USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 63
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hollingsworth were born seven children: Mary E., the wife of Edwin A. Flint, a resident of Deep River township; William Abner, who owns a claim near Haswell, Colorado, and is engaged in teaching school ; Etta L., the wife of Rev. G. H. Hanawalt, who is a Methodist Episcopal minis- ter now located in New Sharon, Iowa; Lloyd, a resident of Deep River town- ship; George Roy and Rolla Francis, twins, the former an electrician of Chi- cago, and the latter residing on a fruit ranch in Montana and also installing electrical plants, being an electrician ; and James, who owns a small farm in Deep River township and is also a carrier on the rural delivery route.
Mrs. Hollingsworth engaged in teaching for several years prior to her mar- riage, receiving her first certificate from Professor L. F. Parker, who is editor of the historical volume of this work. She began earning her livelihood when only eleven years of age and later became one of the successful teachers of the county. She is better known today throughout the county as "Fannie
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Correll" than she is by her married name. She is now one of the oldest set- tlers of Deep River, having lived here for sixty years.
Mr. Hollingsworth in early life voted the democratic ticket but in his later years supported the men and measures of the prohibition party. The only public positions he ever filled were school and road offices. His religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church and for twenty- six years he was an elder in the church. In the last years of his life, owing to ill health, he was obliged to largely withdraw from activity in church and business affairs but he ever lived in harmony with his professions and one who knew him well said of him "he was an exemplary Christian." He enjoyed the companionship of his old comrades in the Civil war through his member- ship in the Grand Army post at Deep River. Quiet and unassuming in man- ner, he found his greatest social enjoyment at his own fireside in the companion- ship of his family and friends and it is there that his loss is most deeply felt.
LOUIS D. KEMMERER.
Louis D. Kemmerer, the mayor of Grinnell, conducts an extensive business as a dealer in vehicles, marketing his buggies all over the United States. His birth occurred in Ackley, lowa, on the 2d of July, 1872, his parents being Edward and Amanda (Cramer ) Kemmerer, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Canada respectively. Their marriage was celebrated in Parkersburg. lowa. to which place they had removed with their respective parents, both the Kem- merer and Cramer families settling in Butler county on coming to this state about 1850. Edward Kemmerer became associated with railroad work early in life and for twenty-three years prior to his demise acted as agent for the Iowa Cen- tral Railway at Grinnell. His death occurred here on the 24th of June, 1904. when he had attained the age of sixty years. His widow still survives and makes her home with our subject.
Louis D. Kemmerer was reared under the parental roof and pursued the pre- scribed course of study in the Grinnell high school, while subsequently he spent three years as a student at Grinnell College. He next entered the lowa State University at Iowa City and in 1892 was graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Following his graduation he accepted the posi- tion of collector for the Spanlding Manufacturing Company. his work taking him from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. He acted in that capacity for about ten years and on the expiration of that period embarked in business on his own account as a retail dealer in vehicles, having conducted an enterprise of this char- acter continuously since. He markets his buggies all over the United States, his salesmen covering the country from coast to coast.
In 1902 Mr. Kemmerer was united in marriage to Miss Ora Warnock, of Magnolia, Arkansas. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his fellow townsmen have honored him with positions of public trust and respon- sibility. For one year he was a member of the town council and in 1909 was elected mayor of Grinnell, in which capacity he is now serving. His adminis-
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tration has been characterized by many measures of reform and improvement and has won uniform approval. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Herman Lodge, No. 273. A. F. & A. M .; Palestine Chapter, No. 101, R. A. M. : and Oriental Commandery, No. 22, K. T., of Newton, Iowa. He is also a member of Grinnell Lodge, No. 175, K. P., and Hardy Camp of the Modern Woodmen of America, while his wife is a devoted and consistent mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Kemmerer stands foremost in his community as one of its leading and influential citizens and is a man honored and esteemed wherever known.
LEWIS CAPEHART.
