USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 60
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70
Mrs. Holmes is descended on the maternal side from Jerry Chittenden, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, who was with the patriot forces at Valley Forge and Yorktown, and who, though of English extraction, devoted him- self unselfishly to the cause of the colonists. For his services he received a land warrant for six hundred acres of land. His wife was Asena Douglas, a cousin of Stephen A. Douglas.
Mr. Holmes is justly numbered among the representative men of his county. He wields a definite influence in his community and his opinions on the leading questions of the day are treated with the greatest respect. He is a man of many sterling qualities, successful in business and influential in his community, and is known for his public spirited interest in all that tends to benefit his fellow man, standing deservedly high in general esteem.
JAMES F. COLE, M. D.
The success achieved by the honored subject of this review in one of the most responsible and exacting of the learned professions entitles him to a prominent place in the ranks of those who, by the force of strong mentality, have gained public recognition for themselves and added luster to the com- munities honored by their citizenship. Dr. James F. Cole, who is distinct- ively one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Fayette county and as a business man actively identified with a number of important enterprises in
619
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
his own city and elsewhere, comes of sturdy Scotch-American stock and em- bodies many of the sterling qualities of mind and heart for which his antece- dents have long been distinguished. Ira L. Cole, the Doctor's father, was born June 19, 1830, in Scotland. He was the son of John Cole, who emigrated to America in the latter part of that year and located at Franklinville, Catta- raugus county, New York, where Ira L. grew to maturity. On October II, 1852, Ira L. Cole entered the marriage relation with Sarah Jane Fay, of New York, and the same year came to Iowa, settling in Cass township, Clay- ton county, where he entered eighty acres of land, which he improved and in connection with its cultivation devoted considerable time to contracting and dealing in lumber, establishing in 1890 the lumber business at Oelwein now conducted by Cole & King Brothers. At the breaking out of the Civil war he enlisted in Company D, Twenty-first Iowa Infantry, and was with his regiment when it led the first attack on the fortifications at Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the siege of which stronghold he contracted disabilities which eventually led to his discharge. Returning home, he at once began re- cruiting another company, of which he was elected captain and which he con- tinued to serve until mustered out at Dubuque at the close of the war. Ira L. Cole was a man of fine mind, keen perceptions, practical intelligence and stood high in the confidence of those with whom he mingled. He was called from earth on May 7, 1902, his death being deeply lamented by the community in which he spent the greater part of his life.
Sarah Jane Fay, the wife of Ira L. Cole, was born at Franklinville, New York, where her parents, James and Olive ( Rice) Fay, settled many years be- fore. Cyrus Fay, grandfather of Mrs. Cole, was a native of Massachusetts and served with distinction in the war of the Revolution as colonel of a regi- ment from that colony. Her grandfather on the distaff side was Ezekiel Rice, also a patriot of the Revolutionary struggle, having served as quartermaster sergeant in a Massachusetts regiment during the greater part of the war. The Rice and Fay families were of sturdy old colonial-puritan stock, both names appearing in connection with the history of their respective places of residence besides being identified with many important enterprises of a public and business nature. The Doctor's mother was descended from men of much more than local distinction, it being a well authenticated fact that both branches of her family were represented in the convention which drafted the Consti- tution of the United States and took an influential part in bringing about its adoption. Four children were born to Ira L. and Sarah Jane Cole, namely : Olive, who died at the age of three years; Harriett, whose death occurred when she was two and a half years old; Benjamin also died in early child-
620
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
hood, and James F., the subject of this review, is the only surviving member of the family, the mother dying in August, 1909.
James F. Cole was born in Clayton county, Iowa, on the first day of December, 1862, and received his prelimiary mental discipline in the public. schools, being the first to graduate from the high school building at Straw- berry Point, which was erected in 1877 and which was under the manage- ment of Prof. E. G. Cooley, later superintendent of the public schools of Chi- cago and one of the country's most distinguished educators. After completing his course in the above institution, young Cole entered the Ames Agricultural School, where he pursued his studies for three years and then became a stu- dent in the medical department of the University of Iowa, from which he was graduated with an honorable record on March 2, 1887.
