USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 57
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Mr. Kieron's death resulted from a brain tumor, which caused him much suffering, notwithstanding which he continued to give personal attention to his business until seven months before the end came. In the hope of being benefited by an operation he went to Dubuque and died at Mercy Hospital, that city, a short time after the surgeon had finished his work, this sad event occurring on the 7th of May, 1909.
TOFIELD LEHMAN.
Among the representative farmers and progressive citizens of Pleasant Valley township, Fayette county, Iowa, none occupies a more enviable position than the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. A native of this county, his long residence here has only served to gain for him a marked prestige among his fellow citizens, and, though one of the younger generation of agriculturists, he is accounted a shrewd and practical man of affairs.
Tofield Lehman was born in Fayette county, Iowa, in 1874, and is a son of Jacob and Rosa (Hess) Lehman, the former of whom was a native of Switzerland, from which country he came to the United States in about 1852. His wife was born in Canton, Ohio. They came to Fayette county, Iowa, and located on a fine and fertile farm of one hundred and twenty acres, where the father still lives. The subject of this sketch was one of three children born to his parents, by whom he was reared. He secured his early education in the district schools and he remained on the home farm with his father until his marriage, in 1903. though prior to that time he had conducted some busi-
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ness enterprises on his own account. He is now the owner of twenty acres of land and devotes much of his attention to the care of bees and the produc- tion of honey, in which he has met with the most pronounced success, the honey which he puts on the market being considered of a very superior quality and giving him a widespread reputation. Since 1898 Mr. Lehman has sup- plied large quantities of honey to Walter S. Pouder, a leading merchant of Indianapolis, Indiana, who always speaks in the highest terms of Mr. Leh- man's product. At one time Mr. Pouder desired to make an exhibit at the famous Indiana State Fair and wrote Mr. Lehman for some honey for the exhibit. The following is a quotation from a letter received by the subject from Mr. Pouder after the fair: "I won second premium at our state fair. The judge came to me and said that my extracted honey was the finest he had ever tasted, but one of my competitors had a lot of granulated honey and I had none, and on this account he gave first to the other fellow." Mr. Leh- man also ships large quantities of honey to various other dealers, among them C. H. W. Weber, of Cincinnati, and the Fred W. Muth Company, of the same city, all of whom compliment the honey very highly. Mr. Lehman started in the business in 1892 with two swarms of bees, and has steadily in- creased his apiary until now he has eighty swarms, keeping his stock down to that number that he may give his personal attention to every detail of the business.
On February 17, 1903, Mr. Lehman was united in marriage to Emma Butikofer, who was born in Clayton county, this state, and they have become the parents of the following children : Adeline, Jacob and Walter. Mr. Leh- man is public spirited in his attitude towards all movements for the public good and is held in high regard throughout the community. Of pleasing ad- dress, good business ability and unquestioned integrity, he enjoys the un- bounded confidence of all who have had dealings with him and he is numbered among the sterling citizens of Pleasant Valley township.
A. E. SMITH.
Civilization's progress is shown more in the care given to human weak- lings, to the insane and other unfortunates, than in any other way. Not long ago, even in this enlightened country, they were accorded a treatment not fit for brutes. Now they are given the best of care and medical attention, their surroundings are the ones which sanitary science approves, and while not all
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recover from their unfortunate condition, at least their sufferings are palli- ated as much as possible. In men of the character of Mr. Smith, placed at the head of a county home, a man whose training gives ample security of his fitness for the position, we have indeed a contrast to some of the poor over- seers of past times. We may be assured that any unfortunates committed to his care will receive their due share of attention and care, and will have 10 cause to complain of bad treatment.
A. E. Smith was born in Fayette county, Iowa, May 23, 1876, the son of J. E. and Hannah (Harper) Smith, he born in Fayette county, she in In- diana. IJis paternal grandparents were John and Mary (Hicks) Smith. both born in England, who came to America, locating first near Whitewater, Wis- consin, as pioneers, Mr. Smith farming. Later they came to Fayette county and continued farming. His maternal grandparents were William and Mary Elizabeth (Cruesan) Harper, he born in Ohio, she in Indiana. They came from Indiana to West Union where he farmed. J. E. Smith was a farmer and is now a resident of Maynard. He reared two children.
