Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 84

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

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J OHN L. THERME, who is the incum- bent as cashier of the Keosauqua State Bank at Keosauqua and who is recog- nized as one of the representative citi- zens of Van Buren county, is a native of France, but has passed practically his entire life in the United States and is thoroughly im- bued with the American spirit, though retain- ing a lively regard for the land of his fore- fathers. The date of our subject's nativity was January 12, 1854, his parents being L. L. and Reine (Vanel) Therme, both of whom were born and reared in France. They emi- grated to the United States in 1856, and soon after their arrival took up their abode in Keo- kuk, Iowa, where the father was engaged in the mercantile business from 1859 until 1874, being one of the pioneer merchants of that now populous city and having gained a dis- tinctive popularity in the community. In the year last mentioned he removed to Farming- ton, Van Buren county, where he continued his residence up to the hour of his death, which occurred in the year 1892. His devoted and cherished wife had preceded him into eter- nal rest, her demise having taken place in 1875. Of the four children of L. L. and Reine Therme we offer a brief record as fol- lows, the names appearing as in order of birth: Jeannette maintains her home in Keokuk; John L. is the immediate subject of this review; Mary L. resides in Farmington, this county; and Emile C. is a popular reporter of the Western Union Telegraph Company, in Keo- kuk ..

John L. Therme passed the greater portion of his adolescent days in the city of Keokuk, where he was enabled to avail himself of the

educational advantages afforded by the excel- lent public schools, completing the high school course in 1873.

After thus completing his literary discipline Mr. Therme came to Farmington, this county, and here associated himself with his father in the mercantile business, continuing to be thus concerned until 1884, when he was shown a distinctive token of the respect and confidence in which he was held in the county by being elected to the responsible office of County Treasurer, assuming the discharge of his of- ficial duties in January, 1885. He was elected as his own successor in 1887, and his tenure of office continued until 1890. His fidelity to the trust imposed and his marked executive ability were so manifest as to gain him the en- dorsement of the public, irrespective of party lines. In his political adherency Mr. Therme is strongly arrayed in the support of the Re- publican party and its principles, and it was as the candidate of this party that he was elected to the office of Treasurer.

After retiring from office our subject re- turned to Keokuk, where he engaged in the wholesale book and stationery business, con- tinuing operations in this line for the period of two years, after which he disposed of his in- terests in the same and accepted a position as general bookkeeper in the Citizens' National Bank, of Des Moines, remaining for some lit- tle time and becoming an expert accountant.

May 5, 1893, in company with Judge H. H. Tremble and others, Mr. Therme was con- cerned in the organization of the Keosauqua State Bank, of which he was chosen cashier. As the chief practical executive of the institu- tion he has managed its affairs with that dis- crimination and wise conservatism which have made it one of the most popular and most sub- stantial banking concerns in the county, the personnel of its officers and stockholders stand- ing in sufficient guarantee of the strength of the bank and of the correct methods brought to bear in its operation. Mr. Therme is known as an able financier and has shown a marked capacity for affairs of breadth and for the ef-

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fective directing of details. He is held in pop- ular esteem and has proved an acquisition to the business circles of Keosauqua. Fraternally he is prominently identified with the Masonic order, in which he has advanced through the various bodies to the Knights Templar degree, being a member of Elchannan Commandery, of Keosauqua.

In the year 1875 was solemnized the mar- riage of Mr. Therme to Miss Lucia Meek, daughter of Dr. S. G. Meek, one of the prom- inent pioneers and medical practitioners of Farmington, this county. Our subject and his wife are the parents of two daughters and two sons, namely: Edna M., J. Lester, Flor- ence and Dick.

LLEN G. LIPPINCOTT .- In any community there is ever an eminent degree of satisfaction in reverting to the life history of those whose identi- fication therewith dates back to the initial or inceptive period, and in this connection due recognition must be accorded him whose name introduces this paragraph, for he is not only one of the most extensive landholders in Van Buren county and one who has been most prominently identified with her great agri- cultural and stock-raising industries, but he is the sole representative of a family honored among the early pioneers of this section of the State and one which demands consideration in a publication of this order. Mr. Lippincott has now practically retired from active busi- ness and is enjoying the repose which is due him after years of toil and endeavor, being one of the honored citizens of Keosauqua and of the county which has been the field of his operations for the greater portion of his useful life.

