USA > Iowa > Page County > History of Page County, Iowa : containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc. : a biographical directory of many of its leading citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of Iowa and the Northwest, map of Page County, constitution of the state of Iowa, reminiscences, miscellaneous matters, etc > Part 75
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CALHOON, JOHN, merchant, P. O. Clarinda; born April 12, 1827, in Holmes county, Ohio. There he grew to manhood a farmer, receiving a common school education. In 1857 he came to Iowa, locating in Buchanan township, this county, and pre-empted a farm of 160 acres in sections 10 and 11, and improved it. In 1860 he sold out his farm and came to Clarinda, where he followed teaming and threshing for two years. In 1862 he opened a grocery store in the building that stood on the lot where he has now erected his fine and commodious store room, on the west side of the square, which he has run to the present time. He now owns a fine farm of 110 acres in section 18, in Harlan township, which he runs, and also owns a fine residence in which he lives, besides two other houses in town. His ability as a business man is well evidenced by the fact that he has made most of his large estate by his own efforts, and since he came to this county. He was married April 4, 1855, to Miss C. M. Storm, a native of Ohio. They have had six children: Ada E. (wife of E. C. Holmes), Laura L., Gilbert S. and Clydus D., living, and two sons deceased.
CLEMENT, A. F., furniture dealer, P. O. Clarinda; born August 21, 1832, in New York state. At seventeen he went to Kenton county, Ken- tucky. There he matured to manhood, and was educated in the common schools. At the age of nineteen he began to learn the boat builder's trade, at which he worked for about two years, after which he was a pilot on
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
tow-boats. In 1857 he went to Grant county, Wisconsin, where he bought and improved three farms, selling them as fast as he got them under a good state of cultivation. In 1867 he came to Iowa, and located in Osage, Mitchell county, where he opened a furniture store, which he ran for two years. In 1869 he came to Page county, locating in Clarinda, and bought out the furniture store of Mr. Clevenger, on the south side of the public square, where he did business until 1875. He then built his present fine and commodious building, and moved his stock therein He was married July 22, 1855, to Miss Eliza Casteel, of Cincinnati. They have a family of four children: Mary A. (teacher in the public school , Jennie (wife of Jacob Loy, Jr.), Alice and Minnie. Have buried one son: Stillman, who was drowned in Nodaway river, in 1869, soon after arriving here.
COKENOWER, H. L., physician and surgeon, P. O. Clarinda; born September 23, 1854, in Shelby county, Illinois. There he grew to man- hood on a farm, receiving his education in the common school, Shelby- ville college and the Westfield University from which he graduated in 1869. He at once began to read medicine with Drs. Harnett & Cather- wood, at Shelbyville, Illinois. In 1874 he graduated at Keokuk Medical College, after which he attended the medical college of Michigan Univer- sity at Ann Arbor, from which he graduated with honor, in 1875. He thus received a most thorough medical training. Until December, 1879, he practiced in Pleasant Plains, near Springfield, Illinois, remaining until December, 1879., when he came to Clarinda and began a practice which has grown to be second to none in the county. He came here an entire
stranger, but his personal worth at once brought him custom. His por- trait which appears in this volume, shows him to be a gentleman of strong will and energy, capable of successes that would be well-nigh impossible to the mass of men. He is a finished scholar and genial gentleman, emi- nently worthy of the patronage with which he has been so liberally re- ceived. He was married February 13, 1880 to Miss Clara M. Hamilton, a native of Illinois, born August 18, 1860.
CHAMBERLAIN, D. C, manufacturer and dealer in agricultural im- plements, P. O. Clarinda; born in Ohio in 1834. When he was sixteen years of age his parents moved to Peoria, Illinois. He is in the line of descent a mechanic by nature, his father and grandfather before him hav- ing been wheelrights. Established business in this town in 1857 Mar- ried Miss Julia Hawley, at Hawleyville, on November 6, 1860, by whom he is the father of four children: Minnie, Harry, Roy and Ada, all living. An honored citizen and member of the A. F. & A. M.
