USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Past and present of Appanoose County, Iowa : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 26
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For a number of years past Mr. Bailey has devoted a great deal of his attention to the development of a better and more perfect grade of corn and has accomplished some very gratifying results along this line. So successful has he been indeed that he is now regarded as an authority upon everything connected with corn cultivation and his work has received state-wide appreciation and recognition. For the past three years he has exhibited at the state corn show and two years ago won the prize for the best corn shown by farmers from Appanoose county. He was fourth in the state contest, missing the grand champion prize only by four points and taking several of the other prizes offered. The exhibition that year was held at Des Moines but the last show was in Newton, lowa, and there Mr. Bailey won three prizes on corn. He took fourth place among the exhibitors of one class of corn and received as his share a cash prize of one hundred dollars. the premiums on that class amounting to six hundred dollars. In recognition of his work along this line Mr. Bailey was ap- pointed one of the judges for the corn show held by the lowa Corn Growers' Association. His family share in his ambition and enthusiasm along this line and have united their labors with his with successful results. His son Ellsworth received the second prize at the Farmers' Short Course at Ames in January, 1912, and won the Grand Champion Sweep Stakes over all Vol 11-16
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states except three, namely, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, with the best single ear of corn exhibited at Topeka, Kansas, in the Capper Boys' Corn Club, held December 14, 1912. The prize was a large silver trophy with his name engraved thereon and was given by Arthur Capper. The daughter, Bertha, now nine years of age, who possesses judgment rare in a child of her years and who has worked with her father for some time in the selection of seed corn, took first prize in 1911 and 1912 at the Farmers' County Institute held at Centerville for the best selected ear of corn. She herself had both times chosen the ear for exhibition from the crop of a large field. Mr. Bailey and his son Ellsworth received both the first and second prizes at the County Institute held at Centerville in 1911 and 1912, and Mrs. Bailey is not far behind her husband when prizes are being awarded, for she took both first and second honors in watermelons at Centerville and at Moravia, afterward selling one wagon-load of her melons for twenty dollars.
Mrs. Bailey is a devout member of the Baptist church and one of the best known and most widely popular women in this section of Appanoose county. Mr. Bailey is a republican in his political beliefs and active in his support of the men and measures of that party. In local affairs he takes a considerable interest and for some time served as a member of the school board. He is now in the prime of life and enjoys to the fullest extent the many advantages afforded to the farmer in the present day and, being progressive and a man whose life has always been in keeping with high standards, he justly deserves the full measure of con- fidence and respect entertained for him by all who know him.
BENJAMIN F. BRADLEY.
Among the respected and valued residents of Numa is numbered Benjamin F. Bradley, who for over fifty years has lived in Iowa. This has covered the period of the state's greatest growth and progress and in the work of general advancement Mr. Bradley has borne his full share as the years have gone by. Of late he has lived retired, although for a long time he gave his attention and energy to his business interests, which were extensive and important. A native of Indiana, he was born in Morgan county, August 18, 1846, a son of John and Sarah Jane (Elliott) Bradley, the former a native of Clark county, Indiana, and the latter of Kentucky. The father was a farmer by occupation and when he came to Appanoose county in 1854 he purchased land in Lincoln township and
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gave his entire attention to its development and improvement for many years, winning at length honorable retirement. When he abandoned active life he moved into Seymour and there resided until his death, which occurred in 1897. His wife survived him two years, dying in 1899.
