USA > Iowa > Henry County > Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Iowa, containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 12
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84
To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, in spite of their best works and the most earnest efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. The pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhu- mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people
to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The erection of the great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements and carry them down the ages. It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea- to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, though many of them costly in the ex- treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- ters of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- bling into dust.
It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating a full history-immutable in that it is almost un- limited in extent and perpetual in its action ; and this is through the art of printing.
To the present generation, however, we are in- debted for the introduction of the admirable system of local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, through the coming ages.
The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the physical man is left. The monument which his chil- dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- tery will crumble into dust and pass away ; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated by a record of this kind.
To preserve the lineaments of our companions we engrave their portraits, for the same reason we col- lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to wait until they are dead, or until those who know them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to publish to the world the history of those whose lives are unworthy of public record.
G
@
BIOGRAPHICAL.
。
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
Pandey.
169
IIENRY COUNTY.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
P RESLEY SAUNDERS, who is a leading mer- chant of Mt. Pleasant, and President of the First National Bank of that city, is now the oldest living pioneer of the county, and is the founder and sponsor of the flourishing city within whose present bounds he has made his home for more than half a century. He was born in Flem- ing County, Ky., in 1809, and is a son of Gunnell and Mary (Mazey) Saunders, both natives of Vir- ginia, who emigrated to Kentucky with their par- ents, and were married in the latter State. They were farmers, and lived in abont the same way as other pioneers in the "dark and bloody ground," and there reared a family. In 1828 they decided to fol- low their son Presley, who in the previous year had located at Springfield, Ill., and emigrated to that then small village. There they engaged in farm- ing, and remained several years, when once more they followed the footsteps of their enterprising sons, and came to Mt. Pleasant, where both died. They were members of the Christian Church, and was respected by all who knew them. They were the parents of the following seven children : Jona- than R., who was a soldier in the Black Hawk War. and died at Springfield, Ill .; Naney, wife of Amos Locke, who with her husband died in Indiana; Frances, who was the wife of David Mackey, after whose demise she married Arthur Miller, and died in this county ; Presley, the subject of this sketch ; George, who is a farmer near Springfield, Ill. ; Will- iam, who died in this county; and Alvin, formerly
a noted citizen of Mt. Pleasant, afterward Territor- ial Governor of Nebraska, and one of its first United States Senators after its admission as a State, and now a resident of Omaha.
Presley Saunders was reared like the majority of farmers' sons of his day, and received his education in the primitive pioneer schools of his native State. When eighteen years old he went with a brother-in- law to the latter's home in Indiana; he worked for him a while, and then went to another place in the same State, but not liking the employment, which offered no inducements to his enterprising spirit, he determined to push on still farther west, his destina- tion being Springfield, Ill., of which he had heard glowing accounts. He had left his horse with his brother-in-law, and finding it would delay him to go back for it, he started on his 200-mile journey afoot. On getting to Springfield, he sought labor at whatever he could find to do. He mauled rails, built post and rail fences, worked at day's labor, etc. This rude labor in the open air laid the found- ation of a constitution that has carried him to nearly fourscore years, and yet leaves him com- paratively hale and vigorous. Among his opera- tions while in Illinois was the purchase of a farm, which he improved and sold at an advance. In 1828 he and a Mr. Rogers took a drove of hogs to Galena, Ill., feeding them on the mast found in the woods on the way. After disposing of the drove, he hired on a flatboat for a trip to St. Louis, and being favorably impressed with the appearance of the
170
HENRY COUNTY.