Lewis Capehart may be classed among the pioneer settlers of Deep River township. for he has made his home here since 1855. He owns a fine tract of eighty-three acres adjoining the village of Tilton and here conducts a general store and is also postmaster. He was born in Belmont county, Ohio, March 22, 1849, a son of Andrew and Letitia (Briggs) Capehart, who were both natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in the Keystone state, after which they removed to Ohio and there spent a few years prior to their removal to Powe- shiek county in 1855. They located on a farm one mile north of where the town of Tilton now stands and here the father engaged in farming throughout the remainder of his life, his death occurring in 1894, when he had reached the venerable age of eighty years. His wife survived for only a year and departed this life in 1895 at the age of eighty years. Their children, five in number, are : Mary, the widow of David Evans, a resident of Thornburg; George, who makes his home in Guthrie Center, Iowa; John, who served in the Civil war as a mein- ber of Company C, Twenty-eighth lowa Infantry, and died at the Soldiers' Home in Marshalltown, August 24. 1910: Elizabeth, the wife of Israel James, of Thornburg. Iowa; and Lewis, of this review.
Lewis Capehart was a little lad of six years when he accompanied his parents on their removal from Ohio to Poweshiek county. He acquired his education in the district schools near his father's home and assisted in the work of the farm through the periods of vacation. He remained at home until 1884, when the Northwestern Railroad was built through that section of the county and the town of Tilton was laid out, when he undertook the management of a mer- chandise and grain business for Cox & Cochran of Deep River. His time was thus employed for two years, after which he spent a similar period with Ed Flint in the management and conduct of a general store. He then entered the employ of Smith & Emmons, proprietors of a hardware, grain and lumber busi- ness at Tilton. In 1899, under the administration of President Mckinley, Mr. Capehart was appointed postmaster of Tilton, and at that time he also opened a general mercantile establishment, which he has conducted to the present time. He has built up an excellent trade in this line, his patrons coming from many miles around, while in the discharge of his official duties he is giving the utmost satisfaction. He owns a good tract of land comprising eighty-three acres on sec-
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tion 34, Deep River township, on which stands a comfortable residence and good outbuildings, his place adjoining the town limits of Tilton.
Mr. Capehart was married December 24. 1868, to Miss Mary E. McBurney, who was born July 17, 1850, in Lee county, Illinois, and was brought to Powe- shiek county during her childhood days by her parents, Thomas and Catharine McBurney, who were natives of Pennsylvania. They are now both deceased, having passed away in Poweshiek county. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cape- hart has been blessed with six daughters and two sons, namely: Viola, the wife of a Mr. Regon, of Aberdeen, South Dakota; Arthur, a resident of Ringgold county, Iowa; Mary Ella, the wife of John Shull, of Wisconsin: Amanda, the wife of Charles Clarahan, who is postoffice inspector in Boston, Massachusetts ; Maude, the wife of Joseph Harris, a resident of Miller, South Dakota ; Inez. the wife of Clark Minor, who lives in Keokuk county, three miles east of Til- ton; Harland, a resident of Montana ; and Catharine, the wife of John McCul- ley, of Keokuk county, Iowa.
Mr. Caphart is a democrat in his political affiliations, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. of which he is now serving as a trustee. He is a Mason of high rank, having attained the thirty-second degree. He belongs to Perfect Union Lodge, No. 277, at Thornburg; to the chapter at What Cheer; the commandery at Oskaloosa; and to the consistory and Mystic Shrine at Davenport. He was made a Mason twenty- eight years ago and is a prominent member of the craft. He also holds mem- bership relations with the Eastern Star lodge at Thornburg. When Mr. Cape- hart came here in his childhood days, the nearest neighbor of the family was five miles distant. He has lived to see the village of Tilton laid out and has seen it flourish, while the country round about has become thickly settled with a con- tented and prosperous people. He is well known as a pioneer of this section and as a most industrious and useful man, whose probity is an unquestioned element in his career. His time has often been at the service of his community and he has gained the love and respect of all among whom he has lived and labored.
CHRISTIAN D. BRENIMAN.
