Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 137

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

USA > Iowa > Memorial and biographical record of Iowa > Part 137

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mark Elvidge, great-grandfather of our subject, emigrated from England to Quebec in 1812, and settled in LaColle parish, where he passed the remainder of his days in agricultural pursuits. He married in the old country, and three children of a family of four were born there. His son, Christopher, grandfather of our subject, married Jane Jackson. She was a native of England and came from that country on the same ship with the Elvidges. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Elvidge are: William, Isaac, Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, and Richard.

Isaac Elvidge, father of our subject, was born in 1831, has followed farming for an oc- cupation, and still resides on the old home place in Quebec. His wife, who is still living, was born in 1830. Their children are: Henry, the subject of this sketch. Albert Orson, born November 25, 1862; married Reggie Bernatz, and is a member of the Ice Cave Creamery

863

RECORD OF IOWA.

Company, of Decorah, and resides at Ossian, Iowa. Emma Jane, born December 15, 1867, inarried Milo Scriver, a traveling salesman, and resides at Champlain, New York.

The Elvidges were always staunch Protes- tants, and usually members of the Methodist Church. Politically they moved with the Conservative party of Canada.

Our subject was educated in the public schools, including LaColle Academy, and spent one year at the McGill Normal School, which forms a part of the McGill University, of Montreal, Quebec. He spent three years teaching in Province of Quebec.

October 25, 1877, Mr. Elvidge came to Iowa and began teaching a school located near Burr Oak, Winneshiek county. In September, 1878, he was made principal of the Burr Oak school, which he taught for two years. Mr. Elvidge then visited home for a time, but re- turned to Iowa April 11, 1881, making Decorah his point of location. He accepted a clerical position in the grocery store of D .. B. Dennis; and when Mr. Dennis was succeeded by D. P. Jones, our subject still continued his services He was employed in this store till June I, 1889. In August of the same year he bought a half interest in the grocery business of R. C. Pike, and the firm became Pike & Elvidge. This partnership continued till November, 1892, when it was disposed of.

Mr. Elvidge is a Republican in politics. In the fall of 1892 he was a candidate of his party for Clerk 'of the District Court, and elected by a good majority. He assumed office January 1, 1893; was re-elected, and is now serving his second term.

Our subject was married June 9, 1877, at LaColle, Quebec, to Miss Martha Elizabeth Scriver, a daughter of Edward and Anna (Grimes) Scriver. She was born July 23, 1857, in LaColle, Quebec. Their one child, Lotta Grace, was born April 15, 1878, and is now pursuing the classical course at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, being a member of the freshman class. She is a graduate of the De- corah high school.

Mr. Elvidge is a member of the Winneshiek Lodge, No. 58, I. O. O. F .; and of the De- corah Encampment, No. 133.

OLONEL ALBERT GALLATIN STEWART, a member of the law firm of Stilwell & Stewart, Waukon, Iowa, was born at Brodhead, Green county, Wisconsin, March 1, 1854, his parents being Thomas and Elizabeth (Stahl) Stewart.

Sir Andrew Stewart, from whom our sub- ject descended, lived in Scotland in 1630. The Stewarts were Dissenters in those days, and the family remains Protestant to the pres- ent. A son of Sir Andrew Stewart, whose name is now lost, was the original emigrant to America, and located in Virginia. A son of this original emigrant, and founder of the American branch of the family, was named Charles Stewart, and he is the great-grand- father of our subject. This Charles Stewart was probably born in Virginia, on the old homestead where his father settled, just across the Potomac river from the present site of the national capitol. He served throughout the Revolutionary war, as Captain, and at the close of the war moved his family into the western part of the State and located in what is now Monongalia county, West Virginia, it being probable that he acquired a title to this land through one of the old Revolutionary land grants. Charles Stewart had a sister who located in this part of the State, and together they owned a large section of the country; Stewartstown, West Virginia, was named in honor of these members of the family.

Daniel Stewart, grandfather of our subject, was born on the old plantation in Virginia, in 1761; he served with his father as a private in the Revolutionary war, and as a Captain in the war of 1812. He accompanied his parents to the western part of the State, and there married a Miss Kelso, a lady of Scotch-Irish ancestry but born in Virginia. Their children were: Elizabeth, who married John Miller; Isabella, who married John Bowen; and

864

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

Thomas, father of the subject of this sketch. Daniel Stewart died in 1816.

