USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 12
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Mr. Sparks is one of the honored veterans of the great Union army, hav- ing enlisted on August 22, 1862, at Camp Polk, Iowa City, in Company D, Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, under Capt. Felix Cozad, as drummer, and he served with much credit for a period of three months as drummer and as a private for nine months, being discharged at Paducah, Kentucky, on account of disability. He was with the troops that held Columbus, Kentucky, which was at one time considered by some to be the keynote of the rebellion.
Returning to Jasper county after his army experience, Mr. Sparks herded cattle for two years on the prairies. He recalls that at that time deer, wolves, wild turkey and other game was plentiful. He took up farming again, broke his land, added to it and bought two hundred and forty acres from his father. It was his custom to improve part of his land at a time and sell it, continuing thus for a number of years and thereby prospered. At one time he owned the land where the town of Lynnville now stands, and when the spur of the Iowa Central railroad was built to that town, about 1866, it came through his land. Mr. Sparks graded the tracks there, built the first stock yards at Lynnville Junction, also put down the first platform there. For a period of twenty-five years he bought and shipped live stock on an extensive scale, to Chicago, averaging one hundred car loads annually for a period of ten years, during which time he became known as one of the leading stock men in central Iowa, and in this enterprise he was most successful, accumulating a competency much in excess of that of the average person. About 1907 he retired from active
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life and moved to Lynnville. where he has a beautiful and well furnished home and here he is spending his declining days. He owns one hundred and forty acres of land one and one-half miles east of the village, right on the county line. He has two and a half acres surrounding his town property.
On December 26, 1863, Mr. Sparks was united in marriage with Mrs. Rebecca Wolf. nee Gile, a native of Boone county, Indiana, the daughter of Samuel and Eliza Gile, who moved to Jasper county, Iowa, when their daugh- ter, Rebecca, was eleven years of age, Mr. Gile being a farmer and pioneer preacher in the Christian church, and he did much good here in the early days. His death occurred about 1883, his widow surviving until about 1891. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living. The father died in Kansas and the mother in Missouri ; they had come to Indiana from the East, and were everywhere known as splendid characters. The wife of Mr. Sparks was the mother of two children by Mr. Wolf, namely: Calvin, who died in infancy, and Eliza, who is living in the state of Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Sparks have traversed the highway of life together for a period of forty-eight years. Six children have been born to them, namely: Sarah, wife of Charles Monroe, who is treasurer of Mahaska county, Iowa : William P., who lives in Grinnell, Iowa ; Perry M. lives on his father's farm; Laura M. is the wife of Al Hawkett, a carpenter of Grinnell : Clara Belle, who died when three years of age, was the first person buried in Greenwood cemetery : Jasper S. lives on a claim thirty-five miles east of Sturgis, South Dakota.
Mr. Sparks joined the Masons at Camp Polk, Iowa City, in 1862, but was not permitted to take his degree until he returned from the army : he belongs to Lebanon Lodge at Lynnville. He is also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic at Lynnville. In politics he stands for the best interests of the country regardless of party. He served twenty-two years as road supervisor and twenty years as school director, his long service in these positions being sufficient evidence of his high standing in his home community and of the confidence reposed in him by his neighbors and acquaintances. He has done much in furthering local matters in every way. Among other commendable acts was the giving of one thousand dollars to aid the building of the local Christian church, of which he and his estimable wife are worthy members. They have reared their children in a most wholesome atmosphere and they are fine characters, none of the sons using tobacco or liquor.
In 1906 Mr. Sparks was awarded prizes for being the oldest living settler in Iowa. having lived within the borders of this commonwealth for a period of seventy-five years to August 26, 1911. This is indeed an honored distinction, and he is duly grateful that heaven has thus lengthened out his life. He was
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also awarded the prize for being the oldest soldier at the old settlers' reunion. Moderation has always been his shibboleth and he has avoided excesses of all kinds, and been careful of not only his actions but his thoughts also, believing that, to a great extent, "as a man thinketh so is he."
