Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 60

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

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quently returned to Iowa on a furlough of thirty days. Joining the command at Kings- ton, Georgia, he was engaged in guard duty until the surrender of Atlanta. He partici- pated in the engagement at Resaca, and later went with Sherman to the sea, their last en- gagement being at Bentonville, North Caro- lina. From there they went to Goldsboro, that State, where General Johnston surren- dered, took part in the Grand Review at Wash- ington, and were mustered out of service at Little Rock, Arkansas, August 14, 1865. Mr. Jackson spent four years to a day in the serv- ice of his country, and took part in twenty battles and numberless minor engagements. He was only once wounded, and that was at Chattanooga. After suffering untold hardships and privations he returned to private life, with a record to which his descendants can point with pride.

Mr. Jackson followed farming in Marion county until 1880, when he located on 200 acres of land in Lincoln township, Warren county. He was married October 6, 1865, to Mary J. Hicks, a native of Ohio, and a daugh- ter of James and Zilpha Hicks, natives also of that State. She was born in Belmont county, Ohio, February 2, 1845, and came to Iowa with her parents in 1851. Her father, James Hicks, was born October 17, 1823, and mar- ried Zilpha Vernon in 1843. During the late war Mr. Hicks enlisted in Company A, Thirty- third Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and died in the service of his country, December 20, 1862. His father, also named James Hicks, moved from Virginia, his native State, to Ohio, where he married Bethona Bailey, a Carolinian of Scotch-Irish descent, and in 1854 moved to Iowa. His father, Clemens Hicks, a native of England, settled in Virginia. Zilpha Hicks' parents were Robert and Deborah (Stubbs) Vernon, the former a native of North Caro- lina, born February 2, 1777. Previous to his marriage to Deborah Stubbs he had married Ann Patten, who died shortly after marriage. Mr. Vernon emigrated to Marion county, Iowa, in 1854, and both. himself and wife died very

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suddenly, and not more than two days apart, in 1857.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have had six chil- dren, viz .: James M., of St. Louis; Emma F., wife of W. W. Anderson, of Warren coun- ty; J. R., of West Liberty, Iowa; William K., a teacher by occupation; Letha, at home; and one son deceased in infancy.

In early life Mr. Jackson was identified with the Democratic party, having cast his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas, but since the war he has been a stanch Republican. In his social relations, he has been a member of the Masonic order since 1872, affiliating with Warren Lodge, No. 53, of Indianola. Mr. Jackson is well known as one of the suc- cessful, broadminded and public-spirited men of Warren county.

0 UNCAN BRECKENRIDGE, a prac- tical and successful farmer of English township, Lucas county, is a native of Scotland, born May 25, 1825, and when six years of age came with the family to America. He was one of the eleven children of David and Charlotte (McMillen) Brecken- ridge. His father was born in Scotland, in 1770, and made farming his life work. He lived in his native land until sixty-one years of age, when he bade adieu to home and friends, and with his family came to the New World, locating in Washington county, Ohio, where he spent his remaining days, his death occur- ring in 1845, at the ripe old age of seventy- five years. During his long and useful life he was a stanch adherent of the Presbyterian Church, and his career was an honorable and upright one, well worthy of emulation. His wife survived him for some time, and reached the very advanced age of ninety-five years.

Duncan Breckenridge, the subject of this review, started out in life for himself when about twenty-two years of age, for the days of his childhood and youth were quietly passed upon the old home farm, his father receiving the benefit of his services. He then went to

Cincinnati, where he engaged in teaming for four years, and within that time, through habits of thrift and economy, he was enabled to save from his earnings $400. He now returned home and operated the farm for his mother until 1855, when, thinking to better his finan- cial condition on the broader and less thickly settled plains of the West, he came to Lucas county, Iowa, and purchased a farni on section 8, English township, on which is now located the family homestead. He first bought 180 acres of land, and from time to time added to his possessions as his financial resources in- creased, until he was the owner of 440 acres. He has always engaged in general farming and stock-raising, and for many years has made a specialty of the raising of hogs, having on an average sixty to one hundred head per year. He is careful in his management of his business interests, and his perseverance and well-directed effort have brought to him a richly deserved success.

