USA > Iowa > Jasper County > Past and present of Jasper County, Iowa, Vol. II > Part 58
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Mr. Kintz was born in Summit county, Ohio, December 1, 1841, the son of Joseph and Mary (Walkerburger) Kintz, the father born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, January 1I, 1813, and the mother's birth also occurred in that state on May 2, 1812. They grew up and were married in their native
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state. and they emigrated to Jasper county, Iowa, before it was surveyed, set- tling seventeen and one-half miles from their nearest neighbor, having driven horses from Ohio to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where they were exchanged for oxen. They made their entry into Jasper county in 1845 and entered one thousand acres of land from the government near the present village of Clyde and here they set to work establishing a new home, underwent all the hardships inci- dent to pioneer life, but with courage and perseverance they set about the task and succeeded, finally becoming leading farmers of the county and here they spent the balance of their lives, both being now deceased. There were five children in their family, as follows: John W., who lives at Colfax, this county ; Commodore P., of this review: Mrs. Sarah Signs, now deceased ; Mrs. Rebecca Buttinger, of Clear Creek township, Jasper county ; Susan lives at Colfax.
Mr. Kintz, of this sketch, was four years old when his parents brought him to this county. Here he grew to manhood, assisted with the work of developing the homestead and here he was content to spend his life. When the great Civil war began he offered his services to the Federal government, enlisting at Clyde, this county, in August, 1862, in the Fortieth Iowa Volun- teer Infantry, and he made a very faithful soldier in the Western army. from which he was honorably discharged, he having been practically incapacitated for service, having been attacked with measles, later contracting a severe cold. He at once returned home and resumed farming as soon as able.
Mr. Kintz was married on October 7, 1863, to Mary Ann Thompson, who was born in Ohio, April 4, 1844, the daughter of William and Margaret (Morehead) Thompson, a prominent family who came to Jasper county, Iowa, in early days and became well established there. There were eleven children in the Thompson family.
Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kintz, six of whom are liv- ing at this writing, all born in Clear Creek township; they were named as follows: Mrs. Margaret Cool, born July 10, 1864, lives at Baxter, Iowa ; Mrs. Sallie Downs, born October 10, 1866, lives in Clear Creek township: Joseph W., born October 1, 1868, died at Fort Dodge, Iowa ; Laura D., born October 24, 1870, died when nine years of age, in October, 1879; Mary E., born January 10, 1872, is deceased; Mrs. Alta Gingles, born February 16, 1874, lives at the village of Collins, this county ; Charles, born March 1, 1877, lives on the old home farm in Clear Creek township; Pearl M., born July 16, 1879, is deceased; Mrs. Myrtie M. Shryock, born July 16, 1879, lives at Baxter, Iowa: Carl C. and Cloe A., twins, were born November 8, 1882, both dying in August the following year, the son on the 16th and the daughter
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on the 19th; Oley A., born July 27, 1885, was graduated from Drake Uni- versity and is at present living in Des Moines.
In 1888 Mr. Kintz moved from the farm and turned his attention to the hotel business, first at Collins, then Rhodes, continuing thus until 1900.
Mr. Kintz was very successful in a business way and accumulated some splendid property and a competency, his estate, including a business house in Colfax, also one in Collins, together with a large, substantial and well fur- nished home in the latter town, and two hundred and seventy acres of choice, well improved and productive land in Clear Creek township, this county, also valuable land in South Dakota. In the early days the newcomers made the Kintz home their stopping placc until they could locate and this name was one of the best known in this and adjoining counties.
The death of Commodore P. Kintz occurred on April 5, 1908, at his beautiful home in Collins, where Mrs. Kintz still resides. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church here, and he belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the local lodge conducting his funeral, which was one of the largest this part of the county ever saw, for he was popular with all classes. having been a kindly, generous, honest and hospitable gentleman who believed in scattering sunshine about him as he went through life.
