USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 56
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Joseph R. Rodgers attended school in Newton, and in 1861 enlisted in the first company to leave Newton, Company B, Fifth Iowa Infantry. In 1863 he became captain of Company B, Forty-eighth lowa Infantry, and was so mus- tered out in October, 1864. He took part in the battles of Corinth, Iuka, and all the battles of the Western army up to and including the siege of Vicksburg.
In 1868 Captain Rodgers came to Colfax and engaged in the grain and lumber business, in which he continued until 1898, when he retired, after thirty years of successful experience, in which his business abilities were strongly demonstrated. He was the first mayor of Colfax. served on the local school board for some years, and was town clerk for nine years. He was ap- pointed land appraiser on the Dawes Indian commission in the Indian Terri- tory, and served for three years. He has been during all this time a loyal Re- publican. E. W. Duncan Post No. 283. Grand Army, numbers him among its most enthusiastic and active members.
Captain Rodgers was married at Newton to Emma J. Manning, the daughter of Ben and Mary (Gibson) Manning. Her parents came to Newton in 1854 from Plainfield, New Jersey, and were prominent in the city. Mrs. Rodgers died on April 10, 1909, at the age of sixty-four. She left one daughter, Anna L. Rodgers, the wife of W. S. Cutter. Mrs. Rodgers' brother, Col. W. R. Manning, of Newton, is past state commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. A sister and a brother of Captain Rodgers live in Newton, the sister, Ella Townsend, being the widow of Col. Nathaniel Townsend, who was adjutant-general of Iowa; the brother is Ward M. Rodgers, the editor of the Newton Record.
The record of the Rodgers family is an honorable one, and its members are types of the best of American citizenship. Capt. Joseph Rodgers is a man whom his community delights to honor for his services freely rendered, and whom it ranks among its first and foremost citizens. He has in his lifetime endeared to himself many friends.
ANDREW J. WIGGIN.
Eighty-two years have passed with leaden feet through the relentless gates of the irrevocable past since Andrew J. Wiggin, one of Jasper county's best known and most highly respected citizens, first saw the light of day in an old house in New England, but the years have been kind to him and he is as active as most men are at the age of fifty. All his faculties have been well preserved, so that he reads without glasses, can climb a tree as nimbly as a (38)
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boy, has a keen, comprehending intellect and is still a man of affairs and in- fluence. His early life was that of a soldier of fortune, a prospector and gold digger in the far West in the early fifties, and later was to be found gallantly defending his nation's flag on the field of battle, and in many ways he en- countered and endured hardships and difficulties that would have crushed many of a less sterling spirit, but his courage, energy, tact and robustness car- ried him safely through and now, in the mellow Indian summer of his years, he finds himself surrounded by peace and plenty upon the pleasant place he pro- cured over thirty years ago.
Mr. Wiggin was born on April 14, 1830, in New Hampshire, the son of Andrew Wiggin and wife, who lived on a farm in that state, of which they, too, were both natives. His great-grandfather Wiggin came from England to Massachusetts in the historic "Mayflower." The subject was the third in order of birth in a family of eight children, namely : Enoch, Laura, Saralı, Augusta, Mary, George and one who died in infancy. They were all born in New Hampshire, all remaining in their native state except Andrew J., of this review ; Enoch. Laura and George are deceased, and the parents passed away many years ago.
Andrew J. Wiggin attended the country schools near his home for a time, but at the early age of fifteen years he started out in life for himself, went to Boston, Massachusetts, where he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1852, when, lured by the call of the western Eldorado with its possibilities of untold wealth to be had for the mere digging, fortune favor- ing, he set out with his savings to California, going by steamer from New York and across the isthinus and thence up the western coast by steamer. He followed mining there for five years, and while not finding the enormous wealth of which he had dreamed, yet he was very successful and came away with several thousand dollars. He returned to Boston in 1857, and that same year he came to Iowa, making the trip by rail to Mount Pleasant and from there by stage to Prairie City, and he purchased eighty acres of land in Des Moines township. The following year he married Cynthia Parker, who bore him six children, namely : Morris, the eldest. lives in Wyoming: Mrs. Mary Pentacoe lives on a farm near Des Moines; Orin lives on a farm in Nebraska; George makes his home in Omaha, Nebraska: Carrie, who has remained single, lives at home and keeps house for her father; one child died in infancy.
