Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 95

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

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In 1871 Dr. Stevens established a drug store in Montour, and has since added a stock of notions. His establishment is well fitted up with everything to be found in his line of trade, and during the past two years he has given his attention almost exclusively to this business. He has a large trade, his straight- forward dealing and courteous treatment of his customers winning him a liberal patronage. In his political views the Doctor is a conservative

Democrat, and has had neither time nor incli- nation for public office. He is a member of the Iowa Legion of Honor, and of the Congregational Church. His interest in the welfare of this community has been long and continued. He has borne an important part in the work of public progress, but his la- bors which have won the gratitude of the pub- lic have been in connection with his profession and his kind ministrations therein. In pio- neer days he has ridden many miles in response to a call from the sick and suffering. Nothing so lessens man's .selfishness; nothing so broad- ens and elevates man as sympathy. No one save him who has needed it can appreciate the blessedness of timely assistance, -a fact to which many can testify in behalf of Dr. Stevens.

ON. EZRA C. EBERSOLE, A. M., LL. D .- There is no man in Iowa more widely or more favorably known among lawyers than the subject of this review. He is a ripe scholar, though still a student, an able attorney, whose popularity is not bounded by local jurisdictions, and a gentleman whose voice and pen are ever ready to advocate a righteous cause. For eight con- secutive years he ably and acceptably filled the honorable position of Reporter of the Supreme Court of Iowa. Few people in the ordinary walks of life can have a just appreciation of the immense amount of labor coupled with the administration of the affairs of this office. During his connection therewith he collected the material and prepared for the printer twenty-two volumes of the Iowa Supreme Court Reports. These to-day have a place in the library of every well equipped law office in the State. It is therefore apparent that the name of our subject is a household word in every lawyer's family in Iowa. In view of this, and the matter to be hereafter recorded, it is eminently fitting that he should be repre- sented in a work of this character.

Mr. Ebersole is a native of Mt. Pleasant,

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Pennsylvania, born October 18, 1840. His parents, Jacob and Catherine (Keister) Eber- sole, were of German lineage. The father was a thrifty mechanic, who, appreciating the advantages of a good education, made every provision possible for securing school priv- ileges for his children. Though not himself an educated man in the sense in which that term is understood, he yet was very intelligent and observing, possessing positive views on the various social and political topics which in his day excited the people. He was especially op- posed to human slavery in every form, not for- getting that the habitual drunkard is as much a slave as his dark-skinned brother, who served a Southern master. Father Ebersole early impressed his children with his sincerity, and instilled into their minds lessons of integrity, self-respect and self-reliance, and impressed them with the grand constitutional declaration that "all men are created equal." But the family was early bereft of his tender care and guidance, his death occurring in 1856, at the age of forty-four years. His wife survived him twenty-seven years, spending the last of her widowhood with a married daughter at Le- compton, Kansas. The marriage of the par- ents had been celebrated in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where they lived as thrifty and frugal people. Both were con- sistent Christians, the father being a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church until the division which occurred on the slavery ques- tion in that church, after which he and his es- timable wife found a religious home with the United Brethren in Christ. In their family were five children: Solomon K., a prosper- ous merchant of Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, who married Miss Emily Stahl; Ezra C .; David, who died in childhood; Flora, who be- came the wife of Joseph S. Stauffer, and re- sides in Lecompton, Kansas; and Jesse, who died in childhood.

Mr. Ebersole spent his youth in attendance upon the public schools of his native town. His father's will made ample provision for his liberal education, and on leaving the public

schools he entered Mt. Pleasant College, but possessing at that time a rather frail body he found himself at the end of one year with health so impaired as to require a rest from mental labor. When he had sufficiently recovered to resume his studies, the college had passed un- der the control of Otterbein University, of Ohio, and he followed it thither. He had nearly reached the close of the junior year in the classical course, when, on the Ist of Jan- uary, 1861, ill health again compelled him to suspend mental labor. His ambition in the line of education induced him to seek some institution of learning offering a wider range of metaphysical studies, and in April, 1861, he entered Amherst College, of Massachusetts. Professor Seeley, so long president of that pop- ular institution, then occupied the chair of metaphysics. Manual exercise was a promi- nent feature of the curriculum, and Mr. Eber- sole found this training beneficial to his health. He was graduated in 1862, in a class of fifty- three pupils, and for a few months thereafter engaged in teaching in the celebrated Tracy Institute, at Tarrytown on the Hudson, after which he returned home.

