USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 21
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Henry A. Steffens grew to maturity and was educated in his native com- munity, and when a mere lad, April, 1882, he set sail for the United States, and he finished his education here by attending school during three winters. He came to Iowa and located in Winneshiek county, having made the trip with friends and relatives. He began life here by working on a farm, later coming to Fayette county, where he continued the same kind of labor, he being seven- teen years old when he arrived in this county, and he continued to work at various occupations here until his marriage, in 1893, to Dora Katherine Lauer, daughter of Philip Lauer, mentioned elsewhere in this history.
In January, 1893, Mr. Steffens bought the place he still occupies, just north of Eldorado near the county line. It consists of one hundred and three acres, which he has placed under an excellent state of improvement and culti- vation, having erected good buildings and made many other very noticeable changes. He has, in connection with general farming, been a successful raiser of hogs and cattle.
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Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Steffens, one of whom, Edward Henry Michael Steffens, survives, living at home; the other, Philip Gerhard Steffens, died.on May 8, 1904, at the age of three years, six months and seventeen days.
Politically Mr. Steffens is a Republican and he and his wife belong to the Lutheran church.
CHARLES WOODARD.
Few residents of West Union were as well known as the prominent busi- ness man whose name introduces this sketch and during his active and suc- cessful career few commanded in a more marked degree the confidence of the public. In Charles Woodard were combined many of the best qualities of the sterling New Englander and through. a long and busy life he exhibited those qualities and characteristics in such a way as to impress his individuality upon the community and make the world better by his presence and influence. On both his father's and mother's side Mr. Woodard was descended from an old family of Maine, several representatives of which were seafaring men, among the number being his grandfather, a captain of a sailing vessel, who died many years ago in a foreign land. His father, Enos Woodard, whose birth occurred at Lisbon, Maine, October 31, 1799, was married, November 9, 1825, to Lucy Frost, who was born at Danville, that state, on the 8th day of December, 1808. These parents had children as follows: Octavia, born July 23, 1827; Henry, born March 8, 1831 ; Fannie, born May 12, 1836, and Charles, who was the second in order of birth and who first saw the light of day at Westbrook, Maine, on June 18, 1829.
Charles Woodard was reared in his native state and received a practical education in the schools of his home town and the city of Portland, following which he began life for himself as a lumberman. After a varied experience in different places in New England and elsewhere, he came west and some time in the sixties located at West Union, Iowa, where he started a lumber- yard, the first in the town, and in due time built up an extensive and very lucrative business. Indeed, he was much more than ordinarily success- ful and by diligent attention and efficient management succeeded in accumulat- ing a handsome fortune, much of which consisted of valuable real estate in various part of Iowa.
On January 21, 1863, Mr. Woodard entered the marriage relation with
Char Honderd
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Anna B. Wasburn, whose parents, James and Betsey (Wright) Wasburn, were natives respectively of Compton, Canada, and Bradford, Vermont, the former born February 21, 1814, the latter on July 5, 1815. James Was- burn moved to Iowa with his family in 1858 and located at McGregor, with the business of which city he was long and actively identified and where he and his good wife lived to ripe old age. Of their children, nine in number, six survive, all of whom are highly esteemed in their respective places of resi- dence. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Woodard resulted in the birth of one child, George, who died in infancy.
In addition to the lumber business, Mr. Woodard started the first wagon shop at West Union and for some time was also employed with the mercan- tile trade of the city. He came west with practically no means, but by judi- cious investments he realized handsome profits, so that in the course of time he became one of the solid and well-to-do men of Fayette county. He served during the late Civil war in a regiment known as "The Gray Beards" and saw much active duty, earning an honorable record as a brave and gallant soldier. In politics he was a Republican, but never sought nor desired office, and as a citizen he was always public spirited, energetic and ever ready to . lend his aid and influence to any worthy enterprise for the material advance- meant of his town and county or for the general good of his fellow men. Al- though reared under the influence of the Congregational church and acknowl- edging his indebtedness to the same, he never united with any religious body, having been liberal in his views and ready to accord the same right of opinion to others that he insisted upon for himself. In all that constituted a high standard of manhood and citizenship he was indeed a conspicuous example ; his influence was always used to promote the welfare of the community and his name was ever free from the slightest taint of anything savoring of dis- honor. He stood for everything that was good and was a man in all the term implies. His life, like an open book, read and known by his fellows, contained little to criticise and much to commend and imitate.
