The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its., Part 87

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 807

USA > Iowa > Clinton County > The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its. > Part 87

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JOHN TAYLOR, foreman of machinists in the large lower mill of W. J. Young & Co .; is a native of Albany Co., N. Y., and was born Nov. 18, 1832; he was brought up there until 18 years of age; he learned his trade in Worcester, Mass., and came West to Moline in 1855; he came to Iowa in 1859, and came to Clinton in 1862, and entered the employ of W. J. Young & Co., and, with the exception of two years, he has been connected with his mills since then ; he has had charge of the machine- shops since 1867. He married Miss Emma E. Alverson, a native of Whitewater, Mich., in 1867 ; they have three children-Charles J., Herbert Roy, Fred Bernard.

WM. TAYLOR, foreman of W. J. Young & Co.'s upper saw-mill; is a native of Albany Co., N. Y .; born March 23, 1835 ; he learned the trade of machinist ; came to Illinois in 1856; when the war broke out, he enlisted in the first call ; three months' service in Co. H, 6th Ind. V. I., and afterward enlisted in the 2d Ind. Bat .; he was in the service three years, and was in sixteen battles; he came to Clinton in 1865, and entered the employ of W. J. Young as engineer, and has been with him fourteen years, and for four years has been foreman of this mill. He married Miss Alice V. Soper, a native of Rome, N. Y., in 1867 ; they have four children-William, Susie, Eva, Belle.

E. H. THAYER, publisher of the Clinton Age ; is a native of Windham, Cumberland Co., Me .; he attended school until 18 years of age; then came to Cleve- land, Ohio, where he read law and was admitted to the bar in all the courts of the State; he came to Iowa in 1853, located at Muscatine, and practiced law for three years ; was elected County Judge, and served two terms ; he established the Muscatine Daily Courier, and conducted that paper for six years; in April, 1868, he came to Clarence, Cedar Co., and established the Age; after being there only two months, the citizens of Clinton held out superior inducements, and he removed to this city, where he has conducted this journal since. Judge Thayer married Miss Delia E. Payne, a native of Essex Co., N. Y. ; they have three children-Nellie, Maude and May.

MAJOR CHARLES H. TOLL, Postmaster ; residence, corner Third street and Eighth avenue ; is a native of Van Buren, Onondaga Co., N. Y. ; born April 18, 1817. In 1840, he married Miss Eliza H. Lusk, daughter of Richard Lusk, of Lysander, N. Y. ; in 1853, Major Toll came to Chicago, remained a short time, and the following year came to Iowa, and located at Lyons ; soon after coming here, he was made Assistant Treasurer of the Iowa Land Company, and assisted in superintending the building of the railroad from the Mississippi River to Council Bluffs; in 1855, he was elected Mayor of Lyons; he afterward resigned the office of Mayor, and located in Clinton, where his business interests called him ; during his connection with the Rail- road Company, he was elected Assistant Treasurer of the Iowa Land Company; in 1859, he was elected Sheriff of Clinton Co., and served two years; in 1862, he was appointed United States Commissary for a Division of the Union army ; during his term of service, he was assigned to duty in various departments, and in every position he increased the efficiency of the department in which he was called to serve; his duties were extremely trying and arduous, and his responsibilities very great. As a Commis- sary, he was one of the most efficient in the Union army ; he served until the close of the war; was relieved in January, 1866, and returned home; in December, 1875, he

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was appointed Postmaster of Clinton, and still holds that office; he has also held vari- ous town offices, and, has been actively identified in the improvement of the city and county. While living in Onondaga Co., N. Y., he was Supervisor of the town of Lysan- der, and, in 1856, he was elected Representative to the State Legislature. He is a member of the Order of Odd Fellows; united with that fraternity in 1846. He is a con- sistent member of the Baptist Church, uniting with that denomination in 1839. Is a Republican, but an independent thinker. . Major Toll and wife have five children, two sons-Spencer L. (Postal Clerk on the C. & N. W. R. R. from Chicago to Cedar Rap- ids) ; Charles H., Jr. (attending school at Mt. Vernon) ; three daughters-Mary Lou- ise, Sarah E. (at home) ; Martha M. (now Mrs. George W. Lainhart, of New York City).

