Mills County, Iowa
History of Fremont and Mills County, 1901
Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1901
Biographical Sketches
G

GALBRAITH, JAMES F.
        For more than a quarter of a century James F. Galbraith has been a resident of Mills county, actively identified with its agricultural interests, but has now put aside the more arduous cares and duties of the farm and resides in Emerson, there enjoying in business retirement the fruits of his former toil His life has certainly been a busy and useful one, and to no outside aid or influence may be attributed his prosperity, save that he received one thousand dollars. Otherwise all that he possesses he owes to his own carefully planned and executed efforts.
        Mr. Galbraith is a native of the neighboring state of Illinois, his birth having occurred there, in Henderson county, on the 12th of September, 1851. His father, Samuel Galbraith, was born in Tennessee and about 1834 drove from that state across the country to Illinois, taking up his abode in Henderson county, where he reared his family. His son James spent his youthful days at the old homestead under his parents' care and guidance, and enjoyed the educational privilege's afforded by the schools of the neighborhood. He was twenty-two years of age when he came to Iowa, Mills county being his destination. Here he began life on his own account and has found that the storehouse of prosperity yields its treasures in return for unfaltering industry. He first located in Anderson township, but after two years purchased one hundred and thirty seven and a half acres of land in Indian Creek township, whereon he has since made his home. The work of the fields he has diligently prosecuted, plowing and planting, and when the summer sun had ripened the grain he garnered the harvests which were then placed upon the market, bringing him a good financial return.
        On the 19th of September, 1877, Mr. Galbraith was united in marriage to Miss Albina McGrew, a native of Ohio, and they now have three children: Ida M., Charles O. and Harry LeRoy, all with their parents. In the political affairs of the community Mr. Galbraith takes considerable interest and does whatever lies in his power to promote the cause of the democracy, with which he has been allied since attaining his majority when he cast his first presidential vote for Seymour. He has served as road supervisor, but has not coveted office as a reward for party allegiance. He is a member of the Christian church, to which the family also belongs, and in its work he takes a deep interest, contributing liberally to its support, and aiding in the advancement of the cause. His business dealings have ever been characterized by the strictest honesty and his Christian principles have ever permeated the discharge of his duties in both public and private life.

GENUNG, HON. LEWIS T.
        Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity, it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of the causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. Holding marked precedence among the members of the bar of Mills county, stands Hon. Lewis T. Genung, who is a recognized leader of the Democratic party in this section of the state, and as a man prominent in public affairs, actively cooperating in many movements which have secured substantial advancement for the county.
        Mr. Genung was born September 21, 1841, in Port Byron, Illinois. His father, John W. Genung, was born in France and came to the United States early in life. He died at his Illinois home when the subject of this review was but three years of age. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Henderson, and was a native of Newtown, Maryland. She too died in Port Byron, and is survived by four of her five children.
        Lewis T. Genung was reared upon a farm and in his native village, and from early boyhood has been forced to depend upon his own resources and labors for a livelihood. He was permitted to attend school for only a few weeks, but he has developed his latent talents and improved his opportunities until today he is classed among the men of strong mind and scholarly attainments. Reading, experience and observation have added continually to his knowledge. He was first employed by the day and month. He remained at home at intervals until about eighteen years of age, but provided for his own support by working in the neighborhood. He then left home to accept a position as a farm hand, being employed in that capacity by the month. He applied himself diligently to the work entrusted to him and thus had the confidence and good will of his employers.