Mr. Woodard departed this life on the 17th day of July, 1908, at his home in West Union, and his death, which was widely and deeply mourned, removed from his family a faithful and loving husband and from his city and county a broad minded, successful business man and a public spirited citizen whose memory will be cherished by those he left behind, as one whose influ- ence was ever on the side of right, as he understood the right, and whose efforts were always put forth to advance the interests of all with whom he mingled.
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JOHN HENRY GROSS.
Among the enterprising and successful farmers of Dover township, Fay- ette county, lowa, is John H. Gross, whose fine farm of one hundred and eighty-eight acres is well improved and highly cultivated, its owner ranking among the representative citizens of his township. Mr. Gross was born in 1841 in Schlierbach, Germany, and is a son of Henry and Anna Mary (Stael- ing) Gross, who also were natives of and lived their entire lives in the Father- land. In his native land John H. Gross was reared to manhood and received a good education in the public schools. On reaching mature years he took up the vocations of farming and milling, in which lines he was engaged until 1887, when he came to the United States, locating at once at Eldorado, Fayette county, Iowa, where he has since resided. Imbued with the idea that pre- vails in the "old country" that everything that is done at all should be done well, he has devoted himself assiduously to his chosen calling and he has suc- ceeded to a gratifying degree. His fine farm, which is most eligibly situated, is well improved, the attractive residence, commodious barn and other build- ings, well-kept fences and highly cultivated fields presenting an unmsitakable appearance of prosperity and the presence of a careful and painstaking hus- bandman. Mr. Gross raises all the crops usually produced in this section of the state and in connection gives a proper share of attention to the raising of livestock, which is so important an adjunct to the modern farm.
In 1871 Mr. Gross was united in marriage with Katherine Schuetz, and they have become the parents of the following children : Conrad, Henry, Eliza, Mary, Bertha, Fritz and Anna. Politically, Mr. Gross renders a stanch alle- giance to the Democratic party, while his religious views are those of the Luth- eran church, of which he is an earnest member. Because of the success which he lias attained and high personal qualities, Mr. Gross has won and retains to a marked degree the respect and good will of the community in which he lives.
GEORGE E. DOUGHTY.
Among the citizens of Fayette county who have achieved honorable and noteworthy success through their own efforts, George E. Doughty occupies an enviable place, having at the start little capital except his own sterling quali- ties, these being supplemented, however, by a good education, represented by a diploma from the high school in Fayette.
George E. Doughty was born in Ogle county, Illinois, April 5, 1865. While still a young child his parents moved to Fayette county, where they
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settled, and with them he remained, completing his education and making his home with them until he was thirty-one years of age, when he married Emma Reed, who was born in Lansing, Iowa, on March 22, 1874, her parents being Joseph and Juliette (King) Reed. Mrs. Doughty enjoys the good fortune of inheriting excellent old Virginia blood, for her parents were natives of that state .:
After his marriage Mr. Doughty moved to Arlington, Fayette county, Iowa, where he engaged in farming, renting a tract on which he lived for two years, when he returned to Smithfield township, where, by reason of wise economy, forethought and thrift, he was able to purchase an excellent eighty- acre tract in section 32. He resided here for three years, when he sold this farm and moved to Bourbon county, Kansas, where he again bought an ex- cellent tract, which he occupied for three years. Mr. Doughty now decided to make his permanent home in Fayette county and returned there, buying a farm in Oran township, where he lived for two years, when he finally pur- chased his present home, one hundred and twenty acres of excellent land, which he has placed under a state of high cultivation.
In politics, Mr. Doughty is a staunch and representative Republican, al- though he has never aspired to office nor sought political preferment, which might easily have been his. Through a busy, strenuous life, he has found time to lend his influence and support to the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he and his family are members and in which he is a trustee.
Six interesting children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Doughty, and in this family they have much justifiable pride. The eldest, Carol J., was born February 7, 1898. Then follow Forrest B., born June 10, 1901 ; Juliette A. and Elizabeth B., twins, on April 18, 1904; Sherman E., November 17, 1908, and the youngest on July 8, 1909.