Benjamin F. Bradley was eight years of age when he came to Ap- panoose county with his parents. He was reared and educated in Lincoln township, where he attended distriet school. During the period of the Civil war, being no longer content to remain at home while the issue of the struggle was doubtful, he enlisted in Company I. Third Iowa Cavalry, joining his regiment in February, 1863, and serving until the close of the war. He participated in many hotly-contested engagements and on the field of battle gave unmistakable proof of his valor and loyalty. He was mustered out at Atlanta, Georgia, in August, 1865, and afterward returned to Appanoose county and engaged in farming. For ten or fifteen years he gave his attention entirely to agricultural pursuits and then moved into Numa, where for some time he operated a coal mine. After fifteen years he sold out his interests to the Centerville Block Coal Company and was elected a member of the board of county supervisors. He served for three years and when his term of office expired retired from active life and has since lived in Numa, enjoying the rest and comfort which are the reward of his well directed work in the past. However. he still gives personal supervision to his important business interests, especially those connected with the Numa Mutual Telephone Company, of which he is president.
On the 31st of December. 1867. Mr. Bradley was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. Adamson, a daughter of Joseph and Mary A. ( Walker ) Adamson, natives of Ohio, who came to Appanoose county in 1856. The father purchased land here and operated a profitable general agricultural enterprise until his death. He was born in England. near Leeds, and learned the cabinet-maker's trade in his native country. Coming to America in 1801 he first settled near Cincinnati, Ohio, being there more or less connected with his trade, although most of his time was given to his farming operations later.
Mr. and Mrs. Bradley became the parents of nine children: Gertrude, the wife of J. W. Richardson, of Oregon; Minnie, who married George Humphrey, a farmer in Appanoose county: Sadie, who married William Thompson, of Washington state: Laura, now Mrs. E. W. Porter, of Numa: Lawrence B., who is engaged in farming in Appanoose county : John F., who is a barber in Centerville: Ida, the wife of Perry Cooley, of Centerville : and Allie and Ethel M., both of whom have passed away.
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Mr. Bradley is a member of the Methodist church and belongs to Centerville Post, G. A. R., delighting to meet his old comrades and recall the events which occurred on the southern battlefields. He was in the last engagement of the Civil war, which took place at Columbus, Georgia, at nine o'clock on the night of the 16th of April, 1865. Three hundred members of his regiment forced their way into the breastworks guarded by thirty-five hundred rebels and after a sharp conflict took pos- session of the enemy's post. Twenty-five men were killed in the engage- ment, but Mr. Bradley escaped with his life. However, owing to the hard conditions of living during the days of the war he contracted stomach trouble and his health has been affected by this since that time. Mr. Bradley has always been stanch in his support of the republican party and has served as trustee of Bellair township and is at present justice of the peace. Always a loyal and public-spirited citizen, he is interested in the growth and advancement of his community and has given his cooperation to many movements for the public good. Unflagging industry and deter- mination have constituted the basis of his success, enabling him as the years have passed to so conduct his business interests as to win honorable retirement and a high position among the representative and prominent men of Appanoose county.
SAMUEL C. COOK.
Samuel C. Cook, a man of enterprise and marked force of character, who throughout his business life has made good use of his opportunities, is the owner of one of the largest mercantile concerns in Exline and is numbered among the men who have been factors in the general business development of the community. He is engaged in the hardware, furniture and undertaking business and carries also a complete line of high-class pianos.
A native son of Iowa, Mr. Cook was born in Mahaska county, Novem- ber 29, 1868, and was reared in that section, acquiring his education in the public schools. For several years after laying aside his books he aided his father in the operation of the home farm but later turned his attention to commercial pursuits, becoming identified with the timber business in the employ of the Davison Company, with whom he remained for seven years. At the end of that time he came to Appanoose county and located at Dean, where he purchased land and engaged in farming for four years. When he sold his property he came to Exline and bought
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the established hardware, implement, carriage, furniture and undertaking business conducted by Clarke & Berger. Since that time he has concen- trated his energies upon the further expansion of this concern and as his patronage has increased his activities have constantly broadened. Today he does not confine himself to the original lines of trade but buys anything a farmer has to sell, dealing extensively in grain, hay, stock, butter, eggs. chickens and all kinds of farm produce. His business has reached six thousand dollars per year and is still growing, the patronage increasing as Mr. Cook's upright methods and strict integrity become more widely known.
