USA > Iowa > Warren County > The history of Warren County, Iowa, from its Earliest Settlementto 1908 > Part 82
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He is one of the oldest representatives of the coal trade in this part of the state and has led a very active and busy life. Ile has also owned two or three farms and throughout his business career he has manifested that unfalter- ing diligence which is the basis of all success.
On the 10th of April, 1870, in Des Moines, Iowa, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Milligan, a native of Ohio, who was reared, however, in Jasper county, lowa, where her father, Robert M., located in 1850. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been born five sons and four daughters: Alvin K .. who married Hattie Frisk, by whom he has four children, is now living on his father's farm near Lacona; George, a carriage-maker, of Tama, Iowa, married Bell Miller and they have one child; Anna is the wife of John Reddish, a farmer of Lincoln township and they have two children; Harry, who married Miss Goodrich, is a farmer of Parke county, Iowa; Stella May, is the wife of John Prather, of Indianola and they have one ehild; Charles and Luella are at home ; Evelyn is the wife of Moody Krell, a resident of Pueblo, Colorado; and Frank Worth is now attending school.
Mr. Jones has been a lifelong republiean, yet does not feel himself bound to party ties in local elections. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- lic of Indianola and was for years a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The family attend the Friends church, to which Mrs. Jones belongs. Mr. Jones is one of the old settlers of Iowa and an honored veteran of the Civil war. Coming to America a mere boy, untutored and nneducated, having worked in the mines of Wales from his early youth, he made his way across the country, labored in the gold fields of California and made and lost a fortune in gold mining. He has opened up and developed coal mines in Iowa and for ten years has been a coal merchant of Indianola. He has not only won progress in a material way, but has made substantial advancement in educa- tional lines and in character building and justly merits the respect, esteem and confidence which are uniformly accorded him wherever he is known.
GEORGE CLAMMER MeINTOSH.
George Clannner MeIntosh, an energetic and prosperous young agricul- turist residing on section 21. Squaw township, was born on the homestead of his father on section 20. Squaw township, September 15, 1875. The father, A. B. McIntosh, is mentioned at length on another page of this work. George C.
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MeIntosh began farming on his own account at the age of twenty-two years, purchasing the eighty acres of land which constitutes his home place. The land , was then entirely mimproved but as the years have gone by he has brought the fields under a high state of enltivation and has added all the improvements and accessories of a model farming property of the twentieth century. He has a substantial and attractive residence, also barns and other ontbuildings and carries on the work of general farming in a manner that insures success. Hle likewise owns ninety-five acres of valnable land on section 22, being widely recognized as a progressive and enterprising agriculturist of the community.
In Virginia township. on the 9th of June. 1897. Mr. MeIntosh was united in marriage to Miss Ida Irwin. a native of that township and a daughter of Alexander Irwin, now deceased, who was one of the early settlers here. Unto our subject and his wife have been born five children : Veda, John F., Ray T., Rosa E. and Mildred L.
Politically Mr. McIntosh is a stalwart republican and is now serving as township trustee. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church, and he is likewise identified with the Modern Woodmen of America at Medora. He is a worthy son of his honored father and well deserves the warm esteen and regard which is accorded him by all with whom he comes in contact.
EPHRAIM C. SHIGLEY.
The life record of Ephraim C. Shigley is closely interwoven with the pioneer settlements of the western country and the success to which he has attained may be jointly laid to his own efforts and his habits of thrift and industry and the agricultural merits of the country of his adoption. He was born in Greene county. Ohio, September 6. 1836. his parents being William L. and Cynthia Ann (Simpson) Shigley. the father being of German descent. When Ephraim was but two years of age his parents removed from Ohio to Indiana. where both passed away and lie buried in the village churchyard. the mother dying in 1855 when but thirty-five years of age, and the father at the age of sixty-nine years. They were the parents of eleven children.
The educational advantages of those days were not what they are now and Mr. Shigley may be said to have gained his education largely in the sehool of experience. He left his boyhood home in Indiana when twenty-one years of age and settled in Kansas, where he took up a homestead of eighty acres. Here he remained until 1874, but owing to droughts and uncertainty of crops during this year he removed to Warren county. Iowa, hoping to better his condition. Here he bought forty acres of land and this. combined with a team of horses and one eow. comprised his capital at this time. if we except the pent- up energy and resolution of the man. A small honse. fourteen by twelve feet in dimensions, with no plastering. served as shelter for eight years while but
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a few acres of his land had been broken. Undaunted, however, he set to work to make the most of his surroundings and his land responded generously to his efforts, so that gradually he was able to increase his holdings and he now owns one hundred and twenty acres of good land on which he has erected a sub- stantial frame house and barn and prides himself upon the fact that he owes not any man and has money in the bank besides.
