Lee County Iowa
Genealogy
1879 Lee County History, Biographical Sketches
Fort Madison, City
Fort Madison Biographies
Arens thru Edwards
Jasper Arens: Insurance agent; was born in Prussia April 27, 1834; he lived there until 16 years of age, and emigrated to America in 1850; he came to Iowa the following year; arrived in Fort Madison, Lee County July 4, 1851; he learned the cooper trade, and followed that business for some years; he was engaged in the mercantile business for eight years, and then in the insurance business. He held the office of city Alderman. He married Elizabeth Wenka, from Prussia, in March, 1859; she was born Sept. 8, 1841; they had two children: Anna, and Theodore, born July 28, 1853.
Benjamin F. Anderson, carpenter and builder; was born in Montgomery Co., Ky., April 10, 1815; his parents removed to Quincy, Ill., when he was 14 years of age; lived there until he came to Iowa and settled in Dubuque, in April, 1833; he was brought up there, and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner; while living there, he cast his first vote, for George W. Jones, of Dubuque, for delegate to Congress; in the fall of 1836, he came to Lee Co.; he lived in Van Buren Co. some years, and also several years in Mahaska Co., then returned to Fort Madison, and then was engaged in building there; he helped build the first Methodist Church in Iowa; he held the offices of Postmaster and Justice of the Peace. He married Louisa Davis, a native of Ohio, in April, 1849; they had 5 children - Attica, WIlliam Roy (conductor on railroad), Frances (engaged in teaching), Letitia and William.
Conrad Ambord, manufacturer and dealer in furniture; born in Byrne, Germany, Nov. 15, 1817, where he learned the furniture business. He married Louisa Deobald, of Germany, in 1847; they came to America in 1850; arrived at Fort Madison June 28, 1850; he engaged in the furniture business the following year; was associated with his brother in business for fourteen years; Mr. Amborn manufactured his furniture; he made the furniture for the German American Bank, and manufactured as fine work as is made in the State. His son Conrad, Jr., was one of the most skilled workmen in the state; drew all the designs for their best furniture, and was an expert carver. Mr. and Mrs. Amborn had 9 children - Hannah, Josephine, Conrad, Lousia, Philip, Rudolph, Helen, Fred and Clara.
Timothy Allen was born in Hartford, Washington Co., N.Y., Sept. 13, 1823. There he married Miss Lucy Amelia Root, a native of Washington Co., N.Y., Dec. 18, 1846; they came to Iowa and located in Lee Co. in November, 1855; they settled on a farm near West Point; engaged in farming and continued fifteen years; in 1873, Mr. and Mrs. Allen removed to the city, where he built a large, pleasant home; they had an only child, a daughter - Celia P.; she married Mr. S. E. Stephenson Feb. 12, 1872; they lived on her father's farm.
William G. Albright, of the firm of William G. Albright & Son, merchants, dealers in dry goods and notions; he was born in Berks Co., Penn., June 10, 1816; he lived there until 14 years of age; then went to Lancaster, served an apprenticeship in the dry goods trade, and remained there seven years; he left Lancaster March 8, 1837, and went to St. Louis; came to Iowa and located in Fort Madison in the fall of 1839, and engaged in mercantile business, the firm being James Wilson & Co.; in 1841, his brother, J.W. Albright, bought out the interest of Wells and Wilson, and the firm became J.W. & W.G. Albright; in 1847, R.W. Albright, another brother, entered the firm, which was changed to Albright Brothers, and so continued until 1856, when R.W. withdrew; in 1864, J.W. withdrew from the firm, and the business was continued by William G. Albright; in 1867, his son Henry A. became interested in the business, the firm being William G. Albright & Son; subsequently, he withdrew, and, in January 1876, his son, William G., Jr., became interested in the business, the firm name remaining unchanged; Mr. Albright was actively identified with the interests and improvements of Madison Township and Lee County. He married in November, 1841, Miss Cynthia White, daughter of Edward White, Esq., one of the earliest settlers of Hancock Co., Ill.; they had six children - Harry A., Caroline (Mrs. R. B. Hatch), Grace, William G., Jr., Virginia, and Cynthia. Harry married a daughter of Joseph M. Edwards. William G., Jr., married Miss Annie J. Reed, of Council Bluffs. Members of the Presbyterian Church.
Jacob W. Albright, insurance agent; was born in Lancaster, Penn., Aug. 31, 1811; he was brought up in Pennsylvania, and served an apprenticeship as a printer in Harrisburg; he came to St. Louis in 1833, when that city contained only 8,000 people, and started the Evening Herald, the first newspaper published west of the Mississippi River; in 1837, he removed to Illinois, and was engaged on public works for a few years, then went to Philadelphia, and married Miss Rachel J. Wilson, a native of that city, July 5, 1840; they came to Iowa, and located in Fort Madison in the spring of 1841; he engaged in the mercantile trade with his brother, W.G. Albright; continued in business twenty eight years; since 1869, was engaged in the insurance business. He held the office of City Treasurer for three years; also City Alderman. They had three children - Katie, Jacob W., Jr (in the Fort Madison Bank), Daniel K. (in R.R. office in St. Louis); lost four children.
