USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 54
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On December 19, 1866, Mr. Lacy was married to Jennie E. Hines, daugh- ter of Marshall Paul and Lucetta (Shields) Hines, an excellent family of West Union, Iowa. The father was born in Pennsylvania, March 23, 1818, and the mother in Nittany Valley, Center county, Pennsylvania, October 29, 1821. They were married in Nittany Valley, February 4, 1841, by the Rev. Samuel Cooper. The father died in West Union, Iowa, February 21, 1877, at the age of fifty-nine years, and the mother's death occurred here on October 24. 1898, at the advanced age of seventy-seven years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Lacy are as follows: Clyde M. Lacy was born October 30, 1867, and died on November 2d following. Anna Hines Lacy was born May 20, 1869. Jennie E. (Hines) Lacy was born in Jacksonville, Center county, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1842. She received a good education and be- came a well known teacher, and was a member of the Fayette County Teach- ers' Association, also the Tourist Club of West Union. She moved with her
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parents and four sisters from Howard, Center county, Pennsylvania, to West Union, Fayette county, Iowa, in August, 1857, and she began teaching school in the spring of 1858, at the age of sixteen years. She passed an oral exam- ination and received her first teacher's certificate from County Superintendent S. W. Cole. For two or three years she attended school in West Union dur- ing the winter time and taught in the country in the summer months until the fall of 1860, when she began teaching in the West Union public schools. She continued to teach until she was married, December 19, 1866. In less than three years she was left a widow, with a little girl six weeks old. She re- sumed teaching in 1876 and was connected with the West Union schools until her health failed in 1897, making a total of thirty years' work in the city schools and thirty-five years in the county. She was one of the best known educators the county has ever known in connection with the public schools and her services were of a high order.
VINCENT ANDERSON.
The name of Vincent Anderson should certainly be included in the history of Fayette county owing to his long life of noble service to his family and the general public. His birth occurred in 1828 in Miami county, Ohio, and he was the son of Vincent and Mary (Mattics) Anderson, natives of Virginia and early settlers in Miami county, Ohio, having settled there about 1812 or 1815, locating on a farm of over one hundred acres on which they spent the remainder of their lives. They were the parents of eight children. Vincent, of this review, being the youngest in order of birth. He lived at home until he reached maturity and received his education in the district schools. In 1852 he moved to Fayette county, Iowa, where he remained but a short time when he and his brother came to Eldorado and established the first grist and saw-mill ever run there. In May, 1855, they returned to El- dorado to make their home there, and there Vincent and his brother James. who had come to Eldorado previously, continued in the milling business. Sol- omon Helmer, an uncle of Mrs. Vincent Anderson, came to Fayette county about 1855 and was associated with Mr. Anderson in the mill, and he remained in this county until his death. In 1856 Vincent Anderson traded the mill for the farm of two hundred acres and the Bloomerton saw-mill, southeast of Eldorado, and here he remained, with the exception of two years, until his death, on January 4. 1905, having been very successful as a general farmer and a hog and cattle raiser.
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Mr. Anderson was married on July 21, 1853, to Hannah Bell, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, and who was the daughter of Thomas and Mi- nerva (Helmer) Bell, who remained in Ohio until shortly before their deaths, finally moving to Indiana, where they died. They were early settlers in Clark county, Ohio, having moved there from Virginia about 1815. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Anderson enlisted as a soldier in the war of 1812, toward the close of the conflict. Mrs. Anderson's father was a cousin of the Mr. Bell that once made the race for President of the United States. Mr. Anderson also had a cousin who was at Fort Sumter when it was under siege. Mrs. Anderson's paternal grandfather brought a colored boy and girl with them when they came to Ohio from Virginia; another cousin of Mrs. Anderson was a color-bearer in the Civil war.
To Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Anderson five children were born, namely: Lincoln died in infancy ; William Arthur is living near the old home in Fay- ette county ; his sketch appears on another page of this work. John Wesley was drowned in the Columbia river when twenty-one years of age. Vincent Grant lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Robinson G. was once county at- torney of Fayette county, Iowa, and he is now professor of law at a college in North Carolina.
