USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : also biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county, Vol. II > Part 58
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
Mr. Hollis gives his political support to the men and measures of the republican party but has never sought nor desired public office. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are highly esteemed in the community in which they live, and as Mr. Hollis has practically spent his entire life here he is well known in business circles as a reliable and straight-forward citizen. He is also one of the most up-to-date farmers of the county and is the owner of a nice automobile, but he well remem- bers when oxen were used instead of automobiles. He has seen almost the entire development of this county for Indians were still sometimes seen after he located here and wolves and rattlesnakes were quite numerous. The early home of the family was a little one room log house and they; lived in true pioneer style, breaking the prairie with oxen and cradling their grain by hand. In 1874 Mr. Hollis removed to his present farm and he has made all of the improvements thereon.
S. M. HART.
S. M. Hart, who follows farming in Lincoln township, where one hun- dred and sixty acres of arable land pays tribute to the care and labor which he bestows upon it, was born in Adams county, Ohio, July 9, 1839, and has therefore reached the seventieth milestone on life's journey. His parents were George and Martha Slessman Hart, the former a native of Warren county, Ohio, while the latter was born in Illinois. Both are now deceased, the mother having passed away in the state of her nativity, while the father died at College Springs. Iowa. They were the parents of ten chil- dren : Elizabeth, who married Erastus Finley, both now deceased; James and Christopher, both of whom have passed away; Mary, the deceased wife of Burr Urton; Martha, who was a twin sister of Mary and is the deceased wife of Edgar Dryden ; Sarah, the deceased wife of James Pat- ton : Kathryn, who married H. W. Monroe, of College Springs, Iowa ; John H., who has departed this life ; George A., who enlisted at Peoria, Illinois, August. 1862, as a member of Company C, Seventy-seventh Illinois Volun- teer Infantry and died of typhoid fever in the fall of that year ; and S. M., of this review.
In the county of his nativity S. M. Hart remained until about seven years of age, when his parents removed to Peoria county, Illinois. There he lived until 1869 and during that period attended the district schools, ac- quiring a fair English education. After putting aside his text-books he gave his attention to general farming but through the period of the Civil war he was at the front. He enlisted with his brother at Peoria, Illinois,
564
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
in August, 1862, becoming a member of Company C, Seventy-seventh Il1- inois Volunteer Infantry and spent two weeks in camp at Peoria. The regiment was then ordered to Louisville and traveled all over Kentucky, being engaged in various skirmishes. Later the troops proceeded by road to Vicksburg and Mr. Hart participated in the battle at that place-the first in which General Sherman was defeated. The troops afterward went to Arkansas Post and he took part in the engagement there. General John A. McClernand had command there and from that point the troops went down the river to Milliken's Bend and skirmished in that neighborhood until Grant took command. Mr. Hart was afterward in the second battle of Vicksburg and was there wounded by a minie ball in the leg and was sent to the hospital at Memphis, where he remained until able to go home. He was then granted a furlough and remained at home until January, after which he rejoined his regiment in Texas. With the command he proceeded to New Orleans and thence up the Red river with General Banks. On that campaign he was again wounded in a skirmish, being shot in the heel, and for some time was in the hospital at New Orleans, the regiment doing provost duty there throughout the winter. Later Mr. Hart par- ticipated in the battles of Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan and the battle of Mobile and was mustered out in 1864 after three years of faithful and valorous service in defense of the Union. He at once returned to Illinois, where he continued to make his home for some years.
It was in that state on the ioth of December, 1868. that Mr. Ilart wedded Miss Isabelle Dunbar, a daughter of James and Martha ( Cameron ) Dun- bar, of Peoria county, Illinois. About a year later they removed to Page county, lowa, traveling by rail to Villisca and by wagon from that point to their destination. They brought with them a little child who had been born unto them in Illinois. Mr. Hart at once rented land near College Springs, where he lived for a year, after which he purchased eighty acres of his pres- ent farm. The greater part of it was raw land and upon it was a small shanty in which they began housekeeping. As he prospered in his undertakings, however, he added many modern improvements, including a fine residence which he erected together with substantial barns and outbuildings, furnish- ing ample shelter for grain and stock.
