USA > Iowa > Marion County > History of Marion County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II > Part 18
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On the 19th of February, 1896, Mr. McClain was united in mar- riage with Miss Cora Pitman, who is a representative of a pioneer family of the county and was reared near Pleasantville. They have a daughter, Lorene, born February 1, 1899, and is attending St. Joseph's Academy at Des Moines.
The family attend the Eden Methodist Episcopal church, of which the daughter is a member. Mr. McClain is a democrat and has held various local offices, including that of member of the school board. Socially he belongs to the Masonic order and has attained the Knight Templar degree therein, being a charter member of the com- mandery at Knoxville. Both he and his wife are members of the Vol. II-12
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Order of the Eastern Star. He was formerly identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, but is not now a member of that organization. His father was one of those pioneers who laid the foundation for the development of the county and he is just as efficiently performing the work that it is given to the present genera- tion to do in advancing the interests of his locality. All who know him hold him in high esteem and his friends are many.
WILLIAM A. SANDILAND.
William A. Sandiland, deceased, was at one time a well known resident of Marion county, where he owned and cultivated a good tract of land. For a long period he carried on general farming, but ere his death put aside the active work of the fields. He was born in Vermont, September 15, 1837, and was a son of Alexander and Mar- garet (McMillan) Sandiland, the former a native of the Green Mountain state, while the latter was born in Scotland. It was in the early 'sos that Alexander Sandiland brought his family from New England to Marion county, lowa, and settled upon a farm on which he and his wife spent their remaining days, the former being closely identified with agricultural interests.
William A. Sandiland was a youth in his teens when the family removed to lowa and he assisted in the arduous task of developing a new farm and otherwise enhancing the value of the property which his father secured. He enlisted for service in the Civil war in August, 1861, as a member of Company D, Thirty-Third Iowa Infantry, with which he served until the close of hostilities in 1865. He was then mustered out at Davenport and returned home with a most creditable military record. He had participated in a number of hotly contested engagements, from which he emerged, however, without an injury notwithstanding the fact that he was often in the thickest of the fight. When the war was over he returned to Marion county and through- out the period of his residence here he carried on general agricultural pursuits. He became the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land, on which he lived for thirty years, and during that period he carefully cultivated his crops and enhanced the fertility of the soil in various ways. He added good buildings to his farm and utilized the latest improved machinery to carry on the work of the fields from the time of the early spring planting until the crops were har- vested in the late autumn. In 1907 he removed to Bussey and, put-
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ting aside further business cares, lived retired until his death, which occurred on the 26th of March, 1911.
It was in 1876 that Mr. Sandiland was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Adair, who was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, in 1859, a daughter of Robert and Jane (Deboard) Adair, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Indiana. They came to Iowa at an early period in the development of this section of the state and settled upon a farm in Mahaska county, where their remaining days were passed. They had a family of ten children, of whom seven are yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Sandiland became the parents of three children : James E .; Clara F., the wife of W. P. Hartner, of Minnesota; and Nannie M., who married H. A. Hutchison, of Hamilton, Iowa. There are also five grandchildren.
Mr. Sandiland voted with the republican party and never failed to give to it his stalwart allegiance, yet he did not seek the honors or emoluments of public office. His life was preeminently that of the business man who finds in his chosen pursuits incentive for his best efforts. He worked on diligently as the years passed by and won not only a comfortable competence, but also an honored name. His widow still survives and resides in Bussey, where she owns a fine residence.
JOHN JESSE WALKER.
