Cline, Valentine (1835-1920)

CLINE

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 14:13:58

VALENTINE CLINE
(February 7, 1835 - June 23, 1920)

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.645
CLINE, VALENTINE, farmer and stock raiser, Otter Township, Sec. 30; P. O. Indianola; he owns a farm of 160 acres of well-improved land; born Feb. 17, 1835, in Adams county, Ohio; at the age of eleven years he was left an orphan, after which he lived with his oldest brother till he was sixteen years of age, when he came to Park county, Indiana, where he lived till 1854; he then came to this county and remained two years, and returned to Illinois, and then to Indiana, in 1856, where he remained till 1869, when he again came to this county, and settled where he now lives. He enlisted Oct. 31, 1863, in Co. C, One Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana, and served to Sept. 6, 1865, when he was discharged; he was in the battles of Chattanooga, Atlanta, Kennesaw Mountain, Chattahoochee River, and all the battles and skirmishes in which the regiment was engaged. He was married Sept. 28, 1856, to Elizabeth Ball, a native of Park county, Indiana; they have a family of nine children: William B., George H., Louis W., James N., Hiram W., John F., Ulysses, A. Pearl, Charles E. and Lou Anna; William B., Ulysses and Hiram W. are deceased.

Valentine Cline, a well known and honored resident of Indianola, Iowa, who is now living retired in the enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil, was born in Adams county, Ohio, and is descended from German ancestry. His great grandfather was a native of Germany, and when a young man emigrated to America, locating in Virginia. The grandfather of our subject, John Cline, was born in the Old Dominion and lived to be seventy-five years of age. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and throughout his life followed farming. The father of our subject, Wilson Cline, was born in Virginia and died at the age of forty-five years By trade he was a carpenter and became one of the pioneer settlers of Adams county. Ohio. He married Miss Elizabeth Silcott a native of Virginia and a daughter of William and Elizabeth Silcott Her father was a native of Germany and during his childhood came with his parents to America His death occurred at the advanced age of eighty five and his wife died when only thirty five years of age. The gentleman whose name introduces this sketch was left an orphan at the early age of nine and went to the West in company with his uncle, Jarrett Silcott, locating in Parke county, Indiana. There he remained for three years, when, in September 1854, he came to Warren county, Iowa, which he made his home for two years, On the expiration of that period he returned to Parke county and was there united in marriage on the 28th of September, 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Ball. On the 31st of October 1862, he felt that he could no longer remain contentedly at home while his country was engaged in the Civil war, and enlisted in defense of the Union at Rosedale, Parke county, Indiana. He was mustered in about ten days later as a private of Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana. Infantry and drilled thereone month. In December the regiment started for Louisville, Kentucky, and thence went to Nashville, Tennessee, where it was assigned to duty with the First Division, Second Brigade, Twenty-third Army Corps. The troops then marched to Chattanooga, and with the command Mr. Cline participated in several skirmishes, including one at Tatter Hill and another one at Cumberland Gap. They met the rebels in battle at Resaca, Georgia, the engagement lasting all Saturday and Sunday, and in the evening of the second day they started in pursuit of the Confederates. They took part in the battles of Burnt Hickory and Big Shanty, and struck the main column of the opposing army at Kenesaw mountain, where there was a general engagement, in which the One Hundred and Twenty-third Indiana suffered heavily, losing forty filled and many wounded. Mr. Cline was wounded by a spent ball and lay in the hospital for six weeks, but joined the company again before the fall of Atlanta. He participated in that battle, and was then given a furlough, returning home to vote for Lincoln in 1864. He joined the army again at Columbia, Tennessee, participated in the battle there, and also at Franklin, where the regiment lost 200 killed and over 300 wounded. With his command Mr Cline then went to Nashville, where Hood made a desperate effort to capture the city, but was routed and his army scattered. The Union corps was then sent to Cliffton on the Tennessee river and took boats for Washington city, where they spent three weeks in February, 1865. They then sailed down the Potomac to Fort Fisher and after participating in the engagement there took part in the battle of Wilmington, going thence to Newbern. Landing, they marched across the country to Goldsboro, and meeting the army of General Bragg an engagement was brought on, the enemy being routed. From Raleigh the troops proceeded to Charlotte, where they camped until September, 1865, and were then mustered out. The regiment at once returned to Indianapoli, where they were discharged on the 6th of September, and Mr. Cline at once returned to his home in Parke county. He was a brave and faithful soldier, always found at his post of duty and won for himself an honorable war record wor thy of perpetuation on the pages of the history of his adopted country. Mr. Cline resided in Parke county until October, 1869, when he brought his family to Warren county, Iowa, and purchased a quarter section of land in Otter township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he devoted his energies until November, 1889. Since that time he has lived retired in Indianola. He still owns eighty acres of his original farm, however, and fifteen acres within the corporation limits of the city, where he raises many varieties of fruits. In 1882 Mr. Cline was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died on the 14th of January of that year. She was a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal church from early childhood. In their family were seven children, the oldest being George H. He was born in Hancock county, Illinois, April 23 1858, and was married September 6, 1881, to Cornelia F. Middlesnart, who was born May 12, 1864. They had seven children, namely: Jessie May, born November 24, 1882; Nellie L., born August 9, 1884; Marian Elsie, born June 18, 1886; Laura Belle, who was born December 16, 1887, and died August 1, 1889; Harry W., who was born March 3, 1891 and died February 28, 1892; Ruth Ina, born June 16, 1892, and George Earle, born April 3, 1895. The second child of the family, Willis L., is a prominent and known liveryman of Indianola. He was born in Parke count,y Indiana, September 28, 1860, and remained with his father until he had attained his majority, when he started out in life for himself. He is now doing a good business, and has a liberal patronage. He was married February 6, 1883, to Minerva Hines, who was born in Warren county February 11, 1866. They now have five children: Freddie Wilbur, born April 27, 1884; Cora Maud, born November 21, 1885; Charles Leonard, born October 15, 1887; Ida May, born October 29, 1890; and Bonnie Laura, born November 13, 1892. The third child, Mario,n was born in Parke county, Indiana, but went West in 1882 and has not been heard from since. John F., also born in Parke county, married Lizzie Morris and has three children, - Effie, Hazel and Walter. The remaining members of the family - Pearl, Charlie, and Louanna - are all natives of Warren county. Mr Cline of this review was again married April 13, 1883, his second union being with Mary E. Shepherd, by whom he had five children – Mabel, Lizzie, Maggie, Frank, and Hattie. Since the age of twenty-two Mr. Cline has been a consistent member of the Methodist Church. In politics he has been a Republican since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has served as Road Supervisor and School Director. The Cline family is one of prominence in this county, and its representatives in Indianola are numbered among the leading residents of the city.
Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.354