USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 45
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Mr. Swigart was postmaster at Maquoketa six years during the administrations of Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. He has always advocated the tenets of the democratic party, and is one of its leaders in Jackson county.
He was married on the 6th of November, 1849, to Miss Martha P. Gage, of Findley, Ohio, and they have had nine children, two of whom they have lost. The eldest sons, Philemon D. and Josiah, are married. The former is the publisher of the Wyo- ming, Jones county, "Journal," the latter is foreman in the "Sentinel " office.
Mr. Swigart is a shrewd and sharp writer; attends faithfully to his editorial duties, and makes a first- class country newspaper. He has spent thirty years in the editorial chair, and knows what will please the public.
Physically, he is about the average height, and weighs two hundred and thirty pounds. His com-
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plexion is dark, inclining to ruddy ; he has a robust, healthy appearance; is social and pleasant, a good converser, and a perfect gentleman.
It may not be out of place to here state that his present partner, Mr. Sargent, is an old Iowa printer. He learned the trade in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and came to lowa in 1856, taking the place of Stephen H. Swigart, who died in that year. In 1859
Mr. Sargent went to Iowa county, started the Iowa Valley "Democrat," and conducted it until the rebellion broke out. In 1862 he went into the army as first lieutenant of a company in the 28th Infantry ; served two years, and returned to Iowa. He has been a printer twenty-five years, and is at the head of the mechanical department of a fine office. He has a wife and one child.
HON. THEODORE S. PARVIN, LL.D.,
IOWA CITY.
T HE subject of this sketch is an illustrious ex- ample of that class of men who, by the em- ployment of brain and energy, have risen from obscurity to a high and honored position. He was born at Cedarville, Cumberland county, New Jersey, on the 15th of January, 1817, and is the son of Josiah and Lydia (Harris) Parvin, and is of Scotch- Irish descent. His father participated in the war of 1812, and is still (1876) living at the home of his son, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. His mother died in 1875, aged seventy-five. She was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian church, of which her father was an elder. Owing to his lame- ness (caused by an attack of rheumatism when five 'years of age), Theodore was in boyhood thrown much in his mother's society, and to the earnest counsels and examples of that christian woman he owes much.
In 1829 his father removed to Cincinnati, where he spent two years in the public schools, and took a full classical course in the Woodward and Cincinnati colleges. After graduating he entered the law school at Cincinnati, and graduated from it in 1837. He read law in the office of Judges John C. Wright, of the supreme bench, and Timothy Walker, of the city courts, the latter of whom was chairman of the board of examiners of the senior class at college, and who induced him to study for the legal profes- sion. After graduating from the law school he trav- eled extensively through the east during 1837, visit- ing the public schools and studying the system of the eastern states, being sent by Samuel Lewis, president of the board of trustees of Woodward College, who had just been elected superintendent of public schools of Ohio. Upon returning, wrote in Mr. Lewis' office and assisted him in editing the "Common School Journal," started by him to facil-
itate the introduction of a new organization of the school system in Ohio.
Early in the summer of 1838 he was appointed by Robert Lucas (former governor of Ohio, "and who had just been appointed governor of the new Terri- tory of Iowa,") his private secretary, and accom- panied him to Iowa, arriving at Burlington on the 15th of August. 1838. In the following year he removed to Bloomington (now Muscatine) and en- gaged in the practice of his profession, and resided there until the fall of 1860, when he removed to Iowa City and engaged in teaching, as professor of natural science, in the State University. In 1870 he retired and devoted all his time to the secretarial duties of the Grand Lodge of lowa of Free and Accepted Masons, editing and publishing its "An- nals," of which six octavo volumes have been issued. In April, 1839, he was appointed by Governor Lucas first territorial librarian, which he resigned to accept the appointment of prosecuting attorney for the second of the three districts of the territory. In 1841 he was elected judge of the probate court of Muscatine county, and reëlected (save one year) till the close of the territorial government in 1846. Dur- ing that year, upon the adoption of the state consti- tution and introduction of United States courts, he was appointed clerk of the courts by Judge Dyer, and held under Judge Love until 1857, when he resigned upon being elected register of the state land office. He was nominated for state auditor in 1860, but be- ing a democrat, and the state overwhelmingly repub- lican, he was defeated, though receiving twelve hun- dred votes more than any man on his ticket. He has since been nominated for secretary of state and su- perintendent of public instruction, but declined each, Mr. Parvin has been from the commencement of the territorial government an active mover in all public
I, J, Lawiny,
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enterprises for general good, and was for many years a director in the State Agricultural Society, a curator in the State Historical Society, and was its corre- sponding secretary and editor of its "Annals " for a few years. He was the first, and several years later again elected, president of the State Teachers' Asso- ciation, and for twenty-five years superintendent of sabbath schools, twelve of which in Iowa City; was for a number of years president of the school board of Muscatine City, and later of Iowa City, and super- intendent of schools in Johnson county, Iowa.