. The great Civil war had at that time been precipitated upon the country, and Mr. Eber- sole, unmindful of his physical infirmities, promptly offered his services in the summer of 1863, being accepted as a member of Dick's (detached) Pennsylvania Cavalry, but was dis- charged in October following. During his last year at college he was elected tutor at Otter- bein University, but did not accept the posi- tion. In July, 1863, he was elected professor of mathematics and astronomy in Western Col- lege, then situated in Linn county, Iowa, and for two years occupied that chair. In the meantime he also served 100 days as Ser- geant in the students' company -- Company D, Forty-fourth Iowa Infantry-which organiza- tion consisted of volunteers from the Iowa State University, Cornell College and Western College. His military service was confined principally to guard duty at Memphis. On the expiration of his term of enlistment he re-

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turned to the discharge of his duties at West- ern College.

On the 25th of September, 1865, Mr. Eber- sole was united in marriage to Miss Frances E. Spencer, a teacher in the same college, with whom he traveled the pathway of life for twenty-five years. They resigned their situa- tion in Western College and entered into an engagement to teach in the Fort Madison Academy, but Mr. Ebersole's health again failed and they abandoned teaching, removing to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the fall of 1866 he went to Chicago to pursue the study of law, being at the same time tutor in the family of S. H. Kerfoot. Again illness interfered with. his studies, and he went to Pennsylvania to aid in the final settlement of his father's estate. Returning to Iowa, he purchased a tract of land in Jefferson, Greene county, intending to combine outdoor efforts with mental labor; but a disastrous fire necessitated a change of plans. The fire cost him about all his worldly pos- sessions, and, returning to Cedar Rapids, he accepted the management of Western College. By petition to the trustees, the students pro- cured his election as president in 1868, but on the same day he was elected principal of -the preparatory department and assistant professor of ancient languages in the Iowa State Uni- versity. He accepted the latter position, which he filled for two years. During this time he also continued his course of preparation for the legal profession, and, resigning his position in the university, in June, 1870, he was ad- mitted to the bar in the Circuit Court in John- son county, Judge W. E. Miller presiding.

Mr. Ebersole began practice at Iowa City, where he was associated with J. H. Coon, and later with Judge C. C. Luce. In the spring of 187 I he went to Adel, Dallas county, where he pursued his profession, and after a few months formed a partnership with S. A. Call- vert, afterward Judge of the Circuit Court of the Eighth Judicial District. He finally sold his business interest to his partner, and went on a prospecting tour through Arkansas. While there he taught in an academy at Smith-

ville, and was elected manager of the Presby- terian College at Batesville; but returning to Iowa on a visit he was elected principal of the Cedar Rapids high school, which position he accepted, though he had not applied for it. This was his first public-school work. During his year in this capacity, the graduating sys- tem of the Cedar Rapids schools was inaugu- rated and the first class graduated.

In 1873 Mr. Ebersole formed a business partnership with J. W. Willett, and located at Toledo. This firm soon built up a fine prac- tice in Tama county and adjacent courts, and the relationship was maintained until Mr. Ebersole's election as Supreme Court Reporter in 1882.

In the social and business world Mr. Eber- sole occupies an enviable position, and is fore- most in every enterprise calculated to enhance the interests of the people. A gentleman of ripe scholarship, mature judgment, strong con- victions of what is right and what is wrong, with a reserved force sufficient for any emer- gency, it is not strange that his work has been a series of successes in whatever field he en- tered. The political impressions received from his father at a time when to be a " Free- soiler " demanded a heroic nature, were sanc- tioned and confirmed by his mature judgment. He refers with pardonable pride and enthu- siasm to the fact that his relatives, both on his father's and mother's side, so far as he knows, are sober, honest, industrious and thrifty people.