Mr. Breckenridge was married in June, 1856, to Miss Margaret Dunlap, a native of Scotland and a daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth (Reed) Dunlap. Her parents died in Scotland, and the children, seven in num- ber, came to this country. Our subject and his wife are the parents of three living children, -- David A., Charlotte B. and Martha J.

In his political views, Mr. Breckenridge has always been a Democrat of the old Jacksonian school. He is a man of broad research and deep thought, and has the courage of his con- victions. In local matters he is ever alive to the best interests of the community in which he resides, and has served his township as As- sessor, as Trustee and Justice of the Peace for many years. He is always recognized as one of the broad-gauged and enterprising men of this region. The cause of education finds in him a warm friend, and he has been active in its support. He is spending his old age in his handsome and commodious home, surrounded by the fruits of his foriner toil and by loving friends and family, all of whom hold him in the highest esteem.

m. H. Klemme.

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RECORD OF IOWA.

ON. WILLIAM HENRY KLEMME, General Assemblyman from Winne- shiek county and residing at Ridge- way, Iowa, was born on his father's farm, near Blue creek, Franklin county, In- diana, February 17, 1849, his parents- being Henry William and Anna Katherine (Gesell) Klemme.

John H. Klemme, grandfather of our sub- ject, was born at Husgeimer, Kurhesen, Ger- many, February 2, 1792, and died August 21, 1881. He married Charlotte Welhousen, who was born at the same place as her husband, May 5, 1.798, and died March 12, 1870. Philip Gesell, maternal grandfather of our subject, was born at Framersheim, Germany, March 10, 1790, and died June 7, 1871. He married Aplona Retler, who was born at Nonesheim, Germany, May 20, 1795, and died February 21, 1884. Henry William Klemme, father of our subject and the founder of the American branch of the family, was born in Hausenbeck, Kurhesen, Germany, August 28, 1821, and now resides at Elma, Iowa. He married Anna Katherine Gesell, April 12, 1846; she was born at Formersheim, Hessen Darmstadt, Germany, June 25, 1825. To Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Klemme were born fourteen children (eleven boys and three girls), our subject being the second child. Nine of these children were born in Franklin county, Indiana, and five in Winneshiek county, Iowa. Thirteen are still living, and twelve are married and established in homes. Of this remarkable family it might be said that every member is doing well in some walk of life, and they belong to that sub- stantial class of citizens which, by industry and perseverance, establish homes, accumulate property, and thus add to the wealth of the community.

Mr. W .. H. Klemme, the gentleinan whose name heads this sketch, accompanied his par- ents to Iowa, in March, 1862. The father purchased a tract of 200 acres, which came direct from the government, at $1.25 per acre, and located in Lincoln township, the north- west quarter of section 29 and the northwest

quarter of the northeast quarter of the same section. Our subject remained with his fa- ther until twenty-one years of age. He then rented land and farmed for himself for three years. Being always of a frugal disposition he accumulated some means, and in the spring of 1873 he came to Ridgeway and purchased the lumber business, which he has conducted with- out interruption to the present time, but has greatly increased its scope, adding farm imple- ments, buggies, lime, coal, etc., to the general stock in trade. He also established a similar business at Elma, Iowa, and put two brothers in charge of it. Mr. Klemme still gives some attention to farming, having acreage in both this State and South Dakota.

Our subject was married March 22, 1870, to Miss Mary Augusta Bolles, a daughter of Dr. George and Mary (Powers) Bolles. She was born at Pleasant Lake, Steuben county, Indiana, January 8, 1851. Dr. Bolles prac- ticed medicine for twelve years in Indiana, and in 1807 engaged in the mercantile business, at Bluffton, Iowa. In 1864 he moved to Decorah, where he continued in the same line of trade for four years, and then was in business in Ridgeway till 1873. The next year was spent in visiting on the Pacific coast, principally in California, after which he returned to Ridge- way, and there Mrs. Bolles died. Dr. Bolles now located in Coleman, South Dakota, where he still makes his home and conducts a store of general merchandise. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Klemme, Nellie Rosa- mond, was born March 10, 1871, and married Dr. James D. Parker, a practicing physician at Fayette, Iowa, August 23, 1892; they have one child, Hugh Klemme Parker, born April II, 1894.

