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 76
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85
TOMLINSON, VINCENT, car- penter and contractor, Boone; was born in 1824, October 6th, in Pick- away county, Ohio, where he was raised; he learned his trade in Mad- ison county, same State, and fol- lowed the same for ten years, teach- ing school in the winter and work- ing at his trade in the summer; in 1856 he removed to Iowa, settling in Nevada, where he resided for twelve years, removing to Boone in 1868; since residing here he has been engaged in working at his trade, and during that time has erected many of the more substantial build . ings of the town; in 1871 he was elected city clerk, which position he held nine years in succession; dur- ing the war enlisted as a member of the Thirty-second Iowa infantry as a private in August, 1862, and earn- ing for himself the rank of second lieutenant; was discharged on ac- count of disability; he was married in 1847 to Elizabeth Bethards; they have two children living: Hannah C. (now Mrs. George C. Corringer), and Clinton S.
TOWNSEND, A. R., druggist, and one of the promising young mer- chants of Boone; was born in Pen Yan, New York, on the 15th day of November, 1849; he received an academical education in his native town, and a collegiate education at Cornell University; having made choice of the drug business for an occupation, he attended the College of Pharmacy in Philadelphia; he re-
609
DES MOINES TOWNSHIF.
turned to New York and engaged in the drug trade in Ithica, and re- mained there until 1875, and then came to Des Moines, Iowa, and in November, 1877, came to Boone, and has taken a prominent place among the business men of the city; he married Miss Ida M. Baker in 1871; she was born in Ithica, New York; they have two sons: George R. and Robert M.
W ADSWORTH, O. T., pas- senger conductor on the C. & N. W. R. R .; was born in Cayuga county, New York on the 18th day of November, 1838; while young he removed to Michigan and was principally raised in Lenawee county on a farm; in 1854 he com- menced his railroad experience on the Michigan Southern railroad, at first as a section hand, and has passed all grades of promotion to his pres- ent position; he was employed on the Chicago & Alton road, and dur- ing the war enlisted in the Eighty- ninth Illinois infantry, served faith- fully three years, and was in various severe engagements and proved him- self a brave and efficient soldier; after he was mnstered out he came to Iowa, and in 1866 came to Boone county, and is one of the oldest em- ployes of the road; he married Miss Henrietta Wing on the 1st day of Sep- tember, 1869; she was born in Mid- dleboro, Massachusetts, but came to Iowa when seven years of age; their family consists of two children: Al- vin C. (born in June, 1870), and Ed- ward H. (born in September, 1875).
WAHL, FRED, farmer; Sec. 8; P. O. Boone; was born in Alscace, France, June 14, 1824, and in 1840 came to this country; he first settled in Ohio, Muskingum county, and he was there married to Catharine Thresh, November 1, 1848; she is a native of the same place; they have three sons and two daughters: Car- oline, George, La Fayette, William and Rovena L .; have lost one son:
Albert; Mr. Wahl came here in May, 1853, and located where he now lives, and owns a fine farm of 280 acres.
WAHL, LAWRENCE, farmer; Sec. 9; J'. O. Boone; was born in Alscace, France, January 11, 1826, and in 1840 came to the United States and located in Muskingum county, Ohio; he was married in Morrow county, Ohio, to Miss Mar- garet Miller, March 1, 1853; she was a native of Lawrence county, Penn- sylvania; the following May they came to this connty and located where they now reside, owning 220 acres of land; their family consists of one son and four daughters: Mary D., Martha A., Emma E., Lawrence M. and Laura I .; have lost one son: William H.
WEBSTER, WILLIAM, de- ceased; was born in Botetourt coun- ty, Virginia, April 17, 1806, and was raised there; in 1825 he moved to Indiana, where he was married July 10, 1834, to Miss Ruth Garri- gus, a native of Butler county, Ohio; in 1849 they removed to this county and entered the land where Mrs. Webster now resides, in the southwest part of Boonesboro; there she owns about 100 acres; January 29, 1860, Mr. Webster died, leaving a family of five children living: Elizabeth (wife of R. R. Mitchell), William M., Samuel, Charles W. and John A .; lost six: Jeptha, Solo- mon B., Amanda (wife of J. F. Rice, M. D.), James W. (died in the army), Mary J. and Bird; Miss Jen- nie A., danghter of J. F. Rice, and grand daughter of Mrs. Webster, is living with the latter, her parents having died when she was an infant.
