USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 34
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Mr. Smith remained on the above farm about eight years, when he changed it for a farm near Rochester, Illinois, to which he at once removed and on which he lived and prospered until the latter part of 1881, a period of eight years. Owing to his wife's declining health, he came to Towa in the
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fall of the year indicated and after looking over a number of farms in different parts of Fayette county, as well as adjoining counties, he finally purchased a half section of land near Randalia, to which he moved his family and on which he lived until his retirement to Hawkeye, in the year 1902. Mr. Smith has a neat and attractive home, consisting of a few acres adjoining the town, where he is now spending his declining years in the enjoyment of material blessings, which his industry and thrift have enabled him to accumulate. He is a close observer of current events, keeps well informed on the questions of the day and in politics is a pronounced Republican, with decided Prohibi- tion tendencies. A gentleman in the most liberal meaning of the term, he enjoys the respect of all with whom he comes into contact and as a citizen interested in everything calculated to advance the interests of his adopted county and state, no one in the community commands in a more marked de- gree the esteem of the public.
Mrs. Smith departed this life in May, 1891, after a residence of about ten years in Fayette county and on June 2, 1892, Mr. Smith married Mrs. Martha Clark (nee Morgan), widow of the late William Clark, of Rochester, Illinois. The first marriage resulted in the birth of eight children, of whom one died in infancy and another, Theora, who married James Newton, died in the year 1905. Those living are Jennie E., former postmaster of Randalia, but now operating a homestead in North Dakota, which she entered and improved, in connection with which she also farms two additional quar- ter sections in the same locality. She taught school for a number of years and is a lady of intelligence and marked individuality. Selah G. is a farmer and stock raiser of Fayette county, in which he owns about six hundred acres of valuable land. Harry D., now in the government service as district auditor in the Philippine islands, is also interested in North Dakota real estate, owning a half section in Bottineau county. Robert D., a carpenter, lives at Hawkeye, where, in connection with his trade, he operates a flouring mill. Nellie C. is principal of the public schools of Castalia, and Helen, the youngest of the family, married Austin J. Fox, of Fayette, Iowa.
O. E. OLESON.
A man who stands in the front rank of successful men in his county, one who has himself worked his way to this position, whose time and labor spent on his farm have rewarded him proportionately, until now, in spite of early
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struggles, he can spend the remainder of his life surrounded by every sub- stantial comfort, enjoying the confidence, respect, and esteem of those who know him, taking part in the more important business operations of his com- munity-such a man is the subject of this sketch. He is one of those who have found their Norwegian blood not a detriment, but an aid, in working out a successful career in life.
O. E. Oleson was born in Clayton county, Iowa, July 9, 1855, the son of Emrick and Gunil ( Swinson) Oleson, natives of Norway, who came to this (Clayton) county in the fifties, and here died. They came to Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, on arriving in this country, but did not remain there long until the desire for some of Iowa's land brought them here. Emrick Oleson was a farmer, a Republican, and a member of the Lutheran church.
O. E. Oleson was born and brought up on a farm, and educated in the parochial and common schools. He has followed farming all his life, owns the farm of one hundred and forty-seven acres on which he lives and four hundred and eighty acres in Minnesota. His farming has been general in character, as the soil of this portion of the state is best suited to that style of farming.
In 1885 O. E. Oleson was married to Caroline Jacobsen, born in Nor- way, and the daughter of Erick and Bollete Jacobsen, who came to Fayette county among the early settlers and here both died. To this marriage there have been born two daughters, Ellen and Gussie. Mr. Oleson is a Democrat. a conscientious party worker, and was elected to the office of township trustee by his party, retaining the office for six years and faithfully performing his duties as such. He is a director in the Elgin State Bank and a stockholder in the Clermont State Bank. Prosperity has crowned his efforts in every line. His business sagacity, his good understanding of the conditions about the county, and his strong sense of responsibility have contributed to the suc- cess of all his operations. For his true worth and many pleasant traits of companionship he is deservedly held in great esteem by those who know him.
JAMES E. JENNINGS.