J. W. THOMPSON.
Among the successful agriculturists and stock men of Jasper county whose efforts and influence have contributed to the material upbuilding and general business activity of their respective communities, J. W. Thompson, of the vicinity of Collins, Clear Creek township, occupies a conspicuous place. Early in his career he realized the fact that practical industry, wisely and vig- orously applied, never fails of success ; that it carries a man onward and up- ward, brings out his individual character and acts as a powerful stimulus to the efforts of others; that the greatest results in life are often attained by simple means and the exercise of the ordinary qualities of common sense and perseverance ; that the every-day life, with its cares, necessities and duties. affords ample opportunities for acquiring experience of the best kind and its most beaten paths provide a true worker with abundant scope for effort and improvement, consequently Mr. Thompson has ever been alert to seize the small opportunities that he has encountered on the rugged hill that leads to life's better things.
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Mr. Thompson was born in Collins township, Story county, Iowa, No- vember 25, 1866, but nearly all his life has been spent on the fine farm which he now occupies in Clear Creek township, Jasper county, whither his parents, Samuel and Catherine H. (Deeter) Thompson, brought him when he was a child, this family being one of the earliest to settle in this township, in 1855. Owing to the prominence of these parents here and in Marshall county, where the elder Thompson now resides, the biographer deems it best to devote some space here to them, before continuing with the immediate subject.
Samuel Thompson, farmer of State Center township, Marshall county, was born in Venango county, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1830. When ten years old he moved to Wayne county, Ohio, and remained there until 1851, in which year he removed to Jasper county, Iowa, and has made this section of the Hawkeye state his home ever since, living to see the wonderful develop- ment of the same from the wild prairie to one of the richest agricultural sec- tions in the Union, and he has taken no small part in this development. Will- iam Thompson, his father, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and he came to Iowa in an early day and died here. He was a member of the famous band of "forty-niners" who crossed the great Western plains in search of gold in California. The mother of Samuel Thompson was known in her maidenhood as Margaret Morehead, who was born in Pennsylvania and who died in Iowa. To William Thompson and wife there were born nine children, namely: Mrs. Nancy Jones, deceased ; James died in Des Moines ; Samuel, father of J. W., the subject of this review; Mrs. Sarah Parker died in 1910; Joseph lives in Nebraska; Mrs. Margaret Taggart died in Ohio; John lives at Collins, Iowa; William lives in California; Mary Ann married Commodore P. Kintz, he being now deceased, and she is living on a farın in Clear Creek township, Jasper county.
Samuel Thompson was married in 1852 to Harriet Deeter, who died in 1853. and he was subsequently married to a sister of his first wife, Catherine H. Deeter, who was born in 1833 and whose death occurred at Rhodes, Iowa. By the first union one child, Mrs. Margaret Ellen Dodd, was born Novem- ber 19, 1852, and she is residing in Jasper county. To the second union eleven children were born, named as follows: Mrs. Mary Aluia Norris, living at Valley Junction, Iowa; Mrs. Anna Capron, who was born March 1, 1861, died July 14, 1900 ; Samuel lives in Mapleton, Kansas ; Mrs. Lillie Walker is deceased : Mrs. Jennie Signs is a resident of Olathe, Kansas ; Mr. Rose Hand lives near Colo, Iowa; Mrs. Sadie Corbett lives in State Center, Iowa ; John WV., subject of this review : a son died in infancy.
Samuel Thompson is the owner of a valuable farm of two hundred and
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eleven acres in Clear Creek township, Jasper county, but being retired from active life he is making his home with his daughter, Mrs. Corbett, of State Center, Iowa. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in Company F, Fortieth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, at Newton, and he served for two years and eight months in the Army of the Potomac under Gen. A. J. Garrett, of Newton, seeing much service, including the battle of Wilson's Creek, and he was wounded at Brownsville, Tennessee. Politically, he is a Democrat and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church at Rhodes. He belongs to the Van Pelt Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at State Center ; also be- Jongs to Eden Lodge No. 466, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Rhodes. He talks interestingly of the pioneer days and of his experiences in coming overland from Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio, before the days of railroads in Iowa, and also of his trip in wagons to Pike's Peak, Colorado, in 1860.
John W. Thompson, the immediate subject of this sketch, grew to man- hood in Clear Creek township and was educated in the public schools there, and with the exception of three years spent in Wyoming, Colorado and Ne- braska, having homesteaded in the last named state, and three years spent in the hardware business in Rhodes, Iowa, he has been identified with the agricul- tural interests of this community all his mature years, having been very suc- cessful in this line of endeavor. He farms two hundred and eleven acres of the old homestead in Clear Creek township in a manner that stamps him as a progressive twentieth-century farmer, having kept the old place well im- proved and well tilled, carrying on general farming and stock raising on an extensive scale. He is also the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Texas. He has a modern and well furnished home. He has always taken a deep interest in local affairs. Politically, he is a Democrat. He has been a member of the town council of Rhodes. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Camp No. 2358, of Collins.
