Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 28

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

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a J. HATCHER .- This gentleman is entitled to distinction as one of the pioneer merchants of Russell, Iowa. He has witnessed the growth of Rus- sell from a small hamlet to a prosperous town containing 600 people, and has not only been a witness to this growth but also has been an active participant in bringing it about, and it is appropriate that in this connection more than a passing notice be made of him.

E. J. Hatcher was born in Belmont, Ohio, April 29, 1837, son of Mahlan and Nancy (Hatcher) Hatcher, and the sixth born in their family of nine children, -six sons and three daughters. Six of this number are still living, namely: Mrs. H. H. Day, Chariton, Iowa; Albert, for the past fifteen years at the head of a millinery establishment at Chariton, Iowa; E. J., whose name graces this article; Sarah, wife of M. H. Cloas, Beaver. Pennsylvania; Ruth, wife of David Webster, a stock-raiser in the State of Washington; and William, a foundryman of Chariton. Mahlan Hatcher was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1802. His father also was named Mahlan. The el- der Mahlan Hatcher was a native of the Em- pire State, but the greater part of his life was spent in Belmont .county, Ohio. He moved

to Iowa in 1868, where his wife died. He died in Chariton, this State.

The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm and has all his life been more or less in- terested in agricultural pursuits. He started out on his own responsibility at the age of seventeen, and when he was twenty-two came West to Iowa, crossing the Mississippi at Bur- lington and coming direct to the western part of Lucas county, where he secured work on a farm and where he remained a year. Then he came to the east end of the county and set- tled three miles northwest of Russell, where he purchased 200 acres of land, the purchase, however, not being made until after he had lived on this farm three years. It was in 1860 that he moved here and on the place at that time was a little frame house, 16x 24 feet, a story and a half. Here he and his bride be- gan housekeeping. In the purchase of this 200 acres he was assisted by his father, and subsequently as prosperity attended his efforts he was enabled to purchase 160 acres more. To the management and care of this farm he still gives his personal attention. For a num- ber of years he has been engaged in mercantile pursuits in Russell. For eleven years he oc- cupied the building now used by Mr. Clark and since 1892 has been in his present commodious quarters. This building, 40x70 feet, is of brick, two stories and basement, with ware-rooms adjoining it. He erected it in 1892 and opened its doors for business in October of that year. His store is one of the best equipped in the county. He carries a full line of general mer- chandise, including hardware and queensware, and for the past six years has also handled farming implements for the Milwaukee Har- vester Company and Walter A. Wood, and from a small beginning his business has grown to be a large and lucrative one.

January 8, 1861, Mr. Hatcher was united in marriage to Miss Henrietta Berry, a native of Belmont county, Ohio, and a daughter of John Berry, also a native of that county. Mrs. Henrietta Hatcher departed this life in 1880, and a monument in Chariton cemetery marks

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her last resting place. She was a devoted Christian and at the time of her death was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. November 8, 1882, Mr. Hatcher married Miss Mattie Rosemond, a native of Guernsey coun- ty, Ohio, and a daughter of James Rosemond. The Rosemond family removed to Scott coun- ty, Iowa, about 1856. By his first wife the subject of our sketch had six children, four daughters and two sons, three of whom are living, namely: Anna B., wife of Franklin Yountsey, a farmer of Benton township, this county, Mrs. Yountsey being a musician of some note; and Holly and Hallie, twins, the former at home and the latter in the store with his father. Holly and Hallie received their commercial education in a business college at Indianola. Three of the children died in early childhood-Jinky, Mamie and Henrietta.

Mr. Hatcher cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln and has ever since acted with the Republican party, taking an intelli- gent and active interest in political matters, but never seeking official position for himself. He and his family are identified with the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, of which he is a lib- eral supporter. In every way a public-spirited and generous citizen, he has by both his in- fluence and means done much to promote the general welfare of Russell. His residence, which is located one block south and two blocks west of his store, is one of the most at- tractive and delightful homes in this .prosper- ous town.

ARKISON WILLIAMS, to whose an- cestral and personal history we now direct attention, is one of the old settlers and representative farmers of Warren township, Lucas county, Iowa, and also a veteran of the Civil war.

