USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 41
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Professor Beard spent his early boyhood on the home farm and there, in the free outdoor life and sylvan beauty, he laid the foundation for the de- velopment of a sound body and a strong mind. He never attended the public schools, but his early text-book training was received at Delaware Institute, Franklin, New York. He then entered Hamilton College, at Clinton, New York, and was making a brilliant record in that institution when the tocsin of war sounded which lured him from the primrose paths of a student life to the sanguinary "field of Mars," so he went to defend the flag with as much alacrity as ever Roman youth hastened to the legions of Titus or Caesar, enlisting in the Fifty-first New York Volunteer Infantry, in which he served faithfully. He participated in the trying Virginia campaigns in the latter part of 1864 and the early months of 1865, engaging in many of the hard fought battles of the war. He was at Appomattox at Lee's surrender. The war over. he was honorably discharged and returned home. In the spring of 1866 he went to Colorado on government survey work and assisted in surveying the ground south and east of Denver, also in the vicinity of Colorado Springs and Pueblo. In the autumn of 1866 he went to Nebraska City, Nebraska, and
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taught school the following winter, then in 1867 he taught at Rockport, Atchison county, Missouri. The following year he was elected surveyor of that county, which position he held but a short time, however, having resigned to become superintendent of the schools at Hamburg, Iowa, where he remained for a period of fourteen years. From there he went to Maryville, Missouri, as superintendent of schools, which position he held for a period of eight years. In 1892 he came to Newton, Iowa, as superintendent of schools and here he has continued to reside, having thus been in charge of the schools here for a period of twenty years. In this time he has brought the high school of Newton up to a standard of efficiency and equipment that ranks with any high school in the state. He has taken great interest in his teachers, all of whom are selected with especial reference to their ability to fill acceptably the positions to which assigned. He encourages many of the high school gradu- ates to enter the teacher's profession and to this end devotes considerable time to pedagogic lectures and instruction on this important and far-reaching sub- ject. which are greatly prized by those contemplating making the school-room their chosen arena of endeavor. That the advantage of a liberal education may be generally disseminated he has encouraged young people of the county to attend high school by giving them every possible consideration. His great force of character and ripe scholarship, together with his ability as an organ- izer, has enabled Professor Beard to bring to his work in this city the results of his professional experience with marked effect, and it was not long until the schools under his supervision advanced to the high standard of efficiency for which they are now noted. The teaching force during his incumbency has been increased and the enrollment of pupils has constantly grown, while many things tending to lessen the teacher's labors and at the same time make them effective have been introduced; the course of study throughout has been modified and improved, the latest and most approved appliances installed and everything in keeping with modern educational progress tested, and where practical, retained. He has shown himself to be a man of progressive ideas, broad-minded, and he has kept fully abreast of the times in all matters per- taining to his profession. His work in every department of education is char- acteristically practical and in teaching, in superintending and in devising and modifying the course of study, he possesses to a remarkable degree the sense of proportion and fitness. Continuous application through a period of forty- five years has given him a clear and comprehensive insight into the philosophy of education and the largest wisdom as to method and means of attainment of ends, while his steady growth in public favor wherever he has labored and his popularity with teachers and pupils have won for him educational standing in several states in the Middle West.
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Although a school man in the broadest and best sense of the term, and as such making every other consideration secondary to his professional and official duties. Prof. Beard has never become narrow or pedantic, as have so many whose lives have been spent in intimate association with the immature minds within the four walls of the school-room. He is a well rounded, sym- metrically developed man, fully alive to the demands of the times, thoroughly informed on the leading questions before the public and takes broad views of men and things. He believes in progress in other than the profession to which he belongs and to attain the end manifests an abiding interest in what- ever makes for the material advancement of the community, encouraging all worthy enterprises and lending his influence to means whereby his fellowmen may be benefited and made better. A reader and thinker, he very naturally gives considerable thought to politics, his studies and investigations along this line leading him to espouse the Republican party. Fraternally, he holds men- bership with the Masons, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. and the Knights of Pythias, and he belongs to Garrett Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He and his family are members of the Congregational church.
