USA > Iowa > Lucas County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 19
USA > Iowa > Wayne County > Past and present of Lucas and Wayne counties, Iowa, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume II > Part 19
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
Mr. Kimple married, on the 24 of March, 1876, Miss Josephine Hood. a native of Virginia and a daughter of Samuel and Elsie ( Gallaher ) Hood, natives of that state, of Irish descent. He was married in West Virginia and brought his wife to lowa shortly thereafter. Mr. and Mrs. Kimple became the parents of ten children, eight of whom are living: Emma A .. at home : George Harold. residing at Harvard : May Belle, the wife of Walter West. of Corydon : Lillian B., who married Merton Opp, a resident of Corydon: Carl W .. who looks after his father's farming interests: Roxie. a school teacher: Carrie, who died in infancy; James, attending school: Margaret, at home: and Ocie, who died at the age of five years. The family are members of the Methodist church, in which organization they are prominent. taking an active part in its various branches.
Mr. Kimple's political affiliations are with the republican party and during his long residence in Corydon he has attained prominence in its local ranks and his advice is often sought along political lines. In 1895 he was put forth as a candidate of his party for the office of county treasurer and was elected by a gratifying majority, serving his constituents with ability for a term of four years, discharging his duties to the satisfaction of all concerned. In the Masonic order he has attained a high rank and is prominent in this body not only in the blue lodge but also as a chapter Mason, and belongs to the council while he holds the office of treasurer of the blue lodge and chapter. Viewed from every angle the life work of Mr. Kimple has been thoroughly effective and he has not only been an interested witness of the changes that have occurred in this section but has been a prominent factor in general advancement. Every measure that makes for the improvement of conditions in this section. for the
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betterment and welfare of the people, finds in him a ready supporter and by the busy, active and useful life which he lives he contributes not only to his own suceess but is important in the furtherance of general prosperity in this section which he has helped to make one of the most prosperous farming com- munities in the middle west. Everything he has undertaken he has done in the spirit of advancement that has carried along others whom he has helped by wise counsel based upon knowledge which he has derived from the experiences of a long and active life. Wayne county and Corydon have been made better and richer by his endeavors.
ALBERT BLACK.
Albert Black, who is a native of Washington township. Wayne county, being born June 26, 1876, is prominent in the commercial circles of Humeston in con- nection with the Old Colony Creamery. with which corporation he holds the position of head bookkeeper. He has been connected with this large enterprise, the yearly output of which amounts to over one million dollars, since 1896, and through industry, energy and perseverance has reached the important position which he now holds with this concern.
The parents of Mr. Black were Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth (Snyder) Black, the latter of whom passed away in Washington township, Wayne county, in August, 1878. The father was married three times and to his first union were born : Elmer E., a resident of New York. Wayne county, and who has taught school in Lucas and Wayne counties for the past thirty-two years, born February 13, 1863: Mrs. Ada F. Webster, who was born August 13. 1865. and who died March 20, 1913: George H., born November 20. 1867; Charles R .. born May 14. 1870. a resident of Taunton, Massachusetts: W. L., born July 20. 1873, a rural mail carrier employed at the Iumeston post office: and Albert. of this review. To the second marriage of the father was born one child, Harry. on February 5. 1881. who is a resident of Wayne county. Of the third marriage which the father contracted were born six children, four daughters and two sons : James, born June 23. 1884, of Tumeston, lowa; Alma Harriet, born Inne 24, 1885, a teacher in the public schools of Pacific JJunction, lowa ; Frances F., born April 21, 1887, teaching school near Oskaloosa, Iowa : Mrs. Nellie Willard. a resident of Collbran. Colorado: Mrs. Daisy Shaw, residing in Alex, Oklahoma : and Clande, born June 21. 1895. attending high school in Humeston. The last wife of Andrew J. Black had a daughter by a former marriage, Mrs. Eliza Catharine Nye, born August 13. 1878, who resides at Centerville, Iowa. The father operated a farm until 1893, when the family removed to Humeston, where the parents now reside in a comfortable home.