        He watched with interest the progress of events at the south prior to the Civil war, and believing in the injustice of slavery and unconstitutionality of secession, he resolved that if the south attempted to overthrow the Union he would strike a blow in its defense. In the first year of the war he enlisted under Captain Beardsley, later Major Beardsley, as a member of the Thirteenth Illinois Infantry. The company did not leave the state for several months, and as a part of the regiment was cut off Mr. Genung was transferred to Company H, of the Fifty-first Illinois Infantry, under Captain J. T. Whitson. He thus served from August, 1861, until the close of hostilities, for in February, 1864, he re-enlisted in the veterans corps. At the battle of Franklin he was wounded by a bayonet thrust, was captured and placed in Cahaba prison, in Alabama, where he was incarcerated until the war was ended, when he received an honorable discharge there on the 13th of June, 1865. Previous to the time he was wounded by the bayonet he had sustained a wound while guarding one of General Rosecrans wagon trains on the Secorn river, October 16, 1863. He was an aggressive soldier, whose patriotic loyalty was above question and he was ever found at his post of duty, whether on the picket line or on the firing line. when engaged in battle he was always in the thickest of the fight, being brave and fearless. At Chickamauga all of the members of his company were killed save six, he being among the few who escaped. He reported each day for duty except when his wounds forced him to remain in the hospital. He participated in many of the important engagements in the war, including the battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, the first battle of Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga, and all the battles from Chattanooga to Jonesboro under Sherman, and at the battle of Franklin, Tennessee. While held as a captive he was made the sheriff of the prison. He has a most enviable war record, and his most bitter political enemies never hesitate to give him credit for his honorable history as a soldier. He knew not what it was to fear, or falter when his country called and his fellow men who know of his military service, esteem and respect him for what he did for his country, although they may be opposed to him in political belief. In Neola, on the 4th of July, 1899, he delivered a splendid oration on the war, vividly portraying to his hearers the condition off affairs at the time and showing that the Civil war was the greatest that has ever occurred in the world.
        When the stars and stripes floated over the defunct capital of the southern Confederacy, and the men of both the north and south returned to their homes to take up the pursuits of civil life, Mr. Genung made his way to Illinois, and there, soon afterward, was united in marriage to Miss Clara E. Prouden, a native of Illinois and a relative of President William McKinley. She died in Dakota only a few months later. About the time of his marriage Mr. Genung became interested in land speculation and railroad work in connection with the Union Pacific railroad. Traveling through Nebraska, he recognized the splendid opportunities offered for making money. A clear brain, shrewd business tact and an honorable business insight enabled him to place his capital in judicious investments which brought to him a good financial return. He traveled not only to the end of the railroad, but even beyond the line into Colorado, and obtained a contract for supplying ties. He was associated with a partner on an equal basis to furnish ties for the construction of the original Colorado Central Railroad. In 1869 he left that state and came to Iowa, arriving in Mills county on the 23d of June, 1870. Here he located near White Cloud, and subsequently removed to the vicinity of Hastings.
        Although he carried on business along various lines, it was his desire to engage in the practice of law. He was never a student in a public or private law school, but mastered the principles of jurisprudence unaided. He would often ride horseback to the county seat to borrow law books, which he read and mentally digested, thus gaining a knowledge of the fundamental principles of the profession. His army wounds forbade him to engage in hard work, and it was therefore fortunate that he desired to take up the legal practice. He was admitted to the bar in the year 1875, and for twenty-four years he was a leading, prominent and successful lawyer of Hastings. His counsel was sought by young and old, rich and poor, and his standing as an adviser was very high. He carefully weighed all the points presented to him, and his opinions were sound and unbiased. Never has he undertaken the conduct of a case simply to secure the fee, but because he had faith in the justice of the suit. about the 1st of July, 1900, he removed to the county seat, Glenwood, and is there controlling an extensive and important clientage. His success in the profession affords the best evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate before the jury and concise in his appeals to the court. His pleas have been characterized by a terse and decisive logic and a lucid presentation rather than by flights of oratory, and his power is the greater before court or jury from the fact that it is recognized that his aim is ever to secure justice and not to enshroud the cause in a sentimental garb or illusion which will thwart the principles of right and equity involved.
        While in Hastings Mr. Genung became recognized as a leader in the Democratic ranks. His fitness for leadership has been demonstrated on many occasions, and it was this which led to his election to the position of mayor of the city on the independent ticket. In this county, which is usually strongly Republican, he was twice elected county attorney, and served for four years. He was also the attorney for the board of supervisors. He has never been a dictator but his capable management of campaign work and his practical methods commend him to those who are endeavoring to secure party success. For nearly a quarter of a century he has stood as one of the most prominent and influential men in Democratic circles of Mills county. He has been a delegate at large to various conventions, and was an alternate to the national Democratic convention held at Kansas City in 1900 when Bryan and Stephenson were nominated.