A. E. Smith was educated in the public schools. As a young man he farmed, carrying on general farming on a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Harlan township. In 1892 he entered the employ of the State Hos- pital at Independence as a nurse, and continued there for seven years. In 1906 he took the position of superintendent of the Fayette county insane hos- pital and home. He is still interested in farming.
On March I, 1902, Mr. Smith was married to Myrtle Robinson, who was born in Clayton county. His discharge of his duties in his present posi- tion leaves nothing to be desired by way of improvement. Mr. Smith is a young man of great promise, which will be realized if he continues in his pres- ent ways.
WILBUR FISK BOYCE.
The financial and commercial history of Fayette county would be incom- plete and unsatisfactory without personal mention of those whose lives are interwoven so closely with the industrial and financial development of this por- tion of the state. When a man, or a number of men, set in motion the ma- chinery of business, which materializes into many forms of practical utility, or where they have carved out a fortune or a name from the common possi- bilities, open for competition to all, there is a natural public desire, which should be gratified to see them as nearly as a word artist can paint them. The
WILBUR F. BOYCE
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examples they furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illu- strate what it is in the power of each to accomplish. Some men belong to no exclusive class in life; apaprently insurmountable obstacles have in many in- stances awakened their faculties and served as a stimulus to carry them to ultimate success. The gentleman whose life history is here outlined lived to a good purpose and achieved a much greater degree of success than falls to the lot of the average individual. By a straightforward and commendable course he made his way to a respectable position in the business world, winning the hearty admiration of the people of his county and earning a reputation as an enterprising, progressive man of affairs, which the public was not slow to recognize and appreciate.
Wilbur Fisk Boyce was born on the 21st day of June, 1846, in Kendall county, Illinois, and was a son of Joseph Boyce, an early merchant and for many years a prominent citizen of Fayette, having retired in later life. In 1857 Mr. Boyce accompanied his parents on their removal to near Waterloo, Iowa, and in 1861 accompanied them to Fayette and from that time up to the date of his death, which occurred on January 18, 1906, he was closely identified with Fayette county. At Fayette he passed from youth to manhood and became the clerk of his father, who was then carrying on a general store. When his father sold out, the subject remained as clerk for four years. He then, in 1876, entered business for himself, purchasing a lumber yard, which he continued to operate until his death, a period of about twenty-eight years. If you would know the history of his dealings in the lumber business, ask the hundreds of men who were his customers. He was a man of keen discernment and could generally calculate successfully the outcome of a transaction, his judgment being highly valued by his business associates and others with whom he had dealings. Shrewd and sagacious, he gave careful attention to every detail of his business affairs, and this was the keynote to his success. Honorable in his dealings with others, he earned and retained a high position in the esteem of all who knew him. Public spirited and progressive, he gave unstintedly his support and influence to every measure which had for its object the advance- ment of the best interests of the community, and much of the success of the Upper Iowa University was attributed to his valued services as a member of the board of trustees of that institution, in the welfare of which he was par- ticularly interested.
Politically, Mr. Boyce was a Republican and he took an intelligent and active interest in the success of his party. He was converted when about twenty years of age and was ever after faithful to his religious duties. As time passed he was given positions of trust in the church, having served many
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years as chairman of the board of stewards and also as a trustee. For twelve years he served as a member of the town council and on the school board for a number of years. He was a good citizen in all the term implies and his death was deplored in all circles of society. His geniality was greater than the average and in his home life he was a model, and loved best of all the quiet of his own fireside. In all relations with his fellow beings he was an example worthy of emulation.
On October 19, 1869, Mr. Boyce was married to Julia Ann Robertson, daughter of James E. and Elizabeth (Alexander) Robertson, and to this union were born two children, Eva Louise, deceased, and George Edmond, an optician at Waterloo. Aside from his wife and son, Mr. Boyce left a sister, Mrs. Mattie Scobey, and a brother, J. H. Boyce, both of Fayette.
