USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. I > Part 64
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72
669
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
bath known to modern science, including the famous Manheim bath, may be here secured.
Truly nature, with her scenery of magnificence and beauty and her waters of wonderful curing power, and man, with his hotel offering the acme of luxury, have combined to make Colfax one of the most attractive spots in the world for the healing and the delectation of man.
. H. A. THOMAS.
Among the many German citizens who have come to Jasper county to make their homes and their fortunes, and there have been quite a goodly num- ber, we find none who seems to have led a more consistent life or been truer to the trusts reposed in him than H. A. Thomas, well known hotel proprietor of Colfax, for his motto has been to live and let live, and he has, while advanc- ing his own interests, not been neglectful of the interests of those about him. For these happy qualities he has won the esteem of all who know him and is today highly regarded by a wide circle of acquaintances among the traveling public and local citizens.
Mr. Thomas was born in Silesia, Germany, on July 20, 1857. He is the son of Henry and Augusta (Skobel) Thomas, both natives of Germany, where they grew up, were educated and married and there they spent their lives on a farm, both being now deceased. Their family consisted of thirteen children, only two of whom ever came to America, the one besides the subject being Robert Thomas, who lived in Davenport, Iowa, for ten years, but who now makes his home with the subject in Colfax.
H. A. Thomas was reared and educated in the fatherland, taking a course in the gymnasium, consequently he has always been robust and enjoyed ex- cellent health. In his youth he took up farming there for himself which he continued until 1882, when he came to America, believing that here were to be found greater opportunities. After remaining in New York City five days, he came on to the Middle West and located in Jasper county, Iowa, and here he engaged in farm work for some time, then turned his attention to the hotel business which he has followed for a period of twenty-eight years, having taken a position as night clerk at the Mason House in Colfax in 1883. He remained in that capacity, at intervals, for about four years. then in July, 1890, he became day clerk. Upon the death of the proprietor, Mr. Croft, in 1900 he assisted Mrs. Croft in the management of the hotel until her death,
670
JASPER COUNTY; IOWA.
in February, 1907, when he became proprietor, Mrs. Croft having willed the hotel to Mr. Thomas in appreciation of his faithful services. He is managing the Mason House in a most satisfactory manner and is extending its prestige among the traveling public. which has long since shown its appreciation of the good management and courteous and considerate treatment always to be found here.
Politically, Mr. Thomas is a Republican, and in his fraternal relations he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge, the chapter and the commandery, also the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and he stands high in lodge circles.
Mr. Thomas was married in May, 1891, to Mary E. Wharton, a native of Iowa, and to this union four children were born. three of whom died in infancy ; Henry Thomas. Jr., is living at home.
RAFORD LINDLEY ARNOLD.
Holding distinctive prestige among the enterprising citizens of Jasper county is Raford Lindley Arnold, popular and efficient cashier of the First National Bank and the Newton Savings Bank, at Newton, Iowa, whose record here briefly outlined is that of a self-made man, distinctively the architect of his own fortunes, who, by the judicious exercise of the talents with which nature endowed him, successfully surmounted an unfavorable environment and rose to the position he now occupies as one of the substantial and in- fluential men of the locality honored by his residence, having been true and loyal in all the relations of life, standing as a type of that sterling manhood which ever commands respect and honor. He is a man who would win his way in any locality in which fate might place him, for he has sound judgment, coupled with great energy and business tact, together with upright principles, all of which make for success wherever and whenever they are rightly and per- sistently applied. Mr. Arnold is a creditable representative of one of the old and highly esteemed families of Iowa, and possesses many of the sturdy traits of his forebears.
