Gardner, Isaac N.
ISAAC N. GARDNER, a prominent citizen of Pottawattamie County, descended
from a prominent American family. His grandfather, James GARDNER, was an English
soldier and came to America with the British Army at the time of the War of
the Revolution, when but nineteen years of age. He deserted from the English
army and joined the American forces. After the War, he married and settled in
Ohio and was the father of eight children: William, James, Robert, John L.,
Washington, Nancy, Betsey and Fannie. The father settled on a farm in Marion
County, Iowa, where he died, at the age of eighty-seven years. John L. GARDNER,
his son, and the father of our subject, was born in Muskingum County, and was
a farmer and miller by occupation.
He was married in Marion County, Ohio to Sarah GOODWIN, daughter of Asa and
Margaret GOODWIN, and they were the parents of four children: Isaac, John,
Smith and Sarah. The father was a pioneer settler of Ohio, where he lived
to the age of seventy years. He then settled in Blackford County, Indiana.
To Mr. And Mrs. GOODWIN were born ten children: Margaret (who died in infancy),
James W., C. V., John N., Asa A., Isaac N., Rhoda A., Mary H., Sarah, and
Washington. After marriage, Mr. GARDNER settled on a farm in Marion County,
Ohio which was then Delaware County and where all of his children were born.
He lived there until 1853 when he came to Iowa County, Iowa, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in Atchison, Kansas, at the age of sixty-nine
years. He was an upright man and a good citizen, and held the respect of his
fellow townsmen. He was Justice of the Peace at Marion, Iowa, and also held
several township offices. Politically he was an old time Whig and Republican.
He had five sons in the War: James M., who enlisted in the 24th Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, Company C and served through the war. He was in the same regiment
with Hon. James LYMAN and was promoted from Orderly Sergeant to Captain. Asa
A., Company D, 35th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served through the War and was
promoted as Captain. He was badly wounded at the battle of Stone River, Tennessee,
the ball passing through his body below the heart and through the breast,
and he is now suffering from the effects of this wound. He was again badly
wounded at Chickamauga, Tennessee, through the upper right thigh. He was in
the battle of Shiloh and all the engagements until he was wounded at Stone
River. He was absent about six weeks. Isaac N., Company C, 88th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, served seventeen months, and was transferred to the 27th United
States colored troops as First Lieutenant, serving until the close of the
war. Washington was in Company D, 65th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was but sixteen
years of age when he enlisted in 1861, and was awarded a medal at Stone River
for bravery. He was in every march and battle that his regiment took part
in; was wounded at Resaca, Georgia, and was conveyed from the field by three
comrades in the heat of the battle. He went to school in Ashley, Marion County,
Ohio, and then went to Hillsdale, Michigan, but was graduated at the Ohio
Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. He is now Vice President of Albion
College, Albion, Michigan, and has also been Commander of the G.A.R. post
of Michigan. This is one of the most remarkable army records to be found in
any family.
Isaac N. GARDNER, the subject of this sketch, was born October 7, 1841, on
the old homestead, six miles from Mt. Gilead, Ohio, and was but twenty years
of age when he left the farm and school, where he had taught four terms, to
begin the life of a soldier. He entered as a private, was promoted to First
Lieutenant of a colored regiment, and came out as Captain. He was in the battles
of the Wilderness, Fort Fisher, Petersburg, was not wounded or taken prisoner,
and did active service throughout the great struggle. He returned to Ohio,
where he was honorably discharged, October 7, 1865. He then went to southwestern
Missouri, where he bought a tract of land, and remained one and a half years.
In 1869 he came to Iowa, settling on his present place, which then consisted
of 160 acres of wild land, but which he has since converted into a fine farm,
and by energy and industry has added to it until he now owns 240 acres.
He was married to Emily W. KEARNEY, daughter of Thomas KEARNEY. The father,
a native of Ireland, came to Council Bluffs from Galena, Illinois in 1867.
He is still living, at the age of sixty-two years. To Mr. And Mrs. GARDNER
have been born six children: Frank, Gerald, Chester A., Marcus, Mary I., and
an infant yet unnamed. Mr. GARDNER is a stanch Republican, has held the office
of Justice of the Peace, and has also been School Director. He is a well known
citizen of this county, and his descendants for generations will hold in respect
the names of the soldiers of this family who fought for their Country.
Garner, F. G.
F. G. GARNER, of section 33, Macedonia township, was born in Carroll
Co, Illinois, near Cherry Grove, March 16, 1859, son of J.F. and MARY (CURRY)
GARNER; the former was born in Jackson Co, Illinois, and was the son of FRANK
GARNER, one of the first settlers of Cherry Grove, Illinois; the latter was
born in Missouri but was reared in Grant Co, Wisconsin, near White Oak Springs.
They reared 10 children, of whom F.G. was the fourth child of six sons and six
daughters. Our subject resided for 22 years in the same house, engaged at farm
work, receiving his education in the public schools and at Georgetown, Illinois.
He came here in 1882 and purchased his present farm of 160 acres of his uncle,
I.G. GARNER, who had partly improved the land. It is located two and one fourth
miles west of Macedonia. He was married March 19, 1889, to Miss NETTIE A. WRIGHT,
who was born in Grant Co, Wisconsin, daughter of DAVID J. and NETTIE M. (PARK)
WRIGHT, the former a native of New York and the latter of Chester, Randolph
Co, Illinois. The mother was one year old when her father died, and she was
a graduate of the Mt. Morris schools. Mrs. GARNER was 7 years of age when her
parents removed to Chicago, Illinois, where they resided four years, and then
removed to Dubuque. The father died there in April 1890, and the mother still
resides at that place. Mr. and Mrs. GARNER have one son, CHARLES W. GARNER,
who was born May 7, 1890. Politically Mr. Garner is a Democrat. Mrs. Garner
is a member of the Baptist Church, having been connected with the Second Baptist
Church at Dubuque.
Garner, William
WILLIAM GARNER, one of the early pioneers of Pottawattamie County,
was born in Davidson Co, North Carolina, June 22, 1817, son of David and Sarah
(Stevens) Garner, also natives of North Carolina. The father lived to the
age of 104 years, and the mother died at the age of 90 years. Our subject
was but seventeen years of age when his parents moved to Quincy, Illinois,
where he remained 11 years. He was married in 1846 to Sarah Workman and they
then joined the Mormons at Nauvoo, Illinois, and some years later came with
that colony to Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Mr Garner was one of the first
settlers in this county, and Garner Township was named in his honor. He served
in the Mexican War, and marched through to Mexico, thence to Lower California,
after which he returned home. He now owns 350 acres of find land in Garner
Twp and has also given each of his 11 children a good farm He has lived to
see his children grow to maturity and is a well-to-do and honorable citizen
of Pottawattamie County. He built the woolen mill on Mosquito Creek, and has
been an important factor in many other improvements.
Gault, Jesse D.
JESSE D. GAULT, one of the well known citizens and successful farmers
of Pottawattamie Co, Iowa, came here in 1879 and is located in section 36,
Washington Township. He was born in Worcester Co, Maryland, near the Virginia
line, July 8, 1828. His father, OBED GAULT, was born in Maryland, son of ARCHIBALD
GAULT, a Scotchman. ARCHIBALD GAULT was a sea captain. Retiring from the high
sea, he married and settled in Maryland. Mr. Gault's mother was NANCY (BURROUGHS)
GAULT, daughter of HENRY BURROUGHS, a descendant of Scotch-Welsh ancestry.
She was born and reared in Maryland. Obed and Nancy Gault were the parents
of 14 children, 7 sons and 7 daughters. They removed from Maryland to Ripley
Co, Indiana, where they spent the residue of their lives, the father dying
at the age of 75 and the mother at age 91 years. Mr. GAULT was a farmer all
his life; cast his vote with the Republican Party, and worshiped with the
Methodist Church, of which he was an honored member. JESSE D. GAULT received
his education in the common schools of his native state, and remained in Maryland
until he was 23 years old. At the age of 35, he married ISABELLA HAYNES, and
by her had two sons. The older, ALBERT MORTON GAULT, was born in Ripley Co,
Indiana, August 28, 1865. He married a lady of Des Moines, Iowa, and is now
residing in Sacramento, California, where he has an excellent position as
freight agent. He recently built a home in that city which cost him $3,200.
The second son, JAMES E. GAULT, was killed by accident November 4, 1890 at
age 22 years and five months. He was an expert mechanic and received good
wages. He left a wife and one child. In 1870 Mr. GAULT married REBECCA SULTON,
who was born in Ripley Co, Indiana, daughter of WILLIAM SULTON. Her death
occurred in Mills Co, Iowa. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Church.
December 4, 1884, Mr. GAULT wedded MRS. ELIZA M. HANKS, a native of Union
Co, Indiana, and a lady of intelligence and refinement, who is his present
companion. Her father, ANDREW DUNBAR, was born in Mason Co, Kentucky and died
in Indiana at age 72 years; her mother, nee SARAH STOVER, was born in Carter
Co, Tennessee, and is still living at age 82 years. MRS.
