again at Vicksburg. His capable service was recognized in his promotion to first lieutenant, and later he was made captain, which rank he was holding when. in February, 1865. he was honorably discharged on account of sickness.
Again returning to Jones county he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres located on section 28, Scotch Grove township, where he continued to make his home up to the time of his death. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Caroline Espy, of this review, and unto them were born eight children, namely : John B., deceased : Thomas M1., residing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Charles R., a practicing attorney of Cedar Rapids: Catherine, deceased: Frank D., still at home; Margaret, engaged in teaching school; Anna D., the wife of Alfred Hanna. of Scotch Grove township: and John C .. who is also married and makes his home in Martin, Tennessee.
JOHN SUTHERLAND
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Mrs. Sutherland still resides on the home farm, which she is capably manag- ing with the assistance of her son, manifesting in the conduct of her affairs much business ability and discernment. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, the teachings of which form the guiding influence of her life, while her husband was identified with the Masonic body, having attained the Knight Templar degree therein. Having resided within the borders of Jones county since the age of nine years, she is well known and figures prominently in the social circles of the community. A lady of domestic tastes, in her home life she has ever been a loving wife and mother and is recognized as a true friend and obliging neigh- bor, her excellent traits of character gaining for hier unqualified respect and regard.
CHARLES E. WALSTON.
Some men seem born to success, being fitted for large enterprises and cap- able of bringing them to a profitable termination. Such men place the communi- ties in which they live under heavy obligation, for they give employment to many, put money into circulation and through their example induce others to embark on similar business careers. Charles E. Walston, formerly of Hale, now of Rome, Iowa, has led a busy life and has been successful in his undertakings for he possesses those requisite attributes of industry, executive ability and foresight.
Mr. Walston was born in Hale township, Jones county, Iowa near the banks of the Wapsipinicon river in a log house, February 17, 1858, coming into the world under essentially pioneer conditions. He is a son of William and Sarah (Waite) Walston, natives of Pickaway county, Ohio, and Leeds, England, re- spectively. William Walston who was born December 12, 1829, passed away in Hale, Jones county, April 4, 1909. His widow, who was born August 3, 1833, was brought to Oxford township, Jones county, by her parents in 1851. There she was married August 12, 1852, and she still resides in this county, mak- ing her home at Wyoming with her son-in-law, S. A. First. She is a daughter of Robert Waite, who was born in England, September 5, 1795, and was there married July 9, 1815, to Elizabeth Midgeley.
In 1844 William Walston came to Oxford township, Jones county, with his parents and had the honor of being the first white man married in that township. He began entering forty acres of government land at a time, buying it at one and a quarter dollars per acre, until he owned one hundred and sixty acres, and he lived upon his farm until 1889, when he retired. He was drafted in 1862 and sent to St. Louis, but was then rejected owing to a crippled hand. The Methodist church of Hale found in him a hearty supporter, he being one of its charter members, and he helped to built the first church. From the formation of the republican party he was one of its stanch advocates.
Fourteen children were born to William Walston and wife, as follows: Eliza- beth, who married Commodore Smith, of Texas; Mary Ellen, who married Andrew Schwab and died May 10, 1892; Charles E., of this review; William Henry, who lives in Guthrie county, Iowa; Esther M., who married William
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T. Preston, of Iowa; George F. who lives in Kansas; John, who lives in Guthrie county, lowa; Sarah E., who married S. A. First, of Wyoming township; Ida, who was born February 20, 1870, and died December 3, 1885; Alvah J., who was born September 1, 1871, and died September 27, 1904; Clarence T., who lives in Ida county, Iowa; Janette Rose, who married Anthony Gilmore, of Hale township; Luverna Alice, who married Allen Boudinot, of Davenport, Iowa; Grace L., who married Dr. R. E. Wright, of Bern, Kansas. These fourteen children all grew to maturity and for years gathered about the home table.
