Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 135

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

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He was First Lieutenant of Company D, of the Forty-fifth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers in the war of the Rebellion, and is now a mem- ber and Commander of Elisha B. Townsend Post, No. 100, of the Grand Army. As a lawyer he was always ready to help the young man, and takes great pride in the fact that he has, without charge, trained in his office more students than any other lawyer in Iowa, among whom he recalls John W. Scott, of Atlantic, Iowa; "Chub" Hotchkiss, of Great Bend, Kansas; "Tobe " Smith, of Harlan, Iowa; S. H. Steele, of David City, Nebraska; F. W. Moore, of Zacatecas, Republic of Mexico; H. C. Taylor and George W. Sower, of Bloom- field, Iowa, -all active and honorable mem- bers of the legal fraternity.

He also takes great pride in the fact that he was one of the incorporators of and largest contributor to the Normal and Scientific Insti- tute, a flourishing school for the training of teachers and business men, at Bloomfield, Iowa, of which he was first president (and con- tinuously since a member) of the Board of Regents.

In religion, as well as in politics, Mr. Jones is an independent. He believes in no 'ism in religion and no loyalty to party in politics that would interfere with a man's freedom to vote for his friend or scratch a bad name on the ticket. He never belonged to any church be-

cause he finds in all a great deal of good but in all more or less exclusiveness, and would be glad to see all denominational lines obliterated. He believes the only way for any one to make the world better is to be better himself; and this is work enough for any of us.

Mr. Jones has been twice married. For his first wife he wedded Emeline Spencer, whose ancestry is traceable back to the early settlers of New England. They were of the Puritan stock, and the collateral branches of the family include General Joseph Spencer, a brigadier general of the Revolutionary war, and Platt R. Spencer, the author of the Spen- cerian system of penmanship. He has three sons and one daughter, all by his first wife: Charles B. S. Jones, a farmer of Davis county; Hon. Samuel Jones, a lawyer, of Lyons, Kan- sas; Maston Alexander Jones, a bookkeeper, of Bloomfield, and Mrs. Alice E. Dewpree, widow of Stephen Dewpree, deceased, who now resides at Bloomfield. His present wife was Mrs. Susannah Neal, a resident for many years of Davis county, Iowa.

With meager opportunities for "book learning," Mr. Jones has made the best he could of his opportunities, adding self-training and close reading to the limited schooling he had; and above all, by self-reliance and con- stant industry, he has been able to attain more than the average success in his profession, and believes he has contributed to the happiness and welfare of others and helped make the world better by living in it, trusting that what- ever may be found worthy of an example in his life may stimulate the boys of to-day in laying hold of the improved and enlarged op- portunities for self-culture which our advanced civilization now offers.

J OSEPH SMITH, of Adel, is one of the self-made men of Iowa, who began life empty-handed, having no capital save a young man's bright hope of the fu- ture and a determination to succeed. Indo- lence and idleness were utterly foreign to his

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nature, and enterprise and energy have been the means which have enabled him to pass on the highway of life many who were much more advantageously situated at the beginning of the journey.

Mr. Smith is a native of Scott county, In- diana, born April 21, 1829. His father, Samuel Smith, was born in Virginia, and at an early day removed to Kentucky, whence he emigrated to the Hoosier State. There he married Polly Keithley, who was born in Ken- tucky and died on the old homestead in the Hoosier State, at the age of forty-nine years, while the father passed away in Scott county, at the age of sixty years. They were the parents of ten children, of whom our subject is the youngest and only survivor. He was educated in the district schools and remained on the old home farm until nineteen years of age, when he began working by the month on the railroad, being engaged in contracting for three years.

In 1851 Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Janet Carey, daughter of Riley and Pernana (Pierce) Carey, and a distant relative of Franklin Pierce. Her parents died in Scott county, Indiana. She was born in Kentucky and died in Dallas county, Iowa, in October, 1882, when but fifty years of age. She had a family of ten children, of whom seven yet abide. In October, 1886, Mr. Smith was joined in wedlock with Miss M. E. Caldwell. Mr. Smith's family numbers the following members: Otis E., who is married and has six children; Osmond B., who is married and has six children; Horace G., who is married and has three children; Ulysses R., who is married and has two children; James E., who is married and has one child; Florence J. and Helen E.

