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 47
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No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for Mark A. Dashiell in his boyhood and youth. He was reared in the state of his nativity and supplemented his early education by study in the high school of Indianapolis, from which he was graduated. He afterward matri- culated in Greencastle College but left that institution before completing the course. Determining upon the practice of medicine as his life work, he began reading in the office and under the direction of Dr. Sutton, of Aurora, Indiana, and in 1851 was graduated from the Indianapolis Medical College. Dr. Dashiell then located for practice in his native county, where he remained for two years and in 1853 arrived in Warren county, Iowa, to become a pioneer phy- sician of this part of the state. For thirty years he resided at Hartford in the northwestern portion of the county, and his practice exceeded in volume and importance that of any other member of the medical fraternity in this locality. In the early days when the county was sparsely settled, it was neces- sary that he take long rides across the prairies through the heat of summer or the winter's storms to minister to the sick and suffering. He never re- garded his personal comfort or safety when his professional service was in demand but responded readily to the call of all who needed him. His own unselfishness in this regard, combined with his ability as a practitioner, made him the loved family physician in many a household and his name is yet honored and cherished by those who knew him. For many years Dr. Dashiell enjoyed an extensive and profitable practice at Hartford but as the years came on apace he felt it necessary to withdraw from the country practice and all the hardships it entailed.
His usefulness was by no means limited to his professional labors, for in public service he rendered efficient aid to the county as its representative in the state legislature and in other capacities. In 1868 he accepted the nomina- tion of the republican party as a candidate for the general assembly and such was his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him by his fellowmen that he was elected by an overwhelming majority. In 1872 he was chosen a member of the state senate and was again made one of the solons of Iowa in a reelection in 1878. He likewise served once more in the thirtieth and thirty-first general assemblies as repreesntative from his district and was con- nected with much important constructive legislation through the work done in committee rooms. He had been one of the organizers of the republican party in Iowa, had attended the first state convention and for many years was always seen as a delegate in the conventions of the party in this state. His public service was actuated by the utmost fidelity to principle and devotion to the general good. His position was never an equivocal one, nor was he ever abusive of adversaries, but at the same time was unfaltering in a course
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which he believed to be right. As a campaign orator he was forceful and eloquent and to him was largely due the honor and credit of bringing the prohibition amendment prominently before the people of the state, being chair- man of the committee which presented it to the legislature. He then went upon the rostrum as an advocate of its passage and in his latter years labored earn- estly to secure the enforcement of the law which he had been instrumental in passing. In all of his legislative work he looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities and opportunities of the future and mani- fested the most far-sighted judgment in his support of various political measures. Dr. Dashiell also enjoyed the distinction of being perhaps the oldest member of the United States board of pension examiners in Iowa, hav- ing been appointed to the position in 1863. In the discharge of his duties in that office he won the encomiums of the government and his labors were as well satisfactory to the pensioners. He was always recognized as a man of unquestioned integrity and honesty of purpose and such was the respect which the younger members of the medical fraternity entertained for his professional ability that they again and again sought his counsel and ad- vice in difficult cases.
Dr. Dashiell was married at Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1851, the lady of his choice being Miss Louisiana Noble, a daughter of Dr. B. S. Noble, a dis- tinguished physician of Indianapolis and a brother of one of Indiana's gov- ernors. Mrs. Dashiell received a liberal education and was a lady of culture and refinement, who enjoyed to the fullest extent the good will and love of those with whom she came in contact. By her marriage she became the mother of eleven children: Mary Jane, the wife of S. J. Spaulding, a resi- dent of Des Moines; Jessie Benton, who passed away in her twentieth year; Martha, the wife of F. S. Burberry, a merchant of Indianola; Noble, who was engaged in farming and stock-raising on land which was owned by his father near Indianola, and died in January, 1898; Mark A., Jr., who died of tubercu- losis in August, 1898, soon after graduation from the medical college at In- dianapolis, Indiana, and six children who died in infancy.
