USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 4
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Mr. and Mrs. Hetherton have reared nine children to maturity, namely : Ellen ; Richard, a farmer of Chickasaw county ; James ; Mary Ann; Katie, wife of James Doyle; Thomas, who manages the home farm; Julia; Agnes, now Mrs. Ed Grown; and Delia, who married James Kelly, of Fayette county. Mary Ann, Ellen and Julia are their father's housekeepers. All the above are members of the Catholic church and stand high in the esteem of those with whom they mingle.
AMOS A. FINCH.
The subject of this sketch, who is proprietor of the Alpha Rolling Mills, was born in Fayette county, Iowa, two miles east of the village in which he now lives, on December 3, 1857, being the second of a family of five children, whose parents were Amos and Elizabeth (Gardner) Finch, natives of New York and Ohio respectively. Amos Finch, Sr., came to Iowa in 1847 with his widowed mother and one sister, Matilda, who afterwards married O. E. Pooler and died some years ago in Auburn township, the mother subsequently becom- ing the wife of Ezra White, of Eden township. Prior to her second marriage, however, the latter entered land in the above township, where she resided until her death, at the age of eighty-eight years. Mr. White afterwards married the widow of Josiah Ostrander, of Bethel township. Amos Finch and Elizabeth Gardner were married in Fayette county. He entered a tract of land adjoin- ing his mother's homestead on Crane creek and developed a farm, on which he lived until 1878, his wife having died in 1867, at the age of twenty-nine years, after bearing him five children, whose names are as follows : Matilda, who married T. F. Saucer, of Eden township; Amos A., of this review; Charles A., of Greeley, Colorado; Reuben E., of Chickasaw county, this state, and Samantha E., wife of W. R. Patterson, of Alpha.
The death of his wife left Mr. Finch with a family of small children to look after, the oldest being eleven years and the youngest four years of age. He experienced considerable difficulty in managing his farm and caring for his
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family, being obliged to leave the children alone a week at a time while waiting for his grist to be ground at a mill a number of miles distant. Thinking to better his condition, he went to Kansas in 1878 and pre-empted a homestead in Graham county, but, owing to sickness, did not remain very long in that state. Starting on his return to Iowa, he got as far on the journey as Silver Creek, Nebraska, where his wife's father, Joseph Gardner, was then living, and there, after a few days, breathed his last, being fifty-two years old at the time of his death.
Amos A. Finch was reared to manhood in Fayette county and spent his early years amid the duties of farm life. In 1878 he accompanied his father to Kansas, where he lived for a short time in a tent while erecting a cabin on the homestead, but after a brief period started back to Iowa, a movement rendered imperative by the illness of his father, as already stated. After the death of the father in Nebraska, he brought the body to Fayette county and during the year following remained with the younger children, working the meanwhile as a farm hand. In this way he was engaged for a period of nine- teen consecutive years at so much per annum, among his employers during that time being V. L. Johnson, V. U. Johnson and Robert Patterson, the latter, in addition to farming, operating the flouring mill at Alpha. Mr. Amos worked for Mr. Patterson and other owners of the mill about fourteen years, first as a teamster, but later was employed in the mill where he received five dollars per month more than had formerly been paid for the services of himself and team. In due time he became skilled with machinery, and it was not long until his knowledge of milling made his services indispensable. About the year 1898 he purchased an interest in the mill, three years later bought out another partner and by subsequent purchases in 1908 and 1909 became sole owner of the enter- prise. Several changes in the ownership had occurred in the meantime, Mr. Finch's last partner, E. F. Johnson, being one of the proprietors who hired him in 1880 when he first went to work for the milling company. The old miller, Robert Patterson, whose daughter Mr. Finch married, was accidentally caught in the belt of a large corn sheller and suffered a horrible death, the sad event occurring in December, 1902, and casting a gloom over the entire community.
Patterson and Johnson remodeled the Alpha mills and they have been thoroughly equipped with machinery of the latest design for the manufacture of flour by the improved roller process. No expense has been spared to make the mill in every respect first class and, to supply the large and increasing de- mand for its product, it is operated at its full capacity throughout the entire year. In addition to the mill, Mr. Finch is also interested quite extensively in agriculture, owning a fine farm in Fayette county, to which he gives personal
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attention and from which he receives no small share of his income. He has been successful in his various enterprises and is now one of the financially solid men of his community, having attained his present position in business cir- cles by his own efforts and judicious management.
