USA > Iowa > Washington County > The history of Washington County, Iowa, its cities, towns, and c., a biographical directory of its citizens > Part 73
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FISHER, REV. G. F., pastor of the Seceders' Church; was born in Harrison county, Ohio, Angust 5, 1842, and lived there until fourteen years of age, and then removed to Muskingum county, Ohio; after preparing himself for the ministry he was licensed to preach July 13, 1872, and receiving a call to his present charge he was ordained in 1873; he was married in 1877 to Miss Mary E. Orr, of Louisa county,
Iowa; they have one daughter: Lizzie J.
G 1 OWDY, L.H., one of the editors T of the Washington "Gazette"; was born in Henderson county, Illi- nois in 1852 and raised in Mon- mouth, Warren county; he learned the printer's trade, and came to this State in 1876 and became connected with the "Gazette" August 10, 1876; he was married in 1877 to Miss Anna L. Reid, a native of Page connty. Iowa; they have two chil- dren: Roy C. and an infant.
H TENDERSON, J. F., of the firm of McJunkin & Hen- derson, attorneys; was born in Indi- ana county, Pennsylvania, on the 29tl day of June, 1826; he was raised and educated in his native State; afterward removed to Mercer coun- ty, Illinois, where he resided for over seven years; having developed a taste and aptitude for professional studies he prepared himself for the practice of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1864, and came to this county the same year, since which time he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession; he is characterized as a man of great industry, and is governed by the most rigid principles of honesty and integrity; he has never been a polit- ical aspirant, but has devoted himsef to his chosen calling; he married Miss Ursula Dickey, on the 23d of May, 1852; she died October 13, 1856, leaving two children: William D. and Joseph G., both practicing physicians; he married for his second wife, Malinda C. Nesbitt, in 1861; she was born in Indiana county, Pennsylvania; by this union they have two children: Jennie May and Anna M.
HOOD, W. N., of the firm of Waters & Hood, editor of the "Wash- ington Democrat"; was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on the 20th day of July, 1858, and is the son of Walter C. and Sarah L. Hood; his
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father was a well-known journalist, and published the "Portsmouth Times" and "Ironton Times"; he was also appointed State Librarian by Governor Allen; he died in 1870; young Hood's boyhood was spent in attending school and working in the printing office, and in addition to working in the office of his father he also worked on the "Marietta Regis- ter" and "Columbus Gazette"; he came to this county, and worked first on the "Gazette", and afterward on the "Press"; in company with his partner, he bought out the "Wash- ington Democrat" in 1879.
HOTT, A., of the firm of A. Hott & Son, dealers in stoves, tinware and house furnishing goods; was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1830, and was raised there; he learned the trade of tin and coppersmith and has followed it as an occupation all his life; in 1856 he came to Iowa and settled in this county and en- gaged in his present business and is the pioneer house in his line in the city; he has never sought or held a public office, but has steadfastly attended to his legitimate business, and he is a good illustration of what an industrious man can accomplish; he was married, in 1855, to Miss Rebecca Osborn, a native of Harri- son county, Ohio; have a family of four children: Sarah (wife of L. Brin- ley), William, Albert and Mand; William is associated with his father in business and was married Febru- ary 14, 1880, to Miss Lida Darrou of Bridgewater, Pennsylvania.
J OHNSTON, REV. W. P., pastor of the Reformed Presbyterian Church and president of the Wash- ington Academy; is the son of Sam- uel P. and Eleanor M. Johnson; was born in Harrison county, Ohio, in 1839; his father was a native of Pennsylvania and his mother of Ohio; when he was twelve years of age bis parents moved to Logan county; here he enjoyed good edu-
cational advantages at Geneva Col- ege in Ohio, and at Jefferson Col- ege, Pennsylvania; he graduated from the latter institution in 1858, being at the time nineteen years of age; he attended the Theological Seminary at Pittsburgh, and was li- censed to preach in 1861 by Lakes Presbytery and ordained in 1864; he received a call to a pastorate in Balti- more and the relation existed for nine years, but in consequence of impaired health resigned; he came to Iowa in 1873 and took charge of the church in this city and still con- tinnes its pastor; in the summer of 1879 he was urged to accept the presidency of the Washington Acad- emy without solicitation on his part, and under his management it has been greatly prospered; he is not only an ardent student but a suc- cessful teacher; he is gifted with minor graces often denied men of studious habits, is graceful, genial and attractive in manner and ranks high as a promoter of every good work; in the pulpit he is earnest, plain and forcible; in the discus- sion of subjects he is argumentative and conclusive, never leaving a point unsettled or an argument unfinished; in June, 1874, he was married to Miss Clara D. Anderson, a native of this town and county; have one son: Philip S.
