USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 18
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Henry I. Allfree, well-known farmer of Sherman township, was born in that township, May 19. 1866, and he is the son of A. K. and Sophia (McGovern) Allfree, both born in Pennsylvania, the father in 1826 and the mother in 1830, where they grew to maturity and were married. In 1857 they came to Iowa and bought one hundred and sixty acres in Sherman town- ship and here established a good home. this land now being owned by his son, Henry I., of this review, and on this place the latter was born and reared. The father drove overland from Fayette county, Pennsylvania, to Jasper county, Iowa, though he stopped a year in Ohio and a year in Illinois. He and his wife went to work with a will and succeeded and they are still living on the farm they developed in Sherman township, making their home with their son. Henry I., who delights in ministering to their wants in their declin-
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ing years. He is the younger of two children, the other being Mrs. Clara Phelps, of Colfax. The parents are worthy members of the Methodist Epis- copal church, are well known and have a host of good friends in this community.
Henry I. Allfree grew up on the home farm, which he helped develop, and when old enough he attended the public school near his home. When a small boy he spent almost all of three years in the saddle, herding cattle on the open prairie, and driving stock for some of his neighbors, and during those years he had many thrilling experiences, but this life developed in him not only a strong constitution, but also an independence of spirit and a courage- ousness that have stood him well in hand in later life. The subject has always stayed at home, and, as intimated, he now runs the home place, which he has purchased. He has kept it well improved, and made its one hundred and sixty acres yield abundant harvests. He is also the owner of one hundred and forty acres of valuable and desirable land in Mound Prairie township, this county. For a period of fifteen years he has operated a threshing machine in this community which has tended to further his acquaintance and to increase his annual income. He is known to be a very hard and persistent worker and is noted for accomplishing a great deal in a short time.
Mr. Allfree was married on October 15, 1898, to Belle Sanderson, who was born in Ohio, the daughter of James Sanderson, of Newton township, this county, and to the subject and wife have been born five children, namely : Minnie, Mary, Jimmie, Edith and Vera. Politically, Mr. Allfree is a Demo- crat and he has been school director and he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
LOYD D. JONES.
Standing for upright manhood and progressive citizenship, Loyd D. Jones has long occupied a conspicuous place among the representatives of the great agricultural interests of Jasper county and his influence in every relation of life has been for the material advancement of the community in which he resides and the moral welfare of those with whom he has been brought into contact.
Mr. Jones was born in Ohio, December 16, 1840. and he is the son of Thomas and Lucinda (Triplet) Jones, both of whom were natives of Virginia. By trade the father was a moulder, continuing at this work all his life. He and his wife emigrated from Virginia to Licking county, Ohio, at an early
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LOYD D. JONES
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day and there they both died when their son, Loyd D., was a small boy. Mr. Jones then went to make his home with Benjamin Dean, with whom he remained until he was nineteen years of age. Dean was a good man and did all he could for the friendless boy, sending him to school and in every way possible taking the place of a father. He was a hotel keeper. At the age of nineteen Mr. Jones came to Illinois, where he farmed for over two years, after which he came to Newton, Iowa, and engaged successfully in farming near there for twenty-five years, having arrived in this county in the fall of 1857. Newton was then but a small village and the whole country was prac- tically undeveloped and new, and Mr. Jones has lived to see and take part in its wonderful transformation. Aside from farming and stock-raising, he followed threshing all over the county. In March, 1906, he came to Reasnor and purchased the residence and property where he now lives, conducting a hoel and livery barn for two years, but since then he has lived retired.
Mr. Jones was one of the honored "boys in blue," having enlisted in the Federal army at Newton, in 1861, becoming a member of Company K, Twenty-eighth lowa Volunteer Infantry. After serving about eighteen months he was discharged and sent home owing to a disability, being injured at the siege of Vicksburg. He had taken part in that siege and the battles of Port Gibson and Champion's Hill.
In 1866 Mr. Jones was united in marriage with Catherine Gifford, daughter of William and Sarah ( Ritter) Gifford, both natives of Ohio and both now deceased. The father was a hotel-keeper and owned a large farm near Canton, Ohio, at the time of his death.
Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jones. namely : Thomas W., who has remained. unmarried, resides at home : Libbie married William Lark and they live in DesMoines. The subject and wife reared Ella Hales, the daughter of a sister of Mrs. Jones, who is at this time making her home with the subject.
On February 28, 1910, Mrs. Jones departed this life at the age of fifty- four years. She was a member of the Christian church at Newton, of which Mr. Jones is also a member. She was a most excellent woman, beloved by all who knew her.
Mr. Jones was a member of Garrett Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Newton for a number of years. He had no brother and but one sister, Mrs. Leonidas Ball, of Woodson, Illinois, who died about eleven years ago.
Mr. Jones is a genial, kindly gentleman, of that type of sturdy manhood that has made Jasper county what it is.
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W. F. LOUPEE.
One of Jasper county's substantial and influential citizens is W. F. Lou- pee, who lives about a half mile north of the city of Newton, his fine farm rep- resenting much hard labor, but he is a man of well-known energy and deter- mination in business affairs, indolence and idleness having ever been entirely foreign to his nature, and his continued activity in the management and de- velopment of his property has made his one of the valuable farms of the county.
Mr. Loupee was born on August 27, 1853, in Cass county, Michigan, the son of George and Julia (Philo) Loupee, the father a native of Germany, born on March 15, 1826. When a babe two and one-half years old he was brought to America by his parents, in an old-style sailing vessel, which, during the voyage, was driven on a rock upon which it stuck fast for thirty-six hours. The family soon came on to Massillon, Ohio, but a few years later moved to Michigan, where the elder Loupee died. His son, George, father of the sub- ject, learned the cooper's trade, which he followed during the winter months, engaging in farming in the summer time, following this for about four years, then he traded his farm of eighty acres for ninety-six acres in Jasper county and for three years he farmed in Kellogg township, then took his family back to Michigan, but retained his farm here, returning to it five years later, in 1869, and there he lived until 1905, successfully engaged in general agricul- tural pursuits, then retired and moved to Newton, where his death occurred on Christmas day, 1908, at the age of eighty-two years. His wife preceded him to the grave in 1875. After her death he married Henrietta Rhuark. Louis, brother of George Loupee, uncle of the subject, served in the Civil war, and was promoted from private to the rank of captain for meritorious ser- vice. Eight children were born to George Loupee and his first wife, namely : W. F., of this sketch; Henry is farming in Newton township; two children died in infancy; Estella married Angelo Smith and they live on a farm in South Dakota; Sarah married W. A. Walker and lives in New Sharon; Minnie married E. M. McBroom and they live on a farm at Laurel, Iowa; ' Addie married E. E. Broughton, who is in a furniture store in Belmont, Iowa. Six children were born to George Loupee and his second wife, named as follows: John, who is living in Malaka township, this county; Cyrus also lives there ; Ida married D. R. Munn and they live on a farm in South Dakota ; Alva, who has remained unmarried, lives in Malaka township; Josie married Herman Oartwig and they live near Baxter; George, who is still single, lives in Malaka township. The mother of the above named children passed to her rest on September 30, 1910.
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W. F. Loupee received his schooling in the district schools in Michigan and Jasper county. When he reached his majority he was united in marriage with Mary Smith Wing, on March 3, 1874. She is descended from a dis- tinguished ancestry, being a direct descendant on her father's side of Edward Fuller, who was one of the famous band of Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock on the "Mayflower." Her father, Elijah Wing, was the son of Mary (Smith) Wing, who was the only daughter of Josiah Smith, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence and who subsequently became a United States senator front Massachusetts, and a monument erected at his grave in that state bears the following inscription: "Hon. Josiah Smith, TJ. S. Senator for Massachusetts, died April 4, 1802, aged 65 years."
Elijah Wing was born in Massachusetts and in that state he was married to Katheryne Barge, which union resulted in the birth of five children, as fol- lows: Mary Smith Wing, who married W. F. Loupee, of this sketch, her birth occurring on December 10, 1857, at Geneseo, Illinois. It will be noticed that she bears the name of her illustrious ancestor, Smith ; she was the young- est of the family. The others are : Jane E. married Joseph Lodge, formerly a farmer of Kellogg township, but they now live in Cedar Rapids; Roxana, wife of Judge Cook, lives in Cedar Rapids ; he was formerly judge of the district court, and lived in Newton; he was twice elected to Congress from this dis- trict. He is now attorney for the Chicago & Milwaukee railroad and is one of the distinguished men of the state. Melissa Wing married William Renshaw, formerly a farmer in Kellogg township, and her death occurred at Stewart, Iowa. Melancthon, formerly a farmer in Mariposa township, is now living in Omaha.