Charles E. Walston has spent his life in Jones county, with the exception of three years in Ida county. He went to that county when he was twenty-two years old, but found that he preferred his native place and so returned to Hale township. Here he engaged in farming until 1886, when he removed to the village of Hale and from 1886 to 1896 he was a stock buyer. He also conducted a general store with D. C. Merritt, under the firm name of Walston & Merritt for thirteen and one-half years, selling out in December, 1908. Mr. Walston is now an extensive dealer in real estate, making a specialty of farm lands. He himself owns five hundred and ninety-two acres and a half interest in five hun- dred and twenty-four acres in Jones county and about three thousand, one hun- dred and sixty in South Dakota. In this business he also operates with Mr. Merritt under the same name of Walston & Merritt. These two have conducted their land business for the past eight years, and have secured gratifying results, especially in their operations in Iowa and South Dakota farm lands. In November, 1909, he removed to Olin.
Mr. Walston was married January 18, 1883, to Mary Merritt, who was born in Rome township, Jones county, February 6, 1862, a daughter of J. J. Merritt, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere in this work. They have four children, as follows: Charles Lee, who was born December 6, 1883, and died May 30, 1886; Laura Janette, the wife of Charles L. Schafer, of Keystone, Iowa; Ward Jerome, born December 8, 1892, still at home; Blanche M., born in 1895. There is one grandchild, Neola Lucille Schafer, born May 14, 1908, the pet of the whole family.
Mr. Walston is a director of the First National Bank of Olin and has held that position since its organization. He belongs to the Methodist church and is a liberal supporter of its good work. Fraternally he belongs to lodge No. 200, A. F. & A. M., the Royal Neighbors and is a charter member of Hale Lodge, M. W. of A. He is without doubt one of the most representative citizens of his part of the county, and is a man of sterling integrity of character, whose position both socially and as a business man is unquestioned.
BEN AHRENDSEN.
One of the representative German farmers of Madison township, who has proved the truth of the statement, believed in so implicitly by his brothers in the land of his birth, that the United States is a land of golden opportunities is Ben Ahrendsen. By his own exertions he has made success his possession and
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ha's gained a substantial and respected place in the world. A native of Schleswig- Holstein, Germany, he was born March 4, 1859, and is the son of Lawrence R. and Christina (Peterson) Ahrendsen. After their son had been over here about four years the parents came to the United States. The mother has since passed away, but the father is still living and makes his home with his son.
Ben Ahrendsen received his education in the public schools of Germany be- fore he came to this land. Arriving in the United States in 1882, he made his way almost immediately to the west, where he secured work as a farm hand in Clinton county, Iowa. He remained there about two years and then came to Jones county, continuing to work as an employe for three years, when he believed the time ripe to engage in farming on his own responsibility. In 1887 he rented a tract of land in this county, and there laid the foundation of the success that has attended his later efforts. For about nineteen years he lived there, and then in 1906 came to Madison township, where he purchased what was known as the A. N. Reade farm, a tract of eighty acres of rich land, well improved. This has been for the last six years his home and has afforded him ample opportunity to prove his skill as an agriculturist.
Mr. Ahrendsen has never married but a sister Louisa has lived with him and graced his home with the comforts that only a woman's presence can give. When he was given his papers making him a citizen of this republic, Mr. Ahr- endsen straightway turned to the democratic party as his guide in the world of politics. He has since adhered steadfastly to its platform, which has seemed to him the better one for the government of the nation. Aside from casting his ballot at elections, Mr. Ahrendsen has not entered into public affairs, his life, however, by the example it sets of industry, thrift and good management, is sufficient warrant of the high character of his cititzenship.
DON C. EASTERLY.
