Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 166

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

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whose future promised a most brilliant suc- cess. He had become quite proficient in the German language, and spoke it with as much fluency as the English. He made a special study of the violin, and it was with this in- strument that he appeared in public. The death of this talented but unfortunate boy was to Judge Willett what the death of Absalom was to King David. It was, indeed, a blow in his advancing years from which he may never recover.

Judge Willett is one of the few attorneys who has practiced law in the State for nearly forty years. During this time he has been the leading character in many forensic battles, and has always acquitted himself ably, com- manding the love and admiration of his friends and the respect of his enemies.

While he has given his time chiefly to the practice of his profession, he has also found time to devote to outside business enterprises that were promoted for the good of the com- munity. As he was Captain of the first com- pany raised in the county, so has he been first in indorsing other worthy causes.

Although in his seventieth year, Judge Wil- lett is still young in thought and action, and moves with the age, not regretfully, but with a fervor and spirit that some younger men might do well to imitate.

Personally, he is a quiet, unassuming gen- tleman, who impresses one as being a hard student and deep thinker, and this impression is justified on closer acquaintance. He has a sunny and attractive disposition, and this, added to his learning and ready command of language, makes him a very agreeable coni- panion.

EE M. SWINDLER, A. B., the effi- cient and popular County Superin- tendent of Public Schools of Guthrie county, Iowa, was born in Cass town- ship of the same county on the 10th of Janu- ary, 1864, and is a son of Robert A. and Catherine (Brumbaugh) Swindler. The fa-

ther, a native of Indiana, was born in Mont- gomery county, in 1830, and the mother's birth occurred near Dayton, Ohio, in 1832. They both arrived in Guthrie county in 1852 prior to their marriage, which event was celebrated in 1858, and still they make their home on the farm where they then located, it being the land which the father entered from the Government in 1852. Four sons came to bless their union: Daniel, who is principal of the schools of Wellman, Iowa; Lee M., who is second in order of birth; James, a farmer residing on the old homestead with his parents; and Fred- erick, a farmer of Cass township, Guthrie county. The Swindler family was founded in America by two brothers, John and Henry, who came from England, the former locating in Pennsylvania and the latter in South Caro- lina, arriving here prior to the Revolutionary war. From the South Carolina branch our sub- ject is a descendant. His maternal ancestry were of German descent and settled in Penn- sylvania.

The primary education of Lee M. Swindler was obtained in the public schools, after which, in 1882, he entered the county high school, at Panora, where he graduated in 1885. though during that period he taught several terms in the schools of the county. In September of the same year he became a member of the fresh- man class in the Iowa College at Grinnell, where he completed the classical course in 1889, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts. In the November following his graduation Mr. Swindler was elected County Superintendent of the schools of Guthrie county, and was twice re-elected to the same position, giving general satisfaction. He voluntarily retires at the close of his present term, having been elected principal of the Guthrie County high school at Panora and assumes his duties there on the Ist of September, 1895. This school exists through taxation upon the entire county, and is under the control of a board of trustees elected by the people. It includes in its cur- riculum all of the common branches and such higher studies as are required for admission to

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the freshman year in the Iowa State Univer- sity. The tuition is free to all residents of Guthrie county and outside students pay a fee of $18 per year.

On the 26th of September, 1881, while in the employ of the Des Moines & Western Rail- road, Mr. Swindler met with an accident which cost him his left arm. In this wreck about ten persons were killed and forty injured, while his arm was caught under the car. In the ad- justment of the matter the company dealt very honorably with Mr. Swindler, making a settle- ment entirely to his satisfaction.

Mr. Swindler was married on the 14th of April, 1891, the lady of his choice being Miss Laurayne Browne, a native of Eaton, Ohio, and with her parents removed to Des Moines, Iowa, where she engaged in teaching. For five years prior to her marriage she followed that profession, being for a time engaged in the city schools of Guthrie Center. Mr. Swindler takes quite an active part in the work of the Presbyterian Church of Guthrie Center, of which he and his wife are both consistent members.