Fortified with thorough intellectual and professional training, Doctor Cole, in 1885, opened an office at Strawberry Point, where he practiced medi- cine during the two years ensuing, forging rapidly to the front the meantime and acquiring more than local note as a successful physician and skillful sur- geon. In July, 1887, he located at Oelwein, where he soon built up an exten- sive and lucrative professional business and where he now takes high rank among the representative men of his calling in the northeastern part of the state, his practice taking a wide range and his financial success being com- mensurate with the ability displayed in his chosen field of endeavor.
Doctor Cole combines many of the qualities of the ideal family physician, possessing strong character, a warm heart and generous sympathies, and he seldom if ever fails to gain the confidence of his patients, which is one of the first prerequisites to successful treatment. Always calm and self-possessed in the sick-room, he impresses friends with his ability and tact, and the marked degree in which he arouses the love and gratitude of those under his care indicates his thorough mastery of the situation, however grave or critical. In surgery he also exhibits a high order of ability, being especially successful in this important branch of his profession and as a skillful operator he has few equals and no superiors in his present field of practice. The Doctor avails himself of every opportunity to keep abreast of the times on all maters per- taining to his chosen calling, and to this end he has become identified with various professional societies, among which are the American Medical Asso- ciation, Iowa State Medical Association, Cedar Valley and Austin Flint District Associations, the Fayette County Medical Society and the Medical Society of Oelwein. Although devoted to his profession, he manifest a lively interest in public and political affairs, be- ing a pronounced Republican and one of the leaders of his party
621
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
in the county of Fayette. He is now coroner of the county, which position he has held for fifteen years, a longer term than any other person in this posi- tion. His counsels and labors have contributed largely to the success of the Republican cause in this part of the state. He takes a pardonable pride in the prosperity of the enterprising city in which he resides, served six years as a member of the common council, and was chairman of the committee ap- pointed by that body to superintend the construction of the efficient water- works system.
Doctor Cole is an enthusiastic believer in secret fraternal work and holds membership with a number of societies founded upon the principles of mu- tual helpfulness. He stands high in Masonry, belonging to Hebron Lodge No. 374, at Oelwein, Kenneth Commandery No. 32, Knights Templar, at In- dependence, Iowa, Consistory No. 2, Cedar Rapids, and Elkadir Temple. Mystic Shrine, at Cedar Rapids. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Oelwein, being an influential worker in both subordinate lodge and encampment, and for some years past he has been a leader in the Pythian order in the city, besides holding the office of grand chancellor of the state. In addition to the organizations enumerated, he is a member of Eureka Encampment No. 332, Ancient Order United Work- men, belongs to Palm Camp No. 230, Modern Woodmen of America, and is now serving as exalted ruler of Lodge No. 741, Benevolent and Protective Or- der of Elks, of Oelwein. His name also adorns the records of Iowa Banner Camp No. 314, Royal Neighbors, Prosperity Homestead No. 90, Order of Yeomen, Camp No. 89, Woodmen of the World, and Lodge No. 199, Modern Brotherhood of America. The Doctor is likewise connected with various busi- ness enterprises, being director of the Aetna State Bank of Oelwein, a stock- holder in the First National Bank of the city and of the First National Bank of Strawberry Point, besides owning an interest in the firm of Cole & King Broth- ers, lumber dealers in Oelwein. In his medical practice he is associated with Doctor Leehey, being senior member of the firm, and for several years he has been surgeon for the Rock Island Railway Company at Oelwein.
Doctor Cole has been twice married, the first time on December 27, 1888. to Nellie E. Barclay, daughter of Thomas C. Barclay. She bore him three children and her death occurred on March 25, 1902. Later, January 1, 1903, the Doctor was united in marriage with Mrs. Margaret Torrey, of Oelwein, the union being without issue. Doctor and Mrs. Cole are esteemed members of the Episcopal church of Oelwein and deeply interested in the good work of the same, besides taking an active part in promoting all laudable measures for
622
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
the public good. Foremost in every enterprise having for its object the moral advancement of the community and filling a large place in the social and in- tellectual life of their city, they enjoy the confidence and high esteem of all who know them.