At the time of his first marriage Mr. Smith located near the old family home and engaged in merchandising and in railroading, but sub- sequently began dealing in timber lands and later disposed of his business interest in In- diana, preparatory to removing westward. He located in Adams county, Illinois, where he

engaged in farming for ten years, and then came to Iowa, settling in Boone township, Dallas county, where he purchased 200 acres of good farming land. He afterward bought and sold until he had 240 acres, -a property which is still in his possession. About five years ago he purchased a farm adjoining the corporation limits of Adel, comprising ninety- two acres of rich and valuable land, and though he is practically living retired he still looks after the management of his farms.

Mr. Smith cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and has since supported the candidates of the Republican party. He has filled various local offices, and as school director has done effective service in the in- terests of education. He is a warm friend of that cause, and has provided all of his children with a collegiate education, thus by mental development fitting them to cope with the serious duties of life. He became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of fourteen, and his father joined on the same day. For thirty years he has been one of the church officers, and has done all in his power to advance the cause of Christianity in this section of the State. Before coming to Iowa he was a member of the Odd Fellows Society, and is now a member of the Agri- cultural Society. He paid for his farm $7.50 per acre, and the improvements he has made upon it and the natural rise in land values has made it worth from $75 to $100 per acre. He has long ago forced his way through the ranks of the many, and become one of the successful few,-a man honored and respected, whose greatest pride is in an honest consciousness of a good name.

HOMAS J. RANDALL is a self-made man, who, without an extraordinary family or pecuniary advantages at the commencement of life, has battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomit- able courage and integrity has achieved both character and competence. To no inan more

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than to Mr. Randall do the qualities which command admiration and respect belong. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has made for himself a name among the self-made men of Dallas county, Iowa.

Mr. Randall was born in Port Huron, St. Clair county, Michigan, on the 20th of September, 1839, and is a son of Warren and Anise (Sinclair) Randall. The father was a native of Massachusetts, and a descendant from the Puritans of New England, and throughout life was a large operator in several different business enterprises. He was an ordained minister of the Freewill Baptist Church under the regime, and was always very active in church work. Several of the ances- tors of our subject, who were of English de- scent, severed the colonies during the Revolu- tion and in the war of 1812. His maternal grandparents while crossing the ocean to the old country on a visit were lost at sea.

In a small village, Mr. Randall passed his early life, obtaining his elementary education in its common schools, and for a few months attended a local college. By subsequent read- ing and observation, however, he has become a well informed man, being well posted on all matters of general interest and is a man of more than ordinary intelligence. At the age of fourteen, Mr. Randall began learning the butcher's trade, which he followed for six years, at the end of which time he came to Iowa, locating first in Fremont county.

On the breaking out of the war of the Re- bellion, our subject determined to aid his country in the preservation of the Union and became a member of Company A, Fourth Iowa Infantry. During his three-years serv- ice he was confined for a time in the hospital at Nashville, Tennessee, and the convalescent . camp at Jeffersonville, Indiana. While in the army he was engaged in furnishing meat and other supplies and had charge of a foraging expedition. While acting as division butcher at Helena, Arkansas, he received an injury in his right knee which has proven a serious dis- ability. He was sent to Davenport, Iowa's

convalescent camp, a short time before his term of service expired, where he was mus- tered out by reason of the expiration of his term of service.

On the close of the war, Mr. Randall lo- cated in Des Moines, where he opened a meat market, which he conducted for a short time, and then traveled extensively over the Western country looking up a favorable location. He finally decided on Gold Hill, but afterward went to Virginia City, Nevada, where he car- ried on a meat market for three years. He then returned to Iowa and bought his present farm of 240 acres of "raw " prairie land, but has since converted the same into one of the finest places of the State. On the farm are many trees, having the appearance of a heavily timbered tract, but every tree and shrub there found have been raised by Mr. Randall from the seed. His pleasant home is situated three miles from Dallas Center and everything about the place denotes the progressive spirit of the owner.