WEBB, S. S., sheriff of Boone county, Boone; was born in Charles- town, Massachusetts, August 15, 1824: during his younger years he was engaged in clerking in a dry goods store in Boston, after which he removed to New Hampshire and
610
BIOGRAPHICAL.
engaged in business for himself for some three years; in 1851 he came West, settling in Peoria, Illinois, where he engaged in the mercantile business for some four years, when he came to Iowa, locating in Nevada; remained there twelve years, during which time he was engaged in various pursuits, having served as clerk of the courts of that county for two terms, and in 1860 was ap- pointed . census marshal for that county; in 1866 he came to Boone, and for several years had charge of the express office; in 1874 he was elected mayor of Boone, filling the office for one term; he has taken quite an active part in politics since residing in Iowa, and for some time has held the position of member of the Democratic State Central Com- mittee for the ninth district; in the fall of 1879, he was elected sheriff of Boone county; from 1860 to 1865 he was an invalid for the greater part of the time, so much so that at times his life was despaired of by both his family and his friends; in 1852 he was married in Peoria, Illi- nois, to Elizabeth Child, a native of New Hampshire; they have two children: Charles B. and Ettie B.
WEIR, R. M., machinist and foundryman, Boone; is a native of Scotland, and was born on the 14th day of May, 1836; he resided in his native place until sixteen years of age, and then emigrated with his parents to the United States and set- tled in Pennsylvania; he learned the trade of machinist with Dixon & Co., of Scranton, Pennsylvania; from here he went to Philadelphia and entered the employ of Merric & Co., and worked for eight months on the " Ironsides"; from here he went to Brooklyn, New York, and held an important position with the South Brooklyn Steam Engine and Boiler Works, and took charge of a large number of workmen in constructing vessels for the government; he had
entire charge of the construction of sloops of war, Shawinnt and Nyack; he afterward entered the service of the United States and became second assistant engineer on board of the steam sloop Nyack, belonging to the South Atlantic naval squadron; after the close of the war he was selected to make a foreign cruise, and in such service visited Africa and every seaport in South America, spending two months in the Straits of Magel- lan; after his return he again re- sumed his former occupation, but being impressed from the best sources of information he could ob- obtain that the West at this time offered superior inducements, and a more lucrative field for his business, he made a tour of the States and finally decided to change his resi- dence to this county, which decision he carried into effect in 1869; Mr. Weir is a man of strict honor and integrity, and by pursuing a straightforward, upright course, has not only succeeded in building up a large business, but has the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens; during the past year he has manu- factured fifty tous of casting; he was married in 1871 to Miss Maggie Witted, a native of New York; their family consists of one child: Mabel McQueen; Mr. and Mrs. Weir are active members of the Presbyterian Church, of which the former is an elder.
WELLS, PHILANDER, dealer in staple and fancy groceries, Boone; was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, October 9, 1837; in 1857 he came West, locating in Illinois, where he remained two years and then returned to New York and in August, 1862, enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixth New York infantry, serving until after the close of the war, and when mus- tered out was first lieutenant of company D; he participated in all the battles of the Shenandoah Val-
611
DES MOINES TOWNSHIP.
ley, the Wilderness, Winchester, and at Cedar Creek was wounded by a minie ball through his left shoul- der; he came to Boone from New York State in 1869, and has since been engaged in business here; he was married, December 25, 1865, to Laura N. Fulton, who died in May, 1867, leaving one child: Mary M .; in 1869 he was married to his pres- ent wife, Elina S. Cook, of Boone.
WELCH, G. H., druggist, Boone; was born in Norfolk county, Canada West, in 1842, and removed to Ogle county, Illinois, in 1851, and thence to Hamilton county, Iowa; he learned the trade of printing and followed it as an occupation for some years, but heeding the call of his country for troops in the sup- pression of the rebellion, he enlisted in the Thirty-second Iowa infantry and served over three years; after his return from the army he resum- ed his former occupation, and was for some time one of the proprietors of the Marshall County "'Times," and in the management of this pa- per was very successful, but owing to close attention to business and confinement to the printing room, his health became impaired and in 1867 he came to Boone county and engaged in his present business; comparatively few business men are successful in these days of fluctua- tion, strife and competition; it is the man of one idea, in whatever occupation, who is most likely to make his mark in the world, and the subject of this sketch is a good il- Instration of what an industrious man can accomplish by giving his time mainly to one subject and bending his energies in one direc- tion; he is eminently a self-made man; commencing life without means, he has attained his present position as a business man by pur- suing a straightforward, upright, honest course, and merits the esteem in which he is held by his fellow
citizens; he was married, October 7, 1869, to Miss Helen F. Hartwell, a tive of Rockford, Illinois; they have a family of four children: George, Fred, Midget and Charles Aldrich.
