USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 32
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He is a member of no church, but attends the Congregational.
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In politics Mr. Gilman takes no active part. His first vote for president was cast for John P. Hale; his last for Abraham Lincoln.
In August, 1858, he married Miss Abbie Williams, of Saginaw, Michigan. They have had five children, only two of whom are living.
Mr. Gilman is a man of indomitable energy, and
great force both of character and intellect. He is a solid thinker on practical subjects, a ready writer, a splendid organizer of physical forces, and uses his hands as well as his brains in carrying forward a great enterprise to completion. To just such men the present age owes the glory of its progress.
HON. WESLEY C. HOBBS,
FORT MADISON.
W ESLEY C. HOBBS is a native of Des Moines county, Iowa, and was born on the 3d of February, 1842, the son of Warren C. Hobbs and Susanna née Johnson.
His forefathers, of English descent, settled in Maryland under Lord Baltimore. Both of his great- grandfathers were active participants in the revo- lutionary war.
His great-grandfather, Joshua Hobbs, removed from Maryland to Kentucky soon after the close of the war of independence, and in after years was elected to the general assembly of that state. Here the father of our subject was born in 1814. In 1835 he settled at Springfield, Illinois, and began the study of medicine, graduating three years later.
During his residence at Springfield he was in- timately acquainted with Lincoln and Douglas, and always held them in high regard.
On the 15th of July, 1839, he was married to Miss Susanna Johnson, a handsome and accom- plished lady, and soon afterward settled in Des Moines county, Iowa. In 1849 he removed to New London, in Henry county, and is residing there at the present time, 1877.
Our subject was a regular attendant of the public schools until his sixteenth year. He early disclosed an excessive fondness for study, and at times pur- sued his task under adverse circumstances, being for a long time severely afflicted with the inflammatory rheumatism.
After closing his studies in the public schools he entered the university at Burlington ; there he made rapid progress in his studies, and such was his desire for knowledge that he remained after his means were exhausted, defraying his expenses by acting as janitor for the institution, building fires, etc. Find- ing, however, that such labor required too much of his time, he returned to New London and engaged
in teaching, and continued that vocation until he had accumulated money sufficient to enable him to attend the university another year.
At the opening of the rebellion, in 1861, he left school and enlisted as a private in company K, 6th Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He remained with his regiment about six months, the most of the time in Missouri, where he participated in Fremont's campaign against Price, marching through Missouri and over the Ozark Mountains, driving the rebel forces into Arkansas. Being rendered unfit for ser- vice by the return of his old complaint, inflamma- tory rheumatism, he was discharged in January, 1862, and, returning home, engaged in teaching. Three months later, upon the call of President Lin- coln for three hundred thousand men, he discontin- ued his school and assisted in raising company K,25th Iowa Infantry, and was elected second lieutenant of the same. He was afterward promoted to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of his captain. He commanded his company during the three days' fight in the rear of Vicksburg, under Gen. Sherman, in 1862, and also participated in the battle of Ar- kansas Post on the 11th of January, 1863. At both of these battles his uniform was pierced with balls, and at the latter his regiment sustained a heavy loss of men. Among the many killed was Mr. George W. Wilson, a brother-in-law of Captain Hobbs.
Resigning his commission soon after this, he re- turned home and began the study of law, and in November, 1864, was admitted to the bar by the district court of Henry county, then sitting at Mount Pleasant, and of which Hon. Francis Springer was presiding judge.
He soon afterward established himself in practice at Fort Madison, and in 1870 was elected city attor- ney without opposition. During the succeeding two years he was deputy clerk of the courts.
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In 1873 he formed a copartnership with Hon. Judge Casey, with whom he has since continued in practice, building up an extensive and prosperous business. Mr. Hobbs was also, during the last- named year, elected president of the school board, and in the year following was elected county super- intendent of public schools. In 1875 he was elected by a very large majority to the general assembly of Iowa, and rendered most valuable and efficient service as a member of that body. In 1876 he was democratic nominee for congress, and, although he made a brilliant canvass and ran ahead of his ticket by nearly two thousand votes, he was defeated. During the campaign, at the urgent re- quest of the national democratic committee, he spent ten days in Indiana advocating the cause of democracy, and, as testified to by the state central committee of Indiana, contributed largely to the triumph of "Blue Jeans Williams" at the Octo- ber elections. Although Mr. Hobbs is a demo- crat in sentiment, he never allows party prejudice
to bias his bétter judgment. He has of late been strongly urged to enter the lecture field, but has de- clined, except to comply with a few special requests, preferring to give his attention to his profession.
