Hartman, Ebenezer W.

HARTMAN

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 15:22:29

EBENEZER WILLIAM HARTMAN
born Jan 24, 1834, Ohio

History of Warren County, Iowa; Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns & Etc., by Union Historical Company, 1879, p.593
HARTMAN, EBENEZER W., Indianola, attorney; was born in Mansfield, Richland county, Ohio, in 1834, and lived there until 1846, when his parents removed to Iowa, and settled in Richland township; his father, J. D. Hartman, one of the first settlers of Warren county, laid out and owned the town of Hartford; the youth of the subject of this sketch was divided between attending school and clerking in his father's store; he has held office of deputy sheriff and justice of the peace seven years; he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1873, and in 1875 formed a connection with Lewis Todhunter, as attorneys, insurance agents and abstracters; he has held the office of mayor of the city, and assessor and collector of internal revenue for this county; he married Miss Celia McKimmy in 1858; she was born in Fayette county, Ohio, and died in February, 1863; he married for his second wife, Miss Sallie S. McKee in 1864; she was born in Henry county, Indiana; has one son, Walter, by first marriage; and Estella A., Ida E. and Henry H., by second marriage.

Hon. Ebenezer Williams Hartman, who has been closely identified with the interests of Warren county for almost half a century, was born at Mansfield, Ohio, January 24, 1834, a son of John D. and Margaret (Parker) Hartman, natives of Pennsylvania. The parents were married in Ohio, whither they had accompanied their parents with the tide of Westward emigration. The father was a merchant at Mansfield until the time of his departure for the West, and after he located in Iowa he continued that occupation, together with farming and the real-estate business. He entered Government land, and subsequently laid out a town upon a portion of his farm, which became the thriving village of Hartford, in the northeast corner of Warren county. There he erected the family home, which he maintained for many years, finally selling out and removing to California. In October 1878, while on a visit to his children here, he was stricken with disease, and died at the home of our subject in Indianola. His wife, who was seventeen years his junior, still lives with her son at Clarkson, and is now seventy-nine years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman were the parents of six children, namely: Ebenezer W., the subject of this sketch; William H., a farmer merchant and Postmaster at Clarkson, Warren county; Sarah J., wife of Thomas J Deacon, of Des Moines; David H., a successful agriculturist of Iron Mountain, Missouri; Vienna M., wife of James E. Deacon, a brother of Thomas J., and a resident of Napa, California; and one deceased in infancy. William H. and David H. each shouldered a musket and went to the front in defense of the Union during the late Civil war, and Ebenezer W. was rejected on physical examination when a candidate like honors.
Ebenezer Williams Hartman accompanied his parents to Iowa before the State was admitted to the Union, in August, 1846. At that time the Territory was not blessed with a “schoolhouse on every hilltop and a saloon in the valley,” and the early education of our subject was somewhat limited. However, he attained a fair knowledge of the elementary branches, to which, by careful systematic study, he has added a most thorough professional education. He is also exceptionally well informed upon current events. Much of his life work is of a semi-public character. He learned the mercantile business with his father, and, on attaining his majority, established himself in business at Hartford, remaining there until 1862. Having been previously selected as Deputy Sheriff of Warren county, he then disposed of his stock of goods and moved his family to Indianola. Since coming to this city Mr. Hartman has devoted much of his time to public life. He served seven consecutive years as Justice of the Peace in this city, held the position of Mayor for a time, and after its organization as a city of the second class he served nine years as City Clerk. In 1873 Mr. Hartman was admitted to the bar as a practicing attorney, and at once formed a partnership with Hon. Lewis Todhunter, which existed until the retirement from practice of the senior member of the firm. Mr. Hartman and his son Harry have a complete and valuable set of abstract books of Warren county, and their principal business at present is in the line of insurance abstracting and loaning money.
For many years our subject has taken great interest in the principles of Odd Fellowship, and has been honored by the order as have but few. He has filled every position from the humblest in a subordinate lodge to the highest within the gift of the State, having filled most of the minor positions in the Grand Encampment and Grand Lodge of Iowa, and has on two occasions attained the prominence of the highest official stations in these grand bodies. Mr. Hartman was elected Grand Patriarch of Iowa, serving in 1870-1, following which he twice elected to the office of Grand Representative, meeting with and being a member the Sovereign Grand Lodge at its meeting in Baltimore in 1873; at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1874; at Indianapolis in 1875; and at Philadelphia in 1876. In 1887 the crowning of Odd Fellowship in Iowa was conferred upon him in his selection as Grand Master. In 1890 he was again returned to the Sovereign Grand Lodge as Grand Representative of the Iowa Grand Lodge, attending the meeting at Topeka, Kansas in 1890, and at St. Louis in the following year. No man in Iowa stands higher in the estimation of the brotherhood higher than does Past Grand Master Hartman. As presiding officer he was always prompt, accurate and just. His decisions were never hasty, but always sustained by the law of the order; for, like the hero of old, he believed in the doctrine, “Be sure you are right, then go ahead.” His reports and addresses to the order evinced thoughtful and careful preparation, and commanded the profound respect and consideration of his superiors in office. In politics Mr. Hartman is not aggressive, but has been life-long Republican. In religious affairs he an active and influential member of the Missionary Baptist Church.
Mr. Hartman has been thrice married, his first wife being Miss Celia McKinney, a native of Ohio. They had two children: Charles Walton, of Los Angeles, California; and Hattie Maude, deceased in early childhood. A year after his removal to Indianola, Mr. Hartman was called to mourn the death of his wife. In 1864 he wedded Miss Sallie McKee, a native of Indiana, and they had three children: Estella A., at home; Ida E., deceased in young womanhood; and Harry H., who is now associated with his father in business. After fourteen years of happy wedded life, the home was again invaded by the dread destroyer, death, and the wife and mother was removed. The present companion of Mr. Hartman was Mrs. Anna R. Dale, nee Sullenberger, a native West Virginia. She had two sons by her former marriage: Harry M., a practicing physician of Indianola; and William A., a printer Indiana. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.510