R.W. Albright, dealer in books, stationery and fancy goods; born in Reading, Penn., in June, 1813; he lived there until 1841, when he came to Iowa; located in Fort Madison, and engaged in publishing the Fort Madison Courier; he conducted it as an independent paper for six months, then changed the name to the Lee County Democrat, and continued until 1846; when he was elected the first Clerk of the county after the state was organized; since then he has been engaged in mercantile pursuits. He held the office of Mayor of Madison Township, and other town and school offices. He married Miss Catherine O. Schoner, a native of Pennsylvania, in 1836; they had six children, of whom three survive: John W., Robert W., and Katie.
Angear, J.J.M., M.D., physician and surgeon; was born in England Sept. 5, 1829; when 14 years of age, his parents came to America; they located in Racine Co., Wis.; he attended school, then entered Racine College and completed his education, graduating with degree of Bachelor of Science; he was the founder of the Berlin High School in Wisconsin, and was its Principal for four years; he studied medicine and graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, in the spring of 1860. During the war, he was commissioned Surgeon by President Lincoln, and served two years. He came to Iowa and located in Fort Madison in 1866; in 1871, he was appointed Professor of Physiology and Pathology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Keokuk, and still fills that chair; in 1872, he received the degree of A.M. from his Alma Mater; he has been President of the Commission of Insanity of Lee Co. since its organization, in 1870; he is a member of the State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, which body he represented in the British Medical Association, which met at Bath, England, in August, 1878; after the meeting, he spent much time in the hospitals of London and Paris; he is author of a number of articles in the medical journals and State reports, and is a popular lecturer; he has one of the best medical libraries in the State; Dr. Angear has given much attention to Microscopy, and has one of the finest instruments in the State, or indeed, the West; he is frequently called upon to testify in courts as a scientific expert. He is a Republican. He married Miss Sophia Smith April 19, 1855; she is a native of Racine Co., Wis., and is a daughter of Benjamin E. Smith, who was one of the earliest settlers of that county, who came there in 1836; Mrs. Angear is one of the finest persons born in Racine Co.; Dr. and Mrs. Angear have two sons - William J.S., born March 27, 1863, and Benjamin Horace, born Jan. 29, 1871.
Anthes, George, proprietor Central Hotel, Front street, opposite the depot; was born in Shelbyville, Shelby Co., Ind., March 21, 1840; when only 4 years of age, his parents removed to St. Louis, and he was brought up there; he came to Iowa and settled in Fort Madison, and has been engaged in the hotel business for a number of years; he built the present large and commodious house known as the Central House in 1874, and opened it to the traveling public Jan. 1, 1875, and it has the reputation of being one of the best hotels in the State, and is justly entitled to it. During the war, he enlisted in the 5th Reg. I. V. C., but only remained away a short time, on account of sickness. He married Miss Annie Leetje in St. Louis, Mo., in June, 1860; they have five children - George P., Amelia, Charlie, Albert and Elizabeth.
Auwaerter, John M., wagon-maker; was born in Germany July 19, 1833; there learned the trade of wagon-making; emigrated to America in 1853; lived in Ohio two years; came to Iowa and located in Fort Madison in 1855, and began working at his trade, and since then has been engaged in his present business. He married Miss Elizabeth Faeth, from Germany, Oct. 25, 1859; they have seven children - Lizzie, Katie, Anna, Ellen, Mary, Eddie, and Willie; they lost one son.
Atlee, John C., native of Maryland, was born on the 22d day of March, 1816, the son of Samuel J. and Martha Atlee; several years prior to his birth, his parents had removed from Lancaster Co., Penn.; upon the death of his mother, which occurred when he was only a few weeks old, he was left to the care of his grandmother, who lived at the old home of his parents in Pennsylvania; there he remained until he attained his 12th year; and after the death of his grandmother, he lived first with his uncle, Henry Stickler, and afterward with an older brother, William A. Atlee; at the age of 16, he was apprenticed to his brother, Jacob C. Atlee, to learn the carpenter's trade; he continued thus employed during the next two years, and at the expiration of that time, his brother retiring from business, he went to Philadelphia to finish his trade; soon afterward, in 1835, he went to New York, and there worked one year at his trade; in 1836, he went by sea to Mobile, Alabama, and thence by Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans; he did not like the South, however as he had anticipated, and leaving New Orleans, he went up the Mississippi to St. Louis, and finally settled for a short time in Quincy, Ill.; in1837, he spent a few months at Fort Madison, and was so thoroughly pleased with the place that he determined to make it his future home. Going to Quincy, he was there married to Miss Emeline S. Brooks, and immediately returning to Fort Madison, established himself at his trade, and continued it with good success for six years; having accumulated from his hard-earned savings a sufficient capital, he purchased a farm within a few miles of town, and for several years employed himself in agricultural pursuits; returning to Fort Madison in 1852, he formed a co-partnership with his brother, Isaac R. Atlee, and during the next two years carried on a successful lumber trade; extending his operations in 1854, he, in company with Nathaniel Bennet, built the first steam saw-mill that was erected at Fort Madison, and was doing a very prosperous business until 1856 and 1857, when they became somewhat involved and embarrassed in the financial crisis that swept over the country during those years; however, by close attention to business, and a course of economy and strict integrity, they avoided the serious consequences which befell many business men; Mr. Atlee afterward purchased the interest of his partner, and associated with himself, his son Samuel, and from that time until the present, the business has been conducted under the firm name of S. & J. C. Atlee; the business tact, cool judgment and clear foresight of Mr. Atlee are best attested by the growth of his business; the mill, in all its appointments, is inferior to none on the Mississippi River; at the time when the son became associated in the business, it was producing about 15,000 feet of lumber per day; at the present time the mill has a capacity of 55,000 feet of lumber per day, and of 20,000,000 shingles and 4,000,000 of lath per year, and employs 150 men. In local enterprise, Mr. Atlee has been somewhat active, and heartily co-operates in all matters pertaining to the growth and prosperity of his city; personally and socially, his is a man of excellent qualities, and throughout his life has maintained an adherence to those principles of honor and fair dealing that have suecured to him the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has had to do; he has accumulated a handsome fortune, and lives in the enjoyment of a happy home; he has four children - Samuel J., (mentioned above), William H., (who is a book-keeper for the firm), Martha and Maggie.