Politically our subject is a supporter of the men and measures of the Republican party, in which he is recognized as a leader in this com- munity, while socially he is a member of the subordinate lodge and encampment of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has been Past Grand and Past Chief Patriarch, and also Past Chancellor of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Guthrie Center. He is num- bered among the chief educators of the State, and is actively interested in everything tending toward the advancement of the schools in his county or State, while all other worthy enter- prises receive his support and co-operation.

3 OHN WRAGG, of the firm of John Wragg & Sons, nurserymen, Waukee, Iowa, is a gentleman whose name is well known all over the State. The visitor to his place will find an enterprise of

extensive proportions, and will be agreeably entertained by the Messrs. Wragg, all of whom are enterprising and up-to-date men in everything pertaining to their business. We are pleased to present in this connection a biography of the senior member, and before proceeding to a sketch of his life we wish to refer briefly to his ancestry.

John Wragg's paternal grandfather was born and reared in Leicestershire, England, and was married there to Lydia Ellis, in March, 1794. In the fall of that same year they started to the United States on an American liner, which was overhanled by a French frig- ate, and Mr. Wragg and his wife, among other British subjects, were taken prisoners by the French and held as such at Brest until the spring of 1795, when they were exchanged. On being released they carried out their orig- inal intention in regard to their emigration to this country. The French had robbed them of all their possessions, and on their arrival in Boston they found themselves penniless; but they were fortunate in meeting the celebrated chemist and theologian, Dr. Priestley, who in- stalled them on his farm in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, as his farm steward. In the fall of 1819 they removed to Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, when that region was an unbroken wilderness. They were the par- ents of five children, of whom the youngest, born January 22, 1808, was the father of our subject. He was married January 31, 1831, to Mary. Ann Delany Lewis, and on his farm in Luzerne county, December 2, 1832, John Wragg first saw the light of day. Luzerne county has since been divided, that part in which Mr. Wragg was born now being known as Lackawanna county.

After the death of his parents Mr. Wragg, of this sketch, was engaged in lumbering in Pennsylvania until 1852, when he left the Keystone State and sought a home in Michi- gan. For one year he was engaged in lum- bering in Hillsdale county, Michigan, and from there, in 1853, came to Iowa, first locating in Clayton county, where he entered 120 acres

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of Government land and farmed the same until 1863. In that year he sold out, and the next two years he spent in various parts of the State, and in 1865 bought forty acres of land in Dallas county, to which he added by subse- quent purchase until it was increased to its present size.

On the 28th day of May, 1857, he was married to Hannah McManus, who was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, on the 25th of October, 1835, and the family now consists of three sons and one daughter.

In 1878 he and his sons started a nursery, which they have since conducted under the firm name of John Wragg & Sons, and which from a small beginning they have increased to an enterprise of magnitude. In this connection a few statistics will best serve our purpose in giving an idea of their business:

Nursery stock handled in the spring of 1895 $ 22,000

Freight and express paid . 1,500

Postage paid since last November . 300

Weekly pay-roll . 150

Cars of freight shipped . 55

Stock planted this spring and grown from seed .. 500,000 Estimated number of trees and plants salable fall of 1895 and spring of 1896. 300,000

Men employed at the packing ground. 25

With increase of their nursery business they have given up farming almost entirely and now devote their whole time and attention to the former.

Mr. Wragg cast his first presidential vote for Fremont and has maintained his allegiance to the Republican party ever since. At various times he has been honored with local office, has filled nearly all the township offices, and for six years served as District Director in the State Horticultural Society, and both as a Re- publican and a horticulturist he is widely known. For the past two years his health has been very poor, and his sons have taken entire charge of the business and give a warm wel- come to the many friends who from all parts of the Northwest come on visits, of both busi-

ness and pleasure. Mr. Wragg is also one of the old members of the famous Tippecanoe Club of Des Moines.

J OHN M. PEARSON, who resides in Stuart, Iowa, is one of the self-made men of Guthrie county. Starting in life a poor boy he has been obliged to work out his own destiny. He was born in Ottawa, Canada, April 14, 1859, and is a son of William and Abigail (Smith) Pearson, who also were natives of Canada and were of Scotch lineage. In the fall of 1866 the father left his Canadian home and went to Mankato, Min- nesota, where the following spring he was joined by his family. He was a millwright by occupation and constructed a mill at Mankato, which he operated for some years. He is now living retired from active life, enjoying a rest which is well deserved. In the family were three sons, of whom our subject is the eldest. Lewis S., the second, is employed in the land office at Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Loren C., a blacksmith by trade, is employed in the McCormick Harvester Works at Min- neapolis, Minnesota.

