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 76
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JOHNSON, M. C., sheriff of Page county, P. O. Clarinda; born April 13, 1845, in Erie county, Pennsylvania. At the age of five years he came with his parents to Rockford, Illinois. The family lived there about one year, then moved to Boone county, Iowa, where they remained until the fall of 1858, when they located in Page county. Here the subject of this sketch has grown to manhood on a farm. He enlisted June 15, 1861, in company F, first Nebraska infantry, and served to May 2, 1866. He was then honorably discharged. He was in all the skirmishes and battles in which his regiment was engaged. On returning home he resumed farm- ing and stock raising; after four years he turned his attention mostly to the stock business which he followed for two years, at the close of which time he went into the hardware business at College Springs. This he followed about six years, the last two of which he kept the postoffice at that place. He then sold out and for two years turned his attention again to farming and trading. In 1879 he was elected sheriff of Page county, assuming the duties of that office January 1, 1880. He is well qualified to fill the office to which the people have elected him, and will, no doubt, give entire satisfaction to the people of the county. He was married March 7, 1867, to Miss R. Jennie Skinner, a native of Ohio. They have three children: Charles J., D. Willmot, and Minnie May.
KRIDELBAUGH, SAMUEL H., retired physician, P. O. Clarinda; born August 22, 1822, in Clairmont county, Ohio. His parents went to Indiana in the spring of 1833 and located in Bartholomew county. There he grew to manhood and received a common school education. In 1837 he went to Columbus to learn the trade of a printer, with Samuel P. Far- ley and L. F. Coppersmith, publishers of the Columbus Advocate. With these gentlemen he served nearly three years, after which, for some length of time, he worked as a journeyman printer. In 1842 he started the Weekly Ledger, of Columbus,, and continued it under that name for nearly a year when he changed the name to The Indiana Hoosier. This he continued to publish for two years, when he moved to Bloomington
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and again changed the name to Indiana Globe, under which name he con- tinued the publication until 1848. He began to read law with Hester & Dunning, of Bloomington, and was admitted to the bar in 1849, after completing a course at the Bloomington Law School. In 1850 he moved back to Columbus, Ohio, where he was elected prosecuting attorney, which office he resigned before the close of the term, to accept a position of assistant to the chair of chemistry in the medical college of Ohio, where he remained until March, 1855, at which time he graduated from the institution, receiving the degree of M. D. As soon as he graduated he concluded to make the west his home. He started for Iowa, April 1, 1855. He located at Clarinda, September 7, 1855, and began the practice of his profession. Until 1874 he enjoyed a most successful practice, but in that year was afflicted with paralysis, which incapacitated him for further professional business until July, 1880, when he again "put to the breezes " his long unused sign, to ask the patronage of the sick and sore distressed. He was married January 31, 1844, to Miss Elizabeth F. Little who died in April 1852, leaving a family of four children, one of whom, Annie C. (wife of L. Kilmer), is still living. Was married again March 23, 1860, to Miss Mary F. Peterson, a native of Indiana. To Dr. Kri- delbaugh belongs the honor of instituting the Medical Society of south- western Iowa and of being the first mover in the formation of the Fair Association, which reflects so much credit to the people of Page county, and on the enterprise of the citizens of Clarinda.
LORANZ, ANTONY, postmaster, P. (). Clarinda; born October 29, 1810, in Baden-Baden, Germany. He received his education in the common schools of Ochran, and at the hands of private tutors. His par- ents came to America in 1831, locating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was left to his own resources in the following year, his parents both dying with that terrible scourge-cholera. The native energy of his make-up now asserted itself, and he worked at anything he could find in the way of honest labor until 1839. He then went to Lewiston, Fulton county, Illi- nois, sustaining himself in the same manner until 1842, when he rented a farm, a proceeding which proved very remunerative to him, for in 1856 he retired from the farm, the possessor of ten thousand dollars. In 1856 he entered the store of Myron Phelps, remaining until 1858, when he came to Page county, and located at Clarinda. From that date until 1862 he was engaged in various business enterprises. Then the exciting events of the war completely demoralized his attention to business, so that he closed out his interests in the several enterprises, and, receiving an appointment as recruiting officer from Governor Stone, he went about his new task with an address and energy scarcely equalled. From 1866 to 1869 he was engaged in business, first as a merchant, in company with his son, Henry,
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and then as a farmer. In the latter named year he received the appoint- ment as postmaster at Clarinda, a position entirely unsought, and one he has held until the present time. He has held several county offices, and proven himself a thoroughly reliable man. He was married in March, 1842, to Miss Barbara Polander, a native of Ohio, who died in February, 1868, leaving a family of seven children: Henry, Mary (wife of John Brown), Raymond, Joseph, Sarah (wife of James Wise), and two de- ceased. Mr. L. was married again in April, 1870, to Mrs. Sarah Burch, of Ohio. Mr. Loranz is a fine example of the esteem in which men of sterling worth and strict integrity will be held. He has been among the most liberal patrons of new business enterprises ever since he came to Clarinda, and his long years of residence have raised him up a vast host of friends.