In the villages of the middle West are found men who were born on the farm, who went through hard times and struggles in early life, who by dint of hard work and good management won first a living, then a competency, from the soil, and now have settled in the village, enjoying the fruits of their labor.
ยท
MRS. ANNIE JENNINGS.
JAMES E. JENNINGS.
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active in all the interests of the neighborhood,-men whom it is a pleasure to meet and to talk with, veritable mainstays of the community.
James E. Jennings, better known as "Ed," was born February 7, 1850, near Delhigh, Clayton county, Iowa, the son of Zachariah (known as "Uncle Zack") and Mary (Morris) Jennings. The Jennings family are of English descent. Zachariah as a boy went from Pennsylvania to Illinois with his father, who took up land there and then went back east after his family. Zachariah's parents died in Illinois. They were the parents of five children. Zachariah married in Warren county, Illinois. The Morrises were of Welsh descent, but his wife's mother was a German and was a woman of great natural ability as a doctor and used to ride over the country and treat the sick very successfully. She was the mother of thirteen children and raised several be- sides.
Zachariah Jennings started in a small way by farming near Mineral Point and working in the mines. In 1848 or '49 he went to Clayton county, Iowa, entered a claim, partly prairie land, and started to make a home, building a log house and making other improvements. He lost this claim and in 1853 came to this county, settling in Illyria township on the river near Fry bridge. He first worked in the Roll Mitchell saw-mill, then pre-empted a one hundred and twenty-acre claim, erected a log house, and went to Elkader to work in a grist-mill to get money to pay on his land. He found that another man was trying to beat him out of the land, so he walked from his home to the land office at Dubuque, starting from his home at one o'clock Sunday and reaching Dubuque by eight o'clock Monday ahead of his rival, who had driven through. He cleared and improved the land and lived on this farm until his death, April 4, 1908. His wife died September 21, 1901. She was a very active worker in the United Brethren church and was the first person baptized in Volga river. Besides being an excellent wife and mother, she had inherited her mother's ability as a doctor and made many remarkable cures in the country about. Zachariah Jennings was a man very well known and very much esteemed in the county. During the later part of their lives both he and his wife were cripples, the result of a sad accident when, returning from a visit, their team carried them over a forty-two-foot embankment. They were the parents of ten children, namely: John A., a farmer of Sumner, Nebraska, who married a Mrs. Wheeler; Jane, who married Henry Gage, a farmer and photographer, living near Spokane, Washington; Joseph, of Volga City, Iowa, a farmer and minister in the United Brethren church, who married Eleanor Crane; she died in June, 1908; Alonzo died at the age of three years : David, of Alberta, Wash- ington, a blacksmith, married Emma Kaufman; J. E., the subject of this
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sketch; Sarah, who was a teacher in this and Clayton counties and married Alonzo Fitzgibbons, of Clayton county ; Mary married Wallace Crandall, of Illyria township; William died at the age of nineteen; George, a farmer in Illyria township, married Ella Walters.
J. E. Jennings had little chance to go to school and, except for the knowl- edge gained by three months' attendance at the old log Mitchell school house, is entirely self-educated. He lived at home until his marriage to Annie E. Walters on February 19, 1873. (See sketch of Rev. John Walters. ) They have three children : Sidney, a farmer in Illyria township, who married Mary Wittenbaugh; Maggie, who married John Wittenbaugh, farmer and rural route carrier of Wadena, and is the mother of five children, Alta, Lola, Gertie (dead), Lile and Robert ; Bert A., a mail carrier in Illyria township, who mar- ried Tillie Larson, to which marriage four children, Vivian, Harry F., Floy and Gladys G., have been born.
After his marriage Mr. Jennings lived in Clayton county one year, on the old Tusing farm in Illyria township two years, on John Harriman's farm one year, and then returned to Clayton county for two years. Here he bought a sixty-acre farm of Deacon Morley, going into debt for every dollar of the purchase price, lived there for eight years, got out of debt, then sold the farm and bought one hundred and five acres of J. Harriman three-fourths of a mile from Wadena, and three years later bought fifty-five acres more. He carried on general farming and made all the improvements on the place. He engaged in the livery business in Wadena for one year in 1903 and the next year he and his wife moved to the village, where he bought a home, remodeled it, and has since lived. Mr. Jennings has also made the real estate business part of his vocation and has been very successful. He made thirteen trips to Dakota in one year and also went often to Texas where he sold a great deal of land. He has been a member of the council and street commission to Wadena, and was formerly school director. Mr. Jennings is a Republican, and a member of the United Brethren church, a man well known and well liked, informed on all subjects and a good talker, one of the solid men of his town.
