~ John Mackerman ~

John Mackerman, who carries on farming and stock raising on section 14, is one of the prominent German-American citizens of Sherman Township, Jasper County. A native of Prussia, Germany, he was born on the 11th of December 1841, and is the son of Claus and Sophia Mackerman, who were also natives of Prussia. Under the parental roof he was reared to manhood, and in early life he became familiar with all the departments of agriculture. He acquired a fair education in his native tongue, and since coming to this county has gained a fair knowledge of English.

When a young man of twenty-four years, Mr. Mackerman determined to seek a home beyond the Atlantic, for he had heard much of the privileges and opportunities there afforded, and thought he could improve his financial condition by immigrating to the United States. On the 3rd of March 1866, he boarded an ocean steamer at Hamburg, and thirteen days later landed in New York City. He came at once to Iowa, locating in Scott County, where he worked for about three years as a farmhand by the day or month. He subsequently rented land in that county, and carried on farming in his own interests until 1872, which year witnessed his arrival in Jasper County. Settling in Sherman Township, he has here since made his home. He now owns two hundred and forty acres of good land on section 14, comprising one of the best farms in the community, for it is under a high state of cultivation and well improved. On the 26th of November 1874, Mr. Mackerman was united in marriage with Miss Ada Claussen, daughter of Hans Claussen. By their union have been born six children: Mary, John, Lena, Charles, Herman and Walter. The family is widely and favorably known in this community, its members ranking high in the social circles in which they move, and they have a host of warm friends.

Mr. Mackerman was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church. In politics he is a supporter of the Democracy, and has served as School Director of his district. He manifests a commendable interest in everything pertaining to the welfare of the community, and the honorable, upright life he has led commands the confidence and good will of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact. He is truly a self- made man. When he arrived in America he had a capital of only $7, but he possessed an industrious and energetic nature and a determination to succeed. These characteristics have gained him prosperity and won him a leading place among the citizens of the community. p. 264.

~ John Martin ~

The farming lands of Jasper County comprise its most valuable property, and the men who have redeemed them from their primitive condition occupy no less important position among a vast and intelligent population. The subject of this notice properly belongs to this class, as he annually pays a handsome sum to the County Treasury as taxes on the property, which he has accumulated, largely by the labor of his own hands. His farm is pleasantly situated in Palo Alto Township, adjacent to the village of Reasnor, and comprises two hundred acres of land, under good cultivation.

When Mr. Martin came to Jasper County, in 1866, his present finely improved farm was wild, uncultivated land, without buildings, and the country roundabout was sparsely settled. It is a fact of which he may well be proud that he has witnessed greater part of development of the county and has aided its growth as only a skillful, practical farmer can do. He turned the first furrow on the farm and has made of it what it is today, one of the most valuable estates of Palo Alto Township. At the present time he is the owner of two hundred and ten acres, upon which he has erected suitable, well-appointed buildings and has every convenience for conducting agriculture to the best advantage.

A native of what is now known as Clinton County, PA, our subject was born on 15th of November 1820, and is the son of John and Rachel (Floyd) Martin, natives respectively of Germany and New Jersey. At the age of fourteen he was orphaned by the death of his father; his mother lived to an advanced age, and died at his home during the year 1869. He was reared upon a farm until he was nineteen years old, when he commenced to learn the trade of a stone mason, and this occupation he has followed, more or less, throughout his entire life in connection with faming, devoting the most of his time, however, to his trade.

In his youth, Mr. Martin had few educational advantages. He was a student in the early log schoolhouses, where instruction was conducted upon the subscription plan, and where the building and instruction were equally crude. The seats were made of slabs, supported by wooden logs, and boards resting upon pegs inserted in the walls were utilized for writing desks. The knowledge he now has was obtained principally by self-culture and diligent application, and he is now a well informed in man, principally through his unaided, efforts.

In Pennsylvania, November 12, 1848, the subject of this sketch was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Vanatta, who was born in Clinton County, PA, being a daughter of Christopher and Mary Vanatta. Of this union there were born five children, three of whom are now living, namely; Caroline, wife of William Vaness; James H. and John H. The deceased sons are Wallace K. and Robert. With his family, in 1866, our subject migrated to Iowa and settled upon the farm where he now lives. He was deeply bereaved when, on the 10th of May 1879, his beloved wife, who had for years been his devoted counselor, passed from earth. She was a devoted member of the Christian Church, and was loved by all who knew her.

As one of the early settlers of Jasper County, Mr. Martin has been closely connected with its development. He has server in a number of local offices, including those of School Director and Road Supervisor. In politics he is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for official honors, preferring to devote his attention exclusively to his private affairs. In religious connections, he is identified with the Christian Church, of which he has been a consistent member for years. Now in his advancing years, he is enjoying the fruits of a life well spent and is surrounded by the comforts he accumulated in former days. He is a good and upright and his life record shows that he is a man of sound discretion and unflinching integrity, always cordial and kindly in his relations with others, and fair in his dealings with them. p. 212.

~ John Milton McFarland ~

John Milton McFarland, who is the head of the largest dry-goods house in Newton, was born in Washington County, Pa., February 16, 1816, and is the eldest in a family of six children born to William S. and Anna (Pierson) McFarland. While the McFarland family is an extensive one, and has been identified with the history of this country from the time the Pilgrim Fathers first landed on American soil, yet we can learn but little of their record. Their Scotch ancestors, on arriving in America, first settled in Massachusetts. Here we get the first trace of reliable information regarding the family, for here we find that Daniel McFarland, who was the great-grandfather of our subject, was born in 1731. He was the father of the following children: William, Abel; Sarah, Mrs. Stephen Cook, to whose union fifteen children were born; Anna, who became the wife of John Smiley and the mother of several children; John and Dorothy, who became the wife of Abel Millekin, and whose large family, together with the families of her brothers and sisters and their descendants forms a large part of the population of the United States.