The name of Breniman is well known to the residents of Brooklyn and Poweshiek county, the family having been established in this locality as early as 1855, since which time representatives of the name have borne an important part in the development of the district along agricultural lines. The family is of Swiss origin, Christian D. Breniman having been born in Switzerland, about four miles from the city of Berne, on the 29th of August. 1836. His parents were Christian and Barbara (Durig) Breniman, also natives of Switzerland, who brought their family to the United States in 1852, locating first in Tus- carawas county, Ohio, and three years later, in the spring of 1855, they ar- rived in Poweshiek county, Iowa. The family home was established about four miles southeast of Brooklyn, and there the father engaged in general farming for a number of years. He passed away on the old homestead in 1874, at the
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age of sixty-two years, and his wife survived until 1897, her death occurring when she was eighty-two years old.
Their family of ten children included the following: Christian D., of this review; Fred, who enlisted from Poweshiek county and served throughout the last three years of the Civil war as a member of Company H, Twenty- eighth Iowa Infantry, and who is now deceased, his death occurring in Grin- nell in 1908; Rudolph, of Fort Collins, Colorado, who also enlisted in Com- pany H, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, serving as drummer boy; Rosina, who wedded Myron Whitney and passed away in 1905; Margaret, the wife of Ed- ward McVeigh, a resident of Nebraska, who enlisted from Poweshiek county as a soldier of the Fourth Iowa Cavalry; Mary, the wife of Charles Wootters, of Cleveland, Ohio, who likewise enlisted from this county in the Tenth Iowa Infantry; Gottlieb, of Brooklyn, mentioned elsewhere in this volume; Eliza, who married Chris Mohr, of Brooklyn; Arnold, of California; and John, a resident of Fort Collins. All of this number, with the exception of the last named, were born in Switzerland, and all lived to rear families of their own. At one time they were all located on farms south of Brooklyn, where the sons owned about twenty-five hundred acres all in one body, and the locality became known throughout the district as the Breniman settlement.
Christian D. Breniman acquired his education in the schools of the father- land and was a lad of sixteen years when he crossed the Atlantic with his pa- rents. Since his arrival in Poweshiek county in 1855 he has never been out- side its limits for any length of time except once in 1863, when he went abroad for the purpose of visiting his old home in Switzerland. When old enough to enter business on his own account he wisely chose the occupation of farm- ing as his life work, and for many years was considered one of the most sub- stantial and prosperous agriculturists of Lincoln township. He and his brothers all became very well-to-do, for in the conduct of their affairs they not only exhibited the sturdy traits of industry, perseverance and thrift so characteristic of the German race but also the spirit of progress and enterprise which has come to be recognized as the dominant American force. They followed the most practical and up-to-date methods in the cultivation of their fields, erected fine large buildings and introduced all of the modern equipment for facilitating farm labor, and with the passing of the years the section known as Breni- man's settlement became one of the most valuable and desirable properties in the county. Christian D. Breniman became the owner of over three hundred acres of finely developed farm land, and he continued in the successful opera- tion of his fields until about five years ago, when he retired from business with a handsome fortune and took up his residence in Brooklyn.
It was in 1867 that Mr. Breniman was united in marriage to Miss J. Annah Pierce, a native of Connecticut, born on the 21st of May, 1845. Her parents were H. F. and Julia (Wilson) Pierce, also natives of Connecticut, who came west in 1854, locating first in Illinois, while ten years later, in 1864, they ar- rived in Iowa. Mr. Pierce was a master of the Grange here and became very well known throughout Poweshiek county. He and his wife both passed away in Kansas two years ago when about ninety years of age. In their family were four children, as follows: Annah, who became Mrs. Breniman; Frank, the
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county clerk of Kearney county, Kansas, residing in Lakin, who was also at one time county auditor of Poweshiek county and was a student of Iowa Col- lege; William, a resident physician of Clayton, Kansas, who was also a student of Iowa College; and Minnie, the deceased wife of Rudolph Breniman, a brother of Christian D. Breniman, her death occurring in 1896.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Breniman were born seven children, namely: Bertha, a graduate of Iowa College at Grinnell, now engaged in teaching in South Da- kota; Irene, who was also engaged in teaching for about twenty years in Iowa and Nebraska prior to her marriage to Ira McMullen, of Brooklyn; Elbridge, a physician of Ackley, Iowa, and a graduate of Rush Medical College; Fan- nie, who was graduated from lowa College at Grinnell and engaged in teach- ing for the past eighteen years but passed away on the 25th of May, 1911. Marie, who was a nurse in the Methodist Episcopal Hospital at Des Moines for a year and a half, and is a graduate of the Deaconess Training School of Chi- cago; Edward, who was educated at the State Normal School at Cedar Falls and is now operating his father's farm ; and Virginia; living at home.
