USA > Iowa > Fayette County > Past and present of Fayette County, Iowa, Volume II > Part 65
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John Saltsgiver, father of David, of this review, was educated in the early schools of Pennsylvania, coming with his parents to Ohio and was mar- ried in that state. He was a good business man and erected one of the finest woolen mills in the community in which he settled, and he operated it for ser- eral years, and he built up a large patronage there.
In the fall of 1854 he brought his entire family to Union township,
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Fayette county, Iowa. He purchased a farm immediately north of where David Saltsgiver of this review now resides, east of West Union, in section II, Union township. There he resided until his death. He developed a good farm here and made a comfortable living. He was a hard worker, a good manager, a useful and honored citizen. He and his wife are the parents of six children. John Saltsgiver was a Whig when that party was in power, later, when the Republican party was organized, he was a loyal supporter of the same.
David Saltsgiver, of this review, was educated in the common schools of Fayette county, receiving a very good text-book training. He worked on the home farm during the summer months and under the capable direction of his father, learned the various phases of agricultural work, at which he has subsequently succeeded and is now the owner of one hundred and forty acres, which he has kept well improved and under a high state of cultivation. He carries on general farming, raises some good stock, and he has a comfortable home and good outbuildings.
Mr. Saltsgiver was married on February 19, 1864, to Isabelle Webb, the daughter of an influential citizen of Fayette county, where she was reared and educated, and this union has resulted in the birth of the following chil- dren : Anna May, deceased; Mamie, Max, Merl.
Mr. Saltsgiver is a Republican in politics and active in the party. He served at one time very ably as trustee of his township.
WILLIAM E. DONAT.
One of Harlan township's well known and highly respected farmers whose success has been achieved by persistency and good management is William E. Donat, who was born in Noble county, Indiana, February 2. 1856. When a boy he came to Fayette county, Iowa, where he received his education in the common schools and one term in the Upper Iowa University at Fayette. He is the son of Elias P. and Lydia A. (Taylor) Donat. They were natives of Ohio and when children moved with their parents to Noble county, Indiana. The father was born April 18, 1830, and the mother was born July 13, 1834. They were married in Indiana in 1853 and lived there about four years, when, in the fall of 1857, they drove overland to Fayette county, Iowa, and located in Harlan township where he bought a farm of fifty acres in section 4; he later added to this until he owned one hundred
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and eighty-two acres, but later sold twenty acres. He remained on this farm until his death, June 19, 1880. Politically, he was a Republican, and a mem- ber of the United Brethren church, in which he was class leader for a num- ber of years. He was an active participant in church affairs. Mrs. Donat, who is still living, has made her home in Toledo, Iowa, for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Elias P. Donat were the parents of six children, two of whom died in infancy ; those living are : William E., of this review; Lecta E. is the wife of H. M. Baldwin, of Toledo, Iowa; Etta E. resides with her mother in Toledo, Iowa; Walter S. is professor of Latin and Greek in Winona College, at Winona, Indiana.
William E. Donat, of this review, has always lived on the home farm with the exception of two years that he rented nearby farms, living one year on each place, both on account of sickness. After his father's death he be- gan buying the interests of the other heirs and now owns the entire farm. He carries on general farming and dairying very successfully. He has a very attractive home and his place is well kept. Politically he is a Republican and he is a member of the United Brethren church, having held the office of stew- ard and trustee in the local congregation, and also Sunday school superintend- ent.