A native of the Buckeye State, Mr. Lip- pincott was born on a farm in the vicinity of Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, on the 19th of March, 1833, the son of Allen and Sarah (Gough) Lippincott, who were among the early pioneers of Van Buren county, Iowa.

The father of our subject was born in the State of New Jersey, on the 2d of January, 1806, and was identified with agricultural pursuits during his entire life, being a man of ability and noble character. The mother was born in London, England, on the 9th of October, 1794, her father having emigrated with his family to the United States in the year 1820.

The marriage of the parents of our subject was consummated in New Jersey, and in 1839 they removed to Iowa, which was then a Ter- ritory, and represented the veritable frontier of civilization. They located in Van Buren county, settling on a farm three miles east of the present thriving little city of Keosauqua. The original farm comprised 240 acres, and the father devoted his attention to the cultiva- tion of this very considerable tract throughout the residue of his life, having directed his efforts with that discrimination and intelli- gence which insured due returns. He died on the old farmstead, the date of his demise having been March 4, 1864. His widow survived un- til November, 1873, when she, too, entered into eternal rest, having continuously main- tained her home in what is now Henry town- ship, this county. Allen and Sarah Lippincott became the parents of three children, in order of birth as follows: Rebecca, who died in 18 -; Eliza, whose death occurred in 18 -; and Al- len G., who is the immediate subject of this review.

Our subject was but a lad of six years at the time his parents removed to the Territory of Iowa, and he passed his youthful days on the pioneer farm in this county, lending a due quota to its cultivation and improvement, and securing such educational advantages as the place and period afforded. That these weresome- what meager it is not necessary to state, for the settlers were few and far between and the era of public schools had not as yet been ushered into such provincial and isolated local- ities, the schoolmasters having been an itiner- ant class, the school-houses of the most prim- itive order, and the institutions themselves having been maintained by private subscrip-

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RECORD OF IOWA.

tions. It is interesting to revert to these conditions at the present day, when Iowa lays just claim to having the least percentage of illiteracy of any State in the Union, with a public school system which provides for every youth within its confines. After attaining years of comparative maturity our subject continued to remain on the old homestead, eventually assuming charge of its cultivation and showing his filial solicitude ·by remaining with his parents until each was finally called into the life be- yond, when the entire estate came into his keeping as sole owner. Continuing to devote attention to general agriculture Mr. Lippincott materially enlarged the scope of his operations by dealing quite extensively in live-stock, a branch of his business from which he realized very satisfactory profits, particularly during the period of the late war, when live-stock com- manded excellent prices. He brought to bear much discernment and executive ability in car- rying on his extended business, and early be- came known as one of the progressive and representative men of this section of the State. As his means accumulated Mr. Lippincott made judicious investments in county realty, until he had a landed estate comprising 2,000 acres of choice land. He has since decreased its area until he now owns 1, 342 acres of the best land in the county, the same being under effective cultivation and having permanent im- provements of exceptional excellence, -includ- ing a modern dwelling and fine barns for the accommodation of stock and farm products. From 1864 until 1888 he purchased stock in addition to that of his own raising, and per- sonally shipped the same to the metropolitan inarkets, having had at one time 500 head of fine cattle on his place. He continued to be concerned in the live-stock industry until 1893, when he felt that he was justified in abating somewhat his active efforts, and accordingly he removed from his farm to Keosauqua, where he has since resided, having an attractive home here, and enjoying the respect and es- teem of the community.

In his political proclivities Mr. Lippincott

is stanchly arrayed in the support of the Dem- ocratic party and its principles, and for six years he was the popular and efficient incum- bent as Supervisor of his county. Fraternally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having become a member of Ke- osauqua Lodge, No. 3, in the year 1862.

