R. D. TAYLOR
One of the energetic and progressive business
men of Cedar Rapids is R. D. Taylor, who is now so efficiently serving
as secretary of the Fraternal Bankers Reserve Society. He is a native
of Mantorville, Minnesota, his natal day being September 9, 1868. His
father, Robert Taylor, is an attorney of Kasson, Minnesota, who in
early manhood married Miss Pamelia Lord, a native of Pennsylvania, who
became the mother of our subject.
The preliminary education of R. D. Taylor was acquired in the
public schools and later he entered Carleton College at Northfield,
Minnesota, from which he was graduated in 1893. Previous to taking up
his college work, however, he had engaged in teaching school for a time
and after his graduation resumed that profession, following it for
seven years thereafter. In 1900 he began preparation for the legal
profession by entering the law school of the University of Minnesota at
Minneapolis and on the completion of the course was admitted to the
bar. For five years he engaged in practice in Minnesota and at the end
of that period came to Cedar Rapids to accept his present position as
secretary of the Fraternal Bankers’ Reserve Society. This society was
organized in 1901 by some of the leading citizens of Cedar Rapids, it
being a fraternal benefit association operating on the lodge system,
and now has a membership of seven thousand, the local lodge in Cedar
Rapids having six hundred members. It is largely through his untiring
efforts that the society has attained to its present prosperous
condition, for he is a man of keen insight, progressive and energetic,
who usually carries to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
Religiously he is an earnest member of the First Presbyterian church.
Mr. Taylor was married on the 26th of June, 1895, to Miss
Alfaretta Jenkins, a daughter of Rev. W. M. Jenkins, a Congregational
minister of Cannon Falls, Minnesota. They now have three children,
namely: Robert Harmon, in his fourteenth year; Lawrence L., ten years
of age; and Eleanor, three years old. During their residence in Cedar
Rapids the family has become widely and favorably known.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, page 336-7.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
THEOPHILUS THOMAS.
Theophilus Thomas, a prominent and prosperous
agriculturist of Fairfax township, is the owner of an excellent farm of
two hundred acres on section 12. His birth occurred in Cambria county,
Pennsylvania, on the 15th of November, 1856, his parents being Thomas
R. and Marguerite (Evans) Thomas, the former a native of Pennsylvania
and the latter of Wales. Thomas R. Thomas, whose natal year was 1818,
was actively identified with general agricultural pursuits in the
Keystone state for many years. On coming to Iowa he resumed farming and
was successfully engaged in the work of the fields until called to his
final rest in September, 1880. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Marguerite Evans and whom he wedded in Cambria county, Pennsylvania,
was born in 1826 and was a maiden of sixteen when she accompanied her
parents on their emigration to the United States. She departed this
life May 11, 1910.
Mr. Thomas of this review was one of a family of nine
children, the others being as follows: George W., who wedded Alice Shaw
and now conducts a general mercantile establishment at Hollidaysburg,
Pennsylvania; Edward, who married Miss Hannah Ellis and follows farming
in Johnson county; John, who wedded Samantha Ream and is a carpenter
residing in Fairbury, Jefferson county, Nebraska; Howard, who was
killed at the age of twenty-five years while acting as engineer on the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad, leaving a wife, Frances (Brown) Thomas,
and three children, Ross, Clinton and Alice; Elizabeth, the wife of
Spencer Pate, who is a farmer by occupation; Robert L., an
agriculturist of Johnson county, Iowa; Alexander, who wedded Miss
Bertha Byron and follows the carpenter’s trade in Perry, Iowa; and
William, likewise a carpenter by trade, who lives at home.
Theophilus Thomas obtained his early education in a little log
schoolhouse in his native county and when not busy with his text-books
assisted his father in the work of the home farm, thus early becoming
familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist. In the spring of 1878,when a young man of twenty-two
years, he removed with his parents to Johnson county, Iowa, there
remaining for one year. He then took up his abode in Gage county,
Nebraska, but after working by the month for about a year he returned
to Johnson county, this state, his father having died during his
absence. The operation of the home farm then claimed his attention for
a period of three years, at the end of which time he bought a tract of
forty acres for himself, but two years later sold the property to his
mother. Subsequently he rented a farm from Mr. Swisher for two years
and then once more removed to Nebraska, there working by the month for
one year.
On the expiration of that period Mr. Thomas again took up his
abode in Johnson county, Iowa, but twelve months later came to Linn
county and located on the property which he now occupies, first working
by the month for two years and also drilling wells for a year. He was
here married in 1890 and four years later rented a farm. In 1893 he
bought a tract of eighty acres and in 1895 purchased the old homestead
of one hundred and twenty acres, so that his landholdings now comprise
two hundred acres on section 12, Fairfax township. In addition to
raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate Mr. Thomas also
conducts a dairy and in both branches of his business is meeting with
gratifying success. The prosperity which he now enjoys is directly
attributable to his own efforts, for he started out in life on his own
account with a cash capital of but thirteen dollars. His farm is under
a high state of cultivation and improvement. and he has long been
numbered among the substantial and representative citizens of the
community.
On the 20th of November, 1890, Mr. Thomas was united in
marriage to Miss Carrie M. Miller, a daughter of Aquillar and
Temperance (Phillips) Miller, who were natives of York county,
Pennsylvania, and Richland county, Ohio, respectively. The father was
born January 22, 1827, his parents being Samuel and Elizabeth (Winter)
Miller, both natives of York county, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Elizabeth
(Winter) Miller lived to attain the ripe old age of ninety-two years,
passing away on the 15th of March, 1892. Her family numbered seven
children, five sons and two daughters. Aquillar Miller, the father of
Mrs. Thomas, lived in Ohio for a short time after leaving the Keystone
state but in the spring of 1851 settled in Fairfax township, Linn
county, Iowa. lie acts as a deacon in the Christian church and now
makes his home with our subject. The mother of Mrs. Thomas was a
daughter of Thomas and Sarah (Hedriek) Phillips, who were farming
people. Her natal day was November 29, 1825, and she passed away March
15, 1892.