Atlee, Samuel, of the firm of S. & J. C. Atlee, manufacturers and dealers in lumber, sash, doors and blinds; was born in Ft. Madison, Oct. 29, 1838, and is one of the oldest natives of Fort Madison now living here; his father, John C. Atlee, is one of the oldest, most honored and enterprising citizens in Lee County. Samuel received his education here and entered his father's mills, soon after becoming associated with him in the business; now has the active management of the business; they employ about one hundred and fifty men and boys, and have a capacity of manufacturing 12,000,000 feet annually; are the largest manufacturers of lumber in this section of the State. Mr. Atlee married Miss Nancy M. Wright, a native of this State, Jan. 20, 1867.
Bacon, James H., Dr., capitalist; was born in Washington Co., Tenn., July 19, 1816; he was brought up and received his education in that State; he studied medicine and, after graduating, practiced medicine in Nashville for some years; in 1840, he came to Illinois, located at Macomb, and remained there eleven years, and then came to Iowa and settled in Ft. Madison in 1851, and practiced here for seven years; in 1861, he engaged in banking here, with Judge Johnson, of Keokuk, and they continued together for ten years, when Dr. Bacon retired on account of his health, and bought a tract of land and improved it, in Green Bay Tp.; the farm contains 1,200 acres, and is known as “Bayview;” the improvements have cost $25,000; his son James H., Jr., lives on it. Dr. Bacon is a prominent member of the Christian Church, and preached for twenty years, in Illinois and Iowa; he married Sarah Lester from Dayton, Ohio, in May, 1839; she died Dec. 25, 1878, leaving son, James H. Bacon, Jr.; they lost one daughter, Alice. James H. Bacon, Jr., was born in Macomb, Ill., June 13, 1849; when 2 years of age, his parents came here, where he was brought up, and attended school; completing his education at Abingdon, Knox Co., Ill., where he took his collegiate course; he married Miss Lizzie Case, of Ft. Madison, May 16, 1871; they live on his father´s “Bayview Farm;” they have two children - James M., born July 8, 1872, and Alpha, born Jan. 1, 1874.
Baker, Charles O., homeopathic physician and surgeon; was born in Norwich, Chenango Co., N.Y., June 8, 1849; when 14 years of age, he removed to Michigan, where he attended school; he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he received his classical education; he studied medicine, and graduated in the medical department of that institution; the spring of 1878, after spending a few months in Keokuk, he came to Ft. Madison, and since then has practiced his profession here.
Beck, Joseph Marcus, Hon., was born April 21, 1823, in Clermont Co., Ohio; he was the youngest of eight children, whose parents were Samuel Beck and Hannah Morris, who were prosperous as agriculturists, and distinguished for piety, both earnest members of the Baptist Church; his mother was a daughter of Isaac Morris, of Virginia, and a brother of Senator Morris, of Ohio, distinguished as an early and fearless advocate of human freedom, and for his opposition to the monstrous anomaly of a slave-holding republic; the Morris branch of the family were of Welch extraction, and the Beck of English; his education was accomplished by his own exertion; teaching school, with other employments of an honorable native, gave him the means of securing a thorough education at Hanover College, which institution he left in 1843, and began teaching as Principal of the seminary at Vernon, Ind.; remained for one academical year then removed to Kentucky, where he taught two years; read law in Madison, Ind., in the office of Miles C. Egglestone, distinguished, at the time, as an eminent jurist, and in 1846, was admitted to the bar; after teaching school six months in Kentucky, he came to Lee County Iowa, settled in Montrose and practiced for two years; in 1850, he came to Fort Madison; in 1852, was elected Prosecuting Attorney and also Mayor of Fort Madison; in 1867, was elected Judge of the Supreme Court; served six years; in 1873, having received the nomination of the convention without a dissenting voice, he was re-elected; he is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Branch. In 1854, he was united in marriage to Clara C. Rinehart, daughter of Dr. William Rinehart, of Fort Madison; they had three children, two still living - William J. R. Beck, who is reading law with his father, and Vallie E., not attending Glendale College, near Cincinnati; will graduate in June, 1879; in politics, the Judge is a strong Republican, but his first vote was for Henry Clay; he has always been Antislavery, and when young, engaged in teaching school in a slave-holding State at a time when the advocacy of the rights of the black man was perilous; was distinguished for his manly and fearless attacks on the evil of human servitude; the Judge possesses a powerful mathematical mind; when pursuing his collegiate education, he was remarkable for his proficiency in mathematics; it will be only justice to remark that he was prominent as a scholar in all his classes. He is a member of the Baptist Church, which he joined when quite young; was Superintendent of a Sabbath school in his youth; from that time forward, he has taken a great interest in the Sunday-school cause; he is distinguished for his interest in education and our common schools, as one of the great institutions of the land; he has always led a temperate life; temperance in language, action and intercourse, is, with him, a natural characteristic; his life has been on of ceaseless activity and industry; and his assiduous attention to the legal interests of the commonwealth, within the province of the Supreme Court, is a matter of admiration to his intimate legal acquaintances; in society, the Judge is earnest; the educational discipline imparted to his mind by studies of a mathematical and abstract nature, have given it a permanent bias; it may be said with truth that on “his features sits deliberation and public care.” His constitution is yet robust, and his labors appear to have left unimpaired a body of more than natural vigor.
