Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 58

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

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Friend Rich :- I clip the following from the Chicago Tribune of the 17th inst. :

POLITICAL MOVEMENTS.

" It is reported that a caucus of leading Democrats was held in the executive chamber on Monday, Governor Seymour in the chair. It was said that resolutions were adopted in favor of cutting loose from Fernando Wood & Company and making the Democratic party the out-and-out war party of the country. It is said that Governor Seymour talked warmly in favor of the new platform and talked pow- der and artillery in a manner that cannot fail to produce reflection at Richmond. It is also said that John Van Buren, in his late speech in New York, represented the views of Gov- ernor Seymour. - Albany Statesman."

If that rumor is true and the Democrats of New York will do what it is rumored the lead- ers of the party in that State talk of doing, they will earn for themselves an enviable repu- tation. True, it is now rather late to talk of making the Democratic party the out-and-out war party, and this is no time to talk of any parties except patriots and traitors; but the old maxim is that "while the lamp holds out to burn," etc. What the men now in the field want to see is a united North on the ques- tion of crushing out this rebellion. They care not what name those take that are for prose- cuting this war to a successful termination, but they want it prosecuted until the rebels cry "Hold ! enough !"

They want no peace proposition except such as come from the rebels by their laying down their arms and returning to their usual vocations. They want no armistice except that which comes from a permanent peace. They have been from home long enough and are desirous to return. But they started out to accomplish a great object and have no idea of returning until that labor is accomplished. Nor have they any idea of resting quietly on their oars for six months to afford their oppo- nents a chance to gather new strength and concert new plans for resistance. With a united North the army of the Union in less than six months will have penetrated so far into the interior of the rebellion that to be an

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avowed secessionist will be very unsafe even in Mississippi or Georgia. There is but one sentiment in the army so far as I know, and that is, Down with the rebellion, at whatever cost of men and money.

If Governor Seymour really means what he is reported to have said, let him immediately put into the field the 35,000 men that that State lacks of her quota of the 600,000 called for last August; and let him show his good in- tentions by tendering to the President his sym- pathy and hearty co-operation in the war. Such an act coming from such a source will do much to arouse the enthusiasm of men now in the field and would be equal to the addition of 100,000 men to our army.

Many of the soldiers that hail from the West are natives of New York, and they dis- like to hear it said that their native State is behind in making up its quota of men for this war. Therefore let Governor Seymour say in public and in an authoritative manner what he is reported to have said in a quasi secret political caucus, and he will wonder that so much de- pends upon the opinion of one man. Let all the Democrats in the loyal States follow in his wake and there will be no need of a call for men by the President under the conscript act. The authorities at Richmond have been so freqently snubbed abroad that they have given up all hope of assistance from foreign sympa- thizers. Now let the Democrats of the North make the "copperheads" hunt their hole, if they have one, and the rebels will yield with- out another struggle. Thus it is in the power of the Democrats in the North to make that name once more honored and revered as a great beacon word of liberty and union, now and forever.

Will they do it? The soldiers of the Union army now in the field wait to see.

Yours truly, JED LAKE.

The Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry marched over much of the South and was engaged in many battles, and in each and all of them proved that it was made up of loyal, brave and patriotic men. By order from the war de- partment it had emblazoned on its banners the names of the more important battles in which it took a conspicuous part. These included Little Rock, Arkansas, September 10, 1863, and the following in 1864: Fort De Russey,

Louisiana, March 14; Pleasant Hill, Louisi- ana, April 9; Old Oaks, Louisiana, May 18; Ditch Bayou, Arkansas, June 6; Tupelo, Mis- sissippi, July 14; Old Town creek, Mississippi, June 15; and Nashville, Tennessee, December 15 and 16. The regiment also participated in the siege and capture of Blakely, Alabama, from the 2d to the 9th of April, 1865. This occurred after the Army of the Virginia, under General Lee, had surrendered to the Army of the Potomac, under General Grant. After this capture the regimnent went to Mont- gomery, Alabama, marched across the coun- try to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and went by boat to Clinton, Iowa, where it was mustered out, on the 8th of August, 1865. At the muster out Colonel Lake issued the following farewell address:

HEADQUARTERS TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT IOWA INFANTRY VOLUNTEERS, CLINTON, IA., AUGUST 8, 1865.