Unto Aquillar and Temperance (Phillips) Miller were born the
following children: Sarah E., whose birth occurred July 4, 1850; Mary
J., who was born April 25, 1852, and died December 6, 1890; Samantha
A., who passed away on the 18th of September, 1858; Thomas M., whose
birth occurred November 5, 1855, and who died January 5, 1869; Jacintha
A., whose natal day was October 5, 1857, and who passed away February
27, 1865; Jason L. S., born January 25, 1859, who died September 10,
1859; William E., whose birth occurred August 5, 1860, and who follows
the plumber’s trade in Seattle, Washington; Avery E., born December’
21, 1863, who married Nellie L. Hill, a daughter of James Hill, of
Cedar Rapids; and Carrie M., who first opened her eyes to the light of
day on the 10th of October, 1867.
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have three children, namely: Ella M.,
whose birth occurred April 21, 1894; Glenn Harold, born May 6, 1896;
and Elliott Aquillar, whose natal day was December 17, 1897. They have
also reared and educated Lillie Stevenson, a daughter of Mrs. Thomas’
sister Jane.
Mr. Thomas is a republican in his political views and has
served for two terms as school director. Fraternally he is identified
with the Royal Circle of Cedar Rapids and the Modern Brotherhood of
America and formerly served as treasurer of the latter organization. He
and his wife are devoted members of the Christian church, to which they
contribute liberally of their time and means. Mr. Thomas has been
deacon in the church for eight years. He is a man whom to know is to
esteem and honor, his sterling qualities winning him the friendship and
regard of a large circle of acquaintances.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, page 726-8.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
WILLIAM G. THOMAS
William G. Thomas, connected with railroad
interests in the operative and administrative departments, being now
chief clerk at large for the sixth district, was born in Andrew,
Jackson county, Iowa, on the 20th of April, 1860. His father was
Benjamin Franklin Thomas, who was born at Harbour Creek, Erie county,
Pennsylvania, October 9, 1834. The grandfather, William Thomas, came to
Iowa with his family in 1850, settling in Jackson county upon a farm
near Andrew. Desiring an education which he believed would promote his
usefulness and worth in the world, Benjamin F. Thomas early began work
as a farm hand with the end of obtaining the means necessary to
continue his education. At length he entered the State Normal at Andrew
and subsequently engaged in teaching for a time, after which he began
the study of law, devoting the remainder of his life to active
practice. His preliminary reading was directed by the firm of Osgood
& Streeter, prominent attorneys at Joliet, Illinois, with whom he
remained for three years and was then admitted to the bar. Benjamin F.
Thomas located for practice in Monticello, Minnesota, and it was during
his practice there that he was married, on the 15th of July, 1859, to
Miss Mary E. Gallow. The following year witnessed their removal to
Andrew, Iowa, and through his remaining days Mr. Thomas continued an
important factor in the development of Jackson county. He proved
himself the friend of young men who studied law in his office and who
gave to him their unqualified allegiance, respect and love. In the ‘80s
he established his home at Maquoketa, where he lived up to the time of
his death, his law practice being second to none in volume and
importance. A contemporary biographer said of him that he “was a man of
gentle nature and good heart, always ready to help a friend. Although a
lawyer and in love with his profession, he did his best to discourage
litigation and would even sacrifice a fee if he thought it best for the
client whom he served. While a man of strong convictions, he never
obtruded his opinions upon others, yet ever gave respectful attention
when other men expressed their views. He sought to govern by persuasion
and to lead by gentleness rather than power and by these methods often
won his ends. For many years he was active in religious work and was
superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school until advanced
age caused him to put aside that work. He enjoyed the respect of his
neighbors and friends and throughout the community was known as a
loving father, a faithful companion and a loyal citizen.” His family
numbered five children: B. F., who is now postmaster at Omaha,
Nebraska; William G.; Mrs. Charles Patterson, of Maquoketa; Charles M.,
an attorney of Maquoketa; and Mrs. Lucile Eyr. who is deceased.
William G. Thomas, spending his youthful days in his parents’
home, devoted his time to the pleasures of youth and the acquirement of
an education in the public schools, supplemented by study in Cornell
College at Mount Vernon, Iowa. He began teaching in the district
schools when eighteen years of age and devoted his time to that work
through seven terms. In 1882 he attended college in Mount Vernon, after
which he was employed in Dunn’s clothing store in Maquoketa for two
years. On the 21st of September, 1885, he was appointed to a position
in the railway mail service, running between Maquoketa and Davenport,
and seven months later was transferred to the line running out of
Chicago over the Chicago, Savannah & Cedar Rapids Railroad to
Marion. He was upon this line until January 28, 1908, at which time he
was appointed chief clerk at large of the sixth division, with
headquarters at Cedar Rapids, having jurisdiction over Illinois, Iowa,
Nebraska and Wyoming. Being a young man and with twentyfive years of
actual experience in connection with the railway mail service we may
look for further advancement along the lines of the position he has so
faithfully filled for so many years.
In 1897 Mr. Thomas was married to Miss Elenora N. Miller, of
Olin, Iowa. In politics he is a republican and fraternally holds
membership in Crescent Lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M., while in the Iowa
Consistory he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish
Rite. He is also a prominent member of Star of the West Lodge, No. 1,
Knights of Pythias, and was grand vice chancellor of the order in 1896.
