USA > Iowa > The blue book of Iowa women; a history of contemporary women; > Part 17
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MRS. WILLIAM S. IVINS
Mrs. Virginia Wilcox Ivins, author and pioneer, was born March 26, 1832, in Warsaw, Ill. She is the daugh- ter of Major John Remele Wilcox, of the U. S. army, who after graduation from West Point was ordered on duty successively at Forts Snelling, Armstrong and Edwards. In the Black Hawk war he served as major in the state troops of Illinois. Her mother, Mary Williams Kenney, a descendant of Roger Williams, was a typical soldier's wife,-brave in enduring the hardships and inconveniences of life in the army. Both parents died when Mrs. Ivins was very young, so she came to Keokuk in 1840, to the home of her uncle, Dr. Isaac Galland, who in 1837 platted and laid out the town of Keokuk, and named it. He laid it out a mile square, taking the plan of Philadelphia as a model. Her early education was received at Akron, Ohio. In 1845 her guardian, Benjamin F. Marsh, of Warsaw, sent her to Edgeworth Seminary in St. Louis, where she remained for three years. Returning to Keokuk she had a part in the society of that town, which had in it then many men and women who came to be na- tional figures in the political world-famous lawyers, financiers and military men of high rank. In 1849 she was married to William S. Ivins, whose parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ivins, had come to Keokuk from New Jersey in 1845. When she was only twenty years of age, she and her husband and little son, Charlie, start- ed in covered wagons drawn by ox teams on the long journey across the plains and over the mountains to California. The story of this journey is told in her book, "Pen Pictures of Early Western Days," pub- lished in 1905. The book gives a remarkable picture
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of the journey and the times, graphic in its descrip- tion and full of heart interest from the first page to the last. It is authentic historically, which is more than can be said of many books written descriptive of the times. The experiences of the little band would grip the heart of any reader, but when one knows the au- thor personally, a brave, noble woman, the story has an incomparable interest. Mrs. Ivins is a splendid type of women, one who rises to the occasion, what- ever that may be. She is a very handsome woman of fine mind, gracious and charming in society, a woman of unusual interest. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Ivins : The oldest, Frank Herbert, died at the age of two years; Charles died at the age of four years; Sierra Nevada, now Mrs. Ralston Jones, of Cincinnatti, was born on the journey across the plains, while they were in the Sierra Nevada moun- tains, hence her name. Mrs. Jones' husband has charge of the government work on the Ohio river. She has two children,-Elizabeth Ivins Jones, an artist in New York, and Robert Ralston Jones, who is in school. Mrs. Ivins other children are: Harry, died at the age of five years ; Elizabeth Galland Ivins, a musician, who died in 1912 (see page 254) ; Ivan Walton, who died in infancy, and William N. S. Ivins, who married Mar- garet Betcher Worthen, lives in St. Paul, is an attor- ney in one of the departments of the Great Northern Railroad. He is an artist of much merit, an author and a musical composer, having written the words and musical score for an opera which has been successfully presented in many cities. Mrs. Ivins' husband died May 18, 1889, leaving in her heart and life a great va- cancy. She is at work on a second book, "Yester- days," to be published later.
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MRS. DRUSILLA ALLEN-STODDARD
Drusilla Allen Stoddard, missionary and college professor, was known for thirty years to the boys and girls of Central College, Pella, as "Mother" Stoddard. She was born near Batavia, N. Y., in 1821. She was a graduate of the Emma Willard school at Troy, N. Y., 1815. She taught in a Quaker mission school among the Seneca Indians in western New York. In 1847 she was married to Ira Joy Stod- dard, a young Baptist minister, accepting the faith of that denomination. For their wedding journey they sailed to India as missionaries. Here they worked for nine years and here their three children were born. In 1856 they were forced to return to America because of ill health. In 1866 they returned to India, but again because of ill health returned to this country. A third time they started for India but the mission board would not consent to their sailing, knowing that it would mean death to them. In 1858 she went to Central College, Pella, as a member of the faculty with her husband. She was a women of excellent scholar- ship, of great tact, and with a heart that mothered the boys and girls of the school. In 1861, at the outbreak of the Civil War, one hundred and twenty pupils and teachers enlisted from Central College, only Mrs. Stoddard and President Scarff were left to keep the school; twenty-five of the boys who went out never came back, but were left on the battle fields of the South. Those were trying days for the school. "Mother" Stoddard sacrificed everything to keep the boys and girls in school,-there being little money for tuition. Thus the college was kept open and its future assured. She was held in highest honor by the college until her death, in June, 1913, at the age of 92 years.
