KIBLER - Martin KIBLER, who came to Harrison County, May 19, 1854, will form the subject of this sketch. He was born in Shenandoah County, Va., November 15, 1821, and seven years later his father moved to Portage County, Ohio, and our subject remained at home until 1845, when he married, and bought fifty acres of heavy timbre land, in that county, upon which he built a frame house, and cleared up twenty acres of land, and lived on this place until he came to Harrison County. He married Margaret J. CARD, August 14, 1845, and by this union four children were born, one dying in infancy.

Sylvester B., now a merchant at Woodbine, born July 22, 1846, George H., a partner of Sylvester's, born March 27, 1848, Orrin, F., May 26, 1856. He died September 24, 1887.

The wife of our subject was born July 4, 1825, at Deerfield, Portage County, Ohio, where she remained with her parents, until she was married.

When the KIBLER's started for Iowa, they took the Pittsburg and Cleveland railroad, coming to Wellsville, on the Ohio river, where they took a steamboat for St. Louis, and from there to Kanesville, (now Council Bluffs,) which only had one good house in the place, most of the houses being log huts. They arrived on a beautiful Sabbath morning, May 18, but at this time the Lord's Day was not kept sacred at that point, as the saloons were running in full blast. From this point they hired teams to bring them to Six Mile Grove to the house of Kirtland CARD, the brother of Mrs. KIBLER, who had been here for two years.

During the first ten years they saw many hardships, their place of trading being Council Bluffs, which required a three days journey with ox teams. After they had been here two years, the first sermon was preached in Cass Township, that being the first one they had heard since leaving the old Buckeye state. This sermon was preached at the home of Mr. Kirtland CARD, by Rev. Mr. RICE, a Congregational Minister from Council Bluffs.

Politically, Mr. KIBLER votes the Republican ticket, and in religious matters is a Methodist.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp. 539
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LOWREY - John B. LOWREY, an extensive farmer and landowner, came to Harrison County in the fall of 1866, settling at the village of Olmstead, where he was pastor of the Congregational Church for on year, but on account of ill health, left the ministry and bought a piece of wild prairie land, on section 5, in Douglas Township, which he improved and lived upon until the autumn of 1879, at which time he traded that farm for his present place which, at the time of the exchange, had a frame house and only fifteen acres broken. That tract consisted of one hundred and sixty acres, to which he has added until he now owns a half section.

Mr. LOWREY was born March 27, 1841, at Oswegatchie, N. Y. He was reared in the Empire State, living in various places, from the fact that his father was a Methodist preacher and was one of the few who assisted in organizing the Wesleyan Church, in America. At the age of nineteen he went to Staten island, where he filled a vacancy in the Methodist Church for six months, and after the conference met he traveled on a circuit in Sullivan County, n. Y., for one year, and was then sent as a missionary to Virginia, and from there to Kentucky, at Camp Nelson, among the colored troops. There his health failed, occasioning his return to new York, but a short time later we find him at Tabor, Mill County, Iowa, and in Fremont County, where he remained eighteen months, just previous to coming to Harrison County. He lived longer in Saratoga County then in any other county in New York, and came from there to Iowa.

August 6, 1864, he was united in marriage to Helen M. DEUEL, of Saratoga County, N. Y., and through this union three children were born�Viola M., born November 17, 1865; Austin, April 8, 1869; Leon, January 25, 1873. The last named died December 25, 1881. Viola M. married Charles P. DAVIS, and they are living in Douglas Township at present.

Helen M. (DEUEL) LOWREY was born in the town of Greenfield, Saratoga County, N. Y., May 16, 1842, and there remained until the date of her marriage. Her father was Edmond DEUEL, who was born in Malta, N. Y., August 24, 1809, and is still living near his birthplace. The mother, Martha BAILEY, was born in Greenfield, N. Y., in 1816, and they were united in marriage in 1834, and became the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. LOWREY was the third. The mother died in Greenfield, November 11, 1881.

