USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 11
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JOHN WORTHINGTON LEINARD.
John Worthington Leinard was for many years actively connected with the agricultural development of Lincoln township, Madison county, and is now liv- ing retired on his farm on section 2. His birth occurred in Harrison county, Ohio, on the 10th of October, 1846. His father, Jacob Leinard, who was born January 15, 1810, in the same county, was married on the 18th of May, 1838, to Miss Hester Ruby, a native of Cumberland, Maryland, who was born Decem- ber 12, 1813. In 1852 they came to this county, crossing the Mississippi river by steam ferry at Burlington on the birthday of our subject. Most of the journey was made. by horse and wagon. The first winter the family lived in a double log house in Winterset, but the following spring they located on a farm in Lin- coln township, the father becoming the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land. Only twelve acres thereof was broken when the land came into his possession and the only building was a small log house. The first few years were years of struggle and hardship, but when the land was once under cultiva- tion the excellent crops produced yielded a good income and at the time of his death Mr. Leinard was a well-to-do man. He passed away May 12, 1893, in this county, having survived his wife since the 14th of April, 1888. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and took a lively interest in the growth and influence of the church. Mr. Leinard was a republican and for twenty-five years promoted the cause of education as secretary of the school board. For a considerable time he was also secretary of the Grange.
To him and his wife were born six children: Elizabeth, deceased, whose birth occurred on the 5th of July, 1839, and who became the wife of George T. Darnell, of Madison county ; Anna C., born November 20, 1840, the deceased wife of Lewis Thornburg, who resides in Winterset; Martha Matilda, who was born April 25, 1843, and died August 10, 1844; John W .; Samantha, who was born March 3, 1849, and died in infancy ; and Melville C., who was born on the 28th of February, 1852, and resides in Winterset.
The boyhood of John W. Leinard was passed upon his father's farm and his time was largely occupied by attendance at the public schools and work upon his father's farm. In early manhood he taught school for a short time, but after his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-five years of age, he located upon a farm in Adair county, and operated the same for a number of years. Later he returned to his old home in Lincoln township, this county, and now holds
MR. AND MRS. JACOB LEINARD
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title to one hundred and twenty acres of well improved land, which was a part of the land owned by his father. His methods were up-to-date and because of his industry and energy his crops were good and his stock well cared for. Through carefully watching the market he was enabled to sell at an advantage and his resources steadily increased until he accumulated enough to retire from active life.
Mr. Leinard married Miss Elizabeth Ann Smith, a native of Coshocton county, Ohio. A record of her parents, James and Sarah Ann (Stubbs) Smith, is found elsewhere in this work. To and Mr. and Mrs. Leinard were born four children : Bertram, who died when thirty-one years of age; Alpha, the wife of J. E. Jones, of Sterling, Colorado; Arthur H., who married Myrna Hoots and is renting his father's farm; and Mildred, who is attending Drake University at Des Moines.
Mr. Leinard and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and not only contribute of their means to its support but take an active part in its work. His political affiliation is with the republican party and he has served as township clerk and township trustee, discharging the duties of those offices with ability and circumspection. Although he was but a child of six years when he accompanied his parents on their removal from Ohio to this county, he has quite a vivid recollection of the journey and remembers especially well crossing the Mississippi river. He was naturally anxious to go to the railing and look over at the water and his mother had to hold him for fear that he might fall into the river. As it is more than six decades ago that the family located here, pioneer conditions then largely prevailed and he knows by experience the life of the frontier. He has won a fair measure of material success, but values even more highly the esteem and respect which is generally accorded him and which is well deserved, as he has been at all times honest, upright and just, and many there are who have received unusual kindness at his hands.