January 29, 1857, Mr. Lippincott was unit- ed in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Davis, a daughter of Alexander and Elsie Davis, prom- inent pioneers of this county. Mrs. Lippincott was born in Kentucky and was brought by her parents to Van Buren county, Iowa, when an infant. Our subject and his estimable wife became the parents of two daughters: Mary L., who is the wife of W. C. Cheney, of Keo- sauqua; and Sallie, a bright school girl who died at the age of sixteen. Religiously they are devoted members of the Congregational Church, in which Mr. Lippincott is a member of the Board of Trustees. These honored pioneers richly merit representation in this volume.

0 R. BENJAMIN P. BLACKMER, who is one of the old and honored med- ical practitioners of southern Iowa and who has attained the esteem and confidence of the people of the section which represents his field of labor, maintains his residence and professional headquarters at Bonaparte, Van Buren county, and is well worthy of consideration in this publication. He traces his lineage back to the Colonial period in American history, and the record is one in which he may well take pride and satis- faction.

The Doctor is a native of the old Empire State, having been born in Genesee (now Wyoming) county, New York, on the 6th of April, 1839. His father, Charles J. Blackmer, was also a native of the State of New York, and he was there reared to manhood, there married and there passed his entire life. He was a lawyer of marked ability and was also proficient as a civil engineer. His father was

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Zoar Blackmer, and the identification of the family with American history dates back to 1620, when the original American ancestors emigrated from England and took up their abode in the colonies. The maiden name of our subject's mother was Permela Peck, and she was the daughter of Benjamin Peck, her paternal grandfather having been a soldier in the Continental army during the war of the Revolution, and having been taken prisoner and held for some time in captivity on an Eng- lish prison-boat on the Atlantic. The original ancestors of the Peck family came from Eng- land.

Dr. Benjamin P. Blackmer passed his youthful days in western New York, securing his preliminary educational training in the pub- lic schools, and later supplementing this dis- cipline by entering the Brockport Collegiate Institute, where he continued his studies for some time and later attended the Doolittle In- stitute at Wethersfield Springs, New York. On leaving school he put his acquirements to prac- tical use by engaging in teaching in his native State, and he followed the pedagogic vocation for some time, having taught for one term after taking up his residence in Van Buren county, Iowa.

In 1861 he began the technical work of preparing himself for that profession to which he had determined to devote his life, continu- ing the study of medicine under private pre- ceptorage for some time, and showing a prac- tical power of assimilating the knowledge acquired. He completed his regular medical course after coming to Iowa, graduating at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, in Keokuk, as a member of the class of 1878. He had begun the practice of medicine in his native State as far back as 1863, the year of his arrival in Iowa having been 1878. After his graduation at the college in Keokuk he came to Bonaparte, where he has since conducted a distinctively representative practice, having gained the confidence and good will of the community and having been signally devoted to his profession and to ministering to suffer-

ing humanity, keeping fully informed in regard to the advances made in the science which he represents.

In politics the Doctor is a stalwart sup- porter of the principles and policies of the Democratic party, and fraternally he is identi- fied with the Masonic order, retaining his mem- bership in the blue lodge in New York and in the chapter at Bonaparte. He maintains a hearty interest in the growth and prosperity of the village of his residence.

In 1881 was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Blackmer to Miss Colusa Sturdivant, daughter of Dr. R. J. Sturdivant, of Bonaparte, and the offspring of this union is three daugh- ters, -Capitola C., Nola P. and Benna P.

R OGER NELSON CRESAP, M. D .- The subject of this review is one of the most able and successful of the younger medical practitioners of Van Buren county, and has attained to distinctive prestige in the village which stands as the place of his nativity, namely Bonaparte, where he was born on the 29th of July, 1857, being the son of John T. B. and Caroline (Washing- ton) Cresap.

The father of the Doctor was a native of the State of Tennessee, when he removed to the Territory of Iowa in 1834, becoming one of the pioneers of his locality. His father, Roger Nelson Cresap, whose full patronymic our subject bears, was a physician of eminence, having been a graduate of the Louisville Medical College, at Louisville, Kentucky, and his was the distinction of having been the first physician to engage in the practice of his pro- fession at Bonaparte. John T. B. Cresap en- gaged in the mercantile business and conducted a successful enterprise of this nature in Bona- parte for a number of years. His wife was the daughter of George Washington, who was a direct descendant of the illustrious General Washington. The death of the Doctor's mother occurred in Pittsburg, Iowa, in the year 1872, while the father is still living. The

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great-grandfather of our subject in the paternal line was Colonel Michael Cresap, who was a valiant soidier in the war of the Revolution, and he died in New York city, whither he had gone on a trip from his home in Maryland, with a company of men to join the Revolution- ary forces at that point.

