Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 30

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

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Mr. Kull was married in 1860, the lady of his choice being Miss Mary Reeder, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Jacob Reeder. They now have a family of four children, -Carrie, William, Charles and Laura.

HARLES ASHTON, editor of The Guthrian, at Guthrie Center, Iowa, was born in Lincolnshire, England, June 2, 1823. His parents emigrated to this country in 1832 and settled on a farm in Richland county, Ohio, where he grew up to manhood, having only the slight educational advantages of the district school of that place and period for parts of three winter terms. In his twenty-second year he was happily married to Miss Mary, daughter of James and Mary Haverfield, of the same neighborhood, her birth having occurred on the farm on which they were married. After their marriage they settled on a piece of woodland in Hardin county, Ohio, to clear a farm, with the expec- tation that farming would be their life work.

In 1852, associating himself with a brother, he entered the drug and book business, locat- ing in Kenton, the county seat of Hardin

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county, Ohio. Soon thereafter he was licensed as a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1860 entered the itinerant work. In October, 1861, he met with a severe accident that crippled him for life. In the fall of 1864 he renewed itinerant labor, and in the fall of 1870 was transferred from the Central Ohio to the Des Moines Annual Conference of that church and did nine years' effective work in western Iowa. Retiring from the itinerant field in the spring of 1879, he assumed the editorship of The Guthrian, a Republican paper published at Guthrie Center, Iowa, and in that position has now done seventeen years' efficient work for his party and society, con- tinuing his membership in the Des Moines Annual Conference, in a superannuated rela- tion.

In the early months of 1879 he originated the project of the Guthrie & Northwestern Railroad, the branch of the Rock Island now running from Menlo to Guthrie Center, and was instrumental in the organization of the company which effected the building of that road. He was elected president of the com- pany, and devoted faithful and persistent work to effect the construction of the road, which was built in the summer of 1880.

In 1891 he was appointed by the executive council of the State of Iowa the member of the Iowa Columbian Commission for the Ninth Congressional District of the State, and in that office he ably and industriously served. As chairman of the archeological, historical and statistical committee of the commission he wrote and superintended the publication and distribution of The Hand Book of Iowa, of which 25,000 copies were published and dis- tributed. The work received high praise. In August, as a member of the horticultural com- mittee of the commission, he was given the superintendency of the horticultural exhibit, and under his direction and encouragement Iowa made one of the very finest pomological displays shown in the great Chicago exposition of the world's resources and productions.

In his early manhood he advocated the

emancipation of the slave, and early, with voice, example and pen, advocated total ab- stinence from the use of whatever would in- toxicate. From the organization of the Re- publican party he favored its principles with inflexible fortitude. Throughout his manhood he has ever been known as an advocate of sobriety and good government and the promo- tion of all liberal enterprises and the best pos- sible educational interests in the communities in which he has resided.

June 26, 1895, Mr. and Mrs. Ashton cele- brated the golden anniversary of their wedded life. To them in that life, eleven children- seven sons and four daughters-were born. Six of the sons and three of the daughters yet survive.

3 OHN F. MCGINNIS. - One of the most alert and progressive elements that has entered into the make-up of our nation is that derived from stanch old Irish and Scotch-Irish stock, and from such stock is descended the subject of this review, who is one of the prosperous and honored farmers of Warren township, Lucas county, Iowa.

John F. McGinnis was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1836. His father, Francis McGinnis, was born, reared and educated in Ireland, and when a young man crossed the Atlantic and settled in Penn- sylvania. He was there married to Miss Jane McCasson, a native of county Donegal, Ireland, and of Scotch-Irish parentage. When their son, John F., was two years old the father died. He was by occupation a peddler, and in religion a Catholic. The mother died at the age of forty-one years, a Presbyterian. The subject of our sketch was their only child, and when four years of age he was taken to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he was reared to farm life and received a public-school edu- cation. He was in Ohio during the greater part of the Civil war, but before its close he joined the Union ranks and went to the front. It was February 20, 1865, and as a member

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of Company E, One Hundred and Ninety- fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, that he enlisted, and he served nine months, the most of the time in the Shenandoah valley. At the end of that time he was honorably discharged at Washington, District of Columbia, and returned to his home in Tuscarawas county, Ohio.

