USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 5
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CLINTON B. HUGHES.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real his- tory of a community, and his influence as a potential factor of the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to ac- complish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting even in a casual way to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which make so much for the prosperity of the community. Such a man is Clinton B. Hughes, and as such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a conspicuous place among the representative citizens of Fayette county.
Mr. Hughes is the present popular and efficient mayor of West Union, Iowa, and, although comparatively young in years, he has long been an in- fluential citizen of this locality. He was born near Strawberry Point, Clay- ton county, this state, July 16, 1878, and is the son of A. M. and Ida E.
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6 B. Hughes
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(Hale) Hughes, the former born in Pennsylvania, January 9, 1855, and the latter born in Maine, December 20, 1857. The maternal grandfather, R. A. Hale, enlisted as a private in Company B, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer In- fantry, in 1861, in which he served until 1863, when he was transferred to the United States monitor "Chickasaw," on which he served until the close of the war. Andrew Hughes, uncle of Clinton B., died while in the service of the Union, as a private in Company D, Twenty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, his death occurring while at Memphis, Tennessee.
Clinton B. Hughes was the eldest of a family of eleven children, con- sisting of five boys and six girls, named as follows: Clinton B., of this re- view; James R., who is living at Springfield, Illinois, is twenty-seven years old; Andrew B., aged eleven; Amos, aged nine; Howard A., aged seven, all three live at Strawberry Point, Iowa ; Mrs. Eva M. Cooper, who lives at King- fisher, Oklahoma, is twenty-nine years old; Jane Electa is twenty-four years old, unmarried, and lives in West Union; Margaret died in 1889, when four years old; Cassy, aged nineteen, lives at Strawberry Point, Iowa, where also live Harriet, aged seventeen years, and Mary, aged fourteen years.
Clinton B. Hughes is a self-made man and is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, having overcome the many obstacles that arose in his life-path, removing them, one by one, until today he holds a first place in the ranks of representative citizens of one of the most progressive communities in the great commonwealth of Iowa, and as a lawyer he has few peers. He received his education in the country schools of Clayton county, Iowa, and graduated from the high school at Strawberry Point in 1898; still thirsting for higher learning, he entered the State University of Iowa, which conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Laws in June, 1900. He soon had a good clientele, which has steadily increased to the present time. He practiced his profession at Arlington, Iowa, from November, 1902, to Janu- ary, 1908, during which time he was the busiest attorney Arlington had seen in years. Seeking a wider field for the exercise of his talents, he came to West Union in January, 1908, and opened an office, as a member of the firm of Ainsworth & Hughes, which is one of the best known in the county. Since entering the legal field here he has frequently figured in the most important cases in the local courts, and has won a reputation as an earnest, forceful and learned attorney, profoundly versed in the law and painstaking and persistent. He is the local attorney for the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company, in Fayette county, Iowa. He is secretary of the Jewell, Moyer & Company, a mercantile corporation at Arlington, Iowa.
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Politically, Mr. Hughes is a Republican and he has long been active in the ranks. He was elected mayor of Arlington in 1904 and served until 1908; during his four years' incumbency in this important office he did a great many things of permanent benefit to the place and won the hearty commendation of all concerned. His splendid record as mayor preceded him to West Union and on March 28, 1910, he was elected mayor of this city.
Mr. Hughes joined the Christian church in a country school house near Strawberry Point, Iowa, and in 1908 he joined the Methodist Episcopal church in West Union. Fraternally, he has long been active and prominent. He is a member of West Union Lodge No. 69, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Ansel Humphrey Chapter No. 80, Royal Arch Masons, at Fayette ; Langridge Commandery, No. 47, Knights Templar, West Union; ElKadir Shrine, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Zarephath Consistory, No. 4, Davenport, Iowa ; Arbor Vitae Camp No. 292, Modern Woodmen of America, West Union; West Union Chapter No. 110, Order of the Eastern Star; Klondike Home- stead No. 72, Brotherhood of American Yeomen, of West Union; Round Grove Lodge No. 41, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of West Union. He is also secretary of the West Union Commercial Club and his labors in this capacity have done much in furthering the interests of local industries.