Thomas Stewart, father of our subject, was born in Morgantown, Virginia (now West Vir- ginia), June 5, 1799, and died in the State of Wisconsin, September 3, 1876. He was a steamboat captain by occupation, and, at the time in which he served in that capacity, to be the captain of a river steamer was to be one of the " big" men of the country. It was at a time in the history of the country when the tide of emigration westward was very strong, and it practically all passed over the river courses, it being before the day of modern railroading. Hence the captain of the steamer would have the lives of thousands to care for, and thus become a very important and prominent indi- vidual.

Mr. Stewart ran the entire course of the Ohio and parts of the Mississippi river. He acquired considerable property in different parts of the country. In 1841 he located on a farm in southern Wisconsin, married three years later and raised a large family of chil- dren, of whom Albert G. was the fifth child.

Mr. Stewart wasa powerful man physically, being six feet one inch in height and well pro- portioned; in his old age he became quite fleshy, weighing 225 pounds or more. He was finely educated, being a graduate of William and Mary College, Virginia, one of the oldest and most venerable institutions in the country. He was a war Democrat, and a member of the Baptist Church.

Jacob Stahl, maternal grandfather of our subject, located at an early day in Fayette county, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Charles Stahl, who originally lived in Lancas- ter county, Pennsylvania, but later moved to the southwestern part of the State, and from there to Wisconsin, where he spent the remain- der of his days.

Our subject; Colonel A. G. Stewart, lived in his native State until of age. He acquired his education chiefly in the public schools, and during the last three years of his stay in Wis- consin he taught school,

He came to Waukon, Iowa, March 1, 1875, and took up the study of law in the office of Granger & Stilwell. He was admitted to practice before the circuit and district courts, in October, 1876; to the State Supreme Court, in 1880; and to the United States District Court, in 1881. January 1, 1877, a partner- ship was formed with C. S. Stilwell, which continued two years. Our subject then bought out his partner and continued alone until Oc- tober 1, 1887, when the present firm of Stil- well & Stewart was organized, H. H. Stilwell being the other partner. This is one of the principal law firms of the county, and handles a large per cent of the cases that come before the local courts. For one so young in the pro- fession, Mr. Stewart has seen considerable ex- perience as a practitioner, and his success has been marked. He is admitted to practice be- fore the courts of Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Florida and Alabama, and has had cases in all these States.

Politically, Colonel Stewart is a Republic- an, and has taken an active interest in the af- fairs of his party, having served as chairman of the county committee for twelve years. He was Mayor of Waukon during the years of 1884, 1885 and 1886. In 1889 he was a candidate for the district Judgeship, but was defeated by L. O. Hatch, of McGregor, although he ran over 1, 000 ahead of his ticket. It was a Democratic year, however.

May 14, 1878, Mr. Stewart enlisted in Company I, Fourth Iowa National Guard; he was made a Corporal in August, 1878, a Ser- geant in February, 1880, and shortly after- ward received an honorable discharge. He re-enlisted, as private, July 17, 1881; was made Captain August 8, 1881, and raised to the rank of Colonel of the Fourth Regiment, November 28, 1885; he was re-commissioned December 11, 1890, and resigned from the service April 30, 1892; by General Order, No. 38, which applied to all officers who saw serv- ice for ten consecutive years, he was placed on the retired list, September 22, 1892.

Mr. Stewart was married at Waukon,

865

RECORD OF IOWA.

Iowa, December 10, 1878, to Miss May Inez Stone, a daughter of Martin and Martha E. (Howe) Stone. Mrs. Stewart was born in Ohio, December 13, 1858, and died at Wau- kon, Iowa, April 14, 1887. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are: Albert Martin, born November 1, 1879; Warren Wayne, Jan- uary 15, 1881; and Lisle May, April 30, 1883.

Mr. Stewart is a member of Waukon Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and a K. T., belonging to the Decorah Commandery. He is also a member of Bayard Lodge, No. 121, Waukon, K. of P. In addition to the above, he belongs to the Iowa Legion of Honor and the A. O. U. W.

Colonel Stewart is one of the coming men of the State. Just reaching the prime of life, he has already made a record at the bar which is enviable. One can safely predict for him a brilliant future, either in the practice of his profession, or in the political field, should he care to enter it.

ONORABLE HENRY DAYTON, senior partner of the law firm of Dayton & Dayton, Waukon, Iowa, was born September 30, 1836, on his father's farm in Saratoga county, New York, near Hadley post-office, his parents being Telem and Lucinda (Fletcher) Dayton.

