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 60
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Abram Ash was but seven years of age when his parents came to Iowa and here he was reared, receiving his education in the public schools. He remained with his father until thirty-three years of age, carrying on the work of the farm and taking care of his parents. In 1872 he bought the land where he now resides. On December 29, 1881. he was married to Miss Belle Handley, a daughter of John Handley, one of the early settlers from Ohio, who was born and reared in this county. Prior to his marriage Mr. Ash built a good house on the land he had bought, which at the time of his purchasing it had but an old log cabin on it. Due to his thrift, good management and industry Mr.
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Ash prospered in his work and was shortly able to purchase an additional forty acre tract, and still later ninety acres more, thus making up the one hundred and thirty acres referred to above. In connection with his farming Mr. Ash raises high grade shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses and has built up an enviable reputation for the handling of high grade stock. Mr. Ash has every reason to feel proud of the success to which he has attained, as he began at the foot of the ladder, and it is due wholly to his own efforts. He went in debt for his land, doing this all the more fearlessly as he well understood the character of the soil and knew about what he could depend upon from it, and the results have shown the soundness of his judgment in this regard.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ash have been born three sons and one daughter. Charles, the eldest son, is the cashier of a bank at Spring Hill. He was edu- cated at Simpson College. Robert, a business man of Spokane, Washington, also received his education at Simpson College, of which he is a graduate. Howard is in a railroad office at Portland, Oregon. Esther resides at home with her parents.
Mr. Ash gives his political support to the republican party but he has never sought office, preferring to give his undivided attention to his farm- ing and stock-raising interests. He has now been a resident of Warren county for fifty-six years and is a worthy representative of that class of citizens who lead quiet, industrious, honest and useful lives, and constitute the best portion of a community.
STEPHEN JAMES.
Stephen James, one of the veterans of the war of the rebellion and among the first settlers of this county, resides on a well improved and valuable farm of one hundred and sixty-six acres on section 30, Palmyra township. He was born in Indiana, August 25, 1844, the son of Henry R. and Roxie (Myrick) James. His father was a native of Rhode Island. In early manhood he re- moved from his native state to Ohio, where he was married to Miss Roxie Myrick. There he was engaged as a teacher, which occupation he later followed in Indiana. He removed to Warren county, Iowa, in 1845, where he entered one hundred and sixty acres of land. Here his family joined him in 1846, the same year that Iowa was admitted as a state into the Union. . He spent the remainder of his days on this farm, passing away in 1901. His wife is still living at the age of eighty-three years and makes her home with her son Stephen of this review.
Stephen James was not yet two years of age when brought by his parents to Warren county and here he passed the days of his boyhood and youth, receiving his education in the district schools. He aided his father in the work of the farm until, at the opening of the Civil war, he responded to his country's call for volunteers to preserve the Union, enlisting in 1862, in Company B, Thirty-fourth Iowa Volunteer Infantry and was sent south. He
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MR. AND MRS. STEPHEN JAMES
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participated in engagements at Chickasaw Bayou; Fort Blakeley, Alabama; and Arkansas Post. He contracted smallpox and was in the St. Louis hospital for about one year and a half, and was then assigned to hospital duty. He later returned to his regiment and served until the close of the war, being mustered ont of service at Houston, Texas, and receiving his final discharge at Daven- port, August 15, 1865.
At the close of the war Mr. James returned to his father's home, where he remained for some years. On May 23, 1875, he was married to Miss Eleanor Redmond. a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Simon and Catherine (Owens) Redmond. Her father was born in Canada, and her mother in Ohio. Mr. Redmond joined Company G, Fifty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and was killed at the battle of Missionary Ridge. Mrs. James was brought by her parents to this county. where she was reared. Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. James settled on his farm near Hartford, where they resided for eight years, at the expiration of which time he sold that place and bought the interests of the other heirs of the old home place. Since acquiring this property he has rebuilt the house and erected a residence in which his son lives, has divided the farm into convenient tracts for separate cultivation and has his farming operations reduced to a system. He keeps a good grade of horses and cattle and makes a specialty of raising hogs.
