USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 51
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souri. He received excellent wages, at one time drawing one hundred and fifty dollars per month. Upon his return to Iowa at the close of the war he purchased land with his savings, and his father had bought land for him in Monroe town- ship with money which he had previously sent home. He has at one time and another owned a great deal of land and has been very successful as a farmer and stock-raiser. He lately sold a farm of two hundred and forty acres on sec- tion 22, Monroe township, to the cultivation of which he has devoted his energies for a number of years past. He intends to retire to Lorimor, and expects to enjoy his remaining days in a leisure made possible by former toil.
In 1881 Mr. Boling married Miss Sarah E. Cave, who was born in Dallas county, Iowa. Her father, Hudson Cave, whose birth occurred in Virginia, died when his daughter was two years old, but her mother, a native of Ohio, who was in her maidenhood Miss Samantha Ann Rollston, is still residing in Lorimor. Mr. and Mrs. Boling have three children. Cap M., of Lorimor, married Miss Zaida E. Pointer and they have a daughter, Helen Jane. Lou Della gave her hand in marriage to Willis W. Wolfe, of Des Moines, Iowa, and they have had three children, Samuel, Harold and Helen, but Samuel died in infancy. Samuel Earl is single and is at home.
Mr. Boling has been a democrat since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and for twelve or thirteen years served as assessor of Monroe township. He has also been school director and school treasurer for sixteen years. Fra- ternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge at Lorimor. He has succeeded in life because of his industry and good judgment, and it is fitting that his last days should be spent in retirement from the activity of life and freedom from business cares.
JAMES THOMAS.
James Thomas, a farmer who has an enviable reputation for progressiveness and energy, was born upon the place in Grand River township which he now owns, on the 25th of May, 1871, of the marriage of John and Polly ( Abrahams) Thomas. The father was born in Preble county, Ohio, in 1823, and the mother in Guernsey county, that state, on the 16th of March, 1832. John Thomas, who was. a farmer and shoemaker by occupation, emigrated to Indiana in 1837 and resided there until the fall of 1854, when he came to Grand River township, this county, where his marriage occurred. He built a log cabin, in which he and his family lived in true pioneer fashion. Especially during the years of 1855 and 1856 there were many privations to be endured on account of the hard times, but Mr. Thomas did not give up the struggle and at length reaped the reward of his labors and courage, gaining gratifying material prosperity. In addition to break- ing his land, which he had entered from the government, and improving his farm, he made the shoes not only for his family but for his neighbors as well. At first there were but four or five families in the township and the sense of isolation was added to the other hardships of the early settlers. His wife was a true helpmate and did many things that the women of the present day are not called upon to perform owing to changed conditions. She cared for all the wants
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of her household and among her other duties made all of the clothes for the family, which was no small task, as there were seven children, Anna C., William A., Sarah E., Amanda J., Mary E., Stephen and James. The father died in Grand River township on the 20th of July, 1892, but the mother survived until the rith of March, 1904.
James Thomas attended the district schools and the high school at Macks- burg. Following the death of his father he assumed charge of the operation of the homestead and resided with his mother until her death. He has continued to operate the home farm until the present time and now owns two hundred and forty acres of splendid land, being a successful farmer and stoek-raiser. He feeds many head of eattle and hogs annually for commercial purposes only, specializing in Duroc Jersey hogs and shorthorn cattle.
In 1904 Mr. Thomas married Miss Eva Whitworth, likewise a native of this county and a daughter of Thomas and Hulda (Johnson) Whitworth. Her father, who was born in Cambridgeshire, England, the 2d of October, 1837, came to the United States on the 21st of May, 1852, and settled in Medina county, Ohio. After leaving the Buckeye state he resided for a time in Bureau county, Illinois, but on the 3d of July, 1867, he arrived in Madison county, Iowa, and remained a resident here for thirty-three years. He died at Macksburg of injuries inflicted by an explosion at the fire in Townsend's store on the 21st of January, 1899. His wife was born in Ohio county, Indiana, on the 20th of Feb- ruary, 1843, and in 1856 accompanied her parents to Iowa. She passed away on the 23d of November, 1911. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have two children: Hazel, born March 31, 1905; and Dale, born on the 21st of February, 1909.
