USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 32
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GEORGE BERRY.
George Berry, now living retired in a commodious and attractive resi- dence at No. 206 Grant street in Clarinda, was formerly actively identified with the agricultural and stock raising interests of the county for many years. He was born in Scotland on the 3d of February. 1826, a son of George and Ann ( Robinson ) Berry, who spent their entire lives in the land of hills and heather, passing away at the ages of eighty-seven and sixty years respectively. The father, who was a shoemaker by trade, followed that occupation throughout his active business career. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the United Presbyterian church, in which he served as an elder. Unto him and his wife were born four sons and six daughters, as follows: Andrew and William, both of whom are deceased; George, of this review ; John and Ann, who have also passed away : Jane, who is the widow of Joseph Hancock and makes her home in Clarinda, Iowa : Agnes, Margaret, Isabelle and Elizabeth, who are likewise deceased.
In his youthful years George Berry attended the schools of his native land in pursuit of an education and also worked on his father's farnı. He likewise acquainted himself with the carpenter's trade in early manhood and when twenty-seven years of age, influenced by the favorable reports which had reached him concerning the opportunities and advantages of the new world, he determined to establish his home in the United States. After crossing the ocean he located in Champaign county, Ohio, and there worked as a journeyman carpenter for fourteen years. On the expiration of that period, in 1867, he came to Page county, Iowa, locating on a traet of land of eighty acres at College Springs. Subsequently he extended the bound- aries of his farm by additional purchase until it embraced one hundred and sixty acres and on that place he successfully and energetically carried on his agricultural interests for twenty-seven years, or until the time of his re- tirement in 1894. In addition to cultivating the cereals best adapted to soil and climate he was also engaged in 'stock raising to some extent, meeting with a highly gratifying and well merited measure of prosperity in
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both lines of activity. Energetic, industrious and perservering, he brought his place under a high state of cultivation and improvement and some idea of the wonderful transformation which he wrought may be gained from the fact that though he purchased the property for but six hundred dollars, he disposed of it for twelve thousand dollars when he left the farm and took up his abode in Clarinda.
On the 20th of September, 1858, in Ashland county, Ohio, Mr. Berry was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Berry, whose birth occurred in Scotland in 1833. They have now traveled life's journey together for more than a half century, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years have passed by. Of their five children, three still survive. Andrew, who resides on a farm in Page county, married Miss Carrie Kingley and has four chil- dren : Ethel, Annie, Ernest and George. John, living on a farm near Clar- inda, married Miss Lillie McKee, by whom he has five children : Earl, Mary, Annie, Jennette and Clara. Annie, who gave her hand in marriage to John Duncan, likewise makes her home on a farm near Clarinda and has become the mother of five children, namely: Walter, Roy, Ann, Spurgeon and Vernier.
Mr. Berry is a strong Calvinist in religious faith and belongs to the United Presbyterian church, with which his wife is also identified. In 1881 he made a four months' trip to Scotland, renewing old acquaintances and visiting the scenes of his youth and early manhood. When he first landed in this country, "a stranger in a strange land," his cash capital amounted to but three dollars and therefore it will be seen that he owes his present pros- perity to naught save his own untiring efforts and persistency of purpose. His competence has been honorably gained along legitimate lines of labor and at all times he has commanded the respect and good will of his fellow- men by his genuine personal worth, his kindly spirit and his appreciation of the good in others. Both he and his wife are most highly esteemed through- out Page county, where they have now made their home for more than four decades, the circle of their friends being coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances. Mr. Berry has now passed the eighty-third milestone on life's journey and receives the respect and veneration which should ever be ac- corded to one of advanced years whose career has been active and honorable, as his has been.
FRANK ANSHUTZ.