MICHAEL RILEY.
The subject of this sketch, who is a well known section foreman on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, with headquarters at Hawkeye, is a native of Clayton county, Towa, where he was born on April 4. 1863. His parents, Thomas and Margaret Riley, both born in county West Meath,
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Ireland, were married in their native country and about fifty years ago came to the United States, settling on a farm in Fayette county, Iowa, where they lived until their removal, in 1874, to the town of Wadena. There three years later Thomas Riley ceased his earthly labors, the subject being fourteen years old at the time.
Michael Riley remained at the parental home until his twenty-fourth year, but in the meantime, at the early age of fifteen, began his long career as a railroader by accepting a position on the section, of which he is now fore- man and with which his life from that time to the present has been very closely identified. Such was his efficiency as a workman and so faithful did he prove to the interests of the road that two years after entering the service he was promoted foreman, being but seventeen at the time and doubtless the youngest man on the entire line to be entrusted with such a responsible posi- tion. He has been with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company con- tinuously for thirty years, during about twenty-eight years of which time he has been foreman of the Hawkeye section, which extends six and a half miles north and one and a half miles south of the town, the entire distance of eight miles ranking among the best-kept sections on the entire road. At times he has had charge of very important work, requiring a large force of men, his gang in the spring of 1893 averaging more than a hundred, a number of whom have been with him on full pay from the beginning of his service as a foreman.
Mr. Riley stands high in the confidence of the large corporation with which he is identified and his long period of service in the same capacity and the same place speaks volumes for his faithfulness and efficiency as a leader of men. While deeply interested in his duty and making it paramount to everything else, he has not been unmindful of the obligations which every citi- zen owes to the community. To this end he is alive to all that makes for the growth and advancement of the city in which he resides, taking an active part in all laudable enterprises for the good of his fellow men, and his in- fluence has always been on the right side of every moral issue.
At the age of twenty-five Mr. Riley was united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Mary Maguire, daughter of John and Bridget Maguire, of Fayette county, the marriage resulting in the birth of the following children : Margaret, born July 19, 1888; Edward, born November 15, 1890; Bessie, born October 5, 1892; Michael, born December 28, 1895; Viola, born Sep- tember 26, 1901, all living and with their parents, excepting Margaret, who married Ed. Koeler in March, 1909.
Mr. Riley was reared a Catholic and has ever been a true son of the Holy Mother church, his wife and children also being communicants. The family
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is highly esteemed in Hawkeye, where Mr. Riley's friends are as the number of his acquaintances. Inheriting many of the characteristics and sterling qualities of his nationality, he has become a great favorite in social circles and those who know him best speak most highly in praise of his upright life and manly conduct.
WILLIAM CROSS.
Smithfield township, Fayette county, has no more progressive and public spirited citizen than William Cross, who was born February 19, 1844, in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry and Hannah (Leonard) Cross, the father a native of New Jersey and the mother of Scotland, the former dying in 1848 and the latter in October, 1852. Henry Cross was suc- cessful in his business life, owned considerable land and was a money lender. He and his wife were the parents of the following children : Lydia. deceased : Fannie, deceased ; Julia A., living in Virginia ; S. B., of Jackson county, Mis- souri, was in Company H. Ninety-sixth Illinois Volunteer Infantry ; Simeon, who is now deceased, was a teamster in the Union army for two years ; Wil- liam, of this review: Asher, who died in Texas, was in the Sixteenth New York Infantry, later in Company M, Twelfth Illinois Cavalry; Charles was killed on a railroad in Pennsylvania : the youngest child died in infancy.
