~ Joseph Arnold ~

Joseph Arnold, a prominent and influential resident of Lynnville, Jasper County, is a self-made man in the strictest sense of the word. He was born April 1, 1832, near Richmond, Ind., and is a son of Jesse Arnold, who in turn is a son of William and Celia (Fulghum) Arnold, natives of North Carolina. The great-grandfather of our subject was a native of England, and a farmer by occupation. William Arnold followed farming in his native state, and afterwards settled in Indiana, when his son Jesse was eighteen years old, where he died at an advanced age. His good wife died at the home of her son William, in Boone County, Ind. The father of our subject was reared to farming pursuits, and at the age of twenty-two was married to Mary Puckett, a native of the same state as himself. She was a daughter of the Rev. Benjamin and Catherine (Dunnegan) Puckett. Mr. Puckett was a preacher in the Quaker Church. In 1813, he moved to Ohio, and later going to Indiana, died near Indianapolis. The mother of our subject died in Lynnville when almost eighty years old. She bore her husband ten children, six of whom grew to maturity, but only three yet survive. Jesse Arnold came to the territory of Iowa in 1839, remaining on one place but a short time, until 1843, when he took a claim and improved it for nine years. At this date he traded his estate for a gristmill in Lynnville, carrying it on the remainder of his life. He was an active and valued member of the Friends' Church, and, a prominent man, was highly respected by all.

Joseph Arnold was reared and educated on the farm, having but very few educational advantages. When fourteen years of age, his father was employed in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds, and with him our subject was engaged, continuing thus until he learned the carpenter's trade. He was with his father in the gristmill until his health failed, when he was compelled to seek medical treatment. In 1861,he was severely hurt, his escape from death being almost miraculous. He has been an in valid ever since.

The marriage of our subject with Miss Tacy Smith was celebrated November 28, 1853. Mrs. Arnold was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, and in 1867 she was called to the life beyond. She was the mother of six children, five of whom are living, and married: Mary E., Emma, Abbie, R. L. and Ardilla. In 1870, Mr. Arnold was married to Miss Sarah E. Hawkins, who is a native of Clinton County, Ohio. By this union three children were born, Flora E., Maud and Joseph Wickliff.

In 1864, our subject was ordained a minister of the Gospel in the Friends' Church, and has preached more or less in his own state and at other places. He has served his fellow-townsmen as Justice of the Peace for seven years, and was Mayor of Lynnville thirteen years. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont for President. Being of an ambitious disposition, Mr. Arnold was admitted to the practice of law when he was forty-five years old, and has succeeded fairly in his chosen profession. His example therein has been a stimulus to younger men. He is oftentimes called on for advice and counsel, and through his advice many vexatious cases have been amicably settled without recourse to law. He is a man always in favor of any movement to enhance the prosperity of his state and county, and is looked upon as a man of authority. His popularity is alike noted in business and social circles, and he has many warm personal friends, who fully appreciate his worth and natural kindness. He has always been an advocate for equal rights and liberty of conscience, and is an ardent lover of his country and home. Page 667.

~ Stewart Atchison ~

Fairview Township, Jasper County, is a rich agricultural center, and the men who conduct its farming interests are enterprising, self-reliant and shrewd businessmen. Among these the subject of this sketch occupies no unimportant place. He is a native of County Fermanagh, Ireland, his birth occurring February 2, 1827. He is a son of David and May R. Atchison, who lived and died in Ireland, both at the age of fifty-six years. They were farmers by occupation and devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their union five children were born, of whom our subject is the youngest. They bear the names of Ann, Doretha, Barbara, David and Stewart.

Immigrating to this country in 1843, when but a lad of sixteen years, our subject worked as a teamster in Pennsylvania for six years. At this period he thought farming to be more profitable and decided to come to Fairview Township, which he did, purchasing a small farm of forty acres. In 1855 he was stricken with the gold fever, and laying aside his farming implements started for California. The journey consumed three months in crossing the prairie. Not finding it what he had expected, five years later he returned to his farming and has since been content with it.

