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 80
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E PPERT, D. P., farmer; Sec. 23; P. O. Boone; was born in Clermont county, Ohio, December 16, 1829, and when about four years of age his parents moved to Clay county, Indiana, where he grew to manhood; in 1854 he removed to this county and located where he now resides; his homestead farm consists of 240 acres of as choice land as the State affords and he has the best residence in the township; he has devoted the principal part of his life to farming but is endowed with a natural mechanical skill, the
proof of which is found in a horse- tread power which is both novel and useful and is destined to become a source of great saving of labor in driving posts; raises and feeds con- siderable stock and has a large api- ary containing over 100 stands of bees; to this he gives his personal attention, and in 1878 had 15,000 pounds of honey; June 29, 1852, he married Miss Mary J. Hoffman, a native of Indiana; they have nine children living; Catharine (wife of J. W. Page of this township), Mary E. (wife of W. W. Spencer of Col- fax township), John M., Louisa J., Stephen A. D., Jacob, Matilda, George P. and Frank; have lost two: Patrick (died August 7, 1878), and Emma (died October 16, 1878, both of diptheria); Mr. Eppert has been justice of the peace about eighteen years and in all that time has assessed but one fine.
G YILDEN, THOMAS B., farmer; Sec. 22; P. O. Boone; was born in Baltimore, Ohio, August 12, 1812, and was seven years of age when his parents moved to Ken- tucky, and 1824 to Indiana; when our subject was fourteen years of age his father died and four years later he shipped as cabin boy on the water, and was soon promoted to varions offices, deck-hand, mate, pi- lot and captain, and finally became owner of the boat; in 1854 he stopped boating and came to this county, locating where he now re- sides; owns 200 acres of land; was married to Miss Susan Lloyd of In- diana; they had one son: Thomas (who died in the army); Mrs. Gil- den died and he was married again to Mary Boyd of Pittsburgh, Penn- sylvania; they have two children: Jefferson D. and Susan J.
H OFFMAN, JACOB, farmer; Sec. 24; P. O. Boone; was born in this township, April 10, 1850, and has been raised here; has had fair educational advantages and
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has devoted his time to farming ex- clusively; owns eighty acres of choice well improved land; Septem- ber 7, 1871, he was married to Miss Susan J. Gilden, born in Harrison county, Indiana, but raised in this township; they have four children : Maud M., Wallace W., Gilden G. and Nancy N.
HOFFMAN, MATTHIAS, was born in Indiana in July, 1827; on arriving at majority he came to Iowa and located in this county in 1848; his first claim was in section 15, township 83, range 26, and which he entered some time after this, be- ing the first land entered in the county; he returned to Indiana the same year, and in the following spring removed with his family to his claim in this county; the claim was improved as rapidly as his cir- cumstances would permit; by patient industry and economy, Mr. Hoffman has become the owner of 600 acres of well improved land, and now in mature age holds the position of be- ing one of the leading farmers and stock-raisers of the State; the only capital Mr. Hoffinan had on coming to Iowa was two hundred dollars, which his father gave him on arriv- ing at his majority; August 22, 1849, he married Miss Nancy Nutt, a native of Indiana; they have nine children living: Jacob, Francis M., Savilla (wife of William Crapsey), Daniel, Isabelle, U. Grant, Noah A., Ella J. and Matthias; lost four: Philip (died July 30, 1862), Mary E. (died February, 1865), Ann (died October, 1873), and Catharine (died February, 1876).
HURLBURT, J. B., farmer; Sec. 26; P. O. Boone; is a native of Litchfield, Connecticut, and was born on the 1st day of June, 1828; he lived in his native place until 1842, and then removed with his pa- rents to the Western Reserve in Ohio, and remained here until he at- tained his majority ; the reports from
those who had gone to California to seek fortune and a home, and the flattering reports for the future, led him in 1852 to start for the new El Dorado; he crossed the plains with an ox team, and was one hundred and twenty days on the journey from Nauvoo; the difficulties and privations naturally incident to such a trip were no barrier to the char- acteristic Yankee grit; he engaged in agricultural pursuits and remained there three years, meeting with good success; in 1855 he returned to the States, and purchased the farm he now owns in 1857, and commenced improving it in 1860; he owns 240 acres of choice land, in a good state of cultivation and finely improved; he followed his chosen occupation until August, 1862, when, heeding the call of his country for troops to assist in putting down the rebellion of the South, he enlisted in company D, Thirty-second Iowa volunteer infantry, and served until discharged for disability on the 31st day of May, 1864, when he returned to his home and once more took charge of his farm; in 1865, his ability being recognized by his friends and those having the best interests of Boone county at heart, he was selected as the Republican nominee for county treasurer, and was elected to the office, and at that time was the first Republican who had ever been elected to the office in the county, and as an evidence of the ability with which he performed his duties, in 1873 was elected sheriff of the county ; his honesty as a man and his ability as an official are of a high order, and his private character and his public record are alike untarn- ished; he was married, November 11, 1860, to Miss Almira Lloyd, of Ohio, a lady of Welsh origin; Mr. Hurlburt is of English ancestry; their family consists of four chil- dren: Anna L. (now at Cornell Col- lege), Myra L., Jay B. and Lillian;
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they have lost three: Lnman, Gracie and Charles S.