In addition to the duties of the superintendency, Professor Beard is deeply interested in educational matters throughout the state and from time to time he has been honored with important official positions in various soci- eties and associations which make for the good of the work and the advance- ment of the teacher's profession. He is active and influential in the State Teachers' Association, having been president of the same, discharging the duties of that important position with an ability and fidelity that reflected much credit upon himself and elicited the hearty approval of all concerned. Besides taking an active part in the discussions and general deliberations of the organization, advocating certain measures with masterly force and skill and opposing whatever he deems dangerous to the progress of educational thought, his influence has always been felt, while his suggestions have com- manded respect and carried weight. As a lecturer on educational topics he is an easy, forceful and not infrequently a truly eloquent speaker, his familiar- ity with the subject under consideration, with his full command of strong, vigorous English and his pleasing, direct style, making him popular with his audiences and to no small degree a master of public assemblages.
The domestic life of Professor Beard began on November 30, 1868, when he led to the hymeneal altar Lura Alexander, a lady of culture, talent and refinement. the daughter of Major Samuel P. Alexander and wife, a prominent family of Beloit, Wisconsin, and this union has been graced by the birth of four children, namely: Lura Vesta is one of the popular teachers of
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Newton, having been engaged with her father in high school work for the past twenty-three years; Grace L. is the wife of J. B. Baumer, of Independ- ence, Kansas; Ezra G., who went to the Spanish-American war and died of typhoid-malarial fever, was a bright, promising and finely educated young man ; Gertrude, the youngest child, is the possessor of rare musical talent and she is engaged in teaching music in Newton. This family has long been prominent in the social life of the city and county.
SIMEON HICKS GALUSHA.
Among Newton's prominent and most highly respected citizens is Simeon Hicks Galusha, one of the earliest settlers of this locality and for a good many years a prominent figure in its political and official affairs. His days of activ- ity now over, he is leading a retired life as befits his years, having passed his seventy-seventh milestone, but up until the last fifteen years there were few men in all Jasper county whose lives were so full and varied as his, for he has been a most conspicuous actor in the drama of civilization as played here in this, one of the most favored sections of the great Middle West, having taken an active and influential part in its growth from the pioneer epoch to the opulent present.
Mr. Galusha, like many of the leading business men of this part of lowa, is a native of the old Empire state, his birth having occurred on April 14, 1834. in Cattaraugus county, New York. He is the son of David and Marilla (Hicks) Galusha, both natives of Vermont, the father born near Ben- nington and the mother near East Arlington. David Galusha, who devoted his life principally to school teaching, was the son of Simeon Galusha and . wife, an early New England family. When Simeon H. Galusha was thirteen years of age his parents moved from New York to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and there he received most of his schooling. When he was twenty-one years of age he moved with his parents to Iowa, settling first at Marion, Linn county, in 1855. He had previously learned the trades of brick mason and plasterer. and he followed these lines most of his active life. About a year after he came here he returned to Ohio, and after a short stay there came again to Iowa, this time locating at Newton, where he has made his home continuously to the present time, his life history and that of the town being closely inter- woven. Up to fifteen years ago hardly a brick building was erected that he did not build, wholly or in part ; he helped erect the old Central school build-
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ing which has withstood the storms of over half a century. He is one of the two men now surviving who assisted in building the court house in Newton, erected in 1858, and which has but recently been replaced by the stone build- ing which now occupies its site : in fact, the major part of the town of Newton stands as a monument to his skill as a builder.
In the month of April, 1858. Mr. Galusha was united in marriage with Harriett Newell, daughter of Samuel Fleming and Julia _\. (Fugard) Newell, the former a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the mother of New Hampshire. Mr. Newell was a carpenter by trade. He came to Newton, Iowa, from Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in 1855, and here he became well known, was regarded as a very fine workman and was highly respected, and here his death occurred at the age of seventy-six years, his wife having died when forty- three years old. Mrs. Galusha was born in Ohio on December 15, 1839, she being the eldest of a family of five children; the others are Jackson F., who was killed in one of the principal battles during the siege of Vicksburg, in Company C, Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry; Adaline, now deceased, married Henry McFarland: Margaret E, wife of John M. Steele, lives at Olympia, Washington; Elsworth L. owns and operates a ranch near Stock- ton, California.
