USA > Iowa > Appanoose County > Past and present of Appanoose County, Iowa : a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Vol. II > Part 37
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On the 23d of September, 1883. Mr. Nighswonger was married to Miss Hattie M. Guile, whose birth occurred on the 15th of February. 1860, her parents being Richard and Hannah (Finley) Guile. The father was born in the vicinity of Columbus, Ohio, where he resided until a youth of about fourteen years, when his parents removed to Indiana. There the grandfather passed the remainder of his life. Richard Guile was reared to manhood in Indiana. where he was married and made his home until 1855. In the latter year accompanied by his wife and three children he removed to Davis county, lowa, where Mrs. Guile passed away in 1894. Very soon thereafter he came to Moulton. making his home here until his death in 1905. To Mr. and Mrs. Nighswonger have been born three children, as follows: Floy, the wife of Ira Powell, of Moulton. lowa: Blanche, who married Rama C. Dye, of Moulton, and has one child five years of age: and Mildred Naomi, who is living at home.
The family are members of the Christian church, and fraternally Mr. Nighswonger is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He has served with efficiency as township assessor, road supervisor and school trustee and for three terms he has been a member of the board of supervisors. In the execution of his official duties he manifests the same foresight. sagacity and capability which characterize him as a business man. His public career has been noticeably free from any taint of sus- picion as to his integrity, nor has there ever been cast at him any of the
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aspersions, which often fall to the lot of those in official life. Mr. Nigh- swonger has passed the greater part of his life in this immediate vicinity where he is widely known and enjoys the esteem and regard of a large circle of friends.
JAMES M. WILSON.
James M. Wilson is a graduate of the law department of the lowa State University and since his admission to the bar has been actively engaged in practice in Centerville, where he has won a well merited and enviable reputation. He was born September 8, 1866, near the city of Monmouth, Warren county, Illinois, and is one of the four living chil- dren of James and Elizabeth (Welsh) Wilson, both of whom were of Scotch descent. His early educational training was received in the com- mon schools and with the removal of the family to Centerville in 1882 he went to work as weigh master in the coal mines with which his father was connected. He was then sixteen years of age. Desiring. however, to enjoy better educational privileges, he later attended the Centerville high school and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1885. He next entered Monmouth College in which he spent two years and upon his return to Iowa took up any honest work which would yield him a living and enable him eventually to carry out his cherished ambition of preparing for a professional career. For one year he engaged in rail- roading and was clerk in the United States railway mail service. He afterward took up the profession of teaching which he followed for one year in Versailles, Illinois. He displayed much versatility, thoroughness and ability in all of these branches but gradually his attention concentrated upon the law and he began reading under the direction of the Hon. T. M. Fee. He then entered the law department of the Iowa State University at Iowa City and was graduated in 1906 as president of a class of one hundred and three members. He had been admitted to the bar. however. in 1895, and has since engaged in practice in Centerville, where he is now accorded a large clientage, connecting him with much of the most impor- tant litigation tried in the courts of the district. He is in partnership with R. W. Smith, the present county attorney. under the firm style of Wilson & Smith. In 1896 Mr. Wilson was elected county attorney on the repub- lican ticket and was reelected in the fall of 1898. He had previously served as city attorney of Centerville and in 1901-2 he was reading clerk at the state convention held in Iowa. In every relation his official record
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has been an excellent one and he has also gained prominence at the bar, again and again demonstrating his ability to handle important questions and finding a correct solution for involved judicial problems.
On the 24th of December, 1891, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Flora M. White, a daughter of James A. White, a very pronti- nent citizen of Centerville. They became the parents of two children: Eva, born October 13, 1892; and Jean, born July 12, 1894. Mr. Wilson is prominent in fraternal circles, especially in Masonry. He has served as high priest of Euclid Chapter, No. 43, R. A. M., is a Knight Templar and also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Knights of Pythias lodge and both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church. High principles actuate him in every relation of life and his sterling traits of character have gained for him a most credit- able position in the regard of his fellow townsmen. The different interests of his life are well balanced and in his profession he has gained a creditable place, owing to the careful, thorough and systematic manner in which he prepares his cases, and his fidelity to the interests of his clients which has become almost proverbial.