The father of our subject, John LOWREY, was born in Ireland, on March 29, 1809, and when a mere babe emigrated with his parents to America, stopping at Albany, and from there to Canada, where the family lived for some years, and finally came back to New York. This man, who was born in the Emerald Isle, and who had seen much of the eastern portion of this country was, in the autumn of 1865, induced to come to Amity, Page County, Iowa, where he died October 12, 1874. His wife, the mother of our subject, was born in May, 1816, in the old Green Mountain State�Vermont, and her maiden name was Nancy WILDER. This worthy couple were married at Bombay, Franklin County, N. Y., September 12, 1839, and were the parents of seven children, our subject being the second born.

Politically, Mr. LOWREY is identified with the Republican party, and is a firm believer in the Orthodox faith, both he and his estimable wife being members of the Presbyterian Church.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.461-462
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DRAPER - Benjamin DRAPER, came to Harrison County in the autumn of 1865, and is now a farmer on section 1, of Union Township. His first work in the county was cutting saw logs, and railroad ties, following this business eighteen months, during which time he earned money enough to send for his family in Canada. He and his family were taken sick with the fever and ague, and they "shook" about one year, which left our subject without money, and in debt for a doctor's bill. After recovering, Mr. DRAPER split rails at two dollars per hundred to support his family for six months, after which time his parents came on from Canada, bringing with them eight hundred dollars in gold, and bargained for one hundred and twenty acres of school land in Union Township. This land was improved by our subject and his father, and constitutes a part of his present farm.

He has held the office of township treasurer, and school treasurer, having as high as three thousand dollars in his possession at one time.

He was born in England May 1, 1839, and is a son of Benjamin and Elizabeth (CLARK) DRAPER, who reared a family of six children. Mr. DRAPER was married November 22, 1861, to Elizabeth A., daughter of William and Margaret CORNWELL.

Mr. and Mrs. DRAPER have the following children--Benjamin E., born September 19, 1862; William P., September 5, 1866; Eliza J., October 17, 1863; Alfred, November 25, 1870; Arthur, August 8, 1873; Paul, July 24, 1876; and Ella, august 30, 1884.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.475
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MORTON - Silas W. MORTON, a farmer residing on section 3, of Douglas Township, came to Harrison County, in the spring of 1879, and settled on the farm he now occupies, having purchased a half section of land in 1868, to which he moved in 1879. His place is now a very finely improved and valuable farm.

Mr. MORTON was born in Licking County, Ohio, April 21, 1840. He is the son of Marcus A. and Lydia (NICHOLS) MORTON; the father a native of New York and the mother of Massachusetts. In about 1852,they moved to Wood County, Ohio, where the family remained until the autumn of 1855, and then moved to Indiana, the father dying in December of that year. The following fall, our subject with his mother and the family came to Jasper County, Iowa, and settled on a farm. Silas learned the tinner's trade, and worked at the same for three years at Newton, after which he went to the mining region of Colorado. Mining one summer, returned to Newton and in the spring of 1861, with a horse team freighted across the plains to Denver. He loaded at Des Moines with hams and made two trips that season, and that fall went to Wood County, Ohio, where he leased a sawmill, operating the same until the autumn of 1864, when he returned to Jasper County, Iowa, and purchased a farm which he cultivated until he came to Harrison County.

He was united in marriage in Lorain County, Ohio, October 15, 1863, to Miss Ervinna BRONSON, daughter of Ransom BRONSON. Our subject and his wife are the parents of three children�Eva, (deceased), Edward M. and Myrtle.

Mrs. MORTON was born in Lorain County, Ohio, and there remained until the date of her marriage. She is a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. MORTON belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and politically he is a stanch Republican, and is the fall of 1889 was candidate for Sheriff, but was caught in the "land-slide" when Governor BOIES was elected.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.466
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MEFFERD - William G. MEFFERD. Of the old settlers who came to Harrison County prior to 1851, there are at present but few still living in the county. The man whose name heads this sketch settled in Oak Grove, in Jefferson Township, where he farmed until 1853, then moved to Douglas Township, locating on section 29, where he has lived every since. At the time he entered the township there was but one other settler in the territory, a man named PIERSE, who left in May of the same year, going to Utah. He sold his claim to Matthew HALL, who was the next settler in Douglas Township