GAULT was first married in Decatur Co, Indiana, to ALBERT G. HANKS, a native
of Woodford Co, Kentucky. By him she had two children: Lellye Huffer, of Decatur
Co, Indiana, and Menter O. Hanks of Silver City, Iowa. Mr. Hanks died in 1873,
in Decatur Co, Indiana. In 1879 Mr. GAULT came to his present location from
Mills Co, Iowa. Forty-five acres of his farm had been broken, but there was
not a building on the place. With the characteristic energy of the western
pioneer, he went to work to make improvements. He now has a good cottage home,
a grove and orchard, stabls and other necessary out-buildings and good fences.
He is making a specialty of stock-raising, having 7 horses and yearlings of
a good breed, some fine cows and swine. Politically Mr. GAULT is a Republican.
Mrs. GAULT has been a member of the Christian Church, from which she now holds
a good letter.
Gault, T. O.
T. O. GAULT was born in Wooster (now Wicomico) Co. Maryland, November
7, 1849. His father, ARCHIBALD GAULT and his grandfather, OBED GAULT, were
both natives of Maryland and the latter was a soldier in the War of 1812.
The wife of Archibald and the mother of T.O. was nee ELIZA LITTLETON. She
was a native of Maryland, as also was her father, THOMAS LITTLETON. The subject
of this sketch was 7 years old when his mother died. Three years later his
father moved to Ripley Co, Indiana, where he lived until 1862. In that year,
he moved back to Maryland but returned to Ripley Co. in 1865. He is now a
resident of Maryland. T.O.
GAULT was reared on a farm and educated in the public schools of Maryland
and Indiana. At the age of 21 he came to Iowa and located in Marshall Co where
he was engaged in farm work most of the time until 1878. In that year, he
came to Pottawattamie Co. and bought 160 acres of wild prairie land in Center
Township. This is now well improved, is fenced into two fields and 150 acres
are under cultivation. Mr. GAULT devotes his attention to general farming
and also to stock-raising. His residence was built in 1888 at a cost of $650,
and is well furnished. It is located on a natural building site and commands
an extended view of the surrounding country. He has about three acres in shade
trees, orchard and small fruits. Mr. GAULT was married March 4, 1888, in Drury,
Rock Island Co, Illinois, to Miss MELISSA DRURY, a lady of education and culture
and a native of that place. She is the daughter of ELI DRURY, an old settler
and a prominent citizen of Rock Island Co. He has been Postmaster for over
35 years at Drury, in the above county. Her mother was MARGARET HUBBERT before
her marriage, a native of Bedford Co, Pennsylvania, and her father, ELI ERURY,
was a native of Wayne Co, Indiana. Both parents are now residents of Drury,
Rock Island Co, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. GAULT have one daughter, Essie Alice.
Politically Mr. GAULT is a Republican. He is a member of the I.O.O.F. having
been made such in Marshall Co, Iowa, at Eden Lodge No. 316, Gillman. He is
a man well informed on all current topics, and is regarded as a representative
citizen of his township.
Gertz, Henry P.
HENRY P. GERTZ, of Shelby, Iowa, is one of the sturdy German citizens
who has shed his blood for his adopted country in the great Civil War. His father,
Henry, was a weaver in the village of Abenvale, Holstein, Germany, and served
during a period of peace in the army. He married Lena BECK and had five children:
Christina, Catharine, Christian, Henry and Lena. He came to America with his
family in 1846, from Hamburg, Germany to New Orleans, by a sailing vessel. The
first three years in this country, he resided at Quincy, Illinois, working at
his trade. He then went to Davenport and became a farmer, owning 298 acres of
good land, but he lost his property during the financial troubles of 1859. He
died on a farm six miles north of Davenport. His first wife died on the voyage
to America and was buried at sea. And about ten years afterward, in America,
Mr. GERTZ married Mrs. Hannah SCHROEDER, and Mr. GERTZ, our subject, was brought
up by Henry BECK, his grandfather, who came to America at the same time. Mr.
GERTZ died at the age of fifty-six years, a member of the Lutheran Church. He
was an industrious and honorable man, taking extraordinary care of his children.
Mr. GERTZ, the subject of this sketch, was born in the village of Abenvale,
Holstein, November 5, 1840, and was about six years of age when he came to
this country, and obtained here a limited education. When Lincoln made his
first call for 300,000 men. Mr. GERTZ, then of age, enlisted August 7, 1861,
in Company E, 20th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, and served through the war, being
honorably discharged July 8, 1865, at Mobile Alabama. He was in the battle
of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and was shot through the left thigh, December
7, 1862. After being in the hospital three months at Fayetteville, Arkansas,
he returned to active service, engaging afterward in the battle at Vicksburg,
siege of Fort Morgan, Alabama, siege and assault at Fort Blakely, and in a
great many skirmishes. He served under Captains Chester BARNEY and Edward
D. DAVIS and his Colonel was Mac. E. DEY, and his Lieutenant Colonel J. P.
LOCK. His regiment charged three times across a field at Prairie Grover, under
a heavy fire, each time repulsed with heavy loss. The regiments in the charge
consisted of the 20th Iowa Infantry, 20th Wisconsin Infantry, 37th Illinois
Infantry, and the 26th Indiana Infantry, the line of battle being three miles
in extent. The last time the repulse was very severe, and the field was covered
with the dead and wounded. On the last retreat, the 20th Iowa was ordered
to lie down behind a staked and ridered rail fence, and here they remained
about half an hour, keeping up a round of fire. When the order was given to
retreat, GERTZ, RICHARDS and PICKARDS were lying on their breasts in a fence
corner and firing on the enemy. They were so absorbed in their work, and the
noise of the artillery was so great, that they did not hear the command to
retreat; and when they discovered the rebels were upon them, their regiment
was half a mile away. The ground gently sloped from the woods where the rebels
were in force, and the charge was made across an open field, in the face of
a severe fire of artillery and musketry. At thirty paces, a ball struck young
GERTZ, passing through his thigh, and he exclaimed, "I am shot."
RICHARDS stopped and GERTZ placed his arm around his shoulder, and they ran
as one man under a heavy fire, the balls falling around them as thick as hail,
one striking the bayonet scabbard of young GERTZ. One ball passed through
his cap and one through his blouse at his waist, and RICHARDS had a ball through
his haversack, canteen and clothing. They ran rapidly toward the 10th Illinois
Cavalry, who opened ranks to receive them on the order of the officer commanding,
who asked what regiment they belonged to, and being answered, exclaimed, "You
are brave men." Mr. GERTZ was one of those soldiers who did not shrink
from battle, and his records shows that he was indeed a brave man. He will
carry to his death the honorable scar which he received in battle for his
country. His record as a soldier will be preserved and handed down for generations
to his descendants, and they may well take an honest pride in their soldier
ancestor, who gave the best years of his life to his country's cause, and
shed his blood on the field of battle to preserve the Union.
He returned from the horrors of war to the delights of a farmer's life of
peace. In 1876 he married Lena, daughter of Hans and Lena (BOWDEN) SNICKLOTH.
Her father died in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and when but thirteen years
of age, she came with her mother and family to America, in 1864. Mr. And Mrs.
GERTZ are the parents of twelve children, namely: Henry (an infant, deceased),
Annie, Edward, Henry, William, Gustave (an infant, deceased), Minnie, Vinnie,
Albert, Grover, Louis (died an infant), and Benjamin H. (also died in infancy).
Annie married Gustave HAAS, a farmer of Pleasant Township.
After marriage, Mr. GERTZ settled in Scott County, Iowa, where he lived for
thirty years, and in the spring of 1874, he came to Pottawattamie County,
and settled upon his present farm, which was then a wild prairie covering
160 acres of land, and assisted by his faithful wife has converted it into
a fine and fertile farm, to which he has since added until he now owns 240
acres of well-cultivated land. On the place are excellent improvements, including
the comfortable, tasteful and well-furnished residence. Our old soldier has
been prospered in the land for which he fought, while he has done a vast amount
of hard labor. He ran a threshing machine for seventeen years. He has accumulated
all his property by his own industry, and may well be called a self-made man.
He is regarded by his neighbors as upright and honorable. In politics, he
is a Democrat. Is a member of the Dick Yates post no. 364, G.A.R., at Shelby,
Iowa. He is also a member of the Canopy Lodge No. 401, I.O.O.F., at Shelby.
Mr. GERTZ is yet a strong and rugged man. Was one of the best shots with
a rifle in his regiment and has a diploma from the Shelby County Agricultural
Society for the best score at the Pigeon Shoot at the Annual Fair in 1882.
He is a credit to the sturdy German race from which he springs, one of those
pioneers who have greatly aided in the material progress of this country.
As a class, no better settlers are to be found. Their sons and daughters are
the race of American people who will do well to emulate the virtues of the
sturdy pioneers who founded their race in this line of liberty.
The name by which Mr. GERTZ was enlisted in the army, and in which his papers
are made out, is Henry GATES, the enrolling officer, being an American, not
knowing how to spell the German name.