The ancestry of our subject is clearly Eng- lish, the name being originally spelled Deigh- ton, Dighton, or Daighton, in which form it was brought to America about 1639, and this spelling continued for a long time, when the "gh " seems to have been dropped. The " Manor of Deighton," in Yorkshire, England, existed as early as 1273. "Deighton Kirk" is the name of a parish and church in York- shire, and is one of the oldest in England. In its neighborhood was fought a battle between the English and Danes. Thomas Deighton, clergyman, presided over the parish of St. Mary's in the city of York in 1441. William de Deighton was a wine merchant in the same city in 1456. A William de Deighton was

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England in 1382. Henry Deighton was Burgess of Hert- fordshire in 1591. Coming down to a later period, we find John Deighton, Lieutenant General of the British Army in India, in 1826.

The will of Henry Dayton, great-grand- father of our subject, is recorded in the office of the surrogate of New York city, liber No. 23, page 290, and indexed "Daton." Letters of administration were granted March 16, 1762. His children were: Henry, Norton, David, Abraham, Abigail and Catharine. David Day- ton, grandfather of our subject, was born on Long Island, March 9, 1766. During his early manhood he moved to Saratoga county, New York, near Hadley post-office, estab- lished a home, and there his children were born. He gave considerable time to survey- ing in this new country, but his principal occu- pation was that of a farmer. He married Chloe Skiff, December 29, 1789, and their children were: Joel, born August 29, 1790; Henry, born April 18, 1792, died September 6, 1849; Chloe, born May 29, 1794, died Au- gust 20, 1812; Eunice, born February 5, 1796; Telem, August 21, 1797; Irinda, June 12, 1799; Anna, March 24, 1801; Orrin, October 18, 1802, died July 8, 1803; Orange, born September 5, 1804; Erastus, in 1806; and Lovice, born August 22, 1807. David Day- ton died at Hadley New York, February 8, 1807. His wife died May 12, 1848. Telem Dayton, father of our subject, was born near Hadley, Saratoga county, New York, August 21, 1797, lived on the old homestead where born until fifty years of age, and then moved two miles farther up the Hudson river and continued farming as an occupation. He mar- ried Lucinda Fletcher, a daughter of Peter and Sarah (Piper) Fletcher, January 10, 1821. She was born in Alstead, New Hampshire, March 13, 1794.

The Fletcher family is one of the oldest in America, the original emigrant being Robert Fletcher, who was born in Yorkshire county, England, in 1592, emigrated in 1630, to Con- cord, Massachusetts, and died at that point

866

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

April 3, 1677, being a wealthy and influential man. The name Fletcher was originally writ- ten Fledger, and was the name of the trade of a maker of arrows, or, as some think, of affixing the feathers upon the arrows, -"fledging it." Mrs. Dayton, mother of our subject, is of the seventh generation in America, she being a daughter of Peter Fletcher, who was a son of Joshua, a son of John, son of Joshua, son of William, son of Robert Fletcher, the founder of the American branch of the family.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Telem Day- ton are: Simon N., born March 29, 1822, married Lydia Houghton, and is now a prac- ticing physician at Rockford, Illinois. Lu- cinda, born September 19, 1823, married Philo M. Benham, of Fairfield, Ohio, at the break- ing out of the rebellion. He was employed as teacher in Clarkeville, Arkansas, and he proved to be the only man in the town loyal to the Union cause. He was repeatedly threatened with death, but escaped with the aid of a brother Freemason. Both he and his wife are

now dead. Sarah Ann, third child of Telem and Lucinda Dayton, was born June 19, 1825, married John McMillan, and died in March, 1852. David, born February 8, 1828. Chloe, born March 22, 1831, married William H. Stone. Lewis Telem, born February 23, 1833, died July 5, 1860. Henry, subject of this sketch. Erastus, born February 10, 1839, married Elizabeth Smead, and is engaged in the jewelry business at Luzerne, New York.

Politically, Mr. Telem Dayton was a Demo- crat. His principal occupation throughout life was that of a farmer, and his quiet, conserva- tive manner won for him the respect of his neighbors. He died November 14, 1887, hav- ing survived his wife, who died March 20, 1883, by more than four years.

Mr. Henry Dayton, whose name heads this sketch, received his elementary education in the public schools of his native county. When nineteen years of age he entered the Fort Ed- ward ( New York ) Collegiate Institute, and completed the scientific course there in two years. He then spent six months at the New

York Conference Seminary, located at Char- lottesville. When twenty years of age he taught his first school, which was located at Creek Center, Warren county, New York.

