USA > Iowa > Jones County > The history of Jones County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., biographical sketches of citizens history of the Northwest, history of Iowa > Part 66
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HENRY LEHMKUHL. salesman in store, Anamosa; is a native of Germany, and was born Jan. 16, 1836; he emigrated to America in 1857, and eame West to Iowa in 1559, and, in 1860, came to Anamosa ; he was engaged in mereantile business for a number of years. and built up a large trade. He is a member of the Order of I. O. O. F., and is connected with the Lodge here. He has served in the City Council. He married Mary L. Ehrlich, a native of Germany, Aug. 8, 1872 ; she has established a greenhouse and is cultivating flowers and plants; they own their house and block of ground where they live.
JAMES LISTER. foreman in charge of the building of the State Peni- tentiary at Anamosa ; is a native of Scotland, and was born Jan. 5, 1832; he grew up to manhood and learned his business there ; he emigrated to America in 1854, and came to Dunleith, Ill. ; he came to Iowa in 1856, and engaged in farming for four and a half years, then removed to Dubuque. When the war broke out, he enlisted in the first eall for troops in the 3d I. V. I. ; as the quota was full, the regiment did not go in the field. He was in the Government service in building bridges and furnaces ; after the war, in April, 1866, he came to Jones Co. : he was engaged in business in Cedar Rapids several years ; he was appointed foreman in charge of the erection of the new State Penitentiary at Anamosa when the building was first commenced; since then he has occupied that position. He was elected one of the members of the School Board, and is now serving his second term. lle owns a farm of 105 aeres, west of the city, where his family reside. In 1864, he married Miss Jane Perry, in Dubuque; she is a native of England; they have five children-Jane, Thomas, George, Arthur and James.
C. H. LULL, dealer in dry goods and groceries, Main street, Anamesa; is a native of Windsor Co., Vt., and was born Feb. 24, 1830; he grew up and attended school, and entered a printing office and learned the printing business; after learning his trade, he and A. J. Aikens. now of Milwaukee, published the old Vermont Gazcite at Bennington. Vt., the oldest paper published in the State; in the fall of 1851, Mr. Lull came to Iowa, and located in Jones Co., and engaged in the mereantile business at Olin ; he bought goods East and had them shipped by river by New Orleans to Dubuque, and carted them by wagon from there: he continued in business at Olin until 1865. then came to Anamosa. and since then has been engaged in business here; there is no merchant now in business here that was here when he came to this county. He held the office of Postmaster for many years; also served as Town Clerk and Town Trustee ; he held the office of Commissioner of the State Penitentiary two years. He was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Hicks, a native of Bennington Co., Vt., Dec. 18, 1854; they have five children-one son and four daughters.
D. MeCARN. attorney and counselor at law. of the firm of Sheean & McCarn, Anamosa ; is a native of Newark, Wayne Co., N. Y., and was born April 11. 1832 ; he grew up to manhood and received his education in that State, and com- tuenced reading law ; he completed his law studies and was admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in March, 1855 ; in the fall of the same year, he came to Iowa, and located in Tipton, Cedar Co., and remained there until 1857. when he came to Jones C'o , and located at Anamosa and engaged in the practice of law ; there is no attorney
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here now that was here when he eame. He was elected Judge of Jones Co .. and held that office for five years, and has also held the office of Mayor of Anamosa and other town and sehool offices. In 1853, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Hop- kins, from Newark, Wayne Co., N. Y. ; they have two children-Burtis D. and George S., both attending school.
WILLIAM W. MeCLEARY. farmer, Sec. 27; P. O. Anamosa; born March. 14. 1837, in York Co., Penn. ; in 1866, he came to Jones Co .; they own 120 acres of land. Married Mary A. Ernsbarger Dec. 13, 1866; she was born April S. 1836, in Hancock Co., Ohio; died Dec. 23, 1878 ; have two children-Charlie E. and Ada R. B .; second marriage to Elizabeth Lindley May 22, 1879; she was born Dee. 30, 1857. in Jones Co., Iowa. Democrat.
