USA > Iowa > Johnson County > Leading events in Johnson County, Iowa history, biographical > Part 32
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On October 9, 1879, Mr. Irish took for his wife Miss Jose- phine Martha Strawbridge, daughter of Jesse K. Strawbridge, a pioneer of Graham township, whom he had known from childhood. The couple made their home on the old homestead of Frederick Macey Irish, in the outskirts of Iowa City, known as "Rose Hill." This place is celebrated for its trees and shrubs and flowers, many of which are the handiwork of Gil-
J. K. STRAWBRIDGE
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bert Irish and wife. One daughter, Jane Terril, born in lowa City, June 3, 1881, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Irish. She was educated in the public and commercial schools and is an expert stenographer.
Mr. Irish, in his eccentric way, said: "The only important thing in my life is that I have always been a democrat in poli- ties and have never been a member of any church, society, or (lub." He, of course, had reference to secret and fraterna! orders, for he was a prominent member of the Old Settlers' Association of Johnson county for many years and its secre- tary from 1899 to his death, June 4, 1911. His father was one of the founders of the organization, which dates its existence from 1861. He took great pride in the records of this society. His presence and his ministrations will be greatly missed by his surviving associates.
One beautiful midsummer afternoon of June, 1911, ont at the old homestead at "Rose Hill, " where Mr. Irish had lived for nearly half a century, under the shadows of the old trees, many of which his hands had planted and his care fostered. there was gathered from nearly every part of Johnson county large numbers of old friends and neighbors who had come to pay the last token of respect to the remains of their pioneer brother. The heat of the summer vibrated in the air and scarcely a leať rustled. All nature seemed to have paused, while a sense of quiet and peace and rest " brooded like a gen- tle spirit o'er a still and pulseless world." Among this gathering were many men and women who had traveled along the great highway of life and were nearing its terminus - gray-haired pioneers, patriarchs of a period stretching into the far-away past - soon each one of them to pass through the portals eternal, while a new and bustling generation should take their place. Assembled to take the last look on the face of their departed brother, what memories must have swept. the minds of these dear old friends and neighbors --- the mem- ories of the garnered years, fragrant with the flowers that bloom in the beautiful and ever-growing garden of God. The day of the pioneer is passing, and as the sun setting in the west calls mankind to rest, leaving a trail of twilight to guide the loiterer home, so these human "stars of empire," having labored and loved and wept, having sacrificed and saved and
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builded, linger beyond the sunset time to lighten the pathway of the romping, laughing children who are even now entering the citadels which their sires have builded. Many of them, though dead, yet speak, and the writing angel in heaven through all the yesterdays has written and written and in the tomorrows will still write and write of their thoughts and words and deeds. It may be true that the bright and morning star shall burn out in the sky, that men may follow the seasons into the limbo of forgetfulness, that some sad day in the com- ing years the names of these pioneers, devoted men and women, may be erased from human memory, but their gospel of brotherly helpfulness and kindly influence shall live beyond the wreck of worlds and the dismal crash of creeds.
In his loyalty to home and friends, Gilbert R. Irish dis- played his great moral worth and won for himself the admira- tion and love of those associated with him. His creed, "What- soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," was the strong and enduring foundation upon which he builded his soulful and manly life. He never sowed to the winds, neither did immorality of any character ever find lodgment within his pure mind. Nothing dishonorable or false was ever truthfully charged against him, but in every department of life he walked uprightly before God and man, guaging his actions by the square of justice, remembering that he was traveling upon the level of time to a better, brighter, and purer sphere than this. He was never united with any religious society or secret organization, yet we find in his life many of the Christian at- tributes and virtues. His was a religion of works and deeds, rather than of creeds and professions. He lived and died a manly life, at peace with God, his neighbors, and himself. These are all striking factors of immortality, and serve to re- mind us of that imperishable part of man which bears the nearest affinity to the Supreme Intelligence, which pervades all nature and can never, never die.