Gittens, Henry
HENRY GITTENS, a farmer of Boomer Township, was born in Shropshire, England,
November 27, 1821, a son of Watkin and Hannah (EDWARDS) GITTENS, parents, also
natives of the same shire. Watkin GITTENS was born in March 1800, brought up
on a farm, and at the age of twenty years married the affluent Lady Jane EDWARDS,
and engaged in the mercantile trade at West Bromwich, five miles from Birmingham.
He accumulated a little fortune. His wife died in January 1839, leaving one
child, the subject of this sketch. He afterward married again.
Henry left home at the age of thirteen years, was employed on a farm, and
was also wood-ranger for Earl of Dartmouth, Sandwell Hall. During this period,
May 1, 1849, he married Miss Jane, daughter of William and Ann WALTON, natives
of England. In the WALTON family were seven children: Jane, John, Ann, Catharine,
James, William and Sarah. Mrs. GITTENS was born January 29, 1820, and on reaching
womanhood, became housekeeper for a man named LEE, a cabinet-maker, and while
there, at the age of twenty-eight years, she was married.
A few years afterward, February 15, 1853, Mr. GITTENS emigrated to America,
landing at New Orleans. Five weeks later, he came to Council Bluffs, landing
here with only 50 cents in purse, and with a sick wife and child! Owing $3,
he first paid this debt by selling a sack of flour, which he had brought from
St. Louis. The first two years, he followed agriculture on a farm in PAINE's
Hollow, and then took up 120 acres of land on section 34, which constitute
a part of his present place, at the Government price of $1.25 per acre. On
the money he borrowed to pay for the place, he had to pay 40 to 60 per cent.
He built a large log house, 16 X 18 feet, and made the usual improvements.
He also began raising sheep, but dogs and wolves consumed the profits. At
present, he has a total of 320 acres of land, 200 in cultivation. Being industrious
and economical, he has established a comfortable home, although he has suffered
many hardships of pioneering. In 1875 he erected a brick house, thirty-eight
feet square and two stories high.
The greater part of the last four years, he has spent in taking care of his
invalid wife, who died in March 1889. They were the parents of six children,
namely: Sarah A., born in England, September 7, 1851, and is now the wife
of Andrew C. PETERSON, in Boomer Township; Catharine, born April 23, 1853,
died in December following; Henry William, born September 20, 1855, now a
resident of this county; Kate Walton, born February 4, 1857, and is now the
wife of Lawrence H. HANSON, in this county; Richard A., born July 8, 1858,
and also a resident of this county; and James Watkin, born September 19, 1860,
a resident also of Pottawattamie County.
April 19, 1890, Mr. GITTENS married Miss Martha DAHL, a daughter of Nels
and Margaret (NELSON) DAHL, natives of Denmark, in whose family were the following
named children: Louisa Maria, the wife of Gasper CLEMENSON, and residing in
Denmark; Martha Christina was the next; James Andrew, in council Bluffs; Bartel
C. and Nelsena, both deceased; Olinda, a milliner of California, who died
in Nevada Township on her way to visit her sister, Mrs. GITTENS; Caroline,
wife of C. NELSON, and residing in Chicago. Mrs. GITTENS was born March 28,
1842, and was reared at home, where he mother kept a millinery store. She
thus acquired a taste for trimming hats, which business she has followed to
some extent since coming here with her parents in 1874, when she located first
at Ogden, Utah Territory, April 6. A year afterward, they sold out their nice
home there and came to Boomer Township, locating upon a farm. By the first
marriage, there has been one child born, which died young. Mrs. GITTENS is
a woman of great ability and has helped materially to win a fortune. She has
two good pieces of property in Council Bluffs, where she made her home previous
to the last marriage.
Mr. GITTENS is a stanch Democrat, voting, however, for the best man in local
elections, and taking an active interest in public affairs. He has occasionally
been sent as a delegate to county and state conventions. He has been Justice
of the Peace for Boomer Township for twenty-eight successive years, and Notary
Public, and has held various other township offices. He was one of the men
who organized Boomer Township in 1859. Was one of the appraisers of the right
of way for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad through the county.
He retains in his possession an interesting diary, which he kept for twenty
years.
Glynn, Archibald
ARCHIBALD GLYNN, who resides on section 27, Silver Creek Township, is
one of the enterprising and prominent citizens of Pottawattamie County. He has
made this place his home since 1881. A brief sketch of his life is as follows:
Mr. GLYNN was born in County Carlow, Ireland, September 20, 1853, son of
Walter and Frances (ALGER) GLYNN. The mother died in 1879 and the father in
1880. Archibald was reared on a farm and received his education in the Protestant
schools and at the National Catholic School. His parents were members of the
Church of England. To them were born eleven children, eight sons and three
daughters. One of the latter died at the age of two years and one of the sons
is also deceased. At this writing the other nine are living.
Archibald GLYNN remained in the Emerald Isle until 1876, when he sailed from
Queens-town to Philadelphia, arriving there at the time of the Centennial
Exposition. He came to Mills County, Iowa, where he had an elder brother.
He made his home in that county until 1881, when he came to Pottawattamie
County and bought his present farm of 160 acres. At the time of purchase it
was all wild land. He has since improved it and made a good home. He has a
comfortable frame house, one and a half stories, with a veranda on one side.
The main part of the house is 14 x 26 feet, with an L, 20 x 20 feet. It is
beautifully situated among shade and ornamental trees. Mr. GLYNN is engaged
in general farming and stock-raising, and every thing about his premises-
the stables, yards, feed-lots, and modern wind-pumps-all show thrift and prosperity.
August 23,1877, Mr. GLYNN was married to Marcia KING, daughter of Lewis and
Bessie (WEST) KING, both natives of New York State. The mother was born near
Lake Erie, and still resides in Mills County, Iowa, to which place she and
her husband removed at an early period in the history of that county. The
father died there. Mrs. GLYNN was reared and educated in Mills County. Four
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. GLYNN. Their names are: Frances, Bertha
Rose, Lottie May and Alfred Ed. In his politial views Mr. GLYNN is independent.
He is a member of the Church of England, and Mrs. GLYNN is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, of Lone Star. Her parents were congregationalists.
Godfrey, Clarkson
CLARKSON GODFREY. Among the many successful citizens of Pottawattamie
County, Iowa, we find the above-named gentleman who, by his own exertions, has
risen to a position of wealth and influence. Mr. GODFREY was born ten miles
west of LaFayette, in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, July 17, 1836. Elijah GODFREY,
his father, was born in Maryland, a son of Joseph GODFREY, who was of English
ancestry. Elijah GODFREY was married in Ross County, Ohio to Eleanor DAVISON,
a native of that county, and a daughter of Frederick DAVISON. They subsequently
moved to Tippecanoe County, Indiana, making the trip on horseback and carrying
some household goods and two children on pack-horses. They were among the early
pioneers of that part of Indiana. Of the two sons and seven daughters born to
them, the subject of this sketch was the fifth child. When he was fourteen years
old, his mother died. The father afterward moved to Warren County, Illinois,
where he died at the age of eighty-two years. His whole life was spent on a
farm. He was an honored and esteemed citizen, a member of the Republican Party,
and a believer in the Gospel.
Clarkson GODFREY spent his youth on a frontier farm in Tippecanoe County,
where he learned to clear land and do all kinds of farm work, and where he
was educated in the common schools of the period. At the age of nineteen,
he went to Warren County, Illinois, where he engaged in farming until 1873.
In that year, he came to Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa. During
the war, Mr. GODFREY entered the service of his country, enlisting in the
spring of 1865 in the 47th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was in the battles
of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely. At the close of the war, he was honorably
discharged and returned to Illinois.
Mr. GODFREY was married in Warren County, Illinois, March 14, 1868, to Miss
Ellen E. DeHART, a lady of education and culture and a successful and popular
teacher. She was born in Brown County, Indiana, but was reared in Warren County,
Illinois. In 1873, as already stated, Mr. GODFREY came to his present location.
He first bought 160 acres of wild land in section 19, Waveland Township, and
became one of the early settlers of the neighborhood. His efforts have been
rewarded with prosperity. More land has been added to his first purchase,
and he now owns 565 acres of well-improved land. Four hundred and forty acres
are in a body in Waveland Township, and 125 acres are in Grove Township. He
has three good tenant houses on his land, and his own house is a comfortable
story-and-a-half frame cottage, pleasantly located on a natural building site.
His home is surrounded by a grove and orchard of five acres. Other improvements
on his farm are a good barn, 26 X 48 feet, cattle sheds, feed lots, modern
wind pump, etc. Mr. GODFREY is engaged in stock-raising and is one of the
most extensive farmers in the township and it would be difficult to find a
better large tract of land in the township than his.
Mr. And Mrs. GODFREY have seven children: Maud, Isabelle, Franklin, Albert,
Nellie, Ernest and Emma. They have lost three by death: their first born,
an infant son; Charlotte Jane, at the age of six months; and a baby girl.
Mr. GODFREY is a Republican and has served the public as Township Trustee.
He is a man in the prime of life, is well posted on the topics of the day,
is outspoken and affable in manner, and is regarded as one of the popular
citizens of Waveland Township. Mrs. GODFREY is an active member of the Evangelical
Church, of which her husband is one of the most liberal supporters.
