USA > Iowa > Mills County > History of Mills County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. > Part 72
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82
HUBBARD, REV. JAMES, farmer section 12, P. O. Glenwood; born September 20, 1835, in Ashtabula, Ohio. When thirteen years of age he moved with his parents to Cedar county, Missouri, and there grew to maturity, working at farm labor and attending the common schools. He came to Mills county in 1854, and located where he now lives, in 1869. Was married to Miss Nancy Williams, of Chester county, Kentucky. They are the parents of ten children, seven of whom are now liv- ing: Sheldon, Harriet, William, Amos, Henry, Thomas and Anise. Mr. Hubbard united with the M. E. church when quite young, and
624
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
remained with that denomination until 1870, when he joined the United Brethren, and was appointed a local preacher and a member of the con- ference. He was ordained September 26, 1875, and the universal verdict of his people is that he has been a faithful minister. He was a justice of the peace in the early settlement of the county, and was re-elected to that office for the present year. He owns a good farm of seventy-eight acres.
HANNER, ALFRED JOHN, section 24, P. O. Glenwood; born Feb- ruary 28, 1834, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where he grew to manhood and received his education in the common schools. During his youth he worked in a woolen mill and mastered all the branches of that business. He came to Mills county in 1858, and soon after went to St. Jo- seph, Missouri, where he remained a short time, and then returned to Pennsylvania. Six months later he again came to Mills county, and bought a carding mill where he now lives, and enlarged and improved it for the manufacture of cloth of various grades, which he continued to operate successfully until 1875, when it was destroyed by fire. He then converted the machinery that was not destroyed, to such as could be used in a saw mill, which he now owns. Was married in 1862 to Miss Sarah Wolf, a native of Missouri. They were the parents of two children: Kate and William. He was married a second time, June 18, 1877, to Miss Nan, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Calvert, of Fremont county, Iowa. They are the parents of two children, one of whom is now living, Edgar L. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
HAYNIE, SARAH, farmer, section 22, P. O. Glenwood; born August 25, 1821, in Dark county, Ohio. At the age of eighteen she moved with her parents to St. Clair county, Missouri, and remained there until 1852, when she came to Mills county. She was married in Decem- ber, 1842, to Richard Haynie. He was a native of Tennessee, but grew to manhood in Cooper county, Missouri. They were the parents of twelve children: John T., Mary A., Martha J., William B., Samuel, Rufus L., Elizabeth, Isabella, Alvis J., George W., Jesse and Edna O. Mr. Haynie died in this township December 21, 1873. He was a worthy man, respected and honored by all who knew him. He left the family a fine farm of 440 acres. John T., the oldest son, remains at home and assumes the care and control of the farm, which he conducts in a credible manner. He shared hardships with his father during the latters' life, and since then has spared no pains to secure the happiness and comfort of the family. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
LAMBERT, JAMES, farmer, section 11, P. O. Glenwood; born in Cobbel (now Wayne) county, Virginia, October 18, 1830, and there grew to manhood, working at farm labor, and attending the subscription schools. At an early age he went to Missouri, and soon after engaged in freighting across the plains. In a short time he came to Iowa, locating
625
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
in Fremont county. In 1855 he came to Mills county and settled on the farm where he now resides. Was married June 7, 1855, to Miss Lydia E., daughter of William H. and Mary Shepherdson, of Huron county, Ohio. They are the parents of ten children, nine of whom are now liv- ing: Ashael, Lester W., Mary E., Celia M., Calvin, Jeannette, Lewis, Walter and Elsie. The family are members of the Congregational church. Mr. Lambert has filled the various township offices to the satis- faction of the people. He owns a farm of 128 acres, with an excellent dwelling house, large and productive orchard, and various other improve- ments. He was one of the earliest settlers, and endured many privations, the Indians at one time stealing the only horse he possessed.
Mc KNIGHT, G. R., farmer, P. O. Bartlett; born February 21, 1824, in Kentucky. At an early age he moved with his parents to Jackson county, Missouri, and there grew to manhood, and was educated in the common schools. When seventeen years of age he learned the trade of a wagon-maker, which trade he followed six years. In 1853 he came to Mills county, Iowa, where he remained five years, and then went to Par- ker county, Texas, and two years later returned to Iowa. In 1865 he emigrated to Kansas, and from there he again went to Texas, residing in various sections of that state until 1879, and in this year he came for the third time to Mills county. Was married in 1848 to Miss Julia A. Keith, a native of Ohio. Ten children have been born to them, seven of whom are now living: William A., Joseph F., Sarah J., Amelia E., Martha E., Jonathan M. and Alice A. Mr. McKnight lived four years in Gentry county, Missouri, and during that time served a term as sheriff of that county with credit.
