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 58
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the cruelty and inhumanity of those who in history have been christened fiends incarnate. lle was the father only of the wife of our subject, and his widow afterward married James W. Trimble, of Ross County. She became the mother of two chil- dren-Lizzie and John. The first wedded Alonzo Wilhite, of Saline County, Mo. Mrs. Hochreiter, at thirteen years of age, became an inmate of the home of her paternal grandfather, who educated and cared for her until her marriage, and gave with pleasure to our subject a wife of whom he may well be proud.
In one of the cosiest of homes, where music and everything that makes home inviting and pleasant may be found, Mrs. Hochreiter reigns as a model hostess. Only one son, Edward, born Dec. 12, 1 880, has graced the union. With the respeet due the pioneer father, and as a fitting tribute to a worthy son, the publishers offer this brief sketch to the good people of Henry County, knowing it will meet with a cordial reception, and give a correct account of the settlement and enterprise of a family, one of the best known in Scott Township.
OHN HOLT, a farmer residing on seetion 21, Wayne Township, Henry Co., Iowa, was born in Sweden in 1846, and his parents came to America in 1853, and settled in Jefferson County, Iowa, the same year. Daniel Holt and his wife Annie were the parents of our subjeet, and the two eldest children, John and Annie S., were born before the family lett Sweden. A farm was purchased in Jefferson County. Iowa, by Daniel Holt, and upon this he resided during his- lifetime. In Sweden he belonged to the regular army, and before he could leave for America was obliged to secure a substitute, From the time he arrived here until his death, Mr. Holt was a farmer, and his widow, who married after the death of her first husband, yet resides on the Holt homestead. Three children were born after the emigration to America : Louisa, wife of C. J. Burke, a hardware merchant of Kearney, Neb. ; Henry, husband of Matikdla Lind, is a partner of Mr. Burke; Emma, wife of John Lynn, a resident of Kearney, Neb. ; Annie, the sister born in Sweden, became the wife
of Gust Johnson, also a farmer of Kearney County, Neb. After the death of Daniel Holt, his widow married Henry Anderson. They are parents of one son, Albert, yet single.
Our subject was reared and educated in Jefferson County, and was there married, March 19, 1873, Miss Anna Seablom becoming his wife. She was born in Eksjo, Sweden, in 1854, and is the daughter of John P. and Eva ( Israelson) Seablom. They came to America in 1866, stopping first in Jeffer- son County, but after the marriage of their daugh- ter Anna, removed to Page County, and purchased the farm where they yet reside. They were parents of nine children, all born in Sweden except the youngest : Charles, deceased ; Charlotte, wife of Sam Linstrom, a resident of Essex, Iowa; Peter, husband of Ellen Anderson, also a resident of Essex ; Annie, wife of our subject; Aaron. deceased; Antoine mar- ried Josephine Lindburg; David ; Sadie, a teacher, and Alice, a dry-goods clerk in Shenandoah, are un- married and all residents of Page County.
John Holt purchased his farm in this county before he was married, and had a home for his young bride to which they came. For fifteen years they have been residents of Wayne Township, ranking among the best families, and for their kindness, enterprise and Christian virtues, they are entitled to a place with those of their neighbors and friends in this volume. Four children have blessed their home-John W., Lydia, Alice and Aletha. Death invaded the family cirele and car- ried away their baby girl Alice in the autumn of 1884. Mr. Holt has made handsome and substan- tial improvements on his farm during the last few years, having ereeted a fine two-story farmhouse of modern architecture, besides the expenditure of large sums in other improvements. As a gentle- man, a citizen of real worth, and a family of the best repute, we are pleased to thus do them honor.
O. HUNT, a prominent farmer and stock- raiser residing on section 6. Scott Town- ship, Henry Co., lowa, is a native of Jeffer- son County, N. Y., born Dec. 26, 1817. His par- ents were Lyman and Laura (Lovel) Hunt, who
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were natives of Massachusetts. The early boyhood days of our subject were spent upon a farm in New York, but at the age of seven years his par- ents emigrated to Ohio, settling on a farm in Port- age Connty. Mr. Hunt was educated in the common schools of his adopted county. For twelve years he was engaged in buying horses, which he drove to the East. While on one of these trips, passing through Huntington, Vt., he became ac- quainted with Mary Norton, a daughter of Na- thaniel and Mary (Bewer) Norton, the father a native of Massachusetts, and mother of Vermont. The acquaintance thus formed soon ripened into love, and they were married. The grandfather of Mrs. IIunt was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. In March, 1854, Mr. Hunt with his young wife moved to Iowa, settling near Denmark, where he purchased 180 acres of land partially improved. At the expiration of a year they removed to West Point, making that their home for seven years. At that place Mr. Hunt was engaged in stock-rais- ing. Removing to Mt. Pleasant, he began the livery business, continuing that from 1862 until 1869, then purchasing 300 acres of land, he re- moved to his farm, residing there for seven years. Desiring to give his children better educational advantages than country schools afforded, they went to Iowa City, but subsequently returned to his farm in Scott Township, and with the exception of two years spent at Columbus Junction, there he has since resided.