On November 28, 1894, Mr. Thompson was married to Linnie Snook, who was born in Collins township, Story county, Iowa, March 7, 1873, the daughter of William and Sarah (Fisher) Snook, The father. who was a native of Maryland, died in Illinois, May 31, 1899, at the age of seventy-four years ; the mother was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November 25, 1838. and her death occurred on November 15, 1902.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Snook, and were reared in Story county, all still living, namely: Mrs. Lottie Trauger is living at Whit- ing, Iowa: James lives in Kansas ; Mrs. Mary Hampton lives in Nebraska ; Ed. lives in Washington: William lives in Illinois .: George is a resident of Ames, Iowa : Linnie, wife of Mr. Thompson, of this review, is the youngest.
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Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, namely : Vilda, born August 13, 1895, is attending high school at Collins ; Loveda, born July 27, 1899; John, born in Rhodes, August 10, 1905 ; Jessie, born Decem- ber 6, 1907 : all but John were born in Clear Creek township.
GEORGE LONG.
Specific mention is made of many of the worthy citizens of Jasper county within the pages of this book, citizens who have figured in the growth and development of this favored locality and whose interests are identified with its every phase of progress, each contributing in his sphere of action to the well being of the community in which he resides and to the advancement of its normal and legitimate growth. Among this number is he whose name ap- pears above, peculiar interest attaching to his career from the fact that most of his busy and useful life has been spent within the borders of this county, . which has been the arena of his activities for a period of forty-four years, or during the active period of the great development of this locality, in which · he has played no inconspicuous part.
George Long, one of the progressive farmers of Clear Creek township. was born in Winneshiek county, Iowa, April 3, 1854, and there he spent his early boyhood, coming with his parents to Jasper county in 1867 and he has been a continuous resident here since, having attended the local schools and began working on the home place when but a boy. His parents, John and Lucy (Smith) Long, came to Iowa fifty-five years ago when the state was new. They were natives of Canada, the father's birth occurring there on March 29, 1825, and he died on March 30, 1907. The mother died many years before, in February, 1868, at the age of thirty-four. Their family con- sisted of six children, all sons, named as follows: George, of this review ; Charles, born November 20, 1856, is living in Walla Walla, Washington; John W., born March 7, 1860, lives in Eden township, Marshall county, Iowa ; Frank, born March 29, 1862, lives in Independence township, Jasper county; Wilson, born in 1864, is living in Idaho: Albert, born in April. 1869, lives in Des Moines, Iowa. John Long, the father, was twice married, and the fol- lowing children were born of the second union: Bessie, Josie, Amanda. Bert. Alonzo, Jonah, Anjie and Otis.
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George Long, of this sketch, was married in December, 1876, to Phoebe Jane Miller, who was born in Clear Creek township, this county, May 24,
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1857, and here she grew to womanhood, received her schooling and has always resided in this community. She is the daughter of Robert and Rebecca (Kintz) Miller. The father enlisted in the Union army during the Civil war and was killed during the service. The mother, who was born in Summit county, Ohio, is living in Clear Creek township, this county, of which her father, Joseph Kintz, was among the first settlers. There were six children in the family, four of whom are living.
Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Long, five of whom are deceased. They were named : Clarence D., born May II, 1877, is living in Independence township, this county ; Quincy, born October 27, 1879, died on November 29th of the same year ; Mrs. Pearl Hardenburgh, born in April, 1880, lives in Independence township; Mrs. Lillie Tramel, born March 12, 1882, lives in Clear Creek township; James Carl, born September 13, 1883. is assisting his father with the work on the home farm; Stella, born June 18, 1885, died November 3d of the same year ; Charles died in infancy, as did also Fred, and the youngest, unnamed.
Mr. Long has met with success as a general farmer and stock man, and he is the owner of an excellent and well improved farm of one hundred and forty acres in Clear Creek township, which he has kept in first-class shape, and he has a cozy home, modernly furnished.