On December 12, 1888, Mr. Donat married Adel May Watenpaugh, who was born in Bremer county, Iowa, May 3, 1865. She was the daughter of George and Florenda B. (Crandall) Watenpaugh, both natives of Chau- tanqua county, New York, the father born of German parentage, September, 1818, and the mother born July, 1829. They were married in New York about 1849 and they made their home there until 1853, Mr. Watenpaugh fol- lowing the trade of tanner and shoemaker. They moved to Iowa in 1853. shipping their goods to Rockford, Illinois, and from there drove overland to Fayette county, Iowa, locating in Pleasant Valley township, where he took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres and lived there until 1865, when he moved to Tripoli, Bremer county, Iowa, and at the end of three years returned to Fayette county, locating in Pleasant Valley township and remained there three years. After that time he lived in several townships in Fayette county, usually two or three years in each place. In 1899 he retired from active farm life and moved to Maynard, where he made his home until his death, January 9, 1904. Politically, he was a Republican, and he held several minor township offices, but he preferred quiet home life. As an active mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, he held the offices of trustee, class leader and Sunday school superintendent. Mrs. Watenpaugh was also an active and zealous worker in the Methodist church. They were the parents
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of eight children, an equal number of sons and daughters, namely : Orlando resides in Hecla, South Dakota; Ellen A. is the wife of John Beckner, of Maynard, Iowa; John E. lives in Harlan township; Eva resides with her brother Delos in California; Olive is the wife of Sim Talkington, of Los Angeles, California; Della M. is the wife of William E. Donat, of this re- view; Willie is deceased; Mrs. Watenpaugh died on June 28, 1902.
To Mr. and Mrs. Donat five children have been born, two dying in infancy ; those living are Wayne E., born October 20, 1890; Mildred M., born January 18. 1899; Marion R., born April 6, 1900.
JOHN HOWARD HALL.
Holding distinctive prestige among the enterprising citizens of Fayette county is John Howard Hall, whose record, here briefly outlined, is that of a man who has been the architect of his own fortune; a self-made man, who, by the exercise of talents with which nature endowed him, has suc- cessfully surmounted unfavorable environment and risen to the position he now occupies in business circles. He is a creditable representative of a sterling old Pennsylvania family and possesses many of the admirable quali- ties of his ancestors who figured in the history of the early days. He was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, in 1851, the son of Daniel W. and Lucinda E. (Kline) Hall, each representative of excellent families of that state. Their son, John H., assisted with the chores and general work about the home place when he became of proper age and attended the district schools during the winter months, receiving a very good primary education ; how- ever, when yet a mere boy he left the school room and began herding cattle in 1871 near Hawkeye, Iowa, having as many as twelve hundred head in one herd. He kept up his vocation as cattle herder for a period of seven years or until September, 1878, during which time he witnessed a rapid ad- vance in the price of land in Fayette county, it being very cheap when he first came here. The life of a herdsman, though one of hardship in the main, suited his youthful tastes, for he loved adventure, the free life of the wild prairie, and enjoyed "roughing it," for he and his fellow herdsmen boarded themselves during the time mentioned above.
From 1878 to 1881 Mr. Hall spent in buying cattle and hogs at Fay- ette, Iowa, and was very successful in this, owing to his intimate knowledge of the livestock business and his industry. He then moved to Hawkeye,
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Fayette county, and turned his attention exclusively to buying and dealing in hogs and lost all the money he had except seven hundred dollars. Then he moved to Steamboat Rock, Hardin county, Iowa, and there bought stock for about eight months. He came to West Union in the fall of 1884 and has remained here ever since, continuing to buy stock, having built up a very extensive trade and become known as one of the leading stockmen of Fay- ette county. He has become the owner of about one hundred and eighty acres of well improved and very productive land on which he raises all kinds of crops and feeds cattle extensively, preparing them for the feeder market. He has a cozy and well located home and everything about his place shows that he is a wide-awake farmer.
Mr. Hall was married in the fall of 1884 to Jennie C. Hoyer, representa- tive of an excellent family of this county, and this union has resulted in the birth of two children, Lulu Madge, who married W. E. Erwin; the son's name is Howard Hoyer Hall. .
Mrs. Hall and her daughter are members of the Presbyterian church, and, politically, Mr. Hall is a Democrat.
HENRY H. PRATT.
A descendant from an excellent line of ancestors is Henry H. Pratt, a highly respected citizen of Maynard, Fayette county, who was born August 18, 1848, in Geauga county, Ohio, forty miles east of Cleveland. He is the son of Harvey and Sybil (Moore) Pratt. The former was educated at Hart- ford, Connecticut, and when a young man he came to Ohio and secured wild land, built a cabin, made a small clearing and began developing the same, establishing a comfortable home and a good farm in due course of time. The work of clearing the heavy timber and placing the raw ground in tillable con- dition was hard work, but it suited his rugged nature and his love of pioneer life. He was a carpenter by trade, but later in life devoted his time exclu- sively to farming. Later he removed to Green county, Wisconsin. Subse- quently he went to Monroe county, Wisconsin, where he farmed until his death, his wife also dying there. They were members of the Seventh Day Adventist church, honest and highly respected people. Mr. Pratt was a Re- publican, but led a quiet life and did not seek political preferment.