Mr. and Mrs. James are the parents of three sons and three daughters. The oldest son, Irving, is married and resides on his father's farm. Henry G., single, resides in Spokane, Washington, where he is engaged in the electric business. Arthur is located at Boise. Idaho, where he is connected with a lumber company. Mae, the oldest daughter, is the wife of Clarence Campbell, a harness manufacturer of Collins, Story county, this state. Katie and Ermile reside at home with their parents.
Politically Mr. James votes the republican ticket at national elections, but at local elections he votes independent of party, endeavoring to support the best men for the offices. He has most creditably served as township trustee for two terms and has been appointed a delegate to the county conventions. He has also served as petit juror and has been a member of the school board for years. Fraternally he is a member of Hartford Post. G. A. R. His estimable wife is a member of the Christian church, as are also his three daughters.
JOSEPH G. CHUMBLEY.
Joseph G. Chumbley, who owns and operates a finely improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 30, Otter township, has been closely identified with the farming interests of Warren county ever since he attained to the years of discretion. He was born in Pulaski county, Virginia, December 7, 1851, the son of William Allen and Nancy P. (Glasgow) Chumbley. Both parents were likewise natives of this county, the father having been born here in 1813. His parents died when he was a child and, according to the
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custom of the times, he was bound out to James Rankin, with whom he re- mained until he was twenty-one years of age. He was reared in the family and received a fair common school education in the subscription schools. At the age of twenty-one he married Miss Nancy P. Glasgow and located on a farm in Virginia, which he leased. This he operated for a number of years until 1860, at which time, through the influence of some friends located at Indianola, he emigrated to this county, locating in what was then Washington but is now Lincoln township. Here he rented land, but he was not spared to his family for a sufficient length of time to make much headway in his work, as he was called to his eternal rest on the 29th of April, 1862. He was a devout Presbyterian, an indulgent father and husband, and a hard-working citizen. His wife, Nancy P. Glasgow, was a daughter of William and Sallie (Patterson) Glasgow, who were also reared in Pulaski county and were of Scotch descent.
At the time of her husband's death Mrs. Chumbley was left with a family of six sons and two daughters, as follows : James W., John C., Sarah L., Sam- uel C., Robert C., Joseph G., Winton H. and Lucy. The sons all remained at home until the youngest of them was twenty-three years of age. The family resided in Lincoln township until 1871, when they removed to Otter township and purchased two hundred and eighty acres of land in seetion 18, that being the family home until 1880. Conditions being unfavorable, however, they gave up that farm and settled with their creditor's, after which they rented land for some ten years. The family gradually became broken up but three of the sons, James W., Winton H. and Joseph G., of this review remained with the mother until later and they, by industry and integrity, gained another good home of four hundred acres in sections 30, 31 and 32 Otter township. The partnership of the three brothers continued until the spring of 1905, when a division was made of the property. The mother died November 20, 1889, at the age of seventy-four years. The children of this family are as follows : James W., who was born in 1842, resides with his brother, Joseph G. He owns and operates a farm of eighty acres in Otter township. John C., died in In- dianola in 1893, at the age of fifty-seven years. He had mainly engaged in farming though for some twenty years he was superintendent of the cattle barn at Omaha, Nebraska, for the distillery there. He left a widow, who now resides in Indianola and is married again to J. O. Pierce. Sarah L., who was born in 1846, married Achilles Brazelton. She died in 1881 aged thirty-five years, leaving two children, Nannie, who married a Mr. Adamson and resides in California, and Winnie, who is now a trained nurse in Des Moines. Samuel C., was born in 1848 and has resided in Clark county, Iowa, for the past ten or twelve years, where he owns a farm. He married Miss Jane Clary and unto this union have been born eleven children. Lucy is the wife of William MeCampbell. a farmer residing in Indianola. They have one daughter, Maude. at home.