He was raised in the old Jefferson-Jackson school of politics, casting his first vote in Iowa in 1838, and ever since has been an able and earnest advocate of its principles.
He became a Mason in March, 1838, and has held the chief offices in all the state bodies subordinate and grand. He has held the position of grand sec- retary of the grand lodge from the organization of this body, January 1844, save in 1852, when he was grand master, until the present time. In 1859 he was elected active sovereign grand inspector general of the A. and A. rite for Iowa; holds, and has held for a number of years, the office of grand repre- sentative of the supreme council of England and Wales, and in 1871 was elected grand recorder of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, and still (1876) holds that office by a succession of reëlections.
He has traveled extensively over the States and Canadas, partially for pleasure, but mostly on scien-
tific and Masonic business, and has attended all the great gatherings of Masonic national bodies since 1855. In religious views, he is a Presbyterian "of the old school of the prophets," being brought up as such from youth.
He was married on the 7th of May, 1843, to Miss Agnes McCully, of Muscatine, Iowa. She is of Scotch descent, and a native of Pennsylvania. They have six children, all living; the eldest and young- est are daughters, and four sons.
Mr. Parvin's works are numerous, to enumerate a list of the titles of which, literary, scientific and Masonic, would far exceed our space. His lectures and writings have been quoted in the journals and works of this country, as well as in Europe, and have thus brought his name prominently to the no- tice of the world. Sufficient has been said to show that he occupies a very distinguished position ; that his life has been spent in a career of usefulness, and that knowledge and honor have been more highly valued by him than gain; and his life presents a wonderful example of how much may be done by one man.
He is very popular among his fraternity, and is a hard worker. Whatever he undertakes, he throws into it his whole energy. As an ardent student he has climbed the hill of knowledge, has been a suc- cessful teacher, is eminent as a writer, and has done much in the interest of his order. He ranks high as a promoter of every good work, and has made a record which might satisfy any ordinary ambition.
HON. NATHANIEL A. MERRELL,
DE WITT.
N ATHANIEL ANSON MERRELL, twenty- one years a resident of De Witt, Iowa, and a leading attorney at this place, is a native of Lewis county, New York, and was born in the village of Copenhagen, on the 26th of June, 1829. His parents, Seth and Mabel Sanford Merrell, were from Connecticut. His paternal grandfather was in the first war with England, and his father in the second.
When sixteen years of age Nathaniel began to divide his time between farm and literary work, attending some academy and teaching about half the time until twenty-two. At that age he commenced reading law with an elder brother, Eliada S., then
residing at Copenhagen, now a resident of Lowville, and judge of Lewis county. He was admitted to the bar at Watertown, Jefferson county, in July, 1855, and the next spring came to De Witt, here building up a good reputation as an attorney, his professional career being one of marked success. He is a fluent speaker, quite persuasive withal, and in any reasonably just cause carries the jury with him.
Mr. Merrell went into the army in the autumn of 1862, as captain of company D, 26th Iowa Infantry, and was wounded severely at the battle of Arkansas Post, on the 11th of January, 1863.
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He was mayor of De Witt two years; was a mem- ber of the lower house of the general assembly during the fourteenth session, and of the senate during the fifteenth and sixteenth sessions. In the upper house he was chairman of the committee on public lands, and was on the committees on consti- tutional amendments, judiciary and agricultural col- lege. In 1877 he was reëlected to the senate for the further term of four years, in all ten years.