William Cross received a limited education, having attended school only five months, but he is a well-read man. In the fall of 1852 he went to Elmira, New York, and in 1854 he came to Dixon, Illinois, where he farmed until 1861, when he went into the Union army, enlisting on September 7, 1861, in Company B, Thirty-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry. After being drilled, he was sent to Shiloh, Mississippi, and was wounded in that battle, April 2. 1862, having been shot through the left side. Having been left on the field for dead, he lay there one night and one day without attention, then was taken to a hospital in St. Louis ; but he recovered rapidly and was back in his regi- ment by May 16th following. He was sent to Corinth to participate in the siege there, later went to Iuka, Mississippi, and was in several other battles, including those near Chattanooga, also went to Perryville and Louisville, Ken- tucky, Crab Orchard, Lavergne, Stone River, Resaca, Lookout Mountain and many other battles and skirmishes. He was in front of Atlanta in 1864 ; after remaining in Chicago for six weeks, whither he was sent on guard duty, he reached home on October 31, 1864. He then re-enlisted in the Eighth Illinois Cavalry and was sent to Fairfax Court House, where he did scout duty. He
William Cross
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went all through Virginia and Maryland, after Mosby on his famous raid, re- maining in the service until the close of the war, receiving an honorable dis- charge in August, 1865, at St. Louis, Missouri. He was also wounded at the great battle of Stone River, December 31, 1863, and was taken prisoner and held for ten days, when he was paroled. In crossing the Cumberland moun- tains he was caught in a rope and dragged part way down the mountainside, but a comrade ran after him and cut the rope, preventing his being literally torn apart. From the effects of this experience he has never fully recovered. In spite of his parole, he and a number of comrades returned to the army and performed effectual service, the cause for their action being that the Con- federates sent twelve thousand of their men to the front before being ex- changed. He made a most faithful and gallant soldier, according to his com- rades, always at the front and never shrinking from duty. In recognition of his bravery, General Rosecrans conferred on him the distinction of having a third button sewed on his sleeve as a distinguishing mark. This intention was vetoed by the war department, but the recognition was a source of much gratification to Mr. Cross.
After the war Mr. Cross spent one year in Whiteside county, and one year in Lee county, Illinois, and he came to West Union where he remained for four years. He then moved to Center township, and bought eighty acres, remaining seventeen years in that township. Then selling out there, he, in 1888, moved to Smithfield township in section 3, buying a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres.
Mr. Cross was first married in Illinois, on February 15, 1866, to Hannah Carse, who was of Scotch-Irish descent ; she died in 1895 and he married, some- time thereafter, Ellen M. Hotchkiss, of Illinois, a daughter of Charles and Maria (Crandall) Hotchkiss, the father a native of Chenango county, New York, where the mother was also born. They grew to maturity and married there, and came to Fayette county, Iowa, May 19, 1856, and settled in Center township on wild land which they transformed into a good farm, and there Mr. Hotchkiss lived until his death, in February, 1903 ; his widow is still living on the old place, having reached the advanced age of eighty-four years. Mr. Hotchkiss was a blacksmith by trade and highly proficient in the same. He and his wife became the parents of four children, namely : Mary is the wife of Frank Dewey, living in Harlan township, Fayette county ; Charles is single and is living on the old homestead with his mother; Sarah J. married Henry Sidler, of Oran township, Fayette county; Ellen M. is the wife of William Cross, of this review.
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Mr. Cross has become the father of the following children: Fannie, widow of Harvey Applen, lives at Seymour, Iowa, and is the mother of three children; Joe is living in the state of Washington; William, who married Effie Neffin, lives in Oakland, Iowa; Lizzie B. married J. C. Campbell, of Nebraska; John, who married Nellie Perkins, lives in Oakland, Iowa; Asher, who is single, is living in Omaha, Nebraska; Roy, who married Bessie Van- meter, is living at Oakland, Iowa; Pearl and Ruby are both living at home; Sarah, the fifth child in order of birth, married William Rogers, of Perry, South Dakota.
Mr. Cross was formerly a member of the Grand Army of the Republic post at Randalia, Iowa, but he now belongs to Warner Post No. 46, Fayette, Iowa. He was commander of the post for three years and he has held all the other offices. Politically, he is a Republican and has held some of the town- ship offices, always with credit and to the satisfaction of all concerned ..