In the success, materially and socially, which has come to Mr. and Mrs. George E. Doughty, is shown the result of perseverance and achievement under early difficulties, the sure reward of such effort, sustained under high and right ideals.
BENJAMIN F. THOMPSON.
A progressive and influential agriculturist of Smithfield township, Fay- ette county, is Benjamin F. Thompson, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Thomp- son, the son of Thomas and Susan M. (Vincent) Thompson, was born in. Racine county, Wisconsin, on July 8, 1861. His father was born in Lanca- shire, England, on September 18, 1810, and his mother was born in New York
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state on August 25, 1823, and so there came to him, both paternally and ma- ternally, blood from good stock of many generations-a priceless heritage- and on this heritage he has builded well. His parents were married in Albany, New York, on February 26, 1840, and in August, 1848, moved to Racine county, Wisconsin, where Benjamin F., the next to the youngest of their chil- dren, was born. In 1873 Thomas Thompson moved from Wisconsin to Smith- field township, Fayette county, Iowa, and in the spring of 1875 purchased one hundred and sixty acres of splendid farm land in section 31 (also some timber in another section), where he lived until his death on April 16, 1895. Mrs. Thompson survived her husband, her death occurring on November 22, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were religiously inclined, and did many good works, although they were never formally united with any one church. Politically, Mr. Thompson was a Republican, and while never holding any public office. was actively interested in furthering the cause of his party locally. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were the parents of seven children, one of whom died in in- fancy. They had the great privilege, during their lifetime, of offering three sons to the service of their country, in the Civil war : William R., born Novem- ber 13, 1842, who enlisted in April, 1864, in the Second Wisconsin Cavalry, and served until the winter of 1865. He was a resident of Marengo, Illinois; twins, Edgar and Edwin, were born January 7, 1847. Edwin enlisted in the First Wisconsin Heavy Artillery in September, 1864, and served until the close of the war in July, 1865, and died on October 13, 1893. Edgar enlisted on February 5, 1865, in the Wisconsin Infantry, and in March, while in Racine, Wisconsin, contracted measles, from which he died. Their daughters were Sarah A., born November 13, 1853, wife of A. Ecker, of Harlan township; Eugenie V., born January 1, 1856, wife of Stephen Masters, of Smithfield township, and Helen C., born August 31, 1864, widow of John Mittlestadt, a resident of Oelwein, Iowa.
On the death of his parents, Benjamin F. Thompson became heir to the home farm, to which he had added forty acres, and now owns, therefore, two hundred acres of fine farm land, highly cultivated; on this farm he has a nice home, with good surroundings, and everything about the place shows that a man of good taste is the owner. On April 4, 1906, he married Bertha Guritz, who was born December 16, 1886. Mrs. Thompson is the daughter of August and Emma (Davis) Guritz, of Harlan township, Fayette county. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are the parents of two children, Benjamin F., Jr., who was born December 19, 1908, and Arthur E., born March 26, 1910. Mr. Thomp- son is a Republican, and has been active in local politics, having held the office of township clerk for ten years, and was also secretary of the school board for twenty years.
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HON. SAMUEL BENJAMIN ZEIGLER.
The subject of this article was a veteran figure in the group of distin- guished men in Fayette county. He was the pioneer banker of the county ; the projector of many of the admirable institutions and systems of our county and municipal life ; a leader by force of intuitive merit; a scholar and a philos- opher. He came to this county as a young lawyer, poor and without friends or influence. For a number of years in early pioneer days, he traveled to the courts in adjoining counties on horseback, and it is said that occasionally he made these journeys on foot. But he was ever the same genial, companionable gentleman, and he soon drew around him a horde of admiring friends, while his ability to speak the German language made him a favorite with the in- coming pioneers from the Fatherland. He remained the same indefatigable worker throughout all the years of phenomenal success, that he was when he opened his modest little law office in West Union, in 1856. As success crowned his efforts, a large part of his cash accumulations was invested in real estate, mostly in the Northwest. He owned or controlled vast areas of improved and unimproved lands in Iowa, the Dakotas and Montana. But his principal financial development during the last forty years was due to mortgage loaning and banking. He opened the first banking institution in Fayette county in April, 1866. About this time, and for several years sub- sequently, he was interested in various banking projects in this and adjoining counties.
