USA > Iowa > Madison County > History of Madison County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 9
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On the Ist of November, 1857, Mr. Brown married Miss Nancy M. Powell, who was born in Marion county, Indiana, on the 3d of May, 1839, a daughter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Conger) Powell. Her father was born in Brown county, Pennsylvania, in 1796, of Welsh descent, and her mother in Essex county, New Jersey, in 1801. Mr. Powell was a farmer and became a pioneer resident of Madison county. In 1852 he removed from Indiana to Oquawka, Illinois, but in the spring of 1854 came to this county and purchased twelve hun- dred acres of land. He passed away in 1868 and was survived by his wife until 1889, her death occurring when she was eighty-eight years of age. They had twelve children, six of whom died in Indiana. Mrs. Brown is the only one now living. Her father gave her two hundred acres of land in Douglas township. After she and Mr. Brown were married they began housekeeping in a little log cabin fourteen feet square and lived in the simplest manner, as did all of the pioneers. Four years later they had prospered so that Mr. Brown was able to build a good stone house, the first on Coon divide. To their union was born a daughter, Elizabeth Olive, whose birth occurred on the 7th of April, 1859. She
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Mrs. Nancy. Il Brun
John Brown
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MR. AND MRS. BENJAMIN POWELL
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married Dr. F. K. Dabney, by whom she had a daughter, Avo. The latter mar- ried T. R. Wilkie and they now live in Grinnell, Iowa. Their two children are: John Brown, who is fifteen years of age; and Gladys Olive, who is twelve years old. The daughter of our subject secured a legal separation from Dr. Dabney and subsequently married William W. Hornbeck. She passed away on the 29th of October, 1884, leaving an infant son, Gaylord.
Mr. Brown took a citizen's interest in good government but was never active in politics, finding that the care of his agricultural and stock-raising interests left him no spare time. He at one time owned as many as seven hundred head of sheep and was one of the most successful men of his county. At the time of his death he left his entire estate to his widow, who also has three hundred acres of land in Douglas township which she rents. She is seventy-six years of age but is still very active and manages her own affairs, displaying excellent business ability. She has lived in the county since pioneer times and both she and her husband contributed to the erection of all the early churches in the county and she has never ceased to feel a deep interest in the community welfare. Her life has benefited the county in many ways and she justly merits the high place she holds in the estimation of all who know her. Mr. Brown was a strictly temperate man and an earnest Christian, holding membership in the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belongs.
JOSEPH J. GASTON.
Joseph J. Gaston has put aside business cares to enjoy in well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. For an extended period he was a dealer in farm imple- ments at Winterset and his prominence as a business man is indicated in the fact that in 1906 he was elected president of the State Implement Dealers' Associa- tion. His birth occurred in Athens county, Ohio, December 22, 1842, his father being Rev. James E. Gaston, who was born in Ohio on the 16th of April, 1809. In the Buckeye state he was reared and educated. He was bound out as a boy and had comparatively few advantages, but he possessed a studious nature and became a well read man. He was fortunate in that when a young man he read with Alexander Campbell, the founder of the Christian church in America, and that association largely influenced his life. In 1850 he went to Monmouth, Illi- nois, where he engaged in preaching the gospel and later he was minister of a church at Princeton, Illinois, until he came to Iowa. He was located for a time at Davenport and in 1864 removed to Des Moines, at which time there was only a small congregation in the Christian church of that city. After several years there spent he removed to Newton and afterward to Atchison, Kansas. Later he was in Charles City, Iowa, and subsequently he returned to Des Moines, where he died at the age of eighty years, after having devoted his life to the work of the ministry, his influence proving a beneficial factor in the moral development of the cities in which he lived.
