USA > Iowa > Boone County > The history of Boone County, Iowa, containing biographical sketches war records of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Boone county etc. > Part 74
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upon his official integrity; the same is true with regard to the discharge of his duties as assessor of internal revenue; there are few men who have held important trusts in the State and nation, who have com- manded such a large share of public confidence, or who have greater rea- sons for congratulating themselves upon their past record; Judge Mitch- ell is a man of more than ordinary culture, possessed of fine sensibility, his idea of official dignity and polit- ical honor forms a striking contrast to the common and established code of the present day; he does not be- lieve that working up delegations or packing conventions are consistent with the proper estimate of the self- respect of the candidate; hence, he has made no organized attempt to obtain the nomination for any office; he is and always has been an ardent admirer of the principles of the par- ty with which he is identified, and when designated as the standard- bearer in any campaign, has entered the field and given his best energies to bring about a victory; the posi- tion of standard bearer, however, when he did receive it was unsolic- ited on his part; his connection with the early history of Boone county is merged into the present and he is now exclusively engaged in the prac- tice of his chosen profession; we conclude that in pursuing his private business he has a wider field of use- fulness, and as much real enjoyment as he ever enjoyed while engaged in public and official duties, and should he again exchange the former for the latter, it will not be of his own choosing, but from a sense of duty to his constituents.
MOFFATT, C. A., justice of the peace, Boone; was born in Jefferson county, New York, September 30, 1833, and in 1855 he came West, locating in Des Moines, where he resided for one year; in 1856 he came to Boonesboro, where he re
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mained some two years, and in 1858 he went to Clinton, where he en- gaged in railroading on the North- western road, remaining in the em- ploy of that company for some ten years; he occupied various positions on the road during that time; in the spring of 1868 he went to working on the U. P. road in charge of a train, remaining on that road for three years; he was afterward con- nected with the construction depart- ment of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, where he worked a short time and then engaged to work for the St. Louis, Kansas City and Northern company, running a freight train from St. Louis to Moberly; in the spring of 1874 he again accepted a position on the Northwestern road and continued to occupy the same until April, 1876, when on account of ill health he was compelled to give up railroading; in the fall of 1878 he was elected to his present office; he was united in marriage to Charlotte H. Bascomb in September, 1856; they have four children: Jennie L., C. M., Horace W. and Bessie.
MOORE, S. L., yard-master of the C. & N. W. R. R. at Boone, and manager of the stock-yards; was born in Washington county, Penn- sylvania, on the sixth day of April, 1844, and lived there until fourteen years of age, and then removed to Randolph county, Illinois, where he was engaged in farming, and after- ward in the grain and hay trade; at the outbreak of the rebellion he enlisted in the Seventh Illinois in- fantry, the first regiment in the field from that State, and served four years and two months, and he was with the regiment in all of its cam- paigns and participated in all of its principal battles; after his regiment was mustered out he returned to his home for a short period and came to this county in 1866, and has been connected with the C. & N. W. R.
R. since that time; he has served as a member of the city council, and was the first marshal.
MOORE, JOHN D., proprietor of hack line, Boonesboro; was born in Shelby county, Ohio, October 22, 1828, and when young his parents moved to Champaign county. Illi- nois, where he grew to manhood; in 1849 he came to this county and set- tled in Union township, being the first permanent settler in the town- ship; there he improved a farm of 200 acres on Sec. 24, and in 1870 went to Kansas for the purpose of obtaining a large tract of land in one body in order to make farms for his two sons; his sons having died, Mr. Moore returned to Boone county in 1874 and entered into business in Boonesboro, which he followed for three years; he then established a hack line between Boone and Boones- boro, which he still runs; he owns a fine home in the latter place, and a good farm of eighty acres in Beaver Station; October 14, 1849, he mar- ried Nancy J. Morse, who was born in Ohio; they have two daughters living: Hannah M. (wife of E. A. Bell), and Ella F .; have lost two sons: James R. and Joseph T., who died June 9th and 10th, 1874.