Mr. Ebersole was a second time married July 10, 1895, when Miss Emma Smith be- came his wife. She is a native of Iowa county, Iowa, and a daughter of P. D. Smith. They have an adopted daughter, Maude, at present a stenographer and typewriter operator in the office of our subject. She is a young lady of refinement and education and of decided lit- erary tastes. As an impersonator and reader she is much in demand in the literary and social circles of Toledo.

At the general election in 1894, Mr. Eber- sole was made County Attorney of Tama county, which position he now fills. During

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the last four years he has been engaged in com- piling a treatise on the laws of Iowa. The publication of this valuable work has been de- layed by reason of a revision of the Iowa code. The appearance of this text-book will be hailed with delight by every attorney in the State.

Mr. Ebersole has served in various official positions of a local character: was Mayor of Toledo three terms, for a number of years was a member of the Board of Education, was ten years a member of the executive committee of Western College, and is at present a member of the faculty as lecturer on constitutional law. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. and several other social and fra- ternal orders.

a HARLES SKRABLE, the efficient County Treasurer of Tama county, has been a resident of this county since its infancy, his parents having located here in October, 1856. He was born in Losina, a small village of Bohemia, on the 2 Ist of October, 1855, and is a son of Joseph and Magdelena Skrable. The father was the only representative of his family who crossed the Atlantic. With his wife and five children he emigrated to the United States, and took up his residence in York township, Tama county, where he purchased 100 acres of land that was nearly all raw prairie. With char- acteristic energy, however, he began its culti- vation and when he removed to another farm, about fifteen months later, had it quite well developed. His death occurred in December, 1893, at the age of seventy-five years. In his business dealings · he was quite prosper- ous and at one time owned 260 acres of land, having the same well improved, but before his death he gave most of his property to his chil- dren. He held membership with the Roman Catholic Church, and gave his political support to the Republican party. His wife is still living, at the age of seventy-five years, and now makes her home in Elberon, Iowa. They had five children: John, a banker and

prominent business man of Elberon; Mary, now the widow of James Herwirt, and a resi- dent of Buffalo county, Nebraska; Katie, wife of Joseph Blazek, whose home is in Elberon; and Joseph, a farmer, who died in York town- ship, Tama county, leaving a wife and two children.

Mr. Skrable of this review was reared un- der the parental roof and attended the country schools. Upon attaining his majority he re- moved to a farm of his own and continued its cultivation until twenty-five years of age. In 1880 he removed to Elberon, where he en- gaged in business as a dealer in grain, erecting the first elevator at that place, about the time of the location of the railroad station there. For about ten years he carried on the grain trade, doing a profitable business, but in 1890 sold out his interest in that line and forming a partnership with his brother John founded the bank of Elberon, the first and only banking house in the town. They are still conducting this as a private bank, and it is recognized as one of the solid financial institutions of the county, and has therefore won a liberal patron- age. Our subject acted as its cashier until his removal to Toledo to enter upon the duties of public office.

On the 2d of February, 1881, Mr. Skrable was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ulch, daughter of Michael Ulch, a farmer of York township, Tama county, where the lady's birth occurred in 1862. Two children were born of their union: Anthony James, who died Oc- tober 19, 1895; and Emma.

In his political views Mr. Skrable is a stal- wart Republican. He was elected Township Clerk of York township and served for four years; was also Constable, and in November, 1893, was nominated by his party for the po- sition of County Treasurer. He made a good canvass and was triumphantly elected. He therefore removed to Toledo and at once en- tered upon the discharge of the duties of that office, which he has since been acceptably fill- ing. So faithfully did he serve during his first term that in November, 1895, he was re-

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elected. He is always found true to the duties devolving upon him, whether of a public or private nature, and the confidence reposed in him is never misplaced.

