USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 32
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Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have five children. Thomas Russell, born May 12, 1865, is engaged in cement work in Winterset. He is married and has two children : Clarence, who is also married; and Willis. Edward C., born February 2, 1867, is also married. Mary Elizabeth is the widow of Vinson Eyerly, a son of George W. Eyerly, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vinson Eyerly, Alice and Hershel. Mrs. Eyerly now makes her home with her father. William, born December 29, 1871, is operating the farm belonging to his father. He is energetic and progressive and has erected new buildings, set out an orchard and in other ways improved the place. He also runs a threshing machine. Clara, the youngest in the family, is the wife of George W. Eyerly.
Mr. Bailey is affiliated with the Christian church of Winterset and has taken considerable interest in the work of that organization. The care of his private interests, however, has demanded the greater part of his time through- out his life and his efforts have resulted in the acquirement of a competence that enables him to live retired. He has reached the age of four score years and ten and is one of the oldest and most honored residents of his township.
GEORGE JOHNSTON.
George Johnston, a well-to-do retired farmer who is living in Winterset, is worthy of honor as a self-made man, having achieved success solely through his own efforts. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on the 13th of November, 1840, a son of William and Mary (Steele) Johnston, natives of the Keystone state. They were married in Ohio, where the father carried on agricultural pur-
GEORGE JOHNSTON AND FAMILY
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suits, and both have passed to their reward. The paternal grandfather of our subject served in the War of 1812.
George Johnston is the fourth youngest in a family of eleven children and was compelled to go to work early, receiving no schooling after the age of thirteen years. A log cabin served as the school house and the seats were but slabs. After putting aside his text-books Mr. Johnston remained home, assisting his father until he was seventeen years of age, when he found work on a canal connecting Toledo, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. After being so employed for one sum- mer he returned home and was next in the employ of the Pittsburg & Fort Wayne Railroad, for which he got out cross ties. In the spring of 1864 he enlisted at Wooster, Ohio, in Company A, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and for nine months was in the reserve of the Federal army, seeing but little fighting in that time.
After the close of the war Mr. Johnston went to Michigan and spent three months in the pine woods one hundred and sixty-five miles north of Grand Rapids and sixty-five miles from the camp in the heart of a heavily timbered region. In 1865 he came to Iowa and located at Pleasantville, Marion county, where he worked by the month for four years. At the end of that time he rented land in that county and subsequently farmed leased land in Warren county. In 1874 he removed to Madison county and purchased eighty acres of land near Douglas. He built an upright board shanty, fourteen by sixteen feet, which was the family home for three years and their seed wheat was kept in a box built under the bed. As prosperity rewarded his efforts he built a more commodious residence and made various other improvements upon his farm, which became in time a valuable and well developed property. He has always taken much interest in the development of the county along agricultural lines and a number of years ago was elected the president of the County Fair Association, which was then quite heavily in debt. He gave his time to the association gratuitously, using every cent of the funds received to discharge the obligations of the association and put it on its feet financially. Upon his retirement from the office its affairs were in a good condition. He still owns his farm, although he is now living retired in Winterset, enjoying a competence gained by much hard work and by carefully husbanding his resources.
Mr. Johnston was married in 1871 to Miss Mary Smith, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Thomas and Amelia ( Miller) Smith, born respectively in Pennsyl- vania and Wayne county, Ohio. The family removed to Iowa when Mrs. John- ston was seven years of age and her father passed away in Warren county. Her mother died at the home of a daughter in Douglas township, Madison county. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnston have been born three children: Thomas, who died when five months old; Mary Alice, who taught school in Madison county for six years, and is now the wife of Perry Hersom, a ranchman of Columbus, Montana, by whom she has two children, Laura Mary and George Miles; and Martha Amelia, who attended the Iowa University at Iowa City and taught school two years. She is the wife of Frank Newlon, of Melcher, Marion county, Iowa, and they have two children, Robert J. and Clark F.