Gordon, Oliver Walker
Dr. OLIVER WALKER GORDON, of Council Bluffs, was born in Wayne County,
Indiana, in 1837. His father, William M. GORDON, was a native of Ohio. His grandfather,
Robert GORDON, removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio and thence to Indiana. The
GORDON family is of Scotch ancestry. William M. GORDON was a youth when he moved
to Wayne County, Indiana, where he was a pioneer. He married Miss Deborah MENDENHALL,
a daughter of Daniel MENDENHALL. The latter was a Quaker and a native of North
Carolina. True to his convictions as a Quaker, he was opposed to the institution
of slavery, and although in his early days was an owner of slaves, his conscience
would not permit him to remain such, and he consequently set his negroes free
and emigrated to Indiana, where he remained till death. William GORDON, the
father of the subject of this sketch, continued to reside in Indiana a number
of years after his marriage, when he emigrated to Iowa. Later he returned to
Indiana with his family for the purpose of giving his children better advantages
for education than Iowa in those early days afforded. He settled in Boone County,
Indiana. While living here he represented his county in the Legislature. Later
he returned to Henry County, Iowa.
In early life he learned the trade of harness-maker, but did not long follow
it; adopting the profession of law, he became a well-known lawyer and land
speculator. His wife died in 1887, while on a visit to her daughter, Mrs.
Esther FRAME, the eminent Quaker evangelist. After the death of his wife,
William M. GORDON removed to Fairfield, Jefferson County; re-married and has
since died. He was a well-known citizen of Iowa; was a Democrat in politics,
and in the administration of Buchanan was appointed by that executive general,
mail agent, but later, endorsing the principles of Douglas, he was removed
from this official position by Buchanan. He promptly took the side of the
Union At the outbreak of the Rebellion, entered the army as a Lieutenant and
was wounded at Fort Donelson, which resulted in his retiring from the army,
and from his wounds he never fully recovered. He and his first wife were the
parents of three sons and four daughters, who grew to mature years. Another
daughter, Eliza Jane, died in Indiana in infancy. The youngest daughter, Arrenetta,
married and died in Minneapolis. The eldest member of the family is Rev. Luther
B. GORDON, a Quaker preacher, residing near Los Angeles, California; the subject
of this sketch is the second son; the next in order of age is Mrs. Esther
FRAME, the Quaker evangelist; Mrs. Lydia MANLEY is the wife of Rev. William
MANLEY, a Quaker clergyman. Mary Emma is the wife of Rev. Philip HECK, of
Moline, Illinois, Leroy A. is a merchant in Minneapolis.
The subject of this notice spent the most of his life in Iowa. Early in life
his intentions were to follow the profession of law, but after pursuing legal
studies for a time he abandoned them for the profession of medicine. Early
in the war of the Rebellion he was assistant to Surgeon Hughes of Iowa, in
the hospitals of Keokuk, and later assisted Surgeon Woods in the United States
army, with whom he remained for a time, when he was transferred and his services
were given to the colored troops. Still later he returned to Surgeon Woods,
with whom he remained until the close of the war. After the war he located
at Bloomfield, Iowa, in the practice of his profession, and thence removed
to Mount Pleasant; going thence to Chicago, he engaged in practice there,
and was also for a time editor of a medical journal. From Chicago he removed
to Minneapolis, from which city he removed to Council Bluffs in 1883.
Dr. GORDON's first wife was Miss Mary WRIGHT, a niece of Judge WRIGHT, of
Des Moines. His present wife was formerly Mrs. Mary C. WALKER, of Council
Bluffs, and a daughter of Dr. Edward S. WILLIAMS, a well known early settler
of this city. Dr. GORDON has two children by his first marriage: William and
Annie, the latter being the wife of Elias BAKER, of Lincoln, Nebraska. The
Doctor and his present wife have a daughter, Deborah M., and an adopted son,
Luther W. The present Mrs. GORDON was formerly the wife of Thomas A. Walker,
of Council Bluffs, and has by that marriage four children.
Edward S. WILLIAMS, father of Mrs. GORDON, was born in Campbell County, Virginia,
where he was reared and educated. He married Miss Mary Brown AUSTIN, a native
of the same county as her husband. Mr. WILLIAMS was by occupation a silversmith
and dentist. He came to what is now Council Bluffs in 1852, and entered 160
acres of land, and also entered a quarter section, which includes Fairmount
Park, and also included what is known as WILLIAMS' first and second addition
to Council Bluffs. Mr. WILLIAMS did not come here directly from his native
State, Virginia, but had removed to Missouri many years before. In 1852 he
started overland to California with his family. They included a part of quite
a large body of emigrants who started for the land of gold, but on reaching
Fort Laramie they were attacked by sickness, which carried off nearly the
whole of them, only two men of the eighteen which accompanied the train, surviving.
These, with the surviving women and children, left everything behind them,
and, disheartened by the results of the terrible scourge that had swept off
so many of their numbers, retraced their steps as rapidly as possible. Stopping
on their return to Council Bluffs, then known as Kanesville, Mr. WILLIAMS
pre-empted the land above mentioned, but with the surviving members of the
party they returned to Missouri. In 1856 he came back to Council Bluffs and
laid out WILLIAMS' First Addition to the city, and continued here till about
1859. But the country here was then new and wild, and the wife and mother
becoming dissatisfied they returned to Missouri. Later Mr. WILLIAMS returned
alone and laid out WILLIAMS' Second Addition, and in 1868 the family all returned,
residing here until 1877, when Mr. WILLIAMS and wife returned to Denver, where
they still live.
They are the parents of nine children; five others died in early life. The
entire family are residents of Colorado, except Mrs. GORDON, who has continued
to reside here since she came with her father's family in 1868. Here she was
married in 1871, to Thomas WALKER, who was born and reared in the city of
Baltimore. Mr. WALKER died in this city in 1882. Mrs. GORDON's children by
her first marriage are two sons and two daughters, viz.: Gulielma F., Brown
Austin (daughter), Edward W. Walker and Archibald Alexander. Dr. GORDON and
wife have a beautiful home situated on Graham avenue, on a fine elevation,
surrounded by shade and ornamental trees, and the view of the city of Council
Bluffs from the residence is a pleasant and beautiful one.
Gorrell, John V.
JOHN V. GORRELL, one of the intelligent and successful
citizens of Washington Township, came to this county
in 1877 from Pettis County, Missouri, and settled on
his present farm in 1881. He was born in Pettis County,
Missouri, February 17, 1848, son of Joseph GORRELL,
who was born in Berkeley County, West Virginia, and
was a son of William GORRELL, a native of Ireland. William
GORRELL grew to manhood and was married in his native
country. He afterward came to America, first settling
in Virginia, but later removed to Missouri, where he
died in Pettis County. In religion, he was a believer
in the Church of Christ. The wife of Joseph GORRELL
and the mother of our subject was Priscilla (BLUE) GORRELL.
She was a native of Virginia and died when J.V. was
four months old. Joseph GORRELL now resides in Saline
County, Missouri; he is a farmer by occupation, a Democrat
politically, and in religion, he is a member of the
Christian Church.
John V. was reared on a farm in Pettis County until
1877, when he came to Pottawattamie County, first
settling on Keg Creek Township, where he resided one
year, and then removed to Washington Township. He
resided here one year, and in the northern part of
Washington Township two years. In 1881, he purchased
his present farm of 120 acres at ten dollars and a
half per acre, and here he has since resided and made
his home. His residence, which was erected in 1890,
cost $1,045.
Mr. GORRELL was married in Pettis County, October
18, 1876, to Alice HAMILTON, a woman of intelligence
and education and a daughter of Thornton HAMILTON,
who was born and reared in Kentucky, was of English
ancestry, a miller by vocation and politically a Republican.
He died in 1863. The mother of Mrs. GORRELL was Amanda
(BLYTHE) HAMILTON, who was a native of Kentucky and
a daughter of John BLYTHE, a native of Kentucky. She
now lives in Woodbury County, Iowa, at the age of
sixty years. Mrs. GORRELL was reared and educated
in Kentucky, and came to Missouri in 1874.
Mr. And Mrs. GORRELL have five children, viz.: Lillie,
Percilla, Avis, James, Allen and Charlie. They lost
one by death, Albert Walter, their first born, who
died at the age of five years, from the effects of
falling into a boiler of hot water. Mr. GORRELL politically
is a Democrat, and in religion was reared a Campbellite.
Although they are not members of any church, they
are believers in Christianity and the Golden Rule.
They are interested in the cause of education, and
are numbered among the intelligent people of the neighborhood.
Goudie, Melvin C.
MELVIN C. GOUDIE, section 9, Waveland Township, has made his home in
Pottawattamie County, Iowa, since the spring of 1882.
He was born in Des Moines County, Iowa, May 4, 1854, the son of Gilbert and
Sarah (Harps) Goudie, natives of Scotland and New York State respectively.