LORANZ, HENRY, treasurer of Page county, P. O. Clarinda; born February 12, 1844, in Fulton county, Illinois. In 1858 he came with his parents to Iowa, and located in Page county. Here he grew to man- hood, and was educated in the common schools. Enlisted July 14, 1863, in company A, Eighth Iowa cavalry, and served until June, 1865, when he was discharged by telegraphic orders from the war department discharging prisoners of war, having been taken prisoner of war August 1, 1864, near Newnan, Georgia, about thirty miles southwest of Atlanta, and was con- fined in Andersonville, Charleston, Florence and Wilmington. At the lat- ter named place he was released and taken in transport to Annapolis, Mary- land, where he was clothed and sent to St. Louis, and from thence to Clinton, Iowa, where he was discharged. On returning home he went into the mercantile business. In 1867 he went to Eastman's College, where he took a commercial course, and returning home again went into the mercantile business in Clarinda, remaining in that business until 1870. In 1871 he was elected treasurer of Page county, assuming the duties of the office January 1, 1872, and has held the office ever since, and was re- elected to the office for the term ending January 1, 1882, which shows the high esteem in which he is held by his friends and neighbors, and is a sure guarantee as to his qualifications to fill the office. He was married February 18, 1869, to Miss Carrie A. Little, a native of Fulton county, Illinois. They have had five children: Alfred B., Bertha R. and Carrie, living; buried two.
LEECH, R. B., merchant, P. O. Clarinda; born July 2, 1839, in Guern- sey county, Ohio. His parents came to Iowa in 1840, locating in Van Buren county. There he spent his boyhood days, receiving his education in the common schools. When seventeen years of age he determined to "investigate some of the mysteries of the great west," and started for the Y
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mountains. He was one of the first settlers in Helena, Montana. He engaged in several kinds of business while in the mountains, owning at one time a fine ranch. In 1867 he returned to the states and located at Bloomfield, Iowa, entering the dry goods business. In 1873 he went to Yankton, Dakota, remaining but a year, when he returned to Iowa. He came to Clarinda in 1875, forming a partnership with S. B. Thompson, now of Sidney. In 1879 he bought the interest of Mr. Thompson, con- tinuing the business in his own name. Was married March 19, 1872, to Miss Myra A. Brooks, a native of Van Buren county, Iowa. They have four children: Robert A., Clyde and Clarence (twins) and William.
LOY, J. JR., of the firm of Loy & Parrish, druggists, P. O. Clarinda; born August 15, 1850, in Preble county, Ohio. In the same year his parents came to Iowa, locating in Nodaway township. Here he attained his majority, receiving a common school education. At the age of nine- teen he began clerking in the drug store of Dr. J. H. Conine, in Clarinda, where he continued two years. In 1871, in conjunction with Dr. Van Sandt, he purchased the stock of Dr. Conine, the business being continued under the new firm name. In 1875, Dr. Van Sandt disposed of his interest to F. W. Parrish, thus forming the new firm of Loy & Parrish. Married September 16, 1869, to Miss Jennie, daughter of A. T. Clement, of Cla- rinda, a native of Missouri.