REV. JAMES MCKEAN, deceased, Anamosa. James McKean was born near Pease's Mill on Ten-Mile Creek, Washington Co., Penn., on the 24th of Sep- tember, 1795 ; his father's name was Hugh MeKean, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1753; the father of Hugh MeKean died in 1763, at an advanced age. The family came originally from Scotland, and were what is known as the Seoteh-Irish, settling in Ireland about the close of the sixteenth century, and were originally Seotch Covenanters. James' youth was spent on a farm west of New Wil- mington on the Pulaski road, one mile from the Chenango Creek. He joined the army at the age of 19 years, in the war against Great Britain, at Erie, Penn., and was a member of Capt. Rea's company, Col. Christy, Pennsylvania Militia : on his dis- charge, he marehed home, ninety miles; the weather was cold and the snow was deep. and in after life he was afflicted with bronchitis and weakness of the chest arising from disease contracted in his army career. The schools at that early day were few. and elassical education was difficult to obtain ; he worked by the job or by the month. and in any way that was remunerative and honorable, to obtain funds ; he was one of the men who, in the year 1818, helped to elear the ground where Wooster, Ohio, now stands, receiving 815 per month for his serviees; for several years, he attended the academy at Mercer, Penn., under the care of a teacher named Anderson, and went over the whole college curriculum, but, owing to failure of health, was not able to finish the course at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, where several of his classmates gradu- ated. Ile was married to Nancy Smith, of Mercer Co., Penn., in May, 1822. His health failing from over-study while at school, he was not expected to live, and retired to his farm in Neshannock Township, Lawrence Co., Penn., where his health was com- paratively restored, and, after about nine years, having studied theology under the charge of Rev. William Wood, Pastor of Neshannock Church, and for two years under the eare of Beaver Presbytery, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Beaver. and, about the year 1834, was sent as a missionary to Ohio, where he settled as Pastor of Waynesburg, Still Fork and Bethlehem Churches, at a salary of 8400 per year, which, at that early day, was all that they could pay; as the churches grew stronger and his labors increased, he gave up Bethlehem and Still Fork by consent of the Pres- bytery, at about the year 1845, and retained Waynesburg alone of the three original churches, and, for nine years, preached at Waynesburg and New Harrisburg. until the year 1856, when he removed to Scotch Grove, Jones Co., Iowa. At the time he preached in Ohio, there was an organization of infidels, under the lead of one Permarr and Zach Wathy, who were followers of Hume, Bolingbroke and Thomas Paine ; this leader gave him an opportunity for a public discussion, and the question was as to the credibility of the religion of Christ ; he completely and forever demolished the society, which never met after for discussion. He lectured on temperance and slavery, and persistently fought every foe of man and of the country. For years, during the winter months, he preached in schoolhouses and private dwellings all over his county and beyond ; nearly every church from the Ohio River west. in the Steubenville Presbytery. was privileged to hear his faithful exhortations and pungent logic; the disease of his throat so increased upon him that, at the age of 60 years, he was compelled to give up the pastorate in Olno and remove to Iowa ; here, for several years, he preached one-half of his time to the church of Wayne. He died on the Ist of September, 1876, at Scotch
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Grove, Iowa, and was buried in the cemetery of the Presbyterian Church. He had eight children, as follows : Jane Mckean, who died and was buried at Bethlehem, Ohio; Rev. James W. Mckean, President of Lenox Collegiate Institute, and Captain of Co. C, 44th I. V. I., who died at Memphis, Tenn., in the officers' hospital, on the 9th of July, 1864 ; Dr. Hugh C. McKean, the beloved physician of Seotch Grove. where his name and memory are still held sacred in the minds of many, to whose health he had contributed ; he died in November, 1865; F. S. MeKean, attorney at law, Anamosa, Iowa, for many years Auditor of Carroll Co., Ohio, and County Treas- urer of Jones Co., Iowa, who died on the 25th of December, 1867; Francis C. MeKean, Captain of Co. D, of the 9th I. Veteran V. I., and attorney and counselor at law, who died at Evans, Colo., on the 5th of May, 1874; Dr. Alexander MeKean, of Scotch Grove; C. B. McKean, of Scotch Grove, and John McKean, of Anamosa, Judge of the Circuit Court. Eighth Judicial Circuit.