Frank Anshutz is the leading jeweler of Shenandoah, an enterprising man who has sought his success along the legitimate lines of trade and found in indefatigable industry, perseverance and capable management the key that unlocks the portals of prosperity. A native of Moundsville, West Virginia, he was born February 23, 1852, of the marriage of Christ and Rebecca (Woodwell) Anshutz. The father, a native of Germany, came to the United States, when sixteen years of age, in company with his parents
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and after reaching the new world learned the miller's trade. Following his marriage he located in Moundsville, West Virginia, where he resided to the time of his death, which occurred in 1854 when his son Frank was but two years of age. He left a family of eleven children, whom the mother carefully reared to manhood and womanhood.
Frank Anshutz was educated in private schools and when sixteen years of age left the parental roof to seek a home and fortune in the middle west. Making his way to Iowa with Des Moines as his destination, he there spent the winter in the home of a sister and during that time attended school. In April, 1870, he entered upon an apprenticeship to the jeweler's trade and worked for two years in Des Moines, after which he returned to the east in 1872 and completed his trade in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the summer of 1873 he made liis way westward to Pittsburg but had remained there for only two months when the city became involved in the financial panic of 1873. Believing that better opportunities were offered in the west he returned to Des Moines and was employed that fall as a journeyman, thus working for four months. He next went to Jefferson, Greene county, Jowa, where he was employed until the spring of 1875, when he embarked in the jewelry business on his own account in Mitchellville, Iowa, feel- ing that his careful expenditure and his previous experience justi- fied him in taking this step. He was there identified with the business for a period of five years, at the expiration of which time he removed to Glen- wood, Iowa, where he conducted business for three years. Thinking to find a more profitable field in Shenandoah, he came to this city in 1883 and opened a store. For more than a quarter of a century he has now been identified with the jewelry business in this city, having the leading estab- lishment of the kind here. He carries a large and attractive stock, tastefully arranged and the reliability and enterprise of his business methods and his reasonable prices have been the salient features in the success which has attended his labors. He was also one of the organizers of the Peoples' Gas Company and for several years was its treasurer, while later he was chosen vice president of the company and so continued until 1909.
Pleasantly situated in his home life Mr. Anshutz was married in 1881 to Miss Sarah Blake, of Winnebago county, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Anshutz are very prominent socially and are held in the highest esteem by all. As a representative of Masonry he is connected with Tricentum Lodge, No. 300. A. F. & A. M., and Sheshbazzar Chapter, No. 82, R. A. M He is also a charter member of Shenandoah Lodge, No. 1122, B. P. O. E. His political support is given to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. He belongs to the Commercial Club of Shenandoah and for many years has been most active in all movements per- taining to the progress and upbuilding of the city. His wife is a member of the board of trustees of the Shenandoah library, is serving as secretary of the board and is chairman of the book purchasing committee. She is also a charter member of the Kappa Delta Club, of which she was secretary for several years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Anshutz are members of the Presbyterian church and are actively interested in its work and upbuilding. Mr. Anshutz
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is a member of its board of trustees while Mrs. Anshutz has served repeat- edly as president of the Ladies Aid society and as a Sunday school teacher for twenty years, and has been most active in promoting various lines of church work. Honored and respected by all there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in commercial and financial circles, not alone by reason of the success which he has achieved but also owing to the straight forward busi- ness policy which he has ever followed. Moreover, his life record proves that success is not a matter of genius as held by some but it is the out- come of clear judgment, experience and unfaltering industry.
THOMAS JOHNSTON.
Thomas Johnston, engaged in farming and coal mining in Nodaway township, is one of the representative citizens of Page county. Born in Dane county, Wisconsin, December 23, 1869, he is a son of James and Agnes (Hair) Johnston, both natives of Scotland. The parents, with two chil- dren, came to America in 1853, first locating in New York, whence they re- moved to Dane county, Wisconsin. The father, who was born on the 14th of February, 1822, was a carpenter and cabinetmaker in early life but after his arrival in this country devoted his attention to general agriculture. He owned three hundred and twenty acres of land in Douglas township, Page county, to which place he had removed in the autumn of 1872. His death occurred on this farm December 27, 1897. His wife, who was born Feb- ruary 14, 1827, passed away in Clarinda, where she was residing with two sons and one daughter, on the 25th of April, 1891. She was first a member of the Presbyterian church and later joined the United Presbyterian church, and was an earnest Christian woman. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother and a kind and obliging neighbor, and her loss was a matter of deep regret to a large circle of friends.