Mrs. Vincent Anderson has always been a Baptist, and she is popular with a large circle of friends owing to her many admirable traits of char- acter.
FRANK J. TAMBLYN.
The subject of this sketch, a member of the firm of Dwyer & Tamblyn. lumber merchants, West Union, is a native of Page county, Iowa, where he was born on May 5, 1879. His father, Benjamin F. Tamblyn, is of English extraction and his mother, whose family name was Kate Van Duzor, was descended from Holland ancestors who were among the early settlers of New York in colonial times. Mrs. Tamblyn, whose birth occurred in the latter state, died in the year 1882, leaving besides her husband three children to mourn her loss, viz: Effie M., unmarried; Mary, wife of Dr. Charles E. Simpson, of Norway, Iowa, and Frank J., the subject of this review. Ben- jamin F. Tamblyn spent his early life in farming and in due time became quite an extensive land owner in Iowa and Minnesota, in both of which states he still has large possessions. Later he turned his attention to lumber- ing, in which he built up a very extensive trade, at one time operating lumber
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yards in Norway, Fairfax, Grundy county, Walford, Zaneta and various other points, besides conducting for some years a regular business. In 1905 he came to West Union and purchased the interest of V. D. Kipple in the lumber yard at this place, the other partner being John W. Dwyer, with whom he still is associated. This is one of the oldest and best known business es- tablishments in the city, having been successively owned and operated by C. M. Lockwood, Ward & Freeman, A. L. Colgrove, Colgrove & Barnes, Colgrove & Sylvester, Dwyer & Kipple and finally by Dwyer & Tamblyn, the present proprietors. These gentlemen carry a large and selected stock of all kinds of. building material, excepting hardware, and their patronage, which is much more than local, extends throughout a large area of Fayette and adjacent counties. Both men are careful and eminently honorable in their business methods, stand high in the confidence of their customers and the general public and their establishment has done much to promote the material interests of the city and give it publicity in other parts of the state.
Frank J. Tamblyn was reared under the influence of excellent home training and received his preliminary education in the schools of Norway, after which he fitted himself for business life by taking a thorough course in a commercial college at Cedar Rapids. On being graduated from the latter institution, he engaged in the lumber business with his father and has ever since been identified with that line of industry, being at this time one of the leading lumber dealers in West Union, besides otherwise interested in the prosperity of the city. Possessing sound intelligence, well balanced judgment and the ability to forecast with remarkable accuracy the future outcome of his plans, he has proven a valuable addition to the firm and much of the business now rests upon his shoulders.
Politically, Mr. Tamblyn is a Democrat, but his business interests are such as to prevent his taking a very active part in public affairs. He holds membership with West Union Lodge No. 69. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and in addition to his fraternal relations keeps in touch with the so- cial life of the city and is ever ready to encourage worthy enterprises for the general good of the community.
In the year 1907, at Cedar Rapids, Mr. Tamblyn contracted a matri- monial alliance with Elsie Agnes Dellit, of Jones county. Iowa, her father. A. F. Dellit, having been an early settler of that part of the state and a pio- neer lumber dealer in the town of Wyoming. After a long and successful career he disposed of his business and moved to Cedar Rapids, where he is now living in honorable retirement. They are the parents of a bright and interesting little son who answers to the name of Albert B. Tamblyn and who first saw the. light of day on July 15, 1908.
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RUDOLPH W. MOSER.
It was once remarked by a celebrated moralist and biographer that "there is scarcely a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative could not be made useful." Believing in the truth of this opinion, expressed by one of the greatest and best of men, the writer of this review herewith presents the leading facts in the career of a gentleman who, by industry, perseverance, temperance and integrity, has worked himself from a beginning none too auspicious to a successful business man and won an honorable position among the well known and highly esteemed men of the village in which he resides.