Mr. Arnold was born in Lynnville, Iowa, on August 12, 1861. The family moved to Oskaloosa, Iowa, in 1867 in order that the father, Joseph Arnold, might receive medical treatment for an injury to his spine, which accident occurred in 1861. Moving back to Lynnville in 1872, Mr. Arnold
-
671
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
assisted his father in the flour-mill and later in the hotel known as the Iowa House. Owing to a lack of means young Arnold was compelled to shift for himself early in life and, although he met with many adverse conditions, the training thus received fostered in him a spirit of perseverance and fortitude which has contributed in no small measure to his subsequent success. He com- menced clerking in the store of Gause, Macy & Company when only fourteen years of age, thus his early education was neglected, but he has overcome this deficiency by wide miscellaneous home study and reading and actual con- tact with the business world. Later he was employed in the stores of John Gray and J. M. Rayburn at Lynnville. Afterwards a co-partnership was formed under the name of Rayburn & Arnold, the firm handling a line of gen- eral merchandise. This partnership continued successfully until 1894. the firm having enjoyed a liberal patronage with the city and surrounding country. In that year Mr. Arnold turned his attention to banking, in which he has since been engaged, having accepted a position in Baxter, Iowa, as cashier of the City Bank of Baxter ; however, he had previously had experience in this field, having filled a similar position in 1892 and 1893 with H. D. Lane & Company, bankers at Lynnville.
In 1891 the City Bank of Baxter was incorporated into the State Savings Bank with Mr. Arnold as the principal manager. In 1906 he accepted the posi- tion as cashier of the two banks in Newton and here he has continued to give the utmost satisfaction to the stockholders and patrons, performing his duties in an able and conscientious manner that has elicited the commendation and confidence of all concerned. During his nineteen years' experience in the . banking business the deposits entrusted to his management have ranged from five thousand to the present figures, five hundred thousand.
Mr. Arnold was a birthright member of the Friends church, of which denomination his father was an ordained minister. Upon his removal to Bax- ter Raford L. Arnold identified himself with the Congregational church and was an active member of the same. After taking up their residence in New- ton the family found a church home in the Methodist Episcopal congregation, of which Mr. Arnold is treasurer. He has always been active in Sunday school work, having twice been elected president of the Jasper County Sun- day School Association, and at the present time he is a director of the Iowa State Epworth League Assembly. He is a member of the executive board of the Business Men's Association. Fraternally, he is also active and influential, being a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, and is banker of the local camp; he also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Yeoman Homestead.
672
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
The domestic life of Mr. Arnold began on May 10, 1887, when he was united in marriage with Mae Irene Rayburn, the accomplished daughter of the late Dr. C. E. Rayburn, of Brooklyn, Iowa, a well known and highly esteemed family there.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold has been graced by the birth of four children, namely : Aleta F., born in 1889; Mildred T., born in 1894; Lowell J., born in 1899; and Gerald E., born in 1903.
Personally, Mr. Arnold is a genial, hospitable, public-spirited, unassuming gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet and who has justly earned the uni- versal esteem in which he is held.
HERBERT E. NEWELL.
Among the men of influence in Jasper county, who have the interest of their locality at heart and who have led consistent lives, thereby gaining defi- nite success along their chosen lines, is Herbert E. Newell, who, although han- dicapped by nature, has not been subdued by untoward circumstances, but has been active and successful as an agriculturist, managing his fine landed estates in Richland township with that care and discretion which stamps him as a twentieth-century farmer of the highest order.
Mr. Newell was born in Scott county, Iowa, December 5, 1870. He is the son of S. S. and F. A. (Powell) Newell, the father a native of Pennsyl- vania and the mother of New York. They grew to maturity and were edu- cated in the East. The father came to Iowa about 1853 and the mother about 1856. The former located in Davenport, and was a contractor. His wife taught school for some time after coming here. They were married in Scott county and they resided in Davenport until 1877, in which year they came to Jasper county and located on a farm southeast of Kellogg where they es- tablished a comfortable home and lived until about eight years ago when they removed to Newton, the father's death occurring soon afterwards, in 1892; the mother is making her home with her son, Herbert E., of this review. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Newell, four of whom are living, namely: W. E. lives near Altoona, Iowa: S. H. resides near Kellogg, this county ; Mrs. Agnes Lorimer lives in Iowa City; and Herbert E., of this re- view.