M. C. LEINARD.
Among the able business men of Winterset is numbered M. C. Leinard, who is dealing in coal and feed. His birth occurred in Harrison county, Ohio, on the 28th of February, 1852, and his parents were Jacob and Hester (Ruby ) Leinard, a sketch of whom is found elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Leinard of this review was educated in this county, attending the district schools and the Winterset high school. He also took a course at the Des Moines Business College, upon the completion of which he returned to Winterset and for several years taught school. In the meantime he purchased a farm and for a number of years cultivated it successfully. In 1893 he leased his land and took up his residence in Winterset. In 1906 he removed to southern Missouri and there farmed and ran a sawmill until 1910, when he returned to Winterset. Three years later he entered the feed and coal business, in which he is still en- gaged. He is familiar with the methods of modern business practice. under- stands how to buy to advantage and is able to sell high grade coal and feed at reasonable prices. His patronage has already reached gratifying proportions and is consantly growing. He still owns his farm but leases it. Vol. II-6
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On Christmas Day, 1873, Mr. Leinard married Miss Mary M. Smith, a daughter of James and Sarah Ann (Stubbs) Smith, an account of whose lives appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Leinard have two children. Ernest R. married Miss Rosa Husted and they have three children, Vesta, Thomas and Inez. Irma is the wife of Rev. J. J. Pruitt, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church of Paton, Iowa, and their children are Margaret and William.
Mr. Leinard is an influential member of the local Methodist Episcopal church and has held many offices in that organization. For many years he was active in Sunday-school work and for more than a decade was secretary of the Madison County Sunday School Association. He believes that the religious education of the young is a matter of the greatest importance to the future of the country and sees in the Sunday school the institution best fitted to give that training. He has also held a local preacher's license and quite frequently in the past took the place of various ministers during their absence or sickness. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served ably as road supervisor and as school director. He has been connected with a number of interests in the county and his success in life is due to his energy, determination and soundness of judgment.
O. D. ROLLSTIN.
O. D. Rollstin, representing a pioneer family that was established here more than a half century ago, is a worthy native son and prosperous agriculturist of Madison county and owns a valuable and highly improved farm of eighty acres on section 17, Scott township. His birth occurred in that township on the 28th of October, 1863, his parents being Andrew and Mary (James) Rollstin, the former born in Guernsey county, Ohio, January 3, 1833, and the latter in Madi- son county, Indiana, September 25, 1838. Andrew Rollstin is a son of John and Margaret (McGuffin) Rollstin, who spent their entire lives in the Buckeye state. When twenty-seven years of age he came to Iowa and in 1860 wedded Miss Mary James, renting and cultivating a farm near that of his father-in-law for one year. After the birth of his first child he settled in Scott township and there purchased a farm which he operated successfully during the remainder of his active business career. For the past eighteen years he has lived retired at Win- terset, enjoying in well earned ease the fruits of his former toil. He formerly supported the democracy but in recent years has voted the prohibition ticket. His wife is a daughter of James M. and Mary (Rambo) James, natives of North Carolina, both of whom are deceased. The mother passed away in Indiana at the age of forty-one years, and the father came to Madison county, Iowa, when his daughter Mary was a maiden of sixteen, settling northeast of Winterset. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Rollstin have been members of the Baptist church for forty-five years and their upright, honorable lives have won them the high esteem and regard of all with whom they have been associated. They have lived in this county from pioneer times to the present and are largely familiar with its annals. To them were born seven children. James has been twice married, his first wife bearing the maiden name of Adeline Harrel and leaving five children. William,
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for sixteen years a missionary in Japan, is now residing in Colorado for the benefit of his health. O. D., of this review, is the next in order of birth. Alice and Mida are both deceased. Preston wedded Miss Lena Huss and makes his home in Winterset. Leston, twin brother of Preston, married Miss Nellie Hem- minger and resides in Nebraska.
O. D. Rollstin was reared in the township of his nativity and remained under the parental roof until he had attained his majority. Subsequently he lived in Nebraska for a short time and was married in that state. After returning to this county he purchased his father's farm of two hundred and twenty-seven and a half acres on section 21, Scott township, which he operated continuously and successfully until 1913, when he disposed of the property and bought an excel- lently improved tract of eighty acres on section 17, Scott township, on which he has remained to the present time. He long conducted his general farming interests with gratifying and well merited success but has now largely put aside the active work of the fields.
