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 33
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Our subject was reared on a farm, and received such education as the district schools at that time afforded. On the 4th of July, 1871. he was united in marriage with Martha Jane Smith, who was also a native of this county, and a daughter of Jacob and Margaret Smith. By their union three chil- dren were born-Margaret Ann, Jolm Alvin and Frank Melvin. Ilis wife died in 1877, and Mr. Messer was again married, his second wife being Susanna Harmon, a native of Indiana, who came to Henry County when a child with her parents, where
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she has resided nearly all of the time since. Five children have graced this second union-Reason, Carrie, Charles, Mary Jane and Milford. Mr. Messer is an energetic and enterprising man. Every- thing on his farm, a fine one of 100 aeres, denotes thrift and good management. He commenced life without a dollar in his pocket, but by his own earn- est and honest labor has gained a competency. and the respect and esteem of his fellowmen.
RA MITCHELL, SR., is one of the best known men of his age residing in Salem, Iowa, and since his coming has grown grey in years and rich in purse. He was born in Tioga County, Pa., July 3, 1803, and is a son of Ensign and Lucy (Hubbard) Mitchell, both of whom were born, reared and married in Massachusetts. Ensign Mitchell was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, enlisting as a drummer boy when fifteen years of age. His father, also named Ensign, served at the same time, and both spent five years in that war, experiencing all its hardships, which are well known to readers of history. After the marriage of Ensign, Jr .. they removed first to New York State, and later to Tioga County, Pa. Our subject was six years of age when his parents removed to Ohio, the journey being made down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. A permanent location was made in Champaign County, Ohio, near Mechanicsburg, and for many years our subjeet was a resident of Darby Plains, that county, where he was married, Dee. 12, 1826, to Miss Jane Rhodes, daughter of John and Sarah (Brittin) Rhodes, of Welsh origin, who were early settlers of that county, and were residents there before Ohio was a State. They were married in Ross County, and there Mrs. Mitchell was born. Her father was the first man who invented a mowing- machine, and to obtain a patent on it rode on horse- back from Ohio to Washington and back. Her old home was the first one in Champaign County, cov- ered with boards put on with iron nails, and was painted by her father.
There were eleven children of the Mitchell family, all of whom reached maturity, married and reared families, and some of them reached the
remarkable age of almost one hundred years. Only two of the children are living to-day, our subject and his brother Abizar, who resides in Madison County, Ohio, a farmer and stock-raiser, and one of the oldest citizens of that county. He was born in 1807, and has lived in that neighborhood since he was a mere lad.
Our subject and his wife removed to Miami County, Ind., in 1834, where a tract of 500 acres of land was entered in the Pottawatomie reservation. This was covered with heavy timber, and only those familiar with making homes in the dense woods can appreciate the labor incident to elear- ing and getting into successful cultivation a large body of land of such a character. Mr. Mitchell was a great lover of stock in his day, and raised and dealt largely in cattle. His prosperity was greatly due to his enterprising habits, and indefatigable labor. Three children were born in Ohio: Saralı, who died when nine years of age; Abigail, who wedded Welcome Walker, a resident of Salem ; and Ovid H., husband of Amanda Sittin, living in Springfield, Mo .; in Indiana Ira R., Jr., was born; he is a farmer of Salem Township, and was during her lifetime the husband of Lida Green. His birth was followed by that of Lucy M., now deceased, who wedded H. H. Hless; Elizabeth, another daugh- ter, after the death of her sister, wedded Mr. Hess, a well-known farmer of Salem Township; John E., a resident of Salem, is the patentee of the washer bearing his name, and is married to Elma Henderson; Francis M. is the husband of Annie Kittle, daughter of William Kittle, a well- known hotel man in that part of the county ; Leonard M., the youngest child, was also a resident of Salem, and the husband of Ella Murphy, and died in Salem, Oct. 23, 1887; the last of the family was Claudius, who was also born in Indiana, and died when two and a half years old.