Mr. Sparks is a second cousin of the famous frontiersman, Daniel Boone, many of whose sterling qualities he seems to have inherited, one being his love of the open country, God's great out-of-doors, and although he is now seventy- eight years of age, he is still a great walker. It is indeed most interesting to hear him recall reminiscences of the early days, "ye goode old tymes," for he properly belongs to a generation whose customs and manners were different from ours, in fact, when most everything was different, and, shall we say, better ? No doubt, he will tell you so, and who is prepared to gainsay him? Among other things in his adventurous and picturesque career may be men- tioned the fact that he lived among the Mormons in Illinois and Iowa for twelve years, during which time he had ample opportunity to study their modes of life and peculiar characteristics, and he was a participant in the Mormon war at Nauvoo, Illinois. He is indeed one of Iowa's grand old men whom it is a pleasure and privilege to know.
He was an Indian trader of some extent and taught four different lan- guages or dialects of the different Indian tribes and stood guard with an Indian at Columbus, Kentucky, during the war. Mr. Spark's address is Postoffice Box 40, Lynnville, Iowa.
HENRY WILLIAM KLOPPING.
Of excellent German ancestry is Henry William Klopping, one of the most thrifty, and up-to-date agriculturists of Mariposa township, Jasper county, who is still residing on the farm on which he was born, being con- tent to spend his life right here at home instead of seeking uncertain fortune in other fields. His birth occurred on December 27, 1865, and he is the son of Konrad and Louisa (Stuckmeier) Klopping, both born in Germany, the father in Lippe-Detmold, on January 13, 1830, and the mother on June 6, 1825. They both grew up in their native land and married and there devoted themselves to farming until they emigrated to Freeport, Illinois, where they lived a year and in the fall of 1856 they moved to Mariposa township, Jasper county, Iowa, where the father traded a team of horses for forty acres of land and where the subject of this sketch now lives. The father prospered here through hard work and good management and added to his original purchase until he owned
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two hundred and eighty acres. He and his wife belonged to the Methodist church. The father died on November 8. 1910, the mother having preceded him to the grave on November 5. 1906. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters, namely : Henry W., of this review, is the sixth in order of birth : the first two children, daughters, died in infancy : Mrs. Caroline Hirt : Konrad : Adolph, of Toledo, Ohio: Edward died when nine years old.
After leaving school No. 4, Mariposa township. Henry W. Klopping rented the home farm one year when twenty years of age. later buying the entire two hundred and eighty acres of the homestead which he has kept under a high state of cultivation and improvement, rendering it one of the choice farms of the township. He has remodeled the house and generally improved the place, all now denoting thrift and industry. He has been uniformly suc- cessful as a general farmer and stock raiser.
Politically, Mr. Klopping is a Republican and he has served on the local school board. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Klopping was married on March 19. 1890. to Carrie Vieth, who was born in Missouri on August 25. 1868. the daughter of Henry and Louisa (Waggoner ) Veith, he a native of Germany and she of Missouri. He spent his early life in the fatherland, emigrating from there to the United States in 1856 and locating in Missouri.
Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Klopping. of this sketch, named as follows: William. horn September 22. 1892: Mary, born May 31. 1894: Elmer, born December 7. 1897 : Esther, born February 8. 1900; Louis, born May 9, 1902 : Roy, born January 23. 1905 : Edith May, born October 16. 1909.
In connection with his general farming. Mr. Klopping is a well known breeder of Percheron horses, which, being of excellent grade, are much ad- mired and never fail to bring good prices.