MRS. E. J. STRAWBRIDGE
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ELIZABETH IRISH
The subject of this sketch is a true Hawkeye, and was born and reared in Iowa City, Iowa. The institution for commer- cial training, Irish's University Business College, over which she presides, is an excellent testimony to an lowa woman's ability and skill. It was founded in 1895 by Miss Irish, who, having just returned from California, saw at the Athens of Iowa an opening for a good business college and at once set about building up such a school. Her education and business experience, combined with her interest in the welfare of young people, particularly fitted her for such an undertaking. With Miss Irish, to plan meant to execute, and to execute meant success, so after nine years of determined and efficient work on her part, the modest little school which she started in An- gust, 1895, had grown to be one of the leading colleges of the state, drawing students not only from our own, but from the sister states. This college now has a commercial department, preparatory department, and a department of shorthand and typewriting, and in all these Miss Irish has had a business ex- perience so that she can, when conditions require it, give per- sonal attention to the work in any of them. Thereby the stu- dents receive not only instruction in this work, but have also the advantage of her business knowledge along these lines. This practical handling of the subjects taught is one of the secrets of her success as a commercial teacher. The other is found in her great energy, courage, and determination to suc- ceed.
To the question, how she came to found such a school, Miss Irish responded : "During my service, in various capacities, in the business world I found many young people who failed through lack of thorough training in their line of work which should have given them power of application and self-reliance and also that high moral standard which should obtain in bus- iness as in other relations of life. Therefore I concluded to start a business college in which the young could gain an edu- cation in accordance with the theories I hold."
The high class work done by those who are graduated from her college fully demonstrates that Miss Irish in most cases reaches the high aim set by her theories, for whenever her stu-
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dents finish their course they go forth fitted to begin life's work in the most intelligent and helpful manner.
Miss Irish is a graduate of Prof. Wi. McClain's College. also of Prof. Elden Moran's School of Shorthand and was the first woman to hold a position of bookkeeper in Iowa City. She was the business manager of the Iowa State Press for a number of years. When her uncle, Col. John P. Irish, re- moved to California, she accompanied him and became the cashier and bookkeeper for the Oakland, California, Times, of which he was editor. Later on she held successfully the posi- tion of bookkeeper and cashier in the Alta Californian, which was the oldest paper on the Pacific coast. She next held a responsible position in the U. S. Mint at San Francisco, from which she was called to be chief clerk, stenographer and book- keeper in the United States Surveyor General's office of the state of Nevada. Later Miss Trish traveled for the U. S. Ir- rigation Commission. Then as receiving and paying teller of the money order department of the Oakland post office she gave a fine example of her executive ability, and later estab- lished a business school at Reno, Nevada. One season was spent at Seaggs Spring. Sonoma county, California, in the capacity of bookkeeper, assistant post mistress, and Wells- Fargo agent. This record of faithful and efficient and varied service in the business world, prior to the establishment of her University Business College at Iowa City, is evidence of Miss Irish's preparedness for her work, and also shows why her college has been, from the start, a business success.
Truly Miss Irish's career in the business world is one in which the women of the state in particular, should feel justly proud. The Iowa City Commercial ('Inb, King's Daughters, Iowa City Improvement League, Central Commercial Teach- ers Association, Western Commercial School Manager's As- sociation, Iowa Court Reporter's Association and National Commercial Teachers Federation all know her as an interest- ed and active member of their organization.
The story of such a busy life, is truly an inspiration to the young who are longing to meet and conquer the problems of the world.
The parents of Miss Irish were General Charles W. Irish and Susannnah Yarbrough, the latter a native of North Car
ELIZABETH A. IRISH
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BIOGRAPHICAL
olina, coming with her parents to Iowa City when eight years old, is still living in this city at the age of seventy-three. Her father died in 1904. (See his sketch elsewhere - Ed.)
Notwithstanding her strenuous business duties, Miss Irish takes an active interest in the work of the Protestant Episco- pal church, of which she is a member. She is treasurer of the Daughters of the King and a member of the King's Daughters Association, an organization which cares for the poor. In civic matters she figures as a member of the Improvement League and the Iowa City Commercial club, being distinguish- ed as the only woman member of the latter organization. Her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution was obtained through her mother's (Susannah Yarbrough's) an- cestry.
