USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 30
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Mr. Varenkamp was born in Marion county, Iowa, March 3. 1872, the son of Edward C. and Gertrude (Boat) Varenkamp, the father born in the Netherlands and the mother in Marion county, Jowa. The father is at
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present editor of the Pella Weekblade, printed in the Holland language. He came to Iowa when about twenty-four years old and worked on a farm for some time, then bought land and up to five years ago devoted his life to agri- cultural pursuits, since which time he has been managing in a very able manner the newspaper referred to above; he has lived in Pella for the past twenty-one years. Early in his career in this country he spent three years in Nebraska and Dakota. He is a man of influence. general education and praiseworthy characteristics in general. He belongs to the Second Reform church at Pella. His family consists of the following children: Mrs. Hattie Louder, Mrs. Anna Roten, Mrs. Lydia Renaud, Mrs. Mary Wise, Mrs. Emma Stratton, Nella, Fred and John M.
The maternal grandmother, Henriett Boat, came to Pella, Iowa, in the early forties with a colony of one thousand two hundred Hollanders, early settlers there. John M. Varenkamp of this review attended school at Pella, Iowa, and after leaving school he worked on a farm for about seven years. He went. to Nebraska and herded cattle and sheep for some time, then worked in a flouring mill fourteen months in Pella. Desiring to learn the mercantile business, he clerked seven years, during which time he mastered the ins and outs of the same, and in January, 1899, he bought out Cornelius Boat, a half interest in the Boat Brothers general store in Sully, Jasper county, and he and A. C. Boat have since carried on the business in a most successful manner. enjoying a wide and every growing patronage with the surrounding country. They carry a large, well-assorted, carefully-selected stock of general merchan- dise and their prices are always right, according to their many customers. They have a neat and well-arranged store building. Theirs is the oldest store in Sully.'
Mr. Varenkamp has taken considerable interest in local affairs and has ever manifested a desire to do what he could in behalf of the community's welfare. He was appointed postmaster at Sully on December 22, 1902, and has served in this capacity continuously to the present time in a manner that has reflected much credit upon himself and to the department and the people. He is a member of the Reform church at Sully, and, politically, he is a Republican.
Mr. Varenkamp was married. on March 23, 1898, to Nettie Vanderkrol, who was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, the daughter of G. Vanderkrol, a substantial farmer of that county. To this union one child was born, Gertrude H. The wife and mother was called to her rest on July 8. 1909, in a hospital at Des Moines.
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WILLIAM M. TURNBULL.
It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has won a definite goal in life, whose career has been such as to com- mend the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such, in brief, is the record of the well-known agriculturist whose name heads this sketch, than whom a more whole-souled or genial gentleman it would be hard to find within the limits of Rock Creek township, Jasper county, where he has long maintained his home and where he has labored not only for his own individ- ual advancement and that of his immediate family, but also for the improve- ment of the entire community whose interests he has ever had at heart.
William M. Turnbull hails from the far-away land of heath and bluebell, the bonnie Scotland of poetic and romantic history, on whose rugged hills his progenitors led a free, outdoor life, close to the life-giving, sympathetic, ideal-fostering heart of mother nature, so that they were not only hearty and happy-natured but gentle and kindly disposed to their fellow men, and many of their commendable traits have descended to the subject.
Mr. Turnbull was born in northern Scotland April 20, 1848, the son of James and Ann (Matheison) Turnbull, both born in Scotland and there grew up and were married. The father was a shepherd, as was his father before him, William Turnbull, the latter having worked for one man for a period of twenty-two years, tending sheep. James Turnbull and wife emigrated to America in 1849, when the immediate subject of this review was about a year old, the ocean voyage requiring sixteen weeks. The family located at Elmira, Illinois, and 'finally bought a farm there. Mr. Turnbull gradually increased his holdings until he owned a valuable place of two hundred and forty acres, becoming well established and one of the leading men of his community. He reached the advanced age of eighty-three years. He was a member of the United Presbyterian church. His family consisted of eleven children, seven of whom are living at this writing, namely: Mrs. James Rule, of Grinnell, , Iowa; Mrs. Mary Scott, of Bradford, Illinois; Mrs. Flora Beatty, of Elmira, Illinois; Mrs. Walter Rule, of Kewanee, Illinois: Margaret O., who has remained single and is still a member of the home circle; John M. lives in Neponset, Illinois, at the old home; William M., of this review.