Mr. Johnston is a democrat and was township trustee for nine years, while for many years he held the office of school director. Thirty years ago he joined the Methodist church and has since taken an active interest in its work. He was Vol. II-16
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on the building committee when the West Star church was built in Douglas town- ship. In the fall of 1865, when the hostile spirit between the north and south was as strong as during the war, Mr. Johnston, wearing his Federal soldier's uniform, made a trip from Marion county to Missouri, which was strongly southern in its sympathies, with a load of flour and traded the same for a load of apples. He has manifested those sturdy virtues of self-reliance, independence and industry that have been so largely responsible for the upbuilding of the west and it is fitting that he should now enjoy the fruits of his former toil.
BEN R. RANKIN.
Ben R. Rankin, who was for many years prominently identified with the busi- ness interests of Truro as proprietor of a general store, was born in Belmont county, Ohio, on the 19th of July, 1848, a son of Samuel and Sarah Rankin. The father was born in Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, and the mother was likewise a native of that state, where they were reared and married. Subsequently they removed to Belmont county, Ohio, where the father farmed until 1851, when with his family he came to this county and entered land near Peru in Walnut township. That place remained the home of the parents until 1894, when they removed to Winterset and there resided until called to the great beyond, the father in 1900 and the mother in 1901.
Ben R. Rankin attended the common schools of Walnut township and while still a youth went to Missouri, where for a time he worked upon his brother's farm. He was married in that state in 1876 and remained there until 1880, when he returned to Iowa and turned his attention to merchandising, conduct- ing a general store at Peru, this county. After seven years he sold his business and in 1880 he went to Barney, Iowa, where he opened a general store. His stock of goods was destroyed by fire and in 1895 he located at Truro, where he again engaged in merchandising, conducting a general store here for eighteen years, or until his death on the 31st of March, 1913. He was progressive and energetic, managed his business affairs well and depended upon the value of his goods and the honorable policy which he invariably pursued to hold his custom. His volume of business grew steadily and he derived a good income from the conduct of his store, which was one of the best known in this part of the state. For fourteen months after his demise his widow conducted the busi- ness and then sold out.
On the 5th of January, 1876, at Brunswick, Missouri, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Rankin and Miss Alberta Likens, a daughter of Levi and Susan (Bossler) Likens, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former born in Chester county, of Swedish ancestry, and the latter in Blair county, of Dutch lineage. In his early manhood Mr. Likens was a coal miner but later devoted his life to farming. In 1854 the family removed to the west and settled near Davenport, Iowa, where the father followed agricultural pursuits until 1869, when removal was made to Sheridan county, Missouri. He bought land there, which he oper- ated until his death on the 31st of March, 1902. His widow is now making her
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home at Truro with her daughter, Mrs. Rankin. Mrs. Likens has reached the advanced age of eighty-four but still enjoys the best of health.
To Mr. and Mrs. Rankin were born two children. Orville, born June 18, 1877, died March 8, 1894. Frank, born July 28, 1879, was united in marriage in 1899 to Miss Ida Heacock and they became the parents of two children : Garry, born June 4, 1901; and Geraldine, whose natal day was April 26, 1904. His wife died June 18, 1905, and September 26, 1906, he married Mrs. Grace (Swearingin) Young, of Ohio township. To this union have been born three children : Dale, born May 15, 1907; Claude, June 28, 1908; and Phyllis, April, 11, 191I.
Mr. Rankin was a democrat and for several years served as a member of the city council of Truro. He held membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, of which his wife is also a member. Fraternally he was connected with the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and his wife at one time belonged to the Woman's Relief Corps, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Rathbone Sisters. He was fully entitled to the success that came to him, as he gave strict attention to his business, worked hard and was at all times strictly honorable in his business dealings, never taking undue advantage of another. He was a self- made man and his manly qualities of character made him honored and respected.
WILLIAM WHITWORTH.