MOSER, PHILIP S., M. D., physician and surgeon, Boonesboro; was born July 17, 1829, in Charles- ton, South Carolina, and is the son of Dr. Philip Moser, of the same city; his mother is a daughter of Sir Charles Wilcox, of England; in March, 1852, he graduated at the Philadelphia Medical College, set- tling in Muscatine county, Iowa, the next month; in March, 1854, he came to his present location; he has made a specialty of surgery and obstetrics, and is a member of the Iowa State Medical Society, of the American Medical Association, and also of the Central Iowa District Medical Association, of which he was chosen the first president; he is
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and has been county physician, and also commissioner of insanity for Boone county; he is at present ex- amining surgeon for the New York Life Insurance Company, the Chi- cago Life Insurance and several oth- ers; he was married in April, 1852, to Miss Mary Ford, daughter of Athanasus Ford, formerly deputy collector of the port of Philapelphia; their family consists of four chil dren, three daughters and one son : Mary S., Charlotte S., Annie and Duncan; have lost two sons: Philip S. and Philip; Dr. Moser is a cour- teous gentleman of the old school, but liberal in his views.
MOXLEY, A. R., farmer and dairyman; Sec. 10; P. O. Boone; was born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, November 15, 182+, and lived there until 1853, when he went to Madison, Wisconsin; resided there until 1869, and then came to this county and located where he now lives. owning 480 acres of land; he also keeps a fine dairy, has a herd of Jersey cows and keeps from forty- five to fifty cows; was married in Pennyslvania to Miss Ann Eliza Benson, September 26, 1846; she is a native of that State; they have a family of three sons and two daugh- ters: Byron R., Jonathan B., Char- lotte A., William D. and Jessie; Mr. Moxley lived on a farm until four- teen years of age, and then learned the carpenter and joiner's trade, which business he carried on until he came here.
MYERS, MICHAEL, farmer and stock-raiser; Sec. 33; P. O. Boone; was born in East Tennessee January 24, 1825, and in. 1827 mnoved with his parents to Indiana and was raised there; he had bnt limited educational advantages, never having gone to school but a few days in his life; in April, 1851, he came to this State, locating where he now lives; owns one thou- sand acres of land; he bought the
claim of one John Crooks, and then bought it of the River Land Com- pany at $1.25 per acre, in September, 1853; he has resided on his farm since his residence in the State, and the longest period that he has been off his place for one time is a month and one day in 1874; he began here with two hundred and forty acres and has kept adding to it until he now owns his present farm; is one of the oldest settlers now living in the township and has always had the reputation of being an honest, straightforward man in all his busi- ness transactions; Mr. Myers has been twice married: first, August 18, 1846, to Charlotte Latham, a na- tive of Indiana; she died February 4, 1860, leaving a family of eight children: Alexander, Nancy A. . (wife of E. A. Doty, of Johnson county), John, West, Harrison, Johnson, Vincent and Charlotte (wife of Samnel Wane); was mar- ried again May 6, 1861, to Mrs. May A. Latham, a native of Indi- ana; they have five children: Charles R. and Ida B. living, and three deceased; Mrs. Myers has three children by her former mar- riage: John W., David H. and Alice May (wife of Winfield Wanc), all living.
NELSON, JOHN T., of the firm of Nelson & Wertberg, mer- chant tailors, Boone; was born in Sweden, October 24, 1847, and in 1869 emigrated to the United States, settling in. Boone on the 29th of May of that year; he is connected with the only exclusive merchant tailoring establishment in Boone, having been in the business ever since coming to the place, most of which time he has been carrying on business for himself; March 1, 1880, he was elected a member of the town council of Boone, from the third ward; he was married in 1872 to Ellen Peterson; they have one
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child: John F. O., seven years of age.
NIXON, W. W .; was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, March 26, 1825, and lived there until six- teen years of age, then removed to Worcester, Ohio; he learned the tailors' trade in his youth, and after remaining thee years in Worcester went to Kenton, Hardin county, Ohio, and made it his home until 1864; while living there he was elected county clerk and held the office six and one-half years, but heeding the call of his country for troops to assist in putting down the rebellion of the South he assisted in raising company K, 33d Ohio in. fantry and was commissioned lieu- tenant and afterward promoted to captain; after serving for a time he was compelled to resign on ac- count of disability, and he returned to his home, but having regained his health he again entered the ser- vice in the 135th Ohio volunteer infantry; in 1864 he came to this State and settled in Nevada, Story county, and lived there two years and came to this county in 1866; he served as a member of the first city council, also two terms as may- or; he held the office of collector of internal revenue in this district three and one-half years; in 1850 Mr. N. made a trip to California overland and was absent several months; as a man he has been close- ly identified with the interests of Boone county since he became a resident; as a business man he has been upright, reliable and honora- ble; as a soldier brave and chival- rous; as a public official attentive and obliging, but inflexible and un. swerving in the discharge of his duty; he was married to Miss Plebe Gordin in 1846; she was born in Perry county, Ohio, in 1828; their family consists of four children: Willie G. (assistant cashier of the
Citizens' National Bank, Des Moines), Fannie E., Susie I. and Anna M.