        Mr. Genung was the second time married in 1872, Miss Julia Anderson becoming his wife. Seven children have been born unto them: Clinton, the eldest, is a representative citizen of Mills county. He served for four years as postmaster at Hastings, under President Cleveland, and resigned that office in order to become the deputy county treasurer in 1897-8. Bert is married and manages the old home farm. Clarence also aids in the operation of the home farm. Clyde is a student in a law school. Norman, Ethel and Georgia are all at home. The children are well known for their strong mentality, which has been developed through good educational privileges; and in social circles where intelligence, culture and character are received as passports into good society, they hold an enviable position. The family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Genung is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge at Hastings. Well does he deserve his place as a leading resident of Mills county. He holds distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer, as a valiant and patriotic soldier, and as a man of affairs who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, an invincible courage, a most determined individuality have so entered into his make-up as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion.

GILLILLAND, E.
        A prominent and substantial farmer of Mills county, Iowa, now living a comfortable retired life is E. Gillilland, the subject of this sketch. He was born in Barren county, Kentucky, May 6, 1814, and was a son of John and Sarah (McCurry) Gillilland, both of whom were natives of Davidson county, North Carolina. John Gillilland removed to Indiana at an early age and is still remembered in his part of the state as an athlete and brave and successful hunter. At the time of his settlement in Indiana the country was yet a wilderness, peopled with Indians and filled with wild beasts, and his life was one of adventure, it often being imperiled. Our subject can relate many thrilling incidents in his father's career, upon several occasions the killing of Indians being necessary for self protection. His physical strength and stature were beyond what was possessed by the majority of men and our subject has inherited a great many of his father's characteristics.
        One of the most important events in the life of our subject and one that deserves prominence in a sketch of his life, was his marriage to Miss Fanny Wright, February 15, 1835. These worthy people were reared in the same neighborhood, and have passed more than sixty-six years together as man and wife. In 1857 Mr. Gillilland built the present comfortable residence and here the most of their lives have been passed. Of a family of nine children born to them, five survive, these being: Reuben, a resident of Idaho; Amanda, a resident of Iowa; Anna, a resident of Gray's Harbor, Washington; Shirley, an attorney, a resident of Glenwood, Iowa; and Emma, a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Sarah Ann, Lemuel, Cyrena and John W., are deceased. Our subject owns a fine farm of one hundred and twenty acres of land, which is exceedingly productive, having been brought to an excellent state of cultivation. He has been an industrious man all his life, beginning his agricultural labors hoeing corn in Indiana, when but eight years of age. He has served his fellow citizens upon the county board for several years, but has never aspired to office. He has been a consistent member of the Methodist church for many years, where he is beloved and valued. Eighty-seven years have passed over the honored head of our subject, leaving him a fine example of temperate, upright living, he never having been addicted to either drink or tobacco in any form. He retains his eyesight and is able to thread a needle and sight a gun as well as he did in youth. His sweet-faced companion has also borne her years well, being active and healthy, although also advanced along the path of life. If the friends and well-wishers of this admirable couple could be gathered together, it would be one of the largest congregations ever assembled in Mills county, so universal is the feeling of esteem.

GILLILLAND, SHIRLEY
        Among the practioneers at the bar of Glenwood is Shirley Gillilland who, having been well qualified by a thorough preparation for the practice of the law, is now in command of a large and distinctively representative clientage. He was born near Glenwood and is the son of Edward and Frances (Wright) Gillilland, under whose roof he remained until seventeen years of age acquiring his education in the district schools and in the schools of Glenwood. He then left home and became a student in the Iowa University, where he was graduated in 1879. Subsequently he took a course in the law school there, being graduated in 1884. After being licensed to practice he was for five years associated with General John Y. Stone, but since that time has been alone. Professional advancement is proverbially slow, yet for some years Mr. Gillilland has occupied an enviable position among the practitioners having in charge the most important litigated interests of the district.