Henry H. Pratt received a limited education, but he has become a well informed man by general reading. When a boy he went to school three
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months in a log school house, three miles distant from his home. He began working in the fields when six years of age, and remained at home assisting his father with the general farm work until he was twenty-four years of age.
In 1866, while living in Green county, Wisconsin, Mr. Pratt married Nancy C. Francisco, a native of Racine county, that state, and the daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth (Hoffman) Francisco, both natives of the state of New York, who were early settlers in Racine county, Wisconsin. In 1881 they came to Maynard, Iowa, where Mrs. Francisco died in 1892. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pratt.
One of the most interesting chapters in the life of Henry H. Pratt is that bearing on his army career, which began with his enlistment in the Union army, in Green county, Wisconsin, on February 27, 1864, in Com- pany B, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Mr. Pratt saw some hard service and severe fighting, among the most notable engagements in which he participated being those of the four days' battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Turner's Farm, Cold Harbor. On June 3, 1864, he was shot through the left hand and forearm and it was seventeen days before the wound was treated, and it became necessary to have the arm amputated near the shoulder, which was done at Columbus hospital, where he remained four months and was honorably discharged on December 24. 1864. He returned to Green county, Wisconsin, where he remained until 1873, when he went to Minnesota, in which state he remained for three years. In 1876 he located in Fayette county, Iowa, settling at Maynard, where he built a cozy and substantial home. He bought a good farm in Westfield township, this county, where he remained five years, coming from there to Maynard, where he has since resided. He has spent his life farming and has been very successful, being a good manager and he is known as one of the greatest "hustlers" in Fayette county, where he is well known and has many warm friends. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Post No. 47, at Maynard, and he is active in the Republican party.
GEORGE W. CHAMBERLIN.
In placing the name of George W. Chamberlin, retired farmer of Hawkeye, in the front rank of Fayette county's enterprising and public- spirited citizens whose lives have resulted in incalculable good to the masses, simple justice is done a biographical fact, universally recognized throughout
MRS. DORCAS CHAMBERLIN.
GEORGE W. CHAMBERLIN.
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this locality by men at all familiar with his history. A man of good judg- ment, sound discretion and business ability of a high order, he managed with tactful success important enterprises and so impressed his individuality upon the community as to gain recognition among the leading citizens and hon- ored men of affairs.
The Chamberlin family is an ancient one, being descended from Wil- liam Count Tankerville, of Tankerville Castle, in Normandy, who came into England with William the Conqueror, but returned again into Normandy.
John de Tankerville was a younger son of the former Earl and was lord chamberlain to King Henry I. Richard, his son, was lord chamberlain to King Stephen, and thereupon assumed the name of Chamberlin.
In 1622 Thomas Chamberlin was chief justice of Chester.
Thomas Chamberlin, baronet.
Sir James Chamberlin, baronet.
Sir James Chamberlin, baronet, in 1745 was appointed major of the Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, Blue, and promoted to be lieutenant- colonel of said regiment in 1750.
Sir James Chamberlin was eminent as a soldier in the court of Henry III.
William of Gedding in Suffolk, a great friend and companion of Edward IV, was made a Knight of the Garter. The family motto was then "Virtuti, nihil, invium" (virtue, humility, freedom).
The subject's great-grandfather was Jedediah Chamberlin, probably of Keene, New Hampshire, who was twice married. To him and his second wife, whose maiden name was Submit Osgood, were born four children. To him and his first wife, whose maiden name was unknown, were born eleven children. Of these children, the eighth in order of birth was Josiah, who married Patience Phillips, and they removed from Westmoreland, New Hamp- shire, to Stockbridge, Vermont. They had eight children, the third in order of birth being Washington, the father of the subject of this sketch. He mar- ried, in Bethel, Vermont, in 1819, Asenath Kellogg, who was born in Wind- sor county, Vermont, August 29, 1801, his own birth having occurred on April 23, 1795. The Kelloggs were of Welsh descent and became a promi- nent and well known New England family. To Washington and Asenath Chamberlin were born the following children: Lucy M., born December 17, 1820, became the wife of Charles Davis; Martin Josiah, born September 8, 1822; George W., the immediate subject of this sketch, was next in order of birth; John L., born March 8, 1826, died in Bethel, Vermont, August 18, 1852, unmarried; Hiram M., born June 6, 1829, married Mary Kendall; Francis H., born December 28, 1831, married Augusta Davis; Adeline (85)
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Nancy, born October 28, 1835; Julia A., born September 8, 1842; William, born October 21, 1844, died in infancy.