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MRS. ANNICE BALDWIN TRACY
Mrs. Annice Baldwin Tracy, is the woman to whom credit is due, for the establishment of the first hospital in Des Moines, and one of the first in the state of Iowa. Her father, Capt. James W. Davis, was a manufacturer of pig iron in Portsmouth. In 1861, on the outbreak of the Civil War, every man in his employ, several hun- dred in all, enlisted in 'the army. He closed his busi- ness and in November, 1861, came to Des Moines with his family, including Mrs. Tracy and her two children, her husband having died in 1854. Mrs. Tracy was a graduate of Steubenville Female Seminary, and a woman of marked ability. In 1863 her children died of diphtheria; this sorrow opened her heart to see the sorrow of others, and she gave much of her time to the relief of unfortunate people For years Des Moines had felt the need of a hospital, and in 1876 Mrs. Tra- cy called a meeting of a number of women of the Episcopal Church. As a result of this meeting, Cot- tage Hospital was opened, with Mrs. Tracey in charge of it. Generous contributions were made by the citi- zens and a five room house at 929 Seventh street was bought for $1,000. On May 27, 1877, a terrific storm swept away a bridge near Des Moines, causing the wreck of a passenger train, to which was attached one of P. T. Barnum's show cars. The injured were taken to Cottage Hospital, among them a number of Bar- num's employes. So grateful was he for the care given them that he gave several thousand dollars to the hos- pital. A $10,000 hospital was then erected, which was used until it was supplanted by the Mercy and the Methodist hospital. Later she established the "Tracy Home," a private hospital. She died Aug. 24, 1899.
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MRS. JOSEPH J. AYRES
Helen Mar Allen was born, reared and educated in Keokuk. She is the younger of two children, her brother, Herbert Wells Allen, being a resident of Kan- sas City. Her parents, Charles Lee Allen and Adelia Talbot Allen, came to Keokuk in 1860 and were promi- nent in the social and civic life of the city. Their hos- pitality was unbounded and their home was the scene of many social gatherings. Charles Lee Allen was descended from the same Lee family of Virginia, from which Robert E. Lee came. He was born in New York state and died in Keokuk in 1882. He was one of a committee which planned Oakland Cemetery, and served several years on the city council. Her mother, Adelia Talbot, was a native of Western New York, where her parents had come as pioneers, while the way
was yet unbroken. Their home was a log cabin at Pompey, N. Y., where the Talbot homestead still stands. Mrs: Allen was one of five women who made the silk flag which was carried through the Civil War by Co. A, 2nd Iowa Reg. The flag is now in the his- torical department of Iowa. Mrs. Allen died in 1893. In 1896 Helen Allen was married to Joseph James Ayres, youngest son of T. R. J. and Sarah Ann Smith Ayres, who were natives of Kentucky. T. R. J. Ayres, fifty-three years ago, founded the wholesale and retail jewelry house of T. R. J. Ayres & Sons, of which Joseph J. Ayres is now president. Mrs. T. R. J. Ayres, a woman of great culture, was the daughter of Prof. Smith, a linguist, who spoke seven languages with fluency. Their home for many years in Keokuk was "The Pavillion." It was built by a religious sect, known as "The Millerites," who believed that they
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would be translated to heaven. On more than one oc- casion they dressed themselves in flowing robes and ascending to the top of that building, prayed earnestly and waited for translation. Their prayers being un- answered, they would descend and take up their daily tasks. Many of their peculiar beliefs are a part of Keokuk's traditions. Mrs. J. J. Ayres is a charter member of the Civic League and is its president; it is an organization of two hundred members, with repre- sentatives from every ward in the city. She is one of the vice-presidents of the Benevolent Union, which maintains a home for old women and children. She is a member of the advisory board of the People's Insti- tute, which does social settlement work among the col- ored people of the city. She is a member of the board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Association and chairman of its finance committee. She is a member of the Y. W. C. A., the Keokuk Country Club, and a number of social clubs. She was a charter member of the Keokuk Woman's Club, and chairman of one of its departments. Mr. and Mrs. Ayres are both mem- bers of St. John's Episcopal church, the former being a vestryman. Mrs. Ayres is a member of St. John's Guild, and of the Woman's Auxiliary, having held offices in both organizations.