Bendlage, John B., cooper; was born in Hanover, Germany, Dec. 22, 1826, where he learned the carpenter´s trade; he emigrated to America, and landed at New Orleans, March 4, 1845, thence went to Cincinnati, and learned the cooper´s trade; in 1849, he moved to St. Louis; came to Iowa, and located in Fort Madison June 16, 1855; he worked at his trade two years, then engaged in business for himself; has continued in business for over twenty years and has built up a large business; he manufactures 6,000 lard tierces, 1,000 pork barrels and 10,000 apple and egg barrels yearly; when he came to this country, he only had two 5-franc pieces; he has held the office of City Alderman for eight years; also, has represented the county in the Board of Supervisors; has been Town Trustee. He married Miss Elizabeth Menke, from Germany, Oct. 7, 1849; they have six children - Kate, Hermon, John, Theodore, Henry, Elizabeth - have lost six children.
Bernhard, Edward, of the firm of Peters & Bernhard, Potowonok Mills; born in Prussia Jan. 22, 1818; there learned the baker´s trade; he emigrated to America in 1854; came to Iowa; lived in Burlington three years; came to Fort Madison in 1857; was in the baker business seven years; in 1868, he engaged in the milling business with Mr. Peters; they built the large mill now operated by them and do an extensive business. He married Mrs. Dorothy Woolgast, from Germany, in1870; his wife had two children - Henry and Charlie.
Blackburn, Jacob C., Dr., Auditor of Lee County; was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 8, 1832; he received his education there, studied medicine, and graduated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, in February, 1856; after graduating, practiced in Cincinnati for seven years; came to Iowa, and located in Fort Madison in August, 1863; engaged in the practice of his profession and continued it until he was elected Auditor of Lee County, in the fall of 1873; he was re-elected to the same office in the fall of 1875, and again in the fall of 1877, each time being elected by the largest majority of any officer in the county. He married Miss Eleanor Davey, of Newport, Ky., May 20, 1855; they have had four children, and lost them all in infancy; they have one adopted son, W. G. Davey. Blackburn, Jacob C., Dr., Auditor of Lee County; was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 8, 1832; he received his education there, studied medicine, and graduated at the Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, in February, 1856; after graduating, practiced in Cincinnati for seven years; came to Iowa, and located in Fort Madison in August, 1863; engaged in the practice of his profession and continued it until he was elected Auditor of Lee County, in the fall of 1873; he was re-elected to the same office in the fall of 1875, and again in the fall of 1877, each time being elected by the largest majority of any officer in the county. He married Miss Eleanor Davey, of Newport, Ky., May 20, 1855; they have had four children, and lost them all in infancy; they have one adopted son, W. G. Davey.
Bonnell, John W., retired; was born in Essex Co., N.J., July 14, 1812; he was brought up and lived there until 31 years of age, when he and two of his brothers emigrated to Iowa, and located in Lee County, in October, 1843; the following spring, two other brothers came here; they engaged in the mercantile business here, and in Salem, Henry County, two years after, they bought a large tract of land, about 1,500 acres; engaged in farming, and continued in this way for five or six years, then they divided up the property; John continued farming until within a few years; he has rented his land and removed to Fort Madison; with his brother, owns about 600 acres of good land. He married Rosanna Houver, from this county, in 1857; she died the following year. He married Eliza M. Pittman in April, 1864; she is the daughter of W. G. Pittman, one of the earliest settlers of Lee County; they have had four children, only one son survives - Burton, born Feb. 22, 1872.
Brewster, Charles, President of the Fort Madison Bank; was born in Ireland in 1813; when only 12 years of age, with his grandfather, emigrated to America and was brought up in Philadelphia; he afterward removed to Indiana, lived there six years, come to Iowa and located in Fort Madison in 1844; he engaged in mercantile trade and successfully conducted that business for thirty-two years; there are only one or two merchants here who have been in business the same length of time; in 1876, he associated with Dr. J. A. Smith and engaged in the banking business; he is also a large landholder; when Mr. Brewster began life he had nothing, and, since he was 12 years old, he has cared for himself and owes his success in life to his own efforts, and is a man of strict integrity in all his dealings. He has been twice married; his first wife was Margaret Badoler, of Vincennes, Ind.; she died in 1852; in 1855, he married his present wife, Eliza J. DeForest, of Sharon, Penn.; they have three children - James, William and Martha.
Buchholz, Robert P., barber and hair-dresser; was born in Germany on the 12th of February, 1840; when 15 years of age, he came to America, to Iowa the same year, and settled in Lee Co. in 1855; he lived in Keokuk for six years; he established his business here in 1864, and has built up a good business; he has the oldest business and the largest trade in his line in town. He married Miss Lizzie Fricke, a native of Fort Madison, in April, 1872, they have four children - Emma, William, Minnie and a little boy not named.
