Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 138

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

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The name has been variously spelled, -- Hersee, Hearse, Hercy, Herce, Hearsey and Hersey being some of the different forms. The English coat of arms is Gules, a chief ar- gent; crest, a Moor's head wreathed on a coronet.

In 1635, William Hercey, the original emi- grant, left England and established a home at Hingham, Massachusetts, thus becoming the founder of the American branch of the family. He was born in 1596, and had a brother, Thomas, born in 1599. His father, Nathaniel Hercy, died in Reading, Berkshire county, England, in 1692. The children of William Hercey, who were probably born in England, were Gregory, Prudence, Nathaniel, William, Frances, Elizabeth and Judith. The last four named accompanied their father to America. The children born in America were James and John. Of these children Gregory had one son, Robert, who died in England, leaving no issue.

Nathaniel left one son and one grandson, who probably died in England about 1794. Judith was baptized in Hingham, Massachusetts, July 15, 1638, and in 1663 she married Humphrey Wilson. William, James and John all married and made homes in America, leaving numerous descendants.

Our subject descended from William, and we will name the male descendants of this branch of the family. The sons of William, son of the emigrant, were James, Joshua, John and William. The sons of William, grand- son of William Hercy, the emigrant, were David, Isaac, William, Stephen, Joseph, Elisha and John. The sons of Joseph Hersey, great-grandson of William Hercy, the emigrant, were Joseph, Joseph, James and Jonathan. The sons of James Hersey, great-grandfather of our subject, were James, Noah, Amos, Reu- ben, Simeon and Levi.

Noah Hersey, Sr., grandfather of our sub- ject, was born in Abington, Massachusetts, and his children were Noah, Jr., Benjamin, Hiram, Lewis, Ira, Betsey, Sarah, Polly and others.

Noah Hersey, Jr., father of our subject, was born in Abington, Massachusetts, July 30, 1783. He died in Foxcroft, Maine, Septem- ber 2, 1833. His parents moved to Minot, Maine, probably when he was a youth, and he inoved to Foxcroft about 1824. His principal occupation was that of a farmer. He was a Democrat in politics and a member of the Baptist Church. His death was sudden, be- ing caused by the kick of a horse. Mrs. Her- sey, mother of our subject, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, April 14, 1791, and died at Waukon, Iowa, April 15, 1881. Her father, Asaph Howard, was born in Bridgeport, Massachusetts, and died at Au- burn, Maine, being over ninety years of age. He married Phœbe Perkins, and their children were Phobe, Polly, Nancy, Clara, Rebecca, Asaph, Azil, Thomas, Elbridge and Apollos. The children of William Noah Hersey, Jr., and wife were Asaph, Howard, Mary, Eliza Ann, Adoniram Judson, Augustine, Nancy B., Lewis W., Clarissa Jane and Cordelia Eliza-

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beth. Of these all are deceased except Adoni- ram J., Nancy B. and Lewis W.

The genealogy of the Hersey family shows over 1, 300 male descendants of William Her- cey, who located at Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1635. As shown in the above paragraph, the line of ancestry is accurately traced back to Sir Malvicius de Hercy, who lived in the last half of the twelfth century.

Mr. L. W. Hersey, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, lost his father when seven years of age. The family, however, was kept together by the mother for the next eight years, and then, at the age of fifteen, our subject began providing for himself. For the next six years his time that was not spent in school was employed in farm work, and work in and around grist and saw mills.

His early education was good, but rather limited, being acquired in the public schools and the private academies at Foxcroft and East Corinth, Maine. Some of the text-books studied were Greene's Algebra, Smith's Arith- metic, Kinney's Arithmetic, and Fisk and Murray's Grammar. He did not attend school after reaching his sixteenth year, but continued his studies privately.

When Mr. Hersey was twenty-one years old, he entered the store of H. K. Dexter, at East Corinth, Maine, and remained with him in a clerical capacity for two years. He then went to work for an uncle, A. C. Howard, who manufactured shoes at North Auburn, Maine, and remained in his employ for three months, when he accepted a clerkship in the store of a cousin, Benjamin Hersey, of Dan- ville, Maine, the store being one of general merchandise, and the firm name Benjamin Hersey & Company. Mr. Hersey remained with that firm for two years.