S. S. Newell, the father, was a business man of splendid attainments and he became one of the substantial men of his community. He was a director in the Mutual Insurance Company of Newton, also a director in the Jasper
HERBERT E. NEWELL
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTON, LENOX TIGEN FOUNDATIONS
673
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
County Fair Association. Fraternally, he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religious matters a member of the Presbyterian church. He was a good and useful man and highly esteemed by all who knew him.
Herbert E. Newell was seven years of age when his parents brought him to Jasper county. He grew to maturity here and received a good educa- ton in the country schools, which has since been supplemented by extensive home reading and study. He also attended school at Kellogg. When nine- teen years of age he became afflicted with rheumatism and has since been a cripple, but he has borne his lot with rare fortitude and is a pleasant, enter- taining man to meet, and although he has not been able to work he gives his farms his personal management and has been very successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, his splendidly-improved and highly-productive farms lying in Richland township. He has accumulated a very comfortable com- petence and is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished. Politically, he is a Democrat and is a well-informed man on political and current topics of the day. Mr. Newell has remained single.
GEORGE D .- PARMENTER.
Holding prestige among the successful agriculturists and stock raisers of Jasper county, George D. Parmenter, now of Grinnell, Iowa, is entitled to more than passing notice in the biographical history of this locality, for here he labored long and arduously until he became one of the substantial men of his township and one of its largest land owners, improving his home place until he brought it up to a high and successful state of cultivation, in fact, rendered it one of the choicest farms of this section of the state. He is a man of essen- tial worth, very energetic and industrious and by diligent devotion to his voca- tion he has succeeded in accumulating a liberal competence, besides much valu- able land in other localities than this. His life has been led along such con- servative lines as to insure the winning and retaining of the confidence of all with whom he has had dealings in any way and he has ever stood ready to lend what aid he could in furthering the general interests of his vicinity.
Mr. Parmenter was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, January 25. 1849. the son of Lorenzo and Kezia (Robbins) Parmenter, the father born in Massachusetts and the mother in Pennsylvania. They came to Illinois in their youth, single, he with his sister and three brothers, and she with her
(43)
674
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
parents and family. being one of a large family. One sister located in Ohio, but later in life came to Iowa, where her death occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Parmenter married in Illinois. He had learned the tailor's trade when a boy, but he turned his attention to farming in Illinois and was very successful, becoming an extensive farmer, owning about three hundred acres and there he and his wife spent the rest of their lives. Their family consisted of four children. In politics he was a Republican and was very active in party affairs, having held several local offices, including county supervisor. His death occurred in September, 1896, his widow surviving until November, 1899. They were good and useful people and were highly honored in their community. Mr. Parmenter's great-grandfather was in the Revolutionary war. Oliver Robins, a, brother of Mr. Parmenter's mother, was in the Mexi- can war.
George D. Parmenter enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, hav- ing passed through the common schools and spent two years in the Iowa State University. He came to Jasper county, this state, and located on one hun- dred and sixty acres of wild land which his father had previously purchased. Here he went to work earnestly, broke the land and improved it, soon having one of the choice farms of his township. He prospered by reason of close application to his individual affairs and by good management he is now the owner of four hundred and forty acres in this county besides eighty acres in Poweshiek county. Iowa, and three hundred and twenty acres in North Dakota. His Jasper county farm is a model in every respect and he here car- ried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. In 1893 he moved to an eighty-acre farm a mile west of Grinnell in Poweshiek county, but sold this in 1902, retiring from active life and moving to a beautiful home which he purchased at No. 1228 Main street, Grinnell, where he still resides. He is a Republican in politics, and has held a number of local offices, including that of township trustee. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church.
