USA > Iowa > Story County > History of Story County, Iowa; a record of organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 18
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Thomas W. Rawson was reared at home, where he early gained a true knowledge of the importance and value of labor. He received his prelim- inary education in the common schools and also attended lowa College Academy, at Grinnell, from which he was graduated in the class of 1901. Immediately after leaving school he entered the Farmers Savings Bank of Slater as assistant cashier and continued in that position until July, 1910, when upon the death of M. S. Helland, cashier of the bank, he was selected to fill the vacancy. In the discharge of his duties he has shown an interest and ability which are highly pleasing to the officers and stockholders of the institution.
On the 3d of September, 1902, Mr. Rawson was united in marriage at Slater to Miss Belle Nelson, a daughter of Hon. Oley Nelson, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. One child, Homer Arnold, has come to bless this union.
Mr. Rawson has possessed every desirable advantage of education and training for the banking business that could be desired and, having made good use of his opportunities, he has enjoyed the favors of fortune and has also been accorded the confidence and esteem of the entire community. Politically he gives his support to the republican party and as a citizen he extends a willing hand to every worthy movement seeking to promote the permanent interests of this section.
GEORGE A. KLOVE.
There is in the atmosphere of the west something that calls forth en- ergy, determination and ambition on the part of the citizens of this sec- tion of the country. Imbued with this spirit, George A. Klove has made substantial progress in his business career, and is now occupying the posi- tion of assistant cashier of the First National Bank of Nevada. Ile was born in Decorah, Winneshiek county, lowa, on the 16th of January, 1867. and is a son of Edwin and Christina ( Howard ) Klove, both of whom were natives of Norway, whence they came to America in their childhood days with their respective parents and settled near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The
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father was born at Voss, Norway, on the 19th of October, 1836, and was a son of Andrew and Gundvor ( Ringheim) Klove, who were also natives of Voss. In the year 1843, they sailed for the new world with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as their destination, and soon afterward located on a farm about twenty miles southwest of that city, where they remained for a long period. About 1864, however, they removed westward to Winneshiek county, Iowa, where the father's death occurred in 1865. The mother sur- vived him for several years and passed away in 1870. Both were sixty- nine years of age when called to their final home. Andrew Klove had fol- lowed farming throughout his entire life and was known as a worthy and representative citizen of the community in which his last days were passed. His family numbered thirteen children, all of whom were born in Norway with the exception of two.
Edwin Klove was only six years of age when the family crossed the Atlantic, and with his parents he resided until 1860, when he went to De- corah, Iowa, making the trip alone. There he established a general mer- cantile business in connection with I. A. Ringheim, a cousin. This associa- tion was maintained for two years, when they disposed of their stock and Edwin Klove accepted the position of deputy in the office of county treas- urer. Later he was elected county treasurer and filled the position in a most acceptable and creditable manner for eight years, proving a most faithful custodian of the public funds. He was then out of business for a short time. In 1883, he removed to Nevada, where he has since made his home, and for ten years acted as clerk in the store of I. A. Ringheim. Following the death of Mr. Ringheim Mr. Klove retired and has since spent his days in the enjoyment of well earned rest. In the year 1864, he married Christina Howard, who was born in Voss, Norway, October 31, 1841, and came to this country with her parents about 1844. She was a daughter of Joseph and Christina Howard, both of whom died in Wiscon- sin. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Klove were born seven children : George A., of this review; Janette, the wife of U. S. Alderman of Nevada ; Henry, of Sac City, Iowa; Edmond Joseph, of Ames, Iowa; Frederick Howard, who is located in Livingston, Montana; Anna Louise, a resident of Minn- eapolis; and Mrs. Alice McCall, deceased.