Three children have brought joy and gladness to the home of Mr. and Mrs. V. O. Hunt: Lillian, wife of Isaac B. Turner, a farmer of Scott Town- ship; Charles N., a practicing attorney at Minne- apolis, Minn .; George L., who is a stenographer in that eity. Politically, Mr. Hunt indorses the princi- ples advocated by the Union Labor party. Mr. Hunt has one of the best farms in Henry County, consisting of 450 acres of fine land. He is well known and universally respected.
E LAM HIOCKETT, one of the prominent and representative farmers of Henry County, was born in Salem Township, in this county, on the 18th of November, 1846, and is the son of
Jehu and Hannah (Frazier) Hockett, both of whom are natives of Indiana, and were among the first settlers of Henry County, Iowa. They came to this county when it was hardly more than a wilderness, while yet the deer might be seen on the prairies, or the wolf be heard howling at night. Edward Hockett, the grandfather of our subject, came to this county in 1834, and was the father of ten children, of whom the second was Jehu, the father of our subject, who reared a fam- ily of twelve children, all of whom are now living.
Mr. Elam Hoekett was the eldest of this family, and was reared upon the farm where he now lives, on section 36, Tippecanoe Township. He attended a private school, the district not yet being organized, and at that time the county was very thinly settled. On the 21st of February, 1869, he formed a matrimonial alliance with Miss Sarah E. Stephenson, a native of Wayne County, Ind. They were the parents of five children: Mary Ellen, who is now the wife of M. H. Doan, of this county; Alfonso, Elnora, Fred and Edgar are at home.
Mr. Hockett in early life learned the carpenter's trade, which business he now carries on in connec- tion with general farming. He and wife belong to the Society of Friends, and are always ready to lend a helping hand to the needy, and to comfort the afflicted. In polities Mr. Hockett holds very liberal views.
EUBEN ESIIELMAN, merchant tailor, deal- er in ready-made clothing, gents' furnishing goods, hats and caps, ete., commeneed busi- ness in Mt. Pleasant in 1848, and has carried it on continuously ever since, while his wife is at present engaged in the millinery business in the same establishment. Mr. Eshelman was born in Union County, Pa., July 10, 1829, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Snavely) Eshelman, who were also born in Pennsylvania, the family having resided there for several successive generations, and being descendants of the original German set-
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tlers of that colony. His maternal grandfather was a soldier of the Revolutionary War.
Reuben Eshelman left his native State in 1848 for the West, traveling by boat and stage, and was twenty-two days on his way to Iowa. Here he located at Mt. Pleasant, where he had a brother engaged in the merchant tailoring business. After working for awhile for his brother he returned to Pennsylvania, and for the next few years he was rather migratory in his habits, traveling back and forth between the East and the West, the South and the North, until 1857, when he again settled at Mt. Pleasant and engaged in the clothing business. His is the oldest established house in this line in the county. In 1867 he started a branch house at Fairfield, lowa, and others also in neighboring towns. The store in Fairfield he sold out, after three years, to his business manager there. He now has a branch store at Malvern, Iowa, where he car- ries a stock of goods valued at $7,000 or $8,000. His Mt. Pleasant house is thirty-three feet front and 105 feet deep, and he carries an average stock of about $25,000.
Mr. Eshelman has held various local offices, and was Alderman from his ward three terms in suc- cession. He was one of the Directors of the St. L., K. & W. R. R., is at present one of the Directors of the National State Bank, and has been President of the Executive Committee of the Old Settlers' Asso. ciation, and is at present Treasurer. He was mar- ried at Mt. Pleasant, Jan. 10. 1866, to Miss Annie B. Ililderbrand, daughter of Michael Hilderbrand, and a native of Pennsylvania. They had six chil- dren, four boys and two girls: Franklin Reuben, born Nov. 14, 1871, died Jan. 24, 1875; Daniel Frederick, born Feb. 8, 1874; Anna May and Hat- tie Mabel, twins, born May 16, 1877, and who are extremely bright; Reuben, born May 3, 1881, and Ralph, Oct. 24, 1881.