Mr. Randall was married in 1870, the lady of his choice being Sarah C. Jennings, and to them have been born five children, one of whom died at the age of three years. Those living are Millie, Jennie, Harry L., and Frank W.,-all of whom are receiving the best edu- cational privileges that the schools of Iowa af- ford. Although they live three miles from Dallas Center, during a nine-months attend- ance at the schools of that city the eldest son never missed a day, and was never tardy but once. Mrs. Randall is a daughter of Henry Jennings, was born in Masontown, Pennsylva- nia, January 30, 1847, and came to Iowa with her parents in 1863, and taught school from 1866 until her marriage. Her parents, Pres- byterians, were born in the Keystone State and trace their ancestral line back to England.

Always a Republican, Mr. Randall gives that party his earnest support, and cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln when he ran for his second term. He has never as- pired to political preferment among his neigh- bors, but has filled several local offices in his

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township. Socially, he is a Mason, and a char- ter member of Richmond Post, G. A. R., of Dallas Center, of which he has served as Com- mander for several years. He and his family are faithful members and earnest workers in the Presbyterian Church, and for a number of years he acted as Superintendent of the Sun- day-school. Of this church he was ordained Elder in 1877. He helped to build and was instrumental in establishing the first school in this part of Grant township. He is a progress- ive, public-spirited citizen, always ready to aid in the promotion of any enterprise for the advancement of his local community or the State at large.

ONORABLE WILLIARD CHAUN- CEY EARLE, M. D., a practicing physician, and proprietor of the mer- cantile firm of \V. C. Earle, Waukon, Iowa, was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, October 7, 1833, being a son of Calvin & Betsey (Foster) Earle. A member of the Lon- don Genealogical Society, writing of the an- cestry of the Earle family, says:

"The family of Earle is of very ancient ori- gin, and can be traced back, most probably, to a Saxon ancestor prior to the Norman Con- quest; but certainly I find evidences proving that at the time of Henry the Second, who was crowned A. D. 1154, they were of Beck- ington, in the county of Somerset. In the time of Henry the Third, who reigned from A. D. 1216 to A. D. 1272, Henry de Erle was Lord of Newton, in county Somerset. The Erles were also Lords of North Pelker- ton, in the same county, and later on, in the time of Edward the Second, who was crowned in 1307, they were Lords of the Manor of Somerton Parva, also called Somerton Erleigh, in the county of Somerset, which they held by grand sergeancy as King's Chamberlain. One branch of the Somersetshire Erles settled in the county of Devon, in the time of Ed- ward the Third, as I find John Erle holding lands at Ashburton, twenty iniles from Exeter,

and bearing the same arms as his Somerset- shire ancestor."

Sir Walter Erle, great-grandfather of the above mentioned John Erle, was one of the five knights who resisted the encroachments of King Charles the First upon the rights of his subjects, of whom the historian Hume says: "He was one of the first patriots of the Eng- lish revolution of 1649. Five gentlemen alone had spirit enough to defend the public liber- ties, and to demand releasement, not as a favor from the court, but as their dues by the laws of their country."

Mary Earle was the daughter of Augustine Earle, a lineal descendent in the main line of Erasmus Earle, distinguished in Cromwell's time, and one of the commissioners of the treaty of Uxbridge. Mary Earle married Will- iam Wiggett, Esquire, who took the name of Bulwer. One of their children, William Earle Bulwer, married Elizabeth, daughter and sole heiress of Richard Warburton Lytton, Es- quire, of Knebworth Park, in Hertfordshire. To them were born three sons, as follows: Will- iam Earle Lytton Bulwer, who succeeded his father in 1807, at Heydon Hall; Henry Lyt- ton Earle Bulwer, Secretary of the Embassy to Paris and Minister to Madrid and to the United States of America. The youngest son, Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer, novelist, poet and member of Parliament, was created Baron July 18, 1838; in 1843 he took the title of Sir Edward George Earle Bulwer Lytton, having succeeded by his mother's will to Kneb- worth Park and the estates of the Lytton family.

The ancient armorials, as originally borne by the Erle family, read as follows: " Gules, three escallops; argent, within a bordure en- grailed of the last; Crest, a lion's head erased, or, transfixed with a spear; argent, embrued, gules."

