USA > Iowa > Warren County > History of Warren County, Iowa : from its earliest settlement to 1908; with biographical sketches of some prominent citizens of the county > Part 40
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Ebenezer W. Hartman remained upon the home farm until thirteen years of age and from that time until his marriage engaged in elerking in his father's store. Following his marriage he carried on merchandising on his own account until the spring of 1862. when he removed to Indianola. He was at that time deputy sheriff and changed his residence for the more convenient discharge of his official duties. During the greater part of his life he has been in public office, has served as justice of the peace and in the year 1869 was elected mayor of Indianola. For abont fifteen years he filled the office of
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city clerk and certainly discharged his duties capably and promptly, else he would not have been retained in the position for so long a time. In March, 1907, he was again elected mayor and is now filling the office. He has also been known as a member of the Warren county bar. He read law with Lewis Todhunter, of Indianola, was admitted to practice in the Iowa courts in 1873, and then formed a partnership with his former preceptor, with whom he con- tinued until Mr. Todhunter retired. In his practice he has demonstrated his ability to bring to successful solution intricate problems of the law, preparing his cases with great thoroughness and presenting them with clearness and force. He has considerable landed interests in Warren county and from his judicious investments derives a gratifying income.
In December, 1858, Mr. Hartman was married to Miss Celia MeKinney, who was born in Highland county, Iowa, and died in 1863. Of their two chil- dren one died in infancy, while the other, Charles W., is now in the employ of the street railway company at Los Angeles, California. After losing his first wife, Mr. Hartman wedded Sarah MeKee, of Indiana, and their children are: Estella, of Indianola; Ida, deceased; and Harry H., who is clerk of the district court and an attorney of Fort Collins, Colorado. The present wife of Mr. Hartman was formerly Mrs. Anna R. Dale and is a native of West Virginia. Her son, H. M. Dale, is a successful physician of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hartman is a member of the Baptist church, while his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. For over a half century he has been con- nected with the Odd Fellows and has enjoyed all the honors the state lodge can confer. For six years he was a member of the Sovereign Grand lodge. In politics he has always been a stalwart republican and it has been upon the ticket of this party that he has been again and again called to office, thus receiving the recognition and commendation of the public for his excellent qualities of citizenship and of administrative ability.
AARON VAN SCOY PROUDFOOT.
Aaron Van Seoy Proudfoot, numbered among the members of the India- nola bar and also engaged in the abstract business, was born in Liberty, Clarke county, Iowa, June 13, 1862. He comes of Scotch-Irish ancestry, the progenitor of the family in America being Thomas Proudfoot, who came from the high- lands of Scotland to the United States and settled in Virginia. Thomas Proudfoot, Jr., son of the American progenitor. was the father of Jacob Proudfoot, who was born in Barbour county, West Virginia. The last named became a blacksmith, following that pursuit up to the time of his death, or for more than sixty years. He removed by wagon from West Virginia to Iowa in 1855, and took up his abode on Hoosier Row in White Oak township, Warren county. In the following spring. however. he went to Liberty, Clarke county, where his remaining days were passed. There he built a blacksmith shop, which is still standing, having been a landmark of the community for
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more than a half century. By unfaltering industry and enterprise he became prosperous and as his financial resources increased he invested in land. His life was permeated by religious belief and he was a member and class leader of the Methodist Episcopal church. His family were all identified with that denomination. His political allegianee was given to the republican party, and various official honors were conferred upon him. He served as a member of the board of supervisors and was a member of the sixteenth general assembly. which legislature provided for the present capitol building. He was also justice of the peace and postmaster of Liberty, and was regarded in his community as a man of excellent judgment and of untarnished character. to whom his neighbors often came for advice and counsel. knowing that he would advise them honestly and to the best of his ability.
