Hatfield, John L.

HATFIELD

Posted By: Karon Velau (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 15:25:25

JOHN L. HATFIELD
born Nov 13, 1838, Ohio

John L. Hatfield, a retired farmer, of Indianola, was born in McArthur, Ohio, November 13, 1838, a son of Isaac and Mary (Clark) Hatfield, born near Clarksburg, Harrison county, Virginia. The place was named in honor of the Clark family, of which Mrs. Hatfield was a member. The father died in his native State, in February, 1842. The mother, born in 1802, came with her children to Iowa about 1866, and died at the home of her son, Amos C., at an advanced age. Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield were the parents of seven children, namely: Arville, deceased in infancy; Jonas S., who was a mechanic of Pleasantville, Iowa, until his death, April 20, 1895, leaving a family; Emily, widow of Jeremiah Speed, and a resident of Marion county, this State; Harriet, who became Mrs. Miller, died in Kansas; Amos C., a farmer of Pleasantville, Iowa; James H., a farmer, of New York, Wayne county, Iowa; and John L., the subject of this sketch. The Hatfield family are of English descent, and located in this country just after the close of Revolutionary war. The Clarks are from Scotch ancestry. Our subject's grandfather fought in the war of 1812, and participated in the siege of Fort Meigs and other important battles.
John L. Hatfield attended the public schools of his native county, and at the age of eighteen years entered the Ohio University, completing the classical course there in 1862, receiving the degree of A. B., and later received the degree of Master of Arts. Immediately following his graduation he enlisted asa private in Company B, Ninetieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served in the Army of the Cumberland. Mr. Hatfield became Orderly Sergeant of his company; was promoted Second Lietenant in January, 1863; and became First Lieutenant, January 1, 1864. By reason of failing health he was compelled to resign his commission August 5, 1864. Returning to his parental home Mr. Hatfield served as superintendent of schools of his native city for one year. Entering the Missouri and Arkansas Conference he obtained charge of a colored congregation and school of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Little Rock, Arkansas, in which he continued one year. For the following two years he was pastor of the Methodist Churches at Oregon, Utica and Trenton, Missouri, and while in the latter city was elected professor of Latin in the Ohio University. He returned to his native State and served twelve years as a member of the faculty of that university, which is the oldest educational institution west of the Alleghany mountains. It was chartered in 1804, and is under the jurisdiction of the State. On account of ill health Professor Hatfield purchased and located on a farm in Warren county, Iowa, in 1882. After a year's residence there he came to Indianola where he has ever since resided.
February 27, 1867, at Athens, Ohio our subject was united in marriage with Miss Helen M. Carpenter, a native of that city. In addition to the common schools, she attended the Ladies Seminary at Oxford, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield have had five children, as follows: George E., a graduate of Rush Medical College, Chicago, is now a practicing physician at Lacona, Iowa; Edward T., a graduate of the law department of the State University of Iowa, is an attorney in Indianola; Lena, a graduate of Simpson College, in the class of 1895; Florence, attending the same institution; and Grace, deceased in infancy. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In his political relations Mr. Hatfield affiliates with the Republican party. Source: A Memorial and Biographical Record of Iowa, Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1896, vol.1, p.502

History of Warren County, Iowa from Its Earliest Settlement to 1908, by Rev. W. C. Martin, Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1908, p.851
JOHN L. HATFIELD
Rev. John L. Hatfield, who is now holding superannuated relations in the Methodist Episcopal ministry and is associated with the agricultural interests of Warren County, where he has made his home since 1882, was born in Mc­Arthur, Ohio, November 13, 1838. His father, Isaac Hatfield, was a native of Virginia, born in October 1799, and was of English ancestry. He was a farmer who, removing to Ohio, became one of the early settlers of that state. He took up his abode there in his childhood days and later was closely asso­ciated with the pioneer development and lived the life of a hard-working, industrious man, whose labors proved an element in the agricultural progress of this portion of the state. He voted with the democracy up to the time of his death, which occurred in Ohio in February 1842. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Clark and was born in Virginia, October 3, 1803. She was of Scotch lineage and went with her parents to Ohio in early childhood, her father being one of the early pioneers there. He was descended from Revolutionary stock and served as a sergeant under General Harrison in the war of 1812. Mrs. Hatfield attained a remarkable old age, passing away in 1898.
John L. Hatfield was the youngest in a family of seven children and was reared amid pioneer scenes and environments, working on the farm in his early boyhood and attending the district schools as he found opportunity. At the ageof eighteen he became a student in the Ohio University and was graduated in 1862. On the breaking out of the CivilWar he enlisted as a private in Company B, Ninetieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, on August 4, 1862, and served for two years, attaining the rank of first lieutenant. He participated in the various campaigns of the Army of the Cumberland under the command of Generals Rosecrans and Thomas. He was in Cruft's brigade of Palmer's division until after the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge and afterward in D. S. Stanley's division.
After his military service Mr. Hatfield engaged in teaching for a time in McArthur, Ohio, and in Little Rock, Arkansas, and in preaching in Mis­souri. From there he moved to Athens, Ohio, where he served as professor of Latin language and literature in the Ohio University for twelve years. Failing in health, he removed to Warren County, Iowa, in 1882.
In 1867 occurred the marriage of the Rev. John L. Hatfield and Miss Helen M. Carpenter, who was born in Athens, Ohio, January 20, 1841, and died in 1906. There were five children in their family, of whom one passed away in infancy. The others are: George E., a physician, practicing in Lacona, Iowa; Edward T., an attorney and dealer in real estate in Chicago; Lena, a physician, who is doing missionary work in connection with her profession in Foo Chow, China; and Florence, the wife of Samuel W. Stanley, of Gardena, California. Mr. Hatfield also has three grandchildren.
He holds superannuated relations to the church in connection with the Ohio conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has been zealous and earnest in the church work and is interested in all that pertains to the moral development of the community. Fraternally be is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and his political faith is manifest in the stalwart support which he gives to the Republican Party at the poles.