USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 51
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Mr. Kling was born on the farm where he now resides in Elk Creek town- ship. Jasper county, Iowa, on September 5. 1873, and, as already intimated, he
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grew to manhood here, assisted with the general work on the home place and spent his winters in the schools of his district, when he became of proper age. He is the son of Henry, Sr., and Margerete (German) Kling, both natives of the town of Donstadt, Germany, the father born on September 16, 1816, and the mother on January 24, 1828. They grew up and were married in the fatherland and there began life on a farm. In 1853 they emigrated to the United States in an old-fashioned sailing vessel, the voyage requiring forty- two days. They located in Jasper county, Iowa, bought a farm of forty acres from the government and established a home. Prospering through hard work, Mr. Kling later purchased one hundred and twenty acres more where the subject of this sketch now resides, and he subsequently added forty-eight acres, owning two hundred and eight acres at the time of his death, on Decem- ber 19, 1883. His wife died on March 20, 1874. They were both members of the Lutheran church. Their family consisted of six children, namely : Henry, Adam (lives in Monroe, Iowa). Mrs. Eliza Peery, Mary, Mrs. Mar- garet Schnug and William G. (of this review), he being the youngest of the family.
The subject attended school at Galesburg and when ten years of age he was driving a team on the farm for his father and has ever since been en- gaged in farming the home place. In connection with general farming he raises Hereford cattle. He inherited thirty-five acres of the home place and farms it now for his brother Henry, who bought out the other heirs. He feeds a large number of hogs annually. Henry Kling, Jr., who makes his home with the subject, was born March 25, 1847, in Darmstadt, Germany. As stated, Henry bought out all the heirs of the home place except William G., of this sketch. He has added to his original purchase until he is now the owner of six hundred and thirty-seven acres in Elk Creek and Fairview town- ships. He is supposed to be retired from active work, but it seems hard for him to keep out of the harness and he still does a great deal of work, though the subject has the principal working of his land. Henry has remained un- married. He knew Jasper county in its pioneer days and experienced the privations of that period. He has been very successful in a business way and is well known and well liked.
William G. Kling was married on December 10, 1902, to Mamie Stregle, who was born in Iowa on November 20, 1880, the daughter of John and Mena Stregle, early settlers of Jasper county. Two children have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Freeman, born September 20, 1903, and Hazel, born November 16, 1905.
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SMITH CHARLES LOGSDON.
One of our leading railroad magnates recently said that the average farmer did not pay any attention to modern methods for conserving the soil, but that he was going ahead in the same way that farmers have done for cen- turies-decreasing soil fertility and production. He also said that much of the matter written for the farmer's agricultural education either goes over his head or does not reach him. That gentleman certainly was not acquainted with the progressive methods of Jasper county farmers as a class. There are, of course, old-time farmers in every community who assume that because they have always followed certain methods these are therefore not to be improved on-farmers who work their land until it is "run out" and who then complain that there is no profit in farming; but these are becoming fewer and fewer, and only a cursory glance over the fine fields of Jasper county is sufficient to show that here at least the best methods are employed. There are to be found, no doubt, in every locality slovenly and wasteful farmers and incompetent tillers of the soil, just as there are wasteful and incompetent men in every line of business, but they are not in a majority. One of the well known and suc- cessful farmers of Jasper county is Smith Charles Logsdon, of Independence township, a man who believes in keeping fully abreast of the times in all that pertains to agricultural matters, and a glance over his fertile, well-kept fields will suffice to show that he is a past master in the art of modern agriculture.
Mr. Logsdon was born in Benton county, Iowa, July 27, 1876. He is the son of Benjamin Franklin and Celia Jane Logsdon, the father a native of Kentucky. They both now live in Marshalltown. Their family consisted of . nine children, six of whom grew to maturity, namely : H. W. lives in Craw- ford county, Iowa; Mrs. Mary A. Rees died in May, 1904; Franklin G. is farming in Independence township, this county; Smith Charles, of this review ; Mrs. Luella J. Sissel lives in Bondurant, Iowa; Mrs. Jessie Maude Kienzle, of Garwin, this state; three children died in infancy.