Mr. Galusha, of this review, was one of a family of seven children, namely : Julius died in Wisconsin: Ruben died at St. Paul, Minnesota : David Henry died, it is presumed, during a yellow fever epidemic in the South. having been a soldier in the Third Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war. at least he was never heard from after that : Delia, Lydia and Julia are all deceased. The father of these children died at the age of eighty-four years, the mother reaching the age of ninety-one years, and Grandfather Hicks lived to be one hundred years old.
Mr. and Mrs. Galusha are the parents of six children, namely : Samuel Henry is living at Wichita, Kansas; he was formerly treasurer of Jasper county, Iowa : Edward died in infancy ; Julius M., who is now living in Des Moines, Iowa, was formerly department treasurer of Jasper county, and he is now manager of the Western Newspaper Union: David Murray, who lives at Memphis, Tennessee, is connected with the Western Newspaper Union : Reuben G. who is deceased, was associated with the Western Newspaper Union and A. N. Kellogg Newspaper Company at Chicago, Omaha and Wichita. as manager, and was a brilliant and forceful young man : Ned L., a brick mason and plasterer at Newton.
Simeon H. Galusha was a member of the Home Guards during the war of the Rebellion. He was at one time department anditor of the county and
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he was township clerk for many years. He was elected on the Republican ticket and served two terms as treasurer of Jasper county. He and his wife belong to the Congregational church of Newton, she having been a member since the age of nineteen.
Mr. Galusha was employed as bookkeeper in Morgan's store at Newton for several years. He is the owner of two valuable and desirable properties in Newton. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows and has attained the Knights Templar degree in Masonry ; all his sons except Ned are Masons. The subject spent a few years in Los Angeles, Cali- fornia, for his health.
NELLIE SLAGHT, D. O. AND M. D.
This alert, capable and energetic woman is a splendid example of what courage, coupled with ability, may accomplish. Although a woman, she has entered a field of human effort commonly given over to men, and, while not sacrificing one jot of the feminine daintiness which is hers, she has been very successful in her chosen profession, that of a physician of the osteopath school.
Nellie Slaght was born September 3, 1872, in Tiffin, Iowa, the daughter of Charles Parker and Philena ( Higgins) Slaght. Her mother was born July 29, 1840, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, and her father was a native of New Jersey, born in Morris county, that state. March 25, 1835. He was the fifth child born in a family of six children to Jeremiah Slaght (born 1798, in New Jersey). Several years after his marriage, Jeremiah Slaght took his family and moved to the state of Ohio; here he followed agricultural pursuits for a number of years and in 1853 he removed to Iowa and settled on a farm near Iowa City. At this time Charles Parker. father of the subject, was a young man of eighteen years, and came with his father's family to Iowa. He learned the stonemason's trade in an early day and worked at this trade and also farming throughout his life. He was a man of good parts and great public spirit. He invented a hay rake and loader, known as the "Clean-sweep Hay- rake and Loader." now manufactured by the Sandwich Manufacturing Com- pany of Illinois. This invention has been exhibited at the world's fairs held in Chicago, Paris, Buffalo, etc., and is sold and shipped to Australia, South America, and, in fact, to all parts of the world. He was also a soldier in the Civil war, serving with distinction throughout the struggle, being a member of the Twenty-seventh Iowa Regiment. He was always prominent and active in politics, being identified with the interests of the Republican party : was a
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member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was also prominent in church work, and in all affairs for the benefit of the public. He was a class leader and officer in the Methodist Episcopal church in Tiffin for a great many years. In 1881 he moved to Iowa City and here his death occurred in 1890, from in- juries received from falling from a roof of a barn. He was twice married, his first marriage occurring October 8. 1857, when he was united to Rachel A. Chamberlin. To this union there were three children born, namely : Mar- garet, Mary and George, none of whom are now living, and only one of whom, Margaret, grew to maturity. She died at the age of thirty, unmarried. and his first wife died June 20, 1864. and on September 1.3, 1866, he was united in marriage to Philena Higgins, mother of the subject, as stated above. She was a daughter of Jesse and Sophronia ( Van Wormer) Higgins. To this second marriage were born three children, namely: Sophronia Celia, born September 3, 1867. died at the age of twenty-six : Agnes, born in August. 1869, died at the age of four: and Nellie, the subject of this review. The mother died May 10, 1903, at Monroe, lowa, where she was living with the subject, leaving her the only living member of her family. Her father's peo- ple were all long-lived people. The family is of German descent. Two of her aunts, on the father's side, Lucinda Wolf Drake and Nancy Doty, are still living, aged respectively eighty-eight and eighty-two. Mrs. Drake lives in Newton, Iowa, Mrs. Doty at Sparta, Ohio.
