Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 177

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

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Mr. Manor was married in 1851 to Miss Matilda Smith, a native of Indiana, whose death occurred in 1857. She left one child, Louis C., born November 15, 1853.

Politically, Mr. Manor has always been a Republican. He is recognized as one of the most progressive and reliable inen of his neigh-

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borhood, and, more than this, he has an hon- orable war record. In the fall of 1861 he en- listed as a member of Company F, Fourth Iowa Cavalry, and at once went to the front, proving himself a valiant soldier in every en- gagement in which his command participated, and his company fought in many notable bat- tles. The first engagement in which he took part was that of Jackson, Mississippi, which was captured in four hours. The second was at Champion Hill. He was in the forty-seven days' siege of Vicksburg, and in the second bat- tle at Jackson, the latter requiring seven days to accomplish what before had been done in four hours. From Jackson they were ordered to Memphis, and their next engagement was at Guntown, or Cross Roads, in which battle the Union forces were defeated with a loss of 5,000 men. A week later they fought the Tupelo battle, in which the enemy lost 6,000. After this Mr. Manor's regiment was ordered to cut off General Price, who was advancing on St. Louis, and landed at St. Louis while Price was engaged at Jefferson. Later they overtook General Price, who had a force of 36,000 men, and defeated him at Silver creek, capturing 1,000 of his men, 700 wagons and ten pieces of artillery. In this engagement Price lost 700 killed. This was the last en- gagement in which Mr. Manor participated, and after his honorable discharge he returned to his home in Iowa, where he has since been engaged in agricultural pursuits.

LAUDE ANTHONY DIDDY, one of the popular druggists of Redfield, Iowa, is a self-made young man and one who figures prominently in the business circles of this town. He is a repre- sentative of one of the pioneer families of Dal- las county, and with the history of this county is found closely linked the names of both his father and grandfather.

Mr. Diddy was born on a farm in Boone township, Dallas county, Iowa, April 15, 1870. His grandparents came to Iowa when his

father was a small boy and settled in Adel, where the grandfather became a factor in the town, and during his long residence thiere held a number of prominent positions. For a period of nineteen years he was Justice of the Peace, was City Collector and Postmaster a number of years, and was express agent during the old stage days when the stage line ran from Keokuk by way of Adel to Council Bluffs and other points in the great West. Our sub- ject's father was born in 1846, and remained with his parents until 1861, when he enlisted in Company C, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, at . this time being still in his 'teens and on ac- count of his extreme youth having no little difficulty in urging "Uncle Sam" to accept him. But he was accepted and he proved himself a valiant soldier, his army life extend- ing until the close of the war. After the war he learned the trade of millwright, and for some time spent a part of the year working at his trade and the rest on his farm. Like his father before him, he became popular, and in the fall of 1883 was elected Sheriff of Dallas county. He then moved to Adel and lived there from 1883 to 1889. He is now a mer- chant in Perry.

When Claude A. was three years old he went with his parents to Perry, where his early boyhood days were passed. Soon after their removal to Adel he went to live with Dr. T. J. Caldwell (personal mention of whom will be found elsewhere in this work), and re- mained with him a year and a half, after which he entered the employ of Messrs. Chapman & Clements, and six months later became a clerk in the drug store of J. L. Simcoke, where he remained nearly two years, where he paid the closest attention to business and became what is known as a registered drug clerk. Next he went to Woodbine, Iowa, and clerked in Dr. Giddings' drug store six months, after which he returned to Adel, and the following June, 1889, came to Redfield. In the meantime his mother had died, her death occurring in 1887, at the age of forty-three years. On coming to Redfield Mr. Diddy secured a clerkship in the

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drug store of Mr. D. A. Freed, in whose em- ploy he remained four years. All this time he had paid the strictest attention to business and practiced economy, and in 1893 he purchased Mr. Freed's building, stock and good will, and has since been at the head of one of the largest drug stores in Dallas county. Besides a heavy stock of drugs, he also carries a full line of stationery, school-books, jewelry, paints and wall paper.

May 20, 1893, he married Miss Lena Binns, who was born and reared in Iowa. Her par- ents dying when she was very young, she was early thrown upon her own resources, educated herself, and at the time of her marriage was employed as teacher. Thus, both are what may be termed self-made.

