History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II, Part 34

Author: Kershaw, W. L
Publication date: 1909
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 656


USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 34


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


Reared in his native county. Jerome Yearons attended the district schools in the acquirement of an education that would fit him for the practical and responsible duties of life. His time was divided between the duties of the school room and the work of the fields, and he remained under the parental roof, assisting his father in the cultivation of the home place, until twenty- two years of age. when he became desirous of entering business on his own account. Accordingly he went to Phelps county, Nebraska, where he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres, which he immediately put under cultivation. Eleven years were spent in the improvement of this place and then, in the spring of 1890, he sold this property and returned to


339


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


Iowa, establishing his home in Nodaway township, Page county, upon the farm which is still his place of residence. This farm, known as Maple Grove Farm, consists of one hundred and sixty acres, constituting the south- east quarter of section 17, and is one of the valuable farms of Nodaway township, presenting in its neat appearance an indication of care and pro- gressiveness on the part of the owner. Mr. Yearous has erected good, sub- stantial buildings upon the place which afford ample shelter for grain and stock and he has also instituted many other improvements. He has devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, engaging in general farming and stock raising, his close application to business, his energy and perseverance and his ability to capably manage his affairs being potent elements in the gratifying degree of prosperity which he now enjoys. He is also the owner of considerable property, owning, aside from his home farm, a half section of land in Hand county, South Dakota, near the town of Miller.


On the 20th of September, 1881, in Clayton county, Iowa, Mr. Yearous was united in marriage to Miss Laura E. Schrack, who was born near Free- port, Illinois, January 18, 1864, a daughter of Potter and Rebecca ( McHoes) Schrack, the former now deceased and the latter residing at Alma, Ne- braska. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Yearous has been blessed with the following children: Charles R., residing in South Dakota ; Raymond O., and George A., also in Dakota ; Guy U., Isaiah, Leona A., Nathan A. and Leonard, all at home. They also lost two children, Nevada, who died at the age of seventeen months, and Herschel, who passed away when three years old.


Mr. Yearous gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served for the past six years as trustee. He is not, however, an office seeker, preferring to devote his time and energies to the management of his business affairs. He has used his opportunities to the best advantage and he has won a creditable measure of prosperity, while during the nine- teen years of his residence in Nodaway township he has gained a large circle of friends who entertain for him high regard and esteem.


JAMES GUY ORTH.


James Guy Orth, a member of the firm of Orth & Beckner, well known shoe dealers of Clarinda, was born in Upton, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of March, 1884. He was brought to Page county, lowa, by his parents, who returned to Clarinda after an absence of a year and a half, and began his education in the public schools of this city. He further prepared himself for the duties and responsibilities of an active commercial career by a course of study in the Quincy Business College and after leaving that institution was engaged in clerking in general stores in Clarinda and adjoining towns. In 1905 he established a shoe store in Clarinda in partnership with J. C. Beckner, under the name of Orth & Beckner, which has been successfully conducted up to the present time. The store is located on the west side of


340


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


the square and is accorded an extensive patronage, its owners having ever maintained an unassailable reputation for business integrity.


For the past three years Mr. Orth has acted as secretary of the Fifty- fifth Military Band and is now its treasurer. He is widely recognized as a most substantial, progressive and enterprising citizen of the county. In religious faith he is a Presbyterian, belonging to the church of that denomi- nation, while fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias. Thoughi still a young man, he has already made an enviable record in busi- ness circles and his many friends predict for him a bright future.


DAVID WINGERT.


David Wingert, a retired farmer, and now one of Shenandoah's repre- sentative citizens, who has devoted much time and thought to the advance- ment of the city's interests, was born in Preble county, Ohio, September 20, 1842, the son of Henry and Anna (Bentz) Wingert. Both parents were natives of Franklin county, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married, and where their three eldest children were born. They first moved to Preble county, Ohio, and in 1851 went to Lee county, Illinois, which was their home until they died, the father in his cighty-seventh year, the mother in her seventy-first. Both parents were consistent members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and Henry Wingert was a republican in politics at a time when that party was struggling into recognition. The one hundred and sixty acre farm in Lee county is still in the possession of the family.