He united with the Baptist church at the age of seventeen, and still continues a worthy member of that body.
He is also a member of the Odd-Fellows and Masonic fraternities. In 1876 he was district dep- uty grand master of the former, and at the present time, 1877, is master of the Masonic lodge at Fort Madison.
Mr. Hobbs was married on the 24th of August, 1862, to Miss Sallie Estella Smith, a lady of fine native abilities and rare accomplishments. Of the children who have been born to them, a daughter of ten and a son of eight years are now living.
As a citizen, Mr. Hobbs is highly esteemed by all who know him, while his personal and social quali- ties are such as render him a devoted husband, a kind and indulgent father, and a true friend.
HON. NATHANIEL C. DEERING,
OSAGE.
N ATHANIEL COBB DEERING, congressman from the fourth Iowa district, was born in Denmark, Oxford county, Maine, on the 2d of Sep- tember, 1827. His father, James Deering, was born in Saco, Maine, and moved to Denmark with his parents when fourteen years old.
At the age of twenty-seven he married Elizabeth Prentiss, of Gorham, Maine, an own aunt of the fa- mous Mississippi orator, Hon. S. S. Prentiss, and settled on a farm in Denmark, upon which he re- sided through life, although his death occurred in San Francisco, on the 30th of October, 1862, and his wife's on the 10th of January, 1863, while on a visit to their sons. He amassed a considerable for- tune, and often filled important positions of public trust. In 1856 he was elected a representative to the state legislature, and filled the office with credit and honor to himself and district. The Deering family were of Scotch and English descent : the Prentiss family were English
Nathaniel C. was the third in a family of seven sons. He was educated at the common and high schools in Denmark, and at the North Bridgeton Academy, teaching school during the winters from
1845 to 1847. He had a strong desire to procure a liberal education, and to study law, but under an attack of whooping cough and measles his health broke down and his lungs became diseased. Warned by his physician of the danger that would attend the further prosecution of his studies, in the spring of 1847 he went to Hampden, Penobscot county, and accepted a clerkship in a store, serving in that capacity until January, 1850, when he determined to join the gold-seekers. The trip was made by way of Panama, and he arrived at San Francisco on the 14th of the following April. After spending about two years in this "land of gold," he returned to Maine with a considerable fortune, and embarked in the paper manufacturing business, following it until the autumn of 1856, when he lost his entire property by fire. In September of the year before he had been elected a representative to the Maine legislature, and was reëlected in the autumn of 1856, his father being a member of the same body.
On the 14th of September, 1857, he arrived with his family at Osage, his present home, where he engaged in land and lumber operations, with a good degree of success. In July, 1861, he visited Washing-
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ton, District of Columbia, and through the influence of Hon. Hannibal Hamlin, then vice-president, he was appointed a clerk in the United States senate, by its secretary, John W. Forney. This position he held until the spring of 1865, when he resigned, and was soon after appointed a special agent of the post-office department for Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, resigning the position in the spring of 1869. In July, 1872, he was appointed national bank examiner for the State of Iowa, the duties of which position he continued to discharge until the 3d of March, 1877, when he resigned preparatory to taking the seat in congress, to which he had been elected the previous November.
From childhood Mr. Deering has held in great veneration everything of a religious character, and in the summer of 1875, with his wife and daughter, he became a member of the Congregational church at Osage.
As a citizen, he has always enjoyed the esteem of
his fellows. "As a pure christian gentleman, he stands among the first in the land, nowhere more highly appreciated than by those among whom he dwells." So writes an Osage neighbor who has known Mr. Deering from boyhood.
In the spring and summer of 1855 he was active in organizing the republican party in Hampden, Maine, and with his party he has since affiliated with the utmost sincerity and cordiality. His services to the party have been unremitting, appreciated and rewarded.