His wife, Cyrena (Van Scoy) Proudfoot, was born in Barbour county. West Virginia, March 3. 1826, and is still living, being remarkably vigorons mentally. She, too, is of German descent and for many years has been a de- voted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. By her marriage she has become the mother of seven children: Hester Anne, who married Joseph L. Tedrow, now a retired merchant of Hastings. Nebraska; Leah, who died in March, 1908; Overton T., a farmer of Liberty; William D., a fruit-grower at Walla Walla, Washington ; Samuel N., chief train dispatcher for the Colorado Midland Railroad at Colorado Springs; Charles F., of Osceola, who is in the railway mail service on the Burlington road; and Aaron Van Scoy.
The last named attended school at Liberty and then entered Simpson College in September. 1881, pursuing a four years' course in that institution. He afterward turned his attention to the real-estate and abstract business as an employe in the office of Creighton & Hays. Subsequently he was in the office of Edward Hall. with whom he read law. and finally was with E. W. Hartman, with whom he spent eight years, having charge of his abstract books and also reading law. Mr. Proudfoot was admitted to the bar October 5, 1898, and began practice in Indianola. Here he has been very successful. having a large elientage, which has couneeted him with unch important litiga- tion. He also has a complete set of abstract books of Warren county, and does a large business in that line.
On the 10th day of May, 1885. Mr. Proudfoot was married to Miss Louie I. Posegate, who was born in Indianola, October 16. 1862, and is a daughter of Eli and Rebecca V. (Haworth) Posegate. Mr. and Mrs. Proudfoot now have three children: Charity M .. a student in Simpson College ; Paul D., attending the same institution ; and Edwin V. The parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. in which Mr. Proudfoot is serving as an officer. He is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and is past grand master. In polities an earnest republican, he was elected clerk of the district court in 1892 and served for three consecutive terms. He is recognized as one of the prominent representatives of the republican party in this county, has been chairman of the county committee, and in 1904 was presidential elector for the seventh congressional distriet. He was nominee for state senator from the eleventh senatorial distriet, consisting of Clarke and Warren counties. He
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has made substantial progress, not because of any special advantages at the outset of his career, or through the aid of influential friends, but because he has applied himself closely to the duties in hand, has made the most of his advantages and has not been afraid of that close and laborious attention to business which is so essential to honorable success.
G. W. PEARSON.
G. W. Pearson is one of the prosperous farmers, stock-raisers and dairymen of Warren county, where he owns a good tract of land of one hundred and twenty acres on section 28, Lincoln township. It is pleasantly situated, about three miles from Indianola, so that he has a good market for his products. He has lived in the county since 1869, or for a period of almost forty years. He was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, near Bull Run, April 2, 1839. His father, Barnett Pearson, was also a native of the Old Dominion and belonged to one of the first families of Virginia, of English lineage. Barnett Pearson was reared in the state of his nativity and after arriving at years of maturity he married Luey Finch, who was also born and reared in Virginia. Mr. Pearson was a planter there for a number of years, but thinking to find better business opportunities in the middle west, he made his way to Illinois in 1857 and settled in Schuyler county, where he opened up a farm and reared his family.
G. W. Pearson spent the first nineteen years of his life in his native state and then went with his parents to Illinois, where he assisted his father in developing and improving a new farm. He arrived in Iowa in 1869, coming at once to Warren county, where he rented land and carried on farming for four years. He was married in this county in September, 1871, to Miss Eliza Hewitt, who was born and reared in Indiana and was a daughter of Moses Hewitt, one of the early settlers here. When Mr. Pearson had made some start in the business world, gaining a small capital through his operations of rented land, he made investment in property, becoming the owner of two hundred aeres in Otter township, which he cultivated for three years. He made this a nice place, but later sold and located on his present farm in 1890. He has made extensive repairs and improvements here, has fenced the fields, tilled the land and transformed the farm into a valuable property. Here he has carried on a successful dairy business, being well known for a number of years as a prosperous buttermaker.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearson arc the parents of Ralph, who is now a business man of 'Seattle, Washington; Paul, who is pursuing a medieal course in Simpson College; Mabel, who has been engaged in teaching in Watertown, South Dakota, for two years; Bertha, who is a vocal teacher and possesses musical talent of high order, singing for various lyceum bureaus and chautauquas; Minnie, a teacher of this county; and Nellie, at home. They also lost four sons who died in childhood, and who were older than the members of the family above mentioned.
