USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 59
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The family occupy a most attractive home in Brooklyn and are well known in the social circles of the town. They hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Cain belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. having assisted in the organization of John T. Drake Post, No. 321, of Brook- lyn. He is a man of fine physical appearance and of very pleasing personality. and during the years of his residence in this locality has won a circle of warm friends which is almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance.
WILLIAM H. SANDERS.
William II. Sanders, who is now living retired in a comfortable home in Deep River, is one of the few remaining veterans of the Civil war and is a man highly respected by all who know him. He was born in Trumbull county. Ohio, February 12, 1841, a son of Henry and Hetta (Smith) Sanders, who were natives of Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married. They re- moved from the Keystone state to Ohio, and in 1854 they continued their journey farther west, locating on a farm in Poweshiek county, Iowa, four miles north of Montezuma. In 1860 the father removed with his family to Dallas. Texas, and his death occurred there in the fall of that year. The mother afterward returned to Iowa and here her remaining years were spent. Their family numbered five sons and four daughters, namely: Harrison, a resident of Montezuma ; Franklin, deceased, who served three years in the Civil war as a member of the Tenth Iowa Infantry ; William H., of this review ; Mrs. Mary
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Ann Stonehocker, a resident of New Sharon, lowa; Eliza, the wife of Peter Smith, a resident of Searsboro, lowa; Daniel Monroe, who served ninety days in the Civil war, as a member of the Forty-sixth lowa Infantry, and now re- sides in Allegany county, New York; Charles, who makes his home in Pleasant township; Mrs. Rose Ann Mullellan, deceased; and Rachel Kistler, a resident of Ohio.
William H. Sanders spent the period of his early boyhood and youth in Ohio and accompanied his parents on their removal to lowa in 1854. He re- mained under the parental roof until he had reached the age of sixteen years, when, in 1858, he went to La Plata, Missouri, where he remained until the fall of 1860, at which time his father died in Texas, leaving the mother in destitute circumstances. The son then went south, covering much of the distance on foot. In the spring of 186t he and his mother started on the overland journey for the north, driving an old ox team. They had a long, arduous and dangerous trip, owing to the war and the murders being committed as the people from the south were making their way to the northern states. They arrived in Powe- shiek county late in the fall of 1861, and here Mr. Sanders remained until the time of his enlistment. It was on the 4th of January, 1863, that he became a member of Company E. Fourth lowa Cavalry, and it was through his and the efforts of A. L. Morgan, Sebastian Boyd, Barney Neall and Ed. McVay, who also enlisted, that Deep River tonwship was saved from being drafted. He took part with his regiment in the battles of Guntown, Big Blue, Osage, Selma, Alabama ; Montgomery. Augusta and Columbus, Georgia, which was the last battle of the war. Both he and his two brothers were fortunate in escaping without serious injury, the only accident being a slight gunshot wound in the hand and wrist of Franklin Sanders. William H. Sanders was honorably dis- charged in 1865.
After the close of hostilities Mr. Sanders returned to his home in Poweshiek county and once more resumed the occupation of farming. He eventually be- came the owner of one hundred fifty-three and a half acres adjoining the cor- poration limits of Deep River and located on section 4. Deep River township. Throughout a long period he was actively identified with agricultural pursuits but in February. 1904, having accumulated a property that supplies him with the comforts of life, he retired and is now living in a nice home which he built in the town. He still retains possession of his farm land and from this (lerives a good income each year.