J ENNINGS, HON. JOHN H., farmer; Sec. 22; P. O. Boone; was born in Greene county, Pennsyl- vania, April 3, 1825, and resided there until 1833, and then removed with his parents to Knox county, Ohio, and lived there until 1852, when he came to this county and re- inained three years and then re- turned to Ohio; in 1860 he became a permanent resident of Boone county, settling where he now re- sides; his farm contains 320 acres of land well improved, and in his chosen occupation he has been very successful; in 1879 he was chosen by his friends to represent the county in the State Legislature; he is emi- nently a self-made man; commenc- ing life with little means, he is a good illustration of what an indus- trious man can accomplish by giving his time mainly to one subject and bending his energies in one direc- tion; a marked characteristic of Mr. Jennings during his entire career has been untiring energy and enter- prise, a man of strong will and de- termined purpose, and but few men have a better record or achieved more satisfactory results from a small and discouraging beginning, and as a business man he is endowed with rare good sense and a well-balanced mind; his private life and his pub- lic record are alike untarnished; he was married. August 26, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Ewart, of Knox county, Ohio, a lady of refined taste and domestic habits, whose life is devoted to making home happy and attractive; they have a family of two children: John E. and Mary J .; they have lost two: Moselle A. (died March 12, 1855), and Nathaniel B. (died August 1, 1863).
L' UCAS, HIRAM, farmer; Sec. 11; P. O. Boone; was born in Madison county, Kentucky, April 9, 1815, and was there raised; when he
reached his majority he moved to Indiana and resided there until 1853; then coming to this county, he lo- cated where he now lives, owning 160 acres of land, well cultivated and improved; he is one of the num- ber who often commence life with- out means, but are generally fortu- nate in the end; he was obliged to go to mill ten miles east of Des Moines, taking three days for the trip, and when good flour was in- dulged in, in those early days, he had to go as far as Oskaloosa; Novem- ber 12, 1835, he was married to Miss Susan Payne, a native of Kentucky; they have ten children living: Wil- liam H., C. L., H. M., Nancy M. (wife of J. Mace), J. P., Mary A., Sarah E., Matilda (wife of J. Wil- liams), Zilpha J. and Florence G .; lost one daughter: Susan Ann (died September 16, 1874).
LUTHER, CLARK, who now re- sides on section 35, township 83, range 26, was born in Randolph county, South Carolina, in Septem- ber, 1823; when yet an infant, his parents removed to Clay county, Indiana, where he grew to manhood; in the spring of 1849 he removed to Story county in this State, where he remained for two years; in 1851 he disposed of his interests in Story county and removed to the place where he now resides; in the first place he entered a half section and immediately went to work improv- ing it; during his residence in Boone county he has devoted his energies almost exclusively to the manage- ment of his private affairs of busi- ness, leaving to others the arduous and often thankless business of look- ing after public affairs; he now owns a home farm of 800 acres; in an ad- joining township he also owns 2,500 acres; the fact that he employs over fifty head of work-horses affords some idea of the extent of his farm- ing operations; he was married, De- cember 9, 1855, to Miss Laura Long,
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a native of Clay county, Indiana; their family consists of five chil- dren living; French, Ira, Emma N., Dora and Sidney; they have lost five: John (died August 9, 1861), Samnel (died May 5, 1870), Debana (died September 17, 1874), Alva (died September 29, 1878), and Sarah (died November 18, 1878).
M OSS, JAMES E. (deceased); was born in Clay county, Maryland, September 8, 1822, where he lived until-1849, when he came to this county; that same year he was kicked by a horse, which made him helpless for over a year; having but little means, the support of the family had to be borne by the wife, who proved herself equal to the emergency; she bravely went to work and planted corn, fencing it with her own hands, besides taking care of her helpless husband and two little children: Mr. Moss partly recovered from his injuries and de- voted his time to farming; he lo- cated his home farm, which consists of 440 acres, on section 26, and when he died he owned consider- able land in Colfax township and some property in Boone; March 20, 1845, Miss Martha Luther became his wife; they have seven children: Clark L., Charles H., Samuel, Al- vin, Edwin, Clarinda and Arminda.