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MRS. CATHARINE BEATTIE COX
Mrs. Catharine Beattie Cox is one of the few real daughters of the American Revolution, living in Iowa. Her home is in Des Moines and she is a member of Abigail Adams chapter. Her father, Andrew Beattie, was born in Cumberland county, Pa. He was a mere lad when he enlisted, Nov. 1, 1780, in the Cumberland Co. Militia, under the command of Capt. Matthews. Records were not kept very accurately, but the family believe he became captain of a company, for he was known as Capt. Beattie. At the close of the war he married Judith Carter, a member of the family of Car- ters of Virginia, whose founder, John Carter, came from England in 1635, in the ship America. Mrs. Cox's ancestor, Robert Carter, was born in 1660, and was president of the King's Council in Virginia. His wife, Sarah Judith, was the daughter of Sir Thomas Ludlow, who was related to the royal house of Eng- land. From this Sarah Judith, Mrs. Cox's mother was named. Andrew and Judith Carter Beattie imme- diately after their marriage set out on horseback for their new home in Kentucky. There being no roads they followed a blazed trail, encountered both indi- ans and wild animals on the journey. At the end of eight years residence in Kentucky they moved to Highland county, Ohio, on a farm of three hundred acres. Prosperity came to them, and a very comforta- ble log house was built, and eight daughters were born to them. Six weeks before the ninth daughter, Cath- arine, was born, the father died. Had the mother
been born of less sturdy stock she would have given up in dispair, but American pioneer women were the sort who endured and triumphed over
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hardships and difficulties. She rented a part of her land, reared and educated her daughters as well as the times permitted. One of the older daughters married and moved to Cincinnatti, and here Catharine went to receive her education. In 1846 she was married to Dr. Henry Cox, a descendant of Gen. James Cox of the Revolution. Their first home was at Danville, Ind. Here they became leaders in church and educational work. Dr. Cox endowed the Methodist Academy there. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Danville was a hot-bed of secessionists, and the Cox home was a place of refuge for unionists, and their attic was used as an arsenal. Dr. Cox was not eligible to enlistment, but was allowed to go to the front as an army surgeon. He was with Sherman during his march to the sea. He refused pay for his service, saying he was glad to give that aid to the union army. In 1865, Dr. and Mrs. Cox moved to Des Moines, making part of the journey by stage coach. Through all the intervening years Mrs. Cox has been one of the most prominent women in Des Moines. In her childhood, Gov. Trumbell, the first governor of Ohio, had been a family friend. His daughter, Mrs. Thompson, had founded the W. C. T. U., because of this fact, as well as of her interest in temperance, she became a leader in the W. C. T. U. work, and had for a personal friend, Miss Francis E. Willard. Nearly thirty-five years ago she founded the Home for Friendless Children, which is still a splen- did institution. She has been prominent in all branch- es of the M. E. Church. She is the author of many poems and verses of literary merit. She is the mother of five children. For a number of years she has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. W. F. Mitchell, of Des Moines.
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MRS. GEORGE ERSKIN KILBOURNE
Augusta Wells Kilbourne, was born in Newberg, N. Y., in 1835, the daughter of Albert Wells and Emma Louisa Hassert. Her father was head of a classical school in Westchester county. He was a graduate of Rutger's College. Her mother was a lineal descend- ant of Minna von Voorhies, who came from Holland and was the first settler of New Brunswick, N. J. Mrs. Kilbourne was educated by private teachers, at Kings- ton-on-the-Hudson and at the Pittsfield Young Ladies' Seminary. In 1854 she was married to George Erskine Kilbourne, of English descent, the son of David Wells Kilbourne, a New York commission merchant. In 1836 David Kilbourne was sent west by a New York company to locate land, and came to Keokuk, which was then only a straggling village of log houses. He bought large tracts of land. He and his brother, Ed- ward Kilbourne, owned two hundred acres of land near Davenport, which they stocked with blooded sheep imported by them from the Island of Jersey, near the southeastern coast of England. It was be- fore the days of pedigree cattle, but they appreciated the value of fine stock and gave many of these sheep away to the early Iowa settlers. In 1867 Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Kilbourne moved into the house on Third and High street in Keokuk, which is still the family home. Mr. Kilbourne was associated with his father in the railroad business, his father being president of the Des Moines Railroad, one of the first in the state. Four children were born to them: Harriett Erskine Kil- bourne was educated at Pelham Priory, N. Y., married Hiram Barney, a New York lawyer, collector of ports at New York, by appointment of Abraham Lincoln,
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who was a personal friend. She is now the wife of Thomas Francis Brady. Augustus Wells Kilbourne, of Cleveland, Ohio, is a graduate of Williams College, and married Eleanor Hoyt, daughter of Geo. Hoyt, editor of The Plaindealer; Emma Louise Hassert Kil- bourne, was educated at St. Gabriels, in New York, and married Robert Erskine Wright, an Episcopal clergyman of an old and prominent Philadelphia fam- ily ; Georgia Wells Kilbourne, educated at Miss Reed's school in New York, married Gen. John McAllister Schofield, commanding general of the army in the
United States. They resided in Washington until Gen. Schofield's death. She is now the wife of John H.
