USA > Iowa > Jones County > History of Jones County, Iowa, past and present, Volume II > Part 59
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On the 28th of September, 1890, Mr. Russell wedded Miss Minnie F. Miller, a daughter of Joseph and Rebecca (Grauel) Miller. Her father was married twice, and by his first wife, who was Miss Rebecca Grauel, he had ten children, six daughters and four sons. Mrs. Mary K. Sawyer, of Greenfield township; W. H., also of Greenfield; a son who died in infancy; Mrs. Susannah Manly,
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who lives in Sac county, Iowa; Mrs. Ella Justice, a resident of Shelby county ; Mrs. Addie Kohl, of Greenfield township; Mrs. Minnie F. Russell, the wife of our subject ; a son who died in infancy ; Jennie May, who died at the age of five years ; and a son who did not survive infancy. Mrs. Miller died in 1873, at the age of forty years, and when Mr. Miller married the second time, his wife was Miss Sarah McConaughy, a daughter of John and Jane (Duncan) McConaughy, both natives of the Buckeye state. Of this second union there were six children born: Elizabeth, who died in infancy; Charles Clinton, of Greenfield township; Mrs. Alice Ann Melton, of Cedar county ; Clancy, of Marion, Iowa; I. Clifford, of Morley, Iowa ; and Dony Forrest, who died at the age of fourteen. The mother of these children passed away September 16, 1887, at the age of forty-two, but Mr. Miller survived almost ten years, his death having occurred February 27, 1897, when he was in the seventy-third year of his age.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell's union has been'blessed with three children : the daughter died in infancy ; Harlan R. was born November 5, 1897; and Willard H., was born October 8, 1901. Reared in the faith of the United Brethren church, they have ordered their lives in accordance with its teachings and are educating their children to be good Christian men. In his political views Mr. Russell is a demo- crat, and while not an office seeker has served as a member of the school board in which he holds the position of secretary. He has shown further interest in the welfare of the community by assisting as one of the board of directors in guiding the fortunes of the Citizens Savings Bank of Olin in a safe financial channel. He is a member of Patmos Lodge, No. 155, A. F. & A. M., of Mechan- icsville, and with Mrs. Russell belongs to No. 98, Modern Brotherhood of America, at Morley.
JOHN BYERLY.
John Byerly, who for more than forty years has been a member of the agricultural community of Wyoming township, was born in Pennsylvania, August 25, 1825, and is the son of Michael and Mary (Lookabaugh) Byerly. The family is one of remotely German ancestry, for about five generations back one of the name left the fatherland when the fever of colonizing the new world was just invading the countries of northern Europe and settled in the vicinity of Phila- delphia about 1635. His descendants have, therefore, in turn been connected with the history of this country from its earliest years, participating in all its struggles, from the conflicts with the Indians to the last great war which so nearly de- stroyed the nation that had been built from the colonies. Michael Byerly and his wife remained in their Pennsylvania home throughout their lives and there reared their family of ten children, only four of whom now survive: John, of this review; Hannah, who lives in Pennsylvania; Rachel, who is the wife of William Bolton and lives in her native state; and A. J. Byerly, of Anamosa, Iowa.
John Byerly received such an education as the public schools of his period afforded and remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-five years
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of age, when he married and started in life for himself. He bought first a farm in Pennsylvania, on which he lived and worked for about fifteen years, when, won by the stories of the opportunities in this state, he disposed of his property, crossed the mountains and made his way to Jones county. Here, in 1865, he purchased the farm on which he now lives. It is one hundred and eighty-five acres in extent, devoted to general farming which Mr. Byerly has pursued upon it for more than two score of years. In this period he has had opportunity to witness the many improvements which have simplified and lightened the work of the farmer, a progress marked enough since he has taken up his residence here but even greater if he looks back over the whole span of his life.