MOYERS, HENRY L., farmer; Sec. 24; P. O. Boone; was born in Botetourt county, Virginia, October 20, 1834, and when six years of age his parents moved to Putnam coun- ty, Indiana, where he lived until 1860; he then came to this county, and has since resided here, owning a farm of 315 acres; he raises and feeds considerable stock; was mar- ried in September, 1853, to Elizabeth Clark, a native of Indiana; they have four children: Francis P., John A., Albert E. and Mary Z .; lost three: Alice A., Minnie and an infant.
MYERS, T. B., farmer; Sec. 4;
P. O. Boone; was born in Clay county, Maryland, October 1, 1844, and in 1856 came with his parents to this county, where the subject of this sketch was raised; he chose farming as his occupation, and has followed it since; in January, 1862, he enlisted in company D, Sixteenth Iowa infantry, and served till the close of the war, and was discharged July 2, 1865; he participated in the following battles: Shiloh, siege of Vicksburg, Walnut Landing, Black River, Kenesaw Mountain, and we may say all those in which the regi- ment was engaged; he was captured with the regiment on the 22d of July, 1864, and taken to Anderson- ville prison, where he endured all its horrors, and the average daily deaths were about one hundred; he was discharged September 22, 1864, and taken to the hospital at Atlanta, Georgia, and afterward went with Sherman on his march to the sea; after the war he returned home and resumed his occupation of farming; he purchased his present homestead of ninety acres in 1875; he was mar- ried, March 15, 1869, to Miss Rosetta C. Herman, a native of Des Moines county, this State; they have five children: Florence I., Mary A., W. W., Cora A. and Nellie Ethel.
P ARKER, R. W., farmer; Sec. 2; P. O. Boone; was born in Bartholomew county, Indiana, Au- gust 28, 1829, and was raised in Clay county; his father was of English and his mother of Irish descent, and in the fall of 1850 he came to Iowa with a view of selecting his future home, bought a claim, and in May, 1852, moved here and engaged in farming; he made a claim on sec- tion 12, which he entered as soon as it came into market; the main fea- ture of this claim was the fact that it was the first made on the prairie. all former settlers having made their homes among the brush and timber; Mr. Parker was considered
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unwise in his selection at the time, but future developments proved the sound judgment of the man in se- lecting land that nature had formed so rich in its soil, ready for the hus- bandman ; after farming for about three years, his health not being very good, he concluded to try the mercantile life, sold his farin and entered into business in Boones- boro; at the end of six years, busi- ness not having proved satisfactory, he closed out his stock; having been unfortunate in his business, he sold the last piece of property in his possession, and paid the last dollar of debt; commencing life anew, without a cent, he went to work with a will and soon made arrange- ments for the place he now occu- pies, improving it as fast as he was able, until at this writing he owns one hundred acres of choice land, under good improvements and well cultivated, and raises and feeds stock altogether; December 12, 1850, he married Miss America A. St. Clair, a native of Indiana; she is a daugh- ter of the Rev. P. St. Clair, an early settler of Putnamn county, Indiana; they have five children: Ann Belle L. (wife of Thomas Payne), Lucinda M., Isaac T., Tillitha E. and Loren- zo D.
PAXTON, WILLIAM, farmer; Sec. 17; P. O. Moingona; was born in Washington county, Pennsylva- nia, June 30, 1803, and his parents removed to Mercer county when he was only three years of age, and he was raised there up to the time he was seventeen years old; he then went to Harrison county and attend- ed school, and at eighteen years of age learned the tanner's trade, serv- ing three years' apprenticeship, and worked one year longer and then went into business for himself; he carried on that occupation in Ohio for twenty-eight years and removed to Illinois in 1852 and engaged in farming for two years, and then
came to this county in 1854, and lo- cated on his present farm of 160 acres; he was married, June 16th, 1825, to Miss Rebecca Barcroft, a native of Maryland, who died De- cember 10, 1870, leaving twelve children, of whom seven are now living: John B., Thomas, Esther, William K., Martha R., Jemima H., Sarah E .; those deceased are: Mary J. (died September 15, 1827), Lydia R. (died October 4. 1838), Keziah E. (died June 10, 1852), Sharon A. (died September 14, 1863), Margaret J. (died January 6, 1875); he mar- ried, for his second wife, Mrs. Sarah E. Moore, April 25, 1872, a native of Ohio; she had the following chil- dren by former marriage: Barbara, Josephine, Lucy, Lovina and Wil- liam.