Mr. Wing was accidentally killed in a runaway in Newton when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife died in Algona, Iowa, in 1884, at the age of seventy-two years. They came to Jasper county in 1867, and became well established and well known here, honored by all for their integrity and hos- pitality.
W. F. Loupee has always been an agriculturist. His first purchase of land was eighty acres, with his earnings, in Mariposa township, which he sold two years later, but soon afterwards bought one hundred and forty acres in Kellogg township, and after four years he sold that and later bought one hundred and eighty-five acres in the same township. He cultivated that place with his usual success for ten years, then sold it and bought one hundred and fifty-eight acres in Newton township, for which he paid seventy-five dollars per acre in 1891. This fine farm he sold five years later for one hundred and fifteen dollars per acre. In the meantime he had bought two hundred acres in
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Kellogg township, which he retained three years before selling. At the present time he has an interest in two farms in Kellogg township, besides his hand- some home in the suburbs of Newton, which is modernly furnished and in the midst of attractive surroundings, his holdings here comprising twenty-five acres of valuable land. This place he purchased five years ago and has since erected the splendid residence there, and this has been his place of abode ever since, leading a retired life, merely overseeing his farms. He has been very successful in a business way, considering the fact that he started in life for himself with nothing and has fought his own way to the front, having long been regarded as one of the leading general farmers and stock raisers in the county. Fraternally, he is a member of the blue lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, also the Knights Templar and the Royal Arch degrees have been conferred on him. He is a dimitted member of the Order of the Eastern Star chapter at Kellogg. Mrs. Loupee is a faithful member of the Congrega- tional church in Newton, and they both stand high in social circles in this vicinity, enjoying the good will and esteem of a vast number of friends and acquaintances.
To Mr. and Mrs. Loupee have been born the following children: Anna married Marion Williams; they live in Kellogg township and have four chil- dren: Gertrude is a teacher of much ability, having taught several of the rural schools, and in Lynnville, Sully and Sac City ; Fanny married Fred Whitaker ; they own a farm in Kellogg township, but are now living in Newton, and they have two children ; Jay T., who lives in Kellogg township, married Han- nah Anderson, daughter of H. P. Anderson, and they have three children; Floy, who recently completed the four years' course in the Newton high school, is an accomplished musician. These children have all been educated in the Newton schools and the daughters have all taught school, except the youngest.
A. T. GUTHRIE.
Among those whose life history is closely interwoven into that of Jasper county is A. T. Guthrie. He is the son of Isaac and Martha Guthrie and was born in Palo Alto township, Jasper county, Iowa, June 22, 1859. His parents emigrated from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. in 1853, taking up land in Jasper county which is still in the family. The story so often recited of the hardships and privations of the early settlers in a new country is the story of the parents of the subject of this sketch, and the boyhood of A. T. Guthrie
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was replete with the weird charm and rugged romance of the wilderness. It was from this primitive surrounding, from this nearness to God's great un- claimed solitude, that the little pioneer boy drank in that strength of manhood and sterling worth which stamp him as one of Jasper county's best citizens. Mr. Guthrie moved to Cairo, Nebraska, at the age of twenty-two, where for a time, he engaged in farming with very good success, and there in Hall county he owns a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres. That region was at that time very new and the land yielded readily to cultivation. After a period of six years Mr. Guthrie returned to Jasper county, Iowa. It was upon his return to Iowa that he was married to Agnes Stewart in 1888, whose history will be treated in detail later in this article. The next move of Mr. Guthrie was to Holyoke, Phillips county, Colorado, where the subject engaged in farming. He was elected sheriff of the county by the Republicans and served in that capacity two terms of two years each, performing his duties well and efficiently. Upon retiring from the office of sheriff he engaged in the imple- ment business for six years, after which he sold out and returned to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1902, where he has since resided.