When the great rebellion broke out in the early sixties, Mr. Wiggin felt it his duty to forsake the pleasures of home, to leave his fields to grow up in weeds and go to the front and do what he could in saving the Union, conse- quently in August, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Tenth Iowa Volunteer In-
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fantry, in which he saw much hard service and proving himself to be a true and gallant American soldier, an exponent of the Anglo-Saxon that has never been defeated. He took part in fourteen of the hardest-fought battles of the war, besides a number of skirmishes. He was in, among others, both battles of Corinth, siege of Vicksburg, Raymond, Jackson, Holly Springs, Iuka, Champion's Hill. New Madrid and Missionary Ridge. His regiment was in the brunt of the bloody clash at Champion's Hill, and his company of thirty- four men lost twenty-two, including Captain Pogue. Captain Garret, who commanded them at the time of their enlistment, had been promoted to the rank of colonel. Captain Drew was their captain when they were mustered out in October, 1864, at Kingston, Georgia.
After his return home Mr. Wiggin took up the cultivation of his land and about twenty years later he sold the eighty acres and bought forty acres where he now lives, adjoining Prairie City. Later he added to this until he had one hundred and sixty acres, which he farmed successfully until ten years ago, when he retired from active life, and a few years ago he sold all his land but four acres around his house, and here he continues to reside, the town having grown out around him. He has judiciously invested his money in various ways until he now enjoys an income of five dollars per day.
Mr. Wiggin has been twice married, but for a number of years now he has lived single.
Mr. Wiggin is a Republican, but he has never sought office. He cast his first vote for Fremont for President, he having been a resident of San Fran- cisco at that time. He is a member of the McCray Post No. 27, Grand Army of the Republic. being a charter member of the same. He was its commander for several years, and at the present time he is senior vice-commander, and he has always been active and prominent in the organization.
JOSIAH P. TURNER.
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Everybody in Prairie City, Jasper county, knows and honors Josiah P. Turner, a kindly, honest, genial veteran of the "grand army" that saved the Union. For years a typical "jolly miller" of the town which he still claims as home, his special line of business giving him a wide acquaintance with the sur- rounding country for a radius of many miles, he is one of the best known of the pioneers of this part of the county, which he has lived to see develop from the wild prairie, taking an active part in the same.
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Mr. Turner was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, on October 5, 1832, the son of Isaiah and Nancy ( Moore) Turner, the father born in Maryland in 1801, the son of Abel Turner. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent. The mother of the subject was born in New Jersey in 1803. These parents were married in Pennsylvania, where they devoted their lives to farming. Ten children were born to them, of whom Josiah P., of this review, was the fourth in order of birth; the others were named as follows: Mrs. Elizabeth Shirk, who died in Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Martha Gordon also died in that state : Daniel died in New Orleans ; Abel, who was a soldier in Company H, Fifteenth Penn- sylvania Cavalry, died in his native state; Mrs. Sarah Taylor also died in Pennsylvania ; Mrs. Mary Sutton is living in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania ; Tillie died in childhood; Nancy Ann, who has remained single, lives in the state of Pennsylvania, as does also James. The mother of these children died in Greene county in 1855, and the father subsequently married Mrs. Ruth Clark, a widow, this union having been without issue. The death of the father, Isaiah Turner, occurred in 1876.