In 1860, Mr. Atchison was united in marriage with Frances Field, a daughter of Henry Field, who was of English descent. This union was blessed by the birth of three children, George, now deceased, Henry, and Anna, now Mrs. Leonard Guthrie. The mother was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and died in 1867. Our subject was a second time married, taking as his companion Sarah Martin. The ceremony took place December 8, 1869. Mrs. Atchison is the daughter of John and Elizabeth (Martin) Martin, who were both natives of Ireland. The wife was born in Pennsylvania in 1831, and was one of family of thirteen children. She came to Iowa with her parents in 1864 and resided on a farm with them until her marriage. She became the mother of one child, who was taken from her in infancy.

On his return from California, Mr. Atchison moved to his present place of residence, which was then small, but by additions made from time to time he soon became the owner of two hundred and eighty acres of as finely cultivated and productive land as is to be found in the state. He is classed among the pre-eminently successful agriculturists of Jasper County, and has lost no opportunity for improving his estate or contributing to the general welfare of the community. He is living in retirement from his hard labors and enjoys the pleasures and comforts of domestic life. Mr. and Mrs. Atchison are valued members of the Presbyterian Church, to which they give liberally of their means. He is a great reader and is well posted on what is going on about him. Politically he a supporter of the candidates of the Democracy. p. 237.

~ Hon. Merritt W. Atwood ~

In reviewing the careers of prominent and successful citizens of Jasper County, lessons may be gleaned for the emulation of the young and the admiration of the aged. Especially is this true in examining the life history of the honored man whose name introduces this sketch, and who for many years has been inseparably associated with the progress of the county. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of finely improved land on section 23, Palo Alto Township, where be conducts general farming pursuits.

The history of the Atwood family both in England and America is interesting, and the name has been one of some consequence on both sides of the Atlantic. Sixteen different families have entered their coats of arms in the herald's office in England. Tradition says that the family was first represented in America by three brothers, who emigrated from England and settled in Massachusetts. John Atwood, a citizen of London, was made a freeman in 1636, and was an assistant in the Plymouth Colony in 1638, On coming to the United States, he brought with him considerable money, with which he established himself in this country. He died in 1644.

Phillip Atwood, a lad of thirteen years, embarked for New England in the "Francis," of Ipswich, during the latter part of April, 1664. Harman Atwood was a member of the artillery company in 1644, and was made a freeman in 1645. Thomas Atwood, of Wethersfield, Conn., was for a time Captain under Oliver Cromwell. He was a physician of note and died in 1682. Dr. Jonathan Atwood emigrated to Woodbury, Conn., and became one of the first settlers of that state. He lived opposite to, and owned the land constituting the present homestead of Dr. G. H. Atwood. On the 5th of November 1704, he married Miss Sarah Terrill, with whom he lived happily until his death on New Year's Day, 1733.

From the above it will be seen that the Atwood family was one of prominence in the early history of New England. The subject of this sketch is the son of Collins and Emiline (Scott) Atwood, natives of Connecticut, where, in Litchfield County, he was born on the 5th of June 1831. At the age of thirteen years he accompanied his parents to Ohio, and settled in Trumbull County on the Western Reserve. There his mother died in 1849. His father survived for many years, dying in Jasper County, Iowa, in 1871. Of the children born of their union, five survive, as follows: Merritt W., our subject; Martha, wife of L. L. Miller, of Newton, Iowa; Nancy, the widow of Austin Wilson, of Trumbull County, Ohio; Ellen, who is the wife of Edward Taylor, residing in Richland Township, Jasper County; and Juliette, the widow of George N. Jackson, and a resident of Palo Alto Township, Jasper County.

Upon a farm in Trumbull County, Ohio, Merritt W. Atwood was reared to manhood, receiving a fair education in the common schools. Previous to and after the Civil War he taught several terms of school in Iowa. On the 2nd of February 1859, in Iowa, he was united in marriage with Eliza A. Dunn, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of James and Caroline Dunn, who came to Jasper County in 1854. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Atwood there have been born six children, namely: Charles S., Elmer, who died in 1864, aged two years; Harry E.; Grace, who is a teacher in the public schools of Jasper County; Grant W. and Frank C.

