USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 11
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 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
In August, 1897, Mr. Whitney was united in the holy bonds of matri- mony with Carrie B. Carpenter. In politics he is a Republican and has at all times taken a keen and active interest in the success of the party, being an influential worker in the ranks. His public service demonstrated his abil- ity in various ways and he is considered one of the leading citizens of Fayette.
MARTIN VAN BUREN DIBBLE.
A man well known throughout Fayette county and in many other sec- tions of the Middle West as an agriculturist and brick manufacturer is M. V. Dibble, now located near Clermont, Iowa, where he is regarded as one of the vicinity's most influential and substantial citizens. He was born in Ashta- bula county, Ohio, in 1840, the son of E. H. and Harriet (Finkham) Dibble, and there he remained until 1849, when the family emigrated to Wisconsin, where they remained until 1852, at which time they moved to Clermont, Fayette county, Iowa. Here the father, who had for some time engaged in brick making prior to his coming to Iowa, again launched out in this business- in fact he followed that occupation at various places nearly all his life. His first work here in that line was to manufacture the brick for the old Clermont mill, which still stands. He made brick in the old primitive way, having had no mechanical devices of any kind. He made a very comfortable living and laid by a competency for his old age in this line of endeavor, and as he grew older he gradually entrusted the business to Martin V., of this review, and another son.
MRS. M. V. DIBBLE.
MARTIN V. DIBBLE.
825
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
M. V. Dibble received a common school education, and when merely a boy went to work in his father's brick yard and thus early in life became familiar with the peculiar methods employed in this work. He has devoted the major portion of his life to this business, he and his brother having main- tained a large yard on their father's farm near Clermont, there employing as high as thirty men. They furnished the brick for nearly all the buildings of this material in West Union and they shipped to many points at a greater distance. M. V. Dibble finally purchased this place of one hundred and twenty acres, and he owns in all two hundred and forty-seven acres, all valuable land and well improved, and for the past few years he has given his attention to farming and dairying, operating what is perhaps the largest and best equipped dairy in the county, having milked as high as forty cows, and, owing to the ex- cellent quality of his products, he finds a ready market for the same. He is a master of details and has made a great success of all these lines of endeavor, especially in the manufacture of brick. With the exception of a short time time as foreman of a brick yard for Mr. Hinkley at Laverne, Minnesota, he has been a resident continuously of this part of Fayette county, Iowa, being one of the township's representative men.
Mr. Dibble was married in 1866, at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to Sarah A. Dixon, who was born in London, England. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Lily, Jessie, Grace, Ezra, Arthur, Rosa, Kittie, Gussie, and one who died at the age of ten years.
Mr. Dibble's father was a Whig in politics and later a supporter of the Republican party and his son, M. V., has followed his example by being a loyal advocate of Republican principles. Though he has never found time to mingle much in politics, yet he has very faithfully performed the duties of assessor of his township and has also been a member of the school board, being willing to give of his valuable time to the work of advancing the interests of his township and county. He is a man of upright principles and has the esteem of a host of friends.
ALMON H. AMES.
The subject of this sketch, a retired farmer and for many years an hon- ored citizen of Fayette county, is a native of St. Lawrence county, New York, where his birth occurred on December 26, 1850. His grandfather, Elijah Ames, a descendant of an old Vermont family, lived near Pottsdam,
826
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
New York, and served with a creditable record in the war of 1812. Thur- man Ames, son of Elijah and father of the subject, was born in St. Lawernce county, near Pottsdam, and when a young man married Clarinda Carver, whose parents, Oliver and Lois ( Burnett) Carver, were natives of New York and Vermont respectively.
In October, 1858, Thurman Ames moved to Kane county, Illinois, where he lived until 1869, when he migrated to Kansas. He served in the Fifty- second Illinois Infantry during the late Rebellion, and his son also took part in the war, having been a member of the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry, both earning honorable records as brave and gallant soldiers.
