USA > Iowa > Story County > History of Story County, Iowa; a record of organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 23
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JOSEPH LANCASTER BUDD.
Ames has ever regarded Professor Joseph Lancaster Budd as one of the most prominent citizens that has ever lived within her borders. He was a man of international reputation because of his contribution to the world's work along horticultural lines. There is no one of prominence in horticultural circles that is not familiar with his name and what he ac- complished as educator, writer and experimenter in the field to which he devoted his labors.
Professor Budd was born near Peekskill, on the Hudson river, in New York, July 3, 1835, and was one of the younger members in a family of eleven children, whose parents were Joseph and Maria ( Lancaster ) Budd, Vol. II-13
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the latter a daughter of David Lancaster, of Orange county, New York. He traced his ancestry back to John Budd, the man who purchased thirty thousand acres of Indian lands in 1660 and erected the first buildings in Westchester county, New York. His ancestral line includes John Budd. 1600-1673; John Budd, Jr., 1620-1684; Captain Joseph Budd, who died in 1722, and Sarah Underhill; Joseph Budd, 1702-1763; Joseph Budd HI, who died in 1772, and Elizabeth Griffin; Griffin and Katherine ( Sutton) Budd; and Joseph and Maria (Lancaster) Budd. Among his ancestors who served in the Revolutionary war were Andrew Sutton. John Griffin. David Lancaster and Joseph Budd.
In early childhood Joseph L. Budd was taken by his parents to Monti- cello, Sullivan county, New York, where he was reared to young manhood. pursuing his education in Monticello Academy. About 1855 he came to the middle west and accepted the professorship of a boys school at Gales- burg, Illinois. Subsequently he was engaged in business with 11. Fuller, at Wheaton, Illinois, and about 1858 became a resident of Iowa, pur- chasing in the vicinity of Shellsburg a large farm, which the family still own. There he established the Benton County Nursery and successfully continued in that business until called to the faculty in the Iowa State College in 1877. He was elected professor of horticulture in the school at Ames, in November, 1876, and entered upon his new work on the Ist of March of the following year, continuously filling the position for twenty- three years. Ile was called the "Columbus of American Horticulture" be- cause of what he did to classify and make the subject a permanent science. The success of his work may be shown in the fact that in the year 1900 fully seventy-five per cent of the men filling similar positions in American colleges were either his "boys" or men who had received their inspiration from this pioneer, and the department of agriculture at Washington was ever eager to obtain the services of men whom he had trained. He was a pioneer plant breeder and experimenter of this work, beginning his labors along those lines as early as 1870. The work of importation and experi- mentation with Russian and other European fruits was begun at the lowa State College in 1878 and so continued until he resigned in 1900. During the summer of 1882 he was sent to Europe by the governments of the United States and Canada to study horticultural problems, especially the Russian fruits. Charles Downing, the pioneer pomologist of New York. willed his horticultural library of three hundred volumes and all his private papers of a technical nature to Professor Budd, with instructions that they were to go to the college when Mr. Budd was through with them.
Professor Budd was a prolific writer who never lacked in material for an interesting article in the Iowa State Register and Leader, or in the various horticultural and scientific periodicals to which he was a frequent contributor. He had a host of readers who always received, with interest. the reports of his investigations and experiments. He continuously con- tributed articles to the lowa State Register from 1872 until 1900. there
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being scarcely a week in which something from his pen did not appear in that paper. During Father Clarkson's last illness he requested that Pro- fessor Budd be made an editor of the lowa State Register, continuing the agricultural department. His authorship also included two volumes en- titled American Horticultural Manual, which he published in collaboration with Professor N. E. Hanson, one of his "boys." This was the culmina- tion of his work along technical lines and the manual is to be found in all colleges and large libraries in the country. On resigning his position in the Iowa State College in 1900, he was made professor emeritus, an hon- orary title. He continued to take an active interest in the college, however, up to the time of his death. He was a pioneer member of the lowa State Horticultural Society and as its secretary edited all but four or five of the annual reports up to the year 1900.