Albert Black grew to manhood upon his father's farm and has subsequently been continually a resident of lumeston. Until sixteen years of age he attended public school and afterward took a course at the Central Normal University of TIumeston. Subsequently he taught school for two terms and then entered the employ of James L. Ilumphrey, Jr., as common laborer on July 14. 1896, becoming identified with the enterprise of which he is now head bookkeeper.
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His ability. diligence and attention to business soon received recognition and he was advanced from position to position until he was placed in charge of the bookkeeping department of the large establishment at Humeston. He is the second oldest employe of the company, Il. D. Hines, general superintendent. having become connected therewith only a few days before him, and they have been coworkers ever since. The business was at first known as the Wayne County Creamery Int upon becoming the property of James L. Humphrey. Jr .. the name was changed to the Old Colony Creamery and their goods, which are well known from vecan to ocean, are known under that brand. Mr. Black has in no small measure contributed by his services to the success of the concern and his ability has often received commendation from the management.
On June 18, 1902. Mr. Black was married to Miss Mabel I. Kahler, a native of Clay township. Wayne county, where she was born June 21. 1883. and where she attended public school and grew to womanhood. Her parents were William II. and Barbara (Strunk Kabler, the former a native of Ohio, who died in Humeston, August 12, 1906. the latter now making her home with her daughter. Mrs. Black, at Humeston. In the Kahler family were the following children : Lola. a child of the former marriage of Mr. Kahler: one who has passed away : Mrs. Myra Watson, residing at Fort Collins, Colorado: W. L., a resident of Livingston, Montana : Mrs. Albert Black : and D. G., of Botte. Montana. The children were all born and reared in Wayne county, lowa. Mr. and Mrs. Albert. Black have two sons, both born at Humeston : Eugene Leslie, born May 21. 1903 : and Albert Raymond, born September 13, 1905. Both are now attending publie school in their native city.
Mr. Black is a democrat and takes an active interest in local public affairs. He has been elected to the office of city clerk of Humeston and at this writing serves as secretary of the board of education. Mrs. Black is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which she takes an active and helpful interest. Their home is comfortable and well furnished and there they extend a warm-hearted hospitality to their many friends. Both Mr. and Mrs. Black are interested in the higher things of life and well read, being popular in the best social circles of the city. His energy and industry have found substantial reward in the position which he has attained in connection with the foremost industrial establishment of this section and the creditable record he has made has won him the high regard and confidence of all those with whom he has come in contact.
JOHN SCHNEBLY
A history of Encas county would indeed be incomplete without extended mention of John Schnebly, who had resided here for many years previous to his death, which occurred June 17. 1913, when he had passed his eightieth birthday. He came to this county in 1857. settling in Jackson township, where he made his home until his death. Not only was he an interested witness of the changes that transformed the raw prairie into fertile fields but a helpful and cooperant factor in the transformation. Since he has passed away there
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JOHN SCHNEBLY
MRS. JOHN SCHNEBLY
TH PUELI
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is but one person left in the township who voted at the first election held here. The reminiscences of Mr. Schnebly, covering the period when he first landed here by stage coach, in Chariton, in 1857, until the time of his demise, were of great historical value. A deep reader and a student of conditions and human nature, his mind became a storehouse of facts in relation to the advance- ment and development of this section and he possessed the Faculty of interest- ing and vivid description, which made his stories of pioneerdom the more valuable. He became one of the substantial men of the locality, owning at the time of his death a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres in lack- son township. located on sections 17, 18, 20 and 22, under high cultivation and well improved. A man of publie spirit, he, moreover, played an important role in the public life of his community and was ever in the front ranks with those who promoted worthy public projects.