        In the year of his admission to the bar Mr. Gillilland was united in marriage to Miss Florence Clark, who died five months later, at the age of twenty-eight years. In 1889 he was again married, his second union being with Miss Elsie Moulton, who was born near Waverly, Illinois, and is the mother of four children, of whom three are yet living, as follows: Paul, Grace and Nathan F. The family are members of the Congregational church in which Mr. Gilliland served as trustee for several years, and in Sunday school work he is also active. In politics he is a recognized leader of his party. He cast his first vote for James A. Garfield. For nine years he served on the state board of regents, has been county attorney of Mills county for six years and has filled many of the local offices. He was president of the Old Settlers Association, composed of the three counties of the southwest portion of the state, Pottawattamie, Mills and Fremont. He takes an active interest in the various affairs which contribute to the welfare and progress of the state and withholds his support from no movement which he believes will operate for the general good.

GOODE, MRS. ELISHEBA T.
        Mrs. Elisheba T. Goode resides on a farm on section 32, Rawles township, Mills county, and is the widow of John Goode, who died on the homestead farm here on the 16th of January, 1889, at the age of seventy-two years and ten months. He was born in Northamptonshire, England, and was a mason by trade, serving an apprenticeship of seven years to that occupation. He acquired a common school education and throughout his life was a well informed man, keeping in touch with the questions and issues of the day through reading, while experience and observation has added to his knowledge. Ere he left his native land he married Miss Elisheba Thompson, who also was born in Northamptonshire, in 1815. After their marriage Mr. Goode engaged in contracting in his native county for a time and afterward removed to London, where he followed the same business for eleven years or until 1852, when he determined to seek a home in the new world and thus test the various reports he had heard of the opportunities afforded in the United States.
        Mr. and Mrs. Goode sailed from England and after ten weeks spent upon the broad Atlantic arrived at New York, whence they made their way to Cuyahoga county, Ohio. There Mr. Goode followed his trade in Cleveland, and he also owned a small farm in the Buckeye state, which he sold in 1867 prior to his removal to Iowa. On the 12th of April of that year he arrived in Tabor, where he remained for two years, during which time he erected the first brick residence in the town. He came to the old homestead farm, thirty-one years ago and purchased ninety acres of land, for which he paid five dollars per acre. To do this he had to incur an indebtedness, but soon it was all cleared away and by additional purchase he secured ninety-three acres, paying fourteen dollars per acre for a tract of forty acres and eighteen dollars for another tract of forty acres. From that time until his death he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and the farm yielded to him a good return. He placed his fields under a high state of cultivation and added many substantial improvements to the place, which became one of the attractive properties of the community.
        Unto Mr. and Mrs. Goode have been born thirteen children, of whom six sons and five daughters reached mature years, namely: Lucy, the wife of Guidenie Tracy, of Elkhart, Indiana; Charlotte Weatherhead, who is living in Tabor; John T., a merchant of Sidney, Iowa; Anna, the wife of Freeman Jones, of Tabor; Joseph, who resides on the old homestead; Phillipi, the widow of S. P. Graves, of Omaha, and the mother of nine children; Edward, a farmer of Green township, Fremont county, by whom she has four children (an error here); William, who also resides upon a part of the old homestead and has a wife and three children; Frank, who is married and resides upon the old home farm; Charles, who is married has three children and is living on the old homestead; and Flora, the wife of W. W. Thornton, of Nebraska, by whom she has eight children. There are forty eight grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. Of this family John Goode served in the Civil war and has been in public office. Joseph, who owns forty acres of the old homestead was always associated with his father in business. He learned the mason's trade with him and together they worked twenty years at that occupation. Joseph Goode married Caroline Hershey, who was born at Great Salt Lake, Utah, and is a daughter of Henry Hershey, of Glenwood, Iowa. they now have two children: Lucy M. and Ruby A., aged respectively twelve and two years.