On the 7th of January, 1860, at lowa City. Professor Budd was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Breed, of Crown Point, New York, who was there born, reared and educated. She came to Iowa with a married sister and engaged in teaching school at Cedar Rapids, where she made the ac- quaintance of Mr. Budd. She was a member of the old Breed family of Lynn, Massachusetts, the ancestral record being as follows: Allen Breed, 1601-1692 ; Allen Breed, 1626 -; Joseph Breed, 1658-1713; Allen Breed, who was born in 1707, and Huldah Newhall; Eliphalet Breed, who was born in 1750, and wedded Mary Johnson; Allen Breed, 1778-1853, who married Judith Livingston ; and Allen Breed, who was born in 1801, mar- ried Barbara Baldwin and died in 1877. Among Mrs. Budd's ancestors were two who served in the Revolution : Isaac Livingston, of New Hamp- shire, and Oliver Ladd, of Vermont. Unto Professor and Mrs. Budd were born a son and daughter. The former, Allen Joseph Budd, was born at Shellsburg, Jowa, and was educated in the Iowa State College at Ames. He then returned to his native town, where he is engaged in active busi- ness. He married Miss Nellie McBeth and has reared and educated a large family, his children being Joseph Arthur, Mrs. June E. Case, Leila, Vera, Sarah Jane, Myron and Alfred. Etta M. Budd, born in Shellsburg. Iowa, accompanied her parents to Ames and was graduated in the Iowa State College. Later she was successfully engaged in the study of art in Boston, New York and Chicago. After the death of her father she continued to live in the parental home and conducted much of the business of the estate. She is the genealogist of the Budd family.
In early life while residing in Benton county, Professor Budd joined ihe Masonic fraternity, November 14, 1863, and continued his connection with the order until his death. He built and owned the home of Arcadia Lodge, No. 249, A. F. & A. M. in Ames. He took great delight in building operations and found extreme pleasure in erecting some large building. and thus contributing to the welfare and improvement of the city in which it was located. He found rest, recreation. interest and education in travel and visited nearly all of the European countries, Cuba and the various states
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of the Union. He possessed an observing eye and retentive memory and his mind was stored with many interesting reminiscences of his journeys. In character he was quiet and unassuming but always made friends wherever he went and had the happy faculty of retaining them. He did much good in the world, aside from his discoveries and experiments in the field of horticulture, by assisting students who came under his guidance and aiding them to gain a start in life. He was an ideal man in his home, devoted to the welfare of wife and children and he left his family well provided for. His death occurred at Phoenix, Arizona, December 20, 1904, and his re- mains were brought back to Ames for interment. Not seeking honor but simply endeavoring to do his duty, honors were yet multiplied to him and prosperity followed all his undertakings.
H. C. DAVIS.
H. C. Davis, devoting his life to general agricultural pursuits, was born on the farm on section 36, Franklin township, on which he now resides, his natal day being December 6, 1871. Ile has always resided here and throughout his entire life has been connected more or less with the work of the fields, his time and attention being now given to the cultivation of one hundred and eighty-five acres of rich and productive land known as the Evergreen farm.
His parents were John E. and Sarah A. (Benson) Davis, the former born in Canandaigua, New York, August 18, 1832, and the latter at Spen- cerport, New York, on the 11th of November. 1835. They were reared in the Empire state and were married there on the 18th of January. 1859. For several years thereafter they resided in Ontario county, New York. but in 1868 removed westward to Story county, Iowa, settling on the farm which is now the home of their son H. C. Davis. Here their remaining days were passed, the father's death occurring April 16, 1891, while his wife survived until February 28, 1900. Both were members of the Con- gregational church and were people of sterling worth, who enjoyed the good will and friendship of those who knew them. The father devoted his entire life to farming and was the owner of two hundred and thirty-five acres of land in this county, including one hundred and twenty acres of the farm upon which H. C. Davis now resides ; while the remainder lay across the road in Milford township. The family numbered three sons : Herbert M., who is now living in Greensburg, Kansas ; George S., who was killed in a railroad wreck in northwestern Iowa on the 20th of December. 1887: and H. C., of this review.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for II. C. Davis in his boyhood and youth. He pursued his education in the district schools and when not busy with his text-books worked in
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the fields or did the chores, gradually becoming more and more familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. At length he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of the old homestead and to this has added until his place now comprises two hundred and twenty-three acres. The land is rich and productive, and the Evergreen farm is known as one of the excellent properties of Franklin township. Upon the place is a ten-room brick residence which was erected by his father in 1880, and the barns and outbuildings are in good condition, fur- nishing ample shelter for grain and stock. He has made a specialty of breeding and raising Percheron horses and Shetland ponies and in this connection has become widely known.
