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 August 20, 2020

Dr. Humphrey opened an office in Carroll, March 15, 1888, as a young dentist. He soon attracted a lucrative patronage and has for many years been one of the leading dental surgeons of the city. He was born in Whiteside county, Illinois, April 22, 1862, a son of Erastus B. and Sarah (Paschal) Humphrey, the former of whom was born at Lancaster, New York, and the latter in Whiteside county, Illinois. The father learned the machinist’s trade to which he devoted his attention for a number of years. He moved to Canada and thence to Illinois and engaged in farming in Whiteside county. In 1900 he came to Clinton where he has since lived retired. He and his wife are identified with the Methodist church and are active workers in its behalf. Nathanial Humphrey, the paternal grandfather, was born in Vermont and was a cooper, also becoming a tavern keeper. He served as a drummer boy in the war of 1812. There were eight children in his family, seven of whom grew to maturity, Albert, Charles, Mary, George, Porter, Erastus and Sarah. The maternal grandfather, John Paschal, was a native of West Virginia and an early settler of Illinois, being one of the four earliest arrivals in Whiteside county. He was married to Nancy Shael and they had eight children, David, Benson, Jane, Frank, James, Sarah, Annie and John. Nine children came to brighten the home of Erastus B. and Sarah Humphrey, six of whom survive, namely: William, the subject of this review; Albert, now living in Chicago; Frank, of Clinton; Alice, who is the wife of Charles Tracey, of Eads, Colorado; Charles, a dentist, who is engaged in practice at Grand Junction, Iowa; and Rollin, a druggist of Elliot, Iowa.

William Humphrey was reared until the age of fourteen on his father’s farm and then went to Morrison, Illinois, where he continued until he attained the age of manhood. He attended the district schools, Morrison High School and the Dixon (Illinois) College, later becoming a student in the dental department of the Iowa State University from which he was graduated with the degree of D.D.S. in 1889. He has since actively engaged in practice at Carroll.

On the 28th of February, 1888, Dr. Humphrey was united in marriage with Miss Estella M. Blue, a native of Whiteside county, Illinois. Her father was born in Scotland. He came to this country when nine years of age and in 1849 yielded to the gold excitement and crossed the plains to California. Returning, he organized a party which left Illinois in the spring of 1851 and became lost in a great blizzard in Kansas. All of the party are supposed to have starved or frozen to death except Mr. Blue who was found by Indians and thus his life was saved. He served for four years in the Civil war, during a portion of which time he was a prisoner in Libby prison at Richmond, Virginia. The mother of Mrs. Humphrey passed away when the daughter was quite young but the father lived to be well advanced in years. There were three children in the family: Nettie, who married George Horner; Estella M., who became the wife of William Humphrey; and Lottie, now Mrs. George Fitzsimmons. Daniel Blue, the grandfather on the paternal side, was a native of Scotland and became one of the early settlers of Whiteside county, Illinois. Three children were born to Dr. and Mrs. Humphrey, Glen Herbert, Helen Adella and William Rollin.

Dr. Humphrey and his wife are members of the Methodist church and both have taken active part in all the different departments of church work. During nineteen years of his residence in Carroll, Dr. Humphrey has filled the position of superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school. Mrs. Humphrey has given much attention to the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society. The demand for her as a speaker in behalf of this organization being state-wide. He belongs to Signet Lodge No. 264, A.F. & A.M., and Copestone Chapter No. 78, R.A.M., and is also identified with Carroll Lodge No. 279, I.O.O.F. Politically he gives his support to the republican party and although he has not sought public office he served for seven years as a member of the school board of Carroll. As is indicated by this review, Dr. Humphrey is a public-spirited and highly useful citizen, assisting most earnestly in the training of the young and also contributing his part toward the promotion of friendly relations between his fellows.

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