Mr. Skrable still owns his farm of 170 acres, which is a well improved and valuable property. He also has other realty and his banking business. He is a man of strong force of character, of sagacity and sound judgment, and his well directed efforts have brought to him a success which numbers him among Tama county's substantial citizens.

a ILLIAM CORNS, M. D., is the old- est physician in years of continuous practice at Tama, Iowa, where he located on the Ist of April, 1865, at which time the town was called Iuka. . He has since successfully engaged in the prosecution of his profession, and ranks high as a member of the medical fraternity.

The Doctor is a native of Muskingum coun- ty, Ohio, his birth having occurred in Taylors- ville, nine miles from Zanesville, October 27, 1835. His parents were William and Adeline (Bagley) Corns, natives respectively of Mus- kingum county, Ohio, and Washington county, New York. The Corns family is of German origin, residing in Pennsylvania for several generations. The Doctor's grandfather, William Andrew Corns, was a native of the Keystone State, and had a brother who served in the Revolu- tionary war. In an early day he emigrated to Ohio, casting in his lot with the pioneers of Muskingum county. There he reared a large family, and died at an advanced age, while his wife was more than ninety years of age when called to the home beyond.

The Doctor's father was reared on a farm, and afterward learned the trade of a mill- wright. About 1835, in Ohio, he was united in marriage with the daughter of William Bag- ley, who came to Iowa about 1839, and died in this State some years afterward. He had a fainily that included two sons and several daughters. William Corns, father of our sub-

ject, started Westward soon after his mar- riage, locating first at Princeton, Illinois. He intended to make Iowa his home, but the land in this locality had not then been placed on the market. In May, 1837, he took up his resi- dence in Muscatine county, and erected a log cabin near the present site of West Liberty. Subsequently he bought of the Government his land when it was placed upon the market, and lived in that vicinity until his death, which occurred in 1847. He was an honorable, in- dustrious man, and at his death left to his fam- ily the priceless heritage of a good name. His wife long survived him, and passed away in 1893, at the ripe age of seventy-seven years. They were the parents of six children, five of whom reached adult life, namely: Emily, wife of Oliver Billups, a resident of Nebraska; the Doctor; Mrs. Lois Hutchinson, who is living in Mahaska county, Iowa; Amos, who was a soldier of the Thirty-third Iowa Infantry, was killed in battle at Saline river, forty miles from Little Rock; and Alonzo, who is living in Mahaska county. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Corns became the wife of Mar- quis Kirkpatrick, and they had two sons: Julius, who is living in Mahaska county; and Milo, a physician of Colorado.

The Doctor was reared on the old home farm and began his education in the country schools of the neighborhood, which he attended through the winter season, while in the sum- mer months he aided in the labors of the farm. When his literary education was completed he resolved to take up the practice of medicine, and worked his own way through college, meeting all expenses with capital he had acquired through his earnest and untiring labor. He first read medicine at West Liberty with Dr. Albert Ady, and then attended lec- tures in Keokuk Medical College, at which he was graduated in the class of 1862, receiving the degree of M. D. In August of the same year he engaged as contract surgeon in the general hospital at Keokuk, being employed by the United States Government, and served in that capacity until 1865. He has since also

V. B. Martin.

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pursued two additional courses of lectures in his alma mater.

On the Ist of April, 1865, Dr. Corns located in Tama, where he has since continuously engaged in general practice. He at first entered into partnership with Dr. M. S. But- ler, who was the first physician to locate in this place. That connection, however, con- tinued only a few months, and since that time Dr. Corns has been mostly alone in practice.

In August, 1864, was celebrated the mar- riage of the Doctor and Miss Isabel Hemperly, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Adam Hemperly, a cooper and a farmer. Nine children were born of this marriage, but two died in infancy. Those still living are Flor- ence, wife of William Rutledge, of Rock Island, manager of an extensive painting estab- lishment there; Kittie, at home; Amos, who married Dollie Bennett, and resides in Tama, with his wife and two children, Leon and Ralph; William, a medical student; Mabel, at home; Charles, who is attending school; and Emmett, at home.