Dr. Dashiell served for twenty years as master of the Masonic lodge at Hartford and was also prominent in other fraternal organizations. He was known as a leading member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he took all of the degrees and filled the various official positions both in the subordinate lodge and encampment. He held membership in the Pres- byterian church, of which his wife was likewise a devoted member. He be- came identified with that organization in early manhood and his religious behef largely permeated his life and shaped his conduet in his relations with his fellowmen. In professional lines he was connected with the state, dis- triet and county medieal societies and of the last named served as president for two or three years. On giving up his country practice he removed to Indianola in 1887 and in his later years his attention was largely given to office practice. Many there were who were loath to give up his services and he continued to attend them until he had reached the evening of life. He was more than eighty years of age when called to his final rest, passing away on
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the 3d of July, 1907. His good qualities were many, his faults very few. His entire life was characterized by a mental and moral development which gave him place as a man among men and has caused his name to be inscribed deeply on the roll of Warren county's honored citizens.
C. L. BALES.
C. L. Bales is living on section 19, Lincoln township, where he is en- gaged in general farming and in the raising and feeding of stoek. The oppor- tunity for his activity in these connections is afforded through his ownership of a well improved and valuable tract of land of one hundred and eighteen acres. He has made his home in the county for forty-four years and is one of the native sons of Iowa, his birth having occurred in Jefferson county in June, 1860, so that he was but four years of age at the time of the removal of the family to Warren county. His father, Caleb Bales, was a native of Indiana and was there reared. In that county he married Ebbie Brey, also a native of Indiana, and in 1859 they became residents of Jefferson county, Iowa, where Mr. Bales followed farming for four years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Warren county, settling at Palmyra. He spent his last years on a farm near Ackworth, where his death occurred about 1892. He had long survived his wife who died in Jefferson county in 1864.
C. L. Bales was reared to manhood in Warren county, upon the home farm, and assisted his father until he had attained his majority, when thinking that he might find other pursuits more congenial and profitable he learned the painter's trade.
Mr. Bales made arrangements for having a home of his own by his mar- riage in Lincoln township. on the 15th of February. 1882, to Miss Lydia Eicher, who was born in Ohio, a daughter of George Eicher, who removed from the Buckeye state to Iowa. In 1898 Mr. Bales had charge of the county farm as its superintendent and there remained for nine years. He repaired and improved the buildings on the place and greatly enhanced the value of the farm. His father-in-law, Mr. Eicher, was the former superintendent. Mr. Bales married his wife there when Mr. Eicher had charge and twenty-five years later celebrated his silver wedding there, while two of his children were also married on the county farm. While acting as superintendent there Mr. Bales purchased the farm where he now resides, but rented it out for a few years. He took up his abode thereon in March, 1907, and has since added to and remodeled the house, but in April, 1908. his residence was completely destroyed by fire, causing a total loss. He has since built another nice home and a good barn on the place. has enclosed the fields with well kept fences and has put out much fruit. He cultivates corn and other cereals best adapted to the soil and climate and in addition to general farming he raises good stock, fattens them for the market and annually sells a large number of hogs, his stock-raising interest proving a profitable branch of his business.
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Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bales have been born four children: George Bert, who was married while on the poor farm and is a resident farmer of this county; Nellie Flotilla, the wife of Merrill Smith, a ranchman of Idaho; Alta. Bonnie, a young lady, at home, and Harold N., who completes the family.
In his political views Mr. Bales has been a lifelong republican and, al- though he has never sought nor held office up to the present time, he was a candidate for sheriff in 1902. He has been identified with the schools for a number of years and stanchly supports every measure to improve the system of public education here. He and his daughter and son, George, are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he belongs to the Masonie lodge at Spring Hill and to the Modern Woodmen camp. His life has been well spent and the sterling traits of honorable manhood are his. He has never depended upon friends nor influence to aid him in his business career, but has through persistent effort overcome many difficulties and obstacles and by un- faltering perseverance has won a place among the men of affluence in Lincoln township.