Mr. Eshelman is a member of the I. O. O. F., and in politics is a Democrat. He is one of the most enterprising and successful citizens of Mt. Pleasant, liberal and public-spirited, and is genial and affable in his manners, and has won a safe place in the estimation and regard of his fellow-citizens. The portrait of such a man is well worthy of a place in the PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL ALBUM of Henry
County, and it is with pleasure that we present it to the readers of this volume, knowing that it will be appreciated by all.
OHN WILLEFORD, one of the pioneers of Henry County, lowa. was born in Clay County, Ky., in 1807. His parents were James and Jane (Bales) Willeford, natives of North Carolina, who settled in Clay County in an early day. John Willeford was united in mar- riage with Miss Susana Smallwood, by whom he had eight children : Henderson M .. a farmer of Center Township, Henry County ; Paulina, wife of David Hitt, of Swift County, Minn .; Belinda, deceased; Celia, deceased ; Amanda J., wife of J. D. Trow- bridge, of Henry County; William II. H., of this county ; Sarah A., wife of Hiram Jones, of Mt. Pleasant; Adeline A., wife of George Pixley, of California; she died in 1887.
Mr. John Willeford left his home in Kentucky in the spring of 1834, and with his wife and three small children, took passage on board a boat for Burlington, and from thence proceeded to Ilenry County, locating on land in what is now Center Township. He was compelled to live in a eamp three months after reaching Henry County, until he could build a cabin. This was slow and labor- ious work as there was no one in that section of the country that he could get to help him. A log cabin with puncheon floor and a chimney made of mud and sticks, was finally erected, the family living some time in this cabin before there was a door, but a quilt or blanket served the purpose. Their nearest neighbor at this time lived many miles away, gristmills were unknown, and for the first year the only meal they had was pounded out in the top of a stump, a hole being dug in the stump for that purpose. The first milling they had done was at the mill on Henderson River, Mr. Wille- ford passing down the Skunk River, embarking at Oakland in a canoe borrowed of the Indians, then up the Mississippi to Henderson, where he loaded his canoe and returned home.
When Mr. Willeford came to this county he was in limited circumstances, and only by hard labor could he make enough to support his family. When
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they came, the country was so thinly settled that tribes of Indians might almost daily be seen, but as the country became more thickly populated, they were driven farther West. Mr. Willeford was a man who stood high in the community and was ever ready to do a neighbor a kind action. He was, in politics, an old-line Whig and a great admirer of Ilenry Clay and William Henry Harrison. Mr. Willeford died in Center Township on the 11th of March, 1845. Mrs. Willeford is still living and is now seventy-seven years of age, and is the first white woman who came into Henry County. She is a woman of remarkable memory for her age, and is loved and respected by all her neighbors, whom she has so long lived among. At the time she came to Henry County there were many wolves, and many times at night they would come and scratch at her door. Chickens and sheep had to be well guarded or they would have been carried away by the wolves. Now all this has changed, civilization has advanced step by step, the log cabin is trans- formed into a comfortable home, and the timber lands into well cultivated farms.
F6 RANCIS McCRAY, an influential and in- telligent citizen of Henry County, Iowa, was born in Warren County, Ohio, July 10, 1815, and is a son of John and Sarah (Dill) MeCray, His father was a native of Virginia, and his mother of Pennsylvania, though of Irish descent. John MeCray served in the War of 1812 as a teamster. He and his wife emigrated to Warren County, Ohio, in an early day, living in true pioneer style. In connection with farming Mr. McCray also worked at his trade of carpentering. Politically, he was a Whig, and was a very conservative man. He departed this life in 1838. His wife came to this county with our subject, remaining here until her death, which occurred in 1858. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church. Seven chil- dren, all of whom grew to maturity, graced the union of John McCray and Sarah Dill. Their names are: Samuel, a farmer residing in Mont- gomery County, Ohio; Ann, wife of Garrett I.