Joseph G. Chumbley received his education in the district schools of War- ren county. He has ever taken an active interest in the industrial, social and political affairs of the community and has been a leading spirit in many
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of the progressive movements there. He and his brothers were the first to in- terest themselves in securing the rural mail route No. 1, and in order to put the movement through they gave bends for three hundred dollars for the first one hundred boxes and were influential in prevailing on others to take them. His main energies, however, have been devoted to his farming interests, in which he has been most successful, as he now owns two hundred and forty acres of land.
Mr. Chumbley was married in 1875 to Miss Esther L. Pierce, a native of Gallia county, Ohio, where she was born in 1856: Her parents were William and Martha (Martindale) Pierce, both of whom are now deceased. They removed to Warren county in 1870, and it was in this county that the mother died, but the father died in Ohio. Mrs. Chumbley was one of twelve children, several of whom are now residing in Iowa. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chumbley have been born nine children, namely: Mary E., is the wife of G. G. Amos, a farmer residing in Otter township, and they have four children, Nellie, Nora, Howard and Charles. Lucy is the wife of G. H. Bown, residing on a farm in Otter township, and they have four sons, John, William, Joseph and Thomas. Nora is the wife of C. C. Morrison, also a farmer of Otter township, and they have two sons, Clarence and Robert. James W., engaged in farming in this town- ship, married Miss Edith Bown and unto this union have been born two children, Lois and Lucevia. Robert C., is married to Miss Muriel Hess and resides in Otter township. He is an auctioneer, by profession, being familiarly known as "Doc" Chumbley, and has been associated in business with A. R. Guy, of Indianola. Joseph P., Nannie, Thomas and Alvor reside at home with their parents.
The independence of thought and action that is so characteristic of the Scotch-Irish race is illustrated in the different political opinions of the mem- bers of the Chumbley family, Joseph G. giving his allegiance to the republican party, while five of his brothers are democrats. He has served and is at present a trustee of Otter township, and is now a candidate for county commissioner. Both Mr. and Mrs. Chumbley are members of the Methodist church.
JAMES SHEEHEY.
James Sheehey is one of the self-made men of Warren county for through his own industry and good management he has acquired a comfortable com- petence and is today the owner of a fine farm on section 11, Jefferson town- ship, where he now makes his home. He is a native of Ireland and on his emi- gration to this country in 1867 came direct to Iowa, first locating at Des Moines, where he commenced work for the Rock Island Railroad Company. At the end of two years he was made section boss on the Des Moines and Winterset branch of that road and on the 12th of February, 1872, became a resident of Warren county. making his home in Lothrop while filling that position for thirty years.
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Mr. Sheehey was first married in this county to Miss Mary Wood and to them was born one daughter, Margaret. After the death of that wife he married Miss Anna Macken, by whom he had one son, James, who worked for the Rock Island Railroad for some years and is now at home with his father. For his third wife Mr. Sheehey wedded Miss Mary Devitt, and they became the parents of three sons and three daughters, namely: Edward, Michael, Leo, Alice, Mamie and Catherine.
Mr. Sheehey's first purchase of land consisted of twelve acres in Jeffer- son township but as time has passed and his financial resources have increased, he has added to his property until he now owns three hundred and forty acres of land, divided into two farms. Upon one of these he located on his retire- ment from the railroad service in 1901 and he now devotes his energies to farming and stock-raising. His home place is well improved with good build- ings and as an agriculturist he is meeting with excellent success. He is a very energetic, industrious man, of good business ability and sound judg- ment and to his own unaided efforts he owes his prosperity for he commenced life in the new world empty-handed. Politically he has been a lifelong demo- crat of the Cleveland type.
ASA L. PUTNAM.