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Politically Mr. Pearson is a Bryan democrat, and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He has served as school trustee and as a member of the school board, but has never sought office. The cause of edu- cation, however, finds in him a warm friend and an effectitve champion of its interests. Socially he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has served through the chairs of the Indianola lodge and is now a past district deputy. His entire life has been devoted to farming, yet in his chosen field of labor he has displayed energy and ability that have made him one of the prosperous citizens of the community.
WILLIAM H. BERRY.
William H. Berry, whose life record is regarded as a valuable asset in the history of the bar of Iowa, has for more than a third of a century been num- bered among the practitioners at Indianola and has easily taken rank with its foremost representatives. He was born in Cass county, Illinois, October 23, 1849, a son of Benjamin C. Berry and a grandson of William S. Berry. The last named, in 1833, removed with his family from Virginia to Illinois, settling in Cass county, where he entered land from the government and also purchased land. Only the year before had the Black Hawk war occurred and great sec- tions of the state were still uninhabited by the white man, while other distriets gave but little evidence that the seeds of civilization had been planted. Ben- jamin C. Berry was a native of Virginia, probably of Orange county, and the family is of Welsh lineage. That the early representatives of the name in America came here in colonial days is indicated by the fact that William S. · Berry was a soldier of the war of 1812,
Benjamin C. Berry was but a boy when his parents removed to Illinois, and there amid the wild scenes of frontier life he was reared. In 1869 he came to Iowa with his son, William H. Berry, and settled on the farm whiel he had purchased near Indianola. There he resided until two years prior to his death, when he retired from active business life and took up his abode in Indianola, where he remained until called to the home beyond. His widow still resides there. She bore the maiden name of Isabella Van Eaton, and is a daughter of Joseph and Marian Van Eaton. She lost her mother when only four or five years of age, and her father died in 1880. Benjamin C. Berry was an enterprising farmer and good business man and bore an unassailable reputa- tion for commercial integrity. The Methodist Episcopal church found in him a most devoted and zealous member, and for many years he served as chairman of its board of trustees. His early political allegiance was given to the whig party, but being thoroughly in sympathy with the principles which gave rise to the republican party, he joined its ranks on its organization and continued to march under its banners during the remainder of his life. He was a member of the board of supervisors and acted as its chairman.
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At the time of the Civil war Benjamin C. Berry espoused the Union cause, enlisting on the 15th of August, 1862, as a member of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He went to the front with Company D and for three years defended the stars and stripes, being mustered out in March, 1865. He had organized the company at Virginia, Illinois, and was elected its captain. At the time he was mustered out, however, he had been . disabled by a gunshot wound in the wrist and had resigned his commission. For some time on active duty, he participated in the siege of Vicksburg, in the battles of Nashville, Guntown and Tupelo, and at the last named was wounded. He was also in a number of skirmishes and raids, including the raid on Jaek- son, Mississippi. Throughout the period of his residence in Warren county he was as loyal to the interests of local advancement and national progress as he was when he followed the nation's starry banner on the battlefields of the south. His death occurred on the 8th of April, 1894.
