USA > Iowa > Louisa County > History of Louisa County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1911, Volume II > Part 42
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"By thine own soul's law learn to live. And if men thwart thee take no heed. And if men hate thee have no care: Sing thou thy song and do thy deed. Hope thou thy hope and pray thy prayer, Keep thou thy soul sworn steadfast oath, And to thy heart be true thy heart ; What thy soul teaches learn to know. And play out thy appointed part : And thou shalt reap as thou shalt sow ;
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Nor helped nor hindered in thy growth,
To thy full stature thou shall grow. Fix on the future goal thy face. And let thy feet be lured to stray Not whither, but be swift to run, And nowhere tarry by the way. Until at last the end is won And thon mayst look back from thy place And see thy long day's journey done."
H. P. MAY.
For more than forty years H. P. May was a resident of Columbus City town- ship and although he is no longer to be seen in his accustomed place, having been summoned from the view of mortal eyes, his memory is deeply revered and the kindly acts of his life will not soon be forgotten. He was a native of In- diana, born December 27, 1831, a son of Stephen and Malinda ( Harper ) May, both of whom were born in Kentucky. The parents were married in their native state and soon afterward moved to Indiana, where they continued until 1842 when the father brought his family to Iowa. He entered government land in Louisa county and engaged in farming and the nursery business though he was a carpenter by trade. His death occurred in 1854. There were six children . in his family only one of whom is now living.
H. P. May came with his parents to lowa at the age of eleven years and grew to manhood in Louisa county. He continued at home until after the death of his father and subsequently embarked in the nursery business on his own account upon a place which he owned on section 25, Columbus City township. He continued there until 1866 and then took up his residence on a farm near the limits of Columbus City which became the family homestead. He was successful in his business and was greatly respected by his neighbors and friends on account of his genial disposition.
On December 30, 1855, Mr. May was married to Miss Lydia Jeffreys, who was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, February 24, 1835, a daughter of Miflin and Jane Jeffreys, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. Mr. Jeffreys came with his family to Louisa county in 1854, and he and his wife continued here during the remainder of their lives. In their family were ten children, all of whom are now deceased except Mrs. May. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. May, namely: H. S., who makes his home in Louisa county : Eva, who is the wife of W. L. Ayers, of Columbus Junction, where he is engaged in the jewelry business; Clara, who became the wife of Charles Whitney, of Clinton, Iowa; John, a resident of Columbus City ; H. L., at home ; and three deceased.
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Mr. May died June 22, 1895, being then in his sixty-fourth year. Ile was a man of unexceptionable character, straightforward, energetic and efficient in all his undertakings and a worthy descendant of pioneer ancestry. In re- ligious belief he adhered to the Christian church, of which his widow is also a valued member. He was of a kindly and sympathetic nature and made many friends who were attracted by his manly characteristics and his desire to pro- mote the happiness of others.
H. L. May was born on the old homestead in Louisa county and received ex- cellent advantages of education in the public schools. From his boyhood he showed special adaptability to agricultural pursuits and he has continued upon the home farm, eighty acres of which is within the corporate limits of Columbus City. He also has fifteen acres which is utilized as a nursery and in this line of business he has been highly successful. On November 22, 1898, he was mar- ried to Miss Frona Koos, who was born at Odin, Illinois and they have four children : Cecilia G., Lydia G., Francis L. and Alitha. Mr. May is a member of Lodge No. 3145. M. W. A., of Columbus Junction, and is recognized as one of the substantial men of the community.
JAMES E. KERR.
Through well directed business activity and enterprise James E. Kerr has gained recognition as one of the most prosperous and progressive agriculturists of Louisa county. He is now the owner of two excellent farms and in the management of his farming and stock-raising interests is meeting with gratifying success. A native of Illinois, his birth occurred in Henry county, on the 23d of May, 1874, a son of Thomas Walker and Amanda ( Henninger) Kerr. The parents were born in Pennsylvania and Wooster, Ohio, respectively, the latter being born on the 23d of February, 1841. After their marriage in 1859 they took up their home in Illinois, where the father engaged in agricultural pursuits. He passed away on the 29th of February, 1896, while his wife's death occurred on the 11th of November, 1908. In their family were nine children, as follows : Ella, who married F. O. Withrow, of Geneseo, Illinois ; Amy, the wife of James Bur- ton, of Kalispel, Montana; George, of Louisa county, mention of whom is made on another page of this volume; Lena, who wedded E. E. Withrow, of Los Angeles, California ; Mina, the wife of Percy Davis, of Geneseo, Illinois ; James E. of this review ; William and Thomas, both now deceased; and Harry Z., whose sketch also appears elsewhere in this history.