Among the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of Jones county whose well directed efforts and intelligently applied labor are meeting with gratifying success is Don C. Easterly. He was born in Rome township on the 7th of September, 1869, a son of Thomas W. and Martha J. (Rummel) Easterly, the former a well known and respected agriculturist of this township. Having spent his entire life upon the farm upon which he was born, Mr. Easterly of this review was reared to manhood amid the busy activities of rural life, and at the usual age became a pupil in the district schools. When not busy with his text-books he assisted his father in the work of the fields and there early laid the foundation stone for a future successful career. His educational training was supplemented by one term of study in a business college, but on account of his father's death, which occurred when he was fifteen years of age, he was compelled to leave school and assist in the conduct of the home farm. Upon attaining his majority he continued to devote himself to agricultural pursuits, wisely choosing as a life work the occupation to which he had been reared, and that his choice was a good one is indicated in the gratifying degree of pros-
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perity which he today enjoys. He has since concentrated his efforts upon the further cultivation and development of the homestead farm, where he has always made his home. It is a valuable farm of two hundred and forty acres, located in Rome township, and was originally owned by his paternal grand- father, who purchased it from the government. Under his wise management it has been brought under a good state of cultivation, the fields annually yielding rich harvests. He has made a close study of agriculture, practices rotation of crops and knows the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, and is numbered among the progressive and successful farmers of the township. As he has prospered he has been able to invest his money to excellent advantage, and he is now a stockholder in the Citizens Savings Bank of Olin. He is likewise one of the promoters of the first Farmers Mutual Telephone line in Rome township, and has cooperated in various other matters pertaining to the upbuilding and progress of the community.
It was on the 10th of March, 1892, at Olin, Iowa, that Mr. Easterly was united in marriage to Miss Ola A. Stuart, a daughter of J. A. and Sarah (White) Stuart. The former, who was a soldier in the Civil war, was born in Ohio in 1846, while the latter's birth occurred in Indiana in 1852. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Easterly have been born the following children : Arthur, now deceased ; C. Noel; Nellie A .; Thomas Roscoe; Lois L .; and Dorothy L.
In his religious views Mr. Easterly is rather liberal, and although he has never identified himself with any special denomination, he has attended the United Brethren church from childhood, and the teachings of that church have served as a guiding influence in his life. Fraternally he has been a member of the Masonic body since May, 1904, and is a most exemplary member thereof, taking an active part in the affairs of that organization. Politically he has ever been stanch in his allegiance to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He was township trustee from 1897 until 1907 and was school director for the year 1907, while he is at present acting as a member of the Olin Cemetery Association, in which office he has served since 1901. Public spirited in his citizenship, his devotion to the public good is unquestioned and arises from a sincere interest in the welfare of his fellowmen. His career has ever been such as also to warrant the trust of the business world, for he has ever conducted all transactions according to the principles of honor and integrity, and he occupies a high place in public regard, enjoying in large measure the confidence of his fellowmen.
ADNEY COLEMAN.
Adney Coleman, deceased, who for many years was one of the representative farmers of Jones county and was one of the old settlers of Hale township, assisted very materially in its development and advancement. He was a man of broad charity and kindly spirit and made friends wherever he went, so that there were many to mourn his loss when he passed away January 9, 1897. He was
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born near Lexington, Richland county, Ohio, June 2, 1827, a son of Nathaniel and Peggy Coleman, who had eleven children.
Hearing of the advantages offered by the rich Iowa lands, he came to this state in 1851 and, locating near Tipton, Cedar county, lived on a farm for thirteen years. He then spent a short time at Red Oak, after which he settled on a farm in Hale township, buying eighty acres of the one hundred and sixty acre farm he owned at the time of his death and was then operating. All his interests were centered in his farming and although he had begun with nothing, he died well-to-do owing to his industry, perseverance and thrift.