The subject of this sketch was brought up at home and received his edu- cation in the public schools. At the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted, though he was not yet nineteen years of age, in Company C, Thirty-fourth Illinois Infantry, on September 7, 1861, and served in this company through- out the war, until he was mustered out, July 19, 1865, as first lieutenant of his company-a period of four years lacking six weeks. In some of the battles which have been accounted important in the progress of the war, such as Shiloh, Corinth, Stone River (where he was wounded twice), Lib- erty Gap, Peach Tree Creek and Averysboro, he took an honorable part, besides doing his share in many minor skirmishes. He was also one of those whom Sherman ever remembered so fondly as "his boys" on that historic march to the sea.


Upon his return from service Mr. Wingert located in Franklin Grove, Illinois, where he farmed for one year on his father's land. On the 24th of January, 1867, he was married and the following spring bought a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in Lee county, Illinois, on which he settled and lived until the spring of 1871, when he came to Page county, Iowa. Here he bought a half section of land in Morton township, which was his home for thirty-two years and which he still owns. In 1903 he moved to Shenandoah, and has since been identified with the interests of this city, though he has not relinquished his large holdings of farm lands, which


341


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


at one time amounted to five hundred and sixty acres, and now, after gener- ous gifts to his children, aggregate three hundred and sixty acres. Per- haps the fact that he is a stockholder in the Security Savings & Trust Com- pany and is vice president of the Shenandoah Fair Association best dem- onstrate the substantial position he occupies in the city.


Mr. Wingert's first wife, who in her maidenhood had been Miss Elizabeth Houser, of Felicity, Ohio, died March 20, 1898, and some time after he married Miss Evaline Printy, of Clermont county, Ohio. Of this second marriage there has been no issue, but of the four children of the first two daughters survive: Jessie M., the wife of J. F. McCurdy, a fruit grower in Yakima valley, Washington, and Effie L., the wife of Harry Wilson, an attorney of Seattle, Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Wingert are members of the Congregational chuurch.


Mr. Wingert's long life of useful and successful activity and his sincere interest in all that contribute to the advancement of Shenandoah make him a citizen who should be widely esteemed, but perhaps of greater influence, especially upon the younger members of this community, is the record of his soldier's days. He belongs to that all too rapidly diminishing fraternity whose patriotism was put to severe test, and his words, his presence, even, serve as a constant inspiration to that noblest of all loves, that of country.


JAMES L. BROWN.


James L. Brown, who has been assistant postmaster of Clarinda for the past ten years, was born in Adams county, Ohio, on the 16th of October, 1845, his parents being Thomas B. and Mary E. (Williams) Brown. The father was an agriculturist by occupation and also labored effectively as a minister of the gospel.


James L. Brown of this review obtained his education in the public schools of his native state and early in life became familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. In 1865 he moved to Villisca, Iowa, and the following ycar took up his abode in Clarinda, where he subsequently secured a clerkship in a general store, being thus employed for eight years. He was then elected county recorder and filled the position for four terms or eight years, his long retention in the office standing in incontrovertible proof of his efficiency and reliability in the discharge of his duties. On retiring from the office he entered the Nodaway Valley Bank as assistant cashier and remained with the institution for two years, during which period it had become the Clarinda National Bank. In 1887 he went to Wakeeney, Kansas, and after one year's service in a bank at that place he became identified with the clothing business, continuing his connection with that line of activity until his return to Clarinda after an absence of eight years. Here he accepted a position in the postoffice, where he has since been employed, having for the past ten years capably served in the capacity of assistant postmaster.


342


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


On the 2d of March, 1871, Mr. Brown was joined in wedlock to Miss Jennie Boyle, a native of Pennsylvania. By this union there are four chil- dren, namely: Edith, the wife of W. W. Welch, a contractor and builder of Clarinda ; Mary E., who served as deputy treasurer of Page county and on June 16, 1909, became the wife of Dr. W. C. Phillips, of Clarinda; Louis H., who follows merchandising in Varna, Marshall county, Illinois ; and Mabel A., who acts as deputy county clerk of Page county.


