USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > History of Poweshiek County, Iowa: a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 67
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Charles E. Bossler was a child of two years of age when his parents came to Poweshiek county, whose district schools he attended in the acquirement of his education at such times as he could be spared from the work of the farm. He remained a member of the paternal household until he was eleven years of age when he left home to work for strangers. From that time until his mar- riage, at the age of twenty-five years, he worked as a farm hand. In 1890 he rented a farm in Malcom township for one year, at the exipration of which time he settled upon his present homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Sheridan township. Here he engages in general farming but makes a specialty of feeding sheep. having a flock each year of from five to nineteen hundred, and
MR. AND MRS. C. E. BOSSEER
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
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several winters he has fed a thousand. He always buys western sheep and sends them to the Chicago market. Besides his sheep Mr. Bossler also raises a few cattle and hogs while his fields are given over to the cultivation of such grains as he deems best adapted for the feeding of his stock. He owns one of the excellent farms of the vicinity, the general appearance of which bespeaks the capable supervision of a competent and progressive agriculturist. The land, all of which is under cultivation, is tiled and well fenced, while his improve- ments are superior to those to be found on the average farm.
Mr. Bossler was married on the 24th of July, 1890, to Mrs. Emma L. Searl, a daughter of Eli P. and Sarah ( Rearick ) Judd. Mr. Judd was born near Rut- ledge, Vermont, but Mrs. Judd is a native of the state of New York, having been born and reared in the vicinity of Mill Grove, Cattaraugus county. They were married on the 31st of October, 1837, in Erie county, New York, Mr. Judd. who was a farmer, had removed to Illinois the previous year. Their domestic life began on a farm near Princeton, Bureau county, Illinois, where Mrs. Boss- ler was born on the 2d of November, 1847. In 1869 they migrated to lowa, settling on a farm north of Brooklyn, in the cultivation of which Mr. Judd en- gaged until he retired to Malcom, where they were living when Mrs. Searl and Mr. Bossler were married. Mr. Judd passed away in Chicago on the 9th of May, 1894, on his way home from Florida, where he had been spending the winter. His wife, who passed her ninety-second anniversary on the 5th of June, 1911, has very good health for one of her years and makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Jacob Teraberry of Malcom. Mr. and Mrs. Bossler had one child, which died in infancy.
His political allegiance Mr. Bossler" accords the democratic party and has served on the district school board for twelve years. 'Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church of Malcom and are well and favorably known in the community where they have spent a large portion of their lives.
WILLIAM JARVIS JOHNSON.
William Jarvis Johnson, a retired business man, of Malcom, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, March 15, 1840, a son of William H. and Sarah (Couter) Johnson, natives of Maryland. That state was also the birthplace of Mr. Johnson's maternal grandparents and likewise of his paternal grandmother. The paternal grandfather, James Johnson, was a native of Philadelphia and served as a soldier of the War of 1812. The father, William H. Johnson, was a hatter by trade, and he and his wife both passed away in Baltimore during the childhood of the subject. In their family were six children, of whom William Jarvis Johnson was the eldest. The others were as follows: Laura, deceased ; Edwin, of Baltimore; Samuel: Emma, who married George Thayer, of Balti- inore; and Washington, also deceased.
When a little lad of seven years William Jarvis Johnson went to Wheeling, West Virginia, and there took up his abode with his paternal grandmother, with whom he continued to reside for ten years. Upon her death in 1857 he came
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with an uncle to Iowa, locating first in Davenport, and in the following year began working at the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1862. In that year he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting from Davenport, on the 13th of August, as a soldier of Company E. Twentieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He served until honorably discharged at Clinton, Iowa, on the 31st of August, 1865, and during this period took part in all of the engagements of his regiment.