JUDGE MARTIN J. WADE
The senior member of the law firm of Wade, Dutcher & Davis, of Iowa City, Iowa, is Hon. Martin J. Wade, former district judge, congressman, University professor and leetur- er, chantauqua orator, politician, and all-around good fellow. Judge Wade's connection with this popular firm gave it great additional strength, dignity and publie favor. His natural ability, education, and wide legal and public experience have proven invaluable factors in association with the recognized attainments of Mr. Dutcher and Mr. Davis.
Judge Wade is a native of Burlington, Vermont, where he was born October 20, 1861. His parents were Michael Wade and Mary Breen, both natives of Ireland, who came to Massa- chusetts at an early age. The couple were married at Wor- cester, Massachusetts, and located in Burlington soon after- ward.
Young Wade received his primary education in the public schools, which he supplemented by a classical course at St. Joseph's College, Dubuque, Iowa. He graduated from the Law Department of the State University of Iowa and was given the degree of LL. B. in 1886. He began practice imme- diately after matriculation and formed a law partnership with Hon. C. S. Ranek at Iowa City, continuing active prac- tice until 1893, when, at the age of thirty-two, he was appoint-
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ed judge of the eighth judicial district of Iowa. He remained on the bench for ten years, or until January 1, 1903. In 1902 he was elected to Congress, in which body he served until 1905. Thereafter he resumed the practice of law in connec- tion with his present associates, with whom he had formed a law partnership.
Judge Wade's great abilities naturally brought him kin- dred responsibilities and activities. From 1890 to 1904 he was lecturer in the Law Department of the State University
RESIDENCE OF JUDGE WADE
of Iowa, and from 1895 to 1907 professor of medical jurispru- dence in the Medical Department of the same University. The growth of his practice, however, compelled him to forego his engagements at his alma mater. During his terms upon the bench and in Congress the judge was in constant demand for the lecture platform, and he devoted one season to the circuit of the Mutual Lyceum Bureau of Chicago. At another season, under the direction of the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, he held joint debates with Congressman Adam Bede at Chautau- quas in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Needless to say, as a public speaker, he was an ornament both from a literary and
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oratorical standpoint. Few men excel him in polemics, in repartee, and the elements of gifted speech.
Politically Judge Wade is a democrat of the highest stand- ard. His election to Congress was upon that ticket, and he is at present an active member of the National Democratic Committee from Iowa. His fraternal affiliation is with the M. W. A., the B. P. O. E., and the Knights of Columbus. In religion he is a Catholic. He is a member of both the Ameri- can and the Iowa State Bar Associations, and has served as president of the latter.
On April 4, 1887, at Iowa City, he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McGovern, daughter of Hugh McGovern, for many years treasurer of Johnson county. Two children have hallowed their union: Julia Katheryn, aged 14, and Eleanor, aged 8 years. His home is at No. 115 North Clinton street, Iowa City.
Judge Wade is in the prime of a vigorous manhood, signally equipped for the responsibilities of citizenship, a type of the well-rounded American, whose presence makes for the preser- vation of the national equilibrium, civilly and politically. He finds his greatest satisfaction in the activities which connect him with the affairs of his fellow men, in the service of whom he levies unsparingly upon his remarkable storehouse of knowledge and his abilities of speech and pen. No man stands higher in the estimation of his neighbors, and for none does the sky of the future give brighter omen.
JOHN W. SCHELL
John W. Schell is a prosperous farmer of Scott township and the father of eight children, all of whom are living. Since 1879 he has been engaged in farming in Johnson county, and has lived upon his present place since 1896. Owns 170 acres here. He has held the office of township clerk, school treas- urer, and numerous other local positions in his community, and is a man highly respected and trusted by his neighbors and friends. Mr. Schell was born in Ohio on October 6, 1850. His father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. William P. Schell, were natives of Pennsylvania, where they were married. She died
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in Ohio shortly afterward. They settled in Ohio in the early forties, where they resided until 1856. He and his second wife moved to Johnson county, lowa, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. Schell had six sons and three daughters: Joseph, Mary, Margaret, William L., our sub- jeet, were of the first marriage; Henry S., Abraham, Charles. Martha, were of the second marriage, their mother is still living. Mother Schell died when our subject was a baby. The father died in 1867 and was buried in Oakland cemetery.