Mr. Parmenter was married on December 31, 1874, to Lydia Roberts. who was born in Rock Island county, Illinois, the daughter of Arthur P. and Maribee (Freeman) Roberts. The father was a member of the famous band of "forty-niners" who sought gold in California. He returned to Illinois where he lived until his death, in November, 1887, at an advanced age. having been born on November 30, 1809. His wife was born on September 13, 1810, and her death occurred on March 30, 1867. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are living, three daughters and two sons. One of the sons, Isaac N., was a soldier in the One Hundred and Second Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and his death occurred in the hospital, of measles contracted while
675
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
in the service. Two of his cousins also went to the front, one of them being killed. Mrs. Parmenter's grandfather, Ebenezer Roberts, was a soldier in the war of 1812, having enlisted from the state of Maine. After the war he settled in Indiana. Arthur P. Roberts, father of the subject's wife, devoted his life to farming. He was successful as a gold miner in the west and re- turned to Illinois with enough money to buy a fine two hundred acre farm. After the death of his first wife he married Mrs. Mary E. Woods and she is still living, making her home at Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parmenter, namely : Marcus served in Company K, Fiftieth Iowa Infantry, in the Spanish-Ameri- can war, and he now lives on a farm in Poweshiek county ; Rosella is the wife of O. J. Worcester, connected with the Grinnell Herald; Josephine and Flor- ence are both at home.
JOHN SMITH.
Many families throughout the United States during the past few dec- ades have gone to much trouble and expense to collect their records back to the first settlement of their ancestor emigrant, thus laying the foundation of a permanent family tree in this country for the benefit and pleasure of all descendants. There can be no doubt of the importance of this step. One of these days, in the entailment of estates, such a record will be invaluable to descendants. It will be found that those who do not have such a record will not be able to prove their right to inherit valuable property. The saving of such a record is simply a matter of self-preservation for the descendants. The Smith family, represented by John of this review, has preserved a fair record, good enough, perhaps, to make the claim certain in case of a suit over an estate, and this sketch will, to some extent, improve this claim.
John Smith, an honored veteran of the Civil war, long known as one of Jasper county's leading contractors and builders, who died at his home in Newton, October 11, 1911, was born in Schuyler county, Illinois, Febru- ary 2, 1843. He was the son of David and Henrietta (DeLap) Smith, the father a native of Tennessee and the mother of Kentucky. David Smith first moved to Illinois in the pioneer days, then to Iowa in 1854, locating near Burlington where he farmed for six years, later moving on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in McDonough county, where he lived until his death, in 1867, at the age of sixty-eight years. His wife died at the age of seventy-two, in Newton, Iowa. They were the parents of eighteen chil-
676
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
dren, a large family even in those early days; twelve of these grew to ma- turity, namely : David; Mary Ripptoe, a widow; Mrs. Harrison Scott; Mrs. Rhoda Gaul, and John, of this review, all reside in Newton.
John Smith received what education he could in Schuyler county, Illi- nois, then a wilderness, in which lived Indians, wolves, deer, snakes, etc. Later he went to school in McDonough county. During the summer months he worked on various farms at fifteen and twenty cents per day. When but a boy he proved his courage and patriotism by enlisting in Company D, Twenty-eighth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and served as a brave and efficient soldier for three years, one month and five days, being honorably discharged at the close of hostilities, having seen much hard service, par- ticipating in some of the bloodiest battles of the war, such as Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Shiloh, Corinth, Bolivar, Vicksburg, Jackson, Natchez and many skirmishes.
Returning to McDonough county, Mr. Smith purchased a ditching ma- chine which he operated for two years, then farmed for four years, and on August 19, 1870, he come to Newton, Iowa, where he engaged in farming and teaming. He also learned the brick and stone mason's trade, which he followed for many years, building and assisting to build possibly as many buildings and structures in Newton and Jasper county as any other man in this locality. He helped build every church in Newton except one. He was known all over the county as a very skilled and conscientious workman.
On March 26, 1866, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Mrs. Ur- sula Dern, widow of James M. Dern, who was killed in the battle of Bull Run during the Civil war. She was the daughter of Henry and Mary F. (Gore) Rayburn, natives of Kentucky, and Mrs. Smith was born in that state. Her father was in the war of 1812 and her brother served in the Mexican war. She is the sole and only survivor of the family of which there were twelve children, ten of whom grew to maturity. The others were, Nancy married Alex Bradshaw; McNeal; Amanda married James Kenni- son ; Henry W .; Mary A. married Benjamin Lamb; John H .; Belinda mar- ried James Pilsher; Henrietta ; Merritt C., who was in the Mexican war, and William Newton. Mrs. Smith was the eleventh child in order of birth. The parents of these children died in Ohio.
