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 56
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and therefore gave his attention solely to his trade. Ile dressed the first marble in Henry County, and put the first lettering on tombstones. He was a man of excellent character, and was respected by all who knew him. His widow is still living, and makes her home with her daughter. Of their six children, but two are now living: Mrs. Abraham and John B. Alden, the well-known book publisher of New York City. The latter, though yet com- paratively a young man, has made his name a house- hold word, his catalogue of publications comprising the best standard works, and all sold at a price bring- ing them within the reach of the very poorest.
The grandfather of Mrs. Abraham, on her mother's side, was a well-known pioneer and minister. Sam- uel Thompson was a native of Maine, born in 1782. He grew to manhood in his native State, his early life being spent upon the farm, while his educa- tional advantages were meager, indeed. Making the best use of all the advantages within his reach. reading little, and reflecting more, he became well posted upon all topics of general interest. At the age of twenty he made a profession of religion, and united with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and, showing an aptness for public speaking, he was at once licensed as an exhorter. and one year later united with the conference, was ordained, and as- signed to the Cape Cod district. He continued to labor as a minister in his native State until about the close of the war with Great Britain, when he re- moved with his family to West Virginia, where he remained about five years, and then removed to Guernsey County, Ohio. In 1847 he came to Henry County, Iowa, and located in what is now Tippe- canoe Township, where he combined farming with preaching, continning actively in the latter work until within four years of his death, which occurred in 1866. In about 1803 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Sarah Harrington, by whom he had twelve children, seven boys and five girls, of whom seven are yet living. For nineteen years he was a citizen of Henry County, and few among the older citizens but well remembered the good old man. Of that rugged nature peculiar to those born among the hills of Maine, he was not afraid to express him- self freely upon all questions affecting the public in- terests. Living for a time in a slave State, and
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witnessing the beauties of the "peculiar institution," he came to abhor slavery, and therefore deter- mined to do all he could for its abolition. He was not afraid to be ealled an Abolitionist, but rather gloried in the name. He left the Methodist Episco- pal Church, and united with the Protestant Meth- odists on account of the more radical position of the latter body on the slavery question. On the temperance question he was likewise radical, and, believing the use of intoxicating liquors hurtful, he waged continua! warfare against their use. No un- certain sound came from his lips on this question. As a minister of the Gospel, he believed in "declar- ing the whole counsels of God" as he understood them, and therefore was a most earnest laborer in the Lord's vineyard. He was by nature an elo- quent man, with a good command of language, and was eagerly listened to by the thousands who sat under the sound of his voice.
In early life Capt. Abraham was politically a Democrat, but since 1864 he has affiliated with the Republican party, at that time casting his vote for Abraham Lincoln for the Presidency. In political matters he has usually taken an active part, and in 1881 received the nomination from his party to the State Senate, was elected and served in the Nine- teenth and Twentieth General Assemblies with credit to himself and his constituents. A member of Mc- Farland Post No. 20, G. A. R., he takes an active interest in all its works. In the temperance cause he is also quite active, and is never afraid to ex- press his opinions freely upon that question. Capt. Abraham, with his family, occupies a beautiful home on seetion 35, Center Township, where he is the owner of 345 aeres of land, all of which is under a high state of cultivation.
ON. WASHINGTON I. BABB, of the law firm of Woolson & Babb, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, Oct. 2, 1844, and is the son of Miles and Mary (Moyers) Babb. His father was born in Wilkesbarre, Pa., and was of German descent. IIe went to California during the gold excitement of 1850, and was killed in the mines Dec. 21, 1852, by
the caving in of a tunnel. His widow survives her husband and resides with her son, W. I., at Mt. Pleasant.