Asa L .. Putnam, a well-known farmer of Richland township, owns and occupies a well improved farm of seventy acres adjoining the village of Hart- ford. He is a native of Iowa, born in Dubuque county, on the 6th of April, 1854, and is a son of Rufus Putnam, whose birth occurred in Indiana, 1822. His paternal grandfather was Howard Putnam, who was a soldier of the Revolu- tionary war and was with General Washington at Valley Forge. The father grew to manhood in his native state and there married Miss Cynthia Bradley, a native of Virginia, and soon afterward they came to Iowa, locating in Dubuque county, where he entered land and improved a farm. In 1865 he removed to Marion county and later came to Warren county, where he secured a tract of wild land, which he broke and placed under cultivation, rearing his family thereon. Subsequently he went to Pottawattamie county, Iowa, and died at Oakland in 1898. His first wife, who was the mother of our subject, departed this life of Dubuque county, July 13. 1862. By that union there were six sons and two daughters, all of whom are still living with the exception of one daughter.
Asa L. Putnam accompanied his father on his removal to this county and remained at home until his marriage, which was celebrated in Hartford, De- cember 25. 1872, Miss Sarah E. Pyle becoming his wife. She is a native of Martinsville, Indiana, and a daughter of G. W. Pyle. They have one son. ('harles E., who is married and follows farming in Palmyra township.
For two years after his marriage Asa L. Putnam operated rented land and then purchased a farm in Richland township. It was in March, 1892, that he
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A. I .. PUTNAM
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bought his present farm of seventy acres, and to its improvement and cultivation he has since devoted his time and energies, his labors being rewarded with good harvests. He has erected a good house and othewise improved the place and follows both farming and stock-raising.
Politically Mr. Putnam has been a life-long republican and has taken quite an active part in public affairs, serving as a delegate to county conven- tions and filling various township offices in a creditable and satisfactory manner. He has been justice of the peace two terms, township trustee three terms, road supervisor for several years, and has also been officially connected with the schools. He is an elder in the Christian church of Hartford, to which he and his wife belong, and he is also a prominent Mason, being past master of Hartford lodge, which he has represented in the Grand Lodge of the state. He is also a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at the same place and has filled all the offices in that society and has represented the lodge in the Grand Lodge. Both he and his wife are members of the Eastern Star and Daughters of Rebekah, and she has served as treasurer in the former organiza- tion and also an officer in the latter.
S. G. LUKENBILL.
S. G. Lukenbill, who succeeded to that portion of his father's estate on which the old homestead is located, was born on the farm where he now re- sides, October 15, 1866, the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Davis) Lukenbill. Ilis father was a native of Owen county, Indiana, where he was born in 1816, and where he resided throughout his early manhood He left there in 1853 and located in this county, settling on the land where our subject now re- sides. He cleared the land and opened up a farm. He was encouraged in his work by the generous return which the soil yielded him in response for the cultivation given it and with remarkable foresight he reached out and acquired more land from time to time as rapidly as his resources would per- mit, until he became possessor of nearly one thousand acres of Warren county's richest farming land. Besides this he owned land in Nebraska. Mr. Luken- bill would be one of the first to give credit to his faithful wife and daughters and his sturdy sons for the aid they rendered him in acquiring this property, and it is but meet, and entirely in accord with his wishes that his loved ones by reason of his foresight and industry, should now be independently sit- uated and comparatively free from care as to competence for the future. He died on the home farm place in November, 1888. His wife survived him for about three and one-half years, and passed away in April, 1892. They were the parents of eleven children, seven sons and four daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, but one son has since died. For his second wife the father married Emily Spurgin, a daughter of Levi Spurgin of this county, and to them was born a daughter. Amanda, now the wife of C. N. Black, of Union township.
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S. G. Lukenbill received his edueation in the district sehool in the imme- diate vicinity of his home, which he attended regularly throughout the school year while in the primary grades, but when he reached an age to be of assist- ance to his father on the farm his attendance was necessarily somewhat irregu- lar, being confined to those months of the year when farming operations were suspended. He persisted in his attendance, however, until he received a good practical education, which now stands him in good stead. He remained with his father on the home place as long as the latter lived, and during the last year of his life assumed the entire responsibility of the place, farming it for himself. In the division of his father's estate he was allotted the old home- stead and one hundred and fifty acres of land surrounding it, located on section 11, Union township.
