Henry C. Moorhead 1815-1901

MOORHEAD, CLARK, CUSHING, SULLIVAN, BROWN, WAGGONER, MOREHOUSE, BIEHLER

Posted By: Obituary Fairy (email)
Date: 6/28/2009 at 16:08:14

The Davenport (IA) Daily Republican; Saturday, June 15, 1901; p. 7:

An Old Settler’s Death

Henry C. Moorhead Was Second Oldest Settler
Came to Iowa in 1835, Settling at Rockingham - Built the First Steam Mill in the County - Helped to Make Early Surveys of the State - Funeral Will be Held This Afternoon

The passing of Henry C. Moorhead of Buffalo township, whose death was mentioned briefly in these columns yesterday morning, was the passing of one of the very oldest settlers not only in the county but in the state. Capt. Clark of Buffalo is the only one of these very early settlers left, and he is the oldest living settler in the state of Iowa, a statement that has been made time and again without being refuted.

Henry C. Moorhead was 86 years old last February. He was born at St. Clairville, O., Feb. 15, 1815. When he was but six weeks old his parents moved to Zanesville, O., and he attended school there until he was 16 years of age. Then he took the position of bookkeeper in the mill of his brother-in-law, J. B. Cushing.

In 1835 Mr. Moorhead came to Iowa and located at Rockingham, where with Col. John H. Sullivan he established the first store in that place. In 1836 he retired from the firm and engaged in the dry goods and milling business with S. S. Brown, the firm name being Brown & Moorhead. They built a mill which was famous for being the first steam mill in the county. In 1840 Mr. Moorhead moved to Buffalo township, where he had purchased the farm upon which he resided to the day of his death.

Mr. Moorhead was married in 1847 to Mrs. Mary A. Waggoner, and eight children were born to them, five of whom are now living. They are Moses E., at Blue Grass, Ella, now Mrs. D. B. Morehouse of Davenport, Annie M., now Mrs. M. Biehler of Tacoma, Wash., William C., living on a farm near Buffalo, and Samuel H., of Buffalo.

Though given more to home life than public life, Mr. Moorhead held several important offices of trust. He was identified closely with the early days of Iowa, having been a member of a surveying party that surveyed a great ___ of this part of the state. In religious faith his family was from Episcopalian stock.

The funeral will be held this afternoon at 2 o’clock instead of Sunday afternoon as was stated yesterday. Interment will take place in the Buffalo cemetery.