Mr. Thomas votes with the democratic party and is now serving as township trustee. He has also been trustee and deacon of the Baptist church, of which he is a consistent member, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows finds in him a loyal adherent. He is faithful to every trust reposed in him and holds friend- ship inviolable, while as a citizen he places the public good above his private interests.
JACOB POPE.
Jacob Pope, a representative farmer, residing on section 8, Webster township, was born in Freeport, Illinois, on the 25th of February, 1853, a son of Stephen and Eliza (Eygabroad) Pope, the former a native of England and the latter of New York, more detailed mention of whom will be found in the sketch of Stephen C. Pope, which appears elsewhere in this work.
Jacob Pope was but four years of age when the family removed to Webster township, this eounty, and he therefore received his education in the district schools of that township. Although the winter months were given over largely to the study of books, the rest of the year was devoted to assisting with the farm work, and in so doing he learned lessons that have proved of incalculable value to him since. He not only gained knowledge concerning practical methods of agriculture but was trained to habits of industry, perseverance and close appli- cation, which go far toward insuring sueeess in any line of work. When twenty-
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one years of age he began farming in Webster township on his own account and in the years that have since passed his resources have increased steadily and he has accumulated a competence. He is a general farmer and stock-raiser and both branches of his business yield a good profit. For fifty-seven years he has resided continuously in Webster township and is now the second oldest settler within its limits.
On the 19th of November, 1904, Mr. Pope married Miss Almyra Weeks, who was born in Monroe township, a daughter of George F. and Almyra (Jeffers) Weeks. Her father was born in Coles county, Illinois, in 1842 and now makes his home with his daughter. He was born and reared upon a farm and in 1859 came to Monroe township, this county, where he devoted his time and attention to agricultural pursuits. He still owns land in that township but is leaving its culti- vation to others. In 1861 he enlisted in Company H, Twenty-third Iowa Volun- teer Infantry, and served at the front for three years as a teamster. Upon his return from the war he again concentrated his energies upon farming and was successful at that occupation. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and its teachings are the guiding principles of his life. He has been married three times and has eleven children living, Mrs. Pope being the eleventh in order of birth. Her mother, Mrs. Almyra (Jeffers) Weeks, died on the 14th of July, 1883, at the age of thirty-seven years.
Mr. Pope is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and contributes to its support. He has no political aspirations whatever but supports the republican party. He has always felt a strong distaste for publicity, yet quietly and stead- fastly performed the tasks that lay before him. He has not only gained a fair measure of prosperity but he has also contributed to the agricultural wealth of the county and his life has in an unostentatious way made for righteousness in the community at large. He remembers many of the happenings in the early days of this county when Winterset was but a small village and when the settlers were almost entirely dependent upon their own resources. When the family came to this state they made the journey with ox team and wagon and on the way saw much land that was as yet undeveloped. Mr. Pope takes pleasure in recalling to inind the conditions of early days and in contrasting them with the prosperity of the present and derives much satisfaction from the thought that he is a repre- sentative of a family that aided in laying the foundation upon which the present development is based.
J. K. GATTENBY.
J. K. Gattenby, a retired farmer residing in Macksburg, was born in Moores Hill, Indiana, on the 25th of October, 1847, a son of Henry and Elizabeth ( Wills) Gattenby, both natives of the Hoosier state, born October 20, 1824, and Novem- ber 16, 1828, respectively. The father passed away on the 30th of March, 1848, when not yet twenty-four years of age, but the mother survived for many years, dying near Macksburg on the 4th of April, 1905, when more than seventy-six years old. The father was a cooper by trade and was an excellent workman.
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J. K. Gattenby attended school in Jennings county, Indiana, and remained at home with his mother and stepfather until February, 1865, when he enlisted at Columbus in Company G, One Hundred and Forty-fifth Indiana Volunteer In- fantry, and mustered in at Indianapolis. He was ordered to Dalton, Georgia, where he was assigned to garrison duty, and he was also stationed at Resaca, Carlsville, Marietta, Cuthbert and Bainbridge, all in Georgia. He re- joined his regiment at Macon, that state, and was mustered out at Indianapolis in 1866. Upon his return home he began farming. Subsequently he removed to Illinois and in 1880 came to this county, settling in Grand River town- ship. For the last thirty-five years he has resided in Madison county continuously and he gave his attention exclusively to farming and stock-raising until he retired from active life. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of good land here and derives therefrom a gratifying income, although he leaves the actual work of the place to others and is living retired in Macksburg, where he removed in 1911.