Since coming to Redfield Mr. Diddy has served two years on the City Council, and at this writing is a member of the Township Cen- tral Committee, and in all public matters he takes an active interest. He has always affili- ated with the Republican party. In consid- eration of the rapid progress he has made in a business way and the influential position he oc- cupies among his fellows, it is fair to predict that before him is a bright future.

0 ANIEL BACON, familiarly known as " Uncle Dan," is entitled to distinc- tion as one of the pioneers of the town of Stuart, Iowa, he having maintained his residence here since March, 1871. On taking up his abode at this place he at first engaged in the hotel business, and for one year ran a hotel. Then he bought a lot and built his present residence. In Sep- tember, 1872, he accepted a position in the machine shops of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and a year later was given a place as fireman on the road. Next he was promoted as engineer and for about seven years had charge of a switch engine in the Stuart yards. In August, .1884, he was trans- ferred to the Guthrie Center branch of the road, where he served as engineer until June,

1894, with the exception, however, of a short time when he was on a local run. In Octo- ber, 1894, having severed his connection with the road, he engaged in the restaurant busi- ness, and in May, 1895, moved to his present quarters on Main street, where he has a de- sirable location and a good trade.

Mr. Bacon-was born in Dundas, Canada, November 2, 1831, son of Reuben and Anna (Force) Bacon and one of a family of five sons, of whom he was the third. James, the oldest, died in the western part of the United States; George is engaged in farming near Peabody, Kansas; Edwin was killed while running as an engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad; and John, the youngest, is a resident of Canada. The father died when Daniel was a child of four years, and five years later the mother died, and thus early in life was the youth thrown upon his own resources. After the death of his mother he went to live with an aunt in Canada, with whom he remained a few years. His schooling was limited to only a few months' attendance, and the education he has was received chiefly in the dear school of experience. When he was twelve years old he went to work for a farmer, at the rate of four dollars per month and board, and had to work early and late. The farmer and his family were religious as well as indus- trious, and every morning before daylight, both winter and summer, the boy was called up to attend family prayers. But he did not like farm life; so he sought employment else- where and was variously occupied up to the time he was sixteen. At that period in his life he had an ambition to become a stage- driver and secured employment as such in Can- ada. Later he drove stage from Lewiston, New York, to Niagara Falls, and still later in Ohio, from Maumee to Toledo. From Ohio he returned to Canada and was married, and shortly afterward moved to Michigan and set- tled on a farm in Oakland county, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1860, at which time he came to Iowa. Brooklyn, Iowa, was then the terminus of the Chicago,

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Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and from that point he and his oldest brother freighted to Denver, Colorado, this business occupying their time until 1862. The next three years he drove stage between Des Moines and other points. In the spring of 1865 the railroad reached Des Moines and the Western Stage Company, in whose employ he had been, changed their route, and he was given charge of a station in Guthrie county, which he kept from August 1, 1865, until May, 1867. The latter date marked his removal to Panora, Guthrie county, where he bought a lot and built a residence, and where, in connection with his stepsons, he purchased 320 acres of land, which they improved. In the fall of 1870 he came to Stuart to assist in the erection of a store building, and the following year took up his residence here permanently, as already stated.

Mr. Bacon was married in Canada to Mrs. Amanda Culver, ncc Stearns, widow of Aaron Culver, by whom she had four sons: Alvin, Ebenezer, Leman and Levi; and by Mr. Bacon she had four children: Daniel T., a resident of Stuart, is a widower and has two daughters, Alice May and Hazel Marie; Alice Jane, who presides over her father's home; and two, George and Anna, who died when young. Mrs. Bacon departed this life in January, 1891.

Mr. Bacon maintains a membership in the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and has always affiliated with the Democratic party. For a number of years he was active in local politics, has served officially both in Canada and in Iowa, and has always discharged his duties promptly and faithfully.

J AMES H. ROSS is one of the leading grocery merchants of Toledo, and a pioneer settler of this city, dating his residence from March, 1853, while the State has been his home since September, 185 1.