country along the river. determined that whenever the land was opened for settlement, he would locate somewhere there. The treaty of 1832, after the de- feat and capture of Black Hawk, gave this oppor- tunity, the Indians giving up possession JJune 1, 1833. In the events which led to that treaty, and gave this rich Territory to the white man, Mr. Saun- ders was an active participant. On the breaking ont of the Black Hawk War, in 1832, he enlisted in Capt. Moffet's company, and was in the fight at the Heights of Wisconsin, and at the battle of Bad Ax, and served until the capture of Black Hawk. The consequent treaty prepared the way for him to keep the resolution formed years before, and in 1834 he, with four companions, started West. Ilis first in- tention was to locate near the Mississippi, but a wholesome dread of the agne, inseparable in that day from the banks of the river, drove him farther inland, and the little company kept on over the prairie until the site of Mt. Pleasant was reached. Struck with the beauty of the place, and finding water convenient, Mr. Saunders drove his stakes right there. The selection was a fortunate one for him. In February, 1835. he brought his family from Illinois, and knowing this must be near the center of the new county whenever formed, he laid out a plat for a village, which he called Mt. Pleas- ant, a most appropriate name. In 1836 Mr. Saun- ders opened a store in the new village, and there be- gan the business life which he has followed, with strict integrity, and always successfully, for fifty- two consecutive years, making him the oklest mer- chant in the State, if not in the entire Northwest.
Beside the original one, Mr. Saunders laid out two additional plats to the town which he founded. The county was organized by the Territorial Legis- lature of lowa in 1838, and an old law giving the county the right to a quarter section for county pur- poses, Mr. Saunders gave up almost half his lots in the village for court-house buildings, etc. The land not having yet been surveyed, he sold the balance of his lots to purchasers with a bond attached, guar- anteeing a deed when the title was secured from the Government. From this time on the rapid and healthy growth of the embryo city was secured, and Mr. Saunders reaped the reward of his foresight. His property rapidly increased in value, and that
and the legitimate gains of a carefully conducted business have made him a wealthy man, a result in which his life-long neighbors rejoice, taking a pride in the success of so justly an esteemed citizen. In 1862, desiring to enlarge his field of operations. Mr. Saunders formed a partnership with James M. Kibben, and established a private bank under the name of Saunders & Kibben. This was the fore- runner of the First National Bank of Mt. Pleasant, which was organized under the National Banking Law, and of which he has been President, and a guiding spirit ever since its inception. To his sagaeious and prudent management must be attrib- nted in a large degree the success which has made it one of the soundest financial institutions in the State.
Notwithstanding his prominence in the city and county, Mr. Saunders has always refused to hold public office, but has given his attention exclusively to business matters. Ilis duties as a citizen he has discharged in a quiet, unostentatious manner. and many are the quiet, good deeds recorded of him by those who know him best, accounting in a meas- ure for the regard in which he is held by the peo- ple of Henry County.
Our subject has been twice married, first in San- gamon Comty, Ill., in 1830, to Miss Edith Cooper, who was born in Tennessee, and was a daughter of John Cooper, a native of the same State, who was one of the earliest settlers of Sangamon County. Mrs. Saunders died at Mt. Pleasant in 1836, leav- ing three children, of whom a daughter Mary. now a resident of Colorado, is the sole survivor. Mrs. Saunders was an estimable lady, who had the re- spect of the people among whom she lived : she was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The second marriage of Presley Saunders was the first within the bounds of Henry County. It was solemnized in 1837. His wife was Huldah Bowen, with whom he has now passed a happy wedded life of over half a century. Mrs. Saunders was born near Chillicothe, Ohio, in ISI7, and is a daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Bowen. who were natives re- spectively of Maryland and Kentucky, who were married in Ohio, and removed to Mt. Pleasant, where both died. Mrs. Saunders is a member of the Christian Church, in which she is an active
171
HENRY COUNTY.
worker and a liberal supporter. Her long life has been one of content and happiness, and she, with her husband, shares the good-will of the people of the city where they have lived so long. Their union was blessed with four children, all now liv- ing, viz. : Smith, who is married to Emma Jenness, and is a dealer in real estate in Conneil Binffs, Iowa ; Alvin B. married Alice Saunders, and was a real- estate dealer at Harper, Kan., but is now manag- ing his father's store at Mt. Pleasant; Eliza, the wife of John Bowman, and Etna, the wife of Fred Hope, all residents of Mt. Pleasant.
As an illustration of the changes which have taken place during the long residence of Mr. Saun- ders in Henry County, he cites the fact that he had one chikl born in the Territory of Michigan, one in the Territory of Wiseonsin, one in the Territory of lowa, and one in the State of lowa, and during all the time wherein these births occurred, was living on the same quarter section, an extraordinary in- cident, probably without parallel.