Buechel, Valentine, retired; was born in Prussia June 11, 1826, and educated there; he emigrated to America in 1848, and went back to Prussia, but returned to America, came to Iowa and located in Fort Madison Aug. 19, 1850, and engaged in the grocery business; in 1851, he engaged in teaching, and continued until 1859, when he was elected to the State Senate and filled that office during two sessions; he has held office of Deputy Clerk of the Courts for two years, Deputy County Treasurer six years and also Deputy Recorder; he has held school offices for many years, and now holds office of City Alderman. He married Dorothea Dagenhardt, from Germany, in the fall of 1850; they have had ten children, only three survive - Mary R., Catharine A., Amelia C.
Bullard, A. J., far. S. 6; born in Des Moines Co., Iowa, May 19, 1835; came with his parents to Lee Co., May, 1836; they were among the early settlers of this county. Married Miss Amanda Walker in 1859; she was a native of New York State; died April 4, 1868; he married again, Miss Fannie Sniveley in 1870; born in Lee Co., Iowa, in 1847; has three children by former wife - Matilda, James and Rachel, and two dead - Oliver and Ellen; and by present wife, four - Charley, John, Theophilus and Sarah J. Owns 270 acres of land. Mr. and Mrs. Bullard are members of Methodist Church; Mr. Bullard is a Democrat.
Burster, Anton, proprietor of Concordia Brewery; was born in Wittemberg, Germany, Oct. 26, 1825; he there learned the trade of stone-cutter; in 1847, when 22 years of age, he emigrated to America, and lived in Chicago for three years, and also lived in St. Louis and New Orleans a short time, and came to Fort Madison in 1851, and began working at stone-cutting; in 1865, he engaged in his present business, and has continued it since then; he has held the office of City Alderman and has just been re-elected. He married Miss Augusta Henneberg, from Germany, Dec. 10, 1853; they have nine children; six survive - Adolph, Otto, Julius, Louise, Ernest and Emma.
Butterfield, Manly T., Clerk of the State Penitentiary; was born in Franklin Co., Me., June 29, 1836; his parents removed to Dearborn Co., Ind., where he lived until 1857, when he came to Iowa, located in Lee Co., and engaged in teaching school; was afterward engaged in farming; he continued farming and teaching until 1872; then removed to Fort Madison and was in the mercantile business for six years and was appointed to his present position. He married Miss Sarah E. Tibbetts, a native of Indiana, Oct. 28, 1858; Mr. Butterfield has held the office of County Supervisor and other town and school offices.
Campbell, J. W., now a resident of Ft. Madison, Lee Co., Iowa, was born on the North Fabius, Lewis Co., Mo., June 17, 1825, and became a resident of Lee Co., Iowa, in October 1830, and is to-day the second oldest inhabitant living in the county; while residing at Keokuk, in his boyhood days, he devoted a large share of his time to catching catfish and drift logs; this occupation inclined him in after years to a nautical life, and, in 1844, he shipped on board the steamer Mermaid in St. Louis, to learn to pilot on the Upper Mississippi River; he followed this occupation until 1851, when he was promoted to the position of Master of the steamer Badger State, plying between St. Louis and Galena; in succeeding years, he commanded the following boats: Hindon, in 1852; Envoy, 1853 to 1856; he built and commanded the Henry Clay in 1857 and 1858; City Belle and Kate Cassell in 1859 and 1860; Flora, in 1861; Fannie Harris, in 1862; Jenny Whipple, in 1863 and 1864; Keithsburg, in 1865 and 1869; built and commanded the steamer Rock Island in 1870 to 1871, and, in October of this year, after spending twenty-seven years on the waters of the Upper Mississippi, he voluntarily stepped down and off the hurricane deck, and requested President Rhodes, of the Northern Line Packet Company, to fill his place with Capt. Albert Woempner, who had at one time been an apprentice pilot with him on the steamer Envoy. There are probably living in Iowa at this time 50,000 persons who have been guests of Capt. J. W. Campbell during his career as a steamboatman; for many of these people he entertains a kindly regard, and feels assured the friendship is reciprocated. In 1871, he secured the original autographs of all the prominent boatmen on the Upper Mississippi from 1819 to 1871, and arranged them as an autographical chart, and presented it to the Historical Society of Iowa, at Iowa City, endeavoring thereby to perpetuate the names of many good and generous pioneer boatmen who would have soon been forgotten. The writer of this sketch is more indebted to him and his father, Isaac R. Campbell, for information in regard to the pioneer history of Lee Co. than any other authorities; they seem to have forgotten nothing relating to the county, or the men who have lived in it. Capt. J. W. Campbell married Miss Eliza J. Eversole, in St. Louis, in 1849, with whom he is now passing along the journey of life with all the happiness that man can ask; he has three sons - J. W. Campbell, Jr., B. H. Campbell, and I. R. Campbell, whom he is endeavoring to train up to be good and useful men. In the years 1872 and 1874, Capt. Campbell built several grainhouses on the B. & S. W. R. R. in Van Buren, Davis and Appanoose Cos., and has bought and shipped, in the past year, to Chicago and St. Louis, about 300,000 bushels of grain.
