Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 149

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

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Dr. Connett at once started west and lo- cated in Macon county, Missouri, but after a short time he exchanged property which he owned there for 200 acres of the fertile land in southwestern Iowa, that he might thus pro- vide a home for his widowed mother and her sons. His mother later came to live with him, and he had then a pleasant home and tender care. For twenty-seven years Dr. Connett was a resident of Bedford, following the prac- tice of medicine and surgery with eminent suc- cess. He possessed superior ability in his pro- fession, and was not only held in the highest regard in business circles but was alike es- teemed by all whom he met socially.

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EORGE W. REED, Guthrie Center, Iowa .- In the subject of this sketch is found one of the prominent men of the township and a veteran of the Civil war.

Mr. Reed was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, May 31, 1843, son of Samuel Reed and grandson of Hezekiah Reed, who were of Eng- lish descent. Samuel Reed was a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife, nce Anna Rose, was born in Ohio. They maintained their residence in Ohio until 1858, when they came out to Iowa and located in Guthrie county, their family at that time consisting of eight children. Two sons, Theodore and C. F., had moved to Iowa in 1856 and were living here at the time the rest of the family came. This journey from Ohio to Iowa was made with teams, their outfit consisting of several oxen, four horses, a carriage and wagons, and they camped along the road wherever night over- took them. Arrived in Guthrie county, they settled on land near Guthrie Center. Here the father kept a tavern and his sons did the most of the farm work. After a long and use- ful life the senior Mr. Reed died, at Guthrie Center, at the age of seventy-five years. In religion he was a Presbyterian, and politically he was a Republican. Few of the early settlers of this vicinity were better known or more- popular than Samuel Reed. His wife died at the age of seventy-six years. She, too, was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and was known far and near for her generosity and Christian kindness. They were parents of ten children, namely: Culbertson, a minister of Guthrie Center; W. A., who resides near Guthrie Center; B. F., deceased; Hannah, wife of G. W. McCluen, Bear Grove township, Guthrie county; George W., whose name in- troduces this sketch; James D., deceased; Hester, wife of D. L. Motz, Creede, Colorado; Amanda, wife of Abner McCluen, Guthrie Center; and Mary, wife of William McKelvy, Salida, Colorado. Three of the sons-W. A., B. F. and George W .- served in the late war. George W. Reed was a boy of fifteen years

at the time he came with his parents to Iowa. His early education had been received in Ohio, and after he came to this State his schooling was limited to one term at Guthrie Center. In the winter of 1861 his youthful ambition led him to make a trip to Pike's Peak, whither he traveled with an ox team and a load of pro- visions, flour, pork, etc. In those days a trip to Pike's Peak was attended with no little difficulty, owing to the sparsely settled coun- try and danger from both the Indians and Rebel sympathizers. Young Reed, however, made the journey in safety and returned in the fall of the following year.

In November, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, at once went to the front, and remained on active duty until the close of the war. Among the engagements in which he participated were those of Yazoo Pass, Coldwater, Helena, Little Rock and the siege and taking of Mobile. He was honorably discharged in August, 1865, after which he re- turned to Iowa and settled in Bear Grove township, Guthrie county, where he continued to reside until 1892. That year he sold his farm and removed to his present place on sec- tion 27, of Baker township. Here he has a fine farm of 320 acres, well improved and much of it rich bottom land. He has a good frame residence, 18 x 26 feet, a story and a half, with a one-story L, 12 x 16 feet, sur- rounded by a porch and situated on a natural building site. His barn is 38 x 40 feet, and his granaries and sheds cover an extensive space.

Mr. Reed was united in marriage in 1866 to Hannah Holsman, an amiable and accom- plished woman who was born in Guernsey county, Ohio. Her father, William Holsman, was one of the early pioneers of Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Reed have nine children, viz. : Samuel, William, Harry, Bertha, Nellie, Don, John, Lulu and Lucy. Bertha is the wife of Otis Millhollan, of this township. The other children are still inmates of their paternal home.