Mr. Williams was born in Decatur county, Indiana, November 3, 1841. His father, Sam- uel Williams was born December 11, 1822, in Monroe county, now West Virginia, son of John and Sarah (Shoe) Williams, both natives

of the Old Dominion and the former born of Welsh parents. John and Sarah Williams had three children, Elizabeth, Samuel and Martha. This worthy couple were among the first set- tlers of Decatur county, Indiana, their loca- tion there being in the midst of a beech forest, where Mr. Williams cleared up and brought under cultivation a good farm. He met his death by drowning while on a steamboat on the Mississippi river, en route to Iowa. She died in Indiana. Samuel Williams was reared on his father's frontier farin and was educated in one of the primitive log school-houses of In- diana. In that State he was married to Miss Susanna Swinney, like himself, born in Vir- ginia and reared in Indiana. Her father, Will- iam Swinney, was one of the pioneers, of Indiana, and he, too, was a Virginian by birth. In the year 1847, Samuel Williams with his wife and children made the journey from Indi- ana to Iowa, in a wagon drawn by horses, arriving here in safety and first settling in Davis county. In 1850 they moved from Davis to Lucas county and settled on wild land in War- ren township. Here they built a log cabin and devoted their energies to the work of establish- ing a home. When the war came on and continued to rage, Mr. Williams left his home and family and joined the Union ranks. It was in 1862 and as a member of Company I, Fourth Iowa Infantry, that he enlisted, and in the battle of Pea Ridge he was shot and killed by a minie ball, and he was buried at Pea Ridge. Both he and his wife were members of the Baptist Church. She died at the age of fifty-seven years. Of their children we make record as follows: Parkison, the subject of our sketch, is the oldest; John; Margaret Wells, Gentry county, Missouri; Delana. Wayne county, Iowa; Margery Tuttle, Warren town- ship, Lucas county; Martha Fent, Columbus, Nebraska; Mary Willson, Freedom, Iowa; Jen- nie Tuttle, Wayne county, Iowa.

At the time the Williams family moved to Lucas county, Iowa, Parkison was nine years old, and here on his father's farın he grew up, assisting as much as he could in its improve-

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ment and cultivation, and receiving a fair edu- cation in the public schools. His father had given not only his services but also his life to the Union cause, and in January, 1864, the subject of our sketch also enlisted and went out to protect the old flag. He was a member of the Third Iowa Cavalry, under Colonel Noble, Colonel Trimble, and Major Duffy, and his services covered a period of eight- een months, after which he was honorably dis- charged and returned to his home in Iowa. The battles in which he participated were those of Osage, Missouri; Columbus, Georgia. and Selma, Alabama; and he was on the Big Blue river in Kansas when General Marmaduke was captured.

Mr. Williams came to his present farm in 1859, and with the exception of the time he was in the army and eighteen months in Reno county, Kansas, he has resided here ever since. His farm comprises 120 acres of choice land, including both timber and prairie, and is well improved with orchard, buildings, etc.

In November, 1860, Mr. Williams married Miss Sarah J. Essix, a native of Vermillion county, Indiana, and a daughter of Ed and Solene (Gugie) Essix. Her parents were early settlers of Lucas county, Iowa, but subse- quently removed to Pierce City, Missouri, where they now reside. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams are eleven in number and as follows: Mary Etta Tuttle, Wayne county, Iowa; Elizabeth Ryun, Taylor county, this State; Samuel L., Wayne county; Anna, a successful teacher of Lucas county; Belle Conner, also of this county, was for five years before her marriage engaged in teaching; Ed C., Lucas county; Nora McGinnis; Hattie Layton, music teacher; and Solena, Elbert and Arthur.

Mr. Williams has always taken a deep in- terest in local affairs, and casts his ballot and influence with the Republican party. He has served as Township Trustee and also as Jus- tice of the Peace, having served in the latter office four terms, and in both educational and church work he has taken a prominent and

active part. He is a Deacon and Clerk in the local organization of the Baptist Church. He has been an active Christian ever since he was thirteen years old, representing the church in all its councils and associations wherever a representative was required. All of his family that have entered their 'teens except one have entered church work early in their 'teens. His energy has not abated. His whole life, both private and public, has been such as to entitle him to the respect and esteem which he re- ceives from his fellow citizens.