Mr. Merrell has been a life-long democrat, but does not " give up to party what was meant for man- kind"; would not sacrifice his country for any polit- ical body. He was an ardent supporter of the
national administration in its efforts to suppress the rebellion.
He was married at Lowville, New York, on the 17th of July, 1855, to Mrs. Mary A. Moman Merrell, then late of Richmond, Kentucky, and widow of his brother. They have three children living, and have lost two.
Mr. Merrell has gray eyes, a ruddy complexion, stands perfectly erect, is six feet in height, and weighs two hundred and fifty pounds. His physique is impressive, his bearing commanding, his address cordial, his manners are easy and pleasant, and his conversational gifts excellent.
HON. WILLIAM W. WILLIAMSON, DES MOINES.
W ILLIAM WARWICK WILLIAMSON, a native of Franklin, Kentucky, was born on the 6th of September, 1821, the son of Tucker Woodson Williamson and Permelia née Martin. His paternal grandparents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Williamson ; the former was a Methodist minister and one of the pioneers of Kentucky. His maternal grandfather, John Martin, was a Kentucky farmer.
In 1828, when William was eight years old, his mother died, and he lived with his grandmother Williamson until 1834, when his father married his second wife, Miss Caroline Depue, and removed to Orleans, Indiana, and engaged in the mercantile trade. Prior to this time William had attended school at various places, but upon removing to In- diana entered his father's store, where he was en- gaged for two years. He afterward spent three years on a farm in Orange county, and in 1840 en- tered Asbury University at Greencastle, Indiana.
He continued his studies for three years, and in the spring of 1843 taught a school for three months. Going thence to Lawrence county, he there had charge of a seminary for more than a year, and at the expiration of that time entered the office of George G. Dunn, Esq., for the purpose of completing his law studies which he had previously begun.
Being admitted to the bar in 1846, he began the practice of his profession at Bedford, Indiana, and continued it with good success until the spring of 1848, when he removed to Fairfield, lowa. He had intended to settle at Monroe City, the capital, hav-
ing been located there, but the legislature of that year set aside the action locating the capital there, and Mr. Williamson spent eighteen months at the above-named place. Believing that the capital would eventually be located at Fort Des Moines, he removed thither in September, 1849, and estab- lished himself in the practice of his profession.
He soon made for himself a fine reputation, and in 1851 was elected prosecuting attorney of Polk county for a term of two years. In 1854 he was elected on the whig ticket judge of the fifth judicial district, which comprised all of western lowa. After his election had been reported, and his certificate issued by the secretary of state, the election was contested, the contesting board consisting of two democrats and one whig. Poll books were admit- ted in a questionable, if not fraudulent, manner, and the result was that his election was set aside.
He continued his profession with marked success until 1860, when, by reason of his wife's ill health, he removed his family to San Antonio, Texas. In July, 1861, on account of the civil war which had already opened, he returned to Des Moines and continued his practice until the fall of 1865, when he again went to San Antonio. Such, however, was the state of society, that he returned to Des Moines in the following spring, and opened a law office, ad- mitting into his business, as a partner, Mr. J. M. St. John. By strict attention to business Mr. William- son had accumulated considerable property, and at this time was in good circumstances. Contrary to his principles, he became surety for a friend who
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was engaged in the boot and shoe trade, and being compelled to take an interest in the business, una- voidably lost several thousand dollars.
As a result of the heavy drafts upon his finances he failed in business in 1872, but closed up affairs to the entire satisfaction of his creditors, none of whom charged him with dishonest motives. In 1873 he again opened an office and began the practice of law alone, and continued until October, 1874, when Manford E. Williams was admitted to the business, which is now conducted under the firm name of Williamson and Williams.
In political sentiment, Judge Williamson was for- merly a Henry Clay whig. In 1856 he voted the conservative ticket. He supported Bell and Everett in 1860, and in 1864 voted for General George B. McClellan. He supported Horace Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and at the present time (1877) believes that the salvation of our country rests with the republican party.
From childhood he has been a member of the Methodist church ; but, being a man of liberal views, he always grants to others that freedom of opinion which he asks for himself.