LEWELLEN, P. W., physician and surgeon, P. O. Clarinda; born February 3, 1840, in Delaware county, Indiana. The greater portion of his youth was passed on a farm. His preliminary education was received in the common school and in Asbury University, Greencastle, Indiana. He was a teacher for a number of years, showing then as now a wonder- ful faculty of adapting himself to contingent circumstances. At the age of twenty-two he began the study of medicine with Dr. J. V. Jump, of Muncie, Indiana. From 1863 to 1865 he was a student at the Medical College of Ohio, at Cincinnati, the oldest medical school in the west, dat- ing its organization back to 1819-celebrated none the less for its cele- brated graduates than for its standing. He received his diploma March 2, 1865, and in May following came to Iowa, locating at Clarinda. Dr. Lewellen has enjoyed a large practice since his location here, and as a physician is highly esteemed. He has been an active politician, and his ability and merit in this direction has been recognized by his citizen friends in electing him state senator in the seventeenth and eighteenth general assemblies. . He served his constituency here with credit to himself and en- tire satisfaction to them. He was appointed a member of the state board of health by Governor Gear, an honor, however, which he very reluct- antly accepted, as he was instrumental in securing the passage of the bill
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that created the board, and a member of the committee on medicine, surg- ery, and hygiene. He was married May 30, 1865, to Miss Alice Weid- ner, of Delaware county, Indiana, by whom he is the father of two chil- dren: May and Harley.
MAXWELL, ADAM, merchant, dry goods, boots and shoes, P. O. Clarinda; born March 23, 1829, in Butler county, Pennsylvania. Educa- tion limited to that of the common schools of his native state. On attain- ing his majority he entered upon the occupation of a farmer, which he followed for twelve or fourteen years. In 1865 he went to Apollo, Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, and entered into the general merchandise business until 1872, when he closed out his business interests and came to Clarinda. He entered into partnership with Mr. Yetter, and four years afterwards became the sole proprietor of the business. He was married to Miss Maria Yetter April 18, 1855, from which marriage they are the parents of four children: Mary E., Flora, Isaac and Charles. Mr. M. has been alive to the interests of his adopted town, and among its most costly and attractive business houses, stands his nearly new brick building -"a thing of beauty," and an ornament to the city.
MOULTON, J. J., editor and publisher of the Nodaway Chief, Cla- rinda; born August 15, 1833, in Tazewell county, Illinois. In 1836 his parents removed to Woodford county, in which county he received a pre- liminary education, and subsequently enjoyed the educational advantages of Eureka College in that county, from which he graduated in 1858. Until 1861 he was a teacher in the common schools, leaving that profes- sion to enter the army, April 17, 1861, enlisting in company K, Eleventh Illinois volunteers. After the expiration of his term of service-three months-he was discharged; re-enlisted October 2, 1861, in company A, Second Battalion, Sixteenth United States regulars, in which he served three years, attaining the rank of first sergeant; was honorably discharged in 1864. In the spring of 1867 he moved to Atchinson county, Missouri, and in March, 1879, to Fremont county, Iowa, locating in Riverton, pur- chasing the Riverton Enterprise. He remained in Riverton until August of the same year, when he removed to Clarinda and established the Nod- away Chief, an account of which will be found under the " Press of Page county." Mr. Moulton was married April 20, 1865, to Miss Roxie A. Mette, of Woodford county, Illinois. They are the parents of one child: Ernest M.
MORLEDGE, J. R., attorney at law, real estate and insurance, Cla- rinda; born February 4, 1812, in England, coming, at the age of nine years, with his parents to America. They located in Columbiana county,
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HISTORY OF PAGE COUNTY ..
Ohio, in the common schools of which county he received his education. When twenty-one years of age he began the study of civil engineering, and going to Indiana in 1837, he was employed on the public works of that state, remaining in its employ for a period of two years; he then en- gaged in the mercantile business at Hartsville, Indiana, continuing in the same until 1857. Previous to this, in 1840, he read law with William Hendricks, and was admitted to the bar in 1843. Was appointed post- master in 1853. On closing out his business in 1857, he came to Clarinda, opening a law office in connection with J. T. Chittenden. In the fall of 1863, he was appointed commissary of subsistence of volunteers, with the rank of captain, and was stationed at Marietta, Ohio. After a service of about one year he resigned his commission and returned home, resuming the practice of law. He was colonel of the First regiment of volun- teer militia, western division of Iowa. In 1867 he was elected county judge of Page county, retaining the office for a term of three years. Mr. M. is now a justice of the peace. He was married May 10, 1838, to Miss Maria L. Branham, of Kentucky. By this union they are the parents of twelve children: Robert R., Margaret, (wife of L. F. Abbot), Nancy M., (wife of John Burrows), Emma, (wife of James H. Hill,) Catharine, (wife of Edward Shown), William E., Alice, (wife of W. W. Ruble), and Fred M., living, and four deceased.