In the family of Mr. and Mrs. James Johnston were eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the youngest. The other members are: Robert, residing in Colorado; John, who passed away in infancy ; Jeanette Swanson, making her home in Denver, Colorado; Alexander H., of Colo- rado; Marion Stephenson, of Colorado; Margaret Burwell, residing in Canada ; and James, who lives in Clarinda.
Thomas Johnston, whose name introduces this review, was only two years of age when he accompanied his parents to Page county, Iowa, where the family home was established in Douglas township. There he grew to manhood, acquiring his education in the common schools, and early became familiar with the work of the farm. He also learned the carpenter's and blacksmith's trades and was thus engaged until 1898, in which year he pur- chased the farm upon which he now resides. The place consists of eighty acres located on section 35. Nodaway township, about two miles west of the town of Clarinda. Here he carried on general farming and as the years have passed he has brought his fields under a high state of cultivation. He not
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only found that the soil of his farm was most excellent for agricultural pur- poses, but that it also was rich in coal deposits, and in 1901 he opened up a coal mine on the farm which annually yieldls on an average of forty-five hundred tons. This branch of his business interests is proving a source of very gratifying returns to him, and he is now ranked among the prosperous, progressive and influential farmers and business men of Nodaway township.
In 1893 Mr. Johnston was united in marriage to Miss Maggie R. Weir, a native of Davis county, Iowa, born in 1870. She is a daughter of David and Sarah Weir, and by her marriage has become the mother of nine chil- dren, Richard, David D., James A., Fred J., Dan, Thomas, Glenn, Charles J. and Chester. Of this number Richard and Dan both died in infancy, while Thomas was killed in an accident at the age of six years.
Mr. Johnston has given his allegiance to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and is deeply interested in the progress of the party. He is a school director and the cause of education finds in him a stanch champion, while he at all times lends his cooperation to any measure which has for its object the permanent and substantial growth of the community. Ile has won a high place among the successful business men of Nodaway township, and his salient characteristics are such as have won for him the respect, confidence and good will of all with whom he has been associated.
JAMES SHAMBAUGH.
The story of the life of James Shambaugh, if given in detail, will pre- sent an accurate and interesting picture of early life as well as of modern progress in Page county for in the '5os he arrived in this part of the state and since that he has been an active and controlling factor in molding general progress and improvements. His reminiscences of the early times are most interesting but, while he has lived here for more than a half century and was a promoter of the pioneer development, he has also kept pace with the trend of general progress and improvement and even now, in his declining days, is keenly interested in the affairs of the county and what is being accomplished here.
James Shambaugh was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, October 15. 1825, his parents being Isaac and Nancy (Barrow) Shambaugh, the former a farmer by occupation. He was a native of Virginia, but removed to Ohio in 1816 and at the time of the Mexican war enlisted in defense of American interests.