JOHN A. McMURRAY. -
John A. McMurray, a well known resident of Centerville, is num- bered among those who have contributed to the upbuilding and develop- ment of the state of lowa and his work along business lines has been for many years of an important and influential character. He has resided in this part of the middle west during practically all of his life and with the exception of a few years spent in Missouri has been in lowa since 1849. In all of his activities he has proved his worth as a loyal and progressive citizen and is, moreover, entitled to esteem and honor as a veteran of the Civil war. He was born in Ross county, Ohio, August 5, 1845, and is a son of John and Eliza (Shockey) McMurray, the former a native of Ohio, born August 24. 1812, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The grand- father of our subject on the paternal side was a native of Ireland, who came to the United States in 1868 and located in Ohio. In 1849 he started with his family for Jefferson county, lowa, making the journey with wagons, in which he brought his household goods and farming implements. He was, however, seized with illness at Decatur, Ilinois. and died in that city. The father of our subject pushed westward and finally located in Jefferson county, taking up a government claim, pur-
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chasing the land when it came into the market. In 1869 he sold his hold- ings and moved into Livingston county, Missouri, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1896. He was a veteran of the Mexican war and a man always loyal and progressive in matters of citizenship. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1876.
John A. McMurray was a child of four years when he came with his parents into Iowa and practically his entire life has been spent in this state. He acquired a district-school education but laid aside his books at an early age to help his father on the farm. On the 9th of May, 1862, when he was seventeen years of age, he enlisted at Fairfield, Jefferson county, in Company E, Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was almost immediately afterward mustered into service, taking part in the battles at Helena, Arkansas, Marks Mills, Prairie du Chien and Jenkins Ferry. In the latter engagement, which took place on the 30th of April. 1864, he was captured by the rebels and taken to the prison at Tyler. Texas, where he was confined until the end of the war. He was mustered out at Fort Gibson on the 16th of September, 1865, and after his discharge returned to Jefferson county, where he took up mining, which he followed for a period of forty-five years, although his activity in this line of work was not continuous. In 1877 he went to Marion county and there engaged as a mining engineer for four years, removing at the end of that time to Missouri, where he spent a similar period as foreman on a railroad. In 1889 he returned to Iowa and located at Mystic, Appanoose county, where he again followed mining. However, he eventually abandoned this occupation and opened a grocery store in Mystic, conducting this enterprise successfully until he disposed of it and bought a brickyard. In 1910 he sold all of his business interests in Mystic and came to Center- ville, purchasing two acres of land. Since that time he has lived prac- tically retired, although he still does some gardening. During the entire course of his business career his work has been at all times so earnest, progressive and straightforward that it has not only contributed to his own prosperity but has constituted also a force in general upbuilding.
Mr. McMurray has been twice married. His first union occurred on the 9th of March, 1865, when he wedded Miss Elizabeth A. Hawthorn, a daughter of Jesse and Hannah ( Barnett) Hawthorn, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of North Carolina. Mrs. McMurray's grandfather on the maternal side was a slaveholder in the south before the Civil war and the family is well known in North Carolina. Jesse and Hannah Hawthorn came north to lowa after their marriage in 1840 and located in Jefferson county, where the father preempted land. upon which he resided until his death in 1876. His wife survived him two years.
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Mr. McMurray's first wife was born in Jefferson county, Jowa. on the 6th of November, 1844, and died in Mystic on the 27th of September, 1904. She left four children : Otto, born May 24, 1866, who is a miner in Springfield, Illinois; Mrs. Lepper, of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this work; Elmer, whose birth occurred on the 14th of June, 1873, and who is a miner in Mystic; and Bertha, born December 28. 1876, the wife of Ed Warrington, weigh boss in a coal mine at Decatur, Illinois. Atter the death of his first wife Mr. McMurray wedded Mrs. EHla Walker, a daughter of Hiram and Susanna ( Medley) Hooper, natives of Indiana, who removed to Kansas in 1875 and in 1902 went to Washington, where they now reside. Mr. and Mrs. McMurray are members of the United Brethren church.