He is still very prominent in the state work of that organization.
Holding membership in St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal church, he is now
serving on its official board and is chairman of the social department
of the Wesleyan class, numbering one hundred and sixty-nine members. He
takes active interest in church and fraternal work, those things which
count for moral progress, for the establishment of high ideals of
living and for larger enjoyment of social companionship among men.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, page 731-2.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
GEORGE THOMPSON
This highly esteemed citizen of Mt. Vernon is
one of the adopted sons of America whose loyalty is above question,
having bee[n] manifested by his valiant service in the Civil war. He
was born in Cumberland county, England, March 13, 1839, and was two
years old when brought to this country by his parents, John and Nancy
(Beaty) Thompson, also natives of England. His father was the only
member of the Thompson family to come to America. His mother’s youngest
brother, Andrew Beaty, emigrated to the United States, and is
represented on another page of this volume. John Thompson and his
family located on a farm in Cortland county, New York, where he died
March 23, 1847, his remains being interred in Truxton, that county. His
wife died January 15, 1854, and was buried in Daysville, Illinois. In
their family were five children, namely: Elizabeth, who married George
Reed and died in Daysville, Illinois; Sarah, a resident of Mt. Vernon,
Iowa; George, our subject; Hannah, wife of Samuel Gray, of Oakland,
California; and Jane, wife of James Malarkey, of Oregon, Illinois.
The subject of this sketch was reared in Cortland county, New
York. Going to Illinois in the winter of 1852, he worked on the farm of
J.W. Edmonds of Ogle county for a short time, and in 1854 and 1855
worked for that gentleman during the summer months, while he attended
school in the winter. In 1856 he came to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, the trip
being made by way of the Northwestern Railroad to Fulton, on the
Mississippi river; from there to Rock Island, Illinois, by stage coach;
by railroad to Iowa City; by stage to Cedar Rapids; by another stage to
Marion; and on foot to Mt. Vernon. During the summer of that year he
worked on the farm of Irvin Wilcox, and the following winter he
attended school in Mt. Vernon for about six weeks. In the summer of
1857 he was employed on a farm in this county, but in the fall he
returned to Illinois, and lived near Light House until the summer of
1859, when he commenced farming on the shares, operating the William
Clemens farm in Ogle county, near Franklin Grove. In the fall of 1859
he went to Chariton county, Missouri, and engaged in cutting timber on
“Old Jack Harris Island” in the Missouri river, three miles from
Glasgow until the following March, when he went to work for Judge
Salisbury, near Keatsville, that state. While there the town of
Salisbury was laid out on the judge’s farm. Our subject continued there
until May, 1861, when he came to Columbus Junction, Iowa.
In August of that year Mr. Thompson enlisted in Company M,
First Iowa Calvary under Captain William Ankney, of Clinton, and
Colonel Fitz Henry Warren. He was mustered into the service at
Davenport and then went to Burlington, where he joined his regiment,
and then proceeded to St. Louis. While there he was taken ill and given
a furlough, which he spent at home. In the summer of 1862 he rejoined
his command at Butler, Bates county, Missouri, and participated in the
following engagements: Prairie Grove, Dripping Springs, Van Buren, St.
Francis River, Bayou Metre, Brownsville, Little Rock, Newtonia, Prairie
D’Anne, Camden, Mars Creek, Price’s Raid, California, Moro River Bottom
and others.
On being mustered out of service in March, 1866, Mr. Thompson
returned to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and resumed farming. In the fall of 1867
he purchased a partially improved farm of seventy acres in Franklin
township, which he placed under a high state of cultivation, and to
which he added until he now has one hundred and seventeen acres. He
continued to successfully engage in agricultural pursuits until
November, 1893, when he bought a home in Mt. Vernon, and has since
lived a retired life, enjoying the fruits of former toil. Mr. Thompson
cast his first presidential vote for John C. Fremont, the Republican
candidate, but is now a supporter of the Democracy. Fraternally, he is
an honored member of W. C. Dimmitt Post, No. 400, G. A. R.; Mt. Vernon
Lodge, No. 551, I. O. O. F.; and Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 112, A. F. &
A. M.
At Mt. Vernon, September 6, 1866, Mr. Thompson married Miss
Adelia Willits, and to them were born four children, namely: Allison,
born July 12, 1867, died September 30, 1883; John J., born February 27,
1870, is now traveling in the west; Horace G., born December 25, 1872,
died February 17, 1887; and Grace E., born October 9, 1877, is now
attending Cornell College. The mother of these children died October 4,
1889, and was buried in the Sumner district cemetery, two miles west of
Mt. Vernon.
Mrs. Thompson was a daughter of Allison I. and Elizabeth E.
(Julian) Willits. Her father was born near Green’s Fork, Indiana, and,
as customary in those early days, his boyhood and young manhood were
spent working on the farm and attending school when there was no work
to be done. Of his early life no great amount of reliable data can be
secured. Perhaps the best is that taken from a booklet written by his
wife, in which she describe his early career in the following words:
“His youthful labors and hardships, making farms in the forests of Ohio
and Indiana, his sufferings on the inhospitable prairies of Illinois,
in 1836, tending cattle that terrible winter, which froze most of the
herd to death, barely escaping himself; his swimming the Mississippi
frequently by himself or by the side of his horse; his arrival in Linn
county, Iowa, in 1839, where he married a young wife, who died in a
year; his return to Indiana; his second marriage; and back again to
Iowa; the blight of his fondest hopes in the loss of his children and
almost constant moving from cabin to cabin and from country to town and
from town to country; the numerous journeys from the east to the west
and the north to the south by wagon or horseback, all of which now in
retrospect seemed like a disturbed, unhappy dream. Only on one point in
his restless and checkered career could his mind rest with entire
satisfaction—the hour in which he gave himself fully to God and felt
his sins fully forgiven. Turning away from these saddening memoirs of
toil, sorrow and disappointment, the eye of faith was more intently
fixed than ever before upon a better country.”