In early life, and long before these children were born, Daniel McFarland, with his parents, emigrated to Washington County, Pa., their earthly possessions being conveyed across the Allegheny Mountains on the backs of horses. Here we find that the family purchased a large tract of land and became well to do. Daniel was called Major McFarland, although it is not now known how he received the title originally. A devoted Christian, he was, like all the early members of the family, a Presbyterian in faith. On the farm where he first settled he attained to a good old age, and there he died. He was spoken of in the highest terms as an upright, honest Christian gentleman.

The grandfather of our subject, William McFarland, was born on the home farm in Washington County, Pa. the exact date of his birth cannot be given, but as near as can be ascertained, it was in 1756. He was a farmer by occupation, and at a good old age died on the place where his whole life had been spent. He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and for thirty-six years prior to his death served as Justice of the Peace. In 1779 he married Miss Hannah Belsly, and they had the following children: James, William S., Samuel, Thomas, Rebecca, Sarah, Polly, Dilly, Patty and Hannah.

William Scott McFarland, the father of our subject, was born on the old home farm in Washington County, Pa., December 11, 1789, and was the fourth among nine children. About 1817 he removed with his family to Knox County, Ohio, and settled on a farm near Martinsburg, then an almost unbroken wilderness. Here he applied his energy to improving and beautifying a home, causing the wilderness to "bloom as the rose." He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church at Martinsburg, and was a strong temperance man. He died in that city September 13, 1865, at the age of seventy-six years.

Of the children comprising the family of William Scott McFarland, we note the following: John Milton, the eldest, was born in Washington County, Pa.; Jane, Emily, Joseph, Addison, Thomas and Samuel were born in Knox County, Ohio. Jane and Thomas died in infancy, and Samuel in middle life. Joseph Addison is now living on the old homestead in Ohio, and is a prosperous farmer; he has a wife and six children. Emily has spent many years of her life in looking after and caring for the sick and sorrowing ones of earth, and her work has been well and faithfully done.

Regarding the history of the Pierson family but little can be learned more than the mere fact that Anna Pierson, our subject's mother, was born in New Jersey September 27, 1789, her parents being natives of Holland, and her mother bearing the maiden name or Sarah Van Dyke. She was one of the following children: Nicholas, Van Dyke, Philemon, Aruna, John, Katharine, Anna, Hannah, Sarah and Margaret. Her death occurred at the old homestead in Ohio, March 5, 1871. Thus briefly we have given the outline of one of America's oldest families. Referring directly to the history of our subject, we find that he was a little child when his parents removed to the vicinity of Martinsburg, Knox County, Ohio, and there his early years were passed, much as the youthful years of all boys in the then wilderness of Ohio. He aided in clearing up the farm, attended the primitive schools of the day, and later entered an academy at Granville, Ohio, where his education was completed. Later, he taught a country school. At the age of twenty years he entered a dry-goods store in Homer, and for the next five years we find him clerking for L. W. Knowlan at Utica, Ohio, and Daniel Axtell, at Homer, Ohio, afterward forming a partnership with D. Axtell in Martinsburg, Ohio.

Upon leaving the employment of Mr. Knowlan, who was a good Christian man, Mr. McFarland wanted some sound advice, and therefore asked his employer what he had better do. The reply was: "Do something, and do it well." All who know Father McFarland know that he bas faithfully followed this advice, for he has always been doing something, and has always done it well. At the age of twenty-five he became a partner of Daniel Axtell, and continued in that connection for two years. At the age of twenty-seven he married Miss Sarah Ann Kincaid, who was born in Pennsylvania September 18, 1824. Her parents, Thomas and Anna Kincaid, came from the North of Ireland. Her father, a man of culture, had been educated for the ministry, but abandoned that profession in order to become a merchant. She bad four brothers and three sisters: Robert, William, Thomas, Wesley, Elizabeth, Margaret and Bell, only three of whom now survive.

Shortly after his marriage Mr. McFarland formed a partnership with William Kincaid, a brother of his wife. A few years afterward he removed with his family to Newton, Iowa. He lived on a farm, and then established on a small scale the now extensive dry-goods house of which he is the proprietor. For more than fifty years he has been in the dry-goods trade, with the short exception noted above. November 21, 1883, after a happy married life of forty-two years, his devoted wife passed away. Their union had been blessed with five children, who are sketched as follows: Laura on the 1st of October 1863, married William G. Work, who at that time was home on a furlough, he being a soldier in Company E, Fourth Iowa Cavalry. About a year later she went to him in camp, near Memphis, Tenn., thence to Helena, Ark., remaining with the army until the spring of 1865, when they returned to Newton. Their daughter, Emily, who was born October 21,1865, was united in marriage May 3, 1887, with Dr. A. M. Lynn, of Des Moines, and departed this life October 2, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Work have resided in Des Moines since 1884, he being interested in the manufacture of starch.

H. M. McFarland, the second child of our subject, served for three years in the late war, being a member of Company K, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry. In 1866 he married Adeline Newell, and they have three children: Frank, Dale Fleming and Donnell. For a number of years he was in the dry-goods business in Newton with his brother Charles and their father, but for the past nine years he has been an extensive real estate dealer in Des Moines. He is an active member of the Plymouth Congregational Church of that city.

Charles McFarland, now the active manager and partner in the mercantile establishment at Newton, and one on whom his father especially leans for assistance in his declining years, was educated, as were the other children, in Hazel Dell Academy, and has been a member of the firm of McFarland & Son since the house was founded. December 28, 1873, he married Annie Morris, and they became the parents of three children, viz.: Mary, who died at the age of two years; Morris, at the age of two years and a-half; and Mabel, when five years old.

