USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 40
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Peter N. Barker attended the district schools and the high school of Macks- burg and continued to reside upon the home farm until his marriage. He has prospered as an agriculturist and owns two hundred acres of excellent land, which is in a high state of cultivation. He has farmed in Grand River township dur- ing his entire life and is one of the most successful breeders of full blooded Duroc Jersey hogs in that township, raising hogs for commercial purposes only and deriving a substantial income from the sale of his stock.
On the 4th of July, 1897, Mr. Barker married Miss Flora Garrett, a daugh- ter of Charles R. and Katherine ( McGuire) Garrett, the former born in Galena, Illinois, on the 5th of November, 1842, and the latter in Indiana on the 30th of January, 1848. Mr. Garrett became a resident of Clarke county, Iowa, in 1856 and July 26, 1862, enlisted in the Eighteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry but was discharged January 30, 1863, because of disability. On the 27th of August,
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1863, however, he reenlisted, becoming a member of Company H, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, with which he served until discharged February 3, 1866. He was de- tailed as guard to watch cotton fields in the south but also participated in consid- erable fighting. Upon his return to Clarke county he farmed land which he owned until 1893, when he removed to Macksburg and conducted a mill. He was living here at the time of his death, which occurred on the 15th of January, 1914, and his widow still makes her home here. He was a republican in politics. The Grand Army of the Republic found in him a loyal and consistent mem- ber and he was justly proud of his military record. Mr. and Mrs. Barker have a daugliter, Nina Opal, who was born on the 26th of December, 1900, and they are rearing and educating a boy.
Mr. Barker is independent in politics and takes an active part in public affairs, although without political aspirations. Both he and his wife belong to the Baptist church and he is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held all of the offices, and with the Modern Woodmen of America, of which he has been trustee for several years. He is up-to-date and progressive in his work as a farmer and stock-raiser and the success which is rewarding his efforts is richly deserved. As a citizen he has always placed the public wel- fare above his individual interests and he is highly respected in his community.
NOBLE W. LOEHR.
Noble W. Loehr has resided in Madison county the greater part of the time since 1862 and has been an interested observer of the great changes that have occurred here in that time. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of land in Walnut township, but makes his home with a daughter, Mrs. E. L. Richmond, of Lincoln township. He was born in Hancock county, Indiana, on the 12th of April, 1840, a son of Daniel S. and Mary Ann ( Warrum) Loehr, natives re- spectively of Virginia and Kentucky.
The father farmed for many years and for thirty years served as bailiff in the court at Noblesville, Indiana. The mother died when our subject was only six years old and the father subsequently remarried. He too passed away in the Hoosier state. There were four children by each of his marriages but our subject is the only one to come to Iowa.
Noble W. Loehr passed the days of his boyhood and youth in his native state and in 1860, three days before his twentieth birthday, he left Indiana and with his father made the long and ofttimes perilous trip across the plains to the gold fields of Colorado. The father, however, was familiar with the trails, as he had made the trip the year previous. In the fall of 1860 Mr. Loehr of this re- view returned east, but again went to Colorado, where he remained until 1862. In that year he located in Lincoln township, Madison county, Iowa, and pur- chased eighty acres of land. From that time until his retirement from active life he devoted his energies entirely to agricultural pursuits and was the owner of two different farms in Webster township. Subsequently he acquired a two hundred and eighty acre farm in Adair county. For four years he lived upon a farm in Union county, but he is now residing with his daughter, Mrs. E. L. Rich-
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mond, of Lincoln township, this county. He has put aside all business cares but still owns one hundred and twenty acres of land in Walnut township.
On January 26, 1864, Mr. Loehr married in Lincoln township Miss Hope Anna Rippey, a daughter of Matthew and Sarah Rippey. She was born in New Jersey on the 7th of October, 1846, and came with her parents to this county in 1856, and passed away on the 24th of July, 1912. She was the mother of seven children, namely: Willis, who married Miss Callie Chilcoat and resides in Wyoming; Daniel, who married Miss Mary Trautwein and who is farming in Monroe township; Nora, the deceased wife of Oscar Burns, of Adair county ; Willard, who married Miss Etta Reed and who now lives in Monroe township; Mary, the wife of Jesse Abbott, of Alberta, Canada ; Effie, the wife of John Reinmuth, of Sacramento, California; and Lulu, now Mrs. E. L. Richmond, of Lincoln township.