Jeffery, died in Jefferson Township, Henry County ; Jane, widow of Elam Bone, resides in Mt. Pleasant ; Francis, our subject; David D., who came to this county in 1840, and died in 1842; Joseph, residing in Center Township; and John, who was drowned at the age of twenty-two, while in bathing, in Warren County, Ohio.
In 1842 Francis MeCray made his first purchase of land of 240 acres in this county. After making some improvements on this place, he sold it and bought 160 acres on section 3, Trenton Township, in 1850. Here he built a house in which he still resides. He had taught five terms of school in Ohio, prior to 1840, in which year he went to Mis- sissippi, remaining until 1843, engaged in teaching. He then went back to Warren County, Ohio, and in the winter of 1843 taught school in that county. In 1844 he came to this county, as above stated, and also taught in this county in 1845-46. He was married, Dec. 20, 1849, to Hester M. Van Voast, a native of Indiana, and a daughter of Nicholas and Sarah (Coryell) Van Voast, Her father was a native of New York, and her mother of Pennsyl- vania, and both were of German origin. Mrs. MeCray's grandfather served as a soldier during the French and Indian War. IIer father died in 1882, at Mt. Pleasant, when seventy-three years of age. Her mother died in November, 1873, at the age of sixty-seven. They were members of the Presbyterian Church, and respected people.
Mr. and Mrs. Francis MeCray have been the parents of eight children, namely : Orlando P., en- gaged as a clerk in the office of the Home Insurance Company, of Sioux City, Iowa, who graduated at Ames' College in 1874, and prior to that was a teacher; Albert F. died in 1865, at the age of thirteen years; Nettie, who was also a teacher, is the wife of J. A. Roth, now of Wayland, this county ; John N., formerly a teacher in this county, is now farming in Sully County, Dak .; Mary E., wife of W. R. Hart, teacher at lIoldredge, Neb., is a graduate of the Union School of Mt. Pleasant; Martha died Jan. 28, 1880, at the age of eighteen ; Joseph G. conducts the home farm ; Frank H., also a farmer, resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. McCray are attendants of the Universalist Church.
Mr. McCray was reared in the Presbyterian
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faith, tanght the catechism at his mother's knee, and attended Presbyterian meetings until the year 1846, when he read " Combs' Constitution of Man," which so unsettled his faith in what is called the orthodox doctrine of the Bible, that for a time be became very unhappy. It seemed to him as if forsaking the doctrines of the fathers would tear up the very foundations of society. A friend finding him in this state of mind, offered to loan him " Rogers' Pro and Con of Universalism," earnestly requesting him to read it. Hle read it with a great deal of cantion and care, as he had been taught to look on the doctrine as very deceitful and dangerous, but the arguments for it seemed to be so strong and convincing that he was induced to make a very thorough and searching 'examination of the Bible teachings of the doctrine. The final outcome was a firm belief, educed from the fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and the textual teachings of the Bible, that all souls would finally be delivered from the bondage of sin and corruption, and made holy and happy in a state of immortality. Although the separation from old associations and the alienation of friends was painful, his deliver- ance from the fear of death, which had all his life long subjected him to bondage, filled him with joy unspeakable, and in all his trials and disappoint- ments this faith has been a sure refuge for comfort and consolation. Though a sectarian. he was not intolerant of other denominations, but loved the association of all good people of every name and creed, believing the true test of Christian character to be in the life and not in the profession.
Seeing the danger and evil resulting from the use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, he has never used them in that way since he left the parental home. In the winter of 1848-49, he and Frank Brady, who was then teaching school in Trenton, organized the first temperance society in that village. It was on the Washingtonian plan, and operated successfully for some years, sowing the seeds of temperance, which resulted in much good to some of the youth in the neighborhood. The following song was written for the society by Mr. McCray, and published in the Mt. Pleasant Free Democrat. The word " rum" is meant to denote all intoxicating drinks :
Time-" Lovely Sonnet."
Come all who sip the tempting bowl,
Come spurn King Alcobol's control; Though now you loathe the drunkard's course, Your's soon may be as bad, or worse.
Then sign the pledge, dethrone the king, And loud the temperance anthem sing, I'm free from rum,
Ye sots who to the dram shops go. Thus causing untold grief and woe, Ye cause your wives to wail and weep, And livelong nights their vigils keep, Lest drunken revelry should bring
Their husband's corpse, a ghastly thing, All bleeding home.
Oh! think of home, and children too, Now beggared and disgraced by yon ; They'll soon be orphans, lone and drear,
Without a parent's guardian care.
