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 29
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was elected to the State Legislature; he came back to Mt. Pleasant and died here in 1884. War- ren was the next son, and after him came George, who died young; Sarah, the next child, also died while young; Everett, who followed Sarah, also was a Union soldier, in the same regiment as his brother, and like him died in camp of typhoid fever, in January, 1863; the youngest of the fam- ily, Elizabeth, died in childhood.
Warren Beckwith, the subject of this sketch, was reared on the home farm, and was educated at the Monroe Academy and at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, Livingston Co., N. Y. Leaving school at the age of nineteen, he embraced the pro- fession of civil engineering, his first work being done on the Genesee Valley Railroad. He followed this business in the East until November, 1854, when he went to Kansas, and the following winter, at Ft. Riley, helped to lay out Pawnee City, designed by Gov. Reeder for the capital of the State. Hle as- sisted in putting up a building for the Legislature, which however, occupied it but one day. This work was in charge of Nathaniel Lyon, then a Cap- tain in the regular army, with whom he was brought into close relations, and who afterward became famons as Gen. Lyon, and who undoubtedly frus- trated the plots of the secessionists, and saved Missouri to the Union.
In 1856 Mr. Beekwith came to Burlington, Iowa, entering the employ of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad, with whom he staid until 1860, when he went to Texas with a drove of sheep. He was there when the war began, and determined to return North and offer his services to the Govern- ment. IIe eame by way of New Orleans, in which city he spent the Fourth of July, 1861. Reaching Burlington, Iowa, he enlisted in September, 1861, as a private in Company C, 4th Iowa Cavalry, and served until after the close of the war, proving him- self a brave and gallant soldier, aud making an hon- orable record. Dec. 25, 1861, he was promoted to First Lientenant of his company, and on Jan. I, 1863, was made Captain. He was with his company in service under Gen. Curtis in Southwestern Missouri, was subsequently at Ilelena, Ark., and during the summer and fall of 1862 was in active duty, in skirmishing and scouting through that
dangerous region. The regiment joined Grant's army at Grand Gulf, on the march to Vicksburg, and participated in the arduous labors of the siege and capture of that rebel stronghold. They re- mained in and near that city until February, 1864, when they took part in the Meridian expedition under Gen. Sherman. Later in the year they had a lively time in and about Memphis, Tenn., where they were engaged in chasing the rebel cavalry under Forrest, who were trying to intercept Sher- man's communications. The regiment during this time was engaged in sharp fights at Guntown, Tupelo, Holly Springs and at other places. In January, 1865, the 4th lowa was joined to Wilson's Cavalry Corps, and saw a good deal of active serv- ice, notably at Selma, Columbus, etc., and it is the universal testimony of his comrades that wherever Capt. Beckwith was engaged he acted in a brave and soldierly manner, and had not only the confi- dence of his superior officers, but of his own men and of all those with whom his duties brought him into contact. In 1864 he was on detached duty, and was in command of the mounted provost guard, district of West Tennessee. and in 1865 was Brigade Inspector General. Ile was mustered out Aug. 29, 1865, after an honorable army career of four years, during which he saw much hard service, but was fortunately never wounded. As a recognition of his meritorious services he was tendered a commis- sion in the regular army, which he did not accept. Returning to the pursuits of peace he came to Mt. Pleasant and again engaged with the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Company, and after the consolidation of the lines in 1872, became Chief Engineer and Superintendent of Track of the Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company. In 1879 he began contracting on the road, and was in that business until a short time since. He and his brother-in-law, Frank P. Porter, are now proprietors of the quarries at Dudley, Iowa, where is found the best stone in the State, all of which is taken by the railroad company as fast as taken out. Capt. Beck- with, Charles H. Smith and Richard Stubbs were the originators of the Western Wheel Scraper Works at Mt. Pleasant, for a description of which see sketch of Charles H. Smith. Another business carried on by him. and which is evidently a labor
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of love, is the breeding and raising of fine horses, both draft and driving, principally Shires for work and Hambletonian for driving purposes. At his extensive farms near the city of Mt. Pleasant he has usually about sixty head of blooded stock, which is doing much to raise the standard of the horses in this section of the country.
Capt. Beckwith was married, in 1863, to Luzenia W., daughter of Col. A. B. Porter, an eminent citi- zen of Henry County, of whom a history is given elsewhere. She died in 1880, leaving five children, as follows: Everett, Orville, Emily, Florence and Warren, all living with their father. The mother of this family was an estimable lady, whose death was sincerely mourned, not only by her family but by a large circle of friends to whom her lovable character had greatly endeared her. She was a prominent member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church.