Our subject received his primary education in the publie schools of his native county, and when six- teen years of age eame to Mt. Pleasant (1860) and entered the Iowa Wesleyan University as a student, and prosecuted his studies till the spring of 1863. when he yielded to the patriotie desire to aid in the defense of the Union, and enlisted as a private of Company E, 8th Iowa Cavalry, and served till the close of the war. His regiment was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland under Gen. Thomas, and participated in the memorable and severe eam- paigns of the last years of the war. He participated in the battles before Atlanta, at Franklin, Nash- ville, and in Wilson's raid through Alabama and Georgia in the spring of 1865. He was slightly wounded in the attack on Atlanta, but was not con- fined to the hospital a single day during the entire service. He was mustered out as a non-commis- sioned officer Aug. 13, 1865. On his return from the war, he re-entered the Iowa Wesleyan Univer- sity at Mt. Pleasant, and graduated with high honor in the classical course in June, 1866. He at once entered upon the study of law with Henry Ambler, a well-known attorney of Mt. Pleasant, and was admitted to the bar in December, 1867. On gradu- ating, he formed a law partnership with Mr. Am- bler and entered upon the practice of his profession in Jannary, 1868. That connection continued until 1872, when he formed the existing partner- ship with Hon. John S. Woolson, under the firm name of Woolson & Babb. Mr. Babb has been a close student, and possessing sterling ability, has won a foremost place among the leading lawyers of the State. Ilis well-known integrity and fairness, coupled with a thorough knowledge of his profes- sion and careful attention to details, has won the confidence of his clients and the respect of his brethren of the bar, the courts and juries. His sue- cess has been the result of close application and persevering industry, as well as good natural ability.
Mr. Babb cast his first vote while a soldier in the field, during the campaign of 1864, voting for Lincoln and Johnson. He continued to vote with
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the Republican party till 1868, when becoming dis- satisfied with the reconstruction policy of the party, and favorably impressed by the National policy of the Democratic party, he renounced his allegianee to the former and cast his lot with the latter. Ile has since been an earnest and eloquent advocate of the principles of the Democracy. In 1876 he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for Circuit Judge, but positively declined to allow his name to be used. In 1878 he was nominated for Distriet Judge, and yielding to the earnest solicitation of friends in both parties, made the race and was de- feated by only 115 votes in a distriet that usually gave a Republican majority of about 1,200. While defeated, he had reason to be proud of the result, which demonstrated his personal popularity among the members of both parties. He was again ten- dered the nomination for Distriet Judge in 1882, at a time when the Republicans, through dissentions over the prohibition question, had fallen into a minority, but deelined the honor, preferring to pur- sue his extensive practice. In 1883 he was strongly urged by influential party friends to become a can- didate for the General Assembly, but he refused to accede to their wishes. However, when the eon- vention assembled, he was unanimously nominated, and much against his wish, and at considerable sac- rifice, he was indueed to make the canvass, which resulted in his election by nearly 100 majority. Ilis course in the Assembly fully justified the warmest expectations of his friends. He soon demonstrated his ability as a legislator and served on important committees, his legal training having prepared him for the rigid investigation of measures under con- sideration. llis conclusions, based on sound rea- soning, won the respect and conenrrence of his fellow legislators, and he proved a valuable and influential member.
Mr. Babb was married at Mt. Pleasant, Oct. 9, 1873, to Miss Alice Bird, a daughter of Dr. Well- ington Bird, a prominent physician of that city. Mrs. Babb was born at Mt. Pleasant. They are the parents of four children, two sons and two daughters: Max W., aged thirteen years; Miles T., aged nine years; Clara Belle, aged four years, and Alice, an infant. Mrs. Babb is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Babb is a
Knight Templar Mason, 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., all of Mt. Pleasant. At one time he was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Iowa State Hospital for the Insane, at Mt. Pleasant. lle has always taken a warm interest in the cause of edu- cation, and has done his part in the promotion of learning. At present he is one of the Trustees of the Iowa Wesleyan University, a member of the Executive Committee and its Treasurer. He was eleeted a Trustee of that institution in 1876, and made a member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer in 1877, which position he has since con- tinuously held.