Mr. Sanders was married August 10, 1861, in Deep River township, to Miss Hilpa A. Rundle, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, April 28, 1837. Her parents, Oliver B. and Ann ( Sargood ) Rundle, were natives of the east, the former born in New Jersey, and the latter in Allegheny county. Pennsyl- vania. They were married, however, in Ohio, and there made their home until 1849, when they removed to Poweshiek county, the father entering the farm which is now owned by Mr. Sanders. They made the overland journey from Ohio to Poweshiek county with wagons and two teams, leaving their home in the former state on the 4th of May. 1849, and arriving here on the 5th of June following. Mr. Rundle died on the home farm when in his eighty-eighth year, and Mrs. Rundle passed away at the age of eighty-two. Their family numbered
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three daughters and one son : Mrs. Emily Morgan, who died in Hardin county, Iowa; Elizabeth J., the widow of Stephen N. Glandon, a resident of South English, Iowa; John S., who was killed by a train in 1892; and Mrs. Sanders, who is now the oldest resident in Deep River township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sanders has been blessed with five children : Clara, who became the wife of Charles Jenkins and died leaving one daughter, Mabel; Alvah B., who is engaged in the real-estate business in Deep River ; Amsdon, who is a merchant of Wellman, Iowa; Minnie, of Denver, Colorado; and Edward, who operates the home farm. Mrs. Sanders has proved a faith- ful helpmate to her husband, for soon after their marriage he enlisted for service in the Civil war and the care of the farm devolved upon her. but she proved herself equal to the arduous task and from that time to the present has been loyal to him in years of adversity as well as in years of prosperity. They have lived together for half a century and on the 10th of August, 1911, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage.
Mr. Sanders has been a lifelong republican and his fellow townsmen have called upon him to fill various public offices of trust and responsibility. He is identified with the Methodist Episcopal church and is a member of the Grand Army post at Deep River. He has ever been found ready to lend his aid and influence in the cause of every good movement, heartily promoting the progress and advancement of his community. He has led a busy. useful and active life, and now he and his estimable wife are enjoying in retirement the accumulations of profitable, successful and honorable careers.
ROBERT MARK McWILLIAMS.
An excellent farm of two hundred and fifty acres in Lincoln township is the reward of the capably directed efforts of Robert Mark McWilliams, whose success in life is due to his own endeavors. He was born in Scotland in March, 1825. and there he was reared and educated and continued to reside until he had attained his twenty-third year. His parents, who were John and Eugenie (Barron) McWilliams, spent their entire lives in the land where they were born and where the father engaged in farming.
Reared in the parental home in Scotland, Robert Mark Mc Williams acquired his education in the common schools of his native village. In 1848 he decided to become a citizen of the United States, believing that if the wonderful stories he heard regarding the opportunities here afforded ambitious young men were but partially true, they were much better than in his own country. Upon his arrival in the United States he first located in Ohio, where he resided for three years at the end of which period he removed to Iowa. He first settled in Cedar county, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Poweshiek county, ob- taining employment on a farm in Lincoln township, then Deep River, this being before the subdivision of the latter township. Being an ambitious and thrifty young man, he managed to save enough from his meager wages to enable him to buy a portion of his present homestead in 1859, but he continued
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to work by the month until 1864. In the latter year he enlisted in Company E, Eleventh Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and went to the front, where he served until the close of the war. He participated in some of the notable conflicts whichi were waged during the latter part of the war and went with Sherman's army on their famous march to the sea. After receiving his discharge Mr. McWill- iams returned to Iowa and located upon his homestead, where he engaged in general farming until his retirement. Although he continues to reside upon his farm it is now operated by one of his sons.
Mr. McWilliams was married in 1857 to Miss Margaret Beveridge, also a native of Scotland and a daughter of James and Sherer Copeland Beveridge, who emigrated to the United States in the '50s. Her father, who was a car- penter by trade, purchased a farm in Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his life, passing away at a ripe old age. Nine children were born unto Mr. and Mrs. McWilliams: Barbara, who is a resident of the village of Deep River ; James, who lives near Cedar Rapids; Joseph, operating the old homestead, who is married and has five children; John, engaged in farming in Nebraska ; Sarah, the wife of Thomas Olgevie, who is a railroad conductor and lives in Belle Plaine, Iowa; William, who is living in Guernsey, where he follows the car- penter's trade; Alex, living on a farm in Lincoln township, who is mar- ried and has five children; Mary, the wife of Samuel Gilmore, who is a farmer in Hardin county; and Charles, who cultivates a farm which he rents south of his father's homestead in Lincoln township. He is married and has five children.
Mr. McWilliams cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has ever since given his political allegiance to the republican party. He served as school director, trustee and road supervisor in his township at various times. He has passed the eighty-sixth milestone on life's journey, fifty-seven years of which time have been spent in Poweshiek county, toward the development of which he has contributed his quota.