In 1842 Mr. Willits married Miss Elizabeth E. Julian, whose
family resided in the vicinity of Green’s Fork, Wayne county, Indiana.
She was born in that county, July 15, 1819, and was a daughter of Isaac
and Rebecca (Hoover) Julian, natives of North Carolina, and of Quaker
descent. Her parents were married about 1809 and settled near
Centerville, where six children were born to them—four sons and two
daughters. In 1823 Mr. Julian located near what is now LaFayette,
Indiana, where in a short time he died. The young mother at once
returned to Wayne county, Indiana, and finally took up her residence on
a small farm at Green’s Fork, where she reared her children.
The first of the Julian family to come to America was Rene St.
Julian, who emigrated from France. (The name was abbreviated and
Anglicized prior to the American Revolution.) His nativity is
accredited to the city of Paris. His parents died in his infancy or
childhood. While but a youth he enlisted in the army and served in
various foreign parts. In the wars of the English Revolution, 1688, he
served for a time in the armories of James II, holding to the Roman
Catholic faith. Later he, with many others, deserted to the standard of
William III, under whom he served at the battle of Boyne, July 1, 1690,
having become a Protestant and no doubt classed as a Huguenot. He
continued in the service of King William and his successors during
seventeen years. The precise date of his emigration to America has not
been ascertained, but is was early in the eighteenth century, en route
he stopped at the island of Bermuda, where he married a lady named
Margaret Pallock. He was then forty years of age. He first settled on
the coast of North Carolina, where he resided for some years and had
two sons born to him, both of whom died early. Deeming the country
unhealthy, he left it shortly afterward and settled on the western
shore of Maryland, where he leased land for some years, when he
purchased an estate in Maryland or Virginia. He had six sons, Stephen,
George, John, Peter, Isaac and René. The particulars of his subsequent
life do not appear to have been preserved, but his closing years are
believed to have been passed at or near the site of the present city of
Winchester, Virginia. His son also resided in that part of the state.
History records the fact that one of his sons, Isaac Julian, a
young married man, was residing in that vicinity in 1755. This fact is
recorded in Irving’s Life of Washington, chapter 18, in connection with
the mention of an Indian panic. Braddock’s defeat had occurred on the
9th of July, previous, and the people were panic-stricken. Isaac Julian
was personally known to Colonel George Washington, aged thirty-four,
who, after the defeat of Braddock, was made commander of the colonial
troops stationed at Winchester, Virginia.
Isaac Julian married Barbara White, daughter of D. Robert
White, of Winchester, an emigrant from Scotland of a wealthy and noted
family. Her mother was a daughter of another Scotch gentleman name
Hoge. Barbara had two sisters, each of whom married a man named Morgan,
and both had children taken captive by Indians. A daughter of one of
them was released after a number of years, but a son, Ansiah Morgan, at
about four years of age, was adopted into an Indian family and would
not leave them. After he had grown to manhood he was taken in battle
fighting against the whites and solicited to remain with his kindred
but was beguiled by his Indian wife into a corral and made his escape
down the river. The panic continuing and proving too well founded,
Isaac Julian and all his brothers save Stephen, the oldest, fled the
country. So great and imminent was the anticipated danger that Isaac
Julian, who had a farm well stock, left all save his horses,—which he
retained to aid his flight,—his farm, standing crops, sheep and other
stock, his house and most of its contents and with his family sped
night and day southward. They stopped in North Carolina, and he
purchased a homestead of one thousand acres in Randolph county. The
original deed, still in possession of the family, bears date 1762, but
he became possessed of the property some years previous. There he lived
and died, and his grave is still shown. The place, or part of it, still
remains in possession of some of his descendants. The descendants of
Stephen, the brother of Isaac Julian, who remained in Virginia, are to
be found in Ohio and other portions of the central west. The other
brothers are believed to have settled in the Carolinas and their
descendants are scattered over the south and west.
Isaac Julian (second) married Sarah Long, a native of
Pennsylvania and a daughter of Tobias Long. Her grandfather, Edward
Long, came to America with William Penn’s fleet. Isaac Julia (second)
removed to Indiana territory, where he died July 17, 1831. He had six
sons, Bohan, Tobias, Isaac, Jacob, René and Shubel, and six daughters,
Zernah, Elizabeth, Sarah, Elinor, Barbara and Martha. The two last
named were twins. All of the children save the two first named preceded
their parents in removing northwest. Isaac Julian (third) located in
what is now Wayne county, Indiana, in 1808, and the following year
married Rebecca, daughter of Andrew Hoover, a leading member of the
Society of Friends and also an emigrant from Randolph county, North
Carolina. John Scott, the noted old-time English Quaker evangelist, had
visited that part of North Carolina in 1786, in consequence of which a
number of people, including representatives of the Hoover and Juilan
families had become members of the society. The name Hoover was
originally Huber, and the family, like the Julians, went by way of
Maryland to North Carolina. Three brothers, Jonas, Andrew and Christian
Huber, settled on Pike creek, Maryland. The family was of German
descent, Andrew, of Pike creek, having left Germany when a boy. He
found a wife in Pennsylvania in the person of Margaret Fants. He left
eight sons and five daughters, all of whom had large families, while of
course their descendants are very numerous. His son, Andrew Hoover, was
born in Maryland, and removed to North Carolina about the time of the
flight of the Julians from Virginia. He married Elizabeth Waymire,
whose father, Rudolph Waymire, emigrated from Hanover, Germany, after
he had several children. He had been a member of the famous foot guard
regiment of Frederic the Great of Prussia, none of whom were less than
seven feet in height. He left one son and seven daughters by his first
wife and seven sons by a second marriage. Their descendants are mostly
to be found in the United States. Andrew Hoover (second) had ten
children, four sons and six daughters, as follows: David, Henry,
Frederick, Andrew, Mary, Elizabeth, Susannah, Catherine, Rebecca and
Sarah.