P ROF. MATHEW H. BARNES, section 23, Center Township, is a pioneer of 1839. He was born in Spencer Township, Guern- sey Co., Ohio, Jan. 12, 1815, and is a son of Ford and Jane (Hennen) Barnes, who emigrated from Greene County, Pa., to Guernsey County, Ohio, in about 1811. In that new country Ford Barnes built a mill on Will Creek, which for many years was known as Barnes' Stone Mill, it being among the first milis in that section of the country. In addition to milling he improved a farm and also laid out the town of Claysville in Guernsey County, naming it in honor of Henry Clay, he being a great admirer of that Statesman. In the second war with Great Britain, Ford Barnes served his country faith- fully, as did his father, Job Barnes, the grandfather of our subject, during the Revolutionary War. Of the family of eight children of Ford and Jane Barnes, there are now living: Elizabeth, wife of Francis Dailey, of Guernsey County, Ohio; Mathew 11., of Henry County ; and Ford Barnes, also of this county. Mrs. Jane Barnes dying about 1825, Ford Barnes subsequently married Mary Roberts, by whom he had a large family. three of whom are now living : Margaret, now residing in Center Township; Sarah, now the wife of Mr. Babcock, of Mt. Picas- ant; Mary, now the wife of Edwin Lockwood. Politically, Ford Barnes was an old-line Whig, and religiously, was a member of the Methodist Episco-
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pal Church. For many years his house was the home of traveling preachers and a place for hold- ing meetings in an early day.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Guernsey County, Ohio, and received his education in the pioneer log school-house, the schools being held upon the subscription plan. On the 10th day of August, 1837, in Muskingum County, Ohio, he wedded Miss Martha Monroe, a distant relative of President Monroe. She was born in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1818. By this union there was one child who died in infancy.
In April, 1839, Mr. Barnes came with his wife to Henry County, Iowa, and settled on the east half of the southwest quarter of section 23, township 71, range 6 west, now known as Center Township. Here he has since continued to live a period of nearly a half century, and is one of the best known citizens of Henry County. In addition to general farming, for forty-four years he has been engaged as a general auctioneer, attending the greater nnu- ber of sales within a circuit of twenty miles. In an early day he was engaged in teaching music, using the old buckwheat notes, and was then given the title of professor, a title which has sinee clung to him. Though never an office-seeker, he has yet held several offices of trust and was Justice of the Peace for many years. In polities he is a stanchi Republican.
AMES BIGELOW, of Mt. Pleasant, Henry Co., lowa, was born in Penobscot, Me., May 13, 1828. His father, James Bigelow, was also a native of Maine, though of English descent. The three brothers of the Bigelow family came to America at an early day and settled in the New England States. From one of these brothers James Bigelow is a direct descendant. His mother, Louisa (Abbey) Bigelow, was a native of Massachu- setts. James Bigelow, Sr., and Louisa Abbey were married in 1827, and settled in Penobscot, Me. They were the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom are now living: James is the subject of this sketch; Bessie, Amos and Alfred are deceased ; Melissa is now the wife of Joseph Davis, a resident
of Maine; Calvin, one of the brave boys in blue, enlisted and served through the war; Melvin and Jerome were also soldiers in the war of the Rebel- lion ; Maria is the wife of George Davis; Susan is the wife of Mr. Jones, and Joan is single; two children died in infancy. James Bigelow, Sr., was politically a Whig and a great admirer of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, two of the great States- men of our country. He was well informed on all public affairs, whether political or otherwise. Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow were people highly respected, not only in the immediate vicinity where they lived, but wherever they were known. They were both members of the Baptist Church. He was once a Selectman of his town and represented his district in the Legislature. Mr. Bigelow died in 1878, but Mrs. Bigelow is still living in Penobscot, Me., at the advanced age of seventy-seven.
The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in his native State, and received his education at the Skowhegan Academy, supplemented by a partial course in the Skowhegan College. In 1857 Mr. Bigelow left Maine and settled in Niagara County, N. Y., where he engaged in the buying and selling of horses. While there he was joined in wedlock with Miss Louisa Drum, a daughter of John Drum, a journeyman printer of Niagara County. In 1862 they removed to Mt. Pleasant, lowa, where Mr. Bigelow was largely engaged in buying horses for the Government until the close of the war, since which time he has been engaged in buying and sell- ing fine stock. Politically he is a Republican, and so- cially he is a Master Mason. Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow are well known in the community where they reside, and are highly respected. They are the parents of two children, a son Frank, who is clerking in Chi- cago, and Mabel, living in Mt. Pleasant.
