[page 533] John H. Walkinshaw. Each community has a certain number of citizens to whom they point with pride as leaders in the activities which are foremost in the upbuilding and progress of the locality. In Blanchard John H. Walkinshaw is accounted one of the number for he is a man of unfaltering integrity, unabating industry and energy that never flags. These qualities have gained him success and leadership in business circles. He is now owner of the grain elevator and also the vice president of the First National bank of Blanchard.
His birth occurred in Guernsey county, Ohio, May 9, 1843, his parents being John and Margaret (Glasgow) Walkinshaw, who were early settlers of that county. His father was born in Ireland and when about three years of age was brought to the United States by his parents, John and Mary (Henry) Walkinshaw, who settled in Guernsey county, Ohio, where they resided until the fall of 1857, when they removed to Des Moines county, Iowa. Reared in the Buckeye state, John Walkinshaw, the father of our subject, there acquired his education and learned the miller's trade. After coming to Iowa he turned his attention to farming, which he continued to follow until called to his final rest, his death occurring at Morning Sun, Iowa, when he was seventy-five years of age. His wife, who was born in Scotland, came to the United States with her parents, Mr and Mrs. [page 534] Arthur Glasgow and died at the age of forty-two years. By her marriage she became the mother of the following children: James, deceased; Jane, who is the widow of Andrew McConaughy and lives in Superior, Nebraska; Maria, the wife of John Kilpatrick, of Des Moines county, Iowa; Hugh W., a resident of Page county; John H.; Margaret, the wife of Thomas Read, of California; Adam, who is living in Nebraska; Lemuel, whose home is in Stockton, California; Mary Ann, the wife of James Baird, of Des Moines county, Iowa; Arthur G., who lives at Santa Anna, California; and three who died in infancy.
John H. Walkinshaw resided in Guernsey county, Ohio, until about fourteen years of age and during that period mastered the elementary branches of learning as a pupil in the district schools. Subsequently he accompanied his parents to Iowa and in 1869 became a resident of Harlan township, Page county. He bought raw land there at five dollars per acre, improved it and built a house thereon, hauling the lumber from Hamburg. He lived there for about six years and on the expiration of that period sold his property for thirty dollars per acre. Removing to Atchison county, Missouri, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of raw land at seven dollars and a half per acre, improved the place and built thereon a house, hauling the lumber from Clarinda. There he lived for about twenty-six years and as his financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm from time to time until it comprised three hundred and sixty acres. The extent of his possessions was the indication of the success which came to him and which was the direct result of close application and unabating energy.
Following the death of his wife Mr Walkinshaw removed to Blanchard and about a year later became owner of a grain elevator. In 1898 he became associated with James C. McKee in establishing the present business which they conducted together until 1905 and then admitted Joseph D. McKee, a brother of James C. McKee, to a partnership. They handle grain and coal under the firm name of the Walkinshaw & McKee Brothers Elevator Company, of Blanchard and Elmo, Missouri. At the latter place they have another elevator and are closely and actively associated with the grain interests of this part of the country. A man of resourceful business ability, Mr Walkinshaw has extended his efforts into other fields. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Blanchard and is now its vice president. He never allows ordinary obstacles or difficulties to block his path but overcomes them by determined effort and perseverance, which ultimately enables him to reach the goal for which he is striving.
It was on the 29th of July, 1869, that Mr Walkinshaw was married to Miss Sarah McClellan, a daughter of William and Elizabeth McClellan, of Page county. They became the parents of the following children: William A., who is now living on a farm on the Iowa and Missouri state line, near Blanchard, is married and has five children. John A., who lives about a mile south of Blanchard in Missouri, married Sarah Henning and they have three children. Elizabeth C. is the wife of Orra Duncan, of Taylor county, Iowa, and they have five children. Jennie is the wife of John McKnight, of Kansas, and they have two children. Hannah is the wife of Wil[page 535]liam Henning, a resident of Blanchard, Missouri. Lois married Thomas Copeland and they reside in Nodaway county, Missouri. James L. married Hattie Cain and is living in Denver, Colorado, and Frank makes his home with his father. There were other children of that marriage who died in infancy. After losing his first wife Mr Walkinshaw married again, his second union being with Margaret Watson.