        At the time of the Civil war Mr. Goode, of this review, enlisted from Cleveland, Ohio, in the Squirrel Hunter's Regiment at the time of Morgan's raid. In his political views he was a stalwart Republican, always voting for the men and measures of the party, while socially he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He was a member of the Reorganized Church of the Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ, and a man faithful to every duty and relation of life. His widow is an estimable lady and still survives him, and though now eighty-five years of age she still retains her faculties unimpaired and is a bright and entertaining conversationalist.

GREEN, HENRY A.
        One of the most prosperous farmers of Mills county, Iowa, and a veteran of the Civil war, is Henry A. Green, the subject of this sketch. He is a son of Jurgren and Dora (Goldstedt) Green, both of Germany where they both died. They had a family of eleven children, our subject being the third in order of birth. Like so many of his countrymen, Mr. Green early cherished a desire to emigrate to America, carrying this out in 1858. He made the voyage in three weeks and made his first home in Davenport, Iowa, where many of his old neighbors had located, six months later coming to Mills county, by way of St. Louis, Missouri.
        Farming was the choice of our subject as a means of livelihood, and he had no difficulty in securing employment, although wages were very small. However, he possessed the thrifty ways of his native land, practiced strict economy, and before very many months had passed he was able to see his savings increasing in a satisfactory way, and finally bought with them a small tract of land. To ride over Mr. Green's finely cultivated farm of four hundred and eighty-six acres and to note the substantial improvements, together with his cattle and stock, is a valuable lesson for any young man who starts out in life with small means. It shows the reward of steady, plodding industry, and must be an encouraging example.
        On September 11, 1864, our subject enlisted in the Union army, entering the Thirteenth Iowa Infantry in Company F. and went from Davenport with his regiment to Marshall, Tennessee, where he took part in the great battle between Generals Hood and Thomas. He became so ill soon after this engagement that it was found necessary to send him to a hospital and two months were passed in the army hospital at Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was transferred to Wellington, North Carolina, and from thence to Raleigh, and finally to Washington city, where he took part in the grand review. He was discharged at Davenport, Iowa, August 1, 1865.
        The marriage of Mr. Green and Mrs. Christiania Frohardt took place about thirty-five years ago, and seven children have been born in their family, all of them still living. They are: Gustave Otto, who is married and lives on a fine farm in Harrison county, Iowa; Christoph; Wilhelmina, who is now Mrs. William Weedman and resides on a farm in Harrison county, this state; and Charles. Louis, Sarah, and William. In politics Mr. Green is a Democrat and ably upholds the principles of that party. Both he and his wife are valued members of the German Lutheran church, where they are highly esteemed for their many fine traits of character. Mr. Green has been a very successful farmer, and no one in this part of the county knows more about stock and cattle-breeding than he does.

GREENWOOD, CHARLES G.
        There is in Iowa a sturdy class of business men, who, notwithstanding a familiarity with the vicissitudes of financial and commercial ventures, have always paid one hundred cents on the dollar, and stand a wall of probity and security against general business calamity by serving as an example to less able men and standing firmly in the path of more unscrupulous ones. Of this class is Charles G. Greenwood, of Silver City, Iowa, a prominent banker and lumber merchant.