R. EV. SEBASTIAN GERIG was born in Mill- housen, France, in 1838, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Gerig. .Jacob was a farmer, and he and his wife reared a family of thirteen children, of whom our subject was the second youngest. The parents lived and died in France. Sebastian Gerig came to
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America in 1857 and settled in Davis County, Iowa. From there he went to Wayne County, Ohio, in 1862, and two years later returned to Iowa and made his home in Henry County. For five years he rented lands, and in 1869 purchased a farm of his own. He sold that farm and purchased his present homestead in 1872. In 1865 Miss Magda- lena Goldsmith, of this county, became his wife, and eleven children have graced their union, nine of whom are living, and all were born in Henry County -Joseph, Jacob. Elizabeth, Lydia, Anna, Mary, La- vina, Eva and Emma, In 1869 Mr. Gerig, who had been for years an acceptable member of the Men- nonite Church, was elected by the congregation of Prospect Church as their minister, and from that time to this date has been their pastor. Since his creation by the church as Bishop in 1879, he has taken into the church over 100 persons; the con- gregation now numbers seventy-five families. Sery- ices are held the second and fourth Sunday in each month and Sunday-school every Sunday. Chris- tianer and Jacob Kable are Superintendents. The assistant pastor is Rev. Stephen Miller, who is men- tioned elsewhere in this work. The church was organized by Rev. Joseph Goldsmith in 1850, who moved from Lee County, lowa, to Henry County. At that time about half a dozen families composed the society, but it has always been a prosperous one. Rev. Goldsmith died in 1875 in his eighty- first year, firm in the faith in which he lived.
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W ILLIAM HOBART, one of the early set- tlers of llenry County, Iowa, was born in freland in 1792. When a young man he came to America, and located in Oneida County, N. Y. He was united in marriage to Miss Achsah Ingram, and in 1850 they emigrated to Illinois, settling in MeDonough County. In 1856 they re- moved from that county, coming to Henry County, lowa, and settled on section 18, Scott Township. Mr. Hobart was an enthusiastic Republican, and gavesix sons for the service of his country. Mr. and Mrs. Hobart were the parents of eight children, who
grew to maturity : Frederick enlisted in Company F, 17th lowa Volunteer Infantry, served but a short time, and was discharged for disability ; Milo enlisted in the 124th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and is now pastor of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Mt. Pleasant. Harriet became the wife of Hugh Wilson, of McDonough County, Ill. ; Will- iam K. enlisted in the 1st lowa Infantry, Company F, and three months afterward he became a mem- ber of the 17th lowa Volunteer Infantry, serving until the close of the war, and participating in all the engagements of the regiment; he is now a carpenter, residing in Mt. Pleasant. Franklin was a member of the 1st lowa Volunteer Infantry, and when his term of service expired he re-enlisted in the 17th, serving until the close of the war; Mor- timer became a member of Company G. 11th lowa Volunteer Infantry, and was killed at the battle of Shiloh, being the first to fall from Scott Township. The G. A. R. Post of Winfield took its name from him. Joseph was also a member of the 17th Iowa Infantry, Company F. He was mustered into sery- iee. and participated in the following engage- ments: Iuka, Sept. 19, 1862; second battle of Corinth, Oct. 4, 1862; Ft. Gibson, May 10, 1862; Raymond, also in May, 1862; Champion Hills, May 16, 1862; the siege and capture of Vicksburg, where he was under lire forty-six days; Missionary Ridge, in November. 1863; Tilton, Ga., where his regiment defending a bridge against Hood, was captured. He, with his regiment, was taken to Catawba, remaining there two weeks, from there to Milan, also remaining there two weeks, then subse- quently to Savannah, where they were run down to Blackshire, in the Oak Fire Swamp for two weeks. Sherman was following them up, and they were taken down the gulf road to Thomasville, then to Andersonville, where they were confined from the 25th day of December until the 28th of April fol- lowing, suffering all the hardships of that most hor- rible prison. While in prison the war closed, and Mr. Ilobart was set at liberty. He returned to Davenport, where he was mustered out May 26, 1865, and subsequently returned to his home in Henry County. Jenny, the eighth child of Will- iam Hobart, is the wife of Isaac Byers, of Lincoln, Neb. William Hobart died in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa,
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
Wells e Andrews
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in 1873, and his wife is still living in MeDonough County. III.
Joseph Hobart was united in marriage, in 1867, with Miss Anna Wilson, a daughter of Jacob and Matilda (Marsh) Wilson, both of whom were na- tives of Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Ilobart are the par- ents of seven children: Alice, born Oct. 26, 1868; Rozelma, born Dec. 9, 1870; Ada, born March 15, 1872; Franklin, born April 27, 1874; Viola, born March 3, 1877; Corda, born Nov. 5, 1879; Geor- gia, July 31, 1883. Mr. Hobart has a fine farm of eighty aeres on section 18, Scott Township. He is a member of the G. A. R. Post and Commander of the same. In politics he is a stanch Republican. He is serving his second term as Assessor. Mr. Hobart has witnessed the changes which have trans- formed Henry County from a wild prairie to one of the finest connties in the State. He and his estimable wife have the respect and confidence of all who know them, and as citizens none rank higher.