Mr Walkinshaw is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as one of the elders. He was also one of its organizers, the church being established in 1877. Throughout the intervening years he has done good work as one of its faithful advocates, cooperating in every movement that tends to promote its growth and extend its influence. He has always been a public-spirited citizen and is entitled to wear the Grand Army button from the fact that he was a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting in Des Moines county, Iowa, on the 29th of July, 1863, as a member of Company D, Eighth Iowa Cavalry. He joined his regiment at Davenport, where he was mustered into the United States service. He was in camp there for about three months and then went to Nashville, Tennessee. The regiment was sent into winter quarters at Waverly, Tennessee, and did guard duty on railroads in that vicinity until February, 1864. He was then at Chattanooga and joined Sherman's "Bummers" at Cleveland, Tennesee, on the Atlantic campaign. The troops remained with that command until Atlanta was captured and then returned to Waterloo, where they continued until the 1st of April. They afterward did considerable skirmishing and finally arrived at Macon, Georgia, where they continued until the 1st of August, after which they were sent back to Clinton, Iowa. there Mr Walkinshaw was mustered out August 13, 1865. He was never wounded but was injured at Waverly, tennessee, when a team went over an embankment. In days of peace he has been equally as loyal to his county as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields and his cooperation can always be counted upon to further any movement for the general good. His interests have never been self-centered but have extended to various movements and measures which have insured the continuous progress and upbuilding of the town and county. |
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[page 538] W.E. Keister.
Early realizing that there is no royal road to wealth, W.E. Keister in
his business career has put forth strenuous and consecutive effort for
the attainment of that success which is the goal of all laudable endeavor.
He is now a member of the firm of Keister, Collins & Company, lumber
dealers of Essex. His life record began on the 2nd of April, 1856, in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, his parents being David and Anna (Lauffer)
Keister, both of whom were natives of Westmoreland county, and were of
German lineage. The father spent his entire life in his native county,
where he followed the occupation of farming. The mother still survives
and makes her home with her children.
At the usual age W.E. Keister was sent to the public schools and supplemented
his preliminary course by an academic course in the Laird Institute. At
twenty years of age he left the parental roof and came to Iowa, working
for one year as a farm hand at Randolph, Fremont county. He then went
to Imogene in the same county, where he secured a position as yard man
in connection with the lumber business. He remained there, however, for
only one year, after which he came to Essex and found employment in the
lumberyard of Mr Poe, with whom he remained for seventeen years. At that
time Mr Poe failed in business and for two years thereafter Mr Keister
was employed by other parties. In company with A.M. Stearns he then purchased
the lumber business of Beach & Sederburg and started out upon an independent
business venture, conducting the enterprise under the firm name of Keister
& Stearms. They remained together for two years, at the end of which
time Mr Keister purchased Mr Stearm's interest and for six months conducted
the business alone. He then sold a half interest to A.D. Collins, since
which time the firm has been Keister & Collins. They have a large
and well equipped lumberyard, in which they carry all kinds of lumber
and building supplies. In January, 1909, they purchased the lumberyards
of Frank Weidman, of Coburg, Iowa, and Mr Keister's son-in-law, W.J. Parrott,
bought a third interest in the firm at that time. The name was then changed
to Keister, Collins & Company and they own and control a business
at Essex and at Coburg. Mr Keister is also the owner of a quarter section
of land in Sully county, South Dakota. The years have chronicled his success
which comes from his ability to correctly judge of life's contacts and
its experiences and to utilize every favoring opportunity.
In 1880 Mr Keister was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Baird of
Essex, and unto them have been born eight children, of whom five are living.
These are: Muriel J., the wife of W.J. Parrott of Coburg, who is third
partner in the business and has charge of the lumberyards of the firm
of Keister, Collins & Company at Coburg; Delmont C., of Omaha, Nebraska;
James D., who is living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Frank D., who is an assistant
in the Coburg lumberyards; and Baird V., at home.
In his political views Mr Keister is a stalwart republican where national
issues are involved but at local elections casts an independent ballot
but his fellow townsmen's appreciation of his public-spirited citizenship
and his devotion to the general good is indicated in the fact that he
was elected to the office of mayor, in which connection he gave a public-spirited
and beneficial administration. He belongs to Mountain Lodge, No 360, A.F.
& A.M., and is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is
serving as elder. His success has followed as the logical sequence of
his close application and business probity and in other relations of life
as well he has enjoyed the unqualified esteem and confidence of his associates
and colleagues. |
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[page 539] W.B. Miller. The agricultural interests of Tarkio township find a worthy representative in W.B. Miller, who is living on section 29. It was in this township that he was born May 30, 1855, his parents being George and Aletha (Hill) Miller, both of whom were natives of Tennessee, where they were reared and married. Further mention of the family is made in connection with the sketch of J.N. Miller, a banker of Clarinda, who is mentioned elsewhere in this volume.