Our subject acquired his elementary educa- tion in the public schools of Minnesota, where he went with his parents at the age of seven years. He has always been an earnest student and deep thinker, reading extensively along many lines of research, being specially inter- ested in science. The greater part of his leisure time has been devoted to careful and systematic study, and he has thus become thoroughly well informed on current topics of interest, history, biography, literature and the sciences. The self-educated man always de- serves great credit for his attainments, for education implies earnest effort, close applica- tion and the strong exercise of those mental powers with which one is endowed by nature. In his young manhood Mr. Pearson was noted for his exemplary character, never using to- bacco or intoxicants, and while other young men were spending their leisure moments in

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indolence and dissipation he always had some object in view to enlighten his mind and to add to his store of general information.

Mr. Pearson became an apprentice to the machinist's trade in the marine engine works at Stillwater, Minnesota, serving a four years' term and thoroughly mastering the business. In 1882 he became assistant engineer on steam- boats running from St. Paul and Stillwater south on the Mississippi. Seven years of his life were thus passed, and in the intervals he worked in machine shops in the South; but his associates in this business were not congenial and opportunities for advancement were mea- ger. Accordingly he left the river in 1889 and engaged as a machinist for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Company at Savanna, Illinois, where he was employed for a year. He then secured a position on the Mason City & Fort Dodge road, and was lo- cated at Fort Dodge until 1891, when he came to Stuart in the employ of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company. He is now employed in general machinist's work, having for the past two years been in the wheel lathe department.

In this department much difficulty had been experienced in removing an old tire when it was desired to replace it with a new one. The ingenuity of the machinists' department in railroading had been sorely taxed to produce an apparatus which would heat the tire suffi- ciently to be removed withont heating the rim of the wheel, for if this was done the expan- sion of the rim thereby caused would only hold the tire the tighter. Much money had been expended in trying to perfect this machine, yet nothing satisfactory had been produced. Recently, however, Mr. Pearson has invented an appliance which does this work perfectly and with much greater rapidity than the faulty appliances heretofore used. It will un- doubtedly work a revolution in this special line of labor. Our subject is a member of the International Association of Machinists, and with his usual thoroughness does all in his power to perfect himself in his work.

In politics he is independent, voting for the man whom he thinks best qualified for office regardless of party affiliations. His religious views are liberal and he is a broadminded, honorable gentleman whom to know is to honor.

A LONZO MARTIN MAY, A. B., pro- prietor and editor of the Waukon Standard, of Waukon, Iowa, was born in the village of Scio, Allegany county, New York, March 20, 1838, his par- ents being Philander Franklin and Laura Ann (Matthews) May.

The gentleman whose name heads this sketch descends from one of England's oldest families, and his children are the ninth genera- tion of the family in this country, thus making it one of the oldest families in America. The ancestry is traced back to Sir Thomas M. May, of Mayfield, county of Sussex, England. May- field is located about forty miles south of Lon- don. The name has been variously written- Mayes, Mays, Maies and May. A publication entitled "Worthies of England in Church and State," and printed in London in 1694, ascribes to the Mays a Portuguese origin.

Dorothy May, a member of the Sussex faniily, was the wife of William Bradford, later Governor of Plymouth Colony, though she did not live to reach Plymouth. John May, son of Sir Thomas M. May, was born at Mayfield, England, in 1590; became the master of the ship, The James, and sailed to New England as early as 1635. Later he located at that part of Roxbury now called Jamaica Plain. To him were born two sons, John and Samuel. Our subject descended from Samuel, and the succession is as follows: 1, Thomas M .; 2, John; 3, Samuel; 4, Samuel; 5, Eleazer; 6, Theodore; 7, Ellis; 8, Philander Franklin; and 9, Alonzo Martin, whose name heads this sketch. Theodore May (sixth son) was born in Dedham, Massachusetts, March 27, 1747; removed to Washington county, New York,

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August 13, 1820; served in the Revolutionary war, and was present at Burgoyne's surrender. Ellis May, grandfather of our subject, was born November 12, 1772; removed to Washington county, New York, in 1795, and followed farm- ing in Union Village until 1832, when he re- moved to Allegany county, New York. He married Mary Wells in 1797, and to them were born twelve children, nine sons and three daughters. His wife was born August 2, 1778, and died at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 27, 1858.