After clearing up his original purchase in Indiana, and adding other lands, Mr. Mitchell decided to come to this State. In 1853 the removal was made, and one year later the family became residents of Henry County, purchasing over half a section one mile west of Salem, where they resided until the spring of 1884, when the farm was disposed of, and the aged couple became residents of the pleas-
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ant village of Salem. The children were well mar- ried and settled, and the old folks, who are now in their sixty-second year of wedded life, have grown old together, and their love for each other has been strengthened as their life's journey has been made. Their sons, Ira and John, were both mem- bers of Company 1, 14th Iowa, of which Ira was Sergeant, being promoted from the ranks. They were both taken prisoners at the battle of Shiloh, and confined first at Memphis, then at Mobile, and Macon, Ga .; and lastly Ira was an inmate of Libby Prison, the horrors of which have been told thous- ands of times. Ira, who weighed when captured 155 pounds, was only the ghost of a man when released, weighing at that time only seventy pounds. John was paroled at Macon, Ga., and escaped the prison walls of Libby. They have been residents of the West since returning to the pursuits of peace. John was only nineteen when be enlisted, but he left his college and became a soldier from pure pat- riotism. The sketch of this family who from Revo- lutionary times have been patriots and estimable citizens, lends interest to this volume, and among the okl settlers and honored families of the county we gladly give it a place.
OHIN D. SMITH, one of the farmers and extensive stock-raisers residing on section 7, Marion Township, was born in Richland County, Ohio, April 21, 1830, and is the son of Thomas and Elizabeth (McCready) Smith, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. Robert McCready, grandfather of our subject, was one of those brave men who fought so gallantly for the freedom of his country during the Revolu- tionary War. Nine children blessed the union of Thomas Smith and Elizabeth McCready : Naney, widow of Alexander Lawthers, now resides in Washington County, Pa., on a farm adjoining the old home farm ; Jane, wife of .I. B. Hart, a resident of Mt. Pleasant : Robert M., who died Jan. 1, 1886, in Davis County, lowa; Joseph, a farmer of Van Buren County, Iowa; Thomas P. died near Mt. Pleasant in 1846: Elizabeth died on the home farm in Henry County, where 1I. C. Weir now lives; our
subject is the seventh child in the order of birth ; William MeCready Smith was Chaplain in a Penn- sylvania regiment during the late war, and died in the service in 1861; E. J. died in Henry County in 1855 : Anna M. is the deceased wife of P. M. Ogan, a resident of St. Louis.
Thomas Smith brought his family to Iowa in 1840, settling on the farm now owned by II. C. Weir, on which he made the first improvements, and at the time of his death he had one of the best farms in the county. He was an active church worker, and organized the first temperance society in Richland County, Ohio, and was also one of the first farmers who dared to lay aside the use of whisky in the harvest fields and in public gather- ings. He was a man of great moral convictions, always upholding that which was right, and in politics was an old-line Whig and a strong Aboli- tionist. In his younger days Mr. Smith was a teacher, and for several terms held the office of Justice of the Peace of the county. He ended this life in April, 1848, and was highly respected by all who knew him. His wife died in 1866, and with her husband was a member of the Congregational Church.
Our subject's early life was spent in attending the district school until the age of twenty-one, when, in the spring of 1852, he decided to go to California. Crossing the plains with an ox-team he landed in Placerville, and from there went to scott's Valley, Siskiyou Co., Cal., where he engaged to work on a farm. The first year he received 81.000, the second and third year $1,200 each, and the last two years he received $180 per month, from all of which he saved $6,000. Returning to Henry County, he purchased 125 acres of land, of which he took possession in the spring of 1858, when he was united in marriage with Miss Isabel Paine, a native of Virginia, being born in Berkeley County in 1832. She came to Henry County with her parents in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of five children: Nevada, born June 25, 1859, died March 20, 1861, in infancy : Charles, born Oct. 30, 1861 : Clara A., born May 11. 1864; Walter E., born Jan. 23, 1867, died April 10, 1874, and Elbert E., born June 5, 1870, now in college at Mt. Pleasant.
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Mr. Smith has kept adding to his first purchase until he now owns 525 acres of the best cultivated land in the county. Starting in life with a capital of $54, he has by bis own honest labor become one of the well-to-do farmers of Henry County, and is an extensive stock-raiser. He imported the first fine imported Norman horse into the county in 1873, for which he paid $2,500. Politically Mr. Smith is a Republican, and has beld many township offices. He is always ready to push forward any publie interest, and is, with his wife, an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
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W ILLIAM ARCHIBALD, a farmer of Balti- more Townsbip, residing on section 20, was born in Ilamilton County, Ohio, and is a son of Edmund and Belinda (Calhoun) Archi- bald. The sire was a native of Massachusetts, and Belinda Calhoun was a relative of the noted John C. Calhoun. In Indiana the parents of our sub- ject were married, and their eldest child, Alva, was born in that State. Later the family removed to Hamilton County, Ohio, where Mr. Archibald worked at his trade, that of wagon-making, in con- nection with farming. While residing there Laura, now deceased, was born, as was also our subject. In the autumn of 1837 the Archibald family emi- grated to Iowa, and settled on Skunk River, where Edmund took a claim adjoining the present village of Lowell on the west. He entered this land later, improved it, and upon this spot both himself and wife lived and died.