W.B. Miller lost his father when ten years of age and he was reared at home by his brothers Isaac and John. He was still comparatively young when he and his junior brother, M.H. Miller, with two sisters to keep house for them, purchased and located upon the northwest quarter of section 32, Tarkio township. Later the sisters were married and the brothers kept bachelor hall for a time. Subsequently, however, Mr Miller completed arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage on the 4th of October, 1877, and not long afterward he purchased his brothers' interest in the farm. He continued its cultivation and made his home thereon until March, 1903, but in the meantime had purchased his present property of two hundred and six acres, cornering on his previous place. In 1903 he took up his abode upon the tract which he now occupies, situated on section 29, Tarkio township. He still retains his former farm, however, so that his present holdings include three hundred and sixty-six acres. This land is now valuable and productive, the fields responding to his care and cultivation in generous harvests which find ready sale on the market. He practices the rotation of crops and carries on his work along the lines of scientific farming, having made a close study of the nature of the soil and the plant food which is necessary in the raising of good crops. He also raises white-faced Hereford cattle and has produced some fine stock.
As previously stated Mr Miller was married in 1877, the lady of his choice being Miss Elizabeth Dutton, of Tarkio township, Page County. Their children are six in number: Vera A., who was educated in the Clarinda high school; Alva D., who was educated in the state normal school at Cedar Falls, Iowa, and now cultivates and occupies his father's farm on section 32, Tarkio township; Oren, who supplemented his high-school course in Clarinda by a commercial course at Lincoln, Nebraska, and is now located at Fruita, Colorado, Fred I., who pursued a commercial course in the Western Normal College and is at home; Harley W., a student in Simpson College, at Indianola, Iowa; and Irma M., who is now a senior in the Clarinda high school.
The cause of education finds in Mr Miller a stalwart champion. He has proved his children with excellent advantages in that direction and has done much to further public progress along educational lines, acting for some time as president of the school board. He is also clerk of Tarkio township, which position he has filled for ten years, his long incumbency indicating clearly his fidelity in office and the confidence and trust reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, while fraternally, he is connected with Columbia Camp, No. 1896, of Yorktown.
In 1894 Mr Miller was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away on the 6th of August of that year, in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she was a member. Mr Miller also belongs to that church and has found in its teachings the incentive of a righeous, upright life, while in his membership relatives he has gained warm friends, whose lives are permeated with the same belief that has stimulated and upheld him. His sterling worth and capability have made him an influential citizen and an analyzation into his career shows as its salient features that qualities which in every land and clime awaken confidence and high regard. |
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[page 551] Christian
W. Fishbaugh, a banker and land proprietor, who until recent years was
the largest landowner of southwestern Iowa, has in life record proved
the efficiency of indefatigable and intelligently directed industry in
winning success. He was born in Crawford county, Ohio, on the 20th of
February, 1847, his parents being Christian and Mary (Gross) Fishbaugh.
The father was a native of Bavaria, Germany, while the mother's birth
occurred in Columbiana county, Ohio. Having spent the first fifteen years
of his life in his native country, Chriatian Fishbaugh, Sr., then accompanied
his parents to the United States and after his marriage located upon a
farm in Crawford county, Ohio. His remaining days were devoted to general
agricultural pursuits in that county, where he passed away at the comparatively
early age of forty-five years. After the father's death the family removed
to Tiffin, Ohio, where the mother died at the age of sixty-one years.
Christian W. Fishbaugh was reared at home, acquiring his education
in the district schools of Crawford county. He was fouteen years of age
at the removal to Tiffin, at which time he began work in his brother's
wagon manufacturing plant, being there employed until his twenty-first
year. On obtaining his majority he was admitted to a partnership under
the firm name of Fishbaugh Brothers, the firm owning and controlling the
patent wagon hound, the best wagon hound ever producted. This brought
to their business a world-wide acquaintance and insured their success.
C.W. Fishbaugh was identified with this manufacturing interest until 1885
but in the meantime, in 1882, he had removed west to Shenandoah. He retained
his financial interest in the Ohio business for three years and it is
still in operation in Tiffin under the name of the Fishbaugh Bent Works.