HON. JOHN McKEAN, Judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, Anamosa ; is a native of Lawrence Co., Penn .. and was born on the 19th of July, 1835, his parents being James and Nancy (Smith ) McKean. Hugh McKean, the pioneer, and grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came over at the close of the American Revolution. James Mckean was a soldier in the second war with England, and was stationed for some time at Erie. Penn .; he studied at the Mercer Academy, became a Presbyterian minis- ter and preached for nearly forty years, dying in Scotch Grove, Jones Co., Iowa, in . September, 1876. The wife of James McKean was also of Irish descent; she was a native of Westmoreland Co., Penn., and a very pious and worthy woman. the mother of eight children, of whom John was the fifth child. James McKean moved with his family to Carroll Co., Ohio, when John was an infant, and the father having a farm, the son, when arrived at suitable age, spent his summers in agricultural and his winters in intel- lectual pursuits, attending a common school until 16. and then spending one year at the new Hagerstown Academy, a little later; he studied at New Richmond College. Jefferson Co., for eight months. In October, 1854, John and an elder brother, James W. Mckean, came to Jones Co, Iowa, with a two-horse wagon, pitched their tent in Scotch Grove Township ; camped in the woods on Sec. 3 in the winter and spring, and during that period fenced forty acres of prairie land and built a small frame house. nearly all of it with material of their own getting-out ; the remainder of the family reached Scotch Grove the ensuing June; the next winter, John taught a select school, be having been similarly engaged two seasons before leaving Ohio; in May 1856, James and John returned to the East. entered Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Penn., and gradu- ated in August, 1859: in March of that year. John McLean was a Franklin debater. and received the award of honor in a logical contest held that month, five learned men acting as judges. On leaving college, Mr. Mckean returned to Jones Co., Iowa, located at Anamosa, the county seat, where he read law with S. T. Pierce, and was admitted to practice in 1861, and has ever since been a member of the Jones Co. bar. During the last ten or twelve years, he has spent no inconsiderable part of his time in the service of the State; he was a member of the Lower House of the General Assembly in 1566 and 1868, and was in the Senate in the regular sessions of 1870 and 1872; being nominated for Circuit Judge in the summer of 1872, be resigned his seat in the Senate and did not attend the adjourned session. While in the Lower House, he was Chair- man of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, a very important committee in that juncture of our national history, and, in the Senate, was always on the Committee of Ways and Means and the Judiciary. While in the House, he introduced the bill. which became a law, allowing townships, towns and cities to levy a 5-per-cent tax to aid in constructing railroads. As a legislator, he showed himself an ardent friend to the State University and the Agricultural College, and of educational matters generally. He served for six years as Rezent of the State University, and while in the Senate. he originated the measure and secured the passage of a bill for a second Penitentiary, located at Anamosa, Jones Co. Judge Mckean took his seat on the bench in January, 1873; was re-elected at the end of four years, and his present term will expire in January, 1881. Ile is one of the best equity lawyers in the State; is noted for his honesty, and.
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carries all the best traits of his character to the bench, being above bribery and cor- ruption. He was a Democrat till the civil war burst upon the land, and shortly after- ward, from a War Democrat, became an out-and-out Republican, to which party he owes his repeated politieal honors. The Judge is a Freemason, a member of the Commandery and an Odd Fellow. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. an Elder in the same and a man of the purest Christian character. He was for some time a Trustee of the Lenox Collegiate Institute, a Presbyterian school, located at Hopkin- ton, Delaware Co., Iowa. The wife of Judge MeKean was Mrs. Naney A. Carr. of Jones Co .; they were married on the 16th of November, 1865, and have six children.
JOHN B. HeQUEEN. Justice of the Peace, Anamosa ; is a native of Clark Co., Ohio, and was born May 6, 1826; he was brought up there and in Indiana. Hle came to Iowa in 1849, and located in Linn Co. in 1851, and lived there until 1864, when he came to Anamosa. He was in the army, and served in the Quarter- master's Department ; there were six brothers of them, all in the army ; we doubt if there is a family in the State that can show a similar record ; after his return from the service, he has been engaged in the mercantile business, and has held the office of Justice of the Peace. Mr. McQueen has been connected prominently with the fra- ternity of Odd Fellows, and is a member of Stella Lodge, No. 223, and also of MeDan- iel Encampment, No. 32; he has been Representative to the Grand Encampment and to the Grand Lodge for three years: D. D. G. P., and D. D. G. M .; he has instituted three Lodges in Jones Co., the first one at Center Junction, No. 245, and Olin Lodge. No. 340, and Clay Mills Lodge, No. 341, two consecutive numbers in one month ; he is also connected with the Masons, and is a member of Anamosa Lodge, No. 46. and Mount Sinai Chapter, No. 66. He married Huldah L. Bissell, a native of Otsego Co .. N. Y .. Feb. 19, 1854; she died March 4, 1868, leaving one son, William Edwin.
REV P. MAHER, Pastor of St. Patrick's Church, Anamosa ; is a native of Ireland, and was born in 1846; he grew up to manhood and received his education there. In 1870, he emigrated to America, and in November of the same year. eame to Anamosa, and since then has been Pastor of the Church here.
