Carroll County IAGenWeb

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY IOWA

A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement

VOLUME II ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY 1912

Transcribed by Sharon Elijah June 26, 2020

Samuel Bingham, the owner of five hundred and fifty acres of valuable land on sections 29, 30 and 32, Warren township, is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Carroll county and has long been one of the best known stockmen of the state. The Sunnyside Stock Farm, on which he resides, has been his place of abode for the past thirty-five years, though since 1907 he has lived retired. His birth occurred in County Antrim, Ireland, on the 15th of June, 1832, his parents being John and Margaret (Hawthorn) Bingham, the former of English and the latter of Scotch descent. The father was a hosier by trade and a weaver of stockings and underwear, owning and operating a knitting shop in County Antrim, Ireland. It was there that his demise occurred in 1849. His wife had passed away during the childhood of their son Samuel. Their children were as follows: David and Robert, who died in Ireland; John, whose death occurred in Illinois; Mrs. Mary Fullerton, Mrs. Margaret Piercy and Mrs. Ann Piercy, all of whom are deceased; Samuel, who died at the age of ten years; and Samuel, the second of the name, who is the subject of this review.

The last named crossed the Atlantic to the United States after the death of his father, in 1849, locating in New York city, where he learned the carpenter’s trade, working at that occupation for eight years. Removing to New Jersey, he spent a year in that state and then went to Fulton county, Illinois, where he followed his trade for a time and later purchased a farm. After a residence of eight years in Illinois he came to Iowa in 1876, locating on the farm which has remained his place of abode to the present time. He is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Carroll county, coming to Warren township before Manning was laid out. He hauled hogs by wagon to Carroll, a distance of twenty-five miles, and did his trading at West Side, Iowa. All lumber for his house and barns was hauled from the latter town, sixteen miles away, while his nearest neighbor was three miles distant. He first came into possession of a tract of two hundred acres and has since augmented his holdings by additional purchase until they now embrace five hundred and fifty acres of rich and productive land. In 1907 he put aside the active work of the fields and has since leased the home farm to his son Oliver, who has charge thereof. Another of the sons, Samuel C., also rents and cultivates a part of his father’s land. The property of Samuel Bingham is known as the Sunnyside Stock Farm, and registered Hereford cattle are raised in connection with general farming. Our subject was the first man to bring Hereford cattle into Carroll county, paying five thousand dollars for a bull and two hundred and twenty-five dollars for a cow imported from England and purchased from George McPherson, of Menlo, Iowa. He has always maintained a high standard of his herd and is one of the best known stockmen of the state.

On the 7th of November, 1859, Mr. Bingham was united in marriage to Miss Jane A. Callison, a daughter of Isaac and Hulda (Hickman) Callison, who at that time were residents of Fulton county, Illinois. Both were natives of Virginia. They removed to Fulton county, Illinois, in the early ‘50s, Isaac Callison there operating a farm until called to his final rest in 1880. His widow spent the remainder of her life in the home of our subject, passing away in 1888. They were the parents of the following children: Cyrus, whose demise occurred in Warren county, Iowa, in 1909; Josephus, who passed away in Kansas; Mrs. Mary Golden, who is deceased; Woods, an agriculturist residing near Winterset, Madison county, Iowa; Mrs. Bingham; Victor, a retired farmer living near Winterset, Madison county, Iowa; Rufus, who served in the Civil war for three years and died at the close of hostilities; and Mrs. Minda Bond, of Abingdon, Illinois. Woods and Victor Callison were also soldiers of the Union army in the Civil war for three years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bingham were born eleven children, two of whom have passed away. George, a farmer of Kansas, wedded Miss Fannie Patterson, of Manning, Iowa, by whom he has six children, namely: Lloyd; Clara, who is married and has a daughter, Ruth; Paul; Ross; Lee; and Orin. Isaac, a retired agriculturist of Harington, Nebraska, wedded Miss Mary Woodward, of Manning, Iowa, by whom he has three children: Merritt, who is now married; Vera; and Alice. Belle gave her hand in marriage to Lou Babcock, of Manning, and is the mother of eight children, as follows: Mrs. Glennie Hessler, who has a daughter, Darline; Chester, who married Marie Trecker; Hazel, the wife of Harry Freetley; Agnes; Sarah; Maude; Samuel; and Marie. Hulda is the wife of Deward Rogers, a farmer of Hartington, Nebraska, and has the following children: Louise, who is married and has one daughter, Mary; Hugh; Gertrude; Vivian; Raymond; and Elburn. John, of Hartington, Nebraska, wedded Lenora McConnell, of Botna, Iowa, by whom he has four children, Cuba, Hugh, Deward and Maude. Maggie married John Smith, of Manning, but is now living in Red Oak, Iowa. They have two children, Mary and Gertrude. Samuel C., an agriculturist of Warren township, lives on the home place near his father’s residence. He married Miss Alla Shepard, of Manning, and has three children: Louis, Jay and Irene. David, a farmer of Warren township, married Miss Mattie Heyde, of Persia, Iowa, and has two children, Harry and Lowell. Oliver, living on the home place, wedded Miss Alvina Jans, of Audubon county, Iowa. Their four children are as follows: Velma, Bernice, Maude and Olive. Two daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Bingham are deceased, namely: Mrs. Mary McWilliams, whose demise occurred in 1887; and Maude, who died at the age of seventeen years. Our subject and his wife celebrated their golden wedding on the 7th of November, 1909, and rejoiced in the presence of fifty children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mr. Bingham is a stanch republican in his political views and for twenty years served as director of school district No. 9 in Warren township. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church of Manning, to which his wife also belongs. He has now passed the seventy-ninth milestone on this earthly pilgrimage and is spending the evening of life in well earned ease, happy in the regard and esteem of all who know him.

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