Josiah P. Turner was educated in the country school of Greene county, Pennsylvania, remaining at home until 1854, when he came to Lasalle county, Illinois, and found work in a flouring mill there, and learned the business thor- oughly. In those early days the newcomers to the Middle West frequently suffered from the ague, and the subject, not being exempt, left that country on this account and returned home after an absence of two years. When the call for volunteers to suppress the rebellion was sent out, it at once appealed to Mr. Turner's patriotic impulses, and as soon as he could arrange to do so he "bade farewell to kith and kin" and in July, 1862, he enlisted at Waynesburg in Com- pany K. Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry. At the battle of Antietam their colonel was captured, but later made his escape, and upon rejoining his regi- ment it was reorganized, Mr. Turner's company becoming Company D. Their colonel, William J. Palmer, was later made a brigadier-general. He was al- ways greatly beloved by his soldiers and is now living at Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1907 he held a reunion of his regiment, furnishing transporta- tion for all those living and who could attend. The subject was there and the memory of this reunion will fondly linger with him until the final "taps" are sounded. Besides the bloody conflict mentioned above, Mr. Turner took part in the scarcely less sanguinary conflicts of Chickamauga and Stone River. He was in the campaign about Atlanta, then their command was sent back to General Thomas and was engaged in the battle of Nashville. He was with General Stoneman on his campaign through North Carolina, Georgia, Ala- bama and Tennessee. He was in many skirmishes and saw much hard service.
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He was wounded in the foot at the battle of Stone River, and he was at one time confined in the hospital on account of sickness. According to his com- rades he made a most faithful soldier, and for meritorious service became first sergeant of his company. After three years' service he was honorably dis- charged and mustered out on June 12, 1865.
After his career in the army he returned to Pennsylvania and the follow- ing year came to Iowa, where he met Elizabeth Clark and in March, 1866, they were married in Muscatine county. She was born in Tyler county, Virginia, on October 9, 1842, the daughter of Remick and Maria ( Hatfield) Clark, natives of Pennsylvania. They moved to Virginia shortly after their mar- riage and came to Muscatine, Iowa, in 1865, later moving to Missouri, where they bought a farm on which they spent the rest of their lives, Mr. Clark dying there at the age of seventy-eight years, his wife reaching the age of eighty- four. They were the parents of six children that grew to maturity, as fol- lows : Emma, who married a Mr. McPherren, lives in Geneva, Nebraska; A. B. lives in Sullivan county, Missouri; Mrs. Minnie Bailey lives at Browning, Linn county, Missouri ; Mrs. Joseph Pratt, now deceased, also lived in Mis- souri : Mrs. Amanda Johnson lives in Sullivan county, Missouri. Stephen Hat- field, grandfather of Mrs. Turner on her mother's side, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Turner went to Pennsylvania, but the following year, 1867, they returned to Iowa and have resided here continuously to the present time. For two years Mr. Turner farmed in Fair- view township, Jasper county, near the town of Monroe, and in 1870 he moved to Prairie City and worked in the flouring mill there, which he later purchased and in which he installed new machinery, converting it into a good rolling mill and soon built up an extensive and lucrative business. This he continued to operate and own until it was destroyed by fire, nine years ago. He did not rebuild it, but has lived practically retired since that time. He has accumulated a competency for his old age and is entitled to the respite he is enjoying. He has a pleasant home in Prairie City, which he bought June 1, 1871, forty years ago, and he has lived in the same ever since. During this long period he has witnessed many great changes in this locality.
To Mr. and Mrs. Turner six children have been born, namely: Virginia died when six years of age; Anna M. is at home ; Amanda died when a child ; Alberta died in infancy: Nettie married Hart W. Zachary, and they live on a farm three and one-half miles west of Prairie City, in Washington township. and they have four children, Leland, Gerald, Raymond and Grace. Frank Turner married Haddie Hanes and lives in Prairie City, where he is employed
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as bookkeeper in the First National Bank, and they have one child, Francis Palmer.
Politically, Mr. Turner is a Democrat and he cast his first vote for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860 for President. He is a member of McCray Post No. 177, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was formerly commander. Mrs. Turner is a member of the Woman's Relief Corps.
CHARLES H. JENNINGS.
All honor and praise is due the old soldiers, they who, when the Union was in danger of being disrupted, gladly and unhesitatingly left their varied tasks, forsook their cheerful hearthstones, bade farewell to home folks, shoul- dered their muskets and offered their services and their lives, if need be, in order, as the Great Emancipator said, "that the nation, under God, might live." By their great sacrifices we of today are enjoying the fruits of their labors, the glorious heritance which is inestimable. One of this worthy number is Charles H. Jennings, of Newton, Jasper county, a man whose life has been led along consistent lines, resulting in much good to those with whom he has come into contact and he is held in high esteem wherever he is known.