Mr. Klemme has always affiliated with the Republican party. He served as Justice of the Peace at Ridgeway for fourteen years, and as Postmaster for four years. In 1893 he was nominated by his party for the Legislature, and after a hard fight was elected. As a mem- ber of the Twenty-fifth General Assembly he served on the following standing committees:

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Municipal Corporations, Private Corpora- tions, Printing, Labor, and School for Deaf and Dumb. He was also chairman of the visiting committee to the Home for Or- phans and Indigent Children, located at Davenport.

In 1895 our subject was unanimously re- nominated by his party, and returned to the Legislature by a handsome majority of the popular vote.

Mr. Klemme is a remarkable man in many respects. His early education was very limited, his father's family being so large that the boys were expected to work and not spend much time in school. But our subject had other ambitions than those of a farmer. When he took hold of the lumber business at Ridgeway he threw a force and energy into it that sur- prised even his friends. Being elected Justice of the Peace, he found himself in an office that required considerable knowledge of the law, and he had not even a lawyer in Ridge- way whom to consult. Nothing daunted, Mr. Klemme at once purchased a set of law-books and began their study. He found that he was fond of the law, as a study, and by diligent application he is to-day much better versed on legal questions than many that practice at the bar. And this is typical of the man. Whatever he takes hold of succeeds. The qualities of honesty and frugality peculiar to the German race are strongly marked in him. But he is more than that: he has a worthy ambition to ·be somebody and do something; and that he will succeed is generally conceded by all who come in contact with the man.

J OB CARD, Sheriff of Cass county, Iowa, has been a resident of this county for more than a quarter of a century, and is one of its well-known and highly re- spected citizens.

He was born in Bennington county, Ver- mont, May 16, 1847. Reverting to his ances- try, we find he is remotely descended from Welsh ancestors and belongs to a family noted

for longevity. His father, Job E. Card, was born in Vermont in 1815, and was by occupa- tion a farmer. In 1869 he left the Green Mountain State and moved west to Iowa, set- tling in Cass county, where the residue of his life was passed and where he died, in May, 1893, at the age of eighty years. He was a son of Abel Card, a native of Rhode Island and of Welsh descent.

Mr. Card's mother was by maiden name Miss Lyda L. Hendee, and she, too, is a na- tive of Vermont. She was born in 1826 and is still living. Her father, Asa Hendee, was a veteran of the war of 1812, was by trade a carpenter, and lived to the advanced age of ninety years. Job E. and Lyda L. Card had three children, two sons and a daughter, the subject of our sketch being the oldest. Of the others, we record that Lucina L. is the wife of J. P. Byrd, a farmer of Pymosa town- ship, Cass county, Iowa; and that Ward E. is a resident of Atlantic, this county.

Mr. Card was reared in his native place and received a common-school education. He was a mere boy when the great Civil war broke out, but young as he was he was thrilled with patriotism and a desire to go out in protection of the Union. In 1865, then at the age of eighteen, he enlisted as a member of Company E, Fifth New York Veteran Volunteer In- fantry, and was detailed as hospital steward. In this capacity he served until the war was over, and he received an honorable discharge. In 1869 he came out to Iowa and direct to Cass county, locating on a farm in Pymosa town- ship, where he maintained his residence until 1873. That year he was appointed deputy Sheriff of Cass county, in which position he served most efficiently until 1878, when he was elected Constable of Atlantic township. This office he filled until January 1, 1892, and from that time until June 1, 1893, he was in the mail service. In the fall of 1893 he was elected to his present position, that of County Sheriff, receiving his official honor from the Republican party, with which he has always affiliated. His long experience as Deputy

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RECORD OF IOWA.

Sheriff and Constable especially fit him for the duties of this office, which he is performing with his customary fidelity.

In February, 1878, Mr. Card married Miss Mary E. Welch, a native of Illinois, and they are the parents of one child -- Miss Grace.

Mr. Card is identified with a number of fraternal organizations, among which are the A. F. & A. M., I. O. O. F., K. of P., G. A. R., and M. W. A. He has passed all the chairs in the K. of P. and the I. O. O. F.