D. R. TOLL, livery, sale and boarding stable, Fifth avenue; was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., Nov. 22, 1826; after reaching manhood, in April, 1850, he went to California and engaged in mining there four and one-half years ; he returned in 1854; came to Iowa, and arrived at Lyons Jan. 12, 1855; in . the following November, he engaged in the livery business ; there is no one in the county now who was in the liv- ery business when he came ; there are only a very few men engaged in business in this . county who were here when he came. Mr. Toll married Miss S. M. Graham, a native of Utica, N. Y., in June, 1859; they have six children-Charles F., Fannie E., Frank P., Grace E., Rensselaer H. and Walter G.

P. S. TOWLE, dealer in dry goods, corner Second street and Fifth avenue; is a native of Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y .; he was brought up there ; upon the breaking- out of the war, he was commissioned Assistant Paymaster in the U. S. Navy, and served for three years; after the close of the war, he came to Iowa, and located in Clinton in 1866, and engaged in mercantile business on Front street; he has built up a large and extensive trade, the largest exclusively dry goods trade in this. city. Mr. Towle has been prominently connected with the "Ancient Order of United Workmen," and has been Grand Master of the State, and has been Supreme Lodge Representative for three years. In 1867, Mr. Towle married Miss Mary Brother, a native of Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y., daughter of Henry Brother ; they have three children-Henry Stewart, born April 13, 1871; Charles Brother, Sept. 10, 1875; Stewart Warren, Jan. 29, 1877.

CALVIN UPTON, stone-mason ; was born in Reading, Mass., June 15, 1828, and learned his trade in that State; he came to Iowa, and located in Davenport in 1855; came to Clinton in June, 1857, and engaged in his present business in 1859; he engaged in manufacturing brick, and carried it on until 1870 ; he was engaged in con- tracting and building for the C. &, N. W. R. R. from Clinton to Council Bluffs for some years. He married Miss Maria A. Rennard, of Salem, Mass., Jan. 30, 1853; they have five children-Charles E., George, Aldebrouto, Henry E. and Charlotte; have lost two children.

LARKIN UPTON, Mayor of Clinton ; is a native of North Reading, Mid- dlesex Co., Mass., and was born Feb. 4, 1832; in that State he learned the trade of stone mason ; after reaching manhood, he emigrated to Iowa, and came to Clinton in 1855; remained a short time, then lived in Davenport and in Durant, Cedar Co., until the fall of 1858, when he located in Clinton and engaged in building ; he has erected some of the best buildings in the city ; he has also done considerable contracting and building for the C. & N. W. R. R. here and on the line of the road at Boone and Dun- lap ; he has held the office of City Alderman, and was elected Mayor of the city in March, 1878; re-elected in March, 1879.

E. A. WADLEIGH, freight and ticket agent of the Chicago & North- West- ern Railroad; is a native of Sutton, Merrimac Co., N. H .; he was brought up and received his education there; he came to Iowa, and located at Clinton in November, 1856 ; the following spring, April 14, 1857, he entered the employ of the Chicago, Iowa & Nebraska Railroad, and was appointed agent at Clinton, April 14, 1857; the day previous, April 13, the first train for business ran out of Clinton; he remained with that company until it was leased to and became a part of the Chicago & North-Western Railroad, and has occupied his present position over twenty-two years, a longer time than any other official connected with the road here. Mr. Wadleigh is one of the early

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settlers of Clinton, coming here the year after Clinton was laid out. He has served as a member of the School Board for twelve years. He married Miss Emeline Emmons, of the State of Vermont; they have one son-Frank A.