He was married in September, 1847, to Miss Clarissa A. McLane, daughter of Colonel William McLane, a prominent merchant of Bedford, In-
diana. Mrs. Williamson was born at Orleans, Indi- ana, on the 3d of May, 1824. She is a lady of good sound judgment, quick at repartee, of active intel- lect, and a devoted wife and fond mother. She has been in poor health since 1859. They have had five children : William Tucker, born on the 22d of April, 1852, at Des Moines, and now living in Ar- kansas; Charles Earnest, born the roth of March, 1854, at Des Moines, now a telegraph operator on the Western Union line; Lillie, born on the 10th of April, 1857, and who died on the 8th of May, 1858; Frank, born on the 11th of March, 1859, a printer by trade, and now a law student in his father's office ; and Clara, born on the 2d of July, 1861, is now attending school.
Judge Williamson has always been a strong advo- cate of temperance, and is also in favor of woman's rights.
As a lawyer, he has a wide and worthy reputation among his fellow practitioners, and is universally known as an honorable, fair dealing man. In 1860, before he went to Texas, his was the leading law business in Des Moines.
He has given close attention to his professional duties, and lives now in the enjoyment of that re- ward which follows patient, earnest and honorable effort.
STEPHEN E. ROBINSON, M.D., WEST UNION.
O F the younger class of physicians in Fayette county, Iowa, Dr. Robinson stands at the head. He is not only eminent as a medical prac- titioner, but also as a surgeon. During the last few years he has performed operations which require and test the highest skill. He shrinks from no task, however difficult, in this line, and has never failed of success in any of his operations. He is, however, the last man to boast of such things, for his modesty equals his skill.
Stephen Eddy Robinson, a native of Indiana, was born near La Porte, on the 7th of May, 1838. His father, Thomas Robinson, was a farmer in early life and afterward a merchant. An uncle on the mother's side died in the war of 1812. When Stephen was eight years old his father moved on a farm in Rock county, Wisconsin, and six years later pur- chased a half interest in a store at Evansville, in
the same state, and settled in that village. Stephen had only moderate means for education up to his sixteenth year, when he went to the Lawrence Uni- versity, Appleton, remaining there nearly two years, and returned home to attend the Evansville Semi- nary, then recently started.
He commenced studying medicine in the autumn of 1857 ; attended two courses of lectures at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and settled in West Union, Iowa, on the 28th of April, 1860, commencing prac- tice on the day he was twenty-two years old. After one year's ride he enlisted as a soldier in the 3d Iowa Infantry, went to Keokuk with the regiment, and was put on detached duty as a surgeon. Ac- companying the regiment into Missouri as a soldier, he was again detached, and had little more com- pany service afterward.
Dr. Robinson was on hospital duty at the battle
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of Pittsburgh Landing, soon after which he was mustered out as a soldier by special order of Gen- eral Halleck, and appointed surgeon for army duty of such an officer in that department. He organ- ized two or three brigades and division hospitals ; was for a short time post surgeon on General Pope's staff; acted a few weeks as surgeon of the 51st Illinois Infantry, and was finally, for a short period, one of the three inspectors of hospitals for General Halleck's command investing Corinth, Mississippi.
In the autumn of 1862 Dr. Robinson was taken sick, resigned his position, and in December re- turned to the north. He had not been at home but a few months before George Kirkwood, at the request of the regiment, sent him a commission as assistant surgeon of the 38th Infantry, out his health and business were such that he had to decline. In 1866 Dr. Robinson attended a third course of lec- tures at Rush Medical College, and received his
diploma at the close of the term. He is a close medical student, and growing in skill and popularity as well as knowledge.
Dr. Robinson is a Knight Templar in the Masonic order, and a member of the fraternity of Odd- Fellows.
In politics, he has always been a republican, ardent and unwavering. His religions connection is with the Methodist Episcopal church.
On the 26th of September, 1867, he was joined in wedlock with Miss Sarah E. Artman, a native of New York State. They have three bright little chil- dren, two boys and a girl.
