USA > Iowa > The blue book of Iowa women; a history of contemporary women; > Part 11
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MRS. LA VERNE W. NOYES
Ida T. Smith Noyes, the daughter of Dr. Joel W. Smith and Susan M. Wheat Smith, was born in Dela- ware county, N. Y., April 16, 1853, and died at her home, 1450 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Dec. 5, 1912.
Her ancestors on both sides had lived for many gen- erations past in New England-mostly in Connecticut. Mrs. Noyes' grandparents on both sides moved from Connecticut to Delaware county, New York, where they were pioneer settlers. When Mrs. Noyes was four years old, the family moved to Charles City, Iowa, at that time a hamlet, and this was the family home for more than fifty years. She attended the public schools and later studied at the Iowa State College, graduating with honors with the class of 1874.
Mrs. Noyes was married at her father's home in 1877 to La Verne W. Noyes, who had been a fellow student at the Iowa State College. From that date her home was in Illinois, but her many Iowa friends kept up their interest in Mrs. Noyes and noted with pride and satisfaction the leading position she attained in her new home. In her adopted state she found ample scope for the development of her unusual talents. She had great artistic ability, and, for some years, devoted the larger part of her time to the study of painting at the Art Institute, later pursuing her studies in the leading studios of Paris.
For some years Mrs. Noyes was president of the North Side Art Club, a position she filled most accep- tably. She was also active in the Chicago Woman's Club, Woman's Athletic Club, and had, for some years, been prominent in the society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. In the work of this or-
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ganization she took great interest and was particu- larly active in the efforts to enlighten our foreign born citizens regarding American history and government and to instill patriotism into the minds of their chil- dren. After serving as State Regent successfully for two terms, she was elected Vice-president General of the National Society, a position to which she was re- elected a short time before her death. In view of her great popularity, it was expected by many of her friends that, a little later, she would be made head of the National D. A. R. organization.
She was active in all good causes, and not only made a great many public addresses, but gave generously, both in money and personal effort, to help those in dis- tress and to aid others in their charitable work. Be- sides her artistic ability she had great facility in the writing of verses. She was particularly successful in producing poems for social events-often written on the spur of the moment. Since her death a little vol- ume has been printed containing many of these poems, and among her friends it is highly prized.
She loved travel. Not only had she visited every part of her own country, but she had made countless trips abroad, one trip encircling the globe. A pictorial record of her travels was obtained by means of her camera, and these thousands of beautiful photographs show how successful had been her artistic training.
The memory of Mrs. Noyes will be long cherished by her hosts of friends to whom she was devoted, and later generations will also learn of her good works through the generosity of her husband, who has, as a memorial to her, given to Chicago University a beauti- ful building to be used as a gymnasium and social center for the young women of the University.
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In accepting the gift, President Judson of the Chi- cago University said: "The gift of $300,000 to the University of Chicago by Mr. LaVerne W. Noyes, in memory of his wife, is an act unusual in its direct ap- propriateness. The generous fund is to go to build the 'Ida Noyes Hall,' a gymnasium and social center for the women students. The impress that Mrs. Noyes' life left upon the various branches of women's ac- tivities in Chicago is still fresh. The memorial at the great university will preserve its memory in the years to come. It was altogether fitting that the Board of Trustees declared in formal resolution its 'especial gratification that there is to be commemorated in the quadrangles of the university the name of a gracious and gifted woman whose rare qualities are well worthy of admiration and emulation by successive generations of our young women.' "
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MRS. OLA BABCOCK MILLER
Among the Iowa women who have that peculiar quality which for want of a better name we call "charm," is Mrs. Ola Babcock Miller of Washington. She is a public speaker of ability and writes with a delightful style. She is the daughter of Nathan Lee Babcock and Ophelia Smith, who were Iowa pioneers. She was born March 1, 1871. She was graduated from the Washington Academy in the clas- sical course in 1890. She later attended the Iowa Wes- leyan College. On May 28, 1895, she was married to Alex. Miller, who is editor of the Washington Demo- crat, a paper widely read in this state. Mr. Miller has a peculiar style, unlike any one else and makes one in- terested in reading the everyday news about people whom you have never seen or heard of before. He is the son of Peter and Barbara Somner Miller. His paternal grandfather, Joseph Somner, was a pioneer-a minis- ter in the Mennonite church. The barn on the old farm which was used as a recruiting station during the Civil War still stands. Mrs. Miller is a member of the M. E. church. She is a charter member of the 19th Century Club, organized in 1894. She is a D. A. R., joining on the service of Samuel Rogers. She has served the I. F. W. C., on the Child Labor Com., and the Civil Service Reform Com. For many years she has been a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood and has served the Iowa Grand Chapter as secretary, vice- president and president. She was one of the most popular and efficient presidents the Iowa Grand Chap- ter has had. She is the mother of three children- Ophelia Smith Miller, Barbara Somner Miller and Joseph Somner Miller, who died in infancy.
