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 27
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G EORGE WILLIAM STEADMAN, retired farmer and blacksmith, of Mt. Pleasant, łowa, was born in Jefferson County, Va., Jan. 15, 1815, and is the son of William and Mary (Berry) Steadman. His father was born in Vir- ginia, and was descended from good old English stock. His mother was born in Maryland, and was also of English descent. When sixteen years of age our subject was apprenticed to the blaeksmith trade, to work until twenty-one years of age, at $36 a year, and eight days in harvest time. Dur- ing the first year he saved $18 out of his wages, but at the end of the first six months of the second year his employer failed and went out of business, leav- ing his apprentice to begin over again, and at a loss of his half year's earnings. He was then newly ap- prenticed to another man in the same business, for the term of three years, at the rate of $50 for the first year, 855 for the second and 865 for the third. His employer was a very close, but upright man, and taught his apprentices to be frugal as well as in- dustrious. At the end of the three years it was found that our subjeet had lost two and a half days, which he was obliged to make up. Having finished his four and a half years of apprenticeship, six months prior to his majority, he began work as a journeyman. In the spring of 1836 he went to
Highland County. Ohio, and opened a shop, but not meeting with the success he anticipated, he re- moved to Chillicothe, the same State, where he worked as a journeyman, at $1 per day. Six months later he started a shop for himself at Marble Fur- nace, Adams Co., Ohio, where he met the estimable lady whom he afterward made his wife, Miss Eliza- beth Long, daughter of John Long, who was born in Adams County July 28, 1820, and to whom he was married April 19, 1838. Having carried on a shop at Marble Furnace for one year prior to his marriage, six months later Mr. Steadman went with his wife to Sinking Springs, Highland County, where he opened a shop in company with his brother-in-law, where he carried on business for eight years, and then removed to Bainbridge, Ross County, where he worked at his trade very successfully for eleven years, securing the best of the trade and making considerable money. At the end of this time Mr. Steadman again removed, this time going to llillsboro, in that State, in hopes of doing still better, but this move was a mistake, and he sunk abont $3,000 of his hard-earned savings. He then came to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in the spring of 1857.
The financial panic of that year crippled all lines of business, and after a year and a half spent at Mt. Pleasant he became disgusted with the prospect and returned to Bainbridge, Ohio, and opened a shop, and again made money. Mr. Steadman re- mained at this place eight years, at the end of which time he went to Montgomery, Ind., and thenee returned to Mt. Pleasant in 1867. He purchased a grocery and bakery, which he conducted a year and a half, when, being satisfied that there was no money in that enterprise for him, he sold out and returned to his old trade of blacksmithing. Two years later he bought his present fine farm of 160 acres in Marion Township, since which time he divides his attention between his farm and his residence in the city.
Mr. and Mrs. Steadman have been the parents of seven children, four daughters and three sons, four of whom are living. Evaline was born May 30, 1839, and is the wife of James Miller, of Marion Township, and to them were born two sons and two daughters; Mary Ann, born Dec. 21, 1843, who
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was the wife of Abraham Blackson. and died April 24, 1869, leaving three children. two daughters and a son : Samuel Joseph, born Dee. 25, 1846, mar- ried Carrie Mathews, and resides on the home farm in. Marion Township, and to them were born three boys and two girls; William E. was born March 13, 1849, married Mary Spry, and lives in Marion Town- ship, and four children, one boy and three girls, graced their union ; Laura was born Feb. 27. 1854, and is the wife of L. E. Williams, a resident of Keo- kuk, and they have one child living; Lizzie, born March 7, 1865, died July 22, 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Steadman have now been married nearly fifty years, and if living, they can celebrate their golden wed- ding on the 19th of April, 1888. They have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church nearly all their lives, and their children are members of the same denomination. Mr. Steadman united with the church in 1833. Ile is an earnest Republican in politics, with strong temperance sentiments. During the seventy-two years of a well-spent life he has lived a temperate, industrious life. Both he and his wife have always been industrious and fru- gal in their habits; starting in life with almost noth- ing, they have lived well, reared a large family, and accumulated a comfortable property. Mr. Stead- man is a thorough mechanic in his line, and wher- ever he has worked has always won the highest opinions of his customers for the rapid dispatch and fine quality of his work. Physicians and druggists have never enjoyed much profit from his custom. Temperate and a total abstainer in his habits, his total doctor's bills during his life will not exceed $5. He isstill rugged and strong, and bids fair to enjoy many more years of life.