John Jesse Walker owns and occupies a farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 28, Swan township. The place is well improved according to modern ideas of farm life and in addition to tilling the soil Mr. Walker engages in the raising of graded stock and chickens. He was born upon this farm, on section 33, Swan township, May 20, 1867, his parents being Francis Marion and Mary F. (Harrison) Walker, the mother a distant relative of for- mer presidents William Henry and Benjamin Harrison. The par- ents were married here after coming to Iowa from Indiana. Francis M. Walker was born in the latter state and died February 28, 1913, when more than seventy-seven years of age. His father had passed away in Indiana and his mother afterward became the wife of Andrew Schirmer. They came to Iowa in the fall of 1847, bringing their family and settling on section 28, Swan township, Marion county, at which period this district was still upon the frontier. Only here and there was there a little cabin to be seen, showing that
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the white men were penetrating into the western wilderness to reclaim the district for the uses of civilization. Mr. Schirmer secured considerable land and was actively identified with the early agricultural development of this section of the state. Both he and his wife died at an advanced age upon the old homestead farm which he developed, and with their passing the county lost two of its worthy and well known pioneer citizens.
Francis M. Walker was twelve years of age when, in 1847, the family came to Iowa and the remainder of his life was here passed. He spent the last twenty-one years at Pleasantville and through many years he was known as a successful farmer, stock-raiser and business man. He owned altogether four hundred and fifty acres of rich and valuable land, which he divided among his children. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted for active duty as a member of Com- pany G, Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for almost three years as a private under Captain Jenkins, during which time he participated in a number of hotly contested engage- ments. He then returned home and was married on the 9th of April, 1866, to Miss Mary F. Harrison, who was born in Indiana, near Ladoga, and came with her parents to this county in the latter '40S, the family settling in Pleasant Grove township, where her father secured a farm. Both he and his wife passed away here at an advanced age. Both Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Walker were members of the Christian church and for a half century he was connected with the Masonic fraternity. His life was at all times guided by high and honorable principles and measured up to the most advanced standards of manhood and citizenship. He served for ten years as constable and made an excellent record in the office. He passed away February 28, 1913, but his widow survives and now resides in Pleasantville at the age of sixty-nine years. They were the parents of three children: John J., whose name introduces this review; Minnie O., the wife of John Cormany, a resident farmer of Swan township; and James U., who also follows farming in the same township.
John J. Walker was reared and educated in Swan township, attending the public schools, wherein he mastered the branches of learning usually taught in such institutions. He has always followed farming and success has attended his efforts in a gratifying measure, for his methods have been practical. Moreover, he has studied the soil and has kept informed concerning modern ideas relative to the development of the fields and the care of stock. He has made many fine improvements upon his place and it is today one of the most
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attractive features in the landscape. He has a pleasant residence, in the rear of which stand commodious barns and outbuildings, while these in turn are surrounded by highly cultivated fields. He annually gathers good harvests and an important feature of his busi- ness is the raising of graded stock and fine chickens.
On the 9th of April, 1889, Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Shutt, who was born in Warren county, September 25, 1866, a daughter of Edward and Martha (Yount) Shutt, who came to this county at an early day. The father was born in Penn- sylvania, July 31, 1837, and at the age of four years was taken to Ohio and afterward to Indiana, coming as a young man to Iowa, at which time he settled in Warren county. He enlisted in 1861 in defense of the Union cause and served for four years, having in the meantime veteranized. He participated in the famous march to the sea under General Sherman, which proved the weakness of the Con- federacy, showing that the troops had been drawn from the interior to protect the border. He was ever a loyal and valorous soldier and in August, 1865, returned home with an army record of which he had every reason to be proud. He resided in this part of the state for many years and finally passed away near Winterset, Madison county, Iowa, January 7, 1901. His wife was born in Indiana and with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Brown, removed to Warren county, Iowa, where she afterward became the wife of Mr. Shutt. They were the parents of three children: Mrs. Walker; G. W. Shutt, now living in Hartford; and Mrs. Eva Shutt, whose home is in Stuttgart, Arkansas. The mother died in May, 1874, and the father afterward wedded Miss Katie Fisher, who passed away several years later, leaving several children, who are now widely scattered. The parents of Mrs. Walker were both Baptists in religious faith. Mrs. Walker was reared in Warren county, was educated in the common schools and afterward engaged in teaching in Warren county for five terms. By her marriage she has become the mother of six children: Leila, now the wife of Lloyd Wall. of Pleasant Grove township, by whom she has two daughters, Louise and Helen; and Leitha, Mary Frances, Minnie Edna, Jessie Marian and Edwin Wayne, all at home.
