Godfrey, Clarkson (1836-1916)

GODFREY

Posted By: Joyce Hickman (email)
Date: 11/12/2008 at 16:23:20

Clarkson S. Godfrey
July 17, 1836 - Apr 11, 1916

(From the 1883 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, by J. H. Keatley, p.256, Waveland Twp.)
Clarkson Godfrey, farmer, P. O. Griswold, Cass County, was born in Tippecanoe County, Ind., July 17, 1835. His father, Elijah Godfrey, was born in Maryland in 1796, and, when about ten years old, emigrated to Ohio, settled in Ross County (1806), where he married; thence to Indiana, where he remained till emigrating to Illinois in 1855, when he settled in Warren County, and there remained till his death, which occurred in October, 1877; he was a farmer by occupation. Subject's mother, Eleanor Davis, was born in Ohio about 1805; was the mother of nine children, of whom three are in Illinois, one in Missouri, two in Kansas, and the subject in Waveland Township, Pottawattamie Co., Iowa. His mother died May 22, 1849. He began life in Illinois by renting land of his father; continued this about five years, then he bought forty acres in Warren County, Ill., farmed it for about three years, then went to the army, enlisting in the Forty-seventh Illinois Infantry, Company H, in which he served one year, or till the close of the war. After returning from the army, he bought eighty acres and went to farming in Illinois, continued this till 1873, when he sold out and came to where he now lives, in Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, thirty-five miles east of Council Bluffs. Here he bought 160 acres, to which he has added 285, making 445; this was wild land, but is all improved now. Mr. Godfrey married Miss Ellen Dehart, in Illinois, March 14, 1868. She was born in Indiand March 23, 1844; her father, Larkin Dehart, born in North Carolina March 19, 1804, died August 6, 1875; her mother, Sarah (Collett) Dehart, was born in Kentucky June 20, 1812, and lives in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey have had seven children, five of whom are living - Mary Maud, Irene I., Charlotte, I., Elijah F. and Albert H. Mr. Godfrey is a man who votes for principle and not for party. He is not a professor of religion, but does his utmost to help every good cause.

(From 1891 Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, p.645)
CLARKSON GODFREY. Among the many successful citizens of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, we find the above-named gentleman who, by his own exertions, has risen to a position of wealth and influence. Mr. GODFREY was born ten miles west of LaFayette, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, July 17, 1836. Elijah GODFREY, his father, was born in Maryland, a son of Joseph GODFREY, who was of English ancestry. Elijah GODFREY was married in Ross County, Ohio to Eleanor DAVISON, a native of that county, and a daughter of Frederick DAVISON. They subsequently moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, making the trip on horseback and carrying some household goods and two children on pack-horses. They were among the early pioneers of that part of Indiana. Of the two sons and seven daughters born to them, the subject of this sketch was the fifth child. When he was fourteen years old, his mother died. The father afterward moved to Warren County, Illinois, where he died at the age of eighty-two years. His whole life was spent on a farm. He was an honored and esteemed citizen, a member of the Republican Party, and a believer in the Gospel.
Clarkson GODFREY spent his youth on a frontier farm in Tippecanoe County, where he learned to clear land and do all kinds of farm work, and where he was educated in the common schools of the period. At the age of nineteen, he went to Warren County, Illinois, where he engaged in farming until 1873. In that year, he came to Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. During the war, Mr. GODFREY entered the service of his country, enlisting in the spring of 1865 in the 47th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was in the battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. At the close of the war, he was honorably discharged and returned to Illinois.
Mr. GODFREY was married in Warren County, Illinois, March 14, 1868, to Miss Ellen E. DeHART, a lady of education and culture and a successful and popular teacher. She was born in Brown County, Indiana, but was reared in Warren County, Illinois. In 1873, as already stated, Mr. GODFREY came to his present location. He first bought 160 acres of wild land in section 19, Waveland Township, and became one of the early settlers of the neighborhood. His efforts have been rewarded with prosperity. More land has been added to his first purchase, and he now owns 565 acres of well-improved land. Four hundred and forty acres are in a body in Waveland Township, and 125 acres are in Grove Township. He has three good tenant houses on his land, and his own house is a comfortable story-and-a-half frame cottage, pleasantly located on a natural building site. His home is surrounded by a grove and orchard of five acres. Other improvements on his farm are a good barn, 26 X 48 feet, cattle sheds, feed lots, modern wind pump, etc. Mr. GODFREY is engaged in stock-raising and is one of the most extensive farmers in the township and it would be difficult to find a better large tract of land in the township than his.
Mr. And Mrs. GODFREY have seven children: Maud, Isabelle, Franklin, Albert, Nellie, Ernest and Emma. They have lost three by death: their first born, an infant son; Charlotte Jane, at the age of six months; and a baby girl. Mr. GODFREY is a Republican and has served the public as Township Trustee. He is a man in the prime of life, is well posted on the topics of the day, is outspoken and affable in manner, and is regarded as one of the popular citizens of Waveland Township. Mrs. GODFREY is an active member of the Evangelical Church, of which her husband is one of the most liberal supporters.