Emily McFarland, who was born March 28, 1848, died May 31, 1865. William Scott, the youngest of the five children, was born August 4, 1850, and married Jennie Clark. For a time he was a partner in his father's store, but at the time of his death, May 9, 1880, he had been a clerk in the store of John V. Farwell & Co., of Chicago, in which city his widow and son Scott now reside. The McFarland family has for generations been prominent in the Presbyterian Church. Our subject became identified with that denomination at the age of seventeen years, since which time he has lived an upright, Christian life. At the close of the late war he became a member of the Congregational Church, and for the past twenty years has served as Deacon.

Coming from an old-line Whig family, it is not strange that Mr. McFarland has been a strong Republican from the days the party was organized. When departing this life, the record, which he will leave behind him may well be emulated by present and future generations. He has among his valued possessions a handkerchief, now nearly one hundred years old, which was made from a piece of a shirt worn by his grandfather, he having grown the flax, and his daughter manufactured it into cloth. Page 620.

~ J. W. McLaughlin ~

J. W. McLaughlin, an influential businessman of Newton, was born Bear Beaver Falls, Lawrence County, PA, May 27, 1852. His parents, Robert and Amanda (Wilson) McLaughlin, were natives of Lawrence County and were of Scotch-Irish lineage. The history of both families dates back to a very early day in the settlement of this county. Grandfather James McLaughlin was born in Pennsylvania, and followed the occupation of a farmer until his death, which occurred in the Keystone state.

Jeremiah Wilson, our subject's maternal grandfather, was born in Pennsylvania and there followed the occupation of farming in connection with his trade of a stonemason until his death, which occurred about 1852. The grandmothers on both sides came to Jasper County, where both died about 1872. Robert McLaughlin, father of our subject, was born in Lawrence County, PA, and was the youngest of five brothers, the others being James, William, Daniel and John. James served in the Mexican War; William, who was a soldier in the Civil War, went to Florida shortly after the close of that struggle and died in that State; Daniel came to Jasper County and died prior to the opening of the war; of John, the next to the youngest, we have no record for more than forty years.

In 1856 the brothers, James, William, Daniel and Robert, and both grandmothers of our subject came from Pennsylvania to Iowa and settled at Newton, where Robert worked at his trade of a carpenter until 1860. He then, with his family and his brothers James and William, went to Kansas and located near Garnett, Anderson County, where he built the first frame house erected in that town. In 1861, at the first call for troops, he enlisted in the fifth Kansas Cavalry as a private, and served faithfully for three years. He was wounded at Helena, AR, and from the effects of the wound died in a hospital at Little Rock in 1864.

The death of the father left the widowed mother with four small children and with but limited means. Our subject, the only son, although but twelve years old at the time of the father's death, aided his mother in the work of managing the farm. Some four years afterward his mother married H. Harbison, and during the same year (1868) he started out to make his own way in the world. Of his sisters we note the following: The eldest, Almina, married K H. Downer and died to Leavenworth, KS, in 1878; Lydia is the wife of Dr. D. C. Craig, a prominent physician of Garnett, KS; Phena is unmarried and lives with her mother, who is now a resident of Kansas City, MO.

In 1868, when our subject started out to make his way in the world, he found that he had very limited education. He returned to Newton, Iowa, where he had relatives, and set out to equip himself with more thorough education. He entered the Hazel Dell Academy, and while he was but a boy and without means he possessed an abundance of will power and determination and knew no such word as "fail." For three years he was an industrious student, clerking in a store during vacations in order to defray his expenses. His education was finally completed in a private school in Newton, and directly afterward he obtained a position in the office of the Jasper County Coal & Railroad Company, with which he remained for five years. He then entered the store of Barns & Condit, where he held a position for four years. With the earnings he had meantime accumulated, he entered into business with Willis McColloms under the firm name of Mc Laughlin & McColloms. Their grocery store was opened in 1879, and the partnership continued until l885, when our subject bought out his partner's interest and has since continued the business himself. From a small beginning be has established the most extensive and profitable business in his line in Jasper County.

While devoting his attention principally to his grocery, Mr. McLaughlin has also been interested in other enterprises. In the year 1884, when the Newton Canning Company was organized, he was one of the original stockholders, and in 1887, when the company was reorganized, he was elected Secretary of the company, a position he has since held. At a meeting in January 1893, be was elected both Secretary and Manager, although he had virtually been manager prior to that time. The company transits an extensive business and sells annually more than a half-million cans of products.

In December 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. McLaughlin and Miss Dell, the accomplished daughter of the late J. W. Wilson, who was a prominent attorney of Newton. In his political affiliations our subject is liberal in his views, but inclines toward the Republican Party. An influential Mason and Knight Templar, he served the blue lodge as Master and was at the time the youngest man who bad filled that important position. He has also been High Priest of the chapter and Eminent Commander of the Commandery.

He was one of the charter members of the Knights of Pythias. In his social circles he is general favorite, and is a pleasant, entertaining companion. While all the early representatives of his family were identified with the Old Presbyterian Church, he is not connected with any religious organization, his contributions, however, have aided in the work of the various churches, and he is a liberal supporter of benevolent and charitable projects. p. 204.

~ Mary Mead ~

Mary (Fitzgerald) Mead deserves both pleasure and profit from the Management of her estate, which is located in Fairview Township, Jasper County, and bears a full line of excellent improvements. Her parents were Thomas and Catherine (Kiley) Fitzgerald, both natives of Ireland, where her birth occurred April 1, 1832. The grandfather, Thomas Kiley, was the owner of a large farm in his native country, and was married to Margaret Brown. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Margaret, Bridget, Mary, Johannah, Anna, Ellen, Catherine, Patrick, Thomas and Michael. The mother was a Catholic in religion, and died in her seventy-third year. The father died when seventy-four.