No event of special importance came to vary the routine of life for James E. Kerr during the period of his boyhood and youth, which was spent on the home- stead in Illinois, and upon attaining the age of twenty-one years he took up farming on his own account, wisely choosing as his life work the occupation to which he had been reared. For two or three years be rented the home place, and then located on a tract of one hundred acres, which he also operated in the
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capacity of renter for two years. At the end of that period he went to South Dakota, where he engaged in farming for one season, after which he returned to Illinois, renting two hundred and sixty acres near Reynolds, that state, which he continued to operate for eight years. On the Ist of March, 1911, he came to Louisa county and has since made his home within its borders. Two years previous he had purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres, on section 8, Union township, and upon this tract he took up his abode, continuing to make it his place of residence to the present time. The prosperity which has come to him during the intervening years made it possible, in the fall of 1910, to invest in another tract of land, at which time he became the owner of one hundred and fourteen acres in Columbus City township, which he has now leased and from which he receives good rental. Ile personally supervises the cultivation of his home place, which is a highly developed and improved property, and here he carries on general farming and stock-raising, in both of which branches his ef- forts are meeting with most satisfactory results.
Mr. Kerr was married, on the 31st of December, 1902, to Miss Mary 1. Collis, the younger of two children born unto William and Lorinda ( King) Collis, na- tives of Illinois, her brother being William Henry Collis, of Henry county, Il- linois. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Kerr has been blessed with two children : Glenn William, born November 2, 1903; and Ruth Amanda, born March 28, 1908.
The religious faith of Mr. Kerr is indicated by his membership in the Pres- byterian church, while in his political belief he is a republican. He has never sought nor desired public office for himself, but he has preferred to concentrate his entire attention upon the conduct of his private business, and the success which has attended his efforts has been substantial and well merited. On the strength of his own resources, through the constant application of perseverance. coupled with hard work and careful management, he has put his energies to ex- cellent work and has subserved them to such a degree that he has been able to attain substantial prosperity and now ranks among the prominent and well known agriculturists of this locality.
WILLIAM A. KNOTT.
The real-estate interests of Columbus Junction and vicinity find an able representative in William A. Knott whose field of operations, however, is not confined to Louisa county but extends to many parts of the west. Ile was born in Concord township, June 7. 1883, a son of E. A. and Lavina ( Walker ) Knott. The parents were born and reared in this county and are still living here.
William .1. Knott possessed advantages of education in the public schools and later attended high school. At the age of eighteen he entered the service of the Rock Island Railway Company and continued for six years. He then followed farming for two years, at the end of which time he entered the real-estate busi-
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ness at Columbus Junction. From the start he showed an adaptability to this vocation that gave promise of generous returns. He is senior member of the firm of Knott & Kauffman and deals in local and western lands, this firm being one of the most active concerns of the kind in Louisa county. Mr. Knott owns twenty-two acres of land in his own name, a part of which is located within the limits of Columbus Junction.
In 1904 he was united in marriage to Miss Clara Nelson, a native of Mus- catine county, Iowa, and a daughter of Alonzo and Agnes ( Edmunds ) Nelson. The mother is deceased but the father is still living and makes his home in Louisa county. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Knott, Agnes, Donald and Russell.
In politics Mr. Knott is a stanch adherent of the republican party. Frater- nally he is very well known, being a valued member of Lodge No. 365. I. O. O. F. ; Lodge No. 20, K. P .; Camp No. 2145, M. W. A .; and also of Lodge No. 304. B. P. O. E., of Muscatine. He is a young man of remarkable enterprise and energy and his friends do not doubt that as the years pass he will become a prominent factor in the development of this section of the state.
R. H. WHEELER.
R. Il. Wheeler, who owns a fine farming property of one hundred and sixty acres in Elm Grove township, was born in Pennsylvania on the 12th of May, 1858. He is a son of Elisha and Catherine Wheeler, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Maryland. In 1867 they came to lowa, first locating in Lee county, where they resided for three years. At the end of that time they came to Louisa county, continuing to make this their home until they passed away. Eleven children were born to them, all of whom are living.
