USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 46
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Mrs. Doty and the children are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Brooklyn, and Mr. Doty is a member of the Masonic fraternity of Brooklyn, while he and his wife belong to the Order of the Eastern Star of the same place. His ballot he casts in support of the candidates of the republican party and has served his township as trustee for two terms and as school director for many years. He is one of the energetic and capable agri- culturists of Madison township who well merits the success which has rewarded his efforts.
WALTER I. WOLCOTT.
One of the citizens of Sheridan township who has been identified with the agricultural development of Poweshick county is Walter I. Wolcott, who is engaged in the cultivation of a two hundred and eighty acre farm on section 16.
Mr. Wolcott was born upon the farm where he continues to live on the 25th of September, 1876, his parents being Edwin and Angeline ( Barnum) Wolcott, natives of Greene county, New York. The father, whose natal day was the
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14th of September, 1828, was reared upon a farm, in the cultivation of which he assisted, and he also engaged in teaming and worked in a tannery when a young man. Coming west in 1851, he located in Ogle county, Illinois, where he resided for four years, at the end of which period he removed to Whiteside county, where he remained until 1859, when he returned to New York. In 1871 he came to Iowa, locating on a farm in Poweshiek county where he lived continuously until his demise on the 2d of December, 1900. He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Jane Sanford, a daughter of Vernon and Katie Sanford, who were farming people of Ogle county, Illinois, where Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott were married in 1854. Two sons were born of this marriage: Vernon L., who passed away at the age of sixteen years ; and Frank B., a resi- dent of Toledo. Mrs. Wolcott died in 1859 and he subsequently returned to New York, where he later married Miss Angeline Barnum, who passed away in the summer of 1890.
The Wolcott family is one of the oldest in America, the first representative coming over in the Mayflower. Oliver Wolcott, who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was the great-great-grandfather of our sub- ject and the father of Gideon Wolcott, who was born in 1765 and married Car- oline Becker, another representative of one of the old families of New Eng- land. Gideon Wolcott, who died in 1850, located in Greene county, New York, where his son, Lawrence, was born in 1804. He removed with his wife, who prior to her marriage was Miss Sarah Stocking, to Illinois, after the death of his father.
Walter I. Wolcott's boyhood and youth was always a busy one, for while still a student in the district school he had to assume much of the responsibility of the farm, practically having entire charge of it at the age of fourteen years. After the death of his father, which occurred when he was twenty-four years old, he bought two hundred acres of the old farm, later adding to this another forty acres which he purchased from his brother, E. J. Wolcott, and he sub- sequently acquired forty acres which adjoined his father's farm on the south, thus making the aggregate of his landed holdings two hundred and eighty acres, all of which is in an excellent state of cultivation. He engages in general farm- ing and stock-raising and is meeting with success in both ventures. His place is well improved, the buildings kept in good repair, while the fields are given that careful supervision which results in abundant harvests.
In 1901, Mr. Wolcott was married to Miss Mary G. Rhodes, a daughter of H. I. and Kate (Devinney) Rhodes, the father being a native of Licking county, Ohio, and the mother of Rock Island, Illinois. About 1850 Mr. Rhodes came to Iowa, locating in Jackson county, removing from there to Sheridan township in 1871, where he engaged in farming until about nine years ago, when he retired to Grinnell, where he and Mrs. Rhodes continue to reside. Two children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Wolcott: Cecil Irving, whose birth occurred on the 30th of March, 1902; and Hubert Edwin, who was born on the 2d of January, 1905.
The parents both affiliate with the Methodist Episcopal church of Sheridan township, while fraternally Mr. Wolcott is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Sheridan Lodge, No. 654, and also
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with the Modern Woodmen of America, belonging to Sheridan Camp, No. 9039, and Mrs. Wolcott is affiliated with the Royal Neighbors of Sheridan.
An ardent republican Mr. Wolcott always casts his ballot for the candidates of that party, but not being an office seeker he never actively participates in local politics, preferring to concentrate his entire attention upon his private interests.
FREDERICK MURPHY.
Frederick Murphy, extensively and successfully engaged in general farming and stock-raising in Malcom township, is numbered among Poweshiek county's native sons, his birth having occurred on the farm, which is still his home, on the 15th of May, 1872.