George W. Chamberlin was born in Vermont on September 22, 1824, and was reared under the parental roof. During his youthful years he at- tended the public schools and when out of school his activities were given to work on the farm. He had a natural taste for mechanics and during the first years of his mature life he was employed along this line. At the age of nineteen years he went to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he secured a ยท position in the government armory. After five years there, he went to Mil- bury, that state, where he was employed in repairing and changing old mus- kets from flint lock to percussion lock. The firm by which he was employed then sent him to South Carolina, where he was similarly engaged for two years, at the end of which time he returned to Windsor, Vermont, and se- cured a position in the Robins & Lawrence gun shop, where he remained until 1855.
On June 4, of the last named year, Mr. Chamberlin, with his family, came to West Union, Fayette county, Iowa, having, the previous year, entered a quarter section of land in Bethel township (not organized), which com- prises his present farm. On the 3d of July he installed his family in a rude cabin, ten by twelve feet in size, belonging to Daniel Goodenow, where they lived until the following November, by which time he had completed the construction of his own cabin, of similar size. The pioneers endured great hardships that winter, due to the intense and continuous cold weather, but they managed to pull through the winter in good shape, and from that time on they were prospered and lived in more comfort. Farming operations were necessarily carried on slowly and with many drawbacks. Mr. Chamberlin made use of oxen for field work, and he relates that on several occasions he was pursued by wolves, who compelled him to hurry to the cabin for protection.
By dint of the most persistent and unflagging efforts, Mr. Chamberlin created a splendid homestead out of this tract and at length was enabled to realize the full fruition of his early hopes and aspirations. He was a good manager and exercised sound judgment in all his transactions, so that eventually he attained to a position of comparative independence financially. He lived on the farm until he moved to West Union, where he remained three years. He then moved to Hawkeye, where he has been an honored resident for the past fifteen years. He has an attractive and neat residence here and is enjoying the fruits of his former years of activity. He also built and now owns one of the best business blocks in Hawkeye.
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On July 22, 1845, Mr. Chamberlin was united in marriage to Dorcas M. Billings, who was born December 8, 1825, at Hartland, Vermont, and who passed to her rest on April 23, 1902, after a mutually happy wedded life of fifty-seven years. She was a daughter of Willard and Dorcas (Lamb) Billings, of Bethel, Vermont. Her father, who was of English descent, was born in Connecticut in 1782, while her mother was born in the same state in 1787, being of Scotch descent. Mr. and Mrs. Billings were the parents of the following children, besides Mrs. Chamberlin: Salinda, the wife of Ira Burbank, who came to Fayette county and settled in Bethel township in 1855, their last days being spent in West Union. Hiram, who married in Ohio, died in Wapello county, Iowa, leaving three children, all of whom are deceased with the exception of Mrs. Haugh, of Bethel township. Chas- tina became the wife of Robert Keys, of Chicago, and in 1849 they took steamer for California. Mr. Keys died en route and was buried at sea. His widow continued her journey to California, where she died. Lorenzo married Maria Gildersleeve and lived in Wisconsin. Almond died in Hart- land, Vermont, in early youth. Nathan died in Iowa in 1900. Edwin died in Iowa (date not known). Elias, a half brother, died April 3, 1910, in Ver- mont.
To Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin the following children were born: Louis A. died in October, 1901, at Hawkeye, leaving four children, Lucy Viola, Nellie Emogene, Dorcas Ethel and George Marion; Emma D. is now living in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, her husband, J. B. Woodward, having died at Hawkeye, in September, 1902; her children are Alson C., Willis B. and Walter Roy; Frank W., who lives near Campbell, Minnesota, was married twice, first to Nellie Ward and next to Hattie Olcott; two children, Clara Belle and Ruby, were born to the first union, and two, Beulah and Lloyd, to the second; Hattie S., who lives in Seattle, Washington, is married and the mother of the following children, Mattie, Grace, Susan and Glen, the latter dying when five years of age; Ira George, of Waterloo, Iowa, who is a traveling salesman for the International Harvester Company, is married and has children, Gladys Irene, George Everett, Earl Almond (died when fifteen years old) and Harold; Ida Grace has remained at home with her parents. She is a member of the Congregational church, in the work of which she takes a great interest, being a member of the Foreign Missionary Society-in fact, she takes a deep interest in all forms of church work.
Mr. Chamberlin is independent in politics, but has filled nearly all the township offices, having always maintained an intelligent interest in the welfare of his community. He served on the grand jury that indicted
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George Ostrander for wife murder and who died in the penitentiary. He also served on the petit jury in the Ellison Smith murder case, in which, it will be remembered, Mr. Smith was acquitted.
Mr. Chamberlin has always been known as a man of kindly disposition, pleasant to all, honest and thoroughly trustworthy, according to the large circle of acquaintances which he can claim, and because of his uprightness and business integrity he is respected and admired by all who know him.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.
The following paragraphs have reference to a man who has long been identified with the progress and advancement of this favored section of the Hawkeye state, and who has attained gratifying success in connection with the development of its resources, having for some time devoted his attention especially to the creamery business. He is a native of Williamson, Wayne county, New York, where his birth occurred. November 23, 1845. He is the son of Cullen B. and Catherine ( Brockway) Adams, who farmed in Williamson, New York. In 1878 they came to West Union, Iowa, and lived retired, having laid by a competency for their old age by their earlier years of activity. They were good and useful citizens and enjoyed the respect of all whom they met.
John Q. Adams was educated in the common schools and Sodus Academy. In the spring of 1868 he came to Richland, now Bethel township, Fayette county, Iowa, and worked by the month at farming for about six years and taught school for a few terms, then engaged in farming for himself. He has been quite successful at it, so that he is now the owner of one of the best farms in Bethel township, consisting of two hundred and eighty acres, which has been placed under a high state of cultivation and improvements and is among the most valuable land in the county. On it stand an at- tractive and comfortable dwelling and outbuildings, and general farming is carried on in a most successful manner.
John Q. Adams was married in the spring of 1886 to Amelia H. Wedgwood, of Osage, Iowa, and one child was born to this union, named Catha. Mrs. Adams was called to her rest in 1891 and their only child died in 1893. Mr. Adams retired from active farming in 1894. He was again married, on June 23, 1903, to Mrs. Sarah M. (Jamison) Shaw, who was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and came with her par-
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ents to Auburn, Fayette county, Iowa, in 1852. Thence they moved to a farm in Union township, where most of her early life was spent. She at- tended school in West Union and at the Upper Iowa University at Fayette and has been prominent in church and social circles in West Union, where she moved in 1882 with her mother after the death of her father in 1881. In 1891 she married Lawrence Shaw, who was then deputy sheriff of Fay- ette county and who died the same year. Her marriage to Mr. Adams made him a resident of West Union, where they occupy the homestead, her mother having died in 1993.
Mr. Adams is inclined to literature and has done a great deal of mis- cellaneous reading, being well versed in English literature, and he has won a local reputation as an able and lucid writer, especially of verse, which he has contributed to the home papers. They show careful thought and excel- lent workmanship, and that Mr. Adams has an eye for beauty and an ear for harmony.
In 1901 Mr. Adams assisted in organizing the Hawkeye Creamery Association, of which he was made secretary, having had two years' expe- rience as secretary of the Bethel Creamery Association, and he still holds the former position, the abundant success that has attended the efforts of the association being due in no small measure to his close attention to his duties and his minute knowledge of the creamery business.
Mr. and Mrs. Adams are members of the Presbyterian church, and po- litically Mr. Adams is independent. He has long taken considerable interest in local political affairs, and has very acceptably served as township clerk and treasurer of the school funds of Bethel township. He is well known and popular throughout the county, owing to his public spirit, his hospitality, industry and genuine worth, being a worthy son of a worthy sire.
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