Determined to lay a broader and deeper foundation for future success, our subject now turned his thoughts westward, and in April, 1851, he reached Allamakee county, Iowa, located a 160-acre tract of land in Makee township, it being the east half of the north- west quarter, and the east half of the south-

west corner, of section 17. At this time the county seat had not been located permanently, and there was mnuch quarreling over the ques- tion where it should go. In 1853 Mr. L. B. Hodges, of Columbus, was the county clerk, and being ordered by the court to move his office to Waukon refused to do so, and Mr. Hersey was appointed in June to take his place. At that time there was but one house, a log building, on the town-site, and this was occupied by the county officer. Mr. Hersey held the office under appointment for one year, and was then elected and served for two years.

In 1858, our subject, in partnership with A. G. Howard, started a boot and shoe busi- ness under the firm name of Hersey & Howard. At the end of eighteen months this business was closed out. In the fall of 1859, Mr. Her- sey, together with his brothers, Augustine and Adoniram J., and D. D. Doe, started a general mercantile business. Two years later our sub- ject and Augustine Hersey bought out the other partner and conducted the business for several years, when they disposed of it.

Mr. Hersey's first banking experience be- gan in 1871, while yet in the store. He con- ducted a private banking business from 1871 to January, 1879, at which date Judge C. T. Granger and J. W. Stoddard became associ- ated with him, and they engaged in a private banking business under the firm name of L. W. Hersey & Company. This firm continued un- til May 2, 1892, when it was merged into the Waukon State Bank, of Waukon, with G. W. Stoddard, president; L. W. Hersey, cashier; and L. A. Howe, assistant cashier. The di- rectors were G. W. Stoddard, L. 'W. Hersey, C. T. Granger, J. W. Thomas and Henry Dayton. The concern was capitalized at $40,000, and did a general banking business. In May, 1894, L. W. Hersey was made presi- dent of the bank, and L. A. Howe, cashier. The directors at present are Messrs. Hersey, Granger, Thomas, Dr. J. C. Crawford and M. W. Eaton. It is the strongest banking insti- tution in the county, and has always held the full confidence of the community.

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RECORD OF IOWA.

Our subject was married at Waukon, Iowa, July 1, 1856, to Miss B. Ann Brayton, a daughter of Joseph and Alma (Joslyn) Bray- ton. Mrs. Hersey was born March 12, 1832, in Herkimer county, New York, and came with her parents to Allamakee county, Iowa, in the spring of 1854 The residence of Mr. Hersey is located at the northwest corner of Allamakee and Pleasant streets, was built by him in 1856, and was one of the first private residences built in the town. The body of the old house still stands, but has been much changed by additions, alterations and im- provements.

Our subject is a Republican in politics. In 1856 he became associated with the Masonic fraternity, being one of the charter members of Waukon Lodge. In religion he is a member of the Baptist Church. Iowa was but a little over four years old as a State when Mr. L. W. Hersey came at its invitation to cast his lot, for weal or woe, within its borders. The past forty-five years spent here were filled during the first period with the many hardships and trials incident to a pioneer life, and during the latter period with the comforts and privi- leges of a more modern and thickly settled community. Throughout this long period of almost a half century our subject has moved along in the quiet tenor of his way, meeting the events of life as they would arise, and per- forming his duties and obligations with charac- teristic promptness, force and decision. Never a politician, he took a county office at one time when no one else would have it, merely because he felt it the duty of some citizen to fill an unremunerative office. When the poli- ticians began to squabble for the spoils, our subject quietly withdrew from politics and never entered them thereafter; and such has been his life throughout, -quiet, unassuming, attending strictly to business, and thus com- inanding the confidence and good will of all with whom he comes in contact.

Although past his "three-score and ten " years, the traditional average of old age, Mr. Hersey is still hale and hearty, goes regularly

to his counting room, and personally manages a large banking business. His health is due largely to his abstemious habits, for which he has been noted throughout life. His numer- ous friends throughout the country and State wish that he may live many years yet in which to enjoy the fruits of a life well spent.

a HARLES M. YOUNG, Deputy Treas- urer of Guthrie county, Iowa, and a well known and popular citizen, was born in Adams county, Pennsylvania, August 6, 1851.