The parents of our subject had born to them nine children, all growing to mature years but one. They are, John, Mary (our subject), Catharine, Cornelius, Margaret, Ann, Bridget and Thomas. Mrs. Fitzgerald obtained a good common school education in her early days add died at the early age thirty-six years, in the faith of the Catholic Church. The father emigrated to this country in 1850 and died eighteen months after his arrival, at the age of sixty years. He also belonged to the Catholic Church.

Mrs. Mary Mead emigrated to the United States with her father when she was eighteen, and in her twenty-third year was united in marriage with Edward Mead, a native of New York, She bore her husband six children, two of whom were lost in infancy. Those living bear the names of Catharine, John, Margaret and Edward. The children all received good school advantages and are now married and prosperous in life. Six months after their marriage the young couple came to this County and township, living on a rented farm. In 1862 they bad accumulated enough money to enable them to purchase an unimproved piece of property, at once setting about its cultivation. The husband and father was a hard worker, an economical and sagacious man, and the home soon showed signs of a thrifty manager. Mr. Mead was born in Ireland and was engaged in agricultural pursuits the greater part of his life. He was called from time to eternity April 11, 1891, when at the advanced age of seventy-six years, respected and mourned by his many friends. He was a Democrat politically and held many township offices, serving with satisfaction to his constituents. He was, like his wife, a member of the Catholic Church. Mrs. Mead received in her youth a good education, which is of great value to her in the management of the home estate. The farm comprises two hundred and eighty acres of fertile and productive land, which is taken care of in the best possible manner and yields a handsome compensation to return. p. 207.

~ James Roe Mershon ~

James Roe Mershon, who for many years was a prominent Congregational minister, and later for more than a quarter of a century was one of the most prominent businessmen of Newton, was born in Fleming County, Ky., April 19, 1815. The first record we have of the Mershon family is one Henry Mershon and son by the same name, who fled from Paris, France, to the United States during the persecution of Louis XIV. They settled in New York, where the senior Henry, being heir to a large estate in France, left his son, then a lad of thirteen years, and started on the return trip to his native land in order to settle up the estate; on the voyage the ship was wrecked and no more was ever heard of him or the estate.

The lad who was left in New York grew to manhood in that city, married and located on Long Island, where he was engaged in farming. Prior to that he had followed his trade of a weaver. Subsequently he removed to New Jersey, but nothing further is known concerning his history. He had five sons and five daughters, one of the former was married in New Jersey, and in that state Cornelius, the father of J. R., was born. He was a child of four years when the family moved to Fleming County, Ky., where Grandfather Mershon passed away.

A man of liberal education and a well-known planter of the Blue Grass State, Cornelius Mershon traded in slaves, which he purchased in the more southern states and disposed of further north. This venture proving unprofitable, he abandoned it, and about 1844 came to Iowa, where he afterwards resided. He was the father of sixteen children, of whom all except two grew to manhood and womanhood, J. R. being the sixth in order of birth. At this writing four are living, namely: J.R.; C. H., a retired merchant residing in Des Moines; Dr. Elias, for years a prominent physician, but now leading a retired life on his farm near Newton; and Eliza, who married C. P. Gilkison, a successful merchant of Cedar Rapids, where he died; she is now a resident of Chicago.

The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood years on his father's farm, and at the age of six- teen entered the Urbana (Ohio) Acaden1Y, of which two years later he was chosen Principal, serving in that capacity for two years. For some time he taught in the Cincinnati College, and while there formed the acquaintance of Doctor and Harriet Beecher Stowe, who took a great interest in him. Through their advice and influence he determined to enter Yale College to prepare for the ministry, and accordingly, in 1840, we find him a student in that great institution of learning, from which he was graduated in 1844. Afterward he spent three years in theological study at Andover and New Haven, and at the expiration of that time he was ordained to the ministry and installed as pastor of the Congregational Church at Durham, Conn.

In 1852 Rev. Mr. Mershon removed from Connecticut to Marion, Iowa, having accepted the pastorate of the Congregational Church at that place. After filling that pulpit for one year, his health failed and he resigned the charge. In 1854 he came to Newton and joined his brother in mercantile pursuits. Two years later he was instrumental in organizing the first Congregational Church in this city, and later he succeeded in securing George Beecher, son of Dr. Ed ward Beecher, to fill the pulpit. From the organization of the church to the present time, he has been one of its foremost members, and has contributed liberally of his means and time to the promotion of its enterprises.

Since 1854 Mr. Mershon has been actively engaged in business pursuits, in which he has acquired a competency. He built, and for many years operated, the Newton Roller Mills. With the Pennsylvania Railway Company back of him, he projected a railroad through the state, toward which he had secured about $1,300,000 in subsidy and had already commenced to work on the grade. While in the east making the final arrangements, the panic of 1873 struck the country and he was unable to execute his plans. Much of his time in late years has been spent in travel, and he has not only visited the points of interest in our own country, but has also made several trips abroad. He has contributed liberally of his large means to aid education, charity and every laudable enterprise. The first marriage of Mr. Mershon occurred in 1845, when he was united with Susan M. Atwater, of New Haven, Conn. They had four children, only one of whom survives, Anna Louisa, who was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1847, and received her education in Auburn, N, Y. She is the wife of C. B. Parcells, formerly of Newton, but now of Oakland, Cal. Mrs. Susan Mershon died in 1853, and two years later our subject married Mrs. Elizabeth Chapman, widow of George Chapman, the founder and editor of the Indianapolis Sentinel; this lady died in March 1862, leaving no children.