ON. JOSEPH N. H. CAMPBELL, deceased, who resided in Russell, Iowa, during the past decade, was one of the honored men of this State, in which he made his home for thirty-eight years. He springs from an ancestry in which he had reason to take just pride. Of his own active and useful life, and of the distinguished ancestry from which he descended, we take pleasure in here presenting the following sketch:

Mr. Campbell's father, Charles Campbell, was born in Augusta county, Virginia, Decem- ber 28, 1778, son of William Campbell and grandson of Charles Campbell, both natives of the Old Dominion. The elder Charles Camp- bell had a souvenir from Ireland, namely, a family chair in which was inserted the hilt of a sword that came from his ancestor under King William III, in the battle of the Boyne, Ireland, which battle occurred about 1691. William Campbell served in the Virginia line during the Revolutionary war. He died in Brown county, Ohio, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. His wife, who before her marriage was Miss Elizabeth Wilson, was also a native of Virginia, and it was in that State they were married. Her people were Presbyterians, and several of her brothers were ministers of that denomination. William and Elizabeth Camp- bell were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom we make record as follows: James W., the eldest, died

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in Georgetown, Ohio; Charles, the father of our subject, was next; John W., who served a constituency in Congress for twelve years and who was subsequently appointed United States Judge of Ohio, died of cholera while filling the latter office; Joseph N., Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Brown county, spent his life in mercantile pursuits in that county; Elizabeth was the wife of William Humphreys, of Rip- ley, Ohio; Phoebe was the wife of Henry Mar- tin, a farmer and a Judge of Common Pleas; Rebecca was the wife of William Baird, a farmer of Ohio; Mary was the wife of Archi- bald C. Tweed, a farmer, the younger brother of the mother of our subject; Samuel S. was in early life a farmer and later a merchant; Sarah was the wife of John Bimpson; and Fidella was the wife of Benjamin Hopkins.

Charles Campbell, the father of our sub- ject, and the second born in the above named family, taught school several terms when a young man, but nearly the whole of his life was devoted to agricultural pursuits. He removed to Kentucky with his parents in 1790 and in 1800 to Brown county, Ohio. In Ohio he lived for thirty-five years and from there re- moved to Illinois, where he spent another thirty-five years. In 1870 he came on to Iowa and located in Mahaska county, and here he died the following year. 1871. He and his good wife, nee Elizabeth Tweed, a na- tive of Maryland, born February 13, 1777, spent sixty-seven years of life together, and, what is remarkable, both lived to the ripe old age of ninety-four years. Their reinains rest side by side in Tazewell county, Illinois. Of the maternal grandfather of our subject, Archi- bald Tweed, we record that he was a native of Maryland, was a Revolutionary soldier, and emigrated to Kentucky in 1793. Charles Camp- bell and his wife were married in Maryland. As the years passed by, children to the nuin- ber of five were born to them, namely: Will- iam Wilson, born in 1804, removed to Taze- well county, Illinois, in 1834, and died in Morton, that State, in 1880; Patterson died in infancy; John, born in 1807, died in Iron-

ton, Lawrence county, Ohio, in 1892; James M., born in ISIo, died in 1890, in Morton, Tazewell county, Illinois, of which town he was the founder, the last forty years of his life having been spent on a farm; and Joseph N. H., whose name initiates this sketch. Of John, we further record that he was the founder of the town of Ironton, Ohio, and that he was at one time a millionaire, his for- tune having been made in iron ore at the town he founded and named.

Coming now to the immediate life of the Hon. Joseph N. H. Campbell, we find that he was born in Brown county, Ohio, near the county seat, Georgetown, January 30, 1816, and that he was reared on a farm and received his early education in one of the primitive log school-houses of Ohio. Subsequently he at- tended school at Georgetown, where he was a pupil of John D. White and a fellow student with Ulysses S. Grant. All his life he has been of a studious nature and is a man of more than ordinary attainments. He followed the fortunes of his father into Illinois, when in the twentieth year of his age, and was engaged in farming during the twenty-two years he resided in that State, leaving there in 1857 and moving to Mahaska county, Iowa. Here he purchased a farm. Subsequently he entered land in Wayne county and still later purchased an- other farm in Mahaska county. In 1886 he came to Russell and invested in property, and at the time of death recently owned five acres and one of the prettiest homes in this place, all in the center of the town. He died June 14, 1895, after an illness of only an hour, mourned by a large community of citizens.