Joseph J. Gaston spent his boyhood days in his parents' home and attended the public schools until seventeen or eighteen years of age, after which he attended Abingdon College at Abingdon, Illinois, and later was a student in the Eureka Vol. II-5
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(Ill.) College. In the fall of 1865 he went to Des Moines, but after spending a few months in that city made his way to Council Bluffs, where he secured employment in a brickyard at one dollar and seventy-five cents per day. He afterward engaged in driving a freight wagon from Council Bluffs to Denver and for a time was a clerk in a drug store at Council Bluffs. Later he was in business there but his health failed and, seeking the change which outdoor life afforded him, he worked for one season on the Union Pacific Railroad. He then secured a tract of wild land in Polk county, Iowa, broke the prairie and improved a farm. In 1876 he arrived in Winterset and entered the employ of William Hedge, an implement dealer, with whom he remained for seven years. He then engaged in the same business on his own account as senior partner in the firm of Gaston, Ainsworth & Company until 1894, when he sold his interest in that business and established a farm implement business independently. After a year he admitted W. F. Smith to a partnership and the relation continued with mutual pleasure and profit for eleven years, on the expiration of which period Mr. Gas- ton sold his interest and has since devoted his entire time to dealing in real estate. He has owned considerable farm property, which he is improving and selling, and in the management of his property interests he has met with gratifying and well deserved success.
On the 8th of April, 1886. Mr. Gaston was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor E. Huntington, a native of Wyoming county, New York, where she was reared and educated. She is a graduate of the Geneseo State Normal school of New York and was engaged in teaching both in the Empire state and in Des Moines, becoming principal of the Franklin school of the latter city. She taught alto- gether for ten years in Des Moines and for three years was principal of a school. Mr. and Mrs. Gaston have had no children of their own but have reared an adopted daughter, Jessie B. Huntington.
Mr. Gaston exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and meas- ures of the republican party and never falters in his allegiance to its principles. He has never desired office for himself but has labored earnestly to secure the election of his friends. Since 1866 he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he now holds membership in Evening Star Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Winterset, while both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star and are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Gaston started out in life empty-handed and the period of his youth and early manhood was one of arduous and unremitting toil. As the years have gone on, however, he has wrested a comfortable fortune from the hands of fate, being now one of the substantial citizens of Winterset, with important invested interests from which he is deriving a most gratifying annual income.
JOHN C. BUNNELL.
Among the prosperous agriculturists of Penn township is numbered John C. Bunnell, who is a native of Illinois, born in Stark county, October 23, 1872. His parents, Robert E. and Matilda (Jackson) Bunnell, were born in Wyoming county, Pennsylvania. The father removed to Stark county, Illinois, in 1853 and there
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purchased land, which he operated until 1890, when he removed to Nebraska. After farming there for eight years he came to Madison county, Iowa, where he rented land for a number of years. He then went to Dallas county, where he purchased land, which he is still operating at the age of seventy-six years. His wife, who is also living, is sixty-eight years old.
John C. Bunnell was reared and attended school in Illinois and Nebraska and remained with his parents until 1902. In the meantime he had farmed with his father for a number of years and was well qualified to operate land independ- ently. In that year he was married and rented a farm in Jefferson township, this county. Three years later he purchased eighty acres on section 2, Penn town- ship, and has since carried on general farming there, meeting with well deserved success.
In March, 1902, Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage to Miss Edith Renshaw, a daughter of Sylvester and Sarah ( Hazen ) Renshaw, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Mrs. Bunnell is a native of this county and her natal day was September 7, 1875. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children : Howard, a lad of twelve years ; and Helen G., aged ten.
Mr. Bunnell supports the candidates and policies of the republican party, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is energetic and capable and his personal characteristics are such as win him many warm friends.
WILLIAM T. LIBBY.
William T. Libby is a retired farmer living in Winterset and, while the oppor- tunity has come to him to now enjoy a period of rest, he has led a most busy and useful life as an agriculturist and by reason of his intelligently directed efforts has gained the competence that is now his. He was born near Ontario, Canada, March 15, 1851, a son of William and Eliza (Mallit) Libby, both of whom were natives of England. Following their marriage they crossed the Atlantic to Canada and in the spring of 1860 became residents of Kane county, Illinois, where for a time the father engaged in the cultivation of rented land. In 1868 he purchased a farm and continued its cultivation until 1881, when he sold that property and retired from business life. He then came to Iowa and both he and his wife made their home on a farm in Greene county until they were called to their final rest. They were Methodists in their religious faith and sterling worth won for them high regard. In business affairs they met with a fair meas- ure of prosperity.