Mr. McMurray is well known in fraternal circles, having gained a place of distinction in the Improved Order of Red Men, of which for two years he was great chief and great prophet. For a number of years he belonged to the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Oskaloosa but has since given up this identification. He keeps in touch with his comrades of the Civil war through his membership in Post No. 122, G. A. R., of Center- ville, of which he is commander. He gives his allegiance to the republican party and in 1876 was justice of the peace in Jefferson county. He has always given a loyal support to various measures for the public good, his labors constituting an element in general advancement. Wherever he is known he is respected for his unfaltering allegiance to principles of honorable manhood, which he has manifested in his business and social relations and in his public-spirited citizenship.
HON. WARREN T. DANIELS.
Hon. Warren T. Daniels, one of the well known men in public lite in Iowa, who has recently completed one term in the state general assembly and who was reelected in November, 1912, is a prominent and influential citizen of Wells township, where he has made his home since 1891. Hc was born in Jackson county, Ohio, September 23, 1856. a son of William Daniels, a native of Pennsylvania, born in Pittsburg in 1812. The father grew to maturity in his native city but in 1848 or 1849 crossed the plains with ox teams to California and spent three years in the mines of that state. meeting with a fair degree of success. He gave up this occupation, however. and again crossed the country, settling this time in Jackson county. Ohio. There he married Miss Mary Jane Read, who was born. reared and
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educated in Columbiana county, Ohio. After his marriage he turned his attention to farming. He developed and improved his tract of land for twenty-five years, gaining a place among the substantial and representa- tive agriculturists of Jackson county. In 1881 he left Ohio and moved to Iowa, locating in Wells township, where he purchased land. He oper- ated this farm during the remainder of his life and upon it passed away in 1906. He had many warm friends in this section of the state and his passing was widely and deeply regretted.
Hon. Warren T. Daniels grew to manhood in Jackson county, Ohio, and acquired his education in the public schools. He spent his child- hood and youth upon his father's farm and even after attaining his majority aided in the operation of the homestead. After his marriage, which occurred in 1881, Mr. Daniels engaged in farming in Jackson county for ten years. developing a property of one hundred and ten acres along progressive modern lines. In 1891, however, he sold his Ohio land and moved to Iowa, joining his father in Appanoose county. He soon afterward acquired a traet of timber land, erected a sawmill upon it and engaged in cutting lumber and selling it in the local markets. For five years he carried on this business, at the end of which time he pur- chased one hundred and eighty acres, upon which he now resides .. Later he sold his first traet and gave his entire attention to the improvement and development of his present farm which he has made in the course of years one of the most valuable and highly productive in this part of the state. To it he has added from time to time and now owns four hun- dred and forty-six aeres, which he has named the Plainview Stock Farm. The residence which was upon the place Mr. Daniels has built to and remodeled, has erected a good barn and installed modern machinery. includ- ing an engine to pump water for the stock and to run a wood saw. He has sunk a well of one hundred and sixteen feet in depth and this affords sufficient water for every purpose. Mr. Daniels gives most of his atten- tion to stock-raising, feeding and shipping high-grade animals to the Chicago markets, his yearly average being from one to three carloads. He raises a high grade of cattle, hogs and horses. As a farmer he is regarded as one of the most progressive in the township. his success coming as a natural result of his practical modern methods and his well directed labor.
On November 30. 1881. Mr. Daniels was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Craig, who was born and reared in Gallia county, Ohio. They have become the parents of four children: Lizzie, who married A. R. Probasco, a farmer of Wells township: Craig, who is a partner with his
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father in the operation of the home farm: Emma, who is employed as a bookkeeper in Des Moines; and Ward T., at home.
Mr. Daniels is a Master Mason and has filled all of the chairs in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, being past grand of his lodge. Mr. and Mrs. Daniels and their daughter Lizzie hold membership in the order of the Rebekahs. and the family are all devout adherents of the Meth- odist Episcopal church. Mr. Daniels gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has gained a position of prominence and distinction in official circles of the state. In 1910 he was elected to represent Appa- noose county in the general assembly and he did such able, conscientious and public-spirited work that in 1912 he was reelected by a large major- ity. At the present time he is a member of the committees on intemper- ance, on school text-books, on mines and mining, and the telegraph and telephone committee and is active in the affairs of all. Never having been content to be a mere figurehead in politics, he works fearlessly. dili- gently and intelligently in support of the movements in which he believes and in this way has gained the respect and esteem which the public always accords to high integrity and evident sincerity of purpose.