On April II, 1851, Mr. Coleman married Sarah A. Simmons, who was to be his helpmate and the guiding star of his useful life. She was born in Butler, Richland county, Ohio, February 15, 1829, and she was brought to Tipton, Cedar county, Iowa, by her parents, Richard and Mary (Myers) Simmons. They were natives of Richland county, Ohio, and died in Cedar county, Iowa. Mrs. Cole- man was one in a family of eleven children. She and her husband also had a family of eleven children, as follows: Amanda S., who lives at Tacoma, Wash- ington ; Mary S., who married George Lane, of Olin; Lewis K., who died at the age of two years, Ida B., who married T. Gordon, of Olin; George W., who lives in Hale township; Nancy, who married A. A. Cole, attorney and editor ; Adney Allen, who lives in Hale township; and Edward Lee of Stanwood, Cedar county, who is a twin of Adney; William R., who died at the age of seventeen years, in 1885; Franklin B., who died at the age of seventeen years, in 1886; and Minnie A., who married Irvin Hart, of Olin. Mrs. Coleman has resided in Olin since 1899, having disposed of the farm.
During a revival held at the Pleasant Hill Free Will Baptist church about twenty-five years before his death, Mr. Coleman became converted and soon thereafter joined that denomination and continued faithful to its creed until his demise. The funeral services were held in the United Brethren church in Olin, the Rev. A. B. Statton officiating, and the remains were interred in Olin ceme- tery. Mr. Statton was assisted by Rev. Nathan Potter and the services were very affecting. Although never aspiring to public office or high places, Mr. Coleman influenced many by his gentle personality and kindly love of his fellow- man. He was devoted to his family, faithful to his church, always anxious to see his community progress, and few men were more missed than he when his accustomed place was made vacant by his death.
MRS. ADELL I. McKELVEY.
Mrs. Adell I. McKelvey, well known in Jones county, where she has many warm friends, is a native of Iowa, her birth having occurred in Jackson county in 1856. She was one of a family of four children born unto Dr. Z. G. and Irene S. (McDowell) Isbell, two of whom still survive. The parents were na- tives of New York and came to Iowa at an early date, both passing away in Jones county, the father in 1897 and the mother in 1900. Dr. Isbell arrived in Center Junction in 1870 when it was little more than a corn field, and here opened a
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drug store which he conducted in connection with his practice, though he had retired from his profession to some extent. He filled the office of county coro- ner and also served as postmaster of Center Junction for eighteen years. He was a thirty-second degree Mason, of which rank he was very proud, and was minister of the Methodist Episcopal church.
In 1877 Miss Adell Isbell gave her hand in marriage to Thomas McKelvey, who was born in Marion county, Pennsylvania, on the 20th of November, 1844, a son of James and Eliza McKelvey, who were also natives of that state where they continued to make their home throughout life, passing away when their son was only ten years of age. He received a good common-school education in his native county and in Illinois, where he made his home for a time. He was only seventeen years of age when, actuated by a spirit of patriotism, he entered the Union army during the Civil war, becoming a member of Company B, Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted for three years and during half of that time was in the infantry and was in the signal corps for a year and a half. Owing to illness he was later in the hospital as a patient. After the close of hostilities he went to Illinois, where he was engaged in teaching school for some time, and later he pursued a course of study in telegraphy. He then came to Center Junction and for ten years was employed as a telegrapher, at the expiration of which time he became identified with mercantile interests in the same place and was thus connected until the time of his death, which oc- curred on the 13th of January, 1886. Fraternally he was a Master Mason and was also a member of the United Workmen.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. McKelvey were born two children: George A., now residing in Texas: and Helena A., the wife of G. W. Dunham, of Iowa. Prior to her marriage Mrs. McKelvey had been a school and music teacher, accepting her first position as a school teacher when seventeen years of age, while at the age of sixteen years she became a teacher of music. After her husband's death she again took up her music and has been a teacher of that art ever since. She is a prominent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and has just returned home from Florida, where for the past two years she has been engaged in missionary work. She is a lady of good business ability, who has capably managed her affairs since the death of her husband. Generous and kindly in disposition and charitable in her estimation of every one, she has gained a circle of friends which is almost coextensive with the circle of her acquaintances, and she now enjoys the respect and esteem of those with whom she has come in contact, while her many good deeds have endeared her to many.
JOHN ALOYSIUS GREEN.
