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 49
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SBURY C. MORRISON, a farmer residing on section 35, Jefferson Township, was born in that township Feb. 13, 1845, and is a grandson of Joseph and Sarah (Ted- ron) Morrison. Both were natives of Pennsylva- nia, married and reared a family in that State. All the children but the youngest were born in Penn- sylvania, and the eldest was married in that State: Mary, deceased, married Joseph Cremer; Jane mar- ried James Green; Samuel married Mahala Braxel- ton; Jacob, father of our subject, married Margaret McCormick; Rebecca married James MeFeron ; Julia A. married John A. Leeper; Sarah married Joel Turney, and Ann married David Wilson. All the children, except Mary, who wedded in Penn-
sylvania and later went to Ohio, came with the par- ents to Iowa, excepting Ann, who was born here.
Joseph Morrison left Pennsylvania in April, 1838, and arrived in December of the same year. They were forced to stop in Ohio for some months, the journey having been undertaken by boat, but at Quincy they had to unload and come across the country to Hillsboro, where they remained a few weeks or until Mr. Morrison found a suitable claim. He seeured a claim of 160 acres, and purchased other claims, amounting to about 2,000 acres, but sold a part of it to Hiram Howard, and at the first land sale held in the State, which was at Burlington in 1840, purchased 1,760 acres. James C. Green pur- chased for the claimants the township of Trenton, and Samuel Morrison, now in California, was the first Township Recorder. The first house built on the tract. erected by Joseph Morrison, stood where David Wilson built. That was a hewed-log cabin with a clapboard roof, held on with weight poles. and part of the logs are yet in use as a barn. Joseph Morrison was for fifteen years Justice of the Peace in Pennsylvania, but refused every offer of official position after becoming a resident of Iowa. There were many broad acres put under cultivation dur- ing his lifetime, perhaps 200, and as the children were married they were given farms, a part of the original tract. His wife survived until 1856. She was an ardent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. At Trenton she became one of those who organized the church. Mr. Morrison was a member of the Christian Church after he came to Iowa, but in Pennsylvania he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. llis death occurred in 1869, he having lived to see the principles he advocated before and during the war completely established. He was a Whig from boyhood, and was one of those who aided in the formation of the Republican party in this county.
Our subject was married, Nov. 12, 1863, to Miss Margaret I. Probasco. whose parents, William II. and Cynthia A. (Marble) Probasco, came from Clinton County. Ohio. to Henry County, lowa, about 1854, settling in Trenton. Mr. Probasco purchased a farm later, but his first business expe- rience in this county was as a merchant in Tren- ton. He was an enterprising man, and aside from
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the mercantile and real-estate business, purchased and shipped stoek for a number of years prior to the war. Both himself and wife are now dead, and the children are widely scattered. Mrs. Morrison is the only one in this county, and two others in the State, Mary E .. wife of John Daugherty, of Fairfield, and Kit C., wife of Will G. Garman, of Council Bluffs. Aun E. is a resident of Pierre, Dak., wife of John MeManima; Daniel B., a resident of Kansas City, and Frank, the husband of Jessie Rheinheimer, also a resident of Kansas City. All these children were well known in this eounty, and we are pleased to mention them severally.
The first school our subject attended was taught by Augustus MeCormick in a log school-house which yet stands in Trenton. There he secured the rudi- ments of a elassical education, which was completed later in Trenton, and from the beginning of his business life the greatest good has followed. ITpon the homestead of his father. now the patrimony of our subject, he was born, reared, and after marriage the domestic life of the young couple was begun. Ilere their two children were born, Gilbert and Minnie, and under the grand old trees and over the grassy sward, where our subject frolicked in glee when a lad, there baby feet also trod. It is a dear old spot to Asbury Morrison, who during his life- time has known no other home, and his thrift has made the farm better and more attractive to-day than ever before. Only a few of Henry County's sons are to-day residents, who were married and first began business for themselves. Most of them have gone to other States, but those who remain are entitled to consideration and a place in the history of her old settlers and among her enter- prising men.
P ETER FISHER. one of the pioneer set- tlers of Henry County, Iowa, was born in Rowan County, N. C., Sept. 26, 1795. His parents were Jacob and Barbara (Beam) Fisher, the father being of German descent, and the mother of North Carolina. In 1808 they removed to Butler County, Ohio, settling near the Miami River, elearing away the timber and making for themselves a home in the wilderness. Jacob Fisher
subsequently removed to Franklin County, Ind .. where he made his home and endured all the trials and privations of early pioneer life, living the first few years on hominy ground in a small hand-mill. Jacob and Barbara Fisher were the parents of eight children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only surviving one. They were devoted members of the Lutheran Church, always ready to advance the cause of their Master. Mr. Fisher's politieal views were those of a Democrat, and he did not fail to teach his son the same principles. He was a man greatly opposed to slavery, bringing up his children with the same views of the cruelty and injustice done to the oppressed colored race.