In taking up the personal history of George A. Klove, we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Story county, where he has made his home for more than twenty-seven years. The first sixteen years of his life were spent in Decorah, Iowa, and in September, 1883, he came to Nevada, where he has since resided. He pursued a high school course in Decorah, but after coming to Story county turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, serving as a clerk until 1896. In that year he was appointed deputy county treasurer, in which capacity he served for four years, at the end of which time he was chosen county treasurer, and by reelection was continued in the office for two terms. He has been prominent in the public life of the community, and it is well known
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that his aid and influence are ever to be found on the side of progress and improvement. He was mayor of Nevada for one term, 1903-1904, and gave to the city a businesslike administration, wherein the interests of the city were greatly promoted. He became connected with the First National Bank as assistant cashier, and still continues in that position.
In 1895 Mr. Klove was united in marriage to Miss Sylvia Thompson, a native of Nevada, and a daughter of F. D. Thompson. They now have two children: Herman Thompson and Sumner Edwin.
In his political life Mr. Klove has been a lifelong republican, unfalter- ing in his allegiance to the principles of the party. He has served as a member of the city council and also as secretary of the school board, filling the former position from April. 1906 until April. 1909. while in the latter office he served for four years. He hokls membership in the Lutheran church and for many years has served on its council. Ile also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity, the Masonic lodge and the Modern Woodmen camp. The greater part of his life has been passed in Story county, and that his record has ever been a most honorable one is indi- cated in the fact that his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present time. Few men are more prominent or more widely known in the enterprising city of Nevada, and he is recog- nized by all as a man of unbending integrity, unabating energy and in- dustry that never flags.
HON. JOSEPH A. FITCHPATRICK.
No history of Nevada and Story county would be complete without ex- tended reference to Hon. Joseph A. Fitchpatrick, who is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. He is now closely associated with the public life of the community as a member of the bar. as president of the First National Bank of Nevada and as representative of his district in the state senate. He belongs to one of the old families of this part of lowa and is a native son of Washington county, Virginia, born October 17. 1840. His parents were William H. and Sarah V. ( Hagy) Fitchpatrick, who were also natives of Washington county, born in 1814 and 1815, respectively. A removal to the west was made in 1842, at which time the family home was established in Clinton county. Indiana, where they resided until 1854. In that year they became residents of Boone, Fowa, and in 1857 the family came to Story county, where they made their home for many years. The parents spent their last days in Ames, where the mother died in 1895 and the father in 1807. In their family were eight children of whom five are yet living.
Hon. J. A. Fitchpatrick, the eldest, devoted his time between the work of the farm and the acquirement of an education in the public schools
Fars
J. A. FITCHPATRICK
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through the period of his youth, and in early manhood he took up the pro- fession of teaching, which he followed through the winter seasons. The welfare and preservation of his country became a paramount interest in his life at the time of the outbreak of the Civil war and in response to Presi- dent Lincoln's first call for troops he offered his services to the government, enlisting in May, 1861, under command of Captain (afterward Colonel) Scott, of Company E, Third Regiment of Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He continued with this command until after the battle of Atlanta, having in the meantime reenlisted, and then the Third Iowa Regiment was consoli- dated with the Second Regiment and his command became Company A of that organization. He remained with his regiment until the close of the war and was on active duty from the start. During the summer, fall and winter of 1861 he was largely engaged in skirmish duty throughout Mis- souri. He participated in the battle of Shiloh on the 6th and 7th of April, 1862, his regiment doing volunteer service there, holding its line all day and repelling every attack of the enemy. Because of a flank movement on the part of the Confederates the Third Iowa was compelled to fall back and in so doing about six o'clock in the evening Mr. Fitchpatrick, with a few others of the regiment including Major Stone, the commanding officer, fell in with the Iowa Brigade which a few moments afterward surrendered. Through the succeeding ten weeks Mr. Fitchpatrick was held as a prisoner of war at Tuscaloosa, Alabama, after which all of the prisoners were pa- roled but were not allowed to join their commands until exchanged several months later, being stationed during the intervening period in St. Louis, Missouri. As soon as possible, however, Mr. Fitchpatrick rejoined his regi- ment at Moscow, Tennessee, in January, 1863, and afterward participated in the siege of Vicksburg. The troops then proceeded to Jackson, Missis- sippi, and he took part