William Stipe

STIPE

Posted By: Jake Tornholm (email)
Date: 4/21/2020 at 16:12:34

William Stipe, a prominent citizen of Montgomery county, Iowa, date his arrival here in 1853, and consequently is to be ranked with the early settlers of this section of the country. He comes of good old Virgina blood, and in his composition are found those elements which go to make up the true pioneer.

William Stripe was born in Frederick county, Virginia, April 17, 1820. His father, Frederick Stipe, a native of the same place, was a son of John Stipe, also a native of the Old Dominion, and a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Grandfather Stipe was of Dutch ancestry, and lived to be eighty-four years old. The mother of William Stipe was before her marriage Dianna McVicker. She, too, was born in Frederick county, Virginia, and was a daughter of William McVicker, a
descendant of Scotch-Irish stock. Fifteen children were born to Frederick and Dianna Stipe. The parents lived in Virginia until 1860, when they moved to Champaign county, Illinois, where they died. By occupation the father was a farmer; in politics, a Democrat.

The subject of our sketch spent his youth on a farm in his native State, and at the age of seventeen went to Athens, county, Ohio, where he lived for two years. He then drove a four-horse team from Athens county, Ohio, to Van Buren county, Iowa, on the way sojourning for a short time in Illinois. He settled at Bonaparte, Iowa, and helped to build that town; freighted up to where the fort was at Des Moines and also helped to build that town. During this time he be-
came acquainted with Black Hawk and his tribe and learned to speak their language fluently. He was a neighbor of old James Jordan, one of the first men to trade with the Indians in Iowa.

About this time the great tide of immigration was sweeping toward California, and in the spring of 1850 Mr. Stipe started overland with ox teams for that land of golden promise, being five months and eleven days enroute. For two years he remained in California, mining, prospecting, farming and teaming. At the end of that time he returned, via the Isthmus of Panama, New York and Chicago, to Wapello, Iowa, where he joined his wife. Returning East, he spent a short time in Virginia, after which, in the spring of 1853, he came back to Iowa and took up his abode in Montgomery county. There were then only seven men in the eastern part of the county. As was
usual with the pioneers, his first work was to build his log cabin. It may here be stated that Mr. Stipe’s brother David lived with him for fifteen years. In these primitive cabins on the western border the circuit rider always received a warm welcome, and here with a dozen or fifteen pioneers gathered around him he would earnestly preach the Word and offer most fervent prayer. In the Stipe cabin many a preacher was entertained and many a quarterly meeting held. Among these pioneer preachers were Elder James Wran and Rev. Mulholland. In 1863 the
old log house gave way to a comfortable frame one, which, in 1885, was replaced by a modern
two-story residence with bay windows, porches, etc., and well finished and furnished throughout. It is beautifully located and surrounded with evergreens, shrubs, and orchard. A fine barn, 38 x 50 feet, with stone basement—these and other improvements in keeping with them render the farm a most valuable one. Mr. Stipe is extensively engaged in raising and buying and
selling stock. He now owns 740 acres of land, all in Douglas township.

Mr. Stipe was married October 8, 1846, to Miss Ann Caywood, a woman of superior intelligence and possessing many amiable qualities, who has been indeed a most worthy helpmate to her honored husband. She was born in Tennessee, daughter of Allen Caywood and Matilda, his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Stipe have three children: Matilda, wife of William H. Ellen wood of Douglas township, this county, has six children; Georgianna, wife of Charles Mercer, residing near Elliott,
also has six children; and Jane, wife of Epsom Beals, who lives near Grant, has four children.

Politically Mr. Stipe has always affiliated with the Republican party, but has never been an office-seeker. For many years he and his wife have been worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stipe are self-made, and the success they have attained in life may be attributed to their honesty, industry and good management rather than to any special advantages they received in their youth. Long may these pioneers live to enjoy the fruits of their
labor.