In July, 1872, Mr. Zeigler was one of the organizers of the Fayette County National Bank, and was elected vice-president, serving in that capacity until the retirement of Hon. Joseph Hobson in 1887, when Mr. Zeigler suc- ceeded to the presidency. This position he held until his death. April 19, 1909. S. B. Zeigler was also one of the organizers of the Fayette County Savings Bank, in August, 1875, and president of the same for many years. Of the local industries, he was interested in the organization of the Union Creamery Company, in West Union, and the Elgin Canning Company, the lat- ter a large and flourishing institution.
Mr. Zeigler was a public-spirited citizen, always active and zealous in the promotion of any enterprise which would redound to the credit of West Union and Fayette county. Few were more liberal to the poor and distressed, and his name was usually found near the head of every public subscription list. He was a zealous Mason, having attained high rank in that time-hon- ored fraternity. At the time of his death he was a member of the board of regents of the Upper Iowa University, a position to which he succeeded on the
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death of the late Doctor Fuller, on December 8, 1900. Doctor Fuller being president, Mr. Zeigler was elected to fill the vacancy, and served some two years as such, resigning because of enfeebled health.
S. B. Zeigler was a shrewd and far-seeing business man, ever alert and active in the promotion of his own interests, but equally zealous in the protec- tion of other's interests entrusted to his guardianship. In 1877 he formed a business partnership with the late Ira M. Weed, in law, banking and real estate transactions, which was continued with mutual profit and satisfaction until the death of Mr. Weed, after a business relation covering a period of about thirty years.
Mr. Zeigler was not a politician in the sense of seeking official prefer- ment, though he was a very active and zealous advocate of Republican princi- ples, and was ever ready to assist his friends and the cause, being a strong and forceful campaign speaker. He served several years as mayor of West Union ( 1867 to 1871), but otherwise never aspired to local office.
S. B. Zeigler was born in Rebersburg, Center county, Pennsylvania, on the 6th of August, 1831. He was a son of Isaac Zeigler, and his antecedents were of German extraction. He acquired a thorough and practical education in his native state, which was supplemented by a life-time of extensive read- ing and self culture. This broadening of an already superior mind, coupled with extensive travel and observation, rendered him one of Iowa's best in- formed men. He came west in 1854, locating in Dubuque, Iowa, and there studied law for two years. June, 1856, witnessed his arrival in West Union. Here he was admitted to the bar and formed a law partnership with the late Judge Milo McGlathery, which continued until the elevation of his partner to the circuit judgeship. The details of his later career are brought out in the preceding lines.
Mr. Zeigler married Laura W. Adams, daughter of Samuel L. and Har- riet (Cobleigh) Adams, of Montpelier, Vermont. Mrs. Zeigler is a lady of rare accomplishment, and is especially talented as a vocalist, having been under the training of Old World masters of voice culture for years.
The domestic life of Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler was an extremely happy one. Their home was ideal in all its appointments, and all the comforts that wealth and culture could suggest were theirs for the asking. Mr. Zeigler passed to his final reward on the 19th of April,-that day memorable in our National history,-1909. The funeral obsequies were unostentatious, but extremely impressive. After an able sermon, delivered by Rev. F. M. Dowlin, of Bethel Presbyterian church, the ritualistic service of the Knights Templar completed the ceremony.
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THOMAS H. FOXWELL.