PAYNE, H. C., farmer; Sec. 2; P. O. Boone; was born in Clay county, Indiana, September 18, 1844, and raised there; when seventeen years of age he came to this county and has since made it his home; he now owns an improved farm of 145 acres which is the result of his own labor and industry; he was married, December 17, 1862, to Miss Sarah E. Moyers, a native of Indiana; they have by this union seven chil- dren living: Nancy, Harriet, Laura B., Emma, Charles E., Michael H. and Mary; they have lost two daughters.
PAYNE, J. R., farmer; Sec. 12; P. O. Boone; was borne in Cumber- land county, Maryland, October 19, 1830, and when an infant his parents moved to Clay county, Indiana, where he lived until 1854; he then removed to this county, where he has since resided, and devotes his attention to farming; he now owns 535 acres of land, and has one of the best farms in the township; the father of Mr. Payne, B. C. Payne, is a resident of this county, a man well preserved in years, who served in the War of 1812; the latter gave
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his son, when he became of age, $100 and a horse, and with this small beginning our subject has by good management, made him a home of comfort and placed himself and family in very desirable circum- stances; he was married, April 8, 1852, to Miss Mary M. Devore, a native of Richland county, Ohio; they have seven children living: Samuel B., Lloyd D., Wilber A., Cornelia A. (wife of Mr. Parker), Almeda, Lewis E. and Bertha E .; they have lost one daughter, who died September 15, 1877.
SPA PARKS, THOMAS; was born in Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania, December 23d, 1815; his pa- rents removed to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where they remained until 1837, when they returned to Penn- sylvania, young Sparks removing with them; in 1846 he emigrated to this county, where he has since re- sided; he had no educational advan- tages in early life except such as were furnished in the common schools of the States where he resid- ed; his early education, however, has been supplemented by extensive reading and self-culture in later years; Mr. Sparks is a descendant of a noble line of ancestors, who emi- grated from England with William Penn in his first voyage to Pennsyl- vania in 1682; this ancestor, Oliver Copes by name, first settled on Naaman Creek in Pennsylvania, the record showing that he purchased of Penn five hundred acres of land, which were set off to him in 1682; although Mr. Sparks has given his attention chiefly to the business of farming, he has also taken an active part in the political affairs of the county; at the election held in Au- gust, 1849, for the purpose of or- ganizing the county, he was elected to the office of county surveyor, a very responsible and important office in those days; since that time he has been elected to many important
offices and has invariably discharged his official duties with credit to him- self and to the satisfaction of his constituents; he at present resides about six miles south of Boone, where he owns a fine farm of 280 acres in an excellent state of cultiva- tion; he married, March 25th, 1852, to Miss Esther A. Dunn, a native of Pennsylvania; they have ten chil- dren: Leroy, Fremont, Engene V., Asenath, James D., John C., Nettie J., Robert P., Edward F. and Louis P .; have lost two: Laura Belle (died July 15th, 1862), and Charles L. (died February 15th, 1864).
SPARKS, LEROY, farmer; Sec. 11; P. O. Boone; was born in this county February 9th, 1853, where he has always lived and received the advantages of a good common school education, supplemented with quite an extensive self-culture; at the age of seventeen he commenced teaching, which he followed for three years, and since he has been engaged in farming; in 1877 he was elected clerk of the township, which office he has since held; he was married September 13th, 1874, to Miss Iowa Luella Stevens, a native of Iowa City; they have one son: Brownie (born October 8th, 1877.)
T ILLITT, B. C., farmer; Sec. 4; P. O. Boone; the subject of this sketch was born in Pennsyl- vania, August 22d, 1847, and when he was yet an infant his parents mov- ed to the State of Ohio, and he was only four years of age when his pa- rents came to this State and settled in Cedar county, and was raised there up to fifteen years of age, when he left home and engaged in freight- ing across the plains, which he fol- lowed for over six years, suffering all the hardships incident to a busi- ness of this kind, and by close atten- tion and good business judgment he made it a success; in 1869 he came back to this county and purchased land and the following year returned
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1
to Denver and engaged in the hard- ware and furniture business, but on the account of failing health sold out and returned to this county and en- gaged in cigar manufacturing quite extensively; he bought his present farm in 1875 and improved it the same year, and has since been en- gaged in that pursuit; he found a wife in the person of Miss Libbie Joice, who was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio; a lady of refinement and edu- cation and his best counselor, whom he married, December 25th, 1872; by this union they have three chil- dren: Freddie B., Gracie A. and Pearl A.