Our subjeet grew to manhood on the farm and attended the log-cabin sehool-house, with its pin- cheon floors, huge fireplace and greased paper windows. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Her- berson in Preble County, Ohio, in 1817. She was a native of Kentneky. This nnion was blessed with six children, three of whom are now living: Henry, of Conway County. Kan. ; William, of Ore- gon, and Joseph, a lumber dealer of Pittsburgh, Pa.
In 1852 the family came to Henry County and located, and in 1857 Mrs. Fisher was called to her final home. Mr. Fisher subsequently married Mrs. Joslyn, widow of Henry Joslyn. She is a native of Franklin County, Mass .. her parents, William and Sophia ( Hanson) Joslyn, living and dying in that State. Mr. Joslyn was a native of Vermont. He died in 1855.
Peter Fisher is one of the few surviving soldiers of the War of 1812. He fought under Gen. Har- rison, serving until peace was declared, and being discharged at Buffalo, N. Y. True to the carly teachings received from his father he took up arms against slavery in the war of the Rebellion, enlist- ing at the age of sixty-seven in what was known as the Greybeard regiment, 37th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and was on guard duty. serving over two years. Ile was discharged on account of a broken leg and hip, and was mustered out at Rock Island in 1864. since which time he has lived a retired life, residing at Mt. Pleasant. Ile now receives a pen- sion of 824 per month.
In early life Mr. Fisher learned the trade of a tailor, which he followed for many years. In poli-
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ties he is one of the old stanch Democrats of the Jackson stripe, and in early life voted for Presi- dent Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Fisher are members of the Universalist Church, and are always willing to lend a helping hand for the advancement of a good cause. Suflieient praise can scarcely be be- stowed upon this man. Reared in a country then hardly more than a wilderness, having few educa- tional advantages, he has yet risen to such eminence that any State might be proud of such a citizen. He served his country truly, earnestly, faithfully, through two wars, and has endured the hardships and trials of pioneer life. Coming to this county when there were no railroads and few settlements. he has always exerted a great and steady influence for the cause of right and for the good of the com- munity. He is now an old man, his life's work is nearly ended, and he is now patiently waiting the call of his Master, and to hear the blessed words of his Savior, "Well done, thou good and faithful serv- ant, enter into the joys of thy Lord."
SAAC R. JOHNSON was born, reared and still resides in Henry County, lowa. He resides on section 32, Scott Township, and is the son of Lewis and Mary Ann (Patterson) Johnson, both natives of Greene County, Pa., and whose sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this volume. They emigrated to this county in the spring of 1853, and Isaac was born the following fall, October 21. They settled in Marion Township, and there our subject was reared upon the farm. His education was received in the district schools of the county, supplemented by a course at Howe's Academy, at Mt. Pleasant.
On the 29th of December, 1880, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage with Miss Donna Mont- gomery, one of llenry County's fair daughters. A sketch of her parents, Amos B. and Rachel Montgomery, may be found elsewhere in this work. One child, a little daughter, May, born Oct. 29, 1887, graces this union.
Mr. Johnson owns one of the finest farms in Scott Township, 220 acres in extent, with magnifi- cent improvements, the house and barn being erected at a cost of $4,000. Everything about the
farm denotes the thrift and industry of the owner. Mr. Johnson is also a horseman of note, as attested by many drivers who have pitted their skill against his on the course and in the prize ring.
The Johnson mansion has been the scene of much festivity among the young people of their neigb- borhood, and truly their union is most opportune, they not only uniting two of the oldest families in the county, but the marriage united two of the most social young persons of Scott Township.
SAAC BAUSMAN is a prominent farmer of Henry County, residing on section 17, Tippe- canoe Township. His farm, which is 293 acres in extent, is one of the best cultivated in that part of the county, and everything about the place de- notes thrift and enterprise. Isaac Bausman was born in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1823. His par- ents, John and Caroline (Gurlaugh) Bausman, were also natives of the same county. When our subject was about twelve years old his parents emigrated to Montgomery County, Ohio, where the father died in May, 1854, when sixty years of age. His wife survived him some years and died near Osage Mission, Neosho Co., Kan.