Perhaps no name on the list of Illyria township's honored dead is better remembered or elicits more and deeper expressions of regret than that of the late Thomas H. Foxwell, a man who was long influential in local affairs and who played well his part in the development of this locality, so that his name should certainly be emblazoned on the pages of history. He was born on Sep- tember 21, 1812, in parish Mullion, county Cornwall, England, and his death occurred in Fayette county, Iowa, when fifty-seven years of age. He was the son of William and Ann (Harris) Foxwell, the mother born in the parish of Constantine and the father in the parish of Mullion, England. He was a local preacher for fifty years in a branch of the Methodist Episcopal church and he built a chapel on his place ; later he joined the Wesleyan Association and was a great temperance worker. In 1807 he received a medal for saving several lives from the frigate "Anson" on the Loe Bar. He studied astronomy and was a great scholar. His death occurred in 1843; his wife came to America with her children in 1845, there being nine in number, namely: Ann Maria, who married Samuel James and went to Oregon; Susan, who married Thomas Moyle and lived at Yorkville, Wisconsin; John, who also lived in that place, is deceased ; Elizabeth, who married H. Shephard, of Yorkville, is also deceased ; William H., who was in the Civil war and who lived in Kansas, is now de- ceased ; Thomas H., of this review ; Mary Ann, who married Henry Gartdell and they are both deceased; Amy married Ed. Richards and they, too, are both deceased ; Matilda died single.
Thomas H. Foxwell received the advantages of a liberal education; he studied astronomy under his father, who was an expert, and the son also be- came a musician of much more than ordinary ability and was also an excellent vocalist. He first married Mary (Carter) Thomas, of the parish of Mullion, England. Thomas H. Foxwell came to America in 1842 and located at Cale- donia, Wisconsin, where he secured a farm. His wife died in 1845 and he went back to England, remaining there two years; returning to America in 1849, he took up his residence again in Caledonia, Wisconsin, and in May, 1863, he came to Illyria township, Fayette county, Iowa. His second mar- riage was solemnized on October 5, 1852, to Frances Humphrey, who was born April 26, 1833, in county Cornwall, England; she was the daughter of Walter and Ann (Truscott) Humphrey, her mother being a native of Fal- mouth, England, and the father of the parish of Mawman, Cornwall, where Mrs. Foxwell was born. This family farmed there until 1849 when the par- ents, with their six children, started to America in the sailing-vessel "Java"
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and were six weeks on the voyage. They landed in New York City and soon came west to Caledonia, Wisconsin, where a son, Walter, had located on the previous spring, being associated there with Thomas H. Foxwell. These two gentlemen came together to Illyria township, Fayette county, Iowa, and got land here, and three years later the family took up their residence on the same, the father dying here in 1869, the mother surviving until 1887. He was an Episcopalian, while she was a member of the Methodist church. Nine children were born to them, namely: James died in London, when twenty- eight years old; Walter first married Charlotte Von Vleet, and second, Eliza- beth Elry; after her death he was married to Emily Harver; he was a farmer and his death occurred in Santa Barbara county. California; Elizabeth married John Paddleford, and they both died in California; William Henry died in infancy ; William Henry, the second, who is also deceased, married Nannie Kentthorn; he lived on a farm in Illyria township; Sampson first married Hannah Van Vleet, and second, Angeline Kohler; he lives at Pacific Grove, California; Mary Ann is deceased; Frances, wife of Thomas H. Foxwell, of this review; Catherine H. married Morris Hitchcock, who is deceased : she is living in Tacoma, Washington.
In 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Foxwell came to Illyria township, Fayette county, Iowa, where he had purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land. He sold off a part of this farm until the place now consists of two hundred and forty acres, and here he labored to goodly ends, laying by a competence for his family and here his death occurred. Mrs. Foxwell and children still live on the place and are successfully operating it.
To Mr. and Mrs. Foxwell seven children were born, namely: Stephen H. died when two years old; Catherine M. married Thomas F. Richard, of Illyria township; Mary Ann, who formerly taught school in California, has for many years been a very successful teacher in Fayette county, this state ; Charlotte E. married Frank L. Medberry and lives on a farm in Pleasant Valley township; Zephine is the wife of Rev. Wilbur F. Albright, who was born in Illyria township, this county; he was a missionary to Chili, South America, for twelve years, representing the Methodist Episcopal church. He formerly preached in Floyd county, Iowa, also at Burr Oak, East Dubuque and Manana, Iowa; he is also a teacher and is engaged at present in teaching at Lima, Iowa. Stephen H. Foxwell, the first of the family to be born in Illyria township, Fayette county, was born on September 17, 1863; he has always lived on the old place and has devoted his life to farming. In April. 1907, he married Elizabeth Humphrey, a native of England, and a daughter of J. T. and Viola Z. Humphrey, the father now living in this township; Stephen
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