The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume, Part 89

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 954

USA > Iowa > The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume > Part 89

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Every good cause receives his hearty and powerful support. Many years ago he canvassed the central part of the state for a prohibitory liquor law, and has been one of the champions of temperance for forty years. A young commonwealth just shaping its laws, or an older one desirous of keeping good laws on its statute books, cannot have too many citizens of the character of John Anson Nash. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the University of Chicago in 1877.

CAPTAIN ROBERT T. COVERDALE,

MUSCATINE.

R OBERT TODD COVERDALE, a lineal de- scendant of the celebrated Miles Coverdale, the translator of the Bible, was born at Cottenham, Yorkshire, England, in February, 1822, his parents being John Coverdale and Mary Ann née Todd. His father was born in Yorkshire in 1798, and is at this writing (1877) in his eightieth year, resid- ing in Muscatine with his son, having emigrated to America some four years since. His parents, whose parents owned and resided at Southard Hall, near Cottingham castle, Yorkshire, was a member of a family of three children, two of whom are still liv- ing, namely, Elizabeth, wife of Edward Thompson, of Montreal, Canada, and John Todd, now a resi- dent of Sheffield, England. Mrs. Coverdale died in 1837, when our subject was but fifteen years of age, leaving a family of three children, of whom he was the eldest. Her father was a large land owner, but dying very suddenly intestate, his estate became involved in litigation and was ultimately placed in charge of the court of chancery, where it is likely to remain indefinitely, unless a second Dickens with a second "Bleak House " should appear to disturb its slumbers and urge it on to a final decision.

Our subject received but a limited education. His mother being an invalid during the last four years of her life, and he being the eldest child, much of the care of the younger children as well as of the mother devolved upon him, and in this way four of the best school years of his life were employed. He has not infrequently been heard to speak with much feeling of the trials and troubles incident to his boyhood years, and the obstacles with which he had to contend in his endeavor to obtain the little book knowledge which he was able

to acquire ; and yet, on looking back over his whole life, the recollection of those four years devoted to the care of his dear mother affords him more genu- ine satisfaction than any other period of his life. In youth, he was grave, steady and earnest, gov- erned by strong moral principles and an unswerv- ing desire to do his whole duty in that state of life to which it should please God to call him, and in- deed such has been his character through life, a strong, earnest desire to know and to do his whole duty to God and man.

At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed for seven years to learn the trade of a machinist or en- gine builder, his wages varying gradually from two shillings and sixpence per week for the first year to nine shillings per week for the seventh year of his apprenticeship. After serving out the stipulated period of tutelage he was taken into the employment of the firm, where he remained eight years, the last five of which he served as foreman of the depart- ment of the establishment in which he was engaged. In 1851 he resolved to emigrate to America, being moved to this step mainly by the hope of larger wages and the prospect of bettering his condition, and in that year he embarked for the new world, carrying with him from his late employers the very highest testimonials as to qualifications and charac- ter for sobriety, honesty and industry. He halted at Cincinnati, Ohio, where his reception was far from encouraging, and his faith and stability were put to the severest test. For months he was unable to pro- cure any employment, though he sought it diligently and sometimes even with tears; at last, utterly worn out with discouragement, he determined to return to his native land by working his passage home, his

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money being well-nigh exhausted; but on the day preceding that on which he had settled to com- mence the homeward journey he resolved to make one more effort among the shops of the Queen City, and in the afternoon was offered a situation at seven dollars per week at the machine shops of Hollibard and Co., the manager telling him he might go to work at any time he liked. He stood not a moment upon the "order of his going," but lay aside his coat and " took hold " on the instant, and since then he has never been without employment.

After working at the Hollibard establishment for several weeks, he accepted a position at the Foster Printing Press Works at nine dollars per week; and while in this establishment his employer discovered, through drawings in his possession, that he was famil- iar with the art of constructing gas works, to which he had given some attention in England, and pro- posed to him to undertake the building of a gas ap- paratus with which to illuminate the workshops of the company, which young Coverdale accepted, and in a few weeks had the satisfaction of witnessing the successful issue of his handiwork in the brilliant illu- mination of the factory, to the no small delight of his employer as well as himself. Thus commenced his career as engineer and contractor for the con- struction and erection of gas works, which has made his name famous throughout the northwest.