WILLIAM L. DOWNING. M. D.
Dr. William L. Downing, who is regarded as one of the representa- tive members of the medical fraternity of Appanoose county, has for twenty-two years been successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in Moulton. He is a native of Iowa, having been born in Davis county on the 11th of March, 1862, and is a son of Samuel Bell and Felitha P. (Stark) Downing, both of whom are deceased. The paternal grand- father was born, reared and married in Scotland, whence he emigrated to America prior to 1830. His energies were always devoted to agri- cultural pursuits, and when he first came to this country he located in Pennsylvania in the vicinity of Pittsburg. His family numbered ten. seven sons and three daughters, all of whom were born in America. In 1849, five of the sons and two of the daughters went to Oregon, settling near Salem. They are all deceased, but many of their descendants are residing in that vicinity. Samuel B. Downing was born on his father's farm near Pittsburg. obtaining his education in the common schools of that section. He early terminated his student days and went to work as a farm hand near where he was reared. When a lad of fifteen years he came to lowa, locating in Van Buren county, whence he later removed to Davis county. He continued to work out as a farm hand until he had Vol. 11-23
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attained his majority when he entered a tract of government land on which he settled and began his independent career as an agriculturist. The remainder of his active life was devoted to the further improvement and cultivation of his farm on which he resided until his death, which occurred about 1903. He was thrifty and industrious and as his circumstances permitted he added to his land until his holdings aggregated thirteen hundred and eighty acres. He was a consistent Christian and a zealous worker in the Christian church, in which he was a lay minister and assisted in the organization of many of the churches of that denomination throughout this section of the state. In matters of citizenship Samuel B. Downing was public-spirited, and took an active interest in every movement designed to forward the development of the country or promote the welfare of its citizens. For three successive terms he represented his district in the state legislature, having been a member of that body in the 'Sos. He was a veteran of the Mexican war, having served throughout the period of hostilities, and during the Civil war he was a member of the local guard that looked after bushwhackers on the Missouri border. It was in Davis county Mr. Downing met Miss Stark who subsequently became his wife. She was born in Frankfort, Indiana, of which state her parents were likewise natives. The family came to Iowa in the early days and were among the first settlers of Davis county. Of the eleven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Downing, ten lived to attain maturity. In order of birth the children are as follows: John W., a resident of Davis county; Abner A., who for twenty-seven years has been steward of the Davis County Poor Farm: Temperance E., the wife of Calvin J. Moss. a retired farmer of Eldorado, Kansas; India L., the wife of J. M. Kutch. a farmer and stock buyer of Drakeville, Iowa: Ida, who married Charles Jones, who is a farmer of Drakeville, this state: Anna, who became the wife of Perry Ralston, a farmer of Drakeville: Mary L., the wife of Henry H. LeMaster, a general merchant of Purcell. Oklahoma: June. the deceased wife of Elmer Morris, of Drakeville; Etta, who died at the age of eleven years: William L., our subject ; and Sherman G., who is also a resident of Drakeville.
The boyhood and youth of William L. Downing were very much like those of other lads who were reared in the rural sections of Iowa during the pioneer period. He obtained his preliminary education in the local schools and while engaged in the mastery of the common branches assisted with the cultivation of the home farm. Upon completing his course of study, he engaged in teaching for a few years, and then took up the study of medicine in the office of Drs. S. H. and J. L. Sawyer. father and son, in Unionville. Iowa. He subsequently matriculated in Rush Medical College. Chicago, being awarded his degree from that institution
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with the class of 1886. Immediately thereafter he went to Unionville, Missouri, and established an office, which he maintained for four years. In 1890, he came to Moulton, where he has ever since been located. Dur- ing the long period of his residence here Dr. Downing has succeeded in building up a large practice, as he is not only a physician of more than average efficiency, but is very conscientious in his devotion to his patients.