In June 1863, Mr. Mershon was united in marriage with Miss. Margaret A. Manfull, a cousin of Emma Willard, of Troy Female Seminary. Their union resulted in the birth of two children. James Edward, who was born September 10, 1864, is a graduate of the Iowa State University and is now a practicing attorney of Des Moines. Emma Willard, who was born February 9, 1867, received her primary education in the schools of Newton and was graduated from Snell Seminary, Oakland, Cal. Early in life she developed a wonderful musical talent, and in this in her girlhood days she gained quite a local reputation. In 1887, she was sent to Paris, where she studied vocal music, and later in London, in 1888, she became a pupil of the celebrated Francisca Lamperte, at Milan, Italy. In 1889, she made a most brilliant debut in high opera, and in the spring of the following year married Nicholas Konchine, an artist of the same school and a resident of Moscow, Russia, being a Russian nobleman of fine musical talent and great wealth. Their winters have been spent in Rome, but their permanent home is in Moscow. Of his talented daughter our subject is justly proud. While she was being educated abroad he spent about two years with her, and during that time traveled extensively through the Old World. The mother of these children died August 20, 1868.

September 30, 1872, Mr. Mershon married Mrs. Jennette E. Baldwin, of Meriden, Conn. They are living quietly, but in perfect contentment, in their elegant home in Newton, surrounded by all the luxuries that enhance the pleasures of life. While he is nearing four-score years, he is still as active as in days gone by, and as ever, is a thoughtful student. Page467.

~ Col. John Meyer ~

Col. John Meyer, an influential merchant of Newton, and, in point of time, the oldest grocer at this place, was born near Bellefonte, Pa., February 26, 1824. He traces his ancestry to Germany, whence his paternal great- grandfather immigrated to America in 1743 and settled in Pennsylvania. Grandfather Henry Meyer had a family of ten children, the fifth of whom was Valentine, father of the Colonel, who was born in Bucks County, Pa., March 3, 1793. On the 5th of April 1814, he married Elizabeth Hoy, and continued thereafter to make his home in the Keystone State until his death, which occurred April 5, 1859.

Our subject's mother was born in Union County, Pa., September 21, 1792. Her father, John Hoy, was born in the same county in 1767, and through- out his entire life followed the occupation of a farmer. He was twice married, becoming the father of sixteen children, seven by his first and nine by his last union. The next to the youngest of these were twins, Elias and Jonas, who so greatly resembled each other that even their father was never able to tell them apart. Our subject's maternal grandmother bore the maiden name of Barbara Kreichbaum and was of immediate German descent, her father having been a native of Germany.

Of the brothers and sisters of our subject we note the following: Mary, the eldest, was born February 2, 1815, and was twice married, becoming the mother of ten children; now a second time widowed, she makes her home in Clinton County, Pa. Samuel was born September 10, 1816, and received a liberal education in Mercersburg (Pa.) College. Subsequently settling in California, he there gained distinction as a literary man and as a politician. He served in the State Legislature and for a number of terms officiated as State Senator, in which positions he represented his constituents with ability and efficiency. Twice married, he became the father of eight children. On the 3rd of February 1889 he died at Stockton, Cal., where his widow and children now reside.

Catherine, the third member of the family circle, was born July 9, 1818, and in 1843 became the wife of Samuel Keister, to whom she bore seven children; she is now living in Clinton County, Pa. William, who was born April 30, 1820, was a farmer by occupation, and served as County Commissioner, being an influential citizen in his community. He was twice married and hall a family of five children; his death occurred in Clinton County, Pa., in 1879. Elizabeth was born February 19, 1822, and died unmarried, December 22, I 1846. Susan was born February 9, 1826, and was twice married, becoming the mother of three children, all of whom are living; she died March 6, 1856. Joseph was born October 17, 1827, and removing to Iowa, died in Newton July 21, 1858; he married but had no children.

The subject of this sketch grew to manhood upon his father's farm, where his time was passed in a manner similar to that of other farmer boys in those early days. He aided in the work of clearing the land, attended log rollings, chopped wood and assisted in other work. A thoughtful, observing lad, he was able, notwithstanding his limited schooling, to obtain a broad fund of information upon all general topics. That he early applied himself to his studies is evidenced by the fact that in 1846 he became a student in Mifflinburgh College, where he prosecuted his literary labors with diligence and success. In 1847 he entered Oberlin (Ohio) College, from which institution he was graduated in 1853.

August 25 of the same year, Colonel Meyer married Miss Cornelia Beebee, who was also a student in Oberlin College, graduating there from. Mrs. Meyer was born in New York and was the eldest survivor of five daughters, two of whom died in childhood. But one aside from Mrs. he Meyer is now living, Julia, who is the wife of as Albert Case, of Minnesota. Her father, Ward W. Beebee, was a native of Connecticut and a prominent stock speculator in Wall Street.

For two years after his marriage Colonel Meyer operated a farm in Ohio, spending one year in Mt. Vernon, that state. In 1856 he came to Iowa, locating in Newton, where for one year he taught Williamsburg Academy. At the expiration of that time he bought out the grocery firm of Farrington & McGregor, and since that year (1857) en has continuously engaged in that business in the same storeroom. However, he has not given the business his personal attention during this entire period, having been busy in other enterprises.

In the fall of 1861 Colonel Meyer was elected to the State Legislature. He attended the session in January 1862, and the extra session in July of the same year, but he found he had a more important duty to perform, for the war clouds that as he had hoped would clear away commenced to grow darker, and he set himself to doing something to preserve the Union and save the Old Flag from disgrace. He helped to organize three companies of soldiers for the army, and was chosen Captain of the last, Company K, of the old Twentieth Infantry. This was in August 1862. In the fall of Id the same year he was sent with his company to Helena, Ark., where he participated in several important expeditions.