In 1881 Capt. Beckwith was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Porter, a sister of his first wife, and a lady of decided ability and culture. She likewise is a communicant of the Episcopal Church.
The subject of this sketch is a member of Mt. Pleasant Lodge No. S. A. F. & A. M., of MeFar- land Post No. 13, G. A. R., and of the Loyal Legion of America-the most exclusive organiza- tion in the country, membership to which is granted only to commissioned officers of the army and navy who saw service in the Civil War, and after a most searching examination into the private and public record of the candidate, which must be unblemished.
Contact with the world, together with his inher- ited qualities, have made Capt. Beckwith a man of broad and hberal ideas. A natural leader among men he has acquired many warm friends, not only at his home, but among leading men in all parts of the country, and m the community in which he resides he is a prominent figure.
W ELLINGTON BIRD, M. D., a prominent physician of Henry County sinee 1849, and a resident of Mt. Pleasant, was born in Northumberland County. Pa., May 5, 1817, and is a son of William and Margaret ( Moyer) Bird. His father was born in New Jersey in 1795, and
emigrated with his parents to Pennsylvania when two years of age. James Bird, the grandfather of the Doctor, was a soldier in the war of the Revolu- tion in the Patriot army. Ile was a wagonmaster. and participated in the battle of Monmouth, and served till the close of the war. His wife's name was Osborne, to whom he was married in New Jersey, and with whom he removed to Northumber- land County in 1797, where they both died. The Birds were a large, athletic race, descended from the sturdy yeomen of old England. Dr. Bird's mother was born in Philadelphia, and was of Ger- man descent, her father being a native, of German parentage, while her mother was a native of Ger- many, who came to this country while young, and lived to the extreme old age of ninety-five years, dying in Catawissa, Pa. William Bird, the father of our subject, was a blacksmith by trade, and worked in Columbia County, Pa., and adjoining places, his home for some years prior to his coming west being in Danville, Montour County, from which place he removed to Mt. Pleasant in 1858. After coming here he and his wife lived retired in a house owned by their son. Mr. Bird died at the age of seventy- six. Llis wife survived him about ten years, dying at the age of eighty-five. Mr. Bird was a pleasant, genial and popular man, and was well liked by all who knew him. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They had twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity. Those now living are: Caroline, widow of John Martin, late of Mt. Pleasant; Philip, a farmer in Kansas: Wilhelmina, a widow now living in Dauphin County, Pa .; Charles, a machinist at Danville, Pa. : Clement, living at Afton, lowa; and Wellington, who was the oldest of the family. When twelve years old the latter went with his parents to Bloomsburg, Columbia Co., Pa., and there received his education, and grew to manhood. Hle took a regular course of study at the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, and graduated in the class of 1841. In October of that year he was united in marriage, at Bloomsburg, Pa., to Miss Sarah. daughter of Eli Thornton, a prominent and respected citizen of that place. and a member of the Penn- sylvania Legislature for several terms.
Immediately after taking his degree Dr. Bird
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located in Knox County, Ohio, and established a fine practice at the city of Frederickstown. Having a desire to come farther west he emigrated in July, 1849, from Ohio to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where he has since been engaged in the practice of his pro- fession. While his professional duties have been quite exacting he has yet found time to give some attention to other enterprises. On the establishment of the Iowa Wesleyan College, at Mt. Pleasant, now the lowa Wesleyan University, he took an active part in the management, in its construction and outfitting. He was elected a Trustee of the college, and served in that capacity for twenty-five years, or until he resigned to accept an appointment as Indian Agent in 1877. On the breaking out of the late war, in 1861, he was appointed as Assistant Surgeon of the 4th lowa Cavalry, which position he resigned to accept that of Commissary of Sub- sistence, with rank of Captain, and served in that capacity till the fall of 1862, when he resigned on account of ill-health. His son, Iliram T., who was then a student of the lowa Wesleyan College, enlisted in 1863, at the age of seventeen, as a private of the 8th Iowa, Cavalry, and was subse- quently appointed Hospital Steward. Ile was made prisoner before Atlanta during MeCook's raid, and was taken to Charleston, S. C., where, having been classed as an Assistant Surgeon, he was ex- changed without much delay. After one month spent at home, on furlough, he returned to the front, and participated in Wilson's raid and other engagements, serving till the fall of 1865.
