Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 179

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

USA > Iowa > Memorial and biographical record of Iowa > Part 179

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

Mrs. Mueller was formerly Miss Catharine Schoot, she, too, being a native of Germany. Their union has been blessed in the birth of seven children, -Herman A., Laura May, Ter- rissa, George E., Oscar, Ernest and Fanny.

HOMAS GARLINGER .- It is now privileged the biographer to review briefly the life of one of the early set- tlers of Union township, Madison county, Iowa, and one of the first stock-buyers and shippers of the county, -Thomas Gar- linger. It is supposed that he has shipped more stock from Madison and adjoining coun- ties than any other man now living in this county. His residence is on section 20, Union township, and he is still engaged in the stock

1129

RECORD OF IOWA.

business and general farming, though not now on as large a scale as formerly.

Mr. Garlinger was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, October 24, 1821, son of Will- iam and Margaret Garlinger, both of German descent and natives of Pennsylvania. His mother died when he was only three years of age: his father survived her many years, dying in Maryland, at the age of eighty-one. The latter's vocation was that of farming. In their family were seven children, all of whom reached adult age, Thomas being the youngest.

Thomas Garlinger was reared in his native State. At the age of five years he was " bound out," and when he was fifteen he entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade of carriage and wagon maker, and served a period of five years, ten months and seventeen days. In the fall of 1855 he came to Iowa and purchased forty acres of land in Crawford township, Madison county, and made permanent settlement here. Prior to this, in 1853, he had made a trip to Iowa, and had entered 120 acres of land four miles southwest of Winterset, and after that had returned to Ohio, where he resided until 1855. For nine years he lived in Crawford township, after which he sold both the 120 acres and the forty-acre tract, and bought 520 acres in Union township, a part of which was improved, and here he has continued to abide. From time to time he made additional land purchases until he was the owner of no less than 2, 100 acres, and was regarded as one of the wealthiest men in the county. He rented out a part of his broad acres and himself super- intended the operations of the rest. As early as 1859 he commenced buying and selling stock, driving to Burlington, from which point he made shipments, and, as already stated, was one of the most extensive stock dealers in the county for many years. He has disposed of a portion of his land, and at this writing owns only about 339 acres, where he resides and where he is still interested in the stock business.

Mr. Garlinger was married in 1841 to Miss Rachel Yeagley, a native of Ohio, and they

are the parents of three sons, - John, Joseph and William.

Politically, he has been a Republican ever since the organization of that party: previous to that time he was a Whig. He has served as Trustee of Union township, and as Justice of the Peace, and in all matters pertaining to the general welfare of the community he has taken an active and commendable interest.

0 HARLES F. GARTIN. - Good laws are a necessity in every community, and equally necessary are good offi- cers who will see that the laws are enforced, or if broken, that the offenders are brought to justice. Mr. Gartin, as Sheriff of Lucas county, has faithfully performed his duties, and his name brings a sense of security to the law-abiding citizen and a sense of alarm to the criminal. Few men are more widely known in this part of the State, and he is one of the most prominent citizens of Chariton.

A native of Miami county, Indiana, he was born August 2, 1848, and comes of a family of English origin. His father, Felix Gartin, was born in Virginia in 1817, and after arriving at years of maturity married Phœbe Myers, who was born in Ohio in 1819, and is of German lineage. About 1858 he emigrated westward, settling in Lucas county, Iowa, where for al- most forty years they have now made their home. They are at present living in Chari- ton, and are among the highly respected peo- ple of that city. In their family are eight chil- dren, six of whom are yet living, namely: George W., a farmer residing in Ringgold county, Iowa; Anderson, a resident of Red Willow county, Nebraska; Allen, who is en- gaged in railroading in New Mexico; Mrs. Nancy Wilson, a twin sister of our subject, who is now living in her parents' home; and Mary A., wife of Walter Brown, who is located at Garden Grove, Iowa. Griffith, the eldest of the family, died in Kansas, in middle life; Robert L. was killed in a railroad accident in Nevada. Four of the brothers were soldiers

1130

IIISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

in the Civil war, valiantly aiding in the efforts to preserve the Union. George served through- out the entire struggle as a member of the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry; Griffith served in that regiment and later in the Eighth Cavalry, with which he continued until after the South had laid down its arms. Anderson served for three years in the Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry, and our subject was the fourth representative of the family who followed the stars and stripes.