WESTON, J., of the firm of Black & Co., dealers in hardware, stoves, tin ware and agricultural im- plements, Boone; was born in Jef- ferson county, New York, on the 1st day of May, 1837; he was raised a farmer; in 1858 he came to this county and settled in Boonesboro; in 1860 he returned to New York; in 1867 he once more made his home in this county, and 1868 en- gaged in his present business; he married Miss Lydia Miller in 1877; she was a native of the same county; they have one daughter: Mary J.
WHEELER, SAMUEL, farmer; Sec. 15; P. O. Boone; was born in Oneida county, New York, June 4, 1826; in 1833 his parents came to Warren county, Pennsylvania, he was brought up on a farm; beside the education derived from the con- mon schools he was obliged to study at home, and when eighteen years of age had qualified himself to teach, and for the twelve years following taught a winter school, and occa- sionally in the fall and summer. al- though his principal avocation was, and has been, farming; in 1854 he moved to Oakland county, Michi- gan, where he remained until June, 1867, then coming to this State and settling where he now resides; owns a farm of eighty acres of land; has been assessor of the township, with the exception of four years, since 1871, also school treasurer for the last nine years; October 9, 1856. he was married to Miss Esther J. Ben- jamin, a native of Oakland county, Michigan; they have five children: Ernest A., Amy A., Hattie M., George L. and Frank D .; his two daughters are also teachers, Amy A. having taught more or less in
612
BIOGRAPHICAL.
the last five years; Mr. W. is a man who has always taken a lively inter- est in the education of the young and rising generation.
WILLSON, J. A., retired farmer, Boone; was born in Fayette county, Indiana, on the 2d day of April, 1817; he lost his parents when quite young, and in 1828 went to Hen- dricks county, Indiana, and in 1845 removed to Madison county, the same State, and lived there until he came to this county in 1856; he ac- quired a good common school edu- cation, and his time was divided between farming and teaching; pre- vious to settling in this connty he made a prospecting tour through a part of the State and finally decided to locate lands in Boone county; he entered about 400 acres; a part of his lands is now included in the cor- poration of the city of Boone; he has held various township offices; he married Miss Bridget A. Collins, of Indiania, in 1841; they have a fam- ily of four children: Amanda M., Ellen C., Maria J. and Lydia A.
WILLSON, W. T .; among the yonnger and most promising mer- chants of Boone is the subject of this brief sketch, who was born in York, Maine, on 18th day of May, 1848; he received a good mercantile ex. perience in Boston, Massachusetts; impressed with the belief that the West offered superior inducements for a man of energy, he made a pros- pecting tour through Iowa with a view to settle in business; he made choice of Boone, and in June, 1877, opened a dry goods house, and at once took a front rank in the trade; he married Miss Kate Collier in 1878; she was a native of Pennsyl- vania; they have one daughter: Liz- zie.
WILDER, C. L., passenger con- ductor on the C. & N. W. R. R., and is the son of Lyman and Amelia Wilder, and was born in Ohio, No- vember 6th, 1840: his father was a
Baptist clergyman and lived in va- rious places during the youth of the subject of this sketch, whose time was divided between attending school and working on a farm; he commenced his railroad experience on the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne road in 1861 and afterward went to Nebraska and was engaged on the Union Pacific road; in November, 1867, he came to this county and entered the employ of the C. & N. W. R. R .; he married Miss Carrie Simmons February 1st, 1871; she is a native of Illinois; the have one danghter: Amelia, aged eight years.
Y EGGE, J. F., brick mannfac- turer; Sec. 24; P. O. Boone; was born in Switzerland, November 19th, 1832, and lived there until nineteen years of age, and then emi- grated to the United States in 1852 and settled in Ohio, where he re- mained one year, and then removed to Michigan, where he resided four years, and then removed to Clinton county, Iowa, and after working at his business in various places in Kansas and Missouri he came to Boone county and establishied his present business, and since his resi- dence here has manufactured an average of 1,000,000 brick per year; he has a large trade in this and ad- joining counties and the demand far exceeds the supply; he was married in 1861 to Miss Adaline Garwick, a native of Baden, Germany; their family consists of ten children: Al- vis, Anthony, Frank, Jacob, John, Louisia, A'bert, Ida, Freddie and Addie; the last two twins.