W. D. WALDEN, Superintendent of Buildings and Bridges of the Iowa Division of the Chicago & North-Western Railway ; is a native of Hampshire, England, and was born in 1825 ; he was brought up there, and studied architecture; in 1850, he came to America, and lived in Brooklyn, N. Y., for five years, and was engaged in building ; he came to Iowa in October, 1855, and entered the employ of the Iowa Land Company ; he was the architect and builder of the Iowa Central House. On the 11th of February, 1856, he sold three lots to Francis Lee, and it was the first sale of lots in Clinton that was made second hand, or after purchased were resold again. Mr. Walden has held the position of Superintendent of Buildings and Bridges since 1865 ; he had charge of the construction of the Mississippi River Bridge. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary Ann Bennett, a native of England, in 1852; they have eleven chil- dren, and attend the Episcopal Church.

EDWARD WARE, with C. Lamb & Son; is a native of England, and was born June 13, 1830; he came to America in 1842, and was brought up in York State; he came to Fulton in 1854, and came to Clinton Co. in 1855; he was engineer of the first saw-mill in Clinton ; when the war broke out, he enlisted, in June, 1861, in the 1st I. V. C., Co. M; he remained in the service until March, 1866; he was pro- moted to hold commission of Second Lieutenant when the war closed; since then, he has been engaged in steamboating and in the lumber-yard of C. Lamb & Sons. He married Miss Augusta Lamb, daughter of C. Lamb, Esq., in 1859; they have six chil- dren-Fred, Jennie, Willie, Lettie, Eddie, Artemus.

JOHN WEBBER, dealer in ready-made clothing and gents' furnishing goods, Second street; was born in Germany Jan. 14, 1826 ; after reaching manhood, he emigrated to America in 1850; he lived in New York and Iowa until 1861, then came to Iowa; the following year, he came to Clinton Co .; he has been engaged in business here for the past fourteen years; he carries a large stock of clothing, and has built up a good trade. He married Miss Christina Stetter, a native of Germany, Feb. 11, 1853 ; they have two children-Mary and Bertha ; they have lost one son.

MARTIN WHITE, foreman in charge of loading cars at W. J. Young & Co.'s mills; is a native of Ireland, and was born Dec. 15, 1829; he emigrated to America in 1853; he came to Iowa and located in Clinton, in 1857; there was very little here when he came; he has been connected with the mills, in the employ of Mr. Young, for a long time, and has lived here twenty-two years; he holds the office of City Alderman, and is serving his fourth year; he is President of the Roman Catholic Total Abstinence Society, and has been officially connected with the Society for five years. He married Miss Judith Reddan, a native of Ireland, in 1852 ; they have eight children ; he and his family attend the Catholic Church.

BEN. C. WILKINS, Manager of the Western Union Telegraph Co .; was born in Oshkosh, Winnebago Co., Wis., Oct. 19, 1849; he was brought up and received his education there ; he came to Clinton in 1870, and entered the employ of the West- ern Union Telegraph Co., and has been connected with the company since then, and has held the position of Manager of the office here for the past four years. On Oct. 27, 1877, he was united in marriage to Miss Bessie F. Fegan, daughter of Capt. J. D. Fegan, of Clinton.

J. WILKINS, proprietor of the Extract of Eucalyptus, corner of Sixth avenue and Second street, Clinton ; is a native of Rochester, N. Y., and was born in 1815; he was brought up and lived in that State until 1836, when he emigrated to Green Bay, Wis .; at that early day, Gen. Winfield Scott was in command of the fort there ; Mr. Wilkins lived there and in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac thirty-five years; he had charge of the Menominee Indians when the old chief, Oshkosh, died; Mr. Wilkins came to Clinton in 1871 ; he went to California in 1875; and while there he made his great discovery of the " Eucalyptus," which contains the healing properties of the Aus- tralian gum tree; the method of its discovery and the merits of the extract are now well known east and west, and is rapidly growing into favor, and he has a large demand for

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it. In 1837, Mr. Wilkins was united in marriage to Miss Cornelia Cook, a native of Chautauqua Co., N. Y. ; they have four children.