In 1866 Dr. Bird went to Idaho, and spent one year on the headwaters of the Columbia River. Returning to Mt. Pleasant at the expiration of that time he resumed practice, and was actively engaged until his appointment, by President Ilayes, in 1877. to the Indian Agency at Ft. Peek, Mont. He served in this capacity nearly three years, during which time he was quite successful in his manage- ment of the natives. When he took the agency there was not an aere of land under cultivation, but he instructed the Indians in the methods of agri- culture and labor, and at the close of his term had a thousand acres enclosed, and several hundred under cultivation. Ile returned to his home in Mt. Pleasant in 1880.
Dr. and Mrs. Bird are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Doctor's member- ship dating from 1846, and Mrs. Bird's from 1839. He is President of the Board of Trustees. They have been blessed with nine children: William N. died in childhood; Myra is the wife of Hon. John S. Woolson, State Senator, and a prominent attorney in Mt. Pleasant (see sketch); Allie is the wife of Hon. Washington I. Babb, a leading at- torney of Mt. Pleasant (see sketch); Iliram T. married Florence MeLaran, and is engaged in busi- ness at Mt. Pleasant; Regina is the wife of Theo- dore F. Twinting, formerly of Mt. Pleasant, now of Passadena, Cal .; Caroline was burned to death in childhood by her clothes catching fire; Horace died in 1859, aged three and a half years; Burnetta died in infancy ; Leslie, the youngest, is unmarried, and lives in Mt. Pleasant.
Dr. Bird is a prominent citizen; he has been a member of the City Council for a number of years; he was many times elected Trustee of the public schools, and for several terms was President of the board. lle is a member of MeFarland Post No. 20, G. A. R., and is still in the active practice of his profession, his skill and ability having won for him a flattering reputation and a large practice.
ILLIAM S. BURTON, Clerk in the War Department, Washington, D. C., and a resi- dent of Mt. Pleasant since 1865, was born in Guilford County, N. C., Feb. 7, 1820, and is the son of Ainsley and Sarah (Clarke) Burton. He re- moved with his parents to Davidson County, in the same State, in childhood, where he learned the car- riage-maker's trade. In 1842 he removed to Ran- dolph County, Mo., and established himself in business in Huntsville, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Iowa and located at Rich- land, Keokuk County, and there embarked in the carriage business. From Richland he came to Mt. Pleasant in 1865, and opened a carriage-shop which he continued until the spring of 1882, when he was appointed to his present position in the War De- partment by Robert T. Lincoln. Mr. Burton held various local offices while in Missouri and Richland,
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and was Mayor of Mt. Pleasant in 1879 and 1880, and he has held other minor offices. In polities he 1- a Republican. Ife is a member of Mystie Lodge No. 55, I. O. O. F., and of the Camp, and has been Grand Master of the order in Iowa, also Grand Patriarch, and represented the Grand Lodge in the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the United States in 1866 and 1867.
Mr. Burton was married in Davidson County, N. C., in March, 1839, to Miss Malinda Motlitt, daugh- ter of Robert and Lydia Motlitt. She was born in Davidson County, N. C. Ten children were born of their marriage, seven of whom are now living, four sons and three daughters: Lydia C. is the wife of .James S. Pringle, residing in Richland, Iowa: Sarah A. resides at home : William M. married Miss Vaughn, and resides in Jefferson County, Ark. : Robert A. married Fannie S. Way, and resides in Washington City, D. C .; Lorenzo W. died at the age of two years: Constantine B. is single, living in Colorado; James K., single, now at Mt. Pleasant; Harriet M., single, resides at home : Marietta died in childhood. Mr. and Mrs Burton are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
NDREW W. MCCLURE, M. D., is the most noted physician, and the one longest estab- lished in practice in Mt. Pleasant. He was born at Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio, June 10. 1828, and is a son of Andrew and Mary (Gra- ham) MoChire. both natives of Dauphin County, Pa .. the former born in 1795, and the latter in 1796. They emigrated to Warren County, Ohio, and were among the first settlers of that region. There they took up a farm among the timber, which they cleared, and on which they lived for many years. They were of Scotch and Irish ancestry, and both were strict members of the Presbyterian Church. When they removed to Ohio, they were poor in this world's goods, but by industry and thrift, and care- ful habits. acquired a comfortable competence. Mr. McClure was a patriot soldier in the War of 1812. He was a Free-Soiler and okt-line Whig, and a supporter of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Hle died in 1858, and his wife in 1884, aged eighty-