Hewson, of New York. The education of all of Mrs. Kilbourn's children was supplemented by travel in Europe. Four generations of the family have belonged to St. John's Episcopal Church. Before the erection
of the church the congregation met in Edward Kil- bourn's parlor. David Kilbourne gave a town lot to every church in Keokuk in the days of the first estab- lishment of the churches. In connection with the de- velopment in Iowa in 1913 of the greatest power plant in the world, it is an interesting bit of history to know that in 1848 the "Navigation & Hydraulic Co. of the Mississippi Rapids" was encorporated by the legisla- ture of Iowa with a capital of $1,000,000, having for its object "the improvement of the rapids at Keokuk and the formation of a waterpower by means of an ar- tificial channel with locks and dams." The encorpora- tion papers were signed by Genl. Samuel R. Curtis,
David W. Kilbourne, Edward Kilbourne, and Hugh W. Sample. A small bit of paper, about the size of an or- dinary bank check, was all they thought needed to record one of the greatest enterprises in the history of
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country. In 1850, a board of directors having been chosen, they appointed David W. Kilbourne to go to Washington to get the necessary permission to enable them to go to work. In company with the Hon. Hiram Barney, of New York, they spent several weeks in Washington, working to get the franchise and looking for men willing to take the contract to do the work. Finally they secured the franchise and made a contract with the Barnes Co. of New York, who agreed to build the dam for $960,000. They arranged for the labor, common laborers to work from 7 a. m. to 6 p. m. for seventy-five cents a day, skilled laborers to receive $2.50 a day. They returned to Keokuk expecting the work to begin at once. In their absence, however, enemies to the enterprise had been at work, and con- vinced some of the influential men that the enterprise was visionary and too great an undertaking. Local support having thus been withdrawn, the enter- prise was abandoned and only taken up again after a lapse of sixty years. Mrs. Kilbourne is a most inter- esting woman, having an inexhaustive fund of pioneer history, stories and anecdotes, which she tells delight- fully, with quaint touches of humor, peculiarly her own. She is a brilliant woman, socially, and quite outshines the women of this generation, at social functions. Her home is filled with antique furniture and treasures of other days, and a visit with Mrs. Kil- bourne in that old home is a memory long to be treas- ured.
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MRS. S. F. PROUTY
Mrs. Ida Warren Prouty, wife of Judge S. F. Prouty, and daughter of R. B. Warren and Emily Bingman Warren, was born in Mahaska county. Her father was an Iowa pioneer and a man of influence in public affairs. He was a member of the nineteenth session of the Iowa legislature. Her brother, J. L. Warren, served two terms as representative and four terms in the senate of Iowa. She was educated at Central University, at Pella, and taught in the schools
of Oskaloosa. In 1887 she was married to S. F. Prouty of Pella, an alumnus of Central College, and later its president. He studied law, which he practices very successfully in Des Moines, having moved to that city in 1893. For several years he was judge of the district court of Polk county. They have a beautiful home, "The Collis." Their family consists of four daughters, who have been very carefully educated. Mrs. Prouty is a member of the Des Moines Woman's Club, and for many years was on its board of directors. She has served as chairman of the civics committee, and chairman of the girls' department of the city federation. She is a member of the Chauncey Depew Club, and has for many years been one of the promoters of the Business Women's Home, one of the most practical and helpful philanthropies of Des Moines. She is a member of chapter Q, of the P. E. O. sisterhood, and has many times opened her hos- pitable home for the social affairs of the chapter. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in its various organizations. She is a woman of strong principles and adheres rigidly to them. She is a woman of ability and a woman of great heart, which makes her of service in all sorts of philanthropic work.