Nellie Slaght graduated from the high school at lowa City, after which she taught two terms of school in Johnson county, and one term in the schools of Washington county, this state. She then took up the study of osteopathy. and entered the S. S. Still College of Osteopathy in Des Moines, lowa, from which institution she was graduated in June, 1901. She then moved with her mother to Monroe, where she began the practice of osteopathy. About a year later she gave up her practice in Monroe and went to Chicago and taught there in the Chicago School of Osteopathy in the winter of 1902-3. She also took up the study of homeopathy, from which branch of medicine she was graduated in April, 1904. After her graduation she entered St. Hedwig's Hospital in Chicago as interne and served there during the winter of 1904-5. The following July she came to Newton and opened an office for the practice of osteopathy. Success crowned her efforts, and during the years she has been in Newton she has built up a large and lucrative practice and is recognized as one of its leading and prominent physicians.
She is an active member of the state and district osteopathic associations and is eligible to membership in the National Osteopathic Association. She is a zealous member and active worker in the United Presbyterian church.
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GEORGE C. HART.
In studying the interesting life histories of many of the better class of men, and the ones of unquestioned merit and honor, it will be found that they have been compelled, very largely, to map out their own career and furnish their own motive force in scaling the heights of success, and it is such a one that the biographer writes of in these paragraphs.
George C. Hart, a prominent citizen of Newton. Jasper county, is the son of Cyrus W. and Agnes M. ( Duff) Hart, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. The paternal grandfather was also named Cyrus ; the latter married Susan Ewing, who emigrated from Ireland with her parents when three years of age and they located near Pittsburg, Pennsyl- vania. The grandfather was born in Vermont and after his marriage lived in Ohio and reared a family of seven children. He was quite a talented man. being a musician and an author of note in that locality. Those of the children who came West were Theodore Hart, a former physician of Galesburg, this county, and also of Newton. now deceased. Harriet Denniston, whose hus- band mysteriously disappeared while on a trip to Philadelphia with a load of horses; George Denniston, of Newton, is their son. Susan was the wife of Wilson Tompson, now deceased; he was a farmer in Buena Vista township ; James Hart was also a farmer in that township; Cyrus, father of the subject. and Lucy, who married James Irwin, were twins ; she is deceased. Mr. Irwin was a farmer in Buena Vista township and hardware merchant in Newton.