In 1886 Mr. Rollstin was joined in wedlock to Miss Martha Holloway, a native of Iroquois county, Illinois, by whom he has two children : Nellie, the wife of Delwin E. Travis, of Walnut township; and Edna. He gives his political allegiance to the democracy and at one time ably served in the capacity of town- ship assessor. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, to which his wife also belongs. He has resided in this county throughout practically his entire life and is widely and favorably known within its borders, the circle of his friends being almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances.
JOSEPH COMP.
Joseph Comp is a retired farmer now living in Winterset but is still the owner of valuable property which affords him a generous annual income. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, March 12, 1842, while his parents were from Pennsyl- vania and his grandparents were natives of Germany. Joseph Comp spent his boyhood days under the parental roof and attended the district schools. He left home at the age of twenty-one, making his way to Mercer county, Illinois, where he had an older brother living. There he attended school for one winter, and he also worked at the carpenter's trade with his brother, being thus engaged until October, 1864, when, feeling that his duty to his country was paramount to all else, he enlisted as a member of Company I, Thirty-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close of the war. He was one of the troops recruited to fill out an old regiment and was honorably discharged in October, 1865, being mustered out at New Orleans. He participated in the battle of Franklin on the 30th of November, 1864, that of Nashville on the 15th and 16th of December, and in various skirmishes. He escaped without being wounded or taken prisoner and returned to his home with a creditable military record.
When the war was over Mr. Comp again made his way to Mercer county, Illinois, and once more worked with his brother at the carpenter's trade. Later he returned to Ohio, where he engaged in cultivating his father's farm until
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1869. He then came to Madison county and purchased eighty acres of wild prairie land in Douglas township. With characteristic energy he began to develop and improve that property and continuously followed farming for more than forty-one years. He paid fifteen dollars per acre for his original purchase, later bought sixty acres for twenty dollars per acre and still later one hundred and sixty acres at thirty dollars per acre. He is today the owner of three hundred acres worth one hundred and fifty dollars per acre. Year after year he carefully tilled the soil, employing modern farming methods in the improvement of his place. He was thus engaged until 1910, when he turned the farm over to his sons, and retiring from business life, took up his abode in Winterset, where he now has leisure for the enjoyment of those things which are to him a matter of interest and recreation.
On the 2d of October, 1866, Mr. Comp was united in marriage in Wayne county, Ohio, to Miss Savilla Johnson, a native of Wayne county, born Novem- ber 13, 1843, and to them have been born six children: Ora, who died at the age of eighteen years; George William, a resident farmer of Jackson township; Walter J., who is upon the home farm; Ira D., also a farmer of this county ; Mabel, the wife of Samuel Hoeness, who carries on general farming in Jackson township ; and Franklin W., who is also upon the home farm.
Mr. Comp belongs to Pitzer Post, No. 55, G. A. R., of Winterset, and greatly enjoys meeting with his old army comrades and recounting the incidents of military life in the south. He and his wife are members of the Methodist church and their lives have been lived in accordance with its teachings. Mr. Comp has now passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey and he deserves the rest which has come to him, for it is the merited outcome and reward of per- sistent, earnest and honorable labor.
HARLAN C. HUSTED.
Harlan C. Husted, filling the office of county clerk of Madison county, his home being in Winterset, has been a lifelong resident of this part of the state and has always been imbued with the spirit of enterprise and progress which has been a dominant factor in bringing about present-day conditions of progress and pros- perity. He was born in Ohio township, this county, on the 16th of September, 1878, a son of Thomas and Mary S. (Means) Husted. His paternal grandparents were Peter and Rachel Husted, who removed from Indiana to Iowa at a very early period in the development of this state, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Clarke county, where Peter Husted entered land from the government and began the development of a farm, converting the wild prairie into rich fields. Thereon he made his home until his death and his wife has also passed away.