The son, James C. Long, mentioned above, married Osee Hardenburgh, a daughter of one of the old settlers of Jasper county, and their children are Virgil Vernon, born January 12, 1908, and George Harlan, born April 3, 1910.
CHARLES E. KINTZ.
One of the enterprising young farmers and stock men of Clear Creek town- ship is Charles E. Kintz, who has been content to spend his life in his native community, rightly deciding that this favored section of the great Hawkeye state held as good if not better opportunities than any other in the Union. He is the representative of one of the old and well known families of Jasper county, members of which have figured more or less prominently in local affairs from the pioneer days and his record shows that he has been careful to keep un- tarnished the honored family name.
Mr. Kintz was born in the township and on the farm where he now resides on March 1, 1877, his paternal grandfather, Joseph Kintz, having been the first settler in Clear Creek township and, as intimated, from that time
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to this this family has been well known here. He is the son of Commodore P. and Mary Ann (Thompson) Kintz, the father born in Summit county, Ohio, December 1, 1841, and the mother's birth occurred in Ohio on April 4, 1844. The father came to Jasper county, Iowa, in 1845 with his parents, Joseph and Mary (Walkerburger) Kintz, both natives of Pennsylvania. This family came to Jasper county, Iowa, before it was surveyed and here began life in true pioneer style, seventeen miles from their nearest neighbor, the grand- father entering one thousand acres near Clyde and there resided until his death. There were five children in his family, John W., Commodore P .. Sarah Signs, Rebecca Buttinger and Susan.
The father of the subject was reared on the farm here and when the Civil war broke out he enlisted in the Fortieth Iowa Volunter Infantry and went to the front in the Western army, from which he was later discharged on account of disability. He was married on October 7, 1863, to Mary Ann Thompson, she being one of a family of eleven children.
Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Commodore P. Kintz, named as follows : Margaret Cool, born July 10, 1864, lives in Baxter ; Sallie Downs, born October 10, 1866, of Clear Creek township: Joseph W., born October I, 1868, is deceased : Laura D., born October 24, 1870, is deceased ; Mary E., born January 10, 1872, is deceased ; Alta Gingles, born February 16, 1874, of Collins, Iowa : Charles E., of this review: Pearl M., born July 16, 1879; Mertie M. Shryock, born July 16, 1879, of Baxter : Carl C. and Cloe A., born November 8, 1882, were twins and are both deceased : Oley A., born July 27, 1885, lives in Des Moines.
Commodore P. Kintz became well established here and was the owner of considerable valuable property, including business places in Colfax and Collins and two hundred and seventy acres of choice land in Clear Creek township. His death occurred in the town of Collins on April 5, 1908, and his widow still lives in Collins.
Charles E. Kintz, of this review, grew up on the home farm and was educated in the local schools, and with the exception of a few years spent in Minnesota and a short time in Dakota he has made the immediate vicinity of his birth his home.
Mr. Kintz was united in marriage on October 20, 1902, to Edith Selburg, who was born in Gibson City, Ford county, Illinois, on June 14, 1885. She is the daughter of August and Annie (Peterson) Selburg, the former dying in Hector. Minnesota, and the latter is living in Minneapolis. Their family con- sisted of ten children, seven of whom are living, namely: Gena Johnson, Albert, Mrs. Lena Giles, Nellie Larson, Mrs. Kintz. of this review, Herman
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and Mrs. Laura Hanson. The older members of this family were born in Illinois and the younger in Minnesota.
To Mr. and Mrs. Kintz one son, Commodore Perry Kintz, was born on April 30, 1904. Politically, Mr. Kintz is a Democrat and he has been a mem- ber of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Kintz is a young man of more than ordinary business ability and to him has fallen the burden of administering his father's large estate, which he has done in a very creditable manner to himself and satisfactorily to the other heirs. He has been very successful as a general farmer and stock man. He has a large herd of grade hogs and has the nucleus of an excellent herd of cattle. besides some of the best draft horses to be found in the township.
JOHN. W. SIGNS.
The career of John W. Signs, one of our worthy native sons, illustrates forcibly the possibilities to the young men who are content to spend their lives in their home districts, if they are men of earnest purpose, integrity and ster- ling business qualities. A well spent life and an honorable career constitute his record, and, like the other members of the old pioneer family from which he springs, he has a wide circle of friends in this locality.