His next enterprise in this line was the construc- tion and erection of an apparatus for illuminating a large paper-mill at Louisville, Kentucky ; and soon afterward he built the city gas works at Springfield, Ohio, which was at that time (1853) the smallest town in the United States operating a coal-gas sys- tem, there being only thirty-seven private consumers and seven street lamps. He remained in the em- ploy of the company some eighteen months, during which time the private consumers had increased to one hundred and thirty-five, and the street lamps to one hundred.

In 1855 he was employed as engineer to superin- tend the construction of gas works at Rock Island, Illinois, at a salary of one thousand dollars per an- num; having completed which, he returned to Ohio and secured a contract for the construction of gas works at Piqua, in that state, this being his first ad- venture as engineer and contractor on his own ac- count. From that time to the present he has de- voted himself exclusively to the building of gas and water works, with the most satisfactory results, having in the meantime constructed some thirty-five

gas works in various parts of the valley of the Mis- sissippi, among which may be mentioned those of the cities of Memphis, Tennessee; Pine Bluff, Ar- kansas; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Lancaster, Belle- fontaine, Circleville, Findlay, Lima, Piqua, Gallipo- lis and Ironton, Ohio; Vincennes. Indiana; Rock Island, Illinois; Des Moines, Davenport and Mus- catine, Iowa, and Topeka, Kansas.

During his residence in the United States he has become thoroughly imbued with American ideas, and even more enthusiastic in his admiration of our institutions than many "to the manor born," even in the northern states,-for having winced under the cold shade of aristocracy in his native land, he could entertain a more lively sense of the ennobling qualities which spring from the principles of our great " Declaration of Independence " than any one without his previous experience could possibly do. Hence no sooner did wicked hands attempt to lay waste and profane this glorious temple of Liberty than he buckled on his sword in defense of the in- stitutions of his adopted country. His skill as an engineer, and his sound judgment and steady habits, rendered him one of the most valuable and reliable officers of the volunteer army.

In the spring of 1861 he recruited a company of eighty-five men in the ctiy of Cincinnati at his own expense, which were mustered into the 48th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which regiment he was com- missioned a second lieutenant ; and soon after leaving camp with his company he participated in the mem- orable battle of Shiloh, where his coolness and cour- age were conspicuous. While on the road to Mem- phis, a few days after, he was detailed and placed in charge of a corps of engineers for the purpose of rebuilding and repairing the bridges which had been burned down or rendered impassable by the rebels ; and the skill and vigor which he displayed in this emergency brought him into prominent notice, and he was accordingly detached from his regiment and appointed on the staff of General Denver. After serving with him for several months he was trans- ferred to the staff of General Sherman with the rank of lieutenant, where he remained during the Atlanta campaign and through the "march to the sea," being on duty early and late, in season and out of season, untiring and indefatigable, and yet withal modest and unobtrusive. His devotion to duty, however, did not escape the keen eye of his vigilant chief, by whom his valuable services were duly appreciated and fittingly rewarded by perhaps

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the most signal and flattering compliment bestowed upon any officer during that never-to-be-forgotten struggle. On the morning after the capture of At- lanta General Sherman sent the following telegram to the President :

ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States :

I ask as a personal favor that Lieut. R. T. Coverdale, of the 48th Ohio Volunteers, be appointed an assistant quar- termaster with the rank of captain in the regular army, and assigned to duty at my headquarters.

WM. T. SHERMAN.

Six hours later the following answer was received :

EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, D. C. MAJOR-GENERAL. W. T. SHERMAN :

In accordance with your request just received, Lieut. R. T. Coverdale is appointed an assistant quartermaster with the rank of captain in the regular army, and his commis- sion as such forwarded to you.

A. LINCOLN, President.

This is perhaps an unprecedented instance of an ap- pointment by telegraph to a captaincy in the United States army.

At the termination of the "march to the sea," Captain Coverdale was placed on duty at Savannah, Georgia, as post quartermaster, where he had charge of all the military railroads and transportation cen- tering at that point. On the evacuation of that cen- ter of supply he was transferred to Atlanta, Georgia, in the same position, where he remained until, at his urgent request, he was honorably mustered out in 1865, having served his adopted country faithfully for over four years.