Although Horace Greeley did not utter his famous saying, "Go west, young man," until many years later, our subject thought it a good thing to do at this time in his life, and accord- ingly he came to Allamakee county, Iowa, in 1857, reaching Hardin in December, and taught the school there that winter. In the spring of 1858 he went to Batesville, Arkansas, entered the law office of Byers & Company, under whom he read for a part of the next three years. He returned to Iowa, July 20, 1861, placed himself under the preceptorship of Hon. W. V. Burdick, of Decorah, with whom he read law until November, 1861, when he was admitted to the bar at the term of court then holding in Howard county. For the next eight years Mr. Dayton was engaged in teach- ing during the winter months at Hardin, Lan- sing and Decorah; and during the summer he acted as Deputy Surveyor to H. O. Dayton, who was surveyor of the county ..

In the fall of 1870 a law partnership was formed with George B. Edmonds, of Waukon, Iowa, and this continued for one year. Mr. Dayton then practiced alone till the fall of 1873, when the present firm of Dayton & Day- ton was formed, the junior partner being John F. Dayton, a nephew of our subject.

Mr. Dayton was married at Waukon, Iowa, May 24, 1874, to Miss Mary M. Wilcox, a daughter of Cortes and Rebecca (Palmer) Wilcox. She was born at Fort Edward, New York, July 13, 1844. When she was six months of age her parents moved to Green- wich, New York, and there her early woman- hood was spent. Her father, Cortes Wilcox, was born in Greenwich, New York, March 4, 1812, and died May 12, 1859. His wife was born in Morristown, St. Lawrence county, New York, June 17, 1823; she died August 26, 1867. Their children were Ruby Lavinia, Mary M. (Mrs .. Dayton) and Cortes Joel.

Oliver Wilcox, grandfather of Mrs. Dayton,

867

RECORD OF IOWA.

married Lavinia Kendrick, and their children were: Cortes (father of Mrs. Dayton), Ma- tilda, Martha, Sarah, Lavinia, Harvey, Hiram, Mary and Oliver.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Day- ton are: Harry Lewis, born January 15, 1875, married Miss Mae Cowen, October 7, 1895, and is living at Elkader, Iowa. In the fall of 1895 he ran as Democratic candidate for County Surveyor of Clayton county. He ex- pects to pursue the law as a profession. Ruby Laura was born February 11, 1878, and is now attending school at Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

Politically, Mr. Dayton has always en- dorsed the Democratic party. He was elected County Surveyor in the fall of 1865, and re- ceived a re-election in 1867. For eight years prior to the creation of the office of County At- torney, Mr. Dayton acted as attorney for the Board of County Supervisors. In the fall of 1888 he was elected County Attorney and held the office for six consecutive years. In the fall of 1871 he was the candidate of his party to represent the Sixty-fourth District in the Fourteenth General Assembly, at Des Moines, Iowa, and was elected after a spirited can- vass of the district. So well did Mr. Dayton serve the people that he was returned to the Legislature in the fall of 1873.

The regular session of the Fourteenth Gen- eral Assembly convened in January, 1872, and an adjourned session was held in the winter of 1873, for the purpose of codifying the laws of the State. During the regular session Mr. Dayton served on the committees on public lands and on horticulture, as well as others of less importance. In the Fifteenth General Assembly he served on the following standing committees: Judiciary, public buildings, com- pensation of public officers, banks and bank- ing, and public lands. He was also associated with Senator Miles on the visiting committee which visited the State Reform School at El- dora, Iowa. In the fall of 1878 Mr. Dayton was the candidate of his party for State Sen- ator, but was defeated by the Honorable Henry

Neilander, of Lansing, the majority being very small. .

Our subject carries insurance in the Iowa Legion of Honor and the Modern Woodmen of America. He was one of the original organ- izers of the Waukon State Bank, and is still a stockholder in that institution.

Personally, Mr. Dayton is a man of very quiet manner and easily approached. His clientele rather love than fear him, but at the same time have the greatest respect for his ability as a practitioner. His long residence in the county and upright business career have made for him a host of friends irrespective of party or creed, who are ever ready to speak a good word for him.

ON. JOHN FRANKLIN DAYTON, junior partner of the law firm of Day- ton & Dayton, Waukon, Iowa, was born June 10, 1849, on his father's farm, near Hadley, Saratoga county, New York, his parents being Simon N. and Lydia (Houghton) Dayton. (For the ancestry of the Dayton family see sketch of Henry Dayton, this work. ) Nathaniel Houghton, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a native of Saratoga county, New York, and followed farming for an occupation. He married Lucy Mitchell, and their children were Nathaniel, Tilly, Lucy and Lydia, the mother of our sub- ject. Nathaniel Houghton was the son of a British officer who served under Burgoyne dur- ing the American Revolution, was captured and paroled and located in Saratoga county, New York, where he married and reared a family.