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MRS. WALTER MCHENRY
Louisa Caroline Cummins McHenry was born in Greene county, Pa., Oct. 25, 1865, the daughter of Thomas Layton Cummins and Sarah Baird Flanniken. She is the sister of U. S. Senator A. B. Cummins and J. B. Cummins of Des Moines. Her great grandfather was Judge Flanniken, a signer of the Mechlenburg Declaration, and a soldier in the war of the Revolu- tion under Francis Marion. She was educated in the Green Academy, Carmichaels, Pa. On June 15, 1857, she was married to Walter McHenry, a prominent at- torney of Des Moines, which city is her home. They have two children-Mary McHenry Williams and Har- rison Cummins MeHenry. In religious faith she is a Presbyterian. She is a member of the Outlook Circle, of the Des Moines Woman's Club, and of the P. E. O. sisterhood. She has served chapter Q of Des Moines, which is the largest chapter in the sisterhood, as its president. She has been state cor. sec'y. for three terms, 1909-12; vice-president, 1912-13; president, 1913-14. She is a thoughtful, painstaking woman, con- scientious in all she does, and possesses a good mind, reasoning out questions logically. A. B. Cummins, who was governor of Iowa for seven years, and who is serving his third term as U. S. Senator, is her oldest brother. He is a national figure, one of the best known men of this country. Before entering politics he was recognized as one of the foremost lawyers of the state. At the age of nineteen he became self supporting, working his own way through Waynesburg College. He came to Iowa in 1869, in 1877 he came to Des Moines where he practiced law successfully until 1899.
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MRS. GEORGE W. NEEDLES
Mrs. Margaret Crosby Needles was born June 19, 1861, in Columbus, Ohio. She is the daughter of Ama- sa Jones and Ellen Crosby. Her great grandfather, Dr. Samuel Crosby, was a surgeon in the army under Gen. Washington during the War of the Revolution. In his honor the Centerville chapter, D. A. R., is named Dr. Samuel Crosby Chapter. Her paternal great-grand- father was also a Revolutionary soldier. On Aug. 29, 1883, she was married in Centerville to George W. Needles, editor and publisher of the Centerville Daily Citizen, which was established in 1864. For ten years Mrs. Needles has been on the staff of her husband's paper, of which her son is the business manager. She is the mother of three children-Otis Crosby Needles, Eleanor Colby and Lyman C., who died several years ago. In religious faith she is a Unitarian and is active in all the interests of the church. She is a member of the M. X. L. Club, a prominent social organization, of the O. E. S., the P. E. O. sisterhood, and of the D. A. R. She was instrumental in organizing the chapter in 1910 and has been for several years its regent. She is a charter member of the Ladies' Cemetery Association, which has a mmbership of fifteen. It was organized by Mrs. Geo. W. Merrett in 1898, and in that time beautiful drives have been laid out, a pergola built in the center of Bradley Memorial Park, a superintend- ent's home built and a white stone chapel erected. Mrs. Needles is vice-president of the association. She has served the State Society of D. A. R. two years as or- ganizing regent and has served on state and national D. A. R. committees. She enjoys society and leads a busy life in her home and in her interest in public wel- fare work.