He was born in Perry county, Ohio, May 7, 1844, and is a son of John and Elizabeth

(Hufford) Ross, also natives of the Buckeye State. The paternal grandfather, James Ross, was born about the time the family located in the United States, his parents coming to this country from the north of Ireland. They were of Scotch-Irish descent, while the paternal an- ·cestors of our subject were of German extrac- tion. The grandfather Ross was a farmer, and became one of the pioneer settlers of Ohio, where he died. The parents of our subject emigrated westward in 1851, taking up their residence in Linn county, Iowa, but the fol- lowing year the father entered land in Tama county, and erected thereon a log cabin, in which he established his family in 1853. The original farm is now a portion of the south part of Toledo. After some years John Ross sold out and removed to Howard township, where he purchased land and carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred on the 24th of September, 1867, at the age of fifty- two years. His wife long survived him, and passed away in Toledo in April, 1893, at the age of seventy-four. He was a stalwart supporter of the Republican party, and was the first County Treasurer and Recorder of Tama county, serv- ing for one term. He was also a member of the County Board of Supervisors, and was a recognized leader and able counselor in the ranks of his party. Both he and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and earnest Christian people.

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Ross numbered ten children, namely: Nancy, wife of A. A. Myers, a resident of Burr Crossing, Nebraska; Catherine, who became the wife of E. A. Jef- fries, and died in Tama county ; James H., of this review; Sarah, who became the wife of Charles Conn, and died in Toledo; William H., a resident of Toledo; Ellen, wife of John Irish, of this city; Charles W., an agriculturist of Tama county; Alice, wife of A. L. Stone, a grocer of Toledo; Frank, a resident of Toledo; and Alvira, wife of Abraham Fife, of Tama.

Mr. Ross belongs to that class of repre- sentative self-made men who owe their success in life to their own enterprise and well-directed

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efforts. His boyhood days were. spent on his father's farm, and after attending the public schools of Toledo he pursued his studies in Cornell College for a time. In 1864, when only nineteen years of age, he enlisted in his country's service, becoming a member of Com- pany K, Forty-seventh Iowa Infantry, and was at the front for five months. After his return home he again attended school and then en- tered upon his business career as a salesman in a store in Toledo. He embarked in busi- ness for himself as a general merchant at Chel- sea, Iowa, but on account of ill health he was obliged to sell out after three years. He then turned his attention to farming, hoping to be benefited by the out-door life, and later he engaged in selling nursery stock. From that work he was called to public office by his ap- pointment as Deputy Sheriff, in which position he served for four years, when he was elected Sheriff, and served for six years. In 1888 he purchased an interest in his present business, and is now a member of the well-known and popular fırın of Stone & Ross, dealers in gro- ceries. In 1890 he retired from public office, where he had faithfully served for so many years, and has since given his attention exclu- sively to his business interests.

In 1868 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ross and Miss Ella J. Graham, daughter of Thomas A. Graham, an early settler of Tama county, who has served as County Judge, is engaged in real-estate dealing and is a very prominent citizen. Mrs. Ross was born in Illinois, and by her marriage has become the mother of four children, namely: Kate A., wife of Fred A. Stone, of Toledo; Herbert G., deputy County Treasurer; Mabel and Fred, both at home.

Mr. Ross takes a deep interest in political affairs, votes with the Republican party, and has held a number of local offices, discharging his duties with credit to himself and satisfac- tion to his constituents. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church, and he belongs to the Grand Army of the Repub- lic. The cause of education finds in him a

warm friend, and for one year he was a mem- ber of the executive committee of Western College. He now has a comfortable home in Toledo and a good business, which have been acquired through his own enterprise and dili- gence.

EW I. STURGIS is connected with the banking house of H. C. Sturgis & Company, of Oelwein, and belongs to that class of representative citizens who while laboring to advance their own in- terests and individual prosperity also contribute to the welfare of the community and its up- building.