K ECK, JOSEPH, capitalist; was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, on the 29th of Novem- ber, 1819, and is the son of Andrew Keck and Rebecca, nee Rottruck; his father was a farmer, and remov- ed to Juniata county when our sub- ject was but seven years of age; his educational advantages were limited, bnt, favored with fine natural gifts and by the constant study of men and things, has attained a fair gen- eral information; at the age of nine- teen years he removed to Delaware county, Ohio, where he learned the cabinet-making trade, at which he
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worked for twelve years, and was one of the best mechanics of the period; in youth and early manhood his one controlling desire was to be a farmer, and with a view to the gratifying of this desire he removed to Washing- ton, Iowa, in 1842, then a town of about 200 inhabitants; here lie work- ed at his trade for six months as a journeyman, after which he opened a shop of his own and continued the business for several years with very considerable success; from 1849 to 1857 he was engaged in real estate transactions which proved very re- munerative; previous to the panic of 1857 he had disposed of his super- fluous property and made his collec- tions, a circumstance of the utmost moment to him financially; in 1859 he became the owner of some stock in a branch of the State Bank, then be- ing organized in Washington, and was subsequently elected a director of the same, and soon after was elect- ed president; in 1863 the bank ac- cepted a charter from the national government, and became the First National Bank of Washington, and has been one of the most reliable monied institutions of the State; Mr. Keck continued president until 1877, when he sold ont and retired; in 1871 he organized the First Na- tional Bank of Sigourney, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dol- lars, of which he has since been pres- ident; he has never been an office- seeker, nor has he had any taste for public positions, but in deference to the wishes of his fellow-citizens he has accepted some local offices of trust and responsibility, the duties of which he has discharged with scrupulons exactness and to the best interest of all concerned; he has proved himself a most cautious and safe financier; his great success is the result of prudent foresight and painstaking discrimination, together with a life long habit of spending less than he earned and never going
in debt; he is a man of remarkable prescience, and hence his invest- ments and transactions have been profitable; he has never " ground the faces of the poor," nor taken advan- tage of the circumstances of those overtaken by disaster to drive a close bargain or obtain any advantages in trade; every enterprise with which he has been connected has been con- ducted in an honorable and straight- forward manner; in social life he is- inild, unassuming and agreeable, a man of eminent good sense, and this characteristic will be found to per- vade his whole mind, character and actions; he was married on the 26th of March, 1844, to Miss Elizabeth Jackson, a native of Pennsylvania; she died in February, 1879, leaving- five children: Irving N. (cashier of the First National Bank, Sigourney), Mary C. (wife of W. G. Simmons, cashier of the First National Bank, Washington), Viola I. (now Mrs. Phelps), Luella C. (now Mrs. Cran- dall), and Charles.
KILGORE, JOHN L., farmer; Sec. 4; P. O. Washington; was born in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, July 11, 1812; when three years of age his parents moved to Belmont county, Ohio; he was raised there; when a young man he learned the trade of a mason, which occupation he followed about twenty-five years; he was married in Belmont county, Ohio, to Miss Mary A. Meek, a na- tine of Tuscarawas connty Ohio; they came to Washington in 1845, where he lived five years; he helped build the court house under Alexan- der Lee; in 1850 he moved to his. present farm, and was the first set- tler in that neighborhood; owns a well improved farm of 197 acres; he also owns 20 acres of good timber; Mr. Kilgore engraved the first tombstone ever made in Washington county; liis wife died March 10, 1875; their family are: Robert M., Josep'i, Esther (now Mrs. C. F. Ste-
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vens), Nettie (now Mrs. Smith Sharp), Thomas A., George V., John S., and Nannie J .; he married again to Louisa M. Lesan (widow of S. B. Lesan); she has one son: James W .; Mr. Kilgore is a straightforward business man, and respected by all. L% OONEY, JAMES, farmer; Sec. / 33; P. O. Washington; was born in Lewis county, Kentucky, June 14, 1817; when about three years of age he with his parents moved to Rush county, Indiana, where they lived about twelve years, when they removed to Cass county; he was married there to Miss Han- nah Goble, a native of Kentucky; they came to this county in 1857, and moved on their present farm about the year 1865; they have four sons and three daugliters: William, Orange, Nancy (now Mrs. John Benn), Isabel (now Mrs. John Stew- art), Eliza (now Mrs. Andrew Bin- blosom), Alviro; owns a farm of 160 acres.