R. W. Moser, of Elgin, Pleasant Valley township, Fayette county, Iowa, known all through this locality as a wagon manufacturer second to none, was born in Ohio, March II, 1858, the son of John and Maria (King) Moser, both born in Switzerland (canton of Bern). There they grew to maturity, were educated and married. They came to America in 1852. To them the following children were born: John, whose birth occurred before leaving Switzerland; Mary, Lida, Rudolph, Rosa and two died in infancy. They located at New Philadelphia, Ohio. In time the mother re-married, her sec- ond husband being Nicholas Sutter, and in 1869 they moved to Iowa and settled in Highland township, Clayton county, where Mr. Sutter took up farming. Later they moved to Illyria township, Fayette county, and farmed there one year, then came to Elgin and in 1872, the year the railroad was built to this place, Mr. Sutter started a draying business, having previous to that time teamed for Elgin merchants, hauling goods from McGregor, Iowa. Later he sold his business to Willis Lyons. In the spring of 1876 Mr. Sutter moved to Lagrange county, Indiana, where he farmed for one year, then went to Kansas and made his home there until 1879, when the mother of the sub- ject died, and then the family scattered, Mr. Sutter moving to Indian Ter- ritory, thence to California, where he still resides. Two children were born to this marriage, Emma and Ida.
R. W. Moser, of this review, was educated in the common schools of Indiana and Iowa. On December 14, 1874, he became an apprentice to the wagonmaker's trade under Christ Lehmann in the shop which Mr. Moser now owns. After serving an apprenticeship of three years, he ran the shop on the "shares" for two years, then bought his stock and rented the shop, conduct- ing the same in that manner until 1886, when he purchased the shop outright and has continued to manufacture wagons here, mostly for the home trade, which has always been very good; indeed, he has difficulty in supplying the
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demand owing to the excellency of his workmanship and the high grade ma- terial he uses. He took his son, Philip, in as partner in the fall of 1895, and they have built up a very extensive and satisfactory business which is known throughout this part of the state.
Mr. Moser was married in 1880 to Mary Abby, who was born in Elgin, this county, and educated here. Five children have been born to this union : P. M., of Nunda, South Dakota, is a dealer in hardware and furniture ; Philip, mentioned above, is living at home; three who died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. Moser is a Democrat and he has very ably and faithfully discharged the duties of constable for more than ten years. He also served the village of Elgin very creditably as councilman for a period of three years, his term being in the second council after the incorporation of the town. He has been one of the most active and influential men in the affairs of this place ever since he became established in business here, having ever been ready to do his full share in the general upbuilding of the town and vicinity. Frater- nally, he is a member of the Yeoman lodge and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was baptized in the Lutheran church, and his life has been such as to merit the highest respect of his fellow citizens, which he enjoys without exception.
LEONARD WOLF.
The gentleman whose brief life story is outlined in the following para- graphs is an American by adoption, belonging to that large and eminently respectable class of citizens of German birth to whom this country is so greatly indebted not only for its material prosperity but also for progress along most every line of activity and thought. The family of which Leonard Wolf is an honorable representative had its origin in Wittenberg, Germany, and it was there that his parents, George and Kate (Brininger) Wolf, were born and reared. The father was a farmer and followed his vocation in his native land until August, 1873, when he emigrated to the United States and settled in Jefferson county, Wisconsin, where he remained a short time, removing thence to Fayette county, Iowa. Later he went to South Dakota, where his death occurred in September, 1886; his wife, who survived him two years, died in September, 1888. George and Kate Wolf were reputable members of the Lutheran church and inherited many of the sterling qualities for which their respective ancestors were noted. They had six children, whose names are as follows: Michael, of Wittenberg, Germany; Leonard, subject of this sketch ;
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Frederick, a farmer in Scott township, who died in 1906; John, who died in the fatherland; Lewis died in Wisconsin, and Jacob departed this life in Sep- tember, 1904, in South Dakota.
Leonard Wolf was born February 6, 1845, and spent his early life in Wittenberg, receiving a good education in the Lutheran schools of his native place. He remained in Germany until attaining his majority, when he decided to seek his fortune in the great republic beyond the sea; accordingly, he sailed for America and on arriving at his destination proceeded as far west as Jeffer- son county, Wisconsin, where he secured employment for about five months as a farm laborer. At the expiration of that time he went to Wentworth county, in the same state, where he spent the ensuing six years on a farm, working for a certain sum per year. Severing his connection with his employer in 1872, he came to Fayette county, Iowa, and purchased two hundred and forty acres of land in sections 23 and 24, Scott township, and an eighty-acre tract in section 26, the only improvement on the land at that time being a small, illy-constructed house, about sixteen by sixteen feet in size and barely habit- able.