William H. Berry was reared upon the home farm and attended the coun- try schools. Through the summer months he worked in the fields and was connected with the labors of the farm until about twenty years of age, when, desirous of enjoying better educational privileges than he had hitherto re- ceived, he entered Simpson College in 1867 and was graduated in 1872, completing a seientifie course and winning the B. S. and M. S. degrees. De- termining upon a professional career, Mr. Berry took up the study of law with J. H. Henderson as his preceptor, and after thorough preliminary reading was admitted to the bar in August, 1873. On the 1st of September he formed a partnership with Judge Henderson and the relation was maintained until December 1, 1885, when the Judge was elevated to the bench. Mr. Berry then practiced alone until January 1, 1896, when Judge Henderson resigned and the old firm of Henderson & Berry was reorganized and maintained an exist- ence until August 1, 1901. Since that time Mr. Berry has been alone in practice and bears the reputation of being a most successful lawyer, devoting his whole time and attention to his professional duties. His practice is extensive and of an important character. He is remarkable among lawyers for the wide re- search and provident care with which he prepares his cases, and at no time has his reading ever been confined to the limitations of the question at issue. Combined with his legal learning are tact, patience and industry and he has moreover an analytical mind which enables him to recognize the points that constitute his case and to give to each its due relative value.
On the 12th of May, 1875, Mr. Berry was married to Miss Alice M. Barker, who was born in Indianola, July 25, 1853, a daughter of Moses R. and Rachel Barker, who came to this city in 1851, her father being one of the pioneer merchants here. Mr. and Mrs. Berry have but one child, Don L., who was born October 8, 1880, and is now farming on the Berry homestead, which his father purchased. He wedded Bertha Sloan, of Dexter, Iowa, and they have one child, Thomas S.
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Berry are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and they belong to that class of citizens whose well known position in support of all that tends to benefit the community in educational, social
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and moral lines gives them right to rank with the leading residents of In- dianola.
Mr. Berry is a member of the Masonie fraternity, the Odd Fellows lodge, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and gives political support to the republican party. He was a member of the general assembly of Iowa as rep- resentative in the upper house from January 1, 1896, until December 31, 1900, and as senator he left the impress of his individuality upon the laws enacted during that period and labored for the interests of the commonwealth, plac- ing the general good before partisanship and the interests of the public at large before personal aggrandizement. Hle belongs to the Grant Club of Des Moines and also to the Loyal Legion of lowa, while in more specifically professional lines he is connected with the lowa State Bar Association. Since his admission to the bar he has attended every term of court with the ex- ception of one, when his absence was occasioned by illness. He is a vigilant and attentive observer of men and measures and is not only well read in the law but always keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age concerning those questions which are of vital importance to state and nation.
A. B. McINTOSH.
Specific recognition should surely be given to A. B. Melntosh in the history of Warren county, for since pioneer days he has resided within its borders and in an active business career has won success. He has been identified with both merchandising and farming although his real life work has been in agricultural lines. As the years have passed the capable direction of his business affairs and his indefatigable energy have won him gratifying pros- perity. It is not alone his success, however, that entitles him to the respect and admiration of his fellowmen, for in other lines his activities have benefited the community. He has been especially generous in his support of the Metho- dist denomination in building churches in this part of the state and at all times gives his endorsement to measures and movements which are calculated to pro- mote the material, intellectual, social and moral advancement of the con- munity.
Mr. MeIntosh is now living retired at New Virginia. His birth occurred in Taylor county, West Virginia, October 31, 1839. His father, Elijah B. MeIntosh, probably a native of the Old Dominion, was of Irish descent and de- voted his entire life to farming, and was for many years a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church and died in that faith in West Virginia at the age of fifty years. The mother, Rebecca (Sayres) McIntosh, was born in Vir- ginia and died in West Virginia at the very advanced age of eighty-six years. Their family numbered twelve children, nine of whom reached adult age, while five are still living, as follows: A. B., of this review; Hannah, the wife of E. Freeman, a resident of New Virginia; Benjamin S., who makes his home in
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West Virginia; W. F., a resident of Oregon; and A. D., who resides in Wyoming.