Mr. Walker exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party but is not a politician in the sense of office seeking. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, belonging to Swan Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and for a num- ber of years he has also been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are members of the Christian
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church and both take an active interest in its work and contribute gen- erously to its support. Mr. Walker takes a sane view of life, has judged its opportunities correctly and has so lived that he has gained success in business and at the same time has ever merited the confi- dence and good-will of those with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.
A. L. HARVEY.
A. L. Harvey is president of the First National Bank in the village of Harvey and is also still actively and extensively connected with agricultural interests in Clay township. Marion county numbers him among her native sons, his birth having here occurred on the 4th of August, 1861. His parents, James and Mary P. (Gould) Harvey, were both natives of Ohio and in 1855 came to Marion county, settling on a farm in Clay township, where their remaining days were passed. They were numbered among the early residents of this section and the father was closely connected with agricultural development.
A. L. Harvey, who was one of a family of five children, four of whom are yet living, spent his youthful days under the parental roof. his time being divided between the schoolroom and the fields, for at an early age he began to assist in the work of the farm. After attain- ing his majority he began farming on his own account and in 1907 he made his initial step in connection with the banking business, being one of the leading organizers of the First National Bank at Harvey, of which he is now the president. He has made this institution one of the strong financial concerns of the county, employing modern methods of banking that are thoroughly safe and reliable. In addi- tion to his activities in that field of labor he still conducts his farming interests and is now the owner of three hundred acres of rich and valuable land in Clay township and also has a half interest in seventy acres of land adjoining Harvey. He owns a herd of fine cattle and makes stock-raising an important feature of his farm interests.
In 1885 Mr. Harvey was married to Miss Flora A. Goodspeed, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Alvin and Mary (Johnson) Good- speed, who were likewise natives of the Buckeye state. They came to Iowa about 1870 and settled on a farm in Marion county. The father has now passed away but the mother still survives. To Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have been born four children: Mary A., now the wife of W. H. Zeigler ; Martha E. and Wade C., both at home ; and Ward G.,
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who is now acting as bookkeeper in the bank of which his father is the president.
In his political views Mr. Harvey is a stalwart republican and has filled some local offices, including that of trustee. He has also been on the school board for a number of years and the cause of public education finds in him a stalwart champion. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their lives are spent in consistent harmony with their profession. Mr. Harvey represents one of the old pioneer families of the county. At his father's arrival he built a log cabin which was one of the early homes at a period when this district was upon the frontier. The work instituted by his father in the early days has been carried on by him and thus the name of Harvey has figured prominently in connection with the develop- ment and improvement of Clay township and Marion county.
FRANCIS A. MADDY.
Francis A. Maddy, a worthy native son and enterprising agricul- turist of Marion county, is a representative of an honored pioneer family that was established here sixty years ago. His farm, lying on section 16, Indiana township, comprises one hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land, and thereon he has resided continuously since his natal day, February 9, 1862. He is a son of Thomas Maddy and a grandson of Thomas Maddy, Sr., the latter being the first of the name to locate in this county.