Mr. Jennings, who is of English and Irish ancestry, was born in Knox county, Ohio, May 26, 1845, the son of Joseph and Eliza (McCown) Jen- nings, of New England. They came to Ohio when both were children. The paternal grandfather, Joseph Jennings, owned land in Knox county, Ohio, on the stage road, his home becoming a stage station in the early days, in fact, his place was a sort of tavern and there both driver and teams were changed. His son Joseph, father of the subject, when fifteen years of age, began driving the stage through Knox and adjoining counties and continued in this business for a period of twenty-five years. In 1856 he came to Iowa, driving overland in "prairie schooners" from Franklin county, Ohio, where, at Reynoldsburg, he had kept a grocery store, the trip here requiring a month, for the roads were very rough ; on the way a sick horse was traded for a good yoke of oxen. He arrived with his family in Newton in April, 1856, his family at that time con- sisting of three children, four having been born at later dates, and, besides himself and wife, his father also came along, but the latter later returned to Ohio and his death occurred at Columbus. During the first year of his resi- dence here Joseph Jennings engaged in freighting. He handled the brick for the first two brick houses built in Newton, those for George Anderson and
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Colonel Meyers, both still substantial buildings. The same year he bought one hundred acres of land in Newton township, which land now lies in Sherman township, paying two dollars and fifty cents per acre for the same. This he cultivated for over thirty years, during which time he became one of the township's leading farmers, and laid by a competency; then he bought property in Newton and moved there, where he continued to reside until his death, in 1898, at the advanced age of eighty-two years, his wife having pre- ceded him to the grave many years before. He was a man of sterling char- acter and always a hard worker and a useful citizen.
Charles H. Jennings was the second child in order of birth in a family of seven, named as follows : Isabel, who married Milton Heifner, a farmer, died some time ago, leaving four children; Mary F., who married Austin Niffin, taught school a number of years in this county, and her death occurred in Newton a few years ago; George, Cordelia, Maggie and William, all died during childhood.
The subject's schooling was not extensive, owing to the fact that he grew up in a pioneer county ; however he improved such opportunity as he had in the subscription schools, walking three miles, also going to school some in New- ton. When seventeen years of age he ran away and joined the army, his father having opposed his suggestion to become a soldier; but he enlisted in Company L, Ninth Iowa Cavalry, on August 3, 1863. His service was mostly in Missouri and Arkansas, taking part in a number of minor engagements and skirmishes, and while he was not wounded he suffered from a severe sun- stroke, which has proved detrimental to his health ever since. He was also badly hurt by his horse falling on him. He was honorably discharged on February 3, 1866, and after his return home he began farming. In 1871 he took up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres in Kansas, remain- ing there until 1873, when he sold it and returned to Jasper county. In 1878 he bought land in Adair county, but sold it a few years later, after which he followed carpentering in Newton for ten years. He was appointed janitor of the court house, which position he held for five years. He bought a sub- stantial residence property on Main street in the west part of Newton, and in 1894 traded this for his home place, which is pleasantly situated in the north end of the city, surrounded by four and one-half acres of ground, and on this Mr. Jennings has planted a number of fruit trees of excellent variety, and that same year he built a good, cozy house here. Besides this valuable property, he is the owner of a very desirable farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Wells county, Colorado.
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Mr. Jennings was married in 1868 to Araminta Rumbaugh. which union proved a failure and continued less than a year. In 1876 he was again mar- ried, his second wife being Mary Eleanor Miller, whose death occurred in 1896: this union was without issue, but they adopted a son when he was three days old, he having proved to be a good boy and a great comfort to his foster parents. Two years after the death of his second wife Mr. Jennings was united in marriage with Mrs. Alma Sager Kintz, who was born in Jasper county, Iowa, the daughter of Simon and Eliza Sager. By her former mar- riage, she became the mother of one child, William Kintz, who is now living in Newton ; he is a moulder and carpenter. The two boys just referred to grew up together. The adopted son was named Charles Ernest Jennings. He is now in Colorado.
The subject is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Garret Post No. 16. He has always been a Republican.
WARREN McVAY.