Mr. Hughes was married on June 17, 1902, to Anna Opperman, daugh- ter of H. K. and Mary (Kramer) Opperman, of Strawberry Point, Iowa. Mrs. Hughes was summoned to her reward on January 3, 1905, and on De- cember 27, 1905, he married Magdalena Opperman, a sister of his first wife. Mr. Hughes has the following children : Flora M., seven years old ; Donald M., five years old ; Harold A., three years old; Helen, two years old, and a son, Theodore, born in 1909.
OREN BARNES.
Among the enterprising and successful agriculturists of Fayette county, Iowa, none are more highly respected than the gentleman whose name ap- pears at the head of this sketch. His life has been characterized by consistent and consecutive effort and he has met with a gratifying degree of success. being now numbered mong the representative farmers of Harlan township for ten years, but now farms in Smithfield township.
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Oren Barnes was born December 19, 1841, in Erie county, Pennsylvania, and is a son of Calvin and Betsy (VanNatta) Barnes, both of whom were natives of Oneida county, New York, the former born January 5, 1802, and the latter September 2, 1802. They were reared and married in their native county and there the father followed his trade, that of a carpenter. Eventually they moved to Erie county, Pennsylvania, where the father secured four hundred and twenty-four acres of land from the Dutch-Holland Land Company. It was at that time densely covered with the primeval timber, but Mr. Barnes entered upon the task of clearing and cultivating it and there he resided until 1844, when he sold out and went to Belvidere, Illinois. He was there employed at his trade and at farming until 1847, when he went to Chi- cago and was employed at carpenter work for two years. His wife died there in 1849 and after his bereavement he moved back to Belvidere, where he re- mained until 1882, when he went to Mosinee, Wisconsin, where his death occurred in 1884. He had married a second time, to Lucretia Marsh, of Che- nango county, New York, whose death occurred in Boone county, Illinois. By his first union he became the father of nine children, who are briefly men- tioned as follows: Elida was born October 18, 1827, and is now deceased ; Rachael, born July 16, 1829, is living in Wisconsin; Catherine, born April 16, 1831, now deceased; Eliza, born May 19, 1833; John C., born July 12, 1835, now deceased ; Mary, born August 24, 1837, is living in Alameda, Cali- fornia ; Hiram was born September 11, 1839, was a member of Company K, Ninety-fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war, and is now a successful farmer near Maynard, Iowa; Oren is the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Charles, born July 31, 1844, was a member of Company G, Ninety-fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and died in the service at Vicksburg.
Oren Barnes was reared under the paternal roof and secured his educa- tion in the public schools. He remained with his father until twenty-six years old, at which time he was married. He then established his own home in Boone county, Illinois, and remained there until 1883, when he came to Fayette county, Iowa, locating on a one-hundred-and-sixty-acre farm in sec- tion 19, Smithfield township. To the development and improvement of this place he devoted his attention, raising the place to a high standard of efficiency and production. He continued the operation of this farm until 1899, when he put the place in charge of his son Charles and moved to Maynard, where he now resides. He was industrious, practical and progressive in his methods and achieved a distinctive success in his line of work, being numbered among the representative agriculturists of his section of the county.
On December 31, 1867, Mr. Barnes was united in marriage, at Beloit,
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Wisconsin, to Eliza J. Miller, a native of Canada and a daughter of Samuel and Harriett (Dana) Miller. Her father was born on Long Island, New York, in 1795, and her mother also was a native of the Empire state. He died in May, 1850. He was a cooper by trade. Subsequently his widow married Royal Briggs, of Massachusetts, and they located in Illinois, later removing to Kansas, and eventually going back to Bushnell, Illinois, where Mr. Briggs died. His widow died in California in 1901, at the advanced age of ninety-four years. By her union with Mr. Miller she became the mother of twelve children, namely : Lyman and Henry are deceased ; Phoebe is living in Foster Bar, Yuba county, California; John, Francis and Margaret are de- ceased ; Eliza, wife of the subject of this sketch; Thomas, a resident of War- ren county, Illinois ; Cornelia, deceased ; Lester, of Fresno county, California ; two children who died in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Barnes were born the following children: Hattie L. became the wife of William Hart, Jr., a farmer in Harlan township, and they have two children, Esther and Dorothea; Charles P., who is engaged in the operation of the old home farm in Smith- field township, married Lucy Miller and they have two children, Floyd O. and Harry M .; May E. is the wife of Frank Simpson, a farmer of Center town- ship, this county.
