USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 59
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MR. AND MRS. BURTON E. ODEKIRK.
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and fifty acres of land, and also forty acres of timber land in Westfield town- ship. Here he made his home and spent the rest of his days, his death oc- curring on September 25, 1890, at the age of seventy-three years, six months and seven days. His wife died on February 3, 1908, at the age of eighty- four years, one month and six days. They became the parents of seven children, namely : Quincy A., Adelbert (deceased). Josie A. (deceased). Her- bert E., Sarah L., Willard B. and Burton E. William Odekirk was a Repub- lican in his political belief and served several terms as trustee as well as other township offices, being active in political affairs. He was an attendant of the Universalist church.
The subject of this sketch was reared on the parental homestead and as soon as old enough applied himself to the labors of the home farm. He se- cured a good common school education, supplementing this by attendance in the commercial department of the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. His active years have been devoted to agricultural pursuits and he has met with a gratifying measure of success along this line. He owns one hundred and thirty-six acres of the old homestead and on this he produces all the crops common to this section of the state, giving also some attention to the raising of livestock, which has proven the source of a considerable part of his income.
On February 6, 1889, Mr. Odekirk was united in marriage with Carrie A. Miner, who was born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, on November 4, 1866, a daughter of Francis Brown and Eliza (Marvin) Miner. These parents were natives respectively of Vermont and Ohio and after their marriage they lo- cated in Ohio. In 1873 they came to Fayette county, Iowa, settling on a farm in Center township, their home now being in West Union. They are widely known and highly respected. Politically, Mr. Miner is a Republican and has served several terms as trustee of his township. Religiously, his wife is a Baptist, while he is liberal in his views. They became the parents of four children, namely : Carrie, Hattie B. (deceased), Ella Frances and Horace Clyde. To Mr. and Mrs. Odekirk have been born four children, as follows : One that died in infancy, Forest, Roy Francis and Robert William.
Politically, the subject of this sketch is an exponent and supporter of the Republican party, though in no sense a seeker after public office, while in re- ligion he holds liberal views. Because of his business ability, his sterling in- tegrity and his honesty of purpose in all the affairs of life, Mr. Odekirk has won and retains to a marked degree the confidence and esteem of all who know him, his friends being in number as his acquaintances.
Francis B. Miner, father of Mrs. Odekirk, enlisted in the Sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on October 14, 1861, in which he served three years,
(39)
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and was discharged October 15, 1864, while in camp before Petersburg, Vir- ginia. He was a bodyguard of General Fremont and received a silver medal for bravery. He was quartermaster sergeant. On his way home, this medal was stolen from him by some one who wanted the silver more than the medal.
HERBERT E. ODEKIRK.
Among the citizens of Center township, Fayette county, Iowa, who have, by a course of right living, governed and controlled by high ideals, won not only pecuniary independence, but what is of far more value, the esteem and confidence of the community in which so many years of his life have been passed, is Herbert E. Odekirk, who was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on the 7th day of January, 1852, and is a son of William and Lorinda (Handcock) Odekirk, who are mentioned more fully in the sketch of Burton E. Odekirk, elsewhere in this work.
Mr. Odekirk spent his boyhood years under the parental roof and as soon as old enough he applied himself to the work of the home farm. He received the advantage of a common school education, and on attaining mature years. he obtained employment at railroad work, which he followed for two years. He then entered the employ of the Standard Oil Company and was sent to the Dakotas, where he spent a year. He then came to Center township, Fay- ette county, Iowa, where he secured some good farming land, to the operation of which he devoted his energies. He cultivated from eighty to one hundred and sixty acres from time to time and uniformly met with gratifying results. However, he has sold a part of his land and is now holding only twenty acres. comprising his home property, where he is living in comfort and ease. During his active years as a farmer he carried on a diversified system of operations and in the community where he has lived he is considered a man of sound, prac- tical ideas and wise and discriminating judgment, his business affairs having always been conducted in an able and careful manner. Mr. Odekirk is a large stockholder in the Randalia Savings Bank, one of the solid financial institu- tions of the county and an influential factor in local commercial circles.