On October 2, 1881, Mr. Finch and Isabella Ann Patterson, daughter of Robert and Charlotte (Anson) Patterson, were united in the bonds of wedlock, the union resulting in the birth of three children : Sadie R., wife of Prof. A. A. Belknap; Rena B., a telegraph operator, who married Earl Webster July 6, 1910, and Jessie, who married Charles Hunerberg, and lives at Waucoma. The parents of Mrs. Finch were natives of Scotland, the father born in Aber- deen, the mother in the city of Edinburgh. They came to America a number of years ago and died in Fayette county, Iowa, Mr. Patterson, as already stated, being accidentally killed December 9, 1902; Mrs. Patterson departed this life May II, 1906.
JOHN E. POTTS.
Few residents of Jefferson township are as well known and highly esteemed as the public spirited citizen and progressive farmer whose name ap- pears at the head of this sketch. John E. Potts is a native of the state in which he now lives and traces his genealogy on both sides of the family to Germany, from which country his paternal great-grandfather came to the United States many years ago, being the first of the name to leave his native country and find a home in the great American republic across the sea. Among the immediate descendants of this ancestor was a son by the name of John Potts, who grew to maturity in Pennsylvania, where he married, reared a family and later came west, locating in Clayton county, Iowa, of which part of the state he was one of the early pioneers. Joseph B. Potts, son of the above mentioned John, was born in Pennsylvania and accompanied his parents to Iowa when a youth. He spent his early life in Clayton county where, in young manhood, he married Emily Bush, whose family also came from Penn- sylvania and were among the pioneer settlers of the county of Clayton. Shortly after his marriage Joseph B. Potts moved to Delaware county, this state, where he lived for a number of years and then changed his residence to South Dakota, locating about twelve miles west of Canton on land which he purchased from the government and improved. After spending three years in the latter state, he returned to his former home in Iowa, where he continued to reside until 1882, when he disposed of his farm in Delaware
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county and purchased in Jefferson township, Fayette county, continuing to hold the same until his death, which occurred at Colesburg in the month of November, 1897. His widow, who is still living, makes her home in Man- chester, this state, and of his family of nine children all but two survive, their names being as follows: Charles, a miner by occupation and a resident of Montana; Edwin S., a farmer of Jefferson township; George, who is also engaged in agricultural pursuits in Fayette county ; John E., the subject of this sketch ; James N., a jeweler of Spokane, Washington ; Mrs. Lizzie Blunt, also of that city, and Ella, who married George Thorp, of Manchester; Wil- liam and Albert are deceased.
John E. Potts was born in Clayton county, Iowa, on the 19th day of July, 1866. He received his educational training in the public schools and re- mained at home until 1881. He worked in a store at Fayette two years and then rented a farm for ten years and then bought his present farm in 1889. He has brought it to a high state of tillage and otherwise improved it, his place at the present time being one of the finest farms and among the most beautiful and attractive rural homes in the county of Fayette.
In the year 1901 Mr. Potts erected the elegant modern residence and large and commodious barn which add so much to the appearance and value of the farm as well as to the comfort of the family, and with other improve- ments in keeping therewith he is now well situated to enjoy life, being in inde- pendent circumstances with an ample competency to insure his future against care as far as material blessings are concerned.
On March 23, 1892, Mr. Potts and Allie Miller, of Jefferson township, were united in the holy bonds of wedlock, the union resulting in the birth of two sons who answer to the names of Andrew Joseph and Frank Dillman, both bright, intelligent youths with a promising future before them.
Mr. Potts carries on general farming and raises abundant crops of the grains, fruits and vegetables grown in this latitude. He also gives consider- able attention to livestock and poultry, making a specialty of the Duroc breed of hogs and Holstein cattle, and for some time past he has also been doing a very successful business in the line of dairying. In his political affiliations he supports the Democratic party, but has never had any ambition in the direction of office holding, though well informed on the leading questions of the day and abreast of the times on all matters of local and general import. The Methodist Episcopal church holds his religious creed and all moral move- ments and humanitarian projects as well as enterprises for the material prog- ress and general welfare of the community have his sympathy and co-opera- tion.