After arriving in Shenandoah, Christian W. Fishbaugh turned his attention
to the live-stock business and to farming, in which line he was actively
engaged until 1903, when he withdrew from active connection with agricultural
pursuits and became one of the heaviest stockholders in the Commercial
Savings Bank, now the Commercial Nation Bank of Shenandoha. He was elected
vice president of the institution, in which capacity he was identified
with the bank for three years. In 1906, however, he sold his bank stock
and for two years thereafter gave his undivided attention to his landed
interests. In the fall of 1908 he was instrumental in the organi-[page
552] zation of the Security Trust
& Savings Bank of Shenandoah, his associate in this venture being
his son, Earl C. Fishbaugh. On the 6th of January, 1909, they opened their
doors for business and in the management of the bank have shown themselves
familiar with the demands of the financial world. Already the institution
has secured many patrons and its business is constantly growing. In all
of his operations Mr Fishbaugh has been very successful and at one time
was the owner of over nineteen hundred acres of the most valuable farming
land in Iowa, located in Fremont and Page counties.
In October, 1873, Mr Fishbaugh was married to Miss Melinda Angene,
of Broken Sword, Crawford county, Ohio. Unto them were born two sons,
Warren P., a stockman, who is looking after the interests of his farms,
and Earl C., cashier of the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
In his political views Mr Fishbaugh is an earnest republican and served
for nine years as a member of the town council of Shenandoah, during which
time he labored effectively and earnestly to introduce many needed reforms
and improvements. For three years he was a member of the school board
and the cause of education has ever found in him a stalwart champion.
He likewise belongs to the Congregational church and is greatly interested
in the material, intellectual, social and moral progress of the community.
Starting out in life at the age of fourteen years without any special
advantages he has made steady progress in the business world nor has his
path ever been strewn with the wreck of other men's fortunes. He has sought
his success in the legitimate lines of trade and commerce, and at all
times his commercial probity has stood as an unquestioned fact in his
career. |
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[page 555] Earl C.
Fishbaugh. Banking institutions are the heart of the commercial body and
indicate the healthfulness of trade. The bank that follows a safe, conservative
policy does more to establish public confidence in times of widespread
financial depression than any other one thing and the men who control
its affairs are looked upon at such times as the promoters of stability
and the guardians of trade interests. Well qualified by his experience
and his training for the conduct of banking interests, Earl C. Fishbaugh
is now serving as cashier of the Security Trust & Savings Bank of
Shenandoah. He is yet a young man but has given manifestation of many
sterling business qualities. He was born in Tiffin, Ohio, on the 7th of
March, 1880, and is a son of Christian W. and Malinda (Angene) Fishbaugh,
of whom mention is made elsewhere in this volume.
Earl C. Fishbaugh was only two years old at the time of his parents'
removal to Iowa and it was in Shenandoah that he was reared to manhood,
acquiring his education in the public schools. He passed through consecutive
grades until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1898,
at which time he turned his attention to farming and was identified with
agricultural interests through five summers. In November, 1902, he became
connected with the banking business, securing a position as bookkeeper
in the Commercial Savings Bank, now the Commercial National Bank of Shenandoah.
He had acted in that capacity for ten months, when he was made assistant
cashier of the institution, so continuing until January, 1906, when he
resigned his position to become assistant cashier of the First National
Bank of Shenandoah. His time was thus occupied until April 1908, and in
the fall of that year the organization of the Security Trust & [page
556] Savings Bank was effected, Mr Fishbaugh being connected with
the work. On the 7th of January, 1909, the doors of the new institution
were thrown open to the public, with Earl C. Fishbaugh as cashier, and
already the business has made rapid strides, the possiblilities and indications
of future success being most favorable.
Mr Fishbaugh is a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge and also of Juniata
Lodge, K.P.; of Page Camp, No 1049, M.W.A.; the Woodmen of the World;
the Ancient Order of United Workmen; the Royal Neighbors; and Shenandoah
Lodge, No. 1122, B.P.O.E. He likewise belongs to the Congregational church
and is interested in those movements which tend to promote humanitarianism
and uphold the moral standard. His political allegiance is given to the
republican part where state and national questions are involved but at
local elections he casts an independent ballot, voting for the candidate
irrespective of party ties if he believes that the best interests of the
community will be conserved thereby. In the spring of 1909 he was nominated
and elected on the labor ticket to the office of city treasurer and his
personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him were indicated in
the fact that he received the highest vote of any candidate at the election
and is the youngest treasurer that has ever filled the office.
On the 15th of December, 1908, Mr Fishbaugh was united in marriage
to Miss Irene Fender, a daughter of Martin Fender, a farmer of Page county,
now residing in Shenandoah. Like her husband Mrs Fishbaugh is a member
of the Congregational church and they are prominent socially. He is a
young man of strong personality and of marked individuality and is classed
with the able young financiers of southwestern Iowa. Everywhere he is
held in high regard and his friends are legion. |
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[page 558] Henry E.