Cyrus Hart, the father, was born in 1833, and his wife, who was the daughter of a farmer, was born in 1836. They emigrated to lowa in the pioneer days, descending the Ohio river, and thence up the Mississippi river to Keokuk, then hauled their goods overland with ox teams to Mahaska county, where they purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land. Not having been used to a prairie country they found the winters uncomfortably severe, and the following spring sold their place and moved to Jasper county and bought two hundred and forty acres in the timber, in Buena Vista town- ship. There was a stone quarry upon the place which proved to be a lucrative source of revenue. Some of the stone which entered into the construction of the old Jasper county court house was taken from this quarry. In 1866 Mr. Hart traded this place for one hundred and sixty acres, in section 29, Buena Vista township: later he added to this until he owned four hundred and seventy-eight acres, which he retained until 1892, when he retired and moved to Newton, having laid by a competency and become one of the substantial men of his community, but he was not engaged in farming all that time. He
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owned a house and lot where the present opera house now stands, and he was at one time engaged in the shipping business. He was the first citizen of Jasper county to start a dairy and creamery ; however, there was one here be- fore his, but it was operated by outside capital. While on his farm he was a heavy stock shipper and before the railroad was put through he was compelled to drive his stock to Kellogg for shipping. Mr. Hart died in Newton in 1907, honored and respected by all ; one of the county's early settlers, he was one of its successful and progressive as well as influential business men, public spirited and active in the advance movements of his day and generation. It is a singular coincidence that his death and that of all the other deceased mem- bers of the Hart family occurred in February. The family of Cyrus Hart consisted of six children, namely : John died in infancy : Emma, who married Dr. I. H. Moore, of Monroe, now lives at Seattle, Washington ; until recent years he was superintendent of the Treadwell mine in Alaska: Madge mar- ried Jesse MeClintock, and they live in Missouri: Charles is engaged in the mercantile business at Blackfoot, Idaho: Fanny, who married Milt Carrier, lives in Newton, lowa; and George C., of this review. The mother of these children was called to her rest in February, 1904.
George C. Hart, the third child in order of birth in his father's family, was born in Jasper county, October 6, 1858. He received a good education and when twenty-one years of age he bought eighty acres of land from his father, and that year the father started in the creamery business and he induced his son to remain and manage the same for him, and in order to fully equip himself for this line of endeavor he went to a college where dairying is taught and took a course in the same, then returned and took charge of the business, which, under his able management, rapidly grew to large proportions and was a very paying enterprise. Four years later he operated a dairy at Lymville : later he rented his father's place and successfully operated the farm for six years. At the end of that time he bought one hundred and twenty acres in Palo Alto township, in section 13. Eight years later he sold this and for two years he engaged in the stock and meat market business in Newton. Hle then bought land in South Dakota, also one hundred and sixty acres in Buena Vista township, about a mile from his birthplace. In all these business ventures he was successful.
On February 18, 1885, Mr. Hart was united in marriage with Alma Eaton, who was born November 14. 1858, the daughter of Fred and Carrie ( Hodges) Eaton, the father a native of Ohio and the mother was born in the state of New York. Mr. Eaton came to Jasper county, Iowa, many years ago and is today one of the county's prominent citizens ; he was elected county
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recorder for two terms. He and his wife live in Newton. Twelve children were born to them, namely : Frank died when thirteen years old; William is farming in Newton township; Carrie married Gus Ericson and lives at Red Oak, Iowa; Arthur lives in Newton; Truman makes his residence in Kellogg township; Harry lives at Shenandoah. Page county : Horace is deceased ; Fred, Jr., lives in California; Sherman is deceased: Addie married Alton Reynolds and lives in Denver, Colorado : Anna Belle is deceased.
To Mr. and Mrs. George C. Hart three children have been born : Grace, born February 14, 1886, married Dr. William Nelson, a dentist at Essex, Page county : Mabel, born May 13, 1888, married Dr. H. D. Bergman, mem- ber of the faculty of Amies College, Ames, Iowa : C. Fred, born January 29, 1896. also lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Hart are the fond grandparents of one little baby girl, Marjorie, born May 20, 1909, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson. Mrs. Hart's grandfather Hodges was in the Revolutionary war.
George C. Hart has long been prominent in political affairs, and in 1900 he was elected county supervisor, and has since been re-elected. He is the inventor of a combination street fountain for the watering of both man and beast, that has many unique features which bids fair to become very popular. Mr. Hart is the owner of good city property and his home is an attractive and commodious one.
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