Coming to Jasper County from Ohio in 1855, our subject resided in Buena Vista Township for two years. In 1857 he removed to Shawnee County, Kan., but two years afterward returned to Iowa, where he was married. He then again returned to Kansas, and in the fall of 1860 settled upon his present farm. On the 4th of August 1862, he enlisted in the Union army, his name being enrolled as a member of Company K, Twenty- eighth Iowa Infantry. His regiment served in the Thirteenth Corps under General Grant, later was transferred to the Nineteenth Corps under General Banks, and afterward was incorporated in Sheridan's army, then operating in the Shenandoah Valley.

Under General Grant our subject participated in the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hill, and the siege of Vicksburg. Under General Banks he participated in the defeat at Sabine Cross Roads. Subsequently under "Gallant Phil" Sheridan he was at Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, and many engagements of minor importance in the Shenandoah Valley. In the fall of 1864 he was detailed as chief ambulance officer of the Nineteenth Corps with the rank of Acting-Assistant Quartermaster, and served in that capacity until April 1865, when by an order from the War Department he rejoined his regiment at Morehead City, N. C. Upon the organization of his company, Mr. Atwood enlisted as a private and was soon afterward elected First Lieutenant. On the 14th of April 1863, he was commissioned Captain of the company, and served as such until he was mustered out of the service in 1865, being honorably discharged July 31 of that year. He participated in many of the most important engagements of the war and had many narrow escapes, but fortunately was neither wounded nor taken prisoner by the opposing army. He is now identified with Garrett Post No. 16, G. A. R., at Newton, Iowa.

Upon his return from the army, Mr. Atwood resumed farming operations in Jasper County, where he has since resided. In connection with general farming he makes a specialty of raising Shorthorn cattle and English Berkshire hogs. For six years he officiated as steward of the Jasper County Poor Farm, and for more than three years was steward of the Dallas County Poor Farm. He served one term as Supervisor of Palo Alto Township under a former law. In November 1867, he was elected to represent Jasper County in the Iowa Legislature for a term of two years, and during the period of his service he was instrumental in securing many needed improvements. For eight years he filled the position of Justice of the Peace. In politics a stanch Republican, be is foremost among the members of that party in the county. In his religious belief he and his wife are Methodists and have been identified with that denomination for many years. p. 303.

~ Ballinger Aydelott ~

Ballinger Aydelott, one of the valued citizens and honored pioneers of Newton, was born in Guilford County, N. C., February 22, 1815, and is a son of Joseph and Rebecca (Ballinger) Aydelott. His father was born on the Island of Nantucket, N. J., but in what year is not known. The paternal grandfather came to America from Germany, but the Aydelotts were really of French ancestry. The forefathers removed from France into Germany during the Revolution in their native land. Grandfather Obit Aydelott married the daughter of one John Coe, an Englishman with perhaps a little French blood in his veins. Soon afterward they left Nantucket Island, and proceeding to North Carolina, settled in Guilford County. This was prior to the Revolutionary War, and the place on which they located was not far from the spot that later became historic as the battlefield of Guilford Court House.

The Ballinger family was of English ancestry, the forefathers coming to this country early in the eighteenth century and settling in New Jersey. John Ballinger, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was born in New Jersey, and married Katie Stewart, an English lady. Like the Aydelott family, he went to North Carolina and settled in Guilford County. It was on his farm, and not far from the new Gordon meeting house, that a part of the battle of Guilford Court House was fought, and on that farm Rebecca Ballinger, our subject's mother, was born. Both of these families were Quakers, therefore took no active part in the war, but John Ballinger was compelled to pilot Lord Cornwallis over the country.