When quite young Mr. Shigley was married in Indiana to Miss Sarah E. Lancaster, a native of that state. She died in Kansas in 1873. They had children, but all died in infaney. Mr. Shigley's present wife was Miss Margaret Amanda Sehutt, who was born in Sangamon county, Illinois. Unto this union have been born six children, namely: Cora Alice, the wife of John Nevins, of Minnesota; Joseph William, a farmer of Virginia township who married Miss Tina Johnson ; James Austin, single, who lives in North Dakota; John C., who married Fanny Romine; Dora May, the wife of Oscar Romine, both of whom also live in North Dakota; and Fred, who married Miss Daisy Clarke and lives in Madison county, Iowa.
Mr. Shigley enlisted in the One Hundred and Fifty-third Illinois Volun- teer Infantry, in Joliet, Will county, Illinois, February, 1865 and served until October, 1865. He saw no active duty but was assigned to guard duty, serv- ing as guard as far south as Alabama. One month of this period he spent in a hospital and he still suffers from the exposure and hardships of this trying period.
Mr. Shigley is not affiliated with any church organization, though his wife is a member of the Dunkard's church. In politics he is a republican and has always taken an active interest in local political affairs, serving as county supervisor. and is now one of the school directors of his district.
ABRAHAM N. GOOD.
Abraham N. Good, deceased, was for many years an honored resident of Warren county and was long identified with its commercial and agricultural interests. He was born in Virginia in 1815 and in early life accompanied his parents on their removal to Ohio. It was in the latter state that he was married in 1849 to Miss Rebecca Black, whose birth occurred in Fairfield county, Ohio, June 8, 1826. Her parents were Benoni and Mary Black, who with their family removed from Ohio to Iowa in 1854 and all settled in Warren county near Norwalk. All have since gone to their eternal reward with the exception of George Black, Mrs. Rebecca Good and Mrs. Minerva Close.
Mr. and Mrs. Good also came to Warren county in 1854 and here he engaged at different times in farming and in the grocery business. He also served as justice of the peace for several years and his decisions were always fair and unbiased. At the time of their conversion he and his wife united with the Baptist church but later became members of the Brethren in Christ. Mr. Good died at his home in Norwalk in October, 1893, in the seventy-ninth year
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of his age, and his death was widely mourned for no man in the community was held in higher regard.
Unto him and his estimable wife were born the following children : Minerva J., Mary P., John W., William II .. Effic A. and I. Irvin; Minerva J. and Effie A. have passed over the river of death. The family is one of prominence in Warren county.
CYRUS G. CALLISON.
For over fifty-two years Cyrus G. Callison has been a resident of Warren county, lowa, and has been prominently identified with its upbuilding and development from pioneer times down to the present. His early home was in Virginia, for he was born in Greenbrier county of the Old Dominion in September, 1832. His parents, Isaac and Hulda (Hickman) Callison, were also natives of Virginia and in religious belief were Methodists. By occupa- tion the father was a farmer and he met with snecess in his chosen ealling. In early life he supported the whig party but on its organization joined the republican party, voting for Abraham Lincoln. He died in Knox county, Illinois, and his wife passed away in Carroll county, lowa.
Cyrus G. Callison was only eighteen months old on the removal of the family to Vermilion county, Illinois, where he spent his boyhood and youth, his education being obtained in the district schools. At the age of twenty-four years he went to Fulton county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming on rented land for three years, and in 1856 came to Warren county, lowa. Here he purchased one hundred acres of wild land on section 7, Linn township, for which he paid six hundred and fifty dollars-all the money that he had. His first home here was a log cabin with a sod chimney and old-fashioned fireplace, in which he lived in true pioneer style for two or three years. He then built a frame house, which is still standing, and recently erected a large two-story dwelling, which is one of the finest in the township. Although he came to the county in very limited circumstances he has been more than ordinarily sue- cessful, owing to his untiring industry and careful management, and at one time he owned seventeen hundred aeres of land, but has since given the greater part of this to his children, though he still retains five hundred acres of very valuable land in Linn township. He still continues to manage his place and carries on general farming.