Deater, who since January, 1906, has capably served as the postmaster
of Shenandoah, is the secretary, assistant editor and assistant manager
of the Sentinel Post Company. His birth occurred in Lagrange, Indiana,
on the 18th of April, 1862, his parents being John and Nancy J. (Leighter)
Deater, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania. They were married in
Indiana, to which state they had removed in early manhood and womanhood.
The father, who established his home in Lagrange, was an agriculturist
by occupation and filled the office of county judge for some years. He
passed away at the comparatively early age of forty years, his demise
occurring in 1862. The mother of our subject afterward married again,
her second union being with Thomas Bean, who died in the year 1870. Mrs
Bean still survives, however, and is a resident of Abingdon, Illinois.
Henry E. Deater was but eleven years of age at the time his stepfather
died, leaving a widow and four children in straitened circumstances, and
it became necessary for him to aid in the support of the family as best
he could. He manfully shouldered the responsibility and assisted in the
maintenance of his widowed mother and her children until he had attained
his twentieth year. His stepfather had establised the family home in Appanoose
county, Iowa, but subsequently Henry E. Deater removed to Warren county,
Illinois, with the mother and her four children, there continuing to reside
until 1882. In that year he started westward with the intention of reading
law under the direction of Judge E.G. Godfrey, of Minden, Nebraska, who
had been his last school teacher. He had a sister living at Shenandoah,
Iowa, and, stopping here on a visit, determined to remain for a time in
order to attend college during a term of ten weeks. He had thirty dollars
on his arrival, which he gave for tuition and worked in the dining room
to pay for his board. On the expiration of his term the president of the
college, William M. Crone, insisted that he continue his studies there
and when Mr Deater told him that he had no money the president said he
would personally furnish the necessary funds to complete the four years'
course even if it required a thousand dollars. Through his influence Mr
Deater obtained a position in the college which enabled him [page
559] to pay for his board during his student days and he remained
at the institution until the time of his graduation with the class of
1886, while subsequently he continued his studies there for two more years.
Following his graduation he procured a position as a school teacher and
in this manner finally discharged an indebtedness of between six and seven
hundred dollars, which he had incurred in order that he might have a college
education.
On taking up his duties as an instructor Mr Deater first had charge
of the "Sunny Slope School," which, though so unruly that two
former teachers had been compelled to abandon their work, he succeeded
in subduing. Having proven that he was a man of firm purpose, who knew
how to enforce discipline and obedience, his services were sought as teacher
in another school of this character, the Imogene, the principal of which
had resigned. Subsequently he was employed by the college for a year,
traveling through Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri and giving lectures on
the work being done by the institution. During the fall of 1888 he taught
in the Mount Hope school and in December of that year secured a position
on a newspaper--the Shenandoah Sentinel, with which he remained until
March, 1889. He then bought a half interest in the Blanchard Sentinel
and on his return to Shenandoah in 1890 sold out the publication, of which
he had become sole proprietor by the purchase of his partner's interest.
On his return to Shenandoah, through the solicitation of Mr Marvin,
he was made assistant editor of the Sentinel, acting in that capacity
until the fall of 1895, when he was elected county superintendent of schools.
He remained the incumbent in that position of six years or through three
successive terms and on severing his connection with educational interests
was made assistant editor and assistant manager of the Sentinel Publishing
Company, which had just been organized and of which
firm he became a member. About a year later, however, he withdrew from
the concern, selling his stock to Mr Marvin in November, 1902. He then
bought the old Shenandoah Post and organized the Post Publishing Company,
with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. This paper, though the oldest
in the town had been allowed to run down and Mr Deater determined to devote
his efforts and energies to its upbuilding. a new printing plant was bought
and the paper was soon established on a paying basis, the first issue
being sent forth on the 11th of December, 1902. Mr Deater was made president,
editor and manager of the company, thus serving until the 1st of April,
1905, when the Sentinel and Post were consolidated under the name of the
Sentinel Post. He has since been the secretary, assistant editor and assistant
manager of this paper and is widely recognized as a most prominent and
successful representative of journalistic interest in the county. On the
16th of December, 1905, he was appointed postmaster of Shenandoah and
entered upon the duties of that office on the 5th of January, 1905, having
filled the position to the present time in a highly satisfactory and efficient
manner.