Mr. Deering has had two wives. The first was Miss Kate D. Bailey, daughter of Charles Bailey, Esq., of Milford, Maine, married on the 31st of July, 1853, with whom he lived till the 11th of April, 1855, when she died of consumption, leaving one daughter, Katie B., who died of the same disease on the 28th of July, 1875. His present wife was Miss Lucretia W. Bailey, sister of his first wife, married on the 30th of April, 1856.
SAMUEL L. HOWE, MOUNT PLEASANT.
S AMUEL L. HOWE, a native of Vermont, was born in the year 1808. When he was ten years old his parents removed to the then far west, set- tling at Granville, in Licking county, Ohio. Samuel's early life was characterized by that ambition, de- termination and courage which marked his entire subsequent life, and he early resolved to gain a liberal education. His parents not having the means to keep him at school, he defrayed the greater part of his expenses through Athens University by cut- ting wood and doing other work about the institution. He was not ashamed to work, and the discipline and habits of his school days left an impress upon his character which marked all his after life.
After completing his literary studies he turned his attention to the study of law, intending to enter that profession ; soon, however, he abandoned this plan, and began teaching, finding this vocation more in keeping with his tastes. In Ohio he was very successful in his work, and established a worthy reputation as an educator; but wishing for a new field of labor, he, in the autumn of 1841, removed to Iowa, and settled on a farm three miles east from Mount Pleasant. During the following winter he taught school in a log school-house. In 1849
be removed into the village and opened a school in the old log jail, and afterward taught in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church building. He also about this time inaugurated his High School and Female Seminary in a brick building erected for the purpose. Of this school he acted as principal during the remainder of his life, and here, in a great measure, performed his mission to mankind.
A man of noble, generous impulses, he did what- ever he undertook with a will, and inspired with zeal and enthusiasm all who came under his influ- ence. He so moulded the habits of his pupils, and transformed the reckless and vicious that they be- came energetic and sincere in their work, and res- olute as their teacher in elevating themselves, and bettering others. So successful was he in stimulat- ing to noble endeavor those under his charge, that parents from far and near brought to him their sons to be reclaimed from evil and dissolute habits, and started in the way of intellectual pursuits.
Feeling the responsibility of his trust, he spared no pains in learning the mental traits and the phys- ical habits, and all the various idiosyncrasies of each member of his school; and with gentle, yet firm, methods of discipline striving to correct what-
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ever was wrong in their natures, and to cultivate whatever was promising. He won the hearts of his pupils by making them feel that their interests were dear to him, and that his work was a work of love: and by the might of a strong spirit and an intense magnetic power he easily controlled the wills of all who were under him, and inclined them toward the good, the true and the beautiful.
At the school which he established at Lancaster, Ohio, both General and Senator Sherman were among his pupils ; and during his famous March to to the Sea in 1864, in a conversation with General George A. Stone, General Sherman said : " Pro- fessor Howe, I consider to be the best teacher in the United States; nay more," he added with peculiar emphasis, " I am more indebted to him for my first start in life than to any other man in America." This is but one of the many encomiums that have been voluntarily given; but recently ex-Governor Saunders, of Nebraska, wrote to Mr. Howe's son : " It is to the kindness of your father that I am indebted for much of my success in life. It was that word on his part, or the success that grew out of it, that laid the foundation of my public life.'
While teaching at Lancaster, Ohio, Mr. Howe published a treatise on grammar, entitled, "Howe's Philotaxian Grammar." This manual was reprinted in Chicago in 1871, and again in Detroit in 1874. Its merits have commended it to educators, and it is now widely adopted in the schools throughout the country.
Mr. Howe was superintendent of the schools of Henry county for several terms, and resigned that office a few weeks prior to his death.
His life, however, was not wholly devoted to edu- cational interests ; every worthy cause found in him an ardent support. When the wrongs of the Negro called for redress, his ear heard the cry, and he directed his powers toward the relief of the wronged. In 1849 the first anti-slavery paper in Iowa was established. It was called the "Iowa Freeman," edited by David Kelsey, and published by G. L. Galloway.