CLARK, T. E., attorney at law, P. O. Clarinda; born October 18,
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
1845, in Jessamine county, Kentucky. His parents moved to Missouri in 1854, and located in Saline county. His education, by the necessities of the case was limited to the common schools, and then he attended school but six weeks. The major part of his training was received from his father, who was a Presbyterian clergyman. In 1862 he went to Colorado and Wyoming Territory. In 1866 he came to Clarinda, and shortly after entered the office of Hepburn & Morsman, as a student of law. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1869, by Judge James G. Day, now of the Supreme Court of Iowa. He began the practice of law in 1870, which he has since continuously followed. The firm is now Clark & Parslow. Mr. Clark has been closely identified with the interests of the county in its political features, and has been frequently urged to accept nominations of state offices and other public honors, but has always declined in the inter- ests of his business. Was married December 31, 1872, to Miss Mary H. Burtch, a native of Harrison county, Ohio, by whom he has four children, three living: Alexander, Jessie and Ethel. Mr. Clark's record speaks for itself. ยท A gentleman of large resources, of noble experiences, and firmness of character; he enjoys the confidence and esteem of the public.
CAMPBELL, B., of the firm of G. A. Campbell & Co., grocers, P. O. Clarinda; born November 10, 1824, in Gallia county, Ohio. There he grew to manhood, following the occupation of a farmer, and receiving his edu- cation in the common schools, He came to Iowa, in 1841, locating in Van Buren county. Five years later he removed to Des Moines, Polk county, remaining until 1864, when he located in Clarinda, of which he has since been a continuous resident. Two years after coming to Clarinda he opened a grocery store, in which business he has since continued. Previous to his removal to Des Moines he began the special study of diseases of the eye and ear, commencing to practice in his specialty in the year 1860. Was married April 4, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Harbut, a native of Indiana, who died in 1861, leaving a family of four children, three of whom are now liv- ing: G. A., Eva (wife of J. Mackerel, of Cass county), Euphenia (wife of John Wheelhouse, of Polk county). He married Mrs. Ellen Brown, April 6, 1864, by whom he had three children, two now living: Mary and Annie.
CAKE, LUTHER B., attorney at law, of the firm of Cake & Johnson. P. O. Clarinda. Is a native of Ohio. His mother dying when he was two months old, he was cared for by his grandmother until he began to care for himself. In 1866 he came to Clarinda, and attended school about one year. At this time he began teaching, and continued until 1872, when he entered Tabor college, Fremont county, where he remained two years, doubling the course. In 1874 he went to California, remaining one year, engaging in teaching. Returned to Clarinda in 1875, and began to read law with
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
T. E. Clark, Esq. Was admitted to the bar by Judge Forney, in 1875, and entered at once upon the practice of his profession, forming his pres- ent partnership in the fall of the same year. Mr. Cake has written much for the press, and is the author of several fine poems, one of which, " Deco- ration Day," appears in this work, and speaks a language of its own. He is the author of several plays, and a local farce which was successfully presented by the Clarinda amateur club. He enlisted when eleven years of age, but his youth and small stature caused his rejection. He is a most companionable man, of excellent education, firm and strong in his conviction of right, an exemplary citizen, with the confidence and esteem of all who know him.
CHAFFIN, J. W., editor and proprietor of the Clarinda Herald, P. O. Clarinda; born in Ohio, near Chillicothe, in Ross county, July 17, 1824. When eighteen years of age he moved to Fayette. Mr. Chaffin has the advantage of a fine classical and literary education. The entire course of study to which he was subjected was taken in his native state, his academic course having been completed at Germantown and Bell- brook. He began the study of Greek under the scholarly Rev. Wm. McCohn. The honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred by the Adrian college, Michigan, in 1868. In the same year Mr. Chaffin received an invitation to deliver the annual lecture before the Star literary society, of Adrian-an honor coming to the same person but once in a lifetime. This marks the success which has attended the efforts of Mr. Chaffin to secure a recognition among men of literary attainments and tastes. He is an emphatically self-educated man-in the sense that by his own efforts he secured the funds needed to complete his studies. He was one of a large family, and his father's means were unequal to the task of educating, liberally, all his boys. Mr. Chaffin was a teacher for some few years after leaving school, in which business he met with his usual success. In 1848 he entered the ministry of the Wesleyan church. His worth was recog- nized, and his merit appreciated by his brethren in the