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith six children were born as follows: Samuel, who lives in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, is a farmer and traveling salesman ; Della is the wife of William Fisher, a jeweler of Des Moines; Audrey is the wife of A. C. Mowry, who is superintendent of the Colfax Telephone Company; Alta is the wife of Walter Nitche, a stock man of Omaha; Guy H. is a salesman in Omaha; Frank B. is deceased.
677
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
By her first marriage two children were born to Mrs. Smith, both still living, Louisa, wife of John Woodruff, and Alice, wife of Frank Manly, of Grand Island, Nebraska.
Mr. Smith was a member of the Woodmen of the World and the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he was a Republican. He and his wife have a host of friends throughout this locality.
FREDERICK A. RECKLER.
There have come to the United States from the German empire and other alien lands men of limited financial resources, but imbued with a sturdy independence and a laudable ambition to succeed, and who have taken ad- vantage of the wonderful possibilities afforded here. Gradually, step by step, they have risen to places of prominence in various lines of activity. Of these there can be none mentioned who deserves more favorable attention than Frederick A. Reckler, for many years one of Jasper county's successful farmers, and who, having by his thrift gained a competency, is now living retired in his cozy home in the city of Newton. He is one of the honored veterans of the great war between the states, having proved his patriotism to his adopted country by gallantly fighting in defense of the Stars and Stripes on many a sanguinary field, and even after being desperately wounded and languishing for months in the terrible prisons of the South, gladly returned to the front and continued to do what he could to save the national Union.
Mr. Reckler was born in Saxony, Germany, November 28, 1831. He is the son of Simon Gottlieb Reckler, who spent his life in Germany, a tailor by trade, his deatlı occurring when his son Frederick A. was nine years of age. The father was in the German army against Napoleon. His wife, also a native of Germany, lived and died there, the subject being the only mem- ber of the family to come to America. He grew to maturity in his native land and was educated there. Believing that the new world held greater opportunities for him, he set sail across the Atlantic in 1857, going by way of Liverpool to New York. From there he traveled by rail to Davenport, Iowa, and secured employment on a farm near there. With characteristic German thrift he worked there steadily until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he went to Wisconsin, and on April 22, 1861, only a few days after Fort Sumter had been fired upon, he enlisted in Company C, Second Wis- consin Volunteer Infantry, under Captain McGee. At first he was sent
678
JASPER COUNTY, IOWA.
to Washington, D. C., and he was at Arlington Heights for some time drill- ing ; he was then plunged into real war by taking part in the first great battle of the war, Bull Run. During this fierce engagement he received a very severe wound that would have meant death to many another of less hardy constitution. A bullet struck him in the left breast, passing through a small German Testament and on through his body just below the heart, com- ing out at the back. He still has this Testament, the hole through it bearing grim evidence of the long and dangerous conflict. Mr. Reckler was captured in this battle and for six weeks he lay exposed in a field hospital with scant attention; he was then taken to Libby prison, later to the prison at Salisbury, North Carolina, and still later to New Orleans. Shortly before General But- ler captured the Crescent city, the prisoners there were returned to Salisbury and paroled. Mr. Reckler was suffering with scurvy and was very sick of numerous ailments, so he was sent to the military hospital at New York City, where he remained eight weeks, after which he returned to Wisconsin and began farming. But he could not be content to stay away from the front and in October, 1863, he returned to his regiment and, as a private in the Army of the Potomac, he took part in many of the greatest battles of the war, including Mine Run, Spottsylvania and the Wilderness. After a re- markable army record, in which he proved himself to be a fearless and splen- did soldier, Mr. Reckler was honorably discharged on June 28, 1864, and he soon afterwards returned to Wisconsin. A year later he came to Iowa, locating near Davenport and there farmed on rented land for five years, then came to Jasper county and bought one hundred and sixty acres in New- ton township, in 1869 and here he continued to reside until 1905, when he turned the care of the farm over to his sons and moved to Newton, where he is spending his declining years in the midst of plenty as a result of his able management of the farm.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.