Almon H. Ames was eight years old when his parents moved to Illinois and he spent his youthful life in Kane county, that state, growing to maturity in close touch with the soil and receiving his educational discipline in the public schools. He remained in Illinois until 1876, when he came to Fayette county, Iowa, and located in Scott township, where he engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, which honorable vocation he carried on with success and profit until his retirement from active life in the year 1907. On removing to the above township he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 19, which he at once began to improve and which under his effective la- bors and judicious management soon became one of the best and most valuable farms in the county of Fayette. He erected good buildings and made many other improvements and as a tiller of the soil ranked among the most en- ergetic and enterprising of his compeers, adopting modern methods in all of his work and achieving success such as few attain. He lived on the farm for a period of thirty-one years, during which time he accumulated a suffi- ciency of this world's goods to make him independent and enable him to spend the remainder of his life in the enjoyment of the fruits of his many years of toil; accordingly, he bought a beautiful home in Oelwein where he and his wife are now living in honorable retirement.
Mr. Ames was married January 29, 1873, to Hannah Wadley, daughter of Calvin and Mary (Vincent) Wadley, of Michigan, but later of Kane county, Illinois, where Mrs. Ames grew to womanhood and exchanged her family name for the one she has since worthily borne. Three children have blessed the union of this estimable couple. viz : Elva, Wesley and Earl. Elva married Henry Ernst, who died in December, 1896, leaving besides his widow one son, Loren Ernst; subsequently Mrs. Ernst became the wife of Otis Whiteside, of Clarion, Iowa, where she and her husband now reside. Wes- ley Ames is a traveling engineer for the Stillwater Threshing Machine Com- pany, of Minnesota, and has had in charge a large area of territory in that
827
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
and other states. He married Grace Ford and is the father of one son, who answers to the name of Almon. Earl, the youngest of the subject's offspring, lives on the family homestead and manages the same, being one of the pro- gressive young farmers of Scott township. He too is married and the father of one son, Jack F. Ames, the wife and mother having formerly been Blanch Hough, of Fayette county.
Since taking up his residence in Oelwein Mr. Ames has identified himself with the varied interests of the city and keeps abreast of the times on all matters of local and general moment. He belongs to the order of Yeomen, and, with his wife, is a regular attendant of the Christian church and a lib- eral contributor to its material support, Mrs. Ames being a devoted member and active in all the utilities under the auspices of the congregation. Mrs. Ames's parents are living at Sycamore, Illinois, both having reached the ripe old age of seventy-nine years and retaining to a marked degree their physical and mental powers.
HENRY R. MARTIN.
The subject of this sketch, who is in a prominent way identified with varied business interests in the thriving city of Oelwein, Fayette county, is a lifelong resident of the county and enjoys a wide and favorable acquaint- ance. He is known as a man of marked business and executive ability and also possesses personal qualities which commend him to the favor of all who know him. He has been closely identified with the progress and upbuilding of Oelwein and is rightfully numbered among her representative business men.
Mr. Martin was born in Jefferson township, this county, in 1867, and is a son of Charles M. and Amanda (O'Neel) Martin. The father was a na- tive of the state of Tennessee and came to Iowa in about 1856, locating first in Bremer county. He was a Baptist minister and enjoyed to a great degree the respect and esteem of all who knew him. In 1865 he came to Fayette county and located on a tract of land which is now embraced in the north- west part of Oelwein. He bought two hundred acres, one hundred and fifty- five of which was embraced in that section bordered on the east by Charles street and on the south by Frederick street, the remainder of the land lying south of the latter street. His death occurred in 1876. The subject's mother was the daughter of Ruel and Mary (Rairdon) O'Neel.
Henry R. Martin was reared under the parental roof and was early inured to farm life. He received a fair education in the public schools, and
828
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
after the completion of his education he remained for a time on the home farm. He then engaged in the real estate business in Oelwein, in which he met with very gratifying success and was soon recognized as a hustling and successful man of marked business acumen and sound judgment. During Grover Cleveland's second presidential administration Mr. Martin served as postmaster at Oelwein, giving a very satisfactory administration. Upon the organization of the Aetna State Bank he became a stockholder and member of the board of directors, and in 1898 he accepted the position of cashier of the bank, in which position he is still serving. In this position he has neces- sarily much to do with the conduct of the bank's affairs and his continuous retention in the office is evidence of the absolute confidence which the di- rectors have in his integrity and ability. The bank is numbered among the strong and reliable financial institutions of Fayette county and has been an important factor in the business development of the community. Mr. Martin is also a member of the firm of Kent & Martin, lumber dealers. This firm purchased the two yards formerly owned by George W. Jamison and the Citizens' Lumber Company and they now enjoy the largest business in their line in the county, it being recognized as one of the most important indus- tries of the city.