PRESTON CHAMBERS
"Man is the noblest work of God." wrote England's great satire poet. Alexander Pope, "and a truly noble man but fulfills the plan of the Creator." The life of man describes a circle. The cycles of existence of different lives form concentric circles, for some are given but a quarter of a century wherein to complete the appointed work, while the span of others varies to the alloted three score and ten But how true and comforting that life is measured. not by years alone. but rather by a purpose achieved, by noble deeds accredited to
Preston Charly
Rachel Chambers
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. it. How often we are confronted when a loved friend and co-worker answers the final summons, with the question "Why must he go when there yet remains so much for him to do, when he can so illy be spared?" But the grim mes- senger heeds not and we are left to mourn and accept submissively. The death of the late Preston Chambers removed from Jasper county one of her most substantial and highly esteemed citizens and the many beautiful tributes to his high standing in the world of affairs and as a man and citizen attested to the abiding place he had in the hearts and affections of his myriad of friends through this locality, and his career, eminently honorable and successful, is commended as an example for the younger generation
Mr. Chambers was born in Monroe county, Indiana, on March 22, 1824. He was the son of Andrew and Sarah (Noland) Chambers, a worthy pioneer family of the Hoosier state and there the subject grew to manhood and received such educational advantages as the schools of those early times afforded. He was married while living in LaPorte county, Indiana, to Rachael K. Weast, who was born in Pennsylvania on December 23, 1830, the year of their marriage being in 1848. They continued to reside in Indiana until 1855, when they made the long overland journey to Jasper county, Iowa. Their's was a typical pioneer outfit which wended its prolix way through the winding, rough roads of the forests and across the wide-stretching plains, this move having been accomplished by two yoke of oxen to old-fashioned prairie- schooners. They located in Elk Creek township, and here they entered eighty acres of government land on the prairie, and purchased some timbered land. They endured the hardships and privations incident to life in a new country where neighbors were few and far remote and much work was necessary before the soil could be made produce a harvest : but they were people of courage and did not quail before obstacles and hardships, so they went to work with a will and soon had a good home. Prospering by reason of persist- ent application and good management, Mr. Chambers added to his original holdings from time to time until he became the owner of eight hundred acres of 'valuable land, his farm consisting of three hundred and fifty-three acres at the time of his death. He farmed on an extensive scale and was also an exten- sive cattle and hog feeder for many years. He accumulated a competency and was more successful than the average agriculturist of his times. He certainly deserved the large success which he achieved in a material way, for he hewed out his own fortune without aid from any one, and. too, without any text- book training, for he attended school only forty days in all, and when he was married there were some letters in the alphabet which he could not write. But he was a keen observer and later made up for this lack of boyhood training by
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home study, miscellaneous reading and actual contact with the business world. . In fact, he studied law and was admitted to the bar on the 26th of May, 1877. Later moving to Pella, Iowa, he engaged successfully in the practice of law for about eighteen months, then returned to his farm, preferring the freedom of the rural life to the exactions of the thorny life of a barrister; however, he kept up his practice, settling up estates and doing much other work of a similar nature.
Mr. Chambers was a very tall, athletic man and when he first settled in this county he lived in the timber and won the familiar sobriquet of the "Big Man of the Woods." He became the leading man of his locality and was frequently sought for advice and help in various ways; this was especially true of the German settlers. He was known to be an obliging, kind, generous and neighborly man, never witholding aid or charity when needed. This excellent citizen was called to his reward on June 9, 1907, after a well-rounded, successful and honorable life.
JOHN SIMPSON.
The subject of this review, a Lynn Grove township farmer, is a familiar figure 'in the eastern part of Jasper county, although a newcomer, and has won a host of friends since he cast his lot with this people, his popularity being well deserved, as in him are embraced the characteristics of an un- bending integrity, unabated industry and a willingness to do his share in for- warding public enterprises. He has always been known to take a deep interest in whatever tends to promote the material, moral and intellectual welfare of the communities which he selected as his choice arena of activities.
Mr. Simpson was born in Logan county, Illinois, September 4, 1859, and he is the son of John D. and Isabel (McKee) Simpson. The paternal grandparents, David and Mary Ann Simpson, were natives of Scotland, from which country they emigrated to America in 1818 and located in Columbia, Illinois, when that country was still practically a wilderness, locating with a Scotch colony in Logan county. David Simpson was a blacksmith by trade, and when the war with Mexico broke out he took part, making a gallant soldier under our flag. He and his wife spent their last years in Illinois. The subject's maternal grandparents, John and Ann McKee, were natives of Holland. and from that country they emigrated to the United States about 1823 and they, too, located among the pioneers in Logan county, Illinois.