Mr. Signs was born in Clear Creek township, this county, on February 14, 1864. Here he grew to manhood, received his education in the public schools and assisted with the general work on the home place in his boyhood, in fact, he has always been identified with the agricultural pursuits of this vicinity until within the past few years.
The subject is the son of James and Sarah (Kintz) Signs. The father was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on August 18, 1831, and the mother was born in Summit county, Ohio, on June 12, 1835. James Signs settled in Iowa in 1854 and in Clear Creek township, Jasper county, in 1857, in which he is still living, on the old home place with his son, J. Lee Signs. He has lived to see this section develop from a wild prairie to one of the chief agricultural communities of the state and he has taken no small part in this work of trans- formation. He has made a success as a tiller of the soil and is widely known here. His wife died on October 23, 1903. Their family consisted of four sons and one daughter, namely : J. Emery, born March 1, 1859, lives in Clear Creek township: Mrs. John W. Long lives in Eden township, Marshall county ; Charles C., born January 8, 1862, of Olathe, Kansas : John W., of this sketch ; and J. Lee, of Clear Creek township.
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John W. Signs was married on September 5, 1885, to Mary Wiley, who was born in Clear Creek township, this county, September 6, 1868. Here she grew up and received her education. Her parents, James and Julia (Deeter) Wiley, were among the earliest settlers in this township. The father was born in Indiana, March 13, 1845, is living in South Dakota, and the mother, who was born in Ohio, died when thirty-five years of age, in April, 1880. There were four daughters in the Wiley family, namely: Mary, wife of the subject of this sketch; Clara, born in Clear Creek township, February 12, 1872, is the wife of J. Lee Signs, of this township; Mrs. Belle Dodd, born August II, 1876, lives in Lowrie City, Missouri.
To Mr. and Mrs. Signs have been born two daughters, namely: Clara B., born May 24, 1887, is attending the common schools near her home and the Collins graded schools, from which she was graduated with the class of 1907, and she was a student at Highland Park College, Des Moines, for one year ; she is at present teaching the grammar department of the Collins high school and is giving eminent satisfaction. Maude, the younger daughter, was born August 22, 1889, and died September 17, 1891.
Politically, Mr. Signs is a Democrat, and he belongs to Unit Lodge No. 520, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, at Baxter. He and his wife are members of Sunbeam Lodge No. 181, Mystic Workers, at Collins.
A few years ago Mr. Signs moved to Collins and for some time con- ducted the hotel there, later returning to the farm, but remained only a year, then moved back to Collins, where he is now engaged principally in teaming. For a number of years he bought and sold horses, in fact, he was one of the heaviest dealers in this community.
JOSEPH A. LEONARD.
Laborious effort was the lot of Joseph A. Leonard, one of the substantial and well known citizens of Clear Creek township, Jasper county, during his youth and early manhood, but his fidelity to duty won him the respect and con- fidence of those with whom he was thrown into contact and by patient con- tinuance in well doing he gradually arose from an environment none too auspicious to his present high standing among the influential citizens of this part of the county, being one of the township's leading general farmers and stock raisers, always giving his personal attention to his various industries with the same energy and discretion, persistency and foresight that have char-
MR. AND MRS. JOSEPH A. LEONARD
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acterized his labors during an honorable career. Having every dollar in his possession as the result of honest effort, and that, too, not infrequently in the face of adverse circumstances, he can claim without ostentation the proud American title of self-made man.
Mr. Leonard was born in Clear Creek township, this county, November 14, 1861. He grew to manhood here and has always been identified with the agricultural interests of this community. He was educated in the district schools here. He is the son of A. L. and Sarah ( Ashton) Leonard, the father born in Delaware county, Ohio, and the mother in Illinois. They came to Jasper county, Iowa, in the year 1858 and here spent the balance of their lives, the father's death occurring at the old homestead in Clear Creek township, in December, 1880, at the age of forty-eight years, the mother having passed away in 1874, when forty-two years old. They were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Mrs. Cass Stock is deceased; Joseph H., of this review; C. A. lives at Prole, Iowa ; J. H. lives at Boulder, Colorado; A. W., of Drift- wood, Oklahoma. These children were born and reared in Clear Creek town- ship, this county.
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