Ralph Earle was the founder of the Amer- ican branch of the family to which our subject belongs. He was contemporary with Sir Walter Erle, the Patriot, mentioned in above paragraphs. Tradition says he emigrated in

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the year 1634. He died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1678. He probably settled first at Newport, Rhode Island. The line of descent to our subject is as follows, in genera- tions: Ralph Earle, the emigrant; William, Ralph, William, William, Joel, Calvin and Williard Chauncey, subject of sketch.

Calvin Earle, father of our subject, was born in Hubbardston, Massachusetts, Feb- ruary 1, 1790; after marriage he moved to what is now the site of Honesdale, Pennsyl- vania, and may justly be called the father of that town, as he built the first house there. Honesdale is the county seat of Wayne county and is a town of 3,000 people at present.

In 1840 Mr. Earle returned to his rela- tives and friends at Hubbardston, Massachu- setts. In 1858 he came West and joined his son at Waukon, Iowa, where he passed the remainder of his days. His death occurred in October, 1872.

Mr. W. C. Earle, whose name heads this sketch, attended public school in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, and witlı private instruc- tion prepared to enter Brown University, but at the last moment found that his health would not permit of a college course. Our subject now accompanied his brother, J. W. Earle, to Tiffin, Ohio, where he engaged in railroad work, the brother being a civil engineer. Mr. Earle determined to go further West before locating permanently, and accordingly he came to Waukon, Iowa, in June, 1854, bought a fourth interest in the Adams & Whitney circu- lar-saw mill, and later purchased the other three-fourths. He continued to operate this until 1860, when he disposed of it.

None was quicker to respond to the call for troops in 1861 than Mr. Earle, and few made a better military record. He enlisted in Oc- tober, 1861, in Company B, Twelfth Iowa Volunteer Infantry; was elected Captain of his company, which comprised eighty men, and rendezvoused at Dubuque. From there they moved to St. Louis, and later participated in the battles of Fort Henry, Donelson, Shiloh, Jackson, Champion Hills, Vicksburg, Black

River and other points. At the battle of Jack- son, Companies B and C, Twelfth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, were the first to enter the city, after a stubborn fight for its conquest.

In 1863 Captain Earle was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and ordered to raise a regi- ment of colored troops, to serve under the command of General Joseph Mower. This he did, and his regiment saw service at Rodney, Natchez and vicinity during the remainder of the war. He was mustered out of the service as Colonel of the Seventieth United States Col- ored Infantry. Mr. Earle was captured at Shiloh, sent South, and made his escape at Selma, Alabama, but recaptured before reach- ing the Union lines. He was exchanged after being a prisoner six months.

At the close of the war our subject returned to Waukon, and during the winter of 1865-6 took a course at the Rush Medical College, Chicago. The next year he spent at the Jef- ferson Medical College, Philadelphia, where he completed the course and received a diploma. He now returned to Waukon, formed a part- nership with Doctor I. H. Hedge and began the practice of medicine. Our subject, being the younger man in the firm, took the labor- ious and larger part of the practice; and this was no small matter, considering the large scope of country covered by the extensive prac- tice built up by Dr. Hedge.

In 1867 this firm started a drug store, to the attention of which the senior partner gave most of his time. Later Dr. Earle became the sole proprietor of this store, and in 1870 he added a line of general merchandise. In 1877 he built the fine brick building which he now occupies. The present firm name of W. C. Earle was assumed in 1872, and the busi- ness is one of general merchandise and drugs. The firm carries one of the largest and finest stocks in the county.

In 1867 J. W. Earle, brother of our sub- ject, organized a stock and grain buying busi- ness, being financially backed by Dr. Earle. This business was continued up to the death of J. W. Earle, in 1885, and then our subject

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took hold of it and conducts it at the present time.

No one was more instrumental in supplying Waukon with railroad facilities than Dr. Earle. He was a stockholder in the original Wau- kon & Mississippi Railroad Company, and lent his time and means to their limit to promote the enterprise. The road was built entirely with local capital, and considering the small population of the town at that time, it was made possible only by the public spirit shown by such men as Dr. Earle. In addition to his city property, he owns 1,000 acres of agricul- tural land in the county, which is occupied by tenants. While not as active in the practice of medicine as a few years ago, he still gives considerable time to it, more especially in the case of old patients, who prefer him to any other physician.