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Andrew Jackson Miller, the father of Mrs. Potts, was born in Erie county, New York, in February, 1834, being one of the children in the family of Huntington and Hannah (Seely) Miller, the following being the names of his brothers and sisters: George, Betsey, Phoebe, William, Samuel, Erastus, Julia and David, the last named dying in the year 1855 when a young man. Andrew J. Miller lived on the home farm in his native county until about six- teen years of age, when he hired out by the year, agreeing to remain with his employer until attaining his majority. After fulfilling the compact he came West and during the year 1855 roamed over the greater part of Iowa, follow- . ing which he went to Wisconsin, where he worked for a short time as a farm hand, later renting land and engaging in the pursuit of agriculture on his own account. In 1861 he came to Fayette county, Iowa, and bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Scott township, but two years later sold the place and purchased two hundred and ninety acres, which in turn he disposed of in 1865 and invested the proceeds in three hundred and twenty acres of school land in the same township.
In 1870 Mr. Miller bought a quarter section of land in Jefferson town- ship, to which he removed and which in 1882 he increased by the addition of an eighty-acre tract in the same locality. Later (1903) he sold his real estate in Jefferson township and bought the property in Oelwein where he now lives, his home being on the high ground in the northern part of the town, a valuable and sightly place which he has greatly beautified by the addition of a number of improvements. In 1862 he bought a tract of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Lincoln county, Minnesota, which he still holds and which has increased in value with each recurring year, this, with his other holdings and ample private means, making him independent, he being now one of the solid and substantial men of the county honored by his citizenship.
Mr. Miller, in 1870, entered the marriage relation with Martha, daugh- ter of Dewitt and Eleana (Wood) Bennett, of Orange county, New York. Mrs. Miller came to Iowa with her parents in 1858, since which time she has lived in Fayette county ; she is the mother of four children, viz: Lizzie, Alice, Blanch and Lucille. Alice married John E. Potts and lives three and one-half miles north of Oelwein; Blanche is the wife of Frank Whitney and lives in Chicago, where her husband is a salesman for a whole- sale clothing house ; Lizzie, deceased, and Lucille, at home.
Mr. Miller is a Republican in politics and as such wieldis a strong in- fluence for his party, having served as trustee of Jefferson and Scott townships besides filling other local offices from time to time. He is essentially a self- made man, as he began life poor in this world's goods and without influence
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of family or friends, but by industry, economy, judicious management and ever pursuing a straightforward course, he gradually surmounted the various obstacles in his way and rose to the conspicuous position which he now occu- pies in business circles. He was quite successful in raising horses and cattle and realized much of his money from this source and to him belongs the credit of being one of the first men in Fayette county to make the dairy busi- ness successful. Often he would milk as many as thirty cows and, churning his butter by horse power, hauled it to Strawberry Point, where it was sold to the highest bidder. At one time the daily output of his creamery averaged one hundred pounds, the excellence of which caused a much greater demand than could be supplied. Mr. Miller is now practically retired and at his beau- tiful home in Oelwein is spending his declining years in the enjoyment of many material comforts and blessings, being highly esteemed by his neighbors and fellow citizens and filling no small place in the confidence and esteem of the public.
CHAUNCEY DEMING.
The subject of this sketch, who is efficiently administering the responsible duties of the presidency of the First State Bank of Arlington, Iowa, one of the strong and influential financial institutions of this part of Iowa, needs no introduction to the citizens of Fayette county. His long residence here, his active participation in various business enterprises and his sterling qualities of character have gained for him a marked prestige among the people with whom he has been associated and today no man stands higher in popular esteem than he.