His parents were married in New York and subsequently came to Iowa, settling
in Des Moines County. When Melvin C. was twenty years old, his father died,
leaving a widow and nine children. The mother died in 1879. Eight of the children
are now living, as follows: Jane, Fred, Henry, Joseph, Sarah, wife of Henry
Kerr of Waveland Township, Pottawattamie County, Iowa; William and Melvin
C., also of Waveland Township, and Mary, wife of William Potter.
Mr. Goudie was reared on his fathers's farm in Des Moines County and received
his education in the public schools. At Moline, Illinois, September 9, 1880,
he, at the age of twenty-six, was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. McDevitt,
aged twenty-one, who was born in Wapello County, Iowa, daughter of Benjamin
and Susanna (Newby) McDevitt, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of
Indiana. Mrs. Goudie's father resides with her, her mother having died when
she was six years old. Mr. Goudie bought his present farm of eighty acres
of S. Graham, in March, 1882. It is well improved with good buildings and
fences. Mr. and Mrs. Goudie have one son, Ross L., who was born July 6, 1882.
Their second son, Edgar L., died at the age of two years and four months.
Mr. Goudie is a Republican. He and his wife are worthy members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church of Walnut Valley, and both are active workers in the Sabbath-school.
Mr. Goudie is regarded as one of the representative citizens of Pottawattamie
County.
Gould, John H.
JOHN H. GOULD, an enterprising and well known early settler of Pottawattamie
Co., Iowa, and an ex-soldier of the late war, located in Waveland Township
in 1866, when all this part of the state was new and wild. Mr. GOULD was born
in Vermont, January 15, 1811, son of Joseph and Susan (HASKIN) GOULD, natives
of the Mohawk Valley, New York. Both the Haskins and Goulds were Dutch. Grandfather
HASKINS was a soldier in the War of 1812. Joseph GOULD and wife reared a family
of four daughters and three sons. The mother was a Methodist, and in that
faith reared her children. The father was a farmer all his life, and in his
political views was a Democrat. His death occurred in Vermont.
John H. GOULD, although reared on a farm, in early life showed himself to
be a natural mechanic; could lay stone or brick, plaster, handle the broad
ax, and in fact could turn his hand to anything he chose. His education was
obtained in the common schools of Vermont. For a time he was in New York state
working on the Erie Canal, employed by Mr. Comstock, a prominent canal owner.
He was in New York City during the great cholera epidemic in 1833. In 1835
he removed to Bureau Co., Illinois, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of
that place. This was before the Black Hawk War. Mr. Gould was married in Bureau
Co., IL., January 29, 1846, to Martha PRUNK, who was born in Virginia, daughter
of Daniel and Catherine PRUNK. Mr. PRUNK settled in Bureau County before the
Indian war.
During the Great Rebellion, Mr. GOULD served 9 or 10 months in the 93d Illinois
Infantry, Company E, his regiment being stationed in Missouri and other parts
of the South. He was in several skirmishes but no battles. Mr. GOULD resided
in Bureau Co., Illinois, until 1866 when he came to Pottawattamie Co., Iowa,
and bought land which was partly improved and on which a log house had been
built. He is now the owner of 214 acres of well improved land on section 11,
Waveland Township. He has a comfortable house and other buildings on his farm.
Mr. GOULD has five children: Mary Magdaline (GOULD) JOHNSON, a widow who resides
with her father; before her marriage she was a successful teacher. George
W., of Willow Lake, So. Dakota; Daniel W., a resident of Portland, Oregon;
Addison, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska; and Emma Catherine, wife of S. SOLOMON,
Waveland Twp., Pottawattamie Co., Iowa. They lost one child, Madison, who
died at the age of 18 months. The great loss of Mr. Gould's life was in the
death of his beloved wife, January 14, 1889. She was a devoted and loving
wife and mother and a true Christian. Her church relations were with the Methodist.
Mr. GOULD is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been
connected with it 33 years. His mother was a worthy member of the same for
76 years. Mr. GOULD has served as Sabbath school superintendent, and is a
zealous Christian worker. His political views are in harmony with Democratic
principles. He has ever been interested in educational matters and has served
the public as a member of the School Board. He is associated with the G.A.R.,
Worthington Post No. 9, Griswold, Iowa. Although past 80, he is a well preserved
man. As an honored and upright citizen he has the respect of all who know
him.
Graff, W. H.
W. H. GRAFF, the proprietor of the City Drug Store at Carson, and one
of the leading businessmen of the town, has been in business in Carson since
1880, and carries a complete line of drugs, patent medicines, stationery, and
also gives part of his time to the jewelry trade, carrying a full line of jewelry.
He is a registered pharmacist and has had many yeas of experience in the business.
His store is 22 X 65 feet, which was built in 1889, his first store having been
burned to the ground. Mr. GRAFF is a native of Fort Madison, Lee County, Iowa,
was born December 29, 1853, the son of F. and Maria (BECKER) GRAFF, the former
a native of Germany and the latter of St. Louis, Missouri. He was reared in
Fort Madison, Iowa, and Hancock County, Illinois, and when still a youth spent
one year in the music store at Burlington, Iowa. In 1875, he went to Sigourney,
Iowa, and was in the drug business with COOK & FRANKEN until 1879, when
he spent one year in Council Bluffs with Dr. C. DEETKEN, a druggist. In 1880,
he came to Carson, which he has since made his home.
Mr. GRAFF was married in 1879 at Sigourney to Miss Sophronia M. MUZZY, of
Clinton, Iowa, and a daughter of Milton MUZZY. They have one daughter, Lulu
A. Politically, Mr. GRAFF is a Democrat. In 1881-82 he served as Councilman;
was City Recorder one year and Mayor one year. He was Postmaster four years
under Grover Cleveland's administration, and has been on the school board
three years, serving with credit to himself and friends. He is a member of
the Masonic order of Coral Lodge No. 430, and was made a Mason in 1882. He
was made Master of the Carson Lodge and served two and a half years, but resigned.
Mr. And Mrs. GRAFF are members of the Presbyterian Church, and Mrs. GRAFF
was a graduate of the Iowa City College, and has a life certificate. She has
taught twelve or fifteen terms, and was principal of the Carson school four
terms. Mr. GRAFF is a good businessman, and is interested in the welfare of
the town.
Grass, F.
F. GRASS, a contractor and builder, corner of Sixth and Mill Streets,
Council Bluffs, has been a resident of this city since 1856, having come from
Marshall, Calhoun County, Michigan. He was born in the Province of Ontario,
Canada, March 18, 1833, the son of David and Phoebe (CUDNEY) GRASS, natives
of New York State, the former of Holland and the latter of Puritan descent.
Our subject was reared in his native State until his sixteenth year, when he
went to Orleans County, New York, and with his brother, who accompanied him,
he learned the carpenter's trade. After two years spent in that State, they
went to New Orleans; thence to Natchez, Mississippi, remaining two years; then
to Cleveland, Ohio, also remaining two years; then to Marshall, Michigan, where
they remained until 1856, when he came to Council Bluffs. Since that time, he
has been engaged in contracting and building, buying real estate, improving
the same, and selling it. He is the oldest living resident that has been engaged
wholly in this line of business, and has erected hundreds of houses, and has
amassed a handsome competency. He does an annual business of over $20,000. August
3, 1862, he enlisted in the 2nd Iowa Battery and served until August 7, 1865.
He was engaged in some of the most noted battles: Vicksburg, Nashville, Tupelo,
siege of Spanish Fort, and a number of minor engagements. He was never wounded
or taken prisoner, and after the War, he returned to Council Bluffs and opened
his present business. He owns property aside from his own residence, which was
remodeled in 1889, and is now a handsome two-story building. He has also taken
active interest in political work in the Republican party.
Mr. GRASS was married November 5, 1865, to Mary COVALT, a native of Wheeling,
Virginia, born February 14, 1842, and they are the parents of nine children:
Alexander, deceased; Dorinda, at home; Frances, deceased; Frederick, at college;
Bertha, at home; Nettie, Sadie, Robert and Fannie. The family are associated
with the Congregational Church.
Graybill, George H.
GEORGE H. GRAYBILL, of section 14, Garner Twp, was born Dec 23, 1846
in Pottawattamie Co. and was one of the first white children born in this county.
His father was GEORGE W. GRAYBILL, a native of Jackson Co, Ohio, son of MICHAEL
GRAYBILL, who was born in North Carolina; and the mother, nee POLLY STOKER,
was born in North Carolina. The parents were married in Indiana, but afterward
moved to Missouri, and thence to Hancock Co, Illinois. They were members of
the Church of the Latter Day Saints and followed the Mormon leaders to this
county where they were early pioneers. The father settled in Pottawattamie County
in 1846 near Wheeler's Grove, and afterward near the place where his son, George,
now lives. He now resides at Underwood. The mother died when our subject was
13 years of age, leaving 9 children. The father afterward married a widow who
had three children. George H., our subject, was reared in Pottawattamie Co in
the pioneer days, and passed his youth upon a farm, receiving his education
in the district schools. He now owns 150 acres of valuable bottom land situated
five miles from the city limits of Council Bluffs. December 8, 1887, he was
married to Mrs. FLORA BROWER, who was born in Marion Co, Iowa, the daughter
of MOSES and NANCY (JONES) DOTY; she has one child, Lucy. Her father was born
in Indiana. Mr. and Mrs. GRAYBILL have two children: George and Lee. Politically
Mr. Graybill is a Republican and is yet in the prime of life, intelligent, frank
and cordial in his manner and address.