In the fall of 1853 there were but four votes reported from Douglas Township. Mr. MEFFERD (or rather his father, George MEFFERD) did the first improving of any consequence in the township. The first year they broke about twenty-five acres. They did not have much to work with, and the ox-team process was a slow one. They lived in a log house and everything was of the pioneer order. The house still stands with a few alterations and is used by the father as a residence, but one visiting the spot today would scarcely imagine that this was the pioneer abode of the MEFFERD'S.

At that time their nearest trading-point was Council Bluffs, then known as Kanesville.

Among the early day associations of Mr. MEFFERD'S place was the first church service held in Douglas Township, which was several years after they came into the place.

. The first school taught in the township was taught on the subscription plan, and the school was held at George MEFFERD'S and taught by Nathaniel MEFFERD, in the winter of 1855-56.

Our subject was born in Muhlenberg County, Ky., May 30, 1832, and he remained there until 1847, when he accompanied his parents to Butler County, and remained there until 1850, when they emigrated to Western Iowa with ox-teams, the party being made up of eight families, including his grandfather, John HUNT, together with his sons and sons-in-laws. They stopped in Pottawattamie County the first month and then came to Harrison County.

Mr. MEFFERD was united in marriage in Harrison County, September 5, 1854, to Martha C. LESLIE, by whom six children were born--Nancy E., born June22, 1855; George W., December 30, 1856; Andrew J., July 17, 1858; Amanda C., October 24, 1860; Mary R., July 28, 1862; William H., March 24, 1865.

George W., died in 1861; W. H. died in infancy, in 1865; Mary R., died October 28, 1867. Martha C. (LESLIE) MEFFERD died in Harrison County, June 1, 1881, and Mr. MEFFERD was again married to Mrs. Martha J. REYNOLDS, in Harlan, Shelby County, Iowa, March 23, 1890. This lady was the daughter of Jacob and Sarah WHITINGER, born in Wayne County, Iowa, July 5, 1838, and in 1854 the parents became pioneers in Dallas County, Iowa, remaining there until the autumn of 1855 when they removed to Denison, Crawford County Iowa, and engaged in the hotel business, being the first to conduct a hotel in that place.

She was married in Dallas County to Frank REYNOLDS, moving to Denison in the fall of 1856 and living there until 1860, when they removed to Gallands Grove, in Shelby County and were there about three years, and then went to Davis County, and after one year to VanBuren County, remaining there five years and then returning to Shelby County, and remaining there until 1879 and then went to Chicago, where Mr. REYNOLDS died January 21, 1880. Mrs. REYNOLDS then came back to Shelby County, where she remained until married to Mr. MEFFERD. Mr. and Mrs. REYNOLDS were the parents of six children---Ida L., Oscar, infants, (twins), Edwin A. and Carl.

Mr. and Mrs. MEFFERD are both members of the Latter day Saints church, the wife having been a member since February, 1861, and her husband since October 6, 1881.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.464-465-466
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FITZGIBBON - Henry FITZGIBBON, whose farm is situated on sections 19 and 30, of Calhoun Township, near the old village of Calhoun, came to Harrison County in the spring of 1878, to remain, but had been there the autumn before.

He was born in the County of Limerick, Ireland, in about 1839. He is the son of James and Mary (MARKAHAN) FITZGIBBON. The father followed farming in Ireland and died there in 1859; the mother dying a year earlier. They reared a family of six children�five sons and one daughter. Our subject and four others came to America. However Henry remained in Ireland at the home of his parents until after their death. He came to this country in April, 1862, landing at New York harbor and from there went to Bureau County, Ill., and worked on a farm for two years, and then rented land until he came to Pottawattamie County, in the spring of 1865. The first year or two after coming to Iowa he worked about a sawmill and rafted on the river, and after that followed farming.