MRS. CLARA YEOMANS, homoeopathic physician, Seventh avenue, west of Fourth street ; is a native of Summit Co., Ohio; she was born of New England parentage, in 1841 ; she came West to Washington Co., Iowa, while it was yet a Terri- tory, before the State was organized, in 1845. She was united in marriage with Dr. S. P. Yeomans; he was brought' up in Herkimer Co., N. Y., and came to Iowa in 1838 ; he studied medicine and graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1853; he afterward graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago ; he held the posi- tion of Register of the Land Office at Sioux City a number of years, and is now prac- ticing medicine at Charles City, Iowa. Mrs. Yeomans studied medicine in Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, graduating from that institution and taking her degree in 1870, being the first lady in the West taking the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and she was the first lady who attended clinics in the Cook County Hospital, in Chicago ; after graduating from Hahnemann, she went East and attended a course in the New York Medical College for Women, and attended clinics at Bellevue Hospital. Mrs. Yeomans came to Clinton March 1, 1870, and since then she has successfully practiced her pro- fession here; they have two children, one daughter, in Minnesota, and one son, who has just completed his college course.

GEORGE B. YOUNG, attorney and counselor at law, Post Office Block ; is a native of Hartford, Trumbull Co., Ohio ; born May 20, 1840; he attended the common schools, then entered Oberlin College, where he completed his education ; he studied law in Cleveland, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar June 24, 1862; he is also a graduate of the Cleveland Law College; he enlisted on the first call for troops in Co. C, 19th O. V. I .; in July, 1862, he came to Iowa and located in Clinton Co., at Camanche, and commenced the practice of law ; in 1865, he was elected County Judge; served two years, and was re-elected in 1867; after serving one year of his second term, he resigned to accept the position of Judge of the Circuit Court, to which he was elected in November, 1868; he remained on the bench until March, 1873, when he resigned, and since then has practiced here, being associated with Judge Hays until the latter was elected Judge. There are very few men in Clinton Co. who are as conver- sant with its interests and its people as Judge Young ; he came here a stranger, and began without a dollar, and his success in life and position in his profession are owing to his own efforts. He married Miss Frances Hinman, at Lansing, Mich., in 1863; they have had three children, only one surviving, a son-Henry M., now 12 years of age.

W. J. YOUNG, of the firm of W. J. Young & Co., manufacturers of lumber; is one of the most enterprising business men of Clinton ; he is a native of Belfast, Ire- land, and was born Feb. 27, 1827; he came to Clinton June 7, 1858; before coming here, was engaged in railroading, and held the position of General Freight Agent of the Cincinnati, Logansport & Chicago Railroad; after coming here, he opened a lumber yard, and continued that for two or three years; in May, 1860, he commenced to remove their saw-mill from La Crosse to Clinton, and the 15th of August, he was cut- ting lumber ; in August, 1866, he began building what is known as his large lower mill, which, with one exception, is the largest mill of the kind in this country ; the mills of this company have a capacity of manufacturing yearly 50,000,000 feet of lum- ber, 30,000,000 shingles, and 10,000,000 laths, employing 350 hands in the mills and yards at Clinton, beside the men employed in their own logging camps and their interest in the Mississippi logging camps; he gives his personal attention ; has the entire man- agement of his business, which is of great magnitude, his sales of lumber extending over the West, Northwest and South. When Mr. Young began life, he says he had all the capital he required, which was good health ; and, by constant attention to his business and good management, he has built up the extensive business of W. J. Young & Co. to its present magnitude. Mr. Young is actively identified with the interests of the city of Clinton ; he is one of the Directors of the Clinton National Bank, and is President of the Clinton Savings Bank. He has held the office of Mayor of Clinton, being elected without any opposition.