M "cJUNKIN, HON. JOHN F., attorney-general of Iowa; was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, on the 23d of Septem- ber, 1830; his parents were John McJunkin and Catherine, nee Sny- der, the former a native of the north of Ireland, and the latter of German origin; his father came from Ireland in his infancy with his parents who settled in eastern Pennsylvania, and in 1835 removed to Richland county, Ohio, where he opened a farm and spent the remainder of his days; he died in 1856; his mother died when our subject was but fifteen years of age; J. F. MeJnnkin was the young- est of a family of eight children, and bnt two sisters still survive; he was raised like the generality of country boys of that day, attending school a few weeks during winter months and working on the farm in sninmer; he was an ambitious youtlı, fond of books and study and early resolved to obtain an education if within the
bounds of his power; in the winter of 1850 and 1851 he taught a com- mon school at twelve dollars a month and "boarded ronnd" with the pu- pils; with the money earned in this way he defrayed the expenses of a five-month's tuition at the Hayes- ville Academy, Ashland county, Ohio; during the following winter he taught again and had his salary increased to sixteen dollars per month and spent the following sum- mer at the Martinsburgh Academy, Knox county, Ohio; he continued in this way teaching school in winter and attending the academy in sum- mer nntil 1856; in the last named year he was appointed to the chair of mathematics in the institution which unexpectedly became vacant, and for six months taught a class of seventy-five students in algebra and higher mathematics; in the spring following he returned to Richland county, Ohio, and commenced the study of law; he spent the following winter at the Martinsburgh Academy, partly as student and partly as teach- er; this ended his academic studies, and in the summer of 1858 he en- tered as student the law office of Hon. R. C. Hurd, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and was admitted to the bar in Au- gust of the same year; in the winter of 1859 he removed to Washington, Iowa, where he has since resided and practiced his profession; he soon took a leading position in his west- ern home and had abundant patron- age from the very outset; in 1866 he was elected to represent his county in the senate of the State leg- islature and served through the tenth and eleventh General Assemblies being chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and of the Committee on Corporations and elections and serving on the Commit- tee on Federal Relations and others, and was one of the most active and useful members of that body; he had the honor and privilege of introduc-
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ing a resolution requesting that our representatives and instructing our senators in Congress to use their in- fluence for the passage of an amend- ment to the Federal constitution for the entire abolition of slavery, (and the General Assembly of Iowa was the first legislative body in the Un- ion which passed such a resolution); he terminated his legislative services with the close of the eleventh Gen- eral Assembly, refusing to be again a candidate; in 1868 he was tendered in convention the nomination of the judgeship of the sixth judicial dis- trict of Iowa, but declined; in 1876 he was elected attorney-general of the State, and is now the incumbent of that office; Mr. McJunkin is a gentleman of fine literary attain- ments, a superior scholar and an ele- gant and effective public speaker; agreeable in manners and address, very genial and friendly, and a favor- ite of the people of the county and State; in the practice of his profes- sion he is very zealous, and as a jury lawyer has few equals in the county or district, while as a common law practitioner he is the peer of any in the State; in short, he has made the law his sole study for the past twen- ty-two years; the secret of his snc- cess with juries is to be found in the courteous and gentlemanly manner in which he treats the opposing party and the witnesses, and the impartial- ity with which he presents his case; he was married on the 25th of May, 1864, to Miss Eliza Jane, daughter of James M. Boland, Esq., of Mar- tinsburgh, Ohio, a lady of refined tastes and domestic habits, whose life is devoted to making home happy and attractive; they have three children: Sarah, John H., and Mary.
MARBOURG, DR. M., dealer in dry goods and notions; was born in Johnstown, Cambria county, Penn- sylvania, in 1838; he was raised here and received the advantages
of the common schools of liis native place, which he supple- mented by attendance at Pennsyl- vania College at Gettysburg, Penn- sylvania; having made choice of medicine as a profession, he com- menced reading and attended lec- tures at the Jefferson Medical Col- lege in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1859; after his graduation he had experience in the Boston hospitals, and the same year came to Iowa and settled in Wilton Junction; he continued the practice. of medicine until 1874, when, owing to the death of his father, A. Mar- bourg, who was established in busi- ness in this city, Dr. Marbourg re- linqnished the practice of medicine and succeeded to the business which he has conducted very successfully since that time, and no honse in the city has a better record or more en- viable reputation; the Doctor is known as a inan of sterling integ- rity, decided character, and receives and merits the esteem of his fellow- citizens; he was married in 1865 to Miss Jessie E. Gilbert, a native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; their fam- ily consists of one daughter: Ger- trude, born in Davenport, March 15, 1869.