Mr. Brown belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and is a member of its official board. He has an extensive circle of friends throughout the county and in the various relations of life in which he has been found has shown himself fully worthy the confidence and trust which are uniformly given him.


WILLIAM SPANGENBERG.


A well improved and highly cultivated farm of one hundred and sixty- three acres located on section 19, Nodaway township, has been the home of William Spangenberg since he came to Page county in 1892. He is a native of Joliet, Illinois, born September 8, 1858, of the marriage of John and Sophia ( Etlar ) Spangenberg, both natives of Mecklenburg, Ger- many, where they were reared and married. The father emigrated to the United States with his wife in 1854, their only child having died in Ger- many. Locating in Joliet, he was there employed as stationary engineer and blacksmith at the roundhouse of the railroad. He was thus engaged twenty-eight years, when he came to lowa and located on a farm near Red Oak, where he and his wife spent their remaining days, the father passing away at the age of seventy-six years, while the mother's death occurred when she was sixty-eight years old. After coming to the United States eight chil- dren were added to the household, their family numbering nine children, as follows: Charles, who died in Germany; Mary, the wife of Henry Bruce, of Red Oak, Iowa ; Anna, the wife of John Wagener, of Yorktown, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work ; William, of this review ; Louis, who lives on the old homestead farm near Red Oak; Lizzie, the wife of Fred Huelle, of Nebraska; Charles, also of Nebraska ; Minnie, the wife of Reinhold Huelle, also a resident of that state; and John, deceased.


William Spangenberg was a youth of sixteen years at the time of the parents removed from Joliet to Red Oak, Iowa. He remained on the home farm there until he was twenty-eight years of age and at that period in his life decided to establish a home of his own and engage in farming on his own account. He was accordingly married in 1886 to Miss Lena Wagener, who was born in Holstein, Germany, in 1864, and was but three years old when she was brought by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hans Wagener, to the United States, while she was six years of age at the time of their removal to Page county.


343


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


Mr. and Mrs. Spangenberg took up their abode upon a farm in Mont- gomery county, Iowa, where, through their united efforts they accumulated the means with which to invest in land. In 1892 Mr. Spangenberg came to Page county and purchased his present farm of one hundred and sixty- three acres on section 19, Nodaway township. He has made many im- provements on the place and now occupies a good country residence and has built substantial outbuildings. He does general farming and is numbered among the successful men of this section of the county.


The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Spangenberg was blessed with three daughters : Mattie, the wife of Fred Geer, of Tarkio township; and Annie and Bertha, both at home. The wife and mother passed away about two years after coming to Page county, her death occurring in 1894. Mr. Spangenberg also has three grandchildren, Walter, Lena and Charles Geer.


A democrat in his political views, he takes an active interest in the wel- fare of his community, while his religious faith is indicated by his member- ship of the German Lutheran church at Yorktown. A practical, general and successful farmer, his business interests have been so managed as to win him the confidence of the public and the prosperity which should always attend honorable effort.


J. M. McGLONE.


J. M. McGlone, of McGlone Brothers, cigar manufacturers of Shenan- doah, was born in Delaware, Wisconsin, April 30, 1872. His parents, Michael and Mary (McGlone) McGlone, were natives of Ireland, but came as young people to this country and were married in New York city. After a period of farming in New York state they came west to Wisconsin, and in 1876 continued west to Nebraska, where they took up a homestead claim near Lincoln. There the mother died and the father resided until recently, when he retired from active life and went to Denver to make his home there with two of his sons.