ministry in electing him to the presidency of the Miami conference in 1861-'62-'63. During this time he was a correspondent of, and editorially connected with several religious weeklies published by his denomination, among them The Wes- leyan and The Family Mirror. In 1850 he began the publication of the Herald of Freedom, an anti-slavery paper, and devoted to reform, particu- larly in the interest of temperance. While engaged in the publication of this paper he received, in 1853, the nomination for treasurer of state by the free soilers. His paper was an enthusiastic supporter of Salmon P. Chase for governor of state. Mr. Chaffin relinquished the newspaper business in 1858 to engage in the mercantile business. He went to Cin- cinnati to engage in pork packing, remaining in business long enough to lose
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
the accumulations of years of hard and patient toil. In 1863 he entered the army as chaplain of the 59th Ohio volunteers, remaining in the service one year, when he was mustered out on account of ill health. Secretary Chase then offered him a position in the secretary's office of the United States treasurer, which he accepted. He was twice promoted. In 1865 Mr. Chaffin returned to Ohio, to remove shortly after to Richmond, Indi- ana. In the same year he went into the ministry of the Methodist Epis- copal church, in which he remained until 1877. He then resigned his charge at West Liberty, in the Iowa conference, and coming to Clarinda, engaged in publishing the Herald, with what success is given in the chap- ter devoted to the press of this county. But all of Mr. Chaffin's labor has not been manual toil. The intellectual stores he has gained from years of patient research he has used to good advantage, and enriched the world of letters. He is the author of two volumes, one poetical-" The Golden Urn," and the second a purely theological work, entitled "The Battle of Calvary; or, Universalism and Cognate Theories Against Jesus of Nazareth," (12mo). This latter work is a fine example of the higher kind of religious polemic writings, and was welcomed by the religious press as a strong plea for the purity of the ancient faith. It is a neat vol- ume, and throughout bears the marks, not only of candor and fairness, but of one earnestly seeking the truth, and one hoping to lead others in the path of duty. Either of these works establishes the literary reputation of the gifted author. Mr. Chaffin is still in the full vigor of a strong mind, employing his leisure in the congenial line of literary effort. He was mar- ried to Miss Lizzie Grant, of New Burlington, Ohio, in 1850. After her decease in 1860, he married Miss Bell Shriver, in 1862.
DAMEWOOD, F. A., deputy sheriff of Page county, P. O. Clarinda; born August 17, 1845, in Knox county, Tennessee. At the age of two years his parents moved to Du Bois county, Indiana. In 1857 he re- moved with his parents to Iowa and located in Taylor county. Two years later they moved to this county, locating in Nebraska township. Here young Damewood grew to manhood and was educated in the com- mon schools of the county. He enlisted August 27, 1861, in company A, 4th Iowa cavalry and served to August 27, 1865. He was in all the en- gagements in which his regiment participated. After his discharge he attended school about two years at Hawleyville, then taught school in winter and farmed in the summer for about ten years. He was appointed deputy sheriff in 1876, under his father, Isaac Damewood. He was reap- pointed by Mr. Johnson, who succeeded his father. His long continuance in the office is a sufficient index as to his ability. As a business man he is competent and energetic. He was married July 11, 1867 to Miss Eliza
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY
A. Thompson, a native of Indiana. By this union they have had three children: Charles E., Emmert E., living, and one deceased.
EVANS, T., tinner, P. O. Clarinda; born July 2, 1826, in Penn- sylvania. In 1833 his parents moved to Defiance county, Ohio, where he lived until 1840. In 1840 he went to Circleville, Ohio, and six years after, went to Springfield, remaining until 1850. He then went to Urbana, and in 1853 to Union City, Indiana, where he lived until December, 1856. Came to Iowa in 1856, locating at Mount Pleasant. In 1859 went to Mis- souri, and in 1860 came to Clarinda where he has since resided. Mr. Ev- ans has held several important offices of trust, both in Indiana and Iowa. Since coming to Clarinda he has been postmaster at Clarinda, from 1861 to 1866, when he was succeeded by Antony Loranz. In 1873 he was elected township clerk, and holds the office still. He is coroner of Page county, having been elected to that position and retained it since 1877. Was township treasurer in 1878. In 1879 was elected mayor of Cla- rinda, and re-elected in 1880. Mr. Evans has been twice married, first to Miss Mary A. Cornwall, a native of Ohio, who died in 1854, leaving three children: Flora A. (wife of W. M. Alexander), Emma B. (wife of F. A. McDonald,) and one deceased. He was again married May 30, 1855, to Miss Martha E. McChandliss, by whom he has seven children, six living: Mary, (wife of A. C. McGuire), James B., Charles S., Martha E., Andrew and William T.