Identifying himself with this paper, Mr Howe soon acquired exclusive control of it, and removing the office to his own building, changed the name to " lowa True Democrat," and for several years issued it as an anti-slavery sheet. The work of publish- ing the paper combined with his school rendered his duties burdensome, but he had a great capacity for work, and midnight often found him busy at the
desk or the case. His pupils, too, assisted him in setting type and in printing off the sheet, so that the paper came out at the appointed time filled with stirring arguments in favor of freedom to the slaves.
His advocacy of so unpopular a cause brought down upon him bitter hatred and persecutions, and at one time he was pursued by an excited mob, who poured upon him the fiercest revilings, and ended up by pelting him with rotten eggs. Reach- ing a place of shelter, he quietly took off his cap and shook the egg-shells from his hair, with a mute smile of derision at the outrage, which alone gave utterance to the invincible principles that ani- mated him. Threats, opposition, violence, none of these could move him when once he had taken counsel with his conscience and reason, and learned from their dictates the line of duty. He was a moral hero, and no matter how hard to travel, no consider- ation could tempt him from the path of rectitude.
He was one of the leaders of the free-soil party in lowa, and made costly sacrifices of health, money and friends in advancing its principles. Yet he rigidly followed out his line of duty, and afterward received his reward in the triumph of the republi- can party, in the organization of which, in Iowa, he took an active part.
Mr. Howe was an eloquent advocate of woman's suffrage, of temperance and of the abolition of the death penalty, and also fought with all his might the "Land Monopoly." In short, he was an uncom- promising opponent of every wrong, and equally a defender of every right.
Before attaining his majority, in 1829, Mr. Howe was married to Miss Charlotte Perrin, and by her had nine children : Oscar P., Elizabeth W., Warring- ton P., Edward P., Hayward H., Mary Frances, Samuel L., Seward C. and Cora Belle,-all but two of whom still survive to comfort and cheer the de- clining years of their widowed mother.
Mr. Howe was for many years a consistent member of the Congregational church ; his was a living and a liberal religion, entering into the heart and flowing out through every avenue of the soul; and when on the 15th of February, 1877, he laid down the ar- mor in which he had so nobly fought the battles of this life, it could be truly said of him that a victor has passed to his reward. He had led men onward in the path of progress, himself going before and smoothing the way. Such was the force of his life that its impress is stamped upon all his works, while his example and influence will continue to
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affect the lives of the many who cherish with fondest remembrance the memory of his deeds.
The school in which Mr. Howe labored he left to the charge of his son, Seward C. Howe, who was trained by his father with special reference to this
work, and who is peculiarly fitted for this vocation, having inherited many of his father's best gifts.
Under his able management Howe's High School and Female Seminary will undoubtedly maintain its present high reputation and prosperity.
JOHN HANEY,
LANSING.
T "HE pioneer settler in Lansing was John Haney, a man of christian worth, who died on the 15th of April, 1875, leaving the impress of his character on the town. He was a native of Penn- sylvania, and was born in Fayette county, on the 15th of September, 1798. His father was a Methodist clergyman, and early instilled into his mind the loftiest principles of virtue. The whole family moved to Richland county, Ohio, when the son was seven- teen years old, and there among the thick forests the young man cleared and opened a farm. He also learned to survey, and during this period laid out a town called Haneyville, now Savannah, Ash- land county. In the summer of 1832 he removed to Rushville, Schuyler county, Illinois, where he opened another farm.
In July, 1839, Mr. Haney left Illinois, went to Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, made a claim in Sep- tember of the same year, on the Kickapoo river, and subsequently opened a farm there, in what was known as Haney Valley, Crawford county. On account of the isolation of his family from schools, after a few years he moved to Galena, Illinois.
On the 9th of July, 1848, Mr. Haney made a landing at Lansing, directly on the western shore of the Mississippi. He and his eldest son, James, put up a log-house, the first permanent building of the kind in the place. In that humble house John Haney lived for twenty-five years. For a long time it was the home of all who came, and Mr. Haney never made a charge for a night's lodgings in his life. What he had was free to everybody, white man or red. The latter always called him " father," and never left his house hungry.