With characteristic industry and thrift, Mr. Wolf went to work im- proving his land and in due time realized the results of his labors in one of the best farms and one of the finest country homes in Fayette county. He has made commendable progress as a farmer and stock-raiser and his improve- ments of all kinds bear witness to the interest he has taken in establishing a good home and providing comfortably for those dependent upon him. At the present time he owns three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land, the greater part under a high state of cultivation, a portion being devoted to live- stock, for which it appears admirably adapted .. Mr. Wolf has been unsparing of his means in the matter of improvements, his various buildings being mod- ern and in first-class condition, and, as already indicated, they compare favor- ably with the best in the county. Some idea of the interest he takes in making his farm a model of its kind may be obtained from the fact of his having ex- pended about four thousand dollars within less than two years on improve- ments; to say nothing of various other large sums, prior to and after the time referred to.
Mr. Wolf came to the New World with no capital save a sound mind in a sound body and an inborn determination to make the most of his opportun- ities. By diligent labor and the exercise of good judgment, he has succeeded in placing himself in independent circumstances, being at this time the owner of one of the most beautiful and desirable farms in Scott township. Aside from farming, Mr. Wolf has achieved a wide reputation as a breeder and
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raiser of fine livestock, devoting special attention to Durham cattle, which he markets every year in large numbers, while his hogs of the Chester-White, Poland China and Duroc varieties are among the finest in this part of the state and the source of a large income. He is also an admirer of good horses and on his place may be seen quite a number of exceptionally fine animals, chiefly of the Norwegian-Norman and Belgian breeds and, like many of the enterprising men of his section of the country, he takes pride in poultry, mak- ing a specialty of the Brown Leghorns, which he raises on quite an extensive scale.
While living in Wisconsin, Mr. Wolf was united in marriage with Mrs. Barbara Weisner, widow of John Weisner, of Bavaria, Germany, and daugh- ter of John Weisner, also a native of that country. Mrs. Wolf's parents came to the United States a number of years ago and settled in Wisconsin, where her father died at the age of seventy-eight.
Mr. and Mrs. Wolf are the parents of eight children, the oldest of whom, Henry, is unmarried; Annie, the second in order of birth, is the wife of Wil- liam Falk and the mother of children as follows: Elva, Iva, Dorthea, Lydia, Lewis, Helen and Otto. Frederick, the third of the subject's children, is a resident of Jefferson township and by occupation a dairyman; he married Millie Wagner, of this county, and is the father of a daughter, Mildred, and a son by the name of Laymond. Mary and Maggie, twins, are the next in succession, the former dying in 1906, the latter being still with her parents, as are also Lizzie, Willie and an infant.
Mr. Wolf is a Republican in politics and, with his family, holds member- ship with the Lutheran church. He is essentially a self-made man and one of the intelligent and influential citizens of his township, being a great reader, a close observer and always keeping well informed on the questions before the public.
WALTER B. INGERSOLL.
Iowa has always been distinguished for the high rank of her bench and bar. Perhaps none of the newer states can justly boast of abler attorney's and there is scarcely a town or city in the state but can boast of one or more lawyers capable of crossing swords in forensic combat with many of the dis- tinguished legal lights of the country. While the growth and development of the state in the last half century has been most marvelous, viewed from any standpoint. vet of no one class of her citizenship has she greater reason for
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just pride than her attorneys. In Mr. Ingersoll are found many of the rare qualities which go to make up the successful attorney. Years of conscientious work have brought with them not only increase of practice and reputation, but also that growth in legal knowledge and that wide and accurate judgment the possession of which constitutes excellence in the profession.