John Aloysius Green's ancestry came from that ancient stock to which his- tory refers as "The Lost Tribe of Dan," one body of the Israelitish nation that, with other tribes disappeared as commonwealths and communities on the dissolu- tion of the government composed of twelve tribes. The tribe of Dan, according to
J. A. GREEN
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the only clews afforded by history, went first to Egypt and from that country emigrated to Spain. A part of these people left Spain in ships made of willow and covered with the hides of oxen, and landed on the west coast of Ireland, where their descendants are still to be found, their blood unadulterated by that of any other race, although the Normans, Saxons and other peoples over-ran the island. Throughout its history in Ireland, where so many conflicts have raged, the race has been so strong that it never has been conquered. Its people did not inter- marry with the members of the neighboring tribes and can still be readily dis- tinguished from their fellow countrymen.
Michael Green was born about 1695; his son, Denis Green, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1742 and died at the age of ninety-nine years. His second wife was Honor Lennon, and their third child, John, was born about 1800. He married Bridget Kenny, and their fifth child was John Aloysius. Bridget was the daughter of Patrick Kenny, son of Peter and Mary Canfield-Kenny. Patrick married Margaret Fallon for a second wife, and Bridget was their oldest child.
John Aloysius Green was born in the parish of Moore, County Roscommon, Ireland, December 10, 1844. His parents were John Green and Bridget (Kenny) Green, farmers, as were their parents before them, the family having resided for generations in the parish of Moore. Mr. Green came to Boston, Massachusetts, September 2, 1852, and attended the common schools of that city. In 1860 he learned the monumental trade and worked at it for ten years. Later he worked in granite, sandstone and last of all limestone.
Mr. Green came west in 1865, living for a time in Joliet, Illinois. In 1867 he worked at the Rock Island arsenal as a stone-cutter, and in the same year he went to Wyoming, where he cut stone for Union Pacific bridges, forty miles west of Cheyenne. He returned to Joliet in the winter of the same year. March 17, 1868, found him at his present location, then a lonely spot in the wilderness, now the site of Stone City, a prosperous community that has added great wealth to the state and to Jones county, built, as its name indicates, on the business inaugurated by Mr. Green when he opened the Champion quarries that are still in operation. He bestowed its name upon the place that will stand as a monu- ment to his foresight and industry.
In 1875 he married Ellen Green, of Joliet, Illinois, and to them were born a large family-Mary, Anna, Joseph, Ellen and James, twins, Leo, Rose, Agnes, Robert and Josephine, five of whom are living. They are Anna, now Mrs. Charles M. Cruikshank, John, Agnes, Robert and Josephine.
In addition to the Champion quarries, Mr. Green opened a quarry on the Buffalo river, worked the old state quarry on the Wapsipinicon for a time, a quarry at Wasioja, Minnesota, and one at Shuster, Missouri.
He was the first in the United States to employ hydraulic power for strip- ping quarries, and he was also the first to load large holes with several hundred pounds of black powder, to shake the hills and loosen thousands of tons of stone at one blast. Mr. Green owns a masons' material and supply yard at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, known as the Iowa Stone Company, and a sand pump in the same city, in the Cedar river. In this business of dredging sand for building purposes, an industry that has reached enormous proportions, he was a pioneer. He owns
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a large stock farm, where he has raised many fine horses, cattle, sheep and goats. His Iowa acres number more than one thousand.
Mr. Green has always been a democrat and so has sought little political pre- ferment. The first political office held by him was that of township trustee, in 1873. In 1892, he was forced into the senatorial contest and was elected to the Iowa senate from the twenty-fourth senatorial district, a republican division comprising Jones and Cedar counties. He was an unsuccessful candidate for congressional honors in 1904, receiving, however, two thousand, seven hundred and sixty more votes than were given for the head of his ticket in the fifth con- gressional district of Iowa. At the age of sixty-five years he is still strong and hearty and actively engaged in business.
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