C. C. RUNDALL.
Throughout his active business life C. C. Rundall carried on farming with marked success and is still the owner of three hundred and forty acres of valuable land in this county, though he is now living retired in New Vir- ginia. Like many of Iowa's best citizens, he was born in Ohio, his birth occurring in Delaware county, May 6. 1846. His father, Shadrack Rundall. was a native of New York, and of English descent. He brought his family to Iowa in 1854 and purchased government land in Clinton county, where he continued to make his home until called from this life on the 24th of July, 1871, His occupation was that of farming. In early manhood he married Miss Rhoda Nettleton, who was born in Connecticut and died in Cedar county. Iowa, January 16, 1884. They were the parents of ten children, of whom five are still living but our subject is the only one residing in this county. Two of his brothers were members of the Twenty-sixth Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the civil war. Leland died of lung fever on his way to the front. only thirty miles from home, leaving a wife and two children. George served throughout the war and was honorably discharged. He is now a resident of Oregon.
C. C. Rundall spent the first eight years of his life in Ohio and then ac- companied his parents on their removal to this state. growing to manhood in Clinton county. For some time he pursued his education in an old fash- ioned log schoolhouse with slab seats and a desk made by placing a board on wooden pins driven into the wall. He remained under the parental roof until his father's death and then conducted the home place for three years. In 1874 he came to Warren county and in connection with a brother-in-law purchased one hundred and sixty acres of unimproved land on the South river
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in Virginia township. Four years later he purchased his partner's interest in this property and subsequently became the owner of other lands, owning farms in the same township. He made farming his life occupation and still has three hundred and forty aeres of good farming land besides twenty-five acres adjoining the village of New Virginia, where he located in 1894. Here he has built a beautiful home and amid many comforts he is now enjoying a well earned rest. In addition to his property in this county he owns one hundred and sixty aeres of land in Wyoming.
On the 27th of April, 1869, in Clinton county, Iowa, Mr. Rundall was united in marriage to Miss Mollie V. Kimes, who was born in Meigs county, Ohio, June 14, 1849, her parents being Jacob and Sarah (Hieks) Kimes, both now deceased. Her father, who was also a native of the Buckeye state and of German deseent, removed to Clinton county, Iowa, in 1862, and there fol- lowed farming throughout the remainder of his life. Mr. and Mrs. Rundall have one child living, Nora V., a little girl, at home, and one daughter, who died in infancy.
Mr. Rundall casts his ballot for the men and measures of the democratic party but has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking. Both he and his wife belong to the Christian church of New Virginia, of which Mrs. Rundall is a charter member. Their upright, honorable lives have gained them a host of friends and in business circles Mr. Rundall has the confidence and esteem of all with whom he is brought in contact.
T. M. MCCLURE.
With the pioneer development of Warren county, T. M. McClure has been actively identified for he located here in 1852 and for many years was one of the leading business men of Indianola, but is now practically living retired in this city. He was born n Clinton county. Indiana, December 30, 1834, his parents being Thomas M., and Ruth (Alley) MeClure, natives of Virginia, where they continued to make their home until after their marriage. In early life the father learned the tanner's trade, but after his removal to Clinton ยท county, Indiana, he opened up a farm and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Later he improved a farm in Howard county, that state, where he resided until coming to Iowa in 1851. The following year he took up his abode in Warren county, and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in White Oak town- ship, on which he eontinned to live until called from this life. His wife, who survived him for some time, is also now deceased.
T. M. McClure was a young man of sixteen years when the family eame to Iowa and he aided his father in the improvement and cultivation of the home farm until his marriage. It was on the 22d of March. 1855, that he wedded Miss Mary J. Latimer, who was reared here but was born in Ken- tucky, of which state her father. J. D. Latimer, was also a native. Six ehil- dren were born of this union, namely: John T., now a resident of Roswell.