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There Mr. McKee ran a mill the rest of his life, he having learned the miller's trade in his native land, though he farmed later in life. The mother of the subject, who was the second child of her parents born in America, was reared in Illinois, as was also Mr. Simpson's father, and there they married. There the father learned the blacksmith's trade when a boy, but later he went to farming and became the owner of about two hundred and eighty acres of land just south of East St. Louis, but finally retired from farming, went to specu- lating and lost what he had accumulated. He and his wife are both now deceased. They were the parents of nine children, of whom John, of this sketch, was the oldest and is the only one now living. He was educated in the public schools of Columbia, Illinois, and reared on the home farm and he took up farming for a livelihood when a young man and there continued agri- cultural pursuits in his native state with unabating success until 1910. In that year he married and came to Jasper county, Iowa, and is now success- fully operating a neat little farm of sixty-three acres in Lynn Grove town- ship, which they own; he is also the owner of eighty acres of valuable land in the Pecos valley, Texas. He is a breeder of Poland-China hogs and short- horn cattle.
Politically, Mr. Simpson is independent, but formerly he voted the Demo- cratic ticket. In Illinois he was constable for several years, also marshal. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist church and he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and both to the Rebekahs, she being a leading member of the latter, having passed all the chairs in the same; she is at present chaplain of the local lodge.
On August 23, 1910, Mr. Simpson was united in marriage with Mrs. Anna Thompson, widow of J. A. Thompson, her maiden name having been Meredith ; her parents were John and Martha (Brown) Meredith, the father born in South Carolina and the mother in Kentucky, he in the year 1809 and she in 1823. Mr. Meredith's parents died when he was young and he was reared by an uncle and moved to Illinois, but later in life moved to Iowa and here married. Mrs. Simpson's maternal grandparents, Payton and Eliz- abeth Brown, were natives of Kentucky and at a very early date moved to Illinois, in which state they spent the balance of their lives. She married a Mr. Sweet in Illinois, by which union five children were born, and about 1874 they came to Jasper county, Iowa, locating in Lynn Grove township, and here his death occurred. The father probably married in Kentucky, and he came to Iowa in 1850 and located near Newton. He was a blacksmith by trade. His wife died in early life and in 1853 he married a second time, the widow
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Sweet being his second choice. They moved to Lynn Grove township, and seven children were born to this union, five of whom are still living, namely : Henry C., Mrs. Sarah Crews, Mrs. Belle Owens, Jonathan and Mrs. Simpson.
To Mrs. Simpson four children were born by her first husband, Mr. Thompson, namely : Orville, deceased; Everett, deceased ; Melvin; Alberta is deceased. The death of Mr. Thompson occurred on September 21, 1907. The death of John Meredith, mentioned above, occurred on April 18. 1888. in Lynn Grove township, and his wife died on February 14, 191I.
W. E. JENNINGS.
Mound Prairie township has no more progressive farmer or Jasper county no more honored citizen than W. E. Jennings, who, like many of our enter- prising men, hails from the old Empire state, his birth having occurred in Ontario county, New York, September 5, 1863. the son of Charles and Mary R. (Starkweather) Jennings. The paternal grandparents were New England- ers and they spent their lives in their native country, as did also the maternal grandparents. The father of the subject was born in western New York and the mother in Vermont and they were married there. Charles Jennings was a carriage-maker by trade. He brought his family to Iowa in 1871, arriving in Jasper county on January 11th of that year, and they located on a farm of about one hundred acres just southeast of Colfax. Mr. Jennings here became the owner of one hundred and eighty acres and he lived here until his death, on July 16, 1894. Politically. he was a Republican, but he never aspired to public office. Before leaving New York he was a justice of the peace. His family consisted of two children. W. E., of this review, and John Charles Fremont, who died in December. 1900. The mother was a member of the Presbyterian church. Her death occurred on January 25, 1907. The father was reared a Quaker. from which faith he never departed.
WV. E. Jennings was educated in the common schools of Colfax and he spent five months in Hazel Dell Academy at Newton. He was reared on the home farm and after he quit school he began the management of the home place, building a house near that of his father. In 1890 he moved to the two- hundred-acre farm he had purchased east of his home. in Mound Prairie town- ship. and here he has carried on general farming and stock raising in a man- ner that has resulted in much definite success. He has a rich and well im- proved farm and a good home. He also runs a light dairy business, dispos-
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ing of his products at Colfax. Politically, he is a Republican and he is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America. He has never aspired to public office.