MOORE, N. B., attorney at law, P. O. Clarinda; born September 6, 1832, in Madison county, Ohio. He was educated at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, an institution to-day one of the best in that great state. When twenty-one years of age he engaged in the mercan- tile business at Charleston, Ohio, remaining in business for two years, when he failed. The immediate cause of his failure was his becoming security for another-a circumstance many business men beside Mr. Moore have tested to their satisfaction. In 1855 he came to Iowa, locating at Eddyville with the onus of a $10,000 debt. This was paid dollar for dol- lar by hard work and extraordinary frugality. While Mr. Moore resided at Eddyville he taught the public schools and read law with Home & Ives. He was admitted to the bar by Judge Townsend, at Albia, in June, 1857, locating at Bedford, Taylor county, entering upon the practice of his pro- fession until 1860. In that year he came to Clarinda, establishing a law office, enjoying a most remunerative practice up to the present time. The following year, 1861, he was elected county judge, serving for a term of two years. He was state senator from 1867 to 1871. Mr. Moore was mar- ried December 25, 1851, to Miss V. M. Webster, of Ohio, by whom he is the father of six children, two of whom are now living: Jessie, (wife of S. C. McFerrin), and Sarah. Mr. Moore was divorced from his wife, March 6, 1880, and was married again March 31, 1880, to Miss Nellie J. Lane,
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of New York. Mr. Moore has been, and is now, one of the heaviest land-owners in Page county, having at one time or another been the owner of fully one-half of the county. Active in every enterprise calculated to contribute to the growth of his town and county, he has been first in many business projects, and carried to a successful end his every attempt. The banking interests of the county owe more to him than to any other one man. The first bank was started by him in 1865, and ever since that time he has been closely identified with the moneyed interests of this and Tay- lor county. His liberality is great, and his gifts munificent and intelli- gently bestowed. There is hardly a church or school house in southwest- ern Iowa to which he has not contributed. His financial policy is far- reaching as his first venture in Clarinda will show. He became the pur- chaser of the lots on which Hawley's opera house now stands, paying for the same $90. He sold the corner lot the same day to Mr. Hawley for $100. As a business man he enjoys the fullest confidence of the people, and as a lawyer enjoys an enviable reputation, his practice having been crowned with brilliant success.
MILLER, ELIJAH, surveyor, P. O. Clarinda. One of the earliest settlers of the county, and has been closely identified with the interests of the county from its first settlement. He was born January 2, 1825, in East Tennessee. At the age of seventeen years he came with his parents to Y'latt county, Missouri, where they lived about one year, after which they moved to Buchanan county. There he grew to manhood, receiving a very liberal education at Union seminary, which was located near the line between Platt and Buchanan counties. In 1845, upon leaving school, he engaged in teaching, an occupation he followed for several years more or less of the time, studying medicine at the same time. In 1852 he came to Iowa, locating in Tarkio township, in this county. He taught the first school in the town of Clarinda. Soon after his arrival in the county he went into the practice of medicine, which he continued for about five years, doing most of the practice of the county during that time. At the time he came to the county, surveyors were in great demand, and he having all the qualifications necessary, he was at once pressed into service as such, and he has followed it more or less since. In the fall of 1843 he was appointed clerk of the court to fill out the unexpired term of Dr. A. H. Farrens, who had resigned. The next fall he was elected to the office for another term. The business of the court at that time was of such volume that he used to carry all the papers from his residence to court in his sad- dle bags. His salary was one hundred dollars per year. Before the close of his term he resigned, to retire to a private life, but the fates were against him, for he was soon elected county surveyor, which office he held for six years. In 1869 he was elected to the office of school superintend-
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ent for the county, and held it until January, 1880, with the exception of one term. So he has been identified with the school interests of the county, as teacher or superintendent, from the earliest settlement to the present time, and to him, as much or more than any other man, is due the flourishing condition of the public schools of the county. He laid out the town of Clarinda, and several other of the towns in the county which have sprung up since. He was married July 4, 1852, to Miss Alethea Loy, a native of Tennessee. By this union they have six children: Josephine, Webster C., Sophia (wife of John Akin, of Clarinda), Alice, Noah W. and Charlie B.