At the age of twenty-five years, just at the dawn of the second half of the last century, Mr. Byerly wedded Miss Catherine Klingensmith, who accompanied him along the highway of life for more than thirty years. when she died in 1884 and was buried in South Mineral cemetery, Wyoming township. Seven children were born to them : Mary E. and Florence. both deceased : Elizabeth, who is the wife of William White, of Olin, Iowa; Ida B., who lives in Wall Lake, Iowa; Emma J., who is the wife of Thomas Hood, of this county; Franklin P., who resides in Anamosa ; and John H., who lives on his father's farm. On the Ioth of June, 1886. Mr. Byerly married again, his second wife being Mrs. Jennie Boyle, nee Edwards, the widow of R. D. Boyle, a native of Jackson county, Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Byerly are devout members of the Methodist Episcopal church. but politically Mr. Byerly owes allegiance to no party. All his life he has been accustomed to regard questions of local or national concern from many sides. and being a man who has taken an interest in such matters and has kept himself well informed, he feels that he would rather exercise his right of franchise in accordance with what he believes to be right and the better policy than to accept the guidance of an organized party. This independence of judgment and his acquaintance, not merely superficial, with important issues, makes his opinion of value in the community where he lives. He has served in various township offices, both in Pennsylvania and as school director in Wyoming township, and has been a peacemaker and arbitrator in the disputes of his neighbors to such an extent that his services have been of great value in that regard and have met with the full appreciation which they so well merited.
GEORGE OLTMANNS.
George Oltmanns is distinctly a product of Jones county, for he was born and bred here, the date of his birth being August 4, 1871. He comes, however. of that sturdy German stock which has done its full share in contributing to the strength and prosperity of our noble country. His parents, Harm G. and Deb- orah (Reinerts) Oltmanns, were natives of Germany, where they were married and about 1867 came to the United States. They had the distinction of making the voyage in one of the first steamers to cross the Atlantic ocean. They located near Dixon, Illinois, but after two years decided upon a change of scene, choosing Iowa as their destination. The journey thither was made by wagon, and after
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE OLTMANNS
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looking about them, they settled in Monticello, where for a year or two the head of the family worked for a Mr. George. The next step was a removal to Scotch Grove township, where for some time the father farmed as a renter. About 1880 he bought one hundred and twenty acres of land on section 8, that township, whose possession he enjoyed for the ensuing decade, his death occurring October 18, 1900, in the seventieth year of his age.
George Oltmanns spent his early years under the parental roof and availed himself of the advantages of the common schools. In 1893 when a little past his majority, he commenced work as a farm hand, but it was only a matter of two years, however, before he began farming for himself, beginning modestly as a renter, in which capacity he continued for the next eight years. In 1903 he pur- chased a desirable two hundred acres of land on section 8, Scotch Grove town- ship, in the cultivation of which he has since been engaged.
In 1895 Mr. Oltmanns was united in marriage to Miss Cena Rickels, of Scotch Grove township, and six children were born to this union, four of whom survive. They are in order of birth : Alta, Minnie, William and Ferdinand.
For the past several years Mr. Oltmanns has added to his interests the breed- ing of standard bred road horses and thoroughbred draft horses, and he is able to congratulate himself upon his achievements. In truth he has gained a reputation in this line which is not confined to the immediate locality. He is independent in politics, and is at present serving as justice of the peace. In addition to his various other interests he is a stockholder and director of the Scotch Grove Creamery. He is a man of influence and is recognized by all who know him as one of the substantial citizens of Scotch Grove township. Both he and Mrs. Oltmanns are members of the German Lutheran church.
PHILIP B. DALY.
Philip B. Daly, a well known agriculturist of Wayne township, who has played a rather conspicuous part in local affairs, was born on the farm where he now lives, July 17, 1869, and is a son of Philip and Catherine (Foley) Daly. The former was born in the year 1836. in County Meath, Ireland, his parents being Thomas and Jane ( Meloy) Daly. His father died in that country and his mother, after the death of her husband, came to America and spent the remaining years of her life with her son Philip, at whose home she died. She was the mother of five children: Patrick, who died in Wisconsin during the Civil war: John, who had served four years during the war and died in Bloomington, Illinois; Mrs. Bridget Devero, who died in Colorado; Philip, the father of our subject ; and Jane, who died unmarried in Illinois.