In Vermilion county, Illinois, Mr. Callison married Miss Mary Golden, a native of that state, who died in 1873, at the age of fifty-six years. She was an earnest Christian woman and a good housekeeper, and Mr. Callison attributes not a little of his success to her encouragement and assistance, for she was to him a true companion and helpmate. They became the parents of seven children, of whom two died in childhood. The others are Martha, the wife of Carl Hausen, a successful farmer of Linn township; Calvin and A. F., who are
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both engaged in farming in Oklahoma; William, who is still with his father upon the home farm; and Jacob, who is farming in Madison county, Iowa.
During his early residence in this county, Mr. Callison experienced many of the hardships and trials incident to life on the frontier. During his first summer here he ran out of money. He took a load of watermelons to Des Moines, which was then the nearest trading point, and after selling them he devoted the proceeds to the purchase of a pair of boots. Money was scarce, times were hard and he had invested all of his money in land. Upon his one hundred acre tract there was not a stick large enough to make a riding whip. At a time when flour was worth six dollars per hundred shorts were used for making bread.
Although reared in the Methodist faith, Mr. Callison has for many years been a member of the Society of Friends and helped to build the Friends church on his farm in 1880. He has led an exemplary Christian life and is a strong prohibitionist, having never used liquor nor tobacco in any form. His upright, honorable life commends him to the confidence of all with whom he is brought in contact, either in business or social relations and he is justly numbered among the best men of the county.
ZACHARIAH TAYLOR FELTON.
Zachariah Taylor Felton, one of the leading citizens of New Virginia, was born on the 7th of November, 1848, in Taylor county, West Virginia, but was only six years of age when brought to Iowa by his parents, John and Margaret Felton, who located in Warren county in 1854. In the east the father engaged in railroad contracting and assisted in building several miles of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Being much opposed to slavery he left West Virginia on account of that institution and after coming to Iowa he often assisted the colored people passing through the county by the famous underground rail- road on their way to Canada, where they would be free. Both he and his wife were among the pioneer Methodists of this locality and the first sermon preached in the town of New Virginia was at their house by Rev. Jesse Sherwood, a traveling minister. Mr. Felton aided in locating that town and in organizing Virginia township. He was a public spirited, progressive man and ever bore his share in the work of development and upbuilding.
Z. T. Felton attended school in New Virginia but the excellent public school system now in vogue had not yet been put in operation and his educa- tional advantages were therefore rather limited, though he made the most of his oportunities until his eyesight becoming affected he was obliged to put aside his books. Since 1854 he has been a resident of New Virginia with the exception of a few years spent in Kansas. For abont twenty years he was in the mail service but is now engaged in the feed. coal and grain business, enjoying a good trade.
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On the 29th of December, 1881, at Osceola, lowa, Mr. Felton married Mrs. Sarah . MeManus, and unto them were born three sons, namely : John Franklin, Azel Anstin and Elmer Harold. Azel A. was married on the 6th of October, 1901, to Miss Mary Wharff. Since attaining his majority Mr. Felton has always affiliated with the republican party and has over taken a deep interest in politics as every true American citizen should do.
DAVID HALLAM.
David Hallam was born in Clinton county, Ohio, June 23, 1810. The family is of English origin and is mentioned in Domesday Book, which shows that estates in lands belonged to them in the reign of William the Con- queror, in the eleventh century, when that book was completed. In latter years John Hallam, who was dean of Bristol, and afterward canon of Wind- sor, was a celebrated classic scholar. His son, Henry Hallam, was a distin- guished historian and was the author of "Hallam's Middle Ages," and "The History of the Literature of Europe," and other historical works, and his grandson, Arthur Henry Hallam, the friend of the poet Tennyson, was the subject of "In Memoriam" by the poet.
Their home was in Lincolnshire.
The subject of this sketch is directly descended from Thomas Hallam, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England, about the year 1700, and settled with his two sons, Thomas and John, and their familles on the eastern shores of Maryland. In England they were Jacobites, and what were termed non- jurors, and left England to avoid religious persecution.