Fellow Soldiers :-- In taking leave of you at this time, after three years' service in the field, I hardly know how to express myself. Such varied emotions crowd themselves upon my mind, -sorrow at parting the relations that have naturally grown up among us during the hardships we have suffered in the field, and joy at the prospect of once more joining our families and friends in civil life; but, knowing that we have fully accomplished that for which we entered the military service of the United States, you can return to your homes with the consciousness that you have done your full duty to your country as soldiers. By your courage on the field of battle, your patience on long and fatiguing marches, your uncomplain- ing submission to the hardships and privations of camp life, you have won for yourselves an enviable reputation. You are now about to return to civil life. Be as good citizens as you have been soldiers and you will ever retain for yourselves the highest esteem of your fellow- men. While we mingle our tears and sorrows over the graves of our comrades who lie buried from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, let us ever strive to maintain the integrity of the Republic and the honor of her citizen soldiery.

JED LAKE,

Lieutenant Colonel Commanding the Twenty- seventh Iowa Infantry.

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On returning home Colonel Lake resumed the practice of law and has inet with good suc- cess in his undertakings. In 1870 he admit- ted to a partnership in his business M. W. Harmon, and for twenty-five years this con- nection has continued with mutual pleasure and profit. Their relations have ever been of the most pleasant character and neither has ever expressed a wish to have the firm dis- solved.

In 1878 about 300 parties in the counties of Buchanan, Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Benton, Fayette, Johnson and Muscatine were sued in the United States Circuit Court of Iowa for infringing upon what is known as the Driven Well patent. Colonel Lake was employed to make defense. After nine years of litigation the Supreme Court of the United States held that the patent was void on evidence produced in those cases. At the next session of the General Assembly of Iowa a joint resolution was passed thanking Colonel Lake for his de- fense in the Driven Well patent cases, whereby he had saved the State a million dollars in royalties, and the country outside the State more than two million dollars. Colonel Lake was appointed by President Harrison one of the commissioners to appraise about 60,000 acres of land in Round Valley, California, which duty he performed in 1894. He is now one of the commissioners having in charge the building of a hospital for the insane at Cherokee, Iowa. He has held many local offices, such as Alderman, member of the School Board and the Board of Supervisors, and has been Trustee of the Hospital for the Insane, but has steadily refused to accept any official position that would take him away from his business.

On the 2d of January, 1861, Colonel Lake was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. Myer, who is still his companion on life's journey. Their family numbers two children, the son being now successfully engaged in the practice of law in Kansas City, while the daughter is at home. The Colonel is a pleas- ant, entertaining companion, possessing a re-

tentive memory, and his mind is stored witlı many interesting incidents which he frequently tells in a most pleasing way to his many friends.

ILLIAM S. DORSEY, who is en- gaged in the real-estate, loan and law business in Chariton, is a pro- gressive and public-spirited citizen, belonging to that class to which the community owes its upbuilding and advancement. He is a native of Cooper county, Missouri, born November 17, 1846, and descended from a family of Irish origin. Two brothers of the name of Dorsey left their home on the Emerald Isle at an early day and crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in the State of Maryland, and founded the family which, with its numer- ous branches, has scattered out over the East and South. The great-grandfather of our subject was William Dorsey, a native of Vir- ginia. The family was represented in the Revolutionary war and in all succeeding wars in which this country has engaged.

The parents of our subject were George and Permelia (Keeler) Dorsey, both natives of the Old Dominion. The father was born in Charlestown, Jefferson county, in 1811, and the mother at Front Royal, Warren county, in 1822. They were married in the State of their nativity in 1845. The father became a resident of Missouri in 1838 and returned to Virginia to be married, taking his bride to his home in Booneville. He was a mechanic and worked along that line the greater part of his life. His death occurred in Booneville October 19, 1887. The mother of our subject died in 1853. She was the second wife, Mr. Dorsey having first wedded Catherine Keeler, a sister of his second wife, who died in early woman- hood, leaving one son, Thomas E., who is now a farmer in Pettis county, Missouri. The children of the second union are William S. and Joseph V. For his third wife Mr. Dorsey chose Pamelia J. Dixon, and they had one son,

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Alexander D., with whom the mother lives at his home in Cooper county, Missouri.