Mr. Young's parents, William and Catha- rine (Conover) Young, were both natives of Adams county, Pennsylvania, the former born in 1805 and the latter in 1811, and in that county they were married. The Young family is of Scotch-Irish origin and was established in America previous to the Revolutionary pe- riod, while the Conovers are of Holland de- scent. William Young was a farmer. He and his wife were the parents of fourteen children, eleven of whom are living, namely: Robert WV., the first born. died in infancy; William B., a resident of York county, Pennsylvania, served as Internal Revenue Collector under every Republican administration since Lin- coln's first term, except that of Johnson, and died in Baltimore, Maryland, December 12, 1895; John Q. A., Postmaster at Railroad, Pennsylvania; Margaret E., wife of David E. Showalter, resides at Clarinda, Iowa; David M., a mechanic and contractor of Boone, Iowa; Samuel A., Panora, Iowa, is a Notary Public and is also engaged in the insurance business; Mary E., wife of D. E. Cress, Boone, Iowa; Robert G., York county, Pennsylvania; Sarah C., wife of David S. Criswell, Tarkio, Missouri; George W., Clarinda, Iowa; Calvin J., who died in infancy; Charles M., whose name heads this sketch; Peter C., who died in infancy; and Laura E., wife of Amos Kuhn, near Yale, Iowa.

During the stirring events brought on by the invasion of Lee's army, in Pennsylvania,

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culminating in the battle of Gettysburg, our subject was a lad of twelve years. He was an eye witness to that great battle and roamed over the field at will, following the troops and spending much time in ministering to the wants of the wounded soldiers, carrying to them milk and other luxuries from the farm. He has a cabinet of rare curios gathered by his own hand at that time, which he takes great pride in showing. His father was then a member of the State Militia and carried a " squirrel rifle " in defense of the Union. Charles M. attend- ed the public schools of his native county, graduated at the Gettysburg high school, and then pursued a two-years course in classics at the Pennsylvania College, of Gettysburg. For three years he was engaged in teaching in Pennsylvania, came to Iowa in 1868 and from that time until 1881 was engaged in teaching here, his work in the educational line being confined chiefly to the district schools of Guth- rie and Polk counties. For four years, how ever, he was principal of the Panora schools. In 1879 he entered the Des Moines Law School, spent a portion of two years there, and afterward for a year and a half continued his law studies in the office of Judge Miller, an ex- Judge of the Supreme Court. He was then admitted to the bar in Polk county, and en- tered upon the practice of his profession soon afterward in Panora, but a year later he re- turned to the schoolroom as teacher.

In 1881 Mr. Young was the Republican nominee for the office of County Superintend- ent of Schools, and doubtless would have been elected had it not been for party difficulties whereby the Republicans defeated their own ticket. At the recent primary election, June 8, 1895, he was brought out as a candidate for the same office and received 913 votes from a total of 1,979, there being three candi- dates in the field. His plurality over his strongest opponent was 346. On November 5, 1895, he was elected to the office of County Superintendent of Schools, receiving a plu- rality vote of 1,489 and a majority vote over four candidates of 878 votes. He has served

two years as Mayor of Panora, and in 1894 was appointed Mayor of Guthrie Center. In December, 189.1, he was appointed deputy in the office of the County Treasurer of Guthrie county, and for four years has been serving efficiently in this position.

Mr. Young was married in Panora, Iowa, in 1871, on the 29th day of December, to Miss Cynthia E. Batschelet, a native of Indi- ana, who caine to Guthrie county, Iowa, with her parents in 1856. Previous to her mar- riage she was for several years one of the pop- ular and successful teachers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Young have four children, ranging in age from thirteen to seven years, and their names in order of birth being Ed- ward E., Charles R., Frederick and Bruce.

He is prominently connected with a num- ber of social organizations. In the Masonic fraternity he has attained the Royal Arch de- grees, in the I. O. O. F. he is a member of both the subordinate and encampment branches, and is Past Chief Patriarch of En- campment No. 113. Also he is identified with the K. O. T. M., as Custodian of Fi- nance. The entire family are members of the Presbyterian Church.

J JOSEPH D. McGARRAUGH, who is creditably and acceptably filling the responsible position of Sheriff of Polk county, Iowa, was born in Highland county, Ohio, on the 28th of November, 1845, and is a son of Alexander and Hannah C. (Hull) McGarraugh, the former a native of Pennsyl- vania and the latter of Highland county, Ohio.