Mr. McGinnis continued to reside in Ohio until 1870, when he came out to Iowa and took up his abode in Warren township, Lucas county, settling on a farm a mile and a half from where he now lives. In 1893 he bought his present farm, eighty acres of as fine land as there is in this vicinity. It is well improved with a nice cottage, good barn and other farm buildings, and a fine orchard of 200 trees. This orchard is considered one of the best in the township, and Mr. McGinnis also has an abundance of small fruits.

At the age of twenty-four years Mr. Mc- Ginnis was married in Ohio to Miss Susana Dotts, a lady of many accomplishments and a member of one of the best families in Ohio. Her parents, Phillip and Drusilla (Shober) Dotts, were natives of Maryland and were among the early settlers of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where she was born. Her grandfather Shober was a slaveholder in Mary- land, but freed all his slaves before going to Ohio. Mrs. McGinnis died in 1873, leaving two children, namely: James Sumner, a law- yer of San Jose, California; and Minnie J., wife of C. N. Smith, of King City, Missouri. In 1875 Mr. McGinnis married Mrs. Carrie Taylor, widow of Jacob Taylor and a daughter of Edwin Playmate. She was born in Illinois and carne with her father to Iowa at an early day, he being one of the pioneers of Lucas county, where he passed the closing years of his life and died. Mr. McGinnis and his pres- ent wife have adopted two children: Thomas J., a farmer now living in Wayne county; and Jennie, now a young lady of fifteen, and is still with her foster-parents.

In public affairs Mr. McGinnis takes an act- ive and commendable interest, keeping him-

self well posted on political issues. He is a Republican. He has served as Township Trustee and as a member of the School Board. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, both are active in Sabbath-school work, and he is a Trustee of the Church. He is also a member of Ise- myer Post, No. 18, G. A. R., of Chariton.

B. WRIGHT, one of Lucas county's prosperous farmers, dates his birth in the Buckeye State. It was in Har- lam township, Delaware county, Ohio, March 5, 1842, that Mr. Wright first saw the light of day. His parents, Austin and Permilia (Oldham) Wright, were New Jersey people, the former born April 6, 1798, and the latter, January 21, 1805; and it was soon after their marriage that they moved to Ohio and settled on a farm in Delaware county. Austin Wright was a blacksmith by trade and had a shop on his frontier farm, carrying on both blacksmithing and farming: He continued to reside in Delaware county up the time of his death, which occurred at about the age of sixty years, November 26, 1857. His wife died October 1, 1847. They were honest and industrious, were faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew them. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom nine reached maturity, namely: Mary Huyck, Buffalo, New York; Charles O., Lucas county, Iowa; S. J., who died in Lucas county; Mrs. Permilia Beem, Chariton, Iowa; Mrs. Catherine Boyd, Chariton; Mrs. Remembrance Barrow, Chariton; W. S., Lucas county; G. B., whose name introduces this sketch; and Austin, of this county. The deceased were Peter, Abner and an unnamed infant.

Mr. Wright came out to Iowa when a young man and was here at the time the war broke out. In August, 1862, he enlisted as a mem- ber of Company E, Thirty-fourth Iowa In- fantry, under Captain Gardiner and Colonel Dungan, and went to the front. His service,

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however, was not of long duration, as he was honorably discharged on account of disability. Since 1878 he has resided on his. present farm, ninety-five acres on section I, of Warren township. The improvements on this place are all first-class and consist of a two-story brick residence, surrounded with a pretty lawn dotted over with flowers, shrubs and trees; a barn 36x40 feet, and other necessary buildings such as granary, sheds for stock, etc. This farm is located three miles southwest of Chariton; and before passing on from a description of this place we must make some mention of Mr. Wright's broom factory. Here he has a shop, 16x 30 feet, where some of the best brooms in the State are made, he having been in this business for a number of years and being regarded as an expert broom-maker. Another attractive feature of his farm is his fine orchard of two hundred trees, and he also has large quantities of small fruits. While he has given some attention to stock-raising in con- nection with his farming all these years, he is now making a specialty to fine horses, and has a Clydesdale that is second to none in the county.

Mr. Wright was married December 24, 1863, to Miss Mary Jane McCormick, a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania. Her father, James McCormick, was born in Arm- strong county, Pennsylvania, son of John Mc- Cormick, who was also a native of that State. Her grandfather was a soldier in the war of 1812, and spent the closing years of his life and died in Cincinnati, Ohio. James McCor- mick was reared in Westmoreland county, and was by occupation an engineer. He was mar- ried there to Elizabeth Sampson, a native of that county and daughter of William Sampson, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. In 1856 James McCormick and his family removed from Pennsylvania to Summit county, Ohio, and eight months later continued their way west- ward, Van Buren county, Iowa, being their objective point. In 1858 they moved to Chari- ton. Following are the names of the children of Mr. and Mrs. James McCormick: Mary J.,

Elizabeth Ann, John C. and J. G. The father is still living in Chariton, now in his eightieth year. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have no children of their own, but they have given a good home to and reared two children, -Frank P. Wright and Earl Bickford, the former a nephew of our subject.