On September 14, 1892, Mr. Jennings was united in marriage with Mary E. Baldwin, who was born at Ira, this county, August 1, 1866, the daughter of Mirtlow and Sarah Jane (Green) Jennings, the father born in New York and the mother in Illinois. Mirtlow Baldwin came to Iowa in the fall of 1855. and Sarah Jane Green came to this locality in 1858 with her widowed mother, Mary (Dotson) Green. The latter's family of five children were furnished a home by their uncle, Charles Dotson, and here the mother reared them. The maternal grandfather was Harvey Green. The mother had been mar- ried first to Willis Rowe, who was killed during the Civil war, and on October 5, 1865, she married Mirtlow Baldwin. He led a quiet life on the farm, but finally moved to Newton where he spent the last sixteen years of his life, and died there on January 1, 1909, and there his widow still resides. They had two children, Mary E., wife of Mr. Jennings, and Eugene H., who lives at Fara, near Mingo, Iowa. The paternal grandparents, Newton and Sarah Jane (Tucker) Baldwin, were natives of New York, from which state they came to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1855. They finally moved away, and the grandfather died in Wisconsin, and the grandmother in Montana.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Jennings, namely : Harvey E., a graduate of the high school at Colfax; Hugh B., who died in infancy, and Hazel.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BLANFORD.
In placing before the reader the review that follows due reference is accorded the feelings of the subject in conformity with whose wishes the writer will endeavor to adhere strictly to facts and omit as far as possible complimentary allusions, at the same time realizing that the latter have been honorably earned and should form no small part of a life-sketch in which it is sought to render nothing but what justice and meritorious recognition demand.
George Washington Blanford, successful tiller of the soil, of Mound Prairie township, Jasper county, hails from the "dark and bloody ground" country, having been born in Kentucky, June 27, 1836, the son of Henry and Nancy L. Blanford, natives of Maryland and Kentucky, respectfully. Henry Blanford moved to Kentucky when a young man and there married. He was
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a farmer by occupation and in 1841 he moved to Illinois, locating in Edgar county, where he lived until his death. at the age of eighty-six years, his wife also reaching that age. They entered land from the government, which they developed. Their family consisted of twelve children, eleven of whom grew to maturity, and six of them are still living.
George W. Blanford was educated in the common schools of Illinois and he grew up on the farm. He moved to Iowa in the fall of 1856 and located near Ottumwa, where he remained a short time, then came to Jasper county and bought a small farm, but soon sold it. He bought a farm of one hundred acres in 1862 in Mound Prairie township, to which he later added forty acres. then eighty acres, and he is now the owner of one of the choice farms of the township, consisting of two hundred and forty acres. He has placed modern improvements on the same and has a pleasant home and everything about him indicates thrift and good management. In connection with general farming he handles a good grade of live stock. In 1886 Mr. Blanford moved to Grin- nell for the purpose of educating his children, but moved back to the farm . five years later and he has lived retired practically ever since.
Politically, Mr. Blanford is a Democrat and he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church.
Mr. Blanford was married on March 1. 1863. to Mary Ellen Slaughter, who was born April 17. 1841, near Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of Joseph and Melinda Slaughter. old settlers, having first come from Newark. Ohio. and located near Burlington. Iowa, in 1840 and in 1846 they came on to Jasper county, when their closest neighbors were ten miles away. Mr. Slaughter's death occurred in 1902, at the age of eighty-three years, his widow surviving until April 24. 1905. dying at the age of eighty-eight years. Mr. Slaughter entered one hundred and sixty acres in Mound Prairie town- ship, and, being a man of unusual business ability. he prospered and became the owner of twelve hundred acres of valuable land. He was a Whig and later a Democrat. but he was never an aspirant for public office, preferring to give his exclusive attention to his large farming interests and his family. His family consisted of seven children, two of whom are living. Mrs. Blan- ford. of this sketch, and Scott Slaughter, of Mound Prairie township. Mr. Slaughter was a thirty-second-degree Mason and prominent in that order. having joined first in Prairie City.
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