As the name indicates the family is of Irish origin, the grandparents of our subject, Frank and Mary ( Ewart) Murphy, having both been born in County Tipperary, Ireland. The grandmother was related to the Ewart family of County Tipperary. for whom the town of Ewart was named. On arriving in this country they first located in New Brunswick and later went to Illinois, whence they removed to Poweshiek county, lowa, prior to the inauguration of the Civil war. Here Mr. Murphy entered several hundred acres of land, including the present homestead farm, and here both he and his wife passed away. In their family were seven children, as follows: William, the father of our subject ; Francis, now deceased; Joseph, also deceased; John, of Grinnell township ; James, of Colorado: Sarah, who married a Mr. Delehoyd, of Nebraska; and Lucy A., who is deceased. William Murphy, the eldest of this number, was born in New Brunswick, and was but eight years of age when brought by his par- ents to Poweshiek county. He was a farmer by occupation and followed that pursuit in this county until the time of his death in 1878, at the early age of forty-four years. His wife, Mrs. Florence (Cade) Murphy, was a native of Illinois and her death occurred in Omaha in 1906, when she was sixty-three years of age. Their family consisted of three children, namely: Frederick, of this review; Robert, of Grinnell township; and Stephen, who passed away at the age of twenty-two years.
Frederick Murphy, whose name introduces this review, has spent his entire life upon the farm which is now his home. After the death of his father, which occurred when he was a little lad of six years, he continued to reside on the old homestead with his uncle, Joseph Murphy, whose death occurred here on the 29th of March, 1907. This farm consists of four hundred acres, all in one body, lying on section 32, Malcom township, and under the direction of Mr. Murphy and his uncle it has become a highly improved and valuable prop- erty, containing two sets of substantial buildings and all of the equipment nec- essary for the successful conduct of the farm work. Mr. Murphy engages in general farming and stock-raising, fattening for the market on an average of two carloads of hogs and one carload of cattle annually, and in both branches he has been most successful, being now numbered among the most prosperous, enter- prising and progressive agriculturists of the community. He also has other
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interests, being a stockholder in the Malcom Savings Bank and also a director of the Malcom Garage Company.
On the 20th of September, 1904, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Lena Olson, who was born in Grinnell township on the 16th of December. 1879. Her parents, Ole and Lena Olson, are both natives of Norway and now make their home at Story City, Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have been born four children ; Ruth; Frederick William; Harold: and Raymond.
Mr. Murphy is known in fraternal circles as a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Malcom and of the Elks lodge at Marshalltown. In pol- itics he votes the republican ticket where national issues and questions are in- volved, but at local elections casts an independent ballot, supporting the men and measures which he regards as best adapted to conserve the welfare of the community regardless of party ties. A diligent farmer and a good citizen, en- joying a substantial income from his business interests, he holds the respect and good will of his fellows through the strong traits of honesty and integrity of purpose which have ever characterized his intercourse with others.
HANS H. FREESE.
Hans H. Freese is numbered among those sons of the fatherland who sought a home in the new world and here found the opportunities for advancement in business lines denied them in their native land. He was born in Holstein, Ger- many, on the 31st of August, 1851, a son of Hans D. and Anna (Dohse) Freese, both of whom passed away when he was but a year and a half old. He was sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children, who, after the death of their parents, were reared by strangers. Hans H. Freese was given the privilege of attending school until fifteen years of age, when he laid aside his text- books to learn the blacksmith's trade. He followed that occupation for a short time and then engaged in farming until 1881, when he determined to seek his fortune in the United States.
Mr. Freese arrived in Montezuma, lowa, on the 16th of May, of that year and has since been a resident of Poweshiek county. He was at first employed as a farm hand by the month, being thus engaged for one year, after which he took up farming on his own account as a renter, being thus occupied for six years. At the expiration of that period he removed to Bear Creek township and here operated another rented farm for a similar period. In the mean- time his industry, enterprise and thrift had made it possible for him to save sufficient capital with which to invest in a farm of his own, and in 1892 he took up his abode upon a farm which he had purchased three years before. The tract consisted of one hundred and twenty acres, located on section 19, Bear Creek township, two and a half miles east of Malcom, and upon that place he has since carried on general agricultural pursuits. Aside from tilling the soil he also engages in stock-raising and in both branches has met with success. He cultivates the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, practices rotation of crops and handles a good grade of stock, and close application to business and wise
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management of affairs have ever been salient elements and resultant forces in his career.