Charles F. Gartin spent his early childhood days under the parental roof, but at the age of thirteen he ran away from home to join the army, his father thinking that he was too young to become a soldier. Fired with en- thusiasm and patriotism, however, he slipped away and joined the Forty-sixth Regiment of Iowa Volunteers in the one-hundred-days serv- ice, his duty calling him to Tennessee. Re- turning to his home after the war, he entered the Baptist College at Pella, Iowa, for a year's review of his studies, after which he learned the stone-mason's, plasterer's and bricklayer's trades, which he then followed for about four- teen years as a contractor and finisher. He did good work, was painstaking and exact and therefore secured a good patronage. Subse- quently he resumed the occupation to which he had been reared and followed agricultural pursuits until called to public office.

In October, 1880, was celebrated a mar- riage which united the destinies of Mr. Gartin and Lillie Eakin, the nuptials taking place in Wayne county, this State. The lady is a na- tive of Illinois, whence her parents removed to Wayne county, Iowa, although they are now living in Butler county, Kansas. Two children graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gartin, - Haley and Fern, the former twelve and the latter ten years of age.

Mr. Gartin is recognized as one of the leaders of the Republican party in this locality, and on that ticket was nominated and elected to the office of County Sheriff, in 1889. So faithfully did he discharge his duties that he was re-elected on the expiration of his two- years term and in 1893 was chosen for a third

terin. For six years he has filled this position, and that he has given satisfaction is a fact well indicated by his long continuance in of- fice. He is bold and fearless in the discharge of his duties, -a man who would follow his convictions of right at any cost to himself. Mr. Gartin takes quite an active interest in civic societies and is a member of Iseminger Post, No. 18, G. A. R .; Chariton Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M .; Chariton Chapter and the Knight Templar Commandery. In his religious views he is liberal though a respecter of all moral teachings, and often does he give of his means in support of church and benevolent en- terprises. He is a magnificent specimen of physical manhood, well-built, six feet in height and of an excellent physique. During the many years that he has spent in Lucas county he has lived so as to merit the esteem of his fellow men, is true to every trust, whether public or private, and as a citizen displays the same loyalty that prompted him to follow the old flag on Southern battle-fields.

ARK DIGGS HILL .- For thirty years this gentleman has enjoyed a successful career in Earlham, and as the result of his untiring labors, his ambition, his energy and well directed efforts, he is to-day the possessor of a hand- some competence. and a beautiful home, where he spends his leisure hours, enjoying the so- ciety of his family and friends in the midst of all the comforts that go to make life worth living. Nor is there in all Earlham a man who has done more for the city, promoting its material welfare, advancing its public in- terest and giving a stalwart support to all en- terprises calculated to prove of general benefit.

Mr. Hill was born in Randolph county, Indiana, July 29, 1841, and is a son of Mat- thew and Fannie (Diggs) Hill. His father was born in North Carolina, and his mother in Randolph county, Indiana, where her par- ents were among the very earliest settlers.

1131

RECORD OF IOWA.

She was the first white child born on White river and was therefore familiar with all the experience of frontier life. Both families are of English descent. The subject of this review was reared on his father's farm and acquired his education in the common schools. Com- ing to Iowa in 1865 he located in Marshall county, where he engaged in farming for a year and then renioved to Iowa. A year was passed there in farming, after which he came to Earlham and in company with the firm of Sitchel Sons, of Des Moines, carried on the lumber business for three years. On the ex- piration of that period he sold out and en- gaged in the hardware business, in partner- ship with his brother, W. R. Hill, under the firm style of Hill Brothers, the business rela- tion continuing for about ten years, when he sold out and with his brother and Charles Thomas organized the Exchange Bank, of Earl- ham. Later he bought the interest of his partners and has since successfully engaged in banking alone. He has also been entensively engaged in farming and stock-raising ever since he became a resident of the county, and still owns a fine farm of 160 acres in Penn township, and thirty acres adjoining the village of Earl- ham, where he continues to gratify his love for agriculture.

