Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 100

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360

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The Judge suffered an attack of la grippe in 1892, and, after a short illness, passed away on the 23d of April, 1892, at his home in Albia. He well deserved that popular confi- dence which he enjoyed to so marked a degree. The dominant elements in his character were his absolute honesty and uprightness. He was a man of strong convictions, fearless in ex- pressing them under all proper circumstances, but always ready to hear and weigh the views

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of those who differed from him. On the bench it was his aim to be absolutely impartial, and no personal feeling was allowed to interfere with the even-handed administration of justice.

JUDGE JAMES ELBERT TOWNSEND, son of John S. and Annie (Elbert) Townsend, was born in Albia, Iowa, July 19, 1857. Here- ceived his education in the public schools of Albia, at Beloit and Grinnell Colleges, and at the University of Michigan. In 1879 he entered the law office of Perry & Townsend at Albia, and in 1880 was admitted to the bar. In 1882 he was married to Miss Grace L. Bass, daughter of Hon. Jacob Bass, of Canton, Illinois. In 1883 he formed a copartnership with A. J. Weber, now of Ogden, Utah, and with him practiced law in Albia until 1886, when he re- moved with his family to El Paso, Texas, where he soon became a prominent member of the bar. In 1888 he was nominated and elected County Judge of El Paso county for a term of two years. Being of a judicial turn of inind, with a high sense of right and justice, courteous to all, he gave general satisfaction in his new position. In 1890 he declined re- nomination and again entered upon the active practice of his profession. In 1895 he was elected City Attorney of El Paso, a lucrative position and one of responsibility and trust.

He has three children: John Selby, Laura S. and James Elbert, Jr.

RED TOWNSEND, an energetic and wide-awake member of the bar of Albia, was born in the city which is still his home, in July, 1862, and is a son of the late Judge J. S. Townsend. Under the parental roof our subject spent his boyhood days. He is indebted to the public schools of Albia and to the University of Michigan for a superior literary education. He entered the latter institution at Ann Arbor, in 1879, re- maining there for three years. He then re- solved to enter the legal profession, and after thorough preparation was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1887. Wishing, however, to

perfect himself still further in his chosen call- ing, he entered the Law School at Ann Arbor, and was graduated in 1888, having completed the two-years course in one year.

In 1890 he began practice in Albia, and in the same year was elected County Attorney on the Democratic ticket. As prosecutor he paid close attention to the interests of the county and collected in fines and forfeitures sufficient to pay his salary. From the beginning he has been successful and has built up a liberal and constantly increasing clientage. In June, 1895, he admitted to partnership Fred D. Mason, who had previously studied law with him for a time, and the new firm has a bright future be- fore it. Its members are young men of energy and brains, having great popularity and many friends in the community.

J AMES MADDY, a retired farmer now living in Knoxville, is numbered among the honored pioneers of Marion county, his residence here dating from 1856. He has therefore witnessed the greater part of its growth and development, has seen its wild land transformed into beautiful homes and farms and its hamlets grow into thriving towns. Always an advocate of progress and improve- ment, he has borne his part in the work of public development and well deserves mention among the honored early settlers.

Mr. Maddy was born in Rush county, In- diana, October 5, 1824, and is descended from an old Virginian family of German lineage. His grandfather, James Maddy, spent his entire life in Virginia. His father, Thomas Maddy, and his mother, who bore the maiden name of Rhoda Miller, were both natives of Monroe county, West Virginia. The former was a farmer by occupation, and about 1833 removed with his family to Shelby county, Indiana. There he resided for twenty-one years, and in 1854 came to Marion county, Iowa. He lo- cated in Indiana township, where he pur- chased 200 acres of new land, and the work of plowing and planting was at once begun, and

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was carried forward until the raw tract was transformed into rich and fertile fields that yielded to the owner a golden tribute in return for the care and cultivation he bestowed upon them. He continued the operation of his farm until his death, which occurred in 1874. His wife passed away October 7, 1861.