Politically, Mr. Reed was until recently affiliated with the Republican party, but is

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now identified with the Populists and is enthu- siastic for the success of this party. He is a charter member of Tracy Post, G. A. R., at Guthrie Center. Personally, Mr. Reed is a man of fine physique and strong character, firm in his convictions of right and wrong, and is of a social and genial nature. He is a man who has passed through great privation with- out having been made a "pessimist."

EMUEL WARFORD, who holds high rank among the leading citizens of Washington township, Dallas county, Iowa, dates his birth in Guilford county, North Carolina, December 24, 1833. He is a son of Isaac and Sarah (Kirkpatrick) Warford, natives of North Carolina, who em- igrated to Iowa in 1852. The father is de- ceased and the mother is now living with a daughter, near the home of our subject, at this writing her age being eighty-five years. Mr. Warford's grandparents, John and Nancy (Bur- roughs) Warford, were natives of Scotland and among the early settlers of North Carolina, where they died. His maternal grandparents, Hugh and Martha (McCracken) Kirkpatrick, were born, passed their lives and died in North Carolina. Great-grandfather Samuel McCrack- en was one of the first settlers of North Caro- lina and accumulated a large tract of land there, which at his death fell to his only child, a daughter. At her death this vast estate was divided among her seven children, one of whom was Mr. Warford's mother.

Mr. Warford remained a member of the home circle until 1857, when he went out in the interest of the " Underground Railroad," and through his efforts during the next three years many a dusky slave was assisted in mak- ing good his escape from the South and secur- ing freedom. In this business he was closely associated with the noted John Brown. Au- gust 9, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Com- pany C, Thirty-ninth Regiment of Iowa, un- der Captain I. D. Marsh, and was with his company and regiment in all the engagements

in which they participated, with the exception of the time he was laid up in hospital, he hav- ing received a severe wound. Indeed, so serious was this wound that it was made a matter of medical record. It was said that not one man in a hundred would have recovered from such injury. His honorable discharge was dated at Clinton, Iowa.

It was just before the opening of the war, September 23, 1860, that Mr. Warford was married. Mrs. Warford's maiden name was Miss Sarah E. Clark, she being a daughter of William T. and Mary (Allen) Clark. Her father was a native of Kentucky and one of the early settlers of Iowa, where he has acquired large tracts of land along the Des Moines river. When the civil war broke out he joined the Union army, went into camp at St. Louis and while there was poisoned by a rebel spy, who brought pies to the soldiers. Mr. Clark ate of this pie and his death resulted shortly afterward. Mrs. Clark is still living and makes her home with her children in Kansas. To Mr. and Mrs. Warford eight children have been born, one of whom, a daughter, died at the age of two years. Those living are as fol- lows: Elmer E., William A., Etta B., H. Bird, David M., Nellie M., and John C. The three first named are married and have two children apiece, the grandchildren numbering six. The other children are at home. All have had good educational advantages, attending the best schools the county afforded, and Miss Bird is a student of Drake University.

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Warford moved into a log house on his present farm, which served as his home until 1874, when it was replaced by the residence he has since occu- pied and which was erected at a cost of over $3,000. His farm here comprises several hun- dred acres, and besides this he owns large tracts of land in Kansas and Nebraska, and all this fine property is the result of his own indi- vidual efforts, he having started out in life without capital.

Mr. Warford cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, and has been a stanch

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member of the Republican party ever since. He has filled nearly all the township offices, has served as a member of the County Board, and has for many years figured prominently in both township and county affairs. While he was a member of the County Board he saved to the county nearly $15,000 by investigating an estate. Since then a commission has been appointed, of which he is president, to look after the fund, which now exceeds $20,000. He and his family are members of the Chris- tian Church, and both in church and Sabbath- school are active and earnest workers. Mr. Warford is a member of the I. O. O. F., of Adel, and also a charter member in the R. L. Clingen Post, G. A. R., of Minburn.