Graham, O. W.
O. W. GRAHAM, proprietor of the Graham Planing Mill at the corner of
Second Avenue and Thirteenth Street, manufactures sash, doors and blinds, does
all kinds of scroll-sawing and turns out finished woodwork in general. The mill
was established in January 1890, being removed to this point from Washington
Avenue, and was first conducted by the firm of Graham & Cody. July 8, following,
Mr. GRAHAM assumed full control. The factory, occupying two lots, is one of
the largest and best equipped in the city. Mr. GRAHAM has been a resident of
Council Bluffs since March, 1888, removing from his farm in Washington Township,
this county, where he had been a resident thirteen years, upon a good farm of
200 acres, which he had improved from its original wild condition. He still
owns it and keeps it in good order.
He was born August 4, 1850, in Yates County, New York, and reared to farm life,
and early learned the carpenter's trade, which he ever afterward followed except
when he was upon the farm mentioned. His parents, Lewis B. and Pamelia (GREEN)
GRAHAM, were also natives of New York State and of Scotch and Welsh origin.
His father is still living, very old, at Pen Yan, that State; his mother is
deceased. After reaching manhood he moved to Clinton, Iowa. December 9, 1874,
at Hampton, Rock Island County, Illinois, he married Miss Lottie WELLS, daughter
of John and Mary (McMURPHY) WELLS, who were among the early settlers of Hampton.
Mr. and Mrs. GRAHAM have two children: Pamelia and Edgar. Mr. GRAHAM is a Republican
in his political views and an Odd Fellow.
Graybill, Simeon
SIMEON GRAYBILL, deceased, was one of the well known pioneers of Pottawattamie
Co. Born in Jackson Co., Ohio, March 26, 1816, he was a son of Michael Graybill,
a native of North Carolina, and of German ancestry. His mother's maiden name
was POLLY STOCKER, and she was born in the Carolinas. Mr. GRAYBILL was reared
to manhood in Ohio on a farm, but for a time he was engaged in mining at Mt.
Vernon, that state. He was first married March 16, 1837, in Jackson Co, Ohio,
to AMANDA HILL, who died in Adams Co., Illinois, Feb 21, 1848. In the fall
of that year, Mr. GRAYBILL came to Pottawattamie Co, and he was afterward
married to MRS. FRANCES (GRAHAM) DOWNS, who was born in Kemper Co., Mississippi,
a daughter of THOMAS and S.ANN (McCRARY) GRAHAM. Her parents came to this
county in 1846; her mother died in the eastern part of this state. In 1852
her father went to Utah, where he was some time afterward killed by a grizzly
bear, which was afterward captured and found to weigh 800 pounds. Mrs. GRAYBILL
was first married to EZEKIEL DOWNS at Downsville, who was born in North Carolina,
and came to this county in 1846. By this marriage, there was one child, JOHN
W. DOWNS. Mr. Downs died in 1860. Mr. GRAYBILL settled on his present farm
in 1848 where he resided until his death, June 27, 1889. By his first marriage,
there were four children, three of whom grew up to years of maturity, viz.:
William, who now resides in New Yorkshire, Harrison County; Andrew, who is
living near the same place; and Aaron L., who was killed at Camp Creek, Georgia,
August 31, 1864, as a member of an Iowa regiment. By his second marriage the
subject of this sketch has had six children, four of whom are living: Emily
Jane, Willis M., Amanda M. and Mary Ellen. Politically Mr. Graybill was a
Republican. He had a landed estate of 320 well-improved acres on which he
lived for over 40 years. His death was lamented by all the community.
Green, Norman
NORMAN GREEN, in 1883 erected his present livery, feed and sale stable,
at 513 East Broadway, Council Bluffs, where he enjoys a large business, buying
and selling horses on commission, and doing the street sprinkling, of which
he has had control since 1862.
Mr. GREEN was born in Otsego County, New York, June 20, 1830, the son of John
and Polly GREEN, of Puritan and German ancestry. At the age of twenty years
he went to Pennsylvania, where he became acquainted with and married Rachel
A. McCARTHY, who died abut a year and a half afterward, at the age of twenty-two
years. After a sojourn of three years in the Keystone State, Mr. GREEN returned
to New York, and eight years afterwards came west to Council Bluffs, where he
has since made his home. He is a self-educated and self-made man. Politically
he is a stanch Democrat, is a representative man and a highly esteemed citizen.
About two years after his arrival here he married Hattie DEVOL, who died in
February, 1889, at the age of fifty-five years. Four children blessed this union,
namely: Charles C., a resident of Council Bluffs, who is in the hardware business;
Louis N., employed by Motor Company in Council Bluffs; William M. and George
B., who are still in college.
Green, Charles
CHARLES GREEN, of Lewis Township, a native of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein,
was born September 16, 1834, the son of Jurgen and Dora (GOLDSTADT) GREEN.
The father died in 1846 or 1847, in the old country, and the mother died in
Pottawattamie County, in 1883. She came to America in the year 1866, and had
a family of eleven children, of whom nine came to Mills and Pottawattamie
counties, where they all reside excepting one, who resides in Seattle County,
Washington Territory, and two still reside in the old country.
Charles GREEN, our subject, was reared in his native country until he was
twenty-one years of age. He was reared to the life of a farmer, and attended
the public schools until he was sixteen years of age, when he learned the
cabinet-maker's trade, which he followed until October 28, 1860. After having
been in the country five years he was married, in Mills County, to Julia Anna
Elizabeth Bauer, who was born in Missouri, the daughter of Christian and Caroline
(PLUMER) BAUER. After their marriage they commenced farming in Mills County
on a tract of eighty acres, which he pre-empted. They remained here for seven
years, when he sold out and purchased 240 acres of improved land, where they
resided until 1875. In that year they removed to Pottawattamie County, where
he had purchased a farm of 280 acres, the most of which was prairie land,
on section 22. There was a small frame house on the place, where they resided
until 1876, when he erected a fine frame residence, 18 x 36 and 16 x 20 feet.
He has also erected good barns for stock and grain, and planted groves, orchards,
etc., and everything denotes thrift, energy and prosperity. He devotes his
attention principally to farming and stock-raising.
Mr. GREEN served in Company C, Thirtieth Iowa Infantry, serving nine months.
Politically he is a stanch Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. GREEN have a family of seven
children: Maria Cornelia, born August 30, 1861, wife of B. Brandt, residing
in Mills County; John A., born November 25, 1863, is a resident of Lancaster
County, Nebraska; Henry F., born June 12, 1865; Christopher F., born March
25, 1870; Martha, born March 16, 1873; Julius, born October 25, 1875; and
Ella, born June 3, 1880. They are members of the German Lutheran Church.
Gregg, J. H.
J. H. GREGG, of Hazel Dell Township, is a native of Belmont County,
Ohio, born Dec 19, 1831, son of H. H. and Amy (Hoge) Gregg. They were reared
in Loudoun and Faquier counties, Virginia, and were of Scotch and English
origin. They were married in Virginia and came to Ohio in an early day, locating
in Belmont Co., where they resided until their death. The father was born
February 4, 1803 and died June 30, 1861, and the mother was born October 7,
1807, and died January 7, 1874. The father was a farmer and merchant and also
a buyer and packer of tobacco; his father before him was also a merchant.
They were the parents of ten children, of whom eight grew to maturity, namely:
Mary E., wife of Noah J. Hatcher, of Belmont Co., Ohio; Joshua H., the subject
of this sketch; Samuel H., who died in Warren Co., Iowa, February 14, 1890;
Hendley H., a resident of Belmont Co., on the old homestead; Francis, a resident
of Belmont Co.; Henrietta, also of Belmont Co.; William S., died February
5, 1890, in Benton Co., Iowa; and Victoria, the wife of Thomas Rogers and
residing in Barnesville, Belmont Co., Ohio; two children died in infancy.
The father was reared in the Friends or Quaker Church.
J. H. GREGG, the subject of this ketch, was reared on a farm in Belmont Co., and received his education
in the public schools. He remained at home with his parents until he was 25 years of age. October 22,
1856, he was married in Grundy Co., Illinois, to AMY G. HOGE, daughter of William and Rachel (Boles) Hoge,
natives of Virginia and of Scotch and German descent. She was born in Fauquier Co., Virginia, July 24,
1830, but when a child removed with her parents to Illinois, where she was reared. After their marriage,
Mr. And Mrs. Gregg started for Pottawattamie Co., Iowa, arriving November 18, 1856 at Council Bluffs.
