Biographical and genealogical history of Appanoose and Monroe counties, Iowa
New York, Chicago: Lewis publishing Co., S. Thompson Lewis, editor. 1903
Transcribed by Renee Rimmert. A complete copy of this book is available on-line at archive.org.
R
FRANCIS A. REICH - As the name shows, the original ancestors of this family were Germans. Christopher Reich was a native of North Carolina and lived and died there; he was a member of the Moravian church and was active in building up its interests: he was the father of six children and four of them lived to years of maturity. One of these was Henry Edward Reich, who was born in Salem, North Carolina, December 18, 1814; in a school of the Moravian sect he was educated and then served an apprenticeship at the tinner's trade, which he followed during his residence at Salem. At the age of twenty-seven he was married and soon afterward, in 1850, came west; he started by way of wagon and thus reached Louisville, Kentucky, whence he went by boat to Keokuk, Iowa. From there by wagon he reached the present site of the town of Moravia, in Appanoose county, and settled one-half mile west, where a representative had located government land for him. He was foremost in laying out the town of Moravia, using for that purpose his pocket compass and tape line: on his farm near by he opened the first store and also the first postoffice, of which he became the postmaster, serving until 1861. When the town of Moravia became a certainty he was one of its pioneer merchants; he also dealt in clocks and in clock repairing, having a mechanical genius which fitted him for this trade, and at an early day he had peddled clocks in Indiana.
In religion he was a strict adherent of the Moravian church, and in that faith he passed away in May,1895, thus ending a long and useful life, devoted to the service of his family and his religion. In politics he was a Democrat. In 1841 Mr. Reich was married to Anna Aurelia Herbst, also born in Salem, North Carolina, and she survived him five months, passing away at the age of seventy-two. Three children were born to them before leaving North Carolina, the oldest daughter dying in infancy: the other two were Laura E. and Francis A. Mrs. Reich's brother, Charles Herbst, also came west with them and lived, married and died in this county. The other children born to them on reaching Iowa were Mary C., Junius A. and Ella L., all deceased.
Francis A. Reich, the only living son of Henry Edward and Anna Aurelia (Herbst) Reich, was born in Salem, North Carolina, on the 30th of June, 1848, and was accordingly only a small child when brought to Iowa by his parents. Moravia has always been his home town and here he was educated. In early life he farmed; for eleven years was in the sawmill business and then for about fifteen years followed the carpentering trade. On December 4, 1882, he engaged in the grain and lumber business in the employ of W. M. Peatman, and in 1885 he and his brother Junius bought out the firm; Junius also conducted a grocery and boot and shoe store in which our subject was interested. Francis managed the lumber business and in 1887 became the sole proprietor: in 1889 A. D. Maiken became his partner, but since his death in 1897, Mr. Reich has carried on the enterprise alone, the firm being known as F. A. Reich, dealer in lumber and grain.
In 1881 Mr. Reich was married to Miss Pearl Weinberg, a native of Augusta, Illinois, and the daughter of German parents; they have seven children: H. Claude, Clarence P., Gladys P., Francis W., Herschel W., and Loren Keith and Kenneth Clare, twins. Mr. Reich votes the Prohibition ticket, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist church. Their home is a pleasant one and they are esteemed members of society.
A. J. RICHARDSON - Though Mystic is only a fifteen year old town it is quite a lusty youth and has already assumed the features of an incipient city. Chiefly owing to the near presence of so many coal mines in full operation, the population has grown rapidly, and with it business has naturally increased, which, of course, has created a demand for merchants, bankers and all the other adjuncts of civilization, and it is the object of this memoir to sketch an outline of the life of one who has been quite conspicuous among the financiers of the lively little city of Mystic. Mr. Richardson has been identified with the place for eight years, more than half the age of the town, and during that time has impressed himself most favorably upon the business element as well as the general public. His father, who had the same name as himself, was a native of Ohio, but came to Iowa before the Civil war and passed the remainder of his days in this state. After his arrival he met and married Susan Bullard, an immigrant from Illinois, located on a farm in Lee county, and lived there until his wife's death, in 1880, in the forty-ninth year of her age. Seven years after this bereavement, the father removed to Wayne County, Iowa, where he died in 1895 at the age of seventy.
A. J. Richardson, one of the five surviving children, was born at Fort Madison, Iowa, May 29, 1869, and grew to maturity on his father's farm. Besides attendance in the country schools he had the benefit of a course in the business college at Burlington, where he was graduated in the class of 1890. For a short time after leaving school he was bookkeeper in a bank at Promise City, later was promoted to the position of cashier in the same institution and held this place about two years. In December, 1894, Mr. Richardson was made assistant cashier of Bradley's Bank at Mystic and three years later was given the position of cashier, which he has since held.