In the spring of 1863 the Captain accompanied Grant's army to Vicksburg, and on the 1st of May took part in the battle of Port Gibson, and on the 16th of the same month was at Champion Hills. His troops, being in the Thirteenth Army Corps, stood the brunt of this battle, and his regiment lost more men than any other in the engagement. He participated in the memorable siege of Vicksburg, from May 22 until the fall of the city July 4. After the surrender, his troops joined General Sherman, who followed Johnson in the direction of Jackson. Soon afterward he was transferred to the Gulf department, where he remained until March 1864, under General Banks. He was present at the battle of Sabine's Crossroads, where his loss was heavy. In Jane he was transferred, with his troops, to Washington, D. C., to aid in the defense of that city from the approach of the rebel General Early. Soon he was ordered thence to the Shenandoah Valley, where he took part in the battles of Winchester, September 19; Fisher Hill, September 22, and was at Cedar Creek at the time of Sheridan's memorable ride. At the latter battle there were eight field officers in his brigade, he being one of the number. Four were killed and two severely wounded, while he and one other Officer escape without a scratch. Commanding officer having been wounded in the early part of the day, the command of the regiment devolved upon the subject of this sketch.

From the Shenandoah Valley Colonel Meyer proceeded to Savannah, Ga., and from there to Augusta, Ga., thence, with a detachment of soldiers to Aikin, N. C., with orders to administer the oath of allegiance to all who had been active in the Rebellion in that section of the country. At the close of the war he was given a colonels commission for his meritorious conduct, and in August 1865, he was honorably discharged from the service. At once he started for home and on his arrival at Grinnell, twenty miles from Newton, he was notified that, without his knowledge or consent, he had been nominated as a candidate for State Senator. In the election that followed he was triumphantly elected. He served with distinction until 1868, at which time he retired, and so far as politics is concerned remained so until 1877, when he was again elected to the State Senate, serving until 1880. Since that time he has applied himself to his private business and has refused to reenter the political arena. He has never been what is commonly denominated a politician, for all the honors he has enjoyed have been thrust upon him without being sought. He has filled many of the local offices of the town and was for many years a member of the School Board and the City Council.

In politics the Colonel was before the organization of the Republican Party a profound Abolitionist and knew much of the Underground Railroad. When the Republican Party was started, he cast his lot with it and has remained faithful to its principles. A prominent member of the Grand Army of the Republic, he has been its representative in various assemblies, and served as its delegate to the National Encampment at Washington in 1892. He has been a strong advocate of temperance and has never used tobacco or liquor in any form. For many years he has been a member of the Congregational Church, in which he is now a Deacon.

Colonel and Mrs. Meyer have been the parents of eight children, but one of whom is now living. Chase Sumner was born June 4, 1854, and died January 13, 1855; Ella was born October 23,1855, and died March 26, 1859; Cornelia, who was born September 8,1857, married Frank Fisk, of Newton, they have three children: Welcom, who died when seven years of age; Roy, now a boy of eleven years (1893), and Amanda, who is six years old. Mrs. Fisk was educated at Oberlin College and is an accomplished lady and a talented musician, having led the church choir for twenty years. Emma, who was born November 25, 1859, died January 29, 1862; Willie was born March 8, 1862, and died February 28, 1864; Eva was born June 8, 1866, and died February 26, 1868; Mary was born June 4, 1869, and died October 20, 1876; Julia Edith was born August 28, 1873, and died February 24, 1876. Page 300.

~ John Miller ~

John Miller a well-known and representative pioneer settler of Mound Prairie Township, Jasper County, now living on section 2, is a native of the Empire State. He was born in Fulton County, NY, December 29, 1833, and his parents, John and Maria (De Graugh) Miller, were also born in that state. The father served as a soldier in the War of 1812. When the subject of this sketch was a lad of twelve years, his parents immigrated westward to Kendall County, IL, where he made his home for nine years. During that time his father died. His education was acquired in the public schools of New York and Illinois, and also in the subscription schools of the former state, but though his privileges in that direction were not of the best, he has been a great reader and has thereby become well-informed man.

Mr. Miller is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Jasper County, for be here located in 1853, taking up his residence in what is now Mound Prairie Township. After a time he removed to his present farm on section 2. It was all wild land, not a furrow having been turned or an improvement made thereon. He became familiar with all the duties, experiences and hardships of pioneer life. In an early day he broke prairie with three or four yoke of oxen, and has performed all the arduous tasks of developing new land. He has seen the county transformed from a wild and unsettled region into one of rich fertility, and has ever borne his part in the work of public improvement and advancement.

May 21, 1854, Mr. Miller was united in marriage with Miss Jane, daughter of John Cannon, one of the early settlers of Jasper County. They had a family of eight children, but only three are now living, namely: John W., Nancy and Lemuel J. Their home is on a good farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which yields to the owner a good income in return for the care and cultivation he has bestowed upon it. His business career has been a prosperous one, and he deserves all the more credit for it, as his success is due entirely to his own efforts. Be had not the advantage of capital or influential friends to aid him in starting out in life.

Mr. Miller has served his fellow-townsmen as School Director, and he filled the office of Trustee of Sherman Township when this section of Mound Prairie Township formed a part of Sherman Township. He has long been an advocate of the Republican Party and its principles. His official duties he discharged with promptness and fidelity and he has always been found true to every trust reposed in him. The interest which he has taken in the development and up building of the county and the prominent part he has taken in its development in the long years of his residence here well entitle him to representation among its honored pioneers. p. 178.