James Shambaugh was reared on the home farm, but, choosing another pursuit as one more congenial and profitable, he engaged in clerking in a store until about six years before he came to lowa. Arriving in this state, he settled in Mills county and took up a claim, but later made his way across the country on horseback to Page county. He was pleased with the
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natural resources and prospects and returned to Ohio, where he prepared for opening a store in this section of the state. He bought goods in the east and in 1853 came to Clarinda. That fall he returned to Ohio, but in the spring of 1854 traded his land in Mills county for a stock of goods which he opened up for sale on the north side of the square in the month of July. There he conducted business until March, 1855, when he sold out to J. Powers. At that time he purchased a sawmill, which was somewhat dilapi- dated, but he improved it, made additions thereto and transformed it into the first gristmill in Page county. It was also the first sawmill in the county and a picture of this old landmark appears on another page of this volume. When the month of May, 1855, arrived he had his mill in shape so that he sawed from two to three thousand feet of lumber per day. 1n 1856 he added the grist department and ground corn meal in February, 1857, this being the first flour made in Page county. Mr. Shambaugh continued to operate the mill until it was destroyed by fire. It was situated on Nodaway creek, two and one-half miles southeast of Clarinda, and was one of the lead- ing industries of the county at an early day. He also owned another mill at a place now called Shambaugh. He had paid to the railroad company considerable money and when the railroad was built through this section of the state the name of the postoffice was changed from Nodaway to Sham- baugh. The place is situated about six miles from Clarinda and the mill, which he there owned and operated, stood until about 1898, when it was struck by lightning. He then built a mill in Clarinda with a capacity for one hundred and fifty barrels daily and an elevator with fifty thousand bushels capacity. The market for the flour manufactured by Mr. Shambaugh at an early day and which could not be dis- posed in the home locality was Omaha, Denver, St. Joseph and many other points, to which he made shipment by wagon. In those days the teamsters and freighters were John and Isaac McDowell, Samuel Pinkerton and Mose Thompson, who hauled the products of the Shambaugh mills to Denver. The freight was ten dollars per hundred and the flour sold in the western markets at sixteen dollars per hundred. At one time Mr. Shambaugh fitted out his own team and did his own hauling to St. Joseph, having four yoke of oxen to a wagon. They camped out along the way in going and on their return trip, and the flour which they transported brought one dollar and a half per hundred weight.
In 1860 Mr. Shambaugh fed three hundred head of hogs and of these he sold one hundred head at a dollar and a quarter per hundred. He also butchered one hundred head and hauled them dressed to Denver, where the hams and sides brought only three cents per pound, while the lard sold at five dollars per barrel. He had paid three dollars a piece for the barrels and each barrel held two hundred pounds so that it will be seen that the profit was comparatively small.
Mr. Shambaugh continued an active factor in the business of the com- munity until 1898, when he retired and was succeeded by his son Ira W., who now conducts the business, having from his youthful days to the present time been associated with his father in his milling interests.
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In 1858 Mr. Shambaugh was married to Miss Julia Jaycox, who was born in Greene county, New York, and they had two children, Ira W., and Charles, but the latter, who was born in 1864, died in 1879. The death of Mrs. Shambaugh occurred March 7, 1897.
Throughout the entire period of his residence in this part of the state Mr. Shambaugh has been known as a most public-spirited citizen, contribut- ing in many substantial ways to the growth and progress of the community. He was one of the first subscribers to get the first railroad through here. In 1854 he was assistant postmaster and was also assistant or deputy county treasurer, tax receiver and recorder. The cause of education has ever found in Mr. Shambaugh a stalwart champion and he was serving on the school board when the new brick high school was erected. He has long been a devoted member of the Baptist church and is interested in every project that tends to promote the upbuilding and development of the town and county. He has now reached the venerable age of eighty-five years and is one of the most honored and respected citizens of the community, not only owing to the success which he has accomplished but also owing to the straight forward business policy which he has ever followed. His commercial standing is an unquestioned fact in his career.
PATRICK O. BYRNES.
The invariable law of destiny accords to tireless industry, energy and ability a successful career and this statement finds ample proof in the life record of Patrick O. Byrnes who, starting out in life as a poor boy, has, through well directed efforts and unfaltering perseverance, attained a credi- table place among the substantial agriculturists of Page county and may justly claim the proud title of a self-made man. Born across the waters, he is a native of County Clare, Ireland, and is a son of Michael and Bridget Byrnes, who were also natives of the Emerald Isle, where their entire lives were spent.
