Moses B. Root

ROOT, MAPEL, BARRETT, SHELDON, HOWARD

Posted By: Beverly Bethune
Date: 12/13/2002 at 13:59:54

When I moved to Iowa in the summer of 1994, 1 brought my passion for gravestone studies with me. At the urging of Loren Horton, Iowa State Historical Society, I started collecting epitaphs from gravestones in Wapello County. As my daughter and part-time research partner Jessica and I began tromping the local cemeteries one name kept popping up - Moses Root. Sometimes he signed Mapel and Root, sometimes Moses B. Root, and sometimes Root and Son. Who was this person? I decided to find out. For at least 18 months I have been piecing together the parts of his story and I am happy to share them with you here.

Moses B. Root was born near Springfield, Massachusetts on May 25, 1815 to Martin Root and Mary Barrett Root. The family lived on a farm in Licking County Ohio. Martin was one of the original settlers of the community of Granville. Mary died in childbirth in 1826 and Martin returned East briefly to marry a former love, Deborah Bosworth Sheldon in 1827. Moses had five brothers and two sisters and five step-siblings. His eldest brother was Marcus Aurelius Root who became famous in the early days of photography. He is credited with coining the term "ambrotype" to designate a certain type of development process during the days of the daugerrotype.

In 1841 Moses married Elizabeth Howard and two years later they moved west into what would later become the state of Iowa. Moses and Elizabeth settled down near Keosauqua in Van Buren County. They eventually had five children. One son and one daughter died in infancy, three survived to adulthood. The daughter, Mary, is buried at Oak Lawn Cemetery, Keosauqua.

Photo of Mary’s stone
http://iagenweb.org/grave/gs_view.php?id=257&cid=100

In 1843 Moses paid $240 to William and Elizabeth Madden for 80 acres of land. Moses farmed this land for three years. As it turns out, there was a limestone deposit on this property and eventually a quarry was made. By 1846 Moses had apparently stopped farming ( or at least curtailed it) and went into business as a stonecutter with a Mr. Mapel in Keosauqua. In the 1850 Van Buren County Census Moses listed himself as a stone cutter.

Mr. Mapel remains a mystery. His daughter Roena is buried in Oak Lawn Cemetery in Keosauqua.

Photo of Roena’s stone:
http://iagenweb.org/grave/gs_view.php?id=108&cid=100

Moses had become a respected citizen of the county quickly. Records show that in 1844 a group of like-minded believers formed the Congregational Church in Keosauqua. David Law was selected as the first pastor and Moses Root was appointed their first Deacon at the time of organization.

One example of a Mapel and Root stone is that of Samuel Michael located in Chillicothe Cemetery, Wapello county. As Chillicothe is some distance from Keosauqua we can assume that this stone was probably transported via the Des Moines River. The signature on the stone is clearly Mapel and Root, Keosauqua. I have also found a stone with this signature in Dahlonega cemetery, also in Wapello Co.

By 1855 Moses was not using the Mapel and Root signature. In fact was not signing some stones at all. Probate records show the estate of Samuel Adams paid M.B. Root the sum of $22 for this gravestone located in Central Chapel Methodist Cemetery in Van Buren County.

In addition to the gravestones carved during this time Moses did other stonework as well. Van Buren County Court Records from Oct. 4, 1855 show that Moses was paid $66 for 110 feet of stone sills and caps for door and windows for County offices at 60 cents per foot. This building no longer is standing as it burned.

Another stonecarving job from this period connects Moses with Iowa history on a national level. In Jan. 1850 then governor Ansel Briggs appointed Josiah Bonney, Secretary of State to procure a block of marble or other stone to be sent as the official Iowa state stone to be included in the construction of the Washington Monument. Being a resident of Keosauqua himself, Bonney asked Moses Root to produce the stone.

Moses cut a stone from his own quarry on Chequest Creek and took it to his shop in Nov. to await further instructions. Various members of the state senate conferred on the proper inscription and finally in December the committee forwarded a copy of its report to Moses. Contained in the report were instructions for carving the following inscription written by Lieutenant Gov. Enoch W. Eastman: IOWA. Her affections, like the rivers of her borders, flow to an inseparable Union.

See photo of stone:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~iavanbur/mosesrootstone.html

According to Washington Monument records the Iowa stone in located on the east wall of the 9th landing at the 110 foot level.