Thomas Maddy, Sr., was born in 1797 and on the 8th of Febru- ary, 1816, in Marion county, West Virginia, wedded Miss Rhoda Miller, whose birth occurred in 1796. He brought his family to this county in 1854 and here he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives, encountering all the hardships and privations of existence in a frontier region. Thomas Maddy, Sr., passed away on the 9th of June, 1876, while his wife was called to her final rest October 7, 1861, and both lie buried in the cemetery near our subject's home in Indiana township. Their son Thomas was born in Shelby county, Indiana, on the 7th of August, 1838, and was a youth of sixteen years when the family home was established in Marion county, Iowa. He received a meager education in his native state and continued his studies after coming to this county, though methods of instruction were yet nec- essarily primitive and schoolhouses crude and few in number. In May, 1861, he wedded Miss Harriet Rogers, a daughter of Samuel
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and Rebecca (Adkinson) Rogers. To them were born the following children: Francis A., of this review; William G .; Samuel T .; Augustus L .; Anna Rebecca; Clara A .; and Nettie, who is deceased. Thomas Maddy, Jr., passed away on the 31st of August, 1909, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he took a most active and helpful interest. He gave his political allegi- ance to the republican party, held a number of minor township offices and was much interested in public affairs. His fellow townsmen paid tribute to his genuine personal worth in unqualified confidence and warm regard and he was frequently called upon to settle estates. The period of his residence in this county covered fifty-five years and his loss was deeply felt. His widow, who survives, is also very widely and favorably known throughout the community.
Francis A. Maddy, whose name introduces this review, attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education. General agri- cultural pursuits have claimed his time and energies throughout his entire business career and he is the owner of a well improved and valuable farm embracing one hundred and twenty acres in Indiana township. Success has attended his undertakings, so that he has been long numbered among the representative and substantial citizens of his native county.
On the 25th of February, 1883, Mr. Maddy was united in mar- riage to Miss Glycie A. Mason, a daughter of David and Melissa (Tovrea) Mason. Their children are two in number, namely : Grant E., who wedded Miss Stella Van Loon, by whom he has one son, Alvin; and Effie MI., the wife of S. J. Rankin, by whom she has one son, William A. In politics Mr. Maddy is a republican. His life has been actuated by a spirit of progress, advancement and improvement and he does everything in his power to promote the moral, intellectual, political and social as well as material welfare of the community in which he makes his home.
JOHN W. BITTENBENDER.
The All Grow Seed House, located at No. 1820 West Mont- gomery street, is well known to the residents of Knoxville and Marion county and its proprietor, John W. Bittenbender, is recognized as a man of initiative and sound business judgment. He has resided at Knoxville since 1871 and during those years has thoroughly identified himself with the interests of the community. He was born in Schuyl-
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kill county, Pennsylvania, in July, 1855, a son of John and Mary (Bitting) Bittenbender. The father was likewise a native of the Keystone state and was a son of Jacob Bittenbender, a native of Hol- land, who as a young man emigrated to America in company with two brothers. He made his way to Pennsylvania and devoted his life to farming in that state. John Bittenbender was reared in Pennsyl- vania and was there married, but in April, 1871, he removed to Marion county, Iowa, locating on the site now occupied by the home of our subject. He invested heavily in land and held title to a number of farms, but lived retired for several years before his death, which occurred in the fall of 1876, when he was fifty-six years of age. At the time of the Civil war he furnished a substitute. He was very successful as a farmer both in Pennsylvania and in Iowa and accumu- lated more than a competence. He and his wife were both members of the Lutheran church. She was also a native of Pennsylvania, her people being early settlers of Schuylkill county, that state. Her father died when he was seventy-two years of age and her mother when eighty-four. All of her ancestors as far back as the line has been traced lived to an advanced age. She herself died in the spring of 1902, when eighty-nine years old. She was the mother of six chil- dren, namely: Nelson H., residing upon the outskirts of Knoxville; Levi, who is living retired in Knoxville; Carrie, the wife of Edward Wright, of Fort Collins, Colorado; John W., of this review ; Samuel, deceased ; and Stephen, of Redwood, California.