John Schnebly was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, on December 16, 1832, and when only four years of age was brought by his parents to Medina county, Ohio, where they settled in 1836 and remained until 1852. Here he attended the common schools and also followed farming. His parents were Daniel and Rosana (Eversole) Schnebly, both natives of Bedford county, Pennsylvania. where the former was born in November, 1809, and the latter in 1808. The father died in January, 1863. in Medina county. Ohio, his first wife having long preceded him, on December 29. 1838. They were among the pioneer families of that state and were highly respected and regarded in the community in which they made their home. Of this union were born: lohn. of this review; Henry, who was born June 25, 1834, and resides in Tennessee ; Abraham, born July 11, 1836, who died on May 10, 1837: and Mrs. Elizabeth Hewitt, who was born April 24, 1838, and died in Lucas on January 18, 1874. After the death of his first wife the father was again married, his second union being with Miss Amelia Williams, who was born February 25. 1811, and died November 8, 1892. at the age of eighty-one years. Of this union were born : Alice. December 24, 1839, a resident of Michigan; Bower, who was born May 17, 1841, and was killed in the battle of Winchester, in Sheridan's cam- paign. on June 13, 1863; Hortense, born May 14. 1843. who has also passed away; Daniel, born in February, 1845, who died in Brownsville, Texas: Hiram, born January 16, 1847, a resident of York, Nebraska ; Lewis Cass. born July 1. 1848. who died March 15. 1910: and William Riley, born Juine 7, 1850, who resides at Oxnard, Ventura county. California. OF these children the two eldest, including our subject, were born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and the younger in Ohio.
Having made Medina county, Ohio. his home until 1852, John Schnebly of this review went to California by way of the Isthmus route and, rowing down the Chagres river, proceeded thence by steamer to San Francisco, where he remained for four years. His California venture was attended with varying success and at the end of that period he returned lo Ohio but only visited a short time, after which he sel ont on an overland trip to Lucas county in 1857, settling in Jackson township, of which he was a resident until his death. There were no railroads at the time, and all the land was unbroken prairie when he landed at Chariton by stage coach. This now prosperous and flourishing city was then a mere hamlet and Mr. Schnebly was truly entitled to the appel- Vol 11-10
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lation of pioneer, for he witnessed the transformation of this stretch of wild land into one of the greatest agricultural countries. He talked very interest- ingly of his travels, which took him all over the American continent, and possessed the rare faculty of portraying interestingly the many scenes and incidents which he saw and experienced. Giving his entire attention to reach- ing the goal of independence, he set out with unswerving industry to cultivate his land and as the years passed prosperity rewarded his labors and he owned a highly cultivated, well improved farm of three hundred and twenty acres in Jackson township, on sections 17. 18. 20 and 22. equipped with all modern machinery and implements and improved with barns, ontbuildings and a sub- stantial residence. He raised a high-grade of live stock and along every line success attended his efforts. He lived to the venerable age of eighty. dying June 17. 1913. llis remains were buried in Jackson township cemetery. In his death the county lost one of its oldest and most honored pioneers and there are many who feel his loss keenly.
On October 12. 1858. Mr. Schnebly was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Dunlap, who was born in Wayne county, Ohio, on December 18. 1838. and died in Jackson township. Lucas county, lowa, October 7. 1868. Of this union three children were born: Mrs. Clara Cochran, born November 8, 1859, who makes her home with our subject : Mrs. Evaline Elizabeth Reid, born September 9. 1861, who resides at Wonder, Nevada; and Cynthia, born April 15. . 1865, dying but a few months later-on August 20th of the same year. On March 1, 1870, Mr. Schnebly was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary A. Pim, a native of Morrow county, Ohio, where she was born February 21, 1848. In the acquirement of her education she attended the common schools in the neighborhood of her home, the course consisting of three months during the year. Iler parents were Samuel W. and Mary Jane (Immper) Pim, pio- neers of Lucas county, who came here in 1854. Her father was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, May 11, 1822. and died in JJackson township. this county. Febru- ary 16, 1882. her mother also being a native of Pennsylvania, born December 16, 1826, and still resides in Chariton. Mr. Schnebly and Mr. Pim were the first ones to establish a publie-school system in Jackson township and high credit should be given them on that account. Mr. and Mrs. Pim were the parents of nine children : William Henry, a resident of Jackson township : Mrs. Schnebly, the wife of our subject : Mrs. Esther Jane Carpenter, of Herman, Nebraska : Salora Salina, who passed away at the age of eight years; Preston Penrose, residing in Oklahoma : Mrs. Rachel Rebecca Reed. of Canada ; Candace Clemen- tine, deceased ; Mrs. Elma Ellen Walker, also deceased; and Mrs. Ola Amelia Morgan, who resides with her mother in Chariton, lowa. Mr. and Mrs. Schnebly became the parents of three children, all of whom were born in Jackson town- ship. Lucas county. as follows: Mrs. Rosana Jane Heston, born December 21. 1870, residing in Jackson township; Mrs. Berdella Spencer. born March 22, 1873, who died May 9, 1897: and Mrs. Mary Zoffka, born October 5, 1876, a resident of Sac county, lowa. All of these children enjoyed the advantages of an excellent education and qualified to teach in the schools of Lucas county.