He returned to Davenport and then in June: 1866. went to Brooklyn, where he engaged in merchandising until August of that year. when he sold out and came to Malcom, here erecting the first house in the town. He also opened the first store here on the 15th of September. 1866, and was made the first post- master. Two years later, however, in 1868. he sold his business and resigned the office of postmaster to accept the position of agent for the Rock Island Railroad Company at Malcom. He was the second agent here and continued in that capacity until January 1. 1882, when he was elected treasurer of Poweshiek county, thus serving for three terms or six years. In 1892 he re- turned to Malcom and in the following year, in connection with O. F. Dorrance and O. H. Leonard. of Brooklyn, purchased the Malcom Bank. This relation- ship continued for five years, during which period Mr. Johnson acted as cashier. owning a half or controlling interest in the business. In 1898 he purchased the interest of his partners and remained the sole owner of the bank until August 7, 1905, when he sold out to the Malcom Savings Bank.
He was deeply interested in the affairs of the institution of which he was the proprietor and inaugurated a system and policy which at all times commanded the confidence and patronage of the general public. At the same time he re- garded the demands of every individual depositor as something to which he should give his attention and his opinions were frequently sought by patrons of the bank. On selling the bank he withdrew from active business and is now living retired. For a time, however. he served as a director of the Malcom Savings Bank, but his present connection therewith is merely that of a stock- holder. He is the owner of a quarter section of land south of the town, and as a result of his well directed efforts of former years he is now ranked among the men of affluence of Poweshiek county.
Mr. Johnson was united in marriage, on the 3ist of August, 1862, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Bentley, who was born in Fishkill. New York, June 2. 1840. and in 1856 came west with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Bentley. U'nto this union have been born six children, namely: Ella K., a graduate nurse of Johnstown, Pennsylvania ; Clifton L., who was killed by a horse in Monte- zuma on the 18th of December, 1882; May Elizabeth, a graduate of the musical department of Grinnell College, who passed away July 18, 1895, when twenty- three years of age; Grace Ethel, whose death occurred in 1874; Edith Estella. who died in 1886 when nine years and seven months old ; and George Sterling. a twin brother of Edith Estella, who is now advertising manager for the Des Moines Capital.
Fraternally Mr. Johnson is a Mason, holding membership in Lily Lodge. No. 254, A. F. & A. M., of Malcom; Hyssop Chapter, No. 50. R. A. M., of Malcom: and Oriental Commandery, No. 22, K. T., of Newton, Iowa. He is
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also a member of Wisner Post, No. 127, G. A. R., of Montezuma. Iowa. Polit- ically he is a stanch republican and aside from the position of county treasurer has held many town and school offices, serving as president, treasurer or direc- tor of the school board for many years. Ever public-spirited in his citizenship, he may truly be numbered among the community's builders, for he has been identified with the history of Malcom from the beginning, and while his efforts have been rewarded by a most substantial individual success, they have at the same time been potent factors in the development of the community at large and he is today recognized as one of the most substantial and representative citizens of Malconi.
ULYSSES MERTON REED.
Ulysses Merton Reed, the present attorney for Poweshiek county, is thus actively connected with a profession which has an important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or community, and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights.
He is a native son of Indiana, his birth occurring in Delaware county on the Lith of November, 1874. His parents were H. H. and Emma ( Heath) Reed. the former born in Henry county, Indiana, January 13. 1853, and the latter in Delaware county on the 23d of October, 1856. They brought their family to Brooklyn in March, 1882, and located on a farm about four and half miles north of the town, where they resided until 1898, when they went to Pipestone, Minnesota, where the mother passed away a year later. Mr. Reed still survives and makes his home in Minneapolis. For a number of years he was engaged in farming and merchandising. He served as postmaster of Brooklyn for four years during the administration of President Harrison, but the past fifteen years have been devoted to the real-estate business, in which he has met with most substantial success. His family consisted of nine children, of whom the subject of this review was the eldest.