William Archibald was born in 1834, and was only a little past three years of age at the time his father located here, and the Black Hawk tribe yet had their village located upon bis father's claim, and their old wigwams were still standing, and the same were used when sugar-making time came in the spring. But little of the Indian language was learned by our subject, but he remembers well the band of Indians who passed through on their way east, in 1838, for the chief's son, John Black Hawk, made a speech, in which he denounced bitterly the building of the dam across the river. He said: " I am mad at this thing, the dam is mad; hear it
roar." The homes which the Indians knew are now peopled by white men, and their choice hunt- ing-grounds have brought back large returns of wealth to the white man who settled in this fertile valley. After all the other Indians had gone, one lone savage was loath to leave the forests where he had passed so many happy days. By name he was known as Dr. Jim, and for a long time he brought in lead or ore and sold to the settlers, who would make him drunk and try to learn the place where it was obtained, but Dr. Jim was too shrewd for them, and to this day no trace of the ore has ever been discovered, although he would bring in supplies two hours after he had found a customer. He went to the second purchase near the Osage Agency, and it is currently reported that his own tribe killed him.
After Mr. Archibald settled here one other child was born, Sarah E., now the wife of John W. Grigg, of Lowell, Jowa. Edmund Archibald studied medicine after he came to this county, and became one of the most successful men of his profession in his day, and enjoyed a reputation. both far and near, which was truly an enviable one. He amassed a large fortune during his life, and left his children wealthy. Ile died at the age of seventy- three, respected alike by rich and poor, old and young. His wife died in her sixty-eighth year.
Our subject was married when twenty years of age, to Miss Sarah A. Ilufstedler, the daughter of Martin and Mary Hufstedler, who came from Indi- ana in 1852, and settled in Van Buren County, Iowa, and in 1857 became residents of Henry County. Her father died near Hillsboro, and her mother now resides in Osceola, Clarke County, at the age of eighty-four. Mr. and Mrs. Archibald are the par- ents of eight children, some of whom are deceased. They are named : William M., the husband of Kate Flenor, resides near Clarinda, Page County ; George W. is engaged in railroading : Mary F. is the wife of Howard Root, of Marion County; Ola, Albert, Harry and Ernest are unmarried. William Archi- bald has been a resident of this county for half a century, and during his business life has been a suc- eessful farmer. Declining all official positions, his time has been given to the furtherance of his busi- ness, and almost within sight of his boyhood home
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he has lived and reared his family, and the name of Archibald is as widely known in Henry County as any of the many names which have given her a desired prominenee.
ILLIAM H. JACKMAN is the proprietor of the City Hotel and livery stable, New London, Iowa, and carrier of mail and passengers between New London and Lowell. Hle was born in Washington County, Pa., Aug. 12, 1832, and is the son of Nathan and Catherine (Hollman) Jaekman. His father was born in Wash- ington County, Pa. The family were residents of Pennsylvania for several generations, and were of Irish descent. His mother was born near Hagers- town, Md., of German descent, and went to Wash- ington County, Pa., with her parents when but twelve years of age. In the spring of 1844 the family moved to Ft. Madison, Iowa, and a few weeks later (in July) to Henry County, locating in. Jackson Township. They spent one year in that locality, and then removed to Marion Township .: Lee County, where Mr. Jackman engaged in farm- ing (nominally only) as he was a ship carpenter, :. miller and millwright by trade. Hle devoted his" time principally to mechanical pursuits, while the care of the farm devolved on his sons. There were eleven children in the family, nine sons and two daughters, all of whom are now living except two, all remarkably rugged and healthy, as befitted emigrants to a new country : Benson II. wedded Mary Lynch, and resides in Lee County, on the old homestead ; Clarkson, whose home is in Baltimore Township, was twice married, his first wife being Martha Smith, and his second Addie Wheatley; Addison II. married Rebecca Abraham, and lives in Southwestern Nebraska, at Ft. Robinson: Hen- ricetta, deceased, was the wife of Silas P. Blair, of Grant County, Wis .; Melissa is the wife of Robert P. JJackman, of Pilot Grove, Lee Co., lowa; Will- iam II. married Eliza M. Stephenson, and resides in New London, Iowa; Nathan married Lucy Logan for his first wife, and Lutitia Stockdale for his second, and lives near Moundville, Mo .; John Q. married Elizabeth Brown, and is a farmer of Balti-
more Township; Van Buren married Martha Han- nah, and resides in Crawford, Neb .; Joseph II. has been twice married, his first wife being Lydia J. De Witt; Robert A. died at the age of nineteen, while in service during the late war.