FRED A. STILWELL.
One of the representative stockmen of Union township is Fred A. Stilwell, who was born in that township on the 2nd of September, 1877, his parents being Obadiah and Martha (Steele) Stilwell. The parents were both natives of Indiana, the father having been born in Wayne county on the 29th of January, 18440, while the mother's natal day was the 24th of July, 1843. The education of Obadiah Stilwell was acquired in the common schools of Indiana, in which state he spent the first sixteen years of his life. In 1856, together with his father. Elias Stilwell, he came to Poweshiek county, Iowa, locating in Sugar Crcek township on the present site of the Stilwell postoffice. Here the father secured a tract of government land, in the cultivation of which his son assisted him until he was twenty-six years of age. Obadiah subsequently bought a farm in the northern part of the same township, which he improved, but later he dis- posed of this and bought a place in Union township. He cleared and im-
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proved this property, which contained four hundred and thirty-one acres, and engaged in stock-farming, making a specialty of the breeding and raising of cattle and hogs. Mr. Stilwell and Miss Steele were married in Union township in February, 1866, and to them were born five children, but the three eldest. Elizabeth, Frank and an infant, have passed away. Those surviving are: Fred A., our subject ; and Ida, the wife of William Terbell, of New Sharon, Mahaska county, lowa. The father died on the 18th of January, 1910, but the mother still survives and makes her home with her daughter in New Sharon. They were both members of the Church of Christ, and Mr. Stilwell was a democrat, though formerly he had cast his ballot for the republican party. He always took an active interest in township politics and served for some time as super- visor while living in Sugar Creek township.
Fred A. Stilwell was reared on the farm where he is now living and in the acquirement of his education attended the district schools in the locality. lle worked for his father until he was twenty-one years of age and then oper- ated the homestead on shares until 1907. For the following three years he rented the farm, which upon the death of his father he inherited. In addition to the cultivation of his fields Mr. Stilwell engages in raising horses and cattle, but makes a specialty of the breeding of Poland China hogs. His farm is drained and substantially fenced, while all of the improvements are kept in the best condition. The stock is well housed, the grounds kept in good condition and everything about the place has an air of thrift and careful regard for details which attests capable supervision. It is one of the attractive and valuable properties of the township and is greatly endeared to Mr. Stilwell because of the associations of a life time.
On the 15th of December, 1898, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stil- well and Miss Lulu M. Boyd, a daughter of William Jasper and Emily { Samuels ) Boyd, of New Sharon. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stilwell hold member- ship in the Church of Christ and he is also affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. being identified with the Montezuma Lodge. His views in politics coincide with those of the progressive faction of the republican party, for whose candidates he casts his ballot. He is one of the progressive and enterprising agriculturists and stockmen of the county and is secretary of the Corn Belt Meat Association, through the medium of which he maintains relations with farmers throughout the state.
JOHN F. HANNAY.
Coming of good old Scotch ancestry, John F. Hannay, now living retired on his farm in Poweshiek county, has in his life shown many of the sturdy char- acteristics of a race that is celebrated the world over for the thriftiness, fear- lessness and reliability. He was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, June 13. 1835. and is a son of Robert and Martha ( Finlay ) Hannay, both of whom passed their entire lives in the old country. The father was a highly educated man and engaged for many years in teaching school, but devoted his attention to farming
J. F. HANNAY
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ABTOR, LENOX AND TILOEM FOUNDATIONS.
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in early life. He passed away at the age of eighty-three years, having acquired a reputation of which his family and friends might well be proud.