Mr. Breniman owns an attractive home on Des Moines street, Brooklyn. and the hospitality of his home is enjoyed by a large circle of friends. He be- longs to the Moravian church, which the Breniman family was instrumental in establishing here. being the largest contributors to its building fund. This church was built by the family in Warren township and was the first country church built in the county, being erected in 1869. In politics he voted with the republican party until the election of Grover Cleveland. since which time he has given his support to the democracy. He held all of the offices in Lincoln township and during his residence there was recognized as one of its most promi- nent and influential citizens. Since coming to Brooklyn, however, he has led a quiet life, content to leave to others the active duties of citizenship, and now, having reached the seventy-fifth milestone on life's journey, he is enjoying the fruits of a success that is most substantial and well merited ..
HARRISON I. DAVIS.
Shortly after the Civil war Harrison I. Davis arrived in Poweshiek county and for nearly forty-five years he has been connected with the development of the county. He was a valiant soldier for the Union when the life of the republic was assailed and he has been a patriotic, energetic and progressive citizen. A successful business man, he now enjoys in peace and comfort the rewards of many years of application.
He was born in Chenango county, New York, February 19, 1840, and is a son of Isaac and Phebe (Gray ) Davis. The father was a native of New York state, while the mother's family were from Massachusetts. Isaac Davis was a mechanic but turned his attention to farming and in 1852 took up his residence in Bureau county, Illinois. In 1866 he came to Poweshiek county, lowa, and settled on a farm in section 25, Sheridan township, where he con- tinued until his death, which occurred July 2, 1878. Politically he was originally
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H. I. DAVIS
THENEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR LENOX AND T_ T=N NOAT ONS.
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an old line whig but after the organization of the republican party gave to it his support. The mother died at Grinnell, May 25, 1898, on the ninety-second anniversary of her birth.
Harrison I. Davis received his early education in the common schools of New York and Illinois and began his business career by working upon an Illinois farm. Just as he was fairly started, the country was overshadowed by the great rebellion, and. like thousands of patriotic young men, he offered nis services in support of the stars and stripes. He became a member of Com- pany K. Ninety-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, enlisting at Princeton, Bureau county. Illinois. The regiment served under General Grant in the Mississippi campaign and also at Vicksburg, and after the fall of that city was trans- ferred to the Fifteenth Army Corps under General Sherman. Mr. Davis en- listed as a private but was made lieutenant, serving in that capacity until hos- tilities ceased. He participated in Sherman's march to the sea and also in the grand review at Washington, serving in all for two years and eleven months. He took part in the Vicksburg campaign and the battles of Chattanooga and Champion's Hill, his company losing fifty per cent of its number and his regiment one-third. The official record of the regiment shows that Lieutenant Davis was kept busily employed. He was in command of the company from May 16, 1863. to July 4, 1863, during the battles and siege of Vicksburg. On November 1, 1863. he was assigned to command Company I, serving in this capacity until Novem- ber 21, and on November 25 he was assigned to Company F in the battle of Missionary Ridge. In this engagement Adjutant H. G. Hicks was severely wounded and Lieutenant Davis was. assigned to duty-, as acting adjutant of the regiment, serving in this capacity until April 19, 1864, when he was assigned to command Company HI, guarding a railroad bridge at Lime Stone Creek, be- tween Huntsville and Decatur. Alabama. At Savannah, Georgia, December 29, 1864, he was detailed to command the Division' Escort Company at the headquarters of the Third Division, . Fifteenth Army Corps. He was in com- mand of his company through the Carolina campaign until April 26, 1864, and at Raleigh, North Carolina. April 28, 1864, was detailed to act as regimental quartermaster. serving in this capacity on the march to Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D. C. When the Ninety-third Illinois Regiment was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, June 23, 1865, the books and records of the regiment were placed in charge of Lieutenant Davis and he delivered them to the chief mustering officer at Chicago. Lieutenant Colonel Nick C. Boswell of the Ninety- third Illinois Regiment concludes a notation of Lieutenant Davis with the following highly commendatory words: "In all the many responsible posi- tions Lieutenant Harrison I. Davis was called upon to fill during his service in the army he everywhere and at all times proved himself to be an officer of marked ability. In battle prompt and brave; on the march active and at- tentive to duty : at all times a cheerful, pleasant gentleman, who did not fail to win the esteem of all associates."