Coming with his parents to Brooklyn when a lad of eight years Ulysses Merton Reed has since made this his place of residence. His education, which had been begun in Indiana, was continued in the schools of this town, and in 1892 he graduated from the Brooklyn high school. He was a student at Grinnell College for one year, and for a similar period attended De Pauw University at Greencastle, Indiana. His legal knowledge was received under the direc- tion of Judge John T. Scott, in whose office Mr. Reed read law, and he was admitted to the bar in May. 1899, six months after his preceptor was elected to the bench. He at once opened an office in Brooklyn and it was not long before he was accorded a most gratifying patronage, his clientage continuously increas- ing as his ability to successfully handle important legal questions became recog- nized. He was thus engaged in general practice until his election, in 1910, to the office of county attorney, since which time he has given his attention to the duties of that office.
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Along with those qualities indispensable to the lawyer-a keen, rapid, logical mind plus the business sense-he combines a ready capacity for hard work and a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to correctly apply its prin- ciples. His preparation of his case is thorough, for at no time has his reading ever been confined to the limitation of the questions at issue. It has gone be- yond and compassed every contingency and provided not alone for the ex- pected but for the unexpected, which happens in the courts quite as frequently as out of them.
Mr. Reed was married, in April, 1898. to Miss Bernice A. Whitcomb, a native of Poweshiek county and a daughter of Horace and Rosetta Whitcomb. They are the parents of three children : Harold, Helen and Frances. Fraternally Mr. Reed is a Master Mason, while his professional relations are with the Iowa State Bar Association. He is an active and helpful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his political belief is that of the republican party. Al- though numbered among the younger members of the bar he has nevertheless won for himself favorable criticism from the bench and bar for the careful and systematic methods which he has followed, and is ranked among the most successful attorneys of Poweshiek county.
WILLIAM BOLEN.
One of the representative stockmen and public-spirited citizens of Madison township is William Bolen, who is a native of Poweshiek county, his birth hav- ing occurred in Sheridan township on the 12th day of January. 1874, his parents being Michael and Elizabeth Ann (Thompson) Bolen. The father was born and reared in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, but was of Irish extraction. while the mother was a native of Quebec, Canada, and of Scotch descent. They came to Iowa in 1869, first locating upon a farm in Madison township, which they cultivated for a year, and then removed to Sheridan township, settling upon a place a mile east of the present homestead of their son Edward. They con- tinned to reside there for twenty-seven years, at the expiration of which period they retired to Tama, Tama county, Iowa, where the father passed away on the Ist of February, 1907. The mother, however, is still living and makes her home in Tama. Mr. Bolen was a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in Company K, Sixty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, with which he went to the front, and he remained in the service for three years and six months, during which time he participated in twenty-six of the most severe battles of the war. Upon receiving his discharge at the expiration of his period of enlistment he immediately reenlisted and served until the close of hostilities.
William Bolen was reared upon the homestead where he was born, obtaining his education in the district school, and afterward he assisted his father in the cultivation of the farm until he was twenty-three years of age. He then left the parental roof to begin working for himself. He bought eighty acres of land in Sheridan township which he disposed of three months later. purchasing one hundred and twenty acres elsewhere in the same township. After cultivating
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this place for six years he decided to become a citizen of Madison township, thereupon purchasing his present homestead, which consists of one hundred and sixty acres of land. In addition to the latter place he also owns one hundred and twenty acres in Sheridan township. Mr. Bolen is one of the largest and best known feeders and shippers of Madison township, as he sells annually from eight to ten carloads of stock in the Chicago market. He engages in general farming, all of his land being under cultivation, and keeps a good line of graded stock.
Mr. Bolen married Miss Sylvia Lamb on the 22d of February, 1898. Her parents, Tobias and Rachel (Humes) Lamb, were natives of Ohio and Indiana respectively. After their marriage, which occurred in Indiana, they removed to Bureau county, Illinois, locating upon a farm in the vicinity of Princeton. They subsequently came to Iowa, living in Keokuk county until 1883, when they came to Poweshiek county and located upon a farm in Malcom township. There Mr. Lamb passed away in 1901 and for nine years following Mrs. Lamb continued to reside on the homstead, but in the spring of 1910 she re- moved to Brooklyn, where she is now living. Mr. Lamb was a soldier of the Civil war. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bolen have been born five children as follows: Michael, who is twelve years of age; Verner, aged ten years; Ephraim, aged eight years; Gerald, aged six years; and Gladys, who has passed the fourth anniversary of her birth. Tlie four older children are all attending school in district No. 9, Madison township.