.B. L. MATSON. of the firm of Matson & Shaw, dealers in groceries and pro- visions, Shaw's Block. Main street. Anamosa ; is a native of Onondaga Co., N. Y., and was born Jan. 13. 1834. When only 11 years of age, his parents started for the West : they came by wagon, and were six weeks on the way, and arrived in Jones Co. Sept. 20, 1845. and located at Fairview ; he grew up to manhood, and has lived here over thirty-four years ; he was engaged in the milling and mercantile business at Fremont : in 1861, he came to Anamosa and engaged in the lumber business for some years; he afterward was engaged in mereantile business with J. W. Williams, the firm being Williams & Matson ; he is now associated with Col. W. T. Shaw, in the grocery and provision business, and they are doing a large and leading trade. He has served as City Councilman and on the School Board. In 1860. he was united in marriage with Miss Abbie Williams, of Newark, N. J .; she died Ang. 17, 1878, leaving tive chil- dren-Ellsworth. George. Mattie. Benjamin and Eunice.
SYLVESTER G. MATSON. physician, Anamosa; was born March 5, 18OS, at Middletown, Rutland Co., Vermont. and was one of a family of eleven children ; his mother died Feb. 1, 1825, after which his father was again married to a Miss Huntington, by whom he had two children, and died Dee. 30, 1827, and left no property. Young Sylvester early became attached to his books, and, not being able to attend school but little, would have his lessons copied and carry them with him to con- mit as he labored in the field ; he thus fitted himself for teaching, by which he secured means to prosecute his professional studies. When in his 21st year, he read a short time with Dr. Eliakim Paul, of Middletown, and then went to the Medical College of the University of Vermont, at Burlington, where he found a valuable friend in Prof. Benjamin Lincoln. with whom he studied. assisting him in the Anatomical and Surgical Department until he graduated, in 1832. He then returned to Middletown, and in February, 1833, was married to Mary Ann Hotchkiss, daughter of Dr. Hotelkiss. of Wells; thenee he moved to Van Buren, near Syracuse, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and
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practiced in company with Dr. A. White. He was frequently called upon to speak on publie occasions, and his addresses were always received with favor, securing from the general public and the press the highest encomiums. Removing to Jones Co., Iowa Territory, he was a member of the Convention that framed the first State Constitution. and was also elected a member of the First and Second General Assemblies of the State, and came within one vote of being elected Speaker of the Ilonse; he took an active part in school matters, was Chairman of the Committee on Schools, and assisted in passing the bill that located the State University at Iowa City. His wife died in 1849; by her he had four children, two of whom are living. He married again, and had two children by his second wife, one of whom survives. His family is as follows : Benja- min Lincoln, a merchant in Anamosa, Iowa, and a soldier in the Union army during the rebellion ; Sarah Leffingwell, who married Rev. S. N. Fellows, A. M., D. D., now at the head of the Normal Department in the State University, at Iowa City; Catha- rine L. is a graduate of Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa, Class of 1875; she married Prof. Goodyear, of the Danville Hygienic Institution, at Danville, Livingston Co., N. Y .; she was invited to deliver the Master's oration at the Commencement exer- cises at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, and acquitted herself with rare ability. During the rebellion, Dr. Matson was active, and aided with his money and voice in raising troops. The Doctor has been in the active practice of medicine, surgery and dentistry for about forty-three years ; is temperate in all his habits, using neither tea, coffee, tobacco nor intoxicating drinks, and, although now being over 71 years of age, is almost as spry and active as when in his prime. For a few years past, he has been engaged in opening a stone quarry, which he selected about thirty years since, on the Wapsipinicon, near Anamosa; the stone has been tested for more than twenty-five years, and grows harder hy exposure; specimens have been worked which so nearly resemble the finest marble that the best judges cannot tell the difference; one of the finest water-powers on the river he is utilizing for preparing stone and for milling purposes.
JOHN MATTHEWS, of the firm of John Matthews & Sons, proprietors of the Buffalo Mills, Anamosa ; is a native of Canada, and was born Aug. 22, 1809. Ile grew up to manhood there and came to Iowa in 1834, and located at Maquoketa. in Jackson Co., lived there in that county a number of years; in June, 1878, he came to Jones Co., and bought the Buffalo Mills, just outside of Anamosa, at Fisherville. Since buying the property, Mr. Matthews has made additional improvements, adding improved machinery, making it, now entirely completed, the best mill in Jones Co .: they do both custom and merchant work. Mr. Matthews has held the offices of Justice of the Peace, Town Trustee, Postmaster and School Director. In 1835. he was united in marriage to Miss Annie Spencer, a native of Canada. at the head of Lundy's Lane. near the old battle-ground; they have seven children-Amelia, Maria E., John S., Edwin L., William H .. Annie B. and Cyrus.
JOHN S. MATTHEWS, of the firm of J. Matthews & Son ; was born in Dundas, Canada West, July 16, 1847; when 7 years of age, he came with his parents to Iowa, and he grew up to manhood in Jackson Co. ; he came to Jones Co. in June, 1878, and, with his father, engaged in the milling business ; he is a practical miller. and attends to the manufacturing department. He married Miss M. A. Jenkins, from Jackson Co., Iowa. Nov. 10. 1875 ; they have two children-Roswell and Lillian.