The life of Mr. Saunders is full of encourage- ment to young men who have an earnest desire to succeed, and are possessed of the necessary quali- fications. His capital at the start was a good con- stitution, temperate and frugal habits, industry, and unquestioned integrity of character, with un- bounded pluck and perseverance, and but $5 in money. From these humble beginnings he has raised himself to the prominent position he has held in the community for many years, and has acquired an ample fortune, and no man in the county stands higher in the estimation of his fellowmen then does Presley Saunders, the pioneer.
For the excellent portrait of this honored citizen, which appears on an adjoining page, our readers are indebted to friends who contributed this memorial in honor of the most eminent pioneer of Henry County. That he is worthy of the lead- ing place in this record of the best citizens of the county, will be conceded by every resident.
ELS KLEN, a farmer residing on section 23, Wayne Township, Henry Co., lowa, was born near llesselholm, Sweden, Oct. 15, 1838, and is the son of Nels and Panilla (Benson)
Rasmusson, born in the same country, where they were reared, married, and became the parents of seven children. Nels Rasmusson was a farmer and earpenter in Sweden, and during his life en- gaged in those occupations. Ile became quite wealthy and died in the autumn of 1878. His widow resides on the old homestead and has reached the mature age of seventy-eight years. Only two of the children are residents of America, our sub- ject and Rasmus Nelson, who resides in York County, Neb., the husband of Louie Palmblad. The children living in Sweden are : Peter Nelson, who is the eldest brother and unmarried; Banta, wife of O. Oleson, resides on the old homestead: Anna came to America in 1868, but in 1872 returned to Sweden where she afterward married; Bengt, the youngest son, is also unmarried, and is a farmer in his native country.
In 1865 our subject came to America and went to Galesburg, Ill. He was married, December 16 of that year, to Miss Panilla Benson, who came to America from Hastveda, Sweden, the same year with her brother John, now of Brown County, Kan., and a cousin, John Swenson. Her people remained all their lives in Sweden, and died on the old home- stead before the daughter left her native land. A brother, Benjamin, preceded Mrs. Klen to America, coming in 1868. He became an employe of the Government in the Naval Department. Prospering greatly, he went to llelena, Mont., began mining, became wealthy, and now owns extensive water- works in that city. Ile was married in that country to a German lady and they now have three chil- dren. There were six children in the Benson fam- ily who reached adult age: the two mentioned above, Mrs. Klen, Mrs. John Peterson, and two brothers yet in Sweden-Peter, who married Bessie Oleson, and Nels, who is unmarried.
Mr. Klen was acquainted with his wife in Sweden during her girlhood, and since their marriage many happy days have been spent. The trials of life have long since been passed. When Nels arrived at Galesburg he only had $1 in his pocket, and being ill for almost six months, he ran greatly behind. . Upon their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Klen started even with the world, but with strong arms and willing hearts they began the battle of life, and to-day have a nice
.
172
HENRY COUNTY.
competency and are yet in their prime. They be- came residents of Henry County, Iowa, in 1872, having purchased his land three years previously. The broad acres that are now so finely improved were a vacant prairie, and every stick, every tree, everything in fact which makes life enjoyable, have been placed there by Mr. Klen. No children bear their name. No more worthy family is a resident of the township, and since their arrival here both have been members of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Swedesburg. Nellie Patterson, known as Nellie Klen, has been reared from her third year by Mrs. Klen, and in her tidy home Nellie has been taught all the mysteries of housekeeping.
Mr. Klen is a Republican and received his citi- zenship in full in this county. He owns a fine farm on section 23, and we gladly give him and his wife a deserved place among the noted Swedish families of the county.