Mr. Jackman, Sr., was an earnest Democrat in his political sentiment, and his sons have all followed his example. His death occurred in Lee County, in February, 1874, his wife surviving him, and dying Oct. 6, 1885.
William H. Jackman was married, Nov. 25, 1858, in Lowell, Iowa, to Miss Eliza M. Stephenson, daughter of John and Elizabeth Stephenson, whose history appears on another page. Mrs. Jackman was born at Hardscrabble farm, Jackson Township, Henry Co., Iowa, Oet. 2, 1841. Three children were born of their union, two sons and a daughter: Willie S. was born March 30, 1860, and died at the age of one year; Clarence H. was born Nov. 12, 1861, and died when two and a half years of age; Luey E., born Nov. 6, 1864, is now the wife of Ilomer E. Lyman, of New London. Mr. Jackman settled in Lowell at the time of liis marriage, and resided there till March, 1886, when he moved to New London, and engaged in his present business. While a resident of Lowell he was engaged in farm- ing and teaming. In politics, Mr. Jaekman and liis entire family are most uncompromising Demo- crats. Ile is a man of modest pretensions, but of sound judgment and unquestioned integrity. The City Hotel, under the able management of " mine host " Jackman and his amiable and kind-hearted wife, is one of the most home-like hotels in the county.
ANIEL PRICE was born in Wales, in March. 1804, and was the son of John and Mary (Jones) Price, who were also natives of that country, where his father was a large land-owner. While a young man, he worked as a foreman on the railroad and in the mines, for twenty years. He left his native land and emigrated to America in 1851, first locating at Philadelphia, Pa., but remained there only three weeks, and then went to the State of New Jersey, residing there one winter, engaged in chopping
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wood. He then removed to Franklin County, Ind., remaining there three years, engaged as a common laborer. He then emigrated to Henry County, Iowa, locating in the village of Trenton, remaining one winter, and on the 1st of April, 1856, he re- moved to section 22 of Trenton Township, where he purchased ten acres of timber land. Here he lived until his death, which occurred Oct. 19, 1887. lle added to his possessions until he had a fine farm of 126 acres at the time of his deeease. He was so poor when he bought his first ten acres that he had to go in debt for it, but by hard labor and good management, he gained a competence. Mr. Price was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a sincere, earnest Christian. In politics lie was a Democrat. He was a self-educated man, and always kept well informed upon public affairs, whether political or otherwise. His wife still sur- vives him, and resides on the home farm, at the age of sixty-four. She also belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church. This worthy couple were the parents of four children : William Penn, a farmer residing in Mills County, Iowa; Mary Ellen; Mar- garet Jane, wife of George Dies, of Brighton, Iowa; and John M., who has charge of the home farın, and was married, Dec. 21, 1887, to Miss Sally Wood, daughter of Clark and Catherine Wood. Among the pioneers and prominent men of Henry County, Iowa, none more truly deserved the respect and confidence of all than Daniel Price.
AMES M. KIBBEN, deceased, was born in Culpeper County, Va., near Harper's Ferry. Ile was left an orphan at the tender age of nine years, without fortune or friends, and began the battle of life as an apprentice to a wagon- maker. His early years were such as often fell to the lot of the destitute orphan. Hard work and abuse were rewarded with a pittance. Possessed of a strong will and superior intelligence, he fought his way through to manhood, and then went to Co- lumbus, Ohio, where he worked at his trade a short time only, when he removed to Fayette County, Ind., and there engaged in farming. He was mar- ried in Fayette County, Oct. 3, 1833, to Miss Jane
Sample, by whom he had one child, a son, Marcus, who died in infancy. His wife survived but a few years, and died Sept. 23, 1836. Mr. Kibben was again married, Nov. 22, 1839, in the same county, to Miss Rebecca Farmer, daughter of William Farmer. She was born near Dayton, Ohio, Nov. 2, 1810. Her father was born in South Carolina, and her mother in Georgia. They were members of the Society of Friends, and were earnestly opposed to slavery, so much so that they would not own ne- groes, or reside in a slave State; therefore they wended their way northward to the free State of Indiana. Separated from those of like faith, and living in a sparsely settled country, they attended the Methodist Episcopal Church as that the nearest in sympathy with them. Mr. Farmer united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, but his wife chung to the Quaker faith. Their daughter, now Mrs. Kibben, united with the Methodist Episcopal Church when fifteen years of age, and has now been a member of that society for sixty-two years.