William T. Libby was but nine years of age when the family left Canada and went to Illinois. He continued to work at home until seventeen years of age and then, on the 3d of July, 1868. he married Miss Susan R. Moulding, who was born in England, February 15, 1850, and came to the United States in 1852 with her parents, Thomas and Rachel ( Bates) Moulding, who were likewise na- tives of England. Her father engaged in business as a machinist and merchant in England and after coming to the new world he took up his abode in Chicago, where he engaged first in bookkeeping. He also devoted some time to preaching
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the gospel and later he turned his attention to farming, becoming the owner of a farm in Kane county, Illinois. His wife died upon that farm, while Mr. Mould- ing passed away while on a visit in Wisconsin. Mrs. Libby spent her early life in Kane county, Illinois. Following their marriage Mr. Libby rented a farm in that county and there they lived for about a decade, coming to Iowa in 1878, at which time they took up their abode in Greene county, where Mr. Libby rented land until the spring of 1882. He then bought eighty acres of land and later he purchased eighty acres adjoining, residing upon that place until 1901, when he sold out and purchased three hundred and twenty acres in Scott township, Mad- ison county, seven miles southeast of Winterset. He then developed and further improved the farm until February, 1913, when he rented the place to his sons and came to Winterset, where he is now living retired. He engaged in the breed- ing of French draft horses and shorthorn cattle and his stock-raising interests added materially to his prosperity. His methods of tilling his fields were practical and progressive. He utilized the latest improved machinery and carefully studied the conditions of soil and climate as related to crop production. Thus year by year his farm brought to him a comfortable income and he is now the possessor of a competence that enables him to put aside further business cares. He still owns his farm, together with an attractive residence in Winterset.
To Mr. and Mrs. Libby have been born eight children: Etta, who is the wife of William Dillinger, of Page county, Iowa ; William, at home; Charles W., of this county ; Fred James, who follows farming in this county ; Myrtle M., the wife of Clarence R. Linn, a resident farmer of Madison county ; Albert R. and Frank James, who operate their father's farm; and Elmer Earl, also upon a farm. Mr. Libby is an independent republican, nor has he ever been an office seeker. His religious faith is that of the Society of Friends and throughout his life he has been loyal to its teachings. He has ever been honorable and upright in all of his relations with his fellowmen and he enjoys the unqualified respect of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
MISS JEANNETTE E. BECK.
Miss Jeannette E. Beck is capably and acceptably filling the position of county recorder of Madison county with office in Winterset. She is one of the county's native daughters, having been born in Jackson township. Her parents are James G. and Mary B. (Thompson ) Beck, natives of Ireland and of Scotland respectively. They came to the United States as young people, Mr. Beck arriving in 1857, while the lady who later became his wife reached America in 1856. They became res- idents of Illinois and were married in 1864 in that state, residing there until 1868. when they removed to Iowa, settling on a farm in Jackson township, Madison county, where they resided until the fall of 1909, when they left the farm and took up their abode in Winterset. Throughout the intervening period Mr. Beck continuously carried on general agricultural pursuits, save for the period of his service as a soldier of the Civil war. He enlisted as a private int the Seventh Iowa Infantry and was promoted to the rank of sergeant, serving altogether for four years. Being captured, he was confined for a time in Libby prison, where
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he suffered all the hardships of southern prison life. He became one of the char- ter members of Pitzer Post, No. 55. G. A. R., and thereby retains pleasant rela- tions with his old army comrades. Both he and his wife are members of the United Presbyterian church and their sterling worth has won for them the high and enduring regard of all with whom they have come in contact.
To Mr. and Mrs. Beck were born seven children, of whom two died in infancy, the others being: Elizabeth, the wife of A. J. Dooley, of Topeka, Kansas; John C., who follows farming in this county ; Samuel M., a farmer of Adair county, Iowa; Jeannette E .; and Mary Ethel, the wife of W. O. Miller, of Winfield, Kansas.
Jeannette E. Beck was reared upon her father's farm in Jackson township and pursued her education in the public schools. In 1912 she was elected to the office of county recorder and served so acceptably in that position that in 1914 she was reelected on the republican ticket without opposition, so that she is now serving for the second term. The work of the office is done in a most methodical and systematic manner and promptness as well as capability characterizes the discharge of all of her official duties. She is a well known representative of one of the pioneer families of the county and the name of Beck has ever been an honored one in this part of the state.