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MRS. MARY H. S. JOHNSTON
Mrs. Mary H. S. Johnston, of Humboldt, State Re- gent of Iowa D. A. R., and author of the History of the Iowa D. A. R., has the honor to be eligible and to be- long to many patriotic organizations. Mary Hannah Stoddard Johnston was born at Red Wing, Minn., Feb. 28, 1865. She is the daughter of James Stoddard, a descendant of Elder William Brewster, who came to America in the Mayflower in 1620, and of Gov. Theo- philus Eaton, founder of New Haven Colony. Her mother was Margaret Barr, daughter of Andrew and Mary Auld Barr, descendants of the Douglas and Stewart families. She was married June 27, 1888, to Robert James Johnston, cashier of the Humboldt State Bank and nominee for State Senator. She is a mem- ber of the Humboldt Woman's Club and an active worker in the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, having served it as treasurer and is now its auditor. She is a member of Mary Brewster chapter D. A. R., joining on the service of Sergt. Mark Stoddard, Capt. William Morgan, Capt. Elijah Brewster and Isreal Morgan. She has served as treasurer for the Iowa D. A. R. and is now the state regent. She is state presi- dent of the U. S. Daughters of 1812. She is a member of the Connecticut Mayflower Association, of the Col- onial Dames, Founders and Patriots of America, U. S. Daughters of 1812, Ladies of the G. A. R. and the Or- der of the Eastern Star. She is assistant cashier of the Humboldt State Bank and is secretary of its Board of Directors. In 1911 Mrs. Johnston compiled a history of the Iowa D. A. R. from the date of its organization in 1891, and provided the funds for its publication. It is a complete history and a most generous contribu- tion to the records of the society.
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MRS. SAMUEL YOUNKER
A brave pioneer, an exemplary mother, and a woman of broad charity, was Mrs. Samuel Younker. When the womanly virtues are summed up, they are compassed in these three-to face life, and its hard- ships bravely, to be a good mother and to "love thy neighbor as thyself." Mrs. Younker embodied them all. She was born Nov. 17, 1839, in Kurnick, Prussia, and died in Chicago, April 16, 1909. Her father, Falk Cohen, was a Rabbi, a College Professor, an author, and a linguist of high standing and wide reputation. They were people rich in culture but poor in this world's goods; the memory of that poverty, in later years, added to her joy in giving from her abundance. With her parents she came to America at the age of fifteen, taking up her residence in New York in 1854. In 1863 she was married to Samuel Younker, a dry goods merchant of Keokuk. Six children were born to them-Aaron, Nettie, Falk, Isaac, Gertrude and Mar- cus, who died in childhood. Mr. Younker was a very successful busines man. He was one of the organizers of the B'Nai Israel church at Keokuk, the oldest Jew- ish church in Iowa. He died in 1879. The oldest son having moved to Des Moines in 1883, Mrs. Younker and her family moved to that city which was her home until her death. Her sons with two uncles, Marcus and Herman Younker, established the Younker store of Des Moines, which is one of the best known stores in the middle west. Mrs. Younker was a woman of great charity, a humanitarian in every impulse. She gave comfort to the sorrowing, lifted the fallen and gave courage to the disheartened. She was not one who sent her gifts by a messenger, but with the gift went her own gracious personality.
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MRS. L. F. ANDREWS
Mrs. L. F. Andrews, literary woman, one of the lead- ing club women of Iowa, real Daughter of the Ameri- can Revolution, at the age of 85, is recognized as a leader among the women of the state. She is the daughter of John Van Dalson, who was born in New- borough, N. Y. in 1702. He was a minute man and served during the whole of the Revolutionary War. He was with Washington at the battle of Trenton on Christmas night, 1776. He was in the battle of Sara- toga and witnessed Burgoyne's surrender; he was in the battle of Yorktown when the new nation won its victory there. At the close of the war John Dalson was married to Elizabeth Carr at Big Flats, N. Y. Their daughter, Sophia M. Dalson, was born in Elmira, N. Y., in 1829, and came with her parents in a covered wagon to Michigan in 1835. When a little girl she became proficient in household arts, learned to spin and to do the tasks which fell to the lot of the pioneers. Her early life was a struggle for an education in a day and land where there were few advantages. She taught school at intervals to pay the expense of her education. Mrs. Andrews has been twice married. Mrs. John W. Bishop of Santa Ana, Cali., is a daugh- ters by her first marriage, and Mr. Frank M. Andrews, the very successful architect, is a son by her second marriage. Mrs. Andrews came to Des Moines in 1864, since which time she has been a leader in society, clubs, and literary life. She was one of the first women to be given a seat in the Iowa legislature as a press cor- respondent. She is a charter member of the Des Moines Woman's Club, organized in 1865, and first regent of Abigail Adams Chapter, D. A. R.