In 1852 single and alone, Philip Daly came to the United States and for three years lived in the state of New York, first in Oneida county, and then in Auburn, where he pursued his trade as a shoemaker. Then he came west, stopping for a time in Bloomington, Illinois, and reaching Dubuque, Iowa, in 1855. There, three years later he married and then came to Jones county, where he bought eighty acres of the farm he still owns in Wayne township. During the progress
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of the Civil war, however, he worked at his trade in Anamosa until 1865, when he located on his farm, where he lived and toiled for almost forty years. During that period it had grown from the original eighty acres to three times that size, all located on section 33, Wayne township. In 1903 he relinquished the heavier of life's duties and removed to Anamosa, where he has since lived.
The father of our subject was twice married. He wedded first, in Dubuque, in 1858, Miss Elizabeth Cheshire, by whom he had five children: Joseph and Mary A., twins, the former a resident of Dubuque, the latter a Sister of Charity at Des Moines, Iowa ; Matthew, who lives with his brother on the farm in Wayne township; John, unmarried who died in Denver at the age of thirty-nine; and Mrs. Elizabeth Donohue, who died in Spokane, Washington, in 1908, leaving two children. Mrs. Daly, who was a native of the same county in Ireland as was her husband, died in 1867. Two years later Mr. Daly wedded again, his second wife being Miss Catherine Foley, who was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, May 5, 1845. Her parents came to America when she was but two years old and she was reared by her grandparents. In 1860 she came to this country and went to live in Ohio with her uncle, Edward Foley. In 1867, her grandparents having passed away she came to Jones county, Iowa, which has since been her home. Her father, John Foley, enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war, being one of the valiant members.of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Of Mr. Daly's second marriage two children have been born; Philip B., the subject of this sketch, and William E., a farmer in Wayne township. He and his family are members of the Catholic church, while politically he is a democrat. He came to this country when the conditions in his native land were especially hard and with the determination that he was not only going to better himself but help others he set to work. He accomplished his purpose and now feels that he may enjoy a well earned rest after his many years of arduous toil.
Philip B. Daly of this review received his first training for life in the district schools of his native township and then spent one year at the Northern Illinois Normal School at Dixon, Illinois. His own education completed, he began to teach in the country schools of Jones county and two years later commenced farming on the two hundred and forty acres of land his father owned in Wayne township. Here he has worked for the last eighteen years, giving his attention to general agriculture and to the raising and feeding of stock. His undertakings have prospered to a high degree, for by education and training he was well prepared for his chosen calling and with diligence and industry has met and conquered the problems presented him. He is also progressive in his ideas and spares no means to obtain the best returns for his labor.
On the 26th of November. 1903. Mr. Daly was married to Miss Lena Bradley, who was born in Jackson township. Jones county, August 6. 1882, and is a daughter of John R. and Catherine (Woodworth) Bradley. James Bradley, the former's father, came to America in 1849, settling first in St. Louis and then coming to Jones county. Later he moved to Lamona, where his death occurred when he had reached the age of one hundred and one years and two months. John R. Bradley was a native of Lincolnshire, England, while his wife was born in Indiana. They were married in Jones county, lowa where they lived until
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six years ago, when in December, 1903, they moved to Decatur county, where they are now residing. They have had seven children, two of whom died in early childhood and five are now surviving: Emma R., who is the wife of D. P. Steckel, of Decatur county ; James I., of Des Moines, Iowa ; J. Nelson, of Decatur county ; Lena, who is Mrs. Daly : and Olive, who is the wife of Frank C. Tall- man, of Williamsburg, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Daly have one child, Vivian.
The family are members of St. Patrick's Catholic church of Anamosa and conscientious in the performance of their religious duties. Mr. Daly is a demo- crat in his political views and has been active in party organizations and is well known in local affairs, for he has been township clerk for the past fourteen years and was his party's candidate for county auditor and for state representative. He made a good run for both offices but was defeated owing to the strong re- publican majority in the county. He is still in the prime of life and it may con- fidently be expected, after regarding the success of his previous years, that the future will see him occupy a more prominent place in the minds of the citizens of Wayne township.
WILFORD S. WEEKS.