MORROW, GEORGE, farmer, section 5, P. O. Pacific· Junction; born January 23, 1837, in Jackson county, Ohio, where he grew to man- hood, and received his education in the common schools. When twenty years of age he moved with his parents to Iowa and located in Page county, and resided there four years, and from there came to this county. He enlisted October 10, 1861, and was mustered into the service Novem- ber 17, at Keokuk .. He was engaged in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, and all other minor engagements in which his regi- ment participated. Was discharged November 17, 1865. Was married February 11, 1866, to Miss Mary E. Haynie. They are the parents of four children, three of whom are now living; Howard, Mary and John. He owns a well improved farm of two hundred and twenty acres, and is one of the successful pioneers of Mills county.
MORROW, ANDREW; born February 8, 1814, in Athens county, Ohio. He went to Jackson county when quite young where he grew to maturity, and received his education in the pioneer subscription schools
20
626
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
of that county, and, as Mr. Morrow expresses it, "sitting straddle of a split log." In 1851 he went to Pike county, and in 1857 to Page county, Iowa, remaining there four years and then came to Mills county. He remained in this county until 1870 and they went to Cass county, Nebraska. In 1874 he moved to Harrison county, Iowa, where he now resides. Was married in 1836 to Sarah Dill of Jackson county, Ohio. Fifteen children were born to them: George, William, Catharine, John, Thomas, Clinton, Rozelle, Henry, Jane, Benjamin, Alexander, Samuel, Andrew and Amos.
MERRITT, RUFUS L., farmer and stock-raiser, section 1, P. O. Glenwood; born February 15, 1835, in Caswell county, North Carolina. At an early age he moved with his parents to Kentucky, remaining there three years, and then went to Cedar county, Missouri, where he remained until 1859. In October, 1859, he arrived in Mills county and located in Lyons township, and was one of the first settlers of the township. Hegrew to manhood in Missouri, and was educated in the subscription schools. His father, Benjamin F. Merritt, like all early settlers, very unwisely located in the timbered sections of the county, and consequently much labor was required to bring his farm under cultivation. His father had a family of three children: Alvis, Sidney and Rufus L. Rufus was married June 15, 1854, to Miss Nancy J. Grizzle, a native of Missouri. Six children have been born to them, five of whom are now living: Edna B., Mary E., John L., George A., and Sarah A. His father died in this county November 1, 1853, which was one of the first deaths in the township. His mother, Mrs. Edna Merritt, now makes her home with him. He owns two hun- dred and forty acres of land in a good state of cultivation, with good dwelling-house and other substantial improvements. He has held the office of township trustee thirteen years to the entire satisfaction of the people.
NORRELL, GEORGE W., farmer, section 13, P. O. Glenwood; born October 31, 1808, in Buckingham county, Virginia, where he grew to man- hood and was educated in the private schools. In 1834 he went to Marion county, Ohio, and shortly after went to St. Louis county, Missouri. He re- sided in various counties of that state and then came to Mills county. In October, 1852, he entered land in Rawles township, which was one of the first entries made in the county, and settled on the farm where he now lives in 1877. Was married in 1838, to Miss Luvicy, daughter of Matthew and Luvicy Boyd of Cooper county, Missouri. They are the parents of ten children, five of whom are living: Mary, Martha, Thomas B., John and Joseph. Five are deceased: James, P. J., K. D., George jr., and Mary J. They are members of the M. E. Church, Mr. Norrell hav- ing been church steward and trustee in that denomination. He has held several township offices with credit to himself. He owns a fine farm of
627
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
one hundred and forty acres, with good buildings, orchard and other sub- stantial improvements.
POWLES, THOMAS, farmer, section 33, P. O. Bartlett; born Aug- ust 9, 1849, in Monmouthshire, England. When he was three years of age he immigrated with his parents to America, and located in Hancock county, Illinois, where he lived two years. He then moved to Wapello county, Iowa, and there grew to manhood, working at farm labor and at- tending the district schools. Was married in 1863, to Miss Rachel A., daughter of Matthias and Nancy Engle of Fayette county, Ohio. They have one son, William H. Mr. Powles served with credit in the state militia. His parents, Thomas and Sarah Powles, were natives of Eng- laod, and died at an advanced age in Wapello county, Iowa. He came to Mills county in 1866, and since that time has been a very successful farmer. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.