David Hallam was the son of Thomas Hallam, who was born in Maryland in 1740 and who died in Clinton county, Ohio, in 1832. He was twice mar- ried. His first wife was Margaret Sillik, who died young in years in the state of Ohio. By this marriage there were born one daughter, Minerva, who was married first to John C. Ellis, and later to James M. Hamilton, and one son, Thomas W .. who with his father emigrated to Iowa and was for many years engaged in business in Indianola and later died in Chicago. David Hallam was married the second time to Jane Roberts in Sabina, Ohio, and by this marriage there were born six children, Rose, Imogene, May, Artimsa, Grafton and Claude.
Mr. Hallam emigrated from Ohio to Warren county, Iowa, in 1857, and located in Indianola. He was a man of large means for those early days and invested extensively in lands. He was engaged for many years in stock farming, and in buying and shipping eattle to the eastern markets in the days before the advent of railroads in the state of Iowa. the eattle from this part of the state being driven on foot to Keokuk, and later to Eddyville. when the first railroad in Iowa had reached that point on the Des Moines valley.
Mr. Hallam was a republican in politics, and was always a man of pro- nounced views. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and was an
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DAVID HALLAM
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active worker in its lodge. He was a man of fine business ability and of sterling integrity. He organized the First National Bank of Indianola in 1865 and was its first president, and for years he continued actively con- neeted with that institution. Prior to the organization of this bank he and his son, Thomas W., had been engaged in the general banking business in Indianola under the firm name of Hallam & Son. He was one of the founders of Simpson College of Indianola.
David Hallam was a man of generous impulses; his hand and purse were ever open to all worthy enterprises, and the old pioneers yet living in Warren county speak feelingly of his generosity and great kindness of heart. II- died in Indianola, July 18, 1881, and was buried by the Masonie order of which he had been a lifelong member, in the beautiful cemetery at Indianola His wife, Jane Hallam, survived his death many years but is recently deceased and now sleeps by his side. The life of David Hallam is a chapter in the history of the early years of Iowa; it is meet that some record of his eventful career be preserved.
JOHN M. GIBSON.
John M. Gibson, who owns and operates one hundred and ninety acres of finely improved land on seetion 11, Belmont township, was born in Union township, Warren county, Iowa, October 30, 1857. His father, Jonathan Gibson, was a native of Illinois and when a young man accompanied his father, Thomas Gibson, to Marion county, Iowa, settling near the Warren county line .. Thomas Gibson subsequently removed to Mahaska county, where his demise oeeurred, his remains being interred at Bellefontaine.
Jonathan Gibson made his home in Union township from the time of his marriage until he was called to his final rest in December, 1901. In his political views he was a demoerat. His wife, whom he wedded in Warren county and who bore the maiden name of Eliza Ellen Baeon, was a native of Ohio but when a young lady accompanied her parents on their removal to Warren county, Iowa, the family home being established in Union township. Her father, William Bacon, resided here for a number of years and then removed to Polk county, loeating north of Des Moines, where he passed away. Mrs. Eliza Ellen Gibson died in 1864, when about thirty years of age, leaving four children, namely: W. Thomas, of South Dakota; John M., of this review ; Mrs. Samantha Batten, of Union township; and Nora, who died in infancy. After losing his first wife Jonathan Gibson was again married, his seeond union being with Miss Delilah Ferguson, by whom he had two children, one of whom died in infancy. Ida, who became the wife of D. J. Reynolds, lived in Union township but passed away about eleven years ago. Mr. Reynolds now resides in Marion county, Iowa.
John M. Gibson was reared in the county of his nativity, acquiring lris education in the common schools. Throughout his entire business career
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he has followed agricultural pursuits, owning and operating one hundred and mnety acres on section 11, Belmont township. His holdings also inchide eighty acres on section 3, which he leases, and in addition to the work of general farming he is likewise engaged in stock-raising, meeting with a gratify- ing and well merited degree of prosperity in both undertakings. Since locat- mg on his present farm, in 1880, he has placed thereon the many substantial improvements which now adorn the property, and which in its neat and thrifty appearance indicates the supervision of a practical and progressive owner.
Mr. Gibson has been twice married. He first wedded Miss Annie Stanley, who passed away in Behnont township in 1892, leaving two children, Loren and Bertha, both of whom have sinee died. In 1894 Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Mrs. Eliza An Basset, nee Spurgin, by whom he has one son, Lee J., born May 8. 1895, who is attending school.