ANCIL E. MARTIN. Warden of the State Penitentiary, Anamosa : is a native of Newport, Herkimer Co., N. Y., and was born July 27. 1532; he grew up to manhood there ; he came to Chicago and engaged in contracting; he built the first stone piers, and abutments on the Chicago River; he remained there five years and came to Iowa. locating in Delaware Co., and engaged in contracting and building. Hle was elected Sheriff of Delaware Co., and held that office for six years ; he held the office of Assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue for ten years, and he has in his pos- session his commission, signed by President Lincoln. In April. 1576, he was appointed Warden of the State Penitentiary. at Anamosa. On the 12th of June, 1-58. he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Mckenzie, from Chicago; she is a native of Canada : they have four children-Marcella E., Ancil E., Jr .. John B. and Reuben B.
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REV. ORVILLE W. MERRILL, deceased ; was a native of Oxford. N. H .; during his boyhood, his parents removed to Elgin, Ill. ; he soon returned East. and entered Kimball Union School and prepared for college, and entered Amher-t College; after completing his college course, he entered the Theological Seminary at East Windsor Hill; he completed his theological studies and entered the ministry. and became Pastor of the Congregational Church at East Corinth, Vt., where he remained four years, and came to Iowa and was Pastor of the Church at Waterloo for four years; in the autumn of 1861, he went to New York, and on the 28th of November, 1861, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna J. Couch, a native of Westfield, Chautauqua Co., N. Y .; in June, 1862, they came to Anamosa, he being called to the pastorate of the Congregational Church; he remained here eight years; he was appointed Superintendent of Home Missions for Nebraska. by the Home Missionary Society of New York. He conducted that work until his death, which occurred March 11, 1873; he left two children-one daughter. Alice M., and one son, Arthur C., both in school. During the year 1873, Mrs. Mer- rill returned from Lincoln, Neb., to Anamosa. and since then has resided here; on the 1st of April, 1876, she was appointed Chaplain and Librarian of the State Penitentiary, at Anamosa, having charge of the religious and moral instruction of the inmates, a position she has filled with great acceptability.
NATHANIEL MERSHON, farmer, Sec. 20; P. O. Fairview ; born Dec. 1, 1850, in Fairview Township. Jones Co .; he now lives on and works his father's farm, consisting of 162 acres of land. Married Miss Maggie Williams July 3, 1869 ; she was born in Ohio ; have three children-Clarence, Effie and Clyde.
N. S. MERSHON, farmer, Sec. 35; P. O. Viroqua ; born Nov. 30, 1820, in Fleming Co., Ky .; in 1830, came to Ohio with his parents; in 1848, he came to Jones Co., Iowa ; he owns 317} acres of land. Married Mary A. Bancroft in 1844; she was born in Ohio; have ten children-Henry R., Mary E., Joseph I., William, Alice, Asel, Anna, Jennie, Charles and Leetie. During 1855 and 1956, was Postmaster at Olin and engaged in merchandising; in 1857, he sold merchandise in Highland Grove; sold out his stoek in the fall of 1858; in the fall of 1860, he commenced merchandising in Fairview and was Postmaster there till 1864; he then removed his stock of goods to Highland Grove, and continued in the merchandise trade there and at Olin till 1869, when he retired from the business, and has since been engaged in farming.
HORACE C. METCALF, banker, Anamosa; is a native of Jennings Co., Ind., and was born May 29, 182] ; he grew up to manhood there and came to Iowa in 1841 and located in Linn Co .; in 1845, he came to Jones Co. and located in Anamosa ; he was one of the early settlers and one of the oldest business men in Ana- mosa ; he was engaged in the mercantile business for twenty years, and, in 1869. he engaged in banking ; two years later, he organized the First National Bank and was elected its President and served in that position until January, 1879, when he discon- tinued business under the national banking system and again engaged in private bank- ing ; Mr. Metcalf is extensively engaged in the live stock, banking and grain business in Nebraska ; he has a bank at Central City, Neb., also a steam elevator and flouring- mills there ; he owns a large ranche of 1,000 acres. He was elected Sheriff of Jones Co. and held that office two years and has also held town and school offices. He was united in marriage to Miss Maria J. Hollenbeck, from Paris, Jennings Co., Ind., Feb. 29, 1844; they have five children-Milo H., Alphonzo J. and Elwell, all in Nebraska ; Charles W., at home, and one daughter, Della, attending school.
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