Mr. Wright is a man of broad and progres- sive views, takes an intelligent and commend- able interest in public affairs, and acts with the Democratic party.

B EV. PETER WALKER was born April 21, 1814, in Ross county, Ohio; moved to Champaign county, that State, in 1823; began the study of medicine at West Middlebury about the year 1834; in 1843 moved to Village township, Van Buren county, Iowa, and engaged in farming and practicing medicine, also acting as a local preacher; was ordained a Deacon in the Meth- odist Church at the Iowa Annual Conference August 12, 1849; graduated at the Keokuk (Iowa) Medical College in February, 1857. In the fall of 1854 he moved to Libertyville, Jefferson county, Iowa, where he continued to reside and practice medicine until his death. In October, 1861, was elected Representative in the Legislature for Jefferson county for two years. At an extra session in September, 1862, he was commissioned by Governor Kirk- wood as First Assistant Surgeon of the Thir- tieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry; resigned his seat in the Legislature, rejoined his regiment at Keokuk and was mustered in September 12, 1862; but on account of sickness he was obliged to resign his commission December 26, 1862, and returned to his home in Liberty- ville, where he died January 13, 1863.

He was married to Sarah G. Stokes March 29, 1838. She was born November 15, 1818, in Logan county, Ohio, and died January 3, 1850. They had six children, one still living, Moses B. Walker, now a resident of Chicago. On May 23, 1850, he was married to Christiann Schuyler, who was born November 25, 1830,

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in Licking county, Ohio, and died April 6, 1859. They had four children, three of whom are living, namely: William M., Peter E., and Frances E. On January 6, 1860, he mar- ried Mrs. Mary Drake (nee Brewster), who was born January 18, 1818, in New York.

Mr. Walker was a prominent member of the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities; be- ing a Master Mason, Royal Arch Master and Knight Templar, and once Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Iowa Masons.

He was a man of very fine personal ap- pearance, over six feet in height and weighing some 220 pounds, without extra flesh, well built and well formed, and of commanding ap- pearance. He was an eloquent, forcible and able speaker and preacher, fearless in his de- nunciation of wrong and a man of great per- sonal courage. He was among the founders of the Republican party in this State, and one of the ablest and most fearless advocates of its principles

3 OSIAH HINMAN BONNEY was born February 14, 1817, in Steuben county, New York, the youngest of five chil- dren. His father died when he was two and a half years of age, leaving the chil- dren dependent upon their mother, who sup- ported them by her work at the loom and needle and by keeping toll-gate. At eight he went to live with Joseph Lyon, agreeing to work for him six years for his food and cloth- ing and three months' schooling each year, his mother having married again.

At fourteen he entered 'a mercantile house in Elmira, remaining four or five years. He was a self-taught and self-made man, having no schooling after the age of fourteen, and no assistance but his own energy and industry in making his way in the world. At the age of twenty-one he emigrated to Illinois. On reaching Cass county he found himself with only eighteen and three-fourths cents in money, and was obliged to sell his trunk to pay the expense of bringing his baggage from Aurora,

he having walked from there. In the spring he formed a partnership with B. B. Rew and came to Iowa with a small stock of goods, which they had purchased in St. Louis on credit. They settled at Rochester (three miles below Keosauqua) on the 9th day of June, I839. They prospered the first year, but in the fall or early winter their larger order was unfortunately frozen up in the Mississippi river, owing to delay caused by the boundary line dispute between Iowa and Missouri. The goods could not reach Rochester till spring, and, their notes in the meantime maturing, the firm failed. Mr. Rew soon died, and Mr. Bonney, after struggling for ten years, paid off their indebtedness of $1,800 with interest at ten per cent.