Walter B. Ingersoll was born in Oswego county, New York, in 1856, the paternal homestead having been on a farm near the town of Pulaski. He is the son of John H. and Margaret J. (Bowker) Ingersoll. The Ingersoll family first came from England, and John Ingersoll, the subject's great- grandfather, was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. He was an officer under General Washington at Valley Forge and his sword is still preserved as a family heirloom. It is stated that when this John Ingersoll moved from near Troy, New York, to Oswego county, that state, he was so far in ad- vance of civilization that he traveled over forty miles without seeing any sign of habitation. His son Benjamin was the first white child born in Oswego county. This branch of the family is from the same ancestry as was Col. Robert G. Ingersoll. The Bowker branch of the family is descended from one of three brothers who came from Scotland to America in 1630, settling in New England, descendants of whom were also soldiers in the American war for independence. One house has been occupied by members of this family for over one hundred and fifty years.
In 1858 John H. Ingersoll brought his family to Iowa and bought land in Delaware county, but their stay was brief, as in the following year the father went to California and the other members of the family returned to their former home in New York. In 1863, however, he again brought the family to this state and made permanent settlement. The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm and received his elementary training in the public schools of the neighborhood, this being supplemented by two years' study in the Upper Iowa University. He next engaged in teaching school in Dela- ware county, but, having decided to take up the practice of law, he entered the law department of the University of Iowa, where he was graduated in 1878. He engaged in the active practice of his profession at Greeley, this state, where he remained two years, going then to Huron, South Dakota. After five years' practice there, Mr. Ingersoll located at Bird City, Kansas, where he practiced his profession during the following decade. In 1895 he returned to Iowa and in the spring of the following year he opened an office at Oelwein, where he has since remained. As a lawyer Mr. Ingersoll has evinced a familiarity with legal principles and a ready perception of facts, together with the ability to apply one to the other, which has won him the
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reputation of a sound and safe practitioner. In discussions of the principles of law he is noted for clearness of statement and candor, and his zeal for a client never leads him to urge an argument which in his judgment is not in harmony with the law, and in all the important litigation with which he has been connected no one has ever charged him with anything calculated to bring discredit upon himself or cast a reflection upon his profession. Per- sonally affable and approachable, he enjoys a large circle of acquaintances, among whom are many warm and loyal friends.
In 1877 Mr. Ingersoll married Iona M. Peet, of Clayton county, Iowa, and their .union has been blessed in the birth of two children, Lee L. and Regina C. The family are members of the Presbyterian church. In politics Mr. Ingersoll is a stanch Republican, but he is not in any sense a politician, preferring to devote his entire attention to the practice of the law. Mrs. Ingersoll also is descended from old Revolutionary stock, her paternal grand- mother having been a member of the noted Carpenter family, of whom an- other member was Lieutenant Carpenter, of New York, an officer in the Rev- olutionary army. The family chain can be traced back in an unbroken line to the year 1066, in the time of William the Conqueror, when a member of the family was clerk of the city of London. The Carpenters came from Eng- land to America in very early colonial days, and first made settlement in New England, though members of the family later went westward and set- tled in New York.
ALBERT J. GEHRING.
In the collection of material for the biographical department of this pub- lication there has been a constant aim to use a wise discrimination in regard to the selection of subjects and to exclude none worthy of representation within its pages. Here will be found mention of worthy citizens of all vo- cations, and at this juncture we are permitted to offer a brief resume of the career of one of the most active and highly respected citizens of Illyria town- ship, where he has maintained his home since babyhood, having achieved abundant success in his chosen field of endeavor, that of farming and stock raising, he having chosen to remain in his native community in Fayette county rather than seek uncertain fortune elsewhere.
The gentleman referred to in the preceding paragraph, Albert J. Gehring. was born in Illyria township, Fayette county, Iowa, November 5. 1862, the representative of a well known family here in the early days. He received
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his education in the public schools and when merely a boy began working on the farm and continued agricultural pursuits ever since, having remained on the home place until 1903, when he moved to Elgin and in this neighborhood purchased forty acres of rich land which he has kept well tilled and which has yielded him a comfortable living from year to year. It is located about a mile from town, in one of the best sections of the county. While living on the home farm, Mr. Gehring dealt extensively in livestock, breeding road horses and shorthorn cattle, and he still handles some horses, both road and draft, and, understanding well the care and training of them, so that they al- ways sell readily and at high prices, Mr. Gehring having long been known as one of the best judges of horses in the county.
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