The brother of our subject, Joseph V. Dorsey, is now the efficient and obliging day clerk at the Bates House. He has been con- nected with the hotel business for many years, and was at one time manager of the Depot Hotel in Chariton, for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. On the Ist of March, 1882, he married Miss Alice Mckinley, - and they have a daughter, Permelia Ellen, named in honor of her paternal grandmother. The Mckinley family, of which A. D. McKin- ley is the head, is one of the pioneer families of Lucas county, and he is a leading and in- fluential citizen. J. V. Dorsey is a man of good business qualifications and is extremely well fitted for hotel clerkship, being pleasant and popular and easily winning friends. He is also prominently identified with the Odd Fellows fraternity.

The early life of William S. Dorsey was passed in Booneville, Missouri, where he at- tended school until about the close of the Civil war. He completed his education at the Uni- versity of Toronto, Canada, graduating at the classical department of that popular institution in 1866. When his school life was ended he began teaching, and followed that profession in Missouri and Iowa, after which he traveled quite extensively through the West and South, and in 1875 came to Chariton. Here he spent one year as a teacher in the high school, and established a very enviable reputation as a thorough and competent instructor. But. few young men enter the teacher's profession from choice or with a view of making it a life work, and there was no exception to the rule in the case of Mr. Dorsey. In 1878 he decided upon making a change with a view to securing a business more permanent as well as more prof- itable. He therefore engaged in the real-estate, law and loan business, in which he has been eminently successful. He buys and sells real estate, makes abstracts of title, loans money on approved security, and practices law in the courts of the State. His extensive business

requires the aid of a competent stenographer, type-writer and book-keeper. He was admit- ted to the bar as a practicing attorney in 1 880, and stands the peer of his fellow townsmen in everything calculated to bring honor and credit to the learned profession. His work with ab- stracts has ever been most satisfactory. A carelessly prepared abstract often causes much useless litigation and financial loss results. It is but just to say that Mr. Dorsey possesses fa- cilities which enable him to transact this very important part of conveyancing with absolute accuracy. He has established an enviable rep- utation in this regard, and few men possess the confidence of their business patrons in a higher degree.

In Lucas county, Mr. Dorsey was married, September 29, 1876, to Miss Mary Best, whose father, J. C. Best, was one of the pio- neers of the county, taking up his residence here in 1853. Mrs. Dorsey is a lady of cul- ture and refinement and has always resided in Lucas county. Four children have been born to them, Mabel L., Willah E., William Lloyd and Elizabeth A.,-all of whom are attending school in this city. Mr. Dorsey takes quite an active interest in social organizations and be- longs to Chariton Lodge, No. 63, A. F. & A. M .; and is a prominent member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, being Past Grand of Chariton Lodge, No. 64, and a mem- ber of the Patriarch branch of the order, Gay- oso Encampment, No. 33. The Knights of Pythias society also bears his name on their roll of membership, while the Ancient Order of United Workmen has obligated itself to "re- member the widow and the fatherless " when he shall have finished his earthly career. In political affairs he has allied himself with the Republican party, although his early training and paternal instruction was along the line of old-school Democracy. The family take a deep interest in spiritual affairs and though divided in name are united in sentiment. Mr. Dorsey is a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, interested in everything calculated to enhance its welfare and that of humanity.

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His wife is equally active and zealous in the advocacy of Presbyterianisin. Highly esteemned by all who now them they have many friends throughout the community.

J OHN ANDREW JACKSON BENT- LEY .- Since 1855 the merry ring of the blacksmith's anvil has been heard in Chariton, and though the "village sinithy stands " not "beneath the spreading chestnut tree," the honored blacksmith of this city has all the noble characteristics which the poet Longfellow attributes to the one in his stanzas.

Mr. Bentley was born in Henderson county, Kentucky, on St. Valentine's day of 1829, and is a son of William and Annie (Barr) Bentley, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, where the mother died. The father was lost on a steamer on the Mississippi river in 1832. He not only lost his life, but all the real money was on his person at that time, and was never recovered. The boat was burned, and having just disposed of his cargo, it is very probable that Mr. Bentley had considerable money with him. The widow was thus left without any means of support and with seven children de- pendent upon her. In early life our subject became separated from his family and has since seen none of them save two sisters who are living in Kentucky.