The subject received a limited education in the common schools of Elmira, Illinois, at which place he grew to manhood and assisted his father on the home place when old enough, during the crop seasons. He worked on the home farm until 1876, when he came to Jasper county, Iowa. He had
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been economical and had a start before leaving home and, having decided to devote his life to farming, he first bought one hundred and sixty acres in Rock Creek township. He set to work faithfully and soon had good improve- ments on his land and his fields under cultivation, and here he has since re- mained, doing well as a general farmer and stock raiser, paying especial attention to preparing cattle and hogs for the market.
Mr. Turnbull is a Republican in politics and he has taken more or less interest in local affairs since he came here, and he has served his township as trustee and as justice of the peace, proving to be a very able and conscien- tious public servant.
On March 14, 1876, Mr. Turnbull was united in marriage with Margaret G. Turnbull, daughter of Alexander Turnbull of Scotland. Four children were born to the subject and wife, namely: Mrs. Bertha Luella Buck; Gar- field is deceased; Alexander J. is also deceased, and the youngest died in infancy. The wife and mother was called to her rest on November 6, 1903.
Mr. Turnbull remains on his home place, but does not do much hard work, his daughter and her husband making their home with him; but he is yet active, hale and hearty for one of his age. Since coming here he has made a host of friends and is well-known over the eastern part of the county, enjoying the respect of all who know him.
WILLIAM H. BURROUGHS.
That the plenitude of satiety is seldom obtained in the affairs of life is to be considered a most beneficial deprivation, for when ambition is satisfied and every ultimate aim is realized, if such be possible, individual apathy must follow. Effort would cease, accomplishment be prostrate, and creative talent waste its energies in inactivity. The men who have pushed forward the wheels of progress have been those to whom satisfaction lies ever in the future, who have labored continuously, always finding in each transition stage an incen- tive to further effort. William H. Burroughs, a well-known agriculturist of Rock Creek township, Jasper county, is one whose well directed efforts have gained for him a position of desirable prominence in the locality honored by his residence and it is with a feeling of satisfaction that the biographer essays the task of touching briefly upon the salient points in his career, which has been such as to be well worth considering by the youth standing at the parting of the ways, for it shows that success may be achieved by perseverance, fidelity to duty and loyalty to proper ideals.
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Mr. Burroughs is a Hoosier by birth, having first seen the light of day in Ripley county, Indiana, on February 14, 1846. He is the son of James C. and Mary ( West) Burroughs, the father born in Kentucky in 1801 and the mother in Ohio. The parents of the subject's father took him from the "dark and bloody ground" country to Indiana when he was five years of age and there he grew to manhood, attended the early schools, grew up amid pioneer conditions, and, in fact, spent practically all his life there, dying in that state in 1878. When a small boy the family moved to Ohio, but remained there only a short time; while living there'the war of 1812 came on and James C. Burroughs, father of the subject, joined the army as fifer, serving as such during that conflict, and he was subsequently given a certificate by President Buchanan in acknowledgment of his service; this the son, William H., is now in possession of. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, was a hard worker and his farm in Indiana, consisting of about one hundred and twenty acres, was always well-tilled and well-improved. He was four times married, William H., of this review, being the only child of the third mar- riage. The only other child living is a daughter, born of the second union.
William H. Burroughs enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education, having attended the common schools of Ripley county, Indiana, later took a course at Moore's Hill College in Dearborn county, that state, one of the best schools of that day and generation. He was in the graduating class when the Civil war was in progress. He wanted to enlist, but his father objected, so he left college and later began teaching school, which he followed successfully in Indiana for eight years. In the fall of 1871 he came to Jasper county, Iowa, and located in Rock Creek township, buying one hundred and seventy acres. He continued teaching the first two winters he was here. He found a rich, new country here and with characteristic foresight saw its great possibilities, consequently he went to work with a will and developed a fine farm to which he added until he now owns one hundred and ninety-nine acres on which he has carried on general farming and stock raising. In 1910 he built a modern, commodious and attractive residence, equipped with every convenience. He also built a new barn of large dimensions and excellent. arrangement. His is one of the most valuable and desirable farms in the eastern part of Jasper county.