R. H. Wheeler obtained the greater portion of his education in the common schools of this state. His boyhood and youth were very similar to those of all farmer lads, much of his time when not in school being devoted to work upon the home farm. He remained at home with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age, following which he worked for two years as a farm hand. Subse- quently he went to Missouri, where he farmed as a renter for a year, and then returned to Iowa. Here he was married, after which he went back to Missouri, where he remained for eight years. At the expiration of that period he again took up his residence in Louisa county, where he rented land until 1806 and then bought his present place, which is a portion of the old Porter farm. He has made the improvements on his property and is now successfully engaged in the raising and feeding of cattle in connection with the tilling of his fields.
For his wife and helpmate Mr. Wheeler chose Miss Anna Porter, a native of Louisa county and a daughter of Hugh and Lydia ( Maloney) Porter, natives of Ireland. They emigrated to America in 1833, locating in the state of New York, where they remained for about ten years, during which time they were
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married. Soon afterward they came to Jowa and bought a farm in Louisa county, where they were residing at the time of their demise. Eight children were born to them, four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler have five children : Roscoe P, Nellie, Bertha, Mabel and Helen, all still at home.
Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Mrs. Wheeler of the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a republican but has never held any official position save that of school director, always having pre- ferred to give his undivided attention to the development of his personal interests.
EDWARD S. JOHNSTON.
Edward S. Johnston, who is engaged in farming an eighty acre tract on section 20. Elliott township, was born near Columbia City, Indiana, on the 16th of June, 1866. He is the eldest son of W. R. and Martha D. ( Bennett ) Johns- ton, both originally from Ohio, the mother being a native of Worthington, that state. The father, who has always been an agriculturist, is a veteran of the Civil war, having gone to the front in 1862, as a member of Company F. One Hundredth Indiana Infantry. During the period of his enlistment W. R. Johnston saw much active service and was taken prisoner at Macon, Georgia, but made his escape a week later, while at Jonesborough he was wounded in the left arm and now draws a pension. He was at the front about three years, receiving his discharge at Washington, D. C., in December, 1865. Eleven chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnston as follows: Edward S., the subject of this sketch; Addie, the deceased wife of Jacob Helblig, of Alexandria, Indiana; Nora, the wife of Allie Hill, of Fort Wayne, Indiana ; Mary, the deceased wife of Wartz Staples, of Columbus City. Indiana ; Della, who is deceased; John A., a resident of Columbia City, Indiana; lewis, who is living in the same place ; Kora F., also of Columbia City ; William Thomas of Louisa county ; James H., of Fort Wayne, Indiana ; and Clifford, deceased.
After he had acquired sufficient knowledge of the common branches to enable him to begin his active business career Edward S. Johnston laid aside his text- books and assisted his father in the cultivation of the home farm until he was twenty-one. He subsequently removed to Audubon, Iowa, where he worked as a farm hand for a time, and then returned home, where he remained for two years. At the expiration of that period he went to Sioux City and worked in the stock yards for four years, following which he again returned to Indiana, where he remained for a year. In 1895 he went to Wapello, and in 1904 pur- chased eighty acres of land, located on section 29. Elliott township. He set- tled upon his farm on the 21st of March, 1904, and there he has since continued to reside, engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Johnston had the misfortune to lose his barn, some stock and five tons of hay by fire on the 14th of March, 1911. In the fall of 19ff he erected a modern home on his farm and today has a well improved place.
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On the 23d of February, 1898, Mr. Johnston and Miss Ida MI. Newell were united in marriage. Her parents were Thomas and Sarah J. (Mock) Newell, natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania respectively. They had ten children: Eliz- abeth, the deceased wife of George Hensley, of Muscatine, Iowa; Josephine, who married Thomas Wiser, of Adair county, this state; Hugh T., who is a resident of the same county; Samuel P., who is living in Denver, Colorado; Robert W., an agriculturist of Wapello township; Benjamin, who is also living in Denver; Ida M., now Mrs. Johnston; William, who is living in this county ; Vira ; and Abe, of Denver. Mr. Newell passed away on the 27th of September, 1899, at the age of seventy-six years, and his wife died on the 24th of April, 1905, at the age of seventy-two. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have been born the following children : Elsie Irene, born December 4, 1898; Minnie May, whose birth occurred on the ist of November, 1900; William Newell, born on the 22d of April, 1903; Merit Edward, born on the 6th of December, 1905; and Sherman Everett, whose birth occurred on the 18th of August, 1908.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Johnston adhere to the Methodist Episcopal church, and fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. A republican in politics he is serving his third term as assessor in Elliott township, and while residing in Indiana he was constable, always having taken an active interest in political affairs ever since attaining his majority.