MORELAND, L., retired farmer; of the many men who have passed the ordeal of pioneer life with evi- dent zeal and relish, is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Pitts- burgh, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1806, and was raised there until thir- teen years of age; he then com- menced cooking on a keel-boat, and after going through the regular grades of promotion was made pilot and afterward commander of a steamer, and was engaged on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and tributaries; in 1829 he made a trip up the Yellowstone river, and in 1832 his boat was pressed into the United States service to carry troops to Fort Stevenson (now Rock Island),
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and Fort Snelling; his life has been an eventful and romantic one; at one time he accompanied governor Sam. Honston, Jesse Benton and David Crockett through Texas and was within nine miles of Crockett when he was shot; he caine to this county at an early day and settled north of Brighton and lived there for a long time; he married Miss Rosanna Gal- dagher, December 26, 1830; she was born in Ireland bnt raised princi- pally in Philadelphia; they have two children: Mary (now Mrs. Van Wagenen), and Elizabeth (now Mrs. Klein).
McCULLY, S., farmer; was born in Ohio in 1820, and lived there un- til 1836, and then removed to Illi- nois, and remained there until he came to Iowa in 1838; he first set- tled in Henry county and thence to this county, where he owns a farm of 57 acres; he was married in 1844 to Miss Sarah Ritchey, a daughter of the first settler of Washington county, and who is the oldest resi- dent of the county; she was born in Indiana, came to this county with her parents in 1836, mention of which was made in another part of this work; they have three children: Belle, James and Mary.
MEEK, MRS. SARAH A., farm- er; Sec. 4; P. O. Washington; widow of Thos. A. Meek, who was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, Septem- ber 2, 1820; Mrs. Meek's maiden name was McCausland; she was born in Carroll county, Ohio, in 1825, and was married there August 11, 1847; they came to this county in 1851, and located where she now lives; Mr. Meek died July 18, 1863, leav- ing a family of four sons and three danghters: Margaret E., McCaus- land, Joseph A., James L., Wilmer R., Anna J., Ella M .; the career of Mr. Meek was both honorable and successful, and he always enjoyed the confidence and respect of all who knew him; Mrs. Meek is a lady of
refined taste and domestic habits, whose life is devoted to making home happy and attractive; her farm contains 240 acres.
MILLER, C. S., furniture dealer and nndertaker; was born in North- field Massachusetts, in 1830, and was raised there until thirteen years of age, and he then went to Springfield and entered the employ of T. & C. Wasson (now the Wasson Manufac- turing Co.), car builders, where he learned his trade; in September 17, 1849, he was married to Miss E. A. Worthen, of Charlestown, Massachn- setts, a niece of his employers; hc removed to Adrian, Michigan, 1853, and after a residence of two years came to this State in 1855, and lo- cated on a farm near Keota, in Keo- kuk county; he remained a farmer two years and then came to this county, and with the exception of an absence of two years in St. Lonis has been a resident of the county since that time; he has built up a good business and not only enjoys a liberal patronage but has the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens; Mr. and Mrs. Miller have a family of three children: Theresa O. (wife of Wm. Black), Fred, aged thirteen years, and Wilbur, aged 11; they have lost two: Frank, who was killed in Burlington, April 10, 1872, by the falling of Ponds' warehouse, and Edgar, an infant.