Campbell, Isaac R., retired; P.O. St. Francisville, Mo.; Mr. Campbell was born in Oneida Co., N. Y., May 2, 1798, contemporaneously with the erection of the first house in Utica; the day Mr. C. was born, his father hauled the shingles that covered that first house; at the age of 18 years, the subject of this sketch left home with the intention of engaging in nautical pursuits, and went as far as Albany, and from thence to Pittsfield, Mass., to visit an uncle, where he spent the winter; his uncle persuaded him to abandon his seafaring intentions, and, in the following spring, he engaged as a laborer on the construction of the Erie Canal; he afterward went to Pennsylvania, where he remained a short time, and then went to the vicinity of Wellsville, Ohio, where he became an employee in a stillhouse; one evening when he desired to go courting, he turned a hot slop out into the hog-troughs, and started on his mission of wooing; when he returned home early the next morning, before his employer was out of bed, he found the hogs all dead; anticipating the displeasure of the owner of the stillhouse, he packed his worldly goods in a cotton handkerchief, and, without waiting for a settlement and to receive the wages due him, Mr. C. started for other quarters; he shipped as cook on a keelboat, under the command of Col. Kinney, and finally landed at the mouth of the Wyaconda, Missouri Territory; there he became a “jack-of-all-trades,” tinker, shoemaker, farm laborer, etc. In 1823, he married Miss Sarah White, and settled down to the improvement of a tract of forty acres of land, of which he had become the owner. In 1825, he sold his little farm, and in October of that year, loaded his household effects on a couple of canoes and “paddled” up to the present site of Nauvoo, at which place he remained until 1830, keeping a boarding-house, working at shoemaking, keelboating to the lead mines at Galena, etc.; in 1830, he sold out his possessions at Nauvoo, where he had lived five years, and returned to Ah-wi-pe-tuck, now Nashville, Lee Co.; he remained there until the spring of 1831, and then in April, removed to Puck-e-she-tuck, now Keokuk, where he engaged with Dr. Samuel C. Muir, as an Indian trader; during his residence in Illinois and Iowa, he held Negro slaves; in 1834, he applied to Hon. Mr. Spaulding, M. C., from Pennsylvania, to secure the passage of an act to enable the half-breeds to dispose of the reservationary rights in the Half Breed lands, which comprised a large part of Lee County; the act was passed, immediately after which Mr. C. organized the St. Louis Land Company, consisting of J. and E. Walsh, of St. Louis, J. H. Overhall, of St. Charles, Mo., and Col. Crossman, U. S. A., and himself, and purchased the first claim ever sold, from Isaac Antyer; in 1836, he sold one-half of his interest in Puck-e-she-tuck, consisting of a “potato-patch” of a few acres, to Dr. Isaac Golland; in 1838, he disposed of his remaining interest in the Half-Breed Tract, consisting of one thirteenth part of 119,000 acres of Half-Breed lands to Dr. Galland, a man named Knight and Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, for the sum of $14,000; of this amount, $2,000 was paid down, in old chairs, horses, carriages, etc.; he failed to take a mortgage on the lands to secure the payment of the balance and lost the whole amount; he still holds the notes of Golland, Knight and Smith as souvenirs of the friendship that once existed between him and them; in 1837, in consequence of the Antislavery feeling in Iowa, he removed to St. Francesville, Mo., where he still resides; he is now in the 81st year of his age, and in full possession of good health and all his faculties, except his hearing; he is an active old man, and no weather will keep him indoors all day; he must be out, and spends at least one-half of each day in working around among his trees and shrubs and in his garden; he has lived within thirty miles of his present home ever since 1820 - fifty-nine years; in that time he has made and lost several fortunes, but no man ever suffered the loss of a single dollar by him; from the time he landed from Col. Kinney´s keelboat, at the mouth of the Wyaconda, until the years bore too heavily on his shoulders, he was engaged in active business pursuits; he was always liberal and enterprising, hospitable and charitable, and many is the man and woman that had occasion to thank Isaac R. Campbell for relief in times of distress and want; no on ever applied to him for relief and went away empty-handed; from the time he killed the stillhouse hogs at Wellsville, Ohio, by feeding them hot slops, to the present, he has never been intoxicated, although he has handled thousands of barrels of liquors; it is safe to assume that he has outlived at least 50,000 men who were contemporaneous with him since he first ascended the Mississippi River and cast his fortunes in Missouri Territory.