Isaac Julian (third) and Rebecca, his wife, started in life in
a region largely settled by North Carolinians and other emigrants from
the south. The Hoovers and Julians were identified with the origin of
Richmond, Indiana. Isaac Julian assisted in clearing the heavy forest
from a portion of the site and taught the first school in the township,
while David Hoover, a brother-in-law—later prominent in the public
affairs of the country and state—surveyed the plat and gave the name to
the future city. For a number of years the Quakers largely predominated
in the place, which was known as the Quaker City of the West. During
the war of 1812 Isaac Julian’s cabin was turned into a block house,
where the neighbors came for safety from the savage Indians, allies of
the British. In 1818, 1822 and 1823 he was a member of the Indiana
legislature then assembled at Corydon. He died in 1823 on the bare
plains in Tippecanoe county, Indiana.
At the time of her father’s death Mrs. Willits was in her
fifth year. She had four brothers and one sister, namely: John M. died
at the age of twenty-three years. Jacob B., known as Judge Julian, was
a noted lawyer. George W. studied law but drifted into politics during
the anti-slavery agitation and was nominated for vice-president with
John P. Hale, on the Free Soil ticket in 1852, and on that issue was
sent to congress, where he served several terms, becoming noted as a
leading statesman. Isaac N. also studied law but later entered the
journalistic field, and lives at San Marcos, Texas; Sarah, who became
Mrs. Jesse Holman, resides at Mt. Vernon. The others are deceased.
Elizabeth E. Julian was twenty-two years of age when she gave
her hand in marriage to Allison I. Willits, and after spending a year
at the home of his parents, they came to Linn county, Iowa, in 1843,
locating on a fine farm at Sugar Grove, Franklin township. Mr. Willits
had come to this county three years previous, and had purchased the
farm in partnership with a Mr. Abbey, and on his return bought the
latter’s interest in the place. Here he and his wife lived in true
pioneer style. Eighteen months after their arrival here a child was
born to them but it died in infancy, and the second child only lived to
be seventeen months old. Adelia now Mrs. Thompson, was the next in
order of birth, and when she was three years old George J. Willits was
born. From 1848 to 1852 the family resided in Mt. Vernon, where Mr.
Willits conducted a store, and he also platted the town, in which he
owned a large interest. About this time Rev. George B. Bowman first
visited this section, and he and Mr. Willits became fast friends. The
latter proposed that a school building be erected on the present site
of Cornell College. His suggestion being approved, he and his wife
subscribed the first five hundred dollars for the purpose. He lived to
see the establishment of what is now one of the best colleges of the
state. In 1855 he made a trip to Missouri and a year later moved his
family to that state. There it was that he carried out his ideas of
erecting a place of worship, that the common people could attend, but
soon the country became more settled and he returned to Linn county,
Iowa. Shortly afterward he was stricken down and passed away in 1858,
in his forty-eighth year. He was a strong and earnest Christian, and
was a man highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him. In 1859,
Mrs. Willits married Andrew Beaty, of Linn county, and they resided on
a farm in Franklin township until 1879, when they removed to Mt.
Vernon, where she died in 1889, honored and loved by the entire
community.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
183-8.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
JMALCOLM McFEE THOMPSON
At the age of sixteen years Malcolm M. Thompson
entered upon active connection with mercantile interests and the wise
utilization of his time and opportunities has advanced him to a
position where he is recognized as one of the progressive merchants of
Cedar Rapids, conducting a well appointed men’s furnishing goods
establishment at No. 119 South Third street. He was born in
Hemmingford, Quebec, September 13, 1875, and comes of Scotch-Irish
ancestry. His father, John Thompson, engaged in various business
pursuits during his lifetime but was most prominently identified with
the grain and lumber trades. He died in January, 1895. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Catherine McFee, was a daughter of John McFee.
Six children were born of this marriage: John Adam, engaged in the
grain business in Minneapolis; William Charles, who conducts a banking
business in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin; Malcolm McFee, of this review;
Albert Hugh, who is also engaged in the grain business Gordon Graham,
at present an interne in Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois; and
Eliza, living at home.
Malcolm M. Thompson pursued his education in the public
schools, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, which
he attended until sixteen years of age. He afterward worked for a year
in a store owned by his uncle at St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, and
subsequently spent the succeeding year in college. He then returned to
his uncle’s store and there remained for five or six years, receiving a
thorough business training adequate to qualify him for life’s practical
and responsible duties. In the fall of 1900 he arrived in Cedar Rapids
and established his present business, opening a line of hats and men’s
furnishing goods at No. 119 South Third street. This is one of the
finest establishments of the kind in this city, catering to the best
trade and carrying a large line of high class goods equal to those
found in the larger cities. Here are shown the latest and most
attractive styles and the establishment is thoroughly modern in every
particular, while the business methods of the house are such as commend
Mr. Thompson to the patronage of this city.
Mr. Thompson has been a Mason for a number of years and is
known as an exemplary representative of the craft. He has become a
Knight Templar in the commandery, has attained the thirty-second degree
in the consistory and is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He has
likewise belonged to the Elks Lodge for seven years and has held
various offices in the Cedar Rapids organization. He also belongs to
the Cedar Rapids Country Club, of which he is serving as a director,
and is a member of the house committee. He is a very active member of
the Commercial Club, thoroughly in sympathy with the purposes of that
organization intended to exploit the advantages and promote the
interests of Cedar Rapids. Fond of travel, he has visited many points
of interest throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, enjoying
no greater pleasure than when he is aboard a Pullman car with some
particular point in view as his destination. He possesses an observing
eye and retentive memory and is thus continuously broadening his
knowledge of the world.