In 1877 Mr. Odekirk was united in marriage to Ozzama Potter, to which union were born two children, Jessie and Lila.
Fraternally, Mr. Odekirk is a stanch supporter of the Republican party and has taken a keen interest in the success of his party. That he holds the confidence and esteem of his fellow voters is evidenced in the fact that he has
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
served as township trustee and held practically all the township offices, per- forming his duties in such a manner as to win the approval of his constituents. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has taken a number of high degrees, and he also belongs to the aux- iliary order, the Daughters of Rebekah. He is also affiliated with that great beneficial fraternal order, the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Odekirk has ever had the welfare of the community at heart and has always been found willing to devote his time to any movement looking to the development of the public weal, and as a result of his genuine worth, his pleas- ing demeanor, integrity of principle and honesty of purpose, he is today rec- ognized as one of Center township's foremost citizens.
C. A. BALDWIN.
Day before yesterday, they were young, full of life and activity, giving their strength unsparingly at duty's call in battle for the nation; yesterday, they were the stalwart men of mature age, men of affairs, the bone and sinew of the nation, diminished in numbers, but still a host; today, they are few and scattered, and those few becoming feeble, reaching that age when mem- ory takes the place of activity ; tomorrow, they will all have disappeared. But never, while this country stands a monument to their sacrifice, will the work which those brave soldiers of the Civil war accomplished be forgotten, though they themselves have long passed away. Those who now survive. members of the Grand Army of the Republic, are, in every assemblage in which they appear, made honored guests and awarded heroes' places.
C. A. Baldwin was born in Berrien county, Michigan, April 1, 1844, the son of A. D. Baldwin, who was born in New York, and Mary A. (Allbright) Baldwin, born near Knoxville, Tennessee. His paternal grandfather, Amos Baldwin, a native of New York, served faithfully in the war of 1812, and married a Miss Woodworth, of his own state. His maternal grandparents were Christian and Martha (Walker) Allbright, he a native of North Caro- lina, she also from the South. Grandfather Allbright was a farmer. He died at A. D. Baldwin's home in Fayette county. Grandfather Baldwin was a farmer and physician, one of those pioneer settlers who so usefully combined those occupations.
A. D. Baldwin was educated in Michigan, where he lived until 1846. when he and Grandfather Allbright came to Stephenson county, Illinois, and
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Mr. Baldwin, who had a team. entered eighty acres of prairie and twenty acres of timber, and put up buildings and made a home. This was twenty miles northeast of Freeport, and the town of Davis afterwards grew up on the same location. In 1857 he came to this county and bought two hundred and seventy acres in section 23, Pleasant Valley township, and lived there until his death.
C. A. Baldwin had a very limited education. In 1862, at the age of eighteen, he enlisted in Company H, Thirty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, served with credit for eighteen months, and was then discharged on account of disability contracted in the service. Returning home, he farmed in Fay- ette county until 1885, when he removed to Elgin, engaged in the agricultural implement business for three years and then retired. On September 8. 1867, he was married to Esther A. Cooley, who was born near Elkhart, Indiana. They were the parents of ten children : Maggie, born July 27, 1868: John A., born November 1, 1869: Ellen M., October 29, 1871 ; Allisha L., April 12, 1873; Lily M., September 16, 1874; Sarah A., June 2, 1876; George A., October 12, 1877: Emma R., November 13, 1879: Della E., April 9, 1882 ; Florence J., January 6, 1884; F. Logan, May 29, 1885. Mr. Baldwin's mother died in 1909, aged ninety-two. Mr. Baldwin and his family are Methodists. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and of the Iowa Legion of Honor, a man whose many virtues speak for themselves more strongly than words can express.
IVILLIAM W. WHITEFORD.