MORSMAN, W. W., attorney, P. O. Clarinda; born October 22, 1843, in Erie county, Ohio. When he was four years of age his parents came to Iowa, and located in Iowa City. There he grew to manhood, and re- ceived his education, being a graduate of the Iowa State University. He enlisted September 2, 1862, in company I, Twenty-second Iowa, and served until the close of the war. He was promoted to second lieutenant at the organization of the company, and to captain in June, 1863. He was on staff duty as inspector-general most of the time after the siege of Vicks- burg until the spring of 1864. He was in the battles of Port Gibson, Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, Siege of Vicksburg, Winchester and Cedar Creek. In the last-named battle he was taken prisoner and sent to Libby prison, where he remained for six weeks, when he was taken to Danville, Virginia, and finally exchanged February 22, 1865. He then ob- tained a six weeks' leave of absence, returning to his regiment at Newbern, North Carolina, with which he remained until the close of the war. He began the study of law before the war, and finished his preparation after its close. Was admitted to the bar by Judge Hubbard in 1866. In Sep- tember of the following year he came to Clarinda, forming a partnership with Col. Hepburn. He has been a member of several firms since coming to the city. Was married September 2, 1867, to Miss Emma L. Magill, of Indiana.
MORRIS, T. S., farmer and barbed wire manufacturer, P. O. Clarinda; born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1820. When he was eleven years of age his parents moved to Zanesville, Ohio. He there attained his ma- jority, receiving a common school education. When thirty-five years of age he came to Mahaska county, Iowa, remaining ten years, at the end of which time he removed to Illinois, to again return to Iowa, and locate in Tarkio township in 1870. He owns 160 acres of fine land in that town- ship. Was married in 1842, to Miss Mary Ross, a native of Pennsylvania, by whom he has seven children, three living: Jennie M. (wife of J. P. Cook), Charles F. and Rosa R. Two were lost in the army: Thomas
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(killed at Jackson, Mississippi), and Albert (died in hospital, at St. Louis.) In religion, Presbyterian.
McKINNON, T. J .; feed and sale stable, P. O. Clarinda; born in Rush county, Indiana, in 1835. He there grew to manhood a farmer, receiving his education in the common schools of that state. In 1853 he came to Iowa, settling in Des Moines county, in which he lived about three years. He then came to Page county, and until 1879, followed the occupation of a farmer. His farm of 85 acres is in East River township, on section 17. Was married in 1856, to Miss Mary E. Welsh, a native of Henry county, Indiana, by whom he has three children: Elias T., Harriet C. and Henry S.
McPHERRIN, WILLIAM, attorney at law, of the firm of McPherrin Bros., P. O. Clarinda; born July 3, 1845, in Knox county, Illinois. His early years were passed in the manner usual to farmer boys, improving, as opportunity offered, the advantages of the common schools. Ilis higher education was received at Abingdon College, Illinois, and Genesee Col- lege, (now Syracuse University), New York. His legal training was re- ceived at Michigan University, from which he graduated in the spring of 1868. In the autumn of the year following, 1869, he came to Clarinda, entering upon the practice of his profession, in which he has since contin- ued. In 1879 the present firm of McPherrin Bros. was formed. Mr McPherrin has a war record of which he may justly be proud. He en- listed in company F, 66th Illinois infantry in March, 1863, serving until the close of the war. He was discharged in July, 1865, at Springfield, Illinois. Was married to Miss Fannie, daughter of Davidson Harris, of Abingdon, Illinois, on February 3, 1870. They are the parents of four children: Arthur J., Roy D., Paul P. and Nellie.
McPHERRIN, S. C., attorney at law, of the firm McPherrin Bros., P. O. Clarinda; born November 26, 1853, in Knox county, Illinois. His experience until early manhood was similar to his brother's. He was further educated in the Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, from which he graduated in the classical course in 1876. He became a law student with Judge Lyman Trumbull, of Chicago, and a student in the Union College of Law from which he graduated 1878, which admitted him to practice before the bar of Illinois. He came to Clarinda in June, 1878, entering into partnership with his brother, already a successful lawyer in the city. Mr. McPherrin was married on July 25, 1879, to Miss Jessie Moore, a native of Clarinda, and a most accomplished lady. She is a graduate in the classical course of Northwestern University, at Evanston, of the class of 1879. Graduating with honor, she took the prize in oratory, and the Greek and Latin scholarship prizes. They are
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