W ELLS ANDREWS, an honored pioneer of Henry County, Iowa, of 1837, and a farmer of New London Township, residing on sec- tion 20, was born in Hartford, Trumbull Co., Ohio, April 10, 1810. His father, Chester Andrews, was born near Hartland, Conn., was of Scotch descent, and a farmer by occupation. Ile married Miss Hannah Gates in 1804, and a few weeks later emi- grated with ox-teams to the Western Reservation, Ohio, then almost a wilderness of heavy timber. Hle cleared np a large farm in Trumbull County, and reared a family of nine children, six sons and three daughters, three only of whom are living at this writing (1888). Besides our subject, there is Asa, of Warren County, Ohio, and Noyes, residing at Terre Haute, Ind. The parents passed the re- mainder of their days in their Ohio home.
Wells, the subject of our sketch, learned the car- penter's trade, and in 1836 went to Mississippi, where he worked at the same until the following spring, when he returned to Ohio, and in July of that year came to Iowa, purchasing a claim in what is now known as New London Township, situated on section 20, and again went South, and spent the
winter in Mississippi at Vicksburg, and the follow- ing spring returned to his claim. Mr. Andrews improved his land and added to the original pur- chase until he now has 400 acres of choice and well-improved land, with a tasty residence and ex- tensive barns, making it one of the most attractive places in the township. When he took his claim the Government had not yet surveyed the land with the exception of township lines. Claims were adjusted after the section lines were run, and the land did not come into market until 1839. Under the squatter law, claims were limited to 240 acres, and the additional acreage Mr. Andrews acquired by private purchase.
He was united in marriage, in Lee County, Iowa, June 30, 1839, with Miss Laura Brockway, daughter of Titus Brockway. Mrs. Andrews was a native of the same township that her husband was born in, the date of her birth being Nov. 20, 1819. Her people were from New York and settled in Ohio, from which place they moved to Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had five children. three sous and two daughters: Asa Edwin was born Aug. 2, 1841, and married Mary Waller, and is now employed at the penitentiary at Anamosa; he was a soldier of the late war, and served as a member of Company D, 4th Iowa Cavalry, and was wounded near Ray- mond, Miss., by a gunshot through the cheek and neck, and was captured and paroled. Nelson B. was born Dec. 7, 1843, and married Maggie J. Van Voast, and is a dealer in china and queensware at Mt. Pleasant, lowa (see sketch); Albert D. was born July 3, 1846, and married Editha Borden, and is a farmer of New London Township; Almira Fidelia was born March 27, 1850, and died in infancy ; Lanra Emeline, born Sept. 12, 1853, is the wife of George Lee, express messenger, residing at Des Moines, Iowa. Mrs. Andrews died May 5, 1854. Mr. Andrews was married again, in Warren, Ohio, to Mrs. Helen H. Beach, widow of Edwin Beach, and daughter of Milton Holcomb, of Ohio. Mrs. Andrews is a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, and was born in Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., Sept. 16, 1825, coming to Ohio in child- hood. Mr. Andrews was a Whig in early life, but is now a Republican. He is one of the most highly respected of Henry County's early pioneers.
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Mr. Andrews claims to be the only man now liv- ing on the road from Burlington to Mt. Pleasant who took up an original claim and still lives upon it, he holding by the original Government title. When he came to this section of country, in 1837, it was part of the Territory of Wisconsin. A car- penter by trade, his first work was on the Territo- rial House in Burlington, intended for meetings of the Territorial Legislature, John Smith being the contracting builder, and Esquire Davidson master mechanie. Moses Jordan, long a well-known resi- dent of Burlington, who died in 1886, also worked on the same building. This building was occu- pied by the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature the following winter, and in the spring of 1838 was burned down.
It affords us much pleasure to present the por- trait of this pioneer to the patrons of the ALBUM. Of all the men represented, none are more deserv- ing than Wells Andrews.
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