Wilford S. Weeks, one of the older generation of farmers of Rome township, was born in Cedar county, Iowa, December 14, 1849. His parents. Orris and Margaret (Archer) Weeks were both of Ohio nativity, but came to Iowa in the early days. The father came here first in the spring of 1840, and after spend- ing a summer with a cousin in Cedar county, walked to his old home in Dela- ware county, Ohio. For about five months he sojourned in that state, and then came back to Iowa, entering government land in Cedar county. There he lived for about forty-nine years, then removed to Montrose, South Dakota, leaving there after nine years to live in Colorado, where his death occurred. His wife had preceded him to the grave by many years, her death having taken place in Cedar county, in 1858, not so very many years after she had moved to the state. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Weeks; Leonora, deceased : Wilford, of this review; Francisca, the wife of C. P. McKay, of Lamar, Missouri; and Margaret, who has passed away.
Wilford S. Weeks was reared at home and after completing the course of study taught in the common schools, prepared for college, and having finished his education in the higher institution of learning returned to the home farm to assist his father in its management. At the age of twenty-one he began farming on his own account, renting land in Cedar county for three years. He then came to Jones county, where for three years he tilled rented fields and after- ward bought one hundred and forty acres on sections 27 and 34, Rome town- ship. For ten years this farm remained the scene of his agricultural endeavors. Twelve years ago he sold that land and bought a tract of one hundred and twenty acres in the same township, where he has since lived, following general agricultural pursuits which have brought him generous returns for the labor he has put upon his fields.
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On the 18th of January, 1880, Mr. Weeks was united in marriage to Miss Elva C. Saum, who was born in Jones county and is one of the four children of J. D. and Anna Saum. The parents were natives of Ohio but came to Jones county in the early '30s. Here the mother died some years ago, but the father is still living at the age of seventy-four, his home being now in Denver, Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks have become the parents of four children : Caddie, the eldest, was born in 1882, and is the wife of L. F. Pieper, of Rome township; Nora D. married John Schnepp and lives in Olin; Florence C. and Harry S., the two youngest, are still at home. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks attend the Methodist Episcopal church and are affiliated with all its interests, while politically Mr. Weeks finds himself in accord with the platform enunciated by the republican party. He is not very active in public matters and yet has not shunned such offices as the people would bestow upon him. For a period of four years he discharged the duties of township assessor and is at present one of the trustees. A man of good education and wide outlook he has not only been successful in the work to which he chose to devote himself but has won the approval of the men who have come into close contact with him.
JOSEPH SCOTT.
Among the many men who have witnessed the rapid and steady development of Jones county from its early days is Joseph Scott. He was born in Crawfords- ville, Montgomery county, Indiana, March 12, 1831, and was but six years old when his parents, Pryor and Ruth (Caraway) Scott. came to Iowa. They reached Cedar county, May 10, 1837, exchanging a home in a country that was just emerging from its primitive state for one in which man had at that time done little toward reclaiming from its savage condition or toward wresting from the aborigines to whom it originally belonged. The mother who lived to be seventy years old, saw these conditions vanish and modern comforts supplant the hardships of early days, and when her husband died, aged eighty-nine years, nine months, and eight days, progress had advanced many stages farther-the wilderness had become a flourishing agricultural district and pioneer days but a memory. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Scott, five sons and five daughters : Mrs. Margaret Allbaugh, of Mechanicsville, Iowa; Mrs. Mary Elli- son, of Mt. Vernon, lowa; Joseph, of this sketch; Henry, deceased; Mrs. Mar- tha Mackey, of Mechanicsville ; Jane, who died at the age of three years; Van, of Mechanicsville ; Pryor, deceased; Andrew Jackson, deceased; and Mrs. Ruth Owens, of Benton county, Iowa.
Reared amid pioneer scenes, Joseph Scott might be said to have grown up with the country, to have progressed with its progress. He enjoyed but the most meager of educational advantages; hard experience was his best teacher and her lessons of industry and frugality have never been forgotten. They enabled him to acquire a homestead of two hundred and sixty-five acres on sections 34 and 35. Greenfield township, and to retain the twenty-five acres of the old family place in Cedar county. When modern machinery and improved
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methods lightened the burdens of the farmer, Mr. Scott availed himself of them, and his fields today are under as excellent a state of cultivation as are those of men of a younger generation.