        Charles G. Greenwood was born at Guilford, Piscataquis county, Maine, May 24, 1836, a day notable in history as that upon which Queen Victoria, of England, was born. His father, Horace Greenwood, was born in Hebron, Maine, in 1810, and died in Woodford county, Illinois, in 1861. His grandfather, Alexander Greenwood, was well known in Maine as a surveyor, and was killed in the prime of life by a falling tree while engaged in the work of his profession. His wife prior to her marriage was a Miss Beree, and she also lived and died in Maine. they reared a large family which included Horace Greenwood, his brothers Otis and Alexander, and several daughters. Alexander died when a young man. Otis became a farmer and went to the western reserve in Ohio, thence to Illinois and afterward to Michigan. Horace Greenwood married Cordelia Gower, a native of Industry, Maine, and a daughter of James Henry and Susan (Norton) Gower, the latter a relative of Nordica, the famous operatic singer. Mrs. Greenwood was born in 1811, and was married at the age of nineteen. Mr. and Mrs. Greenwood became well-to-do farmers in Piscataquis county, Maine, where their five children were born in the order in which they are here mentioned: Citoyenne, who is the widow of James Foss, lives at Minneapolis, Minnesota and has one son living; Charles G. is the immediate subject of this sketch. Borredell, widow of Moses Buch, is the mother of eight children and lives at Cheboygan, Michigan. Horace A., is a land owner and speculator at Wymore, Nebraska, and has two daughters. C. Davis died at the age of sixteen years, in Illinois, where the family removed in 1857. The mother of these children survived her husband thirty years and died at Wymore, Nebraska, in 1891, aged eighty-three. She was a woman of great energy and enterprise, which were not dimmed by the approach of old age. when she was seventy-five years old, she went to Colorado and proved up a pre-emption on three hundred and twenty acres of land under the provision of the homestead law. The property she secured included a tree claim, and she maintained a legal residence there for the prescribed period and made the necessary amount of improvements, visiting her children from time to time as opportunity offered.
        Charles G. Greenwood received his primary education in the public schools in Maine and was for a time a student at an academy there. He came to Illinois in the fall of 1857 and that winter entered the Wisconsin State University as a sophomore and was there associated with Senator William F. Vilas who was graduated in that institution. He began teaching school at the age of eighteen years and afterward taught three winter terms in Illinois, when he was a man of family and a school director. He was married January 17, 1861, to Apphia Trask, a native of Maine, who at the age of fifteen had gone to Illinois with her parents, Eben G. Trask and his wife who was a member of the family of Emery. Both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Trask reared three sons and two daughters, all of whom are living except the eldest, Wayland Trask, who enlisted as an orderly for service in the Civil war, rose to rank of first lieutenant and afterward became a captain in the regular army of the United States.
        Mr. Greenwood came from Illinois to Iowa in 1880, and located at Silver City, Mills county, where he engaged in the lumber and grain trade. For a short time his brother Horace was his partner, but after that he conducted an individual enterprise until 1889, when his son, C. D. Greenwood, arrived at his majority and acquired an interest in his father's business. For two years the younger Greenwood was engaged in the same line of business at Malvern, Mills county. He married Miss Lizzie Pullman, and has a son named C. G. Greenwood. There were also four daughters born to Charles G. and Apphia (Trask) Greenwood: Grace, the eldest married George W. Hawley, and has a son and has lost a daughter by death. She lives in Hunnewell, Missouri. Sarepta is the wife of Morris Kehoe, of Silver City, Iowa, and has a son and daughter. Cora is the wife of G. A. Spellbring, of Sterling, Nebraska, and has a son and a daughter. Ada, who is a member of her father's household, was educated at Tabor College, in Iowa, and is an accomplished pianist.
        For the past five years Mr. Greenwood has been interested in gold mining at Cripple Creek, Colorado. He was one of the incorporators of the Silver City State Bank, organized in 1883, and has been its president continuously since that time. He is the owner of real estate in the Missouri valley and at Alvin, Texas, and of farm land in Kansas, Texas and Iowa. He is a leading lumber dealer in his part of the state and his lumber yard is one of the largest and best stocked for many miles around. He began life poor and has made a notable success in an honest, straightforward way that commends his example to the emulation of all ambitious young business men. Standing five feet, eleven inches high and weighing two hundred and fifteen pounds, he is a noteworthy figure in any crowd, but his manner is quiet and retiring and he is not given to unnecessary talk. A well posted, practical business man of sound judgment and well balanced mind, he is equally well informed on questions of national importance and is a prominent Republican, who held the office of justice of the peace thirteen years in a Democratic township in Illinois, and in the same township was several times elected to the office of township supervisor. He has been three times elected a member of the city council of Silver City. Mrs. Greenwood is a member of the Baptist church in which her father was a regularly ordained preacher laboring in the ministry in Maine, Illinois and Iowa.

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