February 6, 1840, Mr. Campbell married Miss Maria McClure, a native of Lawrence county, Illinois, born August 27, 1820, daugh- ter of James and Mary (Campbell) McClure. Mrs. McClure's father, Joseph Campbell, was born in Kentucky, and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are cousins. The McClures are of German origin. Our subject and his wife had twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, and of this number only one is living,-Chester C., --

GROthmann

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born in Mahaska county, Iowa, July 1, 1863. Two of their sons, Marion and Perry, served in the Civil war. Marion enlisted September 24, 1861, was taken as a recruit to Davenport, served in the Commissary Department of the Tennessee, was regimental clerk of Company H, Eighth Iowa, and was promoted from time to time until he reached the Captaincy. He Was honorably discharged in June, 1866. He died July 21, 1878, and fills an honored grave in Mahaska county. Perry enlisted as a re- cruit in the same company, in November, 1862, at St. Louis. He was regimental clerk at the battle of Spanish Fort, where he distinguished himself and where he was promoted to the position of Sergeant Major. He died at Her- nando, Mississippi, February 2, 1872, of con- sumption, having contracted this disease while in the army. Both of these sons were young men of more than ordinary business ability, and of Marion we further record that he was elected from Mississippi to both the Senate and the House and served one term in each.

Politically, Mr. Campbell for many years affiliated with the Democratic party, his last Democratic vote having been cast for Samuel J. Tilden; but from that on he was a decided Republican. During the war, in 1863-4, he served his constituency as a member of the lower house of the Iowa Legislature, having been elected to that body on the Democratic ticket and receiving the largest vote ever given in the county up to that date. On numerous occasions he served as delegate to county and State conventions, and in whatever position he was placed he rendered effective service. Always of a public-spirited and generous na- ture, he gave liberally to all the enterprises calculated to promote the general good of his community.

HRISTIAN RATHMANN .- The cigar industry is well represented in Stuart, Iowa, by the gentleman with whose name we are pleased to intro- duce this article -- Christian Rathmann. Since

1877 he has maintained his residence in Stuart, has all this time been engaged in the manu- facture of cigars, and is now said to be the oldest cigar-manufacturer in this part of Iowa. Following is a brief sketch of his life:

Christian Rathmann was born in Holstein, Germany, January 29, 1846, son of Peter and Louise Rathmann. By a former marriage his mother had one son, William Korte, who still resides in Germany, these two being her only children. In his native land Christian served an apprenticeship to the trade of baker, at which he worked for some years. He emi- grated to this country in 1872, located first in Valparaiso, Indiana, then went to Chicago, and from there to Monmouth, Illinois. At the last named place he learned the trade of cigar-maker, and in 1877 came to Iowa and at Stuart established himself in his present busi- ness, at first on a very small scale, being as- sisted by his wife. From a small beginning his business has increased until now he employs from eight to ten men all the time and has a ready sale for his product, both here and in other towns and cities. Mr. Rathmann himself travels and sells the goods. He owns his own business property and also a pleasant home. The latter, which is one of the attractive resi- dences of Stuart, he built in 1893.

Mr. Rathmann was married at Valparaiso, in 1872, to Miss Anna Williams, a native of Holstein, Germany, who landed in America the same year he did. They had three chil- dren and had the misfortune to lose them all when quite young.

On locating in Stuart and securing a start in business here, Mr. Rathmann identified him- self with the best interests of the town and has ever since been one of its most enterprising and public-spirited citizens. He has frequently served in various local offices. For five years he was a member of the City Council and at this writing he is one of the efficient members of the School Board. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, but as there is no Lutheran Church at Stuart he attends the Congregational Church, in which he is now

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serving as Trustee. Fraternally he is identi- fied with both the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In the former he maintains a membership in both the subordinate and encampment branches, at pres- ent occuping the position of Grand Senior Warden of the Grand Encampment of Iowa. He is Past Chancellor of Lincoln Lodge, No. 59, Knights of Pythias.

Thus is sketched briefly the life of a self- made man, the above furnishing another illus- tration to the many already on record of what may be accomplished in this country by young men of enterprise and push.

J OHN T. GILLESPIE .- The biographer is now permitted to touch upon the life history of one who has been a resident of Iowa since 1869 and who has made his home in Lucas county during the past sev- enteen years, and during all these years he has ranked with its representative farmers and leading citizens.