John W. Bittenbender attended school in Pennsylvania, as he lived there until a youth of sixteen years. For many years he has kept a large apiary and has exhibited for twenty-seven years at the Iowa State Fair. At the 1914 fair he took one hundred and seventy- one prizes and for a number of years he has been awarded a larger amount of money in premiums than any other exhibitor in his line. He has patented a number of improvements in the structure of bee hives and manufactures hives, which find a large sale. A number of years ago he lost heavily through a severe fire and in the rearrange- ment of his affairs made necessary by that disaster he embarked in the seed business, which he is conducting at present as well as his apiary. He imports bulbs, seeds, etc., and his goods live up to their name, "All Grow." He has modernly equipped greenhouses and as he understands the effects of variations in soil, heat, light and moisture, and sees that all the conditions are favorable to the growth of his plants, his business is increasing steadily.
Mr. Bittenbender was married in Knoxville to Miss Christine Jordan, who was born in Lee county, Iowa, of German parentage. In
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the early days her father sought for gold in California but later settled in Lee county, this state, where he farmed for a number of years. In the later '6os he removed to Marion county, where he resided until his death in 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Bittenbender have one son living, William R., who is associated with his father in busi- ness. He married Miss Ethel Mark and they have three daughters : Helen, Frances and Collen, aged respectively eight, six and four years.
Mr. Bittenbender of this review, his wife and also their son and daughter-in-law, are members of the Christian church and take a commendable interest in its work. He is a republican and for the past eighteen years has served as township clerk. In addition to his greenhouses, his apiary and his residence Mr. Bittenbender owns a good orchard and several city lots. He has resided in the same block since 1871, although at that date his home was in the country. His warmest friends are those who have known him since his early youth and this is proof of the reliability and uprightness of his character.
ARTHUR B. BROBST.
For almost six decades Arthur B. Brobst has been a resident of Knoxville, arriving here in May, 1855, when a lad of ten summers. He has since been an interested witness of the changes which have occurred as the work of growth, development and improvement has been carried steadily forward. For thirty years he has been engaged in the loan and abstract business and at the present time he is also filling the office of justice of the peace.
Mr. Brobst was born in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, August 27, 1844, and is of German descent, the family having been founded in America by Phillip Brobst, who came from the fatherland to the new world and settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania. Representa- tives of the family served with the American army in the Revolu- tionary war. Phillip Brobst had three sons: Michael, Martin and Valentine. The first named was born in Columbia county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1780, spent his entire life in the Keystone state and died in 1868. He had a family of twelve children, including Christian G. Brobst, who was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of September, 1818. Reared in his native state, he was there married in 1841 to Miss Louisa Brewer, who was born in Bloomsburg, Penn- sylvania, in August, 1821. On removing westward they settled in
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Knoxville on the roth of May, 1855, and the father opened a general store which he conducted until 1868. He then became bookkeeper for Mr. Baker at his elevator and remained in that position until two years prior to his death, which occurred January 18, 1906, when he had reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years, four months and two days. He had kept a daily diary for fifty-one years, continuing his writing until within a few days prior to his death. For over sixty years he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He joined the organization in 1845 and in 1895 was presented with a gold medal set with a diamond, this being the occasion of his fiftieth anniversary in the order. He was long the oldest Odd Fellow in the United States in years of continuous connection therewith. His wife passed away June 18, 1911, when about ninety years of age, her birth having occurred in August, 1821. They were people of the highest respectability and were consistent members of the Methodist church. They had but two children, the elder being Albert M., now a resident of San Diego, California.
Arthur B. Brobst acquired a public-school education and on the 18th of July, 1863, when not yet nineteen years of age, enlisted for service in the Civil war, joining Company L of the Ninth Iowa Infantry, with which he served until the spring of 1866, being a non- commissioned officer at the close of his service. He participated in a number of hotly contested engagements and returned home with a most creditable military record.
After the war Mr. Brobst clerked in stores for several years until 1876, when he went into the recorder's office to fill the position of deputy, and subsequently he served as deputy clerk. In 1884 he opened an abstract, loan and insurance office, which business he has since continued, gaining a good clientage in that connection. In 1902 he was again called to public office, being elected justice of the peace, in which capacity he yet continues. His decisions are strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the law and the equity of the case. In fact at all times his official record has been most creditable and has won him high encomiums.
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