There could be no more comprehensive history written of a city or a com- munity, or even of a state and its people, than that which deals with the life- work of those who, by their own endeavor and indomitable energy, have placed themselves where they well deserve the title of "prominent and progressive," and in this sketch will be found the record of one who has outstripped the less active and less able trodders on the highway of life and who has attained to an enviable position in the business, political and social life of the community where he has resided for many years.
William W. Whiteford was born in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on June 4, 1852, and is a son of Samuel and Margaret Whiteford, both of whom also were natives of the land of hills and heather. These parents, in 1856, came to the United States, locating first in New York city, where the death
MRS. W. W. WHITEFORD.
WILLIAM W. WHITEFORD.
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FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
of the mother occurred. In 1861 Samuel Whiteford enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment New York Volunteer Infantry, with which he served faithfully until the close of the war. He was wounded in the battle of Fair Oaks, and died in a hospital at Washington, D. C., in 1865. He was the father of five chil- dren, of whom two are living, the subject of this sketch, and John W. White- ford, of Fostoria, Iowa.
William W. Whiteford came to Sandwich, Illinois, in 1866 and was there engaged in farm work until attaining his majority. On February 5, 1885, he came to Fayette county, Iowa, and located on a farm one mile from Randalia, and there he was continuously and successfully engaged in the pursuit of agriculture until 1905, when he moved into the village of Randalia and en- gaged in the livery business, in which he is still interested. He was a thor- oughly practical and intelligent farmer, giving a wise direction to all of his operations, and his fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he still owns, is numbered among the best farms in the township. Mr. Whiteford is also a stockholder in the Randalia Savings Bank. He has in other ways evinced an interest in the commercial welfare of the community and was one of the original stockholders and the first president of the Randalia Creamery Company, being also for several years a member of the board of directors.
Politically, Mr. Whiteford is an adherent of the Democratic party, in the success of which he has been deeply interested, and he has held the office of township assessor for eight years continuously, being the present incumbent of this office. Fraternally, he is a member of Randalia Lodge, No. 177, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he has also taken a number of the higher degrees in this order, belonging to the encampment and canton at West Union. Mrs. Whiteford is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which she gives a liberal support.
On September 22, 1876, Mr. Whiteford was united in marriage to Eliza Canham, a native of England, born on March 7, 1844, a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Groom) Canham. These parents, who also were natives of England, brought their family to the United States in 1852, locating first in New York city. In 1856 they moved to Illinois, where the mother's death occurred in 1900, at the age of seventy-seven years, her husband following her to the silent land in 1902, at the age of seventy-nine years. They were the parents of three children, of whom the subject's wife is the only one living. A brother, Henry, died in the Belle Isle prison during the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Whiteford have become the parents of four children, namely : Gertrude is the wife of Fay Potter and they have one child, Gladys; Walter W., a grain dealer at Randalia, is mentioned in a later paragraph ; George assists his father
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in his business affairs and carries the mail; Charles, who is a farmer, having charge of the old homestead, married Florence Tatro and they have two children, Robert Owen and Charles Leroy. George married Fannie Steele and they have a son, Paul.
Walter W. Whiteford was born near Pawpaw, Illinois, on December 27, 1878. He was reared on his father's farm and received a common school education, supplementing this by a business course at Hiland Park. Since attaining mature years he has been engaged in the grain business, having worked eight years for Gilchrist & Company, of McGregor. He was then for two years with the Northwestern Life Insurance Company, but in August, 1908, he engaged in the grain business at Randalia on his own account. He met with success from the start and is now numbered among the prosperous business men of the community. Politically, he is a Republican, while he and his wife attend and support the Methodist Episcopal church.
In July, 1906, Walter Whiteford married Lulu Beamer, a native of West Union, and a daughter of William and Fannie (Sands) Beamer. To this union have been born two children, Elizabeth A. and Margaret M. The mem- bers of the Whiteford family have always stood high in the estimation of those who know them and they have exerted a potential influence for the best inter- ests of the community in which they live.
WILLIAM HENRY STONE.