In 1888 Mr. Hart was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, with whom he had traveled life's journey happily for about twenty years. She was born in Scotland and died at the age of thirty-seven. By her mar- riage she had become the mother of six children : Anna, the wife of Howard Coman of lincoln township and the mother of two children, Vernon and Kathryn : Lawrence T., who is living in this county: G. F., a resident of Nebraska, who wedded Mary Glasgow and has four children, Helen. Howard, Mary Isabelle and Mildred M. : J. F .. of this county, who married Incy Brown and has one child, Esther : Viola Gertrude, who died at the age of two years : and Margaret, who is living in Page county.
Mr. Hart has always followed farming in order to provide for his family and through his indefatigable energy and unfaltering perseverance has accumulated a handsome competence. His farm is a valuable property
565
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
of one hundred and sixty acres, one-half of which lies in Lincoln town- ship, while the other half is across the boundary line of Colfax township. In community affairs he has been very active and influential and has served as township trustee and a member of the school board. His political allegi- ance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is indicated in his membership in the United Presbyterian church of College Springs. In all matters of citizenship he is as loyal to the general good as he was to the Union cause when he followed the stars and stripes on the battlefields of the south.
WILSON REED.
For a long period the deeds of loyalty and bravery which were recited were those which concerned service in the Civil war but in recent years there has come a manifestation of equal fidelity and courage on the part of the younger generation and Wilson Reed is among the number who volunteered his services in the Spanish-American war. Although the regi- ment did not go to the front there was not a man in all the Fiftieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry who would not have gladly exchanged places with those who had the opportunity of standing on the firing line.
Mr. Reed is now conducting the Linderman Hotel at Clarinda, which he leased in 1003 and which during the intervening years he has made a popular and well patronized hostelry. He was born in Fairfield, Jefferson county, Iowa, October 13, 1873, and after acquiring his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools he entered Parsons College at Fairfield, finishing his course there in 1895. Soon after the completion of his education he entered public service in the capacity of deputy sheriff of Jefferson county and continued in that position for six years. He was also city assessor at Fairfield for a short time but resigned preparatory to removing to Clarinda.
Mr. Reed was a member of the Iowa National Guard, being second lieutenant of Company M. Second Regiment, which was mustered into the United States service as the Fiftieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, on the 26th of April, 1898. He remained with his regiment throughout the period of hostilities but did not go to the front and was mustered out November 30. 1898. Mr. Reed came to Clarinda in January, 1903, and leased the Linderman Hotel. which he has since conducted. He follows the most modern and progressive lines in the conduct of his work, embracing every opportunity to promote the comfort and convenience of his guests. His liberal husiness policy wins him success and his hostelry is now well pat- ronized.
On the 13th of June. 1900. Mr. Reed was united in marriage to Miss Flora B. Bradley, of Fairfield, Iowa, a daughter of Joseph Bradley, a mer- chant of that city. They became the parents of two children: Joseph Bradley and Allen Wilson. Both Mr. and Mrs. Reed are members of the Presbyterian church and its work and purposes are objects of interest and
566
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
cooperation to them. Mlr. Reed belongs to the Masonic Fraternity, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellow's and to the Knights of Pythias lodge and in all these organizations is popular with his brethren, who find him ever loyal to the teachings which underlie them.
EDWARD B. WESTCOTT.
Edward B. Westcott, conducting a profitable and growing business as an abstractor of titles in Clarinda, is also well known through his active and helpful connection with public interests. He was at one time mayor of the city, in which connection he gave tangible proof of his loyalty to the public good by his support of various progressive movements instituted dur- ing his administration. A native of Madison, Wisconsin. Mr. Westcott was born February II. 1867, of the marriage of Robert R. and Nancy E. (Beatty) Westcott. The father, whose birth occurred near Cedarville, New Jersey, was of English lineage. His ancestors, who settled near Cedarville, were ship owners of England and carried on the business in this country after emigrating to the new world. At the time of the Civil war they espoused the cause of the colonies and gave loyal aid to the American army in the struggle for independence. Robert R. Westcott was liberally educated, completing a course in Princeton College. at New Jer- sey, after which he became a minister of the Presbyterian church and de- voted his life to that holy calling. Ile passed away in 1807 and is still survived by his wife who is now living in Los Angeles, California, at the age of sixty-eight years. She was born near Greenfield, Ohio, and is of Scotch-Irish descent. She, too, is of the Presbyterian faith and was of great assistance to her husband in his church work.