Fraternally Mr. Bolen is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, his local identification being with Brooklyn Lodge, No. 114, I. O. O. F., while he and his wife belong to the Rebekah lodge, of Malcom. He has always supported the candidates of the republican party and takes an active and help- ful interest in local politics, having served for a number of years as a school director in district No. 9, Madison township, and at the present time he is also acting as assessor and trustee and was at one time township clerk. A man of sound judgment and practical ideas in addition to the capable discharge of his private affairs he finds time to assist in the management of the township, where he is highly regarded as a citizen and business man.
EDWARD BRAINERD BRANDE.
Edward Brainerd Brande, well known in business circles of Grinnell in con- nection with the wholesale lumber trade, has been associated with the firm of B. J. Carney & Company since 1907, and previous to that time was identified with the predecessors of the present firm. He is a man of enterprising spirit and his progress in commercial circles has been the legitimate sequence of close application and untiring industry.
Mr. Brande was born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, August 24, 1866, a son of Thomas and Isabella Brande. The removal of the family to Iowa enabled the son to continue his education in the Grinnell high school, from which he was graduated on the 14th of June, 1881. He afterward spent three years as a
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student in Grinnell College and two years in the State University of Iowa, thus being well equipped by a thorough educational training for the practical and responsible duties of life.
Ilis early business connection was with John Moore & Company, manufac- turers. of Chicago, Illinois, with whom he was associated for five years, or from 1888 until 1893. In the latter year he became bookkeeper for Carney Brothers, lumber dealers of Grinnell, and following a change in the ownership of the business, leading to the assumption of the firm name of Carney, Brande & Clark. he became one of the executive heads of the business, which was carried on under that style until 1907. A reorganization led to the adoption of the firm name of B. J. Carney & Company. For eighteen years Mr. Brande has been associated with this business, which is one of the important wholesale lumber enterprises of central lowa. Its trade connections now cover a wide territory and the business has constantly increased under the able direction of Mr. Brande and his associates. Actuated by that laudable ambition which is ever the stimulus of endeavor in business, he has gradually worked his way upward and now occupies a prominent place among the prosperous citizens of Grinnell, where he is also financially connected with the gas company.
On the 25th of September, 1889, in Chicago, Mr. Brande was united in mar- riage to Miss Juanita A. Perley, and they have one son, Dawson, born Septem- ber 3. 1890. In politics Mr. Brande is a republican, and though not an aspirant for office, keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is ever mindful of the duties and obligations of citizenship. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and also holds membership with the Poweshieks, the Grant Club and the Hyperion Field and Motor Club, the last two being Des Moines organiza- tions. His business connections have made him prominently known in Grinnell and in other sections of the state and his social qualities have constantly pro- moted his popularity.
JOEL G. HAMBLETON.
A well known resident of Scarsboro, who for many years was identified with the agricultural and commercial interests of Poweshiek county. is Joel G. Ham- bleton, now living retired. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 16th of September, 1824, and is a son of Benjamin and Ann ( Hanna ) Hamble- ton. The father was born in Chester county. Pennsylvania, on the farm where the battle of Brandywine was fought, on the 15th of March, 1789, while the birth of the mother occurred in Campbell county, Virginia, on the 30th of July, 1797. Mr. Hambleton was a miller by trade and in his early manhood he mi- grated to Ohio, where he met and married Miss Hanna, their union being solemnized in 1815. They continued to reside in the Buckeye state until 1864. when they came to Poweshiek county. Iowa, locating in Sugar Creek township. two miles east of Searsboro. There the father died on the 22d of April, 1865. but the mother survived until the toth of March, 1867. Mr. Hambleton always
JOEL G. HAMBLETON
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voted with the whigs until that party was merged into the republican, after which he affiliated with the latter organization. In matters religious he always re- mained true to the faith in which he had been reared, which was that of the So- ciety of Friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Hambleton were the parents of ten children: Rachel, who was born on the 14th of October, 1816, and died in January, 1864, was the wife of Elisha Dutton, to whom she was married in 1853; Osborn, who was born on the 13th of June, 1818, died on the 25th of November, 1882; Levi, born on the 4th of August, 1820, died on the 2nd of April, 1899: Catherine, is deceased ; Joel G., is the next of the family; Thomas is also deceased; Martha is the wife of Henry Craver, of Marshalltown, Iowa; Esther and Sarah are both deceased ; and one died in infancy.