THEODORE GRAFE.
The late Theodore Grafe, who at the time of his demise had been a resident of Columbus Junction for twenty-nine years, was born in Hanover, Germany, in April, 1841. There he spent the first twenty-nine years of his life, but having decided that America afforded better business advantages, he took passage for the United States in 1870. Upon his arrival in this country he made his way westward to Columbus Junction, Iowa, where he engaged in business for three years. At the expiration of that period he purchased thirty acres of land, in the cultivation of which he was for a time engaged. He subsequently disposed of this and bought property in Columbus Junction, where he had built several houses, in one of which he was residing at the time of his death on the 27th of December, 1899.
Mr. Grafe was twice married, his second wife being Miss Elizabeth Avesing, whom he married on the 15th of October. 1875. Mrs. Grafe is the oldest daugh- ter of the late Harmon and Gertrude ( Manka) Avesing, both natives of Ger- many. To. Mr. and Mrs. Avesing there were born seven children, in order of birth as follows : Elizabeth, the widow of Theodore Grafe; Dena, who became the wife of Frank Rath, of Goshen, Washington; Henry, who is living in Muscatine; Herman, who is a resident of Germany; George, whose place of
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residence is Kansas City, Missouri; Angust, who is living in Columbus Junction ; and one who died in infancy.
Mr. and Mrs. Grafe became the parents of seven children, as follows: Clara, deceased; Walter, who is living in San Francisco, California; Mamie, the wife of William Schlung, of South Dakota; Theodore, who lives in San Francisco ; Esther, who is at home; and two who died in infancy.
The family are all communicants of the Roman Catholic church, and in his political views Mr. Grafe was a democrat. Mrs. Grafe is well known in Colum- bus Junction, where she has so long resided and has many friends among the German circles.
THOMAS D. WILSON.
Thomas D. Wilson, who has been living retired in Morning Sun for the past six years, was born in Preble county, Ohio, on the roth of January, 1836. his parents being Daniel and Catherine ( Rock ) Wilson. The father was a veteran of the war of 1812, while his grandfather Rock was in the Revolution. Daniel Wilson passed away in 1845 and three years later his wife and family migrated to Iowa, settling in Louisa county.
Thomas D. Wilson, who was only a lad of twelve years when the family located in Louisa county, obtained his education in the common schools of Ohio and Iowa. At the age of eighteen he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith and for fifty years thereafter continued to follow that trade. On August 18, 1862, he enlisted in Company C, First lowa Cavalry, under Captain Levi Chase, and went to the front, where he served for three years, being mustered out on the 15th of June, 1805. Returning to Morning Sun he resumed his chosen vocation, which he followed for four years at that place and then removed to Warren county. He lived there until 1893, when he returned to Morning Sun, where he has resided continuously since. He owns a fine residence here and two lots, in addition to which he has a farm of eighty acres in Cherokee county, Kansas.
On the 12th of November, 1857, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Susanna M. Raushenberger, who was born in Ohio on the ist of July, 1839. She is a daughter of John and Mary (Messer ) Raushenberger, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Virginia. Unto the union of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were born five chiktren, only two of whom now sur- vive: James Franklin, the eldest son and second in order of birth, is living in Warren county, Iowa; and Edna, the youngest daughter and fourth in order of birth, is living at home. Those deceased are: Mary Catherine, the eldest of the family and the wife of W. D. Nelson : William H. and Riley M. Mrs. Nelson left the following children at her demise: Bessie May; James Lale; and Mame Etta, now the wife of William P. Hunt, of Virginia Grove, Iowa.