Roger N. Cresap, the immediate subject of this sketch, remained in Bonaparte and pur- sued his studies in the public schools until he had attained the age of sixteen years, when he entered the school of telegraphy at Mount Zion, Iowa, and there completed the pre- scribed course and was thereafter employed as a telegraph operator for the period of five years, having gone to Kansas City, Missouri, and there entered the employ of the Western Union Telegraph Company.

While thus engaged he found opportunity to enter upon that course of technical prepara- tion for the profession which he had deter- mined to adopt as his vocation in life, and he began the study of medicine under private pre- ceptorage, and after completing his reading further enforced himself for the work of his profession by matriculating as a student in the Kansas City Medical College, where he grad- uated as a member of the class of 1885. He began practice in Kansas City and there re- mained for five years, after which he returned to his native place, where he has ever since continued his zealous efforts as a physician and surgeon, and where he has gained a support- ing patronage of representative order. He is an active member of the Iowa State Medical Society and the Eastern Iowa Dis- trict Medical Association, and he keeps thor- oughly in touch with the advances made in the noble science which engages his attention and effort. In his political views the Doctor is a stalwart supporter of the Republican party.

July 2, 1888, was consummated the mar- riage of Doctor Cresap to Miss Elizabeth Bor- land, of Kansas City, her father, William P. Borland, being a prominent banker of Leaven- worth, Kansas. The Doctor and Mrs. Cresap have one daughter, Katharine H.

INFIELD FORDYCE, M. D .- Jefferson county, Iowa, is favored in having represented on her list of professional men individuals of dis- tinguished attainments and indubitable per- sonal honor, and among the leading medical practitioners and most highly esteemed citizens of Fairfield must be accorded a conspicuous place to him whose name initiates this review.

The Doctor is a native son of Iowa, having been born in the vicinity of Fort Madison, Lee county, on the 10th of February, 1848, the son of Lewis and Mary A. (Newby) Fordyce. The father was born in Wabash county, Illi- nois, and he there remained until he had at- tained to man's estate, his removal to Iowa having occurred in the early pioneer days of 1837, at which time he accompanied his par- ents upon their emigration to the West. His father, Jairus Fordyce, had made a prospect- ing trip to Iowa the year previous, and after bringing his family here located upon a tract of land which he had secured from the Gov- ernment, in Van Buren county. The mother of our subject, who was also a native of Indi- ana, was the daughter of Gabriel Newby, who was born in Indiana and was a representative of one of the early and prominent pioneer fam- ilies of the Hoosier State, having been an ad- herent of the noble religious faith of the So- ciety of Friends, or Quakers, as the common designation is applied. The marriage of Mary A. Newby to Lewis Fordyce was solemnized in Lee county, Iowa, and shortly after this happy ceremonial the young couple located on a farm in the same county, and there remained until the year 1851, when they removed to Van Buren county, where they resided until 1874, and then removed to Jefferson county and took up their abode on a farm in Des Moines township, where the father has ever since been engaged in agricultural pursuits, being one of the substantial and honored farmers of the county.

Our subject was reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline of farm life, and his early educational advantages were . such as

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were afforded in the district schools. Such was his appreciation of the value of knowledge and his ambition to learn that, even with these somewhat meager opportunities, he was enabled to acquire a thorough knowledge of the English branches and to lay the foundation for the broad intellectuality which is now his. After completing his studies he had so far advanced as to be eligible for pedagogic honors, and at the age of twenty years he began teaching in the district schools of Van Buren county, and devoted his attention to this vocation for three years during the winter months, while in the summer he was engaged in farm work. In the meanwhile he had formulated his plans for the future and had determined to prepare himself for the practice of medicine, with which laudable end in view he began his technical reading in the office of Dr. J. N. Norris, of Birmingham, with whom he remained for some time, and then, in the winter of 1871-2, he took his first course of lectures in the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk. After thus reinforcing himself he entered upon the active practice of his profession at Glas- gow, Jefferson county, returning to the college and taking his second course of lectures in the winter of 1874-5, and graduating at that well- known institution in February, of the latter year, with the coveted degree of Doctor of Medicine. Returning to Glasgow, he there continued in practice until 1891, when he took up his residence in Fairfield, where his high professional ability and genial personality have gained him distinctive prestige and a large and representative practice. The Doctor is a mem- ber of the State and county medical societies and also of the Eastern Iowa Medical Society, in the work and deliberations of each of which he maintains an active interest.