OEL M. SMITH, one of the oldest and most prominent citizens of Mt. Pleasant, was born in Henry County. Iowa, on the 8th day of July, 1838, when Iowa was yet a Territory. His parents were Samuel and Hannah ( Walters) Smith ; the former, a native of Henderson County. Ky .. was born in 1816, and the latter, a native of
Tennessee, was born in 1822. His grandparents were Scotch and French, with the exception of his grandmother on his father's side, who was an In- dian squaw. Samuel Smith left Kentucky in 1832, while yet a young man, and located for a short time in Burlington. Iowa. Ile then went to Au- gusta, Des Moines Co., Iowa, where he was married, subsequently settling near Skunk River, in Jackson Township, Henry County. Here he took up a claim which he developed into a beautiful and pro- ductive farm. In 1850 he removed to California. where he remained two years engaged in mining. He then returned to Henry County, where his wife died the following year, leaving a family of eight children to mourn their loss. Of these, three are now living: Joel, of Mt. Pleasant: Elias, of Des Moines, and Benjamin E., a contractor, also of Des Moines. Mr. Smith was again married, to Miss Mary J. Herring. By this union there were two children. one of whom is dead; the other, Calvin B., is lo- cated in Warren County, Iowa. Mr. Smith was a man of intelligence, and one who always kept well posted on all public affairs.
Joel M. Smith, the subject of this sketch, re- ceived but three months' schooling, having no chance to obtain an education by the usual methods, but by sheer hard work and earnest application has obtained more than an ordinary education. and what is better, a practical one. He always keeps well informed in regard to the affairs of the country, and is a good conversationalist. In 1858 Mr. Smith went to Pike's Peak, then returned to Florence, Neb., where he had a brother-in-law who was a Mormon Eller. From there he went to Denver Plains, where he remained till 1863, as wagon- master. He then proceeded to Montana, with Cal. Bozman, traveling around Big Horn. They were the first men to make the trip. Subsequently he went to the Red River country. and continued traveling until 1869. In the year of 1869-70 he embarked in business at Walla Walla, Wash. Ter., but in 1871 returned to Henry County, where he has since resided, and for a time was en- gaged in railroading, which proved a losing busi- ness. In 1883 Mr. Smith patented a tile ditching- machine. and a company was organized for its manufacture, known as the Iowa Ditching-Machine
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Manufacturing Company, of which he was elected President, having full charge of the business until the time he disposed of his interest. The Monitor Roadgrader was the invention of W. J. Martin, to which Mr. Smith added many improvements.
Mr. Smith has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Isabel Martin, by whom he had two chil- dren-Thomas J. and Laura Bell. His present wife was Alice HI. Roderick, and by this nion there are four children now living-Joseph S., Clyde A .. Bertie and Dottie. Mr. Smith is a self-made man. With no advantages, by hard labor and good man- agement, he has gained a competency, and is the owner of 2,480 acres of land in Cheyenne County. Neb., worth $8,000. In politics Mr. Smith is a Greenbacker, and was the first man to be initiated into the Knights of Labor in Henry County. He is a striet abstainer from all that can intoxicate, and is a just and upright man.
C HARLES H. TRIBBY, farmer. There are inany of the young men of to-day, who were born in other States, that are representatives of the business interests of Henry County. Among these we are pleased to mention Charles H. Tribby, who is favorably known to many of the people of this county as an energetic farmer whose home for a score of years has been in Salem Township. He was born in Harrisville, Harrison Co., Ohio, in 1855, and is a son of John W. and Jane Il. Tribby. The paternal grandfather of our subject, and his family, were natives of Virginia, and of their early history but little is known. John Tribby. grand- father of our subject, was left an orphan when ten years of age, and before he reached full manhood went to Harrison County, Ohio, where he was mar- ried to Aun White, then in her sixteenth year. Her ' death occurred in this State in 1873. and her mar- riage must have been one of the earliest celebrated in that county, and was consummated, perhaps, in 1813. Her husband was a tanner by trade, and be- fore his marriage worked at that business in Vir- gima. He also owned and operated a tannery in
Ohio after his marriage, and engaged in elearing up and farming the lands previously entered. They were the parents of several children, of whom we mention : Sarah J., who is the wife of Milton Men- denhall, and lives in Colorado; Isaae B., married to Mary Yost, lives in Londonderry, Ohio; Lewis D. is married to Melissa Thompson, and lives in Mar- shall County, Iowa; John W., father of Charles II .; and Samuel. Several died young. The children were born, reared and married in Ohio, and with their parents emigrated to this county in 1864, pur- chasing land four miles north of Salem. Upon that farm the parents lived, and died within a year of each other, at a ripe old age. They were of the Friends' faith, and were zealous advocates of their doctrines. John W. and his wife, Jane Howard, are the parents of six children, living: Martha, wife of Wyke Elliott; Julia, wife of Samuel Spray ; Han- nah, wedded to Levi Parkins; Ella, the wife of Marion Weimer; Melissa wedded Alpheus Taylor ; and Charles H. Possessed of an adventurous spirit, the parents have taken a Western trip, and have located a tract of unimproved land in Greeley County, Kan., although their connection with this county has not been severed.
