For
Muscatine County Iowa
1911
| Biographies For Muscatine County Iowa 1911 | |
Source: History of Muscatine County Iowa, Volume II, Biographical, 1911, page 175
HANSON B. WATTERS. Hanson B. Watters, one of the honored veterans of the Civil war, is deserving a prominent mention in this volume not only by reason of the loyal support which he gave to his country in her hour of need but also because of the creditable place to which he attained in agricultural and political circles. A native of Ohio, he was born in Belmont county on the 9th of December, 1840, a son of Dr. William W. and Teressa D. ( Gregg ) Watters, natives of Maryland and Ohio respectively. Dr. William W. Watters came with his family to Muscatine county, Iowa, in April, 1851, and here purchased farm land in what is now known as Goshen township. He was a physician by profession and successfully practiced medicine in Ohio for a number of years before coming to this state but did not practice here except in a friendly way. He passed away in Muscatine county on the 20th of March, 1884, and his wifes demise occurred in June, 1886. Their family consisted of nine children, of whom seven are yet living: Mary E., a resident of Fort Dodge, Iowa; Hanson B., of this review; William G., of California; Louise, deceased; Henry G., of Muscatine county; Walter P., residing in Atalissa, Iowa; Emma I., the deceased wife of Dr. E. S. Lawrence, of Des Moines; Sarah, who makes her home in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and Clara, the widow of Theodore Noble, of Oakland, California.Spending his early boyhood in his native state, Hanson B. Watters, was a lad of ten years when he came with his parents to Muscatine county in 1851, and in the schools of Ohio and Iowa he was accorded excellent educational advantages. After completing the course of study offered in the public schools by graduation from high school, he attended Western College at Western, Iowa. He had not yet attained his majority when civil war was inaugurated between the north and south, and was but twenty-one years of age when, prompted by the spirit of patriotism, he enlisted in the Union army, becoming in August, 1861, a member of Company G, Second Iowa Cavalry, with which he served for a term of two and a half years. At the expiration of that period he reenlisted in the same company, being identified therewith until the close of the war, serving most of the time with the rank of sergeant. With his regiment he participated in the charge on Farmington and took part in a number of important and hotly contested engagements, while at Coffeeville, Mississippi, he was wounded in the left side. He responded readily and fearlessly to every call of duty, and his courage and valor never faltered in the face of danger. He received honorable discharge in Alabama on the 19th of September, 1865, and after the close of the hostilities returned home with a most excellent military record.
Returning to the pursuits of civil life, Mr. Watters took up farming on the old homestead in Muscatine county, in the operation of which he continued until his marriage, in 1868, to Miss Ruth H. Parker, who was born in Columbia county, Pennsylvania, and is the only surviving member of a family of nine children born unto Lot and Susanna ( Lundy ) Parker, the latter a sister of Captain William Lundy. Her parents came to Iowa in 1867 and here their remaining days were spent. After his marriage Mr. Watters removed with his bride to a farm of forty acres in Goshen township, which he had previously purchased,and it remained the scene of his busy activities for more than a decade. That his efforts during that period were effective elements in the acquirement of success is indicated by the fact that as the years passed by he was able to add extensively to his original holdings, becoming eventually the owner of four hundred acres of valuable land. Indeed the modern methods which he employed, combined with the spirit of energy and perseverance which characterized all of his labors, made it possible for him at the end of but eleven years to withdraw from active life and enjoy in well earned retirement those pleasures which a substantial competence could afford. In 1899 he left the farm and took up his abode in West Liberty, where he has since made his home. His present residence, erected by himself, is one of the finest and most attractive in the town and is the visible evidence of the success which crowned his efforts during his active connection with agricultural pursuits.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Watters have been born five sons, as follows: Allan P., postmaster of Dexter, New Mexico; William L., engaged in the drug business in West Liberty; George Stanley, who was drowned while attending the Iowa State College in 1899; Henry B., a civil engineer of Cleveland, Ohio; and Vernon G., who graduated from the Iowa State College and is also a civil engineer, making his home in Florida.
The parents hold membership in the Christian church and Mr. Watters belongs to Lodge No. 95, A. F. & A. M., of West Liberty, while as a member of Silas Jackson Post, No. 255, G. A. R., at West Liberty, he keeps in touch with his old army comrades. In politics he has been a stalwart republican since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he has ever known the interests of the party at heart, doing all in his power to extend its influence in the communities in which he has resided although never a politician in the usually accepted sense of office seeking. His fellowmen, however, recognizing and demonstrating their appreciation of the disintrestedness of his service and his high personal worth and ability, chose him to represent his district in the state legislature, which honor was conferred upon him in 1893, and in 1895 he was reelected to the office for two terms. It was during the session of 1896 and the special session of 1897, while he was a member, that the code was revised, and he was actively and helpfully interested in other important legislative measures during the period of his incumbency. As a private citizen he has ever remained a close student of the questions and issues of the day relating to community, state and national politics. His life has indeed been a useful and helpful one, actuated at all times by high purposes, and the enviable position which he has won for himself in the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens speaks in higher terms of a successful career than does the substantial material gain which crowned his life's labors.
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