Dr. Earle was married at Waukon, Iowa, January 1, 1860, to Miss Ellen Augusta, daugh- ter of Dr. Isaiah H. and Charlotte (Ayer) Hedge. Their children are as follows: Minnie Charlotte, born December 19, 1860; she mnar- ried Grant C. Hemmenway, who is engaged in the lumber business at Colorado Springs, Colorado. Their children are Charlotte, Wil- lard and Genette. William Allison, second child of our subject, was born January 20, 1865. He died April 21, 1866. Carlton Hedge, born May 27, 1867. He is his father's chief help in the extensive business here. '

Politically our subject was first a strong Abolitionist, and after the war a Republican until 1884, since which time he has affiliated with the Democratic party. He was elected to the lower branch of the Nineteenth General Assembly, and later was sent to fill the va- cancy occasioned by the election of Mr. Lar- rabee to the Governorship, Dr. Earle receiving 500 Democratic majority in the district, where- as the Republican Governor had received but 300. He was the Democratic candidate for Congress from the Fourth Congressional Dis- trict in 1887, but was defeated by Mr. Fuller, of West Union, Allamakee county, however, giving him a good majority.

In his political career, Dr. Earle has sought to be a servant of the people rather than a seeker after spoils. Hence he lacked those qualities which so frequently develop in the politician of the dominant party, -- qualities that may enable the possessor to gain his ob- ject but at the sacrifice of friends, principle and everything dear to the man of noble character. Success is not always a criterion to go by, and this is especially true of success in politics. The best men are frequently driven into retirement, or into another party, by the bickerings and quarrels and petty con- niving of the small-minded men in their party. This right of the American citizen to affiliate with whatever party he believes he can do the most good in is a safety-valve of American politics. Hence, we find many of our best citizens affiliating at one period of their life with one party, and later with another. Be- lieving that he could serve his constituency better in the Democratic party, Mr. Earle as- sociated himself with that organization in 1884, and the support he received in his various campaigns would justify one in believing that he made no mistake.

RANCIS HAGER ROBBINS, for a number of years Waukon's most pop- ular druggist, was born in Perry, Wyoming county, New York, August 3, 1840, his parents being Alvin and Temper- ance (Sloane) Robbins.

Our subject descends from one of the old New England families; his grandfather, John Robbins, was born in Massachusetts, married Sarah Pierce, an aunt of President Franklin Pierce, shortly after which event he moved to Vermont. He was a farmer by occupation. On the breaking out of the second war with Great Britain, Mr. Robbins responded to his country's call, entered the service as a private and was later promoted to the rank of Cap- tain, in which capacity he served at the close of the war. This same spirit of patriotism is later shown in the family when three of the

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grandsons of John Robbins left home, friends and business, to fight for their country during the late Civil war, two of whom gave up their lives in the struggle. John Robbins moved to Dansville, Steuben county, New York, in 1816, and died at that point in 1853. His wife died there one year later. Their children were : Alzina, Lora, Camilla, Anna, and Alvin, father of our subject. John Robbins, politically, was a Democrat, although he held himself free to vote at all times for the best man. He was a member of the old-school Universalist Church, and was very positive in his religious belief. His brother, Moses Robbins, located in Ohio and reared a family there. Another brother, Enoch, remained in New England.

Alvin Robbins, father of our subject, was born in Shoreham, Vermont, November 4, 1798. He was a blacksmith by trade, but also engaged in farming. In 1847 he moved to Centerville, Allegany county, New York, and eighteen months later to Erie county, same State, locating just across the creek from Yorkshire Corners, now Yorkshire Center, Cattaraugus county. Mr. Robbins resided at this point until the spring of 1855, when he moved westward to Allamakee county, Iowa, and located on a farm, where he died July 12, 1856. After the death of the head of the household, Mrs. Robbins moved to a farm not far distant, located on Union prairie, which farm she continued to operate, with the help of her boys, until the breaking out of the war, when she moved to Waukon and lived there the remain- der of her days, her death occurring December 23, 1873. She was born August 21, 1799, in Hartford, Washington county, New York. Her father, Robert Sloane, was born in eastern New York, married Hannah Jakeway, and his children were Temperance, Archibald, John and Robert.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 135

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