JAMES COONEY.
The subject of this sketch holds worthy prestige at a bar long noted for a high order of legal talent and is one of the oldest practitioners in Fayette county, also occupying a prominent place among the leading members of his profession in the northeastern part of the state. James Cooney is a native of county Clare, Ireland, where his birth occurred December 28, 1851, being a son of Thomas and Mary (Cusic) Cooney, the mother dying in the old country, the father subsequently coming to the United States and spending the remainder of his life in Cincinnati, Ohio. Of the four children of these parents, three were older than the subject.
James Cooney spent the first nine years of his life in his native land and then, unaccompanied by relatives or friends, crossed the ocean to America and for some time thereafter made his home with an aunt, Margaret Ivory, who lived in Clayton county, Iowa. About two years after coming to this. state his aunt died, following which he rejoined his two brothers at Albany, New York, going thence about one year later to Independence, Kentucky. He there attended until eighteen years of age a private school taught by Prof. William P. Jones, living in the meantime with James Y. Wayman, of the vicinity, where by working at intervals he secured sufficient means to defray his expenses and prosecute his studies.
When eighteen years old Mr. Cooney began teaching, but after devoting some years to the work discontinued it for the purpose of taking a business course in the Hollingsworth Commercial College at Covington, Kentucky.
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Before finishing his studies in that institution he was hired to teach and ere resigning his position his salary was advanced to one hundred dollars per month, certainly a gratifying compliment to his ability as an instructor. Later he finished a course of bookkeeping at Parshall's Commercial School, Cincin- nati, after which he went to Kansas, and from that state, in the fall of 1871, returned to Iowa to accept the position of teacher in the public schools of Elkader. In the meantime, 1870, Mr. Cooney began to read law with Judge Shaw, of Independence, Kentucky, and in 1872 entered the law department of the Iowa State University, where he prosecuted his studies until his admission to the bar at Elkader on September 16th of the year following. After prac- ticing in that city as a member of the firm of King & Cooney until 1874, he located at Brush Creek, Fayette county, where, in due time, he built up a large and lucrative legal business and forged to the front among the rising attorneys of the county bar. He was admitted to practice in the federal courts of the United States and the supreme court of Iowa, before which high tribunals he has appeared from time to time in connection with important and far-reaching litigation. Desiring a large field for the exercise of his talents, Mr. Cooney, in 1902, removed to Oelwein, and, in 1906, while a resident of that city was elected county attorney, which office he filled with signal ability for one term, failing of re-election by reason of the overwhelming normal Republican ma- jority. His success at the polls was achieved after he had been five times nominated by the Democratic party, of which he is an ardent supporter. and in all of his six campaigns he carried his home township. Fairland, by good majorities, despite the fact that it has long been considered a Republican stronghold. The year in which he was elected he received in the above town- ship forty-nine votes in excess of those cast for his competitor, while the congressman for this district, a Republican, carried it by a majority of sixty- one.
As already indicated, Mr. Cooney displayed marked ability as county attorney and during his incumbency had charge of many important state and county cases, in nearly all of which he was successful. Indefatigable and un- tiring in the discharge of his duties, his name became a terror to criminals and offenders, fourteen of whom he sent to the penitentiary, two for murder, one in the first degree, one for assault with intent to commit manslaughter and the others for various grave offenses which called down upon them the rigors of the law. Among the more noted cases with which he was connected was Culver vs. Fayette County, in which the sheriff sought to collect deputy fees- known as deputy sheriff salary case. This was fought with great tenac- ity through the lower court and finally taken to the supreme court, which, in an
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opinion handed down in 1908 made the county victor in the suit, at a saving of many thousand dollars. A case which won for the subject more than local repute as an able, judicious and far-seeing prosecutor, was that of the State vs. Mrs. Martha Gibbons (abortionist), in 1907, of Oelwein, in which both sides were represented by the best legal talent obtainable.