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.402
EBENEZER WILLIAMS HARTMAN
Ebenezer Williams Hartman has devoted many years of his life to public service and since April 1908, has served as mayor of Indianola. Opposed to anything like misrule in public affairs, his official record will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and while his administration may not be without mistakes, for who is free from them; it has on the whole been char­acterized by progress, reform and improvement, his official acts being at all times prompted by a desire to promote the public welfare.
Mr. Hartman is a native of Mansfield, Ohio, born January 24, 1834. His father, John D. Hartman, was born in Pennsylvania and comes of German an­cestry. Through his active career he followed farming and merchandising. After living for some time in Ohio, he came to Warren County, Iowa in 1846, and settled in Richland Township, where he entered a tract of land from the government and laid out the town of Hartford. His attention was divided between agricultural pursuits, milling and merchandising, his mill and store being located in Richland. He prospered in his undertakings by reason of his capable management and keen discernment and had accumulated a comfortable competence when in October 1878, he was called to his final rest, at the age of sixty-seven years. Of the Baptist church he was an active, influential and loyal member and he was equally faithful as a follower of the Odd Fellows society. His political views were in harmony with the principles of the Demo­cratic Party and he held several local offices. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Margaret Parker, was born in Pennsylvania in 1816, was also of German descent and died in 1898. They were the parents of six children, five of whom are living and one who died in infancy. The others are: Ebenezer W.; William H., who was a member of Company G, of the Thirtieth Iowa Infantry, in the Civil War and is now a merchant and farmer of Clarkson, Iowa; Sarah Jane, the deceased wife of T. J. Deacon, a farmer of Jasper County, Iowa; David H., who was a member of the Twelfth Missouri cavalry and is now a retired merchant living in Missouri; and Viana M., the wife of J. E. Deacon, of Napa, California.
Ebenezer W. Hartman remained upon the home farm until thirteen years of age and from that time until his marriage engaged in clerking in his father's store. Following his marriage he carried on merchandising on his own account until the spring of 1862, when he removed to Indianola. He was at that time deputy sheriff and changed his residence for the more convenient discharge of his official duties. During the greater part of his life he has been in public office, has served as justice of the peace and in the year 1869 was elected mayor of Indianola. For about fifteen years he filled the office of city clerk and certainly discharged his duties capably and promptly, else he would not have been retained in the position for so long a time. In March, 1907, he was again elected mayor and is now filling the office. He has also been known as a member of the Warren County bar. He read law with Lewis Todhunter, of Indianola, was admitted to practice in the Iowa courts in 1873, and then formed a partnership with his former preceptor, with whom he con­tinued until Mr. Todhunter retired. In his practice he has demonstrated his ability to bring to successful solution intricate problems of the law, preparing his cases with great thoroughness and presenting them with clearness and force. He has considerable landed interests in Warren County and from his judicious investments derives a gratifying income.
In December 1858, Mr. Hartman was married to Miss Celia McKinney, who was born in Highland County, Iowa, and died in 1863. Of their two chil­dren one died in infancy, while the other, Charles W., is now in the employ of the street railway company at Los Angeles, California. After losing his first wife, Mr. Hartman wedded Sarah McKee, of Indiana, and their children are: Estella, of Indianola; Ida, deceased ; and Harry H., who is clerk of the district court and an attorney of Fort Collins, Colorado. The present wife of Mr. Hartman was formerly Mrs. Anna R. Dale and is a native of West Virginia. Her son, H. M. Dale, is a successful physician of Los Angeles, California. Mr. Hartman is a member of the Baptist Church, while his wife holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. For over a half century he has been con­nected with the Odd Fellows and has enjoyed all the honors the state lodge can confer. For six years he was a member of the Sovereign Grand lodge. In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican and it has been upon the ticket of this party that he has been again and again called to office, thus receiving the recognition and commendation of the public for his excellent qualities of citizenship and of administrative ability.