In 1889 Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Etta B. Shaw, who was born near West Union, this county, the daughter of Abram and Matilda (Long) Shaw. Religiously, Mr. Martin is a member of the Presbyterian church at Oelwein, to which he gives an earnest and liberal support. In every avenue of activity in which he has engaged he has performed well his part and has at all times enjoyed the unbounded confidence of all who have been associated with him. Of frank and earnest manner in his dealings with others, he at once inspires confidence, -- a confidence which is never violated on his part, and he has many warm and loyal friends.
CHARLES M. HALL.
Far from the rugged Pine Tree state comes Charles M. Hall, a well known citizen of Oelwein, who is a scion of sterling New England ancestry and where he himself was nurtured, receiving those lessons of fortitude and persistency that never fail to win whatever vocation is followed or wherever the individual's lot may be cast. He was born in Kennebec county, Maine. October 12, 1849, and he is the son of Isaac B. and Elizabeth ( Hutchison)
829
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
Hall, the former being the son of Benjamin Hall, who came to America from Ireland when a young man and located in Maine, where he married a native girl. Elizabeth (Hutchison) Hall is of Scotch and English parentage, her mother being from England and her grandfather from Scotland.
Charles M. Hall grew to maturity on the home farm in Maine, which he worked during the summers and received a somewhat limited education in the district schools, remaining under his parental roof-tree until he was seventeen years of age, when he gratified his ambition to grow up in the West, believing that greater opportunities existed here for a man of his tastes, and he accordingly located in Delaware county, Iowa, where he secured employ- ment on a farm. He saved his money and three years later rented a farm and began life for himself, and, being a hard worker and having learned how to manage a farm from his father, he gradually gained a competency.
On March 29, 1871, Mr. Hall married Ruth King, daughter of William and Rhoda (Durson) King, the daughter of a well-established family. Twelve children have been born to this union, namely: Hattie married John Steil, living on a farm one mile east of Westgate, and they are the parents of two children, Merle A. and Roy C .; Isaac C. is living near Seattle, Wash- ington ; Lizzie May married Will Karsten and lives a mile east of Sumner, on the edge of Fayette county, Iowa; William F. married Lizzie Wahner and lives two miles south of Maynard, Iowa, on a farm, and they are the parents of two children, Harry and Mabel; Lottie Pearl married Charles Kaune, living two miles northwest of Oelwein; Maude Mary is living at home with the family in Oelwein; Archa M. and Isaac, in the state of Washington. run- ning on a steamboat ; Ruth Amelia married Frank Winkler and they live in Westgate, Iowa, and are the parents of one child, Ruth; Mabel Estella is a teacher in the public schools of Banks township; Wyatt Lee is employed at Scott Center, Scott township, this county; Emma is married, living west of Oelwein; Augusta, who attended high school in Oelwein, is a teacher now in the public schools. One child died in infancy ; the others are all enjoying good health and are fairly well started in life's material affairs. On July 15, 1908, Mrs. Hall died and was buried in Oaklawn cemetery at Oelwein. On May 24, 1910, Mr. Hall married Eva M. Glew, daughter of Ernest L. and Irene (Warren) Glew, of near Alexandra, South Dakota. In 1908 they came to Fayette county and Mr. Glew is engaged as janitor of the city hall at Oelwein.
After his marriage Charles M. Hall continued farming in Delaware county for two years, then moved three miles north of Oelwein on the J. C. Bennett farm, and there he remained until 1877, when he bought a farm of eighty acres, seven and one-half miles northwest of Oelwein. Prospering
830
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
all the while, he purchased, about seven years later, another eighty acres, and about 1889 he bought one hundred and eighty acres more, making three hun- dred and forty acres in all, of as fine land as the county can boast. He con- tinued farming there successfully until February, 1902, when he bought a splendidly located, attractive and commodious residence at No. 417 North Frederick street. in Oelwein, where he has since resided, practically retired from active life. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order. He is a plain, substantial, hospitable and congenial man whom everybody likes and his family is highly respected wherever its several members have lived.
BENJAMIN SHIPPY.