Our subject was a child of nine years when his parents removed to Shelby county, In- diana, and there he grew to maturity and at- tended the district schools of the neighborhood until twenty years of age. Through the sum- mer months he aided in the work of the farm, and then began work as a farm hand, receiving $9 per month in compensation for his services. When a young man of twenty-one, he married Miss Margaret J. McIlrath, of Shelby county, Indiana. She was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1828, being the daugh- ter of John and Rachel McIlrath.

Mr. and Mrs. Maddy began their domestic life in Shelby county, but in 1856 cast in their lot with the early settlers of Marion county, Iowa. Mr. Maddy purchased 300 acres of land in Indiana township, for which he paid $10 per acre, and subsequently extended the . boundaries of his farm until it comprised 400 acres. He was one of the prosperous farmers of the township, an energetic, wide-awake man, not afraid of work and thoroughly reliable in all things. He continued the cultivation of his property until 1882, when, with the handsome competence he had acquired, he retired to private life, and took up his residence in Knox- ville, where he has since made his home, having no business cares save the management of his invested capital. He sold his farm in 1892 and is now a stockholder in the Citizens' National Bank of Knoxville.

To Mr. and Mrs. Maddy have been born nine children, of whom four sons and a daugh- ter are now living, namely : John T., Charles W. and James Norris, all of whom follow farming in Marion county; Nancy J., wife of S. B. Kennedy, a boot and shoe dealer of Knoxville; and Goldsbury L., who also follows farming.

The cause of education finds in Mr. Maddy a warm friend, and while serving as School Trustee he has done effective service in the in- terests of education. Both he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is now serving as Trustee of the local organization. He is a self- made man who has achieved success through his own efforts, and by determined purpose and unswerving energy has gained a place among the substantial citizens of the com- munity.

J OHN WILD is the promoter of one of the leading business enterprises of To- ledo. In 1865, having just left the service of the Union army, he came to Tama county, and embarked in the manu- facture of brick and tile, which he has since continued, the business being now conducted under the firm name of John Wild & Son. Our subject has ever been a loyal citizen of his adopted land, both in days of peace and days of war, and is now a worthy representative of the industrial interests of this county.

Mr. Wild was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, July 23, 1833, and is a son of Thomas and Sarah (Rush) Wild, who were natives of Lancashire and Yorkshire, England, respectively. The father was a quarryman and also followed farming to a limited extent, car- rying on those pursuits throughout his entire business career. He died in Leeds in 1853, when about fifty years of age, and his wife, surviving him some years, passed away at the age of seventy-seven. They were the parents of twelve children, but our subject and his sister Anna are the only ones that came to America. The latter is now the wife of John Ashman, and resides in Fillmore, Utah.

In the country of his birth John Wild served an apprenticeship as a quarryman and stone-cutter, and in 1854, when twenty-one years of age, came to the United States, hoping that he might better his financial con- dition in the New World. He landed at New

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Orleans, and in that locality worked as a gardener and wood-chopper. He afterward had charge of the blasting in a quarry near Columbus, Georgia, but on account of ill health he went to Connecticut and pursued his trade at Cortland. In 1855 he returned to England, and was employed in various quarries in his native land until 1857, when he again came to the United States, locating at Little Falls, New Jersey. The financial panic of that year caused him to go to Canada, and for eighteen months he was employed as foreman in a quarry belonging to the Great Western Railroad Company. In 1859 he went to Cleveland, Ohio, and was employed as foreman in various quarries near that city until the breaking out of the Civil war.

As long as strains of martial music cause the blood to pulsate with greater rapidity through the veins of its hearers, as long as deeds of heroism awaken the patriotism of American citizens, they will hold in grateful remembrance the memory of the brave boys in blue who went to the defense of the Union in its hour of peril. Among this number is Mr. Wild. He joined the army in 1861, although at the time he was not a naturalized citizen of the United States. Mustered into the service as a member of Battery I, First Regiment Light Artillery, of Ohio, he first met the enemy in battle at Chancellorsville. On that occa- sion the gun which he was operating was cap- tured, and only two out of nine men were saved from death, captivity or injury. Our subject received a slight wound in the face caused by a minie ball, but nevertheless he carried to the rear a comrade, Mr. Skinner, of New London, who was badly wounded. This engagement was followed by the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, where the battery covered the retreat of the Eleventh Army Corps. At the battle of Gettysburg, he received a flesh wound and had three ribs broken. The battery here lost thirteen men, had twenty-four wounded, and lost nearly all the horses. Our subject did not go to the hospital, but it was six weeks before he was