J AMES RICHARDS, M. D., who is en- gaged in the successful practice of the medical profession in Des Moines, is a native of the Buckeye State, his birth having occurred near Eaton, the county seat of Preble county, on the 17th of April, 1845. His father, William Richards, was a native of Kentucky, and during his early boyhood was taken by his parents to Ohio, thus becoming one of its early settlers. Throughout his life he followed the occupation of farming, to which he was reared by his father, Benjamin Rich- ards, a native of Virginia and who was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The Doctor's father married Rachel Williams, a native of Tennes- see and a daughter of John Williams, who went with his family to the Buckeye State dur- ing the early girlhood of his daughter. Sev- eral years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Richards became residents of Indiana, where their remaining days were passed. Both are now deceased. They had six sons and one daughter. One of these, John, is a practic- ing physician of Whitley county, Indiana, and Isaac is a farmer near Charles City, Missouri.

Dr. Richards, whose worth and ability have gained him a foremost place in the ranks of the medical profession, was the fourth in the family. He obtained his education in the

public schools near his Indiana home and in a select school. Determining on a life profes- sion, he took up the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. W. C. Brown, of An- drew county, Missouri, and took his first course of lectures in a medical institution after ma- triculating in the Eclectic Medical College of Cincinnati, Ohio. He afterward continued his studies in the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and finally was graduated at the medical department of the University of the State of Missouri at St. Louis, in 1890. He has ever been a close student of his profession and his researches and investigation have given him a knowledge far beyond that of the average physician and have won for him an enviable place among the practitioners of his chosen city. He began practice in 1868, at Mayville, Missouri, and after spending three years there he removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he continued in practice for ten years. In 1891 he came to Des Moines, where he has since remained, and public opinion and his professional brethren both accord him a place of prominence in the field of his chosen endeavor.

In 1865 was celebrated the marriage of Doctor Richards and Miss Margaret A. Beck- ley, of Whitley county, Indiana, a daughter of Edward Beckley, who was numbered among the pioneer settlers of that locality, whither he removed from Wooster, Ohio. The Doctor and his wife have two children, namely: Ida J., now the wife of George H. Harr, of Omaha, Nebraska; and Warren E., who is assisting his father in the discharge of the varied duties con- nected with the office. The family is one widely and favorably known in this locality, where in their five years' residence they have made many friends.

R EV. FRED W. HEINKE, the popu- lar and highly esteemed pastor of the Lutheran Church, of Bauer, was born in the village of Legde, Prussia, April 24, 1860. His parents, Gottlieb and Mary

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(Rudow) Heinke, were also natives of the same locality. The father was born Decem- ber 12, 1821, and followed farming throughout his entire life with the exception of three years which were spent in the service of the regular army. He is still living and is a faithful mem- ber of the Lutheran Church, to which his wife also belonged. She was born May 28, 1821, and died on the 8th of December, 1871, at the age of fifty years. They had a family of three children: Hulda is a sister in the Evan- gelical Church in Prussia; our subject is the next younger; and Minna became the wife of Adolph Sosath, and died leaving one child.

The subject of this review attended the com- mon schools during his early boyhood and sub- sequently entered the high school of Wilsnack, at which institution he was graduated in 1874. Not long afterward he crossed the Atlantic to America, in order to pursue his studies in this country. He first made his way to Bloom- ington, Illinois, and thence to Springfield, where in the fall of 1876 he entered the Con- cordia Seminary, completing the prescribed course in that institution in 1882. Being now fitted for the work of the ministry he accepted the pastorate of a church in Auburndale, Wood county, Wisconsin, where he remained for fif- teen months.

During this time Mr. Heinke was married, on the 11th of October, 1882, to Miss Isabella Schmidt, who was born in Chatham, Illinois, and is a daughter of Gottlieb and Louisa (Moos) Schmidt. They have a family of eight chil- dren: Frederick, who served as a soldier of the late war, and is now living in South Da- kota; Minnie, wife of Andrew Rohrer, a farmer of Chatham, Illinois; Louisa, wife of George Rohrer, also a farmer of Chatham, now living in Kansas; Isabella; Caroline, wife of Rev. August Enseleit, of Spirit Lake, Iowa; Will- iam, a carpenter of Springfield, Illinois; Ida, wife of Rev. J. G. Schliepsiek, of Pomeroy, Iowa; and Gatthold, a farmer of that place. Mr. Heinke and his wife have an interesting family of six children-Martin, Gertrude, Min- nie, Gerhard, Hulda and Max-all yet under

the parental roof. The mother of this family is a faithful companion and helpmeet to her . husband, and ably assists him in his church work.