WINFIELD S. SHEPHERD.
Winfield S. Shepherd was brought to this county by his parents more than sixty years ago, when he was a little lad of only about five years, and has there- fore witnessed the growth and development of the district from pioneer times to the present. He has lived retired in Earlham for the last decade but was long and actively identified with agricultural interests here and is still the owner of two hundred and fifty acres of valuable land.
The birth of Mr. Shepherd occurred in Putnam county, Indiana, in November, 1849, his parents being Jesse P. and Martha (Shepherd) Shepherd, who were natives of Ohio and Indiana respectively. In the spring of 1853 they made their way to Warren county, Iowa, and in the following spring came to Madison county. The father was a blacksmith by trade, but following his arrival in this county he purchased a tract of land near Winterset, in the Guye neighborhood, and began clearing and improving the property, operating the same for a few years. The winter of 1856 proved terribly severe. The family lived in a log house and it was necessary to stretch a sheet across the rafters above the bed to keep off the snow. On many nights Mr. Shepherd was obliged to arise and shovel a path to the fireplace. Eventually he disposed of the farm and for a time resided in Win- terset. In 1859 he removed to Kansas and a short time later returned to Indiana, in which state he followed farming until 1862. In that year he again came to Madison county, Iowa, and here purchased land which he cultivated until about 1888 or 1889, when he moved to Winterset, where he died on the 27th of Febru- ary, 1893. For one year he had served as a soldier in the Mexican war. Mrs. Shepherd was called to her final rest on the 3d of October, 1891.
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Winfield S. Shepherd, who was not yet five years of age when brought to this county by his parents, acquired his education in the country schools of Doug- las township. When nineteen years of age he began teaching and successfully followed the profession for twelve years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, buying a tract of forty acres on section 22, Madison township, and subsequently augmenting his holdings by addi- tional purchase until he now owns two hundred and fifty acres of rich and pro- ductive land. He cleared the entire farm and made all of the improvements there- on and for twenty-two years was actively engaged in its operation, the well tilled fields annually yielding golden harvests in return for the care and labor he be- stowed upon them. In January, 1905, he took up his abode in Earlham and has there since resided in honorable retirement.
On the Ist of February, 1883, Mr. Shepherd was united in marriage to Miss Florence Powell, a daughter of Ruel and Jane (Goff) Powell, both of whom were natives of Indiana. The father was brought to this county by his parents when seven years of age and was here educated and reared to manhood. As soon as his age and strength permitted he began farming, coming into possession of the old home place in Madison township that had been entered by his father and operating the property during the remainder of his life. His demise occurred in April, 1900, but his widow survives at the age of sixty-nine years and makes her home in Earlham. She came to this state with her parents in the year 1860 and her daughter, Mrs. Shepherd, was born in Madison township, this county, in July, 1865.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Shepherd has sup- ported the men and measures of the republican party and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, have called him to positions of public trust. He served as township clerk of Madison township for twenty-two years, was secretary of the school district for sixteen years and hell the office of treasurer for two years. After removing to Earlham he acted as city clerk for four years and is the present assessor, having served in that office for two years. As a public official he has made a most creditable record, ever discharging the duties devolv- ing upon him in an efficient and commendable manner. In all relations of life he has proven himself upright, honorable and straightforward, well worthy of the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
MILLER RICHARD TIDRICK.
With the passing of Miller Richard Tidrick, Winterset lost one of its pioneer merchants, a man who was for many years a force in the commercial develop- ment of the city. He was born on the 4th of December, 1833, in Guernsey county, Ohio, a son of Michael and Elsie ( Lanning) Tidrick, and his boyhood was spent under the parental roof. His education was obtained in the schools of his native county and in his young manhood he followed the profession of teaching for a time. In 1852, when nineteen years of age, he removed to Des Moines, Iowa, where he remained during the winter. He then continued his way westward, going across the plains and mountain passes to California with ox teams. He
MILLER R. TIDRICK
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remained about five years in the mining camps and then returned by water to the east.