Mr. Loehr is an adherent of the republican party and supports its policies with his ballot. For many years he has belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church and has ordered his life in accordance with the highest moral principles. He was successful as a farmer and deserves the period of rest and leisure that is now his.
J. IRA TUCKER.
J. Ira Tucker is junior partner in the firm of Wallace & Tucker, dealers in farm implements and automobiles at Winterset. He was born in Keokuk county, Iowa, June 9, 1880, a son of John Tucker, who is now a resident farmer of Grand River township, Madison county. He attended the public schools of Grand River township. On starting out for himself he chose the occupation to which he was reared and for some time engaged in farming but at length turned his attention to commercial pursuits.
On the 8th of October, 1908, Mr. Tucker was united in marriage to Miss Mattie Cochran, a daughter of Wesley Cochran, mentioned elsewhere in this volume. It was upon her father's farm that Mrs. Tucker was born March 13, 1884. From him she inherited a nice property and she still lives upon that farm, opposite her old home, so as to be near her mother. To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker have been born four children: Ruth, Helen, Dean Cochran and Eleanor.
JOHN WESLEY FULTON.
John Wesley Fulton, who is actively engaged in agricultural pursuits on sec- tion 21, Ohio township, is a native of Madison county, born two miles east of Truro, on the 18th of July, 1877, of the marriage of John Worthington and Nancy Ann ( Bradshaw ) Fulton. The father, whose birth occurred on the 4th of September, 1850, in Belmont county, Ohio, was a son of William and Elizabeth (Wilson) Fulton. The mother's parents were John Wesley and Peree ( Arnold) Bradshaw and her natal day was the 27th of May, 1853. She was also a native
MRS. JOHN W. FULTON
JOHN W. FULTON
1
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of the Buckeye state and was born in Tuscarawas county. When eight years of age John Worthington Fulton accompanied his parents to Madison county, Iowa, the family locating north of Winterset, in the vicinity of the present county farm. When but twelve years of age he began providing for his own support, working as a farm hand until after his marriage. He then purchased land in Ohio town- ship, to the improvement of which he devoted four years, and on selling that place bought more land in the same township a half mile east of his first farm. After four years, or in 1882, he removed to Truro and purchased the Truro Hotel, which he conducted for seven years. He next bought a farm south of Truro, upon which he resided about twenty years, and then removed to Lorimor, Iowa. where he erected a hotel which he conducted for a short time. He returned to the farm upon disposing of the hotel and resided upon the homestead until 1907, when he took up his residence in Truro and was living there at the time of his death, which occurred on the 23d of May, 1909. His widow is still residing in Truro. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, and both he and his wife were members of the Christian church. He was a self-made man and was a valued citizen of the various communities in which he lived.
John W. Fulton of this review received his education in the schools of Truro and after putting aside his textbooks remained with his parents upon the home- stead until 1890, when he was married and located upon a farm of sixty-two acres a mile south of Truro which belonged to his father. After living there for a year he removed to the old homestead south of the town, which he is operating at the present time. He rents one hundred and twenty acres of the land from his mother and owns one hundred and two acres on section 21, Ohio township. His entire time is taken up with his work as a farmer and stock-raiser and he sees that everything is kept in good repair and the plowing, planting and harvesting is done in good season. He ranks with the progressive farmers of his township and the material success that has attended his labors is well deserved.