B A. HYLTON, the popular Clerk of Virginia township, Warren county, Iowa, is well known throughout the county and needs no introduction here. The Hyltons were among the first set- tlers of Virginia township. Nathaniel and Scytha (Tincher) Hylton left their home in Hendricks county, Indiana, in the year 1857, and with their four children moved out to Iowa, then a frontier State. Their journey hither was made in a wagon drawn by two horses; they crossed the Mississippi at Bur- lington, and in due time landed at their des- tination in Warren county. That was in the month of May. They at once became prom- inent factors in the pioneer settlement, devot- ing their energies to improving the land upon which they settled in Virginia township and at the same time freely giving their support to whatever promised to be of benefit to the com- munity.

Of this worthy pioneer couple, the father was born in the Old Dominion. It was in Floyd county, Virginia, March 27, 1811, that Nathaniel Hylton first saw the light of day, and early in life he removed to Indiana, where he met and married Miss Scytha Tincher. Their union resulted in the birth of the follow- ing children: John W., who died at the age of thirty-nine years and is buried in the New Virginia cemetery; J. F., a prosperous and respected farmer on section 17, of Virginia township, this county; Samantha J., who re-

sides at the home place with her mother and has charge of the household affairs; B. A., the immediate subject of this article, and J. S., of Elmwood, Cass county, Nebraska. Nathaniel Hylton united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was ever true to the cause of Christianity. After a long and useful life, the good father passed away, the date of his death being July 25, 1882. A mound and an appro- priate stone in the New Virginia cemetery mark his last resting place. He was a man of many excellent traits of character, was domestic in his tastes, was the soul of integrity and his hospitality was unbounded. None were ever turned away empty-handed from his door. The good Christian lady who shared with him the many vicissitudes of pioneer life has sur- vived him, still maintains her residence at the old homestead, and in her declining years is a comfort to her children. Although feeble and afflicted with heart trouble, she is uncomplain- ing, and her sunny face and happy smile are an inspiration. The casual observer would not take note of her sufferings. She was born in Clark county, Kentucky, January 10, 1826, and her nearly seventy years have been years of activity and great usefulness. Many are her delightful reminiscenses of early life here. She united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in early life and is still a faithful member.

Her son, B. A. Hylton, "Ben," as he is familiarly known, was only two years old at the time of their removal to this State. He was born in Hendricks county, Indiana, April 9, 1855, was reared in Warren county, is tall and coniely in appearance, and together with his fine physique is combined a strength of charac- ter. Of a studious nature, he has acquired something more than the ordinary attainments, and the good people of his township have shown wisdom in their selection of him for Township Clerk. He has also served as Con- stable. In his political affiliations he is a Re- publican. He cast his first presidential vote for Rutherford B. Hayes. Socially, he is iden- tified with the Masonic order and his member- ship in the lodge at New Virginia. Mr. Hyl-

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ton is unmarried. He has charge of the farm- ing operations at the old homestead and resides with his mother and sister.

ILLIAM C. MONTGOMERY, ex- Sheriff of Warren county, Iowa, and one of its well-known citizens, has for years had his residence in Virginia township. He is a representative of a family which has for several generations . figured in the history of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. It was in Knox county, Illinois, in his father's log cabin, about six miles east of Galesburg, that William C. Montgomery was born, August 4, 1838, his parents being Hugh and Dycie (Anderson) Montgomery.

Hugh Montgomery's birthplace was on the site of the Tippecanoe battlefield, the date of his birth being 1816. His father, John Mont- gomery, fought by the side of William H. Har- rison in that war, in which the latter distin- guished himself; and John Montgomery's father, Hugh, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a participant in the Revolution. Early in the present century John Montgomery left Ken- tucky, the State of his birth and that of his father before him, and crossed the mountains and rivers into Territorial Indiana, where he entered a tract of land and established his home, and where for many years he exerted a wide influence that was felt for good. At the time of the Indian uprising this sterling pioneer went forth with other brave citizens to give battle to the dangerous foe, and after the red men had been subdued he returned to his home. He and his good wife, who also was a native of Kentucky, passed the rest of their lives and died in Indiana. They reared a fam- ily of three sons and two daughters. Their son Hugh was married in Indiana to Miss Dycie Anderson, by whom he had seven chil- dren, two sons and five daughters, of whom the following survive: William C., whose name appears at the head of this review; Martha, wife of George Earl, a farmer of Madison county, Nebraska; and Mrs. Alice Taylor,

Cromwell, Iowa. In 1835 Hugh Montgomery removed with his family to Knox county, Illi- nois, and settled on the frontier miles from any neighbor, and there he had his abiding place until 1893, since which year he and his wife have spent most of their time with their children in Iowa. Although having reached the octogenarian rank, he is young in his feel- ings and actions, and greatly enjoys the com- panionship of his grandchildren. His wife is now in her seventy-ninth year. Disease has made inroads upon her constitution, and for some time she has been a sufferer.