But the greatest sacrifice of Captain Coverdale on the altar of his adopted country is yet to be re- corded : he gave his only son, the joy of his heart and the hope of his house, dearer to him than his own life, to the cause of freedom and humanity.

Our subject was married in England in the year 1841, to Miss Elizabeth Jewett. Four children were born to them, two of whom died in infancy and two lived to maturity, a son and daughter. The son, John Thomas, was born on the 11th of January, 1844, carefully educated, and was one of the most prom- ising young men in all the country; tall, graceful, intelligent, his form cast in manly mould, and ani- mated with a noble soul, he was the light of the fire- side, the favorite of his companions and the life of the social circle. He enlisted early in the war in the 5th Ohio Infantry, and refusing many offers of pro- motion, his talents and attainments qualifying him for high position, remained in the ranks ; was a moral soldier; fought in all the battles of Virginia until that of Cedar Mountain, where he fell mortally

wounded, his right lung pierced with a minie-ball, and died in hospital ten days after, at the age of nineteen. His last words were, " Tell my father and mother I die for the Union." His company com- mander, Captain Symmes, in a letter to his mother conveying the sorrowful tidings, employed the fol- lowing language : " If he was as good a son as he was a soldier, then you might well be proud of him." His remains were interred in Circleville, Ohio. The daughter and only surviving child, Mary Ann, is the wife of J. J. Childs, Esq., secretary of the Musca- tine Gas Works. The latter was born in Tyrone, Steuben county, New York, worked his way through Antioch College, Ohio, by teaching, and was gradn- ated with honors in 1860, and subsequently was principal of the Franklin Schools at Saint Louis, Missouri, for ten years, and afterward was engaged for two years in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the book and job printing business.

He was married on the 31st of December, 1863. He is a distinguished Mason, a Knight Templar and S.P.R.S. of the Scottish rite, 32°.

Captain Coverdale removed to Muscatine with his family in the spring of 1877, and purchased a con- trolling interest in the gas works of that city, of which he is now president.

His wife died on the 13th of January, 1872.

He was brought up in the national church of his country, and is now an adherent of the Protestant Episcopal church of the United States, to the sup- port of which he has ever been a generous giver.

Among the leading characteristics of Captain Cov- erdale are great benevolence and deep and practical sympathy for suffering. Not only does he divide with the needy to the extent of his means, but often to the inconvenience and embarrassment of himself and the stinting of his family. He has never been satisfied with the cold and nicely-balanced idea of duty as bounded by circumstances. When he has done all that is commanded him in the moral law, and all that is expected of him by his fellow-men. he still regards himself as an "unprofitable serv- ant," and as falling far short of the requirements of Christ's law of love and self-sacrifice; hence he is ever awaiting opportunity to do good to his fellow- men. Such a man is not likely to amass wealth, and Mr. Coverdale is not classed with the rich.

In his domestic habits, he is among the most so- cial, genial and companionable men to be found. He loves the society of the good and wise. His mind is well stored with knowledge, and his conver-

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sation is always instructive. He is charitable in his judgments, ever seeking to put a favorable con- struction upon the actions of others. His domestic relations were eminently happy. His wife was one of the best and noblest of her sex, and he was the most mild and devoted of husbands and fathers. He governed by love and example, guiding his chil-

dren with his eye, and keeping from them nothing that would add to their happiness or well-being.

In some regards he was rather peculiar; he has generally waited on himself, rarely asking a servant to do anything for him that he could do himself. When the world shall be inhabited by men like Mr. Coverdale, the millennium will be at hand.

JOHN W. H. VEST, M. D.,

MONTEZUMA.

JOHN WILLIAM HENRY VEST, the oldest living medical practitioner in Poweshiek county, Iowa, and a man of excellent reputation, is a native of the "Old Dominion," and was born in Bucking- ham county on the 17th of May, 1822. He is a son of John and Elizabeth Price Vest, plain farming peo- ple, who moved to Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, when John W. H. was ten years old. Peter Vest, the father of John, came from France; the Prices were from Germany. The maternal grandmother of John W. H. died in Ohio on the day she was ninety years old. John vest participated in the second war with the mother country.