This gentleman, Mr. John T. Gillespie, was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, March 23, 1845, fourth in the family of six children of John and Margaret (Taylor) Gillespie. Five of this family survive, as follows: James, a resi- dent of Lucas county, Iowa, for thirteen years, was until recently engaged in farming, but is now giving his attention to mercantile pur- suits; Nancy is the wife of W. B. Campbell, a farmer of Warren township, Lucas county, Iowa; John T., whose name honors the cap- tion of this article; Thomas, a resident of Springfield, Missouri; and William H., who still lives at the old homestead in Belmont county, Ohio. John Gillespie, the father of this family, was born in Hickory, Washington county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1810. His father, James Gillespie, came over to America from the "old country " in the latter part of the eighteenth century and founded his home in the Keystone State, where, as above stated, his son John was born. When the latter was

between twenty and thirty years old the family moved to the Western Reserve and on the Ohio frontier built a cabin and began the work of developing a farın, and here grandfather James Gillespie passed the rest of his life and died, being about fifty years of age at the time of death. He was a veteran of the war of 1812. John Gillespie entered a farm in Ohio and erected a log cabin, and on December 2, 1835, was united in marriage to Margaret Taylor.

When the subject of our sketch was four years old the family removed to Belmont county, same State, where he was a pros- perous farmer and continued to reside until 1883, when he came out to Iowa, bringing with him several thousand dollars and buying 256 acres of land in Warren township, Lucas county, formerly owned by Melville Evans. Here the closing years of his life were passed. He died April 1, 1884, and a monument in the Chariton cemetery marks his last resting place. In religion he was a United Presbyterian, and in politics both he and his father were Jack- sonian Democrats. Of his wife, nec Margaret Taylor, we record that she died in the spring of 1862, at her native home in Belmont county, Ohio, and that her remains rest there in the little cemetery adjoining the church in which she was baptized and married.

Having thus briefly referred to his parent- age, we now pass on to the life of our imme- diate subject, John T. Gillespie. He passed his youth and early manhood in his native State, his educational advantages being limited to those of the common schools. As already stated, he came out to Iowa in 1869. On his arrival here he purchased forty acres of land in Lee county. Four years later he disposed of this property and came to Lucas county. Here he purchased 160 acres on section 5, Benton township, which at that time was a stretch of wild prairie with no improvements on it. To-day he has one of the most beautiful farms in Lu- cas county, as well as one of its most delight- ful and attractive houses. This farm comprises 360 acres and is devoted to general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Gillespie, however, has

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for some time made a specialty of the sheep industry, in which he has been very successful, his flock now being composed of 350 head of fine sheep.

October 2, 1867, Mr. Gillespie was married to Miss Sallie A. Moore, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. Thomas Love of the United Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Gillespie was a daughter of Gillespie and Eliza Ann (Patten) Moore. She died November 2, 1873, leaving three children, viz .: Ella M. Hopper, Chariton, Iowa, is a widow and has one child, Raymond Hayes, four years of age; John M., a resident of Chariton; and William B., now in Franklin College, Ohio, and a member of the class of 1895. August 23, 1876, Mr. Gillespie married Miss Cynthia A. Hayes, daughter of Henderson and Olivia (Colter) Hayes, her na- tive place being Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, and the date of her birth, August 29, 1846. Henderson Hayes, a native of Penn- sylvania and of Scotch descent, moved out to Ohio and settled in Belmont county when Mrs. Gillespie was a child of six years. He was in early life a freighter, hauling supplies across the mountains, but later settled down to farm- ing, and in Belmont county spent the closing years of his life. He died New Year's evening, 1890. Few men in that vicinity were better known or had more friends than Henderson Hayes. By his first wife he had three children: Mrs. Caldwell, who died at Belmont, Ohio, March 28, 1894; Mrs. Gillespie; and Mrs. Dool, Aledo, Mercer county, Illinois. By his second wife, nee Catherine Downing,. he had three sons and two daughters, viz .: William G., a merchant of Bannack, Ohio; John D., a clerk in the office of County Treasurer at Bel- mont; William I., engaged in farming at the old homestead; May Holliday, who went to India in 1890, and who has since been en- gaged in missionary work there; and Alveria Ella, who died in infancy. Mr. Gillespie and his present wife have one son, Alfonso Hayes, born January 3, 1878.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 28

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