John A. J. Bentley grew to manhood in his native county, and there learned the trade which he has followed throughout his entire life, serving an apprenticeship of seven and a half years, during which time he thoroughly mastered the business in all its details and be- came so proficient that he has ever since been enabled to command a large business, whereby he has become a prosperous man. In 1850 he went to Pettis county, Missouri, where he re- inained working at his trade until 1855, -the year of his arrival in Chariton. Here he es- tablished the shop which he still conducts. During the gold excitement at Pike's Peak he decided that the long days of hard labor in the

smithy with the meager returns he received for his work were not enough, if he could improve his condition in the El Dorado of the West, and accordingly he went to the mountains; but after a few days' journeying he found that all was not as had been reported and he again came to his forge in Chariton. Here he has since enjoyed a liberal patronage. He had soon built up a fine business, which has con- tinued up to the present and made him one of the substantial inen of the city.

In the dark days of the Rebellion Mr. Bentley responded to his country's call for troops and became a member of Company E, Thirty-fourth Iowa Infantry, serving until disabled by disease, when he was discharged for disability. Since his return he has devoted himself exclusively to the general superintend- ence of his shop and to the cultivation of his extensive garden, though he does not now do much work in the smithy unless there is a rush, when he again takes his place before the forge.

Mr. Bentley was married, December 24, 1857, to Miss Annie Scott, who came to Char- iton with her parents in March, 1850. She was born in Jackson county, Indiana, Decem- ber 26, 1828, and is a daughter of Jacob and Mary (Sutfin) Scott, the former a native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father died in Jackson county, Indiana, and the mother afterward married John How- ard, with whom she came to Iowa in 1849, and hers was the first burial in Chariton ceme- tery. Mrs. Bentley's family were among the very first settlers in Lucas county, there being but one house in Chariton at the time of their arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley were married in Chariton, and to them have been born five children, -two of whom died in infancy. Those who lived to mature years are Mary Ann, John E. and Carrie May. The eldest is the wife of Dr. T. M. Thockmorton and resides in Chariton; John E. married Theodocia Larimer; and Carrie May is still living with her parents. The son is a first-class mechanic, and as the years have passed has gradually as- sumed the management of the smithy, reliev-

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ing his father of the responsibility and care of the business. The old shop, with its weather- beaten walls and the painted sign almost ob- literated by the action of the elements, stands on valuable grounds, opposite the Bates House, where it has stood for about thirty years.

Mr. Bentley, Sr., has been a member of the Masonic order for many years and takes great interest in the principles of that time-honored institution, with which he has been connected since 1857. In politics he is a Democrat, and in religious belief he and his family are Bap- tists. His life has been well and worthily passed and his enterprise and energy have brought to him a handsome competence. He owns a valuable farm in Lucas county and the valuable property where his house and shop stand, also some other city real estate.

John E. Bentley, the only son, is an ex- pert mechanic, and his entire life has been given to blacksmithing. He has studied horse- shoeing from the scientific standpoint. His large collection of hand-forged shoes, con- structed with a view to correcting the various ailments of foot, knee and stifle action, is a genuine curiosity, and at once evinces the su- perior skill and mechanical genius of Mr. Bentley. This collection has won the highest reward for such exhibits at four different fairs in Iowa. Much damage is often done to high- spirited animals in shoeing. To avert this Mr. Bentley has constructed an appliance for holding refractory animals in shoeing without the possibility of injury to themselves or the operator. It is needless to say that he has nearly or quite all the "track" work in the vicinity of Chariton, and often gets very liberal pay from that class of men, who readily ap- preciate good work and are willing to pay lib- erally for it.

Mr. J. E. Bentley is a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows societies and is a young man with bright prospects for future success in his chosen work. In the shop of which he has charge there are regularly em- ployed two men besides himself, and a large business yields a good income. Mr. Bentley is

a social and companionable young man, who wins friends wherever he goes, and his fine physique displays an excellent physical devel- opment.

ANIEL GRIFFITH BONNETT has been a resident of Lucas county, Iowa, since 1856, and is one of its leading citizens as well as pioneers, and it is therefore appropriate that personal mention be accorded him in this volume.