Mr. Cook is a member of the Exline lodge, I. O. O. F., and has filled all the chairs, being a past grand. He is also affiliated with the Rebekahs and holds a prominent place in Eddyville lodge, of the Knights of Pythias. He is well known in this locality as an able, enterprising and resourceful business man, while as a citizen he is public-spirited, giving his unqualified indorsement and hearty support to whatever tends to promote the best interests of the community.
JOSEPH N. KERSCHNER.
Joseph N. Kerschner, who has owned and operated a grocery store in Centerville since 1908, is numbered among the diligent and enterprising young business men of the community. He was born in Clarinda, Page county, Iowa, on the 4th of August, 1877, his parents being Willian A. and Catherine (Barnthouse) Kerschner. The father, who was of German lineage, was born in Montpelier, Indiana, on October 15, 1830, and there he was likewise reared and educated and subsequently learned the cabinet- maker's trade. The mother, who is of French extraction, is a native of Ohio, her birth having occurred in Tuscarawas county on the 25th of June, 1836. When a girl of about fifteen years she removed with her parents to Indiana, where she was later married. In the early '5os Mr. and Mrs. Kerschner came to Iowa, settling in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Appanoose county, where the father purchased forty aeres of coal land. After oper- ating his mines for several years he disposed of his holding and removed with his family to Cass county, Nebraska. There he purchased a well improved farm of a hundred and twenty acres and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, which he followed for ten years. He next removed to Lincoln, that state, and resumed his trade, residing in the latter city until 1894. On August 1, of that year, accompanied by his wife and
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family, he went to Fitzgerald, Florida, making the journey, a distance of three thousand miles, in a covered wagon. They reached their destination in the month of December and there passed the winter. The next spring they returned to Iowa, but after a brief sojourn here, the father again started westward, Portland, Oregon, being his next place of residence. There he passed away in 1902. The mother, however, is living and con- tinues to reside in Portland, making her home with her children.
The early years of Joseph N. Kerschner were passed in the parental home. In the acquirement of an education he attended the public schools in the various places where the family resided, completing his course of study in the high school of Lincoln, Nebraska, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1894. He went south with the family that fall, returning to lowa with them in the spring of 1895, and here he has ever since made his home. When he came back to Centerville he obtained a clerkship in the store of Drake & Lane, continuing to work for them and various other grocers in the city until 1908. He applied himself earnestly to a thorough mastery of the business and as he was industrious and thrifty during that time he also managed to accumulate a small capital. It was his ambition to have an establishment of his own, his desire in this direction being realized four years ago when he purchased the grocery stock of Isaac Brooks. As he carries a good line of staple and fancy groceries, which he offers at reasonable prices, he has succeeded in building up a trade that gives him every reason to feel assured of a constantly increasing business. He is gracious and accommodating in his treatment of patrons and in the conduct of his store has adopted a policy that commends him to the confidence of those with whom he has trans- actions, all of which qualities are uniting in winning well deserved suc- cess.
In 1898, Mr. Kerschner was married to Miss Clara Vought. a daughter of Larkin and Malissa Vought, the father a native of Indiana and the mother of Virginia, whence she came to Iowa with her parents when a child. They were married in Keosauqua, this state, and very soon there- after located on a farm near Udell, where the father still resides with his son George. The mother passed away in 1912. Mrs. Kerschner was born in Udell in 1878, and was reared, educated and married in this county. Of this marriage there have been born two children: Mabel, whose birth occurred in September, 1900; and Marion, who was born in January, 1902.
The parents manifest their religious faith through their connection with the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Kerschner is a member of the blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic order. and he also belongs to the
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Royal Arcanum and the Modern Woodmen of America, being clerk of the local camp of the last named organization. Politically he supports the republican party and is a member of the school board. Mr. Kerschner is a young man of earnest purpose, upright principles and reliable methods, all of which qualities he daily manifests in the conduct of his business. Such success as has come to him is well deserved and has been won through his individual efforts, as he has made his own way in the world since he was a youth and merits much commendation for the excellent use he has made of his opportunities.