~ E. W. Mitchell ~

E. W. Mitchell, Justice of the Peace at Newton, was born in Hanover, June 13, 1826. His father, Jacob Mitchell, was of Scotch ancestry, and was a jeweler by trade. The mother of our subject, Amarilla (Wright) Mitchell, came from good old Puritan stock, and was the sister of John S. Wright, the wealthy Boston merchant. When our subject was but two years old, the parents removed to the Empire State, and located on a farm in Livingston County, some six miles south of Geneseo. When he was ten years of age, he went to Geneseo, where his mother had a brother who was a merchant. Being naturally of an industrious disposition, he assisted his uncle in the store and attended school. After this he spent five years in the dry goods store of W. W. Bond, of Geneseo, N. Y., where he worked for his board and clothes, keeping the books and almost taking charge of the whole business. The last year he received $150 for his services. After leaving the store he went from city to city, going as far west as Detroit, and disposing of bankrupt stocks of goods.

Our subject is the youngest of four brothers, one of whom, H. F., had gone west and made considerable money as a land speculator, and at that time was a farmer living near Canton, Ill. He and our subject formed a partnership under the firm name of H. F. & E. W. Mitchell, and engaged in the mercantile, grain and pork-packing business in Canton, Ill., his brother furnishing the capital. This partnership continued for five years, when our subject sold out his interest and went into the general merchandising and pork-packing business at Farmington, Ill., with A. D. and H. Reed, under the firm name of A. D. Reed & Co., it being one of the largest packing and mercantile firms in the west, but he only remained one year. He again sold his interest to his partner, and he and his brother once more entered into partnership, building a business house at the corner of Third and Brady Streets, in Davenport, Iowa, and engaged in the dry-goods business, but after two years sold out to his brother.

In 1856, our subject came to Newton, and was in the mercantile trade for about a year and a half, when he again sold out, and since that time has been in public positions. He filled the office of Constable and City Marshal for several years, Justice of the Peace twelve years and served two terms in the City Council. During this time he was Government Internal Revenue Assessor of the county. April 26, 1867, he was appointed Government Inspector of the Fourth Iowa District, holding this position until the revenue law on tobacco, snuff and cigars was repealed, when he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of Jasper County. This position he held for some years, and about the year 1878 engaged in the book and stationery business with his son under the firm name of J. J. Mitchell & Co. In this he continued until 1888. In 1890 he was again elected Justice of the Peace, and elected in 1892, he still fills the position. Politically, he has been a Republican ever since the party was organized.

Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage October 18, 1848, in Canton, Ill., to Miss Margaret F. Freeman of that place. Of this union there were nine children, two of whom died in infancy, Laura Deborah, born in Canton, Ill., and Herbert Hamilton, born at Newton. Iowa. The eldest son, Rev. James J., or J. J. (as he is familiarly called), was born at Canton, Ill. He removed with his parents to Newton and received most of his education in Pella and at Iowa College, Grinnell, Iowa. He was studying to be a Congregational minister, but his health failed and for a time he engaged in business with his father. In the fall of 1885 he became an ordained Congregational minister and was pastor of the Wittenburg church. He is now pastor of the Congregational Church at Chester Centre, where he is located with his family. He is one of the great workers in the Iowa Chautauqua Assembly; he was its first President, and is now the Superintendent of Instruction and one of the Board of Trustees, and is justly called the Father of the Assembly.

Charles F. was born in Canton, Ill., and removed with his parents to Newton. When he was grown, he became a harness-maker. He worked at his trade most of his life, and carried on the harness business successfully for several years at Oxford, Iowa. He then came to Newton and worked in the book and stationery store of his father and brother. He made a good clerk and was liked by all who knew him. He died from the effects of injuries caused by an accident that occurred at the depot at Newton in the year 1885, at the age of thirty-two years.

Carroll F. was born at Davenport, Iowa. As soon as he was old enough he went into a drug store and learned the business. He worked at the drug business at Grinnell for more than ten years. Then he studied law under Judge Winslow, and was admitted to the Bar at Newton. After a short time he left law and became a commercial traveler. He traveled first for a Des Moines house, then for a New York firm, and later for a Chicago house. While traveling for the latter he made his home in Minneapolis, Minn. At length he left the road and engaged in business in the city, but in the summer of 1893 he sold the business he was engaged in and accepted a position in a large drug store in San Francisco, where he is now located with his family. Willis M., Mary E., Arthur L. and Gertrude F. were all born at Newton. Willis M. is an artist of note, and is now located at Minneapolis. He did the artistic work in the Congregational Church at Newton, which is considered to be one of the finest pieces of fresco work in the state.

Mary E. is a graduate of the high school at Newton, and for a while studied music in the Conservatory at Grinnell, and is now residing at home with her parents. She gives music lessons on the piano and organ. Arthur Lynn was a natural artist and become an expert in his art; he was work in a studio when he was taken sick, at Denver, Colo., where he died January 21, 1891. His body was brought home and interred in the Newton cemetery.

Gertrude F. was graduated at the high school at Newton, after which she taught country schools several years, and then attended the State Normal School at Cedar Falls, and by her untiring zeal completed the high school course in two years, and graduated with honor in 1890. In the fall she accepted a position in the Des Moines schools, which she held until in January 1893, then she accepted a position in the schools of Minneapolis, and is considered one of the best educators in Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have a family of more than ordinary ability, of which they may be justly proud. They are members of the Congregational Church. Page 355.

~ Elias B. Moffitt ~

Elias B. Moffitt, one of the largest landowners of Jasper County, and a well-known resident of Newton Township, was born near Winchester, Randolph County, IN, November 7, 1842. He traces his ancestry to Hugh Moffitt, an Irishman by birth, and one of four brothers who came to the United States and settled in North Carolina. Grandfather Joseph Moffitt was born in North Carolina in 1776, and was a Quaker by birth. Early in life he removed to Ohio and located in Rosa County, where his son Stephen was born June 20, 1807.