Smith C. Logsdon received his education in the local schools and early . in life turned his attention to farming and has made this his life work. In 1910 he purchased one hundred and fifty-nine acres in Independence town- ship, this county, and in the fall of 1911 moved thereon, and on this improve- ments have been started which when completed will make this one of the choice farms of the county.
Mr. Logsdon was married on February 6, 1896, to Rose Sego, who was born in Missouri. April 19, 1880. She was the daughter of Thomas and
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Hester (Smith) Sego-Trussel, the father having died in 1882; the mother, who was born on March 2, 1855, is living in Baxter. She has been twice married, the first union resulting in the birth of two daughters, Mrs. James Linder, born March 1, 1878, is living in Newton, and Rose, wife of Mr. Logs- don, of this sketch. By the marriage of Mrs. Sego with Mr. Trussel two sons and one daughter were born, namely: Earl and Ray both live in Baxter ; Hazel is attending school in Baxter. These children were born and reared in Jasper county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Logsdon nine children have been born, six of whom are living, namely : Vera, born April 25, 1896, lives at home; Vella and Vona, twins, were born May 23, 1898, the latter dying when three months and ten days old ; Mildred, born September 25, 1899, died March 8, 1902 ; Frank, born December 25, 1901 ; Blanche, born January 8, 1903, died the following day ; Irene, born March 13, 1905 ; Helen, born November 25, 1908; Ada Frances, born September 8, 1911. These children were born in Jasper county and the older ones have attended the rural schools.
Politically, Mr. Logsdon is an independent voter and he takes a good citizen's interest in the affairs of the community.
H. A. LINDSLEY.
There is no more genial or kindly man in all Jasper county than H. A. Lindsley, who, although young in years, has had a most eventful career, and the hard knocks and buffetings he has received have not altered him from a steadfast course or made inroads in his genial nature.
Mr. Lindsley was born in Mt. Auburn, Iowa, May 22, 1877, and he is the ยท son of F. D. and Penena (Kyle) Lindsley, his father being a native of Illinois and his mother of Pennsylvania. As a family they are railroad men, the father having been engaged in railroading all his life. He came to Iowa in 1860 as a young man and settled at Mt. Auburn, where he engaged as agent for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota railroad, now a part of the Rock Island system. He held this position ten years, when he removed to Iowa City where he acted as railroad agent for twenty-one years continuously, or until his death, which occurred October 18, 1910. He became well known in railroad circles and was regarded as one of the road's most efficient and trusted employes. His wife still survives him, making her home in Iowa City. The father was a man of exceptionally fine and sturdy character, being fearless and
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outspoken, ever unswerving in the performance of his duty and a man who had a keen understanding and insight into the things in life worth while. He was a great lodge man, having been affiliated with the Masonic order, the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having at- tained a high rank in each, being a past master in the Masonic order. He had the admiration and respect of all who knew him. He was a veteran of the great Civil war, having enlisted in the Federal army, in April, 1861, in re- sponse to Lincoln's call for volunteers, becoming a member of the One Hun- dred and Fortieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, in April, 1861, in which he served with distinction for two years in the Army of the West, in which he had many trying experiences in campaign and battle.
J. Clarence Lindsley, brother of H. A., of this review, is engaged in the railroad business at Iowa City and is well known there.
H. A. Lindsley attended the home schools in his youth, and he turned his attention to railroading when very young, being but seventeen years of age when he began as a brakeman on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad, working in that capacity with success for four years, or until he was badly injured in a wreck. Upon his recovery he entered the engine department as fireman on a freight, at which he worked faithfully for three years. He then left the service of that road and began braking again, this time for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, running out of Rock Island, Illinois, continuing in this capacity until August 18, 1901, when he was promoted to the position of conductor, on account of long and efficient service. In this capacity he continued until March 4, 1903, when he was again injured at West Liberty, Iowa, this time so severely that he was totally in- capacitated for duty until January 18: 1909, when he again began train service at Valley Junction, Iowa. On August 4, 1911, he was advanced to the posi- tion of conductor on the Newton and Monroe branch of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, which position he still holds, rendering his usual high grade service.