Edward B. Westcott is the eldest of a family of five children and was educated in the public schools of Clarinda and in the Shenandoah Academy. He afterward entered the abstract business in connection with his father and has been so engaged up to the present time with the exception of a few brief intervals. He has also done an extensive business in negotiating loans and in handling real estate and now buys and sells for himself. In addition to property which he owns in Clarinda and in this part of the state, he is likewise the owner of a flat building in Kansas City. He has closely watched the real-estate market and his understanding of property values and his sagacity in foreseeing possible rise or diminution in prices has brought him a substantial and gratitying measure of success.
In 1804 Mr. Westcott was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Butler, a daughter of Jacob and Martha Butler. Mrs. Westcott was born in Clar- inda and by her marriage has become the mother of one daughter, Martha, who was born in 1807 and is now attending school. Mr. Westcott holds membership in the Episcopal church, while his wife belongs to the Presby- terian church. His political views are in accord with the platform of the republican party, to which he gives stalwart support, being recognized as
567
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
one of the local leaders of the organization in Clarinda. He has served as a member of the city council and that body appointed him mayor of the city, in which position he afterward served for one term by election from 1907 until 1909. His course was characterized by unfaltering devotion to all that he believed to be best for the municipality and he accomplished much good work for the city. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge and its various auxiliary bodies, having attained the thirty-second de- gree of the Scottish Rite. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows so- ciety and other fraternities. His record has at all times been that of a progressive citizen and representative business man, while his social qualities have made him widely and favorably known in this part of the state.
PROFESSOR H. E. WHEELER.
Professor H. E. Wheeler, city superintendent of schools of Shenandoah, widely recognized as a prominent representative of public education in the state, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on the 2d of March, 1863, and is a son of Thomas J. and Antoinette ( Proctor) Wheeler, both of whom were natives of eastern Massachusetts, and representatives of- old New Eng- land families. The father was reared to manhood in his native state where he learned the trade of machinist and stationary engineer, being thus em- ployedi in the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, until 1856 when he sought a home in Iowa, settling first in Mitchell county. He secured land at what was known as the land sale held at the county seat, Osage. Three years later he returned to the east where he remained until 1863 when he again came west and made a permanent location in Mitchell county, Iowa, where he yet makes his home. His time and energies were for many years given to general agricultura! pursuits but now at the age of seventy-four years he is living a retired life, his son-in-law operating the farm. He was twice married, his first union being with Miss Augusta A. Proctor, by whom he had one child, Lizzie A., now the wife of S. H. Crittenden, who is operat- ing her father's farm. After the death of his first wife Mr. Wheeler wedded her sister, Miss Antoinette Proctor, and unto them were born three children, of whom the eldest died in infancy, the others being Professor H. E. Wheeler, of this review, and Inez, now the wife of Edgar Chamberlain, a farmer of Mitchell county, Iowa.
Professor Wheeler was reared under the parental roof and is indebted to the district schools for his early educational opportunities. At eighteen years of age he entered the Decorah Institute at Decorah, Iowa, and in the winter of 1882-3 and of 1883-4 he taught in the institute, while during the succeeding winter he taught in the schools at Concord, the county seat of Hancock county, Iowa. During the succeeding three years he attended the State Normal School, now the State Teachers College at Cedar Falls, Iowa, and was graduated therefrom in the class of 1888. In the fall of 1888 he began teaching at Cambridge, Iowa, as principal of the schools there and remained in this position for two years. He was then called to
568
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
Logan, the county seat of Harrison county, where he served as principal of the schools for six years, after which he was offered and accepted the principalship of the Sidney, ( Ia.) schools, remaining at that place for four years. He was next located at Clarinda, where he engaged as prin- cipal for three years and then came to Shenandoah in June. 1903. to take charge of the schools in this city. Here he has since remained and his earn- est and effective labors have brought the Shenandoah schools up to a stand- ard second to none in the state. His educational work covers a period of twenty-four years and he is one of Iowa's best known educators connected with the work of public instruction. During these years he also taught in thirty-five county institutions and he served as president of the Southwest- ern Iowa Teachers Association in 1903.