ENFIELD, M., physician and surgeon, P. O. Clarinda; born March 9, 1845, in Wisconsin. There he grew to manhood subject to all the vicissi- tudes of a farm boy, receiving his education in the common school, in Evans- ville Seminary, and at Lawrence University-all in his native state. Until 1869 he followed farming and teaching. In that year he began the study of medicine with Dr. R. Broughton, of Broadhead, Wisconsin. He grad- uated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, Illinois, in February, 1873. He then came to Clarinda, and began the practice of his profession, which he has continued since. He enjoys a most liberal share of public confidence and patronage. Married February 28, 1874, to Miss Lila Broughton, a native of Wisconsin. They are the parents of three children: Gracie A., John B. and Donald.
FOSTER, C. W. (of firm Dunlap, Miller & Foster, hardware dealers), P. O. Clarinda; born May 19, 1833, in Fulton county, Illinois. There he grew to manhood, and received his education in the common schools. At the age of fifteen he went to learn the tinner's trade with Bissell & Willard, of Peoria, with whom he remained about four years. When nineteen years of age he went to Abingdon, Illinois, where he opened the first hardware
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
and tin store in the place. Four years later he went to Bushnell, Illinois, where he started, as in Abingdon, the pioneer hardware and tin store of that place. Came to Clarinda in May, 1857, opening a dry goods store, in which business he continued two years. In the spring of 1860 he moved to Tarkio township, and engaged in farming seven years, when he returned to Clarinda, to form one of the firm of Collins & Thompson. At the end of a year he withdrew from the firm, and purchased a farm in Nebraska township, on which he remained until January 15, 1877, when the present firm of which he is a member was formed. He has been deeply interested in the agricultural matters of the county; has been president of the county agricultural society, and is now one of its executive committee. Was mar- . ried December 1, 1859, to Miss Ann L. Alden, of Ohio, by whom he has four children: Mary, Julia, Harriet and Ann.
GRAFF, V., clothier, P. O. Clarinda; born October 3, 1843, in Ger- many. At the age of nine years he came with his parents to the United States. They located in Andrew county, Missouri. There he grew to manhood, and was educated in the common schools of Savannah, Missouri. He enlisted October 20, 1862, in company B, Third regiment state militia, and served about nine months, when he was discharged. He enlisted again in November, 1863, in company G, Twelfth Missouri cavalry, and served until January, 1865, when he was again honorably discharged. He was promoted from the ranks to first sergeant of his company. During his ser- vice he was in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and Greeneville, and all the skirmishes and battles in which his regiment was engaged. After his dis- charge he returned to Savannah, Missouri, and clerked in a clothing store until 1869. In September of that year he came to Clarinda, and opened a clothing store on his own account. He carries a large and well-selected stock of clothing and gents' furnishing goods. He owns the splendid store-room, where he does business, and a fine residence and other prop- erty, which he has made by his own effort. Married October 25, 1870, to Miss Fairley, a native of Highland county, Ohio. They have two chil- dren: Walter A. and Gerald G .; have buried one child: Rosa.
HAWLEY, JAMES M., retired merchant, Clarinda; born May 10, 1804, in Danbury, Connecticut. His early education was exceedingly limited, but by a perseverance rarely equaled he has possessed himself of a fund of knowledge that would put to shame many of more pretentious educa- tional advantages. In the state from which he came are many peculiar trades, and he went to learn one of them-that of a comb-maker, follow- ing the trade for a period of eight years. In 1832 he went to Dunkirk, New York, starting a comb factory on his own account. Two years later he went to Detroit, Michigan, where he kept the Yankee Boarding
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
House-it is to presumed after the good old hearty style of ancient New England. He subsequently took the Cottage Hotel, and in 1836 took the American Hotel, the largest and principal hotel in the city. After a two years experience with the latter he removed to Rochester, in Oakland county, opening a store and purchasing a flouring-mill, remaining for twelve years. In 1850 he went to St. Joseph, Missouri, forming a part- nership with Mr. A. Sorley, in the mercantile business. In January, 1853, he came to Page county and located at Hawleyville, opening a store, using two barrels and a rough board for a counter, in an old log house, and retailing the first goods sold in Page county. In 1863 he went to Clarinda, starting a store in connection with A. Loranz, and selling out the business a year or two afterward to his son, J. D. Hawley. In 1864 he again went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and engaged in the mercantile business nearly nine years. While a resident of that city he was the sec- retary of the company which built the great railroad bridge across the Missouri at that place. After a residence of eleven years in the city of St. Joseph he came again to Clarinda, and soon came into public life again, having been elected justice of the peace. In connection with this public office he established a collection agency, in which he has been remarkably successful. Mr. H. was married in September, 1832, to Miss Charlotte L. Petty, a native of Clairmont, New Hampshire. They are the parents of four children: J. D., Clarinda's most successful merchant; (Julia, wife of D. C. Chamberlain), Ada, (wife of D. C. Zimmerman, an attorney, at St. Joseph, Missouri), and one, the oldest daughter, deceased. Mr. Hawley's identification with the interests of the county, and his influence in shaping its success is most fittingly commemorated by the village of Hawleyville, laid out by himself in 1853, and the oldest place in the county. A man of deep convictions, of sterling worth, of unimpeachable integrity, active and generous, the annals of this county will ever cause his name to be an honored one among all posterity.