W OODCOCK, H. G., farmer; Sec. 25; P. O. Boone; was born in Oneida county, New York, October 31st, 1832, and was raised as a farmer; he lived in that county until 1869, when he came to this county and settled where he now re- sides, and owns 62 acres of land un- der good improvements; he is a courteons, genial gentleman, re- spected by all who know him and is an excellent farmer; he was married, September 15th, 1859, to Miss Julia Alworth, of Florence, Oneida coun- ty, New York; they have one son : Elbert J .; Mrs. W. is a lady of rare personal attractions.
COLFAX TOWNSHIP.
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B ALL, M. T., farmer and stock- raiser; Sec. 11; P. O. Ontario, Story county; was born in Woodbury county. Vermont, December 29, 1856 and when quite young was taken by his parents to New York, where he re- mained for ten years; after that he moved to Cedar county, this State, and, after residing there for eleven years, came to this county, settling on section 11; he owns 160 acres of land; was married in Cedar county to Elizabeth M. Brink, a native of Bradford county, Pennsylvania; they have eight children: Ephraim B., Frederick G., William W., Charles, Lillie, Conrad and Billy; have lost two.
BOYD, JAS., farmer and stock- raiser; Sec. 8; P. O. Boone; was born in Allegheny county, Pennsyl- vania, January 8th, 1820, and when five years old commenced school and in the fall of 1837 he came to Iowa; he was engaged in the wood busi- ness, and followed the same for about twenty years, when he began the occupation of farming and stock dealing: in the spring of 1870 he came to this county, where he owns a fine farm of 900 acres well im- proved; his house is nicely located
and well shaded with fine forest trees; he was married at Lyons, Clinton county, this State, February 8th, 1842, to Miss Mary E. Sloan; they have nine children: George G., Thomas S., Martha W., Marion, John R., Mary E., Ethel A. and James B. living, and David L. deceased; Mr. B. transported grain to Chicago with an ox team, it being at that time the only way of getting their grain to that market; the trip took about three weeks, and he got one dollar per bushel for his wheat.
BRUNNING, N. B., farmer and stock-raiser; Sec. 10; P. O. Ontario; was born in Sharebrook county, Canada, August 1st, 1844. and when five years of age, moved with his parents to Connecticut; lived there for five years and then came to this county and followed farming here for about four years; then went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and after five years moved to Lake county, Illi- nois; about the year 1861 he return- ed to this county and settled where he now resides; owns 160 acres of land; he married in Lake county, Illinois, to Miss Nellie Murray ; they have one child: Nellie May; in March, 1865, he enlisted in the
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Fifty-first Wisconsin, company G, and served one year; Mr. B. is a man who commands the respect of all who know him.
REE, S. W., farmer; Sec. 31; P.
C O. Boone; was born in Wash- ington county, Ohio, January 13, 1832; he learned the trade of brick- making there and was engaged in the mercantile business until 1852, when he moved to Wheeling, Vir- ginia, following his trade there for three years; he then came to Boones- boro, where he resumed his former occupation, but was not very suc- cessful, and soon moved to Boone; in 1862 he enlisted in the Thirty- second Iowa, company D, and par- ticipated in several battles, and in the Red River march with General Banks; was mustered out and re- turned to this State; owns 80 acres of land; he was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Capps, a native of Indiana; she died in February, 1878, leaving six children: Virginia E., Julia F., Florence M., Alice M., William F. and Anette V.
Q UICK, JOSEPH, farmer. and stock raiser; Sec. 2; P. O. Onta- rio; was born in Kent county, Canada, April 29, 1829, and in 1849 moved from there, coming to Clinton county, Iowa, where he followed farming; in 1854 he came to this county, and in. 1872 settled where he now resides, owning 94 acres of land; he was married to Miss North, a native of Lawrence county, Penn-
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sylvania; they have three children: Mary S., Carrie A., and Jeraldine D. HOMAS, W. J., farmer and stock raiser; Sec. 15; P. O. On- tario; was born in York county, Pennsylvania, March 13th, 1838, and when eleven years of age moved with his parents to Lee county Illi- nois, where he received his early ed- ucation; he studied for the ministry and was installed in the Dunkard Church in 1868, and in 1877 was or- dained bishop; he came to this coun- ty, and in the spring of 1869 settled where he now resides, owning 160 acres of well improved land; he was married in 1865 to Miss Hannah B. Kelly, a native of Pennsylvania; they have four children: Persive, Achsa E., Mary M. and Samuel; have lost two.
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