On the 14th of October, 1863, Mr. Hill was united in marriage with Miss Mary, daugh- ter of Jacob and Sarah (Wood) Horn. She was born in Randolph county, Indiana, Octo- ber 2, 1841, and is descended from English ancestry. Her maternal grandfather, Daniel Wood, served as a soldier throughout the en- tire Revolutionary war. Her paternal grand- mother bore the maiden name of Peel and was a near relative of Sir Robert Peel, of Eng- land. Mrs. Hill is the sixth child and young- est daughter in a family numbering four sons and three daughters, and by her marriage has become the mother of six childen, namely: Luther, who is the present deputy County Treasurer, of Winterset, Iowa; Laura, wife of Bevan Johnson, of Earlham; Ella, wife of Lucius Thomas, of Toronto, Canada; Charles

W., who died at the age of seventeen years; Harry W. and Mabel, at home.

Mr. and Mrs. Hill are members of the Friends' Church, and Mrs. Hill takes an active interest in charitable and religious work, while he is an Elder in the church. He has given his political support to the Republican party since becoming a voter, but has never aspired to political preferment. The cause of educa- tion has ever found in him a true friend. He conceived the idea of building the Earlham Academy and labored hard and earnestly for the completion of that work, being the largest contributor to the building fund. The Earl- ham cemetery was laid out and presented to the town by Mr. Hill, and his father was the first person buried there.

For nearly thirty years he has been a resi- dent of Earlham and has not only done much for the material advancement of the place but has acquired a large and valuable property, and by his straightforward, honest course has won the respect and confidence of a people who appreciate his genuine worth.

ON. ABRAHAM WILKIN is one of the most prominent citizens of Keo- sauqua, Iowa, an important factor in both commercial and political circles. He is to-day the leading furniture dealer of the city and its chief executive officer, serving his third term as Mayor. Fidelity to duty is one of the predominant traits of his character, and in the various public capacities that he has been called upon to fill he has ever been found a faithful and capable officer.

Mr. Wilkin is a native of Ohio, his birth having occurred in Xenia on the 20th of No- vember, 1837. His father was Cornelius Wil- kin, and his mother bore the maiden name of Deborah Owen. The former was born in Highland county, Ohio, in 1806, and the lat- ter in Greene county, that State, in 1815. He was a very active and progressive business man, also took quite an active interest in po- litical affairs, and while living in Ohio served

1132

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

as Sheriff of Greene county. In 1857 he re- moved with his family to Burlington, Iowa, where both he and his wife spent their remain- ing days. Mr. Wilkin died in 1892, and his loss was mourned by many friends. The pa- ternal grandfather of our subject bore the name of Godfrey Wilkin, but little is known con- cerning the ancestry of the family.

Of the family of four brothers, Abraham Wilkin is the eldest. He passed the first sev- enteen years of his life in his native city, and acquired his education in its public schools. He then made his way to southern Illinois, and spent three years in Edgar county, after which he went to Minnesota, remaining there for one year. On the expiration of that period he came to Iowa, where he has since made his home.

Prior to the war Mr. Wilkin studied closely the questions and events of the time, noting the hostile attitude of the South, and deter- mined that if the existence of the Union was threatened he would strike a blow in its de- fense. Accordingly, in 1861, on President Lincoln's first call for 75,000 troops to serve for three months, he entered the army. He served for twenty-seven days, and was then mustered into the United States service, on the 27th of May, 1861, and continued at the front until the close of the war, as a member of Company F, Second Iowa Infantry. The regiment, commanded by Colonel James M. Tuttle, was ordered to Missouri, where ten months were passed. The command then pro- ceeded to Fort Donelson, participated in its capture, and afterward took part in the battle of Shiloh.

In November, 1861, Mr. Wilkin had been commissioned Captain of his company. At Shiloh he was severely wounded by a gunshot through the left arm near the shoulder, and that member is now an inch and a half shorter than his right arm in consequence of the in- jury. After recovering from this wound Cap- tain Wilkin was sent to southern Iowa and given a recruiting commission for that part of the State. After an absence of some time he

returned to his regiment, which was at Corinth, Mississippi, and took part in the Atlanta cam- paign; also went with General Sherman on the celebrated march to the sea, which showed that the Confederate resources had been ex- hausted in protecting the region further west- ward, there being little defense for that country over which they traveled. The next service was the Carolina campaign, and later Captain Wilkin went with his regiment to Washington, District of Columbia, where he participated in the grand review, the most glorious military pageant ever seen on the western hemisphere. He then returned with his regiment to Georgia, and on the 15th of July, 1865, was inustered out by reason of the consolidation of the Second and Third Iowa Regiments.