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MRS. J. K. MACOMBER
Mrs. J. K. Macomber, of Des Moines, by profession a travel conductor, was born in New York. Her maiden name was Mattie Locke; she came in infancy with her parents to Davenport, where her father help- ed to build the first bridge across the Mississippi river. At the age of fifteen she entered the Iowa State College at Ames; graduating from there she entered Ann Ar- bor, upon completing the course there she taught a year at Cornell College. She went to Germany to con- tinue her studies, and then to France, specializing in languages. Upon her return to America she was of- fered a position as teacher of French in Vassar Col- lege, but declined the position, and was married to J. K. Macomber, science professor at Iowa State College, who later became a lawyer and practiced his profession in Des Moines until his death. They have seven children: Kingsley Macomber, living in California; Elsie, now Mrs. Louis Lower of Chica- go; Kate, now Mrs. Charles Clarke, of Adel, whose hus- band is a son of Gov. Clarke; Locke Macomber, of Des Moines; Sumner Macomber, living in Mexico; Ara- bella, now Mrs. Fred Thompson, and Miss Bertha, who is still in school. Mrs. Macomber has for many years taken parties to Europe, to the Orient and to Mexico. She enjoys the journeys herself, is never blase, but gains each year herself a new fund of pleasure and in- formation in studying the changed social conditions in the lands visited from year to year. She is a good business woman, and an accomplished linguist, two es- sentials in her profession. She has an unusual collec- tion of old china and brasses. She is a member of the P. E. O. sisterhood and is one of the very well known women of this state.
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MRS. JAMES G. BERRYHILL
Mrs. Virginia J. Berryhill, vice-president of the General Federation of Women's Clubs, and the first president of the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, was born in Fairfield, Iowa, the daughter of Christian Wolff and Nancy M. Seward Slagle. After complet- ing the public school course, she entered the State Uni- versity of Iowa, graduating in the class of 1877, A. B. Her college sorority is Phi Beta Kappa. In 1878 she studied in Berlin, taking the Victoria lyceum lecture courses. She taught for one year in a Female Seminary in Pennsylvania. On Jany 19, 1881, she was married at Fairfield to James G. Berryhill, of Des Moines. They have two children: James G. and Katherine. She is a member of the Unitarian church and active in the Unity Circle. She is one of the best known club women of Iowa, having made this state known favorably in the general federation. At the meeting of the general federation in Chicago, 1914, she was elected its vice-president, an honor altogether merited. When the Iowa Federation was organized in 1893, Mrs. Berryhill was elected its first president. She has since served on many state committees and was chairman of the legislative committee when at the biennial held in 1913, at Cedar Rapids, the Iowa fed- eration declared for equal suffrage. She has served the Associated Charities of Des Moines as vice-presi- dent; she has served the Des Moines Woman's Club as president, and has also been president of the City Fed- eration of clubs. She is a member of the Iowa Press and Authors' Club and has been its president. She is corresponding secretary of the Colonial Dames of Iowa. She is the author of a biographical sketch of Prof. A. N. Currier, published in the annals of Iowa.
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MISS CARRIE HARRISON
Miss Carrie Harrison, a plant expert of national reputation, was born in Fayette county, Iowa, the daughter of C. C. and Louisa Ray Harrison. After graduating from the upper Iowa University, she at- tended the normal school at Valparaiso, Ind., was graduated from Wellesley College and took further work at Cornell University, N. Y. When she was six- teen years old she taught a country school. At the age of seventeen she managed a farm in Fayette county, and during those two years began her interest in plants. She began making collections of Iowa plants. She then did curator work for the national herbar ium, collecting a half million specimens. She visited the largest herbaria in Europe and secured from Ger- many for the U. S. government the most complete collection of plants from Porto Rico, to be found any place. She is now a resident of Washington, D. C., filling an important position in the bureau of plant industry in the United States Department of Agricul- ture. She is an extremely clever woman, aside from her knowledge of plants, as was demonstrated during the Boxer uprising in China, when she was the means of getting a cablegram through to the American lega- tion, in Peking, which probably saved all the foreign embassies in China. Miss Harrison is a member of the Woman's National Press Association, the Washing- ton Wellesley Club, and the College Women's Equal suffrage League. She says her original equip ment for the study of plants was a botany, a horse on which to ride and a dog for a compan- ion; with these she spent long summer days studying Iowa płants, from that beginning she has gained a knowledge of the plants of every land.
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