In May, 1897, Mr. Richardson was united in marriage with Miss Ella Taylor, one of the popular young ladies of Mystic, and their household is one of the most attractive social features of the town. Besides his qualifications as a business man, Mr. Richardson is recommended to his friends and wide circle of acquaintances by his courteous address and genial manner. He is fond of club life and gratifies this feeling of fellowship by connection with Masonry, in which he has reached the Knight Templar degree, the Elks and Modern Woodmen of America.
 Fares Richardson |
FARES RICHARDSON - The gentleman above named, who is now spending the evening of his days raising fine poultry and stock on his farm near Moulton, has had an adventurous career and is able to tell some thrilling stories of his early experiences. Before he had reached his majority he took the then perilous trip across the plains to California, and encountered all the dangers and hardships incident to pioneer life in that western wilderness. It was the period of the first gold excitement in that region, and Mr. Richardson's tales of his mining life, with its fits of alternate hope and disappointment, success and failure, "flush times" and starvation, have diverted many a party of friends as they assembled around his hospitable stove in the long winter evenings. The family was of eastern origin, but by early migration were long identified with different states of the west. Samuel Richardson, who was a native of Maine, was married in New York to Susan Granger, a lady of Canadian parentage. They farmed for a while in the state of their nuptials, and they removed to Michigan, where the same occupation was taken up and followed for many years. In the spring of 1844 the family again turned their faces toward the setting sun and entered upon a tedious journey, which did not end until they drew up in Jackson county, Iowa. A home was secured in that locality, which continued their place of abode until 1869, when they came to Appanoose county and settled in Washington township, where both parents found their last resting place. |
Fares Richardson, one of the children of this estimable couple, was born in McComb county, Michigan, thirty miles north of Detroit, April 22, 1839, and was consequently five years old when his parents came to Iowa. He grew up with the restless and roving disposition characteristic of the game western spirits of those days, and it was his fortune to have his love of adventure fully gratified. In 1859, in company with his brother Josiah, Mr. Richardson started on foot for the distant shores of California, and, after a wearisome tramp over plains and mountains, amid hardships and dangers, and undergoing many privations, arrived without serious mishaps at Sacramento. After spending three years in California without notable result, these courageous young men made their way to the wilds of Oregon and found a lodgment on John Day's river, where they discovered the gold mine afterward known as Canyon City. In the spring of 1862 they purchased horses and mules and engaged in packing supplies to various points in the surrounding country where mining was in progress, and were themselves engaged in mining a year or two with fair success. When they first landed in Oregon the Richardson boys had only twenty dollars, which they soon exhausted for food, and then "staked a claim." The early returns from this, however, were rather disappointing, as the first pan from their new mine netted only a half dollar's worth of gold dust. Nothing daunted, however, they secured additional claims, and their hard work was rewarded for a while by taking out gold dust at the rate of ten to fifteen dollars a day. At this juncture the two brothers formed a partnership with Bid Coons, Jerry Growdivant, Lewis Martin, Arthur Sacket, George Chamberlin and Thomas Sitton, all of whom were adventurous spirits in search of fortunes in the mines of Oregon. Shortly after this party began operating together provisions ran out, and four of the squad were detailed to go in search of food. Taking eight mules and all the available cash, amounting to about four hundred dollars, the four men started on the perilous trip to the distant Dalles of Oregon, not less than three hundred miles away, on the lower Columbia river. Their journey led them through the country of the Indians, who at that time were very hostile to the whites, and the traveling over the roadless mountains and across innumerable streams of torrential rapidity made the trip one long to be remembered. During their absence there were hungry times in camp, the boys finding it difficult to get anything to eat, and being forced to subsist on two ounces of bread and three of meat as a daily ration. When the exploring party returned after twenty-one days, they reported having met many prospectors leaving the country in disgust, and declaring that no gold was to be found in that section. In reply to this Bid Coons, who had remained with the party in camp, drew out one thousand dollars in gold dust, which he exhibited to the returning pilgrims. This, with the newly brought food, made all hands very happy, and the next few days were spent in feasting and resting. Shortly afterward the party located what was subsequently called the Richardson claim, from which they took forty thousand dollars' worth of crude gold. It took fourteen months to do this, however, and as expenses were heavy, flour, meat, tea, coffee and tobacco selling each at the rate of one dollar per pound, not much was saved by the miners as the result of their arduous labors.