NUTTER, A. J., manufacturer and jobber and retail dealer in con- fectionery, Boone; was born in Bath, Maine, on the 23d day of No- vember, 1846, and raised there until he was fifteen years of age; in 1867 he came to this county and settled in Moingona and commenced clerk- ing; he afterward engaged in busi- ness for himself, and in August, 1878, came to this city and estal)- lished his present business; he is a self-made man; commencing without means, he has by economy, fair deal- ing and close attention to business built up a large and constantly in- creasing trade; he married Miss H. E. Gurney in 1867; she was a na- tive of Newport, Maine; they have two children : Harry C. and Claire E. 'DONOGHUE, J. BUTLER, O photographer, Boone; was born in Ireland January 20, 1839, and in June, 1854, sailed from Liv- erpool for America, arriving in this country six weeks later, and was all that time in making the voyage; after traveling around for a while he went to work in Jersey City in the locomotive shops of the New York & Erie railroad; after leav- ing there he went to Luzerne conn- ty Pennsylvania, where he engaged in teaching; from there he went to Philadelphia where he enlisted in the 7th United States infantry, in which regiment he served for three years, when he was honorably mustered out of service in Wyom- ing Territory; in Omaha, after leaving the service, he was married to Mrs. I. B. Pike; he has been en- gaged in the photographic business and is now successfully following that vocation, teaching school at in- tervals, when his wife takes his place in their art gallery.
OWEN, J. B., train dispatcher of
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
the Chicago & Northwestern Rail- road, Boone; is a native of Suffield, Hartford county, Connecticut, and was born on the 26th day of June, 1832, and lived there until between seventeen and eighteen years of age; he was raised a farmer; in 1856 he came to Chicago and entered the employ of the Illinois Central Rail- road and since that time has been connected with railroads; he came to this county in 1874 and accepted his present position and is a thor- ough and efficient official; he was married in January, 1859, to Miss Emma Holcomb, a native of Hart- ford county, Connecticut; they have two sons: Charles H. and Milton G.
P ADDOCK, DR. C., physician Boone; was born in Kenosha county, Wisconsin, on the 19th day of July, 1848, and is the son of Dr. Francis P. and Cecelia Paddock; his father has practiced for many years in Kenosha county; the subject of this sketch was raised on a farm, but at the same time it may be said he was bred a physician and with his father as preceptor he prepared him- self for the practice of medicine; he attended the Bennett Medical Col- lege, Chicago, and gradnated in 1869; he came to this county in 1878, and is building up a large and constant- ly increasing practice; he was mar- ried to Miss Caroline Pease in Feb- ruary, 1872; she is a native of Wis- consin.
PAXTON, J. B., for twenty-five years a resident of Boone county; was born in Harrison county, Ohio, March 13, 1828; he learned the tan- ning trade in his youth and had five years' mercantile experience; in 1851 he removed to Morgan county, Illi- nois, and engaged in farming; in 1855 he came to Boone county; he has served five years as secretary of the Boone county Agricultural So- ciety; he married Miss Nancy Gal- breath in 1851; she was born in Har- rison county, Ohio; they have a fam-
ily of eight children: William (now in Central City, Colorado), James, Florence J., Cyrus H., Cook, Dillon, Allen and John.
PAYNE, WILLIAM B., farmer, Sec. 17; P. O. Boone; was born in Maryland, March 10, 1826, and in 1830 his parents moved to Clay coun- ty, Indiana, where he grew to man- hood on a farm; in November, 1854, he came to this State and located south of Boonesboro; in October, 1855, he moved upon his present farm, and has resided here since; owns two hundred acres of land and is one of the oldest settlers now liv- ing in the county; on starting for himself he had abont $200, and has made the rest of his large estate by his own work; December 2, 1848, he was married to Miss Malinda Sturdevant, a native of Indiana; they have seven children: Canda- cy, John T., Marcus La F., Julia (wife of William Pilcher, of Ida county, this State), Benjamin F., George H. and Laura; all living.