OIIN P. SMITHI, a farmer of Henry County, residing on section 16, Centre Township, was born near Elizabeth City, N. C., April 11, 1818, and is of English and Welsh de- scent. Ile is a son of Samuel and Lydia (Pritch- ard) Smith, both of whom were natives of North Carolina. They were the parents of two children, one of whom is living, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Smith was previously married to Gresham Overton, and by this union there were two chil- dren, both of whom are now dead. Of all this family Mr. Smith is the only one left to record their history. John was a boy when his parents died and was bound out to John Gregery, a painter. but not liking this he ran away, and resolved to earn his own living. In 1838 he was married to Miss Julia Kenyon, a native of North Carolina, born in 1812. In 1843 they emigrated to Henry County, Ind., and in 1849 came to Henry County, lowa. They made the journey with teams, camp- ing out at night, and located on land in Jackson Township. In 1836 he purchased his present farm of forty acres in Center Township, situated a mile and a half south of Mt. Pleasant. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Smith has been blessed with six chil-
!
dren : Thomas J. enlisted in Company K, 19th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Sterling Farm. in Louisiana, Sept. 29, 1863; Will- iam L. also enlisted in Company K, 19th Łowa Vol- unteer Infantry, and participated in the following battles: That of Ft. Morgan, Miller's Ford, Browns- ville, Tex., siege of the Spanish Fort and the bat- tle of Mobile. He served thirty months and was always found at his post of duty. James M., of Ft. Madison, Jowa, also served in the same regi- ment. The other three died in infancy.
Mrs. Smith departed this life in 1863. She was a sincere Christian, being a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church, and a kind wife and mother. In the fall of 1863 Mr. Smith was again married, to Elizabeth J Booth, a daughter of Henry and Eliz- abeth Booth, who died in Guernsey County, Ohio. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By this last union there were five chil- dren : Rose E., who died Aug. 13, 1886; Bertram E., Jesse B., Joseph H. and Minnie E. Politically, Mr. Smith is a Republican, but before the organi- zation of that party he was a Whig. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are greatly respected throughout the community. Mr. Smith has lived in Henry County since 1849, and has witnessed the changes that have transformed it from a wild, uninhabited region, to one of the most cultivated counties in the State.
ON. JOHN S. STEPHENSON, deceased, an honored pioneer of Henry County, Iowa, of 1836, was born in Virginia, in the old block house at the fort, on the site of the city of Parkersburg, now West Virginia, when the Northwest Territory was ceded by Virginia to the United States. His birth occurred April 11, 1800, while his parents were temporarily seeking shelter at the fort from a threatened Indian attack. Their home properly was in Wood County, Va., to which they returned soon after the birth of our subject. Ilis parents, Edward and Elizabeth (Dilts) Stephen- son, were worthy people of Scottish birth, and had emigrated to America in the first years of the Re- publie. John S. was educated at Parkersburg, Va.
173
HENRY COUNTY.
He was a farmer by occupation, and was married in Dearborn County, Ind., in 1821, to Miss Elizabeth Archibald, daughter of William and Elizabeth (White) Archibald. Mrs. Stephenson was born in Massachusetts, Oct. 28, 1801, and died in New London, Iowa. April 7, 1887. Mr. Stephenson removed to Dearborn County, Ind., from Virginia, while a single man, but resided in Hamilton County, Ohio, from the date of his marriage till 1836, when he emigrated from that county to Henry County, Iowa, and settled in what is now Baltimore Town- ship, on what is now known as the Britton farm, Three years later he removed to Jackson Township, in the same county, where he bought a large tract of land, and was engaged in farming till 1857, then removed to the village of Lowell, Baltimore Township, where he liad established a general store several years before. He also had a store at Boyls- ton, which he left in the care of his sons.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson's family consisted of five sons and two daughters: William A., born Nov. 5, 1823, and died Jan. 26, 1844; Edmund J. was born Oct. 2, 1826, went to California in 1849, and died at New Orleans, La., on his return voyage, May 2, 1854; Edward H. was born April 27, 1829, married Permelia Smith, and is engaged in the drug business at New London. (See his sketeh elsewhere in this work), Alva H. was born March 7, 1831, and married Nellie Kearns, and died April 29, 1885; his wife survives him, and resides in Memphis, Tenn. John S. was born Oet. 2, 1834, and married Anna Price, and is a farmer of Pleasant Ridge Township, Lee Co., Iowa; Sarah E., born Sept. 9, 1838, is the wife of Charles Kirk. patrick, of Lowell, Henry Co., Iowa; Mary Eliza, born Oet. 2, 1841, is the wife of William Jack- man, and resides in New London, Iowa,
When Mr. Stephenson settled in Jackson Township he purchased a claim on which he built a double- room log cabin, and named his place " Hard- scrabble," where he kept open house after the whole-souled, hospitable manner of the Virginians. He was known far and near, and every stranger or belated traveler who sought shelter with him was sure of a warm welcome. and the best the house afforded, Mr. Stephenson was a man of very superior mental endowments, a thorough scholar,
and a great student of history and political econ- omy. Ile soon became prominent in public affairs, and was elected Register of Land Claims in this part of the county. and Notary _Public, and was one of the first Justices of the county, and held that position for several years. He was chosen to represent his district in the State Senate, and was influential in framing laws for the young common- wealth of Iowa.