SALYARDS, WILLIAM, farmer, section 25, P. O. Glenwood; born in Franklin county, in Ohio. When seventeen years of age he moved with his parents to Putnam county, where he remained eight years. He then came to Iowa, locating in Poweshiek county, Iowa, and in the wiuter of 1855 went to Davis county, Missouri, and resided there four years. He then returned to Ohio, where he remained twelve years, and then emi- grated to Hamilton county, Nebraska, but the grasshopper plague com- pelled him to leave the state, and he went to Jasper county, Iowa. Was married in 1853, to Miss Sarah Bogart, of Hamilton county, Pennsyl- vania. Ten children were born to them; but three of whom are now living: David, William and Mary F. Mr. Salyards at one time served a term of two years as street commissioner of Columbus, Ohio. He pur- chased the farm where he now lives in 1880. It is a neat little place of forty acres, upon which is an elegant dwelling house and a productive orchard.
SHEPHERDSON, WILLIAM H., farmer, section 12, P. O. Glen- wood; born December 2, 1823, in Franklin county, Massachusetts. When eleven years of age he moved with his parents to Huron county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and received his education in the common schools, His youth was passed in farming, but in after life he learned the trade of a carpenter. On the 27th day of April, 1847, he arrived in Mills county, locating in Silver Creek township. Three years later he came to Lyons township, and in 1871 he located on the farm where he now resides. Enlisted October 10 1861, in company F, Fifteenth Iowa infantry, and participated in the battles of Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, and was in all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign. He served as a fifer, and was honorably discharged December 16, 1864. He owns a farm of 187 acres, on which is a good dwelling house, barn, orchard and other improvements. Mr. Shepherdson has been a township officer several
628
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
years, and according to the best of authority, has lived longer in Mills county than any one in Lyons township.
TIPTON, JAMES A., farmer, section 34, P. O. Bartlett; born Ocio- ber 6, 1827, in Wilson county, Tennessee. Moved with his parents when nine years of age to Lincoln county, Missouri, and then three years later went to Cale county, Missouri, where he grew to maturity, working at farm labor and attending the subscription schools. When nineteen years old he went to Mexico but soon returned. In 1854 he came to this county, locating near Wahbonsie lake, and four years later he settled on the farm where he now resides. Was married in March, 1852, to Miss Louisa Rankin, a native of Kentucky. They are the parents of ten children, nine now living: Jesse W., Eliza F., Rebecca V., John Q., James M., Mary A., Cordelia J., Charles and Alfred H. Mr. Tipton has secured since coming to Mills county, a good farm of ninety acres. He has held various township offices and served with credit in the war of the rebellion.
WARREN, JOHN, farmer section 3, P. O. Pacific Junction; born April 20, 1848, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. At an early age he moved with parents to Maryland, where he grew to maturity. In 1866 he moved to Loraine county, Ohio, where he remained a short time and then returned to Maryland. In 1869 he came to this county. On his arri- val here he engaged in farm labor, and by steady habits and honest industry soon established himself as one of the successful farmers of Mills county. Was married in 1875 to Miss Nancy Creech, of Madison county, Arkan- sas. They have two children: Clara C. and Clarence.
SILVER CREEK TOWNSHIP.
FOLLET, WARREN, Silver Creek; was born January 22, 1838, in Caldwell county, Missouri. He left that state with the Mormon exodus, and went with his parents to Nauvoo, Illinois, where his father died in 1844. Driven with the Mormons from that state he came to Iowa and located in Silver Creek township, on what is now the farm of David Em- rick. He moved to the farm he now occupies in 1853. In 1862 he enlisted at Glenwood for a term of three years or during the war. Sep- tember 6, of the same year, he was married. His farm comprises some 220 acres, all in splendid condition and well improved, with buildings and fruit. Mr. Follett is one of the oldest settlers in the county, and has always been closely identified with its improvements and advances.