He was married April2, 1867, to Laura LEWIS, a native of New York, born October 9, 1843. She is the daughter of Nelson and Katharine (MOULTER) LEWIS. The father was a farmer who located in Wisconsin in 1853, and in 1866 came to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he stayed until after the Indian trouble, when he pushed on further west; lived in Nebraska three years, but in 1873 went to Oregon where he died November 12, 1890. His wife died in Oregon, March 15, 1880. They reared a family of seven children, of which our subject's wife was the third child.

Of Mr. FITZGIBBON'S parental family, it may be said that her grandmother on her mother's side, was Martha BATHIS ROBBINS, who lived to be nearly ninety years of age. Mrs. FIITZGIBBON'S father's mother was Mary Ann MICKS, and she lived to be ninety two years old, and her husband, Elias LEWIS, was in the War of 1812, as was her grandfather on her mother's side. Nelson LEWIS, father of Mrs. FITZGIBBONS, was always noted for his good disposition and honorable traits of character. Reuben LEWIS, brother of Nelson LEWIS, was one of the first emigrants to California�going through with Kit CARSON and Gen. John C. FREMONT'S expedition, and was six months on the way. He was not heard from for twenty five years, but when they heard from him it was learned that he was one of the wealthiest men in that part of the country, and upon finding that his people were in Wisconsin, he returned to that State, and finding his father had died, he took his mother with him to Oregon, where she afterwards died. He had a large landed estate on the Pacific Slope, and was a man of great prominence.

Mr. and Mrs. FITZGIBBON are the parents of ten children---Anna M., John H., James N., Katie I., Grace L., Rosa M., Harry M., Maggie S., Frances A., Daisy M., all living and at home. The family are members of the Roman Catholic Church, and in his political views, he is a Republican, and has held many of the local offices. Ann and John, children of our subject, are graduates of the Missouri Valley High School, while James, Kate and Grace are attending the same school at present. Mr. FITZGIBBON now owns five hundred and sixty acres of land, two hundred of which are under the plow, and the remainder in timber, meadow and pasture land. When he came to the country he had no money, and all that he possesses of this world's goods, he attributes to hard work, good management and the form of government under which he lives.

While living in the old country, Mr. FITZGIBBON commenced working out when fourteen years of age, at farm labor, receiving ten shillings for three months' work. He then worked for a farmer and grain dealer, receiving �1 for three months' work. For two years he followed this and was compelled to be on the road every other night, to be on hand the next morning at the market place. In this way he secured money enough to take passage for America, where he worked on a farm for $8 per month for two years, (he received $15 the last year). He then bought horses for the Government, making a neat profit. He closed his business in Illinois and came to Iowa City, where he attended school six months. He married a young, well-educated wife and many were the evenings they sat together, she giving him instructions until twelve o'clock. In this way he became proficient in mathematics, etc. Not having much chance in early life himself to obtain a good education, he is aiming to give each one of his children a good opportunity.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.462-463-464
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STOCKER - John W. STOCKER (Portrait), a busy business man, and the present Postmaster at Logan, will be spoken of in this connection, as being on of the number of those who braved Harrison County when it was almost a wilderness. He came to the county in March, 1857, locating at Little Sioux, where he engaged at work as a carpenter and sawmill hand. He labored in that vicinity until the breaking out of the Civil war, and August 18, 1862, enlisted as a member of Company C, Twenty-ninth Iowa Infantry, serving his country, as only the brave and self-sacrificing will, until August 10, 1865, at which time he was mustered out of the Union Army at New Orleans. Receiving his final discharge at Davenport, Iowa, September 1, of that year. He entered the service as a private, but through bravery and competency was promoted to First Lieutenant. He participated in many engagements, among which may be named the following; Shell Mound, Miss., March, 1863; Helena, Ark., July 4, 1863; Prairie Duane, Camden, surrender at Mobile, Ala., April 12, 1865, which siege commenced March 17; a small engagement at the village of Whistler, April 13, 1865, which was perhaps the last engagement of the war.