In August, 1890, Professor Wheeler was married to Miss Jennie Hughey, of Bellevue, Iowa, and they have one child. Hughey H. They are promin- ent in school circles where intelligence is regarded as a necessary attri- bute to congeniality and agreeableness and the hospitality of their own home is cordially extended to their many friends. Professor Wheeler is also well known in fraternal relations, holding membership with the local lodges of the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men of America. He is in hearty sympathy with the beneficent spirit which underlies these organizations and at all times he stands for progressive and public-spirited citizenship. His life has been given to study, research and to educational work and the augmenting of his own intellectual strength constantly promotes his efficiency in his chosen profession.
SAMUEL J. McCORD.
Samuel J. McCord, who is identified with the trade interests of Clarinda as a painter and decorator, has also been active in the public affairs of the community. Born in New York city, he came to Page county, Iowa. in 1877, and was reared in Essex, acquiring his education in the public schools of that town. After laying aside his text-books, he was identified with farming interests for five years and then, thinking that other pursuits might prove more congenial and profitable, he learned the painter's and decor- ator's trade, which he continued to follow in Essex until 1904. In that year he was elected sheriff of Page county and took up his residence in Clarinda, where he has since resided. In the meantime he was reelected sheriff in 1906 and again in 1908, and was carried over one year, making his term of service cover seven years. During his residence in Essex he served as constable of that town for ten or twelve years and also acted in the capacity of mail carrier on a rural route for a year and a half, being compelled to give up active work at his trade on account of ill health. Ile has at all times performed his duties with promptness and faithfulness and his public service has been of the highest order, reflecting credit not only upon himself but upon his constituents as well.
569
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
On the 13th of January, 1886, Mr. McCord was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Jones, of Essex, Iowa, a daughter of G. R. Jones, a retired farmer of Waitsburg, Washington. Unto this union have been born five children : J. Lloyd, a plumber of Clarinda, Iowa; Glenn, Goldie Fern, Clar- ence and Samuel Robert, all at home. The eldest son was educated in the schools of Essex, while Glenn and Goldie Fern are pupils of the Clarinda schools.
Mr. McCord is prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Modern Woodmen of America. In business dealings he has always been honorable and upright in his relations to his fellowmen, while in his pub- lic life he has made an excellent official, and he has ever shown himself fully worthy the confidence and trust which are uniformly given him.
MORTIMER CULVER.
General agricultural pursuits claim the attention of Mortimer Culver, who is now the owner of a productive and well improved farm of eighty acres on section II, Amity township. He was born in Chemung county, New York, on the 12th of June, 1867, his parents being Samuel N. and Mary (Ross) Culver, both of whom were natives of Schuyler county, New York. In 1880 the father took up his abode in Pawnee county, Kan- sas, there purchasing a farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which he subsequently traded for a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Amity township, Page county, Iowa. He disposed of that farm, however, after coming to this county in Igoo and purchased city property in Braddyville. Twelve years ago, while working in the field, he was stricken with paraly- sis, suffered a second stroke two years later and is now a confirmed in- valid. His political allegiance is unfalteringly given to the republican party, in the work of which he is most deeply interested. It was in 1863 that he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Ross, a daughter of James and Cynthia (Baskins) Ross, of Schuyler county, New York. Both Mr. and Mrs. Culver still survive and have now traveled life's journey together for almost a half century, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years have passed by. They make their home in Braddyville and are well known and highly esteemed throughout the community as people of genu- ine personal worth and many sterling traits of character. Mortimer Cul- ver of this review has a twin sister, Mrs. Maude Case, who is now a resident of Grant City, Missouri.