in the unfortunate and ill-timed assault on the enemy's works at that place on the 12th of July, 1863, on which occasion more than half of those engaged were either killed or wounded. He also participated in the Meridian campaign under Sherman in February, 1864, and in the Atlanta campaign, including the battles of Atlanta on the 21st and 22d of July, 1864. On the second day of the engagement, after five hours of stubborn fighting, Mr. Fitchpatrick and several of his comrades were surrounded and captured. while the only commissioned officer in the regiment at that time was killed. This was on the first day of the battle. On the second day the regiment drew up in battle line without a single officer to command and did some of the most effective fighting of its whole term of service, almost literally fighting itself out of existence on that occa- sion. Mr. Fitchpatrick with the others who had been made prisoners of war were taken to Andersonville, where they suffered greatly, their treat- ment being of the most inhuman character. Three months were spent in that loathsome prison pen. after which Mr. Fitchpatrick was transferred to Florence, South Carolina, where the treatment was no better. On the Ist of March following, however, he was exchanged at Wilmington, North
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Carolina, and his sufferings were indicated by the fact that he had lost greatly in weight, having been reduced almost to a skeleton ere his release. lle was sent to Annapolis, Maryland, and was granted a furlough which he spent at home. On the expiration of his leave of absence he rejoined his regiment in Washington, D. C., in May. 1865, and with his command went soon afterward to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was mustered out of service in July. Ile had been with the Union army for four years and two months, during which time he was never ill or absent from duty with the exception of the period of his prison experience and his furlough home. He stood frequently upon the firing line and again upon the lonely picket line, but no matter what the duty entrusted to him it was faithfully per- formed.
In July, 1865, Mr. Fitchpatrick reached his old home in Story county and throughout all the intervening years to the present he has figured prom- inently in the public life of the community and in the advancement of its business interests. Soon after his return from the war he was elected clerk of the district court, capably filling the office for a period of eleven years. or until January 1. 1877. He then turned his attention to the loan and ab- stract business, in which he has since engaged. He was the first one to make a complete set of abstract books in the county. In 1877 he was ad- mitted to practice before the Story county court and almost immediately thereafter formed a law partnership with George W. Dyer. In 1878 he was licensed to practice before the lowa supreme court. His partnership with Mr. Dyer was terminated in 1885 and he afterward remained alone in practice for a considerable period. In 1898 he entered into partnership with Edward M. McCall, which relationship still maintains under the firm style of Fitchpatrick & McCall. They have a large clientage connecting them with much of the important litigation held in the courts of the district. Mr. Fitchpatrick has also invested heavily in real estate and is the owner of much valuable property in Nevada and Story county. Becoming con- nected with the First National Bank, he was for a considerable period its vice president and in 1904 was elected to the presidency, serving as its chief executive officer throughout the ensuing decade.
On the 16th of August, 1866, Mr. Fitchpatrick was married to Miss Hattie V. Pierce, who was born in Onondaga county, New York, in 1843. a daughter of Lyman and Phoebe ( Dean ) Pierce. She died in September. 1906. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fitchpatrick were born three children : William P'., of Nevada, who married Ada J. Ringheim; Mrs. Viola E. Everhart, of Chicago: and Genevieve 1 ... the wife of Edward M. MeCall, who is now her father's law partner.
Mr. Fitchpatrick and daughters are members of the Presbyterian church and the family has long occupied a prominent position in social circles. Mr. Fitchpatrick holds membership in Lodge No. 09. A. F. & A. M., of Nevada : the chapter and Excalibur Commandery, No. 13. K. T., at Boone. Iowa. He likewise belongs to Sampson Lodge, No. 77. K. 1., of which
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he is a charter member, and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and while he is not a politician in the usually accepted sense of the term, he has yet been honored with public office and has proven himself capable in the discharge of his duties. In 1899 he was elected state senator from the district con1- prised of Boone and Story counties and served until 1904. In 1908 he was reelected, so that he is the present incumbent in the office. He gives careful consideration to each question which comes up for settlement and his spirit of opposition to any measure is the expression of his honest conviction and of a conscientious effort to do that which is best for the community. Progress and patriotism might well be termed the keynote to his character, for those qualities have characterized him in every relation of life. His enterprising spirit is manifest as well in his official service as in the conduct of his private business interests, and sound judgment and keen discrimination have ever been elements in the continuous advancement which has brought him to his present enviable position.