After leaving the service our subject came to Harrison County and purchased an interest in the Woodbine Woolen Mills. In order to enter this enterprise he took what money he had saved, while playing the role of a soldier, together with what his land near Little Sioux had brought him, making about $1,000 in all. The woolen mills at that time were run under the firm name of BARTEMUS, STOCKER & Co. Our subject not finding this business profitable, owing to the decline of woolen goods, the scarcity of sheep in this locality, as well as heavy Eastern competition, in April, 1866, he sold his interest to J. W. DALLEY. He then went to Magnolia, which was still the county seat, and engaged in the furniture trade with C. S. STOWELL, renting a building the first year and later erecting one of their own.

At the general election of 1866, our subject was elected to the office of Clerk of the Courts, serving two terms, still retaining his interest in the furniture business, but before the term of his office had expired, he purchased his partner's interest, and a short time afterward closed out the furniture business and sold the building to N.B. HARDY, who turned it into a dwelling. After this Mr. STOCKEER went on a farm, situated on section 11, of Magnolia Township; it was a two hundred and forty-acre tract of wild land, which he finally brought under a high state of cultivation, and on which he built a good farm house. He sold his place in the spring of 1877, and moved to Logan, which place the year previous had secured the county seat. During that year he made a trip to California, remaining about two months and the remainder of the time he was occupied in adjusting old business matters. His next business was that of buying corn, cattle and hogs, in which he was quite successful, and in which he is still engaged, in connection with the extensive grocery business which he established in 1879, first locating in what was known as the FOREMAN& GREENOUGH building.

Our subject built his present brick business house in 1882, moving in to the same November 1, 1882.

He of whom we write was born in Caldonia County, Vt., June 2, 1835, and is a son of Samuel and Calista (FULLERTON) STOCKER, and is the second child of a family of three children. His father was a Methodist minister and had also learned the stonemason's trade; he died in McHenry County, Ill., in 1880, at the age of eight-four years. His wife, the mother of our subject, died in the autumn of 1840. Our subject thrown out thus early in life, upon his own resources, was according to the custom of that day, bound out to learn the trade of a miller, and was with his master until he was thirteen years of age, at which time life was anything but a continual round of pleasure for him, and possessing a spirit of independence, born with most of the sons of the old Green Mountain State, he ran away and commenced working in a woolen factory at Lowell, Mass., where he remained until the autumn of 1853. His father's family came to that section and bought a farm which gave him a home to fall back on until he reached his majority, at which time he came to McHenry County, Iowa, for the purpose of starting some woolen mill machinery, for a man named DEEDS. He remained there that summer and in the autumn of 1856 went to Buchanan county, Iowa, and ran the old COLBY farm when corn was worth a shilling a bushel and wheat thirty cents. We next find him in Harrison County, Iowa, where he has been a successful business man ever since.

May 27, 1860, marked another important era in this man's life, for it was upon that day that he was united in marriage to Susan B. BONNY, a native of Herkimer County, N. Y., born April 23, 1834. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Isadora ( JENKS).

Mr. and Mrs. STOCKER are the parents of five children, Carrie I., born April 11, 1861; Katie B., November 1, 1862; Helen I., June 28, 1868, Lewis p., deceased, in 1870 and Benjamin T., deceased, born in 1873.

To one who is acquainted with our subject, it would go without saying that he is a man of great force of character, and of decided convictions, which in the matter of politics, lead him to cast his vote with the Republican party, which as he believes, is the best safe guard of American institutions.

He is a member of FULLER Post, No. 38, of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Unlike the man who has slipped noiselessly through life, scarcely being seen, heard or felt, this man's busy life has left its impression and drawn from almost every avenue, of business and society within the radius of the communities, in which he has lived. And be it said to his credit, that he has ever been a good reflection of the puritanic stock, from which he descended; being not only loyal to his country but liberal and broadminded, in the support of all of our public institutions. As one evidence of his popularity among his fellow-citizens, and his political standing, it should be stated that he received the appointment as Postmaster at Loan, under President HARRISON'S administration, and is the present incumbent of such office.