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name was Mary Cox, was of English extraction. The Cox family was numbered among the pioneers of North Carolina and was prominent among the Quakers of that state, one of her uncles being a prominent preacher of that faith. She was born in Ohio and removed from there to Indiana, whence in 1852 she accompanied her husband to Iowa, settling on a farm in Jasper County, where she died May 8, 1853. Stephen Moffitt removed from the Buckeye State to Indiana in 1818, and there became known as a prosperous farmer. In 1852 he located upon the farm where our subject now resides, and on this place his eyes closed in death in December 1860.

Unto Stephen and Mary Moffitt were born ten children, nine of whom attained manhood and womanhood, Isypena married William Knight, a farmer residing in Seward County, NE; Irena who is unmarried, makes her home with our subject; Louisa, Mrs. William Hickman, died in Nebraska in 1892, leaving four children; Tamer E., married G. W. Hickman, and they with their four children live on a farm near Newton; James P. died in December, 1860, at the age of twenty-one years; Hugh L. is a prosperous farmer and lives near Newton; he and his wife, whose maiden name was Sarah E. Green, have six living children; Stephen. C. married Eliza Trost, and they are the parents of nine children.

At the age of ten years our subject accompanied his parents to Iowa, where be received a practical education in the common schools. August. 23, 1862, he enlisted in Company K, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, and participated in the battles of Fort Gibson, Vicksburg, Jackson, Champion Hills, the siege of Vicksburg and many other minor engagements. After having served actively for twenty-one months, he was taken ill and sent to the hospital at New Orleans, from which he was discharged on account of disability March 23, 1864. His brother Hugh was in the same company and regiment and served for three years.

Returning from the service, our subject resumed farming operations, in which he continued engaged until 1882. At that time he and his sister, who is now and ever has been a member of his home, took a trip to California, remaining in the Golden State for two years and enjoying a much needed relaxation from labor. Upon their return to the home farm, they resumed the usual routine of agricultural work, continuing thus engaged until 1890, when they went to the city of Newton to make their home. Mr. Moffitt was interested in the Newton Roller Mills, also in a store operated by the same company, of which he was a stockholder and director. Returning to his farm in 1892, he and his sister have since lived here, surrounded by every comfort conducive to happiness and blessed by the affection and esteem of a large circle of acquaintances.

There are doubtless few residents of Jasper County whose possessions aggregate an amount larger than those of Mr. Moffitt, who is the owner of about one thousand acres of valuable land and is numbered among the wealthiest residents of Newton Township. A Republican in political preferences, he has been chosen on his party ticket to serve in various local offices of trust, including the position of Township Trustee, in which he served with efficiency. A member of the Grange, he is influential in its councils and policy. He and his maiden sister are bound to each other by strong ties of affection, and their thoughts and opinions are in the same channel. They do not believe in religion as taught in the churches, but are followers of Tom Payne, Robert Ingersoll and others of that class of men usually denominated infidels. However, they believe in doing good unto all mankind, and arc generous with their large means and kind and helpful to all in need. p. 217.

~ John W. Murphy ~

John W. Murphy is recognized as one of the prominent and influential citizens of Jasper County. He is proprietor of the Elmwood Stock Farm, and is a leading citizen of Buena Vista Township. He is also engaged in merchandizing in the village of Murphy, and is serving as postmaster of that place. His name is inseparably connected with the history of locality, and therefore we take pleasure in presenting this record of his life to our readers.

Mr. Murphy was born in Highland County, Ohio, May 12, 1825, unto Daniel and Cynthia (Wildman) Murphy. The father was a native of Frederick County, VA, born October 3, 1798. The mother was born in Fayette County, PA, July 24, 1796, and was of English descent. Her family belonged to the Society of Friends, and her ancestors settled near Philadelphia shortly after William Penn located in the Keystone State. The Murphy family is of Irish lineage.

The subject of this sketch was reared in his native county, of which his parents were very early settlers. His father had there located in 1818, and his mother located in that community in 1815. John Murphy acquired the greater part of his education in the public schools eh-Highland County, and subsequently engaged in teaching for a number of terms in the Buckeye State. He embarked upon his business career as a merchant in 1852 at Russell Station, Ohio, where he carried on operations along that line until 1855.

That year he resumed farming, and also became Postmaster of Russell. In 1856 he exchanged his Ohio farm for the Elmwood Stock Farm, which he now owns. He has two hundred and thirty acres of good land under a high state of cultivation, and the improvements upon it make it one of the desirable and valuable places of the neighborhood. He located thereon in 1857, and has since there resided.

Mr. Murphy was married September 19, 1847, to Miss Ann E. Russell, a sister of S. G. Russell, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. Eight children were born unto them, of whom five are yet living: Laura A., wife of John Y. Swigart, of Lincoln, NE; John W., who is now in Utah; Cynthia P., wife of A. F. Woods, who is living in Buena Vista Township; Hamer E. and Bower T. Those deceased are Zilla J., Roswell T. and Seymour C.

Mr. Murphy has been honored with the office of Trustee of the township, and has served as Justice of the Peace. In politics he is a supporter of the Prohibition Party and is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church, having served as Secretary in its annual conference for many years.

Socially, he was connected with Newton Grange No.1, the first grand lodge organized in this state, and is a charter member of Buena Vista Grange No. 594, P. of H. He has been a member of the Iowa State Grange since 1876, and has served for six consecutive years as its Secretary. He is at present serving as Master of the home lodge, which convenes in a hall over his store in Murphy.

Our subject is a warm advocate of the temperance cause, and does all in his power for its promotion. He is always found on the side of right, and his influence and support are ever given to those enterprises, which are calculated to promote the best interests of the community. In his business dealings he has been very successful, his good management, enterprise, and fair and upright course winning him a handsome competence, which numbers him among the substantial citizens of the community. p. 193