MOORE, WM., farmer, Sec. 33; P. O. Washington; was born in Put- nam county, Indiana, in 1826, and is the son of Richard and Rebecca Moore; his parents removed to Iowa Territory in 1836, and settled on the land where he now resides; he owns a farm of 140 acres and is one of the earliest settlers of the county, men- tion of which is made in another part of this work; he was married to Miss Cynthia A. Thompson on the 27th day of May, 1853; she was born in Indiana; has a family of ten chil- dren: Richard, Martha A. (now
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Mrs. Eckerman), James L., Charles D., Rebecca E., Mary J., Margaret A., Sarah A., Thaddeus, and Dollie. P ALMER, D. J., farmer; was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania in 1839, and was taken by his parents to Carroll county, Ohio, in 1841, and lived there until- 1856, when he removed to Iowa and engaged in farming; he enlisted in the Eighth Iowa infantry as a pri- vate during the late war, and was mustered out to accept the commis- sion of captain of company A, Twenty-fifth Iowa infantry, and was afterward promoted lieutenant-col- onel; his regiment was assigned to the fifteenth army corps under Sher- man, and did gallant service; after the regiment was mustered out he returned home and engaged in his chosen occupation, but in 1875 he received the nomination for county auditor, and was was elected by a handsome majority, and re-elected in 1877; as an official he discharged his official duties with scrupulous care and fidelity, and in his business transactions he is peculiarly clear and transparent and has the unlim- ited confidence of every one with whom he has any intercourse; he was married December 25, 1866, to Miss L. Young a native of Ken- tucky.
R ICHARDS, DR. G. B., dealer - in drugs, paints, oils, wall- paper, stationery and druggists' sun- dries; was born in Romeo, Macomb county, Michigan, on the 10th day of June, 1829; he was the son of William Richards and Persis nee Peters; he was raised in his native' county, dividing his time between attending school and assisting his father in farming; he had the advan- tage of an academical education at the academy at Romeo, which at that time was connected with the State University at Ann Arbor; he emigrated to Iowa in 1858, and having made choice of medicine
as a profession, he commenced read- ing and attending lectures at Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was honored with a diploma from the Iowa Medi- ical College at Keokuk; he com- menced the practice of his profession in Appanoose county, and in 1861 changed liis residence to Washington county, and pursued his chosen call- ing for eleven years with good success; in 1872 he abandoned the practice of medicine and engaged in his present business, and has built up his business by pursuing a straightforward, true, honest and upright course, and his character as a business man may be inferred from the success which has attended his career; he was married August 9, 1853, to Miss Mary J. Ballengee, who was born in Michigan in 1832; their family consists of two daugh- ters: Ida M. and Minnie.
S' IMMONS, W. G., assistant cash- ier First National Bank; was born in Madison county, New York, in 1843, and lived there until he came to this State in 1861; he en- listed in company C, Nineteenth Iowa infantry during the late war and served three years; after two years ou a farm and a mercantile ex- perience in St Louis, he came to this county in 1870 and engaged in the hardware business for a short time; he became connected with the bank in 1873; he married Miss Mary Keck, daughter of Joseph Keck, one of Washington county's oldest and most worthy citizens: have one daughter: Edith.
SMOUSE, A., fancy grocer, ba- ker, confectioner and restaurateur; among the self-made men of this city who are deserving of special no- tice is the subject of this sketch; he was born in Maryland in 1849, and. lived there until 1856 and then re- moved to Iowa City, and after a res- idence of one year in that place came to this county in 1857; he is the architect of his own fortune,
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commencing early in life to depend on his own resources; he engaged in his present business July 28, 1872, and as a business man has been eminently successful; he has always been a careful, frugal man, and has bent his energies in one di- rection, which will account for his success; he was married to Miss Hattie Trebilcock in 1873; she was born in Ohio; they have a family of three children: Frank E., Willie O. and Daisey A.
SMYTH, MAJOR WILLIAM, farmer and stock-shipper; was born in Butler county, Penn- sylvania, near Old Harmony,
where the Harmonites settled in 1778; he there received the ad- vantages of the common schools and was raised as a farmer, continuing the same until his marriage; he then purchased 240 acres of the val- uable land in Pennsylvania; on the 16th of October, 1862, he was com- missioned major of the One Hun- dred and Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania volunteer infantry; participated in the battle of White House, Vir- ginia, and various others of note; he served with his regiment during their term of service, and July 31, 1863,was mustered out at Harrisburg Pennsylvania; he then returned home, and in 1866 moved with his family to this county, locating in Washington, where he now resides; he owns a fine farm of 480 acres sit- uated two and a-half miles east and one north of Washington; he makes a specialty of the raising of fine cattle, and has a fine herd of short- horns and good graded stock; his farm is one of the best improved in the county; he has been in the stock business for thirty-four years past, and in this he has been very suc- cessful; on the 11th of January, 1849, he was united in marriage with Miss Catharine Yonng, a na- tive of Old Harmony, Pennsylva- nia; she was born October 12, 1829,
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