One of the oldest, most honored and influential families in Fayette county is that represented by W. H. Stone, a leading citizen of Waucoma and a man who has long enjoyed distinctive prestige in the business world, ready at all times to do his full share in furthering movements calculated to advance the general welfare of his community and county. He was born at Warrens- burg, Warren county, New York, May 29, 1852. In 1860, when eight years of age, he came to Iowa with his parents, Oliver and Mary E. (Bonesteel) Stone, also natives of New York, who settled four miles southeast of Wau- coma, Eden township, Fayette county. Iowa, on the wild prairie, where they remained until eight years before the father's death, which occurred at Wau- coma, where he spent the last years of his life, dying in 1899 at the age of sev- enty-six years; his widow survived until 1906, dying at the same age. When the family came here they found a sparsely settled country which abounded in wild animals and frequently bands of Indians passed through. It was neces-
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sary for the family to do much of their trading at McGregor, fifty miles dis- tant, this being the nearest shipping point for years, consequently much live- stock was driven there and grain was hauled to that market. Mr. Stone paid five dollars per acre for his first eighty. He was a good manager and pros- pered and added to his original purchase, until he owned two hundred acres. His son, Gerald O., is now occupying the old homestead. He was a well known and influential man in those early days and highly respected by his neighbors. He was a Democrat and held several local offices, and he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Four children, two sons and two daughters, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Stone, namely: Juliette, the wife of H. A. Bender, of Fayette, Iowa ; W. H., of this review; Jannette, wife of M. S. Adams, of Waucoma, Eden township; Gerald O., who lives on the old home place.
W. H. Stone remained on the home farm until he was twenty-one years old. He received an excellent education in the common schools and in the Upper Iowa University, where he spent two terms. When only eighteen years of age he began teaching, which he continued during several winters. He spent two and one-half years, from 1873 to 1875, in Montana, prospecting for gold. He was in the present great city of Butte when there were but thirty men there. In 1875 he started a hardware store in Waucoma which he conducted for two years, then spent one year on a farm, then entered the dry goods store of his father-in-law, with whom he remained. He was for some time cashier of the S. B. Ziegler Company Bank at Waucoma. He has been very successful in whatever he has undertaken and he is now the owner of over one thousand acres of excellent land in this locality, which he rents. He de- votes most of his attention to the bank, having been connected with the same for a period of twenty-eight years. About twelve years ago, in company with his nephew, he started the First State Bank of Glenville, Minnesota, in which he still has an interest. In company with his brother-in-law, C. A. Moody, he started the First State Bank of Fountain, Minnesota, in which he is also still interested, and he is a stockholder in other banks.
Mr. Stone was married in 1879 to Hattie M. Moody, a lady of culture and education and the representative of a prominent old family. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Leo C .; L. Oliver, who is in the bank at Mason City, Iowa; Ruby Cornelia 'was a student in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette, but is now at Los Angeles, California; two died in infancy.
In all his relations with his fellow men the conduct of Mr. Stone has been above reproach and it is scarcely necessary to say that his sterling busi-
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ness qualifications, his genial address, integrity and substantial worth have gained the unbounded esteem of those with whom he comes into contact and that he is numbered today among the influential citizens of the county hon- ored by his residence, and is eminently deserving of the large success that has rewarded his efforts.
The Bank of Waucoma, the private bank of W. H. Stone, was estab- lished in 1882 by S. B. Ziegler & Company under the same name, with W. H. Stone as cashier, who remained in this capacity for a period of five years when he purchased the institution and has since conducted it as a private bank, giv- ing it his personal management. It is well equipped with safety deposit vaults and all modern fixtures, and is well patronized by the citizens of northwestern Fayette county. Mr. Stone's son, Leo C. Stone, is the present efficient cashier.
DAVID A .HOLMES.
Few men of Fayette county are as widely and favorably known as D. A. Holmes, of Donnan. He is one of the strong and influential citizens whose lives have become an essential part of the history of this section of the state and for years his name has been synonymous for all that constitutes honorable and upright manhood. Tireless energy, keen perception and honesty of pur- pose, combined with every-day common sense, have been among his chief char- acteristics and while advancing individual success he has also largely pro- moted the moral, educational and material welfare of his community.