While in Wisconsin, Mr. Heinke had charge of two congregations. During uhis pastoral work there he received a call from the church in Bauer, and accepting the same was estab- lished as its pastor in 1883, since which time he has here continued his labors. He has built up a good congregation, and is a very successful minister, being an able, earnest and forceful speaker, and a capable pastor, who is very greatly esteemed by all his parishioners and by the people of other denominations as well. His political support is given the De- mocracy, but his entire time and attention are devoted to his church work and he has the love and esteem of all who know him.

ILLIAM E. CLOSSON, manufac- turer of proprietary medicines, makes his home in Independence, where he has an office, while an- other is located in Des Moines. He is now doing a good business in his line, and is mak- ing preparation for the extensive manufac- ture of his medicine. He is an Eastern man by birth, but manifests the true Western spirit of progress and enterprise. A native of Vermont, he was born on the 22d of July, 1854, and is a son of J. G. and Mary A. Closson. During his childhood he accom- panied his parents on their removal to Bremer county, Iowa, the family locating on a farm where the youth of our subject was passed. He spent much of his childhood days at work in the fields, aiding in the cultivation of the old homestead through the summer months, while in the winter season he pursued his edu- cation in the district schools. Later he at- tended a select school for a time.

Subsequently Mr. . Closson took up the study of medicine, which he in a great measure pursued alone. In 1885, he began the manu- facture of medicine on a small scale but has

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rapidly obtained an excellent reputation as a compounder of medicines of superior quality. From a small beginning his business has steadily increased, and he is now making ex- tensive preparations for the manufacture of medicine on a large scale. His trade has as- sumed extensive proportions and he expects to introduce his medicines throughout the coun- try. He' now has a well established business in some sixteen States and Territories of the Union, and has sold largely to the trade in Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Louis and other Western centers of commerce. As be- fore stated, he has two offices. B. S. Brown- ell, of Des Moines, Iowa, handles the medi- cines exclusively at that place, while Mr. Clos- son has charge of the business in Independ- ence. He is a progressive, enterprising busi- ness man and his standing in commercial cir- cles is high. He owes his success in life en- tirely to his own efforts and the prosperity that has come to him is well merited.

J OSEPH E. JENKINS, one of the promising young farmers of Iowa, re- sides on his father's old homestead in Washington township, Dallas county. His father, the late William Jenkins, was born in East Tennessee, January 1, 1831, and died on his farm in Iowa, August 23, 1887. He was one of the pioneers of this section of the country. During the Pike's Peak excite- ment he made a trip overland to that place and to California, and upon his return made settlement among the Indians in Iowa, where he passed his subsequent life and where he ac- quired title to several hundred acres of valu- able land, which he developed into as fine a farm as there is in the county. His first home here was a hewed-log cabin, which he and his family occupied for several years: after this he built their present home, which, at the time of its completion, was probably the finest house in this part of the State. Here for many years he figured prominently and was as popular as he was well known. He

was an old-time Justice of the Peace, was a Democrat and a Mason, and above all was a true Christian gentleman. His church mem- bership was with the Methodists. The pa- ternal grandfather of our subject, L. B. Jenk- ins, was a soldier in the war of 1812.

Mr. Jenkins' mother is still living and with him occupies the old home place. She is a daughter of Reuben and Elizabeth (Odell) Farlow, both natives of North Carolina. Mr. Farlow died in Indiana and Mrs. Farlow's death occurred some years later, in Iowa, her age at the time of death being seventy-eight years. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Jenkins were George and Nancy Farlow, North Carolinians by birth and early settlers of Indiana, both dying in the Hoosier State, he at the age of eighty-two years and she at eighty.

Joseph E. Jenkins is a member of a family of six children, five of whom are living, viz. : Mary L., Edmund L., Joseph E., William and Ellsworth. Mary L. is married and is the mother of four children; and two of the sons, Edmund L. and William, are married, the former being the father of two children. Joseph E., as already stated, is engaged in farming operations, and in the work of carry- ing on the farm is assisted by his brother Ellsworth.