In 1871 Mr. Gattenby married Miss Grace Young, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Elias and Phoebe ( Shoemaker) Young, who were born in Ohio and Indiana respectively. Her father, who was a cooper by trade, removed to Illi- nois in 1853 and there acquired title to land. He fed and shipped stock exten- sively and resided in that state until called to the home beyond at the age of sixty years. He was a republican and quite active in political affairs, and gave his religious allegiance to the Methodist Episcopal church. To him and his wife were born six children, of whom Mrs. Gattenby is the fifth in order of birth. She is a loyal and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active part in its various lines of work.
Three of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gattenby survive, as follows: Henry E., born on the 26th of May, 1873, is farming his father's land. He is married and has five sons and three daughters. Nellie is the wife of Allen H. Rowe, a son of Martin Rowe. Lennie is now the wife of M. H. Corey, a well known farmer of Jefferson county, Iowa, whose first wife was Daisy M., also a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gattenby. He has two children, Ernest and Paul, by his second marriage.
Mr. Gattenby is a republican and has held a number of township offices. Fra- ternally he is connected with Grand River Lodge, No. 406, I. O. O. F., and wears the bronze button that indicates his membership in the Grand Army of the Republic. He has at all times lived up to high standards of citizenship and is justly esteemed in Macksburg and its vicinity, where he is well known and has many warm friends.
L. J. HARRIS.
I .. J. Harris, deceased, was a well known farmer of Monroe township, and those who were associated with him held him in high esteem. He was born in Indiana on the 14th of September, 1830, and was a son of Harvard Harris, a landowner of that state. He was married in the Hoosier state on the 14th of September, 1853, to Miss Sarah E. Berry, who was born in Marion county, In- diana, on the 6th of March, 1833. In 1854 they came by wagon to Madison county
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FAMILY AND RESIDENCE OF L. J. HARRIS
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
and settled in Monroe township, where Mr. Harris entered one hundred and sixty acres of land. His father made the journey with him and spent the remainder of his life in this county.
L. J. Harris erected a log house upon his farm and in this the family resided until 1861, when he built the residence which is still the home of his widow. As the years passed he made many improvements upon his place, bringing it to a high state of development. He was not afraid of hard work and long hours and his well directed industry was rewarded by abundant crops, the sale of which netted him a good profit on his year's work. He also raised live stock and found that a remunerative phase of his business.
To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born eleven children: Mary Jane, who was born December 1, 1854, and died in childhood; Lucy Louisa, born March 1, 1857, who became the wife of T. E. Weeks and is now deceased; William I., born March 3, 1859, who resides in South Dakota; M. E., born September 19, 1861, who is a farmer of Webster township, this county; Martha Ann, deceased, who was born July 23, 1863, and became the wife of Byron Miller ; Harbert H., who was born on the 16th of December, 1864, and died in infancy ; Charles, deceased, whose birth occurred on the 25th of February, 1866; an infant who died unnamed; Sarah Frances, who was born on the 6th of March, 1868, and married L. A. Eldridge, a farmer of South township; Zeresh E., born February 1, 1871, who married Walter Skinner, of Newton, lowa; and Joseph E., who was born on the 2d of December, 1874, and is living in Newton.
Mr. Harris was a republican and served as township trustee and as constable. Ile was a good citizen and in the private relation of life manifested admirable traits of character. His work as a farmer was crowned with well deserved suc- cess and he became one of the representative men of his township. He died on the Ist of April, 1903, and was sincerely mourned not only by his family but by many friends and acquaintances.
Mrs. Harris still resides upon the homestead, which is operated by a grand- son, Louis Irvin Weeks, whom she reared to manhood, as his mother died when he was but an infant. He was born on the 8th of May, 1879, and married Miss Maud Miles, by whom he has three daughters, Veva Elizabeth, Ruby Rosalie and Gertrude Fay. Mr. Weeks has recently purchased a farm in Nebraska but intends to continue his residence in this county.