eight. They were the parents of eight children, of whom three are now living: Ilugh, a resident of Eureka Springs, Ark .; Ann, wife of Robert H. Todd, of Warren County, Ohio; and Andrew W., the subject of this biographical notice. He was reared upon the farm, and after leaving the district schools received an academic education at the Lebanon Academy. When twenty-one years old, he began reading medicine in the office of Dr. Fisher, a prominent practicing physician of Leb- anon, at the same time having charge of Turtle Creek Academy, a Quaker school near that place. Under Dr. Fisher he laid a good groundwork for a thorough medical education, and in 1852-53 at- tended the Ohio Medical College at Cincinnati, graduating in the latter year. He at onee began the practice of his profession at Paris, Ill., in con- nection with Dr. S. York, of that place. This part- nership was dissolved in 1856, and Dr. MeClure came to Mt. Pleasant, where he has acquired the well-deserved reputation of a skillful and successful physician and surgeon. On first coming to Mt. Pleas- ant, he formed a partnership with Dr. Bird, which continued until 1861, and that fall Dr. MeClure re- sponded to his country's eall, and entered the service as surgeon of the 4th lowa Cavalry. The regiment was in a camp of instruction at Mt. Pleasant until the spring of 1862, when the regiment was sent to St. Louis, and thence to Springfield, Mo. After the battle of l'ea Ridge, they were joined to the eom- mand of Gen. Curtis, in Gen. Carr's division, and the summer was spent in marehing and seonting in the Southwest. They wintered in Ilelena, Ark .. and on the investment of Vicksburg were made a part of Grant's army, taking part in the siege and capture of that place. After the fall of Vicksburg. Dr. MeClure resigned his commission. having served two years, and returned to Mt. Pleasant, and again engaged in practice.
In 1858 Dr. MeClure was married at Homer, III .. to Maria Conkey, a native of Massachusetts, who lived but a year after, her babe surviving her but a short time. In the fall of 1860 Dr. McClure was married in Mt. Pleasant to Miss Emily Porter, daughter of Col. A. B. Porter, one of the earliest settlers of Henry County, and one of its best known citizens. Mrs. MeClure was born in this
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county in 1839. Dr. and Mrs. McClure are the parents of three children, of whom two daughters, Mary and Martha, are now living.
Dr. MeClure is prominently identified with the industrial, professional and social life of the city where he has made his home for more than thirty years. He is a member of the Wheel Scraper Com- pany, the leading manufacturing enterprise of the city, of which a sketch appears elsewhere. While not in the ordinary sense a politician, he takes an intelligent interest in public affairs, and is a sup- porter of the Republican party. In all educational matters he takes a warm interest; he has been for ten years one of the Trustees of the State Hospital for the Insane, and is in fact heartily in support of everything tending to the advancement and pros- perity of the city and county. Ife and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church.
As a physician, Dr. MeClure occupies a leading position, not only in the city, but abroad. He is a member of the American Medical Association ; the DesMoines Medical Society, of which he was President for one year, and since 1858 has been a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, and was President in 1886-87. The address which he de- livered before that body at their annual meeting in Sioux City, in 1887. received the warmest enco- miums from the most eminent physicians present, and has been widely copied in medical and other journals. Mt. Pleasant numbers among its citizens no more worthy and ereditable representative than Andrew W. McClure.
R ICHARD AMBLER, of the firm of R. Am- bler & Son, is a well-known and successful attorney of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, of thirty years' practice in this city. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1831, and is the son of Henry and Hannah M. (Spright) Ambler. IIe received a liberal edueation, and engaged in the study of law in New Philadelphia, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in 1855. In 1857 he came to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and entered upon the practice of his profes- sion, and in 1862 formed a partnership with his brother Henry, which connection continued for
twenty-three years. The existing partnership with his son Harry was formed in 1886, under the firm name of R. Ambler & Son. Mr. Ambler was mar- ried in Henry County, Iowa, in the fall of 1858, to Miss N. H. Andrews, born in Trumbull County, Ohio, and a daughter of D. G. Andrews. Four children were born of this union, one son and three daughters, all of whom were born in Mt. Pleasant, namely : Sarah, Harry, Lulu and Dolly. Ilarry was educated at the Fowa Wesleyan University, at Mt. Pleasant, studied law with his father, and' was ad- mitted to the bar in 1884, and in 1886 formed the existing partnership with his father, and has since pursued the practice of his profession at this place. The children are living with their parents.