Z ANDELL, A., Boone; was born in Sweden in 1843; he was raised there and educated in a mili- tary school; in 1864 he emigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, where he remained one year, and then removed to Gales- burg, Illinois, and after a residence of one year in this place came to Boone county and was employed in
W. L. Defore
615
GARDEN TOWNSHIP.
the hardware house of Black & Co .; he was the first Swede clerk in the city; he has been twice married; first, to Miss Christina Hedstrom in 1867; she was a native of Sweden; she died in 1871; he married for his second wife Miss Ida Blomberg; she was also a native of Sweden; they have two children: Agnes G. and Eda S; have lost two children: Al- fred I. and Eddie.
ZIMBELMAN, JOHN, brewer, Boonesboro; was born in Switzer- land, October 16th, 1817, and re- mained there until 1832 and then came with his parents to the United States and settled in Muskingum county, Ohio; he learned the trade of shoemaking and engaged to work three years for two dollars per month, but his employer not being able to pay even this small sum he was compelled to leave and seek another place, and succeeded in finding work with a man who proved a true friend and of whom he acquired a thorough knowledge of his trade, and he fol- lowed it as an occupation thirty- three years; in 1856 he came to Boonesboro and established a boot and shoe mannfactory and continued the business for ten years, employ-
ing from ten to fifteen hands; in 1866 he engaged in the brewing business, which he has since con- ducted very successfully and, accord- ing to the returns of the Collector of Internal Revenue for 1879, he ex- ceeded by 1,000 barrels any brewery in Iowa west of Cedar Rapids, ex- cepting one in Council Bluffs; Mr. Z. is one of the self-made men of the times; starting for himself early with the intent of making his an ac- tive business life, he has held his true course and succeeded, not by any stroke of fortune, but by steady, practical, personal effort, honest dealing, and fair and honorable de- portment, economy and industry; although starting for himself, witlı- out means, by strict business integ- rity and punctuality in all cases in- volving promise, appointment or obligation, he has built up a high standard of credit and lives in the possession of a competency well earned; he was married April 6th, 1837, to Miss Magdalena Stenger, a native of Strasburg; they have a family of seven children: Jacob, La- fayette, Louisa, Rovena, George, Charles and Alpha; lost two: Mary C. and John.
GARDEN TOWNSHIP.
A LSINE, P. A., farmer and stock-raiser; Sec. ; P. O. Swede Point; was born in Sweden in 1827, February 27th; he was raised there and served in the regu- lar army; when about twelve years of age he lerned the carpenters' trade; in 1852 he came to America and stopped in various places till the spring of 1853, when he went to California and worked in a wagon shop; he returned to Iowa in 1855 and located in Burlington and after- ward lived in Fairfield for a while, and came to this county in 1866; he now owns an improved farm of 279}
acres; he was married in Fairfield, this State, to Miss Anna C. Steven- son, April 28th, 1857; they have, by this union, a family of seven chil- dren living: Frank A., Christina A., Mary L., Anna M., Carl P., Joseph E. and Susanna C.
CROFT, ERIC; farmer; Sec. 25; P. (). Sheldahl; was born in Alfta Gefleborgslan, Sweden, May 3d, 1835 ; at the age of eleven years he, with his parents, emigrated to this country; the voyage across the ocean was a long and stormy one; they came in a sailing vessel loaded with iron, and were very near ship-
38
616
BIOGRAPHICAL.
wrecked in the English Channel; it took twenty-one weeks to come from Gefle, Sweden, to New York, land- ing on the 8th of March, 1847, being on the ocean all winter; as soon as navigation opened they continued the journey West by Hudson river, Erie Canal and the lakes to Chicago; from Chicago to Henry county, Illi- nois, he came on foot, a distance of 150 miles; his parents soon settled in Knox county, Illinois, where he received some education in the Eng- lish language; that country was very thinly settled at that time and far between the school-houses, which were generally built of logs, and children had often to walk three and four miles to school; in 1856 he was married to Miss Martha Larson, who came across the ocean in the same ship; he lived in Knox county, Illi- nois, twenty-one years, his principal occupation being farming in sum- mer and coal-mining in winter; in the fall of 1868 he, with his family, moved to Iowa, bought and settled on his present farm of 160 acres, which was then a wild prairie, but now is changed to a comfortable home; he has seven sons living : William, George, Alfred, Charles, John F., Edwin L. and Joseph A. ; two children dead: Emma and Albert; he has been elected and held the office of justice of the peace in 1873 and 1874; has been township trus- tee, etc .; in 1875 he took an active part in the building of a Swedish M. E. Church in Sheldahl, the first in that town, and the only Swedish M. E. Church in Boone county to the present date; the church was built by subscription, he heading the list, and then circulated the subscription paper both in Iowa and Illinois, un- til a sufficient amount was raised; it is a frame building and cost about $1,100.