Thomas Husted was born in Des Moines county; Iowa, on the 30th of April, 1845, and was but a small boy when the family removed to Clarke county. His youthful experiences were those which usually fall to the lot of the farm lad. He assisted in the arduous task of developing new fields and shared with the family in the hardships and privations of life on the frontier. He remained upon the home farm until about seventeen years of age and then enlisted on the
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26th of July, 1862, as a soldier of the Union army for service in the Civil war, becoming a private of Company B, Eighteenth Iowa Infantry, with which he was connected for three years. His regiment was attached to the Western army and on one occasion he sustained a slight gunshot wound in the neck. He was honorably discharged at Little Rock, Arkansas, July 14, 1865, and returned home to Clarke county, again taking up his abode upon the farm, where he remained until 1866. He then came to Madison county and the family has since been represented here. He married and took up his abode in Ohio township, purchasing fifty-two acres of land which he at once began to convert into richly developed fields. He followed general farming and stockraising and as success attended his labors he added to his holdings from time to time until he was the owner of over four hundred acres. His life was thus a busy and useful one and he contributed in large measure to the agricultural development of his part of the county. In 1892 he rented his farm and removed to Winterset, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred October 5, 1913. He was a member of Pitzer Post, No. 55, G. A. R., and he gave his political indorsement to the republican party. He was also an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and did everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. The forces in his life were well balanced. He gave due attention to business yet never allowed it to interfere with the other duties of life and did much toward promoting the political and moral advancement of the community.
In early manhood Thomas Husted married Miss Mary S. Means, who was a native of Indiana, born March 20, 1843. She was about thirteen years of age when she went to Burlington, Iowa. Her parents were William and Eliza ( Hol- stein) Means. The former passed away in Indiana and the latter afterward brought her family to Iowa, settling at Burlington, where she lived for a year. She then came to Madison county, which was still a frontier district, much of the land being in possession of the government. She entered a claim in Scott township and became one of the early settlers of that region. Her death occurred in Des Moines when she had reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Her daughter, Mrs. Mary S. Husted, spent the greater part of her life in this state and her death occurred in Osceola on the 12th of August, 1913, when she was in her seventy-first year, and her loss was deeply regretted by many who knew her, for she was an carnest Christian woman who long held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. By her marriage she became the mother of the following children : William F., who is an auditor in the postal department at Washington, D. C .; Robert S., who was engaged in the real-estate business at Osceola, Iowa, and died August 3, 1913; Charles E., a resident farmer of South township, Madison county ; Thomas E., also living in South township; Cora B., the wife of Melvin Allen, of Winterset ; Harlan C .; Rosa A., the wife of E. R. Leonard, of Winterset ; and Orlando D., a farmer of Clarke county, Iowa.
Farm work early became familiar to Harlan C. Husted, who was reared on the old homestead and early began to assist in the labors of the fields. He attended the public schools and for two years was a student in the Iowa State Teachers' College at Cedar Falls. He taught in the district schools for a time and afterward became principal of the schools at Peru, Iowa, where he remained for three years, from 1906 until 1909. He was then appointed deputy county clerk, which position he filled for four years, and in 1912 was elected clerk. He
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discharged the duties of the position in such an able and conscientious manner that he was reelected in 1914 and is now serving for a second term, making eight years' connection with the office. He has supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and has always been an active worker in its ranks, for he believes that its principles contain the best elements of good government.
On the 27th of August, 1906, Mr. Husted was united in marriage to Miss Anna L. Kirsch, who was born in Clarke county, Iowa, and was there reared and educated. They have four children, Lucile, Ruth, John H. and Ella, all at home. Mr. Husted is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife is a Catholic in her religious faith. Fraternally he is a Mason, connected with both the lodge and chapter, and he belongs also to the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Woodmen of America. As an educator he made an enviable record for capability and in office his course has been above reproach because of his fidelity to duty and the high standards of citizenship to which he adheres.