Returning to Van Buren county, this State, Captain Wilkin was for several years engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1882 he was ap- pointed as an examiner of pensions at Wash- ington, District of Columbia, and held that posi- tion for three years. He then returned to Keo- osauqua, and was appointed Postmaster of the city, but was retired from office by the Cleveland administration on account of being a partisan. While in the post-office he was nominated for the office of Sheriff of the county on the Repub- lican ticket, won the election, and for four years continued to serve in that capacity, dis- charging his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. He has served in the City Council and on the School Board for the past ten years, and has done effective service in the interests of education, and has been a promoter of all interests calculated to benefit the city and pro- mote its welfare. In 1893 he was elected Mayor of Keosauqua, was re-elected in 1894, and again in 1895, so that he is now serving his third term. In 1890 he embarked in the fur- niture business, and now has a full and com- plete stock of various kinds, so as to meet the varied wants of his patrons. His store is a brick building, large and airy, and he is now enjoying a good trade.

In 1864 Mr. Wilkin was united in mar- riage with Miss Jennie Roberts, of Keosauqua,

1133

RECORD OF IOWA.

a daughter of Isaiah Roberts. She was born in Highland county, Ohio, and died in 1885, leaving one son, Carey A., a graduate of the Capital City Commercial College, of Des Moines. In his social relations, Mr. Wilkin is a prominent Mason. He is a Knight Tem- plar and a member of the Mystic Shrine, Kaab Temple, Des Moines. He also belongs to W. C. Harpter Post, No. 79, G. A. R. His public and private life are alike above reproach, and he has manifested in commercial and busi- ness circles the same loyalty which marked his course on Southern battle-fields.

J ASPER L. JOLLEY is numbered among the native sons of Iowa, and is a worthy representative of an honored pioneer family. He was born in Dallas county, near Adel, November 29, 1860. His paternal grandfather, John Jolley, was a native of North Carolina, and made farming his life work. He married Hannah Cook, who was born near Steubenville, Ohio, and both spent their last days in Union county, of the Buckeye State, where the grandfather died at the age of seventy-eight years. Both were members of the Society of Friends or Quakers, but the family became identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Lewis Jolley, father of our subject, was born in Union county, Ohio, December 21, 1827, was reared to manhood upon a farm, and in 1855 emigrated to Iowa, casting his lot among the early settlers of Dallas county. . For several years he worked at the carpenter's trade, and then turned his attention to farm- ing. In February, 1856, Mr. Jolley was united in marriage with Mrs. Elizabeth (Sowsh) Young, widow of George Young. She is of Irish line- age, her grandparents having come from the Emerald Isle to America. Her parents were Joseph and Mary (Montgomery) Sowsh, na- tives of Pennsylvania and members of the farm- ing community. Her mother died at the early age of twenty-seven years, but Mr. Sowsh long survived his wife and passed away in Ohio

when about eighty years of age. Mrs. Jolley was born in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and was ever a faithful companion and help- meet to her husband. The parents of our sub- ject had five children, four of whom are yet living.

Two years after his marriage Lewis Jolley began farming upon a tract of wild land. He moved an old gun-shop to the place, in which he lived until a frame residence could be erected. Steadily and persistently he con- tinued his labors until acre after acre was placed under the plow, and good improve- ments stand as monuments to his thrift and en- terprise. He was an energetic man, possessing good business ability, and was recognized as one of the representative agriculturists of the community. He was always opposed to op- pression of any kind, was a strong anti-slavery man, and active in support of the temperance cause. He filled various local offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to his con- stituents, and in religious belief he and his family were Methodists. In 1883 he retired to private life and died in the home where his widow now resides, in November, 1887. Mrs. Jolley, like her husband, shares in the high re- gard of all who know her. One of her daugh- ters has become quite a fine artist, and the various members of the family occupy enviable positions in social circles.