In January, 1891, Mr. Lukenbill was married to Hattie Thornburg, who was born and reared in Marion county. She died in 1896, leaving two chi !. dren : Floyd, a student in the Pleasantville high school, and Hazel, a student in the home school.
In his political views Mr. Lukenbill is a stalwart republican, but he has never been an office seeker, preferring to give his undivided attention to the work of the farm. Because of his interest in the public schools he is a member of the school board. He has been an interested observer of the growth and development of this section of the country, and must experience a feeling of satisfaction in the knowledge that he, himself, has been no unimportant factor in its industrial life.
FRANK E. WILLSEY.
Frank E. Willsey is one of the younger progressive farmers of Warren county, prominent in community affairs. He has done more toward building good roads than perhaps any other man in Warren county and he stands at all times for progressive citizenship, eooperating in every movement that tends to promote the public good. He lives on seetion 15, White Oak town- ship, where he has made his home since 1890. He was born in Marion county. Iowa, November 26, 1866.
Isaac Willsey, his father, was a native of New York but was reared in Ohio and when a young man came to Iowa, settling in Marion county. He there followed farming as one of the pioneer settlers, aiding in the early development and progress which changed the county from a wild and un- improved district into a region of rich fertility, giving many evidences of a modern civilization. He obtained his land from the government so that it was entirely unimproved when it came into his possession but he soon broke the sod and cultivated the prairies and ere his death had converted his place into a fine and valuable farm. He died in 1874, at the age of seventy years. His widow, long surviving him, came to Warren county in 1890 and died in 1907 at the age of sixty-nine years. Their family numbered five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom four reached adult age.
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Frank E. Willsey spent his childhood on the home farm. He was the eldest son and at an early age it was necessary that he assist his mother in the work of the home place. However, he was provided with good educational privileges, attending the district schools and later spending five years as a student in the high school at Knoxville. Following the father's death the family came to Warren county and here opened up a farm of two hundred and fifty acres, which they still own. Mr. Willsey of this review began with raw land, built a house, also put up a barn and other outbuildings, and as the years went by added all the accessories and equipments of a model farm. He now owns one hundred and twenty acres in the home place and its well kept appearance is indicative of his careful supervision and practical methods.
On the 31st of May, 1893, Mr. Willsey was married to Miss Lora Barns, a native of Warren county. and a daughter of John Barns. They have become the parents of seven children but lost one in infancy. The others are: John, Raymond, Ruth, James. Donald and Nellie, all still under the parental roof.
In his farm work Mr. Willsey makes a specialty of raising thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, being engaged in this way for five years. He has made frequent exhibits at county fairs in Indianola and has won several premiums. He has always made a specialty of cattle but also raises good grades of hogs and some horses. In his business he has made good use of his opportunities and has worked diligently year after year. his unwearied industry and careful management constituting the basis of his success.
Mr. Willsey is a republican but not so strongly partisan that he regards his affiliation of the candidates for local office. On the contrary he thinks only of their ability to discharge the duties that devolve upon them and it is this which influences him in his vote. He has been assessor for three terms and is filling the position at the present time. He has been especially proficient in his efforts in behalf of good roads, realizing how essential are well kept highways not only as a convenience but also for the furtherance of trade in- terests. He has been a delegate to the county and to the state conventions and his opinions carry weight in the party councils. He belongs to the Modern Brotherhood of America and is well known in the county as one of whose sterling traits of character entitle him to the success which he has achieved and to the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
REV. ROBERT C. HOWSER.
Rev. Robert C. Howser, has devoted the greater part of his life to the work of the farm which George Washington said. "Is the most useful and most honorable occupation of man." He has also found time to aid in the pro- motion of moral interests in the communities in which he has lived, as a local preacher, and his upright life may well serve as an example to others, while his career proves that success and an honored name may be had simultaneously. He is now living in Indianola, while since 1895 he has made his home in War-
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