The boyhood days of our subject were spent upon a farm, and he received his education at the district schools of Ohio. He was joined in marriage, Feb. 22, 1854, with Mary A. Siplinger, a native of Cumberland County, P'a., who was the daughter of Samuel and Rebecca (Moudy) Siplinger, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Mrs. Bansman's grandfather, David Moudy, served as a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Bausman have been the parents of seven children: Sarah Jane, wife of M. M. Percell, a farmer residing in Tippe- canoe Township; Benjamin Franklin, also a farmer of the same township; Lavina, wife of Sydney D. Mills, residing in New York State; Elizabeth, wife of Andrew Stanley, a resident of Salem Township, who was a teacher before her marriage; Charles I., a resident of Tippecanoe Township; Laura and Martha A., who still reside at home. Mr. Bansman emigrated from Ohio to Tippecanoe County, Ind., and six years later, in 1865, he removed to Henry
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County, Towa, where he bought a farm of 137 acres on section 17 of Tippecanoe Township. He has added to this land until he now has, as before stated, a fine farm of 293 acres, and nearly all of this is under cultivation. With the help of his good wife he has become one of the well-to-do farmers of Henry County, Iowa. Mrs. Bausman and her children are members of the Baptist Church. Polit- ically, Mr. Bausman is a Republican, though he holds liberal views. Among the names of promin- ent citizens of Ilenry County, Iowa, those of Mr. and Mrs. Bausman deserve an honorable place.
S AMUEL ROSS, deceased, was among the settlers of Henry County in 1848. He was born in Perry County, Pa .. Feb. 4, 1808. In his native State he remained until he was sixteen years of age, in the meantime receiv- ing a liberal education in the common schools, being of a studious nature. From Pennsylvania he removed to Ohio in 1824, where he remained nntil he came to Henry County. Mr. Ross was twice married, first to Maria Elliott, who died in 1842. One child of this union, Thomas Scott Ross, is now residing in Boone County, lowa. Mrs. Ross was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Ross, in 1843, wedded Miss Eliza Knox, a native of Roane County, Tenn., born Dec. 11, 1812, a danghter of William and Margaret (Armstrong) Knox, who emi- grated to Miami County, Ohio, in 1815. at which time that county was very sparsely settled. Mr. Knox locating in the heavy timber, which he cut down and transformed into a well-cultivated farm. In politics he was an old-line Whig and took an act- ive interest in political affairs. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Knox consisted of seven children. four of whom are living: Armstrong, in Preble County, Ohio; Mary, widow of John Brown, resides near Pickaway, Ohio: Eliza, widow of Samuel Ross, the subject of this sketch; JJames resides in Paris, Ohio. Mr. Knox died July 10, 1827, and Mrs. Knox in 1839. They were reared in the Presbyterian faith, but in later life were members of the Christian Church.
In 1848 Mr. and Mrs Ross came to Henry County,
lowa, and located in Center Township, Henry County, a mile and a half from the business center of Mt. Pleasant. Ilere Mr. Ross engaged in farm- ing, in which occupation he continued until his death, Sept. 12, 1872. Three children blessed the union of Samuel Ross and Eliza Knox, all of whom are yet living: Demaris, now the wife of Oliver Berriman, of Atchison, Kan .; M. Ella and Fanny. Two daughters are now engaged in the chinaware business at Mt. Pleasant and are enjoying a fine trade. Mr. Ross was a friend of education and gave to each of his children all the privileges desired in the way of becoming thoroughly educated, which priv- ileges they readily availed themselves of, and which have been of great practical benefit to them. He was a sincere Christian man. a member of the Pres- byterian Church for many years. A kind and lov- ing husband, and an indulgent father, his death was sincerely mourned. Mrs. Ross is still living and is the owner of 152 acres of fine land, valued at $75 per acre. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church, with which body she has been connected for many years. In all work of the church she is greatly interested. and has always been ready to do her part for the advancement of the cause. A resi- dent of the county for a period of forty years, she is well known and universally respected.
ACOB L. RENSIIAW, residing on section 27, Scott Township, Ilenry Co., Iowa, was born in Fayette County, Pa., Feb. 22, 1841. His parents, Samuel and Mary (Longmecker) Renshaw, were both natives of Pennsylvania, though the mother was of German descent and the father of Irish. Jacob was reared upon a farm, and at the age of twenty-one he responded to the country's call for volunteers to put down the Rebellion, and became a member of the 168th Pennsylvania In- fantry in 1861, serving thirteen months. He par- ticipated in the battles of Goldsboro, N. C .; Ft. Macon and Harper's Ferry. After his discharge he returned to Pennsylvania. where he was engaged in farming until 1867. Ile then sold out, coming to Henry County, where he purchased forty acres
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of land on section 27 of Seott Township, which has been his home ever since. Besides his farm in Henry County, Mr. Renshaw owns 160 acres of land in Dakota.