On the 25th of November, 1886, Mr Deater was united in marriage
to Miss Lizzie B. Spencer, of Creston, Iowa, by whom he has three children:
[page 560] Earl J., a resident
of New York city; Pearl O., who is employed as bookkeeper in the office
of the Sentinel Post; and Eton R., who is attending the Shenandoah schools.
Mr Deater is a stalwart advocate of republican principles and is a
prominent and influential factor in the local ranks of the party. He served
as republican committeeman from 1903 until 1905, when he resigned to accept
the postmastership and was secretary of the county committee for a number
of years. Fraternally he is identified with Tricentum Lodge, No 300, F.
& A.M.; Sheshbazzar Chapter, No 82, R.A.M.; Shenandoah Lodge, No 1122,
B.P.O.E.; the Modern Woodmen of America; the Ancient Order of United Workman;
and the Degree of Honor. He also belongs to the Easter Star, his wife
acting as worthy matron of the lodge. Socially he is connected with the
Shenandoah Commercial Club and the Boosters Club, while his religious
faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church,
in which he is serving as a steward. He has the largest private library
in the county and is a member of a law class in Shenandoah. Handicapped
in youth by difficulties and obstacles which would have disheartened many
a man of less resolute spirit, Mr Deater deserves much credit for what
he has accomplished. By sheer force of character, strong purpose and laudable
amibiton he has forged ahead and commands the respect and admiration which
is ever accorded those whose success has been honorably won. |
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[page 570] Joseph
C. Journey, of Shambaugh, is an honored veteran of the Civil war and one
of the old-time residents of Page County, where he has lived continuously
for forty years. Through much of this period he was closely, actively
and successfully assocatied with agricultural interests but is now living
retired, having divided his land among his children. He has passed the
seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey, his birth having occurred in
Perry county, Ohio, September 21, 1833. His parents were John A. and Anna
(Harkins) Journey, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania.
Both had been previously married and Mrs Journey had one son by her first
husband--Benoni Brown, while Mr Journey had two sons by his first wife.
The children of John A. and Anna (Harkins) Journey numbered five sons
and two daughters.
[page 571] Joseph C. Journey spent the
first sixteen years of his life in the county of his nativity and then
accompanied his parents on their removal to Jay county, Indiana, in 1849.
There the family lived until 1854, during which period Joseph C. Journey
learned the plasterer's trade. He also learned the trade of shoemaking
during the winter months, after which he traveled around and worked in
different places as a journeyman, devoting his time largely to plastering.
Going to Mercer county, Ohio, he was there married, after which he returned
to Portland, Indiana, where he worked at his trades until 1861. After
that year he removed to Sterling, Whiteside county, Illinois, and there
resided during the early period of the Civil war but on the 7th of August,
1862, felling that his first duty was to his country he enlisted as a
member of Company D, Seventy-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry under command
of Captain McMoore. He thus served for three years and was honorably discharged
on the 12th of June, 1865, at Nashville, Tennessee. While at the front
he was attacked by a disease of the hip joint and was sent to the rear.
After being treated in the hospital for a time he did guard duty but was
permanently disabled by his military experiences. He took part in the
battles of Perryville, Stone River, Lancaster and other engagements and
when the war was over returned to Mercer county, Ohio. There he resided
until 1869, which year witnessed his arrival in Page county, Iowa, where
he has since made his home. He had one hundred and forty acres of land
in Buchanan and East river townships and for almost forty years successfully
carried on general farming, during which time his well directed labors,
careful expenditure and business ability brought to him a confortable
competence. On the expiration of that period he disposed of his farm in
October, 1908, dividing the land among his children. He now lives retired
in Shambaugh and is pleasantly situated, his income being sufficient to
supply him with all the necessities and many of the comforts of life.
In 1854 Mr Journey was married to Miss Samara Keyser, who was born
in Miami county, Ohio, but was reared in Mercer county, that state, spending
her girlhood days in the home of her father, Jesse Keyser. In 1869 she
accompanied her husband on the removal to this county, where she died
October 22, 1878. The children of that marriage were five in number: Martha
Ann, now the wife of John D. Couch, of Phillipsburg, Kansas; Benoni B.,
a farmer residing in Shambaugh; Viola, the wife of A.W. Good, of Curtis,
Nebraska; Pearl, the wife of James Stewart, of Clarinda; and Jesse F.,
who was drowned.
Politically Mr Journey has long been a stanch republican, joining
the party on its organization and never faltering in his allegiance thereto.