In politics the Doctor is an ardent Repub- lican, but has no desire for political office. He has done a prosperous business, and is now the owner of his pleasant residence and other property in Tama. He is a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, of which he at one time served as first vice-president, and for ten years he served as United States Examin- ing Surgeon. He has secured high rank among his professional brethren, and is now an able representative of the profession, with which he has been connected for upward of thirty years.

ON. WILLIAM BIRNEY MARTIN, a member of the Iowa State Legis- lature, and a dealer in real estate at Greenfield, was born in Windsor county, Vermont, on the 17th of March, 1846, and is a son of Loman and Amanda (Gibson) Martin. They were also natives of Vermont, and in that State were married and died. For 38

forty years they lived upon one farm and were widely known and prominent people of the community. The great-grandfather Martin was one of the first settlers in the White river valley of Vermont, where he located on his emigration from Scotland. The Gibson family is of English origin.

William B. Martin was reared to manhood in the Green Mountain State, and began his education in the common schools, after which he attended the Orange county grammar school, now one of the State Normal Schools, located at Randolph Center, Vermont. A few days before attaining his majority he removed to Henry county, Illinois, where he engaged in teaching and farming, having followed the for- mer pursuit for three years before leaving the East. He remained in Henry county for two years, and since April, 1869, has been a resi- dent of Adair county, Iowa.

On his arrival in · this State, Mr. Martin located on an unimproved farm, bordering the northern boundary of the county, and devel- oped and improved his land, successfully con- tinuing its cultivation until 1873, when he was elected as County Auditor of Adair county, and removed to Fontanelle, then the county seat. His capable administration of the affairs of that office led to his again being chosen to that position in 1875, being the first Republican ever elected to the office. Previous to this time the business had been managed without much system, and Mr. Martin at once instituted methods for systematizing the work of the office, and the plans which he followed were continued during his four years' service and by all of his successors up to the present time. The affairs of the office are therefore conducted on a thorough business basis. Mr. Martin has- also served as Township Clerk for many years, and has held various other positions of trust and responsibility. For two years he was Jus- tice of the Peace, and for three years he had the reins of city government in hand, serving as Mayor of Greenfield. The county seat was removed to this place in June, 1875, and Mr. Martin has since been a resident of this city.

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At the general election in 1893 he was elected a member of the Twenty-fifth Assem- bly and served with marked distinction on various committees, having held the respon- sible office of chairman of the Committee on Elections. He was also a member of the Committees on Ways and Means, on Banking, on the Suppression of Intemperance and a number of others, and was chairman of the subcommittee that formulated and submitted the bill known as the Martin Mulct bill. Mr. Martin drew up a bill containing the principal features embodied in the present bill, submit- ted it to the subcommittee, by whom a few changes were made, after which it was sub- mitted to the committee of the whole and re- ported for passage. Some slight changes were made in the house, after which it passed and became the law as in force to-day. In this work Mr. Martin has made himself the best known champion of temperance in the State, for through his endeavors it has become pos- sible to control the liquor traffic in counties which previously ignored the existing laws. He did much hard work on this committee and especially on the subcommittee, where the principal part of the labor was performed. The Martin Mulct law has become one of the statutory fixtures among Iowa laws, and the longer it is in use the greater is known the wisdom shown in its inception. Mr. Martin's career in this respect and his other commend- able legislative work readily secured his re- nomination for the same exalted position. He received the nomination for the Legislature with the very complimentary endorsement of his previous service, and is at present the standard-bearer of the Republican party in Adair county.

Mr. Martin is a gentleman who stands very high in the esteem of his fellow citizens. His special characteristic is a frank and open dis- position. He is positive in his convictions, honest in purpose, affable in manner, and, pos- sessing the confidence and esteem of his large circle of acquaintances, holds a high position in the social affairs of his city and county.

Since retiring from the County Auditor's office, he has given his attention largely to the real- estate, abstract and loan business, buying and selling Adair county lands. In this line of en- deavor he has been very successful, handling and controlling large tracts of land for rent and for sale, the property being mostly owned by non-residents. He also owns individually over 600 acres of valuable land, the greater part of which is improved.

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Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 95

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