Mrs. Harris takes great pleasure in recounting the stories of the early days in this part of the state and it seems almost unbelievable to one of the present generation that only fifty or sixty years ago such conditions as she tells of existed. At that time there were no roads and the old Indian trail which passed west of her home was the only highway in the neighborhood. There were no bridges across the river, which necessitated this being forded, and in times of high water it was very dangerous to attempt to cross. Winterset was but a small village and there was not a house between North Clanton and South Clanton. The princi- pal crop raised was wheat, which was cut with a sickle and tramped out with horses. The grain when so separated from the chaff was at first taken to In- dianola to be ground into flour, although later the Buffalo Mills were established in this county. In that early day the wheat was often severely infected with a disease known as smut, so much so that the flour and the biscuits made there- from were black. Indians were numerous although not hostile and Mrs. Harris
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was afraid of them. On one occasion her husband and father-in-law went to Ringgold county to look at land but as Indians were numerous there her hus- band remarked "It would be no use to try to fetch Sally down here." During the early part of their residence in Madison county their only artificial light was from grease lamps and candles and when Mr. Harris brought home a glass lamp which burned kerosene Mrs. Harris was fearful that it might be dangerous and was unwilling to use it. While a girl living in Marion county, Indiana, she saw the first train enter that county and a number of years later witnessed the arrival of the first train in this county. Although she has reached the advanced age of eighty-two years she is still hale and hearty and takes a great interest in all that is going on around her. Her reminiscences of the early days are not only of interest but also of value as they enable the men and women of today to realize more clearly the sacrifices that the early settlers made in laying the foundation of the present prosperity of the county.
ALBERT B. JOHNSON.
Albert B. Johnson, who is residing upon his fine farm on section II, Ohio township, is one of the wealthy and well known farmers and stockmen of that township. He was born on the 5th of October, 1853, in Lee county, Iowa, a son of William G. and Sarah J. ( Leasure) Johnson. The father, whose birth occurred at Windsor, Ohio, July 12, 1826, was of Irish descent and the mother, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1832, was of Welsh and German lineage. Her father was a descendant of Zwigley, the great religions reformer. When but a boy Mr. Johnson came west with his parents, the family settling in Missouri in 1840. Five years later they removed to Lee county, Iowa, and there he grew to manhood and was married. Although he was a farmer he also preached the Gospel, being from 1862 until his death a minister of the Mis- sionary Baptist church. In 1855 he returned to Missouri but at the time of the Civil war was compelled to leave that state on account of his northern sympathies and went again to Lec county, Iowa, where he died in January, 1910. He sur- vived his wife for a decade, as she was called to her reward in 1900.
Albert B. Johnson remained with his parents until he was twenty-two years of age and in his boyhood and youth gave much of his time to the acquirement of an education. He first attended the district schools and the graded school at. Farmington, Iowa, and supplemented the knowledge thus acquired by study at the State Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri. Upon beginning his inde- pendent business career he went to Nevada, where for a time he engaged in silver and gold mining, and then returned to Iowa, where he was married. In 1876 he located upon the farm in Ohio township where he has since resided. His father early trained him in agricultural pursuits, and the knowledge of the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the stock which he learned in boy- hood enabled him to farm successfully when he began operating land on his own account. He has always been progressive and willing to utilize the discoveries of investigators along agricultural lines and in his work has always used the latest machinery. As he prospered he purchased more land and now owns six
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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
hundred and forty aeres in Ohio township. He now rents the farm land but stocks the grazing land himself, buying cattle and hogs which he feeds and sells at a good profit. He is one of the extensive stockmen of the county and one of the leading men in his township. He has a number of interests aside from his land, as he is a stockholder and director of the Truro Savings Bank and one of the organizers and president of the Farmers' Mutual Telephone Company of Truro.