In 1887, Dr. Downing was married to Miss Martha A. Coons, who was born in 1865, and is a daughter of R. P. and Elizabeth ( Pile) Coons. The family are pioneers of Davis county, where the paternal grandfather located in the 'Jos. Mr. Coons now lives retired and he and his wife are residing in Moulton. Dr. and Mrs. Downing have two children: Incz. a graduate of the Moulton high school and of Drake University at Des Moines, where she completed a four-year course in liberal arts in 1911, being awarded a scholarship in history in the Illinois State University in which institution she took a post-graduate course the same year; and Wendell L., a graduate of the Moulton high school, who is attending Drake University.
The family are members of the Christian church, and fraternally Dr. Downing is a member of the Masonic order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He maintains relations with his fellow practitioners through the medium of his membership in the American Medical Asso- ciation, the Tri-State and Des Moines Valley Medical Societies, and the Iowa State and Appanoose County Medical Societies and also belongs to several other professional organizations. He is also local surgeon for the Wabash and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads. Owing to the exactions of his large practice Dr. Downing has never figured prominently in local public affairs, but he always nicets the requirements of good citizen- ship by appearing at the polls on election day, and extends his support to every worthy enterprise or commendable movement. His genial manner. pleasing personality and unfeigned cordiality have won him many friends in this community. who hold him in high regard by reason of his profes- sional ability as well as because of his sterling worth of character.
GEORGE T. PULLIAM.
George T. Pulliam, who is now living retired in Moulton, where tor many years he was engaged in the clothing business, belongs to that class of men who owe their advancement and success to persistent and intelli- gently directed effort. He was born in Pike county, Illinois, on the ist
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of November, 1849, and is a son of James and Charity ( Hinch ) Pulliam. The father, who was a native of Barron county, Kentucky, was born on the 31st of December, 1818, while the mother's natal day was the 11th of February, 1822. The paternal grandfather, William Pulliam, who was of Welsh extraction, married a Miss Decker and located in Kentucky, where for many years he engaged in farming. Accompanied by his fam- ily he subsequently removed to Pike county, Illinois, where both he and the grandmother passed the remainder of their lives. James Pulliam made his home in Illinois until about 1853, when he came to Iowa, first locating in the vicinity of Eddyville. The next year he purchased some land near Orleans, Davis county, on which he settled. About two years later, in 1856, he extended the scope of his activities by establishing a general mercantile store at Orleans, which he conducted in connection with the cultivation of his farm and also bought and sold live stock. He continued to be identified with these various enterprises until 1864, when he dis- posed of his store and farm and removed to a place he had purchased two miles southeast of Moulton, now known as the George Ballew sheep farm. There he passed away in 1869. The mother's death occurred at Orleans in 1858. Mr. Pulliam was an industrious man of keen business ability and sterling worth and integrity. He possessed high standards of citizenship and took an active interest in all things pertaining to the welfare and progress of the community. He was one of the pioneers of this section who actively participated in breaking up the organized band of horse thieves operating in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, and was shot and severely wounded in a fight with this gang of outlaws. To Mr. Pulliam and his first wife, the mother of our subject whom he married in Pike county, Illinois, were born six children, who lived to attain maturity. In order of birth they were as follows: William H., a member of the Twenty-first Missouri Infantry and later of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry during the Civil war, who participated in the Battle of Shiloh and was killed in a skirmish in the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia, July 31, 1864; Elizabeth, the wife of George M. Bunten, of Drakeville, Iowa, who was also a member of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry and was taken prisoner at the same time his brother-in law was killed; Mary J., the widow of J. F. Wooldridge, of Phoenix, Arizona; George T., our subject; Orlando S .. a resident of Custer county, Nebraska; and James W., of Lyons, Nebraska. After the death of the mother of these children, the father married Miss Dorcas Wooldridge, of Bloomfield. Iowa, who passed away the next year. For his third wife he chose Miss Eliza Gale. of Orleans, Iowa, and of this marriage were born three children: Eva, who died at the age of
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