In 1865 Mr. Renshaw wedded Emily Nixon. She was born in Pennsylvania, and her parents, Moses and Louisa (Bailey) Nixon, were natives of the same State. Mr. and Mrs. Renshaw have three children: Ewing, a carpenter of Winfield, Iowa; May, wife of Walter Henderson, a resident of Neosho County, Kan., and Ray P., at home. Mr. Renshaw and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. Politically, he is a Republican, while socially, he is a member of the G. A. R. and A. F. & A. M.
Samuel Renshaw, the father of our subjeet, spent his whole life upon a farm. lIe died at the age of fifty-nine, and his wife at the age of fifty-seven years. They were both members of the Dunkard Church, and reared a family of eight children, four of whom are now living: James, residing in Penn- sylvania; our subject; Frances, wife of Robert Ross, of West Virginia, and John, who now resides in Kansas.
Mrs. Renshaw's father also spent his life in till- ing the soil. He departed this life in 1857 at the age of forty-five years. ller mother is still residing in Pennsylvania at the ripe old age of seventy- three. She is a consistent member of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church. Mr. and Mrs. Nixon were the parents of ten children, all of whom reside in Pennsylvania with the exception of Frances, wife of Azel Freeman; Anna, wife of Thomas Ringland. of Seott Township; Presley, of Wayne Township, and one brother in Dakota. William, a former resident of this county, was a soldier in the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry.
OHN MONSON is a farmer residing on see- tion 20, Wayne Township, Henry Co., Iowa. Sweden has furnished many of the best families of Wayne Township, some of whom have risen to prominence in the business and social world. Among these we mention the family of John Monson, which is favorably known as one
of intelligence and eulture, and as such they are entitled to a place in this, the history of Henry County's best families. John Monson and his wife were both born in Southern Sweden, he in 1831, and Mrs. Monson in 1826. In 1857 they were married, and all their children, except the youngest, were born in the land which gave their parents birth. The father of our subject was a farmer in Sweden, and his two sons, John and Nels, followed his example. John is the only one of the family who came to America.
Mr. Monson was united in marriage with Bengta Anderson, the youngest daughter of Anders and Nellie (Johnson) Anderson. They were the parents of six children, of whom Jacob Anderson, of Knoxville, Ill., and Mrs. Monson, are the only ones who came to this country. For several years John Monson and his wife resided upon a farm in Sweden, but decided to make for themselves a home in America. With their children, Anna. Jennie, Nellie, and Nels, they left Gottenberg in the autumn of 1867, landing in Quebec October 9 of the same year. They started West, and located first near Knox- ville, Ill., where a farm was rented for two years. In the winter of 1869 a second removal was made, this time a permanent location being secured in Henry County, Iowa, and in Wayne Township the family have resided ever since. Caleb A., their youngest son, was born in Illinois, and while speak- ing of the children, the first births of the union were twins, both of whom died in infancy.
Mr. Monson has grown from a poor man in 1867 to one well-to-do in 1888, and has reared and edu- cated a family of whom any father might be proud. Loving the free institutions of the United States, and desiring to become one of her people in its fullest sense, he long since secured naturalization papers, and for fifteen years has been a voter with the Republican party.
The eldest daughter, Anna, became the wife of Anthony Johnson, of Page County, Iowa, in 1884. Her death occurred June 30. 1886, leaving one daughter, Anna E., who has been taken into the family of our subjeet, and is loved as one of their own children. Her mother graduated at Red Oak, Iowa, and afterward taught school in Page and Montgomery Counties for several years. The
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father is now living in Omaha. The eldest son is a graduate of the schools in his township, and is com- pleting a theological course at the Augustana Col- lege, at Rock Island, III. The daughters, Nellie and Jennie, have received good English educations in this county, and Caleb A., the youngest son, is with his father on the farm. Since becoming resi- dents of Wayne Township Mr. and Mrs. Monson have become members of the Swedish Lutheran Church, at Swedesburg, and for eighteen years Mr. Monson has been a Deacon in the church. For several years he was Superintendent of the Sunday- school, and in the doctrines of the church all their children have been conscientiously reared. The Monson household are noted for hospitality, and as neighbors and one of the best families, the citizens of Wayne Township highly prize them. The father of our subject lived to be ninety-six years old, and his mother reached the advanced age of ninety_ three. Both died and were buried in their beloved Sweden.