again able for duty. The battery was trans- ferred at Chattanooga to General Thomas' army and participated in the engagements at Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. It then accompanied General Sherman to the re- · lief of Knoxville, and was later assigned to garrison duty at Chattanooga; but this life was far too quiet for their captain, who requested that they be returned to active service, and in consequence they were attached to the Third Division, Second Brigade, and went to Ross- ville, and, with the Fourteenth Corps, ac- companied Sherman to Atlanta. Here, on the 22d of July, 1864, Mr. Wild was seriously wounded in the face, the ball striking the right side below the jaw and passing out at the left side of his mouth, severing the tongue and arteries. This forced him to remain in the hospital six months, and he had to be fed by artificial means, but ultimately recovering, he rejoined his battery on the Ist of January, 1865, at Chattanooga. The captain, our sub- ject and several others three times carrried a flag of truce to the enemy and conducted 1, 500 prisoners back to the Union side. The war being over, Mr. Wild was mustered out in June, 1865. He was a Corporal, serving as . gunner at the time he was wounded. All through the long and sanguinary struggle he had been faithful to the land of his adoption, and made for himself an honorable war record.

On being mustered out Mr. Wild at once came to Toledo, Iowa, where his wife had formerly located, and as he could not find work at his trade he soon engaged in his pres- ent business, of which he was sole proprietor until 1894, when he adınitted his son John to a partnership. The manufacture has amounted to as many as one million brick annually, to- gether with some tile. The business has stead- ily increased from the beginning and has now assumed extensive proportions, yielding to its originator a handsome income.

Mr. Wild has been twice married. In Cleveland, Ohio, in 1860, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary Jane Purdy, a native of Toronto, Canada. She died in January,

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1869. Four children were born of that union, but one died prior to the mother's death, and Nettie died August 17, 1876. The two sons, William and Harry, are now farmers of Powe- shiek county, Iowa.

For his second wife Mr. Wild chose Miss Jane Shunn, who was born in Toronto, Can- ada. Of their nine children we make record as follows: Mabel A., who was born Septem- ber 17, 1870, is the wife of Edward Foster, a resident of Toledo; John, born March 3, 1872, is associated with his father in business; Fran- ces, born February 13, 1874, is at home; Maude, born October 5, 1876, died in in- fancy; Myrtle, born February 14, 1878; Peter, born January 3, 1880; Lottie M., born Janu- ary 26, 1883; Hattie, born February 23, 1885; and George, born August 12, 1887, died in in- fancy.

In his political views Mr. Wild is a Repub- lican, and has served as Township Trustee and School Director, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. He has, however, never sought or desired public office, preferring to give his time and attention to his business interests. In religious faith he is a Methodist and is serving as Trustee of his church. So- cially he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled all the offices in the latter organization. Five times Mr. Wild has crossed the Atlantic, and by travel and experience has become a well in- formed man. His life has been a busy and useful one, and the success that has come to him is the reward of his own labor. He started out in life with no capital save the abilities with which nature endowed him, and making the most of his opportunities has won prosperity.

J AMES S. BELLAMY, a dealer in soft lumber and grain, in Knoxville, was born in Switzerland county, Indiana, near the banks of the Ohio river, oppo- site Carrollton, Kentucky, February 12, 1848,

and is a son of Samuel K. and Acassina (Man- ford) Bellamy. The father was born in the same house as our subject and the mother was a native of the same county and a daughter of James Manford.

In October, 1853, Samuel K. Bellamy re- moved with his family to Marion county, Iowa, locating on a farm six miles south of Knoxville, where in connection with the cultivation of his land he carried on stock-raising until 1875. In that year he removed to Knoxville, where he engaged in the lumber business with his two sons, S. D. and James S. The former died in 1886, after which the father and our subject carried on the business alone until the death of the former, in April 1890, at the age of sixty- six years. His wife still survives him, and is now living on the old homestead where they first settled on coming to the county.