Then sign the pledge, true penance bring, And loud the temperance anthem sing, I'm safe from rum.
Come all who poisonous liquid sell, That draws your brother down to hell,
That gives the drunkard's widow woe, And causes orphan tears to flow ; Desist from this ungodly thing,
And loud the temperance anthem sing, I'll sell no rum.
Come old, come young, come one, come all, And help roll on the temperance ball, Reclaim the advocates of rum, Until a jubilee shall come,
When all the world with joy shall ring, All loud the temperanee anthem sing, We're free from rum.
Was there a saloon to suppress, or any temperance work to be done, he has always been called to the front. to get the odium of the opponents and receive the approbation of the friends of prohi- bition.
Mr. MeCray's vote was given in 1836 for Gen. William Henry Harrison, the Whig candidate for President, and he continued to vote that ticket until 1844. Ile afterward thought the party was be- coming so pro-slavery that he ceased to vote the National Whig ticket, and in 1848 he voted for J. G. Birney, the Free-Soil candidate for President, there being but one other vote cast for him in the township. From the time he was capable of think-
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ing on the subject of slavery, he thought it an unjust, cruel institution, with God's displeasure resting upon it, for which the nation and slave- owners would some day be severely scourged. His residence in the South so strengthened and con- tirmed his opposition to slavery as to attach to him the then odious appellation of " fanatical Aboli- tionist." When, in 1844, he heard the result of the Presidential election he wrote the following lines to a friend in Ohio:
Ohio, my native State, of thee I'm proud to boast, In freedom's just and righteous canse, thou hast shown thyself a host.
Thou hast battled bravely for the free, the men of honest toil,
Thou dost not hold that odions faith-the victors claim the spoil ;
But bravely for the people's rights, thou hast formed a noble van.
Thou hast routed Tod, Medary, too, with all their free-trade elan,
Colonel Polk thou dost disown, with Tyler-Texas thunder ;
To elaim for Polk Ohio's vote, was an eggregious blunder.
Calhoun and Cass, and Jackson, too, with England for a scarecrow,
With Qua Si Qui, to boast and lie, oh! Sam, how dare you do so!
Could not persnade Ohio's sons it would be no dis- honor,
To mingle Texas' black-starred flag with our own National banner.
And yet New York, with Van and Wright, to lead the people wrong,
Has late declared to all the world, by some six thousand strong,
That slavery's just, and should be wide extended, That Texas with her slavery laws by us should be defended."
Oh! shame upon the Empire State! let darkness shroud her banner,
And shame on Pennsylvania too, with blackness and dishonor ;
Let shame be prond Virginia's lot, the land of John, the traitor,
And shame on all the smaller fry will sure come soon or later.
I mourn my country's destiny, to find she will uphold,
The wickedness of slavery with suffrages, thus bold ;
To find her people tamely yield, to Calhoun and dictation,
Bows low my spirit for her weal and final destina- tion.
But when my native State 1 view, with stars and stripes all flying,
It cheers me that she did not yield to loco foco lying;
Yes! my native State, Ohio, there's not a stain upon her,
She won a noble victory, to her immortal honor.
Little did the writer of the foregoing lines think when he was writing them that the shame, black- ness and dishonor would be so soon and so terribly inflicted on the nation for its support of slavery. Past the meridian of life, unused to war and blood- shed, the conflict came upon him with a force as crushing and terrible as it was unexpected. After the war began-not being able to serve in the ranks, and feeling it his duty to do something-he at different times assisted in raising sanitary supplies. Watching the progress of the war with great anxiety, and often with much dread, he felt unbounded satisfaction when the Rebellion was suppressed and the Union restored.
But Mr. McCray's interest in politics did not sub- side with the restoration of the Union, and never will so long as he is able to take part, until man's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit in the legiti- mate and peaceable enjoyment of the fruits of his own labor, is securely and firmly established. His motive for political work has been principle, and not personal preferment of himself or others, and believing the principles of the party he supported to be right, he always voted for the candidate of his party, when he was fairly nominated, though he was not always his personal choice. He has often been solicited by his friends to become a candidate for office, but, though grateful for their partiality, he never felt it to be his duty, or for the best interest of his country, to accept. He believes every citizen -. in the way his best judgment directs-owes his best services to his country ; but he also believes it is better to be a good blacksmith than a poor preacher, a good shoemaker than a bad lawyer, and a good farmer than a bad statesman.
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