Mr. and Mrs. Kibben had five children born to them, of whom three are now living: Mary, widow of Rev. P. P. Ingels, a prominent minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who resides at Des Moines, Iowa; Walter S. and Oliver P. were twins; Walter was drowned at the age of twenty years ; Oliver P. married Miss Della Gamage, of Mt. Pleas- ant, and resides at Curtis, Neb., where he is en- gaged in the cattle-raising business ; Prudence M. is the wife of Rev. S. S. Murphy, a well-known minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Burlington, Kan .; Virginia, the youngest, died in infaney.
Mr. Kibben removed with his family from Indi- ana to Will County, Ill., in 1846, and engaged ex- tensively in farming and stock-growing at Twelve- Mile Grove. He continued to reside in Illinois for ten years, and in 1856 came to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. At this time he was possessed of liberal means, and soon bought an interest in the Saunders' bank. IIe was instrumental in the organization of the First National Bank of Mt. Pleasant, and for many years served as a Director of that institution. In his political views he was an earnest Democrat, and be- lieved in maintaining the constitution and union of the States, regardless of the institution of slavery.
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He was fearless and outspoken in his views, and on the breaking out of the late war he found him- self placed in a false position. While he contended that a failure on the part of the free States to prop- erly observe the Constitution precipitated the con- flict he did not sympathize with or apologize for armed opposition to the Government. He was true to the Union and the principles of the Constitution. His death occurred Sept. 9, 1874.
Mr. Kibben was a consistent member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, with which he had been connected sinee his youth. He was a warm-hearted, upright gentleman, who commanded the respect and esteem of even those who were bitterly op- posed to him in political opinion, and was eminently a self-made man. Starting in life an orphan and penniless, by industry, strong will and fine business ability, he won his way to wealth and independence. His widow, an estimable lady, survives him, and still resides in Mt. Pleasant. While her life now numbers seventy-seven years, and she has witnessed all the wonderful discoveries in science and mechanics, and the great march of improvement of the present century, her eyes are still bright, her form erect, while a genial, kindly intelligence en- dears her to all who are so fortunate as to be elassed among her friends.
The many friends of Mr. Kibben will be pleased that we have secured an excellent portrait of the gentleman, which is presented on an accompanying page to the readers of this volume.
B. WYSE, the senior member of the firm of Wyse & Schantz, is a well-known resident of Wayland, who for several years has made .Jefferson Township his home, and has become an important factor in its business interests. He was born in Fulton County, Ohio, in 1845, and is the son of Peter and Catherine ( Brandt) Wyse, both of whom were natives of the Canton of Berne, Switzerland. The parents of Peter Wyse lived and died in that country, and Peter came to America when a young man, and was married to Catherine Brandt in Ohio. Her father emigrated to America in 1817, bringing his family with him. Only his
second and third daughters are now living : Eliza- beth, widow of Jacob Gyman, resides in Fulton County, Ohio, and Catherine, mother of Mr. Wyse, now a widow in her eighty-first year, and at present an inmate of his home in Wayland. Two other daughters, Annie and Barbara, are now deceased.
Our subjeet was reared upon a farm in Fulton County, Ohio, and seeured a practical education, fitting him for conducting a snecessful business. His first experience away from the homestead began in his twentieth year, when he went to Butler County, Ohio, and engaged in farm work. A few months later he returned home, and remained until 1867. when his first visit was made to Henry County, Iowa, and he was pleased with the prospeets of the future, which was rapidly developing. Ile for a time engaged in farm work, threshing, etc., and after a two years' residence, he returned to the home of his boyhood. The acquaintance having been formed while here of Miss Hannah Conrad, he returned to llenry County in 1870, and they were married and began life for themselves in this county. Her parents were Daniel and Maria (Klopfenstine) Conrad, who were among the early settlers in this part of the State, locating about 1840. but after a long lifetime of usefulness both were gathered to "that bourne from which no traveler returns." Their memory is dear to those of the old pioneers who yet remain.
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