Our subject was a child of five years when with his parents he took up his residence in Marion county, Iowa. The district schools af- forded him his educational privileges and he received ample physicial training in work upon the farm. To this labor he devoted his ener- gies until twenty years of age, when with a desire to see more of the country he left home, removing to Mexico, Missouri, where he en- gaged in the milling business. He erected there a new mill, which he continued to ope- rate until 1872, when he sold out and went to Kansas. He there carried on a stock ranch and engaged in dairy farming. When he once more returned to Iowa, he located in Knox- ville, and joined his father and brother in the lumber business, forming the partnership which continued until the deaths of the other mem- bers of the firm. Mr. Bellamy then bought out the interest of the other heirs and has con- tinued alone up to the present time. He handles all kinds of lumber and building ma- terial, having the principal yard in Knoxville, and has built up an extensive and remunerative trade. He also deals in grain and this has proved to him a profitable source of income.

In 1879 Mr. Bellamy was united in mar- riage with Miss Mary A. French, of Knoxville,

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Iowa, a daughter of Dr. French, one of the prominent old physicians of this place. Four children grace their union: Paul, Herbert, Earl and Rebecca J. In politics Mr. Bellamy is a stalwart Republican, and served for seven years as a member of the School Board of Knoxville, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend. He belongs to Knoxville Lodge, No. 90, I. O. O. F., of which he be- came a member in 1875, and during 1892 and 1893 he served as Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of the State. He has also filled the position of Grand Warden and Deputy Grand Master, and is an honored and prominent member of the fraternity.

Q URTIS K. DAVIS, dealer in grain and live stock at Knoxville, was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, October 19, 1846, being a son of James R. Davis and a grandson of John Davis. The former was a native of Herefordshire, England, and in that country grew to manhood and was mar- ried. He wedded Miss Rachel J. Kimball, daughter of Abner Kimball. The Kimball family was numbered among the pioneers of Coshocton county, Ohio, whence they removed from Vermont, their ancestors having been of English birth. They were numbered among the most prosperous people of Coshocton county. Having crossed the Atlantic to the United States, the father of our subject located in Coshocton county, where he developed a farm and eared his family, continuing to reside thereon until his death in 1890. His wife still survives him and is now living on the old homestead.

Our subject was the third in order of birth in their family of eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, of whom all reached years of maturity and of whom nine still survive. The greater part of his childhood was spent on the old family homestead, and he began his education in the district schools of the neigh- borhood. Later he entered the Ohio Wes-

leyan University at Delaware Ohio, where he pursued his studies for three years, and on leaving college he began teaching school, being then in his nineteenth year. That vocation he followed through the winter season, and in the summer months he aided in the labors of the home farm. Emigrating to Iowa, he fol- lowed teaching in Madison county, being em- ployed for some time near Winterset. Later he returned to his native State, where he con- tinued teaching until 1871.

In that year Mr. Davis again turned his face toward the setting sun and followed the king of day in his westward course until he had reached Grundy county, Missouri. There he engaged in teaching for two years during the winter season, after which he made his way to the Territory of Idaho, where he remained until 1880, engaged in mining and school- teaching. He also represented Alturas county in the Territorial Legislature, being elected on the Republican ticket. On his retirement from public office he resumed mining, and fol- lowed that occupation with fair success until he left the Territory.

Mr. Davis then returned to Ohio and was united in marriage with Miss Mary Daugherty, of Coshocton county. In 1880 he again came to Iowa, spent the winter in Knoxville, and in the following spring purchased a tract of land in Marion county, near Dallas, where he car- ried on general farming and stock raising for ten years. On the expiration of that decade he retired from the farm and has since been engaged in business in Knoxville as a dealer in grain and live stock. This has proved to him a profitable undertaking, and he now com- mands a large trade. He also retains the ownership of a large farm in Dallas and Wash- ington townships, comprising 560 acres of rich and valuable land, highly cultivated and well improved.