THOMAS D. WILSON as a Soldier
MR. AND MRS. THOMAS D. WILSON
F
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Mrs. Wilson passed away on the 13th of October, 1905, and was laid to rest in the Elmwood cemetery at Morning Sun.
Mr. Wilson is affiliated with the United Presbyterian church, of which his wife was also a member, and he has served as ruling elder since 1872. His political support he gives to the republican party. Although he never took a very active part in municipal affairs, he filled some of the minor township offices. Public-spirited, he has ever been found ready to assume his responsibilities of citizenship in times of need, having faithfully and valiantly served his country in the Civil war, as did his father in the war of 1812 and his grandfather in the Revolution.
JAMES ROBINSON LETTS.
James Robinson Letts was born near the town of Newark, Licking county, Ohio. December 20, 1820. His grandfather in the paternal line was Nehemiah Letts, a soldier of the Revolutionary war and a minute man who did considerable service for his country in the long struggle for national independence. The Nehemiah Letts Chapter of the D. A. R. in Louisa county was formed of his descendants and the wives of his descendants who could show a Revolutionary line.
David Letts, the father of James R. Letts, was born in Pennsylvania and in early manhood wedded Mrs. Elizabeth ( Lair ) Dunavan, who was at that time a widow. They became early settlers of Licking county, Ohio. The mother had three sons by her first marriage, Albert, William and George Dunavan, who removed to Illinois with their stepfather, Mr. Letts, and became prom- inent in the development of La Salle county. Unto David and Elizabeth Letts were born three sons, Madison, James and Noah, all of whom eventually became settlers of Louisa county and continued residents there until called to their final home. One daughter, Amanda, was added to the family and she with her six brothers-the Dunavans and the Letts-accompanied her parents on their removal to La Salle county, Illinois, in 1830, at which time the family ranged in age from nineteen years down to six. On coming to this state the Letts family settled at Cedar Point, in La Salle county. The following winter has since been known in history as the "winter of the deep snow." The Letts had no cows that winter and milk and butter could not be purchased at any pricc. Even flour was not to be had that season and the grist-mills failed. The Letts family were obliged to erect a corn pounder in the kitchen, which was operated by two of the sons, who were confined to the house with frostbitten feet. The hopper of this mill was made by hollowing out a section of a log at one end and driving the bolt of a wagon in the bottom. The pounder was an iron wedge fastened to a spring pole sustained from the ceiling. The corn was broken and pounded until the finer portions were sifted out for bread and the coarser for hominy. Their diet was limited to pork, corn bread, hominy and Vol. 11-23
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HISTORY OF LOUISA COUNTY
prairie chickens, and now and then it was varied with venison, for deer was then plentiful. The Black Hawk war broke out in 1832 and James R. Letts, then a boy of eleven, remembers well how a messenger riding a foam-covered horse drew up to their door, telling them a terrible tale of the massacre of two families on Indian Creek and that no doubt many others would be murdered that night by the Indians. The mother ordered a carriage prepared, and, taking her little ones, had an older son drive them to a neighbor's home twelve miles distant for safety, for the father, David Letts, was then away with a scouting party but returned to his home the night the family left it. Afterward the Letts family were quartered with other settlers in Fort Wilburn. While there Governor Reynolds came to David Letts to ask for a boy to carry a message to intercept a company of moving soldiers. James R. Letts, then eleven years of age, volunteered. His father consented, giving him a swift horse with orders to keep to the open prairie and let no man get within gunshot of him unless he rode a faster horse. The boy made the journey in safety and thus earned his first silver dollar.
With his father James R. Letts attended the first government land sale in Chicago, or Fort Dearborn. The settlers were there to bid in the land they had improved and were living on, David Letts acting as their spokesman. Eastern capitalists were there to outbid them, for the improved land was worth much more than the government price and money was scarce among the settlers. It was a time of intense excitement and the young boy never forgot the struggle of his neighbors to retain their homes, The settlers came with only the gov- ernment price in their pockets, most of them finding it very hard to raise even that sum. At the sale they scattered through the crowd on guard; when a speculator made a bid on a settler's land the nearest settler would explain : "That is a settler's claim, better take back your bid." If he refused he was surrounded and sometimes roughly handled and his friends took him out a sadder but wiser man. The crier would call out cheerfully, "Make it among yourselves, gentlemen; I will wait on you," showing plainly which party had his sympathy.
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