The fifth child of Ellis and Mary (Wells) May was Philander Franklin May, father of A. M. May. He was born in Washington county, New York, October 21, 1806, and accom- panied the family to Allegany county, New York, where in his younger manhood he taught school, and later married there. In the sum- mer of 1843 he determined to move westward, and accordingly disposed of his possessions in New York, other than what he could con- veniently carry, and together with his wife and three children made the trip across the coun- try in a "prairie schooner" drawn by two horses, to Will county, Illinois, arriving there some time in August. Mr. May brought with him $500 in silver, and with a part of this money he bought a quarter section of land, erected a small frame house, 14 x 20, and one and one-half stories high, having hauled the lumber from Chicago, which was thirty-five miles distant, and prepared to make a home. He remained on this tract of land for two years only, and then moved to Janesville, Wiscon- sin, where he joined his brother, J. M. May, in the manufacture and sale of the "May Steel Plow." This plow had been patented by another brother, Harvey H. - May. He bought out his brother, and did a large busi- ness. At the end of three years P. F. May sold the business and returned to farming, in Green Lake county, Wisconsin. In 1864 Mr. May moved to Floyd county, Iowa, and re- sided there until his death, which occurred March 15, 1893. In 1835 he married Laura Ann Matthews, a daughter of Isaac Matthews,

who was a descendant of one of the Pilgrim fathers. The children of Mr. and Mrs. P. F. May were: Mary, born in 1836; Alonzo M., the subject of our sketch; Isaac, born April 23, 1840, in New York, attended Ripon College, at Ripon, Wisconsin, and Knox College, in Illinois; served three years in the army, and died in the army hospital at Chicago, while on his way home in 1864; Mary Elizabeth, born in New York, July 29, 1842, married H. McIntyre, at Princeton, Wisconsin, in 1862 ; he served three years in the army; Miranda Jane, born in Will county, Illinois, December 19, 1844, married F. A. Fleming, in Floyd county, Iowa, in 1872, and they now reside in Salem, Oregon; Jane M. was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, in 1846, and died in infancy; and Frank Ellis was born in Green Lake county, Wisconsin, March 7, 1856, married Amelia Grawe, in June, 1883, in Floyd county, Iowa, and is now liv- ing at Hull, this State. P. F. May, together with two sons and his son-in-law, H. McIntyre, all did service in the Union army at the same time. The sons and father met for the last time at Memphis, Tennessee, death having claimed one of the boys before the war closed.

Mr. A. M. May, our subject, made his home with his parents during the first sixteen years of his life, and the scenes of his career during this time are the same as those of his father, given in the above paragraphs. He speaks not of the "little red school-house," but of the school-house, or room, made by setting up bushes, which he attended back in Will county, Illinois. He finished the public-school course at fifteen years of age, and prepared for college at Ripon, Wisconsin. He took the classical course at Beloit College, Wisconsin, and re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1864.

Mr. May's army career is peculiar and in- teresting. Although quite young at the break- ing out of the war, his patriotic enthusiasm induced him to enlist in the "three-months" service, regardless of his work at college. This was in 1861, and the term of service having expired, he re-enlisted in the fall of that year in the "Regimental Band," and was held for

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service, but never called on to go to the front. This second enlistment was a kind of substi- tute service that was later abandoned by the Government. It prevented Mr. May from en- tering the active service long before he did. At the beginning of 1864 a number of the stu- dents of Beloit College, officered by one of their professors, determined to respond to their country's call for more men, and May 14, 1864, our subject was one of these students that en- listed in Company B, Fortieth Wisconsin Vol- unteer Infantry. He was a member of the senior class at that time, and those who went to the war had stood all their senior examina- tions (our subject ranking third in scholarship), but left before the commencement exercises. They found their "sheepskins " awaiting them, however, on their return at the end of their military services. Mr. May's regiment was first sent to Memphis, Tennessee, then to Ox- ford, but returned to Memphis in time to par- ticipate in the fight with General Edwin For- rest, August 21, 1864. His health became very poor, and he was obliged to do considera- ble hospital duty. He was mustered out Octo- ber 14, 1864, and returned honie.