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New Mexico, where he is engaged in the practice of law; Dora, the wife of L. H. Wilder, a lawyer of Norton, Kansas; Frank, assistant eashier in the First National Bank of Indianola; Ethelyn Dell, at home; Mary C., who died in June, 1879, at the age of twenty-one years, and Amos, who died in 1862, at the age of two years.
After his marriage, Mr. MeClure located on a farm in White Oak town- ship, where he purchased eighty acres of land, and as he prospered in his farming operations he added to his property from time to time until he had two hundred and forty acres, which he continued to cultivate for twenty-four years. In 1879 he rented his farm and removed to Indianola. buying ten aeres of land within the city limits, only four blocks from the square. For about ten years he was engaged in the grocery business. but now gives his attention principally to looking after his property interests. In business affairs he has always been found just and reliable and the success that he has achieved in life is due to his own industry and enterprise.
At state and national elections Mr. MeClure affiliates with the democracy. but at local elections he votes independent of party ties. supporting the men whom he believes best qualified for office. He has served as township elerk. trustee and assessor, and has always been found true to any trust reposed in him whether publie or private. He is a prominent member of the Odd Fellows lodge of Indianola, in which he has passed through all the chairs and has served as past grand, and both he and his wife were connected with the Rebekahs. They hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and are people of prominence in the community where they reside. During the long years of his residence in this state Mr. MeClure has watched with interest its wonderful development and progress and has ever borne his part in the up- building of Warren county. He well remembers when Indianola was a very small village, has seen the railroad built and the telegraph and telephone introdneed, and is thoroughly familiar with pioneer conditions.
MRS. SARISSA E. GILBERT.
Mrs. Sarissa E. Gilbert is a well-known resident of Milo, and we take pleasure in presenting her life record to the readers of this volume, knowing that it will be read with interest by her many friends. She was born in Huron county, Ohio, July 13, 1843, a daughter of Lyle and Anna (Hayes) Kerr, who were natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania and in about 1840 removed to Ohio, where they remained until 1860. They then came to Iowa. settling a half mile from Palmyra, in Warren county, where they spent their remaining days. The mother died June 12, 1861. Her birth occurred January 27, 1808, so that she was fifty-three years of age at the time of her death. The father was born September 1, 1808. and died on the 23d of April, 1876.
In tracing the ancestry of Mrs. Gilbert we find the dual strains of a Scotch and Irish lines. When united these have produced a distinctive type which
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Larissa & Gilbert
Syman & Creighton
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Larissa & Gilbert
Syman & Creighton
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has played an important part in the history of the American Republic, for with the alert mentality and versatility of the Irish has been combined the sturdy integrity and indomitable perserverance of the Scotch. America owes much to her Scotch-Irish citizenship, and has honored and been honored by noble men and women of that class. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Gilbert was Thomas Hayes, a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, as was his wife who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Grimes. He was a soldier of the Revo- lutionary war, and probably of the war of 1812. The paternal grandfather was William Lyle. The ancestry of the Lyle family has been preserved in direct line from John Lyle, the Scotchman, through Robert Lyle, the Scotch-Irish- American, who lived from 1681 until 1765.
About 1681, in the reign of Charles II, a young Scotchman, John Lyle, left Scotland on account of the persecution of the Presbyterians, and settled on a farm in County Antrim, Ireland, where he married and reared a family, includ- ing Robert Lyle, who was born in 1698. According to the family traditions he not only clung to his religion, but to his death retained his Scotch dress. On one occasion when going to pay his rent to the lord of the manor he was required to remove his Scotch cap, stand uncovered and wait his turn for admission. This exposure to the weather brought on a severe illness. His son Robert, who had accompanied him, was so indignant over the treatment of his father that he declared he would not remain in a country where citizens were subjected to such indignities. He came to America, accompanied by his young brother, John Lyle, who sailed from Belfast in the latter part of the year 1741 and landed in New York in the spring of 1742. With little capital they purchased a small tract of land in New Jersey, near New Brunswick, where John Lyle spent his remaining days.