After laying aside the uniform and accoutrements of war, Mr. Davis ap- plied himself to farming in Poweshiek county, Iowa, until 1894. He removed to Grinnell in 1884 and has ever since made his home in this city. In addi- tion to his farming interests he associated with H. E. Roberts in the conduct Vol. II-32
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of a grain elevator and lumberyard at Ripley, Iowa, from 1896 to 1909. the business proving highly profitable.
On the 20th of December, 1866, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Emily E. Trimble, of Princeton, Illinois, a daughter of Mathew and Lydia ( Thatcher ) Trimble, both of whom were natives of Clinton county, Ohio. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Davis, namely: Dwight E., who is now deceased; Harry L., who is married and is now engaged in the grocery business at Oskaloosa; Darline, who attended the Conservatory of Music at Grinnell and married V. G. Preston, now engaged in the clothing business at Grinnell; Mark G., deceased; Glen T., now engaged in farming at Butte, Ne- braska; Edith, who married William Mores, who is engaged in the clothing business at Manhatten, Montana; Buren T., deceased ; and Wilbur C., a grad- nate of Grinnell College, who is now at Butte, Montana.
Mr. Davis is a valued member of Gordan Granger Post, No. 64. G. A. R., and his wife is a member of the Christian church. Politically, he is an earnest adherent of the republican party, being known as a "stand pat" republican and he has always taken great interest in politics. He was the first township clerk of Sheridan township, being elected in 1867, also served as trustee and member of the county board of supervisors, and was a member of the city coun- cil of Grinnell for three terms. He has through life represented advanced lines of thought and effort and has generally been found in the thick of the battle. He has never shirked responsibility and having once entered upon any undertaking he has almost invariably carried it through to a successful con- clusion. He belongs to that class of men who are natural leaders. and of him it may truly be said that in the course of a long and useful life he has al- ways attempted to perform his duty.
JOHN McMILLAN.
Nature seems to have intended that man should enjoy a period of rest in the evening of life. In youth one is filled with hope and enthusiasm. in mature years his energy and determination are tempered by sound judgment and ex- perience and therefore, if he is persistent in his labors, success will attend him and then when the evening shadows fall he will find it possible to enjoy a period of rest from labor. Such has been the history of John McMillan, who, although now living retired, was for a number of years one of the active and energetic farmers of Poweshiek county.
He was born in Vermont, September 27, 1838, and has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished. His parents were Andrew and Emily U. (Dana) McMillan, the former born in Maine and the latter in Vermont. The mother is descended from the well known Dana family of the east and traced her ancestry back to King Louis XIV. of France. In the line of descent also appears the name of Israel Putnam, the noted general of the Revolution- ary war.
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The entire life of Andrew McMillan was spent in the east. He attended West Point Military Academy, being graduated from that institution with the class of which Major Anderson, the defender of Fort Sumter, was also a member. For a time he conducted a general store and later became interested in farm lands. He served as county surveyor for forty years up to the time of his death and was also called upon by his fellowmen to represent his district in the state senate. He became a well known engineer in the east and was appointed chairman of the engineering corps that drew the boundary line be- tween Maine and New Brunswick. In 1853 he received an offer to come west with J. B. Grinnell to assist in building the city of Grinnell, Iowa, but declined, preferring to remain in the east. He passed away in 1875, honored, respected and loved by all who knew him. He was a good father, a loving husband, a faithful friend and an exemplary citizen. To Andrew and Emma McMillan were born four children, namely : Putnam D., a business man of Minneapolis, Minnesota ; Sarah D., who married the Rev. E. G. Parsons, of Londonderry, New Hampshire, and was actively engaged with him in school work at Pinker- ton Academy of Londonderry and in other places until her death; John, of this review; and Julia, deceased.
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