Mr. Guthrie is the owner of a splendid farm of one hundred and twenty acres in Jasper county, one mile south of Newton known as the old Andy Stewart farm. Aside from general farming Mr. Guthrie is engaged in the raising of thoroughbred stock, registered Percheron and Shire horses, short- horn cattle, Shropshire sheep. He owns a fine set of farm buildings, furnished with many modern, up-to-date conveniences.
Mr. Guthrie is a member and steward in the Presbyterian church and is affiliated with the blue lodge and Royal Arch Masons at Newton, Iowa. He is the oldest of three children now living, having one brother, Charles Guthrie, and a sister, Mrs. Lillie Spencer, wife of Bert Spencer, all residing in Jasper county and all of them prosperous people.
Agnes Guthrie; wife of the subject of this sketch, is a daughter of Andrew Stewart, who came to America from Scotland in 1865, engaging in the coal mining industry. Her mother's name was Mary Stewart and no hardier or better people ever come to any country than they. By their in- dustry and frugality they came to own one of the best farms in all the county. Mrs. Guthrie was seven years of age when she came to this country, and, with the exception of her sojourn in Colorado with her husband, has since resided in Jasper county, Iowa. She is the type of the thrifty housewife, a good mother and a woman of rare discernment and intelligence. She is a member of the Presbyterian church.
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Three children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie, the eldest, Stewart I. Guthrie, being twenty years of age; Vernon A. Guthrie, seventeen years, and Frank A. Guthrie, aged thirteen years. They are also raising a young lady, Violet Wilson Guthrie, aged fifteen years. All reside at home with their parents and assist in the farming and stock raising, the stock raising being conducted under the name of "A. T. Guthrie & Sons."
ELMER LINCOLN GILLESPIE.
Success has been worthily attained by Elmer Lincoln Gillespie, who is today accounted one of the prosperous farmers and substantial citizens of Rock Creek township, Jasper county. To his energy, enterprise, careful man- agement and keen discernment his present station in life is attributed. He started upon his career as an independent factor with no large amount of out- side assistance and he is now the owner of a very desirable farm property and occupies a conspicuous place in the list of the county's agriculturists, being well known here, as was his father before him, this family having come here in pioneer times and its various members have played no inconspicuous role in the drama of advanced civilization here.
Mr. Gillespie was born in the township in which he still maintains his / home, on September 24, 1865, the son of George Washington C. and Virtue (Turner) Gillespie, the father a native of Tennessee and the mother of Eng- land, the latter having been brought to America by her parents when four years of age. They came to Iowa in an early day and later, in 1864, settled in Jasper county on a farm, having first lived at Burlington, then Knoxville, Marion county. They bought a place of forty acres in Rock Creek township ยท when they came here, and, prospering, he became the owner of two hundred and eighty acres in Audubon county, which the elder Gillespie finally had divided among his children. His son and daughter, A. D. and Mary Gillespie, still live on the Jasper county farm, a separate sketch of the former appearing herein. During his life time he supported the Republican ticket, but never aspired to public office. His family consisted of eight children, six of whom are living.
Elmer L. Gillespie was reared on the home farm in Jasper county and was educated in the public schools, and early in life took up farming for him- self, in 1890 buying a farm of one hundred and eighty acres in Rock Creek township which he still owns and which he manages in a manner that it yields
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abundant returns for the labor expended on it. Here he has erected a large, modern and attractive residence and a good barn and other buildings. He always keeps a good grade of live stock and this, together with general agri- cultural pursuits, has resulted in a competency.
Politically, Mr. Gillespie is independent and he and his wife belong to the Society of Friends.
In 1884 the subject was united in marriage with Saphrona See, a native of Story county, Iowa, and the daughter of George and Priscilla See. The latter died in Story county when Mrs. Gillespie was but six years of age, and the father subsequently moved to Jasper county, being one of the old settlers here.
Seven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs Gillespie, namely : Harry I., who married Ruby Pugh; Roy died in infancy; Chetta I. is the wife of Warren McDonald; Floy J. is the wife of E. E. McDonald, Port Angeles, Washington; Minnie P. is the wife of W. A. Thomas; Roe E .; Lawrence died when fourteen months old.