Casey, Joseph M., Hon., firm of Casey & Hobbs, attorneys; Joseph M. Casey, a native of Adair, Co., Ky., was born on the 25th of March, 1827; the youngest of a family of six children. His grandfather was one of the pioneers of Kentucky, and his father, Green Casey, was the first male child born in Adair Co. His mother, Jane, nee Patterson, was a native of Rockbridge Co., Va. Both of his parents were well educated, and zealous members of the Presbyterian Church. When Joseph was 11 years old, his father died, leaving his family in moderate circumstances. He received a good academical education, and at the age of 17 began the study of law in the office of Judge John F. Kinney, who was then a prominent jurist in Lee Co., Iowa, and who afterward became Judge of the Supreme Court of Iowa. After a three-years course of diligent and thorough study, young Casey, in 1847, was admitted to the bar, and settling in Keokuk Co., was at once elected Prosecuting Attorney. He held that office for five years, and in that time established an enviable reputation as a prosecutor and a lawyer. In October, 1859, he was elected County Judge of Keokuk Co., and satisfactorily performed the duties of his office until April, 1861. Desiring, however, to make Fort Madison his permanent home, he removed thither, arriving on the 12th of April of the last-named year, leaving a lucrative practice and many true friends. Although Judge Casey´s attention has been devoted mainly to the practice of his profession, he has yet found time for literary culture. He was for two years editor of the Iowa Democrat, while a resident of Keokuk Co., and for three years editor of the Fort Madison Plaindealer. In political sentiment he has always been an uncompromising Democrat, and cast his first vote for Gen. Cass. But although he has firmly adhered to and advocated the principles of his party, he has never been so biased by political prejudice as not to willingly allow those who differed from him the peaceful enjoyment of their opinions, recognizing the fact that men may honestly differ in their views. As a consequence, he has many warm personal friends among men with whose political views he has no sympathy. Personally Judge Casey is kind, courteous and affable. He has a decidedly mathematical turn of mind and his arguments, especially those before the Supreme Court, have been styled by superior jurists, as models of logical strength and literary excellence. He has taken a prominent stand in the Masonic fraternity, and been honored with the highest offices of the craft. As a Royal Arch Mason, he is acknowledged to have few superiors. He has taken a deep interest in educational matters, and in all public enterprises tending to the prosperity of his city he has co-operated to the extent of his ability. He has twice filled the office of Mayor. As a lawyer, his aim has been to be true and faithful to his clients. He resolved, when he began his practice, that he would never resort to deception or dishonesty, and has rigidly adhered to his principles, so that courts and jurie never doubt the sincerity of his arguments, and it has become a common saying for safe counsel and honest advice, go to Judge Casey. His life has been spent in the interests of his fellow-men, with a full realization of the truth that while he should seek to develop in himself a true manhood, he should do all in his power to assist others. Such has been his course of life, and his dealings with all with whom he has to do, that he has secured to himself universal confidence and respect. Judge Casey married in 1854 Miss Sarah J. Ward, a native of Ohio, and daughter of Thomas and Nancy Ward. They have had five children, four of whom are now living. Such, in brief, is an outline of the life-history of one whose career has been marked by enterprise, energy, pure motives and honest effort. He has made himself what he is, a worthy type of independent manhood, and may justly be placed upon Iowa´s roll of honor.
Cole, A. J., M.D., physician and surgeon; was born in Seneca Co., N.Y., Nov. 8, 1837; when 12 years of age, went with his parents to Michigan; he received his education at Ann Arbor; studied medicine, and graduated at the Michigan University in 1860. Upon the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, he was commissioned Surgeon of the 14th Reg. Mich. Inf.; was in the service until 1865, then returned and practiced medicine in Ann Arbor until 1872, when he came to Fort Madison, and since then has practiced his profession here. He is United States Examining Surgeon for Pensions.
Conrad, Charles, meat-market; was born in Germany Dec. 29, 1819; he emigrated to America in 1840; he was on the river about seen years; he came to Iowa and settled at Fort Madison in 1847, and engaged in his present business, and has continued it since then - thirty-two years; he has the longest established meat-market in Lee Co. He married Miss Barbara E. Ruckerman, from Bavaria, Germany, in August, 1849; they have six children - George, Charles, Harry, Albert, John and Jeannette.
Coriell, Julian D., grocer; born in Dubuque in March, 1840; when 10 years of age, his parents came to Ft. Madison, where he was brought up; his father was one of the Government Commissioners who laid out this city. Julian enlisted July, 1861, 7th Reg. Iowa Inf., Co. D; served eighteen months; afterward served two years in the Navy; after the war, he was engaged in the book and stationery business; he went to Montana, thence to California; remained eight years on the Pacific coast. He was in the Government Survey establishing the boundary line between Washington Territory and Idaho; he held the office of Deputy Sheriff of Stevens Co., Washington Territory; Mr. Coriell has a rare collection of old books, the best in Lee Co., some of them being of great age. He married Miss Jane Hesser, daughter of Fred Hesser, Esq., of this city, in December, 1876.
Courtright, Archibald L., insurance and loaning money; was born in Franklin Co., Ohio, Oct. 16, 1839; when 14 years of age, he came with his parents to Lee Co., where he received his education; after reaching manhood he engaged in teaching - was also engaged in farming; he was elected County Treasurer in the fall of 1873, and held that office two years. He owns a farm of 240 acres in this county, and nearly 1,000 acres of good land elsewhere; he has held the office of Town Trustee, Town Clerk and school offices. He married Miss Anna H. Eakins Sept. 21, 1876; she is a native of Clarke Co., Mo.; came to Ft. Madison when quite young; Mr. Courtright´s father died Sept. 27, 1877; his mother died in 1863.
Cowles, Philotus, carpenter and builder, and foreman of S. & J. C. Atlee´s shingle mill; was born in Unadilla, Otsego Co., N.Y., Oct. 10, 1816; he was brought up in that State, and learned the trade of carpenter and joiner; he came to Iowa; arrived at Ft. Madison May 3, 1838, and began working at his trade; he continued in the building business until the spring of 1863, and since then he has been foreman of the shingle mills at Atlee´s mills. Mr. Cowles is one of the earliest settlers and has lived here over forty-one years; he has been prominently connected with the Order of Odd Fellows, and was the member initiated in this Order in Fort Madison, and he is authority in all matters relating to the Order here; he has held the office of City Collector and City Marshal. He married Miss Jane Simmons, a native of the State of New York, Nov. 6, 1836; she died March, 1841, leaving one daughter - Melissa; for some years she has been in the B. & M. Land Office at Burlington. On the 5th day of January, 1842, he married Diana Freeman, a native of Rutland Co., Vt.; they have seven children - Elijah, Calvin, Samuel, Alva, Jane, George, Ella; Elijah and Calvin were in the army; Elijah enlisted in 1861, in the 7th Reg. Iowa Inf., Co. D; Calvin enlisted in the same company in February, 1862; he was wounded in the battle of Corinth; they both re-enlisted and served as veterans until the end of the war; Samuel enlisted in the 100-day service in the 45th Reg. Iowa Inf., Co. E.