H OLLCROFT, ALFRED, farm- er and stock-raiser; Sec. ; P. O. Sheldahl; was born in Clin-
ton county, Ohio, November 30th, 1827; his father died when he was only five years of age and four years later his mother married again, and his stepfather moved to Indiana; he lived here till the fall he was four- teen years of age, when he started out in life for himself, and returned to his native State and began the blacksmith trade, and when seven- teen years old he became master of it; he made Ohio his home up to the time that he came West; his first settlement in the State was at Des Moines in 1855, where he en- gaged at his trade, and in March, 1856, he came to Swede Point and also engaged at his trade, which he followed up to the time he came to this township in 1868 and located on his present homestead, which consists of 160 acres; in 1857 he was elected justice of the peace and has held it all the time since, except a few years, and is now holding his third term as notary public; he was married in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1848, to Miss Hannah A. Lee, of New Jersey; they have, by this un- ion, a family of five children : Robert, Dennis M., P. M., Ximenia and Is- sadore; deceased: Melvina.
W ILLIAMS, BENJAMIN, farmer and stock-raiser; Sec. 35; P. O. Swede Point; among the pioneers of this county, and one who was not only identified with its early interests, but who is to-day one of its prominent citizens, is the sub- ject of this sketch, who was born January 10th, 1813, in Preble county, Ohio; at seven years of age he emigrated with his parents to Put- nam county, Indiana; he was raised there till nineteen years of age and then came to Illinois, and eight years later came to this county and settled in June of 1846; although he came to this county with but little, he to- day owns about 825 acres of choice land in the county; he has been twice married; first, in Putnam
617
DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.
county, Indiana, in 1834, to Miss Elsie A. Stranghın, of Kentucky, who died June 10th, 1847, and left six children: Sarah, John, Spencer (now deceased), Henry, Isaac and Margaret ; his second marriage was to America McIntosh in 1854, who
died and left three children living: Joseph, Mary and George; he was married a third time to Elizabeth Boone, a relative of the well-known pioneer of Kentucky, Daniel Boone; they have four children: Squire, William, Perry and Allie.
DOUGLAS TOWNSHIP.
B ILSLAND, JOHN, farmer; Swede Point; is a native of Fountain county, Indiana; was born April 1831, and was raised there at farming as an occupation; he camne out to this county on horseback in company with two other young men as early as 1853 on a prospecting tour, and located his present farm in section twenty-six of this township; that winter he returned to Indiana, and in 1856 he came out and perma- nently located, and in 1859 he re- turned to Indiana and married, Sep- tember 29th, of that year, to Miss Eliza Wagner, a native of Illinois; they have, by this union, one daugh- ter: Blanche; he has held various township offices, among others that of trustee; his farin consists of 180 acres, besides his residence property in town, where he lives; his ancestry on his father's side were Scotch and on his mother's side of Scotch-Irish descent.
C ASSEL, C. J., farmer; Sec. 36; P. O. Swede Point; was born in Sweden, December 26, 1821; his father was a miller and engaged in milling, so he learned that trade when he was only about thirteen years of age, and when about eighteen years old his father gave up this business and began to build threshing machines; he also learned this trade with his father, which he followed up to the time he came to America, in the spring of 1844; the company of four families with whom he came were the first to land in the State of Iowa; he remained
one year in Henry county, and then went to Fairfield and remained till 1848, when he came to this county, where he has since lived; he and his brothers-in-law, Delan- ders, built the first saw-inill in the township, and in 1857 they put up a grist-mill, which they ran for about ten years, and since that has followed farming; he owns an im- proved farm of eighty acres; he was married at Fairfield, this State, in 1848, to Miss Ulla Delander, of Sweden; they were the first Swedish couple married in the State; they have nine children liv- ing: Matilda, Ulla, Clara, Johanna, Jolın A., Peter, Mary, Amanda, Chas. W., and John P. (deceased). D ELANDER, SWEN, farmer; Sec. 30; P. O. Swede Point; was born in Sweden, May 17, 1828, and was raised there on a farm, and came to America in 1846, and set- tled in this county in September of that year; he engaged in the milling business when he first located, which he continued for about ten years, and since that has followed his pres- ent occupation; his farm consists of 160 acres of improved lands; he was married in this county in 1854, to Miss Christine Anderson, a native of Sweden; they have by this mar- riage nine children living: Matilda, Amanda, Isaac, Andrew E., Anna C., Swen P., Emma C., Mary U. and Clara E.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.