They immediately went to work to make improvements on his farm of 432 acres, which he had purchased in
January previous; 400 acres are on section 33, the south half, and the south half of the northwest quarter
of section, Hazel Dell Township, and the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 4, Garner
Township. This was all uncultivated land when he purchased it, excepting about twenty five or thirty acres
which had been broken out. Here he went to work to make a home, and in the fall of 1857, he erected a
small frame residence, 18 X 24 feet, and in 1878 they built an addition, and they now have a neat and
commodious dwelling; the addition is 18 X 30 feet and fourteen feet front, he has also erected barns for
stock and grain, a stable for his cows, which is eighty feet long, and a good hay shed ninety four feet
long.
Mr. Gregg has eight acres of orchard on his home place and three acres on his farm in James Township,
where he has 236 ½ acres, which he has improved. He entered from the Government 560 acres and now
possesses almost 1,400 acres, all under good cultivation. He has done much toward building up and improving
Pottawattamie County, and is deserving of all the honor and esteem which is accorded him by his many friends.
He is a self-made man, having made the most of what he now possesses through his own efforts. In his political
views, he is a stanch Republican, having wheeled into line from the old Whig party. He has been Treasurer
of the school board for a number of years.
Mr. And Mrs. Gregg are the parents of ten children: Ida A., deceased; Amanda V., residing
at home; Mary E., deceased; Georgia A., wife of William T. Harris of Hazel Dell Township;
Amy E., wife of J. D. Harris of Norwalk Township; Anna, deceased; William A., deceased; Clara
A., at home; Alcinda M., deceased; Henrietta A., also at home.
Gress, Bernhard
BERNHARD GRESS, a prominent farmer of Pottawattamie County, and the
proprietor of the Cottage Home Hotel in Walnut, was born in the Grand Dukedom
of Baden, Germany, June 24, 1851, the son of Balthaser S. GRESS, a blacksmith
of Baden. He was married to Magdalena Kanzler, and they had four children: Bernhard,
Anna, Frank and Katie. He was engaged in the Rebellion and was under the command
of Franz SIEGEL, afterward a distinguished general in our great Civil War. In
1860, Mr. GRESS brought his family, then consisting of a wife and two children,
to America, settling in Iowa City. He engaged in farming six miles north of
that city, and remained until 1878, when he came to Pottawattamie County, where
he still lives, at the age of sixty-four years. He has always been a hard-working
and honest man.
Bernhard GRESS, the subject of this sketch, was but eight years old when
he came with his father to America. In his twenty-third year, he came to Pottawattamie
County, and began farming in Waveland Township. He sold this farm and bought
240 acres of land in Lincoln Township, which he still owns. In 1889, he moved
to Walnut and bought the old HINCKLEY residence, which he converted into a
hotel, the "Cottage Home," and is now running with success and general
satisfaction to the public. Mr. GRESS has had the confidence of his fellow
townsmen, and in Lincoln Township was Assessor for eight years. His farm is
one of the best in this part of the county and has many excellent improvements.
In 1876 he was married to Miss Katie EICHHORN, daughter of Adam EICHHORN,
of Johnson County, and a native of Germany. He is now retired and is living
with Mr. GRESS. Mr. And Mrs. GRESS are the parents of seven children: Frank,
George, and Vina. Mr. And Mrs. GRESS lost four children in three weeks by
diptheria in the winter of 1887.
Green, John
JOHN GREEN, M.D. of Council Bluffs, engaged in the practice of his profession
in this city in February 1877 and has been constantly in practice since that
time. Dr. GREEN was born in Morrow County, Ohio, October 10, 1832. His father
was Isaac GREEN, who was born in New Jersey but went to Washington County, Pennsylvania,
in early manhood. He married Lettie MILLER and removed to Morrow County, Ohio,
where they were pioneers and where they continued to live until death, the mother
passing away in 1880 at the age of eighty-three years, and the father several
years later, at the age of eighty-six years. The family of Isaac GREEN and wife
consisted of four sons and four daughters. Two of each are now deceased. The
oldest of the family is William, who is still a resident of Morrow County, Ohio.
The deceased brothers were Joseph M. and the Rev. Daniel GREEN. The latter was
a Presbyterian clergyman, who died in 1875. At the time of his death, he was
a resident of Kansas. He was, for eighteen years, a missionary to China. He
left, at his decease, a wife and three children.
The subject of this notice was educated in the common schools of Ohio and
was also, for some time, a student of the Presbyterian Academy at Martinsburg,
Knox County, Ohio. He began the study of medicine in 1857, at Chesterville,
in his native State, and took a course of lectures at the medical department
of Michigan State University at Ann Arbor in 1858-59. In April 1861, in response
to the first call of President Lincoln for troops to aid in suppressing the
Rebellion, Dr. GREEN entered the army as a private in Company B, Fourth Regiment
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and on the reorganization of the company for three
years service, he was made First Lieutenant of his company, and subsequently
adjutant of the requirement, in which position he served until promoted to
a captaincy. Soon after, with the rank of Captain and Assistant Adjutant General
of Volunteers, he served under General John S. Mason, and as aid of General
Lander and subsequently was on duty in the same capacity with General McDowell.
He was mustered out of the service in August 1866 at Tucson, Arizona Territory,
as Lieutenant Colonel by brevet. Dr. GREEN was a gallant and efficient soldier
and served in many important campaigns of the War. He served with McClellan
in West Virginia early in the war, taking part in the battle of Roney. He
was also at the first battle of Winchester, where General Shields defeated
Stonewal Jackson, and also took part in the battle of Port Republic. His command
was then ordered to join the army of the Potomac, where they arrived soon
after McClellan's peninsular campaign closed. He took part in the second battle
of Bull Run, where he had the honor of withdrawing the last picket line. Soon
after this battle, he was severely injured by being thrown from his horse
at Georgetown, and was confined to the hospital for about six months. When
able to rejoin his command, he was ordered to the Department of the Ohio,
then in command of General Rosecrans, but was assigned to duty at Camp Chase,
Ohio, where he remained six months. He was then ordered to San Francisco,
where he reported to General McDowell, thence to Arizona, accompanying General
McDowell as Adjutant General of the District of Arizona. He was discharged
at Chesterville, Ohio, at the date already given. Dr. GREEN resumed his medical
studies with Dr. John W. RUSSELL of Vernon, Ohio, and a prominent surgeon
of that part of the state. He graduated at Charity Hospital Medical College,
in 1866-67. He practiced in Ohio until he came here.
Dr. GREEN was married to Miss Mary A. GREENLEE in November 1861. She was
born in Fredericktown, Knox County, Ohio, a daughter of Archibald GREENLEE.
Doctor GREEN and wife have three children: John A., Margaret L., and William
M. Dr. GREEN stands high in the medical profession and is a worthy and esteemed
citizen. He was a gallant soldier in the War of the Rebellion.
Groneweg, William
HON. WILLIAM GRONEWEG, of the firm of GRONEWEG & SCHOENTGEN, wholesale
grocers, has been identified with the interests of Council Bluffs since 1861.
He was a native of Germany, born in the Province of Hanover, July 24, 1838,
a son of William H. and Caroline (BEHNING) GRONEWEG, natives of the same place.
After leaving school, Mr. GRONEWEG engaged in the mercantile business for five
years in his native country as an apprentice. In 1859, he emigrated to America,
first locating in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was employed as clerk until he
came to Council Bluffs in 1861, and engaged in the grocery business on Broadway,
where he built up a lucrative patronage. He continued in the retail trade successfully
until 1878, when he formed his present partnership. He was elected as a member
of the Board of Supervisors for January 1, 1869, serving two years. He was City
Treasurer for two terms from 1872, and was nominated as Auditor on the Democratic
ticket in 1876, but the state being about 10,000 Republican majority, he was
defeated. He was a member of the School Board for three years and in the fall
of 1886 was elected Mayor by a special election to fill the vacancy of John
W. CHAPMAN, which position he resigned, to take effect January 1, 1888. He was
elected State Senator for the term commencing January 1, 1888, which position
he filled with honor to himself and credit to his constituents, and is the present
incumbent.
Mr. GRONEWEG was married in 1864 to Miss Catherine LEWZINGER, who came to
this country when five years of age with her parents. They settled in Highland,
Illinois, and came to Council Bluffs in 1869. Mr. And Mrs. GRONEWEG have seven
children, namely: George, Katie, Hattie, Nattie, Herman, Richard and John.
Mr. GRONEWEG is a member of the A.F.&A.M. Council Bluffs Lodge No. 71,
and of the R.A.M. chapter No. 47. Politically he affiliates with the Democratic
Party, but previous to 1872 was a Republican.
Grout, Alonzo
ALONZO GROUT, a prominent farmer of Pottawattamie County, is of Holland
Dutch ancestry. Three brothers of that name came from Holland before the war
of the Revolution, one settling in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire, and
one in Vermont. The grandfather of our subject, Hezekiah GROUT, was a soldier
in the Revolutionary War and was a farmer of Wethersfield, Windsor County, Vermont,
but passed most of his life in Rutland County, that state. He lived to the great
age of ninety years. He was the father of seven children, viz.: Hannah, Chloe,
Elmina, Nabia, John, Hezekiah and George. The father was an honest man, a patriotic
soldier, and one who assisted in founding this great Republic. John GROUT, the
father of our subject, was born in Wethersfield, Vermont and learned farming
in early life. He was married to Polly McALLISTER, and they had nine children,
namely: Elkana, Daney, Alonzo, William, Henry, Rockwood, Marcia, Lucia and Louisa.