Although the fate that comes to all in the course of human events has summoned Benjamin Shippy to his reward, time cannot readily relegate to ob- livion the forces for good he set in motion and the remembrance of the many useful acts and kind deeds for which he was esteemed, for his life was one of long, consecutive endeavor in an effort to benefit himself, his family and his fellow men, and the career of such as he should be set up for an example before the youth whose destinies are yet matters for the future to determine. He was the representative of a sterling old Canadian family, he himself being a native of the far north, born in-Rondeau, Middlesex, Ontario, Canada, March 8, 1818. His father was Thomas Shippy, who married Frances McLish. He grew to manhood at Rondeau and was educated there. On June 8, 1853, he was married to Annis Henry, daughter of Ira and Molly ( Burss) Henry, of Elgin county, Ontario, Canada, and in December, 1853, they moved to Walworth county, Wisconsin, and there followed farming in a very successful manner for about a year and a half, when he moved to Oran township, Fay- ette county, Iowa, in the spring of 1855. He took up eighty acres of govern- ment land and began farming there, developing a good farm and establish- ing an excellent home. Three years later he sold the first farm and bought another a mile away. When he first came to Iowa it was in covered wagons, drawn by ox teams, and they were compelled to live in wagons until they could build a log cabin, and they had to go to Independence, quite a distance, for their mail and to do their trading. Eight children were born to them, named as follows: Victoria married Webster McQueen and lives in Oelwein, and they are the parents of six children ; Leroy was drowned when twenty years of age ; Benjamin married Emma Smith, of Waverly, Iowa, and he is employed in
831
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
the shops of the Chicago Great Western railway; he and his wife are the par- ents of three children, Charles, Leslie and Norma; John McQueen was the third child in order of birth; the next was Ima, who married Earl Gay and lives in Rockford, Illinois, where he is proprietor of a "pantatorium"; Vesta and Bernice McQueen are the youngest of the family ; Webster McQueen is in charge of the interlocking switches of the Chicago Great Western railway at Oelwein. Alvrettia Shippy died when twelve years of age. Kate M. Shippy married Samuel Speer and lived in Palo Alto county, Iowa, until her death, on January 20, 1900; they lived on a farm and four children were born to them, Raymond, Cassie, Vera Rosamond and Clifford. Cassie Speer married Ray Miller, asistant chief clerk in the offices of the Oregon Short Line rail- road at Pocatello, Idaho. Locy Shippy married Elsie Miller, of Black Hawk county, Iowa, and three children have been born to them, Glennie, who died December 31, 1908, Lloyd and Jacob. Locy Shippy is farming in Oran town- ship, Fayette county, Iowa. Ira Shippy is working on a farm in Buchanan county, Iowa. Charles Shippy married Ella Murray and lives at Hope, Steele county, North Dakota, where he is practicing law; he was county attorney there for eight years and he is the owner of eight hundred acres of farm land. Chiles Shippy married Catherine Kile, of Dubuque county, Iowa, and they are living in Oelwein, where he has been city clerk since May, 1907; eight children have been born to them, Leo C., Chester A., Harold E., Russell F., Claire W., Charles S., Ira M. and Marie M. Osceola Shippy died when five years of age.
When the Shippy family first moved to Oran township, Fayette county, wolves and rattlesnakes were very numerous, and they had to contend with the ordinary conditions obtaining in a new country, but they in due course of time established a good home here. Benjamin Shippy was an ardent Repub- lican and took an interest in everything that tended to promote the general good. He was school director many years, constable for two terms, road supervisor and he held other local offices, always to the entire satisfaction of his constituents, for he was scrupulously honest, courteous and gave close at- tention to whatever he had entrusted to him. The death of this excellent citi- zen occurred in January, 1899. In 1903, Mrs. Shippy sold the farm and moved to Oelwein, where he still resides. She is, with one exception, the oldest set- tler in Oran township now living in Fayette county. She is a woman of beautiful Christian character and she is a blessing to all who come into her genial presence, and it is interesting to hear her recall reminiscences of the early days. In every way she proved to be a fit companion for her sterling husband, and no stronger character has ever lived in the southern part of the county than he.
.
832
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
WALTER B. STONE.