EDWIN O. MOORE.
The gentleman whose name forms the caption of this biographical re- view has long enjoyed distinctive precedence as one of Fayette county's most enterprising and successful agriculturists and stock raisers, who is at present managing a popular and well patronized creamery in West Union, and, besides enjoying the reputation of one of the county's representative men of affairs, he has at the same time won a reputation for honesty and square dealing in all the relations of life.
Edwin O. Moore was born in Rock county, Wisconsin, February 16, 1853, and is the son of Rev. William and Catherine (Robbins) Moore, the father a native of Pennsylvania and the mother of Vermont. William Moore's birth occurred in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, October 9, 1813, and his death was recorded on April 27, 1873; he was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His wife, who was born in Rochester, Addison county, Vermont, November 20, 1817, died September 17, 1907, having reached the advanced age of ninety years. William Moore devoted his life to farming and he came to Fayette county, Iowa, when Edwin O., of this review, was about two years old, the family having emigrated from Ashland county, Ohio, where they had lived twelve years, to Rock county, Wisconsin, in 1852, their arrival in Illyria town- ship, Fayette county, Iowa, taking place in 1854. The family of Mr. and Mrs. William Moore constituted the following children: Rev. Samuel Wal- lace, who was born in Pennsylvania, June 18, 1838, received a common school education and when seventeen years old joined the church of which his father was minister, the United Brethren denomination, and at the age of twenty began preaching, receiving license from the general conference in 1860; he preached in Linn county, Iowa, one year, and on July 3, 1861, married Mary Dresser, and one child was born to them, but died in infancy. On August 13, 1862, Rev. Moore enlisted in Company D, Twenty-first Iowa Infantry, with the rank of sergeant, and he proved to be a gallant soldier, and was fatally wounded May 18, 1863, at Black River Bridge, Mississippi, dying almost in- stantly, and his body was buried on the field, thus cutting short a very promis- ing career. Mrs. Mary J. Dye, next in order of birth, was born April 23.
623
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
1840, in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and she has for many years lived in Windsor township, Fayette county, Iowa; she first married, on March 18, 1860, Josiah W. Hardy, a teacher of superior attainments, who enlisted in Company D, Twenty-first Iowa Infantry, on August 13, 1862, and died in St. Louis, May 25, 1863 ; their only child, Clara S., who was born July 6, 1861, married N. A. Shaw and they live on a farm in Fayette county. On June 2, 1864, Mrs. Mary J. Hardy married Andrew Dye a widower having two children, and this union resulted in the birth of eight children, Vernie E., Addie E., Edwin H., Minnie A., Bertie, Henry S., Melvia E. and Sophia Beulah. Mr. Dye's death occurred on January 21, 1890. Vesta A. Moore, was the third child in order of birth, her birth having occurred on April 19, 1842. She married Thomas J. Rice, in 1861 ; she married Daniel Shaffer, of Tama City, Iowa, in 1882: three children were born of her first union, Sam- uel Wallace, William O. and Katie; the two former are married. Samantha R. married Peter Mckellar and she died October 31, 1894; Roxie A., born December 18, 1845, became the wife of George W. Fitch, of West Union. Minerva R., wife of Austin R. Moats, of Cedar Rapids, was born June 19, 1847, and is the mother of eight children. Robert Clark, born September 4, 1850, married Elizabeth Moats, and resides in Longwood, Custer county, Nebraska; they have six children, four living. Edwin Osborn Moore, the immediate subject of this review. Jasper Smith Moore was born May 20, 1854, married Mary Crane, and upon the homestead in Illyria township they are living with their five children. Francis Kirkwood Moore was born September 20, 1857, and died January 25, 1893; he married Nettie Clements and had one child.
William Moore was for many years one of the best known and most influential men of Fayette county, a man whom everybody respected and ad- mired for his many sterling virtues. He was always very active in church work. He was steward of the poor farm in Fayette county for two years.