Ere leaving his native country Mr. Freese was united in marriage, October 27, 1878, to Miss Catharine Johanna Fischer, who was born in Holstein, Ger- many, on the 11th of November, 1858. Her parents, Henry and Dorothea Fischer, were lifelong residents of the fatherland. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Freese were born twelve children, as follows: Henry John, of Marshalltown, lowa, who married Otillia Schaefer; Caroline Marie, who married A. C. Pyle, of Malcom township; Charles Christian, at home; Anna Elizabeth, the wife of Gustavus F. Kelm, of Malcom: Ida Dorothea, who wedded George Eisele, of Malcom township; William F., residing in Kossuth county, Iowa; Louis Theo- dore, Elizabeth Minnie, John Herman and Frank Walter, all at home : and Del- mer August and Elmer Otto, twins, the latter of whom died at the age of one year.
Mr. Freese is an interested and helpful member of the German Lutheran church of Malcom township and gives his political allegiance to the democratic party, although the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for him. While a resident of the fatherland Mr. Freese served for three years, from 1871 until 1874, in the German army, as a soldier in Company 10, Eighty-fifth Regi- ment. Since his arrival in this country he has proven himself equally loyal to American interests and institutions and is today numbered among Poweshiek county's representative and respected citizens.
JOHN P .. BAKER.
Good business sagacity, tireless energy and the intelligent direction of his affairs have enabled John P. Baker of Searsboro to retire while yet in his prime.
He was born in Washington township, Poweshiek county, on the 29th of September, 1862. a son of George J. and Sarah (Watson) Baker. The father was a native of the province of Westphalia, Germany, while the mother was born in Indiana in 1825. Mr. Baker emigrated to the United States in 1854 and located in Washington township, where he purchased forty acres of land. Later he disposed of this and bought eighty acres in Sugar Creek township, continuing its cultivation until his death in 1865. The mother passed away in Sugar Creek township, July 1, 1911. His political support Mr. Baker gave to the whig party, while in religion he was a Catholic. Mrs. Baker, however, was a member of the Baptist church. Unto them were born a son and a daughter ; the latter, Margaret, is still at the old homestead in Sugar Creek township.
John P. Baker was only a child of three years of age when his father died, so that while still quite young he was compelled to assist with the work about the farm. His education was acquired in the district schools of Sugar Creek township, which he attended until he had such knowledge as he felt would enable him to assume the heavier responsibilities of life. He then worked out
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for three years as a farm hand, following which he operated the homestead for his mother until he was thirty years of age.
In 1892 he came to Searsboro and engaged in the grain and lumber business with George W. Hays. At the end of five years Mr. Baker bought out the in- terest of his partner and conducted the business alone until 1902, when the state of his health necessitated his withdrawing from business, so he disposed of his interests. During the next four years he superintended his farm in Sugar Creek township, containing six hundred and forty acres, which he had bought while engaged in business. Subsequently, he again returned to his former business in Searsboro, continuing to be identified with this until 1909, since which time he has been living retired.
On the ist of March, 1893, Mr. Baker was united in marriage to Miss Vista J. Fudge, a daughter of James and Ann ( Highland) Fudge, well known residents of Sugar Creek township. Mrs. Baker is also a native of Iowa, having been born in Madison county on the 2d of April. 1868. Three children have been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Baker, the order of their birth being as follows : Clifford Otho, who was born on the 29th of November. 1896; Veda Aureva, born on the 29th of January, 1903; and Aretha Adelaide, whose birth occurred on the 15th of January, 1908.
The family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. and Mrs. Baker are members, and in politics he is a republican and has served on the school board and in the town council. Mr. Baker is one of the highly regarded business men of Searsboro, as well as one of its affluent citizens, and both he and his wife take a prominent part in the social life of the town and extend the hospitality of their beautiful home to their many friends.