GEORGE B. ADAMS.
George B. Adams was a life-long resident of Appanoose county, long associated with industrial interests here, his last employment being with the foundry of Joseph Goss. He was born near Numa, this county, June 24, 1864. His father, Isaac Adams, was a native of Kentucky, and became proprietor of a stone quarry in Appanoose county at an early period in the development of this section of the state. He continued in business here throughout his remaining days, passing away in 1885. In early manhood he had wedded Rachel Stevens, a native of Ohio and, surviving him, she now resides in Davenport, lowa.
George B. Adams spent his youthful days in Appanoose county and when old enough began to earn his living by working in connection with mining interests, although his employment was outside of the mines. He was thus engaged for twelve years, at the end of which time he entered the service of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company in their car repairing department. He remained with them for some time and then went to work for Joseph Goss in the foundry, continuing there throughout the remainder of his life. He was always diligent, energetic and industrious and those whom he served found him ever faithful and reliable.
In September, 1884, Mr. Adams was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Swinford, a daughter of George W. and Louisa M. (Campbell) Swinford. The father was a farmer by occupation and following his arrival in Appa- noose county when it was still a frontier district, he bought a farm which he improved and cultivated for many years. He worked diligently to make his land productive and at length with a comfortable competence acquired through his own labors, retired from active life and removed to Centerville, where he continued to make his home until he passed away February 7, 1907. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1875. In
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the family of Mr. and Mrs. Adams were eight children: Lawrence, who is employed as an engineer on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- road; Harry H., who is fireman with the same road; George B., who is also a fireman; Pearl H., who is working in the Burlington shops in Cen- terville; William Glenn, a student in the high school; Walter, who is also attending school; one, who died in infancy; and Owen, who died in Feb- ruary, 1906. The death of the husband and father occurred February 27, 1907, after an illness with pneumonia of twenty-one days. He was a member of the Foresters lodge and had many warm friends within that organization. He served in the fire department here and was interested in the activities which were potent forces in promoting the welfare and progress of the city. He always voted with the democratic party and kept well versed on the questions and issues of the day. He held mem- bership in the Christian church, to which Mrs. Adams also belongs. She owns a pleasant home at No, 710 South Seventeenth street and is comfort- ably situated in life.
JAMES C. HOPKINS.
James C. Hopkins, now living retired in Unionville, enjoying a well earned rest after a life of labor, is numbered among those who have con- tributed in substantial measure to the development and advancement of Appanoose county, for he was for many years closely identified with important agricultural interests. His long life has been marked by strict adherence to the principles of honorable and upright manhood, by earnest, straightforward work in times of peace and by valor and loyalty in times of war, for he belongs to that fast lessening band of veterans who fought in defense of the Union fifty years ago. A native of Tennessee, Mr. Hop- kins was born on the 19th of February, 1837, and is a son of William and Eliza (Stegall) Hopkins, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1817. The paternal branch of the family is of English ancestry, the grandfather of our subject, Stephen Hopkins, having come from Great Britain at an early date and located in New York state, thus founding the family in America. Mr. and Mrs. William Hopkins were married in Tennessee and for some time lived upon a farm in Hancock county, upon which the father died of yellow fever contracted during the Mexican war. Later the mother was again married, her second husband being Le Roy Busic, of Tennessee, and in 1850 they removed to Davis county, Iowa, whence they came in the spring of
J. C. HOPKINS AND FAMILY
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1857 to Appanoose county. Here they rented a farm in Union township and Mr. Busic developed and improved this property for some time, later adding to his agricultural labors the duties of constable. A few years afterward he removed with his family to Miller county, Missouri, and there remained until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-four. His wife passed away when she was seventy years of age.