Source: History of Linn County Iowa From Its Earliest
Settlement to the Present Time, Vol. II, Chicago, The pioneer
Publishing Company, 1911, page 26-7.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
HON. WILLIAM G. THOMPSON
 In
the last half century the lawyer has been a pre-eminent factor in all
affairs of private concern and national importance. He has been
depended upon to conserve the best and permanent interests of the whole
people and is a recognized power in all the avenues of life. He stands
as the protector of the rights and liberties of his fellow men and is
the representative of a profession whose followers, if they would gain
honor, fame and success, must be men of merit and ability. Such a one
is Hon. William G. Thompson, of Marion, who is now serving as judge of
the eighteenth judicial district of Iowa.
The Judge was born in Centre township, Butler county,
Pennsylvania, January 17, 1830, and is a son of William H. and Jane
(McCandless) Thompson, also natives of that locality, the former born
about 1790, the latter about 1796. Our subject's paternal grandparents,
John and Martha (Humes) Thompson, were natives of Perthshire, Scotland,
as were also his maternal grandparents, John and Mary A. (Smythe)
McCandless, who on coming to America located within two miles of where
our subject's parents spent their entire lives. The grandfathers both
bought land and made for themselves homes. In religious faith they were
strong Presbyterians. John Thompson lived to be ninety-eight years of
age, his death occurring in 1846. His land is now owned by the Judge's
brother, Solomon R. The father, William H. Thompson, was a farmer by
occupation. He, too, was a strict Presbyterian, and in politics was
first a Whig and later a Republican. He died in 1865, his wife in 1866,
honored and respected by all who knew them. In their family were three
sons: John M. is a very prominent lawyer and is now at the head of the
bar of Butler, Pennsylvania. He was a member of both the state
legislature and congress, closing his term in the latter body March 4,
1880, on the day our subject took his seat there. The Judge is the next
of the family. Solomon R. is engaged in farming in what is now Brady,
but was formerly Centre township, Butler county, Pennsylvania.
Judge Thompson's primary education was obtained in the common
schools near his boyhood home, and when not in the school room he
assisted in the work of the farm. Later he attended the Witherspoon
Institute at Butler, Pennsylvania, going home to work during harvest.
He next read law at that place with William Timblin and was admitted to
the bar October 15, 1853, Hon. Daniel Agnew, afterward chief justice of
the United States, presiding at the examination.
On the 27th of November, 1853, Judge Thompson came to Marion,
Iowa, traveling as far wet as his money would carry him. Marion at that
time was a new town and larger than Cedar Rapids. Here he was first
engaged in the practice of his profession in partnership with Colonel
Isaac M. Preston, under the firm name of Preston & Thompson, this
connection continuing until 1858, after which the Judge was alone in
business. In August, 1854, he was elected prosecuting attorney and held
that position for two years. He was elected to the state senate on the
Republican ticket in 1856 for a two-years' term, which proved to be a
very important year in framing the laws of the state that still exist,
our subject being a member of the judiciary committee. The code of 1851
was revised during the session of 1856-7, and with additions is still
in use.
On leaving the senate Judge Thompson was engaged in practice
in Linn county until 1862 when he helped raise the Twentieth Iowa
Regiment for the Civil war, consisting of five companies from Linn and
five from Scott counties, and he went to the front as major, but the
colonel, being a regular army officer, was detailed for brigade
commander, and the lieutenant-colonel being taken prisoner, the Judge
was left in command of the regiment for some time. He saw service in
Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Alabama, and was commander of
the post at Aransas Pass, Texas, for eight months. He was in the siege
of Vicksburg, and at the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, was
severely wounded. Believing that the war was about over, he resigned
his commission and returned home in the fall of 1864. During the
presidential campaign of that year he stumped the state for Abraham
Lincoln, and was elected on of the electors at large. He takes a just
pride in the fact that he was able to cast his ballot at that time for
the martyr president. Soon after this Judge Thompson was elected
district attorney for seven counties of Iowa, and after creditably
filling that office for six years he was tendered the renomination
without opposition, but refused it. Without his knowledge or
solicitation he was then appointed chief justice of Idaho by President
Hays, and held that responsible position for one term, resigning in
1879, when he returned to Marion. That fall he was elected to congress
and took his seat in December. He was a member of the committees on
privileges and elections, which required much work, having twenty-two
contested cases. He was re-elected and served in all four years. For
party reasons he was then persuaded to accept the nomination for
representative to the state legislature, and being elected was chosen
chairman of the committee to re-organize the courts of the state, which
business he successfully accomplished. In August, 1894, he was
appointed judge of the eighteenth judicial district, and was elected to
that position in November, 1894, and re-elected in November, 1899. His
district comprises Jones, Cedar and Linn counties. He has won high
commendation by his fair and impartial administration of justice. His
mind is analytical, logical and inductive. With a thorough and
comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental principles of law he
combines a familiarity with statutory law and a sober, clear judgment,
which makes him not only a formidable adversary in legal combat, but
has given him the distinction of being one of the ablest jurists of the
state.