On March 17, 1906, Mr. Lindsley was united in marriage with Vina Meggison, adopted daughter of S. Patterson, of Iowa City, Iowa, and to this union one child has been born, a son, Willard Leroy, whose birth occurred on June 4. 1908.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Lindsley are members of the First Presbyterian church of Newton, and, fraternally, he is a member of Iowa City Lodge No. 4. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Iowa City Chapter No. 2, Royal Arch Masons : Rock Island Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar, and the Kaaba Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Daven-
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port, and both he and Mrs. Lindsley are members of Newton Chapter No. 100, Order of the Eastern Star, at Newton. He is also a member of the Order of Railroad Conductors, No. 106, of Rock Island. He stands high in all these orders, having long taken a deep interest in them, and his daily life would indicate that he is striving to live up to their noble precepts.
FRANK J. DODD.
It is interesting to note from the beginning the growth and development of a community, to note the lines along which progress has been made and to take cognizance of those whose industry and leadership in the world of ad- vancement have rendered possible the present prosperity of the locality under consideration. The Dodd family, one of the best known in the northwestern part of Jasper county, of which Frank J. Dodd, of Clear Creek township, is a worthy representative, have long contributed such support to the general wel- fare of the locality under consideration as they deemed their just part, and their efforts certainly have not been without reward.
Frank J. Dodd was born in the township where he still makes his home, on April 28, 1856, the son of Joseph and Amelia (Million) Dodd, the father born in Illinois, September 27, 1817, and the mother was born in Kentucky on November 6, 1821. They came to Clear Creek township, Jasper county, Iowa, in 1852 and here spent the rest of their lives, the father dying in the spring of 1897 and the mother on August 17, 1889. They were among the first settlers, but they worked hard and established a good home. Their fam- ily consisted of ten children, of whom six are living, namely: Charles, born January 14, 1841, resides near Collins, Story county ; Sarah J., born January 9, 1843. is deceased; William, born March 23, 1845, and Mrs. Amelia Stock are both deceased; G. W., born September 23, 1847, is living in Washington; J. H., born February 5, 1850. is deceased ; S. P., born July 28, 1852, lives in Clear Creek township; Frank J., of this review; Mark, born November 21, 1860, lives in Wisconsin; Fred, born October 31, 1862, lives in Marshall county, Iowa. All these children were born and reared in Clear Creek town- ship.
Frank J. Dodd grew up on the home farm and attended the local schools when not engaged on the place, and he has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits in his home community, and. having managed well. he has met with a large measure of success as a general farmer and stock man, being now the
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owner and operator of Clear Creek stock farm, one of the best in the town- ship, which he has kept well improved and under a high state of cultivation. At present he raises nothing but graded stock, which, owing to their superior quality, find a very ready market. He has a splendid, well furnished home.
Mr. Dodd was married on January 1, 1885, to Mary Alice Altman, who was born in this township, on the farm where she now resides, on August 7, 1859, the daughter of A. B. and Hester Ann (Dean) Altman, the father born in Pennsylvania, April 15. 1815, and the mother was born in Ohio, January 3, 1825. They came to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1856 and here spent the bal- ance of their lives, dying in Independence township, the father on April 18. 1890, and the mother on January 18, 1903. Their family consisted of three children : Frank, deceased; Mary Alice, wife of Mr. Dodd; Mrs. Etana Jane (Altman) Williams, who was born April 29, 1861, and now lives in Missouri.
To Mr. and Mrs. Dodd have been born two sons : Arthur, born September 15, 1887; Tharies, born February 18. 1895; they are both at home, assisting in the work on the farm. Politically, Mr. Dodd is a Democrat and he has been a member of the school board.
BENJAMIN L. BUMP.