Having had enough of mining and its inevitable privations to last him a while, Mr. Richardson turned his face homeward and arrived at the house of his parents in Iowa some time during 1864. Shortly afterward he was married to Margaret Wirt, who died in 1876, leaving three children: E. J. Richardson, Mrs. Martha E. McCoy and Mrs. Jessie Haynes. The four years subsequent to his marriage Mr. Richardson continued to reside in Jackson county in the vicinity of his father, and accompanied the latter on his removal to Appanoose county in 1869. In 1876 he contracted a second marriage with Miss Sarah Leach, by whom he has one child, now Mrs. Belle Briniger. Mr. Richardson has devoted his time of late years to the breeding of fancy poultry and Aberdeen polled cattle on his fine farm one and one-half miles north of Moulton.
JOSEPH HARVEY ROBERTSON - "Men of progress" is a phrase that aptly applies to many Americans in this twentieth century of industrial advancement, and in these three words is often summed up the highest compliment that can be paid to these soldiers of this commercial age when the world's battles are no longer fought by the sword. And among those who may very justly be considered in this class is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, a worthy, prosperous and leading citizen of Appanoose county, Iowa. While he has devoted his life to hard work and has intently followed the business of his choice, he has also found time to give to the public interests of his community and is a worthy exponent of American citizenship in its highest and best sense.
Moses Robertson was his father; he was born in Kentucky on October 21, 1811, and died in Appanoose county on November 29, 1893. His wife, Jane Streepy, was a native of Knox county, Indiana, where she was born August 15, 1826, and she died on November 9, 1862. Moses Robertson went to Knox county, Indiana, when he was ten years of age, and there spent the days of his youth, obtained his education in the country schools and married the lady of his choice. In 1852 they came west and located on the same farm which is now the property of the subject of this sketch. Besides conducting the farm they opened a general store on the place and continued this for a number of years. In 1891 he left the farm and spent the remainder of his life in Cincinnati, Iowa.
Joseph Harvey claims Appanoose county as the place of his birth, and his birthday was January 8, 1858. He attended the country school up to his sixteenth year, and then learned the blacksmith trade, which he never followed, however. Prior to 1901 he had been engaged extensively in the stock business and has been considered one of the leading farmers of the county. He has now somewhat relaxed the vigorous toil of his younger years and is enjoying the fruits of his well spent life. He has always shown an active interest in the political affairs of the county and is one of the local leaders of the Republican party. He is a member of Prosperity Lodge No. 504, F. & A. M.
Mr. Robertson was married in 1878 to Miss Emma Stevenson, and they became the parents of three children: Ava, born May 31, 1879; Ora, born June 9, 1881; and Joe, born June 11, 1891. Emma Stevenson was the daughter of P. J. and Mary (Gunder) Stevenson, and was born in Darke county, Ohio, November 30, 1857. Her parents came to Appanoose county in 1868, in which county they now reside.
 George W. Robinson |
GEORGE W. ROBINSON - By general consensus of opinion of all his acquaintances, the late George W. Robinson was a good farmer, a good friend and a good neighbor. As he treated all men well in life, so all men mourn him, now that he is no more, and this brief biography is intended as a memorial which may be filed away by his family and friends, who regret his loss and respect his memory. George W. was the son of Richard G. and Sarah Jane Robinson, natives of West Virginia. The father was a farmer and stock raiser and pursued that occupation in West Virginia with a fair measure of success. His son, George W. Robinson, was born in Harrison county, West Virginia, September 16, 1831, and was in early manhood when he came to Iowa in 1855. He first located in Howard county, but soon afterward went to Davis and finally found permanent residence in Appanoose county. In 1862 he purchased and took possession of the farm near Dean, which he cultivated with success until the time of his death, on the 6th of May, 1891. |
On May 30, 1861, George W. Robinson was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Louisa, daughter of John and Ann Bond, natives of Ireland, who came to the United States shortly after their marriage. Their daughter, Sarah Louisa, was born in Appanoose county, Iowa, October 28, 1846, and has spent her whole life in the confines of her native county. Her father, who came to Iowa at a period sufficiently early to entitle him to the name of "first settler," ended his days in 1883, and his wife passed from the scenes of earth two years later. In this connection it is interesting to remark that one of their daughters and a sister of Mrs. Robinson was the first woman in Iowa to whom a marriage license was issued. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Robinson has owned the farm of one hundred and seventy-two acres of excellent land near Dean, but she rents most of the estate and does not worry herself with the practical details of agriculture.
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson had five children, whose names are thus recorded: Albert W., married Mary A. Phares, of Centerville; Clara L., wife of T. M. Dickinson, of New Virginia, Iowa; Minnie A., wife of Frank Hatton, of this township; Lula May, wife of James O. Patterson, of Dean: and Sarah F., deceased. Mrs. Robinson is a member of the Christian church and participates actively in the religious and philanthropic work devolving upon the congregation. As she is in easy circumstances, of a social and hospitable disposition, her household is headquarters for her many friends, and a pleasant place for visitors to sojourn.