F. J. COFFEY.
Frank J. Coffey was born January 10, 1871, in Kansas, and is the son of W. G. and Cynthia (Williams) Coffey, the father being a native of Ken- tucky and the mother of Tennessee. Mr. Coffey's parents came from Ken- tucky to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1859 and engaged in farming near there. This they continued until 1861, when the father enlisted in the Thirty-ninth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which was recruited at Des Moines. The father served for nearly four years in the great civil conflict, being mustered out at the close of the war. He served under Sherman and took part in some of the most important battles of the war. After the end of the great conflict, he came back to the farm, where he remained until 1870, when he with his family went to Kansas, where the subject of this review was born. While in Kansas the family took up a homestead and farmed for five years, after which time they returned to Iowa. The father now lives retired at Monroe. In 1905 the mother died and later the father remarried, his second wife being Mrs. J. N. Shaw. In politics Mr. Coffey's father is a Republican.
The subject of this review is one of eight children, five of whom are liv- ing : Susan, the eldest, died in infancy ; W. E., born in 1861, died at the age of thirty ; Ella, wife of Adam Hoxel, a retired farmer, resides at Indianola, Iowa; D. W., born in 1868, is in the grocery business at Iowa City; F. J.,
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the subject, is next in order of birth; Mary E., born in 1873, died in 1889; Lottie, wife of James McMichael, a farmer, resides at Carlisle, Iowa ; Tennie, wife of John Custer, a merchant, resides in Monroe, Iowa.
The subject of this sketch began working for himself at the age of twenty- four on a farm near Monroe. Later he went into the grocery business at Mon- roe, which he continued for six years. At the expiration of that period he sold out and engaged in the hardware business at Monroe which he continued for three years. After that he came to Reasnor and purchased the general store of Fred Roberts, which business he has continued ever since. He deals in groceries, dry goods, notions, shoes and sundries of all kinds.
On June 7. 1896, Mr. Coffey was united in marriage with Leo Pomeroy. daughter of W. K. and Amanda (Smith) Pomeroy, her father being a native of Pennsylvania and her mother of Illinois. Mrs. Coffey's father still lives, being in the soldiers' home at Marshalltown, Iowa, her mother dying when Mrs. Coffey was but a child. Mrs. Coffey's father was a Union soldier during the Civil war.
To Mr. and Mrs. Coffey have been born four children, all of whom are living, namely : Ruth, born May 28, 1897: Tennie, born January 26, 1906: Carl, born March 26, 1908, and Mary, born August 16, 1911. All are at home, the eldest being in high school at Monroe. Both Mr. and Mrs. Coffey are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Reasnor. Mr. Coffey is a member of Monroe Lodge No. 277. Knights of Pythias, at Monroe, of which lodge he is a past chancellor. He is also a member of the Woodmen of the World at Reasnor.
Mr. Coffey has always been a man of public spirit, interested in the pro- gressive movements of his country.
JOHN H. SPARKS.
Another of the old soldiers of Jasper county is John H. Sparks, a vener- able farmer of Lynn Grove township, and it gives the historian no small degree of pleasure to place his life history on record, partly because of his services to his country during her direst need, partly because of the fact that he is one of our respected pioneers and partly because of his life of integrity and kindness. The records of the lives of such men should be obtained before it is too late to get the full particulars from their own lips. Their sacrifices were too great not to deserve ample mention in the pages of history. It meant
JOHN H. SPARKS AND FAMILY
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a great deal for the citizen-soldier to quit all pursuits and go away to war with the chances against him of ever coming back, or if he did return it would probably be with shattered health for the remainder of his life or in a crippled condition. But such was the chance taken willingly by Mr. Sparks; in fact, he seemed to enjoy taking chances for his country. Let us learn a little more about this sterling old soldier and pioneer. He was born in Washington county, Indiana, about seventy-six years ago, the son of Matthew and Lucy (Calloway) Sparks, the father born in Kentucky and the mother in Indiana. The former crossed the Ohio river into the Hoosier state when a young man and there married and began life for himself as a farmer. In 1855 the family came to Jasper county, Iowa, and, starting life anew as pioneers, built up a good farm and a good home in which they spent the balance of their earthly days, the mother dying after a comparatively short residence in the new state. They were the parents of twelve children. The mother was a member of the Christian church.
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