One of the most evident things to the thoughtful farmer is the fact that life at no stage is a bed of roses. There are thorns, and many of them, along the path of farming life, and the lucky ones are they who are pierced by the fewest and avoid the most. It will probably not be disputed that all persons should keep in view the important duty of removing the thorns, when prac- ticable, from the paths of those less fortunate. After a time this important duty becomes a pleasure and all are mutually benefited. Benjamin L. Bump, one of the worthy native sons of Jasper county and one of her most progressive young farmers, believes, as he was taught by sterling parents, that "To live and let live is the best policy." consequently, while laboring to advance his individual interests, he does not lose sight of his obligations to the community at large. He is the creditable scion of a prominent pioneer family of Lynn Grove township where he still maintains his home, which has ever advocated honest emulation and fair competition, willing to march side by side with their fellow creatures, taking his chances with the rest, giving them their dues and taking their own. Thus the locality of which these volumes treat has been greatly benefited in the days of its upbuilding, in fact, from the pioneer epoch to the present, by their loyalty and public spirit.
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Benjamin L. Bump was born in this township, as above intimated, on November 10, 1871, and he is the son of Josiah P. and Narcissa (Whitlock) Bump, the father born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, December 26, 1819, and he was eight years old when he moved with his parents from there to Chautauqua county, New York, in 1827. There the family home remained until 1835 when they moved to Lake county, Ohio, and four years later, in. 1839, Josiah Bump took up his residence in Will county, Illinois. In 1840, having played the pioneer in several sections, he sought a milder climate and moved to the state of Louisiana, and after a sojourn of two years in the far Southland he returned to Ohio and settled in Meigs county, where he and Narcissa Whitlock were married on June 8, 1845. His desire to try his fate in a new country again drove him forth in 1854 and he brought his wife to Jasper county, Iowa, where they established their home and spent the rest of their lives. They found here a wild, unfenced, thinly settled prairie, but they did not have to wait many years until they saw all this transformed into as rich a farming and stock raising country as the middle West afforded. Mr. Bump entered about three hundred and twenty acres from the government, in Lynn Grove township, and this he broke, placed under a high state of im- provement and cultivation in due course of time and became one of the sub- stantial and leading citizens of the southeastern part of the county. In con- nection with general farming and stock raising on a large scale he turned his attention to horticulture, and put out a number of large orchards of excellent varieties, planting at one time five hundred apple trees, besides cherries and plums. He became widely known through his fine fruit trees. In 1854 he was using a branch of a cottonwood tree in driving cattle, and upon return- ing home inadvertently placed the broken end of the branch in a hole of an old stump, where it began to sprout, and, Mrs. Bump watering the same for a while, it grew rapidly and made a giant tree measuring in 1878 ten feet in circumference and now sixteen feet. It is near the original log house, just.in the rear of the present home of the family. When he came here he began life in the humble manner of all or most all first settlers and for some time lived in a plain log house, but being a man of unusual foresight, tact, common sense and industry he prospered and in due course of time erected a commodi- ous frame dwelling and suitable barns and outbuildings. Having accumulated a competency he spent the latter years of his life in retirement, his death oc- curring in February, 1909, having reached an advanced age, his wife preceding him to the grave on April 27, 1901. Politically, he was a Democrat, and while he took a lively interest in local public affairs, especially as affecting material progress, he was not a seeker after political honors. He was a man
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of exemplary character and enjoyed a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. As an evidence of the wonderful advance in land values in Iowa, it is noted that while in 1878 his farm valuation was placed at five thousand dollars, it is now eighty-two thousand dollars.
Benjamin L. Bump, the immediate subject of this review, grew up on the home farm and when of proper age he made himself useful in his father's fields, and he received his education in the Wormlay schools in Newton, Iowa. Upon entering his life work he quite naturally took up farming, assuming charge of the home place which he continued to manage successfully until his father's death. He purchased of his father the fine farm on which he now lives. It consists of one hundred and sixty acres. This he has kept exception- ally well tilled and well improved, carrying on general farming and stock raising in a manner that has brought liberal rewards and he is in every respect a worthy son of a worthy sire. He has no desire to be a politician or a leader of men. Fraternally, he belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and also to the Homesteaders.
Mr. Bump was married in 1899 to Emma Roberts, a native of Christian county, Illinois, and the daughter of William F. and Emma Roberts, an ex- cellent old family, who came to Iowa when the daughter Emma was five years of age. Here they maintained their home for a period of thirty years, becom- ing well established, but Mr. Roberts finally moved to New Mexico, where his death occurred in the spring of 1911. He was twice married, his first wife, mother of Mrs. Bump, dying when the latter was a child. The wife of the subject grew to womanhood and was educated in the New Sharon schools, Iowa. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Bump, named as follows : Alwilda, Cecil, Anslem, Irene, Dorothy and Alice.