In 1747 Robert Lyle wedded Mary Gilleland and removed to Northampton county, Pennsylvania, where he purchased a farm. He was prosperous and was highly respected, being for some years a ruling elder in the Presbyterian church, in which he and his wife held membership, his name appearing on the roll of the first grand jury summoned from Northampton county, October 3, 1752, and he was also a justice of the peace. He died December 9, 1765, in his sixty-seventh year. It was from this family that Mrs. Gilbert is descended.
Three of her brothers answered to the call of the country in the dark days of the Civil war, two being members of the same company. William enlisted in the First Iowa Cavalry and after about two and a half years of service became ill, and died at the age of thirty-four. Levi enlisted in Company G. Fifteenth Iowa Regiment, and served throughout the war. He was a perfect specimen of health and strength when he entered the army but the hardship, privation and exposure of military life greatly undermined his health and he was never again the same vigorous man. However, he lived to the age of seventy years and died in Warren county, May 15, 1905. Thomas enlisted in Company G, Fifteenth Iowa, and after a year and a half of service died from illness contracted in the army at the age of twenty-six years. Mrs. Gilbert has a surviving brother and sister. Her brother, Orville Kerr. resides with her. When young he received an injury that has left him totally blind, but
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with that peculiar instinct of the blind he is capable of going about town alone and can recognize all of his friends by their voices. The sister, Elizabeth, is the widow of John Ilarbitt, of Findlay, Ohio, who died July 19, 1906.
Sarissa E. Kerr, spent her girlhood days under the parental roof and on the 6th of March, 1872, became the wife of Lyman P. Creighton, a son of John and Anna Creighton. His mother was born in midocean while the parents were coming to America from Ireland. Mr. Creighton was a prosperous and sneeessful farmer and owned one of the best tracts of land in Warren county. about a quarter of a mile from Hartford. It contained one hundred and fifty- six acres, all under a high state of cultivation, and is still the property of Mrs. Gilbert. On the 8th of June, 1889, Mr. Creighton passed away at the age of fifty-eight years. and Mrs. Gilbert then assumed the management of the farm. On the 23d day of May, 1894, she became the wife of James Gilbert, a highly respected and prosperous citizen of Warren county. In November, 1895, they established their home in Milo, where Mr. Gilbert died September 25. 1907, at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Gilbert still resides at the old home, which is one of the most desirable and attractive residences of Milo, surrounded by beautiful and well kept grounds. She is a member of the Presbyterian church. and is descended from a long line of ancestry who had been loyal to this faith. She has been an earnest and active worker in the church and its teachings have been the rule of her life, while the Christlike spirit is manifested in her daily conduct. From her youth she has labored earnestly in the church, but more than that, she has put into practice its teachings in her association with friends and neighbors day after day. Her many good qualities have won her the sineere respect and love of all with whom she has come in contact, and her circle of friends is therefore co-extensive with the circle of her acquaintances.
ALONZO E. SAYRE.
Alonzo E. Sayre, extensively engaged in farming and stock-raising ou section 30. Virginia township, was born in this township on the 20th of Febru- ary, 1870, his father being Enoch Sayre, whose sketch is found on another page of this work. He acquired his education in the common schools and even- tually came into possession of two hundred acres of his father's estate, al- though he had previously purchased land and engaged in farming. He now owns an excellent property of six hundred and seventy-nine acres known as the "Highland Stock Farm." on which he raises. feeds and ships pure-bred Hereford eattle on an extensive seale. The success which has come to him is but the merited reward of his well directed labor and capable business management and he is now widely recognized as one of the enterprising and progressive young agrienlturists of the county.
On the 12th of December. 1894, occurred the marriage of Mr. Sayre and Miss Laura Foreman, a native of West Virginia and a daughter of Upton
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