John F. Hannay received his early training in the common schools and later had the advantages of a course of instruction in the Normal College at Glas- gow, from which he obtained a certificate as teacher. He received great assist- ance from his father, who was a teacher of marked ability and who directed the studies of his son along channels that have proven of practical benefit. He was a teacher in a parish school in Scotland for a time and also devoted some at- tention to farming. Having decided to devote his life to agricultural pursuits in preference to that of teaching he came to America in 1883, having first dis- posed of land which he owned in Scotland and for which he received one hun- dred and fifty pounds or seven hundred and fifty dollars per acre. On arriving in this country he located in Davenport, where he rented land for three years. In the spring of 1887 he removed to Poweshiek county, where he continued rent- ing for three years longer. In 1890 he purchased a farm in Grinnell township and now owns six hundred and twenty-seven acres of good land which under his direction has been brought to a high state of cultivation. He has devoted his time especially to the feeding of hogs and cattle. He has always been a good judge of stock and has generally succeeded in securing very satisfactory prices for what he had to offer.
On the 17th of January, 1862, Mr. Hannay was united in marriage in Scot- fand to Miss Margaret Rankine, a daughter of James and Janet (Brown) Ran- kine. The father was a farmer. of Scotland and he and his wife continued in their native land during their entire lives. Six children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Hannay, 'namely: "Jessie "B., Martha F., Robert, James R., M. Louise and John G. W.
A man of fine education and broad mind. Mr. Hannay has never lost touch with the world and has always kept thoroughly informed on live topics. He is of a genial disposition and has a kind word for everybody he meets. His friends, therefore, are numbered by the legion. Religiously he adheres to the Congre- gational church and politically is identified with the republican party but often votes independently as he is not strictly bound by party lines. In all the relations of life he has acquitted himself most honorably as behooves a man who seeks to be guided by principles of justice and truth.
C. W. PIERCE.
C. W. Pierce, who has been engaged in the livery, feed and sale business in Deep River since 1884. is numbered among the energetic and prosperous busi- ness men of this locality. He was born in Stephenson county, Illinois, September IO. 1866, a son of James M. and Charlotte (Phelps) Pierce, the former born in New Hampshire and the latter in Illinois. They were married in the latter state and removed to Poweshiek county in 1881. The mother died here in 1898. but the father is still living and still makes his home in Poweshiek county. They became the parents of five children, namely: Hattie, the wife of Fred Vol. II-30
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Keller, a resident of Deep River; C. W., whose name introduces this review ; H. E .; J. C., a resident of Deep River ; and one who died in infancy.
C. W. Pierce at the usual age began his education in the public schools of Illinois and in that state was reared to the age of fifteen years, when, in 1881, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Poweshiek county, Iowa. When the town of Deep River was laid out in 1884, Mr. Pierce started a livery busi- ness, which he has conducted with success to the present time. He has the best equipped sale stable in the county, his barn being fifty by one hundred and twelve feet in dimensions with basement thirty by one hundred feet. His build- ing which shelters his carriages is twenty-four by seventy feet and he has a blacksmith shop twenty by sixty feet. He keeps twenty fine head of horses for public hire, and he buys and sells from five hundred to six hundred head of horses annually. His long experience in this line has made him an excellent judge of horses and he is therefore able to conduct his business on a profitable basis. He also has a contract for dragging the roads in the north half of Deep River township and his work in this connection gives satisfaction.
Mr. Pierce was married in 1890, the lady of his choice being Miss Minnie Sargent, who was born in Poweshiek county, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. D. K. Sargent. He is methodical and accurate in the conduct of his business affairs, and the splendid appearance of his horses and carriages as well as the treatment he gives to his patrons has been the means of building up for him an excellent trade.
MARK GRIER.
One of the progressive and highly successful young agriculturists of Powe- shiek county is Mark Grier, who resides in Lincoln township, on the farm where he was born on the IIth of May, 1878. He is a son of Benton and Mary Jane (Sanders) Grier, natives of Ohio, the father having been born in Guernsey county on the 14th of July, 1842. His paternal ancestors were originally from Ireland, emigrating from there to America and locating in Pennsylvania in pioneer days. The great-grandfather removed from the Keystone state to Ohio, where the grandfather, Thomas Grier, was born on the 20th of November, 1810, in Belmont county. On the 6th of December, 1832, he was united in marriage to Charity Benton, and they continued to live in the Buckeye state until the fall of 1864, when they removed to Iowa, settling in Poweshiek county. where the father, who became an extensive landowner. passed away on the 15th of December, 1866. Thomas Grier willed to each of his sons, with the excep- tion of Benton, one hundred and sixty acres of land and to his daughters eighty. Benton Grier was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 14th of July, 1842, but was reared and educated in Coshocton county. He was twenty-one years of age when his father removed to Iowa and for two years thereafter he con- tinued to remain at home assisting in the operation of the farm in Lincoln township. In 1865 he purchased eighty acres of land on section 33 from his brother Reuben, the papers being signed on the roth of January. For his wife and helpmate he chose Miss Mary Jane Sanders, who was a native of Morgan
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county, Ohio, and they became the parents of seven children, the son Mark being the sixth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Grier manifested their religious faith through their affiliation with the United Presbyterian church.