W. W. SHANNON.
Ohio claims W. W. Shannon as one of her native sons, although for more than a third of a century he has made his home in Poweshiek county, Iowa. His birth occurred in Butler county, July 20, 1849, a son of James E. and Malindla ( Huston ) Shannon. The father was born in Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania. May 17, 1817, and the mother in Dearborn county, Indiana, in March, 1828. and shortly after their marriage they removed to Ohio. When their son, W. W. Shannon, was about two years of age they located in Michigan, and there the mother passed away April 11, 1858, her death occurring in Morenci. In 1864 the family removed to Henry county, Illinois, and there made their home. The father engaged in general farming until he retired from active labor, and on the 8th of October, 1910, he passed away, having survived his wife for more than a half century. In their family were two children, the sister of our sub- ject being Mary I, wife of Edward A. Fickling, of Yankton, South Dakota.
At the usual age W. W. Shannon entered the public schools in the acquire- ment of his education, and later became a pupil in the Bryant & Stratton Bus- iness College at Peoria, Illinois. After his graduation therefrom he was engaged for a year as bookkeeper in a bank in Illinois, but with the exception of
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that period his attention was given to agricultural pursuits throughout his bus- iness career. In 1876 he came to Poweshiek county and located on a farm two and a half miles southeast of Brooklyn, in Bear Creek township, and later he purchased the J. P. Bartley farm, located also in this township, about two miles southeast of this city. Here hic made his home for twenty years, a period marked by persistent effort, unfaltering energy, close application and wise man- agement, so that at its close he had not only transformed his farm into a val- uable property, but had gained for himself a place among the substantial and successful agriculturists of the township. In 1903 he sold that place and re- moved to Brooklyn, where he has since maintained his home. He now owns a half interest in a fine farm of two hundred and eighty-six acres southeast of the town, which annually yields a gratifying revenuc.
In 1873, at Cambridge, Illinois, Mr. Shannon was united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Blanchard, who was born at Tiskilwa on the 31st of August, 1855, a daughter of Russell and Lenora M. ( Wright) Blanchard. Her father, who was born in Massachusetts, passed away in Davenport, Iowa, on the 20th of March, 1893, and the mother, a native of England, died in 1858. Two chil- dren have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Shannon : Mabel C., the eldest, was born September 29, 1878, and is now the wife of R. Whitney, of Fort Collins, Col- orado. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children: Albert, ten years of age: and Ruth, aged four years. lon W., born April 15, 1884, became the wife of B. F. Torrance, of Brooklyn, and they have one child, Louise E., now two years of age.
Mr. Shannon is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his wife, while fraternally he is a Master Mason and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias. He is a stanch republican in politics and has been called to fill various offices, including that of trustee of Bear Creek township, which he occupied for two or three terms. He resigned that position, however, to ac- cept the duties of county supervisor, to which office he was elected in 1897. serving therein for two terms, or six years. He also was closely identified with the work of the office of county commissioner for three subsequent years, al- though he was not at that time a member of the board. Although he has already passed the sixtieth milestone on life's journey he is still deeply interested in all of the vital questions and issues of the day, and by his fellow townsmen he is recognized as a loyal and public-spirited citizen, who has the welfare of the community at heart.
JAMES CALDERWOOD.
James Calderwood, a retired agriculturist living on section 1, Bear Creek township, has been a resident of Iowa for more than six decades and during his active business career accumulated seven hundred and sixty acres of val- uable land. His birth occurred in County Antrim, Ireland, on the 22d of June, 1825, his parents being Matthew and Rosana (Cameron) Calderwood, who though of Scotch descent, were born and reared in Ireland. The father, whose
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natal year was 1781, was a farmer by occupation and spent his entire life in County Antrim, passing away in 1866 at the age of eighty-five years. His wife, who was born in 1790, was called to her final rest in 1881 when ninety-one years of age.