William C. Montgomery was reared in his native county, his education being received in subscription schools which were held in a log house five miles from his home. He recalls as his first teacher Mr. Robert Montague, who is still living. On reaching man's estate, Mr. Montgomery chose to follow the calling in which he had been brought up and to which his father's life has been devoted, that of farm- ing. In 1869 he left Illinois and removed to Missouri, locating first in Harrison county and later in Gentry, and after five years spent in Missouri came to Iowa, the date of his arrival in Warren county being October 6, 1874. For seven years he resided in Belmont township. Then he came to Virginia township and pur- chased 120 acres of land on section 8, which he now owns and occupies, his place being a desirable and valuable one.

Mr. Montgomery was married January 21, 1858, when not yet twenty years of age, to Miss Mary E. Chittenton, a native of Hancock county, Indiana. She had removed with her parents from Indiana to Knox county, Illinois, when a child. Of this happy union were born ten children, seven sons and three daughters, namely: Annetta, who died in Belmont town- ship, this county, while in her 'teens; the next two died in infancy; J. E., the fourth born, is a resident of Virginia township; Charles W., also of this township; Samuel A., a school- teacher, of Indianola; Hugh, New Virginia; and Dycie, Mattie and Fred, at home.

When he became a voter Mr. Montgomery

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allied himself with the Democratic party, cast- ing his first presidential vote for Stephen A. Douglas. He voted for Lincoln's second term and since then has always supported the Re- publican party. He has himself frequently been honored by official preferment. He has served as School Director in three different States, having filled the office altogether no less than twenty years, and few there are who have a deeper interest in the public schools than he. In 1885 he was elected Sheriff of Warren county, a position he filled most ably and acceptably from 1886 until 1890, when his term expired: also he has been Constable, and at this writing is Justice of the Peace. During the dark days of the rebellion Mr. Montgom- ery's patriotism asserted itself, and, like his forefathers in early days, he was ready to fight for his country. July 22, 1862, he enlisted as a member of Company K, Eighty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served until he was honorably discharged, November 17, 1862. He is a member of the A. O. U. W.

0 R. ROBERT DRYDEN WILKIN, County Supervisor of Cass county, Iowa, and a popular druggist of At- lantic, has been identified with the interests of this place for nearly twenty years and is classed among the foremost of its lead- ing citizens.

Dr. Wilkin was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, January 12, 1838, and traces his ancestry in the agnatic line back to the Emerald Isle. Archibald Wilkin, his grand- father, was born in Ireland, and when a young man emigrated to America and located in Pennsylvania, where he passed his life in the quiet of agricultural pursuits. He lived to be ninety-nine years of age. His son Andrew, the Doctor's father, was born and reared in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and was engaged in farming all his life. About 1870 he moved to Harrison county, Ohio, where he died at the age of eighty-four years. He and his wife, nee Mary Henderson, were the par-

ents of eight children, the subject of our sketch being the youngest and the mother's death oc- curring when he was an infant.

Thus at the very beginning of life deprived of a mother's loving care, young Wilkin was reared by his aunts, his boyhood days being spent in his native place. He was educated at Pleasant Valley Academy, and on completing his studies there engaged in teaching. In the latter part of 1859 he commenced the study of medicine, and while thus occupied the Civil war came on and his plans were interrupted. He was among the first to respond when a call was made for volunteers to protect the Union. As a private in the First Pennsylvania Cav- alry he went to the front, and was on active duty for three years; served as hospital stew- ard a portion of the time, and was subsequent- ly promoted to the rank of Orderly Sergeant. Prominent among the battles in which he par- ticipated were those of Fredericksburg, Cedar Mountain, Gettysburg, Wilderness, second Bull Run, etc .; and in all his service, although he was frequently in the heat of the battle, with his comrades wounded and dying around him, he never received a wound or scratch. In 1864, at the expiration of his term of enlistment, he was honorably discharged, in front of Peters- burg.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 60

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