Fraternally, Mr. Barnes is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, holding membership in Lodge No. 510 and the chapter of Royal Arch Masons, as well as Chapter No. 503 of the Order of the Eastern Star. He is also affiliated with Post No. 47, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he has served as post commander two terms, being the present incumbent of that position. Mrs. Barnes is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps.
This personal sketch would be incomplete were there failure to make men- tion of the subject's military record. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Com- pany G, Ninety-fifth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which rendez- voused at Belvidere, Illinois. The command was first sent to camp at Rock- ford, where they were drilled. From there they were sent to Columbus, Ken- tucky, and then to the camp at Jackson, Tennessee. They were later ordered to Grand Junction, where they were assigned to General McArthur's division of the Thirteenth Army Corps. Crossing the Tallahatchee river at Abbyville, they marched to Memphis, Tennessee, where they took boats for Vicksburg, thence to Young's Point. They were sent from there to Lake Providence, where they were put to digging ditches. From there they went to Milliken's Bend and on to Hard Times Landing, where the Ninety-fifth Regiment was transferred to General Rosecrans' army. Crossing over to Grand Gulf, the regiment was marched to Vicksburg, where Mr. Barnes received a severe cut in the arm, which kept him out of active service for some time. The
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regiment took part in the siege of Vicksburg and then marched under Gen- eral Sherman to Meridian, Mississippi, from which point they started on the Red River expedition. Capturing Fort DeRussey, they marched to Alexander and Grand Ecore. They participated in the battle of Pleasant Hill, and then retreated by order of General Banks, the Ninety-fifth acting as rear guard for the army. Then came a two-days fight at Clouterville, more retreating, and the battle of Yellow Bayou, followed by the evacuation of the Red river country. The Ninety-Fifth Regiment returned to Vicksburg and from there proceeded to Memphis, where they were assigned to General Sturgis' expedi- tion. In the battle of Guntown, Mississippi, the Ninety-fifth fell back to Memphis, their experiences at this time being marked by terrible hardships. The company to which the subject belonged took part in the Arkansas expe- dition and went up the White river to Duvall's Bluff and by rail to Browns- ville, Arkansas. Entering Missouri, they went to Cape Girardeau and from there to Jefferson City. The regiment was then ordered to Sedalia for gar- rison duty and was later sent into camp at Benton Barracks. After a short time there they were sent to reinforce General Thomas at Nashville, making the trip by way of Cairo, Illinois, and up the Ohio and Cumberland rivers. After the engagements at that point, the Ninety-fifth Regiment went into winter quarters at Eastport, Mississippi, where for eight days they were com- pelled to exist on corn alone. The regiment was later transported by river to New Orleans, and from there to Dauphin Island, by way of Lake Ponchar- train. From there they went to Cedar Point and up the west side of the bay to Mobile, going from there back to Cedar Point. The regiment participated in the capture of Dudley's Landing on Fish river and also assisted in the re- duction of Spanish Fort, the key to Mobile. The regiment was then ordered to Montgomery and from there to Greenville, where they performed guard duty. Going then to Opelika, they returned again to Montgomery, and from there were ordered to Camp Butler at Springfield, Illinois, where, on August 16, 1865, they were honorably discharged. Besides the injury to his arm, already referred to, Mr. Barnes was also struck with a spent ball at Vicks- burg. His military service was characterized by a faithful performance of every duty to which he was assigned and his record was one of which he has just reason to be proud.
ISRAEL PATTISON, M. D.