On the 28th of February, 1894, Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Dora E. Lawson, who was born in Polk county, Iowa, June 11, 1871, and is a daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Highland) Lawson. They now have four children : Hazel A., Ida S., Esther Elizabeth and Fredericka.
In 1888 Dr. Davis with his mother attended a reunion of the Davis family at Canandaigua, New York, where he met over eighty relatives. These reunions are held annually. A member of the Congregational church of Ames, he has endeavored to guide his life by its teachings and his fellow townsmen recognize in him an honorable, upright man and a public-spirited citizen.
SAMUEL M. MCHOSE.
Samuel M. McHose, a well known tile and brick manufacturer of Nevada, was born in Geneseo, Illinois, August 17, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Mary (Dillin ) McHose, the former of whom was born in Pennsylvania and the latter at Jefferson, New York. The family comes of Scotch ancestry on the paternal side and also of good Revolutionary stock. Early in his career the father learned the brickmaker's trade but worked at the cooper's trade in winter. Ile removed to Henry county, Illinois, in 1850, and in 1854 established a brickyard at Geneseo, continu- ing there until 1876, when he became a resident of Grinnell, Iowa, and was identified for ten years with the brick and tile business at that place. He is now living retired at the age of eighty-seven years, one of his sons hav- ing succeeded him in the business. Being an energetic man of good judg- ment, he attained a fair measure of success, acquiring a competence, so that at the present time he is in the enjoyment of the results of many years of well applied energy. Politically he gave his allegiance to the republican party during the greater part of his life but now votes independently. The mother of our subject departed this life in 1863, being then about forty- six years of age. She was of Irish descent and was a sister of the late James Dillin, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She was
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a firm believer in the Bible and a valued member of the Methodist church. There were eight children in the family.
Samuel 31. MeHose began his education in the public schools of Geneseo, and after coming to Nevada in 1876 attended school for two years. His brothers, J. B. and W. E. Mellose had established a brickyard at this place to make brick for the new courthouse, and when not in school worked for them, becoming a partner at the end of two years. In 1879 he established himself in business at the Short Line bridge at the foot of Linn street, where he was located for eight years. Ile then sold out and operated a yard west of the college at Ames for a year. after which he spent two years in St. Anthony, Marshall county. Hle next went to Pack- wood, Jefferson county, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick and tile. However, he was again attracted to Nevada and in 1897 he opened his present plant on the Ames road, one mile from the business center of the city. This plant has a capacity of two carloads of tile per day and also possesses the facilities for the manufacture of a fine quality of building brick, the property including fifteen acres of fine clay. In 1905 the main building was destroyed by fire and has been replaced by a three-story brick structure sixty by one hundred and seventy-five feet in foundation arca. This building contains the machinery and drying rooms and is supplied with a complete outfit for the manufacture of brick and drain tile accord- ing to the most approved modern methods. There are six kilns, each hav- ing a capacity of eighteen thousand four-inch tile. The plant gives em- ployment to eighteen men and is one of the best appointed establishments of the kind in this part of the country. Mr. Mellose also owns a hand- some modern brick residence, which was erected in 1901. and is quite an extensive landowner, holding at the present time three quarter sections of land in Kossuth county and one thousand acres in the state of Minnesota.