John W. Schell was educated in the country schools near his father's farm. Soon after reaching his majority he went to
RESIDENCE OF JOHN W. SCHELL
Nebraska, where he took np a homestead and lived five years. In 1879 he returned to Johnson county and engaged in farm- ing. In 1896 he bought his present farm home. He was mar- ried December 6, 1876, to Miss Elizabeth Townsend, a native of Iowa. The marriage was performed by Rev. Fellows. His wife died in 1888, leaving five children, with the husband, to mourn her loss. The children, in the order of birth, are: Alice, born December 6, 1877, now Mrs. Wilton West : William, born September 18, 1890, residing in the state of Washington : Anna, born October 26, 1882, at home; David, born April 14. 1886, residing with his brother William in Washington; Al- bert F., born February 29, 1888, living in California. Mr. Schell took for his second wife Miss Mary E. Stevenson of
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Iowa City, daughter of Jolm A. and Henrietta (Griffith) Stov- enson. He was born in Pennsylvania and she in London, England, were farmers, came west in 1856 to Johnson county. where both died and are buried in Oakland cemetery. He lived to be over 90 years of age. She was 84. They were married by G. H. Hemingway of the Presbyterian church. They have three children: Mary H., born October 8, 1591, Harold W., born March 16, 1895, and Robert S., born Decem- ber 27, 1896, all living at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Schell are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church. He is a republican, and interested in all matters affecting the welfare of his community and his country. He also owns 320 acres in Alberta, Canada.
JOSEPH B. DENISON (Deceased)
The oldest settler at North Bend, Pen township, Johnson county, was Joseph B. Denison, who arrived in what is now that division, in 1839, being one of the few to live there when it was a part of Wisconsin territory. Through his influence a number of other persons left Ohio for the unsettled wilds of Iowa. He was a native of Muskingum county, Ohio, born De- cember 1, 1815, and died at his home in Section 1, Penn town- ship, May 18, 1902, after only a short illness. His loss was keenly felt by the entire community and was a shock to his many friends. He was a son of Gordon and Etherlinda (Slack) Denison, the former born at Stonington, Massachu- setts, May 3, 1781, the latter a brother of William Denison, who lived at Zanesville, Ohio, and had a family. To Gordon Denison and wife were born children as follows: Alonzo, Joseph B., George Slack; Maria became Mrs. Hibbs, died in Ohio, leaving children; Charles, deceased. Alonzo C. Deni- son moved to Kansas and died near Wichita, leaving one son, who has also passed away, as the result of disease contracted in the army. Alonzo died in 1900. George S. Denison, who had a claim in Clear Creek township, was born in 1814 and died October 31, 1883, at the age of sixty-nine years, six months, and ten days, being buried in North Liberty cemetery. The other children of Gordon Denison are also deceased, and
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the only descendant who bears the name of Denison is the son of Joseph B., who is thus the sole living representative of the venerable pioneers of Ohio, who were of Revolutionary stock.
Gordon Denison made several trips from Ohio to Iowa to visit his children, bringing them wearing apparel, including shoes, which could be obtained cheaper and of better quality in the former state. He was of French and his wife of Irish descent.
Joseph B. Denison was one of the hand of pioneers who walked to Dubuque to enter a claim at the U. S. land office there. In early days he had to go to Muscatine to dispose of
THE OLD DENISON HOMESTEAD
his products and then received no money, but was obliged to take goods in exchange. The Indians were plentiful along the trail when he first came to Johnson county, but he soon grew to understand their language and customs, and found them friendly enough. He used breaking teams in many places in his part of Iowa and was an expert in his use of oxen. It is often remarked by different persons among the early settlers that "Joe Denison broke this piece of ground," and his skill in this line of work made him a popular citizen. He was an able hand in the grain field with the cradle and other primitive tools.
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Alonzo C. Denison, mentioned in the first paragraph of this sketch, removed to Kansas, as he said, "to open a new coun- try." He was a valued citizen of Johnson county and an active church worker.