Broad and liberal-minded and thoroughly progressive, John Schnebly ever took a deep interest in all matters affecting the public welfare and efficiently served as justice of the peace, constable and township trustee, while his stalwart.
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championship of the cause of edneation found expression in his service as school director. Politically he was a democrat and readily understood the important issues that effect the government, interesting himself in public affairs not as an office seeker but as an American citizen of right-minded citizenship. Mrs. Schne- bly, who is highly esteemed and respected wherever known and gifted with many sweet womanly qualities and of rare accomplishments. is a devout member of the Baptist church of Lucas, to the work of which she gives her earnest material and moral support. Mr. Sehnebly was connected with the Masons, being a member of Good Shepherd Lodge, No. 414 A. F. & A. M., of Lucas, and exempli- fied in his everyday life the beneficent principles of the order. Every force that has gone out to make this one of the greatest sections of the United States along moral, intellectual or material lines, every effort to uphold its standards received the indorsement of John Sehnebly, who in return for his publie spirit received the unqualified admiration and esteem of many who were glad and proud to call him friend. Although a man of over eighty years of age, he was active until a short time before his death and brought to the work of the world that interest which is rare in one of so many years and often gave of his rich store of wisdom and experience for the benefit of others. The years proved the worth of his labors and his life reflected eredit upon Emneas county for he was riehly endowed with those qualities which make men esteemed and his wise use of time, talents and opportunities resulted in a snecess which befitted his labors and his qualities. Those who knew him keep in memory the record of his life and character and feel that it is an inspiration to nobler living.
BYRON R. VAN DYKE.
Byron R. Van Dyke, a representative of a well known pioneer family of Iowa, is still living in Chariton after forty-four years of close connection with its business interests, twenty-six of which he spent as proprietor and manager of the Bates House. He was born in West Virginia, March 2, 1848, and is a son of William M. and Naney ( Hull) Van Dyke, the former born in Penn- sylvania, May 28. 1825, and the latter in Knox county, that state, July 18. 1821. They were among the pioneers in lowa, coming to this state for the first time in 1855 and settling first near Centerville, whence they removed north 10 Burlington. Upon the outbreak of the Civil war they returned to West Vir- ginia and there remained until the close of the Rebellion. In 1868, after the death of the father, two of the children went to Russell in order to take care of their mother and look after her property. She passed away in Chariton. February 7. 1893. She and her husband became the parents of the following children : Byron, of this review: Mrs. Dora Sayles, of San Diego, California; John D .. deceased; William, who resides in Kansas City; Charles M .. who has also passed away: Mrs. Ellen Davis, of Kansas City; and George A .. of Minneapolis.
Byron R. Van Dyke came west for the first time with his parents in 1855 and he returned with them to West Virginia at the outbreak of the Civil war. After the death of his father he settled in Russell and he has since remained a
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resident of Iowa. In 1869 he came to Chariton and for three years was employed as a clerk for Mr. L. F. Maple, after which time he became a partner, but later he went into the bank of Manning and Penick. He remained there for about three years and then formed a partnership with Mr. Maple in the book and stationery business, which connection he maintained until 1881. At that time he became bookkeeper for Eikenberry & Company and remained with them until 1887. In that year he and his wife purchased the Bates House and they conducted this for twenty-six years thereafter, keeping it always modern and up-to-date in every particular and seeuring a large and representative patronage. In 1912. feeling that he had earned a period of leisure. Mr. Van Dyke purchased a modern home in Chariton and now lives there. He is in all essential respects a self-made man, for from his early childhood he has been dependent upon his own resources, earning his first money, sixty cents, by picking up chips for a contractor on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. This was when the road was built west from Burlington.