In his youthful days Mortimer Culver gave his father the benefit of his services in the cultivation of the home farm and also attended the district schools until seventeen years of age. He then entered the Larned College at Larned, Kansas, and was graduated from that institution in 1886 when he had completed the commercial course. Subsequently he spent two years at home and then went to Great Bend, Kansas, where he secured a posi-
570
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
tion as clerk in a large retail store. In 1889 he came with his parents to Page county, Iowa, locating on a farm east of College Springs, where he remained until the time of his marriage in August, 1893. He was after- ward engaged in the operation of a rented farm for one year and then bought forty acres of land on section 12, Amity township, this county, successfully continuing its cultivation until the spring of 1900. At that time he disposed of the property and purchased his present farm of eighty acres on section II, Amity township, to the development and improvement of which he has since devoted his time and energies. The well tilled fields annually yield golden harvests as a reward for the care and labor that is bestowed upon them, and Mr. Culver has gained favorable recognition as a progressive and enterprising agriculturist of the community.
On the 24th of August, 1893, Mr. Culver was united in marriage to Miss Effie R. White, whose birth occurred in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1866, her parents being Samuel and Harriet (Luellen) White, who are likewise natives of that county. In 1871 they came to Page county, Iowa, locating on a farm south of Shambaugh, where they continued to reside until about 1903, since which time they have made their home at College Springs. Mrs. Culver was a little child of five years when she was brought to this county by her parents.
Mr. Culver is a stalwart advocate of the principles of the republican party and is now serving for the sixth term as the capable incumbent in the office of constable of Amity township. Both he and his wife are prominent and helpful members of the United Presbyterian church at College Springs, doing everything in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. They are widely and favorably known throughout the county in which they have now long resided, occupying an enviable position in social circles as the result of the possession of qualities which win kindly regard and sincere friendship.
JOSEPH C. JOURNEY.
Joseph C. Journey, of Shambaugh, is an honored veteran of the Civil war and one of the old-time residents of Page County, where he has lived continuously for forty years. Through much of this period he was closely, actively and successfully associated with agricultural interests but is now living retired, having divided his land among his children. He has passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in Perry county, Ohio, September 21, 1833. His parents were John A. and Anna (Harkins) Journey, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. Both had been previously married and Mrs. Journey had one son by her first husband-Benoni Brown, while Mr. Journey had two sons by his first wife. The children of John A. and Anna ( Harkins) Journey numbered five sons and two daughters.
571
HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
Joseph C. Journey spent the first sixteen years of his life in the county of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Jay county, Indiana, in 1849. There the family lived until 1854, during which period Joseph C. Journey learned the plasterer's trade. He also learned the trade of shoemaking during the winter months, after which he traveled around and worked in different places as a journeyman, devoting his time largely to plastering. Going to Mercer county, Ohio, he was there married, after which he returned to Portland, Indiana, where he worked at his trades until 1861. After that year he removed to Sterling, White- side county, Illinois, and there resided during the early period of the Civil war but on the 7th of August, 1862, feeling that his first duty was to his country he enlisted as a member of Company D, Seventy-fifth Illinois Vol- unteer Infantry under command of Captain McMoore. He thus served for three years and was honorably discharged on the 12th of June, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. While at the front he was attacked by a disease of the hip joint and was sent to the rear. After being treated in the hos- pital for a time he did guard duty but was permanently disabled by his military experiences. He took part in the battles of Perryville, Stone River, Lancaster and other engagements and when the war was over re- turned to Mercer county, Ohio. There he resided until 1869, which year witnessed his arrival in Page county, Iowa, where he lias since made his home. He had one hundred and forty acres of land in Buchanan and East River townships and for almost forty years successfully carried on general farming, during which time his well directed labors, careful ex- penditure and business ability brought to him a comfortable competence. On the expiration of that period he disposed of his farm in October, 1908, dividing the land among his children. He now lives retired in Sham- baugh and is pleasantly situated. his income being sufficient to supply him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life.
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.