Our subject attended school in this county, com- pleting his education at Whittier College in the summer of 1879. For several years both before and after that time. he engaged in teaching in this and Lee County, in which profession he was favor- ably known. Having been reared upon a farm he learned to love its independent life, and worked at farming at intervals. The year prior to his mar- riage he was in the employ of the "Gate City Pub- lishing Company," engaged in reportorial and vari- ons kinds of work in the States of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Desirous of becoming settled in life, and of engaging in the breeding of stock, he relinquished journalism. and on the 30th of November, 1882. Miss Mary Carver, of Lee County, this State, be- came his wife. Her mother, Mary (Cook) Carver, died at her birth, and Mary was reared and educated by her unele and aunt, Samuel and Susan Hill, formerly of Lee, but now respected citizens of Salem Township, this county. Mr. and Mrs. Hill were early pioneers of Lee County, and began life in the most primitive way, but the ends for which
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they toiled have been accomplished, and they are now numbered among the aged and wealthy couples of this county. In 1844 they settled in Lee County, but subsequently became residents of Henry County solely for the purpose of educating their niece, who was in attendance at Whittier College. She was reared with all the care and tenderness a mother and father could have bestowed upon her, and to the aged couple her love goes out with all the warmth of affection of an appreciative daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Hill had no children of their own, conse- quently their attention was given not only to Mrs. Tribby, but they also partly reared several other children, all of whom are now gone from the home- stead.
After his marriage, in the winter of 1882-83, Mr. Tribby was assistant teacher at Whittier College, and this elosed his school work. Mr. and Mrs. Tribby are the parents of two children, Nellie and Ray. both bright, interesting children. In 1887 Mr. Tribby leased a half section of land near Salem, and has stocked it with breeds of the best cattle and hogs, and intends to engage largely in the rearing of stock. Having been the son of a good father, who was industrious but poor, Charles was obliged to work his own way in the world, and he is a thor- oughly self-made man. Mr. Tribby is a charter member of Monarch Lodge No. 143, K. of P., of which he was first Past Chancellor, and also its first representative at the Grand Lodge. In local poli- tics he is a prominent factor. He is the soul of courtesy, and an honored citizen, respected and esteemed by all who know him.
G EORGE W. TYNER, farmer, and President of the Salem Bank. Indiana has contributed many enterprising men to the Western States, and lowa has shared largely in securing them. The fertility of her soil, the facilities for raising stock and for the production of cereals, are a boon of which she is justly proud.
Our subject was born in Hancock County, Ind., in 1832, and is a son of Elijah and Sarah A. ( Hal-
berstout) Tyner. Elijah Tyner was born on Little River, Abbeyville District, S. C., March 21, 1799, and was the second son of Rev. William Tyner, a Baptist minister who removed with his family to Kentucky in 1802, and three years later to the Ter- ritory of Indiana, locating near where Brookville has since been built. In 1854 he removed to De- catur County, Ind., where his death occurred Elijah Tyner was thriee married. The first wife was Martha McCune, who had one son, William H. The second wife was Mary Nelson, whose children were Martha A., Mary J., Robert N. and Charlotte. Sarah A. Halberstout was the third wife, and had seven children-George W., our subject, John II., Oliver H., James M., Elbert, Alonzo and Missouri.