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. HENRY ZWEIGART, dealer in fresh, salted and smoked meats, Second street, between Second and Third avenues ; he was born in Germany April 16, 1854; when 19 years of age, in 1873, he came to America; the following year he came to Clinton, in 1874; he has been engaged in business here for the past three years, and is building up a nice trade ; his parents are living in the old country.

LYONS TOWNSHIP.

LYMAN P. ADAMS, Deputy Sheriff, Lyons; he was born in Pawtucket, R. I. ; at the age of 14, he went to Jones Co., Ga .; thence to Barbour Co., Ala .; then returned to Rhode Island, and in 1853 he attended the Providence Conference Seminary, having first attended the Lyon & Frieze University Grammar School; afterward attended Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College; in 1856-57. was employed by the Providence & Worcester Railroad; in 1858, returned to Barbour Co., Ala. ; remained there till the spring of 1859, when he went North on a visit ; he then went to Mem- phis, and again went North, traveling with W. H. Seward and party, electioneering for President Lincoln ; in the winter of 1860, he returned to Memphis, and, in 1861, went to Holly Spring, Miss .; then returned home; remained there till the capture of Island ' No. 10; on a permit issued by S. P. Chase, he was one of four who were permitted to return by the first steamer to take charge of the Chickasaw steam cotton press, owned by D. G. Dwight, of Boston ; held this till taken for Quartermaster purposes by order of Gen. Sherman ; afterward used as Fort Pickering; he then accepted a position with the Quartermaster's Department of the Fifteenth Army Corps, under J. Condit Smith ; remained in this capacity till 1863, when he resigned on account of ill health, and came to Lyons; in 1866, he went to Nebraska City; in 1867, he returned to Lyons; has been Alderman, Township Treasurer, and now Deputy Sheriff. He married, in 1866, Miss Eliza, daughter of Judge E. Hatton, formerly of Hillsdale, Michigan ; they have three children-Myron Henry, Maude and Robert Hatton. In 1864, he pur- chased the Clinton House, disposing of it in 1871 ; soon after, it was destroyed by fire.

FRED. BAER, grocer, Main street, Lyons ; he was born Dec. 4, 1838, in Germany ; in 1860, came to Lyons. Married Eliza Jansen March, 1863; she was born August, 1843, in Germany ; had five children-Francisca, Emma, Ida, Mena and Anna.

C. P. BAKER, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Lyons; born Aug. 20, 1813, in Massachusetts ; in 1838, came to Clinton Co., Iowa ; owns 179 acres of land. Married Mrs. Brown in 1836; she was born in Onondaga Co., N. Y., May 20, 1813; have four children-Clinton D., Louisa M., W. S. and Chester L. ; she has one child by a former marriage-Samuel A. Brown, now in Nebraska. Clinton D. served in the late war.

D. S. BALCH, boots and shoes, residence on Seventh street, Lyons ; he was born in Groveland, Massachusetts, in 1856; he came to Freeport, Ill., and taught school two winters ; in 1858, he removed to Lyons, and commenced the boot and shoe business with his brother, John K. P .; this they controlled till 1874; since then he has been alone in business. He married Mary J. George in 1861; she was born in Haverhill, Mass. ; they have three children-L. Anne, Clifton and Jennie F.

D. J. BATCHELDER. firm of Welles, Gardiner & Co., lumber, Lyons ; born June 6, 1825, in Peacham, Vt., in 1851 ; moved to Peoria, Ill .; thence to Mitchell Co., Iowa; in 1861, came to Clinton Co., Iowa. Married Miss M. McFar- land in 1850; she was born in Lunenburg, Essex Co., Vt .; have four children-Hen- rietta and Marietta (twins), Emma and D. J.