Mr. Cooney changed his residence in the fall of 1902 from Arlington to Oelwein, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of law in the latter city, advancing steadily to the front among the leading members of the bar and building up an extensive business which has been as successful financially as professionally. He keeps abreast of the times in all matters relating to his chosen calling, is always faithful to the interests of his clients, enjoys the confidence of his professional brethren, and stands high in the esteem of the public. He was appointed trustee for the Iowa College for the Blind at Vinton, when the state board of control was established, which bill he favored and it was during his incumbency that the laundry department of the institution, the best in Iowa, was built, the work having been carried through at his suggestion and under his direction. While a resident of Arlington, he served on the school board and town council and was mayor of the town when the present efficient waterworks system was constructed.
On the 25th of October, 1877, Mr. Cooney was united in the bonds of wedlock with Ellen Newton, who was born in Fayette county, April 27, 1859, being a daughter of Palmer F. and Harriet (Seeley) Newton, natives respect- ively of New York and Pennsylvania. These parents emigrated to Boone county, Illinois, shortly after their marriage and four years later became resi- dents of Rock county, Wisconsin, removing thence, in November, 1847, to Fayette county, Iowa, of which they were early pioneers. Mr. Newton was a thrifty farmer and highly respected citizen. Of the nine children, five sons and four daughters, Mrs. Cooney is the sixth in order of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Cooney are the parents of the following children: Thomas, who died at the age of eighteen years; Earl; Bessie married, in the fall of 1909, W. L. Sulli- van, who attends to the insurance and collecting business in office of Mr. Cooney ; Maggie; James D., who graduated from the Oelwein high school in the summer of 1910; Martin, born in 1902, and Paul, whose birth occurred in 1905.
Fraternally, Mr. Cooney belongs to the order of Modern Woodmen in the camp at Arlington, where he holds his membership. In all of his rela- tions, professional, political and otherwise, he has ever been actuated by mo- tives of honor and his influence has always been on the right as he sees and understands the right. Financially, his success has kept pace with his ad-
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vancement in his chosen field of endeavor, and he is now one of the well-to-do men of the city in which he resides, owning three hundred and five acres of fine farming lands in Fairfield and Illyria townships, ten acres of out land near Oelwein and a handsome Oelwein residence and other houses in Oelwein and a brick business block in the town of Arlington. He is essentially a self-made man who from a modest beginning has, step by step, mounted upward to his present high position in worldly interests and ranks with the representative citizens of his adopted county and state.
MARATON WING.
One of the prominent and honored old settlers of Fayette county is the gentleman whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He is a practical, thoroughgoing farmer, understanding every department of the work con- nected with the proper supervision of a country home, and success has abund- . antly rewarded his labors. Now, in the golden sunset of his life, he may look backward over the pathway he has traversed and truly feel that his efforts have been blessed, while he can have few regrets for idle days and wasted moments.
Mr. Wing is a Yankee by birth, having been born near Montpelier, Ver- mont, on January 25, 1833, and is the son of David and Cynthia (Demmick) Wing. When the subject was about three years old the family moved to St. Lawrence county, New York, where the father engaged in farming, being also an extensive dealer in livestock. When the subject was about nine years old he was doubly bereaved in the death of both his parents, who died within a month of each other, probably of diphtheria, though at that time it was pronounced putrid sore throat. After the death of his parents Mr. Wing, with his brother and two sisters, lived with relatives. When he was about fif- teen years old, the children returned to the home farm in St. Lawrence county and there they lived until the subject was about thirty years old. He then went west, locating in Kane county, Illinois, where he remained about ten years, meeting with fair success. He then moved to Fairbank, Buchanan county, Iowa, where he lived until the Burlington railroad was constructed through Oelwein. He then came here and bought of Alva Smith one hundred and eleven acres of land, the most of which is now included within the city of Oelwein, and this land he platted into lots, many of which he has sold. Other land which he bought of Minor Paine is also within the city. Mr.