A. B. McIntosh spent his boyhood in the state of his nativity and attended the common schools. He remained at home until twenty-two years of age and started out in life on his own account by renting and cultivating a part of his father's farm. Attracted, however, by the opportunities of the west, he made a trip to Warren county in 1857, having relatives living here at the time. He returned, however, to West Virginia but in the spring of 1864 came again to Warren county and began farming upon rented land. He has witnessed the growth of the county from pioneer times and in the work of improvement has borne a most helpful part. There was but one schoolhouse in the township when he visited here in 1857 and only two at the time he took up his permanent abode in the county in 1864. There was not a railroad nearer than seventy-five miles and he felt that he was living in town when the first railroad went into Des Moines. Years later he aided in building the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad through New Virginia. In the spring of 1865 Mr. McIntosh purchased forty acres of land and five acres of woodland in Virginia township and received the first deed to real estate which he ever pos- sessed.
In those days he was in very limited financial circumstances. He owned a team and had one hundred and eighty dollars in money which he gave for his property and also arranged to give half of the crop for his forty aeres for the succeeding five years to complete the payment. The first year, how- ever, he raised for the man from whom he had purchased his land seventy- five bushels of eorn per acre on twenty acres and the crop sold for seventy- five cents per bushel. Mr. McIntosh then realized that he could do better to pay cash than to give half the erop and agreed to make payments in four installments of four hundred dollars with interest at ten per cent, which was then the lawful rate. Thus it was that he made his start in Warren county. His first house, a little box house, fourteen by sixteen feet, was moved on to the farm with oxen and he made that farm his home for eight years, after which he traded the property for land in Squaw township, whereon he resided con- tinuously until 1893, when he took up his abode in New Virginia. Here he established a furniture store which he conducted with success until 1901. when he retired. He was also owner of a general store at Medora in Squaw township for several years but has regarded agricultural pursuits as his real life work and through his farming operations has met with creditable and gatifying success. As his financial resources increased he added to his property until at one time he was the owner of four hundred acres of land. He has sinee given eighty aeres to each of his sons but still retains the ownership of one hundred and twenty aeres, from which he derives a good annual income. In his business career he places his dependence upon such substantial qualities as energy, unfaltering industry and irreproachable honesty-an example that others might well follow.
Mr. MeIntosh was married in West Virginia. in 1860. to Miss Rosie Currie, a native of West Virginia, who died in New Virginia, February 17.
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1899. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom three died in infancy. Those who still survive are: John S., a resident farmer of Squaw township; Mollie, the wife of W. A. Brought, of New Virginia; Emily, the wife of E. S. Carson, also of New Virginia; Prudence, the wife of N. E. Judkins, a resident of North Dakota; Savanalı, the wife of Rev. C. W. Procter, located at Pleasant- ville, Iowa; George, who follows farming in Squaw twnship; Ella, the wife of Earl Felton, a farmer of Virginia township, Warren county; and Warren F., who is still under the parental roof. On the 31st of October, 1900, Mr. MeIn- tosh was again married, his second union being with Mrs. R. A. Sherman, formerly of Jasper county, Iowa.
In politics Mr. MeIntosh is a progressive republican. He has never aspired to office, yet his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability have called him to several local positions, including that of township trustee, school director and alderman. In the discharge of his duties he has even been prompt and faithful, bringing to bear the same qualities which have characterized his successful business career. Since 1854 he has been a faithful and loyal mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and from the age of twenty years has served as an officer in the church, while since twenty-one years of age he has been class leader off and on. He is most generous in his support of the church, has served on various building committees and assisted in the erection of many houses of worship, including two in New Virginia and the Liberty, Washington and Jamison churches in Clarke county, Iowa, the Mount Tabor and the Medford churches and the Medora Methodist Episcopal church in Squaw township. He has also made liberal donations to other denominations and to Simpson College and has thus given most freely of his means in support of church work. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has done in this line and it is indicative of his deep interest in Christianity and the pur- poses of the church. In other ways, too, he has become recognized as a most useful citizen and in all his life he has enjoyed and deserved the respect and confidence of his fellowmen.
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