T. R. BEERS, Postmaster, residence on Fifth street, Lyons; born Dec. 28, 1836, in Tompkins Co., N. Y .; in 1858, he came to Lyons; has been a resident here since ; he was appointed Postmaster in March, 1879 ; he has been engaged in the publishing business since he came to Lyons. Married Sarah Roe in July, 1866; she was born in Elmira, N. Y .; they have five childre-Anna, Maria, Charles E., Louise and Clara. le

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CAPT. W. M. BENTLEY, proprietor of the Lyons & Fulton Ferry, Lyons ; was born in Warren Co., N. Y., March 3, 1831; when 14 years of age, his parents emigrated to Iowa, and located in Jackson Co., one mile south of Maquoketa, and engaged in farming; after reaching manhood, he started the first livery business carried on in Miquoketa ; he continued there until 1862, when he came to Lyons, and engaged in the same business for two years, then bought the ferry, and has managed that for a num- ber of years; he also owns a good farm of 200 acres two and one-half miles south of Maquo- keta, one of the first settled farms in that section of country. Capt. Bentley was elected Mayor of Lyons in 1878. and has held other town offices. He married Miss Alvira E. Goodenow, a native of Warren Co., N. Y .; her parents came to Maquoketa in 1847 ; they have three children-Carlotta Florence, George and Leon.

A. B. BLAKELY, farmer, Sec. 24; P. O. Lyons; born Aug. 3, 1811, at Saratoga Springs. N. Y .; when a boy, he went with his mother to Connecticut ; in 1856, came to Lyons Township ; owns 102 acres of land. Has been Township Trustee and Secretary of the Township School Board for about ten years. Married Lucy A. Baldwin in October, 1832; she was born May 1, 1813, in Derby, Conn .; have two children-Fred L. and Georgiana. His son, William H., enlisted in 1862, in Co. K, 26th I. V. I .; was wounded at the battle of Arkansas Post, and died at Memphis in February, 1863.

HON. NORMAN BOARDMAN, capitalist, Lyons ; he is a native of Lamoille Co., Vt .; he was born April 30, 1813; he attended school and engaged in teaching till about the age of 25, when he completed his education at the Johnson Academy ; he read law with H. P. Smith, of Hyde Park, Vt., now a resident of Chi- cago; was admitted to the bar in 1839; he practiced about fourteen years, and during that time was Deputy Collector of Customs and State's Attorney, holding the latter office from 1850 to 1852 ; in 1855, he settled in Lyons, having two years previous visited this State and located lands; real estate has been his principal business, although he has been engaged in the mercantile trade in Anamosa, Jones Co., about five years ; in the fall of 1854, he bought eighty acres of land in Mitchell Co., and laid out the town of Osage, now one of the most thriving towns of the county ; in 1856, he entered about three thousand acres of land at Council Bluffs, and has speculated largely in lands in different parts of this State. He was nominated in 1861 by the Republicans for State Senator ; was elected by a majority of 1,100; he held this position four years ; in May, 1869, he was appointed, by President Grant, U. S. Collector for the Second District of Iowa; resigned this office in 1875, leaving a clear record. He married Miss Lois B. Knight in 1846; she was born in St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., in 1825 ; died in February, 1857, leaving three sons-Homer C. and William K., now in Nevada in the produce business, and Charles D., a physician, now practicing in Monticello, Iowa. His present marriage, to Miss Sarah M. Knight in 1858; she was born in Jaffrey, N. H.

G. W. BRAYTON, forwarding and commission, and general steamboat agent, dealer in coal, wood, salt, lime, etc., foot of Main street; residence on north Sev- enth street, Lyons; he was born Jan. 15, 1814, in Trenton, Oneida Co., N. Y .; in May, 1858, moved to Illinois; in 1868, removed to Lyons, and engaged in the wholesale and retail grocery trade for about five years. When in Franklin Grove, Ill., he was Postmaster six years, also School Director; has been Alderman here about three years. Married Lucy A. Loomis in 1841 ; she was born in Oneida Co., N. Y .; have had five children, four living-Alice M., Charles J., Lucy A. and Frank C. Republican.

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The History of Clinton County, Iowa: Containing a History of the County, Its., Part 87

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 807

Author: Western Historical Co , Western Historical Company
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 807