On the 19th of December, 1890, at the home of the bride's parents, two and one-half miles north of Truro, Mr. Fulton was married by Rev. A. C. Burnham to Miss Nellie E. Leggett, a daughter of John W. and Margaret (Latta) Leggett. Her father was born in Licking county, Ohio, on the 10th of September, 1839, a son of James and Elizabeth ( Younger ) Leggett. James Leggett was a native of Ohio, of Yankee descent, and was a shoemaker by trade, and his wife was also born in the Buckeye state. They were married there but in 1854 came to Iowa and located in Polk county, where they lived during the remainder of their lives. Their son, John W. Leggett, enlisted on the 5th of January, 1864, at Polk City, Iowa, in the First Iowa Light Artillery and was mustered out on the 5th of July, 1865, at Davenport. His marriage occurred at Des Moines on the 13th of Janu- ary, 1864. It was not until 1889 that he and his wife removed to Madison county, locating in South township, where he purchased a quarter section of land. After residing thereon for sixteen years he rented the farm and removed to Truro, where he and his wife are living retired. She is a daughter of William and Mary ( Mercer) Latta, who were natives respectively of Ohio and Virginia and were married in Ohio, whence in 1854 they removed to Polk county, Iowa, where they continued to live until called to the great beyond.
Mr. and Mrs. Fulton have three children : Nola Grace, who was born January Vol. II-20
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10, 1902, and is attending the Truro schools; Nellie Ruth, who was born April 15, 1905, and is also attending school; and Mary Gertrude, born October 17, 1910.
For many years Mr. Fulton voted the republican ticket, but becoming con- vinced that it was the duty of every Christian to do everything within his power to destroy the liquor traffic and believing that the prohibition party was the best means to accomplish that end, he became a member of that organization. He is a man of much strength of character and never hesitates in doing anything that he believes to be right. Both he and his wife belong to the Christian church of Truro and he is one of the leaders in its work, having served as trustee, as a member of the board of finance, of the pastoral board and as Sunday-school superintendent, being at present clerk of the church. He believes that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit the duty has been laid upon him of holding up the Master to the people and he has erected numerous signs upon his farm on which are printed verses from the Bible and he also distributes throughout the county printed signs warning of the day of judgment and the punishment of sin. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias and has belonged to the lodge of that organization at Truro for ten years. He finds that his work as a farmer and stock-raiser makes heavy demands upon his time and in doing well the work that lies nearest at hand he has also aided in the development of his . township. He breeds full-blooded Hampshire hogs and feeds both cattle and hogs, which he sells at a good price. None begrudges him the prosperity that is his, as it has been won by hard work and good management.
If every one in this world was just like me, what kind of world would this world be?
Say, friend, where are you going to spend eternity ?
The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life.
What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? .
FRED BEELER.
Fred Beeler is living retired on section 13, Walnut township, and is not only one of the most substantial men of that township but also one of the most sin- cerely respected. He was born in Baden, Germany, December 4, 1835, a son of Fred and Mary Ann (Stoltz) Beeler, both natives of the fatherland. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, emigrated with his family to America in 1846 and made his way overland to Ripley county, Indiana, where he purchased a farm and resided until his death, fourteen years later. His widow subsequently re- moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, and passed away there in 1868.
Fred Beeler remained at home upon the farm until he was sixteen years old and then started out in life on his own account. He learned the blacksmith's trade and when eighteen years of age went to the then far west, settling at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where for two years he worked at his trade at the army post, in the employ of the federal government. At the end of that time he opened a shop in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, but in the following year the lure of the discovery of gold induced him to go to Pike's Peak, where he met with a considerable measure of success as a gold miner. He was a part of the life of
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the western country in many ways in the '50s and in 1856 he operated a pony express, carrying mail from Fort Laramie to Fort Bridger in Utah, a distance of six hundred miles, the road leading over much rough and mountainous country and passing through a territory still largely under the power of hostile Indians. At one time he was captured by a party of Snake Indians on the warpath and probably owes his life to the fact that his horse was branded U. S., which the chief noticed and which led him to give Mr. Beeler his freedom. He not only set him free after being held a prisoner for three hours, but gave him an escort which accompanied him fifteen miles or until he was out of danger. In 1858 he hauled wool from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Independence, Missouri. In 1860 he came to Madison county, Iowa, and acquired a forty acre farm in Wal- nut township. The next spring he loaded his wagons with honey, butter, eggs and cheese and took the produce to Denver, Colorado. His train consisted of five large wagons and one small one and there were six yoke of oxen to each wagon. Upon reaching Denver he sold not only his produce but also all of the oxen except enough to bring the empty wagons back to this county. The venture was so successful from a financial standpoint that he made a similar trip the next year. He looks back with much pleasure upon those stirring times and is proud of the fact that his courage and endurance were equal to the tests to which they were often subjected.