William Whitworth, a retired farmer of Macksburg, is a native of England but has completely identified his interests with those of his adopted country. He was born in Cambridgeshire on the 18th of December, 1841, a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Green) Whitworth, also natives of England, who in June, 1853. emigrated to the United States. They landed in New York and then proceeded by way of the Erie canal and the Great Lakes to Cleveland, Ohio, passing Buffalo, New York, on the 4th of July. They settled upon a farm twenty miles from Cleveland and the father cultivated rented land there for about five years. At the end of that time he removed with his family to Bureau county, Illinois, and in 1870 he and his wife came to Iowa, making their home with our subject for the greater part of the time until called to the great beyond. The mother passed away at the home of our subject in 1873, when sixty-two years old, and the father died at the home of his son, Morley, in 1887, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-four. When they came to the United States there were eleven children in the family, but only five survive: George, William and Morley, all of this county ; and Mrs. Hoblet and Mrs. Cook, both residing in Sioux City.
William Whitworth was a child of eleven years when he accompanied his parents to the United States and he continued his education in this country. In September, 1861, when not quite twenty years of age, he enlisted in Com- pany F, Fifty-seventh Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Captain F. A. Beatty and Colonel F. J. Hobart, and on the 18th of December, 1861,-the anniversary of his birth-was enrolled in the United States service. He took part in the battles of Fort Donelson, Fort Henry and Shiloh and at the last named engage-
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ment was wounded in the knee by the cross-fire of the enemy. He was sent home and remained away from the command for thirty days, after which he re- joined his regiment and saw considerable skirmishing but participated in no im- portant battles thereafter. He was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1865 and returned to Bureau county, Illinois. In 1870 he came to this county and pur- chased eighty acres of wild land on section 15, Grand River township, which he improved and which remained his home until about four years ago. He then sold his land and removed to Macksburg, where he is now living in honorable retirement. He was industrious and managed his affairs well, so that during the years of his activity he accumulated a competence that insures comfort during the remainder of his life.
Mr. Whitworth married Miss Elizabeth Green, who was born in Pennsylvania on the 20th of August, 1841, a daughter of Johnson A. and Abigail Green, natives respectively of Scotland and Germany. Both passed away in this county and on the 18th of April, 1901, their daughter departed this life. To Mr. and Mrs. Whitworth were born two children: a son who died in infancy; and Ida, who is unmarried and is keeping house for her father.
Mr. Whitworth is a republican and has been a loyal and consistent member of the Baptist church since before the war, but his wife belonged to the Christian church. He held membership in J. D. Craven Post, No. 322, G. A. R., at Macks- burg until it was disbanded and takes justifiable pride in his military record. He owns a comfortable home in Macksburg and has many friends in that town and its vicinity.
RALPH TRAVIS SCHOENENBERGER.
Ralph Travis Schoenenberger, a progressive and representative agriculturist of Scott township, operates a farm of three hundred and eighty acres on section 19 and also carries on stock-raising with excellent results. His birth occurred in Walnut township, this county, on the 13th of December, 1878, his parents being John and Lavina (Travis) Schoenenberger, of whom more extended mention is made on another page of this work. He acquired his education in the country schools and at Winterset and when not busy with his text-books assisted his father in the operation of the home farm, thus early becoming familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He has made farming his life work and is now operating the E. E. McCall place of three hundred and eighty acres in Scott township, conducting it according to the most modern methods of agriculture and maintaining it as a productive and highly remunerative property. Mr. Schoenenberger likewise devotes considerable attention to stock-raising and has met with commendable success in all of his undertakings.
On the 28th of November, 1900, he was united in marriage to Miss Grace Adeline Hartsook, her parents being William and Catherine R. (Smoot) Hart- sook, a sketch of whom appears on another page of this volume. To our subject and his wife have been born three children, namely: Kathryn Lovina, John H. and Paul.
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Mr. Schoenenberger gives his political allegiance to the democracy and has done valuable service as a member of the school board, the cause of education finding in him a stalwart champion. His entire life has been spent in Madison county and both he and his wife are widely and favorably known within its bor- ders, the circle of their friends being almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.
FRED F. LYTLE.
Fred F. Lytle, one of the successful farmers of Ohio township, was born on the 24th of July, 1874, at St. Charles, lowa, a son of James M. and Malissa J. ( Porter) Lytle. The father, a native of Ohio and a carpenter by trade, came to Madison county in 1883 and located at St. Charles, where he followed his trade for a short time. Before the end of the year, however, he removed to Des Moines, where he is still a successful carpenter and contractor. He resides at No. 913 East Washington street and has many warm friends. His first wife died shortly after their removal to that city on the 18th of May, 1883, and he subse- quently married Miss Ina Miller. To his first union were born the following chil- dren: Walter B., a farmer living at Carson, Iowa, who married Miss Myrtle Shinn ; Fred F .; Ralph P., of Chicago; William, a farmer living near Winterset, who married Miss Ella Johnson ; and Nellie, who died at the age of eighteen months.