Reared on the old homestead where he is now living, Mark Grier acquired his education in the common schools of his native township, and assisted his father, at such times as he was not engaged with his studies, in the work of the farm. After laying aside his school books he assumed the management of the homestead, which he now owns in addition to two hundred and forty acres of land which he rents. He makes a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and feeds cattle and hogs for the market, in both of which lines he is meeting with lucrative returns. The house now occupied by him and his wife is the one which his father erected on the place when he first located there and in which Mark Grier was born.
On the 4th of May, 1904, occurred the marriage of Mark Grier and Sarah E. Bowden, a daughter of Hugh and Margaret (Hamilton) Bowden, both natives of Ireland. Her parents emigrated from the Emerald isle to the United States in the early '6os, locating upon a farm in Lincoln township, Poweshiek county, Iowa, which the father has brought to a high state of cultivation. Three children have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. Grier : Louise, Zelma and Paul R.
The political views of Mr. Grier conform with the principles of the repub- lican party, for whose candidates he always casts his ballot. A man of broad general intelligence, he is a representative of the progressive type of agricul- turist who readily avails himself of the opportunities afforded by modern methods in the pursuit of his vocation.
MARTIN ROHRER.
Martin Rohrer, who passed away in Victor on the 6th of February, 1905, at the venerable age of eighty-two, was long and successfully identified with the agricultural interests of Poweshiek county, owning an excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Jefferson township. His birth occurred in Berkeley county, West Virginia, on the 4th of November, 1822, his parents being Jacob and Mary (Funk) Rohrer, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland respectively. Both came of sturdy old German stock and passed away in the state of West Virginia.
Martin Rohrer attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education and when still quite young learned the trade of a millwright, follow- ing that occupation for several years. He erected the mills at Georgetown and also the noted Eacle Mills in Maryland. On the 3d of October. 1855. he wedded Miss Catherine Elizabeth Newcomber, by whom he had the following children : John Henry, who was born on the 4th of July, 1856, and passed away on the 25th of September, 1864; Annie Elizabeth, born April 30, 1858, who gave her hand in marriage to James McCarty. of Hartwick, Poweshiek county, Iowa ; Solon, whose birth occurred on the 8th of January, 1860, and who passed away on the 8th of March, 1862; and Alma, who was born on the
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25th of September, 1863, and is the wife of W. O. Steffa of California. The mother of these children was called to her final rest in 1867.
After his marriage Mr. Rohrer had left his native state and taken up his abode in Ogle county, Illinois, where he followed farming until 1865, when he disposed of his property and came to Victor, Iowa, here becoming identified with general mercantile pursuits. Three years after the death of his wife he retired from business and returned to Ogle county, Illinois, there residing for two years. He patented a tongue used in wagons, cultivators, etc., and placed it on the market. On the 5th of March, 1872, he was again married, his second union being with Miss Ellen C. Gray, who was born in Washington county, Maryland, on the 18th of November, 1829, her parents being John and Mary (Clomb) Gray, who passed away in that state. John Gray, a farmer by occupation, served in the Continental army at Baltimore, Maryland, during the Revolutionary war.
After his second marriage Mr. Rohrer returned to Iowa and purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres three miles north of Victor, in Jefferson township, Poweshiek county. The further cultivation and improvement of that property claimed his attention until 1892, when he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Victor, there spending the re- mainder of his life in honorable retirement. His widow disposed of the farm after his demise and still makes her home in Victor.
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