In 1887 Mr. Mellose was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Sharon, who was born in Marshalltown, lowa, in 1866, a daughter of Simon and Charlotte ( Phillips) Sharon. Her father was a blacksmith by trade and also followed farming. Two children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. McHose: Ray M., who was born at Packwood, Iowa, in 1888 and is now a student in the sophomore class of the Iowa State University, where he is taking a course in ceramic engineering; and Winifred M .. also born at Packwood and now one of the successful school teachers of the county.
As a wide-awake and progressive business man Mr. Mellose is an active member of the Nevada Commercial Men's Association. He gives his allegiance to the republican party, believing that its principles of pro- tection and centralization are conducive to the prosperity and development of the country. Although not a member of any religious denomination, he is friendly toward them all and extends his support toward those causes which in his opinion will add to the permanent welfare of the community. Mrs. Mellose is a valued member of the Christian church and has been to her husband a true and loving helpmate, His success in business has
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been due to undaunted perseverance and sound judgment. Happy in his home associations and in the work to which he is devoting the best energies of his life, it may truly be said that the position which he has earned has been reached deservedly.
WILLIAM H. JOHNSON.
William H. Johnson has for forty-two years resided upon the farm on section 7. Washington township, which is now his home. He formerly owned one hundred and seventy acres but about ten years ago disposed of ninety acres of this. The remainder of his place is all improved, and upon it is a good set of farm buildings, including a pleasant home and barns and sheds which furnish ample shelter to grain and stock. Mr. Johnson was a young man of twenty-seven years when he located upon this place, his birth having occurred in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, near Smith- ville, on the 14th of April, 1842.
On attaining his majority he went to Wisconsin, settling in Green county, where he lived for five years. In the fall of 1869 he came to Iowa and took up his abode upon the farm where he now makes his home-a well improved and highly cultivated tract of eighty acres. He has improved the place with good buildings and every- thing about the farm presents a neat and thrifty appearance, indicating the careful supervision and progressive methods of the owner. Mr. Johnson also became closely identified with educational interests here. He began teaching when nineteen years of age and taught in all for about thirty terms, but in the meantime three summer seasons were devoted to the cul- tivation of his fields.
In 1867 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth J. Sin- clair, who was born in Monroe county, Ohio, on the 15th of May, 1845, and went to Wisconsin with her parents when about ten years of age. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has been blessed with nine children : Charles W., now a resident of Des Moines ; Alice, the wife of E. W. Jones, also of Des Moines; Cora, the wife of M. E. White, of the capital city, Ira B., who was superintendent of schools of Cass county and died at the age of twenty-nine years while serving his second term in that office; E. M., who is a graduate of the Iowa State College and is now a packing house inspector for the government at Chicago; Western L., the govern- ment meat inspector of the packing houses of Topeka, Kansas; Daisy, liv- ing in Des Moines ; Dora, who is a twin sister of Daisy and now the wife of F. S. Bone, of Grand River, Iowa; and Olla, a teacher in the Humboldt College and a graduate of the Iowa State College of the class of 1906. All of the children have attended the Iowa State College and the sons have all graduated therefrom. The eldest is a professor at Still College in Des Moines and his brother Ira was doing excellent work in the educational
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field when called to his final rest. Following his demise his widow was elected his successor and has since filled the position. Mr. Johnson has a family of which he has every reason to be proud. and in their well spent lives they indicate the careful home training which they received.
Mr. Johnson holds membership in the Christian church, and his has been an active. useful and well spent life, entitling him to the honor and high regard which are uniformly accorded him by all who know him. Starting out in life for himself empty-handed when a youth in his teens, he has since made his own way in the world, and the success which has come to him is the merited reward of his earnest labor and honorable dealing.
JAMES DILLIN.
Among the names of men prominent in Story county in years past that of James Dillin, who departed this life March 27, 1901, at the age of sixty- one years, occupies a leading place. A resident of the county for more than thirty years, he became one of its best known citizens and as a farmer and business man attained a position of influence and responsibility that has been gained by few in this part of the state.