The rudiments of his education M. J. McGlone received from the public schools, but it was at his home in the midst of the prairies that he acquired those fundamental lessons of life which have since enabled him to win his deserved success in business and gain the confidence of his fellow citizens. At the age of sixteen he started to learn the cigarmaker's trade and after completing his apprenticeship worked for some seven or eight years as a journeyman cigarmaker. In 1896 he came to Shenandoah and with his brother Peter established the present cigarmaking business. For about a year and a half the firm did an exclusively wholesale business, but in 1897 they secured their present site at 513 West Sheridan avenue. and opened up a thoroughly modern retail store in connection with their manu- factory. Mr. McGlone is now one of the city's leading business men, actively identified with the interests that look to its development and im- provement. His public spirit has been appreciated, too, by the republican


344


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


citizens, who have reelected him a member of the city council. - However, business and political cares he does not permit to consume all his energy, but finds time for many fraternal affiliations, and is the guiding hand and happy spirit in the little groups that gather for the enjoyment of a few sociable hours. For he has been for the past seven or eight years the financier of Mishna Lodge. No. 249, A. O. C. W., belongs to Shenandoah Lodge, No. 1122, B. P. O. E., and is a member of that active little organiza- tion, the Booster Club. His religious allegiance is given to the Catholic church.


In 1900 Mr. MeGlone and Miss Annie Morrison were married. Two children. Ellen Louise and Joseph Morrison, have been born to the couple, who are worthy of the high esteem in which they are held in the com- munity.


GEORGE W. NEWSAM.


George W. Newsam, now deceased. came to Page county in pioneer times and was identified with its early development and progress until he felt that the country's claim upon him was paramount to every other duty and went to the front to aid the Union in the Civil war. He afterward re- turned and was identified with farming interests in this portion of the state until his demise, during which period he was accounted one of the leading and representative agriculturi-ts and citizens of his community. He was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, a son of George and Nancy Newsam, who at an early day removed westward to Lee county, lowa, and there re- mained until called to their final rest. In their family were ten children.


In his youth George W. Newsam accompanied his parents to Lee county, Iowa, and was still a young man when he removed to Page county, casting in his lot among its early settlers. Comparatively few had taken up their abode within its borders at the time of his arrival and much of the land was still in possession of the government. He entered a claim of eighty acres which was entirely wild and unimproved, not a furrow having been turned nor a building erected thereon. He put up a little board shanty and at once began the development and cultivation of his farm, being busily em- ployed with the work of the fields until after the outbreak of the Civil war, when, in response to the country's call for troops, he enlisted as a mem- ber of Company F, Twenty-third lowa Infantry. With that command he served for three years, participating in several hard-fought battles. IIe never faltered in the performance of any military duty, whether it calied him into the thickest of the fight or stationed him on the lonely picket line. At all times he gallantly followed the old flag in defense of the cause which it represented and after the war he returned to Iowa with a creditable record as a soldier.


When the country no longer needed his aid, Mr. Newsam resumed farm- ing in Page county and improved the property which he had secured. His wife also homesteaded eighty acres upon which she resides, entering this


MR. AND MRS. GEORGE W. NEWSAM


Y LUI DALLO


ـنلـ


347


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


claim while her husband was absent in the army. Mr. Newsam was busily engaged in the work of developing these two tracts and lived the life of an energetic, progressive and useful farmer.


It was in 1859 that Mr. Newsam was united in marriage to Miss Eliza- beth Margerum, who was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, a daughter of David and Naney Ann (Eberly) Margerum, who came to Page county, Iowa, in 1859 and spent their remaining days here. Their family numbered eight children. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Newsam were born five children: Su- sanna, who is now the widow of Oscar Bagley and resides in Taylor county, Iowa; Inez, the wife of John Glasgow, a resident of Minneapolis ; Ella, the wife of Frank Fisher, a farmer of Douglas township; Sherman and Emmet, both deceased.


In his political views Mr. Newsam was a stalwart republican and ever took an active part in politics, keeping well informed on questions and is- sues of the day and doing all in his power to promote the growth and in- sure the success of the party. For ten years he filled the office of town- ship clerk and was also a member of the school board for several years. He was deeply interested in everything that pertained to the welfare of the community and his cooperation could always be counted upon to further any movement for the public good. He died about thirty years ago, leaving a widow and three children to mourn his loss. His remains were interred in the Villisca cemetery and his memory is yet enshrined in the hearts of many who knew him. Mrs. Newsam still survives her husband and is now the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 12, Douglas township. She is a member of the United Presbyterian church and an earnest, consistent Christian woman, who guides her life by the teachings of the church.