JEHU M. JOHNSTON.
Jehu M. Johnston was for many years an extensive farmer and stockman, operating several hundred acres of land, and his demise, which occurred at his home near St. Charles January 24, 1906, was the occasion of sincere regret. He was born in Franklin county, Indiana, August 3, 1828, a son of John C. and Madaline (Wheadon ) Johnston, both natives of Virginia. The father removed to Madison county, Iowa, about 1850 and secured a large tract of land, upon which he spent the remainder of his life, passing away November 7, 1863.
Jehu M. Johnston came to this county in 1849 and in 1850 located near St. Charles. He was then a young man and became the owner of a farm, which he entered from the government. He at once began its cultivation and improve- ment and became an able and successful farmer and stock-raiser. From time to time he bought other land, and at his death held title to several hundred acres, from which he derived a handsome income. He was one of the representative and substantial men of his township, and his business ability gained the respect of those who had dealings with him.
On the 16th of November, 1848, Mr. Johnston married Miss Hester Mc- Keown, who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and came to America with her parents when twelve years of age. They located in Indiana and there she grew to womanhood and was married. She passed away on the homestead near St. Charles in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she was an active member. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were born the following children : Mary Madaline, born March 5, 1850, now the widow of Wesley Roberts, a veteran of the Civil war and a farmer of this county who was living in St. Charles when his death occurred in 1911 ; John F., born November 15, 1853, a banker of St. Charles : Samuel T., born March 30, 1855, an extensive farmer of South town- ship ; Jemima E., born August 26, 1857, the wife of James Y. McGinnis, a farmer living near St. Charles ; Alexander W., born August 21, 1860, a successful farmer also residing near St. Charles; William M., born October 15, 1862, engaged in the
JEHU M. JOHNSTON
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dray business at Bevington; Hester J., born December 25, 1864, the wife of S. S. Switzer, a merchant of St. Charles; James Wesley, born July 25, 1869, who is engaged in the dray business and lives north of Des Moines; and Albert Simp- son and Robert W., twins, born May 1, 1867. The latter died in infancy and Albert is a farmer residing in southern lowa.
Mr. Johnston was a republican and took an active part in the work of his party. His life was one of useful activity and this county is the better for his having lived therein.
JOHN H. LA PELLA.
John H. La Pella is a retired agriculturist living in Earlham, where he has made his home since 1898, while the period of his residence in this county covers almost a half century. His birth occurred in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on the 16th of November, 1844, his parents being Nicholas and Margaret (McQue) La Pella, the former a native of France and the latter of Pennsylvania. In 1853 Nicholas La Pella removed with his family to Jasper county, Iowa, where he entered and improved a tract of land which he cultivated for a number of years. His last years were spent in honorable retirement at Monroe, where his demise occurred on the 17th of October, 1865. His wife had been called to her final rest in August, 1855.
John H. La Pella, who was a lad of nine years when he came to this state with his parents, acquired his education in Jasper county and lived with his sister after his mother's death. In 1862 he went to the front in defense of the Union, having enlisted as a member of Company E, Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served for three years. During that period he was held a prisoner for eight months and also participated in a number of important engagements, making a creditable record as a most loyal and faithful soldier and never faltering in the performance of any task assigned to him. He was hon- orably discharged on the 2d of August, 1865, at Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, and then returned to Jasper county, Iowa, where he attended school for a short time. In February, 1866, he came to Madison county and for one year worked as a farm hand, while subsequently he cultivated rented land until 1870. In that year he purchased eighty acres of land in Douglas township, improved the prop- erty and continued active in its operation for about twenty-seven years. On the expiration of that period, having accumulated a comfortable competence through the careful conduct of his agricultural interests, he purchased an attractive residence in Earlham, where he has lived retired for the past seventeen years in the enjoyment of well earned ease.
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