Our subject is the eldest child in a family of four boys, the other children being Fred- erick C., Randolph T. and Thaddeus Stephen. Frederick C., now deceased, was employed for a number of years on the Chicago Times, when that paper was under the management of Mr. Storey; later he edited the St. Paul Globe. Thaddeus Stephen is at present the private secretary of John W. Rockafeller. Both the

868

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

parents of our subject are living and reside in Saratoga county, New York. The father is a practicing physician and a graduate of the Boston Medical College. He is a Republican in politics and a member of the Baptist Church.

In the winter of 1858 the parents of Mr. Dayton moved to Rockford, Illinois. There our subject passed through the entire course at the public schools, and received a diploma from the high school in 1867. In 1869 he he began a classical course at Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin, and spent two years in that institution. In 1871 he began a course of law with Brown & Taylor, of Rockford, Illi- nois, as preceptors. In October, 1873, he came to Waukon, Iowa, and shortly after was admitted to the bar. The firm of Dayton & Dayton was now formed and has continued to the present, the other member, Mr. Henry Dayton, being an uncle of the subject of this article.

Mr. Dayton was married October 13, 1875, at Rockford, Illinois, to Miss Laura Hewitt. Mrs. Dayton was born April 27, 1852, and is the only remaining child of John and Catharine (Whittle) Hewitt.

Our subject has always acted with the Democratic party; he was the first Mayor of Waukon after its corporation as a town, and was a member of the Twenty-second, Twenty- third and Twenty-fourth General Assemblies of the State of Iowa. In the Twenty-third General Assembly he served as chairman of the committees on railroads and on commerce. In the Twenty-fourth General Assembly he was the Democratic nominee for Speaker of the House. He was candidate of his party for the Judgeship of the Thirteenth Judicial District in the fall of 1894, but he was defeated in the great Republican landslide of that year.

Mr. Dayton devotes some time to select farming, which yields him both profit and pleasure. He has a tract of forty acres ad- joining the town-site of Waukon, which is planted in small fruits, principally raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. The past sum- mer he shipped over 30,000 quarts of berries

from his vines, his market being to the West- ward and extending as far as Canton, South Dakota. His farming along this line has been among the most successful in the State. It was an experiment to begin with, but has long since passed that stage and might be imitated with profit by others.

The law firm of which Mr. Dayton is a member is one of the most prominent in north- eastern Iowa, and is generally retained as coun- sel in the prominent cases that come before the courts in this section of the State.

In both his professional and political career our subject is a very quiet-appearing man, with a total absence of the grandiose manners peculiar to many lawyers and politicians. This modest style of Mr. Dayton is not only agree- able to come in contact with, but it inspires con- fidence and admiration in his clients. It is a quality rarely met with in men in general, and still more rarely do you find it at the bar. At the same time it is found in all men who have achieved eminence, and is therefore most commendable.

Mr. Dayton has risen to his present posi- tion at the bar entirely on his own merits, and being yet a man in the prime of life we pre- dict for him a brilliant future.

EWIS WASHBURN HERSEY, pres- ident of the Waukon State Bank, Waukon, Iowa, was born on his father's farm in Foxcroft, Maine, March 14, 1826, his parents being Noah, Jr., and Phoebe (Howard) Hersey.

Our subject descends from Sir Malvicius de Hercy, who lived in England under the reign of King John, and no doubt threw his influ- ence to compel that monarch to sign the Magna Charta, for, although the Hercys belonged to the nobility, they were not very friendly to kings. King Edward the First "held one Hugh de Hercy when a minor," that is, took all his rents until of age. We find another Hugh de Hercy was Governor of Trou, Nor- mandy, as early as 1204; and it would thus

869

RECORD OF IOWA.

appear that the family caine originally from Flanders. There is also a Count Herce, Maine, France, running from the year 1550. Sir Malvicius de Hercy married Theophania, daughter and co-heir of Gilbert de Arches, Baron of Grove, and from him descended the family of Hercy of Grove, one of the first fam- ilies in the county of Nottingham, England. Branches of this family settled in Oxfordshire, Berks and other counties in the south of Eng- land, The name is found in Sussex, England, in 1376 to 1482, "owning property seven miles round." In Warwickshire there is a vil- lage which still bears the name of Pillerton Hersey, or Hercy. Thie Herseys of Grove show a direct descent only in the male line, down to 1750; but the branches in Oxford- shire and Berkshire go to 1794, at which date a son-in-law took the name of Hersey, and these branches in England come down to the present time through him. The name of Rob- ert Herse occurs as minister of Trinity Church, London, in 1578. Branches of the family are to be found in India, where they own land in the province of Oude, which is in extent " fifty miles by fifteen."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 137

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