James Calderwood remained on the Emerald isle until he attained his ma- jority, assisting his father in the operation of the home farm. In 1847 he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, locating in eastern Massachusetts, near Boston, where he worked on garden farms for three summers. In 1850 he determined to establish his home in the west and, beginning the journey, made his way from Boston to Philadelphia by boat and railroad. From Phil- adelphia he traveled by canal to near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, thence crossing the Alleghany mountains by stage to Pittsburg. Subsequently he made his way down the Ohio river to Cairo and continued the journey by boat up to Daven- port, Iowa. He entered a quarter section of land in Scott county, nine miles north of Davenport, for which he paid two dollars an acre and on which he took up his abode five years after it came into his possession. After a residence of thirty-one years in Scott county he came to Poweshiek county, locating in Bear Creek township, where he purchased a farm of two hundred and forty acres and later another of three hundred and twenty acres. The township of Bear Creek has remained his place of abode to the present time. During his career as an agriculturist he accumulated seven hundred and sixty acres of rich and productive land and still owns the home place of four hundred acres. The remainder of his property he gave to two of his sons, one receiving a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and the other of two hundred acres.
On the 12th of December, 1857. in Scott county, Jowa, Mr. Calderwood was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Middlemas, who was born in Sullivan county, New York, on the 14th of May, 1835, her parents being Rev. Jasper and Elizabeth ( Templeton ) Middlemas, the former a native of Roxburghshire, Scotland, and the latter of Aberdeen, Scotland. Her father was a minister of the German Reformed church of New York state, while her maternal grand- father, the Rev. Dr. Templeton, was a well known divine of Scotland. Mrs. Calderwood, who was a graduate of the State Normal School of Albany, New York, died on the old home place on the 24th of June, 1909. By her marriage she became the mother of ten children, nine of whom are still living. Matthew, who is engaged in the implement business at Pipestone, Minnesota, wedded Miss Minnie Whitcomb, of Brooklyn, lowa. Lizzie is the wife of William Copely, a farmer living near Marshalltown, lowa. Lizzie is the wife of William dren : Glenn: James : Ross : Nellie; and Harry Grant and Fred, who are de- ceased. Annie Calderwood is at home with her father, as is also Emma Jane. Henrietta gave her hand in marriage to William Hughes of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, an express agent of the United States Express Company, by whom she has one child, Willard James. Caroline Templeton is the wife of Forrest Wright, an implement dealer of Pipestone, Minnesota, by whom she has four children : William Deacon, Catharyn Louise, Cameron Worth and Dalton Forrest. Will- iam C., an agriculturist of Madison township, Poweshiek county, wedded Miss Mary Erickson and has two children, Eloise Evelyne and Andrew Erick- son. Sarah is the wife of B. E. Dayton, a furniture dealer of Brooklyn, Iowa,
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by whom she has one child, Ralph Edson. Charles Melanthon is a graduate of lowa College and the Yale Theological Seminary and has been pastor of the Church of the Pilgrims at Brooklyn, New York, for the past three years. As a companion and helpinate on the journey of life he chose Miss Edith Hanscom, of Haverhill, Massachusetts. Jasper Turner Calderwood passed away on the 14th of August, 1865, when but two years of age.
In polities Mr. Calderwood is a stanch republican, having supported the men and measures of that party since casting his ballot for John C. Fremont, its first presidential candidate. While living in Scott county he held the office of township supervisor for several terms and also served as a member of the school board. For forty-seven years he has been an elder in the Presbyterian church either of Davenport or Brooklyn, Iowa, with which denomination his children are also connected. He has now passed the eighty-sixth milestone on this earthly pilgrimage and his life has ever been such that he can look back upon the past without regret and forward to the future without fear.
ANDREW SHADEL.
Andrew Shadel, who owns an excellent homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Madison township, was born in the vicinity of Monmouth, Illinois, on the 12th of May. 1871. He is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Stacy) Shadel, the father a native of Germany and the mother of Switzerland. Mr. Shadel emigrated to the United States before the Civil war, locating in Indiana, where he worked on a farm for a short time, and then purchased eighty acres of land in Illinois in the cultivation of which he engaged for eight years. At the ex- piration of that period he disposed of his property and came to Sheridan town- ship, Poweshiek county, where he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of land. to which he later added another quarter section. He continued to reside in Sheridan township for fifteen years, when he retired and removed to Tama, Tama county, Iowa, where he and his wife have ever since made their home.
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