He has filled some minor positions but has always preferred to leave office
holding to others. He has been a Mason since 1868, at which time he was
initiated into the order in Salina, Ohio, and he is now a member of Nodaway
Lodge, No 140, A.F. & A.M., of Clarinda. While not identified with
any church, he has been a close student of the Bible for forty years and
his life has been in strict conformity to its moral teachings. He has
always endeavored to do unto others as he would have them do unto him,
[page 572] is just and fair in business,
kindly and considerate in manner. Those who know him esteem him for his
genuine worth and he has a wide acquaintance in the county where he has
now lived for four decades. |
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[page 588]
Stephen Mann. It is fitting that men in the evening of life should enjoy
a season of rest. Nature seems to have intended that this should be so,
for in youth he is full of energy and hope and in later years these qualities
are directed by mature judgment and keen discrimination, resulting in
the attainment of success. Such has been the record of Stephen Mann, whose
years of activity are now crowned with an age of ease. He has lived in
the county since 1859 and during this period has been identified with
its agricultural and stock-raising pursuits. Moreover, he is entitled
to mention in this volume from the fact that he was one of the first settlers
in Page county and during his residence here has seen the county developed
from comparatively unimproved prairie land into rich fields, while in
the work of improvement he has taken his full share.
Mr Mann was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, March 3, 1830,
a son of John and Elizabeth (Rich) Mann, natives of Holland, who located
in Pennsylvania at an early date and were among the pioneer settlers of
that state. The father was a farmer by occupation, and among the scenes
and environments of rural life Stephen Mann passed the first fifteen years
of his life, attending the district schools during the winter months,
while he assisted his father in the work of the fields during the summer
seasons. In 1845 he accompanied his parents on their removal to [page
589] Michigan, where they resided upon a farm in St Joseph county
for three years. At the expiration of that period, thinking to start out
in life on his own account, Mr Mann left his parents' home and went to
Green county, Wisconsin, where for eleven years he was employed as a farm
hand by the month. Being ambitious to some day own a farm of his own,
during the intervening years he labored earnestly and diligently and carefully
saved his earnings until he had accumulated sufficient means with which
to accomplish his desire. The year 1859 witnessed his arrival in Page
county, Iowa, where he purchased a farm on one hundred and forty acres
on the line between Buchanan and Amity townships. A few years later he
bought an additional tract of one hundred acres adjoining his original
purchase, and on this farm of two hundred and forty acres he continued
to reside throughout his active connection with business interests. He
engaged for many years in general farming, bringing his fields under a
high state of cultivation and becoming recognized as one of the progressive
and successful agriculturists of the community. For several years he engaged
extensively in the live-stock business, shipping hogs and cattle and making
a specialty of raising horses. He had the reputation of being one of the
best known stockmen of Page county and this branch of his business interests
proved a most gratifying source of revenue to him. Three years before
settling permanently in Page county, Mr Mann had visited Iowa for the
purpose of selecting a suitable location, and he has never found occasion
to regret his decision to take up his abode in Page County for here he
has been very prosperous, attaining a measure of success that now enables
him to live retired, enjoying in well earned rest the fruits of his former
toil. He now makes his home with his son, Samuel John, a resident of Braddyville.
Aside from his valuable farming land he also owns considerable town property
in Braddyville.
It was on the 22d of January, 1852, that Mr Mann was united in marriage
to Miss Rebecca Blackford, a daughter of William and Rachel (John) Blackford,
pioneer residents of Green county, Wisconsin. The ceremony was performed
by Rev Patton, of the Baptist church. This union was blessed with the
following children: Mrs Levina Alice Nicholas, residing in Braddyville;
Mrs Rachel Celelia Yaples, also of that city; Samuel John; Enoch Alvah,
who resides upon and operates the old homestead situated north of the
town of Braddyville; Anna Melissa, who passed away in infancy, her death
occurring December 14, 1868; Mrs Amy Rosilla McKee, a resident of Hopkins,
Missouri; and Loretta Belle, who died Octobert 4, 1896. On the 22d of
September, 1902, Mr Mann was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife,
whose death was a matter of regret to an extensive circle of friends who
held her in high esteem.