KERNEY, NATHAN, is a farmer by occupation, whose domain of 159 acres lies in section 31. He is a native of the old Keystone state, born in Bedford county, August 22, 1824. At the age of one year he
629
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
came to Ohio with his parents, where he remained some sixteen years, dur- ing which period of his youth he attended the common school and worked onthe farm. At the age of seventeen-1841-he went to Missouri and tar- ried some fifteen years, until 1853, when he came to Mills county, Iowa, as one of its pioneer settlers. At his advent, the land upon which the town of Malvern stands was owned by the United States government. He was first married March 1, 1849, to Miss Margaret Van Buskirk, of Savannah, Missouri. Five children were added to the household through this marriage: William W., Sarah A., Lydia A., Laura G. and Martha E. whose mother died November 22, 1873. After wearing the weed of sor- row for three years, he contracted another marital alliance with Sarah M. Showalter, of Dade county, Missouri, through whom two children- Charles H. and Adin G .- were added to the already good circle. Mr. K. was a member of the Masonic order-Silver Urn Lodge of Malvern. He and his present wife are of the Baptist persuasion.
LEWIS, MILLARD F., a native of Mills county, Iowa, was born on the farm on which he now resides, August 25, 1856. Mr. L. is a son of Daniel Lewis, one of the earliest settlers of this county. He carries on farming on the old home. He was educated in the common school, and at Bryant's business college, of St. Joseph, Missouri, and at Montague & Lillibridge business college, of Davenport, Iowa. He married Miss Mattie A. Knight, of Mills county, December 10, 1876-a centennial mar- riage. One child, Harry, cheers their young hearts.
LEWIS, DANIEL, is a native of Kentucky, born in Shelby county, December 4, 1801, where he lived until he was twenty-seven years old, when he moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. After spending four or five years here, and three years at Quincy, Illinois, he located in Mills county, Iowa, in August, 1851. He located on land then in the possession of the Mormons, and from whom he purchased it. It was then known as Cut- ler's camp. At the time Mr. Lewis came to Mills county the country about him and Malvern, except the "Mormon settlement," was unoccupied by white men. He was identified with the first formation and settlement of the county ; he was a member of the first grand jury organized in the county; he had seen corn sold in the early days of the settlements for $1.50 per bushel; he was first married to Nancy Logan, in Kentucky, in 1820; his second marriage was to Harriet Holstein, October 24, 1830; has five children living: George W., Donald J., Henry Clay, Winfield S. and Millard F .; his farm lies in section 7, and contains three hundred acres. Before providing for his children his acres numbered twelve hundred.
NORRIS, WILLIAM, is a native of Hoosierdom, where he first breathed the breath of mortality, May 22, 1821, in Clay county. At the age of twelve years he went to LaPorte, Indiana, where he remained until his twenty-third year, preparing for the battle of life before him. In
630
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
1844 he pushed on westward to Illinois, where he sojourned until 1871, where he pursued the carpenter trade for a livelihood. He was first mar- ried when but twenty-one years of age, to Miss Jane Mix, who died in 1848; again, December 25, 1849, he married Amanda Brock, his present wife. Jackson E. and Ethlena are the children of this marriage. He has carried on farming since June, 1849; in 1871 he moved to Mills county, Iowa, where he still continues farming, his farm containing two hundred and fifty-five acres, all tillable, which he improved to its present condi- tion, with good buildings. In connection with his other farm work, Mr. N. feeds about one hundred and fifty head of cattle each year.
SMITH, W. S. C. is a native of Putnam county, Indiana, where he entered the scenes of life April 24, 1843. In 1845 he, with his parents, came to Illinois and tarried until 1848, when he came to Clark county, Iowa. Here he acquired a common school education, and worked until 1862, when he entered the service of his country, enlisting in company F, Sixth Iowa infantry, in which he served two years, and in 1864 re-enlisted in the same regiment as a veteran, and served to the close of the war. He was in twenty-seven regular engagements, among which were the battles of Mission Ridge, Jackson, Miss., Kenesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Atlanta two days, Griswold, Georgia, and Savannah, the latter place being the terminus of Sherman's march to the sea. Here is a record of pa- triotism rarely excelled. At the close of the war in 1865 Mr. S. settled in Mills county, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, in section 21, being one of the early settlers of the locality, and where he still lives, giving his energies to farming. He was married December 25, 1867, to Rosene Wheeler, of Glenwood, the result of which were four children : Bernice H., Daisy R., Earnest G. and Jeptha G., who will carry their memory hence. Mr. S. is a member of the Odd Fellows and Masonic Orders, at Malvern.