It is always a pleasure to the biographer to record the lives of men such as those mentioned in this sketch. Walter B. Stone was born in Warrens- burg, Warren county, New York, July 2, 1846, the son of William B. and Mary (Fuller) Stone. They moved to Washington county, New York, in 1854, and in 1867 the family came to Eden township, Fayette county, Iowa. Walter had worked at home in the sawmills and had become a sawyer. In December, 1863, he enlisted in Company A, Second New York Veteran Cav- alry, most of the members of which regiment were veterans in the service. He joined the regiment at Camp Stanton, Virginia. In February they were transferred to the Department of the Gulf and sent to Morganza Bend, on the Mississippi, Col. Morgan H. Chisler having been sent by ocean vessel to New Orleans. The regiment got new horses at New Orleans. Their service consisted in keeping the eastern and western armies in touch, scouting and other such duties. In the last campaign they were transferred to the coast of Florida, marched to Fort Blakely and were there at the time of Lee's sur- render. Mr. Stone continued to serve with his command and was discharged at the end of his term in November, 1865. The regiment had headquarters at Talladye, Alabama, during the last few months. There was a great deal of factional feeling and troops were necessary to maintain peace. After his discharge Mr. Stone went back to New York, but was in bad health on ac- count of his service. He attended school and worked in a store until 1866. Oliver Stone, a cousin of William B., was already in Iowa and so they moved there. They first rented land near Eden, then bought a farm near Hawkeye, then came back to Eden township, until in 1878 his father moved to Nebraska, where he died in 1883. His wife spent her remaining life with her son, W. B., a daughter in Nebraska, and a daughter in New Hampshire, in which latter place she died in 1897. James W., a brother of Walter B., who had served in the Twenty-second Regiment New York Infantry and in the Second New York Veteran Cavalry for four years and a half, had come to Iowa with the family, but in 1868 he and Walter went to Chicago and there they learned the upholsterer's trade. James died in Chicago in 1902. Walter spent fourteen years at the upholstering trade, being the foreman of a large shop with twenty-five men under him at the time he left the trade. He was in Chicago at the time of the fire and saw the most of it, especially in the heaviest business districts. In 1882 he returned to Iowa and took charge of his wife's home- stead. On this farm, on September 3, 1872, he had been married to Eva A.
G. W. Goodrich
Walter BStone
833
FAYETTE COUNTY, IOWA.
Goodrich, the daughter of the Rev. G. W. and Catherine (Fellers) Goodrich. G. W. Goodrich was born in Franklin, Delaware county, New York, February 16, 18II, and came to Iowa in 1866. He had begun to preach in the Methodist church, was a circuit rider for four or five years, and finally united with the Free Will Baptists. He had lost his health and came west on that account. He had owned land here before, but bought the present farm, which had been settled thirty years before by William Murray, after his coming, and began to farm, but was soon called upon to preach. His church had a congregation at Eden, but no building. He preached all over this country, and continued to serve until age prevented. He was a man with hosts of friends, popular and well liked. In the number of marriages which he solemnized and funerals he preached he was far in advance of most preachers, for his services were much in demand on such occasions. His strong Unionism was perhaps one of the reasons why during the war he was chosen to preach the funerals of so many soldiers who had been sent home for burial. At one time he married six . couples at one ceremony, mostly soldiers just starting to war. One couple in Iowa, Fayette Schenck and wife, were married standing in a wagon. He was liberal in his views. Mrs. Goodrich died in 1878, falling into a well in the night while visiting a neighbor, and dying instantly. Mr. Goodrich died at the old home December 29, 1906, aged ninety-four years, ten months and thirteen days. He had been married on March 21, 1839. His parents were Morris and Ruth Goodrich. Mrs. Walter B. Stone was born in Schoharie county, New York, came to Iowa at the age of fourteen and has lived on the farm ever since with the exception of ten years in Chicago. Her twin sister, Adeline, married S. C. Main, and died in Bethel township at the age of forty-five years.
From 1882 Mr. Stone carried on general farming very successfully until his death, which occurred on June 10, 1910, the place comprising one hundred and thirty acres of well improved land. In 1884 he built the present home. Two of his children died in childhood, and the five living are: George G., carpenter and blacksmith, of Alpha; Lestena, who married R. D. Davis, of Alpha ; Walter B., Jr., operating the farm and living with his parents; Ina M., a teacher, graduate of the Waucoma high school; Arthur M., now a student in the same high school. Mr. Stone was in former years a Republican, but later became a Prohibitionist. He was a member of Sutherland Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Waucoma. Always faithful as a soldier, at his trade, and on the farm, he lived to see the results of that faithfulness in the prosperity and happiness of himself and his family. Mr. Stone was for twenty years a member of and an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal church in which he held official position as steward and trustee.
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.