Jasper Jolley is recognized as one of the most practical, progressive and prominent farmers of his native county. His boyhood days were spent on his parents' farm, and as soon as old enough to follow the plow he be- gan work in the fields. He continued at home until his marriage, which was celebrated on the 26th of November, 1884, the lady of his choice being Miss Sarah C. Cook, a native of Indiana. They began their domestic life on a farm which he rented from his father, and he is now the owner of the old homestead of 450 acres, which his father transformed from a wild region. He keeps it under a high state of cultivation and it is ever neat and thrifty in appearance.

1134

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

To Mr. and Mrs. Jolley have been born four children: Lena C., Loren Cook, Dorothy L. and Lewis. Our subject and his wife have many warin friends in this locality, where they have long resided. Like his father, he is a stalwart Republican, unwavering in his sup- port of the principles of the party, and is de- voted to the best interests of his county.

ON. WILLIAM PHILLIPS, who for almost forty years has been promi- nently connected with the legal pro- fession at Des Moines, Iowa, and is now a resident of that city, has during his con- nection with the Polk county bar been num- bered among its most highly respected citizens.

He was born on the 22d of September, 1826, in Steubenville, Jefferson county, Ohio, and is a son of Thomas A. and Rebel ah Irwin Phillips, natives of Pennsylvania. His boy- hood days were spent upon the old home farm in Ohio, to which his parents removed before his birth. His elementary education was ac- quired principally in the common schools, which was supplemented by a collegiate course. He first entered business life in Ohio as a mer- chant while young. In 1851 he left the State of Ohio, removed to Peoria, Illinois, and again embarked in mercantile pursuits for a time, -- in Peoria, Galesburg and Henderson. .

During his mercantile pursuits he entered upon a course of reading preparatory to admis- sion to the bar, and after pursuing a course of law study, which he thoroughly mastered, he was admitted to practice in the courts of Illi- nois, in 1854. Subsequently, in that year, he removed to Iowa and became somewhat identi- fied with its history, laying out the town of Jef- ferson, now the county seat of Greene county, and locating his parents upon a farm in the vicinity. Shortly afterward he reinoved to the city of Des Moines, locating in said city per- inanently in July, 1856, where he still resides. During all of that time he has been actively engaged in the practice of law, -first, as a mem- ber of the firm of Bates & Phillips, then of the

firm of Phillips & Phillips, and later the firm of Phillips, Gatch & Phillips, from which firm Colonel Gatch subsequently retired, when the firm was resolved into that of Phillips & Phil- lips, and afterward Colonel E. J. Goode be- came a member of said firm, when the same was known as the firm of Phillips, Goode & Phillips. In 1882 this last firm was dissolved, each member going in business by himself. In 1 884 Judge Phillips was joined by Judge J. G. Day, who for nearly twenty years had been on the District and Supreme Benches of this State. This firm continued in business until 1894, when the same was dissolved by mutual con- sent. The reputation of each of these several firms won and maintained a standing and busi- ness second to none in the city, and the large clientage of each of these firms attested the superior legal ability of its individual members. The subject of this sketch was at the head of each of these several firms, excepting the first namned, during their existence.

Judge Phillips is a man whom to know is to honor. Early in life he formed a character that has always commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact. Integrity and honesty, fidelity to principle and to resolute purpose stand forth pre-eminent in his life rec- ord. His business success, which is an envia- ble one, is due to close application, thorough research and faithfulness to his client's inter- ests. He has made the most of his opportuni- ties for advancement, believing that every one should improve to the best of his ability his opportunities, and to-day Judge Phillips stands without a superior at the bar and in social circles.

On the 20th of August, 1857, in Des Moines, Judge Phillips was united in marriage with Miss S. Jennie Rutan, a daughter of William Rutan, Esq., and a niece of Governor Kirkwood, of Iowa. She is a native of Richland county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are the parents of four children, -two sons and two daughters. One of the daughters is now deceased. Thomas William, the eldest, is manager and secretary of the Merchants' Consolidated Insurance

1135

RECORD OF IOWA.

Agency, of which Judge Phillips is President ; Nettie died at the age of one year; John Frank died at the age of twenty-eight years; and Jen- nie B. is married to Dr. J. B. Hardy, of Phœ- nix, Arizona.

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

Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 179

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