On the 12th of June, 1856, Judge Thompson married Miss Harriet
J. Parsons, a daughter of Chester and Phoebe (Preston) Parsons, who
came to Marion from New England in 1850. Mrs. Thompson died February
27, 1897, leaving one son, John M., who was graduated from Coe College
and Law School of the State University, and has since been admitted to
practice in this state. The Judge has a beautiful home in Kenwood Park
on seven acres of ground and supplied with all modern improvements. He
is a director of the Savings Bank and a stockholder of the First
National Bank of Marion. Socially he belongs to Robert Mitchell Post,
G. A. R.; the Loyal Legion of Des Moines; Marion Lodge, No. 6, F. &
A. M., also the chapter, council and commandery of the same order at
Marion; and Osceola Lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
16-20.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
JOSEPH TOMLINSON
 A
long life filled with useful efforts has won for this venerable
resident of Cedar Rapids the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens
and has gained for him a comfortable competence which enables him to
spend his declining years in ease and quiet, free from the turmoil of
business life. He was born in Ruskington, Lincolnshire, England, June
22, 1816, and is one of a family of fourteen children whose parents
were Joseph T. and Ann (Sherwood) Tomlinson, life-long residents of
that country. He has two brothers still living, one a resident of New
Zealand, the other of England. The father was an extensive land owner
and farmer.
At an early age Mr. Tomlinson showed a strong inclination for
mechanics, and availed himself for study along that line whenever he
found opportunity. For seven years he served as an apprentice, learning
the cabinetmaker’s trade, receiving nothing but his board. During that
seven years, however, he attended the Mechanical Institute at Newark,
Nottinghamshire, where he applied himself diligently to his studies. In
1840 he came to the United States, and on board the vessel coming over
he met a gentleman living in New Milford, Connecticut, who induced him
to locate there. On his arrival he became greatly interested in the
construction of a new railroad bridge at that place, and as an observer
he gave his opinion that a miscalculation had been made regarding
resistance and weight. Being convinced of this he confided his opinion
to Dr. Porter later of Yale College, and his theory proved correct as
the bridge afterwards partially collapsed. Mr. Tomlinson’s first
employment was upon the repairing of this bridge, and he was advised by
Dr. Porter to turn his attention to mechanical engineering. He was
employed as a rodman on the Housatonic Railroad extension, and also
identified himself with various bridge builders that he might acquire a
practical and thorough knowledge of the business, and during his spare
time he was designing and drafting bridges. Before coming to Iowa he
built the bridge on the Whitehall & Rutland Railroad and the Harlem
Railroad extension, and after his removal returned and on contract
finished the Whitehall tunnel, after it had practically been abandoned.
In 1843 Mr. Tomlinson married Miss Ann R. Northrop, of New
Milford, Connecticut, and about ten years later he removed to a farm
which he had purchased near Iowa City, Iowa, on account of his wife’s
ill health, but she died the same year. Previous to this time he had
extensively purchased land warrants, and owned considerable property at
one time in Linn county. After his wife’s death he removed to Brooklyn,
New York, and while there met and, September 10, 1853, married Miss
Sarah A. Wyles, also a native of Lincolnshire, England, who had come to
Brooklyn in 1851, and a daughter of William Wyles. By his first
marriage Mr. Tomlinson had three daughter: Mrs. Ida Pritchard, now
deceased; and Ione, wife of Venable Smith, of Port Angeles, Washington,
and Maria, who died in childhood. There are five children by the second
union, namely: Anna, wife of R.N. Slater, of Ottawa, Canada; Joseph,
who married Jean Russell and is now engaged in farming near Cedar
Rapids, Iowa; Alfred Thomas, who married Fannie Smith, and is a
construction engineer residing in Boston, Massachusetts; Fanny, who
died at the age of five years; and Frances Ethel, at home.
For a time Mr. Tomlinson was in the employ of the New
Brunswick government on the construction of bridges, but in 1862 he
came to Cedar Rapids, and engaged in farming for a short time in this
county. He then went to Cleveland, Ohio, and became connected with the
Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, and also designed the
Market House at that place. He was also construction engineer on the
large bridge across the Missouri river at Kansas City. Considerable
difficulty had been encountered there and the engineer had met with
defeat, but Mr. Tomlinson was successful in getting a foundation and
also built the super-structure. He next accepted a position that had
been offered him by the Canadian government to take charge engineer of
the Marine Department designing light houses, piers, etc., from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and after serving in that capacity for eight
years was transferred to the railroad department during the
construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad as a designer of bridges
and buildings. He was sent to England to superintend the manufacture of
the cantilever bridge across the Frazer river and had the honor of
being entrusted and paid by both the government and contractors for so
doing and afterwards superintended the erection of the bridge. This was
the last work done by Mr. Tomlinson. In 1883 he severed his connection
with the Canadian government and returned to Cedar Rapids, where he has
since lived a retired life, his home being at 216 North Thirteenth
street. He has made for himself an honorable record in business, and by
his well-directed efforts has acquired a comfortable competence.
Politically he is a supporter of the Republican party, and socially is
identified with the Masonic fraternity, while religiously both he and
his wife are Episcopalians and are held in high regard by all who know
them.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
170-174.
Submitted by: Carrie J. Robertson of Marion
DR. J. W. TRAER
GOn the 4th of March, 1848, Dr. J. W. Traer,
then a young man of 23 years, came to our town to begin the practice of
medicine. He studied for sometime previous to coming here with Dr.
Henry Meredith, in Rochester, Cedar county, of this state.
He was born in Knox county, Ohio, Sept. 7, 1825, and came to Iowa in
1845. The doctor boarded in my mother’s family for some months after he
came here, our home at that time being in the John Young house below
Fourth avenue, on the river bank.
We found him to be a man of intelligence and integrity of character,
and he has always held a high place in the estimation of those who were
associated with him in the days of long ago.
On November 4, 1849, he was united in marriage to Miss Marcia W.