HILL, J. E., clerk of the court of Page county, P. O. Clarinda; born February 26, 1845, in Highland county, Ohio. At the age of sixteen he came to Iowa and located in Valley township, this county. He enlisted June 15, 1861, in company F, First Nebraska Infantry, being the first company raised in the county. He served to January, 1864, when he re- enlisted and served to the close of the war. In 1863 the regiment was mounted and changed to the First Nebraska Cavalry. He was promoted from the ranks to first sergeant of his company, and was mustered out as such July 1, 1866, and returned to Page county and went to farming, which he followed until the spring of 1870. He then moved to Clarinda, and in 1871 was appointed deputy sheriff, in which capacity he served for three years. In the fall of 1874 he was elected county clerk, and assumed
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
the duties of that office January 1, 1875, and has held the office ever since, and is now the nominee of the republican party this fall and will no doubt be again elected by a large majority. He is a man who has given un- qualified satisfaction to the people of the county in conducting the office, and in whom the people have unbounded confidence, and is in every way qualified to fill the office the people have so often elected him to. He was married July 4, 1867, to Miss R. A. Wright, a native of Adams county, Ohio. They have a family of four children: Walter, Elmer, George and Helen; have buried one child.
HOOPER, G. W., restaurant and saloon, P. O. Clarinda; born August 22, 1836, in Athens county, Ohio. He was raised on a farm, and received his education-the preliminary in the common school-the higher in the University of Ohio. He followed the farming avocation until 1866, when he went in the Chillicothe House, in Chillicothe, in which he remained about two years. In 1869 he came to Page county, locating at North Mills, and engaging in the grocery business. In 1877 he came to Clar- inda and clerked for S. B. Porter nearly a year, when he purchased the restaurant business of Warren Hulbert. In May, 1879, he increased his business by adding a saloon. He enlisted April 21, 1862, in company C, Third Ohio Infantry, for three months, at the expiration of which time he returned home only to re-enlist December 19, 1861, in company E, Sev- enty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving until the close of the war. He was in all the battles in which his regiment was engaged, and was twice wounded-in the right arm and left hand. Was captured May 4, 1862, at the battle of Chancellorsville, [and taken to Libby prison, remaining but four days, when he was taken to Belle Island and paroled. He was exchanged on the 20th of the same month. Married Miss Amy S. Gudgen May 4, 1865, by whom he is the father of one child: Myrta Bell.
HAWLEY, J. D., merchant, P. O. Clarinda; born in Detroit, Michigan, November 29, 1836. In 1848 his parents removed to Missouri, locating in Buchanan county, and in 1853 came to Page, locating at Hawleyville, in Nebraska township. Eleven years later Mr. Hawley came to Clarinda, entering the general store of Curtis, Hawley & Co. In 1866 Mr. Haw- ley purchased the interest of his partners in the business, which he has carried on in his own name since. He has been a most successful busi- ness man, active in every enterprise looking toward the growth of Cla- rinda, his latest business venture being the magnificent opera house block mentioned in the preceding pages. He was married on December, 25, 1859, to Miss Sarah E. Mc Alpin, a native of Indiana. They are the parents of one child, Arthur J. Mr. Hawley is a strict business man and as suc-
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY.
cessful in making friends, as a man of integrity and generous motives could be.
HENSHAW, E., contractor and builder, P. O. Clarinda; born in Erie county, February 26, 1840. He here lived until sixteen years of age, when his parents came to Iowa, settling in Taylor county. He was a resident of that county until 1872, when he came to Clarinda. Mr. Henshaw was married October 22, 1872, to Miss E. W. Hinman, a native of Illinois, by whom he has one child, Nellie. His present business partnership was formed in the fall of 1875, and has been a most lucrative one.
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