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MISS MARY OSMOND
Miss Mary Osmond, for eighteen years a magazine editor, and for four years a newspaper editor, and one among the first women in Iowa elected to the office of county superintendent of schools, was born near Phil- adelphia. She is the daughter of William R. and Ann Samms Osmond, coming when too young to have any memory of it to Iowa Miss Osmond lived the life of frontier people, all poor people and all working hard -laying the foundation for Iowa's prosperity. In her girlhood she was blessed by having access to books and the best magazines and newspapers; she read every- thing, educating herself in a large measure that way, being possessed of a vigorous mind and an insatiable desire to learn. Her father "entered" a farm at Hoperville in Clarke county, and there was little of primitive farm work that she did not learn. She at- tended the Southwestern Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio, for several months and began teaching school. For several years she taught in the country schools, then in the graded schools of Osceola and Murray. She was a remarkably successful teacher and was elected on the republican ticket as county superintendent of schools in Clark county, and held the office for two terms. She was the first woman to hold the office in that county and among the first elected in the state. During all those years of teaching she had been writ- ing stories and sketches and news for various periodi- cals. At the end of her term of office as superintend- ent she decided to take up newspaper work as a voca- tion and became associate editor of the Osceola Senti- nel. She later became sole editor and proprietor of the Osceola Gazette, a paper she started herself and ran for fifteen months when it was merged in the
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Osceola Sentinel of which she was then half owner. For three years she was editor of this stiff republican paper. It was at this time that the editorship of the P. E. O. Record literally "fell into her hands." She was elected editor without her knowledge at the state P. E. O. convention in 1890. In 1891 she took the maga- zine, then in its third year, to Osceola and published it there for three years. She gave up the work for a few years, but in 1898 became its editor and had charge of it continuously until January, 1914. During those years she gave all her time to the magazine, hav- ing a knowledge of all the details of printing and pub- lishing and having at some time or another done everything on the magazine from writing editorials to inking the roller. She is a practical newspaper woman with a knowledge far beyond the average man in that business. While she was editing the P. E. O. maga- zine, quite unconsciously to herself, she was doing something else-she was making friends in that great sisterhood of splendid women until today she has a circle of friends as wide as this nation. When she re- signed as editor of the magazine the sisterhood in ap- preciation gave her a check for five hundred dollars and made her a life member of the national conven- tion and of the Iowa convention. She belongs to the Iowa Press and Author's Club of Des Moines, to the Research Club of Osceola, and to the P. E. O. sister- hood. She is a member of the Christian church. For years she has believed sincerely in equal suffrage and has advocated the justice of its principles. Born of a race of abolitionists and war-haters, her sympathies inherited, seem to have turned to the love of animals, and no cause is nearer her heart than the humane treatment of animals.
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MRS. SHERMAN I. POOL
Minnie Alice Lewis Pool, of Waverly, daughter of James Sawyer Lewis and Harriet Stebbins Lewis, was born Oct. 27, 1866, in Apple River, Ill. Descended from seventeen lines of New England ancestry, noted for their piety and patriotism, many of whom bore coats-of-arms, coming to America from England about 1630, helping to found many New England towns, and being men of affairs in their towns. The Stebbinses were original settlers of Springfield, Northampton, and Deerfield, Mass., and trace back to 900 according to the Domesday Book. The Odell line is very ancient, tracing back to 795, closely related to four kings of England, William the Conqueror, Alfred the Great, Edward II, and Henry VIII; also related by blood or marriage to fifty families entitled to bear arms. The first Baron Odell was Count of Flanders, a powerful, noble family, said to have possessed a complete and unbroken record back to Priam, King of Troy, about 1200 B. C. Numerous ancestors served in King Phil- ip's War, the Inter-Colonial Wars, French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and her father served three years in the Civil War.
One noteworthy fact in connection with Mrs. Pool's Odell lineage is that she is the 36th generation by direct descent from the first Count of Flanders, and that for thirty-two generations the line from father to son was unbroken. She has in her possession the whole line of genealogy ; it is said to be correct beyond ques- tion, being founded upon documentary evidence and traced by eminent scholars and is one of the most ancient lineages on record. She belongs to the Taft- Emerson line, She and Ralph Waldo Emerson are
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descended from the same immigrant ancestor, Thomas Emerson. Robert Taft, the immigrant ancestor of William Howard Taft, is also her immigrant ancestor on that line. Roger Sherman, the signer, and Ethan Allen, are both connected with her line.