He was born in Jefferson, New York, and having lost his father at five years of age, he was taken to the home of a sister in Montana, where he lived until he reached maturity. There he became acquainted with ranch life and gained a love for nature and for agricultural pursuits which was one of his prominent characteristics during his later career. He was educated in the schools of Montana and received a good mental training which he further developed by reading and observation. He found time to learn the carpenter's trade, to which he devoted several years, but the outbreak of the Civil war interfered with his plans and he enlisted in Company M. First Regiment of Colorado Cavalry, in which he served as corporal for three years, being honorably discharged and mustered out at Denver, Colorado, October 31, 1864. After the close of the war he came to Geneseo, Illinois, upon a visit to his mother, who was living at that place, and opened a store at Green River, Illinois, which he conducted for about a year.
While on a visit to a sister at Letts. Louisa county. Iowa, he met the lady who became his wife and after his marriage he sokl out his business in Illinois and spent the following winter at Muscatine, lowa. Having de- cided to devote his attention to farming. he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in Richland township. Story county. in 1868. Taking up his residence upon his newly acquired place, he set vigorously to work with such ability that he became the owner of one thousand acres in Story county. After moving to Nevada about 1886, he largely increased his
MR. AND MRS. JAMES DILLIN
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landed possessions until he became recognized as one of the most worthy and influential men in the county. He remodeled and improved the family residence on Locust street, making it one of the most attractive homes in the city, and he became identified with many business interests, in which he displayed a rare judgment and foresight, producing gratifying financial returns.
On the 24th of December, 1867, Mr. Dillin was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Furnas, a sister of Elwood Furnas, a record of whom appears elsewhere in this work. Two children came to bless the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dillin : Elwyn O., now a merchant of McCallsburg, Iowa, who mar- ried May Loomis and has two children ; and Viola M., the wife of Charles McCord, a real-estate dealer of Nevada and the mother of four children.
Mr. Dillin from the time of arriving at voting age was an adherent of the republican party. He never desired or sought political honors, pre- ferring to devote his attention to his private affairs. He was a valued member of J. C. Ferguson Post, No. 31, Grand Army of the Republic, and served as post commander. He was essentially a man of business. Alert, enterprising, sagacious and clear-sighted, he made few mistakes in his judgment of men and accomplished many remarkable feats in business organization and management. He was very positive in his convictions and having once deliberately made up his mind on any subject, he was scarcely ever known to change his opinion. He possessed a strong and pleasing personality and a convincing manner which assisted him very materially in the advancement of; his business and social relations. Mrs. Dillin still makes her home in Nevada and is held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Story county.
JACOB E. ERICKSON.
One of the well known native sons of Story county now engaged in business in Roland is Jacob E. Erickson. He was born on the 25th of December, 1870, and is the son of Michael Erickson, who was born in Norway in 1835. The father came to the United States at the age of four- teen years with his parents, Jacob and Elizabeth Erickson. The family located in Story county, Iowa, in 1856, where the father entered one hun- dred and sixty acres of land, on a portion of which the town of Roland now stands. He was first married in 1856 to Sarah Wooster, by whom he had two children: Lizzie, who married Henry Thompson and died about twenty-five years ago; and Ida A., who became Mrs. O. T. Hanson. For his second wife Mr. Erickson married Martha Wooster and they became the parents of four children of whom three still survive, as follows: Olaf, now a resident of New Mexico; Jacob E., our subject ; and Annie May, who became the wife of J. H. Larson of Roland. The father was a mem-
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ber of the Lutheran church and always cast his vote with the republican party. He was honored by his fellow citizens electing him to nearly all of the township offices, which he capably filled. He was one of the very successful agriculturists of his district, acquiring during his life four hun- dred acres of land adjoining the town of Roland and on forty acres of which the townsite was platted. lle also had two hundred acres of land in South Dakota and was a stockholder in the Farmers Savings Bank. He was a very public-spirited man, high-principled and upright in all of his business transactions. He presented to the town of Roland fifty acres for a public park and this was but one of his many substantial evidences of allegiance to the village. He was regarded as a man of incorruptible in- tegrity. and the community lost a most estimable citizen when he passed away at the age of seventy-five years.
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