Mr. Ambler has been a Republican since the in- ception of the party. He is a Knight Templar Ma- son, a member of Mt. Pleasant Lodge No. 8, A. F. & A. M., of Henry Chapter No. 8, R. A. M., and of Jerusalem Commandery No. 7, K. T.
b ENRY TRAUT, one of the young, enter- prising farmers of Henry County, residing on section 21, Marion Township, was born in this county, July 3, 1862, and is the son of Bernhard and Caroline (Schneider) Traut, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. His parents were natives of Germany, emigrating to Iowa in 1856, where Henry was born. He was reared upon the home farm, and attended the district school, but his parents feeling that this was not enough, sent their son one term to Ilowe's Academy at Mt. Pleasant and two terms to the Wesleyan Univer- sity, where he made such good progress that he received a teacher's certificate. He is a man who believes that a farmer, to be successful, must be in- telligent and keep posted in the current events of the day. After his return from school, he made his home with his parents until Feb. 17, 1886, when he concluded to take to himself one of Iowa's fair daughters. Ile was married to Miss Mary I. Laf- ferty, who was born Aug. 24, 1861, in Henry County, Iowa, and is the daughter of John and Martha (Campbell) Lafferty, natives of Indiana.
Mr. Traut owns a fine farm of 160 acres, and in
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1886 crected a beautiful and commodious two- story house thereon, which has added much to the beauty and value of his farm, which stands second to none in the county. He is turning his whole attention to farming and stock-raising, and has been very successful in both. Mr. Traut is a young man full of energy and enterprise, never hesitating to lend a helping hand to any enterprise that is for the general good of the community. lle and his young wife stand high in the esteem of their friends and neighbors, and Henry County has few nobler sons and daughters than Mr. and Mrs. Trant. His political interests are with the Demo- cratie party.
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OSEPH McDOWELL, residing in Center Township, was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Feb. 5, 1822, and is the son of John and Susanna (Vaughn) MeDowell, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They emi- grated to Ohio in 1812, and were among the pio- neer settlers of Tuscarawas County, where he trans- formed the wild land into a fine farm. In the year 1854 they removed to Henry County, Iowa, locat- ing on section 31, Center Township, where he bought ninety-two acres of partially improved land, living there until his death, which occurred in 1861 at the ripe age of seventy-seven years, being born in 1784. Mr. MeDowell served during the War of 1812 as a non-commissioned officer. He was a conscientious man, and was an earnest Christian. HIe held the political views of the Republican party. Mrs. MeDowell was called to her final home Nov. 16, 1876. She was born on the 26th of February, 1792. Mr. and Mrs. MeDowell were the parents of eleven children, four of whom are yet living: Martha is now the wife of Daniel Richey, of Corn- ing. Iowa : Joseph, our subject; Elizabeth, the wife of Silas Thomas, residing in Mt. Pleasant, and Agnes, the wife of Alford Wilson, a minister in Page County, lowa.
Joseph McDowell lived upon his father's farm in Tusearawas County, Ohio, until the age of twenty-one. at which time he went to Holmes County, Ohio, working as a farm hand until the
fall of 1846. Mr. McDowell then went back to his native county, where he was united in marriage, on the 6th of September, 1846, to Rebecca Swope, a native of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of James and Rachel (Frazier) Swope, both of whom were natives of Huntingdon County, Pa. After his mar- riage, Mr. MeDowell engaged in farming until the spring of 1848, when he emigrated to Henry County, Iowa, settling near Mt. Pleasant. Here he rented a farm until the spring of 1851, when he moved to section 29 of Center Township. where he rented a farm for sixteen years. Mr. McDowell afterward moved to section 6. Jackson Township, where he bought a farm of eighty acres in 1865. He resided upon this latter farm for four years, when he bought the ninety-two acres on section 31, Center Township, which his father bought in 1854 on coming to lowa, where he now lives. He now owns 213 acres of land, mostly under cultivation.
Mr. and Mrs. McDowell have had a family of thirteen children: William, who died when but nineteen months old ; David, now residing in Jack- son Township: llenry, a resident of Center Town- ship; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Columbus Watson, of Jefferson County, Jowa; lowa, the wife of Robert Jemmeson, a harness-maker of Mt. Pleas- ant, who served as a soldier during the Rebellion : James now resides in Jefferson County, lowa: Clara is at home; Mary is the wife of Zachariah Doan, a resident of Salem Township; Albert, John and Margaret reside with their parents. Those de- ceased are William, Ellen and Sarah.
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