Mr. Bonnett is a native of the " Buckeye" State. He was born near Mt. Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, March 9, 1832. John Bonnett, his father, was a native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and a son of Isaac Bonnett, whose origin is traced back to France and Germany. Isaac Bonnett was one of the first settlers of Knox county, Ohio, having located there when the country was covered with heavy woods. He made a little clearing, built a log house, and as the years passed by cleared up and developed a fine farm. He was the first fore- man on the grand jury in Knox county. He and his wife had six children, -two sons, John and Isaac, and four daughters. Of John we further record that he was a lad of seven years at the time the family settled in. Knox county, and there he spent his life up to 1851. That year he removed to McLean county, Illinois, and took up his abode near Bloomington, where he was one of the early settlers and where he made a valuable farm. He died at the age of fifty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Yontz, was a native of Mary- land. She lived to be seventy-four years of age. Following are the names of their chil- dren: William, deceased; Susan, deceased; Yontz, Bloomington, Illinois; Isaac, deceased; Lewis, Lucas county, Iowa; Daniel G., whose name initiates this sketch; James, McLean county, Illinois; Mary Bonnett, also of Mc- Lean county.

Daniel G. Bonnett was reared in Knox county, Ohio, on the farm on which he was born, and received a good education in the

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public schools. He removed with his parents to Illinois in 1851 and immediately following their settlement there he was employed in driv- ing stock. That was when old " Bull's-Head" was the great stock market of Chicago. In 1856, as already stated, he became a resident of Lucas county, Iowa. Here he has improved one of the best farms in the county, located two miles west of Chariton and comprising 322 acres, his landed possessions aggregating 900 acres. His commodious frame residence is built on a gentle elevation commanding a fine view and surrounded with orchard and grove. He has large barns and other farm buildings, and everything about the premises gives evidence of the prosperity which has at- tended Mr. Bonnett's efforts. He is, indeed, one of the most successful men in Lucas county. For years during his early residence here he was largely interested in buying stock, which he marketed at Davenport, taking his stock in droves, and on these trips camping at night in his wagon.

Mr. Bonnett was married at Albia, Iowa, in 1865, to Miss Sarah Rolles, an accomplished lady and a native of Fountain county, Indiana, her parents being David and Rebecca Rolles, na- tives of New York. Mr. Rolles and hisfamily were among the early settlers of Monroe county, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Bonnett have two chil- dren, John and Grace, the latter being a gradu- ate of a commercial college of Des Moines, Iowa.

In his political views, Mr. Bonnett is a Democrat. He is not, however, a politician, nor has he ever been an office-holder. Person- ally, he is frank and cordial in manner, and in his home his hospitality is genial and genuine.

EUBEN D. SPENCER .- He whose name introduces this article has re- sided on his present farm on section 31, Warren township, Lucas county, Iowa, since 1868, and by reason of his long residence here, if for no other, he is entitled to some personal mention in the history of his

county; but in addition to being an old set- tler he is one of the representative farmers and leading citizens of his township.

Mr. Spencer is a native of Ohio and de- scended from ancestors who figured promi- nently in the early history of this country. He was born in Troy township, Geauga county, Ohio, January 18, 1837, a son of Asa A. Spen- cer and grandson of Asa Spencer, the latter a well-known divine of the Baptist Church. The Reverend Asa Spencer was born near New York city, and descended from some of the earliest settlers of that State, who had emigrated to this country from Scotland and who were well known here in Colonial days. He preached for several years in Guilford and New Haven, Connecticut. He married Miss Gertrude Morris, a native of Dutchess county, New York, and a relative of the old and dis- tinguished Knickerbocker family so conspicu- ous in the early history of New York. This worthy couple-the Reverend Asa Spencer and his wife-had a family of twelve children, their son Asa, our subject's father, having been born in Columbia county, New York, in 1800. In Columbia county Asa A. was reared and educated, and in Cayuga county, same State, was married to Elizabeth Doty, a native of that county and a daughter of Reuben Doty, who was able to trace his descent back to the Mayflower. After their marriage they settled in Barry township, Orleans county, New York, and in 1836 removed to Geauga county, Ohio, locating on a farm in Troy township, which he cleared up and improved. and on which he made his home for forty years. The last seven years of his life were spent in Garretts- ville, Portage county, Ohio, where he died at the age of eighty-one. He was a successful farmer, was a Douglas Democrat and a strong abolitionist, and for about fifty years was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, much of that time serving as a church official. His good wife passed away on the old farm in Troy township, at the age of sixty-six years. They were the parents of six children, namely: Rana Perry, a successful teacher, died in

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 58

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