PERRIGO, J. C., farmer; Boone; was born in Rutland county, Ver- mont, May 23, 1829; when young he accompanied his parents to Ohio and resided there until eighteen years of age; in 1857 his parents removed to Boone county, Illinois, his father being a large farmer and stock-raiser; until 1859 the subject of this sketch assisted his father in the management of the farm, and then commenced his railroad experi- ence, first with the C., B. & Q. road, then the Illinois Central and the C. & N. W. R. R .; for eighteen years he ran a passenger train; he owns an improved farm of 160 acres in Jackson township, and 80 acres in Des Moines township; he married Miss Sabra A. Arnold in December, 1866; she is a native of Michigan; they have a family of three chil- dren: Paul A., Eddie A., and Josie. PHELAN, JAMES, for nearly twenty-seven years a highly re-
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spected citizen of Boone county; was born in Ireland in 1821; until be- tween sixteen and seventeen years of age his time was occupied in ac- quiring an education; in 1840 he emigrated to America and settled in Midland District, now Kingston, near Montreal, Canada; in 1845 he came to the United States and landed in New York, and thence to Chi- cago and St. Louis; he enlisted in the Mexican War, and served until its close; after his discharge he came to Madison county, Illinois, and soon made a prospecting tour through Iowa for the purpose of lo- cating lands with the warrants which he received for his services in Mexico and others that he had pur- chased; he finally decided to locate in Boone county, and entered sev- eral hundred acres, and since 1853 has made the county his home; he early identified himself with the in- terests of the community, and be- came much interested in educa- tional matters, and his services in this direction being appreciated by his fellow citizens, they elected him superintendent of schools of the county; since his residence in Iowa he has devoted himself principally to agricultural pursuits, and at the present time owns a finely improved farm of 160 acres; he has never been a political aspirant, nor is he a candidate for popularity or public fame; he is plain and unassuming, as a man social and obliging, as a neighbor kind and warm-hearted, as a friend a citizen of whom his adopted country may be proud; he was selected to prepare a centennial history of the county in 1876, men- tion of which is made and credit giv- en in another part of this work; he was married to Miss Emma French in 1855; she is a native of Ohio; their family consists of five chil- dren: Mary, J. Frederick, Edward M., Albert O., and N. Minonia.
PHIPPS, C. E., proprietor of the
Eagle Hotel, Boone; was born June 30, 1830, in Lenox, New York, and the same year accompanied his pa- rents to Owego, same State, where he was raised; he was educated in the common schools, supplemented by a course in the Owego Academy; when twelve years of age he began his career as an attache of hotels by entering the Owego Hotel as bell- boy; the house was owned by L. Manning & Co .; with the exception of about five years, while in this town, during which time he was clerking in a store, he has followed the hotel business from that time up to the present; in 1849 he open- ed the Peoples' Hotel in Conders- port, Pennsylvania, on his own ac- count and remained there three years; then he went to Monroe, Bradford county, same State, and opened a general store, continued the same for one year, sold out and moved to Tioga and built the Cerro Gordo House; in 1860 he moved to Osawatary, Kansas, and engaged in the mercantile business; was ap- pointed postmaster of that place iu the spring of 1861, and in 1862 re- turned to Pennsylvania and re-rent- ed his hotel and remained there un- til 1864, when he came to Iowa and located in Londen; the situation not being desirable he came to Boone, March 29, 1865, and started one of the first lumber yards in the place, and also built his present house; this was opened about the first of September, 1865, and has been open ever since; in 1867 his house had become so popular that it was neces -. sary to enlarge; the frame part was moved to the rear and a large and commodious brick front was erected; Mr. Phipps has been twice married: first, April 2, 1854, to Hannah J. Bowman, a native of Tioga, Penn- sylvania; she died May 15, 1873, leaving four children: Florence N. (wife of J. H. Reed of Boone), Ole B., Rosa B. and Nellie; Mrs. P. was
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a lady of noble virtnes, loved and respected by all who knew her; he was married again, October 27, 1875, to Mrs. Carrie L. Richards, a native of Indiana; she has two children by former marriage: Guy and Fannie G .; he is a descendent of Sir William Phipps, of Massa- chusetts, who was the father of twenty-one sons aud five daughters.
PICKERING, PHIL, passenger engineer on the Chicago and North- western Railroad; was born in Es- sex county, New York, on the 31st day of January, 1844, and was rais- ed there nntil ten years of age and then removed to Janesville, Rock county, Wisconsin; in 1863 he en- tered the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad; in 1866 he came to this county, and there is not a more highly appreciated rail- road engineer on the line than the subject of this sketch; he was mal - ried to Miss Lucy J. Schoonover in 1867; she was born in New York; they have a family of four children: Lucy 1., George F., Philip F. and Edna L.