In 1840 the political parties for the Terri- tory of Iowa were formed. Mr. Bonney took a very active part in this matter and became a nominee of the Democratic party for the of- fice of Sheriff, then for the first time an elect- ive office. He was elected, being thus the first Sheriff elected by the people of Van Buren county. In 1843 he was elected by the Demo- cratic party to a seat in the Territorial Legisla- ture, and in 1844 again became Sheriff. In 1846 he was elected Clerk of the District Court, an office which prior to this had been filled by appointment from the Judge; in 1848 he was elected Secretary of State; and in 1853 he became one of the commissioners of the Des Moines River Improvement. For seven successive years-1871-78 -- he was steward of the county poor farm.

Mr. Bonney married Orpha F. Stanard, at Rochester, on May 20, 1841. In July they settled in Keosauqua, which became their per- manent home. . To them were born eight chil- dren, two of whom died in infancy. Those living are: Mary B. Stidger, Keosauqua; An- na B. Linsley, Jerseyville, Ill .; Arma F. Bald- win, Keosauqua; Orpha Bonney, Des Moines; Estelle B. Walker, Keosauqua; and Charles Hinman Bonney, Keosauqua.

Mr. Bonney was an Odd Fellow and a Ma- son, a life-long Democrat, and was educated

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under Methodist influence, though not a mem- ber of any church.

September 12, 1887, at the age of seventy, his useful life was ended by death. He had set an example of industry and integrity, and being a gentleman of intelligence his influence was marked and lasting. Memories of his character and deeds will ever be pleasant.

J AMES N. McCOLLOUGH, deceased, was a resident of this State for over half a century. He was born in Jeffer- son county, Ohio, April 26, 1827, and was the son of John G. and Isabella (Mullen) McCollough. His father, John G. McCollough, was born July 9, 1788, and was married to Isabella Mullen, July 6, 1814. John G. Mc- Collough was a strong abolitionist and tem- perance worker, also an influential member of the Scotch Presbyterian Church and a stanch Republican after the organization of that party. They were the parents of ten children, only three of whom are living. John G. McCol- lough died December 11, 1864, while his wife died many years before, in August, 1839.

James N. McCollough, the subject of this sketch, attended New Athens College, and after completing his education he found employment in the dry-goods store of a relative. He came to Brighton, Iowa, at an early day, where he married Miss Rebecca Ferree, in January, 1854. They moved to Chariton, Iowa, in 1882, where he owned a dry-goods store until his death, on November 24, 1894. He never sought political preferment, although he was a strong Republican, as were his two sons. His wife, Rebecca E. Ferree, was born near Con- nersville, in Fayette county, Indiana, January 24, 1832, the daughter of David and Tirzah (Bell) Ferree. David Ferree was born Jan- uary 12, 1793, of French ancestry. He was identified with the Presbyterian Church and the Republican party. His death occurred on July 21, 1854. Tirzah Bell Ferree was born in Kentucky, July 3, 1803, and died four days

before her husband, July 17, 1854. Mr. and Mrs. Ferree crossed the plains from Indiana to Iowa in covered wagons, bringing their house- hold goods and stock . with them. They pur- chased 160 acres of partly improved land, where they followed farming. A. H. McCol- lough purchased the livery barn of Wm. Hen- drickson in 1888, and has since been success- fully engaged in that business.

James N. McCollough and wife had five children. The eldest, Ralph F., was born December 30, 1854, and married to Anna Gib- bon in 1884. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits with his father, under the firm name of J. N. McCollough & Company, until his death, on February 4, 1894. Effie A. is the wife of J. E. Brown, who is engaged in the shoe business in Chariton. A. H., born May II, 1861. Lucy, the wife of O. J. Israel, who is a merchant; and Stella, the wife of J. C. Maloney, who is agent for the Adams Express Company. A. H. McCollough was married September 13, 1883, to Miss Minnie Day. Miss Day was born in Lucas county, Iowa, November 8, 1866, and is a daughter of H. H. and Rebecca Day. Her parents were natives of Ohio but came to Iowa in an early day. Mr. and Mrs. A. H. McCollough have three daugh- ters: Clare, Marie and Gladys.

REDERICK C. FRITZ, Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, who is engaged in the loan and insurance business in Stuart, is a native of the Keystone State. He was born in Franklin county, near Mercersburg, on the 7th of April, 1837, being the son of Jacob and Jane (Cre- sup) Fritz, who were also natives of the same county where their marriage was celebrated and where their entire lives were passed. Both died on the farm where our subject and his father were born. The latter carried on agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life. Both he and his wife were of German lineage, and their family numbered five sous and seven

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daughters, while ten are yet living, the eldest and the youngest having passed away.