Joseph Aydelott and Rebecca Ballinger had grown up side by side, and became man and wife in 1806. One of her brothers, Henry Ballinger, was a noted Quaker preacher in his day. Another brother, John, married out of the Quaker Church. He inherited some slaves, but true to his convictions of right, at once gave them their freedom. As far as is known, he was the only member of these families that ever owned a slave. His father was a fuller by trade, and left the south for Ohio on account of his dislike of slavery. He also left the Quaker faith and became a member of the Methodist Church, but the mother adhered to the faith of her forefathers until death. After working at his trade of a fuller in Richmond, Ohio, for five years, Mr. Ballinger retired to a farm.

Our subject had four brothers and three sisters, of whom only one brother survives, Jonathan, who is a blacksmith by trade and is living in Kansas, at the age of eighty-four years. Temple died in Preble County, Ohio; he had nine children, seven of whom are living, several of his sons being quite prominent. Stewart, a miller by trade, was married twice, his first union being with Sarah Stewart, and his second wife being her sister Anna. There were three children by the first union, and two by the second. He died in Henry County, Ind., in 1866. His children are all living, and one son, Henry, is a very able and eloquent Quaker preacher in Fall River, Mass. Our subject's sister Parmelia was married to M. D. Springer, a relative of General Springer. She died in 1849, leaving one son, Joseph, who was a prominent politician in Nebraska and is Postmaster at Fillmore. Margaret, another sister, married William Wilkins, and died in Preble County, Ohio, in 1859; her son John became a prominent and wealthy merchant in that county, where he died. Martha married Isaac Ballinger, a distant relative, and died in 1837, leaving no children. The youngest brother, Joseph Coe, married Catherine Hensel. He died many years ago, and she dropped dead in the home of our subject in October 1891.

Our subject, who was next to the youngest in the family, has had a somewhat eventful life. His father was a man of very limited means, and his educational advantages were limited to three months of school. He went to Ohio with his father in 1830. In 1838 he chose as his helpmate and companion Miss Anna Marshall, of Preble County, Ohio, and then engaged in farming on rented land. His wife died two years later, leaving no children. In 1841 he married Mary Ann Palmer, of Preble County. In 1845 he came to Jasper County and took a claim on Elk Creek, some three and a-half miles from the city of Newton, where he lived for nine years, He was the first Justice of the Peace in the county, and as such served on the Board of Commissioners that was sworn to locate the county seat of Jasper County. There was some strife as to where it was to be located, and he favored the site that is now a thriving city. He served as Sheriff of the county from 1850 to 1852. In 1854 his second wife died. Of their seven children only two grew to maturity, Jesse P., a farmer in Smith County, and Winfield Scott, also a farmer.

In 1855 Mr., Aydelott removed to Newton and engaged in the nursery business, in which he continued until the spring of 1861. Then, although he was nearing the half-century year of life, he disposed of his business and tendered his services to his country, and August 21, 1862, we find his name enrolled as a private in the Union army. He was in the memorable siege of Vicksburg, and while mounting a cannon he fell and injured his spine, from which he is now partially paralyzed. On account of this injury and the ensuing sickness, he was discharged. For some two or three years he was not able to do anything, after which for fourteen years he was engaged in the butcher business. He then received the appointment of Superintendent of the County Poor Farm, a position which he held for six years, since which time he has lived a retired life. He also served in the early days as Assessor, Trustee, Township Clerk, and in other offices.

In the year 1859, Mr. Aydelott married Jane Cheu, of Highland County, Ohio, who died 1883. Of this marriage there were three children, two of whom are now living, namely: Myrtle L., the wife of S. R. Russell, a farmer near Newton, Lillie May, who is at home and administers to her father's wants in his declining years. For nearly fifty years our subject has been a church member. For twenty years he was identified with the Christian Church, and for the past twenty-three years he has been a member of the Congregational Church. He has served at different times as Deacon and Elder. Socially, he belongs to the Odd Fellows' lodge and the Grand Army of the Republic. Politically, he was a Whig, and now affiliates with the Republican Party. As be descends into the shadowy vale of old age he can look back and truthfully say "I have done my duty to my God and my fellow-man." Page 637.