CHARLES A. WENTWORTH.
While practically living retired, Charles A. Wentworth was for many years identified with general agricultural pursuits and is still the owner of a good farm property west of Ames, although he now makes his home in the city. He was born in Monson, Piscataquis county, Maine, on the 24th of February, 1845, and spent the greater part of his youth there. His pa- rents were Oliver and Janette (Thomas) Wentworth, who always remained residents of the Pine Tree state and were farming people. Their son Charles was the second in a family of nine children, eight of whom are now living and all were together in the summer of 1910 on the old home place in Maine. A daughter of the family died in infancy.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Charles A. Wentworth in his boyhood and youth. The public schools afforded him his education and he worked in the fields for his father and also to some extent for neighboring farmers until seventeen years of age, when, aroused by the attempt of the south to overthrow the Union, he en- listed for active duty with the northern army. He was discharged August 1, 1865, after eighteen months' service with Company M of the First Maine Cavalry, which was assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and was on duty in the vicinity of Petersburg most of the time. He took part in the en- gagements at Green Station, Cathaly Run, the Bellfield raid and was on the skirmish line most of the time. When the war was over and victory crowned the Union arms, he returned home and continued a resident of Maine throughout the ensuing year. He then went to Pennsylvania, where he spent a year and then again returned home, remaining for a few months.
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Later he spent a year and a half in Pennsylvania, and on the expiration of that period went to Alpena, Michigan, where he resided for three years. In Pennsylvania and in Michigan he was employed in the lumber woods during the winter months, after which he returned to Maine, where he again lived for a year.
The fall of 1876 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Wentworth in lowa, at which time he took up his abode in Jones county, living there until the spring of 1878, when he went to Boone county. In February, 1895, he came to his present home near the corporation limits of Ames, his farm iying west of the city. In addition to the home where he now resides, he has one hundred and twenty-one acres of rich farm land and from the place derives a substantial income. He is practically living retired, however, leaving the active work of the farm to others.
On the 2d of March, 1877. in Clinton, Iowa, Mr. Wentworth was mar- ried to Miss Emma C. Chapin, who was born in Monson, Maine, on the 12th of October, 1845, and there resided until the spring of 1877, when she came to Clinton, Iowa. Her parents were Aretus and Mary ( Whiting ) Chapin. natives of Monson, Maine, and reared in that state, where they spent their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth had but one child. Atlee O., who died at the age of three months.
Mr. Wentworth belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and is as true and loyal in matters of citizenship today as he was when he followed the old flag in defending the Union cause on the battlefields of the south. His life has been quietly passed, yet at all times his career has been marked by usefulness and activity in his business affairs. Moreover, he has ever been reliable in his business transactions and his many substantial quali- ties have won for him recognition as a worthy and representative citizen of his adopted county.
JOHN OSBORN.
Among the residents of Story county who have now passed away, there were none more highly esteemed and respected than John Osborn, who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, on the 28th of December. 1846. His life up to the age of eighteen years was like that of the majority of the boys of fifty years ago who were reared on the farm. Ile attended school when his services were not required at home and enjoyed such diversions as fell to the lot of the young people of that period.
At eighteen years of age he enlisted in the Union army and spent eleven months of his early manhood in the service of his country on the battlefiekis of the south. There, as elsewhere throughout his life, he discharged every duty assigned him to the best of his ability. That he was faithful in service. brave in the face of danger and reliable at all times is fully attested by the honorable discharge accorded him at the end of his period of enlistment.
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In 1865 Mr. Osborn removed with his parents to Shelby county, Illi- nois. Four years later on the 18th of November, 1869, he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Shell, a native of Shelby county. The first year of their married life the young people continued to make their home in that county, but at the end of that period they removed to a farm near Green Castle in Jasper county, this state, and here, with the exception of one year, when they lived in Madison county, they resided for thirteen years. They went to Polk county in 1884, where they lived for a time, but later removed to Mr. Osborn's farm near Maxwell, this county. They lived on this place until Mr. Osborn retired in 1907, after which time they made their home in Maxwell and there on the 24th of July, 1909, Mr. Osborn passed away.
Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Osborn, two of whom sur- vive: Eva L., wife of William Hartung, a farmer in Indian Creek town- ship ; and Orlando, who owns and lives on the home farm near Maxwell.
Mr. Osborn was always a stanch adherent of the republican party, be- Jieving that its basic principles were best adapted to protect the interests of the general public and while he never sought political preferment he served as township trustee and most capably discharged the duties of other local offices while a resident of Polk county. Mr. Osborn was a Chris- tian and a communicant of the Methodist Protestant church, in which Mrs. Osborn also holds membership. He was not a man who sought publicity or reward for service but he was always ready to respond to the call of his country or fellowman in time of need, and he will long be remembered in the community where he lived, for he was held in high esteem by all who knew him.
WALTER L. MORRIS.
Walter L. Morris, living on section 34, Franklin township, has been a resident of Story county since the fall of 1875. arriving here when a youth of eleven years. He was born in Morrison, Illinois, on the 23d of May, 1864, his parents being Willard and Adaline (Leonard) Morris. He was the eldest son and fourth child in a family of seven children and spent the first eleven years of his life in the place of his nativity, after which he came with his parents to Story in the fall of 1875. They took up their abode in Washington township, two and a half miles west of Ames, and there lived for two years, after which they removed to Franklin town- ship, where Walter L. Morris has since made his home.
He continued with his parents until his marriage and in the public schools of Illinois and of Iowa he pursued his education, while his train- ing in farm work was received under the direction of his father. There were few leisure hours in his boyhood and yet at times he had opportunity to enjoy the sports which engaged the attention of all healthy youths.
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In early manhood he engaged in farming on rented land with his father. who with his three sons rented and cultivated eight hundred acres of land for a number of years. The father owned and rented farm property. In 1889 Walter L. Morris purchased a part of his present farm and became owner of the remainder in 1902. lle now has two hundred and forty acres of land lying on sections 27 and 34. his home standing on the latter section. The farm has been well improved by Mr. Morris and in its midst stands a comfortable modern residence, while other commodious and sub- stantial buildings shelter grain, stock and farm machinery. The place is known as the Fairview farm and its name is well deserved. Everything about the place is kept in excellent condition and indicates the careful su- pervision and practical methods of a progressive owner. He raises the cereals best adapted to soil and climate and has also met with success in the breeding and raising of shorthorn cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs, having upon his place twenty head of registered shorthorns at the present time. while all of his hogs have been eligible to registry for the past fifteen years. He has been engaged in the breeding of shorthorns since 1898 and in addi- tion to his herd he feeds from sixty to ninety head of cattle. In addition to his home property he owns a house and lot in Boone and his wife is the owner of residence property in Ames. He is likewise a stockholder in the Story County Fair Association and he is a charter member of the Breeders Association of Story county, of which he served as treasurer for a number of years.
On the 28th of November. 1895. Mr. Morris was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Rutheford, who was born in Ontario, Canada, June 20. 1863, and was brought to Story county in 1868 by her parents, Edward and Maria (Eckels) Rutheford, the former a native of New York and the latter of Ireland. Both were residents of Story county at the time of death, the father passing away April 4. 1875. when forty-six years of age, while the mother died January 27, 1896, at the age of sixty-seven years. Ile was a carpenter contractor and architect and practiced the profession of archi- tecture in New York city for about ten years. Their family numbered si: children, including Mrs. Morris, who by her marriage has become the mother of one son. Edward Leonard, born September 24, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Morris are also rearing an adopted daughter, Eleanor Morris, born February 22, 1900. Their son at the age of twelve years was graduated from the rural schools with the first class that was graduated. Ile always displayed special aptitude in his studies and he is now successfully en- gaged in the breeding of Shetland ponies although but fourteen years of age.
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