In 1855 Mr. Scott married Miss Margaret Boyles, who was born April 4, 1832, and is a daughter of James and Nancy (Reed) Boyles, both now deceased. She was one of ten children, the others being: William Reed, deceased; Robert Alexander, also deceased; Thomas Jefferson, who resides in Mechanicsville, Iowa; Caroline, living near Anamosa ; Scott, deceased ; Lyman, deceased; James M., residing in Guthrie county, Iowa; Albert, deceased; and David, deceased. Two of the sons, Robert Alexander and James Madison were soldiers in the Union army during the Civil war. To Mr. and Mrs. Scott have also been born ten children, six sons and four daughters: James, residing in Hayes county, Nebraska, has seven children. Mrs. Laura J. Kohl lives in Mechanicsville and has five children. David W. is a resident of Laredo, Missouri. Mrs. Ruth Vanderbilt, living in Marion, Iowa, has ten children. One of her sons, Joseph, born October 13, 1882, was reared by his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Scott. On the 21st of March, 1906, he married Miss Bertha Robinson. Margaret L., the fifth of Mr. Scott's family, lives at home. Thomas J. resides in Cedar county and has one child. G. W. lives in Mechanicsville and has three children. Joseph R., died at the age of one year, two months and twenty-seven days. Mrs. Mary A. Pfeifer, residing in Johnstown, Nebraska, has had two children, one now deceased. Frank A., the youngest of this family, lives at home.
Mr. Scott is a firm democrat in his political views and always casts his ballot at elections. He is a member of Patmos Lodge, No. 155, A. F. & A. M., of Mechanicsville, and of lodge No. 166, I. O. O. F., of the same town. With his wife and daughter Margaret he belongs to the Daughters of Rebekah and in former years was always a conspicuous figure at the social gatherings. A man who has wrested success from the most difficult of conditions, he well deserves the comforts he now enjoys. The people who have witnessed his life as it has been lived from day to day, have seen the happiness that reigned in his home, do not begrudge him his prosperity, but rather trust that the remaining years of his life will be spent in greater peace, softened by warmer friendships. Mr. Scott is not a member of any church, but his wife is a devout Presbyterian.
JOSEPH HOLUB.
One of the finest farms in Wyoming township is that owned by Joseph Holub. He was born in Austria, January 24, 1855, and is a son of John and Catherine Holub. The parents were also of Austrian birth but came to America in 1857, locating first near Canton, Iowa, where Mr. Holub secured work by the day as a laborer. Later he brought his family to Jones county, where he bought a farm and spent the remaining years of his life. His wife also died here. Five children were born to their union: Frank and Anna, deceased; Joseph, the sub- ject of this sketch; John, who lives in Wyoming township; and Francis, deceased.
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Joseph Holub was but two years of age when he came to this country and he derived his education from the public schools of this state, while working with his father on the farmn. He remained with his parents until he was thirty-three years of age, when he married and bought the old homestead. This he has improved greatly since it came into his possession, until it is now commonly re- garded as one of the finest pieces of property in the township, in its well tilled fields and in the excellent condition of its buildings indicating the skill and thrift of the man who owns the place. In addition to his purely agricultural pursuits Mr. Holub has engaged extensively in the raising and feeding of stock, shipping cattle and hogs to the important markets. In this branch of his business he has attained to a success commensurate with that he reaps from his farm land.
Mr. Holub has been twice married. The bride of his first union was Miss Mary Marek, who was born in Austria and was a daughter of John and Barbara Marek. Her parents came to the United States, when Mrs. Holub was a small child and are still living in Oxford Junction. One of a family of four children, through her marriage Mrs. Holub became the mother of three: Mary A., who is at home; John E., who is a graduate of the Wyoming high school and is now living at home ; and Anna A., who has died. Mrs. Holub died February 24, 1892, leaving a husband and all her children to mourn her loss, and was laid to rest in the Oxford cemetery. When he married again. Mr. Holub's second wife was Miss Anna Marek, a sister of his former wife, who was born in Oxford Junction. One son, Martin L., has been born of this union. Mr. Holub and his wife are members of the Catholic church, while politically he places his reliance in the principles of the democratic party. Aside from having filled the office of road supervisor, however, he has taken no part in local affairs, although he is ever interested in the welfare of his fellow citizens Fraternally he enjoys pleasant relations with Wyoming Lodge, No. 183. M W. A. and also with the Owls at Oxford Junction. In the meetings of these societies he has proved him- self a valued member, for he is a man who has the power to make firm friends and the abilities which secured him his success have not been wholly employed in a selfish manner.
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