Dr. Robinson is one of the trustees of the Hospital for the Insane at Independence ; is a member of the American Medical Association, and of the Iowa State Medical Society, and the North Iowa Medical So- ciety. Few physicians in northern Iowa have a better standing.
GEORGE W. CABLE,
DAVENPORT.
EORGE WYATT CABLE, lumber merchant,
G J was born in Athens county, Ohio, on the 17th of June, 1831. His parents were Hiram and Rachel (Henry) Cable, the former a native of Jef- ferson county, New York, and the mother of Wash- ington county, Ohio. The grandfather of our sub- ject, James Cable, emigrated from England about the year 1770 and settled in Massachusetts, whence his descendants branched off to other states. His mother was the daughter of Scotch-Irish parents ; a most excellent christian lady, to whose influence are mainly due the better traits in the moral char- acter of our subject.
Hiram Cable was a gentleman of considerable local note in the State of Ohio, having been in the early part of the century extensively engaged in merchandising, and later in life actively connected with public improvements and enterprises. He was one of the projectors of the Piqua and Indianapolis railroad, now a branch of the Pennsylvania Central, one of the largest contractors for the construction of the same, and for nine years a director of the company. He was also the founder and builder of the picturesque and thriving town of Cable, situ- ated in Champaign county, seven miles from Ur- bana, which was owned entirely by himself and his
brother, P. L. Cable. He represented his county in the legislature during a number of years, and was a man of great public spirit and energy, highly esteemed and honored by all who knew him.
In 1857 he disposed of his Ohio interests and removed to Scott county, lowa, where for nine years he was extensively engaged in farming, giving especial attention to sheep-raising and wool-grow- ing. The retirement and monotony of a farmer's life were not, however, adopted to his tastes, nor in harmony with his previous active public life ; he pined for a more varied and enterprising sphere of existence, and accordingly, in 1866, sold out his farm and removed to the city of Davenport, where in partnership with his son, the subject of this sketch, he embarked in the coal and lumber busi- ness, which is still in successful operation. Hiranı Cable is a brother to the well-known P. L. Cable, of Rock Island, Illinois, owner of the Coal Valley mines of that county, and who in company with his nephew, R. R. Cable, brother of our subject, has recently built the Rock Island and Mercer County railroad, which intersects a rich and popu- lous farming district, bringing within easy reach of market products hitherto valueless.
George W. Cable received a fair English and
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mathematical education in the excellent public schools of Urbana, Ohio, and commenced life as a farmer in Champaign county, Ohio, which he continued for several years with success; but fol- lowing the example of his father, he sold out in 1857 and removed to Scott county, Iowa, where for nine years he steadily pursued the business of husbandry. In 1866 he removed to Davenport, and engaged with his father in the coal and lumber trade, to which was afterward added an extensive lumber manufactory, which has since been con- ducted with marked success, the establishment giving steady employment to about one hundred hands, and turning out about ten million feet of lumber annually. In 1874 his father, Hiram Cable, retired into private life; and two years later our subject associated with him in business Mr. John Homby, and the business is now carried on under the style of Homby and Cable.
In politics, Mr. Cable has always been averse to the institution of human chattelage, and conse- quently has allied himself with the republican party, but in common with all good citizens he mourns over party shortcomings.
He is a prominent aud consistent member of the Congregational Church of Davenport, and in all the relations which he sustains to his fellow- citizens leads an honest and blameless life.
As a man of business, he is endowed with rare good sense and a well-balanced mind, so that as he may operate with more caution than others, his mistakes are fewer. His business integrity is pro- verbial, his character for honesty has never been sullied by even a whisper.
He is an affectionate and true husband and father, devoted to the interests of his family, and yet a warm and active friend to the poor and needy. As a churchman, he is earnest and zealous, " fully persuaded in his own mind," and an un- compromising antagonist of "the world, the flesh and the devil." He is generous and even self- sacrificing with his means for religious and be- nevolent purposes; and at the time of the erec- tion of the beautiful edifice of the Congregation Society, in Davenport, he is understood to have given a tenth of all his property to the enterprise. He carries his religion into every-day life, ex- emplifying in his character the principles of the "golden rule," yet entirely free from cant or phar- asaic ostentation.
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