Hews, John

HEWS, EFNOR, MCDANIELS, MAYFIELD, HEWITT, BUNTIN, SNODGRASS

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/30/2009 at 18:41:54

Hews, John

The life history of John Hews, one of Jasper County's best known and highly honored pioneer citizens, would indicate that he is the possessor of sterling qualities that cannot help winning in any vocation if back of them is an indomitable courage, as seems to have been the case in this instance, and he has labored to goodly ends, ever keeping the interests of his neighbors and the locality in general before him while working to advance himself and, therefore, he has played well his role in the local drama of civilization. He is one of the gallant veterans of the great Union Army, having gladly sacrificed much, like many legions of brave comrades, "in order that the nation might live." Thus many reasons might be advanced why Mr. Hews is justly entitled to conspicuous and exhaustive mention in the history of this, one of the most thriving and favored sections of the great commonwealth of Iowa, whose interests he has ever had very much at heart.

Mr. Hews was born September 3, 1837, in Saratoga County. New York, the son of James and Sally Maria (Efnor) Hews, he being the third child in order of birth, the two that preceded him dying in early infancy. These parents with their only child, John, who was too young to take any note of happenings at that time, 1838, made the long overland journey from New York to Illinois and in that state the son grew to young manhood and received most of his education. The family finally moved to Jasper County, Iowa, when this country was new and unsettled, or very sparsely so, and here the subject assisted in building a schoolhouse which he attended for a while. It was built of round logs and the seats were made by splitting a log in halves, and holes were bored in the ends in which the legs were fastened; puncheons were also used for flooring. It was a typical first settlers' schoolhouse. Being the oldest of the family, a great deal of responsibility fell to him and he knew the meaning of hard work in all its significance. The nearest mill to them was at Lynnville, and there he had to go to mill, and later he went to Oskaloosa on the same errand; but these long trips were looked upon as a pleasure rather than as irksome, for he was usually accompanied by some lively companion whom he not infrequently made the butt of practical jokes. He drove an ox team and, taking sufficient rations for the entire trip, would camp by the road over night, the trips consuming four or five days. On one occasion he was compelled to haul water to be used in the mill, before steam could be generated with which to grind his corn. He tells many interesting stories of conditions and happenings here when he was a boy and when all were on an equal footing financially and socially; when there were few roads, no fences; when there were wolves, wild turkey and plenty of good game of various species; in fact, he would be apt to tell you that those old times, the good old days of the pioneers, were the best, and who of us would have the temerity to dispute him?

Mr. Hews enlisted on August 8, 1862, at Galesburg, in Company K, Twenty-eighth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and after remaining at Camp Pope, Iowa City, a short time, was sent to Helena, Arkansas, thence to Port Gibson, where he took part in the battle, later fought at Champion's Hill, then was in the Siege of Vicksburg for forty-eight days, then he was in the skirmishing about Jackson for fourteen days, after which his regiment was sent with General Banks on the Red River expedition; later Mr. Hews went with General Sherman into the Shenandoah valley, and he took part in the sanguinary battles of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Harrisburg; he was in camp at Cedar Creek and from there was sent to Martinsburg to guard a supply train and while he was there the Cedar Creek battle was fought. He marched bare footed from Cedar Creek to Winchester. From there he was ordered with the rest of the regiment to Savannah, Georgia, and there Mr. Hews was honorably discharged, and was mustered out at Davenport, Iowa, at the close of the war, after having seen some hard service. According to his comrades he was always very faithful in the performance of duty, and for meritorious service he was promoted to sergeant at Vicksburg. He was in seventeen or eighteen general engagements and many skirmishes.

After he returned from the war, Mr. Hews went back to farming; he had married in 1859 and at the time of his enlistment he had two small children. He owned forty acres of land in Elk Creek Township and the wife and children lived there until he returned from the front. She was known in her maidenhood as Elizabeth Payton, who was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, the daughter of James and Mary (McDaniels) Payton, natives of Kentucky. The family came to Iowa in 1835 and settled near Galesburg. There were eight in the family that grew to maturity, namely: Mary A., wife of Napoleon B. Mayfield, now of Kansas, was the first white child born in Jasper County; she became well educated, was highly intellectual and at one time was superintendent of schools of this County; Mrs. M. E. Hays is living in Kansas; Mr. Hays was formerly sheriff of the County when he lived at Sharon Springs; Milton C. lives at Creston, Iowa; Spencer H. lives at Lynnville, this County.

The death of Mrs. Hews occurred in 1876, leaving eight children, only three of whom grew to maturity, namely: Edwin 0., a landscape gardener in California; Alva was kicked by a horse and killed when twenty-seven years of age; William, living in Kansas.

In 1878 Mr. Hews again married, his second wife being Frances A. Hewitt, who was born at Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of Joseph and Anna (Buntin) Hewitt, natives of Ohio. By this marriage one child was born, Leota May, who died at the age of two years. Mr. Hews' second wife passed to her rest at Galesburg, February 14, 1909.

Mr. Hews has been very successful in his business relations, having owned various farms, and in 1869 he went to Nebraska and bought one hundred and sixty acres, which he sold four years later. Returning to Jasper County, he quit farming in a short time and took up carpentering, which he has followed more or less ever since, but is now leading a retired life with his sister, Mrs. Snodgrass, in Newton, whose husband died in October 1890; she owns a good farm of over a hundred acres in Newton township, but prefers to live in the town of Newton.

Mr. Hews spent eight years in Wichita, Kansas; for the past two years he has lived in Newton, this County. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Newton; also belongs to Garrett Post, Grand Army of the Republic. He is a "standpat" Republican, and while living in Nebraska he was elected justice of the peace on the Republican ticket, and he held various offices in Elk Creek Township. He is a worthy member of the Christian Church. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 588.