Joseph B. Denison began farming with a small piece of land, which he earned by breaking land for the neighbors, and continued this occupation several years, using sometimes as many as thirteen yoke of oxen. At the time of his death he had added to his holdings until he had 540 acres of choice land. At one time he plowed near the present city of Chicago, Illi- nois. Upon locating permanently in Iowa and seenring a farm, he brought 100 head of hogs, cattle, and oxen to the new country. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Dig- gens, was a daughter of Jesse and Catherine (Fisher) Diggens. She came to Johnson county in 1852, and during the following year was married to Joseph Denison. Those of their children who now survive are : Maria and David, on the old homestead ; Julia A., widow of Harlan Sentman, has three children; Ma- tilda, widow of James A. Work, of North Liberty, has one daughter. The parents were active in every move for the bet- terment of conditions in their community and were highly respected for their high character and kindly dispositions. Their children have reason to be proud of the part these hardy pioneers played in the early history of the township and county, and the good name they left behind them.
David Denison, who was born, reared, and educated in Penn township, has grown up with the development of the neighbor- hood. He is one of the most popular men in his part of the county and his many friends enjoy his hearty manner and kindly ways. He is a man of strong physique and good health, and enjoys using his strength in moving buildings, at which work he is often employed. He is skilful in his use of jack- screws and other tools used in this connection, and whenever anyone in his portion of the county wishes an old landmark removed or a building hanled to another foundation, he is called upon to perform the delicate task. He has keen enjoy- ment in using his skill in this manner. A stone, which he removed from his farm, weighs about as much as a locomotive, and now stands at the side of the main road to the cemetery. This cemetery is on a portion of the old home farm, and from
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
the pleasant hill contained in it one is able to get a panoramic view of the surrounding country within a radius of some thirty miles. Mr. Denison and his sister occupy one of the best farms in the county, and he has recently erected a new residence and barn on a portion of the old farm at Denison Station on the Interurban line, which he rents. He is ummarried. Both par- ents are buried in North Bend cemetery. They were married at the home of James Chamberlain, April 10, 1853, by Rev. Jervis, of the Methodist church of Penn township.
REV. C. C. TOWNSEND, ORGANIZER OF THE FIRST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY IN JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
BY GENERAL CHARLES W. IRISH, GOLD CREEK, NEVADA
Somewhere in the early fifties I, a young man then, met through an introduction by my father, with a clergyman by the name of C. C. Townsend. He was just out from New York City and for the first time in, or on, the border of the then wild west. His journey so far from "the center of civilization" was an errand of mercy. He was an upholder of the Episco- pal church or "The Church of England, " as I had often in my youth heard it spoken of derisively ; for then the fierce fires of hatred kindled by the war of the Revolution and the swiftly following War of 1812 were still burning as ash-covered em- bers upon many a hearthstone, and were frequently fanned into weak and flickering flames of passion against Great Brit- ain as parents related stories of the murders and woefnl devastations of those great struggles to their children by the winter fire-sides.
I was not an exception to the rule in this matter, for my forefathers had taken a hand in both those wars. And on my father's side nearly all the male members of the family, born for generations on the New England coast and the island of Martha's Vineyard, had been sailors, my father among the number. Hence the long winter evenings by our fire-sides drew out many tales of the nation's struggle for independence and many stories of the sea. Thus impressed I confess now. looking back after the lapse of near half a century, to a very
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strong dislike in my youthful days for anything British; and this in a shadowy way included the "Church of England."
Imagine my surprise when the Reverend Townsend, talk- ing with me soon after our acquaintance began, proposed that I should join him in an attempt to organize a society of that church in Iowa City. He had been about and over Johnson county and had succeeded in finding several members of his church - not above three or four, as I remember - and now he desired my help and that of some other young folks to make the organization complete. I frankly told him that I could not grant his request for I understood that he desired
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me to become a member of the congregation about to be or- ganized and, further, that I did not like his church -of its creed I knew nothing. He questioned me as to my refusal and dislikes in the matter, and I told him that I was a Quaker after the manner of my fathers and that I disliked everything Eng- lish. He commended me for sticking to the faith of my fathers, pronouncing that faith a good one to live and die by, and then gave me a history of the Episcopal church, a revelation to me. I was captivated by his kindly manner and the bit of history of the church given, and consented to assist in organizing the first congregation of the Episcopal church at Iowa City.
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