Reared in his native country, Patrick O. Byrnes acquired his education in the public schools and remained at home until 1871, when, thinking to find greater opportunities for advancement in the new world where individual effort is unhampered by caste or class, he left home and friends and sailed for the United States. [Ie did not tarry on the eastern coast but made his way direct to Chicago, where he found employment as a dock builder. He was thus engaged for about six years, and then became identified with railroad construction work in Mercer and Henry counties, Illinois, being con- nected with the Rock Island Railroad Company. Later he went to Arkansas, remaining there for only a short time, and in 1877 he arrived in Page county, lowa. Two years later he purchased eighty acres of land, which tract constitutes a part of his present farm, and at once became engaged in general agricultural pursuits. He has brought his fields under a high state of cultivation, carries on his activities along up-to-date and progressive lines,
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and that his efforts are meeting with gratifying success is indicated in the fact that as the years have come and gone he has been able to add to his holdings until he now owns considerable valuable property. He has re- cently sold a tract of eighty acres, while his present farm consists of one hundred and twenty acres located on section 6, Grant township.
The year 1899 witnessed the marriage of Mr. Byrnes and Miss Ellen Brennen, of Audubon county, Iowa, and in his marriage he established the foundation for a happy home life. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church and are people of excellent traits of character, enjoying in no limited degrec the respect and good will of their fellowmen.
Mr. Byrnes is democratic in politics but the honors and emoluments of office have had no attraction for him, as he prefers to direct his entire time and energies to the conduct of his private business affairs, His life has been a successful one and he has never found cause to regret his determination to come to America, for here he found the opportunities for which he had sought, while his whole career is illustrative of the fact that certain actions are followed by certain results. Ile is as loyal to the interests of his adopted country as though he were a native born, and the consensus of public opinion accords him a high place among the substantial, progressive and enterprising farmers of Page county.
IRA W. SHAMBAUGH.
The name of Shambaugh has figured in connection with the milling in- terests of Page county for more than a half century. Ira W. Shambaugh, a successful, progressive and enterprising business man, is now the active factor in the ownership and control of the Clarinda flouring mills. He was born in this city, his parents being James and Julia (Jaycox) Shambaugh. The public schools of this locality and of Burlington, lowa, afforded him his educational privileges and in his youth he entered his father's employ, while at the age of twenty-one years he was admitted to a partnership in the bus- iness.
On coming from Ohio to Iowa James Shambaugh settled at Clarinda, where he first conducted a general store, but shortly afterward built a saw- mill on Nodaway creek near the city. In a short time he added burrs and began the grinding of both wheat and corn. In the '6os he built a flour and sawmill at a place now known as Shambaugh, which was named in his honor, and at the present time is a town of seven or eight thousand inhabitants. The mill at Shambaugh was destroyed by fire in 1898 and then James Sham- baugh, with his son Ira W., who had long been his partner, built the present mills and elevator at Clarinda, the latter having a capacity of fifty thousand bushels and the former a capacity of one hundred and fifty barrels per day. Since the retirement of his father from business Ira W. Shambaugh has been at the head of extensive milling interests, which constitute him one of the leading representatives of the productive interests of this county. He
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is also a director of the Clarinda National Bank and his name :. an honored one on commercial paper.
Ira W. Shambaugh belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained high rank, being now connected with the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias fraternity. While he entered upon a business already established, many a man of less resolute spirit and of less energy would have failed in carrying it forward to successful completion. His record, therefore, proves clearly that success is not a matter of genius, as held by some, but is rather the outcome of clear judgment and experience.
WILLIAM ROY HILL.
Among the native sons of Page county who are successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits and through their well directed efforts and unfal- tering industry and perseverance are meeting with gratifying measure of success, is numbered William Roy Hill. He was born in Amity township on the 21st of March, 1873, and is a son of J. H. and Emma ( Mlorledge ) Hill. The father, who is of Scotch-Irish descent, was born in Highland county, Ohio, and came to Page county, Jowa, in the early '6os, locating near Clar- inda on a farm of eighty acres, owned in connection with his brother, J. E. Hill. The father now makes his home in Shambaugh with his youngest son, Ed Hill. The mother, who was of English lineage, passed away on the old homestead on the 25th of April, 1886.
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