In 1858 Mr. Tidrick came to Winterset and for a time engaged in teaming and freighting, making two trips to Denver. After abandoning that occupation he became a clerk in a dry-goods store in Adel, Iowa, and subsequently entered the drug store of his brother in Winterset, where he was clerking at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war. He felt that it was incumbent upon all patriotic young men to go to the defense of the Union and was one of the first to enlist from Winterset, becoming a member of Company G, Third Iowa Volunteer Infantry. After being with the colors for a year his health failed and he was honorably discharged on account of disability. He returned to Winterset and again became a clerk in his brother's drug store. In 1862 he was elected clerk of the county and his excellent record in that office won him a second and third term.
Upon returning to private life Mr. Tidrick engaged in the grocery business and was soon joined by his brother Isaac. Following the death of the latter our subject sold his grocery store and turned his attention to the dry-goods business, becoming junior partner in the firm of Jones & Tidrick. He remained in the mercantile business in Winterset until 1894, being during that time associated with a number of partners. In 1894 he turned his store over to his sons, Fred and Harry, and retired save for looking after his farm. In 1908 he fell and broke his hip and from that time until his death on the 13th of November, 1914. was an invalid. He owned a good residence on thirty acres of land, a part of which was within the city limits of Winterset.
On the 16th of July, 1862, Mr. Tidrick was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Fisher, who was born in Bridgewater, Beaver county, Pennsylvania, February 24. 1841, a daughter of George P. and Rebecca (Stewart) Fisher. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania, of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, and was a con- tractor and builder. He passed away in young manhood and his wife, who was also born in Pennsylvania but of Scotch-Irish lineage, died when thirty-six years old. Mrs. Tidrick was but a child when her parents passed away and was taken by Mr. and Mrs. Rodenbaugh, who reared her as their own daughter. She resided in Pennsylvania until 1856, when she accompanied her foster parents to Dallas county, Iowa, settlement being made upon a farm near Adel. To Mr. and Mrs. Tidrick were born seven children: Charles A., who died in 1908: Jessie, the wife of Robert B. Terrill, a groceryman of Winterset, of whom mention is made on another page of this volume; Elsie, who married S. A. Hays, whose sketch also appears elsewhere in this volume; Fred M., bookkeeper in a store in Des Moines : Harry, engaged in the furniture and undertaking business in Win- terset ; Jennie, the wife of John S. Moore, secretary of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association at Columbia, Missouri; and George, who died when two years and three months old.
Mr. Tidrick was a republican and was always willing to give of his time in furthering the interests of his party. He was for a number of years a member of the school board and as such worked constantly to improve the public-school system. He was one of the first members of Evening Star Lodge, No. 43, A. F. & A. M., and in 1864 and again in 1867 was master thereof. In 1866 he joined the Presbyterian church and was treasurer and trustee in 1876, when the present edifice was erected. He was prominent not only in business circles but also in
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movements that sought the welfare of the public, and his life resulted not only in the gaining of a considerable measure of material prosperity, but also in the advancement of the community interests.
JOHN M. WALTON.
Among the well-to-do farmers of Madison township is John M. Walton, who is a native of that township, born September 18, 1876, of the marriage of Amos and Letitia (Gownis) Walton, both natives of Hendricks county, Indiana. The father was a farmer and was successfully engaged in cultivating his land until the Civil war broke out. He responded to the president's call for troops and became a member of the Seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served for three years, proving a courageous and loyal soldier. He was wounded five times in battle but never faltered in the performance of his duty as a defender of the Union. At the close of hostilities he returned to Indiana and about 1870 re- moved with his family to this county, buying land in Madison township. He devoted his energies to general farming and stock-raising upon that place until 1885, when he sold and removed to a farm south of Earlham. He continued to farm there until his demise, which occurred on the 22d of January, 1887. The family subsequently removed to Earlham and operated the hotel there for three years. His widow later married Milton Macey, who resided near Dexter and who passed away in December, 1897. In June, 1809, Mrs. Macey became the wife of O. K. Bales, a hardware merchant, who was then conducting a store at Dexter but in 1900 removed to Adel and is now in business there. Mrs. Bales is now sixty-nine years of age.
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