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Wing has during the most of his life followed the pursuit of agriculture and has been uniformly successful, owing to his indefatigable industry and his good management. Besides the property heretofore mentioned, he owns two hundred and eighty acres a mile and a quarter northeast of Oelwein, a tract of one hundred and twenty acres and another one of eighty acres west of Maynard, two hundred and seventy-two acres near Bryantsburg, Buchanan county, besides extensive holdings in Illinois, Arkansas, Nebraska and in the South. He has bought and sold much land and has been successful to a re- markable degree in realizing handsome profits in these deals. For a number of years he was engaged in the dairy business on an extensive scale, but has abandoned that enterprise. He is wide-awake to the best interests of the com- munity in which he lives and can always be counted on to give his support to every movement for the advancement of the best interests of the locality in which he lives.
In March, 1854, Mr. Wing married Azuba Minkler, who was born No- vember 24, 1832, in St. Andrews, Canada, and to them have been born two children, as follows: Lettie, who died at the age of six years; Retta, the wife of William A. Wachtel of Oelwein.
Politically Mr. Wing gives an earnest support to the Republican party, but has never sought office, though he keeps in close touch with local public affairs. Mrs. Wing is a faithful member of the Free Baptist church, to which she gives a liberal support. Mr. Wing is widely known throughout the county and is everywhere admired because of his sterling qualities of character. He has ever stood for the best there is in life and he has himself gotten much out of life-not the least being the unbounded confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens.
JESSE B. COLE.
After a life of honest, consecutive endeavor, his efforts having been re- warded with a fair meed of success, the subject of this sketch is now living in the beautiful city of Oelwein, enjoying that rest to which his former years of toil entitled him. He demonstrated his loyalty to the national government in the hour of its greatest need and on the field of battle he exhibited those qualities which made the American soldier the marvel of the civilized world. His sterling qualities of manhood have gained for him the honest respect of all who know him. and he and his good wife have a host of warm personal friends.
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Jesse B. Cole was born March 15, 1834, in Ripley county, Indiana, and is the son of Charles Crawford and Sarah (Brown) Cole, both families having originally come from Kentucky. The remote ancestors are supposed to have been Scotch on the paternal side and Welsh on the maternal. The sub- ject is one of ten children born to his parents. He was reared on the Indiana farmstead and secured his education in the public schools. At the age of nineteen years he practically started out on his own account, having married and thereafter giving his attention to farming operations. At the outbreak of the southern rebellion Mr. Cole signified his loyalty and patriotism by en- listing in Company E, Thirteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted for three years and was assigned to the army operating in western Virginia. In the battle of Rich Mountain Mr. Cole was shot through both arms, his right arm being badly shattered near the shoulder. He received the injury on the 13th of December, 1861, and he was confined in the army hos- pital until September, 1862, when he was discharged because of disability. He was still so far from well, however, that he was compelled to remain in a hospital a year after his discharge. When able to work again he took up farming, though for three years he was able to do but little actual work. In 1852 he had located in Howard county, Indiana, and in the fall of 1865 he moved to Buchanan county, Iowa, where he bought a small farm near the north line of the county. He operated this farm about four years, when he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Oran township, Fayette county, and there he made his home for nearly twenty-five years. He also later bought an additional tract of eighty acres, but subsequently sold that. He devoted his entire attention to the operation of his fine farm, and made many permanent and substantial improvements on it, raising it to a high standard of efficiency. He was progressive and practical in his methods and met with excellent success. In 1895 he sold this farm and moved to Oelwein, where he bought an acre of ground fronting on Fifth street west, on which was a comfortable and attractive residence. He made a number of improve- ments on the place and has since made it his home.
On the 27th of March, 1852, Mr. Cole was married to Lucinda Griffiths, of Jennings county, Indiana, and they became the parents of three children : America, Rosetta and Orinda. America died in childhood. Rosetta became the wife of William Bowdish, of Iowa Falls, and they have five children, Edith, Jesse, Pearl, Nellie and Lloyd. Of these, Edith is married and lives on a farm about ten miles from Iowa Falls. Jesse is a conductor on the Rock Island railroad. Nellie died in February, 1909. Pearl is a stenographer in a law office in Eldora, Hardin county, this state. Lloyd is attending college.
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