Cutler, Otway, retired; the oldest resident settler of Fort Madison to-day; born in Morgan Co., Ind., May 21, 1824; when only 3 years of age, his parents moved to Illinois; came to Iowa when he was only 12 years of age, and arrived in Lee Co. about the middle of April, 1836; his father bought a claim, and Otway was brought up on a farm; in 1846, he engaged in mercantile business, and continued until 1857, when he gave his whole attention to his farming interests, and continued until May, 1878, when he gave up the active management of his farm to his son, and moved into the city. Mr. Cutler has been actively identified with the interests of Lee Co., and is a cautious, safe, successful business man; he owns the old homestead farm of 160 acres, another of 160 acres near here and a farm of 500 acres near Bloomfield, and two farms, comprising 640 acres, in Fremont Co., one and a half miles from Farragut Station. He was the Treasurer of the Fort Madison & Bloomfield R.R. He married Miss Mary Jane Rudisell, a native of Ohio, Jan. 8, 1843; they have four children - George and Thomas live on his farm in Fremont Co.; Arabella (now Mrs. George Smith) lives here; Otway, the youngest son, lives on the old homestead farm.
Dawley, John M., of the firm of Dawley & Tremaine, publishers of the Fort Madison Plaindealer; was born in La Fayette Co., Ind., May 28, 1843; when 11 years of age, removed with parents to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and learned the printing business. In 1861, he enlisted in the 8th I.V.I., Co. D, and was in the service four years and eight months; was in the battle of Shiloh, siege of Vicksburg and many other battles and skirmishes; was taken prisoner at Shiloh and held six months. After the war, returned to Iowa, and, in November, 1878, he associated with H. H. Tremaine and purchased the Plaindealer. He married Miss Mary E. Culp, a native of Virginia, May 15, 1867; they have three children - Lawson H., Charles M. and William W.
Dodd, H. W., publisher of the Knight´s Sword and Helmet; was born at Marysville, Union Co., Ohio, in the year 1847; when 5 years of age, in the fall of 1853, he removed with his parents to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he was educated; he read law in the office of the late Hon. John R. Needham; was admitted to the bar, and engaged in the practice of law for nearly five years. On the 6th day of June, 1871, he married Ada M., eldest daughter of Dr. B. G. Neal, of Columbus City, Iowa; in January, 1873, he removed to the city of Fort Madison, and was with the firm of George H. Schafer & Co., wholesale druggists and manufacturing pharmacists; he was editor of the Fort Madison Plaindealer, and is the founder of the Knight´s Sword and Helmet; he became associated with the Knights of Pythias in the autumn of 1874, and is a member of Gem City Lodge, No. 21, K. of P. of Iowa; he serves as Deputy Grand Chancellor of the Grand Jurisdiction of Iowa, and assisted in organizing six lodges; at the seventh annual session of the Grand Lodge of Iowa, held in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, on the 8th and 9th days of February, 1876, he was duly elected Special Deputy Grand Chancellor, and he takes a deep interest in all that pertains to the welfare of this Order.
Doerr, Charles, Secretary of the Fort Madison & N.W. R.R.; was born in the Duchy of Nassau, Germany, Jan. 13, 1831; he was brought up there and learned the trade of stone-cutter and mason; he came to America in March, 1851, and was in the employ of the Illinois Central R.R. Co.; he came to Iowa and located in Fort Madison in August, 1855, and engaged in building bridges and contracting; in 1862, he was elected Clerk of the Courts, and served two years; in the spring of 1866, he was appointed Clerk of the Courts to fill and unexpired term, and was elected to the same office in the fall of the same year, and re-elected in the fall of 1868; in 1871, he bought the ferry and managed that for six years; he was Secretary of the Fort Madison, Farmington & Western R. R., and when it was merged into the Burlington & Southwestern R.R., he held the position of Secretary until it was completed; he has been actively identified with the interests of this county for the past twenty years. He married Miss Catherine Magerkurth, from Rhenish Bavaria, Germany, in August, 1857; they have eight children - Charles, Nettie, Edward, Philip, Albert, Kuno, Elsie and baby.
Eberling, Conrad, meat-market; was born in Brunswick, Germany, Dec. 15, 1826; he was brought up there and learned the stone-mason trade; emigrated to America in 1852; came to Iowa, and settled in Fort Madison in 1854, and began working at his trade, and has continued it since then; he has also carried on a meat-market for twenty years. He has held the office of City Alderman. He married Hannah Barens, from Germany, in 1851; they have six children - Henry, Hanna, Christ, Anna, Louie and Weinna, and have lost three children.
Edwards, J. F., of the firm of Edwards & McCabe, livery and sale stable; was born in Warren Co., Ohio, Sept. 5, 1824; he lived there until 1854, then came to Iowa, and located in Lee Co. and engaged in farming; continued until February, 1869, when he moved to Fort Madison, and engaged in the livery business; a few years ago, his stable burned, but he immediately replaced it with his present fine brick building, arranged with all conveniences for the business. He has held the office of City Alderman. He married Ann R. Hatfield, of Ohio, in 1844; she died in 1853, leaving four children - Hannah M., James C., Sarah E. and Ann; in November, 1858, he married Lydia Loury, a native of Maryland.
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