WARREN DODD.
Such a man as Warren Dodd, who has long been a resident of Jasper county, but who now proposes to spend the latter part of his life in Story county, usually succeeds in whatever locality he selects for the arena of his operations, for he believes in conservatively going about the affairs of life and doing well whatever is worth doing at all. This is the keynote of much of the material success of this world.
Mr. Dodd was born in Clear Creek township, Jasper county, Iowa, November 21. 1885, and he has always been known as a young man of in-
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dustry, which accounts for his success so early in life. He grew to manhood in the immediate vicinity of the old Dodd homestead and has always identified himself with the agricultural interests of this section.
Fred Dodd, the father of the subject, was born in Clear Creek township, Jasper county, Iowa, on October 31, 1862, and here he grew up and engaged in general farming. He married Julia Mowrey, who was born in Pennsyl- vania on July 2, 1867. They are residing on a farm in Eden township, Mar- shall county, Iowa. Their complete sketch is to be found on another page in this work.
Warren Dodd spent his youth on the home place and attended the neigh- boring schools, receiving a fairly good common school education. On Sep- tember 22, 1909, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Mckenzie, who was born in far-away Scotland on September 22, 1888. Her parents, James and Catherine (Davidson) Mckenzie, were both natives of Scotland and there they grew up, were educated and married, emigrating from there to the United States in 1890 and locating in Jasper county, Iowa. The father's death occurred in Independence township, January 1I, 1910, after a success- ful life as a farmer. His widow and her two sons still reside on the home place. There were six children in the Mckenzie family, named as follows : Duncan, born October 17, 1886, is living in Jasper county; James, born December 3, 1887; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Dodd of this sketch; Anna, born June 10, 1890, lives at home ; William, born February 19, 1893, died January 10, 1910; Thomas, born April 10, 1895, lives in Independence township, this county ; Ivagene, born at Baxter, April 28, 1910. James Mckenzie, Jr., graduated from the Chicago Veterinary College in 1910 and is now practicing in Baxter, where he now resides. 1
CHARLES E. McINTIRE.
Among the farmers of Sherman township, Jasper county, who enjoy dis- tinctive prestige as a neighbor and citizen is Charles E. McIntire, who has lived here for a period of thirty-two years, during which he has advanced to a position in material and civic affairs which entitle him to be called one of the progressive men of the county, for in every relation of life his voice and in- fluence have ever been on the side of right as he has seen and understood the right.
Mr. McIntire was born in Neponset, Illinois, January 5, 1862, the son of
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Erastus and Hester A. (Russell) McIntire. His paternal grandparents, Ezra and Clarina McIntire, were natives of Maine, in which state they spent their lives on a farm; the maternal grandparents, David and Prudence (Webb) Russell, were also natives of Maine, where they grew up and were married and there they lived until the father's death, she subsequently remarrying and moving west, finally dying in Neponset, Illinois.
The parents of the subject were born and reared in Maine. In 1851 Erastus McIntire, the father, went to California, making the long trans- continental trip as a result of the gold excitement, returning to Maine in 1853. Soon afterwards he moved to Illinois, locating in Neponset and there was married. He devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and became the owner of several farms and dealt in land considerably. In March, 1879, he and his son, Charles E., of this review, moved to Jasper county, Iowa, and bought three hundred and fifty acres in Sherman and Independence townships, and two years later the rest of the family moved here. This land they improved, erected buildings, except the dwelling house, which they remodeled. The parents lived retired in Des Moines until his death, January 19, 1912. He was taken to Neponset, Illinois, his former home, for burial. Politically he was a Republican, and they were both members of the Baptist church. Their family consisted of three children: Charles E., married Elizabeth Lowry; Maud married Ernest Weishaar and they live in Rhodes, Marshall county ; Mabel married William N. Jordan and they live in Des Moines.
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