Before the first marriage of Elijah Tyner, he took a claim in Hancock County, Ind., where there was no road but Indian trials to guide the chance trapper or occasional squatter to and from his humble eabin, and here Elijah opened a small stock of general merchandise in a log cabin. As long as he lived he was engaged in the mercantile trade, and upon his original elaim, which he finely improved, he lived and died. He was a very exemplary and sue- cessful business man, and by reference to clippings from Indiana journals we learn that he was one of the wealthy and highly respected citizens of that county. At the time of his death he owned over 1,000 acres of land in one body. Ilis wife still re- sides on the Indiana homestead, and has reached the ripe age of eighty years,
In 1854 George W. Tyner left Indiana and lo- cated in McDonough County, Ill., where he began the business of stock-breeding and farming. In 1855 he took a survey of Southeastern Iowa, and purchased his present farm on seetion 33, Jackson Township, in the autumn of that year. While a resident of Illinois, Mr. Tyner first met the lady who is now his wife, and the occasion was the removal of her parents from Indiana with the inten- tion of loeating in this county. They stopped dur- ing the winter in the village of Olena, in Illinois, opposite Burlington. It was agreed that they should be wedded, and after a few months, by mu- tual agreement our subject followed the young lady to this county, and in the autumn of 1855 Miss Mary F. Bartlett became his wife, the ceremony
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being performed at the home of her parents, John W. and Catherine (Carmichael) Bartlett, in Jack- son Township. The Bartlett family are yet exten- sively represented in the county, one son, William A., being in the clothing business in Salem, and Jesse D. residing on a farm near Mt. Pleasant.
The parents of Mrs. Tyner lived for many years after they came to this county, the mother dying Aug. 4, 1879, the father, May 22, 1885. During his early life John W. Bartlett resided in Virginia, and when a young man removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, and learned the coach and carriage making trade, which he afterward carried on in that city. He was married at Lawrenceburg, Ind., and when the family removed to Iowa they came from Rush County, Ind. Mrs. Tyner was born in Harri- son, Dearborn County, in that State, Nov. 3, 1832. She is the eldest living of the ten children. Her birth was followed by those of William, Jesse D., Kate and Maggie, who are all living and married. Five others died in infancy.
The domestic life of Mr. and Mrs. Tyner was be- gun under the most favorable circumstances upon their present farm. Their union has been one of the happiest, their successes the most continuons, and their social qualities so well known as to win for them the respect and good-will of their neigh- bors. They are the parents of eight children, of whom six are living-Elijah, Sarah C., Melvin, Oliver, James and Elbert ; and William and John, deceased. Two of the children are married. Eli- jah is the husband of Emma Geese, and resides in Tippecanoe Township, this county, and Sarah C. is the wife of Dr. A. J. Rodgers, a physician of Hast- ings, Neb. The four eldest children were educated at Whittier College prior to its destruction by fire. Melvin has been engaged in teaching in this county, and is another of the many teachers educated in the old college which has fitted many of the youth of this county for a successful business life.
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Aside from his farm duties, Mr. Tyner finds time to attend to other business of importance. He was for two years Township Clerk, and for four years has been a member of the School Board. The Salem District Fair owes much of its success to the efforts made by him, Mr. O. H. Cook and Mr. Z. H. Arnold, to whose enterprise the successful exhi-
bitions of 1886 and 1887 are largely due. From its beginning he has been one of the principal pro- moters and supporters of the enterprise. He has been Treasurer of the association since its organi- zation, and no debt remains unpaid. The society is now fully organized and future meetings will prob- ably be even better than the past. As a successful farmer, his well-tilled fields give evidence. To be assured of their courtesy, it is only necessary to visit the Tyner home, and to judge of their social and business life, the praise of neighbors is suffic- ient.
For several years Mr. Tyner has been connected with the Bank of Salem, as a stockholder. and since 1882 has been its President. For a terni of four- teen years he has been in partnership with .J. L. Bennett in the purchase and shipment of stock. Mr. Tyner is widely known in a business and social way, and is one of the most successful farmers and business men in the county. He and his family are distinguished for their social qualities, and he is justly regarded as one of the leading and estimable citizens of the county.