In the fall of 1860 Mr. Beeler purchased a splendid farm of two hundred acres of land in Walnut township, this county, and is still living upon that place. He proved very successful in his agricultural pursuits and acquired more and more land, owning at one time nine hundred and eighty acres in addition to his home farm of two hundred acres. However, as his children grew to adult years and married he gave them each a tract of land and now holds title to his home- stead only. He wisely took his boys into partnership with him as soon as they were old enough and since they had a real and vital interest in the work of the farm and since their labors yielded them financial returns which made them independent, they were more than willing to remain upon the farm, feeling that the city could not offer them anything of real value more than they already had. Mr. Beeler continued active in agricultural work until four years ago, when he retired and now makes his home with his youngest son, William, a wish expressed by his wife before her death. He is justly proud of the large measure of financial success that has been his, but it is even a greater gratification to him that the relation between himself and his sons has always been one of hearty cooperation and of the greatest goodwill, respect and warm regard, and it pleases him that they have seen fit to follow the occupation to which they were reared and in which is to be found not only material prosperity but also congenial work and a manly sense of independence.
Mr. Beeler was married in 1861 to Miss Nancy McClure, who was a daughter of Henry and Milly McClure, both natives of Ohio and both of English descent. The father was a farmer and followed that occupation in his native state, where he passed away. Subsequently the mother removed with her children to this county and entered land on section 24, Walnut township, where she resided until her death in 1863. The farm was subsequently purchased by our subject. Mrs. Beeler passed away in 1901 and her demise was not only the occasion of great grief to her immediate family but was also sincerely regretted by many others
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who had learned to know and to love her. She was the mother of five sons: Otto died when two years of age. Othello, who is a farmer, living three miles south of our subject, in Ohio township, married Miss Emma Deardorf, by whom he has three children, Fred P., Otto and Leo. Fred M., a retired farmer of East Peru, married Miss Nora Deardorf and they have a daughter, Ruth. Charles, a farmer of Ohio township, married Dora Roy and they have three daughters, Helen, Mildred and Kate. Will J., a farmer and stockman of Walnut township, married Hallie Deardorf and they have a son, Donald.
Mr. Beeler supported the republican party until 1873 but since then has at times cast an independent ballot, feeling that the best man for the place should be elected, irrespective of party affiliations. He still believes, however, in the wis- dom of the great principles for which the republican party has stood for so long. He has held a number of offices of trust and responsibility, having served as trus- tee, justice of the peace, township clerk, and as postmaster of Ohio postoffice, in Walnut township, which was continued as long as the mails were carried from Winterset to Osceola. Mr. Beeler was postmaster there for fifteen years and in the discharge of his duties was always systematic and conscientious. He has done much to improve the grade of stock raised in the county and was the first man to bring a registered Percheron Norman stallion to Madison county, secur- ing a fine stallion from Chicago in 1862. He continued to raise fine horses until his retirement from active life and all of his horses brought big prices, as they were all registered. He also engaged in the raising of cattle and sheep and for twenty years never fed less than one hundred head of cattle and often two hun- dred or more. He bred shorthorn cattle and Poland China hogs and was known as one of the most extensive stock-raisers of the township. In the early days when buying cattle he often rode one hundred miles a day in the saddle and he thought nothing at all of starting from home in the morning and being in Mis- souri, sixty-eight miles away, by night.
