WILLIAM H. EARNEST, M. D.
Dr. William H. Earnest has not only attained prominence
along professional lines as an able physician and surgeon, but
is also a land owner of Wayne county, holding title to
valuable property. More
than that, he is entitled to high credit for the services
which he rendered his country at the time of the great
conflict between the north and south, when he fought in the
ranks of the Union for the preservation of its entity. William H. Earnest
was born in Pennsylvania, November 26, 1848, and is a son of
Isaac and Mary (Bennett) Earnest, who were both natives of
Pennsylvania and descendants of families who were old settlers
of that state. Mrs.
Mary Earnest was a daughter of Joseph and Mary Bennett and
died when our subject was an infant of only one and a half
years. His
father also passed away in his native state.
Dr. Earnest removed with his grandfather, Joseph
Bennett, to Ohio when only five years of age and there he was
reared and received his early education. Being studious by
nature, a professional career appealed to him and he
subsequently matriculated in the Cincinnati College of
Medicine and Surgery, from which he was graduated with
distinction as M. D. in 1870, and thereafter practiced his
profession for one year in Ohio. In 1871 he came to Seymour, Iowa, and
opened an office. By
his kindly ways, his thorough knowledge and his wide
experience he gradually succeeded in building up an extensive
and gratifying practice, and as his reputation spread his
patients became more numerous.
For about a quarter of a century he faithfully served
humanity, alleviating its suffering and by his skill bringing
back to health those afflicted.
It was not only, however, that he helped by his
knowledge and his skill, but in his quiet, unassuming way he
inspired that confidence and by his kindliness inspired that
cheerfulness which brought back many from the brink of serious
sickness. In
1895 he withdrew from active practice and has since lived
retired in Seymour. Prosperity
came to him from his labors, and, seeking local investment, he
placed his money largely in farm land and today owns valuable
agricultural property in Wayne county, from which he receives
excellent returns.
In 1869 Dr. W. H. Earnest married Miss Eliza J.
Crawfis, of Ohio, who, however, died after only one year of
marital happiness, leaving a son, Charles E., who is now
engaged in the grocery business in Seymour. In 1872 Dr Earnest
was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Rodgers, the event
taking place at Seymour.
She is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Rodgers, the
former a prosperous farmer of the section, who had come with
his wife from Pennsylvania to Iowa at an early day. To the second union
of Dr. Earnest was born a daughter, Marcia, who married A. G.
Widmer, who is one of the owners of the Numa Block Coal
Company and the Prairie Block Coal Company. Dr. and Mrs.
Earnest are members of the Presbyterian church, taking an
active and helpful interest in the affairs of that
organization.
Dr. Earnest is a republican and although his
professional duties have been manifold and exacting, he has
found time to take up public position, and served as county
coroner for some time, while he also acted as United States
pension examiner. In
1864, when only fifteen years of age, his boyish sprit stirred
by the all-pervading patriotism of those times, he enlisted
with the One Hundred and Fiftieth Ohio Infantry as volunteer
and also served with the One Hundred and Eighty-ninth
Regiment, being mustered out with honorable discharge at the
close of the war. Although
a mere boy, he never faltered in the performance of any duty
or task assigned him, however arduous, however hazardous, his
valor, his zeal and his devotion to his country awakening and
inspiring courage in men many years his senior who served with
him in the ranks for the preservation of the Union. Dr. Earnest’s
fraternal associations extend to the Masonic order and the
Grand Army of the Republic.
In the former he is a blue lodge Mason, a Knight
Templar and a Shriner, while in the latter he is affiliated
with William Kellogg Post, No. 186, of which he has served as
commander. In
the latter connection he meets his comrades of yore and there
finds that spirit which keeps alive the flame of patriotism
and devotion to one’s country which makes life more noble and
more sacred. There
have been no spectacular phases in the life record of Dr.
William Earnest, but his history is one of those which tell of
the simple life led in the right direction, and which inspire
and encourage others by what has been accomplished through
energy, ambition, kindness and character.