Mr. Holmes was born in Rensselaer county, New York, on January 5, 1834, and is a son of William and Rachael (Thompson) Holmes, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father came from his native land to New York state in 1820 and was there married. In 1838 he came to Oswego county, New York, where he followed the vocation of farming, though earlier in life he had been a weaver. In 1864 he came to Fayette county, Iowa, and here spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1883, at the age of eighty-three years; he had been preceded to the silent land a number of years by his wife, whose death occurred in 1870. They were the parents of five children, four sons and a daughter, of which number the daughter, Mrs. Mar- garet J. Claxton, and the subject are the only ones living.
D. A. Holmes, who spent his boyhood days on the home farm, was given the advantage of a good practical education, his common school training being supplemented by a course in the Mexico (New York) Academy. He engaged
MR. AND MRS. DAVID A. HOLMES.
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in teaching school, and was so employed in New York and in Fayette county, Iowa, for several years. He then decided to make agriculture his life work and to this end he bought forty acres of land, to the cultivation of which he assiduously applied himself. Hard and consecutive labor brought its result and as Mr. Holmes was prospered he added to his landed possessions until today he is the owner of four hundred acres of good land, practically all of which is under cultivation or devoted to pasture for his livestock. He has been an extensive and successful breeder of pure-bred Durham and Galloway cat- tle, having gained an enviable reputation in this line. In 1904, Mr. Holmes went to California, remaining there until the spring of the following year, and on his return he erected a fine residence in the attractive village of Donnan. where he now resides, having turned the operation of the home farm over to other hands and is now enjoying that rest which his former years of toil have so richly entitled him to.
Politically, Mr. Holmes is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and has held several local offices, having been township trustee several years, a member of the school board for twenty years, and assessor for several terms. Fraternally, he is a member of the Good Templars. He has taken an active and potential interest in the advancement of the best interests of the com- munity and was a very active promoter of the county fair, having served ten years as a director of the fair association and one year as the president. He has always had a deep interest in educational matters and he has been in many ways a valued friend of the Upper Iowa University, to the success of which he has been devoted, assisting materially in advancing its interests.
In 1860 Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Angelica Newman Holmes, the daughter of John and Catherine Newman, and the widow of J. A. Holmes, having by that marriage two children, James A. and Lizzie C. Her parents were born in Germany and on coming to the United States settled in Saratoga county, New York, where they spent the remainder of their days. To Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were born two children, S. Kate, deceased, and D. N., a farmer in Center township, this county. Mrs. Angelica Holmes died in 1867 and in 1869 Mr. Holmes married Sarah Carter, who was born at Carterville, Oswego county, New York, the daughter of Robert G. and Emily M. (Chittenden) Carter, the father a native of Ireland and the mother of Westland, New York, her people being of Scotch origin. Robert G. Carter came to Oswego county, New York, when seventeen years of age, and was married in Oneida county, that state. He became the father of four sons and a daughter, of which number four are living. Mr. Carter was a suc- cessful farmer and extensive land owner, his holdings at one time amounting
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to about two thousand acres. He was also engaged in mercantile business, owned and operated a grist-mill and a saw-mill, a tannery and a hotel. His death occurred in 1893 and his widow passed away in 1903. To the subject's second union were born four children, namely: One that died in infancy ; George R., born August 23, 1871, is engaged in business at Donnan ; John Andrew, and Ina Sarah, the wife of Henry Adams, of West Union. John Andrew Holmes, who is the successful pastor of a large Congregational church at Champaign, Illinois, received a splendid education, being thoroughly equip- ped for the sacred calling to which he has devoted his life. After completing the common school course, he pursued the full course and graduated from the Upper Iowa University, after which he traveled in Europe with Professor Geiser, returning home the day he was twenty-one years of ago. He then became a student in the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, after which he attended Yale College, and completed his training at the Andover Theological Seminary, Andover, Massachusetts.
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