Human life is like the waves of the sea; they flash a few brief moments in the sunlight, marvels of power and beauty, and then are dashed upon the re- morseless shores and disappear forever. As the mighty deep has rolled for
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ages past and 'will continue until time shall be no more, so will the waves of human life follow each other until they mingle at last with eternity's boundless sea. The passing of any life, however humble and unknown, is sure to give rise to a pang of anguish to some heart, but when the "fell destroyer" knocks at the door of the useful and great and removes from earthly scenes the man of honor and influence and the benefactor of his kind, it not only means bereave- ment to kindred and friends, but a public calamity as well. In the largest and best sense of the term, the late Dr. Israel Pattison, of Oelwein, was distinctively one of the notable men of his day and generation, and as such is entitled to a conspicuous place in the annals of Fayette county.
Israel Pattison was born in Welland county, province of Ontario, Can- ada, October 18, 1842, and he was the son of S. N. and Mary A. (Strohm) Pattison. His father was born near York, in 1821, and died April 15, 1874. According to the family genealogy, five brothers of the name of Pattison emi- grated from Ireland to America long before the American Revolution and settled in Albany, New York, from which stock Doctor Pattison descended. S. N. Pattison moved to Canada early in life and was married while living in that country. His wife, born in the Mohawk valley, Pennsylvania, was de- scended from one of the original Holland families who settled in that region. An ancient Episcopal prayer book printed in the Mohawk Indian tongue and containing prayers for His Majesty and the royal family, is an interesting relic that has been handed down to Doctor Pattison's family from his maternal an- cestors and is highly prized by the present generation because of its history. The parents continued to reside in Canada, enjoying the love, respect and esteem of all until their deaths.
After a preparatory course at a model school, Israel Pattison became a student in the University of Buffalo, having early in life decided to enter the medical profession. He was a patriotic man and at the beginning of the Civil war he began doing what he could for the Union cause, and finally enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Fiftieth New York Volunteer Infantry, and was in the first battle of Bull Run. He was also in the battles of Port Royal, Fort Republic, Cumberland Gap, Culpeper Court House, receiving a wound during the last named battle in his hand and arm that necessitated his discharge from the army. But in October, 1863, he again entered the service, enlisting in the One Hundred and Eighty-Seventh New York Infantry and was at once detailed as brigade hospital steward in charge of what was known as the "Flying Hospital." In the discharge of his duty he was in the first and sec- ond battles of Hatchie's Run, also Stony Point and Five Forks, and was with Sheridan in front of Lec at Appomattox when the Confederate army sur-
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rendered. He was mustered out July 3, 1865, and at once returned home, hav- ing made an excellent and commendable record as a soldier.
Re-entering the University of Buffalo, Israel Pattison made a splendid rec- ord and was graduated from that institution, medical department, in February, 1867. He then returned to his native county and on June 1, 1870, married Alice Coleman, daughter of Dilly and Sarah (Sproll) Coleman. She was born in Fort Robinson, Canada, December 25, 1848. They immediately started west, intending to locate in Lincoln, Nebraska, but while stopping overnight at Otsego, Fayette county, Iowa, the Doctor was induced to locate there, and he remained and built up an extensive and successful practice. During the following autumn he was appointed postmaster at Otsego and when the Bur- lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern railroad was extended to Oelwein he moved the postoffice there in advance of the order authorizing the change. This was. when this vicinity was a wild expanse of prairie and gave no indication of its future growth and development. He was a life-long Republican, his first vote having been cast for Lincoln. He took an abiding interest in local political affairs and, in fact, everything that has to do with the betterment of. the county. He was a leader in various walks of life and was recognized as such. He was the first mayor of Oelwein and held that position to the entire satis- faction of all concerned for two successive terms. He was coroner of Fayette county during 1889 and 1890. He was prominently identified with state militia for many years, being commissioned second and first lieutenants and captain of Company F, Fourth Iowa National Guard, and he was also assistant surgeon of the Fourth Regiment. He was a prominent and influential mem- ber of the Iowa state Legislature in the twenty-fifth General Assembly, 1894, looking carefully to the interests of his constituents. In 1896 he was appointed a delegate to the Farmers Congress held at Indianapolis, Indiana, and in the same year was a delegate to the Medical Congress held at the city of Mexico. He was an earnest and influential worker in each of these notable gatherings.