In politics Mr Mann is a Jeffersonian democrat and has always taken
an active interest in the affairs of his party. He served as township
trustee for several years and for over twenty years was a member of the
township board and of the town school board, holding those offices until
compelled to resign on account of old age and general disability. Fraternally
he was a member of Braddyville Lodge, I.O.O.F., and also of the Sons of
Tem[page 590]perance of Green county, Wisconsin, continuing his membership
therewith until unable to attend the meetings on account of old age. His
association with these organizations, however, indicate somewhat the principles
that govern his conduct. A man of unquestioned integrity, of unfailing
courtesy and of unswerving honor, he stands as a splendid type of honorable
manhood, of earnest effort and of high principle. During the last few
years he has spent a portion of each year traveling throughout the United
States and Canada, having visited practically all of the points of interest
in these two countries. |
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[page 593] William
Ward, who is owner of the bus line of Clarinda, in which connection he
is conducting a substantial business, came to this city in 1881 and has
since made it his home. He removed to Clarinda from Council Bluffs, Iowa,
where he had previously been connected with the same line of business.
He is, however, a native of Indiana, his birth having occurred in Miami
county, that state, on the 12th of April, 1851. His parents were Hiram
and Rebecca (Evans) Ward, both of whom were natives [page
594] of Ohio. In the year 1855 the father left Indiana and removed
with his family to Iowa, so that his son William is indebted to the public-school
system of this state for the educational privileges he enjoyed. No event
of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for him in
his youthful days, which were devoted to the acquirement of an education,
to the enjoyment of the pleasures of the playground and to the discharge
of such tasks as parental authority assigned him. He remained for some
time in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where he was connected with the bus line,
but in 1881 removed to Clarinda, becoming associated with the same business
in this city. He was in the employ of another until June, 1890, when he
bought the line and has since conducted it, his earnest desire and effort
to please his patrons, his obliging manner and uniform courtesy having
been valuable elements in his success and he now has a liberal patronage
which makes his business a profitable one.
On the 24th of December, 1882, William Ward was united in marriage
to Miss Etta May Shelenberger of Clarinda, a daughter of Abraham and Louisa
Shelenberger, the former proprietor of a hotel at this place. Mr and Mrs
Ward have many friends in Clarinda and enjoy the confidence and good will
of those who know them. They are members of the Presbyterian church and
Mr Ward belongs to the Knights of Pythias. That his fellow townsmen have
faith in his public-spirited citizenship is indicated in the fact that
they elected him councilman in 1909 but he resigned, caring little for
political preferment. He is, however, never remiss in the duties of citizenship
but prefers to give his support to measures for the general good in the
capacity of a private citizen rather than as an official. |
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[page 594] J.F. Cozad.
An excellent farm of one hundred and sixty acres on section 26, Grant
township, annually pays tribute in bounteous harvests to the care and
labor which is bestowed upon it by J.F. Cozad. He was born in Montgomery
county, Iowa, on the 2d of May, 1868, his parents being Hezekiah and Sarah
A. (Dukeshier) Cozad, both of whom were natives of Jackson county, Ohio.
They were reared in that county and in 1856 came to Page county, Iowa,
and were here married. Hezekiah Cozad, who is now deceased, made his home
in Page and Montgomery counties during his lifetime and about 1890 took
up his abode in Essex, this county. His demise occurred on the 17th of
March, 1908, when he had attained the age of seventy-three years. His
widow still survives at the age of sixty-eight years and resides in Essex.
J.F. Cozad attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education
and remained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage. It
was on the 18th of October, 1888, that he was joined in wedlock to Miss
Grace Tyner, of Fremont county, Iowa. The following spring he started
out as an agriculturist on his own account by renting a tract of land,
to the [page 595] operation of which he gave
his attention for about fourteen years. On the expiration of that period,
in 1903, he purchased the Jim Stewart farm of one hundred and sixty acres
in Grant township and has continued to operate it most successfully since.
He follows modern ideas and methods of agriculture and uses the latest
improved machinery to facilitate his labors, so that he is meeting with
excellent results. He is likewise a director in the Security Trust &
Savings Bank of Shenandoah and is widely recognized as a most substantial,
enterprising and representative citizen of the county.
Unto Mr and Mrs Cozad have been born seven children, namely: Jennie,
now the wife of Ernest McNew, of Shenandoah; Jonas, at home; Wilbur, who
is attending the Shenandoah high school; Gilbert and Sadie, who are likewise
still under the parental roof; Fern, who has passed away; and Eugene,
also at home.
Politically Mr Cozad is a republican and has served for several years
as a school director, the cause of education ever finding in him a stalwart
champion. At the present time he is capably discharging the duties devolving
upon him as a member of the board of township trustees, having been elected
to that office in the fall of 1908. Fraternally he is identified with
Shenandoah Camp, No 1049, M.W.A., and with Three Oak Lodge, No 56, Royal
Neighbors. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist
Episcopal church, with which his wife is also identified. In social relations
they are held in the highest regard, the circle of their friends being
almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances.
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