He was born in Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo county, December 5, 1859, and attended the public schools until seventeen years of age, when he entered Cornell College, of Mount Vernon, Iowa. At the age of twenty he re- moved to West Union, this State, and was appointed by President Garfield as an examiner in the pension office at Washington, where he remained for three years. On the expiration of that period he went upon the road as a special examiner, but resigned on the Ist of July, 1885. He then returned to his Iowa home, taking up his residence in West Union, where he engaged in dealing in cattle until 1888, and was quite successful in the under- taking, winning a comfortable competence. He then accepted the office of assistant cashier in the bank, and is now actively engaged in the banking business, as a member of the firm of H. C. Sturgis & Company.

On the 17th of July, 1889, Mr. Sturgis was united in marriage with Miss Ella Rogers, the wedding being celebrated in Kansas City. She was at that time a resident of Washing- ington and a daughter of Colonel Edward L. Rogers, who commanded the One Hundred and Fourth Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil war. He at that time resided in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and the family was very prominent in that locality. Two children, Mary and Adelaide, grace the union of our

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subject and his wife. In 1896 he expects to build a fine residence in Oelwein.

In politics, Mr. Sturgis is a stalwart Re- publican, and in his social affiliations is con- nected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He is fond of travel, and has visited many places of interest and of beauty in this country. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the State and is especially popular in his own county, where his many excellencies of char- acter and his sterling worth are known.

3 AMES M. JAMISON, one of the rep- resentative citizens of Chariton, who is both widely and favorably known al- though his residence here covers a pe- riod of only six years, is a native of the Key- stone State, his birth having occurred in Mer- cer county, Pennsylvania, March 28, 1858. The paternal grandparents were natives of Ire- land and with their family they came to America in 1847. One daughter, however, was married on the Emerald Isle and there re- mained. The grandfather died in Schuylkill, New York, from the result of an accident. The wife was a Mckay and the Mckays of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, are descendants of this stock. The Jamisons were a long-lived race of people and for many generations were mechanics.

The father of our subject, John Jamison, was one of the early pioneers of western Pennsylvania. He was born in Ireland in 1831 and came with the family to the United States in 1847. He married Sarah Key, who was born in England in 1828, and though both were of foreign birth they became closely identified with the development of western Pennsylvania. In 1868 the family removed to middle Tennessee, where the mother died in 1889 in her sixtieth year, while the father is still engaged in farming in that locality. In

the family were nine children, seven of whom are still living. William, the eldest, still re - sides in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, near the place of his birth, making his home with

relatives, for he has never married. James M. is the second of the family. Nancy and Nora were twin sisters and the latter died in early life, while Nancy is now the wife of William Deale and resides in middle Tennessee. Johnny died in early childhood. Lizzie became the wife of Jefferson Thompson and is also located in Tennessee. Samuel and Sarah were also twins. The former is unmarried and re- sides in his native county. Sarah is the wife of Robert Buttry, of Tennessee. The young- est of the family, the only one born in the South, was very appropriately named Tennes- see, and is now the wife of Mr. Scott, with whom she resides in Arkansas.

The early life of our subject was similar to that of most farmer boys. He followed the plow, played truant, stole watermelons, en- gaged in other boyish pranks and finally at- tained to man's estate, a representative Ameri- can citizen. If he played any pranks on his school-teacher, he only repeated the experi- ences of those who preceded him in the race to man's estate. His educational advantages were somewhat limited, yet he gained sufficient knowledge to fit him for practical business life, and experience and observation have added to his fund of knowledge until he is a well-in- formed man. From 1868 until 1880 he re- mained under the parental roof and began his career as a mechanic while yet a resident of middle Tennessee. In the year last named he removed to Rochester, Fulton county, Indiana, where the succeeding ten years of his life were passed. Part of this time he worked out by the day or month for the farmers of that vicin- ity, but about seven years were spent as a journeyman in blacksmith and wagon shops.

Six years ago Mr. Jamison came to Chari- ton, where he has by industry and perseverance built up a splendid business and established himself upon a solid basis for future success. He at once began business and now owns and operates a general repair shop, doing both wood and iron work. Horseshoeing is one of his specialties and if years of successful ex- perience avail anything Mr. Jamison can be re-

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lied upon for satisfactory work. In the wood department he acts as manager, the smith shop being in the hands of competent hired help. He is what might be termed a natural me- chanic and he never turns a job away that comes within the bounds of reason, but devises some means of correcting the irregularities of a defunct buggy, wagon or poorly shod horse. His experience covers a wide range of work as demanded in different localities throughout the Union. He has built up a lucrative business and his sojourn among the people of Chariton has not only been prosperous but pleasant and agreeable.