The father lived all his life in Vermont, and died at the age of sixty years.
He was a soldier in the War of 1812 and was an industrious and hard-working
man.
Alonzo GROUT, a son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was born
April 10, 1829, in Wethersfield, Vermont, and learned the mason's trade in
early life. In 1849 he came to Kane County, Illinois, and worked at his trade
in Aurora for ten years. He then moved to DeKalb County, Illinois, where he
remained four years and next settled on a farm in Will County, where he lived
fourteen years. In 1876 he came to Pottawattamie County and settled on his
present farm of 250 acres, where he has made many good improvements. The farm
is in a good condition, showing the effects of careful husbandry. Mr. GROUT
has always held the respect of his fellow citizens, and in Will County held
the office of Assessor, and in Knox Township, this county, has been Trustee,
Supervisor and School Director several times. In his political opinions, he
is a Republican.
He was married in Aurora, Illinois, to Emeline RICE, daughter of Layton and
Mandana (WATERS) RICE. The father came from Vermont and settled near Aurora.
Mrs. GROUT was born in Rutland County, Vermont, December 26, 1831. Her great-grandfather,
Joshua VALLET, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. To Mr. And Mrs. GROUT
have been born eleven children, namely: Addie E., Clara C. deceased at thirty-two
years of age; Fred A.; Edgar R, deceased in infancy; Cora G., who died at
the age of two years; Lizzie M., John D., Maude E., Merton B., Harry E. and
Roy, deceased in infancy. There were eleven brothers and sisters in Mrs. Grout's
family, viz: Asahel, Emeline, Philander, John, Isaac, Alphonso, Mary, Edgar,
Albert, Eugene and Emigene.
Mr. GROUT had three brothers in the Civil War, Henry, William and Rockwood.
Henry was in the 57th Illinois and was wounded at the battle of Pittsburg
Landing, the ball passing into his stomach and being evacuated from his bowels,
and he is still living. Rockwood was in a Vermont regiment. Mrs. GROUT had
two brothers in the war, Isaac and Alphonso. The former was in the 36th Illinois,
held the office of Orderly and served all through the struggle. He was in
the battles of Pea Ridge, Shiloh and many others. Alphonso was also in an
Illinois regiment, and was killed in his first battle, Vicksburg, May 16 and
17, 1863.
Guittar, Francis
FRANCIS GUITTAR, a retired merchant of Council Bluffs, is the oldest
settler of Pottawattamie Co. if not the oldest in Western Iowa. He came here
in 1825 as an agent for the American Fur Company, when not quite sixteen years
of age. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, September 25, 1809, the son of Vansaw
and Mary (ARPAH) GUITTAR, who were both born in St. Louis, Missouri. The father
was a son of Paul GUITTAR, a native of Canada, but of French parentage. At the
age of 15 years, our subject entered the employ of the American Fur Company
and remained in their employ as agent until 1850 when he engaged in that business
for himself. He also had a general store in Council Bluffs on the corner of
Broadway and Main streets. It was a log house built by the Mormons, for which
Mr. GUITTAR gave $250, and afterward sold the same to Judge JAMES of Council
Bluffs, and M. TOOTLE of St. Joseph and others, and in 1878 retired from business.
His experience has been more than that of many men, and could furnish material
for an interesting book. In company with the Pawnee Indians, he fought the Sioux,
although he was friendly with the latter, and at one time was shot in battle.
Mr. GUITTAR has four children living. He is a Democrat politically and is one
of the old landmarks of this county whom every one is glad to meet.
Guittar, Theodore
THEODORE GUITTAR, United States Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue,
of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was born in St Louis, Missouri, Dec 20, 1842. He attended
the common schools of that city until 12 years of age, when in 1855 his parents
moved to Council Bluffs and consequently, Mr. GUITTAR is one of the early settlers
of this place. He is of French descent, his ancestors having come from that
country to Canada, settling near Quebec. His grandfather, Vansaw GUITTAR, was
born in France but subsequently came to Canada and engaged in farming. He was
married in the latter country, and soon afterward removed to St Louis, where
all his children, four sons and one daughter, were born. One son, Francis, the
father of our subject, when twelve years of age, engaged on a boat for the American
Fur Company a short time, and afterward became an agent for the same company,
remaining in their employ until 1840. In that year, he engaged in the same business
on his own account as an Indian trader. In 1852 he opened a store of general
merchandise at Council Bluffs, continuing the same until 1878, when he retired
and still resides in Council Bluffs at the ripe old age of 81 years. He was
in this city as early as 1825, when it was an Indian camping ground; it afterwards
became an Indian trading post. He traveled from St. Louis to the mouth of the
Yellowstone in keel-boats.
Mr. GUITTAR was married at St Louis, Missouri, in 1841, to Miss Eugenia BONO,
who was born July 8, 1824, and is still living. They have three sons: Theodore,
Francis Jr., and Frederick. Francis and Frederick are engaged in farming and
reside in St Louis Co., Missouri, near St. Louis. Theodore, our subject, attended
school and also clerked in his father's store until August 11, 1862, when he
enlisted in the 2nd Iowa Battery, Light Artillery; thought not 20 years old
and remained in the service until the close of the War. He was in the siege
at Vicksburg, Nashville, Tennessee; Tupelo, Tennessee; Jackson, Mississippi;
and was in both battle and siege of Raymond, Hurricane Creek, Old Town Creek,
Oxford, Black River Bridge and others. At the close of the War, Mr. GUITTAR
returned to Council Bluffs and remained as clerk in his father's store until
1870. He then purchased a farm two miles east of this city, where he engaged
in farming and fruit raising. He remained on this farm five years, and then
settled in Council Bluffs.
In January 1875, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff, served two years, and was
then elected Constable of this city. He held this office one term, and was re-elected;
but after serving half of his second term, was elected County Sheriff in 1881,
and re-elected in 1883. At the expiration of his second term, in January 1886,
he engaged in the real estate business, purchasing and renting houses of his
own. April 1, 1890, he was appointed by Lewis WEINSTINE Deputy Collector for
the Fourth District of Iowa. December 20, 1869, Mr. GUITTAR was united in marriage
in this city to Elizabeth BEECRAFT, a native of England who resides in Council
Bluffs. Mr. and Mrs. GUITTAR have one daughter, Eugenia I., born December 17,
1873. Mrs. GUITTAR is a member of the Baptist Church, and Mr. GUITTAR is a member
of the I.O.O.F., Council Bluffs Lodge No. 49, and also of Abe Lincoln Post No.
29 of Iowa, and is a Republican politically. He is one of our representative
citizen and businessmen, and enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know
him.
Gustin, William
WILLIAM GUSTIN, one of the intelligent and progressive citizens of Grove
Township, Pottawattamie county, came to his present location in January 1881.
He was born in Brown County, Ohio, May 1, 1846. His parents are Alpheus and
Polly (EDINGTON) GUSTIN, both natives of Ohio. The Gustins are of Scotch extraction,
and grandfather GUSTIN was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The EDINGTON
family trace their lineage back to Ireland, their ancestors having lived near
the Rhine. Mr. And Mrs. GUSTIN reared eight children, five sons and three daughters,
William being the fourth. Six of them are residents of Pottawattamie County,
namely: Edward and A.B., Waveland Township; A. J., Isaac, William, and Eveline,
wife of Crawford CARY, Grove Township. Two sisters, Sarah and Massie Ann, live
in Mills County, Iowa.
When William was a lad of nine years, his parents moved to Illinois, remaining
in that state one year. From there they removed to what was then called the
far west, Mills County, Iowa, and settled near where Emerson is now located.
The Gustins were among the early pioneers of that district. There the parents
spent the remainder of their lives, the mother dying at the age of fifty-six
years and the father at sixty-three. William was ten years old when the family
went to Mills County, and in that frontier district, he grew up, inured to
hard work, and received only a meager education in the common schools. He
there engaged in farming until 1881, when he came to this county and settled
on 120 acres of wild prairie land. On it he built a comfortable frame house
and barn and made other improvements, fencing, etc. He also acquired more
land and now has 200 acres in one body.
Mr. GUSTIN was married March 20, 1865, to Miss Phoebe Jane HUTCHINGS. She
was born in Delaware County, Indiana, and was ten years old when she came
with her parents to Mills County, Iowa. Her father and mother, William and
Nancy (CICLE) HUTCHINGS, both natives of Ohio, were among the first settlers
of Mills County, where they still live. Mr. And Mrs. GUSTIN have reared six
children, two sons and four daughters: Emma Olive, wife of John L. BRADLEY,
Grove Township; Rose Ann, wife of W. L. HOLLIDAY, of Montgomery County, Iowa;
Nancy Eveline, Theodosia Adella, William Otis, and Abraham Sirvetus. They
lost two children by death in infancy, Edward Iven and Artie Clifford.
In politics, Mr. GUSTIN is a Democrat.
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