During the fall of 1864, he entered Union Theological Seminary, in New York city, and took the regular three-years course there. At the end of his term, or in 1867, desiring to en- ter the Episcopal ministry, he took the exami- nations of the General Theological Seminary, New York city, and received a certificate to preach from Bishop Potter. He immediately came west to Waukon, Iowa, as rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and continued as such for five years, during part of which time he also had charge of the Decorah and Cler- mont Episcopal Churches. The number of contributors to the support of the Episcopal church at Waukon was so small that, after a struggle of five years, on the advice of Mr. May, the parish was discontinued, and after- ward our subject united with the Methodist Church, in which he has occasionally occupied the pulpit, although he never took a regular charge.

In 1868, Charles B. McDonald brought to Waukon, from Blairstown, Iowa, a newspaper plant, and started the Waukon Standard. Three months later Mr. May bought this paper and has been the proprietor ever since. He can well be said to be the founder of the paper, as it had hardly obtained a footing when he took hold of it. The management for the first few months was in the hands of Mr. May's brother, but on quitting the ministry our sub- ject gave his personal attention to the paper, and has conducted it since as a fearless Repub- lican organ.

On his arrival in Waukon, the citizens dis- covered in our subject a man of superior learn- ing and invited him to take charge of their schools. This he did, in addition to his min- isterial duties, for one year, that of 1868-9. In 1872, he was appointed Court Reporter for the Tenth Judicial District, comprising six counties, and served for thirteen consecutive years. In addition to his other duties and studies, Mr. May has found time to pursue privately the study of law, and was admitted to practice in the District Courts June 22, 1872. He has, however, never entered actively into the practice of this profession.

Our subject was married at Beloit, Wis- consin, July 26, 1865, to Miss Augusta Mary Hayward. Paul Davis Hayward, son of Paul Hayward, and father of Mrs. May, was born at Port Hope, Ontario, Canada, June 20, 1810. At an early age he accompanied his parents to Rochester, New York, and later to Huron, Ohio. In 1841 he moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, and two years later, to Kingston, same State, where he served as Register of the United States Land Office as long as it remained there. He was also County Recorder of Deeds, and was twice sent by Marquette county as Representative to the State Legislature. He was in California from 1851 to 1853. At the beginning of the war, he enlisted in the Third Wisconsin Cavalry, and did service until ill health com- pelled him to return home, after which he went to Montana, where he lived for nearly

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twenty years. He died at Waukon, Iowa, November 24, 1890. His wife, Anna Lang- ford, died in Canada, May 6, 1863. They were married October 14, 1837. Their chil- dren were as follows:

George W., born at Huron, Ohio, August 31, 1838, graduated at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, in 1861, did service during the war, attained the rank of Commander and died at Alexandria, Egypt, January 16, 1886; he mar- ried Susan North, of Charleston, South Caro- lina, August 24, 1865, whom he survived by seven years, she dying at Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1879. Their children were: George N. W., who graduated at Annapolis in 1887, and has since done service in the navy; Susan, born in San Jose, California; and Florence Italia, born at Florence, Italy, now resides in Chicago.

Anna E., born at Huron, Ohio, in 1840, married John S. Gray, of Detroit, Michigan, in 1864, and they have four children.

Augusta Mary, wife of subject, was born at Green Bay, Wisconsin, June 8, 1842. Ella M., born August 5, 1844, married Hon. D. F. Morgan, State Senator from Minneapolis, Min- nesota, since 1876. They have three children: Richard L., born August 5, 1846, enlisted in the Fortieth Wisconsin Infantry at the age of seventeen, and later served a year in the First Wisconsin Cavalry; after the war he was part owner of the Waukon Standard for a time: he died in Texas, in 1882.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 166

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