W ILLIAM A. DILTS, M. D., physician and surgeon at Salem, Henry Co., Towa, was born Jan. 13, 1860, in Louisa County, lowa, and is a son of Thomas D. and Martha 'L. (Kirkpatrick) Dilts. His father was born in Logan County, Ohio, March 20, 1831, his parents being Wilkisson and Catherine Dilts. In 1840" they . removed to Henry County, Iowa, but returned to Ohio the same year. In 1854 Thomas again emi- grated to Iowa, locating in Louisa County, where he remained until 1864, when he removed to Balti- more Township, Henry County, where he spent six years, removing in 1870 to Jackson Township, where he now lives. He was married in Louisa County, Iowa. March 20, 1858, to Miss Martha L. Kirkpatrick. She was born Dec. 25, 1838, in Lee County, lowa, her parents being William R. and Mary ( Pratt) Kirkpatrick, who were of Scotch ances- try. They were among the earliest settlers of this State. emigrating from near Galena, IH., in 1834. where they had come from Ohio. On arriving in the then Territory of Wisconsin, they settled on unsur- veyed land about four miles north of what is now West Point, Lee County, removing thence in 1850
to Henry County, where they lived until their deaths, both of which occurred in 1885, when each was about eighty. They had three sons and seven daughters, all of whom are now living, and all mar- ried. The family were widely known and greatly respected in the county. Thomas Dilts and wife had four children, of whom our subject was the eldest; the next, Emma J., was born in Louisa County, lowa, Aug. 6, 1862, and is the wife of O. A. Garretson, a prominent farmer of Jackson Township, to whom she was married Nov. 7, 1881 ; John J., born July 10, 1864, worked on his father's farm until 1880, when he entered Whittier Col- lege. He began in 1884 the study of medicine with his brother, and is now a student at the Keokuk College of Physicians and Surgeons, and will grad- uate in 1888; Laura, born Jan. 6, 1872, is living with her parents. Thomas Dilts is a Republican in politics, and is known as an honorable and up- right man. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Thomas Dilts had two brothers and two sisters: Joseph is a farmer in Ohio; Josephine is the wife of J. W. Prottsman, a farmer in Northwestern Nebraska; Anna is the wife of Gus Fetters, a merchant in Kansas; and John W. is a ranch owner in Colorado.
Our subject, Dr. William A. Dilts, remained on the farm until 1878, when he entered Whittier Col- lege, at Salem, where he remained until 1882, when he began the study of medicine under Dr. E. W. Cook, then of Salem, now of Plattsmouth, Neb. lle attended a course of lectures in the medical department of the lowa State University in 1883-81, and then practiced for two years in Jackson Town- ship, Henry County. He subsequently entered upon a course of study at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, at Keokuk, lowa, and in 1887 graduated second in a class of fifty-four. lle re- moved to Salem in March of that year, and has gained recognition as a talented and conscientious young physician, and is rapidly building up a lucra- tive practice. He was married, March 16, 1887, to Miss Nellie E., the accomplished daughter of Rev. David and Rebecca Donaldson. Mrs. Dilts was born April 17, 1864, at Linwood, Iowa. ller parents were from Ohio, and were early settlers of lowa, where they located in 1838. Her father was
IFE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TI O N FOUNDATIONS.
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I. W. Hools onl
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a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, well known as a speaker of talent, and a man of cult- ure. Ile was ordained by the Upper Iowa Con- ference; was transferred to the Iowa Conference in 1865. was assigned to the Abingdon charge in 1868, and came to the Salem charge in the fall of 1870, where, after a faithful work of two years, he died, July 21, 1872. He left a devoted wife and four children to mourn their loss. Ilis widow still lives in Salem. Of his surviving chil- dren, William, the eldest, born March 28, 1856, is a druggist in Pieree, Neb .; he was married, Feb. 17, 1878, to Miss Eva Crew, and has two children; Samuel F. was born May 15, 1860, is unmarried, and is a farmer in Northwestern Nebraska; Nellie E., the wife of Dr. Dilts, was formerly a teacher. Addie was born Dee. 7, 1868, is still living with her widowed mother, and is a teacher of desery- edly high standing in the county. Two other chil- dren, Edmund J. and Eva, died in childhood.
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