Mr. Cross has a fine farm, well improved and which he has kept carefully tilled. He has been very successful raising stock, being a breeder of registered Polled-Angus cattle, draft horses and Poland-China hogs. He has devoted his entire life to farming and, having made a success, has retired, having been living quietly at his pleasant home for some time. He is well known and has many warm friends throughout the county. He has had some hair-raising experiences and narrow escapes from death. In 1891, he was attacked by a vicious steer and had it not been for the actions of his faithful dog he would have been killed.
WILLIAM BILLMEYER.
Realizing the fact that persistent industry constitutes the basis of suc- cess, William Billmeyer, a well known citizen of Auburn township, Fayette county, sought no royal road to the goals of which he dreamed when a youth. but began to work earnestly and diligently in order to advance himself, and the result is that he is now numbered among the progressive, successful and influential agriculturists of this locality. He comes of a sterling old family of the Keystone state, he himself having been born in Northunberland county, Pennsylvania. April 11, 1847, but most of his long and useful life has been spent in Auburn township, Fayette county, Iowa, whither he came when a lad and where he grew to maturity, receiving his education in the district schools. He is the son of Ellis and Matilda ( Berdine) Billmeyer. both natives of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, the former born in
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April, 1827, of German ancestry. Mrs. Billmeyer, born in 1826, was one of three children, and was left an orphan at a very early age. They were both reared on farms. Ellis Billmeyer learned the milling business, but gave it up on account of the dust, and mastered next the cabinetmaker's trade, later taking up the trade of sawyer for his father and followed that for a number of years. He purchased the home farm at his father's death, also the saw- and grist-mill, etc., and conducted them for a number of years. In 1855 they sold out in Pennsylvania and moved to Ft. Atkinson, Iowa, where Mr. Billmeyer took up a homestead, but he remained there only five months, moving to Auburn, Fayette county, in the fall of 1855, where he worked in a saw-mill as a hired hand for one hundred days that year. In the spring of 1856 he bought forty acres of timber land in section 27, Auburn township, where his son, William of this review, lives at present. The senior Bill- meyer built a saw-mill on the forty acres and began sawing lumber for the market, operating the mill until 1893 when he sold to his son, Charles, who operated it until about 1902, when he sold out and engaged exclusively in farming. The elder Mr. Billmeyer from time to time added to his first pur- chase of forty acres, at one time owning four hundred acres, principally timber, but a large portion of this was eventually cleared and his sons farmed the land.
Politically, Mr. Billmeyer was a Republican and was a faithful worker for his party, though he never desired or sought public office. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was public spirited and friendly toward churches and schools. The death of this excellent citizen occurred on April 18, 1898, his wife having preceded him to the silent land on April 9, 1887, leaving eight children, two daughters having died young. Those living at present are, William, of this review; Ella, wife of Andrew Wilson, of Hawkeye, this county ; Emma, wife of Herbert Hall, living at Auburn; Lydia, the wife of Allen Desent, living in Dover township, this county; Josephine, the wife of David Musser, of Auburn township; Rittie, the wife of Samuel Musser, of Auburn, Auburn township; Charlie lives in Auburn township, adjoining the home farm; Clara, the wife of William Dwello, of Granville, North Dakota. Ellis Billmeyer was twice married, his last wife being Mrs. Elizabeth (Ostrander) Miles, whom he espoused in April, 1890; she was born in New York state, and at present she resides in Omaha, Nebraska.
William Billmeyer remained on the home place, assisting his father with the general work until he was twenty-one years of age. He continued to live with his father, but worked for himself until the age of thirty-five years.
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He bought five acres of timbered land in section 34, this township, which he cleared; he added more land to this from time to time, clearing it, until he now has a very valuable and well improved farm of five hundred acres, all cleared but one hundred and eighty acres. Fourteen acres are in section 27, and twenty-two acres were formerly a part of the old homestead. He also owns eighty acres in sections 25, 26 and 35. He has devoted his life to clear- ing and farming his land and he has been very successful and owns a good comfortable home. He has made all this himself, having received practically no aid from anyone. Politically he is a Republican, but he has never held office.
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