Educated in the public schools of Illinois, and the State Normal University at Normal, Ill., she was, for twelve years, a successful teacher in the schools of Jo Daviess county. Married Nov. 24, 1898, at Rush, Ill., to Sherman Ira Pool of Upper Sandusky, Ohio. who is of Revolutionary descent. Member of the M. E. church. For many years an active Sunday School worker. Member of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, class of 1901; member of the Pocum- tuck Valley Memorial Association, a noted historical society of Massachusetts; an ardent Daugther of the American Revolution, joining in 1901; had seven Revolutionary forefathers. In 1908 helped organize and named the Revolutionary Dames chapter of Wa- verly, and served four years as registrar and his- torian, one year as regent. During her regency, was instrumental in locating and marking the site of a pioneer fort at Janesville, Iowa, the oldest town in Bremer county. October 8, 1913, organized the Clock- Reel Chapter of Janesville. Appointed state chair- man committee on Preservation of Historic Spots, N. S. D. A. R. Elected state historian at the 14th con- ference, Iowa D. A. R. Represented her chapter at the 22nd and 23rd continental congresses at Washington. Devoted to the best interests of the society, and par- ticularly to its historical work.
Mr. and Mrs. Pool are antiquarians in taste, devoted to genealogical and historical research, and have made many historic pilgrimages. On one-which led them
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through the New England States, New York, and Canada, to the homes of their ancestors,-they attend- ed a Field day of the P. V. M. A. at Deerfield, Mass., where Mrs. Pool had a prominent part in the program, at the unveiling of monuments to two of her Colonial ancestors, who were original settlers of Deerfield, 1686. They plan to take a trip every year, and an extensive one every two years. Mrs. Pool favors equal suffrage.
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MRS. ADALINE M. PAYNE
Mrs. Adaline Maria Brown Payne was born at South Champion, N. Y., Nov. 12, 1834. She is the daughter of Orville Brown and Louisa Phelps of New England stock. Her father, through his mother, a Waldo, was seventh in the line from John Alden and Priscilla of the Mayflower. She was graduated from the State Normal school at Albany, N. Y., in 1854. She was married at South Rutland, N. Y., Jany. 16, 1859, to William Pierce Payne, a Universalist minister, who for twelve years did pastoral work in Massachu- setts and New York. They have one son, William Or- son Payne. Coming west in 1874 Mr. Payne became principal of the Mitchell Seminary at Mitchell- ville, Ia., with Mrs. Payne as matron and teacher. In 1875 they moved to Nevada, Ia., which is still their home. For six years she taught in the public schools of Nevada and Boone and fifteen terms in teachers' institutes. For thirty years she has been associate editor of the Nevada Representative, a paper publish- ed by her husband and son. She has continuously done general editorial work and specialized in local history and in a department, "Words From Busy Women," she has compiled and edited many cata- logues, published booklets of occasional verse and fam- ily history and has contributed to the published "His- tory of Story county." She is very prominent in the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs. She was the first auditor and has served on prominent committees since its organization, and as district chairman. She is a member of the Iowa Press and Authors' Club, a char- er member of the Nevada Woman's Club. To crown all this public service, she has through all these years practiced the household arts and been a home maker.
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MISS CORA ELLEN PORTER
Miss Cora E. Porter, county superintendent of schools and prominent Iowa teacher, was born in Washington, Iowa, the youngest of a family of six children, daughter of Charles Robert Porter and Ellen Keating. Her father was born in Fleming county, Kentucky, and her mother in County Down, Ireland. They were married in Washington, Dec, 6, 1854. Miss Porter was educated in the public schools and in the University of Colorado. She began teaching in the district schools, then in the Washington grammar school, and then to the position of teacher of mathe- matics in the Washington high school. In 1902 she re- signed her position and spent a year in Colorado. Upon her return to Iowa she was elected superintend- ent of schools of Washington county, which office she held for five years. During that time she raised the standard of requirement for teachers and also secured better salaries for the teachers in that county. She published a Journal for the teachers and school offi- cers of the county, which was an innovation very much appreciated. She realized that a public office is a pub- lic trust and all her duties were performed in adher- ence to that truth. She was held in highest esteem by the teachers, and at the first teachers' conference she was presented with a handsome diamond ring as a token of their appreciation of her work. In 1909 she accepted the position as teacher of mathematics in the Fairfield high school, which position she still holds. She is a member of the Presbyterian church, of the Fortnightly Club of Washington, the P. E. O. sister- hood, the Iowa State Teachers' Association and of the South Eastern Iowa Teachers' Association. She has often appeared on their programs,
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