Mr. Deming is a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, where he was born October 24, 1843, and is the son of Buell and Sarah (Johnson) Deming, both of whom were natives of Connecticut. In the first years of their married life they came to Ohio, and subsequently they came to Fayette county, Iowa, where he bought a tract of wild land, for which they paid six dollars per acre. Through legal technicalities he lost his first home there, and then acquired the present homestead property, on which he spent his last years, having resided there continuously since 1855. The subject's mother died in 1908, at the remarkable age of ninety-nine years lacking three months, having resided in the same home for nearly a half century. She was one of the grand old women of the county and was widely and favorably known throughout the community. They were the parents of eight children, three sons and five
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daughters, namely: George, of Arlington; Chauncey, the immediate subject of this sketch; Walter, of Cherokee county, Iowa; Laura, of Clermont, Iowa ; Olive, deceased ; George, of Arlington, Iowa; Maria, deceased ; Liza, deceased ; Mary, of Buffalo, New York.
Chauncey Deming was about twelve years of age when the family came to Iowa and here he received his education in the common schools. He was reared on the home farm and lent his assistance in its cultivation. On his father's death, the responsibility of managing the property fell on his shoul- ders and faithfully did he discharge his trust, giving earnest attention to the comfort and welfare of his mother and sister. He has added by purchase to the original farm until he is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres. Of this, eighty acres is in the old home farm, about a mile from Arlington, one hundred and sixty acres in Putnam township, this county, operated by his son-in-law, and one hundred and sixty acres in Fairfield township, all of which he operates himself. He is practical and methodical in his operations and has achieved a distinctive success as a farmer. He raises all the crops common to this section of the country and also gives considerable attention to the raising and feeding of livestock, in which also he is successful, his stock farm at Arlington being considered one of the best propositions of the kind in the county. His land was purchased at a cost not exceeding twenty dollars per acre and all is worth now close to one hundred dollars per acre. He has made many permanent and substantial improvements on the property, includ- ing a commodious and attractive residence and a large and substantial barn, the general appearance of the place indicating the owner to be a man of ex- cellent taste and ripe judgment, all of his efforts being characterized by an enterprising and progressive spirit.
Chauncey Deming was one of the original organizers of the First State Bank of Arlington and a member of the first board of directors. At the or- ganization of the board he was elected president of the institution, later be- coming its vice-president, and on the death of the president, the late T. Dun- ing, the subject again was chosen to the office, which he is now filling to the entire satisfaction of the bank officials and its patrons. Liberal in his atti- tude toward local business enterprises, and yet wisely conservative in the lend- ing of the bank's funds, Mr. Deming is peculiarly qualified for the position which he so ably fills.
In 1868 Chauncey Deming was united in marriage with Charlotte Doane, who was born in New York state, but who came with her parents to Iowa in 1855. They have become the parents of two children : Blanche, the wife of John McCrea, of Putnam township, and Raymond, of Appleton, Wisconsin.
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The latter was for a while a railroad conductor, then was a student for five years in the Iowa State Agricultural College, and one year in Upper Iowa Uni- versity, and is now a professor of civil engineering in the Lawrence College, Appleton. In his political faith, Chauncey Deming is a stanch Republican and takes a keen and intelligent interest in public affairs, having served a number of times as delegate to his party conventions. He possesses a genial disposition and pleasing address that enables him to readily gain acquaintance and his personal qualities and courteous manner have won for him a host of warm and loyal friends who esteem him for his genuine worth.
ADNA G. BELL.
This enterprising farmer and worthy citizen is a native of Hancock county, Ohio, where his birth occurred on the IIth day of November, 1841, being a son of Sylvester and Fransina (Peters) Bell, both of Fairfield county, Ohio. These parents were born and reared in the same locality, grew up to- gether as children and in due time their intimacy ripened into love, which finally led to their marriage. Sylvester Bell was a farmer by occupation, in connection with which pursuit he also worked considerably at carpentry, hav- ing been able to turn his hand to almost any kind of mechanical labor. Dis- posing of his interests in Ohio in 1850, he migrated to Cedar county, Iowa. thence a little later moved to Linn county, where he remained until 1856. Later he transferred his residence to the county of Fayette, where he had entered one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Jefferson township in 1857. He at once erected a rude dwelling which served as a shelter for his family until replaced by a larger and more comfortable structure a few years later. Being remote from a town or market place, Mr. Bell hauled the lumber for the latter edifice from Independence and experienced not a few difficulties in procuring other materials and fitting the building for occupancy. In the fall of 1870 he sold his farm and moved to the place in Jefferson town- ship now opened and occupied by the subject, where his wife died in 1875 and where he followed her to the grave eleven years later, having in the meantime married a second wife in the person of Elizabeth Nelson, who survived him and died and was buried at Hazleton, Iowa.