In his political views Mr. Gibson is a stanch republican. He is well known and highly esteemed as one of the prosperous and public-spirited citi- zens of his native county and has gained an extensive circle of wann friends during the long period of his residence here.
JOHN MICHENER.
John Michener, who for a number of years was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in Belmont township, passed away on the home farm on section 10, this township. on the 7th of July, 1889. He was born in Morrow county, Ohio, April 18. 1812, his parents being Mordecai and Susanna (Shaw) Michener. The father, who was of English parentage, was born in Pennsyl- vania, September 6. 1782, followed farming as a life work and died in Ohio, August 15, 1836. The birth of his wife occurred Angust 7, 1783, and she was also of English descent. her mother being a member of the Longstuff family. Her death also occurred in Ohio, on the 4th of May, 1834. The eleven children born unto Mordecai and Susanna (Shaw) Michener are all now deceased.
John Michener, who was the third in order of birth, was reared in his native state and there remained until coming to Iowa, as did likewise several other members of the family. Coming to this state about 1850, he located first near Oskaloosa and subsequently took up his abode at New Sharon, where he was engaged as land agent for Culberson & Reno, of Iowa City. He sold a large amount of land but was essentially a farmer, owning different traets of land in Mahaska county. He assisted in laying out the town of New Sharon, which remained his place of abode from 1854 until 1876. when he sold the farm which he owned near that town and came to Warren county, Iowa. On arriving here he located on the farm in Belmont township which is still the home of his widow and family and is operated by his son. F. B. Michener, and
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was snecessfully connected with the agricultural interests of this county until the time of his retirement from active life.
Mr. Michener was twice married. Hle first wedded, in 1836, Miss Susanna Pierson, who passed away in Mahaska county, lowa, in 1868, leaving six children : Charles, Enoch, Esther, Martha, David, and Alice. On the 6th of June, 1870, he was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Tamar Bailey, who was born in Highland county, Ohio, August 26, 1833, her parents being Amos and Lydia (Davis) Hiatt. Her father was born April 2, 1806, and about 1858 located in Mahaska county, lowa, where his death occurred His wife survived hin until 1895, passing away in Warren county, lowa, on the 1st of July of that year, when eighty-one years of age Tamar was the eldest of their eleven children, of whom four sons and four daughters are still living. She was reared in Ohio and in that state first gave her hand in marriage to William Y. Bailey, who died in New Sharon, Mahaska county, lowa, April 5, 1864, when more than thirty-five years of age. To this union were born four children, namely : Arthur, who has passed away; William, residing in Cali- fornia ; John, who makes his home in the west; and Yarnal, of Guthrie county, Iowa.
Unto John Michener and his second wife was born one son, Francis B., whose birth occurred in Mahaska county, Iowa, August 21, 1872. He was brought by his parents to Warren county in 1876, was here reared and educated and has operated the home farm for the past twenty years. In the conduct of his agricultural interests he has met with a gratifying and enviable measure of success and is widely recognized as one of the enterprising and progressive young farmers of the community.
On the 9th of October, 1895, in this county, Francis B. Michener was united in marriage to Miss Florence Gibbons, who was born in Belmont township, Warren county, May 7, 1873, a daughter of Lindley H. and Mary (White) Gibbons. The mother of Mrs. F. B. Michener was born in Morgan county, Indiana, and accompanied her parents on their removal to Warren county in 1849, when but nine years of age, the family home being established near Palmyra. Her father's death occurred near Ackworth and her mother passed away at the old home. On the 1st of June, 1872, at Palmyra, Mary White gave her hand in marriage to Lindley H. Gibbons. The latter was born in Belmont county, Ohio, in June, 1836, but came to Warren county, Iowa, at an early day and at the time of his marriage located a half mile east of Motor, in Belmont township, where his death occurred in 1894. Ilis wife still survives him, having now attained the age of sixty-nine years. Mrs. F. B. Michener, their only child, was reared in Belmont township and attended the academy at Ackworth, coming under the instruction of Professor Beard and Professor Carter. She is now the mother of three children, namely: John L., who was born August 14, 1896; Eva Laura, born September 21, 1899; and Rhena May, whose natal day was September 16, 1902.
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