In early life he was a Whig of the pro-slavery type, and on the dissolution of his party in 1856 attached himself to the Democratic party, of which he was an ardent supporter till the day of his death. While bitterly opposed to the policy of the Repub- lican party, during the war he was true to the Union, and the Constitution as made by the fathers of the Republic. His fund of general information was comprehensive and varied, while his affable, courteous manner and entertaining conversation made him an agreeable host and a welcome guest. llis generosity was unbounded; no one ever asked in vain a favor within his power to grant. IIis brother Edward was a gentleman of marked ability, and thorough eulture, a great linguist, and a promi- nent lawyer of Virginia. His death occurred at Matamoras, Mex., April 11, 1870. Another brother, James, was born in Virginia, in 1791, and was a prominent and wealthy attorney of Wood County, Va, Mr. and Mrs. Stephenson were mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church from early life until its close. Mr. Stephenson continued to reside at Lowell until the time of his death, which occurred in 1866. llis memory will long remain fresh in the hearts of his numerous friends.
ILLIAM L. SMITII, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, one of the early settlers of Henry County, was born in Monongahela County, W. Va., Dec. 25, 1827. His father, Thomas P. Smith, was born in Virginia, in 1799, and was a soldier of the War of 1812, He married Sarah Lazell, a native of Monongahela County, Va. They settled in what is now West Virginia, where eight children were born, four sons and four daughters, four of whom are living: John W., of Moundsville, W.
174
HENRY COUNTY.
Va .; William L., the subject of this sketch; Jane, wife of William Logston, of West Virginia; Amanda, wife of Frank Morgan, of Belmont County, Ohio. Thomas P. Smith was well posted on all affairs, and was a man highly respected in the country in which he lived. He died in 1855. Mrs. Smith died later.
The subject of this sketch when four years of age went to live with Mareus Moore, and remained with him until nineteen years old, attending the common subscription schools in the winter, and working upon the farm during the summer months. On leaving Mr. Moore he returned to his old home, and engaged in the butchering business. On the 3d of July, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Grandstaff. a native of Marshall County, Va., born in 1831. While a citizen of Marshall County he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, and served two years. In 1855 he left his native State and came to Iowa, locating at Muscatine, where he engaged in the butchering business. In 1856 he came to Mt. Pleasant and embarked in the sanne trade, continuing in it until 1861. In 1862 he was appointed United States Deputy Provost Marshal, and commissioned by Provost Marshal General Fry, serving until the close of the war. Dur- ing this time he had some rough experiences. At F't. Wayne, Ind., he came near being mobbed by rebel sympathizers. On the close of the war he engaged in the livery business at Mt. Pleasant, in which he continued for several years under the firm name of W. L. & J. M. Smith. In 1869 he went to Burling- ame, Kan., and embarked in the lumber trade under the firm name of Smith & Roads, and also at Wichita. Kan., under the firm name of MeChure & Co. In 1879 he went to Colorado where he was interested in the Columbus mine, and also in the Tomichi mining district, in Gimmison County. In 1883 he returned to Henry County, where he has since continued to reside. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of four living children: George W .. now residing at Detroit, Mich .; Clara, wife of Dewitt Harden, of Monmouth, Il .; Ada, wife of A. W. Morton, of Monmouth, Ill. ; and Sally M., residing at home.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.