Edwin O. Moore, of this review, received his early education in the country schools of Fayette county. He has devoted his life to farming, hav- ing started for himself when about twenty-two years of age. He was mar- ried in 1875 to Mary Waltenbaugh, who was born in Clayton county, Iowa, November 1. 1858, and she was the daughter of James Waltenbaugh and wife, natives of Pennsylvania.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin O. Moore, namely : Cynthia, who was born June 14, 1877, married William J. Myers, a farmer of Volga City, Iowa, and they have one child, Merrill; Susie, born September 3, 1880, married J. R. Jones, of Iowa Falls, this state, and has one son, Paul
624
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
E .: James, who was born May 16, 1885, is living at home; Guy's birth oc- curred on June 1, 1894, and he is also living with his parents.
Edwin O. Moore located in Clayton county, near Volga City, where he farmed a few years, then came to Fayette county in 1901, buying the old Gilson farm, on which he lived for eight years, when he sold it and purchased his present fine home in section 18, just one mile west of West Union on the Hawkeye road, his home being attractively located and everything about it showing thrift and good management.
Mr. Moore has never been an office seeker, always a home man. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, holding their membership in Clayton county. His farm consists of one hundred and twenty acres of good land, well improved. Mr. Moore recently bought and is now operating the Farmers' Creamery in West Union, and moved his family to town, having rented his farm. This is the only creamery in West Union, and it has become a well established business industry. Mr. Moore also operates a produce market, where he handles poultry, cream, etc. Himself and his son James conduct the business at each place.
JONAS H. LEARN.
The Learns were an old family long settled in Luzerne county, Pennsyl- vania. Like many others, however, in the emigration days of the last cen- tury, they began to cast longing eyes on the rich and cheap lands of the west and formally resolved to secure some of this fertile region. The fever of emigration was at its height during the fifties and all the central valley states of the Middle West got their share of the influx. No state, however, secured a more desirable class of farmers than Iowa, into which poured a rich stream of the best German, Scandinavian and American blood, whose work later told strongly in the development of the state. New Yorkers, Ohioans, Penn- sylvanians and New Englanders were conspicuous among the vanguard in- vading the fertile young commonwealth beyond the Mississippi. To trace the story of some of these families is the object of these writings and among the number we find Charles Learn, who came from Pennsylvania in 1855, when Iowa was still raw as an agricultural state. He was accompanied by his wife and eight children, the trip being made from McGregor by team. As soon as he had landed on the prairie he bought forty acres where J. H. Learn now resides. It was at that time wild land, but he cleared the place and
S'
MR. AND MRS. JONAS H. LEARN.
623
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
temporarily erected a log building for shelter. Later he added another forty acres to his original hundred and lived there until his death.
J. H. Learn, one of the sons of the foregoing, was born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, in 1849. He grew up on the home place and was edu- cated in the common schools. With the exception of about six years he has lived on the home farm. Farming has been his sole occupation and he has met with success in his calling, but only by the hardest and most exacting work. However, he is a good manager, knows how to make both ends meet and at the end of the year generally has a balance to show on the right side of the ledger. When he started in he pre-empted a homestead, and to this he has added fifty acres. He confines his efforts to general farming and stock- raising, not attempting any fancy flights and avoiding everything like specu- lation.
On December 19, 1876, Mr. Learn married Rachel Havenstrete, daugh- ter of Francis and Clementine Havenstrete, all of Pennsylvania. They came to Iowa in 1868 and settled in Dover township, near the Clermont line. Their children are: Clarence, a student and teacher in Washington University, St. Louis; Nellie, at home ; Roy, a farmer in Dover township; Charles, at home. The family are members of the Evangelical church and Mr. Learn's political affiliations are with the Republican party.
THOMAS NELSON WALSH, M. D.
Among the successful physicians and surgeons of Fayette county is Dr. Thomas Nelson Walsh, of Hawkeye, whose professional career presents a series of advancements which have gained for him an honorable reputation in the noble work to which his life is being devoted, and a confidence on the part of the public which bespeaks for him a still larger field for the exercise of his talents in years to come. Doctor Walsh is a native of Montreal, Canada, where he was born on the 6th day of July, 1865, and his early experience amid the bracing airs and wholesome discipline of rural life was conducive to well-rounded physical development and the formation of habits which en- abled him while still young to direct his thoughts into proper channels and make the most of his opportunities. After devoting about the usual time to his preliminary studies he entered McGill University, from which in due sea- son he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts and later completed the medical course in the same institution, receiving his medical degree with the class of 1892.