The success that he achieved, which enables Mr. Beeler to now live retired, was won by much hard work, by the intrepid facing of the perils of the western country, by initiative, energy and the exercise of sound judgment, and from the time that he first took up his residence in this county to the present he has commanded the unqualified respect of all who know him both for his ability as an agriculturist, stock-raiser and business man and for the fine manliness of his character.
W. A. HARWOOD.
WV. A. Harwood, who owns two hundred and seventy-six acres of land in Walnut township, which he rents to others, resides upon the same farm with his brother, J. L. Harwood, and gives the greater part of his time to the over- sight of his money-loaning business. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Savings Bank of Peru.
Mr. Harwood was born in Franklin county, Illinois, on the 13th of January, 1860, a son of Joseph and Mary (King) Harwood. The father was born in Warsaw, Kentucky, of German and English ancestry, and the mother in Mary-
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land, of Yankee lineage. On the 4th of December, 1856, they were married in Illinois and on coming to Iowa located first in Clinton county, then in Cedar county, and in 1868 settled in this county upon the farm on section 9, Walnut township, where our subject and his brother, J. L., now live. The father was very successful and became the owner of seven hundred acres of land. He passed away in 1908, being survived by his widow for a year.
WV. A. Harwood remained at home until he was twenty-six years of age, but three years before that time began his independent business career. In 1886 he went to Julesburg, Colorado, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land, preempted another quarter section and purchased a claim of one hundred and sixty acres near Sterling. He resided there for about three years and then returned to this county, which has since remained his home. For seven years he lived in Peru, but is now living in Walnut township. He owns two hun- dred and seventy-six acres of fine land, but does not operate it himself, renting it to others. He was one of the organizers of the Savings Bank of Peru, a well established and prosperous financial institution, and is a member of its board of directors. His business activities have been wisely managed and he has accumulated considerable capital, which he loans on good security. He is recognized as an efficient, conservative business man and all of his dealings are guided by strict rules of honesty and integrity. He has resided in the county for many years and the fact that those who have had every opportunity of forming an accurate judgment of his worth should accord him a high place in their estimation is the best possible proof of his ability and of his probity.
JAMES W. MCGLOTHLEN.
Although he still resides upon his farm in Jackson township, James W. McGlothlen is retired from active farm work and is enjoying a life of leisure. He is a native of Indiana, his birth occurring in Fountain county on the 12th of November, 1850. His parents, Jonathan and Mary ( Murray) McGlothlen,. were both born in Kentucky. The father removed with his family to Illinois; in 1852, locating in Vermilion county, and he became an extensive land owner, holding title to several hundred acres of fine land. He raised draft and driving horses of high grade, and was engaged in the milling business in Indiana at the time of his death. He was quite active in public affairs and helped to build the new edifice for the church to which he belonged. To him and his wife, who died when she was fifty years of age, were born six sons, of whom our subject is the second in order of birth.
James W. McGlothlen pursued his studies in a log schoolhouse in his native county, but as he was quite young when his father died he was forced to earn his own living at an early age. In 1871 he came to Iowa and rented land in Polk county, but four years later he removed to Webster township, Madison county, where he became a well known land owner. In 1910 he took up his residence upon a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, where he is still living, although he is not actively engaged in farming and rents his land, deriving therefrom a good income. His farming was charac-
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terized by foresight, energy and promptness; his crops were abundant and brought a good price upon the market, and he also raised stock quite exten- sively.
Mr. McGlothlen married Miss Josephine Rice, who was born in Avon, Polk county, Iowa, a daughter of Ananias and Catherine ( Harris) Rice. Her father, who was a native of Ohio, located in Polk county about 1848, when conditions were still largely those of a frontier region, and he became known all over that section of the state as a stock buyer, driving stock to Eddyville, which was then the nearest railroad station. He owned three hundred and twenty acres of land and was one of the substantial citizens of his county. His religious faith was that of the Christian church, and in politics he was an adherent of the greenback party. During the Civil war he enlisted from Polk county and went to the front in the Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. At the time of his death he was living upon a farm near Avon. Mrs. McGlothlen is the third in order of birth in a family of ten children.
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