Doctor Pattison was surgeon of the Rock Island railroad from the time it came to Oelwein until about 1900, and of the Chicago Great Western from the date of its entry to this city until the time of his death. He was prominent in fraternal matters, having attained the thirty-second degree of Masonry, and he belonged to the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the Order of the Eastern Star, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He also belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic. His wife and two daughters belonged to the Order of the Eastern Star and the entire family to the Episcopal church.
To Dr. Israel Pattison and wife five children were born, two sons and three daughters, namely: John F., a physician of Oelwein, whose sketch ap-
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pears herein ; Dilly Nelson, also a practicing physician at Oelwein, whose sketch appears on another page of this work; Mary, who married Fred Quirmbach and lives at Needles, California, where he is a dispatcher for the Santa Fe railroad; of their four children, three are living, Charles, Arthur and Robert ; Alice Pattison married William Mathie and lives at Needles, California ; he is train-master on the Santa Fe railroad, and was formerly general superintendent of the Oelwein terminals of the Chicago Great Western road; they have two sons, Bruce and Glyde. Sarah Pattison married Arthur Phillips and lives in Seattle, Washington, where Mr. Phillips is extensively engaged in business, having a number of interior decorators in his employ. Another member of the late Doctor Pattison's family is Matilda Pattison, who has been as a member of the family circle since her childhood.
The death of Dr. Israel Pattison occurred on April 26, 1903. As a citi- zen he was public-spirited and enterprising, as a friend and neighbor he com- bined the qualities of head and heart that won confidence and commanded re- spect and as a practitioner of medicine he had a comprehensive grasp upon the science of materia medica and brought honor and dignity to the position he oc- cupied among his fellow practitioners. With such distinguished success he was easily the peer of his professional brethren in northeastern Iowa,-in short he was one of the state's prominent citizens, honored and esteemed by all classes.
JOHN KUHEN.
"Through struggle to triumph," seems to be the maxim which holds sway for the majority of our citizens, and, though it is undoubtedly true that many fall exhausted in the conflict, a few by their inherent force of character and strong mentality, rise above their environment and everything which seems to hinder them, until they reach the plane of affluence toward which their faces were set through long years of struggle that must necessarily precede any accomplishment of great magnitude. Such was the history of the late well- remembered John Kuhen, who was long one of the leading agriculturists of Fayette county, but who is now sleeping the sleep of the just. He was born in Noble county, Ohio, February 22, 1838, the son of John and Margaret (De- Vore) Kuhen, both natives of Ohio, in which state the father devoted his life successfully to farming pursuits until his death.
John Kuhen, of this review, was educated in the common schools of Preble county, Ohio, assisting with the work on his father's farm, where he grew to manhood. In February, 1863, he married Rebecca Wroe, and a few months later enlisted as a soldier and was mustered in service as a private in
JOHN KUHEN
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REBECCA KUHEN
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Company N, Sixth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war, taking part in all engagements in which his regiment was engaged. He had seven brothers in the Union army. Three of them, Dan- iel, George and Solomon, were wounded, but they all recovered. Of the fifteen children born to John and Margaret Kuhen, all are now deceased ex- cepting Daniel and Margaret.
After the war John Kuhen returned to West Virginia and was mustered out of the service in June, 1865, and in September of that year he and his wife come to Iowa and settled in Illyria township, Fayette county, and after remaining here a short time they purchased a farm which Mr. Kuhen man- aged most successfully until his death. He was always a hard worker and good manager and he made a comfortable living and laid by a competency for his family. He had a nice home and many good improvements on the place in every respect, for he took a delight in keeping abreast of the times in all his work. Mrs. Kuhen and her sons now have one of the choice farms of the township, consisting of over three hundred acres. They make a specialty of raising Holstein cattle in connection with general farming and they are keep- ing up the work inaugurated by John Kuhen, whose death occurred October 26, 1908, after a life filled with success, good deeds to his fellow citizens and replete with honor, for he was a man who delighted in honest dealings and kind hospitable treatment of his neighbors. Two of his sons yet remain on the farm.
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