Hardy, William H.

HARDY, BROWER, CURTIS, ROSEHUNT

Posted By: mjv (email)
Date: 5/25/2021 at 14:12:49

William H. Hardy, deceased, was born in Monmouth County, N. J., Sept. 2, 1834, and was the son of James and Rebecca (Brower) Hardy. The paternal ancestors were German, and the maternal of English origin, the latter descending from the famous Annecke Jans family. By trade, William Hardy was a carpenter, and his first visit West was made about 1854, going first to Chicago, where he worked at his trade, then to Aurora, Ill., from which place he returned to New Jersey and was married to Adelia Curtis. In 1856, he brought his young wife to Iowa, and located on a farm purchased near the Johnson County line, upon which he resided during the lifetime of his wife Adelia. She was the mother of two daughters and one son: Eureka, now the wife of William Moffard, who is connected with a railroad company, and a resident of Jersey City; Alice V. was three years of age when her mother died, and has been reared by her maternal grandmother, a resident of Manasquan, N. J.; Wallace L., a resident of Iowa City, is by trade a machinist, and an honor to his father.

William Hardy was a finished workman, and although living on a farm, continued his business during his lifetime. Not only a contractor and builder, he was also a cabinet-maker, and many pieces of furniture adorn the home of his widow left as mementoes of his skill. His first wife died in 1865, and Jan. 14, 1869, his marriage to Mrs. Eliza C. (Rose) Hunt was celebrated. She was the widow of N. P. Hunt, who in one of the overland trips made by our subject accompanied him to California. Mr. Hunt wedded Eliza C. Rose after his return, Aug. 31, 1865, and survived only six weeks. He was a native of Fairhaven, Vt., and was a noted teacher in this county prior to his death. He was an active worker in the temperance cause, and while in California became a member of Michigan City California Division of the Sons of Temperance, and Mrs. Hunt received a kind letter of condolence from the order after his death occurred. One son, Alva B., graced the second marriage of our subject, now a young man full of promise, who resides with his mother and manages a nice farm left as patrimony of her father. William H. Hardy was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was mourned not only by them but by the entire community. His death occurred Feb. 12, 1887. He was in his fifty-third year and prior to his last illness was in perfect health. In a few days his decline became marked, and as the bright sun sinks from a cloudless sky, so passed away the spirit of a man that all loved and respected.

Mrs. Eliza C. Hardy is the daughter of Alva B. and Margaret A. (Stewart) Rose, where were among the earliest settlers of Washington County, which was then part of a Territory. They were married in Perry County, Ohio, near Zanesville, in which place their daughters, Eliza C. and Hannah E., were born. Baltimore, Md., was the birthplace of Margaret A. Stewart, whose parents were residents of Washington, D. C., in and early day. Her mother died and was buried in the capital city when Margaret was seven years old. She was sixteen when the death of her father occurred. While on a visit to relatives in Ohio, she met Alva B. Rose, to whom she was later married. She had three brothers and one sister: Columbus and John, twins; Eliza C. and George F. John came to Iowa with Mr. Rose in 1840; the latter entered 320 acres and John Stewart 200, the tracts adjoining each other. Mrs. Hardy’s town residence now stands on a part of the latter tracts. The eastern part of Riverside is a part of the original entry of Alva Rose, who with John Stewart attended the first land sale in Iowa, held at Fairfield, Jefferson County, in the fall of 1841, and made purchases of their claims. John Stewart came to this county rich, but returned a few years later to Baltimore, Md., comparatively bankrupt, but is to-day a wealthy resident of that city. When the Rose family settled in this county, there were but a few small houses in Washington, and nothing but an Indian trail leading from that place to the spot selected for their home. He had purchased of William Duvall for $500 in gold the claim which was entered later, upon which was a double-log cabin, and forty acres broken; these were the inducements leading to its purchase. Duvall was a bachelor, and raised a large number of hogs, which for shelter were provided with holes dug in the hillsides fronting English River. The hogs were frequently smothered to death, and the wolves held high carnival over their carcasses. Mrs. Hardy distinctly remembers seeing large numbers sitting around the pits after having satisfied their hunger. Mr. Rose procured traps and caught many of them, the county, for their scalps, paying his taxes and aiding him largely in gaining a livelihood in those lively days.

Mr. Rose was a poor man, and all his money was expended in securing his land. Remote from his native State, papers or books were a luxury dreamed of but scarcely realized. An almanac cost twenty-five cents, letter postage was also twenty-five cents, and letters frequently remained in the office for a time before the amount could be raised to pay for them. Mr. Rose and his family removed from Ohio to Washington County in wagons drawn by oxen, and when coming to their new home, Mr. Rose hitched his only horse in front. While crossing English River on the ice, it gave way, and the wife and children were carried one by one to the bank, after which the ice was broken and the team safely carried across. The Musquaqua Indians were plentiful, and came in crowds to the cabin, demanding corn bread and honey (of which they had and abundance), and would remain until their requests were granted. They were great beggars, and in fact, asked for almost everything in sight. The first year the Rose family lived at Washington, near which place Mr. Rose raised a crop. This had to be conveyed to his farm, and one morning as his oxen were yoked to the wagon to start for a load, and Indian rode up and dismounted just as Mr. Rose was bidding his wife and children good-bye. His wife begged him to remain, which he did, and that evening they were forced to flee fifty gaily painted Indians who were out on a raid. But no harm came to this family. Perhaps no lady in the county is as conversant with incidents of early days as is Mrs. Hardy, who many times was held in the laps of the Indian squaws who often came to the cabin.

After spending two years in the Iowa log cabin, Mr. Rose built a frame house, 16x30, which at that time was the best house and the only frame on in the county. He lived a long lifetime upon his original entry, became a wealthy man, and died April 15, 1879, regretted by all who knew him. His widow is a resident of Boone, Iowa, and enjoys the best of health at the ripe old age of seventy-one years. She became the mother of nine children, the two already mentioned, and Columbus J., Joseph R., John A., Ella M., Euphrates A., deceased, Eusebius M, and Hannah. Columbus wedded Mary Buckwalter; Joseph is the husband of Mary A. Druf; John A. wedded Lizzie Fish; Ella M is the wife of John Maurer; Eusebius wedded Susannah Whittington; Hannah married Dr. J. M. Glasgow, and is now deceased. Only Mrs. Hardy of the entire family now resides in Washington County.

Source: Portrait and Biographical Album of Washington County, Iowa (1887). Excerpt from Biographical Sketch of William H. Hardy, pages 399-403.