While yet a resident of Tennessee Mr. Jamison married Miss Anna McCandless, a native of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of Anthony and Elizabeth (Glenn) McCandless. Mr. and Mrs. Jamison are the parents of two children, Archie and Pearley, who live to brighten the home and gladden the hearts of fond and indulgent parents. The family are worthy members of the Baptist Church, of Chariton. Mr. Jamison has wisely provided against the possibility of want to his loved ones by investing a portion of his savings in life insurance, being identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and an officer in the local organization of the popular order in Chariton. His political training was along the line of the old-school Democracy, but as he "read and watched " with a disposition to be governed by his own best judgment, he de- serted the Democratic ranks and allied himself with the Republican party, whose administra- tion of public affairs comes nearer his ideal of a perfect government "of the people, for the people and by the people."

3 URGEN COHRT, a member of the Board of Supervisors of Tama county, has been a resident of this county since 1868, at which time he located on a farm in Crystal township. Among the wor- thy representatives that the Fatherland has furnished to the New. World he is numbered.

He was born in Schleswig, Germany, August 12, 1836, and is a son of Claus and Anna Cohrt. The members of their family were Claus, Jr., who still resides in Germany; Mrs. Mary Stamp, a resident of the same country; and John, a retired farmer now living in Glad- brook, Tama county.

Our subject was reared in the land of his birth, but when a young man of twenty-two resolved to try his fortune in America, believ- ing that better opportunities were afforded here than in the more thickly settled countries of the Old World .. Therefore in 1858 he crossed the Atlantic, joining his brother John, who had previously located in Scott county, Iowa. Our subject could not find work in that locality and in consequence made his way to Indiana, where he worked at the carpenter's trade for one season. Then returning to Scott county, he rented land and for a year engaged in farm- ing. On the expiration of that period, in company with his brother, he purchased eighty acres of land, but after a year sold to his brother and bought another .eighty-acre tract, which he cultivated alone until 1867. In that year he sold his farm, for which he had paid $2, 500, for the sum of $4,000.

Mr. Cohrt has since been a resident of Tama county. Here he bought 256 acres of land in Crystal township, but partially im- proved, and with characteristic energy began its further development and cultivation. As the years passed he transformed it into a very valuable tract, adding to it good improvements and making it one of the most desirable farms of the neighborhood. He also bought 320 acres additional land, and continued his farın- ing operations until 1876, when he came to Traer. Here he embarked in merchandising in connection with his son, under the firm name of J. Cohrt & Son, proprietors of a clothing establishment, with which he was connected until 1894, when he withdrew from the firm. He was also proprietor of a hotel for a time. He dealt in real estate to some extent, and is now the owner of eight acres of land in Tama county, together with farming

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land in Minnesota, and his store building and residence in Traer.

In 1862 Mr. Cohrt was united in marriage with Miss Catherine H. Blunck, a native of Germany, born near Kiel. In 1858, in com- pany with her brother, she came to the United States. After twenty-one years of happy mar- ried life she died, in June, 1893, leaving a fam- ily of five children: Theodore F., now a clothing merchant of Traer; Anna, wife of Henry Ewalt, of Trosky, Minnesota, where he is engaged in the lumber business; Julius, who is employed in a wholesale house in Omaha, Nebraska; Minnie, wife of Dr. F. G. Ladd, of Dysart, Iowa; and Edward, who makes his home in Davenport, where he is engaged in clerking.

In 1875 Mr. Cohrt returned on a visit to his parents in Germany, and spent a number of months in that country, renewing the friend- ship of his youth and visiting the haunts of his boyhood. In 1876 he returned to his home. In politics he is a Democrat, has served as a member of the City Council, and is now.serv- ing his second term as a member of the County Board of Supervisors. He was the only one elected on the Democratic ticket in Tama county in 1893, a fact which indicates his great personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him. He has made his own way in life, and his career demonstrates the fact that success is not a matter of inheritance but the result of earnest, persistent efforts, close ap- plication and careful management.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 177

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