For some time after moving to Iowa. Sylvester Bell, in addition to man- aging his farm, conducted a repair shop in which he made sleds and many other vehicles and implements for the neighbors, including coffins not only for his own community but his skill was frequently taxed to the utmost to supply the demand for caskets from a distance. He was a Democrat in poli-
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tics, a Universalist in his religious belief, and in all that constituted upright manhood and enterprising citizenship he ranked among the most worthy of his contemporaries. Six children were born to Sylvester and Fransina Bell, namely : Benjamin, Osborn, Harriett; Louise, wife of J. Anderson, of Clark county, Iowa; Adna G., of this review, and Lydia A., who married John Miller, the three oldest and the last named being deceased.
Adna G. Bell was about nine years old when his parents moved to Iowa and having been reared in a comparatively new country his opportunities for obtaining an education were exceedingly limited. He made the most of his time in school, however, but the greater part of his training consisted of the stern, practical kind which educational institutions do not impart and which is only acquired by contact with the world and mingling among his fellow- men. He was reared on the home farm where he early learned the value and dignity of honest toil and he grew up to the full stature of well rounded manhood with a proper conception of life and its duties.
On the 20th day of June, 1872, Mr. Bell was united in marriage with Olive A. Miller, whose birth occurred in Chenango county, New York, Decem- ber 27, 1853, being a daughter of Hiram and Susan (Powers) Miller, both natives of New York state, the latter of Otsego county and the former of the county of Chenango. Hiram Miller and family came west in 1864 and set- tled in Fayette county, Iowa, locating in section 16, Jefferson township, where in connection with tilling the soil, Mr. Miller taught several terms of school and achieved considerable local prestige as an educator. He was a man of in- telligence and his death, which occurred on September 14, 1889, was greatly regretted by a large circle of friends and acquaintances, his wife having pre- ceded him to the silent land in March, 1882. The children of this estimable couple, seven in number, are as follows : Amanda, widow of G. E. Champlin. of Nebraska; Dr. Edgar L. Miller, a practicing physician of Eaton, New York; Henry, also a physician and surgeon, who died in 1876; John died in 1889 ; Mary passed away in 1863; Olivia and Olive A., twins, the former the wife of George Smith, of Oelwein. Hiram Miller served a number of years as justice of the peace and was one of the influential Democrats of his part of the county. In religion he subscribed to the Universalist creed, his wife hav- ing been a worthy and devoted member of the Baptist church.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bell has been blessed with three offspring : The oldest, Alverna, was born September 10, 1876, died June 5, 1877 ; Bertha A. is the wife of Bert L. Bell, of Oelwein ; Alice married William Brownell, of Scott township, and is the mother of two children, Mildred and Paul.
Mr. Bell has lived on his present farm since 1870, and is now the owner
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of one of the most beautiful and attractive homes in Jefferson township. His handsome and imposing modern residence, which was erected in 1901, com- bines all of the comforts and other admirable features required in a first class country dwelling, and the large barn, which is especially adapted to the purpose it is intended to subserve, was built in the year 1883. The farm, consisting of four hundred thirteen acres of valuable land, is under an excellent state of cultivation and everything on the premises bespeaks the presence of a first class agriculturist, fully abreast of the times on all matters pertaining to his vocation.
Having accumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to make him independent and render his future free from care, Mr. Bell discontinued act- ive labor a few years ago, since which time he has been living in honorable retirement. He is a Democrat in politics, though not a politician, and keeps in touch with the leading questions and issues of the day, on all of which he has well grounded convictions, besides being informed on all mat- ters relating to the welfare of his county and state and the good of the peo- ple. He is widely known throughout the county, stands high in the esteem of the people and ranks among the substantial men and representative citizens of the township in which he resides.
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