In politics he exercises his franchise in sup- port of the Republican party, and in his fra- ternal relations is identified with Clinton Lodge, No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons; and For- est City Lodge, No. 37, Knights of Pythias.

December 19, 1876, was consuminated the marriage of Dr. Fordyce to Miss Marian Fell,

daughter of David Fell, of Jefferson county, and they are the parents of three children : Mary, Elsie and Chester.

J OHN G. BROWN .- A continuous serv- ice as chief executive officer of an im- portant financial institutions when pro- tracted over a term of nearly thirty years, should certainly define in a measure why particular recognition should be accorded to him who has rendered it, and in tracing the life histories of the representative men of any community it would be flagrant neglect were there failure to revert to one whose identifica- tion with the annals of said community had been thus conspicuous. In the case at hand we have the privilege of referring to the more salient points in the career of John G. Brown, who has been the incumbent as cashier of the Manning Bank at Keosauqua, Van Buren county, since 1857; a man whose parents were among the early and honored pioneers of the county; and one who has himself contributed a due quota toward the advancement of its material interests and the furtherance of its normal progress.

Our subject, whose lineage is of pure Scotch origin, was born in the city of Albany, New York, on the 19th of December, 1825, being the son of Hugh and Mary (Gibson) Brown, both of whom were natives of Scotland. The father was born in Ayrshire, in the year 1775, and the mother was a native of the city of Ayr in the same shire. In 1822 the family emigrated from their native land to America, locating in Albany, New York, where the father devoted his attention to his profession as a contractor and builder, being thus engaged until 1842, when he removed with his family to Iowa and took up his abode in Keosauqua. He became prominently concerned in the agricultural in- dustries of Van Buren county, and attained a po- sition of influence in the community, being a man of high intellectuality and inflexible integrity. His death occurred in 1847, and his widow lived to attain the venerable age of eighty-

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three years, being summoned to the life eternal in 1877. They became the parents of five sons and four daughters, of which number six still survive-all being residents of Iowa.

John G., the immediate subject of this re- view, was the eldest son, and he passed his early school days in Albany, New York, and subsequently continued his scholastic discipline in a select school at Carbondale, Pennsylvania. He came to Keosauqua in 1843, the year suc- ceeding the arrival of the remainder of the fam- ily in this place, and as his father had erected a saw and grist mill here he found employ- ment in the same, assisting in their operation for a number of years. In 1851 he became imbued with the spirit of adventure, and crossed the plains to California, arriving in Shasta county after a journey of four months' dura- tion, the trip having been made with teams of mules and ponies. He continued his way into the gulch diggings, where the search for the precious metal was being pursued with avidity, and there spent two years, being located on Clear creek. His efforts were attended with a fair degree of success, but the seductions of a more advanced and civilized community drew him back to Iowa at the expiration of the pe- riod mentioned. He made the return trip by the way of the isthmus of Panama to New Or- leans, from which city he made his way, via the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers, to Keo- kuk, and from that point came on to Keosau- qua, where he engaged in business. In 1857 Mr. Brown entered the employ of Edwin Manning, the pioneer merchant of Keosauqua, assuming a clerical position in that gentleman's store. In 1867 he was installed as cashier in the Manning Bank, and he has consecutively held this position during all the long interven- ing years, the bank being recognized as one of the oldest and most substantial monetary insti- tutions in southern Iowa,-a veritable Gibral- tar which has weathered the storms of financial panic and stringency, and which has maintained its high prestige by reason of the correct and conservative methods brought to bear in the conduct of the business, and the indubitable

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 84

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