Fred F. Lytle attended school at St. Charles until he was nine years of age and then removed with his parents to Des Moines, where he continued his educa- tion. When but fourteen years of age he started out upon his own account, work- ing as a hired hand on a farm near Newton, Iowa, until he was twenty-two years of age. In 1896 he came to Ohio township, this county, and was in the employ of others for four years. At the end of that time he purchased his present farm and the following year took up his residence thereon. He owns eighty-four and a half acres of well improved land on section 4, Ohio township, and is meeting with success in general farming and stock-raising. He feeds a large number of cat- tle and hogs annually, which he sells to shippers.
On the 19th of December, 1899, at St. Charles, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lytle and Miss Carrie Myrtle Roberts, a daughter of Wesley and Mary Madaline ( Johnson) Roberts. The father, who was born in Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, followed the occupation of farming and in 1866 came to Madison county, settling on Clanton ereek in South township. He purchased one hun- dred and twenty acres of land and resided there until nineteen years ago, when he sold out and removed to the vicinity of St. Charles, where he bought land and lived for eleven years, after which he sold his farm and took up his residence in St. Charles. There he was living at the time of his death, which occurred on the 16th of March, 1910. His wife, who is still living in St. Charles, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, on the 5th of March, 1850, and they were married in St. Charles, Iowa, on the 18th of February, 1869. In their family were seven chil .. dren : Walter M., who was born January 15, 1870, and is now deceased ; Cora D., born November 17, 1873, who married Eustace Slinker; Carrie Myrtle, who was
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born on the 22d day of July, 1875; Lncy Elizabeth, who was born January 15, 1879, and has passed away; Nettie, who was born September 23, 1881, and is also deceased ; and Clyde and Harry, twins, whose natal day was the 8th of Octo- ber, 1884. Clyde is deceased and Harry is residing near St. Charles. Mr. Rob- erts was a veteran of the Civil war, having served for almost three years as a private in Company B, Twenty-second Regiment, Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted on the 12th of August, 1862, and was mustered out and honorably dis- charged on the Ist of May, 1865. He saw a great deal of fighting, went through the siege of Vicksburg and participated in a number of battles.
To Mr. and Mrs. Lytle have been born the following children: Forrest Le- land, whose birth occurred on the 11th of November. 1900, and who died on the 12th of November. 1904: Jennie Faye, who was born February 10, 1904, and is attending the Truro high school; Lyle Raymond, who was born on the 8th of October, 1907, and is in school ; Wendell Roberts, born July 26, 1909; and Helen Maxine, whose birth occurred on the 19th of December, 1913.
Mr. Lytle is a republican in politics and is now serving his first term as treas- urer of Ohio township. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church at Truro and she is also affiliated with the Ladies Aid society of that congregation. She likewise belongs to the Order of the Eastern Star at St. Charles. Mr. Lytle deserves great credit for the success which he has achieved in his chosen occupation, as he began providing for his own support when but fourteen years of age and has been dependent upon his own resources since that time. The self-reliance and determination which he has developed command the respect of those who know him and his agreeable social traits have won him the friendship of many.
BENJAMIN S. VIERLING.
Benjamin S. Vierling, deceased, was a successful farmer of Madison county, was a public-spirited citizen and a man of cultured tastes and a sincere friend. He was born on the 15th of October, 1837, at Salem, North Carolina, of which place his parents, Fraugott Theophilus and Catharine (Williams) Vier- ling, were also natives. The paternal grandfather, Dr. Samuel Benjamin Vier- ling, emigrated from Berlin, Germany, to North Carolina in 1789. He was a noted physician and the family for a number of generations back was very prom- inent, producing many eminent physicians, musicians and professors. Mr. and Mrs. Fraugott Vierling came with a number of friends to Iowa in 1849 and settled in Appanoose county, where the little colony founded the town of Mora- via. Together they endured the hardships of pioneer life and persevered in spite of discouragements. In 1870 the parents of our subject came to Madison county and purchased a home in Scott township. Upon that farm of eighty acres they resided until the death of the father. The mother then removed to Winterset, where she passed away in 1899. They belonged to that devoted sect, the Mora- vians, from which have descended some of the most sturdy and conscientious citizens of America.
