McKINLEY, Lyman G. (b: 1853)

MCKINLEY, UPDYKE, EVELETH

Posted By: County Coordinator
Date: 3/25/2010 at 22:25:04

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For more than six decades the name of McKinley has been synonymous with leadership in Mitchell county, S. R. McKinley having been the founder and the foremost citizen of the town of Newburg, while his son, L. G. McKinley, is now the largest single landowner of the county and has a state-wide reputation as a stock raiser.

The latter's birth occurred in Kane county, Illinois, February 25, 1853, but when only two years old he was brought by his parents to Mitchell county, Iowa, then a frontier district. The father, S. R. McKinley, who was a distant relative of President McKinley, was born in New York state.

For some time he resided in Illinois, but in 1855 removed to Iowa and took up a farm on the river west of the present site of St. Ansgar. There he started the town of Newburg, which was once a thriving business center. He, with a partner, owned a hotel and flour mill there, and he also carried on farming. He was the first man to break a road in Newburg township, and built the first bridge across the river at his own expense. He was one of the organizers of the Agricultural Society of Mitchell county, was a member of the district school board and took an active part in the work of the Methodist church.

No project or agency looking toward the upbuilding of his community was outside the scope of his interest and he was easily the leading resident of his locality. He passed away October 7, 1887, but was survived until February 25, 1900, by his widow, who bore the maiden name of Eliza Updyke and came of Dutch ancestry, members of the family having been "patroons" or proprietors of land in what is now New York state when it was a Dutch colony.

Mr. and Mrs. McKinley were married in the Empire state and became the parents of ten children, all of whom were born in Kane county, Illinois, and accompanied their parents to Iowa. A. B. farmed in Mitchell county until his death and is buried in St. Ansgar, but his family has removed from the county. S. J., who was a captain in the Civil war and for some time held the office of supervisor, was a commercial traveler in his later years.

He is deceased and his family has also left the county. S. S. was a Civil war veteran and was active in politics, serving for many years as county sheriff. He died in Minnesota. C. W. served in the Civil war and is now a contractor and fruit grower in California. Alden died in boyhood. D. R., also a veteran of the Civil war, is now engaged in contracting in Portland, Oregon. Adeline was the wife of G. F. McKinley, who fought in the Civil war and later was a newspaper man. They are both deceased. L. G., of this review, is the next in order of birth. W. J. died in boyhood, and W. S. in infancy.

L. G. McKinley began his education in the common schools, and later was a student in the Cedar Valley Seminary at Osage and in Cornell College at Mount Vernon, Iowa. Subsequently he took a commercial course in a business college in Chicago. He worked for his father in Newburg until after his marriage and then removed to the homestead, where he has since resided. From time to time he has purchased land and is now the largest individual landowner in Mitchell county.

His large farm is mainly given over to stock raising and he specializes in Holstein cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. He still has a few blooded road horses and formerly had as many as two or three hundred at one time. For years he has taken many prizes with his stock and is recognized as an authority on animal husbandry. He has the most modern equipment for his work and keeps in touch with discoveries made by scientific investigators in his field, his progressive spirit being one of the salient factors in his success.

On October 8, 1879, Mr. McKinley was married to Miss Nellie Eveleth, who comes of old Welsh stock, and they have four children. Ethel is a graduate of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and is the wife of R. K. Bliss, who is a graduate of the same institution and is now director of its extension department. Angeline is a graduate of the Iowa State College and later entered Young Women's Christian Association work. Harriet B. is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin, and has since engaged in piano teaching. Harold, who is a graduate of Iowa State College, is operating his father's farm,

Mr. McKinley is a stanch advocate of republican principles but has confined his political activity to the exercise of his right of franchise. Fraternally he is well known, for he is a charter member of both the Knights of Pythias and Modern Woodmen lodges. He is one of the leading members in the Methodist church and does much to further its work. He is highly respected for his ability and integrity and is held in warm regard by reason of his loyalty in friendship.

Source: History of Mitchell and Worth County, Iowa, 1918, Vol. II pages 168 & 171.

(Transcribed by Gordon Felland)
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Lyman G. McKinley

The youngest son of S.R. and Eliza McKinley was two years old when he came to Iowa in 1855 with his parents, one sister, and seven brothers.

He was only nine when his older brothers left to serve in the Civil War so his many chores included lighting the fires at 4 A.M. in the rooms of the hotel which was also the family home. He took care of the horses belonging to the guests as well as the stage coach teams. At twelve he drove the stagecoach from Newburg to Austin, Minnesota, returning the following day. When he was thirteen he drove a loaded wagon of grain to McGregor, had it ground, and returned home with it. This was a trip of almost a week.

Lyman G. attended the grade school in Newburg, the Cedar Valley Seminary at Osage and Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. In 1874 he completed a business course at Bryant and Straton Business College in Chicago and was given an accountant's certificate. He returned to Iowa to join his father in farming and resided on the original homestead, except for a few years in Osage, and on farms near Northwood. He continued to farm, buying more land over the years as well as raising both race and road horses. At one time there was a race track on the hill on the west side of the Cedar River. His farm stock included Holstein cattle and Duroc Jersey hogs. Because of his love of nature, L. G., with R. T. St. John of Riceville, created a game preserve on the land which L. G. had set aside as a wooded area. The first pheasants brought to this county were released on this land along Deer Creek.

L. G. was active in the Methodist Church serving as a trustee when a new church was built in St. Ansgar in 1907. He was a Charter Member of the Modern Woodman of America and a member of the Knights of Pythias.

Lyman G. and Nellie Eveleth were married in Northwood on October 8, 1879. Nellie Lyon Eveleth was born July 23, 1860 in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and was the younger daughter of Reverend Philip and Mary Lyon Eveleth. The Eveleth's were English-Welsh pioneers who had settled near Gloucester, Main, in the 1600's. Reverend Philip was a graduate of the Yale Divinity School and, after serving in both Indiana and Wisconsin, came to Mitchell County, Iowa in 1863 where he bought a home from S. R. McKinley. Although a Congregational Minister, Reverend Eveleth often held services for the Methodist congregation when the regular "circuit rider" could not be present. Mary Lyon McCullough Eveleth, born 1818, Starksboro, VT, and Rev. Philip Eveleth were married in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin in 1853. Mary Lyon's first husband, Ervin McCullough, died in 1850 leaving her a widow with five children. Mary Lyon was the daughter of Rev. Gilbert and Harriet Holcomb Lyons, both having early English pioneer ancestors.

The Eveleth family moved to Northwood when Nellie was a teenager where she completed her schooling. Her first certificate was dated April 1, 1876, and she began teaching that spring at age 16, in what is known as "The Grove" school, four miles north of Northwood. She continued to teach in country schools until her marriage to I. G. McKinley.

L. G and Nellie had four children, Ethel, Angeline, Harriet, and Harold L. (H.L.). Ethel, 1881-1945, graduated from I.S.U. and married in 1912 to R. K. Bliss, (head of I.S.U. extension services, 1914-1946) Their children were Dr. Robert Bliss, retired Drake Professor; Dr. William R. Bill, retired surgeon; and Richard K. Bliss, contractor. Angeline 1883-1954, graduated from ISU and was a YWCA secretary, Harriet 1887-1949, graduate of U. of Wisconsin, married (1st) George Brown and Lowell Coates. She was a music teacher. H. L. (Harold) McKinley 1894-1972.

[By Marjean McKinley, MITCHELL COUNTY HISTORY, 1989]

(Transcribed by S. Bell)

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Photo of Lyman and Nellie, from MITCHELL COUNTY HISTORY, 1989.

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