Joel G. Hambleton was educated in the schools of Butler township, Colum- biana county, Ohio, following which he worked in his father's mill and assisted in the work of the homestead until he was twenty-one years of age. He and his brother Osborn then rented the mill, which they operated until 1852. He next went to Lorain county, Ohio, where he ran a sawmill for five years. At the expiration of that time he came to Poweshiek county, Iowa, locating in Sugar Creek township in the spring of 1857. He lived on his brother Levi's farm there for six years, and then bought a farm, which he cultivated until the Iowa Central Railroad was built. Withdrawing from agricultural pursuits at that time, he engaged in the lumber business at Searsboro with his brother Levi butt still resided on the farm. Later they extended the scope of their business to include the grain trade. In 1874, however, Levi Hambleton sold his interest to Messrs. Craver and Steele, the firm then being reorganized under the name of J. G. Hambleton & Company, so continuing until 1876, when the partner- ship was dissolved. Joel G. Hambleton, however, continued to deal in grain and coal until 1879. In that year he sold his elevator and through the two subse- quent years bought grain for Morse & Whitney. He then removed to Sears- boro and for three years filled the position of postmaster at that place. He next gave his attention to his farms until the last one was sold three years ago. He is now living retired, receiving a sufficient income from his property and investments to enable him to live in comfort and free from care or responsibility.
On the 30th of March, 1851, Mr. Hambleton was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe Cooper, a daughter of Whitson and Rachel (Erskine) Cooper, of Clear- field county, Pennsylvania. Her father was born in Chester county, Pennsyl- vania, and her mother in Clearfield county. Mr. Cooper died when his daughter Phoebe was a child of ten years. An active, public-spirited man, he always took an interest in all political affairs. To Mr. and Mrs. Hambleton were born three sons: Orlando, who is deceased; Linden, who is living in Ottumwa, Iowa; and Thomas F., who died at the age of three years. On the 30th of March, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Hambleton celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage.
In matters politic Mr. Hambleton has ever given his support to the men and measures of the republican party. He has always met the responsibilities of citizenship by assuming his share of the governmental duties. While living in Sugar Creek township he served for twenty-five years as treasurer of the school board. three terms as township trustee and one as clerk. He also served as Vol. II-34
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mayor of Searsboro for six years and for one term he was a member of the board of county supervisors, and for three years acted as postmaster under President Arthur. During his younger days he took an active interest in the work of the Good Templars, thus expressing his views on temperance, and he also belonged to the Grange. In matters of religion he has always clung to the faith of his forefathers and is a birthright member of the Hicksite branch of the Society of Friends. He possesses many of the fine characteristics of his Scotch ancestors and has striven to maintain in all of his relations of life, both public and private, the fine principles which have won him the high regard of all with whom he has had transactions.
GERSHOM HYDE HILL, A. M., M. D.
Gershom Hyde Hill needs little introduction to the readers of this volume, for he became widely known in the state as assistant superintendent and super- intendent of the State Hospital for the Insane at Independence and is prom- inent now as a private practitioner and as one of the proprietors of The Re- treat, a private hospital for the treatment of nervous and mild mental disorders in Des Moines. His accomplishments in the practice of his profession have been of signal service to humanity and his investigations and researches have constituted valuable contributions to scientific knowledge. But while he re- gards the practice of his profession as his chief life work, it does not exchide his active assistance along lines of public progress for municipal reform or in support of temperance, educational and church movements.
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