Ferguson, daughter of Mr. James Ferguson, of whom mention is elsewhere
made. He moved to Vinton, Benton county, of this state, Sept. 9, 1851,
where he and his estimable wife still reside.
He continued to practice medicine for four years after he
went to Vinton, when he turned his attention to other branches of
business. For some time he was engaged in banking and real estate, and
was also postmaster for several years. He has always enjoyed the
respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens. He and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church.
Eight children were born to them, of whom six are still living,
William, residing in Burlington; Florence E. Perine, in Vinton; George
E., in Colorado; Glen Wood, in Chicago; James F., in Vinton, and Amos
C., in LaSalle county, Illinois.
Jessie F. died in October, 1886, and Mary L. Ramage died a short time ago in this city.
Source: Carroll, George R., Pioneer Life In and Around Cedar Rapids,
Iowa From 1839 to 1849. Cedar Rapids, Times Printing and Binding House.
1895. Pages 136-7.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
GARRY TREAT
 This
well-known citizen of Marion, Iowa, is the possessor of a handsome
property at the corner of Tenth street and Eleventh avenue, and is
enabled to spend his declining years in the pleasurable enjoyment of
his accumulations. The record of his life, previous to 1889, is that of
an active, enterprising, methodical and sagacious business man, who
bent his energies to the honorable acquirement of a comfortable
competence for himself and family.
Mr. Treat was born near Brockport, New York, December 17,
1831, a son of Oliver J. and Mary A. (Green) Treat, also natives of
that state. His paternal grandfather, Charles Treat, was a Connecticut
Yankee, who during the Revolutionary war enlisted as a drummer boy in
1775, and during his long service of over seven years rose to the rank
of major, being mustered out as such in 1782. He was on duty at Tappan,
New York, October 2, 1780, when Major Andre was hung as a spy at that
place, but did not see the execution. He was married, May 1, 1788, in
Wethersfield, Connecticut, to Hopeful Robbins, and in 1820 removed to
Monroe county, New York, where in the midst of the wild unbroken forest
he developed a farm. He died in that county in 1841, when nearly ninety
years of age. In his family were eight children. Oliver J. Treat, the
father of our subject, spent his life as a farmer in New York. He was
born in 1809 and died in 1893, while his wife was born in 1812 and died
in 1859. Both were earnest and consistent members of the Freewill
Baptist church.
Our subject is the oldest in a family of twelve children,
while the others now living are James B., who served three years during
the Civil war as a member of Company F, Eighth New York Cavalry, and is
now a farmer of Missouri; George, a farmer of western New York; and
Emma J., wife of Andrew Gonzales, a ranchman of Arizona. Those deceased
were Jerome W., a farmer, who died at about the age of fifty years;
Milton, who died in Portland, Michigan, at the age of thirty; Amanda,
who married David Shreves and died in Brooklyn, Ohio, at the age of
twenty-four; Rosina, who married Edwin Sowers and died at the age of
forty; Adaline, who married Edwin Whitcomb and died at the age of
thirty; Rachel, who married George Gott and died at the age of
thirty-seven years; and one who died in infancy unnamed.
Mr. Treat, of this review, spent the first eighteen years of
his life on the home farm, assisting in the labors of the fields during
the summer season, while through the winter months he attended school.
When his school days were over he served an apprenticeship to the
carpenter's trade, which he followed for over ten years. About 1852 he
went to Cleveland, Oho, and later to Michigan City, Indiana, working at
his trade on round and freight houses for the New Albany & Salem
Railroad. In June, 1854, he went to Bureau county, Illinois, as foreman
of a gang of workmen building bridges for the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy Railroad, with headquarters at Princeton.
In October, 1854, Mr. Treat came to Marion, Iowa, and took up
one hundred and sixty acres of government land in Spring Grove
township, Linn county, after which he returned to Princeton. He worked
for the same railroad company at Burlington in 1855, and in the spring
of 1856 returned to Marion, where he engaged in contracting and
building until the spring of 1861, when he removed to his farm two
miles east of town. He followed agricultural pursuits with marked
success for twenty-eight years, and in 1889 returned to Marion, where
he has since practically lived a retired life. Since 1890 he has been
president of the Greeley State Bank, of Greeley, Nebraska, of which he
owns most of the stock, and is also one of the charter members and
directors of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Marion, while
from its organization he has been chairman of the finance committee,
consisting of three persons.
On the 17th of February, 1856, Mr. Treat was united in
marriage with Miss Christine Wiltse, of Orleans county, New York, a
daughter of Andrew S. Wiltse. She died in 1858, at the age of
twenty-six years, and for his second wife Mr. Treat married Mrs. Delia
J. (Lathrop) Basset, a native of Ripley county, Indiana, and a daughter
of the late Augustus Lathrop. By this union was born one child, Mary
Augusta, who married Edwin J. Esgate, of Marion, and has three
children, Arthur T., Edith M. and Helen. Mr. Esgate is the cashier of
the Farmers and Merchants State Bank, which position he has held since
its organization.
Mr. Treat was one of the organizers of the Republican party in
Linn county, of which he is still a stanch supporter, and he takes
commendable interest in political affairs. He served as township
trustee ten consecutive years; county supervisor nine consecutive
years; and school director and president of the township board for many
years. He also served as justice of the peace one term and refused to
become a candidate for re-election. His official duties have always
been most faithfully and satisfactorily performed, and he is recognized
as one of the most valued and useful citizens of his community. He has
been an ardent supporter of those enterprises whose object is to
advance the welfare of his town and county, or for the betterment of
the people. He is a member of the Iowa Legion of Honor, and his wife
holds membership in the Baptist church.
Source: The Biographical Record of Linn County Iowa,
Illustrated, Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1901, pages
26-30.
Submitted by: Terry Carlson
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