For reasons unknown to me at this time, Moses moved his family to Ottumwa, Iowa in 1860. Ottumwa Courier stories mention the original location of his new business as being "opposite the site of the Ballingall Hotel" a local landmark. In 1870 the business was moved to 225 W. Main Street where it remained until 1924. The business was called Ottumwa Marble Works.

At this point in time Moses was in partnership with Ashiel Brainaird. Only one stone has been found with a signature that acknowledges this partnership. The gravestone of Senora Robey in Bladensburg cemetery, Wapello County, has a signature of R. and B. Ottumwa.

This stone of Mathias Engle is probably one of the first Moses made after the move. The signature is highlighted in a crest or seal shape. This is the only one I have seen cut this way. This stone is partially buried in the grass in SIOC cemetery in Wapello county.

The Iowa State Gazetteer 1865 lists Moses B. Root Ottumwa under Marble Workers and Dealers.

One of the most interesting stones with the M.B. Root signature is the Anna Jennings stone located in Agency Cemetery. Although broken in several pieces, it is still readable. Her epitaph reads "A Murdered Companion Rests Here". Local oral history relates the story of her death as resulting from an accident when a buggy in which she was riding with her alleged lover slipped from a rain slick bridge. Her husband apparently considered the whole situation to be the fault of the other man and considered Anna to have been murdered. He apparently kept fond feelings for Anna because he named a daughter by his second marriage after her.

In the 1870 Wapello County census Moses listed himself as a tombstone manufacturer. By this time his son, Frank Lane Root had joined him in the business. Frank still lived at home and is listed in this census as a marble cutter.

The 1882-83 Gazetteer lists Root and Son, marble.

An example of the work signed Root and Son is the gravestone of Marie Philippine Holzhauer and George Holzhauer found in Deusser cemetery. It shows that the business catered to the desires of its patrons because the epitaph is carved in German. Other examples of their work are found in Wellman cemetery.

Mercy Byrum's probate records tell that Moses Root was paid $30 for a gravestone to be three feet high from the base and two inches thick. It is located in Columbia cemetery.

Advertisements from the Ottumwa Courier show the diversity of their products.

An Ottumwa Courier article from later years celebrating the 63rd anniversary of the business relates the following story as told by Frank Root : A man had a mule carved on the monument for his son's grave because the boy had been very fond of a pet mule. Conventional emblems of early times were carvings of lambs and doves. An enterprising journalist of that day thought the story too good to keep from the public and the patron, after reading the newspaper article refused to pay for the monument The bill was settled in the courts." I have not found either the mule stone nor the court records.

The Root family home in Ottumwa was located at 211 E. 2nd St.

Moses Root died on April 14, 1890. Newspaper accounts from April 11 reported him as "near death's door". The article refers to Moses as a highly esteemed citizen and prominent business man of the city. It also states that he was afflicted with a cancer for a number of years. The last line of the article says "Mr. Root has many friends in this city, who will be pained to know that he is rapidly approaching the end of life and must at last succumb to that terrible disease from which he has so long been a patient sufferer". He was buried in Ottumwa City Cemetery.

Probate records from August 3, 1900 show that Moses owned a shop and lot in Ottumwa valued at $4, 000, half a shop and lot in Drakesville $125, half a lot in Independence Kansas $37.50, half a team of mules and a wagon $125, a horse and buggy $75, half stock notes and contracts $1250, and $417.43 cash. The executor of the estate was W.T. Fenton, an employee of First National Bank. The final report dated July 21, 1900 is signed by his heirs Frank Root, Addie Southwick and Etta L. Seeley. Moses's will left everything to Frank, with the exception of life insurance and household effects left to his widow Elizabeth. The will specified that Elizabeth's property would be left to the daughters.

One item of interest in the final report is a debt owed to Chicago Theological Seminary of $162 for a "good and valuable consideration".

Frank continued the business under the name Root and Son for a number of years following his father's death. Frank's son did not choose to continue in the family business. He went to Harvard, earned a PhD, and became a social settlement worker.

Much of Moses' work involved the use of "blanks" which would have arrived in Ottumwa by train. He does not appear to have any claim to an original style. I find his work interesting, however, because it reflects the customs of the time and the desires of the patrons. I feel sure Moses never intended to become famous through his work. He was simply making a living by stonecarving. When you think about it, our history is built on all those people who went about their daily lives making a living, changing and adapting with the times to bring us to this point in history.

Sources:

Ottumwa Courier

Licking Co. Genealogical Society

Van Buren Probate Records

Wapello Co. Genealogical Society

Wapello Co. Probate Records

Pittsburgh by Maxine Hughes

Census Records