Politically, Mr. Burroughs is a Republican of the old school, loyal to the basic principles of the party. He keeps well posted on current topics and has an excellent library of choice volumes, having always been a student, and it would indeed be difficult to find a better informed man in this locality. Fra- ternally, he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge.
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The domestic life of Mr. Burroughs began on April 19, 1869, when he was united in marriage with Phoebe Jane Lipperd, a lady of many estimable attributes, a native of Ripley county, Indiana, and the daughter of John W. and Nancy J. (Wright) Lipperd. Five children have blessed the home of the subject and wife: Edith, who married Dr. W. S. Adair; James W .; Mrs. Adabelle Gotchell; Eleanor, and Ellsworth E .. a twin of Eleanor, who met death in Dakota by being burned in a barn fire.
MOSES B. LUNT.
Human life is made up of two elements, power and form, and the propor- tion must be invariably kept if he would have it sweet and sound. Each of these elements in excess makes a mischief as hurtful as would be its deficiency. Everything turns to excess; every good quality is noxious if unmixed, and to carry the danger to the edge of ruin nature causes each man's peculiarity to superabound. One speaking from the standpoint of a farmer would adduce the learned professions as examples of this treachery. They are nature's victims of expression. You study the artist, the orator or the poet and find their lives no more excellent than that of mechanics or farmers. While the farmer stands at the head of art as found in nature, the others get but glimpses of the delights of nature in its various elements and moods. Moses B. Lunt, one of the honored and venerable tillers of the soil in Linn Grove township, Jasper county, takes delight in existence. It is because he is in touch with the springs of human life; because he has been able to see beauty and appreciate it in nature.
Mr. Lunt hailed from New England, his birth having occurred in Orleans county, Vermont, on April 10, 1834, in the town of Derby, the son of Johnson and Sarah (Boynton) Lunt, the father born in Vermont in 1796 and the mother in Canada in 1806. The father was a farmer and owned two farms in Vermont, one of one hundred and twenty acres and one of one hun- dred and sixty acres. He lived his long life in his native state, dying there in 1891. Politically, he was first a Whig, later a Republican, and he belonged to the Methodist Episcopal church. His family consisted of the following children : Mrs. Harriet Derbin, Elias, Charles, Mrs. Amanda Dustin; Moses B., of this review; Aaron married Susan Hicks: Henry, Elias C., Gardna, Mrs. Jennie Parlan and Mrs. Emma Nye.
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Moses B. Lunt was educated in the public schools of Vermont. After assisting his father with the general work on the farm he worked out some in order to get a start. In 1856 he came to Mason county, Illinois, and worked by the month for some time, later rented land. In 1865 he drove a four-horse team to a wagon from there to Jasper county, Iowa, and bought two hundred and forty acres of land, all virgin prairie. By hard work and excellent man- agement he transformed this into one of the best farms of the township and was for many years considered one of the leading general farmers and stock raisers, and even now, although he is no longer a young man, he is active and aggressive. For about sixteen years he fed cattle, preparing large numbers for the market; one year he shipped thirteen car loads. He was usually suc- cessful. He has now three hundred and twenty acres of valuable land, which is modernly improved and on which he carries on mixed farming. He has a good home and convenient barns and such buildings as are deemed necessary for his purposes.
Mr. Lunt is a Republican and has been school director in his district. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic blue lodge. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church.
Mr. Lunt was married, first, in November, 1869, to Hannah Meeker, who was born in Vermont and whose death occurred in February, 1871. In October, 1873, he was married to Ada Tinker, also a native of Vermont, and the daughter of Nehemiah S. Tinker, a furniture manufacturer of that state, but who came to Kentucky later in life and there died, on April 5, 1890. Fol- lowing are Mr. Lunt's children : George M., Mrs. Hattie E. Phelps, Mrs. Bertha L. Henry, Mrs. Blanch E. Craver, Mrs. Grace E. Ryan and Charlie C.
GEORGE MILLGATE.