His son James had just aided in removing the Winnebagoes, and Mr. Haney's was the first white family making a permanent settlement here. He surveyed the land and made a claim of about six hundred acres, which he subsequently purchased at the government price, and which now includes the
site of Lansing city. Aided by his son, already mentioned, he laid out the town in the spring of 1851. A few years later Mr. Haney built a saw- mill, and shortly afterward a grist-mill, on Clear creek, one mile from town. There he operated for several years. He was a man diligent in business, and brought up his family to habits of industry. He died in his seventy-seventh year, and the great con- course of people at his funeral testified to the re- spect in which the father of the town was held.
Mr. Haney joined the Cumberland Presbyterian Church nearly forty years before his demise, and lived a blameless and truly exemplary life.
He had two wives. In 1819 he married Miss Elizabeth Allender, of Washington county, Pennsyl- vania. She had seven children, three only of whom are living, James, John and William.
James Haney, of whom we have already spoken, was the first postmaster at Lansing, and resigned after having held the office several years. He was born on the 28th of December, 1820, and his was the first marriage in Lansing, it occurring on the 4th of February, 1852, his wife being Rachel W. Horton, of Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania. She came to Lansing on the 15th of July, 1851. She had two children, a son and a daughter, the former dy- ing on the 15th of April, 1860. In 1857 James Haney laid out an addition to Lansing, known as Haney's Addition. He lives three miles west of the town, and is a frugal, hard-working, well-to-do farmer. In April, 1850, when Allamakee county was organized, he was appointed the first clerk, and was afterward elected by the people to the same office, but refused to qualify. At one time he was a trader among the Indians, operating for Ewing and Co., of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Part of the time he was at Fort Atkinson, and part at Bradford. He and his brother John built the first house erected on the present site of Bradford. They could both speak the Winnebago language fluently.
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When the Indians were removed northward, John Haney, who came to Lansing in 1852, went with them, and continued the trade until he settled in Lansing. He now lives two miles west of the city, and, like James, is a thrifty farmer. He is married. He and his brother William own a flouring-mill near Lansing. In 1872 John Haney was the re- publican candidate for state senator, but the county is democratic and he was defeated by a very close vote.
William Haney came to Lansing in June, 1852, and married Miss Jacobine Welty, a native of France. She died on the 29th of October, 1860.
The second wife of John Haney, senior, was Miss Fanny Hemenway, of Rushville, Illinois. She had seven children, and died on the 13th of Jan- uary, 1872. Only three of her children are living. Richard, one of her sons, is a lawyer, residing in Lansing, and is a young man of more than ordinary promise.
FRANCIS H. GRIGGS,
DAVENPORT.
F RANCIS H. GRIGGS, president of the Citi- zens' National Bank of Davenport, was born on the 14th of November, 1834, in Brookline, one of the suburbs of the city of Boston, Massachu- setts. His parents were Thomas and Harriet (Ful- ler) Griggs, both natives of the Bay State.
His early education was obtained in the public schools of Brookline. . In 1850 he entered Harvard University, taking the full collegiate course and graduating in 1854. In the early part of 1855 he removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he has since resided. Until 1873 Mr. Griggs has been engaged in mercantile pursuits, from 1855 to 1859 in the shoe and leather business, and from 1860 to 1873 in the printing and publishing business. Since 1873, with a brief interval of travel, his duties as presi- dent of the Citizens' National Bank have fully oc- cupied his time.
On the 8th of October, 1861, he was married to Miss Candace Watson, daughter of Joseph Watson, of Indianapolis, then deceased. They have two chil- dren : Elizabeth H., born on the 22d of April, 1866, and Thomas W., born on the 14th of Febru- ary, 1875.
By his business qualifications and strict integrity Mr. Griggs has won the confidence of the com- munity in which he has spent his life. He is not a public man, yet he is public-spirited and gives freely of time and money to promote the common good.
Personally, he is sociable and friendly, a good talker when aroused to interest, but usually unde- monstrative and retiring.
Politically, a member of the democratic party, he seldom makes a public appearance as such.
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