SLATER, SAMPSON, is a native of the British Isle, where he first saw light in Morley Moor; Derbyshire, February 3, 1826; and where he continued to live until 1851, when he immigrated to America, and located at Strongsville, Ohio. After a four years sojourn in the Buckeye State, he came to Johnson county, Iowa, where he spent ten years of his life, which was employed in tilling the soil. In 1865 he removed to Mills county, where he purchased a farm of two hundred acres, in section 28, with timbered land in other sections. He was one of the pioneers of Silver Creek township, and aided in gathering a wheat harvest on the ground now occupied by the town of Malvern. His farm improvements are after the modern style, including a fine two story barn 36x46 feet, upon a stone base for stable. His farm also contains an orchard of some 300 trees, some 200 of which are apple bearing, the others include cherries, plumbs peaches, etc. Mr. Slater married November 11, 1868, Kate Byers, of
1
631
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Ohio, and Charles, born April 16, 1872, will perpetuate the name to gen- erations hence. In 1880 Mr. S. returned to his old home in England for a month's visit to to the relatives and scenes of his manhood; giving London and its Museum, Tower, Halls and other points of interest, a part of his time; as well as other towns in the realm. He returned to his adopted country in contentment.
WEST, NATHAN A., is a native of Ohio, born in Trumbull county, April 10, 1808, where he spent the first twenty-four years of his life, and where he received a common school education. He married his first wife in Portage county, in 1828-Mary S. Hulett-who died in 1835. In 1832 he removed to Missouri, where he whiled away six years, then 'moved to Illinois, where he spent eight years more; thence he was allured by the attractions of Iowa to its borders, and in 1848 he permanently located in Mills county, being one of its first settlers; in fact lived in the territory when it was a part of Pottawattamie county. He has thus seen this sec- tion of the state reclaimed from its native wilderness, and its towns grow up to their present dimensions and prosperity. Mr. West married his second wife, March 17, 1836, Adeline L. Follett. He had two children by his first marriage, one of whom, Mrs. Maria Kempton, resides in Glen- wood. His principle pursuit through life has been that of farming. His farm of eighty acres lies in section twenty. At the first election in Silver Creek township he was elected justice of the peace, and has continued to hold that office almost continually since. He has also held various other township trusts.
MALVERN TOWNSHIP.
BERKHIMER, ANDREW, is a Pennsylvanian. March 17, 1832, marked his ingress in life at York county, and seventeen years of his young life was spent upon his native soil, when he went out into the world to carve his own way through it. In 1849 he started westward, and with a team drove to St. Joseph county, Michigan, and shortly after to Kala- mazoo county, same state, where he remained four years. Thence he went to northwestern Iowa, and tarried a brief time, when he returned to Michigan. In the fall of 1858 the attractions of Iowa induced him to re- turn to it again, and he located in Silver Creek township, Mills county, as one of the earliest settlers, and was among the very first to break and subdue a prairie farm therein. When he came, the site upon which Mal- vern now stands was a " howling prairie," and he hauled the lumber for the first building erected upon it. Mr. Berkhimer found his counterpart in Kalamazoo, Michigan, September 13, 1855, in the person of Margaret
632
HISTORY OF MILLS COUNTY.
Oman, of that place; the production of which alliance were: Chester, Sarah, Lydia A., Clara, George, Oscar, Lewis, Maggie and Andrew J. Mr. and Mrs. Berkhimer and three children are members of the Baptist church of Malvern. His farm in section twenty, contains 260 acres, the joint accumulation of himself and wife. It contains one of the prettiest groves in the county, besides an orchard of two hundred trees. It is divided into convenient fields well fenced, with line fences of hedge. The house and outbuildings are well ordered, and in keeping with the other improvements.
BROHARD, JAMES T., is a native of the " Mother of Presidents." He was born in Taylor county, Virginia, May 11, 1838, where he spent the first thirty-eight years of his life, and acquired his education in a pri- vate school, and became master of his chosen vocation, that of wagon maker. In 1863, though a native Virginian, he enlisted in company K, of the First West Virginia Cavalry regiment of the union army, in which he continued in active service until the close of the war, when he was mustered out in July, 1865. He was in the battles of Winchester, Fisher Hill, Cedar Creek, Monocacy Junction, Snaker's Gap, Mt. Jackson, Port Republic, Stevenson's Depot, and twenty-four other engagements. He was under Sheridan and Custer, being in the latter's division. He was married in West Virginia, November 29, 1859, to Miss Jennie C. Roe, of that state. Jennie L, is their only living child, three having gone beyond the vale of life. He still pursues the wagon making business, which has employed his energies for more than twelve years.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.