The lamented subject of this sketch, now sleeping the sleep of the just in God's quiet acre, was in life one of the best known agriculturists of Rock Creek township, he being one of that worthy class of men who fight their own way to success through unfavorable environment, and a study of his life record reveals the intrinsic worth of a character which not only can bravely endure so rough a test, but gain new strength through the discipline. Mr. Millgate was not favored by inherited wealth or the assistance of influential friends, but in spite of this, by perseverance, industry and wise economy, he attained a comfortable station in life and left behind him not only valuable
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material wealth, but what his family and wide circle of friends and admirers should be far prouder of-an unblemished reputation and a good name.
George Millgate was born in county Kent, England, October 5, 1849, the son of William and Harriet (Giles) Millgate, who were both born in England. There they grew up, were educated and married and they spent their mature life engaged in market gardening near the city of Sandwich, England. Their family consisted of eight children, of whom George, subject of this biographical memoir, and James came to America, the rest remaining in England.
George Millgate grew to young manhood in his native country, and received his education in a paid school. Not being able to discern any great future for himself in his native land, and having been apprised of the vast opportunities in the United States, he set sail for our shores when he was twenty-one years of age. After stopping for some time in New York City, he then went to Fulton, Illinois, and he worked at farming there for a period of five years, during which time, by sticking closely to his work and being eco- nomical; he got a good start. He then came to Jasper county, Iowa, and bought eighty acres in Rock Creek township, this country being wild at that time, but he could see that it had a great future, so went to work industriously and began to prosper, later buying one hundred and sixty acres in Richland township, the eastern part of the county. He kept his land well improved and under a high state of cultivation. He carried on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale and met with a large measure of success all along the line. He kept his home and immediate surroundings in an up-to-date man- ner, having established an attractive home and substantial and convenient outbuildings, and he always kept an excellent grade of live stock.
Mr. Millgate was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church and liberally supported the same. He was regarded by all as a good and useful man and when his death occurred, on August II, 1901, after a lingering illness, having been confined to a hospital for a period of two years, nothing but words of praise for his life of industry, integrity, kindness and public spirit was uttered by those who knew him. He was a man of fortitude and was never heard to complain during the days of his trying afflictions.
On August 14, 1884, Mr. Millgate was united in marriage with Roxie Foster, who was born on August 27, 1855, in Richland township, Jasper county, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Young) Foster, a well-known and highly respected pioneer family of Jasper county. Here Mrs. Millgate grew to womanhood and received her education. She proved to be a very faithful helpmeet and much of the subject's success was due to her encourage-
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ment, sympathy and counsel. Since he has passed away she is, with the assist- ance of her children, carrying out most successfully the work he here inaugu- rated, keeping the homestead in excellent condition and causing it to yield an annual income of no small proportions. She is a woman of tact, good judg- ment and progressive ideas and. like her husband before her, enjoys a wide circle of friends. She and her family lead simple and unobtrusive lives and stand well in the social life of the community, the children, named as follows, being young people of fine characters and much promise: Sylvester, born November 17. 1885, is now a veterinary surgeon; Oliver, born June 8, 1888: Maria, born January 16, 1893 : Verner, born November 17, 1896.
LANHAM T. SYLVESTER.
It is found very often in this country of ours that the captain of industry. the statesmen, in short, the so-called leaders of men, possess no higher ability than thousands of other citizens. They have simply taken better advantage of their circumstances than their fellows. And this truth runs through every occupation. The farmer who rises above his fellow farmers does so by taking advantage of conditions which others overlook or fail to grasp. Lanhanı T. Sylvester, of Linn Grove township, Jasper county, has always been classed with the best and thriftiest of the locality in point of skill in farming and stock raising.
Mr. Sylvester was born in Logan county, Illinois, October 9, 1848, and he is the son of Dixon and Ann (Johnson) Sylvester, both natives of Dela- ware, the father born in 1808 and the mother in 1813, and they grew up and were married in that state. In 1845 they emigrated to Logan county, Illinois; and bought eighty acres and there they remained until 1852 when they came overland in two wagons to Jasper county, Iowa. They had been very success- ful in Illinois, for when they came to that state from Delaware they brought their earthly effects in a one-horse cart. He first bought sixty acres in Linn Grove township, which was timbered land, also two hundred acres of prairie land. Here he prospered and at one time owned three hundred and twenty acres. He was a member of the Christian church. His family consisted of the following children: Mary Elizabeth, William Henry, Henrietta, Celina, Charles Hamilton, Lanham T., of this review; Joseph B., Emanda M., Dixon N .. Silas Marian and Emma.