The paternal grandfather was Joseph Mc- Garraugh, who reared a large family and died in middle life. The maternal grandfather, John Hull, came of Pennsylvania stock and lived to be fifty-six years of age. In the early days of Ohio he removed to that State, where he carried on agricultural pursuits and stock- dealing. The father of our subject was a wagon-maker and came to Polk county, Iowa, in 1849, locating in LaFayette. He helped

A.H. Mc Vey

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to lay out that town and made it his home until after the breaking out of the war, when he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting in Company I, Thirty-seventh Iowa Infantry, for three years' service. When hos- tilities had ceased and the South had laid down its arms, he returned to his home in Polk county and engaged in farming for some time, but is now living retired. His wife died De- cember 15, 1893, at the age of seventy-one years. Both were members of the Methodist Church. Their family numbered four sons: John T., Joseph D., Millard F. (deceased) and William A.

The gentleman whose name begins this sketch was reared on his father's farm in Polk county, whither he accompanied his parents when a child of four years. His ed- ucational privileges were those afforded in the old-time log school-house; but though his ad- · vantages in this direction were meager, he received ample training at farm work. When the war broke out he and his brother, John T., ' responded to the country's call for troops to aid in crushing out the rebellion, and he enlisted in 1861 as a member of Company E, Four- teenth Iowa Infantry, in which he served for three years. He was wounded by a deserter froin the One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Illi- nois Infantry, in southern Illinois, known as Egypt in war times; and he was taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh, being incarcerated in Cahawba, Alabama, and in Macon, Georgia. He served for three years as a private, ably de- fending the old flag and the cause it repre- sented, and to-day he is numbered among the honored veterans who preserved the Union in its hour of peril. He participated in the bat- tles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Pleasant Hill, Yellow Bayou, Marksville Prairie, Tupelo, Old Town Creek, Pilot Knob and in many skirm- ishes.

On the 8th of November, 1868, occurred another important event in the life of Mr. McGarraugh, -his marriage to Miss Clara E. Young, a daughter of Valerius W. and Sarah A. (Eastridge) Young. Five children were 55

born to them, -two sons and three daughters, -namely : Aleck R., Minnie, Hannah E., Herbert Blaine and Helen. The mother is a member of the Friends' Church and the father belongs to the Christian Church.

Socially, Mr. McGarraugh is connected with Kinsman Post, No. 7, G. A. R., of Des Moines, Iowa, and is also a Royal Arch Mason and an Odd Fellow. In his political views he is a stalwart Republican and has been honored with a number of offices. He was elected to the position of Road Supervisor of his town- ship, then was chosen Justice of the Peace for three successive terms, and in 1881 he re- moved to Des Moines, where he was selected as night watchman at the old Iowa capitol. In 1885 he was chosen as mail carrier for the new lowa State capitol, and in 1890 was nominated for the office of Sheriff, but lost the election by seventy-three votes. In 1892 he was again put on the Republican ticket for that office, and this time carried the day by 800 majority. So acceptably did he discharge the duties of the position that his fidelity and ability were at once recognized, and in 1894 he was elected by 3,200 majority. As a citizen he displays the same loyalty that he manifested when on Southern battle-fields he aided in the cause of the Union. He is prompt and fear- less in the discharge of his duties and is recognized as one of the representative citizens of Des Moines.

LFRED HENRY McVEY, lawyer and author, has attained an emi- nence at the bar that has brought him not only a local and State repu- tation, but has also made him known far be- yond the boundaries of Iowa as a legal prac- titioner of superior ability. He is undoubtedly one of the ablest and best insurance lawyers in the West, and his extensive practice along the. line of this specialty comes in recognition of his merit; and while he has attained marked success in this specialty, it has not been at the expense of the other branches of the law, in

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all of which he is highly proficient and success- ful. It is interesting to analyze the character of such a man, and to note those principles which have enabled him to pass many on life's highway. The secret of his success is a su- perior education, close application, the devel- opment of natural and acquired abilities, energy and his willingness to work.

Mr. McVey is a native of the State of Ohio, and on the paternal side has descended from an old well-to-do family of Scotch origin, that was founded in America in 1654, by ancestors who at that early day braved the dangers incident to ocean voyages to secure homes in the New World. The name was originally spelled Mac- Veagh. His grandfather, James McVey, re- moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio about the beginning of the present century. On the ma- ternal side the subject of this review has de- scended from an old English family; and the grandfather, Marmaduke Eastlack, a native of England, located in New Jersey, at the begin- ning of the present century.