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.469-470
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KELLOGG - Theodore P. KELLOGG, found his way to Harrison County in April, 1858, settling on sections 10 and 11, of Harrison Township, where he pre-empted eighty acres of land---forty acres on section 10 and forty acres on section 11. After his pre-emption had been made he found a man had filed a land warrant on the same tract, so he waived his right, and bought the man out. He remained there four or five years, and then bought another place on section 21, near the village of OLSTEAD, improving the same, and remaining there for five years, when he sold his Harrison Township land and purchased his present place, consisting of one hundred and sixty�three acres, all of which is under a good state of cultivation.

Mr. KELLOGG was born in Hamden County, Mass., January 5, 1827, and when thirteen years of age his parents removed to Tolland County, Conn., where he remained until he was of age, at which time he had mastered the carpenter's trade, and went to New Jersey, working at the same for about three years, when he returned to Tolland County, built a house for his father, in the village of Rockville, and remained there for two years. He then went to Lake County, Ohio, and worked at his trade for two years, and then went to Columbus, where he worked on the State Capitol for about six months. He then went to Chicago, where he followed his trade for two years, at the end of which time he came to Harrison County. He came by railway as far as Iowa City, which was as far as any railroad, was found in the United States, at that time. From that point he drove through.

He was married to Miss Pamelia BISSELL, in Rockville, Conn. March 21,1853. By this union five children have been born, George E., Theodore P., Walter E., Clarence W., and Grace U. Theodore died in Chicago, August 6, 1857.

Mrs. KELLOGG was born in Schoharie County, N. y., November 4, 1828, and with her parents moved to Tolland County, Conn., where she remained from the time she was a small child until the date of her marriage.

George KELLOGG, eldest son of our subject, married Miss Lena MARQUISON in Sioux City, January 1, 1888, and they still reside in that place. Walter was married to Miss May MUSGRAVE in Harrison County, March 3, 1886.

January1, 1863, Mr. KELLOGG, the subject of this sketch, enlisted as a member of Company C, Twenty-ninth Iowa Regiment, infantry, responding to the call of President Lincoln, for "three hundred thousand men." He participated in the battles of TURNER Creek, Duane Prairie, Battle of CAMDEN, JENKINS' Ferry, Siege of Mobile, and then went to Texas, and from there was sent to new Orleans, at which point he was discharged, in August, 1865. He then returned home to his family in Harrison Township.

As Harrison County was made up largely of able bodied men, large numbers of volunteers offered their services in defense of the Stars and Stripes, which necessarily left few men at home to provide for the "War Widows." Our subject's wife saw many of the hardships co-incident with that terrible conflict, and made sacrifices which should here be recorded as a memorial to her unalloyed loyalty. Upon one occasion a man was owing Mrs. KELLOGG a trifling amount, and agreed to haul her a load of wood but did not, and finally she sent her nine year old boy through the drifted snows, for about five miles on foot, to get the man to haul the wood, which he finally consented to do, but the quality of the wood was not of the kind that would keep the "war widow" and her little family warm without a great amount of faith, as it was green willow!

When our subject came to Harrison Township only one family lived in his neighborhood, the settlement at Twelve Mile Grove being the only one of any importance. The first improvement made upon his Douglas Township farm, was the building of a frame house, 14x24 feet, with an addition, 14x20, the same standing on a brick basement. On his first place he built a house by digging in the hillside, boarding it up, and then throwing dirt against it for protection. This rude domicile was afterward used by the people of Dunlap for their small-pox patients.

Upon coming to the county, the chief trading point was Council Bluffs, and with the passing years, our subject has noticed the decline of a wilderness, which has been transformed into a real garden spot, and now surrounded with the comforts of life, our subject and his estimable family, are reaping the reward for their early-day and war-time hardships. Politically, Mr. KELLOGG casts his lot with the Republican Party, believing as he does, that it best subserves the interests of the masses.

Religiously, our subject and his wife are believers in the Protestant faith, believing that Christ is the door, and the "only mediator between God and man."

Source: 1891 Harrison County Iowa History, pp.471-472-473
Family Researcher: NA To Page Index--- To Bio Index

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