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Lanham T. Sylvester, of this review, attended the township schools and he has lived on the farm that his father entered from the government, since he was four years old, buying the home place after the father's death, and he is now the owner of four hundred acres of productive and well-improved land on which he is carrying on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He built a large, well-arranged and attractive house in 1892 and he also has a number of large, convenient barns and such outbuildings in general as his needs require. He still has the deed to the original eighty acres which his father entered and which he now owns, the instrument bearing the signa- ture of President Franklin Pierce.
Mr. Sylvester is a Democrat, but he has never sought public office. He was reared in the Christian church and from that belief he has never departed.
Mr. Sylvester was married on November 9, 1889, to Rosa Gardner, who was born in Illinois, December 4, 1861, the daughter of John J. and Hannah Gardner. The Gardner family moved from North Carolina to Union county, Indiana, in 1818, when that country was a wilderness. Mrs. Sylvester's parents went to Illinois in early life and remained some time, later returning to Indiana, when their daughter Rosa was six months of age, locating in Union county, Indiana. Mrs. Sylvester came to Iowa in 1874 and to Jasper county in 1882 as a school teacher, and, liking the country, she located here. One child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester, Leslie, whose date of birth was September 24, 1896.
CHARLES E. QUIRE, M. D.
The writer of biography, dealing in the personal history of men engaged in the various affairs of every-day life, occasionally finds a subject whose record commands exceptional interest and admiration and especially is this true when he has achieved more than ordinary success or made his influence felt as a leader of thought and a benefactor of his kind. Dr. Charles E. Quire, of Lynnville, is eminently of that class who earn the indisputable right to rank in the van of the army of progressive men and by reason of a long and strenuous career devoted to the good of his fellows, to the alleviation of their physical sufferings, he occupies a position of wide influence and has made a name which will long live in the hearts and affections of the people. For nearly a half century, or practically through the entire upbuilding period of Jasper county's history, he has been practicing medicine here and his name has become a household word throughout the same.
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Dr. Quire, like many of the sterling men who have made this locality what it is today, one of the leading sections of the middle West, hails from the Buckeye state, having been born in Carthage, Hamilton county, Ohio, November 25, 1842. the son of William Quire, whose birth occurred in that state in 1817. The mother, whose maiden name was Caroline B. Harris, was also a native of Hamilton county, Ohio. These parents grew up amid pioneer conditions and were married there, the father devoting his life to the trade of harness-maker and saddler. In 1858 he moved to Montgomery county, Indi- ana, and there purchased a farm. In 1865 he moved with his family to Linn Grove township, Jasper county, Iowa, and here bought sixty-six acres, on which he remained until his death. He was a member of the Baptist church and was known as a man of upright character. His family consisted of the following children : James C. is living in Grinnell, Iowa; Thomas B., Alice, Emma, are all deceased; Charles E., of this sketch, was the oldest of the family.
Doctor Quire attended the public schools in Ohio and Indiana, and early in life he evinced a laudable ambition to become a physician and with this end in view he entered Rush Medical College, in Chicago, in the fall of 1864 and he was graduated in 1870. He came to Lynn Grove township, Jasper county, Iowa, in 1865 and has been engaged in the practice of his profession here ever since, enjoying a large and satisfactory patronage from the first. He was located near Sully until 1867, when he took up his permanent residence in Lynnville and this is still his home. His practice has extended over a wide territory and he has frequently been called to remote parts of this and other counties on serious cases. In the early days most of his calls were made on horseback, in the fashion of the pioneer doctors of all countries. He has met with great success as a general practitioner, and, having ever been a student, has kept well abreast of the times in all that pertains to his profession. He belongs to the Jasper County Medical Association. He has served on the school board and the town council. Politically, he is a Democrat, and frater- nally he is a Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic.
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