ENRY CLAY SAUNDERS, dealer in real estate, loan and collection agent, Mt. Pleas- ant, Iowa, was born in the Shenandoah Val- Jey, near Staunton, Augusta Co., Va., Dee. 28, 1829, and is the son of Bartley M. and Annie (Caulk) Saunders, who were pioneers of Henry County, Iowa. Henry C. removed with his parents to Tennessee in early childhood, and from there went to Georgia. From Georgia the family removed to Georgetown, Ill., and from there to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, arriving May 26, 1838. Our sub- jeet was educated in the public schools and at Me- Kinney's High School, of Mt. Pleasant, and after completing his studies engaged as a merchant's clerk at Mt. Pleasant, following that occupation for ten years. He was appointed Postmaster at Mt. Pleasant in 1849, under President Zachary Taylor's administration, and served four years. He was next made Deputy Recorder and Treasurer of
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Henry County, and served in that capacity about six years. He then entered upon his present busi- ness, which he has pursued continuously since. Mr. Saunders was married at West Union, Fayette Co., Iowa, in November. 1855, to Miss Rhoda Bowman, a daughter of John Bowman. She was born in Warren County, Pa., whence her parents re- moved to Henry County, of which they were early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. Saunders have four chil- dren, two sons and two daughters: Dermont M., married to Miss Stella Comstock, and residing in Mt. Pleasant; Frank D., unmarried, and living in Grand Rapids, Mich .; Ona, wife of Harry Porter, living in Lincoln, Neb., and Anna, still at home, all born in Mt. Pleasant. Mrs. Saunders is a mem- ber of the Christian Church. He is a member of Mt. Pleasant Lodge No. 8, A. F. & A. M. He is also a member of the I. O. O. F., Henry Lodge No. 10. Ile has passed all the Chairs of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, and is one of the charter members of the oldest lodge of the order in Mt. Pleas- ant. In politics he is a supporter of the principles of the Republican party.
SAAC W. ALLEN, of Henry County, Iowa, re- sides on section 9. Jefferson Township, and is engaged in farming. Jackson Allen, the father of our subject, came with his family from Clarke County, Ohio, in October, 1846, and located in Henry County, and filed a claim upon land one mile south of where Wayland now stands. Braxon Benn had built a small cabin, and for this and his claim Mr. Allen traded a span of horses. In Ohio, Jackson Allen wedded Mary Ann Wade, and eleven children were born to them in that State, two of whom were twins, who died in infancy, their names being Mary A. and Julia A .; John, who is married and resides near Stockton, Cal .; Maria became the wife of Erastus Warren, who died in the army ; Jesse, husband of Rachel Anderson. is a farmer re- siding in Jefferson Township: Reece wedded Me- lissa J. Warren, and resides in Jefferson Township; Ellen D. wedded J. N. Allen, now deceased, who
was ex-County Clerk of Henry County ; his widow resides in Mt. Pleasant. Our subject followed ; then came Jane, who died unmarried; Samantha, resid- ing in Council Bluffs, is the wife of Edward Sayles, agent at the Union Depot in that city ; Sarah E. is the widow of Dennis Warren, and Alvin S., husband of Ara Mahafsfy, resides in Wayland, and was born in this county. Alvin was older than Sarah. The last three were born in Henry County. Jackson Allen entered forty acres of land and purchased the claim mentioned. After a long lifetime spent on the farm, he sold the first purchase, removed to Way- land and lived a retired life. Mrs. Allen died at the age of sixty-seven years, and Mr. Allen in his eightieth year. Jackson Allen was for several years in the early history of the county, Assessor, and afterward represented the township as Trustee. He was active in the erection of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Wayland, of which his wife was a member. He was by birth and profession a Friend, and worshiped at their church in Wayland Township.
Isaac Allen was born in 1844, and from his sec- ond year has been a resident of Henry County, with the exception of two years spent in California. He was educated, married, and has reared a family on her soil, and is one of her best known men. In 1867 Miss Keziah Musgrove, of this county, became his wife. She was born and reared in Clark County, Ill. Iler people have all removed from that State to Kansas, and her father, John Musgrove, a mem- ber of Company H, 25th lowa Infantry, died in the service. Recce Allen was a member of the same company and regiment, and also Erastus Warren. Since the marriage of Isnae Allen and Miss Mus- grove five children have graced their home: Cora B .; Ella M., who married C. C. Wenger, Jr., of Wayland. Dec. 8, 1887; John Jackson, Bessie 1. and Anna. Mr. Allen resides upon the farm last purchased by his father, adjoining the town of Wayland, known as the R. M. Pickle farm, and a portion of which comprises the village plat of Way- land. When a young man he learned the black- smithing trade of M. C. MeCormick & Son, and started a shop of his own in Wayland, at which trade he worked twenty years, then bought his present farm and went to farming. He is a sne-
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