Benjamin Straling
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Benjamin S. Vierling received his early education in Moravian schools of Salem, North Carolina, and learned from his God-fearing parents high prin- ciples of conduct. In 1862 his love for his country caused him to enlist in the Thirty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and he was with his command as sergeant until the close of the war, proving at all times fearless and loyal and participat- ing in much hard fighting. He was wounded in battle and carried the bullet in his hip throughout the remainder of his life. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged at Devall Bluff, Arkansas, in 1865.
After his return from the front, when peace was restored, Mr. Vierling en- gaged in the drug business and began the study of medicine, thinking to follow that profession in which a number of his ancestors had won distinction. How- ever, the close confinement indoors soon began to tell upon his health and he gave up the idea of practicing medicine and again turned his attention to farming. He operated the homestead from that time until his death and gained a good income from his agricultural activities.
In 1867 Mr. Vierling married Miss Elizabeth Wykoff, a daughter of Jacob and Rachel Wykoff, who emigrated from Ohio to Jefferson county, Iowa, at an early day, and subsequently removed to Decatur county. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Vierling, as follows: Anna; Mary, the wife of Henry L. Bruett; George, who married Maud Johnson; Charles, deceased, who married Miss Josephine Miller; Ernest, who married Maud Campbell; and Eva, Frank and Henry, all of whom died in infancy.
In early life Mr. Vierling belonged to the Moravian church but later joined the United Brethren church at Providence and was for many years an official in his church. He took much interest in the work of his denomination and did all that was possible to further the cause of Christianity and secure the moral betterment of his community. He found much in life to enjoy, taking great pleas- ure in the out-of-doors, and he was also fond of art, music and literature, being an exceptionally well read man. However, not the least of his pleasure came from his association with his fellows, as he was very congenial and was never happier than when with his friends. His demise, which occurred on the 3Ist of May, 1905, was felt as a personal loss to many, and all realized that the county had lost a man who had done much for its advancement along various lines of development. For years he served as township clerk and always took an active interest in political affairs. His ballot was cast in support of the democratic party. Fraternally his only connection was with the Grand Army of the Republic. His widow is still living and makes her home in Winterset, where she is highly esteemed.
THOMAS McKEE.
Thomas McKee, an enterprising and progressive farmer of Douglas town- ship, was born in Crawford township, Washington county, this state, on the 2d of August, 1851, and his entire life has been spent in Iowa. He was the first- born of the ten children of John and Margaret (Holmes) McKee. The father was born in County Antrim, Ireland, on the 20th of September, 1824, and died on
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the 2d of November, 1891. The mother's birth occurred in Pennsylvania in 1834, and she is still living. John McKee, who was a shoemaker by trade, emigrated to the United States and settled in Indiana in 1839, but the following year he made the overland journey to Washington county, Iowa. As he drove oxen, the way seemed long and tedious and when he arrived at his destination he found a country that showed very little evidence of white settlement. He was a pioneer in truth and was a leader of his community in the early days of Washington county. There were plenty of deer and game of all kinds and he acquired con- siderable note as a hunter. His cabin, which was sixteen by twenty-four feet in dimensions, was decorated with many skins of various animals. He shot a great number of deer and tanned the skins, of which his wife made mittens for the neighbors, charging fifty cents a pair. He entered a quarter section of land from the government and resided thereon until his death. His religious faith was that of the United Presbyterian church and he helped to organize the first church of that denomination in his county. He held office in the church almost continuously after reaching years of maturity, and he was also prominent in matters of local government, filling a number of township offices and helping to organize the county. He won material success and also the unfeigned regard and esteem of those who were associated with him.
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