James C. Hopkins attended school only three months during his entire life, his education having been acquired from his mother, who spent a great deal of her time teaching her son. When he was eleven years of age he came west to Appanoose county and made his home with an uncle, who resided in this section of lowa, for one year, returning to Tennessee at the end of that time. In 1850 he came with his mother and stepfather to Davis county and remained there until 1857, when he went to Leaven- worth, Kansas, and engaged in hauling freight from that city to Fort Scott, Kansas. For eighteen months he engaged in this occupation but finally returned to Appanoose county and made his home with his parents until the outbreak of the Civil war. when his patriotic spirit was aroused and, feeling that the country needed his aid. he enlisted at Unionville, on the 6th of June. 1861. in Company I. Third lowa Volunteer Cavalry, under Captain T. J. Taylor. His regiment saw active service at the front and while he was a member of it Mr. Hopkins was wounded at Pea Ridge, where he was in the thick of battle with seven thousand Indians. A short time after this he was transferred to Company G, Thirty-sixth Iowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and took part in many of the principal battles of the Civil war, including the siege at Fort Pemberton, the battles of Helena, Little Rock, Elkins Ford. Prairie d' Ann, Camden, Marks Mills and Jen- kins Ferry, having been present at forty-five battles and skirmishes during his four years of service. His regiment was captured at Marks Mills, Arkansas, but he with others later escaped and waded through four miles of swamp on his way to rejoin the Union forces. He suffered many hard- ships and privations and was for five days lost in a strange country with nothing to cat but sassafras sprouts. upon which he sustained his life. He was mustered out at Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 21. 1865. He had participated in the long hard marches, arduous campaigns and the hotly contested battles and, therefore, with a creditable military record he returned to Appanoose county to resume his business life. For some time he worked at anything which would bring him an income, but later went to Davis county and purchased eighty acres of land, which he farmed until 1873. He returned in that year to Appanoose county and bought a farm of forty acres in U'dell township, upon which he made his home for a number of years, steadily carrying forward the work of improvement and
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development along modern lines. From time to time he added to his holdings until he owned four hundred acres, all in a high state of cultiva- tion. In 1907, however, he sold this property and went to California, where he visited his daughter and his son, who are living in Shasta county. Upon his return he bought a small place near Unionville, upon which he resided until the 5th of September, 1912, when he came into the city and has since lived retired, having earned comfort and freedom froni busi- ness cares by unremitting and well directed work in the past.
On the 5th of September, 1865, Mr. Hopkins was united in marriage in Appanoose county to Miss Cornelia Margaret Close, a daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Johnson) Close, natives of Indiana, the former of Dutch-Irish ancestry and the latter of Holland stock. Their marriage occurred in Indiana and in 1840 they came to Iowa, locating in Davis county, whence after a few months they removed to Louisville, Kentucky. The father was a shoemaker by trade and followed this occupation in the various sections to which he removed, but upon returning to Davis county in 1861 he took up one hundred and sixty acres of government land and engaged in farming. Later, however, he sold the property and went to Indiana, but finally returned to Iowa and worked at his trade in Davis county for some time. After a brief period of residence in Appanoose county he went to Promise City, Wayne county, and there remained until his death. His daughter, the wife of the subject of this review, was the first white girl born in Davis county and her brother John the first white child born in that part of Iowa. Mrs. Hopkins' birth occurred on the 30th of June, 1844, her brother having been born one year previous. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins became the parents of seventeen children. They have fifty- six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Of their immediate descendants nine are living, as follows: William J., a farmer of Union township; Sarah E., the wife of Henry Peek, who is engaged in farming near Moulton, Iowa; John F., a farmer of Kansas; Andrew L., who is engaged in general agricultural pursuits in Davis county; George W., a carpenter of Unionville; Stephen Allen, who is farming in Davis county; James G., an electrician in Shasta county, California; Joseph J., who operates a farm in Davis county; and Hulda Jane, who married David Covey, of Shasta county, California.
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