The subject of this sketch prepared for college at the Hillsboro Academy when Professor C. Sams was at the head of it, but went no farther with his literary studies at school, teaching most of the time from six- teen to twenty-two years of age. He read medicine with Dr. J. B. McConnell, of Russellville, Brown county, Ohio; attended lectures during the winter of 1847-8 in Sterling College, Columbus, Ohio; prac- ticed eight years at New Market and New Vienna in the same state; attended another course of lectures at Columbus, and graduated in March, 1856. He then located in Montezuma the next month, and here practiced steadily until the civil war had pro- gressed one year.

On the 22d of August, 1862, Dr. Vest went into the service as surgeon of the 28th regiment Iowa Volunteers, and served until the 4th of December, 1864, when he resigned. Soon after going south he was made surgeon-in-chief of the third division, thirteenth army corps, on General McGinnis's staff; when the thirteenth and nineteenth army corps were united he became medical director on the staff of General Ransom, and was subsequently transferred and made medical director in the field on General McClernand's staff. Still later he was relieved of

this duty and placed in charge of General McCler- nand, who was ill, taking him from Alexandria, Louisiana, to New Orleans, and thence to Alton, Illi- nois. He was on the operating board at Magnolia Hill and Champion Hill, Mississippi; also at Black River, Vicksburg, and through the campaign in the Shenandoah valley, making a brilliant record as a surgeon.

While in the service Dr. Vest had fine opportuni- ties for improvement in his profession, but does not seem to have been satisfied, for directly after leaving the service he went to Philadelphia, attended a full course of lectures in Jefferson College, and received a second medical diploma; also two private diplo- mas, one in anatomy and the other in school prepara- tion.

It is almost needless to say that the doctor has a high standing among the medical men of the state. He belongs to both the county and state medical societies, and was president of the former body in 1875. His rides are quite extensive. He has a partner, Dr. E. H. Sheaffer, a graduate of the med- ical department of the Iowa State University, and a young man of excellent qualifications.

In politics, Dr. Vest is a firm republican ; is a council member of the Masonic order, and belongs to the encampment of Odd-Fellows.

He married Miss Margaret Phibbs, of Adams .county, Ohio, on the 23d of December, 1847. She has had six children. The eldest child, Mary E., was the wife of John McDonald, of Montezuma, and died at the age of twenty-eight. The youngest of the six children died in infancy. The other four are living. John Watts has a family, and lives on a farm in Poweshiek county; the second son, William E., is a medical student, and Martha and Fred are school teachers.

Dr. Vest has a farm of four hundred and eighty

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acres, one mile from town, two-thirds of it in timo- thy. He has fifty head of horses, more than half of them of the Bashaw stock. He has six hundred ap- ple trees on his farm ; has a fine taste for horticul- ture, and were he less popular as a physician, might have more time to devote to fruit growing. He lets nothing, however, crowd in upon his medical studies.

He takes nine or ten periodicals devoted to his pro- fession, and is a progressive man.

The doctor has gray hazel eyes, gray hair, a par- tially bald, large head ; is five feet and ten and a half inches tall, and weighs two hundred and twenty-five pounds. He is mirthful in disposition, well stocked with knowledge and anecdotes, and is a good talker.

HON. HIRAM T. SHARP,

ATLANTIC.

H IRAM T. SHARP, the mayor of Atlantic, is a son of John Sharp, farmer, and Sarah née Mather, and was born near Watkins Glen, Steuben county, New York. The Sharps settled in New Jersey at an early day, and one of this branch of the family was General Sharp, who is buried at West Point. John Sharp was a captain of state militia.

The Mathers are an old American family, Sarah Mather being a direct descendant of Cotton Mather. She is still living, her home being in Delavan, Wis- consin, where her husband died in 1871. He inoved with his family from Steuben county to Delavan when Hiram was about twelve years old, settling on a farm which the son aided in cultivating.

The mind of Hiram, however, was upon his books more than on his manual employment, he carrying a book in his pocket when engaged in plowing and other farm labor. He received his education in the district school and the normal department of Milton College, Rock county, teaching for several years ; having charge, the last year of his teaching, of the English department of the Delavan Seminary.