(40)
626
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
With a mind well disciplined by intellectual and professional training, Doctor Walsh, through the representations of Doctor Berry, of Clermont, Iowa, was induced to locate at Hawkeye and it was not long until his abilities were recognized by the people of the town and adjacent country, as his rapid rise in his chosen calling abundantly indicates. His progress from the begin- uing has been encouraging and all that could reasonably be desired and he now commands the confidence of the public to a marked degree, besides coming steadily to the front among the representative men of his calling in a field long noted for a high order of professional talent. He has left nothing undone in the way of fitting himself for efficient service in his work, always keeping abreast of the times and in touch with the latest improvements and discoveries in medical science and surgery. To this end he took a post-graduate course a few years ago in the Chicago Polyclinic, later completed a similar course in New York City and, he attends every year at Harvard Medical School at Boston. Doctor Walsh is a member of the Fayette County Medical Society, being at this time president of that body, and he also belongs to the State and National Societies and the Medical Association of Flint. Every year he spends a month's vacation to keep in touch with the great medical institutions in New York and other Eastern states, where, under the personal direction of some of the most distinguished professional men of the day, he enlarges the area of his knowledge and acquires additional skill as a surgeon and general practitioner. The Doctor possesses a genial presence and sympathetic nature which at once gain the confidence of his patients, and which, with his skill, inark him as a true friend of suffering humanity. In the sick room he is a typical family physician and his high moral principles and conscientious fidelity to duty have won for him the esteem and confidence of all with whom he comes into contact as a medical adviser. Although devoted to his profes- sion, he manifests an interest in whatever makes for the progress of his town and the general welfare, and, with his wife, wields a salutary influence in the social and intellectual life of the community, being a gentleman of broad and liberal culture and well calculated to take the lead in such matters. Fraternal- ly, he holds membership with the Masonic order and Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Doctor Walsh married, in Hawkeye, Edith Hauth, who was born in Michigan, but reared in Madison township, this county, where her father, William Hauth, is a larger farmer and stockman. Four children have been born to this union, viz : Edwin, Eugene, Jeannette and George, the last named dying when seven years of age.
627
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
ABNER GILBERT M. NEFF.
A well-remembered old settler of Fayette county and one of the brave officers of the Ninth Iowa Infantry was the late Lieut. Abner Gilbert M. Neff, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in August, 1829, the son of John Neff, a native of Germany who emigrated to America in his youth. Abner Neff received a fairly good English education and served as an apprentice to the shoemaker's trade in his father's shop, and became an expert workman. He also studied medicine, but did not complete the course. On October 27, 1851, he married, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Anna Hob- son, daughter of John W. and Abigail Bishop (Scott) Hobson and a sister of the Hon. Joseph Hobson, of West Union. Her father was born in Peniston, Yorkshire, England, August 22, 1794, and emigrated to America in 1816. While living in Pennsylvania, in 1819, he was married to the daughter of Joseph Scott, a wealthy manufacturer there. Mrs. Hobson was born in New Jersey, April 10, 1799, and crossed the mountains on horseback with her parents during her girlhood, the family coming to Fayette county, Iowa. They were originally from Massachusetts, of English and Scotch descent. Mr. Hobson died of cholera, August 14, 1834, his wife surviving many years, dying in 1883; their daughter, wife of Mr. Neff, was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1829.
For several years Mr. Neff engaged in the boot and shoe business at West Newton, Pennsylvania. In June, 1856, he located in Fayette county, Iowa, opening a shop at Auburn. His medical studies were interrupted by the Civil war, and in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Ninth Iowa Infantry, and on September 12th following was made first lieutenant. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, his first regular engagement, March 9, 1862, receiving a gunshot wound in the region of the heart from the effects of which he died on March 1I, 1862, in the hospital. He was much esteemed by his brother officers and men as a true soldier and a brave and faithful defender of the country's cause.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.