The members of the family are William, who died of cholera in Illinois; Margaret; Jacob, who follows farming in Franklin county, Penn- sylvania; Elizabeth, who lives near London, Pennsylvania; John, who is engaged in the op- eration of the old home farm where all of the children were born and reared; Catherine, wife of Adam Smith, a resident of Fort Lou- don, Pennsylvania; Benjamin, who carries on agricultural pursuits near Mercersburg; Fred- erick C., of this sketch; Jane, wife of Michael Ryder, who lives near Bridgeport, Pennsyl- · vania; Nancy, wife of Denton Bunn, a resident of Kewanee, Illinois; Mary, widow of James Williams, a resident of Franklin county, Penn- sylvania; and Ellen, who became the wife of George McCleary, and died at the age of twenty-five, her husband having also passed away in early life.

The childhood days of Frederick Fritz were spent on his father's farm, and in the field, orchard and meadow he worked through the summer months, enjoying the advantages and freedom of the outdoor life. Although his school privileges were in some degree meager, by private study and careful observation he has become thoroughly well informed and is an exact and successful business man. He left the parental home in the spring of 1859 and spent one year on an Ohio farm. In 1860 he emigrated to Henry county, Illinois, where he continued farm work until 1862, at which time he enlisted in his country's service.

Mr. Fritz joined Company H, One Hun- dred and Twelfth Illinois Infantry, on the 22d of August, and received an honorable discharge, July 8, 1865, after three years of valiant service. He was in Kentucky with the com- mand of Green Clay Smith and General Gil- more. In 1863 he went to Tennessee under General Burnside. He was one of 2, 000 picked men who were sent to that section of the State to destroy bridges and supplies. They were successful in their mission, but when they attempted to return they found that they had

been surrounded by the enemy and had to cut their way out. Going into Kentucky he eventually reached his regiment. The com- mand with which Mr. Fritz was engaged formed a part of the army of the Ohio. He partici- pated in twenty-four general engagements and in more than one hundred skirmishes, took part in the Atlanta campaign and was in sev- eral battles in east Tennessee, including the siege of Knoxville. On the Georgia campaign he was in all of the battles until Atlanta was reached, including the engagements at Buzzard Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw mountain and others. He then returned with the Fourth and Twen- ty-third Army Corps to Tennessee, there taking part in the hard-fought battles of Frank- lin and Nashville, and following Hood up the Tennessee river, where they were loaded on transports and proceeded to Cincinnati, Ohio, and thence to Alexandria, Virginia. After a few days they went to Fort Fisher, crossed the Cape Fear river and met the enemy in battle at Fort Anderson and Wilmington, North Car- olina. He joined Sherman at Goldsboro, and later the army marched to Raleigh, near which place Johnston surrendered. Mr. Fritz went with his division to guard the citizens and maintain order among the disbanded rebels in the headquarters at Greensboro, where the regiment was mustered out, being finally dis- charged at Chicago. The soldiers were sent on cattle cars from Greensboro to City Point, Virginia, by boat to Baltimore, and thence by rail to Chicago, where they were paid and dis- charged. Mr. Ritz left the ranks of the loyal army on the 8th of July, 1865, and on the 10th of the same month attended a regimental re- ception at Geneseo, Illinois. He took part in many hotly contested engagements and was always found at his post of duty as a faithful defender of the stars and stripes, which now float triumphantly over the united nation.

Mr. Fritz spent the autumn of 1865 visit- ing his people in Pennsylvania, and in 1866 resumed farming, which he followed six years in Henry county, Illinois. In 1868 he went to Atkinson, Illinois, as a grain-buyer, and soon

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after purchased an interest in a flouring-mill at that point. This proved a most disastrous venture, for he lost over $10,000 in a single year. On the 7th of April, 1870, he arrived in Stuart, Iowa, where he worked two years as a carpenter and a year and a half as a black- smith's helper in the employ of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company. For several years he engaged in merchandising as a clerk, spent two years in a lumber office, and was two years in the sewing-machine and music busi- ness. He was working earnestly and persist- ently to retrieve his lost possessions, but again adversity overtook him, in the loss of $2,000, through the malfeasance of dishonest employ- ers! His next undertaking was in the real- estate and loan business, which he is now fol- lowing with good success. He has also served as Notary Public for ten years and for about eight years has been Justice of the Peace. He also does some work as a pension agent, and receives a small pension from the Government on account of injuries sustained in battle from a shell wound.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 30

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