Mr. McVey acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the common schools of his native State, and was prepared for college, in the South- western Normal School at Lebanon, that State. While but a youth he was noted for his studious habits, and before leaving the pub- lic school had acquired a wide range of En- glish literature. When the country was en- gaged in civil war and needed the support of all her loyal sons, he offered his services, though only a mere boy, to the Government and became a member of the Seventy-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Mr. McVey entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, that State, from which institution he was graduated in the classical course in 1868. He was thorough and proficient in all his studies, but was especially noted for his marked literary attain- ments, and was considered the best debater in the university. His excellent scholarship was shown by the fact that upon his gradua- tion the faculty elected him a teacher in the institution; but this position he resigned in

order to enter upon the practice of law. He pursued his legal studies in the law department of the Cincinnati College, the oldest law school west of the Alleghenies, where he was gradu- ated with high honors.

He first opened a law office in Wilmington, Ohio, where he immediately took rank among those who have been long in practice, and evinced unusual ability both in presenting his cause to the jury, and in arguments addressed to the bench. In February, 1872, he opened an office in Toledo, Ohio, and in addition to a good practice in the local courts he more par- ticularly devoted himself to professional duties in the United States courts, and was for some years general counsel for the Toledo, Cincin- nati & St. Louis Railroad Company.

Mr .. McVey resides in Des Moines. He has a very extensive practice in the courts of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri and Ne- braska, and he has met with marked success; and his reputation as an insurance lawyer is second to none in the West. He now repre- sents perhaps seventy-five per cent of the fire- insurance companies doing business in Iowa, and also does a large business in other States. He is considered authority in all matters per- taining to insurance law, as well as in other branches of the law, in which he has become proficient, both in theory and in practice. He is an able pleader, forcible, earnest, logical and clear. He has one of the best law libra- ries in the State, is an extensive reader and thorough scholar and a man of broad, general information. The hours which are usually called leisure, he has devoted to study, to books, and the best literature, of which he has a knowledge second perhaps to no other man in the State. He is a fluent and forcible writer, and his written works, mostly on the subject of law, partake of the high merit of his legal work. He has never been a candidate for any office, either elective or appointive, although he takes a lively interest in public affairs.

In person he is tall and well proportioned, while his countenance indicates a man of

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thought. His dignified, courteous demeanor and his hospitality and genial manner have won him a host of warm friends.

In January, 1869, he was married to Miss Anna Holmes, a lady of fine scholarship and strong character. She is a daughter of the Rev. William Holmes, and a direct descendant of the Rev. Obadiah Holmes, who was born in En- gland in 1606 and came to this country in the year 1639, settling in Salem, Massachusetts. In connection with Roger Williams, he was one of the founders of the Baptist Church in America. Mr. and Mrs. McVey have five chil- dren, and the family remains yet unbroken by the hand of death. Frank L. was graduated at the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1893, and at Yale University in 1895, with the degree of Ph. D. Edmund H. is also a graduate of Yale, where he took high honors, and is now. a member of his father's law firm. William P. is a graduate of Des Moines College, and of Drew Theological Seminary, at Madison, New Jersey, where he took first honors, and is now studying for his Ph. D. degree in the Universi- ty of Leipsic, Germany. Kate is a student in the Woman's College at Baltimore; and Charles H. is pursuing his studies in the preparatory department of Des Moines College.

The family have a beautiful home in Des Moines, where they have resided for twelve years. There the works of art and literature add their attractions, there being among many other things a very extensive miscellaneous library, abounding in rare works.

G. WALLACE, who occupies a prom- inent place among the leading business men of the prosperous town of Waukee, Dallas county, Iowa, is a native of the Green Mountain State, and a son of New Eng- land parents, Leonard and Sarah R. (Wright) Wallace. Leonard Wallace was born among the mountains of New Hampshire, when twen- ty-five years old moved over into Vermont, and soon afterward married and settled down to farming. It was on his farm, September 6,

1847, that the subject of our sketch was born and passed his boyhood days up to the age of eight years. Then, in 1855, the family moved West, the father having sold his Vermont farm, and that year they took up their abode near Neponset, Bureau county, Illinois, where I. G. grew to manhood and received his education.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 138

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