Mr. and Mrs. Davis have one child, a daughter, Bessie W. They are quite well known in Knoxville and have a large circle of warm friends who esteem them highly for their genuine worth.

John Branner.

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3 OHN BRANNER, deceased, was prom- inently identified with the history and development of Iowa from an early day, becoming one of the honored pioneers of Lucas county. He was an extensive land- owner, not only of this county but in other counties throughout the State. The promi- nent social and financial positions to which he attained well entitled him to representation in a volume devoted to the biographies of the leading men of Iowa. He was well known to those who located here in an early day and the younger generations have reason to remember him for what he did for the State which is now their home.

Judge Branner, as he was generally known, was born in Jefferson county, Tennessee, on the 19th of June, 1815, and came of ancestors who emigrated to this country from Bavaria. He enjoyed excellent educational advantages, although east Tennessee was then a compara- tively new country and the common-school system was scarcely developed. He was edu- cated at Maury Academy, in Dandridge, in his native county, and later took up the study of law with the intention of making the legal pro- fession his life work. In his early manhood he was elected Clerk of the Courts in his na- tive county, and later became Master in Chan- cery. He served the people of Jefferson county in these positions for many years, and while so employed also engaged in mercantile pursuits. As opportunity offered in addition he bought land warrants until he had acquired 1, 500. These were given as bounties to soldiers who were in the war of 1812, and the holders, not caring to go where there was Government land, sold their warrants in exchange for merchan- dise or cash.

After the admission of Iowa into the Union Mr. Branner came to this State and located his warrants, thus becoming the owner of large tracts of land, which afterward became very valuable as emigration increased and cities sprang up, and there was more demand for real estate. His first trip to the Hawkeye State was made in 1850, and in 1853 he came 40

again, accompanied by his son, N. B. They erected a humble home in the hamlet of Char- iton, it being the third house on the town site.

Mr. Branner had married, on the 5th day of May, 1842, Miss Jane Cowan, she being an early childhood companion. She was born January 22, 1820, and was educated at the Brazelton school for young ladies, in Dan- dridge. Their marriage occurred during the Judge's second year in the clerk's office. The family consisted of two sons and three daugh- ters, all of whom were born in Dandridge, and were named as follows: Napoleon B., Thomas W., Annis Edith, Victoria and Virginia. The two sons became identified with the cause of the Confederacy, the elder serving through the war and participating in many of the hard- fought battles for the cause which he believed to be just. When the war was ended he took up the study and practice of law, and is now an attorney of Chariton. He possesses many sterling qualities and his friends are many. Thomas W. was a boy of great promise, and it seemed that a brilliant future awaited him, but when the country became involved in war he joined the Southern army, at the tender age of fifteen, and gave his life in defense of his prin- ciples, being killed at the battle of Staunton, in the campaign in the Shenandoah valley, in Virginia, when but eighteen years of age. Annis Edith became the wife of Thoinas C. Hoskins, a stock-dealer and agriculturist of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and they have one son, Rupert. Victoria married General Joel A. Dewey, a soldier of distinguished prominence and an able defender of the Union cause. He died June 17, 1873, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mrs. Dewey afterward married J. Beecher Meek, a prominent lawyer and politician, of Tennessee, whose death occurred March 13, 1881. Her only child, Walter Hamilton Dewey, is now a student in the State University of Iowa, and is completing a course in law. It seems that his career should be a successful one, as his ancestors for several generations were lawyers. He is a member of the legal fraternity of Phi Delta Phi, and also of the

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military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Virginia, the youngest daugh- ter, resides with her mother and sister in the Branner home at Chariton.

The ladies of the family also enjoyed ex- cellent educational advantages and are inter- ested in literary and social affairs in Chariton. Each has in her own right a competence wherewith to smooth life's pathway. The eld- est daughter was educated in a private school at Dandridge, Tennessee, and the other daugh- ters also studied there for a time, but com- pleted their school life in Lee Seminary, of Dubuque, Iowa, an institution under the juris- diction of the Episcopal Church, the curriculum of which was of a high order. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Branner has lived partly in Iowa and partly in Tennessee, but for the last ten years her permanent home has been in Chariton.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 100

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1360

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360