3 OSEPH STORM is a worthy represent- ative of the agricultural interests of Dallas county and a progressive and highly respected citizen. A native of the Hoosier State, he was born in Tippecanoe county, in July, 1829, and is a son of Daniel and Rebecca (Wright) Storm. His paternal grandfather was Peter Storm, and his ma- ternal grandparents were Runolds and Phœbe (Parsons) Wright. Both died in Iowa when well advanced in years. The father of our subject was a native of Bartlett county, Vır- ginia, born in 1799. About 1823 he emigrated to the Hoosier State, locating in Tippecanoe county, where his death occurred at the age

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of seventy-four. His wife was born in Wayne county, Indiana, and also departed this life in Tippecanoe county. On both sides our sub- ject is descended from honorable, industrious families who were largely engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He had two uncles who served in the war of 1812.

Joseph Storm was reared on the old home farm, spending the greater part of his mi- nority under the parental roof. The district schools of the neighborhood afforded him his only educational privileges, but through read- ing, experience and observation he has made himself a well informed man. He was the eldest of nine children, of whom one sister and four brothers are yet living. He has been a resident of Iowa since 1856, at which time he purchased 240 acres of wild prairie land and with characteristic energy began its de- velopment and improvement. His labors were arduous in those early days, but with a com- mendable perseverance he kept up his work, and as his financial resources were increased added to his land from time to time until he now has about 2, 500 acres, being probably the largest individual land-holder in the county. His present home was built in 1872.

Since casting his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, Mr. Storm has been a stal- wart advocate of the principles of the Repub- lican party and has filled several local offices with distinction. His life furnishes many val- uable lessons that might be profitably followed. His career demonstrates what can · be accom- plished by strict integrity, frugality and close application to business, -qualities that have made him one of the most substantial citizens of Dallas county.

ALTER O. RICHARDS, a retired physician and surgeon of Waterloo, Iowa, has been prominently con- nected with the upbuilding and de- velopment of this section of the State for many years. He was born in Riga, Monroe county,

New York, November 21, 1820, and is a son of William and Clarissa (Ames) Richards. His father was a native of Massachusetts, and was a farmer. The grandfather, William Richards, Sr., was a native of New England, descending from Scotch and English ancestry. He served in the Revolutionary war, valiantly aiding the Colonies in their struggle for inde- pendence. The Richards people were tall and sturdy, and of great will power and tenacity of purpose.

The Doctor spent the first eighteen years of his life in Parma, New York, where he ac- quired a good fundamental education in the district school; then removed with his parents to Middlefield, Ohio, where his mother died. He continued his studies here and taught a term of school in Burton, and afterward en- tered Farmington Seminary for two years, which was conducted by Professor Branch, and was a preparatory school for Oberlin College. In the fall of 1840, with a class of sixty-seven, -among whom were two bright young colored men, -he entered Oberlin College. In his circle of special friends in the class were John Patchen, afterward a minister; Mary Finney, Belle and Sarah Blatchley, and Jane B. True, the latter three after graduating, becoming missionaries to foreign lands; also Miss Mary Pratt, the class poet, who in later years, re- moved to Burlington, Iowa, and became emi- nent as a lecturer and worker in the cause of temperance.

Necessity, though a stern teacher, some- times brings out sterling qualities, and it was so in this case. Improving the first long vaca- tion to earn some money, Mr. Richards went to Americus, Indiana, and taught a term of school, returning to Oberlin on horseback, and the following fall cast his first vote for the anti- slavery candidate. For some time he milked ten cows nights and mornings and drove them to pasture for his board, and at another time worked in a cooper's shop making flour bar- rels for the same purpose. He continued in college until he had completed all of the course with the exception of Hebrew, when failing

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health compelled him to lay aside his studies for a time.

Believing that out-door life and exercise would prove beneficial, he began traveling through the country selling Seth Thomas clocks, and the change of employment and out-door life proved the needed tonic. He rapidly re- covered, and at length, leaving the employ of the clock company, he removed to Noble, Michigan, where there was an older brother living, and with him remained in business for about a year. He afterward received a prop- osition to take charge of the schools at Stur- gis, Michigan, where he taught three years, during which time he read medicine with Dr. Tefft. Later he superintended the public schools at Lima, Indiana.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 149

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