Mr. Sharp commenced reading law in 1863, at Delavan, with A. S. Spooner; continued his legal studies for six months in Chicago, and finished them at the law school in Albany, New York, graduating in May, 1864. After practicing one year at Delavan

and two years at Burlington, Wisconsin, he came to Iowa, prospecting awhile, and located at Atlantic in December, 1868, still continuing his law practice.

Mr. Sharp was elected justice of the peace in 1873, and still holds that office. Since settling in Cass county he has been county attorney and city attorney one term each, and a member of the school board three years. He was elected mayor in the spring of 1877, and makes an efficient and popular executive, filling that office to the entire satisfaction of the people.

In politics, he has always been connected with the republicans, and is active and influential in the party.

He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a trustee of the same. He was the first Sunday-school superintendent in Atlantic.

On the 2d of May, 1867, Miss Sara T. Billings, of Burlington, Wisconsin, became the wife of Mr. Sharp, and they have had four children, losing one of them.

The subject of this brief sketch is a tall, sparely- built man, being six feet in height and weighing only one hundred and fifty pounds. He has gray eyes, a sandy complexion, an easy carriage, and a pleasing address. He is perfectly free from affecta- tion, very cordial, and a good converser, using the language of a scholar without pedantry, and having the manners of a gentleman.

HON. ISRAEL KISTER, BLOOMFIELD.

O NE of the pioneer farm-openers in Davis coun- ty, Iowa, was Israel Kister, for the last two years mayor of the city of Bloomfield. He was the first county recorder when Iowa became a state, and treasurer of state just after Iowa became a common-

wealth. He has been identified with the history of the county from the day that the Indians vacated this their reservation. He has an unspotted public record, having discharged every duty devolving up- on him with the utmost fidelity.

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Mr. Kister is a son of John and Susan (Hutten) Kister, the Kisters being of German descent, and was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 4th of February, 1810. His ancestors on both sides were pioneers in that state. The parents of Susan Hutten were Quakers, and she broke away from that anti- war denomination by marrying a man who made an effort to "take a hand " in the second fight with Great Britain, though, on account of some physical disability, he was not accepted by the examining surgeon. When fifteen years of age Israel accom- panied the family to Wooster, Ohio, where he at- tended the village school, and subsequently learned the saddle and harness maker's trade, following it most of the time for several years. He was in Texas, prospecting and working at his trade, when the rev- olution occurred there more than forty years ago. He returned to the north through Tennessee, where he worked a short time, reaching Ohio in 1837, and spending some time as clerk in a hotel at Massillon, Stark county. Soon afterward he taught school one season near Rushville, Indiana.

In 1839 Mr. Kister came to Van Buren county, Iowa, where he taught the first school on " Chicken Ridge," in the western part of the county ; did some farming and served as justice of the peace ; in March, 1843, settled permanently in Davis, the next county westward, where he farmed for a number of years,

dealing also at times in live stock. It was during this period that he held various offices of trust and responsibility, some of them requiring his temporary absence from the farm. He was elected county recorder, as before stated ; commissioner's ·clerk in 1846, and treasurer of state in 1849. After the civil war broke out he went into the pension agency busi- ness, and has since been engaged in settling estates, acting as administrator and guardian, being a busy and a very useful man. He is very careful and ac- curate, and has the fullest confidence of the com- munity. He has made himself quite serviceable at times in the local school board, and other official positions in the municipality of Bloomfield, before being placed at its head.

Mr. Kister has always been a democrat, and in his earlier years was quite active in politics, attend- ing county, district and state conventions.

He is a member of the Universalist church - a man of generous impulses and pure life.

Mr. Kister has a second wife. His first was Miss Susan Freeman, of Stark county, Ohio; married on the 4th of August, 1837. She died on the 26th of August, 1853. His present wife was Miss Catherine T. Douglas, of Bloomfield, formerly of Pennsylvania ; married on the 9th of February, 1854. Mr. Kister has no children of his own; he has one adopted child, a daughter, eighteen years old.

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The United States biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self made men, Iowa volume, Part 89

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company Number of Pages: 954

Author: American biographical publishing company, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago, New York, American biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 954