The gentleman to whom attention is directed in this review is an in- dividual who has attained pronounced prestige by reason of native and ac- quired ability, and also because of his high standing in the domain of private citizenship. Warren McVay, of Newton. Jasper county, is one of the repre- sentative men of this vicinity and for several decades past has been promi- nently identified with the industrial and business interests of the locality of which this history treats. He takes a deep and abiding interest in everything pertaining to the material advancement of the town and county and every enterprise intended to promote the advancement of the same is sure to receive his hearty support. He is rated as one of the progressive citizens of the county in which he has lived for a period of more than thirty years and the high respect in which he is held by all classes of people is a deserving compli- ment to an intelligent. broad-minded and most worthy man.
Mr. McVay was born on February 15, 1862, in Schuyler county. Illinois, near the town of Rushville, the son of Alvin and Phoebe ( Sparks) McVay, the father having been born in Ohio, the son of Isaac McVay. The family is of Scotch-Irish extraction. Alvin McVay was a cooper by trade. He spent most of his life in Illinois, one year in Iowa and for a time resided in Denver, Colorado, later returning to Illinois, and, after a successful and useful life he died in 1894 at the age of sixty-five years His wife was born in Indiana and
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her death occurred in Denver in October, 1909, at the age of seventy-four years, having made her home in that city after the death of her husband. Warren McVay was the third child in a family of ten children, the others being named as follows: Mary J., wife of Milton McVay, a distant relative, lives at Camp Point, Illinois; Rosa, wife of Jolin Hasley, lives in Newton ; Bert died in Silk, Colorado; Myron died in Newton ; Nancy, the eldest child, and Calvin, John and Laura, all died in infancy.
Warren McVay attended school in Adams county, Illinois, and on Octo- ber 7. 1880. he arrived in Newton, Iowa, and he attended one term of school in Adamson's Grove, after coming to Jasper county. In order to get a start in the new country he worked by the month on different farms for five years, then went to Denver, Colorado, and he farmed in that state for six years; but not taking any too kindly to ranching in the Centennial state, he returned to Iowa in 1891, locating in Jasper county, living for a time at Kellogg.
In 1893 he was united in marriage with May Belle Peters, who was born in Fayette county, Iowa, the daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Landers ) Peters. Her mother was a native of Pennsylvania and the father of Ohio. He de- voted his life to farming. He was only nine years of age when he accom- panied his parents to Iowa and here he grew up with the country, the state being new when he arrived. John Peters was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, having enlisted early in the struggle in Company F. Ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in which he served very gallantly until the close of the war, receiving an honorable discharge. He saw some hard ser- vice in many campaigns and battles, in one of which he received a wound, but not of serious consequence. Although he was compelled to undergo many hardships of camp, skirmish and march, he never regretted his service to his country. He is still living, making his home in Marshalltown, being now sixty-eight years of age. Mrs. Peters passed away in 1900.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. John Peters, namely: May Belle, wife of Mr. McVay; Ida, wife of T. E. Roseman, who is in the mail service at Kellogg, this county : Etta, wife of Horace Morgan, lives at Mar- shalltown; Anna, wife of Albert Haines, also lives at Marshalltown; Nellie. who married Harvey Gilbert, lives at Grinnell, Iowa ; Wilder makes his home in Wisconsin; Willis is a citizen of Marshalltown; Martha died in infancy.
After his marriage Mr. McVay farmed for himself and as a general farmer and stock raiser met with encouraging success all along the line. In 1910 he moved to Newton and started a dairy business, which has grown into extensive proportions, and his patrons still constantly increase. He is well prepared for this work and understands every detail of the same. He has
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every modern appliance and equipment to carry on an up-to-date, sanitary and successful dairy. His honesty has been so pronounced that all who have had dealings with him have confidence in his integrity. He has been very suc- cessful in his life work, and besides his dairy, owns a substantial and pleasant home on Greencastle avenue, Newton.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. McVay, namely: Alma and Glen are both attending school in Newton; Leola, the youngest, died in infancy.
Politically, Mr. McVay is a Republican, and while he is loyal to his party and a booster for Newton and vicinity, he is in no sense a politician, preferring to give his attention exclusively to his individual affairs. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen and of the Christian church at Kellogg. He and his wife have made a host of friends since coming to Newton.
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