At Chariton, June 15, 1880. Mr. Van Dyke married Miss Ella Gardner, who was born at Mount Vernon. Ohio. November 10. 1851, a daughter of Nelson B. and Eliza (Murphy) Gardner, pioneers in lowa. The father was born at Mount Vernon, Ohio. March 19. 1827. and the mother in the same city in April. 1830. Their marriage occurred in December. 1850. and they afterward came to Chariton, settling in this city in very early times. Their first home was located where the Lucas County National Bank building now stands and was one of the first residences in the city. Nelson B. Gardner was a veteran of the Civil war, having served through that conflict as captain of Company E. Thirty- fourth lowa Volunteer Infantry. He took part in various important engage- ments and was at Vicksburg when the city fell. After the close of hostilities he returned to Lucas county, where he secured a position as clerk of the courts, an office in which he did a great deal of farsighted and capable work for fourteen years thereafter. During that time he studied law and after being admitted to the bar practiced successfully, becoming one of the leading members of the legal profession in this part of lowa. He died at Chariton, June 27. 1909. having survived his wife since October 1, 1890. In their family were the fol- lowing children : Mrs. Van Dyke, wife of the subject of this review: Frank. who was born December 29. 1854, and who died May 4. 1905: Anna B .. who was born September 23, 1857, and who died July 17. 1871: Mrs. Minnie B. Wiltsey. born July 21. 1865. residing in Hemingford, Nebraska; Mary Eva, whose birth occurred February 16, 1868, and who died August 4. 1869: Dell S .. who was born January 19, 1872, and who is now a resident of Chicago: and Fred G., who was born October 9, 1874, and who also lives in Chicago. The two oldest children were born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and the others in Chariton. All were reared in Lucas county, where they attended the public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke have become the parents of two children. Byron Ralph, Jr., was born September 9. 1557, and acquired an education in the public schools of Chariton, graduating from the high school in June, 1905. limite- diately afterward he became interested in the Lucas County National Bank, of which he is now assistant cashier. On the 4th of October. 19H, he married Miss Marie Bown, who was born in Chariton and who grew to womanhood in this city. They are the parents of a daughter, Ruth, who was born July 2. 1912.
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Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke's other son, William Carl, was born August 9, 1889, and died April 2, 1905.
Mr. Van Dyke is connected fraternally with Chariton Lodge, No. 64. 1. 1 .. & A. M., and was eminent commander of the local commandery for a member of years. Ile belongs also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served for years as a member of the city council. Ilis wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They occupy an attractive modern home in Chariton and own in addition the old Gardner residence. Mr. Van Dyke is one of the best known and most highly respected men of Chariton, where he has made his home for the past forty-four years and where his sterling character and personal and business integrity are recognized and respected.
JOHN B. BARTLETT.
lowa numbers among her native sons many able, progressive and enter- prising business men not the least prominent among whom is John B. Bartlett. proprietor of a feed yard and implement business in Seymour. He was born in Appanoose county in 1855 and is a son of James and Mary Jane (Starks) Bartlett, the former a native of Tennessee and the latter of Indiana. The Bart- lett family was founded in lowa by the grandfather of our subject. Isaac Bartlett, who came to the state from Tennessee in the early '40s and acquired a large traet of government land. On the maternal side Mr. Bartlett is a descendant of Caleb Starks, who came with his family from Indiana to Iowa in pioneer times. The parents of our subject were married in Appanoose county and in that section the father followed farming until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he enlisted in the Federal army. afterward meeting death upon southern battlefields. His wife later married Nate Buress, a farmer of Appa- noose county, who spent a few years of his life in Kansas.
.Jolm B. Bartlett was one of a family of five children born to his parents. He acquired his education in the public schools of his native seetion and began his independent career in 1874, purchasing at that time his first forty acres of land in Appanoose county, Iowa. He was very successful in its development. and cultivation and as his financial resources grew he added to his holdings until at the present time he owns four hundred and eighty acres of land. Dur- ing the course of his agricultural career he bought and sold many acres of farming lands. his transactions along this line being always directed by good business judgment and a knowledge of land values. At one time he owned over five hundred acres but has since disposed of a portion of this property. In 1911 he abandoned agricultural pursuits in favor of a business career and moved into Seymour, where he opened a feed and implement business, in the conduct of which he has already achieved a gratifying measure of sneeess.
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