OMAR DUNCAN.


Omar Duncan, a mail carrier of Clarinda, is numbered among the worthy native sons of Page county, his birth having occurred here on the 15th of July, 1874. His father, Daniel Duncan, followed farming throughout his active business career and passed away on the 25th of October, 1908. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Naney N. MeFerrin, still survives, being a well known and esteemed resident of Clarinda.


Omar Duncan supplemented his preliminary education, acquired in the public schools of this county, by a course in Amity College at College Springs. On the 13th of June, 1898, he enlisted for service in the Spanishi- American war, becoming a private of Company M, Fifty-first United States Volunteer infantry. The regiment went to San Francisco and on the 3d of September sailed for Manila, remaining on the Philippine Islands from December 7, 1898, until September, 1899. Mr. Duncan participated in all the engagements of his regiment and also acted as scout on many occasions. On the 2d of November, 1899, at San Francisco, he was mustered out of the army as corporal, having been promoted to that rank.


348


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


After returning to Clarinda he entered the United States mail service as office assistant and subsequently became a carrier, which position he has held to the present time, proving a most capable, reliable and trustworthy employe of the government. He is a valued and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church, serving as a member of the official board and also as superintendent of the Sunday school. He has an extensive circle of warm friends throughout the county in which he has always resided, his many excellent traits of character having gained him the kindly regard and good will of all with whom he has been associated.


PETER SHUM, JR.


Peter Shum, Jr., who conducts an up-to-date livery stable in Clarinda, was for many years identified with the agricultural interests of Valley town- ship, Page county. He was born in Vermont on the 8th of December, 1853; a son of Peter and Elizabeth (Peanor) Shum, who were both born in Canada and went to Vermont with their respective parents. They were married in that state and later moved to Lee county, Iowa, in 1858. There they rented a farm for a while and then Mr. Shum purchased eighty acres of land, to which he subsequently added another tract of eighty acres, which he operated until 1874, when he sold his farm and moved to Page county. In this county the mother passed away and in 1902 the father removed to Chicago, Illinois, where he yet resides at the age of seventy- eight years. They were the parents of sixteen children, nine of whom still survive.


Coming to Iowa when but five years of age, Peter Shum, Jr., acquired his education in the common schools of this state, and when not engaged with his text-books he assisted his father in the work of the farm. He early became familiar with the best methods of plowing, planting and harvest- ing, and the experience thus gained in his boyhood and youth proved of great assistance to him when, having reached his twenty-first year, he undertook the operation of his father's farm. He continued to reside upon the homestead for eleven years and then he purchased a tract of eighty acres in Valley township, which he continued to improve and develop. He put his fields under a high state of cultivation and became very success- ful in his various agricultural pursuits, operating this farm for about four- teen years. At the expiration of that period he sold his property and came to Clarinda, where he purchased a livery barn, in the conduct of which he has since been engaged. He owns eight good teams and at all times keeps his vehicles in first-class order, his livery being up-to-date and modern in all of its appointments. He is a good business man and has been most suc- cessful in his undertaking, the fact that he is ever square and upright in all of his dealings making him popular with a large and constantly growing patronage.


349


HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY


Mr. Shum has been twice married, his first wife being Miss Mary A. McMichael, who was born in Page county. Their wedding was celebrated in 1875 and unto this union were born three children, namely: Nora L., the wife of Harry Turner, residing in Clarinda; Myrtle, who wedded F. L. Moore and resides in Villisca, Iowa; and S. W., who is also married and makes his home in this city. In 1885 the wife and mother passed to her final rest, and two years later Mr. Shum was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary J. True, a native of Des Moines county, Iowa. By her marriage she became the mother of four children, as follows: Ora, the wife of Neal Turner, of Shenandoah, Iowa; Georgia, who married Clyde Nealy and resides in Clarinda; Jessie, who is still under the parental roof and is now attending high school at Clarinda ; and Hazel, at home.




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.