PILCHER, W. L., farmer; Sec. 19; P. O. Boonesboro; was born in Stafford county, Virginia, February 28, 1814, and lived there until sev- enteen years of age and then went to Belmont county, Ohio; in 1848 he came to Des Moines, Iowa; drove a four-horse team and was thirty- seven days on the road; remained there for three years and then came to this county, locating where he now lives; he owns 320 acres of land, which be entered; he was married in Harrison county, Ohio, May 4, 1842, to Miss Jane Hamilton, a native of that county; they have three sons and two danghters living: Harvey, William, Emily (now Mrs. John Barrett), Charles and Nora; have ost one: Lonisa.
POTTER, A. T., passenger con- ductor on the Chicago & Northwes- tern Railroad; was born in Tomp-
king county, New York, on the 7th day of June, 1830; he was raised a farmer and lived there until twenty- four years of age; in 1856 he emi- grated to Dodge county, Wisconsin, aud followed his chosen avocation; in May, 1863, he entered the em- ploy of the Chicago & Northwest- ern Railroad, and made his home at Minnesota Junction; he came to this county in 1868 and since that period has been running on the west- ern division and is one of the pop- ular employees, for which the road is noted; he was married to Miss A. M. Ely in March, 1854; she is also a native of Tompkins county; they have a family of four children: Flo- ra (now Mrs. W. T. Evans), Fred. E. (train dispatcher at Brainard, Minnesota). Andy J. (grocer in Boone), and Hattie S.
POTTER, R. K., insurance agent, Boone; was born in Naperville, Il- linois, July 2, 1842, where he was raised and learned the trade of a prin- ter, and was afterward editor of the Du Page county "Press," for some eight years; in 1868 he came to Boone; the first three years of his residence here he was engaged in the grocery business, after which he was engaged, nntil the fall of 1877, in shipping produce, when he en- gaged in his present business; he represents the following companies: North America, New York, Under- writers, Queen of Liverpool, Scot- tish Commercial, German Ameri- can, etc .; during the war he served in the Thirteenth Illinois infantry, company K, enlisting the 8th of May, 1861, and serving until the 29th of December, 1862, when he was wounded at Vicksburg; after remaining in the hospital until the following May he again joined his regiment and was discharged short- ly afterward; he was married in 1863 to Hattie A. Foote; they have seven children: Ellie, Edith, Lettie, Aggie, Hattie, R. K. Jr. and A. R.
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DES MOINES TOWNSHIP.
R AMSEY, M. K., attorney, Boone; is the son of George and Margaret Ramsey, and was born in Harrison county, Ohio, on the 31st day of August, 1839, and was raised a farmer; his parents removed from Ohio to Missouri and thence to Morgan county, Illinois, and to this county in the fall of 1854; he enlisted during the late war in com- pany C, Third Iowa infantry, as a private, and served three years; af- ter his return from the army he was elected county judge; this position led him to post himself in regard to his duties, and he became desirous to make law his chosen occupation; he prepared himself and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1868, and since that period has been practicing very successfully; he married Miss Mary E. Kerr in 1873; she was born in Il- linois; they have one son: George Kerr; lost one son: James H.
REIHER, CHARLES, furni- ture dealer and undertaker, Boone; was born in Germany on the 9th day of August, 1833; when he was eight years of age his parents emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm, near Buffalo, New York; he learned the trade of carpenter and joiner; in 1854 he moved to Supe- rior City and was employed in the United States surveying service; af- ter leaving tlie employ of the gov- ernment he resumed his former oc- cupation of carpenter, and while living here in company with Messrs. Nettleton and Culver, entered the land where the City of Duluth now stands; from here he went to Mar- quette and had charge of the rail- road shops four years and then went to Janesville, Wisconsin, and while employed here was sent to Boone to help build the round-house and shops at this place, and was foreman in the shops for nearly ten years; he engaged in his present business in 1874 and has succeeded in building up a good trade and securing a lib-
eral patronage; he married Miss Elizabeth Vorback May 24, 1856; she was born at Grand Island, New York; they have three children; Ma- tilda (now Mrs. J. H. Browne of Og- den), Frankie and Wallie; lost one son: Charles.
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