On the 16th of October, 1876, Mr. Johnson was married in Madison county, Iowa, at the home of the bride's parents in Ohio township, to Miss Mary J. Foster, a daughter of Reuben and Barbara E. (Arnold) Foster. Her father was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, on the 14th of March, 1828, and is of Pennsyl- vania Dutch, English and Scotch descent. His wife, who was born in the same county on the 21st of August, 1830, is also of Pennsylvania Dutch stock. They were married on the 25th of April, 1852, in Ohio and in the fall of the following year removed to Eddyville, Iowa, where the father farmed for a year. He came west with a party of settlers, there being thirteen wagons in the train, and it took thirty-one days to make the trip. In 1855 the Foster family located in Madison county and the father entered land in Ohio township, where he resided for twenty-five years. At the outbreak of the Civil war he answered the call of his country and served until disabled, when he returned to his farm in Ohio town- ship. At length, however, he and his wife removed to St. Charles, Iowa, where they resided for four years, but in 1914, on account of Mrs. Foster's ill health, they took up their residence with their daughter, Mrs. William Black, of Ohio township. In 1912, while residing at St. Charles, they celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
Mr. Johnson is a republican in his political views and beginning in January, 1895, served for six years as a member of the board of county supervisors. He is now trustee of Ohio township and his record as a public official is a highly creditable one. He and his wife are both affiliated with the Ohio Baptist church, of which he is now deacon. For a number of years he was treasurer of the church and is one of its influential members. His wife belongs to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Although he has always given strict attention to his business affairs he has never allowed his work to cause him to forget the duties that he owes to his community as a good citizen and many measures that have contributed largely to the public good have profited from his cooperation. In fact he can always be depended upon to aid in any way possible the material, moral and social advancement of his community.
EDMUND BASIL HARRELL.
Edmund Basil Harrell, who has for four years been engaged in farming in Madison county, Iowa, intends to move to Redwood county, Minnesota, where he has purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land. He was born in Scott township, this county, on the Ist of July, 1890, a son of Edgar Harrell, who is mentioned more at length elsewhere in this work. Our subject was reared upon his father's farm and as a boy much of his time was taken up with assistance
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with the farm work. His education was not neglected, however, as he received a good common-school education, attending the district schools. Upon starting out in life independently he decided to follow the occupation to which he had been reared, as he believed it to be both profitable and congenial, and during the last four years has operated the farm belonging to his grandfather's estate. He is energetic, always seeks to increase his efficiency and is ready to utilize the results of experiments along the line of scientific agriculture. He has prospered financially and has bought two hundred and eighty acres of land in Redwood county, Minnesota, and intends to remove there.
On the 21st of September, 1910, Mr. Harrell was united in marriage to Miss Millie Lola Brady, who was born in Monroe township, this county, a daughter of M. O. Brady, who is a well known farmer of that township. Mr. and Mrs. Harrell have two children, Edmund Paul and Margaret. He is a representative of a family that is well known and highly esteemed in this county and his many friends regret his departure, although wishing him a continuance of the success that has crowned his labors here.
ARTHUR E. GOSHORN.
The Winterset News holds a position of influence in the life of Madison county and is known to the press of the state as a progressive and well edited paper, its proprietor and editor, Arthur E. Goshorn, being a man of large ex- perience in journalism and of excellent ability along that line. He is also post- master of Winterset and has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the city, which is his birthplace. He was born on the 18th of September, 1859, a son of John S. and Hattie (Stiffler) Goshorn, both of whom were natives of Blair county, Pennsylvania. The father was born on the 25th of May, 1830, and is still living at Hubbell, Nebraska, but the mother, who was born in 1836, passed away in June, 1882.
John S. Goshorn was a nail cutter in the steel works at Pittsburg, but being desirous of taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the new and growing west, he removed to Morning Sun, Louisa county, Iowa, in 1851. He taught in a log schoolhouse in that town but in 1854 removed to Winterset, where he conducted a select school and engaged in teaching until 1861. Then the great need of the country dwarfed all other considerations and he, like so many other citizens of Iowa, offered his services to the Federal government. He was made second lieutenant of Company F, Fourth Iowa Infantry, and served with his command until the 22d of April, 1862, when he resigned. He later recruited Company E of the Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry, of which he was made captain. He participated in the battle of Pea Ridge and also did guard duty at Helena, Arkansas. Abe Stiffler, his brother-in-law, was second lieutenant of Company E. Following the close of hostilities Mr. Goshorn returned to Winterset and again engaged in teaching. In 1866 he was elected county superintendent of schools and proved a capable official. About that time he also entered the insur- ance field and in 1868 he was made special representative and adjuster of the
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